June 12, 2023 - 6:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 609 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners June 12 , 2023 6 00 pm The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session Monday , June 12 , 2023 at 6 00 pm in the Commissioners Meeting Room , Johnston County Courthouse Annex , Smithfield , North Carolina The following members were present Present Chairman RS “ Butch ” Lawter , Jr , Vice Chairman Patrick E Harris , Tony Braswell , Ted G Godwin , Fred J Smith , Jr , Richard D Braswell , and April Stephens Absent None Also Present County Manager Rick J Hester , Finance Officer and Deputy County Manager J Chad McLamb , County Attorney Jennifer J Slusser , Clerk to the Board Dana G Cuddington , and Executive Assistant Deputy Clerk Susie Reeves Chairman RS “ Butch ” Lawter , Jr called the meeting to order at 6 00 pm and announced the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the proposed Fiscal Year 2023 - 2024 County budget and related matters Commissioner Ted G Godwin opened the meeting with a prayer Commissioner Tony Braswell led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag 1 Partnership for Children of Johnston County Suefan Johnson , Chair of the Partnership for Children of Johnston County Board of Directors , along with Parent Representative and Board Member Allison Boyd , addressed the Board Ms Johnson thanked the Board for the allocation in the Fiscal Year 2022 – 2023 budget She stated the Partnership is the hub of all that is happening for young children and their families in Johnston County and they serve ages birth through five with a wide variety of highly effective programs designed to prepare children to succeed in school and in life She stated they are part of the statewide Smart Start network and work closely with many local partners including businesses , public schools , and pediatricians Ms Johnson stated their vision is bright futures for Johnston County children and their staff works in the communities everyday to deliver that vision Ms Johnson shared information with the Board regarding their programs , funding sources , and how past funding has supported their work She thanked the Board for their support and offered to answer any questions At the inquiry of Commissioner Ted G Godwin , Ms Boyd stated there are hundreds , if not thousands , of children that have been touched by the various programs of the Partnership either through parenting classes , story walks , and classes preparing children for kindergarten and life Commissioner Tony Braswell asked what is the request of the Partnership for Fiscal Year 2023 – 2024 and also if there is still a waiting list for the programs Ms Johnson responded the Partnership is requesting 100,000 and she explained how the funding would be divided amongst the various programs Ms Boyd confirmed they do have a waiting list for some of their programs and they are trying to meet the needs by equipping teachers to make sure classrooms are prepared to meet the curriculum needs of Pre - K She stated they want to expand their programs and services to meet all the needs The Board thanked the Partnership for Children for their work and dedication 2 Princeton Little TarHeel League Scott Creech , President of the Princeton Little TarHeel League , addressed the Board and stated they are a non - profit civic organization dedicated to providing recreational facilities and sporting opportunities for the youth of Princeton and surrounding communities He stated they are 100 volunteer staffed and are fully funded through their registration fees and concession stand sales He stated they offer approximately seven different sports and noted that other organizations such as the Special Olympics and church organizations also use their facilities He stated they were created in 1962 and since that time their facilities have begun to show significant wear and disrepair ; however , their registration numbers have grown tremendously with over 800 young athletes participating last year and a projection of over 900 participants in the upcoming year Mr Creech reported this year they had to remove their oldest building , which consisted of the bathrooms at Field 1 , due to them becoming unsafe He stated they are requesting funding to help rebuild those facilities with a new set of ADA compliant bathrooms He noted they have received bids for the construction of thisPage610 June 12 , 2023 – 6 00 pm Continued project and the estimated cost is approximately 100,000 but additional funding will be necessary to address septic issues Mr Creech stated they are seeking donations from others but are requesting 100,000 from the County Commissioner Richard D Braswell asked approximately how many people are utilizing the four fields at any given time Mr Creech responded that approximately 500 to 700 people are on the grounds at any given time ; however , that number increases during T - Ball games At the inquiry of Commissioner Tony Braswell , Mr Creech stated their registration fees are the same for all , no matter where the athlete resides He stated the Town of Princeton is not providing any funding because they are outside of the city limits ; however , they do have athletes that reside within the Princeton city limits that participate He stated approximately 80 of their participants live in the Princeton area and attend the Princeton schools Commissioner Tony Braswell commented that if the programs are benefitting residents both in the Town and County , then there should be revenue sources from both At the inquiry of Chairman RS “ Butch ” Lawter , Jr , Mr Creech stated they have been awarded 53,000 from the County’s Open Space Fund Grant Program but have not received those funds yet He stated at the time of the award of those funds , they were not aware of the septic issues that must now also be addressed Mr Creech stated they are not tied to any municipality and receive no funds through the Town He stated they do the best they can with their registration fees and concession stand sales and he is hoping the Board will see the funding as a good investment for the citizens that use the facilities Upon a question by Vice Chairman Patrick E Harris , Mr Creech stated the Princeton Little TarHeel League owns their property 3 Triangle Land Conservancy Leigh Ann Hammerbacher , Director of Land Protection and Stewardship East with the Triangle Land Conservancy , thanked the Board for their past support stating it has helped protect over 500 acres of land and leverage over 44 million in grant funds Ms Hammerbacher requested the Board to consider allocating 820,000 for the Fiscal Year 2023 – 2024 budget to support additional land protection efforts She stated with these funds , the Triangle Land Conservancy can protect over 580 acres across nine proposed projects and leverage an additional 8 million in project funds She presented the following map in support of the request Page611 June 12 , 2023 – 6 00 pm Continued Ms Hammerbacher stated they are thankful for the County’s past support and believe they must do everything possible to support the conservation of high - quality natural areas as well as family farms in the th County She stated Johnston County ranks # 1 in North Carolina for projected farmland loss and 19 overall in the country Ms Hammerbacher offered to answer any questions and further offered to arrange site visits for anyone interested The Board thanked Ms Hammerbacher for the information 4 Special Olympics of Johnston County Shauna Hines - Farmer and April Grady , representing the Special Olympics , addressed the Board Ms Grady recalled that in the past , Ms Carolyn Stafford has presented the funding requests to the Board ; however , she passed away in February and is deeply missed by all Ms Grady stated they are hopeful they can step up and expand the work that Ms Stafford began in Johnston County Ms Grady provided the Board with an update on their recent activities stating at the 2023 Southeast US Winter Games they had two athletes , Brogan and Dawson , compete against athletes from North Carolina , South Carolina , Georgia , Florida , and Tennessee She stated both Brogan and Dawson had a wonderful time competing in alpine skiing against their fellow athletes Ms Grady reported this year , Johnston County hosted the spring games at the Smithfield Selma High School with 291 athletes competing in track and field events and 124 youth athletes ages 2 – 7 participating in the educational play - based program She also reported that Johnston County recently took 18 athletes to the summer games held in the Raleigh area Ms Grady provided the Board with an update on upcoming activities in 2023 as well as 2024 and requested the Board to consider allocating 15,000 in the Fiscal Year 2023 – 2024 budget Ms Grady introduced her son , Dawson , and stated the Special Olympics has offered him the opportunity to meet new people and participate in many of the sports he enjoys She stated since he has joined the Special Olympics of Johnston County , he has increased his knowledge of sports , advanced his skillset , and thrived as an athlete She stated they are thankful for the program and look forward to other athletes participating Dawson Grady spoke on the sports he enjoys competing in with the Special Olympics noting some of them have resulted in medals being brought home to Johnston County At the inquiry of Chairman RS “ Butch ” Lawter , Jr , Dawson stated he enjoys all of the sports in the Special Olympics The Board commended Dawson and expressed their pride for his participation and representing Johnston County in the Special Olympics 5 Harbor Kay Johnson , Executive Director for Harbor , addressed the Board and thanked the Commissioners for their continued support on behalf of the Board of Directors , advocates , and the victims served by Harbor She stated the County’s years of support for their mission has galvanized Harbor to assess the changing and growing needs of the County and encouraged them to make a concerted effort to strategically approach how they meet the specific and individual needs of the survivors She stated over the past year they have learned that in order to enhance the quality of life for the present and future generations of Johnston County , their services must become more collaborative Ms Johnson expressed her appreciation for their established partnerships with the Johnston County Health Department , the Department of Social Services , local corporations , small businesses , and other nonprofits stating they allow Harbor to extend their reach and maximize resources beyond their scope of services and mission She also thanked the community for supporting Harbor stating they allow for more efficient and effective operations Ms Johnson continued that Harbor is in need of more bilingual advocates and they have served over 2,800 victims of domestic violence as of May 2023 , with a projectory to exceed their capacity by 27 as compared to last fiscal year Ms Johnson stated they must implement a better strategy to aid those coming into the courthouse on a daily basis needing to file domestic violence orders She stated their advocates wake up daily knowing they have to be “ all - in ” because they recognize that in their industry , what they do or do not do can make the difference in someone surviving domestic violence Ms Harbor requested the Board’s continued support to fund additional bilingual staff , a triage advocate , additional court advocates and allow for afterhours advocates to aid victims At the inquiry of Commissioner Tony Braswell , Ms Johnson stated they are requesting 325,000 for Fiscal Year 2023 – 2024 Page612 June 12 , 2023 – 6 00 pm Continued Upon a question by Commissioner Ted G Godwin , Ms Johnson stated they will be moving into their new facilities next week The Board thanked Ms Johnson for all that Harbor does for Johnston County 6 Smithfield Rescue Mission Ben Olsen , Executive Director for the Smithfield Rescue Mission , thanked the Board for their past support and partnership Mr Olsen recognized his parents , Paul and Margie Olsen , as the founders of the Rescue Mission Mrs Margie Olsen thanked the Board for their past support stating she and her husband are still involved with the Rescue Mission providing services to help people with physical , emotional , and spiritual needs She spoke on all the services offered by the Rescue Mission stating they take care of “ whole person ” needs Mr Olsen presented the following list of facility needs Mr Olsen stated although they served a few less clients this past year , they had better outcomes than in the previous two years He stated they have partnered with Community Action to help people find and pay forPagePage pageNumber5613 June 12 , 2023 – 6 00 pm Continued more permanent housing which is always a success Mr Olsen reported that 94 of the women and children that came through their facility are still in housing and are still working which has been wonderful He stated last year they provided 6,721 nights of safe shelter , 21,805 meals in - house , and gave away 221 complete family food boxes with all the staples and essentials as well as snacks for children He stated the Thanksgiving outreach provided 356 households with a turkey and all the fixings Mr Olsen stated they are coming up on 46 years of service and he is thankful to be able to do something he feels called to do Mr Olsen offered to answer any questions Vice Chairman Patrick E Harris stated as long as he can remember , Paul and Margie Olsen have been taking care of others and their lives are truly lives of service He commended the Olsen Family for their work 7 Johnston County Human Resources Human Resources Director Lu Hickey reported that staff is in the process of working through the alternate year compensation market adjustment study and they are anticipating to make those adjustments in the fall She stated funds have already been included in the proposed budget for any necessary adjustments Vice Chairman Patrick E Harris thanked Ms Hickey for her work on the study stating last year the Board made a significant adjustment to get employees where they should be and he noted that County employees remain one of the Board’s strategic priorities Vice Chairman Harris spoke in support of continuing the compensation study stating it is vitally important 8 Manager Report and Comments County Manager Rick Hester recalled that several months ago , as part of the NC GREAT Grant Program , several broadband companies requested matching funds from the County if they were selected by the State of North Carolina to receive grant funds to expand broadband services in Johnston County Mr Hester reported that there may be some leftover funding from the NC GREAT Grant Program and representatives with Lumos contacted him to inquire if Johnston County would be willing to participate in any grant matches for that leftover funding Mr Hester stated he informed Lumos that while he felt like the Board would be willing to consider additional matches , the request would have to come before the Commissioners Mr Hester stated staff will be looking into the possibilities and would report back with more information 9 Board Report and Comments Commissioner Tony Braswell reported the Fire Tax Committee met this past week with seven fire departments that have requested increases in their fire district tax rates Commissioner T Braswell thanked Chairman RS “ Butch ” Lawter , Jr and Vice Chairman Patrick E Harris for working with him on this Committee He stated the Committee will be discussing the requests and will report back to the full Board with a recommendation at the June 19 , 2023 meeting Chairman RS “ Butch ” Lawter , Jr stated the Board will consider the adoption of the Fiscal Year 2023 – 2024 County budget at the June 19 , 2023 meeting as part of the agenda There being no further business , Commissioner Ted G Godwin moved the Board adjourn Commissioner Richard D Braswell seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote The meeting adjourned at 6 57 pm RS “ Butch ” Lawter , Jr , Chairman Dana G Cuddington , Clerk to the BoardPage