April 1, 1999 - 6:30 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 344 April 1 , 1999 The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session on Thursday , April 1 , 1999 , at 6 30 p m in the Emergency Operations Center , Johnston County Law Enforcement Center , Smithfield , North Carolina , with the following members Present James H Langdon , Jr Chairman , , Cookie Pope , Vice Chairman , Jerry F Wood , Eleanor N Creech , Thomas M Moore , Allen L Mims , and Wade M Stewart Absent None Also Present Rick Hester , Interim County Manager , Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the Board , and John R Massey , Finance Officer Chairman Langdon called the meeting to order , and the following business was transacted County Department Presentations 1 Johnston County Sheriff's Department Sheriff Steve Bizzell thanked the Board for the opportunity to come before them to discuss his department and give an overview of his first four months as Johnston County Sheriff He thanked the Commissioners for their support and voiced his appreciation to the administrative staff for their assistance Sheriff Bizzell stated his goal as the chief law enforcement officer is to bring all law enforcement in the County together with the central goal of making the County safer for the citizens A major concern that he is addressing is the problem with illegal drugs and alcohol , especially with our youth He noted he and his Chief of Staff , Chuck Fuller , are working diligently to find ways to make the Sheriff's Department more efficient He reviewed several changes he has made in operation , and noted he personally has collected over 9,000 in the last few days through costs savings efforts He asked the Board to allow him to use this money to purchase some much needed equipment for the deputies He agreed to provide the Board with a detailed list of the needed equipment and the related costs Concerning the upcoming budget , Sheriff Bizzell stated he would be asking for no new personnel for the Sheriff's Department However he noted he would have to defer discussion on the needs of the jail until his new Detention Administrator , Frank Gunter , has had the opportunity to make an assessment Sheriff Bizzell spoke of the County's fueling facility and agreed with previous comments made by Commissioner Thomas M Moore that the County could save money if it operated a maintenance garage for its vehicles He noted he is now requiring his deputies to keep their county vehicles washed themselves , and asked the Board to consider paving the road to the fuel tanks The Board thanked Sheriff Bizzell for his presentation 2 Emergency Management Emergency Management Director , Dewayne West , thanked the Board for this opportunity to explain the services his department provides and who they serve He noted that Emergency Management consists of three major areas emergency management , emergency services and fire marshall services He gave a breakdown of the functions of each area He noted he has made every effort to make his operation as efficient as possible and has been able to reduce his budget request for the coming year Based on the recent study and recommendations for improving emergency medical services and rescue efforts in the County , Mr West provided a slide presentation of the possible options for providing paramedic care to a greater area of the County Currently the only rescue units with paramedic level service are located in Smithfield , Selma and Clayton He noted that trained paramedics with quickPage345 response vehicles QRV's stationed at several additional locations could assist regular rescue operations to provide a widespread coverage of this level of care , however , there would still be areas where response would be slow due to the size of the County He noted several possible funding options for making this a reality The Board thanked Mr West for his informative presentation 3 Social Services Social Services Director , Earl Marett , reviewed with the Board the programs he administers in the Department of Social Services Most of the programs are mandated by the State and Federal governments , and most require the County to provide a portion of the funding The total estimated cost for the coming year for his department is 89,991,000 with the County's estimated portion to be 8,476,668 He noted that although the old " AFDC " program has been sharply decreased by the work requirements , the other mandated services continue to increase in volume , especially child care programs Child abuse and neglect cases are a major concern , and the cost for medicaid and health services continue to increase Mr Marett explained one of the major issues his office faces is the requirements for response time in dealing with clients His employees often feel as though they are assembly line workers because of the mandated restraints placed on them to verify eligibility In response to a question from Board members , he noted he would again this year be asking for additional facility space The Board thanked Mr Marett for his presentation 4 Health Department Dr L S Woodall , Director of the Johnston County Health Department , addressed the Board concerning the services his department provides He noted that approximately 99 of the County's citizens are served by the environmental health division since they inspect all 330 restaurants in the County , as well as numerous other facilities including nursing homes , rest homes , hotels , schools , public swimming pools and summer camps Environmental health also inspects all onsite wastewater systems and wells , which has become a major operation due to the growth in the County Dr Woodall spoke of the various services the Health Center provides in the areas of child and adult health , including the WIC program , pediatric child care , maternity care , epidemiology , and adult primary care His department also provides a health educational service throughout the County In memory of Dr Thomas Manning Daniel , who had a pediatric practice in Smithfield for many years and who gave of his services for child health care at the Health Department up until his death recently , Dr Woodall and the Health Board requested the Board's permission to name the pediatric unit at the Health Department the " Thomas Manning Daniel Pediatric Clinic " The Board agreed this would be very appropriate Concerning the upcoming budget , Dr Woodall stated the Environmental Health Department needs additional help He pointed out the number of inspections for eating establishments alone have greatly increased their workload The Board thanked Dr Woodall for his presentation 5 Planning Department Cal Genereux , Planning Director , spoke with the Board about his department He noted the number of land use permits has increased 54 since 1995 , and 209 since 1991 due to the tremendous growth in the County In addition , the number of rezoning applications and zoning violations continue to increase He voiced appreciation for the good staff in his office and especially praised the work being done by zoning officer , Phyllis Hicks Ms Hicks has been able to resolve 75 of the complaints without involving additional personnel Page346 Concerning the upcoming budget , Mr Genereux stated he and his staff feel they can operate without additional help for another year He noted the service may slow down a little , but hopefully not significantly He noted that fees cover approximately two - thirds of his budget , and he plans to request an increase in several fees would make his operation virtually self - supporting The Board thanked Mr Genereux for his comments There being no further business , Commissioner Cookie Pope 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 , ClerkPage