Special Called Joint Meeting October 24, 2016 The Martin County Board of Commissioners met in joint session with the Local Elected Officials and the Mid-East Commission on Monday, October 24, 2016 at 6:00 pm at the Jamesville Community Fire Department, 1035 Hayes Street, Jamesville, North Carolina. Martin County Commissioner/Chairman Ronnie Smith welcomed everyone to the Semi-Annual Local Elected Officials meeting. Introductions followed. Approximately forty-nine individuals attended the dinner meeting catered by Canon s Catering. Martin County Commissioner Tommy Bowen provided the invocation. Martin County: Chairman Ronnie Smith, Vice-Chairman Elmo Butch Lilley, Commissioner Tommy Bowen, Commissioner Dempsey Bond, Jr., County Manager David Bone, Clerk to Board Marion B. Thompson, Clerk of Superior Court Tonya Leggett, Register of Deeds Kimberly Griffin, Sheriff Dan Gibbs, and Tax Assessor Elisha Hardison. Town of Bear Grass: Commissioners Elizabeth Harrell, and Calvin Owens. Town of Everett: Mayor Ray Deans and Commissioner William Prettyman. Town of Hassell: Mayor Jane Williams. Town of Jamesville: Mayor Bradley Davis, Commissioners Mary Allen, Rachel Craddock, and Willis Williams, and wife, Mrs. Delsie Williams; Town Clerk Kim Sutton, and EMS/Jamesville Community Fire Department Timmie Modlin. Town of Oak City: Town Clerk Melissa Knox, and husband, Mr. Timmy Knox. Town of Parmele: Mayor Pro-Tem Lula Council, Commissioners Doris Jackson and Curtis Willet; Town Clerk Cynthia McNally. Town of Robersonville: Mayor Pro-Tem Eugene Roberson, Jr.; Town Manager Elizabeth Jenkins; Town Clerk Allison Stalls. Town of Williamston: Junious Horton. Mayor Pro-Tem Al Chesson, Commissioners William Coffield and Martin County School Board: BOE Chairman Van Health, BOE Vice Chairman Kenneth Harrell, and Board Member Barbara Council. Mid-East Commission: Executive Director Bryant Buck, Workforce Development Director Jennie Bowen, Finance Director Janet Dodge, Aging Services Annette Eubanks, Planning Director Kevin Richards, Planner Ben Rogers, Consultant/ Planner Justin Oates, and Mid-East Board Member Walter Willet.
Others present: NC Representative Shelly Willingham, NC DOT Transportation Engineer Carlos Maya-Astudillo, Hwy 17/64 Association Executive Director Mark Finlayson, and Assessment Solutions Project Manager Tim Cain. Future I-87 Corridor Designation Hwy 17/64 Association Executive Director Mark Finlayson announced with pleasure that the unveiling of the signs for the Future I-87 Corridor had taken place in Edenton, NC, earlier in the day. Governor Patrick McCrory, NC Department of Transportation Secretary Nick Tennyson, NC Representative Shelly Willingham and other local elected officials attended the unveiling ceremony. The Future I-87 Corridor was funded as part of the FAST (Fixing America s Surface Transportation) Act, providing 5 years of predictable federal transportation funding. Executive Director Finlayson stated the Association was operating in its 11 th year, and Martin County Manager David Bone would be president of the Highway 17/64 Association in the coming year. Over $1.3 billion have been invested on 11 projects in the U. S. 17 Corridor, since 2006. Local projects of interest to be completed have an estimated cost of $607.8 million, with $361.4 million still to be funded are: Washington to Williamston Vanceboro to Chocowinity New Bern Bypass (northern Leg) Jacksonville Bypass Hampstead Bypass Executive Director Finlayson stated the following as value in the Association advocating for the Future I-87 Corridor as well as other projects: Support adequate funding through improved STI legislation Support equitable scoring through the SPOT prioritization process Support expedited evaluation and investment in I-87 projects Work with any administration and agency, regardless of political affiliation Speak with a unified regional voice for a common purpose Mayor Ray Deans, of the Town of Everetts, voiced concern for the negative impact the Future I- 87 Corridor would have on large truck carrier and the trucker s overall profit. County Manager Bone and Hwy 17/64 Executive Director assured Mayor Deans extensive research would be done before project inception. Adding, it would probably be 20 years or more before project start-up and completion. Mid-East Commission Planner Justin Oates added the Mid-East Rural Planning Organization adopted a resolution (June 29, 2016) requesting legislation to change the Strategic Transportation Investments (STI) funding formula to include a funding and prioritization process exclusive to geographic areas in North Carolina. This would level the playing field and allow the eastern rural
part of the state to complete against one another for unfunded projects. Martin County s County Transportation Plan (CTP) Project NC DOT Transportation Engineer Carlos Maya-Astudillo provided a survey results/analysis update on Martin County s County Transportation Plan (CTP). Over 900 CTP surveys have been completed, with 50+ in Spanish. An open house has been planned for November 17, 2016 at the NC TeleCenter, former Quintile space, between 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the Martin County s County Transportation Plan. Some of the benefits of having an adopted County Transportation Plan would be: Common long range vision for facilities between NC DOT, MPOs, RPOS, and local government Improved community buy-in Stronger ties to local priorities Improved emphasis on integrating all modes Customer-friendly documentation Better integration of land use with transportation planning Adoption of the plan would entail three levels: local (County and Towns), regional (Mid-East RPO) and state (NC DOT Board of Transportation). Martin County has encouraged all Towns to participate in the creation of the CTP, and each town would be contacted concerning adoption of the CTP. 2017 Revaluation Tax Assessor Elisha Hardison stated the tables were being updated within the Martin County software system. Plans were to continue tweaking the revaluation for potential problems, sales, and renovation projects completed, through the end of October. Notifications would be mailed at the end of November. The effective date of the revaluation is January 1, 2017. The Tax Assessor s Office encouraged town and civic organization meetings to discuss the revaluation process. Hopefully, there will be a better understanding of the statute-required aspect of the work, the potential impacts on the budgeting process, as well as the appeal process. Tax Assessor Hardison stated the only goal of the tax office was to continue to value every parcel correctly and reliably, whether up or down. Every presentation would push three key ingredients: (1) why the revaluation was done, (2) how it was done, and (3) where to get the answers, if there were questions about what was done. Tax Assessor Hardison thanked all for assisting in this process. Photos were shown of various parcels throughout the county to give a visual representation of how the revalues ranged.
Assessment Solutions Project Manager Tim Cain offered a comparison between the 2009 revaluation and 2017 revaluation, and the effect on the budgeting process. Current projections show a loss of 10% value in property. County Manager Bone added with this projection, revenue neutral would mean a tax increase. Mid-East Commission Update Mid-East Commission Executive Director Bryant Buck thanked the local governments who were members of the Commission, and recognized Mid-East Commission board members and staff. Each local government was made aware that it could have a voting member on the Mid-East Commission Board, and was encouraged to do so. Mid-East Commission staff, Aging Services Annette Eubanks, Workforce Development Director Jennie Bowen, and Planning Director Kevin Richards gave updates on assistance that had been given or was being given to those affected by Hurricane Matthew, i.e. assisted with obtaining home delivered meals, grant funding application for items not covered by FEMA, disaster unemployment, dislocated workers and disaster relief. Update from Jurisdiction County Manager Bone reminded all of the FEMA informational meeting planned for October 27 th at the Old Agricultural Building at 2 p.m. Additionally, EDC President Jason Semple has scheduled a Martin County Entrepreneur Expo for February 4, 2017 at the Senator Bob Martin Agricultural Center. Mayor Bradley Davis, of the Town of Jamesville, stated a drainage ditch problem was discovered after Hurricane Matthew. It seems the drainage ditch runs under Highway 64 and the railroad track. It has been estimated that the repair would be expensive. Town of Jamesville Commissioner Willis Williams commented the blizzards were taking over the town, residing on the roofs of buildings and homes. Mr. Walter Willet, of the Town of Parmele, stated a water pump burned out during the storm (Hurricane Matthew), and the Town was looking to replace the pump. Mayor Pro-Tem Al Chesson, of the Town of Williamston, first thanked Representative Shelly Willingham, and then, asked for continued support with Powell Bill and infrastructure funds, so potholes, aging infrastructure, and street maintenance could be addressed. Representative Willingham stated legislation had been passed to assist with NC Department of Transportation maintained streets, which run through municipalities. County Commissioner/Chairman Smith stated NC DOT now has a new pledge to repair any driver reported pothole on a state road within 48 hours. The NC DOT website reports that it has been acting on a state-mandated deadline of repairing potholes with 48 business hours of them being reported, since January 1, 2016.
More information about pothole reporting/repairing may be found at the following link: https://www.ncdot.gov/contact/report/pothole/potholes.html. Around 8:35 p.m., the meeting was adjourned. Ronnie Smith, Chairman Marion B. Thompson, NCCCC Clerk to Board