BOC Minutes October 3 2016 approve
October 3, 2016
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PERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OCTOBER 3, 2016
MEMBERS PRESENT OTHERS PRESENT
David Newell, Sr. Heidi York, County Manager
Tracey L. Kendrick C. Ronald Aycock, County Attorney
Jimmy B. Clayton Brenda B. Reaves, Clerk to the Board
Kyle W. Puryear
B. Ray Jeffers
The Board of Commissioners for the County of Person, North Carolina, met in
regular session on Monday, October 3, 2016 at 7:00pm in the Commissioners’ meeting
room in the Person County Office Building.
Chairman Newell called the meeting to order and offered condolences to
Commissioner Jeffers for the death of his grandmother. Commissioner Clayton gave an
invocation. Chairman Newell asked members of the Cub Scout Troop 249, present in the
audience, to lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT/APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
A motion was made by Commissioner Jeffers and carried 5-0 to approve the
agenda.
RECOGNITION:
RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION:
Chairman Newell read and presented a Resolution of Appreciation to Person
County Retiree, Keith Day.
General Services Director, Ray Foushee added that Mr. Day had worked for the
County four years on a part-time basis prior to the eight years of service noting he was an
outstanding employee.
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PROCLAMATION FOR NATIONAL 4-H WEEK IN PERSON COUNTY:
Person County Extension Agent with 4-H Youth Development, Beth Davis and
Chairman Newell read the following National 4-H Week Proclamation.
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PUBLIC HEARING:
REQUEST TO RENAME THE EASTERN DEAD END SECTION OF
PROVIDENCE ROAD TO PROVIDENCE CEMETERY COURT:
A motion was made by Commissioner Puryear and carried 5-0 to open the duly
advertised public hearing for a request to rename the eastern dead end section of Providence
Road to Providence Cemetery Court.
GIS Manager, Sallie Vaughn recalled the Board of Commissioners’ action at its
September 6, 2016 meeting to rename the eastern dead end section of Providence Road to
Providence Cemetery Court, to set a public hearing for October 3, 2016 at 7:00pm, and to
authorize notice of the public hearing in the newspaper. Ms. Vaughn noted that a sign was
also placed in the area advertising the public hearing.
Ms. Vaughn further noted that since that time, the GIS Manager has received the
following citizen input:
1. Two responses to certified letters mailed on July 29th, 2016 were received
recommended the name “Hicks A-Gape Rd.”
2. A citizen held objection to the suffix of “Ct” and would prefer other options such
as Ln, Way, or Ave.
Ms. Vaughn stated to reduce ambiguity and because of similarities between
“Hicks A-Gape Rd” and several existing roads, this name was not recommended. Ms.
Vaughn stated the allowable suffixes as defined in Section 404 of the Addressing
Ordinance for a dead end roadway are 1) Ct – Court, 2) Ln – Lane, and 3) Pl – Place.
There were no individuals appearing before the Board to speak in favor of the
request to rename the eastern dead end section of Providence Road to Providence Cemetery
Court.
The following individual spoke in opposition to the request to rename the eastern
dead end section of Providence Road to Providence Cemetery Court:
Mr. Robert Wilborn of 855 Providence Road and a representative of Providence
Baptist Church stated opposition to the suffix of Court to the recommended name of
Providence Cemetery Court.
A motion was made by Commissioner Jeffers and carried 5-0 to close the public
hearing for a request to rename the eastern dead end section of Providence Road to
Providence Cemetery Court.
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CONSIDERATION FOR A ROADWAY NAME FOR THE EASTERN DEAD END
SECTION OF PROVIDENCE ROAD:
Commissioner Jeffers asked if another public hearing would have to be scheduled
should the Board take action to change the suffix of the recommended roadway name of
Providence Cemetery Court. County Attorney, Ron Aycock confirmed no additional
public hearing would be required should the Board change the suffix on the recommended
name as action to the public hearing. Commissioner Jeffers suggested the suffix of Lane
instead of Court. The Board asked Mr. Robert Wilborn if there was any objection to
Providence Cemetery Lane to which he noted no opposition.
A motion was made by Commissioner Jeffers and carried 5-0 to approve
Providence Cemetery Lane as the roadway name for the eastern dead end section of
Providence Road.
INFORMAL COMMENTS:
The following individual appeared before the Board to make informal comments:
Ms. Betty Blalock of 144 Tirzah Ridge, Rougemont said she did not understand
why Vice Chairman Kendrick would not consider the resolutions at the last meeting; the
resolutions would be better for the County with part of it being state law. Ms. Blalock then
noted the 491 wells she had counted telling the group that Durham County had to pay
$1.3M for wells contaminated with oil.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT/APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA:
A motion was made by Commissioner Puryear and carried 5-0 to approve the
Consent Agenda with the following items:
A. Approval of Minutes of September 6, 2016,
B. Approval of Minutes of September 19, 2016,
C. Budget Amendment #7,
D. Budget Amendment #8,
E. Resolution Requesting Abandonment of a portion of Secondary Road R-2241A,
and
F. Allocations for FY2017 ROAP Program
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
A RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT TO DEDICATE AND RENAME A SECTION OF
US 158 EAST IN PERSON COUNTY TO COMMEMORATE THE SERVICE OF
WORLD WAR I VETERAN, CORPORAL JESSE LUNSFORD:
Commissioner Clayton read and presented a Resolution of Support to Dedicate and
Rename a Section of US 158 East in Person County to Commemorate the Service of World
War I Veteran, Corporal Jesse Lunsford for Board approval.
A motion was made by Commissioner Clayton and carried 5-0 to adopt a
Resolution of Support to Dedicate and Rename a Section of US 158 East in Person County
to Commemorate the Service of World War I Veteran, Corporal Jesse Lunsford and to
appropriate $2,000 from the contingency fund.
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NEW BUSINESS:
CONCERNS OF RESIDENTS AROUND ROXBORO PLANT:
Commissioner Jeffers stated some of his neighbors had contacted him with
concerns and after he attended one of their meetings, thought it appropriate for them to
share their concerns with the rest of the Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Jeffers
called upon Ms. Sandra Majors to make comments.
Ms. Majors stated she resides at 4072 McGhee’s Mill Road, Semora and that she
along with the group present in the audience represent a larger group of concerned citizens
of Person County that live around the Roxboro and Mayo plants, and drink water from
private wells, have been deeply concerned about their health, quality of life and the loss of
property value of their residences, due to the long accumulation of coal ash close to their
homes. Ms. Majors said their purpose at the Board meeting was to share their concerns
and to ask for support noting their group began meeting in 2015 to call for clean, safe water
and protection of their environmental health. With recent legislation, Ms. Majors stated
their concerns elevated with the proposed cap in place instead of the evacuation and
removal of the coal ash to safe above ground storage. Ms. Majors recognized the enormous
tax revenue the County receives from Duke Energy however requested justice for the
citizens impacted for many years with a plea for safe drinking water.
Ms. Elsie Grant of 5517 McGhee’s Mill Road, Semora said she was born and raised
in Person County and returned to the County in 2004 and had no expectation that she would
be inheriting a coal ash problem. Ms. Grant noted she lives less than a mile from the plant
and did not receive an advisory letter. She requested Duke Energy to test her well water
and those living further than the half-mile threshold for testing. Ms. Grant asked the Board
of Commissioners to have a field inspected on the north side of McGhee’s Mill Road just
before Edwin Robertson Road to confirm whether or not coal ash was being placed at this
site. Ms. Grant said she had cancer in 2008 but currently was cancer free.
Mr. Christopher Crawley of 4094 McGhee’s Mill Road, Semora asked the
commissioners to help this community noting he would like to have the water tested every
quarter along with additional subsidies for all well testing for Person County residents as a
public health measure and to make well testing more affordable as Person County has the
highest costs in the state. He requested for the Board to support the results reported using
science-based health advisories as issued to well owners for decades but stopped in March
of this year by DEQ and DHHS. Mr. Crawley stated the use of scientifically based Health
Risk Evaluations (HRE) in current and future reporting to well owners of the well analyses
performed by the NC Public Health Laboratory. These HRE’s, as defined in NC’s long
standing groundwater regulations, have been issued to thousands of well owners over the
past two or more decades. Advisories to well owners around coal ash sites in NC were
rescinded by appointed leadership of DEQ and DHHS in March, 2016, over objection of
scientists in those agencies. Mr. Crawley gave the commissioners a handout that listed the
Groundwater Quality Standards as written in the NC Administrative Code as of January 1,
2010.
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Ms. Vicky McGiver said that her mother resides at 4136 McGhee’s Mill Road and
though she was appreciative of what Duke Energy has done so far, she asked for the support
of the commissioners for Duke Energy to pay for all costs associated with connection to
public water lines and payment of water bills for a minimum of 20 years after public service
begins or until all risks of coal ash contamination of groundwater is removed by cleanup
and removal of ash.
Ms. Faye Woods of 4591 McGhee’s Mill Road, a resident who lives just outside
the half-mile boundary whose water has tested positive for elevated coal ash contamination.
As a property owner of 80 acres, Ms. Woods asked for assistance to reduce the property
taxes to account for the fact that their residences and properties are degraded by the
continued threat of contamination by coal ash. Ms. Woods said land plus coal ash equals
no value.
Ms. Majors concluded the citizens’ presentation by urging the Board of
Commissioners for more water testing, quarterly testing for those with contaminations and
a further range of the testing with more affordable costs for the water testing. Additionally,
a reduction in property taxes with Duke Energy to cover the full costs of connecting the
homes to the City Lake public water supply and absorb the costs for the water bills for a
minimum of 20 years and details of the possible coal ash site that is nearby that has not
been exposed to the community. Lastly, Ms. Majors said that Duke Energy should be
responsible for the community rebuild and its value by construction of a new community
center for area children and youth, including an indoor/outdoor pool and gym, with
contributed funding by Duke Energy.
Commissioner Jeffers, the commissioner representative on the County’s
Environmental Issues Advisory Committee, asked the County Attorney to address if the
County was allowed to subsidize a certain part of the county for the well testing fees.
County Attorney, Ron Aycock stated, without doing any specific research, he felt
that if the Board finds that there are environmental hazards that needs to be addressed, there
may be a way to subsidize fees; however he said that generally, the fees need to be uniform
throughout the county. Commissioner Jeffers asked Mr. Aycock to further research the
county’s ability to subsidize fees and asked the County Manager to research by comparison
of the fees for counties. Commissioner Jeffers asked the Health Director to explain the
current fee structure for the chemical test.
Health Director, Janet Clayton confirmed the fee for processing well samples was
$110 for a full panel which included bacteria, chemical and nitrate. Additional fees are
added for testing of petroleum of $110; pesticide at $110; coal ash panel at $110 and
hexavalent chromium at $95. Commissioner Clayton added that the costs have increased
due to the state passing along its costs to the counties which are now passed to the citizens.
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Commissioner Jeffers also asked for the data on how many wells have been tested
and the number that were deemed contaminated. Ms. Hope Taylor, Executive Director of
Clean Water for NC, a non-profit, stated initially there were twelve letters to property
owners within 1,000 ft., noting a lot more wells have been tested since that time.
Commissioner Jeffers asked if the data was public record. Vice Chairman Kendrick stated
affirmatively referencing the DEQ website for information on the wells.
Vice Chairman Kendrick disclosed that he was a current Duke Energy employee,
and noted his extensive research related to the well water samples within the half-mile
perimeter contained no hexavalent chromium above the EPA standard while there were
elevated levels of aluminum, phosphorous and magnesium.
Ms. Taylor noted the initial testing performed last year through several labs and
paid for by Duke Energy resulted in the initial health advisories to the twelve residents.
Ms. Taylor opined that the federal standard Vice Chairman Kendrick referred was outdated
and under review for a federal drinking water standard. Ms. Taylor stated the advisory
level was .07 parts per billion as compared to the EPA standard of 100 parts per billion.
Vice Chairman Kendrick corrected misinformation that legislation allowed Duke
Energy to downgrade the risk noting the risk was not downgraded by Duke Energy but the
risk was downgraded by DEQ.
Commissioner Jeffers noted citizen concerns related to coal ash near the power
plants and near the landfill further noting the NC DEQ will be holding a public hearing on
Tuesday, October 4th at 6:00pm in the County Office Building Auditorium for comments.
Vice Chairman Kendrick pointed out the May 28, 2015 letter from NC DHHS Gary
Leung related to a synopsis of Person County’s health which reported no higher incident
rate of cancer in Person County and mirrored other parts of the state.
Tanya Evans of Duke Energy reassured the residents that a permanent water
solution for all property owners within a half-mile of an ash basin was being evaluated at
this time and as mandated by recent legislation regardless of the testing of the water. Ms.
Evans stated that water does not flow up hill and based on detailed analysis with the US
Geological Service Mapping, those wells within the half-mile radius of ash basins are up
hill from the ash basins. Ms. Evans said the data shows the same constituents across the
state and there was no scientific data that indicates the ash basins are, in fact, impacting
wells in Person County.
Ms. Evans told the group Duke Energy plans to close all ash basins, although no
decision on how they will close them has been made. Ms. Evans stated the cap in place
method has been demonstrated by the EPA as a safe and effective method without impacts
to groundwater.
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Chairman Newell asked Ms. Evans what will Duke Energy do with the coal ash
being generated by the plant. Ms. Evans stated future ash generated by the Mayo and
Roxboro plants will be placed into on-site lined landfills.
Chairman Newell asked how the half-mile designation was determined. Ms. Evans
said the half-mile designation was determined by the state; the half-mile radius is from the
perimeter of the ash basin not the plant.
Ms. Lisa Hughes stated her well water was tested by a private company earlier this
year with elevated levels of vanadium and hexavalent chromium; she decided to dig a new
well. Ms. Hughes asked how long would it be before her new well would be contaminated.
Ms. Hughes said she has spoken with Ms. Evans a few times noting she lived beyond the
1,500 ft. boundary and beyond the one mile boundary thereby nothing has been done
related to her drinking water to which she said she was not comfortable to drink. She urged
consideration for the five houses just before the bridge that are not included to be included
in the perimeter for well testing. Ms. Hughes also wanted to know how often should she
be testing her well water and she was the responsible person to do it. Chairman Newell
noted the Board did not have all the answers but they would ask more questions.
Ms. Phyllis Jeffers of 225 Dunaway Road asked about the data that resulted in the
do not drink letters which was contradictory with the data that Vice Chairman Kendrick
found that the levels were within standard. Vice Chairman Kendrick stated the data showed
no elevated results and noted the DEQ took a precautionary measure to notify citizens
while the testing was ongoing and once the levels were deemed within standard, the do not
drink advisory was rescinded. Ms. Jeffers asked for more precautionary measures to test
more wells. Vice Chairman Kendrick countered that the data for the wells within the half-
mile boundary reflected the water met the federal drinking water standards.
Ms. McGiver asked why Duke Energy gave out bottled water when the water was
deemed safe per federal regulations.
Ms. Evans said the bottled water was provided on a voluntary basis by Duke Energy
to ensure the quality of the resident’s water so that the testing could be done, the geological
survey was conducted and to collect the data; this was not an admission of anything wrong,
it was the right thing to do. Ms. Evans stated as water lines were offered into the legislation,
that was Duke Energy trying to do the right thing regardless of the results of the well water
testing for those residents living within the half-mile radius.
Ms. Taylor clarified that the data has not changed for the wells, what changed was
the health advisories which were calculated according to decade old groundwater
regulations in NC was removed.
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Ms. Sarah Crutchfield of 4291 McGhee’s Mill Road stated concerns about the air
quality in the area noting multiple times, especially four-five years ago that the coal ash
was consistently blowing and it was thick enough to write your name. She contacted the
Raleigh office and they had someone to bring a water truck to wet the ash to prevent it
from flying.
*****
There was no report from the Chairman, County Manager or any of the
commissioners. Commissioner Jeffers thanked everyone for their support and acts of
kindness during his family’s loss of his grandmother.
CLOSED SESSION #1
A motion was made by Commissioner Puryear and carried 5-0 to enter Closed
Session per General Statute 143-318.11(a)(5) at 8:09pm for the purpose to consider the
acquisition or lease of real property with the following individuals permitted to attend:
County Manager, Heidi York, Clerk to the Board, Brenda Reaves, and County Attorney,
Ron Aycock.
A motion was made by Vice Chairman Kendrick and carried 5-0 to return to open
session at 8:14pm before Closed Session #1 took place. Vice Chairman Kendrick asked
the Board to hear from Mr. Robert Daniel and Ms. Nan Jeffers representing Piedmont
Career Academy. It was the consensus of the Board to hear comments from Mr. Daniel
and Ms. Jeffers.
Vice Chairman Kendrick stated Piedmont Career Academy was in the planning
stages for a vocational charter middle and high school and he had discussed the possibility
for their Board of Directors to tour the former Helena School for potential utilization of the
facility for a period of time as long as they kept up the maintenance. At any time the facility
was not used for this use or should the vocational charter school not be approved, Vice
Chairman Kendrick noted the property would revert back to the county.
Mr. Daniel, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Piedmont Career Academy, and
a retiree of the Public Schools in NC after 36 years, spending 20 years as a high school
principal and four years as a Superintendent. Mr. Daniel has been involved in starting three
schools in NC and all three are thriving. Mr. Daniel said Piedmont Career Academy would
soon be incorporated as a public charter school. Mr. Daniel noted the process for opening
a public charter school takes between two to five years. Mr. Daniel stated the application
will filed for a charter public high school in Person County in September 2017 with a
planned opening goal of 2019.
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Mr. Daniel stated Person County has a higher than average rate of students who do
not attend college here in the county and employs a higher than state or national average
number of people who are in positions that do not require a college education. Mr. Daniel
said Piedmont Career Academy would like to graduate students who are ready to be hired
into entry level positions throughout the County.
Mr. Daniel stated interest in touring the former Helena School to see if the facility
will meet the needs for a viable public charter school.
Vice Chairman Kendrick said Mr. Daniel and the Piedmont Career Academy board
of directors would be meeting and he wanted to give them an update for a preliminary look
at the facility. Vice Chairman Kendrick stated support to partner to get them into the empty
facility and asked the County Manager to set up a tour if the Board thought it was a good
idea. It was the consensus of the Board to allow the Piedmont Career Academy Board of
Directors the opportunity to tour and evaluate the former Helena School for use as a
vocational charter school.
County Manager, Heidi York stated the County has some studies and cost
assessments that she could share for information.
Ms. York told the Board that she had a meeting scheduled with Mr. Dan Holloman
of Person County Schools and Dr. Walter Bartlett of Piedmont Community College for use
of the former Helena School as a middle school alternative.
A motion was made by Vice Chairman Kendrick and carried 5-0 to enter Closed
Session per General Statute 143-318.11(a)(5) at 8:26pm for the purpose to consider the
acquisition or lease of real property with the following individuals permitted to attend:
County Manager, Heidi York, Clerk to the Board, Brenda Reaves, and County Attorney,
Ron Aycock.
A motion was made by Vice Chairman Kendrick and carried 5-0 to return to open
session at 8:42pm.
ADJOURNMENT:
A motion was made by Chairman Newell and carried 5-0 to adjourn the meeting
at 8:42pm.
_____________________________ ______________________________
Brenda B. Reaves David Newell, Sr.
Clerk to the Board Chairman