Durham commissioners approve consent agenda including contracts and capital amendments; go into closed session on opioid litigation

The Durham County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a set of routine and substantive items on May 28 during its regular session, including contracts, capital project amendments and property tax releases and refunds, and announced a closed session to consult counsel about the National Opioid Litigation.

Commissioner Brenda Howerton moved, and Commissioner Heidi Carter seconded, approval of the May 6 and May 13 minutes; the motion passed unanimously. Vice-Chair Nimasheena Burns then moved and Commissioner Wendy Jacobs seconded approval of the consent agenda; that motion also carried unanimously.

Key consent items recorded in the minutes include:
• A contract with Scottie’s Building Services for exterior and interior window washing at six county buildings for $56,900.00 (RFP 24-025).
• Capital Project Amendment No. 24CPA-26: reduction of the IT Security Program Capital Project by $84,329.73 and the SAP S4 HANA ERP Upgrade Capital Project by $166,370.27, and an increase of $250,700 to the 21 Audio-Visual Technologies project to update Main Library conference technology.
• Approval of a contract with Convergint Technologies LLC for $129,845.31 to renew Durham County Lenel S2 Video Management Servers and Access Control Server software licenses.
• Releases and refunds for May 1–15, 2024 with a grand total of $140,540.95 recorded across current and prior years.
• Capital Project Amendment No. 24CPA-27 and Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 24BCC00103 appropriating $215,450 from the Sewer Utility Enterprise Fund to the Page Park Lift Station, Force Main and Outfalls project; a pre-construction contract with Crowder Construction Company for $205,191 was authorized as part of that item.

Board appointments were announced by Interim County Attorney Curtis Massey and list successful candidates for several advisory bodies, including Anthony Reevy to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission and Elisabeth Conradt to the Community Child Protection and Child Fatality Protection Team. The minutes record incumbent Charles Epps as reappointed to the Memorial Stadium Authority.

Following the public business, the board voted (Vice‑Chair Burns moved; Commissioner Jacobs seconded) to adjourn to closed session to consult with an attorney and preserve attorney‑client privilege regarding the National Opioid Litigation under G.S. 143‑318.11(a)(3). After meeting in closed session, Chair Nida Allam announced the board had provided direction to staff. The board reconvened and adjourned at 9:30 p.m.

The minutes record that most motions on the consent agenda and procedural items carried unanimously; no detailed roll-call vote counts beyond unanimous passage are provided in the minutes.