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FEBRUARY 4, 2008
AGENDA
Catawba County Board of Commissioners Meeting
Monday, February 4, 2008, 9:30 a.m.
Robert E. Hibbitts Meeting Room, 1924 Courthouse
30 North College Avenue, Newton, NC

1. Call to Order.

2. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

3. Invocation.

4. Approval of the Minutes from the regular meeting of Tuesday, January 22, 2008.

5. Recognition of Special Guests.

6. Public Comment for items not on the agenda.

7. Presentations:


a. Presentation of Service Side Arm and Badge to Retiring Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Alan Pope.

b. Presentation of the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award to Judy Ikerd, Budget Manager; Jennifer Mace, Budget Analyst II and Katrina Hawkins, Budget Analyst I.


c. Presentation of Certificate of Commendation to the E-News Team.

8. Appointments.

9. Consent Agenda:


a. Delinquent 2007 Real Estate Property Tax.


b. EDA Grant for Catawba Valley Community College.


10. Departmental Reports.


a. Register of Deeds:


Removal of Marriage Certificates for Preservation. Presented by Donna Hicks Spencer, Register of Deeds.


b. Planning:


Deed of Easement for Heritage Greenway. Presented by Jacky Eubanks, Planning Director.

11. Other Items of business.

12. Attorneys’ Report.

13. Manager’s Report.

14. Adjournment.

PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Individuals needing assistance should contact the County Clerk at 465-8990 within a reasonable time prior to the meeting. A telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD) is located in the Government Center and can be reached by dialing 465 8200. Access to the 1924 Courthouse for individuals with disabilities is at the south side (“A” Street). The elevator is located at the north end of the building. Participation in public meetings is without regard to race, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, color, or disability.

INFOTALK/INTERNET
The Catawba County Telephone Information System will allow you to use your touch tone telephone to obtain current information on Catawba County 24 hours a day. Information is updated on a regular basis. Dial 465-8468 and INFOTALK will direct your questions with easy to understand instructions. Reach Catawba County on the Internet at http://www.catawbacountync.gov.

CALENDAR
The next Board of Commissioners meeting will take place on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
PREVIEW OF COUNTY COMMISSION AGENDA
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2008, 9:30 A.M.
ROBERT E. HIBBITTS MEETING ROOM
1924 COURTHOUSE, NEWTON, NC

The Catawba County Board of Commissioners will receive a report from the County Tax Collector on the total amount of unpaid real property taxes for 2007 and consider a resolution authorizing the Tax Collector to advertise delinquent tax liens; an agreement with the United States Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration and Catawba Valley Community College to secure a $1 million grant for the college, and authorization of the removal of marriage certificate binders from the Register of Deeds Office for document preservation, when the Board meets at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, February 4, 2008, in the Robert E. Hibbitts Meeting Room of the 1924 Courthouse at 30 North College Avenue in Newton.

The Board will also consider declaring the service side arm and badge of Sheriff’s Deputy Alan Pope as surplus, and present these items to Deputy Pope on the occasion of his retirement. The Board will recognize the County Budget staff, which has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association for the nineteenth consecutive year, and issue a Certificate of Commendation to the Catawba County E-News Team, to recognize two recent national awards for the e-mailed newsletter, which features information on Catawba County.

PRESENTATIONS
A. The Board will honor Sheriff’s Deputy Alan Pope, who retired, effective February 1, 2008, after 27 years of service with the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office. Under North Carolina General Statute 20-187.2, the Board will consider declaring as surplus the service side arm and badge of Deputy Pope, and present those items to him.

B. The Board will formally present the County's Budget staff with a 2007 Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. The award is presented to local governments that prepare and publish a budget document which is both informative and understandable. Catawba County has now won this award for nineteen consecutive years.

C. The Board will issue a Certificate of Commendation recognizing the Catawba County E-News Team, which developed Catawba County E-News, an e-mailed newsletter with information about Catawba County Government that won a 2007 Silver Circle Award from the City-County Communications and Marketing Association and an Award of Excellence from the National Association of County Information Officers. Those interested in subscribing to Catawba County E-News may visit www.catawbacountync.gov and look for a link that says “Subscribe To Our Newsletter” on the right hand side of the page, or call the County Public Information Office at 828-465-8464.

CONSENT AGENDA
A. The Board will receive a report from Catawba County Tax Collector Jackie Spencer on the total amount of unpaid real property taxes for 2007. Ms. Spencer is expected to report that, as of January 22, 2008, delinquent real property taxes in Catawba County totaled $4,776,460, which represents 7.82% of the 2007 real property levy. The Board will consider adopting a resolution authorizing the Tax Collector to advertise delinquent tax liens, as prescribed under North Carolina Statutes.

B. The Board will consider an agreement with the United States Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) and with Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) to secure a $1 million grant for CVCC. CVCC was recently awarded the grant to help create a simulated hospital on the fifth floor of the Cuyler A. Dunbar Building. As a condition of the grant, the EDA required certain assurances related to the building, to protect its $1 million investment. When the Dunbar Building was built in 2005, its construction was funded by installment purchase financing by the County, using Certificates of Participation, and funding from the State of North Carolina. In order for the County to secure the loan, the Dunbar Building was used as collateral for the financial institution. In the event of a foreclosure, the building and its contents would be sold by a trustee and the proceeds would be distributed to the financing entity to satisfy the outstanding loan. Any excess proceeds would be given back to the County. On October 1, 2007, the Board of Commissioners approved an agreement with the EDA that, in the event the property was sold and excess proceeds remained after payment to the financing entity to satisfy the loan, the County would compensate the EDA for its federal share under the award, from these proceeds. The EDA is now also requiring the County and CVCC to sign a “Covenant of Purpose, Use and Ownership” agreement which obligates the County and CVCC to reimburse the EDA in the event the project financed by the grant, the simulated hospital, is used for a purpose other than specified in the grant.

DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS

A. REGISTER OF DEEDS
1. The Board will consider authorizing the removal of marriage certificates from the Register of Deeds Office for preservation work. The Register of Deeds has begun a four-year plan of preservation of volumes 1 through 41 of the County’s marriage certificates. The preservation process for Volumes 1 through 4 has been completed and those volumes have been returned to the Register of Deeds. Funds for this project have already been appropriated in the 2007-2008 County budget and would fund the preservation of Volumes 5 through 13 of the Marriage Binders. The Board will also consider authorizing the removal of the remaining Marriage Binders (Volumes 14 through 41) for preservation, as funds are allocated in future budgets for this four-year preservation plan.

B. PLANNING
The Board will consider authorizing the County Manager to sign a Deed of Easement for County property that would be involved in a proposed greenway system being developed by the City of Newton. The greenway will run through the City of Newton, connecting areas in the northern part of the city with a section of the Catawba County Government Center Complex, and then with the Westside Jaycees Park and Southside Park. The easement will consist of a 25 foot greenway with a 10 foot paved trail and will include the right to construct facilities for pedestrian, bicycle and emergency vehicle traffic within the easement. The greenway will benefit citizens of Newton as a whole and County employees specifically, providing additional walking areas which will assist the County with a wellness program. The Board previously expressed its support of the greenway project in a June 2, 2004 letter to Newton Mayor Robert Mullinax, which specifically stated the County would assist the city in easement acquisition for the project.

CONTACT: DAVE HARDIN, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER 828-465-8464
 
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