Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

[Music] [Music] We will call our meeting to order. At this time, we're calling our meeting to order. It is 7:00. Um, so our first uh order of business this evening will be the pledge of allegiance. Ask that everyone join us and stand for the pledge. Colonel, would you lead us? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the stand

indivisible with all folks. I know some of you this is your first time at a meeting, but we ask that you uh please uh observe public decorum. Um additional carrying on whatever else you want to do, do it under your breath, please. We don't everybody else doesn't want to hear it either. So if you know we've got a structure in place, everybody's going to have their opportunity. Um, but we don't need the uh we don't need the extracurriculars and uh tonight will go fairly smoothly if that uh if everybody abides by that. So um next up we're going to have a moment of silence. Please join us in a moment of silence. All right. Thank you. Please uh ask to I should have done this beforehand, but please uh for those of you who are the praying type, please keep the folks in Texas in your thoughts and prayers. They went through a horrible experience that we went through not all too long ago. So, uh those folks uh definitely need help just like we needed it at the time and still need some help, but they're they're going to need help for a while, too. So keep them in your thoughts and prayers please. Um up next is our agenda approval. Uh the agenda has been published. We have a slight amendment to the agenda uh item number 6 C and uh which is opioid litigation update. Uh 6D property acquisition. And we're going to add 6E for personnel.

Those three items will go into close session uh following everything else that we do this evening. So at this time I entertain a motion that we well I'm going to make a motion that we approve the amended agenda. Is there a second? Second. Second by Vice Chairman Hensley. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor. All right. So we have an amended agenda. Uh next item on the agenda tonight is our consent agenda which includes our tax refunds and releases. uh home community care block grant for older adults. Division of water infrastructure funding offer and acceptance amendment for the uh state appropriation. The budget amendment number 13 that was provided to us, financial reports that were provided to us by the uh finance officer. um Madison County Public School System repair and renovations fund request and approval of our June 3rd special meeting minutes, our June 16th special and recess meeting minutes and our June uh 16th regular meeting minutes. And at this time, unless there's any changes, I will entertain a motion that we approve the consent agenda. So move. Motion by Vice Chairman Hensley. Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Wyatt. Any discussion about the consent agenda? Hearing none, all in favor? All right, consent agenda is approved. All right, up next is our public comment period. This is our general public comment period. Um, I have the signup sheet in front of me by pursuant to our rules. The first 10 people on this list will go at the beginning of the meeting. Everyone else after the first 10 on this list will have the opportunity to speak at the end of the meeting tonight. Each individual has three minutes to speak. Uh we need each person to come up to the podium. There's a microphone at the podium. If you don't talk at the podium,

the people at home don't hear you. So uh we will ask that you come up to the podium. Please state your name and let us know what community you're representing. And uh then we'll start the clock. You've got a 3minut time limit at that point. And we ask that everybody uh observe the rules uh as everyone has done very well in the past. So, we continue to hope that that continues on. And um our first person up is going to be Robin Smith. And after that on deck is going to be Terry Jervassi. Am I pronouncing that correctly? Jervasi. Sorry, Terry. All right. Um and then it looks like Grat Smith will be uh on deck after that. So, um Miss Smith, the floor of the podium is yours and you've got three minutes. Jamie is our official timekeeper this evening. Okay. Well, first of all, I want to thank you, Congress. I mean, your commissioners, and I thank Mr. Honey Cut, Mr. Moss. I've not been around them, so I've not worked with them, but I have these gentlemen, and I want everybody in this room to know that when the flood hit, I'm in an office. They come in well after work and all day, like 7 o'clock at night, so tired they couldn't even hold their eyes open with just blank stars on their face. Their main concern was not politics. It was not campaigning. It was about you people, everyone in Madison County. Now, I had the opportunity of seeing that firsthand. I pray y'all don't cuz I hate to have another disaster like that. But these guys are really good guys. Pray for them in everything they do. It's like they pray for all of us. All

of us. And I thank y'all for letting me speak. And I thank you gentlemen for letting me speak, too. Thank you, ma'am. Terry, you're up next. Uh, Grat. Is it Grat G R A T? Is that correct? That's correct. Okay, Grat Smith, you're up next. You're on deck. Thank you, commissioners, for the opportunity to speak tonight. It's important our our opinions are able to be expressed and that we are respectful of others. And being respectful is what is on my mind. um night. I was told that there was a person on the current health board who was disruptive and disrespectful to a group with a permit praying at the Madison County Courthouse during the summer of 2022. This person drove up to where the group was singing and praying and laid on the horn and did not stop with blaring the horn until the police told the person to move on. Like I said, disruptive and disrespectful. There was another small group across the street screaming, "My body, my choice." There are pro-abortion and anti-Christian people on the health board. We know that's what the Democrats stand for. And majority of the people on the board are Democrats. They don't have the values, the same values that the rest of us in Madison County have. What if an abortion business wanted to open up here in our county? So be it. What if Planned Parenthood wanted to get in the schools?

So be it. Ma'am, you're out of order. I'm going to ask you to leave if you don't show the same respect to everyone else. This lady deserves the same respect everyone else is going to get tonight. You're if I had call you out of order again, you're going to have to leave. Like I said, what if Planned Parenthood wanted to get in the schools? Maybe they already are. We need oversight of this board, this health board, so that the values of the people of Madison County are protected. Thank you. Thank you, Terry. Grant, you're up next, sir. and uh Grat Smith. Please folks, again, please state your name and the community representing, please. Uh Hunter Sharp, you're on deck. Hi, my name's Grat Smith. Dr. Grat Smith. Um I'm here representing Madison County in general. I live on Turnpike Road just out of Marshall city limits. Um I've been a full-time resident of this county for the last 8 to nine years. I came here after spending my life in South Carolina where for 30 years I was a pediatrician providing primary care to children. Um I want to say tonight that the one thing was that as a provider of care to children the two agencies that were the most help to me were the public health department and department of social services. When I first moved here, I was impressed with the professionalism of the health department and their helpfulness in issues like water quality and uh immunizations, those kind of things. And I personally have uh had great interactions with the health department and been very impressed with how effective I thought they were. I'd

never been to a health department had a dentist called staff and I thought that was a very good progressive thing. I want to remind everybody that it's not just about COVID or septic problems or water quality issues. Health department deals daily with things like tuberculosis, influenza outbreaks, rabies prevention, newborn syphilis, lead contamination, and everybody's favorite, diarrhea outbreaks. Um, I think it's extremely important that the health department have guidance and oversight from people with an appreciation for scientific methods and people that uh understand and appreciate epidemiologic sciences. I want to remind everyone that we are on the verge of a public health crisis in this country. Uh in diseases that I'm very familiar with including putin cough for pessus and measles both of which kill children are on a drastic increase in the country right now. Both of these diseases are preventable with immunization. I just wanted to say that uh for a system that appears to have been working so well for so many years, I think it would be a real mistake to make any kind of drastic changes to upset the the current system. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Smith. Mr. Sharp, you're up next. Is it Grant? Trevor, I believe. Uh, Grant, you're on deck. Thank you for the opportunity to address the board of commissioners and make public comment. My name is Hunter Sharp. I live on Long Ridge Road near Mars Hill. I've been a resident of Madison

County since 2013. I've had the occasion to work directly with the Madison County Health Department twice since moving here. I've been very impressed by the help my wife and I received from the county and especially from Tandy Cody as we worked on one of our issues. I was also impressed and pleased by the professionalism and organization that our health department showed as they organized the county's response to the CO outbreak in 2020. My doctor from our Mars Hill Clinic told me at that time when there was so much uncertainty about CO that our county really had their act together. We receive top-notch guidance and care in this county. I understand that the health department and the board of health have recently been evaluated by the state and have received the highest marks for their work to the point that our health department has been held up to other counties in the state as a model of how to operate. I'm told that the board of commissioners is no longer considering abolishing the board of health and attempting to take on the work of the board themselves. If that is indeed your decision, thank you for coming to that conclusion. I think it's a wise decision for many reasons. Why would you as lay people want to supplant trained professionals in the health field who've been consistently giving good oversight guidance to our health department for so many years. I'm concerned by the board of commissioner's actions in replacing current members who've been successful members of the board of health and who were eligible to be reappointed to another term. Replacing those people with untried people or people like Melissa Slutter who is known to be contentious does not make good sense to me. I've yet to hear any compelling reason to make changes to a winning team. I've concluded that the reasons for these changes may be a result of some of the members of our community being dissatisfied with the forceful measures taken to keep us safe during CO lockdowns or objecting to being found out of compliance with

health and safety regulations. That unfortunately is going to happen when a regulatory structure is imposed on people. It's the job of the health department to point out deficiencies and require corrections. These regulations are state laws. People who are found to not be in compliance often blame the messenger. If this is the case, I urge you not to shoot the messenger, our board of health, and our health department. I'll be voting in November of 2026, and I'll be remembering your actions in restructuring our board of health and our health department when I do. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Trevor, you're up next. And Paul Gerwitz, you're on deck. Uh my name is Grant Trevor. I live uh in the Sexton community here in the county. I'm here to speak as a retired physician assistant who actively practiced for 41 years. I started practicing in Madison County in 1981 and um loved it. My last 22 years in practice, I served as the lead provider of employee health at the Asheville VA Medical Center. The basis of my work was to provide evidence-based medical care to our employees. That meant staying up to date on best practices as recommended by the CDC and various medical journals. I also took advice from our infectious disease head, the head of primary care, our infection control committee, and our nuclear medicine committee. During the recent pandemic, myself along with all the mentioned ancillary staff came up with a plan to protect our staff and the veterans we serve. Our plan and the

actions we took changed over the course of the pandemic. These changes were based on medical evidence and realtime experiences. My point in saying this here is that we had a group of knowledgeable professionals following evidence-based and best practices medicine to deal with what was a community medical emergency. We need the same type of arrangement for our county health department. The board of health should be f filled with knowledgeable professionals who base their advice on scientific evidence. based evidence-based medical understanding. Anything less is a disservice to the residents of our county. Thank you for your consideration. My name is Paul Gerwitz. I live on Anderson Rain. Penelopey Glass, you're on deck, please. Sorry, Paul. It's okay. All right, Paul. Floor is yours. You can start. Give Paul his time back, please. It's distressing for me as someone who's made Madison County my home for over 50 years to have to argue in favor of a governmental board and a health department which for decades has tirelessly and effectively looked after the health of our citizens. Like so much of what's happening in our country today, we are here to debate a non-existent problem. For decades, members of our health community and public citizens have served on the board of health and done an amazing job. We have faced public health crises more than none more alarming than the COVID pandemic and we have always come through. Are there things we could have done differently or better? Only a fool would say that's not true. But that's always true. Nothing is perfect. Under the watchful eye of our board of health and the dedicated employees of our

health department, we have done better than many, if not most of the other 99 counties in North Carolina. One of the reasons given for abandoning our current board structure, I'm told, is the risk of liability. And I assume that means to the members of board. Members of boards, private, public, are always face the risk of a lawsuit. That's why they have board insurance. replacing the professional expertise of the men and women of our board would be dangerous to the health of our community. Yes, you are elected and the board is not. But are we really suggesting that all community decisions that rely on expertise should be put on the hands of elected officials? Do the county commissioners want to forecast the weather, decide how deep the footings of a structure should be, or perhaps decide who should be treated for a specific disease and and how? There is an insidious movement in the United States to downplay and demonize experts. They're called experts because they've done their work. I know from personal experience that decades ago, jobs in this county were used as political chips. I also know that has changed. I have known many people who've served on the board of health and I know that all of them were guided not by politics but what they believed based on their experience was best for the county. I'm imploring you to abandon the scheme to do away with the board of health. If you have issues or think there are things they and the health department can do better, work with them. Don't fire them or force them out. I want to personally praise and thank all those who serve and have served on the board and give a special thanks to the incredible work of Tammy Cody and her staff for the work they've done

at four. My wife was diagnosed with Lyme disease a few days ago. Apparently it's rampant in Madison County right now. At 4:00 this afternoon, she received a call from an employee of the health department, the infectious disease specialist, to talk to her about her condition. That person was doing their job. Let's let them keep doing their job. Thank you, Glass. You're up now in showandis. You're on deck. Good evening. I am Penelopey Glass and I am a resident of Madison County William Marshall. I'm here tonight because despite many requests, the board has failed to provide a little louder. There isn't a mic. There is no Is there a mic? There's a mic right in front of you. Yes, ma'am. I'm here tonight because despite many requests, the board has failed to provide its constituency with any credible reason for replacing the existing board. As many have already said, the reason cannot be the performance of the board. The board's competent guidance and oversight is abundantly evident in stellar performance of the health department over years. As to the assertion that this board's objective is to protect the health department board members from personal liability for legal claims, the board has not provided any evidence whatsoever that there have been or are currently any such claim. Further, as an attorney, I believe that this rationale is legally questionable to the point of spirious. The health department board members are appointed by this board. As such, any claim brought out against a health partner member would almost certainly also be brought against the board where a rigorous defense would be raised

utilizing county files. It's also been rumored that the board has received numerous complaints as suggested by a prior speaker about the activity of a single program within the health department. If that's the case, the remedy is for the this board to confer with the health department board to address the concerns. It's not to replace a health department board that has proven its commitment to the well-being of those in this county most in need. Finally, I refer to the board with the board to the North Carolina General Statute section 13A-1.1B which sets forth the 10 essential public health services that must be provided by the county. The requirements are rigorous that time does not permit me to outline the other duties and responsibilities established by the statute. However, it is practically impossible to imagine that this board can simultaneously meet those duties and responsibilities along with the many other obligations to discount these residents. Failure to meet those duties and responsibilities by this board will carry will predictably result in lesser quality care for the county's residents and a higher risk of legal liability for such failures. For these reasons, the board should withdraw his proposal. Landis, you're up. Dennis uh Dennis Hendrick, you're on deck. My name is Chio Weblandis and I'm a native of Shel Marorrow here in Bloody Madison. My family lives and works in this county and I'm here to be on public record of advocating for the people of our county and those who are unable to be here tonight. First, a 1% increase to

the county's budget is unacceptable. In a county that is rapidly growing for more than a decade, there are no excuses for not growing our budget, too. In business, there's a saying, if you're not growing, you're dying. This just doesn't mean growth in volume, but efficiency and sustainability. Meaning that if you are consistently adapting and meeting the needs of your customers, which as elected politicians is we the people, we are your customers. And we have the right to hold you accountable for the choices that you make on behalf of us all. We the people will always be here, but your time as commissioners won't. Your current choices regarding the health department indeed affect us all affect us all. It's not about people or it's about people. It's not about politics. We are here right now speaking out on behalf speaking on behalf of the board of health other than the expressed want from this board of county commissioners to assume the responsibilities of the board of health. Why? Why are you all wanting more responsibilities? Our award-winning board of health is phenomenal and our county is so lucky to have them. The fact that you have to have a public hearing here doesn't mean that you have to listen to us. And um as you've made it quite clear you're going to proceed with taking over the board of health regardless of what we say here tonight. You have given one good reason. You haven't given one good reason other than because you can. You have a moral obligation to do right by the people in this county and your actions here tonight will stick with you for your entire life. You may think that if the newcomers that you will run out of the county with these changes when in truth it's the generational natives that the ones that are suffering. If you've moved here in the last 15 or so years, it's likely that you have a few more options. You have other places you could have chosen to live. And in

many cases, you still have options of other places that you could go. But generational families and true natives of Madison County are being pushed out of their homes due to increased rent, moving into cities because of loss of jobs, and they will continue to keep moving where affordable healthcare is still available. These people believed in you. They voted for you in good faith. And now you seem to be doing everything in your power to dismantle the fundamental and human rights that we as citizens have. Talk about some triple down. Uh it's not about politics. It's about people. So if it's not broken, don't try and fix it. The floor is yours. Irene, you are on deck. What's his name? Dennis Hendrick. Am I pronouncing that correctly, sir? You are, sir. Okay. Thank you. Um, I am a resident of Mars Hill. I'm a physician assistant licensed in North Carolina, practicing since 1995, primarily in rural healthcare clinics. In every case, I was always working closely with the county health departments. These agencies are responsible for important health outcomes for county residents by providing clinical services, conducting safety and health inspections, investigating and mitigating communicable diseases, and providing no or lowcost healthcare screenings. I was delighted to learn that Madison County Health Department received a honors rating, which is the highest rating that can be given during its most recent reacredititation process. This indicates that the department is doing trustworthy and valuable work as evaluated by North Carolina's state health officers and medical providers. It seems that decisions to continue to utilize and

encourage the correct, excuse me, the current successful model come down on the side of wisdom and concern for the public health issues in Madison County. To do otherwise seems of questionable intent and value. Thank you for your time and your ongoing efforts to support this very successful and important Madison County Department. Thank you, Mr. H. Miss, you will be our our last speaker before we move on to our next topic of business and then everyone else on the list will have the opportunity to speak at the end of the meeting. All right. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. I'm Irene Olds and I live in Mars Hill and I'm an active member of Madison County. Good evening, commissioners. Thank you for your service and for the time you give to this community. Your role carries weighty decisions, and tonight, one of them is before you. As leaders, you are entrusted with the well-being of everyone in this county. That means preserving the strength and credibility of institutions like our board of health, which for over 50 years has been guided by professionals trained in medicine, science, and public health. Many of us are deeply concerned about what appears to be how the board of health is being reshaped. skilled, experienced health professionals are being removed or passed over and replaced with individuals who may not have the same training and credentials. Why are proven exper experts in science and medicine being sidelined? If the board of health is replaced with people who do not represent a full range of scientific and medical knowledge, we risk weakening the very foundation that public health depends on. The board's

decisions must be grounded in science and professional experience. Public health isn't a platform for personal opinion. Okay? We're here tonight because we know our current board of health is rooted in evidence-based care, scientific integrity, and a deep commitment to the well-being of every person in this county. Commissioners, sporting supporting the direction of the board must not be about personal preference. It should be about protecting a structure that has worked in Madison County for generations and ensuring that those entrusted with public health decisions are guided by scientificbased knowledge and a genuine concern for community. The strong turnout tonight reflects how much this matters to us. Thank you. At this time, I'll entertain a motion that public comment uh be uh postponed until the remainder of the meeting is concluded. Is there a motion? So, mo motion by Commissioner Garrison. Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Wyatt. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? All right, our next order of business tonight is Misty Barnell, our uh extension agent uh in charge of 4. And is Misty here? There she is. Okay. And we have a guest speaker tonight. Didn't think you're going to have a crowd like this to talk in front of, did you? I don't, but I've got a season 4 here with me, too. All right, that's awesome. So, tell us what's going on, Misty.

Yes, so this is our annual thing. We're so thankful for the association of county commissioners partnering with 4 to host the youth boys conference which is going to be in Greenville, North Carolina this year. And it's my pleasure to introduce Maya Cavanis as our Madison County 4 youth voice delegate this year. So the mission of 4 is empowering youth to reach their full potential working and learning in partnership with caring adults and Mayia is well on her way to being one of those caring adults. Our educational pillars are agriculture and science, healthy living, leadership, and civic engagement. We strive to help youth develop life skills to become capable individuals, and active citizens. You'll get to hear May's perspective on 4 in just a minute, but I want to share some highlights that stand out to me over her years in 4. So, she joined 4 about 5 years ago when her mom started a 4 club in hot springs. and since then she's been involved in numerous 4 projects, more than I can count. Um, but some stories that stand out to me are last spring May and her mom hosted and led a 4 goat project at their farm for our youngest 4ers. May did a fabulous job teaching and leading. But what I remember the most was how caring she was when one of the little kids got a scrape and she just took care of the scrape, cleaned it up, put a band-aid on it. And if you could prescribe the exact amount of compassion that that kid needed to feel better, May cleaned up the super minor scrape. Made the child feel totally better. Uh Maya has been attending our week-long residential 4H camp for the past four years going with our Madison County group and we were there last week where she got to be a leader in training which means that she served as a leader with the cabin counselors for a young girl's cabin. So May I got to shadow the counselors that are there all summer and

bridge that gap with the young kids, leading them, engaging them, keeping everybody involved, being encouraging, and just setting a really good example for these young 4ers. last year. Um, you're going to hear more about this from May yet, but last year she gave her first 4 presentation, got involved in our public speaking program. U went to district, went to state, and got to attend our North Carolina 4 conference, which is all about leadership and service and growth. She did a presentation again this year on dyslexia. Got gold at district last month, and she'll be going to state later this month with that presentation and going to 4 Congress again. So, we're adding youth voice to her resume to continue developing leadership skills, citizenship, and civic engagement knowledge. And just super excited for her to have all of these opportunities. So, I'm going to turn the floor over to May. Again, I want to thank y'all for providing this opportunity, which is free of charge to May, free of charge to the 4 program that you support all of these youth getting to go and learn about civic engagement, how county government works, and how they can be leaders in their community. So, I'm going to turn the floor over to May so that she can tell you a little bit more about what she's been learning in 4 and what she's looking forward to about youth voice. So, fet Cassanis. Thank you. Thank you so much. Hello ladies and gentlemen and everyone in between. My name is May Castle Manis and I'm here just to tell you all about all the amazing things I've learned in 4 and all the amazing things I hope to learn through youth boys. Now sadly I don't have a lot of time to talk about all the amazing things and I also don't remember all the amazing voyage has taught me over the years. What I can talk about is some of my favorite things. First of all, the presentation is honestly one of my favorite things to do because it helps you learn how to present yourself, how to present your

topics and federal speaking abilities. And most amazingly, I am so excited to go to state for this year, too. Now, another great thing, as Misty mentioned, is the stay away camp that VO does. I absolutely love it because you get to talk to kids who are your age, younger, and also older. And especially this year being an LIT leader in training, I got to learn so much young kids, not just patients. And I found it to be so much fun. And of course, speaking of 4 camp, last year we were doing this really fun canoeing thing. And we're canoeing down this river and sadly one of my close friends, their canoe got stuck under this like branch from a tree. And I remember that I didn't even think about my decision- making. I didn't think about decisions. I I was like, "Okay, I'm going to the little island over there. I'm gonna put the canoe there and I'm going to swim back as much as I possibly can." And and so I did that. Why I think this is so important, especially for me, is I'm was I have so much high anxiety. Being around people or even making small decisions, asking for even like a cup of water has so much anxiety involved with it. So, I'm really thankful and glad that voice has helped me walk through that kind of anxiety. And I hope that through youth voice, it can help me be around more people and get through my anxiety and can also teach me how to talk with people more easily. Okay. And y'all might remember this program requires a picture. So we get a picture of me. Yeah. You want to do that now? Yes, please. Okay. Sure. Come on. You come around. We'll come down there and make it a little easier.

Awesome. Thank you. [Music] Two. Thank you. Thank you. All right. So, our next topic of business tonight on the agenda is our public hearing and consideration of Madison County Board of Commissioners to assume direct control of the Madison County Board of Health. Initially, uh, the first part of this will be a presentation and I believe that's our county attorney. Is that correct? Yes. You have a resolution in your package, which is a resolution that you spoke of, I believe, at your NA meeting, where you address where you addressed the takeover uh of the board of health by the county commissioners. At that meeting, I addressed you and told you the procedure that you would have to follow in order to do that. As a result of that, there was a notice that was published in the new sentinel 30

days before today's day, which stated that you would have a public hearing. You would consider the proposed resolution. Uh the resolution is in front of you. Uh I would recommend at this time you proceed with the public hearing. Uh listen to the folks who want to speak either pro or for pro or con against the resolution. And after that, you can have a discussion among yourselves as how you want to proceed with the resolution as you would any other issue that comes before the board. If you have any questions regarding that procedure, I'll be more than happy to address. Very good. So, gentlemen, you've been provided a copy of the resolution that was originally discussed when we uh undertook consideration of this. So, you've had the opportunity to take a look at that. Um, before we have discussion from of this board, um, our next uh, item of business would be the public comment portion. At this time, I'll entertain a motion that we open for public comment. So, move. Motion by Commissioner Garrison. Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Wyatt. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? All right. we will open the public public comment portion. Um, again, this will be uh very similar to the public comment that we just had. I will ask that uh you be respectful of the speakers whether you agree with them or whether you don't agree with them. Um, everybody will be limited to three minutes and our first individual again please do this. Let's do the same thing. State your full name or state your name. Doesn't necessarily have to

be your full name, but first and last name, please. And the community that you are from and Terry Geri. Gerachi. Yes. Giraffe. Sorry. I was I spoke on the first. Okay. So, you you don't want to speak again. Okay. Good deal. You signed up on both, so just making sure. All right. Um, so that would move to Robert Steinlass. And then on deck is J. Brian Lyles. Yes. Okay. Would it be possible to get the mic back again because I'm a soft? The mic's right there, sir. Okay. So, um I'm Robert Steinlass. I've lived in Grapevine for the past six years. Um our health department is strong with staff who are hardworking and dedicated despite being underpaid and often underappreciated. They protect public safety just like policemen do, just like firemen do. Along with the board of health, they address technical and operational issues which are best left to qualified, trained, and experienced health experts. I'll focus on vaccination, the greatest public health achievement of the past 100 years in public health. I saw the power of vaccination firsthand during my five decades in public health. I started my career working on the global eradication of smallpox. It had caused 250 million deaths in the 20th century alone, but not a single death since the late 1970s when it was eradicated. I also helped strengthen immunization programs overseas in resource poor countries in Africa, Asia, former Soviet Union, which prevented the deaths of 154 million children in the past 50 years. Our parents taught us

well. They told us that um an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And that's what vaccination is all about. Our grandparents and greatgrandparents in this county and elsewhere saw siblings and playmates die before the age of five way too frequently often from dtheria, measles and hooping cough before vaccines were discovered. In the United States, diseases prevented by vaccination have been reduced by 99%. Now we've even got vaccines that prevent against cervical cancer. and liver cancer. The health department can't do the job entirely on its own. They need your full financial, political, and moral support to protect the public's health. And as our representatives and respected community leaders, you need to please use your standing and your influence and your voice to generate broad community support for child vaccination. Please appoint or reappoint to the board only qualified staff who believe in the value of vaccination. You wouldn't appoint a known felon, a known felon to the police force or a known arsonist to the fire department. Please resend the appointment of any known antivaxer to the board. They mustn't be allowed to gum up the workings of the board, impede the mission of the health department, cause real harm to children by undermining public confidence, or diminish our trust in your leadership. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mr. LS, you're up here. Just one second.

Vivian Long, you're on deck. Mr. L, floor is yours, sir. I'm Dr. J. Brian Lyles. I live off of Ivy Hill Road. I've been a resident of Madison County full-time since 2019. Is this part-time for about 5 years before that. I I'm a PhD in computer science, not a medical doctor. My contributions uh have been recognized uh by my being named a fellow of the uh ACM, an honor that's only awarded to about 50 individuals a year out of a 100,000 member organization. I'm also a member of the or fellow of the ILE E with where the uh statistics are about the same. Despite all this, I know that I'm not competent to run a public health organization. Neither is any single other person. There there are a variety of specialized skills that are needed. In reading the original state legislation, uh, I've been impressed by the thought that went into the skills that are mandated for the board of health. The mountains of Madison County are dotted with family cemeteries. Uh, these cemeteries contain many small graves. Uh public health has been the reason that we no longer have this massive mortality. Clean water, vaccines, and epidemology have made a major difference. My great grandmother was an herbalist. Uh, and in the 1880s and 1890s, she uh was in much demand because she wouldn't let the doctor into the into

the house uh at childbirth until he washed his hands with li soap and hot water. There weren't going to be any cases of child bed fever in her county. Um, my mother remembers remembered pooping cough. I remember polio and not being able to go out and play because polio was in the town. I and I also remember the relief when the salt vaccine became available. We just went through a major epidemic where the Madison County uh public health uh system worked. Uh there will be another epidemic. We don't know when. We don't know exactly what the disease is going to be, but it will happen. Choosing a set of competent board members on the basis of knowledge and the diversity of knowledge needed uh to deal with the unknown is what will keep us from having new graves up on the mountain side. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Rebecca Lily, you're on deck and the floor is Vivian Long this time. Miss Long, the floor is yours. Okay. Hi, I'm Vivian Long. I live in the town of Marshall and represent myself and other members of the community, I hope. Um, I want to thank you commissioners for your service and for your concern for the welfare of county residents. I understand that you wish to ensure everyone's needs are met by the health department and the board of health. We

are fortunate to have such wellqualified, enthusiastic, and caring people volunteering their time to serve on the board of health. There is a reason the state assembly mandated certain requirements to serve on the board with eight of the 11 positions requiring a medical background and one an engineering background. Health policies are complicated. This is a small county populationwise. I doubt we have an endless supply of candidates who are both willing to serve and who meet the qualifications. It behooves the commissioners to treat the current members of the board of health with respect for the time and passion they have devoted to our county. You may need them to serve again later. There will always be openings for new members when current members wish to step down, are constrained by term limits, or have hampered the effectiveness of the board. But it is best to retain as many experienced members as possible to help guide new members through the process of making public health policies while following laws and guidelines set out by the state and federal governments. Talk to the members of your board and find out who they wish to retain and who would like to serve another term. Most problems can be sorted out by sitting down and talking to each other. If you have heard complaints, share them. If you have concerns, talk about them. If you think it is time for new blood, talk to the current members about replacements. People need to be able to work together. Now, I'm not sure what's in the resolution in front of you, but I hope the commissioners are not taking over the board of health

and because I'm sure your plates are pretty full already and you have neither the time nor the qualifications to take on these extra duties. There are only four counties in North Carolina where the commissioners are the board of health. So obviously it isn't a popular option. We are better served with a qualified board by a qualified board with the time to devote to health concerns. There will always be people that disagree with policy decisions. You can't make everyone happy, especially if that decision hampers them in some way. Public health policies are for the good of the entire community and may discomfort some people at times. That is the reason we need qualified individuals on the board rather than politicians. Thank you, Miss Bradley Hodes, you are on deck. Uh Rebecca Lily, the floor is yours, Miss Lily. Thank you. My name is Rebecca Lily and I live here in Marshall with my family. Thank you for your time and listening today. Our founding fathers through the constitution crafted a constitutional republic through which we the people consent to give limited authority to our government. Through the legislative process, I have a voice and a vote. In every election since I was 18, I have voted. Today, I'm here to use my voice as an influencer. The foundations of America are built upon individual responsibility and our inalienable rights. As a parent,

I have sole responsibility before God for the children that he has entrusted to me. When the World Health Organization seeks to remove the sovereignty of our states, the CDC guides the state health director who then passes that word to the local health director who then trickles down that movement to the appointed health board who then issues policies to we the people. My voice was never heard. This affects me directly. I do have some personal examples of our Madison County Health Department and officials. They were not interested in hearing my voice at the time. An appointed board of health does not simply advocate for the people, but is a working mouthpiece for unelected people. An appointed board of health acquires all power to make policy, make rules, and administer health. If they do this according to the guidance of the state, they are sure to remain in great standing and applauded for their efforts. If the county commissioners whom we all have the power to elect and I might add did elect are the board of health. They have the authority to repeal or adopt local public health rules as advised to them by an advisory committee. Because this issue affects me directly, my children directly, I prefer a process that includes my voice. Thank you. Thank you.

Bradley Hodes, you're up next. Um, Seb, is it Sebastian Dunn? You're on deck. Sebastian Dunn, you're on deck. Mr. Hodgees, floor is yours, sir. Hello everybody. My name is Bradley Hodes. I am the accreditation coordinator and employee at the Madison County Health Department. On May 13th, 2025, Attorney Donnie stated, quote, "The majority of counties in North Carolina have assumed either direct control or formed a consolidated health board in some capacity. I think the majority of the counties in North Carolina have taken over. The commissioners have taken over some form of control, whether that is over the board of health, the department of social services, bold, or form a consolidated health board to take over that control. End quote. Mr. Hinsley, you stated that if this statement is true, then the commissioners look into this. I'm here to tell you it is not true. This is far from true. the commissioners or the county attorney would have come uh if the commissioners or the county attorney would have come to the medical professionals, we could have effortlessly given you the data you saw. 78 counties in North Carolina have appointed boards as their public health governance structure. Concerning constituents calling commissioners about Madison County Health Department concerns, Donnie advised the commissioners, quote, "I'm sorry, I can't help you. If you say that, then you'll probably won't get reelected." End quote. I believe this is the real reason for this move. Commissioner Hinsley, you stated that you ran on a platform to change the health department because of how CO was handled. The county commissioners and the North Carolina governor shut down Madison County and issued a stay-at-home order. This was not nor could it have been issued by the Madison County Health Department. Neither the board of health nor the director nor the health director have that authority. Donnie said, quote, "The main authority you would have, the board's biggest authority, is selecting who your

director is and control over the director." End quote. All of the commissioners have stated that Tammy has done a great job and this is not a quote witch hunt to fire her. If this is true, then you should have no interest in this authority or control. Donnie said, referring to Excuse me. Donnie said, referring to turning the board of health into an advisory board, quote, "You can ask for advice. You do not have to comply." End quote. Board of Health members are not going to lend their harder credentials and knowledge to a board of commissioners that have rewarded their excellent work with dissolving the board of health and taking away their decision-making capacity. The medical director who is working for us well below standard pay even for a county like ours has confirmed that she cannot work for politicians. Donnie stated quote you would simply exercise those duties as part of your county commissioner's meeting. End quote. As the accreditation coordinator who proudly works with the current amazing board of health, I can assure you there is no simply your duties as the board of health will be great, time consuming, and impactful. I suspect negatively so in the care given to Madison County residents and the accreditation status of the Madison County Health Department. My final plea is that if you are not to be swayed from your need for control, I ask that you wait until the current accreditation cycle is Mr. Hodes, your time is up. So that Mr. Hodgees, your time is up. Thank you, Mr. Hodes. You're Sebastian Dunn, you are up. And Jim Baker, you're on deck.

Hi, my name is Sebastian Dunn. I live in Mars Hill. I'm a member. Uh, I live in Mars Hill. I'm a member of the community. I teach math at A Tech. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I think it's a shame that somebody like me has to come and say it. Jim Baker, you are up. Bobby Somerville, you are on deck. My name is Jim Baker. I am a resident of Marshall. Uh gentlemen, thank you for the work you do as county as county commissioners. We do appreciate your time and your work. However, as you've heard at your June meeting, as I expect you heard since then, and as you could have heard and seen at the standing room only public meeting at Zuma, and as you will hear tonight, we did not appreciate your proposal to do away with our county board of health and assume it's duties yourself. This is generally regarded by the public as a terrible and illogical idea. When I spoke to you before, I reminded you that the board of health is a majority of the board of health is composed of health care professionals with years of training in a variety of health fields. If you abolish the board of health, you do away with the guidance and knowledge that the board of health professionals and substitute that for your own health care experience, which I do believe is practically none. I also stressed in June that you do not have the time to assume the duties required by a board of health. Our board of health meets regularly from one and a half to three hours per meeting and this time is spent by health care

professionals already trained and skilled in health care. You as a board will need much longer than our current board of health to consider issues and problems that our board of health members are already familiar with and work with on a daily basis. Al also I and most everyone else do not know why you have proposed this issue. It was announced with no forewarning to the board of health or the health department. You had not met with them to express your concerns or given them any idea that you have this proposal in in your mind. If there were problems with the board of health, the first step would logically be to meet with them to attempt to resolve the problems, not to suddenly without warning consider abolishing the board entirely. A commissioner is of course a member of the board of health. Yet, was any mention of the proposal ever made to the board of health by that commissioner as a member? No. Were problems ever brought to the attention of the board? Not to my knowledge. I have no real idea why the commissioners would want to abolish our board of health and take over its duties. I've heard many ask that question since June. I have heard rumors and have heard two commissioners give an online presentation. I've heard of statements given by a commissioner in the Laurel community, but nothing I have heard would justify the elimination of our board of health. Not a desire for a more active port of health, not the COVID pandemic, not a single instance of a sewage inspection by a health department employee, not a supposed fear of some unknown lawsuits in the future, and not a program by the health department to combat drug abuse. It sounds much more to the public like you made a decision to do something and then tried to come up with valid reasons, but there are not many. I urge you tonight to not proceed with the proposal, to not make it a motion, or if it is that it be

table and put to rest. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Danny Wy, you're on deck. Bobby Somerville. Thank you. I am uh Bobby Somerville and I live in Mars Hill. Thank you for granting me some time this evening. I think I'm going to say a few things uh that other people are thinking only dumber. Um I have one area of concern to share. I spent some time reviewing the minutes for the Madison County Board of Health for the last several years. I observe that despite the assertion that there have been numerous calls to your offices from concerned citizens of Madison County as board of commissioners representative to the board of health, there is not a single mention of any complaint of any kind in the meeting minutes of the board and the name of any board of commissioners representative does not appear in the record having anything to add, nor does it show any agenda item initiated by you. One would think that serious issues brought to your attention would find a way to the board. So I find your argument to be disingenuous and I wonder what the truth is about your interest in controlling a fully functioning public service organization. Tell her why. Clayton Honeyut, you're on deck. Mr. Wyatt, the floor is yours, sir. Danny Wy, state house road. I want to begin by thanking Vice Chair Hensley for having a long talk with me about the health

department. In our conversation, he said he didn't understand why so many people are upset about this. Well, I'm upset because our national health care system is under threat. There have been n massive funding cuts to the National Institute of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, Department of Health and Human Services, and an 11 billion cut to our public health departments. We have a Secretary of Health who does not believe in modern medical science. And just last week, Congress passed reconciliation bill that cuts Medicaid by 930 billion dollar. That's almost a trillion bucks. So, I'm angry at this injustice. But I'm nowhere near as angry as our Senator Tom Tillis. Last week, he gave a blistering speech on the Senate floor condemning the huge cut to Medicaid, pointing out that 663,000 North Carolinians at least will lose Medicaid. He said, "I will always do what is in the best interest of North Carolina, even when that puts me at odds with my own party." Then he voted against the bill. He listened to his heart and stood up for you, the people of North Carolina and Madison County. We are faced with a similar issue tonight. Our health department is doing a great job providing healthcare. With the coming major cuts to Medicaid, we will need the health department to pick up the slack. If you commissioners take over, though you have many talents, the quality of care will drop because you lack the medical expertise and time needed to care for all of us Madison patriots. And placing people on the board of health

based on political ideology will cause division, stress out staff, and negatively impact care. I know you're all Republicans like Tillis, but you are much more than that. At your core, you are good people. You are created in the image of God and carry the divine spark. So follow Senator Tillis's example. Listen to your heart and as Jesus tells us, heal the sick. Put the best interest of our families, friends, and neighbors above party. keep the management of the health department as it is. Reappoint the previous board of health members who have asked to continue making the health department's quality of care excellent. Commissioner Garrison, I've always admired your campaign road signs carrying the phrase we the people. I take that to mean you believe in the people. Well, we are the people. Thank you, Mr. W. You need to touch the microphone or anything? No. Okay. You think it's okay? All right. All right. Clayton Honeyut is up now. Judy Major, you're on deck. So, my name is Clay Honeyut, EB's Chapel. I've never been to and feathered before, so if I do it wrong, apologies. Uh it may be roses and rainbows at at the health department. I don't know. I've never been there. But environmental health is about to collapse. Uh it's in bad shape. We've got Doug and Ken, and Lord knows they're doing the best they can. It's nothing, but they're part-time employees. And now we've lost Jamie and Savannah.

What what's going to happen if you if you go to pull a safety permit? You're 2 and 1/2 months before you're going to get somebody out because they've got to prioritize other things. The state has sort of saved us in allowing the people who drill our wells to self-certify the grout. It's took a huge burden off of them. But if they had to do that now, I don't know that they'd keep up. you know, when when they've got a million-dollar rig sitting over a whale hole, you've got to have it grouted when you need it grouted. You've got to move on. If if you're putting in a septic system that has to be inspected when it's done. Weather's pretty detrimental to that. I just don't see how we're going to move forward without getting help. And I've been even the prior board I've come before and said, "Look, great folks out there. No, no problems, but they need some help." And that's where we're at. It's just getting worse. It's all getting better. And I'm just I I don't care about the health department. I don't care what you may decide about. Somebody needs to stand up and fix it. And it needs fixed in a bad way. Thank you. Thank you, M. Johnny. Dr. Robinson, you are on deck. My name is Judy Major and I'm from Marcel. And uh first of all, I want to thank everybody in this room for coming and taking the time to share your thoughts about what's before us right now. I appreciate that and I certainly appreciate the time that you're spending listening to all of us. So, thank you.

First thing I want to mention very quickly is that um a petition was circulated both online and paper petition was circulated and that will be talked about later on. But I just wanted you to know that part of the online petition was an opportunity for people to make comments and I have probably five or six pages of comments and I'm not going to read them all. I'm going to just read three of them. One is but I will share them with you. One is our excellent health department has long been the pride of the community. Preserve the integrity and expertise of our public health department by maintaining the separate board of health. Another is why change what isn't broken? And that appeared several times and this one appeared multiple times. Please leave politics out of the health of our citizens. To shift gears, I would like to mention something that has been very troubling to me. And that is I want to describe to you someone that I think all five of you undoubtedly know because you've appointed this person to the board of health. But according to many people, this person and this is information that I got from firsthand from uh people at the health department and in the community during CO this person attended public meetings announcing that she was a nurse which she is and insisting that CO was just a simple disease. She encouraged people not to take safety

measures. She spread misinformation about COVID vaccine. She refused to wear masks when coming out into the health department lobby where patients both young and old were waiting. And when her children were quarantined because of CO, she took them into the school despite being told not to. Most important, she has frequently been critical of our health department. Has been, currently, and in the past. She has been described by many as disruptive, confrontational, and anti-public health. It is Thank you, Miss Major. Althia Bennett, you're on deck. Altha Bennett, you're on deck. Dr. Melissa Robinson. Floor is yours. Thank you. I'm Melissa Robinson. I've lived off of Eastport Road. Um, lived off of Eastport for 25 years. I'm a family doctor. Worked for Hot Springs Health for 5 years. Um, and have been the medical director on Friday afternoons. I come from East Tennessee State University where I'm now teaching medical students and um I am the medical director for the health department since 2019. I've never asked patients their politics and I'm not going to start now because all that matters is health and that's what we should be talking about. I really appreciate your work commissioners. You do a job that is difficult and it is fraught with controversy and we are finding ourselves in one now. When I first heard about your proposal to take over the board of

health, I had some thoughts. My first one was what is going to happen to the patients and to the county? My second thought was why do they want to do this? because I've not missed but two board meetings in six years and no commissioner has brought these complaints. So that led to number three, why didn't you tell us? And then that led to number four, which is my I'm an MD, so my training takes 11 years after high school. And I still can't do the job of a pharmacist, of a veterinarian, of all the other people that are on the board. And so the inherent disrespect and insult that you thought that you could do my job was breathtaking because I don't think I could do yours. And that led to my next thought was you have some explaining to do to the school children about why training no longer really matters. And again, that brings me back to why. What are the problems? I'm not about sweeping problems under the rug. I want to fix them. So, you have to tell me what they are if you're seeing problems that I'm not. So, where do we go from here? It appears that you may have decided not to go ahead with the takeover and instead replace some board members. And as board members reach the ends of their terms, I strongly support that. And since you all are the ones that appoint the board

members in the first place, if you have appointed a board that you think is too slanted, then it is upon you to reappoint. And I welcome other opinions. Thank you, Dr. Oson. Thank you. Bonnie Whitner, you're on deck. Althia Bennett, the floor is yours. Good evening, commissioners. My name is Althia Bennett. I was born at 835 Carbell Ranch Road in Marshall, and I still live there now. I'm a thirdyear rising public health honors scholar at American University in Washington, DC with concentrations in applied statistics and Spanish translation. I'm a trained Spanish medical interpreter, a full full-time hurricane relief worker in Marshall, and an NIH funded public health researcher at my university. 10 years from now, I will have a terminal degree in public health, and I will return to Madison County as a public servant if my work is still welcome here. With the loss of the Healthy Opportunities Pilot, hundreds of residents in this county are suddenly without access to basic needs like nutritious food, safe housing, and transportation. Our board of health is the best resource we have to pick up the slack and care for these residents. That is not a partisan issue. It is a safety safety issue. I respect that each of you brings expertise in govern governance. I ask that you I ask you to respect that our board of health brings expertise in health. It is in our best interest as a community to make space for professionals whose training is different from our own. Assuming direct control over public health, especially during a time of rising need, would place an enormous burden on this commission. It would also create a conflict of interest, putting political decisions above public safety. That's not fair to you and it's not fair to our residents. Political operations and community health must remain separate. The job of

the board of health is not to win votes or to endorse a party. Their job is to pro protect all of us, no exceptions. And they've done that very well. We all have bodies. We all get sick. Most of us will become disabled at some point in our lives. Be honest with yourselves. Are you doctors? Are you epidemiologists? Madison County needs qualified health experts. That's why I'm becoming one. Rural students in my generation are working hard to bring knowledge and skills back home. So, I ask you, will my hard work be enough to qualify me as a public servant in the place I love? Or should I quit school and try my luck at bootlicking instead? Thank you. Bonnie, you're on deck. Mike Stevenson, you're on deck. I think Okay, Bonnie may have left. Mike, I think you're up. Go ahead, Mr. Stevenson. The floor is yours. Laura Davis, you're on deck. Uh, good evening. I am Mike Stevenson. I'm a resident of the beach community for a quarter of a century now. I've uh served on a number of committees uh uh for the uh county. Um the most recent one was the board of health. I served two terms on the board of health until I kind of aged out. My term limit expired. uh and I was the previous chairman of the board of health. Uh I don't have any new arguments that you haven't heard tonight and at other times. What I want to report on is what I observed working in the board of health. Um we we met uh

every month uh for the board of health and we were presented with situations by Tammy and her staff. uh and they asked for the board of health to uh have opinions and create policies based on the work that Tammy and her staff have done. What I observed is the uh mix of uh expertise that is mandated on the board of health really works when you're considering these kind of policy issues in health related uh matters. um epidemiologists, dentists, um uh practitioners uh all have an opinion and a point of view uh to contribute. My observation is that the board of health in its current structure uh acts diligently to review issues brought before them relies on the expertise of the individuals on the staff that have expertise and and uh makes very good uh judgments and policy decisions. Uh I'm no longer on the board of health. I aged out just before uh the pandemic. Um, but I was involved in the recruitment and hiring of Tammy Kobe as the director of the board of health and I have watched with great pride uh for the last five years as every year the health department continues to perform and an excellent manner, continues to get high rankings and um I I uh want to add my voice to those who are urging you not to proceed with the uh direct uh

involvement with the board of health. Thank you as Miss Davis makes her way to the podium. Ingred, is it Dreadner? Beer. Beer. I'm sorry. I butchered that pretty bad. I apologize, ma'am. No problem. You're on deck. Laura Davis, the floor is yours, ma'am. Thank you for the opportunity. Um, I'm not going to speak dispassionately. I am passionate about public health. And as far as the community that I represent, um, public health is to serve the whole population. So, I live in the Beach community. I grew up in Buckham County where I did um, receive healthc care at the Buck County Health Department. I also work there. Um, can you speak a little louder? I will try to speak louder. Sorry. I always um but I want to say also that I am representing my granny and my papa and my grandmother Dillingham and I have watched I know the history of the family and as someone spoke about those small graves in the cemetery that's something I've always been aware of. So one grandmother having 11 children and losing three of them and the other grandmother losing one of her five at birth. These things are the kinds of problems that public health addresses. These are this is a matter of life and death and these are things that people dedicate their professional careers to trying to help with in our communities. I know that um for me I am so fortunate for all that I've had in my life from health professionals to be able to help me have a healthier life to know things about cancer prevention and screenings. I worked for the Wick program to to know

about infant feeding. We had a lactation consultant, Georgia Cog. I learned a great deal about breastfeeding children before I had my own, too. And I think that we need to do right by our children in this county. We need to respect the public health expertise, the people that dedicate their lives and their time and so much hard work. And I've heard, you know, that you are also appreciated for the work that you do. And I agree, you have a lot on your plates and it will be very wise and in the best interest of the people of this county if you would work in tandem with the health department and address any concerns that there may be um and with the the board of health, but do not take this over because of well really nobody exactly knows why. um we all see what the what the national uh trends are these days and so um people have rightfully pointed out that essentially there's a dismantling of public health and that is a horrible horrible tragedy. Um I took my daughter just before coming here to get a menchitis vaccine were able to get that at her priv private doctor's office. My older daughter had a college classmate die within hours of becoming ill with menitis. So I tell you when it comes to these really really important and yes life and death decisions or how am I just going to live a healthier life for my family. Thank you Miss D. Miss Ingred, you're what? How do you pronounce last name? Deederin. Deer. You're the last one that signed up. Ma'am, the floor is yours. Oh my goodness. Okay. Thank you so much everyone for being here and thank you

commissioners for allowing me to speak and for your service. Um, I live in Mars Hill. I've lived here over 20 years. I'm not originally from this area, but I love this county. I think it's a wonderful county filled with wonderful people. But I want to remind you that we also have many poor people here, many suffering people here. People are still trying to uh deal with the aftermath of the hurricane and the devastation that they have encountered. Our public health system is vital to the welfare of all of our citizens. And I challenge you to please transcend whatever these issues are that are leading you to want to overcome, I mean to take over the public health department with no clear justification that has been offered. uh this issue of liability is is clearly nonsense. There are lots of statutes to protect uh public servants from liability. Um we need our public health system to function well and we have a public health system that has been stellar. Consistently we are finding that they have done an exceptional job for our county. So why would we not support them? Why would we not work with them to make things even better if there are changes that need to be made? Please reconsider this proposal. work with the

wonderful Department of Public Health that we have and think about this is not an issue about being Christian or non-Christian or Republican or Democrat. This is an issue affecting the health of all of our citizens and you are a representative of all of us. So, please give us your kind consideration and careful consideration. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. So, at this time, I'm going to execute a little bit of executive privilege here. Um, Tammy Cody, are you in the room? Would you mind coming up to the podium, Miss Cody? Heat up here. The floor is yours. Yes, ma'am. I did have a couple of things prepared, but before that, I wanted to clarify a couple of of things as well. So, I did want to just make clear that the board of health has never discussed abortions or politics as that's not their job. It's not what they do. and that during Helen, staff and board members both were working uh working hard on site in our shelter for weeks uh

to help keep everyone safe. That is always our priority. And then finally, sadly, a few do want to blame health departments and health directors for the pandemic. The pandemic was hard on everyone. I guarantee the health department followed the scientific information and the research that was provided to us. Madison County Health Department was in fact showcased at the state level for the processes we had in place during that time. So, as I stand before you tonight, I am truly filled with gratitude and reflection. I want to take this moment to thank each of you for your unwavering support of the health department, not just today, but over the past decade. It's been an extraordinary privilege to serve the residents of Madison County and I'm deeply blessed to have worked alongside such an incredible team. Together we faced unimaginable challenges, a global pandemic, the storm of a century, all while upholding our daily mission to keep our communities safe. To the health department staff, your dedication, professionalism, and compassion inspire me daily. We became a close family, laughing, celebrating, crying, and of course, eating together. You've tackled challenges with skill and heart, making a profound difference in countless lives.

to the board of health. I've been honored to have worked with a group united in vision and tireless in pursuit of our shared goals. Your commitment to this community's well-being shines brightly. to our community partners. Your collaboration has been invaluable. You've built bridges, fostered trust, and ensured our efforts reflect the unique needs of Madison County. And to all of our residents, I'm truly honored honored to have served you time and time again. You answered the calls through rain, snow, heat, even on weekends. Your resilience is remarkable, and I will will forever be grateful to each of you. In public health, success rests on trust, dedication, and hard work. Together, we've confronted complex challenges, disease outbreaks, health disparities, chronic disease prevention, and more. The Madison County Health Department was the second health department in the state to provide hepatitis C treatment as well as life-changing medicationass assisted treatment program for our residents. We also installed rare negative pressure treatment rooms and expanded our services to boost our revenue. These achievements are only a few that were born of our collective efforts and have strengthened our community. I'm immensely proud of all of our achievements. Madison County strength lies in its close teamwork

and tight-knit community. United in a health in pursuit of a healthier future. What we have is special and unique. The health department staff and board of health members are family bound by a shared commitment to serve with compassion and action. This collaboration has forged a resilient community where every individual is supported, empowered, and valued. Madison County stands as a beacon of care and unity. Moving forward, there may be uncertainties. Though we may have our differences, let's not let them divide us. We are one community, and we need each other. Our success depends on working together, nurturing trust, and upholding the dedication that defines us. Let's not let anything stop us from building on this legacy. Thank you, Madison County, for the honor of serving you. I'm grateful for these memories and our shared achievements. In closing, I have a following request. Let's keep working together to ensure a healthy, vibrant future for every Madison County resident. At this time, I'll entertain a motion to public comment be closed. So move. Motion by Vice Chairman Hensley. Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Garrison. Any

discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? All right, that concludes public comment for uh for this public hearing. At this point, the board will go into discussion phase and I will uh start it off just simply by saying uh throughout this process um it has been uh very good to hear from many members of the public. Um, I think it has been most beneficial to hear from members of the public that actually shared their personal experiences and their personal beliefs. Um, took the time to actually put a personal touch on their communication. Those were very beneficial opportunities for us. Um through this process we have managed to open the channels of communication uh very well I believe between uh this board and uh director Cody and uh we uh Commissioner Garrison and I had a long meeting with Director Cody and um Chairman Adams Dr. Adams and uh we thought we actually kind of made pretty decent headway with that. I think I I think I've since heard Dr. Adams had a different opinion of that, but that's okay. Um I think uh Director Cody and I have had uh some very good discussions in that time since that time as well. And um I feel like that the uh the channels of communication are open. We're working on the same page. We're committed. And Mr. Honeyut, if you're still in the room, we'll be glad to hear that. One of our top priorities is going to be to uh try some uh new ways to address the deficiencies with the environmental health department. Um so at this time, I will allow any of the other commissioners that would like

to speak uh at this time for this, uh you know, discussion phase of our of our of our hearing here. Um, so, uh, whomever would like to go next, the floor is yours. Just speak up. Let me know who wants to go next. You don't have to speak. If you don't want to, I'll speak. I I just want uh I will echo um Matt's words. Sorry I missed the last meeting. I was in Raleigh working, but uh I appreciate I appreciate the uh open communication with Director Cody and some of the others. And uh I do feel like the avenues of communication have been opened up a little wider. So I want to say that u through all of this and all the speaking tonight, I have heard one thing and y'all have passion for the health department. Yes. Yes. And uh will you introduce yourselves? I'm Jeremy Hansley. Thank you. Um you know there's a lot of knowledge that y'all know about the health department, but I've been on that board for two and a half years and I've only seen four public members attend those meetings. So I guess y'all are hearing the hearsay, right? Y'all are hearing what you've heard. You've not experienced it firsthand. Tell us the truth then, Mr. Hley. What do you think? No, no comments, please. The public comment portion's over. Thank you. One thing you you ain't seen tonight is is this board has just as much passion

for the health department as y'all do. We uh but not the experience. We we get the complaints and uh Chairman Adams made a a statement that I read on the citizen times that he's been on that board on and off for 45 years and no community complaints. I've been on the board of commission for two and a half years and I we get complaints all the time. And I want to say that the health department, the dentist office of the part of it, we get no complaints at all. It runs great. But the environmental health side of the department is a disaster. And you've heard that tonight by actual people that deals with them on a daily basis. So whatever we do, whether we take it over or we don't they needs the board of health needs to come up with a plan to fix the environmental health problem. money. So, let me let me just all give you an example uh of of the board of health, year and a half to two years ago, our dentist put in her resignation. She was quitting. The board of health accepted her resignation. the commissioners found out about it and we was able to work with Tammy Cody to get her more money and keep her. So, we do have passion. We do care. We would be looking for a dentist probably still today if it was left up to the board of health to come up with a plan. Same way with school nurses. We had a school nurse come before us wanting more money, concerned about the retention in the in the school nurses.

Nothing happened. It's the board of health responsibility to come up with plans and solutions when something is presented to them. This is not a question and answer section. So, And and one thing too is the people fund the health department, the people ought to control it. All of you ought to control it. All of you ought to have say over it. But when you put non-elected officials, you're on the board. Yeah. I'm the only one that would be held held accountable. If if you can't control your comments, we'll start removing folks. We've already laid out the ground rules. Everyone was respectful. When you had your opportunity to talk, it's time to return the favor or remove yourself from the room. Thank you. If you can't control yourself, the door's right over there. Thank you. But the but the last thing I want to say is is when we do get complaints, we don't go to the board of health. We go to Miss Tammy Cody and she has always always took care of the problem. So like it was said earlier, this was not a Tammy Cody witch hunt. This was simply us being able to make these decisions as far as policym rule making and we was going to keep the the health board as an advisory board. We weren't making health decisions. We've got a medical director. We wasn't taking over her her position.

So whatever we do here tonight, all of us in here, I think, can agree that we have a passion for the health department. And all that is laid out in North Carolina General Statute. So anybody else care to talk? You've asked for a month to hear from us. I asked for 10 minutes for you to hear from us. I don't need your applause. I don't need your booze. I don't need your disrespect. I got enough of that from some of your nasty emails. Y'all be ashamed of yourselves. Some of you folks totally missed the point of having a a republic where we can engage in communication and discussion and debate. Some of you didn't. And I learned a lot from you. I gleaned from you. Uh some wisdom, some really good thoughts. I think it was things that help us to be able to to to have conversations, to be able to engage with Tammy, to have those conversations. U so yeah, give us a minute or two to talk. Um there is no single point of failure here. uh the things that we're discussing and have been discussing and things that have been going on uh before this board. Coincidentally, I love the fact that we can have this discussion. Uh there was some communication about well not having a public hearing and just not doing anything. And the chairman said it's important for the community to be able to voice its positions and its concerns whether you you want the health board or you want an advisory board. And so, uh, I think it's important to have this. This is why we live in a country that's as great as it is where people can come and and air out their grievances to the government, to the people that are

elected to represent them. Uh, so I don't find any of this um as a waste of time regardless of what our thoughts are, our decisions are. I find it is an opportunity for the community to engage in us as elected officials. Keep it in mind the five of us can't sit down and have a conversation in private. Uh we what we air out is either two of us or it's before you. Uh so we have to be very cautious of the things. We also have to be very cautious of the things that we share in the public. things that involve personnel matters, things that involve um employees that work within uh your county government. And so we have to tread lightly with those things uh to be sensitive to those. And I will say that we have had good discussion. Uh, one of the biggest problems we've had is the fact that it's ironic that some of you spoke about the facts of, you know, letting the board of health keep doing its thing without ever asking yourselves the real question is, do you really think five of us would want to assume that responsibility if there wasn't some systemic ongoing issues that continued to rise up and things that hadn't been weren't being addressed? I I asked for the time. That's a hypothetical. Do I have to teach here tonight? Um so obviously we had we had concerns and issues that were ongoing. We we have some systemic problems and we acknowledge those and some of those problems aren't just about money as Dr. Adams would say. You just you know that that the board of health doesn't control the purse strings. Uh but a lot of it has to do with with with policies and procedures and and money is a factor to that. And so when we we're connected

with that and you know we have a problem, how are we going to raise the dentist salary $50,000? Well, you know, Chairman Hen or Vice Chairman Henson sits down with Director Cody and they work out a plan for that. That's that's the way it should work is to have that that positive interaction, that discussion to be able to come up with something that we can bring back to the county manager and to address so that we keep our dentist. And so that's that that process is important. But we've had communication and Tammy, I thank you for that. Uh you've been open to hear. We've had tough conversations. We've both acknowledged failures on our part and on on on on the board of health's failures about what we could have done different so that we didn't get to the place where we're at today. And so it's been a learning lesson for all of us. Getting some community feedback has been important. It's helped us to also sit down with Tammy and and Dr. Adams and and express some of the directives or the expectations from this board uh as far as what we need so that the community doesn't come to us. so that the community does feel like that the board of health is their board and so that the community has access to to email or to call. Uh we've even talked about things as as as simple as hey let's post the agenda for the meetings ahead of time so that people can see the agenda and so they'll know what the agenda is about and if they have things that they're interested in they can engage in those. requesting that the uh director Cody's email address be put right there next to the members of the board of health so that if people have concerns uh that they can call her directly and then they can levy those concerns through that and she will take those as appropriate to the board of health and they'll have those lines of communication to be able to address them. Uh, so I think we've established a lot of a lot of the things that we're we have concerns about that haven't been done historically and they have not been is that we're at a place now where I don't I don't see that we can't move

forward with our board of health and with these new lines of communication with some of these new procedural uh matters in place so that we can have a vibrant uh continued uh health department. We're pro health. I mean Oh, good. Whether you believe that or not, that's on you. Um, we support the health department. When Tammy comes to us and says, "Hey, we have RNs that that are making uh subpar money and we need to figure out what we're going to do to address that so that we maintain um these employees, then we we hear that. We address it." Um, I say all that to say that you're we hear your voices. For those of you who who who were articulate and gave us suggestions, we've implemented those. Um, we've also had discussions with Tammy, I think we're in a lot better place than we than we have been. I think we're in a place where we can move forward and I'm excited about that. Uh, yeah. Should we have had this long time ago? Sure. Uh, Chairman Wel and I had that discussion and we all agreed that u there's a lot of things we could have done different in in time past to have gotten us to a better place than where we're at today. But we are here and so now we have to make those decisions based on the information we have and based on what we've heard and based on our interaction with the board of health and with director Cody. And so I'm I'm happy with that. I'm satisfied with that. And based on that, I move that we do not pursue a resolution assuming direct control of the Madison County Health Department. So, we have a motion on the floor. Is there a second? Second. So, there's second. There's a motion by Commissioner Garrison, a second by Commissioner Wyatt. Um, this there, this is a time for discussion once again, now that we have a motion and a second. Um, any other commissioner would like to have that has anything they would like to say, please do so at this time. I want to say moving forward, I think we

need to task Jamie with uh creating a uh board of health email address. That way that the people on that board, you can send one email and it goes out to everybody and maybe creating a uh email for all these other folk, these people that's on this board of health. I'm sure they're using their private email. So, if we can create maybe a a county email for them, create a list would then include and and somehow on maybe the health department page, put the board of health members uh name on there at least. So, maybe maybe they'll go to them instead of coming to us, you know, now that people actually see how the chain of command works on that. We can work out the details on that. It shouldn't be a problem. I think we can get with Jamie and and coordinate that accordingly. Um, you know, as as many of you know, the ones that have sent the emails to the BOC, you can send you send one email out and it goes to all of us. And that's that's what uh Vice Chairman Hensley's talking about doing. So that if you send a uh a email that has a in reference to a uh in reference to a specific problem with the health department that would go to everybody at the board of health, not just director Cody. It would go to everybody and then director Cody could take that and do with it as she wants um with her with her board at that time. So we have a motion and a second. Again, discussion at this time. Any additional discussion? Repeat the motion, please. The motion is to not move forward with the resolution that was presented that has been presented to us this evening for the board of commissioners to assume control of the Madison County Health Department.

Once again, any discussion? Any additional discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? All right. our next order of business tonight. We still have business to conduct, folks. I'm going to ask you to please remain silent. There's still business to conduct. If you want to leave, you can, but you need to do it quietly, please. Um, so the next uh topic on the agenda this evening is our county manager update. Colonel Rod Honeyut, floor is yours. Good evening, gentlemen. Direct your attention to the vote on chart here. We're at with the FEMA status on our 16 projects across the county. First with the Hot Springs Library. We just got the architect's approval of what needed to be done for scope of work. We'll now receive free quotes from three individual firms to begin the work. offspring library contents that has been settled with the state doing the obligation sprinkle Shelton building in the courthouse. We have to do uh discussion between the attorneys of FEMA school of government and our attorney to change language in the venoi contract to meet federal regulations moving forward. And we have from the colonel. I'm sorry you front shel. Okay. From sprinkle shelton building and the courthouse. We have to have a round table with the noise attorney, our attorney, FEMA attorney and school government attorney to make sure we got the right language so we can apply FEMA money towards that contract. We've set out the date uh and waiting on school government to come back and confirm that date. Uh next is the Massie County Courthouse. back up just a little bit cuz I you you flew through that and I'm still trying to read this comprehensive chart. Where are we at on the Hot Springs Library?

Hot Springs Library. We now have the architects scope of work and the requirements. Can one of our medical professionals help this young lady over here? Thank you. Thank you. Can we get the folks in the lobby to please move on outside if they don't want to? They're being disruptive to the meeting. Please hang on. Take a breath, Colonel. We'll just let someone move out. We should have probably gave him a minute anyway. [Music] Thank you. Thank while they're doing that. Just tell me what NFIP stands for. National National Flood Insurance Program. Okay. Thank you. I'm glad I knew that. That's all right. I was there for you, Colonel. I had that one. I'll ask you to start at the top. I just go to uh item number one is the Hot Springs Library. The next step on that is to obtain three quotes from three individual firms to do the repair work. We just got the architect on board and we're waiting on him to complete the requirements and that will go out in a statement of work for three firms to bid on. When will that go out?

Uh we're waiting on the architect. I'd say the next two or three weeks the time we get the architect and the statement work out. It is informal and we believe that this one will be below the FEMA threshold and our insurance will cover it. So we'll not have to have the FEMA guidelines in place and we'll draw withdraw that from the FEMA SC portal. Okay. Uh the Hot Springs Library contents that has been settled. FEMA sends a check for $71,578. Uh the sprinkle Sheldon building and the courthouse building are both on hold pending a roundt discussion with the FEMA lawyer, our attorney, the uh school of government attorney to and the Benoi attorney to adjust the contract a portion of that contract so we can apply FEMA money towards the new public uh s public service complex. Uh so it's on hold for a little while on that one. Uh the sprinkle shelving building contents uh that one was u withdrawn because insurance covered all the money associated with the loss there. The mass county courthouse contents between insurance and FEMA that has been settled. The FEMA portion was only $8,500. Bernard Park. We have the contract in place and we just this week got guidance from the engineer environmental health team at FEMA to proceed work with no extracurricular activities because we're not in the water there uh along the French Broad River. Duck at top tower. Uh the money for that one $575,000 that has been approved at CRC and now going to the state for the funding. Uh we should see that in the month of August. The duck at top road, we completed a compliance inspection this week. Uh small sum of $14,000 we should see from the state uh in the month of July. Personal property debris removal

and water debris removal. We have withdrawn both of those FEMA applications. The grants portal. The state has taken that program over as part of the smart program. We will have a bill of anything captured uh between September 27th and March 24th and then we'll work with FEMA to close out. So there'll be nothing come out of the county coffers as the state takes that program over. U moving down to item number 12, the temp facility uh and utility. If you seen as you come into the building tonight, we now have nine of the modular 18 units on station. Uh the last nine will arrive between now and Friday with a grading complete and you have a complete handout that breaks out electrical, water, furniture with the tenative right now first date of court to begin in the temp facility on 1 September. Uh that includes the AOC administration of court coming in doing the wiring and our it right now we're tracking one September. Uh we have received $1.6 6 million from FEMA for that facility. Uh we have spent 1.4. Once we break the 1.6 million mark, we can submit the final receipts to FEMA and the state for the final reimbursement uh before we actually have to pay the bill. Uh that's a good news story on that one. Colonel, before you move on on that, uh is the court system is aware of our timetable? They are. And um the a extension folks are aware of the timetable as well. Mark Cody has a new title. They call him the judge. He walks outside every morning and talks to the contractor. So he said the judge come out this morning. I had no idea what Mark Cody is the new judge in town. But he is well aware of the time frame. The a extension folks are too. All right. I left this with a hard copy this week of where we're at. Move down to item number 13. The temp facility contents. Uh the furniture was right at

$300,000. $100,000 in audio security. uh that is with FEMA for reimbursement and they have the receipts and we'll get that back. Force account labor is probably the most important for the board right now on number 14 over on the far right. We have uh an amount $1,72,000 that will come back in the county coffers and that is straight on what we paid our employees during um the height of the hurricane for overtime. Uh we have took nothing right now for the value added kitchen. We have it with form and function. That'll be the kitchen that goes from one side of this building to the other side of the building. That will go with form and function. We look at a one September date uh to have that under uh construction. And then anything after September, correct? Anything after March 24th, we have to do new worksheets for and that's what you see on the bottom of the personal property debris removal and a waterway debris removal. Uh those will be new and a new force account labor uh will be new. Anything we've captured for the workforce. Um gentlemen, I guess the bottom line I need you to take away uh for right now uh we have received $5.3 million and that includes the $1.6 6 million from the state bridge loan and we've spent just 2.4 and we roughly have $2.8 million to cover expenses. It has nothing to do with our budget internally. That's all been separated. Jim, some of your questions I will transition real quickly to individual colonist. One quick question on that force labor and u the helen overtime expenditures. Is that the first payment we've got of that that no mean? And is and does that get does that bring us up to speed? So that will be the first uh trunch and

we will have one more tunch as we close out in a revision. That's the first and only one so far. I just noticed you had a million 110 then you had 970. So the 110 is for contracts uh associated with it. I was talking about the forced labor right now has been settled. I got you. Thank you. So the 1.1 million is still pending. It is that's out there. Those are those are contracts. Those are contracts that is still pending and we still have some going on going right now with real equipment from Chess the maintenance department. Okay. I'm going transition this sheet that says individual housing and individual assistance. Overall the county submitted into the county residents signed up. There was 45205 residents who signed up. 2524 were actually received benefits little over $6.1 million distributed. This is one of the last times you'll see this program. Uh we have now transition to a long-term recovery group. And that long-term recovery group and is now focusing on 31 homes. Uh of those 31, six of the residents has decided not to participate or unwilling to communicate. Uh nine of those uh are in the process of obtaining assistance and 14 of them are still under investigation of in the meeting in August for the work session. The long-term recovery group will come in and give you a close session report on where they're at with the individual families. uh is not appropriate to put out sensitive item information associated with they'll come in and give you oneonone where they're at. Colonel, is it not fair to say that we have folks that are still homeless in essence and they have received whatever level of assistance they're going to receive and that was Yes, sir. very insufficient. I

I think it's by choice at this point. uh they either in other words we got people in campers that got their $14,500 and that's the expectation and I don't think that you know FEMA is responsible for all that but just for for us as a board to recognize that we still have people that do not have the financial resources to put them back into a regular dwelling and gentlemen one item uh on the bottom of the bubble gum chart that's hard to read. I want to quickly get the covered arena. Um this weekend the uh team come to put up the sign for the covered arena. Uh this week they're doing soil testing and compassion testing. Next week they will begin micro piles which is how it's anchored to the ground. There's about 144 different micro piles will be put in the ground and that's slowly building momentum. we'll start to see uh materials start to congregate up at the uh on the top shelf of the fairgrounds and still hopeful that we'll be able to finish phase one of that facility before we get into the fair. Have they done any coordinates or anything before they do the micro piles? That's what they're doing this week. That's this week's this week next week. Thank you. All right, gentlemen. some of your questions. So by the county fair probably not nothing going to be covered. It's just going to be I think it will be covered. I think the issue right now is the light holes once the cover goes up could be dark. So right now we're trying to figure out what is the speed and mechanism we get light inside the arena before it gets covered. Uh right now that's a big decision and Chris Manny Chris Manny and the parks department are doing a great job uh facilitating the discussion between the fairgrounds and the contractor going to have a rodeo with that county fair. Yes, sir. That's what the plan That's what the

plan is. we and hopefully the logistics will work out. As a contractor knows our intent uh to do that and not to impede on the fair mass county fair. That's everything for county manager update. If we go to 6B and I have just one question on the update and I it it may be on me. I don't remember where are we at with u the detent facility pod restoration. So for the pod restoration uh we have asked for Mosley the architect company to come back uh with some cost cutting measures. It came in a little higher than what we anticipated what we had budgeted for. Um Hannah has reached out and I think we actually have attended a debate but I can't remember off the top of my head that will include the sheriff and attention guys. Very good. Thanks B is the county board appointment. Okay. Uh the county board appointments that we have that are up this month. Uh number one is the uh animal control board that requires services of a veterinarian. Um I have not seen anything that has come in as far as a veteran an application for a veterinarian for the animal control board. May Presley currently serves in that role. Um if I would assume um that that they that that board would like for her to continue, but we don't have an application from her or any other veterinarian for that animal control board at this time. Can we table that pending some additional followup? If you make a motion table, what we will do? We have a motion by Commissioner Garrison to table that position. Uh seconded by Vice Chairman Hensley. Any

discussion about the animal control board veterinarian position? Hearing none. All in favor of tableabling that position until our next meeting signify. I'm sorry. Go ahead. Go the vote. Signify by raising your right hand. If we could just maybe communicate that to to that board. Um we have a board of health position open. It is a citizen position uh due to a resignation of a current board member. And at this time, we've got applications before us for the board of health that everyone's had the opportunity to review. Um, and at this time, I'll entertain a motion for an appointee for that citizens position. I move we appoint Dr. Shannon Dowler. Got a motion by commission on file. Got a motion from Commissioner Garrison to appoint Dr. Shannon Dowler to the board of health as a citizen position. Is there a second? Second. Second by vice chairman Hensley. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? Next is library board of trustees position. Um pending recommendation by the board per library bylaws uh for Bobby Pyron to be appointed to a three-year term. But I'm uh let's see, hold on one second. I don't want misspeak there. I'm not sure that we have an application from Miss Py. You do, but Mandy's out of town. M. Okay. So, there is. So, we you you've got that. You've secured that. Um, for those in the room that don't know, I'm speaking to the director of the library system. So, um, it's your board's wishes uh, for that individual to go on. Yes. I move that we appoint. So, all right. So, we have a motion by

Vice Chairman Hensley. I'll second to appoint Bobby Py, second by Commissioner Wyatt. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor. All right. Um, made one person happy tonight at least. All right. Who was that? Stand up, please. All right. Um, let's see. In regards to uh we've got some other pending appointments. We've got transportation advisory board uh which requires a private sector transportation provider which we currently do not have in the county. So that will have to remain tabled. Um economic development advisory board still uh pending. That one's still tabled. We have the pharmacist position on the board of health that we have applications for. And this time I'll entertain a motion. We we've all had the opportunity to review that those applicants. Um and this time I'd entertain a motion. I move to appoint Cynthia and Niles. Second. So, we have a motion by Commissioner Garrison, second by Vice Chairman Hensley to appoint Cynthia Niles as the licensed pharmacist on the board of health. Motion is second. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Okay. And I believe that is all the pending appointments that we have uh available to us this evening. Chairman, I also recommend that I guess somewhere somehow we someone address the issue of transportation board, ED board and the jury commission to see what we need to do to we will we have a transportation advisory board meeting next Wednesday and we'll address that there. I serve on that board that's why I can say that

and I'll discuss the economic development advisor board. You're the you're the commissioner on that. And um as far as the jury commission goes, some we do need to reach out uh Colonel from someone from your office uh or please reach out to the jury commission. We don't have a commissioner representative on that as far as to my knowledge. Um I believe unless I'm missing one, Colonel, have I hit all of them? Cert and gentlemen, subject questions or guidance. I got three tasks for me tonight. First was the IT task to develop a board of health email. Um second was to tighten up the board um recommendations. Animal control board get recommendations and make sure that each of commissioners are engaged or at least know have someone uh a way forward for those boards. Okay. Good. Um rest of the actions tonight are in close session. Well, we we do have to finish up our uh the remainder of the folks uh if any of them stuck around that wanted to talk that had signed up for public comment. So at this point I will uh make a motion that we uh reopen the uh initial public comment phase. We've got 1 2 3 4 5 six folks that had signed up that didn't get the opportunity to speak previously. Um and if they're still in the room, we'll give them their three minutes. And the first person on the list is Miss Donna Scott. We don't need a motion or anything. Uh well, I made a motion. Is there a second? Second by Vice Chairman Hley. Uh any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? All right. We've reopened our public comment portion of the meeting. Uh Donna Scott, you're up first. Greg Scott, if you're here, you are on deck. And I think you guys probably riding together, so it's all good. All right. Donna Scott, I uh I live in Morris Hill. Um, I just wanted to uh I

wasn't able to attend the last meeting on uh June 16th, but I wanted to congratulate the the commissioners on building approving a a solid budget. I know that um the fiscal responsibility that they brought to the county, the fact that they had to dig themselves out of a hole from from previous boards um and their advocacy, you know, during during Helen, it it's truly admirable what you guys have accomplished given that you're you were coming from behind and you um you know, brought us to financial health and and then you you advocated on behalf of everyone in the county. So, I'm not sure you get enough credit for that. I've I've seen it firsthand. Um, uh, you guys have have really done an admiral job and and I wanted to just personally thank you for that. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. Mr. Scott, you're up. If you'd like to still you have everyone. All right. Very good. Thank you, sir. Um, Hina Kes, I think it's Keler Kesser. No, no. Take her. All right. Um, Lyall Peterson, if you're still here, Lyle, are you still here? No. What was that last name? Lyall Peterson. I think that's the frier, is it? It is. um Althia Bennett who spoke at one point. Now you want to speak again, you're very welcome to go ahead, ma'am. All right. Know y'all missed me. Um I just wanted to start off by saying everything that I say and do is out of my love for my hometown and I really do appreciate the work that y'all are doing and I think that you're very brave to make the decision that you did. Um it's a it's a good thing to be able to change your mind and say that you were wrong. That's a that's a very brave and humble

thing to do. Um, but I wanted to start off I I hope I genuinely hope that I misheard this, but I think I heard the county county manager say earlier that some people are um still homeless, basically homeless after the hurricane living in tents or in campers and that that is at this point by choice. As somebody who works with 50 plus clients um who survive the hurricane on a daily basis, I wanted to say that that's just not plain true. Um again, please correct me if I misheard that, but um people are struggling every day to get through the systemic barriers that keep them from getting into safe housing and we work day and night to fight that. Um, the second thing I wanted to say is, um, in relation to just interaction with the public, um, I think that y'all did a real professional job of pussyfooting around the issue here, um, with the board of health. And I'm wondering if there might be somebody involved with the board of health or the health department y'all didn't quite like. Maybe they had some sugar in their bowl. Maybe that scared you. Um, and if you can't say it to the public, at least say it to yourselves that, um, if that was the issue, um, that that's not right and people should be judged based on their professional skills and not based on your personal beliefs if that was the case. Um, and then another note on just the um, public interactions. Some of y'all may as well have been or maybe were asleep during public comment. Um, slashed in your chairs, chewing gum, looking at your laps. Um, during your one monthly opportunity to speak with your constituents directly, and have all of us here to um, to share this group project that is Madison County. Um, I think it's really important to, you know, make eye contact, look at people. Um, I think that Mr. Rectal is great at

that. Um, but we could all do better to, um, just really give give some heart to each other when we're interacting like this and and really show that we're paying attention with our eyes and our faces and, um, our shoulders. Thank you. And the final individual that has signed up is Dr. Suzanne Sheldon. Dr. Sheldon's still here. All right. So, I believe that does conclude the uh public comment portion then. That's everyone that signed up. So, at this time, I'll entertain a motion that we close public comment. Motion by Vice Chairman Hensley. Sec., is there a second? I'll second the motion. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? All right. Public comment is closed. At this time, I'll entertain a motion or I will actually go ahead and make the motion because I think it'll be more efficient that way. Uh that we go into close session at this time. uh in uh regards to uh an opioid litigation update which falls under attorney client privilege, property acquisition which falls under land acquisition and personnel uh and all of those fall under North Carolina general statute 143-318.11 A3 for attorney client privilege, A5 for land acquisition and A6 for personnel. Eye that and make that in the form of a motion. Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Wyatt. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? We will go into a close session here momentarily after we give everybody opportunity to go. Um and if anyone needs to use the restroom at this time, now would be the

time to do that.

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[Music] All right. So, uh, at this time, I'll entertain a motion that we come out of close session and go back to open session. Is there a motion? So, move. Motion by Commissioner Garrison. Second. Second. Second by Commissioner Wyatt. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? We are back in open session. Colonel, floor is yours, sir. Gentlemen, I'm requesting uh that you appoint Richard Pat Hagermanerman, Mr. Heerman as interim transportation director at a salary of 52,700 for a period of 90 days pending the outcome of applicants and interviewed by the board. So Mr. Hagermanerman who has unofficially been acting as interim director now this this would officially put the interim director tag on Mr. Heaggererman. I will make that in the form of a motion. Is there a second? I'll second. Who did? I did. Commissioner Garrison with the second. Thank you, Commissioner Garrison. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? All right. Gentlemen completes our business for this evening. This time I'll entertain a motion to adjurnn. So move. Motion by Commissioner Wyatt. Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Briggs. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor?