[0:00] for

[0:33] what we expect to be an amazing

[0:37] occasion this

[0:39] morning we've got some business to

[0:42] discuss related to incentive agreements

[0:44] related to the county and the town of

[0:46] Selma so with that I am going to uh turn

[0:50] it over to Chairman Lauder to see about

[0:53] an invocation thank you mayor mcau and

[0:55] thank you for hosting us today is always

[0:57] good to be in Selma and it seems like the more I'm in Selma the more

[1:02] special occasions we get to celebrate so

[1:03] I need to I need to come more um as is

[1:06] customary for the Commissioners we will

[1:08] open with the invocation and a pledge so

[1:11] if you would um and if you feel so LED

[1:13] please stand for the invocation I've

[1:15] called on commissioner Stevens to lead

[1:17] us in the in the

[1:21] invocation dear friends as We Gather

[1:23] today let us bow our heads in gratitude

[1:26] for the growth and opportunity that

[1:27] surrounds us may this event be blessed

[1:29] with with a spirit of progress unity and

[1:32] prosperity let our endeavors bear fruit

[1:34] and may our community continue to

[1:36] flourish in abundance under your grace

[1:38] amen amen and mayor per Tim Scarboro if

[1:43] you would lead us in the pledge of leg

[1:45] turn to the flag

[1:47] please I pledge alance to the flag of

[1:51] the United States of America and to the

[1:54] repu for which it stands one nation

[1:57] under God indivisible Li

[2:03] [Music]

[2:10] Justice all

[2:14] right and with that I'm going to call

[2:18] the town of Selma special meeting to

[2:22] order and I will call the meeting of the

[2:25] Johnson County Commissioners to order as

[2:27] well

[2:28] [Music]

[2:31] if there are any opening remarks from

[2:33] the public uh we'll take that now take

[2:36] that time to receive opening

[2:42] remarks all

[2:44] right and and I will now open the public

[2:47] hearing and call on Chris Johnson to

[2:49] come forward and present a general

[2:52] summary of the

[2:58] project good good morning County and

[3:01] town of Selma leadership um allow me to

[3:04] First recognize the passing of your

[3:06] colleague my mentor my boss my friend

[3:10] and friend of many uh commissioner Tony

[3:14] brazwell um this is the first meeting

[3:16] that I've been able to

[3:18] publicly um pass my condolences along to

[3:21] the uh the board and also to his family

[3:24] I'll be ever grateful uh for his support

[3:27] of me and my role as the economic

[3:29] developer of Johnston County a job that

[3:31] I've loved since day one and that I

[3:33] continue to love today I'm confident

[3:36] that he's looking down from heaven with

[3:37] big grin on his face because of today's

[3:39] project before you he may or may not

[3:42] have his Bape pin I don't know if that's

[3:44] allowed in heaven or not but it be uh it

[3:47] wouldn't be with it wouldn't be him

[3:49] without that so um now last night I was

[3:52] typing out this

[3:54] presentation and uh but when I read my

[3:56] morning devotion I was hit with the

[3:58] verse of Ecclesiastes

[4:00] 52 do not be quick with your mouth do

[4:03] not be Hasty with your heart to utter

[4:05] anything before God God is in heaven and

[4:07] you are on earth so let your Words Be

[4:10] Few now being few

[4:13] uh I've just received a text about five

[4:17] or 10 minutes ago stating that uh our

[4:20] project team um went to the county

[4:23] courthouse and so that they were seven

[4:25] minutes away as of two minutes ago so

[4:27] they may be walking in so

[4:30] um I'll try to remain few but I may have

[4:33] to drag this out so if they they walk in

[4:37] understand that uh they're

[4:40] coming so at this time allow me to begin

[4:43] with a quick walk down memory lane

[4:47] Burlington Mills Phil Crest Mills

[4:50] channelm eatting Corporation Jared

[4:54] spinning devil dog Flextronics B&M

[4:58] Machining KR Edwards

[5:01] tobacco these are just a few companies

[5:03] that during the mid90s closed and

[5:06] relocated outside of the United States

[5:10] within a matter of three years the

[5:12] Smithville summer region and communities

[5:14] along the I95 Corridor lost over 6,000

[5:18] jobs when you add in data General and

[5:21] champion in Clayton this figure exceeds

[5:25] a thou a staggering 885 00 jobs during

[5:31] this time period now not only did we

[5:33] lose uh meaningful employment

[5:35] opportunities for our citizens but we

[5:37] also lost the important Executives that

[5:39] were community and Civic leaders leaders

[5:42] who supported organizations such as the

[5:43] quanas the rotary JC Lions Club Boy

[5:47] Scouts and the list goes on and on and if you consider the population of

[5:53] johnst County at this time this was

[5:55] nearly 10% of our population not our

[5:59] Workforce our

[6:01] population with the labor shed here in

[6:03] Johnston County that exceeds

[6:05] 115,000 today nearly 70% of our

[6:09] residents sadly have to get into their

[6:11] Automobiles and leave our community

[6:13] daily to find Quality

[6:15] Employment our office has always lived

[6:18] by The Motto that nothing empowers a

[6:20] person more than a good paying job with

[6:22] a living wage and is because of the

[6:24] leadership the vision and the

[6:26] collaboration our citizens will have

[6:28] that personal empowerment right here in

[6:30] Johnston County today you have the

[6:33] ability to change to to to change and

[6:36] make this happen to make generational

[6:39] changes for the lives of the citizens

[6:41] here in Selma in Johnston County it is

[6:44] Crystal Window and Door desire to

[6:47] invest and build and create a facility

[6:50] located in the town of Selma as with any

[6:53] economic development project it is

[6:55] always extremely competitive with

[6:57] potential sites and facilities and other

[6:59] counties and states in addition to the

[7:02] $96 million investment and I'll let you

[7:06] soak that in for a second a

[7:08] state-of-the-art facility that uh will

[7:11] be under the construction of Arco design

[7:13] build and Matt horses has Thomas chin

[7:17] with them in the call right now um the

[7:20] $96 million investment will be the

[7:23] largest in Selma's history to date

[7:25] crystals windows and doors will also

[7:27] create approximately 5 00 new jobs with

[7:30] an average salary of

[7:33] $56,000 this is in addition to

[7:35] incredible health coverage for their

[7:37] employees as I've mentioned before to

[7:40] the citizens that have contacted the

[7:42] office and asked about incentives I

[7:44] would like to reiterate to everyone here

[7:46] in attendance and turning and tuning in

[7:48] on the web that any Economic Development

[7:51] incentive offer comes with no Financial

[7:53] Risk to the taxpayers these incentives

[7:56] only come from the company's investment

[7:59] this this grant equates to a percentage

[8:01] of the tax taxes Crystal windows will

[8:03] pay on the personal property portion of

[8:07] the 96 million investment if the

[8:10] required benchmarks set forth in the

[8:12] agreement are not met no incentive again this comes at no Financial Risk to

[8:18] the taxpayers and citizens of Selma or

[8:21] Johnston County the return on investment

[8:24] isn't unbelievable when you put the

[8:26] agreement in perspective during the

[8:28] grant period the town of s is projected

[8:30] to receive and add to their tax base

[8:32] over

[8:34] $729,000 for the town during the grant

[8:36] period after the grant period is

[8:38] complete the facility become will become

[8:40] the largest taxpayer for the town for

[8:43] Johnston County it will receive an add

[8:45] over 838 th000 during this time as well

[8:48] again new investment no risk as all in

[8:52] uh economic develop incentive grants

[8:54] project clear has been vetted and

[8:56] approved by the Johnston County Economic

[8:58] Development board many of them in here

[9:00] today A board that consists of 14

[9:03] business Civic and Community leaders

[9:05] that represents every municipality in

[9:07] Johnston County as customary the project

[9:10] and investment projections have also

[9:12] been evaluated by the by Dr Mike Walden

[9:15] retired professor and Economist for

[9:17] North Carolina State University his

[9:20] reports show that the monetary

[9:21] investment as well as the jobs and

[9:24] ancillary job growth is projected to be

[9:26] in the millions annually for the county

[9:28] and our communities

[9:30] as Jennifer Slusher our County attorney

[9:32] will cover the project checks all the

[9:34] four legal statutory box with regards to

[9:37] offering an economic development

[9:38] incentive one does it meet the job

[9:41] creation requirement 500 jobs with an

[9:44] average salary of 56,000 is well above

[9:47] the county average this is more than

[9:50] double for the town of

[9:53] Selma does it meet the investment

[9:56] threshold yes $96 million exceeds the

[10:00] County's policy of 5 million does it

[10:02] meet the competition with other

[10:04] locations crystals windows and doors

[10:07] footprint stretches across the US and

[10:09] was considering investing in other areas

[10:11] of the US and in North Carolina and does

[10:15] the project meet the diversification

[10:17] requirement again with a loss of over

[10:19] 6,000 textiles manufacturing jobs in the

[10:22] early 90s the Smithfield Selma region

[10:25] has long been lacking in

[10:27] manufacturing we resp so the answer to

[10:30] all these questions is an undeniable yes

[10:34] and we respectfully ask that the County

[10:35] Commissioners in the town of Selma

[10:37] consider the economic development Grant

[10:39] presented before you and be awarded to

[10:41] Crystal windows and doors again crystal

[10:44] is only eligible after the project is

[10:46] completed and the requirements set forth

[10:49] in the agreement are met economic

[10:51] development is a team sport and I'd like

[10:53] to be and I'd be remissed if I didn't

[10:56] recognize several individuals and

[10:58] companies that assisted the county and

[11:01] the town for this opportunity now I know

[11:03] I can get in trouble when you start

[11:05] naming names because I am confident that

[11:07] I will miss someone and if I do please

[11:10] accept my apology but the staff would

[11:13] first of all like to thank the edpnc

[11:16] staff I saw Austin uh Rouse earlier uh

[11:19] Miss Ellen Tai who's no longer with EDM

[11:21] PNC kind of started this project a year

[11:23] and a half ago I saw Mr Andrew Tate in

[11:27] attendance but also like to thank Mr

[11:29] Phillips a dear friend of mine from the

[11:31] northeastern part of North Carolina who

[11:32] assisted us with the Carolina investment

[11:35] uh Grant fund we'd also like to thank

[11:37] the North Carolina railroad for their

[11:39] site ready grant that was offered uh a

[11:42] year or so ago for this also NC doot

[11:46] rail for the rail spur and finally would

[11:49] like to thank Senator bonari and

[11:51] representative Strickland as well as our

[11:53] general assembly delegation for their

[11:55] Appropriations to the town of Selma that

[11:58] will assist in the rail SP rail spur

[12:00] design and construction I'm sure there

[12:03] are others but I want to be mindful of

[12:05] my devotional message this morning to

[12:08] Let My Words Be Few so at this time I'd

[12:11] like to call on Miss Jennifer Slusher to

[12:12] present you with the legal language as

[12:15] well as attorney town uh Town attorney

[12:17] chip hwit to discuss the project summary

[12:20] and answer any questions I'll then step

[12:22] back to introd introduce Mr Thomas chin

[12:26] with Crystal windows and doors invite

[12:27] him to make a few comments and I hope

[12:29] he's he's here there there is okay stay

[12:32] I'll call on you in a minute Mr Chan

[12:33] thank you very

[12:43] much good morning Mr chairman Mr Mayor

[12:47] and members of the board I appreciate

[12:49] the opportunity to be able to present to

[12:52] you uh the resolution for Johnston

[12:54] County for a proposed Economic

[12:56] Development incentive Grant agreement uh

[12:58] for the project proposed by Crystal

[13:01] Window and Door Systems as described by

[13:04] Mr Johnson uh prior to get getting into

[13:07] all the details of the documents I want

[13:10] to take you uh through and refresh your

[13:13] recollection about what you're required

[13:15] to review and consider um when making

[13:18] your determination as Chris mentioned

[13:20] there are some things that you need to

[13:22] think about number one job creation

[13:25] number two capital investment number

[13:28] three competition ition and number four

[13:30] diversification of the economy so

[13:33] keeping all of those factors in mind I'd

[13:35] like to review the framework of the

[13:37] proposed um incentive agreement with

[13:40] Crystal Window and Door Systems uh this

[13:43] incentive Grant as proposed is based

[13:45] solely on investments for business

[13:47] personal property um it does not include

[13:50] real estate Investments and while the

[13:52] total uh proposed investment is

[13:55] estimated to be in excess of $96 million

[13:58] the the incentive Grant agreement

[14:00] requires performance commitments based

[14:02] on business personal property

[14:03] Investments only which is estimated to

[14:05] be$ 57

[14:07] million in order to receive the proposed

[14:10] incentives the company is required to

[14:11] locate the facility in the Eastfield

[14:14] development make Capital Investments of

[14:17] business personal property in an amount

[14:19] not less than 57 uh million do and

[14:22] manufacture and distribute the aluminum

[14:25] and vinyl window and doors uh that that

[14:27] we've talked about and while it's

[14:30] anticipated that the employment for this

[14:33] project will create 500 jobs the minimum

[14:36] required employment is 206 permanent

[14:39] full-time jobs and the the reason for

[14:42] that number is because we want that job

[14:44] creation early and that commitment is

[14:47] within uh is by December

[14:49] 2025 um they will continue to scale

[14:53] throughout the project and and build

[14:54] jobs uh throughout the project um these

[14:58] positions are well well paid positions

[15:00] and the average salary is not less than

[15:03] $56,000 um like I like I just mentioned

[15:07] um like all Industrial Development

[15:10] projects that we deal with the capital

[15:12] Investments and the additions to the

[15:14] employment are going to be made over a

[15:15] period of time the capital investment

[15:18] estimated date of completion is December

[15:21] 2027 and the minimum job creation as I

[15:24] mentioned is December

[15:26] 2025 uh the incentive proposal is a cash

[15:29] grant that is made in seven annual

[15:32] payments and those payments are

[15:33] anticipated to uh begin in 20128 and

[15:38] they will continue until

[15:40] 2023 and they're Quantified and measured

[15:42] based upon the ADV valorum taxes uh that

[15:45] are actually paid and in this case it's

[15:48] around uh it's 70% and we have estimated

[15:51] that for the county um that that uh that

[15:55] annual payment will be around $279,000

[15:59] per year um if incentives are granted to

[16:02] Crystal Window and Door Center um

[16:04] systems they must provide a

[16:06] certification of those Investments uh to

[16:08] confirm that uh that everything that was

[16:11] committed to be done was done and as

[16:14] Chris mentioned the company does not

[16:15] receive any incentives until the

[16:17] investment and employment commitments

[16:19] are met uh Grant payments are

[16:21] conditioned upon performance of the

[16:23] company and there are additional

[16:26] conditions that are contained uh in the

[16:28] proposed agreement which is uh one that

[16:30] all ADV valorum tax payments must be

[16:33] made in full uh they must be current on

[16:36] all payments owed to the county uh they

[16:38] must be current on filing all of their

[16:41] uh tax listings have no current appeals

[16:44] with the property tax commission uh

[16:46] regarding the valuation of the project

[16:48] site and its equipment and have no

[16:51] violation other uh or other obligations

[16:54] um to the county um there's also

[16:57] recapture provisions within the

[16:59] agreement if Crystal Window and Door

[17:01] Systems does not carry out and maintain

[17:03] uh the terms of the

[17:05] agreement and finally considering the

[17:08] proposals for the incentives that have

[17:09] been PR presented uh let's talk about

[17:12] the framework of the uh proposed

[17:14] agreement with what you're required to

[17:16] consider uh prior to deciding how you'd

[17:19] like to proceed uh with regards to the

[17:22] job creation piece uh the project

[17:24] provides a creation of substantial

[17:26] number of permanent jobs uh in this case there are uh direct job creation of

[17:32] not less than 206 with an estimated of

[17:35] 500 jobs with the average salary of

[17:38] $556,000

[17:39] 61 uh we had an economic impact study

[17:42] done by Dr uh Mike Walden and that study

[17:46] said that the private sector direct and

[17:48] indirect impact um as a result of this

[17:51] investment is 920 jobs um and that's

[17:55] significant the capital investment you

[17:58] know you're supposed to look at how does

[18:00] it increase the tax base um and the

[18:03] required capital investment for this

[18:04] project is 57 million but when you add

[18:08] in those real estate Investments you're

[18:10] at $96 million and according to the

[18:13] Walden report uh the private sector

[18:16] annual operating impact taking into

[18:19] account all of the direct and indirect

[18:21] induced impacts from the development is

[18:23] estimated to be um in excess of 169

[18:29] million uh finally we look at the

[18:31] initial but for necess uh necessity

[18:34] determination and but for uh the

[18:37] incentives that are being offered by the

[18:39] county and the town today Crystal Window

[18:42] and Door Systems would not have chosen

[18:43] to locate in Johnston County we were

[18:46] competing with several locations for

[18:48] this project um there will be a written

[18:52] agreement that governs this

[18:54] implementation a draft of that agreement

[18:56] is attached to your resolution and and

[18:59] certainly this project meets the

[19:01] requirements of diversification of the

[19:03] economy because of the job creation and

[19:06] the increased tax base um there is a net

[19:09] public benefit that arises from these

[19:12] incentives um all of this is addressed

[19:14] in the Walden economic um impact

[19:17] analysis and simply put Crystal Window

[19:21] and Door Systems will be bring jobs and

[19:24] additional private sector impacts to the

[19:26] county to meet all of the requirements

[19:28] that are requ required under the statute

[19:30] uh the project and proposed incentives

[19:33] uh do meet all of the standards that

[19:35] you're required should you choose to

[19:37] approve it um and and you know we

[19:39] lawyers are not always great at keeping

[19:42] our words short and and small so I I

[19:45] know that that was a lot and Mr huitt

[19:48] sends his regrets today his his

[19:50] colleague Megan Clinton is here today on

[19:53] behalf the town of Selma

[20:11] good morning um I'm Megan on behalf of

[20:14] hu Law Group and as attorney slusser has

[20:17] put with the incentive agreement um the

[20:20] town of Selma's incentive agreement is

[20:22] in unison with the counties um so to not

[20:25] belabor the points that were already

[20:27] mentioned um is a tier three incentive

[20:30] for the town of Selma um but all of the

[20:33] main points Miss ler has already covered

[20:35] so if you have any questions just let us

[20:45] know at this time it's a great honor to

[20:48] introduce Mr Thomas chin uh the founder

[20:52] and chairman of uh Crystal ws and Mr

[20:55] Chin if you could step up to the podium

[21:06] good morning everyone and Mr Mayor and

[21:10] chairman and

[21:12] quiz uh I'm Thomas Chen from Crystal

[21:15] windows I come to America I'm from

[21:18] Taiwan come to America

[21:20] 1982 I st in Crystal into 1990 now we

[21:24] have uh fight location across the

[21:27] country and to come to North Carolina we

[21:30] did select many area at the end with F

[21:33] Json County and also segman City it's a

[21:36] best for us so we make decision right

[21:39] away we we have start to do that and

[21:43] thank you for everybody's help help

[21:47] and sorry I I have language bar only

[21:50] there bit inage but next time I know

[21:53] when I come to North Carolina I will

[21:55] Improvement my English so special is

[21:58] going to be my first teacher teacher me

[22:00] more English so Mr CH Mr CH so Mr CH Mr

[22:06] CH most of us are challenged with

[22:08] English as well so you're right at home

[22:10] oh okay thank

[22:12] you I do I know I have many teacher here

[22:14] too not not only only qu qu that number

[22:17] one all right

[22:21] okay and also

[22:23] s also thank you for give us many

[22:26] financial support and you investment

[22:29] will be pay back soon or we will work

[22:32] hard we will try hard to do as as more

[22:35] as we could all right so uh you know

[22:40] putting the package together we're

[22:43] looking forward to being in the part of

[22:45] s business

[22:47] community so thank you thank you for

[22:49] helping us thank you for let us have

[22:51] opportunity to do business with be

[22:54] C all right thank you

[23:07] all right uh I will ask the county

[23:09] commissioner any questions of Chris

[23:12] Jennifer Megan Mr

[23:16] Chin all right no questions from the the

[23:19] Commissioners and I will ask the S of

[23:21] Town Council any questions for those

[23:23] that have just spoken to us about this

[23:27] project all right thank you very

[23:30] much are there any citizens present that

[23:33] would like to comment as part of this

[23:36] incentive agreement

[23:40] meeting and I would do the same for the

[23:42] county commissioner's public hearing if

[23:43] there any uh public comments please step

[23:46] forward to the microphone and uh

[23:48] introduce yourself introduce name and

[23:49] address for the record please yes sir

[23:51] thank you uh Jeff Holt mayor of Pine

[23:54] Level address 507 West Pine Street and

[23:59] it's uh it's fortunate that I get to

[24:01] address both boards uh today because I

[24:04] have I have comments that I would like

[24:06] to direct to to both groups relative to

[24:09] uh to today's announcement um and I do

[24:11] wear both hats today I not only am I

[24:13] here representing the citizens of Pine

[24:15] Level and in my hometown uh I'm also a

[24:18] business owner here in Selma and also in

[24:20] the uh the etj area of Smithfield so um

[24:23] I'll I'll direct my uh my town related

[24:26] questions or not questions I'm not I'm

[24:28] not here to ask questions and expect

[24:30] answers but I will direct my comments

[24:32] first as it relates to the town of Pine

[24:34] Level and then I'll uh I'll segue into

[24:36] my uh my business my business points um

[24:41] I guess I'd say first of all that um

[24:43] having served as a town councilman and

[24:45] mayor in Pine Level for 30 years I don't

[24:49] know how many of you in here can raise

[24:50] your hand and say you served as an

[24:51] elective office for 30 years but I've

[24:53] lived in Pine Level for 60 years and and

[24:56] served as a as a servant there in Pine

[24:58] Level for 30 years and during all this

[25:01] time the area that we're talking about

[25:03] that is being uh proposed for

[25:04] development or will be developed being

[25:07] uh discussed today about these these

[25:08] economic incentive grants uh was in

[25:11] essence part of Pine

[25:13] Level when the uh General statutes the

[25:17] general assembly established zoning in

[25:18] North Carolina years ago and we towns

[25:20] and Johnson County participated and we

[25:22] identified our etj areas as one mile

[25:25] outside our town limits uh if there were

[25:28] areas or towns that budded like

[25:30] Smithfield and smma did like Pine Level

[25:33] and Salma did and you couldn't have an

[25:35] one mile to uh to to govern for lack of

[25:38] a better word we split the difference

[25:40] halfway um and the general assembly and

[25:44] their Infinite Wisdom chose not to

[25:47] establish that etj line as a a line in

[25:51] the sand for lack of a better

[25:53] description to protect one town from uh

[25:57] the development of other towns uh I

[25:59] don't want to use the word encroachment

[26:01] that sounds like an ugly word but uh but

[26:04] the etj as we all whether it be towns or

[26:07] counties establish our long range

[26:09] comprehensive land use plans we include

[26:12] the etj as part of our long range growth

[26:15] plans and we establish zoning

[26:17] jurisdictions and we target certain

[26:19] areas whether it be for agriculture or

[26:21] business or residential or industrial

[26:23] whatever the case may

[26:26] be in the last couple of years through

[26:29] the development of the Eastfield project

[26:32] and through the acquisition of of

[26:34] various

[26:35] properties the town of Selma City Limits

[26:39] has has grown

[26:41] contiguously contiguous being the key

[26:44] the general assembly General statutes

[26:46] 160d does not allow a town to Annex

[26:49] within anyone else's etj unless it is

[26:52] condous they they they can't satellite

[26:55] Annex a piece of property inside one

[26:57] Town's etj so so through various

[26:59] purchases and growths and whatever we

[27:02] now have a puzzle so to speak with dots

[27:05] connected now this piece of property

[27:08] we're talking about today uh there's one

[27:11] tract of land between it and our city

[27:14] limits one track and uh probably

[27:17] negotiations with those Property Owners

[27:19] to buy that so in in in the near future

[27:23] possibly the town of Selma and the town

[27:25] of pine will be separated by a city

[27:28] limit sign and not any type of extr

[27:31] territorial jurisdiction to give us any

[27:34] control um or management of development

[27:37] within that area which we've always had

[27:42] and

[27:43] that in my opinion is why I'm here to

[27:46] express the concerns of the 2600 folks

[27:50] that live in Pine Level thank goodness a

[27:51] bunch of us 2600 folks because now what

[27:55] used to be Pine Level is now

[27:57] sellman and that's okay because our

[28:00] legislature said as it is um but in an

[28:04] area that has been traditionally

[28:05] agriculture or traditionally single

[28:08] family

[28:09] homes um there are now counted this

[28:13] morning on my way to work almost 30

[28:16] residences in that area that are either

[28:20] adjoin some of this property at some

[28:22] point or a new road that is going to

[28:24] service this project is going to dump

[28:27] right into 7

[28:29] right in the middle of all these

[28:32] houses that possibly was not a concern

[28:36] of the town of Selma when they were

[28:38] considering approving its annexation

[28:42] request we were not our town was not

[28:45] involved in these negotiations when when

[28:48] annexation was applied for and

[28:50] considered um there are property owners

[28:53] that own property adjoining these

[28:55] recently annexed areas who tell me they

[28:58] never received any kind of notification

[29:01] that there was going to be uh a public

[29:02] hearing held just like today to discuss

[29:05] this um I had no idea this meeting was

[29:08] going on today until last Friday when

[29:11] thanks to uh the clerk to your board

[29:13] County Commissioners sent an invitation

[29:15] to to me as I'm assuming chairman Lauder

[29:17] she sent probably to all 11 Mayors

[29:20] because I think at your request we now

[29:22] receive um invitations or notifications

[29:26] of any County board meeting and also the

[29:28] agenda so that there is anything on on

[29:30] that agenda that we have an issue with

[29:32] uh we're we're invited to come and

[29:34] attend so anyway so in the 11th Hour you

[29:36] know I'm I'm I'm learning about this

[29:38] project

[29:39] so pulling my my my mayor's had off a

[29:42] little bit I I I have issues with that we weren't involved in this we

[29:47] weren't we weren't the good neighbors or

[29:49] weren't considered the good neighbors

[29:51] that I thought we were so that that's

[29:54] the issue that I present before your

[29:56] board for consideration um and

[29:59] again having sat where you're sitting

[30:02] for 30

[30:03] years I understand that the that the the

[30:06] ships left to Port okay it's sailing

[30:09] we're going forward this is a this is a

[30:11] tremendous investment by this company

[30:13] and and I appreciate their investment I

[30:15] appreciate the uh the choice that

[30:17] they've made to locate here in Johnston

[30:19] County thank you for that um but I think

[30:22] there should have been some

[30:23] collaboration there was certainly

[30:25] collaboration between the county and the

[30:27] town of Selma in these discussions and

[30:29] the

[30:30] developer and here we are you know in

[30:33] the dark but that's okay I understand

[30:35] that so now I'll put my my business hat

[30:39] on and I don't think I'm going to say

[30:41] anything that Mr Johnson has not heard

[30:43] before I don't think I'm going to say

[30:45] anything that Mr lauder's not heard

[30:46] before or or uh Mr mallis has not heard

[30:49] before or many of you other County

[30:51] Commissioners have ever been in a

[30:52] meeting with me when we talked about

[30:54] economic development in the county I'm not a big fan of this type of of

[30:59] incentive um I'm I'm I'm not a big fan

[31:02] of us calling it uh Economic Development

[31:05] incentive Grant the word Grant has been

[31:07] used half a dozen times this

[31:10] morning you've reduced the tax payment

[31:14] that this company has to pay to our

[31:16] County for seven years I understand you

[31:20] wouldn't get any of that if that company

[31:23] did not locate that I understand that

[31:26] but I also understand that today is a is

[31:28] a big day in the life of

[31:33] 462 air filter manufactures in Johnston

[31:36] County because Thursdays in my business

[31:38] is

[31:39] payday so my signature is going to be on

[31:42] 462 checks is handed out today at noon

[31:45] time and those 462 folks live here in

[31:48] this County and they'll deposit their

[31:50] checks they'll cash their checks they'll

[31:52] spend their money right here in Selma or

[31:55] Smithfield or Pine Level or throughout

[31:57] Johnston County County as will I'm sure

[32:00] the 206 that uh that this company has to

[32:04] uh has to meet new hires so I'm sure

[32:06] they'll spend their money here as

[32:09] well but the $57 million

[32:14] investment and the reduction in the

[32:17] taxes that they will pay our County for

[32:19] that investment over seven years is

[32:21] almost $2

[32:22] million and I can't help but wonder how

[32:25] many Deputy sheriffs that could pay for

[32:28] $2

[32:29] million how many uh teachers salaries

[32:32] could be affected if the county had that

[32:33] $2

[32:34] million Mr Hester I don't know how many

[32:37] employees you have that work for the

[32:38] county but I would think that the county

[32:39] is probably the largest employer in the

[32:41] county maybe how many employees you got

[32:45] 1,500 take $2 million and spread that

[32:48] out amongst 1500 people you know you're

[32:50] going through your budget process right

[32:52] now and all of our employees expect

[32:54] increases and raises and in different

[32:56] benefits and and and here's a company

[32:59] who is um basically is is exempt from paying the same 69 cents to the

[33:05] county per $100 valuation that I do and I have I have an issue with that and I felt that it was my obligation to

[33:12] come come and uh and express my concerns

[33:16] um the term Grant to me means hey here

[33:21] it is take it use it any way you want to

[33:25] but what this is it is a reduction in

[33:28] their taxes that they will pay to this

[33:30] County by

[33:32] 70% so here I am with three

[33:36] plants 460 employees in this

[33:39] County all of it invested out of my

[33:42] pocket and every one of those folks that

[33:44] gets a check today that money comes out

[33:47] of my back pocket for work that they've

[33:49] done and I appreciate them and I I let

[33:50] them know all the time I appreciate them

[33:52] but they may suffer as well because

[33:54] without that $2 million that this

[33:56] company's going to pump into your

[33:58] coffers then who picks up that

[34:01] slack the next

[34:04] company we get excited when we hear

[34:06] about new jobs and I and I apologize to

[34:08] whichever one of the ladies it was that

[34:10] came up and wanted to put a a job

[34:11] sticker on my on my jacket because I

[34:14] felt that might be kind of uh

[34:16] hypocritical I guess a little bit for me

[34:18] to come here and talk about that and

[34:19] stand up here waving my but jobs are

[34:21] very important to me cuz like any other

[34:25] employer in this County during the covid

[34:26] years I struggled with keeping my lines

[34:29] going and um and I think about this this

[34:33] incentive offering to this company and

[34:35] others that have come before it Amazon

[34:37] how excited we are that Amazon is here

[34:39] and just a few weeks ago we had a big

[34:41] ribbon cutting over in Smithfield about

[34:43] Amazon and that is an exciting time they

[34:45] may hire a thousand

[34:47] folks but I think Mr Johnson shared with

[34:51] us there's 10 what did you say Chris

[34:54] 130,000 or so you know employees uh in

[34:58] Johnston County and our unemployment

[35:00] rate is like

[35:02] 3.4% so most of them are working but

[35:05] unfortunately he says they're driving to

[35:07] Wake County every day half of them are I

[35:09] think 50 to 60% of them are going to to

[35:11] Wake County every day and I just have a

[35:14] hard time believing

[35:17] that all those folks that are driving to

[35:19] Wake County to work every day are going

[35:21] to stay and work in a Amazon warehouse

[35:24] in Smithville for 16 or 17 or 18 an hour

[35:29] they're not going to do it but you know

[35:32] who

[35:33] is the ones that are working in my

[35:35] warehouse for $15 or $16 an hour they'll

[35:39] drive across town for 50 cents or a

[35:43] dollar they're not going to drive to

[35:45] Raleigh for $18 an hour so that worries

[35:48] me and it should worry any other you

[35:49] know um business owner here in Johnson

[35:52] County that we are going to be competing

[35:54] for already as I said 3.4% is the only

[35:58] um unemployed folks in Johnson County

[36:00] right now where are we going to get our

[36:02] employees I think about this this East

[36:04] field the whole development in the

[36:06] retail part I understand that there's there aren't incentives that go

[36:10] along with that Chris your group is is

[36:12] for Industrial and Commercial and that

[36:14] kind of stuff you don't you don't really

[36:15] have um grants or incentives or plans

[36:18] for for retail um and there's going to

[36:20] be a tremendous investment and I thank

[36:22] this group for your investment in

[36:23] Johnston County as well you know for for

[36:25] that

[36:28] but I wonder how many of those 50 or 60

[36:30] or 70,000 folks that are driving to

[36:31] Raleigh every day to work are going to

[36:34] go over there and go to work at Target

[36:36] or Old Navy or whatever those other ones

[36:40] are that that are coming here that we're

[36:42] all so excited about you know you know

[36:44] where those folks are going to come from

[36:46] they're going to come from Walmart

[36:48] they're going to come from from uh from

[36:51] the Carina outlet center and those

[36:53] retailers over there they're going to

[36:54] come from the other re Belks they're

[36:56] going to come from the Dollar Tree now

[36:59] they may not drive Daley every day for

[37:01] those kind of wages but they'll

[37:03] certainly cross I95 for a different job

[37:06] so who are those people going to hire

[37:08] when their employees move across 95 to

[37:12] the east side to take a job there so

[37:15] anyway I'm rambling I appreciate your

[37:17] time and um

[37:19] hey God bless

[37:22] you thank you mayor

[37:25] H anyone else

[37:31] all right then I will ask Madam cler do

[37:32] we have

[37:33] any like me getting signals from the

[37:36] guys in the back uh any emails okay no

[37:40] emails on to the

[37:44] Commissioners did we have any emails

[37:46] that came in as part of this public

[37:49] hearing

[37:51] thank all

[37:54] right I'm going to ask one more time

[37:57] anybody like to make comment as part of

[37:59] this public

[38:03] hearing I do have a comment to add to

[38:06] the record uh as part of this public

[38:09] hearing yesterday we celebrated Selma's

[38:13] birthday May 1st

[38:16] 1867 and we heard from two gentlemen Mr

[38:19] Alro gasal and Mr Nayak

[38:23] about a history here in Selma where we

[38:26] had grocery stores two

[38:30] theaters and textile mills all over the

[38:34] place and we had a population that was

[38:38] booming at the time compared to other

[38:40] communities and we had lots of

[38:44] opportunity I think getting back to our

[38:46] basic roots of what

[38:48] works is what we need to do and I think

[38:52] we've forgotten that every time I think

[38:54] it's obvious that we've forgotten that

[38:56] every time

[38:59] with jobs comes Prosperity with

[39:02] prosperity comes good times and with

[39:05] good times will come a booming Selma a

[39:08] booming Johnson County a booming North

[39:11] Carolina and a booming United States of

[39:17] America with that I'll entertain a

[39:19] motion to go ahead and close out any

[39:22] comments as public hearing to make sure

[39:24] that we're good with

[39:25] that so

[39:28] all those in favor from the Town Council

[39:30] I our public hearing is

[39:33] done all right and I now will close the

[39:36] uh County's Public

[39:44] hearing are there any final comments

[39:47] questions that the Selma Town Council

[39:49] would like to make outside of public

[39:53] hearing all right now we'll turn it over

[39:55] to the Commissioners any any

[40:04] comments well I uh from the Selma Town

[40:07] Council am going to ask for a motion to

[40:10] adopt this resolution that we have

[40:12] before us authorizing the economic

[40:15] development incentive for project

[40:17] clear

[40:19] soov

[40:20] second any

[40:23] discussion all those in favor I we have

[40:26] ourselves a resolution and Adoption of

[40:28] thank you very much all right I I'll ask

[40:31] the Commissioners the same thing any any

[40:33] final discussion or a motion to approve

[40:35] the resolution authorizing economic

[40:37] development for project clear Mr

[40:39] chairman I think uh I think the mayor

[40:42] final level's comments were well thought

[40:44] out and I understand where he's coming

[40:46] from I guess though if if I were a for

[40:49] dealership in this count

[40:52] Town everybody if if everybody would

[40:55] welcome a new Chevrolet dealership

[40:56] coming town except me so I understand

[40:59] the competitive nature of that and and

[41:02] sometimes there's no perfect answer but

[41:04] I live in Selma etj and uh Selma is

[41:08] close to my heart and I think this

[41:09] project in the long run all things

[41:12] considered will be very good for the

[41:13] county and very good for the town so I

[41:15] moved to adopt the resolution

[41:16] authorizing economic development project

[41:20] clear I have a second second all right

[41:24] we have a motion in a second all those

[41:26] in favor please say I I I any opposed

[41:30] the resolution is

[41:32] adopted all

[41:34] right you have any closing so I I I do

[41:36] have some closing comments uh typically

[41:39] uh I like I always like to talk about uh

[41:43] culture and opportunity and today I want

[41:45] to talk about Vision as well and I want

[41:48] to thank the folks at Adventure

[41:50] development for their vision for what

[41:52] was a a patch of space over there for

[41:54] developing Eastfield and all that is

[41:57] entailed I want to thank the town of

[41:59] Selma for their Vision uh that they have

[42:01] and where they're headed uh this board

[42:04] Chris Johnson and our economic

[42:06] development team uh thank you for your

[42:08] vision and and hard work there and for

[42:12] Mr Chin and Crystal uh windows and door

[42:15] systems thank you for looking at

[42:18] Johnston County which brings me to the

[42:19] opportunity uh we talked about job

[42:21] opportunities and you know for Selma the

[42:24] average income uh is about there less

[42:27] than half of what these these jobs will

[42:29] be paying so it's an opportunity I think

[42:31] Chris mentioned generational change so

[42:34] it's an opportunity for generational

[42:36] change for Johnston County Selma uh and

[42:41] even the surrounding areas so um I'm

[42:43] thankful for that the other piece I want

[42:46] to talk about is the culture and I I I

[42:49] know what we have in economic grants are

[42:53] uh enticing but if it was not for the

[42:56] people our Workforce that we have I I

[42:59] don't think that Mr Chin would be here

[43:01] if he didn't think the workforce was

[43:03] here so I want to say thank you to the

[43:06] people who are always the most important

[43:08] thing of what we all do up here is is

[43:11] take care of our residents in Selma and

[43:14] in Johnston County uh I do want to thank

[43:16] some people who are here um

[43:18] representative Larry Strickland I know

[43:20] you'd mention him but he's he's here so

[43:22] Larry thank you for coming and doing all

[43:23] you do and we do have a representative

[43:25] from Senator tillis's office office Trey

[43:27] Lewis who is here so Trey thank you uh

[43:30] for coming and represent I don't and I

[43:32] think mayor hold is left I don't know if

[43:33] I hate to say missed other folks but I

[43:36] do want to say we have the past chair

[43:38] and current chair of the economic

[43:40] development Advisory board so thank you

[43:42] guys uh and if you would thank the

[43:44] others on the board there for for all

[43:46] that you guys do but I think I think

[43:49] with that I one more I as I talk

[43:51] Workforce I can't talk Workforce without

[43:54] uh talking about Johnson Community

[43:55] College and I think uh I don't see Dr

[43:57] linquist he must have had to to leave

[43:59] but I do want to thank Dr linquist and

[44:01] for what they do uh at Johnson Community

[44:03] College For Preparing our Workforce so

[44:06] that is uh all I have to say Mr Mayor

[44:09] I'll turn it back over to you I

[44:10] appreciate it um all those folks that

[44:13] chairman Lauder just thank exact same

[44:15] here I got to particularly give a shout

[44:17] out to Adventure development Kevin docky

[44:20] Mark McDonald Mark you can call me at

[44:22] 5:30 a.m. anytime you know it thank you

[44:25] and particularly Chris Johnson a rock

[44:28] star in this County so if uh Chris calls

[44:31] me and says I need you to be somewhere

[44:32] the response is what time and what color

[44:34] do you want my tie to be thank you um

[44:38] and again all the folks that have come

[44:41] together to make what is happening in

[44:44] Selma and Johnson County happen let's

[44:47] keep rocking um Crystal selection

[44:51] demonstrates that sound economic

[44:54] fundamentals are Selma's secret sauce

[44:57] when it comes to job creation and

[45:00] prosperity the council welcomes this

[45:03] growing company and salutes the success

[45:05] that has led to this exciting expansion

[45:10] into our community thank

[45:13] you all right do you want to I'll look for guidance on this so we have a

[45:19] couple of things to present you want to

[45:20] do that now you want to do it right

[45:21] after we

[45:22] adjourn okay we'll do that so I I will

[45:24] look to this side of the table and ask

[45:26] for a motion uh to adjourn we adjourn

[45:29] all right we have a motion I'll take

[45:30] commissioner Smith as the second layer

[45:33] um all those in favor please say I I we

[45:36] are I'm going to look this way and look

[45:38] for a motion to

[45:40] adjourn second all those in favor we're

[45:43] good to

[45:45] go all

[45:47] [Applause]

[45:55] right e

Johnston Co. Board of Commissioners/Selma Town Council Special Meeting- May 2, 2024

Transcript