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Pine Forest Rezoning Hits a Snag
Written by Greg Hankins, Editor   
Monday, 01 February 2010

    The 1,800-acre Pine Forest PUD that would stretch from West Pine Middle School to West End hit a snag at the Monday, February 1 Moore County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Image     The Commissioners were expected to set February 15 as the date for a public hearing on rezoning requests developer MHK Ventures has requested. But, when Call to Public Hearing came around on the agenda, Chairman Tim Lea sought input from County Attorney Misty Leland, who reported that the county had received a water system development agreement from MHK but asked for additional time so that she and County Manager Cary McSwain could "firm up the agreement."
    The Board then voted unanimously to table the Call to Public Hearing, a move likely to delay the rezoning approval by at least a month.
    The water agreement in question is necessary because Moore County ordinances require developers who plan to tap onto the county water system to secure a certification from Moore County Public Utilities that the county has enough water to meet the needs of the development. Public Utilities Director Dennis Brobst has more than once told the Commissioners that he will not use revenues derived from current water system customers to provide water to a new development. Instead, Brobst looks to developers to fund new sources of water. Making sure that funding is in place requires a water system development agreement between the developer and the county.
    MHK Ventures' Bob Hansen has indicated in public meetings that the water for Pine Forest would come from Montgomery County, via a $3 million extension of the Moore County water system that would run a pipe from Seven Lakes to Candor along NC Highway 211.
    Speaking with reporters after Monday's meeting, Chairman Lea said the agreement MHK presented to the county indicated that the firm would pay "up to $3 million" for the water system improvements.
    "You've all reported that this is going to cost $3 million and that MHK was going to pay $3 million," Lea said.  "But 'up to $3 million' could mean anything from zero dollars to $3 million."
    The plan for Pine Forest includes two gated communities, three golf courses, a resort hotel, two shopping areas, and a wastewater treatment plant. The county's Planning Board unanimously recommended approval of the developer's rezoning request, sending the matter up to the commissioners for final approval. That approval would take care of what is likely the highest hurdle for the developer, but detailed development plans would later have to be approved under the county's subdivision ordinance.
    Local conservationists, including Save our Sandhills, have opposed the development, noting that the tract on which it sits is likely the last, best natural longleaf pine forest in the Sandhills . The state's Natural Heritage Program has identified it as an area of national significance. Some have opposed the development based on concerns about traffic on NC Highway 211, while others have said Pine Forest, when combined with the nearby Dormie Club and Stonehill Pines developments, violate the priority the County's Land Use Plan places on preserving the rural character of Moore County.

 

   
Compensation Review Committee reports
    Moore County offers competitive employee benefits pretty much across the board, according to an analysis prepared by the Human Resources Advisory Committee and presented during Monday afternoon's Board of Commissioners meeting.
    The three-member Committee includes HR managers from Pinehurst Surgical, Pinehurst Resort, and Murray Fabrics. The Commissioners decided while debating the Fiscal Year 2009-2010 budget to seek a top-to-bottom review of benefits.
    The group compared Moore County's employee benefits to those offered by surrounding counties, as well as those offered by private employers in the county. Pinehurst Surgical's Emi Allen walked the Board through the group's findings, which included:
    •    The county is paying more for medical insurance than other counties, while its employees are paying less. Deductibles are low, but so are the lifetime coverage limits. Pinehurst Resort's Carla Williams told Commissioners the trend in the private sector is toward higher deductibles, while Allen reported that Pinehurst Surgical has adopted a health care reimbursement account system that aims to cut costs by encouraging "consumer-driven" health care decisions.
    •    Only two other counties cover 100 percent of dental coverage premiums — but, Allen noted, dental insurance is a relatively inexpensive perk for employees.
    •    The county's three percent match of employee 401K contributions is in line with other counties, but, Allen said, it would be good to investigate offering the Roth option and moving to automatic enrollment in the program to increase participation.
    •    Vacation, sick pay, and holiday pay are "very generous" in Moore County, particularly compared to private sector employers, the Committee found.
    •    The County's longevity pay system — which provides an annual bonus calculated as a percentage of salary that increases with the number of years of service — is a benefit uncommon in the private sector, and generous compared to surrounding counties.
    Noting that the county has a solid performance improvement plan, the committee suggested opportunities for collecting data from both continuing and exiting employees that could be used to fine-tune both benefits and strategies for improving performance. Allen said Pinehurst Surgical has broken down each job in the practice into finite measurable components and then defined what constitutes "competence" and what constitutes "excellence" for each position.
    The Commissioners are likely to take up the committee's recommendations as they begin work on the Fiscal Year 2010-2011 county budget. Allen encouraged the Board to ask "What is the goal?" when evaluating changes to the benefits package.
    For example, if the county needs to reduce its outlays for health insurance claims, it may want to raise premiums or increase deductibles. If the goal is to be more competitive in attracting top-quality employees, then the county may want to raise its current lifetime cap on medical benefit payouts.
    "A million dollar lifetime limit, maybe one day that was good in health care," Allen said, "but if someone had cancer or something like that, it would not take any time at all to go through that lifetime benefit."
    
School bond interest allocated to debt service
    Taking a second step in a process they began during their January 19 meeting, the Commissioners decided Monday night to reserve any interest derived from the investment of school bond proceeds to debt service, instead of using it to fund school projects.
    When the voters approve a bond referendum, they authorize the county to sell a set dollar amount of bonds — say, $50 million — for use to build new schools and fund other capital projects. Typically, the county sells all the bonds at once, but the schools may not need to use all the proceeds at once. The excess cash is invested and generates interest. Additionally, some investors, seeking tax advantages, may pay more than the face value of the bonds, creating a "bond premium" which the county receives but must ultimately repay.
    Last month, in response to a funding request from Moore County Schools [MCS] that sought to draw on both bond premium and bond interest, the Board decided to reserve the bond premium for repayment of the bonds. In Monday's meeting, the Board, on a motion by Commissioner Nick Picerno, voted unanimously to allocate the bond interest as well only to the repayment of the bonds, rather than to the funding of school projects.
    Last June, when both the county and MCS were negotiating their FY 2009-2010 budgets, the county declined $400,000 in capital funding sought by the schools, pledging to make up that amount by allowing MCS to use $400,000 in bond interest. The Commissioners in January approved the use of $387,000 in bond interest to fund smart boards and other IT initiatives, and will give MCS the remaining $13,000 promised as it becomes available. After that, all bond interest will be used to pay down debt. The same procedure will be used for interest that accrues on bonds sold to benefit Sandhills Community College.
    When the voters approve a $50 million bond issue for the schools, Picerno told The Times, they are approving $50 million in expenditures, not $50 million plus whatever interest happens to accrue on that amount.
    
Hobbs Upchurch selected for Sewer Plant Upgrade
    The Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to authorize the County Manager and Public Works Director to negotiate a contract with Hobbs Upchurch and Associates for a $32 million upgrade to the county's wastewater treatment plant in Addor. Engineering fees are expected to exceed $2 million.
    Public Utilities Director Brobst told the Commissioners that Hobbs Upchurch was selected from among seven firms that had responded to a Request for Qualifications issued by the county. In North Carolina, certain professional contracts, including engineering services, are not competitively bid on the basis of cost. Instead, a firm is selected based on its qualifications to complete the target project, and then a contract is negotiated. Brobst, County Engineer Lex Kelley, and Addor Plant Manager Brandt Sykes formed the team that unanimously recommended Hobbs Upchurch for the Addor upgrade.
    Brobst told the Board that the Addor expansion had been on the drawing Board since 1998 and is necessary because 98.7 percent of the existing plant capacity has been committed to various municipalities and subdivisions. Not all of that capacity is currently being used, but state regulations will not allow the county to commit more than one hundred percent of existing capacity to future users. Failing to expand the plant could ultimately hamper development in the county.
    The county has raised the rates it charges for wastewater treatment at the plant in anticipation of the expansion. Brobst said he expects to have $7.7 million in capital reserves when construction begins and to be able to borrow up to $26 million from the state's revolving fund at a very favorable 2.5 percent interest rate over 20 years.
    
Other Business:
    In other business during the Monday, February 1 meeting, the Moore County Board of Commissioners:
    •    Approved a $217,000 budget for the Dixie Youth Baseball World Series, to be played in Moore County in August 2011. Commissioner Larry Caddell explained that potential sponsors are already asking to contribute to the funding of the series, but sponsorships cannot be sold until a budget is established. The entire budget is expected to be covered by the sale of sponsorships and other fundraising activities.
    •    Approved the use of NC Education lottery funds for two MCS projects: a $60,000 energy management control system at Pinecrest High School and a $30,000 grease interceptor at Southern Pines Primary.
    •    Called a public hearing for February 15 on the closeout of a grant program aimed at helping low income homeowners pay for hookup to the East Moore Water District. Public Utilities Director Brobst said it was difficult to find households who qualified for the assistance, because many low-income households in the target area are renters.
    •    Scheduled a February 15 public hearing for a rezoning request from Rural Equestrian to Highway Commercial for a half-acre parcel off of US-1 near Vass.
    •    Approved an order prepared by County Attorney Leland authorizing a revenue stamp refund requested by attorney William E. Clark.
    •    Approved two late applications for property tax relief.
    •    Appointed Robert Hayter to the Planning Board.
    •    Reappointed Douglas Hyler to the Subdivision Review Board.
    •    Reappointed Clifton Marley and John Stacey to the Library Board of Trustees.
    •    Tabled an appointment to the ABC Board.
 
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