Brice Bell, Robeson County’s district engineer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, at the podium, speaks Monday with Robeson County Commissioners about road projects in the county.
Jessica Horne | The Robesonian
Robeson County Commissioner David Edge, right, speaks Monday during a Robeson County Commissioners meeting and Commissioenrs Faline Dial, left, and John Cummings, listen on.
Jessica Horne | The Robesonian
Blue
LUMBERTON — On Monday, Robeson County Commissioners approved a spending plan that has no increases in property taxes for county residents.
The budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 and ending June 30, 2023, has a total appropriation balance of $173,204, 566. The budget keeps the property tax rate unchanged at 77 cents per $100 worth of property.
The General Fund Budget totals $125,413, 439, with $19,450,000 in the Water Fund, $8,036,520 in the Solid Waste Fund and $10,533,649 in the Health Department Fund.
Robeson County Manage Kellie Blue told commissioners in May that funding allocations are being kept as closely as possible to the 2021-22 budget.
Blue previously told commissioners in May that capital projects include funding allocations for the paving of more trash compaction convenient sites in the county and the purchase of a trash compactor, among other projects.
“Thank you for your work on this,” Blue told commissioners Monday.
Incentive package
Also approved Monday was a five-year incentive package for Atlantic Building Components, which manufactures trusses. The company recently located to Fairmont.
“The County agrees to hold required percentage of project in escrow as our commitment to the project,” Blue wrote in a letter included in the commissioners’ meeting agenda packet. “The County will also agree to a Tax refund of both Real (1,800,000.00) and Personal ($6,075,000.00) property of 50% assessed values for a duration of five years.”
Opioid funding
Commissioners also heard from Kennard DuBose, a member of the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program Consortium, who requested that county leaders allow the organization to present a plan for how opioid settlement funds are spent at a later date.
Robeson County is slated to receive more than $8 million as part of a national lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies. State Attorney General Josh Stein told local leaders in April that funds should begin to be dispersed sometime this summer.
Blue said funds have not been received yet, as of Monday morning.
RCORP is made up of 38 representatives from various organizations including the Lumbee Tribe, UNC Health Southeastern, Robeson Health Care Corporation and others. The consortium formed as a result of funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration, according to its website.
“RCORP-Planning projects to Support community members through Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery for Substance Use disorder,” according to the consortium’s website.
Wixie Stephens, chair of the Robeson County Board of Commissioners, told Dubose the board is open to hearing a proposal on how money should be spent from RCORP.
“We got some evidence-based programs going on,” Dubose said.
“We wanna have impact … and we wanna make sure that we are getting the biggest bang for our buck,” he added.
NCDOT projects
Brice Bell, Robeson County’s district engineer for the North Carolina Department of Transportation, shared updates with commissioners about several ongoing projects in the county.
He also shared that areas on V.C. Road, Railroad Road, and Frank Drive should be paved this summer as part of the Unpaved Secondary Road Paving Program.
Bell said nearly 60 miles of roadway remain unpaved in the county. He also said “roughly 90 miles of resurfacing” is taking place in the county.
He also spoke about improvements to be made to Interstate 95 including the widening project.
He shared improvements to be made to Exits 19 and 20.
“River bridges have proposed increased elevation; approximately 13 feet,” according to his presentation. “Exit 20 is proposed to be reconfigured as a diverging diamond.”
He also said noise walls are to be placed in interstate areas through Lumberton.
Robeson County is ranked seventh in a list of counties with the best pavement condition scores across the state, he said. The counties ahead of Robeson were Graham, Warren, Cumberland, Jones, Tyrell and Clay counties.
Grant
Also approved Monday was a North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Grant totaling $97,299.75 for the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office’s Detention Center.
Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins, who was not present at the meeting, told The Robesonian in a statement that the funding will be used to cover “overtime in detention center, to remodel shower stalls in the cells from concrete to stainless steel inserts, gloves, computers and COVID testing as needed.”
“We are pleased to have received this grant as the detention center is in need of many upgrades. The building is over 30 years old and repairs are necessary. Funding such as this is will benefit everyone from staff to inmates and we are thankful for it,” Wilkins said in a statement.
Other business
Commissioners also approved:
— A preliminary plat for Annabelle Acres Subdivision in a Residential Agricultural District on Snipes Road in the Red Springs area.
— A comprehensive plan as required by law.
— FY2023 Home and Community Care Block Grant Funds for Robeson County through the Lumber River Council of Governments Aging Program.
— The Robeson County Housing Authority’s 2022-23 budget.
Commissioners emerged from a closed-door session Monday to hear about pending litigation. No action was taken.
The next Robeson County Board of Commissioners meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on July 18.
