Monday’s commissioners meeting was filled with great comedy material. In attendance were the paid voices supporting the conversion of agricultural lands from food production into a desert of ground based solar collectors. Henderson’s mayor and interim city manager attended as backup to the NCDENDER spokesperson attending to reaffirm the logic for selling Kerr Lake water to Franklin County. Also a large contingent attended to support the school system’s administration and its board’s request for lottery money to install a multipurpose room at Carver elementary school. All of this gave assurance to the Peanut Gallery the meeting would be long.
Public Hearings – Debt Refinancing
The meeting started with a public hearing to refinancing three loans the county is repaying. This refinancing is basically the same process many homeowners have completed sometimes more than once in the past few years. The process was broken down into two steps. First, approve the refinancing proposal and second approve BB&T’s refinancing offer. Once steps one and two are complete the whole issue moves on to the NC Local Government Commission for their review and approval. Although the public copy of the agenda summarizes the purpose for the funds and the total amount of the refinancing the details were inadvertently or intentionally excluded from the agenda. Mr. Mitch Brigulio, the consultant the county retained to assist in preparing the refinancing proposal presented the recommendations. In answer to one of Commissioner Brown’s questions Mr. Brigulio said that only two (2) of the nations twenty-five (25) largest financial institution responded to the request for the refinancing. What does that say about Vance County’s financial condition? The Board approved both the refinancing proposal and approve BB&T’s refinancing offer.
Appointments
Carver Elementary School’s request for lottery funds to install a multi-purpose room was on the April Board meeting agenda. After seven people had voiced their support for the room Chairman Taylor announced there would be no vote on the issue in April. This seemed odd at the time, since the April agenda clearly indicated that the Education Committee had approved “the Schools’ request to use $883,469 in Education Lottery Funds for the purpose of constructing a multi-purpose room at Carver Elementary.” Crystal balls are poor vision into the future compared to hindsight. Had the full active Board voted in April on the multi-purpose room the vote would have been a tie, 3 ayes and 3 nayes. Active is the important adjective in the previous sentence. Commissioner Wright has not attended any regular or special Board meetings since September; all without a public explanation or justification. Commissioner Wright was wheeled into the meeting laying on an ambulance gurney where he stayed basically out of the public’s view. His presence was essential to break the tie favoring the multi-purpose room. Once that vote was taken his two ambulance attendants raised the gurney and wheeled Commissioner Wright away from the meeting. At least Senator Strom Thurman, as his health declined, did attend some senatorial meetings and not just to break a tie vote. Question, are the Vance County taxpayers on the hook for the ambulance and attendants necessary so Commissioners Wright could partially attend a Board meeting?
Interbasin Transfer Request is another item from the April meeting to flood back to May’s meeting. The Board requested support from the NC Division of Water Resources to quell the public’s overall objection to the NCDENER plan to allow the Kerr Lake Water Resources System to sell more water to Franklin County. Mr. Tom Fransen drew the short straw to speak to the Board, not the public, on behalf of the NC Division of Water Resources. The crux of the issue with the transfer was the State government’s dark of the night rule change regarding public comment on the planned transfer. Instead of allowing 42 public hearings DENER changed the rules to 3 public hearings then held those meetings with very limited public notice. DENER appears to have met the letter of their new rules while ignoring the spirit of an informed public. At the April meeting the Board approved a resolution favoring the transfer of water from Kerr Lake to Franklin County. The Board’s approval was based on the Water Committees’ approval. A month later members of the Water Committee said they did not fully understanding the facts of the transfer. Instead of manning up to their misunderstanding the commissioners pushed forward reaffirming their resolution to sell Kerr Lake water to Franklin County. In the hallway and after the Board reaffirmed their blind allegiance to DENER, I asked Mr. Fransen about the information he provided the commissioners. Mr. Fransen showed me his printed talking point that indicated 4,530,000 gallons of water enter Kerr Lake daily. I asked Mr. Fandsen about Commissioner Hester’s statement that 5,000,000,000 gallons of water exit Kerr Lake daily to generate hydroelectric power of over the damn. Mr. Fransen said he was not aware of the number Commissioner Hester used.
Mr. Robert Murphy, interim county manager, and David Beck, Finance Director, presented the proposed Fiscal Year 2014 – 15 budget. (A copy of the Manager’s Recommended Budget Overview is posted on Home in Henderson here (Vance County 2015-2016 proposed budget). Also, an electronic copy of the budget is on the County’s web-site.) The good news in the budget includes a project increase of 1% ($542,471) in the property tax base and a 2.3% ($230,146) in sales taxes. The negative news includes a $207,435 increase in taxpayers’ subsidies for the unwanted water project and the NC Republican Parties demand for a separate presidential primary that will cost Vance County $56,135. The Board will begin their review of this proposed budget on May 14. The public hearing on the budget is scheduled for June 1, 2015.
USDA’s Letter of Conditions for obtaining $8,000 of Federal tax dollars is intended pay for the installation of heating and air conditioning system in the farmers market. Have you ever wondered how Farm Bureau and the Board of Commissioners justified building a $800,000 building that had no heating and air conditioning system, no doors, and no paved parking lot; compared to say Dollar General building a $500,000 store of similar size and style to the farmers market that includes heating and cooling system, doors and a paved parking lot?
Water District Board
The Water District Board meeting was short. First was approval of contracts to complete construction of the project especially is areas of the county where the majority of property owners have said no to water. Second was a brief explanation of the Water Committees attempt to cobble together a tiered or block rate structure. That structure will not be finalized until the City sets the new rate that the county must pay for bulk water supply.
Committee Reports and Recommendations
The Planning/Environmental Committee report quickly became another controversy. The committee’s issue is the building of large array ground based solar collectors on agricultural lands. Commissioner Wilder, a “solar farm” NYMBY, has voiced his objections to the unpleasing visual aspects of a large array of ground based solar collectors facing his front yard and soon his back yard. Commissioner Wilder shepherded through the committee his idea for a 100 foot all natural vegetation barrier around the perimeter of the solar collectors. During the meeting’s public comment period five speakers voiced their objections to the 100 foot barrier. Three of the speakers live outside of Vance County and work for or own companies in the solar collector businesses which ‘happen to be located’ in Chapel Hill or Cary. The other two speakers were property owners who will personally profit as large array ground based solar collectors proliferate our landscape. Commissioner Hester said he favored the solar collectors because he wants the local farmers to be able to grow electricity just as they would corn, soybeans, and purple sweet potatoes. Then Commissioner Hester voiced his objection to the 100 foot barrier, because it hurts business. Commissioner Hester did not identify which Vance County business would benefit from the narrower barrier; maybe his district also includes Chapel Hill and Cary. Following Commissioner Hester’s objection Commissioner Wilder folded his position. Besides the size of the barrier and physical proximity of one large array to another the Board and the committee have been unwilling to establish a succinct enforceable policy governing the decommissioning and disposal of solar collectors at the end of their 20 year life span. Chairman Taylor returned the zoning amendment to the committee. The paid voices for the land based solar collectors departed the meeting for their homes in Chapel Hill and Cary where acres of land based solar collector are not permitted.