Posted August 9, 2023
Russ May, Amelia Lester, David McDowell, Cecily McDowell, Dennis Lester, Aiken McDowell, and Neal Lester
The Granville County Board of Commissioners held a regular meeting on Monday, August 7 at the Granville County Convention and Expo Center. The meeting featured a remembrance of former Granville County and City of Creedmoor Commissioner Ernie Anderson as well as a recognition of longtime South Granville High School coach and teacher Dennis Lester.
Board Chair Russ May began the meeting with a moment of silent reflection to honor the memory of Ernie Anderson, who passed away on July 21. Anderson represented District 5 on the Granville County Board of Commissioners in 2020 following the death of Owen Roberts. Anderson also served as a City of Creedmoor Commissioner from 2015 to 2019.
Chair May also led the Board of Commissioners’ recognition of Dennis Lester who taught for twenty-nine years, twenty-five of those years with Granville County Public Schools. Lester began his education career after graduating from South Granville High School and UNC Chapel Hill. Lester taught Physical Education at Creedmoor Elementary and G.C. Hawley Middle School before accepting a coaching position at South Granville High School. Lester was known for his years of success on the baseball field, winning four conference championships, a Regional Championship in 1982, and one additional Regional Runner-Up finish. Lester also coached football, basketball, and taught driver’s education during his time at South Granville. After retiring from Granville County Public Schools in 1999, Lester continued his career of public service by serving on the City of Creedmoor Planning Board for fifteen years and was inducted into the South Granville High School Hall of Fame in 2017. Lester was joined on stage by his family as well as former coworkers, students, and athletes from his time at South Granville High School.
The Board also conducted the following business:
- Approved a project ordinance amendment for the National Opioid Settlement recognizing $3,066,921 in additional revenue and designating $105,000 to fund an Opioid Settlement Administrator position as well as additional public education materials.
- Approved the surplus of five vehicles (two Dodge Chargers and three Ford Expeditions) from the Sheriff’s Office.
- Approved the establishment of a checking account to process all payroll transactions.
- Approved tax refunds of $17,625.83, releases of $438.45, and write-offs of $8.53 by the Tax Administration office.
- Approved the final settlement report of 2022 tax collections and authorized the Tax Collector to collect all 2023 taxes.
- Approved a cleaning contract with Keeps Clean for professional cleaning services at the Granville County Convention and Expo Center.
- Denied a request from the Town of Stem to establish an Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ).
- Approved a late application for 2023 property tax age exclusion from Lewis and Maryann Dull.
- Approved the purchase of a high-capacity incinerator for the Sheriff’s Office to be purchased with federal Asset Forfeiture funds.
- Approved the surplus and sale of sixty-two AR-15 rifles for store credit at a licensed federal firearms dealer. Each rifle was valued at $300, and the Sheriff’s Office will receive $18,600 in store credit.
- Approved the migration to AT&T FirstNet public safety priority network carrier for all cellular devices used by the Sheriff’s Office.
- Appointed Clint Owens (District 5) and Ed Gleason (District 6) to the Human Relations Commission.
- Appointed Reggie Royster (District 1) to the Parks, Greenways, and Recreation Committee and reappointed Glenda Williams (District 3), Joshua Averette (District 5), Ivan Washburn (District 6), Michael McFadden (District 7), April Shaeffer (At-Large), and Richard Rote (At-Large).
- Appointed Charles Noblin, Jr. (District 6) to the Economic Development Advisory Board.
- Appointed Commissioner Sue Hinman to serve as the voting delegate and Commissioner Tim Karan as the alternate delegate for the upcoming NC Association of County Commissioners annual meeting.
- Approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Granville County Public Schools supporting additional school resource officers.
- Approved the purchase of 101B Professional Park Drive in Oxford by Granville Health System.
- Approved the purchase of a sign commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Toler-Oak Hill community.
- Received an update from County Manager Drew Cummings regarding Granville County’s efforts to thoroughly study and submit public comments to the NC Department of Environmental Quality regarding the proposed air quality permit for CertainTeed’s Oxford expansion. The public comment period has been extended until August 18 and all interested citizens are encouraged to learn more and submit comments by visiting the NC DEQ website: https://www.deq.nc.gov/news/events/public-comment-period-preliminary-determination-air-quality-permit-application-certainteed-llc.
To stay informed about upcoming meetings of the Granville County Board of Commissioners, visit the Granville County website www.granvillecounty.org where you can sign up for the “Sunshine List” and follow the county on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GranvilleCountyGov. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 5 at 7:00 p.m. at the Granville County Convention and Expo Center.