GOVERNMENTAL CENTER │371 NC 65, Reidsville, NC 27320 │ PO Box 101, Wentworth, NC 27375

TELEPHONE: (336) 342-8102 │ FAX: (336) 342-8105│ EMAIL: jwoods@co.rockingham.nc.us

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

A G E N D A

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING – May 18, 2020 - 6:30 P.M.

Governmental Center, Commissioners Chambers, Wentworth, NC 27375

1. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER BY CHAIRMAN RICHARDSON 2. INVOCATION – LANCE METZLER, COUNTY MANAGER 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 4. APPROVAL OF MAY 18, 2020 AGENDA 5. CONSENT AGENDA (Consent items as follows will be adopted with a single motion,

second and vote, unless a request for removal from the Consent Agenda is heard from a Commissioner)

A) Jennifer H. Woods, Clerk to the Board – Approval of Minutes – May 4, 2020 Regular Meeting Minutes B) Patricia Galloway, Financial Services Director 1) Approval- Increase Public Health budget $93,034 for allocation of State Revenues to the County Health Department for COVID-19 Crisis Response. 2) Approval- Increase Youth Services budget $5,010 due to award of discretionary funding from the NC Department of Public Safety Juvenile Community Program for the purchase of a laminator machine, two laptops and Substance Abuse Prevention materials. 3) Approval- Increase DSS budget due to a one-time Low Income Energy Assistant Payment (LIEAP) supplement. The supplement amount will be announced May 12, 2020 and must be remitted to the recipients no later than May 29, 2020. 4) Approval - Budget amendment needed in order to close the LEO Separation Allowance Trust/Agency Fund into the General Fund. Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) no longer permits the reporting of this fund as a separate trust/agency fund without a formal trust agreement; therefore, closing this Fund into the General Fund enables smoother reporting in accordance with GASB standards. The funds being transferred, $452.434, will be held in a Reserve Fund Balance line item in the General Fund. 5) Reporting budget transfer posted on April 27, 2020 to transfer $15,000 from Contingency to Non-Departmental COVID-19 expense line item in order to continue covering costs associated with the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) for front line staff and disinfecting supplies necessary to provide safe work sites for county employees.

6) Approval- Transfer available fund balance $318,060 in the General Fund to the Water Fund for the construction of a water line extension on NC-65 in accordance with Board action at the May 4, 2020 meeting. 7) Approval- Increase Sheriff Department budget $18,000 for execution fees that have been received over budget for the current fiscal year. These funds are remitted to third parties who are owed funds obtained through the Sheriff Department. 8) Approval- Increase Library budget $3,000 for Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Grant awarded to purchase sanitizing supplies, sneeze guards, nitrile gloves and social distancing decals. No matching funds required. C) Mark McClintock, Tax Administrator Approval - Tax Collection & Reconciliation Report – April 2020 D) Reappointment - Airport Authority, terms to expire June 30, 2023:

H. Greg Bray Gary Aikers

Gerald R. McKinney, Jr. E) Reappointment – Work Force Development Board, term to expire June 30, 20222:

Orlando Poteat, HR Director for Gildan Activewear F) Lance Metzler, County Manager Request for Road Addition – Northcrest Drive (0.05 mile) off Lemons Road (SR 1104) in the Brookfield Subdivision – Huntsville Township 6. CARRIE SPENCER, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR A) Rezoning Request – Steven Kidd, Calvary Rd., Mayodan Township Residential Protected to Light Industrial-Conditional District B) Rezoning Request – Segiuene – 3077 NC 158, Reidsville Township Office Institutional to Neighborhood Commercial-Conditional District C) Rezoning Request – South Rockingham Corporate Park, LLC – NC 65 & US 220 New Bethel – Residential Mixed/Residential Agriculture to Light Industrial 7. PUBLIC HEARING 8. LANCE METZLER, COUNTY MANAGER Presentation – Budget Review 9. SUSAN YOUNG, INTERIM DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH Presentation - COVID-19 Update 10. NEW BUSINESS 11. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS 12. RECESS UNTIL MAY 26, 2020 FOR RECOMMENDED BUDGET REVIEW AT 8:00 AM *This is a Live Stream meeting that may be viewed on the following link: https://www.co.rockingham.nc.us/pview.aspx?id=52977&catid=410

Rockingham County Board of Commissioners MEANS OF CONDUCTING PUBLIC REZONING HEARINGS

During the COVID19 State of Emergency

The Rockingham County Board of Commissioners will resume public hearings beginning May 18, 2020 with social distancing precautions. Citizens wanting to participate may attend in person or provide comments by email or phone. Regardless of how you choose to participate, you must first call or email staff no later than 12:00 p.m. the day of the meeting. Include your name, address, which hearing you will speak about, and if you support or oppose the request. If do not plan to attend the meeting, include your comments so they can be presented to the Board during the hearing. Meetings will be live streamed for viewing from home at: https://rockinghamcounty.municipalcms.com/pview.aspx?id=52977&catid=410 If you do plan to attend, you will be directed to areas set up to facilitate social distancing when you arrive at the Governmental Center. You will be able to view a live stream of the meeting while waiting for moderators to help you into the Chambers in the order you signed up to speak. STAFF CONTACTS: Emily Bacon ebacon@co.rockingham.nc.us 336-342-8364 Carrie Spencer cspencer@co.rockingham.nc.us 336-342-8137

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

REGULAR MEETING – MAY 4, 2020 – 6:30 P.M.

The Rockingham County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on May 4, 2020, 6:30 pm, Governmental Center, Commissioner’s Chambers, Wentworth, North Carolina. Present were Chairman Mark F. Richardson, Vice Chairman Charles G. Hall III, Commissioners A. Reece Pyrtle, Jr., T. Craig Travis, and Kevin Berger; Lance L. Metzler, County Manager, John M. Morris, County Attorney, Jennifer H. Woods, Clerk to the Board; and citizens and members of the news media. ITEM #1 – MEETING CALLED TO ORDER Chairman Richardson called the meeting to order at 6:31 pm. We will continue to follow this meeting protocol until we get some adjustment from State level regulations. ITEM # 2 – INVOCATION Invocation was given by County Manager Lance Metzler. ITEM #3 – PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Commissioner Travis. ITEM #4 – APPROVAL OF MAY 4, 2020 AGENDA Commissioner Pyrtle moved, Commissioner Hall seconded and the vote was unanimous to approve the May 4, 2020 amended agenda with the removal of Item #9 (A) Approval-Lease of Community Kitchen building and the addition of Closed Session pursuant to N.C.G.S 143-318.11 (a) (1) Approve Closed Session Minutes, (3) Consult Attorney and (4) Location or Expansion of Industries. ITEM #5 – APPROVAL- CONSENT AGENDA Commissioner Richardson explained the items on the Consent Agenda were non-controversial items; however, if anyone had any questions about the items please contact Lance Metzler, the County Manager. Mr. Metzler would be glad to fill them in on the details and if something needed to be readdressed the Commissioners would do so. Commissioner Travis moved, Commissioner Hall seconded and the vote was unanimous to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. ITEM #5 (A) – APPROVAL OF MINUTES – APRIL 20, 2020 REGULAR MEETING Commissioner Travis moved, Commissioner Hall seconded and the vote was unanimous to approve the April 20, 2020 Regular Meeting minutes as presented. ITEM #5 (B) (1) – APPROVAL – APPROPRIATE FUND BALANCE IN THE HEALTH INSURANCE FUND OF $1,300,000.

$750,000 to cover current year estimated claims expense which are running 14.2% Higher than the previous fiscal year.

$550,000 to cover 6/30/2020 estimated Incurred But Not Reported (IBNR) liability for claims with service dates prior to 6/30/2020 that have not been filed/processed/paid as of 6/30/2020. Expense is required to be recorded in the year that the service was performed.

Commissioner Travis moved, Commissioner Hall seconded and the vote was unanimous to approve the appropriation of $1,300,000 fund balance in the Health Insurance Fund. A copy of revision shall follow minutes for reference. ITEM #5 (B) (2) – APPROVAL – REDUCE YOUTH SERVICES BUDGET $5,332 DUE TO PART TIME TEMPORARY STAFF WORKING LESS HOURS THAN BUDGETED, UNSPENT NC DPS GRANT FUNDS FOR THE YOUTH SERVICES FRESH START PROGRAM ARE BEING RELEASED BACK TO DPS. Commissioner Travis moved, Commissioner Hall seconded and the vote was unanimous to approve $5,332 transferring back to DPS for unspent NC DPS grant funds for part time temporary staff working less hours than budgeted. A copy of revision shall be incorporated into these minutes for reference. ITEM #5 (B) (3) – APPROVAL- INCREASE LANDFILL BUDGET $15,413 FOR FUNDS RECEIVED TO REPLACE A LANDFILL UTILITY VEHICLE THAT WAS TOTALED. Commissioner Travis moved, Commissioner Hall seconded and the vote was unanimous to approve to increase Landfill budget $15,413 for funds received to replace wrecked and totaled Landfill utility vehicle. A copy of revision shall follow minutes for reference. ITEM #5 (B) (4) – APPROVAL- APPROPRIATE FUND BALANCE TO MATCH MARION STEDMAN COVINGTON FOUNDATION GRANT AWARDED TO THE MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY (MARC) FOR MAINTENANCE PROJECTS. Commissioner Travis moved, Commissioner Hall seconded and the vote was unanimous to approve to appropriate fund balance to match Marion Stedman Covington Foundation Grant awarded to the MARC for maintenance projects. A copy of revision shall be incorporated into these minutes for reference. ITEM #5 (B) (5) – APPROVAL- TRANSFER AVAILABLE FUND BALANCE IN THE GENERAL FUND TO THE WATER FUND FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A WATERLINE ON GOLD HILL ROAD $331,000. Commissioner Travis moved, Commissioner Hall seconded and the vote was unanimous to approve to transfer available fund balance in the General Fund to the Water Fund for the construction of a waterline on Gold Hill Road $331,000. A copy of revision shall be incorporated into these minutes for reference. ITEM #5 (C) – APPROVAL – TAX DEPARTMENT – TAX REFUNDS THRU APRIL 21, 2020

Commissioner Travis moved, Commissioner Hall seconded and the vote was unanimous to approve tax refunds thru April 21, 2020. A copy of refunds listing shall be incorporated into these minutes for reference. ITEM #5 (D) - APPROVAL – TOURISM DEVEOLPMENT AUTHORITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPOINTMENTS Reappointment; second term to expire June 2023

Patients Fairman-Evens, Holiday Inn Express

Appointment; term to expire June 2023

Lindsey Purvis, Haw River State Park Cornel Martin, Owner of BonaManzee Event Center

Commissioner Travis moved, Commissioner Hall seconded and the vote was unanimous to approve the reappointment of Patients Fairman-Evens and the appointment of Lindsey Purvis and Cornel Martin to the Tourism Development Authority Board of Directors. ITEM #6 – PUBLIC COMMENT No one signed up for Public Comment at this time.

ITEM #7 – UPDATE: QUARTER-CENT SALES TAX AND WORK FORCE DEVELOPMENT CENTER Dr. Mark Kinlaw, President, Rockingham Community College, said he was thankful to the Board for supporting the Quarter-Cent sales tax. The college was making very good use of the money to improve what they can offer students with the Center for Work Force Development. They are working with ADW Architects out of Charlotte and are still in the schematic design

phase and have begun a design development phase. They are on schedule currently and things

are moving along. He is pleased with the architectural firm they are working with. They have to

work with the Office of State Construction, which requires quite a bit of work with documentation

and time. Working with the Office of State Construction does save them money and it helps to

have another set of eyes on the project.

Center for Workforce Development Timeline

Schematic Design Oct 2019 – April 2020

Design Development May – Aug 2020

Construction Docs Oct 2020 – March 2021

Advertisement for Bids Sept 2021

Bid Opening Oct 2021

Construction Start Dec 2021

Construction Completion Feb 2023

Revenues and Expenditures October 2018 – April 2020

Revenues $2,655,688

Expenditures $1,815,150

Technology Upgrades

Upgraded 20 labs in seven buildings

Replaced computers for faculty and staff

Upgraded network wiring

Installed new telephone system

Just to stay current with technology requires about $500,000 yearly and they were behind on where they needed to be. They would like to be on cycle to replace computer labs every four years at most, particularly for students to make sure they have the best. At least $750,000 was spent on technology upgrades. Also to put better tools in front of their faculty to better serve students. This semester has been incredibly challenging with COVID-19 as they converted everything they could to online. They have had quite a bit of expense making these changes. The CARES Act should help them with federal funding. They expect to get $979,000 to help them with that conversion and some of the disruption of services. Some of that funding should help with some of the technology upgrades required to flip to online classes. Dr. Kinlaw showed the Board a video made by ADW Architecture of how the Center for Workforce Development will look on the exterior. The State of the Art building will be seen from Highway 65. They have started to design the interior of the building and he will share that once it’s available. This building will house electrical systems, industrial systems and machining. There will be some corporate meeting spaces, like an auditorium without fixed seating so it will offer flexible usage. Offices and student commons areas will be in the designed as well. It’s about a $19 million project and they are on budget right now. Commissioner Pyrtle said the video of the modern Center for Workforce Development was very impressive. It is very critical as they start the design of the interior to keep folks informed of how their tax dollars are being spent. Commissioner Richardson asked for the total square footage of the new building. Is there a figure of cost per square foot? Has the Coronavirus been a factor in the planning? Dr. Kinlaw replied 41,500 square feet. The building will be one story and take up a lot of land. The cost per square foot is approximately $375. Office spaces will be designed with protective-type things in case of a virus pandemic like we are currently experiencing. Commissioner Richardson said he knew of a proposed 250,000 square feet building in Rockingham County scheduled to start construction this summer and to be occupied next March, which is a lot shorter time frame. He asked Dr. Kinlaw to address the difference in time scale for construction. Dr. Kinlaw replied it came down to one thing and that was they were working with the Office of State Construction. We are not their only project. All of the NC Connect Bond Fund projects for the University Systems, Community College Systems, State Parks and other things are managed by the Office of State Construction. We are not the only area in the State that has a Quarter-Cent Sales Tax. There are hundreds and hundreds of projects that are having to be

managed by the Office of State Construction. Any project that is over $500,000 has to go through the Office of State Construction that is the law. There has been some talk to increasing the project value to $1.5 million for Office of State Construction managing but that has not been done yet. It does slow down a project due to the certain steps that you must go through. They are involved at the very beginning of any project they are managing. When we submit the construction schematic designs we are at their mercy in how long it takes them to get back to us and this process takes time. Again, with another set of eyes on all of the plans and working closely with the architectural firm they do save us money. Commissioner Pyrtle commented there have been some delays in the Youth Development Center construction due to the scope of that project. The Center for Workforce Development building will set a great modern tone to the RCC campus. It will be a wonderful addition. Commissioner Richardson asked Dr. Kinlaw if he would come back in July or August to provide another update. Dr, Kinlaw replied yes and maybe he would be able to share details on the inside of the building then. ITEM #8 – BUDGET REVISION- BOARD OF ELECTIONS Royce Richardson, Chairman of the Board of Elections, requested the Board reduce the Board Training by $4,119 and Staff Training by $3,118 to allow for a part time temporary person through the end of fiscal year, pay Canvass workers the additional $1.00 per hour they were underpaid and have ample funds to cover utilities through the end of the fiscal year. Mr. Royce Richardson explained they had two employees to retire, the Director and Deputy Director, in March. That left them with only one person left working in the office, the Senior Deputy Director, and they had to call in some temporary help. With this request to move funds about $1,100 will be left in each of the training line items, he did not think they would be doing any training Board or staff before the end of this fiscal year. The Board of Elections is looking at applications and they have several for the Deputy Directors job and a few for the Director position. They do not anticipate hiring for either of these positions before the end of this fiscal year. He believes there will be about 3.5 months in those salaries for those vacant positions left in this budget. Commissioner Pyrtle asked if either of those employees that left have a payout. Mr. Royce Richardson replied there was some vacation pay out and for the Deputy some comp time, so some of their salaries would be reduced. County Manager Lance Metzler asked Financial Services Director Pat Galloway if she knew the amount for total payout. Ms. Galloway replied the total payout was about $15,000. She would have to check to see how much they normally would have paid if the positions were still filled. Commissioner Berger asked how much money did the Board of Elections have projected to give back to the County at the end of this fiscal year.

Mr. Royce Richardson replied their request for 2020-21 was $493,600 and the County Manager’s recommendation was $469, 284 so they would be requesting about $24,000 less than what they had anticipated needing in their budget. Commissioner Berger said with two people retiring and those positions not being filled until next fiscal year there would be money left for their salaries and benefits minus their payout and that leads him to believe there will be money coming back to the County’s general fund at the end of this fiscal year. Out of those line items, salaries and benefits, how much would they be handing back to the County or out of all their line items how much were they projecting to be returning to the County? Mr. Royce Richardson said they had requested $164, 900 for regular salaries and with the two vacancies Mr. Metzler and Mr. Murray had reduced that to $150,000. Therefore, it looks to be about $14,000. Commissioner Berger replied that’s the salary portion and he was just curious what they might have overall because of having to move some things due to them not budgeting enough for utilities. They have some money left over due to the inability to train or go to some conferences and he was trying to figure out if there was a projection of how much overall they would be giving back to the County. So how much did they over-budget overall? Mr. Royce Richardson said this year they requested $6,620 for utilities and the County Manager and Mr. Murray increased that by about $3,800. Mr. Metzler said they had requested $7,570 and they reduced it by the amount for Direct TV, which was $950 and that left $6,620. The adopted budget was $6,620. Ms. Galloway replied the Elections precinct funds, salaries, has $32,900 left in that line item. The overall budget for the entire Board of Elections is $100,451 left over currently and that does not take into account they still have to pay salaries. There will be a significant amount left over at the end of this fiscal year. She has not projected everything for the rest of the year, so she does not have an exact figure. Commissioner Berger replied then there should be a healthy amount left over. Commissioner Pyrtle asked Mr. Metzler how they missed the figure for the utilities by so much. Were there County-wide trends that would show that utilities increased? Mr. Metzler replied said they took the figure Tina Cardwell provided $7,570 and reduced it by the cost of Direct TV $950 to get $6,620. In 2016-17 utilities were $7,028; 2017-18 was $8,753 and then it went down to 2018-19 to $7,175. He said that figure included Direct TV and he couldn’t figure it out. Commissioner Travis said based on what he was seeing they had a savings of $4,119 for Board training and a savings of $3,118 for staff training that needs to be moved to cover the cost of underpaying some employees. Mr. Royce Richardson replied they need to move the funds to cover the cost of utilities $2,500, temporary salaries $4,400, which includes paying temporary help from the middle of March until the end of June, and $337 was to pay about eight or ten part time people who worked on

Canvass that had made $10/hour in previous years but were only paid $9/hour this year. The Senior Deputy does not know how the rate of pay was changed, nor does he. Commissioner Richardson asked why did they not pay help $10 when that was the amount they were paid in the past. Mr. Royce Richardson replied he was not sure how it happened. The Board is well aware of this error and it should not happen again. Commissioner Travis moved, Commissioner Hall seconded and the vote was unanimous to approve to reduce the Board Training by $4,119 and Staff Training by $3,118 to allow for a part time temporary person through the end of fiscal year, pay Canvass workers the additional $1.00 per hour they were underpaid and have ample funds to cover utilities through the end of the fiscal year. Commissioner Hall verified this budget revision had been voted on by the full Board of Elections. Mr. Royce Richardson replied yes. ITEM #9 (A) – APPROVAL - BLISSFUL PALETTE EVENTS & CATERING LLC LEASE OF THE COMMUNITY KITCHEN BUILDING, 342-F CHEROKEE CAMP ROAD This item was removed from the agenda. ITEM #9 (B) – CONSIDERATION - WATER LINE EXTENSION ON NC 65 WEST TO NEW DEVELOPMENT SITE FOR STEVE AHERON – PROJECT ESTIMATED COST $318,060 Ronnie Tate, Director of Engineering and Public Utilities, said Developer Steve Aheron has requested the County extend the water line to serve a proposed new development on NC 65 West of US 220. The extension would be a six inch water main around 5,550 linear feet along Highway 65 to Mr. Aheron’s property. The property owner would be responsible for the water line infrastructure inside the subdivision. There are 22 additional properties along the length of the water line extension that could possibly tap on in the future. On the ROI, the property is 55.21 acres with 53 lots. Mr. Aheron could build 53 houses with or without water/sewer from the County. The average home value of $250k - $275k and the estimated tax revenue once all 53 homes were completed is $96,692 with an average home value of $262,500. Mr. Aheron has said he would complete the homes in three to four phases. Mr. Tate used an average of 200 gallons a day for water usage. In years 1 -7, Mr. Aheron said he should complete 7 homes per year and then 4 homes in year eight. He may complete more houses sooner just depends on the market. The Return on Investment is anticipated to be around 11 years. Commissioner Hall said he assumed the County would send the potential water customers along the extension a card notifying them they could tap on as has happened in the past. Could we offer discounts to them if they tap on during the construction of the line? Mr. Tate replied they would be glad to offer discounts if the Board approved it. The Board could add incentives like with other lines they had worked on. One time they had offered ½ off the tap fee and another time a free tap was offered at time of construction, which got the most interest.

Commissioner Hall said the Board would discuss it but he was in favor of the $0 tap fee if they decided to move forward with this extension. Mr. Tate said they would do door hangers for all potential customers with information about the free tap, the fees for water service and who to contact to initiate service. Commissioner Berger verified there was a deadline for those free taps. Mr. Tate said the tap would be free if the resident was signed up for the tap up until the contractor had gotten to their house in the project. We would not go back and put in a free tap after the fact. County Manager Lance Metzler said the money to fund this water line extension would come from the fund balance. If we included the amount proposed, it would drop the fund balance down to about $2.8 million, which is still a healthy fund balance. This would be the fund balance over and above the required 18%. This year if this project is approved they will have spent about $1.8 million with this water line project, the water line extension on Gold Hill Road, the animal shelter, a few big ticket items like the new sewer line and the renovations to Daymark. Commissioner Berger asked how many customers (ballpark or rough figure) are needed to get to the breakeven point. Mr. Tate replied we needed 875 more customers or households based on 200 gallons daily usage to get to the breakeven point. Commissioner Travis said we are spending taxpayer’s money to extend the line. What are we doing now if a developer does not provide the amount of homes that he promises to for a water line extension? Who is going to pay the taxpayers back for investing in this infrastructure that doesn’t get completed? Mr. Tate replied the General Fund. Commissioner Travis said so we are possibly giving this developer $300,000 just to hook up water and sewer but there is no return on investment in case he fails. Mr. Tate replied no, not as it is presented to the Board tonight. Commissioner Travis replied it was his understanding that this type of situation was what we were working on to eventually establish in the County. We don’t mind working and investing money, but we have to have a guarantee in writing to get our money back if a person doesn’t fulfill their obligation. Mr. Tate replied we have been talking with the company that is working on the Land Use Plan and they have presented some options for the policy for that. Most of those were similar to options they had already presented to the Board. Commissioner Travis replied so with this particular project there is no policy in place for any return on investment for liability reasons. So we are taking him on his word that he is going to build 53 houses. He has how many years to do all of this? Mr. Tate replied that is correct. The developer has eight years to build the 53 houses.

Commissioner Travis asked if there were any repercussions if the developer did not complete the 53 houses in eight years. Mr. Tate replied no, not as presented tonight. Commissioner Berger said that was the purpose of the meeting a few months ago. Prior to that meeting the Board’s policy was to not extend the line, we are talking about water not sewer. It was up to the customer to do any extension to their property. That was the policy then. I don’t remember if it was that meeting or shortly after that the policy was adopted by the Board to review the requests for an extension on a case by case basis. About a month ago the extension down Gold Hill Road was voted on that was funded tonight on the Consent Agenda. It is an extension or expansion of the County’s infrastructure. In my mind the question is, is this somewhere the County wants to expand its infrastructure to try to cut into that 875 customers needed to breakeven. Our current policy is to review the request and determine is this an area we want to expand our infrastructure. It is a request from a property owner and we have to decide do we want to extend our line towards that property. The reason the request is coming in and we are asking for information is due to what is going to happen down in that area. I am looking at this request and see several large tracks that we will be crossing. I don’t know who owns each of those tracks and how many of those owners have children who do not live in this area because that is typically what happens. Mom and Dad farm and they pass away with children hours away. Then things happen as far as selling and potentially subdividing the land. With this new subdivision being in the Southwest part of the County with the proximity to Guilford County is certainly a major factor in development in that area. Is this an area that the Board wants to expand our infrastructure and potentially spur further development in that area? What is kind of spearheading us looking at that is, of course, a potential development at the end of this expansion. Mr. Morris emailed the Board other suggestions of policies that came from the Land Use group. At some point our Board has to get back together and see whether or not we want to do something different than what we are doing now or continue on the current path as far as how to expand our infrastructure and potentially spur additional growth. At some point, we have to cut into that big problem we inherited with regards to our utilities because we are putting roughly a penny in every year and it’s going to take some time and capital investment to cut into that. The numbers on the ROI are projections and certainly hopeful thinking and they may be on the conservative side. That is always a guess. The question before the Board is whether or not they want to expand the infrastructure to potentially pick up more customers. Is this extension in an area of the County where it makes sense to expand the infrastructure? Commissioner Travis said he absolutely thought it was in an area that it was needed and it’s an area where we are expanding in. He is all for this project. He knows they have been discussing and wants the Board to stay on track with the discussion about getting something in writing later on down the line that if something ever falls through the County and taxpayer’s money is protected from the investment that they are making. He wants to make sure they are still on the path to come up with policies to protect the County’s investments. He is all for this particular project. Commissioner Berger replied as far as whether the Board was still on that path it had to get back on the agenda. We have a couple of things for consideration as Mr. Morris has come up with two ideas and I have thrown something out. I don’t know if anyone else has any ideas. We either continue on with the current policy or we talk about it some more and adopt something different. We have got to do something to expand the customer base and eat into the hole.

Commissioner Richardson said he complimented Commissioner Berger on his explanation. That is exactly the way he understood it. Commissioner Pyrtle said his comments echo his colleague’s as obviously we have to expand our infrastructure to increase our customer base. Our Enterprise Fund is upside down right now and we are moving money out of the General Fund into the Enterprise Fund to supplement that on an annual basis to the tune of about a penny. The only way we are going to get right-side up is to extend our customer base but we have to move with caution. He thinks the word Commissioner Travis was looking for was clawbacks. His biggest concern tonight was they had a similar project come before the Board but were in a different financial climate, before the pandemic. Today we do not truly know until we get some sales tax numbers coming in to determine the financial state of the County. We hope the impact will be minimal, but we do not know. He feels comfortable after talking to our County Manager and with our fund balance that this is a project that deserves the Board’s full attention. Commissioner Hall wanted to be sure to clarify a couple of things. We are running water lines in the right of way down the highway and this is not going on private property or on a private subdivision. Mr. Tate replied that is correct. Commissioner Hall said we are expanding the infrastructure only, we are not running line inside a private development for one person to benefit and there are 22 other properties in this pathway that could benefit from this expansion. Some of those properties are rather large and as Commissioner Berger pointed out those could see growth in the future. He thinks Commissioner Travis is right that the one thing they need to start looking at is how much they can afford to do this on an annual basis. How much money can they afford to spend to expand this infrastructure and the big point is where is it important to do that expansion. Do we consider this a key growth area for the County? Do we think this is the right place to spend money now knowing that there is an immediate need for 53 homes plus a possible additional 22 properties existing along the way? Mr. Tate said Commissioner Travis had asked about the secondary lots earlier and he would like to add from the overhead view, it looks like there are 14 or 15 single family homes on those 22 secondary lots. That is roughly the number of houses that could potentially tap on. Commissioner Berger said at one of the prior meetings the Board gave some vague directive for Mr. Metzler in the upcoming budget to have something budgeted for infrastructure improvements or development so that we could fund these projects as time went on annually. Then they would have some amount funded to pull this type of money from. Mr. Metzler said he would recommend any type of increase in the fund balance be spent for that to go towards infrastructure improvements. It could be water and sewer. Commissioner Berger said he was thinking when someone came in with a request we could pull it from that certain line item. Then as we got further in the year and got too many requests, it would be up to the Board if they put more money in that line item or say you have to come back next year and possibly one of the first ones next year. Commissioner Travis said that was a good idea.

Commissioner Hall asked the Developer Mr. Aheron looking at the projection based on building seven houses per year is that too conservative or too ambitious? How did he feel that number would be for him? Mr. Aheron replied he began developing in 1997 and over the last 23 years he had averaged eight houses a year during various economies. So he was good with building seven houses in a year. This year even dealing with the COVID real estate was the best it had been in his career. Today everyone buying houses can afford them as they have to qualify and are putting money down. Hands down the market that we are in today, even with the COVID, is unmatched. He had three closing last week and he could have sold the same house ten times in three days. That tells him there are 10 people out there still looking for a house and we don’t have the inventory needed for the market. He is a real estate broker, developer and a land broker. We are about 14 months behind on inventory in this area, meaning Stokesdale Rockingham County. He is getting ready to pull six new permits within the next two weeks. He has another builder who builds with him in his subdivision who has two under construction now. As hard as they can go, it will take them 14 months to catch up with the market. That is where we are today. If he would have started this subdivision last year, he thinks they would have sold 16 houses in the first year in this economy. If you look at his average of 8 per year, it’s a pretty good average. The subdivision is drawn based on the soil analysis and they came up with 53 lots. There could be at least two builders in this subdivision depending on the market. The other builder and Mr. Aheron could handle building twelve to sixteen houses a year. If it gets beyond that he would bring another builder in. Currently he has eight houses under construction and four more coming. Commissioner Pyrtle moved, Commissioner Berger seconded and the vote was unanimous to approve the water line extension on NC 65 West to new development site for Steve Aheron estimated at $318,060.

ITEM #10 - NEW BUSINESS There is no New Business at this time per County Manager Lance Metzler. ITEM #11– COMMISSIONER COMMENTS A) Commissioner Travis – No Comment B) Commissioner Pyrtle – Rockingham County lost one of its citizens this week who has done a lot for the communities in this County. Mr. Wayne Kirkman passed away on Saturday afternoon. Wayne was a lifelong resident of Eden, member of the Jaycees, instrumental in forming Leaksville, Spray and Draper into the Wonderful Land of Eden back in 1967, he served on the City of Eden School Board and Rockingham County School Board. He was a public servant and a fixture of the community. My condolences to his family. C) Commissioner Berger – Thank everyone for tuning in tonight and we look forward to the days that you can come back to our meetings. D) Vice Chair Hall– He would like to echo both sentiments tonight. Condolences to the family of Wayne Kirkman. He was well-known throughout the community and a good individual. As Commissioner Berger said we miss everyone and seeing you. We hope you all will be back soon.

E) Chairman Richardson – I had only positive experiences with Mr. Kirkman when I served as a liaison to the School Board while he was there. He was a very thoughtful and dedicated member of that Board. He was a real servant to the community and on the School Board. Condolences to his family. He thanked Commissioner Berger for his very concise but complete explanation of a complicated issue. We have been through several things and we need to stay on top of that and I hope the land process helps us resolve that. It’s not going to happen instantaneously. In regards to the Coronavirus, the Commissioners have had emails, correspondences and conversations with people that are anxious to go back to the norm. Our expectation is we are not going back to the norm as we knew it. Certain protocols that are in place now in regards to social distancing and various other policies and procedures will need to continue. I think people are going to be wearing masks for quite a while. This Board is interested in getting the economic aspect back on track as promptly as we can and we will do so. It behooves the public to follow instruction. I happened to be at Walmart, which had a very thorough program in place, but many of the customers were not following it. They were not following the arrows or keeping the six feet of distancing. To expedite a return to an economic normalcy, I would encourage all of our residents to act smart. Coronavirus is not going away instantaneously. We look forward to what the Governor has to say on Friday. I look forward to a more resilient economy in the future. ITEM #12 – CLOSED SESSION Commissioner Pyrtle moved, Commissioner Hall seconded and the vote was unanimous to go into Closed Session at 7:36 p.m., Commissioners Chambers, pursuant to: N.C.G.S. 143-318.11 (a) (1) Approve Closed Session Minutes N.C.G.S. 143-318.11 (a) (3) Consult Attorney N.C.G.S. 143-318.11 (a) (4) Location or Expansion of Industries Commissioner Hall moved, Commissioner Pyrtle seconded and the vote was unanimous to come out of Closed Session at 8:19 p.m. There being no further business, Commissioner Hall moved, Commissioner Pyrtle seconded and the vote was unanimous to adjourn this meeting at 8:20 p.m. MINUTES READ AND APPROVED, RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, _____________________________ _______________________________ MARK F. RICHARDSON, CHAIRMAN JENNIFER H. WOODS, CLERK BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS