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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary_3_2017_Regular_MinutesIREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PRE -AGENDA MINUTES January 3, 2017 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in pre -agenda session on Tuesday, January 3, 2017, 2017 at 5:00 PM, in the Iredell County Government Center (South Wing Conference Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Board Members Present Chairman James B. Mallory III Vice Chairman Tommy Bowles Gene Houpe Jeff McNeely Marvin Norman Staff present: County Manager Ron Smith, Deputy County Manager Beth Jones, County Attorney Lisa Valdez, Assistant to the Manager Ben Stikeleather, Finance Director Susan G. Robertson, and Clerk to the Board Retha Gaither. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Mallory called the meeting to order. ADJUSTMENTS: County Manager Ron Smith said there were no official adjustments to the agenda. However, there will be a presentation under Unfinished Business regarding fire funding. PUBLIC HEARINGS CLOSURE OF SILO DRIVE: Planning Director Matthew Todd said the property has been posted and there has been no opposition. The property will return to the owners who own both sides. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Request from the Planning Division to consider calling for a public hearing on January 17, 2017 in regard to a request for text amendments to the Land Development Code: Planning Director Matthew Todd said this is just to call for a public hearing concerning two text amendments. One amendment deals with asphalt plant/rock quarries. The second amendment concerns rural commercial recreational facilities. Currently these facilities are intended for recreational type uses but there is a use in North Iredell that for dog training. This business wants to expand to train people to train dogs. Nothing in the code addresses what they are proposing which caused permitting issues. The proposed text amendments would give this organization an avenue in which to be permitted. An educational proponent was added for this type of use. It requires a special use permit and the process through the Board of Adjustment. Currently it is specific for this organization but it will open the educational proponent. Commissioner McNeely asked if the organization would be changing their scope of activity. Todd said the scope will change some. Currently people attending the school must find housing in the area. This is a problem and the organization wants to house attendees on-site. They will stili train dogs and train people to train dogs. January 3, 2017 Vice Chairman Bowles asked the length of stay. Todd said it could be six weeks or longer. This item was placed on the consent agenda. Request from the Health Department for approval of BA #14 in the amount of $7,500 for prescription drug overdose prevention planning and activities: Health Department Representative Bill Griffith said the request is for approval of budget amendment #14 in the amount of $7,500 for prescription drug overdose community planning. The Health Department has received a state grant in the amount of $7,500 but in order to use the money they must meet two of five guidelines. Fortunately those guidelines fit with the strategic planning with Drug Abuse Free Iredell Coalition. One major event coming soon is an Opioid Overdose Prevention Event. This will be for health care providers, pharmacist, dentists, and others to learn about the North Carolina Health Director's Standing Order for Naloxone, best practices for opioid prescribing and dispensing practices, and to sign up for the Controlled Substance Reporting System. The event is free and scheduled for Saturday, February 25, 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM at Langtree Plantation. Participants will earn CEUs for attending. Vice Chairman Bowles said Partners Behavioral Health contributed $7,500 as well. Mooresville Mayor Atkins and Partners assisted in securing the venue and speaker. This item was placed on the consent agenda. BA #14 To allocate Prescription Drug Overdose State grant revenues and 1/3/2017 expenditures Account # I Current Chane Amended 104590 440001 55010 Project Lazarus/Presc. Drug OD Grant (1,500) (7,500) (9,000) 10908860 548000 Community Awareness 7,500 7,500 Request from the Department of Social Services to approve BA #15 of Child Support IV -D funding for an electronic document management system: DSS Director Yvette Smith said this is a request for approval to appropriate Child Support IV -D Incentive Funding to purchase a document imaging system for the Child Support Division to meet the annual plan. The State has mandated that all child support divisions look at an annual plan for the incentive money. Iredell County has been very instrumental and accomplished the federal goals which has resulted in a gain of incentive funds. The State has requested that each county look at utilizing the incentive money to enhance the child support program. Going paperless will assist in being more efficient with time management. The Child Support Division increased collections by $504,439, collection rate increased by 3.14%, increased cases under order by 2.12%, and increased collections to arrears by 3.34%. Chairman Mallory asked the total amount of the incentive. Assistant Sheila Cook said it is $177,048 which is based on last year's amount. Director Smith said the State commandeered 50% because child support will be the last program to phase into NCFAST. Commissioner Norman asked if NCFAST continues to have issued. Director Smith said yes. As a matter of fact it was down this morning. January 3, 2017 Cooke said this purchase will be an additional module for Northwoods who will create a taxonomy. Each child support agent and the child support attorney will also receive a laptop/tablet. This item was placed on the consent agenda Commissioner Houpe congratulated DSS staff along with other departments for the excellent financial report from Martin Starnes. BA # 15 To appropriate Child Support IV -D funding to purchase a document 1/3/2017 imaging system for the Child Support Division. Account# Current Chane Amended 104630 450000 SS Admin Reimbursement (8,025,000) (116,246) (8,141,246) 105630 610150 Depreciable assets -technology 47,650 116,246 163,896 Request from Administration to approve a seven year lease of the old jail building for the Iredell Arts Council: County Manager Ron Smith said this item was tabled at the last meeting. County Attorney Lisa Valdez said the requested changes have been made which include the capability to terminate the agreement if maintenance costs exceeded the budget or if another department needs the facility. Commissioner McNeely asked if this would have an impact on the Lowe's agreement. Valdez has not seen that agreement between the Arts Council and Lowe's, but believes there could be an impact if there is an early termination. This item was placed on the consent agenda. Request from the Clerk to the Board for approval of the 2017 meeting calendar: Clerk to the Board Retha Gaither stated the potential dates for the Winter Retreat were not shown on the calendar and that traditional the first meeting in July is cancelled. Smith said tentative dates for the Winter Retreat are February 23&24 or 24&25, 2017. Vice Chairman Bowles and Commissioner McNeely asked if the retreat could be on Thursday and Friday and not on Saturday. Chairman Mallory asked about budget meeting dates. Finance Director Robertson said the proposed budget will be presented to the Board on May 2 and discussion meetings will follow but dates are not set. This item was placed on the consent agenda. Request from the Clerk to the Board to approve the minutes from December 16 and 20, 2016: There were no corrections. This item was placed on the consent agenda. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Fire funding: Fire and Emergency Services Director Kent Greene said there have been many discussions on how to move forward in regard to the fire funding model. It was suggested January 3, 2017 3 to move slowly in implementing changes. Responses from several Fire Chiefs have been positive. The agreement is a compilation of suggestions from local fire personnel and similar contracts from other counties. The agreement requires a financial review and the fire departments cannot sell or dispose of major capital assets without Board knowledge. Commissioner Houpe asked if there is a planned schedule of meetings with the fire departments. Greene said no, he is waiting on the Board's instruction Commissioner Houpe asked what feedback has been given concerning departments that cease to exist. Greene said the agreement includes a statement that should a department cease to provide services for any reason, all department assets shall be made available for use by the County to continue to provide services by another provider. There has been no negative feedback. Commissioner McNeely asked about the by-laws for each department and if they there had been communication on making by-laws uniform across the County. Greene said it is not addressed in this document. However, each department's Board of Directors' meetings and minutes shall be open to the public. It was suggested to hire an outside firm that specializes in non-profit emergency providers' administrative policies/guidelines to create a template that could be taken back to each department for ratification. A couple of departments have already done this, but it could be done county -wide. However, the cost of hiring such an agency has not been researched. Commissioner McNeely asked why Greene and his department couldn't make this template. Greene stated there is a wide range of requirements and he is not an attorney. He feels IRS laws for a 501 C-3 would trump the by-laws. Chairman Mallory said there is a statutory required distribution scheme that ultimately ends in some type of non-profit. Commissioner Houpe suggested that if a department ceases to provide services, there should be a separation of funding to be able to determine what money was raised by the department and what money was given by the County. Greene said the third party audit accounts for revenue but when purchasing equipment the money comes from their general fund which is a comingling of those donations, fund raisers, grants, etc. One of the benefits of slowly implementing this agreement is due to the County's intent of implementing a county -wide capital apparatus replacement program. This agreement is just to get a few basics in place for a two year term. Chairman Mallory said it should specify that each department submit their by-laws, articles of incorporation, and current NC status of the annual report which is part of the audit process. Also, this agreement should be more specific on exactly what is capital equipment. January 3, 2017 Greene said most departments report they have set the limit at $10,000 and anything over is considered capital and goes through the approval process. However, Greene suggested this amount should be $40,000 to $50,000 range. Commissioner McNeely believes $10,000 is a fine threshold to keep everything accountable. Greene said it boils down to accountability. There is some waste which should be the focus, to get control of the waste and make sure tax dollars are spent most effectively. He plans to meet with the chiefs over the next few weeks and then ask for regional meetings in the north, central and south areas. Greene will make revisions with the suggestions from this meeting and circulate the draft to all members. The agreement is step one. Step two is the capital replacement plan which will be implemented July 1, 2018. Then the funding stream will be reviewed. The Board was in agreement that Greene should meet with the Fire Chiefs as soon as possible. Greene said the issue with rescue funding in the fire master plan report draft is a proposal to implement a rescue service district county -wide. Currently rescue squads are funded through the General Fund which is .003% of the ad valorem taxes. That is a minimal amount of money necessary to survive. The proposal is to create a service district at 2/10 of a cent that will provide significantly more funding for all rescue squads/providers and allow them to continue functioning. Chairman Mallory said this is not raising taxes it is just appropriating more to rescue services. Smith said yes as long as the money is there. It is more of a dedicated allocation each year. Commissioner Houpe asked about the actual amount of money. Greene responded with an example that North Iredell Rescue's budget is currently around $110,000 and would increase to $178,000. However, that is not indicative of every district because a formula will be utilized which will consider area, population, and services rendered. Iredell Rescue and North Iredell Rescue are two primary concerns. They are very strapped because of the necessary training to maintain the multiple disciplines that are being provided. Commissioner Houpe asked if funding could be done in steps. Chairman Mallory said the problem is that the two rescue squads are not plugged into the fire tax funding. COUNTY MANAGER'S REPORT County Manager Ron Smith reported the following items: The County Smoke Free Policy is now in place. The policy began January 1, 2016 with a 50 -foot buffer around buildings for the first year and now all facilities are non-smoking. This has been publicized in the local paper and new signs have been installed. This includes county parks. The ISS Board of Education met and discussed the proposed move of the Ropes Course. The Board did not approve it but is working toward a solution. Their next meeting will be in February. January 3, 2017 • Deputy County Manager Beth Jones crafted a letter to Mooresville and Statesville offering one last opportunity to consider co -location or consolidation at the new ECOM facility. This needs to be decided prior to final design of the new facility. The Board recessed into Closed Session at 6:05 PM. The Board recessed from Closed Session at 6:35 PM until 7:00 PM. IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MINUTES January 3, 2017 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, January 3, 2017 at 7:00 PM, in the Iredell County Government Center (Commissioners' Meeting Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Board Members Present Chairman James B. Mallory III Vice Chairman Tommy Bowles Gene Houpe Jeff McNeely Marvin Norman Staff present: County Manager Ron Smith, Deputy County Manager Beth Jones, County Attorney Lisa Valdez, Assistant to the Manager Ben Stikeleather, Finance Director Susan G. Robertson, and Clerk to the Board Retha Gaither CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Mallory. INVOCATION: Chairman James Mallory asked everyone to bow their heads for a moment of silence. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Led by Chairman Mallory. ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA County Manager Ron Smith said there were no adjustments from staff. OTION by Commissioner Marvin Norman to adopt the agenda as presented. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0 PRESENTATION OF SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS & AWARDS (None) APPOINTMENTS BEFORE THE BOARD (None) PUBLIC HEARINGS Conduct a public hearing called for the closure of a portion of Silo Drive (public right- of-way), located off Hamilton Road (SR 2503) in Troutman, NC and consider adopting an Order to Close said road (per G.S. 153A-241): Planning Director Matthew Todd stated the January 3, 2017 request is to close this section of road that was platted on paper but was never developed. The petitioner is the property owner on both sides of the road. Doing away with the right-of-way will allow this to go back to the property owners. There have been no objections. Chairman Mallory opened the public hearing. Lewis Barkley of 186 Hamilton Road is an adjoining property owner and has no opposition to the requested closure. Chairman Mallory closed the public hearing. MOTION by Commissioner Houpe to approve the request. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0 Re: ORDER TO CLOSE A PORTION OF SILO DRIVE LOCATED OFF HAMILTON ROAD (SR 2503) WHEREAS, on January 3, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. the Iredell County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing as required by N.C. General Statute 153A-241; and WHEREAS, atter said public hearing, the Iredell County Board of Commissioners find no cause to retain the right-of-way for a portion of Silo Drive, located off Hamilton Road (SR 2503), as shown on the attached map. NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDERED by the Chairman and members of the Iredell County Board of Commissioners that this portion of Silo Drive, as shown on the attached map, is closed in accordance with the requirements of NC General Statute 153A-241. This the 3" day of January, 2017. J L �T III IN 7 January 3, 2017 115 r'. J L �T III IN 7 January 3, 2017 ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS County Manager Ron Smith summarized the following consent agenda: • Request from the Planning Division to consider calling for a public hearing on January 17, 2017 in regard to a request for text amendments to the Land Development Code. • Request from the Health Department for approval of BA #14 in the amount of $7,500 for prescription drug overdose prevention planning and activities. • Request from the Department of Social Services to approve BA #15 in the amount of $116, 246 of Child Support IV -D funding for an electronic document management system. • Request from Administration to approve a seven year lease of the old jail building for the Iredell Arts Council. This was tabled from the last meeting. • Request from the Clerk to the Board for approval of the 2017 meeting calendar. • Request from the Clerk to the Board for approval of minutes from December 16 and 20, 2016. MOTION by Commissioner McNeely to accept the consent agenda as presented. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0 ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES OCCURING ON BOARDS & COMMISSIONS (None) APPOINTMENTS TO BOARD AND COMMISSIONS (None) UNFINISHED BUSINESS (None) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD (None) NEW BUSINESS (None) COUNTY MANAGER'S REPORT County Manager Ron Smith stated the County has completed a two-step process of going smoke free which includes tobacco and non -tobacco smoking products. The first phase was implemented in January of 2016 with a no -smoking 50 -foot buffer around facilities. Parks and vehicles were 100% smoke free. Effective January 1, 2017 all county owned campuses are completely smoke-free, including parks, vehicles, and construction sites. CLOSED SESSION OTION by Commissioner Houpe to recess into closed session at 7:12 PM. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0 The Board returned to open session at 7:55 PM. January 3, 2017 OTION by Commissioner Marvin Norman to adjourn at 7:56 PM. (The next meeting will be Tuesday, January 17, 2017, 7:00 PM, in the Commissioners' Meeting Room, Pre -Agenda Discussion at 5:00 PM in the South Wing Conference Room, Government Center, 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC) VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0 Date Approved Retha C. Gaither, Clerk January 3, 2017