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HomeMy WebLinkAbout121223 wsHARNETT COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Minutes of Work Session December 12, 2023 The Harnett County Board of Commissioners met in work session on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 9:00 am, in the Commissioners Meeting Room, Harnett County Resource Center and Library, 455 McKinney Parkway, Lillington, North Carolina. Members present: William Morris, Chairman W. Brooks Matthews, Vice Chairman Barbara McKoy, Commissioner Lewis W. Weatherspoon, Commissioner Matthew B. Nicol, Commissioner Staff present: Christopher Appel, Senior Staff Attorney Kimberly Honeycutt, Finance Officer Brent Trout, County Manager Jaime Bell-Raig, Deputy Clerk Chairman Morris called the Harnett County Board of Commissioners meeting to order at 9:00 am. Commissioner Weatherspoon led the Pledge of Allegiance and invocation. The following agenda was before the Board of Commissioners: 1. Call to order — Chairman William Morris 2. Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation — Commissioner Lewis W. Weatherspoon 3. Discuss suspending the issuance of building permits in the Rawls Church Road area until certain safety concerns are addressed; William Morris, Chairman 4. Discuss a request for approval of the selection of The Greer Group as part-time temporary staffing agency to provide payroll services for part-time seasonal election workers for the County; Janice Lane, Human Resources and Claire Jones, Elections Director 5. Discuss the acceptance of the Grassroots Grant; Desiree Patrick, Community Relations Director 6. Discuss a request for permission to accept award of $500,000 from the NC Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund for use in securing a conservation easement on 330 acres of working forest land in NW Harnett County protecting water quality along both Hectors Creek and the Cape Fear River; Lynn Lambert, Natural Resources Director 7. Discuss a request for approval to enter into the GREAT grant 2023 3-way agreement between NCDIT Broadband Infrastructure Office, Connect Holding II, LLC dba Brightspeed, and the County of Harnett; Ira Hall, Chief Information Officer Harnett County Board of Commissioners Work Session Minutes December 12, 2023 Pagel of 5 8. Discuss a request for approval to accept NCEM Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Grant funding award in the amount of $10,000; Larry Smith, Emergency Services Director 9. Discuss a request for approval to move forward with HVAC control software update; Kenneth Snipes, Facility Maintenance Manager 10. Discuss a request to update the Bank Signature Card; Kimberly Honeycutt, Finance Offlcer 11. Discuss Reimbursement Policy; Kimberly Honeycutt, Finance Officer 12. Discuss a request to approve School Resource Office Agreements with the following local governments: Town of Angier, Town of Coats, City of Dunn and the Town of Erwin; Brent Trout, County Manager 13. Discuss a request for to accept two tracts of land located in the southwest side of the County close to Highway 87; Brent Trout, County Manager 14. Review applications to serve on Boards and Committees. 15. County Manager's Report — Brent Trout, County Manager • December 18, 2023, Regular Meeting Agenda Review • Upcoming meetings and invitations 16. Closed Session 17. Adjourn Chairman Morris opened the floor for discussion regarding the issuance of building permits in the Rawls Church Road area until safety concerns are addressed, specifically with respect to the signal project. The North Carolina Department of Transportation, Division Six Engineer, Lee Jernigan, was here to discuss the time set out for the lighting project and the utility access issues that may rear up in the project. Commissioner McKoy asked Mr. Jernigan to check into the deep curve on the road and the fact that there was no signage to alert drivers of the curve in the road. Mr. Jernigan stated he would check into it. He mentioned a possibility of temporary poles as a temporary solution until the project could be addressed in its entirety but reiterated the time constraint issues around that possibility. Richie Hines, NC DOT Engineer, stated that the improvements to be made with Serenity Development would be phased and as they bring more lots the improvements would be commensurate with the additional lots. There was a mention that the first phase was for the turn lane, the next phase is the signal, and the third phase upon recording of the five hundredth lot would require turn lanes on the right and left side of the road, as well as a right turn lane on NC 401. Mr. Jernigan stated there are some scheduling issues which include utility access and right-of-way and poles which will be the bigger hurdle. Commissioner Weatherspoon questioned the temporary signal timing on implementation. Mr. Jernigan assured the Board that they would do what they could to aid in expediting the project and what can be done to find a temporary fix. Commissioner McKoy reiterated the need for the signal. Mr. Jernigan stated the project is slated for completion in March 2025. Chairman Morris mentioned the community is not happy and the number of accidents was concerning. Mr. Jernigan assured the board that the NCDOT would keep an open communication regarding the signal project. The question of a four-way stop was posed and Mr. Jernigan stated due to traffic volume it would not be a good option but would take a second look at the possibility and report Harnett County Board of Commissioners Work Session Minutes December 12, 2023 Page 2 of 5 back to the board within the week. Commissioner Matthews mentioned he would like the DOT to go back and review for consideration of the four-way stop. Mr. Jernigan confinned he would take a second look and report back to the board with their findings. Janice Lane requested approval of The Greer Group as part-time temporary staffing agency to provide payroll services for the part-time seasonal election workers for the County. Ms. Lane referred to the staffing contract with language provided by the staff legal department. Commissioner McKoy expressed her concern about Harnett County residents being selected for these positions and whether it would be more logical to hire staff internally to accomplish the same thing. Kimberly Honeycutt mentioned the work across several departments making it difficult to hire one person in Human Resources and that person's ability to alleviate the administrative challenges related to election workers. Commissioner Nicol asked Ms. Lane if this group comes to the board as the best candidate, which she confirmed. Commissioner Matthews noted that these workers only work in a very small window of time, and it may not be feasible to hire to fill this need. Ms. Lane also mentioned hiring this group would alleviate the County's liability with respect to workers compensation claims. Mr. Trout reiterated that this onboarding/payroll processes cross multiple departments. Chairman Morris asked about whether the contract could be terminated if the process does not work, and Ms. Lane assured that they could cancel the use of The Greer Group at any time. Mr. Appel confirmed that Harnett County residents are the only people eligible to fill the election worker positions. Commissioner Nicol recommended it be added to the consent agenda and the board agreed. It was added to the consent agenda. Desiree Patrick, Community Relations Director, reviewed a request for board approval of the Grassroots Arts Program grant from the North Carolina Arts Council. The grant funds in the amount of $90,966 from state funding and $66,275 in APRA federal funding will support arts organizations and programs within the County. There have been 10 applications for the state grants and 7 applications for the ARPA federal grant. The board moved to put on the consent agenda. It was added to the consent agenda. The Natural Resources Director, Lynn Lambert, requests approval to accept a $500,000.00 grant from the NC Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust fund for use in securing a conservation easement on 330 acres of working forest land in NW Harnett County protecting water quality along both Hectors Creek and the Cape Fear River. The parcel is located on Christian Light Road about a mile and half on the left. Ms. Lambert added that this would be a great benefit for the water quality for the area. Commissioner Weatherspoon recommended it be added to the consent agenda and the board agreed. It was added to the consent agenda. IT Director, Ira Hall, requests approval to enter into the GREAT grant 2023 3-way agreement between NCDIT Broadband Infrastructure Office, Connect Holding Il, LLC dba Brightspeed, and the County of Harnett. Mr. Hall stated the State has given approval to move forward on the project. Mr. Hall provided a presentation showing the NConemap website reflecting the coverage for broadband. This grant will provide service for approximately 4700 locations. The County's Harnett County Board of Commissioners Work Session Minutes December 12, 2023 Page 3 of 5 matching funds obligation is $375,000, the State's contribution to the project is approximately $4,000,000 and Brightspeed's contribution is approximately $6,000,000. The board moved to put it on the consent agenda. It was added to the consent agenda. Emergency Services Director, Larry Smith, requests approval to accept NCEM Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Grant funding award in the amount of $10,000 which has no cost to the County. Emergency Services use this grant to conduct hazardous materials exercises. This year they did a train derailment exercise and later brought in County leaders to discuss the exercise and what their role would be in those instances. The board moved to put it on the consent agenda. It was added to the consent agenda. Facility Maintenance Manager, Kenneth Snipes, requests approval to move forward with HVAC control software update. Mr. Snipes requested approval to move forward with HVAC control software update for five buildings and the total bid amount from Johnson Controls was $466,588. The project was funded this fiscal year and is coming out of capital reserve. Johnson Controls is consistent with what is already in other County buildings. The board moved to put it on the consent agenda. It was added to the consent agenda. Finance Officer, Kimberly Honeycutt reviewed a request for permission to update the Bank Signature Card. The reorganization of the board made it necessary to update the bank signature card. The board moved to put it on the consent agenda. It was added to the consent agenda. Finance Officer, Kimberly Honeycutt, discussed the draft reimbursement policy. She stated that she felt like it was in the best interest of the County to get a policy in place to provide directions on reimbursement requests. She mentioned that the policy states the Board of Commissioners are the governing body that set the fees which are included in the budget ordinance and the Board are the only ones that can modify the fees. She recommends that the departments collect all fees upfront and follow the policy to request any reimbursement. She stated the reason for this is to track actual growth and activity levels for each department. The board moved to put it on the consent agenda. It was added to the consent agenda. Brent Trout, County Manager reviewed a request for approval of the School Resource Officer agreements with the Town of Angier, Town of Coats, City of Dunn, and the Town of Erwin. Mr. Trout noted the last agreements were done in 2018 and renewal was necessary. It will change the reimbursement rate to match current cost to provide the officer in the school which only includes the salary and benefits, it does not include the cost of equipment or car. The towns pay for the cost of the officer which is then submitted to the County by the Board of Education for reimbursement. The contract becomes effective July 1 and also provides for 3% increase. The board moved to put it on the consent agenda. It was added to the consent agenda. Mr. Trout also reviewed a request for the approval to accept two tracts of land located in the southwest side of the County close to Highway 87. Mr. Trout noted that the parcels included a one -hundred and eighty one (181) acre tract and a two hundred and sixty (260) acre tract of land. Harnett County Board of Commissioners Work Session Minutes December 12, 2023 Page 4 of 5 Mr. Snow and the attorney have been in touch and working through documents including obtaining a survey on larger parcel. Mr. Trout asked the property owner to complete phase 1 environmental study which has been completed with no issues determined. Commissioner Weatherspoon asked to confirm there were no conditions for use of the property which was confirmed by Mr. Trout. Mr. Snow mentioned the surveys should be done soon. Mr. Snow stated it should be a separate line item. Commissioners reviewed the applications submitted for various Board and Commission vacancies. Consensus of the Board was to place the reappointment of Vicky Walden to the Mid - Carolina Aging Advisory Committee on the consent agenda. During the County Manager's Report, Mr. Trout mentioned that Rebecca Jackson would be reaching out to each of the Commissioners directly. Ms. Jackson assisted with the County's Strategic Plan. Mr. Trout also noted that the staff has identified key strategic actions moving forward which will be discussed. Mr. Trout advised that the zoning case regarding the Rawls Church Road rezoning would need an action to deny or approve the request and because of the need for action the item will be placed on the next agenda. Commissioner Weatherspoon made a motion to go into Closed Session to consult with the County's legal counsel in order to preserve the attorney -client privilege concerning the handling of certain claims and to discuss certain economic matters. This motion is made pursuant to NC General Statute Section 143-318.11 (a)(3). The motion was seconded by Commissioner Nicol and carried unanimously. Following a motion to come out of Closed Session, Chairman Morris called the meeting back into open session. Commissioner Matthews made a motion to adjourn at 10:55 am. The motion was seconded by Commissioner McKoy and carried unanimously. �)Y-j William orris, Chairman J me B 11-Raig, Deputy Clerk Harnett County Board of Commissioners Work Session Minutes December 12, 2023 Page 5 of 5