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091521 Federal Recovery Funds September 15, 2021 — Special Meeting — Federal Recovery Funds The Randolph County Board of Commissioners met in special session at 5:00 p.m. in the 1909 Randolph County Historic Courthouse Meeting Room, 145 Worth Street, Asheboro, NC. Chairman Darrell Frye, Vice-Chairman David Allen, Commissioner Maxton McDowell, and Commissioner Hope Haywood were present. Also present were County Manager Hal Johnson, Assistant County Manager/Finance Officer Will Massie, County Attorney Ben Morgan, and Deputy Clerk to the Board Sarah Pack. Commissioner Kenny Kidd entered where noted. The meeting was livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. Chairman Frye called the meeting to order and welcomed the audience. He said tonight’s meeting will consider infrastructure requests using Federal funds. The General Assembly is also considering recovery fund requests at the State level. He also stated that the revenue from the landfill, about $1.2 million, has not been budgeted yet. County Manager Hal Johnson said this is the beginning of a long and difficult process; use of federal funds is highly restricted. This will likely be a transformational process for Randolph County. Without this funding, the County would not be able to address needed projects. The Board is facing the decision as to which projects to fund that will most impact Randolph County. Chairman Frye commented that the County is not in the “water business.” Seagrove-Ulah functions in the same capacity as a municipality in relation to water and sewer service. This is a partnership between the County and the municipalities. Economic Development Corporation Overview Kevin Franklin, Economic Development Corporation (EDC) President, said the top priority in terms of immediate opportunity is the future industrial park at Wall Brothers Road and US Highway 311 in Randleman. He reviewed the status of the park and estimated costs. The biggest thing missing at this site is sewer service. The current industrial parks in the county are full. This site provides an opportunity for new manufacturers. The sewer system would run from the current Asheboro system to the site. Water service is available along US Highway 311. This site is currently developer controlled. Chairman Frye asked if the estimate presented accounted for both water and sewer and Mr. Franklin said yes. Mr. Franklin described the New Hope Church Road site located at I-73/74 in the Seagrove area and detailed associated costs. The Seagrove-Ulah Metropolitan Water District would serve an extension in this area. In Liberty, there is the Newlin Site at Old Highway 421. Mr. Franklin gave details regarding the status of this site, along with estimated costs. Commissioner Kidd entered at 5:20 p.m. 9/15/21 Vice-Chairman Allen asked if Liberty would use any recovery funds that they received on this project. Mr. Franklin said he was unsure, but Liberty may be hesitant to prioritize this project. In Archdale, the Davis site is at Highway 311. Mr. Franklin said there is an active client considering half of this site. Water and sewer extensions would be required and would be serviced by Archdale. Mr. Franklin said the North Asheboro Site is located at Pineview Road and I-74 in Asheboro. A developer has expressed interest in the site. The City of Asheboro would likely be the primary funder. In Trinity there is a potential industrial expansion in early-stage discussions. A sewer extension would be required, but cost estimates are not yet available. Chairman Frye asked if this project was something Representative Pat Hurley was aware of and Mr. Franklin said he had not heard anything in that regard. Vice-Chairman Allen asked for a rough cost estimate and Mr. Franklin said the project would likely be in the million-dollar range. The Greensboro-Randolph Megasite is located in northeast Randolph County. Mr. Franklin presented options for preparation for future development. There is not currently any infrastructure in that area to supply additional businesses drawn to the area by development of the site. Greensboro is extending water and sewer down Old 421 Road and will hopefully be extending water down Highway 62. Mr. Franklin discussed possible options for water and sewer extensions. Vice-Chairman Allen asked if the water in Providence Grove lines would be utilized and Mr. Franklin said that would be a great opportunity. Mr. Franklin said the EDC will seek assistance from all available funding sources. The EDC has also hired a consulting engineer to complete a county-wide development study to identify additional sites suitable for industrial development. There are a lot of great opportunities. Considering these projects ahead of time puts Randolph County ahead of other communities. Seagrove-Ulah Metropolitan Water District Randy Tedder, Seagrove-Ulah Metropolitan Water District Board Member, said there is a plan in place to increase the size of the water treatment system. The facility used to be the Lucks Cannery. Right now, they are looking to buy a package plan that will raise the gallons per day from 30,000 to 120,000. There are several sites using this water. There is residential growth as well as industrial growth that will put additional strain on the water site. The current facility is aging out. The cost of the package plan is $2.49 million, which will cover all anticipated growth in the Seagrove area. Vice-Chairman Allen asked for a description of the package plan. Mr. Tedder said it’s a “plug and play” type plan. 9/15/21 The second request is an extension of the wastewater system. The extension would be off of Little River Road Extension. The cost estimate is $1.94 million and the extension would run from downtown Seagrove. Commissioner McDowell asked if this extension would benefit existing businesses and Mr. Tedder said yes. Chairman Frye asked if the extension would benefit residential and industrial growth. Mr. Tedder said both but especially industrial growth. Commissioner Haywood asked if there were water and sewer services at the Visitor Centers and Mr. Tedder said yes. Commissioner McDowell said this would be a big impact. Vice-Chairman Allen asked what the priority would be and Mr. Tedder said the pump station. Commissioner Kidd asked if residential sites would use this water and Mr. Tedder said yes but mostly industrial sites would use it. Chairman Frye asked how much the Uwharrie Charter School impacts this. Mr. Tedder said there is a pump station in place for a third school to be built. The Uwharrie schools rely on water and sewer services. Vice-Chairman Allen asked what capacity water is flowing at currently. Mr. Tedder said it’s not more than 80% capacity. Commissioner McDowell asked if volume from the Visitor Centers increases during the summer and Mr. Tedder said yes. Town of Franklinville Perry Connor, Mayor of Franklinville, said tonight four projects would be discussed. Mac Whatley, Commissioner of Franklinville, suggested copies of completed studies in the county be housed in the Randolph Room at the Public Library. The Water Resources Committee completed a study that includes all four proposals. Mr. Whatley is pleased that the EDC has plans that will benefit so many municipalities in the county. These projects have been in the works for years and are developed and ready to bid. Sewer is twice as expensive as water. He described some aspects of the plan for growth. Mayor Connor discussed the four proposals before the Board: US Highway 64 Water Line Project, US-64 Meter Vault, Cedar Falls/Sapona Loop, and Ogles Creek Pump Station and Force Main Improvements. He showed a map of the US HWY 64 water line. Right now, this area is a distressed utility area. Franklinville makes $0.18 off each 1,000 gallons of water used. The cost of 1,000 gallons 9/15/21 of water from Ramseur, the supplier, is over $6.00. Franklinville is a low-income community. Buying water from Asheboro would cost Franklinville $4.00 less per 1,000 gallons, increasing enterprise funds. The estimated cost of this project is $3.36 million. The Meter Vault is essential to the water line expansion. This is a cost of $261,000. The Cedar Falls line needs to be expanded to pick up the Sapona Mill and the future Textile Mill Museum. This would provide a loop to service both sides of Franklinville. The cost is estimated to be $4.425 million. The Pump Station is currently designed for 200,000 gallons of treatment; the town services 500,000 gallons of sewage. In the past, the pump station flooded and needed repair. Renovations would raise the station among other things. The cost is $1.292 million. The HWY 64 water line will be required for development. This is development corridor for Franklinville. Water and sewer is requested, but Mayor Connor said he understands that the cost of sewer is cost prohibitive. Mr. Whatley said the City of Asheboro is willing to transfer ownership of the old system to Franklinville. Chairman Frye asked how these projects would impact Ramseur. Mayor Connor said he is looking at this from a Franklinville standpoint. This will have impacts on Ramseur. Chairman Frye asked if there was any other funding source available. Mayor Connor said Franklinville is a distressed area due to low income. He is looking at multiple sources of funding. Originally, USDA funding was considered but this would be a big strain on Franklinville. The utility-distressed designation will benefit Franklinville. Commissioner Haywood asked was the prioritization of the projects were. Mayor Connor said the first two projects are essentially one, and that is the most important, followed by Cedar Falls and the Pump Station. The sewer updates would not be required immediately; this is more in preparation for the future. Vice-Chairman Allen asked how many customers there would be on day one. Mayor Connor said the area has not been surveyed. Often times incentives are involved for the consumer. Chairman Frye asked if Franklinville had applied for any State money. Mr. Whatley said a notice had been sent in that the Town requests Recovery Funding. Commissioner Haywood asked how current the cost estimates are. Mr. Whatley said they are current within a month. Town of Ramseur 9/15/21 John Grey, Regional Manager of Wooten Company, is representing Ramseur Mayor Vickie Caudill and is accompanied by Jim McIntosh, Town Councilman. Mr. Grey has been involved in a number of studies in the county. Receipt of this funding is a once in a lifetime kind of thing. Mr. Grey gave an overview of the Main Pump Station Force Main replacement project. There are concerns about breakage and environmental hazards. Drilling under the river would not disturb the river and would carry the flow without affecting the river. This is the most environmentally friendly option as the boring occurs 15 feet below the river floor and doesn’t disturb surrounding vegetation. The anticipated cost is $525,000. A sewer system rehabilitation is also needed with an estimated cost of $521,000. Moffitt Street and Meadowood Drive would be the focus areas. Reed Creek Pump Station has issues with overflow when high flows occur. Additional storage needs to be added to the wet well to reduce likelihood of sewer spills. The cost estimate is approximately $130,000. The Tube Pump Station services 10% of customers on the west side of the Deep River. It was built in the 1960s and needs replacement. This is estimated to cost $525,600. The Ramseur Water Treatment Plant needs filter and valve replacements. Several schools and the Town of Franklinville are served by this plant. The filters need to be replaced periodically, and several valves need to be replaced. The cost is estimated at $288,200. Chairman Frye asked the priority. Mr. Grey said the projects were presented in a prioritized order. Vice-Chairman Allen said several years ago, the Board was approached regarding some contaminated wells. He asked why that was not considered. Mr. Grey said those people were approached about the process of installing municipal water, but roughly half of the customers were not interested. The town does not see this as a top priority. Vice-Chairman Allen said this is an opportunity to help those with bad wells. Commissioner Haywood asked if it was possible that people don’t know they have contaminated wells. If people in the area know they have contaminated wells, it’s likely they’d sign on for municipal water. Chairman Frye said in the past, a school was shut down due to E. Coli and a new pipe was run. Mr. McIntosh said in his twenty-five-year career, an additional thirty people may have signed on for municipal water. There is water that routinely needs to be flushed out of the lines to keep it fresh. Process Moving Forward Chairman Frye said there is a Request For Qualifications (RFQ) that has been created to define project scope and solicit qualified firms. 9/15/21 Mr. Johnson said the Board needs to be sure to capture the biggest impacts in Randolph County. A planning firm can help prioritize the projects. He also mentioned using an engineering and planning consultant to determine if there are additional funding sources for the projects along with the Recovery Funds. He asked the Board for a consensus to solicit a request for qualifications and to authorize him to appoint a Qualifications Review Committee. Mr. Johnson recommended the Chairman and Vice-Chairman to be on the Committee. This group would interview proposals to select a firm to represent the County. On motion of McDowell, seconded by Haywood, the Board voted 5-0 to solicit a Request for Qualifications and to authorize the County Manager to appoint a Qualifications Review Committee. Chairman Frye said this process is being fast tracked. The funding requests need to be prioritized. The first disbursement has already been received. Chairman Frye said Trinity is considered a distressed area. He is discussing this with Representative Hurley. There may be State funds available. Adjournment At 6:52 p.m. on motion of Allen, seconded by Haywood, the Board voted 5-0 to adjourn. ________________________________ _____________________________________ Darrell Frye, Chairman David Allen ________________________________ _________________________________ Kenny Kidd Maxton McDowell ________________________________ _________________________________ Hope Haywood Sarah Pack, Deputy Clerk to the Board 9/15/21