Tag Archive for: #senatebill214

Henderson City Council Approves Resolution Opposing Part V, Section 5 Of N.C. Senate Bill 214

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The Henderson City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve a resolution to oppose specific wording in Senate Bill 214 that would
allow Franklin County to take property from Vance and two other counties named in the Section 5 portion of the draft legislation.

N.C. District 32 Rep. Bryan Cohn updated Council members during a 1 p.m. meeting on the status of the bill.  He said he was optimistic that the bill wouldn’t come back to the House this week.

Cohn paused his remarks to Council to check his phone at 1:19 p.m. to see if the matter, known as a “conference report,” had been removed, and while it had not been removed at that time, it was removed a short time later Monday afternoon.  At this publication, the matter is not on the House calendar but does remain on the Senate calendar.

Seven Council members were present for the special called meeting, scheduled on Apr. 23 by Mayor Melissa Elliott; Council Member Lamont Noel was not present but joined electronically. Council Member Garry Daeke made the motion, which was seconded by Council Member Michael Venable.

Last week, the conference report, which you can continue to think of as Senate Bill 214, was put on the calendar for discussion on Tuesday, Apr. 28; Cohn told the Council Section 5 language was inserted sometime between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

What Cohn said he was expecting to be an uneventful week back in session turned into a frenzied reaction from local government leaders and elected officials across Vance, Warren, Granville and Halifax counties who called special meetings and adopted resolutions in opposition to the idea that Cohn described to Council as “egregious” in his remarks at the 1 p.m. meeting on Monday.

“It’s un-democratic, it’s un-American, and frankly it’s likely unconstitutional,” he said. Furthermore, if the legislation passes, he
said it would open a Pandora’s box for future attempts by other counties to do the same.

“I think we made a case on the House floor,” Cohn said of remarks he and colleague N.C. Rep. Rodney Pierce, who represents Halifax and Warren counties, made last week. “I’m extremely optimistic that we are headed in the right direction,” Cohn said, adding that he feels a lot better about things now than he did last week.

“We’re talking now about what it is that Franklin County needs, what is it that the region needs, what are the issues that are continuing to
come up and affect the city of Henderson, the water plants and its partners – those are positive things, and it’s a much better place to be.”

Elliott said a bus will leave the Henderson Police Department parking lot at 7 a.m. Tuesday to take interested individuals to the Legislative
Building in Raleigh to voice their opposition to legislators.

Cohn was at the Council meeting to provide an update, but he also asked for the council to remain open to possibilities and “have discussions in good faith” regarding the future of the Kerr Lake Regional Water System and the needs of both its partners and of its customers.

As majority partner in the regional water system, the City of Henderson has a 60 percent interest in the way the water plant is currently
structured.

“We’re 2 and 0 in stopping shenanigans with the water plant, but I can’t guarantee that we’ll be 3 and 0. I say that with confidence. I can’t
guarantee that.” Decisions need to be made about how this water plant is going to continue.

But Cohn reminded Council members that the state has the authority to remove that ownership through a variety of means. “We don’t ever want to get to that point,” he said. “This city has worked hard to make sure that this plant is operated and has continued to serve the people of Henderson, Warren County, the City of Oxford and all the bulk water customers throughout the region for many, many decades. That needs to be honored and respected and Henderson absolutely must have a seat at the table.”

He urged Council members to work with the city manager, consulting partners as well as the other entities with an ownership stake to
discuss what the future looks like and what it means for the city of Henderson.

Although he did not file for re-election to represent House District 32, Cohn said he would continue to work for a resolution to the issue.

“I will be with you every step of the way,” he said, “so you’ll have my undivided attention until January – and beyond.”

Cohn responded to questions and comments from several Council members, including Council Member Garry Daeke, who mentioned the current water plant expansion project that is nearing completion.

Daeke cited several factors that he said could have had an adverse effect on fruitful conversations in the past, including disruptions
caused by COVID, as well as having new leadership in key roles, both in Franklin County as well as the city of Henderson. The city has had several city managers in the recent past, as well as city attorneys; similarly, Franklin County has had changes in its leadership as well.

A recent study of the water plant is something that Daeke and Cohn point to that can help inform future discussions about KLRWS.

Reading from a prepared statement, Council Member Kenia Gómez-Jimenez said the regional water system is “not just a pipeline. It is a regional partnership built over time, led in large part by the city of Henderson. We are not just a participant, we are the primary steward and Franklin County, they are not outsiders to the system – they are already a customer.”

She said new infrastructure would be redundant, and “not the most efficient option, not the most collaborative option and certainly not
the most responsible use of Franklin County taxpayer dollars.”

Democratic Party

STATEMENT FROM FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMISSIONER MARK SPEED ON SECTION 5 OF THE CONFERENCE REPORT FOR SENATE BILL 214

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— from Vance County Democratic Party Chair Angie Thornton

Franklin County Commissioner Mark Speed said:

I serve on the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, and I am speaking out today against Section 5 of the conference committee report on Senate Bill 214.

Section 5 would allow Franklin County to acquire property, including through condemnation, in Halifax County, Vance County, and Warren County without the consent or approval of the boards of commissioners in those counties. I cannot support that, even when the authority is being handed to the county I was elected to serve.

Every county in North Carolina is sovereign over the land within its borders. It is the foundation of local government in this state. When the people of Vance County go to the polls and elect a board of commissioners, they are choosing the officials who answer to them for what happens on their land. Those commissioners are accountable to their neighbors at the grocery store, at church, at the ballpark. That accountability is what makes local government work.

Section 5 cuts that accountability out. It could allow officials elected by the people of Franklin County can reach across a county line and take property from a family in Vance County, or Halifax County, or Warren County, and the elected officials of those counties have no seat at the table. The people losing their property would have no one on the condemning board to hold accountable. They could not vote them out. They could not call them. They would have no representation in the decision being made about their own land.

That is not how co-equal local governments operate. That is one county overriding another, with the General Assembly’s permission, and it sets a precedent that every county in this state should be alarmed by. If it can be done to Vance, Halifax, and Warren today, it can be done to any county tomorrow.

G.S. 153A-15 has required the consent of a county’s board of commissioners before another county acquires property within its borders for a reason. It protects citizens. It mandates cooperation. It ensures that when two counties disagree about a project that crosses a boundary, they work it out as equals, through their elected representatives, on the record. Section 5 throws that process out for a shortcut, and the shortcut runs over the rights of citizens in three counties who had no voice in its drafting.

I took an oath to uphold the law and to serve the people of Franklin County. Part of that oath is recognizing that my authority ends where another county’s authority begins. The commissioners of Vance, Halifax, and Warren Counties were elected by their people the same way I was elected by mine. Their judgment about what happens on their soil deserves the same respect as mine does about what happens on Franklin County’s.

I am calling on the conference committee to strike Section 5. I am calling on my fellow commissioners in Franklin County to join me in rejecting a grant of power that should never have been offered. And I am standing with the elected leaders and the citizens of Halifax, Vance, and Warren Counties, because the principle at stake here is bigger than any one project, any one parcel, or any one county.

Local sovereignty is sacred. It is how the people of this state govern themselves. I will not trade it away, even when the trade is being made in my favor.

Local Opposition to Senate Bill 214 Now Official with Separate Council, Commissioners Meetings

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Local leaders are pushing back strongly in opposition to a particular portion of N.C. Senate Bill 214 which, if passed, would allow Franklin County to take property – “without consent or approval” – from Vance, Warren and Halifax counties.

Reaction has been swift from Wednesday’s action in Raleigh, and both local governing bodies have scheduled special called meetings to address the issue.

The Vance County Board of Commissioners will meet in a special called meeting on Friday, Apr. 24 at 4 p.m. to consider adopting a resolution in opposition to the bill, and the Henderson City Council will meet in a special called meeting on Monday at 1 p.m. bringing forth a resolution renouncing SB 214 section 5. Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott told WIZS Thursday afternoon that N.C. Dist. 32 Rep. Bryan Cohn is scheduled to attend.

“I’m grateful for his fighting for us in Raleigh,” Elliott said.

In a reading of the bill in the N.C. House Wednesday, Cohn was critical of the current bill draft, calling it “egregious.” Cohn represents Granville County and a portion of Vance.

The House didn’t vote on Wednesday; the bill is on the calendar for a conference report on Tuesday, Apr. 28.

Part V of the bill is what has drawn criticism from local elected officials. It states:

“Authorizes Franklin County to acquire, including by condemnation, real property or an interest in real property located in Halifax, Vance, or Warren County, without the consent or approval of the other county’s Board of Commissioners.”

Those 35 words have rankled municipal and county officials and elected leaders, whose descriptions of the bill’s language and intent of Franklin County’s efforts range from “disrespectful” and “hasty,” to “unacceptable” and “hopefully unconstitutional.”

Cohn told WIZS News Thursday that he and other representatives who spoke on the House floor Wednesday “kicked up enough dust and created enough doubt with our colleagues across the aisle that they felt the need to reschedule the vote.”

The bill did pass its first reading in the Senate but requires another reading for final passage, he explained.

Cohn said, “This isn’t buying land. It would directly allow Franklin County to take or condemn property at their sole discretion without any consent from county or city officials.” Cohn, who did not seek re-election for a second term representing District 32, called Section 5 “grossly unconstitutional.”

“This is about taking the water plant from Henderson,” he said.

Henderson City Council Member Kenia Gómez-Jimenez told WIZS Thursday that decisions about infrastructure and natural resources should never be made without the communities they directly impact.

Gómez-Jimenez said, “While I support regional growth and shared prosperity, SB 214 represents a troubling and highly politicized approach that attempts to sidestep local voices and override the interests of Henderson, Vance County, and our neighboring communities.

“This is not just disappointing, it’s unacceptable. Water is one of our most critical assets, and efforts to advance legislation in this manner undermine both public trust and the long-term stability of the systems that have sustained our local economy for years.”

Rodney Pierce, who represents Halifax and Warren counties – two of the three counties specifically named in Section V of Senate Bill 214 – also spoke in opposition to the bill. He asked why other counties that border Franklin were not named in Section V.

Rep. Matthew Winslow, who represents Franklin County and part of Vance County, said the wording in the section is “narrowly tailored so that it’s only giving access for water resources to Franklin County.”

In a media statement issued Thursday, Cohn said Section V of the bill is “a direct hit to local control. It removes the ability of counties like Halifax, Vance, and Warren to have a say over their own land and infrastructure.”

During his comments on the House floor Wednesday, Pierce said the language in the bill was vague, and that local officials in his district had not been consulted or informed about it.

“They didn’t know anything about this,” he said. “It’s inconsiderate, disrespectful of the state level leadership and county” to try to get Section V passed without notifying the affected counties.

“I understand that this is about water resources, but the language in the bill is very vague, very vague,” Pierce said. “I’m a history teacher by trade,” he said, “and this straight up sounds like manifest destiny.”

Henderson City Manager Paylor Spruill told WIZS it appears that the portion of the bill under scrutiny was written in haste and was overly broad, which would allow for “condemnation of any real property or an interest therein. This could include our KLRW facility, its transmissions or the County Courthouse.”

Spruill said he expected the provision in the bill “is intended to allow Franklin County to accommodate a raw water transmission line from Kerr Lake to a future treatment facility in Franklin County, located perhaps between Epsom and Ingleside off US 401.”

Mayor Elliott told WIZS Thursday that the city will be closely monitoring the legislation, working with its state delegation, legal counsel and regional partners to ensure Henderson’s voice is heard and rights are protected.

In her statement, Elliott said, “Let me be clear: this is not simply about land acquisition—this is about local control, property rights, and the protection of critical infrastructure that serves our community every single day.

“If the language described is accurate, allowing another county to take or condemn property at its sole discretion without the consent of Henderson or Vance County leadership represents a significant overreach. It challenges the very foundation of how municipalities and counties are intended to operate—through collaboration, respect for jurisdictional boundaries, and adherence to established legal processes.

“Our water system is not just infrastructure. It is: A public asset built by and for our residents; A lifeline for economic development; A critical component of public health and safety.

“Any effort that threatens local authority over such an essential resource must be carefully scrutinized.”

Henderson City Council member Garry Daeke’s comments to WIZS News about Section V of the bill were succinct: “egregious, outrageous…and hopefully unconstitutional.”

Vance County Commissioner Tommy Hester said he was doing everything in his power to get the matter resolved.

“I don’t have the answers yet,” Hester said. “I wish it would have never happened, and I wish I could solve it in two minutes, but I can’t. One of the most valuable assets we have is water,” Hester continued, not just for Henderson and Vance County but for the other owners in the Kerr Lake Regional Water System, the City of Oxford and Warren County.

“Government is about compromise,” Hester said, adding that he felt like the communication between the regional water partners and Franklin County, which buys water from KLRWS, had been pushed beyond what it should be.

In his comments to House colleagues on Wednesday, Cohn said the representatives would be overstepping bounds as a body by voting for the bill.

“Take the reasoning out of it for a moment, take the water infrastructure issues out of it for a moment,” he said. “This will not stay contained to Vance County, Warren County as well as Halifax (County). “This will land in your backyard,” he cautioned. “We are setting a dangerous precedent by allowing one county to assert control over another.”

Cohn continued by saying that Section V doesn’t specify water infrastructure in its wording.

“I know why they’re doing this,” he said. “I understand why they’re doing this. I am absolutely for growth, but this is not the way to do it…If you want to be able to develop infrastructure that affects multiple counties and allows for growth and prosperity across the region, then you work together in partnership to make those agreements, you don’t go take it by force. And that is what this is leading to,” Cohn said, calling the move an attempt to take over water infrastructure that is owned by “majority minority communities and has been for many, many decades.”

Gómez-Jimenez said, “There is absolutely a better way forward. Real leadership means choosing collaboration over coercion, and partnership over pressure. I urge our state representatives to do what is right and vote no on SB 214.”

She also called on Franklin County to “work with us, not around us, to find solutions that meet regional needs without jeopardizing the communities that have long stewarded these resources.”

— by Laura Gabel and John C. Rose