Commissioners will tackle lengthy agenda on Monday

SMITHFIELD — The Johnston County Board of Commissioners will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, July 20, at the Courthouse in Smithfield. On the agenda are:

• A presentation from the Johnston County Area Transit System, or JCATS, where ridership has climbed some 26% in the past three years.
  
  
• A request from Johnston Regional Airport for $4.5 million — $2.75 million in 2026-27 and $1.75 million in 2027-28. The money would build a control tower at the airport, which has become one of the busiest in North Carolina.
  
  
• The unveiling of schematic designs for a new Johnston County Social Services building. Also, the project’s architect will ask commissioners to decide how they want to approach the project. The options under consideration are design-bid-build and construction manager at risk, or CMAR. Design-bid-build is the traditional approach in which the project is fully designed first, then competitively bid and, finally, built by the lowest bidder. CMAR brings the construction manager onto the project during the design phase to provide input on cost, scheduling, and constructability, and the manager later serves as the general contractor, typically guaranteeing a maximum price while assuming much of the cost-overrun risk. The construction manager still solicits bids for the various subcontracts.
  
  
• A presentation from Daniel Clifton, the County’s facilities director, who will provide an update to Commissioners on the condition of all County-owned buildings. Commissioners aim to use Clifton’s report to map a maintenance strategy for County buildings.
  
  
• A discussion on road projects that Commissioners might ask the N.C. Board of Transportation to include in the next 10-year State Transportation Improvement Program, or STIP. Among the possible projects are widening stretches of Cornwallis and Cleveland roads. The recommendations come from the metropolitan and rural planning organizations that serve Johnston County.
  
  
• A request from staff to support North Carolina’s C-PACE Program. In short, the program allows commercial properties to obtain long-term private financing for energy-efficient HVAC systems, solar panels and other renewable energy systems, water-conservation measures, and similar projects.
  
  
• A request from staff to call for a public hearing on proposed amendments to the County’s mass gatherings ordinance. Among other things, the amendments would require the organizers of mass gatherings to obtain a permit.
  
  
• A request from the N.C. Department of Transportation. The DOT will ask Commissioners to endorse its plan to add the following streets to the roster of state-maintained roads: Mahogany Way, Bonsai Way, Mangrove Court, Everwood Drive, Cherry Tree Lane, Orange Grove Lane and Apple Grove Lane in Everwood subdivision, Elevation Township; Ivey Hollow Court in Bright Ridge subdivision, Pleasant Grove Township; Streamside Drive, Autumn Breeze Court, West Spring Showers Trail and East Spring Showers Trail in Weatherford subdivision, Pleasant Grove Township; and Johnson Ridge Way in Johnson Ridge subdivision, Elevation Township.
  
  
• A request from Public Utilities to approve an agreement between the County and the Town of Clayton. The agreement says Clayton will provide retail water and sewer service to land along Castleberry Road. The town, at its expense, will also install master meters and make upgrades to two pump stations.
  
  
• A proposal from the Wilson’s Mills Fire Department to spend down its cash reserves, known in budgeting as fund balance.
  
  
• A request from Emergency Services to allow the following fire departments to purchase tanker trucks for $644,337 each: 50-210, Antioch, Bethany, Four Oaks, Micro and Princeton.
  
  
• A request from Emergency Services to allocate $152,054 in Fire District taxes to the fire departments in Benson, Clayton, Four Oaks, Selma and Smithfield. The money will pay for services the towns provide to the fire departments.
  
  
• A proposal from the accounting firm of Thompson, Price, Scott, Adams & Co. to audit the County’s 2025-26 financial records.  The audit, required by state law, would cost $91,750. That’s about $4,000, or 4.5%, more than the County paid Thompson, Price, Scott, Adams & Co. for the 2024-25 audit.
  
  
• A request from staff for a policy revision. In 2023, Commissioners adopted a policy governing the spending of federal COVID relief dollars. The revised policy would apply to the spending of all federal awards.
  
  
• A request from Solid Waste Services to declare a compactor surplus and sell it on govdeals.com.
  
  
• Proposed budget revisions for the Sheriff’s Office, $37,030.39 in miscellaneous revenue; Social Services, $50,000 in trust disbursements and $22,807.80 to allocate reimbursements; fire departments, $12,396,552 in revenue from fire district and vehicle taxes; the Johnston County Tourism Authority, $120,836 to match the Tourism Authority Board approved budget request; and Finance, a $41 million transfer from the General Fund to support various public school and community college building projects. The Finance Department will reimburse the General Fund with proceeds from bond sales.

Page last updated on:  July 16, 2026