The Cumberland County commissioners voted on Monday night to spend more than $12.85 million on 10 projects and programs. These include medical school scholarships, opioid addiction programs, construction of two drinking water wells and land for industry.
The commissioners also approved a pay raise and bonus for the county manager.
Monday’s meeting was the last for Commissioners Toni Stewart, Michael Boose and Jimmy Keefe, who will leave office after their successors Kirk deViere, Pavan Patel and most likely Henry Tyson take office in December. (Tyson’s election is awaiting the results of a recount requested by candidate Peter Pappas.)
Stewart, Boose and Keefe each took a few minutes to say farewell.
Then they and the rest of the board voted on the following items:
$1 million for medical school financial aid
The commissioners decided to provide $1 million to Cape Fear Valley Health System for a financial aid program to provide scholarships for students at the new medical school that Cape Fear is building with Methodist University. The financial aid will be for Cumberland County residents who commit to practicing medicine in Cumberland County.
$660,000 for drinking water wells
The commissioners voted to pay $660,000 to East Point Contracting LLC to build two drinking water wells in Gray’s Creek to supply drinking water to residents across the river from Gray’s Creek in Cedar Creek, where people’s drinking water wells have been contaminated with PFAS.
This is separate from an ongoing plan to help people in Gray’s Creek who also have PFAS in their drinking water wells. The county is in a partnership with the Fayetteville Public Works Commission to bring drinking water to Gray’s Creek residents.
$8 million for opioid programs
The county will spend just over $8 million on programs to address and prevent opioid addiction.
The money is part of a $31.6 million allocation that Cumberland County is getting from a $50 billion lawsuit settlement between the states and opioid manufacturers and distributors following the rise of opioid addiction in the United States.
$1.85 million for industrial land
The commissioners voted to offer $1.85 million to buy two tracts of land, totaling 71.4 acres, on Doc Bennett Road.
A memo says the properties are “to be held for future development as industrial sites.” The tax value for the two tracts totals about $490,000, county tax records say. However, one of the tracts was listed for sale recently for just over $2 million.
Other projects
In other projects, the commissioners:
- Approved a $398,411 bid from Range Systems to upgrade the Sheriff Office’s indoor shooting range at the Earl Butler Sheriff’s Training Center.
- Agreed to spend up to $258,000 for 71.5 acres in the Beaver Dam area of southeastern Cumberland County. The land is by the Bushy Lake State Natural Area and is for the North Carolina Mountains to the Sea Trail. The county is to be reimbursed $193,000 by the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation.
- Awarded a $483,000 contract to Blacksail Construction to build a solid waste convenience center and recycling facility at 575 Assembly Court.
- Voted to pay architectural firm LS3P an additional $95,000 for work on the planned Homeless Support Center to be built on the edge of downtown Fayetteville. This is for work beyond the original $132,500 contract.
- Awarded a contract to security service Weatherspoon Enterprises for $97,452 to provide security at the county Department of Social Services from Jan. 1 to June 30.
- Voted to have staff evaluate a situation where a casket was unearthed at Hillside Cemetery in Spring Lake after the property was damaged by Hurricane Florence in 2018. The county will spend up to $15,000, if needed, to move the casket. The county will seek to be reimbursed with state hurricane relief money.
Pay raise for the county manager
The commissioners also approved a pay raise and a bonus for County Manager Clarence Grier.
Grier’s salary was boosted to $325,000 per year from about $298,000. They also gave him a merit bonus of $10,000.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
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