Scotland County Board of Commissioners regular meeting February 6, 2017, A.B. Gibson Center, 322 South Main Street, Laurinburg, NC

Transcription

1 February 6, 2017 A.B. Gibson Center, 322 South Main Street, Laurinburg, NC Commissioners in attendance: Chair Carol McCall, Vice Chair Whit Gibson and Commissioners John Alford, Bob Davis, Betty Blue Gholston, Guy McCook and Clarence McPhatter. Staff in attendance: County Manager Kevin Patterson, County Attorney Ed Johnston, Finance Officer Beth Hobbs and Assistant to the County Manager Travis Allen. At 7 p.m. Chair Carol McCall called the meeting to order. Chair McCall delivered the invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Motion was made by Commissioner Alford and duly seconded by Commissioner McCook to approve the February 6, 2017, agenda as presented. Vote: Motion unanimously approved. Public Forum The Commissioners presented a plaque and Scotland County flag to Ms. Ann Kurtzman, retired Clerk to the Board, for more than 18 years of service to the County. Dr. William Armstrong, a concerned citizen, spoke on the behalf of many patients, friends, and neighbors regarding the fire substations. Dr. Armstrong wanted to know if the City of Laurinburg was being allowed to take the current plan and to enhance that plan, costing more money, etc. If the City of Laurinburg would have control of this substation would the county still have to support it and will it cost the taxpayers more money? Jay Jones, a concerned citizen, spoke about the fire substations and how these buildings could be simple concrete slabs with a metal building, and the money saved could be used to buy more apparatuses and other required equipment for the firefighters. Mr. Jones said the fire departments in the county are united in this decision, and the commissioners need to listen to the individuals that these stations will be manned by. Phil Morgan, a volunteer firefighter, spoke on the substation topic and how the fire commission at the fire commission meeting last week voted on keeping the original building plan, and rejected the plan proposed in the paper unanimously. Mr. Morgan said that the county does not need to be giving Laurinburg any more money. The two new substations combined will cover less area than what the Wagram and Laurel Hill stations cover. Mr. Morgan said that Laurel Hill and Wagram are covering an area bigger than the City of Laurinburg station with fewer trucks and money, and it was time that the money was shared more equally between all the stations including Laurinburg Neil Shaw, Chief of the Wagram fire station, spoke on the substations saying that the county needs to build two substations at equal sizes. Mr. Shaw said that the county is ready to build two substations, but one of those stations is going to be more expensive just to accommodate the City of Laurinburg. Mr. Shaw said that he City of Laurinburg has four county trucks, including the newest truck which has City of Laurinburg displayed on the truck; not Scotland County. Mr. Shaw said that while the two new substations will cover parts of the county that will lower insurance ratings for residents currently not receiving insurance discounts, many people have hard feelings towards the county so we need to see if we can work this out. William Skipper, Captain of Laurel Hill fire station, spoke on the fire substations and said that he feels the commissioners have been manipulated in to voting for substations that will not benefit everyone. Mr. Skipper provided the commissioners with figures 1

2 pertaining to the original building plan and how the price had now reduced according to the architect. Mr. Skipper said that the new building plan the commissioners had been provided cost more than what it would cost to build two identical structures and this doesn t include all the extras being asked by the City of Laurinburg. Eric Stubbs, volunteer firefighter, spoke about the fire substations saying that he had went out and found a land owner who is willing to donate the land for a substation. Mr. Stubbs said that currently there are 27 members on their fire station roster and the state only requires 20. Mr. Stubbs said the membership total would go up by the time the substation is built because they have applications for memberships. Mr. Stubbs said that he hopes any contract the county makes with the city does not include losing the substation to the city after so many years. Richard Thomas, a concerned citizen, spoke about the fire substations and more specifically the residents who are paying the fire tax are those outside of the Laurinburg city limits. Mr. Thomas asked why the substations should be built in the city limits when the citizens do not contribute to the fire tax. Where will the relief come from in the form of home owners insurance for those who don t get coverage from these sub stations because their homes still aren t covered by the substations? Jim Johnston, a concerned citizen, said that he is seeking clarification regarding the substations. Mr. Johnston said he recently spoke to an insurance agent who said if the substations are not manned 24 hours a day then there will not be a reduction in home owners insurance. He would like for the commissioners to look in to that information. Charles Parker, a concerned citizen, said he was there to speak to the commissioners and ask if they had given any more thought in to passing an ordinance similar to the ordinance the City of Laurinburg passed regarding solar energy sites and other entities that cause the land to be less esthetically pleasing, something he had originally proposed to the commissioners months ago. Mr. Parker asked for the commissioners to pass something similar to what the city had passed so that the beauty of the county would remain intact. Mr. Parker said that he is proposing tonight for the commissioners to look at the city ordinance and adopt an ordinance that mirrors the city ordinance. Mr. Parker said that maybe expand on the city ordinance and do some things the city hadn t and try to keep what beauty is left of the county. Chair McCall informed those in attendance that the meeting schedule would be re-arranged so that Mr. Patterson could give his report which included information on the fire substations. County Manager Report Mr. Patterson said that during a retreat that the commissioners had begun looking at a plan to replace all the fire trucks in the county. The commissioners reached out to the fire commission and came up with a plan in May of 2014 to raise the fire tax from 2 cents to 5 cents in order to replace the firetrucks within the county. The raise of the fire tax was to replace trucks and purchase additional equipment. In May of 2014 the fire commission also proposed that the county build two substations. There have been 3 trucks purchased thus far, with another order just recently placed for a new truck which was approved by the fire commission. Both substations (north and south end of county) would cover the 5 miles that is uncovered within the county and provide relief to residents in regards to insurance. 2

3 Joint Land Use Presentation Mr. Vagn with Benchmark Planning presented to the board the plans for a joint land use study on the Fort Bragg area and counties that fall within the parameters of the military base. Mr. Vagn said the purpose of the study is to determine barriers to the long term sustainability of the region around Fort Bragg. Some of the issues and barriers are noise pollution, air quality, water pollution, commercial airspace, and sighting of alternative energy sources and how those affect citizen. Mr. Vagn said the study area encompasses the military complex as well as 5 miles around the Fort Bragg area. Counties included Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Moore, Richmond, and Scotland. Mr. Vagn said that the north end of Scotland County falls within the 5 mile radius of the study. The study began late last year, and takes roughly 2 years to complete. Mr. Vagn said that here will be 3 presentations throughout the study (kickoff, mid report, final results), and the only thing that would come from this study that would affect Scotland County would be if the commissioners decide to take action based on the results from the study. Chair McCall asked for a time frame of when Benchmark would return with the second presentation and Mr. Vagn said it would be some time after September. Scotland County Correctional Institute Update Representatives for the Scotland County Correctional Institute Mr. Dean Locklear, Mr. Charlie Locklear, and Ms. Kristy Russell gave an update on the facility to the board. Ms. Russell said that the facility recruits heavily from Scotland County, but Cumberland County is probably where a good majority of where employees come from. Ms. Russell said the prison recently held a job fair to recruit potential employees facility, and that as of now there are 562 full time employees, with 115 of those Scotland County residents and 58 open vacancies. Mr. Russell said that the Scotland County Correctional Institute is the largest in the state. Commissioner Davis asked if veterans get any preference in hiring, and Ms. Russell confirmed that veterans do in fact get preference; one position actually requires a military background. Audit Report Mr. Carl Head gave the audit report for the fiscal year. Mr. Head said that the purpose of the audit is for the county to get an unmodified report regarding their position financially. Mr. Head said that this is the 5th year in a row of positive increase in the general fund balance for the county. Mr. Head said that the reason for the county essentially breaking even was the county had to pay back the general fund for money borrowed. Mr. Head expects next year for the county to gain additional since those debts have been paid now, and the enterprise funds appear to be moving in the right direction as all 3 have exhibited positive movement. Animal Control Ordinance and Child Fatality Update Ms. Kristen Patterson said that in December 2016 the health board approved the changes that were made to the animal control ordinance. Some of those revisions included running at large of pets (both civil and criminal). Ms. Patterson said the first offense is the animal being microchipped at the owners expense, second offense is the animal being spayed/neutered, and third offense is a $75 fee. There were also changes to the restriction of tethering of animals. Enclosures must now meet stricter guidelines based on the size of the dog in the enclosure. The livestock shelter requirement has been removed, but tethering of horses or farm animals has been added. County Attorney Johnston had questions about wording in certain sections of the ordinance and vagueness that could be brought in to question at a later date. Mr. Johnston recommended that ordinance be taken back and revised in order to remove certain items while rewording others to make the ordinance more clear and concise 3

4 Chair McCall said that the Mr. Johnston will draw up a statement that clarifies the ordinance and that the ordinance can be presented at the next meeting, Ms. Maria Roberts presented about the child mortality rates. Ms. Roberts said the child fatality board meets 5 times a year and review any deaths by children 0-17 that have occurred in the county during that year. Ns. Roberts said the board discusses any deaths that occurred and any information regarding that death that may be available; nothing can be done regarding pre-natal. Ms. Roberts said in 2015 Scotland County had 7 children deaths. Ms. Roberts said the health board recommendations included pre-natal genetic testing and education for mothers who sleep with the babies. Activities in 2016 included the safe sleep campaign. Ms. Roberts said on March 23, 2017 the Health Department is planning a car seat replacement day where they will teach parents how to properly install and maintain car seats and promote the safe sleep campaign. Ms. Roberts said that the parents have to go through the education in order to receive the car seat. Motion was made by Commissioner Alford and duly seconded by Vice Chair Gibson to approve the consent agenda. Vote: Motion unanimously approved Tax Liens Ms. Mary Helen Norton stated that Over 2 million is owed in tax liens as of She asked that the commissioners approve to advertise the tax liens and solid waste fees. Motion was made by Commissioner McCook and duly seconded by Vice Chair Gibson to approve the request to advertise tax liens. Vote: Motion unanimously approved Liaison Committee Report Vice Chair Gibson said that the committee has missed a couple of meetings, and so the committee got together in January to essentially just keep that relationship going. Vice Chair Gibson said that they are at a standstill currently because of the site selection. Vice Chair Gibson said the committee did look at the payment agreement and trying to decide of how to approach it. Vice Chair Gibson said for now the committee decided to leave the agreement where it is until both sides can discuss with their people about how to approach a new agreement. Appointments Vice Chair Gibson said there are currently an opening on the board of health Motion was made by Vice Chair Gibson and duly seconded by Commissioner Davis to appoint Ms. Diann Beane to the citizen position on the Board of Health. Vote: Motion unanimously approved. Motion was made by Vice Chair Gibson and duly seconded by Commissioner Gholston to appoint Dr. Bowling to the optometrist position on the Board of Health. Vote: Motion unanimously approved. County Manager Update Mr. Patterson said that he will be out of town for the March 6 th regular meeting and asked that meeting be moved to March 13 th at the E.O.C. Motion was made by Commissioner McCook and duly seconded by Vice Chair Gibson to move the regular commissioners meeting from March the 6 th to March the 13 th at the E.O.C Vote: Motion unanimously approved. 4

5 Mr. Patterson said that he received a letter that morning approving Scotland County for $150,000 from FEMA for citizens affected by the Hurricane last fall. Mr. Patterson said that the Lumber River Council will be on the agenda in March to formally present this information. Mr. Patterson said the bids for the water tower painting were out. Mr. Patterson said that at the manager conference many businesses conveyed to him their intention of bidding. Mr. Patterson said that those bids should be back by the work session retreat later this month. Mr. Patterson said that the dates he was considering for the work session retreat was the week of February The commissioners all agreed that the 22 nd at 9 am at the E.O.C would be the best day and time to hold this work session. Mr. Patterson said that he has a few items like the budgetary goals, financial update, board meeting protocols, Morgan Center project and revaluation as agenda for the work session. No Comments by any Commissioners. Motion was made by Commissioner Alford and duly seconded by Commissioner McCook to recess to 9 a.m. Wednesday, February 22, at the Emergency Operations Center for the work session retreat. Vote: Motion unanimously approved. Kevin Patterson Interim Clerk to the Board Carol McCall Chair 5