Washington County commissioners approve Pea Ridge expansion, lift COVID-19 emergency and authorize equipment spending

The Washington County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Sept. 6 to approve a package of actions including the Pea Ridge Transmission Expansion, budget amendments and the formal end of the county’s COVID-19 state of emergency.

The board approved RESO2022-033 after a presentation from Richard Livingston, senior project manager, who said a $30,000 engineering payment is due now and that he is pursuing USDA or North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality assistance to cover the cost. Commissioner Ann Keyes moved to adopt the resolution; Commissioner Carol Phelps seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

The action was one of several taken in a broadly agreed business session. County Manager and County Attorney Curtis Potter told the board that Washington County’s Emergency Management Coordinator and the district health director did not object to rescinding the local State of Emergency that had been in place for COVID-19; Commissioner Bill Sexton moved to lift the emergency and Commissioner Ann Keyes seconded. That motion also passed unanimously.

Finance Officer Missy Dixon presented budget transfers and amendments contained in the commissioners’ packet; the board approved those items. Chair Tracey Johnson and staff discussed setting aside funds to match a prospective Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) grant, and Potter confirmed a $40,000 line item in the county’s accounts toward that purpose.

After returning from closed session on attorney-client and personnel matters, the board voted to authorize the county manager to spend over $90,000 on radios and ambulances. Commissioner Bill Sexton made the motion and Commissioner Carol Phelps seconded; the vote was unanimous.

What the votes mean: the Pea Ridge approval commits the county to moving forward with the project while seeking outside funding for an immediate $30,000 engineering payment; lifting the emergency returns the county to ordinary procurement and policy procedures that were suspended during the declared emergency; the approved budget amendments and the equipment spending authorization allow staff to proceed with planned purchases and fiscal adjustments.

The meeting’s consent agenda, approved earlier in the session, included routine items and several resolutions (property sale, deed execution, emergency preparedness proclamation and Constitution Week proclamation among them). A late application for elderly property tax relief filed by Annie Knox was also approved during the meeting.

The board indicated Republic (the county’s contracted solid-waste hauler) will be asked to attend the October meeting to respond to a resident complaint about missed pickup. The board set other items—including a revised purchasing policy and the METCON school construction contract—for future or closed-session discussion.

The next regular meeting was not set during the discussion captured in the record. The commissioners adjourned at the close of business on Sept. 6, 2022.