Meeting Notes: Solar Energy Ordinance and Wind Farms Discussed

We added basic notes about county government meetings to our coverage. If you have additional story ideas, please send them to reporter and photographer Eleazar “El” Yisrael at (252) 258-9434 or [email protected]

The Pamlico County Board of Commissioners held a regular bimonthly meeting March 17, 2025. The next regular meeting of the Pamlico County Board of Commissioners will be Monday, April 7 at 7 p.m. at the Pamlico County Courthouse Annex.

• Daniel Simpson, NC Cooperative Extension’s Pamlico County director, presented their programs and accomplishments in Pamlico County. This included a large grant from Apple for kids programming and the installation of water sensors in irrigated fields.

• Pamlico County Planning & Economic Development Director, Beth Buckshot, and Samantha Darlington, of the NC Department of Commerce, gave a Creating Outdoor Recreation Economies (CORE) presentation. This is a “strategic planning program to help rural communities leverage natural assets to increase economic opportunity through the outdoor recreation economic sector.”

Consent Agenda (Routine items that normally don’t require discussion.)

• Budget amendments approved.

• Approved: $10,423 from the county fund balance to increase the Department of Social Services (DSS) budget for flooring replacement. DSS also requested the purchase of 25 New Dell PCs in order to “meet Windows 11 requirements” but commissioners denied the request because it's not an “emergency,” unlike the flooring replacement. The county process for hiring an IT position is almost finished. They hope this person will help the situation.

• Approved: Recycling machinery repair from Ascendum Machinery in the amount of $16,347.79, an emergency purchase.

• Approved:  Present Use-Value (PUV) Untimely Application for Graham James Speight.

  • Speight, who owns property with forestry, didn’t file an application in time to get a reduced tax rate. The board allowed the application to be accepted even though he didn’t submit the application on time. His property value will be taxed at lower value due to the resource of timber on his property. 

Correspondence Agenda (Items that require a discussion, not routine.)

• Pamlico County Health Department Board Agenda/Update/Presentation

  • Melanie Dixon, Pamlico County Health Director, provided updates on the telehealth program that recently started, $200,000 in telehealth donations from Duke University and a health assessment completed and submitted by the health department, recognized by the state for its excellence in execution.

  • The board went into closed session to discuss personnel regarding the increase in pay grade of two employees in the Health Department.

    • The board approved the request and increased the pay grade of the employees to 6% or a pay grade of 23 to 26 for the “Administrative Officer” and a pay grade of 29 to 32 for the “Public Health Nursing Supervisor.”

  • Approved: Request by Health Department to contract with a Public Health Educator.

    • No county money will be used. The money was already set aside in the county budget received from the state.

    • Position is needed to help with accreditation compliance from the state. The position is needed to inform the public of health related needs.

    • The Health Department has the funding in the budget from state funds for a Public Health Educator until May but needs to “find the money” after. Most likely they will apply for more money from the state.

    • If the county doesn't use funds from Fund Management from the state, it will go “somewhere else.”

    • Position will be at $25/hr for a 32 hour work week through May 31st.

• Discussion Request: Solar Energy Ordinance and Wind Farms.

  • The board held a closed session under attorney-client privilege to talk about legal issues regarding solar panels and existing ordinances and ramifications.

  • No actions were taken during this closed session.

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