November 15, 2007 - 7:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 487 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners November 15 , 2007 Special Meeting The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session on Thursday , November 15 , 2007 at 7 00 pm in the Cafeteria of the North Johnston Middle School located at 301 E Main Street , Micro , North Carolina The following members were present Present Cookie Pope , Chairman , Allen L Mims , Jr , W Ray Woodall , DeVan Barbour and Tony Braswell Absent Wade M Stewart and Jeffrey P Carver Also Present Rick J Hester , County Manager , Paula G Woodard , Clerk to the Board , and Berry Gray , Planning Director Chairman Cookie Pope called the meeting to order by welcoming everyone and announced the purpose of the meeting was to receive citizen input concerning land use planning and related issues in Johnston County Commissioner DeVan Barbour led those in attendance in the pledge of allegiance to the American flag Commissioner W Ray Woodall opened the meeting with a prayer The Commissioners introduced themselves to the audience 1 Discussions Concerning Land Use Planning and Related Issues At the Chairman’s request , Planning Director Berry Gray reviewed with everyone some of the items the County currently has in place related to land use planning Mr Gray stated county - wide zoning has been in place since 1991 and he noted the zoning ordinance was revised in October 2000 to include the zoning specifications Further , through the Land Development Code , the County has in place subdivision regulations , open space regulations , floodplain regulations and stormwater management rules Mr Gray reported in addition to the Mountains to the Sea Trail Master Plan , the County utilizes a land use policy guide , endorsed by the Commissioners , which identifies areas of concern and how those areas of concern can be addressed Finally , Mr Gray mentioned some of the more recent tools in place which includes the Western Johnston County Comprehensive Transportation Plan developed by the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization for the townships that border Wake County and noted this plan identifies needed roadway improvements for the next ten to fifteen years in the western area of the County Mr Gray stated efforts will soon be underway to develop a transportation plan for the remainder of the County which would include northern and eastern Johnston County He hoped the plan would be in place within the next one to two years For those who have e - mail access , the Planning Department offers an E - mail List Program in an effort to keep citizens better informed on issues upcoming by the Planning Board and the Board of Commissioners The Chairman called for any citizens wishing to address the Board to come forward Teresa Daughtry , 200 South Pollock Street , Selma informed the Board she would like to see the Micro area have more development opportunities Ms Daughtry noted she felt the Smithfield and Clayton areas are receiving more development than other areas and she would like to see the County put more incentives towards helping the Micro community grow Commissioner W Ray Woodall stated there have been some good projects undertaken in Micro , such as helping to extend water lines to Agri - Supply located near the Town Commissioner Woodall indicated it would help if the communities were able to come together with the area landowners to assemble parcels of land in excess of 150 acres so business and industry will have development opportunities readily available Ms Daughtry stated Micro has the acreage available ; however , she felt the first step would be to offer incentives so businesses will want to locate in the area Ms Daughtry noted a committee should be formed that would focus on growth and development for the County in its entirety rather than one specific area Commissioner DeVan Barbour stated the Benson area has voiced some of the same concerns regarding the lack of growth as Ms Daughtry has for Micro He reiterated Commissioner Woodall’s comments that land is a major issue and property owners must be agreeable to selling their property Commissioner Barbour noted the County has been aggressive with incentive offers , when those opportunities arise The County would like to help everyone ; however , the communities must also be willing to put themselves in a position of having developable land Commissioner Woodall and Commissioner Barbour encouraged Ms Daughtry and others to work with the County’s Economic Development Office and make staff aware of large tracts of available land Page488 November 15 , 2007 - 7 00 pm Continued Chairman Pope stated she understood the concerns of Ms Daughtry ; however , due to Micro’s excellent Interstate access , she felt it was only a matter of time before the area would begin to see growth and development Commissioner Tony Braswell indicated that once some of the Interstate and US Hwy transportation construction projects are completed , he felt many other areas of the County would begin to see more development He noted one of the reasons the Clayton area has seen an extraordinary amount of growth was its close proximity to Raleigh In response to citizen comments on what could be done to prepare for future growth , Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr reported assembling large acreages of land and submitting those sites to the County’s Economic Development Office was a good starting point Commissioner Mims stated the Board tries to attract growth to the entire County ; however , the prospective industry ultimately determines which area they would like to locate in Commissioner Mims reiterated Commissioner Braswell’s comments that Clayton has experienced much of its growth due to the close proximity to Raleigh He noted approximately 40 of Johnston County’s workforce commutes to Wake County to work Commissioner Barbour stated perhaps it would be a good idea to have Michael de Sherbinin from the County’s Economic Development Office as well as members of Economic Development Advisory Board come to Micro and work with the citizens on a plan for the future Commissioner Mims noted some companies want incentives such as free land ; however , with all the new school construction needed , the County cannot justify granting such requests Commissioner Mims called on County Manager Rick Hester to review the County’s incentive offers Mr Hester explained the County’s most recent incentive proposals have involved incentive grants whereby the company constructs a facility in Johnston County and pays the appropriate ad valorem taxes Once the taxes are paid , the County then grants back a set percentage which declines each year for a set number of years Commissioner Mims stated with the incentive grant proposals , no cash is paid up front and there is no risk to the County Elizabeth Carter , 50 Austin Pond Road , Clayton , asked what the Commissioners were planning to do now that the Board has recommendations from both the Growth Management Committee and the Blue Ribbon Committee Commissioner Braswell stated he hopes the Board will soon make some decisions with regards to recommendations by the Committees However , in addition to the recommendations , the Board wanted to have the community meetings first to make sure they have heard what the citizens of the County would like to see Commissioner Barbour agreed with Commissioner Braswell and he hoped the Board would make some decisions on the recommendations soon Commissioner Woodall reminded everyone that the County is already utilizing some of the recommendations of the Committees through current policies and practices Commissioner Mims noted he hopes the Board can make some decisions to help address growth issues near Clayton and the I - 40 NC 42 area Commissioner Mims expressed concerns with school overcrowding and stated the budget was becoming increasingly difficult to manage each year without raising taxes Suntemple Helgren , 142 Aleah Court , Clayton , inquired about a recent Planning Board meeting and a confusion regarding regulations versus the intent of policies for density in the Land Development Code and asked for clarification Mr Helgren also inquired if the fee in lieu of open space requirements was still in effect Planning Director Berry Gray reported he believed Mr Helgren was referring to the Intent section of the Land Development Code Mr Gray noted the Intent section refers to the reasoning for the regulations ; however , staff must enforce the actual regulations within the Land Development Code The Intent section is not a regulation , but only refers to the reasoning for those regulations Page489 November 15 , 2007 - 7 00 pm Continued Regarding the fee in lieu of open space requirements , Mr Gray reported developers can still choose to either set aside land for open space preservation , or pay the fee which is 400 per lot Mr Gray noted the Planning Board does have the discretion to require the developer to pay the fee if it is determined the land to be set aside is unsuitable or does not meet the intent of the open space requirement Mr Gray stated that even if the developer chooses to pay the fee , the density for the subdivision does not change In response to a question from Teresa Daughtry , Commissioner Mims stated the County has not collected a large amount of funds in the fee in lieu of open space requirements ; however , some of the funds have been used to purchase more acreage at the McGee’s Crossroads and Cleveland Elementary Schools to help with additional recreation areas Mr Helgren stated in his opinion , there were not enough recreation opportunities in Johnston County Commissioner Braswell commented that last year , the County did initiate the 36 million recreation bond which will be used to help expand parks and recreation programs across the County He noted that for some of the smaller towns and athletic associations , an influx of funds to help pay for more recreation opportunities was a good starting point Russell Creech , President of the Micro Fire Department , thanked the Commissioners for helping to bring water service to the Micro area and asked if the County was planning for future water sources Commissioner Woodall responded the County currently has a good water supply ; however , is mandated by the State to implement water conservation measures due to the drought He noted the County is proactively planning for the future and will be securing additional water sources Mr Creech inquired about the Lowell Mill Dam demolition project and asked if the Town of Kenly had accepted the County’s offer of the park which is now located where the dam used to be Commissioner Braswell stated the Town has yet to accept the County’s offer and noted some of the citizens in Kenly have expressed opposition to the Town taking over the park Commissioner Mims reported the County had no say in the dam’s demolition , that it had been a function of the Corps of Engineers Commissioner Braswell commented he understood the Kenly citizens ’ concerns with the demolition of the dam ; however , the project has been completed and there is now an opportunity to preserve the park In response to comments by Russell Creech , Commissioner Braswell stated the Town of Micro , if successful with their ETJ extension request , would need to begin the process of developing subdivision regulations , open space requirements , and other development ordinances to be prepared for future growth Chairman Pope informed Micro Mayor Buddy Jones that Johnston County prides itself on the working relationships with the municipalities , noting the relationships have improved greatly over the years and she appreciated the efforts of everyone Mayor Jones stated the Town of Micro appreciated the County officials and noted he felt growth in the Micro area would be a gradual process He stated Micro is a caring community and eventually , growth would come ; however , with the current economy and rising gas prices it would take some time Suntemple Helgren , 142 Aleah Court , Clayton , read a prepared statement regarding his likes , dislikes , and concerns for Johnston County Mr Helgren expressed concerns related to growth management within the County as well as the Interstate 40 NC 42 area Note Mr Helgren’s entire statement can be viewed in the Clerk to the Board’s office Janet Batten Holland , 195 Creech Church Road , Kenly , stated she worked for a municipality where water conservation is a major issue Ms Holland informed the Board that she felt the County needed to take a good look at the water supplies for the future as well as she encouraged the County to work with neighboring municipalities on water issues Ms Holland also thanked County Manager Rick Hester and staff for their efforts in keeping citizens informed , particularly through the Planning Department’s E - mail List Program Ms Holland finally asked the Board to be proactive in managing growth issues as well as grant the municipalities their ETJ extension requests so the Towns can control growth around them Page490 November 15 , 2007 - 7 00 pm Continued In follow up to Ms Holland’s comments regarding the water supply , Chairman Pope stated the County’s Director of Infrastructure and Engineering , Mr Tim Broome , keeps the Board well informed and makes sure Johnston County cooperates with neighboring counties and towns Commissioner Mims reiterated Chairman Pope’s comments that Johnston County is working with neighboring areas regarding water , sewer , and solid waste matters After further discussion , it was the unanimous consent of the Board to have individual conversations with the audience members and adjourn at 8 30 pm ____________________________ Cookie Pope , Chairman Paula G Woodard , Clerk to the BoardPage