February 11, 2002 - 7:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes

10 790 February 11 , 2002 The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in regular session , Monday , February 11 , 2002 at 7 00 pm in the Commissioners ’ Room , Johnston County Courthouse Annex , Smithfield , North Carolina with the following members Present James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman , Cookie Pope , Vice - Chairman , Thomas M Moore , Wade M Stewart , Allen L Mims , Jr , Fred Smith and W Ray Woodall Absent None Also Present Rick Hester , County Manager , Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the Board and J Mark Payne , County Attorney The Chairman called the meeting to order and the following business was transacted Public Comments No one spoke at this time 1 Request for Paid Special Olympics Coordinator A number of citizens from throughout the County requested the Board consider making Dale Bender , Special Olympics Coordinator , a county employee Parents of Special Olympic athletes praised Ms Bender for the wonderful job she is doing providing opportunities for special needs children and adults , which are not offered by any other organization in the County They maintained her job requires full time commitment involving organizing events , fund raising , public awareness and personal participation with the athletes to instill in them a sense of self worth Karen Evans of Princeton thanked the Board for the opportunity to address this issue She noted that if the County makes Ms Bender a full time employee , this would replace any other monetary contributions to the program that the County is currently making Ms Evans described the difference that Special Olympics has made in the life of her son , and stated she would never have known of the many opportunities available if it were not for Dale Bender Other parents speaking on behalf of this request were Carol Strafford , Sheila Eason , Craig Eason and Jill Carpenter of Clayton , and Olivia Bingenheimer from the Cleveland Community In addition to the parents , several others in attendance supported the request Q K Wall , community leader and educator , Ester Eason , Johnston County teacher , and Dottie Gant of Benson who for many years has worked with persons with disabilities Joy Jones , chairman of the Johnston County Special Olympics Board , presented a letter of support from another parent who was unable to attend Ms Jones pointed out the number of hours Ms Bender spends on this program Much of her time is spent on the phone and visiting businesses and industries trying to raise money for the different events The State Chapter does not send the counties any money Their funds are used solely for State events The Board thanked everyone for their comments and agreed to consider the request in the upcoming budget 2 Award of Bids - Reclaimed Water Elevated Tank st The Board reviewed the following rebids received on February 1 for the reclaimed water elevated tank This represents the remaining contract on the Phase I Cleveland & McGee’s Crossroads Area Wastewater Diversion Facilities and Phase I Reclaimed Water System project The other contracts were approved at the February 4 , 2002 meeting Caldwell Tanks , Inc , Louisville , KY 931,90000 INCO , Inc , Rocky Mount , NC 1,041,00000 Engineer Tim Broome explained the bids came in higher than estimated ; however , this was partly due to several additions to the project which were added at the request of the State Division of Water Quality Staff has talked with the low bidder , Caldwell Tanks , and is in the process of trying to negotiate the price down to no more than 850,000 He asked the Board to award the contract to Caldwell Tanks subject to the success of these negotiations , and approve the project budget for the entire project Page791 Subject to the concurrence of the NC Department of Environment & Natural Resources , Division of Water Quality , Construction Grants & Loans Branch , Commissioner Fred Smith moved the Board award a contract to Caldwell Tanks , Inc , Louisville , Kentucky for a 500,000 gallon reclaimed elevated water tank for a negotiated cost of no more than 850,000 , and adopt a total project budget of 8,550,000 for the Reclaimed Water System Phase I and Cleveland & McGee’s Crossroads Area Wastewater Diversion Facilities Phase I project Commissioner Cookie Pope seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote 3 County to Sell Town of Clayton Property for a Fire Station In accordance with the Board’s desire to work closely with the towns and public safety organizations in the County , Commissioner Wade M Stewart moved the County sell the Town of Clayton up to 175 acres of the old Champion property as a site for a new fire station , and instructed the County Manager to work with the Town Manager to determine the final adjusted acreage and price , based on 30,000 for the entire 175 acre lot Commissioner Stewart further moved the County make a similar offer to the Clayton Rescue Squad should they wish to build at this location , with such location to be coordinated between Clayton Rescue Squad officials , the EMS Advisory Committee , the County Manager , and the public school officials Commissioner Cookie Pope seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote 4 Three Party Sewer Service Agreement Between Johnston County , River Dell Company and Heater Utilities - Original Motion Rescinded and New Motion Approved Commissioner Fred Smith noted the agreement approved January 14 , 2002 between the County , Becky Flowers ’ River Dell Company and Heater Utilities to provide sewer service to a school site near Flowers Plantation was subject to Ms Flowers donating a total of 45 acres of land for two schools on a unified campus Since that time , it has been determined that due to the topography of the land , a second school on the site would not be feasible Based on the information above , Commissioner Fred Smith moved the Board rescind the action taken on January 14 , 2002 ref Book 22 , p 775 , item 6 and approve the three party sewer service agreement based on the original request , which stipulated Ms Flowers would donate a 25 acre site for an elementary school only Commissioner Wade M Stewart seconded the motion Discussion Commissioner Smith read the following prepared statement concerning the proposed River Dell School Site In recent days inaccurate information has appeared in the news media concerning the Johnston County Board of Commissioners ’ actions regarding the proposed River Dell school site I would like to set the record straight This situation reminds me of a quote attributed to former Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York The quote went something like this “ Everyone is entitled to their own opinion , but everyone is not entitled to their own facts ” As a member of the Board of Commissioners , it is my duty to ensure that the best interests of Johnston County’s families are the driving force behind these decisions We must bring a practical , common - sense approach to the people’s business The Board of Commissioners ’ intent throughout this situation has been nothing other than to obtain a free school site , located in an area where growth projections indicate we need to build schools , and to make the best use of the taxpayers ’ money in the process While everyone is entitled to their opinion about this matter , I would like to review the facts of the situation and explain why our actions were in the best interests of the people who call Johnston County home Sequence of Events - - Was the School Board surprised by these discussions During the week of January 3rd I received an agenda and packet for our Board of Commissioners ’ meeting The agenda included a proposed contract between the County , Heater Utilities , and Mrs Becky Flowers which would involve the County spending substantial sums of money to run a sewer line to a 25 - acre tract of land for a K - 5 elementary school Page792 On the morning of January 7th I met with Johnston County Utilities Director Tim Broome in order to ensure that I had a clear understanding of the facts of the contract During our conversation I inquired as to why the county was not getting enough land for both an elementary school and a middle school site , as it had done on several occasions in the past He indicated that he did not know Because of my concern over whether Johnston County’s families were getting the best deal , I urged Chairman J H Langdon to consider postponing this matter until the following week so that we could discuss it with our Superintendent , Dr Jim Causby Later that morning I met with Dr Causby , County Manager Rick Hester and Chairman Langdon During the meeting I expressed my view that we should require an additional 20 acres from Mrs Flowers for a middle school site Dr Causby expressed reservations and informed us that the School Board had turned down a previous offer for the 20 acres because they wanted to put a middle school in the Corinth - Holder area I expressed my belief that it was simply good business for us to obtain the additional 20 acres of land in order to ensure that this was a good deal for the families of Johnston County Dr Causby indicated that he would discuss this matter with the School Board On January 8th I had the opportunity to have a discussion with School Board member Devan Barbour , who formerly served as Vice Chairman of the board We discussed this matter in great detail , and I left with the understanding that the members of the School Board were fully aware of the possibility that we could obtain an additional 20 acres of land for another school site , and that they were open to this situation The next information I received on this matter was an unsolicited voice mail from Mrs Flowers on January 14th In her voice mail she stated that she was and always had been willing to donate the additional 20 acres of land to our school system , but that the school board did not seem inclined to accept her offer She stated her opinion that it makes sense for the County to have both elementary and middle schools at that site , and that it would save the taxpayers money on both the cost of the land and the cost of running the sewer line to the location Therefore , I believed that for Johnston County to get the best end of this deal , we should accept Mrs Flowers ’ offer to donate the additional 20 acres of land I made my motion , which was unanimously agreed to by the Board of Commissioners , that we obtain enough land for both an elementary school and a middle school in the rapidly growing area of the Buffalo Road Highway 42 intersection The County Commissioners were both open and above board in dealing with the School Board on this matter We informed both Dr Causby and Mr Devan Barbour that this matter was being considered well before any action was taken Any blame for lack of information - sharing in this situation rests with the School Board Prior to our investigation of the facts , the School Board did not inform the County Commissioners that there had been an offer by Mrs Flowers to donate the additional 20 acres for a middle school Any accusations that the Board of Commissioners did not make the School Board aware that this matter was under consideration are simply false Facts as they relate to growth in Johnston County There have been statements that the growth patterns in the Corinth - Holder area would somehow justify the school board’s inclination to turn down Mrs Flowers ’ offer to donate the additional 20 acres for a middle school Upon hearing these statements , I analyzed the growth patterns around both the Corinth - Holder school site and the proposed River Dell school site Using the attached exhibits 1 and 2 , I examined the population growth in a 275 mile radius around both the Corinth - Holder school and the proposed River Dell School My investigation revealed the following lt; Population Growth You will see from the attached map that the average growth rate between 1990 and 2000 in the radius around the proposed River Dell School was 24 - - growing from 1,379 in 1990 to 4,703 in 2000 In contrast , population growth in the same radius around the Corinth - Holder school during the same time period averaged only 4 - - growing from 1,816 in 1990 to 2,562 in 2000 lt; Approved Subdivisions In addition , I inquired with the Johnston County Planning Department regarding subdivisions which had been approved and platted in the vicinity of the two proposed school sites In the area around the River Dell subdivision 32 subdivisions have been approved , representing a total of 2,550 lots Some of these are part of the proposed Flowers Plantation development of 7,790 dwelling units InPage793 looking at the same approvals within a 25 mile radius of the Corinth - Holder school , a total of only 151 total lots have been approved – approximately 6 of the total lot approvals around the proposed River Dell schools lt; Infrastructure Costs We must also consider the infrastructure costs of running a sewer line to the Corinth - Holder area to support a middle school According to Utilities Director Tim Broome this additional 8 - mile sewer line would increase the cost to taxpayers by a minimum of 600,000 , up to a maximum of 1,146,000 In addition , we must consider the cost of purchasing a school site in the Corinth - Holder area , not to mention the costs of busing students across the county to the Corinth - Holder area As the Corinth - Holder area school is now situated , students are bused up to 8 to 10 miles to school To continue this practice by busing students to a new middle school would create an unnecessary drain on our school budget The present busing to the Corinth - Holder Elementary School will be relieved by the proposed River Dell schools Based upon the growth trends it is clear that the next middle school should be in the vicinity of the Buffalo Road Highway 42 intersection where the growth is actually taking place Who has an economic interest in this decision The working men and women of Johnston County pay the taxes that provide the funds to build our schools As a county commissioner , I have a duty and obligation to ensure that we apply common sense and sound business principles as we spend the taxpayers ’ money The Chairman of the School Board and members of the media have inferred that I have an economic interest in the resolution of this issue Nothing could be further from the truth In reality , Mrs Flowers ’ subdivisions are direct competitors of my company The only economic interest at stake in this decision that which is in the best interest of the people of Johnston County What is the Board of Commissioners ’ Role in determining school sites North Carolina General Statute 115C - 426 attached governs how counties are to deal with the selection of and payment for school sites and school improvements This statute states that the County’s Board of Commissioners has the authority to approve the purchase of a school site by either approving or disapproving the expenditure for that site During the course of this debate , statements have been made which imply that the county commissioners are somehow meddling in the school board’s business and interfering with their job As the law indicates , that is simply not the case Under section N C General Statute 115C - 426 f the law provides that “ No contract for the purchase of a site shall be executed nor any funds expended therefore without the approval of the board of county commissioners as to the amount spent for the site ; and in case of a disagreement between a board of education and a board of county commissioners as to the amount to be spent for the site , the procedure provided in GS 115C - 431 shall , insofar as the same may be applicable , be used to settle the disagreement ” State law demonstrates that the Board of Commissioners and the School Board have a joint obligation and shared responsibility in the area of school site selection This common - sense set of checks and balances is designed to help ensure that we make effective and efficient use the people’s money I and the other members of the Board of Commissioners have worked hard to ensure that we use our resources in an effective and efficient way that helps provide every child with the opportunity to receive a good education Johnston County Commissioners will NOT follow in the footsteps which caused our state’s budget crisis The Johnston County Board of Commissioners has worked hard to manage the county’s affairs in an effective and efficient manner However , during the course of this debate I have heard people say that there is no reason to locate schools where it’s most economical – that we should do whatever “ feels good ” This “ Feel Good Philosophy ” has overtaken our state government , and it led to the mess we now have in Raleigh Our state government is in dire financial straits Just this past week our Governor had to virtually “ steal ” monies from local and state governments , even after he and the General Assembly promised state and local governments that last year’s tax increase would prevent them from having to take money which belongs to local governments This will amount to millions of dollars taken away from Johnston County’s government and its municipalities that could potentially result in either higher taxes or reduced services to Johnston County’s families The current state budget crisis is a glaring example of what happens if those people who are elected to manage the people’s business fail to do so in an effective and efficient manner PagePage pageNumber5794 Why is it important to have effective and efficient government and to take care of the taxpayers ’ money Government has a duty to ensure that our neighborhoods and streets are safe and that all children have the opportunity to obtain a first - class education I believe that education should be Priority One in the State of North Carolina Education is the key to creating a level playing field on which all children have the opportunity to become productive members of society and to achieve the American Dream EVERY TAX DOLLAR WE WASTE IS A DOLLAR THAT CANNOT BE USED TO PROVIDE OUR CHILDREN WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE A FIRST - RATE EDUCATION I continue to pledge to the citizens of Johnston County that I will always fight to ensure that their money is used effectively and efficiently Further , I will fight to ensure that we adhere to checks and balances outlined in our state’s laws and that we spend our county’s tax dollars in the most effective and efficient manner possible Chairman James H Langdon , Jr noted he received a letter from Ms Flowers stating in the future , when the Commissioners and Board of Education feel there is a need for another school in the area , she will be glad to work with them in the donation of a site Commissioner Thomas M Moore asked Board of Education Chairman , Kay Carroll , who was in attendance , if the School Board turned down an original proposal by Ms Flowers of a site for two schools Mr Carroll gave a brief history of the Board of Education’s commitment to the people in the Corinth Holder area that they would be involved in the placement of any new middle school He also noted the School Board uses demographics and transportation information derived from studies done by OR Ed Laboratories to determine the placement of new schools It is this information that the School Board and the County Commissioners have used to base their need for bond issues in the County Based on all the information they had , school officials did not feel they were in a position to accept Ms Flowers ’ offer for a middle school site , only an elementary school He pointed out the general area they are currently considering for a new middle school is not in the Corinth Holder Community as publicized , but is located north and west of Ms Flowers ’ property Mr Carroll noted there has been some question about communication between the two boards He stated that School Superintendent Jim Causby did poll the school board about Commissioner Smith’s suggestion that Ms Flowers increase her land donation to 45 acres to site a unified elementary and middle school campus ; however , school board members all felt this was not a good idea Therefore , the Commissioners ’ action was not something they anticipated Commissioner Wade M Stewart pointed out the need for closer communications between the two boards and stated this incident will hopefully accomplish this He noted the Commissioners were unaware the School Board had originally been offered enough land for two schools He commended Commissioner Smith on his astuteness in picking up on the fact that there was a possibility of getting 20 additional acres He thanked Mr Carroll and other School Board members for looking again at finding a site that would work as a unified campus Unfortunately , the unique topography of the area makes it difficult to do so Following further discussion , the Chairman called for a vote The motion carried by unanimous vote Board Reports and Comments 5 Volunteer Organizations Commissioner Fred Smith stated he recently met with former Wake County Manager , Richard Stevens , and discussed some effective ways Wake County has dealt with funding for volunteer organizations He noted he has given this information to the County Manager , and suggested the Board look at some of these ideas before they begin work on the upcoming budget PagePage pageNumber6795 st 6 Application Grant Applications Due April 1 The Chairman noted that recreation grant application forms are available in the Clerk’s office and on the County web site Applications for FY 2002 - 03 are due in the County Manager’s office by April 1 , 2002 7 Appointee Thanks Board th Shelton M Shepherd thanked the Board for appointing him at the February 4 meeting to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council 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 , ClerkPage