At the July 15th meeting, the Alexander County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution to join the Kroger opioid settlement, which would result in an additional $40 million in settlement funds across the state.
Interim County Manager Ben Faulkenberry said that Alexander County would receive a total of $174,000 to be distributed over a number of years to help battle the opioid epidemic locally.
“Every city, county, and town needs as much help with this epidemic as possible,” said Josh Lail, Chairman. “We understand that opioid addiction is a serious problem and we are working hard to assist these individuals through the use of these opioid settlement funds.”
Alexander County has a Post-Overdose Response Team (PORT) and Community Paramedic program to work with overdose victims and their families, and to help educate the public about the dangers of substance use.
Learn more about the Opioid Settlement Fund here.
In other business:
• Connie Kincaid, Business Development Manager, presented information about the Alexander County Housing Our Teachers Project, which involves the rehabilitation of the county-owned 1919 building located at 16 West Main Avenue in downtown Taylorsville. Commissioners awarded the project to HALCO Contractors, who submitted a bid of $586,876. The project, funded by state and federal grants, includes commercial/office space on the ground floor, two one-bedroom apartments on the second floor, and storage space in the basement area.
“Alexander County is going to own a completely renovated building that has needed a major renovation for a very long time, at no expense to the county or its residents,” said Chairman Lail.
• Kincaid also reported on America 250 NC. The United States of America will celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2026, and all 100 counties in North Carolina are being asked to participate in the commemoration. Commissioners approved a resolution to recognize and approve the Alexander County America 250 Committee, which is comprised of members of the Alexander County Historic Preservation Commission. Kincaid said the committee will encourage participation from a broad cross-section of local citizens to plan and organize activities for the America 250 commemoration.
• Commissioners approved an amendment to the Sterling Road Community Development Block Grant project. Paul Teague, Community & Economic Development Administrator for the Western Piedmont Council of Governments (WPCOG), presented the amendment that adds $673,596 to the project budget to adjust for higher than anticipated cost estimates and the need to pave 379 additional linear feet of roadway. The project will utilize $1,318,640 in CDBG funds to rehabilitate homes and make street improvements on Sterling Road.
• Commissioners approved a “Tobacco 21” letter of support and resolution in support of raising the legal age to 21 to purchase tobacco products in North Carolina. Kaitlyn Graves, Health Educator, said the federal legal age to purchase tobacco products is 21; however, the legal age in North Carolina remains at 18 years old. She said the state-level change is needed to help protect minors, reduce rates of nicotine and e-cigarette usage, and stop addiction before it starts.
Billie Walker, Health Director, presented the 2023-24 end-of-year outcome summary report. She reported on the health department’s 10 essential services, which include monitoring health status; diagnosing and investigating health problems; informing, educating, and empowering; mobilizing community partnerships; developing policies and plans; enforcing laws and regulations; linking people to health services; assuring a competent public health workforce; evaluating public health efforts and services; and researching solutions to health problems. The health department has a total of 38 employees, with four unfilled positions. Walker said the health department has $1,239.93 in bad debt for the past six months, which commissioners approved to write off.
• Commissioners approved a rezoning for property located at 7227 NC Hwy. 16 South, as requested by owner Hugo Albert Castillo Paz. The property will be rezoned from mixed-use to community-commercial for an automobile service business.
• Commissioners approved a rezoning for property located at 9162 NC Hwy. 127, as requested by owners Stephen and Christian Brown. The property will be rezoned from residential to community-commercial. Chairman Josh Lail recused himself from the vote, as his company will be the contractor for the project.
• Commissioners heard an update on Vaya Health from Zack Shepherd, Community Relations Regional Director. He said tailored plans, which began in North Carolina on July 1, are a specialized Medicaid plan to help meet the needs of individuals with significant behavioral health issues. Vaya Total Care is the tailored plan offered by Vaya and is designed to cover all of a person’s healthcare needs in one plan. Learn more at vayahealth.com.
• Commissioner Larry Yoder was designated as the voting delegate for the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners’ Annual Conference in August.
• Commissioners approved four budget amendments. The first amendment increases the register of deeds budget for two rounds of a state grant and local match requirement; increases the senior center budget due to a reallocation of ARPA Congregate Nutrition grant funds; increases the animal services budget for a dog box truck bed insert; increases the sheriff’s office budget for the use of Federal Equitable Share funds and State Unauthorized Substance Tax funds for the purchase of an armored vehicle; and increases the library budget for grant funds received from the ARP-State Fiscal Recovery funds. The second amendment increases the general fund budget for workers’ compensation and property & liability insurance premiums that exceed the original budget estimates. The third amendment increases the solid waste budget for workers’ compensation and property & liability insurance premiums that exceed the original budget estimates. The fourth amendment budgets for the closeout of the 2022 State Appropriations Act Grant Fund and the transfer of $692.06 in interest earned to the Park Improvements Project fund to reimburse for Bethlehem Park project expenses.
• During the County Manager’s Report, Mr. Faulkenberry invited the public to the county’s Independence Celebration on Saturday, July 20 with a concert at 7:00 p.m. at Courthouse Park, followed by fireworks at Alexander Central High School. That same day, the Alexander County Farmers Market will be held at the Alexander Senior Center to join the “Christmas in July” event from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The next meeting of the Alexander County Board of Commissioners is set for Monday, August 5 at 6:00 p.m. Regular meetings are recorded and can be viewed on the county’s Government Channel on Spectrum channel 192 or the county’s YouTube channel. Meeting agendas, minutes, videos, and more are available on the county’s website.