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Home My WebLink AboutDecember 18 2012 Regular MinutesIREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MINUTES DECEMBER 18, 2012 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, December 18, 2012, at 7:00 PM, in the Iredell County Government Center (Commissioners' Meeting Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Board Members Present Chairman Steve Johnson Vice Chairman Marvin Norman David Boone Renee Griffith Ken Robertson Staff present: County Manager Ron Smith, County Attorney Bill Pope, Deputy County Manager Tracy Jackson, Finance Director Susan Blumenstein, Planning, Development & Transportation Director Joel Raczkowski, ICATS Assistant Director Ben Stikeleather, Planner William Allison, Human Resources Director Sandra Gregory, Health Director Jim Higgins, Recreation/Facility Services Director Robert Woody, Fire & Life Safety Coordinator Misty Sherrill, Animal Shelter Assistant Rachel Johansen, and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore. CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Johnson INVOCATION by Chairman Johnson PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ADJUSTMENTS OF THE AGENDA: MOTIO by Commissioner Griffith to approve the following agenda adjustments. Deletion: Request for Review and Input Concerning Projects Included in the Draft Version of the North Carolina Department of Transportation 2013-2017 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) Addition: Under Unfinished Business — Commissioner Robertson will speak. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. APPOINTMENT BEFORE THE BOARD Bjorn Hansen, the Transportation Coordinator for the Centralina Council of Governments (COG), Discusses a Request for the Endorsement of a Resolution in Support of a Mobility Management Agency Grant Application to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT): Mr. Hansen said Centralina had been working on a mobility management project for the nine county COG region, and the agency had applied for a two year transit grant to assist in scheduling, training, and outreach. Hansen said it was realized each county already had a transit agency, but mobility management covered a wide area of services. He proposed a volunteer transportation program that would have an entity creating the scheduling software along with a 1-800 number and a website to be used for trip requests and the recruitment of volunteers. Hansen said the agency would also provide (1) background checks for the drivers (2) liability insurance (3) outreach (4) verification of the trips and (5) reimbursement to the drivers on a per mile basis. He said the DOT had requested resolutions from the counties in support of the initiative as well as feedback on the application. Mr. Hansen said that in the nine -county region, all counties with the exception of Cabarrus County had been approached about the concept. He said a presentation would be provided to the Cabarrus Board of Commissioners in January. Continuing, he said Rowan County heard the presentation, but did not issue an endorsement. Hansen said the COG would provide the ten percent local match, and there would be no funding request made to Iredell County. Commissioner Griffith asked if all drivers would be volunteers. Hansen said yes, and Centralina would not own the vehicles or employ any of the workers. Griffith asked how many people would be needed to manage the grant. Hansen said the full time equivalent (FTE) was about one and three quarters. He said two people would be used with one being the administrator and the other as a referral specialist through the 1-800 number. Griffith asked if the services would duplicate those offered by ICATS. Hansen said the services would focus on the elderly, persons with disabilities, and veterans. He said these clients might already receive transportation services, but the mobility grant funds would assist with recreational, shopping, cultural, and medical trips, especially those across county lines. Hansen predicted 40,000 to 50,000 trips in the nine -county region. He said the trips would augment the local services already being provided. Chairman Johnson noted that Mr. Hansen was applying for State DOT 5310 money. He said the County was also applying for these funds. Johnson asked if the county would be competing with Centralina for the funding. Hansen said there would be competition, but he noted this was already occurring due to most all of the counties in North Carolina seeking the funds. He said the State Department of Transportation had advised there was a sufficient amount of money to fund eligible grant applications, and actually, there was money available from prior years. Johnson asked if Mr. Hansen could apply for the grant funds should Iredell County deny the request. Hansen said Rowan County did not take action on the matter, but six counties had endorsed the application. He said if Iredell County did not want to participate, this decision would have to be shared with the Centralina officials. Griffith asked what happened to the program in two years when the grant funds ended. Hansen said once the system was operating, the intent would be to approach nonprofits and private companies, for example, Wal-Mart, or Harris Teeter, for funding or sponsorship. Commissioner Robertson said the government and politicians liked new programs, and if funds were channeled to the mobility management program the ICATS funding might end. He said then, Iredell County would have to decide whether or not to fund ICATS. Robertson said another concern was the actual purpose of the program. He asked when it became the role of government to transport individuals for the referenced services. Hansen said volunteer programs were becoming common in other areas of the country. He said the program only existed if volunteers were available, and the costs were fairly fixed. Griffith said the annual estimated cost was $250,000 to $350,000. Hansen said this was for every activity. Commissioner Boone said the board needed to support the ICATS program that already existed, and there were concerns about duplicating services. Johnson said that with Medicaid expansion, there would be transportation costs associated with assisting the clients with their trips. He said there might be a surplus of money now, but this might be different in the future. Griffith said there were also concerns about the focus of the program, for example, recreational trips. 2 Robertson said the grocery stores needed to be involved, especially if the clients were giving them business. Vice Chairman Norman said the county already had a working program (ICATS), and there was satisfaction with the existing services. OTION by Chairman Johnson to deny the endorsement of the resolution in support of Centralina's Mobility Management Agency Grant application. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. PUBLIC HEARINGS Chairman Johnson declared the meeting to be in a public hearing. Consideration of an Economic Development Incentive for Project Prosperity & Review and/or Action Regarding an Inter -Local Agreement: Mooresville -South Iredell Economic Development Corporation (M-SIEDC) Executive Director Robby Carney spoke on behalf of the South Iredell Community Development Corporation (SICDC). He said the SICDC was a private nonprofit that focused solely on providing land products for industrial development opportunities. Carney said past SICDC projects were the South Iredell Industrial Park and the Mooresville Business Park. He said the 431 acre Mooresville Business Park was created in 1989 and included the following tenants: Cardinal Glass, Niagara Bottling, PGI Nonwovens, Penske Racing, Pactiv Corporation, Toyo-Seal, Carolina Beer & Beverage, Rock -Tenn and Dane Construction. Carney said the park had been successful as the businesses employed 1,534 full- time employees and held $112 million in real property tax value. Pertaining to business personal tax value, he said this amount was estimated at $380 million. He said the SICDC now planned to purchase 467 acres of property off Hwy. 801 for the specific purpose of industrial development. Carney said if successful, the SICDC and the M-SIEDC would have site ready industrial tracts. He said the property would allow Iredell County and Mooresville to create future jobs and to have industrial investment for decades. Carney said the Town of Mooresville had agreed to partner with the SICDC by assisting with the purchase of the property as well as by approving the proper zoning. He asked Iredell County to participate in the project by supplying infrastructure (water sewer and road) funding to enable site readiness. Carney said the SICDC would spend $1,025,000 on the infrastructure costs, and a request was being made to the County for $675,000 (split over two fiscal budget years with the first payment beginning in FY 2012-13). He said the SICDC would pay 10% of all property sales back to the County until Iredell County's assistance was paid in full. Commissioner Boone asked for a clarification on exactly what would be reimbursed to the County due to one document indicating that 75% of the $675,000 would be repaid while the agreement stipulated that on the sale of any parcels, there would be a remittance to Iredell County of ten percent (10%) of the final gross sales price of each parcel until the full $675,000 was repaid. He asked whether the remittance was 75% or 100%. Carney said that originally, 75% of all sales were to be given back to the entities providing the assistance. He said the percentage was proportional to the amount the entities (Town & County) were providing. Carney said in regards to the 75% of the total sales, that 65% would be returned to the Town and 10% would go to the County until both were paid in full. Boone said, "Hypothetically, let's say you sell a tract for a million dollars. Are you saying that out of the 75% ($750,000), that the county would receive 10% of the $750,000 which would equal $75,0007 Carney said no. He said Iredell County would be receiving ten percent of the $1 million. Boone asked if the intent would be to reimburse Iredell County the entire $675,000. Carney said the intent would be to reimburse Iredell County for the total investment which would be $675,000. 3 Boone asked what happened if the parcels did not bring enough money. Carney said the Town documents stipulated that a minimum sales price had to be achieved. He said the minimum sales price had to meet the necessary criteria to reimburse all involved entities. Boone asked if the County would be requested to provide more money during the time the property was being developed. Carney said no. He said the SICDC should be able to retain 25% of the money during Phase I (200-250 acres), and it would be directed towards future development. Griffith said there was no time limit on the money payback. She mentioned some properties might remain unsold for 25 years. Carney said the SICDC's intention was to focus more on the best projects for the community and not on sales. Griffith mentioned that if any properties were used as incentives and donated to prospective companies, there would be nothing in sales. Commissioner Robertson said the agreement included language stipulating the property couldn't be given away. Carney said the language indicated the sales price had to be enough to pay all obligations on the property. He said the land was being purchased by the Town for $9,000 an acre. Robertson said the County should be able to recoup its money. Boone mentioned there was a stipulation in the agreement on the courts that would be used should a conflict occur. Attorney Pope said it was probably redundant to have a reference to the North Carolina District Court, but it was possible that someone interpreting the document might not be a citizen of North Carolina. Griffith asked how many times Iredell County had entered into agreements to purchase land for economic development. County Manager Smith said he was unaware of any agreements to purchase land. He said the county had assisted with the Mooresville Business Park and the Lake Norman Regional Hospital. Chairman Johnson said the county had extended utilities. He said the land at the Statesville Regional Airport was purchased with federal money that required a local match. Johnson said the County did not receive a deed to the property, but it assisted with the local match. Commissioner Boone said in the 1990s the County assisted with utilities to the Lake Norman Hospital. Commissioner Griffith voiced a concern about the Statesville Regional Development Corporation submitting a similar request. Carney said this was understandable. He said the SICDC had entered into agreements for infrastructure assistance in the past, and the organization had always met, or exceeded, its obligations. Commissioner Robertson said the 476 acres were originally slotted for subdivisions. He said that if subdivided into one half acre lots there could be over 1,000 homes. Robertson said if subdivisions occurred, the county would have to pay about $30 million for new schools. Griffith asked if industrial clients were currently looking for space. 4 Carney said yes. He said Mooresville -South Iredell had a product deficit, due to not having anything that was site ready. No one else desired to speak, and Chairman Johnson adjourned the hearing. OTION by Commissioner Robertson to authorize $675,000.00, over two budget years, with the first payment occurring in Fiscal Year 2012-2013 and approval of Budget Amendment #13A. Commissioner Boone said Mr. Robertson's point about the property being better used for industrial purposes instead of residential was well taken. He said, however, tight budget years were ahead and even though the County might get the money back in the future, it could take a long time. Boone said in the meantime, the County did not have the use of the money. He noted that during the past two months there had been two requests for special assessments in subdivisions to pave roads, and these were denied. Boone said the County would probably get most of the paving money back. He said it had been stated at a past meeting; however, that if one request were approved, more requests would occur and the County would be loaning out a lot of money. Boone said if a guarantee were included that the County would be repaid in a fairly reasonable period of time he would be more supportive. Robertson said the difference between a road paving and an industrial park was that the latter would bring big tax base. Griffith asked how long it took to sell the property in the Mooresville Business Park. Carney said the park was built in 1989, and as of 2012, Niagara Bottling was the last project locating at the site. VOTING: Ayes — 3; Nays — 2 (Boone & Griffith). The agreement for the industrial park is as follows: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT THIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT (the "Agreement') is dated as of December 18. 2012, by and between the County of Iredell, North Carolina, a political subdivision in the State of North Carolina (the "County"). and the South Iredell Community Development Corporation, a non-profit corporation located in the County (the "SICDC"). Factual Background This Agreement is intended to provide the framework for the development of an Industrial Park to enhance the opportunity for recruitment of business and industry to this area. SICDC is acquiring approximately 476.741 acres in the Cotton Creek Subdivision located in Mooresville, North Carolina, which is depicted and described in the attached Exhibit A (the "Property") for the purpose of developing and marketing the Property as an industrial park for the location or relocation of industries to this area. The Town of Mooresville, North Carolina (the "Town") has agreed to provide certain economic development grants to assist the SICDC in the acquisition and development of the Property. The County has also agreed to provide economic development grants to the SICDC to develop the infrastructure on the Property in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, capitalized Perms used in this Contract and not otherwise defined will have the meanings setforth in Exhibit A, THEREFORE, based upon the foregoing factual background and upon the mutual covenants herein contained, the parties, both jointly and severally, agree as follows: k, To appropriate from undesignated fund balance the FY13 50% share of an economic incentive grant to SICDC for the purpose of developing infrastructure at the new 476.74 -acre BA#13A industrial park. Upon the sale of any parcels within the site, SICDC will remit 10% of the final gross sales price to Iredell County as repayment of the grant. 12/18/2012 Account # Current Chane Amended 104880 499500 Appropriated Fund Balance (4,000,000) (337,500) (4,337,500) 105475 564087 Econ Incent - SICDC 337,500 337,500 The agreement for the industrial park is as follows: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT THIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT (the "Agreement') is dated as of December 18. 2012, by and between the County of Iredell, North Carolina, a political subdivision in the State of North Carolina (the "County"). and the South Iredell Community Development Corporation, a non-profit corporation located in the County (the "SICDC"). Factual Background This Agreement is intended to provide the framework for the development of an Industrial Park to enhance the opportunity for recruitment of business and industry to this area. SICDC is acquiring approximately 476.741 acres in the Cotton Creek Subdivision located in Mooresville, North Carolina, which is depicted and described in the attached Exhibit A (the "Property") for the purpose of developing and marketing the Property as an industrial park for the location or relocation of industries to this area. The Town of Mooresville, North Carolina (the "Town") has agreed to provide certain economic development grants to assist the SICDC in the acquisition and development of the Property. The County has also agreed to provide economic development grants to the SICDC to develop the infrastructure on the Property in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, capitalized Perms used in this Contract and not otherwise defined will have the meanings setforth in Exhibit A, THEREFORE, based upon the foregoing factual background and upon the mutual covenants herein contained, the parties, both jointly and severally, agree as follows: k, ARTICLE INDUSTRIAL PARK ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT I.I. Parties To Cooperate. The parties will cooperate in the development of the Property for the purpose of developing and marketing the Property as an industrial park for the location or relocation of industries to this area. 1.2. SICDC's Obligations for the Project. (a) SICDC will have the responsibility for acquiring the Property and the on-going responsibility for developing, maintaining, managing, operating and marketing of the Property and the Park. SICDC will proceed with due diligence on such matters in an expeditious manner. SICDC will provide a written report to the County on an annual basis, and at such other times as the County may reasonably request, detailing its management, maintenance, operation and marketing of the Park. 1.3. Other Industrial Parks. (a) Although the parties may agree in the future to work together to evaluate opportunities to acquire and develop property for additional industrial parks, any further project must be the subject of a separate, additional agreement among the parties. (b) Nothing in this Agreement limits the authority or discretion of any party to proceed unilaterally on other development projects within its own jurisdiction. Each of the parties retains the right to acquire, develop and manage separate industrial parks outside the scope of this Agreement or to enter into separate agreements with other private or local government entities (whether or not parties to this Agreement) to develop industrial parks that are not subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. ARTICLE II OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTIES 2.1. Obligations of the County. The County's obligations pursuant to this Agreement are to (i) provide an economic development grant of $337,500.00 to SICDC on or before June 30, 2013 to be used for the Park Development Costs on the Property; and (it) provide an economic development grant of $337,500.00 to SICDC on or before December 31, 2013 to be used for the Park Development Costs on the Property. 2.2. Obligations of the SICDC. In addition to the other obligations of SICDC set forth in this Agreement, SICDC's obligations are to: (a) Acquire the Property in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the "Contract For Purchase And Sale Of Property" dated September II, 2012 (the "Purchase Contract), by and between FC Moore Farm, LLC, and the South Iredell Community Development Corporation. (b) Enter into an economic development agreement with the Town to provide for the acquisition and development of the Property and the Park. (c) Use the money transferred to SICDC as set forth in Section 2.1 for the Park Development Costs to plan, design and construct the infrastructure necessary to service the Property and the Park. (d) On the sale of any parcels within the Property, remit to the County ten percent (10%) of the final gross sales price of each parcel of the Property sold until such time as the aggregate amount remitted to the County under this subsection (d) equals the total amount paid or to be paid by the County to SICDC under Section 2. I. 2.3. Separate Obligations of Parties. Any amounts payable by a party under this Agreement is the separate, independent obligation of that individual party, and shall not be construed as the joint obligation of the parties, it being agreed that the failure of a party to pay any amounts it owes when due shall in no way create an obligation on the part of the remaining party. Similarly, no failure of a party to pay any required payment shall in any way excuse any payment obligations of the other party. ARTICLE III EFFECTIVE DATE: TERM OF AGREEMENT 3.1. Effective Date. This Agreement and the obligations created hereunder take effect and become binding immediately upon the execution and delivery of this Agreement by all the parties. If any party has not executed and delivered this Agreement by February 1, 2013, then this Agreement shall be entirely null and void and of no effect whatsoever. 3.2. No right to withdraw. Except as set forth in Section 3. 1, after this Agreement takes effect, then no party shall thereafter have the right to withdraw from this Agreement, repudiate the terms of this Agreement or unilaterally rescind any of its obligations under this Agreement, it being agreed that this is a continuing contract binding upon the County and SICDC until such time as this Agreement expires or the obligations of each party to this Agreement have been fully carried out and discharged. The obligations created by this Agreement are not intended to be discretionary activities, but are intended to be contractual obligations to the fullest extent authorized by law. 3.3. Termination. This Agreement expires (a) at such time as the County is paid in full required by Section 2.2(d); provided, however, the Agreement will not expire until the County has made all of the payments required under Section 2.1 or (b) if the Purchase Agreement expires without the consummation of the sale of the Property to SICDC in accordance with the terms thereof. ARTICLE IV DEFAULT AND REMEDIES 4.1. Defaults. Failure by either party to fulfill its obligations and responsibilities under this Agreement shall constitute a default. 4.2. Remedies. Upon the occurrence of any default by a party in any of its obligations and responsibilities under this Agreement, and the continuation thereof for ten days after notice from any party to the defaulting party, the non -defaulting parties may proceed to protect and enforce its rights under this Agreement by a suit, action or special proceeding at law or in equity, either for the specific performance of any covenant or 6 agreement or execution of any power or for the enforcement of any legal or equitable remedy as may be deemed most effectual to protect and enforce such rights. During the continuation of an event of default, the non -defaulting party may incur and pay such reasonable expenses for the defaulting party's account as may be necessary to cure the cause of any default. Any party making any such payment shall be entitled to reimbursement by the defaulting party with interest at the then current statutory rate of interest pursuant to North Carolina law. All remedies under this Agreement are cumulative and may be exercised concurrently or separately. The exercise of any one remedy shall not be deemed an election of such remedy or preclude the exercise of any other remedy. If any event of default shall occur and thereafter be waived, such waiver shall be limited to the particular breach so waived and shall not be deemed a waiver of any other breach under this Agreement. If any party employs an attorney to assist in the enforcement of provisions of this Agreement, and such party prevails in its attempts at enforcement, then the defaulting party must pay the reasonable attorneys' fees and all of the other costs that the non -defaulting party may reasonably have incurred (whether or not any suit or proceeding is commenced). ARTICLE V INDEMNIFICATION SICDC will indemnify, protect and save the County and its officers and employees harmless from all liability, obligations, losses, claims, damages, actions, suits, proceedings, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of, connected with, or resulting directly or indirectly from the actions of the indemnifying party (or its officers, employees or other agents) related to this Agreement or to the transactions contemplated by or relating to this Agreement. The parties acknowledge, however, that no party is a manufacturer, merchant or dealer in any property comprising any component of the planned Industrial Park. No party makes, or will be held to have made, to any other party, any express or implied warranty or representation of any kind whatsoever with respect to any Industrial Park, business building or any component part thereof, including but not limited to any warranty or representation with respect to the merchantability or the fitness or suitability thereof for any particular purpose, and further including the design or condition thereof; the safety, workmanship, quality or capacity thereof; compliance thereof with the requirements of any law, rule, specification or contract pertaining thereto; any latent defect; or any property's ability to perform any function. The indemnification arising under this Article will survive the Agreement's termination. ARTICLE VI REPRESENTATIONS. COVENANTS AND WARRANTIES Each of the parties represents, covenants, and warrants for the benefit of the others, as follows: (a) Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement, nor the fulfillment of or compliance with its terms and conditions, nor the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, results in a breach of the terms, conditions and provisions of any agreement or instrument to which such party is now a party or by which it is bound, or constitutes a default under any of the foregoing. (b) Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement nor the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, nor the fulfillment of or compliance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, to the best of such party's knowledge, constitutes a violation of any provision of law governing such party. (c) To the knowledge of each party, there is no litigation or other court or administrative proceeding pending or threatened against such party (or against any other person) affecting such party's rights to execute or deliver this Agreement or to comply with its obligations under this Agreement. Neither such party's execution and delivery of this Agreement, nor its compliance with its obligations under this Agreement, requires the approval of any regulatory body or any other entity the approval of which has not been obtained. (d) All of such party's representations, covenants and warranties in this Agreement are true, correct and complete in all material respects, and not false or misleading in any material respect. (e) This Agreement has been validly authorized, executed and delivered by the party, and is a valid, legal and binding obligation of such party. ARTICLE VII AUTHORITY FOR THIS AGREEMENT Section 158-7.1 of the General Statutes provides general authority for any local government to take action designed to enhance the unit's business prospects, and in particular to provide for the acquisition and development of land for use as an industrial park. Section 153A-449 of the General Statutes authorizes counties to enter into contracts with private entities to carry out any authorized public purpose. The obligations of the parties to one another under Article II are intended as continuing contracts within the meaning of Section 153A-13 of the General Statutes. ARTICLE VIII AGREEMENT ADMINISTRATION This Agreement anticipates that the various parties may have to execute and issue additional agreements in which to carry out and/or administer this Agreement and from time to time issue approvals or provide directions concerning the administration of this Agreement. Therefore, all additional documents, deeds, contracts and legal instruments or other approvals reasonably required for the administration of this Agreement shall be issued by the parties without undue delay. ARTICLE IX MISCELLANEOUS 9.1. Informalities. Informalities observed in the administration or performance of this Agreement and the failure of any party to insist upon strict compliance with the provisions of this Agreement on one occasion, shall not be deemed to be the waiver of any provision hereof or of the right of any party to this Agreement to insist upon the strict performance of this Agreement at any later time. 9.2. Governing Law. The parties intend that this Agreement will be governed by North Carolina law. To the extent permitted by applicable law, jurisdiction for the resolution of any conflict arising from this Agreement is exclusively with the General Court of Justice of the State of North Carolina, Iredell County, or the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Statesville Division. Any attempt to contravene this Section is an express violation of the provisions of this Agreement. 9.3. Notices. (a) Any communication required or permitted by this Agreement must be in writing except as expressly provided otherwise in this Agreement. (b) Any communication shall be sufficiently given and deemed given when delivered by hand or on the date shown on a delivery receipt from either the United States Postal Service or a nationally -recognized express delivery service, if addressed as follows: (i) If to the County: County Manager Re: Notice under SICDC Economic Development Interlocal Agreement PO Box 788 Statesville. NC 28687 (ii) If to SICDC: Executive Director, SICDC Re: Notice under MSICDIC Economic Development Interlocal Agreement 151 E. Iredell Avenue Mooresville, NC 28115 (c) Any addressee may designate additional or different addresses for communications by notice given under this Section to the other parties. 9.4. Non -Business Days. If the date for making any payment or the last day for performance of any act or the exercising of any right is not a business day, such payment may be made or act performed or right exercised on or before the next succeeding business day. 9.5. Assignments. No party may sell or assign any interest in or obligation under this Agreement without the prior express written consent of the other party. 9.6. Amendments. This Agreement may not be changed except in writing signed by all the parties. 9.7. Binding Effect. Subject to the specific provisions of this Agreement, this Agreement is binding upon and inures to the benefit of, and is enforceable by, the parties and their respective successors and assigns. 9.8. Time. Time is of the essence in this Agreement and each and all of its provisions. 9.9. Liability of Officers and Agents. No officer, agent or employee of any party shall be subject to any personal liability or accountability by reason of the execution of this Agreement or any other documents related to the transactions contemplated hereby. Such officers, agents, or employees shall be deemed to execute such documents in their official capacities only, and not in their individual capacities. This Section shall not relieve any such officer, agent or employee from the performance of any official duty provided by law. 9.10. Third -Party Beneficiaries. There are no entities which are, or which are intended as, third -party beneficiaries of this Agreement. 9.11. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, including separate counterparts. Each will be an original, but all of them together constitute the same instrument. 9.12. Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the general subject matter covered hereby. 9.13. Definitions. All terms with initial capitals used in this Agreement and not otherwise defined will have the meanings ascribed to those terms in Exhibit B. In addition, this Agreement is to be interpreted in accordance with the rules of constructions set out in Exhibit B. Exhibits — A Property description B Definitions: rules of construction ['The remainder of this page has been left blank intentionally.] IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have hereunto set their hands and seals with the intent to be bound as of the day first set out above. South Iredell Community Development Corporation By: (SEAL) Chairman Attest: Secretary of the Corporation County of Iredell, North Carolina By: Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Attest: Clerk to the Board of Commissioners This instrument has been pre -audited in the manner required by The Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act. Susan Blumenstein, Finance Officer County of Iredell, North Carolina EXHIBIT A — PROPERTY DESCRIPTION EXHIBIT B -- DEFINITIONS; RULES OF CONSTRUCTION Definitions. In addition to terms defined elsewhere in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following meanings (unless the context requires otherwise): 8 "Industrial Park" or "Park" means the multi -tract business and industrial park the parties plan to develop on the Property. All references to the "General Statutes" are references to the North Carolina General Statutes, as amended; any reference to a particular Chapter, Article or Section shall be deemed to include reference to any successor provision. "Park Development Costs" are the appropriate and desirable capital costs of developing the Property into the Industrial Park. "Park Development Costs" may include costs of improvements whether located on the Property or off the Property, whether owned by SICDC or not, and whether on property owned by SICDC or not. "Park Development Costs" may include professional fees and other "soft" costs that are part of the capital costs of developing the Park. "Park Development Costs" may also include reimbursement to SICDC for capital expenditures made prior to the effective date of this Agreement, as well as debt service payments (including interest) related to financing arrangements entered into to provide funding for capital expenditures within the definition of Park Development Costs. "Property" has the meaning described in Article I, Section I, and refers to the real property described in Exhibit A. Rules of Construction. Unless the context otherwise indicates: (a) Words importing the singular shall include the plural and vice versa, and words importing the masculine gender shall include the feminine and neuter genders as well. (b) All references to Articles, Sections, or Exhibits are references to Articles, Sections and Exhibits of this Agreement. (c) All references to the "parties" are to the parties to this Agreement. (d) All references to officers are references to officers of the parties to this Agreement. (e) The headings herein are solely for convenience of reference and shall not constitute a part of this Agreement nor shall they affect its meanings, construction or effect. Chairman Johnson declared the meeting to be in a public hearing. Consideration of Public Comments in Regards to the Iredell County Area Transportation's Application for FTA 5310 (Elderly and Disabled) Grant Funds: ICATS Assistant Director Ben Stikeleather requested permission to apply for a 5310 grant. He said the funding would allow the County to continue in providing transportation assistance to the elderly and persons with disabilities. Stikeleather said the application indentified the continued need for medical trips, as well as transportation for the developmentally disabled and personal trips for the targeted population. He said NCDOT Rural Operating Assistance Program (ROAP) funds would be used for the required 50% local match. Stikeleather said the performance period was from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2015, and the total grant amount was $250,000 ($125,000 Federal and $125,000 Local/ROAP). No one else desired to speak, and Chairman Johnson adjourned the hearing. OTION by Commissioner Griffith to approve the resolution allowing the staff to apply for the FTA 5310 grant. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. The approved resolution is as follows: PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM RESOLUTION WHEREAS, Article 2B of Chapter 136 of the North Carolina General Statutes and the Governor of North Carolina have designated the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) as the agency responsible for administering federal and state public transportation funds; and WHEREAS, the North Carolina Department of Transportation will apply for a grant from the US Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, and receive funds from the North Carolina General Assembly to provide assistance for public transportation projects; and WHEREAS, the purpose of the Section 5310 program is to provide financial assistance for transportation services planned, designed, and carried out to meet the special transportation needs of elderly individuals and individuals with disabilities in all areas—urbanized, small urban, and rural; and WHEREAS, the purpose of the Section 5316 program is to improve access to transportation services to employment and employment related activities for welfare recipients and eligible low-income individuals and to transport residents of urbanized areas and nonurbanized areas to suburban employment opportunities; and WHEREAS, the purpose of the Section 5317 program is to reduce barriers to transportation services and expand the transportation mobility options available to people with disabilities beyond the requirements of the ADA of 1990 by providing funding assistance that supports new public transportation services and/or new public transportation alternatives beyond those required by the ADA; and WHEREAS, NCDOT has been designated as the State agency with principal authority and responsibility for administering the Section 5310 program for all areas—urbanized, small urban, and rural; and WHEREAS, NCDOT has been designated as the State agency with principal authority and responsibility for administering the Section 5316 and 5317 programs for small urban and rural areas; and 9 WHEREAS, Iredell County hereby assures and certifies that it will comply with the federal and state statutes, regulations, executive orders, and all administrative requirements related to the applications made to and grants received from the Federal Transit Administration, as well as the provisions of Section 1001 of Title 18, U. S. C. NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Transportation Administrator of Iredell County is hereby authorized to submit a grant application for federal and state funding, provide the required local match, make the necessary assurances and certifications and be empowered to enter into an agreement with the NCDOT to provide public transportation services. Chairman Johnson declared the meeting to be in a public hearing. Consideration of Public Comments in Regards to the Iredell County Area Transportation's Application for FTA 5311 (Administrative & Capital) Grant Funds: ICATS Assistant Director Ben Stikeleather requested permission to apply for a 5311 grant. He said $260,000 would be used for ICATS administrative functions, and the remaining portion was for the purchase of new vehicles and other capital improvements. Stikeleather said the required match would be derived from revenue received from contracted services. (The grant's period of performance will be July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2014, with the total amount of the Capital and Administrative Grant being $607,650 ($533,885 Federal/State and $73,765 Local/ROAP). No one else desired to speak, and Chairman Johnson adjourned the hearing. OTION by Commissioner Boone to approve the resolution allowing the staff to apply for the 531 1 grant. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. The approved resolution is as follows: COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM RESOLUTION Section 5311 - FY 2014 RESOLUTION WHEREAS, Article 2B of Chapter 136 of the North Carolina General Statutes and the Governor of North Carolina have designated the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) as the agency responsible for administering federal and state public transportation funds; and WHEREAS, the North Carolina Department of Transportation will apply for a grant from the US Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration and receive funds from the North Carolina General Assembly to provide assistance for rural public transportation projects; and WHEREAS, the purpose of these transportation funds is to provide grant monies to local agencies for the provision of rural public transportation services consistent with the policy requirements for planning, community and agency involvement, service design, service alternatives, training and conference participation, reporting and other requirements (drug and alcohol testing policy and program, disadvantaged business enterprise program, and fully allocated costs analysis); and WHEREAS, Iredell County hereby assures and certifies that it will provide the required local matching funds; that its staff has the technical capacity to implement and manage the project, prepare required reports, obtain required training, attend meetings and conferences; and agrees to comply with the federal and state statutes, regulations, executive orders, Section 5333 (b) Warranty, and all administrative requirements related to the applications made to and grants received from the Federal Transit Administration, as well as the provisions of Section 1001 of Title 18, U. S. C. NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Transportation Director for Iredell County is hereby authorized to submit a grant application for federal and state funding, make the necessary assurances and certifications and be empowered to enter into an agreement with the NCDOT to provide rural public transportation services. Chairman Johnson declared the meeting to be in a public hearing. Consideration of Public Comments in Regards to the Iredell County Area Transportation's Application for FTA 5316 (Job Access & Reverse Commuting) Grant Funds: ICATS Assistant Director Ben Stikeleather requested permission to apply for a 5316 grant. He said the grant was for a two-year period, and $350,000 would be requested ($175,000 Federal and $175,000 Local/ROAP). Stikeleather said the grant funds would provide assistance to Iredell County citizens who needed transportation to their jobs before 8 am and after 5 pm. No one else desired to speak, and Chairman Johnson adjourned the hearing. OTION by Vice Chairman Norman to approve the resolution to allow the staff to apply for the 5316 grant. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. 10 A copy of the resolution is as follows: PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM RESOLUTION WHEREAS, Article 2B of Chapter 136 of the North Carolina General Statutes and the Governor of North Carolina have designated the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) as the agency responsible for administering federal and state public transportation funds; and WHEREAS, the North Carolina Department of Transportation will apply for a grant from the US Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration and receive funds from the North Carolina General Assembly to provide assistance for public transportation projects; and WHEREAS, the purpose of the Section 5310 program is to provide financial assistance for transportation services planned, designed, and carried out to meet the special transportation needs of elderly individuals and individuals with disabilities in all areas—urbanized, small urban, and rural; and WHEREAS, the purpose of the Section 5316 program is to improve access to transportation services to employment and employment related activities for welfare recipients and eligible low-income individuals and to transport residents of urbanized areas and nonurbanized areas to suburban employment opportunities; and WHEREAS, the purpose of the Section 5317 program is to reduce barriers to transportation services and expand the transportation mobility options available to people with disabilities beyond the requirements of the ADA of 1990 by providing funding assistance that supports new public transportation services and/or new public transportation alternatives beyond those required by the ADA; and WHEREAS, NCDOT has been designated as the State agency with principal authority and responsibility for administering the Section 5310 program for all areasurbanized, small urban, and rural; and WHEREAS, NCDOT has been designated as the State agency with principal authority and responsibility for administering the Section 5316 and 5317 programs for small urban and rural areas; and WHEREAS, Iredell County hereby assures and certifies that it will comply with the federal and state statutes, regulations, executive orders, and all administrative requirements related to the applications made to and grants received from the Federal Transit Administration, as well as the provisions of Section 1001 of Title 18, U. S. C. NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Transportation Administrator of Iredell County is hereby authorized to submit a grant application for federal and state funding, provide the required local match, make the necessary assurances and certifications, and be empowered to enter into an agreement with the NCDOT to provide public transportation services. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Request for the Adoption of a Resolution of Intent (in accordance with G.S. 153A- 241) Calling for the Abandonment of an Unnamed Public Road Right -of -Way, located off Kemp Road (SR 1446) in Mooresville, NC, and to Call for a Public Hearing Regarding the Same on January 15, 2013: Planning, Development and Transportation Director Joey Raczkowski requested a public hearing in reference to the abandonment of an unnamed public road right-of-way. He said Crescent Land and Timber used the road for logging as well as access to the development occurring in the Lake Norman area during the 1970s. Raczkowski said the property owners on both sides of the road desired the closure, and ownership of the land would be divided between them. Raczkowski said the statutes required approval of a resolution of intent to close the road along with a public hearing. MOTIO by Commissioner Robertson to adopt a resolution of intent calling for a public hearing on January 15, 2013 in regards to the abandonment of an unnamed public road right-of- way. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. The resolution of intent is as follows: RESOLUTION OF INTENT BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, IREDELL COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, TO ABANDON A SECTION OF AN UNNAMED ROAD WHEREAS, in 1977, the Crescent Land & Timber Corporation map of Section 8, Lots 141-147 was recorded in Plat Book 15, Page 45, of the Iredell County Registry, which shows Lots 141-147 and an unnamed 30' right-of-way where it intersects with Kemp Road (SR 1446) as it was depicted in the plat recorded on August 23, 1977; and WHEREAS, a certain unnamed public road is located on said plat and more specifically identified on the Iredell County GIS Grid Map 4626, Blocks 06 & 16; and WHEREAS, the section of road right-of-way that the petitioners seek to abandon is 286 feet in length, 30 feet in width and dead ends into property owned by the petitioners; and WHEREAS, the property is shown on the survey map drawn by Don Allen & Associates, dated October, 30. 2012, consisting of a 0.20 acre parcel of land; and WHEREAS, the adjoining land owners, Raymond E. & Clara B. Link and Harold B. & Cynthia B. Ayers consent to the abandonment of the road pursuant to G.S. 153A-241and have agreed to enter into an easement agreement to allow the continued use of the existing road for both parties; and WHEREAS, the abandonment of said road is not contrary to public interest and neither party owning property on said road would be deprived of reasonable means of ingress and egress to his/her property. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Chairman and Members of the Board of County Commissioners of Iredell County, North Carolina, that they do hereby declare their intention to abandon the public road herein described, and do call a special hearing on the question to be heard on the 15th day of January 2013, at 7:00 p.m., in the Commissioners Meeting Room of the Iredell County Government Center (Old Courthouse) at 200 S. Center Street, Statesville, North Carolina, and that a copy of this resolution be posted, published and mailed as required by G.S. 153A-241. x x x Request for Approval to Submit an Application to the NC Firefighters' Burned Children Fund Grant to Purchase Fire & Life Safety Education Materials: Fire & Life Safety Coordinator Misty Sherrill requested approval to submit a grant application to the NC Firefighter's Burned Children Fund in the amount of $1,000. She said the funding would allow the purchase of fire and life safety materials to complement the fire marshal's educational program for children. OTION by Vice Chairman Norman to approve the request to submit an application to the NC Firefighters' Burned Children Fund. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request for Approval of Revisions to the Iredell County Substance Abuse Policy: Human Resources Director Sandra Gregory said the Iredell County Substance Abuse Policy had not been amended since 2008. Gregory said there were four reasons why the policy needed revisions and these were (1) a policy committee had been established with a mission to review all county policies every three years unless there were federal and state law changes (2) to provide clarity (3) some sections of the policy could be in violation of Fourth Amendment Rights and (4) some sections of the policy could be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). She provided a PowerPoint presentation detailing the changes. Commissioner Robertson voiced concerns about some of the revisions. After further discussion, the board directed Mrs. Gregory to research the following areas and to report back to the board at a future date. Applicant Testing The policy removes the statement, "employees who are transferred or promoted to a safety - sensitive position will be required to pass a pre -placement drug test." An attorney recommended this deletion due to Fourth Amendment rights as relating to the testing of current employees. 7. Consequences of a Positive Test Result An applicant shall be denied employment with Iredell County if his/her drug test is positive. Such an applicant may be considered for future employment after a one year period or upon submission of documentation satisfactory to the HR Director showing successful completion of a drug rehabilitation program. Commissioner Robertson suggested for this statement to read as follows: An applicant shall be denied employment with Iredell County if his/her drug test is positive. Such an applicant may be considered for future employment after a one three year period. of Commissioner Robertson said he thought a positive drug test should result in a job termination. Attorney Pope mentioned that some drugs were worse than others, and an expert in labor laws should be consulted. He mentioned concerns about putting a blanket statement into the policy about job termination after a positive drug test. 12 Commissioner Griffith mentioned subjectivity. She said some department heads could show bias when dealing with employees who were less liked than others. Commissioner Robertson said the policy needed to be "tight" because of the county's liability. Request for Approval of Budget Amendment #14 to Recognize Proceeds from Insured Property Losses and Increase the Expenditure Line Items of the Departments Incurring the Losses: Finance Director Susan Blumenstein requested approval of this budget amendment. She said the County had received $20,552 in insurance proceeds for property losses during the first five months of the current fiscal year. Blumenstein mentioned the sheriff's office had a vehicle that was damaged beyond repair, and a replacement was needed. OTION by Commissioner Griffith to approve Budget Amendment #14. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. BA#14 12/18/2012 Account# To recognize proceeds received from insured property losses and increase the expenditure line items of the departments incurring the losses. Current Change Amended ICHD 13 -1213 - General Fund EXISTING Insurance Claims Proceeds 104045 485200 - (18,760) (18,760) 105510 650000 Sheriff -Vehicles 264,000 17,267 281,267 105532 532501 Animal Cont -M & R -Buildings 2,000 190 2,190 105542 532502 EMS - Main & Rep -Vehicles 25,000 570 25,570 105562 532502 Inspections - M & R - Vehicles 5,000 733 5,733 $1,100.00 Solid Waste 10917151 620000 Non -Depreciable Assets $0.00 524750 485200 Insurance Claims Proceeds - (1,792) (1,792) 525752 532502 SWF - Mrsvl - M&R-Vehicles 50,195 1,792 51,987 Request from the Health Department for Approval of Budget Amendment #15 for Additional Immunization Funds: Health Director Jim Higgins said the State had advised that additional one-time non-recurring, Aid -to -County funds were available to improve the department's immunization efforts. He said a $4,600 budget amendment was requested to purchase equipment (refrigerators and freezers) for the immunization program MOTIO by Commissioner Boone to approve Budget Amendment #15. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. To allocate State Immunization grant Cty BA# 15 Purpose: revenues and expenditures ICHD 13 -1213 - BA# 1 EXISTING AMENDED REVENUELINE(S) DESCRIPTION BUDGET CHANGE BUDGET 10491715 440009 Immunization Grant -$33,085.00 -$4,600.00 -$37,685.00 EXISTING AMENDED EXPENSE LINE(S) DESCRIPTION BUDGET CHANGE BUDGET 10917151 535016 Medical Supplies $180,070.00 $1,100.00 $181,170.00 10917151 620000 Non -Depreciable Assets $0.00 $3,500.00 $3,500.00 Request from the Health Department for Approval of Budget Amendment #16 for the Use of Medicaid Max Funds to Upgrade a Server Data Backup and Recovery Device as well as to Cover the First Year of Annual Support, Including One Time Disc Archiving: Health Director Jim Higgins requested a budget amendment to upgrade a Server Data Backup and Recovery 13 Device. He said the system was failing when backups occurred. Higgins said 100% of the funding would be from Medicaid Max funds. MOTION by Commissioner Griffith to approve Budget Amendment #16. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. To allocate Fund Balance -Reserved for Medicaid Max revenues and Cty BA# 16 Purpose: expenditures ICHD 13 -1213 - BA# 2 to upgrade server Data Backup and Recovery Device 14,158.26 Solid Waste Fees EXISTING 156.00 AMENDED REVENUELINE(S) DESCRIPTION BUDGET CHANGE BUDGET /0490110 444001 41100 Generic Services -Admin Med Max -$361,690.00 -$18,805.00 $380,495.00 833.85 B&F Fire #5 EXISTING 54.03 AMENDED EXPENSE LINE(S) DESCRIPTION BUDGET CHANGE BUDGET 10901120 537512 4111 Contracted Services -Hardware $32,988.00 $3,860.00 $36,848.00 10901120 610150 4111 Dep Assets -Compute $22,279.00 $14,945.00 $37,224.00 Request from the Health Department for Approval of Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Code 90675 for a Pre -Exposure Rabies Vaccine with an Associated Fee of $185.00 and CPT Code 86382 for a Rabies Titer with an Associated Fee of $40.00: Health Director Jim Higgins requested permission to add CPT Code 90675, Pre -exposure Rabies Vaccine ($185.00) and CPT Code 86382, Rabies Titer ($40.00) to the list of services and fee schedule. He said the services would be provided to individuals who might have a potential for work-related exposure to rabies and to others who could travel to countries where the virus was more widespread. OTIO by Vice Chairman Norman to approve the CPT Codes and Fees. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request for Approval of the November Refunds and Releases: County Manager Smith said the refunds and releases were in order in for approval. OTION by Commissioner Griffith to approve the November Refunds and Releases. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Releases for the Month of November 2012 14 Monthly $24,058.93 Breakdown of Releases: County $ 14,158.26 Solid Waste Fees $ 156.00 E. Alex. Co. Fire #1 $ - Shepherd's Fire #2 $ 96.89 Mt. Mourne Fire #3 $ 32.86 All County Fire #4 $ 833.85 B&F Fire #5 $ 54.03 Statesville City $ 900.16 Statesville Downtown $ - Mooresville Town $ 6,342.69 Mooresville Downtown $ - Mooresville School $ 1,427.65 Love Valley - Harmony $ 15.45 Troutman $ 41.09 Davidson $ - 14 Monthly $24,058.93 Refunds for the Month of November 2012 Monthly Total $ 4,558.78 Request from the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) for the Designation of a Voting Delegate for the January Legislative Goals Conference: County Manager Smith said the NCACC would have a Legislative Goals Conference on January 24 & 25, 2013. He said the NCACC had asked for a voting delegate. Commissioner Griffith offered to attend. MOTIO by Chairman Johnson to designate Commissioner Griffith as the NCACC Voting Delegate for the January Legislative Goals Conference. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request for Permission to Apply for a Grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Regarding Free Clinics for Rabies Vaccinations: Animal Services Assistant Rachael Johansen requested permission to apply for an ASPCA grant in the amount of $5,000 for the purpose of administering free rabies vaccines to citizens. MOTION by Commissioner Griffith to approve the request to apply for the grant. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request for Permission to Apply for a Grant from Petfinder/PetCo Foundation: Animal Services Assistant Rachael Johansen requested permission to apply for a PetCo Foundation Grant. She said the funding would pay for vaccinations to be used for in-house shelter animals. MOTIO by Commissioner Griffith to approve the request to apply for the grant. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request for Approval of an Easement to Allow Duke Power to Place a Power Pole on County Property (Central Transfer Station): Recreation and Facility Services Director Robert Woody read a memo, as follows, describing this request: "Solid Waste is placing a plastic recycling compactor on its Central Transfer Station site. Installing this compactor will substantially reduce the number of trips Solid Waste has to make between the Central Transfer Point and the main facility to pick-up and deliver plastic recyclables. The current single-phase service into the Central Transfer station is not enough to provide adequate electricity to the site and the compactor. To provide adequate service, Duke Power must upgrade the 1 -Phase to 3 -Phase service. Duke Power can't place the appropriate equipment on the current pole that serves the site, and a new pole must be placed there. The County must grant Duke Power an easement allowing the company access to the property to install the pole and equipment and then to facilitate future access to the equipment for service and meter access. To allow County staff 15 Breakdown of Refunds: County $ 285.60 Solid Waste Fees $ - E. Alex. Co. Fire #1 $ - Shepherd's Fire #2 $ - Mt. Mourne Fire #3 $ - All County Fire #4 $ - B&F Fire #5 $ 15.17 Statesville City $ 86.64 Statesville Downtown $ - Mooresville Town $ - Mooresville Downtown $ - Mooresville School $ - Love Valley $ - Harmony $ - Troutman $ 171.37 Davidson $ - Monthly Total $ 4,558.78 Request from the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) for the Designation of a Voting Delegate for the January Legislative Goals Conference: County Manager Smith said the NCACC would have a Legislative Goals Conference on January 24 & 25, 2013. He said the NCACC had asked for a voting delegate. Commissioner Griffith offered to attend. MOTIO by Chairman Johnson to designate Commissioner Griffith as the NCACC Voting Delegate for the January Legislative Goals Conference. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request for Permission to Apply for a Grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Regarding Free Clinics for Rabies Vaccinations: Animal Services Assistant Rachael Johansen requested permission to apply for an ASPCA grant in the amount of $5,000 for the purpose of administering free rabies vaccines to citizens. MOTION by Commissioner Griffith to approve the request to apply for the grant. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request for Permission to Apply for a Grant from Petfinder/PetCo Foundation: Animal Services Assistant Rachael Johansen requested permission to apply for a PetCo Foundation Grant. She said the funding would pay for vaccinations to be used for in-house shelter animals. MOTIO by Commissioner Griffith to approve the request to apply for the grant. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request for Approval of an Easement to Allow Duke Power to Place a Power Pole on County Property (Central Transfer Station): Recreation and Facility Services Director Robert Woody read a memo, as follows, describing this request: "Solid Waste is placing a plastic recycling compactor on its Central Transfer Station site. Installing this compactor will substantially reduce the number of trips Solid Waste has to make between the Central Transfer Point and the main facility to pick-up and deliver plastic recyclables. The current single-phase service into the Central Transfer station is not enough to provide adequate electricity to the site and the compactor. To provide adequate service, Duke Power must upgrade the 1 -Phase to 3 -Phase service. Duke Power can't place the appropriate equipment on the current pole that serves the site, and a new pole must be placed there. The County must grant Duke Power an easement allowing the company access to the property to install the pole and equipment and then to facilitate future access to the equipment for service and meter access. To allow County staff 15 to work with Duke Power to place the service order and ensure timely installation of the service and compactor, Chairman Johnson signed the easement on December 7, 2012. The request, therefore, is for Board approval of the easement to ratify that action." OTION by Vice Chairman to approve the easement as presented. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request for the Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing an Application for a North Carolina Rural Center Building Reuse and Restoration Grant for Paumac Tubing: Finance Director Susan Blumenstein said Paumac Tubing had requested for the county to apply for a North Carolina Rural Center Building Reuse and Restoration Grant. She said Paumac was a Michigan company desiring to expand into the County and to purchase property at 2718 Salisbury Highway, Statesville, NC. Blumenstein said the company would not be seeking an economic development incentive. She said the Rural Center grant would require that a certain number of jobs be created, and Paumac planned to create 30 high -paying positions. Blumenstein said there would be no costs to the County, and the grant funding would be a pass-through to Paumac. She said the grant funds would not have to be repaid if the company created and maintained the jobs for six months. Blumenstein added that the Rural Center would instruct the County on when the promissory note could be released. She said the company planned to pay $18,000 upfront to the County for the associated administrative costs which included a bid process. Blumenstein said Iredell County had served in this role with Talon Industries as well as for the Stamey Farms Yogurt facility. She said the application needed to be filed by January 4. MOTIO by Commissioner Robertson to approve the resolution allowing the County to apply for the Paumac Tubing grant from the NC Rural Center. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. AUTHORIZING RESOLUTION BY THE HIEDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS forthe North Carolina Rural Center Building Reuse and Restoration Graots Program "Pamnac Tubing Building Restoration Project" WHEREAS, The North Carolina General Assembly has authorized funds to stimulate economic development and job creation in distressed areas through constructing critical water and wastewater facilities, addressing technology needs, renovating vacant buildings, and implementing research and demonstration projects, and WHEREAS, the County has need for and intends to assist in the renovation of a vacant building in a project described as fire "Paumac Tubing Building Restoration Project"; WHEREAS, the County intends to request fimding assistance from the building Reuse and Restoration Grants Program in an amount up to $240,000 for the project; WHEREAS, Paumac Tubing intends to purchase a building at 2718 Salisbury Highway and intends to renovate that building to suit its tube bending, end -forming, cutting and welding operation; and WHEREAS, Paumac Tubing will create 30 newjobs within two years as a result of this project, NOW THEREFORE BE 1T RESOLVED, BY THE IREDELL COUNTY IIOA RD OF COMM ISSIONERS: That the County is in fill support of the application and the renovation project, if funding is received, and That the County will make arrangements with Paumac Tubing for the required local cash match for the project, and 'Ihat the County has substantially complied or will substantially comply with all State, and local laws, rules, regulations, and ordinances applicable to the project and to the grants pertaining thereto, and That Ron Smith, County Manager, is authorized to execute any additional documents pertaining to the grant application as requested by the North Carolina Rural Center. Request for a Discussion and/or Action Pertaining to a Directive on the Fiscal Year 2013-14 Iredell County Budget: Commissioner Boone said the following: "I don't know what the future is going to hold. Personally, I'm not real optimistic at this point, but I think it is safe to say that at least for the next couple of years our revenue situation will not be real good. We'll be in fairly tight budget years. We will probably be facing more mandates. I think Mr. Robertson has 16 made a good point on several occasions when he said the state and federal government would try to eventually pass some of the costs for Obamacare to the counties. We'll be facing other things. I think that makes it imperative that we try to be as efficient as possible and try to control our current spending as much as possible. We are facing some major capital needs over the next several years. If we don't control our current expense spending --barring some miraculous recovery in the economy --I think we are setting ourselves up for another tax increase in the next two or three years. I think it is reasonable that we ask the management to keep our current expense general fund budget the same level as last year. Part of that is for the reasons I've stated, and part of it is because it's the right thing to do. I think it is wrong to take any more of the people's hard earned money than is absolutely necessary to finance essential government services. It's especially true during a recession. I know the staff has presented a list of expansion items they say we've committed to, or are unavoidable, at a total of a little over $3 million. Some of these are legitimate items, and some of them I have some questions about. When I say the total should be frozen, I'm certainly not saying that no item should be expanded --that we just adopt last year's budget again. That's not true at all. I am saying that if we need to expand one area, we need to have a corresponding decrease in another area. That's what everyone has to do with their household budgets. When you meet some unexpected expense you have to make that money up somewhere else. That's all I'm asking with the county. I'm afraid the philosophy we have followed is we assume that all of our present spending is necessary, and we just evaluate possible increases to see whether they are justified. I think we need to evaluate that a little bit. We need to set a target, only spend so much money, and then we need to set priorities. Just freezing the total amount is a reasonable step. I don't think it is a radical step. I think it's a moderate common sense and very doable step. We had a fairly substantial budget increase two years ago. We had a smaller increase last year. I realize that two or three years before that there were some reductions. The increases came after some reductions, but if we compare today to the 2000-2001 budget, the beginning of this century, you'll find that our per capita property tax revenues, adjusted for inflation, are almost 20% higher now than they were back then. The County was funding essential services then so I think we could still fund them on what we're getting now. Much has been made about our low tax rate. I think we are the twenty -something lowest in the state currently. At one time, back in the 1990s, we were the fourth lowest in the state so we've slipped a few notches. Our low tax rate is due to a large extent to the fact that we enjoy a good tax base. We enjoy a good industrial tax base, and we have a good bit of high priced residential property in the southwestern portion of our county. If you take our property tax per capita, the amount of property tax levied per capita, we're pretty close to the statewide average. We're pretty close to an average county. We're pretty much in line with the counties surrounding us in similar size. In fact, we tax more per capita than even Catawba or Rowan County. For these reasons, 1 think it will take some effort --I won't say it will be easy -4 think with a little effort --we can hold the line on spending without any significant cutbacks in our basic services. At some point, we will have to address some things such as the cost -of -living increases for county employees, but hopefully, when that time comes, we'll have some increase in revenue. For this current budget year I'm proposing what I just said. I'll state it in the form of a motion, and I have copies for our clerk. The formal motion is that the Iredell County Board of Commissioners does hereby respectfully request that the county manager submit a Fiscal Year 2013-14 recommended budget with general fund expenditures not to exceed the amount of the Fiscal Year 2012-2013 adopted budget of $160,540,475. That's the motion, and it's what I'm throwing out there." Chairman Johnson pointed out that the $160,540,475 budget was about $8 million less than what it had been approximately four years ago. He said most of the increases were due to population growth and mandates placed on the county. Boone said, "I just gave the property tax figure compared to year 2000-01 and that's per capita adjusted for inflation. If you think the CPI is an accurate index for inflation that's the index I used." VOTING: Ayes — 2 (Boone, Griffith); Nays — 3. Boone asked if the other board members would agree to a greater target such as a one or two percent increase. Johnson said perhaps. Commissioner Robertson said historically a tax rate was set during revaluation, and it was left the same. He said the county attempted to run lean budgets and had tried to place the 17 differential either in the capital reserve fund or the fund balance. Robertson said it had been determined that no major initiatives would be undertaken this year other than putting money aside for the jail. He said for many years the County had done nothing to correct the salary compression for some employees. Robertson said the county manager had indicated there might be a two percent increase for next year, but at this point in time, he (Robertson) was unwilling to commit to a specific percentage. He said if money could be saved, this should occur, and it should be placed in fund balance. Boone said that during the last revaluation year the board voted to increase the tax rate considerably more than what a revenue neutral amount would have been. Request for Approval of the December 3 & 4, 2012 Minutes: MOTION by Commissioner Boone to approve the minutes with a correction on page 17, second paragraph, (December 4 minutes). VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee: Commissioner Griffith nominated Karen Keaton. No other nominations were submitted, and Chairman Johnson made a motion to appoint Keaton by acclamation. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Juvenile Crime Prevention Council: Commissioner Griffith nominated Terri Johnson for the position classified as an "attorney representing juveniles." No other nominations were submitted, and Chairman Johnson made a motion to appoint Terri Johnson by acclamation. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. UNFINISHED BUSINESS COMMENTS BY COMMISSIONER ROBERTSON: "We are all aware of the 26 people murdered in the elementary school in Connecticut. I would like to address a few items since commissioners and school officials have received an increase in the number of e-mails and phone calls related to school safety here in Iredell County. Most of the discussion has really been around guns, or the physical safety of the school campuses, and then also about the people who would be so mentally deranged to walk into a movie theater, school, or university and start shooting people they don't know. The comments I would like to make are broad generalizations. There are always exceptions to the rule. What I want to do is explain our situation as representatives of the people and policy makers. I will only comment on the roles and responsibilities of this board. Gun control is not the responsibility of the board of commissioners so I'm not even going to discuss that --good, bad, or indifferent. I did want to say that in every budget cycle county commissioners are faced with finding a balance between public safety and keeping our tax rates reasonable. One can always argue that our county would be incrementally safer if we had more deputies, more 911 operators, more firemen, more jailers, a largerjail, more ambulances, more EMTs, more fire trucks; the list goes on. That would be true, but at some level, the people would rather keep their own money, accept some degree of risk, and say our level of protection is good enough. Our public safety and emergency services leaders advise us on the standard of care and the standard of service that most communities accept as good enough. This is often defined, let's say for ambulances and fire trucks, by response times. Between when a call is received to the time the first vehicle hits the site and within a certain band of time. That's considered good. As commissioners, every budget cycle it seems we have the opportunity to redefine good enough. During our budget hearings the most difficult portions are when service providers, the professionals we employ, come and make requests to increase the level of protection or standard of care. We have to decide if we are going to move the bar of good enough and take taxpayers' dollars to do so. I can tell you it's 18 never, never, an easy decision. Right now, we currently spend about 50% of our budget on education -related items. The various school boards of Mooresville Graded, Iredell-Statesville, and Mitchell College then subdivide that money, and one of those subdivisions is security. Our schools already devote a lot of money to security. They have emergency plans to deal with these situations, but money is diverted from educating to securing the students. That's done already. You need to know, and we accept this. We go through this all the time. That's money not used to pay teachers, or to hire more teachers, or to compensate people for supplies, or to have better equipment. The school boards have to make those decisions between security and spending on the other stuff. It's not easy decisions for them. Everybody always asks, `Well, how much is enough?' When you're looking at their costs for providing that kind of security you are looking at resource officers, which we already pay for in the high schools and all of the middle schools. We don't have them for the elementary schools. We have a lot more elementary schools than we do middle and high schools. It would be a substantial cost to add resource officers to elementary schools, which up until a week and a half ago we never really considered to be dangerous places. We always kind of considered that high schools could be, and unfortunately, we found out that in some instances our middle schools could be. We never thought our elementary schools could be. It would cost an awful lot of money. "During some of the most recent education reductions, not by this county but by the state, our school systems have had to reduce the number of assistant principals who served some degree of security function and also their counselors. In fact, our school systems have gotten rid of almost all of them. They provided a wide variety of services, but one of the things was to deal with the kids that were likely to be a threat to others. Most of them are gone. You have to make choices. Clearly, anybody who does something like this has a severe mental health issue. Sometimes you have to remember how you got to this point. Back in the 1960s and 1970s our nation, and specifically the courts, decided to end the practice of involuntarily confining people who suffered from extremely severe mental illnesses and were deemed to be a danger to themselves and others. They changed the rules. If somebody doesn't really think they belong in a mental institution it's pretty hard to keep them in one. The living conditions of the patients in those mental health facilities back then were scrutinized because they were pretty dismal. It was the only way to house a lot of people cheaply. So, what's happened? The state of North Carolina has basically --in order to save money --reduced the number of beds that we have for mental patients. At the same time our legal system has favored allowing many of those people to roam free. A portion of our homeless use to be in what they once called insane asylums. A lot of the people who are drug addicts are folks who have genuine mental health problems, and what they are doing is self -medicating. So, what are we supposed to do? 1 heard on television --a lot of people hear stuff on television --and they think that it's true. They say, `Why didn't someone call law enforcement or mental health authorities if they knew this kid had a problem?' If you call our sheriff's department and say that your neighbor or you think your neighbor has a mental issue, they can't arrest him. They can't detain him, and we have no place to put him. Basically because we've reduced the number of beds. We don't even have the option to put them in places. When we have a legitimate bona fide mental patient who requires a hospital bed, our deputies are often traveling hours to transport them to a facility. The State has sought to cut costs by reducing the number of beds for mental patients, and they've reorganized the mental health program so many times in an attempt to contain costs. These costs are now gradually being shifted to the counties. It reminded me of a saying a military advisor to Nero said. He said, `Often we organize to give the illusion of progress.' Our Chairman Steve Johnson was on -- we refer to it as the mental health board --and now Ms. Griffith is going on that board. Matt McCall, our Register of Deeds, who is very cost conscious, a very productivity -oriented guy, along with Bill Furches, our Tax Collector, a former marine, a very compassionate but hard- nosed person as far as making difficult financial decisions, all three of these people are on that board trying to find a balance between money and dealing with people who have legitimate problems. My point that I'm trying to make by bringing all this up is there is no one magical easy answer that's going to eliminate the threat of something bad happening in a community whether it's a movie theater, school, a football stadium, or a shopping mall. There's no easy answer that's going to make it all go away. All of the options that are offered aren't just a little expensive most of them are quite expensive. We've already found out that just putting a buzzer on the door doesn't get the job done. To put in metal detectors does you no good unless you have somebody there manning them. We've got high schools with 2,000 kids. The cost of Putting metal detectors in the doors in our schools is just phenomenal. I just want the public to know this. This entire board, and your other leaders, 1 think I speak for the school systems, and I think I speak for the legislators in Raleigh, and hopefully in Washington as well, we are very 19 aware of the fact that we have to balance managing, or mitigating public safety risks with a desire to balance how much money we forcibly take out of the pockets of people. Those are not easy decisions and we take them seriously. We are aware that people are asking questions now, and the school systems are taking a good hard look at it again. I just want the public to know that we are aware of it, we are on it, and we are trying to do our best. But, don't believe there's an easy, cheap solution because there isn't. In fact, I don't even know that money can really fix a lot of these problems. Thank you." PUBLIC COMMENT: An opportunity to speak was offered, but no one accepted. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to conduct, Chairman Johnson wished everyone a Merry Christmas, and at 10:50 PM made a motion to adjourn. NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, January 15, 2013, in the Iredell County Government Center, 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Approval: 20 Clerk to the Board