MINUTES  REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETINGOFTHE: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS  OFI EDGECOMBE COUNTY JANUARY3, 2023 AT7:001 P.M. JONATHAN FELTON COMMISSIONERS ROOM COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING TARBORO, NORTH CAROLINA  1.  MIEETING CALLED TO ORDER BY CHAIRMAN LEONARD WIGGINS AT MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Leonard Wiggins, Chairman, Rev. E. Wayne Hines, Vice-Chairman, Mr. Donald Boswell, Mr. George Thorne, Mrs. Viola Harris, Mrs.  7:00] P.M.  Evelyn Powell and Mr. Ralph Webb. MEMBERS ABSENT: None.  OTHERS PRESENT: Mr. Eric Evans, County Manager, Mrs. Natalie Bess, Deputy County Manager, Mr. Michael Peters, County Attorney and Ms.] Frangie Mungo,  Clerk tot thel Board. SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS. Safety instructions provided by Mrs. Bess. Prayer provided by Rev. Hines.  2.  3. PRAYER.  4. 5.  MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING PRESENTED FOR APPROVAL. Rev. Hines moved to approve the minutes of the December 5,2022 meeting as presented. Mr. Webb seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. 1.Mr. Wiggins called aj public hearing is to order to receive citizen comments and questions relative to the K&H Market LLCI rezoning request.  PUBLICI HEARING:  Mr. Peters read the public notice as published.  Mr. Evans stated that the Board has before them a request from K&H Market LLC dbal Midway Grocery located at 79951 NC 431 North, Rocky Mount, NCt to rezone thej property from AR-30 tol B-1C. This will allow signage at an existing non-conforming convenience store. It does come from thel Planningl Board with Mr. Wiggins called for public comments. There being none the public hearing Mr. Boswell moved to approve the rezoning request as presented. Mrs. Powell A. Jacqueline Lewis of CloudWvze gave an update on the] Broadband Project. Mr. Evans stated that wel havel been working towards trying to expand broadband in our County for some time now. He announced that CloudWyze has received funding from the GREAT: grant from the State. He introduced Ms. Ms. Lewis stated that one of the two projects that they submitted in 2022 was  au unanimous recommendation to approve.  was adjourned.  seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote.  SCHEDULED APPOINTMENTS.  Lewis.  awarded. Shej presented on the following:  1    Project entails 45 miles of fiber for high-speed internet service.  2,200 households served $41 mm state grant funds $700k match required GREAT Grant award. Mapping exercise explained  Additional 345 households servedi in' Whitakers as part of Nash County  2-year build timeline: December 2022-December 2024  Prioritized potential new project areas based on (a) operational reasoning: which areas can they easily tiei into the GREAT Grant builds or the middle milei fiber, (b) financial reasoning: which areas yield thel highest households served per dollar spent; and (c) strategic reasoning: which areas are unlikely to be eligible for future grant  funding. Cotton Ln.  Areas GREAT: grant willl help serve  Temperance Hall & Emerald Lake Carver Elementary & South Edgecombe Middle  Mrs. Harris asked ift there was any of the fiber run in the northern part of the Mr. Evans stated not in this funded project, but we willl be talking about iti in Mrs. Lewis stated that they havel been in conversation with Mr. Evans and team about while they are in the area it would be easier tol build in the area versus. leaving the area and coming back. She stated that Mr. Evans and team has discussed some expansion opportunities, specifically areas that they would liked priced out or dol high level design. She stated that those areas that were elevated up willl be seen in the next slidesi in her presentation. They are in priority from thel least to the most cost-effective ones. She stated that they have also been in communication with the school system to understand where some After the presentation and questions and comments from the Board Mr. Evans stated that the recommendation is to come back to the Board in February to present updated recommendations. on which projects tol be funded, in addition to the current funded project. His recommendation for tonight is to appropriate $350,000 of our ARPA funds toj provide the County portion of the Mrs. Powell moved to approve the appropriation as presented. Mr. Webb  County. thej presentation.  opportunities for the most hot spot are located.  match.  seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. B. Sarah Stroud, CEO of] Eastpointe, presented an update.  Ms. Stroud recognized two team members, Kateisha Jones and Victoria Jackson. Update on Services in Edgecombe County and the tailored plan that will Backi in the day it was Edgecombe-Nash and Wilson-Greene and they merged tol become thel Beacon Center. In 2012 Eastpointe Human Service, thel Beacon Center and Southeastern Regional merged to become  become effective the first of April. Eastpointe Human Services. 10county service area What] Eastpointe does and does not do Behavioral Health Services update  2    Currently have 424 employees; 101 livingi in Edgecombe County; $616M budget; $174M fund balance; $47M unassigned fund balance  Eastpointe County population Claims paid fiscal year 2022 Ms.Jackson presented on the following: Provider Network update Responding to COVID Tailored Plan background Overview Plan Highlights Enrollment and Launch Healthy Opportunities Pilot Next Steps  C. Beth Edmondson, Interim Finance Director, presented an update on FY-22 Mrs. Edmondson stated that they had expected to achieve their goal of having FY 2022 audit completed by December 31st. By late November they had provided to the auditor almost all of thei information that they had requested, with a couple ofe exceptions. They talked with the auditors and based on the timeline of the information ready for them, they anticipate that they will complete their work, and issue their report by the end of. January. Mrs. Edmondson thanked hers staff for the hard work, stating that this is the third audit completed within about aj year's time, in what has really been a rebuilding year for the Finance staff. Of the seven full time members of the staff only one has beeni in their position more than a year. She stated that the teami is continuing to get caught up and put processes inj place that they believe will put themi in a good position to complete audits on a timely basis going forward and Mr. Wiggins, on behalf of the Board, thanked Mrs. Edmondson for thej job well done. He stated that Mrs. Edmondson and Mrs. Johnna Sharp have done an  Audit.  having good responses.  excellent job on 7. PUBLIC PETITIONS. None. 8. OTHER BUSINESS:  A. Approval ofl budget amendments.  Mrs. Harris moved to approvel budget amendments 1-7.5, with the exception of budget amendment #4, which is recommended for approval ini item Dofother business. Mr. Webb seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. B. Approval of authorizing the County Manager to approvel lease agreements for Mr. Evans stated that we received a request from] Mr. Billy Wooten tol lease 302 acres of County-owned property for hunting. The property is located just north of the Corning facility, just off of] Highway 64 Alt. and Dunbar road. The offer isa one-year lease at $20 per acre. Staff has researched hunting leases in the County and found this tol bei in the rage of leases for similar properties. Mrs. Powell moved to approve thel lease and authorize the County Manager to execute al lease agreement. Mr. Boswell seconded the motion, which carried by C. Approval of Resolution to Support the] Naming of "Handy Corner."  County-owned property.  unanimous vote.  3    Mrs. Harris moved to approve the resolution as presented. Mrs. Powell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. D. Approval of engagement with] Mercer to overhaul the County's Compensation Mr. Evans stated that in thel last couple of years, all employers have experienced higher than normal employee turnover, and Edgecombe County has certainly not been the exception. Though there are multiple factors contributing to that, he believed one key factor for us, that existed prior to the pandemic, is thel lack ofc competitiveness of our salaries and minimal opportunities within our current compensation structure for career growth. Ithas been since 2009 that our pay plan was updated. Since then, not only have wel lost competitive ground with other units of local governments andj private businesses, but also many of our job titles and descriptions havel become outdated andi inconsistent with what the position requires. Mr. Evans stated that working with our consultant, wel have received and reviewed aj proposal from Mercer, one of the topl Human Resource firms in the world. Wel believe they can provide us exactly what we need, which isresearching the current job market to recommend competitive salaries, proposing implementation options so that we can choose what our budget can sustain, and building in career growth opportunities that willl help with retaining Mrs.. Johnna Sharpe, Consultant, stated that in her thirty years working in and withl local governments she has never see as staffing crisis such as wel have now. Anything that an entity can do tol helpi improve that is a good investment, because inl local government we: are as service provider. We do not make things. We arej people helping people. Ifyou do no have the staff to deliver the services, then your constituents are the ones who are negatively impacted. We are seeing turnover everywhere. We are seeing a very difficult time recruiting. In evaluating thej pay: plan, she saw thati it was out of date and that is not something that helps attract talent. She stated that Mr. Evans has implemented some strategies, from the extraordinary pay tol looking at remote working. You can try al lot ofs strategies, but if your foundation is not solidi it does not make those strategies as affective. The pay plan is the foundation for how you compensate, reward and attract new talent to come and be with the County. Ifthere isa tremendous opportunity to modernize thej pay plan al big component of thisi is setting up career architecture, career levels, building an organizational structure that helps you understand how various positions relate to other positions. The market component willl look at where. Edgecombe County is trying to: attract talent from. Ity will also look at comparable jobs in other areas, buti it will always be normalized for what the cost of] livingi is wherever those jobs are compared. It will a very important of the work they doi in making sure wel have apples to apples comparisons toj put Edgecombe County in the best light to be competitive for talentsi in the areas in which you are employing from. Mrs. Sharpe stated that she has worked withl Mercer. They are world class, but they also want to have ani impact in the community where they help serve. They are very interested in bringing a new model to local government in that they can geti it donei faster, much less expensively than a typical engagement, but you will still have al high-quality output. Inl North Carolina many counties have the same type positions, because so1 much of what we do is mandated by the State. Itis being as looking at a lot of data that already exist tos streamline the process, but to give you a new tool. One of the mosti important tools in retaining the staff you Mrs. Harris stated that therei is no need to get it and puti it on the shelf. Wel have  Plan.  thel best talent.  have. to act oni it.    Mrs. Powell moved to approve the selection ofl Mercer to overhaul the Compensation Plan, approve budget amendment #4 and authorize Mr. Evans to execute the contract. Mrs. Harris seconded thei motion, which carried by a vote E. Approval of] Pay Tel Communications Account Signing Authority for staff at the Mrs. Harris moved to approve the request from Sheriff Atkinson to authorize thei following stafft to sign checks on the Pay Tel communications PNC Inmate Bank Account: Captain Oliver Washington, Lieutenant Tocorya Cohen, Lieutenant Deloris Pittman, Sergeant Barbara Knight, Sergeant Takia Daniels, Sergeant Steven Stalls, Sergeant Shronda Hinton, Sergeant Gail Norwood-Davis, Sergeant Brenda Sherrod, Corporal timothy Braddy, Corporal William! Lucas, Corporal David Spencer and Corporal Marcie McCray. Mrs. Powell seconded Mr. Evans stated that at the August meeting thel Board approved the addition of aChief Financial Officer (CFO) position to our pay scale at grade 30. Our goal in adding the position is to recruit aj person with the requisite skills and experience needed to run the finance department and manage the County's financial operations. We: are working with a recruitment firmi to assist usi in finding the ideal candidate. We already knew that this would be a hard position toi fill, asi iti is all over the State. Unfortunately, during our first round of recruitment, we did not identify that candidate. Mr. Evans stated that in order toi improve our chances in such a competitive market, he recommended that the Board amend the pay scale to move this position to a grade 31. Mr. Evans asked thel Board to authorize him to negotiate and go above the scale only if necessary. He stated that this position also has a residency requirement. The policy states that they have to obtain residency in the County within twelve months. He asked thel Board to authorize him, ifi necessary, to extend that up to eighteen Mr. Wiggins stated that he is not in agreement with extending the residency requirement. Thati is something thati it should bel brought back to the Board ifit  of5 for and 1 against. Mr. Boswell opposed.  Sheriff's Office.  the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. F. Approval of amendment to the Pay Plan.  months. isr needed.  Mrs. Harris agreed with Mr. Wiggins.  Mr. Boswell stated that he did not see a difference in giving them a year or Mr. Boswell moved to approve the moving of the grade from 30 to 31. Mr. Webb seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Mr. Boswell moved to authorize. Mr. Evans tol have the authority to exceed the salary range for grade 31 if necessary. Mrs. Powell seconded the motion, which Mr. Boswell moved to authorize Mr. Evans to extend the residency requirement from 12 months to 18 months. Mr. Webb seconded the motion. The motion failed with 21 for (Boswell and Webb) and: 5 against (Wiggins, Mr. Evans asked for consideration on two positions in Solid Waste, Heavy Equipment Operator, grade 8, and Truck Driver, grade 9.1 He: asked the Board to: authorize him, ifr necessary, to be able to negotiate a salary above the pay  eighteen months.  carried by unanimous vote.  Hines, Harris, Powell and' Thorne.)  ranges.    Mr. Boswell moved to authorize Mr. Evans to negotiate a salary above the pay ranges for thel Heavy Equipment Operator and' Truck Driver positions. Mrs. Harris seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. G. Approval ofTax Foreclosure. Agreement with the City ofl Rocky Mount. Mr. Evans stated that Mr. Peter Varney, Interim City Manager for Rocky Mount, reached out to Mr. Peters and Mr. Evans to request that we consider increasing the number of tax foreclosures with the City limits. To do sO, they are offering compensation for that additional work and related costs. Mr. Evans stated that wel have determined that we can increase the number of foreclosures forl Rocky Mount, and recommended that the Board approve the agreement as Mr. Boswell moved to approve the agreement as presented. Mrs. Powell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. H. Approval of thel IRS recommended mileage reimbursement rate.  presented.  Mr. Evans stated that iti is the County's practice to follow the standard mileage reimbursement) rate set by thel Internal Revenue Service. Recently, thel IRS issued aj notice thati itisi increasing the rate: from 62.5 cents to 65.5 cents per mile. Mrs. Harris moved to approve thei new mileage reimbursement rat at 65.5 cents. Mrs. Powell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. . Approval of calling for aj public hearing regarding a request for a Special Mr. Evans stated that Mr. Roger Sauerborn has submitted an application fora Special Use Permit to expand his permitted sand mine on NCI Highway 421 East. Rev. Hines moved to call for aj public hearing tol bel held at the February 6th meeting. Mr. Webb seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Mr. Evans stated that on behalf of the County, Tanya Heath, Cooperative Extension Director, facilitated the bid ofa number of county-owned parcels for farm leases. They werel bidi in two groups; group #1 at Kingsboro Industrial Park included a total of 196.5 acres, and group #2 at thel landfill included a total Mrs. Harris moved to approve the lowest responsive bidder as presented. Mr. Webbs seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote.  Usel Permit at thel February 6, 2023 meeting.  Aj public hearing is required.  J. Approval of farm land lease.  of 46.9: acres.  9. APPOINTMENTS: A. Planning Board. which carried by unanimous vote. B. Board of Adjustment. motion, which carried by unanimous vote.  Mrs.) Harris moved to appoint Mr. Roy Gray. Mrs. Powell seconded the motion, Mr. Wiggins moved to appoint Mr. William Gaines. Mrs. Powell seconded the Mr. Boswell moved to approve the afterlists and releases as] presented. Rev. Hines  10. AFTERLISTS/ AND RELEASES FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL. seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. 11. APPROVALANDIOR REVIEW OF CONTRACTS.  6    Mr. Evans stated that the contract being presented is for HVAC replacement in a number of County buildings. This is with funding by ARPA funds we received. Mr. Evans also asked the Board to approve the contract forl Lawn Care Maintenance for County facilities. (Thompson Nursery) Mr. Thorne stated that he has heard from al lot of people for many years that the HVAC systems are full of mold and mildew, especially in the courthouse. He: asked does] part of this contract havei in there some stipulation on cleaning up the existing infrastructure: not just replacing the HVAC units that are there. His understanding is thati ify youj put a new HVAC uniti ini iti is still going to blow mold and mildew. He would like to see some king of process of cleaning the ducts that are there with some Mr. Stan Liverman, Maintenance Director, stated that this contract is replacement ofexisting equipment. It does not include any cleaning of duct. Itis somethingwe Mr. Wiggins stated that before the Board approves this we should take a look to see Mr. Thorne stated that hel has seen comments from people about visible mold in the After more discussion Mr. Wiggins stated that this needs tol be addressed. Mr. Evans suggested that thel Board approve the contract as presented and if we determine that therei iss some additional work that needs to be done we will decide one of two things, either iti is significant enough that we need to bidi its separately ori it is not and we can doi it as a change order that willl have to come back before the Mr. Thorne moved to approve the contracts as presented. Mrs. Harris seconded the  kind of consideration for the contractor to do that.  need to consider in the future.  iftherei is a need for us to clean that duct work. units, particularly in the courthouse.  Board.  motion, which carried by unanimous vote. A. Water and Sewer update. B. Monthly Financial Summary. 13. MANAGER'S REPORI-"Reehed": A. Workforce Development indicators. B.TDAI Financial Report. C.E Expansion of] Princeville's extraterritorial jurisdiction. D. Princeville's 138th Founders Celebration. seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote.  12. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS FOR REVIEW.-"Reehed"  Mr. Boswell moved to approve Princeville's Founders day Resolution. Mrs. Harris Tarboro Edgecombe Public Arts Commission letter regarding Juneteenth  celebration was presented to thel Board. 14. COMMISSIONERS REPORT.  Mrs. Boswell expressed his concern regarding the CloudWyze and Mercer projects being decided oni in one meeting. The whole Board should meet for these Mr. Wiggins agreed and suggested tol Mr. Evans that anytime wel have projects such  discussions.  ast these, we should call for a work session.  7    Mrs. Harris shared from thel Edgecombe Entrepreneur Organization regarding the 31st Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, which will be a virtual program Mr. Boswell asked what became oft the Register of Deeds' system being attacked. Mr. Evans stated that are able to do marriage license now and they are doinga al lot of manual recording now. Ithas not been resolved by the vendor, Cotts. Ithas Mrs. Harris stated that shel hasl been asked about whati is going on with the Animal Shelter. The Sheriff's Officei iss supposed to runi it, but whoi is supposed to actually plani if we: are going to build a new one. A couple of people in her district has asked who is goingt tol buildi it, whati is taking sol long, what is the plan. Mr. Evans stated that in our existing Animal Shelter wel have, through our Maintenance Department, done al lot ofv work over thel last year or so. Wel have been trying tol balance doing what we need to do, but we don't want to putawhole lot of money ini it, when wel know we: are going to build another one. Wel have taken care of those most critical things at the existing shelter. As far as the new shelter, the Board approved in thel budget this year $50,000 for design work for a new shelter. Thati is underway. A committee is planning that. Preliminary information has been provided by the architect. The committee is working towards ai final plan on what we willl build and we will bid that out. The next phase we ask what we expect that to cost andl how we: are going toj pay for that and he will come back to the Board with Mrs.) Harris asked if wel have asked our representatives on the! State and Federal levels about helping us get that money tol build the Animal Shelter or have wel had Mr. Evans stated yes tol both. Wel have searched for years for grant funding. There is money out therei fors supplies. Regarding our representatives, the Statel budget includes some appropriations to the County ($1 million for Edgecombe). Some of thati is toj place lost revenues, fire protection and equipment, for the Kingsboro area. Some oft that includes planning money fors shelter, space needs at the courthouse as well as looking at need ofai fire station (Leggett). Wel have already gotten the architectural study covered in our current budget for the animal shelter. What we have requested is can the balance of that can be used toj puti into the direct cost of the construction of the: animal shelter. They seem tol be open to that, but wel have Mr. Thorne stated that we do have al looming de-merger happening and suggested making sure that we: arei in communication with the school systems and how that process is goingt tol look and how funding is going tol look. Hes stated that he would like tol have some kind of meeting ats some point, besides the annual retreat, where they come and talk to us, because that is going to be major. We are going tol have to Mr. Evans stated that wel have had conversation withs staff and even with Nash County staffs starting that conversation and looking toj plan having some work sessions between the boards as well as as series of community meetings as well to inform the those who will be affected by this where we are, what wel know.  on Saturday,January 14th at 4:00 p.m.  affected other counties too. Itis still an ongoing thing.  recommendations.  anybody tol look for grant funding that might be available.  not gotten ai final yes.  look at al lot ofs staffing, buildings, kids and budgeting.  15. ATTORNEY'S REPORT. 16. CLOSEDSESSION.  None.  Rev. Hines moved to goi into closed session to discuss: A. Economic Development. [N.C.G.S. 143-318.11 (a)(4)]  8    Mr. Boswell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Harris seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote.  Rev.] Hines moved to go out of closed session and resume the regular meeting. Mrs. 17. REV.I HINES MOVEDTO ADJOURNTHE MEETING UNTIL FEBRUARY6 2023 AT'7:00 P.M.I MRS. FOWELLSECONDED THE MOTION, WHICH  CARRIED BY UNANIMOUSVOTE.  Approved February 6, 2023. Frangie Mungo, Clerk to thel Board h  9