102521 Strategic Planning/Recovery Funds
October 25, 2021 — Special Meeting — Federal Recovery Funds
The Randolph County Board of Commissioners met in special 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 David Allen, Commissioner Kenny Kidd, 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, Deputy Clerk to the Board Sarah Pack, and Clerk to the Board Dana Crisco. The
meeting was livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube.
Hal Johnson, County Manager, said the goal of this meeting is to accept the special pay
measures proposed for Emergency Services, review and approve funding for Strategic Planning
projects, and consider specific projects for American Rescue Plan (ARP) Recovery Funds.
Mr. Johnson recommended that the Board approve the presented projects using Strategic
Planning Funds. The appropriate budget amendment will be prepared and placed on the November
Regular Meeting Consent Agenda. The Board can express support for specific Recovery Fund
project, but the final approval of the Recovery Fund allotments should wait until requirements of
the U.S. Treasury have been finalized for use of ARP funds.
Emergency Services Update
Mr. Johnson said that Randolph County has completed many projects for Emergency Services
in order to benefit citizens. Ambulance bases were added within the county. New medical
equipment was purchased for the ambulances. The Board had a new Emergency Services
headquarters built. The impact of this was very evident when Public Health used the Emergency
Operations Center for the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A morgue was added to the
headquarters. The Board voted to move 24-hour shifts to 12-hour shifts and add 24 additional
positions to cover those new shifts. The Board also agreed to make Emergency Services salaries
comparable to those of surrounding counties to retain employees.
The COVID-19 Pandemic has had a major impact on Emergency Services, most notably in
recruitment and retention efforts. This a statewide and nationwide issue. Human Resources,
County Administration, and Emergency Services have been working together to mitigate the
challenge of low recruitment. Sign-On Bonuses, Emergency Pay, Holiday Buyback, and
Reclassification of 4 Intake Specialist Positions to Telecommunicators are all potential options to
add additional incentives for employees. The Sign-On Bonuses would be in the amount of $4,500
and would be available to those hired to fill the eight currently vacant Paramedic positions. Due
to lack of staff, current employees often work extra shifts. When employees volunteer to work
extra shifts, an additional $200 per shift would be given to them. Staff are required to work holiday
time and often do not get to use their accrued holiday time due to low staffing; if the County buys
back this time from the employee, the employee is able to receive their incentive in monetary form
rather than accruing time they are unable to use. Mr. Johnson asked the Board to approve special
compensation measures for Emergency Services.
Chairman Frye asked how long a new employee would take to be certified to work on a truck.
Jill Williams, Human Resources Director, said it depends on if the employee has an Associate’s
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Degree and certification. During the certification process, the employee could act as a Technician
but could not practice as a Paramedic. There are currently 14 people enrolled in the Paramedic
certification at Randolph Community College.
Commissioner McDowell asked how the sign-on bonuses will be paid. Mr. Johnson said the
bonus will be split into four payments with one accompanying the first paycheck and three
disbursements given at six, twelve, and eighteen months of employment. Commissioner
McDowell asked how Holiday Buyback would work. Ms. Williams said it would be paid out hour
by hour, unlike compensation time which accrues at a time and a half rate.
On motion of Haywood, seconded by Allen, the Board voted 5-0 to approve special
compensation measures for Emergency Services.
Review of Requested Community Projects
Chairman Frye said there is a vetting process that is causing much deliberation regarding how
to allot ARP funds. It is a complicated scenario that requires research.
Will Massie, Assistant County Manager/Finance Officer, said there is Strategic Planning
money available that is separate from the ARP money. He discussed the differences in Strategic
Planning money and Recovery Funds. He explained the Federal Uniform Guidelines for Recovery
Funds. There are reporting requirements that include classification by U.S. Treasury Expenditure
Categories. There is $1,247,863 in Strategic Planning Funds and $13,953,615 in Recovery Funds
available.
There are three new strategic planning applications from the Town of Liberty, the Town of
Seagrove, and Partnership for Children, respectively.
Chairman Frye said Mr. Massie and County Manager Hal Johnson have been working with the
Board to review requests.
Commissioner McDowell said Seagrove has been working to install sidewalks for years, but it
has been a difficult process. It will be very hard for such a small town to come up with funding to
complete a project like this. The Department of Transportation has not been of much help in
moving the project along.
Mr. Massie reviewed four ARP Recovery Fund applications and recommended they be moved
to Strategic Planning funding. These applications were submitted by the Family Crisis Center,
Partnership for Children, Town of Liberty, and Asheboro/Randolph Chamber.
Commissioner Haywood said moving the train depot to the Public Library property would give
another place to expand learning opportunities for the community. The $50,000 requested by the
Partnership for Children (PFC) will go towards looking at community influences by the Institute
for Families of Greensboro, and the assessment report will be used to drive future planning and
investment measures. The original request by the PFC was enough for three years; this is to track
the data over a reasonable time period to establish whether or not the program is effective.
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Chairman Frye said there is no timeline on the Strategic Planning Funds.
Vice-Chairman Allen asked if landfill lease revenue is projected to be available for strategic
planning. Mr. Massie said he was not aware of any other impending issues or plans for that
revenue.
On motion of Allen, seconded by McDowell, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the following
projects for Strategic Planning Funding:
Town of Liberty Outdoor Community Engagement and $ 99,000
Depot Preservation
Town of Seagrove Downtown Seagrove Sidewalks $ 108,000
Partnership for Children Early Childhood Community Survey $ 50,000
Family Crisis Center Emmy's House $ 134,207
Partnership for Children Library Based Navigators $ 250,000
Town of Liberty Liberty Heritage Museum $ 99,000
A/R Chamber The Business Gym $ 50,000
Mr. Massie listed six potential recovery projects under consideration. At this time, the County
is not yet ready to approve these projects until more detail is known about recovery fund use
restrictions.
Approve Initial Funding for County Programs
Mr. Massie detailed the initial allocation requested for ongoing County COVID-19 pandemic
response.
On motion of Allen, seconded by Haywood, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the initial County
allocation of $4,000,000 from Recovery Funds.
Mr. Johnson said the County is in discussion with an engineering firm to secure a consultant to
navigate the infrastructure applications.
Commissioner McDowell said this is not an easy process. He commended the Board and
County Administration for their work in exploring this process.
Vice-Chairman Allen said that the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Association of
County Commissioners has suggested that counties not be in a rush to use recovery funds.
Adjournment
At 7:04 p.m. on motion of Allen, seconded by McDowell, the Board voted 5-0 to adjourn.
_______________________________ ________________________________
Darrell Frye, Chairman David Allen
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Kenny Kidd Maxton McDowell
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Hope Haywood Sarah Pack, Deputy Clerk to the Board
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