June 16, 2004 - 6:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 704 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners June16 , 2004 6 00 pm - Budget Work Session The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session Wednesday , June 16 , 2004 , at 6 00 pm in the Commissioners ’ Meeting Room , Johnston County Courthouse Annex , Smithfield , North Carolina The following members were present Present James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman , Cookie Pope , Vice Chairman , Thomas M Moore , Allen L Mims , Jr , Wade M Stewart , Jeffrey P Carver and W Ray Woodall Absent None Also Present Rick Hester , County Manager , Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the Board , Della H Knight , Deputy Clerk , John R Massey , Finance Officer , and J Mark Payne , County Attorney The Chairman called the meeting to order and the following business was transacted 1 Resolution Authorizing Additional Support for Workforce Development Center Upon a motion by Commissioner Cookie Pope , seconded by Commissioner W Ray Woodall and carried by unanimous vote , the Board adopted the following resolution authorizing an additional 35,000 per year if needed in support for the debt service for the Workforce Development Center , bringing the total revised contribution to an amount up to 285,000 per year RESOLUTION OF ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR DEBT SERVICE FOR THE JOHNSTON COUNTY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CENTER WHEREAS , bids have been received for the construction of the Johnston County Workforce Development Center and the low bid for a single prime contractor has been identified as Centurion Construction Co , Inc ; and WHEREAS , due to escalating building material costs , the probability of rising interest rates , and the need to insure a project completion by August 2005 , the Johnston County Workforce Development Center requires an additional debt service contribution to offset an estimated 333,000 increase in project cost NOW , THEREFORE , BE IT RESOLVED that the Johnston County Board of Commissioners hereby allocate an additional 35,000 per year to the previous debt service commitment Therefore , the revised contribution for the Johnston County Workforce Development Center will now total 285,000 per year th THIS RESOLUTION ADOPTED THE 16 DAY OF JUNE 2004 2 Rescue Squads - Budget Request Danny Morgan , president of the Rescue Association , asked the Board to consider the Association’s request for a 10 increase in funding for the rescue squads in the County , instead of the 5 increase the County Manager has recommended He noted the increased cost of gasoline is having a big impact on all the squads New safety protocol required by the State , and the increase in the cost of drugs have also added to the overall expense of operation He pointed out the squads did not ask for any increase last year Commissioner Wade M Stewart stated that since there was no increase last year , and based on an average inflation of 3 per year , he would recommended a 6 increase , 1 over the Manager’s recommendation The Board agreed to consider this recommendation 3 Emergency Services EMS Director , Dewayne West , spoke of the need for an assistant medical director to help Dr Ben Winters He stated he budgeted 125,000 for part - time salaries based on the need to keep the QRV at Blackmon’s Crossroads until Benson Rescue opens their Overshot area site It now appears the site will be up and running earlier than anticipated ; therefore , 50,000 of that money could be diverted and available for other use , such as the cost for the assistant medical director position , if the Board so desires County Manager , Rick Hester , pointed out there should also be enough to cover the 1 difference approximately an additional 18,000 in funding for rescue squads if approved Page705 June 16 , 2004 Continued Chairman Langdon voiced his support for the assistant medical director position He noted Dr Winters has been an outstanding director , serving the citizens and the hospital Commissioner Wade M Stewart agreed and noted he would support an additional 8,000 for the medical director , and let him use it anyway he sees fit Mr West noted that Wake County has made some changes in their rescue operation and Wendell has offered to place an ambulance at the Corinth Holder Fire Department , to cover the Johnston County area now provided by both Wendell and Zebulon Commissioner Stewart pointed out that Clayton may be considering a possible expansion into that area He noted the County might need to consider redrawing district lines at some point Mr West responded that the squads have asked that this be looked at since these lines were drawn many years ago , before the large growth in population Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr stated it is his understanding that several of the rescue squads are no longer providing rescue operation , and wondered why , if this is true , the County needs to increase their money Mr West responded that only 2 of the 9 squads still provide rescue since fire departments now have first responders to perform this service With the new standards for the squads , it is difficult to do the rescue , which is often dirty work , and then provide emergency medical services , which need to be done under sterilized conditions Even though most of the squads have turned over rescue to the fire departments , they still need the additional funds because of the increased call volume and the cost of additional required certifications Commissioner Jeffrey P Carver noted that 32,700 is budgeted for air packs He asked if homeland security grant HSG funds could be used to purchase these Mr West stated that HSG funds are earmarked for terrorist - related response training and equipment only The County has received a considerable amount of this money , and anticipates receiving more The decision on how it is spent is made by a committee that includes people from across the County that would be involved in a terrorist related event At the request of the County Manager , Mr West noted that Johnston County has once again been invited by FEMA to participate in a 5 - day integrated training exercise at FEMA’s new facility in Anniston , Alabama Seventy - five people representing the County , towns and related agencies will spend 5 days in simulated training , totally at FEMA’s expense Johnston County did a similar training in 1995 4 Fire Tax Requests County Finance Officer , John Massey , noted there are three changes requested for district tax rates Moccasin Creek Drainage is asking for a decrease from 4 cents to 3 cents ; McLemore Fire District from 7 cents to 6 cents ; and Claytex for an increase from 4 cents to 7 cents Commissioner Wade M Stewart asked why the increase in Claytex Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr stated he is checking on this and should have some information soon Commissioner Jeffrey P Carver stated , in his opinion , the County needs to look at the money the districts have in reserve He noted some have as much as three years of expense in their account , and suggested they be asked to show a capital plan Mr Massey noted it is difficult to determine how much reserve revenue the districts have at this time , since the last audit report was from June 2003 Chairman Langdon recommended that beginning next year , staff come up with a form for the districts to provide information concerning their revenue on hand and planned capital expenditures Page706 June 16 , 2004 Continued 5 Recreation Grants Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr briefly discussed the recommendation from the Recreation Grant screening committee The committee is recommending 97,500 be awarded for large grants , 62,017 for medium grants , and 9,000 for small grants , for a total of 168,517 He suggested that if the Board decides to allocate a lesser amount , a percentage be deducted from all the grants County Manager Rick Hester noted that during the recent recreation meetings , he received positive feedback on recreation grants Commissioner Wade M Stewart questioned how many organizations did not receive a recommendation Commissioner Mims responded that out of 20 applicants , only 2 did not receive a recommendation because they did not meet the criteria for public recreation In response to discussion about reducing the amount awarded , Commissioner Mims stated that as important as recreation is , he would personally recommend award of the total amount with no reductions The Board voiced their support for the following committee recommendation Large Grant County 50 - Applicant 50 Match Carolina Soccer Club & St Ann Catholic Parish 25,000 Selma Parks & Recreation Department 22,500 Smithfield Parks & Recreation 25,000 Town of Four Oaks 12,500 Clayton Parks & Recreation 12,500 97,500 Medium Grant County 60 - Applicant 40 Match Pine Level Parks & Recreation Booster Club 3,491 Pine Level Parks & Recreation Committee 2,784 Meadow Athletic Association 3,900 Micro Parks & Recreation 4,500 Micro Athletic Association 3,420 Glendale - Chapel Recreation 6,722 Clayton Civitan Club 7,200 Clayton Recreation Foundation 6,000 Benson Parks & Recreation 8,000 Archers Lodge Community Center 10,000 Family Life Center 6,000 62,017 Small Grant County 75 - Applicant 25 Match Princeton Little Tarheel League 2,000 Corinth Booster Club 2,000 Corinth Community Recreation 2,000 Town of Wilsons Mills 3,000 9,000 TOTAL GRANTS 168,517 Commissioner Jeffrey P Carver pointed out the grants are a small appropriation compared to what recreation could cost the county ; however , he recommended making a requirement that if an organization has a contract on the use of the land , should the organization leave before the contract is fulfilled , the County could have an option to arrange for a substitute lease for a similar type of recreational activity Derek Eberwein , Carolina Soccer League , thanked the Board for their support He stated that he hopes to use this as a first step for Carolina Soccer League to provide soccer countywide 6 Non - Profit Organizations Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr suggested funding non - profits at the same level as last year , contingent upon them providing a dollar for dollar match of local support from the community Page707 June 16 , 2004 Continued County Manager , Rick Hester , asked if grants received from the state would qualify as local support Commissioner Mims responded that , in his opinion , state and federal money does not prove local support Chairman James H Langdon , Jr , suggested increasing Harbor , Inc ’ s funding to 10,000 After further discussion , the Board agreed to fund the following non - profits at the same level as last year , with the exception of Harbor , Inc , which would be increased to 10,000 , and allocate 6,000 to Cynthia Patterson for her high school project to place automated external defibrillators in each of the county’s six high schools Johnston Lee Community Action 16,500 Harbor , Inc 10,000 Kenly Tobacco Museum 6,500 Clayton Cultural Arts Foundation 10,000 Special Olympics 20,000 Johnston County Arts Council 10,000 High School Project for Automated External Defibrillators 6,000 7 Special Meeting Scheduled Chairman , James H Langdon , Jr scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday , June 22 , 2004 at 6 45 pm , prior to the previously scheduled 7 00 pm Special Meeting , to discuss several matters that need to be handled before the end of FY 2003 - 2004 There being no further business Commissioner Cookie Pope moved the Board adjourn Commissioner W Ray Woodall seconded the motion which carried by unanimous vote __________________________________________ James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman ______________________________________ Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the Board ____________________________________ Della H Knight , Deputy Clerk to the BoardPage