Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

County Board of Commissioners meeting. We're happy to have you tonight. I'll call our meeting to order and let's have roll call, please. Okay, thank you. If you would stand with me, Commissioner Brown's going to do an invocation and then we're going to invite Kylie Ward up to lead us in the pledge.

Dear Heavenly Lord, thank you so much for this day. Thank you for gathering us into this room and all of Pitt County, Lord. We ask that you lay your hands on all of us, on our families. For any of us that have grievances or challenges or health issues, Lord, we boldly ask that you take all of those away and replace those with joy, your peace, and all of your wisdom, Lord. We love you. We give you your business tonight. Ask that we serve your people first. Bless this evening. In your name we pray. Amen. Amen.

Thank you, Commissioner Brown. We'll invite Kylie Ward from Aiden Griffin up to introduce herself and lead us in the pledge.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Kylie Ward. I attend Aiden Griffin High School as a junior with a 4.1 GPA. I am currently a member into the Health Science Academy program. Thank you for having me this evening. At this time, would y'all please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. You may be seated. Thank you.

Thank you.

We'll entertain a motion to approve the agenda. So moved. Okay, we got a motion and a second. Please vote. OK, thank you. Madam Manager, we have any public addresses to the board?

Yes, Mr. Chairman, you have one person signed up to speak, Marion Swinker, if the attorney would read the statement as she's coming forward.

Thank you, Madam Manager. Pitt County welcomes all comments on matters of public concern. Each speaker will be allowed up to three minutes to speak. A total of 30 minutes is set aside for public addresses to the board. Please state your name and address prior to speaking.

Good evening. I'm Marion Swinker. I live at 3874 Dunhagen Road in Greenville. And I wanted to speak this evening about data centers and my concerns about these developments. These operations are much, much bigger than the cryptocurrency operations of the past years and have impacts that affect a large area, not just the people who live next door. They use a lot of energy, some as much as Greenville Utilities delivers in a year, and in some places residents are paying more to accommodate these requirements. In addition, they require water for cooling and they can take water out of circulation and in some cases return it with pollutants, chemicals, antifreeze and such. They also are very noisy. They have fans that operate 24-7. And so strong noise regulations are needed that recognize that there's a difference between continuous noise and one-time short-term noise. At present, North Carolina as a state does not have any regulations for data centers. In addition, these operations have been free of sales and use tax in this state. Now this spring, the legislature lifted that exemption on their utility bills. So they will start paying tax on their utility bills. But other business operations, construction costs, no sales and use tax. So for all these reasons, as planning is done for the Unified Development Ordinance, I believe that special attention should be paid to data centers, the large data centers that can be introduced such challenges. And actually, in North Carolina, there are more than a dozen counties and cities that have declared moratoria on allowing data centers in order to take time and ensure that their local regulations are adequate so that if a data center comes and operates, it's without harm to the rest of the community. So I hope that you will consider this in the future. Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am. Appreciate you coming out tonight. Okay, we'll move on to public hearings. I'll invite Jonas up. We've got three public hearings this evening.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good evening. members of the board and Madam Manager. We do have three different public hearings tonight. The first of which is a rezoning request by Jason Hardy to rezone 1.55 acres of his property, parcel number 06093, which is located on the western side of Blackjack Simpson Road, south of this intersection with Spencer Loop Road. from rural agricultural to general commercial with the conditional district looking at the map you'll see the site it's located just south of blackjack zooming in and looking at the existing land use in the area you'll see there are several churches which is outlined in blue there are two convenience stores located in the heart of blackjack there and then the Residential is shown in gold, with the agricultural shown in the green shaded area. Looking at the land use plan, land use plan shows this area as being agricultural, with a little bit of open space toward the north of this image, as well as a commercial crossroads right there at Black Jack. The agricultural designation includes prime farmlands, which are vital to the production of agriculture within the county. Activities include agriculture, forestry, low density residential, and commercial or institutional uses. These areas are found near strategic agricultural lands. Again, the uses are agribusiness, forestry, limited commercial, single family properties, and occasional low density, small scale residential subdivisions. Utilities, it rely on septic tanks and community water or private wells. There's limited sewer availability. The density is typically less than one dwelling unit per acre. Looking at the zoning map, you'll see this area is rural agricultural with the exception of the two convenience stores which are designated in red as commercial. Uh, the general commercial district is primarily intended to accommodate a wide range of retail service office, limited wholesale, moderate density, multifamily residential uses in areas that has access to major thoroughfares and the necessary utilities. Uh, tonight this request is for a conditional district rezoning, which allows for the approval of a specific use. with reasonable conditions to assure the compatibility of that proposed use. And tonight the request is for a barbershop. We have a site plan here. I'll run through that real quick. The boundary of the site is displayed in red with the existing structure shown in yellow. There's already a gravel lot for parking and the septic system. Staff finds that this request is consistent with the Vision Pitt County 2045 Conference of Land Use Plan. The area requested for the rezoning is designated as agricultural on the future land use map, which allows for limited commercial uses. and is directly south of the designated commercial crossroads area. Additionally, the subject property is close in proximity to several non-residential land uses, including two churches, two country stores, and a volunteer fire department. Planning staff finds that this request is reasonable and in the best interest of the public because of that designation. Planning Board reviewed this request at its June 15, 26 meeting and voted 8-0 to recommend approval of this request, stating that it was in compliance with the land use plan and reasonable. So the motions are to adopt the consistency statement, the reasonableness statement, which is included in your packet, and approve the request based on the following conditions. No zoning compliance permit shall be issued until a site plan is prepared in accordance with the zoning ordinance and approved by the planning department. A landscaping plan is required, showing a 10-foot wide buffer yard that's in compliance with the zoning ordinance. The required parking spaces, access drives, and loading areas shall be paved and maintained either concrete or asphalt hours of operation that's being proposed is Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday by appointment a soil erosion and sedimentation control plan is required the site must comply with the stormwater ordinance for nutrient control And it must also comply with the emergency management requirements. They must obtain all necessary permits from building inspections, as well as a driveway permit from NCDOT. So with that, Mr. Chair, I'll turn it back to you.

OK, Matt, you need to read your statement?

I do not, if you would just open it, please.

OK, all right. I will open up the public hearing. Is there anybody that would like to speak in favor? Anybody who would like to speak in favor? Anybody who would like to speak against? I will close the public hearing. It was a pleasure to board.

Mr. Chair.

Yes.

I'll make a motion to approve second request. Second. OK, thank you.

Have a motion and a second? Please vote.

OK. Mr. Chair, if we could have another motion for adopting the consistency and reasonableness of the approval.

I'll make a motion.

OK. We have a motion and a second. Let's vote on that one as well.

Mr.

Chair, I'll make a motion that we approve their request.

OK. Got a motion and a second? You need that, Matt? Or did that cover it with the first two?

So I think the first motion was the approval motion, if I'm correct. I'm sorry. And then I believe then we adopted the reasonableness and consistency that's listed in the packet.

So I think we're OK. And then we need to approve the request up front.

OK. We're good? Yes. OK, great. Thank you. Thank you, Jonas. We'll move on to number two, Stacey Eastwood rezoning request.

Yes. So the next request is for Stacey Eastwood to amend the zoning on his property being parcel 88208. It is currently zoned general commercial with the conditional district rezoning. on that, which currently allows for the sales of golf carts, utility trailers, metal carports, and barbecue cookers. He's looking to amend this to also include RV and boat storage on the property. Again, the property is 2.88 acres and is located on the northern side of US 264 East, east of its intersection with Old Pactolus Road. The subject property was previously resumed by the board of commissioners on December 1st of 2008 to allow for the sale of the golf cart, utility trailers, metal carports, and barbecue cookers. Looking at the map on your screen, you'll see where the site's located. It's located just to the east of Greenville, pretty much between Greenville and Pactola along 264 East. Looking at the existing land use in the area, you'll see the site there in red. To the south, you'll notice the gray area. That is a mining operation that this board approved. There's actually two mines to the south of this property. And then up in the very top left-hand corner, you'll see a sliver of red. That is a wedding venue that's being operated there on Tripp Farm. Envision Pitt County 2045 future land use map shows this area is Agricultural you'll notice to your left back towards Greenville. That is a commercial Crossroads area that's been designated in close proximity The agricultural much like the one before is designated as prime farmlands that are vital to the agricultural production in the county and Activities include agricultural forestry, low-density residential, commercial, and institutional uses. These areas are located in agricultural lands throughout the county. On-site septic systems and community water service is on-site with limited sewer availability. The density is generally less than one dwelling unit per acre. Looking at the zoning map, you'll see, again, this property is already zoned commercial with a conditional district on it. And then just to the south, the darker green is the rural agricultural area for those two mines. The general commercial district is intended to accommodate large range of retail service, limited wholesale, moderate density, multifamily uses, and the areas have access to major thoroughfares and utilities to support such development. Again, this is a conditional district rezoning, which allows for the approval of a specific use. In this case, he's looking to add the RV and boat storage to the existing uses. Wanted to point out that Section 8 of the zoning ordinance, VVB, has standards for oversized vehicle parking. Those standards are all oversized vehicles must be parked a minimum of 50 feet from any adjoining residentially zoned property and shall be a minimum of 100 foot from any residence, church, school, or public institution. The entire perimeter of the facility must be screened from the adjoining properties with a buffer yard that complies with Section 10 of the ordinance. Security fencing at a minimum of six foot in height shall be provided along the perimeter. And residential district parked vehicles shall not be remaining idling or generate noise while parked. that disrupts activities of the adjacent uses between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Parking spaces are not required to be paved, but shall be graded, properly drained, stabilized, and constructed with all weather surface to minimize the dust and erosion. There are some prohibited activities.

Mary's going to fix her phone in just a second, gentlemen.

Sorry. There are some prohibited activities in this section as well. Storage of keeping. Our accumulation of wrecked, scrapped, or dismantled vehicles, machinery, or equipment are not allowed. The storage or accumulation of junk materials such as scrap metal materials, debris, waste, paper, rags, battery waste, or used building materials are not allowed. It also prohibits fuel sales and automotive repair services. They have submitted a sketch plan, as you'll see here. Outlining the area to be rezoned with the existing structures is a metal shop and a shelter on the property with an existing driveway. And then they're showing the proposed vehicle parking in the blue. Pitt County planning staff finds that this request is consistent with the Envision Pitt County 2045 comprehensive land use plan. The area requested for this rezone is designated as agricultural, which allows limited commercial uses. The property is currently zoned general commercial, and they're just looking at adding those two new uses for RV and boat storage. Planning staff also finds it as reasonable and in the public's interest because the subject property is located within close proximity to several non-residential uses, as well as being located on a major thoroughfare. There's limited residential development directly adjacent to the site, and the proposed use will be screened from any residentially zoned properties. The planning board reviewed this resigning request at its June 15th meeting and voted unanimously for approval, the request, um, and said that it was consistent, uh, and reasonable. So with your three motions, the first one being adopt the consistency statement stating that it is consistent with the 2045 land use plan, um, adopt the reasonable, um, that the, Request is reasonable in the public's best interest given that it's in close proximity to the several other non-residential uses along US 264 and it will be screened from the adjacent properties. And then third motion will be to approve the request with the following conditions to allow boat and RV storage. Um, the previously approved uses the sales of golf carts, utility trailers, metal carports, and barbecue cookers are still permitted in accordance with the previous action by this board on December 1st of 2008. Uh, as I mean, no zoning compliance permit will be issued until a proper site plan has been prepared, uh, according to the ordinance and submitted for review and approval. A landscaping plan is required, showing that 10-foot wide buffer in accordance with the zoning ordinance. A soil erosion and sedimentation control plan prepared by an engineer must be submitted as well as a stormwater plan if they disturb more than one and a half acre. The site must also comply with emergency management requirements for fire protection. as well as any necessary building permits and environmental health permits for the waste disposal. They must also obtain a commercial driveway permit from NCDOT. With that, I'll turn it back to you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Jonas. Any questions for Jonas? I know that was a lot. Okay.

How close is it to the City? How close is it to the City Night or is it in?

It is fairly close. I think the Greenville ETJ extends out to the ECU property. The North Campus Crossing property is the extent, and that's probably a mile to two miles east or west from this property.

I was just curious, four miles, four miles, four miles.

Oh, OK. Mm hmm.

Are we ready for any other questions?

All right. We'll open the public hearing. Yes, I'm sorry.

Motion to approve all three.

But we got to open up the public hearing first, Commissioner. One second. We'll open up the public hearing. Anybody here to speak in favor? Anybody speak against? Okay, we'll close the public hearing. What's the pleasure of the board? Second. Can we put all three of those together? Yes. Matt?

So technically you can if you're adopting, but...

Yes. Technically, you can't put all three of them together as long as we have the reasonableness and consistency and you're adopting the reasons and consistency that is listed in his presentation.

OK. So we have a motion to adopt all three motions.

And a second.

We've got a motion and a second. Please vote. Okay, thank you. We'll move on to the third one, Jonas.

All right, and last for me is the Community Development Block Grant Neighborhood Revitalization Public Hearing. This is the first of two public hearings to gather community input. We're going to explain the county's intent to submit a grant application. identify the eligible activities and receive comments from the community regarding community development and housing needs within Pitt County. Program overview, the Community Development Block Grant Neighborhood Revitalization Program is administered by the North Carolina Department of Commerce. This grant, the maximum award is $950,000 and there is no local match required. It's 100% grant funded. The application deadline is October the 13th of this year and the grant period runs for 36 months. Eligible activities include housing rehabilitation and reconstruction, public infrastructure improvements such as streets, sidewalks, and water and sewer, and public facilities such as shelters, community centers, and recreation centers. In order to qualify for this grant, it must meet one of three objectives. It must benefit low and moderate income persons, prevent or eliminate slums or blight or meet other urgent needs which are often storm or disaster related. Pitt County intends to apply for the Community Development Block Grant funding to support the reconstruction of owner occupied homes for income qualified households located throughout the county. Recipients, in order to qualify, must be low or moderate income. The homes must be owner-occupied, and the homes must be real property. They cannot be personal property, which you will find a lot of times with manufactured homes. Staff recommends authorizing staff to continue preparing the Community Development Block Grant neighborhood revitalization application. So with that, Mr. Chairman, we do have to open a public hearing to receive comment regarding this grant.

Okay, thank you, Jonas. We'll open up the public hearing. Anyone that would like to speak in favor or against? Okay, we'll close the public hearing. What's the pleasure to board up? I'm sorry. Come on up. Please give us your name and address, sir. And Mr. Chair, may I read the statement?

Yes, please. With this public hearing now, I welcome all comments on the Community Development Block Grant. Please state your name, address, and the name of any organization you may be representing. Each speaker will be allowed up to three minutes to speak.

Okay. My comments are very brief. My name is Steven Whetstone. I live at 364 Vernon White Road in Winterville. I'm also the secretary of the Mount Hermon Masonic Lodge that's over in 1109. West Fifth Street in Greenville. And just making a comment, I know a lot of the block grants focus, especially with all the revitalizations since the two hurricanes, Matthew and Florence, have gone to redeveloping of housing. but very little has gone to resilience or other community activities or community organizations. So I would like to make sure that that's considered in this particular block grant application. We have suffered a complete, almost complete devastation of our building on West Fifth Street, and we have been out of it for six years. hoping to see if there was some block grant money available or some kind of recovery funds available for us to replace the roof, which is partially going out of the building. And we're working towards that, so we would like to make sure that there is some money set aside for resilience. These are non-homeowner redevelopment money, but also for those community organizations. So that's my comment, and hopefully that will be included in this particular block grant.

Thank you. Thank you, sir. Appreciate you coming out. Anybody else that would like to speak? Okay, we'll close the public hearing. What's the pleasure of the board?

Motion to approve. Second.

We've got a motion and a second. Please vote. Okay, thank you. We'll move on to items for report. I'll invite Michael Hardy up for the financial report.

Good evening to the board. Tonight in front of you have the July monthly report. It's currently right at 8.33%. You'll see the general fund is uniformly spread right at the 8.3%, so it's at 8.5% in total spending. You see the solid waste is at 7%, the 1.377 million. Take into account, backing off some capital items, They were in the amount of $578,000. You can see that operating expenditures to be decreased, along with the EMS fund, 2.166 million, 14.6%. If you back off, we have right at $979,000 in ambulances towards those expenditures. You can see the operating is more in line with the revenues versus the expenditures for the EMS fund. Are there any questions with this report?

Any questions? Okay. I have a motion to approve that. We're here a second? No motion and a second. Please vote. Thank you, Michael.

Thank you.

I'll invite Russell Lutt for the tax collection report.

Good evening, Chairman Smith, Commissioners, Manager Gallagher. This evening I present to you the July tax collection report. The fiscal year combined tax collection rate through July 31st for real and personal property was 5.90%. The combined rate one year ago for real and personal property was 9.19%. July's collection rate, it was a little lower due to the tax bills being mailed out about a week later than what they typically would be. However, I do expect those percentages to catch back up by the end of this month. Pitt County Tax Administration continues to pursue all outstanding taxes using the necessary remedies available through the North Carolina General Statutes. If there are any questions, I'm happy to answer them. If not, it's my recommendation to approve the July tax collection report as presented.

We've got a motion and a second. Please vote. Thank you, Russell. Madam Manager, our manager's report is next.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the board. Your next meeting is in this room at 6 p.m. September 14th, and that is your only meeting for the month of September. We only meet once next month. Reminder for those attending, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners Annual Conference will be this Thursday through Saturday, August 20th to the 22nd in Durham, North Carolina. Also, a reminder that on September 7th, county offices will be closed in observance of Labor Day. And then a save the date item for January 20th of 2027 at 6 p.m. We are planning an ag appreciation and awareness dinner. through our soil and water office. During your last commissioner comments, you also heard Commissioner Mary Perkins Williams and Commissioner Weaver talk about some products that they wanted to make, raise awareness for our farmers. and ag participants and in particular one product that was sponsored by a NACO partner nationwide that allows for legacy planning of farmland. There are other companies who also provide that service and so those companies would be invited to this ag appreciation and awareness dinner we may invite them to sponsor if they so wish to sponsor part of the event and then provide an opportunity for them to share information about preserving farmland into the future at that event Also want to make the board aware, I know you've heard a lot of conversation about property tax concerns and constitutional amendments and steps that the General Assembly is going to take moving forward as it relates to property taxes and county's authority to levy the same. And so our North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, our lobbying organization, advocacy organization, has prepared a committee of 16 members four county managers, four tax administrators, four chief financial officers, and four county commissioners. Almost similar, if you recall, during the opioid settlement, they had the 555 Committee, which was five attorneys, five managers, and five commissioners. Just wanted to let you know that that committee has been set up. They selected four managers from across the state to serve on that committee, and they asked that I participate. And so I'll be part of that 4444 committee. We will meet on Wednesdays almost weekly until we reach a final presentation that will be made to the NCACC Board of Directors in October. And then the work of that committee will end. So wanted to let you know that that will happen and that I am glad to participate on it. Also, from our North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, the Director, Kevin Leonard, had prepared a very short video that I'd like to play for you now, making a legislative request regarding SNAP benefits, if the Public Information Office would play that video. Hey, Commissioners, let's talk about SNAP.

So right now, Congress is finishing up their work before their summer recess. And if you haven't scheduled an appointment with your senator or your house member, be a great time to do that. And I would ask you to talk to them about SNAP. So in short, SNAP means Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs. And it simply does two things. One, it helps people who need food assistance. And two, it helps American farmers and local grocery stores and our economy. so why do i want you to talk about snap with your member of congress that's a little bit more complex so the new hr1 law that congress passed last year well it requires counties our counties to meet new error rate standards in your dss offices by the end of 2026 and if we don't it means financial penalties on our counties and honestly it's going to be kind of hard to achieve don't get me wrong we want to achieve them but we need more time to do it So here's the ask. When you meet with your member of Congress, please ask them to delay the implementation of the SNAP error rate provisions. It will be helpful to counties. They're talking about it right now in the farm bill. So the timing is really important. There's a lot more detail that we can share with you about this. Hey, Kevin, why don't you tell them to check out the weekly and the information in the link below? Great idea, Kevin. Hey, thanks for your leadership. Thanks for your public service. And thanks for listening. Can we show our logo now?

So that's just a very brief overview of SNAP benefits. And the ask from our association is that this board approve the chairman to sign a advocacy letter going to our congressional delegation asking them to delay H.R. 1 and implementation of that error rate penalty. If the board is so inclined to do that, you can move now to direct that to happen, and we can have a letter prepared for you for the chairman's signature this week.

Motion to approve. Second. We've got a motion and a second. Please vote.

Thank you. And then the last thing I have on your report is after when we last met this board authorized county staff to move forward with the application of a FEMA grant to support the cost of repairs at Lake Glenwood Dam through FEMA. mitigation funds administered through North Carolina's Department of Public Safety. Since then, I received an email from Jordan Pappas, who is with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, making me aware that they have just opened another grant opportunity through FEMA funds, but through the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. And this is specifically for repairs to high hazard dams. And so tonight I'm seeking your approval to go ahead and apply for this in addition to the other FEMA grant that we have applied for. Michael Hardy has been leading the charge on completing those applications. He did reach out to both entities and confirm that we can apply for both at the same time. He also learned that for this most recent one under NCDEQ, there's $11.4 million available for the entire country. And so we are probably more likely to receive funds under the first grant opportunity, but you never know. And we don't want to leave anything unasked. So if the board is so inclined to direct that we apply for this grant, we can go ahead and do so.

We've got a motion and a second. Please vote. Okay.

Thank you. That's all that I have.

Thank you, Madam Manager. We'll move on to items for consent. We've got a motion and a second for items for consent. Please vote. Okay, thank you. And we'll move on to items for decision. Get back to where I was at. Florida, come on up. You've got the first one, personnel ordinance.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good evening to all of you. In your package, you have a copy of the county's personnel ordinance that shows some edits that we need to make with the impending consolidation of social services and the public health department effective October 1st. The personnel ordinance has to be updated and remove language that references the Office of State Human Resources and its governance over the employees in both of those agencies. If you accept the amendments, the amendments would be effective, like I said, on October 1st of this year. Once the consolidation is set, I've given you a list of the sections that we need to make the updates in. Hopefully you've had a chance to see it. Section 3, Section 9, 23, 68, 74, 161, and 171. So those are the sections we have to edit if you have any questions. If not, I would ask that you, thank you very much.

Any questions? We got a motion and a second. Any questions for Florida? Okay. All right. Let's vote. Thank you. Okay. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, since this is an ordinance and since you do not have a full board, we'll bring it back as an item for consent for its second reading at your next meeting.

Okay. Great. Thank you. All right. Final design of the EMS station. Ken?

Good evening, Mr. Chairman, commissioners, county manager. I'm here tonight to request approval to move forward with the site-specific designs and bidding for a new Pitt County EMS station at the county office park. As part of the 2026-27 fiscal year capital improvement plan, the Board of Commissioners approved funding for a new EMS station. In 2024, the Board approved for us to go out with an RFQ for design for a new EMS station. In 2024, we selected BW Architecture. to develop an EMS station designed to meet the operational needs of the Pitt County EMS Department. This prototype design is not site specific. We had them build a basic generic plan so we could adopt it to any site in the county wherever we decided to build one. Emergency management continually reviews data related to the EMS system to identify trends and determine where additional resources may be needed. Data has shown a steady year-over-year increase in EMS call volume in government circle area, including the industrial park, the airport area, NC 33, Old River Road corridor, and surrounding areas. The increased call volume has placed additional strain on the two ambulances currently stationed north of the river. When these units are dispatched to the government circle area, the geographical distance and limited coverage options can leave areas such as Bethel, Clarks Neck, and Stokes without ambulance coverages for extended periods of time. The continued increase in call volume in the government circle area has highlighted the need to evaluate EMS coverage in this region to ensure adequate response times and maintain reliable eminence coverage throughout the northern portion of the county. The proposed contract with BW Architecture will include finalizing the building plans based on the site selected, completing the necessary site designs, providing contract administration services throughout the construction process. These services will include bidding, responding to RFIs, conducting monthly progress meetings, reviewing payment applications, and completing the final punch list and overseeing the project closeout. Tonight, I'm asking the board to authorize the county manager to execute a contract with BW Architect not to exceed $97,000 to finalize the site-specific plans and proceed with the bidding for the Newpick County EMS station.

OK, thank you, Ken. It was a pleasure to board. Motion. I'll second. OK, we've got a motion and a second. Please vote. OK, thank you. Thank you. Madam manager, you have the next one, the reappointment.

Yes, it is being suggested that this board reappoint Clayton Self to the Greenville Planning and Zoning Commission.

Mr. Pleasure, got a motion. I hear a second. Okay, please vote. All right. I will start from my left. Commissioner Manning, you have any comments? We do have a closed session.

direction we should go there.

I mean, I think that's, you know, we're talking about getting funds to build a dam. There's been conversation about returning it to without, you know, decommissioning delay. I feel the need of some expert opinion from a hydrologist or whatever they call the folks that study that kind of thing about water and watershed to make a recommendation of what we should do regardless of the cost. I just wanted to mention that see if we can but that's not actually being done at this point.

It is not actually being done at this point. When we considered the various alternatives, one of the alternatives would have been to secure an engineer's design of a decommission for submission to DEQ for consideration and approval. The board instead voted to move forward with seeking the grant funding to pursue the repair pursuant to the design that already exists. But we do not have, nor have we brought to you a presentation from DEQ if they would do one about what they think you should do in terms of repairing or decommissioning. We have heard some conversation from LJB, our architect, that there is a chance that DEQ might not approve a decommission at all. Then there was some conversation that DEQ would approve a decommission, but it would have to be pursuant to a design that may or may not have a different cost impact, right? It was unknown as to what the parameters of that cost would be. But no, we do not have pending nor have we brought for you an opinion from DEQ about whether it should be decommissioned or repaired. What we do know is that we are under a notice of violation with a directive to repair.

and i understand all that i'm just saying from my point of view i don't have enough information to actually decide whether a dam and maintaining the lake is the best choice because there's going to be more development i've talked to people you know, in the area out there and there's pros and cons about the whole thing. And so I just would like to have some information from an expert who studies the whole watershed issue. I mean, we have a southeastern drainage district. I don't know if they have contact with somebody that can give us, just to, you know, to help guide that decision whether to replace the dam, because you're still talking about having to release water, and since we have met, I think, you know, we've had information about how they, when hurricanes are coming, they drain the lake. Well, you know, as there's more pressure put on that waterway, Is that going to be sufficient? Because I think this dam is designed to release water to maintain a certain level. But is that really the safest thing to do?

So what I might suggest, if it's the desire of the board, would be to bring our engineer from LJB present to answer those types of questions. So Ken, please remind me his name. Sarab? Sarab. And his last name? Not sure. Sir Rob with LJB has been working with us over the last several months. He has been our point of contact when we reached out about decommissioning. And LJB has been part of the Lake Glenwood Dam evolution for a large number of years. I think they would, given their expertise, be in the best position to answer the questions you're asking. if it's the will of the board for me to schedule them to come to a future meeting.

And I would appreciate that for myself because I think we've had a lot of conversation about the cost of this or that, but we haven't talked about what's really the best thing to do regardless of the cost. I would like to hear from some experts that can give some recommendations.

I'm fine with that. My question is, will DEQ even give an opinion on something like that?

I don't believe so, but I think you could hear from LJB, and they know exactly what DEQ will and won't do because they're so familiar with working with dam repairs. I don't think DEQ would.

So that is an engineer that has some expertise and can actually give us an opinion of is it better to build a dam or better to restore the old creek bed there?

Yes, engineers with specific expertise in dams and this particular problem.

I would appreciate that because I just feel like that's the piece that I haven't got to make it. Yes. Let me try to do the right thing.

Yes, and we remain under contract with LJB as they continue to monitor this and do the design, and then they have to do the, if we were to repair it, they would have to put the final engineer seal that it was constructed according to the engineered plans. And so we remain under contract with LJB, and I'm sure that we could ask them to come to a future meeting. and present an item for report about what their design is, why they designed it that way, and answer any questions the board may have about their design to repair or the alternative of decommissioning.

Everybody good with that? Yeah. Okay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Yes, sir.

All right, Commissioner Nunnally?

I do have a question.

Commissioner Floyd-Huggins?

Mr. McLaughlin? Yeah, I do have one. I've been reading a lot in the newspaper, and also I've had a couple people call to my house in reference to the data center. You may have heard about that. And they talk about the use of a lot of water and electricity and taking it away from the citizens of Peak County. What is our stance on that, Madam Manager, in terms of what are you hearing about? If I could.

Sure. So we actually had a good bit of discussion about data centers and regulations at the NACO conference last month. And we are at the same time going through a process of developing a unified development ordinance. You may recall a presentation from Jonas Hill two meetings ago where we talked about what that would involve. And part of that unified development ordinance would include seeking input from community stakeholders, including members of the public and experts on areas that this board found to be of particular interest or concern, including data centers, solar farms, sand mines and the other areas that the board raised when we had that discussion. And so we do not have any pending applications or any interest that's been brought to my attention directly for a data center. We are moving forward through the unified development ordinance process and expect to bring back with the assistance of a consultant feedback from a stakeholder group recommendations on the best regulations for data centers to address all of those issues that have been raised noise location utility consumption and all of those things that have raised concerns I think where there might be a pickle could be if you do receive an application before we complete that process And that's within the purview of this board to apply your existing ordinance for It's not called data centers. It's called, is Jonas still here?

No.

It is called large scale data processing, is what our ordinance calls it right now. So you would be bound by your current ordinance in considering an application now. But in the absence of any interest, it would be up to this board whether you wanted to consider a moratorium until the unified development ordinance was complete in the absence of an application. and with the existence of your current ordinance i'm not sure that that's necessary but certainly if it's something the board wanted to consider we could look at a moratorium otherwise we would seek robust feedback and then incorporate that into the ordinance that's brought back through the planning department

I'd like to say that one concern that I've heard from farmers in my area is that the loss of farmland is concerning and the fact that Pitt County is a food, I won't say desert, because we still can make a little crop somewhere. But we need to be a bit cognate of how we and what we do with land, farmland. And the farmers are concerned about that. So I am willing to hear any discussion. But they cautioned me about supporting taking away farmland.

OK. Commissioner McGowan?

Yeah.

I would like to make a motion that we table any concerns about the data center right now until we get more information or concerns about that.

I second that.

Madam Chairman, are you asking to put a moratorium on it until we get the plan?

Right, right.

So I think there are procedural requirements that we'll have to comply with in order to enact the moratorium. But I think if we read that to bring back the procedural requirements necessary to invoke a moratorium, we can certainly take that as direction and bring that back to the board for formal consideration after we follow the process without looking at it. Matt, do you know off the top of your head do we need? I think there's formal notice that's required before you can effectuate a moratorium. and certain language and resolutions that would need to be adopted.

Mr. Chair, could I have maybe a friendly modification and just a motion to request that staff prepare a report of our current ordinance and also what the options are pending the Unified, and maybe we'd do that at our next meeting so that we're in order procedurally. Would you be okay with that, Commissioner McLaughlin? Just a friendly amendment to the motion.

So just so I understand, bring back the current ordinance.

Current ordinance and then consider whatever procedural posture we need to be in to consider such a move. That's what the board would like to.

Do you need us to vote on that or do you just need a consensus to bring it back?

Consensus to bring it back is fine.

I don't think we need to vote on that.

And I can bring that back for your next meeting.

OK. All right. That's good. Mr. McLaughlin, anything else? No, sir. OK. Commissioner Weaver? Yes, sir. Commissioner Brown?

Yes. I just want to say congratulations to Madam Manager for being selected on the Property Tax Committee. And since we will not meet until after Labor Day, happy Labor Day to everyone.

Anything else, Commissioner? Motion to adjourn. We got a closed session. OK. Well, make the motion to go into closed session. And if I may read the basis briefly.

It's been suggested that this body go into closed session under the following grounds. One, to consult with an attorney employed or retained by the public body in order to preserve attorney-client privilege under North Carolina General Statute 143-318-83, which privileges are not acknowledged. Two, to establish or instruct the public body staff concerning the position to be taken by or on behalf of the public body for the acquisition of real property under North Cal General Statute 143, 318, 1185, and 3 to prevent disclosure of information that is not considered a public record under North Cal General Statute 143, 318, 10. And now the motion.

Okay. Do you want to make that motion again? Go into closed session.

I want you to go into closed session. Okay.

I'll hear a second. Got a second. Let's vote, please.

Okay. We'll tell her to move.

Thank you.

We'll need the reporter to step up.

We're coming back in the open.

OK, welcome back. I have a motion like to make a motion to approve the closed session minutes for August 3rd.

We've got a motion and a second. Please vote. And I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. We've got a motion and a second to adjourn. All right. Thank you.