April 16, 2003 - 7:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 278 MEETING OF THE JOHNSTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS April 16 , 2003 The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session on Wednesday , April 16 , 2003 , at 7 00 pm at the Cleveland Fire Station , 9039 Cleveland Road , Clayton , NC The purpose of the meeting was to hold a public hearing on the proposed extension of several fire service districts The following members were present Present James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman , Cookie Pope , Vice Chairman , Thomas M Moore , Wade M Stewart , W Ray Woodall , and Jeffrey P Carver Absent Allen L Mims , Jr Also Present Rick J Hester , County Manager , and Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the Board The Chairman called the meeting to order and opened the 7 00 pm scheduled public hearing He invited anyone who wished to address the Board on the proposed extension of the following fire service districts to six miles as allowed by NCGS 153A - 300 et seq Elevation , 50 210 , McLemore and Claytex Chairman Langdon pointed out there would be no difference in the service these people receive since the fire departments have always gone outside of their districts to fight fires when needed Being a part of a rated fire district would , however , do two things give them a reduction on their homeowners insurance , and make them subject to the fire tax The good news is that traditionally the savings from the insurance will more than cover the amount of the taxes EMS Director , Dewayne West , reviewed with those present a comparison of fire insurance premiums compared to the fire tax levy on a 100,000 and a 150,000 home He noted his staff contacted several insurance companies to see what the insurance savings would be when a property goes from a class 10 not rated to a class 9S , which is the classification that those within the new territory would receive The savings were significant in all cases Mr West pointed out the maps of the four districts and the properties that would be included in the six mile boundary extensions He noted that going to six miles will help by bringing in many of the people who were previously in what has been referred to as “ no man’s land ” In response to a question by Commissioner Cookie Pope , he explained the six miles are actually six road miles from the fire station , which relates to response time As new roads are built , the six miles could change to take in additional properties Paul Whitehurst , Deputy Fire Marshal , explained that with their # 2 District , Wilson’s Mills has just taken in a large number of the people who were previously unserved With the proposed six mile extensions throughout the County , only a few areas will still be outside of a fire district Robbie Matthews , Cleveland Fire Chief , spoke of a few situations where properties are in one taxing district , but closer to reach by another fire department He questioned whether the district lines might ever by changed Mr West stated he would be glad to look into this situation Wilbur Massengill , who lives on NC Hwy 210 , stated he thought it was automatic for two fire departments to respond in the case of a fire Mr West stated the fire departments ’ mutual aid agreement assures that at least three departments respond to any structure fire There being no further comments , the Chairman closed the public hearing Upon a motion by Commissioner Cookie Pope , seconded by Commissioner Thomas M Moore and carried by unanimous vote , the Board adjourned __________________________________________ James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman _____________________________ Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the BoardPage