Cumberland County takes next steps in Orange Street School project

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners will gather at 6:45 p.m. Monday at the Cumberland County Courthouse for its final meeting of the year.

Here are some key items to note from the agenda:

Orange Street School project

• County Manager Clarence Grier and County Attorney Rick Moorefield will ask the board to approve an interlocal agreement with the city of Fayetteville as part of a proposed repurposing of the historic Orange Street School, one of the first publicly-funded schools for Black children in Fayetteville, according to the proposed agreement. The school is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was built around 1915, according to its registration form for the registry.
• At the board’s March 20 meeting, commissioners approved $350,000 in funding for Fayetteville-Cumberland County Parks and Recreation to purchase furniture, fixtures and equipment for the project. 
• According to the proposed agreement, the school will be used “for public recreational purposes and for the coordination of cultural arts and educational programming,” specifically focusing on arts and technology. “The Project will allow for the continuation and development of additional programming primarily serving disadvantaged youth,” the agreement says.
• Any funds not used by the city will be refunded to the county, the proposed agreement says.
• According to a cost breakdown for the project, Fayetteville-Cumberland County Parks and Recreation will purchase items like tables, banquet chairs, televisions, office furniture, computers, a 3D printer, kitchen supplies and equipment for a $139,000 recording studio for the project.

County to seek outside representation in DSS lawsuit

• According to a Dec. 8 memorandum from the county attorney to the board, in a “recent closed session,” commissioners told staff to seek outside counsel in the case of Linda Ward and Steven Brey vs. Shenae Whitehead. Other defendants in the case include the county and “unnamed social workers” employed at the Department of Social Services, the memorandum says. 
• According to the memorandum, the county is seeking outside representation because an assistant county attorney had represented one of the plaintiffs, Steven Brey, “for some portion of the underlying case concerning the plaintiffs’ minor child.” 
• The county attorney is recommending Cranfill Sumner LLP, a firm with offices in Raleigh, Charlotte and Wilmington, to handle the case, according to the memorandum. 
• A Dec. 7 letter from Jennifer Welch, a partner at Cranfill Sumner, to Assistant County Attorney Robert A. Hasty, Jr., quotes the firm’s rates as $300 per hour for partners, $250 per hour for associates and $150 per hour for paralegals.
• It is not clear what the suit entails.

Donation to Animal Medical Fund for abused horses

• According to a Dec. 14 memorandum to the board from Deborah Shaw, the county’s budget and performance director, the Animal Legal Defense Fund recently donated $10,000 to the county’s Animal Medical Fund.
• The donation will cover “the medical treatment, housing and other expenses related to the horses and foals that were admitted” in August, the memorandum says.

$500,000 grant to Cumberland County Veterans Treatment Court

• According to a Dec. 14 memorandum from Shaw to the board, the Cumberland County Veterans Treatment Court received a $500,000 grant for fiscal year 2024, which began on July 1 and ends on June 30, 2024.
• “These funds will be utilized by the court system for personnel costs, participant case management, transportation, treatment, and supportive services,” Shaw wrote.
• Commissioners approved and accepted the grant at the Oct. 16 meeting, according to the memorandum.

Appointment to Mid-Carolina Aging Advisory Council

• The board will be asked to reappoint Wilbert J. Stitt to the Mid-Carolina Aging Advisory Council, according to a Dec. 4 memorandum to commissioners from Iva Clark, a deputy clerk to the board.
• Stitt was first appointed to the council in January 2021, with his three-year term expiring in January 2024, the memorandum states.
• The council consists of three volunteer positions, two consumer positions, one elected official and a representative from the Veterans Hospital and meets at 2 p.m. on the first Tuesday of March, June, September and December.
• Former Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner served as the elected official representative. It is unclear if newly-inaugurated Mayor Jessie Bellflowers will step into her role or if a new elected official representative will need to be nominated. Spring Lake Mayor Pro Tem Soña Cooper has applied to the position, according to a list of applicants.

Civic Center Commission nominations

• The board will be asked to nominate two people to the Civic Center Commission, with member Lexi Hasapis’ term expiring in January and member Greg Edge resigning on Dec. 4, according to a Dec. 4 memorandum from Clark.
• The board has nine members who are appointed to serve three-year terms.
• Sixteen people have applied to fill the vacancies, according to a list of applicants given to the board.

Lexi Solomon can be reached at lsolomon@cityviewnc.com or 910-423-6500.

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