5-14-21 BOC Budget Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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Strategic Services - 10:15 a.m. Don Kovasckitz, GIS Director presented his budget. He said they are asking for a new plotter because the one they have needs to be replaced. He said his budget is mainly salaries. Don said the consolidation of all the departments at the Buggy Factory is a good setting for everyone over there. It is a busy building and many departments go into Don's office. Parking sometimes is an issue, but there is normally always space. There was a brief discussion about some jurisdictions, who have hired firms to begin redistricting before we receive the numbers. Soil and Water Conservation - 10:30 a.m. Ryan Faulk, Soil and Water Conservation Manager, was present to present his budget. Dr. Crumpton is Ryan's direct boss but he also has a five member Board he answers too as well along with the State. The soil and water division administers the cost share programs to help local landowners improve their land. They also work under the direction of the USDA. The significant changes in the budget is the replacement of the county vehicle and some technology related with the vehicle such as putting a laptop in the truck in order to improve the ability for customer service. They can use the laptop to show the farmer GIS maps, etc. Also, if we have another pandemic, the vehicle could be a mobile office. There was a question about whether his department is involved with complaints of soil and water erosion control around construction sites. Mr. Faulk said they do not regulate those complaints and said they have discussed this in the past but have decided not to get involved because it becomes difficult when the district becomes a regulatory agency. Cooperative Extension - 10:45 a.m. Bill Stone, Cooperative Extension Director presented his budget. He is a branch of NC State University, NC A&T and Lee County. They receive federal funding, state funding and local funding. Their primary focus is agriculture, 4H youth, and food programming. They have 8 employees. Some are 100% funded through NC State, and some are funded through a mix of funding. This year there was then an opportunity to move the farmers market downtown and it went well. Then there were more discussions about a permanent home for the market and for cooperative extension it made sense to have it downtown. Cooperative Extension partnered with DSI to look for funding. They were able to find a donation and secured the Kings Roofing building. There will also be a new space with a pavilion that can be used for rent and farmers can sell their products. They also have other funding available so they can purchase audio/visual and farm tours. The City of Sanford owns the building and the money will funnel through the City's budget. Cooperative Extension wants to make sure the County is represented in the project. Downtown Sanford is considered a food desert so the farmers market will allow access to fresh healthy food for neighborhoods downtown. Cooperative Extension recently applied for a rural grant where we can match dollar to dollar for SNAP programs. So a family could double their food with the matching dollar. There will be demonstrations on how to prepare foods. We want to meet the needs of the community through our strategic plan that the Board of Commissioners adopted. There will be a need for a full-time market coordinator that can be a liaison for coordinating all aspects of the marketplace. They anticipate that this first year the market will be open 2-3 days a week and eventually it will be open 5- 7 days a week and hopefully a farm to fork restaurant can be opened. SAGA 4