Commissioners approves funding for additional public health staff
An award of badge and service weapon was presented to the retiring Lt. Holbrook. He was an officer for over 20 years and also served in the Navy. Additionally, Commissioner James Shores was recognized for this nomination to a subcommittee in Washington, D.C. to “defend veterans and law enforcement officers”.
Multiple public hearing matters were discussed during the meeting. There was a petition to close part of Hinkle Drive and give the land to Davidson Water, Incorporated. All property owners in the area signed a petition for this closure, as it will give them more access to the underdeveloped area. Davidson Water, Inc. plans to tear parts of a building in this area to make room for a parking spot. This was unanimously approved.
There were also two rezoning requests, one by JS Property Holdings in Thomasville and one by Randall and Tammy Lomax in Boone Township. The first was in order to allow for more space in the area for NC Trailer Shells, who currently have to hold their supply in a separate location. The second rezoning request was to revoke a rezoning in 2006 that was put in place in case the realignment of Interstate 85 affected the Lomax’s business. Since this didn’t happen, they want to undo this zoning to begin building homes on the land. Both of these rezoning requests were unanimously approved.
The next presentation was a Letter of Intent from the Economic Development Committee for lots 2 and 3 in the I-85 business center to build a 500,000 square foot facility. This building would be able to employ 500 people and would be the second largest initial capital investment in Davidson County. The request was approved unanimously.
A bid award for the expansion of the Thomasville EMS base was presented. The current base is barely large enough for the trucks to drive through, causing a safety hazard. An expansion would allow for a storage room in a spare unit as well as more room for the current trucks. The motion was unanimously approved.
The inmate medical contract was moved to IMS Medical Healthcare from Southern Health Partners during the meeting. According to the presenter, this switch will cut down on expenses, hopefully, from inmate medical issues, as IMS should be more meticulous with who they’re sending to the hospital. There is no information on the pharmacy portion of the inmate medical contract yet.
This is a two year contract, and if the IMS company wanted to terminate the contract, there would be a 60 days notice. Some commissioners expressed concerns. They noted the last time an organization terminated, there was a rush to find a new provider within60 day. An amendment was proposed to the contract to change this notice period from 60 to 90 days. It passed unanimously.
The final part of the meeting included a public health request for more staffing using new COVID-19 funding from the state. Funding is $1.3 million. The facilities committee will receive $600,000. Public health recommended the board use the rest of this money to hire six new employees and create five new positions. Two of these positions would be nurses to help with monitoring COVID, vaccinations, and testing for COVID. The other two (along with the funding to reinstate an old position) would be for office support, including data entry, contact tracing and COVID-19 testing.
Lastly, the final position would be a human services planner who would assist the preparedness planner in setting up clinics, as the fairground testing site is struggling to release results from tests. This allotment would last until June 30, 2023. The commissioners reluctantly approved this request, citing fears of it costing too much money if the virus fades out to which the public health officer argued that the resources could eventually be used to help preventative planning instead of the current work of stopping the virus.
