THE ANSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS convened for their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, December 6, 2005 beginning at 6:00 P.M. in Courtroom #1 located in the Anson County Courthouse.
Commissioners present:Neil Jones
*Steve Lear
Bobby Sikes
Dr. Jim Sims
Harold C. Smith
*Ross Streater
Jarvis Woodburn
Staff members present:Andy Lucas, County Manager
Bonnie M. Huntley, CMC, Clerk to the Board
George C. Bower, Jr., County Attorney
Holly Berry, Finance Officer
Rita James, Data Processing
Larry Newton, Assessor
Vance Gulledge, Utilities Director
Tommy Allen, Sheriff
County Manager Lucas called the meeting to Order, welcoming those present. County Manager Lucas explained that the first meeting in December is always the organizational meeting wherein Board members elect the Chair and Vice Chair. County Manager Lucas further noted that it has been our custom to have the County Manager call this meeting to Order. County Manager Lucas then recognized Reverend Major Neal, Church of God of Prophecy, Wadesboro for the Invocation.
Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman: Commissioner Smith asked to take a few moments to wait on Commissioner Streater and Commissioner Lear to give them an opportunity to be present. Commissioner Woodburn explained that Commissioner Lear was in class and would be arriving late but he did not know about Commissioner Streater. The Clerk stated that in talking with Commissioner Streater earlier in the day he indicated he would be present. Vice Chair Sikes then nominated Jarvis Woodburn as Chairman. Commissioner Sims seconded the motion.
*Commissioner Streater joined the meeting at this point.
County Manager Lucas then called for a vote on the motion. Commissioner Smith asked if the motion was to close the nominations. County Manager Lucas noted the motion was to nominate the existing Chairman Woodburn as the Chairman for 2006. Commissioner Smith asked if the nominations were then closed with County Manager Lucas stating that he then called for vote on the motion. Commissioner Jones offered that before the Board is a motion to close the nominations. Motion by Commissioner Sims, seconded by Bobby Sikes, to close the nominations. Motion carried unanimously.
County Manager Lucas then called for a vote on the motion to elect Jarvis Woodburn Chairman. Motion carried unanimously.
Chairman Woodburn thanked the Board for their vote of confidence. Chairman Woodburn stated that serving as Chairman had been a learning experience and he appreciated the opportunity to continue serving. Commissioner Smith commented jokingly that he voted for Commissioner Woodburn because he felt he needed the extra money.
Chairman Woodburn then called for nominations for the position of Vice Chair. Motion by Commissioner Sims, seconded by Commissioner Jones, to elect Mr. Sikes. Motion by Commissioner Streater, seconded by Commissioner Smith, to close the nominations on the said name. Motion carried unanimously.
Chairman Woodburn then called for a motion to elect Commissioner Sikes as Vice Chair of the Anson County Board of Commissioners. Motion by Commissioner Jones, seconded by Commissioner Smith, to elect Commissioner Sikes as Vice Chair. Motion carried unanimously.
Volunteer Awards: Chairman Woodburn noted this was to recognize outstanding Volunteers for the Council on Aging. On behalf of Governor Easley and the State of North Carolina, Chairman Woodburn presented awards to Betsy Haskell, Burnsville Recreation and Learning Center and Charles Boyle. Chairman Woodburn also recognized Weaver Thomas who was not present but noted his certificate would be delivered to him. The award presented to each recipient read as follows:
North Carolina Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service 2005:
The North Carolina Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service is an important part of the proud history and tradition of volunteerism and community service in our State. Through the years North Carolinians have proved their concern and compassion for their neighbors by volunteering in their local communities. The North Carolina Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service honors the true spirit of volunteerism in North Carolina by recognizing individuals, groups and businesses that make a significant contribution to their community through volunteer service. This year’s the 27th anniversary of these prestigious awards. The North Carolina Commission of Volunteerism and Community Service in the office of the Governor is honored to announce this year’s recipients.
Chairman Woodburn then presented a certificate and lapel pin to each recipient named. Commissioner Sims voiced that many may remember Mr. Charles Haskell who served as Director of Social Services for many years. Chairman Woodburn offered thanks to each recipient for their service noting volunteers are important as that is the only way many things get done.
Approval of the Agenda by Commissioners: Chairman Woodburn reviewed each item to determine if they were in the appropriate place. Chairman Woodburn asked Board members to speak at this time if they wanted to place an item in a different location than shown on the Agenda. Commissioner Sims asked to move item 8a under Administrative Matters – position with Cooperative Extension to the Consent Agenda. Commissioner Sims felt this was a Consent Agenda issue since it dealt with a vacant position and funds were budgeted. County Manager Lucas stated that it was mistakenly placed under Administrative Matters and agreed it should be placed under Consent. Commissioner Smith stated that we don’t appropriate funds for this with Commissioner Sims and County Manager Lucas answering we already have. Chairman Woodburn noted that 42.8% was county funds. Commissioner Smith asked who filled the position with County Manager Lucas answering the letter on page 98 gives the name of the individual. Commissioner Smith asked to reserve the right to leave the issue as is. Commissioner Smith asked if all matters under Administrative Matters would be discussed with County Manager Lucas and Chairman Woodburn answering yes. County Manager Lucas asked to add a Resolution for DOT concerning the US Highway 52 & Morven Road intersection. County Manager Lucas also asked to add a DOT Airport Safety Resolution and Contract. County Manager Lucas shared that this program was 100% State funded and used to make repairs to runways and areas around the tarmac. County Manager Lucas asked the Board to appoint two members of the Board to the Audit Committee as recommended by the Auditors. These items were added to the Manager’s Report. Chairman Woodburn voiced that in conversation with Commissioner Lear he indicated he would like to pull his item from Commissioner Concerns. Commissioner Jones stated that Commissioner Lear called and asked to replace this item with Progress Energy Re-Licensing Issue. Commissioner Sims asked if this meant the Board would not discuss the landfill charging for hauling of citizen’s trash with Chairman Woodburn stating that according to Commissioner Lear he needs more information before presenting this item for discussion. Commissioner Sims voiced that this was of interested to him as well. Chairman Woodburn noted the Progress Energy Re-Licensing issue was now item 11a. Commissioner Jones also asked to add under Commissioner Concerns Judge’s offices. Chairman Woodburn asked to add under Commissioner Concerns Township boundary lines. Chairman Woodburn reminded Board members that this matter came before them during the budget process. Chairman Woodburn stated that Ms. Rochelle Williams has the information but it seems that the last couple of times the county map was submitted to the State it had not been properly reviewed and there has been a shift in some of the lines that needs to be corrected. Commissioner Smith asked if the item placed under Commissioner Concerns by Commissioner Lear dealing with private haulers to the landfill would be discussed with Chairman Woodburn answering it was removed by Commissioner Lear noting he needs more information before discussing this item. Commissioner Streater asked if Commissioner Lear would be coming with Chairman Woodburn answering he would be attending later tonight. Commissioner Smith asked to leave the discussion of private haulers to the landfill on the Agenda for discussion. Chairman Woodburn placed this as item 11e. Motion by Commissioner Jones, seconded by Commissioner Sims to approve the Agenda as presented with the changes and additions. Motion carried unanimously.
Public Hearing: Chairman Woodburnoffered that the hearing would allow comments from the public regarding the Anson County Transportation System FY 2007 Community Transportation Program Application. Motion by Commissioner Sims, seconded by Commissioner Smith, to open the Public Hearing. Motion carried unanimously.
In the public hearing, County Manager Lucas explained that this goes beyond just opening and closing a public hearing. County Manager Lucas noted that this is also asking to submit a grant application, which requires a county match of $40,730 for both capital and administrative cost for FY 2007. County Manager Lucas shared that this was similar to the one we did at the last meeting where by submitting the application we are authorizing that county funds are available. Commissioner Sims asked if this was in addition to what was talked about and approved earlier with County Manager Lucas noting that what was approved earlier was actually the 06 capital expenditure and this is 07. Commissioner Sims asked the monetary difference between 06 and 07 with County Manager Lucas not knowing the answer at this point. Chairman Woodburn asked Ms. Berry the Finance Officer and Rita James, Data Processing if they knew the answer with neither of them having an answer at this time. Commissioner Smith asked if it was customary to approve this ahead of time with County Manager Lucas answering it has been done in the past. County Manager Lucas shared that funds were not placed in the budget for the capital last year and that is the reason the matter came back before the Board last month. Commissioner Smith asked if the Board had to act on the matter before hearing from Mr. Rowell with County Manager Lucas noting the Board did not have to act on the matter tonight if they had reservations. Commissioner Sims stated that the information shows the application must be presented no later than December 16, 2005. Commissioner Streater asked the amount of other monies committed to ACTS requiring funding next year. Commissioner Smith noted that Mr. Rowell stated that he had collected enough funds to cover the cost of this program. County Manager Lucas shared that while the rates are set we still have DSS and Council on Aging who then have to increase their county dollars to offset the rate increases so what looks like self funded is taking from another. Commissioner Sims asked if this would start January or July with County Manager Lucas noting the program runs July 2006 to June 30, 2007. Commissioner Jones asked if it would be practical to place this matter at the end of Administrative Matters in order that the County Manager could call Mr. Rowell and ask him to come to the meeting. County Manager Lucas stated that Mr. Rowell was on vacation. Chairman Woodburn suggested holding the public hearing explaining that the Board would recess tonight’s meeting and this could possibly be carried over. County Manager Lucas stated that if discussion of this issue was place at the end of Administrative Matters he might have time to research the matter. Motion by Commissioner Jones, seconded by Commissioner Sims, to come out of public hearing since it is apparent there is no one here to address the matter. Chairman Woodburn asked to put the matter before those attending before taking the motion. Commissioner Jones withdrew his motion at this time. Chairman Woodburn called for comments from the public on the matter. Hearing none, motion by Commissioner Jones, seconded by Commissioner Sims, to come out of the public hearing. Motion carried unanimously.
In regular session, motion by Commissioner Jones consideration of this issue be placed under Administrative Matters as 8K and that at that time we see if we do not have the information we require.
Public Addresses to the Board:
Kendra Burns: Chairman Woodburn shared that this was a process that allows the public to appear before the Board at a regular scheduled meeting but Board members are not to make comments, have discussion or take action on what they hear at this time. Chairman Woodburn stated the matter would be referred to staff. Ms. Burns explained that she thought her lending company had listed her property for tax purposes and in looking into the matter she finds this was not true. Commissioner Streater explained that Ms. Burns called the tax office to find out why she had not received a tax bill on her property and found out the property had never been listed for tax purposes. Commissioner Streater stated that the tax office then went back five years for an assessed value.
Chairman Woodburn asked if there was anyone else to address the Board at this time. Chairman Woodburn closed this portion of the meeting, asking the County Manager and Assessor to look into this matter. County Manager Lucas offered that he had information relative to this issue. Chairman Woodburn noted this would now become item 8l under Administrative Matters. As a point of information, Chairman Woodburn mentioned that the Board had a section for appearances where matters brought before the Board can be discussed and the form can be obtained from the Clerk to the Board and is due five days in advance. Commissioner Streater was under the impression she was advised by the Tax Office to handle it in this manner. The Clerk to the Board explained that Ms. Burns contacted her about appearing before the Board and was told about the form. The Clerk then shared with Board members a copy of a letter addressed to Ms. Burns dated November 21 including a request to appear form and instructions on returning the form. The Clerk shared that Ms. Burns had called yesterday to say she never received the form and that is why she was placed under Public Addresses. Motion by Commissioner Streater to amend the Agenda to place her at 6c so we can go ahead and settle this issue so she will not have to wait that long. Motion seconded by Commissioner Smith. Commissioner Sims voiced that while this seems irregular he feels it is the right thing to do since she tried to get on under appearances and we already have the answer available. Motion carried unanimously.
Appearance:
Charlie Cheek-Carolina By-Products: Mr. Cheek, Transportation Manager for Carolina By-Products stated they are a wholly owned subsidiary of Valley Protein from Winchester Virginia. Mr. Cheek shared that County Manager Lucas had requested a meeting with him to discuss the possibility of finding another route through Wadesboro to their plant located on highway 52 north. Mr. Cheek shared a copy of a current county map showing their plant location and routes to and from. Mr. Cheek stated low axle roads in the county limit them to six and one-half tons per axle and some of the area bridges are low tonnage bridges. Mr. Cheek shared that normally their trucks weigh between seventy-five and eighty thousand pounds. Mr. Cheek stated that he met with Eddie Burleson of DOT this morning in hopes of finding another way to get to their plant that would be economical. Mr. Cheek explained that each x shown on the map indicates a stop sign or low axle road and there does not seem to be another way to come from Rockingham to their Wadesboro plant other than highways 74 and 52. Mr. Cheek stated that they want to be good corporate citizens in the area but in this case he is open to suggestions. Vice Chair Sikes asked if there were other carriers coming through Wadesboro with Mr. Cheek answering yes. Mr. Cheek offered that Carroll’s Food haul swine and grease, Purdue Chicken is live poultry with feathers blowing through town, with others being Tyson Foods, Waste Management, Oakboro Rending Company and Griffin Industries. Commissioner Smith asked if these companies were hauling the same type material hauled by Carolina By-Products. Mr. Cheek shared that Oakboro Rending and some Purdue trucks would be hauling the same product. Mr. Cheek explained that once the product is put on the trailer they have twenty-four hours to process it and a fine is associated with not complying. Vice Chair Sikes shared that there have been spills before that were blamed on Carolina By-Products but were actually someone else. Commissioner Jones shared that in addition to additional routes there was the issue of different times and asked Mr. Cheek if he considered this. Mr. Cheek stated that they don’t always have the opportunity to load their trailers and a part of their contract is removing the loaded trailer within a certain amount of time. Mr. Cheek stated that he has to have the product through the plant, cooked and in the bins within twenty-four hours. Commissioner Jones asked the number of trips per day with Mr. Cheek noting they run approximately sixty trips per day but only thirteen to fifteen of those come through Wadesboro. Mr. Cheek stated that they do enter Wadesboro from the west but they don’t consider this as coming through the downtown area. Commissioner Sims commented that it does not look like roads or time are viable options and asked if there was anything they could do in addition to what they were already doing to prevent spills. Mr. Cheek shared that they do not always have the opportunity to load their own trailer and most plants will let you haul off as much of their wastewater as possible. Mr. Cheek stated that slosh is the number one cause of spills. Mr. Cheek shared that they cannot always drain the trailer due to the poultry intracals in the drains. Mr. Cheek shared that they’ve worked hard on this as they buy from the poultry plants based on weight and they don’t want to buy their wastewater. Mr. Cheek stated that they’ve also tried to add to the end of all trailers a metal piece to help take care of the ripple as it comes down through the trailer to keep it from coming over the back. Mr. Cheek shared that they have done the same thing to the front of the trailer in addition to having tarp covers on all trailers. Commissioner Smith was of the opinion that Carolina By-Products had destroyed the area where the plant is located. Commissioner Smith commented that there were some counties in the state that allow Carolina By-Products to only travel through at certain times of night and he was going to recommend that to this Board. Mr. Cheek was not aware of any county or town having such regulation. Commissioner Smith asked Mr. Cheek if he had any trucks that could be completely closed in with Mr. Cheek answering that every trailer they pull has a tarp covering. Mr. Cheek shared that they have had the bulk of their trailers covered for the last six years. Mr. Cheek stated that in an effort to control spills they hold safety meetings and when spills occur bonus money is withheld from the driver. Mr. Cheek offered that the human factor is involved more than anything else in spillage. Mr. Cheek explained that drivers are paid $1.05 per hour safety bonus and that is withheld when a driver misbehaves or does not follow company policy. Chairman Woodburn asked if it would be too extreme to refuse to haul a trailer not loaded properly with Mr. Cheek answering they could talk with the companies. Commissioner Smith felt the Board needed to ask that the trucks be sealed. Chairman Woodburn suggested having the County Manager and staff research this issue and have a discussion with Carolina By-Products environmental group in order to pull all information together and bring it back to the Board. Commissioner Jones felt the Board should listen to Commissioner Smith and if the odor has made the community intolerable we should talk with the environmental people. County Manager Lucas shared that he talked with the EPA and they have regulations in place to monitor the plant. Commissioner Sims agreed with Commissioner Smith that the ultimate solution would be to close in the trucks. Mr. Troy Deese asked to address the matter. Mr. Deese stated that he lives in the Brown Creek Community which is about one and one-half miles from the plant and shared that only one time in the fifteen years the plants has been in Anson County has he had a neighbor or visitor to ask about the smell. Commissioner Smith asked to table the matter and bring it back at a later date. Chairman Woodburn stated that the County Manager would look into the issue and report back to the Board at the next meeting or as soon as he and the County Attorney can prepare the report. Commissioner Smith stated that he would share the information with the Manager on the areas in North Carolina that forbid these trucks to travel through until after midnight.