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260105 Regular Meeting January 5, 2026 The Randolph County Board of Commissioners met in regular session at 6:00 p.m. in the 1909 Randolph County Historic Courthouse Meeting Room, 145 Worth Street, Asheboro, NC. Chairman Darrell Frye, Vice-Chairman Kenny Kidd, Commissioner David Allen, Commissioner Hope Haywood, and Commissioner Lester Rivenbark were present. Also present were County Manager Zeb Holden, Assistant County Manager/Finance Officer Will Massie, Assistant County Manager William Johnson, County Attorney Ben Morgan, Deputy Clerk to the Board Amber Cole and Clerk to the Board Dana Crisco. Chaplain Bill Hatfield from the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office gave the invocation and everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance. The meeting was livestreamed on YouTube. Special Recognitions Timothy Mangum retired November 26, 2025 with 33 years of service in Planning and Zoning. Mr. Mangum was recognized by Kim Heinzer, Planning and Zoning Director, after which, Chairman Frye presented him with an engraved clock on behalf of the Board. Donovan Davis retired November 26, 2025 with 31 years of service in Emergency Services. retired November 26, 2025. Mr. Davis was recognized by County Manager Zeb Holden, after which, Chairman Frye presented him with an engraved clock on behalf of the Board. Cindy Trogdon retired November 26, 2025 with 30 years of service in Public Health. Ms. Trogdon was recognized by Tara Aker, Public Health Director, after which, Chairman Frye presented her with an engraved clock on behalf of the Board. Public Comment Period Pursuant to N.C.G.S. §153A-52.1, Chairman Frye opened the floor for public comment and closed it after everyone wishing to speak had done so. County Attorney Ben Morgan read aloud the Public Comment Rules of Procedure. Tim Saunders, 1402 E. Allred St., Asheboro, said everyone has the right to be wrong. Removing members from a board when they did the right thing was wrong. The Bible should be used as a religious document only. Virginia Wall, 348 Lindley Ave., Asheboro, would like to advocate for the Library Board of Trustees should be reinstated. The entire board was dismissed when they did their job. Fritz Wang, 1482 Fuller Mill Rd., Thomasville, said that shelters were never permitted at the TASC gun range. The gun range did not file any tax returns as a non-profit. He feels they have been therefore operating a for profit business. Amy Wang, 1482 Fuller Mill Rd., Thomasville, had her property tax value reevaluated by the Tax Board and her home tax value was reduced by 25%. The gun range is not a good neighbor. 1/5/26 Isaac Hoffman, 6482 Old Post Rd., Thomasville, reviewed how the TASC gun range was created. Shelters were built with no permits issued. The Planning Department was made aware of the structures built without proper permitting. Ed Lietz, Blue Quartz Rd., Thomasville, played a recording of gun shots. He said the residents must listen to the shots every day. Approve Agenda On motion of Haywood, seconded by Kidd, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the Agenda, as presented. Consent Agenda On motion of Kidd, seconded by Allen, the Board voted 5 -0 to approve the Consent Agenda, as presented, as follows:  approve Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting Minutes of December 1, 2025 and Special Meeting Minutes of December 8, 2025;  approve Budget Amendment - Sheriff's Office ($4,520), as follows: 2025-2026 Budget Ordinance General Fund – Budget Amendment #36 Revenues Increase Decrease Miscellaneous $4,520 Appropriations Increase Decrease Sheriff $4,520  approve Budget Amendment - Permitting ($7,912), as follows: 2025-2026 Budget Ordinance General Fund – Budget Amendment #37 Revenues Increase Decrease Permits and Fees $7,912 Appropriations Increase Decrease Building Inspections $7,912  approve Project Amendment #13 - Seagrove-Ulah Wastewater Capital Improvement ($15,300); as follows: Seagrove-Ulah Wastewater Treatment Plant Capital Project Ordinance Amendment #13 Revenues Increase Decrease Sales Tax Reimbursements $15,300 Appropriations Increase Decrease Construction $15,300  approve Project Amendment for PTRWA #7 - Material Testing, as follows: PTRWA to Asheboro Water Line Capital Project Ordinance Amendment #7 Revenues Increase Decrease Appropriations Increase Decrease 1/5/26 Professional Services $29,600 Contingency $29,600  approve the County's Petition to Remain Substantially Equivalent;  approve Public Health Interlocal Agreement with Chatham County;  approve Jill Wood as a Plat Officer for the City of Trinity;  reappoint Ken Austin and Bobby Allen to the Voluntary Agricultural District Board. Annual Audit Report Jennifer Moran, Senior Manager, Cherry Bekaert LLC, showed a PowerPoint presentation to review the results of the audit. No material weaknesses were reported and there were no misstatements noted. Commissioner Allen commended Mr. Massie, his staff , and Cherry Bekaert staff for their hard work throughout the year to have a clean audit. He is aware of how much time goes into these processes. On motion of Rivenbark, seconded by Allen, the Board voted 5 - 0 to accept the 2024-25 Annual Audit Report of Cherry Bekaert LLC. Agricultural Center Equipment Purchase Lauren Langley, Cooperative Extension Director, said she was requesting approval from the Board to purchase panels and gates from WW Manufacturing to complete the Randolph County Agricultural Center Arena. She corrected her memo and stated that Golden Leaf and Tobacco Trust Funds will be used. The following is what is being purchased: ● Panels and gates to outline the arena perimeter and the animal staging area. ● Additional panels and gates are being purchased. These additional panels will be used for flexibility in custom setup inside the arena and animal staging area for educational events as well as for when the arena is being rented out. ● Five panel transport trailers were also included in the WW Manufacturing quote (Priefert does not sell those). These trailers will be used to store the additional panels. Quotes Received: ● WW Manufacturing: $99,838.02 ● Priefert: $147,262.24 On motion of Allen, seconded by Kidd, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the purchase of Agricultural Center Equipment as presented from WW Manufacturing for a total of $99,838 using Golden Leaf Foundation Funds and Tobacco Trust Funds. Charters of Freedom Letter of Intent Foundation Forward is a NC Nonprofit 501(c)(3). They build and gift to North Carolina Counties the Charters of Freedom as displayed in the National Archived Building in Washington. 1/5/26 Foundation Forward came before the Board of Commissioners in November to request that they be allowed to develop a Letter of Intent (LOI) with staff. That LOI has been drafted along with staff and is being presented at the January meeting for potential approval. As a reminder the setting itself and its construction are gifted to the county. Any site preparation, ancillary landscaping, pavers, walkways, etc. will be the responsibility of the County. Paxton Authors has estimated that a 37’ x 12’ concrete pad to house the setting will cost around $8,000.00. If the Board wishes to pursue this opportunity, please vote to approve the LOI. Amanda Coffey, representative of Charters of Freedom, answered questions posed by the Board members. The timeline will be approximately six months to completion. Glass was removed from the settings because they would fog up. Lighting is an option. On motion of Rivenbark, seconded by Haywood, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the Letter of Intent and authorize the County Manager to sign it. Food Hub Operations On December 8, 2025, staff restarted the Request for Proposal (RFP) process for the operation of the Food Hub and received one submission. RC Rooted Community Agriculture, Inc. was established by Lindsey and Robert Poe who are also the owners/operators of Poe family Farm in Liberty NC. The Poe’s have over 10 years of farm experience in the areas of poultry and commercial cut flower farming. They are very present in the farmers market space throughout the triad and have built many relationships with producers. Lindsey has attended food hub workshops and volunteered at the High Country Food Hub in Boone to prepare for this opportunity. RC Rooted is currently applying for grant opportunities to help sustain the operations of the food hub. The organization did provide a budget request in their RFP of $74,099.50. The bulk of this request is to fund 1 full-time and 1 part-time position for the first year. Lindsey Poe gave background on their qualifications and mission. She presented her long-term vision as well. She answered various questions regarding operations and her future vision. On motion of Allen, seconded by Haywood, the Board voted 5 - 0 to select RC Rooted Community Agriculture, Inc. to operate the Randolph County Food Hub and allow staff to enter into a contract with them. Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Changes Chairman Frye suggested tabling this item until the February Regular meeting. On motion of Kidd, seconded by Frye, the Board voted 5 – 0 to table the UDO discussion until the February 2, 2026 meeting. County Manager’s Update County Manager Zeb Holden reminded the Board of the meeting with the Randolph County School Board on January 12, 2026. He stated that a mandatory Opioid Funding interest meeting was occurring on January 13, 2026. He said a movie screening of Rising Above Helene from the NCACC is happening at the Agricultural Center on January 20, 2026. He introduced Amber Cole, Administrative Assistant to the County Manager/Deputy Clerk to the Board. 1/5/26 Commissioners Updates There were no Commissioner Updates. Closed Session At 7:57 p.m., on motion of Kidd, seconded by Rivenbark, the Board voted 5-0 to go into Closed Session pursuant to NCGS 143-318(a)(6) to consider the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness, conditions of appointment of an individual officer or employee. Regular Session Resumed At 8:20 p.m., Regular Session resumed. Adjournment At 8:21 p.m., on motion of Allen, seconded by Rivenbark, the Board voted 5-0 to adjourn. ________________________________ ________________________________ Darrell Frye, Chairman Kenny Kidd ________________________________ _________________________________ David Allen Hope Haywood ________________________________ _________________________________ Lester Rivenbark Dana Crisco, Clerk to the Board 1/5/26