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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4-7-2020 1 April 7, 2020 IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR SESSION MINUTES April 7, 2020 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, April 7 2020 at 7:00 PM, in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room located in the Iredell County Government Center 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. In light of COVID-19, the Board cancelled the pre-agenda. Board Members Present Chairman James Mallory Gene Houpe Ken Robertson Board Members Participating Remotely Vice Chairman Tommy Bowles Marvin Norman Staff present: County Manager Beth Jones, County Attorney Lisa Valdez, Deputy County Manager Susan Robertson, and Clerk to the Board Amy Anderson. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman James Mallory called the meeting to order. Chairman Mallory explained the Board recently amended its’ Rules of Procedure to allow Commissioners to participate remotely for up to two meetings a year and not be able to participate remotely in Closed Session. Mallory said the County is under a State of Emergency, which dictates physical separation. MOTION by Commissioner Houpe to suspend the rule requirement of limiting remote appearances and not count any of the meetings in which Commissioners participate remotely against their two for the year and allow Commissioners to participate remotely in Closed Session during the State of Emergency VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0 ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA: County Manager Beth Jones noted Closed Session will be held in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room not in the South Wing Conference Room as originally printed on the agenda. Jones explained there is also an item under New Business regarding approval designation of emergency responders and healthcare workers. Commissioner Robertson asked to make comments under New Business. Chairman Mallory will also make remarks under New Business. MOTION by Commissioner Houpe to approve the agenda as adjusted. VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0 2 April 7, 2020 Chairman Mallory recognized the County’s First Responders, EMS, Fire Departments, Rescue Squads, Police Departments, Sheriff’s Office, and Emergency Communications for responding relatively to many calls and managing the process so citizens can be confident in the response and care they will receive, should they need it. Mallory reminded citizens to call 911 for only true emergencies. General questions regarding COVID-19 can be answered by calling 211. PUBLIC HEARINGS Public Hearing for consideration of the Adoption of a Resolution for Iredell Memorial Hospital to issue tax exempt bonds not to exceed $62,000,000: By phone, Alice Adams, said Iredell Memorial Hospital is planning to issue tax exempt bonds through the Public Finance Authority of Wisconsin. It is a part refunding and part new money. Adams said it is a federal tax requirement under TEFRA for the Board to conduct a public hearing on tax exempt bonds. Adams said the refunding dates back to 1983 and is a refunding of 2007 bonds, which refunded other various bonds originally issued by the County. The hospital is also financing an outpatient facility in Mooresville, which will include an ambulatory surgical center, diagnostic center, and some physician office space. Adams explained the County’s role is purely for federal tax purposes and has no financial responsibility for the bonds. Chairman Mallory opened the public hearing. Chairman Mallory announced the number to call for public comment is 704-878-3051. The number was also posted before the meeting on the County’s website. No one wished to speak. Chairman Mallory Closed the public hearing. * * * * * Motion was made by Commissioner Houpe, seconded by Commissioner Robertson and carried unanimously, to open the public hearing. WHEREAS, the Chairman announced that the Board of Commissioners (the “Board”) would proceed to hold a public hearing and would hear anyone who wished to be heard on the proposed issuance by the Public Finance Authority (the “Authority”), a joint powers commission and a unit of government and a body corporate and politic organized and existing under the laws of the State of Wisconsin, of its Healthcare Facilities Revenue and Refunding Revenue Bonds (Iredell Health System), Series 2020A (the “Bonds”), in an aggregate amount not to exceed $62,000,000; WHEREAS, the Authority has been requested to issue the Bonds and to lend the proceeds from the sale thereof to Iredell Memorial Hospital, Incorporated (the “Corporation”), a North Carolina nonprofit corporation; WHEREAS, the Corporation will use such proceeds to (1) finance facilities with qualified 501(c)(3) bonds as defined in Section 145 of the Internal Revenue Code, including but not limited to additional healthcare facilities, including but not limited to the acquisition, construction, equipping and furnishing of a new approximately 68,000 square foot building to house an ambulatory surgery center, a diagnostic imaging center and physician office space to be located at 653 Bluefield Road, Mooresville, NC 28117 (the “2020 Project”), (2) refund all of the outstanding North Carolina Medical Care Commission Variable Rate Demand Hospital Revenue Bonds (Iredell Memorial Hospital), Series 2007 (the “2007 Bonds”), the proceeds of which were used to finance and refinance improvements to Iredell Memorial Hospital and other healthcare facilities of the Corporation (the “Prior Proje cts,” and collectively with the 2020 Project, the “Project”) and (3) pay certain expenses in connection with the authorization and issuance of the Bonds; 3 April 7, 2020 WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 66.0304(11)(a) of the Wisconsin Statutes, prior to their issuance, bonds issued by the Authority must be approved by the governing body or highest ranking executive or administrator of the political jurisdiction within whose boundaries a project is located, which with respect to the Project is the County of Iredell, North Carolina; WHEREAS, the Corporation has requested that the Board approve the financing and refinancing of the Project, and the issuance of the Bonds in an amount not to exceed $62,000,000 in order to satisfy the public approval requirement of Section 147(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) and the requirements of Section 4 of the Amended and Restated Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement Relating to the Public Finance Authority, dated as of September 28, 2010, and Section 66.0304(11)(a) of the Wisconsin Statutes; WHEREAS, a notice of public hearing was published in the Statesville Record and Landmark, setting forth a general, functional description of the type and use of the facilities to be financed and refinanced, the maximum principal amount of the Bonds, the initial owner, operator or manager of the facilities and the location of the facilities, among other things; WHEREAS, the names, address and testimony of the persons who were present and who offered comments on the proposed issuance of the Bonds, who called into the public hearing on the designated phone line, or who responded in writing to the notice of public hearing are as follows: [None.] WHEREAS, the Chairman of the Board inquired elsewhere in and around the meeting room t o determine whether there were any other persons who wished to speak at the public hearing and the Chairman of the Board determined that no other persons who wished to speak at the public hearing were found; and WHEREAS, the purpose of the above-described public hearing and this resolution is to satisfy the public approval requirement of Section 147(f) of the Code in order to qualify the interest on the Bonds for exclusion from the gross income of the owners thereof for federal income tax purposes pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Code; After the Board had heard all persons who had requested to be heard, Chairman Mallory closed the public hearing. Chairman Mallory introduced the following resolution, a copy of which had been distributed to each Commissioner: RESOLUTION APPROVING THE ISSUANCE OF NOT TO EXCEED $62,000,000 OF TAX - EXEMPT BONDS TO BE ISSUED BY THE PUBLIC FINANCE AUTHORITY TO FINANCE AND REFINANCE CERTAIN COSTS OF VARIOUS PROJECTS ON BEHALF OF IREDELL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, INCORPORATED NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR THE COUNTY OF IREDELL, NORTH CAROLINA: Section 1. For the sole purpose of qualifying the interest on the Bonds for exclusion from the gross income of the owners thereof for federal income tax purposes pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Code, the Board hereby approves the issuance of the Bonds by the Authority for the purpose of providing funds to finance and refinance the Project, provided that in no event shall the County of Iredell, the State of North Carolina or any political subdivision thereof be liable for such Bonds nor shall the Bonds constitute a debt of the County of Iredell, the State of North Carolina or any political subdivision thereof. It is the purpose and intent of th e Board that this resolution constitute approval of the issuance of the Bonds by the applicable elected representative of the Project Jurisdiction for the Project, which is the governmental unit having jurisdiction over the area in which the Project is loc ated, in accordance with Section 147(f) of the Code and Section 66.0304(11(a) of the Wisconsin Statutes and Section 4 of the Joint Exercise Agreement. Section 2. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its passage. 4 April 7, 2020 Commissioner Houpe motioned to adopt the resolution, and Commissioner Robertson seconded the motion. The resolution was adopted by the following vote: AYES: Bowles, Mallory, Houpe, Robertson and Norman NAYS: None * * * * * Public hearing for an economic development incentive for Project Coupling: Chairman Mallory said the company has requested another continuance to allow them to have representation at the public hearing. Chairman Mallory opened the public hearing. Chairman Mallory recessed the public hearing until April 21, 2020. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS In light of COVD-19, County Manager Beth Jones and Deputy County Manager Susan Robertson summarized the following agenda items. Staff was available by phone to address any additional questions. Request from Mooresville Graded School District for approval of a sewer easement at Mooresville Middle School: By phone, Mooresville Graded School District Attorney Kevin Donaldson, said an individual is constructing a convenience store along Coddle Creek Road/Highway 3 in Mooresville and a sewer easement is needed to cross a small portion of the Mooresville Middle School property in order to connect to town sewer. Donaldson said the Board of Education has approved the easement in the amount $4,000 and is requesting approval of the easement. Chairman Mallory asked if the easement would negatively affect future development of the school property. Donaldson said no. This item was placed on consent. Request from Emergency Medical Services for approval of budget amendment #25 to allocate donated funds towards the Community Paramedic Program: Jones said the County was awarded a one-time grant from United Way in the amount of $50,000. The funds will go towards the start-up cost of the Community Paramedic Program, particularly for equipment and a vehicle. Jones requested approval to accept and expend the funds, This item was placed on consent. Request from the Finance Department for approval of budget amendment #26 to accept and appropriate an additional $79,500 in Juvenile Crime Prevention Council Level II funding: Jones said the funds will go towards the Barium Springs Home for Children’s Treatment Alternatives for Sexualized Kids (TASK). 5 April 7, 2020 Commissioner Houpe asked if this a pass through of funds from the State to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council. Jones said yes. This item was placed on consent. Request from the Finance Department for approval of FY21 Juvenile Crime Prevention Council Funding Plan: Jones said the anticipated budget is $405,670. The funding plan includes $349,300 of the State grant of $405,670 along with County matching funds of $7,250 for Piedmont Mediation Center’s Restitution Program, $7,250 for Piedmont Mediation Center’s Teen Court Program and $8,446 for Barium Springs Juvenile Counseling Program. A reserve of $56,370 was created and the purpose of the reserve is to retain funding in light of “Raise the Age.” As this progresses in the fiscal year, the Funding Committee with the assistance of the Risk and Needs Committee will prepare an additional request for proposal to determine the best use of these funds. The Council has until December 2020 to allocate this remaining funding. This item was placed on consent. Request from the Finance Department for approval of a Declaration of Results of the Bond Referendum held March 3, 2020: Deputy County Manager Susan Robertson said the resolution states the results of the referendum. Once the resolution is approved a legal notice will be published in the newspaper and anyone who wishes to file a claim as to the validity of the referendum can file an appeal within 30 days. No appeals can be made after 30 days. Robertson said bonds are not sold until bids are in hand. Staff does not anticipate the bonds sold until early next year at the soonest. Each of the school systems must have their architects and engineers complete all plans and those plans must be approved at the State level. Robertson said right now, if the bids went to market, there would probably be a 2.75% interest rate; however, rates are expected to level out and drop. Robertson said the County will obtain a good interest rate. Referendum Results: School Bonds Referendum 24,755 votes cast for 12,454 votes cast against Community College Bonds Referendum 24,114 votes cast for 12,867 votes cast against Commissioner Houpe expressed appreciation for everyone’s support in the investment for the capacity needs. Schools play a vital role in the economic impact in the County. The public in great form supported the investment. This item was placed on consent. * * * * * * 6 April 7, 2020 The Board of Commissioners received from the Iredell County Board of Elections a certified copy of the proceedings of said Board of Elections taken on March 13, 2020, evidencing said Board of Elections’ determination of the result of the canvass of the returns of the bond referendum held in the County of Iredell, North Carolina on March 3, 2020, upon the questions of approving $115,500,00 0 School Bonds and $10,500,000 Community College Bonds of said County. After said proceedings had been considered and reviewed by the Board of Commissioners, Chairman Mallory introduced the following resolution the title of which was read and a copy of whi ch had been previously distributed to each Commissioner: RESOLUTION DECLARING THE RESULT OF THE BOND REFERENDUM HELD IN THE COUNTY OF IREDELL, NORTH CAROLINA ON MARCH 3, 2020, UPON THE QUESTIONS OF APPROVING $115,500,000 SCHOOL BONDS AND $10,500,000 COMMUNITY COLLEGE BONDS AND DECLARING THE OFFICIAL INTENT OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS TO REIMBURSE EXPENDITURES BY THE COUNTY FROM THE PROCEEDS OF SUCH BONDS BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners for the County of Iredell, North Carolina: Section 1. The Board of Commissioners, having received from the Iredell County Board of Elections a certified copy of the proceedings of said Board of Elections taken on March 13, 2020, evidencing said Board of Elections’ determination of the result of the canvass of t he returns of the bond referendum held in the County of Iredell, North Carolina on March 3, 2020, upon the questions of approving $115,500,000 School Bonds and $10,500,000 Community College Bonds of said County, does hereby declare and certify the result of said referendum to be the result which is set forth in the following statements of the result of said referendum, which statements have been prepared by said Board: STATEMENT OF THE RESULT OF THE BOND REFERENDUM HELD IN THE COUNTY OF IREDELL, NORTH CAROLINA ON MARCH 3, 2020 UPON THE QUESTION OF APPROVING $115,500,000 SCHOOL BONDS At a bond referendum held in the County of Iredell, North Carolina on March 3, 2020, 121,325 voters were registered and qualified to vote. At said referendum 24,755 votes were cast for the order adopted on December 3, 2019, authorizing not exceeding $115,500,000 School Bonds of the County of Iredell, North Carolina, plus interest, for the purpose of providing funds, together with any other available funds, for acquiring, cons tructing and equipping school buildings 7 April 7, 2020 and other school facilities in said County, including, without limitation, (a) the construction of a new high school, and the acquisition of related land, rights of way and equipment for the Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education and (b) the construction of a new middle school, and the acquisition of related land, rights of way and equipment for the Mooresville Graded School District, and providing that additional taxes may be levied in an amount sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on said bonds, and 12,454 votes were cast against said order, and that a majority of the qualified voters of the County of Iredell, North Carolina who voted thereon at said referendum voted in favor of said order, said order was thereby approved and is in force and effect. Board of Commissioners for the County of Iredell, North Carolina STATEMENT OF THE RESULT OF THE BOND REFERENDUM HELD IN THE COUNTY OF IREDELL, NORTH CAROLINA ON MARCH 3, 2020 UPON THE QUESTION OF APPROVING $10,500,000 COMMUNITY COLLEGE BONDS At a bond referendum held in the County of Iredell, North Carolina on March 3, 2020, 121,325 voters were registered and qualified to vote. At said referendum 24,114 votes were cast for the order adopted on December 3, 2019, authorizing not exceeding $10,500,000 Community College Bonds of the County of Iredell, North Carolina, plus interest, for the purpose of providing funds, together with any other available funds, for acquiring, constructing, renovating, expanding, improving and equipping various community college facilities for Mitchell Community College, and providing that additional taxes may be levied in an amount sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on said bonds, and 12,867 votes were cast against said order, and that a majority of the qualified voters of the County of Iredell, North Carolina who voted thereon at said referendum voted in favor of said order, said order was thereby approved and is in force and effect. Board of Commissioners for the County of Iredell, North Carolina Section 2. The Clerk to the Board of Commissioners for the County of Iredell, North Carolina shall file copies of the foregoing statements of the result of said referendum in her office and shall publish such statements o nce in the Statesville Record & Landmark. A statement in substantially the following form shall be published with the foregoing statements: 8 April 7, 2020 Any action or proceeding challenging the regularity or validity of this bond referendum must be begun within 30 days after [date of publication]. Section 3. Section 1.150-2 of the Treasury Regulations (the “Regulations”) prescribes specific procedures that are applicable to tax-exempt bonds or notes issued by or on behalf of the County for which prior expenditures are to be reimbursed, including, without limitation, a requirement that prior to, or within sixty (60) days of, payment of the expenditures to be reimbursed the County declare its official intent to reimburse certain expenditures with proceeds of debt to be incurred by the County. The Board hereby declares its official intent pursuant to Section 1.150 -2 of the Treasury Regulations to reimburse itself from the proceeds of debt to be hereinafter incurred by the County for expenditures on the school improvements and community college improvements described in this resolution paid by the County on or after the date which is sixty (60) days prior to the date hereof. Nothing contained herein shall prohibit the reimbursement for preliminary expenditures or other expenditures paid on an earlier date that may be reimbursed pursuant to applicable federal tax laws. $115,500,000 is the maximum principal amount of debt reasonably expected to be incurred for the purpose of paying the costs of school improvements and $10,500,0 00 is the maximum principal amount of debt reasonably expected to be incurred for the purpose of paying the costs of community college improvements. Section 4. This resolution shall take effect upon its passage. Upon motion of Commissioner Houpe, the foregoing resolution entitled “RESOLUTION DECLARING THE RESULT OF THE BOND REFERENDUM HELD IN THE COUNTY OF IREDELL, NORTH CAROLINA ON MARCH 3, 2020, UPON THE QUESTIONS OF APPROVING $115,500,000 SCHOOL BONDS AND $10,500,000 COMMUNITY COLLEGE BONDS AND DECLARING THE OFFICIAL INTENT OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS TO REIMBURSE EXPENDITURES BY THE COUNTY FROM THE PROCEEDS OF SUCH BONDS” was adopted by the following vote: Ayes: Bowles, Houpe, Mallory, Norman, and Robertson Noes: Request from Administration for approval of the Articles of Association and Agreement for Centralina Workforce Development Consortium: Jones said approval of the agreement is a requirement for funding under the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act. 9 April 7, 2020 Members of the consortium agree to establish a Workforce Development Board to act jointly as the local workforce investment area for workforce development. Chairman Mallory said this is an additional step in developing a future workforce. There are multiple lines of effort and organizations collaborating to be able to bring a qualified workforce to the County. This item was placed on consent. Request from Clerk to the Board for approval of minutes from the meetings on March 3 and 17, 2020: There were no additions or corrections. This item was placed on consent. MOTION by Commissioner Houpe to approve consent items. VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0 ANNOUNCEMENTS OF VACANCIES ON BOARDS & COMMISSIONS (None) APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS & COMMISSIONS (None) UNFINISHED BUSINESS (None) NEW BUSINESS Jones said as a result of two new laws that went into effect on April 1, 2020 based on COVID-19 two new laws went into effect on April 1, 2020 and the Board of Commissioners must be make a designation regarding healthcare and emergency responders. The first law is the emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (Emergency FMLA) and the other is Emergency Pay Sick Leave Act. Jones said the two laws gives six different categories for employees that are eligible for various leave as a result of COVID-19. There are exemptions and the Board needs to designate those. Jones said the Department of Labor’s interpretation given earlier today is a little than the guidance received from the School of Government. The County implemented based on April 1, 2020 when the laws became effective. Jones recommended being consistent with what has already been put in place and include only healthcare and public safety departments (ECOM, EMS, EMS Specialty Services, Fire Marshall, Emergency Management, Health Department, Sheriff’s Office, and Jail/Detention Center. Jones said according to the Department of Labor’s interpretation are other departments (such as Social Services) can be included. Because staff did not include other departments based on guidance from the School of Government, staff recommends not including the other departments. Jones said those departments could be exempt from all six provisions. Jones asked to exempt the healthcare and public safety departments from provisions 4 – 6 (employee caring for an individual who is subject to quarantine, 10 April 7, 2020 care for a child or children or school or care provider is unavailable as a result of that, employee experiencing a similar condition as specified by Department of Labor and Treasury) . Jones said because the healthcare provision a lot of different agencies are providing child care to emergency responders because they are excluded from the Act. Iredell-Statesville, Mooresville Graded School District, and the YMCA have opened childcare centers for first responders because they are excluded from the act. Jones suggested not excluding healthcare and public safety from provisions 1-3, but only 4-6. Chairman Mallory asked if provisions 1-6 apply to other departments. Jones said yes. Chairman Mallory the rationale for exempting the proposed departments is the services they deliver are critical and there are alternate ways to address the issue of the substance of the exemptions. Jones said the law says emergency responders and healthcare providers are exempted, but it is up to the local boards to specify which ones those are. Jones said according to the Department of Labor’s recommendation, the Board can expand the category, but because the law had to go in effect April 1, 2020 and that was put into effect, staff would like to see things stay consistent with what is already into place and not include those other departments. Staff was initially advised to include them. Commissioner Robertson asked for a copy of the new laws. Jones will email a copy to the Board. Commissioner Houpe asked if the matter could be tabled until April 21, 2020. Jones said the law went into effect April 1, 2020 and Department of Labor can start penalizing the County on April 15. Jones said the designation needs to be made so it can be appropriately applied. Staff has already implemented it. Commissioner Robertson asked if amendments can be made after approval. Jones said when the law went to effect April 1 staff received guidance from the School of Government. The Department of Labor released additional guidance yesterday to give more leniency to include more departments. It was broader than the initial interpretation. Staff had to implement the law on April 1 and went with the guidance given, but the Department of Labor gave more flexibility to allow more departments and divisions in the definition. Staff would like to stick with the initial interpretation. It does not mean the County is wrong, it means the County is allowing more employees to have the option. Chairman Mallory asked if there has been any feedback from departments that could have been included but were not. Jones the Department of Labor’s interpretation came at 2PM today so staff has not had a chance to disseminate the information to the departments. 11 April 7, 2020 Commissioner Robertson said the for the most part, the NC Association of County Commissioners (NCACC), makes sound recommendations and supported the original guidance by the School of Government, in which was recommended by the NCACC. Robertson suggested modifications, if any, be made sooner rather than later. County Attorney Lisa Valdez shared concern over an employee starting work between the time the law went into effect and the modification. Valdez suggested if the Board makes changes, there may be some despair treatment. Commissioner Robertson asked about a grandfather clause. Jones said that is the reason staff is recommending to stay with the original recommendation when they received legal interpretation from the School of Government. Chairman Mallory asked if all counties received the original interpretation. Jones said according to the state-wide conference calls, all of the counties are following the School of Government’s interpretation because of consistency and things were rapidly moving. Jones explained the departments in questions have to work regardless. The Department of Labor said counties can broaden the definition and exempt other departments. Commissioner Robertson said live by the rules as they are now, if they can be changed later, then so be it. Vice Chairman Bowles would like to look closer at the new laws, but is willing to take staff’s recommendation at this point. MOTION by Commissioner Robertson to approve healthcare and public safety designation as recommended by staff. VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0 Commissioner Robertson said staff, particularly the Health Department, has been dealing with constant fast changing guidance for well over a month. There are State and Federal regulations rolling out with basic question and answers. There are a lot of unknowns. Officials are urging counties to do the right thing as they move forward. Commissioner Robertson said, “I think we need to look at things at a slightly different light. This too shall pass. This is not going to last forever. This is going to pass and it is going to happen sooner rather than later. It is time for us to preparing for how we are going to recover. are going to come out of this and come out victorious. I am not here to give medical advice. I want to challenge you to a few things. Let’s take the approach that we are going to come out of this strong. No more cancellations. We will postpone. We will reschedule. We aren’t cancelling. No cancelling birthday parties. Kids, we can reschedule. Don’t cancel Easter. Reschedule it. My family already did. We aren’t able to have it on Sunday, we will have it on another day. We are not our lives to accommodate this virus and to shutdown our economy. We will reschedule. We will postpone, but life it going to go on. For one month you cancel birthday parties, one month is 1/12 of the year. That is 8%. That means 8% ice cream, 8% less party supplies, gifts, and all the stuff that goes into making life. Don’t cancel it, postpone it. Reschedule it, but still do it. The President did something and he caught a lot of grief for it, but he was absolutely right for those who believe in the King 12 April 7, 2020 James Version, go to Proverbs 29:18, ‘Where there is no vision, the people shall perish.’ The President came out and said I think may be we can turn this and ease up by Easter. At least he had a vision. A vision of something positive. A vision that we were going to come out. It gave people some hope. I can endure whatever hardship asking them to bear, I can do that until Easter. He had to modify and he may modify it again, but we, as leaders, need to start looking at coming out of this thing, not barreling deeper in the ground. How are we going to come out of it? Good seas don’t make good sailors. I don’t think anybody right now thinks we are in good seas. How are you going to take these bad seas and figure out a way to become a good sailor? How can we be better? How do we define our ship? How do we make the best of this situation? Our school system went from teaching kids who were delivered to their doorstep five days a week and in really short order they figured out a way to teach most of the kids remotely. Let me tell you, they did that on a dime. That was super quick. WE should all look at ways how to take this situation and do something better for it. It can be better with our family and within our community. This is going to look diffe rent for everybody. How do you define the ship? Iredell County, State of NC, and the Federal Government is not going to bring grandparents groceries. We have to look after our families. We have to look after our neighbors, church and club members. We did not go into this shutdown mode from green to red. The light was green, it turned yellow, then they realized it was a little more serious and they went red. We aren’t going to go from red to green. We are going to go through a period of yellow. We don’t know what that looks like exactly. We don’t know when it is going to be, but we know it’s coming and we know we are going to do it. Those who are fortunate enough to have kept their job during this, those like myself that are fortunate enough to be able to have an option to work from home. It is going to be up to us to lead the way into this economic recovery locally. No one took it on the chin quite like the hospitality and tourism industry. The hotels, restaurants, waiters, cooks, servers, and busboys. They went to zero and didn’t make a ton of money to begin with. At some point, as the curtain is lifted and we are allowed to stimulate our own economy, it is our duty to go out to eat and leave a tip. Give someone a job. Buy a service that someone provides. Shop local. There are plenty of restaurants in Iredell County that are owned by people in Iredell County. Spend your money there. We can lead our own way out of this mess. We can’s do it by ourselves, but we can do everything within our power to do it. If you can, buy American. Our job isn’t to re-stimulate the Chinese economy. Let’s buy American. For some reason, the blame game tends to be where everybody wants to go. We don’t need to do the blame game. One of my first jobs as a county commissioner, 14 years ago was being on the Pandemic Flu Committee. We were thinking about this 14 years ago. The difference is, do you think if we bought a bunch of masks 14 years ago, they’d be good now? No. All we can do is plan. Some things you cannot stock pile. We are in new territory. This is a different situation. I see on the news and I keep hearing why don’t hospitals have more intensive care units and beds. Remember, for the past 14 years we’ve been trying to drive medical costs down. We’ve asked the medical industry to reduce expenses. Guess what. They did. Guess what. This is what it looks like. Can you imagine what would happen had Iredell Memorial come to us and asked for a half million dollars in case we have the pandemic flu. We wouldn’t have given them the money yesterday. There’s a concept, Chesterton’s Fence. Basically, it says don’t criticize something until you know why it was done in the first place. Our country has gone through a long period where w e were trying to minimize the cost of medical care. That meant you didn’t hire medical staff that wasn’t needed and you didn’t build rooms that couldn’t be filled, and extra ICU rooms. They did exactly what our private industries asked them to do. Medicaid never promised to pay for rooms and services that weren’t being provided. Medicare didn’t. Department of Defense didn’t. When we talk about reducing expenses, we found out that somewhere around 90% of our medicines come from China and they threatened to hold back antibiotics. You know what happened before antibiotics when you went to get stitches, you could do die from an infection. If you don’t have any antibiotics because you have 13 April 7, 2020 to get them from China and China is either shutdown with a pandemic or they choose not to help you or sell to you, we allow ourselves to be in a very vulnerable place. I think Americans are going to take a look in the mirror. Americans were very adamant to have a higher minimum wage. We should pay people a minimum wage then we turn around and buy products made in China by people who make $2 an hour. We say we should have environmental regulations so that we pollute the environment but then we turn around a buy products from a country who doesn’t have those regulations. We say people should have safe workplace and there should be safety rules, but we turn around and buy our products from places that avoid those expenses. And, now everyone is mad because we can’t masks because they are made in China. If we come out of this and all we do is buy stuff that was made in China then this is going to happen again. This is going to happen again. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I promise you, if the warm weather defeats the coronavirus in April, it will be back and we will right back in the same mess we are in now. Thomas Paine once said, ‘I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in time so that my children can live in peace.’ Are we as adults going to kick the can down the road and make the same stinking mistakes that we did that got us here or are we going to fix. We’ve got probably six months to fix it because we know it’s coming back. Let’s learn from this. These are rough seas. We can take these rough seas to be better sailors, to be better citize ns, to be better Americans. And, if we take that attitude that it is not up to someone else, it’s up to us to make these changes, we are going to lead Iredell County out of this place of reduced economic activity. We can do it. We can make the change. My challenge is to my citizens of Iredell County, this too shall pass and when it does let’s bring ourselves out of it.” Commissioner Houpe expressed appreciation to staff for dealing with the ever-changing laws. Houpe urged citizens to be patients and be in this together. Chairman Mallory said, “I would like to wind up this evening with a discussion about the issues we are dealing this with the here and now. Commissioner Robertson described the end phase in the Army, Air Force, and Marines. He has articulated very well the ultimate objective which is to return to normalcy as quickly as we can. Before we can return to normalcy, we have to work through the changes of the present and near future. The surgeon general this past week reflected this week would be like Pearl Harbor for our youngest generation. That was probably the last time the United States went shoulder to shoulder. He has also likened it to a 9/11 month. I think those are apt descriptions. I would describe it reflecting back to our greatest generation maybe the largest invasion in history, an assault on D-Day with multi-national coalition. What we’ve seen is similar to that whole campaign. It started on the beaches in France. That operation involved initial assault troops hitting the beach and they took heavy casualties. Right now, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Louisiana, Michigan, and parts of California are in the middle of the first wave. The second wave is getting ready to go in. To me, that second wave can hear in the national news. People are talking about Chicago and Washington DC as hot spots. We have a hot spot in our own backyard, Mecklenburg County. They are going to be in this second wave hitting the beach. We are not in the second wave. We are in the third wave. We have had the opportunity to learn from the experience that hit the beach before us. We have been able to prepare and adjust our training, tactics accordingly. That third wave in my view is like Patton’s third army. It wasn’t until George Patton’s third army deployed from England and engineered in conjunction with airborne operations of breakout. It was during that breakout that the lines were bypassed or collapsed. There was a move toward Berlin. Fortunately, that breakout ran out of gas. Lines un-stabilized. Then we had to fight the battle of the bulge. It totally took us by surprise. It is going to take longer than we think and there are going to be casualties. People are going to be hospitalized. We have already seen the deaths in NC north of 50 at this point. In Iredell County, we are in the third wave. We have some additional time to prepare. We are about a week or two behind Charlotte. Charlotte is 14 April 7, 2020 about a week or two behind New York. We have to be prepared for everything that comes our way. That is where every single citizen of Iredell County can do their part. We are all soldiers in the Iredell County army. We have got to focus on the task that we individually have in order to make this happen. The way we do that is very simple. It all comes down to what you do personally. That is maintain social distancing, washing hands frequently, keep surfaces clean and disinfected. That is how we stop the transition of this virus. The virus itself you can kill with simple soap and water. It is protected like a greasy ball. That greasy covering gets wiped away when you wash your hands, at least 20 or 30 seconds. Last week, the CDC suggested that wearing masks would help in slowing the transmission of this virus. The N-95 masks are for medical providers and first responders. The general public can wear masks that you wear when mowing the grass. The masks stop the transmitting to other people. People are wearing them to protect you. If they cough, sneeze, speak forcefully can transmit the virus. When you go somewhere that you don’t have control over social distancing you should wear a mask to protect other people. We have to assume that we are all carriers of the virus. You have to assume everyone you are around has this virus. If you assume that you are going to act a little different around them. Likewise, you have to assume you have it. People can be completely asymptomatic and show no signs. You have to assume you are a carrier. If I am around other people, I need to wear a mask if they are not more than six feet away. I would invite folks to look at the County website at co.iredell.nc.us to view updated information and weekly videos.” COUNTY MANANGERS REPORT There was nothing to report. CLOSED SESSION At 8:31PM, Chairman Mallory moved the Board into Closed Session pursuant to G.S. 143-318.11 (a) (5), Property Acquisition. The Board returned to open session at 8:40PM with no action items to report. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Commissioner Norman to adjourn at 8:42PM. The next regular meeting will be April 21, 2020, 5:00 PM, in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room, Government Center, 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0 __________________________________ ___________________________________ Date Approved Amy B. Anderson, Clerk