Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Good evening and welcome to the June 23rd, 2026 combined rescheduled work session and regular meeting of the Gaston County Board of Commissioners. My name is Chad Brown and I serve as Chairman of the Board as well as Commissioner of the Riverbend Township. I would like to welcome our viewers and thank Spectrum Cable and AT&T for making it possible for our citizens to view tonight. For our television and live stream audience, I would like to present Gaston County Commission beginning on my far right. Alan Fraley, Cherwell Township.

Good evening, Scott Sheehan, Gastonia Township.

Jim Bailey, South Point Township.

Representing the Crowder's Mountain Township, I'm Bob Hovis. Good evening, Tom Keger.

At this time, if you'll please remove, gentlemen, remove your hats and please rise for the invocation given by Commissioner Hovis and then a special Pledge of Allegiance given by McKenna and Jackson McGrath.

Please bow with me. Gracious Father, we come to you here before you tonight to take care of the Gaston County business. Father, help us be ever mindful for our concerns in the country with all of our other elected officials in the state and in the nation's capital, as well as those dealing with the aftermath of the storms in the Midwest, the storms continuing through North Carolina this evening. Father, we are in your hands, and we know we're in good hands. Father, we ask that you bless our actions and help us bless your service. We ask that in Christ's name. Amen.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Tonight, the first item on the agenda is proclamations, commendations, awards, and certificate. Commissioner Hovis will come up and do several commendations. And the first one is to do the Governor's Volunteer Service Award. Commissioner Hovis.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like for Sandra Stevens. President of the Gaston County United Way, Ms. Barbara Yarborough, our volunteer coordinator, to please join me. And I think we may have some of these folks present. Any of you who are volunteers that received the Governor's Award, if you'd please join us as well. We'd be very honored to have your presence up here at the same time.

Thank you so much.

And any of your family would like to join you, they're welcome to. We can just move everybody in this corner and we'll just empty out the seats.

Thank you.

Well, if you lose it, you have to snooze. You know, what can I say? Thank you folks all for being here. It's with great joy that we have the opportunity of recognizing individuals in our county who've received the Governor's Volunteer Service Award. Having been one of the former recipients myself for doing work with Gaston County Schools, it's very dear to my heart for what happens here in Gaston County and what's done across the state. Let me please read the proclamation. Whereas the Governor's Volunteer Service Award honors the true spirit of volunteerism by recognizing individuals, groups, and businesses that have made a significant contribution to their community through volunteer service, and whereas any person, group, or entity from the public, nonprofit, and private sector may be nominated for an award throughout the county award coordinator. county award coordinators submit their top ten volunteer nominations per county, and whereas there are eligibility requirements in several categories for the type of nominee, senior, youth, faith-based, family, group business, etc., Additional categories are based upon the area of service, animal, environmental, disaster, youth, preservation, and others. County recommendations are reviewed by the state commission and awards are given out in the counties. And whereas the United Way of Gaston County coordinates our county efforts, advertises, collects applications, and with a review panel makes recommendations to the state of North Carolina. Now therefore be it resolved that the Board of Gaston County Commissioners congratulates and extends with deepest appreciation to Renee Crump, Rex Dover, Tupelo Gazakis, Sue Johnson, and Joanne Mitchell. upon being named the 2026 recipients of the Governor's Volunteer Service Award and further recognizes the recipients for their outstanding and exemplary volunteer service to Gaston County to be adopted the 23rd day of June 2026.

And I will give these to you, Ms. Andre.

And whomever would like to speak is more than welcome to it.

Good evening, commissioners and guests. I'm Barbara Yarbrough, and I currently serve as the awards coordinator for the North Carolina Governor's Volunteer Service Award overseen by the United Way of Gaston County, where we just left a reception where we honored our recipients this year. Andrea Stevens, president of United Way, is here to help me in presenting these well-deserved awards with a pin and a certificate signed by the governor. This year we received more nominations than we have in the last few years. But changes to the award process this year, which Commissioner Hovis wasn't aware of, we were only allowed to send five nominations in. And I'm really proud that all five of our nominees were given the Governor's Award. Commissioner have this mention some categories of the 5 recipients we have tonight 3 are seniors not unlike myself. In part for lifetime achievements to the entities they work with particularly with youth and marginalized populations. And we have two at the other end of the spectrum, very busy teenagers. Collectively, these recipients represent over 1,000 hours of volunteer service to our community in 2025. Our first award goes to Renee Crump. who recognized Renee for 38 years of service to youth through the Girl Scouts Peaks to Piedmont. In 1988, Renee started the first Daisy Girl Scout troop in Gastonia, and her nomination states that since that time, she has embodied the Girl Scout promise and law in everything she does. Whether serving as a troop leader, new leader mentor, or service unit specialist, she's consistently gone above and beyond to ensure that every girl has the opportunity to learn, lead, and shine in the Girl Scout program. Over the years, she has trained over 100 volunteers and has impacted the community through the many service projects such as the Veterans Day Parade, Wreaths Across America, and the annual Giving Tree. Congratulations, Renee. Thank you. Next, we recognize Joanne Mitchell, another senior volunteer, for her ongoing volunteer efforts in several areas. Joanne has served Gaston Residential Services supporting adults with developmental disabilities for over 35 years, including several years as board president, and she is actively involved in their annual fundraiser. She's participated annually in the Walk to End Alzheimer's, raising significant funds, being their top fundraiser in 2025. As an active member of South Minister Presbyterian Church, she's held the office of deacon, elder, and volunteered with Night to Shine, a prom-style event sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation for Adults with Special Needs. She's also participated in many mission trips since 2015, most notably helping hurricane victims in North Carolina. Her nomination states that Joanne demonstrates dedication, leadership, and compassion, going beyond expectations, providing a positive impact in the community. Thank you. I'm really pleased to present the Volunteer Service Award to Sue Johnson because I have seen some of her efforts firsthand, often as a part of ministries through her church, First Presbyterian in Belmont. As part of her commitment to serving marginalized individuals and others in need, she has actively supported house bills and other activities with Habitat for Humanity. I've seen her in a tool belt, and I can tell you that she can swing a hammer a lot better than I can. One of Sue's more recent activities was her coordination of a Feed the Children during the 2025 holiday season. Through her dedication and organization, over 90 volunteers served over 65 households, providing almost 1,500 nutritious meals during the holidays. And I know that Sue has served as a faithful volunteer for the Backpack Weekend Food Program, where I normally see her filling orders in the organization's warehouse. I really enjoy working across the conveyor belt from Sue. She's counting cups of corn and green beans while I am packing the beefaroni. She also leads the school supplies drive, further expanding her impact on children and families in need. Her nomination states that service is not something Sue does occasionally. It is the way she lives her life. Her efforts are tireless. And that's for sure. Thank you, Sue. And now on to our teenagers. Rex Dover was nominated by his teacher, Mary Prenti, He is a 17-year-old rising senior at South Point High School with high academic achievement, ranked at the top of his class, and a perfect score on the ACT. But Ms. Prentice says that his most important accomplishments are not found on his transcript. They're found in the lives that he has changed. In 2021, Rex helped found abilities tennis North Carolina to honor a friend who died in a traffic tragic accident. This organization provides one to one care through free tennis lessons and mentoring individuals with intellectual disabilities. He has recruited and trained over 35 volunteers. He was selected as coach for the USTA Net Generation On-Court Experience at the 2025 US Open, where adaptive athletes from across North Carolina took the spotlight at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The impact of the program extends beyond tennis and athletics, focusing on enhancing the mental, physical, emotional, and social well-being of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Equally meaningful is his work with the United States Tennis Organization as the winner of the USTA North Carolina Diversity Outreach and Inclusion Award in 2023. In the past year, he has taken the program even further. He recently secured a second Gaston Community Foundation grant to fund enhanced academic enrichment opportunities, including STEM experiments, spelling instruction, and a new initiative called Beyond the Court Literacy Program designed to inspire a love of reading among the participants. His nomination states, in Rex, these children don't just find a tennis coach. They find someone who invests in them and believes in their full potential on and off the court. Congratulations, Rex. Our last recipient, another teenager and recent graduate of Ashbrook High School, is Tupelo Guzakis. She is being nominated in recognition of service with 370 documented volunteer hours, balancing a rigorous academic and leadership schedule. Her nomination states, it is not simply the number of hours she has given, but the purpose behind them. She consistently chooses to serve in ways that meet real needs in Gaston County and strengthen the community. Tupelo volunteers in the birthplace and emergency department at Caremont Health, where she supports patients, families, and medical personnel while gaining insight in the complexity, teamwork, and emotional awareness required in specialized neonatal care. Outside the hospital, she serves as Karamont Health Student Athletic Trainer at Ashbrook, providing hands-on support to student athletes. Again, working with her school, she founded Keep Ashbrook Community Beautiful, resulting in organized cleanup efforts that brought together students, families, and neighbors to restore shared spaces and foster renewed pride in the area. She also served as student director of the Ashbrook All-Star Pageant Fundraiser that benefited Cancer Services of Gaston County with $9,700 donated to the charity. Tupelo leads with organization, empathy, and follow through. Serving as senior class president and being selected Miss Ashbrook are just examples of her impact. I also recently became aware that she was awarded the prestigious Goodnight Scholarship to attend NC State University in the fall. In fact, she has a conference call with them very shortly. Congratulations. Thank you, commissioners. Thank you to all our recipients. And thank all of you for being here to recognize these wonderful folks in the community. I hope they will inspire you to some sort of volunteer effort. Yes, we would like a picture.

Thank you.

Our next commendation tonight is to recognize an individual who needs no introduction, Ms. Lucy Penninger. And Lucy and I have had the opportunity to serve on a couple of committees over our length of service to citizens in Gaston County. And it's a great honor for me and all of you who are part of the Historic Preservation Group. You can't sit there. You have to join us up here. Anyone else that's close to Lucy, you're welcome to join us as well.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Can I say something?

If you want to before I read the commendation, absolutely.

Oh, you can do that. Okay. Certainly, certainly.

It's quite an honor for me to be here as we recognize Ms. Penninger. We have been a part of everything from trash to restoring buildings in Gaston County in our tenure together. So it's an honor for me to be up here at the dais. And when Mr. Keiger's voice gave out tonight, he asked me to do this, and I was more than happy to do that. So if I could, let me read this commendation, and then we'll let Ms. Penninger have the floor. You might have to be here a while.

No.

She's not quite as bad as I am. Whereas Ms. Lucy Penninger has faithfully and distinguishably served as a member of Gaston County's Historic Preservation Commission since its founding in 1979. Whereas during her remarkable tenure of service spanning more than four decades, Ms. Penninger has played an instrumental role in preserving, protecting, and promoting the rich historical heritage and cultural resources of Gaston County. And whereas Ms. Penninger has served on the commission in numerous leadership capacities, including multiple terms as chairman, demonstrating exceptional dedication, wisdom, professionalism, and a steadfast commitment to the mission of historic preservation. And whereas through her leadership and tireless efforts, Ms. Penninger has contributed significantly to the identification, preservation, and recognition of 59 historic properties and landmarks throughout Gaston County. helping us to grow the historic preservation program by recruiting new members and ensuring that future generations may appreciate and learn from Gaston County's unique history. Whereas Ms. Penninger's service has been marked by integrity, vision, and a genuine passion for community heritage, earning the respect and admiration of fellow commissioners, county officials, preservation advocates, and citizens alike, and whereas Ms. Penninger retired from her position with the Gaston County Historic Preservation Commission in April of this year, 2026, concluding an extraordinary legacy of public service and civic leadership. Now, therefore, it be it resolved that the Gaston County Board of Commissioners hereby express its deepest gratitude and sincere appreciation to Mrs. Lucy Penninger, for her outstanding service, dedication, and leadership on the Gaston County Historic Preservation Commission. Be it further resolved that Gaston County Commissioners extends the best wishes to Ms. Penninger for health, happiness, and continued success in all future endeavors and recognizes her lasting contributions to the preservation of Gaston County's historical legacy. This to be adopted the 23rd day of June 2026. And here is your idea. That's me, sorry. I forgot I was wired.

Thank you so much. I didn't even know who wrote this. I owe them something. I wanted to say just a couple of words. I won't speak that long, honestly. When we started the Historic Preservation Commission, it was interesting to see that there were only a very few of them in the whole state. And now there are over 100 of them. And when we started also, some of them were just for a city like, for instance, Salisbury. But with Gaston County, we had so many small towns that all had really wonderful structures in them that we wanted to help preserve. we decided, the commissioners decided that we would do the whole county and we went to each individual town and asked them to be a part of it so that we could do properties inside the city limits and outside the city limits. And so the general statutes of North Carolina told us exactly how we were supposed to run this thing. And so we tried to do the best we could with that direction. We were supposed to identify historic properties properties with integrity and those also that had architectural significance to them or cultural significance to them. So the first thing we did was we had to find someone who could do an inventory of the whole county for us. We found a graduate, a young graduate from Princeton, Kim Withers, and she did this whole wonderful inventory for us. And we worked with that the whole time. Now that was done, as you see, almost 50 years ago. And we were also instructed to not consider anything less than 50 years old. So now those ones that we couldn't consider at that time have attained that extra 50 years. So our work is not done. I wanted to say a couple of things, though, about the ones that we did. Because when you talk about 50 pieces, or what was it, 50? 59 pieces that we've done. We also were determined that we were not going to make this just a list of wonderful historic buildings that were built by the wealthy. We wanted it to tell the whole story. places like churches and schools and mills, you know how many people are involved in those. And so we did the best we could with that. But also, some of those buildings are really not that significant, but they tell a wonderful story. And so in 1996, which was the sesquicentennial year, we were offered a two-story log building that was built by a person who was involved in setting up Gaston County. And that was a sesquicentennial year. And so we partnered with the park in Dallas to start the Heritage Village. And those wonderful structures tell the story of the textile industry from the beginning, the cotton farmer. So if you go to Cotton Gin and Days, you can see these little insignificant, you might think, but they have a wonderful story to tell. So we still have a lot to do. And we have, as you see behind me, some very qualified people that are on this commission, too. And I'm hoping that Robert has been on there as long as I have. If he hangs in there for another four years, he can get a 50-year pen or something. anyway we have a wonderful staff that meets with us too and it's just it has been a great ride and i have loved every minute of it if you look at west gastonia and you think at the time before the loray mill was designated there wasn't a whole lot out there and look at it now so i i feel like that our commission has done some really inspiring things that have helped with not with just telling the history but also involved in economic development of our whole community, our whole county, actually. So thank you so much. Porter McAteer was the first one that put me on and then reappointed me and reappointed me. And Tom Kieger, bless your sweetheart, you put me on and reappointed me and reappointed me. And I thank you so much. I've had a wonderful time with this. Thank you.

Lucy, you've been a great advocate for Gaston County's history, and we're going to miss you. But I'm sure you'll still be around for all the good times. I'll be around.

Thank you. The commission may need to appoint a chairman emeritus. I don't know that that's what they plan on doing, but that would be nice to recognize Ms. Penninger's service for that. Next, I'd like to ask for Officer Chad Owens to join me and anyone who's with him and anyone with the county police to recognize his retirement and awarding of his service sidearm and badge. Officer Owens finds himself in Vesper City, or had found himself in Vesper City quite often, addressing our senior group and helping our community in many different ways. So it's a great pleasure for me to be able to read this for him on his behalf. Whereas Master Police Officer Chad Owens retired from the Gaston County Police Department on April 1, 2026, after serving 29 years with Gaston County. And whereas Master Police Officer Chad Owens has requested that he be awarded his service sidearm, Glock Model 45MOS, serial number BRTV45. and badge worn during his service with the Gaston County Police Department pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 17F20A and the Board Resolution No. 259, dated October 27, 1983. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Board of County Commissioners that the badge worn by Master Police Officer Chad Owens and his service sidearm Glock Model 45 MOS be declared surplus equipment. The badge worn by Master Police Officer Chad Owens be given to him as a remembrance of his service with the Gaston County Police Department. And the service sidearm Glock Model 45 MOS be permanently retired by the Gaston County Police Department and offered to Master Police Officer Chad Owens for a purchase price of $1.00. The Chief of Gaston County Police Department is directed to award Master Police Officer Chad Owens the service sidearm and the badge as specified and worn by him during his service to Gaston County in accordance with the North Carolina General Statutes and policy of this board. Be it further resolved that the Gaston County Board of Commissioners express their sincere gratitude for the dedicated service that Master Police Officer Chad Owens and wishes him the best in his retirement. This to be adopted to 23rd day of June, 2026. This is yours, Officer Owens. Thank you again, and please feel free to speak.

I just simply would want to say that it has just been a great honor and privilege to serve with the county police for the past 30 years and appreciate the opportunity to do so. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Chief, if you'll present that to him, he also won the 29 years in a row the cleanest car in the county award. Thank you guys for that.

Thank you.

Thank you. I'm going to present the clerk his dollar, because we don't want to have that.

The next proclamation, commendation, award, and certificate will now be presented by Commissioner Bailey.

Could I ask Deputy Wayland-Perser to step forward with his friends and family and co-workers? I'd like to first say I'm also retired from the sheriff's office, and when I can see some of the guys that went through some of my training actually retire, it actually shows how old I am. But I think when he came on, I was actually a lieutenant, so it kind of tells you how old I am. So let's get started with this one. It says retirement commendation for sidearm and badge for retired Deputy Wayland Purser. It says, whereas Deputy Wayland Purser retired from the Gaston County Sheriff's Office on June 1, 2026, with 30 years of credible service at the Gaston County Sheriff's Office, and whereas Deputy Purser has requested that he be awarded his service sidearm and badge worn during his service at the Gaston County Sheriff's Office pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 17F-20A and the Board Resolution No. 259 dated October 27, 1983. Now for be it resolved by the Gaston County Board of Commissioners that the badge worn by Deputy Wayland Purser and his service sidearm Glock Model 45 be declared surplus equipment. The badge worn by Deputy Wayland Purser be given to him in honor of his service with the Gaston County Sheriff's Office. and the service sidearm Glock Model 45 be permanently retired by the Gaston County Sheriff's Office and offered to retired Deputy Wayland Purser at the price of $1. The Gaston County Sheriff's Office is directed to award Deputy Purser with the service sidearm and badge as specified worn by him during his service in Gaston County in accordance with the North Carolina General Statutes and the Board policy. Be it further resolved that the Gaston County Board of Commissioners expresses their sincere gratitude to his dedicated service to Deputy Waylon Purser and wishes him the best in his retirement. This to be adopted this day, 23rd of June, 2026. If you guys would like to say anything.

Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Bailey. You've taught me a lot over the years. I want to thank all the commissioners. Thank you, Sheriff. Thank you so much. Congratulations.

Mr. Chairman, commissioners, thank you so much, citizens. First of all, I just have a few words I'd like to say about Deputy Purser here. A few things to describe him. You getting nervous? He told me he was nervous last time I was going to speak to him. A kind, gentle soul. That's how I could describe this man right here. Just from going into courthouse back before I become the sheriff, I always saw him. He was smiling. He may have bad days, but you don't see it. And he just always brings joy. When I go up there, people drag you in a lot of different directions. They want to tell you all the things that's wrong with you. He's always just been friendly, kind, always ask, how you doing? So I thank you for that, and thank you for the service that you provided for the citizens of Gaston County. So thank you very much.

Sheriff, I want to say thank you to him as well. I think every time we come into the building, he's always greeted us with a smile. How are you doing? Always positive. And I'm going to take care of your dollar tonight for you. So thank you so much for your service. Thank you.

Thank you.

And Chief Radford would like to pay for his weapons.

We collect too much more than we have to have. You got the other one? Yeah, OK.

Okay. All right. Next was a proclamation to proclaim the week of June the 15th through the 21st 2026 as waste and recycling workers week in Gaston County. As the director of public works and any other staff or they're coming up. Okay, here we go. All right. All right. It says, whereas the United States celebrates the week of June 15th through the 21st of 2026 as Waste and Recycling Workers Week, and whereas according to the Center of Disease Control, with the eradication of many diseases in the Western world is due to the large part of the higher public sanitation standards resulting from effective waste disposal, and whereas no collection of people, be it city, county, state, or country can efficiently run without sanitation workers, and whereas performing jobs daily with excellence and all weather conditions keeping our local communities and the world safe and clean. Many people may not realize the enormous environmental impacts of recycling programs or how their local sanitation workers are positively impacting the world's environment. And whereas the men and women employed by Gaston County Solid Waste and Recycling Division make significant contributions to the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens, whereas Gaston County values and celebrates all those employed in the sanitation industry that serve residents and local businesses. Now, therefore, let it be resolved that the Gaston County Board of Commissioners here proclaim that the week of June 15th through the 21st, 2026, in Gaston County as Waste Recycling Workers Week.

Chairman Brown, members of the Board of Commissioners, Mr. Roden, thank you very much for recognizing June 15th through 21st as Waste and Recycling Workers Week. We greatly appreciate it. Normally I would get up here and read from a prepared statement, but tonight I wanted to speak from my heart and say thank you to the people standing behind me. Some of them, they were at work before 6 o'clock this morning, and they thought it was important enough to come tonight to show some support for me in receiving this proclamation, but they're the ones that when you have questions for me, they're the ones I go to to get the answers. They're the experts, and I have to say thank you to them because they make me look good. I did want to read, we recently had a community engagement meeting at the landfill for the permitting of our next cell, and members of the community came in, and one of the comments that was left said, the information that was shared by all of the representatives was very useful. The design and the upkeep of this facility is excellent. We are blessed by having the design and upkeep that is needed to make this facility so useful to complete so that everything works in harmony and maximizes the resources that are available. That's the work of the people standing behind me. Thank you.

Dan, one of the things that I wanted to say to them, the hardest job a Gaston County commissioner will have, or any commissioner across the state, is landfill processes and how they work and moving. But I just want to say thank you to all of you out there. Hopefully, this week doesn't say enough about what you guys do. So appreciate you so much. Go Blue Jays.

Thank you.

is a great pleasure for the Gaston County Board of Commissioners and honor citizens to have who have unselfishly given of their time, talent, skills, and energies in service to an appointee to one of our many boards and commissions. This type of service is the foundation for the citizens' involvement in our county government and is helping shape the future of our community. We gratefully acknowledge the work of the following individuals, and a certificate of appreciation has been forwarded to them. Karen Melendez, Health and Human Services. Lucy Penninger, Historic Preservation. Scott Suggs, Parks and Recreation Board. The next item on the agenda's presentation, the presentation will be given for the Multipurpose Facility Planning and Feasibility Study. Kaylee Hinchcombe, Account Executive, Sports Facilities and Companies, will now come to the podium with Mr. Applegate. Mr. Applegate. Yes, sir.

Good evening, Mr. Chairman and commissioners. Based on the results of our most recent parks and recreation master plan update, one of the key priorities identified by residents was the need for additional indoor recreation opportunities and athletic facilities. In response, we partnered with sports facilities companies to evaluate the feasibility of developing an indoor recreation and sports facility at Dallas Park. Over the past several months, the study has examined market demand, facility programming, operational considerations, financial performance, and the potential community and economic impacts of such a facility. Tonight, we're pleased to be joined by Kaylee Hintzman and Greg Weiskarver from Sports Facilities Companies, and they're here to present the findings of their analysis and to discuss the opportunities and challenges that were identified through their study. And at this time, I'll turn it over to Kaylee and Greg. Thank you. What happened? All right. This isn't it. Sorry. That's not it.

This is it.

Here we go.

Good evening, Gadsden County commissioners. We're honored to be here. I'm Greg Wisecarver, actually resident of South Charlotte, not too far away from you. And Kaylee Hintzman, she's in Florida at our home office. She's the brains of the operation, for sure. I'm going to let her go over the results of the study. To be clear, these are guardrails set by the county to make sure to look at a facility that would be both an economic driver, economic impact to the area, but also quality of life for everybody from toddlers to seniors and serve the entire community. And so those were the marching orders we were given. And that's the parameters we went with. For us, real quick, sports facilities companies, we've been around since 2003. We've served about 3,000 different communities in that time, done more feasibility and master plans than anybody in the nation. We operate about 150 facilities as well all over the country. and really serve communities from what we call concept to concrete, from, hey, I've got this idea, to, hey, let's cut the ribbon and open this thing and make it roll. So we're honored to be partnering with you at this level, and certainly are here for ongoing questions and comments. But I want to let Kaylee get right into the results of the study.

Thanks, Craig. So we start with our process overview where we met with Michael and his team a few months back to really define what does success look like for this project. From there we studied the market and the competition and then funneled into the input in our strategy. Through the process we started what does success look like for the project. The key takeaways here were really to build a best in class sports tourism facility that not only drew in sports tourism and events, but also serve the local community, a place to grow those local leagues, camps, clinics, et cetera. Also maximize revenue generating opportunities to create an operationally sustainable model at maturity and partnering with the surrounding communities and counties. From there, we study the market. This map here gives an overview of the four-hour drive time where people can drive in for tournaments and events. We based off of drive time and not a circular radius. That's why you'll see the squiggly lines there. From there, we studied the local markets, the sub-regional markets, and the regional markets to see what's the demographics and the socioeconomics. of the market we take that information and we integrate it into the back end of our analysis from there we then study what's the key participation rates and what what are the sports that people are participating in the area to see if that falls in line with the vision of the project from here you can see basketball pickleball baseball and volleyball were the top four for this region from there we research competition locally when we say locally it's 45 minutes out from the site that's anything from court facilities sports performance indoor turf facilities fitness centers etc 263 may look like a large number but for example of the court facilities most of those only had one basketball court with the goal of sports tourism you want to have a facility that has eight courts or more to be able to attract those sports tournaments and events From there we then looked at the regional competition. What's the facilities in the region? So within that four hour drive time that have that large number of courts and how are we going to compete with them in that region? From there we landed on this facility program, the recommended facility program to match those definitions of success in this facility program. It is an eight court facility that has the capability to be cross lined with 16 volleyball courts, 24 pickleball courts that gives you that capability for the sports tourism destination. along with the local programs for camps, clinics, etc. Also on that flat floor space, you can do trade shows, conventions, meeting spaces, graduations, concert shows, etc. Below that is turf space. That's a local asset for the community to use. Think of indoor soccer leagues, baseball, softball, etc. Below that is a family entertainment center. That's anything from redemption arcades, clip and climbs, golf simulators. That's going to be a key revenue driver for the facility. It keeps people in the facility, provide them an activity to do. And then followed by a fitness center. That is a community asset, also one of the key revenue drivers in the facility. Below that is all the flex space that would make the facility usable, like your offices, your tickets. concessions, and then lastly, a elevated walking track that would serve the community during the inclement weather. All in all, this facility would require 766 parking spaces and just a little over 13 acres there. And then we have our uses of funds. So this facility would fall anywhere in between $56.5 million and $68.7 million. This would be the all-in cost to develop this facility. Everything from your site development, your hard shell, your equipment, such as your courts, your basketballs, your volleyballs, the soft costs of construction, your permits, and the soft operating fees.

And this is all in, guys, today, right? And we know they're not getting built today. So you can add in kind of ongoing escalation there as it takes time. But this is that full facility. Obviously, your job, when and if it becomes time, is to kind of piecemeal, like, we do want that, we don't want that. And our job is to tell you the financial ramifications and impact ramifications of those decisions, right, long term.

From there we looked at, after we developed the facility, what's the financial performance of this facility. So here's a summary of the total revenue. We looked at what programs can be run at this facility, what tournaments, what events, what's those revenue drivers that's gonna make this facility operationally sustainable. So we have everything from your court tournaments, basketball, volleyball, cheer, dance, wrestling, pickleball, all the way down to your local programming, your basketball leagues, your volleyball leagues, camps, clinics, your fitness, your membership area, birthday parties, all the way down to your sponsorship and advertisement revenue. Year five is what we deem a full maturity of a facility. So at year five, this facility is bringing in just a little over four million. After we looked at the revenue, we looked at what's the total expenses that would be associated to running those programs, increasing the registration. So we've got our cost of goods sold that are associated to each of those business unit lines. In year five, the cost of goods sold would be roughly 1.5 million. In addition to that, we then looked at what's the operating expenses for this facility. So your maintenance, your grounds, your staffing management payroll. All of that's included in the total operating expenses. Key point I want to mention here is that this model assumes a third party operations. We reflected third party operations as a third party operator has the expertize to bring in tournaments, events, keep the staffing levels lower on that payroll taxes and benefits and really drive the the local programing as well. So with the goal of that operational sustainable definition of success, we felt like that was the best approach for this model. When we look at the revenue against the expenses, this is the summary performance here. The EBITDA, which is the earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization, does require an operational subsidy in year one of $817,000, but in year five, full maturity of the facility does have a positive EBITDA of $4,642. When we build and recommend sports tourism facilities, most of the facilities are requiring an operational subsidy. These facilities are overbuilt for the local community in order to attract those tournaments and events. After we looked at the financial performance, we knew that economic impact was also important for this project. So we looked at what is the per person spend? Basically, people that are coming from more than 90 minutes away that would stay overnight in the community, what are they spending per day? per night in the community. Key area I want to point out here, lodging and accommodations. We know nobody's staying in town for $36 a night. That's assuming three to four people per room per night to get that lodging and accommodations number. So at year five, per person per spend is $146. We took that information and we looked at how many tournaments and events could this facility host. From here, this is the basketball, volleyball, and other tournaments and events. In our basketball and volleyball lines, we have small, medium, and large tournaments. So sometimes we're using four courts. Sometimes we're using eight. Sometimes we're using 16. It takes time to build up a community as a tournament destination. So we start conservative to build up. So in year one, we're projecting 21 tournaments and events, all the way up to 31 tournaments and events in year five. When you take the tournaments and events and that average per person per spend, this facility would attract over 14,000 new room nights and maturity and draw in 9.6 million in economic impact. That's in addition to that operational performance there due to the facility being in the community. Lastly, we looked at what's the tax revenue generation that this facility could bring that currently doesn't exist. So this facility, year five, could bring in over $270,000 in new tax revenue. From there, we looked at, lastly, what are the key insights and what is the opportunities for this facility?

Yeah, and that's, as you guys probably feel, that's motoring through what usually takes an hour to break down and go through. We're trying to honor your time and certainly leave room for questions and answers. To be clear, we're not here to talk you into building something or talk you out. We're here to equip you with data and information that is the most accurate in the industry so you can make good decisions in the years to come as you are growing community, looking to fund a lot of things, right? This is just one piece of the puzzle when you talk about community parks, recreation, local quality of life, but also driving tax base and room nights and generating more there, which will also bring the need for the interest of more hotels, businesses, and other things, too. So we want to stop there and just see if there's any questions that we can answer while we're here.

Any questions for the board at this time? Mr. Hobbs. One question.

Earlier in the presentation, you said the scalability of this was about 14 acres. Yes, sir. Is that a minimum, or is that?

That's the all-in for the facility, including the parking, setbacks, green space, everything.

That easily gives you some buffer room, too. That's everything needed. Yes, sir. I just wanted to make sure I understood that as we're looking at location, location, location. Because in Gaston County, there's some places you can't get to. Absolutely. And that's a sad situation. But with the interstate, the parking lot out there, it's kind of difficult sometimes. Sure. OK. Yes, sir.

I also want to appreciate you guys for coming. This is the type of study we need to do for every project that we put our heads down and we come into just because it gives us a lot. I think you missed a few key new sports. And I say that just because, like wiffle ball. Wiffle ball is taking over indoor sports now. It gives you a monthly league type of thing. But I'm a baseball guy, so I like to see that stuff. But thank you guys for coming.

Any other questions for them from the board?

Seeing none, thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

That's a lot to digest.

The next item is other matters. Any other matters need to come before the board at this time? Seeing none, this concludes our work session for the night. The regular meeting will convene immediately. Thank you for watching. If you have any questions, please remit those to Donna S. Buffett, 704-866-3196.

Come in.

You good? Want a break? I will call now the order to the regular June meeting call to order. The commission will consider postponing two public hearings tonight to July 28, 2026, and take citizens comments for one economic development public hearing on Project Metro. Before we begin, let me outline The rules and procedures of the hearing. Citizens wishing to make comments will be recognized by the chair, then request to step to the microphone and give their name and address for the record. Comments are limited tonight to three minutes. All questions shall be directed to the chair for response. The chair shall rule in all points of order. Do I hear a motion to go into public hearing? So moved. Motion made by Commissioner Hobart, seconded by Commissioner Sheehan. All in favor? We are now in public hearing. Do I have to show which ones we're continuing on? I need a motion to continue items A and B. Motion made by Commissioner Hovis, seconded by Commissioner Sheehan. All in favor? It is unanimous, Madam Clerk. The next item on the agenda, item C, the County Commission will now take citizens' comments on public hearing to approve citizens' Gasson County level one incentive grant to authorize Gasson County to enter into an economic development agreement with Project Metro. Ms. Shalisha Summey, Assistant Director of EDC, will provide a brief overview. Once she has completed her comments, citizens' comments will be taken. No jacket tonight? Ms. Summey.

Thank you, Chairman Brown. The ADC has been working with Project Metro for about a year. They've been operating in Gaston County for 15 years, so their existing industry. We've had a hard time finding a facility for them to move into because they're busting at the seams of their current location. They actually were looking at surrounding counties to move out of Gaston County. They worked with us for a year. We did find them an older facility that they're very interested in. That facility may get Brownfield credits. We're working with the state as well to get a building reuse grant, which is very good because the building's sitting there um vacant right now so we've been working with them they're interested in this facility if they locate here we ask that you give them a level one grant that is our standard five-year grant this expansion they're actually going to create 15 new jobs paying at the county's average annual wage a little bit higher than that as well and they're looking to invest about 3.4 million dollars into the facility happy answering questions if you have any any citizens wishing to comment at this time on this matter

Seeing none, any questions from the Board of Commissioners? Seeing none as well, since there are no additional comments, I will now declare the public hearing closed. Do I have a motion to approve the level one grant as given?

Motion made by Commissioner Hovis, seconded by Commissioner Bailey. Any discussion? All in favor?

It is unanimous, Madam Clerk. This concludes tonight's public hearing. Thank you all for attending. Approval of the business agenda. Are there any revisions to the business agenda or items that need to be pulled? Seeing none, I have one for discussion. Go ahead, Tom. I'm sorry.

maybe just get the manager. We don't have to pull it if he can just give a brief explanation of item T as in Tom.

T as in Tom for discussion, also item D for discussion. Tom, I'll go first if that's okay. We'll take them in order while the manager looks at that. I just wanted to have something looked at. Item D on our agenda that we get, especially here coming toward the end of the fiscal year, is accepting departmental budget change requests for information i would like to have that as a policy that we look for at least two of the three uh you brian or vincent to have that looked at uh by twos to try to discuss some of that there's so many different things on there tonight that perked my attention so we started looking at them I mean, these budget change requests, as we get to the end of the year, I think that's where we should be really scrutinizing on every one of those. And I want two of y'all looking at that rather than giving it to, once Kyle gets it, and then it goes to Scott, and then by the time it gets to somebody else, we need some, there's some scrutiny that needs to go on that I think that once we see it and somebody flags it, we need some explanation up here because I think just the things that we have, just saying with the numbers. Obviously, you guys get that to do, but I wanted to make sure that that has some checks and balances on who's looking at that and what's going on to give those people below who have said, hey, we don't want this. This year, we need to question this. Give a little bit of validity to why it's getting to that point. So I just wanted to discuss that, help the board be all right. Looking into that as further exploration to the budget. Tom, you had a item T yes. I don't know what that is. I have to look it up. Sorry.

It's just appropriations, but I want to know, is this fairly normal every year? These amounts.

Yeah. And I'll ask Kyle to come up and explain the Gatsby requirements because the Gatsby rules change every year, but it is associated with general accounting standards practices.

Good evening.

Yes, this is standard practice. It's not actually an appropriation. It is just a transfer within our, and it's strictly an accounting entry. There's no appropriation. This is not a fund balance appropriation per se. I know that might be what you're interested in.

Maybe we can change the wording from appropriation to transferring.

Yep, we can do that.

I get it. Thank you.

Any other questions about any item that would not be pulled before we approve the business agenda with nothing? We'll hear a motion to approve the business agenda as presented.

Motion made by Commissioner Fraley, seconded by Commissioner Hovis. Any discussion?

All in favor? It is unanimous, Madam Clerk. Approval of the minutes, you were provided the draft of the minutes for the regular meeting of April 28, 2026, the closed session of April 28, 2026, special meeting May 12, 2026, regular meeting May 26 of 2026, closed session of May 26 of 2026. Are there any revisions to hear a motion to approve as presented? Motion made by Commissioner Hovis, seconded by Commissioner Sheehan. Any discussion? All in favor? It is unanimous, Madam Clerk. The next item on the agenda is citizens recognition. Our portion of the board's agenda is set aside for the purpose of allowing citizens the opportunity to offer comments and suggestions. This comment period is not intended to require the commission or staff to answer any questions or provide a response. Questions requiring response shall be answered as soon as possible through the county manager's office. Citizens' recognition tonight will be limited to three minutes. As I call your name, please step to the podium, give your name and address. One other thing, we'll be doing decorum rules tonight, so as you get there, please look for the red light and make sure that you're, as soon as the red light comes on, we'll be turning you off as well. So the first person tonight is Sarah Drennan.

Good evening. My name is Sarah Drennan. I live at 1801 Kingston Drive. Commissioners, I'd just like you to know that we watch and we listen. We listen to the details of these meetings very carefully. On April 14, a lady with long brown hair spoke for the monument. No name, no address was required or given. And yet four speakers later, the president of our local NAACP Badger to give his name and address. You can watch the video as I did today on YouTube. We watch and we listen. Can you believe it's only been four months since the teacher from Carr Elementary blew up social media with her post about lack of teachers, lack of bus drivers, instructional materials, and paper? The next week, the superintendent came to you, commissioners, asking for originally $14 million to get through the school year without having to lay off hundreds of teachers. By the time he got here, the request was $10 million. Why the change? Was that a control issue school board members have spoken about? The super admitted GCS's role in the shortfall and the state's role was clear. However, $7.1 million came from a loss of low income supplement. This was after property was revalued in 2022. property values went up almost 42% in Gaston County. As a result, my property taxes at 1801 Kingston Drive went from $2,200 to $3,600 in 2025 and 2026. Your actions, the revaluation, caused our schools to lose $7.1 million. It seems to me that it's your job to replace that $7.1 million annually. We watch and we listen. There have been five meetings in this room since Superintendent Huchard asked for your help. I'm estimating 60 out of 75. I'm estimating about 75 speakers during that time. 60 of them have asked you very politely to fully fund Gaston County Schools. We have no idea how many emails you receive. phone calls you received I never heard back from my four emails that I sent there was also a petition with 1,000 local signatures you know the quote insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results well maybe it's time to lose the excuses because we watch and we listen your excuses are it's been a lean year we have to watch our general fund Other agencies need more than schools do. But our leader, Brittany Elkid, has done her research and shows that that is not true. Thank you, Brittany.

Thank you, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am. William Shannon.

That's my old eye doctor, I think.

Yeah, William Shannon, 150 Stow Dairy Road, Gastonia, North Carolina. As the last speaker alluded to, this raises my point. Contacting the commissioners and the lady so appropriately said that she has had no responses to her four emails. I had the same difficulty. I'm not sure what the commissioners are supposed to do. I've always believed that they were representatives of the population, taxpayers, that sort of thing. So to answer my question, what does it take to get the commissioners to respond to emails? Very simple questions.

They don't respond to that lady. They don't respond to me.

Very simple question. Should they go through the clerk? Well, I've contacted the clerk once or twice, never got a response from her. So that's my question.

Mr. Shannon, you can call me at my phone number, 704-516-8017. It's on the website. And I'll take your calls if anybody wants to call and talk to me.

Okay, it's more than talk, Mr. Chairman.

I'm sorry?

It's more than just talk. It's an action that needs to be done.

I just want to let you know there's an outlet that you can reach out to me. Thank you. Matthew Housley.

Thank you all for letting me speak tonight. My name's Matt Housley, 147 Kyle Lane, Jacksboro, Tennessee. I'm the father of Lacey Roten, and I'm here tonight to ask the commissioners to help us out with something that North Carolina doesn't have, and that's grandparent rights. North Carolina doesn't have grandparent rights. So I'm here to ask the commission to draft a letter, send it to your state legislatures, ask them to take up grandparent rights. Too many loving grandparents are cut off from their grandchildren after divorce, estrangement, or the death of a parent. These children are facing losses, and cutting the grandparents out is just another loss for them. This issue is deeply personal to us. My wife Karen and I, we drove five hours to be here tonight. I'm the grandfather of three beautiful kids in Gaston County Schools, and we love them very much. My wife and I were always active in their lives. We've never missed a birthday, never missed a Christmas, never missed anything. We were always here for them. We always had them in our house in the summer in Tennessee. They stayed with us two, three weeks, whatever. And we were always here for dance recitals, graduations, milestones, whatever it was, we tried to be here. Three years ago, our lives changed when our daughter was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. And she passed away a year ago last week, at 15. During her illness, my wife and I spent much of our time here, as much as we did in Tennessee. We would pass each other on Interstate 40 Asheville, North Carolina, we'd stop for lunch or dinner. We would see each other for an hour, and that was the only time we might see each other that whole week because we wanted to be here to help the family. When Lacey was too sick to do her normal daily chores, we jumped in with a lot of friends, and a lot of them are here in this audience tonight. We jumped in, made the school rounds to Page, Belmont Central, New Bridge Daycare, We were there. We were dropping them off, picking them up, helping all we could, anything they needed. And then on June 15th, she passed away. I share this story just for this commission. This is not the only county commission I'm going to. I plan on going to Cleveland. and a few others, we need to get this ball rolling. I'm going to ask for grandparent rights legislation to be brought up at the state, just like we have in the state of Tennessee. And for those here tonight and those watching at home, you guys have an election coming up November 3rd. Ask the two candidates, where do you stand on grandparent rights? Mary Silver and Carrie Lyon.

Thank you, Mr. Housley.

Good deal. Well, I appreciate the time.

I'll see you in about two weeks. Thank you. Thank you.

Brittany Elkin, 3012 High Ridge Court. Our number one family rule is simple. Be kind and respectful, because almost every problem eventually comes back to these two ideas. Kindness is not simply being nice. Kindness requires us to ask how our decisions affect the people around us. Being respectful is the act of treating people with basic dignity and acknowledging their inherent worth. Respect requires listening when members of our community tell us that something is causing harm. If I tell my children that I value them and I hear their concerns, but I continually fail to meet their needs, my words lose meaning. The same is true for a community. You say you hear us, but you rushed through a vote to approve a budget that kept school funding flat. You say you want transparency, but you decided to have private meetings with the school board to get answers to questions that have been answered over and over. We asked for those meetings to be public, and you said, if they're public, people will hold back. They won't be fully open. You say the school board should do this and the state should do that, but I don't let my kids get away with the blame game, and I won't let you either. It is time to acknowledge that the numbers tell a clear story. Gaston County has made choices that have deprioritized education. From 2021 to 2025, county revenue increased 77.8%. while local operating funding for schools grew 4.6%. General government funding grew 66% in the same period. It is time to acknowledge your part in this. It is time to respect the citizens you represent and be transparent. It is time to put the citizens of this county before your own political aspirations. And the same principle applies beyond education. It is time to acknowledge that you've had thousands of citizens explaining why the Confederate monument outside needs to be moved where it can be presented with appropriate historical context. Three of you have actually voted to remove that monument in 2020. Do you remember that? Respect is not measured by words. Respect is measured by actions. And as a parent, I often have to say the hard thing. I have to do the hard thing. I don't choose the path of least resistance because it rarely leads to meaningful growth. Sometimes doing the right thing means disappointing people. Sometimes it means being criticized. That is leadership. You should not be guided by whichever decision creates the least pushback from supporters with the deepest pockets. You should be guided by what is right. You should be willing to bear the discomfort, criticism, and political consequences that come with moving our community toward greater equality. Whether we're talking about education funding, transparency, or the monument outside this courthouse, the question is the same. Are you listening, and what are you going to do about it?

Thank you. Sean Bates, please no clapping. I've asked for decorum already. Thank you.

I'm Sean Bates, 210 West Franklin. So we keep showing up. You have the people who keep showing up for the schools. And her speech made me think of responsibility and accountability, two different things. What you guys choose to be responsible for or what you choose to pass along, that's up to you. But what you are accountable to is the people that are here. You're accountable to the citizens of this county. You see, not everything the school board does is your responsibility. We all know that. But you have chosen to be an elected official to represent. So why can't you do it and be accountable to it? Why can't you make sure that the things that the people are asking for are being acknowledged, heard, and recognized, as opposed to just playing the political game of it? Why don't we admit to the fact that we can spend money to help somebody who's already rich get another restaurant, and we can take pictures with it, but yet we still can't give the money that the school needs? We can do all these different things that we want to do, but we're not doing the things that we need to do. And that's all these people want right now. They have a need. Their kids have needs. You need to step up and be accountable to these students. Be accountable to these citizens. Be accountable to everybody that keeps showing up here and asking you to hear us, to do something with what you hear. Don't just wave it off. Actually accept it, know who you are, and move forward. That's the only way we progress. You see, no matter how we view things, at the end of the day, we're all in this together. We're going to be neighbors. So if we're going to be in this position, we need to figure out how we're going to work together, and we need to start making the progress that the people need. That's all.

Deonna Graham please ma'am 201 West Franklin

Good evening, my name is Deanna Graham, Vice President of the NAACP Gastonia Branch 5394B. Tonight I want to talk about priorities. It has become painfully clear that our county commissioners are not interested in hearing the concerns of many of the citizens that they were elected to serve. Community members have spoken about adequately funding our public schools. Community members have spoken about the Confederate monument that still stands at the entrance of the courthouse, a symbol that many hold as a painful reminder of the racist past. Yet our concerns are ignored. Perhaps we need to stop talking about intentions and start following the money. According to the county budget, public safety receives approximately 112.2 million or 32% of county spending. Education receives approximately 60.8 million or 18%. Public safety received nearly twice the funding allocated to education. What message does that send? For black students in particular, many families are asking difficult questions. Does this county truly believe in investing in opportunity or is it accepting the reality of school to prison pipeline? When educational resources are reduced, opportunities shrink. When opportunities shrink, poverty increases, economic mobility decreases, and communities suffer. Incarceration, that's big business. See, education is an investment. I don't know if you're willing to invest in it. History teaches us that denying educational opportunities has long been maintained as a system of inequality. You see, during slavery, access to education was restricted for black people because an educated person has power. An educated person asks question. An educated black person populates votes. An educated black person demands accountability. That is why some of us look at these underfunded school systems, a confederate monument, standing proudly at the courthouse and budget priorities that favor public safety over education, and we can't help but ask difficult questions. What is the vision of this county? Black families have the right to ask whether these priorities reflect a commitment to educational excellence or acceptance of unequal outcomes. Thank you.

Jess Marano.

My name is Jessica Maria Moreno, 314 South Chestnut Street. I'm honored to stand before you as someone who believes deeply in the future of Gaston County. I believe every child deserves quality education, and every resident deserves a government that is transparent, accountable, responsive to the people that it serves. It's concerning that there's so many people in the audience that have reached out to county commission and not received a response that saddens me because We need a community that comes together for the benefit of our community. And the benefit of our community is to invest in schools and it's to make everyone feel safe. I've spoken before about the monument. There are people that come every week to speak on that and speak on the schools. and I don't see that this is dying down there. It's going to keep growing because people want answers. I think that's a theme overall in the whole county. Folks talked about resources and the investment in safety and the investment in the schools. But if we invest in the schools, then we're gonna have a community that exceeds and we're gonna have less safety issues because an educated community is a safe community. So I plead with the county, the commission to Take these voices serious and come to the table with people and let's find a solution that benefits our children, benefits our teachers. I have a friend who's a teacher and she teaches in the ESL program. And this is her first year teaching. And she told me that some of her students say to her, you are the most stable thing that I have had in my life right now. You're the most stable thing. With these cuts, this teacher friend of mine is not sure what her future in Gaston County looks like. So she's in against two hard places where she wants to be there for her kids. And she makes about $30,000 a year, has to pay out of pocket to get certified. Plus, we know teachers spend out of pocket for materials. They stay after school. They don't make overtime. So I want us to look at the people that are holding up our students and supporting them. And we need to support our teachers. We need to support our students. Thank you so much.

Thank you. And Helms?

Good evening and Helms three 16 Gaither road. You know, there's a lot of jobs that people don't notice until there's a problem. And I think that County commissioner might be one of those. I suspect a few months ago, a lot of people out here could not have told you who our County commissioners were or what you do. Teacher layoffs have a way of jolting people to attention. So now we know for sure, at least two things you fund our public schools and you control our property tax rates. And those are very important jobs. I hope you all appreciate that having citizens care about what you do is a good thing. This is democracy in action. And I want to use this opportunity, especially when we've had some young people in our audience, to call attention to procedures that, intentionally or not, send the message that you don't really want us here. First, there's the requirement that speakers state their home address on camera. Now, no responsible adult would suggest that children or teens should put their home address on the internet. So I assume that when students speak, there's an exception. What about the rest of us? Where do you draw the line? What about somebody who lives alone? What about someone who's been a victim of violence or stalking? What about all of us who just don't want the angriest or craziest person who disagrees with us to pay us a visit? There's no good purpose for requiring us to state our home addresses on camera. I urge you to change that rule, but if you're unwilling to do that, please set a good example by stating your home addresses. When you introduced yourselves at the beginning of the meeting, I suspect you don't want to do that. I noticed that on the contact page for our County website, three of you, Chad Brown, Kathy Cloninger, and Alan Fraley give PO boxes, even though I'm pretty sure you have home addresses. Second, there's the no applause rule. which seems to be at the chair's discretion. I didn't hear you say it today. I was hoping you had changed it. Evidently I was wrong. I checked video of the union and Cabarrus County commissioners meetings. They don't require addresses on camera and they allow applause. You're in Gaston County. We applaud when you all give proclamations and honors at the start of the meeting. We clap when people speak at school board meetings. There is just no reason that we have to shut down applause here. We're here because we respect what you do. It matters in our lives. But please remember that we are not guests on your turf. We're the reason you're here. This is the people's house. And by the way, I don't get responses to my emails either. Glad it's not personal.

Ms. Samantha Easter's.

Good evening. My name is Samantha Easters, and I live at 205 Red Oak Court in Gastonia. Over the past several months, our community has watched a great deal of finger pointing. We've heard blame placed on previous boards, previous administrations, current administrations, staffing decisions, funding, software systems, and longstanding practices. At times, it feels like every new piece of information is met not with a search for solutions, but with a search for someone to blame and a finger to point. We've heard arguments about unused Chromebooks, eliminated positions that were filled or vacant, but at what point do we stop asking who is to blame and start asking what comes next? The HIL report concluded that Gaston County Schools financial challenges resulted in part from inadequate funding and that additional local funding was necessary to maintain operations. More than 170 positions were eliminated, regardless of whether those positions were vacant or filled. The impact on services, staffing capacity, and the future of the district is real. At some point, we have to stop treating serious community issues like a debate to be one and start treating them like problems to be solved because the people of Gaston County are tired of the blame. We're tired of hearing why something isn't someone else's responsibility. We're tired of watching leaders, stakeholders, and community members talk past one another instead of working together the people of gasson county did not elect leaders to re-litigate old disagreements they elected leaders to work together communicate openly and make decisions that serve the people of this county education is not a partisan issue education is a gasson county issue and the future of gasson county begins with the education of the children who will one day lead it unfortunately many residents have watched relationships deteriorate communication breakdowns and old grudges take precedence over collaboration. The result has been confusion, mistrust, and a community left wondering who is actually focused on moving us forward. Leadership is not about defending every past decision. Accountability is not about finding someone else to blame. Transparency is not something that happens after decisions have already been made. Leadership means being willing to acknowledge mistakes learn from them, chart a better path forward and not saying, well, this is how it's always been done. Accountability means taking ownership of the decisions made and acknowledging when different choices should be made going forward. Transparency means allowing the public to understand how decisions are reached and why priorities are chosen. I'm asking everyone involved to move beyond the blame, put aside old grudges put aside accusations and put aside the need to win an argument and instead focus on the future of this county because our children deserve better than a divided community divided by blame when they should be united by purpose the question is no longer who is responsible for the past the question is whether we are willing to take responsibility for the future thank you miss elizabeth conyers

My name is Elizabeth Conyers. I live at 701 Kemswick Circle, Gastonia. Your opening prayer tonight, Mr. Hovis, was beautiful, and I agree that God is here with us in this moment, and I trust that he will give us all of the wisdom that you asked for. I claim to follow Christ, as many of you do, and I affirm that each of the children in our community were created by God in his image with a unique purpose for their lives. I believe that you and I are a part of that purpose. God has placed me in a special education classroom teaching young children with significant cognitive disabilities for a little over a decade now. They are reliant on public education's unique promise to provide a free and appropriate education regardless of the level of need. For my students, that has included services like adapted curriculum, hearing impaired services, visually impaired services, physical therapy, one-on-one adult support, assistive technology, speech therapy, occupational therapy, adapted physical education, specialized transportation. I could go on, but I have a three minute time limit. Fulfilling our legal obligation to them requires an extensive network of specialized professionals, equipment, and materials. These supports are not cheap, but public schools do not have the legal option of deciding that a child is too costly to serve. We make a promise to educate every child who comes through our doors no matter what. God has placed you where you are today to provide the necessary resources to fulfill the promise of public education for the most vulnerable in our community. I prayed for each one of you by name before I came here tonight, knowing that you have a hard job with many needs in this community to balance. Tonight, I'm asking you to prioritize students like mine who are reliant on what public education uniquely promises. We have an obligation to them, both legally and morally. And if we fail them, where else can they go? Remember the words of our Lord, whatever you do for the least of these you do for me. Thank you.

My name's Virginia Hoyle. I'm at 205 Crossing Avenue. And for the record, I do not like stating my home address publicly either. I think it's unnecessary and slightly dangerous. But I'm here again to ask you to prioritize funding for public schools in Gaston County. And because I made a promise to keep talking about this the last time I spoke, I'm also asking that that Confederate monument in front of the courthouse be moved. I'm going to be brief because I really don't like standing up here. It's difficult for me. Probably it is for some other people too. But do you know what's more difficult? Knowing we have more money than many surrounding counties to invest in our kids but choose to spend it on other priorities like private clubs and drive-through buildings is more difficult. My middle school and high school children having to share a librarian next school year is more difficult. My kids' schools sending emails begging for help to fill teaching positions for next year is more difficult. And knowing those vacancies likely exist because beloved teachers have given up on this county and moved on is more difficult. Knowing they can't easily replace the teachers because word is likely out in surrounding counties that Gaston County doesn't prioritize education and isn't a good place to work is more difficult. Wondering if my kids are going to be at a disadvantage when they're grown because of this is so much more difficult. Walking past that monument outside is more difficult than standing up here to talk to you. Understanding that the resulting injustice, hatefulness, and pain because of that monument is more difficult. knowing that a choice was made to move it here in 1998 but being told now that it can never be moved is more difficult so yes standing up here is difficult for me but staying silent while now knowing you all have the power to improve these issues but have so far chosen not to do so would be worse thank you stephanie hartman

Good evening again commissioners. My name is Stephanie Hartman and I live at 1223 Oakwood Avenue. I am the parent of a kindergartner in Gaston County Schools and tonight I want to talk to you about something that's very personal to me but something that affects families across the county. My son has asthma and a life-threatening food allergy. We completed every required form. His physician created an emergency action plan and his medications were provided to the school. This year, when he was struggling with a persistent cough and needed medical attention at school, I was told that the nurse was not on campus. At my son's school, the nurse is on site only two days each week. Thankfully, that day was not an emergency. He could wait. But what if he couldn't? My son is in kindergarten. He cannot be expected to assess a medical emergency and administer his own medication. That responsibility falls to the adults in charge of keeping him safe. As a financial planner, I spend my days helping families prepare for risk. One of the most important lessons in financial planning is that you do not budget looking only in the rearview mirror. You protect against the risks that could cause catastrophic harm. You ensure what you cannot afford to lose. And we cannot afford to gamble with the lives of the children in our county. When support positions are reduced, those responsibilities do not disappear. They shift onto teachers who are already carrying extraordinary burdens. There comes a point when understaffing is no longer an efficiency measure. It becomes a safety issue. From 2021 to 2025, county revenues increased by 77.8%. Yet among the county's major spending categories, school operating funding saw the smallest increase. Commissioner Cloninger specifically said she would need to see where these dollars were going with our schools. Respectfully, if you cannot see that our schools are operating on a bare bones budget, then you're simply not paying attention. The situation I described tonight happened before Gaston County Schools eliminates an additional 174 support positions. If access to essential staff has already stretched thin, then we should all be asking what these reductions mean for the safety of our students going forward. The true measure of a budget is not what it saves on paper. The true measure is whether it adequately protects the people who depend on it. Every parent who sends their child to school should be confident that if a medical emergency happens, trained professionals will be there, not two days a week, every day, because preventing the emergency that changes a family's life forever should be a top-line budget priority. So perhaps instead of a competitive wiffle ball facility, we should stay focused on not whiffing the safety and education of our children. Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am. One of the things in going forward, I'll take the chairman's privilege here to talk a little bit. I spoke with many of the teachers. I also spoke with many of the residents in doing different things. We decided to open up the meeting to two people. I'm going to promote that. I'm going to tell staff to connect to these people so they can have transparency. One of those is here tonight, Ms. Samantha Easter. We'll be representing a group in there. And the other one, I will make sure the staff gets to Mr. Lowrance to talk about that. Mr. Manager, did you have something that you were asking me?

Absolutely. So I just want to point out a few things and just provide some facts and context around some of the facts that are being thrown out there, because I think there are a lot of numbers where you look on our website, you look on the state's website, and I just want to put out there for the record that property tax collections from 2021 to 2025 had increased by 22%, 171 million to 208 million during that period. The general fund revenues overall have went from 288 million to 353 million, which is an increase of 23%. I've heard numbers of 60, 70, 80%. And I can only conclude that that is possibly coming from looking on state level data that shows debt proceeds as a revenue. Debt proceeds are not a revenue, they're a liability. Those direct debt proceeds came in 2025 for Gadsden County Schools, $190 million. So a large portion of that increase is shown in that way. It is not a revenue. It is a liability that we budget for on the backside. So the key point here is that county operations and revenues grew between 22% and 23%, not 60%, 70%, or 80%. During that same time period, EMS calls for the county have increased by 35%. Police, fire, animal care, and EMS workloads have increased by 13%. Public health patient visits have increased by 15%. Child Advocacy Center services have increased by 115%. Medicaid applications have increased by 30%. Food and nutrition applications have increased by 71%. I'm not trying to point any fingers here or trying to say that there aren't school meets. What I'm trying to say is when you use other facts and figures against other areas of county government to point to something needed elsewhere, there are facts behind those as well. During that same period of time, total school operating funding has increased by 11%, but the capital piece has increased by 51%. The number 60 million often gets thrown around for schools, and that is an accurate number if you're looking at operating. But you gotta combine the debt, you gotta combine the capital, and that number is over $90 million. Last year, that number was $100 million. So when comparing it to public safety, those are the true numbers. That's all I had to say.

I think just for clarification was the reason we wanted to bring some of the numbers, because there's been so many misconceptions of different things. So one of the things that we've done is we're going to ask those two members to be able to sit into those meetings, and then we will move forward with transparency so you guys can see that. The next item on the agenda is approval of the consent agenda. Do I hear a motion to approve the consent agenda with no items pulled? So moved. Motion made by Commissioner Kueger, seconded by Commissioner Hovis.

Any discussion? All in favor?

It is unanimous, Madam Clerk. Non-consent agenda items was added tonight to authorize the North Carolina Industrial Commission settlement for McLean versus Gaston County in the amount of $135,000. Do I have a motion to approve? Motion made by Commissioner Hovis, seconded by Commissioner Bailey. Any discussion? All in favor? All opposed? It is unanimous, Madam Clerk.

Appointments. Commissioner Fraley. I have a couple, Mr. Chairman. One application received for Community Action Board of Trustees, Michelle McBatter. A reappointment to Gaston County Planning and Zoling Board, Sean Ray. And a reappointment to Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, Gage Johnson. Second.

Motion made by Commissioner Fraley, seconded by Commissioner Keegar. All in favor? It is unanimous, Madam Clerk. Commissioner Sheehan.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I've got two reappointments, one to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, a Ms. Christy Rogers, another to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, a Mrs. Kristen J. Dorms, I believe, Esquire.

Second. Seconded by Commissioner Hobos. All in favor? It is unanimous, Madam Clerk.

Mr. Bailey. Yes, I have one reappointment tonight. It is Mr. Bill Lee to the Gadsden County Fire Commission.

Second. Seconded by Commissioner Hobos. All in favor? It is unanimous, Madam Clerk.

Mr. Chair, I have Ms. Cloninger's reappointment. She's asked us to take action on those tonight. She has three reappointments. One's to Emergency Medical Services Committee, Dr. Scott's Centers. The next one is the Gaston County Planning and Zoning Board, Johan Love. and the Health and Human Services Board reappointment for Mark Lassiter.

Second. Seconded by Commissioner Keeger. All in favor? Unanimous, Madam Clerk. Commissioner Keeger.

The reappointment to Workforce Development, Crystal McCabe and Claudette Agrabright.

Seconded by Commissioner Fraley. All in favor? Unanimous, Madam Clerk.

Commissioner Hovis. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have one new appointment and two reappointments. The new appointment is to the Gaston Community Action Board of Trustees. That's from Vanessa Lane. Reappointment to the Gaston County Planning and Zoning Board, Mr. Michael McGee. And reappointment to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, Mr. Michael Applegate.

Seconded by Commissioner Sheehan. All in favor? unanimous madam clerk i have one tonight for health and human services the reappointment of wakea barry seconded by commissioner sheehan all in favor unanimous madam clerk full board appointments going to be a few here we'll do them all individually equalization review board reappointment requested by miss chelsea tarbush second seconded by commissioner sheehan all in favor unanimous madam clerk second one equalization review board going to have a switch for uh David Pacehour Jr. going to the alternate seat, to the at-largest seat. And Ms. Kimberly Baker is coming to the alternate position. Second. Seconded by Commissioner Hobos. All in favor? It is unanimous, Madam Clerk. The reappointment is requested from Commissioner Keiger to the College Board of Trustees. Second. You OK with that, Mr. Keiger? Yeah. Seconded by Commissioner Sheehan, all in favor? It is unanimous, Madam Clerk. Next one is for the Fire Commission, Commissioner Hovis. Seconded by Commissioner Sheehan, all in favor? It is unanimous, Madam Clerk. Next one, Fire Commission, Mr. Justin Westbrook, reappointment requested. Seconded, Mr. Chair. Seconded by Commissioner Hovis, all in favor? It is unanimous, Madam Clerk. Mr. Joshua Brown, reappointment requested. Seconded, Mr. Chair. Seconded by Commissioner Sheehan, all in favor? It is unanimous, Madam Clerk. Gasset County Fire Commission, Mike Mitchum, Director of Emergency Management and Fire Marshal, ex officio, non-voting. Second, Mr. Chair.

Seconded by Commissioner Hovis, all in favor?

Unanimous, Madam Clerk. Museum of Art and History, Miss Kathy Cloninger, reappointment requested. Second. Seconded by Commissioner Fraley, all in favor? It is unanimous, Madam Clerk. A designee to the 2026 NACO Annual Conference Voting Delegate.

I'll be glad to represent the county, Mr. Chair.

Anybody else?

Going once, going twice.

Second. Seconded by Commissioner Hutt and Keiger. All in favor? It is unanimous, Madam Clerk. Reports. Commissioner Fraley. Mr. Sheehan. None at this time, Mr. Chair. Commissioner Bailey. None at this time, sir.

Mr. Hovis. Mr. Chair, I only have one comment. I did not bring it up at our last meeting because I was letting the press get an opportunity to get the information out as reference to the new cancer center being built on the Carmont main campus here in Gastonia. The same patient surgery center I think is probably on the ground. by today and the construction of the new comprehensive cancer center is underway. This is Karamont's second big new thing in terms of Gaston County to be able to provide additional linear accelerator. This is all being done at no cost to the public. It's all being borne by Karamont. This is a great opportunity for our citizens here to get state of the art care for cancer issues and I'm proud to represent this board on that, this commission on that board. Thank you, Mr.

Chair. Mr. Keiger.

Go ahead.

I just want to say the commissioner school went off without a hitch again this year. It was a great two weeks of learning by the children who were doing that through commissioner school. Obviously, a lot had happened with them coming to the courthouse, other activities across the county. So they, with gratitude, I think you guys saw a lot of the progress letters and stuff that were sent in, uh, by those, uh, children. So it was a great time. Uh, come out, uh, county manager.

Uh, thank you. Just, uh, also want to follow up on the update on the task force and the meetings, um, between us and the Gasson County schools. Um, we've had four very productive meetings, um, two of which, um, were staff only meetings that we had as well as meetings, um, with the representatives from the school board and the commission. We are planning on meeting next week individually with commissioners to discuss kind of our initial findings and where we are and the proposal that is on the table for additional potential funding for the schools. And we look forward to bringing the group back together after that with the new members that have been appointed and continuing that conversation and looking forward to a positive resolution.

Mr. Goldberg. Nothing to report, sir. Thank you, sir. Any other matters that come before the board at this time?

Commissioner Bailey. Yes. I'd just like to cover a couple things. Might make some people mad, might make some people happy. I'm not sure. I have talked to a few people about some of the school funding and everything. So they said there wasn't any to back up supporting schools. So I went online and went through five or six different research facilities and research groups. And the one I found that really piqued my interest a little bit was called the Learning Policy Institute. It's an independent research group. It's not representing anyone. I just want to point a few things out there and cover some other stuff. The first point, I don't like reading things, but I'm reading this because it's coming directly from them. It says, students in states with significant education budget cuts experience lower test scores and decreased college enrollments. That was a bullet point. The other one, it says, a multi-state study of states undergoing school finance reforms found that a 20% increase in per-pupil spending over a 12-year period increased educational attainment by a full year, while 10% increase of the same duration resulted in a 7% rise in high school graduation rates and a 10% increase in adult wages. That's one of the things we had talked about before, and I think a couple people pointed it out tonight, was investing in our students. Another thing I talked about with the last one, the point that I looked at is the federal statistics point out that a per pupil spending has a mixed bag relationship with students. It says, but increased funding does improve graduation rates. So I saw saying there, uh, some of the steps on the fence and, but there's some of us very clear. Uh, and one of the things that, that, that I looked at, uh, with some of the things that somebody, uh, the people talked about tonight, um, was, you know, what, what is the county's responsibility? Okay. Uh, we looked at it. Mr. Roden had talked about some things and. I had discussed this with him prior to when the county a few years ago reduced our property rates. We had a reevaluation so we reduced our tax rate. The cities did not. So what that did was reduce our sales tax income, correct? So I mean that reduced a lot of funding for us that could be used toward the schools. The state is responsible. for the teachers. The county's responsibilities is for keeping up the schools, the grounds, and my biggest thing, supplements, to help keep some of our teachers. One of the things, you know, the state's been dragging its feet on budgets, and we know that for years and years and years, so it's not really anything new on that. But the main thing that I'm looking at, and I put down here, students is one thing. But what about our teachers? The main thing that I'm looking at is getting better supplements for the teachers and funding in the classroom so teachers do not have to spend their money on needed school supplies. My daughter is a teacher, so I supply probably about $1,000 a year to her students, which I don't mind. I know a lot of parents and grandparents, probably people on this board do the same thing. When we get to certain things, and I heard a few people talk about this also. It talked about incarceration rates is because of schools. It has nothing to do with schools. I was an assistant jail administrator for about five to six years. I've seen rich people come in. I've seen poor people come in. It didn't matter what race you are, what sex you were. It starts at home. You have to take personal responsibility for yourself. And same with your families. I raised my children with a very firm hand. They do very well. I was raised in a small town in Gaston County in Stanley. Stanley, as everybody knows, is not a very rich town. Most of the people that was raised there, everybody grew up together. It didn't matter what race you were, what sex you were. Not a whole lot of people had money. Most of the people in Stanley that had money wound up in jail because I knew most of them because they had done stupid stuff because they had too much money. The ones that didn't have money, they learned to live on themselves. They took care of themselves. They were raised right. They went to church and had good ethical upbringing from their families. That's what's lacking today in the family. I'm not saying that schools can't help, but it starts at home, okay? The pointing to the schools to saying that they're going to keep people out of jail, it's not.

It's not going to happen, okay?

It's how you're raised in your home, okay? I was in law enforcement for over 30 years, and I can testify to that. I'm not saying make some people mad, some people happy. I'm just telling you my perspective on it, what I've seen through my 62 years of life. I think that'll do it. Mr. Chairman?

Mr. Hovis. Thank you, Mr. Chair. In order for us to try to meet the requirements of the timeline for the Board of Education for us to have our one-on-one meetings and all that, I would suggest, this is just a suggestion, that we move our voting meeting to our work session in July so that we can then, whatever we come up with in terms of a recommendation or action or no action or whatever is taken from the committee's report back to the full board, that we can act on that early enough for Dr. Houchard to meet his timeline with his board. Dr. Huchard, am I correct in my timing, because you need to do that by the 22nd of June, July? Okay, so in order for us to, our action to precipitate his action, or whatever we do or don't do, it would be helpful for him to know that. So I'd like for us to adjust our calendar to combine our work session and our regular voting meeting to the work session night, which would be the first meeting in July. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just wanted to make I just want to make sure with I'm like sure the public understands that we're making that change. So that whatever comes of this we can do.

I'm sorry.

The manager, the superintendent to work on some different things and how we can work on that. Any other matters before the sport tonight? The board voted tonight to keep... I'm sorry, ma'am. One second. Let me just finish this. We can come up afterwards. This board voted tonight to cancel this July 14th work session. This concludes our meeting tonight. Our next meeting, regular meeting, is Tuesday, July 28th, here in the Harley B. Gasson Junior Public Court Forum. Courthouse, thank you for watching. If you have any questions, please remit those to Donna S. Buff, our clerk. That's 704-866-3196. Good night, strikeout.