At-Large Council Member· 2025-12-02 to 2029-12-01 (month-level end: December 2029 per city Boards, Commissions and Committees directory (updated March 2, 2026, sanfordnc.net/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/740) lists 'Term Expires: 12/2029'; start = oath of office at the Dec 2, 2025 organizational session minutes; first took this office Aug 16, 2022 per Aug 16, 2022 minutes) (cycle default: NC terms begin first Monday in December)
Linda Rhodes
Sanford
No biography on file yet.
Voice
- Meetings spoken in
- 20
- Total speaking time
- 1:31:16
- Avg per meeting
- 4:34
- Segments
- 1141
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Top issues during term (20)
Unified Development Ordinance review
Hewitt argues growth raises taxes and school costs faster than the revenue it brings.
Downtown event street closures
Minimal — temporary street closures only.
Rollingdale annexation
Annexation would extend city services and add the property to the city tax base; no immediate cost identified.
Historic Preservation Fund Grant — Sanford Design Standards Update
Grant-funded with a local match required under the grant contract.
Economic development incentive agreements (Projects Sunshine, Volt, Maize)
Up to about $39.5 million in city incentives over 12 years, paid out of general fund revenues as 80% grant reimbursements of taxes the company actually pays.
affordable housing
This development could help stabilize local housing costs by increasing the overall supply of homes in Sanford.
Tramway Area Commercial Growth
Commercial expansion grows the tax base but adds traffic near an already busy intersection.
Data center moratorium request
The project is tied to anticipated tax revenue, but full public costs and impacts remain unstudied.
animal services survey
Right now, it's just your opinion needed, so it won't cost you a dime, though future changes might use local tax dollars.
Annexation of 27 acres on Carthage Street (Rollingdale Investment, LLC)
The annexed property is expected to generate roughly $1,975 a year in city property tax revenue.
Oakden mixed-use gateway development at U.S. 1 and Cullen Road
Public water, sewer and streets would serve the project, and the developer would deed a pump station site to the city.
UDO Change for Fire and Emergency Services Facilities
Removes legal and permitting costs from rural volunteer fire departments' expansion projects.
Ali Java Horner Boulevard residential unit
A project of this size could add significant housing and tax value, though specific figures weren't given.
Big Buffalo Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion land purchase
About $3.37 million total, partly funded with roughly $2 million in 2025 revenue bonds.
Gaster's Creek Sewer Basin Improvements
Combined project costs run into the millions — roughly $487,000 for NCDOT relocation, $390,000 Chatham, $426,455 Siler City, $1.39 million Pittsboro, and about $676,000 net for Gaster's Creek — mostly charged to other towns' cost centers.
Water Line Relocation for NCDOT Road Widening (TIP HE-0006)
About $487,000, covered by the Chatham County Utility Cost Center rather than city taxes.
Water Treatment Plant Safety Conversions (Chatham County and Siler City)
Combined design cost of about $816,455, paid through the Chatham County and Siler City utility cost centers.
Kiwanis Family Park Safety Improvements
$45,000 added to the FY 2026-27 operating budget.
Pittsboro Water Main Extension Design Amendment
$1,387,900 for design, covered by the Pittsboro Utility Cost Center.
Annexation and industrial rezoning of Hawkins Avenue site
Adds about $756,700 in assessed value to city rolls — roughly $4,200 in annual city tax revenue — plus fire district payment obligations.
Decisions during term (142)
Recorded while Rhodes was in office — not necessarily decisions they moved, spoke to, or voted on.