05-18-2020 Meeting Minutes BOC
May 18, 2020
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PERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MAY 18, 2020
MEMBERS PRESENT OTHERS PRESENT
B. Ray Jeffers Heidi York, County Manager
Jimmy B. Clayton Brenda B. Reaves, Clerk to the Board
Kyle W. Puryear C. Ronald Aycock, County Attorney
Gordon Powell
C. Derrick Sims
The Board of Commissioners for the County of Person, North Carolina, met in
regular session on Monday, May 18, 2020 at 9:00am remotely, as allowed by the Board’s
Rules of Procedure during this COVID-19 state of emergency. There would be no place
of the meeting for members of the public to be physically present. A public notice, released
seven days ahead of the meeting, informed the public and news media how to view/hear
the meeting through the County’s website Live Meeting link and/or by accessing the
appropriate Zoom link.
Chairman Jeffers, Commissioners Sims and Powell, County Manager, Heidi York
and Clerk to the Board, Brenda Reaves were present in-person in the commissioner’s
boardroom in the Person County Office Building. Commissioners Puryear and Clayton
attended the board meeting remotely as did County Attorney, Ron Aycock. Chairman
Jeffers called the meeting to order. Commissioner Powell offered an invocation and
Chairman Sims led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT/APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
A motion was made by Commissioner Powell and carried 5-0 to approve the
agenda.
INFORMAL COMMENTS:
Those interested in addressing the Board of Commissioners were directed to join
the Zoom link for the meeting at 8:45am to sign up; callers were unmuted to speak during
public comments in the order that the call was received.
The following individual made informal comments:
Mr. David Rush of 1983 Perkins Drive, Roxboro made the Board aware of his
desire to request a road name change. GIS Manager, Sallie Vaughn stated that according
to the Person County addressing ordinance, 75% of adjacent property owners must agree
to the road name change. The GIS department sent certified letters to the adjacent property
owners (two other property owners in addition to Mr. Rush) to which neither responded.
Chairman Jeffers asked Mr. Rush to contact the two adjacent property owners for an agreed
upon road name change.
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DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT/APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA:
A motion was made by Commissioner Sims and carried 5-0 to approve the
Consent Agenda with the following items:
A. Approval of Minutes of April 20, 2020,
B. Budget Amendment #18,
C. Application NC Education Lottery Additional $14,000 Funds to Replace
Room Divider in the Multipurpose Room at South Elementary,
D. PATS Continuity of Operations Plan, and
E. Tax Adjustments for May 2020
a. May 2020 tax releases
b. May 2020 NC Vehicle Tax System pending refunds
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
APPOINTMENT TO THE RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD VIA INFORMAL
INTERVIEWS:
Clerk to the Board, Brenda Reaves reminded the group that the Board of
Commissioners, at its meeting on April 20, 2020, took action to hold informal interviews
with the applicants of the Recreation Advisory Board at its May 18, 2020 meeting. The
applicants were contacted by letter of correspondence, by email and a phone call from the
Clerk advising them of the informal interview process. Ms. Reaves asked the Board to
conduct the informal interviews with the applicants and take action as deemed appropriate.
Ms. Reaves advised that Mr. Joey Whitt emailed her late Sunday evening to state he would
not be available to participate in the informal interviews due to a work conflict. The Board
conducted informal interviews with Ms. Brittanni Lea and Mr. Kirk Redman.
A motion was made by Commissioner Sims and carried 5-0 to appoint Kirk
Redman to the Recreation Advisory Board to fulfil the unexpired term to June 30, 2021.
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AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE FOOD SERVICES FOR THE PERSON COUNTY
DETENTION CENTER:
Sheriff Dewey Jones and Chief Deputy Kevin Crabtree presented two proposals for
Food and Canteen Services for the Person County Detention Center. The two proposals
received were from 1) F E Day, Ltd., and 2) Skillet Kitchen/Kimble’s Commissary
Services.
The proposal snapshot from F E Day, LTD was based on 100 inmates would cost
$2.55 per meal (2100 calorie), with commissions paid to the County from the Canteen
increasing from 13.5% to 28% up.
The proposal snapshot from Skillet Kitchen/Kimble’s Commissary Services was
based on 100 inmates at a cost of $2.56 per meal (3000 calories) with commissions paid to
the County from the Canteen at 26%.
Chief Deputy Crabtree noted that regardless of which proposal prevailed, the staff
at the Sheriff’s Office would begin purchasing its own supplies and did not desire to
contract for that service. He further noted the savings based on his research would be
sustainable with just the seven most used items.
Sheriff Jones and Chief Deputy Crabtree requested the Board to authorize the
County Manager to enter into an agreement with Skillet Kitchen/Kimble’s Commissary
Services for meals and canteen services for the next three fiscal years.
Mr. Frankie Day of F E Day, Ltd., addressed the Board seeking a new agreement
to provide food, canteen and supplies. Mr. Day stated he would be fine taking away the
supplies from the agreement as per the preference of the Sheriff and Chief Deputy. Mr.
Day confirmed he would match the same calorie intake based on the menu in the Kimble
proposal.
A motion was made by Chairman Jeffers and carried 5-0 to authorize the County
Manager to enter into an agreement with Skillet Kitchen/Kimble’s Commissary Services
for meals and canteen services for the next three fiscal years.
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NEW BUSINESS:
ELECTION OF VICE CHAIRMAN
Chairman Jeffers opened the floor for nominations for Vice Chairman of the Board
of Commissioners.
Commissioner Puryear nominated Commissioner Powell as Vice Chairman. There
were no further nominations.
By acclamation, Commissioner Powell was elected the Board’s Vice Chairman by
unanimous vote 5-0.
FUNDING REQUEST FOR THE CITY’S WESTERN SEWER SYSTEM
DESIGN/ENGINEERING CONTRACT:
County Manager, Heidi York presented a request from the City of Roxboro to
partner in funding and supporting their Western Sewer System engineering and design of
construction documents. This project will greatly increase the sewer capacity on the
southern portion of Roxboro and Person County opening up a large portion of Person
County, west of Roxboro for gravity sewer services. La Bella Engineering has been
selected through a competitive RFQ process and the scope of services estimates costs at
$568,000.
Ms. York stated this project has been prioritized by the Economic Development
Commission. The County Commissioners have expressed interest in this project using
available funds in the Water and Sewer Fund. The total estimated cost for the entire project
is $10,000,000. The City will be seeking financing through grants and loans to fund the
bulk of this project. To assist with this process, the City will need to provide the system
design to support that the amount requested will, indeed, cover the cost to provide the
solution. Ms. York noted that without the construction of the Western Sewer System to
alleviate wastewater constraints, development in Person County from the southern part of
the City of Roxboro to the southern border of Person County will be hindered indefinitely.
Already, projects involving mixed use, residential, and commercial/industrial development
are unable to be considered where extension of existing wastewater infrastructure is
required.
Ms. York requested the Board to approve this eligible request to fund the design
and engineering costs for the Western Sewer System in the current budget from the Water
and Sewer Fund at a cost of $568,000.
A motion was made by Vice Chairman Powell and carried 5-0 to fund the design
and engineering costs for the Western Sewer System in the current budget from the Water
and Sewer Fund at a cost of $568,000.
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COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLAN STEERING COMMITTEE
APPOINTMENT:
Planning Director, Lori Oakley reminded the Board that the Comprehensive Land
Use Plan Steering Committee was appointed in September 2019 and the committee
members will work on updating the Comprehensive Land Use Plan with our consultant,
Benchmark. The steering committee is comprised of ten (10) individuals – five (5) from
within the county’s jurisdiction and five (5) from within the City of Roxboro’s jurisdiction.
The update to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan is currently underway and the first one-
on-one introductions with the consultant and committee members occurred the week of
May 11, 2020. The next round of meetings will consist of stakeholder interviews that will
be held the last week of May and the first week of June.
Ms. Oakley noted that upon contacting the committee members to schedule their
initial introduction meeting with the consultant, one of the committee members, Mr. Barry
Foushee, resigned due to relocating out of the state. In the interest of time, Ms. Oakley
requested that the Board select from one of the original applicants to fill the remaining seat.
Ms. Oakley further noted that she contacted all of the remaining individuals who
submitted an application late last summer and the following individuals are interested in
serving on the Comprehensive Land Use Plan Steering Committee: Phillip Reams and
Bruce Whitfield. Mr. Whitfield later withdrew his application from consideration.
A motion was made by Commissioner Clayton and carried 5-0 to appoint Phillip
Reams to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan Steering Committee.
UPDATE ON PERSON COUNTY PARTICIPATION IN THE NATIONAL OPIOID
LITIGATION:
County Attorney, Ron Aycock presented a memo to the Board chronicling the
opioid crisis, national litigation against manufacturers, distributors and national chain retail
outlets and Person County's participation in that lawsuit.
1-The Opioid Crisis
In the early 1990's drug manufacturers assured the medical community that
prescription opioids were safe as a pain control medication. An example of that assurance
was the edited misuse of a research article published in the highly respected New England
Journal of Medicine. That study had concluded that there was no danger of addiction when
opioids were used as a pain control measure "in a controlled institutional setting with
elderly patients." Manufacturers and distributors then began marketing the opioids to the
medical community partially by citing the article but omitting the limitation in the
study. A result was the overprescribing of opioids. Then came addiction, drug prescription
mills, criminal involvement and a national crisis.
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Federal law required and still requires that opioids be delivered to retailers not by
the manufacturers but by independent distribution companies. That law also required those
distributors to monitor purchases by retailers and to report overuse to federal authorities.
That reporting was marked more by non- compliance that compliance. A result was the
development of opioid 'mills' by some doctors and retailers. There were reports of drug
stores in some small towns with a population of 100's filling a hundred thousand or more
prescriptions a year. Few distributors reported those abuses to federal authorities, but
instead just kept selling the drugs to those entities.
2- National Lawsuits against manufacturers, distributors and some retailers
As the impact of the opioid crisis became more and more evident counties, cities
and states became alarmed. Impact was seen in mental health, health, social services, law
enforcement, jails and other public agencies. As early as 2016 some entities began
development of litigation against the manufacturers, distributors and retail outlets. By 2017
multiple-plaintiff lawsuits were under development by some national litigation law firms.
These were not class action lawsuits, but instead multiple individual lawsuits joined
together in prosecution. Some state Attorney General offices (including North Carolina)
also begin developing interest in bringing legal action against those manufacturers,
distributors and retailers.
3-Person County's involvement in the "national lawsuits"
In early 2018, local governments around the country, including Person County
began to receive inquiries from law firms about joining in the Opioid lawsuits. In order to
aid Counties in making their decision, the NC Association of County Commissioners
convened a meeting of county attorneys with representatives of several national law firms
and the NC Attorney General. At its second meeting in January 2018, the Person County
Board of County Commissioners elected to engage a national consortium of law firms
coordinated through the Daniels/Thomas law firm of Caswell County to file legal actions
on behalf of the County. The County negotiated a contract with the law firms under which
the County would have no liability for any fees or costs.
The County Attorney then coordinated fact gathering from County Departments to
begin to quantify the extent of damages in Person County. The Person County Lawsuit was
then filed and joined others from across the country. The firms representing the County
now represent over 700 entities including 75 NC Counties.
4-Status of Lawsuits
There have been several trials involving individual counties and states resulting in
substantial recoveries. A major manufacturer, Purdue Drugs and the principle owners of
that company, the Sackler family and a few other more minor defendants are seeking
bankruptcy protection. Our national law firms are positioning us to have recoveries in the
bankruptcies. All of this activity moves us toward a "global settlement" for all the
plaintiffs. Settlement discussions involve multiple billions of dollars.
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The law firms have worked with the Federal Judge in Ohio who is supervising the
litigation from all federal judicial districts including our Middle District of NC to develop
an equitable allocation system to all litigants in the event of a “global settlement.” As a
very rough measure for each one billion dollar recovery, Person County would receive
$100,000. Most of the recoveries would be directed to be used for prevention, treatment
and rehabilitation.
5-Conflict and Cooperation between NC Counties and NC Attorney General
From the inception of the lawsuits, counties have been concerned that any
recoveries not be handled like the tobacco law suits with the state having control of
the money. Our argument is that it is at the local level that impacts have been felt and it is
that level which should have control of any moneys received. The State Attorneys General
have also filed lawsuits. The NC Attorney General (AG) has been one of the leaders for
the nation’s attorneys general. Conflict has arisen between AGs and our national law firms
concerning the proper amount of any “global settlement” and distribution of any settlement
between the states and the counties.
The NC Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) called a meeting on
January 21 for counties involved in the litigation, the national law firms and the NC
Attorney General to begin discussion of this issue. Subsequently, another meeting was held
in connection with both the County/City managers and County Attorneys winter
conferences in February where the issue was further discussed. Because of those
discussions, the NCACC established a working group composed of five each County
Commissioners, County Managers and County Attorneys to further develop the collective
County position and negotiate with the NC Attorney General. As Person County Attorney,
Mr. Aycock stated he was appointed as one of the County Attorneys on that group.
Mr. Aycock commended Person County staff that assisted with developing the
measure of the damages within the community. Mr. Aycock stated upon closure of the
lawsuits, claimants would ultimately have success with a substantial settlement to alleviate
the misfortune of the opioid misuse.
Commissioner Sims appreciated the report and the efforts by staff noting the
importance through his experience as Chairman for the Drug Awareness for the Eastern
and Central Districts of the Elks.
Vice Chairman Powell reiterated addiction is a serious problem and through his
experience on the Cardinal Innovations board and stated his preference for counties to have
local control of any settlement funds versus being controlled by the state.
Chairman Jeffers, a representative on the National Association of Counties, noted
some urban counties litigated individually have already settled. He noted the effects locally
and provided the example of many foster children under the local social services’ due to
many families with drug abuse and needing opioid recovery treatment.
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PRESENTATION OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2020-2021 MANAGER’S
RECOMMENDED BUDGET:
County Manager, Heidi York noted North Carolina General Statute 159 specifies
that a recommended budget for the upcoming fiscal year be given to the Board of County
Commissioners by June 1st. The Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act requires
that the recommended budget be balanced.
Ms. York shared the following presentation to provide an overview of the
Recommended Budget for Fiscal Year 2020-2021.
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Ms. York stated economists have confirmed a recession. She noted seven loans
worth over $50,000 have been extended to small businesses through the emergency loan
program. Ms. York further noted that the Department of Social Services have experienced
up to 500 applications per week.
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Fiscal Year 2020 value of one penny was $447,956 illustrating very little growth.
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The three CIP projects include 1) windows replacement at South Elementary for
Person County Schools, and 2) for Piedmont Community College: installment payments
on a telephone system and the POD building for Early College.
The decrease in Public Health is a loss of -$101K or 3.7% by eliminating vacant
positions with the understanding that the director may need to come back mid-year to
request.
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Ms. York noted the recommended vehicles in her budget included six vehicles for
the Sheriff’s Office, one for the PATS department and two for the Fire Marshal and
Inspector for a total cost of $304K.
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Ms. York stated county departments were asked to submit flat budgets. In addition,
Ms. York noted there was an anomaly in 2020 in which there is a 27th pay period valued at
$851,000.
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The commissioners were provided with hard copies of the budget document and
the budget presentation.
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ANNOUNCE VIRTUAL MEETINGS FOR JUNE DURING STATE/COUNTY
DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY:
County Manager, Heidi York asked the Board to confirm its June regular scheduled
meetings to be held in-person or remotely. It was the consensus of the Board that the Board
would keep its June 1, 2020 Board’s regular scheduled meeting at 7:00pm in the auditorium
and that all commissioners would attend in-person. Social distancing will be practiced so
that all individuals attending will be seated six feet apart. The budget public hearing will
be conducted on June 1, 2020 at 7:00pm.
Budget work sessions are scheduled for June 4 and June 8, both starting at 10:00am,
unless adjustments are made at the June 1, 2020 board meeting or at the first budget work
session. The Board will determine at its June 1, 2020 meeting if the budget work sessions
will be held in-person or remotely.
The June 15, 2020 Board’s regular scheduled meeting at 9:00am remains
scheduled, at which time the Budget Ordinance will be on the agenda for approval.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT:
Chairman Jeffers thanked county employees for the dedicated level of support
during these trying times.
Chairman Jeffers requested staff to review the County Planning Ordinance for a
text amendment to be brought back to the Board relieving the requirement for property to
have a main dwelling on an adjacent property before an accessory building can be placed
upon without citizens having to expend funds to have the two parcels joined.
MANAGER’S REPORT:
County Manager, Heidi York announced contingent upon background checks, she
has made an offer to an individual for the Fire Marshal position with a tentative start date
of June 22.
COMMISSIONER REPORT/COMMENTS:
Commissioner Sims advocated for the reopening of places of worship, hair salons,
barbers and restaurants in Person County with social distancing. He stated his hopefulness
that Phase II of the Governor’s Executive Order would be in effect on May 22, 2020.
Vice Chairman Powell thanked county employees for their service and heroism
during this pandemic.
There were no reports from Commissioners Clayton and Puryear.
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CLOSED SESSION #1
A motion was made by Commissioner Sims and carried 5-0 to enter into Closed
Session per General Statute 143-318.11(a)(3) at 10:29am for the purpose to consult with
the county attorney in order to preserve the attorney-client privilege with the following
individuals permitted to attend: County Manager, Heidi York, Clerk to the Board, Brenda
Reaves, and County Attorney, Ron Aycock.
Chairman Jeffers called for a brief recess prior to the Closed Session.
Chairman Jeffers called the Closed Session to order at 10:38am.
A motion was made by Commissioner Sims and carried 5-0 to return to open
session at 11:02am.
ADJOURNMENT:
A motion was made by Commissioner Sims and carried 5-0 to adjourn the meeting
at 11:02am.
_____________________________ ______________________________
Brenda B. Reaves B. Ray Jeffers
Clerk to the Board Chairman