MINUTES OFI EDGECOMBE COUNTY OCTOBER 4,2021 AT'7:00 P.M. INTHE CARMON AUDITORIUM COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE: BUILDING TARBORO, NORTHO CAROLINA  REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETING OF THE. BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS  1. MEETINGCALLEDTOORDERI BYC CHAIRMANLEONARD WIGGINS AT MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Leonard Wiggins, Chairman, Rev. E. Wayne Hines, Vice-Chairman, Mr. Donald Boswell, Mrs. Evelyn Powell, Mr. Ralph Webb and OTHERS PRESENT: Mr. Eric Evans, County Manager, Mrs. Natalie Bess, Deputy County Manager, Mr. Michael Peters, County Attorney and Ms. Frangie Mungo,  7:00P.M. Mrs. Viola Harris.  MEMBERSABSENT: Mr. William Wooten.  Clerk to thel Board. 2. SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS. Mrs.) Bess provided safety instructions. 3. PRAYER. Rev. Hines provided prayer.  4. MINUTESOF) PREVIOUS MEETING PRESENTED FOR APPROVAL. Rev. Hines moved to approve the minutes of the September 7, 2021 meeting as presented. Mrs. Powell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. 1. Mr. Wiggins called a public hearing to order to receive citizen comments relative to the] Proposed Amendments to thel Edgecombe County Animal Services  5. PUBLICI HEARING:  Ordinance.  Mr. Peters read the public notice.  Mr. Evans stated that the. Animal Welfare Advisory Council is recommending additional changes to the Animal Services Ordinance. The changes they recommend. are in Chapter 4 of the County Ordinances and include Article II Section 4-34 and Section 4-41, as well as Article II sections 4-132, 4-134, and 4- 136. Additionally, the Council would like for the Board to consider an amendment to Article II Section 4.112, which was left out of the draft presented in September. Mr. Evans reviewed the details of these changes and stated that it ist the recommendation oft the. Animal Welfare Advisory Council to approve these amendments as presented. He stated that Kathy Williams, Chairperson of  the Council was present to answer any questions. Mrs. Williams came: forth to answer questions. Mr. Wiggins called for public comments.  Mr. Evans read the following comment submitted via email.  To: Public Comments  In regards to the proposed changes to Chapter 4 Sections 34 and 41, and Article II, Ihave read over the proposed changes to the ordinance and Iagree with  1    them, although. Iam concerned. that the ordinances may not be enforced, especially Article. IL. Iti has been my experience that animal control, specifically the officer in charge of my case, is a paper tiger that can'te enforce the law no matter how iti is written. He'll probably just give an indefinite number of warnings and unenforced recommendations. and never actually issue any citations whatsoever as was with my case. Although it's better to have more provisions in the books than not, there will still be ani issue ofr whether or not the law will actually be enforced, which doesn'tn make me feel any safer for myj family and I.  Sincerely,  Sonia Alexander, resident of Edgecombe County, Pinetops Mrs. Sonia Alexander was present, but had no further comments. There being no further comments thej public hearing was adjourned. Mrs. Harris moved to approve the changes as presented. Mrs. Powell seconded the a. Michelle Etheridge, Interim Health) Director, presented COVID-19 update. Mrs. Etheridge stated that as of September 28, 2021 NCI DHHS reported7 7,471 cases of COVID-19 in Edgecombe County. Group most affected is white females in the age group of2 25-49. There has been a decline in the daily case averages. Shej provided information on demographics on cases, deaths and vaccines. Death count due to COVID-19 is 128. Total vaccines given inl Edgecombe County equals 44,776. (41%). She provided information on COVID-19 testing, vaccines, community events and incentives. Mrs. Etheridge answered questions from the Mr. Evans stated that President Biden announced a recommendation that employers with 100 plus employees be required to either get vaccinated or to be tested weekly and he was sending that directive to OSHA, who has toj put the actual rulesi inj place. Mr. Evans stated that at the time the President announced: it we thought that it would not apply to units of local government, but wel havei found out from guidance that came down from UNC-SOG that, ifi implemented, it will apply to units ofl local government. We expect therel likely tol be some legal challenges coming from various directions and whether or not that willl haves some impact when implemented wel havet to  motion, which carried by unanimous vote. SCHEDULED. APPOINTMENTS.  Board.  prepare ourselves.  Mr. Evans answered questions from thel Board.  Mr. Evans asked the Board to also think about doing another phase oft the employee vaccinei incentive. He stated that we will soon be receiving ARP funds and it can be used to encourage employees to get the vaccine.  7. PUBLIC PETITIONS. None. 8. OTHERI BUSINESS:  A.Approval of budget amendments.  Mr. Webb moved to approve thel budget amendments as presented. Mr. Boswell B. Approval of creation of and structure for the] Parks and Recreation Advisory Mr. Evans stated that at thel Board's September meeting, they approved the Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Plan. The first recommendation in the  seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote.  Board.  2    plan is to create aj permanent. Parks and Recreation. Advisory Board. The purpose of thel Board ist to study matters related toj parks and recreation and to advise accordingly. Thei first matter of business for the Advisory Board, once appointed, is to make recommendations. on thei implementation oft thej plan. Mr. Evans presented for thel Board's consideration a structure for the Advisory Board. This has been reviewed and recommended by thel Parks and] Recreation Mrs. Powell moved to approve the creation of and structure for thel Parks and Recreation Advisory Board as presented. Mrs. Harris seconded the motion, C. Approval of proposed revision to Capital Improvement Plan for FY-22. Mr. Evans stated that when recommending the budget for this fiscal year, he asked that thel Board consider revisiting the budget for the Capital Improvement Plan after the start of the fiscal year. Being that we are estimating to end FY-21 just under $12 million ini fund balance (17%) and that we cut thei fund balance appropriation for this fiscal year to $4,383,245, he believes that we can cover the costs of these critical capital needsi in this fiscal year. This request was presented to thel Board at the August meeting. It was tabled for further review by the Budget Committee. Prior to that meeting, he scaled back the request by postponingl his recommendation for additional vehicles in various departments tol be revisited lateri in the fiscal year. These additions tot the CIP total $767,236, which would take the CIP: appropriation to $1,285,931. Thel Budget Committee Mr. Webb moved to approve the revision of the Capital Improvement Plan for FY-22 as recommended by thel Budget Committee. Mr. Boswell seconded the D. Approval of renewed Joint Use Agreement with Edgecombe County Public Mr. Evans stated that in April of 2015, the Board approved a Joint Use Agreement with Edgecombe County Public Schools. Thej purpose of this agreement was to recognize our cooperative effort on the use of school facilities for recreational opportunities. That agreement has now expired, and the Board ofE Education desires to renew it. Their Board approved the agreement at their Mrs. Powell moved to: approve the. Joint Use Agreement as presented. Mr. Boswell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. E. Approval of] Down) East Home Consortium Agreements.  Taskforce.  which carried by unanimous vote.  recommends approval.  motion, which carried by unanimous vote.  Schools.  September meeting.  Mr. Evans stated that Edgecombe County is able to receive federal HOME funds by being a part of the Down East HOME Consortium. HOME funds provide for housing and community development activities for low-income families. Typically, the HOME: funds we receive. are used for housing rehabilitation projects. We participate along with the City of Rocky Mount (lead entity), and several other municipalities int the' Twin Counties region. Recently, staff with the City of Rocky Mount reconciled thei funds received and expended back to the beginning of thel DEHC. It was determined that additional funds are due to the members of the Consortium. Mr. Evans presented thel Reconciliation Agreement which shows that $601,764 is available to assist Edgecombe County Residents. He also presented the agreement for our current year's HOME allocation. Once both agreements are approved, we cans starts soliciting Mrs. Harris moved to approve the Reconciliation Agreement as presented. Mrs.  applicants from eligible residents.  3    Powell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Mr. Webb moved to approve the HOME Allocation Agreement as presented. Mrs. Powell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Mrs. Harris asked Mr. Evans how would this information get out to the citizens. Mr. Evans stated that along with other methods, information can also be sent Mr. Evans stated that in August of 2019, thel Board adopted an Acceptable Use Policy which replaced Article. XVI of our Personnel and Administrative Policies section on Electronic Communications.": The purpose of that policy is to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability oft the County's information systems. Since then, our team has been working on building on that document toi include additional components toi further that end. Mr. Evans presented for the Board's consideration the Information Security Manual. In addition to the Acceptable Use Policy, this document adds the following  out with the water bills.  Approval of Information Security Manual.  components: Information Security Access Control Data Classification Network Security security threats.  Vulnerability Management Incidence Response Third Party Policy  The implementation of this document with its aforementioned components is necessary to continue building our defenses against the ever-changing data and Mr. Boswell moved to approve the Information Security Manual as presented. Mrs. Harris seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote.  9. APPOINTMENTS: A. Jury Commission  Mrs. Powell moved to reappoint Mr. Rueben D. Thompson IV as recommended. Rev. Hines seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. 10. AFTERLISTS AND RELEASES FOR RAMIEWANDAPROVAL Mrs. Harris moved to: approve the afterlists and releases as presented. Mr. Boswell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. 11. DEFARIMENTALREFORIES FOR REVIEW."Received":  A. Water Services. B. Financial Summary report. C.Solid Waste- - Fall Litter Sweep. 12. MANAGERSREPORT."Reveived"": A. Workforce Development indicators. B. Housing Development in Edgecombe County. 13. COMMISSIONERS! REPORT.  Mr. Boswell asked if we were moving forward with posting for thel ITI Director. Mr. Evans stated that itl has been posted and wel have received a couple of applications. He announced that. Jason Webb has been named as Interim Director.  14. ATTORNEYSREPORT    None. 15. CLOSEDSESSION.  Mr. Webb moved to go into closed session to discuss: A. Economic Development. [N.C.G.S. 143-318.11 (a)(4)] B.ITS Security Assessment. [N.C.G.S. 143.318.11 (a)(1) via GAS 132.6.1() C. Personnel Matter. [N.C.G.S. 143-318.11 (a)(3)] Mr. Boswell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Mrs. Powell moved to go out of closed session and resume the regular meeting. Rev. Hines seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. 16. REV.HINESMOVEDTO, ADJOURN THE MEHINGINTILNONDAY. NOV/MIBERLAMIATZAOI P.M. MR.] BOSWELLSECONDEDTHEMOTION,  WHICH CARRIED DY UNANMOUSVOTE  Approved! November 1,2021. Banie Frangie Clerk tot Mungo,  unge the] Board  5