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By: Charlotte Smith

The Bladen County Board of Commissioners met Tuesday evening after the 2017 Labor Day holiday. The agenda was packed but the meeting ran quickly and smoothly.

Three public hearings were held during the meeting with no one in attendance approaching the board of commissioners in reference to the hearings. The public hearings were in regard to a proposed five-year incentive grant with Smithfield Farmland Corporation, a proposed text amendment to the Bladen County Zoning Ordinance regarding the permitting of solar farms, and a Disaster Recovery Act 2017 grant application.

All three agenda items in reference to the public hearings were approved with unanimous votes by the commissioners.

The new special use amendment for permitting of solar farms includes nine development requirements. Greg Elkins, Bladen County Planning Director, stated the amendment to the Bladen County Zoning Ordinance regarding the permitting of solar farms is just like the permitting process currently in place for cell towers. After a few questions, the proposal was approved.

Bradley Kinlaw, Bladen County Director of Emergency Services, gave an overview of the Disaster Recovery Act 2017 grant application before the commissioners approved the proposal. Kinlaw also announced two public hearings to receive comments regarding the upcoming Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recover (CDBG-DR). The public hearings will be held on September 18, 2017 and October 2, 2017 at 6:30 p.m.

The five-year incentive grant with Smithfield Farmland Corporation was approved with no open discussions or questions during the commissioner’s meeting. The amount of the incentive has yet to be determined. After the meeting, Bladen County Economic Development Director, Chuck Heustess told BladenOnline.com staff the actual incentive amount will be announced after the assessment is done by the county’s tax office. According to the proposal, the incentive grant will be paid in installments at a rate of 0.574 percent of the new investment for the given tax year minus the assessed value of any deductible items.

Heustess estimated the incentives from Bladen County will be between 2.1 and 2.9 million dollars for the Smithfield expansion. Smithfield’s investment during the expansion, Heustess estimates to be about 115 to 145 million dollars.

The grant is capped at 70%, meaning Bladen County will receive the other 30% of new revenue during the first five years, Heustess pointed out. In the sixth year the grant incentive will be finished, returning more tax profit to Bladen County.

“It is a really fantastic project and Smithfield has been great to work with on it,” Heustess commented.

The expansion is expected to bring 270 new permanent positions with benefits and competitive wages.

Heustess said, “People can train for a short amount of time and get a good living wage.”

When asked what type of training most the workers would need for the new job opportunities, Heustess replied, “The community college will definitely be offering training for these jobs. The training will take only weeks instead of years in most cases.”

In other news:

The board approved a Bladen Area Rural Transportation System (BARTS) Disruptive Behavior and Direct Threat Policy given by Kent Porter with BARTS.

Bladen County has the seal, “In God We Trust” being mounted on county buildings.

County Manager, Greg Martin gave an update on the calendar of events.

The commissioners met in closed session.