Draft

June 7, 2004

The Alexander County Board of Commissioners held a regular meeting on Monday, June 7, 2004 in the Catawba Valley Community College / Alexander Center Multipurpose Room, Taylorsville, North Carolina.

CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Keever called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM.

INVOCATION & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Rev. William Carrier, pastor of Rocky Springs & Carson’s Chapel Methodist Church, gave the invocation and also led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Chairman Keever discussed the following issues during the Chairman’s Report:

A.       Commissioners Wes Bolick and Joel Harbinson are on vacation and will therefore not be present for the meeting.  Chairman Keever also informed the Board that Rick French, County Manager, was not present because he had taken his father to the hospital due to some health problems.

B.       Notification has been received from the N.C. Local Government Commission that the application for funding to construct the auditorium, field house, and DSS addition has been approved.  Chairman Keever reported that no more than $6,256,217 could be spent on these projects.

C.       Chairman Keever presented a resolution recently approved in Burke County in support of Amendment One Self-Financing Bonds.  He suggested that the Board consider a similar resolution at the next Commissioners’ Meeting.  The Board agreed.

ADOPTION OF AGENDA

Chairman Keever requested several additions to the agenda including discussion of the DSS expansion with architect Stan Winstead as Agenda Item #1, consideration of a Resolution in Support of Actions to Create and Maintain Jobs in N.C. during Other Business, consideration of a CIP Resolution for a Rural Center grant during Other Business, and a request to declare timber as surplus during the Consent Agenda.

Commissioner Robertson made a motion to adopt the agenda as amended.  Commissioner Hammer seconded the motion.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

DISCUSSION OF DSS EXPANSION BIDS

Stan Winstead, Winstead Architecture, reported on the bids for the DSS expansion held on May 27, 2004 at Winstead Architecture in Newton.  Mr. Winstead stated that 10 bids were received and opened and he noted that the lowest responsible bidder was Carolina Shelter Construction Company with a bid of $752,793.  Mr. Winstead also pointed out that the bid from Carolina Shelter Construction Company included a project completion in 240 calendar days.

Mr. Winstead stated that he was familiar with Carolina Shelter Construction Company; however, he noted that he had not worked with them recently.  Therefore, he stated that he had contacted the company to discuss the project and to review paperwork. 

Mr. Winstead recommended that the Board accept Carolina Shelter Construction Company’s bid of $752,793 for the DSS expansion.  He noted that Carolina Shelter Construction Company was extremely capable of completing the project and was ready to begin construction.

Commissioner Robertson discussed the financing package agreement which prevented the County from executing a contract until the documentation with the lending institution was processed.

Jennifer Herman, Finance Director, stated that the closing date for the financing package agreement was set for June 30, 2004.  Chairman Keever noted that construction could begin immediately after the closing date.

Commissioner Robertson made a motion to accept the low bid of $752,793 submitted by Carolina Shelter Construction Company and also to authorize Stan Winstead to issue a letter of intent to Carolina Shelter Construction Company explaining the events to take place with the financing package agreement.  Commissioner Hammer seconded the motion.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

Commissioner Hammer stated that the average construction price today was $100 per square foot.   He pointed out that the bid approved was well under $100 per square foot which he was extremely pleased with.  Commissioner Hammer felt that the County would save money by moving forward with this project now while the building market was good.  Commissioner Hammer thanked Stan Winstead for his work on this project.

Chairman Keever pointed out that now was the ideal time to build, especially with the low interest rates.

Commissioner Robertson also conveyed his appreciation to Mr. Winstead for his efforts.

PUBLIC HEARING:   2004-2004 ALEXANDER COUNTY PROPOSED BUDGET

Jennifer Herman, Finance Director, reviewed the proposed 2004-2005 budget, which included a recommended General Fund of $24,428,130.  Ms. Herman stated that the recommended General Fund was an increase of $1,181,828 or 5.1% over the current budget.

Ms. Herman stated that most of the departmental budgets had been decreased with the exception of the 2 largest departments – DSS and Health Department.  Ms. Herman stated that the DSS budget was proposed with a 9.11% increase.  She pointed out that the increase would only equal 7.71% if the Medicaid portion was removed.  Ms. Herman noted that the proposed Health Department budget increase was 4.74%.

Ms. Herman stated that the County portion of the debt service for the General Fund would increase 54% due to the DSS addition.  The school’s portion will increase 33% due to the auditorium and field house construction.   Ms. Herman stated that the total recommended debt for the General Fund for 2004-2005 totaled $1,758,600, which included the principal and interest payments budgeted for the next year.  Ms. Herman explained that the portion related to the school system was $1,442,350 and would include the auditorium and field house as well as some additional debt for Ellendale Elementary School and the school classroom project.  Ms. Herman pointed out that the remaining debt of $316,250 would be the County’s portion.

Ms. Herman mentioned that 24% of the projected revenues in the 2004-2005 budget was for sales tax and 37% for property taxes.  Ms. Herman explained that she had attempted to compare sales tax revenues from the current year to the 2002-2003 budget year; however, she stated that it was very difficult because the distribution schedule had changed from quarterly (2002-2003 budget year) to monthly (current budget year).  Ms. Herman stated that she had determined that the County had received 9 months worth of sales tax during the current year, so she compared the amount received for those 9 months with the amount received during the first 9 months of distribution in the 2002-2003 budget year.  Ms. Herman reported that 74% of sales tax revenues had been collected within those 9 months in 2002-2003 and she noted that 72% had been collected during the current budget year.  She also stated that sales tax revenues had been budgeted conservatively in the proposed budget according to recommendations provided by the NCACC.

Chairman Keever asked if any Fund Balance would be appropriated to balance the proposed budget.  Ms. Herman replied that $196,000 would be taken from the Fund Balance.  Ms. Herman stated that the Fund Balance goal was 12%.

Commissioner Robertson asked Ms. Herman what she projected the Fund Balance to be by the end of June 2004.  Ms. Herman replied that staff hoped to reach 8% by the end of June.

Chairman Keever stated that several requests that had originally been removed from the budget had been placed back in including the Pre-Trial Release Program, funding for the Chamber of Commerce, and community grants.

Commissioner Robertson stated that the projected Medicaid costs for the next year totaled $1.4 million, which was a cost of approximately 6 cents on the tax rate.  Commissioner Robertson mentioned that one cent equaled approximately $185,000.  He stated that many counties’ financial situation would be helped tremendously if the State would take the Medicaid burden from counties.

Chairman Keever called the public hearing to order and requested any public comment.  There being no public comment, Commissioner Hammer made a motion to close the public hearing.  Commissioner Robertson seconded the motion.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

The Board conveyed its appreciation to Ms. Herman, Mr. French, and the entire Finance staff for doing such a good job putting the budget together.

PUBLIC HEARING:   APPROVAL OF ROAD NAMES

Chairman Keever requested approval of the following road names:

Chairman Keever also stated that a petition had been submitted requesting Farley Drive be renamed Haileys Way.  Chairman Keever stated that all road names had been advertised and checked for duplication and sound indexing.

Chairman Keever called the meeting to order and requested any public comment.  There being no public comment, Commissioner Robertson made a motion to close the public hearing.  Commissioner Hammer seconded the motion.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

Commissioner Hammer made a motion to approve the road names and the road renaming request as presented.  Commissioner Robertson seconded the motion.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

CITY OF HICKORY WATER CAPACITY PURCHASE

Russell Greene, Fire Marshal, presented a proposed contract agreement between Alexander County and the City of Hickory to purchase one million gallons of water capacity in the City of Hickory Water Treatment Plant.

Mr. Greene reviewed some details of the agreement, which included the purchase price for capacity of $1.52 per gallon.  The total price for capacity is $1,520,000 and will be paid in semi-annual payments of $92,958.21 over the next 10 years.  Mr. Greene stated that interest would be paid at a rate of 4 percent and he noted that the County could prepay any or all of the balance at any time without penalty.  Mr. Greene also pointed out that, based on the capacity purchase, the County could purchase treated water at a rate of 95 cents per thousand gallons, which equals a savings of 23 cents per thousand gallons.

Mr. Greene informed the Board that the City of Hickory City Council would be considering this agreement at their June 15, 2004 meeting.

Chairman Keever presented the following dissertation in regard to the water capacity agreement:

The approval of this agreement will complete the efforts that began in the late 1980’s when the Bethlehem Water District was started.  Discussions were held with Newton and Hickory in an effort to establish a regional water system with the Town of Taylorsville, Alexander Water Corporation, and Alexander County.  Hickory was in the process of expanding its water processing facility at that time, which is when Alexander County began talking about buying capacity.

Alexander County was able to get the NCDOT to prepare the new Oxford Bridge for connection of 2 8-inch water lines when it was constructed.  Efforts moved forward with the construction of the Interconnect line from Bethlehem to the Town of Taylorsville.  Many expansions have taken place during the several boards of commissioners terms, most recently water lines from Hickory were connected at the Oxford Bridge tying into the Highway 16 South Water District.  This contract agreement shows citizens what may be accomplished with dedication by all administrations to the water needs of Alexander County.  This agreement will provide the water resource to enable further expansion of water lines throughout the unserved areas of the county as money can be made available through grants, loans, and other sources.  Water expansion is our #1 priority.

The purchase of one million gallons of capacity will allow us to expand the County water systems for many years, plus we have the option of purchasing an additional one million gallons of capacity if needed.  Others have given the details of the agreement and the savings obtained by entering into this contract. 

Commissioner Robertson stated that this agreement had been reworked several times and that provisions had been debated, but, he noted that he felt that all problems had been resolved within the proposed agreement.  Commissioner Robertson thanked Mr. Greene and Mr. French for their continued work on the agreement.

Commissioner Hammer stated that this had been a long process that had been in negotiations since the early 1980s.  He felt that Alexander County would have an adequate supply of water for the next 25 years with this capacity agreement being approved along with the Oxford Dam Bridge, the Highway 127 Bridge, and the most recent Antioch Church water line that could provide a connection to Caldwell County if needed.  Commissioner Hammer thanked County staff for the development of this agreement

Commissioner Robertson made a motion to approve the contract agreement between Alexander County and the City of Hickory to purchase one million gallons of water capacity in the City of Hickory Water Treatment Plant.  Commissioner Hammer seconded the motion.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

EMERGENCY WATER RATE AMENDMENT

Russell Greene, Fire Marshal, discussed a water rate amendment to the Policy for Supplemental & Emergency Water adopted by the Board at its May 27, 2004 Meeting.  Mr. Greene informed the Board that the motion passed was to adopt the policy with a stipulation that surrounding counties’ rates would be reviewed and brought back to the Board for further consideration.

Mr. Greene reported that the City of Lenoir had no emergency rate and had provided water for an emergency situation only one time while charging the prevailing residential rate.  Mr. Greene stated that the City of Hickory had a signed contract with the City of Longview for emergency water for double the inside rate.  The City of Newton has an outstanding open contract that has never been signed that also charges double the inside rate.  Mr. Greene stated that the City of Statesville has an agreement with Salisbury for the prevailing residential rate.

In reviewing the surrounding policies, Mr. Greene recommended the following changes be made to the current policy (Items to be deleted are stricken through and items to be added are in italics):

Item 2:  In no case shall such supplemental, interim or emergency requests for water be provided for flows that exceed 1.0 million 500,000 gallons in a 24-hour period.

Item 6:  a.  Supplemental, interim or emergency connection fee  $250   $100

             b.  Minimum monthly fee                                                           $1,000

            c.  Rate per 1000 gallons of consumption                                  $6.00 / 1,000 gallons     

                  prevailing residential rate at time of consumption

             d.  Service deposit                                                                    $500

Item 11:  No supplemental, interim or emergency withdrawals of water may continue for more than six (6) consecutive months 10 days without the express permission of the County Manager…

Commissioner Robertson discussed the changes recommended for Item 11 by stating that he felt 10 days would be an adequate time frame for short-term emergencies such as a fire or water line break.  However, he pointed out that long-term cases such as a drought would require a longer time frame and he noted that the County Manager would have the authority to approve a longer time frame if requested.

Commissioner Robertson made a motion to approve the amendments to the Policy for Supplemental & Emergency Water as recommended.  Commissioner Hammer seconded the motion.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

MEDICAID LETTER OF SUPPORT

Chairman Keever presented a request from Northampton County for N.C. counties to support a bill to phase out the county cost share for the Medicaid program over a 5-year period and to provide immediate relief for Tier 1 counties.

Commissioner Robertson made a motion that a letter of support be prepared for the request and to authorize the Chairman to sign the letter.  Commissioner Hammer seconded the motion. 

Chairman Keever requested a Friendly Amendment to the motion to allow all members of the Board to sign the letter instead of only the Chairman.  Commissioner Robertson accepted the Friendly Amendment

Commissioner Robertson made a motion that the letter of support be drafted to include all Board members’ signatures.  Commissioner Hammer seconded the motion.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

BUDGET ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS #45 - #46

Chairman Keever discussed the purpose of Budget Amendments #45 and #46, which included the following information:

Budget Amendment #45 – To budget for Jail expenditures greater than original budget estimates.  To increase the budget for additional funds from State Office of Juvenile Justice.

Budget Amendment #46 – To budget for fees paid to the City of Hickory – 7 taps for Quail Hollow.

Commissioner Hammer made a motion to approve Budget Amendments #45 and #46.  Commissioner Robertson seconded the motion.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

REQUEST FOR AIR QUALITY LEGAL FEES ASSESSMENT

Chairman Keever stated that staff had received a “reminder” invoice from Doug Taylor, WPCOG Executive Director, for the Air Quality Legal Fees Assessment.  Chairman Keever stated that the WPCOG was requesting that each county in the Unifour take part in an assessment to retain an environmental attorney to advise the Unifour of what legal options and actions could be taken in regard to non-attainment status designations.  The attorney would assist in formulating a legal strategy of ways to challenge some of the designations and present scientific analysis.  Chairman Keever stated that the Unifour Air Quality Committee had interviewed 3 attorneys and had selected one located in Atlanta, GA.

Commissioner Robertson stated that, in initial discussions, the WPCOG had also proposed adding a staff member that would increase monitoring of particulate matter.  Commissioner Robertson felt that the WPCOG needed the input from a review of legal authority before any type action was taken.

Commissioner Robertson made a motion that Alexander County participate in retaining legal counsel to determine the Unifour’s best resources for addressing this problem; however, he moved that Alexander County not participate in the hiring of an additional staff person.   Commissioner Hammer seconded the motion.   The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

APPOINTMENT TO AIR QUALITY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

Chairman Keever informed the Board that the WPCOG Policy Board voted to form an Air Quality Oversight Committee on May 26, 2004 in response to a request by the Unifour Air Quality Committee.  Chairman Keever stated that the WPCOG requested that a county commissioner be appointed to this committee and he suggested that Commissioner Robertson serve as that designee.  Chairman Keever stated that he would serve as an alternate in the case the Commissioner Robertson was unable to attend a meeting.

Chairman Keever made a motion to appoint Commissioner Robertson to the Air Quality Oversight Committee as well designate himself as an alternate.  Commissioner Hammer seconded the motion.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

AIR QUALITY OZONE MONITOR

Commissioner Hammer discussed the possible misreading from the ozone monitor located at the sewer plant and the possibility of getting the monitor moved.

Russell Greene, Fire Marshal, stated that Air Quality representatives had requested that the Board approve a site for an additional monitor.  Mr. Greene explained that the 2 monitors would then run concurrently for 12 to 18 months to determine if a false reading was being generated from the monitor located at the sewer plant.  He stated that a false reading determination would result in the EPA removing the monitor. 

Mr. Greene recommended the Board allow Air Quality to use an 8 x 10 portion of the County’s block storage building located at the Armory / Animal Shelter property for the monitor site.  He noted that a corner portion of the building could be used for them to mount the monitor equipment.

Commissioner Robertson made a motion to allow Air Quality to use a portion of the storage building for a monitor.  Commissioner Hammer seconded the motion.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

BOARD APPOINTMENTS & REAPPOINTMENTS

Chairman Keever presented the following reappointments:

A.      BI-STATE CATAWBA RIVER TASK FORCE

Reappoint Guy Barriger             3 years

B.      TOWN OF TAYLORSVILLE PLANNING BOARD

Reappoint Sterling Howard       3 years

C.      TOWN OF TAYLORSVILLE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS

Reappoint James Allan Keever 3 years

Reappoint Van Tarlton

Reappoint Glenn Deal Jr.

Commissioner Robertson made a motion to approve the reappointments as presented.  Commissioner Hammer seconded the motion.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

OTHER BUSINESS

The following issues were discussed during Other Business:

A.         Chairman Keever presented the Resolution in Support of Actions to Create and Maintain Jobs in N.C.

Commissioner Hammer made a motion to approve the resolution.  Commissioner Robertson seconded the motion.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

B.          Chairman Keever presented the CIP Resolution for the Ellendale Rural Center grant.  

Commissioner Robertson made a motion to approve the CIP Resolution.   Commissioner Hammer seconded the motion.   The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

CONSENT AGENDA

1. Tax Release Requests for May $665.91 and Tax Refund Requests for May $1,215.78.
2. Minutes from May 24, 2004 Regular Commissioners’ Meeting.
3. Home and Community Care Block Grant FY 2005.
4. Agreement between the Western Piedmont Council of Governments and Alexander County for the Provision of Grant Management Assistance:  Alexander County Urgent Repair Housing Project.
5. Alexander County Health Department Rate Increase for the Homemaker Program.
6. Declaration of Timber located at 605 7^th Street, Taylorsville, NC 28681 as Surplus.

Commissioner Robertson made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda.  Commissioner Hammer seconded the motion.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

APPROVAL OF ADDITIONAL MEETING

Chairman Keever informed the Board that an additional meeting needed to be held on June 14, 2004 in order to consider the 2004-2005 Alexander County budget.  Chairman Keever requested the meeting be held at 6:00 PM in the Multipurpose Room as usual.

Commissioner Robertson made a motion to approve the additional meeting as requested.  Commissioner Hammer seconded the motion.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

CLOSED SESSION – N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(1, 5, & 6)  TO PREVENT DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION, CONTRACTUAL, & PERSONNEL

Closed Session was not held due to the absence of Rick French, County Manager.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business, Commissioner Robertson made a motion to adjourn at 7:02 PM.   Commissioner Hammer seconded the motion.   The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

W. Norris Keever, Chairman         Jamie M. Starnes, Clerk to the Board