MINUTES  REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS IN THE COMMISSIONERS ROOM, COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVEBUILDING MEETING CALLEDTOORDER BY CHAIRMANLEONARD WIGGINS AT7:00 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Leonard Wiggins, Chairman, Mr. Donald Boswell, Rev. E. Wayne] Hines, Mr. William Wooten, Mrs. Viola Harris and Mrs. Evelyn Powell.  OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY FEBRUAY: 4, 2019 AT7:001 P.M. TARBORO, NORTH CAROLINA  1.  MEMBERS ABSENT: Mr. Jonathan Felton, Vice-Chairman. Attorney and) Ms. Frangie Mungo, Clerk to thel Board.  OTHERS PRESENT: Mr. Eric Evans, County Manager, Mr. Michael Peters, County  2. 3. 4.  PRAYER.  Rev. Hines provided the prayer.  MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS PRESENTED FOR APPROVAL.  Rev. Hines moved to approve the minutes of the January 7,2019 as presented. Mrs. Harris A. Recognition of Art Bradley, Cooperative Extension Director, on receiving the Carol Birkhead Outstanding County Extension Director award for 2018. North Carolina Cooperative Extension recently recognized. Art Bradley with the Carol Birkhead Outstanding County Extension Director award for 2018. Arts serves as the County Extension Director fort the NC Cooperative Extension Edgecombe County Cooperative. Extension is a partnership ofthe county and our land-grant Universities, NCS State University and NCA&TState University, providing educational outreach in agriculture, youth development, family & consumer issues and community development. Eric Evans, Edgecombe County. Manager, commented: "Mr. Bradley certainly does his job very well, but more impressively, he routinely. goes above and beyond the duties required of him. He has used his position as a platform to establish himselfas ag great Artl began his career in Edgecombe County as an Agricultural. Extension Agent serving ourj farmers with research-driven educational, programming. forj field crops. Hei is supported by a staff thati is devoted to helping people, and county government that Mr. Wiggins, on behalf of thel Board, thanked Mr. Bradley for his continued service. Mr. Bradley thanked the Board for their continued support. He stated that he could not thank of any higher honor and privilege tol be from Edgecombe County and be able to come back here to work for the County and] NC State University. He talked about all the work his staff does and that they work together as a team. He recognized Ms. Yvonne Murphy, stating thats shei is one part of their team and for the last two years shel has been on a CDC grant that has helped to address obesity and nutrition issues in the County that has helped in lots of different areas such as parks and recreation abilities. Hes stated that they have another grant that Ms. Murphy is going tol be a part of, Department of] Public Health grant that will focus on physical activity. Deborah Jordan, 614 E. Wilson Street, Tarboro, came before the Board because she has received several phone calls from parents of children with disabilities who want to participate in Special Olympics. Edgecombe County Special Olympics no longer exist. She asked ift the Board would consider the support of that, stating that she is willing tol help the parents get this along. Mrs. Jordan stated that she currently works as a qualified professional for individual that are Individual Development Delayed and also the mother of  seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote.  SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT.  Mr. Evans read the following press release:  Center,providing leadership in that! position since 2009.  leader in our organization andi the county as a whole."  recognizes thei importance ofagriculture.  5.  PUBLICI PETITIONS.    an autistic son, who did benefit from participating in Special Olympics. There are families who will come out and participate in the games and give their kids something to feel proud about representing Edgecombe County, their town and the community they live in. Mr. Wiggins stated that he was going to give that charge to the County Manager. He stated that on behalf of thel Board, he felt that iti is something that we need to participate in and the Manager willl be your contact orl his designee. This was the consensus of the. Board. Mr. Bronson Williams, 611 Hargrove Street, Rocky Mount, came forth to talk about priorities as we are getting into thel budget season 2019 fiscal year. Hes stated that he has had the opportunity to read some of the Telegram articles of the newspaper in regards to our Sheriff's department. He stated how do we prioritize the hard working men and women of that agency who protects our County every single day. At some point priorities move off a list and youl began to really focus on that area. Hej personally believes that safe communities are growing communities. Mr. Williams stated that we see the great work this commission has done with attracting CSX, Corning and what have you, and we certainly want to be sure that we are not investing money in men and women who go and leave because they are getting higher pay. We are serious about the commitment and investment we make to the members of our Edgecombe County Sheriff's Department. He stated that he understands we want to give across thel board raises, but sometimes iti is easier to do things in phases. He stated that hel hopes that we are making that agency aj priority in this budget coming forth. Rev. Roosevelt Higgs, Speed, stated that hei is just as concerned about one department as he is the other. He stated that he know you all heard that Edgecombe County is Edgecombe County Government, Edgecombe County is the training ground for the Health Department, Social Services. Some of these people are moving away so they can get more money, some of them want to go to brighter light. He stated that there is a misconception out there with everybody seeing this dirt being turned with Triangle Tire and Corning and the Railroad potentially coming, they are instantly seeing dollars and cents. Rev. Higgs stated that nobody realizes the incentives that Edgecombe County had to give to recruit those industries here. He encourage the Board to do everything they can to hold that spending line down, because it will be a shame to pass that indebtedness down to another generation. You all get a chance to spend a whole lot of money, but he encouraged them to look at all of the employees. He stated that you don't see the other departments coming up here, because they know how the game is played, and he felt everybody should play by the same rules. When the Sheriff accepted this position he should have been smart enough to Rev. Thomas Walker, Rocky Mount, stated that he is a lifelong member of the Edgecombe County Community and former County Commissioner. Sometimes we start a conversation and other times we are born into conversations and sometimes we walk into it. He stated that he has been reading about the concerns about the Sheriff and our law enforcement. He stated that he sees were progress is made inl Law enforcement, and hei is very impressed with our current Sheriff, and his program that he has. Rev. Walker stated that he really appreciates the priority that the Board of Commissioners has given to law enforcement, but unless you live in another world that he is not living in you must see that that is one of the real crisis/issues that we are dealing with in our world and that is safety. Make sure that the law and orderi is distributed properly. Wehave a good Sheriff and department and money is always an issue. He asked the Board as they carry the budgets, priorities must take precedence over everything else. Let's not assume that our community is going tol be able to maintain the kind of peace and tranquility that it definitely needs. We talk about industry coming, buti industry is going to be here and they are going to need tol have that security. He Mr. Curmilus Dancy, 127 Midway Lane, Tarboro, stated that he follows the news, not only locally but across the State and he see that our Sheriff Department being called to different places, not only Nash' County but other places also. Which lets him know that we have expertise here. We also have the previous Sheriff that they piggy back on. Safety is number one. He stated that he knows the County and has been out here advocating since the late 80s, and he knows what is going on and he knows all of the players. We need to look atl law  law losing  enforcement  officers, but he can tell you for the 30 years that he has been paying attention to  realize that hel had to operate through al budget.  stated that hel hoped that we willl keep our law enforcement priority.  enforcement. OTHER BUSINESS:  A. Approval of budget amendments.  Mr. Wooten moved to approve the budget amendments as presented. Rev. Hines  -2-    seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote.  B. Approval ofac change in the Transportation and' Travel Reimbursement Policy. Mr. Evans stated that currently, our Administrative and Personnel Policies include provisions that govern the use or personal vehicles for county business and the reimbursement of costs for doing sO. Wel have determined thej policy needs revising to address situations that are unclear as it currently reads. Mr. Evans presenteda document that shows what the current policy states and the recommended changes. Mrs. Harris moved to approve the change as presented. Mr. Wooten seconded the Approval ofa changei in the mileage reimbursement rate. Mr. Evans stated thati iti is the County's practice to follow the standard mileage reimbursement: rates set by the Internall Revenue Service. Recently, thel IRSi issued a notice that iti is increasing the rate from 54.5 cents to 58 cents. Mr. Boswell moved to approve the mileage reimbursement of 58 cents as recommended. Mrs. Powell seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. D. Approval an agreement between the Edgecombe County Animal Shelter and Nash Mr. Evans stated that we have received a request from Nash Community College to consider a Memorandum of Understanding with their Veterinary Medical Technology program. As you will seei in thel MOU, they arej proposing that we transfer animals from our shelter to their program to be used for training their students. In return, these animals will be provided basic and routine animal health care at no cost to the County. Mr. Evans stated that this is supported by Sheriff Atkinson and the staff at the Edgecombe County Animal Shelter. Therefore, he recommended that the Board Mr. Evans introduced Dr. Mandy Tolson, Instructor for the program, who was present Dr. Tolson expressed her appreciation for the Board considerations on this. The program is not aj program that is at Edgecombe Community College. The closest one is Nash. Having one in the North Eastern part of the State is really important for our community. She stated thati if anyone has any questions about thel MOU and what we: are Mr. Wooten moved to approve the agreement as presented. Mr. Boswell seconded the  motion, which carried by unanimous vote.  Community College Veterinary Program.  approves the MOUas] presented. to answer any questions.  planning on doing contact her.  motion.  Ms. Harris askedi if Nash County's Animal Shelter involved.  Dr. Tolson stated yes. Wes actually have the same. MOU with Nash County in place.  The motion carried by unanimous vote. NEED, Inc. Anti-poverty plan.  Mr. Evans stated that Nash Edgecombe Economic Development, Inc. (NEED, Inc.) receives federali funding through the Community Service Block Grant program. A requirement of the programi is tos submit an Anti-poverty Plan. This plan discusses their strategies for eliminating poverty within their service area. He stated that an electronic copy was sent to the Board on. January 11,2019. No action isi needed of the Board. NEED, Inc. is required to distribute a copy oft the plan to thel Board at] least 30 days prior toi its submission, whichi is due February 15, 2019 and the Board is given an opportunity Mr. Evans stated that as part of the relocation program atl Midlakes Mobile Home Park, some residents either have turned ownership of their home over to the County orl have otherwise abandoned the unit on site. Some of these units are noti in a condition thati it can be moved, and therefore will be demolished. Others are salvageable. These are manufactured homes titled as personal property, and therefore must be deemed surplus in order to be sold. Wel have one additional property to come to the County that can be  tos submit comments along with the plan.  F. Approval of declaring al home in Midlakes Mobile Home Park as surplus.  -3-    sold. He requested that thel Board consider declaring thel home located at 371 Lagoon Lane as surplus and to authorize staff to sell the same through Gov-Deals. Mrs. Harris moved to declare thel home as surplus and authorize the selling through Gov-Deals. Rev.) Hines seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Mrs. Powell moved to approve the afterlists and releases as presented. Mr. Wooten A. Approval of a resolution authorizing the donation ofl lots to United Methodist Church for Mr. Eric stated that thel North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church has been herei in the County assisting with Hurricane Mathew Recovery since immediately after the storm. Because of the Boards willingness to allow them to operate out of our facility on North Main Street herei in' Tarboro, they have been able to coordinate 200 volunteer teams, with over 2,000 volunteers, providing nearly 80,000 work hours to complete 361 rebuild projects. He stated that along with the continuation of that work, NCCUMC is working on a special project to potentially build four new homes for flood survivors. They have a group of 100 volunteers coming to Edgecombe County toj provide thel labor to construct these homes. They have already identified two families who stilll have ar need for permanent housing to benefit from this mission. Mr. Evans stated that he also identified two lots that the County owns through tax foreclosure. NCCUMC staff members have assessed thesel lots and determined them tol be buildable, and well suited for the project. Thel lots are: 329 Ridgewood: Road and 12051 Newson Street. They are considering two other lots owned by the' Town of] Princeville. NC General Statute 160A-279 allows the County to convey property to an entity that carries out aj public purpose. Ify you do sO, a public hearing notice is required after a resolution is passed, and thes sale cannot be consummated until 10 days after thei notice. Considering thel benefit this willj provide to the recovery process, and that these properties will revert to a taxable status, He recommend that the Board approve the resolution, which will: authorize thes sale of the properties for $1 Mr. Wooten moved to approve thei resolution as presented. Mrs. Powell seconded the  7. AFTERLISTS AND RELEASES FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL. seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote.  SUPPLEMENTAL, AGENDA  Hurricane Recovery.  each tot the NC Conference of the United Methodist Church.  motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Human Relations Commission: carried by unanimous vote. SCHEDULED. APPOINTMENT:  B. APPOINTMENTS:  Mrs.) Harris moved to appoint Ms. Tina Parker. Rev. Hines seconded the motion, which A. Mr. Evans stated that in the absence of the presenter he asked the Board to refer back to the Mr. Evans stated that the start of the 2020 Census is quickly approaching us, and the US Census Bureau is already very active in preparing for it. Part of that preparation includes deploying their staff to help communities with raising awareness and encouraging their participation. Mrs. Cynthia Jones, our Planning Director, is our designated Census Liaison. He stated that they met with Mr. Terry Henderson, Partnership Specialist for the Atlanta Regional Census Center. He has encouraged us to establish a Complete County Committee (CCC). The CCC is key in creating awareness in communities and encouraging participation in the Census. The committee is to be comprised of a broad spectrum of government and community leaders. Mr. Evans stated that such a committee would be beneficial for us, and recommended that the Board take action to establish one. He suggested the committee consist of at least 10, but no more than 20, community representatives and that the following agencies and community sectors bei represented:  information in their package regarding the US Census 2020.  Elected official Social Services Non-profits School System  Faith community Community College Farming community Hispanic community  Aging Population Rep. Municipality Rep. Chamber of Commerce At-large members  Mr. Evans stated that Ms. Laura McClettie, the NC Partnership Coordinator for the US Census Bureau, was expected to be present tonight to provide an overview, but information  4-    isi included in thel Board's packets regarding a Complete Count Committee, and some other information on the timeline for key dates that are coming upon us in preparing for the 2020 Census. Hej pointed out that they are currently hiring for people to work the Census. Mr. Boswell moved to establish Complete Count Committee. Rev. Hines seconded the A. Water Services. (Discussion and questions from the Board answered by Mike Matthews  motion, which carried by unanimous vote. B. Financial Summary Report. C. Hurricane recovery update. (Discussion) D. Midlakes Relocation Project. (Discussion) E. Update on new legislation related to' Tax Administration. F. Influenza report. MANAGER'S REPORI-"Recehved": A. Workforce Indicators. B. Update onl Hometown Strong Program. C. Flood Insurance Program Community Assistance visit. D. Change in Golden LEAF Grant fori fire station. E. Request from South Eastern North Carolina CDC.  8. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS FOR REVIFW.-Reehed":  9.  10. COMMISSIONERS REPORT.  Mr. Boswell shared dumpsite recommendations with thel Board. He stated that he gave the recommendations to the County Manager tonight and asked him to look at them and the Board can discuss at thei next meeting. He stated that he asked] Mr. Evans to givei input on Mr. Boswell stated that they continue tol have, in his district, tremendous problem with deer hunters. He stated that hei is contacting another Commissioner from Halifax County as recommended by one of thel locall law enforcement agencies to discuss maybe some possible remedies; possibly even changing local law. He stated that hej just wanted tol bringi it up Mrs. Harris reported on NCACCI Legislative Goals and the top five goals that are going to  what could and could not be done or should or should not be done.  tonight so the Board will know what coming down the pipe.  NC General Assembly for all 100 counties: Statewide Bond for education Preserve our existing local revenue mental problems in the jail appropriations att the Event Center, 5-8 p.m. 11. ATTORNEY'S REPORT. 12. CLOSED SESSION.  Broadband  Resources to make sure that we: are not putting people with behavioral problems or Repeal the ability for school boards to sue boards of county commissioners over Mrs. Harris reported that onl February 26th we willl have our first district meeting (District7)  None.  Mr. Wooten moved to goi into closed session to discuss economic development, aj personnel matter and al legal matter. Mrs. Harris seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous Mr. Boswell moved to go out of closed session and resume the regular meeting. Mr. Wooten 13. MR. BOSWELLMOVED TO ADJOURNTHE MEETING UNTILMARCHAZDI.AT 7:00 P.M. MR. WOOTEN SECONDEDTHE MOTION, WHICH CARRIED BY  vote.  seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote.  UNANIMOUS VOTE. Approved] March 4,2019. Sunau Alna Frangie Mungo, Clerktot the Board