June 10, 2003 - 7:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes

10 353 MEETING OF THE JOHNSTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS June 10 , 2003 The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in recessed session on Tuesday , June 10 , 2003 , at 7 00 pm in the Commissioners Meeting Room , Johnston County Courthouse Annex , Smithfield , North Carolina , 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 John R Massey , Finance Officer The Chairman opened the recessed meeting and the following discussion was held on the FY 2003 - 04 Budget 1 Johnston Community College Dr Don Reichard , president of Johnston Community College , asked the Board for additional funding above the amount recommended in the proposed budget He thanked the Board for their support over the years which has enabled them to pass local bond issues to be used , along with State bond money , for expansion of the campus He also pointed out the County’s new bio - tech training center in the Clayton area will be a tremendous plus both for education and economic development in the area Dr Reichard noted , however , that the college is facing serious problems due to the unprecedented growth in student enrollment and the age of its facilities It has been reported that over the next few decades , nursing degrees and associate degrees are expected to be the highest demand in the workforce , which will ensure that enrollment will continue to grow This will create space problems , and will demand that the existing facilities are in good repair Unfortunately , most of the existing buildings have reached the age when they require on - going repairs and maintenance The recommended increase will not be sufficient to meet these needs The college does have some fund balance , however , 200,000 of this was recently used leaving the account short It is felt it would be unwise to take any additional money from the reserves at this time Another major concern is the need to raise the faculty and professional staff salaries North Carolina th community college salaries rank 47 in the nation He asked the Board to consider some means of helping to meet that need in the near future , and possibly make a commitment toward that end Commissioner Thomas M Moore asked if other counties provide funds for community college salary supplements Dr Reichard responded that some provide supplements , and some fund additional salary positions 2 Fire Department Districts - District Tax Rate Recommendations The Chairman read the fire districts ’ recommended tax rates for the new year He noted that representatives from each of the fire departments were present to answer any questions that might arise concerning the recommended rates Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr noted he was pleased to see his district reduce their rate to 04 due to the increase in property value He stated he would hope each of the departments took into consideration the revaluation when recommending their tax rate Commissioner Thomas M Moore noted that some departments have cut their rate , while others have stayed the same He stressed his hope that those who did not cut their rate are planning for future needs , so they won’t have to ask for an increase later Commissioner Wade M Stewart stated he appreciates having the fire departments at the meeting so that citizens have the opportunity to ask questions of them He noted , in his opinion , the fire departments are frugal Commissioner W Ray Woodall agreed and thanked the departments for what they do Chairman Langdon stated he attends the Fireman’s Association meetings as the fire commissioner , and he feels comfortable with the requests Page354 June 10 , 2003 Continued 3 Airport Authority Dr Leonard Woodall , spoke on behalf of Harold Keene , chairman of the Airport Authority Dr Woodall explained the Airport Authority is requesting the County allocate 66,300 to help meet needs at the airport 20,000 of the money would be used to supplement grants funds to eliminate water seepage under the aircraft apron and runway ; 18,000 is needed to have trees removed for the runway approach obstruction removal project , 5,000 for a new roof on the building , and 23,281 for a person to train for the manager’s job He noted Roy Dixon , current airport manager , will be retiring in the near future In addition , Dr Woodall explained that because of the downturn in the economy which affected their business during the current year , the Airport Authority authorized the use of 125,000 from the proceeds of property sales in the industrial property across Hwy 70 for operation expenses This money must be replaced as it is earmarked for certain capital projects only Failure to replace the funds will seriously jeopardize future grants He noted that within a year , one of their hangar loans will be paid and they will have the income from that to use ; however , at this time , they do not have the funds to repay the 125,000 Commissioner W Ray Woodall asked about the possibility of the County lending the Airport the 125,000 Manager Rick Hester stated there is already an outstanding loan to the Airport Authority ; however something could be worked out , as long as there is a specific payback schedule in place Commissioner Jeffrey P Carver suggested they might consider restructuring their hangar loan to stretch out the payments for an additional year This would increase their cash flow Commissioner Wade M Stewart agreed and noted that with this , coupled with a loan from the County , the airport should be able to do what they need to do He pointed out the airport is an asset to the County , and this should be viewed as an investment Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr noted with the financial problems the airport is having , maybe they should go up on their leases and fees He pointed out this enterprise needs to be self - supporting and not a drain on the tax dollar Dr Woodall responded that if they could rent the hangar that was vacated recently , they would not have a problem In response to a question concerning their fees , he noted the airport does not charge a landing fee , but does have a parking fee for overnight Fuel sales are one of their biggest sources of revenue , and they try to keep them competitive Commissioner Thomas M Moore noted the Johnston County Airport is one of the best aviation airports in the State He complimented Roy Dixon on the outstanding job he has done over the years , and pointed out it was never believed that county funds would not be needed occasionally He stressed the airport is a major asset to the County and to economic development 4 Johnston County Industries Vicki Shore , executive director of Johnston County Industries , thanked the Board for their support She noted she is not asking for additional funds , but did want the Board members to know that their investment is paying off JCI now serves 300 citizens daily , they have placed 83 clients in the workforce , and have created 50 new jobs Their new facility , which was made possible by the help of the County , will be opening in July th 5 Council on Aging - Clarification of Comments from June 9 Meeting Donna Creech , executive director with Council on Aging , offered to clarify some information that she gave the Board at the previous meeting She noted that she was asked if the County was required to provide aging services The Council of Government is the area aging agency They receive the block grant money and are required to spend a certain amount on certain services If all the other counties meet the requirements , strictly speaking , Johnston County would not have to provide any services The Block Grant funds are allocated by a formula depending on the number of people 60 years of age and older that are at a certain economic level Page355 June 10 , 2003 Continued In response to comments about the more than 50 counties that have made COA a county department , Ms Creech noted if Johnston County were to do this , the cost would be approximately 250,000 more per year Commissioner W Ray Woodall asked about the status of the JCATS building in Selma Ms Creech stated nd a modular unit will be delivered to the site on July 2 She noted that Manager Ray Woodall left the County to th work in Wake County Dave Turnage , who will be the new manager , will begin work on Monday , June 16 6 Bridge on NC Hwy 39 North needs Widening Commissioner W Ray Woodall spoke of the recent two lives that were lost in an accident at the narrow bridge over Buffalo Creek , located on NC Hwy 39 north of Selma The Commissioners asked the NCDOT to widen the bridge in October , 2001 They were told the bridge is structurally sound and there were no plans to widen it Now that lives have been lost , he suggested the Commissioners again request that the bridge be widened 7 Coroner’s Position Commissioner Thomas M Moore asked what the Board plans to do about the coroner’s position Attorney Mark Payne stated he has looked a the General Statutes and has pulled out some sample legislation where other counties have deleted the office He noted that all the duties of the coroner are legally authorized duties of a medical examiner , and since each county much have a medical examiner , the coroner is not necessary If the Board so desires , they can ask the legislative delegation to pass local legislation to delete the office of coroner in Johnston County Commissioner Thomas M Moore moved the Board ask our legislators to present a bill to eliminate the office of coroner in Johnston County Commissioner Cookie Pope seconded the motion Discussion Commissioner Wade M Stewart asked if anyone has talked to the Democratic Party since the previous coroner was an elected Democrat He suggested , as a courtesy , this should be done Commissioner Moore stated he would be glad to convey the message , however , he does not believe they will have any problem with this Following further discussion , Commissioner Moore withdrew his motion , Commissioner Pope withdrew her th second , and the Board agreed to look again at this matter at their June 18 meeting 8 Future Need for Recreation Department Dan Mansell , who serves as a member of the Planning Board , asked the Board to consider creating a county recreation department in the next few years He noted the need in the County is great ________________________________________ James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman _____________________________ Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the BoardPage