By Tim Gardner
Entering into an agreement with the High Country Council of Governments for assistance with an Opioid Funds Planning Grant and Settlement distributions and adoption of a transportation authority grant application resolution with matching local funds highlighted the regular monthly meeting of the Avery County Board of Commissioners October 2.
Four of the five commissioners were present–Chairwoman Martha Hicks, Vice-Chairman Tim Phillips, Dennis Aldridge, and Wood Hall (Woodie) Young, Jr., were present for the meeting.
Commissioner Robert Burleson was absent.
County Manager Phillip Barrier, Jr., Assistant County Manager and Clerk to the Board Cindy Turbyfill, County Finance Officer Caleb Hogan, and County Attorney Michaelle Poore also attended the meeting.
The commissioners voted unanimously (4-0 of its members present) to adopt an agreement between the County and the High Country Council of Governments for the latter to provide technical assistance under the North Carolina General Statutes that shall consist of implementation, reporting, and administration of Avery County’s Opioid Funds Planning Grant from Dogwood Health Trust and Opioid Settlement Fund distributions.
The High Country Council of Governments will furnish staff to provide the following technical assistance related to the County’s Opioid Funds Planning Grant from Dogwood Health Trust and Opioid Settlement Fund Distribution during the period of the agreement. The scope of its work will consist of the following:
*Assist with contracting and monitoring the work of specialists to:
1) Develop an evaluation plan containing metrics to measure progress of the County’s efforts to address substance misuse
2) Perform a landscape analysis of the gaps and assets related to the substance misuse issue in Avery County
3) Perform an environmental scan of how the opioid crisis has directly affected Avery County
4) Perform a Sequential Intercept Mapping analysis
5) Provide substance misuse related trainings
6) Provide other expert assistance determined necessary by the Avery County Board of Commissioners and Drug Crisis Roundtable
*Attend meetings of the Avery County Drug Crisis Roundtable and Avery County Board of Commissioners to facilitate discussion on the use of Opioid Planning Grant Funds and Opioid Settlement Funds.
*Provide updates, written reports, or in-person reports on the progress of activities related to the County’s Opioid Planning Grant and Opioid Settlement Funds upon request of the County Board of Commissioners or County staff.
*Help implement initiatives identified by the Avery County Board of Commissioners and Drug Crisis Roundtable related to the Opioid Planning Grant Funds and Opioid Settlement Funds.
*Assist with financial administration, reporting, implementation, compliance, and communication related to the County’s Opioid Planning Grant and Opioid Settlement Funds.
Under terms of the agreement, the County will pay the High Country Council of Governments an hourly fee of $65.00 for staff hours worked on the project, along with mileage reimbursement at the Federal mileage rate for travel related to providing the technical assistance outlined in the Agreement. The High Country Council of Governments will invoice the County quarterly. All invoices will contain a breakdown of hours and mileage for work performed in the previous quarter.
During the period of the Agreement, which runs until September 1, 2025, the High Country Council of Governments will furnish the necessary trained personnel to the County to perform the work described within the Scope of Work. Sarah Price, Resiliency Planner and Cory Osborne, Director of Economic Recovery & Resilience, will be the staff from the High Country Council of Governments assigned to the project.
To ensure successful completion of the Scope of Work, the County will provide the following:
1) The County Board of Commissioners, Drug Crisis Roundtable, and County staff will be the decision-making bodies for use of the Opioid Planning Grant and Opioid Settlement Funds. They will guide the work of High Country Council of Governments ‘staff to carry out the Scope of Work.
2) Any contracts for specialists to perform aspects of the Scope of Work or to carry out activities using the County’s Opioid Settlement Funds will be between the County and the contracted specialist/firm/agency. High Country Council of Governments staff members will assist with contracting and monitoring the work of said specialists as desired by the County, but will not be a party to any such contract.
The County may terminate the Agreement by giving the High Country Council of Governments a thirty-day written notice.
Furthermore, if there is a need to amend the Agreement, either party may do so with written approval of the other.
Following a public hearing, the commissioners voted unanimously (4-0 of members present) to adopt a resolution regarding the Avery Transportation Authority’s Fiscal Year 2025 Community Transportation Program Grant Application.
The Community Transportation program provides assistance to coordinate existing transportation programs operating in Avery County as well as provides transportation options and services for the communities within this service area.
The total federal grant is in the amount of $163,060.00. That includes $120,209.00 for salaries; $9,196.00 for Social Security/Medicare; $9,557.00 for Retirement; and $24,098.00 for Hospital Insurance.
The grant is for fiscal year 2025 and is an increase of $15,160.00 over fiscal year 2024’s amount of $147,900.00.
The County will provide 15 percent matching funding of $24,459.00 with the grant. The State of North Carolina provides an additional 5 percent in funding.
The Department of Transportation’s Capital Budget total funding is $483,724.20 with a 10 percent match from the County of $48,372.42.
Avery Transportation Director Debbie Smith said that five new vehicles—two large lift vans and three passenger vans–along with various miscellaneous security items will be included in the 2025 fiscal year funding.
By consensus of its members, the commissioners also approved requesting financial funding in the amount of $139,043.00 for fiscal year 2024 for the Rural Operating Assistance Program, a state-funded public transportation program administered by the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Integrated Mobility Division.
A breakdown of the funding requested by the County from the State for this program includes: $64,924.00 for Elderly and Disabled Transportation Assistance; $7,571.00 for Employment Transportation Assistance Program; and $66,548.00 for Rural General Public Program.
Amber Westall Briggs, Director of the AMY (Avery-Mitchell-Yancey) Regional Library System provided the commissioners an update about the system, which governs public libraries in Avery, Mitchell and Yancey Counties, and also the Town of Spruce Pine Public Library.
She gave the following statistical report from 2022-2023 about the system-wide library system:
Total Registered Users:
Adults-36,286
Juveniles-8,260
Total Library Visits-74,848 (Previous Year-48,900)
Yearly Average of Patrons per day at Avery Morrison Public Library-72
Total Programs Offered-769 (Previous Year-277)
Total Programs Attendance-12,424
Uses of Public Internet Computers per year-7,716
Wireless Internet Sessions-10,368
Technology Lending-126 Checkouts
(Lending is for computer laptops and Wi-Fi Hotspots; Patrons can check out for three months and renew once)
Meeting Room Use-720
(The use of rooms by other agencies, government institutions, non-profit businesses, and/or clubs and related organizations)
Total Reference Patron Assistance Transactions-84,672
(Comprises information consultations that library staff recommend, interpret, evaluate, and/or use information resources to help others meet informational needs. Reader’s advisory, information and referral service, unscheduled individual instruction, and assistance in using information sources such as web sites and computer-assisted instruction are also included).
Briggs expressed deep appreciation to the commissioners for their support of the AMY Regional Library System that includes the Avery County Morrison Library in Newland.
“I’m in awe of the Avery Government for its part in meeting the financial needs of our library system each fiscal year and approving our funding requests,” Briggs said.
In other business and by other unanimous 4-0 votes (by the four of their five members present), the commissioners:
*Approved Sky Rock Subdivision, Phase 1, Lots 1 through 9, located at Sugar Mountain Number 2.
According to Avery Inspections and Planning Department Director Allison Kidd, the Sky Rock properties passed inspection, meet all guidelines of the County’s subdivision ordinance, and was unanimously approved by the Avery County Planning Board on September 25.
*Appointed Arizona Gragg as Deputy Finance Officer
*Adopted the following two budget amendments as requested by Hogan that included their respective details and monetary amounts:
- Appropriating $228,000.00 from the Capital Outlay fund balance to pay for furniture, appliances, and related furnishings for the new Department of Social Services (DSS) building which will be purchased at State of North Carolina Contract financing with the State reimbursing a portion of the cost.
- Moving $881.66 from fiscal year 2022-2023 to fiscal year 2023-2024 to pay back to the State of North Carolina for funds it provided to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council that the latter did not use in the last fiscal year.
*Approved the September 2023 Tax Report from Tax Administrator Andrea Turbyfill that $2,278,298.28 was collected in taxes due the county during the month.
Turbyfill noted that a total of $11,762,599.98 has been collected by the county’s tax department during 2023 (January until morning of October 2).
In another matter, Poore advised the commissioners of general provisions of a proposed ordinance to allow golf carts on certain roads in the county, especially those near the Land Harbor Golf Course as some roads there would be patrolled by the Avery County Sheriff’s Department, while others would be by the Land Harbor Security (Police). Poore suggested that specific information concerning insurance liability and related issues be obtained and then further discussion and consideration of the adoption of such an ordinance be held a future meeting.
The commissioners agreed by consensus to table the matter until another meeting.
Also, the commissioners went in a lengthy closed session (one hour and forty minutes) to discuss personnel matters. Upon returning to open session, they took no action regarding what Hicks said was discussed in closed session.
The commissioners will next hold a bi-monthly meeting on Monday, October 16 in their Board Room on the top floor of the County’s Administration Building, located at 175 Linville Street in Newland. The meeting will begin at 3:30 p.m.
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