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250220 Planning Retreat February 20, 2025 – Special Meeting Planning Retreat The Randolph County Board of Commissioners met in a special session at 1:00 p.m. at the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority Board Room to hear updates and presentations in preparation for the upcoming FY 25-26 Budget process. Present were Chairman Darrell Frye, Vice-Chairman Kenny Kidd, Commissioners David Allen, Hope Haywood, and Lester Rivenbark. Also present were County Manager Zeb Holden, Assistant County Manager/Finance Officer Will Massie, Assistant County Manager/Operations William Johnson, County Attorney Ben Morgan, Associate County Attorney Aimee Scotton, Paralegal Lauren Hughes, County Engineer Paxton Arthurs, Infrastructure Coordinator Chris Hildreth, Strategic Program Coordinator Leia Stiegmann, Public Information Officer Amy Rudisill, and Clerk to the Board Dana Crisco. Chief Donovan Davis and Deputy Chief Jared Byrd were present for the Emergency Services presentation on Community Paramedicine. Chairman Frye called the meeting to order. County Manager Zeb Holden gave an overview of the Retreat Agenda items and thanked staff for all the hard work preparing for today’s meeting. Mr. Holden stated there was a lot of material to cover and that all slides from today’s presentations would be available on OneDrive if the Commissioners needed them. He lastly noted that staff was at the ready for any direction the Commissioners provided, as we’re all on the same team. 2016 County Strategic Plan County Manager Zeb Holden handed out copies of the 2016 County Strategic Plan to the Board members and staff. He stated that this plan tackled certain topics dealing with Health, Wellness, and Safety in the community. Strategic Plans are typically used over a 4-6 year timeframe, and so it is time to consider an update or entirely new plan. The Covid-19 Pandemic, transformational economic development projects, and tremendous growth in technology have significantly altered the County’s landscape since 2016. The original plan had been a collaboration with the Piedmont Triad Regional Council, community partners, and Randolph County employees in key roles. Mr. Holden made the recommendation to hire a consulting firm specializing in strategic planning to assist with an upcoming planning effort. He also mentioned incorporating a new logo and branding for the County as part of this process, as these had been mentioned by some Commissioners as a need. There was consensus from the Board to begin taking steps toward a Strategic Plan update, with funding being proposed in the FY26 budget. Strategic Plan Funding Process County Manager Zeb Holden and Strategic Program Coordinator Leia Stiegmann gave a brief history of this program, as well as an update on the process employed for this year’s Strategic Planning Funding applications. It is proposed that the application window would be one time per year before budget season to streamline the process. This year, there were sixteen applications received asking for a total of approximately $1.7 million. Some of the previously committed funds had gone unused and will be added back to the available pot, which will total approximately $1.2 million. Because of the large number of applications, it was decided that they would be reviewed without presentations from the applicants at a separate meeting from the regular Commissioners th Meeting on March 10. There would be no action at the Special Called Meeting, as it would be purely for informational purposes. It was the consensus of the Board to meet on February 27th at 6:00 p.m. for that review. Finally, discussion was had regarding the name of this funding 2/20/25 opportunity. Was it time to move from “Strategic Planning Fund grants” to something such as “Great Oak Grants” or “Health and Well-Being Grants”? When next year’s round of funding is announced, a new name may be considered. Community Paramedicine Chief Donovan Davis and Deputy Chief Jared Byrd of Emergency Services presented a PowerPoint presentation outlining their recommendation for a Community Paramedicine test program. Of the 100 counties in North Carolina, 64 have implemented similar programs, with most being viewed as successful. Community Paramedicine fills the gap in community care by addressing the needs of those citizens that do not have an emergent issue, but need someone to check on them and monitor certain conditions. This in turn keeps ambulance staff from traveling to the citizen’s home leaving them unavailable for emergency calls and cutting down on hospital and ambulance service bills for the citizen. The first year operational and start-up costs of this program have been estimated at approximately $1.5 million. Sustaining costs would be approximately $422,000 per year. In the immediate, the Commissioners could instead choose to pilot the program with Strategic Plan funds, much like had been done with the Library Navigators. Agricultural Center Update County Engineer Paxton Arthurs presented updates on the Agricultural Center. Completion has been delayed by two months making move-in to occur in late summer. Naming opportunities and rights were discussed. The potential of an office building for the Tourism Development Authority being located on this campus was also part of the conversation. Assistant County Manager William Johnson said that the Agricultural Center Coordinator position approved at the January 6th meeting was being advertised and interviews would start soon. He then explained that many decisions would need to be made as the facility comes to completion. Standard Operating Procedures regarding the used of the arena and event center would be developed by the new Coordinator. These would address issues such as the types of events the Commissioners would be willing to allow on site and general guidelines for users of the facility. Opioid Funding Update County Manager Zeb Holden updated the Board on two recent lawsuit awards that the County has been made aware of regarding Opioid Litigation (Purdue Pharma and McKinsey). The McKinsey Settlement, which provided approximately $90,000, has less stringent reporting rules and gives the Commissioners more flexibility when considering how to address addiction issues. Commissioner David Allen stated he was in a meeting with the faith community about the possibility of using some of that settlement for the Pierced Ministries faith-based rehabilitation program. Pierced Ministries provides housing for those undergoing drug and alcohol treatment. It is possible the grant funding could be directed towards housing expenses. It would also allow the applicant a chance to determine if they are capable and willing to provide the updates and metrics needed for grant reporting associated with the statewide opioid settlement. It was acknowledged that staff could meet with faith community program leaders to identify what aspects of their work may be eligible for grant funding. Mini-grants for providers was discussed as an option for distributing the McKinsey funds. 2/20/25 Capital Improvement Plan/School Facility Funding Will Massie, Assistant County Manager/Finance Officer, reviewed the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) which includes requests from the public schools for facility construction and upgrades. He explained that the match of $7 million for the South Asheboro Middle School Project, the land purchase for a new Liberty Elementary School, and land for a Randolph Community College (RCC) facility in Liberty were currently budgeted. That left the projected costs of a Liberty elementary school estimated at $50 million and land and new construction for Randleman High School estimated at $85 million along with any additional public school renovations and growth, and the second phase of the RCC Emergency Training Center at an estimated cost of $1,360,000. Outstanding debt as of June 30, 2025 will be $111,083,000. Mr. Massie outlined the difficulty of debt service projections due to the variables involved, especially with future tax revenues from the Toyota development. Mr. Holden noted that annual update meetings have traditionally been held with both public school systems, but not with RCC. Would the Commissioners be willing to hear RCC’s plans and potential budget requests in a similar manner? There was consensus that such a meeting should be scheduled. Additionally, it was agreed that a follow up meeting be set with the Randolph County School System Board of Education so planning for necessary capital projects can be done together. Capital Project Updates Paxton Arthurs, County Engineer, gave updates on the current Capital Projects going on currently. This included the Agricultural Center and the Emergency Services Back-up 911 Building roofing project. He presented an idea to move the back up 911 center to a space in Northgate Commons. Moving this center would free up space to potentially house the Public Defender’s Office near the Courthouse. A first step in this process would be spending approximately $100,000 to have increased bandwidth of the fiber cable run from the existing Back- up 911 to Northgate. This fiber line is necessary regardless of moving the Back-up 911 center, but would help facilitate that move when made. The consensus was to proceed with this project if funding could be achieved with savings from other projects. Next, he discussed the projects along the Deep River Trail. The Bush Creek Pedestrian Bridge contract has been executed and a meeting to start the coordination of construction will be held soon. Also along the Deep River Trail is a project at Harlan’s Creek for a pedestrian bridge. The preliminary engineering is being completed and Mary Joan Pugh, Randolph County Trails Coordinator, has applied for a grant to cover the full design. The Historic County Rest Home needs tremendous repairs. It is designated as a Local Historic Landmark. The building contains asbestos and lead and is used for storage. The designation could be reversed, and most items stored in the facility could be disposed of. The recommendation would be to demolish the building. Mr. Arthurs noted County needs in the future would also include addressing concerns with the Central Permitting building and general storage for County equipment. He also mentioned the potential space needs of the Sheriff’s Office and all departments housed within the Randolph County Office Building. Water & Sewer Infrastructure William Johnson, Assistant County Manager/Operations, gave updates on the water and sewer projects happening in the county. He also showed future projects that may evolve as other projects 2/20/25 become a priority. Studies are currently being done to investigate the feasibility of a regional water and sewer system with the potential outcomes of cost savings, reduced risk, and increased capacity. Mr. Holden noted that staff were working to address concerns regarding access to the direct allocation of state funds for infrastructure around the County. There may be an avenue to simplify this process, with help from our legislators, which may result in saving money and time. Mr. Holden then noted that the County needs to find a way to sell our treated water from PTRWA. Possible avenues could include wheeling water through Greensboro to serve Liberty and sending water to Wolfspeed (and the rest of the CAM site) and/or TriRivers via the water line Asheboro is constructing on Highway 64. 2027 Property Reappraisal Will Massie, Assistant County Manager/Finance Officer, presented sales ratios and explained that the current trend was showing that property values for the 2027 Revaluation would increase again. Because of the effect of the Megasite growth, the revenue neutral calculation will be more complicated. Amy Rudisill, Public Information Officer, has been investigating ways to educate the public ahead of time so they better understand the revaluation process. She showed a timeline and different methods used to accomplish this. Members of the Board agreed that more education is necessary. Farm Deferred Property Taxes Commissioner Allen explained that there are programs strategically utilizing taxes collected when a farm deferred property is required to pay a clawback of 3 years taxes due to a sale of the property or other triggering event. Other counties have set up funds for these monies aimed as protecting farmland. Some quick research by the Tax Department suggests that approximately $100,000 per year is collected in this way. Discussion was had about how these processes worked and who controlled the funds. It was determined that further research could be done to guide possible options for Randolph County. Budget Priorities for FY 2025-26 Will Massie, Assistant County Manager/Finance Officer, explained some issues that would need to be addressed in the FY 2025-26 Proposed Budget such as funding Agricultural Center operations, Community Navigators, a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for staff, school funding, and debt service. The Agricultural Event Center should be established as a stand-alone department. As previously discussed during last year’s budget process, the Community Navigators program will be funded in the General Fund, not by Strategic Planning Funds. The amount of a COLA to be determined is important for employee recruitment and retention, as well as maintaining competitive salaries. New positions should be addressed to sustain service levels in certain departments. All of this and more would be presented in the coming budget. Adjournment County Manager Holden thanked the Commissioners for their input and consideration of the many issues discussed during the meeting. With no further comments, Chairman Frye called for adjournment. 2/20/25 At 7:03 p.m., on motion of Kidd, seconded by Allen, the Board voted 5-0 to adjourn. ________________________________ ________________________________ Darrell Frye, Chairman Kenny Kidd ________________________________ _________________________________ David Allen Hope Haywood ________________________________ _________________________________ Lester Rivenbark Dana Crisco, Clerk to the Board 2/20/25