[0:00] for the Alageney County Board of
Commissioners. At this time, please
[0:04] stand and join us in the pledge of
>> allegiance
[0:10] to the flag of the United States of
America and to the republic for which it
[0:15] stands, one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice
[0:21] for all. Thank you.
[0:30] All right. On the agenda tonight, we do
have a couple of changes under general
[0:35] business. Um, we're going to drop item
five
[0:40] for information under the for action
section.
[0:44] We're going to be dropping item three
and adding an item 11 for Melissa
[0:53] Recctor Alagany motion. So with those
changes, I'll entertain a motion to
[0:59] approve the agenda.
>> I'll make a motion to approve.
[1:04] » Second.
>> Got a motion, a second. Any discussion?
[1:09] All right. All in favor? Show hands. 40.
Agenda is approved.
[1:15] All right. In your packets, you have
minutes from the 8:17 meeting. That's
[1:22] pages three through nine. Trust that
everyone's had a chance to review those.
[1:27] And at this time, we'll take a motion to
approve the minutes from the 8:17
[1:31] meeting.
>> I make a motion to approve minutes from
[1:34] 8:17
meeting.
[1:37] » Second.
>> Got a motion and a second. Any
[1:39] discussion?
All right. All in favor? Show of hands.
[1:44] 4.
Okay.
[1:49] [clears throat] At this time, we're
going to open the floor up for public
[1:52] comments.
Anybody in the public that would like to
[1:56] make comments, please come forward at
this time. State your name for the
[2:00] audience.
[2:05] Seeing no movement, we'll move ahead to
presentations to the board. Uh, Jennifer
[2:11] Green, App Healthcare
Communicable Disease Report.
[2:20] [clears throat]
[cough]
[2:23] » Good evening. Thank you for
[2:30] » Red is on.
>> Okay, perfect. Thank you.
[2:34] » Good. Um, thank you all for having us.
Um, I'm here
[2:40] Gonzalez is here to do our uh report on
diseases. It's not always the most fun
[2:48] topic, but it's one we try to update you
on um every so often so that you can see
[2:54] what's happening in Alageney County and
um remind you the work that we do um for
[2:59] [clears throat] public health. So um I'm
going to pass her the microphone and and
[3:03] stand aside here.
Hi everyone, my name is Karina Martinez
[3:08] Gonzalez. I'm the director of
epidemiology communical disease and
[3:11] preparedness throughout healthcare. Next
slide.
[3:15] Um so today I'm going to be going over
the communical disease burden incidence
[3:18] rate. So how much of a disease is in the
community relative to the population,
[3:23] what the local disease landscape looks
like here, including diseases that are
[3:27] spread by food and water to diseases and
increased outbreaks of preventable
[3:32] diseases. And then we'll talk about
emerging trends and what we've been up
[3:35] to with partner collaboration. Next
slide. So this is the communicable
[3:39] disease burden by county. So these are
the total number of cases
[3:43] [clears throat and cough] that we see
across our district that we serve with
[3:46] Alagany in the the blue right there. So
in Alagany in 2025 there were 59
[3:52] confirmed communical disease cases for
the year. Next slide.
[3:58] So for each of these cases that we see
we [clears throat] investigate seven
[4:02] more cases. So we have quite a few
number of cases that come in front of us
[4:05] to be investigated. And this number
here, the 51.8 is the incidence rate of
[4:12] communicable diseases in Alageney County
per 10,000 residents. So that's um
[4:17] adjusted to the size of the population.
So for every 10,000 residents, there are
[4:22] 40 or 51.8 communicable disease cases,
which is a pretty standard communicable
[4:28] disease rate across the state as
compared [clears throat and cough] to
[4:30] other counties. Next slide.
So [snorts] this here is the data
[4:35] specific to Alageney County by quarter.
Um so you can see here that some of the
[4:40] diseases that we look at areas. So
things like tickborn diseases are in the
[4:45] the green colors and you can see that
those increase in summer months of
[4:48] course. And then you have entic diseases
which are diseases that are spread
[4:52] through food and water. Those are in the
the shades of red at the bottom there on
[4:56] the graph. And then sexually transmitted
infections like chlamydia and gorrhea
[5:01] are in the shades of purple at the top.
Um as you can see this year we've had a
[5:06] pretty significant tick tick year with
Lyme disease rates being pretty high. Um
[5:10] and we've also had a really high interic
disease year. So those are diseases that
[5:15] are spread by food and water. So things
like campleacter and salmonila and those
[5:19] kind of things which are in the red
color. Um but you can see the history of
[5:23] how Lyme disease has increased over the
years here. Um and as the tick landscape
[5:28] has changed um so has the interic
disease landscape. Next slide.
[5:35] So recently there have been some things
that have been um developing in the
[5:40] global landscape that do have local
impacts. So um I'm sure you all have
[5:44] heard of Ebola virus. There's a strain
of it called bundio virus which is
[5:49] currently having an outbreak in
Democratic Republic of the Congo. and um
[5:54] it's become the most deadly outbreak
that they have seen of Ebola virus. Um
[5:58] it's relevant because a couple counties
over we have the home of Samaritan's
[6:03] Purse which is one of the the aid
organizations that's working at the
[6:08] Ebola treatment units. So we see folks
come back from volunteering abroad who
[6:14] have come into contact with people Ebola
with Ebola. And so one of the things
[6:18] that we do is monitoring those folks and
seeing if they develop symptoms and
[6:22] making sure that they know the proper
channels to go through so that we're not
[6:26] um putting other first responders and
folks at risk in that process. Um and
[6:31] then in the the last slide that we
looked at there were the the bread cases
[6:36] the entic disease cases. So those that
spread through food and water and this
[6:40] summer across the state we saw an
increase in those of cycllosporasis
[6:44] which was linked to a big outbreak of
things like lettuce and parsley and
[6:48] cilantro and all of those um those
things that aren't cooked before being
[6:52] served. And so um we did hear see an
increase in cycllosporasis cases similar
[6:59] to what we saw at the whole broader
state level. Next slide.
[7:09] Oh, the other direction.
Oh, the
[7:16] there we go.
Um so in terms of what we've been doing
[7:20] about communicable diseases and to on
the prevention side of things, we've
[7:24] been doing outreach on um Ebola virus
and other viral hemorrhagic fevers with
[7:31] partners just to make sure that
everybody is aware of their role, making
[7:34] sure that we all have our policies up to
date and all of that. We've been doing a
[7:37] lot of tickorn disease education at
health fair. So our community health
[7:40] team has been going out and teaching
kids about tick prevention and all of
[7:44] that. And then in our other counties,
we've seen an increase in a lechiosis,
[7:48] which is another tickborn disease. Um,
and so we've been doing work
[7:51] [clears throat] with providers to make
sure that they're aware of that and are
[7:54] testing for that in their tick panels.
And then, um, so with communicable
[8:00] diseases that are reportable, it does
take a lift on local healthcare
[8:03] providers. And so in order to lessen
that lift, we've been working to get
[8:08] access to electronic medical records so
that reporting to us is easier. so that
[8:12] folks just need to tell us and not send
us over all the records [snorts]
[8:15] and then we can use the electronic
medical record to get all the
[8:18] information that we need to decrease the
lift on those provers's offices. And
[8:22] then um we've been doing outbreak
mitigation collaboration. So that looks
[8:26] a lot of different ways, but um with an
increase in measles [clears throat] in
[8:31] the state over the past couple of years,
um we we border South Carolina of course
[8:37] and they had a pretty significant
measles outbreak that we saw um spread
[8:41] out into North Carolina. And um in order
to make sure that we are prepared
[8:46] locally, one of the things that we did
was fit test the local school nurses
[8:49] here to make sure that they're prepared
and they're not putting themselves at
[8:52] risk if they were to come into contact
with somebody who hadn't been vaccinated
[8:57] or um who was symptomatic and
potentially infectious with measles. Um
[9:03] so that's everything I have, but that's
kind of the the summary of what we've
[9:07] been working on up.
Talk about goats. Oh yes. Um,
[9:12] [clears throat] the other thing that has
been even more recent than all of this
[9:15] is, um, over a couple weeks ago, there
came to light that there was a farm that
[9:21] had, um, some baby goats, kids that they
were taking around in a mobile petting
[9:26] zoo that had developed symptoms of
rabies. They tested them and they did
[9:30] come back positive for rabies. And so,
um, what we have been doing is
[9:36] identifying the families of folks that
have been exposed and doing the the risk
[9:40] assessment to see if they need to
receive rabies postexposure prophylaxis
[9:44] because, as I'm sure you know, rabies is
almost always fatal, but it's also
[9:48] preventable. And so, we've been
identifying who needs the postexposure
[9:51] prophylaxis and administering that
vaccine. you know, we had four folks in
[9:55] Ash County um who were exposed and then
um around 47 in Wata County who were
[10:02] exposed who ended up needing that
postexposure prophylaxis which we've
[10:05] been administering at the health
department in order to decrease costs
[10:08] for individuals um so they don't have to
pay for ER visits every time that they
[10:12] need one of those vaccines in the
series. [cough and clears throat]
[10:20] » Any questions?
>> Yeah. Um, when you encounter an animal,
[10:26] a wild animal out
not acting the way that he should be
[10:31] acting, you know, especially like the
skunk, uh, [clears throat]
[10:35] raccoons nowadays and coyotes.
If you kill one of these animals, what
[10:41] should you [clears throat] contact the
health department, the local vet? How do
[10:46] you, if you suspect something that's
wrong? I would contact animal control.
[10:52] They're the ones who do the the
processing for testing for us. They're
[10:56] uh most likely to test if it's if it
influences whether somebody needs to get
[11:02] the postexposure prophylaxis because if
you [snorts] have like a skunk like you
[11:06] said that has [clears throat and cough]
someone then if you can determine that
[11:10] that skunk wasn't rapid then the person
doesn't need to get all the the rabies
[11:14] shots in the series for postexposure
prophylaxis. Um, so in those situations,
[11:19] they're more likely to test, but um, it
is always a good idea to [clears throat]
[11:22] call because sometimes they'll want to
test even if there isn't human
[11:26] involvement um, [clears throat] if they
are seeing a trend in in suspicious
[11:30] activity in animals.
>> Yeah. And I'll just add a local vet is a
[11:35] good um, a veterinarian is a is a good
resource. Unfortunately, I think that's
[11:40] one of the things that broke down in
this mobile petting zoo, you know, um,
[11:44] that did not happen soon enough. Um,
consulting a local vet if you have pets
[11:49] that may have been exposed to um, a
potentially rabid animal or wild animal
[11:54] is always a good idea. They may need a
book of physical
[11:57] [clears throat and cough] disting to
consult with the vet to see if they need
[12:00] evaluation. Um, because if they start,
you know, um, showing symptoms or even
[12:05] before they do, um, sometimes you you
want to monitor for symptoms really
[12:10] carefully if they've been exposed like
what happened with the the goats in this
[12:14] case. So, you said we should contact
[clears throat] our local animal
[12:20] control.
[12:23] I'm I'm not sure that that's in our
policy. It may be. Uh we're going to
[12:29] review our animal control policy, but we
need to be sure that that's your
[12:36] recommendation
that it's in there.
[12:39] » We'd be happy to work with you all on
how we how we've been managing that. Um
[12:45] what we want to do is have the right
level of response that doesn't um I
[12:50] think Karina mentioned um we know that
the typical species that carry a lot of
[12:56] rabies but what we want to do is focus
on where we have risk right if there's
[13:02] someone who's been exposed or someone
that might have a farm that's had their
[13:06] animals exposed that's when you want to
do a test um for for rabies which um you
[13:13] requires euthanizing an animal um to
test because their brain has to be
[13:18] tested. So um it's something you want to
take on carefully and I think um David
[13:23] may want to comment more when I cut you
off. I just wanted to add
[13:27] [cough and clears throat]
willing to continue working with you all
[13:30] as needed to try to coordinate that.
>> Yes. So, so animal control will come out
[13:36] and and take care of the um suspected
animals who have the possibility of uh
[13:43] rabies, especially if it is bitten
someone. Now, if it has bitten someone,
[13:49] the state will normally pay for having
that test done. Now, just because an
[13:55] animal is acting strange doesn't
necessarily mean that they have rabies,
[14:00] but it's like Jennifer said that if
there has been [clears throat] a
[14:04] succession of several different animals
and they want to try to do a trend, the
[14:08] state may pay for that um
testing to be done, but not always. So
[14:15] just because you think that an animal's
not acting right and just want it tested
[14:18] just because um they won't always the
state won't always pay for that testing
[14:24] that that falls back on the person who
is requesting that to be done. So the
[14:29] public needs to understand that that the
state will not pay for every single one.
[14:33] And if you do um euthanize an animal
that has bitten someone make sure that
[14:39] you do not shoot them in the head. Uh if
you shoot them in the head, then that
[14:42] does away with the possibility of us
being able to have them tested because
[14:46] as Jennifer said, the brain is the part
that needs to be tested to see if that
[14:51] animal is raid. So, um animal control
does do that. We do go and and we will
[14:57] kill the animal. We will dispatch the
animal, euthanize it in a humane way,
[15:02] and then we'll we'll send it off. We
take it to the local vet. The vet
[15:06] prepares the the the head for uh
testing. it's done and and put into a
[15:12] coal storage and then it's sent to the
lab. So, um that is part of animal
[15:17] control part that if it is if it is
rabid or possibly rabid and it has
[15:22] bitten someone.
>> Thank you.
[15:26] » Yeah, good questions.
>> Best not to pet something that you just
[15:30] leave it alone. You know, mama's advice
still holds true.
[15:36] » Anybody else?
Thank you for your time. [clears throat]
[15:40] » We appreciate it.
>> Thanks.
[15:44] [snorts]
[15:46] » All right, moving down to general
business for information.
[15:51] Rachel Refe and DSS request for approval
to establish a statuary case review.
[16:01] » How you doing?
>> Good. How are you all
[16:02] » doing?
[snorts] My name is Rachel Brown and I
[16:05] am the adult protective services
supervisor at AligsSS. Um we are coming
[16:10] before you today in regards to our adult
multi-disiplinary cases.
[16:14] [clears throat and cough]
This is a team that we have within our
[16:17] agency that consists of a group of
professionals that are involved with the
[16:21] adult population together with a
commitment of working towards a common
[16:25] goal of protecting the adults within our
community. This team typically meets
[16:30] quarterly [clears throat] to identify
ways to respond to and prevent abuse,
[16:34] neglect, and exploitation
um for the disabled adults within our
[16:39] county. Members are able to share
information, resources, identify gaps
[16:45] and deficiencies, and problem solve in
order to best serve the adults within
[16:50] our county. At this time, there are
three different types of teams that
[16:55] meet. Um there's systematic and limited
case review which is currently what we
[17:02] are what our team operates under. Um the
systematic review addresses gaps in in
[17:08] services or deficiencies within our
county. Um and the limited case review
[17:13] is just limited information that we are
able to share about some cases but again
[17:19] it's very limited due to confidentiality
reasons and things like that. Um so we
[17:25] are actually coming before you today
[clears throat] to request permission to
[17:29] do the statutory case reviews within our
team. Um and this is so that members can
[17:35] discuss very specific information on
open cases that we have and enable in
[17:41] being able to do such the different
community members that we have will be
[17:45] able to share specific information or
adults that they might be serving or um
[17:51] other resources that they have so that
we can talk more openly and better
[17:57] identify the gaps and deficiencies and
the needs of the specific adults that we
[18:02] are working. Um, this is also something
that we're requested in part
[18:07] [clears throat and cough] with School of
Government as this um, system or the
[18:12] statutory case review was something that
was just approved um, back in October of
[18:17] 2025. I think that this would be super
helpful for our small county because we
[18:21] are so small and so many of our agencies
all work together, but that way that we
[18:26] can share all of this information um and
just really better best serve the adults
[18:31] within our community.
[18:36] » Anybody have any questions? Who who all
is on that team? Just just
[18:40] [clears throat] social service employees
or people in the community?
[18:43] » Yes, sir. It's different agencies within
our community who are involved with
[18:47] adults. So it might be like law
enforcement um specifically you know the
[18:51] ED and the sheriff's office um is the
council on aging. We invite different um
[18:57] branches of banks. Um we also have
invited people like the clerk of court
[19:02] um different attorneys who were involved
with the adults that we serve. Um it's
[19:07] also people like Alagany in Motion, um
the different facilities that are here,
[19:12] the landings, Lotus Village, um just
anybody like any agencies that are
[19:17] specifically involved, the health
department, the hospital that are
[19:21] involved with the adults that we serve
or and it's also a really good
[19:24] opportunity for people to say, "Hey, I
have a concern about an adult." And we
[19:29] can kind of talk that through and what
that looks like that the different
[19:32] agencies in the community can
specifically help with as well. So, so
[19:36] it's not just individuals from the
community on it.
[19:38] » No, it's it's representation from
different agencies.
[19:42] » Do you have representation from ADAP or
the group homes?
[19:46] » Um,
I believe so, but we do send out like an
[19:51] email thread of of people that we do
invite.
[19:54] » Okay.
>> Um, and we can always add to that list
[19:56] too as they are people that we work with
as well.
[20:02] » Okay. So, we have uh your request under
for information. We'll take this up at
[20:08] our next meeting later this month.
>> Thank you. We appreciate it.
[20:13] [clears throat]
[20:18] » All right. Lisa Ashley, Octo [snorts]
October 19th board meeting.
[20:22] » So, the meeting for October 19th needs
to be moved because of early voting. So,
[20:28] we can have that at 90 South Main.
[20:35] I think that's what we did in the past.
We moved back up there.
[20:39] » Yes.
[20:43] » So, that's just an FYI.
>> Yeah. That's just for information that
[20:47] that's where we'll move.
>> That's where we'll move. Yes.
[20:52] » All right. We'll take that up for action
at the next meeting. Um, moving right
[20:57] along to law enforcement surplus vehicle
sales.
[21:01] » So, they have two vehicles that they um
confiscated years ago, and they're going
[21:07] to be putting those up on gov deals for
sale.
[21:11] It's a 2004 GMC pickup and a 2006 Dodge
Ram truck with the flatbed.
[21:19] And they've chosen Gov deals.
[21:24] That's just so you know, the first one
was a 2004 GMC pickup.
[21:40] [snorts]
[clears throat]
[21:44] And so we'll just need a resolution to
declare it surplus property at our next
[21:49] meeting.
>> I think it already has been
[21:54] Is that how it works? I'm not sure.
>> Yeah, I guess we just put it out for bid
[21:58] at the next meeting.
>> Well, they're going to put it on the
[22:02] auction site.
>> They're going to put it on the auction
[22:04] site and they wanted Yeah.
>> Okay.
[22:07] » So, so we we'll take that up.
>> It's just for your information.
[22:11] » Yeah. No. Where's this auction site at?
You're just
[22:13] » It's gov deals.
>> GoDeals.com through the state.
[22:16] » Yeah. Okay.
>> Yeah.
[22:19] » Okay. I think [clears throat] I think
there's no issue with that as long as we
[22:22] have like a like a working link on our
uh social media so folks can see that.
[22:28] Um
all right, Aaron Ray Thompkins for the
[22:32] fairgrounds.
>> Let me ask one more question.
[22:35] » Oh, sorry. Why don't we take all our
county vehicles and put on that?
[22:38] » I mean, we can
>> I mean,
[22:41] » we can there's a fee associated with
that, I'm pretty sure.
[22:44] » I mean, we're going to reach out a lot
further anyway.
[22:46] » Exactly.
Yes, we can certainly look into
[22:48] » I mean this could be our test program.
>> Yeah, this I mean it be something to
[22:52] look into still to just
>> Yeah, definitely.
[22:55] » Everybody ain't going to see the sign
out front when they drive by.
[22:57] » Exactly. Or the website.
>> Yeah.
[23:03] » How you doing?
>> I'm good. How are you?
[23:04] » Doing good, man. Thanks.
>> Um so this is for information and
[23:08] actually I had visited with Mr. Sheffley
and David Spicer in regards to this. Um
[23:13] but we wanted to make you all aware. um
of some conditions and things that are
[23:18] actually impacting the fair grounds. Um
and I don't know that I'm necessarily
[23:24] have a specific request that I'm asking
tonight. Um it's more offormational so
[23:29] that way you all know um the condition
and some things that we've had to work
[23:33] with and going to be working through. Um
so if you look this is pictures of the
[23:38] fairgrounds back [snorts]
um which would be in May um which is
[23:43] before the first event there. Um there's
two main pictures so you can at least
[23:47] see the condition that that the track
was left in um after our first event.
[23:52] Then due to mother nature and some other
events um I will credit that because it
[23:58] was a rainy season throughout the
summer. Um here are pictures from the
[24:03] first event before the second event
actually happened going into
[24:10] the second event. Um, and this actually
caused a drain to be clogged and it's
[24:14] can still clog that we're trying to get
unclogged. Um, and then moving into the
[24:20] third event. Um, so the condition that
was left um, after the three events
[24:26] three weeks in a row. Um, however, we've
had to have one of our fairgrounds board
[24:30] members go in and drain [snorts] this
um, to where it was bad enough. at one
[24:36] point he just about got the bulldozer
stuck that was out there um and has had
[24:40] to bring in an excavator. Um and this
was after um the a board had spent
[24:47] almost $10,000 last year making
improvements to that. Um part of the
[24:52] issues is over time there was a tractor
trailer load and a half of sawdust
[24:57] brought in and dumped in that area to
absorb some of the water but wasn't
[25:01] removed. Um and so he has now got it to
where it's draining better. Um hopefully
[25:08] we'll have the drain cleared out this
week um after meeting with him again
[25:11] this morning. Um but more or less just
wanted to let you all aware that this is
[25:16] something that the fairgrounds board has
been discussing and visiting weekly with
[25:20] the rec department. Um and there's some
recommendations that's going to be
[25:24] coming forward to to hopefully try to
correct that um to prevent this in the
[25:28] future. Um but the thing is is we can't
have people think that this is okay the
[25:32] way to to leave that at the end is the
biggest thing. So it's it's not that I
[25:37] have a specific request today other than
just providing you all information.
[25:41] » So the people's having an events are not
leaving it the way they found it in
[25:44] other words.
>> Right.
[25:47] » Do you have a set contractor that's
supposed to
[25:50] resurface that area or are they allowed
to use whoever they want or what's your
[25:54] what's your framework? they can use
whoever they want as far as a
[25:58] contractor. And that's one of the things
that that I think we wanted to look at
[26:01] very heavily. Um is you can use whoever
you want to build your your track, your
[26:06] pit, whatever you want, [clears throat]
but we have one set person that's
[26:10] contracted to clean it up afterwards and
it's going to cost they more or less
[26:14] have to pay that at the beginning of the
event um to have that established and
[26:18] then that way we have it properly
drained which would have prevented some
[26:22] of this here. I'm not say it's all
because there was a lot of rain over
[26:25] that period of time and when there was
three events back to back to back you
[26:30] couldn't get the event fixed from the
first one to get everything straightened
[26:34] up to the second one to then the third
>> th this is going to continue to happen
[26:40] when you have an outside event. I mean,
you know, we were dry in the s in the
[26:47] early spring, but thank goodness we had
those rains to help, but I mean, this is
[26:53] something every time it's used, you
know, there's going to be an issue about
[26:58] getting it back the way that it was. And
I think part of it is just them
[27:03] understanding that even if it takes them
a week, two weeks, three weeks, whatever
[27:08] it takes, that some of that expense may
be split of among multiple event
[27:13] holders.
>> What are you
[27:18] th
>> What are you looking at getting this
[27:20] back to normal? How much money?
>> 8 to $10,000.
[27:25] » And you gonna have to have it done
before the fair?
[27:28] » It will have to be before the next
event. It's just We're fortunate that we
[27:32] have a board member that's has been
willing to do this work at this point to
[27:36] to try to correct it.
>> So that's that's why.
[27:40] » So it's just for information but
awareness, but you know trying to figure
[27:44] out I know that I had visited with with
both of y'all and um that way you had a
[27:48] better understanding of what we were
working with. So
[27:51] » do you plan to assess the the users an
equal share of that fee? So that's what
[28:00] we had proposed initially and sort of
brought to the table with them and um
[28:04] and had because the recreation
department is the department that
[28:07] handles that um we had let them sort of
discuss that at this point but that's
[28:13] something that we'll have to have some
further conversations even though we had
[28:18] approached that to begin with.
>> Okay. Well, it it's our largest outdoor
[28:25] uh facility
and if you notice the crowds that you've
[28:29] drawn this year Oh, yeah.
>> They've been unbelievable.
[28:33] » So, we need to do whatever we need to do
to keep that facility open, some more
[28:40] more people will start using it.
>> Exactly. And that's what we're trying to
[28:43] prevent because what we don't want to
have happen is somebody that rented the
[28:46] facility come in and stop using it
because of getting it in this shape. You
[28:53] know what I'm saying? Because if
somebody would have been in the shape of
[28:55] having to fix it from from this last one
other than the a board itself. Um so
[29:01] that's where we are on that. It's it's
trying to create it the usability for as
[29:06] many individuals as possible.
>> Yeah. and good when when somebody talks
[29:11] about they had a good experience here
then another people may start using it
[29:17] but if they go back and say it was
nothing but a mud hole they're not going
[29:21] to be that anxious to come back.
>> No. And I think if we have one person as
[29:27] you would ask um Harrison fix it every
time I think that will help especially
[29:32] with some of the drainage because as you
see here this is not going to drain is
[29:36] the biggest issue that we're trying to
correct.
[29:38] » Are we hauling that sawdust off
somewhere or just piling it up out
[29:41] there?
>> Um so the last event last two events
[29:45] didn't do anything with it and left it
in the track.
[29:47] » Um so they've had to pile it up. They've
had to pile it up to be able to start
[29:51] working on it. Um, and that's one thing
that I think is going to have to be
[29:55] required. Um, is if that's brought in,
it's got to be removed. Um, because when
[30:00] you're looking at two tractor trailer
loads of sawdust brought in this year,
[30:04] um, part of it was dumped in other
places, but that doesn't necessarily
[30:07] help us long term.
>> Mr. Shley,
[30:11] » yes, Erin Ray, we appreciate all you do
with the with in all the fields,
[30:15] different fields that you're involved.
Um, is there a a set fee that these
[30:21] users of the park have to have to pay if
they don't um do what needs to be done
[30:27] when they when they leave?
>> Um, there is a deposit, but there's
[30:30] nothing there's some rewarding that
needs to happen in that contract. Okay.
[30:35] um a after we have reviewed that um and
feel like we need to to explore that
[30:39] some more and have that in place for the
next season because at this point we're
[30:43] already too far in this season to change
anything unfortunately um and this is
[30:47] something that we will have to work
towards and have it in place to to work
[30:51] for next year. The other question I have
is uh in your in the planning between
[30:57] the uh the fairgrounds and the
recreation department
[31:01] when you get in these situations, what
was the plan on how to remedy it? What
[31:06] would be the way that it got got fixed?
>> If nobody if if one of the vendors came
[31:11] in and just didn't do anything when they
were done,
[31:14] » right? And that's one of the things that
[clears throat] we want to try to to
[31:16] improve and have that if we had one
person that that more or less cleans
[31:20] that up at the end and that's already
those funds are already secured before
[31:23] the event.
>> I think that will be much easier.
[31:26] » Okay.
So you're suggesting as part of the
[31:30] application process or or built you
build it into the fee structure to where
[31:35] there's already a cleanup fee or deposit
involved right off the bat. Okay.
[31:40] Is there a specific action that you need
from the board before the a fair?
[31:45] » No. To get this done
>> at this point? No, because we have to
[31:48] It's more of a I hate to say it, but
it's more of afterthought because we had
[31:52] already signed a $20,000 contract um
just with the pull. So, some of those
[31:57] things have to be in place no matter
what, even the the time frame. And we
[32:02] just wanted to make you all more aware
at this point than anything else. Um and
[32:07] there will be some follow-up
discussions. Um but we also have time to
[32:11] work towards.
>> Anybody else?
[32:15] » Thank you, sir.
[32:23] » All right, we've dropped item five.
We'll move to Heather Klein, our county
[32:28] attorney. Okay. So, I recently had a
conversation with uh Trey Fusher who's
[32:35] with the state and we've worked with him
for several years now um in regards to
[32:42] grants that we have against our
properties. Um there are multiple grants
[32:46] that we have and we worked with him in
regards to the pool um trying to get the
[32:55] pool declared
um basically unusable and that we can't
[33:00] do anything with it. It's a lot more
complicated than we thought it was going
[33:04] to be in order to make that happen. Um
it's called obsolete uh in regards to
[33:10] the the grants that we have. But we have
state grants and we have federal grants.
[33:15] Um a lot of our grants are on Sam Brown
Mountain um property, but we have other
[33:20] ones, Veterans Park. Um and then I think
we have one on um Davis Field um which
[33:27] is part of Sam Brown. Um, so in our
conversations, um, we we've discussed
[33:35] trading out properties with the school
system, uh, for some of our ball fields
[33:39] and some other things so we can get
additional grants. And we've done some
[33:43] surveying. We've, um, talked to the
school about what potentially we could
[33:48] do um, also in regards to their barn
that is on the Sam Brown property. And
[33:55] so I went back to uh Trey and said,
"Hey, this is what we were thinking
[34:00] about doing."
And Trey said, "Well, it's a little more
[34:04] complicated than we just thought about
trading out where we would have to have
[34:08] a survey and we would have to have an
appraisal of the properties that we were
[34:11] going to trade to make it even so that
we [snorts] could take a grant off of a
[34:17] property and then add it to one that we
might obtain so that the school might be
[34:21] able to have property that didn't have a
grant on it." Um, I think that's in
[34:25] violation of our grants to the county.
So, um, unfortunately, Trey said, "Well,
[34:31] it's not as easy as, um, as we might
think." He said, "Because a couple of
[34:36] the properties that we're asking to swap
out have a federal component to them,
[34:43] not just a state component." And because
they have the federal um he said that we
[34:50] would have to get approval from the
state to begin with, but then we would
[34:53] have to go through the federal process.
And he said the federal process is very
[34:57] long. Um, so it's something that we we
probably should get together and maybe
[35:04] even do a work session on or something
um to talk about all the properties that
[35:09] we have grants on, what portions of
those properties we might be thinking
[35:13] about trading out and get a handle on
what do we have surveys on and what do
[35:19] we have appraisals on, what might we
need to do in order to, you know, get a
[35:24] proposal together to send to Trey. Um he
did send me an application
[35:31] um and some requirements in a sheet that
said what we needed to do. It it's going
[35:37] to be complicated. Um we thought that it
wasn't going to be as as hard to
[35:43] accomplish and all that we had to do was
some surveying and some appraisals. Um,
[35:49] but that was I don't know maybe the
explanation coming from the state was a
[35:53] little bit inadequate and Trey is
correcting us letting us know it's going
[35:58] to be much more lengthy and difficult.
He said the state approval is pretty
[36:02] easy. That's not really the big issue.
Um, it's dealing with the federal
[36:06] government to get a release of property
that might be under one of the grants
[36:11] that was approved through uh the federal
government. That is the hard part. Um,
[36:17] so one of the other things that I wanted
to mention that I did get a copy of um,
[36:23] a while back from him, uh, one of the
grants that we have, uh, it's called the
[36:28] Sam Brown, um, park ball field. That one
does expire December 25th of 2027.
[36:37] And we have the Duncan Recreation Center
renovations grant. Um, that one expires
[36:43] 2034.
And we have the Sparta Parkway Park and
[36:48] that expires in March of 2040.
So the federal grants are permanent. Um
[36:56] I don't know of any of them that expire.
So the state grants are the ones that
[36:59] might expire. Um federals are permanent.
So which is why we have to go through
[37:04] the state to get a release and then go
to the federal government to get a
[37:08] release. So those were just three, but
those were state ones that we have. and
[37:13] some portions of our property might
include some of those grants and then a
[37:18] part of the federal. So, so not as easy
as we think and it's maybe a multi-year
[37:23] process,
unfortunately.
[37:27] » Certainly not what we wanted to hear.
>> No.
[37:31] » Would you be open to to doing a work
session around the the first of Octo the
[37:35] first week of October?
Yeah, depending on everybody's schedule,
[37:39] I think we need to look at the
properties and the grants.
[37:43] » I think we have a a preliminary work
schedule for the animal control.
[37:51] This would be, you know, used to we
could do two things at one time. and uh
[37:59] the Duncan Recreation, the swimming pool
is the main one, but also the barn that
[38:06] is on the county property. And like you
said before, the county is liable if
[38:14] somebody gets hurt at that barn. And you
know, those are the ones we've been
[38:19] trying to work on for four, five, six
years now.
[38:24] » Yeah. We have more than that too because
the tennis courts are also um an issue
[38:29] for us because they were transferred to
the school system in 2019 and that's not
[38:35] allowable under the grants. So
we have a lot of issues to work through
[38:40] and and Trey did say that that we're not
under any scrutiny at this point because
[38:45] we're trying to work towards a solution
for several of our grants and the issues
[38:50] we have with the properties. So, we're
not under any timeline. We're not under
[38:55] a crunch. Um, we recognize there's some
issues that we have to take care of.
[38:59] It's just going to take a while.
>> Well, you mentioned about the swimming
[39:05] pool being somebody has to say it's not
usable or is that our our inspection
[39:12] department? Is that a who who does that?
>> So, we've already been through that
[39:17] process. Um, we declared it obsolete.
Uh, we had a public hearing. Uh, we did
[39:25] ran a notice in the paper. Um, we did
send that to the state, send it to Trey.
[39:30] Um, but the state rejected it and we
need to work with Trey in order to go
[39:37] either potentially back through that
process. It's just another one on our
[39:42] list because they understood what the
problem was, but I don't know if they
[39:48] want us to present it differently. I
don't know if they want to trade
[39:52] property. I I'm I wasn't really clear on
why they rejected it. Um, but that's
[39:58] something we're going to have to work
with Trey on again to go through that
[40:01] process and maybe do it slightly
differently in order to get it declared
[40:06] obsolete. Well, there was something in
the grant about an earthquake.
[40:12] You know, that was one of the reasons
that it couldn't be used and that was
[40:17] highly affected by the earthquake.
>> I know. But they rejected
[40:23] our request to declare it obsolete. And
it's just something we're going to have
[40:27] to work on and maybe maybe have more in
our in our request. Um I wasn't very um
[40:34] clear on why they rejected it. Like they
didn't send a letter saying we're not
[40:38] going to give it. It just was Trey
calling me to say they've they've
[40:42] rejected it and then we're going to have
to work on it.
[40:46] » That That's the government [laughter]
>> question.
[40:52] Chairman, um so do we know how many
federal grants we have that's tied to
[40:57] that? Trey has told me um
I these are the state one two three four
[41:06] there's five five state
I think there were two or three federal
[41:14] and I have copies of all of them they're
they're lengthy um and a lot of them are
[41:19] old they're not new uh grants that we've
received from the federal government the
[41:25] the state grants are the newer ones um
Hardiff and um LWCF, but the the federal
[41:32] grants are the older ones that were
received
[41:36] probably 40 maybe even 50 years ago. So
they're the ones that once they were
[41:41] attached to the property, they it made
it permanent.
[41:44] » And one of those grants, if I may, one
of those grants was just for $68,000
[41:53] that we got from the feds that we had to
match. So that's $68,000 [laughter]
[42:00] stretched out over 30 or 40 years
>> permanent.
[42:04] » Yeah.
>> Yeah. You're [snorts]
[42:07] » and now to change the use of that
property, you have to go through the
[42:11] state to recognize that you need to
change based on the state grant that we
[42:15] have, but then you have to then go to
the federal government to get a release
[42:20] even for an acre of property that you're
talking about potentially switching or a
[42:25] couple acres. it the size doesn't
matter. It's the fact that it's under a
[42:29] grant and that's that's the issue.
>> So, I mean, this is a good lesson that
[42:34] people always say, well, apply for a
grant, get a grant,
[42:38] » you've got to read the fine print in
that grant. It may look good on the
[42:44] surface, but just like you've got five
or six or seven problems here,
[42:51] » not all of them are a problem, but
because we want to do some maneuvering
[42:55] with the property in order to get a
better recreational use for the
[42:59] community um and the public, that's
where we've run into the complication
[43:04] because it's not easy to make that
change. Definitely it's not easy to
[43:08] switch the property out of our names and
we've done that one time and we weren't
[43:13] legally allowed to do that. So, and I
think it probably is because there's no
[43:20] until recently within the last five
years, we didn't know all of the grants
[43:24] that we had. We didn't have a
centralized place that we could look to
[43:28] say, oh, we have these grants on these
properties. And I I think that that is a
[43:32] bit of a problem and we probably need to
put something on public record to
[43:36] recognize the properties and the grants
that are associated with each of them so
[43:41] that we don't have to worry where's that
paperwork.
[43:45] It's on public record that we have a
grant on a specific property or
[43:49] multiples. And then that way anybody
that would come after us, it's on public
[43:54] record. You could just do a search for
the county and you could find that
[43:57] information.
Any
[44:02] other questions?
>> Do we have a preliminary date set for a
[44:07] work session at this point in time?
Okay. Um maybe we can get everybody on
[44:14] the same page at some point this week or
next and start looking at everybody's
[44:18] availability for the first or second
week of October. Um hopefully 30 days
[44:22] will be enough time to give every give
everybody time to do the research they
[44:26] need to have a productive work session.
Um, all right. Uh, last on the list for
[44:34] general business information is our tax
administrator, Rita Miller.
[44:42] [cough and clears throat]
[snorts]
[44:44] » Good evening.
>> Candace is going to hand out to each of
[44:47] you. Um, thank you for listening to our
update.
[44:52] » Thank you. Mr. Shley had asked me to
provide the board with a legislative
[44:57] update. Um, so tonight I'm presenting
this brief on major property tax bills
[45:03] that were introduced during the 2026
session of the North Carolina General
[45:08] Assembly. As you know, rising property
values across the state have driven some
[45:14] intense legislative interest in property
tax reform, more than I've ever seen in
[45:19] my career. Um the handout she gave you
outlines just a few of those bills, but
[45:24] tonight I'm going to focus on three of
those bills. After talking with u my
[45:29] counterparts with the assessors
association, we have we have a
[45:33] legislative committee that's part of the
North Carolina Assessors Association.
[45:38] And so I've talked with them and they
agree that these three are the most
[45:43] prominent at this time. So session law
2026-5
[45:49] is the proposed constitutional amendment
and this will appear on the November
[45:54] 2026 ballot. If approved by the voters,
it will grant the general assembly
[45:59] authority to enact laws limiting the
amount of which the levy on property tax
[46:05] may increase which may include
exceptions.
[46:10] and the current language, the way it's
was written is not specific on how those
[46:15] future tax caps can be implemented. Um,
it does signal a profound shift in the
[46:21] authority, shifting the authority from
the local boards to the state level on
[46:27] how your property taxes can be spent.
Um, as on a fiscal outlook, [snorts] of
[46:33] course, property tax in Alagany is our
primary source of revenue.
[46:38] um and state imposed limits could result
in um local budget stability and flex
[46:44] flexibility.
And
[46:48] interestingly enough, late this
afternoon, Chris Mclofflin with the
[46:52] School of Government sent out um a a
blog and it's the the law blogs. I don't
[46:57] know if you saw it yet or not, but I
just I'll read you just a little bit of
[47:01] what he had put in his um publication
today. So he says the proposed amendment
[47:08] grants the general assembly discretion
to decide what type of limit on property
[47:13] tax increases it wishes to adopt.
Presumably the general assembly could
[47:18] satisfy the proposed amendment by
adopting a limit on appraised values.
[47:24] For an example, Florida limits the
increase in tax appraisals for primary
[47:29] residents to 3%.
Or they could adopt something on
[47:33] [snorts] tax rates. Um the example he
gave that was South Carolina limits the
[47:39] increase in local tax rates to the
percentage increase in population plus
[47:44] inflation. That sounds easy to do that
or the total tax levy for example New
[47:51] York limits the increase in [snorts]
local property tax levies to 2%.
[47:57] Overall, the general assembly would
attain retain the discretion as to the
[48:02] timing of any prop property tax
limitations. It could do it immediately
[48:07] or it could do it not not at all. It
would be up to them. So, and then this
[48:13] is actually something I I did not
realize until the this came today. said,
[48:18] he says, "Remember that a constitutional
amendment is not required for the
[48:22] general assembly to enact limits on
local property taxes. It already has the
[48:28] authority to enact tax limits because
our state constitution contains no
[48:34] language which prohibits such
legislation.
[48:39] So that's that. basically um if it's on
the ballot for the state to enact
[48:46] something and we just don't know what
that thing is yet.
[48:50] So the next one is Senate Bill 349. It's
the elderly or disabled property tax
[48:56] exclusion. Um this is one bill that is
fully endorsed by the North Carolina
[49:02] Association of Assessing Officers. This
bill seeks to increase the income
[49:07] eligibility thresholds for elderly and
disabled property owners. It also does
[49:13] away with a deferred tax um caveat in
the circuit breaker [snorts] exclusion.
[49:20] Circuit breaker exclusion has not been
very popular through the state. There
[49:24] are very few counties who have residents
who have taken advantage of that. We
[49:28] don't have any in Alageney [snorts]
that have done that because of that
[49:33] deferred tax. it basically defers the
tax to your parents. So, we've not had
[49:38] any property owners that that wanted to
um do that. Um just for the board and
[49:44] for the citizens information, and this
is a program that Candace is over, the
[49:50] elderly and disabled income limit for
2027 is 39,900.
[49:56] The circuit breaker [laughter] is
59,850.
[49:59] So, as you can see, in today's time, 399
is is pretty low for a household. So, I
[50:06] I fully agree that those limits need to
be raised so that we can get more of our
[50:11] vulnerable demographic enrolled in some
of these programs.
[50:15] So, what this bill would do, it would
expand tax relief to our vulnerable
[50:20] demographics. It would require
additional public outreach on the tax
[50:25] office's part, on the board's part, and
it would increase some of the processing
[50:30] within the tax office. Um, but if it
gives relief to some of our more
[50:35] vulnerable citizens, then, you know,
we're we're all willing to do that.
[50:41] The last one I wanted to point out
that's getting a lot of discussion is
[50:45] Senate Bill 992 called Truth and
Taxation. This bill mandates strict
[50:51] transparency protocols whenever a local
governing body intends to adopt a tax
[50:56] rate exceeding the revenue neutral tax
rate in a reappraisal year, which you
[51:02] know 2027 next year is our reappraisal
year. Local governments would be legally
[51:08] required to publish their intent to
exceed the revenue neutral tax rate by
[51:14] local newspapers or government websites
and individual direct mail notifications
[51:20] to all county property owners. So while
this bill is [snorts] designed to
[51:25] increase public transparency,
the I guess the one opposition us as tax
[51:31] folks have is that mandatory direct mail
notification. Postage is one of my
[51:38] biggest line items. It's very expensive.
Um, so this bill the way it's written
[51:44] now, the county would be responsible for
notifying all the county property
[51:49] owners, but we are also the way it's
written responsible for also notifying
[51:54] all the municipal property owners. So
it's kind of a double whammy for the
[51:59] county, but for those listening that
don't know what a revenue neutral tax
[52:03] rate is, I wanted to explain that. So
that is the tax rate that we estimate to
[52:10] produce the same revenue for the next
fiscal year as the current fiscal year
[52:15] adjusted for growth as if no reappraisal
had occurred. So basically that's saying
[52:21] when we start the budget process next
year we're going to know hopefully what
[52:25] our new values are. Hopefully we're done
with board of VNR and all the hearings
[52:29] and all that. So we know the value we're
looking at. So we've got to estimate
[52:34] what the tax rate would be using those
known values to come up with the same
[52:39] levy we had this year. So it's kind of a
difficult process. Um but that that is
[52:46] what revenue neutral means and that's
only in the year you do a re a reappra.
[52:50] [snorts]
So, in closing, I I just want to let you
[52:56] know that as your tax collector, I fully
understand the financial burden that
[53:00] rising property taxes places on our
citizens. [snorts] I support any measure
[53:05] to promote fair and equitable taxes. I
fully support an increase in thresholds
[53:11] for the elderly and disabled property
tax exclusion and expansion of the
[53:16] disabled veterans property tax
exclusion. I didn't cover any of those
[53:20] tonight. There are several of those out
there. There's not any one that's kind
[53:24] of in the lead, so to speak, right now
for [clears throat] for veterans.
[53:30] But as a member of the county budget
committee, I have to kind of put on
[53:33] another hat because I also have to look
at the reality of these changes. If the
[53:38] constitutional amendment passes in
November, the resulting limits could
[53:42] constrain our local budget, [snorts]
potentially impacting our ability to
[53:47] fund county services. So, they're two
different hats. I have to put on with
[53:51] with this this particular amendment. But
my office will continue to closely
[53:57] monitor these legislative developments
and keep this board informed as policies
[54:01] take taken force and take shape. Mr.
Sheffley forwards me things he gets um
[54:07] through the North Carolina Association
of County Commissioners. I know y'all
[54:11] watch here that website. It's full of
good information on all of these bills.
[54:15] And then um every Monday at 3 o'clock I
have an assessor's um Zoom call where we
[54:22] discuss all of this, what's happening in
the legislation this week. What do they
[54:26] think's gaining ground? What's not? So
we will try our best to keep everybody
[54:31] informed. Like I said, property tax has
got the most attention right now that
[54:36] I've ever seen. I'd be glad to answer
any questions that I can't answer. And
[54:41] if you have questions later, just
contact me.
[54:45] All right, Mr. Owen has a question,
please.
[54:48] » In I guess state bill 128
143,
[54:54] it mentions that disabled veteran, but
then [snorts] you go down to 228
[55:00] and it says veterans disability rating.
>> But the first two, 128, 143 doesn't give
[55:09] a rating. So if you're 10% or 90%.
>> So none of those bills have passed.
[55:18] They've all been introduced.
There are many bills. This is just a few
[55:22] of the ones that [snorts] are
introduced, but there are a lot um about
[55:27] veterans and providing property tax
relief for veterans. That's just a few
[55:31] of the the language in different bills.
Now, which one gains momentum and gets
[55:36] passed, you know, that's not for me to
say, but that's just language and some
[55:40] of the different bills that have been um
put before the
[55:44] » So, not all of them depend on your
rating of your disability.
[55:50] » That's just that. Okay. That's just
language and that one bill. And for you
[55:56] to verify it, do you go through the
veteran service officer or how do you
[56:02] verify a veteran gets a a rating or gets
a discount? So right now the only the
[56:10] only law on the books about veterans is
the veterans exemption and it states
[56:16] they have to be 100% totally service
related disabled and that is a a form or
[56:24] application that the veteran service
officer has to sign. They're the one who
[56:28] has to verify that information and
[snorts] then he signs off on it and we
[56:33] process that application.
>> Okay. Thank you.
[56:36] » You're very welcome. Anybody
[clears throat]
[56:38] else?
>> Thanks.
[56:40] » Um, yes. Uh, Mr. Chairman, um, this
county is very lucky to have Rita in the
[56:46] role that she's in and she's extremely
knowledgeable and I would, you know, I
[56:51] would put her up against any any person
that has her role in the state of North
[56:56] Carolina that I've interacted with.
She's proactive, you know, thinking
[57:00] ahead. um she's absorbed the information
that they're sending to me at from
[57:06] [snorts] NCAACC
and has looked into it and and
[57:11] participates in
activities that bond together her with
[57:16] the other people that have the same role
that she has so that we can be as
[57:21] prepared as possible for the future. The
worst thing that could happen,
[57:25] I guess it depends on how you look at at
government. So it might be, you know,
[57:30] you could argue it on either side, but
if you had, let's say that they said uh
[57:35] no increase in your total revenue from
one year to the next, then you would
[57:41] every year you would lose at least the
inflationary gap. You know, you would
[57:46] lose at least three or 4% of your of
your buying power with the same amount
[57:50] of money. So you would have to logically
continually cut. Now, if they included
[57:56] like I think you mentioned that uh a
couple of the places have like an
[58:00] inflationary
increase recommended
[58:05] » 3% or something something along those
lines. If you were in that 3 to 4%
[58:10] range, you could stay pretty much even
and keep up with the inflationary costs,
[58:15] particularly with things happening with
gas and and that sort of thing. is, you
[58:19] know, we do have some elements of what
we do that are affected by the use of
[58:24] gas. Um, so it's something that
everyone's looking at. And you know,
[58:30] it's hard to argue against to the
citizens about saying, listen, we're
[58:34] going to limit the amount that you're
taxed. You just have to think about what
[58:38] happens on the other end of that and
make sure you're prepared for both sides
[58:43] of that. you know that the fact that
you'll you could have to cut services
[58:47] down the line. We're prepared to do
whatever the the people want. Uh but
[58:52] it's just important to understand the
overall picture.
[58:57] » And I do try to pay very close
attention. We're a small county. We're
[59:01] not a wealthy county. We we don't have,
you know, dollars to just go here and
[59:07] there. So, I do try to pay very close
attention [snorts] the legislature and
[59:11] what's going on. And we get when when
they're in session, it's daily that we
[59:16] get requests. Tell us what this would do
to your overall tax base. Tell us what
[59:21] this would do. How much money would you
lose if this law got passed? So, it's a
[59:25] daily thing that you're you're running
reports and sending down to my
[59:30] association's legislative [snorts]
group. So, we do I do pay close
[59:34] attention.
>> Mr. Did you have some?
[59:38] » No, I don't. I just They don't want to
hear from me what I think about the
[59:41] state
>> taking our control, but it's all good. I
[59:46] think
glass half full tight deal. Um, we did
[59:51] get a have a visit from a representative
uh last week I think and
[59:58] he he doesn't have answers like what
specifically is going to be in the
[1:00:03] writing even if the constitution
[clears throat]
[1:00:05] [snorts] amendment is put in which is I
think is so stupid like why you why is
[1:00:11] the they coming up with these why are
they coming up with these new ideas of
[1:00:17] laws I do not understand he explained
that what the problem is. There is some
[1:00:22] areas that are getting running rampant
about how they tax people. So, I get
[1:00:27] that. But he also pointed out that his
group of counties all does a great job
[1:00:33] of that. And he was always wondering
like why, you know, we're going to put
[1:00:38] this on the backs of the smaller
counties that does a good job on our tax
[1:00:42] rates and just so we can get the other
stuff which is collateral damage really.
[1:00:48] But my question is
the common sense part of it is we deal
[1:00:54] with strung out budget stuff from the
state takes them forever to pass a
[1:01:00] budget but they can spin off a hundred
different laws that creates problems in
[1:01:05] county. So I I don't have a lot of
things but it it is what it is. But I
[1:01:11] really believe that
uh when it first they started I actually
[1:01:16] we went down and visited them at the
legislature um building on the
[1:01:21] legislature days and did talk to Mr.
Picket a little bit about that and he
[1:01:25] really felt like that once they got into
this that they would be some um but
[1:01:32] there's no promise of that. There's no
guarantee that that there would be some
[1:01:35] great, you know, some things uh for the
smaller [snorts] uh lesser tax base
[1:01:40] areas that would have a little bit more
playroom than than some of the other
[1:01:45] things. But there's still no writing in
there to say that specifically. So,
[1:01:49] we're all just waiting, I guess. But I
guess my first thing is
[1:01:57] I mean I'm not campaigning about it, but
say no with the with the with the uh the
[1:02:04] uh constitution amendment. I mean you
the state does not need any more power
[1:02:10] than they have. I mean, um, you know, I
I think they tie our hands a lot from
[1:02:17] counties and it's harder for us, as you
say, because we're a to some degree a
[1:02:22] poor county that doesn't have a very
large tax base and everything that they
[1:02:27] do really hurts us. So, you know, if
they want to go play with all those
[1:02:32] other counties, fine, but leave us
alone. That's what I say. Well, there's
[1:02:35] a lot of people in this county here, you
know, thinks the county's got too much
[1:02:39] control. Not only the state
address some of the taxpayers
[1:02:44] is, you know, barely making it. That's
all I got.
[1:02:49] Maybe they need to send Rita to the
general legislator, let her straighten
[1:02:54] them out. [snorts]
She's a walking encyclopedia on taxes.
[1:02:59] You're welcome to come up any August and
there are people who really struggle.
[1:03:05] » Exactly.
>> And you know it it weighs heavily on us.
[1:03:09] » So I'm for
fair and equitable but
[1:03:15] we want to know what the rules are
before we start the game.
[1:03:18] » Yeah.
[1:03:21] Thank you for your time. We appreciate
it.
[1:03:26] » All right. That concludes general
business for information. Uh at this
[1:03:32] time it's 7:04 p.m. I'm going to call 5m
minute recess before we move into full
[1:03:37] action.
[1:03:40] We'll reconvene at 710.
>> Text
[1:03:49] said
good.
[1:03:56] » [snorts]
[1:04:08] » We was just getting going good.
[1:10:46] All right, we're going to call the
meeting back to order
[1:10:50] and [snorts] start on our general
business for action section. And we're
[1:10:53] going to start with Miley Delt, admin
education coordinator for Alagany Soil
[1:10:58] and Water.
>> Now, which one's going to talk? It'll be
[1:11:03] him today. Good evening everybody. Um,
last time I was here, I came to you
[1:11:08] asking for approval for an out of state
conference. Um, it's the SECDA meeting.
[1:11:13] Educators come from all over the
Southeast to go over um their programs
[1:11:18] and things that can make it better. So,
in previous years that we've done this,
[1:11:22] we actually got the book barn idea,
which is in every school now. Um, and
[1:11:26] then we've put different a books into
the book barns. So, I'm just asking for
[1:11:30] approval to go to that this year.
>> I'd make a motion to approve. We've done
[1:11:35] this in the past.
>> Second.
[1:11:38] » Got a motion in a second. Any
discussion?
[1:11:41] » All right. Show of hands in favor.
[clears throat]
[1:11:44] » 40.
You're good to go.
[1:11:47] » Thank y'all.
>> Thank you.
[1:11:53] » All right. [snorts] Aaron Ray, you're up
again. board member change for the egg
[1:11:58] board.
>> All right. Good afternoon. So, I have a
[1:12:00] different hat on this time at the
podium. Um, and this is coming as far as
[1:12:04] uh from the extension office and the
Alagany egg board. Um, so this request
[1:12:08] will actually be
>> [snorts]
[1:12:10] » um something that we had brought to you
last time as far as Stacy Barker to
[1:12:15] finish out the term of Maggie Osborne.
So,
[1:12:18] » I'll make a motion to approve.
>> Second.
[1:12:21] » A motion and a second. Any discussion?
All in favor? Show hands. 40.
[1:12:27] » Thank you very much.
>> Thank you, sir.
[1:12:33] We have dropped item three.
Next, we'll move to Lisa Ashley for
[1:12:40] approval of the fuel contract.
So you have in front of you the uh
[1:12:45] contracts that were not contracts but
the the bids that were submitted
[1:12:52] and
you can see on those uh one vendor did
[1:12:58] not submit a bid for certain items and
one vendor submitted for everything.
[1:13:09] So, I just ask uh you guys to approve
who you want the contract to go to.
[1:13:19] [clears throat]
[1:13:21] [cough]
>> Any discussion from admin?
[1:13:25] » I'm going to make a motion go with every
one the one vendor is going to do it
[1:13:29] all. Less headaches.
>> We have a motion on the floor.
[1:13:34] » Second.
>> And a second. Any discussion?
[1:13:38] All right. All in favor show I hand.
4 Z for Hometown Oil.
[1:13:46] [cough]
[1:13:50] All right, David Spicer, fire contracts.
So, as you all know, um we've been
[1:13:57] working on this fire contract for quite
some time now. Um we have met with the
[1:14:03] fire chiefs and some of the board
members uh to get some insight on things
[1:14:10] that they wanted to change. So we have
come up with the correct wording as of
[1:14:16] uh now um with the fire contract. They
have all come forward and I think
[1:14:22] they're all good with that then now. So
then that went back to Heather and uh
[1:14:27] Heather reviewed that and we had to
change just a couple of things, but
[1:14:32] there were some things that we
absolutely had to leave in there. So we
[1:14:37] had to do those things. U but right now
this is the finished product. So this is
[1:14:42] ready for you all's approval tonight and
then we'll send it out and start getting
[1:14:47] them signed.
>> So the chiefs have reviewed this
[1:14:51] version.
>> Yes.
[1:14:52] » Okay. All right. At this time, we'll
entertain a motion.
[1:14:56] » I make a motion that we u approve the CO
fair approval for the fair contract.
[1:15:07] » Second.
>> All right. Got a motion, a second. Any
[1:15:09] discussion?
>> And I'm assuming that Heather's been
[1:15:13] through it front to back, back to front.
All right. All in favor, show hands. 4.
[1:15:22] » Thank you.
April H
[1:15:27] fire tax funds.
>> Okay, just have a couple of things from
[1:15:32] finance. The first one is a budget
amendment to pay out the fire tax funds,
[1:15:35] the additional funds received and that
should be for fiscal year 2526.
[1:15:42] Um I used a template so under revenues
it says fiscal year 23 24 but it is
[1:15:47] 2526.
[1:15:52] So this is from last year.
>> Yes. This is additional revenue that
[1:15:57] came in last year for the fire
departments. We wait on all the
[1:16:01] collections to be done upstairs and
reconciliation. Then it comes downstairs
[1:16:06] and these will actually be paid out this
week.
[1:16:09] » I got another question about the fire.
How's Glade Creek doing on coming up
[1:16:13] here making us look at their books?
>> Uh they're actually emailing them to me
[1:16:18] and I have them tonight if you want to
see them. There's there's everything's
[1:16:21] fine. I mean, no dollar lease month on
the house or here.
[1:16:27] » It's been insurance, fuel, and propane.
>> That's all I got.
[1:16:34] » I make a motion to approve the budget
amendment, a fair tax fund 2526
[1:16:41] year.
>> Second.
[1:16:43] » All right. Got a motion and a second.
Any discussion? All in favor? A show of
[1:16:48] hands 4.
All right, moving along to DSS.
[1:16:54] » Okay, the next one is a line item
transfer for DSS just for $200 and this
[1:16:58] is for last year also.
>> I'll make a motion to approve. Second
[1:17:05] motion and a second. Any [clears throat]
discussion?
[1:17:08] All in favor show hands. 4.
That's approved.
[1:17:14] And the final line item transfer for
recreation.
[1:17:18] » Yeah. And it's actually a budget
amendment for recreation. They received
[1:17:22] uh some sponsorship money to help with
uniform cost. So we just need to receive
[1:17:27] that revenue and budget that so they can
spend that on the uniforms.
[1:17:33] » Motion to approve. Second. Motion a
second. Any discussion? All in favor
[1:17:39] show hands. 4.
[clears throat]
[1:17:43] » Thank you. All right. Thank you. That'll
wrap that part up. Miss Ber for human
[1:17:48] resources. Okay. DSS.
>> Good evening. My first request this
[1:17:54] afternoon is for a one time approval for
a service credit enhancement. And that
[1:17:59] would be for $1,300 per five years of
service for a sole
[1:18:04] for a social worker applicant with
almost 13 years of experience. DSS is
[1:18:10] currently down onethird of their social
workers. So, this would benefit the
[1:18:14] department. Um, it would allow them to
bring somebody that in that's already
[1:18:18] trained and ready to go. And they do
have the funding availability in their
[1:18:23] project.
[1:18:26] » Make a motion to approve.
[clears throat]
[1:18:28] » Second.
>> Any discussion?
[1:18:32] All in favor? Show hands.
4.
[1:18:38] » All right. You're up again. All right.
Next, I'm requesting approval for an
[1:18:43] income maintenance administrator 1. This
is a new position for DSS and the
[1:18:48] starting salary be 53,465
[1:18:53] dollars. They're not requesting any
additional staff. They're just wanting
[1:18:56] to restructure their income maintenance
unit. And the job description is in your
[1:19:02] packets and it has been approved by the
state.
[1:19:06] » Make a motion to approve.
>> Second. I got a motion in a second. Um,
[1:19:10] one bit of discussion is is there a
minimum and maximum set for this
[1:19:16] position yet?
>> Yes, it would fall under the pay grade
[1:19:19] of 72.
>> 72. Can you remind me what that what the
[1:19:24] max is on that one?
>> Um, I will have to I don't have it right
[1:19:27] here. Okay.
>> That's all right.
[1:19:31] All in favor show hands
for it.
[1:19:36] » Thank you.
[1:19:41] And our last item 11, Melissa recctor
for Alagany and motion. Oh, Mr. Shepley.
[1:19:49] » One second. Um, I just wanted to say
that, um, I wanted to, uh, tell Stacy
[1:19:54] that we appreciate the work that she did
together with Tiffany and a little bit
[1:19:59] of my myself in included, uh, in order
to work out some of these things are
[1:20:04] much more complex than they appear on
the surface. And the key is to be able
[1:20:09] to get the resources to these folks that
are some of the heroes in the county.
[1:20:13] And I I appreciate the way that you
dealt with this
[1:20:18] » [snorts]
[1:20:24] » Come on. How you doing?
>> I'm fine.
[1:20:27] » Good.
>> So, I'm here for a public hearing and to
[1:20:34] take action on this FY28
grants, the 5311, 5310.
[1:20:48] Do we need to do a public hearing?
>> We did everything.
[1:20:52] » Yeah, it's just
>> All right. So, we'll entertain a motion
[1:20:56] to approve.
>> Second.
[1:20:59] » Motion and a second. Any discussion? All
in favor? Show hands, please. Four.
[1:21:08] » All right. Thank you, Conley.
>> Thank you.
[1:21:13] » We appreciate it.
That wraps up our four action portion.
[1:21:17] We'll move along to county manager
comments.
[1:21:21] » Yes, Mr. Chairman, and I'd like to make
a statement here. Um, the Alageney
[1:21:26] County greatly appreciates the
dedication [clears throat]
[1:21:29] and service provided by the Alageney
County Rescue Squad and our county's
[1:21:34] volunteer fire departments. The men and
women who serve our communities in times
[1:21:38] of emergency are true heroes and the
county recognizes the critical role they
[1:21:44] play in protecting the lives and
property of our citizens.
[1:21:49] Recently, a fundraising letter
distributed by the Alageney County
[1:21:52] Rescue Squad stated that in quotes,
Alageney County has reduced their
[1:21:58] funding but by $75,000
for the rescue squad. End of quote.
[1:22:04] We want to provide our citizens with
accurate information regarding the
[1:22:08] county's funding of the rescue squad.
The actual county funding provided to
[1:22:13] the rescue squad has been 20 24 25
90,000
[1:22:19] 2025 26 140,000
and in 2026 27 125,000.
[1:22:27] [clears throat]
Therefore, the reduction in county
[1:22:29] funding for the current fiscal year is
$15,000,
[1:22:33] not $75,000.
In fact, over the past two fiscal years,
[1:22:39] Alageney County increased its annual
funding to the rescue squad by $35,000
[1:22:44] from $90,000 to $125,000
currently.
[1:22:49] While the county recognizes that any
reduction in funding can present
[1:22:53] challenges for an organization, it is
important that our citizens have an
[1:22:58] accurate understanding of the county's
financial support.
[1:23:02] The county's budget decisions this year
were particularly difficult. Requests
[1:23:07] for funding from county departments and
outside organizations
[1:23:11] exceeded projected revenues by more than
$4.6 million.
[1:23:16] The county commissioners therefore faced
difficult choices including the option
[1:23:20] of increasing taxes or reducing
expenditures.
[1:23:24] The decision was made to avoid a tax
increase and instead make measured
[1:23:29] reductions in funding and spending
across the county's budget. This deci
[1:23:35] decision should not be interpreted as a
lack of support for the rescue squad or
[1:23:40] for our fire departments. Alageney
County understands the importance of
[1:23:44] adequately funding emergency services
and remains committed to supporting the
[1:23:50] organizations that provide these
essential services to our communities.
[1:23:55] Alageney County is in a strong financial
position. However, it is important to
[1:24:00] recognize that a significant portion of
the county's general fund is currently
[1:24:06] restricted because of the county's
financial responsibilities
[1:24:10] related to building and infrastructure
projects for the Alageney County school
[1:24:15] system in the town of Sparta. These
obligations limit the amount of
[1:24:20] unrestricted funding available for other
purposes and must be considered when
[1:24:25] making responsible budget decisions.
We believe our citizens deserve
[1:24:30] transparent and accurate information
regarding how their tax dollars are be
[1:24:35] are being used. At the same time, we
want to make clear that the county
[1:24:40] deeply values its relationship with the
rescue squad and our volunteer fire
[1:24:44] departments. We are grateful for the
countless hours these volunteers
[1:24:48] dedicate to serving our residents, often
under extremely difficult and dangerous
[1:24:54] circumstances.
The county looks forward to continuing
[1:24:58] to work cooperatively with the rescue
squad, our fire departments, and all of
[1:25:02] our emergency service providers to
ensure that Alageney County remains a
[1:25:07] safe and vibrant place to live. Thank
you.
[1:25:12] Thanks, sir.
Anybody else have any comments from
[1:25:17] admin staff? Okay. All right. We'll move
the county commissioner comments. We'll
[1:25:21] start off with Mr. Walker.
I ain't got no comment. I got a question
[1:25:27] or two. Is a new loader at the landfill
broke?
[1:25:33] » It uh it was out of commission. Yes,
>> it's back over now.
[1:25:37] » Yeah.
>> What happened? Is it under warranty? Out
[1:25:40] of
>> No, it's out. It's out of warranty now.
[1:25:44] » How old How old is that now?
>> It's three and a half years old.
[1:25:48] » So, it's already been that long.
>> Mhm. And the other question I got, did
[1:25:53] the ambulance service purchase a new
pickup?
[1:25:56] » Yes. The
>> campground where do we have that
[1:25:59] budgeted in there?
>> It's a grant. It came from a grant for
[1:26:02] the community paramedic program
>> as a grant. Had we did we know about it
[1:26:08] before today? Did the commissioner know
about the grant?
[1:26:12] » Yeah, the commissioners knew about the
grant.
[1:26:14] » We know about the grant, but we didn't
know what we were buying with the grant.
[1:26:17] » I'm not sure if I think so.
I mean, we had to we had to present the
[1:26:23] budget. [clears throat]
>> It's in the budget.
[1:26:26] » Okay. I just wondered. I didn't know if
we need to pick up over ambulance or
[1:26:29] what what the deal was.
>> Sure.
[1:26:31] » And I did get a call today on it said am
service got a new four-wheel drive
[1:26:35] pickup with a camper on it.
>> I didn't know how many people we could
[1:26:38] haul in the back of it like an
ambulance. I
[1:26:41] » got you.
>> So, what are we using it for? I mean,
[1:26:44] » it'll be used for the community
paramedic program and will be certified
[1:26:48] as a quick response vehicle.
>> What's a little car we got up there? We
[1:26:53] use
>> Well, it it will also it's it's used for
[1:26:56] the a MAP program and it's also
qualifies as a QRV. So, we had to have
[1:27:03] one for the MAP program and one for the
community paramedic program because they
[1:27:07] won't be going to the same places.
So they can't transport nobody in this
[1:27:14] pickup or anything.
>> Okay.
[1:27:17] » I just I just wondered I thought we
might need ambulance over a pickup. But
[1:27:21] » there was a budget amendment that came
to the board probably about six weeks
[1:27:26] ago that budgeted 100,000
for the initial amount of the MIH grant
[1:27:34] that he's talking about the community
paramedic program. The actual total
[1:27:38] grant is 300,000.
Um, and there'll be you'll be seeing
[1:27:42] some more budget amendments, but the
vehicle portion of that and I believe
[1:27:48] well the vehicle portion of it I believe
was about 70,000. I'm doing it by
[1:27:53] memory,
>> but 70,000 for the vehicle, 10,000 for
[1:27:57] equipment, and I believe uh portion of
the salary was already budgeted.
[1:28:03] » Yes. So, what are we going to use the
other 200,000 for? Well, that'll be used
[1:28:08] for equipment and medications and
supplies and salary
[1:28:14] » benefits.
>> Benefits. Yeah.
[1:28:16] » Yeah. It's a whole additional program
for EMS.
[1:28:21] [clears throat]
>> And we're going to hire somebody to
[1:28:22] drive this truck or we moving somebody
up or
[1:28:26] » Yes, we've been we've been through the
process of uh applications and we've
[1:28:31] also been through the interview process.
We have not gotten someone hired as of
[1:28:37] today, but we are in the process of
that.
[1:28:42] » So, we're having any luck filling any
positions we got open.
[1:28:45] » Yes.
>> Yes. And we've been getting a lot of
[1:28:49] good applicants to come forward to put
in applications for uh these jobs that
[1:28:56] we have open right now.
>> All right. That's all I got for today.
[1:29:02] » All right. Thank you, Mr. Evans.
>> Um, yes, I couple things. Um,
[1:29:10] I think the Heritage Festival will be uh
happening before we come back to our ne
[1:29:15] next meeting because it's on the 19th,
correct?
[1:29:17] » Yeah.
>> Yeah. So, we have that going on and also
[1:29:20] that big weekend. I think we're having
the county fair also. It's
[1:29:25] » going to be a lot of stuff going on.
[clears throat] I hope we have less rain
[1:29:28] that few days. Um, also there's
something that they've been doing for
[1:29:33] the last few, I guess, two or three
years. The Alageney County Partnership
[1:29:38] for Children
does a little fundraising thing at the
[1:29:43] Alagany Partnership building. Uh, they
actually go out like a Friday, I think
[1:29:49] it's the 25th, and they start making
apple butter and they sell it on
[1:29:55] Saturday. So, it's always been a good
fundraiser. So, that's happening. Um,
[1:30:03] also I wanted to go um circle back to
the revenue neutral explanation that
[1:30:08] Rita is talking about.
Revenue neutral, which you explained it
[1:30:13] very well, is if you hold the line on
that, that's pretty much all you can do.
[1:30:18] In other words, if the state asks you to
do more than that, then you're going to
[1:30:22] have to axe employees and you act
services. So, and I think Alageney
[1:30:29] County over the last four years has done
a good job with the revenue neutral, not
[1:30:34] trying to take in which our tax rate
set. You know, you can't change it for
[1:30:39] those many years. But I think they've
done a, you know, a good job with what
[1:30:43] we've had coming in that we, you know,
it's took care of our services. So I,
[1:30:51] you know, the revenue neutral, if you're
trying to do that, there's not much more
[1:30:55] that you can do. Um, and that's where I
have a problem with the state. If it
[1:31:00] asks you to do more than that, you know,
because you have services and from 2000
[1:31:08] from the last time we had a tax
valuation 2019
[1:31:13] to now,
[1:31:16] nothing's held costwise.
It's went up and actually extremely went
[1:31:22] up. So, so it's just the common sense
figure of math. But, um, anyway, I think
[1:31:30] Alageney County has done a great job and
within her leadership of some of the
[1:31:36] things that we've I think the um picture
this the I can't remember the name of
[1:31:44] it. Pictometry.
um that stuff has brought in a lot of
[1:31:49] things that's not been um permitted or
whatever. So, it's actually brought in a
[1:31:55] lot of um revenue. Actually, it's been
worth the money on that that people
[1:32:00] didn't know about, you know. Um but
thing is if you have services, you have
[1:32:06] cost. But look forward to the fall and
hopefully all the, you know, we get some
[1:32:13] good weather and we don't, our
fairgrounds don't look like it has been
[1:32:16] lately. Um, and it turn they have a good
turnout because they have, like you
[1:32:22] said, there's been a lot of really good
events and everything. It's been a good
[1:32:27] year for Alagany. So that's all I wanted
to say.
[1:32:30] » Thank you, sir.
>> Mr.
[1:32:34] Just a few things. Uh I think you know
we've got several upcoming events at the
[1:32:39] fairgrounds and uh those are some of our
biggest events of the year. So I hope a
[1:32:45] lot of people will turn out for those. I
think it was mentioned that uh on the
[1:32:51] Glade Creek uh checkbook was that a twow
weekek test period or a month and have
[1:32:59] we passed that and how's it going? Um, I
have two reports from them. The
[1:33:05] [clears throat] first one was, you know,
a full check that was dispersed to them
[1:33:10] and the three things that I pointed out
to Commissioner Walker, that's what they
[1:33:15] paid. Um, they hadn't received their
other check in the end of the twoe
[1:33:20] period. So, he just sent me a report
that second check had not been received
[1:33:25] and nothing paid out.
>> Are you satisfied with the way it's
[1:33:29] going?
>> Yeah. Yes. and that Mr. Sheepard keeps
[1:33:33] in touch with me, you know, if he's got
any questions, he calls me to make sure
[1:33:39] it's allowable under the fire tax funds.
>> Okay. Thank you. That's all.
[1:33:44] » Okay.
>> Um [clears throat] I don't have a whole
[1:33:48] lot to add to that, but I will echo kind
of what Tammy said. Um,
[1:33:53] I don't agree at all with the state
trying to take over the the ability for
[1:33:59] local governments to make their own
decisions as to, you know, any increases
[1:34:04] on property tax. You know, I think that
the people in the county uh elect local
[1:34:11] officials to seats of office to make
those decisions and represent their
[1:34:15] interests. And I don't think it has any
business being decided at the state
[1:34:20] level as to what should be capped and
what shouldn't. You know, when we look
[1:34:25] at decisions down the road, like how
much we're going to increase funding for
[1:34:29] the rescue squad or how much we're going
to increase funding for the recreation
[1:34:33] department, if we're going to increase
the level of service that our citizens
[1:34:37] are going to receive, and we're capped
by the state on how much we can levy a
[1:34:43] tax or increase our revenues to to meet
those demands,
[1:34:48] you know, we're going to be faced with
some very uh serious choices. So, um,
[1:34:54] that's something I would encourage you
to think about,
[1:34:57] um, as you're making your decision, you
know, for the ballot coming up in
[1:35:01] November. Um, I read a study on this and
it would really only [gasps]
[1:35:09] across the board for the average citizen
in North Carolina, I think it's would
[1:35:12] only save the average household between
84 and $100.
[1:35:18] But the impact that it's going to have
on your local, municipal, and county
[1:35:22] governments is going to be to the tune
of millions. So, I I would just
[1:35:28] encourage you to think about that when
when you're making that vote. I know
[1:35:31] nobody likes to hear the
the term tax increase or even, you know,
[1:35:36] discuss that. and it's always got
negative connotations, but it's really
[1:35:40] going to impact the ability that we have
to to shape the future here if we're
[1:35:46] restricted by our state government. So,
that's that's all I've got. And thank
[1:35:52] everybody for their time today. And at
this time, we'll look for a motion to
[1:35:56] adjurnn. Some move.
>> Second. All right.
[1:35:59] » All in favor, show hands. We're
ajourned. Thank you.