February 9, 2015 - 6:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Joint Session)

10 413 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners February 9 , 2015 6 00 pm The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in joint session with the Johnston County Board of Education on Monday , February 9 , 2015 at 6 00 pm at the AG Glenn Building , 501 South Second Street , Smithfield , North Carolina The following members of the Board of Commissioners were present Present Chairman Tony Braswell , Vice Chairman DeVan Barbour , Cookie Pope , Allen L Mims , Jr , Jeffrey P Carver , Ted G Godwin , and Chad M Stewart Absent None Also Present County Manager Rick J Hester , Clerk to the Board Paula G Woodard , Finance Officer and Assistant County Manager J Chad McLamb , County Attorney Jennifer J Slusser , and Paralegal Deputy Clerk to the Board Dana Cuddington Chairman Tony Braswell called the meeting to order at 6 00 pm At the request of Board of Education Chairman Larry Strickland , Chairman Braswell led those in attendance in the pledge of allegiance to the American flag 1 Purpose of Joint Meeting Board of Education Chairman Larry Strickland welcomed the Board of Commissioners and those in the audience to the joint meeting Johnston County Schools Superintendent Dr Ed Croom thanked the Board of Commissioners for being a part of the joint discussion He introduced Mike Miller from the Operations Research and Education Laboratory OREd at North Carolina State University Dr Croom stated Johnston County Schools has used OREd since 1994 and they have done an excellent job conducting land use studies and predicting growth Dr Croom reported he does not have a facilities plan to share at this meeting as they will be taking the information from OREd and working on a plan to present to the Board of Education and the Board of Commissioners in the next few months Dr Croom thanked County Manager Rick Hester for his good communication with Johnston County Schools over the years Dr Croom turned the presentation over to Mr Miller 2 Operations Research and Education Laboratory OREd Presentation Mike Miller , Program Manager with the Operations Research and Education Laboratory OREd from North Carolina State University , reviewed a PowerPoint Presentation concerning Johnston County Schools ’ growth Mr Miller also introduced Tom Cook from the Institute for Transportation Research and Education Mr Miller began his presentation by giving a background on OREd He stated the Integrated Planning for School and Community study focuses on membership forecasting which is the number of children expected in the school district for the next ten years , land use studies which indicate where the growth will occur , and an out - of - capacity analysis which looks at capacities in a building by building forecast for the next ten years Mr Miller stated by using this information they are able to look for ways to relieve overcrowded schools and account for future school growth Page414 February 9 , 2015 – 6 00 pm Continued Mr Miller reported in 1994 the K - 12 school enrollment was 15,665 and has grown to 34,110 in 2014 He stated Johnston County is consistently growing at a rate faster than the State of North Carolina as a whole Mr Miller noted the estimated population percent increase from 2010 to 2012 was 34 which equates to 5,800 people with approximately 3,500 of those counted as in - migration He pointed out the projected population increase is a striking estimate at 162 from 2010 to 2020 Mr Miller spoke on the resident live birth numbers which is one of the factors they use in membership forecasting , but he noted it is not the only factor Mr Miller stated there was a dip in the resident live birth numbers in 2008 that occurred along with the recession during that time but he noted that number is turning around Mr Miller spoke on the average daily membership numbers stating with Johnston County , even though there was a recession , did not have the kind of impact on membership that OREd saw in other counties and states He stated even with the impacts of the recession , Johnston County is still looking at an average growth of approximately 470 K - 12 children per year since 2009 through the current year Page415 February 9 , 2015 – 6 00 pm Continued Tom Cook from the Institute for Transportation Research and Education , stated another part of the forecasting process is to conduct community interviews within the district in an effort to find out from people what is going on within the district to help them better understand the data that is collected Mr Cook stated they met with stakeholders for several days approximately one year ago to find out what is going on in the district in terms of population growth , where that growth is taking place or where has it taken place , and what are people’s perceptions and beliefs about where growth is likely to occur in the next several years Mr Cook reported the stakeholders they spoke with included local elected officials , planners , town managers , public works managers , economic development directors , the North Carolina Department of Transportation , and several surveyors Mr Cook stated they also conduct a windshield survey through the residential subdivisions in the district to get an idea of the level of new construction activity and where it is located He explained one of the advantages of conducting land use studies several times over a period of years is they can go back to some of the subdivisions they previously visited to see how they have changed or progressed which gives them a better idea of the growth rates Mr Cook reviewed the following information with the Board regarding the community interviews Page416 February 9 , 2015 – 6 00 pm Continued Mr Cook stated in terms of residential development , one thing that surprised him for Johnston County was there were no new large - scale residential subdivisions 100 or more lots that were approved since 2009 up until a year ago He noted there were subdivision approvals but they were in the smaller scale range which did indicate that there was not a complete shutdown in development , but just a shift in the scale Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr reported there are developments currently going through the Clayton Planning Board Clayton Town Council review process ; one with 2,500 lots , one with 600 lots , and one with 400 lots He noted these developments are probably within a five to twenty year span on build - out Board of Education Member Keith Branch also noted there are two new apartment complexes in Clayton that just opened last year and one of those is approximately 80 occupied Mr Miller explained the process of collecting information regarding growth and development is ongoing and as they receive the data it is put into the model along with other factors considered for the student generation rate Mr Miller reported on the following GIS data and explained how the data is transferred into student numbers Mr Miller stated the student generation rate is the number of children that a public school system can expect based on development estimates Mr Miller reported there are two main areas of focus when considering membership forecasts ; 1 once a child is in the system , how does that child move through the system ; and 2 land use data He shared a comparison with the Board of the forecast models PagePage pageNumber5417 February 9 , 2015 – 6 00 pm Continued Mr Miller shared and reviewed a larger print out - of - capacity spreadsheet with the Board , as follows PagePage pageNumber6418 February 9 , 2015 – 6 00 pm Continued Mr Miller called to everyone’s attention the two new high schools Cleveland and Corinth Holder were both built for an opening capacity of 1,200 and both of those schools are already over capacity today Mr Miller reviewed the following funded capacity needs and immediate needs that have not been funded as well as capacity needs that should be considered in the near future Commissioner DeVan Barbour asked about the growth projections and what other factors are considered along with resident live birth estimates He asked if the in - migration estimates could be quantified Mr Miller stated the growth trends they are seeing cannot be so closely related to the resident live birth numbers ; therefore , the growth has to be attributed to in - migration with people moving into the County , buying homes , and putting their children in school At the inquiry of Commissioner Ted G Godwin , Mr Miller stated the new transportation highway funding formula is hard to quantify ; however , in looking at 2009 and 2010 compared to forecasts now , those forecasts are trying to account for some of the constraints they are seeing with transportation Upon a question by Chairman Tony Braswell , Mr Miller stated they go back every year and readjust their forecasting model Johnston County Schools Superintendent Dr Ed Croom thanked the Commissioners for attending the meeting and listening to the presentation Upon questions by the Board , he briefly discussed the mobile unit situation noting they presently have 145 mobile units housing 3,600 students Commissioner Cookie Pope asked when the new Cleveland Middle School would begin construction Dr Croom stated they are presently working on a land deal for the new Cleveland Middle School and then it is his understanding more bonds will have to be sold to begin construction Chairman Braswell thanked the Board of Education for the opportunity to meet Chairman Braswell stated he appreciates the working relationship the Board of Commissioners has with the Board of Education He invited the Board of Education to the Board of Commissioners ’ annual work session to be held on March 6 ,PagePage pageNumber7419 February 9 , 2015 – 6 00 pm Continued 2015 at Johnston Community College noting the Commissioners will be receiving an update from the County’s financial consultant and discussing debt capacity There being no further business , Commissioner Cookie Pope moved the Board adjourn Commissioner Ted G Godwin seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote The meeting adjourned at 7 05 pm Tony Braswell , Chairman Paula G Woodard , Clerk to the BoardPage