* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. ALL RIGHT. [1. ROLL CALL] [00:00:02] GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYBODY, AND WELCOME TO THE AUGUST 15TH, 2023, UH, MEETING, A REGULAR MEETING OF THE DENWITTY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. CAN WE GET ROLL CALL MR. MOODY? HERE. MR. CHAVIS? HERE. MR. LEE. HERE. MRS. EBRA BONNER HERE. AND DR. MOORE HERE. FIVE MEMBERS PRESENT VOTING. FIVE MEMBERS ARE PRESENT. THANK YOU, SIR. UM, IF YOU WILL STAND WITH ME, WE'LL HAVE OUR INVOCATION AND OUR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. THE INVOCATION WILL BE THE LORD'S PRAYER. OUR FATHER FOR HEAVEN HALL BE THY NAME. THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD, AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US. AND IT IS NOT THE TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FOR AMEN. BUT TH IS THE KINGDOM AND POWER AND THE GLORY FOREVER AND EVIDENT. AMEN. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC OF WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNTO GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH THE LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. ALL RIGHT, NEXT ITEM [4. AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA] IS OUR AMENDMENTS TO THE AGENDA. AND I THINK WE HAVE SOME TODAY. YES, MR. CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD LIKE TO AMEND THE AGENDA. FIRST ON SECTION SIX REPORTS, WE WOULD LIKE TO ADD A B, UH, MR. RUFUSS TYLER IS HERE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION. UM, ALSO SECTION 11, CLOSED SESSION. YOU'RE ALREADY GOING IN UNDER SECTION 2.2 37 11 A THREE. ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY. WE'D LIKE TO ADD THE DESCRIPTION, BROADBAND FIBER HUT. AND THEN SECTION 12, OLD NEW BUSINESS. WE'D LIKE TO ADD AN I, ADAM, UH, B, WHICH IS A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING REVEREND KEVIN M NORTHERN FOR 20TH ANNIVERSARY. PASTORAL AT OLIVE BRANCH. ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA? IF NOT, I ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE AGENDA WITH THE, WITH THE ADDITIONS. SECOND ROLL CALL. MR. MOODY. AYE. MR. CHAVIS? AYE. MR. LEE? AYE. MRS. E. BROWN, BONNER AYE. AND DR. MOORE? AYE. FIVE MEMBERS PRESENT. . ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS [5. CONSENT AGENDA] YOUR CONSENT AGENDA FOR THE DAY. YOU'VE GOT SUMMARY OF CLAIMS, UH, VRA 2019, UH, TAX EXEMPT, BOMB REQUISITION, 45, APPOINTMENT OF THE FIRE MARSHAL, AND SEVERAL SETS OF MINUTES. UM, YOU'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THOSE. ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO THOSE? NO. OKAY. HEARING NONE, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION. SO MOVED. SECOND ROLL CALL. MR. MOODY. AYE. MR. CHAVIS? AYE. MR. LEE? AYE. MRS. EBRA BARN. AYE. AND DR. MOORE? AYE. FIVE MEMBERS PRESENT? VOTING. ALRIGHT, WE'LL MOVE ON TO REPORTS [6.A. Virginia Department Of Transportation Aaron French, Maintenance Operations Manager] AND OUR FRIENDS FROM THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ARE WITH US TODAY. AARON, HOW ARE YOU TODAY? GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M DOING WELL. I HOPE EVERYBODY IS THE SAME. JUST GOT AN UPDATE ON THE BRANCHES ROAD. ALL RUSTIC THERE ABOUT THREE WEEKS OUT FROM, UH, COMPLETION ON THAT PROJECT. WEATHER DEPENDENT, OF COURSE, UM, BUT LOOKS LIKE WITHIN, WITHIN A MONTH THEY'LL BE KNOCKING THAT ONE OUT AND PUTTING A HARD SURFACE DOWN ON THAT ROAD AND GETTING THAT ONE OUT OF THE QUEUE FOR US. UM, OUR TREE TRIMMERS ARE DONE IN THE NORTH END OF THE COUNTY AND THEY'LL BE MOVING DOWN TO THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE COUNTY AND THEY'RE AROUND THE MCKINNEY AREA, UM, IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS AS WELL. UM, OUR SECONDARY MOWING CYCLE IS COMPLETE. WE ARE PLANNING ON DOING ANOTHER MOWING CYCLE, PRIMARY AND SECONDARY, UH, LATER ON IN THE SEASON AS WELL. UM, WE FILLED THE HOLE IN THE SHOULDER ON SCOTT'S ROAD. THE CREW DID FIND A PIPE IN OUT THERE THAT IS LIKELY THE CAUSE OF THAT ISSUE. UM, THAT PIPE HAS BEEN ORDERED AND THEY WILL REPLACE THAT PIPE PROBABLY BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK. UM, AND SOLVE THAT ONE FOR GOOD. POTHOLE WAS PATCHED ON 6 42 AS WELL. DIDN'T NEED TO DIG OUT. IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS JUST A DELAMINATION ISSUE WITH THE NEW ASPHALT PATCH THAT WAS PUT DOWN. UM, AND PATCHING WAS DONE AT 2 26 AT SUNSET DRIVE AS WELL. RIGHT THERE IN THE RADIUS. THERE WAS HOLE FORMING. OKAY. UM, COUPLE OF ADMINISTRATIVE THINGS. WE DID RECEIVE BIDS FOR OUR NEW ASPHALT PATCHING CONTRACT. WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DO ANY ASPHALT PATCHING, UH, SINCE ABOUT MAY DUE TO A, UH, CONTRACT NON-RENEWAL. SO LOOKING FORWARD TO BE ABLE TO START DOING SOME MECHANIZED ASPHALT PATCHING AGAIN, HAVE, [00:05:01] UH, HAVE SOME IN THE QUEUE . UM, AND WE HAVE BEGUN PREPARING FOR THE COMING SNOW SEASON. NOT THAT IT IS ON ANYBODY'S MIND RIGHT NOW, BUT, UM, I ALREADY HAVE THE INVITATIONS FOR OUR VENDORS TO COME OUT, SIGN UP AND WE'LL START LOOKING AT THAT EQUIPMENT AND PUT MY SNOW PLANS TOGETHER. UM, THAT IS ALL I HAVE THIS AFTERNOON, IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? OKAY. MR. MOODY, ANYTHING IN YOUR DISTRICT? I DON'T HAVE ANY TODAY. UH, A LOT OF FOGGY MORNINGS IN AUGUST, SO BE READY FOR SNOW. UM, . AND THEN, UM, THANK YOU FOR THE SCOTCH ROAD AND AT THE END OF SCOTCH ROAD WHERE Y'ALL CUT, UH, BUSH HOG BACK SO YOU CAN SEE DOWN NASH ROAD. UM, THAT LOOKS REALLY, REALLY GOOD AND EVERYBODY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAS ASKED ME DID I HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT. AND OF COURSE MY ANSWER IS YES, BUT I, I REALLY DIDN'T. UM, BUT, BUT THANK Y'ALL FOR, FOR THAT, THAT THAT WAS A BIG, UH, SAFETY ISSUE AND, AND APPRECIATE YOU GETTING THAT DONE. SO YES SIR. THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE ON HOW YES, SIR. YEAH. BRENDA, CAN YOU, OH, NO, NO, NOT THIS TIME. . I'M GOOD. JUST, JUST ANY UPDATE ON THE FOUR 60, THE SPOT THERE AT BLOODWOOD ROAD. UM, I'M PLANNING ON HAVING A DISCUSSION WITH OUR, UM, CONSTRUCTION, OUR DISTRICT CONSTRUCTION MANAGER NEXT WEEK. MORE THAN LIKELY WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DO ANYTHING AS FAR AS THE PAVING IS CONCERNED BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T HAD THAT CONTRACT. UM, SO I WILL BE DISCUSSING IT WITH THE CONTRACT MANAGER, UH, TO LOOK AT A DIFFERENT CONTRACT BODY TO GET THAT DONE GIVEN IT'S GONNA REQUIRE LIFTING ALL OF THAT CONCRETE OUT OF THERE AND TRYING TO GET IT DONE IN A RATHER QUICK TIMEFRAME. UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO UNDERCUT THE ROAD PROBABLY ABOUT TWO FEET TO BE ABLE TO PULL ALL THAT CONCRETE. THERE IS, RUNS NINE TO 10 INCHES THICK AND THERE'S MUD UNDERNEATH OF IT. SO WE WILL, WE WILL UNDERCUT THE ROAD QUITE A BIT, WHICH WILL LIKELY REQUIRE BARRIER PLACEMENT ALONG THAT IN, UM, OUTSIDE OF THE, OR THE INSIDE OF THE OUTSIDE LANE, UM, FOR SAFETY BECAUSE THERE'LL BE A TWO FOOT DROP THERE BETWEEN THE LANES MM-HMM . WHICH WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE TO END UP MOVING OVER AND BEEFING UP THAT SHOULDER. I KNOW THAT THAT SHOULDER IS PAVED. I DON'T KNOW HOW THICK THAT ASPHALT IS ON THAT SHOULDER THOUGH, SO I'LL GET THAT TESTED. IT, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, PREP WORK WE'LL HAVE TO DO TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING RUNS SMOOTHLY WHEN WE ACTUALLY GO TO CONSTRUCTION, BUT LOOKING AT IT, WORKING ON IT AND I, I GET TO DRIVE PAST IT EVERY DAY SO THAT IT'S CERTAINLY ON MY MIND. WELL, UH, REASON I'M ASKING IS WE'RE, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL DAYS AWAY FROM SCHOOL STARTING, SO THINGS CHANGE IN THAT CORRIDOR DURING THAT TIME. ABSOLUTELY. SO JUST, JUST KIND OF GIVING MY FRIENDS WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AN UPDATE ON FOUR 60. OKAY. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. YEAH, AARON, I, I GOT A CALL FROM A, A FARMER AT, SO THE LOCATION OF US ROUTE ONE ON THE ACCELERATION LANE GOING ON I 85 SOUTHBOUND THAT THAT CLOVER LEAF THERE HAS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF JOHNSON GRASS THROUGH THAT WHOLE AREA. AND IT'S, IT'S GROWN UP. SO IF YOU'RE GOING ON THE RAMP TO YOUR LEFT, YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, JOHNSON GRASS GETS REALLY HIGH. UH, THE QUESTION WAS DO WE STILL HAVE A JOHNSON GRASS IN OUR ORDINANCE IN WHICH WE DO, UM, NOT THAT WE'RE GONNA FIND THE STATE, BUT IF, IF THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR Y'ALL TO GET THAT CUT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE, THE CUT SCHEDULE IS ON THAT CLOVER LEAF, BUT YOU DO HAVE A JOHNSON GRASS ISSUE THERE, SO. OKAY. I APPRECIATE IT. I KNOW THAT THEY'VE BEEN CUTTING THE INSIDE OF, OF THOSE CLOVER LEAVES FOR THE SITE DISTANCE, BUT NOT THE OUTSIDE ON THE BIWEEKLY SCHEDULE I DROVE THERE. I, I DIDN'T SEE AN ISSUE OF SITE DISTANCE, BUT I DID SEE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF JOHNSON GRASS, SO IT JUST, AS YOU KNOW, AS THAT SEEDS, IT JUST GETS WORSE. YES. SO, YOU KNOW, KEEP IT CUT. YES SIR. I WILL TOUCH BASE WITH THE ADMINIS INTERSTATE ADMINISTRATOR ON THAT AND UH, SEE IF THEY HAVE ANY PLANS TO GET IT CUT. SOUNDS GOOD. OKAY. ALRIGHT. ANY OTHER COMMENTS FOR VDO TODAY? OKAY. ALRIGHT, AARON. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. THANK Y'ALL. THANK YOU. HAVE A GOOD DAY. HAVE A GREAT DAY NOW. ALRIGHT, WE'LL MOVE [Additional Item] ON TO ITEM B UNDER REPORTS. AND THAT IS OUR FRIENDS FROM THE IMPROVEMENT CENTER. MR. TYLER LUPUS. GOOD AFTERNOON. GOOD AFTERNOON, MR. ANA. COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD MEMBERS. HOW YOU DOING? UH, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO COME BEFORE YOU THIS AFTERNOON. I BELIEVE THERE'S A POWERPOINT I THINK THAT WE HAD SENT OVER, UH, OVER, I HAVE PART OF THIS PRESENTATION. [00:10:01] UM, DID I DON'T HAVE A POWERPOINT. I DID NOT. YOU SENT IT TO KAISHA. I SENT IT TO KAISHA, THEN WE GOT AN EMAIL TO SEND IT TO SOMEONE ELSE, WHICH IS MR. GURLEY. I'M MR. GURLEY. AND I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING ON MY, IT'S, I DON'T THINK THAT'S THE LAST NAME, BUT I DO HAVE MY, I BOUGHT IT FOR THAT. COME ON, LET'S GO BABE. LET GO. WASN'T THAT'S ALL I NEEDED. IT WAS PROBABLY, I GOT YOU COVERED. I GOT YOU COVERED MR. CHAIR, IF YOU WOULD GIVE ME A SECOND, I'LL ABSOLUTELY TAKE CARE OF THIS. THAT'S OKAY. WHILE GET THAT, THANK YOU FOR COME, UH, THIS AFTERNOON TO GIVE YOU A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF, UH, THE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION HEAD START PROGRAM HERE WIT IT. AND, UH, TO ASK FOR YOUR HELP. UH, VERY FRANKLY, AS YOU KNOW, UH, BACK IN 2010, UH, THE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION WAS AWARDED THE CONTRACT TO OPERATE THE HEAD START PROGRAM FOR THREE OR FOUR YEAR OLDS AND THEN WIN. AND, UH, SINCE THEN IT'S BEEN RATHER SUCCESSFUL, BUT WE WORK EXTREMELY HARD, UH, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE SERVICE FOR THE FAMILIES AND CHILDREN, UH, HERE IN DEWITT. WE HAD A, I THINK A GOOD WORK RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT, DR. WE AND HER STAFF, UH, THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. UH, BUT THIS YEAR HAS BEEN CHALLENGING AND THAT'S WHY WE COME BEFORE YOU. I DO HAVE SOME OUR STAFF HERE WITH US, UH, ON LEFT THERE WHO HAVE, UH, WORKED ALONG WITH OUR AGENCY. UH, JUST LET ME GO OVER A COUPLE OF THINGS WHILE THEY, THEY'RE GETTING READY. AND MANY OF YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE ALL HAVE DR. FISH GO TO VARIOUS CONFERENCES AND TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION. AND I KNOW YOU HAVE TO TAKE INITIATIVE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ADDRESS THAT THOUGH OVERTOOK THE NEEDS IN YOUR LOCALITY AS THE STATE OF VIRGINIA HAS DONE. LIKEWISE. UM, EARLY CHILD EDUCATION, AS YOU KNOW, UH, IT REALLY IS FROM BIRTH, UH, TO AGE EIGHT, THAT AFFECTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILD BRAIN EARLY ON, UH, FROM AN ARCHITECTURE PERSPECTIVE, WOULD PROVIDE THEM WITH FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE LEARNING. AND NOT ONLY FUTURE LEARNING, BUT THEIR BEHAVIOR AND THEIR HEALTH. AND A STRONG FOUNDATION HELP CHILDREN DEVELOP SKILLS THAT NEED TO BECOME A WELL FUNCTIONING, UH, AS ADULTS AND IN SOCIETY. CHILDREN, BRAIN DEVELOPMENT, CONNECTION. UH, IT IS FASTER FROM THE AGE, UH, ONE TO FIVE YEARS OF AGE IN ANY OTHER TIME IN THEIR LIFESPAN. A STRONG FOUNDATION TO HAVE CHILDREN, TO DEVELOP SKILLS THAT THEY NEED TO BECOME FUNCTIONAL ADULTS. AND I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING WE ALL WANT TO DO IN OUR RESPECTIVE COMMUNITY. SO TODAY WE HAVE A, A BRIEF POWERPOINT ALONG WITH ME IS, UH, MRS. KELLY, WHO'S OUR HEAD START DIRECTOR. AND, UH, MS. KELLY, UH, GO OVER THAT. WE'LL COME BACK AND, UH, GO THINGS. ALRIGHT, GOOD AFTERNOON. AS HE STATED, I AM KEISHA KELLY, HEAD START DIRECTOR WITH IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION. UM, I DID BRING SOME DATA OF LAST SCHOOL YEAR JUST TO LET YOU KNOW HOW THINGS WENT ON LAST YEAR TO LET YOU KNOW HOW, UM, THE STUDENTS IN YOUR COMMUNITY, UM, HOW THEIR OUTCOME WAS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR. SO ON LAST YEAR, WE SERVICED 64 SCHOLARS AND FOUR CLASSROOMS WITH FOUR TEACHERS, UM, FOUR TEACHER ASSISTANTS AND FOUR SUPPORT STAFF. UM, THROUGHOUT YET LAST YEAR WE COMPLETED 256 HOME VISITS WHERE WE DID GO INTO THE HOMES JUST TO GET AN IDEA OF HOW THE CHILDREN OPERATE WITHIN THEIR OWN ENVIRONMENT AND TO BE ABLE TO OFFER RESOURCES TO FAMILIES. UM, WE DID 128 PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES, WENT ON SEVEN FIELD TRIPS AND, UM, HOSTED FOUR COMMUNITY EVENTS IN WHICH I DO BELIEVE ONE OF THOSE WAS INCONGRUENT WITH, UM, BRIGHT STARS. WE ASSISTED OVER 10 FAMILIES WITH COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES TO INCLUDE FOOD, UTILITY, MORTGAGE, AND RENTAL ASSISTANCE. ALTHOUGH WE ARE NOT THE COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY FOR DENWITTY, WE STILL OFFER THOSE COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES TO THE FAMILIES OF HEAD START. AND AS I STATED, 10 FAMILIES, UM, NEEDED THOSE COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES. UM, OUR STUDENT OUTCOMES, WHEN YOU COMPARE OUR STUDENT OUTCOMES TO THE STATE, BENCHMARK OUTCOMES IN THE AREAS OF SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL LANGUAGE, COGNITIVE LITERACY AND MATH, YOU WILL SEE, UM, WHERE OUR STUDENTS CAME INTO THE PROGRAM IN THE FALL, UM, WHICH IS ORANGE, THE WINTER IS BLUE AND WHERE THEY LEFT OUT IN THE SPRING. AND OUR STUDENTS EXCEEDED THE, UM, NATIONAL BENCHMARK FOR, UM, SCHOOL READINESS. [00:15:06] UM, IN REFERENCE TO CLASS. AS YOU KNOW, VIRGINIA'S REALLY PUSHING CLASS. CLASS IS AN INSTRUMENT TOO THAT, UM, MEASURES THE INTERACTIONS IN THE CLASSROOMS BETWEEN TEACHERS AND UM, STUDENTS, UM, IN THE AREAS OF EMOTIONAL SUPPORT, CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT, INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT, LOOKING AT HOW DO THE TEACHERS AND THE STUDENTS FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH EACH OTHER OR THE THE STUDENTS FEEL COMFORTABLE LEARNING ARE THE TEACHERS, UM, TEACHING, UH, WITHIN A QUALITY LEVEL. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, THE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION IS IN THE BLUE AND NATIONWIDE IS IN THE ORANGE. SO OUR TEACHERS, UM, AS WELL EXCEEDED THE NATIONAL SCORES WHEN IT CAME TO THE AREAS OF EMOTIONAL SUPPORT, CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT, AND INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT. AND THIS YEAR WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WELCOME IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL TO DO A WALKTHROUGH OF OUR SCHOOL. SO THEY CAME IN AND THEY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THOSE INTERACTIONS IN PER IN PERSON, UM, IN WHICH I DO BELIEVE THEY WILL AGREE THAT THERE'S QUALITY LEARNING HAPPENING. AND, UM, THE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION HAS START. WE ARE STILL PUSHING PARENT ENGAGEMENT, WE ARE NOTICING THAT MORE AND MORE PARENTS ARE BECOMING ENGAGED, UM, IN THEIR CHILD'S LEARNING. UM, SO THIS YEAR WE DID SEE AN INCREASE WHEN IT CAME TO PARENT ENGAGEMENT, NOT JUST ENCOURAGING THEM TO ENGAGE WITH HEAD START STUDENTS, BUT IF THEY HAVE STUDENTS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL TO ALSO MAKE SURE THEY ARE UP TO DATE WITH WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THEIR STUDENTS THAT ATTEND THE PUBLIC SCHOOL AS WELL. UM, SO I WOULD LIKE TO PERSONALLY THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT AND, UM, I DO KNOW THAT IT WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE YEARS THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO SERVE, UH, THE HEAD START STUDENTS IN DENWITTY. ANY QUESTIONS? NOT AT THIS TIME. THANK YOU MAAM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, NOW, SO ONE OF THE, UH, HISTORICALLY THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAVE PROVIDED TRANSPORTATION TO ALL THE HEAD START CHILDREN, UH, AND THEN WEDDING, UH, THEY PICK 'EM UP IN THE MORNINGS, THEY BRING 'EM TO SCHOOL AND OF COURSE RETURN, UH, THEM HOME THIS YEAR. THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, UH, UNDERSTAND HAD A REVAMP OF THEIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM AND DUE TO SHORTAGE OF DRIVERS, UH, CANNOT PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION FOR ALL THE HEAD START CHILDREN. AND SO CONSEQUENTLY WE HAVE, UH, OVER I THINK 36 KIDS WHO NEED TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM SCHOOL. MANY OF THE PARENTS ARE WORKING, SOME DON'T HAVE A CONSTANT RELIABLE SOURCE OF TRANSPORTATION. UH, SO WHAT WE DID, OUR BOARD, UH, ADVISED MEAN TO APPEAL TO THE FED FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR HELP. UH, AFTER NUMEROUS CALLS, THEN CONVERSING WITH THEM. UH, THEY DID AGREE TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR A NEW BUS FOR DENWITTY, UM, WHICH WAS SIGNIFICANT, UH, TO SUPPORT BECAUSE THEY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ALL THOSE AT RISK CHILDREN AND GET A HIGH QUALITY COMPREHENSIVE SURGERY TO PREPARE THEM FOR KINDERGARTEN. SO WE RECEIVE A NOTIFICATION THIS WEEK THAT'S BEEN APPROVED. SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. HOWEVER, WE DO NOT HAVE FUNDING FOR FUEL AND THE DRIVER. UH, AND THAT'S WHY THAT'S WHERE WE NEED YOUR HELP. UH, WE HAVE, WE MET WITH THE SCHOOL DIVISION AND WE DID SOME CONSULTATIONS, UH, ON AN AVERAGE A MONTH, UH, TRANSPORTING KIDS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY. IT'S ABOUT A THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH. UH, AND ABOUT 10 MONTHS WE OPERATE SAME TIME AS PUBLIC SCHOOLS. UH, THAT'S ABOUT $10,000 A YEAR AND WE NEED A DRIVER AND CONVERSING WITH MR. UM, JEFF, UH, INDICATED THAT THE AVERAGE BUS DRIVER MAKE $18 AN HOUR AND WE ARE ONLY ASKING FOR A PART-TIME BUS DRIVER, WHICH WORKS FOUR HOURS A DAY, UH, WHICH COMES TO, UH, $14,000 FOR 10 MONTHS. SO THE TOTAL THAT WE ARE REQUESTING YOUR ASSISTANCE WITH FOR FUEL, UH, TO FUEL THE BUS, THE NEW BUS THAT WE WILL BE PURCHASING FOR THEM WITH IT AND FOR THE DRIVER IS 24,000 FOR $400. AND WE WILL ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT ON THAT AND SCHOOL START NEXT WEEK. SO WE ARE, WE HAVE, HAVE TO PUT ON THE FAST TRACK AND I WILL SAY THAT WE'VE [00:20:01] MET NUMEROUS TIMES WITH THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS WITH DR. WESTON, WHO'S JUST WONDERFUL TO WORK WITH. UH, TRYING TO FIND ALL ALTERNATIVES TO MAKE SURE ALL THE I I ELIGIBLE FOUR YEAR OLDS IN THE COUNTY GET SERVICE. UH, WE HAD A MEETING THIS AFTERNOON, WE HAVE ANOTHER THIS WEEK. I, I'M JUST TRYING TO WORK OUT ALL THE DETAILS, TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE AREAS CHILDREN, UH, GET A QUA EDUCATION. SO, UM, THAT IS OUR REQUEST THIS AFTERNOON AND I'M WILLING TO ANSWER ANY QUESTION WE HAVE AND, AND WITH THOSE REGARDS. OKAY. I'LL START WITH MS. BONNER ABOUT THAT. ANY, ANY QUESTIONS OR AT THIS POINT? UM, OKAY. UM, I KNOW, I KNOW YOU SAID THAT YOU RECEIVED THE BUS AND YOU NEED A DRIVER AND FUEL. YES. AND YOU MET WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, PARDON ME? AND YOU MET WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM? YES, WE MET SEVERAL TIMES. WE'VE BEEN MEETING FOR THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS. SEVERAL MONTHS, OKAY. YES. AND, UM, I GUESS IN THEIR BUDGET THEY COULD NOT FURNISH YOU WITH THAT ADDITIONAL? THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY. SO THAT'S CORRECT. AND UM, SO LAST YEAR THEY DID THAT THOUGH. YES. UM, BUT THIS YEAR IT WAS A CHALLENGE FOR THEM, I GUESS MEETING, UM, THE REQUEST FOR THE FUNDS RIGHT. THIS YEAR. UM, AND OF COURSE SHE'S HERE. MM-HMM. YES. UH, THEY DID A RERO OF TRANSPORTATION, HAD BRIGHT STARS AT EACH SCHOOL. MM-HMM . AND, AND FRANKLIN, THEY INDICATED THERE WAS A, A SHORT, SOME BUS DRIVER RETIRED. RIGHT. AND THE SHORTAGE OF, OF BUS DRIVERS. AND SO THAT PRESENTED CHALLENGE FOR, UH, THE HEAD START PROGRAM. MM-HMM . OKAY. YEAH. I'M JUST TRYING TO KINDA, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTAND, I, I KNOW THAT, UM, RETIREMENT AND UM, I GUESS, UM, AND I'M, I'M KIND OF THINKING ABOUT SOME OF THE RETIREES. DID THEY, UH, EVEN UH, ANYONE EVER ASKED THEM TO COME BACK? MAYBE PART-TIME ? I MEAN IF THEY RETIRED, I'M JUST, ESPECIALLY BEING IN A SITUATION THAT YOU'RE IN RIGHT NOW IS A DESPERATE NEED FOR THAT. SO JUST, YOU KNOW, JUST, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST ASKING AND TRYING TO SEE, AND I'M PRETTY SURE YOU SAID YOU MET MANY TIMES TRYING TO COME UP WITH A SOLUTION. SO ACTUALLY IT WASN'T JUST WITH HEAD START. WE MET WITH ALL THE PRIVATE PROVIDERS IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. WE STARTED BACK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, UM, WITH THE BUS DRIVER SHORTAGE. UM, MANY OF OUR CHILDREN WERE ON THE BUSES FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF OR MORE. AND WE KNEW THAT WE, AND WE HAD FOUR YEAR OLDS. AND SO WE MET WITH GREENHOUSE AND ANGELS THAT PLAY ALL THE PRIVATE PROVIDERS AND SAID, WE ARE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE TRANSPORTATION THAT WE HAD PROVIDED PREVIOUSLY. SO WE'VE GOTTA START WORKING OUT SOMETHING DIFFERENT. 'CAUSE WE'VE GOTTA GET THE KIDS IN REASONABLE, UM, TRAVEL TIMES. MM-HMM . AND SO, UM, MI DID THAT WE ARE STILL PROVIDING TRANSPORTATION FOR IN ZONES. SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE ARE STILL TRANSPORTING ALL OF THE KIDS THAT ARE IN HEAD START THAT ARE ZONED FOUR SOUTH SIDE. SO WE'RE STILL TRANSPORTING ALL OF THOSE STUDENTS. JUST LIKE, WE'RE STILL GONNA TRANSPORT ALL THE KIDS THAT GO TO GREENHOUSE. AND GREENHOUSE IS ZONED FOR SUTHERLAND, BUT WE'RE NO LONGER GONNA TRANSPORT THEM TO MIDWAY. SO WE JUST WENT THROUGH EACH A PRIVATE PROVIDER AND SAID, BECAUSE EARLY CHILDHOOD IS VERY IMPORTANT TO FOLLOW BOTH OF US. UM, WE JUST SAID WE JUST CAN'T CONTINUE TO DO ALL THOSE SHUTTLES BECAUSE THAT WAS KEEPING OUR KIDS ON THE BUS FOR AN EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT OF TIME. AND WITH REGARD TO THE BUDGET, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL WAITING ON THE BUDGET FROM RICHMOND. YES. UM, WE'RE CATEGORICALLY FUNDED AND WE DID NOT, UM, ADD THE ADDITIONAL COSTS BECAUSE MOST OF THE PRIVATE PROVIDERS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF HEAD START THIS TIME, MADE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS. UM, AND SO EVEN THOUGH IT SOUNDS LIKE A VERY SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY RIGHT NOW, IT'S STILL MONEY WE'RE WAITING TO HEAR FROM RICHMOND IN HOPES THAT THAT 600 SOME THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM THAT ERROR THAT THEY MADE, I TOLD MR. TYLER TODAY, IF WE WERE TO GET THE NEWS THAT WE, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT CAME OUT, THEN THAT WOULD BE A ONE TIME COST THAT WE CERTAINLY COULD ABSORB. UM, BUT NOT KNOWING THAT AND NOT HAVING BUDGET FOR THAT. 'CAUSE EVENTUALLY IF I OVERSPEND THE TRANSPORTATION BUDGET, I HAVE TO COME BACK HERE AND SAY, I OVERSPENT THE TRANSPORTATION BUDGET. I NEED $24,000. UM, BUT EVEN STILL, WE'RE GOING TO SEE WHAT WE WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT WITH HIM. 'CAUSE WE KNOW HOW 40 THIS CERTIFICATE. BUT THAT WAS DEFINITELY IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW? YEAH. AND I'M JUST TRYING TO KIND OF TRY TO COVER THE BASE, TRYING TO SEE, TRY TO UNDERSTAND, ESPECIALLY FROM ONE, FROM ONE TIME TO ANOTHER. AND THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO SEE. AND I DO UNDERSTAND IT'S A, A BUS DRIVER SHORTAGE ALL OVER. RIGHT? YEAH. YOU KNOW, UM, I THINK I SAW ON THE NEWS ONE SCHOOL WE CLOSED BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THAT'S TRUE. UH, BUS DRIVERS TO TRANSPORT THE KIDS, UM, TO SCHOOL. AND, UH, WE DO TALK ABOUT RETIREES TODAY, BUT THAT MIGHT BE A ROUTE TO TAKE FOR SOME OF OUR RECENT RETIREES TO SEE IF THEY WANNA COME BACK AND WORK PART-TIME. PART-TIME. NOW THEY'RE DOING THAT. YEAH. A LOT OF 'EM ARE DOING THAT PARTTIME, SO WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO THAT. MM-HMM . YEAH. CALL 'EM UP AND YEAH. YEAH. GIVE [00:25:01] THEM, LET LET 'EM WORK AND GIVE 'EM A GIFT CARD OR SOMETHING. I MEAN, I DON'T, WE WOULD SUPPORT EVERY OPPORTUNITY. HOW ABOUT WE WOULD SPLIT OPPORTUNITY. OKAY. HOW ABOUT A DINNER? OKAY. SOMETHING. ALRIGHT. OKAY. BUT ANY ANYWAY, PART TIME WOULD BE GOOD. YEAH. ALRIGHT. YES MA'AM. OKAY. UH, I WAS JUST CHECKING ON YOUR ALLOCATION YOU GET FOR YOUR, YOUR BUDGET FROM THIS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. IS THERE ANY MONIES ALLOCATED FOR TRANSPORTATION? WELL, THEY GIVE US A TOTAL BUDGET AND COST PER CHILD. AND FROM DAY ONE, THEY NEVER INCREASE THAT ALLOCATION. ALL THEY GIVE US IS COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT. MM-HMM . SO IN OUR BUDGET, WE DO PUT MONEY IN THERE FOR TRANSPORTATION BECAUSE WE HAVE TO PROVIDE ONCE A FAMILY ROAD IN THE HEAD START, WE ARE MANDATED BY LAW TO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE SERVICE. MEANING WE HAVE TO ASSIST THEM. FOR EXAMPLE, THEY'RE GOING BACK TO SCHOOL IF THEY NEED SOME CIVIL TRANSPORTATION, WE HAVE THE SYSTEM. IF THEY NEED EMPLOYMENT, WE HAVE TO DO THAT. UH, WHATEVER YOU HEARD ABOUT MORTGAGE ONE, ONE FAMILY ABOUT TO LOSE THEIR HOME, WE HAVE TO STEP IN. SO WHATEVER THEY NEED, WE HAVE TO INTERVENE. BUT THERE'S A SMALLER BUDGET LINE ITEM. SEND TRAVEL WHEN THEY GO INTO THE HOME, LIKE JUST TALKING ABOUT HOW MANY VISITS THEY MADE TO HOMES. WE HAVE TO USE THAT MONEY TO PAY FOR TRAVEL TO FROM HOMES OR THEY GO TO MEDICAL FACILITY. WE HAVE TO PROVIDE THE TRANSPORTATION. BUT IT'S ONLY A SMALL AMOUNT. WE, WE DON'T, TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, DO WE HAVE MONEY FOR A BUDGET FOR THE BUSES? NO WE DO NOT. SO YOU JUST BASICALLY GET A COST PER CHILD? THAT'S CORRECT. AND THEN YOU ALLOCATE IT WHERE NEEDED. YES. IS THAT HOW YOU DO IT? RIGHT. WE GET A COST PER CHILD FOR THE WHOLE, FOR FOR EACH CHILD. AND THAT'S WHAT WITH THE ALLOCATION FOR THEN. OH, YOU HAVING ANY TROUBLE WITH THE OTHER LOCALITIES HAVING TO USE MONEY FOR TRANSPORTATION? NO, THIS IS THE ONLY LOCALITY. ALL THE LOCALITIES PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION FOR THE FOUR YEARS. OKAY. THE AGE OF THE CHILDREN, IS IT THREE YEARS OLD THAT ARE ON BUSES ALSO? IF YOU START THE SCHOOL YEAR, IS IT TWO YEARS OLD? NO, NOT TWO YEAR. OKAY. NOT TWO. OKAY. YEAH. BUT THREE, WE DO IT. THEY ARE FOUR YEAR OLDS THIS YEAR. YES. WE, WE DO NOT TRANSPORT ANY THREE YEAR OLDS. OKAY. 4-YEAR-OLD. WE TRANSPORT FOUR YEAR OLDS, OLD FOUR YEAR OLDS. THEY HAVE THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLDS. RIGHT NOW, THE THREE YEAR OLDS PARENTS WOULD HAVE TO TRANSPORT THEM TO OUR FACILITIES. RIGHT. OKAY. RIGHT. SO IF A CHILD TURNS FOUR DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR, IT WOULD THEN THEY COULD BUS IT WOULD BE DIFFERENT. MM-HMM. OKAY. GO AHEAD. GOTCHA. JUST A FOLLOW UP TO MR. MOODY. SO MR. TALLA TO MR. MOODY'S QUESTION ABOUT THE JURISDICTION'S PAYING AND THE OTHER PLACES THAT YOU SERVE. IS IT THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT THAT'S PAYING FOR THE TRANSPORTATION? OR IS IT THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS THAT PAY FOR THE TRANSPORTATION AND WELL, AND THE OTHER LOCALES WERE OFF SUSSEX AREA. GREEN SUPPORT IN BRUNSWICK. THE SCHOOL SYSTEM PROVIDE THE TRANSPORTATION, THE LOCALES PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL AMOUNT IN THEIR BUDGET TO SUPPORT THE HEAD START PROGRAM. FOR EXAMPLE, BRUNSWICK DOES 50,000. I THINK EMPORIA DOES, UH, I THINK, I THINK EMPORIA IS ABOUT 18. GREENSVILLE 30, SUSSEX IS A HUNDRED AND SIR IS 50,000 IF I TOP OF MY HEAD. SO THEY ALL PROVIDE, PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION. CORRECT. SUPPORTED SERVICE. SO THAT'S, THAT'S JUST FUNDS THAT ARE TO SUPPORT HEAD START. RIGHT. IN IN GENERAL. SO IT'S IN GENERAL, YOU, YOU THEN GET TO DETERMINE WHERE THOSE FUNDS ARE SPENT. RIGHT. BASED ON THE DONATION, BASED ON THE FAMILIES. RIGHT. GOTCHA. THE NEED FAMILY NEEDS. SO SHERIFF, SECOND, I GUESS THE DR. WESTON DID THE, I KNOW IN SOME OF THESE PRIVATE PROVIDERS EARLIER IN THE YEAR WHEN, WHEN THIS CONVERSATION TOOK PLACE MM-HMM . THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION, I THINK WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM ABOUT PROVIDING THE PHYSICAL BUS. YES. WAS THAT OFFERED HERE? WELL, WE WERE GETTING READY TO SURPLUS SEVERAL OF OUR BUSES. SO WE HAD SOME THAT WERE AVAILABLE AND WE DID OFFER THAT TO ALL THE PRIVATE PROVIDERS THAT, 'CAUSE WE COULD GET THEM A BUS AT A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT LOWER COST. SO WAS THAT OFFERED IN THIS SITUATION? EVERY, EVERY ONE OF OUR PROVIDERS. SO I GUESS MR. TALLEY THE QUESTION WORN OUT. SO THERE'S NO MORE BUSES? THERE'S NO MORE BUSES AT THE MOMENT. ALRIGHT. SO MY QUESTION WAS IF IF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S GONNA GIVE YOU A BUS, IF YOU DID HAVE A BUS, IS THERE ANY WAY TO GET THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO GIVE YOU ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO OPERATE THE BUS? NOT, NOT FOR THE PHYSICAL BUS, NO. THEY HAVE WHAT WE CALL ONE-TIME FUNDING AND WE DISCOVERED THEY HAD SOME ONE-TIME FUNDS AND SO WE MADE NUMEROUS PHONE CALLS. SO WE NEED THIS IN BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A BUS. RIGHT. AND THEN THEY REALIZED THE NEED OF THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN THAT'S NOT SERVED IN THEN WILL NOT BE SERVED IN DENWOODY. AND THEY WENT TO THEIR SUPERIOR AND, UH, LET US KNOW THAT WE ARE GONNA SUPPORT, UH, THE [00:30:01] REQUEST FOR DEADWOOD TO HAVE A BUS. RIGHT. SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. GOOD. YEAH. AND I THINK THE DIFFERENCE HERE FOR, I KNOW THE OTHER PLACES WE'RE SO MUCH LARGER TRUE THAN THE OTHER PLACES AND RURAL. AND SO IT'S HARD TO COMPARE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO PICK KIDS THAT WAY OUT IN STONY CREEK. SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE ALL THESE YOUNG, WHERE THESE BABIES ARE, THEY'RE WAY UP HERE THAN THEY'RE WAY OVER HERE. SO IT'S DIFFERENT THAN THESE OTHER LOCALITIES WHERE THEY'RE, THEY'RE PICKING 'EM UP. THEY HAVE LIKE A 14 SEATER AND THEY CAN PICK 'EM UP. IT'S GONNA BE VERY DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT THAN IT IS HERE. SO IT IS GONNA BE LOGISTICALLY VERY DIFFICULT EVEN TO DO IT WITH THE NEW BUS. I THINK MR. CHAIRMAN JUST, I'M GONNA BE THE ADMINISTRATOR FOR A SECOND AND JUST KEEP GOOD ADMINISTRATIVE RULES. SO IN, IN YEARS PAST, AND AGAIN, YOU, YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO APPROPRIATE AT ANY POINT. UM, TYPICALLY WE DON'T FIND OURSELVES 45 DAYS WITHIN THE FISCAL YEAR, UM, FUNDING SOMETHING THAT WASN'T INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET. UM, YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY THIS, IT WOULD BE IN THE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AND THEN THE FUNDS COULD BE COMPARED AND PRIORITIZED BASED ON ALL NEEDS. UM, BUT I DO RESPECT WHERE THE FACT THAT MR. TYLER AND THE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION IS, IS KIND OF IN THIS QUAGMIRE THIS CLOSE TO THE START OF SCHOOL. SO YOU, YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO WHAT YOU WANT, BUT I JUST KNOW YOUR PREVIOUS PRACTICE, UM, HAS BEEN NOT TO, NOT TO, UH, MODIFY OR MAKE APPROPRIATIONS SO, SO QUICK IN THE, UM, IN THE FISCAL YEAR AND SAYING THAT WE'VE GOT A REQUEST LATER FROM THE SCHOOL SYSTEM FOR $175,000, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT UNIQUE IN THAT SITUATION AS WELL. UM, BUT I WAS JUST TALKING EARLIER TO, TO MS. HOWTON, WE, WE PROBABLY HAVE 10 OF THESE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE VERY ONSET OF A FISCAL YEAR THAT ADD UP, UM, YOU KNOW, ALMOST A HALF A MILLION DOLLARS OR MORE IN, IN THESE TYPES OF REQUESTS. SO I, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, IT'S OBVIOUSLY THE PREROGATIVE OF THE BOARD OF WHAT YOU CAN DO. THIS IS UNDER THE REPORT SECTION. IT WASN'T AN ACTION ITEM. RIGHT. BUT IF, I MEAN, I DO RESPECT THE FACT YOU'RE, YOU'RE TWO WEEKS AWAY FROM SCHOOL, ONE WEEKEND AWAY. ONE WEEK AWAY FROM FROM SCHOOL OR MONDAY. YEAH, MONDAY. THAT'S RIGHT. UM, BUT AGAIN, I JUST, THAT'S, THAT'S BEEN YOUR PAST PRACTICE. BUT OBVIOUSLY STAFF IS HERE TO SUPPORT YOU IN ANY WAY Y'ALL FEEL. MR. GENTLEMEN, I GOT, I HAD ONE MORE QUESTION. YES SIR. MS. TYLER, AT WHAT POINT IN TIME WERE YOU NOTIFIED THAT YOU WEREN'T GONNA BE ABLE TO USE IT? BUS TRANSPORTATION. WHAT, AS FAR AS YOU KNOW, TIME OF YEAR, WAS IT JUNE, JULY OR JUST A MONTH AGO OR WHAT? WELL WE HAD BEEN CONVERSING THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE, WELL I WAS A WHOLE YEAR, BUT FOR MONTHS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE GOING TO SERVE, UH, THE CHILDREN THAT . UH, AND THEN I GUESS ABOUT, UH, A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, UM, NOTIFICATIONS THAT I WAS TRANSPORTATION CITIZEN AND MODIFIED, WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO TRANSPORT. SO AT THAT POINT WE MET, UH, THEREAFTER AND REALIZED LOGISTICALLY, UH, THEY COULDN'T DO IT BECAUSE OF RETIREES AND THE TRANSPORTATION ROUTE. SO WE HAD TO JUST EXPLORE OTHER OPTIONS. AND ONLY OTHER OPTION WAS, IS TO JUST EXPLAIN TO THE FEDS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE EXTERNAL CHILDREN IN WHO AT RISK, CHILDREN AND FAMILIES WHO CANNOT BE SERVED. UH, AND WE DON'T HAVE THE DRIVER BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT IN OUR BUDGET. UH, WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY FOR THE TRANSPORTATION 'CAUSE YOU HAVEN'T GIVEN THE MONEY FOR THAT. UH, IS THERE ANY WAY YOU CAN ASSIST US TO SERVE THE FAMILY AT DENWITTY? AND THAT'S WHEN THEY, THEY LIBERATED AND WENT. WE WAITED AND FAMILY CAME BACK, SAID, LISTEN, WE HAVE SOME ONE TIME FUNDS THAT MY SUPERIOR HAVE APPROVED TO PURCHASE THE BUS FOR DEN WITTY. SO WE WOULD EXCITED ABOUT THAT. I'M GONNA NOT AGREE WITH ALL OF THAT. UM, WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT FOR ABOUT A YEAR, UM, BECAUSE LAST YEAR BEFORE WE STARTED THE SCHOOL YEAR, WE TRIED, WE SAID THAT WE WEREN'T GONNA BE ABLE TO PROVIDE IT FOR THE SAME REASONS, BUT BECAUSE WE HAD NOT GIVEN HIM ADEQUATE NOTICE ABOUT IT, UH, WE DID FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. IT WASN'T, WE JUST SAID, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO CONTINUE TO SHUTTLE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN, WHATEVER IT TAKES. AND YOU KNOW, REGARDLESS OF THE KIDS BEING ON THE BUS FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF, BECAUSE I COULDN'T HAVE THOSE 65 KIDS NOT BEING ABLE TO GO TO PRESCHOOL. THAT'S, IT'S THAT IMPORTANT. SO THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF MEETINGS, UM, THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR. UM, WE DID A COUPLE MONTHS, LIKE TWO OR THREE MONTHS AGO, I DID HAVE MR. WALTERS SEND OUT ANOTHER EMAIL TO ALL OF THE PROVIDERS AS A REMINDER, DON'T FORGET WE'RE NOT GONNA BE PROVIDING THAT THIS YEAR JUST 'CAUSE WE [00:35:01] WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE EVERYBODY'S, YOU KNOW, STILL ON THE SAME PAGE. AND SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT HE'S REFERENCING. UM, AND SO JUST WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IN OUR MEETINGS FOR BOTH OF US IS THAT WE HAVE TO PUT EVERYTHING IN WRITING BECAUSE WE SOMETIMES LEAVE WITH A DIFFERENT UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S COME UP OUR MEETINGS. SO WE TALKED ABOUT THAT. WE'VE ALSO TALKED ABOUT AS WE'RE PLANNING FOR THE YEAR AHEAD, THAT WHEN I'M DEVELOPING MY BUDGET, LIKE IF THERE'S THINGS THAT ARE GONNA HAVE BUDGET IMPLICATIONS FOR ME, I WANT HIM TO TALK TO ME ABOUT THAT IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER. RIGHT. SO WE CAN INCLUDE IT IN MY BUDGET. SO WHEN I COME TO YOU ALL, I SAY I NEED THIS FOR TO, AND I'LL ALSO INCLUDE HEAD START. 'CAUSE WE GOT, WE THERE ARE 300, 3, 303 YEAR OLDS AND THREE FOUR YEAR OLDS IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND WE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT THEY GO TO A QUALITY PRESCHOOL SOMEWHERE. AND IT DOESN'T MATTER TO ME WHERE THEY GO IF THERE IN OUR SCHOOLS OR IN HEAD START OR WHEREVER THEY ARE. WE JUST GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE, AND UM, YOU KNOW, AND WE'VE ALSO EXPANDED OUR PRESCHOOL. SO NOW WE HAVE IT IN EVERY ONE OF OUR FIVE SCHOOLS. WHEREAS PREVIOUSLY WE ONLY HAD IT IN ONE SCHOOL. SO WE WE'RE DOING BETTER IN THAT WAY. BUT YEAH. SO I JUST WANTED YOU TO NOT GIVE YOU HAVE YOU HAVE THAT POINT OF REFERENCE. SO IT'S BEEN COMING FOR QUITE A TIME, BUT AT TIME. RIGHT. IT'S JUST AT THIS POINT I'VE GOTTA BE, I'VE GOTTA RESPOND TO THE 4,100 STUDENTS THAT I'M SERVING. I GOTTA GET THESE KIDS NOT ON A BUS FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF TO AND FROM SCHOOL EVERY DAY. SO ARE WE TALKING ABOUT BASICALLY HALF OF THE POPULATION THAT'S IN THE UH, HEAD START PROGRAM IN DITY COUNTY WOULD BE TRANSPORTED AND APPROXIMATELY HALF WOULD NOT BE OF 'EM. THEY HAVE A 60, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE 68 STUDENTS THIS YEAR. WE'RE TRANSPORTING 36. WE ARE WORKING RIGHT NOW, MS. MALLORY'S WORKING WITH MS. BROOKS TO SEE IF WE CAN PULL SOME OF THE KIDS OUT OF OUR, UM, OUT OF OUR BRIGHTSTAR CLASSROOMS AND MOVE OVER TO HEAD STARTS AT SOUTH SIDE SO WE CAN TRANSPORT THOSE KIDS AND THEN MAYBE MOVE, 'CAUSE WE HAVE IT AT EVERY SCHOOL NOW AND THEN MAYBE MOVE SOME THAT ARE AT SUNNYSIDE INTO THE SUNNYSIDE SCHOOL, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. RIGHT. SO WE CAN GET MORE ON THE BUSES. BUT WE TRY WITH THE 36, THERE'S NO WAY TO GET THOSE KIDS ON A BUS WITHOUT REQUIRING ANOTHER BUS TO HAVE TO RUN AT THESE OTHER FOUR LOCATIONS. 'CAUSE THEY'RE ALL AT MAXIMUM CAPACITY. RIGHT, RIGHT. WE REALLY ARE WEDDED TO MAKING SURE THE BUS ROUTES ARE LESS THAN 40 MINUTES EACH WAY FOR THESE LONG ROUTES FOR KIDS THIS YEAR. WELL JUST IN MY MIND, IF A CHILD IS IN MR. MOODY'S DISTRICT AND A CHILD IS IN MR. CHA'S DISTRICT AND YOU GOT ONE BUS, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT THAT ROUTE WOULD LOOK LIKE. . YEAH, EXACTLY. TO GET THAT CHILD, THOSE 30 WHATEVER CHILDREN ARE ON A DAILY BASIS TO AND FROM. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW. THREE SIX KIDS. AND WHERE DO THEY LIVE? WE'RE CALLING THEM ALL. YEAH. AND THEN WE'RE TRYING TO SEE WHERE DO THEY LIVE AND WHICH FAMILIES CAN PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION. 'CAUSE SOME OF OUR FAMILIES DID PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION WHILE WE WERE THROUGH COVID. UM, SOME, SOME OF 'EM MIGHT ON THEIR WAY TO WORK, BE ABLE TO DROP THEIR STUDENTS OFF. UM, SO WE'RE GONNA FIGURE OUT EVERYTHING WE CAN TO GET THAT NUMBER DOWN THIS WEEK. SPEAKING OF THE, OF THE BUS, HAVE YOU ACQUIRED THE BUS OR HAVE MADE ARRANGEMENTS TO RECEIVE, RECEIVE THE BUS? WE HAVE ONCE THEY NOTIFY US THAT WE HAVE THE FUNDING, WE HAVE MADE CONTACT WITH VENDORS TO ACTUALLY PURCHASE THE BUS. IT'S A MATTER OF FINALIZING WHICH ONE. I JUST KNOW OURS IS GETTING OUR HANDS ON THE BUS. THAT'S THE OTHER ISSUE. YEAH. YEAH. IT'S LIKE OTHER PIECES OF EQUIPMENT. THEY'RE NOT AS SITTING ON THE PARKING LOT AS LIKE THEY USED TO BE. MM-HMM . UM, THE AVAILABILITY. YEAH. SO, OKAY. ALRIGHT. IT'S A REPORT. SO I GUESS WE TAKE IT UNDER CON CONSIDERATION UNLESS SOMEBODY WANTS TO DO SOMETHING TODAY, BUT I KNOW WE'RE UP AGAINST THE TIMELINE ALSO. AND I YEAH, THERE'S NOTHING EASY ABOUT THIS SITUATION. I AGREE. UM, AND I, THE LAST THING I WANT IS A CHILD NOT TO BE ABLE TO ATTEND SCHOOL. I THINK WE ALL WOULD AGREE WITH THAT. AND THAT'S THE DIFFICULT PART WITH THIS DECISION. THERE'S A WAY WE'RE GONNA FIND IT THERE. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. MR. MR. MR. CHAIRMAN AGAIN FROM STAFF. AND AGAIN, WE'RE HERE TO SUPPORT YOU THE WAY YOU WANT TO GO. RIGHT. I GOT YOU. AND IT IS UNDER REPORTS TODAY. AND IF IT IS SOMETHING YOU WISH TO MOVE FORWARD, WE WE WOULD ENTERTAIN THAT NOW. OTHERWISE, YOU KNOW, WE COULD BRING IT BACK AT A LATER DAY, BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO ASSIST BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. YEAH, RIGHT. THIS WAS, UH, ADDED ON TO A AGENDA. I KNOW ABOUT IT. LIKE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON, ABOUT FOUR O'CLOCK . YEAH. I REALLY HADN'T REALLY BEEN ABLE TO STUDY AS MUCH AS I WANTED TO SINCE THEN. YEP. MR. CHAIRMAN. YES, SIR. AND, AND I THINK, UM, MR. TYLER COMES, UM, USUALLY EVERY YEAR BUDGET TIME AND, AND WE'LL PUT IN A REQUEST FOR, AND I'VE ALWAYS FELT LIKE [00:40:01] HIS REQUEST SHOULD BE TO THE SCHOOL BOARD AND NOT TO US BECAUSE CERTAINLY THEY KNOW MORE ABOUT, UM, THAT EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND THAT PROGRAM. AND I, I, I FEEL LIKE THIS IS ANOTHER CASE OF, OF THAT SAME THING. UM, AND CERTAINLY WE'VE GOTTA RESPECT OUR BUDGET PROCESS. AND YOU BEING A SUPERVISOR, I KNOW YOU UNDERSTAND THAT PROCESS VERY WELL. I DO. UM, BUT, UM, IF, IF WE COULD GET KEVIN TO MAYBE, UM, TALK WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, UM, JUST KIND OF KEEP A THUMB ON IT AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S SOME STATE FUNDING THERE. UM, I'M GONNA MAKE A SPEECH ABOUT STATE FUNDING BEFORE THE NIGHT, THE DAY IS OVER ANYWAY, SO, UM, BUT I, I REALLY DON'T THINK IT'S ANYTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW. BUT, BUT LET'S KEEP OUR THUMB ON IT AND UM, AT LEAST WORK ON IT ANYWAY. MR. TYLER, THE CHILDREN THAT WILL NOT HAVE ANY TRANSPORTATION, HAVE YOU COMMUNICATED WITH THOSE FAMILIES PERTAINING TO THIS ISSUE? WELL, WE HAVE, UM, NOT TALKED TO STAFF COME UP. YEAH. JUST MAKE SURE. I MEAN, WE'RE A WEEK AWAY FROM SCHOOL. I WOULD CERTAINLY THINK THAT BECAUSE MONDAY, YOU KNOW YEAH. WE HAVE TO COUNT WHAT HAPPENS. UH, SO YES, WE DID SPEAK TO FAMILIES TO LET THEM KNOW AND WE HAVE BEEN IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION WITH FAMILIES TO LET THEM KNOW. SO THE THING IS THAT NOW FAMILIES HAVE TO PULL THEIR CHILDREN OUT OR HEAD START AND SOME ARE GOING TO BRIGHT STARS, BUT THEY MISS OUT ON THAT COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES IN WHICH THEY NEED. UM, AND THEY DEPEND ON US TO BE ABLE TO HELP THEM WITH THOSE COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES. UM, BECAUSE BEING HONEST, WE GET A LOT OF PHONE CALLS STATING THAT THE COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY CANNOT ASSIST THEM. SO THEY COME TO US, BUT IF THEY'RE NOT IN HEAD START, OF COURSE WE CANNOT ASSIST THEM. SO A LOT OF THOSE FAMILIES THAT REALLY DEPEND ON PUTTING THEIR CHILDREN IN HEAD START TO GET THOSE COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES THAT DO NOT HAVE PROPER TRANSPORTATION. THEY HAVE TO PULL THEIR CHILDREN TO GO, UH, SOMEWHERE ELSE, BUT THEY MISS OUT ON THAT COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES. AND AS WE SAID EARLIER, MANY OF THE FAMILIES WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WHO DO NOT HAVE A RELIABLE SOURCE OF TRANSPORTATION. YEAH. UH, AND THEY'RE THE ONE, UH, KIDS WITH THE GREATEST NEED, WHICH WOULD NOT BE SERVED. AND SO CONSEQUENTLY THEY WERE INTO SCHOOL BEHIND OTHER KIDS. AND I JUST THINK THAT I WOULD GIVE 'EM EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO SEC SUCCEED. AND UM, AND, AND I KNOW IT'S, AND I UNDERSTAND IT'S A SUPERVISOR, IT IS THE LAST BIT REQUEST. BUT WE HAVE CAME, WE, WE COMING DOWN BECAUSE WE HAVE EXHAUSTED ALL THE AVENUES AND, AND INVESTMENT AND 30 SOME KIDS, $24,000. UM, YOU GET A RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT, YOU GET A RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT. UM, I MEAN IT COSTS MORE THAN IT COST ME ONE CHILD, ONE PERSON. SO WE JUST ASKING FOR YOU TO SUPPORT THE AVERAGE KIDS. 'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE. WE DON'T HAVE NO ALTERNATIVE, WE DON'T HAVE NO OTHER REVENUE. UH, AND I WAS PLEASED, AS I SAID EARLIER, BEFORE THAT THE FAS STEPPED UP BECAUSE THEY NORMALLY DON'T. BUT THEY HAD SOME ONE TIME FUNDING AND THEY SAW NEED TO SAY, WE WILL INVEST IN JANUARY. WE, WE WILL DO THAT AFTER SEVERAL PHONE CALLS. AND SO THAT WAS LIKE A HUNDRED, SOME HUNDRED, SOME THOUSAND DOLLARS THAT THEY'RE INVESTING TO BUY THE NEW BUS. WE ONLY ASKED FOR 24,400. THAT'S ALL WE ASKED THEM. SO IF, IF THIS BOARD DOES NOT AGREE TO THE FUNDING, WHAT IS YOUR NEXT STEP? YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A BUS, DO YOU STILL GET THE BUS? WE, WE STILL GET THE BUS. WE STILL HAVE MONEY FOR THE BUS, BUT THE BUS WILL BE SITTING IN THE PARKING LOT. OKAY. WITH NO DRIVER. THE KIDS WOULD BE AT HOME FOR NO TRANSPORTATION. OKAY. THAT'S CONSEQUENCES. GOTCHA. OKAY. I CAN ONLY SPEAK FOR ME. I KNOW WE'RE IN A, THIS IS A DIFFICULT SITUATION. IT IS. BUT I ALSO HAVE TO REP, UM, LOOK AT THE BUDGET PROCESS TOO. I THINK THERE MAY HAVE BEEN AN OPPORTUNITY WHERE THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A BETTER COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE IMPROVEMENT CENTER AND OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. I KNOW THIS DIDN'T JUST START YESTERDAY. NO. 'CAUSE I KNOW WHAT OCCURRED WITH SEVERAL [00:45:01] FACILITIES THAT ARE IN MY DISTRICT OR VERY CLOSE TO MY DISTRICT, UM, WHERE THERE WERE CONVERSATIONS SIX MONTHS AGO, UH, PERTAINING TO THIS. SO I, I FEEL, BELIEVE ME, I THOSE CHILDREN THAT ARE NOT GONNA BE SERVED IF, IF THEY CANNOT GET INTO SCHOOL, I FEEL THAT IT'S EXTREMELY A DIFFICULT SITUATION. BUT I ALSO GOTTA REPRESENT THE TOTAL POPULATION, THE 4,100 STUDENTS THAT WE ALSO HAVE TOO, UM, THROUGH AND RESPECT MY SCHOOL SYSTEM THERE. SO I JUST, A DIFFICULT SITUATION THAT I WISHED COULD HAVE BEEN RECTIFIED BEFORE TODAY, MR. CHAIR AND I, I WILL SUBMIT THAT, UH, EACH YEAR WE HAVE SUBMITTED A FISCAL REQUEST TO YOUR BOARD YEAH. AND, UH, HAVE NOT RECEIVED A FAVOR RESPONSE TO SUPPORT THE HEAD START PROGRAM. RIGHT. SO I WOULD SAY THIS IS THE, THE VERY LAST MINUTE, UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN VERY CONSISTENT, PERSISTENT, UH, WITH THAT. SO, UH, I THINK THIS IS ABOUT THE SIXTH YEAR WITH ASAF SUPPORT AND HAVE NOT RECEIVED IT. SO, UH, JUST, JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I APPRECIATE YOU COMING. ALRIGHT, WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR [7.A. Contract Award, Ambulance Remount 4329 Dennis Hale, Chief, Fire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inwiddie Elementary School Parking Lot Repair Dr. Kari Weston, Superintendent, Dinwiddie County Public Schools] UH, DIY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PARKING LOT REPAIR DR. WEST. AND MS. MR. CHAIRMAN IS DR. WESTON IS WALKING UP TO THE PODIUM. I KNOW WE DO HAVE TWO CONFLICT STATEMENTS TO READ. MR. LEE, I'LL READ MINE FIRST AND THEN READ BEHIND ME. HOW ABOUT THAT? UH, WORK AT THE AUGUST 15TH, 2023 MEETING OF THE DENWOODY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. I'M MARKEY MOORE. INTEND TO PARTICIPATE IN DISCUSSION CONCERNING APPROPRIATING MONEY TO THE DIM WITTY COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD AS REQUESTED FOR THE PREPARATION AND PAVING OF THE PARKING LOT AT DIM WITTY COUNTY DENWITTY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. THE APPROPRIATION MAY AFFECT A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF SCHOOL BOARD EMPLOYEES IN THE COUNTY, AND I'M ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TRANSACTION FAIRLY OBJECTIVELY AND IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST AT THE AUGUST 15TH, 2023 MEETING OF THE DIMITY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. I, DANIEL DELEY, INTEND TO PARTICIPATE IN DISCUSSION CONCERNING APPROPRIATING MONEY TO THE DIMITY COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD AS REQUESTED FOR THE PREPARATION AND PAVING OF A PARKING LOT AT DIMITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. THE APPROPRIATION MAY AFFECT A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF SCHOOL BOARD EMPLOYEES IN THE COUNTY, AND I AM ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TRANSACTION FAIRLY OBJECTIVELY AND IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST. OKAY. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON, DR. WEST. GOOD AFTERNOON DR. MOORE, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. MR. MASSENGILL, [00:50:01] THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE TODAY. UM, I AM HERE, UM, TO COME TO REQUEST, UM, FUNDING FOR OUR DENDY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PARKING LOT. UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE KEEP A, IN ADDITION TO THE LARGE CAPITAL THAT WE SUBMIT TO YOU EVERY YEAR, WE KEEP KIND OF A RUNNING, WE HAVE OUR OWN 10 YEAR RUNNING LIST OF PROJECTS. UM, SOME THAT WE SUBMIT TO YOU, SOME THAT WE DO NOT, THAT WE JUST WANNA KEEP AN EYE ON. UM, AND THEN WE ALSO KEEP OUR SMALL CAPITAL, UM, THE PARKING LOT AT DENWOODY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE HAD ON, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR SOME TIME, BUT IT'S MOST RECENTLY COME TO OUR ATTENTION, UM, BECAUSE OF AN A DA, UM, ISSUE AT THE SCHOOL. UM, WE, ABOUT A THIRD OF THE STUDENTS THAT ATTEND DENWOODY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ARE SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS. UM, AND WITH THAT GROWING POPULATION IS COMING, UM, SOME CHALLENGES RELATIVE TO CHILDREN IN WHEELCHAIRS. UM, AND SO WE HAVE MET WITH A PARENT THIS PAST SCHOOL YEAR, EXCUSE ME, THIS PAST SUMMER TO TALK ABOUT SOME CHALLENGES WITH REGARD TO ACCESSING ALL OF THE AREAS OF DUNWOODY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, SPECIFICALLY THE PARKING AS PARKING AREA, AS WELL AS THE PLAYGROUND AREA. UH, SO THAT'S WHERE THE, IT STARTED, THE CONVERSATION STARTED. SO WHEN WORCESTER, UM, MR. WALTERS CAME TO ME, ME AND TALKED TO ME ABOUT IT, UM, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WITH ALL OF OUR BUILDINGS, ESPECIALLY THIS ONE BEING 1938, UM, A LOT OF OUR BUILDINGS HAVE HAD TO, UM, HAVE A DA WE'VE HAD TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE A DA ISSUES OVER THE YEARS. BUT OF COURSE, THE ATTORNEYS SAY TO US, AS LONG AS IT'S, I GUESS IT'S JUST NOT GRANDFATHERED IN OR SOMETHING, THEY'RE GRANDFATHERED IN, THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO. WELL THAT'S IN, IN 20, YOU KNOW, 2023, THAT'S, YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN BE HAVING THAT CONVERSATION. UH, SO WHAT I ASKED MR. WALTERS TO DO, TO GET US QUOTE, TO TALK TO ABOUT WHAT WE COULD DO IN THAT PARKING LOT TO, UM, TO ADDRESS THE, THE ISSUE WITH THE A DA REQUIREMENTS THAT THIS, UM, THIS, THIS FAMILY HAD BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION WHILE THIS WAS GOING ON. WE ALSO RECEIVED WORD FROM SMYRNA BAPTIST CHURCH THAT THEY WERE GETTING READY TO SELL THE PROPERTY BEHIND US. AND AS YOU KNOW, THE MAJORITY, OR YOU MIGHT KNOW, THE MAJORITY OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS DO PARK BEHIND THE BUILDING THERE. UM, AS OF TODAY, WE RECEIVED A LETTER FROM THE REALTOR WHO'S SELLING THE PROPERTY TO LET US KNOW THAT AS OF MONDAY, OUR CARS WOULD BE TOWED IF WE TRIED TO PARK OUT THERE ANYMORE. NO, FROM FIVE STAR REALTY. THAT WASN'T FIVE STAR SERVICE AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, BUT TO LET US KNOW THAT WE CAN NO LONGER PARK THERE AS OF MONDAY. UM, AND SO THAT'S ALSO CREATING A BURDEN FOR US BECAUSE, UM, ON THAT PART OF THE BUILDING ON THE, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE SCHOOL, ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE IS WHERE OUR SPECIAL ED BUSES DROP OFF CURRENTLY. THAT IS CURRENTLY WHERE ALL OF THE ACCESSES TO THE BUILDING. UM, AND THEN ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE IS WHERE THE PARENTS DROP OFF. UM, AND AS YOU KNOW, IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN IT BACKS UP ON ROUTE ONE BOTH WAYS. UM, IT'S ALSO A VERY NARROW ENTRANCE. UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF WATER ISSUES INSIDE THE PARKING LOT, UM, INSIDE THE PARKING LOT, UM, SPECIFICALLY. SO A LOT OF THESE ISSUES WOULD BE, UM, TAKEN CARE OF WITH THIS BECOMING A PAVED LOT. UM, I THINK YOU ALL HAVE A COPY OF WHAT THE, WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE. THEY WOULD WI WIDEN THAT ENTRANCE GOING IN AND OUT. SO THAT WOULD, UM, ELIMINATE SOME OF THE TRAFFIC THAT'S ON ROUTE ONE. IT WOULD ALSO TAKE CARE OF, UM, WHEN THEY STARTED TO WORK PREMATURELY. WE DID FIND THAT THERE'S ACTUALLY A, UM, DO YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THAT? WE, THERE'S A, THERE'S ACTUALLY, IT WAS COVERED OVER, YEAH. YEP. IT WAS COVERED BY GRASS. UM, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL AT THE PLAYGROUND, IF YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE PARKING LOT, THERE'S A, A CURVED CULVERT TYPES OF CONCRETE THAT RUNS WATER OFF WELL, THAT WAS TOTALLY COVERED IN GRASS. THEY WENT OUT THERE A LITTLE EARLY AND STARTED WORKING ON THAT. UNBEKNOWNST TO US, WE JUST HAPPENED TO BOND THEM AND THEY HAD UNCOVERED THAT AND LEVELED IT. AND YOU COULD SEE THE CONCRETE YOU WATER TO SEE RIGHT NOW THE CONCRETE THAT RUNS RIGHT OFF INTO WHERE THE WATER RUNS OFF. SO IT'S GONNA MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE AS FAR AS, UH, STANDING WATER IN THAT PARKING LOT THAT THEY GET A LOT OF TIME TO THE BOTTOM OF THAT YARD. THAT'S CORRECT. UM, AND SO, UM, AND THIS WOULD ALSO INCREASE OUR, UM, HANDICAPPED PARKING BY THREE, IT WOULD PUT THREE PARKING SPOTS IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL, NOT AROUND THE SIDE OF THE SCHOOL WHERE THE BUSES DROP THE CHILDREN OFF. UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE DID NOT SHARE THIS WITH CHIEF HALE PREVIOUSLY. UM, BUT WITH THIS ALSO BEING A SHELTER, WE THOUGHT THIS WOULD ALSO, UM, BE A BENEFIT ALSO BE FOR THE SCHOOL BECAUSE OF BEING A SHELTER, HAVING A PAID PARKING LOT. BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, SHOULD IT BECOME A SHELTER, IT WOULD INDEED, UM, ALLOW FOR SIX PARKING SPACES INSTEAD OF JUST THE, JUST INSTEAD OF THE ONES THAT WE HAVE ON THE ONE SIDE. UM, AND ALSO THE PAVE PARKING, WHICH WOULD BE DESIGNATED SPOTS AS OPPOSED TO THE ROCK PARKING SPACES THERE. THIS IS ALSO GONNA AFFORD OUR YOUNG PEOPLE, UM, ENTRANCE TO THE BUILDING FROM BOTH SIDES, NOT JUST THE ONE SIDE, UM, THAT WE PREVIOUSLY, THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE IN THE BUILDING. SO I'M ASKING FOR THE FUNDS TO, UM, COVER THE $175,000 THAT'S GONNA TAKE TO PAVE THIS PARKING LOT. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY [00:55:01] QUESTIONS. AND MR. WALTERS IS ALSO HERE. HE'S BEEN WORKING WITH THE CONTRACTOR AS WELL. AND I JUST WILL SAY THEY DID START PREMATURELY. WE HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF THAT. AND I GUESS WHEN YOU HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE TOUCHING CONTRACTS, WE HAVE NOT ENGAGED IN ANY CONTRACT WITH ANYONE. UM, THIS IS ACTUALLY A COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT. UM, AND I GUESS THEY TALKED TO A SUBCONTRACTOR AND THEY GOT EVERYTHING STARTED AND BEFORE THEY COULD STOP 'EM, THEY REALLY HAD ALREADY LEVELED THE WHOLE PARKING LOT, UM, AND GOTTEN MOST OF THE GRAVEL OUT OF THE PARKING LOT. SO REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS TODAY, WE HAVE A LEVEL PARKING LOT AT NO COST TO US . DR. WESTON, HOW IF YOU GOT A NUMBER OF, HOW MANY OF YOUR TEACHERS WOULD PROBABLY BE PARKING IN THIS PARKING LOT? IT WOULDN'T BE ALL OF 'EM, I'M SURE, BUT IT'S GONNA ALLOW, THERE MAY BE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER. YEAH. THE, THE PARKING LOT'S ADDING 54 SPOTS IN ADDITION TO A DROP OFF LOOP AROUND IT, RIGHT? MM-HMM . UM, I TALKED TO MS. ADAMS AT ANY TIME. SHE COULD HAVE 70 STAFF AT HER SCHOOL, BUT 54 IS GONNA COVER MOST OF THE PERMANENT TEACHERS THERE. YEAH, RIGHT. OKAY. AND ESPECIALLY TOO WHEN WE HAVE, UH, PARENT EVENTS AS WELL, THERE'S NOT ADEQUATE PARKING IN THE BUILDING EITHER. OKAY. MY QUESTION IS, MR. SUPERVISORS, MR. CHAIRMAN, MY QUESTION IS KINDA LIKE THE PREVIOUS REPORT WAS WHEN, WHEN WERE YOU MADE AWARE OF MS. SMYRNA NOT LETTING Y'ALL USE THE PARKING LOT? UM, WE GOT THE FIRST NOTICE, UM, THIS SUMMER. IT WAS THE SUMMER LATE JUNE. YEAH, LATE JUNE, WHERE LATE JUNE. BUT HE JUST SAID IN, IN LATE JUNE, HE JUST SAID, WE'RE TRYING TO SELL THE, WELL, HE ACTUALLY OFFERED TO SELL THE PROPERTY TO US. THAT'S WHEN WE FIRST WERE MADE AWARE OF, OF THE SMYRNA PROPERTY. WE DID NOT TALK ABOUT THE PARKING PART OF IT YET. IT WAS LATE AFTER THAT WHEN HE REALIZED THAT WE WERE NOT INTERESTED IN THE PROPERTY. HE STARTED TO RELAY TO US THAT YOU'RE GONNA NOT BE ABLE TO PARK THERE. AND SO WE REALLY, WE PUT CONES OUT THERE SO OUR STAFF WOULD NOT PARK THERE ANYMORE. WE, WE DOWN TO, I THINK THIS MORNING WE HAD TWO, BUT THEY WERE HAVING A TRAINING THERE TODAY. SO THERE WERE, UM, AND THERE WERE EXTRA PEOPLE AT THE BUILDING THAT PROBABLY WEREN'T AWARE OF IT. UM, BUT TODAY I RECEIVED A LETTER BASICALLY THAT SAID, IF YOU PARK THERE AS OF MONDAY, WE WILL TOW YOU BECAUSE THEY'RE TRYING TO SELL THE PROPERTY AND ANY POTENTIAL PEOPLE WOULD NOT WANNA SEE CARS IN THEIR PARKING LOT, I GUESS. HMM. SO THAT'S, THAT'S HOW HE RELATE TO ME IS YEAH, IT WASN'T, IT WASN'T VERY NICE. YEAH. SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S, BUT IT'S A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE PARKING LOT BACK THERE. I MEAN, WE BASICALLY HAVE ENOUGH ROOM TO PULL A CAR OUT AND PULL A BUS OUT OF THE PARKING LOT BACK THERE WITHOUT GOING INTO THAT PARKING LOT. ALTHOUGH WE'VE NOT SEEN A SURVEY. WE HAVEN'T SEEN A SURVEY. BUT, UM, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, WE HAD IT STRIPED SO THAT WE HAD DECENT PARKING SPOTS. YEAH. AND FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, ALL OF THE PARKING SPOTS THAT WE HAD STRIPED IN, YOU KNOW, WITH SMYRNA ARE ALL ON SMYRNA LOT. YEAH. SO WE HAVE ABOUT A HALF OF A ONE SPOT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE LOT THAT WE CAN USE. MM-HMM . SO ESSENTIALLY NONE. YEAH. HE ALSO WANTED US TO SURVEY IT. HMM. BUT NO. OKAY. THANK YOU. YEAH. SO IT'S BEEN, THIS SUMMER IS WHEN WE'VE BEEN KIND OF GOING BACK AND FORTH WITH HIM, BUT TODAY WAS THE FIRST WRITTEN CORRESPONDENCE FROM HIM. I JUST, UM, YEAH. UM, THE ONLY COMMENT, THE COMMENT I HAVE, AND I SEE, UM, THE AMOUNT, AND I KNOW YOU TALKED ABOUT YOUR SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS, UM, YEAH. AND I KNOW PROBABLY ALL LAST YEAR YOU HAD THE, THE STUDENTS HAD THE SAME, UM, PROBLEM. AND SO NOW I'M JUST LOOKING AT THE TIME. THIS IS A NEW, THIS IS A NEW STUDENT TO US. THE ONE, THE MOTHER THAT BROUGHT IT TO OUR ATTENTION. IT'S A STUDENT THAT'S RETURNING TO US. BUT YOU, UM, SO THAT'S ONE STUDENT. BUT YOU SAID YOU HAD SEVERAL. WE DO HAVE SE WE DO HAVE SEVERAL STUDENTS IN THE WHEELCHAIRS. IN THE WHEELCHAIRS. NOT IN THE WHEELCHAIRS. NO, MA'AM. JUST, WE HAVE SEVERAL, WE HAVE ONE STUDENT BLIND. WE HAVE OTHER WALKING CONDITIONS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. BUT WE ONLY HAVE ONE THAT'S, NO, EXCUSE ME. WE DO HAVE SEVERAL THAT ARE IN A WHEELCHAIR. MM-HMM . UM, 'CAUSE THEY'RE IN THE ID CLASSROOM. MM-HMM . AND, AND I'M, AND I JUST WANT KIND OF CLARIFICATION IN CASE, UM, SOMEONE IN COMMUNITY ASKED ME ABOUT THIS. YES, MA'AM. I UNDERSTAND THAT. BECAUSE WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO SAY TO ME, OKAY, YOU'LL, IT IS A WEEK BEFORE SCHOOL. YES, MA'AM. AND YOU'RE COMING TO ASK FOR SOMETHING THAT'S NOT BASICALLY IN THE CIIP. YES. AND NOTHING BUDGETED. AND I KNOW THE STATE HAS NOT DONE THEIR BUDGET. AND THAT'S A PROBLEM FOR EVERYONE. YES, MA'AM. BUT FOR US, IT'S NOT IN OUR BUDGET. YES, MA'AM. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, TO GET THIS DONE. I KNOW SMYRNA, I, YOU KNOW, GET OKAY, YOU DIDN'T WANNA BUY THE PROPERTY. THAT'S ONE THING. THAT'S FINE. RIGHT. AND I KNOW THE, THE PARKING HAS BEEN PRETTY GOOD UP UNTIL THIS POINT. IT WAS, YES. BUT, UM, STILL, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO TELL, YOU KNOW, OUR CITIZENS TOO, BECAUSE YES, THEY'RE GONNA SAY, WELL, IF THEY KNEW THIS LAST YEAR, SURE. WHY COME NOW WHEN IT'S NOT IN THE BUDGET FOR US TO APPROVE AND, UM, YOU KNOW, TO [01:00:01] HAVE THIS DONE. AND, AND, AND THAT'S THE THING THAT, UM, WE ARE GONNA HAVE, UM, ISSUES WITH, YOU KNOW, RIGHT. ABOUT THIS. UM, IT'S GREAT THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU WANNA DO SOMETHING, UM, FOR THE STUDENTS. THAT'S JUST A GREAT THING. BUT IT'S ALWAYS TIMING. AND THIS IS THE TIME YOU, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE SCHOOL OPENS. YEAH. AND, UM, TO ACTUALLY GET THIS DONE AND THE AMOUNT, IT'S NOT A SMALL AMOUNT THAT YOU'RE ASKING. ABSOLUTELY. YOU KNOW, AND WE, WE WOULD HAVE TO APPROVE THIS IN ORDER TO GET THIS DONE WHEN IT'S BEEN LIKE THAT FOR A WHILE. OTHER THAN THE PARKING OTHER THAN THE PARKING. I KNOW THE PARKING IS, AND I THINK THAT THE, YOU KNOW, FOR ME, THE PARKING, UM, ACCELERATED IT, BUT ALSO THIS PARENT WHO BROUGHT IT TO OUR ATTENTION, IT, IT IS NEVER BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION PREVIOUSLY, OTHER THAN WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT PAVING THAT PARKING LOT, JUST BECAUSE, FOR A LOT OF REASONS. UM, IN THE ID CLASSROOM WHERE THE OTHER WHEELCHAIR STUDENTS ARE, WE HAVE SEVERAL PARAPROFESSIONALS IN THOSE CLASSROOMS THAT THEY TRAVEL ONE-ON-ONE WITH THOSE STUDENTS. THIS IS A STUDENT THAT, UM, THERE'S NOBODY THAT TRAVELS WITH A STUDENT. SO, UM, SHE WORKS, SHE, SHE CAN TRANSPORT HERSELF LIKE SHE HAS LIKE A WALKER TYPE OF THING. BUT IT IS DIFFICULT IF IT'S NOT ON LIKE A SIDEWALK. UM, SO THIS PARENT WAS THE ONE THAT BROUGHT IT TO OUR ATTENTION THAT I THINK PROMPTED US THINKING, OKAY, MAYBE IT'S TIME FOR US TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE AADA THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN SCHOOL. AND THEN WHEN SMYRNA CAME TO US IN JU JUNE, AND WE SAID, OKAY, NOW WE HAVE A PARKING ISSUE ON TOP OF THIS MM-HMM . SO THAT WOULD'VE ACCELERATED EVERYTHING. UM, AND CERTAINLY YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. YEAH. I MEAN, WE TRY TO PROVIDE IT WHENEVER YOU REQUEST THE CCIP. RIGHT. AND THAT, AND THAT'S MAINLY, I MEAN, COURSE YES, MA'AM. THE ISSUE IS, I MEAN, FOR THE, UM, FOR THE STUDENTS THAT, I MEAN, THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT IT. I MEAN YES, MA'AM. IT'S JUST THE TIMING. AND I UNDERSTAND AND I DO UNDERSTAND. YEAH. AND AGAIN, YOU HAVE TO REALIZE WHEN WE HAVE TO ANSWER TO PEOPLE, WHEN THEY ASK US ABOUT ABSOLUTELY. THE AMOUNT, AND THEY SAY, WELL, WHY CREATE A BUDGET IF IT'S NOT IN THERE? SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO KINDA LOOK AT THINGS. SO I JUST WANT YES, MA'AM. WANT YOU ALL TO BE AWARE OF THAT AS WELL. THANK YOU. I, YES MA'AM. I UNDERSTAND THERE'S ONE, ONE OTHER DYNAMIC TO THIS IS WITH OUR STAFF PARKING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BUILDING, THE PARENT DROP OFF LOOP DOESN'T HAVE TO BE AS PRECISE. UM, NOW WHEN YOU PUT THE STAFF IN THE MIDDLE, NOW YOU HAVE TO HAVE DEFINITE PER PRECISION IN THERE SO THAT IF THERE IS SOMEBODY BUMP SOMEBODY ELSE, YOU HAVE PARAMETERS TO WHERE THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE IN. SO, WHILE OBVIOUSLY THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM, IT'S BEEN EXACERBATED BY NOT USING THE, THE PARENT, THE, THE STAFF PARKING, WE HAD TO MOVE IT TO WHERE THE PARENT DROP OFF IS. AND THAT'S WHY I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DON'T DO THAT IN THE GRAVEL LOT ALSO, BECAUSE THEN IT'S, IT IS FREE MOVEMENT IN THERE. YOU CAN'T REALLY MARK A GRAVEL LOT. SO YOU'RE RIGHT. THE TIMING IS AWFUL, BUT THAT, THAT TIMING YEAH. MOST TIME. YEAH. MM-HMM . DR. WESTON. HAVE, HAVE YOU OR ANY OF YOUR STAFF HAD ANY CONVERSATIONS WITH THE ACTUAL STAFF OF SMYRNA BAPTIST CHURCH? NOT JUST THE REALTOR GROUP? UM, UM, INTERESTING. THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. UM, AND I HAVE NOT, UM, MY, WHEN I TALKED TO THE REALTOR, HE ASKED ME NOT TO CONTACT MR. ROWLAND. 'CAUSE I SAID, YOU KNOW, MR. ROWLAND AND I HAVE HAD A, WE WE HAVE A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH. YEAH. THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I'M GETTING AT AS A COMMUNITY BASED CHURCH. I MEAN, THEY ADOPTED ON THE CHURCH. WAS SCHOOL BESIDE THE SCHOOL. YES. BILL MAY AN ANSWER TO THAT, BUT I IT'S BEEN MANY YEARS. HE MADE IT CLEAR THAT WE WERE NOT TO TALK TO HIM ABOUT THE SELL. THIS WAS HIS CONTRACT. HE'S TAKING CARE OF EVERYTHING. SMYRNA OWNS THE BUSINESS. YES. YES, SIR. THEY OWN THE CHURCH. MM-HMM . SO THAT'S WHO YOU TALK TO. YOU DON'T TALK TO JUST A REALTOR. YEAH. AND I'VE NOT TALKED TO THE REALTOR, BUT I THOUGHT ABOUT CALLING, UM, PASTOR ROLAND BECAUSE MM-HMM . IT WAS SO OUT OF CHARACTER. I, AS A TRUSTEE OF A CHURCH IN THE COUNTY MM-HMM . I CAN PROMISE YOU, I WOULD'VE HOPED IF ANYTHING WERE TO COME UP THAT THEY WOULD COMMUNICATE WITH US AS A CHURCH. YEAH. DIRECTLY. I REALIZE THAT THE PROPERTY IS, IS UNDER CONTRACT YEAH. WITH SOMEONE ELSE. YEAH. BUT BEING A, A COMMUNITY BASED THING THAT'S BEEN THERE FOR MANY, MANY YEARS. I AGREE. JUST MY, MY OBSERVATION AND THERE'S A GREAT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DENWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND SMYRNA. THEY'VE ALWAYS HAD A GREAT PARTNERSHIP. YES, SIR. DR. WESTON, IF THIS, IF THIS IS APPROVED TODAY, WHAT IS THE ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE? POSSIBLY BY THIS WEEKEND. MM-HMM . THEY'RE JUST WAITING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. I MAY BE ABLE, IF WE APPROVE IT TODAY OR IF THE BOARD APPROVES IT TODAY, I, I'VE TALKED TO THE CONTRACTOR, HE MAY BE ABLE TO HAVE SOMEBODY OUT THERE FIRST THING IN THE MORNING TO CONTINUE. THAT'S WHY THEY ASKED TO LEAVE THEIR EQUIPMENT THERE JUST IN CASE. SO THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO GET IT BACK OUT THERE. MY THING IS, WHEN WE PASS YOURS AND YOU COMING AT THE LAST MINUTE WANTING WHAT YOU HAVE. YES. IT'S LIKE MS. BONARD SAYS, YOU KNOW, THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE TO DO. SO IF WE DO, THEN YEAH. YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING? THAT'S JUST MM-HMM . IT'S A BAD TIME. AND, UM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT I DID START WORKING ON THIS AS SOON AS I HEARD YEAH. SMYRNA WAS SELLING THAT WE WERE GONNA POSSIBLY HAVE TO HAVE AN ALTERNATE SITUATION, [01:05:01] UM, WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO USE THAT PARKING LOT. 'CAUSE IF THEY DO SELL IT TO SOMEBODY, WE CAN'T USE THE PARKING LOT. UM, WHOEVER THEY SELL TO. UM, SO I DID START WORKING ON IT THEN. UH, BUT OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THE FUNDING IS WHERE I HIT THE HURDLE. MM-HMM . I STARTED WORKING ON GETTING SPECS, CONTRACTS. I THINK THE UNIQUENESS OF THIS CASE IS NOT ACTUALLY HAVING A STATE BUDGET. YEAH. THAT CREATES THE CONUNDRUM. MM-HMM . THAT PUTS YOU INTO THE POSITION THAT YOU'RE IN NOW, NOT KNOWING ABOUT YOUR WHAT, WHICH YOUR ACTUAL OVERALL FUNDING IS GONNA BE. YOU CAN'T GO AND SPEND ANOTHER HUNDRED 70,000 IN THIS MOMENT. MM-HMM . YOU DON'T KNOW WHICH VERSION OF A BUDGET YOU'RE GONNA GET OR GET MONIES BACK THAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID YOU'RE GOING TO GET. BUT WE DON'T KNOW IT UNTIL YOU GET IT. UM, SO THAT CREATES THE CONUNDRUM THAT WE'RE IN TODAY, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF GRANT FUNDING. WE'VE BEEN VERY CONSERVATIVE ABOUT HOW WE'VE SPENT MONEY. YEAH. SO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ACCOUNTING ERA FOR THE ERNE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS YEP. WAS IN EXCESS OF 600,000 MILES. THAT IS CORRECT. YOUR YEAR END MONEY, DO YOU HAVE THAT ESTIMATED TO WE DO NOT HAVE THAT MONEY. SEE, BECAUSE WE'RE, UM, WE WERE TOLD, UM, IT LOOKS LIKE THE SALES TAX WILL COME BACK IN IT ABOUT $250,000 LESS THAN WHAT THEY PROJECTED MM-HMM . WHICH IS ANOTHER PROBLEM FOR US. NOT A PROBLEM. BUT IT'S GOING TO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE MIGHT COME BACK AT 400,000, WE MIGHT COME BACK AT 100,000. SO I GUESS WE'RE EXPECTING THAT ANY MOMENT IS WHAT I WAS TOLD. SO, BECAUSE THEN I WOULD BE BACK TO ASK YOU FOR SOMETHING TO USE FOR CAPITAL MONEY. SO THIS WOULD BE A PROJECT THAT I WOULD, YOU KNOW, DO. BUT OF COURSE, I MEAN, WE'VE, YOU KNOW, I TRIED TO BE A GOOD STEWARD OF THE PUBLIC'S MONEY JUST AS WHEN THE CARES MONEY. WE TOOK CARE OF A LOT OF THE OTHER CAPITAL PROJECTS SO WE CAN GET THEM OFF LIST EVERYWHERE. SO I AM TRYING TO BE A GOOD STEWARD OF THAT. IT'S JUST IN THIS MOMENT IN TIME, I DON'T HAVE $175,000 TO DO THIS PROJECT, AND I NEED THE PARKING. I THINK THIS IS A GREAT IMPROVEMENT. AND IT ALSO SOLVES A NEED THAT I HAVE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND ALSO FOR ANYBODY WHO TECHNICALLY WOULD BE, THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THE FIELD, THE BABE FIELD OUT THERE, THEY TALKED ABOUT THAT. AND NOW THEY'RE, THIS WOULD PROVIDE MORE ACCESSIBILITY TO THE BUILDING. SO IT JUST SEEMED LIKE THE RIGHT TIMING. ALTHOUGH IT SEEMS TO YOU I KNOW LIKE IT'S COMING. IT WOULDN'T BE MINE. IT'S, WELL, BUT YOU MEAN IT JUST ALL HAPPENED AT THE SAME TIME FOR ME. SO I'M TRYING TO BE RESPONSIVE TO A MAMA, AND I'M TRYING TO BE RESPONSIVE ALSO TO, UM, PROVIDING PARKING FOR TEACHERS. BUT I UNDERSTAND THE POSITION YOU'RE IN AS WELL. MR. CHAIRMAN, THERE'S QUESTIONS OVER THE, THE FUNDING. THERE'S A, WHAT I, WHAT WE DID IS DRAFT A MOTION. IF IT IS YOUR DESIRE TO FORWARD WITH THIS, IT'S, IT'S BEFORE YOU, UH, WE LAID IT AT YOUR, AT YOUR DESK. BUT WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE WOULD, WE WOULD MOVE THE REQUESTED AMOUNT OF JUST OVER $175,000 AND WE WOULD TRANSFER THAT FROM THE COUNTY'S GENERAL FUND TO THE DEMEE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS' CAPITAL FUND. THAT AGAIN, WOULD ALLOW THEM TO, TO DO THIS PROJECT. IF IT WAS YOUR DESIRE, SOME QUESTION OF WHERE THE FUNDING WOULD COME FROM. IT WOULD COME FROM YOUR GENERAL FUND. FROM YOUR GENERAL FUND. AT THIS POINT. I, I KNOW THERE'S SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE REASSIGNMENT WITH BROADBAND AND DHCD AND THE GRANT. WE, WE DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT POINT. MM-HMM . AND TALKING TO MS. HOWTON, WE FELT LIKE THE CLEANEST THING TO DO WOULD TAKE IT FROM THE GENERAL FUND. WELL, MR. CHAIRMAN, I, I BEEN ON THIS BOARD A LONG TIME AND WE DON'T, LIKE, I'VE NEVER LIKED TO APPROVE ANYTHING THAT WASN'T IN THE BUDGET, BUT SINCE THE SCHOOL HASN'T GOT A BUDGET THAT THEY KNOW WHAT THEY'VE GOT, THAT MAKES IT A LITTLE DIFF A DIFFICULT SITUATION. UM, THE ONLY WAY THAT I WOULD APPROVE IT OR VOTE TO APPROVE IT WOULD BE IF WE LOOKED AT THE YEAR END FUNDS WHEN THEY CAME IN AND GOT REIMBURSED IN THAT EFFECT, IF THEY HAVE FUNDS LEFT OVER, I SECOND THAT. OH, WELL. AND THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD. UM, SO SINCE WE DON'T HAVE A BUDGET AND WE STILL MR. RUFUSS PART ABOUT THE KIDS MM-HMM . AND THE FUEL AND EVERYTHING, UM, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING TO CONSIDER AS WELL. MM-HMM . AND I'M THINKING ABOUT THE CHILDREN, THE ONES WHO CAN'T COME. I MEAN, SINCE EVERYTHING'S KIND OF UP IN THE AIR, I MEAN MM-HMM . THEIR AMOUNT IS 24 4. SO I'M JUST KIND OF THINKING ABOUT THAT. I WAS THINKING ABOUT THAT WHILE THEY WERE TALKING AND THINKING ABOUT THIS AS WELL, AND ABOUT THE CHILDREN. SO, UM, I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, TALK ABOUT THAT AT THIS TIME FOR THE FUEL AND THE, AND THE DRIVER. SO DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT COULD BE DONE, BUT, UM, SOMETHING TO [01:10:01] KIND OF THINK ABOUT AT THIS, AT THIS POINT, UH, WITH YOUR BUDGET, SINCE YOU DON'T HAVE A BUDGET, . I MEAN, WE DON'T, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, DON'T HAVE A BUDGET. MEAN DON'T, BUT THE STATE, THE STATE HAS NOT, WE HAVE A SKINNY BUDGET AND UM YEAH. BUT HAS NOT RELEASED ANYTHING, SO MM-HMM . AND THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT IT COULD BE WORKED OUT. THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. YES, MA'AM. WITH THAT PART. WELL, WHEN YOU ALL FINISHED TALKING, I LEANED OVER TO CHRISTIE TO ASK HER, YOU KNOW, $24,000. IS THERE SHE, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT WE COULD DO ON OUR END AS FAR AS THE DRIVER AND THE FUEL IN THIS MOMENT? I MEAN, 24,000, IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A LOT OF MONEY IN THIS MOMENT, BUT IT COULD END UP BEING A LOT OF MONEY IF THE FUEL COSTS KEEP DOING WHAT THEY'RE DOING. UM, BUT WE'RE GONNA FIND A WAY TO GET THOSE KIDS TO SCHOOL SOON. YEAH. ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. AND I AGREE WITH YOU THAT MR. TYLER AND I TALKED TODAY ABOUT, IT PROBABLY NEEDS TO COME THROUGH MY BUDGET, THE REQUEST TO COME THROUGH MY BUDGET TO YOU ALL VERSUS HIM HAVING TO COME EVERY YEAR. WE'RE HAPPY TO DO THAT YEAH. MOVING FORWARD. BUT WE'RE GONNA FIND A WAY TO MAKE SURE THE KIDS GET TO SCHOOL AND HE KNOWS THAT WE'RE GONNA FIGURE IT OUT. I SAID, IF WE HAVE TO GET IN OUR VANS AND PICK KIDS UP, WE'RE GONNA FIGURE IT OUT. MR. LEE, MR. CHAIRMAN, I, I JUST THINK THOSE TWO ARE COMPLETELY SEPARATE, UM, ITEMS. AND WE'RE DISCUSSING THE PARKING LOT NOW. MM-HMM . UM, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY, UM, AS MY STATEMENT BEFORE ABOUT KEEPING A THUMB ON THAT AND, AND TRYING TO WORK WITH THE, THE POWERS THAT BE ABOUT, ABOUT THAT, I THINK IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO DO. UM, BUT RIGHT NOW, THE, THE CASE AT HAND IS THIS PARKING LOT AND, AND I DO THINK, UM, IT'S NEEDED. UM, I WAS GONNA MAKE MY STATE FUNDING COMMENTS, BUT I'M, I'M GONNA TRY TO BE KIND OF IN GENERAL FOR A MOMENT. UM, BUT, UM, I DO THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO GET THIS DONE. UM, I, I LIKE HARRISON'S SUGGESTION, YEAR END MONEY, YOU KNOW, THAT NEEDS TO BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION. 'CAUSE PROBABLY THAT'S WHERE THAT MONEY WOULD'VE CAME FROM FOR THIS PROJECT OR THE 600,000 THAT THE STATE, UM, IS EITHER GONNA GIVE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OR THE TAXPAYERS OF VIRGINIA MM-HMM . UM, ONE OF THE TWO. UM, SO MR. CHAIRMAN, JUST DYNAMICS OF THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT WOULD TAKE PLACE THEN IF, IF IT'S YOUR DESIRE, THE MOTION WOULD BE BEFORE YOU TO TRANSFER THE FUNDS AGAIN, FROM THE GENERAL FUNDS TO THE CAPITAL FUND. DR. WESTIN THIS YEAR WILL HAVE TO COME BACK TO YOU ALL FOR YEAR END FUNDS ANYWAY. MM-HMM . THAT Y'ALL HAD RECOMMENDED A BUDGET TIME. SO I WOULD SUGGEST THAT SHE JUST NEEDS TO, UM, LOOK AT, OBVIOUSLY THE $175,000 AS A POTENTIAL PAYBACK TO THE COUNTY OR WHAT OTHER PROJECTS WOULD BE DONE BY THE SCHOOL SYSTEM TO THEN BE DONE INSTEAD OF THAT. MM-HMM . BUT AGAIN, THE, THE, THE ULTIMATE SITUATION IS, WELL, YOU HAVE A BUDGET. 'CAUSE IF YOU DON'T HAVE A BUDGET AND YOU'RE SHORT $600,000, THAT'S A WHOLE NOTHER ISSUE FOR THE COUNTY TO, TO HAVE TO GET ITS HEAD AROUND. MM-HMM . BUT I THINK YOU WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK FOR THE BOARD AND FOR THE BOARD TO HAVE CONTROL IN THAT IF THAT'S YOUR DESIRE TO HAVE CONTROL. BUT YOU CAN LOOK AT, AT THAT TIME WHAT THE PRIORITY PROJECTS ARE AND WHAT WOULD BE OFF THE TABLE OR WHAT WOULD BE FUNDED. AND YOU ALL COULD ULTIMATELY MAKE THAT THAT DECISION. THANK YOU FOR THAT. I WILL TELL YOU THAT I BUILT THE BUDGET WITHOUT THE $600,000 IN IT. UM, SO IN, WHEN THAT MONEY, UM, FOR THAT REASON. YEAH. BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT IT TO BE, I DIDN'T WANT TO BE WORRIED WHETHER OR NOT I WAS GONNA GET IT OR NOT. AND ANY MONEY WE GET, DO GET FROM THE STATE, UM, IT WOULD BE USED TO, WE'VE IDENTIFIED A NUMBER OF PROJECTS, UM, THAT WOULD BE ONE TIME COST THAT WE WOULD NEED TO SPEND TO GET SOME OF THESE CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE ON THE LIST. UM, I WOULD LIKE THE BOARD TO CONSIDER ALL THE, THE CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE FUNDED OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS. UM, I CAN'T PROMISE YOU THAT WE'LL HAVE $175,000, BUT I CAN ASSURE YOU WE HAVE A LONG LIST OF CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT ARE STILL NEEDING TO BE TAKEN CARE OF. UM, I'D BE HAPPY TO BRING THAT LIST TO YOU AND SHOW YOU, UM, WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED, BUT ALSO WHAT WE STILL HAVE LEFT TO ACCOMPLISH. UM, OUT OF YOUR, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, ONE THING I WANNA BRING UP, REMEMBER THIS IS A, I CALL IT A HARD ASSET. YOU WERE, YOU WERE DOING AN IMPROVEMENT. YES. THAT'S GONNA BE THERE FOR MANY, MANY YEARS. YES, SIR. AND, AND IT WILL NOT GET CHEAPER NEXT YEAR ABSOLUTELY. THAN IT IS THIS YEAR. YES. WITH FUELED WHERE THAT IT IS. SO THAT'S ANOTHER PIECE OF THE PUZZLE THAT I LOOK AT AS A HARD ASSET. YEAH. UM, AND AN IMPROVEMENT TO YOUR, TO YOUR SCHOOL IN GENERAL. YES, SIR. WHICH THE COUNTY OWNS. SO, UM, I AGREE WITH MR. MOODY. MM-HMM . UM, PRAYING THAT WE DO HAVE SOME YEAR END YES. FUNDS AND PRAYING THAT WE DO GET A STATE [01:15:01] BUDGET. YEAH. I WOULD BE IN AGREEMENT WITH, UM, GOING, MOVING FORWARD WITH THE PROJECT. MR. JAMES, ANY COMMENTS? NO. OKAY. ALRIGHT. I ENTERTAIN A MOTION. YEAH. I'LL MAKE, I'LL MAKE A MOTION. WE MOVED APPROPRIATE A HUNDRED SEVENTY FIVE FOUR FIFTEEN TRANSFER FROM THE COUNTY GENERAL FUND TO THE DEWIN COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL CAPITAL FUND TO COVER THE DEWINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PARKING LOT PAVEMENT PROJECT. AND IT'S FOUR 16, HUH? FOUR 16? IS THAT WHAT I SAID? YEAH, 15 . I'M JUST, THAT'S WHEN YOU SAID IT JUST CAME TO MY MIND. SO IT'S, ANYWAYS, 1 75 4 16. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO WE GOT A MOTION SECOND AND GOT A SECOND. ROLL CALL. MR. MOODY. A MR. CHAVIS. AYE. MR. LEE? AYE. MRS. YON, BONNER AYE. AND DR. MOORE. AYE. FIVE MEMBERS PRESENT VOTING. AYE. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. THANK, APPRECIATE IT. OKAY. ALRIGHT, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SEGMENT. THAT IS CITIZENS' COMMENTS. AND AT THIS TIME, ARE THERE ANYONE SIGNED UP FOR CITIZENS' COMMENT PERIOD? MR. CHAIR THERE, ONLY ONE SIGNED UP. IS THERE ANYONE THAT WISHES TO SPEAK DURING THE CITIZEN'S COMMENT PERIOD? HEARING NOW WILL CLOSE THE CITIZEN'S COMMENT PERIOD. COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE [9. COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR COMMENTS] COMMENTS, MR. CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD? UM, JUST, JUST TO FIRST TO COMMENT TO, UH, MR. TYLER AND THE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION. UM, AND I, AND I THINK MR. LEE HIT IT REALLY, REALLY POSITIVELY, WHICH IS, I THINK THE, THE ISSUE ISN'T OF SUPPORT OF FUNDING, IT'S JUST THE PHILOSOPHY OF HOW TO FUND IT. AND I THINK ONE OF THE ISSUES OF THE BOARD FOR THE YEARS, AND AGAIN, MR NOT TO BE REPETITIVE, BUT, AND, AND DR WE GLAD TO HEAR YOU SAID IT. WE, WE'VE ALWAYS, WE KINDA LOOK AT THIS AS BEING VETTED BY THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, UH, MORE SO THAN IN ANYTHING ELSE. SO, AND I, I WOULD OFFER, AS Y'ALL ARE GONNA HAVE ADDITIONAL CONVERSATIONS, YOU KNOW, AS IN REGARDS TO OUR SOCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, WRAPAROUND SERVICES, OUR TWO CHIN PROGRAM THAT, THAT WE HAVE, THERE'S ANYTHING THERE IN ADDITION TO WHAT Y'ALL ALREADY DO. UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE HERE TO HELP IN THAT WAY TOO. BUT I, I AM REALLY ENCOURAGED THAT BETWEEN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND YOU ALL, I, I, I FEEL POSITIVELY THAT YOU WILL, YOU'LL COME TO SOME TYPE OF CONCLUSION, UH, FOR NEXT WEEK. UH, MS. KELLY, YOUR STAFF, I, I, I MEAN THIS WHOLEHEARTEDLY. I I'VE TALKED TO NUMEROUS PARENTS OVER THE YEARS IN REGARDS TO THE, YOU KNOW, THE SUPPORT THEY GET. AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS TO, TO DO THIS LINE OF WORK. AND WE SAY THIS TO OUR TEACHERS, AND I'M MARRIED TO ONE, BUT, UH, FOR, FOR YOU ALL, IT'S A, IT'S A CALLING. AND YOU KNOW, WE, THERE, THERE ARE SEGMENTS OF EVERY POPULATION THAT'S THE MOST DOWN TROTTED. AND TO WORK WITH THAT SPECIAL POPULATION, UH, TAKES A, A VERY TALENTED PERSON TO DO THAT AND ONE THAT CARES DEEPLY. AND EVEN THOUGH THE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE BUSINESS AND, AND FUNDING, AND I CAN TELL YOU FROM, FROM THIS BOARD'S PERSPECTIVE, 'CAUSE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT BEHIND, BEHIND THESE DOORS AS WELL. NO ONE HAS EVER QUESTIONED THE CALIBER OF THE WORK AND OR THE INDIVIDUALS BEHIND MAKING THE PERSONAL SACRIFICES EVERY DAY. UM, SO I JUST DON'T WANT THE STAFF TO SIT HERE AND NOT RECOGNIZE OR FOR US NOT TO RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT YOU ALL DO EVERY DAY, AND THAT IT DOESN'T GO UNNOTICED. SO THA I WANNA THANK Y'ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY, UM, TO LISTEN TO THIS TOO AS WE MOVE FORWARD. UM, NOW MORE ADMINISTRATIVE THINGS FOR THE, FOR THE BOARD. YOU'LL SEE YOUR ADOPTED FISCAL YEAR 2024 BUDGET. THAT'S BEFORE YOU. AND THIS IS MY, MY FAVORITE BUDGET DOCUMENT BECAUSE IT DOES PUT IT TOGETHER IN SUCH A WAY THAT'S FOR THE NON-ACCOUNTANTS IN THE ROOM. YOU CAN ACTUALLY READ THIS BUDGET AND, AND IT'S VERY TRANSPARENT. JUST WANNA THANK MS. HOWERTON AND STAFF FOR, FOR PUTTING THAT TOGETHER. AND YOU'LL SEE YOUR COPY IS HERE. WE ALSO HAVE COPIES ON THE COUNTY WEBSITE AND UPSTAIRS FOR, UH, ON THE WEBSITE FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT, WANT TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT IT THAT WAY TOO. UM, I ALSO WANTED TO ANNOUNCE, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU ALL, UH, INVESTED INTO THE CIRCUIT COURT CLERK'S RENOVATION OF, OF THEIR OFFICES. AND SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING, STAFF HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH BARRETT CHAPEL, AND, UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE STARTING TO, TO GET INTO THE COURTHOUSE AND MAKE SOME CHANGES OVER THERE. AND, UH, IT'S OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT'S NEARING COMPLETION. NOT COMPLETE YET, BUT, UH, NEARING COMPLETION. SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THAT. UM, I WANTED TO REFLECT BACK ON OUR AUGUST 1ST MEETING. AUGUST 1ST AT A WORKSHOP. WE, WE TALKED ABOUT SPEED ENFORCEMENT IN SCHOOL ZONES AND SPECIFICALLY HAD A POTENTIAL VENDOR, BLUE LINE SOLUTIONS THAT, THAT CAME IN. UM, DR. MOORE AS THE CHAIR WAS UNABLE TO ATTEND THAT MEETING. [01:20:01] UH, ALSO TYLER SOUTHALL COUNTY ATTORNEY. UH, BUT THE DESIRE OF THE, THE REMAINING BOARD MEMBERS WAS TO MOVE FORWARD AND, AND LOOK, LOOK AT THAT MORE SIGNIFICANTLY. UH, THAT BEING SAID, UM, I DID MEET WITH DR. MOORE TO BRING HIM UP TO SPEED ON WHAT THAT PROPOSAL LOOKED LIKE, UM, AT SPECIFICALLY THE LOCATION IN FRONT OF SUTHERLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. NOW, AFTER THE CONVERSATION WITH DR. MOORE, WE ALSO DECIDED TO ASK BLUE LINE SOLUTIONS TO LOOK AT JUST IN FRONT OF SOUTH SIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. IF YOU LOOK AT THE OTHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND SECONDARY EDUCATION, ALMOST EVERY OTHER SCHOOL IS IN A REDUCED ZONE OR ON A SECONDARY HIGHWAY. UH, THESE TWO LOCATIONS IN FRONT OF SOUTH SIDE IN FRONT OF SUTHERLAND ARE IN 55 MILE AN HOUR ZONES, RIGHT? AND SO WHEN WE SAW THE DATA, ESPECIALLY FROM SUTHERLAND, THAT SUGGESTED IN A FIVE DAY PERIOD THAT 60, I MEAN 36,000 VEHICLES WENT THROUGH THERE AND 24,000 OF THOSE WERE SPEEDING IN EXCESS OF 10 MILES AN HOUR. THAT WE WANNA LOOK AT THE DATA AS WELL FOR, UH, SOUTH SIDE. SO, UH, WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED TO MAJOR KNOTT, SHERIFF ADAMS TO GET THAT EVALUATION DONE ON SOUTH SIDE. UM, NOW WE TALKED ABOUT IT FROM BUDGET STANDPOINT 'CAUSE THERE IS A CIVIL PENALTY OF A HUNDRED DOLLARS ON THIS. FINE, YOU KNOW, OUR RECOMMENDATION TO STAFF THAT THE WORKSHOP AND THE STORE REMAINS THE SAME IS THAT YOU DON'T BUDGET ANY REVENUE FOR THIS. 'CAUSE THIS IS NOT ABOUT A REVENUE STREAM. NOW OBVIOUSLY FUNDS COULD BE COLLECTED AND MORE THAN LIKELY WOULD BE COLLECTED IF YOU MOVE FORWARD, BUT WE LOOK AT THIS TOTALLY AS A PUBLIC SAFETY PIECE. AND THE ULTIMATE DESIRE IS TO GET PEOPLE GOING THROUGH THESE REDUCED ZONES GOING SLOWER. UM, ESPECIALLY IN THESE AREAS WHERE YOU HAVE 55 MILES PER HOUR. SO BEST CASE SCENARIO, IF WE GET THE REPORT IN, WE CAN LOOK AT IT. WE LIKE TO SHARE THAT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WITH YOU ALL, UM, MAYBE SEPTEMBER THAT YOU COULD CONSIDER IT, BUT IT'D PROBABLY BE OCTOBER BEFORE YOU COULD CONSIDER IT. UM, AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S EVALUATING THE PROPOSAL TOO TO, TO LOOK AT IT FROM, FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE AS WELL. SO I JUST WANTED TO, TO BRING THAT TO YOUR ATTENTION. UH, CHIEF S LEFT, BUT, UH, HE, HE BROUGHT UP IN OUR DEPARTMENT HEAD MEETING THIS WEEK THAT A NEW VARIANT OF COVID-19 IS STARTING TO EMERGE INTO THE TRI-CITY AREA. SO, UM, WE COULD SEE AN INCREASE IN SOME POSITIVE CASES, ESPECIALLY IN CONGREGATE SETTINGS. AND WE KNOW WITH SCHOOL, UH, STARTING TO OPEN BACK UP AGAIN, THAT, THAT MORE THAN LIKELY WE'LL SEE AN INCREASE IN IN, IN SOME POSITIVE CASES. WE'VE BEEN WORKING, UH, VERY DILIGENTLY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PREPARED THE BEST WE CAN AND BEING ABLE TO GET TESTS, UH, AVAILABILITY OF TESTS FOR OUR OWN WORKFORCE AND MAKE SURE THAT OUR EMPLOYEES AREN'T COMING TO WORK SICK. UM, 'CAUSE WE KNOW HOW THAT THAT PLAYS ITSELF OUT. UH, PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO PROJECT NOW THAT'S OVER A $10 MILLION PROJECT IN MULTIPLE YEARS. UM, WORKING ON THAT PROJECT, IT'S NEARING COMPLETION. SO MID, MID SEPTEMBER THAT SHOULD BE GETTING CLOSE TO COMPLETION. WE'RE DOING FIELD VERIFICATION NOW. SO DEY COUNTY FIRE AND EMS IN CONJUNCTION WITH MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS ARE CON ARE CONDUCTING TESTS NOW OVER THAT 507 SQUARE MILES OF, OF DEY COUNTY. WE, WE ACTUALLY PUT AN ALL CALL OUT TO RECOGNIZE WHAT AREAS OF THE COUNTY WERE THERE WERE FULLY MARKED, UM, TO GIVE PEOPLE NOTICE THAT WE'RE TESTING IN THESE SPECIFIC AREAS. WE ALSO ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO CONTACT FIRE AND EMS IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OF ASSOCIATED WITH THAT. UM, ALSO IN, IN SEPTEMBER, SEPTEMBER 19TH, WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR, UH, POTENTIAL PUBLIC HEARING ON THE COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLAN. UM, SO THAT, THAT MOVE FORWARD FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION WOULD BE COMING TO YOU ALL AT YOUR SEPTEMBER 19TH MEETING. ALSO, THE PLANNING COMMISSION HEARD THE, UH, APPLICANT ROCK RIVER OF THE NASH ROAD SUBDIVISION REQUEST. THAT'S 77 SUBDIVISION LOTS, UM, AND 184 ACRES GOING FROM A TWO TO R ONE. UM, THAT ALSO WILL BE HEARD AT THE SEPTEMBER 19TH MEETING. UH, RAY VINES, THE DIRECTOR OF PARKS REC, HAS ALSO IDENTIFIED THAT, THAT THIS WEEK IS THE FINAL, UH, DRAFT OF OUR, UH, FACILITIES MASTER PLAN. I KNOW Y'ALL WERE INVOLVED IN THAT PROCESS A COUPLE TIMES, BUT WE'RE HOPING TO GET THAT FINAL DRAFT STAFF ONCE WE GET IT. WE'LL LOOK AT IT, GO THROUGH IT. UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT SOME ASSETS SHARED WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM THERE, SO WE'LL, WE'LL KIND OF COLLABORATE THAT BEFORE IT COMES BACK TO YOU ALL FOR FINAL ADOPTION. JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT ON YOUR, ON YOUR RADAR. ALSO, YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR WE WANTED TO HAVE A, AN ADVANCE BEFORE BUDGET. YOU KNOW, USUALLY WE DO OUR ADVANCE AFTER THE BUDGET. UM, BUDGETS OF COUNTY DEPARTMENTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN SUBMITTED TO US. SO, UH, I'VE WORKED WITH, WITH DR. MOORE, IDENTIFIED TWO PARTICULAR WEEKS IN OCTOBER. ONE OF 'EM DIDN'T, [01:25:01] DIDN'T WORK OUT. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT OCTOBER 11TH AND OCTOBER 12TH, AND I'M GLAD DR. WESTON IS HERE. AND, AND MR. WALTERS, 'CAUSE WE, WE WOULD REALLY LIKE THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS PARTICIPATION THIS YEAR ON THAT. IN ADDITION TO PUBLIC SAFETY SCHOOLS ARE GONNA BE A, A BIG PART OF YOUR FUTURE DIRECTION HERE. UM, SO WE'LL BE, YOU KNOW, FINALIZING THAT ITINERARY. BUT WE WOULD ASK THE SCHOOL SYSTEM TO PARTICIPATE AGAIN OCTOBER 11TH AND 12TH. I JUST ASKED THE BOARD THAT YOU ALL LOOK AT YOUR SCHEDULES ON THOSE DATES. IF FOR SOME REASON THOSE DATES DON'T WORK, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE TO LOOK AT SOME D ADDITIONAL DATES. UM, I KNOW THIS THURSDAY WE'RE GOING TO THE COUNTY OFFICIALS SUMMIT, SO MR. LEE CAN HAVE HIS SPEECH ON , HOW YOU HAVE 5 BILLION, $5 BILLION IN EXCESS FUNDS AND NOT HAVE A BUDGET. UM, BUT WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES. UH, SO THE BOARD, UH, WILL, WILL WORK THROUGH THE LOGISTICS OF HOW WE'RE GONNA GET TO THAT MEETING. UM, THIS WEEK. UH, COUNTY EMPLOYEE THICK NECK IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE DONE, UH, SEVERAL YEARS IN A ROW. THAT'S GONNA BE OCTOBER 3RD. SO JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU THAT DATE. AND THEN FINALLY, UH, OUR, OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH WISE, WHEN IT COMES TO THE PASTORAL FAITH-BASED COMMUNITY, WE'RE GONNA BE HOSTING A MEETING WITH THE, THE, THE FAITH-BASED COMMUNITY ON, UH, RECOMMITMENT AND ENGAGEMENT OF CHURCHES. THAT'S GONNA BE THURSDAY, AUGUST 31ST, AND THAT'S GONNA BE AT EAST SIDE COMMUNITY ENHANCEMENT CENTER, EIGHT 30 TO 11. JUST KEEP THROWING THESE DATES OUT. LEADWELL SUMMIT IS THE SECOND. LEADWELL SUMMIT'S GONNA BE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21ST AT DEY HIGH SCHOOL. THERE ARE HOSTS THIS YEAR, UH, EIGHT 30 TO TO 12 O'CLOCK. AND THEN THE ONE COMMUNITY CHURCH SERVICE, THAT'S GONNA BE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29TH. SO AGAIN, WE KEEP, KEEP PUTTING THOSE DATES OUT FOR YOU 'CAUSE I KNOW Y'ALL DON'T WANT TO MISS THAT. AND THEN I DON'T WANT TO END, UH, THIS TIME WITH ME TALKING WITHOUT THINKING ALVIN GURLEY FOR SOMETIMES YOU GET CALLED TO THE, TO PINCH HIT AND KAISHA BROWN HAD VACATION THIS WEEK AND YOU KNOW, IT'S GOOD TO HAVE TEAMWORK AND ALVIN STEPPING IN. SO WE APPRECIATE YOU ALVIN. ALWAYS HAVE. BUT THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO, ALVIN. YOU'RE WELCOME. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU MR. CHAIRMAN. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU MR. MASSENGALE. ALRIGHT, NEXT IS BOARD MEMBER [10. BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS] COMMENTS. AND I'LL START WITH MR. MOODY TODAY. ALRIGHT, I DON'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT, I JUST WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT THAT TODAY'S AGENDA WAS KIND OF A TOUGH AGENDA FOR US. UH, AS FAR AS I WAS CONCERNED. WE HAD SOME ISSUES THAT WERE IMPORTANT ISSUES TO US, BUT, UH, OVER THE YEARS WE'VE, WE'VE TRIED TO STICK TO OUR BUDGETS AND, UH, IT'S, IT'S SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO MAKE EXCEPTIONS AND IT'S, IT'S JUST SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT LINE BY LINE AND, AND ISSUE BY ISSUE. AND SO, UH, I KNOW PERSONALLY ON A FAMILY BUDGET, YOU DON'T LIKE TO SPEND WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE AND YOU DON'T LIKE TO SPEND WHAT YOU HAVEN'T BUDGETED FOR EITHER. 'CAUSE YOU CAN'T GET IN TROUBLE DOING THAT. SO, UM, YEAH, IT WAS A TOUGH MEETING TODAY, BUT, UH, THAT'S ALL I HAVE. MR. LEE. UM, I'M GLAD YOU, UM, THANKED MR. GURLEY. IT, UH, BRINGS BACK MEMORIES FOR US THAT ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO TO HEAR HIS FAMILIAR VOICE. UM, SO I, I WISH I WAS AS YOUNG AS THE LAST WHEN YOU WERE DOING PLANNING COMMISSION, BUT, UH, AND THEN THE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION, UM, RUFA SAID, UH, ABOUT THE, UM, ONE TO THREE YEARS OLD THAT THE CHILD'S MIND ABSORBED SO MUCH. AND, UM, MY DAUGHTER'S, UM, DAUGHTER WHO'S, WHO'S MY GRANDDAUGHTER WAS BORN OCTOBER TWO, OH, WILL BE TWO YEARS IN OCTOBER ON A BOARD MEETING NIGHT. AND SHE IS JUST SO SMART AND TO, YOU KNOW, TALKING AND, UH, PUTTING SENTENCES TOGETHER AND, UM, AND IT, IT'S AMAZING TO SEE HOW THEY PROCESS THINGS AND, AND GROW. SO WHAT Y'ALL ARE DOING WITH THE YOUNGER KIDS IS, IS TRULY IMPORTANT AND, UH, APPRECIATE WHAT Y'ALL DO. UM, WE'RE GOING TO VACO, UM, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, UH, PRETTY MUCH ALL THE COUNTIES, UM, THROUGHOUT THE STATE WILL BE THERE. AND IT, IT'S INTERESTING, UM, BECAUSE UM, WHEN I WAS A DAIRY FARMER, WE WOULD GO TO VIRGINIA TECH FOOTBALL GAMES, UM, WITH A GROUP OF DAIRY FARMERS AND IT WAS ALWAYS THERAPEUTIC TO HEAR ALL THEIR PROBLEMS AND KNOW THAT YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH PROBLEMS. SO I THINK VACO IS THE SAME WAY BECAUSE, [01:30:02] UM, WHAT THE STATE IS DOING WITH THE BUDGET AND WITH THE SURPLUS AND THE NEED, UM, OF COUNTIES FOR, FOR MONEY, UH, IS JUST RIDICULOUS. AND, UM, ONE OF THE, THE THINGS THAT I KNOW I'M GONNA BE A PART OF, OF THE, THE NOISE THAT, THAT WE'LL MAKE MOVING FORWARD, THERE'S GONNA BE A JUDGMENT DAY WITH COUNTIES, UM, WHEN, UM, THEY CONTINUE TO PUT THE FUNDING ON LOCALITIES INSTEAD OF THE STATE PICKING UP FUNDING, UM, FOR ACROSS THE BOARD. AND, YOU KNOW, I GO INTO THE GROCERY STORE AND I KNOW EVERYBODY IN THE GROCERY STORE, THEY'RE IN RICHMOND. THEY DON'T, DON'T KNOW ANYBODY. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, IT IT, SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE THAT BOTH SIDES CAN'T KEEP POINTING FINGERS AT ONE ANOTHER AND SAYING, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT IS YOUR FAULT. IT'S, IT'S SOMEBODY ELSE'S FAULT. AND, UH, SO ANYWAY, THAT'S MY LITTLE SOAP BOX , UM, YOU KNOW, IT AFFECTS US TO TODAY'S MEETING IS IS THAT VERY ABSOLUTELY. UM, THING, YOU KNOW, WE SEE IT. SO, UM, THAT'S ALL I GOT. JAVIS, I AGREE WITH THESE TWO. UM, DR. WESTON, I KNOW YOU THINK WE'RE HARD, YOU KNOW, UH, AND THE IMPROVEMENTS WHAT YOU DO, I USED TO GO AND READ TO THE KIDS THERE AND I KNOW IT TAKES MONEY TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN LIKE THAT. AND, BUT IT'S ALL FOR US. YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S HARD. IT IS A HARD DECISION WHAT YOU HAVE TO MAKE, WHERE TO SPEND MONEY. 'CAUSE EVERYBODY'S GOT THEIR HANDS OUT. IT'S LIKE KIDS ON CHRISTMAS, YOU KNOW? SO IF YOU JUST GIVE ALL THE TIME, THEN WE WOULD BE IN A BAD SHAPE. SO THIS, I THINK THIS BOARD IS VERY LENIENT AND CARING ABOUT EVERYBODY, BUT IT IS HARD. SO WE GET SMACKED AROUND A LOT. BUT WE DO CARE ABOUT, UM, EVERYTHING THAT GOES ON IN THE COUNTY THAT PEOPLE REACHING OUT TO TRY TO, TO HELP OTHERS. AND THAT'S WHAT THE COUNTY'S ABOUT. WE CARE ABOUT THE COUNTY HELPING THE COUNTY. SO THAT'S MY LITTLE SPELL. OKAY. THANK YOU MR. TAYLOR, MS. PALM. OKAY. UM, UH, JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS. AND I GUESS TO, UM, JUST SAY THE SAME THING THAT THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS HAVE SAID ABOUT THE PEOPLE HERE. YOU KNOW, UM, DR. WESTON, DR. WESTON, YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS TALK, YOU KNOW, THIS, THAT, THIS, THAT, TRYING TO MAKE SURE YOU GET WHAT YOU NEED FOR THE STUDENTS. STUDENTS ARE VERY IMPORTANT. AND THE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION, THE LITTLE KIDS, 'CAUSE LITTLE KIDS ARE SMART, UH, UM, YOU ALL DO SOMETHING 'CAUSE THEY, THOSE ARE SMART LITTLE KIDS. THEY BE TELLING YOU THINGS AND YOU LIKE, YOU, LIKE HOW OLD ARE YOU AGAIN? BUT, UM, THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO. THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO. UM, JUST A COUPLE THINGS. I WENT TO, UM, NACO, WHICH IS THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES. AND, UM, IT WAS IN TEXAS AND IT WAS HOT, VERY HOT. UM, I WAS TELLING MY FRIEND THERE, I SAID, UM, IT WAS SO HOT, WE DIDN'T EVEN SEE FLIES FLYING AROUND. SO, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS PRETTY HOT DOWN THERE. AND, UM, THE, UH, THINGS, AND, AND IT'S A BUSY TIME. YOU'RE, YOU'RE GOING TO SEMINARS EVERY DAY, AND THE ACTUAL CONVENTION CENTER WAS SO HUGE TO GO ON ONE SIDE OF THE BUILDING, YOU WOULD WALK THREE BLOCKS ALMOST. THAT'S HOW BIG IT WAS INSIDE. THEY SAID THEY WANTED TO CONCENTRATE ON, UM, HEALTHY LIVING AND WALKING AND EVERYTHING, BUT IT, IT, IT WAS A WHOLE LOT. I WAS EXHAUSTED. BUT, UM, WE TALKED ABOUT BROADBAND AND WITH ALL THE 50 STATES THERE, UM, A LOT OF US HAVE THE SAME ISSUES. AND THEY TALKED ABOUT, UM, HEALTHCARE, HOW EXPENSIVE IT IS AND TRYING TO GET THAT DOWN. UM, THEY HAD A WHOLE LOT OF PROGRAMS, A LOT OF PEOPLE TALKING, A LOT OF PEOPLE LOBBYING ABOUT THOSE THINGS, UM, WITH HEALTHCARE AND, AND MEDICINE COSTS, TRYING TO TALK ABOUT THOSE THINGS. AND ALSO, UH, HOMELESS, UH, WE WENT WALKING AND IT JUST AMAZES ME, I THINK, I DON'T CARE WHAT STATE YOU GO TO, YOU ALWAYS GOING TO SEE PEOPLE UNFORTUNATELY LAY IN THE STREET. AND WE WENT TWO BLOCKS FROM ALL THESE GIANT HOTELS AND, UM, ACTUALLY IN THE CAPITOL OF TEXAS. AND I SAW PEOPLE LAYING IN THE STREET, IT WAS HOT NOW, HOT WITH COATS ON, UM, JUST OUT THERE ASKING FOR MONEY AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO, UM, IT WAS REALLY DIFFICULT TO SEE. AND THEN PEOPLE ON BICYCLES AND YOU JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T, UH, BE OUT AND SOMEONE TRY TO GRAB SOMETHING AND EVERYTHING. BUT IT, IT WAS A PRETTY, [01:35:01] UM, BAD THING TO SEE. AND A LOT OF PEOPLE WALKED OUTTA THE HOTEL AND SAW THAT AND THEY MADE COMMENTS DURING THE MEETINGS ABOUT THAT. BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU SEE HOMELESSNESS AND THINGS AND PEOPLE HAVE ISSUES ALL THE TIME, UNFORTUNATELY. AND THE OTHER THING, UH, THEY TALKED ABOUT WAS, UH, MENTAL HEALTH AND HOW BIG IT IS NOW AND FUNDING REALLY GOING INTO MENTAL HEALTH. WE REALLY HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE THOSE ISSUES. NOT ONLY ADULTS, CHILDREN, CHILDREN HAVE THOSE THINGS AS WELL. SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE TO FOCUS ON THAT AND PUT MONEY IN. AND THEY TALKED ABOUT THAT. AND WE DID A TOUR, WHICH WAS REALLY INTERESTING ABOUT TINY HOUSES. THEY HAD A GIANT, UH, AREA WITH TINY HOUSES, AND THE RENT WAS ABOUT $500 A MONTH FOR THE TINY HOUSES. I TOOK SOME PICTURES TO BRING IT BACK AND LOOK, BUT, UM, THEY HAD SENIORS THERE. THEY HAD PEOPLE WHO HAD MAYBE SOME HEALTH CONCERNS, ISSUES AND THINGS LIKE THAT LIVING THERE. AND PEOPLE ACTUALLY COULD WALK, UM, TO WHATEVER THEY NEED. THEY HAD A SMALL MARKET, THEY HAD A SMALL MEDICAL CENTER, AND THEN THEY HAD A GARDEN THAT PEOPLE GROWING THEIR OWN VEGETABLES. AND ALSO I PASSED BY AND THEY HAD ALL THESE, I THINK IT WAS LIKE, UM, ALMOST A HUNDRED CHICKENS. THEY HAD CHICKENS AND THEY, THEY GOT EGGS EVERY MONTH, EVERY MORNING FOR THE PEOPLE. SO THEY WERE KIND OF SELF-SUFFICIENT, HELPING EVERYONE. SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS PRETTY INTERESTING, UM, IN THIS AREA. BUT THE TINY HOUSES WERE REALLY NICE. AND, UM, UH, THEY HAD A NICE RECREATION CENTER WHERE THEY CAN GO AND ENJOY. UM, AND THEY WERE BUILDING ANOTHER CENTER AS WELL. SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS PRETTY INTERESTING. UH, THEY HAD, UM, TWO BUSES TO GO, BUT IT WAS JUST THE, THE TERRIBLE TIME OF THE DAY. THEY TOOK US ALL OUT AT TWO O'CLOCK IN THE DAY AND IT WAS TO TOUR AND, AND IT WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, SO HOT. IT'S STILL STILL HOT THERE. UM, BUT I THOUGHT THAT WAS INTERESTING WITH THE TINY HOUSES THAT WAS TRYING TO, UH, SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF HOMELESSNESS AND PEOPLE WHO COULDN'T AFFORD, YOU KNOW, TRADITIONAL APARTMENTS AND HOUSING AND EVERYTHING. AND THE, AND THE PLACES WERE VERY, VERY NICE. AND $500 A MONTH, A TINY HOUSING LOOKED REALLY, REALLY GOOD INSIDE THERE. SO THOSE WERE THE THINGS. AND, UM, THE, UM, PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER JUST WORKING ON DIFFERENT PROJECTS AND HOPEFULLY WE GET A LOT OF THINGS DONE, UM, THROUGH NACO. SO WE, UH, THEY ARE, THEY'RE DOING A LOT TO WORK WITH THINGS. SO WE HOPE THAT, UM, SOME OF THE GRANTS AND THINGS, UM, FILTER DOWN. SO, UM, WE COULD USE SOME OF THE, UH, THINGS THAT, UM, THEY HAVE, AND IT'S A LOT OF GRANTS AND YOU JUST HAVE TO APPLY FOR 'EM. I WAS JUST AMAZED THEY SAID, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ALL THIS MONEY, NOBODY APPLIES. I SAID, WELL, NOBODY REALLY KNOWS UNLESS YOU SHARE THAT. SO I DO HAVE SOME OF THAT INFORMATION AS WELL. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU MS. BONNER. I THINK YOU HAVE ONE OF THOSE TINY HOUSES ON COX ROAD. IF MY MEMORY IS CORRECT, DON'T REMIND ME. . YES. SO YES, WE DO. ANYWAY, UH, MY PRAYER IS THAT OUR, WE CAN GET ALL OF OUR KIDS WHERE THEY NEED TO BE IN A WEEK FROM NOW. UM, I THINK WE ALL APPRECIATE THE HOME IMPROVEMENT, I MEAN THE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION, WHAT THEY DO FOR OUR CHILDREN AS WELL AS OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. WE'RE IN A UNIQUE SITUATION. MY PRAYER IS THAT WE CAN COME TOGETHER AND MAKE THIS HAPPEN. UH, IT'S NOT FAIR TO THE, THE THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLDS, UM, THAT WE AS ADULTS HAVE PUT US IN THIS SITUATION. SO I HOPE WE CAN WORK THAT OUT. WE VALUE BOTH, BOTH SITUATIONS, UM, AND WHAT YOU DO ON A DAILY BASIS. UM, SO WITH THAT, UM, LET ME GO THROUGH A COUPLE OF THINGS. UH, FROM A COUNTY POINT OF VIEW, LAST MONTH WE TALKED ABOUT OUR TWO BASEBALL TEAMS THAT, UH, DIXIE BASEBALL YOUTH TEAMS THAT HAD WON THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS AND THEY WENT TO RUSTON, LOUISIANA. AND BOTH OF THEM FINISHED THIRD. THERE WERE TWO DIFFERENT DIVISIONS, BUT THEY FINISHED THIRD. SO I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE A BUNCH OF BALL PLAYERS COMING TO SEE US IN SEPTEMBER, UM, IN THE EVENING. AND THAT'S ALWAYS A GREAT THING TO RECOGNIZE OUR YOUTH MM-HMM . AND, AND, UH, HOW THINGS LIKE THAT CHANGE THEIR LIVES. THEY'LL NEVER FORGET THAT EXPERIENCE. AND, UM, SO WE ARE, WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THEM AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONGRATULATING THEM. IN SEPTEMBER, UM, THE VIRGINIA ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY, WE RECEIVED AWARD FOR BEST SMALL, UH, COUNTY, UH, FOR OUR CITY PLANNING PROJECT. AND THAT WAS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE COUNTY AND OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS AND OUR GIFTED PROGRAM, THE GATE PROGRAM, UH, GIFTED AND TALENTED EDUCATION. AND INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, THEY DID A MOCK CITY. I KNOW OUR STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING WITH THEM. THEY GO IN, UM, WHATEVER THE TIMEFRAME IS, WORKING WITH THEM, SHOWING THEM WHAT, WHAT A CITY DOES. BUT THAT WAS PRESENTED TO, TO VACO. WE RECEIVED THE NATIONAL, THE NACO AWARD. NOW WE [01:40:01] HAVE RECEIVED THE, UM, SMALL COUNTY AWARD. UM, SO I'M SURE THAT'LL BE PRESENTED WHEN WE GET TO NOVEMBER. UM, AT, AT THAT. SO THANKS TO THE COOPERATION BETWEEN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, THE GIFTED PROGRAM, THOSE CHILDREN AND OUR STAFF HERE FOR THE WORK THAT THEY HAVE DONE. AND THE MOST IMPORTANT PART ABOUT THAT IS PLANTING THE SEED THAT AT ONE DAY, ONE OF THOSE MIGHT BE MR. MASSING OR MS. COLLINS TO COME BACK AND RUN DENVER WITTY COUNTY. YOU JUST NEVER KNOW. BUT IF THEY'RE NOT EXPOSED TO THOSE THINGS, UM, HOW TO RUN A CITY, HOW TO RUN A COUNTY, UH, THE ADMINISTRATION, THEY, THEY, THE SEED WOULD NEVER BE PLANTED. SO THAT'S WHAT IT'S WHAT IT'S ABOUT THERE. UM, LEADING THE LEAD WELL SUMMIT, WHICH IS GONNA BE SEPTEMBER, UH, EXCUSE ME, OCTOBER THE 21ST. SATURDAY, UH, OUR FIRST SPEAKER, WHICH WAS IN FEBRUARY OF 2020 PRE COVID, UM, WAS DR. JOHN KENNY FROM VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY. HE WILL BE COMING BACK TO LEAD THE, LEAD IT AND THE, UH, FOCUS WILL BE WHAT DOES HEALING LOOK LIKE? PRETTY SCRIPTURAL THERE THAT, THAT'D BE VERY INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT HIS TAKE IS. UM, THERE WILL BE A REGISTRATION WE NEED AS INDIVIDUALS TO REGISTER FOR IT. AND SO MORE INFORMATION WILL BE COMING FORWARD AS, UM, FROM THE COUNTY PERTAINING TO THAT. UM, OUR FIRST CITIZENS ACADEMY GRADUATED SEVERAL MONTHS AGO AND NOW WE'RE GONNA START OUR SECOND CITIZENS ACADEMY IN SEPTEMBER. I THINK WE AS A BOARD WILL BE KICKING THAT OFF IN SEPTEMBER 11TH, SEPTEMBER, SEPTEMBER THE 11TH. AND SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO THAT. AND OF COURSE WE ALREADY HAVE PEOPLE SIGNED UP OR IN LINE FOR THE SPRING VERSION OF THAT IN 2024. SO, UM, SO STAY TUNED FOR THOSE, THOSE DETAILS GOING FORWARD. UM, JUST ON MENTAL NOTE, THE COUNTY FAIR IS OCTOBER THE SIXTH THROUGH THE EIGHTH. UM, AND THEN THE LAST PIECE IS COME MONDAY, OUR TEACHERS ARE ALREADY BACK IN THE BUILDING, BEING EDUCATED FOR THIS NEW SCHOOL YEAR. UM, AND OUR STUDENTS, I THINK WE HAVE KINDERGARTEN, SIXTH GRADE, NINTH GRADE WILL BE, UH, STARTING ON MONDAY AND THEN THE REMAINING POPULATION STARTS ON TUESDAY. WE WISH THEM THE BEST AND FOR A SAFE, UM, SCHOOL YEAR AND UM, UM, JUST HOPEFULLY EVERYTHING WILL GO, GO WELL. UM, WE HAD A GREAT SCHOOL YEAR THIS PAST YEAR. UM, I WAS BLESSED TO HAVE A GRADUATE AND HAVE TAKEN HER OFF AND HAVE AN EMPTY NEST NOW AND, OH, UM, ANYWAY, LOTS OF FUN . SO, UH, BUT WITH THAT WE HAVE A NEED TO GO INTO CLOSED [11. CLOSED SESSION] SESSION , MR. GURLEY AND THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US TONIGHT, MR. GURLEY. THIS BOARD WILL CONVENE INTO CLOSED SESSION UNDER 2.23711. YES MA'AM. A ONE PERSONNEL COUNTY ATTORNEY EVALUATION AND CONTRACT RENEWAL APPOINTMENTS. BRIGHT POINT COMMUNITY COLLEGE, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES ADVISORY BOARD, THE DENWITTY COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION, AND THE DENWITTY AIRPORT AND INDUSTRIAL AUTHORITY. NUMBER TWO 2.2 DASH 3 7 1 1 A FIVE. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT. UH, DISCUSSION CONCERNING PROSPECTIVE BUSINESSES OR INDUSTRY OR THE EXPANSION OF EXISTING BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY, UH, WHERE NO PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS, UH, HAVE BEEN MADE. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE UPDATE, UH, 2.23711 A THREE, DISCUSSION OF CONSIDERATION OF ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY, UH, FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES OR OF DIS DISPOSITION OF PUBLIC, UH, OF PUBLICLY HELD REAL PROPERTY WHERE DISCUSSION IS AN OPEN MEETING. WOULD ADVISORY WOULD ADVERSELY AFFECT THE BARGAINING POSITION, UH, OR NEGOTIATION STRATEGY OF THE PUBLIC BODY ACQUISITION, REAL PROPERTY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. NUMBER TWO, ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY FOR GOVERNMENT PURPOSES. AND THEN I BELIEVE THIS WAS ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY BROADBAND FIBER HUT 2.23711 A EIGHT. CONSULTATION WITH LEGAL COUNSEL, UH, EMPLOYED OR RETAINED BY A PUBLIC BODY REGARDING SPECIFIC PUBLIC MATTERS, UH, REQUIRING THE PROVISION OF LEGAL ADVICE BY SUCH COUNSEL, UH, BROADBAND, UH, AND THEN LAST 2.2 3 7 1 1 8 29. DISCUSSION OF AWARDS OF A PUBLIC CONTRACT INVOLVING THE EXPANSION, UH, THE EXPENDITURE OF PUBLIC FUNDS, INCLUDING INTERVIEWS OF BIDDERS OR OFFERS, UH, AND DISCUSSION OF THE TERMS OR SCOPE OF SUCH CONTRACT WHERE DISCUSSION IN AN OPEN SESSION, UH, WOULD ADVERSELY AFFECT THE BARGAINING [01:45:01] POSITION OR NEGOTIATING STRATEGY OF THE PUBLIC BODY BROADBAND CONTRACTS. I NEED A MOTION TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION, MR. CHAIRMAN ON THE RESOLUTION. I THINK THE THIRD BULLET POINT IT SHOULD, INSTEAD OF ACQUISITION, IT SHOULD JUST READ FIBER HUT FOR BROADBAND. UM, ACTUALLY THE COUNTY WOULD BE THE LESSOR THERE. SO IT WOULDN'T BE AN ACQUISITION BY THE COUNTY. RIGHT, RIGHT. AND I KNOW MR. LEY, THAT WAS LA ADDED AT THE LAST MINUTE. IT'S ABSOLUTELY FINE. I MAKE A MOTION WITHOUT IT. THAT MR. MOODY AND ABOUT MR. CHA A SECOND MOODY AND LEE, I'M SORRY, MR. MOODY. AYE. MR. CHAVIS? AYE. MR. LEE? AYE. MRS. EBRA, BONNER AYE. AND DR. MOORE? AYE. FIVE MEMBERS PRESENT VOTING AYE. WE ARE IN CLOSED SESSION. ALRIGHT, WE, WE, WE DO NOT HAVE ANY PUBLIC HEARINGS THIS EVENING. SO WE WILL, WHEN WE FINISH OUR BUSINESS IN CLOSED SESSION, WE WILL COME OUT AND DO APPOINTMENTS AND I THINK WE HAVE ANOTHER PIECE OF THIS. THE RESOLUTION. THE RESOLUTION WE'LL TAKE CARE OF AND WE'LL GO FROM THERE. OKAY? ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YOU WORK FOR MR. CHAIR? I NEED A MOTION TO COME ON A CLOSED SESSION. ALRIGHT, SO MOVED. SECOND ROLL CALL. MR. MOODY. AYE. MR. CHAVIS? AYE. MR. LEE? AYE. MRS. YON BONNER AYE. AND DR. MOORE? AYE. FIVE MEMBER PRESENT VOTING AYE. UM, I'M SORRY. WHEREAS THIS BOARD RECONVENE ENCLOSED MEETING UNDER 2.23711 A ONE, PERSONNEL COUNTY ATTORNEY EVALUATION AND CONTRACT RENEWAL APPOINTMENTS. BRIGHT POINT COMMUNITY COLLEGE, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES ADVISORY BOARD, DENWOODY COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION AND DIMITY AIRPORT AND INDUSTRIAL AUTHORITY 2.2 3 7 1 1 8 5. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT, A DISCUSSION CONCERNING PROSPECT BUSINESSES OR INDUSTRY OR THE EXPANSION OF EXISTING BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY WHERE NO PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT HAS BEEN MADE. E ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PER PROSPECT UPDATE 2.23711. A THREE. A DISCUSSION AND CONSIDERATION OF ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY, UH, FOR THE PUBLIC PURPOSE OR FOR THE DISPOSITION? UH, A PUBLICLY HELD REAL PROPERTY AND WE'RE DISCUSSION IN AN OPEN SESSION. WOULD IT WOULD ADVERSELY AFFECT THE BARGAINING POSITION OR NEGOTIATING STRATEGY OF THE PUBLIC BODY? ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY FOR GOVERNMENT PURPOSES AND BROADBAND FIBER HUT. THEN THERE'S 2.2 3 7 1 1 8 8 CONSULTATION WITH LEGAL COUNSEL OR RETAINED BY PUBLIC BODY REGARDING SPECIFIC LEGAL MATTERS, UH, REQUIRING THE PROVISION OF LEGAL ADVICE BY SUCH COUNSEL THAT'S BROADBAND. AND THEN LAST 2.2 3 7 1 1 8 29. DISCUSSION OF AWARDS OF PUBLIC CONTRACT INVOLVING THE EXPENDITURES OF PUBLIC FUNDS, INCLUDING THE INTERVIEWS OF BIDDERS AND OFFERS, UH, AND DISCUSSION OF THE TERMS AND SCOPE OF SUCH CONTRACT. WHEREAS DISCUSSION IN AN OPEN SESSION WOULD IT ADVERSELY AFFECT THE BARGAINING POSITION OF NEGOTIATING STRATEGY OF THE PUBLIC BODY BROADBAND CONTRACTS AND WHEREAS NO MEMBER HAS MADE A STATEMENT THAT THERE WAS A DEPARTURE FROM THE LAWFUL PURPOSE OF SUCH CLOSE MEETING OR THE MATTERS IDENTIFIED IN THE MOTION DISCUSSED NOW BE IT THEREFORE CERTIFIED THAT ONLY THOSE MATTERS AS WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE MOTION WERE HEARD, DISCUSSED OR CONSIDERED IN THE MEETING. I NEED A MOTION. SO MOVED. ROLL CALL MR. MOODY. AYE. MR. CHAVIS? AYE. MR. LEE AYE. MRS. EON BONNER AYE. AND DR. MOORE? AYE. FIVE MEMBERS PRESENT VOTING. AYE. THANK YOU. UH, NEXT ITEM [12. OLD/NEW BUSINESS] IS NUMBER 12. IT'S OLD AND NEW BUSINESS AND WE HAVE APPOINTMENTS THERE. DO WE HAVE ANY APPOINTMENTS THIS EVENING? NONE TONIGHT, MR. CHAIRMAN. ALL RIGHT, THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO 12 B AND THAT IS OUR RESOLUTION FOR REVEREND KEVIN M NORAM AND MR. CHAIRMAN MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. UM, I LAID AT YOUR, AT YOUR SEAT, UH, A COPY OF A RESOLUTION. UH, WE ADDED THIS INFORMATION TO THE AGENDA. UM, THERE IS A, UM, THIS SATURDAY I GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO ATTEND THE FUNCTION RECOGNIZING THE, UH, 20TH PASTORAL ANNIVERSARY OF OF KEVIN NORMAN. AND THIS, THIS RESOLUTION, UH, WILL BE PRESENTED BY ME TO HIM, UH, AT THIS PARTICULAR EVENT. UH, SO THIS, I'M NOT GONNA READ IT TO YOU. I KNOW YOU, YOU HAVE IT HERE BEFORE YOU, BUT IT, IT SPECIFICALLY GETS INTO THE HISTORY OF, OF MR. NOLAN AND HIS, UH, SERVICE [01:50:01] NOT ONLY TO THE UNITED STATES MILITARY, BUT ALSO HIS FAITHFUL SERVICE, UM, IN, IN TO OLIVE BRANCH BAPTIST CHURCH OVER THIS, THIS 20 YEAR PERIOD. AND SO I'M, I'M VERY HONORED TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT THIS ON THE BOARD'S BEHALF AND JUST SIMPLY NEED A, UM, A MOTION TO APPROVE IT AND I'LL PRESENT IT TO HIM AND WOULD LIKE TO HAVE HIM COME, UM, AT A LATER DATE TO BE RECOGNIZED AS WELL. ALRIGHT. BOARD, WHAT IS YOUR PLEASURE? I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION. SECOND. SECOND. OKAY. ALRIGHT, MS. BONNER BEING THE SECOND? YEAH. SECOND. OKAY. ROLL CALL. MR. MOODY. AYE. MR. CHAVIS? AYE. MR. LEE? AYE. MRS. EON BONNER AYE. AND DR. MOORE? AYE. FIVE MEMBERS PRESENT VOTING. AYE. THANK YOU. AND THEN, UH, WE'VE GOT BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS FOR THIS SESSION. DO WE HAVE MS. BONNER ANY COMMENTS THIS EVENING? NO. OKAY. MR. MOODY. MR. LEE? NO. MR. CHAVIS? MM-HMM . AND I HAVE NONE THIS EVENING. IT'S BEEN A GOOD DAY. GOOD DAY. AND UH, SO WE HAVE ONE ITEM LEFT ON HERE AND THAT'S A MOTION FOR AN ADJOURNMENT. SO MOVE SECOND. A MOTION OF A SECOND ROLL CALL. I'M LAUGHING MR. CHAIR. I'M SORRY. LIKE THE PLANNING. THIS ONE IS LIKE THE PLANNING COMMISSION. THEY CAN, THIS IS THE FASTEST VOTED TONIGHT. MR. MOODY. MR. CHAVIS? AYE. MR. LEE. A, MRS. YVO, BONNER AYE. AND DR. MOORE? AYE. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE ARE ADJOURNED AND THANK YOU ABATE YOUR SERVICE NOW. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.