Home > Meeting Recaps > Board Of Commissioners Meeting Recaps | January 5, 2026

Board Of Commissioners Meeting Recaps | January 5, 2026

 

At their morning meeting, Commissioners:

  • Accepted a $225,000 grant from North Carolina’s Great Trail State Program. The County’s Parks and Open Space Department will use the grant to purchase land for the next leg of the Neuse River Trail through Wilson’s Mills. The grant requires a dollar-for-dollar match from the County. Johnston’s share will come from the fee developers pay when they choose not to include open space or recreation amenities in their subdivisions.

  • Leased the former Rose Dairy Farm from the Triangle Land Conservancy. The farm, with walking trails and fishing ponds, will eventually become a County park. The TLC plans to turn the land over to the county in early 2026. Until then, the lease will allow the County’s Parks and Open Space Department to begin renovations needed to make its offices there. The TLC will charge the County nothing for the lease.

  • Signed an agreement that clears the way for construction of a boat ramp on the Neuse River at Castleberry Road and N.C. 42 near Clayton. Under the agreement, the Wildlife Resources Commission will build the ramp using a mix of grant and county dollars. The town will be responsible for daily upkeep of the ramp access, which the county will own.

  • Awarded two contracts that pave the way for construction of a new home for the Johnston County Department of Social Services. Commissioners agreed to pay Moseley Architects roughly $6.9 million to design the building. Also, they agreed to pay Stephenson General Contractors up to $250,200 to oversee the construction for the county.

  • Adopted a Comprehensive Trails & Greenways Plan that would link Johnston residents to parks, nature preserves, downtown shops and residents, and neighboring counties. Among the proposed routes are trails that would link Selma to Pine Level, Pine Level to Princeton, Selma to Micro, and Clayton to Archer Lodge.

  • Adopted a policy for sharing the cost of fire protection between the County and its towns. Under the policy, the County and its towns would each pay based on their share of a department’s call volume, property values, population and square miles. The cost-share formula gives the greatest weight to call volume, 40%, followed by real and personal property values, 30%; population, 20%; and square miles, 10%.

  • Endorsed the N.C. Department of Transportation’s plan to add the following streets to its list of state-maintained roads: Winston Club Boulevard, Winston Pointe Drive, Valley Drive, Amesbury Lane, West Trafalgar Court, East Trafalgar Court, Castlewood Drive, Warwick Drive, St. Ives Court, North Hadrin Court, South Hadrin Court, New Castle Court, Carlisle Court, Chippenham Court, Surrey Court and Eton Court in Winston Pointe subdivision, Clayton Township; Cedarbrook Drive, Winterwood Drive, Valleydale Drive and Blackberry Lane in Spring Branch subdivision, Elevation Township; and Emerson Fields Drive and Oakridge Way in Emerson Fields subdivision, Boon Hill Township.

  • Appointed Charlie Harper of Tarheel Road, Benson, to a two-year term on the Benson Planning Board. He will represent residents outside the town limits but within Benson’s planning jurisdiction.

  • Reappointed Hampton Whittington of Benson to a two-year term on the Johnston County Economic Development Advisory Board. His reappointment required Commissioners to waive the County’s length-of-service policy.

  • Appointed Nakunda Everett to the County’s Juvenile Crime Prevention Council. She fills an unexpired term ending on Aug. 31 of this year.

  • Made four budget revisions. In one, commissioners agreed to spend $75,900 for software expenses in 911 Communications. In other, they accepted $4,341.43 in additional revenue for the Sheriff’s Office. That money comes in part from the state’s Controlled Substance Tax. Commissioners agreed to allow Selma to spend $109,180 in room-tax revenue on wayfinding and gateway signs. Also, they agreed to allow Smithfield to spend $386,647 in room taxes on the Smithfield Tobs stadium project.

  • Gave Sheriff Steve Bizzell permission to surplus a 2020 Dodge Charger. The car was in an accident and deemed a total loss.

 

At their 6 p.m. meeting, Commissioners:

  • Heard an update on water and sewer projects that are in the works. Perhaps most important, the County is expanding its water-treatment plant, increasing its capacity to 18 million gallons a day, up from 14 million. That work should wrap up this summer. Also, the County is expanding its sewage-treatment plant on N.C. 210, doubling its capacity to 8 million gallons a day. That project is on schedule for a late-November completion.

  • Received an update on progress the County has made toward goals Commissioners laid out at their 2025 planning retreat. Among other things, County Manager Rick Hester noted that a new Unified Development Ordinance was nearing adoption and that the County was tackling building priorities, including a new home for the Department of Social Services.



Page last updated on:  January 14, 2026