Johnston County
Board
of Commissioners report from Sept. 3 meeting |
 |
Commissioners present: Chairman
Ted Godwin, Tony Braswell,
Jeff Carver, Patrick Harris, Butch Lawter,
Chad Stewart
Absent: Larry Wood
JCATS funding sought for a
new
Operations &
Maintenance building
Neal Davis, director of Community & Senior Services of Johnston County, asked the County Commissioners on Tuesday to help pay for a new Operations and Maintenance building for the agency's ever-growing transportation services.
"JCATS," the Johnston County Area Transit System, employs 40 persons responsible for operating 31 mini-buses that make more than 90,000 trips a year, Mr. Davis noted. Its current maintenance facility is a modular unit purchased in the early 2000s when JCATS served half the riders it serves nowadays, he said.
He said an 11,000-square-foot building could be erected at JCATS headquarters on Selma's West Noble Street for about $3 million. He said the agency has set aside funds over the years that could cover about half that cost. He asked commissioners to include $1.5 million for the project in next year's county budget --- a decision to be made at "budget time" next spring.
Mr. Davis also sought, and received, a commitment from the board to provide $113,157 in the county's 2020-21 budget for ongoing operations of Community & Senior Services. That amount would cover the cost of replacing six of JCATS' older vehicles, he noted.
The county's commitment would be more than matched by federal and state funding adding up to a total of $902,575 for the agency next year.
COMMISSIONER WOOD ON HURRICANE-RELIEF DUTY
At the outset of Tuesday's meeting, it was announced that Commissioner Larry Wood, an employee of Duke Energy, had been dispatched to Florida to help with hurricane-relief work anticipated there this week.
DETENTION CENTER'S PROGRESS IS ON SCHEDULE
The commissioners authorized the next phase of planning for the county's new Detention Center after Dan Mace of Moseley Architects reported that preliminary preparations for construction remain on schedule. The timetable calls for completion of "construction documents" by mid-December, solicitation of bids from contractors in February, with construction to start next May. Completion is scheduled in December 2021. Mr. Mace said the latest cost estimate for construction has gone up by $3 million to a revised total of $48.4 million because of increased allowances for "contingencies" by the project's estimator. The center will be built near the intersection of US 70 Business and Yelverton Grove Road east of Smithfield.
PROCLAMATIONS INCLUDE "FIREFIGHTERS WEEK"
Commissioners adopted proclamations for several observances:
• Firefighters Week in Johnston County will be observed September 8-14 in conjunction with the 18th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center that took the lives of many New York City firefighters.
• National Recovery Month will be observed throughout September to emphasize "preventing and overcoming mental and/or substance-use disorders," as requested by the Johnston County Substance Use Collaborative, which estimates 36,000 Johnstonians to be affected by those conditions.
• Fall Litter Sweep will be observed September 14-28, as requested by the N.C. Department of Transportation on the 31st anniversary of the state's Adopt-A-Highway cleanup program.
• Child Passenger Safety Week will be observed September 15-21, concluding with National Seat Check Saturday on the 21st, as requested by the Johnston County Partnership for Children.
TWO RESCUE SQUADS GET "SURPLUS" AMBULANCES
Commissioners declared two older ambulances "obsolete" and donated them to the 50-210 and Four Oaks rescue squads that have been using them. The non-profit squads, in turn, will be able to dispose of the vehicles as they see fit.
TAX-EXEMPT LOAN FOR ARCHER LODGE FIRE TRUCK
Commissioners approved a tax-exempt loan for the Archer Lodge Fire Department to purchase a 2019 Pierce pumper truck. KS Bank, Inc. will make the loan of $419,515 as the low bidder offering a fixed interest rate of 2.64% for 10 years.
TWO TRACTORS PURCHASED FOR THE LANDFILL
Commissioners approved two purchases for the county's landfill operation. Ascendum Machinery of Greenville, N.C. will provide a new Volvo Hydraulic Excavator for $204,485 and a new Volvo Articulated Hauler for $411,192.
NEW WASTEWATER CONTRACT WITH CLAYTON
Commissioners approved a "bulk wastewater agreement" to accept up to 500,000 gallons per day from a new Town of Clayton "pre-treatment" facility nearing completion. Chandra Farmer, the county's director of utilities, said the agreement will clear the way for channeling wastewater from the East Clayton industrial area to a new sewage-treatment plant proposed for county-owned property near the landfill off NC 210. On a related matter, commissioners approved a $1,143,537.50 contract with Ralph Hodge Construction Company of Wilson to install a 20-inch sewage "force main" beneath the interchange of US 70 Bypass and US 70 Business near Clayton. That project will increase capacity for pumping wastewater from Clayton to the county's treatment plant on the Neuse River at Smithfield.