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2018-05-21 Regular Meeting NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 34 REGULAR MEETING, MAY 21, 2018 PAGE 119 ASSEMBLY The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners met in Regular Session on Monday, May 21, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. in the Assembly Room of the New Hanover County Courthouse, 24 North Third Street, Wilmington, North Carolina. Members present: Chairman Woody White; Vice-Chairman Skip Watkins; Commissioner Jonathan Barfield, Jr.; Commissioner Patricia Kusek; and Commissioner Rob Zapple. Staff present: County Manager Chris Coudriet; County Attorney Wanda M. Copley; and Clerk to the Board Kymberleigh G. Crowell. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Pastor Jonathan Bowling, Carolina Beach Presbyterian Church, provided the invocation and Commissioner Barfield led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA Chairman White requested a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Motion : Commissioner Kusek MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner Zapple, to approve the items on the Consent Agenda as presented. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. CONSENT AGENDA Approval of Minutes – Governing Body The Commissioners approved the minutes of the Agenda Review Meeting of May 3, 2018 and the Regular Meeting of May 7, 2018. Adoption of a Resolution to Approve Point Security, Inc., as a Sole Source Vendor for the Purchase of Smiths Detection X-Ray Inspection System for the New Hanover County Courthouse – Sheriff The Commissioners adopted a resolution approving Point Security, Inc., as a sole source vendor for the purchase of Smiths Detection X-Ray Inspection System for the New Hanover County Courthouse. Point Security, Inc., is the sole distributor of the Smiths Detection X-Ray system to the NC marketplace. This has been confirmed in a letter dated 4/23/2018 from the manufacturer, Smiths Detection. North Carolina General Statutes (NCGS) 143- 129(e)(6) exempts purchases of apparatus, supplies, materials, or equipment when: (i) performance or price competition for a product are not available; (ii) a needed product is available from only one source of supply; or (iii) standardization or compatibility is the overriding consideration. The total cost of the equipment is $35,394. Funds are available in the Sheriff's Office FY 17-18 budget for this purchase. A copy of the resolution is hereby incorporated as part of the minutes and is contained in Exhibit Book XLI, Page 9.1. Annual Review and Approval of New Hanover County ABC Board Travel Policy – County Attorney The Commissioners approved the New Hanover County Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) Board travel policy as presented. A copy of the complete ABC Board Travel Policy is available for review in the New Hanover County ABC administrative office. Adoption of Budget Amendments – Strategy and Budget The Commissioners adopted the following budget amendments amending the annual budget ordinance for fiscal year ending June 30, 2018:  Soil and Water 18-057  Senior Resource Center 18-058  Sheriff 18-059, 18-060, 18-061, 18-062 Copies of the budget amendments are hereby incorporated as part of the minutes and are contained in Exhibit Book XLI, Page 9.2. REGULAR ITEMS OF BUSINESS ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE 35th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIFTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT GUARDIAN AD LITEM PROGRAM th Chairman White reported that this month is the 35 anniversary of the Fifth Judicial District Guardian ad Litem Program and recognized Commissioner Zapple to read the proclamation. Commissioner Zapple read the resolution into the record. Chairman White asked for direction from the Board. Motion : Vice-Chairman Watkins MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner Zapple, to adopt the resolution th recognizing the 35 anniversary of the Fifth Judicial District Guardian ad Litem Program in New Hanover County. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 34 REGULAR MEETING, MAY 21, 2018 PAGE 120 On behalf of the Fifth Judicial District Guardian ad Litem, District Administrator Linda Bialaszewski, accepted the resolution and expressed appreciation for the Board’s, as well as the County’s, support of the program. Commissioner Barfield expressed appreciation to the Guardian ad Litem staff and volunteers. The work being done through the program is very important in that it helps so many kids and the families throughout this region. A copy of the resolution is hereby incorporated as part of the minutes and is contained in Exhibit Book XLI, Page 9.3. ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF HOUSE BILL 409 Chairman White reported the Board is being asked to adopt a resolution in support of House Bill 409. House Bill 409 would direct state agencies to modify employment practices in an effort to reduce barriers to employment for individuals with a criminal history to successfully reintegrate them. Commissioner Kusek read the resolution into the record. Chairman White asked for direction from the Board. Motion: Commissioner Zapple MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner Kusek, to adopt the resolution in support of House Bill 409. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Chairman White recognized Frankie Roberts, with Leading Into New Communities (LINC), Inc. who has been instrumental in moving this legislation forward. Commissioner Zapple stated that support for House Bill 409 addresses one of the main goals of New Hanover County’s Local Reentry Council. This resolution in support sends a positive message to the State Legislature with the hope that the employment practices which have been adopted by New Hanover County in July of 2016 can be adopted statewide. A copy of the resolution is hereby incorporated as part of the minutes and is contained in Exhibit Book XLI, Page 9.4. PRESENTATION OF SERVICE AWARDS AND INTRODUCTION OF NEW EMPLOYEES County Manager Coudriet recognized the following employees receiving a retirement award: Tommy Grady, II, Sheriff’s Office, retiring with twenty-five years of service Marva Sneed, Information Technology, retiring with thirty-four years of service Chairman White presented a retirement award to the retirees and the Commissioners expressed appreciation and thanked them for their years of dedicated service. County Manager Coudriet requested the following employees to step forward to receive service awards: Five Years: Marcia Andrews, Social Services Gia Long, Information Technology Shannon Vaughn, Library Fifteen Years: Karen Graham, Social Services Twenty Years: Erica Price-Pollock, Social Services Kimberly Roane, Environmental Management Twenty-Five Years: Sue Phiel, Social Services Kelly Redenbaugh, Social Services Chairman White presented a service award to each person and the Commissioners expressed appreciation and thanked each one for their years of dedicated service. County Manager Coudriet requested the following new employees to stand and be introduced: James Barnes, Parks Karen Blanks, Health Lisa Brown, Health Jennifer Forlines, Social Services Andrew Guldin, Fire Services Sharon Hagewood, Tax Patrick Hall, Sheriff Thomas Hardy, Fire Services Hope Hartwigsen, Social Services Christina Heffren, Community Justice Services Christopher Kiel, Fire Services Ryan Mills, Fire Services Melissa Ridgeway, Building Safety Steven Schnepf, Fire Services Eric Sesta, Fire Services Travis Souther, Library Christie Young, Social Services NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 34 REGULAR MEETING, MAY 21, 2018 PAGE 121 Jessica Zacharias, Library The Commissioners welcomed the employees to County Government and wished them success in their new positions. PRESENTATION OF WILMINGTON DOWNTOWN, INC. (WDI) UPDATE Wilmington Downtown, Inc. (WDI) Chair Tom Davis and WDI President and CEO Ed Wolverton presented an update of WDI, highlighting the following:  2017-2018 WDI Board of Directors: Zach Adams, First Bank; Rob Beale, WM Jordan; Sharon Boyd, UNCW; Phoebe Bragg, Residents of Old Wilmington; Blair Brown, Dreams of Wilmington; Nancy Bullock, The Cotton Exchange; Dawn Carter, First Bank; Mave Clare, Convention Center; Tom Davis, CityBlock Apartments; Erris Dunston, City of Wilmington; Hank Estep, Griffin Estep Benefit Group; Margaret Haynes, City of Wilmington; Deb Hays, Intracoastal Realty; Thomas Harris, Front Street Brewery; Clark Henry, ciii Associates; Jeff Hovis, Cape Fear Formal Wear; Mike Lardieri, HomesforsaleWilmington.com; Billy King, Wilmington Business Development; Sylvia Kochler, Residents of Old Wilmington; Connie Lincoln, Manifest; Eric Laut, Hell’s Kitchen; Cathey Luna, Luna Ad; Elizabeth Marion, Elite Innovations; Laura Miller, LS3P; Rachel Nadeau, Cape Fear Community College; Paul Pascarosa, Headwater Environmental; Daniel Pena, JC Print; Tim Neathery, PPD; Tyler Pegg, Coldwell Banker Commercial; Jennifer Rigby, New Hanover County; Dane Scalise, Dane Scalise Attorneys; Colin Tarrant, Smith Moore Leatherwood; Spruill Thompson, Cape Fear Commercial; John Walker, First Citizens Bank; Stephen Whitney, Architect; John Wilse, Wilmington Wine; Rob Zapple, New Hanover County  Overview:  3.1 million square feet of commercial space (660,000 leasable)  $719 million total value  10,909+ employees  880+ businesses  2,114+ residents  155 shops, boutiques, and salons  102 restaurants and bars  6,016 publicly owned parking spaces  Downtown Economic Progress January 1-December 31, 2017:  New Businesses: 46  Estimated New Jobs: 304.5  New Entrepreneur Ventures: 14  Business Expansion/Retention: 10  New Investment: $67.5 million:  51 Renovation and construction projects generating $10.6 million  171 Property acquisitions generating $56.9 million in sales  Projects Under Way/Announced: $206.6 million  Work Committee:  Business Recruitment: 24 prospects  Business Launch Events: 13 businesses  Loan Guarantee Program  Economic Series Luncheon:  Trends: Winston Salem  Growth and Development  Over 320+ attendees  Economic Series Growler:  Four investors highlighted; over 265+ attendees  Commercial Property Showcase:  30+ brokers; toured five properties  Enjoy Committee:  Downtown Lifestyle Tour:  10 properties  120+ attendees  Free Scavenger Hunts: 350+ attendance over four hunts  Small Business Saturday  Police Statistics and Reports  Downtown Wilmington Top Producer of the Year (with Cape Fear Realtors Association)  Benjamin Halterman Award (with Historic Wilmington Foundation)  Play Committee:  15 Downtown Sundown Concerts:  33,000+ attendees; generate customer traffic; family friendly; fundraiser for WDI and others  Wells Fargo Golf Tourney: Play A Round Downtown with Scavenger Hunt, mini-golf, concerts, shuttle info booth  Social Media Growth: 8.9%  Farmer’s Market  Event Logistics NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 34 REGULAR MEETING, MAY 21, 2018 PAGE 122  Dream Committee:  Project Grace with New Hanover County  Water Street Parking Deck Redevelopment  PARKing Day  Conceptual plans: Fence at Princess and Front Streets, landscaping, hanging flower baskets  Urban Planning Involvement:WAVE Transit, Greater Downtown, North Waterfront Park  Advocacy and Operations:  Clean opinion from independent auditor; quarterly networking with 75+ attendance per event; Bring It Downtown with Downtown Business Alliance (DBA); weekly e-news; ombudsman for government services; downtown parking advisory committee; Convention Center authority; Vision 2020 committee; and nine new board members  Municipal Service District (MSD):  Awarded bid to manage  Recruited and hired Allied Universal  Seven-member Ambassador Team:  Safety and cleanliness; 3,900+ hours foot patrol; 683 business contacts; 563 hospitality assistance; Cleaned 171 sticker locations; 59 panhandler interactions  Façade matching grant  Landscaping matching grant  Social media outreach via part-time Content Creation position  Upcoming Projects:  Project Grace Request for Qualifications (RFQ)  Shopping, dining, entertainment guide; bike share evaluation with the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO); loan guarantee program refinements; communications expansion; Bring It Downtown! (with DBA and City of Wilmington); lifestyle tour; Sundown Concert series; kiosk sign replacement; and Have a Heart – Give Smart  Data Driven Results:  Tax base for downtown Wilmington: $496.8 million  Ten largest taxpayers in New Hanover County: 1. Duke Energy, Inc.: $453.9 million 2. Corning, Inc.: $238.1 million 3. General Electric Co.: $228.4 million 4. River Ventures: $77.9 million 5. Lsref3 Bravo LLC: $73.0 million 6. Walmart: $64.8 million 7. Mayfaire Town Center: $64.6 million 8. Fortron Industries LLC: $63.2 million 9. Centre Independence LLC (Mall): $54.1 million 10. Bellsouth Telephone Co.: $48.7 million  Total Central Business District for all properties: $719,212,000 (which includes New Hanover County, City of Wilmington, Cape Fear Community College, churches, etc.)  Changes to Taxable Property Values: New Hanover County City of Wilmington Central Business District 2011 $34.1 billion $14.0 billion $376.1 million 2017 $33.3 billion $13.6 billion $496.6 million % Change -2.4% -2.9% +32.0%  Still recovering from recession; downtown’s growth is uplifting the entire local economy; and the public-private partnership is working Mr. Wolverton expressed appreciation to the Board for its support over the years of WDI. Commissioner Zapple thanked Mr. Davis and Mr. Wolverton for the work done over the past year, particularly with only two staff persons. He recognized the incoming president of the WDI Board of Directors, Dane Scalise. The information presented shows that downtown is an economic engine for all of the County. Chairman White thanked Mr. Davis and Mr. Wolverton for the presentation. NEW HANOVER COUNTY LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD ANNUAL UPDATE New Hanover County (NHC) Library Advisory Board Chair Amy Damutz presented the annual update, highlighting the following:  Highlights from the Past Year:  Traditional measures of library usage continue to be solid. 750,000 people visited a New Hanover County Library in 2017 and 1.3 million items were checked out.  The library’s role as a community hub remains strong with 31,700 people attending meetings in library spaces. Library staff offered over 3,000 programs for all ages. These included children’s programs such as story time and STEM activities as well as craft and educational programs for teens and adults. These include everything from crocheting to escape rooms to legal clinics.  The Virtual Library offers access to reliable vetted news and information resources. These were searched 334,000 times in the past year.  Library Strategic Plan: NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 34 REGULAR MEETING, MAY 21, 2018 PAGE 123  Mission: To enrich and enhance the quality of life of each individual we touch.  Vision: An exciting destination where people gather, ideas flourish, and the information and technology resources needed for a community to prosper are made freely available.  Every year the Library Advisory Board reviews the library’s strategic plan.  Updates were considered in light of New Hanover County’s new strategic plan and library programs were identified that support County objectives.  Library Strategic Priorities 2018-2023:  Recruit and place the right talent:  Effectively train and engage the workforce; build an effective organization; continuously improve facilities; provide exceptional customer service; review strategic alignment; and maximize library operations  Strengthen stakeholder relationships:  Provide cutting-edge technology; develop sustainable funding; build strong partnerships; develop quality information, resources, and collections; add facilities and staff to meet growth;  Creating library experiences that matter:  Be a welcoming and dynamic destination; provide a wealth of resources; foster literacy and technology competency; exceed community expectations; and deliver exceptional services and experiences  Key Performance Indicators:  Customer experience:  Circulation; number of library visits; library visits per capita; number of adult and children’s programs; number of internet sessions; and visits to the library webpage  Stewardship:  Use of online databases; number of reference transactions; reference transactions per capita; circulation per capita; and percent of budget funded locally  Operations:  Cost of reference transactions; cost to circulate an item; cost of materials per capita; percent of circulation transactions performed by the customer; and average attendance at children’s programs  The Organization:  Material and information fill rate; material turnover rate; customer satisfaction rate; and per capita expenditure  New Hanover County Strategic Alignment:  Intelligent Growth and Economic Development: Encourage development of complete communities in the unincorporated county:  Libraries are an essential part of complete communities. According to The Urban Institute’s Making Cities Stronger: Public Library Contributions to Local Economic Development:  Public libraries in mixed-use and residential developments contribute to safety and quality of life  Public libraries attract foot traffic and can serve the anchor tenant function in commercial areas without directly competing with local businesses  Library development enhances local businesses and neighborhoods:  Pleasure Island Branch: since moving to the Snow’s Cut Shopping Center in late 2015 there has been an increase in usage. The number of children’s programs last year was double the number in 2015. 75,000 items checked out of the Pleasure Island Branch last year. Neighboring businesses have noted significant foot traffic from library visitors.  Pine Valley Branch: at 19,541 square feet, the building is three times the size of the overcrowded Myrtle Grove Branch. The new children’s space will be nearly as large as the current Myrtle Grove Library. The building is one-third complete, on budget, and expected to open January 2019. The new branch is strategically located adjacent to the cross-city trail and accessible from both South 17th Street and South College Road. The library has a great working relationship with Fulton Station.  Adult Outreach (ALOHA):  The library provides enhanced quality of life service throughout the lifespan. The Adult Outreach program, ALOHA visits over 50 sites in New Hanover, bringing materials to hundreds of elderly, disabled and homebound residents.  ALOHA recently started a collaboration with Meals on Wheels volunteers to deliver and pick library materials during regular visits.  The library also supports community book clubs through its Book-Club-in-a-Bag program, which serves over 50 book clubs with access to dozens of high quality book sets packaged with author bios and discussion questions.  Outcome: Align policies and business practices to support the development of complete communities  Superior Education and Workforce: Promote early learning that ensures life-long resiliency:  Library programming and outreach services prepare children for school:  The children’s outreach staff targets at-risk children with several programs throughout the county promoting early literacy and kindergarten readiness skills:  NHC Public Library supports all 641 students in New Hanover County’s NC Public Pre-K classrooms with the addition of Mosley in 2017. Forty New Hanover County child care centers are also served. The library provides bags of books for children to take home weekly and organizes parent support groups. Pre-K classrooms receive sets NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 34 REGULAR MEETING, MAY 21, 2018 PAGE 124 of library books monthly as well as math and science activity kits to enhance the learning environment.  The library’s Reach Out and Read program continues to serve about 1,750 children receiving pediatric care at MedNorth, Kidzcare Pediatrics, and Wilmington Health.  Connecting Libraries and Schools for Success (CLASS) Project Initiative:  Launched December 1, enabling students at New Hanover County (NHC) schools to use their student ID as a library card. Students can check out two items and have full access to a wide range of online resources, which includes the ability to chat live with trained tutors 24/7.  As part of the CLASS Project initiative, the NHC Public Library has made Tumble Books available to all New Hanover County public school students via their school ID numbers, raising Tumble Books views per month ten to fifty times the previous year’s usage:  August: 187  September: 174  October: 232  November: 394  December: 5,377  Tumble Book Library is an online collection of animated high-quality children’s picture books designed to teach the joy of reading while enhancing literacy skills. Children can enjoy the books by listening, reading along with highlighted text, or reading independently, making the collection applicable to a wide range of ages from preschool to middles elementary grades.  Another measure of the program’s success is increased usage of NC Kids Digital Library. In October 2017 the library had 73 users. It currently has 973 users and 65% of these are CLASS Project accounts.  Outcome: Every child entering kindergarten in NHC has the emotional, social, and physical opportunity to succeed and to, ultimately, perform at grade level  Superior Public Health and Public Safety: Increase access to programs to prevent and reduce obesity  The library collaborates with Fire, Health, and Social Services to offer collections, programs, and services to improve public health and safety:  Consumer Health Library, eResources, public programs:  In the coming year the library will be working with New Hanover County Fire on joint programming for children and with the Health Department for informational programs for adults. There is current collaboration with Social Services, using grant funds to furnish family visitation rooms with books and educational games. Work is also being done with Social Services to educate foster parents on resources available for families at the library.  Outcome: Community knows risks of obesity and individuals can equitably pursue a life that mitigates risk Ms. Damutz concluded the presentation stating that with the support of the County Commissioners in the year ahead, the NHC Public Library looks forward to creating more library experiences that matter. Commissioner Zapple stated it is an exciting time for our NHC Public Library and the library team is doing great work. The data presented today shows how the library system is actually growing and becoming more important and clearly the children's programming is dominating part of this growth. He thinks the ALOHA program is a brilliant idea, pushing it out, with Meals on Wheels picking up and delivering. He thanked Ms. Damutz and the library team for the good report and all the work they have been doing. Commissioner Barfield stated that the library for him is a special place. He enjoys going there on Wednesdays and Thursdays and seeing story time. He would take his eldest daughter, who is now 26, to story time and normally be the only dad in the room, but he loved hearing the stories and seeing how excited the kids were. He is excited about the new Pine Valley branch and seeing the structure being built there, but is also excited about what's going to happen downtown with Project Grace and reimagining what a library can be downtown. He thanked Library Director Harry Tuchmayer and his team for all the great work they do. Commissioner Kusek stated that one of the best days she had was a few weeks ago when she asked Mr. Tuchmayer if it would be ok for her to read to the kids at the library. She said if a person wants to have 30 minutes where you get your mind off everything else, go read to kids at the library. It was absolutely wonderful for her and it will not be the last time she participates. She thinks it is great to see the kind of work that everyone is doing and especially the people volunteering. She thanked Mr. Tuchmayer and the team for their hard work. Chairman White thanked Ms. Damutz and Mr. Tuchmayer for the presentation. ADOPTION OF BUDGET AMENDMENT 18-063 TO FUND THE CAROLINA AND KURE BEACH COASTAL STORM DAMAGE REDUCTION EVENT County Engineer Jim Iannucci stated that the Board is being asked to approve a budget amendment pertaining to the coastal storm damage construction projects for Carolina and Kure Beaches which are done every three years. The cost sharing of these projects is 65 percent federal and 35 percent non-federal (local match). Due to federal funds being secured earlier than anticipated this year, the US Army Corps of Engineers (ACES) has requested the local match portion be paid by June 4, 2018. This will allow for early bidding to obtain more favorable pricing and ensure NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 34 REGULAR MEETING, MAY 21, 2018 PAGE 125 the projects are done within the environmental window. Staff is not trying to move these projects up or modify them. The projects will be done this winter under normal schedule. This just provides the benefit to get out the project out to bid ahead of others and is the same amount of funds in the FY19 budget. Chairman White asked the Board for direction. Motion: Vice-Chairman Watkins MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner Zapple, to adopt Budget Amendment 18-063 to fund the non-federal cost share portion of the FY19 Carolina and Kure Beach Coastal Storm Damage Reduction events. In response to Board questions, County Manager Coudriet stated that the 50% local match would come from Room Occupancy Tax (ROT) funds. Regarding the local beach towns each contributing 17.5%, County Manager Coudriet stated that his recollection from the agreements from a number of years ago is that those set asides were in the event that there was not federal or state participation. The agreements have expired and he is unsure where we are in the process of trying to recapture commitments to that. Again, they were in the event that federal funds were not available. The ROT fund currently has a balance in excess of $35 million and takes into account the funds that were withdrawn for the Wrightsville Beach project. Regarding the sustainability of the ROT fund moving forward, Chief Financial Officer Lisa Wurtzbacher stated that if the model remains the way it is with the federal and state participation, it's sustainable for quite a while. Obviously that changes if federal or state monies go away. Hearing no further discussion, Chairman White asked for a vote on the motion on the floor. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. A copy of budget amendment 18-063 is hereby incorporated as part of the minutes and is contained in Exhibit Book XLI, Page 9.5. ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF INSTALLMENT FINANCING CONTRACT WITH SOUTH STATE BANK TO FINANCE THE ACQUISITION OF PURCHASE OF PIERCE ENFORCER PUMPER AND SELF CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUS Chairman White stated that the Board is being asked to consider a resolution authorizing the execution and delivery of installment financing contract with South State Bank to finance the acquisition of purchase of Pierce Enforcer Pumper and Self Contained Breathing Apparatus. He further stated that unless Chief Financial Officer Lisa Wurtzbacher had a presentation, he would entertain a motion from the Board to adopt the resolution. Motion: Commissioner Zapple MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner Kusek, to adopt a resolution authorizing the execution and delivery of installment financing contract with South State Bank to finance the acquisition of purchase of Pierce Enforcer Pumper and Self Contained Breathing Apparatus. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Chairman White thanked Ms. Wurtzbacher for providing the information in the agenda packet. A copy of the resolution is hereby incorporated as part of the minutes and is contained in Exhibit Book XLI, Page 9.6. APPROVAL OF DECLARATION OF COVENANTS, CONDITIONS, AND RESTRICTIONS FOR OAK GROVE CEMETERY AND FLEMINGTON CEMETERY Assistant County Manager Tim Burgess stated the Board is being asked to approve the placement of covenants, conditions, and restrictions on two cemeteries that are owned by the County. The first one is the Oak Grove Cemetery, which is located on 17th Street. Three parcels of that cemetery face 17th Street. The other parcel fronts both 16th and 17th Streets. It was established by the City of Wilmington in September 1870 and ownership was transferred to the County in 1882. The cemetery was used for both indigent and public burials. It is estimated there are a minimum of 6,000 graves that remain at the cemetery. In 1961, 17th Street was extended through the cemetery, th so the graves that were located in the portion that is now 17 Street were transferred to another cemetery, which is the Flemington Cemetery. At the same time all of the headstones for the entire cemetery were transferred over to the Flemington site and it is unknown as to why. The graves remain on the four parcels but the head stones are not there. The last burial took place in 1961 prior to the road being extended. Flemington Cemetery, which is located at 612 Sampson Road, was acquired in the early 1960s for the purpose of relocating all of the headstones from Oak Grove Cemetery and the graves that were located in the area of the th extension of 17 Street. In 1999, 162 graves from Pine Tree Cemetery, which was previously owned by New Hanover County, were relocated to the cemetery. In addition, at least 10 burials have taken place since the property was acquired. In order to preserve the historic character and the solemnity and dignity of the two cemeteries, staff is requesting that the Board of Commissioners adopt a Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions. Following are the main points of the Declaration: 1. The properties would be preserved and maintained as burial sites. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 34 REGULAR MEETING, MAY 21, 2018 PAGE 126 2. No burial monuments or markers and no caskets or human remains can be removed or disinterred without the express written consent of the Board of Commissioners, following a public hearing and a four-fifths majority vote. 3. No non-county owned structures or buildings can be erected without the express written consent of the Board of Commissioners, following a public hearing and a four-fifths majority vote. 4. Improvements, modifications or construction, undertaken by the county for a public purpose, only requires approval by the county manager. 5. The Declaration is for a term of twenty (20) years which contains a provision for automatic renewals. 6. The Declaration can be revoked or amended at any time by the Board of Commissioners, following a public hearing and a four-fifths majority vote. thth Commissioner Barfield stated that he is sure that many who drive down 16 and 17 Streets don’t realize there is a cemetery there. He asked Mr. Burgess if family members still in the area recognize they have family buried there and if there are any records of names of individuals buried there. Mr. Burgess stated that there are records, County Engineering CAD Specialist Bambi Karabin has the list, but the list is not complete. The County has been approached within the last year from a family member of someone who was buried there, inquiring about the cemetery and shared some desires for the cemetery itself. Staff is looking into potential signage out there possibly in the future to recognize both parcels that front 16th and 17th Streets as a cemetery. Commissioner Barfield stated that it’s good the County attempted to clean up the site and he knows there have been homeless camps there over the years. He feels it is always good to preserve the dignity of those that have been buried. He understands that staff is bringing this forward because they have had a number of individuals approach the County about possibly purchasing the site. Several years ago, he was also approached by a group who wanted to remove some graves to extend a road to gain access to another property. He thinks it's important to codify this to ensure that the graves remain in their present state and not be removed for the sake of development. Mr. Burgess confirmed that through the years there have been unsolicited proposals. While this will not prevent development from happening in future, it would set the bar rather high and increase the likelihood that these properties would remain as burial sites. Vice-Chairman Watkins thanked Mr. Burgess for his presentation. He stated that according to a 1980 Harvard Law article it was noted that 128,000 acres had been placed in the same type of conservation protection. By 2003 it was approximately five million acres. He stated that he would gladly support this request. In response to Board questions, Deputy County Attorney Kemp Burpeau stated that the twenty-year automatic renewal language could be set to whatever number of years the Board desired. It is essentially legalese because of common law conditions and restrictions that were not favored by some courts. It could also be renewed by Board action rather than automatic renewal if the Board so desired. Mr. Burgess stated that the desire is for it to remain in perpetuity. There was discussion about placing either a temporary or permanent easement on the property, but one does not typically do this to their own property. Also, with those types of easements it cannot be in perpetuity. Staff desires that it be in perpetuity and would request that it have an automatic renewal every twenty years to show the desire for it to remain a burial site. Anything short of twenty years the Board could take action with a four-fifths vote. If the Board didn't take that action, of course it would automatically renew. Chairman White thanked Mr. Burgess and Mr. Burpeau for the information. He asked for direction from the Board. Motion: Vice-Chairman Watkins MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner Barfield, to approve the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions for Oak Grove Cemetery and Flemington Cemetery. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS Appointment to the New Hanover County Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee Chairman White reported that up to seven vacancies exist on the New Hanover County Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee with one application available for consideration. He asked for direction from the Board. Without objection, the Board appointed Carolyn Jackson to serve an initial one-year term on the New Hanover County Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee with the term to expire May 31, 2019. Appointment to the New Hanover County/City of Wilmington Community Relations Advisory Committee Chairman White reported that one vacancy exists on the New Hanover County/City of Wilmington Community Relations Advisory Committee in the Faith Community category with two applications available for consideration. He asked for direction from the Board. Commissioner Barfield moved to appoint Elise Rocks in the Faith Community category. Hearing no further nominations, Chairman White called for a vote on the nomination of Elise Rocks. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 34 REGULAR MEETING, MAY 21, 2018 PAGE 127 Motion: Commissioner Barfield MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner Zapple, to appoint Elise Rocks to serve an unexpired term on the New Hanover County/City of Wilmington Community Relations Advisory Committee in the Faith Community category with the term to expire September 30, 2020. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS Chairman White announced that no one signed up to speak under public comment. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Chairman White adjourned the meeting at 10:08 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Kymberleigh G. Crowell Clerk to the Board Please note that the above minutes are not a verbatim record of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners meeting. The entire proceedings are available for review and checkout at all New Hanover County Libraries and online at www.nhcgov.com.