05-02-2022 Meeting Minutes BOC
May 2, 2022
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PERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MAY 2, 2022
MEMBERS PRESENT OTHERS PRESENT
Gordon Powell Heidi York, County Manager
C. Derrick Sims Brenda B. Reaves, Clerk to the Board
Kyle W. Puryear S. Ellis Hankins, County Attorney
Charlie Palmer
Patricia Gentry
The Board of Commissioners for the County of Person, North Carolina, met in
regular session on Monday, May 2, 2022 at 7:00pm in the commissioners’ boardroom in
the Person County Office Building.
Chairman Powell called the meeting to order. Vice Chairman Sims offered an
invocation and Commissioner Gentry led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT/APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
A motion was made by Vice Chairman Sims and carried 5-0 to approve the
agenda.
PUBLIC HEARING:
REQUEST TO ADD FAST ROCK ROAD TO THE DATABASE OF ROADWAY
NAMES USED FOR E-911 DISPATCHING:
A motion was made by Vice Chairman Sims and carried 5-0 to open the duly
advertised public hearing for a request to add Fast Rock Road to the database of roadway
names used for E-911 dispatching.
GIS Manager Sallie Vaughn stated Tax Map/Parcel A97 7, which is accessed via
shared private easement, was recently purchased with plans for a home. Ms. Vaughn noted
there are two residences currently and the addition of a new residence necessitates the
naming of the driveway. In accordance with Article IV, Section 402 H of the “Ordinance
Regulating Addresses and Road Naming in Person County,” any driveway serving three or
more addressable structures must be named. Naming this road now will prevent future
residents from having to change their addresses as more lots are developed.
Ms. Vaughn stated all seven adjacent property owners were contacted in person and
via certified mail. Of those seven, only three residents will be affected with address
changes. The required two-thirds majority was reached and Fast Rock Road was provided
as their roadway name of choice, which was compliant with all naming regulations in the
Ordinance.
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North Carolina General Statute 153A-239.1(A) requires a public hearing be held
on the matter and public notice be provided at least ten days prior in the newspaper. The
required public notice was published in the April 22, 2022 edition of the Roxboro Courier-
Times. A sign advertising the public hearing was placed at the proposed roadway location
on the same date.
Ms. Vaughn requested the Board to approve the recommended roadway name, Fast
Rock Road, to be added to the database of roadway names used for E-911 dispatching.
Commissioner Gentry asked Ms. Vaughn who was responsible for the private
easement maintenance to which Ms. Vaughn stated it was dependent upon how it was
written in the deeds. Ms. Vaughn noted she had reviewed the deeds some time ago however
could not remember how it was written for maintenance.
There were no individuals appearing before the Board to speak in favor of nor in
opposition to the request to add Fast Rock Road to the database of roadway names used for
E-911 dispatching.
A motion was made by Commissioner Puryear and carried 5-0 to close the public
hearing for a request to add Fast Rock Road to the database of roadway names used for E-
911 dispatching.
CONSIDERATION TO GRANT OR DENY REQUEST TO ADD FAST ROCK
ROAD TO THE DATABASE OF ROADWAY NAMES USED FOR E-911
DISPATCHING:
A motion was made by Commissioner Gentry and carried 5-0 to grant the request
to add Fast Rock Road to the database of roadway names used for E-911 dispatching.
INFORMAL COMMENTS:
Chairman Powell said the law requires boards of commissioners to provide a public
comment period every month at a regular scheduled meeting about county issues and
matters of public concern. Chairman Powell said it was important for the commissioners
to hear the comments of interested citizens, in fact, the Board thinks it is so important, that
the Board has a public comment period at both of its regular scheduled meetings each
month. He reiterated that the purpose of the public comment period was for citizens to
address county issues and matters of public concern, not a question/answer back and forth,
although the county manager or a commissioner can follow up after the meeting. Chairman
Powell said one of his responsibilities as Chairman was to maintain order and decorum.
He asked everyone, including citizens and commissioners to keep comments focused on
county issues and relating to a matter of public concern. If there are comments about
people’s personal lives or anything other than county government matters, Chairman
Powell said he would rule out of order.
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The following individuals appeared before the Board to make informal comments:
Mr. John Seepe of 277 Barefoot Landing Lane, Semora addressed the Board on his
previous public comments and questions related to the status of the shell building and to
Peg Carlson’s visit noting he received answers to his questions however, the public was
not informed nor should citizens have to threaten the Board with a public records request
to get answers. Mr. Seepe commented on an unapproved, non-permitted, not inspected nor
zoned RV park containing seven pads for trailers, electrical hook-ups and connected
sewage to a tank that was set up as a LLC by two sheriff deputies, Jason and Jimmie
Wilborn, and by association the County Economic Development Director. He said he spoke
with zoning, planning and environmental health, and as of this date, everything was
restored to compliance noting electric and trailers were removed from the property. Mr.
Seepe said the Berryhills have been working over eight months to properly build out and
properly zone, permit, and have inspected a place for RV’s in the county. Mr. Seepe stated
taxpayers are missing out on funds by this infraction. He asked Chairman Powell if permits
are applied for, that the permitting would be done without any shortcuts and that the county
employees are kept to county standards.
Mr. Jimmie Whitfield of 699 Charlie Reade Road, Timberlake yielded his time
allotment to Mr. Seepe.
Ms. Cynthia Lynch of 395 Union Grove Church Road, Hurdle Mills spoke about
the proposed fire district tax request and questioned the statistics included in the packet
related to the oddity that the age spans were different illustrating 4 years, 12 years, 15 years,
and one spanning 22 years. By her comparison, the age group 19-45 years was 50% of the
group represented. Ms. Lynch said when you start paying people for doing what volunteers
do, the volunteers will start to drop off.
Ms. Kathy Lawrence of 1034 Terry Road, Hurdle Mills, yielded her time allotment
to Mr. Seepe.
Mr. Kenneth Lawrence of 1034 Terry Road, Hurdle Mills forfeited his time
allotment with no comments.
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DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT/APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA:
A motion was made by Commissioner Gentry and carried 5-0 to approve the
Consent Agenda with the following item:
A. NC Education Lottery Application for South Elementary School contracted
painting for $95,000
Commissioner Gentry asked to pull item B, Budget Amendment #18, for further
clarification. County Manager, Heidi York stated she would bring it back to the Board
once she received more information.
NEW BUSINESS:
GREAT GRANT PARTNERSHIPS – ZITEL AND CHARTER
COMMUNICATIONS:
Assistant County Manager, Katherine Cathey reminded the Board of the Growing
Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant, which is a competitive grant
program that provides funding to private sector broadband providers to deploy last-mile
broadband infrastructure to unserved areas of North Carolina. The current 2021-2022
funding round may award up to $350M in federal ARP funding, up to $4M per application.
Ms. Cathey stated following the Board’s meeting and action on March 21, 2022, the state
extended the GREAT Grant application deadline to May 4, 2022.
Ms. Cathey said the Board, at its March 21, 2022 meeting, approved an MOU with
Brightspeed in support of its GREAT Grant application for $4M. If Brightspeed is awarded
the project by the state, Person County has committed $1.25 million of the county’s $7.67
million American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to partner with Brightspeed on deploying
fiber-to-the-home service to approximately 2,600 locations through installation of just over
118 miles of fiber with a project value of $8.37M. She added that the Board provided
letters of support for Brightspeed’s GREAT Grant application as well as Charter’s
application. Charter proposes to serve 500 locations with 97 miles of fiber. The Board did
not commit financial support for Charter’s application in March but voted to reserve an
additional $250,000 of the county’s ARP funding for future broadband expansion.
Ms. Cathey told the Board that the presentation on this date will summarize another
broadband infrastructure expansion proposal received from ZiTEL and revisits possible
financial support for Charter’s proposal noting county support helps each private sector
broadband provider score higher with the state scoring criteria. Ms. Cathey introduced Mr.
Rodney Gray, COO, with ZiTEL, and Mr. Justin DeLancey, Senior Manager, Government
Affairs, with Charter to share the information with the Board through the following
presentation.
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Mr. Gray summarized ZiTEL’s proposal to reach up to 5,598 homes and businesses
by installing 105.5 miles of fiber. Mr. Gray proposed an application of $2.7M with up to
a $1.25M commitment from the county for a project total of $5.4M offering quicker, lower
cost access to broadband. Mr. Gray stated ZiTEL’s business model is to do business
differently than other providers using better customer service and affordability. In addition,
ZiTEL desires to partner with Person County and is negotiating to utilize some of the
county-owned dark fiber as well.
Ms. Cathey noted all three providers, Brightspeed, Charter and ZiTEL have
expressed interest in continuing to work with Person County to expand broadband
infrastructure along with the NC Department of Information Technology (NCDIT) through
the new Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) Grant program. This new program will
be available later this year after the GREAT Grant application period closes and provides
an opportunity for counties to partner to fund broadband deployment project in unserved
areas of each county.
Ms. Cathey said it would be to the county’s benefit to support all three applications.
She noted a $2.75M commitment of the county’s ARP funding for this purpose covers all
proposals by the private sector broadband providers. She added the Board will have
flexibility with any funding that is not committed in this first round of the GREAT Grant
program; any unused funds of the $2.75M would then be considered for the CAB Grant
program and/or other county proposed projects as deemed appropriate by the Board.
Commissioner Gentry stated the need for broadband access will be a continual need
and the risk of committing the ARP funding for this purpose is minimal for the return on
investment.
A motion was made by Vice Chairman Sims and carried 5-0 to support
Brightspeed, Charter Communications (Spectrum), and ZiTEL and to designate $2.75M in
ARP funds for broadband expansion and approve the resolution as presented.
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FY23 FIRE DISTRICT TAX REQUEST:
Fire Marshal, Adam Morris presented a proposal to increase the fire district tax to
fund paid part-time firefighters during the day at seven volunteer fire departments and the
Person County Rescue Squad. Mr. Morris shared the following presentation to support
raising the fire district tax from the current rate of $.0275 to $.05 (an increase of $.0225)
to fund the addition of a pool of paid part-time staff.
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Vice Chairman Sims stated it was tough to recruit volunteers to attain the required
training, put on the gear and run into a fire. He told Mr. Morris it was a great presentation.
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Commissioner Gentry asked Mr. Morris what was the property loss impact from
fire in Person County to which Mr. Morris said he would send along that data.
Commissioner Gentry asked Mr. Morris to briefly explain the ISO fire ratings to which he
noted the scale was 1-10, 1 being a career fire station, 3 being a district with available
hydrants, and a 10 without fire district coverage.
PERSON COUNTY STATE OF EMERGENCY AND EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT ORDINANCES:
Commissioner Gentry stated she had a hard time finding ordinances on the county’s
website and in particular would like to see some changes within the ordinances for a
declaration of an emergency to be reviewed every 30 days by the Board of Commissioners.
Commissioner Gentry asked the Emergency Manager and Director of Emergency
Services, Thomas Schwalenberg to provide an overview of the Person County State of
Emergency Ordinance and the Emergency Management Ordinance. Mr. Schwalenberg
provided the following presentation:
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Mr. Schwalenberg stated Emergency Management Plans are filed in the Office of
the Emergency Manager and distributed to key stakeholders and confidential when deemed
an element of safety sensitive information.
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Mr. Schwalenberg stated the two subject ordinances, in his opinion, meet the
needs and comparable to what other counties have adopted noting as both ordinances
were almost ten years old, a review may be warranted.
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Commissioner Gentry advocated for easily accessible documents on the county’s
website and urged the Board to have the full board involved in a declaration of an
emergency not usurping the Chairman’s authority.
County Attorney, Ellis Hankins stated General Assembly last made significant
changes to these laws in 2013, which reflect the time the current ordinances were adopted
in Person County. Mr. Hankins noted there are specific state statutes that provide authority
for the Chairman of the Board for counties and for the Mayor for municipalities to issue a
declaration of an emergency without the full board being present. He indicated that any
clarifications or enhancements could certainly be made by amending the ordinance should
the Board desire to do so.
Chairman Powell concurred that the Board could revisit the ordinance for any
amendments desired by the Board. It was the consensus of the Board to ask the County
Manager and staff to bring back any suggested changes for consideration. County
Manager, Heidi York stated she would provide a red-line draft to the Board of proposed
revisions for consideration.
Mr. Hankins stated a public hearing was not required for amendments to the subject
ordinances.
BUDGET AMENDMENT #18:
County Manager, Heidi York stated she had received budget adjustment detail for
Budget Amendment #18 and provided the detail as shown below. Ms. York suggested that
the Budget Adjustment Detail will be included with future budget amendments for an easier
understanding of the detail showing the budget line items.
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A motion was made by Commissioner Gentry and carried 5-0 to approve Budget
Amendment #18, as presented by the County Manager.
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CHAIRMAN’S REPORT:
Chairman Powell reported this week was designated as National Small Business
Week and urged citizens to show appreciation to businesses for all they do, and also the
Week of Prayer noting a couple events scheduled this week at 12:00 noon on May 5, 2022
and at 12:15 on May 6, 2022.
Chairman Powell concurred with Commissioner Gentry’s concerns related to the
finance movement of funds and requested any funding changes that are not budgeted
become an agenda item for open discussion.
Chairman Powell asked the County Manager to bring information for a Public
Information Officer position to the Board for further discussion.
MANAGER’S REPORT:
County Manager, Heidi York clarified the Board has discussed the job description
for a Public Information Officer position to which she has included in her Recommended
Budget noting following the public hearing, the Board may want to discuss this full time
position at one of its budget work sessions.
Ms. York clarified that department heads know they cannot expend funds for items
not budgeted and that they must request any new funding from the Board of
Commissioners; after Board approval for new funding, a budget amendment will be
presented to the Board including that item for approval.
Ms. York announced the Board would recess its meeting until 8:15am on May 3,
2022 at which time, the Board will, in open session, via Zoom, interview two firms
responding to the RFP for an executive search firm for recruitment of the new County
Manager.
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COMMISSIONER REPORT/COMMENTS:
Vice Chairman Sims stated his disappointment when accusations are made during
public comments noting the Board must just sit and listen.
Commissioner Palmer reported Special Olympics was scheduled for this week at
Person High School; he urged everyone to go and support this event.
Commissioner Gentry commented that it was disturbing to her when leadership in
the county are acting inappropriately and shedding a bad light on the profession within the
county when they all knew better. She stated there should be an investigation and the
unethical actions addressed.
Commissioner Puryear commended the Elections staff on conducting the primary
in a smooth running fashion; he wanted to extend his appreciation.
RECESS:
A motion was made by Commissioner Puryear and carried 5-0 to recess the
meeting at 9:26pm until 8:15am on May 3, 2022.
_____________________________ ______________________________
Brenda B. Reaves Gordon Powell
Clerk to the Board Chairman