Tag Archive for: #countyofvance

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Vance County’s Recent Committee Reports & Recommendations

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Vance County Manager Jordan McMillen provided WIZS with the following reports and recommendations from recent committee meetings:

Properties Committee

Lease Extension – Alliance Rehabilitation Center.  The committee (Brummitt[C], Taylor & Wilder) met on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, to discuss a request from Alliance Rehabilitation Center to extend their existing lease of a county building.

Alliance Rehabilitation Center or the Addition Recovery Center (ARC) has occupied the property on County Home Road since 1975 and serves as an adult male halfway house. Each resident participates in an intensive, long term substance abuse outpatient program related to their substance use disorder and is authorized to remain in halfway house service for up to one year. Long term residential treatment facilities are rare and research shows that ½ of those who achieve a year of sobriety will experience a relapse and only 15% of those who achieve five years of sobriety will experience a relapse. All residents of the area Oxford Houses are “graduates” of the ARC program.

As a part of ARC’s lease, they have maintained the building over the years replacing windows, the HVAC system and any other maintenance as necessary. ARC holds current liability and property insurance on the property as required by the existing lease.

The committee reviewed a draft lease agreement extending the lease for an additional five year period and recommended proceeding forward with the extension. Staff intends to provide the required 30-day notice in The Daily Dispatch and seek board approval for extending the lease at the May meeting.

Eaton Johnson – Final Plan Review and Hold of Bid Release. The county’s architect was on hand to review the final plans, budget, and schedule related to the project. The committee initially asked staff to proceed with bidding but then asked staff to hold off in releasing the bids due to the uncertain economic environment. The original plan had bids being released on March 31 with an opening date of April 28.

Staff is also working with the county’s financial advisors to coordinate the release of bids to banks for financing once direction is given to release the project to bid. Related to the budget, the committee was informed that city stormwater requirements are required even though the site is outside the Tar-Pamlico River Basin. This will require the county to pay a fee (as much as $65,000) to a bank for a stormwater-related nutrient buy down credit in lieu of building wet retention ponds on the site. County staff has been in touch with the city manager and has learned there may be an exception to this if City Council were to approve a waiver. Staff will regroup with the committee over the next month or so to re-evaluate the project timeline.

Public Safety Committee

First Responder Medical Requirements. The committee (Wilder[C], Brummitt & Taylor) met on Wednesday, March 25, 2020, and discussed requirements that are being implemented to ensure volunteer fire department members are certified to provide first responder duties.

In order to respond with patient contact, the county’s medical director requires that individuals possess the minimum of a medical responder certification which requires 60-80 hours of training initially and 32 hours of continuing education over the next four years. The committee was informed that the medical director has extended the deadline to January 1, 2021, for all departments to comply.

The committee asked for periodic updates on whether volunteer departments were meeting the requirements.

COVID-19 Protocol Change for Dispatching First Responders. The committee was given an update on the changing response protocols for fire departments as a result of the coronavirus. Based upon guidance from the state and the county’s medical director, fire departments will not be dispatched to low-level first responder calls and will only be dispatched to “echo” level or life-threatening situations.

This is being put in place because of the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the first responders and to ensure they are not exposed unnecessarily to coronavirus.

Community Paramedic Program. The committee received a report from EMS Director Javier Plummer outlining the planned implementation of a community paramedicine program for the county. The committee was informed that funding is being included in the budget for a new position which could begin January 1, 2021.

The full-year cost of the position is approximately $61,000 with salary and benefits. The position is designed to operate in expanded roles by assisting with public health, primary healthcare and preventative services to certain populations within the community. The position would work to provide and connect patients to primary care services as well as to integrate local health agencies and assist with post-hospital follow-up care. The position is designed to help in reducing 911 requests for non-urgent, non-transport services and would assist with decreasing “frequent flyers,” or citizens who over-utilize EMS services.

The committee discussed the value of the program for the hospital, the county’s EMS, as well as the community as a whole.  The committee discussed interest in finding funding sources through the hospital, Cardinal Innovations, or other means to help in offsetting costs for the county in operating the program.

Redistricting. The committee heard from the fire marshal on efforts being made with the volunteer departments to identify potential areas with the existing fire district boundaries in need of changes. Thus far, few recommendations have come from the fire chiefs on potential areas for changes, although conversations are ongoing.

The committee asked the fire marshal and the fire association president, Wayne Seaman, to proceed with meetings amongst fire chiefs to assist in identifying areas to be considered for change. The committee would like at least one of its members to be invited to participate and be included in the conversations.

The committee mentioned two potential areas for changes as follows: 1) area south of city limits between Bearpond and Goldenbelt district 2) area between Goldenbelt and Epsom District near Flemingtown Road. The committee intends to come back and discuss potential district changes once input is provided from the chiefs.

Combination Fire Department.  The committee moved this agenda item to its next meeting. 

Human Resources Committee

Workers’ Compensation Leave Policy Amendment.  The committee (Faines[C], Wilder & Taylor) met on Thursday, March 26, 2020, to discuss an amendment to the worker’s comp leave policy. The current policy dating from 2006-2007 discontinues the county’s payment of health insurance benefits for an individual if they are injured on the job and out of work for beyond three months. The injured individual is covered 100% for issues related to the incident through workman’s comp, and is given the opportunity to cover the cost of health insurance after three months.

The committee reviewed and suggested language changes that would extend the period to six months. The committee recognized the need to prevent an individual from taking advantage of county paid benefits but agreed with extending the timeframe. The coverage is reinstated 100% when the individual returns to work.

Recommendation: Approve revised language to workman’s compensation policy increasing the time period for county provided health insurance from three months to six months. 

Manager Evaluation Format.  The committee continued its work finalizing a revised manager evaluation form. After reviewing several formats in previous meetings, the committee made final tweaks to a format that will meet what is needed for the manager and allow for further tweaks in the future to be utilized for department head evaluations. The committee recommended proceeding with the new format.

Recommendation: Approve the revised manager performance appraisal form as presented. 

Families First Coronavirus Response Act.  The committee heard an overview of the newly signed federal law that extends the criteria for employees qualifying for family medical leave and also provides emergency paid sick leave to employees. The emergency paid sick leave is available for the following qualifying reasons:

  1. The employee is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
  2. The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19;
  3. The employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis;
  4. The employee is caring for an individual subject to an order described in #1 or self-quarantine as described in #2;
  5. The employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19; or

The law provides up to 80 hours of paid sick leave at regular pay for employees experiencing items 1-3 and provides 80 hours of paid sick leave at 2/3 pay for employees experiencing items 4 and 5. A resolution ratifying the act may be required in the future.

McGregor Hall

McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center Requests City, County Funding

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Mark Hopper, chair of the Embassy Cultural Center Foundation, provided WIZS News with additional information regarding Wednesday’s story on McGregor Hall’s funding request to local government:

McGregor Hall did not list a monetary amount in its funding request. We are hoping to have help with our debt service on the building, of which $18 million has already been paid privately ($12 million for construction of Perry Library and $6 million for construction of McGregor Hall). $2.9 million in debt remains and is financed through a low-interest USDA loan.

Letters and information packets were sent to both Jordan McMillen, County Manager, and Frank Frazier, City Manager in the first days of this year. Each letter was accompanied by the results of the study of McGregor Hall’s economic impact on Henderson and Vance County as prepared by the Municipal Research Lab at NC State University for the 12-month period preceding April 2019.

Important items:

  • McGregor Hall intentionally waited to submit this kind of funding request to the city and county until we could do so responsibly with proof that we are achieving our stated primary purpose of economic revitalization in downtown Henderson and Vance County. According to the Economic Impact Study:
    • McGregor Hall is directly responsible for injecting $2.4 million into the Henderson economy (scope of the study was limited to the City for manageability) during the 12 months in question.
    • McGregor Hall is directly responsible for 5.5% of all economic growth in Vance County over the past three years.
    • Of all of McGregor Hall’s direct revenue, over 39% comes from nonresident patrons and purchases, proving McGregor Hall’s status as a primary tourist magnet.
    • Major event days at McGregor create massive upticks in restaurant and hotel traffic.
  • McGregor Hall is the only performing arts center in the state we’ve identified with over 750 seats (McGregor is 1,000 seats) not connected with an educational institution that does not receive any kind of municipal or county funding.  We currently operate with one full-time employee (Technical Director) and three part-time employees with a combined 20 hours per week (two box office staff and janitor).  Our annual budget in 2018 was $491,839.
    • The Paramount Theater in Goldsboro has two full-time employees and 25 part-time employees.  The room seats 400. The City of Goldsboro handled all construction costs and is responsible for all debt service. Additionally, they receive $180,000 annually in combined city/county funding for operations to help fund their $480,000 annual budget.
    • The Theater at the Arts Center in Fuquay-Varina has two full-time employees and 14 part-time employees. The room seats 300. The facility’s construction costs were funded by the city. All of the facility’s upkeep and the entire annual budget of $725,000 is funded by the city.
    • The High Point Theater has six full-time employees and three part-time. It seats 750. The city funded its original construction in 1975 and has funded several additional renovations since. 100% of their $1.3 million annual budget is provided by the City of High Point, offset by an average of $800,000 in annual ticket sales.

There are many other examples, but these are representative of the norms.

There is no comparable model for what we are accomplishing with this facility through the sacrificial work of passionate volunteers and donors. We are defying the odds, writing a new playbook, and making Henderson way more than a punchline for the jokes of people in the Triangle. We are making life better for citizens in Vance County and helping to create and sustain businesses and their accompanying jobs.

What other current economic revitalization project in our town and county can prove that it’s making this kind of difference? What would happen if 5.5% of our economic growth in Vance County suddenly disappeared?

At the end of the day, we are a group of citizens trying to make where we live a better place, and asking nothing in return for it except help in achieving our goal.

Vance Co., City of Henderson Intergovernmental Committees to Meet Jan. 28

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-Information courtesy Kelly H. Grissom, Executive Assistant/Clerk to Board, Vance County Board of Commissioners

Vance County’s Intergovernmental Committee (Taylor, Feimster, Kelly) is scheduled to meet with the City’s Intergovernmental Committee on Tuesday, January 28, 2020, at 2:30 p.m.

The meeting will be held in the Administrative Conference Room of the Vance County Administration Building located at 122 Young Street in Henderson. Topics to be discussed include, but are not limited to:

–       Review of Joint Programs

–       McGregor Hall funding request

–       Downtown Wi-Fi

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Technology Committee Discusses Public Wi-Fi in Downtown Henderson, Kittrell

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Vance County Manager Jordan McMillen provided WIZS with the following summary of the Vance County Technology Committee’s meeting held Wednesday, September 11, 2019:

Public Wi-Fi: The committee (Brummitt [C], Taylor & Feimster) met with Rob Cranwell from Open Broadband, LLC on Wednesday, September 11, 2019, to discuss and determine final locations for proceeding with public Wi-Fi. The areas discussed included an existing water tank in Kittrell, the shopping and retail area near I-85 and Dabney Drive and the downtown Henderson area.

Open Broadband recommended moving away from the shopping and retail area as the necessary infrastructure was not in place making it cost-prohibitive to serve the area. The committee then focused their discussion on the downtown area and determined a service area between Rose Avenue to Orange Street to include Breckenridge Street and Chestnut Street around the library and McGregor Hall.

The committee desires to partner with the city for providing coverage in the downtown area and asked staff to discuss joint participation with the city. The committee asked Open Broadband to prepare final coverage maps and costs based on committee feedback.

Following the meeting, Open Broadband presented a cost of $600/month for Kittrell and $2,000/month for the downtown area with a one-time install fee of $4,000 for downtown. The Kittrell area would be served with a connection of up to 200 Megabits per second with the downtown area served by a gigabit capacity service.

The committee intends to review a contract at their next meeting.

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Vance Co. Properties Committee to Discuss Relocation of Senior Center

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-Information courtesy Kelly H. Grissom, Executive Assistant/Clerk to Board, Vance County Board of Commissioners

Vance County’s Properties Committee is scheduled to meet Friday, May 17, 2019, at 8 a.m. in the Administrative Conference Room, Vance County Administration Building, 122 Young Street, Henderson, NC.

The main topic to be discussed is the proposed relocation of the Vance County Senior Center.

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Proposed Vance Co. Budget Includes Increase in Fire Tax, New Deputy Positions

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Vance County Manager Jordan McMillen was on Wednesday’s edition of WIZS’ Town Talk program to discuss the County’s proposed FY 2019-2020 budget.

Presented to the Vance County Board of Commissioners at their May 6 meeting, the General Fund Budget is proposed to be $48,362,611, a figure that includes all tax-supported governmental activities and represents a 0.4% increase over the current budget.

According to the 247-page proposal, the budget provides sufficient funds to improve the current level of services in several areas and addresses many of the priorities and goals established by the board of commissioners during their annual planning retreat.

In summary, the budget:

  • Includes no increase in the general fund property tax rate with a continued pattern of minimal revenue growth.
  • Includes an increase of 2.3 cents per $100 in value in the fire tax rate to provide part-time positions to the volunteer fire departments which will assist with improving response times and lowering ISO ratings.
  • Includes no increase in the solid waste household fee and includes no increase in the water usage rate while reducing the amount transferred from the general fund to cover water system debt service.
  • Improves the current level of services and maintains the county’s healthy financial condition. The general fund balance is projected to be 31.2% by the end of FY19 down from 37.8% in FY18 due to the purchase of land for economic development. The fund balance appropriated to balance the budget is $1,192,442 with a total of $500,000 expected to be spent on non-school and non-debt capital projects.
  • Addresses salary compression, retention and employee pay by funding a salary progression plan to move employees along the pay scale on a regular basis.
  • Focuses on improving rural fire protection and enhancing overall public safety. This includes providing funding for part-time positions at volunteer fire departments and the rescue squad, replacing a portion of viper radios for public safety departments, and providing staffing increases for the sheriff’s office.
  • Includes 2 new deputy sheriff positions, 1 new building codes enforcement officer Ill position, 2 new telecommunicator positions, 2 position upgrades (DSS and tax office), and 2 part-time custodian salary adjustments.
  • Prioritizes citizen health and continues working to improve the county’s substance use disorder challenges through increased funding for the health department.
  • Advances economic development opportunities for residents and businesses while supporting distance learning opportunities for students by funding initial efforts to deploy affordable wireless broadband in the county with a focus on unserved and underserved areas.
  • Includes a major investment in school capital providing $5,252,000 to Vance County Schools to support redesigns for the middle and high schools, multiple HVAC replacements, parking lot redesign and paving at the middle school, ADA upgrades, replacement of the high school boiler system, and other requested school capital needs.
  • Implements the FY20 CIP which includes renovations for a new DSS/Senior Center facility as a major debt project and several smaller pay-go (cash) funded projects from fund balance.

“I was pleased with how the budget came together this year,” said McMillen. “Going into it, we were wary of the fact that there wasn’t going to be a lot of additional revenue. We were able to maximize the County services and add some new services with very limited additional revenue growth.”

Of note, McMillen said the proposed fire tax rate increase of 2.3 cents per $100 in value will allow the County to fund two part-time positions at each volunteer fire department, a proposition that has been much-discussed in recent Board meetings and work sessions.

According to McMillen, this rate increase would amount to approximately $23 annually for the average Vance County household.

“This tax increase will help improve response times for citizens and will also allow those departments to lower their ISO (insurance) rating, which translates into real dollar savings for citizens,” explained McMillen.

McMillen also noted that he was pleased the proposed budget provides the Vance County Sheriff’s Office with two of their requested four new deputy sheriff positions.

In total, $1.9 million in additional requests were unable to be funded, according to McMillen, including a request for four new positions at the Vance County Detention Center.

Board of Commissioners will meet in work sessions at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 20 and Tuesday, May 21 to discuss and review the proposed budget.

A public hearing regarding the budget will be held at the Board’s next regularly-scheduled meeting on Monday, June 3 at 6 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room, 122 Young Street, Henderson.

The final, approved version of the FY 2019-2020 budget will be effective July 1, 2019. To view the proposed budget, please visit the Vance County website at www.vancecounty.org.

To hear the Town Talk interview with Jordan McMillen in its entirety, click here.

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County of Vance: FY 2019-20 Budget Presentation on Board’s May 6 Agenda

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-Information courtesy Kelly H. Grissom, Clerk to Board/Executive Asst., County of Vance

The Vance County Board of Commissioners will meet Monday, May 6, 2019, at 6 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room, 122 Young Street, Henderson. The Invocation will be given by Pastor Jennifer Sawyer, Gillburg United Methodist Church.

Agenda items:

Public Hearings

Angie Blount, County Planner – Rezoning Request – Case RZ20190214-1 Between US 1 Hwy and Edwards Road Parcel 0456 06008; Case RZ03212019-1 Bullocksville Road/Jacksontown Road Parcel 0587 03004; Case RZ03212019-2 Kittrell College Road; Parcel 0468 01016; Zoning Ordinance Text Amendments Accessory Structures; Zoning Ordinance Amendment RV/Camper Use Regulations

Public Hearing

Jordan McMillen, County Manager – Addressing Ordinance

Appointment

Porcha Brooks, Tax Administrator – Untimely Exemption Applications

Water District Board

a. Phase 3 – Change Order #1

b. Monthly Operations Report Agenda May 6, 2019

Finance Director’s Report

a. Surplus Property

b. Audit Contract for FY 2018-19

c. Capital Improvement Plan 2020-2024

County Manager’s Report

a. Award of Service Weapon and Badge

b. Demolition – County Owned Property

c. Fireworks Permit

d. Presentation of FY 2019-20 Recommended Budget

Consent Agenda Items

a. Budget Amendment and Transfers

b. Tax Refunds and Releases

c. Monthly Reports

d. Minutes

Miscellaneous

a. Appointments

Closed Session

a. Property Matter

Click here to view current and prior Board agendas.

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Vance Co. Appearance Commission Looking to Clean Up Litter, Welcomes Fresh Ideas

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-Information courtesy the Vance County Appearance Commission & the Vance County Government Facebook page

A message from the Vance County Appearance Commission:

Vance County residents, we are on the right path with the dilapidated homes coming down, but we have a serious litter issue which is taking away from the beauty of our community. If you would like to be a part of the solution and get involved, the Vance County Appearance Commission is looking for members.

We meet on the 2nd Tuesday of each month for about an hour. You can contact Kelly Grissom in the County Manager’s Office at (252) 738-2003 or by email at kgrissom@vancecounty.org for additional information.

This community means so much to all of us and we are looking forward to fresh ideas!

ALSO…any boy scouts looking for an Eagle Scout project? Please let us know!

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Vance County’s HR Committee to Meet Feb. 12

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-Information courtesy Kelly H. Grissom, Executive Assistant/Clerk to Board, Vance County Board of Commissioners

Vance County’s HR Committee (Faines, Taylor, Wilder) is scheduled to meet Tuesday, February 12, 2019, at 3:30 p.m. in the Administrative Conference Room of the Vance County Administration Building located at 122 Young Street in Henderson.

Topics to be discussed include:

– Engagement Team

– Salary Progression Plan

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McMillen: Vance Co. Board Begins 2019-2020 Budget Preparations

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County Manager Jordan McMillen was on Monday’s edition of WIZS’ Town Talk program to discuss the Vance County Board of Commissioners’ recent two-day planning retreat, held for 2019-2020 fiscal year budget preparation purposes.

According to McMillen, day one of the retreat included presentations by various county department heads, a change from previous years that led to greater clarity on the challenges and needs of each area.

“At this point in the budget process, which is really just beginning, we have a good handle on the needs for the upcoming year, primarily because of that first day of the retreat,” said McMillen.

Many of those needs center around one of the largest budget costs – public safety. With a new sheriff at the helm, McMillen expects one of the requests put forth to the Board this year to include the addition of several staff positions with the Vance County Sheriff’s Office.

Additional big-budget items, such as possible EMS schedule changes and on-going fire restructuring talk also weighed heavy on the discussion.

Part of the EMS restructuring includes talk of transitioning EMS personnel to a 24/72 schedule where a responder works a 24-hour shift, followed by three days off, in a rotation that would see all shifts covered.

Transitioning to this schedule would require the addition of nine new EMS positions at a cost of approximately half-a-million dollars, bringing McMillen back to the “challenges” part of the equation – money.

“Our main sources of revenue – sales and property tax – have minor growth each year,” McMillen said. “We may have $300,000 – $500,000 additional each year, which sounds like a lot, but when you start to look at some of the cost items and expenditures, they take that amount up pretty quickly.”

When questioned on the reported $650,000 in additional revenue available from the roll-off courthouse and jail renovation expenses, McMillen said the money will more than likely be put back into capital expenditures.

“The County does have an aggressive capital improvement plan that has funded projects such as roof replacements and met various needs neglected during the recession years,” said McMillen. “I don’t know that it’s going to help us on the operational side of the budget; we may be able to use some of it.”

At the retreat, McMillen said he cautioned commissioners on the potential perils of juggling so many major projects at the same time.

“I recall, a few years ago, we would focus on one large project at a time. Now we are really stretching and getting into a lot of projects at one time. I think the message for the upcoming budget year is that we need to be careful with that.”

To help narrow their focus, the Board established six goals for the 2019-2020 fiscal year:

  • Move the Vance County Department of Social Services to the former Eaton Johnson Middle School building
  • Provide funding and support to improve fire response county-wide
  • Support existing businesses and market available buildings
  • Improve broadband internet access throughout the county
  • Address littering/trash issues and increase clean-up efforts
  • Address public health issues, particularly substance use and mental health disorders

The first of these goals, moving DSS into the former Eaton Johnson Middle School building located at 500 N. Beckford Drive, is a priority for the Board.

Currently owned by Vance County Schools, McMillen said the Board “hopes to move forward, expeditiously, with acquiring, designing and renovating the former school to include the movement of DSS, and possibly the Senior Center and other departments as space would allow.”

These goals will go before the Vance County Board of Commissioners for approval at their monthly meeting this evening.

To hear the interview with Jordan McMillen in its entirety, please click here.