All commissioners present:
Chairman Chad Stewart, Tony Braswell, Ted Godwin, Patrick Harris,
Butch Lawter, Fred Smith, and Larry Wood

LAND-USE PLAN STEERING COMMITTEE ELECTED

Using individually marked ballots, commissioners chose 15 out of 25 applicants to serve on the Steering Committee that will undertake a thorough review of the county's land-use regulations over the next several months:

Derrick Applewhite Jr., Black Angus Drive, Garner;
Brandon Batten, Jason Drive, Four Oaks;
Richard D. Braswell, Shoreline Drive, Princeton;
Loretta Byrd, Greenleaf Road, Angier;
David DeYoung, W. Main Street, Clayton;
James Gathers Jr., Devil's Racetrack Road, Four Oaks;
Perry Harris, Skinner Road, Four Oaks;
James Lipscomb, Barber Mill Road, Clayton;
Monty McLamb, NC 50 North, Benson;
Brooks Moore, Caleb Drive, Princeton;
Michael Sneed, Waterleaf Place, Clayton;
William (Bill) Stovall, Little Creek Road, Clayton;
Lanny Thomas, Cleveland Road, Clayton;
Mark Wellons, Wellons-Boyette Road, Princeton;
Paula Woodall, Galilee Road, Smithfield.

Michelle Pace Davis of Clayton will be joining them as a representative from the county's Planning Board.

Prior to Monday's voting, commissioners agreed unanimously to undo a previous directive that each of them would name a committee member from his district. They also agreed that no commissioner would serve on the committee.

Planning Director Braston Newton said the committee will start meeting in May, likely in the auditorium of the Agricultural Center on NC 210 west of Smithfield. He said the committee's sessions will be live-streamed for viewing by the public.


FOUR OAKS MAYOR SEEKS HELP TO GET NATURAL GAS

Mayor Linwood Parker asked the board for help in bringing natural-gas service to potential industrial sites at Four Oaks. "We are in a perfect location for job creation," he declared, noting the town's proximity to I-95, I-40, and future I-42 (the present-day US 70 corridor). Four Oaks has a 400-acre business park with just one occupant so far (a distribution center for medical supplier Becton Dickinson) and another 300 acres "we're putting together for certification" by the state as a prime industrial site, he noted. "But we lack one thing in particular... which is natural gas," Mr. Parker said. "Without the county's participation with that gas line, we're not going to be able to do what we want to do." The cost was not brought up during his presentation, and the commissioners offered no comments regarding what the county might be willing to do.


AN UPDATE ON REGIONAL COMMUTER-RAIL STUDY

Scott Saylor, recently retired president of the North Carolina Railroad Company who's presently employed by the County of Johnston as a consultant on the matter, brought commissioners the latest word on a study launched last year on the feasibility of commuter-rail service in the Triangle region. Under study is rush-hour rail service extending from Durham through the Research Triangle Park to Raleigh and eastward to Clayton along the NCRR line. Cost of the project has yet to be determined, but Mr. Saylor said cost-sharing among counties would likely depend on miles of track in each: 27.5 in Wake, 12 in Durham, and "just over 5" in Johnston. Along with the rail study are several "micro-economic studies" of the impact on development commuter rail would have at specific locations, and Clayton is one of those areas, he reported. With cost estimates done, local governments will be asked to adopt resolutions of commitment to the project later this year or early next year, Mr. Saylor said.

ANOTHER PLEA FOR HELP ON CSX CULVERT IMPASSE

David Johnson --- owner of one of four commercial properties on Smithfield's South Bright Leaf Boulevard damaged twice in recent years by heavy rainfall that backed up behind a culvert beneath the CSX railroad --- appeared before the board once again to ask for help in breaking an impasse on who will take the lead to get the culvert enlarged to prevent future flooding. Mr. Johnson said he has talked repeatedly with officials at CSX and the Town of Smithfield, and "I think everybody is afraid to take the responsibility." He said it's "basically a $700,000 fix" and wondered if federal stimulus funding under consideration in Washington could be applied to the project. Commissioner Fred Smith warned about the county's involvement in an issue outside its statutory responsibilities. Even so, Chairman Chad Stewart asked County Manager Rick Hester "to get everybody back at the table" to work something out. Concluded Mr. Johnson: "If you can help facilitate, that's all I'm asking."


APPOINTMENTS TO THREE BOARDS, ONE COMMISSION

Commissioners approved the following appointments (some by balloting in cases where the number of applicants exceeded positions available):
• Veterans Services Advisory Board --- Tom Britt and Johnnie Deans reappointed; Ray Johnson newly appointed, all to three-year terms.
• Board of Equalization and Review --- all reappointed to four-year terms: Glen Hinnant from District 1, Jeffery C. Lee from District 3, Keith R. Langdon (one of two applicants) from District 4, and Brenda Langman from District 7.
• Planning Board --- Freddie Hudson Jr. (one of two applicants) appointed to fill an expired term ending next February.
• Local Emergency Planning Commission --- newly appointed to two-year terms: Amy Shearin, Zachary T. Woody (by ballot), and Ken Taylor; reappointed: Sarah Gibbs, Paul Whitehurst, William Gerald Fowler, Kenneth Creech, Larry Edwards, Jimmie Williamson, Tim Britton, Steve Brinchek, and Todd Ramsey. 


REAPPOINTMENTS TO FIRE PROTECTION COMMISSION

Commissioners reappointed the following to the county's Fire Protection District Commission (two-year terms): Anthony Wayne Westbrook, Christopher S. Lee, and Lewis Brian Lee from the Bentonville Fire Department; Chadwick B. Ward, Allan Daughtry, and Melton A. Thompson from Brogden; Jimmy D. McLaurin Jr. from Claytex; Andy Mack Penny, Mark Knox, and Sidney E. Sauls from 50-210; Eddie Hales and Rex H. Braswell from PI-LE; Roger Johnson from Shoeheel; Jimmy Wood Jr. from Smithfield; Eleanor Wrenn from Thanksgiving; Travis Parrish, Timothy Godwin, and Jimmy Wilkins from West Johnston; Thomas E. White from Selma; Eric Boyette from Beulah; Janelle Fiamingo from Nahunta; and William David Coman from Wilson's Mills.

PROCLAMATIONS FOR WEEKLY & MONTHLY OBSERVANCES

The board adopted proclamations supporting the following campaigns:
• Spring Litter Sweep April 10-24, requested by the N.C. Department of Transportation.
• Week of the Young Child, April 10-16, requested by the Partnership for Children of Johnston County.
• National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, April 11-17, requested by the county's 9-1-1 Communications department.
• Older Americans Month, May, requested by Community & Senior Services of Johnston County.
• Child Abuse Prevention Month, April, requested by the county's Department of Social Services.