Thursday, January 14, 2021.pdf

BUTNER &mdash; South Granville Water and Sewer Authority may begin working with more nonprofits and outside groups to help pay water bills of customers who fall behind on payments.&nbsp;
The SGWASA board of directors agreed to adopt the change at its regular meeting Tuesday.&nbsp;
Scott Schroyer, the authority&rsquo;s executive director, had requested approval to provide more financial help for customers. Previously, SGWASA had partnered only with the Granville County Department of Social Services to do so.&nbsp;
Schroyer said the Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions, or Hope, program, recently reached out concerning a customer who had applied for utility assistance. The Hope program is a state government initiative that provides some financial aid to residents experiencing hardship because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Schroyer asked the board to let SGWASA receive vouchers from more agencies to help pay delinquent utility bills and fees. The motion passed unanimously after Commissioner Ed Mims was assured it was a subsidization process.
"It's good to know there's help for people,&rdquo; Vice Chair Georgana Kicinski said. &ldquo;It's a desperate feeling when you can't pay your bills to keep the lights and water going."
The vote was one of several decisions the SGWASA board made this week, meeting on Monday for its annual strategic planning session, then Tuesday for its regular monthly meeting.&nbsp;
The board also welcomed a new member, Linda Jordon.&nbsp;
Also Tuesday, Mark Hamlett, utility engineer and manager, updated the board on ongoing projects, including the $13.5 million water treatment plant project. That construction should be complete by Nov. 14, he said.&nbsp;
He said he will present two change orders for the project at the next board meeting for approval. Construction is coming along smoothly, Hamlett said.&nbsp;
Another project to install new sanitary sewer lines under and along Interstate 85 is also coming along, he said. The board is expected to review the&nbsp; first phase of construction with a representative from the contracting company, CDM Smith, next month
A force main break on Stem School Street will be easy to repair, Hamlett added. He said he found a way around the easement problem as well, indicating the age of the force main makes it public property.&nbsp;
However, to be courteous and respectful, he will send a letter to two homeowners who could be affected by the repairs, he said.
The SGWASA board noted it may need to raise service rates during the upcoming budget process, after postponing rate increases last year.&nbsp;
Commissioner Tim Karan emphasized the importance of having the funds to do proposed projects, comparing each factor to a four-legged stool.
"The big portion is the money,&rdquo; Karan said. &ldquo;You can prioritize projects, but where we're going to get the funding is the question."
Commissioner Kenneth McLamb broached the subject of adding a second representative to the SGWASA board from Stem. The town argues that more SGWASA customers now live in Stem than the unincorporated areas of the county, and it should have more representation as a result.
Getting a second representative approved would require support from all stakeholders, he added. McLamb said the city of Creedmoor had already signed off, but it must still be approved by the county.
<h5>Strategic planning</h5>
Monday&rsquo;s strategic planning session covered a variety of topics. Chair Jimmy Gooch summed up the agenda early.&nbsp;
"We have a lot of ground to cover and a short time to do it in," Gooch said.
Since July, the board, along with the Schroyer, has been working with the N.C. League of Municipalities to develop a five-year strategic plan. The league&rsquo;s consultants, Perry James and Rick Rocchetti, went over the five-year strategy with the board Monday.&nbsp;
"You have taken the surveys and completed the assignments,&rdquo; James told the board. &ldquo;Now it's time to have policies, processes, and procedures in place in a direction so you can get to the next level of organization."
The board spent a little under five hours reviewing the new mission statement, exploring core values and future vision, going over strengths and weaknesses, and prioritizing projects.
There were four areas that were broken down: water, sewage, organizational excellence, and the environment.&nbsp;
Jordon, not new to corporate organization said, "Our vision is to be state-of-the-art and a very efficient water and sewer system. Let's not neglect what we need to get to that point."
The issues the board will be tackling going ahead will be dealing with aging infrastructure, getting quality water to customers, reforming the public image of the company, managing new technology, and finding ways to allocate funds to pay for the projects.&nbsp;
Rocchetti said he was impressed with the board member's consistency on most of their answers &mdash;&nbsp; a hallmark of an effective team, he said.
"I thought it went very well and we'll continue to work with the consultant&rsquo;s final plan for the fiscal year," Schroyer said later of the meeting.

SGWASA agrees to expand financial aid opportunities

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OXFORD &mdash;&nbsp;After state officials issued new guidelines this week, Granville Health System announced it would begin giving the COVID-19 vaccine to people aged 65 and above on Saturday.&nbsp;
Granville Vance Public Health said moving forward, it will also lower its vaccination age from 75 to 65.&nbsp;
&ldquo;That will increase demand on an already limited supply,&rdquo; said Lisa Harrison, the health department director. &ldquo;We will work hard to ensure lots of times for vaccine access but we will now have more than 10,000 people eligible for vaccine and we do not have any more staff. We need people to be patient with the process and understand we are working as fast and and as hard as we can.&rdquo;
The hospital and local health departments had been offering the vaccine to adults at least 75 years old. Anyone getting vaccinated continues to need an appointment in advance.&nbsp;
Granville Health System will begin offering the vaccine to this age group on Saturday and Sunday. Adults with a confirmed appointment will be vaccinated at drive-thru clinics between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on these days.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The health system will continue to vaccinate adults with appointments on Tuesdays and Wednesday in January. Those clinics will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Vaccines are administered outside Granville Primary Care &amp; OB/GYN, at 110 Professional Park Drive, Oxford, on the campus of Granville Medical Center.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that vaccine providers that are ready to expand may vaccinate all health care workers and anyone 65 years and older. 
The vaccine is free.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We are very pleased to be able to continue vaccinating our community against COVID-19,&rdquo; said John F. Snow, the CEO of Granville Health System. &ldquo;This organization has been serving the community for more than 100 years, and vaccinating those 65 and older against the virus is a service we are proud to offer at this time.&rdquo;
To get an appointment with Granville Health System, visit <a href="https://www.ghshospital.org/patients-visitors/ghs-covid-19-vaccine">http://www.ghsHospital.org</a> or call 919-691-5198.&nbsp;
Snow said vaccine supply remains &ldquo;very limited.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;As the number of vaccines increase in our community, we look forward to being part of the public health response that provides care and promotes well-being for our community,&rdquo; Snow said.&nbsp;

Granville Health lowers age to 65 to get vaccine, plans weekend clinic

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STEM &mdash; Commissioners are making progress on an overhaul of the town&rsquo;s zoning ordinances after a board retreat on Saturday.&nbsp;
Commissioners met in person and by Zoom to map out upcoming projects for the year. They decided to put the zoning revamp near the top of the list of priorities.&nbsp;
The town last updated its zoning ordinances in September 2016, according to the town&rsquo;s website. But that update was riddled with issues the board has long wanted to correct.&nbsp;
Mike Conti, the town&rsquo;s zoning and stormwater administrator, told the board at the retreat that new edits are being made to the ordinances. He hopes the town can hold public hearings on the changes in March, a step that&rsquo;s required before the board can adopt the edits.&nbsp;
The zoning ordinance project is important because it will help guide town officials&rsquo; plans on potential revitalization efforts to encourage development in downtown Stem. Once the ordinances have been passed, the board plans to focus on revitalization by establishing a steering committee.&nbsp;
Another priority of the commissioners on Saturday was to earn a second seat on the South Granville Water and Sewer Authority board of directors. That would require a sign-off from the other municipalities represented on the board.&nbsp;
The board asked Commissioner Kenneth McLamb, the town&rsquo;s sole representative on the SGWASA board, to formally request a second seat. The town argues that more SGWASA customers now live in Stem than live in the unincorporated areas of Granville County, but the county commissioners have two representatives on the SGWASA board.&nbsp;
McLamb said he had support from the Creedmoor Board of Commissioners.&nbsp;
The board also discussed hiring a grant writer to maximize the opportunities for state and federal funds for projects in Stem. The board assigned Commissioner Frank Shelton the task of finding the writer.
Lt. James Smith, the vice president of the Stem Volunteer Fire Department board, asked Stem commissioners to fund a backpack disinfectant sprayer to sanitize playground equipment, the fire department, Town Hall and police patrol cars.&nbsp;
The board signed off on the $2,000 purchase, taking money from the town&rsquo;s fund to support Granville County&rsquo;s 275th anniversary celebration.&nbsp;
Commissioners also made a firm commitment to get the town newsletter out to residents before spring. The newsletter will inform residents of upcoming projects and help with a volunteer program and efforts to recruit help for a town-wide cleanup.&nbsp;
The cleanup program will focus on residential and roadside cleanup later this year. Commissioners said many residents may have put off cleaning up around their homes because of the coronavirus, but it will be necessary to start the cleanup process soon.
Shelton and Mayor Pro Tem Susan Cope will head the cleanup program this year.
The board appointed Commissioner Kevin Easter as its contact for animal control issues. Easter said he would work with the county animal control department to address issues with too many loose animals in town.&nbsp;
The board also asked Easter to find out how much it will cost to remove an in-ground fuel tank from town-owned property.&nbsp;
Commissioners then discussed several paving projects and plans to put gravel behind the Dollar General. The board talked about watershed issues and the need to clean out and reshape ditches in several subdivisions.
Cope said she plans to finish the development and launch of the town website. The board said it will work on finding a way to livestream town meetings this year as well.
The last item on the 2021 task list was to have a live music event downtown. Commissioners agreed that the coronavirus would hamper the event, and put that plan on the back burner.
Commissioners will meet again at 7 p.m. on Jan. 19.

Thursday, January 14, 2021.pdf

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