April 12, 2021 - 11:00 AM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes

10 75 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners April 12 , 2021 Special Meeting The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special joint session Monday , April 12 , 2021 at 11 00 am with the Benson Town Council at the Benson Conference Center located at 303 E Church Street , Benson , North Carolina The following members of the Board of Commissioners were present Present Chairman Chad M Stewart , Vice Chairman Larry Wood , Tony Braswell , Ted G Godwin , Patrick E Harris , RS “ Butch ” Lawter , Jr , and Fred J Smith , Jr Absent None Also Present County Manager Rick J Hester , Clerk to the Board Paula G Woodard , County Attorney Jennifer J Slusser , and Paralegal Deputy Clerk to the Board Dana Cuddington Benson Mayor Jerry Medlin welcomed everyone to the special meeting Pastor Billy Olsen gave the invocation and Benson Town Manager Fred Nelson led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag Benson Mayor Jerry Medlin called the Benson Town Council meeting to order Chairman Chad M Stewart called the meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners to order at 11 00 am Mayor Medlin opened the Town’s public hearing Chairman Stewart opened the County’s public hearing for the purposes of allowing public comment on a proposed economic development incentive grant Johnston County Economic Development Director Chris Johnson stated today’s announcement is the result of a competitive project in which sites were considered in other counties and states Mr Johnson explained the project consists of an expansion at the Berry Global Benson manufacturing plant which is the Town’s largest private employer , largest tax base , and largest utility customer He reported the expansion will invest more than 70 million in the Benson plant and add approximately 60 new jobs Mr Johnson stated the jobs will have an average annual salary of nearly 45,000 which is well above the county average for Johnston County Mr Johnson stated as with all economic development incentives , the proposal comes with no risk to the taxpayers since the actual incentive will be taken from the company’s own investment which equates to the percentage of the taxes paid by Berry Global on the 70 million new investment He noted the company will only be eligible for incentives after they have met all the project components within the incentive agreement Mr Johnson stated the proposal has been reviewed and recommended for approval by the Johnston County Economic Development Advisory Board Mr Johnson stated the proposal has also been evaluated by Dr Mike Walden , Professor and Economist from North Carolina State University He noted that even during the grant period , the Town of Benson is projected to receive and add to their tax base over 21 million while the County is projected to receive and add 23 million from the new investment Mr Johnson concluded his remarks by stating the project will allow the Town and the County to seek other grant opportunities at the federal and state level to maximize the jobs created and to serve other areas of Johnston County Mr Johnson introduced Mr Paul Harmon , Vice President of Product Development and Product Marketing within the Health , Hygiene and Specialties Division of Berry Global Mr Harmon introduced and recognized the following company officials Chris Gardner , Leader of Operations for the Health , Hygiene and Specialties Division in the US and Canada ; Benson Plant Manager Greg Campbell and his local plant leaders Taylor Apple and David Glover Mr Harmon stated Berry Global is proud to be a part of the Benson and Johnston County community He noted during their evaluation of sites for the expansion , they considered multiple locations both in and out of North Carolina Mr Harmon stated the proposed incentives were an important part of their decision to select the Benson plant for the expansion He thanked the Council and Board of Commissioners for their consideration of the incentives and stated they looked forward to a continued partnership Benson Town Attorney Ike Parker outlined the Town of Benson’s incentive proposal for the project Johnston County Attorney Jennifer Slusser outlined the County’s incentive grant proposal Ms Slusser stated the proposed agreement is between the County and Chicopee , Inc , which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berry Global , a producer of plastic and nonwoven products Ms Slusser explained that pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes , when considering such proposals , the Board of Commissioners must determine if the process was competitive and if there is a return on investment Ms Slusser confirmed that for this project , the process was competitive and fortunately , the Town and the County were able to assemble an incentive package that enticed Berry Global to expand at the Benson facility Ms Slusser stated with regards to the return onPage76 April 12 , 2021 – Special Meeting Continued investment analysis , two components must be considered which includes capital investment and job creation She explained this project consists of a 70 million expansion and the creation of 63 new jobs with an average annual wage of 44,151 including health benefits Ms Slusser pointed out the incentives will only be paid on the net new investment for the expansion and there is a reporting and certification process on all incentives Ms Slusser stated the investment return for Johnston County and the Town of Benson for this project will be approximately 52 million Ms Slusser continued that in addition to reporting and certification requirements , there are additional conditions that must be met to receive payment on the grant Ms Slusser reviewed the following additional conditions with the Board • Must be current on all taxes , charges , and fees of every nature owed to the County ; • There can be no current appeal pending regarding the valuation of property at the Project Site in which case any Grant payment will be held in abeyance pending final resolution of the appeal ; • No violation of any other obligations of Chicopee or any Affiliate to the County , including conformity with all County ordinances and regulations and any laws , orders or regulations that the County is obligated to enforce against Chicopee or an Affiliate on behalf of another body of government , has occurred and not been cured ; and • All performance measures are met under the incentive grant agreement Ms Slusser stated the grants are only paid on the eligible investments which is the net new expansion value and are paid from general County funds She reiterated this is a no risk proposal because all taxes , fees , and charges must be paid by the company to the County in advance Ms Slusser reviewed the percentages of the grant as follows Real Property Personal Property Tax Year Grant Tax Year Grant Year 1 Year 1 90 50 Year 2 Year 2 90 50 Year 3 Year 3 90 50 Year 4 Year 4 80 50 Year 5 Year 5 70 50 Year 6 Year 6 60 0 Year 7 Year 7 50 0 Ms Slusser concluded her remarks by stating she appreciated the cooperation in working with Berry Global for this project and from a legal perspective , the incentive proposal meets the standards of the general statutes Mayor Medlin asked if there were any citizens present who wished to comment on the incentive proposal by the Town of Benson Danielle Flatten , 20 Ryland Drive , Clayton , stated she had many questions regarding today’s proposal and she has been able to get answers to those questions Ms Flatten spoke in support of the project for Johnston County and expressed her appreciation to all those that worked on the project Jean Casanave , 410 Eastwood Drive , Benson , stated she supports the proposal ; however , because she was only able to learn about the specifics of the company and the project at this meeting , she would like to see more transparency ahead of time Doug Oglesby , Benson , stated he is a former employee of Chicopee and the Polymer Group and he welcomes the news of the expansion at the Benson plant Chairman Stewart asked if there were any other citizens present who wished to comment on the incentive proposal by Johnston County There were no other citizen comments regarding the Johnston County incentive proposal Page77 April 12 , 2021 – Special Meeting Continued Chairman Stewart reported the County received emails from citizens Betty Montigny , Carol Midgette , Ken Taylor , Danielle Flatten , Jonathan Stovall , and Bruce Halpern with comments for today’s public hearing Chairman Stewart noted the Commissioners had received and read copies of those emails Commissioner Ted G Godwin noted the County received more feedback for this project than is typically received and he commended the people of Johnston County for paying attention to what is going on and for having an interest There being no further public comments , Mayor Medlin closed the Town’s Public Hearing Chairman Stewart closed the County’s public hearing The Benson Town Council took action on their respective economic development incentive proposal Commissioner Larry Wood moved the Board adopt the following resolution to enter into an economic development incentive grant agreement with Berry Global Commissioner Ted G Godwin seconded the motion which carried by unanimous vote RESOLUTION OF THE JOHNSTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AUTHORIZING INCENTIVES FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WHEREAS , Chicopee , Inc “ the Company ” currently operates a facility for the production of various plastic products “ the Facility ” that is located at 1203 Chicopee Road , Town of Benson , Johnston County , North Carolina ; and WHEREAS , the Company proposes to expand its operations by constructing and expanding its plastic product production lines , including construction and expansion of new buildings and other real property improvements , as well as installation of new manufacturing equipment at the Facility “ Expansion ” ; and WHEREAS , an economic impact review containing a fiscal analysis of the proposed Expansion prepared for the Johnston County Economic Development Commission in April 2021 indicates that at full buildout the proposed project would result in a substantial increase in direct property tax revenues for the County and the direct and indirect creation of a substantial number of new jobs ; and WHEREAS , North Carolina General Statute 15871 a authorizes the County to make appropriations to aid and encourage the location of manufacturing enterprises , industrial and commercial facilities within the County and other purposes which will increase the population , taxable property , employment , industrial output or business prospects of the County ; and WHEREAS , the Board has determined that granting incentives the Incentives to the Company in exchange for the commitment of the Company to locate and operate the Expansion in Johnston County would be beneficial to the County’s efforts to increase economic opportunities for its residents , its population , ad valorem tax revenues and sales tax revenues , and enhance and improve business prospects in general , including the creation of a substantial number of jobs at an average annual wage of 44,15100 ; and WHEREAS , the Board has received and reviewed a proposed Economic Development Agreement between the County and the Company providing for the County’s granting the Incentives to the Company in consideration of the Company’s commitments set forth there the Agreement , and a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by reference ; and WHEREAS , the Board has , pursuant to the notice and hearing requirements of North Carolina General Statute 158 - 71 , held a public hearing to consider whether to grant the Incentives in exchange for the commitment of the Company to locate and operate the Expansion in Johnston County NOW , THEREFORE , the Board 1 Determines and concludes a that granting the Incentives in exchange for the commitment of the Company to proceed with the development and buildout of the Expansion in the County would be beneficial to the County’s efforts to increase overall economic opportunities for , and improve the general welfare of , its residents and increase ad valorem tax revenues , sales tax revenues and business prospects in general and result in the creation of a substantial number of new jobs in the County at an average annual wage of 44,15100 , and b that the benefits described above accruing to the County will outweigh the cost of the Incentives granted hereunder , creating a net public benefit ; andPage78 April 12 , 2021 – Special Meeting Continued 2 In consideration of the undertakings of the Company set forth in the Agreement and the benefits derived by the County as described above , the County’s grant of Incentives to the Company as set forth in the Agreement is hereby approved , and the County Manager , subject to compliance with any pre - audit requirements under the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act , is hereby authorized to enter into and execute the Agreement on behalf of the County in the form set forth on Exhibit A or with revisions as the County Manager , in consultation with the County Attorney , shall find to be not materially inconsistent with the form of the Agreement attached hereto and the intent and purpose thereof 3 The Agreement shall be construed as a continuing contract in accordance with North Carolina General Statutes 153A - 13 th Adopted this the 12 day of April , 2021 There being no further business , Commissioner Patrick E Harris moved the Board adjourn Commissioner Tony Braswell seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote The meeting adjourned at 11 35 am Chad M Stewart , Chairman Paula G Woodard , Clerk to the BoardPage