City council delays appointment to SAGA board

Jun. 17—Sanford City Council delayed new appointments to the Sanford Area Growth Alliance board Tuesday in a narrow 4-3 vote, tabling the issue until next month.

Traditionally, the board has included two members of the Sanford City Council and three members of the Lee County Board of Commissioners. That tradition was called into question this month when Bishop Charles Mellette of Christian Provision Ministries put forth his name as a candidate for the board.

Before opening discussion on the issue, Mayor Chet Mann gave an impassioned speech in favor of preserving the place of the city council on the board of the Sanford Area Growth Alliance.

The city and county are the two largest funders of the Sanford Area Growth Alliance, an agency essential to expanding the tax base, Mann said. There are several other ways private citizens and companies can secure a place on the board, primarily through contributions to the public-private alliance.

"My concern, if you were to nominate a candidate tonight that is not on this council, is that ... we might lose some communication and some control," Mann said.

"I would love to see the applicant tonight be on there (the board), but I don't want to see that happen in place of you (council members) being there. I feel you need two people from this elected body to represent our interests."

Following Mann's speech, councilman Charles Taylor made a motion to table nominations, saying the city council should take some time to re-examine SAGA's structure and bylaws. Taylor also asked whether the city's increase in funding for SAGA was enough to gain a third seat on the board.

City Finance Director Beth Kelly notified the city council that although they had increased their funding level by about 5%, the city's overall contribution was still about the same compared to other local funders. From 2014 to 2021, Kelly said, the city has increased its funding level from 39% to a little under 41%, while the county's share has stayed level at about 60%.

Councilman Byron Buckels was the chief advocate for nominating Melette, saying he didn't see a reason to table the issue.

"There's no guarantee we'll be able to add another position," Buckels said. "We should be glad we have a qualified individual tonight."

In the final vote, council members Taylor, Sam Gaskins, Jimmy Haire and Rebecca Whyhof Salmon voted to table the nominations, while Buckels, Chas Post and J.D. Williams voted against.

Other board and commission appointments

In a slightly less controversial nomination process, longtime planning board member Fred McIver went up against first-time applicant Jeff Foster, who is new to Sanford but has extensive experience, having worked for more than 45 years as an engineer, served on the Woodfin planning board and served as the Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor for two terms.

The city council ultimately voted in favor of reappointing McIver to the single opening on the planning board, citing his 18 years of experience. Councilman Charles Taylor suggested the city council consider appointing Foster to the board of adjustment, and Mayor Chet Mann invited Foster to apply.

There are still open positions on the Opioid Abuse Epidemic Commission, Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance Committee and Sanford Housing Authority. Mayor Mann said the city is particularly in need of people to serve on the Sanford Housing Authority, where two positions remain open, including one for a resident commissioner.

"We desperately need some public input and some good, quality people that understand housing and have a passion to help people in their housing pursuits," Mann said.

Also appointed to city boards and commissioners were:

—Marshal McNeill, who represents the Sanford Police Department, and Chris Thompson, who represents the Lee County Sheriff's Office, on the Opioid Abuse Epidemic Commission;

—Hope White, who was reappointed to the Sanford Housing Authority;

—Emalee McCracken, Tina Gross and Chairman Kevin Brown, who were reappointed to the Sanford Tourism Development Authority;

—Jim Foster, who was reappointed to the ABC Board;

—William Keller, who was reappointed to the Airport Authority;

—Rhonda Miller, Ivy Childers and Paulette Williams, who were appointed to the Appearance Commission;

—Tommy Brickle and Roger Judd, who were reappointed to the Board of Adjustment;

—Jason Cline and Nathaniel Dobbs, who were appointed to the Historic Preservation Commission; and

—Connor Jarvis, who was appointed to the Joint Environmental Affairs Board.

City rehires inmates

Also Tuesday, the city council renewed its contract with the Sanford Correctional Center to hire inmates for janitorial work, park maintenance, roadside cleaning and other city projects.

The program came to a halt last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but now that COVID-19 has eased somewhat, the city council is restarting it. During the lapse in the program, roadside litter increased noticeably and the city hired an outside contractor to help clean. Now that inmate labor will resume, the city is letting that contract expire.

City council members were generally in favor of the program, saying it was a win-win for the city and jail, giving inmates a chance to get out into the community and providing essential manpower to certain city departments.

Although councilman Byron Buckels is among those who sees the benefits of the program, he voted against the measure as an act of protest against the $1 per day wage inmates are paid. The low wage is set by the state, so there's not much the city council can do to change it, said Mayor Chet Mann.

Also Tuesday, the city council renewed a program to help low-income families fix essential structures in their homes like plumbing, roofing and electrical systems. The program, now in its ninth year, is funded by grants from the N.C. Housing Finance Agency.

The city will receive a $190,000 grant this year, which should cover the cost of about five homes, said Community Development Manager Karen Kennedy.

"Once we get about two-and-a-half, three of those (homes) done, we can continue to apply to the loan pool," Kennedy said. "I already have a long waiting list."

Also Tuesday, the city council unanimously approved:

—$9,600 to purchase brochures, mailings and decals about recycling from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, with the goal of encouraging people to go green;

—two "clean-up" amendments reappropriating about $61,000 between various city departments before the end of the 2020-21 fiscal year.