[0:00] Heat.
[0:12] Heat.
[0:33] All right. Good evening and welcome to
the board of commissioners regular
[0:36] meeting for August 17th, 2026. I will
call this meeting to order. If you all
[0:41] will please stand with me for the pledge
of allegiance and remain standing for
[0:45] invocation.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[0:49] United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation
[0:56] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all. And I would like to
[1:01] welcome up Dan Marshall who will give us
our invocation for the evening. Good
[1:06] evening.
[1:10] » Would you bow with me in prayer? Our
gracious heavenly father, we come before
[1:16] you this evening in the name of your son
Jesus Christ. We come to thank you for
[1:21] those you have called into public
service and their willingness to invest
[1:25] their time and talent in service to you
and to this community. We humbly ask
[1:29] that you grant them the wisdom that they
need to provide prudent decisions for
[1:34] this county. We ask that you keep them
aware of their accountability to you for
[1:38] their actions and attitudes. We also ask
that you remind the citizens of this
[1:43] community of their responsibility to
uphold these public servants in prayer,
[1:48] interceding for them with sincere hearts
and informed minds. Lord, we are
[1:52] privileged to live in a remarkable
nation that have served its people well
[1:56] for 250 years. You have blessed this
country with abundant resources, not
[2:01] just in a material way, but also in
those you've called to serve.
[2:06] No nation can long endure without godly
leaders. As King Solomon was preparing
[2:11] his son to take the throne, he
instructed him in Proverbs 29:2,
[2:16] "When the godly are in authority, the
people rejoice, but when the wicked are
[2:21] in power, they groan." King Solomon
instructed his son further in Proverbs
[2:25] 29:4,
"A just king gives stability to his
[2:29] nation, but one who demands bribes
destroys it."
[2:33] And again in Proverbs 29:14, he told his
son, "If a king judges the poor fairly,
[2:39] his throne will last forever." Lord, if
you terry, we want this nation to last
[2:44] another 250 years. Therefore, we ask
that you grant these leaders a desire to
[2:49] govern with a godly spirit and a
selfless heart. May they hear and heed
[2:54] the wisdom of King Solomon. Proverbs
14:34, "Godliness makes a nation great,
[3:00] but sin is a disgrace to any people. May
they serve you with a pure heart, a
[3:05] humble spirit, and a discerning mind."
We make these requests in the name of
[3:11] your son, Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you
all.
[3:18] » All right.
I do need a motion to approve the
[3:22] minutes as presented.
All in favor, please say I.
[3:28] » Any opposed? That carries. 5-0. And then
I need a a motion to approve the agenda,
[3:33] including the pages, the changes on page
42. So move.
[3:38] » All in favor, please say I. I.
>> Any opposed? All right, that carries as
[3:43] well. 5. So we will move on to item
number two, which is the geo bond video.
[3:49] Um, and this is going to be presented by
our new county manager, John Eller.
[3:54] welcome him to the dis. We're so glad to
have you up here. [applause]
[4:03] » Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you,
everyone. Uh it's great to be before you
[4:07] today. Uh and I'm so excited about the
work that we're doing in Cabaris County
[4:11] and uh so many great people that I've
been able to meet here and spend time
[4:15] with. Uh before we uh show you a quick
video on the upcoming GO bonds uh
[4:21] referendum that will be occurring, just
so everyone knows what it really means,
[4:24] we want to make sure that our residents
are fully educated um on this topic. So
[4:30] we'll be doing some media outreach over
the next several months to make sure
[4:34] that everyone who votes understands what
they're voting for. We think that's our
[4:39] responsibility for sure. Uh before I do
that, um I just want to take a quick
[4:44] opportunity as we're talking about
schools in general to uh give a shout
[4:48] out to um my high school principal, Sam
Shoemate, who u has has been struggling
[4:55] the past few months with some health
related issues. I spent most of my life
[4:59] um working on the farm, getting my feet
and my hands dirty and going to school
[5:04] and uh trying to figure out how I was to
make it through the educational system
[5:09] in particular. Uh he saw something in
many of us uh me included. Uh he he
[5:16] mentored so many of us and I don't think
I'd be sitting here today um and and
[5:21] doing the things I do in life without
someone like him in my life. So, uh, as
[5:26] we go back to school this month, I want
to give a shout out to all of our
[5:30] teachers, uh, and all of our, uh, staff
at our schools and and, uh, the
[5:34] community and and everyone who supports
our partners in education. For sure,
[5:39] it's not the easiest week as all of you
know, if you have family members who are
[5:43] are working in our school systems. But
with that, we do have an important
[5:46] decision coming up uh in November, and
we want to make sure uh we start our
[5:51] kickoff tonight uh to let our residents
know exactly what this means for us. So,
[5:56] tonight is the beginning of many things.
If you have questions, we hope all of
[5:59] you will reach out to us. So, with that,
we'll tee this up, Madam Chair.
[6:05] [music]
>> This November, you'll be asked whether
[6:08] Cabaris County should borrow money to
fund public school building projects.
[6:11] That's called a general obligation or go
bond referendum and you'll see it later
[6:17] this year on your ballot. [music] What
does all that mean? Let's get into it.
[6:27] [music] In North Carolina, county
governments are required by law to fund
[6:31] the building and maintenance of public
schools. And locally, that need is
[6:35] estimated to be $1 billion over the next
decade. Which brings us back to that GO
[6:41] bond. When you get your ballot, you'll
have two school bond questions. One
[6:45] totals $340 million [music] and would be
used for Cabaris County Schools and
[6:50] Canapapolis City Schools. The other is
$60 million for Rowan Cabaris Community
[6:55] College. And one [music] note, that
money can only pay for building
[6:59] projects. It can't be used for
day-to-day operations. The bonds would
[7:03] fund projects like new school
construction along with renovations and
[7:07] upgrades to existing facilities, things
like roof and HVAC replacement, parking
[7:12] lot repair and security upgrades, and
campus additions and updates. Now,
[7:17] that's just an overview. Leading up to
the election, our goal is simple. We
[7:21] want you to have all the facts you need
to make an informed decision. Here are
[7:26] some additional resources. Go to
www.cabariscount. [music]
[7:30] us/go bond FAQ to get full details about
the bond including [music]
[7:36] all the identified projects. Cabaris
County Schools information can [music]
[7:40] be found at engage with ccs.com/bond26
[7:45] and you can check your [music] tax
impact at gobond calculator.cabariscount
[7:50] us. That total amount [music] will be
phased in over the duration of the
[7:54] project, usually a few years at minimum.
Get information about the upcoming
[7:59] general election like scheduling, voter
status, and more by visiting
[8:04] www.cabariscount.
us/elections.
[8:08] And of course, if you have general
questions, [music] you can always send
[8:12] them to get info@cabariscount.
us. Get informed, determine your
[8:18] priorities, then make your decision.
[music]
[8:23] » Thank you for doing that video. And I
just want to say thanks to Dominique and
[8:27] and Jonathan Weaver for doing that as
well. You know, our job here is to
[8:31] educate you on what a bond is and what
that means for you. And so for the next
[8:35] several weeks coming up until November,
we will be putting out videos and
[8:39] educational material for everybody to
understand what this bond means for them
[8:43] personally in their own households.
Okay. So we will move on to recognitions
[8:48] and presentations. Item number one,
consolidated human services agency
[8:53] economic services appreciation
proclamation.
[8:57] And that is with Stacy Daniels.
[9:10] » Good evening.
>> Good evening.
[9:12] » Welcome.
[9:16] » Thank you for having us. My name is
Heather Alman. I'm the program
[9:18] administrator for Medicaid. We are here
tonight to celebrate economic services
[9:22] appreciation month for the month of
August. Uh for eligibility staff
[9:28] representing Medicaid, food nutrition
services, our training staff, quality
[9:32] assurance, program integrity, and our
customer service staff that support
[9:36] those efforts. Um we have a video that
we would like to thank communications
[9:41] for putting together for us. And Miss
Stacy Daniels will read our proclamation
[9:45] after the video. Thank you.
[9:53] » Years ago when I was not able to work
any longer, I had to go on to food
[9:57] stamps [music] because I didn't have
that much social security at that time.
[10:01] And uh I hate to have to do that cuz I'd
never done anything like that before
[10:05] [music] in my life. And almost to be
honest with you, at first I was ashamed
[10:09] of it [music] because I thought I don't
want people to know I'm having to live
[10:12] like this. But you know what? If it
helps you, don't be ashamed. [music]
[10:17] Go ahead and be glad that you receive
help.
[10:20] [music]
[10:27] We have [music] two dedicated farmers
that can do wick. Uh wick people can get
[10:33] fresh produce here. And then we have
four that do the senior vouchers.
[10:38] [music] That includes the honey and the
micro greens. They're approved for that.
[10:42] And now we are starting a [music]
program where people can bring their EBT
[10:46] cards and get tokens where they can shop
at any [music] eligible food. And I
[10:52] cannot tell you the smiles that break
out when they realize they [music] can
[10:55] actually use their whatever their
services is here and they just grin and
[11:01] they're so [music] excited about that.
And it's very rewarding to see that. and
[11:05] we just felt that it was very important
that you [music] know people have access
[11:09] to those things and and it's it's really
doing the right thing. My husband and I
[11:14] both taught at Title One schools which
[music] take assistance um and and we
[11:19] just felt that it was very very
important that we bring that [music]
[11:23] here especially when you know you can
buy local healthy foods and you know we
[11:30] just wanted to make sure that that
[music] was something that was available
[11:32] to anybody. Well, to me, that's a
wonderful thing to hear and learn
[11:37] because I did not know about it. [music]
So, I appreciate you sharing that with
[11:41] me, too. That's fresh food. That's local
food. And I have a sign on the back of
[11:46] my car that [music] says, "Without
farms, there's no food." So, I like to
[11:50] support farms and the farmers and people
in the area. So, that makes me feel good
[11:54] that I can [music] go there and get
fresh stuff, fresh eggs, and whatever
[11:58] they have. I'm definitely going to take
advantage of it and go check it out.
[12:10] » [music]
>> It has been a real blessing to me that
[12:13] they've been able to provide and help me
get food and help me have uh different
[12:17] things in my life that I needed. And
it's helped [music] me to stay in my
[12:21] home, too, cuz I don't know if I could
have stayed here or where I would have
[12:23] ended up being. And that's what most of
us want to do is stay in our homes as
[12:28] long as we can [music] and not be
dependent on somebody and taking care of
[12:32] us and and been able to get help. I've
been able to stay here and love my home
[12:37] and not be so upset [music] wondering
what I was going to do. They've relieved
[12:41] me in a lot of ways and I appreciate it
and it is a joy. Thank you.
[12:47] [music]
[12:57] » [music]
[13:05] » Good evening. Economic Services
Appreciation Month in Cabaris County. A
[13:11] proclamation. Whereas individuals,
families and children are entitled to
[13:16] public assistance services and support
that they may support they may be
[13:22] eligible for. And whereas food and
nutrition services is a USDA federal
[13:28] food assistance program that provides
lowincome families the food that the
[13:33] food they need for a nutritional
adequate diet. And whereas Cabaris
[13:40] County FNS eligibility staff have
assisted in providing food nutri food
[13:45] and nutrition benefit allotments to
address address food insecurity for
[13:52] fiscal year 26 in the amount of
46,84,21.
[14:00] And whereas Medicaid is dedicated to
providing access to physical and
[14:06] behavioral health care and services to
improve the health and well-being of
[14:12] over 3.1 million North Carolinians. And
whereas
[14:17] Cabaris County Department of Human
Services Medicaid eligibility have
[14:22] assisted in providing medical and
behavioral health care to the citizens
[14:27] of Cabaris County for fiscal year 26 in
the amount of $155,350,2134.
[14:38] And whereas in fiscal year 26, Cabaris
County Department of Social Services
[14:44] Economic Services eligibility staff
processed over 16,044
[14:50] Medicaid applications and 7,217
food and nutrition service applications
[14:59] meeting federal and state time
timeliness
[15:03] requirements in both programs and
whereas
[15:07] are currently 57,37
[15:12] active Medicaid recipients and 22,319
active food and nutrition services
[15:19] recipients in Cabaris County. And
whereas during fiscal year 26,
[15:24] Department of Social Services staff
demonstrated exceptional dedication to
[15:30] program integrity by establishing
$347,686
[15:37] in intentional program violation
claims and recovering $688,078
[15:46] in overpayments. reinforcing responsible
stewardship and public funds and
[15:52] safeguarding vital resources for
individuals and families who rely on
[15:57] these essential services. And whereas
economic services staff in Cabaris
[16:03] County work tirelessly to ensure
individuals, families, and children
[16:09] receive access to medical medical care
and financial support for food and
[16:14] nutrition services. And now therefore,
be it resolved that the Cabaris County
[16:21] Board of Commissioners does hereby
proclaim the month of August as Economic
[16:26] Services Appreciation Month in Cabaris
County, adopted this 17th day of August,
[16:33] 2026. Thank you.
>> Thank you, sir.
[16:36] » Thank you.
>> All right, commissioners.
[16:38] [clears throat] I do need a motion and a
second to approve the proclamation as
[16:42] presented.
All in favor, please say I.
[16:46] » Any opposed? That carries 5-0. Thank you
ladies for coming up to present that and
[16:51] we certainly value the work that you do.
All right, we will move on to item
[16:56] number two, recognition of Chief Deputy
Burchett on her retirement from Cabaris
[17:02] County Sheriff's Office with Sheriff
Banshaw.
[17:09] » Good evening.
>> Good evening. Thank you, commissioners.
[17:12] Madam Chair, thank you for having us
tonight. Um [clears throat] truly it's
[17:17] an honor to be able to recognize Chief
Deputy Bert Chad after serving the
[17:22] citizens of Cabaris County for 29 years.
Uh her career has included patrol
[17:28] duties, investigative duties, community
advocacy and supervision. She's a
[17:33] natural leader, a team player,
dependable professional, and has
[17:39] outstanding character. All of these
words are constantly mentioned in
[17:43] reference to her name. We're very proud
of her. Um, [clears throat] she has
[17:47] carried out her duties exceptionally
well on a daily basis. To give you a
[17:52] little history, uh, she began her law
enforcement career uh with the Cabaris
[17:56] County Sheriff's Office in 1999
and uh was assigned to the patrol
[18:01] division. After that, she other assign
assignments included being a DARE
[18:06] officer, uh being a school resource
officer, a community policing deputy as
[18:11] well as a community policing sergeant
and as well as a community policing
[18:15] lieutenant. Uh so you you know where her
heart is oriented and that service to
[18:20] the community and she did an outstanding
job there. Um she also served in our
[18:25] detective division as an investigator.
Uh as I said later she became promoted
[18:30] to sergeant then lieutenant uh and then
in 20 uh 2019 I had the privilege of
[18:37] promoting uh chief deputy bett to
captain of field operations division.
[18:41] She came qu well qualified to run the
criminal investigations division as well
[18:47] as various specialty teams and a number
of administrative programs uh and and
[18:52] again excelled there. Uh, it became my
great honor in 2023
[18:58] to promote Chief Deputy Burjad to her
current position to become the first
[19:04] female Chief Deputy in the history of
the Cabaris County Sheriff's Office.
[19:08] Truly great accomplishment, truly
welldeserved based on her experience and
[19:13] performance. Uh, [snorts]
there she uh oversees all the operations
[19:18] of the sheriff's office to include
personnel, finance, and budget
[19:22] development. uh [clears throat] frankly
doing a lot of stuff each and every day.
[19:28] Um also during her career she became a
certified law enforcement instructor
[19:33] through the state of North Carolina as
well as a specialized physical fitness
[19:37] instructor. She also served as a crisis
negotiator and became the lead
[19:41] negotiator of that team as well. Uh she
was also instrumental in the development
[19:46] of the sheriff's office DARE summer
camps for children that still continue
[19:51] to this day. and uh are done on a yearly
basis. She served on the state of North
[19:56] Carolina DARE Executive Committee, the
National Safe Kids Coalition, and the
[20:01] Cabaris County Safe Schools Task Force.
Chief Burchette has made a lasting
[20:07] impact on the Cabaris County Sheriff's
Office. She has been at the forefront of
[20:11] advancing new programs, technology, and
being an advocate for employee health
[20:15] and wellness. Her leadership and
guidance has impacted all of us in so
[20:20] many ways as well of her as well as her
fellow employees and is only surpassed
[20:25] by her compassion and her kindness to
everyone she works with. It has truly
[20:30] been an honor to work side by side with
my chief deputy, Tessa Burchett. I'm
[20:35] extremely proud of her. Um I hate to see
her go, but I know she's going to be
[20:41] able to enjoy retirement, have a good
time. her husband is here uh with her
[20:46] tonight. David Burchett, I think he's
back in the back of the room smiling
[20:50] because now he's got a full-time boss
coming home. So, I'm excited for him,
[20:54] too. Uh but I I there's I could be here
all night talking about Tessa and just
[20:59] what a great person she is. I know she's
worked with virtually all of y'all as
[21:03] well as many people in the audience and
always putting the citizens first. And I
[21:08] can't think of a more um higher uh you
know accolade than say that you've
[21:13] you've served selfishly uh devoted your
life to to public service and she's done
[21:19] it extremely well. So I present to you
Chief Deputy Tessa Burchette.
[21:25] [applause]
[21:30] [applause]
[21:39] It's harder being the center of
attention. I don't I don't do as well
[21:42] with this. Um but no, it's it's been a
true honor. Um I've loved every phase of
[21:49] my career. I've been able to raise my
family here
[21:52] alongside my husband. Um serving this
community, building relationships with
[21:57] so many different people, and I and I
feel like we've truly gained the trust
[22:02] of our community and that means so much.
Um, being able to do it with Sheriff
[22:06] Shaw has been such an honor. Um,
I feel truly blessed. It's bittersweet
[22:14] to leave, but it's time. And it's good
to know that there's so many wonderful
[22:19] people that are going to continue doing
the work that we've done, and this
[22:23] agency's in fantastic hands. So,
couldn't be more thankful and grateful
[22:28] for that. So, thank you for um all the
times that I've been able to spend with
[22:32] y'all and of course previous boards,
previous management. Um it's been an
[22:37] honor and I I've truly enjoyed every
minute of it.
[22:41] BEFORE YOU [applause]
[22:47] before you go, we do have to give you
your your clock because you can't leave
[22:51] without your clock. Um I just want to
say Tessa, I have enjoyed being able to
[22:57] work with you. I appreciate so much um
that you know how important the animals
[23:02] are and you have always been there to
answer any questions um that I've had
[23:08] and um you've just been a great resource
for so many people and I'm I'm truly
[23:13] grateful for your leadership in the in
the sheriff's department and we really
[23:17] are going to miss you. Now, do you want
to tell what you're going to be your
[23:21] next endeavor [laughter] is is going to
be because I I love that you're doing
[23:25] this.
>> Sure. Believe it or not, I'm along with
[23:27] my family and uh some some other
business partners, we're venturing into
[23:31] the event and wedding planning. Uh so,
Tie the Knot event company um in
[23:36] Canapapolis. Come come check us out.
It's kind of an exciting thing to delve
[23:40] into something totally different.
>> I'm never going to need your services.
[23:43] » I understand. I understand.
>> I will recommend everyone to you. So, um
[23:48] Commissioner Patrick, if you would like
to present her her clock
[23:52] » there for you grab it on your way out.
Congratulations. THANK YOU
[23:57] [applause]
[24:02] AGAIN. We are very grateful for you and
thank you very much, Sheriff Shaw.
[24:09] » All right. And we will move on to
informal public comments.
[24:14] Ary, how many do we have this feed,
ma'am?
[24:16] » We have 10.
>> 10. Okay. We will start with Price
[24:20] Crutchfield.
[24:26] Good evening.
>> It's a terrible evening for me.
[24:31] Well,
I was enduring elder abuse at the
[24:35] emergency room. I'm elderly. And my
doctor told me to go over there in an
[24:40] emergency situation. I was in horrible
pain, life-threatening. The records will
[24:45] show. and uh security personnel over
there interrupted my conversation with
[24:52] the receptionist, a medical conversation
protected by HIPPA. He violated that. He
[24:59] came over and gave me an illegal order
to sit down. There are no rules at the
[25:05] hospital that says you have to sit down
when you come to the emergency room. I
[25:09] wasn't there to drink a beer or fight
Mike Tyson or anything like that. I was
[25:13] there for an emergency
and there was no empathy, no caring,
[25:18] just mandates and directives and threats
to call the police on me and my crime
[25:24] was that I wouldn't sit down. He never
asked me, "Are you okay? Are you in
[25:29] pain?" You know, I figured there'd be
some people skills in there, but I was
[25:34] wrong. So, I went to the customer care
line and got absolutely nowhere. I was
[25:40] even told that I was making harassing
phone calls. And then I educated him and
[25:45] I said, "Well, gosh, what you need to do
is call the police. Not me. If I'm
[25:49] making harassing phone calls, just call
the police. They would be more than
[25:53] happy to arrest me. I've been arrested
17 times for lesser standards of
[25:58] arrest." I might. When I complained
about the police resource officers
[26:04] molesting children at our schools, I got
arrested. And I couldn't make a plea bar
[26:09] organ. No, I had to do a community
service, get on a year's probation for
[26:15] complaining about the police molesting
people's children.
[26:20] Okay? I mean, I'm struggling with that.
So, in essence, I called down to the
[26:28] security manager was as I was instructed
to do at Harrisburg
[26:33] and uh only to be told I was making
harassing phone calls. I made no
[26:37] arresting phone calls and it was just
persistent complaints that I will
[26:43] continue to do and they sent me a
certified letter that cease and desist.
[26:47] Well, I haven't ceased and I haven't
desisted. I've simply existed. Okay. But
[26:53] I want to do more than that. I want to
be able to feel safe in the emergency
[26:57] room when I go in in a life-threatening
situation that's clearly documented. I
[27:03] had to get morphine incidentally. And
this guy with his nefarious actions
[27:08] didn't help me none at all. So in spite
of his uh horrible actions, I got
[27:14] through it. And uh but I have all the
praise for the medical staff and the
[27:19] doctors. I'm all about education but and
professionalism, but these guys, they're
[27:24] Gustapo just Gustapo agents, you know. I
just horrible. And I would I just want
[27:31] to make sure my fellow citizens are
aware of this.
[27:40] Paul Wish.
[27:49] Good afternoon. Um, I think this year
you've done an excellent job in coming
[27:53] up with an idea of a a general
obligation bond. It's the right thing to
[27:58] do. And
but beyond that, let me take up John on
[28:03] his questions about what's going on. I
don't think that uh the commissioners
[28:08] actually did a very good job researching
the bond idea and so chose to only put
[28:14] this year's CCS capital budget on the
whole amount of the bond. What you
[28:19] failed to look at was that the public
bond will be funded over 20 years. While
[28:24] the CCS request was for this year, very
similar to what's been out there for the
[28:28] last 5 years and never funded. [snorts]
Um, much of this uh was the same stuff
[28:33] you've seen for years, and failed to
adequately fund. Compounding the CCS
[28:37] split the budget into medium and large
expenses. things like uh new schools are
[28:42] only part of the larger budget, 50-year
depreciation, and your bond includes
[28:46] medium things like roofing, vehicles,
and other building maintenance, which
[28:50] will seem to occur annually, and we're
28 million this year. This is not an
[28:54] adequate this is not adequately
addressed in the bond. Um I think it
[29:00] also included Cabaris um Canapapolis and
uh CCS and it was the same 340 uh
[29:07] million bond for uh that CCS put
forward. So it's less than actually both
[29:11] of them. U you also failed to do a
sanity check on the on the proposing. Uh
[29:16] Meckllinburgg had done several GO bonds
in the past 10 years. Both were passed
[29:21] resoundingly. 2017 they got 900 million
and uh then in 2023 they got 2.5
[29:28] billion. Uh this is approximately 3.4
billion for the current population of
[29:34] 140. So they're much bigger than us,
right? Yeah. Except that CCS has 35,000
[29:39] and the ratio is four times in the
students.
[29:42] Uh Meckllinmberg has 10 times the amount
of bond money available. If you look at
[29:47] the last few budget cycles, you failed
to factor in the past um funding for the
[29:51] district. Our educational experience uh
is behind any of uh any of the
[29:56] surrounding counties. All CCS school
zones are now at 100% capacity, far
[30:01] exceeding the annual design the actual
design point for each school. While the
[30:04] class sizes are not illegal, you find
most schools have four to five lunch
[30:08] hours, meaning that elementary schools
eat their lunch at 10:30 in the morning.
[30:12] Um high schools, they got 20 minutes for
lunch. I don't know anybody that goes
[30:16] for 20 minutes of lunch at 10:30 in the
morning. Um, [snorts] the gymnasiums are
[30:20] overcrowded as well, especially when
there's events involving families. Uh,
[30:24] can you imagine having to schedule your
parents attending a lunch with their
[30:27] children, but limiting it to four times
a year because there's not room in the
[30:30] cafeterias. [snorts] Some of the lunches
are actually held in the classrooms
[30:34] because of the room in the cafeteria.
Even worse, the district now has two
[30:39] capped schools, preventing students
attending the schools closest to their
[30:42] home. This fall, elementary students
will be bus 30 minutes to get to a
[30:46] school, elementary school, right?
Kindergarten, first grade through fifth
[30:50] grade. This is partially caused by
um Vulgar, Coxmill, and Weddington all
[30:57] about 20% above the design point of the
building. I'd suggest a larger goal
[31:01] bond. Thank you,
[31:06] » Kesha Sandage.
[31:19] How y'all doing? So, two things. Uh the
first one I'll start with is I sent you
[31:24] all an email in regards to the potential
for youth uh internships. I got a
[31:30] response back from three of you. I
appreciate that response. I've talked to
[31:34] uh other municipalities in relation to
this and suggested uh to Concord this uh
[31:40] past week that it be introduced during
the Cabaris summit so that you all are
[31:45] able to talk collaboratively about it
and how um you could put things in place
[31:50] to make sure that it is across the board
in our county. I also suggested that
[31:56] there be collaboration uh with the
private sector in trying to implement
[32:00] this as well as the uh DA who currently
also has an internship. I did tell
[32:06] Concord that uh once I get all the
information back, Kenny, thank you for
[32:09] connecting me to Kelly to get that
information. Um I will put a report
[32:14] together of what I found and then offer
some suggestions as I'm able to. Second
[32:19] thing, um there will be two possibly
three uh constitutional amendments on
[32:25] our ballot in November. I do know that
several counties have come out against
[32:30] these bonds and I know uh a candidate
for Cabaris County Commission a few
[32:36] months ago came in and talked with you
about uh those bonds as well as Senate
[32:40] Bill 1080 and House Bill 1089. Um I will
be as a citizen voting no on those
[32:47] amendments. I would love to know where
our county um sees these amendments
[32:51] helping us out or not. Um what I'm
asking is look to your counterparts in
[32:56] Union County who have uh since come out
against these two amendments and talked
[33:01] about how it would uh severely damage
their ability to take care of their
[33:06] county. Um and and talk with them and
gather what you all feel this will do or
[33:11] not do for our county. Um, as elected
officials, we truly should know where
[33:15] you sit on things that are going to be
coming to the public uh to to vote on.
[33:20] Just like you talked about the go bonds,
I believe you should equally do the same
[33:24] thing about these amendments so that our
community knows how they may or may not
[33:28] affect us. I believe that it will really
and truly constrain your ability to take
[33:34] care of Cabaris County. We are talking
about, you know, privatizing. I think
[33:39] this is a bait and switch to be honest
with you. We are trying to make our
[33:44] county or make our state a private
sector. And I'm wondering if that is the
[33:49] case, where do we pay t what do we pay
taxes for? What are our taxes going to?
[33:54] I'm okay with paying taxes to make sure
that the fire department can get to me
[33:58] in the good times that they've been a
able to get to our our community. I'm
[34:02] also okay with paying taxes to ensure
that the sheriff department can
[34:06] investigate and can get to crime as fast
as it's be been able to do that.
[34:10] However, if we cut [clears throat] and
make sure that um our taxes are cut are
[34:17] specific to a one number, how do we pay
for services and what will we cut? I
[34:23] think our community should know that and
you all have the information.
[34:32] Ezra
[34:39] Ezra.
[34:45] » You're fine.
>> Um, thank you for having the opportunity
[34:49] to come up here again. Um, I was here I
think two sessions ago. Um, then
[34:54] followed up with a couple weeks of
vacation out of town. Um but my question
[35:00] was to the board, you know, what does
the county offer or have to help and
[35:06] assist and support uh small businesses?
um may or may not remember that
[35:11] conversation, but as I left out of the
building, um about 10 minutes later, I
[35:18] got to the elevator, an elevator door
was about to close and the gentleman
[35:22] stuck his hand in and stopped the
elevator from closing and asked me um
[35:28] about my business. He asked me, "What
did I what do I do?" And
[35:33] he asked me if I had a business card.
So, I told him what I did. had him a
[35:38] business card and he told me that
someone would be in touch with me from
[35:41] the Chamber of Commerce um soon. Well,
before I went on vacation, someone from
[35:48] the Chamber of Commerce did reach out to
me and I am happy to report that I've
[35:54] had an opportunity to meet all of the
members of the Chamber of Commerce from
[35:57] Allison and her crew. Um, and I have
attended se a few of the uh networking
[36:05] events with other business leaders,
business owners from Cabaris County. Um,
[36:11] and
basically I'm here today just to tell
[36:14] you thank you. Um, thank you for helping
me. Um, I've made a lot of good
[36:19] connections. Um, some of them have
already become fruitful uh for helping
[36:23] my business and uh and that's all
because and I failed to remember who it
[36:30] was that stuck his hand in the door. Um
I think it was [laughter] you. Was it
[36:34] you? Okay. I apologize for not
recognizing you off the um but yeah,
[36:38] thank you very much. I appreciate it.
So, and that's it.
[36:48] Ingred nurse.
[36:56] » Good evening, commissioners.
Vote. The title of my topic is voters to
[37:01] decide when it's time. Yes, we did honor
the $4 million bun that we placed on our
[37:07] ballots allowing voters to decide the
outcome.
[37:11] The same effort should be taken into
consideration when the proposed animal
[37:17] shelter that would cost taxpayers 23
million to $50 million. That same
[37:23] efforts needs to be proposed when it's
time. voters should decide that
[37:29] instead of a five member board. We have
multiple facilities that house homeless
[37:35] animals such as Cabaris County Animal
Shelter, Exotic Pets Rescue, Humane
[37:42] Society. An investment of any size or
this size deserves transparency
[37:48] and public discussions
before the county moves forward. Like
[37:53] stating with a five minimum commissioner
board three to two usually vote.
[37:58] Residents should have the opportunity to
understand the total cost
[38:03] have the bond with effects
taxpayers
[38:08] what alternatives were considered
and what the long-term financial
[38:13] obligations will be.
Government works better when people have
[38:18] a voice. Cabaris County residents first.
I am by the people for the people
[38:25] because I am the people. Thank you.
[38:33] » Rick Hoforth Hofffor.
>> Thank you.
[38:40] » Good evening, commissioners. Rick Hoff
with Downome North Carolina. Uh want to
[38:45] speak to you for just a few minutes
about the proposed uh constitutional
[38:50] amendment on placing limits on uh the
ability to for counties and
[38:57] municipalities to generate income
through property tax.
[39:02] um
the scheduled uh elimination of the
[39:07] corporate uh tax uh by the year 2030
along with capping the ability for uh
[39:16] municipalities and counties um to
generate revenue with uh property tax.
[39:22] uh these would restrict severely uh
local revenue and these two together
[39:29] these policies would significantly limit
North Carolina's ability to invest in
[39:35] schools, infrastructure, public safety,
and the workforce that powers the
[39:40] state's economy.
And so this is not just about taxes in
[39:46] isolation. It's about whether North
Carolina maintains the tools needed to
[39:51] support growing communities and a strong
economy.
[39:56] [gasps]
The property tax amendment does these
[39:59] things. It caps how much total property
tax revenue local governments can
[40:04] collect each year. It forces local
governments to lower tax rates as
[40:10] property values rise.
It ties future budgets to past revenue
[40:16] levels regardless of current needs and
it limits the ability of communities to
[40:21] respond to growth, inflation, and
service demands. In practice, this means
[40:26] local governments would have less
flexibility to fund essential services
[40:32] even as costs and population
increase.
[40:38] And property taxes matter. They're the
backbone of local public services in
[40:43] North Carolina. Public school buildings,
fire and emergency response, libraries,
[40:48] parks, and infrastructure, social
services, all these things.
[40:54] Property taxes are the largest single
source of local revenue. Local
[40:59] governments in North Carolina can't levy
uh their own taxes or uh increase sales
[41:06] tax. Um, property taxes are stable and
predictable, making them well suited for
[41:13] funding ongoing services. Strong
schools, safe communities, and
[41:19] well-maintained infrastructure help
protect property values. When local
[41:24] services decline, property values often
decline, too.
[41:29] Local leaders use this revenue to meet
realtime community needs. a statewide
[41:36] cap would override that local
decisionmaking.
[41:41] And so
we encourage the Cabaris County Board of
[41:46] Commissioners to go on record that they
do not support the property tax
[41:51] amendment that will be on the ballot
November 3rd. Thank you,
[41:59] » Nancy Hofforth.
[42:08] Good evening, commissioners, county
manager, and fellow Cabaris County
[42:12] residents. My name is Nancy Hoff, and
I've been paying Cabaris County taxes
[42:16] for at least 30 years. Most of us don't
look forward to paying our taxes. After
[42:22] all, that's our money we worked hard
for. But we understand that tax revenue
[42:28] is what our communities run on. As Rick
just explained, I'd like to address some
[42:33] of the common but false claims about
property tax bills.
[42:38] Property tax bills are driven by
overspending.
[42:41] When homeowners see a big jump in their
individual bill, it's because of
[42:45] infrequent valuations and growth in real
estate values driven by low supply or
[42:52] when big corporations and real estate
investors shelter property from taxes.
[42:58] This is a housing market issue, not a
local overspending issue.
[43:03] Claim number two, property tax revenue
is growing too fast. Actually, revenue
[43:09] growth reflects realworld conditions
like population growth, increased demand
[43:14] for services, and higher construction
and labor costs. This is not excess. It
[43:20] is a response to increased need. Claim
number three, local governments are
[43:26] overcolcting.
In reality, local governments are
[43:29] managing growing responsibilities with
limited tools, especially in the context
[43:34] of state tax cuts. They are trying to
maintain essential services, not
[43:40] accumulating unnecessary revenue.
And finally, property tax caps protect
[43:47] taxpayers.
Caps are a blunt instrument. Instead of
[43:52] targeting relief to those who need it
most, caps often create long-term
[43:57] funding constraints, especially when
when they are in the form of a
[44:01] constitutional amendment that lead to
service reductions or increased fees
[44:07] elsewhere.
Fortunately, North Carolina already has
[44:11] safeguards in place like reappraisal
processes and existing relief programs
[44:16] that help prevent sudden unchecked
increases in property tax bills. If
[44:22] affordability is the goal, more
effective options would include
[44:27] expanding existing property tax relief,
increasing income eligibility thresholds
[44:33] for tax relief programs, supporting
seniors and lowincome homeowners,
[44:39] creating a circuit breaker that ties
property taxes to income, or providing
[44:45] state funding to offset local relief
efforts. The bottom line is that North
[44:51] Carolina can provide meaningful property
tax relief without weakening the public
[44:56] systems that that support communities,
families, and economic growth. I hope
[45:03] the commissioners will take that stand.
Thank you,
[45:10] Robert Matton.
[45:23] Hello, Robert Maton of of Concord.
First, uh I'd like to say I'm hoping
[45:30] that the uh website that was promised
two months ago for transparency and
[45:34] accountability is coming along nicely.
We're going to be able to see that
[45:37] sometime soon.
Secondly, um, totally back up, the
[45:43] people have just been speaking up
against the amendments that are coming
[45:46] out in November, and I already think
it's going to be a death spiral 10 years
[45:51] from now for the middle class and
lowerass citizens of North Carolina with
[45:56] this corporate zero tax. Um, a good way
of putting that is corporate welfare or
[46:03] corporate socialism. And uh it's it's
the wrong way to have any type of
[46:09] socialism.
And thirdly, I'm just wondering what you
[46:14] all are going to have as plans for
January and there on for us uh Cabaris
[46:20] County residents when we start losing
parts of our Medicaid and and SNAP,
[46:27] what's going to happen to us? because
like uh the feds are flaking out on us.
[46:35] And that's all [snorts] I have to say.
Thank you,
[46:41] » Steven Bryant.
[46:49] Good evening, commissioners,
county manager, county attorney. Thank
[46:55] you for your time this evening.
I'd like to first say thank you all for
[47:01] the um our resolution that got passed
and uh we're looking forward to sitting
[47:07] down with the county manager and putting
the teeth back in the document. And um
[47:13] as for what I'm speaking to tonight, the
constitutional amendment,
[47:18] a strong economy does not happen by
accident. It requires sustained
[47:22] investment in people, communities, and
the public systems that make growth
[47:28] possible.
It requires leaders who serve North
[47:32] Carolinians.
This amendment would make that harder to
[47:37] do damage. It could damage and make
everything just more difficult to
[47:43] correct if it's correctable.
This amendment will not make North
[47:48] Carolina more affordable.
It will make it harder to fund public
[47:54] investments that lower costs for
families from child care, health care,
[48:00] schools, housing, infrastructure, and
disaster recovery. And there will be
[48:06] more disasters to come.
In short,
[48:12] you can't cut revenue at the state level
and cap it at the local level
[48:19] and still expect strong schools and
services. That math doesn't work.
[48:25] Property taxes fund services people rely
on every day. Schools, fire department,
[48:32] and infrastructure. Capping them means
our ability to meet real needs.
[48:38] Rising property values don't mean people
can afford higher taxes,
[48:44] but the solution is targeted relief, not
across the board limits that weaken
[48:50] communities.
[48:54] This amendment prioritizes an arbitrary
formula
[48:58] over what communities actually need to
function, grow, and keep up with rising
[49:05] costs.
[49:08] If the goal is affordability,
we should focus on help on helping
[49:14] people who need it most, not restricting
resources every community depends on.
[49:21] Strong schools,
safe communities aren't separate from
[49:27] property values. They're what protect
them.
[49:31] When property when property tax revenue
is capped,
[49:35] it doesn't stop costs. It just means
fewer services or higher costs somewhere
[49:43] else. Thank you all for your time.
[49:49] » Sabrina Barry.
[49:56] » Good evening, commissioners. How are you
guys doing tonight? I came here for one
[50:00] reason and one reason only and that's to
thank you for your leadership, for your
[50:06] transparency. I go all across the
western region of North Carolina. You
[50:10] see a lot of commissioners, but in
Cabaris County, our our citizens are not
[50:14] uninformed. We have the most transparent
county commissioners that anybody could
[50:19] ever ask for. We know exactly what's
happening in our county. You guys got to
[50:23] take a lot of slack, even for things
you're not responsible for. We hear a
[50:27] bunch of people talking about a
constitutional amendment that you didn't
[50:30] put on the ballot. It seems that they're
in the wrong place and talking to the
[50:34] wrong people because you guys have no
control over what hits the ballot at a
[50:38] state level. I want to thank
Commissioner Pitman especially. You and
[50:43] I don't always see eye to eye. We can go
back and forth, but one thing about it,
[50:48] we always can have critical, challenging
conversations and leave that space and
[50:53] have respect for each other, love for
each other. And I thank you for that
[50:58] level of leadership cuz you guys have
taken a beatd down even after my Junth
[51:03] proclamation, week after week after
week, but no one person came in here and
[51:08] said, "Kenny, Laura, Ian, Jeff, thank
you for approving that Junth
[51:14] proclamation." And that was a huge step
in our county. And tonight, I just thank
[51:18] you guys for your leadership and just
being you. Don't change that for nobody.
[51:23] We are proud to live in Cabaris and I
think everybody here is too. There are
[51:28] other options and if they don't like it,
they can move. Thank you. God bless you
[51:32] and God bless Cabaris County.
[51:38] » That is all.
>> Thank you all. All right, commissioners.
[51:43] I do need a motion to approve the
consent agenda as presented.
[51:48] » So move.
>> All those in favor, please say I. I.
[51:52] » Any opposed? That carries. 5 Z. Thank
you. And we will move on to new
[51:58] business. Item number one is the
proposed animal shelter replacement
[52:03] discussion with Kyle Bilifer.
[52:09] » You're going to be up here for a minute.
You got three. So,
[52:12] » three in a row. Yeah.
>> Um, so I'm sure you all recall the
[52:16] conversation we had and I was kind of
looking for some guidance on which way.
[52:19] So, we did add a motion to this. So, um,
what's different in this presentation is
[52:24] the motion. Um, the motion is to approve
county staff to advertise a request for
[52:29] qualifications for limited design
services for the proposed new animal
[52:34] shelter and to request staff to study
alternative funding models that other
[52:38] counties have used to build and operate
their animal shelter. So, in that
[52:43] effort, we've already identified um some
county animal shelters that have been
[52:47] built over the last 5 years, and we kind
of have a list of those and contacts. Um
[52:51] and if the board so approves tonight,
we'll start reaching out to those groups
[52:55] to kind of start our our net throw our
net out there to see different types of
[53:00] funding opportunities. And of course,
we've already written the request for
[53:03] qualifications for that limited scope of
design. Um, and again, just to reiterate
[53:08] what was at the meeting for folks that
weren't didn't watch that, um, we're
[53:12] going to focus on schematic design,
specifically traffic impact analysis,
[53:17] understanding what our neighboring, uh,
uh, adjacent parcels are going to be
[53:20] doing, um, which isn't always easy, but
we'll be reaching out to them, and then
[53:24] obviously doing everything from a
geotech and environmental aspect.
[53:30] » Commissioners, do you have any
questions?
[53:33] Commissioner Pitman?
[53:37] » [clears throat]
>> I was going to say I don't want angry
[53:40] nurse to faint, but I actually uh
sympathize with some what she said about
[53:46] this. Um
I I don't say no, let's don't do it
[53:50] necessarily. Uh I did understand her
point about um consulting the citizens
[53:56] about it. Um, one thing I do think
between the two positions is maybe um,
[54:05] we ought to have like a public hearing
on it or, you know, take those kind of
[54:10] concerns into account before settling on
something. I'm not against it, but I I
[54:17] think um, you know, we do want a lot of
transparency up here, and I think that
[54:23] would be a one way of making sure that
we have that. So, I'd appreciate if we
[54:28] could do it that way, not just decide
without
[54:34] » I I don't necessarily disagree. I I
think what we talked about in the work
[54:38] session was that if, for instance, we
find a funding model that is community-
[54:43] based, right? We go ask for donations.
It's important that we go through step
[54:48] one and get someone on board who can do
a site plan and a rendering that you can
[54:54] use to market the project. if we go for
that funding model. So, I'm certainly in
[54:58] favor of um doing step one here. Um even
though I do agree with you on some of
[55:04] those items um Commissioner Pitman. So,
um I will certainly be voting for it.
[55:11] » Any other questions or comment?
Okay. I do need a motion uh to approve
[55:17] the county staff to advertise a request
for qualifications for limited design
[55:22] services for the proposed new animal
shelter and request staff to study
[55:26] alternative funding models that other
counties have used to build and operate
[55:30] their animal shelter.
>> Okay. All those in favor please say I.
[55:36] » Any opposed? All right. That carries
5-0. Thank you. We will move on to item
[55:41] number two which is discussion of
potential permanent stage construction
[55:45] at Rob Wallace Park with Kyle.
>> Uh thank you. Yes. Again from our work
[55:49] session where um coming to the board try
to get some guidance. Um, again, this
[55:54] was was brought to me and I've worked
with the town of Midland, specifically
[55:58] town manager Doug Paris on this and
added a motion to this agenda item um
[56:03] for the motion to approve the county to
partner with the town of Midland in a
[56:08] feasibility and design only for a
proposed permanent entertainment stage
[56:12] at Rob Wallace Park. Construction
approval would come at a later date and
[56:17] be associated with several agreements.
Um, and that has been discussed with the
[56:21] town of Midland even when we met the
first time. So, this is not moving
[56:25] forward with any type of full-blown
design. It's almost like what we just
[56:30] talked about in the the last situation.
Um, and again, no construction until
[56:36] everything comes back in front of this
board with the agreements of who would
[56:39] handle maintenance, who handles the
cost, the upkeep, and all of those type
[56:43] of things. similar to what we have in
place with the town of Midland for the
[56:47] memorial that they have on phase one of
the park.
[56:51] » Commissioners, do you have any
questions?
[56:55] Okay, I do need a motion to approve the
county to partner with the town of
[56:58] Midland and feasibility
and design only for the proposed
[57:04] permanent entertainment stage at Rob
Wallace Park. Construction approval
[57:08] would come at a later date and be
associated with several agreements. So,
[57:13] » all those in favor, please say I.
>> I.
[57:15] » Any opposed? That carries 5-0.
>> All right. And we will move on to the
[57:21] third, which is donate law enforcement
vehicles to the town of Midland.
[57:26] » Yeah. The county has a longstanding
agreement with the town of Midland to
[57:30] provide law enforcement services, as we
do with also Harrisburg and Mount
[57:34] Pleasant. Um, two new vehicles were
recently purchased by the county for the
[57:39] provision of those services. The town
will fully reimburse the county for the
[57:43] cost of those vehicles. This action will
donate the two vehicles to the town so
[57:48] they can insure them through the North
Carolina League of Municipalities at
[57:52] their desired level. The county is
unable to obtain comparable insurance in
[57:57] the private marketplace. Um, for full
transparency, this agenda item is the
[58:01] exact agenda item from July 5th, 2022,
where this motion had to be made at a at
[58:08] a time also to do the same type of
activity so that um the town of Midland
[58:13] has to have the titles to be able to go
get the insurance. And I legally cannot
[58:18] give them those titles or should not
give them those titles unless they are
[58:22] donated. I will say that um County
Attorney Doug Hall and myself have
[58:27] written together a resolution that will
come in front of the board next month so
[58:32] that this won't have to be done every
time.
[58:36] » Commissioners, any comments or
questions? All right. I do need a motion
[58:40] to approve the donation of county assets
4072 and 4073 to the town of Midland.
[58:47] » All those in favor, please say I. I.
>> Any opposed? All right, that carries. 5
[58:51] Z.
>> Thank you so much for your time.
[58:54] » All right, we will move on to item
number four, boards and committees. Vea
[58:59] partners governing board appointment.
Ary, would you like to address this,
[59:04] ma'am?
>> Yes, ma'am. The Vaia partners governing
[59:07] board has selected a representative for
the seat being reserved for Cabaris
[59:11] County. John Eller, county manager, is
being recommended for appointment to the
[59:15] vacant seat as the Cabaris County
representative on the governing board.
[59:19] Permission is therefore being requested
to advance John Eller's name for
[59:23] consideration as the Cabaris County
Representative for a three-year term
[59:27] expiring September 30th, 2029.
Commissioners, do you have any questions
[59:31] or comments? All right. I do need a
motion to approve John Eller to serve
[59:35] the Cabaris County Representative on the
Vea Partners Governing Board for a
[59:39] three-year term expiring September 30th,
2029 and to include any necessary
[59:45] exemptions to the appointment policy.
>> So move. All those in favor, please say
[59:50] I. Any opposed? That carries 5 Z. Thank
you. And we will move on to reports. Um,
[59:58] just so you all know, the reports have
been included in your packet for review.
[1:00:02] Do you all have any questions regarding
those? Okay. Just remember that we do
[1:00:07] have vacancies still on our boards and
committees. So, please, if you are
[1:00:10] interested, please fill out an
application online for any of those
[1:00:13] boards and committees.
And I will start with Commissioner
[1:00:17] Pitman.
[1:00:20] » [clears throat]
>> On August 5th, the Paris
[1:00:26] transported
[1:00:30] 6,420
trips for a year to date, over 7,000 for
[1:00:36] Medicare patients. The on-time rate was
98%.
[1:00:42] going they've been going through a
period of driver shortages
[1:00:46] right at that moment they had 11 drivers
out of the need for 21 total. Um and
[1:00:54] they were at that time about to
interview four potential new drivers and
[1:00:58] they had two others interested.
Some dispatchers and supervisors are
[1:01:03] having to fill in the gaps for that lack
of drivers uh and are doing some of the
[1:01:09] driving.
Um unused funding from fiscal year uh 25
[1:01:14] through 26 has been reappropriated for
fiscal year 26 through 27. Annual
[1:01:20] trainings held on August 1st. They
stressed clocking in on time, having no
[1:01:25] conversations on the vehicle radio,
reviewed the uh operations manual and
[1:01:30] matters such as uh properly securing
wheelchairs in the buses and other
[1:01:35] proper usage of equipment. They
discussed uh Rideco community uh or
[1:01:41] communication system rather. They said
it's very helpful and more efficient
[1:01:45] than the previous system uh being
automated but with human superi
[1:01:49] supervision. It sends texts to riders
when the transportation vehicle is on
[1:01:54] the way and has allowed a reduction in
calls uh in call staff and provides
[1:02:00] stronger customer service.
After the meeting indoors, we went
[1:02:04] outside and the process of securing
wheelchairs and on buses was
[1:02:09] demonstrated to us and we were also told
that the transportation vehicles had
[1:02:14] been vandalized in the fenced in area at
that location uh where they were parked
[1:02:19] at the DHS facility having the catalytic
converters cut out of all or most of
[1:02:25] them. Um, in the near future, this
committee, in fact, I think it's going
[1:02:29] to happen this coming week or maybe
next, uh, this committee will begin
[1:02:34] meeting at the Milestone building and
those vehicles will be moved to that
[1:02:39] location over on uh, Canapapolis
Highway. Um, parking spaces have already
[1:02:45] been prepared for the buses over there
for when the transportation operations
[1:02:48] will be located there.
I had a question about um, okay, how you
[1:02:54] going to secure them there? and they
felt like they'd already be more secure
[1:02:57] in that location. We'll see how that
goes. Um I'm sure that cost us a bunch
[1:03:01] of money replacing those catalytic
converters, but I didn't get that
[1:03:05] figure. Um on August 5th, also met with
the local emergency planning committee.
[1:03:11] We got reports from participating
organizations, but they were very few
[1:03:16] and uh fairly routine.
I spoke on the termination of squad 410
[1:03:21] and stated that I was reluctant to take
that action but became convinced by what
[1:03:25] I saw uh as we proceeded that it was a
matter of efficiency and efficient use
[1:03:32] of resources
and I also pointed out that they were
[1:03:37] given five months notice and the county
has been seeking to help those uh
[1:03:41] employees find other employment within
Concord or uh committee I mean the
[1:03:46] county if possible.
Concord Fire Department hazardous
[1:03:50] materials team showed us one of their
vehicles and detailed the equipment and
[1:03:54] how they functioned on it. And that was
very revealing, very eye openening. One
[1:03:58] thing I did notice um for going to
hazardous material sites, they had a
[1:04:03] couple of different instruments that
they use. One I'd say is about that size
[1:04:09] that can tell them exactly what kind of
u gas they're dealing with so they know
[1:04:14] how to deal with that. that cost I
believe they said $70 million but um
[1:04:21] they think it'll pay for it um in the
long term pay for itself. Another piece
[1:04:26] of equipment a little smaller was um for
uh determining liquid hazardous
[1:04:34] materials and um I'm trying to remember
I think they said that was about 20 or
[1:04:40] $25,000 for that one. So I hope those
work out well. So, it it does save them
[1:04:45] some trouble trying to deal with that.
Otherwise,
[1:04:49] Midland Town Council met on August 11th.
Um the sheriff's report, uh I didn't get
[1:04:56] all of it, but it did say 265 calls
during the month, 104 dispatch calls,
[1:05:04] seven animal calls, two assault calls,
two breaking and entering calls at a
[1:05:08] storage at storage buildings, and uh 261
traffic stops in the Midland area.
[1:05:15] Midland Fire Department reported 118
calls, 60 of those being medical calls.
[1:05:21] NC DOT representatives came and they
reported on consideration of the
[1:05:26] proposed 2427 bypass for Midland. There
are three plans under consideration.
[1:05:32] They're leaning toward what they call a
shallow bypass plan with either two or
[1:05:37] four lanes with an overpass bridge. Uh
expecting 70% or 76% of traffic will
[1:05:44] take the bypass for 2427. The shallow
option would avoid the likelihood of
[1:05:49] flooding in the area.
The anticipated cost is 15 to $20
[1:05:54] million per mile and uh4 to 50 million
per interchange. So a rough estimate for
[1:06:01] the total package is 95 to $120 million.
The need to have a public comment
[1:06:07] opportunity was discussed and like a lot
of other road projects these days, it's
[1:06:12] going to be down the road a bit before
they get that done.
[1:06:16] Then today I met with the home care
community block grant uh advisory
[1:06:20] commission or committee rather. Um
they're waiting to learn uh the amount
[1:06:25] of reduction of state funds as different
from the pri prior expectation. They've
[1:06:31] been told that there was 28 million I
believe that they were going to get from
[1:06:37] like last year's leftover and now
there's been some change and they're not
[1:06:41] going to get that much. They're waiting
to find out how much they are going to
[1:06:44] get.
Um they said that they should know in
[1:06:48] September. So they're waiting on that
before uh setting contracts.
[1:06:54] Central has requested an expedited
communication on these things. They
[1:06:59] spent all allocations uh that they had
by the end of the fiscal year last year
[1:07:04] or this you know just ended in uh June.
They were able to cover transportation
[1:07:10] needs. uh the meals on wheels over
spent, but some of that was taken care
[1:07:15] of by funding that wasn't needed for
some other aspects of the work that they
[1:07:21] do. Um
the lunch plus waiting list at present
[1:07:28] time is about 25 people waiting to be
served.
[1:07:32] There are five sites among the the
several m municipalities in the county.
[1:07:37] Um,
Mount Pleasant, the Mount Pleasant site,
[1:07:42] uh, contract is nearing its end after 20
years. So, they're looking at what to do
[1:07:47] about that.
Housing and home improvement are waiting
[1:07:51] on two reimbursements. Two C crew
members got about 52 jobs completed and
[1:07:58] uh, I think that was in a month's time.
uh in on the homemade weight list there
[1:08:04] are about 450
uh waiting for that kind of service.
[1:08:10] There's one vacancy and one expired term
which James Poke is serving that term at
[1:08:16] the present time. And so they need
applications people to serve on uh these
[1:08:22] uh committees and agencies but not
they're not getting them presently and
[1:08:29] uh they put forward a request for James
Pulk to continue. The next meeting is
[1:08:34] November 16th. I asked James after
meeting was he any cand to James K. Pulk
[1:08:39] and he said yeah he was a distant
cousin. [laughter]
[1:08:45] » Thank you Commissioner Pitman.
Commissioner Wartman, you have anything?
[1:08:48] All right, Commissioner Jones.
[1:08:52] We are we in for some
>> We're in for a little dissertation
[1:08:55] » dissertation here.
>> All right. Uh talking about the human
[1:09:00] service advisory board update. Again, we
deal with a lot of different things and
[1:09:06] usually with the human services,
this is typical. All you hear is a
[1:09:11] negative and there's a lot of good that
comes. there's a lot of progress we're
[1:09:15] making. Um, and so at this point, we
need to start getting that out there and
[1:09:20] let people know how great our workers
are that we do have and what they do do
[1:09:23] is very important and they are having
success. So, with that, I'm going to go
[1:09:28] with our child welfare program update.
Uh, staffing, staffing's always been an
[1:09:34] issue. Uh recruiting and retaining
qualified social workers remains a
[1:09:38] priority as staffing levels directly
impact the case load, the timeliness and
[1:09:45] service delivery.
While child welfare continues to be an
[1:09:49] area of focus for the department, the
department turnover has dropped or
[1:09:53] improved by 11% between the calendar
years 2023 and 2025.
[1:09:59] Now I think with uh Mr. Eller coming on
board uh his experience in uh human
[1:10:06] services as well. Um
and the work that uh Dr. Pew has been
[1:10:12] doing with the advisory board, we are
changing the culture. We're getting
[1:10:16] better people in. Uh we're getting
people who are really committed to doing
[1:10:21] this. It's a tough job. Real tough job.
But, uh, we think we're going to get
[1:10:26] some very qualified people from
neighboring counties, uh, with a lot of
[1:10:30] experience that can step right in and
and do a lot of work for us. Um, foster
[1:10:36] care, foster care, they require us to do
monthly visit with 95% of the children
[1:10:42] each each uh, month. Um, Cabaris County
has met that standard in 12 or 12 months
[1:10:50] during 2026
fiscal year uh for all cases. This
[1:10:57] reflects the department continued
commitment to maintaining regular
[1:11:00] contact with children and care and
monitoring their safety and well-being.
[1:11:05] An average of 184 children were in
foster care each month. North Carolina
[1:11:12] Department of Human Health Services has
consistently indicated that the number
[1:11:15] of children in foster care in Cabaris
County aligns with the county's
[1:11:19] population, meaning there's not too
many, not too less. We're about where we
[1:11:25] should be, unfortunately. Um,
the agency will be looking at processes
[1:11:30] and best practices to help improve
prevention and supports for families
[1:11:35] involved with child welfare to help
their service plans. the need of
[1:11:39] supports for foster families as part of
our continuous improvement and strategy.
[1:11:45] During fiscal year 2026, the department
received an average of 126 child welfare
[1:11:52] reports each month. Approximately 58% of
the reports met state criteria for
[1:11:58] assessment and investigation, which
again aligns with the statewide averages
[1:12:03] for counties.
um foster care or foster care permanency
[1:12:09] outcomes. The goal is always to find the
kids and get them as quick as possible
[1:12:14] into a permanent stable living
situation. Um need them be safe, get
[1:12:20] them on so that they can excel in life.
Um
[1:12:25] what's interesting here is state average
for un reunification for parents is 24%.
[1:12:31] Cabaris County is 16%.
Placement with guardianship
[1:12:37] state average is 22%. Cabaris County is
33%.
[1:12:42] And adoption state average is 23%.
Cabaris County is 20%. You look at the
[1:12:48] numbers in total, we're right at the
state average. State average is 69%
[1:12:53] overall in permanency placing. Cabaris
County is 69% permanency placing. The
[1:12:58] key observation is Cabaris County relies
more heavily on guardianship which could
[1:13:03] be with relatives as a permanent outcome
that both the state average and
[1:13:08] neighboring comparison counties. This
plays significant role in helping
[1:13:12] Cabaris County children achieve that
permanent homes when you reunification
[1:13:17] is not possible. In other words,
children are still receiving the
[1:13:21] permanent homes just through a different
path. Um, so we're doing what's best for
[1:13:26] the children at the time and getting
them their permanency as quick as
[1:13:30] possible. Um, hopefully we can increase
the other numbers as well and we'll be
[1:13:36] above state average hopefully within the
next year or two. Uh, which would be
[1:13:42] good.
As previously stated, the agency will be
[1:13:47] looking at processes and best practices
to help improve prevention and support
[1:13:51] for families involved in child welfare
to help with their services, plans,
[1:13:57] needed supports, foster families as part
of our continued progress and strategy
[1:14:04] permanency within 12 months. Uh
typically in these cases when uh a child
[1:14:10] comes into DA comes into the custody um
basically we go through a court process
[1:14:18] and the goal is to reunify or find
permanent place within a year. Um you
[1:14:24] get case plans that the people work on.
The parents come in, they work through
[1:14:29] their case plan, get whatever help they
need uh to do that. They work and we
[1:14:34] work with the foster parents as well and
the children and try and reunify. That's
[1:14:38] the number one goal. And every case that
walks in the door, the very first goal
[1:14:43] is reunification.
Um we try and accomplish that within 12
[1:14:47] months. If we can't, we try and find
guardianship or placement within that 12
[1:14:50] months because we got to I mean these
kids need something permanent in their
[1:14:56] life. Um the state benchmarks requires
that 40.5% of children entering foster
[1:15:03] care achieve permanency within 12
months.
[1:15:07] This remains a significant challenge not
only for Cabaris County but for the
[1:15:10] counties across the region highlighting
broader challenges
[1:15:15] counties face in achieving time of
permanency. Cabaris County's progress
[1:15:20] fiscal year it was 7.6 six 2025 was
7.16%
[1:15:27] was all that we achieved
for fiscal year 2026 we have bumped it
[1:15:33] up to 12.87%.
So we have increased with 80% over the
[1:15:40] year. That just shows that we are making
progress. Progress is slow but we're
[1:15:45] making it. We've made some changes.
we're focusing more um on our processes
[1:15:51] and our ability to help the parents and
help the children. Um so 80% increase
[1:15:56] over yeartoear if we can keep that up
we'll be way above the state average
[1:16:00] before too long. Um as represented I
mean while performance remains below the
[1:16:07] state benchmark county cabar showed the
greatest improvement among neighborson
[1:16:11] comparison counties during 2026.
The department continues to focus on
[1:16:17] reducing barriers to permanency and
improving outcomes for children and
[1:16:20] families. State reviews. We continue to
partner with North Carolina Department
[1:16:25] of Health and Human Services for
oversight and child child welfare
[1:16:29] reviews. These reviews provide
opportunity to evaluate our compliance,
[1:16:33] identify our strength, identify our
weaknesses, and support ongoing quality
[1:16:38] improvement for us. So, we're always
looking to learn, always looking to
[1:16:42] improve.
Our immediate priorities,
[1:16:47] uh, we continue reducing vacancies and
turnover with staffing.
[1:16:52] We want to review wait times for
services that families who are involved
[1:16:55] with child welfare need. That's for to
get treatment like substance abuse,
[1:17:00] behavior, health services, housing,
parenting services. We have to
[1:17:04] coordinate that with every parent, every
child, every that comes into the system.
[1:17:10] Um there's a lot of services that we
offer and that we give to the parent,
[1:17:14] especially the parents to try and get
them where they can reunify with their
[1:17:19] children because that's the number one
goal. Um
[1:17:24] research consistently shows that
reunification is strongly influenced by
[1:17:28] parents access to and engagement in
these services particularly substance
[1:17:32] abuse treatment and supportive services.
Strengthen collaboration with the courts
[1:17:38] and attorneys to support premany for
children and care. Work with our court
[1:17:43] partners, child welfare law firm and
community partners to strengthen
[1:17:47] supportive services to families involved
in child welfare. It's a team effort. We
[1:17:52] don't do it by ourselves.
You know that we when we do get a call
[1:17:58] and we do have to intervene, the court
mandates what we have to do as well. Um
[1:18:04] and we have to work through that process
as well. And then we need all these
[1:18:08] services of all these other departments
and outside agencies um with their case
[1:18:14] load and stuff. We've got to work
through all that. So, this is a
[1:18:18] communitywide effort from everybody in
Cabaris County. Um, so despite the
[1:18:25] ongoing staffing challenges and the
increased service demands, Cabaris
[1:18:29] County is working diligently on
strengthening child safety, supporting
[1:18:33] families, and achieving timely
permanency for children in care. DSS
[1:18:38] leadership recently met with our DHS
regional director who noted that there
[1:18:45] is a lot of evidence that our child
welfare division is a well-run agency
[1:18:49] based on outcomes and various state
monitor indicators. In fact, in fiscal
[1:18:54] year 26, DSS met with met or exceeded
expectations for all statemandated
[1:19:01] memorandum of understanding outcomes
required by state statute. The work of
[1:19:06] the child welfare social worker is not
easy and we know there are always ways
[1:19:11] to improve. As the representative of
from the board, I am proud of the
[1:19:17] efforts of the staff and their
leadership for working to implement
[1:19:22] needed changes that strengthen our
system. We have made a lot of changes uh
[1:19:27] since I came on board and it's not
through me, it's through them. I I just
[1:19:32] happen to see what they're doing and see
the work by by going to the meetings.
[1:19:36] Um, and these people are working hard to
really improve this department and all
[1:19:42] of our services, whether it's veteran
services, uh, you know, Medicaid, any of
[1:19:48] those services. They are a dedicated
team and uh, and I I really appreciate
[1:19:53] what they have done. Uh, I'm just in awe
watching how hard they work to improve
[1:19:58] this department. Um, so this type of
thing we're working to does take time
[1:20:04] though and the work staff continues each
and every day to make the most of the
[1:20:09] situation and do the best practices and
ways to improve is always the number one
[1:20:15] goal is find ways to improve. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Commissioner Jones.
[1:20:21] Commissioner,
[clears throat]
[1:20:24] » um, pretty light month for me actually.
This will be quick. Harrisburg Town
[1:20:28] Council. Um, couple of just kind of
regular contractual items. They did have
[1:20:33] three public hearings on new
developments. Two of them were small
[1:20:37] single family homes. Those were
approved. The other one on the agenda
[1:20:40] was 149 lot residential neighborhood and
it was on 175 acres. Um, that applicant
[1:20:47] pulled that last minute. Um, so while it
remained on the agenda, they did not
[1:20:51] discuss it. So there will be a public
hearing on that project at some point.
[1:20:56] Excuse [clears throat] me. Uh, WASAC, we
meet on Thursday, so nothing to report
[1:21:01] there. Cabar's planning and zoning was
cancelled for a lack of agenda items, so
[1:21:06] nothing to report. Um, I did finally get
my board training at convention and
[1:21:12] visitors bureau, but I think that
they're I think the meeting is next
[1:21:16] week, so I'll report back on that one um
at the next meeting. Um, and then active
[1:21:22] living advisory council was this
morning. Um, lot going on at the active
[1:21:28] living and parks, uh, especially in the
month of September because it's senior
[1:21:33] center month celebration. I think I
counted 11 active um, project or, uh,
[1:21:38] events that are going to be happening
including an ice cream social, a 35th
[1:21:43] anniversary open house, some bingo,
indoor baseball. There's a lot going on.
[1:21:48] Um, so check out the website for that
one. I did just want to plug one thing
[1:21:53] um that uh is occurring tomorrow
morning. The Council on Aging is doing
[1:21:59] uh their first ever book sale to raise
funds. That'll happen from 9:00 a.m. to
[1:22:04] 400 p.m. at the Concord Active Living
Center. Uh and they have told me uh that
[1:22:10] they have books from all age for all
ages. So down from your littlest ones um
[1:22:15] up to adult books. So, um, if if you're
interested in the books, it it supports
[1:22:21] them 100% on putting on their programs
and events, and they're well priced as
[1:22:25] well. So, uh, I hope you'll join them
for that because if they don't sell them
[1:22:29] all, they've got to haul them back home.
Um, that's all I had, madam.
[1:22:34] » All right. Thank you. All right. Just a
couple of things. Um, at the Canapapolis
[1:22:38] City Council meeting, uh, this past
month, I was able to watch four new
[1:22:43] police officers sworn into the KPD. So,
congratulations to them. Um, also very
[1:22:48] thankful that um, none of the
Canapapolis police officers were hurt in
[1:22:53] a recent uh, situation that happened
that I think we have heard of to this
[1:22:58] point. Um, I did get the opportunity to
uh, attend the Locust City Council
[1:23:03] meeting last week. Um, I just got to
give a shout out to them. They are a
[1:23:08] phenomenal group of city council
members. Um, the mayor is hysterical. um
[1:23:14] and and their their city manager uh
Caesar is wonderful. So, I just want to
[1:23:19] thank them for their hospitality and I
look forward to seeing them in more city
[1:23:24] council meetings. They actually had the
NC DOT come and present there too, just
[1:23:30] like they did at the town of Midland
because they are right off of 2427 and
[1:23:34] so they are doing some studies right now
too to see how traffic is going to be
[1:23:38] impacted over the next 10 to 15 years.
Um, we also had the uh Cabara soil and
[1:23:44] water meeting. We have creek week coming
up at the end of September. Um, they
[1:23:48] just did a video about that as well for
um from on the government page for
[1:23:54] Facebook. So, I would encourage you all
to check that out. They do a lot of
[1:23:58] great work with our kids in the
community uh during Creek Week as well.
[1:24:02] Commissioners, do you have any other
general comments you'd like to make?
[1:24:06] Commissioner Pitman?
[1:24:11] Um,
someone's mentioned about where we stand
[1:24:15] on the GO GO bonds. I have not stated my
personal position on that because I
[1:24:21] didn't think it was appropriate as a
county commissioner to do that. Um, I
[1:24:26] will repeat though, the only reason I
put voted to put it on the ballot was
[1:24:29] because the people need to decide that.
And so that's why I wanted it on the
[1:24:34] ballot is let the people decide if we're
going to do that.
[1:24:38] Now, I want to say thank you to the
sheriff's office. I've been getting a
[1:24:42] lot of death threats. Uh got one
recently where the guy said somebody
[1:24:47] should beat me to death. It's been
tried, you know, and was not successful.
[1:24:52] Of course, I am getting older. They
might have better luck now. Um
[1:24:57] well, a deputy was assigned to look into
that. He found it was somebody in
[1:25:02] California. Uh because it was anonymous,
had no idea how to get hold of them.
[1:25:08] Let me explain something to you. I don't
have a county phone. So if you call try
[1:25:11] to get me here on the phone, it records
it as um an email. So that's how I get
[1:25:19] those messages. Anyway, they found this
guy in California. The police went and
[1:25:24] talked to him and um Oh, he was very
apologetic. I didn't mean it that way.
[1:25:30] Yeah, right. Um had more recent one and
they're looking into that one now. guy
[1:25:37] claimed to be a Christian, accused me of
a whole bunch of stuff, and said he
[1:25:41] wanted to see a bullet in my head, and
then he threatened my family. So,
[1:25:46] they're looking into that one. I hope
they get up with that one, too.
[1:25:50] Moving on. And this will not make some
of you happy. Um, but I would remind you
[1:25:56] that what I'm about to say was part of
what I campaigned on when I ran for this
[1:26:00] office.
and uh
[1:26:05] I won. Okay, so some of you may not like
it, but here's the facts where I stand
[1:26:11] on this matter of property taxes. I want
to thank Brian Chavaria for his work and
[1:26:17] our other local representatives for the
work they've tried to do to deal with
[1:26:21] this issue.
Um
[1:26:25] I think property tax legislation they
come up with is good, but it doesn't go
[1:26:30] far enough.
what I have said from during the
[1:26:34] campaign and what I told the committee
that was looking at that in Raleigh. You
[1:26:38] know, I was hoping to go speak to them
in person. It never worked out that way
[1:26:41] because they kept not taking public
comment, but uh I sent them a statement
[1:26:47] which was shared with the members of the
committee
[1:26:50] that no valuation of property should be
done by any government entities. It's
[1:26:56] none of our business what your property
is worth. Um, no one should have to pay
[1:27:02] taxes based on more than they actually
paid for their home. You know, when they
[1:27:07] sell it, if it's more than that person
taxes on that amount,
[1:27:11] no taxpayer funding should go to
anything that is not a government entity
[1:27:15] or a government responsibility. That
means no money to EDC, no money to any
[1:27:21] kind of business incentives.
Um, you know, we're we have to do
[1:27:25] regulations to make sure governments
treat each other fairly, treat the
[1:27:29] people fairly, do things legally, that
sort of thing. But beyond that, bringing
[1:27:33] business in is not a government
responsibility.
[1:27:37] As far as the EDC and Chamber of
Commerce, you know, nothing wrong with
[1:27:41] them existing and doing the things that
they do, but he shouldn't get any
[1:27:44] taxpayer money for doing it. Um, so I've
always been against those things. I
[1:27:51] still am. That's why I've not voted for
the budget the last two years because
[1:27:54] they didn't take those things out like I
asked them to do. Um, giving to
[1:28:00] charitable institutions also should be
totally voluntary. If individuals want
[1:28:04] to give, let them give. One thing, if
you don't overt tax them, they might be
[1:28:08] able to afford to give a little better.
Uh, it should be totally voluntary, not
[1:28:13] by taxation.
Cutting out such inappropriate spending,
[1:28:18] I believe, will make paying for actual
government entities and government
[1:28:22] responsibilities more efficient. So,
that's what I told them. I hope we'll
[1:28:27] get there someday, but at least um you
know, I do support the amendment that
[1:28:32] we're asked to vote on and uh I hope
they'll go further than that going
[1:28:36] forward. Thank you,
>> Commissioner Wartman.
[1:28:42] Just wanted to point out that our very
own Ary has completed officially
[1:28:48] completed uh clerk school. So she is
officially officially the clerk.
[1:28:53] [laughter]
>> Officially officially
[1:28:54] » congratulations on completing [applause]
[1:29:00] » Thank you, Commissioner Wartman. And I
just want to say that you are doing a
[1:29:04] fantastic job even though you had not
been officially official until now. Um,
[1:29:11] we are grateful to have you. You're
welcome. Commissioner Jones.
[1:29:21] » I'm opposite of Larry. I'm I'm against
the tax amendment. Just want to let
[1:29:25] y'all know that.
>> All right. And, uh, Commissioner
[1:29:30] Patrick. Um
yeah, I want to thank uh Commissioner
[1:29:35] Pitman and also um Commissioner Jones
for being very careful about the way
[1:29:39] they said that because there are two
things about referenda that are on the
[1:29:45] ballot that I think everybody should
know. We are not allowed as a board by
[1:29:51] state law to use any taxpayer funds to
support or oppose the referenda. That
[1:29:59] goes for the geo bonds and that goes for
the constitutional amendment. Now, if
[1:30:06] you'd like to see me afterwards and know
exactly where I stand on both of those,
[1:30:10] I will tell you as a voter, uh, which is
my right, but this body has to be very
[1:30:16] careful about what we say. We cannot
support or oppose. We may only educate,
[1:30:21] which is why if you watch the the geo
bonds video, you'll see that we were
[1:30:26] very careful not to say yes, support it
or no, don't. All we can give you is the
[1:30:32] information and it's up to the people to
decide whether it passes or not. Um,
[1:30:38] frankly, as it should be. Uh, I can give
you a little bit of education on the
[1:30:43] constitutional amendment. Um,
all it basically says is that the voters
[1:30:50] would approve or deny the ability of the
legislature to make laws regarding tax
[1:30:59] limits. Um, there is no law proposed uh
nor is there any information about what
[1:31:07] that would mean for services or anything
like that. It is simply a question. Do
[1:31:12] you want to give the legislature that
right and enshrine it in the
[1:31:16] constitution? That is it. Um, so I just
thought it was important so people don't
[1:31:21] keep coming up here and saying what are
the board of commissioners going to say
[1:31:25] about this. We cannot. It is going to be
on the ballot.
[1:31:30] Our hands are tied by state law and I
don't want the uh sheriffs in the back
[1:31:34] to say something to me afterwards. So
madam, I just wanted to clear that up.
[1:31:38] » Thank you Patrick. So, um, first I want
to highlight, um, our animal shelter
[1:31:45] video for this month. So, this month I
was able to meet Button, Hunter, and
[1:31:50] Fisher.
[1:31:53] Hey folks, I'm Laura. This is Button.
This is Hunter. This is Fisher. And this
[1:31:59] is your August shelter update. Let's go
meet those friendly faces. Now,
[1:32:04] Button is approximately 6 [music] years
old. And according to a volunteer
[1:32:09] donated DNA test, Button is 33% American
Pitbull Terrier, 29% [music] American
[1:32:16] Staffordshire Terrier, 18% boxer, 8%
Boston Terrier, and 5% American Akita.
[1:32:22] [music] She is cute as a button, and
looking for a family of her own.
[1:32:27] Hunter. Hunter and Fisher were brought
in as strays at [music] approximately 3
[1:32:32] years old, and both boys are looking for
a family to call their own.
[1:32:38] Button, Hunter, and Fisher are just a
few examples of animals that could be
[1:32:42] your next play partner, couch companion,
or snooze sidekick. Whatever you're
[1:32:47] looking for, you can find it right here
at the Cabaris County Animal Shelter.
[1:32:53] And I just want to say thank you to
Julie who is here. She's never here when
[1:32:56] I get to do these videos at the end of
the at the end of the meeting, but she
[1:33:00] is so welcoming and helps me with all of
these videos. And um I just want to
[1:33:05] thank you. so much for your support of
allowing us to do this because I know
[1:33:09] it's a lot of work for you too. Um, and
then so the last thing I have is five
[1:33:15] things that you need to know. So number
one, the ADA survey. First, a reminder
[1:33:20] about our ADA survey. Please take a few
minutes to complete it and help us
[1:33:25] create a more accessible facilities,
programs, and services. Responses are
[1:33:30] confidential. You can find the survey on
our website under the featured tab at
[1:33:35] the bottom of the homepage. Second, the
veterans benefits event. Cabaris County
[1:33:41] Veterans Services is partnering with
Meckllinburgg Union Rowan and Gaston
[1:33:45] counties for a veterans benefits live VA
in my town on August 20th through the
[1:33:52] 21st at Friendship Missionary Baptist
Church in Charlotte. Veterans can
[1:33:57] connect directly with local veteran
services officers, VA representatives,
[1:34:02] and community partners to learn about
benefits, programs, and services.
[1:34:06] Pre-registration is encouraged, but
walk-ins are welcome. You can register
[1:34:11] using the link on our Cabaris County
Facebook page. Number three, core event.
[1:34:16] Our collaborative opioid recovery and
education or core team is hosting a free
[1:34:22] public event Wednesday, August the 19th
at Afton Ridge Library and Active Living
[1:34:27] Center. It starts at 5:00 p.m. You'll
learn more about what core team does and
[1:34:33] how Cabaris County is using opioid
settlement funds to support residents.
[1:34:37] There will be complimentary food
resources, entertainment, and
[1:34:41] opportunities con to connect with
partner organizations. Number four,
[1:34:46] powerful tools for caregivers. We know
caring for a loved one can be
[1:34:50] challenging, so we have a virtual class
to help. Powerful tools for caregivers
[1:34:55] is a free six-w weekek virtual series
designed to help family caregivers
[1:34:59] reduce stress, build confidence,
communicate effectively, and find
[1:35:04] helpful resources. Classes are held
virtually Wednesdays from 2 to 4
[1:35:09] beginning August 26th. Participants will
receive a caregiver handbook and
[1:35:14] supporting materials. Class size is
limited and pre-registration is
[1:35:19] required. Call Cabaris County Adult and
Aging Services at 704-9201400
[1:35:27] and choose option seven to register.
Participants will need a computer with
[1:35:32] internet access and a webcam. And number
five, county inspectors earn statewide
[1:35:38] honors. Last, but certainly not least,
congratulations to two of our county
[1:35:43] inspectors. Gary Martin was recently
named district D district 3 building
[1:35:47] inspector of the year by the North
Carolina Building Inspectors Association
[1:35:52] representing Cabaris and 11 surrounding
counties. Mike Cox was named mechanical
[1:35:57] inspector of the year by the North
Carolina Mechanical Inspectors
[1:36:01] Association. These are both
well-deserved honors and we are proud to
[1:36:05] having them serve Cabaris County.
All right, that is all for me.
[1:36:10] Commissioners, do you have any other
comments you'd like to make this
[1:36:13] evening? Okay, with that, I'll take a
motion to adjurnn.
[1:36:16] » So move.
>> All those in favor, please say I. Any
[1:36:20] opposed? All right, we are adjourned.
Thank you all for joining us this
[1:36:24] evening.