Monday, June 20, the next regular session meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. at the Craven County Administration Building, 406 Craven St., New Bern.
CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
APPROVE AGENDA
1. PUBLIC HEARING – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – PROJECT MARLIN: Jeff Wood, Economic Development Director
Pursuant to NCGS 158-7.1 Craven County intends to convey for economic development purposes a fee simple interest in a +/- nine (9) acre tract of land known as Lot 19-4 in the Craven County Industrial Park. The value of the tract is $20,000 per acre for a total value of $180,000.00.
The Board of Commissioners invites all interested person to present their views on this matter.
Board Action: Receive information
2. PUBLIC HEARING – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – PROJECT BLUE FIN (BUILDING REUSE GRANT): Jeff Wood, Economic Development Director
Pursuant to NCGS 158-7.1 Craven County intends to apply for a $500,000 Building Reuse Grant from the North Carolina Department of Commerce and if approved, award same to White River Marine, LLC to assist in construction activities at its facility in New Bern.
The Board of Commissioners invites all interested person to present their views on this matter.
Board Action: Receive information
3. ADOPTION OF THE FY 2022-2023 BUDGET ORDINANCE: Jack Veit, County Manager; Craig Warren, Finance Director
Jack Veit, County Manager, and Craig Warren, Finance Director, will present the Budget Ordinance for FY 2022-2023, which is provided to you under separate cover.
Board Action: If there is no additional input from Commissioners regarding the budget, the Chairman will call for a motion to adopt the FY 2022-2023 Budget Ordinance. A roll call vote will be required.
4. CONSENT AGENDA
A. Minutes of June 6, 2022 Reconvened Session; Minutes of June 6, 2022 Regular Session
The Board will be requested to approve the minutes of June 6, 2022 reconvened session and June 6, 2022 regular session, as shown in Attachment #4.A.
B. Tax Releases
The Board will be requested to approve the tax releases shown as Attachment #4.B.
C. Garage Budget Amendment
There have been numerous unanticipated repairs recently involving high-cost components related to air conditioning parts in County vehicles. While vehicle repairs are expected, having many expensive repairs over the span of a fiscal year causes the expenditure line (Other Supplies line) to fall short towards the end of the year. Currently, we have June expenditures to account for. This transfer will allow us to finish processing vehicle services and repairs without delay for the month of June.
Staff is requesting a budget amendment, shown as Attachment #4.C., in the amount of $5,000, to allow the Garage to continue processing vehicle services and repairs without delay for the month of June.
D. Sheriff’s Office Budget Amendment – Donation Check
The Sheriff’s Office received a donation check in the amount of $21.05 by a Craven County citizen. This check will be used towards the purchase of a variety of items needed by the office.
The Board will be requested to approve the budget amendment, shown as Attachment #4.D., in the amount of 22.00.
E. Sheriff’s Office Tablet Donation
The Sheriff’s Office has received a citizen’s donation of three Surface Tablets to aid in the enhancement of the GED Program for inmates. The Board is being requested to accept this donation and assume the future responsibilities that may come with them such as repairs and maintenance.
A confirmation letter of this donation is shown as Attachment #4.E.
F. Renewal of Lease Agreement for Senior Center Outdoor Activity Area
A portion of the property adjacent to the Senior Center at 811 George Street is currently utilized by Craven County Government for outdoor Senior Center activities. The City of New Bern owns the adjoining property, and a portion is leased by Craven County Government to provide the Senior Center with an outdoor shelter and landscaping. Attachment #4.F. contains a ten-year lease agreement that renews the terms of the agreement for the period of July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2032. The agreement was drafted and reviewed by the County Attorney in coordination with the attorney for the City of New Bern. The terms of this lease are $1 per year for ten years.
Board Action: A roll call vote is needed to approve the consent agenda items
DEPARTMENTAL MATTERS
5. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Jeff Wood, Economic Development Director
A. Approve Sale of Property to Project Marlin
Craven County (hereinafter “County”) intends to convey for economic development purposes a fee simple interest in a +/- nine (9) acre tract (hereinafter “Tract”) of land, the Tract being a portion of Lot 19 in the Craven County Industrial Park. The value of the Tract is Twenty Thousand and no/100 Dollars ($20,000.00) an acre, for a total value of One Hundred Eighty Thousand and no/100 Dollars ($180,000.00), and the County intends to convey and sell same for such value. The County believes the proposed conveyance will stimulate and stabilize the local economy, result in the creation of a substantial number of new permanent jobs in the County, and result in increased tax revenues to the County. The purchaser, an LLC to be created by local businessmen, intends to invest in a shell building based off of the positive developments that has transpired in the industrial park including the development, construction of multiple buildings since the shell building built by the Craven 100 Alliance in 2019.
A copy of the purchase agreement is shown as Attachment #5.A.
Board Action: Approve sale of property to Project Marlin
B. Approve Authorization to Apply for Building Reuse Grant for Project Blue Fin
Project Blue Fin is a local manufacturer, White River Marine, who announced plans to invest $34 million dollars in real estate, machining & equipment in its existing facility and create and maintain over 500 jobs in five years. To assist in this investment, the North Carolina Department of Commerce has pre-approved White River Marine for a $500,000 building reuse grant under the Rural Infrastructure Authority and the Rural Economic Development Division to be provided to Craven County to assist in the construction activities at their facility in New Bern.
Board Action: Approve authorization to apply for Building Reuse Grant for Project Blue Fin
C. Road Transfer
Over the past several years, the development of the southern part of Craven County Industrial Park has reached a point where NC DOT would be willing to take ownership of the rest of Executive Parkway and Aeronautical Way and maintain. This is a good opportunity of the County, as our ownership in lots on the southern part of the park as decreased. A County resolution, shown in Attachment #5.C, is required to request the roads be turned over the NC DOT.
Board Action: Approve SR-2 Resolution
6. WATER – APPROVE ANNUAL DEBT WRITE-OFFS: Dail Booth, Water Superintendent
Each January the Water Department begins its annual bad debt write-off process by identifying uncollected receivables that are older than one year as of December 31. Account balances under fifty dollars are written off and accounts over fifty dollars are put into a collection status leaving them on the books for potential collection through the North Carolina Local Government Debt Set-Off program.
A review of the Water Fund’s accounts receivable balance has revealed a number of old accounts that have exceeded the collection period set by our write-off policy. The criteria for determining uncollectable water receivables as all accounts regardless of balance that are four years or older as of December 31st of each year. There is a total of $24,432.69 that meets the uncollectable criteria as of December 31, 2017. Going forward, it is estimated that this total will be approximately $20,000-$25,000 annually and will be presented to the board for approval as part of the consent agenda.
Board Action: Approve write-offs of water refund receivables
7. PLANNING: Chip Bartlett, Insight Planning; Don Baumgardner, Planning Director
A. FY 16 Flood Mitigation Grants – Request Closeout
The Craven County Planning Department would like to request to closeout the FY16 Flood Mitigation Grant Program (2) FMA-PJ-04-NC-2016 006 & 014. This project elevated four repetitively damaged residential structures and were 100% FEMA funded. There were five homes that were originally planned to be elevated but one of the homeowners voluntarily withdrew from the program. The County has satisfied all Federal and State requirements and completed the programmatic and financial review required for final closeout of this project.
The Board will be requested to approve the budget amendments and closeout ordinances shown in Attachment #7.A.
Board Action: Approve budget amendments and closeout ordinances; a roll call vote is needed
B. Request to Set Public Hearing – Family Subdivision
The Planning Department is requesting to set a public hearing for July 5, 2022 at 6:00 PM, or soon thereafter, in the Board of Commissioners’ meeting room located at 406 Craven Street in New Bern, NC. The purpose of the public hearing is to receive public comment on proposed changes to the Craven County Subdivision Ordinance. The proposed changes are listed below:
Family Subdivision
The division of a tract of land which would otherwise be classified as a subdivision hereunder wherein:
- the grantee is a family member of the grantor;
- the resultant lot(s) comply with the standards of the subdivision design requirements and all other requirements of this Chapter except right of way easement requirements;
- the resultant lot(s) must be served by an appurtenant right of way easement of at least twenty (20) feet in width which does not serve more than four (4) lots or parcels; and
- the private road disclosure requirements shall be met as set forth in this Article
For the purposes of this section, the term “Family Member” shall mean a spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild. The term includes the step, half, and in-law relationships.
Board Action: Set a public hearing for July 5, 2022 at 6:00 pm, or soon thereafter, to hear public comments regarding the proposed changes to the Subdivision Ordinance.
8. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY – AWARD OF FIBER OPTIC CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT RELATED TO PHASE 1 OF THE WATER TELEMETRY PROJECT: Gene Hodges, Assistant County Manager; Dail Booth, Water Superintendent; Steve Bennett, Information Technology Director
When Hurricane Florence struck Craven County, the water system telemetry/SCADA system that serves the western part of the County’s water system was severely damaged. This system is the communication conduit that shares information between the wells, water towers, and water plant that allows the water system to operate properly. Since the Hurricane, this system has had a number of failures and each site requires daily in person inspection and manual adjustments to maintain proper working function.
In October 2019, Craven County selected McKim & Creed of Raleigh, NC as the engineering firm for this project. Since then, there has been a considerable amount of time dedicated to project development, design, coordination, and bidding activities. This project will be broken up into 3 phases. Phase 1 will consist of approximately 23 miles of additional fiber optic cable to extend Craven County’s fiber network to the western Craven County and the Highway 101 water assets (see attached maps). This phase will also include electrical and telemetry upgrades to 17 water asset sites that will allow those sites to communicate with the SCADA system at the Water Treatment Plant near Lewis Farm Road. The bids for the electrical and telemetry upgrades will be presented at a later meeting. Phase 2 of this project will consist of new fiber being installed from approximately the northern end of the Slocum Creek Bridge in Havelock to area adjacent to Roger Bell New Tech Academy. Phase 3 will consist of new fiber being installed from approximately Grantham Road to the Havelock West End Fire Station.
After two earlier attempts to bid this project, Craven County received and opened one bid on the rebid date of May 26, 2022. TRC Construction, Inc. was the apparent low bidder with a bid amount of $2,375,442.26. The recommendation of award from the engineer and the certified bid tab is attached.
Attachment #8 is a Project Ordinance Amendment and related Budget Amendment in the amount of $4,874,378 that funds this phase of this project. The amount is broken down as follows:
Construction: $2,375,443
Capital Outlay over 5k: $640,000
Engineering and Design: $1,668,900
Contingency: $190,035
Total: $4,874,378
The amount for Capital Outlay over $5,000 represents the needed network switches that will be purchased by the IT Department. The Engineering and Design amount represents the estimated design costs for all 3 phases of this project. The Contingency amount represents an 8% contingency on the construction costs. This budget amendment is being funded with American Rescue Plan funds that have already been received by Craven County.
The request is for the Board of Commissioners to approve a project ordinance amendment and associated budget amendment in the amount of $4,874,378 to fund this project and to authorize the County Manager to execute the agreement with TRC Construction, Inc to perform this portion of the construction related to fiber installation for Phase 1 of this project.
Staff and representatives from McKim and Creed are available for any questions.
Board Action: Approve the project ordinance amendment and associated budget amendment and authorize the County Manager to prepare and execute an agreement with TRC Construction, Inc. for construction related to fiber installation for Phase 1 of the Water Telemetry Project; a roll call vote is needed.
9. HUMAN RESOURCES – REQUEST TO AMEND PERSONNEL RESOLUTION: Amber Parker, Human Resources Director
The Craven County self-insured health insurance plan will experience a 5% rate increase for FY 22-23. The rates of retiree health insurance paid by the County are specified in the Craven County Personnel Resolution based upon FY 21-22 rates as shown in the current policy language. The 5% increase will be passed along to be paid by retirees unless the above-referenced policy is amended to reflect the FY 22-23 rates as shown in the proposed policy language.
The current and proposed policy language is shown as Attachment #9.
Board Action: Approval of amended Personnel Resolution section related to retiree health insurance
10. FINANCE: Craig, Warren, Finance Director
A. Budget Amendment – Health and Workers Comp Benefit Claims
Health Insurance and Workers Compensation benefit claims experienced YTD through May are running ahead of budget by 9.3% and 79.5% respectively. As a result, it is expected that the total claims paid will exceed original budget projections. It is estimated that an additional $775,000 will be needed in order to continuing paying any claims that are incurred through the end of the fiscal year. Additional revenues received over budget from insurance premiums and provider rebates have been identified and will be used to cover the increase in claims expense.
The Board will be requested to approve the budget amendment, shown in Attachment #10.A., in the amount of $775,000.00.
B. Budget Amendment – Sales Tax Transfers to Debt Service Fund
Sales tax collections YTD through the month of June (March sales) are currently running 17% ahead of budget. With three months (April, May, June) of collections still remaining to be booked, it is anticipated that they will exceed original budget projections. As required by general statutes, a portion of the Article 40 and Article 42 sales tax distributed to Counties is considered restricted and can only be used towards school capital or debt service. It is estimated that an additional $1,325,000 in budgeted sales tax revenue will be needed in order to continue transferring these collections into the Debt Service Fund for the remainder of the fiscal year.
The Board will be requested to approve the budget amendment, shown in Attachment #10.B., in the amount of $1,325,000.
Board Action: Approve budget amendment; a roll call vote is needed
C. Budget Amendment – Transfer to Capital Reserve
During the current fiscal year, the County has experienced enhanced revenue collections over what was originally budgeted from several sources. Those include $1.8 million in additional revenues collected from the Medicaid/Sales Tax Hold Harmless distribution, $1.7 million from sales tax collections, and $487,600 from sales of property at the Industrial Park. At this time, it is requested that these additional revenues be set aside and transferred into the Capital Reserve Fund for future capital projects and expenditures. It also requested that $389,000 collected in previous fiscal years from property sales at the Industrial Park also be included as part of the transfer bringing the total amount requested to $4,376,600. Of this amount, $876,600 resulting from the property sales at the Industrial Park will be designated specifically for future Economic Development projects
The Board will be requested to approve the budget amendment, show in Attachment #10.C., in the amount of $4,376,600.
Board Action: Approve budget amendment; a roll call vote is needed
11. APPOINTMENTS
A. PENDING
Craven County Board of Adjustments
Craven County Clean Sweep
Board of Equalization and Review
Voluntary Agricultural District
B. CURRENT
Craven Aging Planning Board – seeks reappointment
- Anita Douglas – Client Rep
New Bern Planning & Zoning
- Don Black term expires, and he is ineligible for reappointment
Fire Tax Commissioners Board
- TWP 5 Harlowe vacancy left by Sandy Hammer
Juvenile Crime Prevention Council – all seek reappointment
- William Swain (Craven County Schools)
- Catherine Hardison (Non-Profit)
- Jean Kenefick
C. UPCOMING
River Bend Board of Adjustment
- Frederick (Rick) Fisher (alternate)
Emergency Medical Services
- Tim Brazemore (Coastal Medical Transport)
Craven County ABC Board – appoint Chairperson
- Chip Chagnon
- Denny Bucher
- Kathleen Cook
Craven County Planning Board
- Tom Lelli (District 1)
Fire Tax Commissioners Board
- Sue Arthurs (TWP 6)
Board Action: Appointments will be effective immediately, unless otherwise specified.
12. COUNTY ATTORNEY’S REPORT: Arey Grady
13. COUNTY MANAGER’S REPORT: Jack Veit
14. COMMISSIONERS’ REPORTS
By Alison Newcombe, Administrative Secretary, Craven County Manager’s Office