November 24, 2003 - 6:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 523 MEETING OF THE JOHNSTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS November 24 , 2003 The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session on Monday , November 24 , 2003 , at 6 00 pm in the Commissioners ’ Meeting Room , Johnston County Courthouse , Smithfield , NC with the following members present Present James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman , Cookie Pope , Vice - Chairman , Thomas M Moore , Allen L Mims , Jr , Wade M Stewart , W Ray Woodall , and Jeffrey P Carver Absent None Also Present Rick J Hester , County Manager , Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the Board , Mark Payne , County Attorney , and Finance Officer , John R Massey The Chairman called the meeting to order and noted the reason for the meeting is for the Board to hold a public hearing on the proposed creation of a Johnston County Research and Training Zone RTZ , an Economic Development and Training District as allowed by NCGS § 153A - 31712 Public Hearing - Proposed Economic Development & Training District Research & Training Zone RTZ Advertised 11 4 and 11 14 03 in The Smithfield Herald Chairman Langdon opened the public hearing and invited anyone who wished to address the Board on the proposed Research & Training Zone RTZ Attorney Allen Tew from Clayton strongly opposed the formation of the proposed RTZ district He reviewed with the Board some of the history of the local bill that was passed by the NC General Assembly enabling the County to consider this action , and voiced his belief that the Town of Clayton was left out of the decision making He acknowledged that the Clayton Town Council eventually did agree with the bill ; however , in his opinion , they did so only under pressure from the County Mr Tew did agree that in today’s society , industrial incentives are appropriate , but stressed the question is , who should be involved in making these decisions He stated , in his opinion , the bill was written primarily to accommodate the Bayer plant , and gives them too much control , while it leaves Caterpillar out of the district He maintained the formation of the district would preclude Clayton from ever annexing any of the area in the district , which creates a “ black hole ” for the Town He stressed his belief that creating such an economic development and training district would set a horrible precedent for the County and urged the Board not to implement the RTZ zone Linwood Parker , mayor of Four Oaks and chairman of the Johnston County Economic Development Commission , stated he supports the formation of the RTZ district as it will expand the quality job market in the County The RTZ , which would be a self taxing district , would help pay for a biotech skills training facility that would be affiliated with Johnston Community College and NC State This specialized training facility would eventually allow students to earn a four year degree without leaving the County , and prepare them for well paying jobs within the area He stated , in his opinion , Clayton’s right to annex and tax these properties should not override the County’s rights , and pointed out if the industrial properties proposed for the zone were annexed by Clayton , the County and other municipalities would realize a loss in revenue The zone would give these industrial entities only one regulatory authority , the County Mr Parker disagreed with Mr Tew’s allegation that Clayton was left out of the discussions about the proposed local bill that was passed by the General Assembly He noted that Clayton was contacted first before any effort was made to move forward , and there were a number of subsequent conversations with Clayton officials He strongly recommended the Board approve the district and noted the most important thing the County can do , outside of educating children , is to create jobs for our citizens Michael de Sherbinin , Economic Development Director , also disagreed with Mr Tew’s comments He noted that annexation of the industries would have required agreement by the industries , and none of those involved in the proposed district had volunteered for annexation The training zone idea developed when Novo Nordisk was having trouble with electrical service Several of the officials from the industries in the area met with our legislators and Chairman Langdon , at which time Ron Fox of Bayer pointed out that utilities was only one of the problems , the problem with the lack of training in the available work force was a serious concern Page524 November 24 , 2003 Continued Mr de Sherbinin commented that this public hearing is unique This is a case when four taxpayers are asking to pay additional taxes in order to help address the educational problem without adding additional cost to the County taxpayers Norwood Thompson , commercial and industrial developer in the Clayton area , stated he understood Mr Tew’s concerns ; however , in his opinion , the focus should not be on the existing industries , but on the importance of this type of incentive for the future He noted the important thing is the potential for high paying jobs for our workforce He stated this district will keep industries here and give Johnston County a competitive edge when recruiting additional industries Steve Biggs , Clayton Manager , thanked the Board , especially Chairman Langdon and Commissioner Allen Mims , for working with Clayton on issues involving utilities and for keeping the channel of communication open He noted Mr Tew is a fine citizen of Clayton , but not an elected official , and perhaps therefore does not realize the local bill was able to come about because of Clayton He noted that to indicate that Clayton was against the bill is misrepresenting the Town Mr Biggs noted that Clayton has worked in the past years and especially in recent months to have and maintain a good relationship with our industrial neighbors , and the Town wants them to be successful Don Reichard , president of Johnston Community College JCC , stated that when Bayer indicated they would only hire people with an associate or higher degree , the College recognized the need to provide more training He commended Michael de Sherbinin , Economic Development Director , and the Economic Development Commission for seeing the need and finding a way for a new facility to be built He noted the existing industries may or may not be here in the future , but there will always be the need for education that leads to better jobs in the County He voiced his support for this economic partnership and commended everyone involved Lynn Austin of Clayton , who serves as chairman of the Johnston Community College Board of Trustees , agreed She noted the most important thing the County can do is train our young people so they can obtain good jobs with our industries She noted the facility has been a part of the College’s future plans for some time , and they are committed to making this a reality She voiced her appreciation for the relationship between the County Commissioners and the JCC Board of Trustees Brian Henley of Clayton supported the creation of the zone and noted the industries should not be annexed into a municipality as it would mean double taxation for them He noted he is an electrical engineer that was laid off from his job in the Research Triangle Park After being out of work for some time , he took the biotech courses at JCC and was able to find a job He noted there are many others who need this type of training , and the new facility will make it possible Mike Feltman who lives in Raleigh , stated he left a job with a telecommunications company after 28 years Until he was able to add to his resume that he had bioworks certification , he was unable to find new employment He noted the new facility will make Johnston County more attractive to other bio - pharma industry , which will encourage economic growth for the County He urged the Board to let JCC build the facility and noted the Town of Clayton would benefit Jody McLeod , mayor - elect of Clayton , stated he would like to take the opportunity to thank the Board of Commissioners for what they have done for the County and for Clayton He stated he supports the district and looks forward to working with the Board in the future Joy Callahan , JCC Industrial Services Director , and Sean O’Neill , JCC Bioworks Coordinator , spoke in favor of a new training facility Ms Callahan stated the College has been using some of the old Cleveland School building , but they desperately need additional space She stated she looks forward to improving the training opportunities for the skilled labor force Mr O’Neill noted that currently JCC partners with Wake Tech on the bioworks associate degree , and stated it would be wonderful to be able to offer the full program in Johnston County , and a four year degree in the future There being no further comments , the Chairman closed the public hearing Page525 November 24 , 2003 Continued Chairman Langdon thanked everyone for their comments and stated the Board will take this matter under advisement and make a decision in the near future There being no further business , Commissioner Wade M Stewart moved the Board adjourn Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote __________________________________________ James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman _____________________________ Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the BoardPage