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06-16-2025 Meeting Minutes BOCJune 16, 2025 1 PERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS June 16, 2025 MEMBERS PRESENT OTHERS PRESENT Kyle Puryear Katherine M. Cathey, County Manager Jason Thomas-ABSENT Michele Solomon, Clerk to the Board Sherry Wilborn Al Andrews, County Attorney Antoinetta Royster Donald Long The Board of Commissioners for the County of Person, North Carolina, met in Regular session on Monday, June 16, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. in the Commissioners’ Boardroom 215 in the Person County Office Building located at 304 S. Morgan Street, Roxboro, NC. Chairman Puryear called the meeting to order and recognized a quorum was present. Commissioner Long offered an invocation, and Commissioner Wilborn led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Chairman Puryear advised that Vice-Chairman Thomas would not be at the meeting as he is not feeling well. He stated that it was brought to his attention that there may be technical difficulties with the video of the meeting. DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT/APPROVAL OF AGENDA: A motion was made by Commissioner Royster and carried 4-0 to approve the agenda with the addition of Person County Schools’ Request for Lottery Project Application Approvals from the Public- School Building Repair & Renovation Fund to be added to the Consent Agenda. PROCLAMATION HONORING SUSAN CLAIRE BAILEY Commissioner Wilborn read a Proclamation honoring Susan Claire Bailey. A motion was made by Commissioner Long and carried 4-0 to adopt a Proclamation Honoring Susan Claire Bailey. Chairman Puryear presented the Proclamation to Susan Claire Bailey. June 16, 2025 2 June 16, 2025 3 INFORMAL COMMENTS: The following individuals appeared before the Board to make informal comments: Alan Whitlow of 155 Rosewood Drive, Roxboro stated that he is the President of the Person Veterans Council. He expressed thanks to the Board for their support during The Wall That Heals. He stated that The Wall That Heals brought in over 13,000 visitors. He stated that the Veterans Council could not have done this without the support of the County or the Board. He stated that there is no way he can quantify the economic impact; however, the human impact was huge. Reggie Horton, a Person Veterans Council Member and Vietnam Veteran, stated that he appreciated everything that the County has done, including support from the Sheriff’s Office, and County government. He stated that it was a great experience, not only for him, but for the families of Person County that lost their individuals, and for them to get closure. Ronnie Jeffries, a Person Veterans Council Member and Past President, stated that there were people from Minnesota, Wisconsin, upper New York, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, and southern South Carolina that they were able to talk to, who came to Person County just for The Wall That Heals. He stated that on behalf of the Person Veterans Council, they would like to present Chairman Puryear with a Wall That Heals t-shirt. Mr. Horton presented Chairman Puryear with a custom-made challenge coin. Beverly Cates of 806 S. Main Street, Roxboro stated that she grew up in Person County and graduated in 1997. She stated that she is raising a 14-year-old son, here in the same county she grew up in. She stated that in her day, there was no Palace Pointe, and no public pool. She stated that today, there is a Palace Pointe, a new sports plex, and plans are underway to invest in trails from Durham to Person County, a splashpad, and pickleball courts, yet still no public pool. She stated that while the idea of a splashpad seems fitting, most parents understand splashpads are most appropriate for preschool and elementary age children. She asked why there are not public hearings to get resident feedback on how and where to spend taxpayer dollars in a county that is pushing for businesses to invest here. She stated that the County has done very little in the 28 years since she graduated high school to provide resources for the citizens of this County. She stated that adolescents in this County, specifically the 12-17 age range, have no resources available to them, and if there are any available, they have to be paid for. She stated that she and her son drive to Orange and Vance counties to use the public pools, and pay to do so. She stated that she also buys an annual membership to Emerald Pointe in Guilford County. She stated she has to do all of this because Person County has no resources. She stated that residents are willing to put money into this County, but the County is still not willing to put money into the resources for the residents. June 16, 2025 4 Cates stated that with Person County being the home to Hyco and Mayo lakes, there is an urgent need to provide a safe swimming resource where youth and adults can learn to swim. She stated that she proposes funding that is budgeted for the splashpad and pickleball courts be reinvested into a pool that this community has long requested and definitely needs. Amanda Wallace stated that she is standing here today because she wants to make sure that they do not forget Kemari Morgan. She stated that Kemari was a one-year-old child that died in the custody of Person County. She stated that this Board governs Social Services, and it is their responsibility to do something. She stated that when children die, something has to change. She stated that she worked in this state for ten years as a CPS Investigator, where she has filed petitions, written court orders, and placed children with their relatives. She stated that this is what gives her the authority to stand in front of the Board and tell them that what is happening is a problem. She stated that she does not know who is advising them, as they are not being advised well, and cannot answer what happened to Kemari. She stated that Kemari’s two-year-old sister is still not home, and the Board is doing nothing about it. She stated that it was mentioned by a Commissioner at the June 6, 2025 meeting, what was the Board going to do about Social Services, and another Commissioner said that they needed a ‘buffer”. She stated that there is no buffer right now, they are it. She stated that Briauna Morgan wants to be here, yet she is in a supervised visit at Social Services, aka ‘baby-jail’ visiting with her daughter. She stated that Morgan’s daughter needs to be with her family and that the Board can make it happen as they have placement authority, and that they do not need a judge. Queen Hammond stated that she is running for United States Senate in 2026. She stated that she ran in 2022. She stated that she is here today with the group, Operation Stop CPS. She stated that the meeting was started with prayer, and she would like the Board to try to do what God would want them to do, and if they don’t, they are living a lie. She stated that God sees evil. She stated that the Board celebrated a young lady earlier for her great accolades or whatever she did, and the baby that died could have been great as well. She stated that someone needs to tell the mother of the child what happened to him. She stated that the daughter, still in custody, has life and potential. She stated that the three gentlemen who stood up and said they represent their family, and it was a human impact, and all these things that they did, whatever they were with the veterans, that does not exclude black people and black children. She stated that when the Board makes their decision, remember God is watching and they have to pay for everything that they do. She stated that if you are going to speak about human impact, and God, that you better be living in truth because black people are tired. She stated that Trump got people blowing stuff up, and we do not want that. She stated North Carolina is beautiful. She stated that the mother deserves answers for her children. June 16, 2025 5 DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT/APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA: A motion was made by Commissioner Wilborn and carried 4-0 to approve the Consent Agenda with the following items: A. June 2, 2025 Minutes B. Budget Amendment #23 C. JCPC FY26 Funding Agreement D. FY26 Classification and Pay Plan E. FY26 and FY27 Volunteer Fire Departments and Rescue Squad Contracts F. Person County Business and Industrial Center (PCBIC) FY26 Funding Agreement G. Person County Schools’ Request for Lottery Project Application Approvals from the Public-School Building Repair & Renovation Fund. NEW BUSINESS: HUMAN SERVICES PROJECT REPORT Assistant County Manager/Consolidated Human Services Director Brian Hart introduced Sherry Bradsher with CCR Consulting. Ms. Bradsher presented the following final report: June 16, 2025 6 June 16, 2025 7 June 16, 2025 8 June 16, 2025 9 June 16, 2025 10 June 16, 2025 11 Hart advised that he and DSS staff have already begun implementation on some recommendations made by CCR. He stated the Human Services Evaluator position now reports directly to him, as opposed to DSS Director Carlton Paylor. He stated that this would help with accountability and ensuring a more direct line of communication with staff that are processing cases. He stated that DSS has begun hosting quarterly meetings with agencies throughout the community, which are open meetings. He stated that the purpose of these meetings, which are called “Huddle Up with Human Services”, is to provide partner agencies, as well as community members, with greater insight related to the policies, statutes, and best practices that govern the work of Social Services, Veteran Services and the Health Department. He stated that he, Director Paylor, Deputy Director Kristy Perry, and Human Services Evaluator Ashley Stone meet bi-weekly to explore those recommendations made by CCR in more depth, and to talk about the ways in which they could be implemented and chart them out for the community. June 16, 2025 12 FY26 BUDGET ORDINANCE County Manager Katherine Cathey advised the Board that before them is the FY26 Budget Ordinance for adoption. She stated that we have spent many months getting to this point, going back to November when the County began preparing the budget calendar along with the documents associated with the budget process. She stated that at the June 6, 2025 Budget Work Session, the Board made adjustments to the Manager’s recommended budget, and advised that they have a spreadsheet in their agenda packet which shows the changes that were made. She stated that based on those amendments, the FY26 Budget totals $108,823,546, which is a decrease of $178,916 from the Manager’s recommended budget. She stated that this sets the property tax rate at sixty-three cents and the fire and rescue tax district rate at four cents for FY26. She noted that there is one addition in Section 30 that is highlighted in yellow, which is an addition to the County Manager’s authorizations for the upcoming fiscal year. She stated that the Board has received some agenda items throughout the current fiscal year related to Mini-Brooks Act exemptions, and this would provide a provision that those can be approved throughout the year at the County Manager level, without having to come before the Board. She expressed thanks for everyone’s efforts in working through the budget process. She stated that this is CFO Tracy Clayton’s first budget and she and her department have been short staffed through this process. She stated that Katrina Fields also played a large role in preparing the budget as well as retired CFO Amy Wehrenberg. Commissioner Wilborn stated that at the budget retreat in February the Board passed a resolution to support the act to extend the elderly or disabled property tax homestead exclusion, despite the association of county commissioners urging counties not to support any bills that were going to reduce tax revenues to counties. She stated that the Board requested a peer review of the reappraisal process, to give the public confidence that it was done correctly through the tax office. She stated that the Tax Office held workshops to assist citizens with how to review their tax card and steps on how to appeal. She stated that at another Board meeting, the Tax Administrator did a presentation pertaining to what was causing the tax values to increase. She stated that during that meeting, the Board heard from citizens during an extended public comment period, where the Board thanked them for being engaged. She stated that the budget was made available to the public and a public hearing was held. She stated that only one person signed up to speak at the hearing. She stated that the individual’s comment was that she was fine with a tax increase, as long she received increased services. She stated that she appreciated everybody’s work to get us where we are today with the budget. She stated that the Board tried to be mid-range between what the tax rate is now and what revenue neutral would be, and they ended up on the lower end of that. She stated that the City of Roxboro held their budget public hearing this past Tuesday night, and they also had no citizens to show up. She stated that one thing the City Manager said during his presentation was that in their purchasing policy, they have a policy that city staff is directed to support local businesses. June 16, 2025 13 Wilborn stated that the Board discussed that in the Budget Work Session and she thinks that if the County does not have that in place, they should. Cathey stated that she has a note from the Budget Work Session to go back and look at that. Commissioner Donald Long commented on how the COLA is calculated and the employee merit increase. Cathey stated that the COLA is an average that comes from three different indices. She stated that employee merit, which is based on employee performance, is 2% for meets expectations, and 3% for exceeds expectations. CFO Tracy Clayton stated that the County budgets 2.5% average for the merit. She stated that the COLA this year is 3.3%. Long stated that based on this, every employee’s salary would be going up a little over 5.5% on average. Clayton stated that is correct. Long asked what was the total number for salaries. Clayton advised that she would provide that number as she does not know that off the top of her head. Long stated that he is trying to get at a number that the County would have to budget and how many cents the County may have to go up next year just to keep up with salaries only, not the price of toilet paper, electricity, or insurance. Cathey stated that the County may be able to do some projections on that as far as what that base is and what that would likely build upon for next year; however, there are quite a bit of unknowns. She stated that there is growth to be expected in the new year, but there will not be a way to accurately calculate it at this point. Long stated that he does not plan to just mark time in his seat while he is in it. He stated that he wants to make some contributions and bring something to the table. He stated that running the Board of Commissioners and the County, is running a business. He stated that when you run a business, you have to look and plan ahead. He stated that you have got to be able to sustain those increases in your salary. He stated that you have got to look at what you are doing to grow the tax base. He stated that he did not see anything in this budget where the County is setting aside $3-5M to buy any land to come up with an industrial park. He stated that the counties around us do and are regularly landing projects. He stated that is how we grow our tax base. He stated that when you grow your tax base, your tax rate comes down. He stated that he wanted to represent the taxpayer. Commissioner Royster stated that she would prefer revenue neutral. She stated that the Board wants taxpayers to feel that what they are paying into the community is also paying it back to them, like they are investing into Person County and Person County should be investing into its citizens. She stated that when looking at bringing industry to Person County and growing the tax base, she has noticed that across the state, industries and companies are going to those other counties that are investing into their residents. She stated that she wanted citizens to know that the Board cares about them and they are not just up here throwing numbers out. A motion was made by Commissioner Wilborn and carried 4-0 to adopt the FY26 Budget Ordinance. June 16, 2025 14 June 16, 2025 15 June 16, 2025 16 June 16, 2025 17 June 16, 2025 18 June 16, 2025 19 June 16, 2025 20 June 16, 2025 21 June 16, 2025 22 June 16, 2025 23 June 16, 2025 24 June 16, 2025 25 June 16, 2025 26 June 16, 2025 27 June 16, 2025 28 June 16, 2025 29 June 16, 2025 30 June 16, 2025 31 June 16, 2025 32 June 16, 2025 33 GOLDEN LEAF COMMUNITY-BASED GRANTS INITIATIVE County Manager Katherine Cathey stated that the Golden LEAF Foundation Community Based Grants Initiative (CBGI) is now underway in the North Central Prosperity Zone. She stated that a total of $11 million is available to support projects in the region. She stated that awards are limited to no more than three projects in any county and may total no more than $1.5 million in any county. She stated that Person County will solicit project proposals over the coming weeks for consideration by county management, the Economic Development Commission and the Board of Commissioners before official submittal to the Golden LEAF Board of Directors. She stated that up to four projects that total up to $2 million may be selected for submittal and no single project may exceed $1.5 million in Golden LEAF funds. She provided the following timeline: July 21, 2025- Project worksheets due to county staff for initial review and comment. It is advised to contact staff beforehand to ensure the project meets minimum requirements for consideration. Projects will be reviewed as soon as possible with any proposed changes provided to the organization for comment. Aug 4, 2025- Project worksheets submitted to Golden LEAF for review and feedback. August 9, 14, 2025-Golden LEAF Meetings to provide feedback to county staff Aug. 26, 2025- Economic Development Commission provides feedback on submitted projects. Sept. 2, 2025- Board of Commissioners approves list of projects to submit to Golden LEAF. Sept. 8, 2025- Final list of endorsed projects submitted to Golden LEAF. Nov. 20, 2025- Applications due to Golden LEAF via online application portal. November 2025 through January 2026- Golden LEAF staff reviews applications and conducts due diligence. Golden LEAF anticipates that in person site visits will be scheduled in December 2025 and early January 2026. Feb. 5, 2026- Golden LEAF Board reviews applications and makes decisions regarding funding. Commissioner Wilborn stated that all info needs to be submitted to the Economic Development Commission today, as they meet next Tuesday and would need to be able to have time to review the worksheet and provide feedback to EDC Director Brandy Lynch. Cathey advised that the worksheets are due to staff by July 21, 2025 by applicants. She stated that the EDC would be providing feedback on which projects to move forward on August 26, 2025. A motion was made by Commissioner Long and carried 4-0 to approve the Person County application process and begin soliciting project proposals. June 16, 2025 34 APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMITTEES Clerk to the Board Michele Solomon presented to the Board interested citizen applications for consideration for appointment to boards and committees and requested the Board to nominate for appointment as deemed appropriate. ABC Board 3-Year Term: 1 position available 1) Douglas Brown, II requests appointment 2) Huntington Fitzgerald requests appointment 3) Michael Laws requests reappointment. his term expires on 6/30/2025 A motion was made by Chairman Puryear and carried 4-0 to reappoint Michael Laws to the ABC Board for a 3-year term. Board of Adjustment 3-Year Term: 1 position available, and 1 position for an Alternate 1) Stephen Evans requests appointment 2) Huntington Fitzgerald requests appointment 3) Gerald Wallace requests appointment A motion was made by Commissioner Wilborn and carried 4-0 to appoint Huntington Fitzgerald, and Stephen Evans as the Alternate, to the Board of Adjustment for a 3-year term. Board of Health 3-Year Term: 1 position for each of the following: a Dentist, and an Optometrist 1) Dr. Stephen Garrett requests reappointment, his term expires on 6/30/25 2) Dr. William Jeffrey Noblett requests reappointment, his term expires 6/30/25 A motion was made by Commissioner Royster and carried 4-0 to reappoint Dr. Stephen Garrett, representing an Optometrist, and Dr. William Jeffrey Noblett, representing a Dentist, to the Board of Health for a 3-year term. June 16, 2025 35 Child Fatality Local Team 1 position available for each of the following: a Local Law Enforcement Officer, a Medical Emergency Services Provider or Firefighter, and a Parent whose child died before the child reached age eighteen 1) Zachary Lechette requests appointment as a Law Enforcement Officer A motion was made by Commissioner Wilborn and carried 4-0 to appoint Zachary Lechette, representing a Law Enforcement Officer, to the Child Fatality Local Team. Environmental Issues Advisory Committee 3-Year Term: 1 position for a citizen residing in each of the following townships: Allensville Township, Olive Hill Township, and the Woodsdale Township 1) Robert Brauer requests reappointment for the Allensville Township, his term expires 6/30/25 Commissioner Wilborn stated that she had concerns about this Environmental Issues Advisory Committee. She stated that she feels that this committee does not align with the goals of the Board of Commissioners. She stated that this committee did not have Commissioner representation for some time and Commissioner Long has been appointed to that committee, and she is fine with the reappointment of Mr. Brauer if the Board is in favor of the reappointment. A motion was made by Commissioner Royster and failed to carry 2-2 to reappoint Robert Brauer to the Environmental Issues Advisory Committee representing the Allensville Township for a 3-year term. Commissioner Royster and Commissioner Wilborn voted in favor of the motion, while Chairman Puryear and Commissioner Long voted in opposition. Chairman Puryear stated that the motion would be tabled until Commissioner Thomas returns. June 16, 2025 36 Juvenile Crime Prevention Council 1-Year Initial Term: 2-Year Reappointment 1 position available for a citizen under the age of 21, and 1 position available for each of the following: a Juvenile Defense Attorney, a Substance Abuse Professional, a Managed Care Organization Representative, Chief of Police or designee, Local Health Director or designee, a Member of the Business Community, and a Citizen-at-large. 1) Joey Aguilar requests reappointment as a Citizen-at-large, his term expires 6/30/25 2) Donald Fuqua requests appointment as a Citizen under the age of 21 3) Mary Yates Perkins Galarde requests appointment as a Substance Abuse Professional 4) Charles Harvey requests reappointment as a Member of the Business Community, his term expires 6/30/25 5) Dr. Richard Johnson requests reappointment as the Local Health Director designee, his term expires 6/30/25 6) Laura Sharpe requests reappointment as a Managed Care Representative, her term expires 6/30/25 A motion was made by Commissioner Royster and carried 4-0 to reappoint Joey Aguilar representing a Citizen-at-large to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council for a 2- year term. A motion was made by Commissioner Long and carried 4-0 to appoint Donald Fuqua representing a Citizen under the age of 21 to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council for a 1-year term. A motion was made by Commissioner Wilborn and carried 4-0 to appoint Mary Yates Perkins Galarde as a Substance Abuse Professional to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council for a 1-year term. A motion was made by Commissioner Long and carried 4-0 to reappoint Charles Harvey as a representative from a Member of the Business Community to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council for a 2-year term. A motion was made by Commissioner Wilborn and carried 4-0 to reappoint Dr. Richard Johnson as the Local Health Director designee to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council for a 2-year term. A motion was made by Commissioner Wilborn and carried 4-0 to reappoint Laura Sharpe as a Managed Care Representative to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council for a 2-year term. June 16, 2025 37 Library Advisory Board 3-Year Term: 1 position available 1) Kathryn Greenwold requests appointment A motion was made by Commissioner Wilborn and carried 4-0 to appoint Kathryn Greenwold to the Library Advisory Board for a 3-year term. PATS Transportation Advisory Board 3-Year Term: 1 position available for each of the following: a City of Roxboro Representative, a DSS Representative, Emergency Operations Center Director, and Rural Planning Organization Director or designee 1) Timothy Chandler requests reappointment as a City of Roxboro representative, his term expires 6/30/25 2) Diane Cox requests reappointment as Rural Planning Organization Director, her term expires 6/30/25 3) Rosalba Cruz requests reappointment as a DSS representative, her term expires 6/30/25 4) Thomas Schwalenberg requests reappointment as Emergency Operations Center Director, his term expires 6/30/25 A motion was made by Commissioner Royster and carried 4-0 to reappoint the following to the PATS Transportation Advisory Board for a 3-year term: Timothy Chandler as a City of Roxboro representative, Diane Cox as Rural Planning Organization Director, Rosalba Cruz as a DSS representative, and Thomas Schwalenberg as Emergency Operations Center Director. Person-Caswell Lake Authority 3-Year Term: 1 position available 1) Douglas Brown, II requests appointment 2) John Byrd, Sr. requests appointment 3) Larry Coleman requests appointment 4) Lindsay Wagstaff, III requests reappointment, his term expires 6/30/25 A motion was made by Commissioner Wilborn and carried 4-0 to reappoint Lindsay Wagstaff, III to the Person-Caswell Lake Authority for a 3-year term. June 16, 2025 38 Piedmont Community College Board of Trustees 4-Year term: 1 position available 1) Douglas Brown, II requests appointment 2) Sherry Lester requests appointment 3) Adam Wolfe requests reappointment, his term expires 6/30/25 A motion was made by Commissioner Wilborn and carried 4-0 to reappoint Adam Wolfe to the Piedmont Community College Board of Trustees for a 4-year term. Planning Board 3-Year Term: 2 positions available 1) Sherry Lester requests appointment 2) Julie Maybee requests reappointment, her term expires 6/30/25 3) April Short requests appointment 4) Lindsay Wagstaff, III requests appointment A motion was made by Commissioner Royster to reappoint Julie Maybee and to appoint Sherry Lester to the Planning Board for a 3-year term. Commissioner Wilborn stated that this is another board that she has concerns about. She stated that the Planning Board is important in the process of developing economic development. She stated that for a couple of meetings now, the Planning Board’s votes have been grid-locked. She stated that their meetings have also been quite lengthy. She stated that she attends most of their meetings. She stated that Commissioner Long has also attended meetings in the past. A substitute motion was made by Commissioner Wilborn and carried 3-1 to appoint Sherry Lester and Lindsay Wagstaff, III to the Planning Board for a 3-year term. Commissioner Royster voted in opposition. June 16, 2025 39 Recreation Advisory Board 3-Year Term: 2 positions available 1) Tabitha George requests reappointment, her term expires 6/30/25 2) April Short requests appointment 3) Samuel Wrenn requests appointment A motion was made by Commissioner Long to appoint Samuel Wrenn and to reappoint Tabitha George to the Recreation Advisory Board for a 3-year term. A substitute motion was made by Commissioner Royster to appoint April Short to the Recreation Advisory Board for a 3-year term. The substitute motion failed to carry 1-3, with Commissioner Royster recorded as in favor of the motion. Commissioner Long’s motion carried 3-1 with Commissioner Royster recorded as in opposition of the motion. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Chairman Puryear stated that he attended a ribbon-cutting last week that was well attended by the Chamber and citizens. He stated that he welcomed the crowd at Willow Oak for the start of the music festival, this past Thursday. He stated that the Mayor accompanied him at this well attended event. MANAGER’S REPORT County Manager Katherine Cathey stated that in partnership with the Chamber, the County has a ribbon-cutting event at Huck Sansbury for the new ADA accessible playground on June 26, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. She stated that every day she hears children out there playing and enjoying it. COMMISSIONER REPORTS/COMMENTS Commissioner Wilborn stated that the Board of Equalization and Review has continued to meet weekly. She stated that last week she and the County Manager spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Raleigh for the County Advocacy Days hosted by the NCACC. She stated that they heard updates on legislative priorities and bills that were being tracked by the NCACC affecting counties. She stated that they met with Representative Jeffers and Senator Meyer in reference to Person County priorities and obtained some feedback about the budget process. She stated that she attended last week’s Planning Board meeting. June 16, 2025 40 Commissioner Royster stated that she attended the Person County Food Council meeting last Monday. She stated that a lot of information was shared, and local farmers and community stakeholders were present. She stated that they will be hosting an event at South Elementary on June 25, 2025 from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. where families can sign up to receive a fresh box of local produce, meats, and fruits. She stated that they would also be sharing healthy recipes. She stated that there will be an Alive After 5 event on June 20, 2025 at Merit Commons. Commissioner Long had no report. A motion was made by Commissioner Wilborn and carried 4-0 to enter into Closed Session at 10:43 a.m. CLOSED SESSION A motion to enter into Closed Session per General Statute 143-318.11(a)(3) for the purpose to consult with the county attorney in order to preserve the attorney-client privilege and General Statute 143-318.11(a)(1) to prevent the disclosure of information that is privileged or confidential with the following individuals permitted to attend: County Manager Katherine Cathey, Clerk to the Board Michele Solomon, Assistant County Manager/Human Services Director Brian Hart, and County Attorney Al Andrews. Chairman Puryear called the closed session to order at 10:46 a.m. A motion was made by Commissioner Long and carried 4-0 to return to open session at 11:26 a.m. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Commissioner Royster and carried 4-0 to adjourn the meeting at 11:27 a.m. ____________________________ ______________________________ Michele Solomon Kyle Puryear Clerk to the Board Chairman