04-03-2023 Meeting Minutes BOC
April 3, 2023
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PERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS APRIL 3, 2023
MEMBERS PRESENT OTHERS PRESENT
Gordon Powell Katherine M. Cathey, County Manager
C. Derrick Sims Brenda B. Reaves, Clerk to the Board
Kyle W. Puryear S. Ellis Hankins, County Attorney
Charlie Palmer
Jason Thomas
The Board of Commissioners for the County of Person, North Carolina, met in
regular session on Monday, April 3, 2023 at 7:00pm in the Commissioners’ Boardroom 215
in the Person County Office Building located at 304 S. Morgan Street, Roxboro, NC.
Chairman Powell called the meeting to order. Chairman Powell asked for a moment
of silence in remembrance of former county employee, Gary Latta, who recently passed; he
then offered an invocation. Commissioner Thomas led the group in the Pledge of
Allegiance.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT/APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
Chairman Powell requested a Proclamation on World Autism Awareness Month
2023 to be added to the agenda and recognized immediately following the approval of the
agenda.
A motion was made by Commissioner Puryear and carried 5-0 to add a
Proclamation on World Autism Awareness Month 2023 to the agenda and to approve the
agenda as adjusted.
RECOGNITION:
Chairman Powell read a Proclamation on World Autism Awareness Month 2023 for
Board consideration.
A motion was made by Vice Chairman Sims and carried 5-0 to adopt a
Proclamation on World Autism Awareness Month, as presented.
Chairman Powell and commissioners presented the adopted proclamation to Ms.
Cindy Martin thanking her for her dedication and efforts for autism awareness in Person
County. Ms. Martin acknowledged families present in the audience noting there was an
unserved autism population in the county as she welcomed everyone to the Person County
Chapter. She praised Maynell Harper at the Person County Senior Center for her
community support.
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INFORMAL COMMENTS:
The following individual appeared before the Board to make informal comments:
Person County Sheriff Jason Wilborn provided the Board with an update of his first
four months as the Sheriff of Person County; his accomplished included:
Cameras installed upstairs in the Law Enforcement Center,
Special Response Team equipment and uniforms,
Digital Rounds Tracking device,
Patrol deputies uniforms upgraded,
Purchased investigative equipment,
Search and Recovery Team in place with state-of-the-art equipment,
Dive Team consisting of 7 deputies with a pontoon and ATV response units,
Two bloodhounds K-9s purchased,
Refurbished unused ambulance as the Sheriff’s Office Mobile Command Unit,
Firearms Gears for realistic training in Schools, and
Law Enforcement Center landscaping, pressure washing and painting
Sheriff Wilborn stated the above list was all completed without any burden on the
taxpayers using funds brought in by the efforts of cases seizing evidence from drug dealers.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT/APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA:
A motion was made by Commissioner Palmer and carried 5-0 to approve the
Consent Agenda with the following items:
A. Approval of Minutes of March 20, 2023,
B. Budget Amendment #17, and
C. American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 Grant Project Ordinance
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NEW BUSINESS:
POTENTIAL SALE OF AIRCRAFT HANGAR AT THE RALEIGH REGIONAL
AIRPORT AT PERSON COUNTY:
General Services Director Ray Foushee recapped for the Board that on September
23, 2022, Person County received a written offer to purchase the new aircraft hangar at the
Raleigh Regional Airport at Person County, located at 385 Montgomery Drive, Timberlake,
NC in the amount of $4,000,000 for a 30-year lease or sale. At the October 3, 2022 meeting,
Mr. Foushee said the Board of Commissioners voted to tentatively accept the offer pending
completion of the statutory offer, advertisement and upset bid procedure, initiated by the
buyer’s 5% or $200,000 deposit with final action to accept the offer after completion of that
process. Now, more than six months after the written offer letter, Person County still has
not received the deposit.
Mr. Foushee stated the County Attorney notified the potential buyer’s attorney on
March 27, 2023 that the deposit was overdue, and that the Board would consider rescinding
the prior acceptance of the offer for failure to send the deposit required by the statute and
complete the purchase transaction. County Attorney Ellis Hankins said he told the potential
buyer’s attorney that he would update them on the Board’s action following this meeting.
Mr. Hankins recommended the Board to consider rescinding the Board’s prior acceptance
of the offer, effective April 10, 2023 at 5:00 PM EDT, if the deposit required by statute was
not received by that time, to allow the County to pursue other opportunities to sell or lease
the hangar.
Chairman Powell asked Mr. Foushee if all the punch list items have been completed
to which Mr. Foushee said everything was completed and the final walk through was done
last week and the hangar was now ready for use.
A motion was made by Vice Chairman Sims and carried 5-0 to rescind the Board’s
prior acceptance of the offer, effective April 10, 2023 at 5:00 PM EDT, if the deposit
required by statute is not received by that time, to allow the County to pursue other
opportunities to sell or lease the hangar.
LETTERS OF OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSED STATEWIDE MEDICAID
CHILD AND FAMILIES SPECIALTY PLAN (CFSP):
County Manager Katherine Cathey said at the Board’s March 20, 2023 meeting,
Elliot Clark, Regional Director of Community Relations for Vaya Health, provided a report
to the Board on Vaya’s current services, challenges, and initiatives. Ms. Cathey noted his
report included information on Vaya’s work with all LME/MCO’s to establish a
standardized seamless transition of care for children placed outside of the Vaya Health Plan
region, continuing to expand a statewide open network to improve access to care for child
services, and reducing or eliminating the need for Out of Network Agreements prior to entry
to care.
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Ms. Cathey stated Mr. Clark shared that moving the foster care population to tailored
plans results in immediate access to whole person care, in a cost-effective and efficient way.
Tailored plans offer deep local involvement along with a statewide network’s scale and
reach. He also shared that creating a new foster care waiver, as required by House Bill 340,
requires a lengthy procurement process that will result in additional administrative burden
and cost: counties will not experience the same excellent level of customer service with a
commercial plan; and the foster care waiver will not solve funding, staffing, and bed
availability challenges.
House Bill 340 establishes the following requirements of a CFSP: plans will result
from RFPs issued by DHHS submitted by eligible PHPs; operating entities will authorize,
pay for, and manage all Medicaid and NC Health Choice services covered under the plan;
operating entities will operate care coordination functions and provide whole-person,
integrated care across healthcare and treatment settings and foster care placements for
enrollees; operating entities will be the single point of care management accountability; and
DHHS will establish requirements for CFSP operations that address four considerations,
including continuity of care and support across health care settings, changes in placement,
and when the child transitions into the former foster youth Medicaid eligibility category.
Ms. Cathey reiterated that Vaya has requested the Board of Commissioners to send
letters to state legislators, sharing concerns with the proposed statewide CFSP for the
reasons identified above; most notably, tailored plans offer deep local involvement through
Vaya’s Board of Directors versus a commercial CFSP.
Ms. Cathey requested Board consideration to approve letters to Senator Phil Berger,
Secretary of DHHS Kody Kinsley, and Speaker Tim Moore as presented and authorize the
Chairman to sign on behalf of the Board of Commissioners.
Chairman Powell, as a member of a Vaya Regional Board, stated his opposition to
a privatized state plan; he said by continuing the current plan with the LME’s, counties have
a local voice in the process with the regional boards.
A motion was made by Commissioner Thomas and carried 5-0 to approve the
letters as presented and authorize Chairman Powell to sign.
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FY 2024-2028 RECOMMENDED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CIP):
County Manager Katherine Cathey and Finance Director Amy Wehrenberg
presented an overview of the FY 2024-2028 Recommended Capital Improvement Plan
(CIP) for Board review. Ms. Cathey said the CIP is a planning tool for implementing large
capital projects costing $50,000 or more for Person County Government, Piedmont
Community College, and Person County Schools. The CIP also plans for capital needs for
the Person County Museum of History and the Person County Senior Center, as they are
county-owned facilities.
Ms. Cathey noted the CIP paves the way for the Manager’s FY24 Recommended
Budget, as it will provide an estimate of funding needed for capital projects and anticipates
the impacts on operating costs as well. These capital projects span the next five fiscal years
with the upcoming fiscal year (FY24) being the only year where a funding commitment is
needed from the Board. The development of the CIP considered many factors including the
current economic and fiscal climate, logistical and financial constraints, as well as
competing demands and priorities for County funds.
Ms. Cathey said the FY24 CIP requests were over $30M and the five-year plan
requests total over $125M. Due to limited funding options and competing priorities the
proposed projects not recommended are listed in the CIP document. Recommended in the
FY24 CIP totaled over $17.5M with funding sources diversified. The General Fund
contribution was proposed at $3.2M; CIP fund balance contributes $402K and the Airport
Construction Fund Balance contribution was $80K; the Community Development Project
Fund from the County’s contract with Republic Services funds two recreation, arts and parks
projects for just over $123K and $1M has been anticipated in state grant funds for the Person
Industries/Material Recovery Facility (PI/MRF) merger and renovation project. She noted
that in FY24, the County would issue $12.7M in limited obligation bonds (LOBs) to finance
accessibility and safety improvements for Person High School (PHS) with an increase of
property taxes by $0.25 cent in order to make principal and interest payments on the bonds.
In addition, the CIP budgets $740K in contingency funds for the PHS project. Ms. Cathey
further noted that the public schools’ projects account for $14.1M or 80% of the FY24
Recommended CIP.
Another major project recognized in the FY24 CIP was the PI/MRF merger and
renovation with $2.1M budgeted for year 1 of the five-year plan. Ms. Cathey said an
important element of the CIP was the debt service analysis and the tables and graph showing
the future debt service levels for the County. The County’s total outstanding debt at June
30, 2023 will be $7.1M, which is an 18% decrease from prior year. The first issuance of
debt in the amount of $19.4M is planned as part of larger financing plan over the next four
years, totaling $58.3M.
Ms. Cathey further noted the CIP was being presented for information only at this
meeting with adoption scheduled at the Board’s April 17, 2023 meeting.
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Ms. Cathey requested the Board to provide staff with feedback and to reach out to
her or Ms. Wehrenberg with any questions, as staff would like the CIP to reflect the Board’s
priorities especially if projects were pushed out or not included.
Commissioner Palmer inquired about the replacement of bleachers in the PHS
Auxiliary Gym in planning year 2027-28 projected to cost $110K. Ms. Wehrenberg stated
the request by Person County Schools stated the bleachers were 30+ years old with
mechanical issues and not ADA compliant. Staff offered to get more information from
Person County Schools staff as needed.
The CIP Recommended Funding Schedule for FY 2024-28 follows:
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CHAIRMAN’S REPORT:
Chairman Powell reported local businesses are contributing to the Charters of
Freedom project.
Chairman Powell stated conversations are taken place with Duke Energy related to
future generation being placed at the Person County power plants. He noted that Duke
Energy District Manager Tanya Evans has accepted a new role with Duke Energy as
Director, Infrastructure Engagement in South Carolina noting our community is losing an
advocate who lived and worked in Person County.
Chairman Powell said he participated in a Ribbon Cutting at the Sportsplex for the
new playground that was well received.
In addition, Chairman Powell said he attended a Vaya regional board meeting in
Yanceyville.
MANAGER’S REPORT:
County Manager Katherine Cathey reported there is a scheduled groundbreaking
event for the Person County Charters of Freedom project on April 6, 2023 at 12:30pm at the
Huck Sansbury Park.
COMMISSIONER REPORT/COMMENTS:
Vice Chairman Sims commented on the excellent job by the Sheriff’s Office keeping
citizens safe.
Commissioner Palmer thanked all county employees for their dedication. He urged
employees to be patient for the pay study that would be addressed soon.
Commissioner Puryear commended the Sheriff’s Office for the great job for public
safety; he said he was honored to speak at the Vietnam Veterans Remembrance Day.
Commissioner Thomas had no report.
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CLOSED SESSION #1
A motion was made by Commissioner Puryear and carried 5-0 to enter into Closed
Session #1 at 7:49pm per General Statute 143-318.11(a)(4) for the purpose of discussion of
matters relating to the location or expansion of industries or other businesses in the county
(economic development) with the following individuals permitted to attend: County
Attorney Ellis Hankins, County Manager Katherine Cathey, Clerk to the Board Brenda
Reaves, and Economic Development Director Brandy Lynch.
Chairman Powell called the Closed Session #1 to order at 7:50pm.
A motion was made by Commissioner Puryear and carried 5-0 to return to open
session at 8:29pm.
ADJOURNMENT:
A motion was made by Vice Chairman Sims and carried 5-0 to adjourn the meeting
at 8:30pm.
_____________________________ ______________________________
Brenda B. Reaves Gordon Powell
Clerk to the Board Chairman