HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-15-2022
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February 15, 2022
IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PRE-AGENDA SESSION
February 15, 2022
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in pre-agenda session on Tuesday,
February 15, 2022 at 5:00 PM, in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room located in the Iredell County
Government Center 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC.
Board Members Present
Chairman James Mallory
Vice Chairman Melissa Neader
Scottie Brown
Gene Houpe
Board Members Participating Remotely
Marvin Norman
Staff present: County Manager Beth Mull, County Attorney Lisa Valdez, Deputy County
Manager Susan Robertson, Finance Director Deb Cheek, and Clerk to the Board Amy Anderson.
CALL TO ORDER: Chairman James Mallory called the meeting to order.
ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA: There were no adjustments to the agenda.
ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
Request from Elections for approval of Budget Amendment #32 and to accept
equipment from the State Board of Elections: Elections Director Susie Jordan requested
approval of Budget Amendment #32 to accept donation from the State Board of Elections of 6
Security Carts with the commitment of purchasing, at a minimum, 6 additional 6 carts in the future.
The carts were purchased with HAVA funds for another county that could not use them and the
State is looking to give them to a county that can utilize them. Jordan said the Board of Elections
discussed slowly rolling the carts out to each 29 precincts. The carts add an extra layer of security
to elections equipment. The BoE would like to see a cart at each precinct. Jordan said if the County
if willing to purchase six more carts they would receive the initial six at the cost of shipping only,
$1700. Carts costs $2,100 each.
Chairman Mallory said the premises where the equipment is located is secure. Mallory
asked what the carts looked like.
Jordan said the cart would hold all the supplies including the voting equipment and would
be locked. Facility Services would be able to load the equipment and unload it at the precinct. The
chief judge and two other judges of the precinct are present when the carts are opened and
unloaded. At the end of Election Day the equipment is loaded onto the cart and picked up.
Commissioner Houpe said the County would need 23 more carts in order to have a cart for
each precinct.
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February 15, 2022
Jordan said yes.
Commissioner Houpe asked if ARP funds could be used for the carts.
County Manager Mull said no.
Commissioner Houpe said it would be a good idea to consider the carts for each precinct
as they add an extra layer of security.
Mull clarified the request is to accept six carts with the guaranteed purchase of an additional
six, which would be 12 carts total.
Commissioner Brown asked if the voting equipment is secure now.
Jordan said absolutely. The carts add an extra layer and allow Facility Services a more
efficient way to load and unload the equipment.
Commissioner Brown asked staff for a picture of the cart.
Staff will send pictures of the cart to the Board.
Mull said the addition of this equipment does not in any way allude to the fact the County
has had any concerns regarding the security of the voting equipment. The carts eases the burden
on Facility Services because everything will be contained on one cart and on wheels for easy
transport.
Commissioner Brown suggested approval of the six donated carts with the guaranteed
purchase of six others. Brown said this gives time for the carts to be used in the primary election
This item was placed on consent.
Request from the Library for approval to apply for a State Library of North Carolina
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Grant in the amount of $100,000: Library
Director Juli Moore requested approval The Library is requesting approval to apply to the State
Library of North Carolina for a LSTA Project Grant in the amount of $100,000 to add a mobile
library, expanding existing outreach services. The vehicle will be a Sprinter van or a Ford Transit
van modified to serve as a mobile library and is similar to the unit modified for use in EMS
Specialty Services. The mobile library will be equipped with materials and technology resources,
serving community members that experience barriers to accessing traditional library services. The
mobile library will deliver services and materials to daycare centers, afterschool programs, assisted
living and senior centers, and serve as a mobile hotspot, providing digital information and
instruction on technological literacy to patrons who cannot take advantage of traditional in-library
services. By combining library, county and community resources, the mobile library will serve as
a county-wide resource center, reducing barriers and increasing access.
Commissioner Houpe said the mobile unit may be counter-productive. There are library
locations throughout the County, school libraries, and ICATS provides transportation. Houpe
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February 15, 2022
thanked Moore for applying for grants, but feels once the grant funding runs out it may creat e a
burden, and an additional line item in the budget. He shared he cannot support the request.
Vice Chair Neader asked if a trailer could be used instead of a mobile unit.
Moore said a trailer would be more complicated to secure items and the Librar y currently
has no vehicles. The outreach services being offered now are performed with staff using their
personal vehicles and getting reimbursed for mileage.
Commissioner Brown asked if the Board could continue the discussion at the upcoming
retreat.
Mull said yes.
This item was tabled for further discussion.
Request from the Library for approval of a 3-year contract with ZOOBEAN to
provide the Beanstack mobile app for patrons: Library Director Juli Moore requested approval
of a 3-year contract with Beanstack is a highly rated app that helps library staff create, manage,
and measure summer reading and year long reading challenges that drive engagement and provide
comprehensive data. The app provides an admin dashboard, on demand reporting, family
registration, access to national and sponsored challenges for library patrons, etc. The first 6 months
are free and the 36 month commitment will begin on August 1, 2022 and end on July 31, 2025.
This item was placed on consent.
Request from the Library for approval to apply for E-Rate discounts: Library director
Juli Moore requested approval to apply for discounted internet access under the Federal
Communications Commission's E-Rate program for FY23. The total cost for internet access for
Statesville, Harmony, and Troutman libraries for FY23 will be $15,660. E-Rate funds 60% of the
cost of services, so E-Rate discounts will cover $9,396. Internet for Statesville and Troutman are
under a 3-year contract with Spectrum that went into effect 7/1/2021. Internet service for Harmony
will be on a month-to-month service with Yadtel. The deadline to apply for E-Rate discounts is
March 22, 2022.
This item was placed on consent.
Request from Finance Department for approval to purchase of 174 ZOLL
Powerheart G5 Automated External Defibrillators for the Sheriff's Office: Purchasing Agent
David Sifford request approval to purchase 174 AEDs for all of the Sheriff’s Office patrol cars.
Sifford said the request also includes waiving the competitive bidding process.
Chairman Mallory asked if there is training.
Sifford said ZOLL will provide the training.
Commissioner Houpe asked the lifespan of an AED.
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February 15, 2022
Chief Deputy Bert Connolly said the ones being replaced are between 10-15 years old.
Mull added this purchase qualifies for ARP funding.
This item was placed on consent.
Request from the Finance Department for approval of the audit contract with Martin
Starnes & Associates, CPA's, P.A. for fiscal year ending June 30, 2022 : Finance director Deb
Cheek said the County is required to have an audit performed each year by an external auditing
firm. The County has used Martin Starnes and Associates, CPA's, P.A. for seventeen years. This
audit includes the financial statements of the governmental activities, the business-type activities,
each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of Iredell County, NC, as of June
30, 2022 and the related notes to the financial statements. In addition, they will audit the entity's
compliance over major federal and State award programs for the period ending June 30, 2022. The
cost of the audit has a 15% increase from last fiscal year. This increase was expected due to the
amount of federal funding that has come to the County. The auditing requirements are substantially
increased for these funds. The cost of the audit is $77,395.
Cheek explained that several years ago the auditing contract went out for RFP. At the time
the firm had increased the price and Cheek was unhappy with some of the due dates in which the
firm was getting the audit done. As a result, the price was lowered and the requested contract
amount is now tipping back to the point it was in 2018.
Commissioner Houpe said it would be nice to address when findings are found after the
firm has directed staff to do something.
Commissioner Houpe said it may not be a bad idea to go back out for RFP next year.
This item was placed on consent.
Request from Tax Administration for approval of January 2022 Refunds and
Releases:
This item was placed on consent.
Request from Clerk to the Board for approval of the minutes from the meeting on
February 1, 2022: There were no additions or corrections.
This item was placed on consent.
County Construction Projects Update: The update was provided to the Board via email
before the meeting and there were no questions or comments on any projects.
This item was placed on consent.
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February 15, 2022
Request from ICATS for approval of a resolution authorizing the Transit Director to
execute and file applications for federal transportation funds on behalf of the County with
the Federal Transit Administration (FTA): ICATS Director Bradley Johnson requested
approval of a resolution authorizing the transit director to sign and file applications for federal
transportation funds on behalf of the County. NCDOT Integrated Mobility Division (IMD) is
taking steps to transition the administration of the Urban Formula Program under 49 U.S.C. § 5307
to the respective urbanized areas. This transition of administrative responsibility from NCDOT to
its recipients will ensure direct access to funding, as a direct recipient of FTA, and overall greater
autonomy of their access to this program. Working in close partnership with the impacted systems
and respective MPOs, IMD has complete confidence in the abilities of local planners and transit
professionals to provide appropriate transit solutions to meet the growing demands of North
Carolina's urban communities. This action will enable NCDOT to enhance that transportation
network across the state by allowing more autonomy, quicker access to funding, and more funding
overall.
Chairman Mallory asked why the State would narrow the potential fund application
purposed.
Johnson said the initial oversight. The County has been doing a triennial review since 2015.
Chairman Mallory asked how much of the County’s funding does this take out of the
funding stream that goes to CATS.
Johnson said the MPO has the agreement for the formula. CATS submits a letter to FTA
and NCDOT.
ANNOUNCEMENTS OF VACANCIES OCCURING ON BOARDS & COMMISSIONS
(None)
APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS & COMMISSIONS
(None)
OLD BUSINESS
The Board recessed at 5:46pm.
IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
REGULAR MINUTES
February 15, 2022
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, February
15, 2022 at 7:00 PM, in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room of the Iredell County Government
Center, 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC.
Board Members Present
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February 15, 2022
Chairman James Mallory
Vice Chairman Melissa Neader
Scottie Brown
Gene Houpe
Board Members Participating Remotely
Marvin Norman
Staff present: County Manager Beth Mull, County Attorney Lisa Valdez, Deputy County
Manager Susan Robertson, 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 or reflection.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE led by Chairman Mallory.
ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA
County Manager Beth Mull explained over the following adjustments:
Remove: VIII.1 Request from Iredell-Statesville Schools for approval to declare the Mt.
Mourne School property surplus.
Add: VIII.11 Request from ICATS for approval of a resolution authorizing the Transit
Director to execute and file applications for federal transportation funds on behalf of the County
with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
MOTION by Vice Chair Neader to approve the agenda as presented.
VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0
PRESENTATION OF SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS & AWARDS
(None)
APPOINTMENTS BEFORE THE BOARD
(None)
PUBLIC HEARINGS
(None)
ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
County Manager Beth Mull summarized the following Administrative Matters during the
Pre-Agenda meeting held at 5pm:
Request from Iredell-Statesville Schools for approval to declare the Mt. Mourne School
property surplus.
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February 15, 2022
Request from Elections for approval of Budget Amendment #32 and to accept equipment
from the State Board of Elections.
Request from the Library for approval of a 3-year contract with ZOOBEAN to provide the
Beanstack mobile app for patrons.
Request from the Library for approval to apply for E-Rate discounts.
Request from Finance Department for approval to purchase of 174 ZOLL Powerheart G5
Automated External Defibrillators for the Sheriff's Office.
Request from the Finance Department for approval of the audit contract with Martin
Starnes & Associates, CPA's, P.A. for fiscal year ending June 30, 2022
Request from Tax Administration for approval of January 2022 Refunds and Releases.
Request from Clerk to the Board for approval of the minutes from the meeting on February
1, 2022.
County Construction Projects Update.
MOTION by Commissioner Brown to approve the consent agenda.
VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays 0
ANNOUNCEMENTS OF VACANCIES ON BOARDS & COMMISSIONS
(None)
APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS & COMMISSIONS
(None)
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Chairman Mallory said, “We’ve had lots of discussion during Public Comment and
otherwise about Covid and restrictions and I would like to give you a quick update on actions
we’ve taken last week. On June 30, 2020, we issued a mandatory masking requirement for county-
operated facilities. It applied to our employees, patrons, or customers that would be using our
services. The masking requirement was very broadly defined to include just face coverings to of
almost any description. If you recall back in the early part of the pandemic that was about the only
thing that was available besides social distancing, and washing your hands. There wasn’t much
testing available at all. There was a lot of controversy over which tests were accurate and that was
being kicked about. There were no vaccines and no real antiviral treatments that had been studied
and approved. At that time, what we talked about was the masks were there not so much to protect
the wearer but to try to limit the spread to other people. We provided double cloth masks. We went
through a surge that took us through the holiday period basically starting shortly after fall festivals
and Halloween through about the middle of January. The numbers dropped back to sort-of that
pre-surge level. Then they dropped in more in May. There are a number of different conditions
which primarily at that point in time revolved around the positivity rate and the actual number of
folks that were being tested positive. You can see the numbers came down rather significantly in
this area and stayed down for the summer months. Then conditions changed. Vaccines came online
in December for healthcare workers and then deployed based on age groups. It took us from
January through March to be able to get most people vaccinated – that wanted to be. Then we had
several different treatments. The numbers came down significantly. Then delta came along and
our numbers went up significantly. You can see the second surge and that time we reinstated the
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masking requirement. We didn’t change the terms of the masking. It was just the same as the first
masking requirement, which we had rescinded earlier. The surge with delta was probably two
times more transmissible than the earlier variant, and it was significantly more deadly. The surge
came down in the September October timeframe. Our previous experience the prior went driven
by gatherings of families and social events that were associated with the three months in a row of
holidays. We anticipated another surge. We indeed got a holiday bump after Thanksgiving and by
about the second week of December people started seeing a switch from delta to omicron. The
bottom line is the trend has been to come down.”
Vice Chair Neader said, “I’m glad to see the numbers dropping for sure. If nothing else
comes out of this I think it’s important to realize that we really need to take care of ourselves from
what we do, how we act, what we say. At the end of the day, it all matters. It matters what we put
into our system, what we put out of our system, what we put in our mouth, and what we send out
of our mouth in every shape and form. I am thankful to live in Iredell County where I still feel at
home and comfortable. I am thankful to be a part of the organization we are and I want to continue
to thank our departments. Our teams have been given a battle that they didn’t anticipate fighting.
When they signed up for their job years ago they didn’t know what they were going to face. None
of us know what we’re going to face each day. With strength, faith, and determination we can face
that. I appreciate everyone’s passion, determination, and heartfelt concerns. I do want to make sure
we thank our departments such as the Health Department where she worked diligently for long
hours in hopes to do the best she could do. That is what we have to do at the end of the day, we do
what we feel is best.”
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
Stacy Register said principal investigators (PLS) came into play when the NIAID was
awarded large budgets to research a cure for aids. They did not have the research in clinical trial
infrastructure. PLA are powerful academic physicians and researchers who use federal grants, our
tax dollars, and pharma contracts to build feudal empires at universities and research hospitals. In
1987, PLS received $4.6 billion dollars of a $6.1 million budget. The PLS use their seats on
medical boards and chairmanships of universities to cultivate dogma. They enforce message
discipline silence criticism and send their contrary opinions and punish descent. They populate the
data and safety monitoring boards that influence the design of clinical trial protocols and guide
their interpretation of clinical trial outcomes and conclusions. The external advisory FDA panel
vaccines and related biological products advisory committee that guides determination of whether
new vaccines are safe and effective in merit licensure. The CDC panel and the advisory committee
on immunization practices that essentially mandates vaccines to children appear on tv as experts.
They write editorials that appear in newspapers that reinforce all vaccines are safe and effective.
They control the medical journals and peer reviewed journal literature to fortify pharma’s agenda.
They teach on medical school facilities, populate journal editorial boards. They supervise hospitals
and chair hospital department. They act as expert witnesses for pharma companies in civil court
and the federal vaccine court. These are the individuals and institutions behind the fear campaign
promoting mask or masking for our children and mass vaccinating. This is who our area authorities
are quoting. If physicians or medical researchers speak against the government pharma cartel they
will be effectively canceled and essentially banned from ever receiving taxpayer -funded research
grant. That’s right. We are perpetually funding the tyranny we are experiencing. Last night at the
school board meeting, Dr. Danny Benjamin from the ABC Collaborative at Duke University was
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brought in to discuss the effectiveness of masking our children to reduce Covid. He mentioned
vaccines multiple times, he however neglected to disclose that the NIAID has awarded $17.5
million over three years to the Duke Human Vaccine Institute to develop a vaccine that protects
against multiple types of coronaviruses and viral variants. Duke has not been cancelled. If you
follow the money you will understand why everyone seems to have covid at the time of a death
from a motorcycle accident to a terminal illness. Iredell County’s population is growing so it is
only reasonable that mortality would increase as well. We experience mortality every year as a
society, from either natural causes or comorbidities. This is insane. Everyone one of you needs to
read this book, the Real Dr. Faucci.”
Robert Zillioux said “Thank you for your actions late last week. You deserve credit for
that. There is a message of hope from our constitution that I will read. The preamble We the People
of the State of North Carolina grateful to almighty God the sovereign ruler of nations for the
preservation of the American Union and the existence of our civil, political, and religious liberties.
Acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those blessings to us and our
posterity do for the more certain security thereof and for the better government of this State. Ordain
and establish this constitution article. One of the declaration of rights that great general and
essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and established. The
relations of this State to the union and government of the United State and those people of this
state to rest of the American people may be defined and affirmed. We do declare that section 1 –
the equality and rights of persons. We hold it to be self-evident that all persons are created equal.
Section 2 – Sovereignty of the People. All political power is vested and derived from the people.
All government of right originates from the people is founded upon their will only and is instituted
solely for the good of the whole. Section 5 – Allegiance to the United States. Every citizen of this
state owes paramount allegiance to the constitution and government of the United States. Section
12 – Right of Assembly and Petition. The people have a right to assemble to consult for their
common good. Section 13 – Religious Liberty. All persons have a natural and inalienable right to
worship almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience and no human authority
shall in any case whatsoever control or interfere with the right. Article 6 – Suffrage and Eligibility
of Office. Section 7 – The oath before entering upon the duties of an office. A person elected or
appointed to the office shall take and subscribe the oath. You have all taken that oath and signed
it. Section 8 – The disqualifications for office. The constitution needs to be read and understood
by everyone. When the facts and truth come out and they will, our constitution will drive absolute
accountability.”
Tommy Hamel said, “Guys, it’s nice to see all your faces tonight. That brings back a lot of
warm memories to. I am in a good mood tonight. I am here because of personal experience in
Iredell County. I personally know people who have been effected by these vaccines. You push the
vaccines. I see signs out and commercials. But nobody is giving us the numbers who is being hurt.
There are some people dying. Athletes dropping out on fields with this stuff. It is undeniable and
you’re just mowing right over those numbers. Your chart actually showed and helps me with my
point. Covid dropped off to nothing then the vaccines came out and the numbers went up. It is
right there in your chart. It was about done. Then they brought the vaccines out. It is a thing called
shedding. It is the same thing with the flu vaccine. People take it and they shed things off. That is
where omicron and variants are coming from. Nobody is talking about this. You have a
responsibility to this community, to give us those numbers. There needs to be some kind of group
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that gets us these numbers because we deserve them. It is your job and duty to give us these
numbers.
The second reason I am here is critical race theory. It is reverse racism and needs to be
banned in Iredell County. It is a no brainer. I thank you for what you have tried to do to get the
mask off of people and I really commend you. You’re in a bad spot and I’ve been here and jumped
your cases a lot of times. I am trying to turn a new leaf. I am going to come in here and try to be
civil.”
Paula Mimnaugh said, “I was a primary teacher for over 20 years. I came to discuss a
serious problem with pornographic material being made available to children in Iredell County.
This problem is not unique to Iredell, it is a problem in schools all over the country. As I began to
focus on this issue, I began to research which pornographic books are present in libraries in Iredell
County. I’ve not done all my research yet. I’ve focused so far on Troutman Middle School and
have found five different titles there. I use two different websites to look to find which school s
they are. After I found the titles of the books, I called Troutman Middle and asked if I could go
and look at the books and at least make pictures of them. I spoke with SRO Elmore. He checked
with the principal and I could not even ho in the school library. He didn’t have a reason why. He
just said I can’t. I also heard from the officer that the books are not there in the library. He said he
talked with the librarian who said they’re not there. I am wondering if they are not there, why
would they care if I go look for the titles?” Mimnaugh then read excerpts from 13 Reasons Why
by Jay Asher.
Mark Cash said, “I want to thank you all because you have had to put up with a lot of
ridiculous stuff and some of it you’ve just heard. People live of emotion instead of facts. We need
to live in a world of facts. I am sorry that this is going on. A previous speaker said parents need to
hear…they need to hear the truth. They don’t need to hear what somebody assumed is there. They
can laugh all they want to but it’ll do no good. They have a bunch of people running for county
office that are over on that side of this stuff. I feel sorry for you all and for what our school board
has gone through. A lot of things that the board has to deal with comes from a much higher l evel
than the County. We have lots of money that comes here from the State and if we don’t abide by
what the State tells us, our tax rate goes up in a hurry. I hope and pray this pandemic comes to an
end and the only thing I have faith in is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Lisa Pullis said, “I am her to call for peace.” Pullis quoted several scriptures from the Bible.
NEW BUSINESS
Vice Chair Neader recognized School Resource Officers throughout the County as today
is School Resource Officer Recognition Day.
COUNTY MANANGERS REPORT
County Manager Beth Mull provided an update on the following:
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The Board will hold their Winter Retreat on Thursday (noon – 5pm) and Friday (8am –
4pm), February 17-18, 2022 at Cooperative Extension.
CLOSED SESSION
Chairman Mallory said a Closed Session was held immediately following pre-
agenda for Economic Development.
MOTION by Vice Chair Neader to call for a public hearing on March 1, 2022 at 7pm,
regarding a maximum economic development incentive of $7,920,815 over a seven-year period
for Project Artist based on a $324,064,900 investment in Iredell County.
VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays 0
MOTION by Commissioner Houpe to call for a public hearing on March 1, 2022 at 7pm,
regarding a maximum economic development incentive of $3,902,204 over a seven-year period,
for Project Drum based on a $177 million investment in Iredell County.
VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays 0
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION by Commissioner Houpe to adjourn at 8:12pm. The Board will meet for a
regular meeting Tuesday, March 1, 2022 at 7pm in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room,
Government Center, 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC.
VOTING Ayes – 5; Nays – 0
__________________________________ ___________________________________
Date Approved Amy B. Anderson, Clerk