September 15, 1995 - 8:00 AM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

September 15, 1995The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session Friday,September 15, 1995, at 8 00 oclock am in the Commissioners Meeting Room, JohnstonCounty Courthouse Annex, Smithfield, North Carolina, with the following membersPresent Norman C Denning, Chairman, James W Cash, Jerry F Wood, Cecil MMassengill, Eleanor N Creech and Cookie PopeAbsent John M Booker, Vice ChairmanAlso Present Richard B Self, County Manager, and Joyce H Ennis, Clerk to the BoardThe Chairman called the meeting to order1 Public Hearing 50 Million General Obligation School Bond IssueAdvertised The Smithfield Herald - September 8, 1995Chairman Denning opened the public hearing and stated the purpose of thehearing was to hear public comment on the proposed 50 Million Bond Order authorizingthe issuance of General Obligation Bonds for the purpose of financing school facilities inJohnston County He invited those who wished to speak to come forwardDoug Phillips, School Advisory Board member at Clayton, stated that the schoolfacility needs in the County are real, and if it takes an increase in ad valorem taxes, thenhe would support it He stated he would support the bond issue and appreciates theCommissioners taking a stand for educationRobert Barbour, School Advisory Board at Meadow,_ stated he is in favor of doingwhatever it takes to get the schools the way they need to beDoug McCormack from Clayton commented on the bad condition of many of theschools in the County He stated that everything that can be done, should be done, and ifincrease in taxes is the only way, then he would support the bond issue He voiced hopethat this will be the beginning, and in the near future, all school needs can be metDrew Hardison, Chairman of Clayton Advisory Board, stated the County needs alarge infusion of dollars to get things right He asked the Board not to look at the bondissue as the only solution as it will not solve all the problems He voiced support for anopportunity to vote on a one-cent sales tax increase and asked the Board to continue tolobby the General Assembly for that right He voice his support of the bond issue andasked the Commissioners to continue to look at all possible ways to generate funds forschool constructionDebbie Parker, Clayton Elementary School PTA officer, stated she is new to theCounty, but is very concerned for the children and the school needs She voiced her supportfor the bond issueKaty Medlin, member of the Benson Elementary PTA, asked the Board to look tothe future and adopt a long rang plan She added her support for the bond issue, but feelsthe needs of all schools must be metJerry Moore, member of the Smithfield Selma High Advisory, stated the SSSAdvisory Council supports the bond issue He noted that the entire County is growing andthe needs must be met before they worsenDurwood Woodall, member of the Princeton Advisory Council, stated his boardsupports the Bond IssueTim Parrish, Glendale Kenly Advisory Board member, added his boards supportHe encouraged the passage of the bond issue, and asked the Board to seek additionalsources to provide enough revenue to solve school problems across the County154Charles Parrish from the McGees Crossroads Area asked the Board if the peoplecould get some assurance that the funds, if approved, would be used to build sensiblebuildings whereby the citizens could get the most for their moneyTim Stevens, member of advisory board at North Johnston, stated he was speakingfor himself, not the advisory board He voiced opposition for the bond issue because of theway, in his opinion, the School Board has spent money in the past In reference to therecent COPs for 15 Million, he questioned why it should take 15 to build only twoschools He commented schools used to be built for 3 to 4 millionLinwood Parker, who serves on the South Johnston Advisory Council, noted he wasspeaking as a parent and taxpayer, not on behalf of the Council He stated he supports thebond because, in his opinion, it is the only answer, but feels the message should be madeclear, that the citizens do not want the money spent unwisely In defense of the SchoolBoard, he pointed out the State mandates certain requirements in school building, ofwhich they have no control He stated that even though this is not enough money, thebond issue is a beginning and needs to be passedDebra Stanfield, PTA member at Cleveland Elementary voiced support for theBond issue and referenced the tremendous growth in her area of the CountyMichael Driver, Advisory Council member at Corinth Holder thanked the Board forproviding water to their school He noted that even though the money has already beenallocated through the COPs project for a new school at Corinth, his community wouldsupport the bond issue because they support the need for all county schools to beimproved He pointed out that sometimes what appears to be waste to the public is reallya lack of understanding all the facts He stated Corinth Holder would support the bondissue and leave it up to the Commissioners and School Board to see that the money isspent wiselyJennifer Peele, Advisory Board member at Micro Pine Level, noted the entireCounty is growing and it is important to get the schools in good condition She stated heradvisory Council unanimously voted to support the school bond, even though their schoolwould not be included until a later phase of improvements She noted the 50 Million willnot be enough, but it would be a startChip Wood, parent in Clayton area, voiced his concern that many schools in theCounty still are not air conditioned He voiced his support of the bond issueFay Langston, North Johnston High PTA, added her support for the bond issueGail Bryant, Selma Elementary Advisory Council member, noted that the childrenin Johnston County deserve better facilities She added her support and the support of theAdvisory Council for the bond issueClifton Parker from Clayton responded to the comments about the elaborate schoolsthe Board of Education has built in the past He stressed the need to forget the past andmove forward by remembering our children He noted that he is against waste, but feelsthe important thing is to get a program started, and the bond issue would abe a beginningHe voiced 100 support for the bond issue and stated he would trust the two boards tospend it wisely He complimented the teachers and school staffs for the good job they aredoing, even in bad facilitiesCindy Nyberg, member of the Cleveland Elementary PTA voiced her appreciationfor the opportunity to vote on school bonds She stated she supports the bond issue andfeels this would be the beginning of an opportunity to make our schools something thecitizens of Johnston County can be proud of She asked the Board to provide the strongleadership needed for the sake of the childrenKathy Penny from the Clayton area stated she was speaking for the children andurged passage of the bond issue155Kay Carroll, Chairman of the Johnston County School Board, addressed some ofthe comments He assured those present that the School Board has heard the messagefrom the citizens about being accountable for their spending He noted that some of theirregular angles and turns in the newer schools, which have been considered wasteful,were design strategy driven by energy costs They were designed to harness some of ournatural sources of heat and hopefully reduce continually rising energy costs He continuedthat maybe it was an error on the Board of Educations part, but they were simply tryingto respond to what they saw as a potential problem for the future He explained the Boardof Education has retained a building consultant to oversee the types of buildings built inthe future They have also established a technical advisory committee consisting ofprofessionals and builders in the community to review every planMr Carroll went on to say that the Board of Education is trying to be efficient butis faced with many restrictions by the State He noted that every time the School Boardbuilds anything, they must hire an architect, even if they have used the plans before Heassured those present the School Board will spend the money as wisely as they feel theycan with a focus on the future, considering long term benefits He noticed that the cost ofbuilding has risen in the past few years and stressed you cant build a school for 4 milliontoday He pointed out Johnston County has to bid against much larger projects in Wakeand other surrounding countiesCommissioner Cookie Pope voiced her appreciation for interest shown by the publicShe stated the Commissioners are aware of the needs, and feel the School Boardunderstands the public expects them to be responsible She gave her support to the bondissueCommissioner James W Cash added his support and stated that if anyone knewof a better answer, he would be glad to hear itCommissioner Jerry F Wood noted the Board has tried every avenue to find thefunding needed for school facilities, and the bonds are the only answer at this time Hestressed that if the bond issue does not pass, regardless of how the Commissioners feel, theincrease in property taxes will have to be even greater He voiced his support for the bondissueCommissioner Cecil M Massen ig_ll stated he has some reservations about the 50Million amount as he feels it is not enough; however it is a start He echoed CommissionerWoods comment that the Board has struggled for quite some time with this problem andlooked at all possible sources of revenue He voiced concern that the public perception isthat the money might not be spent wisely and pointed out the School Board has to adhereto mandates from other agencies over which no one at the County level has any controlHe asked those present to support through the legislature the right for the people inJohnston County to vote on a one-cent sales tax increase for school constructionCommissioner Eleanor N Creech added her support and assured everyone theBoard of Commissioners have heard and appreciate the concerns and comments made atthis meeting She stressed the need for everyone to work together for the good of thechildren, to be progressive, pass the bond issue, then moved on by lobbying for help fromthe General Assembly She noted she hopes the State will also reconsider some of theirrequirements, such as the necessity of an architect in all cases She vowed to activelysupport the bond issue noting the children of our County are our first priorityChairman Norman C Denning thanked everyone for coming He noted thateveryone has the same goal, which is to see that our children have what is needed toprovide them with a good education He stated that in the past he has not supportedschool bond issues because he felt that paying as you go for school construction was thebetter choice He agreed, however, that the situation is now different He stressed theneed to find other sources of revenue other than ad valorem taxes, such as the one-centsales tax increase and impact fee He pointed out the Board asked for legislation to allowthe citizens to vote for a one-cent sales tax increase as well as other revenue sources;156however the General Assembly did not approve the request He again noted that mosthomeowners do not pay enough in property taxes to take care of the Countys allocationfor operating expenses on two school childrenCommissioner Denning stated he has not decided how he, personally, will vote onthis bond issue, but he supports the right for the citizens to vote He thanked everyone forcomingLinwood Parker questioned the wisdom of pay-as-you-go financing for schools in thepast He stated, in his opinion, the money could have been spent more wisely, and askedthe Commissioners to consider other local sources of revenue and savings instead ofplacing blame on the legislatorsThere being no further comments, the Chairman closed the public hearing2 Adoption of Bond OrderAfter consideration of a public hearing held pursuant to N C General Statutes §159-57 on September 15, 1995, and extensive comments and suggestions from membersof the public and the Johnston County Board of Education, Commissioner James W Cashmoved the passage of the Bond Order entitled BOND ORDER AUTHORIZING THEISSUANCE OF GENERAL OBLIGATION SCHOOL BONDS OF JOHNSTONCOUNTY IN THE MAXIMUM AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF 50,000,000FOR THE PURPOSE OF FINANCING, IN PART, THE ACQUISITION,CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPPING OF SCHOOL FACILITIES IN JOHNSTONCOUNTY, and Commissioner Jerry F Wood seconded the motion and the Bond Orderwas passed and adopted by the followingAyes Commissioners Norman C Denning, James W Cash, Jerry F Wood,Eleanor N Creech, Cecil M Massengill and Cookie PopeNays NoneNot Voting None3 Resolution calling for Bond Order ReferendumCommissioner Cookie Pope then introduced the following resolution the title ofwhich was readRESOLUTION CALLING FOR REFERENDUM ON50,000,000 GENERAL OBLIGATION SCHOOL BONDS,PROVIDING FOR NOTICE OF SUCH REFERENDUM, FORMOF BALLOT AND PUBLICATION OF BOND ORDER AS ADOPTEDWHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners of Johnston County has adopted a BondOrder entitled BOND ORDER AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF GENERALOBLIGATION SCHOOL BONDS OF JOHNSTON COUNTY IN THE MAXIMUMAGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF 50,000,000 FOR THE PURPOSE OFFINANCING, IN PART, THE ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPPINGOF SCHOOL FACILITIES IN JOHNSTON COUNTY; andWHEREAS, G S § 159-58 provides for publication of the Bond Order as adoptedand G S § 159-61 requires this Board to fix the date of the referendum on the BondOrder, notify the Board of Elections thereof and provide for notice of the referendum to bepublished;NOW, THEREFORE, the Board of Commissioners of Johnston County, meetingin regular session, on September 15, 1995, do the followingBE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR JOHNSTONCOUNTY1 The Clerk to the Board shall cause the Bond Order, with a statementappended in form described by G S § 159-58, to be published in The Smithfield Herald1572 This Board hereby calls for a referendum with respect to the Bond Orderand fixes the date thereof as November 7, 19953 The form of the question on the ballots shall be as followsShall the order authorizing 50,000,000 inmaximum aggregate principal amount of generalobligation school bonds of Johnston Countyfor financing, in part, the acquisition,construction and equipping of schoolfacilities in Johnston County be approved{ YES { { NO4 The Clerk to the Board shall mail or deliver a copy of this resolution to theJohnston County Board of Elections prior to September 19, 19955 The Clerk to the Board and the County Attorne shall provide forpublication of notice of the referendum as required by G S § 159-61?c in The SmithfieldHerald6 This resolution shall take effect immediatelyCommissioner Cookie Pope moved the passage of the foregoing resolution andCommissioner Eleanor N Creech seconded the motion, and the resolution was passed bythe following voteAyes Norman C Denning, James W Cash, Jerry F Wood, Eleanor NCreech, Cecil M Massengill and Cookie PopeNays NoneNot Voting NoneThere being no further business, Commissioner Jerry F Wood moved the Boardadjourn Commissioner Eleanor N Creech seconded the motion, which carried byunanimous voteNorman C Denning, ChairmanJoyce H Ennis, ClerkDetailsAnnotationsEntry PropertiesModified11192013 33545 PMCreated4142003 93429 AMTemplateMinutesFieldsMinutes - TypeSpecialMinutes - Date9151995Book20