Planning Board Chairman Robert Hayter's goal was to whittle down the twenty-one-member Land Use Planning Steering Committee to a more manageable working group. But, after thirty minutes of debate during the Moore County Board of Commissioners' Tuesday, February 7 meeting, the panel had grown to twenty-eight-members.
Commissioner Tim Lea proposed the following changes to the Committee: add six new members, remove one member, and give County employees and elected officials serving on the Committee non-voting status. The Commissioners rescinded their initial appointments to the panel, made in early January, and ultimately added seven new members, while removing one previous appointee.
Commissioner Lea also proposed eliminating all committee members who reside in a municipality, since towns and cities typically have their own land use plans; but the other Commissioners felt the Committee should represent all residents of Moore County, including those who live in towns and villages.
“I think it’s wrong,” said Caddell. “There do need to be a few of the towns represented.”
Commissioner Jimmy Melton agreed with Caddell: “These people need to be pulled together to discuss their issues.”
Given that sixty-one percent of County taxes are paid by residents of municipalities, Caddell urged the Commissioners to keep representation from the towns on the Committee.
In a suggestion that met with a warmer reception, Commissioner Lea proposed that the Board establish and present a mission statement to the Committee before it begins working on the Land Use Plan.
“We’ve got the cart in front of the horse,” said Lea, if a mission statement is not put in place before the Committee begins its work.
Commissioner Nick Picerno agreed that it would be useful to create a mission statement as a starting point for the Committee.
The seven members added to the Land Use Plan Steering Committee include: Archie Kelly, David Allred, Lewin Blue, Terry Bryant, John Blue, Sandy Stewart, and, from the League of Women Voters, Carolyn Mealing. Billy Carter was removed form the list.
Planning Director Debra Ensminger was also added to the committee, but she will serve as an information source and will not be able to vote on the plan. Three other non-voting members will include: Ron Maness from the Airport Authority, Linda Gore from Cooperative Extension, and Public Works Director Randy Gould.
Other members without voting rights will include elected officials serving on the committee: Nancy Fiorillo, David McNeill, and Betsy Mofield, the mayors of Pinehurst, Southern Pines, and Aberdeen.
Commissioner Lea, who chaired the Steering Committee for the County's first Land Use Plan, said the eighteen months devoted to updating the Land Use Plan will be “a pretty intense process for those involved. It’s the most impacting process we [the Commissioners] will ever go through or be a part of.”
The Steering Committee's first meeting has not yet been scheduled.
Citizen Recognition Award Presented
Also during their Tuesday, February 7 meeting, the Commissioners awarded a Citizen Recognition Award to Cindy and Jim Hudson for the help they provide to Moore County Animal Control in finding good homes for displaced horses.
Though Animal Control lacks equine facilities, the department has rescued 140 horses and found homes for over 100 of them. The horses are placed on a seven-acre farm until they can be adopted.
Commissioner Jimmy Melton, who serves on the Citizen’s Pet Responsibility Board, presented the award to the Hudsons, saying, “Moore County must be commended for what they do for animals. People who step up . . . these are special God-sent people in this County.”
Commissioner Nick Picerno congratulated Animal Control officer Frank Ringelberg for his work placing the equines. Picerno said he is exploring the option of setting up a County account that would accept donations to help with rescuing and finding homes for neglected or abandoned horses.
Planning Department
The Commissioners called a public hearing for Tuesday, March 6 on the closure of .82 miles of Airport Road.
In November 2011, the North Carolina Department of Transportation [NCDOT] informed the County that they were abandoning any future maintenance of the road. In January, the Planning Board unanimously approved the closure of the road. All adjacent landowners to the road have signed a petition in favor of closing the road.
The Commissioners approved a request by Planning Director Debra Ensminger to change two Planning Department job titles. Code Enforcement Supervisors will now be known as "Code Enforcement and Permitting Supervisors" and the Assistant Planning Director will be known as the "Planning Supervisor."
Public Works
At the request of Public Works Director Randy Gould, the Board approved 2007 Local Water Supply Plans for several individual water systems within the County, including Addor, The Carolina, East Moore Water District, Hyland Hills/Niagara, Pinehurst, Robbins, Seven Lakes, and Vass.
All public and privately owned water systems in the County are required to submit Water Supply Plans every five years. The County recently received approval of the 2007 plans from the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The Board approved a $50,000 change order to a $1.6 million contract with Terry’s Plumbing for the Little River regional lift station, which will connect sewers in Vass with the County's Addor wastewater treatment plant. The change was necessary to achieve separation between water and wastewater lines; the project's contingency fund will cover the additional costs.
Land Swap with Pinehurst
The Board approved a letter of intent to initiate a process in which the County and the Village of Pinehurst would swap equal parcels of land measuring 6500 square feet.
The letter of intent will enable the Village to apply for a NC Department of Commerce grant as part of an economic development package for the relocation of a business to Pinehurst. The County owns property, used for Public Utilities storage tanks, adjacent to an area where the Village intends to add sidewalks and parking.
Resolution Supporting Moore County Farm Service Agency
The Board approved a resolution opposing a proposed consolidation of Farm Service Agency offices that would combine the Moore County office with the one in Lee County. The Farm Service Agency is responsible for administering federal farm loan and commodity programs.
The US Department of Agriculture is consolidating offices due to budget pressures.
“We have twice the farmers and twice the land than Lee County,” said Commissioner Tim Lea, adding that it would make more sense for residents of Lee and Montgomery Counties to come to Moore County.
Montgomery County farmers currently utilize the Farm Service Agency in Moore County.
Resolution Opposing UN Agenda 21
At the request of Commissioner Picerno, the Board approved a resolution opposing United Nations Agenda 21.
“What Agenda 21 stands for is 180 degrees from what Moore County stands for,” said Commissioner Picerno.
Agenda 21 is a lengthy planning document that was produced in 1992 by the 178 member nations, including the United States, who participated in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil. The plan's stated purpose is to create among those members nations a "global partnership for sustainable development."
Recently, the twenty-year old document has attracted the attention of right-of-center political commentators, who believe it serves as a blueprint for undermining American values, private property rights, and capitalism. That point of view has been adopted by a number of Tea Party groups, including some in North Carolina. The Board of Commissioners of Gaston County, near Charlotte, approved an anti-Agenda 21 resolution in late January.
The entire Agenda 21 document is available on the United Nations' website.
According to the resolution approved by Moore County's Board of Commissioners, Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of “extreme” environmentalism, social engineering, and global political control, to be realized through socialist and communist redistribution of wealth.
The resolution alleges that "Agenda 21 is being covertly pushed into communities throughout the United States of American through the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives [ICLEI]," and "other Green or Alternative projects."
Commissioner Kennedy encouraged citizens to visit the United Nations Agenda 21 website, saying “all the information you need to know is right there from the horse’s mouth. I am glad the Board is taking a stance against this.”
Kennedy asked that the resolution be forwarded to other counties in North Carolina.
According to the resolution, Agenda 21 "views the American way of life of private property ownership, single family homes, private car ownership and individual travel choices, and privately owned farms; all as destructive to the environment."
The Board will send the resolution to elected representatives in Raleigh and Washington.
Other Business
In other business during the February 9 Board of Commissioners meeting:
• During member comments, Charlie Carlton of Pinehurst, who serves as Chairman of the Moore County Aging Council, urged the Commissioners to continue video taping their meetings. “I think it’s an outstanding mission,” said Carlton. “Our Council unanimously supports it.” Commissioner Lea last year proposed video taping the Commissioners' meetings and making them available through the County website. The Board has yet to make a decision on the matter, pending a cost analysis.
• Also during member comments, Susan Carlton asked the Commissioners to consider assembling a task force to tackle poverty in Moore County. According to Carlton, Moore County is the sixth fastest growing County in North Carolina in terms of poverty.
• The Board approved the Quail Haven Pleasant Living Healthcare waiver, regarding the redemption of bonds and health care revenue bonds series 1987. The Board also approved the removal of Commissioner Nick Picerno or any other Commissioner from serving on the facility’s Board in the future.
• Moore County Information Technology Director Darlene Yudell gave the Commissioners a Financial Report to explain the County’s IT Fund Balance.
• The Board approved an increase to the US Food Service Contract with the Moore County Detention Center from $136,000 to $192,000.
