September 2, 2025 - 10:00 AM - Board of Commissioners Highlights

10 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE JOHNSTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING September 2 , 2025 - 10 00 AM Videos of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners meetings may be viewed at the following https wwwyoutubecom jocogovnc VFW Post 5886 Smithfield led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag 1 Approval Discussion of Agenda - Agenda approved 2 Consent Agenda Items - Consent Agenda approved postponing the appointment to the Johnston County Planning Board to the October 6th 10 00 am meeting and including a waiver in the length of service policy for the Livestock Arena Management Board A Approval of Minutes – August 4 , 2025 10 00 am and 6 00 pm B Department of Transportation – Additions to System NC DOT is requesting the Board to concur with their recommendation to add the following roads to the State Maintained System Lotus Avenue – Water View Landing – Boon Hill Township Kitty Branch Way and Claude Creek Drive – Hearon Pointe – Cleveland Township C Proclamation – 2025 Fall Litter Sweep Staff requests the Board to adopt a proclamation for the 2025 Fall Litter Sweep scheduled for September 13 - 27 , 2025 D Town of Pine Level – Appointment to Pine Level Planning Board The Town of Pine Level is requesting the Board to make the following appointment to the Pine Level Planning Board representing the ETJ area of the Town James O’Malley , 1283 Firetower Road , Selma term expiring October 31 , 2026 E Budget Revisions • Sheriff – 27,41704 – To move revenues Miscellaneous Revenue and Federal Equitable Sharing into appropriate expenditure line items • Health – 7,50000 – Granville Vance Public Health agrees to partner with Johnston County Health Department to implement the Diabetes Prevention Program among eligible and interested community members F Appointments Hospital Authority Board of Commissioners – 1 position ; 3 year term The Johnston County Board of Commissioners will nominate the appointment at the September 2 , 2025 meeting ; the nomination will then be sent to the Hospital Authority for review Upon review and recommendationPageby the Hospital Authority , Chairman RS “ Butch ” Lawter , Jr will make the final appointment at the Johnston County Board of Commissioners September 15 , 2025 meeting Brad Oakes has applied for reappointment Johnston County Planning Board – 1 position to fill an unexpired term ending February 8 , 2028 Gregory Hedgepeth has applied for appointment Livestock Arena Management Board – 2 positions ; 2 year terms Otis Byrd has applied for reappointment and would require a waiver in the length of service policy G Tax Releases & Refunds – 07 16 2025 – 08 15 2025 3 Public Comments The following individuals addressed the Board during Public Comment • Human Resources Director Paulette Williams recognized retiring employee Beverly Herring 911 Communications Note Full comments can be viewed in the video from the meeting at the following link https wwwyoutubecom watch v sGaBlxUiVNI 4 Emergency Services – Resolution for Firefighters Week in Johnston County Resolution adopted Johnston County Emergency Services is requesting the Board to adopt a resolution declaring the week of September 8 - 12 , 2025 as Firefighters Week in Johnston County 5 Emergency Services – Proclamation - Johnston County Preparedness Month 2025 Proclamation adopted Johnston County Emergency Services is requesting the Board to adopt a proclamation declaring the month of September 2025 as North Carolina Preparedness Month within Johnston County 6 Partnership for Children – Child Passenger Safety Week and National Seat Check Saturday Proclamation adopted The Partnership for Children of Johnston County is requesting the Board to adopt a proclamation declaring the week of September 21 - 27 , 2025 as Child Passenger Safety Week and September 27 , 2025 as National Seat Check Saturday 7 Public Utilities – Johnston County Land Development Code Stormwater Management Ordinance Revisions Revisions approved with an effective date of January 1 , 2026 The Board of Commissioners held a public hearing on August 4 , 2025 to discuss proposed modifications to Article VII – Stormwater Management of the “ Johnston County Land Development Code ” In addition , staff previously hosted a stakeholders meeting and posted the proposed revisions on the Public Utilities website for public review Staff respectfully requests approval of the proposed revisions to Article VII – Stormwater Management of the “ JohnstonPageCounty Land Development Code , ” including recodification to move Sec 14 - 393 Riparian Buffer Protection to a separate article of the ordinance Staff recommends an effective date of November 1 , 2025 8 Public Utilities – US 301 Neuse River Bridge Replacement Water Main “ Betterment ” Agreement with NDCOT Request approved NCDOT has a project underway to replace the bridge on US 301 over the Neuse River County staff is working with NCDOT to replace and upsize the existing 16 ” water main at this crossing to a 36 ” water main with the new bridge construction Our hydraulic modeling consultant identified the proposed 36 ” water main , and the County’s previously approved Water and Sewer Capital Improvements Plan includes an upsized water main in this area NCDOT provided a cost estimate and proposed betterment agreement The cost estimate includes the additional design , construction and inspection costs for the 36 ” water main vs a 16 ” water main To proceed with execution of the agreement with NCDOT , staff recommends the following proposed project budget Expense Reimbursement to NCDOT 2,148,68128 Total 2,148,68128 Revenue Water System Development Fees 2,148,68128 Total 2,148,68128 Estimated Staff respectfully requests the Board’s approval of the capital project budget 9 Appointments Bentonville Community Building Board of Trustees – 2 positions ; 2 year terms Jo Ellen Beasley and Tony Ray Lee were reappointed I95 - I40 Crossroad of America Economic Development Alliance – 1 position ; 4 year term Bryan E Parker was appointed Voluntary Agricultural District Advisory Board – 2 positions ; 3 year terms Paul H “ Sonny ” Howard and Kim LeQuire were appointed Johnston - Lee - Harnett Community Action – 1 position ; 2 year term Dawn Winn - Burdo was reappointed 10 Delinquent Tax Collection Report - Informational Item 11 Manager Reports and Comments County Manager Rick Hester updated the Board on the Golden Leaf Foundation project Mr Hester reported applications have been received from the Johnston County Economic Development nonprofit for expansion related to the Work Force Development Center and applications have been received from two Chambers of Commerce Mr Hester said all information is due next Monday at noon Page12 Board Reports and Comments Commissioner Ted G Godwin stated he has been on the board for a long time and it does not get easier Commissioner Godwin said he remembers when fire services started back in the late 50 ’ s or 60 ’ s and today we have many fine volunteers Commissioner Godwin said he serves with a good board , and he appreciates everyone even when there is a difference of opinion Commissioner Godwin said it is up to the board to serve all people to the best of their ability Commissioner Bill Stovall apologized for his earlier comments on the Unified Development Ordinance process Commissioner Stovall said he served on the advisory committee and it took more than a year for the plan to be approved to be able to begin soliciting someone to help with the Unified Development Ordinance He stated there was a lot of frustration with many who served on that committee as they felt like some of the commissioners at the time were not enthusiastic about moving forward with these changes Commissioner Stovall said we are now doing that and we have a good UDO in place although the general assembly has passed some provisions that make it problematic Commissioner Michelle Pace Davis said it was great to attend the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners conference in Greenville and to see what other counties are doing across the state Commissioner Davis also mentioned JoCo Grows would be hosting a Present - Use Value Program Listening Session next Thursday , September 11th at 6 00 pm moderated by Tax Administrator Jocelyn Andrews Commissioner April Stephens stated she appreciates the open conversation that we have on this board knowing at the end of the day , we represent the county as a whole and we truly want what’s best for the county Commissioner Stephens said she appreciates the openness and appreciates everyone that came today to speak Commissioner Stephens asked Public Information Officer Adam Carroll to tell everyone how to contact the Commissioners and to keep up with what is going on in the county After Mr Carroll’s comments Ms Stephens mentioned citizens can request to be on the Sunshine List and the email address to email all the Commissioners at commissioner @ johnstonncgov Public Information Officer Adam Carroll stated the best way to get information for Johnston County is to visit Johnstonncgov Mr Carroll also said social media like Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and YouTube are other great places for information Mr Carroll said Emergency Services has a great program called Joco Alerts where citizens can get emergency alerts through Johnston County Commissioner Mike Rose said he also attended the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners Conference last week and it was a great experience to meet other commissioners from other counties Commissioner Rose also said it reaffirmed that he thinks we are on the right track in Johnston County and have a good board Commissioner Rose said he was proud to see the Chairman and Vice Chairman present at the conference Commissioner Rose stated few times do we get on social media and see positive things but after the last vote on the system development fees I did see a lot of comments but they were all positive He said generally when fees are raised people are negative but thinks they understand why these fees had to be there for our future and our county to be able to grow in a responsible way without raising the rates of our existing citizens Vice Chairman Patrick E Harris encouraged everyone to reach out to the Board as they are there to listen to the public Vice Chairman Harris said he and Chairman Lawter were asked to present at the conference on the fire service changes that have been made in Johnston County Vice Chairman Harris said although he was honored to be asked to speak , the credit really goes to the fire service people in the county He said there is a lot of interest in what we are doing in Johnston County all over North Carolina and he gives credit to Chief Ellington and Chief Stanley and all the other Chiefs that were involved in the fire commission Vice Chairman Harris also said he is grateful for this board and you learn at those conferences that everything may not work as well as it does here in Johnston County He said we are very blessed and very fortunate to have a great group of people to work with and a great group of citizens that live here and love this county and love the lifestyle that we have PagePage pageNumber5Chairman RS “ Butch ” Lawter , Jr said he had the opportunity to go to lunch with representatives of Johnston County YouthVoice Kaylin Gonzalez from the Boys and Girls Club and Ellie Henderson from 4 - H Chairman Lawter said they are both outstanding young ladies and wanted to recognize them and their leaders Chairman Lawter also said Central Pines Regional Council had a pre - meeting workshop that he and Mayor Byron McCallister attended He reported at the meeting they talked about issues and relationships between commissioners and county and local government Chairman Lawter said a spokesperson from Holly Springs provided information on their water resource management plan and it sounds similar to what we are trying to move to Chairman Lawter noted a few comments from today’s meeting regarding stormwater rules and having staff to oversee stormwater Chairman Lawter said there needs to be some mechanism that can be done to evaluate stormwater issues if it means hiring an outside consultant Chairman Lawter said each board member has something they are passionate about and those opinions are expressed and he appreciates the board 13 Closed Session – NCGS 14331811 a 3 – Attorney - Client Privilege ; NCGS 14331811 a 4 – Economic Development ; and NCGS 14331811 a 5 – Acquisition of Property No action was taken Page