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Home My WebLink About052824 wsHARNETT COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Minutes of Work Session May 28, 2024 The Harnett County Board of Commissioners met in work session on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, 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 Melissa Capps, Clerk Chairman Morris called the Harnett County Board of Commissioners meeting to order at 9:00 am. Commissioner Nicol 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 Matt Nicol 3. Presentation regarding the John Rouse Scholarship Fund; Campbell Rouse 4. Discuss FAMPO Boundary Assessment Update and Memorandum of Understanding; Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization 5. Discuss a request to apply for a BJA FY24 Veterans Treatment Court Discretionary Grant in the amount of $1,000,000.00; Eric Truesdale, Veterans Services Director 6. Discuss the revised Nonprofit Committee bylaws, policies and funding; Brent Trout, County Manager 7. Discuss FY 2024-25 Recommended Budget; Brent Trout, County Manager and Kimberly Honeycutt, Finance Officer 8. Review applications to serve on Boards and Committees. 9. County Manager's Report — Brent Trout, County Manager • June 3, 2024 Regular Meeting Agenda Review • Upcoming meetings and invitations 10. Closed Session 11. Recess and reconvene in Training Room 103 A for Growth Management Workshop 12. Adjourn Harnett County Board of Commissioners Work Session Minutes May 28, 2024 Page 1 of 8 Campbell Rouse presented information regarding the John Rouse Scholarship Fund. Ms. Rouse shared with the help of the North Carolina Public Health Association and Patrick Brown, the John Rouse Memorial Scholarship Fund was started and to be eligible for the scholarship one must be attending Campbell University while pursuing a degree in Public Health. Through contributions from individual donors, businesses, organizations, and local fundraisers, we have raised approximately $17,000.Our goal is to endow the scholarship through Campbell University to make a lasting difference in the lives of students to continue to give back to our community and to keep her dad's memory alive. Ms. Rouse stated as you are finalizing the upcoming budget, I would like you to consider donating the remainder of $8,000 that is needed to complete the endowment process at Campbell University in my dad's memory. Through the continued support of this community, I am excited to establish the John Rouse scholarship and follow my dad's footsteps by giving back to this community. Thank you for your time and consideration. Consensus of the Board was to place this item on the next agenda. Mark Locklear, Development Services Director, presented a request from FAMPO (Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization) regarding a boundary assessment update and Memorandum of Understanding. On May 9, 2024, the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization's FAMPO Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) voted to expand its Urban Area Boundary. In summary, the boundary expansion covers the southern half of Harnett County and adds the Town of Erwin and a portion of Moore County to the already existing FAMPO boundary. FAMPO requests the Board of Commissioners approve the boundary expansion and sign the MOU as participating FAMPO Local Government/Party. Consensus of the Board was to place this item on the next consent agenda. Eric Truesdale, Veterans Services Director, presented a request for the Board of Commissioners approval to apply for a BJA FY24 Veterans Treatment Court Discretionary Grant in the amount of $1,000,000.00. This grant will enable the court to enhance the program by increasing capacity, treatment options, court services and to enhance transitional housing and transportation services. This is a four-year grant and will ensure there are no gaps in funding requirements for full operations of the Veterans Treatment Court and staff. Commissioner McKoy asked if they had someone on the Opioid Task Force and Mr. Truesdale shared Mr. Zane Campbell has been invited to be on that Task Force. Consensus of the Board was to place this item on the next consent agenda. Brent Trout, County Manager, stated this morning I wanted to report back to the Board related to the comments that were made by Mr. Langley regarding the possibility of a public private partnership. I have reached out to the North Carolina Community Foundation. They are the organization that currently oversees the funding for the Harnett County Community Foundation. Last year they gave out a little over $8,000 in grants and had about $70,000 or more in requests. Their organization has been providing oversight for providing funding to nonprofit organizations for quite a while so I contacted the North Carolina Community Foundation about the possibility that they would be an organization that we could partner with, provide funds and then have them Harnett County Board of Commissioners Work Session Minutes May 28, 2024 Page 2 of 8 distribute the money to the nonprofits. They thought they would be able to do that, but I have not gotten a specific answer back from their leadership, so I still don't know for sure if that would be an option available to the board as far as an alternative for providing funding instead of managing the nonprofit funding. I provided them with information regarding our requirements that any money that we are to give them had to go to a public purpose. Hopefully, we will get an answer so we can determine if that is an option for you to consider. Otherwise, if we want to go down the line of a public private partnership that would mean we would need to set up another organization and that would take some time to accomplish. Discussion included the prior process with the Nonprofit Board. Consensus of the Board was to place this item on the June 11, 2024 work session agenda. Brent Trout, County Manager, stated after the last meeting discussing the budget, we looked at the different possibilities that might be able to be utilized in order to provide additional funding to the school district. Kimberly Honeycutt, Finance Officer, provided the following information regarding Board of Education funding: • Reserve Fund Balance Calculation o Unassigned, FYE 2023 $ 51,201,876 o Expenditures and transfers out, FYE 2023 164,539,583 o Unassigned %, FYE 2023 31.12% o Fund balance appropriated, 7/l/2023 $ 4,985,964 o Fund balance appropriated, 5/07/2024 7,411,244 o Change in fund balance appropriated 2,425,280 o Unassigned, FYE 2023 restated 26.61 % • Low Wealth Calculator o Adjusted allotment 2023 - 2024 $ 14,207,813 o Adjusted allotment 2024 — 2025 8,325,630 o Allotment deficit $ 5,882,183 o Formula uses a wide range of data points to include: ■ County property values — actual and projected, as well as weighted sales assessment, are used to provide an adjusted property tax base which is then converted using assumptions based on state tax rate and sales tax distribution. ■ Per capita income - economic efforts by County to improve ■ County tax rate - rate lowered from .75 to .591 as result of revaluation ■ County appropriation to schools — used FY 2022 actual that has been increased Options o Appropriate Unassigned Fund Balance ■ Pros: Immediate Action to replace state funding shortfall ■ Cons: Reduces available reserves; Use of one-time funds for continuing operational cost (contradicts Best Financial Practices); Limits Board's ability to respond to unknow challenges; Limits the Board's ability to take advantage of opportunities. Harnett County Board of Commissioners Work Session Minutes May 28, 2024 Page 3 of 8 o Adjust Property Tax Rate Upward ■ Proposed budget is based upon an appraised property value of $14,678,446,348 ■ FY 2024 — 2025 Budget • $0.01 on tax rate = $1,459,478 $5,882,183 = 4.030 on the tax rate Impact of low wealth expressed as a tax equivalent: $5,882,183 equals 4.030 on the tax rate • Tax Rate goes from 59.10 to 63.030 o Combination of Fund Balance Appropriation and Property Tax Rate Adjustment ■ Current tax rate is .5910 but the effective County tax rate (as per Method 1) is .5210 ■ The State average tax rate is .5430 (more than County) ■ Option of 10 Tax Increase $1,459,478 and Fund Balance 4,422,705 = $5,882,183 ■ Option of 20 Tax Increase $2,918,956 and Fund Balance 2,963,227 = $5,882,183 Additional discussion included restricted tax, Low Wealth formula, and other options available to replace the allotment deficit. The Board of Commissioners reviewed an application from Tamara Luikart for the District 5 — Benhaven representative vacancy. Commissioner Nicol recommended the appointment of Ms. Luikart be placed on the next consent agenda. Consensus of the Board was to place this item on the next consent agenda. Mr. Trout shared information on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Dunn, the United Ministerial Association, Inc. (DUMA) and the County of Harnett for DUMA to provide a space within the DUMA Property for the County to operate the WIC Program. There is no cost to the County. He requested the MOU be added to the June 3'd agenda as a new business item. Consensus of the Board was to add this to the June 3'd agenda as a new business item. Chairman Morris recessed the meeting to reconvene at 10:15 am in Training Room 103 A for Growth Management Workshop. Chairman Morris called the meeting back to order at 10:15 am. 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 Harnett County Board of Commissioners Work Session Minutes May 28, 2024 Page 4 of 8 Brent Trout, County Manager Melissa Capps, Clerk Coley Price, Deputy County Manager Mike Morrow, Assistant County Manager Mark Locklear, Development Services Director Jay Sikes, Assistant Director of Development Services/ Manager of Planning Services Sarah Arbour, Planner II Brad Sutton, Manager of Building Services Christine Wallace, Tax Administrator Sara Tyree, Assistant Tax Administrator Tim Mathews, County Extension Director Allen Coats, Deputy Finance Officer Stephen Barrington, Economic Development Director Ben Pollock, Computer Support Technician Other: Jake Petrosky, Stewart Inc. Justin Kearnan, City Collective Mark Locklear, Development Services Director introduced Jake Petrosky, Stewart Inc. and Justin Keaman, City Collective. Mr. Petrosky presented the following information regarding the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and Growth Management Ideas: Comp Plan Survey Results o Survey has over 1,000 responses o Ran for 3 months o Digital version and paper copies 0 76% of respondents are concerned or very concerned about growth o Most concerning impacts include: ■ #1: Traffic and congestion ■ #2: School capacity and/or quality ■ #3: Utility and infrastructure capacity ■ #4 Loss of farmland o Rural nature and natural resources are highly valued by respondents o Cost of living also highly valued o Preservation of natural areas and trees #1 priority in new residential development o Road connectivity, infrastructure and overall density also in top 3 Growth Management Ideas o Agricultural Protection Overlay ■ Reduced density (larger lots or lower overall density, less than 1 dwelling unit per acre) ■ Incentives for small-scale, low density development (potential Farmhouse Cluster option as new minor subdivision type) Harnett County Board of Commissioners Work Session Minutes May 28, 2024 Page 5 of 8 Working Farm Buffers • Add requirement for major subdivisions to install or preserve buffer adjacent to working farmland. Farmland Preservation Program / Fund • Utilize Present Use Value (PUV) "roll -offs" and/or other sources to fund local farmland preservation program. • Voluntary purchase of development rights program. • Local funds would match state/federal funds. Other recommendations from Ag Ext. o Residential Design and Density ■ Improve base standards for residential zoning districts for new development • Open space requirements • Lot size increases or overall gross density caps • Street standards • Sidewalks, greenways and street trees ■ Consider targeted rezonings to more closely match future land use recommendations • Some R20, R30 should be lower density • This could be instead of or in addition to an Ag Protection Overlay ■ Update Compatibility Development approach employed currently • Smaller lot sizes in exchange for higher standards for the development • Conservation Design preferred 2 to 1 in survey (1,000+ responses) • Current compatibility development option DOES NOT allow or require true conservation design. o Recommend higher open space requirements (40%+) for CD option and more flexibility in lot size and/or housing type o Current Option: Smallest lot size is 10, 000 sgft currently, 70' lot width, requires 20% open space o Approval Processes / Conditional Zoning ■ Approval Processes • Change in application requirements related to schools o True adequate public facility ordinance and impact fees not allowed by state law o Information can be provided on capacity during legislative approvals (i.e. rezoning or conditional zoning decision) o Reservation of sites can be CZ condition • More extensive transportation requirements Harnett County Board of Commissioners Work Session Minutes May 28, 2024 Page 6 of 8 o TIA requirements o Consulting engineer review o Collector streets o Access management o Subdivision standards Conditional Zoning • Currently no conditional zoning process. All development decisions are straight rezonings or Special Use Permits (quasi- judicial). • CZ option can limit uses, require site plan review and allow site specific conditions for approval. • Can encourage more dialog between applicants, boards and citizens. • Potential cons may include longer review, more staff / board / time intensive o Infrastructure Planning ■ Infrastructure and Urban Services • Use utilities as a tool for growth management • Provision of water and sewer services can aid county land use goals • Define Urban Service Areas o Near Municipalities o In County jurisdiction in key areas Sara Tyree, Assistant Tax Administrator reviewed the following information: • Tax Account Breakdowns by Property Type • Growth in Personal Property • Accounts to Tax Rate Correlation Mr. Petrosky presented the following information: • Local Jobs and Commercial o Commercial and Economic Growth ■ Property tax and cost of services varies by land use ■ Town Center, Missing Middle Housing is net positive revenue per acre ■ Large lot single family costs more in services ■ Past studies show agriculture also nets positive in revenue and cost of services Mr. Kearnan presented the following information: o Village Concept ■ Channel development (and preserve agriculture) Harnett County Board of Commissioners Work Session Minutes May 28, 2024 Page 7 of 8 ■ Increase access to missing amenities ■ Strengthen long-term economics Mr. Locklear reviewed the following information: • Next Steps o Steering Committee #3 o Draft Plan review (June) o Public Meetings o Adoption and Implementation • Implementation Priorities o Jetport Overlay o Conditional Zoning o Enhanced Subdivision Regulations o Agricultural Overlays Commissioner Weatherspoon stepped out at 11:02 am. Additional discussion included: • Additional Agricultural Agent position needed • Present Use Value Taxes • Harnett Farm Loss • Tourism and Ag Tourism Commissioner Nicol made a motion to adjourn the Board of Commissioners at 11:23 am. Commissioner McKoy seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. b hjfixoi4- V"6 William Morris, airman Melis6 Capps, Clerk Harnett County Board of Commissioners Work Session Minutes May 28, 2024 Page 8 of 8