HomeMy WebLinkAboutMay_17_2005_Briefing_MinutesIREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
BRIEFING MINUTES
MAY 17, 2005
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in Briefing Session on
Tuesday, May 17, 2005, at 5:00 p.m., in the Iredell County Government Center (South
Wing Conference Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC.
Present were:
Chairman Sara Haire Tice
Vice Chairman Godfrey Williams
Steve D. Johnson
Marvin Norman
Ken Robertson
Staff present: County Manager Joel Mashburn, Recreation Director Robert
Woody, Tax Administrator Bill Doolittle, Social Services Director Don Wall, Library
Director Steve Messick, Health Director Donna Campbell, Environmental Health
Supervisor Kelly Sheeks, and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore.
CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Tice.
REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF THE JUVENILE CRIME
PREVENTION COUNCIL'S (JCPC) RECOMMENDATION REGARDING FY
2005-06 FUNDING FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND
DELINQUENCY PREVENTION: Pam Navey, the Chairman of the JCPC, said the
council recently met and voted to recommend nine agencies for juvenile justice funding.
Navey said the state had indicated the funding would remain at $297,074 for the
upcoming year. (A complete listing of the agencies recommended for the funding may
be found in the regular minutes.)
REQUEST FROM A LOCAL CITIZEN FOR IREDELL COUNTY TO
PAY THE INTEREST COSTS ($250 TO $500) THAT HAVE OCCURRED
WHILE AWAITING APPROVAL OF A SEPTIC SYSTEM: Joining the
commissioners for this segment of the meeting were Health Director Donna Campbell
and Environmental Health Supervisor Kelly Sheeks.
County Manager Mashburn said Mrs. Geneva Renegar telephoned on May 4 and
stated it had been six weeks since she had obtained a septic tank permit. Mashburn
said Renegar was complaining about the additional time (at least two more weeks)
needed by the health sanitarians to complete the sewer line/tank inspection. He said
Renegar had financed a new doublewide mobile home and interest charges were
accruing to the banking institution. Mashburn said Mrs. Renegar was frustrated about
the length of time associated in obtaining septic system approval, and she felt the
county should pay the interest costs.
Health Director Campbell and Environmental Health Supervisor Kelly Sheeks
acknowledged that there was an inspection backlog. They said several efforts
(mandatory overtime, time sharing, disapproval of time -off requests, implementation of
the FastTrack System) had been taken to catch up; however, problems still remained.
Campbell said attrition was a key problem. Campbell and Sheeks said that in the next
few weeks they would be working with the county's personnel department in
developing a recruitment/retention program. They said the health department was
trying to achieve a four-week waiting time.
Commissioner Norman asked what was needed to arrive at the four-week
turnaround time.
Sheeks said the department had three interns who would be trained enough to
issue permits on July 1; however, it would take a year for them to be fully productive.
Commissioner Robertson said that if the current staff could be retained, and the
backlog didn't increase, the department might get caught up.
Campbell said the FastTrack System, once the community heard of its
availability, should also help to remedy the problem.
County Manager Mashburn asked why the FastTrack System could be used
now, but it wasn't considered years ago.
Sheeks said FastTrack, or the ability to hire private soil scientists to inspect the
septic systems, was not privatizing the permit process.
Chairman Tice said a mobile home dealer had told her that many times new
homeowners had the make the first loan payment before their septic systems were
approved.
Sheeks said this was probably true, and he knew instances where people had to
pay for lodging costs. He said the process was expedited for a few cases, for example, a
medical problem.
Commissioner Johnson asked if the staff was as productive as others in the state.
Sheeks said his department was ranked number five in the state for permit
issuance.
Commissioner Robertson said he had reviewed state statistics for wastewater
disposal systems, and it was difficult to compare one county to another.
Commissioner Johnson said there appeared to be many permits issued with no
construction actually occurring.
Sheeks said that by state law, the permit was valid for five years, and counties
could not alter the time period.
Johnson asked if the department could inquire as to whether or not the
construction would occur in the next year.
Sheeks said this could probably be done, but he mentioned the large south
Iredell developments that had occurred over an extended period of time. He also
mentioned that several mobile home dealers had used the FastTrack System.
Commissioner Norman said the backlog had been an on-going problem for
many years. He said that in regards to Mrs. Renegar's request, he would not be in favor
of assisting with the interest costs.
Campbell agreed that the backlog problem wasn't new, and she said for this
reason, it was time to try some new solutions.
Commissioner Robertson suggested that someone find out how much the soil
scientists were charging, and then the office staff could share this with the new permit
applicants. He said this might alleviate the initial hesitation some individuals might
have in using the FastTrack option.
Sheeks said they charged by the hour, but more information would be obtained.
Request from the Marine Corp League, Detachment 1097, for Permission to
Use the County Seal in Promotional Materials for the July 2, 2005, Independence
Day Parade in Troutman, NC: Commissioner Johnson, along with Buddy Hemric,
asked permission to use the county seal in the posters and signs for the July 2
Independence Day Parade. Johnson said he recalled the seal was trademarked, and for
this reason, approval was needed.
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Concern Expressed Regarding House Bill 1638 — An Act to Further the
Goals of Homeland Security by Transferring the Collection of 911 Service Taxes to
Local Governments and by Eliminating Existing Charges on Telephone Subscribers:
County Manager Mashburn reminded the board members about a May 17 memo sent to
them regarding an effort by members of the General Assembly to remove the 911
surcharge. He said the proposed legislation, however, included authorization for
counties to impose a 911 special use tax. Mr. Mashburn said Iredell County House
Representatives Howard and Ray were co-sponsors of the bill, but to his knowledge,
neither one had asked how the legislation would impact the counties.
Chairman Tice said she had talked to Representative Ray and expressed the
county's concerns, especially about how difficult it would be to collect the tax. Tice
said Ray had indicated she would vote against the legislation, if it appeared this would
be in the best interest of the county.
Mashburn said he recently talked to Representative Howard, and she, too,
indicated her willingness to vote against the proposed bill.
Adjournment: Chairman Tice at 6:10 p.m., adjourned the briefing session.
Approved:
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Clerk to the Board