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s051716 Strategic PlanningMay 17, 2016 -- Special Joint Meeting with the Strategic Planning Committee The Randolph County Board of Commissioners met for a special meeting at 6:00 p.m. at the AVS Banquet Centre, 2045 N. Fayetteville St., Asheboro. This meeting was called to hear a public presentation highlighting results of the countywide Strategic Planning process. All citizens, elected officials (County and Municipal) along with those who participated in this process were invited. Commissioners present were Frye, Kemp, and Allen. Commissioners Haywood and Lanier were absent. Also present were County Manager Hal Johnson; Finance Officer Will Massie; County Attorney Ben Morgan; County Staff Attorney Aimee Scotton; Amanda Varner, Clerk to the Board; and Dana Crisco, Deputy Clerk to the Board. Chairman Frye opened the meeting thanking everyone for their participation in the Strategic Planning process and appreciated the commitment of those who took part to improve the county. He explained that citizen input was an important component of the process because they were able to address developing issues that will be targeted during the implementation phase. County Manager Hal Johnson said that he wanted to echo what the Chairman had stated and added that the final plan had been the work of the people in the room. He also noted that the meetings were well attended and the best he had seen. It was realized through the process that the county is currently at a crossroads. The committee was able to define areas in which to best focus community supported efforts while using limited resources. He referred to the chart (attached to these minutes) at the front of the printed summary. It shows the broad issues and how they are linked with local government, public and private industries/businesses, the faith community, and non-profit organizations. As the implementation phase begins, a committee can start to develop solutions to address identified issues in public health, safety, and well-being. Last, he thanked members of the Piedmont Triad Regional Council who had facilitated the process to keep the group focused and moving in the right direction. Those present were Jesse Day, Elizabeth Jernigan, Paul Kron, and Dr. Russ Smith. Public Safety Task Force presenters were Donovan Davis, Lt. Col. John Reid, and Cathryn Davis. Donovan Davis, Emergency Services Director, said one of the most important things he learned during this planning process was that a large group can have effortless collaboration. He spoke about paramedicine, hazard mitigation, employee attraction and retention, and volunteer fire departments. Starting a paramedicine program would fill in the healthcare gaps for patients while eliminating the unnecessary use of emergency vehicles. Hazard mitigation should continue to have coordination between all emergency responders to be effective in a disaster. Because of the amount of training and skill required for Emergency Services employees, the County should address compensation to attract and retain those individuals. Volunteer fire departments are becoming obsolete due to lack of volunteers. Money that was once used for capital needs is now needed to pay trained individuals to staff those departments. On a final note, he mentioned the connection of issues throughout all task forces, especially that of mental health. Lt. Col. John Reid from the Randolph County Sheriffs Office spoke about crime prevention, facility needs, and special populations. He said that the focus of crime prevention was changing to dynamic community policing which is proactive instead of reactive. Churches and civic organizations had reached out to the Sheriffs Office for help with training on crime prevention. Civilian and community watches have been more effective with that training. The Randolph County Sheriff's Office now has a presence on social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter and citizens have been able to help assist in solving crimes by using those tools. Lt. Col. Reid explained that drug addicted and mentally ill inmates are part of the reason that the jail facility is over capacity. They must be separated from the general population for evaluation, but without separate space, they remain in booking cells until cleared to go to the main population. Crisis Intervention Training is available and becoming necessary for all employees to better deal with those special populations. Cathryn Davis, Risk Manager, spoke about Enterprise Risk Management, a road ready/job ready workforce, and Business Continuity Planning. For these ideas to work, there must first be awareness and ownership. The role of Enterprise Risk Management is to establish policies and procedures for local government to support the safety of citizens and employees while in government facilities. A road ready/job ready workforce, in this case, refers to the 67% of Randolph County Government employees that are driving as part of their jobs. Those people need to be physically able to perform their duties from "hire to retire." Business continuity planning, a component of Enterprise Risk Management, is necessary for the County to continue operating if there was an uncontrollable event or disaster. Public Health Task Force presenters were Susan Hayes, Ann Shaw, and Sam Varner. Susan Hayes, Public Health Director, commented on the synergy of all the task forces and their identified issues. She indicated that immunizations, improved health access, and communicable disease preparedness were identified issues in the Public Health Taskforce. She said health is determined by where we work and live. It is a responsibility of us all to create and protect healthy environments. One component of that is immunizations, which are important for prevention and overall health. She said that reducing barriers to healthcare would improve community health. Finally, she emphasized the need to prepare for communicable diseases; currently those are zika, ebola, and pertussis. Ann Shaw, Crisis Intervention team member and mental health volunteer, talked about the need for crisis intervention. She said she has first-hand experience with mental health matters because her daughter was diagnosed with a mental illness in 1989. She realized that mental health is not a "dirty word." She felt that being a 35 year veteran of County Government and having a street level view of mental illness and substance abuse made her a good candidate to advocate for mental health programs. Ms. Shaw said she was happy to bring Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) to Randolph County. It has made for safer outcomes and diverted mentally ill or addicted individuals to treatment services instead of jail. CIT courses taught by volunteers have graduated 77 law enforcement officers, 40 Emergency Services Paramedics and all 911 telecommunications operators. She has also seen the urgency for 24-hour crisis beds in Randolph County. She spoke of the "Stepping -Up Initiative," a program that is part of an effort to send mental health and substance abuse patients to facilities for help with their illness, not to jail. She finished by stating that mental health education should start with school age children and their parents. Sam Varner, Wellness Coordinator, said that the success and prosperity of a community is based on the physical, mental, and spiritual health of its constituents. Health concerns to be addressed in the community were obesity, inactive adults and children, and tobacco use. To decrease obesity, better food choices and improved access to low cost, healthy foods are necessary. Residents have recreation available at parks, the Deep River Trail system, other walking trails, and with community collaboration, may get a state-of-the-art sports and recreation complex in Asheboro to promote increased physical activity. It will be necessary for the County and its municipalities to work together in order to leverage grant money to use for wellness initiatives. To decrease tobacco use, there needs to be tobacco free campuses for government and public/private businesses as well as incentives from employers not to use tobacco. Mr. Varner spoke next about the Randolph County Wellness Collaborative established in October 2014. He said that a cross-section of diverse leaders from areas of education, healthcare, churches, non -profits, law enforcement, and city and county governments got together and created a coalition to align existing resources to promote health and well-being in the county. Grant money was used to bring in a team from Michigan State University to do a community health and wellness scan. The scan showed the three areas of focus should be obesity, activity, and tobacco use. Well-being Task Force presenters were Rick Powell, Reynolds Lisk, Tammy O'Kelley, and Jonathan Black. Rick Powell, President of Pemmco Manufacturing, Inc., spoke about workforce development and a culture of well-being to attract new businesses and employees. He said Pemmco participated in the "Pathways to Prosperity" program which equips young people to be successful in the 215t century workplace. When students visited their plant, he would ask if a career in manufacturing was of interest to them. No one raised their hand. After the tour when asked again, around half of the students showed interest because they had been introduced to what modern manufacturing was like. Mr. Powell commented that economic development was not the same as it was in the past. It has become much more competitive and needed to attract younger generations. Randolph County has seen negative growth in young age groups. The Task Force felt that communities should have Broadband available to accommodate younger generations' desire to congregate and exchange ideas. These younger people also want a community that allows for a healthy lifestyle with access to lakes, rivers, greenways, mountains, and beaches. Reynolds Lisk, President of Insurance Associates of the Triad, said that many jobs had been lost which created stresses on all facets of society. Without money, people struggled to pay for housing and groceries. With heavy competition to attract new companies and jobs to this county, the Economic Development Subcommittee suggested the hiring of a full-time recruiter, possibly in the Economic Development Corporation. Next, he spoke about marketing the county to new employers and employees. He said Randolph County is close to Charlotte, Raleigh, the mountains and beaches. Executives are not moving to Randolph County because they don't understand what it offers. If easy links were accessible on the web to attract new residents, they would learn how great it is to live here. Another strategy was to enhance advertising capabilities with less restrictive codes on billboards that are tasteful and well done making people want to stop. He finished by saying that all citizens should work together to support job growth for all businesses, large and small, in order to change the future of the county. Tammy O'Kelley, Executive Director of the Tourism Development Authority, spoke about tourism and how to best present the county to outsiders. She stated that the first few meetings of the Strategic Planning Committee were somewhat depressing to find that Randolph County is not where participants thought. She said the biggest realization was a lack of communication between community entities. Those stakeholders have to work together and identify the successes, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. She said Randolph County is in a great location within the state and has a lot to offer. It has the NC Zoo which is the largest zoo in the world, the pottery capitol of the US in Seagrove, and the Petty family who have helped make NASCAR what it is today. There are two Visitors Centers in the county; 65,000 people per year stop and actually obtain information about the attractions and recreation available. Recreation impacts recruitment and economic development. The county can use branding for recruitment of businesses and to attract hotels. To get people to relocate or retire here, it is important for citizens to use the same unified branding as the businesses. Efforts need to be better coordinated. She said, "Sometimes what we think is not what visitors think." Visitors expect Southern hospitality with people who are friendly and helpful. Jonathan Black, Cooperative Extension Director, said that agriculture is the largest industry in Randolph County and an $80 billion industry in North Carolina. Approximately 1% of the population feeds everyone. The need for production of food is large and growing. He spoke of the importance of preservation, research, and education for agriculture. Farmland preservation is important in passing down land and traditions. The average age of a farmer in the county is 59 years old making it even more important to get young people interested in farming as a career. Farmers need the ability to process and sell products they produce. That can be done at farmers markets and through direct selling and marketing of farm products. Randolph County has 7,000 4-H members and an FFA club in all high schools and middle schools. These students learn that a career in agriculture is not just farming but involves research, manufacturing, and even forestry. Mr. Black urged everyone to think about agriculture as an industry, not just as "cows, sows, and plows." The Agriculture Subcommittee suggested an Agri -business Civic Center to help agriculture continue to thrive in Randolph County. Offices of the Cooperative Extension and Soil and Water could be housed there. It would make a space to conduct educational events and increase overall education. It could also draw events to Randolph County. This results in people staying in hotels, eating at restaurants, shopping, and visiting other attractions, which puts more money into the economy of the county. Mr. Johnson thanked the presenters for the information and stated that a request to adopt a Resolution of Support for implementation of the Strategic Plan would be before the Commissioners at a future meeting. Chairman Frye thanked everyone again for their participation. He said the Task Forces have narrowed down the issues in order to find workable solutions with specific focuses. This process is unique in that the citizens are part of creating a mutual vision. The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m. Darrell L. Frye, Chairman Phil Kemp David Allen Dana Crisco, Deputy Clerk to the Board Safety Emergency Medical Services • Paramedicine Community Policing / Advocacy & Crime Prevention Programs Special Needs Facilities Volunteer Fire Department • Communication, Personnel, Standards, and Funding Juvenile Crime Prevention Mental Health Resources Hazard Mitigation Enterprise Risk Management Create an Organization that Attracts & Retain Employees Well Being Workforce Development Initiatives • Coordinate Educational / Private / Public Programs Opportunities for Citizens to Develop Their Talents / Entrepreneur / Volunteerism Economic Development • Organization & Recruitment Marketing the Community/Tourism • Enhance Advertising Capabilities Access to Parks/Recreation/Exercise Agriculture • Agri -Business Center Growth Management • Infrastructure • Coordinated Land Use / Development Policies t • Environment / Open Space