[0:03] February 16, 2026, Carter County Board of Commissioner meeting.

[0:08] » Commissioner Quinn, will you lead us in the pledge of allegiance?

[0:11] » Yes, sir. >> I aliance to the flag of the United

[0:17] States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation,

[0:24] indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[0:33] Tonight the invitation will be provided by Pastor Wayne Warren at Huntton

[0:37] Quarters Church in Atlantic.

[0:49] Y'all can join me in praying. Father, I thank you that I have the

[0:55] privilege to intercede, come to the throne room of grace, not only for this

[1:00] meeting, but for the people that has been elected to serve this county.

[1:05] Father, I can only imagine what it's like to have the pressure of trying to

[1:11] please everyone, which is an impossible task. God, I pray

[1:16] that these here that serve this county would serve we the people and not me the

[1:23] politician and that it would spread throughout this whole state. God, I pray

[1:29] that they would seek you in every decision that they would seek your

[1:33] wisdom because your wisdom is honest and true. Father, I pray that there would

[1:40] not be any dissension, that there would be unity always in this room, that you

[1:45] would guide and direct those that make the decision for this county, and that

[1:51] the people of this county would realize what the pressure they're under, that

[1:56] they would pray for them as I'm praying for them tonight. And God, I know not

[2:00] their hearts, but you do. And I thank you that you're omniresent. That not

[2:05] only are you here tonight, but you're everywhere at the same time. And God, I

[2:11] pray for these and their families. That you to keep evil away from them. Keep

[2:16] evil out of this room. Keep evil away from their families. And God, if there

[2:20] be one here tonight does not know you as their personal Lord and Savior. I pray,

[2:26] dear Lord, that you would speak to their hearts that they would come to know you

[2:30] as I do. I love you, Jesus. Thank you for all you do and all you're going to

[2:35] do. And it's in your name, my Savior, my Lord, my Redeemer. Amen.

[2:42] » Amen. >> Thank you, Pastor Wayne.

[2:47] » Thank you.

[2:51] » Uh, Commissioner Mansfield had a family obligation tonight, so he's has an

[2:55] excused absence. Uh, I'll read the ethics statement. In

[3:01] accordance with the state government's ethics act, it is the duty of every

[3:04] board member to avoid both conflicts of interest and the appearance of conflict.

[3:07] Does any board member have any known conflict of interest or the appearance

[3:11] of conflict with respect to any matter coming before the board this evening? If

[3:15] so, please identify the conflict and refrain from any undue participation in

[3:20] the particular matter involved. Good. Next, is there a motion to adopt

[3:26] the agenda? >> I'll make a motion. Motion by

[3:30] Commissioner Moore. Second. >> Seconded by Commissioner Walder. All in

[3:34] favor. >> Is there that carries?

[3:39] » Is there a motion to adopt the consent agenda?

[3:41] » So move. >> Motion by Commissioner Shin, seconded by

[3:44] Commissioner Clark. All in favor? Got it.

[3:52] Next, we have public comment. Would anyone like to sign up on the

[3:57] sheet we have here? You'll have three minutes to speak. If you will come to

[4:01] the podium, state your name and address for the record.

[4:08] First one is Melissa >> Urgart. Close.

[4:15] » I apologize for that, but that's a not a name I'm used to.

[4:22] » So, my name is Melissa Urkart, and you need my address,

[4:26] » please. at 220 Trailwood Drive, Newport, North Carolina. Um, I serve on the board

[4:31] of Bogue Banks Football Club, a competitive travel soccer club here in

[4:35] Carter County. But more importantly, I'm the parent of three children. I could

[4:38] stand up here tonight and I could talk to you about the benefits of sports, the

[4:41] teamwork, the discipline, and how it helps our kids be healthy. But that's

[4:45] not what's important. I want to talk about return on investment because we're

[4:49] talking about public dollars. In 2005, the Gillette Athletic Complex opened in

[4:54] Wilson. Since then, it has generated roughly 44 to 49 million in tourism

[5:00] dollars with an annual economic impact of about $4.5 million.

[5:05] In 2018, Goldsboro opened the Brian Multisport Complex. In its first full

[5:11] year alone, it produced $4 million in direct visitor spending. It generated

[5:15] hundreds of thousands in tax revenue and brought nearly 5,000 overnight hotel

[5:20] stays to the area. Those are measurable results. Now, let's talk about Carter

[5:25] County. Tourism is our economic engine, but it's seasonal. From Labor Day to

[5:31] Memorial Day, many businesses are simply trying, excuse me, it's from Labor Day

[5:35] to Memorial Day. In the offseason, businesses are just simply trying to

[5:39] survive. And because they can't offer steady hours in the offseason, they

[5:42] struggle to keep workers. At the same time, the cost of living here continues

[5:46] to rise. Many hourly workers simply cannot afford to live in Carter County

[5:51] unless they can count on consistent year-round income. So businesses are

[5:56] caught in a cycle. They can't provide steady hours in the winter and workers

[6:00] can't afford to stay. And then in the summer, we're scrambling to hire. A

[6:04] wellplanned sports complex would help break that cycle. Travel sports happen

[6:09] every weekend in the fall and spring. This is exactly when tourism slows down.

[6:14] Nationally, youth and amateur sports travel generates approximately 52

[6:19] billion dollar. Those families are spending money somewhere every weekend.

[6:26] Right now, our families are part of that spending, but we're exporting it. We

[6:30] travel to other counties. We pay for their hotel rooms. We eat in their

[6:34] restaurants. Why not bring those families here? We have approximately 14

[6:39] travel sports clubs across eight sports in this area and it's growing every

[6:43] year. Instead of sending our families away, let's put heads in beds and

[6:48] bottoms and booth here at home. Let's create dependable offseason revenue so

[6:53] businesses can offer steady hours. Let's support our workforce so people who

[6:57] serve this community can afford to live in it. And the timing couldn't be

[7:02] better. Carter Community College is launching cross country, baseball, and

[7:06] women's soccer next year. Momentum is building. They need facilities, and so

[7:11] do we. This isn't just about fields. It's about stabilizing our workforce,

[7:15] diversifying revenue, and strengthening our economy year round in Carter County.

[7:20] The demand is already there. The opportunity is clear, and the time is

[7:25] now. Thank you. >> Thank you.

[7:27] » Thank you. >> Next, we have Mr. Chuck Linder.

[7:35] Outstanding.

[7:46] » Chuck Linder, 123 Center Drive, Atlantic Beach. Good evening and thank you for

[7:51] your time. Moria City League is celebrating the 71st year of serving the

[7:55] youth of our community. Our opening ceremony is scheduled for March 21st.

[8:00] Swinson Park 100 p.m. We invite you all to attend. Last spring we had 28 teams.

[8:06] Registration is ahead of last year. At this time, and we may have to close

[8:11] registration due to a lack of playing fields. With the town of Morhead City

[8:16] closing its only baseball and softball fields in May, we're going to struggle

[8:21] to find fields for all of our youth. We do our best to keep act kids active and

[8:26] promote lifelong lessons that can be learned through our program. Get them

[8:30] outside off of the video games, iPads, and cell phones. Our desire is for our

[8:36] youth to become future productive citizens. Keep them off the street away

[8:40] from the drug scene and criminal activity.

[8:44] I'm very thankful Sheriff Asa Buck, Carter County Sheriff's Office, Chief

[8:48] Brian Dixon, Moria City PD, and every other law enforcement agency in this

[8:53] county that helps keep our children safe. Moria City has been proactive in

[8:58] raising funds to help fund improvements at Swinson Park. By hosting baseball

[9:02] tournaments, sponsoring fundraisers, and applying for grants, we've been able to

[9:07] contribute over $400,000 to much needed improvements at Swinson

[9:11] Park. To all my fellow youth organizations, I encourage you to do the

[9:16] same. County government and these folks sitting up here, they have a very

[9:21] difficult task to fund all the needs of Carter County. But if we all work

[9:26] together, we can make a difference for the youth of our community. I had the

[9:30] privilege of being part of the county youth focus group meeting a few weeks

[9:34] ago with multiple youth sports organizations represented. Common

[9:38] concerns were the growth of the county, lack of youth fields for all sports,

[9:42] athletic fields being closed due to much needed maintenance from overuse, and

[9:46] kids not being able to play.

[9:50] Recommendations center around building more fields and facilities in a central

[9:54] location. Revisit the acreage between Highway 24 and Highway 70. Solicit state

[10:00] and federal representatives to help procure that acreage. Allow usage of

[10:04] fields at school facilities. substitute artificial turf for grass to allow for

[10:09] more playing time and less maintenance concerns. More city has had a plan on

[10:14] the board to install art artificial turf on a small portion of field 2 at Swinson

[10:19] Park. Allow us to go ahead and do that. We're ready to pay for every penny of

[10:24] that project. It would allow for less maintenance, more playing time. It can

[10:29] give the county valuable insight to aid their 15-year parks and recreation

[10:34] master plan that hopefully will address the need for additional fields

[10:38] throughout the county. In closing, my hope is that all citizens will work

[10:42] together to support the youth of our county. They are our future. They are

[10:47] our future. With today being President's Day, my memory takes me back to November

[10:53] 1963 when I was in second grade. teacher came in announced that President

[10:58] Kennedy had passed away. Allow me to borrow one of his famous quotes. I'm

[11:03] going to change one letter in that quote. Ask not what you your county can

[11:08] do for you. Ask what you can do for your county.

[11:13] » Thank you, Mr. Chuck. >> Next, we have Mike Bullinger.

[11:28] Hi there. Uh my name is Mike Ballinger. I'm a resident at 401 Meeting Street in

[11:32] Bowfort. I'm the current president of the Bowfort Little League. Um I'm here

[11:37] to support uh the Morhead City Little League and their quest for playing

[11:41] fields. Um Bowford Little League's uh celebrating our 69th anniversary this

[11:46] year. We've been around for a long time. Um

[11:51] oldest little league in the in the state of North Carolina. Um we promote kids

[11:56] activity. Um getting like Chuck said, getting kids off screens um out onto the

[12:00] fields and learning lifelong skills. Um I have to thank the county parks and

[12:08] recck department. Freedom Park is our main uh usage and it's great and we're

[12:13] improving it every every year. Uh there's being turf put out so we can try

[12:17] and play more when inclement weather hits. Um, I just have to say thank you

[12:22] to the county parks and recck department for for all that um and all the support

[12:26] that they've given us, but we can do more, especially when we're losing

[12:30] fields in Morehead City. Um, Chuck talked about speaking uh working

[12:35] together and collaboration. We're hoping to help supplement and work with them,

[12:41] play some minor league play this year to help provide these um

[12:48] these activities for the kids, especially the T-ballers in those

[12:51] fields. So, hoping to invite them over to Bowfort um just down the road and

[12:56] play some baseball. Um I also want to support uh adult activity. I'm part of

[13:01] multiple run clubs and the ultimate frisbee group in town. And more playing

[13:05] fields could support just more than just kids. It can support adults, mental

[13:10] health, um, and just physical activity and keeping us keeping us in shape, keep

[13:15] us out of hospitals, keep us out of doctor's offices, um, even as adults.

[13:20] So, from kids up to adults, it's building lifelong skills. Uh, something

[13:25] I'm very passionate about. Um, activity is a big part of that. teaching folks

[13:30] how to be active and understand themselves. So with that, I want to say

[13:36] thank you for all your contributions and the contributions you will vote on in

[13:41] the future. So thank you all. >> Thank you.

[13:44] » Thank you, Mr. Bolinger. Next we have Tiffany Pageant.

[13:58] Hello, my name is Tiffany Padet. I reside at 609 Mandy Court, Morehead

[14:03] City. Um, I am the vice president of the Morehead City Little League and I have a

[14:11] little speech here. Um, investing in our future, the case for Morhead City

[14:14] Athletic Fields. Good evening, members of the council and fellow residents. My

[14:18] name is Tiffany Padet and I'm here tonight to speak for the hundreds of

[14:21] families in Morehead City and even more throughout Carter County who rely on our

[14:25] local athletic fields. We are a coastal community that prides itself on being

[14:29] active. Yet, our current inventory of fields is struggling to keep pace with

[14:33] our growth. As of early 2025, our local Morhead City Little League alone

[14:38] supported nearly 30 teams per season with a surging interest in girls

[14:42] softball. In addition to Morehead City Little League, my son and family is also

[14:47] part of the established Makos baseball organization and has also been a part of

[14:52] the Seashore soccer league. and the lack of athletic fields often leaves teams

[14:56] scrambling for space. While the Morhead City Sports Complex, Rotary Park, and

[15:00] Fort Benjamin are incredible assets, they are operating at or beyond

[15:04] capacity. We've seen field closures due to weather or maintenance that leave our

[15:08] kids with nowhere to practice. Furthermore, athletic fields aren't just

[15:11] for play. They are economic drivers. Last year's Woodbat tournament proved

[15:16] that sports tourism brings real revenue to our local hotels and restaurants. By

[15:21] investing in more fields, we aren't just spending money. We are building a

[15:24] foundation for economic resilience and providing a positive healthy out outlet

[15:29] for our youth that reduces juvenile delinquency. Last year alone, my family

[15:34] traveled out of the county for more than a dozen tournaments for both baseball

[15:37] and soccer. I would have loved for our money to have been spent here in Carter

[15:41] County along with countless other visitors income being brought to the

[15:44] county. Sports tourism is a recession proof industry. When we host a regional

[15:49] baseball tournament at Big Rock Stadium or a soccer invitational at Rotary, we

[15:53] aren't just filling fields. We're filling hotel rooms, local restaurants,

[15:56] and shops during the shoulder seasons. Currently, Morehead City loses

[16:00] tournament bids to Jacksonville or Newburn because we lack a consolidated

[16:04] multiffield complex. By expanding our inventory, we turn Morehead City into a

[16:09] weekendl long destination that supports our small businesses year round. It's

[16:12] time we treat recreation as a revenue generating department, not just a line

[16:16] item expense. Beyond the dollars, there is a human cost to inaction. Study after

[16:21] study shows that access to organized sports is one of the most effective

[16:24] tools for juvenile crime prevention. When our kids are on a soccer pitch or

[16:28] baseball diamond until 8:00 p.m., they are engaged, supervised, and mentored.

[16:33] With the city's recent $8 million investment in the WS King Rec Center,

[16:38] we've shown we care about indoor safety. We must match that commitment outdoors.

[16:42] A child with a glove or a soccer ball in their hand is a child staying out of

[16:45] trouble. Investing in fields today prevents us from spending more on

[16:49] policing and intervention tomorrow. We are at a pivotal moment with the Carter

[16:54] County Parks and Recreation Master Plan currently underway for 2026. We have a

[16:58] window to ensure Morhead City remains a leader in recreation.

[17:02] We've seen successful renovations at Big Rock Stadium for the Marlins and the new

[17:06] Carter Community College Kraken baseball team. Now we must extend the same

[17:10] commitment to our recreational and youth leagues, the backbone of our community.

[17:14] I urge the council to prioritize the expansion of multi-use fields in the

[17:18] upcoming budget. Let's give our children the space they need to grow, compete,

[17:21] and stay healthy right here in the town they call home.

[17:24] » Thank you. >> Thank you.

[17:25] » Thank you. >> Next, we have Pat Mclofflin.

[17:36] » All right. Is there anyone else would like to speak?

[17:40] All right. We'll move along. Next, we're going to acknowledge our county staff

[17:44] and partners that worked very hard during the last winter storm. You know,

[17:48] the last measurable snowfall was uh 1989 when I was a senior in high school. I

[17:55] cut a mini a donut on the highways during that snowstorm. That was like the

[17:58] most fun time of my life. But uh we had a group here working around the clock.

[18:04] Uh John, you weren't a hog troll back then, were you? No.

[18:10] Maybe you were in the you were in the western end of the county, but uh so it

[18:14] was a big event and I think this snow rivaled it. Uh some places it was 3

[18:18] feet, but we had 10 to 15 inches throughout the county and it takes a lot

[18:22] of people to run an operation like the county. We had 60 county employees whose

[18:28] name are is listed on each screen here tonight. A lot of them couldn't be here.

[18:33] U they went above and beyond. Some of them worked around the clock in our

[18:36] emergency operations center. Many spent long hours in the freezing conditions

[18:40] clearing our county facilities, parking lots, and other things so we could

[18:44] reopen and continue to serve the citizens. We also want to extend a

[18:49] special thank you to the Carter County Salvation Army who opened up the warming

[18:53] shelters. I think that was wellreceived throughout the county and and our county

[18:58] partners at DSS and the health department and the Carter County

[19:01] Sheriff's Office also helped with that. And uh just on the behalf of the board

[19:06] and the people of Carter County, we want to say thank you to everyone that was a

[19:09] part of that. It it went very very smoothly. Uh so it it's uh just a good

[19:16] good feeling and we were proud of our county employees when everything comes

[19:19] together and we want our county employees to know that we appreciate

[19:22] them. So we're going to have some department heads come up and we're going

[19:25] to take a picture. Uh those department heads going to start with Sharon

[19:30] Griffin, our great county manager, Matt Renau, our assistant county manager,

[19:35] Billy Matus, our emergency services director, DJ Hunt, our deputy emergency

[19:41] services director, Dwayne Yuri, our general service director, Alan Long, our

[19:46] public buildings maintenance technician, and Nick Wilson, our county public

[19:51] information officer and our clerk, Mr. John Nyberg, chief deputy at the Carter

[19:56] County Sheriff's Office, and Susan Stewart of our Child Support Agency.

[20:01] Y'all come on up.

[20:27] Thank you all very much.

[20:38] » Thank you.

[20:54] Yes. >> Okay. Next we have resolution 2026-R04

[21:01] supporting the town of Pelleter's request from the North Carolina

[21:04] Department of Transportation safety review at the intersection of West Fire

[21:09] Tower Road and Peliter Loop Road. Commissioner Quinn.

[21:14] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Supporting the town of Pelier's request

[21:18] for NC DOT safety review and improvements at the West Fire Tower Road

[21:23] and Peliter Loop Road intersection. Whereas the intersection of West Fire

[21:27] Tower Road and Peliter Loop Road is a wellocumented safety concern with

[21:32] Cartery County. And whereas the town of Pelier has formally identified that

[21:36] drivers at this intersection experience limited sight distance, awkward turning

[21:41] geometry, and seasonal visibility issues. And whereas recent residential

[21:46] development and increased traffic volumes have increased conflict points

[21:50] at this location, impacting the safety of county residents and visitors. And

[21:54] whereas the town of Pelleteer Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution on

[21:58] January 5th, 2026 seeking professional intervention from the North Carolina

[22:02] Department of Transportation. And whereas current safety at the

[22:06] intersection relies heavily on vegetation maintenance by private

[22:10] property owners, which has proven to be an unreliable and temporary solution for

[22:14] a public roadway. And whereas the Carter County Board of Commissioners recognizes

[22:19] that when drivers must consistently pull into travel lanes to see oncoming

[22:23] traffic, a professional engineering evaluation is warranted. Now, therefore,

[22:28] be it resolved that the Carter County Board of Commissioners hereby supports

[22:32] the town of Pelier and formally requests that the NC DOT conduct a comprehensive

[22:38] engineering based safety review of the West Fire Tower Road and Pelier Loop

[22:42] Road intersection. And be it further resolved that the NC DOT consider both

[22:47] near-term lowcost improvements such as adjusted stop bar placement, enhanced

[22:52] signage, and improved pavement markings as well as long-term permanent solutions

[22:57] to ensure year-round sight distance. And be it further resolved that the county

[23:02] does not advocate for a specific predetermined solution, but instead

[23:05] requests that NC DOT identify the most effective measures based on current

[23:09] traffic data and professional engineering standards. And be it finally

[23:14] resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the North Carolina

[23:17] Department of Reg Transportation, the town of Pelleteer, and the North

[23:21] Carolina House of Representatives to demonstrate the county's commitment to

[23:24] addressing this public safety concern. Is there a motion to enter the

[23:29] resolution into the record? >> So moved.

[23:32] » Motion by Commissioner Walder. >> Second.

[23:34] » Seconded by Commissioner Quinn. All in favor?

[23:38] That's unanimous. Okay. Next, we have a presentation and

[23:43] request for startup funds for respit program at the Leon Man Jr. Enrichment

[23:49] Center. Miss Shelley Ashley and Dr. Randa Williams. Great. Nine.

[24:00] One of the fun uh part of my jobs commissioners is to say thank you and I

[24:05] very much want to thank you for your interest in this issue of Alzheimer's

[24:10] and our uh senior population. 25% of our county is over age 65 and the median age

[24:18] for the county is 50. Median age in North Carolina is 40. In Enslo it's age

[24:24] 27. Um but here it's 50. And so uh on behalf of my fellow uh senior citizens,

[24:31] we greatly appreciate your interest in this. We appreciate Sharon and D support

[24:35] in looking at this. And this is all kind of the genesis back several months ago

[24:41] as Susan came to you. Joseph Smith too, she's on the uh watching tonight. I just

[24:46] talked to her. She couldn't be with us tonight, but she's obviously very

[24:50] excited about this. Um, just like with the opioid project, when we were

[24:55] presented with a problem that y'all wanted us to, uh, solve, uh, we took a

[25:00] history, the first thing we do. So, Shelley and I have spent the last five

[25:03] months or so looking all around the state. We've traveled to about eight

[25:07] different places. And the program she's getting ready to present to you, I

[25:11] think, is what we think would be best for Carter County as an option should

[25:15] you wish to pursue it. Again, about one out of 10 Americans will get

[25:20] Alzheimer's, and it's getting uh going to be more as as the population ages.

[25:25] So, again, we very much appreciate your interest in this, and I'll turn it over

[25:29] to Shelley.

[25:33] » Good evening, commissioners. I'm here to present the program for the respit at

[25:38] the Leon Man Center. I'm going to refer to the next slide we have here. Um it's

[25:45] going to be a What we are projecting and anticipating is going to be a respbit

[25:51] program. It offers activities and socialization for loved ones with um for

[25:56] caregivers of loved ones who have Alzheimer's. Um but we don't want it to

[26:01] be confused with an adult daycare because it will not offer any type of

[26:06] medical resources or personal care at all with this particular program. It is

[26:11] just a respit program for them to bring their loved ones so they can have a

[26:15] little time during the day. Um Dr. We like Dr. Williams said we have made

[26:20] several visits and several phone calls around the state u comparing several

[26:25] programs and we think this is the best option for Carter County uh to start out

[26:30] on a small basis and move forward. Um, as you can see on the slide that we

[26:37] have, um, we have projected right now is a 4-hour day, one day a week program and

[26:44] it will be offered at the Leo Man Center. Right now, with it being at the

[26:49] Leo Man Center, we have resources there that can contribute to the program which

[26:54] would keep keep the cost at a minimum. And then on our next slide, um, this one

[27:00] is regarding the budget. And as you can see, we have a startup budget and then

[27:03] an annual program budget. Um, we have tried to be good stewards of our

[27:08] resources. Um, and minimize our costs. Um, we don't want to make we do want to

[27:14] make you aware that the current home care and community the home community

[27:19] care and block grant that can be difficult and be a mouthful. Um, they

[27:24] will not cover the startup costs. Uh, Dr. Williams and I have diligently dug

[27:29] into it and asked many many reasons why. Um but they just do not cover the

[27:35] startup cost but they will um they will however in the long run help

[27:41] sustain it once we get the program up and running. Um and so we hope that will

[27:47] be the future of the program is working with the um home care and community the

[27:53] home community care and block grant program. Just want to thank you for your

[27:57] time and if you have any questions, Dr. Williams and I would be glad to answer

[28:00] them.

[28:04] » So, we would start in a new budget year or

[28:09] » Well, >> we're going to start a little before

[28:11] that. >> That's entirely up to you. Um, we had a

[28:14] sense that uh you wanted us to do this with all deliberate speed.

[28:18] We we've got an option that if you uh pass this and we would start really the

[28:24] cost of finding a director part-time director

[28:27] » uh we have to find 40 volunteers. This is oneonone volunteers. That's one of

[28:32] the beauties of it gets the community involved.

[28:35] » And so our timeline our kind of gant chart would be to have somebody hired

[28:39] hopefully by April 1 they would spend three months getting volunteers and then

[28:43] we would open on July 1. Once we're open, we can get funds from the block

[28:48] grant. If you'd rather delay, we can wait until the next budget cycle, but

[28:53] push everything out about three months. Probably start in October.

[28:58] » I personally like to get going with it myself. Everybody,

[29:02] » we need a motion for that. >> I just got a quick question just

[29:06] clarification. So, have you got a facility already?

[29:09] » Yeah, the Leon >> the Leon Center.

[29:12] » You got in your startup $7,600 for facility and then nothing going

[29:18] forward. I mean, I understand it's the Leon Man Center. We're already on that,

[29:22] but

[29:26] » we have room at the Leon Man Center right now that we will incorporate. U

[29:31] being that it's only going to be one day a week, four hours, you know, we can

[29:35] transform this room for one day a week. As the program grows, you know, that

[29:40] might be a different story, but right now we do have an at the lean center

[29:46] that we can transform for one day a week.

[29:51] » So what are the costs? What is the facility charge of 7,620 going to pay

[29:56] for? I think is maybe part of the question.

[29:59] » Okay. One of the things we have to look at is the there's um

[30:05] three exits in that room. So we would have to alarm those. We would have to

[30:10] get comfortable seating for them. We do have tables and chairs that are already

[30:13] there. um you know which they could do their

[30:15] activities at but if they need time to rest we have to do the recliners and

[30:19] things like that. Um we have to acclimate the room to their benefit. We

[30:24] have we have already uh successfully put in the

[30:29] um compliant buttons for you know restrooms and things like that but it's

[30:33] just moving forward and getting everything in that room prepared

[30:38] » upfitting. >> Yeah absolutely and one of the biggest

[30:40] things is the safety. we have to watch the safety of anybody who's going to be

[30:44] there, especially with wandering issues. Um, and that we have to be careful with,

[30:50] you know, we are not going to be doing any type of medical. So, one of the

[30:54] things we have to be careful with is rest time. You know, have someplace

[30:59] comfortable for them to sit if they get overwhelmed.

[31:04] » Would this be based on an appointment being made to bring your loved one in?

[31:10] That's how that would work as far as a >> it would be and there's a fee. There's a

[31:15] $40 fee >> and uh one of the big purposes of the

[31:19] director is to schedule the 40 volunteers which about 10 a day and then

[31:24] to get the appointments for the people who are coming in so people can make

[31:27] plans because the foundation of the model is that this is good for the

[31:32] families who get arrested. It's good for the patients who just get out of the

[31:37] home and socialize with other people. And it's good for the volunteers. We

[31:41] think looking at programs around the country and especially North Carolina

[31:45] who've done this model, they think that there's three legs to this school of

[31:50] people benefiting, not just the families, but the patients and the

[31:54] volunteers themselves. >> Thank you.

[31:56] » I think it's a good deal. I think all of us uh know someone either in our own

[32:01] families or friends that have loved ones that they have to take care of that have

[32:05] dementia and it's very uh burdensome on it wires them out. So to have a place

[32:10] you could take them and know they're going to be safe while you run your

[32:13] errands in town I think it's a good deal and I appreciate y'all jumping on this

[32:18] and and getting going. Uh I entertain a motion to to move forward.

[32:23] How do you want to do it? >> I think what

[32:25] » we need to make a decision tonight. We don't have to, but if you would like to

[32:29] entertain a motion, I would recommend that it be to approve the startup of the

[32:35] respit program and to hire a part-time program manager.

[32:42] And that that salary amount that you see up there is just to cover through the

[32:47] end of this fiscal year. And then um it would we would present it

[32:53] at budget time, too. But we do not have to do this tonight if you guys want to

[32:58] discuss that some more. But that would be the motion I would suggest if you

[33:01] want to do it. >> Okay.

[33:05] » We have we're about to go into budget season and I know that we need to be

[33:10] making budgetary, you know, decisions tonight on stop impact next year and

[33:16] impact we've already done this year. >> I respect that. But I thought we'd as a

[33:21] board kind of thought and give them the direction we'd like to move forward with

[33:24] this and uh for very few dollars we can get this program up and going and then

[33:30] the state is going to provide much of the funding. So it won't be the county

[33:34] dollars. >> So I'll entertain a motion or a motion

[33:39] to table it, whatever you'all like to do.

[33:42] I I'd just like to understand where the impact is going to be on this 20k coming

[33:48] out of this year's budget. Is it impactful at this stage? Is it you're

[33:55] looking to us the county for that 20 grand?

[33:58] » Yes, it can come from to start it. We cannot use the block.

[34:03] » Okay. So is there an issue from a budgetary perspective at this stage in

[34:11] this fiscal year? >> There is not. We have had some revenues

[34:15] exceed expenditures and so we would be able to cover this if the board would

[34:20] like to authorize that and that would come in the form of a budget amendment

[34:24] at a a future. >> There's one.

[34:28] » Is there one in the packet? Okay. So yes.

[34:31] » So we're ready to execute if we choose. Okay. Thank you.

[34:38] » I, for one, as someone that can can speak from personal experience uh in

[34:43] dealing with a loved one that suffers from dementia, the level of care and the

[34:48] amount of time that it takes for for someone at home to watch out for someone

[34:53] that they care so much about suffering some from such a horrible disease that

[34:57] the quicker that we can act on this, the better.

[35:01] And I'd like to thank both of you for for bringing this to our to us so

[35:05] quickly and and in such a professional manner. Thank you very much.

[35:08] » Thank you. >> So your proposal on the screen for

[35:13] startup is 20,000. Budget amendment is $19,000. Only $1,000

[35:19] difference, but

[35:25] » I didn't realize there was a difference, but there's capacity.

[35:34] approve the budget amendment or approve that

[35:38] » the budget >> the 19,000.

[35:40] » Yes.

[35:50] » Okay. I'm not against supporting folks with Alzheimer's, you know, because it

[35:54] does affect so many of us. I'm just I'm just uh

[36:01] I'm just not I'm just not for um you know spur the moment making budget

[36:07] changes. That's

[36:11] » it's not a spur of moment. We've been we've directed them to go find out the

[36:15] first I've seen it presented. >> Well, we directed them a few months

[36:20] back. Uh Mr. Mansfield was in favor of it. I thought everybody was kind of in

[36:24] favor of doing it. >> You may have the votes. Yeah, that's

[36:26] that's fine. I'd like I move uh to appropriate the $19,000

[36:35] budget amendment to be 20 grand when we're all said and done and to go forth

[36:40] and to hire a part-time program director for startup costs for the respit center.

[36:50] » I'll second that. All right. There's a motion and a second to proceed with the

[36:54] respit center. All in favor?

[36:59] All opposed? Motion carries.

[37:06] » Thank you. >> Thank you.

[37:08] » Thank you all. We appreciate you getting that together for us.

[37:12] » And is it Mary that's online? Mary >> Joseph.

[37:18] » Josephanne. >> Josephanne. This is to you. Thank you

[37:22] for getting us started. >> Oh god. Thank you.

[37:26] » Next, we have uh Deputy County Manager D. Mishaw and Mr. Robert Bitner for the

[37:31] presentation of the 2025 audit report by PB Mayors.

[37:37] So, tonight um I'm going to do a a high level financial review of the county's

[37:45] finances for June 30th, 2025. And Mr. Bner who will go over the um independent

[37:52] audit report and findings and other items of interest that he has. Um so

[37:59] tonight we're going to talk primarily about the county's general fund. We have

[38:05] um it's the primary oper it is the operating fund for the county.

[38:11] Everything's accounted for in the general fund unless there's an

[38:14] accounting standard, a law, something like um school bond debt issue that that

[38:20] construction has to be accounted for in a separate fund. We're, as um

[38:26] commissioners just mentioned, we're fixing to go into budget and start

[38:29] talking and having discussions on our budgets. And when we do that, we will go

[38:34] into these other restricted funds that we have that have very specific purposes

[38:39] of what they can be used for. But tonight, we're going to focus on the um

[38:44] county's general fund. So

[38:49] as in prior years the general fund ended in a strong financial position. You will

[38:55] see revenue sources exceeded the budget as well as expenditures were under

[39:00] budget. So here is the pigraph that we look at

[39:06] and we see every year and it illustrates that property taxes are our largest

[39:15] but there it is are our largest source of revenue is 48% of the general fund

[39:20] budget. It is followed by other taxes which are sales taxes and then

[39:26] intergovernmental is 14%. Intergovernmental is federal and state

[39:31] revenue that we receive that supports primarily human services programs, our

[39:36] health programs, DSS, aging and it also supports our transportation caps program

[39:44] as well. Sales and services is 5% that is mostly solid waste revenue. Civic

[39:51] center fees fall in that category. permit and fees are 4%

[39:57] that is registered deeds fees um health department fees as well as our building

[40:03] inspection fees. Other is just miscellaneous

[40:07] interest and investment income as 4% of the county's budget and transfers in as

[40:13] 5%. That is the occupancy tax revenue that's transferred into the general fund

[40:20] and that is a restricted funding source. It can only be used for beach

[40:25] nourishment.

[40:28] So, um if you look, it may be easier to read on your handout than read on the

[40:34] screen. Um but here is a comparison of major revenue categories. It has our

[40:40] amended final budget and then our actual revenues that we received and then the

[40:46] variance for each category. We budgeted 59.61 61 million and we

[40:53] received a little bit over 62 million. That's a 2.41 million positive variance.

[41:00] There's several factors in that. One is our tax department had a higher

[41:05] collection rate than it did the previous year. It was about a host half a percent

[41:10] more um prior year tax collections. there was an increased effort um in that

[41:17] area and that resulted in some positive revenue and then the audited assessed

[41:23] values um for the county were higher than the assessed values that had been

[41:28] provided by the tax department when the budget was developed. You'll see sales

[41:33] tax we received 23.45 million. It was only about um 9,000 more

[41:41] than what was budgeted. Permits and fees came in under budget by

[41:47] about $450,000. We received 4.88 million. Um we had

[41:53] registered D's fees, some health department fees as well as franchise

[41:58] fees that those did not meet the um the budget projections.

[42:04] the register of deed space um no longer look like they are regressing. They have

[42:11] leveled out and we are now in this current year seeing growth in registered

[42:17] deed space again. So that's good news. Intergovernmental

[42:23] we received about 18.81 million. That was um 1.17 million less than what was

[42:30] budgeted. And you'll see this on the expenditure side. As I said earlier, a

[42:36] lot of this is for SECATs human services programs. And a lot of that if you don't

[42:41] have the revenue, you didn't spend the money for the program. And a lot of

[42:47] times budget projections for these programs are done a lot earlier than

[42:53] actual um budget estimates that they get.

[42:58] Um sales and services exceeded the budget just a little bit by 2 point by

[43:04] 0.21 million. Interest and investment earnings was 4.63 million was about

[43:10] 700,000 more than budgeted. other revenue is miscellaneous and then

[43:17] the transfer in for occupancy tax and that was almost $600,000

[43:22] under budget and that was with transfers in when the year was completed we had

[43:29] appropriated a total of $10.07 07 million.

[43:34] We started out with an adopted budget of over five million and then um we had

[43:41] rollover and incomplete projects from the prior year that we reappropriated.

[43:46] And so to make the budget balance we had appropriated over 10 million. Total

[43:53] budget was 138.64 64 million and our actual revenues received were just under

[44:00] 130 million. So if you look at expenditures,

[44:06] expenditures look like you would expect. Education is the largest part of our

[44:12] budget. It's 28%. That um does not include debt service

[44:18] and that does not include um capital that's transferred out to another fund

[44:24] for school capital. Um, human services and public safety are

[44:28] our second largest areas of government. It used to be that human services

[44:34] distinctly had the number two spot, but now public safety with the um with all

[44:41] that we fund and we have to and the requirements we have, they are they're

[44:46] they're the same funding level. Debt service is about 7% of um expenditures

[44:54] almost Almost all of debt service is for public school bonds.

[44:59] Cultural recreation is 4%. General government is 12%.

[45:05] Economic developments around 3%. Environmental protection which is public

[45:11] um works and solid waste is 5%. Other is um transfers out to other

[45:18] funds. And in there would be where school capital sits in that um public

[45:23] school capital sits in that 5%.

[45:28] Here's the chart here or the table rather is similar to the revenues. It's

[45:34] broken out by function of government. Every one of these categories you're

[45:39] going to see we spent what was appropriated. Um

[45:44] general government was 14.69 69 million spent with a 2.41

[45:51] under spent of the million spent of the budgeted amount. Public safety had a

[45:57] budgeted amount of 24.39 million. It was 22.55

[46:03] was what was spent with a positive variance of 1.84.

[46:08] If you go, you see transportation. I'm not going to read them all out, but

[46:11] there's transportation, environmental protection. when you see human services,

[46:16] I will point that out that we underspent the budget by 3.18 million. So when you

[46:24] look at that, that illustrates where we didn't receive the federal and state

[46:28] revenue, we also didn't have the expenditure.

[46:35] Uh public schools for operations was 29.13 million. The community college was

[46:43] 5.31 million spent. 63 million was not spent. Community

[46:50] college capital can be accounted for in the general fund. That was where they

[46:55] did not complete their projects and we rolled that money over into the 26

[47:00] budget where the state requires the public school capital be accounted in a

[47:06] separate fund. Um you'll see recreation and debt service was a little bit under

[47:12] budget and then the um non-EP departmental transfers to other funds

[47:18] was 4 million. There was 6.23 million not spent. That part is contingency and

[47:25] that was um for occupancy tax. We account for the revenue transferred into

[47:30] the general fund and and then um we have the beach nourishment department and

[47:37] then what is not spent is the 6.23 million was projected.

[47:43] Commissioner Chad Chairman Chad >> question on the cultural and recreation

[47:50] that our ball fields and >> it's Yeah. Yes sir. But it's more than

[47:54] that. It is parks and wreck um the civic center and our library system.

[48:02] So it's >> about five million currently on that.

[48:05] » Yes sir. >> Yeah. It was five point almost five and

[48:10] a half was budgeted and then right almost five million was expended.

[48:16] So if you look so the total budget was 138.64 million we underspent them about

[48:26] 17.03 million. If you look at this slide, this

[48:31] breaks instead of looking at function of government, this breaks out what we

[48:36] underspent by category. So with salaries and benefits

[48:42] um we spent 3.54 million and um you remember when we

[48:50] when y'all adopted when the board adopted the 26 budget that um we had

[48:55] talked about retention and our turnover rate and um there are things that were

[49:01] budgeted and approved in the 26 budget for salary increases and for to work on

[49:07] retaining staff. Um maintenance was 2 million underspent.

[49:12] Operating was almost 3 million under spent. Capital which is the county the

[49:18] community college was 1.6 million underspent.

[49:24] the 66 million for programs are um like special assistance programs

[49:31] for DSS, a little bit of mental health programs and our health um public health

[49:36] department programs were under spent and then the contingency again that was not

[49:41] spent was restricted for um beach nourishment.

[49:48] So when you look at the um revenue in total and the expenditures and other

[49:54] sources in total revenues and other sources exceeded expenditures by 8.16

[50:00] million on this slide

[50:04] it breaks out that 8.16 million and um not all money that we receive we can

[50:14] spend it on anything we want to. It has restrictions and um we receive from the

[50:21] federal government and the state receive a tremendous amount of thou shalts

[50:26] and um so on our restricted fund balance that increased 8.36 million. Just about

[50:35] all of that was for restricted by state statute and beach nourishment.

[50:41] Our committed fund balance which was appropriations

[50:45] for revaluation fund was 0.42 million. Our signed fund balance went down about

[50:53] three and a half million. Remember when we adopted the FY25 budget we adopted 5

[50:59] a.5 million. When we adopted our 26 budget we only adopted two million. So

[51:06] that decreased. And then our spendable fund balance um unassigned fund balance

[51:12] increased 2.88 million. And

[51:17] if you look at down skip down to the next section, if you look our audited

[51:23] unassigned fund balance for June 30th, 2024 was 47.06

[51:30] million. You add the 2.88 88 million that unassigned increased um this year.

[51:38] And then our ending audited unassigned fund balance for June 30th, 2025 is

[51:45] 49.94 million. And that equates to 42.46%

[51:51] of general fund expenditures. When rating agencies look at the

[51:57] county's fund balance, this is the that's the calculation it looks at as a

[52:02] percentage of expenditures. This is not the only reason, but this is

[52:06] one of the reasons were AAA bond rated with Fitch rating agencies. And then we

[52:12] are one notch lower with Moody's and S&P. Um the unassigned fund balance is

[52:18] what serves as our rainy day fund. if you know we have a hurricane or any

[52:24] other major event um it is also our buffer if there's an economic downturn

[52:31] and it's our funding source if there are opportunities that arise during the year

[52:36] that the board wants to take advantage of.

[52:40] So we're very fortunate, very blessed to have such healthy finances and such a

[52:48] healthy fund balance. Finally, um the the finance department

[52:56] and especially especially me want to express a lot of appreciation and

[53:01] gratitude. Um it is a lot of work to get a completed audit and to get a completed

[53:11] financial statement. Every year the audited financial statements get more

[53:15] and more complex and we have more and more programs and um you know I want to

[53:21] thank the board of commissioners for your continued support and your trust

[53:25] that you place in the county's finance department and I want to thank the

[53:29] county manager, our department heads and their staff for their dedication and

[53:34] submitting their work timely and accurately and everything with an audit.

[53:40] It's just the nature of how it is. It's hurry up and wait. And when they're

[53:46] they're in the middle of a program or a single audit and the the outside

[53:52] departments are really good about pulling the information and submitting

[53:56] it to finance so we can keep moving and try to meet our deadlines. Um it's, you

[54:04] know, it takes a whole team to get a successful um completed audit. I

[54:09] especially want to thank PB Mars and James Sergeant and Robbie Bitner. Robbie

[54:15] Bitner is the partner of the firm. He signs off on our audit. Um it would not

[54:21] be possible to get a completed audited financial statements and get through the

[54:27] whole review process without them. their dedication, their timeliness, and their

[54:32] attention that they provide and assistance to the county is um

[54:37] immeasurable. They don't just express an opinion. They offer advice. They help

[54:44] offer clarification on standards. It only improves and strengthens the

[54:49] financial practices in the reporting of this county. in North Carolina,

[54:54] nationwide, but in North Carolina, there are not enough governmental auditing

[54:59] firms. And this county is very fortunate that right here in Morehead City, in

[55:05] this county, that we have a farm that is capable of doing an audit for a county

[55:12] that's our complex and our size. And I can't say enough nice things and

[55:17] appreciation for them. And I know we went through this fast.

[55:22] I'll be glad to answer any questions. Um, we'll be going as we move in the

[55:27] budget, like I said, we'll be going into more detail, but please feel free to

[55:32] reach out to me with any questions. Um, I'm sure Mr. Bitner and his team will

[55:40] would be happy if there anything they can provide assistance with as well.

[55:46] » Thank you, M. Michel. Any questions?

[55:52] M I I get a lot of questions about the occupancy tax and it being earmarked or

[55:57] restricted for beach reourishment. Could you explain who mandates that? And uh

[56:02] » it's a North Carolina General Assembly. >> North Carolina General Assembly mandates

[56:05] that it is restricted for beach reour. >> It does. It it states how much we levy

[56:10] and 50% of it funds the TDA and then 50% is specific for beach nourishment.

[56:19] » Thank you for that clarification. Beach Reour and advertising. Correct.

[56:23] » TDA. TDA. >> The TDA does the advertising and

[56:26] promotion. >> So with the unrestricted fund balance of

[56:30] about 50 million. >> Yes, sir.

[56:35] » We're in a pretty good position to spend the 20,000 on the respit program

[56:40] » or save money for the taxpayers. >> You could do either one, but we do have

[56:44] to look out for our elderly and our children. So we got to keep that in

[56:48] mind. Thank you, D. Thank you.

[56:58] » Good evening. Come to the uh most riveting part of your meeting this

[57:02] evening. Everybody loves to talk about audit, right?

[57:05] » We have the we have the most exciting uh presentation for you. Jam-packed. Um be

[57:10] about three hours. >> We've got snacks.

[57:15] » Well, uh to start off with again, my name is Robbie Bitner. I'm the audit

[57:18] partner with PB mayors for the audit engagement for the county. Uh I do want

[57:22] to thank the county for allowing us to continue to serve and to uh work with

[57:26] your staff here. I do want to uh give a special shout out to D and her team. Uh

[57:30] she mentions it's a it's a team effort. Uh we pick pry and ask a lot of

[57:35] questions and ask for a lot of documentation. If you saw uh we use a

[57:38] site called Sherink that loads all the documentation up that they have to

[57:42] provide to us in order for us to finish the audit. It's um quite robust.

[57:48] Thousands of documents I would imagine um are in there. So, we do thank you for

[57:53] that. So, uh as auditors, our job is to uh render an opinion as to whether or

[57:59] not your financial statements are fairly presented in accordance with generally

[58:03] accepted accounting principles and or GAP. Uh with that, we can issue four

[58:07] types of opinions. We can issue the adverse, which is exactly what it sounds

[58:11] like. it is the bad opinion, the one that your financial statements are not

[58:14] fairly presented. You can issue a disclaimer, which means that we did not

[58:18] see enough information to render an opinion one way or another. We can issue

[58:22] a qualified opinion and this is where we believe everything is fairly stated in

[58:26] accordance with GAAP except for maybe one or two parts of the financial

[58:31] statements. And the highest level of assurance that we can provide as

[58:34] external auditors is the unmodified or clean opinion, which the county did

[58:39] receive a clean opinion this year. So I want to take a quick step back before we

[58:43] jump into the gas report or the uh yellow book audit report. Um this year

[58:50] the with the government shutdown uh last November uh we had a nice had a nice

[58:56] little delay that came from the federal government. So uh we are not allowed uh

[59:01] to render an opinion in accordance with the single audit act or uh the single

[59:06] audit act and the uniform guidance without their compliance supplement

[59:10] being issued. Well before the the uh the OM did not release the supplement prior

[59:15] to shutting the government down which meant that it was delayed uh by about 43

[59:21] days I believe it was. So with that the uh local government commission did

[59:26] extend the overall audit deadline. So the audit was technically within the

[59:30] audit audit deadline this year. So um just wanted to clarify that item. Um any

[59:37] case, all right. So now back to our internal control and compliance report

[59:41] in in accordance with uh government auditing standards. Uh in addition to

[59:46] our opinion, we issue this report. This is where we identify any uh material

[59:51] compliance violations or material violations of laws, grants, contracts um

[59:56] that we see during the course of our audit. We also identify any significant

[1:00:00] deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal control over the preparation of

[1:00:05] the financial statements. Uh we did have one material weakness to report this

[1:00:10] year as it relates specifically to the opioid fund. And I wanted to make sure

[1:00:14] clarify this. This was the uh about 900 $950,000 worth of revenue was not

[1:00:22] recognized at the fund level, but it has been corrected.

[1:00:28] And let me just mention this, this is a timing issue. So the money was received

[1:00:32] in July. So it was it was correct as a receivable, but under uh the Gazsby

[1:00:37] standards, anything that's received within 90 days is considered available.

[1:00:42] So it is not deferred or listed as a deferral and deferred inflow of out uh

[1:00:48] inflows of resources on the financials. So it was just a timing issue that would

[1:00:52] come through. So there was no no issue with money actually missing or things

[1:00:57] like that. It was just a reporting item. So I just want to make sure it's

[1:01:00] clarified. Also clarify that the amount at the full governmentwide level would

[1:01:06] not be material and there is no effect at the full governmentwide levels as uh

[1:01:11] the revenue is fully recognized as when it becomes receivable at that

[1:01:15] governmentwide level and any questions related to that. All right, moving right

[1:01:22] along. uh we did not have any identified uh non-compliance this year and we did

[1:01:27] not have any other significant deficiencies or material weaknesses as

[1:01:29] it relates to the preparation of the financial statements.

[1:01:33] Uh as I mentioned uh earlier we also audit in accordance with the uniform

[1:01:38] guidance and the single audit act as well as the state single audit

[1:01:41] implementation act. This is where we are rendering our opinion on your compliance

[1:01:46] with uh federal and state grants. Uh whether those grants show up as uh

[1:01:52] significant grants or major grants for major programs uh is dependent upon a

[1:01:57] defined formula in the uniform guidance in the state single order act. Uh we did

[1:02:03] have one finding as it relates to material non-compliance

[1:02:08] uh and a material material weakness in internal control over that compliance as

[1:02:12] it relates specifically to the Medicaid program. I know uh for most of you uh

[1:02:18] each year there has been a material weakness in internal control as it

[1:02:22] relates to the eligibility determination function um for Medicaid. I want to

[1:02:28] point out this is also incredibly complex and so many different programs

[1:02:31] that are out there, but there were some identified

[1:02:35] identified individuals who received benefits that were not eligible. What

[1:02:39] does that mean for the county? It just means that there was determination not

[1:02:43] done and it was reported to the state. If you recall years ago, the direct

[1:02:47] Medicaid benefits are do not flow through the county at all anymore and do

[1:02:52] not show up on the financial statements. So there are no question costs or no

[1:02:55] items of that of that nature. It is strictly an item uh specifically to

[1:03:00] report to the state and then they handle handle it from there. Um

[1:03:06] so that's what we had. We ra specifically to Medicaid. Outside of

[1:03:10] that, all of the other programs that we tested and all of the requirements of

[1:03:13] the Medicaid program, we uh had an unmodified opinion on those as well as

[1:03:19] did not have any other issues related to internal controls.

[1:03:23] for those compliance programs. So,

[1:03:27] moving on from there, now normally you would have a letter from us sitting

[1:03:32] in front of you which we call our AUC260 communication letter. U it is required

[1:03:38] communication to those charged with governance. Um this year in putting in

[1:03:44] uh what we used to create what was called a data input form that the LGC

[1:03:48] released in which case it was just an Excel document that they would that you

[1:03:52] went pulled down from their site. You put in the information that came from

[1:03:55] the audited financial statements. This year they have a new uh website that you

[1:03:59] have to upload all that information into and uh somehow it got missed to give us

[1:04:05] access to this website for the county. So we are waiting currently to gain

[1:04:10] access to be able to provide them the information. Why is that important?

[1:04:14] Because that is where we receive what's called the performance indicators. those

[1:04:18] performance indicators need to go into that required communication letter. So

[1:04:22] that is why you do not have that. So it becomes an appendix to the required

[1:04:28] communications. So uh with that in that communication

[1:04:33] letter uh this is where we report to you any significant findings that we have

[1:04:37] any significant difficulties uh that we would have that we had with management

[1:04:42] if there were any which we did not have any. Um any any unusual items that were

[1:04:47] there and any modifications or changes to uh the audit opinions or what to

[1:04:52] expect. So there were no changes to the audit opinion for the financial

[1:04:57] statements this year. I do want to point out that county did implement uh Gatsby

[1:05:01] statement number 101 related to compensated absences. It would the

[1:05:05] financials were not restated for this. So there was what we would call a

[1:05:09] beginning balance past adjustment in the current year expenses at the government

[1:05:14] level. What is that? Essentially the statement requires

[1:05:19] that if it is material that the financial statements be restated while

[1:05:23] the amount was not material. It was not dimminimous. So therefore, we identified

[1:05:28] that that that uncorrected misstatement that you see in there is just saying

[1:05:33] that the beginning balance of that compensated absences related to the

[1:05:36] sickly is being reflected in the current year expense um on the statement of

[1:05:41] activities has no effect on your fund balance, has no effect on the general

[1:05:45] fund, um the opioid fund or the school bond fund. It is literally just at the

[1:05:50] governmentwide level. So when you look at your financial statements,

[1:05:55] other things to report uh related to that, there are there will be uh one

[1:06:01] performance indicator of concern that requires response from the county and it

[1:06:05] is specifically related to the audit findings, the financial statement

[1:06:09] material weakness as well as the one on uh related to Medicaid. So, that'll be

[1:06:14] something that the county directly responds to the LGC on, which I'm sure

[1:06:17] that D probably already has a draft of the communication to go out. Um, as it

[1:06:23] relates to that, uh, additionally coming down the pipe,

[1:06:27] some few things you need to be aware of. There are several more Gazsby statements

[1:06:30] that have been released, uh, 102 through 105. Uh, there will be a significant

[1:06:36] change next year um, as it relates to your basic

[1:06:40] financial statements. Uh statement number 104 is now requiring your budget

[1:06:45] to actual statement that the LGC currently requires to be as part of your

[1:06:49] basic financial statements. It's going to be required by Gazsby that that

[1:06:53] becomes required supplementary information. Why is that important? The

[1:06:57] required supplementary information is a non- audited section of the financial

[1:07:01] statements. So the statement that is in the front that is the budget to actual

[1:07:06] the for just the general fund that D was going through the different uh pieces of

[1:07:10] it earlier will not be an audited statement. Now that doesn't mean that we

[1:07:14] won't look at the general fund and the budget as it as it relates to budget in

[1:07:19] the audited section of the financials because there's still a more detailed uh

[1:07:24] portion of that statement back in the supplementary information where it is

[1:07:28] broken down more. So the opinion won't state the budgetary comparison for the

[1:07:33] general fund, but it will actually still cover it in the supplementary

[1:07:36] information. There are a few other items that will come through uh some

[1:07:41] clarification items, some different things that will uh clean up what they

[1:07:45] say clean up the uh management's discussion and analysis section of the

[1:07:48] financials as it comes from statement number 104. So it could technically

[1:07:53] shorten it a little bit maybe. We're not really sure there. They haven't released

[1:07:58] a whole lot of guidance specific to it, but we're expecting it to actually

[1:08:02] shorten the MDNA a little bit as it comes through. Um, outside of that, make

[1:08:08] sure I've got everything that I wrote down here.

[1:08:13] That is all I have to report as it relates to the audit. I'm happy to

[1:08:17] answer any questions you have uh about what we did this past year, what our

[1:08:21] process is, or anything. Um, any questions? If I can't answer it, I I'll

[1:08:26] defer and get it back to you. >> Thank you, Robbie. Any questions?

[1:08:34] » Appreciate it. >> Thank you very much.

[1:08:35] » Thank you. >> Okay, now for the main event,

[1:08:41] a public hearing on a proposal to reszone 1.61 acres

[1:08:47] totaling 6.02 02 acres from B3 planned business to R20 single family

[1:08:52] residential to B1 general business property located at 4301 North Carolina

[1:08:58] Highway 24 Newport. Mr. Ben Warren, welcome Ben.

[1:09:03] » Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good evening, commissioners. Uh, for your

[1:09:06] consideration this evening, we do have reasoning case 2025-000065.

[1:09:12] And just to give you a quick overview of the case, planning staff received an

[1:09:16] application from Mr. Joshua Edmonson on behalf of the property owner Julian

[1:09:20] Weekes and it's to resone property at 4301 Highway 24 in Newport. This

[1:09:25] property is formally identified as parcel 6305 0135

[1:09:30] 2311 0000 and consists of approximately 1.61

[1:09:35] acres. The property is currently splitz zoned. It's B3 planned business district

[1:09:40] and R20 single family residential and the applicant is requesting that it be

[1:09:44] reszoned to B1 general business and this property falls within the future land

[1:09:48] use maps limited transition area. Just to take a look at the general area.

[1:09:54] The area surrounding the resoning site consists of primarily single family

[1:09:57] residential with some mixed commercial and in the commercial area consist of

[1:10:02] coastline golf carts, a speedway gas station, Dollar General and Island

[1:10:06] Furniture. And looking at the surrounding zoning,

[1:10:11] there is some existing B1 directly adjacent to the resoning site and across

[1:10:14] Highway 24 with some R20, R15, and B3 in the general area as well.

[1:10:24] As we compare those zoning districts, the current zoning district, the B3 is

[1:10:28] primarily intended for shopping center development with a 30,000 foot minimum

[1:10:32] lot size, the R20 for moderate to low density residential with a 20,000 square

[1:10:38] foot minimum lot size, and the proposed B1 zoning districts primarily intended

[1:10:42] for general business and professional business services. And it has a varying

[1:10:47] minimum lot size between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet depending upon the

[1:10:50] availability of water and sewer.

[1:10:56] As I mentioned, this area is located within the future land use maps limited

[1:10:59] transition area and the proposed resoning is consistent with policies 2.5

[1:11:04] number one and 2.5 number two in the future land use plan and basically those

[1:11:09] policies direct major development of an urban or commercial nature to be cited

[1:11:13] in the limited transition areas. Uh this item was heard at the January

[1:11:19] planning commission meeting. The only speaker from the audience at that

[1:11:22] meeting was the applicant. We did receive one mail-in comment which was in

[1:11:26] favor of the proposed resoning and the planning commission based upon the

[1:11:30] merits of the case voted unanimously to recommend approval of the resoning. So

[1:11:34] that concludes the staff presentation and I'll be happy to answer any

[1:11:36] questions that you might have. >> Any questions of Ben?

[1:11:41] All right, we need to go into public hearing. Is there a motion to go into

[1:11:44] public hearing? >> Motion by Commissioner Shen, seconded by

[1:11:49] Commissioner Wald. All in favor? We are now in public hearing. Is there anyone

[1:11:53] here that would like to speak on this matter?

[1:11:58] » Mr. Chairman, Josh Edmonson, Tidewater Associates, 1069 Cedar Point Boulevard,

[1:12:04] 28584. Uh, appreciate staff presentation. Don't

[1:12:08] don't have much to add other than we just we do think this is consistent with

[1:12:12] the land use plan. Um, and we are very compatible with existing uses adjacent

[1:12:17] to our property. Um, and we are happy to answer I'm happy to answer any questions

[1:12:22] that you may have. So, thank you very much.

[1:12:25] » Thank you. >> Thank you.

[1:12:26] » Any questions of Josh? >> Is there anyone else would like to speak

[1:12:30] on this matter? >> Is there a motion to close public

[1:12:34] hearing? >> Motion by Commissioner Shen, seconded by

[1:12:38] Commissioner Wald. All in favor? >> Motion carries.

[1:12:42] » Mr. Chairman, I'll sit in for Commissioner Mansfield

[1:12:46] and read the >> all the numbers.

[1:12:50] » Make a motion to approve the request to reszone 1.61 acre flag lot portion of

[1:12:56] parcel 63050135231

[1:13:01] 1 0 0 located at 4301 Highway 24 Newport, North Carolina 28570 from B3

[1:13:10] planned business to R20 single family residential district to B1 general

[1:13:16] business district. >> Second.

[1:13:20] » Motion by Commissioner Shen, seconded by Commissioner Clark. All in favor?

[1:13:25] Unanimous. >> Make a motion to approve the statement

[1:13:30] of plan consistency and reasonleness. Reasonableness.

[1:13:35] » Would you like to read that? >> Could you read that? Will you read the

[1:13:40] plan consistency statement or we good enough

[1:13:45] without >> I think it's got to be read.

[1:13:50] » So here we also add a consistency statement. Go ahead and go to the

[1:13:54] podium. And what I would say is um after careful review this resoning is

[1:14:00] completely consistent with the future land use plan. And I'll let you pick up

[1:14:05] anything that I've left off there. Okay. Um, so the proposed zoning is consistent

[1:14:10] with the policies within the future land use plan and reasonable based upon

[1:14:15] consistency with the existing zoning in the surrounding area.

[1:14:19] » Okay. Motion to approve the plan. The consistency by Commissioner Shen,

[1:14:23] seconded by Commissioner Walder. All in favor?

[1:14:28] Unanimous. That's got it.

[1:14:33] Okay. Next, we have a public hearing

[1:14:38] on a proposal to reszone a partial from R15M moderate density residential to B1

[1:14:45] CZ general business conditional use. The parcel is located on the east side of

[1:14:50] Pete Road, approximately 1100 ft north of its intersection with North Carolina

[1:14:54] Highway 24 and is approximately 3.7 acres in size. Ben, take it away again.

[1:15:01] » All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. provide a quick overview of the case. Uh

[1:15:06] staff received an application from Mr. Mr. Billy Rouse on behalf of Rouse

[1:15:10] Safety Tank Incorporated to reszone on the property. Uh it's located on the

[1:15:14] east side of Pete Road about 1100 ft north of its intersection with Highway

[1:15:18] 24. And this property is formally identified as parcel number 6336275

[1:15:25] 080500 and consists of approximately 3.78

[1:15:30] acres. The current zoning is R15M which is moderate density residential and the

[1:15:35] applicant is requesting the B1 conditional zoning and this property

[1:15:39] also falls within the future land use maps limited transition area.

[1:15:44] As we look at the surrounding area, this property is also surrounded by some

[1:15:48] existing single family residential as well as the Ween Oaks manufactured home

[1:15:54] park and some commercial development down along Highway 24 consisting of

[1:15:58] Erin's Grooming, Rear Coins of Raleigh and Ralph's Safety Tank Service.

[1:16:04] The surrounding zoning, we do have that existing B1 that's directly adjacent to

[1:16:07] the parcel as well as some more B1 along Highway 24. Uh the area is predominantly

[1:16:13] uh zoned R15M. However, in comparing the zoning districts, the

[1:16:19] R15M zoning district is primarily established for single family

[1:16:24] residential up to three dwelling units per acre with a minimum lot size between

[1:16:29] 15,000 and 20,000 square feet depending on the availability of water and sewer.

[1:16:34] And the proposed B1 conditional zoning district is a general business district

[1:16:38] for professional and business services. Excuse me. Uh, with this being a

[1:16:44] conditional reser request, the applicant has proposed a series of conditions. The

[1:16:48] first limiting the uses to just a contractor's office, accessory

[1:16:52] buildings, and contractor storage yard. Uh, both the parking and landscaping

[1:16:56] buffering. He's offered his conditions, but neither of those are um inconsistent

[1:17:02] with the existing requirements in the ordinance. So he's proposing that one

[1:17:06] parking square one parking space per 200 square feet of office and one parking

[1:17:11] space per 600 square feet of gross floor area which would result in a total of 10

[1:17:15] parking spaces and he's proposing the 10ft vegetated buffer around the

[1:17:19] perimeter of the property. And then looking at the general site plan you can

[1:17:23] see the hashed area around the perimeter is that 10ft buffer. He's proposing the

[1:17:27] the um the excuse me 5,000 square foot building

[1:17:33] and 10 parking spaces and the pole barn as well.

[1:17:39] As I mentioned, this is located within the future land ma land use maps limited

[1:17:43] transition area and the proposed resoning is consistent with policies in

[1:17:47] the future land use plan specifically policy 2.5 number one and 2.5 number two

[1:17:53] citing urban and commercial development within

[1:17:56] the limited transition area. This item was also heard at the January planning

[1:18:01] commission meeting. The applicant was the only speaker in the audience at that

[1:18:04] meeting as well. We did receive six mailin uh comment forms all in favor of

[1:18:10] proposed resoning and based upon the merits of the case the planning

[1:18:13] commission voted unanimously in favor of the resering request and I'll be happy

[1:18:17] to answer any questions the board may have.

[1:18:19] » Thanks Ben. Any questions for Ben? >> Can you pull the map back up so I can

[1:18:24] get my barons uh show uh the main Pete road coming in? Is

[1:18:32] is this properly on the right? So there's a metal building there. Now

[1:18:35] you're reszoning around that. >> That's actually

[1:18:41] building my property,

[1:18:45] » right?

[1:18:58] » But we're not going to reszone the part where the metal building is now. You

[1:19:02] want to leave that like it is? >> Okay. I just wanted to see what side of

[1:19:08] the road I was uh >> looking at in case I get cornered

[1:19:13] anywhere. Is there a motion to go into public hearing?

[1:19:19] » Motion by Commissioner Waldrip, seconded by Commissioner Clark. All in favor? We

[1:19:23] are now in public hearing. Is there anybody here like to speak

[1:19:28] on this? Hear none. Seeing none, motion to go out

[1:19:32] of public hearing. >> Motion.

[1:19:34] » Motion by Commissioner Moore. >> Second.

[1:19:36] » Seconded by Commissioner Quinn. All in favor?

[1:19:39] » We are now at a public hearing. Commissioner Shin, you did such a good

[1:19:43] job on that other one. Would you like to make a motion?

[1:19:46] » Volunteer twice. But >> Mr. Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion to

[1:19:50] approve or request to reszone parcel 633602750

[1:19:56] 80500 0

[1:19:59] from R15 moderate density residential to B1CZ

[1:20:05] general business conditional zoning. The parcel is located on the east side of

[1:20:09] Pete Road approximately, 1100 ft north of its intersection with highway 24 is

[1:20:15] approximately 3.78 acres in size.

[1:20:22] » Second motion. >> Motion by Commissioner Shen, seconded by

[1:20:25] Commissioner Clark. All in favor?

[1:20:30] » And Ben, would you like to uh reassure us about the plan of consistency?

[1:20:34] » Yes, sir. proposed resoning is consistent with policies in the future

[1:20:39] land use plan and reasonable in light of existing and surrounding uh land uses.

[1:20:43] » Thank you. >> Is there a motion to approve the plan of

[1:20:45] consistency? >> So move.

[1:20:47] » Motion by Commissioner Shen. >> Second.

[1:20:49] » Seconded by Commissioner Quinn. All in favor?

[1:20:52] » Unanimous.

[1:20:56] Okay.

[1:21:04] Next we have another public hearing on proposal to reszone partial

[1:21:08] 63460255236700

[1:21:14] from B1 Marine Business District to B1 general business district. Property is

[1:21:19] located at 966 Highway 24 Newport and is approximately 1.26 acres in size.

[1:21:26] » All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd provide a a general overview. Mr. Jason

[1:21:32] or Jason Arthur Construction on behalf of Meridian Seafood Incorporated

[1:21:36] submitted a resoning application for the property at 966 Highway 24 in Newport.

[1:21:41] This property is formally identified as parcel number 6346255

[1:21:47] 236700 and consists of approximately 1.26

[1:21:52] acres. The current zoning is B2 which is marine business and the applicant is

[1:21:57] requesting it be reszoned to B1 general business. And this property also falls

[1:22:01] within the future land use maps limited transition area.

[1:22:06] And looking at the surrounding area, uh there are single family homes. There's

[1:22:10] also some non-residential uh the Dutch tree manufactured home park

[1:22:14] and some commercial including sound storage and a Dollar General.

[1:22:19] And looking at the surrounding zoning, the area is primarily encompassed in

[1:22:22] existing B1 with some R20 and R15M in the area as well.

[1:22:28] We compare the two zoning districts. The existing B2 zoning district is primarily

[1:22:33] established for marine related businesses and has a varying minimum lot

[1:22:38] size between 10 and 20,000 square feet depending on the availability of public

[1:22:42] water and sewer and proposed V1 zoning district. It's generally intended for

[1:22:47] retailing of merchandise and professional business services and also

[1:22:51] has a varying minimum lot size between 10 and 20,000 square feet depending on

[1:22:55] public water and sewer. As I mentioned, this is located within

[1:23:00] future lane maps limited transition area and this proposed resoning is also

[1:23:05] consistent with policies 2.5 number one and 2.5 number two directing urban and

[1:23:11] commercial development to be situated within the limited transition areas. Uh

[1:23:16] this proposal was heard at the January planning commission meeting as well.

[1:23:19] There were no speakers in the audience at that meeting, but we did receive one

[1:23:23] mail-in comment form which was in favor of the proposed reasoning request and

[1:23:27] the Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval and I'll be happy to

[1:23:31] answer any questions the board may have. >> Any questions? Ben.

[1:23:36] All right. Is there a motion to go into public hearing?

[1:23:42] » Motion by Commissioner Shen, seconded by Commissioner Moore. All in favor? We are

[1:23:46] now in public hearing. Did anyone like to speak on this matter?

[1:23:52] A motion to go out of public hearing? >> So move. Motion by Commissioner Waldrip,

[1:23:57] seconded by Commissioner Moore. All in favor?

[1:24:00] » All right. Chairman, I'd like to make a motion to approve the request to reszone

[1:24:06] partial 634625

[1:24:10] 523 6700 from B2 Marine Business to B1 General

[1:24:17] Business District. parcel is located at 966 North Carolina Highway 24 Newport,

[1:24:23] North Carolina 28570 and consists of approximately 1.26 acres

[1:24:28] in size. >> Second.

[1:24:31] » Motion by Commissioner Clark, seconded by Commissioner Waldrip. All in favor?

[1:24:36] Unanimous. Is there a motion to approve the plan of

[1:24:40] consistency? >> Okay. And the proposed resoning is

[1:24:44] consistent with policies in the future land use plan and reasonable in light of

[1:24:48] existing and surrounding zoning. >> Okay. Motion by Commissioner Clark,

[1:24:53] seconded by Commissioner Wal. All in favor?

[1:24:57] Approved.

[1:25:01] Next, we have the manager's report.

[1:25:06] » Thank you, chairman and commissioners. And I do have a couple of announcements

[1:25:11] for everybody, but first of all um and she's still um out of the room, but I

[1:25:16] just want to recognize D and her team for the extraordinary work they've done

[1:25:21] during the audit. We are so fortunate. Um to have somebody of her caliber

[1:25:29] working for us is tremendous. She's been here for 28 years

[1:25:34] » and >> um Are we freezing to death?

[1:25:37] » I'm kind of cool. I'll talk faster. >> He's hot over here.

[1:25:40] » I also wanted I wanted to recognize another um favorite coworker here at the

[1:25:46] desk, >> Nick.

[1:25:48] » The amazing Nick Wilson. >> And he is amazing. He um just just this

[1:25:54] weekend we found out he's already earned his North Carolina certifi certified

[1:25:59] county clerk designation. >> All right,

[1:26:04] that was fast. That's how it work. So,

[1:26:08] » are we holding back some money on on you till you got the certificate or what?

[1:26:12] » No, not really. >> You do a great job.

[1:26:19] » Okay, a couple more um announcements and I've gotten rid of a few others in in

[1:26:24] the uh interest of time, but early voting very important. It this is

[1:26:29] ongoing. We have three sites open for those of

[1:26:32] you who have not voted yet. Board of Elections Office in Bowfort, Fort

[1:26:36] Benjamin Park in Newport, and Western Park in Seedar Point. The hours are

[1:26:42] weekdays right now from 8 to 7:30 p.m. Our final day of early voting is

[1:26:49] Saturday, February 28th from 8 to 300 p.m. So, it closes earlier on Saturday.

[1:26:56] We have a very strong turnout so far. Don't be the only person who doesn't

[1:27:00] vote. Get out there and vote. We want you to do that. And of course, you can

[1:27:04] always show up on election day, especially if you like waiting in line,

[1:27:08] and that's Tuesday, March 3rd. But we we encourage you if you can go for early

[1:27:13] voting, get this done. Also, um a tax office reminder, our 2026

[1:27:21] individual personal property and business personal property listings. Get

[1:27:26] those done. Um I believe the individual are due February 27th, 2026. And this

[1:27:32] has the same But I think we approved that was going to be later

[1:27:37] » April 15th. That's correct. For for business personal property, these

[1:27:41] listing forms, individual personal property are things like your boat and

[1:27:47] your boat trailer and your jet ski and stuff like that. So that's what you've

[1:27:52] got to put on those listing forms. That is required every year. And we didn't

[1:27:56] make that rule. The state made that rule, but we do abide by it. Um, contact

[1:28:01] information is available on the county website if you have questions. Finally,

[1:28:05] the Coastal Home and Garden Show is coming up and after the snowstorm,

[1:28:10] spring cannot come too quickly, so let's hurry it along. The Coastal Home and

[1:28:15] Garden Show is March 7th and 8th at the Crystal Coast Civic Center in Morhead

[1:28:19] City. And 60 vendors, or over 60 vendors, I should say, are already

[1:28:25] scheduled to showcase home improvement landscaping. And that's all I have for

[1:28:29] tonight. Thank you. >> Thank you.

[1:28:32] » Next, we have appointments. Board of Equalization and Review. Looks

[1:28:38] like they're all reappointment to a one-year term. Allison Burnau, Robert

[1:28:43] Buckley, Lesie Daniels, Amy Lockach, Jeffrey Nelson, and Matt Shortway. All

[1:28:49] in favor of those individuals. Okay. Next is the Juvenile Crime

[1:28:54] Prevention Council. Miss Ruthie Maggie is an appointment to fill a unexpired

[1:29:01] term for a member under 21 years of age. All in favor of Miss Maggie.

[1:29:08] Next is the zoning board of adjustments. Clark Whitlo Jr. appointment to fill a

[1:29:13] three-year term as an alternate seat. All in favor of Mr. Whitlo.

[1:29:19] And I believe that's >> that's it.

[1:29:24] » That's it. Board of Ed Board of Equalization and Review.

[1:29:30] » It's a redundant to the other. >> All right, that's uh all of that.

[1:29:37] So, next we have Commissioner comment. Start with Commissioner Clark.

[1:29:41] » Thank you, Chairman. Um, it's very somber, but a little over two

[1:29:47] weeks ago, our our county experienced an environmental disaster, snow.

[1:29:55] Um, I can't imagine that there exists but a few people on this planet that

[1:29:59] hate snow more than I do. So, it was very traumatic for me. But I would um

[1:30:05] that being said, I want to commend the vast majority of Carter County citizens

[1:30:11] who recognized that this is the south and that this this is the Atlantic coast

[1:30:17] and that there is very little infrastructure for snow removal because

[1:30:21] it's not supposed to snow here. and also for being self-aware that there is no

[1:30:27] shame in not being skilled in driving in snow and ice and had the good sense to

[1:30:33] stay home and out of the way and out of harm's way. And

[1:30:38] I was actually surprised that there weren't more idiots on the road. You

[1:30:44] know, high school kids doing donuts in the snow and that sort of thing. Oh, but

[1:30:51] » he's >> But you know, I take that that

[1:30:53] light-heartedness, but remember I got last is very commendable that the

[1:30:57] majority of u of our citizens recognized to just stay home, you know, and uh

[1:31:04] recognize that we're not we're not geared for this and um and you don't

[1:31:08] have the skills. You're not from the north, most of you, and it's okay to not

[1:31:12] be able to drive in the snow. And um and my wife, she's from a a very snow

[1:31:18] riddled place where it snows like nine months out of the year. And she called

[1:31:22] me a coward and I said, "That's okay, babe. I drove in it when I was a kid

[1:31:26] where I grew up, but I don't drive in it anymore." So, uh I just just on a little

[1:31:30] light-hearted note, appreciate everyone staying home. And comm Chairman, that's

[1:31:35] all I have. >> Thank you, Commissioner Clark.

[1:31:37] Commissioner Shen. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'll be quick

[1:31:39] as well. just to uh reiterate the comments uh Commissioner

[1:31:46] Clark had. Uh I appreciate the staff's all their efforts and and uh an amazing

[1:31:52] undertaking in such an event. Um this hopefully it's another 20 years before

[1:31:58] we have an event like that. But serious enough, it was amazing that there

[1:32:03] weren't more calls for uh emergency service um accidents on the road um and

[1:32:11] just what have you. So appreciate all the staff uh and appreciate the the the

[1:32:16] citizens of Carter County as well, just like he stated, you know, for staying

[1:32:19] home and and using good common sense uh and not creating uh serious issues for

[1:32:26] our our uh emergency responders like our new EM emergency management director,

[1:32:34] Mr. Matias. >> Emergency services.

[1:32:36] » Emergency service. I'm sorry. Thank you for all your guys did. Did did a

[1:32:40] tremendous job through all that and a quick cleanup. I mean, that was a really

[1:32:44] quick cleanup. Partially DOT, but a lot of staff, county staff. So, I appreciate

[1:32:49] all that effort. Um, thanks to D and Mr. Bner's gone now, but for their work on

[1:32:56] on getting the audit out. I know it was late this year. He explained the reason

[1:33:00] for it being late. So, but I appreciate us getting that out as well and I look

[1:33:05] forward to to going through it and seeing what we where we can save next

[1:33:10] year. >> Thanks. That's all I got. Mr. Chairman,

[1:33:12] » thank you, Commissioner Sh. Commissioner Walder.

[1:33:15] » Uh, thank you, Chairman. Uh, happy President's Day and I appreciate all

[1:33:21] those that came and spoke about parks and wrecks. I am so glad that people are

[1:33:26] participating in that um update of the master plan. Uh you've got

[1:33:34] I I don't think I'm speaking out of turn. You've got seven advocates that

[1:33:39] we're waiting to take action as best we can in a very thoughtful and phased

[1:33:44] approach I think is going to have to happen. Um but thank you for being con a

[1:33:50] consistent voice of the children and um it was a great point about economic

[1:33:56] development and uh I completely see that I'm also working on our um our state our

[1:34:03] homes program uh with the department of economic development and a few other

[1:34:10] advocates here in the county. Uh it's with a program from the school of

[1:34:15] government. I'm very proud to be sitting on that. Uh 14 counties out of the out

[1:34:21] of the state have been selected to work on that. We've been we're almost at the

[1:34:25] completion. Um it's a tough nut to crack for Carter County, but you all brought a

[1:34:31] very good perspective from creating a synergy between parks Rex um and all the

[1:34:38] advocates that could benefit from that. So, thank you. Um, and keeping people

[1:34:44] off the street, Dr. Williams, and doing the right thing. Um, emergency services.

[1:34:51] Man, what a tough way to break in day seven, 8, 9, 10. Right. Thank you.

[1:34:59] Thanks. My former chief, now our director. So, thank you. Um, I did my

[1:35:05] part. I stayed off the road, so I feel like I helped. So, there you go.

[1:35:10] um election very important. The synergy of this board is uh something that I

[1:35:16] take um great pride in. We've got seven people that work well together. Uh we

[1:35:22] really like uh how we communicate. We really like how we think and we all have

[1:35:28] our tentacles out in different aspects of this county. Um so when you go out to

[1:35:35] vote um the culture of the board is very important and please take that to heart.

[1:35:42] Uh respit program I am so happy that we've moved out on that and and just to

[1:35:49] maybe put another perspective on the expenditure of money. Those people have

[1:35:54] been waiting and they are taxpayers. They've been waiting for this kind of

[1:35:58] support in our community. So, um, Commissioner Clark, maybe you can just

[1:36:03] kind of believe that there are taxpayers that are going to benefit from that

[1:36:09] 20,000 that we've done. So, um, those people need attention, too. Uh, and and

[1:36:17] there's a lot of, uh, stakeholders in that program beyond just the caregiver.

[1:36:23] And thank you, D, and the finance for the great audit. and all that they do

[1:36:30] year round. And we're happy to go into budget season. It's going to be very

[1:36:34] difficult, but we've got the right people on the on the commission um to do

[1:36:38] the best we can for this county and to move us forward.

[1:36:43] We're all about moving forward. Thank you.

[1:36:47] » Thank you, Commissioner Wald. Commissioner Moore, I'd

[1:36:50] » like to want to u echo things that has been set up on here on the board this

[1:36:55] evening, but I personally want to thank the county employees for this last

[1:36:59] snowstorm working around the clock like they did. Some of them just unbelievable

[1:37:03] amount of work. We had vehicles when it comes to the sheriff's office, the EMS

[1:37:09] stuck on the roads and between our county and their uh state, we were able

[1:37:14] to get things back rolling. You know, a lot of people realize, but when it comes

[1:37:19] to those main uh drags, uh the main areas going through our county, they

[1:37:24] have to be cleaned. It had to be cleaned first, and it takes time. We're not set

[1:37:27] up for a lot of this stuff that that happened, but they did. And uh the state

[1:37:32] helped out and got it got it going. Uh the secretary roads has a lot of calls

[1:37:36] on, but you've got to get the main drags done before we get to that area. And I I

[1:37:41] just want to thank everybody for um for staying off the roads, helping that

[1:37:46] really helps out when it comes to the people that's trying to work on the

[1:37:49] roads and get them get them cleared up. With that being said, again, thank you

[1:37:54] all. Be safe out there and I turn it back over.

[1:37:58] » Thank you, Commissioner Moore, Commissioner Quinn.

[1:38:00] » Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh once again, welcoming our emergency service

[1:38:04] director, Billy Matias. Uh sometimes I say trial by far. You had a trial by

[1:38:08] ice. So, thank you very much for all the hard

[1:38:12] work that you and all the county employees did in order to keep our

[1:38:15] citizens safe during this unprecedented snowstorm. Pelleter in my district

[1:38:20] received 19 and a half inches of snow, which is completely unheard of for our

[1:38:25] area. Um, speaking of Pelleter, I would like to thank my fellow commissioners

[1:38:29] for supporting the resolution asking the DOT to have a look at the Westfire Tower

[1:38:34] and Pelier Loop Road intersection. Uh, thank you to Celeste Karens who took the

[1:38:39] time to meet with myself and a member of the Pelleter Town Council and someone

[1:38:43] I'd like to give a special thanks to, Miss Donna Beerley who spearheaded this

[1:38:48] effort. Uh, this is a a very dangerous intersection. Uh I was at the Pelier

[1:38:52] Town Council meeting last week and we were talking about this resolution and

[1:38:57] Lieutenant Jensen, one of our deputy sheriffs, had set up there uh the prior

[1:39:01] week and on a weekday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. 1 hour, he pulled 26 cars for

[1:39:10] running that stop sign. It is a very dangerous intersection. It needs to be

[1:39:15] addressed as quickly as possible. So, thank you very much to Miss Donna

[1:39:19] Beerley for that. Uh, again, just can't say enough about

[1:39:23] D. Mishaw and all the hard work that she and her crew do in order to um really

[1:39:29] make our county economic system work so smoothly. AAA bond rating is as good as

[1:39:33] you can get. Um, and so that's she needs to be commended as well as her whole

[1:39:37] team. And thank you very much also uh to Dr. Randall Williams and to Director

[1:39:42] Shelley Ashley uh for getting together the Alzheimer and Dementia Respit

[1:39:49] Center. Uh I'm I have been a primary caregiver for my mother who suffers from

[1:39:54] um dementia and it is a very tough task and the ability to have just a few hours

[1:40:02] even if it's just once a week um to to see that they're in safe hands and to

[1:40:07] give the primary caregivers an opportunity to to take care of things

[1:40:10] that they need to do. It's it's it's really quite extraordinary what y'all

[1:40:14] were able to do put together. Um so thank you very very much. And another

[1:40:18] special thank you to Joseph and Smith who came in and gave a very heartfelt uh

[1:40:24] request to this board for this respit center to get started. And so thank you

[1:40:28] very much Miss Smith waiting or listening at home. Um folks come out and

[1:40:33] talked about parks and rack. Uh thank y'all. I've raised two boys here in this

[1:40:37] county soccer little league. Uh every sport you could imagine. they played at

[1:40:42] one time or another. And I completely understand the need for additional

[1:40:45] fields and certainly this uh opportunity to expand our uh expenditures on parks

[1:40:51] and recreation is something that I'm fully behind. We need more parks. Uh we

[1:40:55] need more recreational opportunities for our youth. And so the the county looks

[1:40:59] after everybody, those that are in an emergency situation during an

[1:41:03] unprecedented snowstorm, looking after our elderly members of of our society

[1:41:08] and looking after our kids through parks and recreation. And this is something I

[1:41:11] often say, what does county government do for you? And it's all these wonderful

[1:41:16] uh services that our county provides. And and when I hear people, particularly

[1:41:21] in a public forum, criticize uh the services that a county provides, our

[1:41:26] county provides, it it's it's very hurtful. And and what we can stand it.

[1:41:31] We are the Billy Goats Gruff, if you will, as far as being trolled on social

[1:41:35] media and and media in general. But uh to to insult our teachers, our school

[1:41:42] staff, our emergency services, health department, social services, first

[1:41:47] responders, and law enforcement. Those are the services that our county

[1:41:51] provides on a day-to-day basis, and they need to be celebrated. They need to be

[1:41:54] commended every single day. Thank you'all very much. Mr. Chairman,

[1:42:00] » thank you, Commissioner Quinn. Uh everybody said it all, but I'll say it

[1:42:04] again. And uh I'm glad we are moving forward with the respit care program

[1:42:09] that uh it was my understanding that we were moving in that direction and I

[1:42:14] think going ahead doing it now versus couple months from now don't really make

[1:42:18] a whole lot of difference except getting it done sooner and being able to provide

[1:42:21] that service. So I'm definitely uh thankful for that. The ballparks we

[1:42:26] continue to look for property. If you come up with a piece of property let our

[1:42:31] county manager know. But we are looking to acquire some properties that we can

[1:42:37] have nice facilities similar to what you mentioned in Rocky Mount and

[1:42:41] » Wilson and other other places because it's good clean uh fund and brings a lot

[1:42:46] of uh not only the tourism dollars but the social aspect and the u physical

[1:42:51] aspects of it. So we we are looking so the government wheel doesn't move as

[1:42:56] fast as the private wheel but we're we are moving as fast as possible once we

[1:43:01] identify a piece of property that would be suitable for that. Um

[1:43:07] I want to talk a little bit about the elections but I'm going to going to uh

[1:43:12] save that to the end. uh you know, February 13th about four years ago, we

[1:43:18] had a horrific plane crash and we we honored those young boys and Stephanie

[1:43:23] and Hunter uh with lighting the Koopa up blue uh in remembrance of them. So that

[1:43:30] that was horrific event. Uh Comm Commissioner Moore and myself were there

[1:43:34] during the the recovery. We spent three days in the ocean and

[1:43:40] it still stays with you. So keep those families in your hearts

[1:43:47] for sure. Uh I can't read my own writing now.

[1:43:53] So uh certainly we want to remember those folks. We recently had the

[1:43:57] groundbreaking on the Highway 24 boat ramp. It's going to be one of the

[1:44:01] largest boat ramps in the state. It took four or five years, maybe even longer.

[1:44:07] We we waited for state permits and federal permits and we finally got them

[1:44:11] all. And uh

[1:44:15] pretty soon we're going to be breaking ground on the new health plex in Cedar

[1:44:20] Point. It's going to be a new emergency room, uh doctor's offices,

[1:44:26] uh I'm not sure what else >> CT sc some some testing, some surgery,

[1:44:32] and that's going to be a great addition. And a man having to come all the way

[1:44:35] from Solder Path in an emergency situation, then come back down 24 or go

[1:44:39] to Atlantic Beach and then back to Morehead City. going to cut those

[1:44:43] response time response times probably in half. So, it's going to be a great

[1:44:48] addition uh

[1:44:51] » on the 26th >> to to the area in a heavy heavy

[1:44:53] populated area. So, that's going to be February 26, I think 4:00 in the

[1:44:58] afternoon. Uh but those things just don't come just don't pop up and happen.

[1:45:03] They they take dedication. They take strong people. And before Commissioner

[1:45:08] Clark got on the board and Commissioner Moore and Commissioner Waldrip,

[1:45:13] Commissioner Quinn stepped up, Commissioner Shin stepped up and along

[1:45:17] with Commissioner Farington and Commissioner Mansfield. And there was a

[1:45:21] there was an impass on some boards and some I think

[1:45:26] Commissioner Quinn said it best. Sometimes I don't use the best language,

[1:45:30] but he's always real eloquent. Uh it was a log jam. So he Commissioner Quinn

[1:45:36] helped un undo the log jam. Commissioner Shin Mansfield Farington and and the

[1:45:41] other members here. And that's the reason you're able to have that facility

[1:45:45] today. It's going to be a $50 million facility that

[1:45:50] everybody on this board at the time had to roll up their sleeves and and and

[1:45:54] deal with the hospital board and some people had to change hands and and we're

[1:45:59] able to do that and that's going to be a uh great addition to the western end of

[1:46:03] the county. So, it this job is tough. It does uh not get a whole lot of accolades

[1:46:08] many times, but you have to stay the course and do what's best for the young

[1:46:12] people with the ballparks or the elderly people with a rest center and and all

[1:46:17] the things we do. You know, >> Salvation

[1:46:20] and and De was out the room. I saw you out there taking the auditor to task, so

[1:46:24] I didn't want to interrupt you, but De does an excellent job. AAA bond rating.

[1:46:29] You know, the county is growing by leaps and bounds and we're going to have to

[1:46:34] spend a little money I'm as tight as the next guy. Almost as tight as

[1:46:38] Commissioner Clark, but not quite. But but I'm I'm a tight guy. I want I want

[1:46:42] the best deal. But at some point, we got to spend some money on some ballparks,

[1:46:46] some tennis courts, some things for our kids. We got to spend some money on our

[1:46:51] elderly people. We also have to spend some money on our county employees. We

[1:46:55] recently did a very nice raise for them, but we're going to have to do that

[1:46:59] again. And and obviously, we want to be as conservative as possible. I think the

[1:47:04] voters recognize that we're a conservative board and

[1:47:08] so far we've been reelected, but it's uh you know it it takes a lot of money to

[1:47:14] go around all these programs and DE does a great job of keeping a large piggy

[1:47:18] bank, but last time we had a severe hurricane, it took the federal

[1:47:23] government four or five years to reimburse us. So, if we'd had two

[1:47:27] hurricanes back to back, we have to be in a strong uh financial position. So,

[1:47:33] we can't just throw all the money out there to everybody that comes in here

[1:47:36] and ask for it. We do try to help everybody we can, but we we have to be

[1:47:39] conservative. Well, there there is some good uh things at the top of the list,

[1:47:45] including the ball fields, the respit care, and and our employees that that I

[1:47:49] think this board is going to be working on in the upcoming year or so. I think

[1:47:54] that's all I had. And you haven't lived Kimer until you

[1:47:58] cut donuts down east during the snowstorm. So I don't know how you guys

[1:48:01] did it up north, but down here we have a good time when it snows and uh everybody

[1:48:06] has fun. So if there's anything nothing further to come before the board, I'll

[1:48:10] entertain a motion to adjurnn. Make a motion.

[1:48:13] » Commissioner Moore made the motion. Commissioner Walp second it. All in

[1:48:16] favor? I. >> Thank you all for coming.

Board of Commissioners Meeting | February 16, 2026 (Full Meeting)

Transcript