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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAugust 6 2002 Briefing MinutesIREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BRIEFING MINUTES AUGUST 6, 2002 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in Briefing Session on Tuesday, August 6, 2002, at 5:00 p.m., in the Iredell County Government Center, 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Present: Chairman Sara Haire Tice Vice Chairman Karen B. Ray Tommy E. Bowles Steve D. Johnson R. Godfrey Williams Staff Present: County Manager Joel Mashburn, Finance Director Susan Blumenstein, Planning Supervisor Ron Smith, Jail Administrator Rick Dowdle, Social Services Director Don Wall, Income Maintenance Administrator Lynn Deal, Social Work Supervisor Linda Bledsoe, Library Director Steve Messick, Tax Collector Joe Ketchie, and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore. CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Tice. REQUEST FOR ACCEPTANCE OF THE 2001 TAX SETTLEMENT FOR REAL & PERSONAL PROPERTY TAXES & APPROVAL OF THE COLLECTION ORDERS FOR THE TAX COLLECTOR & SHERIFF: In accordance with G.S. 105-373, Tax Collector Joe Ketchie presented a printout containing the 2001 Iredell County real and personal property tax settlement. Ketchie said the settlement had been significantly affected by the number of increased bankruptcies. He said there had been 444 bankruptcies with 283 being Chapter 11 filings and 161 Chapter 7s. He requested acceptance of the settlement, and approval of the 2002 tax collection orders for himself and the sheriff. REQUEST FROM THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT FOR APPROVAL OF A CONTRACT WITH SMITH, ROGERS & STRICKLAND, PLLC, FOR LEGAL CONSULTATION AT $14,355 A YEAR: Jail Administrator Rick Dowdle requested approval of a contract that would retain a law firm to provide 24-hour, 7 -days - a -week, legal consultation services. Dowdle said the annual amount of $14,355 covered the retainer, legal consultation by telephone, and it included the preparation of court documents, if needed. Mr. Dowdle said the contract amount was included the sheriff's budget for 2002-03. REQUEST FROM THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT FOR APPROVAL OF BUDGET AMENDMENT #2 FOR: 1. The transfer of $10,000 in commissary funds for the purchase of a new filing system. 2. The transfer of $7,200 from seized funds for the purchase of 15 weapons (clock Pistols). 3. The transfer of $32,725 in seized funds for the purchase of hand-held radios. Dowdle said a roll type filing system was being purchased for the sheriffs office. In reference to the hand-held radios, Dowdle said the sheriff was concerned about the radio system and desired to improve communications and safety for the officers. REQUEST FOR A DECISION REGARDING STANDARD OR ELECTING COUNTY STATUS FOR THE WORK FIRST PROGRAM EXTENDING FROM OCT. 1, 2003 — SEPT. 30, 2005: Social Services Director Don Wall said the county, since 1997, had chosen an electing status for the implementation of the Work First Block Grant Program. Wall said that federal regulations governing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) required states and counties to submit work plans every two years, and he recommended that the electing status continue through the 2003-2005 cycle. (Electing status is described in G.S. 108A-27.4, and standard status is described in G.S. 108A-27.6). REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF BUDGET AMENDMENT #3 FOR THE RECOGNITION OF A NEW GRANT FOR THE SPECIAL CHILDREN'S ADOPTION FUND & CARRYOVER OF STATE FUNDING FOR CRISIS INTERVENTION PAYMENTS: Social Services Director Wall said his office had been informed that unspent Crisis Intervention Program (CIP) funding would carry forward into State Fiscal Year July 1, 2002 — June 30, 2003. He requested approval of a budget amendment to recognize an anticipated CIP amount of $55,754. In addition, Wall said the state was allowing $3,397 in Special Children's Adoption fund money to be spent in August. He requested recognition of this amount along with $45,000 approved by the state in July. Wall said the combined total of $48,395 had to be used to enhance the county's adoption program. He said that during 2001-2002, his department had finalized 20 adoptions. REQUEST FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF A WET DETENTION POND, A CASH BOND, AND AN OPERATION/MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT FOR JOHN DEERE LANDSCAPES, 216 TRANSCO ROAD, MOORESVILLE, NC: Planning Supervisor Ron Smith said John Deere Landscapes had constructed a wet detention pond in accordance with Section 507 of the county's Watershed Protection Ordinance. Smith said the pond had been inspected and everything was in order for approval, e.g., cash bond in the amount of $7,625 to cover the cost of future pond maintenance/repair and an operation and maintenance agreement that would be recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds. SUMMARY FROM THE PLANNING SUPERVISOR REGARDING ANNEXATION PLANS SUBMITTED BY THE CITY OF STATESVILLE: Smith said state laws required municipalities to submit proposed annexation plans to the counties, and that recently the City of Statesville had submitted a proposal containing small tracts located on the north and northeastern sides of the city. Mr. Smith said that all of the areas, with the exception of two, were in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction. He said the annexation would primarily affect the county through fire protection. Smith said that under North Carolina law, cities had to provide the same type of fire protection in annexed areas that it offered in the city limits. He said cities could contract with the volunteer fire departments, enter into mutual aid agreements, or take over service completely. Smith said the volunteer fire departments that would be affected by the annexation were Cool Springs, Monticello and Ebenezer. He said the city had agreed to pay a portion of the accrued debt for the Cool Springs VFD, and it would provide a good faith lump sum to Monticello and Ebenezer. (Cool Springs submitted debt information to the city, but Monticello and Ebenezer did not.) Smith said the following 12 properties were in the annexation plan: Energy United, Bill Ray Martin, A-1 Mobile Homes, RV Feimster, David Castleberry, Wayne Homes, Wilson Martin, Larry & Sue Hedrick (all in the Cool Springs VFD district), Lowes Foods and Mayhew properties (Ebenezer VFD district) and Ryder Truck Rental and Southern Bell (Monticello VFD district). Mr. Smith said the properties in the annexation proposal were non-residential structures, and since the county distributed sales tax revenues on a per capita basis, there would not be a revenue deficit. Smith said the annexation would become effective October 31, 2003, if the city did not alter the plan. (Mr. Smith said no action was needed by the commissioners.) REQUEST FOR THE DESIGNATION OF A VOTING DELEGATE FOR THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE NORTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ON AUGUST 22-25, 2002: The commissioners discussed this request and decided to postpone a decision on the voting delegate until the August 20 meeting. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL TO DECLARE SURPLUS THE TURNOUT GEAR AND DRESS UNIFORM FOR AN ASSISTANT FIRE MARSHAL AND TO ALLOW THE MUNICIPALITY OF ELIZABETHTOWN, N.C., TO PURCHASE THE APPAREL: Finance Director Blumenstein said Assistant Fire Marshal Jamie Fulk had resigned from the county due to being offered a Fire Chief position in Elizabethtown, N.C. She said custom -fitted apparel (dress uniform costing 2 $250 at the time of purchase and turnout gear at $1,070 at the time of purchase) had been purchased for Mr. Fulk, and the county would not have any use for the items when the assistant fire marshal left for his new position. Mrs. Blumenstein said Elizabethtown had offered $500 to purchase the apparel, and she felt the sale would be advantageous for both the county and the municipality. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF A LETTER OF SUPPORT REGARDING AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION GRANT AND THE COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (CEDS) ANALYSIS: County Manager Mashburn said four North Carolina Congressional districts had been invited to apply for economic development funds due to the closing of industrial and manufacturing plants and the resulting unemployment. He said the Western Piedmont Council of Governments had been asked to serve as the lead agency for the grant funds. Mashburn said Iredell County would probably not be eligible for any of the grant money, but a letter of support for the initiative had been requested. He said the counties would be evaluated and strategies would be identified to "redirect the basic economic focus." (In this congressional district, it would be discouraged to rely so heavily on textile and furniture manufacturing.) Mashburn said the grant funds would be used in the eligible counties to implement the recommended strategies. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF A PRELIMINARY EXTERIOR DESIGN FOR THE NEW IREDELL COUNTY LIBRARY AND PRESENTATION FROM ARCHITECT EARLE GAULDEN REGARDING THE MEETING STREET SITE & ITS SUITABILITY FOR THE NEW LIBRARY: Architect Gaulden and Library Director Steve Messick attended the meeting to discuss the new library. Exterior Design Gaulden said a library model would be created once a final exterior design was chosen. Mr. Gaulden then discussed and shared drawings about the following exterior concepts. Traditional Scheme: This would be a box -like structure with ten -foot ceilings and Ionic columns on the outside. A substantial amount of money would go into the pediment. The front -exterior section would be made of fiberglass. Modern Scheme: Two drawings with modern designs were presented. One was with a curved -front exterior and the other had a flat -front. The flat -front design incorporated an arched entryway. (It was mentioned that an arch complemented any design. It was also mentioned that the Statesville City Hall building had an arched entryway, and the Iredell County Government Center had an interior arch.) The architect said the county could save money by choosing the modern design over the traditional concept. (This is because the columns and overhang would be eliminated.) The savings could then be used to provide extra space. Mr. Gaulden said his preference would be an exterior that utilized a modern scheme with an arched entryway. He said a modern design with an arch could be used on the Eastside Drive property as well as the Meeting Street site. Library Director Steve Messick said he also liked the modern design, especially since the financial savings could go towards extra space. It was the consensus of the board members to choose the modern design utilizing an arched entryway. The architect was instructed; however, to develop some decorative ideas concerning the front portion of the building -- ideas that would eliminate some of the blandness. Approved: 3 Clerk to the Board