Johnston County
Board
of Commissioners report from April 19 session |
 |
All
commissioners present:
Chairman Chad Stewart, Tony Braswell, Ted Godwin,
Patrick Harris,
Butch Lawter, Fred Smith, and Larry Wood
REGISTER OF DEEDS GETS
AN ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEE
Register
of Deeds Craig Olive asked the board for an
additional employee in light of a spike in
transactions by his office during the past
year. A big reason for that: Johnston's
office has remained open in spite of the
coronavirus pandemic while offices in
neighboring counties have not, he said.
Besides that, Johnston's commercial and
residential growth continues to heighten
demand for services, he added. The board
voted unanimously to approve his request,
effective immediately, with Commissioner
Smith pointing out that the Register of
Deeds Office is "in effect a profit center
for this county" since fees it charges for
services that more than cover the agency's
expenses. Currently, the office has 11
full-time employees (including Mr. Olive, an
elected official) and one part-time staffer.
COUNTY
HIRES
PUBLIC-INFORMATION
OFFICER
County
Manager Rick
Hester
announced the
hiring of a
full-time
Public
Information
Officer: Adam
Carroll,
currently
employed by
the Town of
Garner as a
communications
specialist. He
will join
Johnston's
staff around
the first of
June, Mr.
Hester said.
Presently, PIO
duties are
being handled
by personnel
in the
county's Human
Resources
Department.
Also, Mr.
Hester sought
and received
approval from
commissioners
to
"pre-approve"
an additional
position in
the Health
Department's
Environmental
Health
Division so
recruitment of
a person to
fill the job
won't have to
wait till
adoption of
the 2021-22
county budget
later this
spring.
EMS
LIEUTENANT
GETS VFW
PUBLIC SERVANT
AWARD
Commissioners
recognized
Lieutenant
Jessica
Crawford of
Johnston
County
Emergency
Medical
Services as
recipient of
the 2021
Public Servant
Award from
Smithfield
Post 5886 of
the Veterans
of Foreign
Wars. A
paramedic with
Johnston EMS
since 2012,
Ms. Crawford
was promoted
to lieutenant
in March 2020.
A resident of
Benson, she
started her
EMS career at
Clayton.
WHAT'S LACKING IN
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT?
Chris
Johnson, the county's director
of economic development, made
a plea for county financial
backing of so-called "spec
buildings" erected by
developers in search of
industrial prospects.
Neighboring counties are doing
that and thereby outpacing
Johnston in luring
manufacturers, he noted. "We
have no projects in Johnston
County --- absolutely none,"
while prospects are looking
for buildings already in place
for their expansion plans, he
said. Another need, he
suggested, is for the county
to get into the business of
"strategic land purchasing" as
"a lot of developers in
Johnston County are looking
for land and it's driving up
costs." Noting that 50,000
residents leave Johnston
County every day commuting to
jobs elsewhere, Mr. Johnson
said "manufacturing jobs are
what we've got to have."
LANDFILL FEES
WAIVED FOR LITTER CLEAN-UP
CAMPAIGN
Following
a presentation by Derrick
Applewhite Jr., one of the
organizers of the recently
established Friends of
Johnston County Parks,
commissioners approved a
waiver of county landfill fees
for what's collected by this
weekend's countywide Litter
Sweep campaign. Mr. Applewhite
advised persons interested in
picking up trash on roadsides
and in parks this Saturday to
visit the
Friends' Facebook page>
NEW DOOR-CONTROL SYSTEM FOR THE COUNTY JAIL
The board approved a $137,000 contract with Montgomery Technology Systems to replace a 32-year-old system that secures the doors inside the Johnston County Jail at the Courthouse. Building and Grounds Director Daniel Clifton said the present system is "antiquated" and "failure prone." He said the new system being purchased will be the same as what's to be installed in the new Detention Center under construction east of Smithfield.
BOARD OBJECTS TO PROPOSED HOUSING LEGISLATION
Commissioner Lawter sought and received approval of a resolution opposing legislation pending in the N.C. General Assembly that would require local governments to permit duplexes and townhouses in any residential zoning district that allows detached single-family dwellings. "This limits our ability to govern ourselves locally," Mr. Lawter declared. Approval of the resolution was unanimous, but Commissioner Smith voiced reservations, pointing out that the legislation is part of a movement for more "affordable housing" across the state. He said 58% of North Carolinians "cannot afford a single-family home" and warned that "if we don't, through the marketplace, come up with a solution for affordable housing, we're going to have imposed on us what's happening in other places.... where 20% --- an exact amount --- has to be affordable housing." When that happens, he concluded, "we will lose control over the issue."