FROM STAFF REPORTS
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved Iredell-Statesville Schools’ request to use N.C. Education Lottery funds to pay for renovations at Harmony Elementary School.
I-SS plans to use $2 million in lottery funds and $1 million in capital reserves to pay for work on the fourth- and fifth-grade wing.
The I-SS Board of Education accepted general contractor Simcon Company LLC’s $2.7 million bid — the lowest among five received by the district — for the project earlier this month.
The renovations will allow students to access classrooms in an enclosed area and create a hallway.
Currently, individual classrooms at the back of the building are accessed from the outside. The contractor will also update some of the bathroom facilities.
The district recently completed renovations to the school’s gym and restrooms.
I-SS will have invested about $4.5 million in the school when the latest renovations are completed, Superintendent Jeff James said.
BLUEFIELD ROAD PROPERTY
Commissioners voted unanimously to reject an offer by Preston Cornelius and Eric M. Wood to purchase county-owned property off Bluefield Road for $625,000. Accepting the offer would have kick-started the upset bid process.
Commissioners agreed that the property is worth a minimum of $1.5 million.
EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT
Commissioners expressed their appreciation to long-time Finance Director Deb Cheek, who is retiring. Hired as assistant finance director in May of 2005, she was promoted to finance director in June of 2017.
Cheek thanked her parents and other family members, many of whom have had long careers in local government, for their support along the way.
“I’m very proud of them and appreciative to them because they have supported me throughout my career,” she said.
Cheek said she is looking forward to spending more time with her nine grandchildren and volunteering more at her church.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the board:
♦ Approved a resolution proclaiming November 11, 2024, as Veterans Day in Iredell County in recognition of the contributions and sacrifices of the men and women who served in the Armed Forces have made.
♦ Approved a request from ICATS to approve a budget amendment to recognize additional expenses and revenues for replacement vehicles approved in the FY24 and FY25 Budget cycles. This budget amendment will cover the additional cost of $550,000. The local share will be $55,000 from contract service fees. The NCDOT share is $55,000, and the FTA share is $440,000. Since 2021, ICATS has had 16 vehicles on order without being delivered due to Ford not producing cutaway chassis. The replacement cost per vehicle has gone from $87,000 to $141,000 for a replacement vehicle. The request is to cover the additional cost.
♦ Approved a request from the Health Department for approval to sign a janitorial contract with Rainbow Janitorial Service to begin November 1, 2024, through June 30, 2026. The cost is $9,500 per month.
♦ Approved a request from Emergency Management to approve a budget amendment to accept the
NC Emergency Management Local Emergency Shelter Capacity Grant in the amount of $44,830 and authorize the County Manager to sign the Memorandum of Agreement to place a generator transfer switch at Northview Church of Christ for shelter operations.
♦ Agreed to set aside rollback tax allocations to be used to assist in farmland preservation. Guidelines for how to allocated this money as well as he annual allocation for this initiative will be determined during commissioners’ budget workshop.
♦ Approved a request from Administration to proclaim the month of September 2024 as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
♦ Approved a request from Human Resources for authority to sign the user agreement with Compatica through the NCACC to participate in a pilot program for incident reporting.