April 18, 2005 - 6:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 114 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners April 18 , 2005 The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session Monday , April 18 , 2005 , at 6 00 pm in the Human Resources Training Room , Smithfield , North Carolina The following members were present Present Cookie Pope , Chairman , Wade M Stewart , Vice Chairman , Allen L Mims , Jr , Jeffrey P Carver , and W Ray Woodall Absent DeVan Barbour and Tony Braswell Also Present Rick J Hester , County Manager , April N Byrd , Clerk to the Board , John R Massey , Finance Officer , and Deva C Holt , Deputy Clerk The Chairman called the meeting to order and the following business was transacted 1 Presentations - County Departments and Agencies The following County Departments and Agencies made presentations to the Board A Cooperative Extension Ken Bateman , Cooperative Extension Director , thanked the Board for the opportunity to share information about the Cooperative Extension program He stated the program is an “ educational partnership helping people put research - based knowledge to work for economic prosperity , environmental stewardship and an improved quality of life ” Mr Bateman briefly outlined the following aspects of the agency • Cooperative Extension is a non - formal , non - regulatory , community based agency that uses professional and competent staff to reach out to individuals where they are • The program is a partnership of local governments with two land - grant universities , NC State University and A & T University , the US Department of Agriculture , citizens , and volunteers He noted that over 1200 volunteers devoted approximately 2800 hours of their time last year to the program • As a result of being guided by an Advisory System , staff strives to identify the needs of Johnston County citizens , and help them solve problems and deal with issues 522 people in the County advise the program of the needs of the citizens • Cooperative Extension provides unbiased , research - based knowledge Staff is able to assist people without being an enforcement agency • The program offers economic prosperity opportunities including grain seed , livestock , and ornamental plant production , sewing skills and the Workforce Development Center to mention a few • Staff works with homeowners , farmers , and others to promote environmental stewardship through home horticulture , pesticide , and science education • Cooperative Extension works toward an improved quality of life through highway safety , youth , and wellness programs County Manager Rick Hester stated the NC Association of County Commissioner and NC State University may be looking into re - engineering the agreement for Cooperative Extension programs Mr Bateman agreed that there is a new Memorandum of Understanding in the works that would hurt the Johnston County program He urged the County Manager and Board to stay involved in the process , and continue to have a say in the County’s program In response to a question from Commissioner Wade M Stewart , Mr Bateman noted the County must provide facilities to house the agency , operating budget , and a portion of salaries All thirteen employees are joint County and State employees The State covers mileage reimbursement and administrative expenses He noted staff is excited about the new Agriculture Center , and anticipates the completion in late summer 2005 B Veterans Office Ricky Byrd , Veterans Services Officer , stated the Veterans Office is responsible for assisting all Veterans and their dependents with applications for pensions , compensations , burial allowances , medical services , education benefits , scholarships , housing loans , death benefits , and any other benefits available to them He pointed out that in 1998Page115 April 18 , 2005 Continued Johnston County had approximately 6,500 Veterans The number of Veterans living in the County has risen to 11,000 VA expenditures to Johnston County are over 27,821,000 per year Over 2,000 County Veterans use the VA medical centers in Fayetteville or Durham with expenditures over 11 million Mr Byrd highlighted several accomplishments in the past year including transformation to mobile home visits where staff can complete all the necessary forms on site Secondly , the Veterans Office successfully manages two DAV vans that run a minimum of 18 days per month to take Veterans to doctor appointments in Fayetteville , Durham , and Winston - Salem Finally , he noted the office is in the process of becoming a “ paperless ” office by converting all paper files to electronic documents This will make files available in the field , and increase security of confidential documents Johnston County will be the second county in the State to use a paperless system In response to a question from Commissioner Wade M Stewart , Mr Byrd replied the Veterans Office receives numerous complaints from older Veterans about the difficulty in accessing the office and minimal parking for disabled individuals Commissioner Stewart noted that access to any of the offices in the Courthouse facility would be difficult for disabled individuals County Manager Rick Hester added it is permissible for people to use the circle drive on Second Street to drop off disabled individuals Mr Byrd stated the office is aware of this , and makes the option available to citizens that frequent the office C Child Support Enforcement Jim Henderson , Child Support Director , stated the mission statement of his department is “ To help children obtain financial support to which they are entitled from the non - custodial parent ” He briefly reviewed the history of the Child Support Enforcement , and noted the Johnston County program was established in 1976 Today , the program serves approximately 16,000 participants Mr Henderson noted that Child Support Enforcement can locate non - custodial parents through numerous record sources such as the ESC , DMV , DOC and others The program can establish paternity and set up orders for child support payment Staff can establish , enforce and modify child support orders administratively or through judicial hearings Numerous means of enforcement are available including wage attachments , tax refunds interceptions , bank account seizures and others Collections have continuously risen over the years and amounted to 9,335,104 in 2004 He pointed out this was 300,000 more revenue than it cost to administer the agency , and the “ over - collection ” was deposited into fund balance D Soil Conservation James Massey , Supervisor , stated that the Soil and Water Conservation agency is in partnership with the US Department of Agriculture and the Natural Resources Conservation Service He briefly reviewed the history of the agency , and noted its mission statement includes providing technical and financial assistance to the citizens of Johnston County , administering cost - share programs and organizing workshops A five member Board of Directors oversees the agency , which is operated by four County employees , and one Federal employee Together the Board of Directors and staff serve the County’s agricultural community , general landowners , school groups , and community groups to fulfill the mission statement Mr Massey noted the agency generally serves 3,000 - 4,000 customers each year through various programs in the following areas Buffer Installation , Bob - White Quail Preservation , Erosion & Sediment Control , Conservation Education Soil and Water also oversees the Mocassin Creek Drainage District Currently , staff is researching setting up a voluntary agriculture district in the County to give farming areas more visibility and recognition Numerous other counties with substantial agriculture areas have already established the districts Challenges for the agency include the effects of increasing urbanization and development , shortfalls in the cost - share programs for conservation projects and cost - share technicians , and cut - backs in supplies provided by the Federal government He noted the agency could lose two of the three vehicles used for field operations Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr questioned if staff worked closely with the Public Utilities storm water management group Mr Massey stated that Soil and Water staff does work in conjunction with Public Utilities staff He pointedPage116 April 18 , 2005 Continued out any subdivision built in the past five years falls under County regulations For the older subdivisions that do not fall under these regulations , often times the answer to a problem is simple Unfortunately , there are no cost - share programs available for these types of situations E Heritage Center Wingate Lassiter , Heritage Center Director , informed the Board the number one job of the Center is to help folks find historical records about their families and communities The Heritage Center also strives to collect more items of interest , and offers educational opportunities through exhibits and road - shows In the past year , the center has extended its hours from 9 - 5 Monday through Saturday with the help of part - time staff and volunteers Donations have been encouraging this past year , and are approaching 30,000 Mr Lassiter pointed out 20,000 of donations will go toward debt service , and the rest toward books , research materials , exhibit supplies , and artifacts unavailable for donation The volume of information available to the public via the center’s web - site has grown , and book sales have also increased , in part , as a result of the convenience of web - site ordering The greatest challenges facing the organization are digitizing records vulnerable to deterioration and recruiting additional volunteers F Health Department Dr Leonard S Woodall stated the Health Department offers health care and educational programs to both children and adults in the county He briefly outlined the services each provides , and noted most of which are funded by either the State or Federal government In addition to health care services , the Department also includes the Environmental Health Division Environmental Health is responsible for administering the County’s Well and Septic Tank Inspection programs The Division also takes care of Food and Lodging inspections for all restaurants , food stands , schools , daycares , etc in the county In response to a question from Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr , Dr Woodall stated if a parcel of land fails once a perk test has been performed by the County Environmental Health Division , the individual that performed the test is liable , not the County County Manager Rick Hester noted in the near future the Board of Health will be forwarding to the Board of Commissioners a report outlining that septic tank revenues are not covering the associated expenses G Library Margaret Marshall , Director , stated the mission statement of the Public Library of Johnston County and Smithfield is as follows “ To help the people of our community meet their lifelong informational , educational , cultural and recreational needs through our collection , resources and services ” She explained the services the library provides and outlined the following accomplishments for the past year • Established two books clubs • Formed Youth Advisory Library League to assist purchase decisions for teen area • Offered several successful programs including D - Day Anniversary Celebration , Wrights Brothers Anniversary Program , Summer Reading Club , Johnston County Authors ’ Exhibits , and others • Started two newsletters , one in the Library and one from the Bookmobile • Awarded an LSTA Consulting Grant in the amount of 17,500 Ms Marshall noted several challenges the Library will be facing in the upcoming year The biggest challenge is to upgrade the current automated system to meet North Carolina standards , and make the catalog available to the Internet Secondly , staff is challenged to find a way to keep the Bookmobile going It is 11 years old , and bigger , more expensive parts are beginning to wear out Replacement costs are estimated to be at least 85,000 Finally , staff is dealing with the increased interest from unincorporated areas , such as Cleveland and McGees Crossroads , for libraries in their areas H Board of Elections Teresa Davis , Director of Elections , informed the Board that the Elections Office is responsible for all countyPage117 April 18 , 2005 Continued and municipal elections , including the ballots and candidacy filings Unlike other NC counties , Johnston County is still using paper ballots The State is pushing for new touch tone equipment that by Federal mandate the County will be responsible for paying the bill Estimated cost are approximately 950,000 She noted when the time comes to convert from paper ballots to the touch tone equipment , this will be difficult and very challenging On a final note , Ms Davis stated the Elections Office will be applying for Federal grant money for additional one stop sites for 2006 I Finance Office Finance Director , John Massey , stated the Finance Office is a support agency for all other County departments and agencies The office processes all accounts payable checks for County agencies except HAPP , Job Training and Mental Health , which do their own check writing He noted when the Johnston County Schools are in the process of building new schools , the Finance office works closely with them to provide funds in a timely manner , typically , a one day turn around time Staff also performs audits , processes purchase orders , processes payroll monthly for all County agencies except Job Training and Mental Health The office is responsible for investment of county funds , and works with a financial advisor on the County’s bond rating Mr Massey assists the County Manager in annual budget preparation , and handles budget revisions to the approved budget throughout the year Mr Massey noted the following items have had the greatest impact on the Finance office • Operations and financing of water districts • Child day care through Social Services • Increased school construction and borrowing In the future , he stated the Finance Office will apply again for the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting , and plans to give the Board more financial information on a regular basis There being no further business , Commissioner W Ray Woodall moved the Board adjourn Commissioner Jeffrey P Carver seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote ___________________________________ Cookie Pope , Chairman ____________________________ April N Byrd , Clerk to the BoardPage