County Commissioners - Regular Meeting

February 16, 2026, Carter County Board of Commissioner meeting. Commissioner Quinn, will you lead us in the pledge of allegiance? Yes, sir.

I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Tonight the invitation will be provided by Pastor Wayne Warren at Huntton Quarters Church in Atlantic. Y'all can join me in praying. Father, I thank you that I have the privilege to intercede, come to the throne room of grace, not only for this meeting, but for the people that has been elected to serve this county. Father, I can only imagine what it's like to have the pressure of trying to please everyone, which is an impossible task. God, I pray that these here that serve this county would serve we the people and not me the politician and that it would spread throughout this whole state. God, I pray that they would seek you in every decision that they would seek your wisdom because your wisdom is honest and true. Father, I pray that there would not be any dissension, that there would be unity always in this room, that you would guide and direct those that make the decision for this county, and that the people of this county would realize what the pressure they're under, that they would pray for them as I'm praying for them tonight. And God, I know not their hearts, but you do. And I thank you that you're omniresent. That not only are you here tonight, but you're everywhere at the same time. And God, I

pray for these and their families. That you to keep evil away from them. Keep evil out of this room. Keep evil away from their families. And God, if there be one here tonight does not know you as their personal Lord and Savior. I pray, dear Lord, that you would speak to their hearts that they would come to know you as I do. I love you, Jesus. Thank you for all you do and all you're going to do. And it's in your name, my Savior, my Lord, my Redeemer. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Pastor Wayne. Thank you.

Uh, Commissioner Mansfield had a family obligation tonight, so he's has an excused absence. Uh, I'll read the ethics statement. In accordance with the state government's ethics act, it is the duty of every board member to avoid both conflicts of interest and the appearance of conflict. Does any board member have any known conflict of interest or the appearance of conflict with respect to any matter coming before the board this evening? If so, please identify the conflict and refrain from any undue participation in the particular matter involved. Good. Next, is there a motion to adopt the agenda? I'll make a motion. Motion by Commissioner Moore. Second.

Seconded by Commissioner Walder. All in favor. Is there that carries? Is there a motion to adopt the consent agenda? So move. Motion by Commissioner Shin, seconded by Commissioner Clark. All in favor? Got it. Next, we have public comment. Would anyone like to sign up on the sheet we have here? You'll have three minutes to speak. If you will come to the podium, state your name and address for the record. First one is Melissa Urgart. Close.

I apologize for that, but that's a not a name I'm used to. So, my name is Melissa Urkart, and you need my address,

please. at 220 Trailwood Drive, Newport, North Carolina. Um, I serve on the board of Bogue Banks Football Club, a competitive travel soccer club here in Carter County. But more importantly, I'm the parent of three children. I could stand up here tonight and I could talk to you about the benefits of sports, the teamwork, the discipline, and how it helps our kids be healthy. But that's not what's important. I want to talk about return on investment because we're talking about public dollars. In 2005, the Gillette Athletic Complex opened in Wilson. Since then, it has generated roughly 44 to 49 million in tourism dollars with an annual economic impact of about $4.5 million. In 2018, Goldsboro opened the Brian Multisport Complex. In its first full year alone, it produced $4 million in direct visitor spending. It generated hundreds of thousands in tax revenue and brought nearly 5,000 overnight hotel stays to the area. Those are measurable results. Now, let's talk about Carter County. Tourism is our economic engine, but it's seasonal. From Labor Day to Memorial Day, many businesses are simply trying, excuse me, it's from Labor Day to Memorial Day. In the offseason, businesses are just simply trying to survive. And because they can't offer steady hours in the offseason, they struggle to keep workers. At the same time, the cost of living here continues to rise. Many hourly workers simply cannot afford to live in Carter County unless they can count on consistent year-round income. So businesses are caught in a cycle. They can't provide steady hours in the winter and workers can't afford to stay. And then in the summer, we're scrambling to hire. A wellplanned sports complex would help break that cycle. Travel sports happen every weekend in the fall and spring. This is exactly when tourism slows down. Nationally, youth and amateur sports travel generates approximately 52

billion dollar. Those families are spending money somewhere every weekend. Right now, our families are part of that spending, but we're exporting it. We travel to other counties. We pay for their hotel rooms. We eat in their restaurants. Why not bring those families here? We have approximately 14 travel sports clubs across eight sports in this area and it's growing every year. Instead of sending our families away, let's put heads in beds and bottoms and booth here at home. Let's create dependable offseason revenue so businesses can offer steady hours. Let's support our workforce so people who serve this community can afford to live in it. And the timing couldn't be better. Carter Community College is launching cross country, baseball, and women's soccer next year. Momentum is building. They need facilities, and so do we. This isn't just about fields. It's about stabilizing our workforce, diversifying revenue, and strengthening our economy year round in Carter County. The demand is already there. The opportunity is clear, and the time is now. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Mr. Chuck Linder. Outstanding.

Chuck Linder, 123 Center Drive, Atlantic Beach. Good evening and thank you for your time. Moria City League is celebrating the 71st year of serving the youth of our community. Our opening ceremony is scheduled for March 21st. Swinson Park 100 p.m. We invite you all to attend. Last spring we had 28 teams. Registration is ahead of last year. At this time, and we may have to close registration due to a lack of playing fields. With the town of Morhead City closing its only baseball and softball fields in May, we're going to struggle to find fields for all of our youth. We do our best to keep act kids active and promote lifelong lessons that can be learned through our program. Get them outside off of the video games, iPads, and cell phones. Our desire is for our youth to become future productive citizens. Keep them off the street away from the drug scene and criminal activity. I'm very thankful Sheriff Asa Buck, Carter County Sheriff's Office, Chief Brian Dixon, Moria City PD, and every other law enforcement agency in this county that helps keep our children safe. Moria City has been proactive in raising funds to help fund improvements at Swinson Park. By hosting baseball tournaments, sponsoring fundraisers, and applying for grants, we've been able to contribute over $400,000 to much needed improvements at Swinson Park. To all my fellow youth organizations, I encourage you to do the same. County government and these folks sitting up here, they have a very difficult task to fund all the needs of Carter County. But if we all work together, we can make a difference for the youth of our community. I had the privilege of being part of the county youth focus group meeting a few weeks ago with multiple youth sports organizations represented. Common concerns were the growth of the county, lack of youth fields for all sports, athletic fields being closed due to much

needed maintenance from overuse, and kids not being able to play. Recommendations center around building more fields and facilities in a central location. Revisit the acreage between Highway 24 and Highway 70. Solicit state and federal representatives to help procure that acreage. Allow usage of fields at school facilities. substitute artificial turf for grass to allow for more playing time and less maintenance concerns. More city has had a plan on the board to install art artificial turf on a small portion of field 2 at Swinson Park. Allow us to go ahead and do that. We're ready to pay for every penny of that project. It would allow for less maintenance, more playing time. It can give the county valuable insight to aid their 15-year parks and recreation master plan that hopefully will address the need for additional fields throughout the county. In closing, my hope is that all citizens will work together to support the youth of our county. They are our future. They are our future. With today being President's Day, my memory takes me back to November 1963 when I was in second grade. teacher came in announced that President Kennedy had passed away. Allow me to borrow one of his famous quotes. I'm going to change one letter in that quote. Ask not what you your county can do for you. Ask what you can do for your county.

Thank you, Mr. Chuck.

Next, we have Mike Bullinger. Hi there. Uh my name is Mike Ballinger. I'm a resident at 401 Meeting Street in Bowfort. I'm the current president of the Bowfort Little League. Um I'm here to support uh the Morhead City Little League and their quest for playing fields. Um Bowford Little League's uh celebrating our 69th anniversary this year. We've been around for a long time. Um oldest little league in the in the state of North Carolina. Um we promote kids activity. Um getting like Chuck said, getting kids off screens um out onto the fields and learning lifelong skills. Um I have to thank the county parks and recck department. Freedom Park is our main uh usage and it's great and we're improving it every every year. Uh there's being turf put out so we can try and play more when inclement weather hits. Um, I just have to say thank you to the county parks and recck department for for all that um and all the support that they've given us, but we can do more, especially when we're losing fields in Morehead City. Um, Chuck talked about speaking uh working together and collaboration. We're hoping to help supplement and work with them, play some minor league play this year to help provide these um these activities for the kids, especially the T-ballers in those fields. So, hoping to invite them over to Bowfort um just down the road and play some baseball. Um I also want to support uh adult activity. I'm part of multiple run clubs and the ultimate frisbee group in town. And more playing fields could support just more than just kids. It can support adults, mental health, um, and just physical activity

and keeping us keeping us in shape, keep us out of hospitals, keep us out of doctor's offices, um, even as adults. So, from kids up to adults, it's building lifelong skills. Uh, something I'm very passionate about. Um, activity is a big part of that. teaching folks how to be active and understand themselves. So with that, I want to say thank you for all your contributions and the contributions you will vote on in the future. So thank you all. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bolinger. Next we have Tiffany Pageant. Hello, my name is Tiffany Padet. I reside at 609 Mandy Court, Morehead City. Um, I am the vice president of the Morehead City Little League and I have a little speech here. Um, investing in our future, the case for Morhead City Athletic Fields. Good evening, members of the council and fellow residents. My name is Tiffany Padet and I'm here tonight to speak for the hundreds of families in Morehead City and even more throughout Carter County who rely on our local athletic fields. We are a coastal community that prides itself on being active. Yet, our current inventory of fields is struggling to keep pace with our growth. As of early 2025, our local Morhead City Little League alone supported nearly 30 teams per season with a surging interest in girls softball. In addition to Morehead City Little League, my son and family is also part of the established Makos baseball organization and has also been a part of the Seashore soccer league. and the lack of athletic fields often leaves teams scrambling for space. While the Morhead City Sports Complex, Rotary Park, and Fort Benjamin are incredible assets, they are operating at or beyond capacity. We've seen field closures due to weather or maintenance that leave our kids with nowhere to practice. Furthermore, athletic fields aren't just for play. They are economic drivers. Last year's Woodbat tournament proved that sports tourism brings real revenue to our local hotels and restaurants. By investing in more fields, we aren't just spending money. We are building a foundation for economic resilience and providing a positive healthy out outlet for our youth that reduces juvenile delinquency. Last year alone, my family traveled out of the county for more than a dozen tournaments for both baseball and soccer. I would have loved for our money to have been spent here in Carter County along with countless other

visitors income being brought to the county. Sports tourism is a recession proof industry. When we host a regional baseball tournament at Big Rock Stadium or a soccer invitational at Rotary, we aren't just filling fields. We're filling hotel rooms, local restaurants, and shops during the shoulder seasons. Currently, Morehead City loses tournament bids to Jacksonville or Newburn because we lack a consolidated multiffield complex. By expanding our inventory, we turn Morehead City into a weekendl long destination that supports our small businesses year round. It's time we treat recreation as a revenue generating department, not just a line item expense. Beyond the dollars, there is a human cost to inaction. Study after study shows that access to organized sports is one of the most effective tools for juvenile crime prevention. When our kids are on a soccer pitch or baseball diamond until 8:00 p.m., they are engaged, supervised, and mentored. With the city's recent $8 million investment in the WS King Rec Center, we've shown we care about indoor safety. We must match that commitment outdoors. A child with a glove or a soccer ball in their hand is a child staying out of trouble. Investing in fields today prevents us from spending more on policing and intervention tomorrow. We are at a pivotal moment with the Carter County Parks and Recreation Master Plan currently underway for 2026. We have a window to ensure Morhead City remains a leader in recreation. We've seen successful renovations at Big Rock Stadium for the Marlins and the new Carter Community College Kraken baseball team. Now we must extend the same commitment to our recreational and youth leagues, the backbone of our community. I urge the council to prioritize the expansion of multi-use fields in the upcoming budget. Let's give our children the space they need to grow, compete, and stay healthy right here in the town they call home.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Pat Mclofflin.

All right. Is there anyone else would like to speak? All right. We'll move along. Next, we're going to acknowledge our county staff and partners that worked very hard during the last winter storm. You know, the last measurable snowfall was uh 1989 when I was a senior in high school. I cut a mini a donut on the highways during that snowstorm. That was like the most fun time of my life. But uh we had a group here working around the clock. Uh John, you weren't a hog troll back then, were you? No. Maybe you were in the you were in the western end of the county, but uh so it was a big event and I think this snow rivaled it. Uh some places it was 3 feet, but we had 10 to 15 inches throughout the county and it takes a lot of people to run an operation like the county. We had 60 county employees whose name are is listed on each screen here tonight. A lot of them couldn't be here. U they went above and beyond. Some of them worked around the clock in our emergency operations center. Many spent long hours in the freezing conditions clearing our county facilities, parking lots, and other things so we could reopen and continue to serve the citizens. We also want to extend a special thank you to the Carter County Salvation Army who opened up the warming shelters. I think that was wellreceived throughout the county and and our county partners at DSS and the health department and the Carter County Sheriff's Office also helped with that. And uh just on the behalf of the board and the people of Carter County, we want to say thank you to everyone that was a part of that. It it went very very smoothly. Uh so it it's uh just a good good feeling and we were proud of our county employees when everything comes together and we want our county employees to know that we appreciate them. So we're going to have some department heads come up and we're going to take a picture. Uh those department heads going to start with Sharon Griffin, our great county manager, Matt

Renau, our assistant county manager, Billy Matus, our emergency services director, DJ Hunt, our deputy emergency services director, Dwayne Yuri, our general service director, Alan Long, our public buildings maintenance technician, and Nick Wilson, our county public information officer and our clerk, Mr. John Nyberg, chief deputy at the Carter County Sheriff's Office, and Susan Stewart of our Child Support Agency. Y'all come on up. Thank you all very much.

Thank you. Yes.

Okay. Next we have resolution 2026-R04 supporting the town of Pelleter's request from the North Carolina Department of Transportation safety review at the intersection of West Fire Tower Road and Peliter Loop Road. Commissioner Quinn. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Supporting the town of Pelier's request for NC DOT safety review and improvements at the West Fire Tower Road and Peliter Loop Road intersection. Whereas the intersection of West Fire Tower Road and Peliter Loop Road is a wellocumented safety concern with Cartery County. And whereas the town of Pelier has formally identified that drivers at this intersection experience limited sight distance, awkward turning geometry, and seasonal visibility issues. And whereas recent residential development and increased traffic volumes have increased conflict points at this location, impacting the safety of county residents and visitors. And whereas the town of Pelleteer Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution on January 5th, 2026 seeking professional intervention from the North Carolina Department of Transportation. And whereas current safety at the intersection relies heavily on vegetation maintenance by private property owners, which has proven to be an unreliable and temporary solution for a public roadway. And whereas the Carter County Board of Commissioners recognizes that when drivers must consistently pull into travel lanes to see oncoming traffic, a professional engineering evaluation is warranted. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Carter County Board of Commissioners hereby supports the town of Pelier and formally requests that the NC DOT conduct a comprehensive engineering based safety review of the West Fire Tower Road and Pelier Loop Road intersection. And be it further resolved that the NC DOT consider both near-term lowcost improvements such as adjusted stop bar placement, enhanced

signage, and improved pavement markings as well as long-term permanent solutions to ensure year-round sight distance. And be it further resolved that the county does not advocate for a specific predetermined solution, but instead requests that NC DOT identify the most effective measures based on current traffic data and professional engineering standards. And be it finally resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the North Carolina Department of Reg Transportation, the town of Pelleteer, and the North Carolina House of Representatives to demonstrate the county's commitment to addressing this public safety concern. Is there a motion to enter the resolution into the record? So moved. Motion by Commissioner Walder. Second.

Seconded by Commissioner Quinn. All in favor? That's unanimous. Okay. Next, we have a presentation and request for startup funds for respit program at the Leon Man Jr. Enrichment Center. Miss Shelley Ashley and Dr. Randa Williams. Great. Nine. One of the fun uh part of my jobs commissioners is to say thank you and I very much want to thank you for your interest in this issue of Alzheimer's and our uh senior population. 25% of our county is over age 65 and the median age for the county is 50. Median age in North Carolina is 40. In Enslo it's age 27. Um but here it's 50. And so uh on behalf of my fellow uh senior citizens, we greatly appreciate your interest in this. We appreciate Sharon and D support in looking at this. And this is all kind of the genesis back several months ago as Susan came to you. Joseph Smith too, she's on the uh watching tonight. I just talked to her. She couldn't be with us tonight, but she's obviously very excited about this. Um, just like with the opioid project, when we were presented with a problem that y'all wanted us to, uh, solve, uh, we took a history, the first thing we do. So, Shelley and I have spent the last five months or so looking all around the state. We've traveled to about eight different places. And the program she's getting ready to present to you, I think, is what we think would be best for Carter County as an option should you wish to pursue it. Again, about one out of 10 Americans will get Alzheimer's, and it's getting uh going to be more as as the population ages. So, again, we very much appreciate your interest in this, and I'll turn it over to Shelley.

Good evening, commissioners. I'm here to present the program for the respit at the Leon Man Center. I'm going to refer to the next slide we have here. Um it's going to be a What we are projecting and anticipating is going to be a respbit program. It offers activities and socialization for loved ones with um for caregivers of loved ones who have Alzheimer's. Um but we don't want it to be confused with an adult daycare because it will not offer any type of medical resources or personal care at all with this particular program. It is just a respit program for them to bring their loved ones so they can have a little time during the day. Um Dr. We like Dr. Williams said we have made several visits and several phone calls around the state u comparing several programs and we think this is the best option for Carter County uh to start out on a small basis and move forward. Um, as you can see on the slide that we have, um, we have projected right now is a 4-hour day, one day a week program and it will be offered at the Leo Man Center. Right now, with it being at the Leo Man Center, we have resources there that can contribute to the program which would keep keep the cost at a minimum. And then on our next slide, um, this one is regarding the budget. And as you can see, we have a startup budget and then an annual program budget. Um, we have tried to be good stewards of our resources. Um, and minimize our costs. Um, we don't want to make we do want to make you aware that the current home care and community the home community care and block grant that can be difficult and be a mouthful. Um, they will not cover the startup costs. Uh, Dr. Williams and I have diligently dug

into it and asked many many reasons why. Um but they just do not cover the startup cost but they will um they will however in the long run help sustain it once we get the program up and running. Um and so we hope that will be the future of the program is working with the um home care and community the home community care and block grant program. Just want to thank you for your time and if you have any questions, Dr. Williams and I would be glad to answer them. So, we would start in a new budget year or Well, we're going to start a little before that.

That's entirely up to you. Um, we had a sense that uh you wanted us to do this with all deliberate speed. We we've got an option that if you uh pass this and we would start really the cost of finding a director part-time director uh we have to find 40 volunteers. This is oneonone volunteers. That's one of the beauties of it gets the community involved.

And so our timeline our kind of gant chart would be to have somebody hired hopefully by April 1 they would spend three months getting volunteers and then we would open on July 1. Once we're open, we can get funds from the block grant. If you'd rather delay, we can wait until the next budget cycle, but push everything out about three months. Probably start in October. I personally like to get going with it myself. Everybody, we need a motion for that. I just got a quick question just clarification. So, have you got a facility already? Yeah, the Leon the Leon Center.

You got in your startup $7,600 for facility and then nothing going forward. I mean, I understand it's the Leon Man Center. We're already on that, but we have room at the Leon Man Center right now that we will incorporate. U being that it's only going to be one day a week, four hours, you know, we can transform this room for one day a week. As the program grows, you know, that might be a different story, but right now we do have an at the lean center that we can transform for one day a week.

So what are the costs? What is the facility charge of 7,620 going to pay for? I think is maybe part of the question.

Okay. One of the things we have to look at is the there's um three exits in that room. So we would have to alarm those. We would have to get comfortable seating for them. We do have tables and chairs that are already there. um you know which they could do their activities at but if they need time to rest we have to do the recliners and things like that. Um we have to acclimate the room to their benefit. We have we have already uh successfully put in the um compliant buttons for you know restrooms and things like that but it's just moving forward and getting everything in that room prepared upfitting.

Yeah absolutely and one of the biggest things is the safety. we have to watch the safety of anybody who's going to be there, especially with wandering issues. Um, and that we have to be careful with, you know, we are not going to be doing any type of medical. So, one of the things we have to be careful with is rest time. You know, have someplace comfortable for them to sit if they get overwhelmed. Would this be based on an appointment being made to bring your loved one in? That's how that would work as far as a it would be and there's a fee. There's a $40 fee

and uh one of the big purposes of the director is to schedule the 40 volunteers which about 10 a day and then to get the appointments for the people who are coming in so people can make plans because the foundation of the model is that this is good for the families who get arrested. It's good for the patients who just get out of the home and socialize with other people. And it's good for the volunteers. We think looking at programs around the country and especially North Carolina who've done this model, they think that there's three legs to this school of people benefiting, not just the families, but the patients and the volunteers themselves. Thank you.

I think it's a good deal. I think all of us uh know someone either in our own families or friends that have loved ones that they have to take care of that have dementia and it's very uh burdensome on it wires them out. So to have a place you could take them and know they're going to be safe while you run your errands in town I think it's a good deal and I appreciate y'all jumping on this and and getting going. Uh I entertain a motion to to move forward. How do you want to do it? I think what

we need to make a decision tonight. We don't have to, but if you would like to entertain a motion, I would recommend that it be to approve the startup of the respit program and to hire a part-time program manager. And that that salary amount that you see up there is just to cover through the end of this fiscal year. And then um it would we would present it at budget time, too. But we do not have to do this tonight if you guys want to discuss that some more. But that would be the motion I would suggest if you want to do it. Okay.

We have we're about to go into budget season and I know that we need to be making budgetary, you know, decisions tonight on stop impact next year and impact we've already done this year. I respect that. But I thought we'd as a board kind of thought and give them the direction we'd like to move forward with this and uh for very few dollars we can get this program up and going and then the state is going to provide much of the funding. So it won't be the county dollars.

So I'll entertain a motion or a motion to table it, whatever you'all like to do. I I'd just like to understand where the impact is going to be on this 20k coming out of this year's budget. Is it impactful at this stage? Is it you're looking to us the county for that 20 grand? Yes, it can come from to start it. We cannot use the block. Okay. So is there an issue from a budgetary perspective at this stage in this fiscal year?

There is not. We have had some revenues exceed expenditures and so we would be able to cover this if the board would like to authorize that and that would come in the form of a budget amendment at a a future. There's one. Is there one in the packet? Okay. So yes. So we're ready to execute if we choose. Okay. Thank you.

I, for one, as someone that can can speak from personal experience uh in dealing with a loved one that suffers from dementia, the level of care and the amount of time that it takes for for someone at home to watch out for someone that they care so much about suffering some from such a horrible disease that the quicker that we can act on this, the better. And I'd like to thank both of you for for bringing this to our to us so quickly and and in such a professional manner. Thank you very much. Thank you. So your proposal on the screen for startup is 20,000. Budget amendment is $19,000. Only $1,000 difference, but

I didn't realize there was a difference, but there's capacity. approve the budget amendment or approve that the budget the 19,000. Yes.

Okay. I'm not against supporting folks with Alzheimer's, you know, because it does affect so many of us. I'm just I'm just uh I'm just not I'm just not for um you know spur the moment making budget changes. That's it's not a spur of moment. We've been we've directed them to go find out the first I've seen it presented. Well, we directed them a few months back. Uh Mr. Mansfield was in favor of it. I thought everybody was kind of in favor of doing it.

You may have the votes. Yeah, that's that's fine. I'd like I move uh to appropriate the $19,000 budget amendment to be 20 grand when we're all said and done and to go forth and to hire a part-time program director for startup costs for the respit center. I'll second that. All right. There's a motion and a second to proceed with the respit center. All in favor? All opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you all. We appreciate you getting that together for us. And is it Mary that's online? Mary Joseph. Josephanne. Josephanne. This is to you. Thank you for getting us started. Oh god. Thank you.

Next, we have uh Deputy County Manager D. Mishaw and Mr. Robert Bitner for the presentation of the 2025 audit report by PB Mayors. So, tonight um I'm going to do a a high level financial review of the county's finances for June 30th, 2025. And Mr. Bner who will go over the um independent audit report and findings and other items of interest that he has. Um so tonight we're going to talk primarily about the county's general fund. We have um it's the primary oper it is the operating fund for the county. Everything's accounted for in the general fund unless there's an accounting standard, a law, something like um school bond debt issue that that construction has to be accounted for in a separate fund. We're, as um commissioners just mentioned, we're fixing to go into budget and start talking and having discussions on our budgets. And when we do that, we will go into these other restricted funds that we have that have very specific purposes of what they can be used for. But tonight, we're going to focus on the um county's general fund. So as in prior years the general fund ended in a strong financial position. You will see revenue sources exceeded the budget as well as expenditures were under budget. So here is the pigraph that we look at and we see every year and it illustrates that property taxes are our largest but there it is are our largest source of revenue is 48% of the general fund budget. It is followed by other taxes

which are sales taxes and then intergovernmental is 14%. Intergovernmental is federal and state revenue that we receive that supports primarily human services programs, our health programs, DSS, aging and it also supports our transportation caps program as well. Sales and services is 5% that is mostly solid waste revenue. Civic center fees fall in that category. permit and fees are 4% that is registered deeds fees um health department fees as well as our building inspection fees. Other is just miscellaneous interest and investment income as 4% of the county's budget and transfers in as 5%. That is the occupancy tax revenue that's transferred into the general fund and that is a restricted funding source. It can only be used for beach nourishment. So, um if you look, it may be easier to read on your handout than read on the screen. Um but here is a comparison of major revenue categories. It has our amended final budget and then our actual revenues that we received and then the variance for each category. We budgeted 59.61 61 million and we received a little bit over 62 million. That's a 2.41 million positive variance. There's several factors in that. One is our tax department had a higher collection rate than it did the previous year. It was about a host half a percent more um prior year tax collections. there was an increased effort um in that

area and that resulted in some positive revenue and then the audited assessed values um for the county were higher than the assessed values that had been provided by the tax department when the budget was developed. You'll see sales tax we received 23.45 million. It was only about um 9,000 more than what was budgeted. Permits and fees came in under budget by about $450,000. We received 4.88 million. Um we had registered D's fees, some health department fees as well as franchise fees that those did not meet the um the budget projections. the register of deed space um no longer look like they are regressing. They have leveled out and we are now in this current year seeing growth in registered deed space again. So that's good news. Intergovernmental we received about 18.81 million. That was um 1.17 million less than what was budgeted. And you'll see this on the expenditure side. As I said earlier, a lot of this is for SECATs human services programs. And a lot of that if you don't have the revenue, you didn't spend the money for the program. And a lot of times budget projections for these programs are done a lot earlier than actual um budget estimates that they get. Um sales and services exceeded the budget just a little bit by 2 point by 0.21 million. Interest and investment earnings was 4.63 million was about 700,000 more than budgeted.

other revenue is miscellaneous and then the transfer in for occupancy tax and that was almost $600,000 under budget and that was with transfers in when the year was completed we had appropriated a total of $10.07 07 million. We started out with an adopted budget of over five million and then um we had rollover and incomplete projects from the prior year that we reappropriated. And so to make the budget balance we had appropriated over 10 million. Total budget was 138.64 64 million and our actual revenues received were just under 130 million. So if you look at expenditures, expenditures look like you would expect. Education is the largest part of our budget. It's 28%. That um does not include debt service and that does not include um capital that's transferred out to another fund for school capital. Um, human services and public safety are our second largest areas of government. It used to be that human services distinctly had the number two spot, but now public safety with the um with all that we fund and we have to and the requirements we have, they are they're they're the same funding level. Debt service is about 7% of um expenditures almost Almost all of debt service is for public school bonds. Cultural recreation is 4%. General government is 12%. Economic developments around 3%.

Environmental protection which is public um works and solid waste is 5%. Other is um transfers out to other funds. And in there would be where school capital sits in that um public school capital sits in that 5%. Here's the chart here or the table rather is similar to the revenues. It's broken out by function of government. Every one of these categories you're going to see we spent what was appropriated. Um general government was 14.69 69 million spent with a 2.41 under spent of the million spent of the budgeted amount. Public safety had a budgeted amount of 24.39 million. It was 22.55 was what was spent with a positive variance of 1.84. If you go, you see transportation. I'm not going to read them all out, but there's transportation, environmental protection. when you see human services, I will point that out that we underspent the budget by 3.18 million. So when you look at that, that illustrates where we didn't receive the federal and state revenue, we also didn't have the expenditure. Uh public schools for operations was 29.13 million. The community college was 5.31 million spent. 63 million was not spent. Community college capital can be accounted for in the general fund. That was where they did not complete their projects and we rolled that money over into the 26 budget where the state requires the

public school capital be accounted in a separate fund. Um you'll see recreation and debt service was a little bit under budget and then the um non-EP departmental transfers to other funds was 4 million. There was 6.23 million not spent. That part is contingency and that was um for occupancy tax. We account for the revenue transferred into the general fund and and then um we have the beach nourishment department and then what is not spent is the 6.23 million was projected. Commissioner Chad Chairman Chad

question on the cultural and recreation that our ball fields and it's Yeah. Yes sir. But it's more than that. It is parks and wreck um the civic center and our library system. So it's about five million currently on that. Yes sir.

Yeah. It was five point almost five and a half was budgeted and then right almost five million was expended. So if you look so the total budget was 138.64 million we underspent them about 17.03 million. If you look at this slide, this breaks instead of looking at function of government, this breaks out what we underspent by category. So with salaries and benefits um we spent 3.54 million and um you remember when we when y'all adopted when the board adopted the 26 budget that um we had talked about retention and our turnover rate and um there are things that were budgeted and approved in the 26 budget for salary increases and for to work on retaining staff. Um maintenance was 2 million underspent. Operating was almost 3 million under spent. Capital which is the county the community college was 1.6 million underspent. the 66 million for programs are um like special assistance programs for DSS, a little bit of mental health programs and our health um public health department programs were under spent and then the contingency again that was not spent was restricted for um beach nourishment. So when you look at the um revenue in total and the expenditures and other sources in total revenues and other sources exceeded expenditures by 8.16 million

on this slide it breaks out that 8.16 million and um not all money that we receive we can spend it on anything we want to. It has restrictions and um we receive from the federal government and the state receive a tremendous amount of thou shalts and um so on our restricted fund balance that increased 8.36 million. Just about all of that was for restricted by state statute and beach nourishment. Our committed fund balance which was appropriations for revaluation fund was 0.42 million. Our signed fund balance went down about three and a half million. Remember when we adopted the FY25 budget we adopted 5 a.5 million. When we adopted our 26 budget we only adopted two million. So that decreased. And then our spendable fund balance um unassigned fund balance increased 2.88 million. And if you look at down skip down to the next section, if you look our audited unassigned fund balance for June 30th, 2024 was 47.06 million. You add the 2.88 88 million that unassigned increased um this year. And then our ending audited unassigned fund balance for June 30th, 2025 is 49.94 million. And that equates to 42.46% of general fund expenditures. When rating agencies look at the county's fund balance, this is the

that's the calculation it looks at as a percentage of expenditures. This is not the only reason, but this is one of the reasons were AAA bond rated with Fitch rating agencies. And then we are one notch lower with Moody's and S&P. Um the unassigned fund balance is what serves as our rainy day fund. if you know we have a hurricane or any other major event um it is also our buffer if there's an economic downturn and it's our funding source if there are opportunities that arise during the year that the board wants to take advantage of. So we're very fortunate, very blessed to have such healthy finances and such a healthy fund balance. Finally, um the the finance department and especially especially me want to express a lot of appreciation and gratitude. Um it is a lot of work to get a completed audit and to get a completed financial statement. Every year the audited financial statements get more and more complex and we have more and more programs and um you know I want to thank the board of commissioners for your continued support and your trust that you place in the county's finance department and I want to thank the county manager, our department heads and their staff for their dedication and submitting their work timely and accurately and everything with an audit. It's just the nature of how it is. It's hurry up and wait. And when they're they're in the middle of a program or a single audit and the the outside departments are really good about

pulling the information and submitting it to finance so we can keep moving and try to meet our deadlines. Um it's, you know, it takes a whole team to get a successful um completed audit. I especially want to thank PB Mars and James Sergeant and Robbie Bitner. Robbie Bitner is the partner of the firm. He signs off on our audit. Um it would not be possible to get a completed audited financial statements and get through the whole review process without them. their dedication, their timeliness, and their attention that they provide and assistance to the county is um immeasurable. They don't just express an opinion. They offer advice. They help offer clarification on standards. It only improves and strengthens the financial practices in the reporting of this county. in North Carolina, nationwide, but in North Carolina, there are not enough governmental auditing firms. And this county is very fortunate that right here in Morehead City, in this county, that we have a farm that is capable of doing an audit for a county that's our complex and our size. And I can't say enough nice things and appreciation for them. And I know we went through this fast. I'll be glad to answer any questions. Um, we'll be going as we move in the budget, like I said, we'll be going into more detail, but please feel free to reach out to me with any questions. Um, I'm sure Mr. Bitner and his team will would be happy if there anything they can provide assistance with as well.

Thank you, M. Michel. Any questions? M I I get a lot of questions about the occupancy tax and it being earmarked or restricted for beach reourishment. Could you explain who mandates that? And uh it's a North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Assembly mandates that it is restricted for beach reour. It does. It it states how much we levy and 50% of it funds the TDA and then 50% is specific for beach nourishment. Thank you for that clarification. Beach Reour and advertising. Correct. TDA. TDA. The TDA does the advertising and promotion.

So with the unrestricted fund balance of about 50 million. Yes, sir. We're in a pretty good position to spend the 20,000 on the respit program or save money for the taxpayers. You could do either one, but we do have to look out for our elderly and our children. So we got to keep that in mind. Thank you, D. Thank you.

Good evening. Come to the uh most riveting part of your meeting this evening. Everybody loves to talk about audit, right? We have the we have the most exciting uh presentation for you. Jam-packed. Um be about three hours. We've got snacks.

Well, uh to start off with again, my name is Robbie Bitner. I'm the audit partner with PB mayors for the audit engagement for the county. Uh I do want to thank the county for allowing us to continue to serve and to uh work with your staff here. I do want to uh give a special shout out to D and her team. Uh she mentions it's a it's a team effort. Uh we pick pry and ask a lot of questions and ask for a lot of documentation. If you saw uh we use a site called Sherink that loads all the documentation up that they have to provide to us in order for us to finish the audit. It's um quite robust. Thousands of documents I would imagine um are in there. So, we do thank you for that. So, uh as auditors, our job is to uh render an opinion as to whether or not your financial statements are fairly presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and or GAP. Uh with that, we can issue four types of opinions. We can issue the adverse, which is exactly what it sounds like. it is the bad opinion, the one that your financial statements are not fairly presented. You can issue a disclaimer, which means that we did not see enough information to render an opinion one way or another. We can issue a qualified opinion and this is where we believe everything is fairly stated in accordance with GAAP except for maybe one or two parts of the financial statements. And the highest level of assurance that we can provide as external auditors is the unmodified or clean opinion, which the county did receive a clean opinion this year. So I want to take a quick step back before we jump into the gas report or the uh yellow book audit report. Um this year the with the government shutdown uh last November uh we had a nice had a nice little delay that came from the federal government. So uh we are not allowed uh to render an opinion in accordance with the single audit act or uh the single audit act and the uniform guidance without their compliance supplement

being issued. Well before the the uh the OM did not release the supplement prior to shutting the government down which meant that it was delayed uh by about 43 days I believe it was. So with that the uh local government commission did extend the overall audit deadline. So the audit was technically within the audit audit deadline this year. So um just wanted to clarify that item. Um any case, all right. So now back to our internal control and compliance report in in accordance with uh government auditing standards. Uh in addition to our opinion, we issue this report. This is where we identify any uh material compliance violations or material violations of laws, grants, contracts um that we see during the course of our audit. We also identify any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal control over the preparation of the financial statements. Uh we did have one material weakness to report this year as it relates specifically to the opioid fund. And I wanted to make sure clarify this. This was the uh about 900 $950,000 worth of revenue was not recognized at the fund level, but it has been corrected. And let me just mention this, this is a timing issue. So the money was received in July. So it was it was correct as a receivable, but under uh the Gazsby standards, anything that's received within 90 days is considered available. So it is not deferred or listed as a deferral and deferred inflow of out uh inflows of resources on the financials. So it was just a timing issue that would come through. So there was no no issue with money actually missing or things like that. It was just a reporting item. So I just want to make sure it's clarified. Also clarify that the amount at the full governmentwide level would

not be material and there is no effect at the full governmentwide levels as uh the revenue is fully recognized as when it becomes receivable at that governmentwide level and any questions related to that. All right, moving right along. uh we did not have any identified uh non-compliance this year and we did not have any other significant deficiencies or material weaknesses as it relates to the preparation of the financial statements. Uh as I mentioned uh earlier we also audit in accordance with the uniform guidance and the single audit act as well as the state single audit implementation act. This is where we are rendering our opinion on your compliance with uh federal and state grants. Uh whether those grants show up as uh significant grants or major grants for major programs uh is dependent upon a defined formula in the uniform guidance in the state single order act. Uh we did have one finding as it relates to material non-compliance uh and a material material weakness in internal control over that compliance as it relates specifically to the Medicaid program. I know uh for most of you uh each year there has been a material weakness in internal control as it relates to the eligibility determination function um for Medicaid. I want to point out this is also incredibly complex and so many different programs that are out there, but there were some identified identified individuals who received benefits that were not eligible. What does that mean for the county? It just means that there was determination not done and it was reported to the state. If you recall years ago, the direct Medicaid benefits are do not flow through the county at all anymore and do not show up on the financial statements. So there are no question costs or no items of that of that nature. It is strictly an item uh specifically to

report to the state and then they handle handle it from there. Um so that's what we had. We ra specifically to Medicaid. Outside of that, all of the other programs that we tested and all of the requirements of the Medicaid program, we uh had an unmodified opinion on those as well as did not have any other issues related to internal controls. for those compliance programs. So, moving on from there, now normally you would have a letter from us sitting in front of you which we call our AUC260 communication letter. U it is required communication to those charged with governance. Um this year in putting in uh what we used to create what was called a data input form that the LGC released in which case it was just an Excel document that they would that you went pulled down from their site. You put in the information that came from the audited financial statements. This year they have a new uh website that you have to upload all that information into and uh somehow it got missed to give us access to this website for the county. So we are waiting currently to gain access to be able to provide them the information. Why is that important? Because that is where we receive what's called the performance indicators. those performance indicators need to go into that required communication letter. So that is why you do not have that. So it becomes an appendix to the required communications. So uh with that in that communication letter uh this is where we report to you any significant findings that we have any significant difficulties uh that we would have that we had with management if there were any which we did not have any. Um any any unusual items that were there and any modifications or changes to uh the audit opinions or what to expect. So there were no changes to the audit opinion for the financial

statements this year. I do want to point out that county did implement uh Gatsby statement number 101 related to compensated absences. It would the financials were not restated for this. So there was what we would call a beginning balance past adjustment in the current year expenses at the government level. What is that? Essentially the statement requires that if it is material that the financial statements be restated while the amount was not material. It was not dimminimous. So therefore, we identified that that that uncorrected misstatement that you see in there is just saying that the beginning balance of that compensated absences related to the sickly is being reflected in the current year expense um on the statement of activities has no effect on your fund balance, has no effect on the general fund, um the opioid fund or the school bond fund. It is literally just at the governmentwide level. So when you look at your financial statements, other things to report uh related to that, there are there will be uh one performance indicator of concern that requires response from the county and it is specifically related to the audit findings, the financial statement material weakness as well as the one on uh related to Medicaid. So, that'll be something that the county directly responds to the LGC on, which I'm sure that D probably already has a draft of the communication to go out. Um, as it relates to that, uh, additionally coming down the pipe, some few things you need to be aware of. There are several more Gazsby statements that have been released, uh, 102 through 105. Uh, there will be a significant change next year um, as it relates to your basic financial statements. Uh statement number 104 is now requiring your budget to actual statement that the LGC currently requires to be as part of your basic financial statements. It's going to be required by Gazsby that that becomes required supplementary

information. Why is that important? The required supplementary information is a non- audited section of the financial statements. So the statement that is in the front that is the budget to actual the for just the general fund that D was going through the different uh pieces of it earlier will not be an audited statement. Now that doesn't mean that we won't look at the general fund and the budget as it as it relates to budget in the audited section of the financials because there's still a more detailed uh portion of that statement back in the supplementary information where it is broken down more. So the opinion won't state the budgetary comparison for the general fund, but it will actually still cover it in the supplementary information. There are a few other items that will come through uh some clarification items, some different things that will uh clean up what they say clean up the uh management's discussion and analysis section of the financials as it comes from statement number 104. So it could technically shorten it a little bit maybe. We're not really sure there. They haven't released a whole lot of guidance specific to it, but we're expecting it to actually shorten the MDNA a little bit as it comes through. Um, outside of that, make sure I've got everything that I wrote down here. That is all I have to report as it relates to the audit. I'm happy to answer any questions you have uh about what we did this past year, what our process is, or anything. Um, any questions? If I can't answer it, I I'll defer and get it back to you.

Thank you, Robbie. Any questions? Appreciate it. Thank you very much. Thank you. Okay, now for the main event, a public hearing on a proposal to reszone 1.61 acres totaling 6.02 02 acres from B3 planned business to R20 single family residential to B1 general business property located at 4301 North Carolina Highway 24 Newport. Mr. Ben Warren, welcome Ben.

Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good evening, commissioners. Uh, for your consideration this evening, we do have reasoning case 2025-000065. And just to give you a quick overview of the case, planning staff received an application from Mr. Joshua Edmonson on behalf of the property owner Julian Weekes and it's to resone property at 4301 Highway 24 in Newport. This property is formally identified as parcel 6305 0135 2311 0000 and consists of approximately 1.61 acres. The property is currently splitz zoned. It's B3 planned business district and R20 single family residential and the applicant is requesting that it be reszoned to B1 general business and this property falls within the future land use maps limited transition area. Just to take a look at the general area. The area surrounding the resoning site consists of primarily single family residential with some mixed commercial and in the commercial area consist of coastline golf carts, a speedway gas station, Dollar General and Island Furniture. And looking at the surrounding zoning, there is some existing B1 directly adjacent to the resoning site and across Highway 24 with some R20, R15, and B3 in the general area as well. As we compare those zoning districts, the current zoning district, the B3 is primarily intended for shopping center development with a 30,000 foot minimum lot size, the R20 for moderate to low density residential with a 20,000 square foot minimum lot size, and the proposed B1 zoning districts primarily intended for general business and professional business services. And it has a varying minimum lot size between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet depending upon the availability of water and sewer. As I mentioned, this area is located within the future land use maps limited

transition area and the proposed resoning is consistent with policies 2.5 number one and 2.5 number two in the future land use plan and basically those policies direct major development of an urban or commercial nature to be cited in the limited transition areas. Uh this item was heard at the January planning commission meeting. The only speaker from the audience at that meeting was the applicant. We did receive one mail-in comment which was in favor of the proposed resoning and the planning commission based upon the merits of the case voted unanimously to recommend approval of the resoning. So that concludes the staff presentation and I'll be happy to answer any questions that you might have.

Any questions of Ben? All right, we need to go into public hearing. Is there a motion to go into public hearing? Motion by Commissioner Shen, seconded by Commissioner Wald. All in favor? We are now in public hearing. Is there anyone here that would like to speak on this matter?

Mr. Chairman, Josh Edmonson, Tidewater Associates, 1069 Cedar Point Boulevard, 28584. Uh, appreciate staff presentation. Don't don't have much to add other than we just we do think this is consistent with the land use plan. Um, and we are very compatible with existing uses adjacent to our property. Um, and we are happy to answer I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have. So, thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Any questions of Josh? Is there anyone else would like to speak on this matter? Is there a motion to close public hearing? Motion by Commissioner Shen, seconded by Commissioner Wald. All in favor?

Motion carries. Mr. Chairman, I'll sit in for Commissioner Mansfield and read the all the numbers. Make a motion to approve the request to reszone 1.61 acre flag lot portion of parcel 63050135231 1 0 0 located at 4301 Highway 24 Newport, North Carolina 28570 from B3 planned business to R20 single family residential district to B1 general business district. Second.

Motion by Commissioner Shen, seconded by Commissioner Clark. All in favor? Unanimous. Make a motion to approve the statement of plan consistency and reasonleness. Reasonableness. Would you like to read that? Could you read that? Will you read the plan consistency statement or we good enough without I think it's got to be read.

So here we also add a consistency statement. Go ahead and go to the podium. And what I would say is um after careful review this resoning is completely consistent with the future land use plan. And I'll let you pick up anything that I've left off there. Okay. Um, so the proposed zoning is consistent with the policies within the future land use plan and reasonable based upon consistency with the existing zoning in the surrounding area.

Okay. Motion to approve the plan. The consistency by Commissioner Shen, seconded by Commissioner Walder. All in favor? Unanimous. That's got it. Okay. Next, we have a public hearing on a proposal to reszone a partial from R15M moderate density residential to B1 CZ general business conditional use. The parcel is located on the east side of Pete Road, approximately 1100 ft north of its intersection with North Carolina Highway 24 and is approximately 3.7 acres in size. Ben, take it away again.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. provide a quick overview of the case. Uh staff received an application from Mr. Mr. Billy Rouse on behalf of Rouse Safety Tank Incorporated to reszone on the property. Uh it's located on the east side of Pete Road about 1100 ft north of its intersection with Highway 24. And this property is formally identified as parcel number 6336275 080500 and consists of approximately 3.78 acres. The current zoning is R15M which is moderate density residential and the applicant is requesting the B1 conditional zoning and this property also falls within the future land use maps limited transition area. As we look at the surrounding area, this property is also surrounded by some existing single family residential as well as the Ween Oaks manufactured home park and some commercial development down along Highway 24 consisting of Erin's Grooming, Rear Coins of Raleigh and Ralph's Safety Tank Service. The surrounding zoning, we do have that existing B1 that's directly adjacent to the parcel as well as some more B1 along Highway 24. Uh the area is predominantly uh zoned R15M. However, in comparing the zoning districts, the R15M zoning district is primarily established for single family residential up to three dwelling units per acre with a minimum lot size between 15,000 and 20,000 square feet depending on the availability of water and sewer. And the proposed B1 conditional zoning district is a general business district for professional and business services. Excuse me. Uh, with this being a conditional reser request, the applicant has proposed a series of conditions. The first limiting the uses to just a contractor's office, accessory buildings, and contractor storage yard. Uh, both the parking and landscaping

buffering. He's offered his conditions, but neither of those are um inconsistent with the existing requirements in the ordinance. So he's proposing that one parking square one parking space per 200 square feet of office and one parking space per 600 square feet of gross floor area which would result in a total of 10 parking spaces and he's proposing the 10ft vegetated buffer around the perimeter of the property. And then looking at the general site plan you can see the hashed area around the perimeter is that 10ft buffer. He's proposing the the um the excuse me 5,000 square foot building and 10 parking spaces and the pole barn as well. As I mentioned, this is located within the future land ma land use maps limited transition area and the proposed resoning is consistent with policies in the future land use plan specifically policy 2.5 number one and 2.5 number two citing urban and commercial development within the limited transition area. This item was also heard at the January planning commission meeting. The applicant was the only speaker in the audience at that meeting as well. We did receive six mailin uh comment forms all in favor of proposed resoning and based upon the merits of the case the planning commission voted unanimously in favor of the resering request and I'll be happy to answer any questions the board may have.

Thanks Ben. Any questions for Ben? Can you pull the map back up so I can get my barons uh show uh the main Pete road coming in? Is is this properly on the right? So there's a metal building there. Now you're reszoning around that. That's actually building my property, right?

But we're not going to reszone the part where the metal building is now. You want to leave that like it is? Okay. I just wanted to see what side of the road I was uh looking at in case I get cornered anywhere. Is there a motion to go into public hearing? Motion by Commissioner Waldrip, seconded by Commissioner Clark. All in favor? We are now in public hearing. Is there anybody here like to speak on this? Hear none. Seeing none, motion to go out of public hearing. Motion. Motion by Commissioner Moore. Second. Seconded by Commissioner Quinn. All in favor?

We are now at a public hearing. Commissioner Shin, you did such a good job on that other one. Would you like to make a motion? Volunteer twice. But Mr. Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion to approve or request to reszone parcel 633602750 80500 0 from R15 moderate density residential to B1CZ general business conditional zoning. The parcel is located on the east side of Pete Road approximately, 1100 ft north of its intersection with highway 24 is approximately 3.78 acres in size.

Second motion. Motion by Commissioner Shen, seconded by Commissioner Clark. All in favor? And Ben, would you like to uh reassure us about the plan of consistency? Yes, sir. proposed resoning is consistent with policies in the future land use plan and reasonable in light of existing and surrounding uh land uses. Thank you. Is there a motion to approve the plan of consistency? So move. Motion by Commissioner Shen. Second. Seconded by Commissioner Quinn. All in favor?

Unanimous. Okay. Next we have another public hearing on proposal to reszone partial 63460255236700 from B1 Marine Business District to B1 general business district. Property is located at 966 Highway 24 Newport and is approximately 1.26 acres in size.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd provide a a general overview. Mr. Jason or Jason Arthur Construction on behalf of Meridian Seafood Incorporated submitted a resoning application for the property at 966 Highway 24 in Newport. This property is formally identified as parcel number 6346255 236700 and consists of approximately 1.26 acres. The current zoning is B2 which is marine business and the applicant is requesting it be reszoned to B1 general business. And this property also falls within the future land use maps limited transition area. And looking at the surrounding area, uh there are single family homes. There's also some non-residential uh the Dutch tree manufactured home park and some commercial including sound storage and a Dollar General. And looking at the surrounding zoning, the area is primarily encompassed in existing B1 with some R20 and R15M in the area as well. We compare the two zoning districts. The existing B2 zoning district is primarily established for marine related businesses and has a varying minimum lot size between 10 and 20,000 square feet depending on the availability of public water and sewer and proposed V1 zoning district. It's generally intended for retailing of merchandise and professional business services and also has a varying minimum lot size between 10 and 20,000 square feet depending on public water and sewer. As I mentioned, this is located within future lane maps limited transition area and this proposed resoning is also consistent with policies 2.5 number one and 2.5 number two directing urban and commercial development to be situated within the limited transition areas. Uh this proposal was heard at the January planning commission meeting as well. There were no speakers in the audience at that meeting, but we did receive one

mail-in comment form which was in favor of the proposed reasoning request and the Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval and I'll be happy to answer any questions the board may have. Any questions? Ben. All right. Is there a motion to go into public hearing? Motion by Commissioner Shen, seconded by Commissioner Moore. All in favor? We are now in public hearing. Did anyone like to speak on this matter? A motion to go out of public hearing? So move. Motion by Commissioner Waldrip, seconded by Commissioner Moore. All in favor?

All right. Chairman, I'd like to make a motion to approve the request to reszone partial 634625 523 6700 from B2 Marine Business to B1 General Business District. parcel is located at 966 North Carolina Highway 24 Newport, North Carolina 28570 and consists of approximately 1.26 acres in size. Second. Motion by Commissioner Clark, seconded by Commissioner Waldrip. All in favor? Unanimous. Is there a motion to approve the plan of consistency?

Okay. And the proposed resoning is consistent with policies in the future land use plan and reasonable in light of existing and surrounding zoning. Okay. Motion by Commissioner Clark, seconded by Commissioner Wal. All in favor? Approved. Next, we have the manager's report.

Thank you, chairman and commissioners. And I do have a couple of announcements for everybody, but first of all um and she's still um out of the room, but I just want to recognize D and her team for the extraordinary work they've done during the audit. We are so fortunate. Um to have somebody of her caliber working for us is tremendous. She's been here for 28 years and um Are we freezing to death? I'm kind of cool. I'll talk faster. He's hot over here. I also wanted I wanted to recognize another um favorite coworker here at the desk, Nick.

The amazing Nick Wilson. And he is amazing. He um just just this weekend we found out he's already earned his North Carolina certifi certified county clerk designation. All right, that was fast. That's how it work. So, are we holding back some money on on you till you got the certificate or what? No, not really. You do a great job.

Okay, a couple more um announcements and I've gotten rid of a few others in in the uh interest of time, but early voting very important. It this is ongoing. We have three sites open for those of you who have not voted yet. Board of Elections Office in Bowfort, Fort Benjamin Park in Newport, and Western Park in Seedar Point. The hours are weekdays right now from 8 to 7:30 p.m. Our final day of early voting is Saturday, February 28th from 8 to 300 p.m. So, it closes earlier on Saturday. We have a very strong turnout so far. Don't be the only person who doesn't vote. Get out there and vote. We want you to do that. And of course, you can always show up on election day, especially if you like waiting in line, and that's Tuesday, March 3rd. But we we encourage you if you can go for early voting, get this done. Also, um a tax office reminder, our 2026 individual personal property and business personal property listings. Get those done. Um I believe the individual are due February 27th, 2026. And this has the same But I think we approved that was going to be later

April 15th. That's correct. For for business personal property, these listing forms, individual personal property are things like your boat and your boat trailer and your jet ski and stuff like that. So that's what you've got to put on those listing forms. That is required every year. And we didn't make that rule. The state made that rule, but we do abide by it. Um, contact information is available on the county website if you have questions. Finally, the Coastal Home and Garden Show is coming up and after the snowstorm, spring cannot come too quickly, so let's hurry it along. The Coastal Home and Garden Show is March 7th and 8th at the Crystal Coast Civic Center in Morhead City. And 60 vendors, or over 60 vendors, I should say, are already scheduled to showcase home improvement landscaping. And that's all I have for tonight. Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, we have appointments. Board of Equalization and Review. Looks like they're all reappointment to a one-year term. Allison Burnau, Robert Buckley, Lesie Daniels, Amy Lockach, Jeffrey Nelson, and Matt Shortway. All in favor of those individuals. Okay. Next is the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council. Miss Ruthie Maggie is an appointment to fill a unexpired term for a member under 21 years of age. All in favor of Miss Maggie. Next is the zoning board of adjustments. Clark Whitlo Jr. appointment to fill a three-year term as an alternate seat. All in favor of Mr. Whitlo. And I believe that's

that's it. That's it. Board of Ed Board of Equalization and Review. It's a redundant to the other. All right, that's uh all of that. So, next we have Commissioner comment. Start with Commissioner Clark.

Thank you, Chairman. Um, it's very somber, but a little over two weeks ago, our our county experienced an environmental disaster, snow. Um, I can't imagine that there exists but a few people on this planet that hate snow more than I do. So, it was very traumatic for me. But I would um that being said, I want to commend the vast majority of Carter County citizens who recognized that this is the south and that this this is the Atlantic coast and that there is very little infrastructure for snow removal because it's not supposed to snow here. and also for being self-aware that there is no shame in not being skilled in driving in snow and ice and had the good sense to stay home and out of the way and out of harm's way. And I was actually surprised that there weren't more idiots on the road. You know, high school kids doing donuts in the snow and that sort of thing. Oh, but

he's

But you know, I take that that light-heartedness, but remember I got last is very commendable that the majority of u of our citizens recognized to just stay home, you know, and uh recognize that we're not we're not geared for this and um and you don't have the skills. You're not from the north, most of you, and it's okay to not be able to drive in the snow. And um and my wife, she's from a a very snow riddled place where it snows like nine months out of the year. And she called me a coward and I said, "That's okay, babe. I drove in it when I was a kid where I grew up, but I don't drive in it anymore." So, uh I just just on a little light-hearted note, appreciate everyone staying home. And comm Chairman, that's all I have.

Thank you, Commissioner Clark. Commissioner Shen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'll be quick as well. just to uh reiterate the comments uh Commissioner Clark had. Uh I appreciate the staff's all their efforts and and uh an amazing undertaking in such an event. Um this hopefully it's another 20 years before we have an event like that. But serious enough, it was amazing that there weren't more calls for uh emergency service um accidents on the road um and just what have you. So appreciate all the staff uh and appreciate the the the citizens of Carter County as well, just like he stated, you know, for staying home and and using good common sense uh and not creating uh serious issues for our our uh emergency responders like our new EM emergency management director, Mr. Matias.

Emergency services. Emergency service. I'm sorry. Thank you for all your guys did. Did did a tremendous job through all that and a quick cleanup. I mean, that was a really quick cleanup. Partially DOT, but a lot of staff, county staff. So, I appreciate all that effort. Um, thanks to D and Mr. Bner's gone now, but for their work on on getting the audit out. I know it was late this year. He explained the reason for it being late. So, but I appreciate us getting that out as well and I look forward to to going through it and seeing what we where we can save next year. Thanks. That's all I got. Mr. Chairman, thank you, Commissioner Sh. Commissioner Walder.

Uh, thank you, Chairman. Uh, happy President's Day and I appreciate all those that came and spoke about parks and wrecks. I am so glad that people are participating in that um update of the master plan. Uh you've got I I don't think I'm speaking out of turn. You've got seven advocates that we're waiting to take action as best we can in a very thoughtful and phased approach I think is going to have to happen. Um but thank you for being con a consistent voice of the children and um it was a great point about economic development and uh I completely see that I'm also working on our um our state our homes program uh with the department of economic development and a few other advocates here in the county. Uh it's with a program from the school of government. I'm very proud to be sitting on that. Uh 14 counties out of the out of the state have been selected to work on that. We've been we're almost at the completion. Um it's a tough nut to crack for Carter County, but you all brought a very good perspective from creating a synergy between parks Rex um and all the advocates that could benefit from that. So, thank you. Um, and keeping people off the street, Dr. Williams, and doing the right thing. Um, emergency services. Man, what a tough way to break in day seven, 8, 9, 10. Right. Thank you. Thanks. My former chief, now our director. So, thank you. Um, I did my part. I stayed off the road, so I feel like I helped. So, there you go.

um election very important. The synergy of this board is uh something that I take um great pride in. We've got seven people that work well together. Uh we really like uh how we communicate. We really like how we think and we all have our tentacles out in different aspects of this county. Um so when you go out to vote um the culture of the board is very important and please take that to heart. Uh respit program I am so happy that we've moved out on that and and just to maybe put another perspective on the expenditure of money. Those people have been waiting and they are taxpayers. They've been waiting for this kind of support in our community. So, um, Commissioner Clark, maybe you can just kind of believe that there are taxpayers that are going to benefit from that 20,000 that we've done. So, um, those people need attention, too. Uh, and and there's a lot of, uh, stakeholders in that program beyond just the caregiver. And thank you, D, and the finance for the great audit. and all that they do year round. And we're happy to go into budget season. It's going to be very difficult, but we've got the right people on the on the commission um to do the best we can for this county and to move us forward. We're all about moving forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner Wald. Commissioner Moore, I'd

like to want to u echo things that has been set up on here on the board this evening, but I personally want to thank the county employees for this last snowstorm working around the clock like they did. Some of them just unbelievable amount of work. We had vehicles when it comes to the sheriff's office, the EMS stuck on the roads and between our county and their uh state, we were able to get things back rolling. You know, a lot of people realize, but when it comes to those main uh drags, uh the main areas going through our county, they have to be cleaned. It had to be cleaned first, and it takes time. We're not set up for a lot of this stuff that that happened, but they did. And uh the state helped out and got it got it going. Uh the secretary roads has a lot of calls on, but you've got to get the main drags done before we get to that area. And I I just want to thank everybody for um for staying off the roads, helping that really helps out when it comes to the people that's trying to work on the roads and get them get them cleared up. With that being said, again, thank you all. Be safe out there and I turn it back over.

Thank you, Commissioner Moore, Commissioner Quinn.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh once again, welcoming our emergency service director, Billy Matias. Uh sometimes I say trial by far. You had a trial by ice. So, thank you very much for all the hard work that you and all the county employees did in order to keep our citizens safe during this unprecedented snowstorm. Pelleter in my district received 19 and a half inches of snow, which is completely unheard of for our area. Um, speaking of Pelleter, I would like to thank my fellow commissioners for supporting the resolution asking the DOT to have a look at the Westfire Tower and Pelier Loop Road intersection. Uh, thank you to Celeste Karens who took the time to meet with myself and a member of the Pelleter Town Council and someone I'd like to give a special thanks to, Miss Donna Beerley who spearheaded this effort. Uh, this is a a very dangerous intersection. Uh I was at the Pelier Town Council meeting last week and we were talking about this resolution and Lieutenant Jensen, one of our deputy sheriffs, had set up there uh the prior week and on a weekday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. 1 hour, he pulled 26 cars for running that stop sign. It is a very dangerous intersection. It needs to be addressed as quickly as possible. So, thank you very much to Miss Donna Beerley for that. Uh, again, just can't say enough about D. Mishaw and all the hard work that she and her crew do in order to um really make our county economic system work so smoothly. AAA bond rating is as good as you can get. Um, and so that's she needs to be commended as well as her whole team. And thank you very much also uh to Dr. Randall Williams and to Director Shelley Ashley uh for getting together the Alzheimer and Dementia Respit Center. Uh I'm I have been a primary caregiver for my mother who suffers from

um dementia and it is a very tough task and the ability to have just a few hours even if it's just once a week um to to see that they're in safe hands and to give the primary caregivers an opportunity to to take care of things that they need to do. It's it's it's really quite extraordinary what y'all were able to do put together. Um so thank you very very much. And another special thank you to Joseph and Smith who came in and gave a very heartfelt uh request to this board for this respit center to get started. And so thank you very much Miss Smith waiting or listening at home. Um folks come out and talked about parks and rack. Uh thank y'all. I've raised two boys here in this county soccer little league. Uh every sport you could imagine. they played at one time or another. And I completely understand the need for additional fields and certainly this uh opportunity to expand our uh expenditures on parks and recreation is something that I'm fully behind. We need more parks. Uh we need more recreational opportunities for our youth. And so the the county looks after everybody, those that are in an emergency situation during an unprecedented snowstorm, looking after our elderly members of of our society and looking after our kids through parks and recreation. And this is something I often say, what does county government do for you? And it's all these wonderful uh services that our county provides. And and when I hear people, particularly in a public forum, criticize uh the services that a county provides, our county provides, it it's it's very hurtful. And and what we can stand it. We are the Billy Goats Gruff, if you will, as far as being trolled on social media and and media in general. But uh to to insult our teachers, our school staff, our emergency services, health department, social services, first responders, and law enforcement. Those are the services that our county provides on a day-to-day basis, and they

need to be celebrated. They need to be commended every single day. Thank you'all very much. Mr. Chairman,

thank you, Commissioner Quinn. Uh everybody said it all, but I'll say it again. And uh I'm glad we are moving forward with the respit care program that uh it was my understanding that we were moving in that direction and I think going ahead doing it now versus couple months from now don't really make a whole lot of difference except getting it done sooner and being able to provide that service. So I'm definitely uh thankful for that. The ballparks we continue to look for property. If you come up with a piece of property let our county manager know. But we are looking to acquire some properties that we can have nice facilities similar to what you mentioned in Rocky Mount and

Wilson and other other places because it's good clean uh fund and brings a lot of uh not only the tourism dollars but the social aspect and the u physical aspects of it. So we we are looking so the government wheel doesn't move as fast as the private wheel but we're we are moving as fast as possible once we identify a piece of property that would be suitable for that. Um I want to talk a little bit about the elections but I'm going to going to uh save that to the end. uh you know, February 13th about four years ago, we had a horrific plane crash and we we honored those young boys and Stephanie and Hunter uh with lighting the Koopa up blue uh in remembrance of them. So that that was horrific event. Uh Comm Commissioner Moore and myself were there during the the recovery. We spent three days in the ocean and it still stays with you. So keep those families in your hearts for sure. Uh I can't read my own writing now. So uh certainly we want to remember those folks. We recently had the groundbreaking on the Highway 24 boat ramp. It's going to be one of the largest boat ramps in the state. It took four or five years, maybe even longer. We we waited for state permits and federal permits and we finally got them all. And uh pretty soon we're going to be breaking ground on the new health plex in Cedar Point. It's going to be a new emergency room, uh doctor's offices, uh I'm not sure what else

CT sc some some testing, some surgery, and that's going to be a great addition. And a man having to come all the way from Solder Path in an emergency situation, then come back down 24 or go to Atlantic Beach and then back to Morehead City. going to cut those response time response times probably in half. So, it's going to be a great addition uh on the 26th

to to the area in a heavy heavy populated area. So, that's going to be February 26, I think 4:00 in the afternoon. Uh but those things just don't come just don't pop up and happen. They they take dedication. They take strong people. And before Commissioner Clark got on the board and Commissioner Moore and Commissioner Waldrip, Commissioner Quinn stepped up, Commissioner Shin stepped up and along with Commissioner Farington and Commissioner Mansfield. And there was a there was an impass on some boards and some I think Commissioner Quinn said it best. Sometimes I don't use the best language, but he's always real eloquent. Uh it was a log jam. So he Commissioner Quinn helped un undo the log jam. Commissioner Shin Mansfield Farington and and the other members here. And that's the reason you're able to have that facility today. It's going to be a $50 million facility that everybody on this board at the time had to roll up their sleeves and and and deal with the hospital board and some people had to change hands and and we're able to do that and that's going to be a uh great addition to the western end of the county. So, it this job is tough. It does uh not get a whole lot of accolades many times, but you have to stay the course and do what's best for the young people with the ballparks or the elderly people with a rest center and and all the things we do. You know,

Salvation and and De was out the room. I saw you out there taking the auditor to task, so I didn't want to interrupt you, but De does an excellent job. AAA bond rating. You know, the county is growing by leaps and bounds and we're going to have to spend a little money I'm as tight as the next guy. Almost as tight as Commissioner Clark, but not quite. But but I'm I'm a tight guy. I want I want the best deal. But at some point, we got to spend some money on some ballparks, some tennis courts, some things for our kids. We got to spend some money on our elderly people. We also have to spend some money on our county employees. We recently did a very nice raise for them, but we're going to have to do that again. And and obviously, we want to be as conservative as possible. I think the voters recognize that we're a conservative board and so far we've been reelected, but it's uh you know it it takes a lot of money to go around all these programs and DE does a great job of keeping a large piggy bank, but last time we had a severe hurricane, it took the federal government four or five years to reimburse us. So, if we'd had two hurricanes back to back, we have to be in a strong uh financial position. So, we can't just throw all the money out there to everybody that comes in here and ask for it. We do try to help everybody we can, but we we have to be conservative. Well, there there is some good uh things at the top of the list, including the ball fields, the respit care, and and our employees that that I think this board is going to be working on in the upcoming year or so. I think that's all I had. And you haven't lived Kimer until you cut donuts down east during the snowstorm. So I don't know how you guys did it up north, but down here we have a good time when it snows and uh everybody has fun. So if there's anything nothing further to come before the board, I'll entertain a motion to adjurnn. Make a motion.

Commissioner Moore made the motion. Commissioner Walp second it. All in favor? I. Thank you all for coming.