[This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person -- it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.]

[0:04] Meeting of the County Board of Commissioners to order. At this time, I would like to recognize Commissioner Williams for the invocation. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for those so inclined. Please bow your heads in prayer. Heavenly Father, we come before you tonight seeking your wisdom and guidance as a board. Grant us discernment to see beyond the immediate and the foresight to plan for the future of all our county citizens. In your word, you tell us, for the Lord gives wisdom.
[0:33] from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
[0:37] He holds success in store for the upright.
[0:40] May these words guide us today. Amen.
[0:44] Please join me for the pledge of allegiance to the flag
[0:50] of the United States of America, and to the Republic
[0:54] for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible,
[0:59] with liberty and justice for all.
[1:01] the
[1:08] next item on the agenda is informal comments from the community. No one has signed
[1:13] up for public comments tonight. Is there anyone here who has not signed up who wishes to
[1:19] make public comments?
[1:29] Prior to consideration of the agenda, I would first like to recognize
[1:34] the service of Commissioner David Williams on the Union County Board of Commissioners.
[2:01] While we're getting that ready, Commissioner Williams is currently the longest serving
[2:05] and Commissioner on this board, I want to thank him personally for his years of service
[2:11] and he's always putting thought and research into every thing that comes up.
[2:17] He has helped me tremendously during this time, my time on the board and personally I just
[2:23] want to thank you Commissioner Williams for all you've done for Union County and for your
[2:28] hard work and dedication.
[2:30] Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[2:58] Mr.
[3:27] Chairman. Mr. Vice Chair. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[3:31] We also have our Chairman Rao, who was enjoying his last evening on our board tonight.
[3:39] I don't think this was on my script.
[3:43] And so we would like to offer this token of appreciation to Chairman Rao for his service
[3:49] on our board, his dedication to Union County, thank you so much, Chairman Rao.
[4:39] The next item on the agenda is consideration of the agenda and consent agenda.
[4:46] We would have one item to clarify and to add to the consent agenda, I will recognize
[4:50] Ms. County Manager, Brian Matthews, for coming in on this side.
[4:54] Yes, sir.
[4:57] So an item was actually placed on the agenda to go out for the public.
[5:03] It was actually published on the county's website.
[5:07] Unfortunately, what was sent to the board members did not include that agenda item.
[5:14] And that was an item for a contract for the historic courthouse restoration.
[5:19] has to do with work that we're doing for phase two of that, which is predominantly some roof repair work on that.
[5:28] What you'll see here is the item specifically for that.
[5:33] As a means of being transparent, we just want to make sure the public is aware that we're requesting this be on the consent agenda,
[5:41] and that the board take action whenever you make a decision about the consent agenda,
[5:46] would this be included on that and I'll be happy to answer any questions you
[5:50] might have.
[5:54] Any questions for the county manager? I move that we add item 24-782
[6:00] contract amendment for the store courthouse restoration renovation phase 2 to
[6:06] the consent agenda. Do we have any discussion on that?
[6:12] All those in favor of the
[6:13] motion indicate by aye. Aye.
[6:17] Are there any other motions regarding the
[6:19] requested revisions or amendments to either the consent agenda or the business agenda.
[6:28] Mr. Chairman.
[6:29] Mr. Vice Chair.
[6:30] I'll make a motion that we approve the consent agenda as amended.
[6:34] Any discussion on the motion?
[6:37] All in favor of the motion, indicate by aye.
[6:40] Aye.
[6:41] We are now at the business portion of our agenda.
[6:44] The first item on the business agenda is item 24783, conditional rezoning 2024, 2024 CZ004.
[6:55] Stevens, I will recognize Bjorn Hansen, senior planner concerning this item.
[7:01] Give me Mr. Chairman, members of the board, manager Matthews.
[7:06] This is a follow from the public hearing two weeks ago that was conducted for this conditional
[7:12] resowning, Stevens
[7:25] resowning, the applicant is here, it's resown portions of several parcels
[7:31] which explain and recombination which explains the long description of the actual request.
[7:37] Something that's different, I want to note, compared to the meeting two weeks ago, there's
[7:44] a potential amendment to the conditions that shows the number five which would be limiting
[7:51] the uses on the property as opposed to just the site plan, which could potentially have
[7:56] some different types of uses that could utilize the site as it's laid out. This would limit
[8:01] it to the septic hand installation at servicing and portable toilet servicing business. This
[8:06] is a condition that the applicant has agreed to if you choose to include it in the rezoning.
[8:13] It doesn't change the site plan in any way. As a reminder, this is the site. You have several
[8:19] houses on different parcels that are up towards New Salem Road, for reference the new water treatment plant is just to the east over here, and the business is actually back here.
[8:31] And these are the views along the road. This is what the business looks like within the last couple months, and this is an aerial of the site.
[8:40] So this is the request last month we didn't have anyone speak for against it.
[8:45] applicant is here to answer any questions that you may have, otherwise the request before
[8:50] you is to approve or deny the proposed conditional rezoning.
[9:02] Any questions for the applicant?
[9:05] Or Mr. Hans?
[9:27] Mr. Christopher Stevens, are you here?
[9:30] Would you approach the podium there, sir?
[9:34] We just have some questions for you to essentially just affirm what you've laid out in writing
[9:38] regarding the changed condition.
[9:39] Okay.
[9:41] All right.
[9:41] And first question, are you the applicant, Christopher Steven?
[9:46] Yes, sir.
[9:48] Do you consent to the condition set forth on the screen, including the condition limiting
[9:54] use on the property to set the tank servicing and portable toilet servicing businesses?
[10:01] Yes, sir.
[10:03] Have you agreed to these conditions in writing?
[10:06] Yes, sir.
[10:08] Thank you.
[10:09] Yes, sir.
[10:51] Commissioner Bob. Yep. I make a motion that we adopt the ordinance approving
[10:57] revision to the federal zoning map of Union County North Carolina and adopt
[11:02] the consistency and reasonable, reasonableness statement for approval.
[11:10] Any
[11:10] discussion on the motion?
[11:16] All in favor of the motion and to keep our eye. All opposed?
[11:48] I will now recognize the county manager for his comment.
[11:57] First off, I'd like to say thank you to both the chairman, J.R. and to David for your service with the board.
[12:05] It has been an honor to work with both of you on this board and I appreciate what you brought to the board.
[12:13] This is obviously a record meeting, which I don't know if that's a testament to J.R. or what, but this is a record meeting, but I did want to say thank you for your service.
[12:26] Well, Mr. County Manager, as any politician, I'll take credit for anything good that happened.
[12:32] I mean anything that bad, I probably wouldn't take credit for it, it has been an honor
[12:36] for me to serve the people of Union County.
[12:40] It's been great to serve with these colleagues, Commissioner Balkham, Commissioner Williams,
[12:45] Commissioner Merrill, Vice Chairman Helms, of course County Manager Matthews, Madam Clerk,
[12:52] the greatest clerk in North Carolina, Land West, Deputy County Manager Patrick Nyland, Assistant
[12:58] County Manager Clayton Borner and of course our counsel down there at the end who's always kept
[13:03] me in line Jason Kaye and of course all of our department heads is Cooper, Adrian Arroy,
[13:11] Mr. Jensen, Mr. Hanson, all of our law enforcement, all of our county employees, I cannot tell you
[13:19] enough. Thank yous for all that you do. You have made my life easier and my job better believe me.
[13:28] So thank you for everything.
[13:30] If I can never do anything for you, let me know.
[13:33] I'm a proud Union County native and output Union County up against any county in North
[13:39] Carolina or the United States of America, for that matter.
[13:42] But thank you so much for all that you do for our county, Vice Chairman Hems.
[13:49] Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[13:51] First of all, I want to say thank you to the town of Indian Trial.
[13:56] So, we discussed an item at our last meeting regarding these 74X express.
[14:04] I want to thank the town of Indian Trail for their partnership on that item.
[14:09] Their commitment to that program makes the decision a lot easier for us.
[14:14] And that is one that we approved on our consent agenda tonight.
[14:18] So, I'm excited that our cost is going down there and things are looking good for that program.
[14:25] In regards to my colleagues on the board, Commissioner Williams want to, again, congratulate you on four years of service to our county.
[14:34] We certainly haven't always agreed, but where we have agreed, there's been strong collaboration.
[14:41] And I've also very much enjoyed sparring with you from time to time on those items that we haven't agreed on.
[14:49] But I do appreciate your service and I appreciate your passion, you know, for those things, so again, thank you for your service.
[15:00] Mr. Rowell, you know, it's kind of an odd road as how you join this board, but I will say that I very much appreciate it serving with you on this board. I think that you brought an element of humor that I certainly appreciated. And I certainly appreciate your commitment to Union County. Thank you for everything that you've done.
[15:29] and thank God that you didn't have to sing tonight because, you know, our small crowd probably would have dwindled fairly quickly.
[15:37] So again, thank you to both of you guys for what you've done for our county and for our board.
[15:44] Thanks again for our staff. I certainly appreciate you folks. Your commitment to the county also is very much appreciated.
[15:53] I want to echo my colleague Commissioner Helms in thanking David Williams for your four
[15:59] years of service to our county.
[16:02] You've done great work, so thank you for your time and JR, thank you for stepping up
[16:11] to feel this vacancy and spending the last year with us on this to lead this forward.
[16:16] so thank you very much for coming out of retirement to do this so thank you both and I wish you the
[16:24] very best in whatever you pursue after tonight and I want to keep it short by just wishing everyone
[16:34] a very happy Thanksgiving and safe travels next week.
[16:40] One thing I did forget to say in my earlier
[16:42] comments today is Commissioner Williams' birthday, so happy birthday and I'm turning it over
[16:49] you to Commissioner Williams. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As I say goodbye tonight, my final
[16:55] county commissioner meeting. What I feel most especially is a deep sense of gratitude.
[17:02] Serving this community has been an honor and a labor of love. And working with fellow commissioners,
[17:08] Staff and citizens has been my privilege.
[17:12] I'm so very thankful for all the amazing people that I would have otherwise not had the
[17:18] opportunity to work with and get to know so well.
[17:21] So thank you, thank you.
[17:24] I'm grateful to have had a part, sometimes a leading one, in many initiatives that have
[17:29] benefited our county.
[17:31] Early in my term, we made the decision to hire a county veterinarian, resulting in reduced
[17:37] Euthanasia rates, increased adoptions and also providing the agricultural community with
[17:44] a critical large animal resource.
[17:46] We eliminated the cost of outside veterinary care for our sheriff canines as well as the
[17:52] shelter animals by bringing that important service in house.
[17:57] We started regularly the span neuter of animals.
[18:00] We took the bold step also of prohibiting fluoride from county controlled water systems.
[18:07] And we did it months before a federal judge ruled that the water fluoridation at the EPA's
[18:13] recommended standard presents, quote, an unreasonable risk to the health of children, unquote.
[18:20] I do indeed believe that this board's action on this item will prove to be very prescient.
[18:29] And I think we see with each passing day and month that history is on our side on this issue.
[18:39] By reversing a portion of the clawback period also for unused sewer capacity,
[18:45] this board took an important step in better managing what is, I think we can all agree,
[18:51] a finite and expensive resource.
[18:54] I'm also proud to have played a leading role in establishing the county's pump station policy.
[18:59] New pump stations now are approved or denied in public by our board.
[19:05] That's a very good thing.
[19:08] Along with my former colleague, Commissioner Richard Helms,
[19:12] we spearheaded a revision of our UDO, our county development ordinance in 2021.
[19:18] That removed floodplains and stream buffers from the county's density calculation
[19:23] when determining maximum site density, MSD, and all R and RA zoning districts.
[19:30] I've steadfastly defended freedom of speech and assembly for everyone, ensuring that our county remains a place where all voices are heard and respected.
[19:40] I've been an advocate, I feel, for finance best practices and transparency.
[19:46] My approach to board duties on this board as well as the other boards on which I've served has kept
[19:54] front of mind for me the duties of diligence, loyalty, and generally a strong sense of fiduciary
[20:01] responsibility. I've consistently voted against high density rezoning while also advocating,
[20:11] I'll also advocating for the adequate water and sewer infrastructure.
[20:15] The county requires to meet our growing needs.
[20:19] Additionally, early in my term, I along with others pressed cartpo,
[20:24] the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization, for
[20:28] a reallocation of our Federal 5307 formula.
[20:32] By doing that, we nearly tripled our annual federal allotment to $1 million.
[20:38] dollars, significantly enhancing our capacity to address our citizens' transportation needs.
[20:45] I've resisted federal and state encroachments on our freedoms and challenged unfunded mandates
[20:51] when they came from Raleigh or from Washington. I've been deeply moved by the many expressions
[20:59] of support that I've received in person, by email, by phone, by text message, and I just want
[21:06] I want everybody to know that those messages have helped buoy my spirits.
[21:12] They've helped encourage me to do the service to the county that I feel like I've been called to do.
[21:19] And I just think everybody who's reached out to me over these past four years to give that encouragement that it has been very, very appreciated.
[21:31] Thank you.
[21:32] As I step down, I want to leave you with a few thoughts, never underestimate the power
[21:39] of a single individual to effect change. Indeed, history is full of instances where one
[21:45] person or a small group of people have made a big difference. While standing alone can
[21:51] appear daunting at times, descent often leads to critical deliberation and improved outcomes.
[21:59] I can think of a number of instances where this exactly has happened during my tenure during my four years.
[22:08] Politics, as Bismarck once said, is the art of the possible.
[22:14] I encourage my colleagues, I encourage the new board, I encourage candidates for public office in general to embrace the politics of the possible.
[22:25] And we'll get some better outcomes.
[22:28] Finally, thank you so much, Union County citizens, for the opportunity you've given me to serve this wonderful county.
[22:36] It's something that I will always carry with me.
[22:40] Thank you, thank you.
[22:43] Thank you, Commissioner Williams, Commissioner Bocle.
[22:47] Yes, I'd like to echo the words of my colleagues, I thought we were going to get out of here in 20 minutes.
[22:53] Some of you folks talked a little too long, you broke my shot there, but I would like
[22:59] to congratulate, and I thank Chairman Rial and Commissioner Williams for their service.
[23:08] Sometimes it's a special person to step up, but I've learned that really fast, you know,
[23:13] as sort of a hot seat at times.
[23:17] But I really appreciate your words and Commissioner Williams, you're good for that sort of thing.
[23:24] You bring a thought-provoking, provoking word from time to time.
[23:29] They never underestimate the power of the individual.
[23:32] I truly believe that.
[23:34] That's the powerful words.
[23:37] And our form of government, the individual, can really move the needle.
[23:43] So, just saying that, I would just like to encourage everybody to be careful going home
[23:47] and have a good night.
[23:51] Mr. K, do you have any words you'd like to say?
[23:55] Nothing beyond what has already been very eloquently said.
[23:59] Thank you both for your service, for those out in the community who don't know.
[24:02] This is a hard job that our folks do.
[24:05] And sometimes they receive thanks, and sometimes they get the opposite of thanks.
[24:09] But they persevere in difficult decisions, and anyone who's served in this role deserves recognition and credit for serving the public in that way, and not just them, but their families also bear a burden for their service as well.
[24:22] So thank you both.
[24:24] That concludes this regular meeting.
[24:26] Thank you for all who attended.
[24:28] I move that the board adjourn all those in favor, say aye.
[24:33] Aye.
[24:35] Thank you.
[24:36] Thank you so much.