HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 17 2002 Briefing MinutesIREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
BRIEFING MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 17, 2002
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in Briefing Session on Tuesday,
September 17, 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, Library Director Steve Messick, Health Director Ray Rabe, Nursing
Director Donna Campbell, Human Resources Director Carolyn Harris, Jail Administrator
Rick Dowdle, Support Services Director Jim Vernon, Solid Waste Administrative
Manager Susan Cornell, and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore.
CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Tice.
PRESENTATION AND/OR APPROVAL OF RECOMMENDATIONS
FROM HUNTER HUMAN RESOURCES EXTENSION REGARDING A
CLERICAL STUDY FOR POSITIONS CLASSIFIED FROM GRADE 57
THROUGH 65 IN THE IREDELL COUNTY PAY PLAN: Human Resources
Director Carolyn Harris introduced Jan Hunter, of Hunter Human Resources Extension,
in reference to a recent clerical pay and position classification study.
Hunter reviewed 138 positions and recommended that 16 of them be reclassified.
She said four positions under the State Personnel Act/Competitive Service System
(Health & Social Services employees) were recommended for upgrades; however, the
State did not approve them. She also said that 21 job titles had been changed to more
accurately reflect the work being done, but these did not result in salary increases.
Harris said the annual cost for the 16 upgrades would be $21,319 and adequate
funds were in the budget.
It was the consensus of the board to approve Hunter's recommendations effective
October 1, 2002.
REQUESTS FROM THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Jail Administrator
Rick Dowdle explained the following requests for approval.
1. The continuation of the Multi -County Interdiction Unit/Approval of a Resolution
2. The transfer of $3,200 from Seized Funds to be Used as the Local Match
for a Local Law Enforcement Block Grant & Approval of
Budget Amendment #7 (Funds from the grant [$32,463] will be used to purchase a
Digital Scanner)
3. Budget Amendment #8 for:
the transfer of $12,000 from Seized Funds to Purchase a K-9 (Belgian Malinois)
for the Jail
the transfer of $2,500 from Commissary Funds to Equip a Vehicle for the
new K-9
the transfer of $2,000 from Seized Funds for the Tax and Title Fees for
two Seized Vehicles
the transfer of $1,248 from Commissary Funds for Training
Dowdle also gave reports about the following two items.
Exchange of a 1998 Wellcraft Boat (24' with an outboard motor) for the County's Parker
Boat (inboard motor): Dowdle said Jeff Lancaster owned the Wellcraft and desired to
trade it for the Parker boat. He said the Wellcraft was more conducive to the county's
needs, and he recommended the exchange. (Due to the exchange requiring a ten-day
legal notice, this item will be presented for approval during an upcoming meeting.)
Usage of the Former Highway 21 Prison Site: Dowdle said the jail population had risen
to 250 inmates over the past weekend. He said the staff was still working with the State
on a lease to house up to 92 inmates at the former prison site.
REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF BUDGET AMENDMENT #10 FOR THE
USAGE OF $20,500 IN "WHITE GOODS" EARNINGS FOR ROAD REPAIRS
AT THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT: Blumenstein said the $20,500 would be
used to complete road repairs to the "white goods" area, and the work would be
coordinated with the new landfill cell paving.
REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF BUDGET AMENDMENT #11 FOR THE
RECOGNITION OF ADDITIONAL REVENUE FOR THE SOCIAL SERVICES
DEPARTMENT AND FOR APPROPRIATION TO THE PROGRAM LINE
ITEMS: Blumenstein said $43,083 in additional Crisis Intervention Prevention (CIP)
funds had been received from the State. She also said that additional funds of $3,590
had been received to pay the staff to distribute the CIP funds to the needy families. (The
CIP funds are 100% federal money.)
REQUEST FROM THE LIBRARY FOR APPROVAL TO APPLY FOR AN
EZ-LSTA DIGITALIZATION STARTER GRANT: Library Director Messick
requested permission to apply for grant funds to purchase computer equipment. He said
the equipment would enable the staff to scan historical documents and photographs and
transfer them to digital format for Internet access. Messick said this would help to
preserve the original documents. (The $5,850 grant does not require a local match, and it
will include the training costs for one staff member.)
REQUEST FROM THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR APPROVAL OF
PROPOSED NEW FEES FOR THE PREVENTIVE AND ALLIED HEALTH
DIVISIONS: Health Director Ray Rabe said that in order to comply with Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements for standardized
billing codes it would be necessary, as of October 1, 2002, to incorporate the following
fee changes.
New CPT
Old CPT
MOW Brief
Fees
Fees Effective
Code
Code
Service Description
2002-03
10/01/02
Allied Health
Services
MOW Extended
$85
$11 per unit**
S9442
W8203
Childbirth Education
$87
$22 per session*
T1017
Y2045
Refresher Childbirth Education
end date effective
09/30/02
D1330
N/A
Oral Hygiene Instruction
new 10/01/02
$25
Preventive Health
S9445
Y2525
MOW Brief
$20
$11 per unit**
S9445
Y2526
MOW Standard
$55
$11 perunit**
59445
Y2527
MOW Extended
$85
$11 per unit**
T1017
W8201
MCC Initial
$110
$12 per unit**
T1017
W8202
MCC Subsequent
$55
$12 per unit**
T1017
Y2044
MCC Home Visit
$74
$12 per unit**
T1016
Y2155
Child Service Coordination
$89
$21 per unit**
Y2155A
CSC -Face to face subsequent
and dated effective 09/30/02
99501
Y2046
Postpartum Home visit -Mom
$60
$60
99502
Y2047
Newborn Assessment —Infant
$60
$60
T1002
Y2012
TBControl and Treatment
$89
$20 per unit**
T1002
Y2013
STD Control & Treatment
$80
$20 per unit**
90471 EP
W8012
Immunization Update
$20
$20
99173
N/A
Vision Screening new 10/01/02
$24
2
Based on age
W80ION
Child Health-EPSDT(new)
$90
See note below***
Based on age
W8010E
Child Health-EPSDT (est)
$90
See note below***
Based on age
W8016
EPSDT Interperiodic
$90
See note below***
*Each session must include 2 hours of instruction
** 1 unit = 15 minutes
***W8010N, W8010E and W8016 are replaced by the age appropriate prevention medicine
codes, 99381-99385 or 99391-99395 with EP modifier.
The codes that replace Child Health visit codes with fee changes from the approved 7/1/2002
fee schedule are listed below.
99381 W801 ON New Pt. Age under 1 year $87 $90
99391 W8010E Established Pt. Age under 1 year $72 $90
99392 W8010E Established Pt. Age 1-4 years $76 $90
Mr. Rabe said he felt the mandatory fee changes would have a negative impact on
the department's revenue.
REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF A FY 2002-03 ROBERT S. SEGAL, CPA
PA AGREEMENT FOR THE STATE CRIMINAL ALIEN ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM (SCARP): Finance Director Blumenstein said she was seeking approval of
an agreement that would allow CPA Robert Segal to continue his work in seeking federal
reimbursements when criminal aliens were incarcerated at the jail. She said that during
the past year, Segal's fee was twenty cents of every dollar received from SCAAP, but this
would be reduced to seventeen cents in 2003.
REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF AN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
PROPOSAL: Blumenstein said it had become increasingly more difficult to obtain a
good yield on investments. She said that recently $1 million had been bidded out for a
180 -day certificate of deposit, and the best return found was 1.7%. Mrs. Blumenstein
said the North Carolina Capital Management Trust was primarily used for investments
due to the absolute liquidity, but she was seeking other investment tools. She proposed
that the county enter into an investment management arrangement with First Citizens
Bank. Blumenstein said the benefits to the county would be (1) the staffs time working
on the investments would be reduced and (2) it would be similar to having a full-time
investment banker. She said the goal of the proposal would be to "maximize the county's
investment yield without taking risks."
It was the consensus of the board to allow Blumenstein to enter into the
investment management proposal, but to limit the amount managed by First Citizens to
$5,000,001.00.
DISCUSSION AND/OR DECISION REGARDING THE 2003
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) FOR SCATTERED -
SITE HOUSING: County Manager Mashburn said the notification letter from the State
had not arrived about the $400,000 in scattered -site housing funds. He suggested that the
item be removed from the agenda and a decision be postponed until official notification
was received.
REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN
IREDELL COUNTY AND THE RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
CENTER, INC., FOR A PUBLIC ACCESS GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF
$12,000: Mashburn said that on June 18, 2002, permission was given to apply for a
$12,000 Public Access Grant. He said that when the county agreed to participate in the
E -Communities Program, that Mitchell Community College had been designated as the
lead agency. Mashburn said the grant had many stipulations, and he was recommending
for the agreement with the Rural Economic Development Center to be contingent upon
the college being able to comply with the rules and regulations.
REQUEST FROM THE GREATER STATESVILLE DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION (GSDC) FOR THE COUNTY TO APPLY FOR A
COMMUNITY BLOCK DEVELOPMENT GRANT FOR
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: GSDC Director Jeff McKay said that recently
3
Millard Refrigeration was approved for an economic development incentive from the
county for the purchase and development of the former Polar Cold Storage facility
located off Hwy. 90. McKay said another 160 acres of land could be opened up, near
Millard's site, for industrial development if the area's water needs were solved. He said
a source of water could serve Millard, plus any other industries that desired to locate in
the area. Mr. McKay said he had been working with EnergyUnited on the construction of
a 750,000 gallon elevated storage tank. He said economic grants could be obtained from
the Community Development Block Grant Office to assist in the water tank costs;
however, a governing body had to be listed as the recipient. (On a pass-thru basis the
funds could then be delivered to EnergyUnited.) McKay said a Memorandum of
Understanding could be presented at a future meeting to clarify the responsibilities of
each entity, but he needed permission to apply for the grant funds.
REQUEST FOR A DISCUSSION REGARDING THE IREDELL COUNTY
GOVERNMENT CENTER -SOUTH (ICGC-S) FINANCING AND THE BIDS
OPENED ON AUGUST 22, 2002: County Manager Mashburn said the board on
August 28, 2002, decided to place the ICGC-S project on hold and not re -bid until the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had made a decision on the
third -floor lease. He said the bids and financing arrangements were good through mid-
October.
Support Services Director Vernon said that if the commissioners chose to re -bid,
there was a "strong possibility the bid amounts might increase." He said the bidders had
a clear understanding of the needed work, and this was evident by the bid amounts.
Vernon said the International Building Code would go into effect during 2003, and this
would increase the project's cost, if delays occurred.
Finance Director Blumenstein shared a financial summary for the project. She
said the Bank of America had extended the offer to provide financing at 4.69% as long as
the loan was fully funded by October 17, 2002. She also said the Town of Mooresville
had committed $100,000 from court fees to the project, and that $38,000 could be deleted
from the costs due to minor design changes.
The deletion of the $100,000 in contingency was also discussed. It was
mentioned that all of these adjustments would reduce the amount of additional funding to
$36,650. (Bids were $274,650 in excess of budget, minus the $100,000 from the Town of Mooresville,
minus the $100,000 contingency, and minus the $38,000 = $36,650.)
The staff said the $36,650 could be found from leftover funds in the finished
Agricultural Resource Center project and the Hall of Justice Annex project.
Commissioner Johnson voiced concerns about the elimination of the contingency.
Vernon said a special meeting could be called if the project ran into problems.
Commissioner Ray said she recalled that in the past a discussion had occurred
about approving any necessary change orders in an expeditious manner.
(The item was not placed on the consent agenda. Additional information/action
may be found in the regular minutes.)
ADJOURNMENT: Chairman Tice adjourned the briefing at 6:50 p.m.
Approved:
4
Clerk to the Board