February 19PERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS February 19, 2007
MEMBERS PRESENT OTHERS PRESENT
Johnny Myrl Lunsford, Chairman Steve Carpenter, County Manager
Jimmy B. Clayton, Vice-Chairman C. Ronald Aycock, County Attorney
Kyle W. Puryear Faye T. Fuller, Clerk to the Board
Larry H. Bowes
Larry E. Yarborough, Jr. - ABSENT
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The Board of Commissioners for the County of Person, North Carolina, met in regular
session on Monday, February 19, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. in the Commissioners’ Room of the Person
County Office Building.
Chairman Lunsford called the meeting to order. Commissioner Clayton led in prayer and
Commissioner Bowes led the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioner Yarborough was absent.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT/APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
County Manager requested that the agenda be adjusted to include the following items of
business:
Resolution in Support of Local Fees for Food and Lodging
Consideration of Variance to Subdivision Ordinance for a Flag Lot
PCC –Person County Impact Statement, January 2007
A motion was made by Commissioner Clayton, seconded by Commissioner Puryear and
carried to add the above items to the agenda.
A motion was made by Commissioner Bowes, seconded by Commissioner Puryear and
carried to approve the adjusted agenda.
INFORMAL COMMENTS: PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
FEBRUARY 19, 2007 MEETING
BY JAMES AND SUZY POSIG
We present the Road Re-Naming Petition for Branscome Road to be renamed Old Farm Road in accordance with the
Road Naming Ordinance for the County of Person, North Carolina, and the Amendment to Road Naming Ordinance For the
County of Person, North Carolina Amended as of June 2, 2003.
You have been given packets containing some of the background documents with exhibits detailing this road renaming to
date. We are here today to point out why this petition should be accepted and the road renamed.
In your packet, Exhibit A is correspondence from James A. Long, former County Attorney, naming the five property
owners adjoining Branscome Road.
Exhibit F, the Petition we are submitting, has been signed by four of those five property owners.
The Amendment to Road Naming Ordinance stipulates that the signatures of 80% of the property owners must be
obtained. Our petition has been signed by 80% of those property owners.
The issue concerning how many votes one property owner may cast has previously arisen. However, according to Steve
Carpenter, County Manager, the only ordinance used for road renaming in Person County is the document previously mentioned,
February 19, 2007 1
the Road Naming Ordinance, along with the Amendment to Road Naming Ordinance Amended as of June 2, 2003. The
Ordinance as amended specifically states that the petition is to be signed by 80% of the property owners adjacent to the road and
does not specify that the petition is to be signed by the owners of 80% of the parcels of land adjacent to the road. Such a
requirement would be inconsistent with the apparent intent to name roads according to the preference of the overwhelming
majority of the people owning property served by the roadway.
Therefore, our petition is a valid petition in conformance with the Amendment dated June 2, 2003, satisfying the
requirements to rename a road in Person County.
We respectfully ask that the Board of Commissioners accept our Petition and allow Branscome Road to be renamed Old
Farm Road (pvt). In fact, because the road was not renamed Old Farm Road with the effective date of June 2, 2003, Person
County has been legally non-compliant with the Road Naming Ordinance for the County of Person, North Carolina and the
Amendment to Road Naming Ordinance for the County of Person, North Carolina Amended as of June 2, 2003. We are confident
this situation occurred as a result of an oversight and we pray this action will be rectified immediately.
Chairman Lunsford stated the Board will take matter under consideration.
A motion was made by Commissioner Clayton, seconded by Commissioner Puryear and
carried to refer the matter to the County Attorney for his study and that he report back to the
Board when all members of the Board are present.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
A motion was made by Commissioner Puryear seconded by Commissioner Bowes and
carried to approve the minutes of February 5, 2007.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS:
The following Administrative Reports were received and accepted by the Board:
Detention Center, Emergency Medical Services, Inspections, Public Library.
REQUEST FOR MATCHING FUNDS FOR HEAD START GRANT:
Gordon Powell, Chairman, Person County Board of Education, appeared before the
Board to present a request in the amount of $66,473 for matching funds to add to the Head Start
grant of $130,864 to complete the rubber surfacing of the playground areas at Earl Bradsher to
pave/re-pave certain driveway and parking areas at Earl Bradsher. The grant money must be
spent and/or encumbered by August 31, 2007. All funds must be expended ninety days after the
August date.
Carla Oakley, Director of programs at EBPS spoke to the safety requirements. She said
with rubber surfacing the playground areas, the question of safety should be resolved. She also
addressed the paving needs.
A motion was made by Commissioner Puryear, seconded by Commissioner Clayton and
carried to approve the request for $66,473 with the funds to from Contingency or Fund Balance.
February 19, 2007 2
UPDATE OF ACTIVE EDC INDUSTRIAL PROJECTS:
EDC Executive Director Glen Newsome appeared before the Board to bring an update of
active EDC Industrial Projects to the Board.
We are working a number of Business and Industry projects, some of which I have made reference to in previous reports to the
Board. I will give you an update on those as well our new projects.
1. On P&A Industrial Fabrications, one of our new industry locations, the company is doing quite well. To date they
have hired over 42 of a projected 65 full time employees. P&A was founded by Claude Pruitt and Jack Adams, both
former C&A Managers. The company has already secured a significant amount of business in the 4 short months they
have been in operation. Sales are at about 75% of the level they were when the former owner was operating in full
swing. They have already qualified for 50% of the One NC fund, again in 4 months. We are working with the
Department of Commerce now to get that incentive. The projected investment for the project was $2.8 Million. All of
that has been expended. The average wage at P&A is $670 per week or $34,840. Our County average was $560 per
week or $29,120 a year when the project was located. All of the P&A employees are former C&A workers.
2. The Cavel Plant was recently purchased by Chip Lofton, President of Strutmasters. Plans are to expand operations
into that area from the present location. Some other options are being considered for the remaining floor space which
would create additional jobs for the community.
3. The C&A Elm Plant is generating lots of interest from a clients, prospects and potential buyers. As I have said to you
before, if we are successful in our efforts, the County will end up with 3 new owners. Two of those, Strutmasters and
P&A Industrial Fabrications are already in place. With the level of interest and we have in the Elm Plant, its fair to
say that we will likely have a 3rd new company, at least at a commitment level, sometime in 07.
4. Lowe’s officially opened for business last month which culminated a 5 year site location process. The company has
already employed 130 people with a new capital investment of $12 Million. This benefits both the City and County.
This was a good business location for our community.
5. Mark Line Industries, the Indiana based firm which was announced this past June is now producing modular home
units. The company took possession of the former Fleetwood Homes facility in July. It has been totally renovated and
fitted up. Current employment is approaching 30 persons with a projection of 100-125 full time employees by next
summer. New investment associated with this project is approximately $3 Million. The company conducted a
southwest as well as a southeast site location search before settling on our area. With Mark Line, Lowe’s and P&A,
we have had 3 significant new employers to locate and open for business within the past 7 months. Some other
projects:
6. Business continues to grow at Spuntech, our Israeli firm, and the company is increasing its production accordingly.
Total headcount at the facility is 72 full time persons. The company also retained 2 of the summer interns on its
payroll. They are now producing the non woven fabric, as opposed to test runs, and operating 24/7. The company
committed to hire 62 employees and invest $23.5 Million within a 3 year time frame. They have exceeded both the
hiring and investment goals with the 72 full time employees and a $40 Million investment to date. And they did so in 2
years, including the renovation of the facility. The average annual wage at Spuntech is $37,000 per year. The issues
the company is dealing with now are growth related and good ones to have.
7. Business is also growing at the Tobacco Co-op, at a steady pace. The company is manufacturing over 100 brands of
tobacco products, all on a contractual basis. The tobacco processing season, which is their busiest time, has ended
and the company has about 120 employees on its payroll. Total investment associated with this project is now nearing
$28 Million with the additional machinery and equipment brought in by the Co-0p.
8. Carolina Sunrock, the Granville County based construction firm is grading for its new facilities. At build out, this
would be a 50 employee, $10 Million investment entailing the construction of 3 facilities. The company expects to be
processing stone this summer. Also, with respect to that project, we recently secured a commitment of about $1/2
Million to construct an industrial access road for the company.
9. Piedmont Electric is also grading for its new facility to be located on US 158 East. This project would entail the
construction of over 20,000 square feet of office and warehouse space with an investment slightly exceeding $3 Million.
10. Infrastructure improvements, primarily, the upgrading of existing secondary roads are either scheduled, ongoing or
being designed for the BPB project. A number of intersections are also slated to be upgraded to accommodate
February 19, 2007 3
industrial traffic as is at least one bridge. Design work is pending before the state on some of the improvements. The
project numbers are still in the range of 200-225 new jobs and a projected capital investment of $125 Million.
11. Our two automotive expansion projects, Eaton and GKN, are both essentially complete at $27 Million and $5 Million
respectively. These two industry expansions created over 85 new jobs in the automotive sector.
12. Another of our companies recently completed a 100+ employee expansion. We are working with them now on a new
project which would create an additional 50 new jobs for the community.
13. We have a 150 employee, $3 Million expansion pending with another firm. The Department of Commerce is assisting
with that project and we are awaiting some specific internal data from the company.
14. The former Bromma property has been purchased since my last report to you. The railroad finally acquiesced on the
right of way issue which had caused a delay of several months. This would be a mixed use, Industrial and Commercial
project.
New Projects
15. We are also working with a company on 90,000 square foot construction project. This would entail either an addition
to the company’s existing building or the construction of a new free standing facility. This would be utilized for a new
distribution center. We expect this project to create a minimum of 30 new jobs, very likely more than that number.
16. And last but not least, we are working with an existing company on an expansion project which would create 90-100
new jobs at $18 per hour or an average annual wage of $37,440. New capital investment associated with this project
would exceed $8 Million. This would entail new machinery and equipment, a building expansion and a new product
line for the community. The company has multiple locations in the US. We are now competing with 2 other states for
this expansion. The Department of Commerce is assisting with this as well. We should get a better indicator of where
stand later this quarter.
Excluding all of the potential projects and looking at the done deals only, we have had over $285 Million in new
capital investment committed to our community within the last 3 years, all in new and expanding business and
industry projects. When these new locations and expansions come to full fruition, over 1040 permanent new jobs will
have been created.
We closed out the 2006 calendar year with an annual unemployment rate of 5.98%. This is the lowest unemployment
rate for Person County in 6 years, even with the bankruptcy of Collins and Aikman and all of the subsequent
layoffs.
Consistent with that, the 2007 private sector wage standard increased to $609 a week or $31,668 per year. This
represents an 8.75% increase over the prior year and jump of 13% as compared to the 05 wage of $539 a week, or
$28,028 on an annual basis.
The tier rankings for the new tax credits (Article 3J) were recently released. All counties now fall into 3 tiers as
opposed to 5 under the old law. The 40 most distressed were assigned a Tier 1 status, the middle 40 counties a Tier 2
status and the top 20 Counties, mostly urban, were assigned a Tier 3 status. We fall in the middle 40 and hence a Tier
2 ranking, keeping in mind that we now have only 3 Tiers instead of the previous 5.
We have a new animated feature on the EDC website which promotes the location, workforce, economy, education and
livability of our area. Go to the EDC Homepage, www.personcountyedc.com, hit the go button and it takes less than 3
minutes to view the entirety of the new feature.
Also, you have before you a copy of the 2007 Edition of Corporate Relocation. All 13 Counties of RTRP are featured
therein. I am particularly pleased with the growth we have shown in median family income ($50,900) as well as the
other economic indicators as compared to the other communities within our 13 County region.
February 19, 2007 4
UPDATE FROM PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE:
Dr. James Owen appeared before the Board to present Piedmont Community College’s
Person County Impact Statement – January 2007. He highlighted the curriculum programs with
an enrollment for the current fall, 2006 semester of 2,652 students for Person and Caswell
counties and the continuing education program with an enrollment of 2,229 students for Person
and Caswell counties for fall 2006. He stated that the Business Development Center delivered
38 small business seminars during 2006, in addition to a variety of financial management, home
ownership, notary and computer training classes. He said the College is working with P & A
Industrial Fabrications, Mark Line Industries, Spuntech Industries and U. S. Flue-Cured Tobacco
to offer new and expanding industry training.
REQUEST FOR ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY FOR USE BY THE PERSON
COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM:
School Superintendent Ronnie Bugnar appeared before the Board to present a Resolution
adopted by the Board of Education at its February 13, 2007 meeting relative to the purchase of
the former fair grounds property on NC 49 North. The Board of Education requested that the
Board of Commissioners purchase this property for the construction of a school bus garage. The
purchase price of the property would be $400,000.
It was noted that a Public Hearing with proper advertisement must be held prior to a
motion to purchase the property.
Commissioner Puryear stated it was his belief that there was far more need in the county
than a bus garage.
Commissioner Clayton said the need is imminent and it is the responsibility of the Board
of Commissioners to provide facilities for the school system.
Commissioner Bowes stated that the Board of Education has searched for two years for a
suitable location for the bus garage and they feel the old fairground site meets their needs.
Chairman Lunsford added that he is a strong supporter of education in Person County.
Children must be transported safely and the buses must be properly maintained in an adequate
facility.
Commissioner Puryear asked about the estimated cost of the new facility.
Superintendent Bugnar responded that all estimates are now old, but the Board of
Commissioners set a cap of $2.8M.
A motion was made by Commissioner Clayton, seconded by Chairman Lunsford to
accept the resolution as presented by the Person County Board of Education and to advertise a
Public Hearing on whether the County of Person should acquire certain property for use by the
Person County School System. The motion carried by a 3/1 vote. Commissioner Puryear cast
the dissenting vote.
February 19, 2007 5
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF LOCAL FEES FOR FOOD AND LODGING:
Janet Clayton, Health Director, appeared before the Board to request approval of the
following Resolution.
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF LOCAL FEES FOR
FOOD AND LODGING
WHEREAS, the State of North Carolina mandates that local government provide Food and Lodging support and
inspections; and
WHEREAS, the State provides less than $4,000 per year in support of providing Food and Lodging support and
inspections; and
WHEREAS, it costs the local taxpayers of Person County upwards of $60,000 to meet the State mandated
requirements of the Food and Lodging Program, and
WHEREAS, the Person County Food and Lodging Program has maintained at least a 98.6 percent compliance rate
with the State mandate for the past five years, and
WHEREAS, Local Health Departments fully support holding the State Environmental Health Division harmless for
the funding to develop and maintain the environmental health data system; and
WHEREAS, the Person County Board of Health believes fee for service funding for Food and Lodging support and
inspections would be a more equitable than asking county residents to bare the cost of this State mandated service through the
use of ad valorem taxes; and
WHEREAS, other State mandated services such as the On-Site Sewage Program are funded using a fee for service
approach; and
WHEREAS, Food and Lodging facility owners and operators are the ones who draw financial benefit from such
facilities;
THEREFORE, the Person County Board of Commissioners, meeting in regular session, hereby requests the General
Assembly to enact legislation empowering local governments to enact and collect fees for providing Food and Lodging support
and inspections from such enterprises operating within their boundaries.
Adopted this 19th day of February 2007.
(Signed) Johnny M. Lunsford, Chairman
Person County Board of County Commissioners
(Attest)
Faye T. Fuller
Clerk to the Board
A motion was made by Commissioner Clayton, seconded by Commissioner Bowes and
carried to approve the Resolution.
February 19, 2007 6
CONSIDERATION OF VARIANCE TO SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE FOR A FLAG
LOT:
County Manager Carpenter told the Board he received a request to add this item to the
agenda following several telephone conversations on Friday. Due to the re-scheduling of the
Board of Commissioners’ meeting until March 12, 2007 the applicant did not wish to wait an
extra week for consideration of the matter.
Paula Murphy, Planning Director explained to the Board that the Planning Board
considered a variance for a flag lot on Thursday night and recommended approval. She said the
issue was complicated and she would like to research fully prior to the Board of Commissioners
consideration.
It was the consensus of the Board to consider the item at the March 12, 2007 meeting.
APPOINTMENT TO REGION K WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD:
A motion was made by Commissioner Clayton, seconded by Commissioner Bowes and
carried to appoint Kimberly Fox to a “Private Sector Position” on the Region K Workforce
Development Board.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT:
None
MANAGER’S REPORT:
Met with CIGNA – County will receive an 8% reduction in rates for FY07-08
Will meet on Wednesday with workers’ compensation representative; General Liability
carrier will accept a smaller amount after appeal on (PI) Person Industries.
Progress Report on Inspections/P&Z building sent out. Other building – will have to add
insulation –
Thanked Board for attending Retreat – operational budgets being submitted now.
COMMISSIONER REPORTS/COMMENTS:
Commissioner Puryear asked for an update on the Strategic Plan Report. County
Manager Carpenter responded that Dr. Johnson had not returned his phone call.
CLOSED SESSION: None Required
February 19, 2007 7
February 19, 2007 8
ADJOURNMENT:
A motion was made by Commissioner Bowes, seconded by Commissioner Clayton and
carried to adjourn the meeting at 10:15 a.m. until March 12, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
__________________________________ ___________________________________
Faye T. Fuller, CMC Johnny Myrl Lunsford
Clerk to the Board Chairman