MINUTES  REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETING OFTHE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS  OFI EDGECOMBE COUNTY AUGUST 1,2 2022 AT7:001 P.M. INTHE. JONATHAN FELTON COMMISSIONERS ROOM COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING TARBORO, NORTHCAROLINA  1.  MEETING CALLED TO ORDER BY CHAIRMANIFONARD WIGGINS AT MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr.Leonard Wiggins, Chairman, Rev. E. Wayne Hines, Vice-Chairman, Mr. Donald Boswell, Mrs. Viola Harris, Mr. William Wooten, Mrs. OTHERS PRESENT: Mr. Eric Evans, County Manager, Mrs. Natalie. Bess, Deputy County Manager, Mr. Michael Peters, County Attorney and Ms.] Frangie Mungo,  7:00 P.M.  Evelyn Powell and Mr. Ralph Webb. MEMBERSABSENT None. Clerk to thel Board. 2. SAFETY) INSTRUCTIONS.  Safety instructions provided by Mrs.] Bess. Prayer provided by Rev.) Hines.  3. 4. 5.  PRAYER.  MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING PRESENTED FOR APPROVAL. Rev. Hines moved to approve the minutes of the July 5,2022 meeting as presented. Mrs. Harris seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. A. Tarasal Lewis, Tax Administrator, presented the 2021 Annual Settlement. Mr. Webb moved to approve the Resolution accepting the Tax Collector's Annual Settlement for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 and Prior years as presented. Mr. Wooten seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Mr. Wooten moved to approve the Order to Collect taxes remaining unpaid for the, years of2012 through 2022. Mrs. Powell seconded the motion, which carried (Recommended action: Approve the Tax Collector's Settlement as of. June: 30, 2022 and recharge the' Tax Collector with collecting taxes for years 2012  SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT:  by unanimous vote. through 2022.) PUBLIC) PETITIONS.  C.B.I Daughtridge read the following to the Board of Commissioners: Thankj you, Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen ofthe commission, and staff for allowing mei to continue voicing my concerns over the unfairness ofu unequal funding of our Edgecombe County Ihave read. Senate Bill 382 which probably does allowy you toj fund students at different However, Iam amazed the school board, parents of the students involved, and Edgecombe County taxpayers have not' "benty your ears" on this subject. Itist totally unfair, irresponsible, Whati is right about! paying Edgecombe County students in the Nash-Rocky Mount System $335.85 inj gapj funds, plus paying an unequal Capital fund expense? We are paying for new  public and charter: schools students.  amounts. and unnecessary.  1    schoolsi ini Nash County andt to my knowledge we have not built a single new schooli in How can wej fix this?) Well, we missed one opportunity last month. So, now we can forth and pass a motion to do equal funding for all Edgecombe County students orj you can put! revisit Irealizey you probably do noty want tol hear this issue readdressed. But, let me telly we are missing the best opportunity wel have had to pass demerger and fund the cost. you, 1) There have been over five-hundred (500) new homes built in Edgecombe County in the eighteen (18), months which will be taxed which is underpredicted. 3) You have ai new taxe evaluation which will, reflect these new values, not the valuation, had last time which reflected a picture ofmany foreclosures and a weak market- more tax you dollars. Please, prioritize this newi money toi improve our educational system for all ours students equally with new much-needed vocational training programs to meet the demands oflocal  Edgecombe County inj forty-fivej years, except in a case of disaster.  the demerger motion.  past  2) Home and land prices are ata an all-time high.  industry and business. Thanky you, CB Daughtridge  Teresal Letchworth, 17691 Pinetops/Crisp Road, expressed her concerns of abandoned property in her neighborhood. She provided pictures of two houses havel been abandoned: fors some time. She stated that her concerns were this that an eyesore, safety concerns, drug activity going on in the area, homeless people being are starting to residei in thel houses, affecting the property for the other part of the neighborhood (values). She stated that shel has been addressing this with the Planning Department and was told they would send someone out. Someone came out but there was no calll back. She called back again and was told by the Planning Department that a courtesy letter could be sent out to the property did not know where tos send the courtesy letter. Ms. Letchworth stated letter, that but they the houses did go into foreclosure and was purchased by someone and therei isa one of mailing address. The other one is probably getting ready to bei in foreclosure. asked what does a courtesy letter entail and was told that they would ask the owners She to come out and board up thej property. Ms. Letchworth stated that she did not think that anyone would want tol live next to this and boarding up thej noti make it look any! better. She stated that her wishi is thats something property can be does looked into as far as having the owners held accountable for their needs tol bet torn down. Iti needs to be addressed. Mr. Wiggins asked Mr. Evans how we would process this.  property or it  Mr. Evans stated that there are two issues here. One is the grass. One is thel home itself, which wel have Minimum Housing Standards that there iss somewhat ofa lengthy process to address that, but something we can start.' The grass, in the County, we do not have: a grass ordinance, which is difficult toi implement in a County, but often times letters are sent toj property owner stating that therel have been complaints about the grass. Often times you see some results from that. Evans stated that he would need to find out more details from the Planning Mr. Mr. Wiggins stated that iti is a complaint now and the Manager will address it. Nehemiah Smith came forth with the following statement..." "Let's stop lying to public. The narrative surrounding the contrived issue of the merger is rooted the lie. The very language is purposely deceptive. De-merger does not instance. Uncouple, break-up perhaps, but de-merger, no. The apply those who are otherwise rational to make irrational statements and deception decisions. has led push should not be to reclaim children. They have never belonged to the school system. These children, majority African American, are thel legacy County ofa  Department and follow-up.  to this in a The  2    defunct system of Rocky Mount City Schools, who has been left tol languish in inadequate buildings, and low performing schools and our now being used as political to further the agendas ofal Nash County megalomaniac and toothless leadership in Edgecombe County. What willl be thei financial impact? What willl be thet transitional impact? What willl be the effect on the tax rate? How are you going to match the teacher supplement of Nash County? Whoi is coming tol Edgecombe County to work for less payi in this economy? What kind of half-schooled legal advice are you getting? You seem tol be thinking and working in the context and parameters set bys someone else. Re-focus and do what isl best for all children in Edgecombe County. Whati isl best for those children in the City and in rural areas. Let's start thinking outside thel box. Let's push for our local legislative delegation to introduce al bill that will removel Edgecombe County's responsibility to fund anything outside the city limits. Remember this was not a county/county merger. It was a city/county merger. Nash County has carved out its own brand of legislative influence, while Edgecombe County twiddles it's proverbial thumbs. Let's move away from kneej jerk reactions to counterfeit public issues and toward thej push for all parties involved toi improve academic performance and become producers of young people who arej prepared for the world of work and higher education Curmilus Dancy, 1271 Midway Lane, Tarboro, POI Box 1391, Pinetops  opportunities." Good evening,  Iwas not feeling well during the. July meeting sol Ididn'ta attend the meeting whenj you voted on the demerger of Edgecombe County Public. Schools and Nash County Public Schools. Ibegan in the late 80's attending the ECPS board meetings and challenged the system for years. I remember the bond referendum that NCPS received and it appears that ECPS got Iattended and videoed all of the public meetings that were held for the community to attend about the demerger andi ity was hard missing the meeting when you voted. Iwas very disappointed in the vote. Idon't understand why the vote failed because the facts of how Edgecombe County has been treated and as its stands, ity will not change unless Edgecombe County bring our children back home where they belong. Iam not going into the details of Iwas very disappointed in Commissioners Viola Harris and also Ralph Webb voting against the demerger. It was clear to me inj previous meetings where Commissioners Donald. Boswell (my district) and William Wooten stood.. Idon't understand why anyone thati is politically inclined and knowledgeable of what is at stake, that they would not Someone: said they are worried about what they don't know. But my problem is what we do know. We know there are around. 1700 students that will come back to ECPS. We knows staff, facilities, transportation and other that they receive now will be neededi in Edgecombe County so whati is the problem? We know that the monies from the state and othert that are Ibelieve the Edgecombe County Commissioners and Edgecombe County Public Schools joint meeting in Princeville to discuss the demerger in February. 24, 2020t that I recorded and has it on Youlube explains it well about why the demergeri is on the table and whati it will take place Iarrived a little late at the February meeting because. Igot off work at 3:30 PM attended the. Rocky Mount City Council meeting at 4 PM and then arrived at the meeting in Princeville shortly afteri it had begun. The presentation by the County Manager and the ECPS Superintendent and her team was awesome to me. Igoti it. Whatl I got back then; Iget today. Add two years to what was discussed and it mean that the cost has risen. It means that the longer we wait it will continue to rise. Iwill end now because. Ithink you got my message. However, I want to end on the following note. As Iviewed Commissioner Harris video the public comments, I seen Rev. Roosevelt Higgs address this board and he used my of physicaladdress. as) he was tog give his name and his address. Itisafactthat) hejustregistered  little outo ofit.  because this board know what has transpired over thej years.  why  want to see the demerger take place.  to going  NCPS now will be coming to ECPS.  after the demerger.  3    with the Nash County Board of Elections March. 30, 2022 that he lives at 2820S Church St Rocky Mount NC. At least 4ofyou know that he does not live in Tarboro and know he has not lived in Speed since the 1999 flood but used that address until this change. Higgs also confirmed he has been living at the Nash County address for several years on WNCR TV Bronson Williams Morning, Show when he talked about when his son beat him up. Iam asking this board to address Rev. Roosevelt. Higgs forg giving this board my address  when he addressed) you. Thanking. you in advance. Curmilus Dancy II  Edgecombe County Active & Engaged Citizen asked Mr. Peters to take care ofit.  Mr. Wiggins stated that ifin fact Roosevelt Higgs did use. Mr. Dancy's address, he Tricia Wilson, 37671 Howard Avenue Extension, Tarboro, stated that they own Saint Anne's Chapel andi have noticed al largei increase in the noise of vehicles (trucks, motorcycles). They understand thati iti is al busy intersection and happy tol know that therei is ani industrial park down the road, but in thel last two years the trucks and the motorcycles have gotten excessively louder. They are a retreat center. They do meditations twice a week. Itis very difficult tol havea a meditation and stress reducing programs and all ofas sudden you have al loud vehicle that they have to stop their program to allowi it to go over because you cannot hear their music. She stated that she alsoi is a sound healer and shel has been doing healing sessions onl her front porch because of COVID and shel has tos stop her program because of the loud noise. Ms. Wilson stated thats she called to find out if therei is an ordinance and apparently we do from 1980. She stated that Edenton has a noise ordinance thati is strictly enforced by thel Police, Sheriff and Highway Patrol Offices. She stated that  anything thel Board can do willl be appreciated.  Mr. Wiggins asked Mr. Evans and Mr. Peters tol looki into this.  7. OTHER BUSINESS:  A. Approval of budget amendments.  Mr. Wooten moved to approve thel budget amendments as presented. Mrs. Harris seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Mr. Evans stated that in order to recruit a person with the requisite skills and experience needed to run the finance department and manage the County's financial operations, he suggested the creation ofa Chief Financial Officer (CFO) position. Hej presented to thel Board for consideration a draftj job description and recommended that thel Board approve the addition ofa Chief Financial Officer position at a grade 30 on the Salary Scale. Mr. Wooten moved to approve the addition as recommended. Mr. Boswell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Approval of Planning' Technician Position.  B. Approval of Chief Financial Officer Position.  Mr. Evans stated that in the Planning Department, we currently have a Senior Planner position, whichi is filled, and al Planner, which is vacant. Katina Braswell, Planning and) Inspections Director, recommends that the operations of the office willl be betters served by creating a Planning' Technician position to fill instead ofal Planner. Mr. Evans recommended that the board approve the addition ofal Planning technician position at: a grade 11 on the Salary Scale. Mr. Boswell moved to approve the addition as recommended. Mrs. Harris D. Approval of Deed of] Right of Way to NC Department of Transportation.  seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote.  4    Mr. Evanss stated that Leonard Wiggins Parkwayl has been constructed and now connects Kingsboro Road and Highway 64 Alternate through Kingsboro Industrial Park. Thisi is a NCI DOT maintained road, and therefore the road's right-of-way needs to be transferred tol NCI DOT. Mr. Evans recommended that thel Board approve thel Deed for Highway Right-of-Way and the Voluntary Rev.1 Hines moved to approve as] presented. Mrs. Powell seconded the motion, Mr. Evans stated that as settlement was reached on the nationwide opioid litigation. Every county in North Carolina will receive an annual allocation for the next eighteen years tol be used toi fund opioid remediation activities. Wel have received our first allocation of $103,202.87, and we expect tos soon receive another in the amount of $226,963. The 18-year payment schedule is included in the agenda packet. Thej program provides al list of eligible activities for which we can uset thei funds. Our CORE Committee (Coordinated Opiate Recovery Effort) has considered which activities would be most impactful for] Edgecombe  Donation Acknowledge.  which carried by unanimous vote. E. Approval of Opioid Settlement Program.  County, and recommend toi include: Evidenced-Based, Addiction Treatment Recovery Support Services Syringe Servicel Program Naloxone Distribution  Mr. Evans recommended that thel Board approve the Grant Project Ordinance Mrs.) Powell moved to approve the Grant Project Ordinance and budget amendment as presented. Mr. Webb seconded the motion, which carried by Mr. Evans stated that a few corrections are noted for our FY-23 budget ordinances, including the General Fund Ordinance, ARPA Fund Ordinance, Water and Sewer Operations Ordinance, and Solid Waste Ordinance. This is to correct errors and omission, miscalculation, and typographical. None of these result in a change in the overall budget nor do they require additional fund Mrs. Harris moved to approve the revised ordinances as presented. Mr. Wooten Mr. Evans stated thati in 2018, the Board approved updates and corrections to our Personnel Policy thati included a change to Section 10 on' Workers' Compensation found onj page! 50. The change was to not allow employees out on workers' compensation to use sick and vacation leave to make up for the difference they receivei in workers' compensation, being that it only pays 2/3's of the employee's wage. Allowing leave to be used creates a disincentive to returning to work. Being that workers' compensation is not subject to federal and state taxes, allowing the use of] leave to make up the difference puts the employee's takel home pay at, ifr nots slightly above, what they usually make. Mr. Evans stated that we noticed that another relative section in the Personnel Policy (page 38) was not changed at the same time, and it now creates conflicting statements in our policy. Therefore, he recommended that thel Board approve amending the Personnel Policy on page 30, in Section 3 to state, "An employee may not use sick leave to supplement workers' compensation benefits up to  and budget amendment for the Opioid Settlement.  unanimous vote.  F. Approval of amendments to the] Budget Ordinance.  balance appropriation.  seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Approval of correction to) Personnel Policies.  100% of gross salary".  5    Mr. Boswell moved to approve the corrections to thel Personnel Policies as presented. Mrs. Powell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. H. Approval of Sheriff's application tot thel North Carolina Governor's Highway Mr. Evans stated that Sheriff Atkinson plans to apply to thel NC Governor's Highway Safety Program. This is the second year ofai four-year grant. The funds are used to designate ai full-time deputy to address traffic collisions, speeding complaints, and otheri issues related to traffic safety and education. The grant does require a match of $19,394, which will come fromi funds already Mr. Boswell moved to approve the resolution authorizing the submission of this application to the NC Governor's Highway Safety Program as presented. Mrs. Harris seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. AFTERLISTS/ AND RELEASES FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL. Mr. Wooten moved to approved the afterlists and releases as presented. Mr. Boswell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Mr. Wooten moved to approve the contracts as presented. Mrs. Powell seconded  Safety Program.  budgeted in the Sheriff's office.  9. APPROVALANDIOR REVIEWOF CONTRACTS. the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. A. Water: and Sewer update. B. Monthly Financial Summary. C.Solid Waste. Annual Report.  10. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS FOR REVEW-Recihed":  D. ARPA Funded Community Impact Program. 11. MANAGER'S] REPOKI-Rerehed": A. Workforce Development indicators. 12. COMMISSIONERS REPORT 13. ATTORNEY'S: REPORT. 14. CLOSEDSESSION.  B. Update onl Bridge Construction Projects in Edgecombe County.  None.  Rev. Hines moved to go into closed session to discuss: A. Economic Development. [N.C.G.S. 143-318.11 (a)(4)] Mr. Wooten seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Rev. Hines moved to go out of closed session and resume the regular meeting. Mrs. Harris seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Mr. Boswell moved to approve the Economic Development and Incentive Agreement related to Clairmont Land Holdings Incorporated as presented. Mrs. Powell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Mrs. Harris moved to approve thel Release Agreement regarding Clairmont Land Holdings Incorporated as presented. Mrs. Powell seconded the motion, which Mr. Boswell moved to approve the $50,000 payment appropriation to thel Industrial Incentivel line in the economic development account from fund balance relative to the release agreement regarding Clairmont. Mrs. Powell seconded the motion,  carried by unanimous vote.  which carried by unanimous vote.  6    Mr. Boswell moved to approve a revision tot the Water and' Wastewater rates to includei incentive rates fori industrial clients that will use at] least 100,000 gallons per day as presented. Mrs. Harris seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous Mr. Evans stated that we: are required to respond to our FY 2021 audit findings within 45 days of the audit being presented to thel Board. He presented to the Board thel list, which spells out what has been done or what willl be done to address each of those findings. They have to bej presented to the Board to vote on approving this response and to submit it tot thel Local Government Commission. Mr. Boswell moved to approve the response as presented and to authorize the submission tol LGC. Mrs. Powell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous Mr. Evans provided an update on the Water & Sewer District #4 USDA funding. 15. REV.] HINES MOVEDTO ADJOURNTHE MEETING UNTIL TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6.2022 AT 7:001 P.M. MRS. POWELL SECONDED THE MOTION,  vote.  vote.  WHICH CARRIED BY UNANIMOUS VOTE.  Approved September 6, 2022. an JAu Frangie Mungo, Clerk tothe Board  7