The Board of Commissioners of the County of Stokes, State of North Carolina, met for a Regular Meeting in the Stokes County Administration Building in the Commissioners Chambers located in Danbury, North Carolina on Monday April 12, 2021 at 6:00 pm with the following members present:

Board of Commissioners Present: Chairman Andy Nickelston, Vice Chairman Sonya Cox,

Commissioner Wayne Barneycastle, Commissioner Ronnie Mendenhall, and Commissioner Rick Morris

County Administration Present: County Manager Jake Oakley, Assistant County Manager/Clerk to the Board Shannon Shaver, County Attorney Ty Browder, and Finance Director Julia Edwards

Chairman Nickelston called the Regular Meeting of the Board of Commissioners to order.

Vice Chair Cox delivered the Invocation.

Chairman Nickelston lead the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance and invited those in attendance to join.

Commissioner Morris commented:

• Welcome to everyone here tonight.
• It is good to see a big crowd in the room tonight and hopefully there is a big crowd online as well.

Commissioner Barneycastle commented:

• It is great to see everybody.
• Thank the good Lord for another beautiful day.
• Welcome to each and everyone here.
• I see a lot of new faces and it is great to see people getting involved.

Commissioner Mendenhall commented:

• Thanks for coming out tonight. 
• We really appreciate it.
• It is a great thing to see this room full tonight and for everybody that is watching us on livestream I say welcome to you too.

Vice Chair Cox commented:

• Welcome to everyone and thanks for being here.
• Thank you for participating in county government.

Chairman Nickelston commented:

• It is good to see everybody here.

County Manager Oakley commented:

• Good Evening to everyone and I hope that all is well.
• It is good to see you here and I hope that you will continue to be interested in county government.

Chairman Nickelston opened the floor for public comments at 6:03 pm.

The following individuals spoke during public comments:

Donna Mitchell

1469 Hope Beasley Road

Sandy Ridge, NC

RE: Animal Control

Ms. Mitchell clarified that her complaint was not with Animal Control and that they had been out to try and address the issue with the farm animals that are destroying her yard. She requested that her issue be looked into and something be done to correct the problem.

Keith Wood 

1094 Wood Road

Danbury, NC

RE: Public Comments

Mr. Wood expressed his thanks to the Board for livestreaming their meetings and spoke in opposition to restricting public comments.

Mark Badgett 

1020 Surry Line Road

Pinnacle, NC 

RE: Pinnacle Greenbox Site

Mr. Badgett spoke in opposition to the relocation of the Pinnacle Greenbox site.

Mark and Kari Barbar

1162 Bradley Road

Pinnacle, NC 

RE: Pinnacle Greenbox Site

The Barbar's spoke in opposition of the relocation of the Pinnalce Greenbox site and the negative impacts that it would have on their business which is Pilot Mountain Vineyards Tasting Room and Winery.

Srvasri Ananda

1060 Tyler Road 

Walnut Cove, NC

RE: Creating heaven in Stokes County

Mr. Ananda spoke about creating heaven on earth in Stokes County and the information that can be found on his website at rebuildhealth.org.

Edna Craddock

148 High Bridge Rd.

Pinnacle, NC 

RE: Pinnacle Greenbox Site

Ms. Craddock spoke in opposition of the relocation of the Pinnacle Greenbox site.

Robert Craddock

342 Crossingham Road

Mt Airy, NC 

RE: Pinnacle Greenbox Site

Mr. Craddock spoke in opposition of the relocation of the Pinnacle Greenbox site.

Kathleen Edwards

1726 Rogers Road

Mt. Airy, NC 

RE: Animal Control Ordinance Vote

Ms. Edwards spoke in opposition of the Board voting on the revised Animal Control Ordinance noting that there was still work to be done on the ordinance concerning tethering.

Susan Snyder

1240 Cliffview Drive

King, NC 

RE: Tethering

Ms. Snyder spoke in opposition of the Board voting on the revised  Animal Control Ordinance noting that there was still work to be done on the ordinance concerning tethering.

Larry Barger

1459 Bradley Road

Pinnacle, NC 

RE: County Business

Mr. Barger spoke in opposition of the proposed restrictions of speech during public comments.

Becky Kemering

7714 Seasons Hollow Road

Lewisville, NC 

RE: Pinnacle Greenbox Site

Ms. Kemering spoke in opposition of the relocation of the Pinnacle Greenbox Site which would be in close proximity to the land recently purchased where she and her husband planned to live.

Stephen James

102 Kellystone Drive

King, NC

RE: Public Comment/First Ammendment

Mr. James spoke in opposition of the proposed restrictions on free speech during public comments.

Amos Elvis

1250 Carson Watts Road

King, NC 

RE: U.S. Constitution

Mr. Elvis spoke in opposition to the proposed restrictions on free speech during public comments.

With no other individuals signed up Chairman Nickelston closed the floor for public comments at 6:39 pm.

All attachments presented on the Agenda are available in the attachments of the Agenda on the County Website and are available upon request from the Clerk, with the exception of the minutes approved which are located on the County Website under the minutes tab.

All attachments presented on the Agenda are available in the attachments of the Agenda on the County Website and are available upon request from the Clerk, with the exception of the minutes approved which are located on the County Website under the minutes tab.

Chairman Nickelston turned the floor over to Assistant County Manager/Clerk to the Board Shannon Shaver.

Assistant County Manager/Clerk to the Board Shannon Shaver presented the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council's fiscal year 21-22 funding allocation request.

Chairman Nickelston opened the floor for any discussion/questions/comments.

With no discussion and full consensus of the Board this item was moved to the Action Agenda for the next meeting.

Chairman Nickelston opened the floor for discussion related to the proposed changes to the BOCC Adopted Rules of Procedure including the public comment period previously discussed on March 22nd. 

After much discussion among the Board this item was moved back to the Discussion Agenda for the next meeting.

RECESS

Chairman Nickelston called for a brief recess at 7:19 pm.

Chairman Nickelston called the meeting back to order at 7:25 pm.

Chairman Nickelston turned the floor over to County Manager Oakley.

County Manager Oakley presented the Board with the request for the abandonment of a portion of Hunter Road. He noted that there were no issues with this request.

Chairman Nickelston opened the floor for any discussion/questions/comments.

With no discussion and full consensus of the Board this item was moved to the Action Agenda for the next meeting.

Chairman Nickelston turned the floor over to County Manager Oakley.

County Manager Oakley presented the Board with the request from the state for the addition of Abbey Place Ct. He noted that there were no issues with this request.

Chairman Nickelston opened the floor for any discussion/questions/comments.

With no discussion and full consensus of the Board this item was moved to the Action Agenda for the next meeting.

Chairman Nickelston turned the floor over to County Manager Oakley.

County Manager Oakley presented the proposed Budget Schedule for the FY 21-22 Budget and noted that he  needed the Commissioners to confirm these dates and make any changes needed.

Chairman Nickelston opened the floor for any discussion/questions/comments.

After some discussion and proposed changes it was noted that this would be brought back to the next meeting after the dates were confirmed for final approval.

All attachments presented on the Agenda are available in the attachments of the Agenda on the County Website and are available upon request from the Clerk, with the exception of the minutes approved which are located on the County Website under the minutes tab.

Chairman Nickelston entertained a motion on the Proposed Revised Animal Control Ordinance.

Chairman Nickelston entertained a motion on the Proposal for MOE Funds.

Chairman Nickelston entertained a motion regarding the Landfill Drain Slope Repair.

Chairman Nickelston entertained a motion on the Economic Development Director Contract.

Chairman Nickelston entertained a motion to enter Closed Session for the following rationale:

To consult with an attorney employed or retained by the public body in order to preserve the attorney-client privilege between the attorney and the public body, which privilege is hereby acknowledged pursuant G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3)

With no further business to come before the Board Chairman Nickelston entertained a motion to adjourn.