The meeting will be held on Dec. 5, 2022, at 6 p.m. in the Craven County Commissioners Meeting Room at the Craven County Administration Building in New Bern.
CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE APPROVE AGENDA
1. OLD BUSINESS
A. Approval of November 21, 2022, Regular Session Minutes
B. Sudan Temple Agreement- Jack Veit and Arey Grady
Craven County has participated in negotiations over the last month to purchase property referenced as the Sudan Shriners complex in Downtown New Bern immediately adjacent to the County Administration and Court Facilities Complex. As discussed during negotiations the Shriner property would ensure adequate parking for the Craven County Judicial System and Craven County Government activities and provide a footprint for future growth in Downtown New Bern. Attached is a purchase agreement outlining the terms and conditions of the sale which has been executed by the Shriner Organization. If approved by the Board of Commissioners on December 5, 2022, the Shriner organization would still need to take the contract before its general membership in early Jan. 2023 for final approval. Once the final Shriner membership approval is authorized, closing of the property would occur by Jan. 31, 2023.
Board Action: Approve the purchase agreement and budget amendment in the amount of $6 million; and authorize the Chairperson, County Manager, and County Attorney to take any action necessary to complete the transaction and to execute and deliver the documents necessary to complete the transaction.
2. RECOGNITION OF OUTGOING COMMISSIONERS
A. Presentation of Plaques
B. Commissioners’ Remarks
3. RECONSTITUTION OF THE BOARD
A. Oath of Office Administered to the New Board
The Commissioners-Elect and continuing Commissioners will come forward to take the oath of office. For those who have not specifically designated someone to administer the oath, the Clerk to the Board will be available to administer it. Afterwards, the Board will be seated.
– Chadwick Howard
– Sherry Hunt
– Denny Bucher
– Jason Jones
– Thomas Mark
– E.T. Mitchell
– Beatrice Smith
B. Election of Chairman
After the new Board is seated, the County Attorney will preside over the election of a chairperson. He will open the floor for nominations (no second required). Once all nominations have been made, he will ask for a motion to close nominations. When this has been voted upon, the County Attorney will call for a vote on nominations, which is to be a voice vote by
roll call. If more than one individual has been nominated, the Clerk will call the roll, and each Commissioner will state the nominee of a nominee.
C. Oath of Office Administered to Chairman
When the vote is completed the oath of office will be administered to the newly elected chairperson, and s/he will assume their duties.
D. Election of Vice-Chairman
The new chairperson will preside over the election of the vice chairperson, continuing in the same process as for the election of chairperson.
E. Oath of Office Administered to Vice-Chairman
When the vote is completed, the oath of office will be administered to the newly elected vice chairperson.
4. RECESS
5. RECONVENE AS NEW BOARD
6. PETITION OF CITIZENS – AGENDA TOPICS
Comments directly pertaining to items on the agenda of any regularly scheduled meeting of the Board shall be made during an agenda comment period occurring at the beginning of each regularly scheduled meeting. Comments during this period shall be limited to those comments directly pertaining to items on the agenda for such meeting.
Each speaker must address the Board as a whole (and not any individual Commissioner, County staff member or the audience) from the lectern and shall begin his or her remarks by giving his or her name and address and the topic about which they intend to speak. Each speaker will have three (3) minutes to make remarks, as measured by a timer operated by County staff. A speaker may not yield any of his or her time to another speaker.
Speakers must be courteous in their language and presentation and must abide by generally accepted standards of decorum. Speakers shall not make the same or repetitive comments, whether during a particular comment period or over the course of multiple comment periods. Speakers shall not attack or insult any person or group of people, and speakers shall not give belligerent or hostile comments during any comment period.
See Editor’s Note at bottom of agenda pertaining to peoples First Amendment rights to freedom of speech
7. ESTABLISH 2023 MEETING DATES, TIMES, AND LOCATION
8. CONSIDER APPOINTMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS TO BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
A. Required by Statute:
Tourism Development Authority (Mark)
Craven County Health Board (Bucher)
East Carolina Workforce Development Board (Smith)
New Bern Craven County Library Board (Mitchell)
Military Civilian Community Council (McCabe)
Aging Planning Board (Liner)
Kellenberger Foundation (Jones)
Tryon Palace Commission (Jones)
Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (Smith)
Smart Start (Smith)
Down East RPO (McCabe)
Swiss Bear (Bucher)
MPO (Mitchell)
EDO/C1A (Bucher)
Dix Crisis Center (Liner)
B. Required in By-Laws:
CRSWMA -Voting Member (Jones)
Local Emergency Planning Committee (McCabe)
Cove City Library Board (Jones)
Havelock City Library Board (Liner)
Vanceboro Library Board (Mark)
Highway 70 Corridor Committee (Mark)
Partners in Education (PIE) (Jones)
*Craven-Pamlico Regional Library (Jones)
ACT (Mitchell)
Trillium (Liner)
U252 (Bucher
C. Other Boards with Commissioner Presence:
ABC Board (Bucher)
**Coastal Regional Airport Authority (Jones)
Craven Community College Board of Trustees (Mitchell)
* Commissioner Liner also has a presence on this Board
** Commissioners Liner and McCabe also have a presence on this Board
9. APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA
A. Tax Releases and Refunds
B. Sheriff’s Bond
Newly Elected Sheriff’s Bond: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 162-8 requires the sheriff to furnish a bond payable to the State of North Carolina. The amount of the bond shall be determined by the Board of County Commissioners but shall not exceed $25,000. The bond currently maintained on the Sheriff is $10,000. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 162-9 provides that the Board of County
Commissioners shall take and approve the Sheriff’s bond and have it registered and the original deposited with the Clerk of Superior Court for safekeeping prior to the sheriff taking office. The bond shall be provided to the Board of County Commissioners on the first Monday of December after the election and is shown in the following document.
C. Military Service Person of the Quarter Resolution
The Board is requested to approve the resolution recognizing the Military Service Person of the Quarter, as presented in the following document.
D. Sheriff Bullet Proof Vest Budget Amendment
The Craven County Sheriff’s Office has been awarded a grant of $4,071.96 from the Office of Justice Program’s (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to purchase bullet proof vests for sworn personnel. This grant is a partial reimbursement program. The grant will reimburse the Sheriff’s Office 50% of each vest to total the amount given. There is a Budget Amendment in the amount of $8,144.00 and other supporting documents following.
DEPARTMENTAL MATTERS
10. CARTS: Kelly Walker-Cuthrell
A. Request to Set Public Hearing
CARTS is requesting a public hearing to be set to be held before the Craven County Board of Commissioners at the Jan. 3, 2023 meeting. The purpose is to receive public comments and request authorization for Craven Area Rural Transit System (CARTS) to apply to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for the FY2023-2024 5311 Community Transportation (CTP) administrative and operating grants as well as a Combined Capital grant. CARTS relies on these grants to assist with the cost of operating public transit service.
The 5311 CTP grant is a formula-based allocation grant for rural public transportation projects. CARTS will be seeking to apply for 5311 CTP administrative and operating assistance as well capital assistance. The Combined Capital application does not specify into which grants capital projects will be placed. CARTS will be seeking to include vehicles which have met useful life, radios which have met useful life and not replaced using other grant funds, computers which have met useful life, and up to four camera replacements on
vehicles due to equipment failure.
The deadline to submit a preliminary budget for the 5311 CTP grant was Oct. 7, 2022. The deadline to submit a preliminary Combined Capital budget is Dec. 7, 2022. This is not the normal process for applying to NCDOT for these grants. FY2024 is the first year of a major change to the application process. NCDOT experienced unexpected problems during the process. As a result, NCDOT is allowing transit systems to delay the public hearing so that one public hearing may include all grant applications. The budgets are eligible to be amended pending the public hearing and approval to apply.
B. ADA Complementary Paratransit Policy
CARTS is federally required to operate ADA Complementary Paratransit service because we operate a fixed route. We are also required to have and maintain a policy regarding that service. The initial CARTS ADA Complementary Paratransit Policy was approved May 1, 2017, by the Craven County Board of Commissioners. An amendment was done October 2019 to add the CARTS Title VI Complaint Form to the policy per FTA guidance.
November 17, 2022, CARTS received documentation as part of the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) compliance review requiring update of the policy to include a written stop announcement policy for the fixed route. This has been accomplished by adding the first paragraph under “Other Statement of Policy”. The copy provided on the following pages has this addition highlighted in yellow.
Other than minor grammar changes, these are the only ADA Complementary Paratransit Policy changes being requested.
11. HUMAN RESOURCES – REQUEST TO SET SALARY OF SHERIFF
North Carolina General Statute 153A-92 authorizes the Board of Commissioners to adjust salaries, allowances and other compensation for the Sheriff and Register of Deeds positions. The Board of Commissioners set the starting salary for the Sheriff position as $82,895 on Nov. 1, 2021, prior to the beginning of the filing period for the 2022 Sheriff’s election. Following the election and after the successful candidate takes office, the Commissioners retain the right to adjust the minimum starting salary upward in accordance with the years of related experience held by the successful candidate.
Based upon the years of related experience held by the successful candidate, Chip Hughes, the Sheriff’s salary is recommended to be set at $133,588 effective today. This is the same salary currently set for Sheriff Hughes.
Submitted by Alison Newcome, Administrative Secretary
Editor’s Note: During the Petition of Citizens (POC), the board has two rules that potentially violate peoples’ freedom of speech. One — people are asked to state their name and address. The other pertains to addressing the board, “Each speaker must address the Board as a whole.” The Board of Commissioners can have these rules in place, but they cannot enforce them because it would infringe on peoples’ First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
If you want to address the board, sign up before the meeting starts at 6 p.m.
By Wendy Card, Editor