By Blake Proctor
Meeting mostly live, with Commissioners Dr. Ophelia Munn-Goins and Michael Cogdell joining by phone, the County Commission met in their last session of this very daunting, chilling year; perhaps meeting on the Winter Solstice, we shall all be able to chill out for a spell … or, with Christmas close upon our doorstep, perhaps not!
Chairman Charles Ray Peterson gaveled the meeting to order at 6:30pm Monday the 21 st to get the evening started. The Reverend Jason Lee of Dublin First Baptist Church provided the invocation, and County Manager Greg Martin led the Pledge to the Flag.
The first piece of business, approving the 13-item consent agenda, was quickly shunted to a siding as Commissioner Arthur Bullock enquired as to why his incendiary remarks from the December 7th meeting had not been included in the minutes; he asked that they be amended to reflect his representations.
With the minutes of December 7th removed, the remainder of the consent agenda was unanimously approved. The December 7th minutes will be revised to meet Commissioner Bullock’s request.
County Manager Martin waved Commissioner Ray Britt to the dais, where he read a litany of praises for the outgoing Chairman. Chairman Peterson then presented Commissioner Britt with a plaque, declaring that while he did not have a hurricane during his tenure as Chairman, Mr. Britt did have the novel coronavirus to weather.
Chairman Peterson then opened a public hearing to receive comments regarding the County’s Community Transportation Program application. There were no comments and the Chairman closed the public hearing.
This matter will be on the January 4 th agenda.
In Matters of Interest to Commissioners, Mr. Bullock informed the Board that fully 14.5% of the County’s employees are currently earning less than $30,000 annually; it was intimated that he was describing only full-time employees.
He believes that a further look should be given this condition, and Chairman Peterson reminded the Commission at large that budget hearings will commence shortly, at which time this matter can more properly be addressed.
Chairman Peterson opined that he thought that the unnamed bridge on State Road 87 between Dublin and Tar Heel should be named in honor of the late longtime volunteer firefighter Ron Allen.
Commissioner Cameron McGill observed that there are still a great many political signs that have not been removed, and they represent an eyesore throughout the county.
Commissioner Cogdell stated that some county landfill operators are not aware of which private vehicles are from within the County and which are depositing garbage, trash, and vegetative matter from outside the county.
As in the past when sitting as the Bladen County Water District Board of directors, Commissioners removed their collective Commissioner caps and donned their dungarees and straw hats to hear updates on the water system expansion project from LKC Engineering, who are overseeing the project.
Logan Parsons, PE, from LKC came to the podium to provide an overall summary of the project. He began his talk with a brief overview of the project’s $6,514,000 price tag, and continued by explaining what the project entails:
• Contract 1 – 27.5 miles of new water lines
• Contract 2 – new well and SCADA monitoring system
• Contract 3 – system-wide water meter replacement
He continued with the status of each contract:
• Contract 1 – about 50% complete, and pressure testing will start in January for completed lines
• Contract 2 – well has been completed and quantity is greater than targeted capacity piping & well house construction under way SCADA electronic monitoring system is being installed
• Contract 3 – over 4,500 of the 6,400 meters have been replaced with drive-by electronic meters
Mr. Parsons then requested approval of the first change order for each contract:
• Contract 1 – add water lines to a previously unserved area: $34,187.50
• Contract 2 – add pumping test and water sampling – $3,400.00
• Contract 3 – add replacement of 4-inch, 6-inch and 8-inch industrial meters – $84,221.48
The total change order costs are $121,808.98.
The Water District Board voted unanimously to approve each of these change orders. They then removed their straw hats and reverted to the Board of County Commissioners for the remainder of the meeting.
County Finance Officer Lisa Coleman was next to the dais to provide a five-month picture of the County’s finances. The financial dashboard year-to-date through November 30th shows:
| FUND | REVENUES | EXPENDITURES | FUND BALANCE |
| General | $21,544,948 | $19,136,297 | $2,408,651 |
| Solid Waste | 1,517,554 | 906,826 | 610,727 |
| E-911 | 92,673 | 19,008 | 73,665 |
| Water | 1,069,247 | 481,401 | 587,846 |
Vickie Smith, Director of Social Services, addressed the Board regarding a mandatory Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Bladen County Department of Social Services and the NC Department of Health and Human Services, which is to run from January 1, 2021 through June 20, 2022.
Ms. Smith’s cover memo states that, signed or not, the relationship between the agencies will remain the same, and no funds will be withheld from the county if the MOU is not signed.
The motion to approve the MOU was passed on a vote of 7–2, with Chairman Peterson and Commissioner Cogdell voting nay.
Health Department Director Dr. Terri Duncan stepped to the podium to present a rather lengthy list of items for discussion and approval.
Chairman Peterson stated that the first seven items could be voted on as a single item as they were MOUs with other agencies for reciprocal agreements; these items were unanimously approved.
Dr. Duncan first reviewed for the Board’s information, the 2019 State of the County Report, a requirement for state accreditation. She then reviewed the Health Department’s Strategic Plan for 2020 through 2023. She finished her report with the Covid19 periodic update:
| TESTED POSITIVE | HOSPITALIZED | DEATHS | |
| STATE | 483,647 | 2,817 | 6,240 |
| COUNTY | 1,657 | 6 | 24 |
She informed the Board that 100 doses of the Covid19 vaccine had arrived, and the first to receive shots will be health and hospital workers, EMTs, and medical practitioners, people who are at highest risk of infection.
The Board turned next to appointments to various County advisory boards: The Division on Aging Advisory Board had six members being considered for reappointment; Shirley Hough was replaced by Felicia Williams for consideration, and the revised slate of appointees was appointed on a 8-1 vote with Dr. Munn-Goins voting no.
Six members of the Economic Development Commission were unanimously reappointed, with Commissioner Dr. Danny Ellis replacing Darell Page, and former Commissioner David Gooden reappointed as a citizen member.
The three members of the Health & Human Services Advisory Committee slated for appointment were all reappointed unanimously.
One member of the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council was up for appointment to fill an unexpired term and a second was an additional member to fill a State requirement to represent families of at-risk juveniles. The vote was 7-2, with Commissioners Munn-Goins and Cogdell voting nay because the needed additional information.
Two appointments to the Library Board were considered; the vote was unanimous, with Becky Raynor replacing Susan Carter and joining reappointed Renee Steele on the Board.
Again unanimously, the Commission reappointed Paul Evans to the County’s Personnel Advisory Board.
To finish off the evening, County Manager Martin presented his calendar review, with particular attention that the January 18th meeting will be on the 19th , as that Monday is the Martin Luther King holiday.
He announced that Christine Johnson of the Division on Aging retired on November 1st after five years’ service; and Patty Luevanos from EMS retired on December 1st after 15 years with the County.
The Manager and the Board discussed the factors of providing a Covid19 bonus to employees and, following substantial dialogue, the Commission voted unanimously to provide one-time bonuses of $450 to all full time employees and $225 to all part-timers.
He informed the Board that at the January 4, 2021 meeting, he would have information for discussion and consideration of an emergency paid leave policy under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
He asked for consideration of the formation of a Charitable Contribution Committee, and Chairman Peterson appointed an ad hoc committee consisting of himself and Commissioners Cogdell and Britt.
Lastly, Mr. Martin asked for consideration for a date to hold a Board Planning Session. It was agreed that this meeting would be held on Wednesday, February10 th at 9am; a location will be announced later.
With nothing further to come before the Commission, the meeting adjourned at 7:53pm.
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