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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1-15-2019 1 January 15, 2019 IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PRE-AGENDA MINUTES January 15, 2019 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in pre-agenda on Tuesday, January 15, 2019 at 5:00 PM, in the Iredell County Government Center (South Wing Conference Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Board Members Present Chairman James B. Mallory III Vice Chairman Tommy Bowles Gene Houpe Jeff McNeely Marvin Norman Staff present: County Manager Beth Jones, County Attorney Lisa Valdez, Deputy County Manager Susan Robertson, Assistant County Manager Joseph Pierce, Finance Director Debra Cheek, and Clerk to the Board Amy Anderson. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman James Mallory called the meeting to order. ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA: Commissioner Houpe asked to add an item, regarding the airport, under New Business. Commissioner McNeely asked to add an item, regarding the NC Association of County Commissioners’, under New Business. Commissioner McNeely asked that Item VIII.1 Request from the Sheriff’s Office for approval of budget amendment #26 to fund the remainder of FY 2019 out-of-county inmate housing using Jail Operation Funds be heard during the 7pm meeting. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Request from the Sheriff’s Office for approval of budget amendment #24 to purchase an armored vehicle using Federal Equity Sharing Funds: Sheriff Darren Campbell said the national climate towards law enforcement and first responders has changed. Recently, seven law enforcement officers have been shot in 13 days nationwide. There were 50 active shooter situations in 2016-2017 and 40 in 2017-2018. Iredell is a large county with two major interstates. This a great way to offset the department’s future budget. The County has made a strong investment in schools to ensure safety. $321,000 of Federal Equity Sharing Funds have been used for RAD Training, trauma bags, ballistic shields, K-9’s, and drones. This request for a Lenco G3 bearcat fully armored personnel carrier. The vehicle can carry 10-12 fully clothed SWAT team members. Campbell said in May 2017, a man armed with a 3030 rifle was in the middle of Highway 150 threatening suicide. The department had to borrow an armed carrier from a neighboring a gency. There was also a similar incident in May 2018. The requested carrier would allow the department to drop off a tactical team, if needed. Campbell desires to be proactive instead of reactive. Commissioner Norman cannot think of a better way to utilize seized funds. Vice Chairman Bowles said school safety would be a major concern of budgets throughout the country. 2 January 15, 2019 Campbell agreed. Currently, the Sheriff’s Department has utilized ballistic shields, mobile classroom, threat assessment officer, a road officer visiting three elementary schools per day to be preemptive in community safety. It has come to a point where more can be done. Chairman Mallory asked what type of reaction the community has had regarding the armored carrier. Campbell said there is a lot of good support. The department has demonstrated that it strives to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and uses seized funds to offset. Campbell believes in allocating resources in the best place needed. Chairman Mallory asked what the projected logistics support will be for the vehicle. Campbell said the carrier is on an F-550 frame and will need very little upkeep. The carrier will be stored at the Sheriff’s Office. Staff will visit other counties to see what problems, if any, they are having with their carriers and to gather ideas. Cutting corners on the vehicle would have a cost in the end. Campbell explained the carrier has an open-hatch that rotates 360 degrees. The carrier will hold up against a 50 caliber round. Chairman Mallory said the Board is pleased with Campbell’s ability to fund the carrier using seized funds, which comes from hard work of interdicting drug deals. Campbell said the department is conservative with spending. There is no better way to spend seized funds than to make the community safer. This item will be presented during the 7PM meeting. Commissioner Norman said the Board received a letter from a citizen urging the Sheriff’s Office to continue the Citizen’s Academy and asked if the academy will be continued. Campbell said that program will continue and will have his staff contact the citizen. Request from the Sheriff’s Office for approval of budget amendment #26 to fund the remainder of FY 2019 out-of-county inmate housing using Jail Operation Funds: Sheriff Darren Campbell said currently, inmates are housed in Wilkes, Alexander, Rowan, Cabarrus, and Wayne counties. The jail population is trending higher so the number of out-of-county inmates have increased thus exceeding the amount allocated. This is due to the increase in crime not incorrect budgeting. The remainder needed is about $604,000 and will come from the Jail Operation Fund, which was created to help with jail operation expenses. This is funded from turn back monies that was not used in the department’s budget. The request is to move money and will not have any impact on the current budget. Out-of-county housing expenses (calendar year): $819,350 Safekeeping per Diem: $52,160 Pump and haul (to support the annex): $190,000 Total: $1,062,670 (this does not include trips, hours, and mileage for any of the out-of- county transport) This item was placed on consent. 3 January 15, 2019 Request from Iredell County Rescue Squad, Inc. for the approval of funds to purchase an engine in the amount of $19,036.19 for a 2008 Ford F550: County Manager Beth Jones explained that there has been a change in the request and the Rescue Squad is proposing to pay for the engine out of their current budget instead of using Capital Reserve Account. A second request for approval to purchase new equipment was pulled before agenda packets were delivered. After much consideration and looking at the Rescue Squad’s current budget, the engine is a priority and would like to fund that from their current budget, but would like to purchase equipment using the fund balance. Chief Lenderman said the Rescue Squad has enough to cover the engine. The lifesaving rope used on the engines are out-of-date by at least three years and can no longer be used for that purpose. The rope must be replaced to ensure public safety. Lenderman requested that the Rescue Squad absorb the cost of the engine and be allowed to replace the ropes and purchase turn-out gear using funds from the capital fund. Current rope will then be used as training rope. Chairman Mallory asked the amount of the amended request. Jones said the Rescue Squad currently has approximately $29,000 in Capital Reserve. The rope and hardware cost is $12,264.14. The turnout gear is $15,930. Chief Lenderman said the Rescue Squad would scale back on the number of turnout gear to six and stay in line with amount of the original request for the engine. Jones said there will need to be a budget amendment if the Board is comfortable with the request to use the funds for rope and hardware, and personal protective gear instead of the replacement engine. Chief Lenderman said the cost of the rope and hardware is $12,264.14 and the remainder, not to exceed $20,000, will be used for turnout gear. This item was placed on consent. Request from Emergency Management for approval of budget amendment #22 and expend hazardous materials grant funds to hire Specialized Consulting Services, LLC to design and conduct a multi-agency hazardous materials exercise in the Spring of 2019: Fire Services and Emergency Management Director Kent Greene explained the County received a $10,000 emergency preparedness grant to conduct a multi-jurisdictional hazmat exercise. This item was placed on consent. Request from the Health Department for approval of budget amendment #23 for the use of Fund Balance-Reserved for Medicaid Max funds to purchase a backup Domain Controller and replace a Relay Rack at a cost of $5,560: Acting Health Director Susan Johnson said in October 2018 the domain controller failed because there was no backup and the department lost the ability to use their computer system for more than a day. The County IT department has recommended that the department get a new domain controller. Chairman Mallory asked if there would now be a backup. Johnson explained that there is a way to create a backup using the new domain controller. 4 January 15, 2019 Request from the Health Department for approval of a new fee for the Environmental Health Fee Schedule for the submittals of applications for a septic permit under Session Law 2018-114 (HB374) Section 11(c): Environmental Health Director Brady Freeman said this request relates back to one of the Board’s legislative goals. This fee is for submittals of applications for the new Session Law 2018-114 (HB374). Currently, a licensed soil scientist can dictate what fee they would like to be charged for submittals resulting in possible loss of revenues. This fee is not a new fee; it is in line with the current fees, which is $500 for a gravity system and $1,200 for a pump system. The session law increases the County’s liability because there is no checks and balances. Chairman Mallory asked what the total increase of fees is. Freeman said there is a $105 limited fee is something staff can do in office that is a slight change in the permit and it does not necessarily affect the septic system. There is an intermediate fee of $320 that can have a slight impact on a septic permit. The request is to eliminate the two options. Licensed soil scientist can currently ask for a limited fee when they technically need a completely new system. This will keep the soil scientist from dictating fees. Chairman Mallory asked if the County has errors and omissions insurance to cover future work that has to be done to correct a problem or are the fees going into a reserved fund to cover such. The fee is being increase to compensate for a risk. Deputy County Manager Susan Robertson said the County has errors and omissions insurance for all county services. County Attorney Lisa Valdez explained that the issue is someone coming to the County ten years from now and saying their septic tank is failing, and the County being held liable. Freeman said the fee is not technically being increased. The soil scientist will not be allowed to activate other fees that are already in place. Commissioner McNeely said the County has been losing revenue because of private soil scientist preparing the septic tanks. The County has had to take the soil scientist’s word that everything is correct and accept it. This request puts the County into a more stable situation. Request from Parks and Recreation for approval of a provider location agreement with Trivity Health and authorization for the Parks and Recreation Director, to use the online portal to initiate the agreement, for the purpose of offering Silver Sneakers at the Iredell County Recreation Center: Parks and Recreation Director Michelle Hepler said this agreement will open the door for senior citizens who have healthcare programs that participate in Silver Sneakers to use the Iredell County Recreation Center at no cost of the senior. Trivity Health will pay Iredell County up to $3.60 per user per day with a maximum of $40 per month. All class equipment and materials will be provided at no cost. Staff time is the only cost to the County. Depending on the number of registered users, this could generate up to $1000 per month for revenues. This item was placed on consent. Hepler reported that for the first week of the Recreation Center there were 208 visits, forty- eight silver sneaker memberships, 65 individual memberships. There are now 213 members of the Recreation Center. 5 January 15, 2019 Commissioner McNeely asked Hepler to look into finding out if members were previous members of the YMCA. Hepler said she would look into it. Chairman Mallory asked for Hepler to make a presentation on the Recreation Center during a 7pm meeting after the grand opening is held. Request from the Public Library for approval of budget amendment #25 in order to accept an Evergreen International Conference Scholarship that was awarded to Amy Weber: Library Director Juli Moore said the grant covers the complete cost of the conference. This item was placed on consent. Commissioner McNeely asked if the Library project has started. Jones said staff is doing due diligence on the bids and will meet next week to talk about those in detail. Some vetting issues needs to be worked through. Request from the Finance Department for approval of a 5-year lease for space in the rear parking lot at Elections to relocate the State Employees Credit Union ATM and adoption of a resolution to rent space with authorization for the County Manager to negotiate and sign a mutually agreeable lease agreement: Purchasing and Contracts Manager reported that the State Employees Credit Union would like a five -year base lease with three one- year options. The proposed site is off behind the Board of Elections on Stockton Street. The walkup ATM would be accessible by traffic right off Tradd Street. State Employees Credit Union will pay $100 per year for the lease. State Employees Credit Union provides a no-fee ATM to users. Commissioner Houpe asked what other locations were looked at. Th ere has been a lot of negative feedback regarding the proposed site. Lail said the other site (to the front and left of Elections) was ruled out because of congestion. Chairman Mallory asked who uses the ATM most. Lail said the ATM stayed very busy. Chairman Mallory said the location does not seem convenient for ones using the ATM to access cash to pay court fees. The location is out on its own. Jones said that specific location was picked because the credit union needed a five-year lease and there was no area in the close proximity of where it was for it to be fine for five years, because of the unknowns regarding the justice quadrant. Chairman Mallory asked if the location could be determined once the master plan of the justice quadrant is completed. It is possible that the ATM could impede from Elections expanding. Jones said there were complaints on the previous location. Chairman Mallory asked the basis of the complaints. Jones said complaints came from users because of the jail construction. Commissioner Houpe said government businesses in the area complained because traffic using the ATM was blocking their customers. He asked if other locations near the jail have been 6 January 15, 2019 looked at. Most people known to use it are who visit the courthouse. The Sheriff has said inmates are escorted over to access commissary funds. Commissioner Houpe suggested tabling this item for 30 days to talk with the Sheriff and others that are located in the area. Lail said the County is not in a hurry; however, the previous ATM has been removed so there is not one available in the area. Commissioner McNeely asked if the ATM has to be located outside. Lail said staff looked at installing one inside the courthouse however there are no walls in there that provide the security that is required. The building was not conducive. Jones said an inside ATM would only be accessible while the courthouse is open. Anyone coming in would have to go through security. Lail said the ATM gained a lot of traffic at its previous location. Chairman Mallory said the upper corner of the tax office could be a possible location. The proposed site may not be suitable. This item was tabled for 30 days for staff to see if there are any other remedial locations and allow staff to look at the master plan of that area. Request from Administration for approval of Department Strategic Goals: A list of the strategic goals are available in the Clerk to the Board’s office. This item was placed on consent. Request from Clerk to the Board for approval of minutes from the meeting on December 15, 2018: There were no corrections. This item was placed on consent. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF BOARDS & COMMISSIONS Town of Troutman Planning Board – 1 announcement Planning Board Chairman Layton Getsinger resigned effective December 31, 2018. At their December 13, 2018 meeting, Town Council nominated ETJ Alternate Barry General to fill Getsinger’s unexpired term. Grace Beasley, Carlton (Brad) Joyce, and Brent Tedder have volunteered to fill the vacant alternate position. Of the applicants, Council has nominated Grace Beasley to fill the alternate position. Jones said the Town of Troutman has a meeting coming up and would like for the Board, if they see fit, to suspend the rules and make the appointment. Commissioner McNeely said a member of council resigned and a member of the Planning Board was appointed to fulfill the vacancy, sparking the vacancy on the Planning Board. Commissioner Norman asked if there is contingent regarding the appointment. Commissioner Houpe said it was a natural progression. 7 January 15, 2019 Chairman Mallory said there are three applicants including the one that council recommends. Vice Chairman Bowles said if the rules are suspended interested applicants might not have a chance to apply. Chairman Mallory said there was fair amount of controversy last time there was a vacancy on the board. If the Board suspends the rules, it may appear that a short cut is being made. It is better to err on the side of caution and ensure maximum opportunities to the public. Juvenile Crime Prevention Council – 1 announcement Jones explained that according to JCPC’s bi-laws, qualified persons must fulfill certain positions on the Council. Although council prefers the Board’s approval APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS & COMMISSIONS (None) COUNTY MANANGERS REPORT County Manager’s report will be given at the 7:00PM meeting. The Board moved into Closed Session at 6:27PM. The Board moved from Closed Session to the regular session at 7:00PM. IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MINUTES January 15, 2019 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, January 15, 2019 at 7:00 PM, in the South Wing Conference Room of the Iredell County Government Center, 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Board Members Present Chairman James B. Mallory III Vice Chairman Tommy Bowles Gene Houpe Jeff McNeely Marvin Norman Staff present: County Manager Beth Jones, County Attorney Lisa Valdez, Deputy County Manager Susan Robertson, Assistant County Manager Joseph Pierce, Finance Director Debra Cheek, and Clerk to the Board Amy Anderson. CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Mallory. INVOCATION: Chairman Mallory asked everyone to bow their heads for a moment of silence. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE led by Chairman Mallory ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA County Manager Beth Jones made the following adjustments: 8 January 15, 2019 Add: Two items under New Business. Both are updates. There is one action item from the result of Closed Session that was held immediately after the pre-agenda meeting. MOTION by Commissioner Norman to approve the agenda as adjusted. VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0 PRESENTATION OF SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS & AWARDS (None) APPOINTMENTS BEFORE THE BOARD Request from the Finance Department to present the June 30, 2018 Audited Financial Statements: Finance Director Deb Alford said it is a requirement for the County to be audited every year by an independent outside auditing firm. Alford publicly thanked Assistant Finance Director Susan Cornell and Budget Analyst Caroline Taylor who gave many hours of assistance with the audit. Alford introduced Cassie Wilson, auditor with Martin Starnes Associates. Wilson said Martin Starnes issued an unmodified opinion, which is a clean report. There was an implementation of a new governmental standard, GASB 75 for OPEB and the other was post-employment benefits. There were some significant changes. Changes included the reporting of the schedule of expenditures of federal and state awards. Those changes resulted from going from two programs that had to be tested in 2017 for a single audit requirement to eight programs that had to be tested this past year. Wilson publicly thanked Department of Social Services for their hard work during the audit regarding the new changes. The total fund balance for the general fund ended at $98,615,467, an increase of $5,790,748. Growth is always a very positive outlook on the fund balance. Commissioner Houpe asked that future audit reports include how the County fairs with surrounding counties. It would also be helpful to add footnotes specifying the significant changes from the previous year as this would allow a simple explanation for users. Chairman Mallory expressed his appreciation to the firm and staff for all the hard work. 9 January 15, 2019 10 January 15, 2019 11 January 15, 2019 12 January 15, 2019 13 January 15, 2019 PUBLIC HEARINGS (None) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS County Manager Beth Jones summarized the items that were placed on the consent agenda as follows: 14 January 15, 2019  Request from the Sheriff’s Office for approval of budget amendment #26 to fund the remainder of FY 2019 out-of-county inmate housing using Jail Operation Funds.  Request from the Iredell County Rescue Squad for approval of funds to purchase an engine in the amount of $19,036.19 for a 2008 F550. This item was discussed in the pre-agenda meeting and the Rescue Squad has worked through their budget and made funds available to cover the engine. They are requesting the funds out of the rescue squad’s capital fund to be used for life-saving rope and hardware, and turnout gear, not to exceed $20,000.  Request from Emergency Management for approval of budget amendment #22 and expend hazardous materials grant funds to hire Specialized Consulting Services, LLC to design and conduct a multi-agency hazardous materials exercise in the Spring of 2019.  Request from the Health Department for approval of budget amendment #23 for the use of Fund Balance-Reserved for Medicaid Max funds to purchase a backup Domain Controller and replace a Relay Rack at a cost of $5560.  Request from the Health Department for approval of a new fee for the Environmental Health Fee Schedule for the submittals of applications for a septic permit under Session Law 2018-114 (HB374) Section 11(c).  Request from Parks and Recreation for approval of a provider location agreement with Tivity Health, and authorization for the Parks and Recreation Director, to use the online portal to initiate the agreement, for the purpose of offering Silver Sneakers at the Iredell County Recreation Center.  Request from the Public Library for approval of budget amendment #25 in order to accept an Evergreen International Conference Scholarship that was awarded to Amy Weber.  Request from the Finance Department for approval of a 5-year lease for space in the rear parking lot at Elections to relocate the State Employees Credit Union ATM and adoption of a resolution to rent space with authorization for the County Manager to negotiate and sign a mutually agreeable lease agreement. This item has been tabled for 30 days to see if there are any other remedial locations and allow staff to look at the master plan of that area.  Request from Tax Administration for approval of December Refunds and Releases.  Request from Administration for approval of Departmental Strategic Goals.  Request from Clerk to the Board for approval of minutes from the meeting on December 15, 2018. MOTION by Commissioner Houpe to approve the consent agenda. VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0 VIII.1 Request from the Sheriff’s Office for approval of budget amendment #24 to purchase an armored vehicle using Federal Equity Sharing Funds: Sheriff Darren Campbell explained there has been an increase in violence against first responders and law enforcement. Campbell explained his department offsets taxpayer dollars with seized funds anytime there is an opportunity. Thus far, $321,000 of seized funds have been used for defense training, K-9 units, drone, trauma bags, ballistic shields, and a mobile classroom. Currently, the department does not have any protection that can go further. This carrier will benefit first responders, law enforcement, local businesses, and schools. The department must be able to deliver a tactical team or someone to surrender aide during incidents. The carrier is equipped to defeat up to a 50 caliber round. This goal of this carrier is to save lives while not depending a neighboring agency to deliver a carrier. Campbell said in May 2017 a man armed with a 3030 rifle was in the middle of Highway 150. The department had to borrow an armed carrier from a neighboring agency. There was also a similar incident in May 2018. The armored carrier would allow the department to drop off a tactical team, 15 January 15, 2019 if needed. Campbell desires to be proactive instead of reactive. This request was not a rush decision, it is something that is strongly needed. Commissioner Norman expressed his appreciation for Campbell being proactive instead of reactive. Vice Chairman Bowles asked if the carrier would be housed in Statesville, as it is the best geographical location. Campbell said yes. The maintenance will not be much more than a passenger vehicle. Commissioner McNeely publicly thanked Campbell for being a great steward of taxpayer dollars. The carrier will be a tool that will save lives and may help prevent future incidents. McNeely said the department’s Interstate Criminal Enforcement does an unbelievable job. He asked the amount of seized funds the County receives yearly. Campbell said in the millions. Historically, the share was 75% but that number has decreased. The new Congress and Speaker of the House will continue effect the numbers. Commissioner McNeely Campbell to look into partially funding School Resource Officers SR) out of the Federal Equity Sharing funds. Campbell said the County needs an additional 15 SROs at a start-up cost of $2.4 million. Commissioner McNeely suggested a graduating scale of funding over a three-year period by using the seized funds to hire five SROs then the County can possibly pick up the funding from there. By the end of three-years, there could possibly be a year of SROs paid free. Campbell cautioned the Board of using Federal Equity Sharing funds to fund SROs because of the guidelines. He said the wording in the guidelines is similar to a high-voltage sign; the power line does not have to be grabbed in order to believe the sign. The guidelines state Equitable Sharing funds may not be used to pay the salaries and benefits of sworn or non -sworn personnel. Specialized programs that do not involve traditional law enforcement functions are the exceptions, as long as the officer does not serve in the position full-time, which means the department would still have to fund the SROs. The department has a good standing relationship with equity forfeiture. Campbell is opposed to using equity forfeiture money to fund salaries. Commissioner McNeely said there is no greater way to protect our children than to use the funds from the poison that ruins so many lives to provide SRO. The drug problem is destroying more youth than an outside shooter, but children must also be protected from the outside. Campbell agreed for the need of SROs but does not feel comfortable with using the seized funds to fund them. Commissioner McNeely asked Campbell to assist with figuring out a way to fund SROs. Chairman Mallory said the Board would have a chance to dig more into the budget during the winter planning session. Commissioner Houpe said the Sheriff will look into different options and is committed to helping where he can. He hopes the carrier is never needed, but one must be available. Campbell said the carrier would benefit multiple agencies along with the public. 16 January 15, 2019 Commissioner McNeely said Campbell is great at what he does and asked for his assistance with finding funds to support SROs. Vice Chairman Bowles said things are not like they used to be, they’re how they are now. School safety is paramount in the County along with public safety. This is a piece of the puzzle to do that. MOTION by Vice Chairman Bowles for approval of budget amendment #24 to purchase an armored vehicle using Federal Equity Sharing Funds. VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0 Chairman Mallory commended Campbell and staff for the technical process for the selection of the carrier. The vehicle is just the right size. He also commended Campbell for utilizing Federal Equity Sharing Funds. The amount of funds available is based on policy. There are numerous agencies involved with writing the rules. These funds are good for a one off expenditure, particularly capital expenditures. When personnel is being funded, unless those are short-term personnel requirements, when someone is hired, they are hired for the long haul. The funding for that position is going to be dependent upon the availability of the Equity Sharing funds. He gave a special “shout-out” to the interdiction team that produce the seizures. That team is very diligent and professional with making traffic stops. ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES OCCURING ON BOARDS & COMMISSIONS Town of Troutman Planning Board (1 announcement) Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (1 announcement) APPOINTMENTS TO BOARD AND COMMISSIONS (None) UNFINISHED BUSINESS (None) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD No one wished to speak. NEW BUSINESS Commissioner Houpe reported that the Statesville’s City Council voted to purchase Statesville Flying Service, better known as the FBO at the Statesville Airport. He distributed a brochure on “What Aviation Means to Our Economy”. Statesville is ranked sixth in the State for cargo transport. There is a $134,580,000 positive impact on the County. The investments the County has made by collaborating with the City have been invaluable. Commissioner Houpe has invited Steve Johnson and John Ferguson to a meeting in February to provide a more detailed update on potential projects. Commissioner McNeely provided an update from the NC County Commissioners’ Association (NCACC) Legislative Goals Conference. He serves on the Agricultural Steering Committee and the Legislative Goals Oversight Committee. Two goals that are relative to Iredell 17 January 15, 2019 County were aligning the school calendar with the community college calendar and more stringent Right to Farm. There has been some talk about privatizing the local ABC boards. The committee has asked legislature if the County will continue to receive funding or will the State then receive the funding. COUNTY MANAGER’S REPORT County Manager Beth Jones gave updates on the following items:  The County officially closed on the Barium Springs Property yesterday, January 14, 2019. The Recreation Center opened on January 7, 2019. The center opened with only the gym for open play and classes. Hopefully in February the Recreation Center will be completely up and running. Jones reported that for the first week there were 208 visits, forty-eight silver sneaker memberships, 65 individual memberships. There are now 213 members of the Recreation Center. Jones thanked the Parks and Recreation staff, Facility Services staff, and the County Attorney Lisa Valdez.  County offices will be closed January 21, 2019 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.  Fire Services and Emergency Management has moved into the Public Safety Complex. EMS will be moved in by the end of the month. ECOM will be moved in by May. MOTION by Commissioner McNeely to call for a public hearing on February 5, 2019 at 7pm regarding a maximum economic development incentive of $985,000 over a six -year period for Project Blue Ribbon based on a $47,584,000 investment in Iredell County. CLOSED SESSIONS Chairman Mallory said a Closed Session relating to Economic Development G.S. 143- 318.11 (a) (4) and Personnel G.S. 143-318.11 (a) (6) was held immediately following the pre- agenda meeting. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Commissioner McNeely to adjourn at 8:18 PM. The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, February 5, 2019, 5:00 PM, in the South Wing Conference Room, Government Center, 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0 __________________________________ ___________________________________ Date Approved Amy B. Anderson, Clerk