Board of Commissioners · Regular Meeting · December 8, 2025

Lead us in the pledge of allegiance? United States. One nation under God indivisibley for all. >> Thank you very much for that. Next item on our agenda is agenda adjustments or changes. Are there any adjustments to our agenda? >> Okay, seeing none, I'll have to I'll accept a motion to approve the agenda. >> Second. >> Has been moved and properly seconded that we accept the agenda. Any further discussion? >> All in favor say I. >> I. >> All opposed, please use the same sign.

The agenda passes without amendments. Next item item on our agenda are the announcements. Madame clerk. >> Good evening everyone. I'll read the announcements published in tonight's agenda. Durham County invites everyone to join us for the 2025 Innovate Durham Demo Day on Thursday, December 11th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the American Underground located at 2011 West Main Street. Innovate Durham turns Durham County into a lab for innovation where local entrepreneurs test new ideas and solutions that improve the community.

You can register and there is a link available. Join the Durham Soil and Water Conservation District for a breakfast and discussion on farm law with Andrew Bronnen. we will discuss liability transport tr trespassing I'm sorry and more. for breakfast begins at 8:00 a.m. And the presentation begins at 8:30. The event is on Thursday, December 18th at Farm Bureau office located at 1901 Hillanddale Road and there is a link for registration. The Welcome Baby 13th annual winter coat drive continues through January 9th, 2026. The Welcome Baby team collects new and gently used children's coats, hats, gloves, and and scarves in sizes newborn to 8 years old. Donate at 721 Foster Street during normal hours and other locations throughout the community. You can find out additional information by visiting welcomebaby.org.

The Durham County Tax Administration allows residents the option of making partial payments on real property taxes through January 5th, 2026. Payment may be made by check, bank draft, money order, cash, or online. And there is a link. No payment plans will be extended once bills become delinquent after January 5th, 2026. Property owners may visit dcnc.govtax or call 5603000 for additional information. Starting December 10th, the Durham County Department of Social Services will begin taking applications for the Lowinccome Energy Assistance Program, LEAP.

Applicants aged 60 and older who rece who receive services through Decode DSS aging and adult services are eligible to apply as well as those with disabilities and those who receive food and nutrition services on January 2nd, 2026. All Durham County residents may apply online and there is a link. Paper applications are also available at 414 East Main Street and virtual appointments are available with the specialists by calling 919-5608192. The program ends on March 31st, 2026 or while funds remain. And lastly, the Durham County offices will be closed for the winter holiday on the following dates. Wednesday, December 24th through Friday, December 26, reopening on Monday, December 29th, as well as Thursday, January 1st, reopening on Friday, January 2nd. You can visit our website, dcnc.gov, for additional information. That concludes the announcements in tonight's agenda.

>> Thank you, Madam Clerk. Are there any other announcements from the commissioners? Well, well, I would like to send a congratulations for to Habitat for Humanity. They had a gala on and I'm getting my days mixed up. It must have been Thursday. Yeah. me and manager Hagar were there and they were celebrating their 40 this was their first gala but it was a celebration of their 40th year and part of the celebration was a celebration of them about to finish their 500th house the building the house and that's just great. I just want to congratulate u former commissioner and now CEO of Habitat for Humanity in Durham, Naashina Burns for her organization and what they're doing and a and a wonderful gala it was. I really appreciated the program and I appreciated the event and just a congratulations to them for their 40th year and 500th house here in Durham. That are that's a lot of houses.

So congratulations to them. any others? No. Okay. next item on our.

Agenda is the approval of the minutes from our work to approve the the November 3rd, 2025 work session and November 24th, 2025 regular session minutes. >> So moved. >> Second. It's been moved and properly seconded that we approve the the four stated minutes. Any further discussion? All in favor say I. >> I. >> All oppose, please use the same sign. Motion passes unanimously. Next item on our item on our agenda are our ceremonial items. The first one is the introduction of our new county memorial Durham County Memorial Stadium manager, Jamal White.

And they're making their way to the podium.

>> Good evening, chair. >> Good evening. >> I wanted to provide you some insight with regards to the selection that was made with regards to the stadium manager. We had three members of the stadium authority actually participating in the interview process and selection process. that included Yavon Coleman, who's the deputy chair, Derek McGee and Jonathan Leech, as well as the acting stadium manager, which was Sean Schwitaka, who is my assistant director of building services, and the staff member, Jacob Howell, who were participated in the interview process, as well as the supervisor for the stadium manager, Crystal Thomas. she will introduce to you Mr. Jamal White.

>> Thank you, Matrio. Good evening, Chairman Lee, members of the board, county manager, county attorney, executive leadership, and our in-person and virtual audience. My name is Crystal Thomas. I'm the deputy director of general services. This evening, I am pleased to introduce the new Durham County Memorial Stadium manager, Mr. Jamal White. Jamal began his role on November 10th, 2025. He is a graduate of the University of Bridgeport with a bachelor's of science and business management and of Manhattanville College with a master of science in sports management.

Jamal brings years of experience, most recently serving at Duke University as the senior assistant director of athletics, facilities, and projects. His background also includes leadership roles at Longwood University as the director of a athletic events and the University of Bridgeport in which he was the assistant athletic director for game day operations and facilities. Jamal's first major event as the stadium manager was the CIAA football championship game on November 15th, 2025, which included over 6,000 attendees. He took the lead and guided the general services team to a very successful game day without any incident.

Jamal exemplifies the general services spirit of enthusiasm and eagerness to work to get it done and make it happen. With his leadership and with the support of the Durham County Stadium Authority Board, the border Board of County Commissioners, Durham County government, our community partners, and the residents and visitors of Durham. Jamal will continue the excellent work of growing and advancing the stadium as a positive asset for our county. The general services team would also like to recognize and thank assistant director Sean Switaka for serving as the interim stadium manager for two months while a search was underway for the new manager and event coordinator Preston Jacob Howell for stepping up to help manage the scheduled events.

I would like to now present you Mr. Jamal White. >>. >> good evening everybody. just want to say thank you to my trio and Crystal for giving me this opportunity. cong a little nervous but just want to say just thank you for the opportunity. Looking forward to working with everybody. and looking forward to a successful job I should say. Sorry. our next event will be this coming Saturday. We'll be hosting the state football championships. We'll have two games on Saturday from two 2 o'clock and the second game will be at 8.

>> Thank you. >> Thank you so much. Congratulations, Mr. White. Welcome to Durham County and we look forward to working with you. Definitely look forward to working with you. Wendy, >> I just wanted to make a a comment. Welcome Jamal. we are so excited for you to be here with us. I had the opportunity to meet Jamal, his first week of work at the CIAA conference. I I had the honor of being doing the coin toss, which I had never done anything like that before.

And Marcus Manning the director of our sports commission called Jamal over and I was like, "Wow, how nice to meet you. How long have you been here?" And he was like, "This is my first week." So I I just And he was so calm, absolutely calm, totally confident, and just had it all under control., so you really had, Baptism by Fire coming right into like our biggest event and having it be successful. So, thank you., and I also want to shout out to the general services staff who I saw there. Excuse me. So, who I saw there that day also working really hard to make sure it was a successful event.

Thank you. >> U, Vice Chair alum. >> Yes, Mr. White., congratulations. Really excited to have you joining the team and I'm excited to get to work with you and Mo and the entire team as the liaison for the stadium authority. I'm really excited to see all the new and fresh ideas that you're going to be able to bring for us for the programs we already have at the stadium, but I know you bring a lot of knowledge from your experience at Duke especially that will really benefit our community and our youth as we try to create more spaces for them to engage. So excited to have you on board.

>> Commissioner Burton. >> Yes. Thank you, Chair Lee. Yes. I just want to say, you know, welcome to Durham County. I wasn't able to come to the CIAA championship game, but I drove out there. I had a previous event and when I was out there I was like, "Oh my goodness, all these people are out here." You know, the traffic was like really, really backed up. And so I'm looking forward to working with you, learning more about sports management, because I know that's an intricral part of Durham County government, making sure the Memorial Stadium is used and we're bringing in people and also having activities for young people like Vice Chair Long said. So welcome, >> Commissioner Valentine.

>> thank you, Chair. Mr. White, welcome to Dorm County. We are looking forward to your excellence and as noted by Commissioner Lam, your innovation that you're going to bring to your new role here in Durham County. I want you to know that you're coming to the greatest county here in North Carolina. No pressure, but we welcome you. All right. Thank you very much. Now in our agenda, the next item we actually had for our ceremonial items, we're actually going to delay until next next meeting because of it was the proclamation for recognizing Bulls Academy life sciences day and because of inclement weather that the students couldn't be here. So we're going to delay that. Okay. So I think there's it was it shows on some agendas not not because of the late nature of it. So I just wanted to make note of it. Okay.

Okay. So our next agenda item is a resolution for together for resilient youth 25th anniversary. Now this was just for acknowledgement. However, we have Dr. Wanda Paige in the audience and I'm going to allow >> Dr. Wanda Boon. >> What did I say? Paige. I'm sorry. I'm I'm sorry. >> Charge it to my mind, not my heart. Okay. You know, I know who you are. You know that., she's here in the audience. And I'm going to allow Commissioner Valentine to read it and we'll have comments afterwards if that's okay with our commissioners.

>> Okay, Commissioner Valentine. >> Thank you, Chair. So, the Durham Board of County Commissioners resolution recognizing Together for Resilient Youth Tribe for its leadership in substance use prevention and community resilience. So whereas Together for Resilient Youth, founded in Dorm County in 2000, has worked tirelessly to prevent substance misuse and promote resilience among youth, families, and communities. And whereas since 2007, Tri has partnered with Durham Public Schools and the broader community to reach more than 3,700 students annually through assemblies, classroom engagement, and community- based programming. And whereas TRI has prioritized prevention of opioid overdose, alcohol misuse, particularly among black communities disproportionately impacted by these public health crises. And whereas since 2015, TRI has supplied new lock zone to all school resource officers in middle and high schools, ensuring rapid overdose response capacity and youth centered spaces until such time as new lock zone became available directly through the county.

And whereas Tribe purchased and installed medication dropboxes that has participated in Operation Medicine Drop since its inception, supporting the safe disposal and unused prescriptions and reducing access to opioids in homes. And whereas between 2020 and 2025, TRI directly engaged over 50,000 individuals through training, support services, and coalition work and reached an additional 23,440 through speaking engagements across North Carolina and the United States. And whereas Tri's health ambassador program has trained and empowered 51 community members, including youth, young adults, adults, and seniors, resulting in confirmed life-saving interventions and the distribution of more than 1500 Nlloxxone kits to date.

And whereas TRI has developed and disseminated prevention resources including an opioid misuse and overdose prevention guide, the resilient recovery community training guide, marijuana and youth mental health curriculum, vaping prevention training, and the lift program for student ages 9 through 17 and separately for youth in the juvenile justice system. And whereas Tri's work embodies the values of vention, dignity, equity, and legacy, ensuring that families and communities, especially those most impacted, are equipped with the knowledge, resources, and resilience. Now therefore be be resolved that we the members of the Dorm County Board of Commissioners do hereby recognize together for resilient youth for its outstanding leadership in substance use prevention its commitment to equity and community resilience and its enduring impact on the lives of thousands of residents across Dorm County, North Carolina and the nation. This eth day of July of this 8th day of December, excuse me, 2025 July Don't we wish sign Dr. Mike Lee chair Naida Alam vice chair Michelle Burton commissioner Wendy Jacobs commissioner Steven J. Valentine commissioner at this.

Time Dr. Wanda Boon would you approach the microphone to accept the resolution ladies and gentlemen Dr. Wanda Boon, CEO.

Good evening everyone. Thank you so much commissioners, chair, vice chairs. What a long time it's been. You know, when I think about and look back over 25 years and especially when I think about the youth, some of whom are still with us, who started with us at age 14, we had a young person on our Zoom call last night who said, "Well, you know, I'm going to be 30 years old." I'm like, "Okay, so we're the same age. That can't be."

But it's been a pleasure and a joy. What I've handed out is the community resource guide. And it looks a little different. It feels a little different because it was actually designed and developed by and with the community. So, and it has to do with opioid, prevention, the prevention of overdoses, because Durham is the only county in North Carolina that has more overdoses among black people than any other ethnicity. And so, I found that out actually in 2015. And so, we've worked very hard to, decrease that number.

And so people ask me,"Well, you've been around for 25 years. How come nothing has changed, but a lot has changed. And if you remember what things were like in the past and what they're like today, they're things that are different. The internet is different. And the challenges that young people face that we all face are different. And so we look at substance use prevention from the eyes of those who can let us know what's happening. For example, we talk about vaping and we know that that is a serious challenge among young people today. And so to approach them and say don't vape doesn't work just like it never worked when with any other substance. But what we found out is that the reason that they vape is because of stress of course and things like that. But also because there are games online that are called vape games.

Oh yes, I know. And so because they trust us and the mentors that we have, then they tell us exactly what's going on so that we know how to better equip young people with the things that they need peer-to-peer. That's the other thing. It's not the adults that talk down to young people or young adults or adults or those who are much younger than I am at this point. But we rely on health ambassadors to be the spokespeople for whatever the challenge is that we are attempting to solve. So we talk about violence and bullying and prevention of those things.

Interpersonal violence is actually the leading cause of homicide. And even though gun violence among youth, it's so so so important. There are other forms of violence that we have to address as well. So there's lots going on. That's why we have a coalition. And the coalition helps to develop what we work on based on data. One of the reasons that there are more overdoses among black people than any other e ethnicity is because some people are taking prescription medications with alcohol.

And so we found that out by going to the epidemiologists in at the state level and we brought that back to the powers that be and we continue to talk about alcohol and how not to take prescription medications with alcohol and some other things that we're working on that are unique to the individuals here in Durham. And so we're excited about the 25 years. lastly, I just want to say that I was looking at some data and information that's on the county health department's website, which I'm really excited about, but there wasn't anything about TRI.

It's going to be on there because there's going to be a link. But one of the things that you'll see hopefully that you'll see has to do with all the things that we're doing in terms of harm reduction and the lock zone. 1,500 nlloxxone kits have been provided to people in Durham over June, July, August, September, October, November. It's huge. And that's because our health ambassadors are going out there to do that work. So there's a lot more I could say. I do want to say that I am co-founder with my husband Earl. So Earl Boon, raise your hand. I couldn't do anything without you.

So So thank you so much. It's such an honor to have the resolution and to be here tonight. Thank you very much. >> Congratulations again and thank you Dr. Wanda Boon. We'll go to comments. Yeah. And so, Commissioner Burton. >> Yes., Dr. Boon, you and your husband are such an inspiration. I I'm so grateful that you all are here in Durham County doing this very, very important work., congratulations on being in service for 25 years. And I am glad that you gave us this because I'm a reader and it helps me to better understand what the situation is. And as you know, I've been a commissioner now for a year and just working with you really understanding this issue around substance abuse and trying to keep young people away from substances drugs, alcohol, etc. So, and also I just want to acknowledge you when we worked together on the DPS CIP task force and I really enjoyed the way that you were very cognizant about the spaces that our.

Young people should be in. So, they don't have, you know, anxiety and they're warming and welcoming. Just the care and the the love that you exuberate. So, thank you to your husband, to you for doing this really important work. And I'm going to be getting with you because I want to learn more and I know Wendy, Commissioner Jacobs works with you a lot because I think this is something, that we have to get a hold of here in our county. So, thank you so much, >> Commissioner Valentine. Thank you, Chair.

Dr. Boon. >> Thank you for continuing to labor in the vineyard for the last 25 years and in many instances without any fanfare. You continue to show up, you and your husband, Mr. Earl, and you do the work. And in other spaces where people can't see you, you're always providing the relevant data. You tell the story. You make a difference. and your impact is felt in our community and so continue to show up, continue to show up for our our community. So, thank you, >> Commissioner Jacobs.

>> Thank you. congratulations Dr. Boon and Earl as well for you are always there supporting everything that your wife is doing. It's really also your relationship is inspiring. Your partnership. I just want to thank you because 25 years and you have not lost your spark and your commitment to this work. I have learned a lot from you. We've worked together very closely since 2017 I think is when we started Durham joins together. And I want to acknowledge that also Durham Tri was really sounding the alarm about a number of issues before it really even became known. For instance, I remember probably about 13 years ago, I went to a convening that you had with a lot of religious leaders and it was talking about trauma and ASIS and nobody was talking about that. And of course, now we are doing, you know, we have it's imbued in in what we do in Durham County government. And so I also want to acknowledge it's not in the we can't have everything in the resolution.

But your work around really introducing the whole Durham County government and the whole Durham community to resilience which I think is really one of the underlying philosophies of of Durham tri. I also want to acknowledge the huge amount of resources that you have brought into Durham. I I it would be interesting to know the the just even in terms of the grant funding over many many years that you have brought into into our community. and then some of the other efforts again that's not even mentioned on here the work that you have done with a lot of the stores the whole campaign to educate the owners about products they were selling that were also marketing to youth and educating the community about things that are dangerous.

So I again we have all learned so much from you and I know for for me working with you as co-chairs of Dur Durham joins together to save lives even the whole idea of the collective impact model again that is something that you you know these are systemic types of approaches and issues. So again, thank you for everything that you've done. The the focus on data and science again is is really invaluable and you have saved lives for sure in our community and that's what it really gets down to. So I hope you're all in for another 25 years and congratulations.

>> Thank you >> Commissioner Long, >> Dr. Vin. Thank you so much for your tireless work. Especially I think you know you've been working on this for 25 years but I think what's really really important is that period especially during the peak of COVID where you didn't let this work just stop because that was a time period where obviously everything was shutting down. A lot of people were cut off from resources and support and the work that you were doing continued on and you made sure that our residents and neighbors that needed this support the most continued to have it and I think it's so so important to have leaders like you who don't forget our neighbors. just when like everything else is in clusters, all of us had things going on and we're like struggling with the pandemic, but you continue to champion opioid prevention, opio overdose prevention and education. So, thank you so much for that. and thank you for doing this work. I know we're giving.

You praise now, but for 25 years, you've been doing it silently, and I know that after today, you'll continue going on doing it without praise. So, while you're here, thank you. Thank you so much. >> Thank you so much. I appreciate it. >> And lastly, I'll say Dr. Boon, our u we've intersected a few times >> throughout the last say 15 years or so. And I just appreciate I'm going echo something that Commissioner Jacobs said that and and I I've always believed this that you knew what Durham and Durham Public Schools and we need to hear before we knew. I can remember the conversations that the things you were saying about what kids need before the administration in Durham Public Schools even knew about them. So your work is deeply important and is very very much appreciated. So thank you for everything that you've done, continue to do, and will do for not only Durham, but just surrounding area, state, and so forth.

Okay. Thank you so much. >> Thank you very much. Your comments mean more to me than I could ever express. And yes, I'm going to go back underground now. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. Okay, the next section of our agenda is the consent agenda. And we're going to need to up top take two off because.

We have public comment for two of the consent agenda items. The first one is the 25554, the budget ordinance amendment number 26 BCC23. Has to do with the substance abuse and mental health services administration. And then the 25601. Which is budget ordinance number BCC 038 rec for the community donations from Carolina Arbor's community. Okay. So, in order to for us to do the public comment, we have to take it off of consent and then we'll we'll vote on those separately.

Outside of those, we have the consent agenda for approval. I'll accept a motion. >> So, moved. >> A second. >> All right. So, it's been properly moved and seconded that we approve the consent agenda with the exception of 25554 and 25601. Any further discussion? >> Yes, ma'am. >> I just I want to make a comment on one item after we approve the agenda or I just want something. >> Okay. Yeah. >> Okay, we can do that. all in favor say I. >> I. >> I.

>> All oppose, please use the same sign. The consent agenda passes as amended. Commissioner Jacobs. >> Yes. I just wanted to acknowledge the item on our agenda related to the federal railroad. It's item 25-0632. The the East Railroad crossing study. I just want to acknowledge it because I think it's really significant. For first of all I want to thank our staff for getting this federal grant. But also it is significant that we are moving forward with this study. This is aligns with vision zero the vision zero goals to improve pedestrian bike and and every type of safety for our residents. but also it aligns with the work that we're doing to advance passenger rail in our region and we are taking an incremental approach as a region and this is one of the strategies which is to try to make improvements in the corridor and try to go after federal funding when it's available and doing this study is the first step for then applying for federal funding.

To implement any any recommendations that come out of this. And I also want to just thank our local media because this issue of the fatalities here at Driver and Plum and Ellis have been something that has been covered over and over again by our local media. It's a serious issue and I'm really grateful that we are now in a position to really try to move forward and address this problem and so I just want to acknowledge and thank our staff. Thank you.

>> Okay. Thank you very much. Are there any are there further comments? Okay. We'll move on. Our next section in our agenda are public hearings. We have three public hearings tonight and we will proceed with the first. So the first public hearing that we have is 25608 is a public hearing and award of ambulance franchise to provide non-emergency ambulance services in Durham County. I'll invite the our EMS director, brand new EMS director, up to explain what the purpose and requirements are and you'll and an overview and recommendations. Thank you.

>> Good evening, commissioners, manager Hager, county leadership, colleagues, and members of the public. My name is Seth Kamansky. I serve as your chief for Durham County EMS. Thank you for all being here today and for your continued engagement in the health and safety of our community. This public hearing is being held in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 153A-250, which authorizes counties to franchise ambulance services and requires public hearing as part of that process. Additionally, this hearing is conducted under the authority of Durham County county's Code of Ordinances, Chapter 12, which governs emergency medical services and ambulance operations within the county.

The purpose of today's hearing is to present the applicants who have applied for a franchise to provide non-emergency ambulance transport services in Durham County. These applicants have met the minimum requirements outlined in our ordinance and have submitted complete applications for consideration. The franchising of non-emergency ambulance transport services is strategic step to ensure a couple of things. First, consistency and quality of care for patients who required scheduled medical transport transportation but do not necessarily need emergency intervention. Establish regulatory oversight to ensure all providers meet safety training and operational standards for companies operating within Durham County's jurisdiction.

Equitable access to transportation for vulnerable populations, including those with mobility challenges, chronic conditions, or limited personal transportation options. and coordination with our 911 system and healthcare partners to reduce inappropriate use of emergency resources and improve system efficiency. By continuing and maintaining the franchise model, Durham County can better manage the availability, reliability, and accountability of non-emergency transport services, ultimately improving patient satisfaction and system sustainability. Today, I share information about the four applicants who've submitted for franchise consideration. Durham County Office of Emergency Services EMS Division vetted these franchises or franchise applications with consideration for submission being in completion, evaluation and finding in favor of public convenience and necessity and confirmation that each applicant meets the minimum requirements outlined in the outlined for the award of a franchise under Durham County Ordinance Chapter 12. This hearing is an opportunity for the public and the board of commissioners to learn more about each provider's qualifications, capabilities, and commitment to serving our community.

Allow me to introduce and provide an initial overview of our applicants. Midwest Medical Transport, doing business as North State Medical Transport, provides 247 services with 16 ambulances and approximately 85 personnel holding both basic and advanced life support credentials. They're based locally and we're joined by their regional manager Carly Dodson and Stonew White who's their operations manager. Priority Care based in Raleigh provides 247 services Monday through Friday and 12-hour coverage on the weekends. They operate at basic and intermediate credential levels. They have 15 units with nearly 40 staff members and were joined by William Smith, who's their CEO.

Providence Transportation, who's been in business since 2013, has been licensed by the state office of EMS since 2020. They have operations in two regions in North Carolina, including locally, with 17 ambulances in their fleet. They provide basic and intermediate level care Monday through Friday. And we are joined by David Stevens, who's their president, and Robin Roberts, who's a local operation supervisor. Janare operates 247 in the region with a scalable shift model of 10 units of peak times and a combination of basic, intermediate, and advanced life support personnel. We're joined by Todd Cornet, who's our chief of operations, and Tristan Cornet, who's our assistant chief of operations.

As mentioned, after a thorough review by both EMS and risk management, we've determined that these four applicants meet the requirements for the award of franchise under Durham County Ordinance Chapter 12. Subject to tonight's public hearing and the board's discretion, we recommend that the board grant the application for franchise in accordance with the ordinance for a two-year term. With that, I yield the floor for questions and review of each applicant. >> Thank you, Chief. Okay, so I appreciate that that presentation and your recommendations. I will now open the public hearing on the four ambulance franchise applicant applications.

So the applicants can come speak about their if they like if they'd like to present briefly then we will allow the board to ask questions. Then I'll close the well we'll have public comment on this then I'll close and we'll deliberate. So if the organizations would like to come forward Janare Midwest Medical Priority Care and Providence if they'd like to say a few words about their programs their offerings within this public hearing. Good evening. My name is Kari Dodson and I'm representing Midwest Medical Transport and as doing business as North State Medical Transport. I actually stood here nine years ago when we were originally franchised in Durham County under EMS director Skip Kirkwood.

In those nine years, we have serviced Duke University as well as Duke Hospice and various nursing homes and dialysis centers in Durham County. while we have a breakdown of about 75% BLS service in Durham County and 25% ALS service, we do operate 24 hours a day and we are able to assist Durham County whenever necessary. in our nine years, we have not had any formal complaints brought forth to EMS nor the commissioners regarding our service and we look forward to a continued partnership with Durham County and to grow with the county's needs. So of course, if you have any questions, more than happy to answer them or I can wait till later.

Okay. Well, that'll be a little bit later, so if you could stay there, that would be great. >> Absolutely. >> Good evening, folks. >> Good evening. >> It's been a long time. We've been trying to get in with Durham County for some years, so it's pretty good to be here. Feels good., we just hope to add to what we believe would be the excellent service that you're already getting hopefully from the individuals that are already in your county., we're growing pretty quick.

This year we've gone a we're hoping to go paramedic level very shortly. Hopefully that'll help you guys out, but at this point we're just happy to be here and do anything we can do to help you out. All right. And who are you? Bless you. And who are you with, sir? I'm sorry. >> Oh, I'm sorry. William Smith >> with Priority Care Ambulance. >> Priority Care. Okay. Thank you.

>> My name is Todd Cornet. I'm with Jane Care Ambulance., we've been in the area since roughly 2017., since then we've been the primary provider for all three of Duke hospitals. So, we do Duke Maine, Duke Regional, and Duke Raleigh. we do about 12,000 transports a year out of those facilities. most of those being BLS around 90% and then we do assist Duke Lifellight with ALS calls as well. we also do nursing home calls and then also calls from residential. this will be our I guess our third franchise that we're seeking here. So we're excited to keep going. as they mentioned, we also provide mutual aid to Durham County when they need us. and yeah, just excited to continue the relationship with Durham County.

>> Thank you. >> Good evening, commissioners. I'm Dave Stevens with Providence Transportation. Providence Transportation has been in business since 2013, and we've been a licensed EMS provider in North Carolina since 2020. We have 17 ambulances in our fleet. We have two locations in the state. Our main headquarters is in Davidson County just south of Winston Salem. and then we have a secondary location in the Triangle area that opened in 2024. we have currently four units in this area and as we've grown we've we've added to that and will continue to add that as the need presents itself. we currently have franchises in Wake, Orange, and Johnston County. And so we're just excited to add Durham to the mix and be be a provider that can assist the community here. Thank you.

>> Thank you. do we have any questions from the board for our applicants? Okay. Thank you all very much. Next, we'll accept public public comments, non-applicant public comments from members of the public who wish to comment and on any of the franchise applicants,. Miss Peterson. Yes.

Here to speak. How many minutes do I have? >> Two minutes. >> Okay. Is the So, the clock is Oh, the clock is here. Great. Thank you. Thank you. I'm Mrs. Peterson. One of the questions just sort of just listening the various companies that have shown up, are they racially diverse? I I didn't hear how many employees they have. I would like to know how many women are working with the companies. I would also like to know a little bit exactly are you saying that you're taking place of the emergency folks that come to persons homes? are these separate companies that's going to be doing this because our local emergency people just don't have enough space, enough people, enough employees. So, I think for me also is the dollar amount what the dollar amount of the contract and how long is the contract?

But I think overall I would like to know Durham has a very very high African-American community. So, I would like to know how many African-Americans are already working for some of the companies how many women and also what is the dollar amount of the contract? >> Okay. Thank you, Miss Peterson. >> And can each company answer that, please? >> well, I'll let you chief. I'll let you Kinsky. I'll let you speak to that. Speak to what you can and then I'll >> see if we can if if those are questions that we can have the applicants answer.

>> Sure. so as far as the operations go, the the process for the non-emergency transport companies are purely that non-emergency transport. So they were they are relied upon for our nursing homes, our assisted living facilities, the hospitals, and they're used for mostly for discharges from the hospitals to return home to the assisted living facilities and nursing homes. or transfer to a doctor's appointment or to the hospital for a scheduled medical appointment. so so it is non-competition with the emergency services of Durham County., and so by having these franchise companies, it takes the burden off of the emergency service resources. It allows for the emergency responses to 911 to be unencumbered by the discharges and so on. Further, it helps us with the hospital loads to be able to discharge from the hospitals to open up beds on the floors to allow for the ER admissions to move upstairs and ultimately create quicker turnaround times for the 911 ambulances in the field. as far as demographics, I don't have that information for each.

Company as part of the process for the evaluation of the of the franchise. It is not a contract and so we are not paying for any of the services. everything is gone does is gone through medical billing as from each person through the company directly. so it has nothing to do with a contract or or services rendered to the county. >> Okay. Thank you. And I will ask the applicants to come to answer how many employees do you have and if it's diverse we you can provide the diversity later in a letter.

Yes. While I don't have all the specifics, I will say we have 95 filled employees., and again, I will report back to Seth regarding our breakdown or whatever is specifically requested. I might need that one more time though, just to expand. >> It's really the the gender and gender diversity and race diversity as well. >> Yes. So, I don't have those numbers off the top of my head, so I'll have to report that back to Seth or at the next hearing. Thank you.

>> At Priority Care Ambulance, we service Wake County, Johnson County, Orange County. We have approximately 55 employees. Half of that amount would be female, the other half are male., a large portion of it is it's a really good mix. We have everything from African-Americans, Caucasians, we have numerous Asians, we have many young individuals. The majority of the staff is under the age of 25. Most of them are in school to be PAs or doctors. so we have a little mix of everything. We service not just hospitals, we service nursing homes. We take loved ones to their final resting places. We do everything from organ transplants. a little bit of everything. It's a mix of all. But these are really really good, smart, educated youth that we employ., I'm very proud to be a part of it., if you have any questions though, I'd be more than happy to answer anything else if I didn't if I missed something.

>> Okay. Thank you. Thank you. >> I'm Todd Cornet with Jare again., we staff roughly 65 to 70 at any given time in Durham County., I'd say about 43% of those are females., again, I don't have specific numbers on race or ethnicity. I know that we do have a very diverse workforce. as he mentioned, we have a wide variety of age. We have anyone from 18 years old. We have all the way up to we have a girl that just turned 70. So so like I said, wide diverse in age, but as far as specific numbers, I would I would have to get back with >> Thank you.

>> Thank you. >> Hello, Dave Stevens with Providence Transportation. We have approximately a hundred employees. we have two divisions in our company. We have a a non-emergency wheelchair transport division and an ambulance division. So that number is is both of those divisions combined. We do not discriminate in the hiring process. We have a wide diverse population within our employees. I do not have specifics to that, but I'd be happy to provide what I can. >> Thank you. I will I will now hear no further public comments.

I'll close the public hearing and the board can deliberate. Are there any discussion? Commissioner Jacobs. >> Yes. thank you so much for the work that everyone has done to to vet all of the proposals and the franchises. I want to thank all the different companies for wanting to do business in Durham County. you know, this is the more franchises we have, the better because it actually gives people choice and it makes sure that we have this service available to our residents and to service all the different facilities.

And as was mentioned, it helps to take some of the burden off of our EMS staff. So, I'm thrilled that we have four different groups who want to serve our residents in Durham. so, and I just wanted to clarify with the county attorney. Can we make a motion that includes all four franchises or we have to do four separate motions? >> Yes, the preference the preference is to do separate. >> Separate. Okay. Thank you. >> That's correct.

Any other comments from the board deliberation? Shar I I didn't ask the question at the time but I was wondering these services are for non-emergent sort of situations and I heard one of the applicants say that they were in a position to add or certify paramedics. What what is the the situation if a non-emergent situation becomes an emergent one in in route say to a facility? How how is that handled under this arrangement? >> The paramedics who are working on non-emergency transport companies answer to their own medical director. often it's more about the scope of practice.

Okay. And so the paramedics are able to take a discharge, excuse me, from a hospital that may have a medication drip or a pump or or some other higher level of care that is being discharged potentially to a rehab facility that that an EMT or an intermediate would not be able to take. And so that's the advantage of having paramedics on some of these transfer companies. >> I just thought that would be something important for the public to know. >> Yes, sir.

>> Okay. Anything further? Okay. So, we have to in order to approve or deny, we have to have separate motions for each one. And so, does anyone else have the verbiage or I can read it out? >> You all got it? All right. So, let's start. We'll start with Gencare and I'll accept that the motion the motion read and that be Commissioner Burton. I move that we grant an ambulance franchise to Gencare. Make sure I'm reading it right. Gencare ambulance of McDow Count County Inc. and find that the public convenience and necess necessity required to provide service based on the information presented in the application staff review and the public hearing. The franchise will be effective upon the execution of a franchise agreement and is subject to continued compliance with all county requirements.

>> Second. >> All right, we have a motion on the floor that's been properly seconded. Is there further discussion? All in favor say I. I. >> I. >> All oppose, please use the same sign. The first motion carries unanimously. I'll open the floor for a second motion. And this one for Midwest Medical DBA North State. I move that we grant an ambulance franchise to Midwest Medical Transport LLC company operating as Northstate Medical Transport. and find at the public convenience and necessity require the proposed service based on the information presented in the application staff review and the public hearing. The franchise will be effective upon the execution of a franchise agreement and is subject to continued compliance with all county requirements.

>> Second. >> Our motion on the floor has been properly stated and seconded. Any further discussion? >> All in favor say I. >> I. >> All oppose, please use the same sign. Passes unanimously. We'll accept I'll open the floor for another motion for priority care. >> Dr. Chair, by chair, Dr. Lee, I would like to make a motion. I would I move that we grant an ambulance franchise to priority care and find that public convenience and necessity require the proposed services service based on the information presented in the application. staff review and the public hearing. The franchise will be effective upon the execution of a franchise agreement and is subject to continued compliance with all county requirements.

>> Second. >> All right. Our motion on the floor has been properly stated and seconded. Any further discussion? All in favor say I. >> I. >> All oppose, please use the same sign. The motion passes unanimously. And our last motion for this public hearing is for Providence. I move that we grant an ambulance franchise to Providence Transportation, Inc. and find the public convenience and necessity require the proposed service based on the information present in the application staff review and the public hearing. The franchise will be effective upon the execution of a franchise agreement and is subject to continued compliance with all county requirements.

>> Second. >> Our motion has been properly stated and seconded. Any further discussion? All in favor say I. >> I. >> All oppose, please use the same sign. Our motion passes unanimously. And that will conclude this this public hearing for this. Congratulations to our new franchises. Thank you so much. We look forward to working with you all. Thank you. And thank you, Chief. [snorts] Appreciate it. Okay. Our second public hearing for today is a public hearing to consider a performance-based award for project speedy with ESPA financial services.

>> Good good evening everyone. My name is Matt Filter. I am the economic development manager for Durham County. Tonight we have two impressive projects that we are thrilled to present to you. each is going to have their own public hearing as the chair mentioned. one for a Speed of Financial Services LLC, our first one, and then a second one for Novi Novartis Gene Therapies, Inc. So, I will proceed with Project Speedy, which is a performance-based award for Project Speedy with the Speedy Financial Services LLC.

The board is requested to hold a public hearing to consider a performance-based award for Project Speedy with the Speed of Financial Services. We'll just refer to them as the speed at this evening in a not to exceed amount of $750,000 and to authorize the county manager to negotiate and execute a performance agreement for the award. This new office headquarters project will create approximately 1,000 new jobs and invest 28.75 million over a 5-year period here in Durham County. The performance-based award will be funded by new tax revenue generated by project speedy. The award pays for itself and the revenue would not exist except for project speedy. All payments to the project will adhere to the Durham County business recruitment and expansion policy and will occur only following annual performance verification that the company has met its job creation, investment, and community partnership targets. This includes maintaining that property taxes are paid annually at a minimum twice the scheduled amount.

Founded in 2020 and based in Durham, Aspita is a fast growing financial services company. They provide a suite of annuity project products that help people achieve and protect their financial futures as well as offer reinsurance solutions for insurance companies. Their new Durham headquarters will support the continued growth of their technology service and operation teams and will serve as a central global hub for their business as they expand. A headquarters of this size and scale will help continue to burnish Dham County as a signature location for office and financial sector investment. The project also offers variety of entry- level positions. With approval of this award, the company has agreed to make good faith efforts to offer annual internship to a student at either Durham Tech or North Carolina Central. Participate in two annual Durham Public Schools CTE programs. participate in two Durham job fairs annually and offer a minimum of one annual financial literacy event targeted at Durham students. You can find additional project details in the briefing she sheet. the staff.

Recommend approval of this award. The public hearing has been advertised as required by law. we do have company representatives here this evening to share some brief remarks alongside several of our other partners. I'll just share their their names and and titles and companies here for a moment. we have Sandy Ball, the chief people officer at ESPIDA. she's here with Brian Clark, their vice president of marketing and communications, and Anna Leaden, associate vice president of pricing. we also have Darien Harris with Durham Public Schools, the director of career and technical education. And we also have Dom Cole Johnson, the chair of the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce board. So, I I'll defer to the chair on whether you'd like questions or have them speak.

>> I will u Thank you so much for that, Mr. Felter. I will now officially open the public hearing after that and I will invite the representatives to come forward and present what they may or speak on what they would like to about this opportunity. And while they're coming up, I will say those of you following along will notice that I actually skipped I'm out of order. Like I skipped an item. We'll go back to the public hearing for the previous one in just a moment. But since Mr. filter kept up with me. We'll stay with this one here and we'll invite the u the staff from a speed and DPS and so forth or whoever would like to speak to make a few comments within this public hearing.

>> Awesome. Well, hi, I'm Sandy Ball. Really excited to potentially have this go through because we were born in Durham and we'd like to stay in Durham and grow. I wanted to give you a little bit I I think you heard a little bit about Aspa founded in 2020. Aspita is the Greek word for shield and so we are in the business of protecting dreams. So it kind of aligns there. we have built a platform for prepping people for retirement and we've grown to 27 billion in assets over five years. So really proud of our growth. Some other just brag points while I have the podium is we really believe in speed, simplicity and service. So if you think about an annuity or an insurance product, most of our insure in the industry is very slow. We can issue a contract in 5 seconds. And so we we're proud of that. We differentiate with technology.

We have videos that kids do on our products because we like to make them simple. We like people to understand what they're purchasing. We also have best-in-class service from from our net promoter scores. So, we're really proud of a lot of the things we've accomplished over five years and really looking forward to continuing to do that. just in terms of like the success we have, we get to put back in the community. And I think that's where we've we've made a big impact. We live down the street from Kestrel Heights, which is a a charter school.

We've worked with them for two years, really full cycle, doing everything, time, energy, and resources with them. We have about 200 employees that work here in Durham and 80% of those are millennial or gen Z. So, we are very much recruiting early career talent. We focus a lot with the colleges and universities around us. We partner with them. I always say people don't grow up and say, "I want to be in insurance." Right? You have to fall into it or learn it. And so we do it. we really try and educate people on the careers that they can find in the insurance industry and take a lot of pride in partnering with colleges and universities to do that. We also offer two volunteer days off so that people can volunteer in the community for things they really like to volunteer for versus some of the things that we sponsor. so again, just thank you.

Excited to be here. Excited to forge some of the new partnerships as part of the this and you know, we're just excited to be here and to grow. So thank you so much for having us. >> Thank you very much. Any other comments? Okay. No, sure. Please.

Good evening. This is really exciting. Thank you guys so much. Good evening, commissioners. My name is Darien Harris. I am proud to serve as director of career and technical education for Durham Public Schools. I'm here tonight to express my support for Expedia's expansion into Durham County and highlight this incredible impact this partnership will have on our students and the future workforce. A speededia's commitment to partner with Durham Public Schools career and technical education or CTE program is a tremendous opportunity for us by engaging and guest speaking hosting teachers and students and serving as an adviser for our CT programs. They will provide our students with exposure to careers in the financial services industry. These partnerships will create industry awareness and help students see the wealth of career opportunities available right here in Durham.

Aspedia's efforts also extend beyond K12 education as they plan to offer internships and participate in job fairs at Durham Technical Community College and Clin Central University. This ensures that students at every stage of their educational journey have access to meaningful opportunities to prepare for their futures. Also, Expedia's commitment to financial literacy is a major benefit for our high school and college students. By hosting financial literacy sessions, they will empower young people with the skills they need to make informed financial decisions. This investment in Durham brings quality jobs to the community and their plans to hire a thousand employees include positions with competitive pay benefits and clear pathways for advancement. Many of these roles, such as customer service, customer support positions will provide accessible entry points for our students, allowing them to grow their careers and achieve success right here in their community.

Lastly, I want to thank Expedia for their investment in our students, our schools, and our community. Their partnership aligns perfectly with our mission to prepare students for success in college, careers, and life by educating and empowering every student to innovate, serve, and lead. I also want to thank the board of commissioners for supporting initiatives like this that connect education, workforce development, and economic growth. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you. Do we have any questions from >> Oh. Oh, we still have >> I'm sorry.

>> Good evening, Chairman Lee. >> Good morning. Good evening. >> And the Board of County Commissioners. Thank you for allowing me to speak tonight. I am Dom Johnson. I am the chair of the Greater Durham Chamber and we are pleased to have this agenda item before you today. Matt Glattit, our VP of economic developments, worked with the with Matt Filler and Andy Miracle to to the land that company in Durham and are very active and recruit them elsewhere. Aspedia is a homegrown company that has already demonstrated com commitment to their local Durham Public Schools and treat their employees well. We are grateful to have them chosen to expand in Durham and thank you for your support.

>> Thank you so much. Are there any other comments? >> Those are all from our side. >> Okay. Are there any questions from our board before we ask for public input? Okay. the next section of the public hearing is for public comments on this particular item. Okay. No public comments. I will officially close this public hearing and for deliberation of our board. Okay. Public hearing is closed. Any deliberation, any questions, conversation? Commissioner Burton. >>, yes. Thank you, Chair Lee., I'm really am liking the fact that a Speedy is going to help with financial literacy with our secondary students.

I think this is something that is needed for many of our students in middle and high school. So, I'm looking forward to that and really being a partner with career and technical education within Durham Public Schools., I think that's exciting and, you know, just being a really good community partner here in Durham. So, that's really all I have to say. I think that this is a good thing for Durham County. So, thank you so much, >> Commissioner Jacobs. >> I'm really thrilled about both of the jobs announcements today., it has been actually quite a while almost a year, I believe, that we have had the opportunity to announce not only new jobs, but additional investments in our tax base. And so, I just feel really grateful.

To everyone who has been a part of helping us get to this point and it takes a lot of people. We can see some of them reflected here today u from our own staff, the chamber, Durham public schools and the DPS Foundation. I want to acknowledge the chair who's here tonight. I mean the chair, the director, Bana Kennedy., I think that's to me is what's most one of the most valuable things here is the relationships and the partnerships., Darien, it's great to have you here as as well., and also people chief people officer, I love that., Sandy Ball to and to hear more about the company. because I think that's what our board really wants to see is those connections between our schools and our and our students moving into good paying jobs where they can have a good quality of life and stay here in in Durham. So you know this is going to be a thousand jobs. That is just incredible. And also it's really this is your your national headquarters.

So you're investing in Durham and also it's to me another opportunity to expand our different sectors, job sectors. So having you know the financial sector growing so I am very excited about this and look forward to seeing what comes out of it especially related to Durham public schools. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you very much. vice chair alone. >> Yes. I just wanted to add on in my thanks for speed up for choosing Durham, but also want to thank Matthew Filter and Andy Miracle from our Durham County team for bringing this opportunity to us and the work that you guys do behind the scenes. Like we're here, we're getting to celebrate this opportunity, but it also took months and months and months of work that our county team put in. So, I really appreciate that. And I just want to highlight and recognize I think this is the first time since I've been on the board that we've actually had someone from DPS here as we approved one of.

These projects. And I think that's really special. then I love that it's showcasing, you know, SPA's commitment to our Durham public students. And I think it's a really great model to be able to set for, you know, future companies and investments that folks are looking to make to have that strong partnership and to have it showcased here today with Mr. Harris speaking public hearing. So, thank you so much to all of you for this opportunity. >> All right. Hearing no further deliberative comments from the board, I'll accept a motion to award the performance-based to award the performance-based award for project speedy with the Speeda Financial Services.

>> So moved. >> Second. >> Our movement our movement properly stated and properly seconded. Any further discussion? All in favor say I. I. >> I. >> All oppose, please shoot at the same time sign. >> Passes unanimous. Congratulations and welcome.

Our third public hearing is very similar to previous and this is the one I skipped over here is a public hearing to consider a performance-based award for projects Aerrowwood and Red Cedar with Novortis gene therapies. Mr. Filter. Thank you. the board is requested to hold a third public hearing this evening, the second from economic development to consider a performance-based award for projects Arowwood and Red Cedar. I'll probably just say Arowwood to make it easier, but they're kind of complimentary projects. And that's with Novartis Gene Therapies Inc. I'll just say Novartis in a not to exceed amount of $5.5 million and to and to authorize the county manager to negotiate and execute a performance agreement for the award. These new manufacturing projects in total will create 280 new jobs and invest $540 million over a five-year period here in Durham County. The performance-based award will be funded by new tax revenue generated by the projects. The award pays for itself and the revenue would not exist but for these projects here in.

Durham. All payments for the project will adhere to the Durham County business recruitment and expansion policy and will only occur following an annual performance verification that the company's mets job creation investment and community partnership targets. This includes maintaining that property taxes are paid at twice the minimum scheduled payment. Novartis currently employs over 300 people in Durham County today for the development and production of gene therapies for patients and families devastated by by rare and life-threatening neurological genetic diseases. This expansion here in Durham will allow Novartis to manufacture medicines across a variety of therapeutic areas. The facilities in Durham will include advanced biologics manufacturing as well as filling and packaging capabilities for biologics. An additional project is also planned for Wake County. Manufacturing is a top priority for Durham County.

Approximately 200 of the new jobs or 71% are open to only th to those with a high school diploma or a two-year degree paying an average wage of 104,000. So that's 71% of the jobs open to those only with a high school diploma or two-year degree. [snorts] Additionally, with the approval of this award, the companies agreed to make a goodfaith effort to donate $35,000 annually to the DPS Foundation for the payment period of the award, participate in two annual DPS CTE programs, donate approximately $100,000 in equipment to Durham Tech, and participate in two Durham job fairs annually. Just to note also, the company offers a robust benefit package to its employees, including 14 weeks of paid parental leave, $5,000 adoption expense reimbursement, and up to $1,000 for dollars for child care or elder care expenses. Staff recommends approval of this award. This public hearing has also been noticed by as required by law.

We have several company representatives and other partners here to to speak in support of the project as well. We've kind of divided up some of the community partners between these two public hearings to just make it easier., first up, we're going to have Matt Lowel., he's a principal at Ryan. It's a site selection firm that assisted Novartis. Then we'll have someone from Noardis, associate director of government affairs, John Hoenwarter. We'll have Jerry Jones from Durham Tech, Briana Kennedy from the DPS schools foundation, DPS Foundation, and then Matt Gladic who's are just our really close partner at every step of the process here. he'll close us out.

He's the vice president at the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce. So, if those folks want to come up and u if it's appropriate and and make a a few short remarks, I I >> That's correct. So I will officially open the public meeting now and allow for those interested parties to come speak and present on this particular topic. >> Good evening. >> I'm Matt L with Ryan. We worked with Novartis through their process to evaluate Durham for this project. we had quite a few mats on this project.

Three of us here tonight. not not typical. but as as the other Matt said, Noardis is doubling down on its footprint here in Durham. Really excited to increase the headcount and and make this major investment in in Durham County. with the this investment would not be possible without the workforce that that is here in Durham and the the foundation that this county has in life sciences is is second to none. And so as part of that, the company is committing to, as as Matt said, partnering with DC, DTCC, Durham Public Schools, and CCU with their programs and to recruit from those agencies to help increase their workforce that they're putting in Durham County and turn it over to Sean.

And before I step down, I just want to thank the county staff, Matt, Andy, Matt Glad. team's been great. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, commissioners, I'm John Hoenwater with Global Public Affairs at Novartis. So, I'm excited to be here tonight. This is a result of an announcement that we did earlier this year where Nevada is going to to be investing $23 billion here in the United States for a number of things including onshore manufacturing and we we are looking at a lot of states from across the country and I was so excited when we landed here in Durham because right down the road we have one of our flagship facilities which was mentioned earlier which is our gene therapy just a few miles away. So, a lot of work went into this. staff did a great job. You know, we're excited to continue this partnership and excited really to continue in furthering, expanding, reimagining medicine. And that's what we say our dream is at Novartis is reimagining medicine. And we're just so happy that.

This is a partnership that's going to continue. So, thank you. Good evening, chairman and commissioners. I'm Jerry Jones. I apologize for my voice. I'm trying to get over a cold. And I'm the executive director for the Center for Workforce Engagement at Durham Technical Community College. Unfortunately, our president, JB Buckton, couldn't be here because he's out of town on another previous engagement. But, we're excited about this, partnership and, the expansion of Norvvis, and what they're doing. It is perfect timing for us at Durham Tech because we're getting ready to break ground on our new facility, our new life science facility. And so to have their expansion happen to take place with [snorts] the promise of 2480 jobs, 200 of those being again for individuals that don't necessarily have to have a four-year degree, but a two-year degree and or recognized industry certifications is just phenomenal to us.

It also boosts our bulls program. Unfortunately, because of the weather, we did not have them here, our students and our faculty to present, but hopefully next time you were here and you already know that great things are happening there. It's making a major difference in individual lives. So we are excited also with the continuing partnership with other entities and organizations that are part of making this happening happen like NC works and our again Durham public school systems and what all that means and how we can create opportunities for our Durham residents, real opportunities, not just jobs but careers with pathway ways with real hope for advancements.

And so we just want you to know from Durham Tech perspective, we fully support this particular organization and what they're doing. Thank you. >> Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for your time this evening. I'm Briana Kennedy, interim executive director at Durham Public Schools Foundation, here to offer our support for this award from the county. Durham Public Schools Foundation is an independent nonprofit here in Durham that harnesses this community's resources in order to invest them in strengthening our teachers, supporting our students, and empowering families.

Over the last three years, we've developed a partnership with Novartis and look forward to seeing their sustained investment of their time, talents, and treasures into our public school ecosystem in the years ahead. Their commitment to our public school students in and out of the classroom has already shown promise, and by having increased career prospects for students in the life sciences field is sure to fuel more opportunities. I'm especially excited for the ability for a DPS grad to receive their diploma at one of our high schools and walk right into a career that will provide them with a thriving wage, thus allowing them to start and maintain their own lives right here in Durham. Thank you all so much and thank you.

Chairman and commission members. I'm Mladic with the vice president of economic development for the Durham Chamber. I would get like to thank you for taking up this item tonight. This is a project that is bringing life-changing salaries to people without needing a four-year degree. We're very excited for that opportunity. I want to take the time to thank Matt Filter and Andy Miracle for working on this project as well as many city and staff people that aren't here in terms of the city and county planning department. Without their responses to this project on a very rapid time scale, we would not have the opportunity to be here tonight.

So, thank you for all the staff behind the scenes that have made this possible today. Thank you for taking this up. >> Thank you all. Thank you very much. Are there within the confines of this public meeting, are there any questions for the staff directly for our from our board members? Okay. And now we'll accept public comment specifically for this item here. >> Yes. >> Yes. Yes. Miss Peterson. >> Yes. Two or three minutes. >> You have to sign up in advance for this. Okay.

You will have had to I've been made aware you will have had to sign up for a public meeting, public comment. I noticed you're signed up for a different item later on., so that's correct. >> Give me a piece of paper and I'll sign it real quick, please. Sir, >> you usually do when the public meetings are open if there if they're persons here. >> Okay, we'll we'll do it. You have two minutes. >> Thank you. >> Specifically about this Yes. this conference. I I actually have quite a few questions about this. How many of the Board of County Commissioners have visited this site?

How many How many of the county commissioners have visited this site? My understanding that this company is already in business here in the county. Am I correct on that? Just one county commissioner. Okay. How many employees does the company already have in Durham? And is those is the company diverse? >> This this information is already >> It's already available. >> I'm sorry. >> This information is already available. Do you have a question for the staff? >> Yes, those are questions that I have that I'm hoping that maybe the county commissioners can share with us.

Since they have not brought any of the employees here so that we can see. I think it is very very important nowadays that yes we have a lot of companies that want to come to Durham but we have to make sure that they are delivering what they say that they're going to deliver. Now, my understanding about a hundred and some young folks will be hired, will be making at least a little bit over a hundred and some thousand dollars and they do not have to have a college degree. That's great and that's good. But what is happening now with the company? how many Durham residents now work for this company? How many of them already or have not finished college or in high school? and how many of them are already making over a hundred and some thousand dollars. My last question, Dr. Lee, first in congratulations on your position. How many who will be watching and managing these new projects that the county is going to be signing off on to make sure.

When it's all said and done, six months from now, a year from now, these companies have delivered Thank you. Thank you, Miss Peterson. All righty. I think we can speak to the oversight. M Mr. Fil Mr. Filter, would you how we keep track of what the performance metrics and so forth. >> We need the microphone microphone. >> I think >> there we go. >> Yeah., any such award is a 10-year contract, an agreement with with Durham County. each company applies to Novartis applies to other companies as well. Submit an annual performance verification packet that they have hired the target number of folks. that they have paid the wages that exceed the living wage here in in Durham County. that they've fulfilled their community partnership commitments and they submit financial summaries as to the capital investment. We also were able to check that on the tax tax rules as well because we would assess that as either real real property or business personal property tax. So, there's pretty aggressive oversight for 10 years of this agreement.

>> Okay. Thank you. Did you want to say something? >> No. Miss Peterson, your questions about monitoring is something that we do as Matt shared there are clawback provisions. So if a company does not meet those targets, we can claw back the dollars that we've allocated. And so it's one of those investments that we watch carefully. We've been very fortunate with the due diligence that's happened over the years in that the companies that have partnered with us and often through the state, they've met those goals. And so, we're excited about, this opportunity and that Durham remains a competitive region and that companies are attracted because it does translate to upward mobility for many of our residents that often would not have a chance. So, we'll give you additional information on the questions that you asked that we couldn't readily answer. Thank you.

>> Thank you. Okay, I will close a public hearing for this item deliberation. Any further conversation from our board? Commissioner Burton. >> Yes. thank you, Chair Lee. I just want to say that again look just like with project a Speedy I'm really excited about Novartis doing the work within Durham Public Schools Durham Tech I'm really excited about your commitment to the DPS Foundation I was a founding board member for the DPS Foundation when these items come to us one of the things that I know as a commissioner and the rest of us really put an emphasis on making sure companies are good community partners that they just don't come to Durham that they are working with our schools with other nonprofits they're giving back and so I'm I'm excited about your expansion I'm excited about the work that you're going to do with our students as a former educator and yes we will hold you accountable Okay. So, thank you so much. This is really exciting.

>> Any further comments?, Commissioner, Vice Chair Long, >> I just want to join and echo the sentiments and comments shared by Commissioner Burton. Thank you all so much for, you know, choosing to expand here in Durham County. And also want to once again thank our amazing Durham County team of Andy Miracle and Matthew Filter. And of course, we have Matt Matic here from the chamber. because these opportunities really wouldn't be coming to Durham if we didn't have y'all advocating for not just the county but for the workforce that we have here in Durham and advocating for our students and folks who are in continued education opportunities or job transition. So, thank you so much for making sure that they're at the forefront of these conversations and bringing the values that all of us as commissioner care commissioners care about to the companies that are looking to expand their campuses or bring new investments here. And thank you as well also to Novartis for choosing Durham to begin with and expanding here. Thank you,.

>> Commissioner Valentine. >> Yes, thank you, Chair. So, Novartis, thank you for choosing, Dorm County. We're excited to have you here. And, if I can sort of reiterate some of the comments that's already been made about the the level of partnerships that have shown up here this evening, to support, your involvement here in the community, is sort of refreshing in many regards, and I think it speaks to the hard work of, Mr. Mr. Filter and Mr. Miracle. people probably can't appreciate the level of work that you do behind the scenes to bring companies here to dorm. And so let me publicly just say thank you for the heavy lift that it is to get you here. And with respect to the public comments that were made, I'm also looking forward to a shared prosperity across our community as a result of your presence here. And so lastly, surely not lost on any of the commissioners here that we look forward to the tax tax revenues. Thank you.

Okay. So, Commissioner Jacobs, I'm sorry. Sorry. >>, again, this is a great moment., another incredible opportunity for the members of our community., I remember the groundbreaking for Noartis year years ago and I know we're going to be at another event this week. And what really what really stands out to me were the stories of the people's lives who have been impacted by what Novartis does, the gene therapies. And I think we have to remember that the work that this company is doing is saving lives and and helping families. And I know we'll probably hear stories later on this week, but I think it's really important that these are not just good paying manufacturing jobs, but they're also meaningful jobs for people in our community. good paying jobs that are making a difference in people's lives. I think it's worth repeating what is really truly astounding that 200 of the let's see the overall job number is 280 but so 200 71% >> are eligible for people who just have a high school or associates degree.

I think what's important is that the people who do one of the important certifications is the bioworks manufacturing certification and I'm really proud of the system that we've been building that the county has been supporting. as was acknowledged tonight Mr. Jones was talking about the the biowork certification program at Durham Tech, the life sciences building that Durham County has is funding and the Bulls Academy program that we've been supporting that creates a pipeline for a lot of our disconnected young people and a lot of our you know, youth of color to have a pipeline into these jobs. And now there is a new program at Southern High School, brand new CTE program that is going to be offering this bowworks same the same certification. so we're really building up the system and you know our our trip to Austin the city inner city trip we saw that we went to visit a community college program where they're trying to compete with Durham. they're creating a life science program. So, we.

We have to keep upping our game and making sure that we have the talented workforce that has companies coming. And to the comment about how do we know if Durham residents are getting these jobs? Well, we can't require that. But what we can do is to create the ecosystem and the conditions so that Durham residents are the ones who are educated and connected to these jobs and that's what we are trying to do here and that's what we're invested in. so again this is a great moment and thank everyone who's made it possible. Thank you.

>> All right. Thank you very much. just between these two opportunities, almost 1,300 jobs right here in Durham County. That is exciting. Okay. So, we're going to I'll accept a motion for us to approve the performancebased awards award for project AWood and red cedar with nortis gene therapies in a not to exceed amount of 5.5 million and to authorize the county manager to negotiate and execute a performance agreement for the award. >> Mr. chair. So moved. >> We have a motion that's I'm sorry. >> Second.

>> We have a motion that's been properly stated and seconded. >> Any further discussion? All in favor say I. >> I. >> All oppose, please use the same sign. >> It passes unanimously. Now I have to make it.

I need to ask for an amended motion for our prior action approving the award for a speed of financial services to include the authorization for the county manager to negotiate and execute the performance agreement and any related documents necessary to effectuate the board's approval of the award. >> So moved. Second. We have a motion that's been properly seconded. Any further discussion? All in favor say I. I. >> All oppose, please use the same sign. >> That amendment has passed unanimously. Thank you. Okay, >> Mr. Chair.

>> So, we need the take a quick take a picture before have to break. >> Okay. All right. The commissioners. >> Yes.

All righty. The next item on our agenda is the boards and commissions. I'll turn it over to Attorney Williamson. >> All right. Good evening. So, we have four vacant positions. Oh, thank you. [gasps] We have Wait a minute. Let me just >> while she calculates that. >> I'm sorry.

Boards and commissions. Okay. >> All right. We have four vacant positions for the Durham Open Space and Trails Commission. We have three at large and one Mangum Township position. For the three at large positions, the board has selected Stephen Arbane, Deborah Lucan, and Steve Conn. For the one Mangum Township position, the board has selected Oh, I'm sorry. I take that back. For the three at large positions, the board has selected Steven Ardane, Jeffrey Phillip, and Steve Conn. For the one Mangum Township position, the board has selected Deborah Lukan. And we have one vacant position for the Farmland Protection Advisory Board and the board has selected Talmage Leighton.

Congratulations to all who have been selected. >> All righty. Congratulations to all. Thank you for your willingness to serve. These boards and commissions are extremely important in the activities of Durham County. So, we really appreciate you., if you were not selected, please continue to apply. There's plenty of things for us to do for you to do. The next item on our agenda are the items that are pulled from the consent agenda. And so we had two we had the 25-0554 because we had a public comment and then we had 25-061.

Just because of the order we'll do the 25-0554. We have one public comment for that. And again, this is the budget ordinance amendment number 26 BCC23 to recognize 369,949 of year four funds to support grant award to the office of emergency services EMS division from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and to authorize the county manager to sign and execute all contracts for authorized and approved uses assoc. Associated with the grant program throughout the grants period of performance. We had a public comment Victoria Peterson on this topic. If you could come over to and for the nature of this the consent agenda item public comment is specifically about this particular topic. and you have three minutes.

>> Oh, great. Dr. Lee, I get a little bit more time and thank you. Thank you. Here, if you notice, one of the groups and organizations that will be receiving funds is the mental health service. Listen, we have a crisis that's going on in Durham right now today. If you go on Favville Street on the corner of Fyville in Umstead, across the street from Stanford Warren Library, we have numerous people living out on the streets and on church property around the corner. You had a huge group of people during the summertime. Okay. But during the wintertime, you have fires.

These folks are literally they have literally starting fires on private property. That's a church on that corner. And the other day they had started a fire on the the street in front of that church. Look, I hate to say this. I do not mean to be emotional, but we have African-Americans who are sitting on this city council. We have African-Americans who are county commissioners. We have African-Americans who have high positions in this community. We need some help here to get this problem, Dr. Lee, under control. We have too many of our people living on the streets one and two and 3:00 at night.

They're out there with a fire. Fire is being burnt. The fire trucks are having to constantly come the city police. I just was talking to the sheriff about this crisis. This is a crisis that is going on in Durham. So my question also, these funds for the mental health, are they here? Do we have a representative from this organization that's going to be getting any dollars? Because the city has a program called the heart where they're supposed to be coming out and working with these folks. Well, there's something wrong if people are out in the cold of the night burning fires and we're just driving by like nothing is going on here. And many of the the the many of these individuals and I have stopped Dr. Lee and spoken to them. Many of them look like me. They look like you, Dr.

We've got to do something. We have a crisis right now today. And I'm just asking the Board of County Commissioners, what are these dollars going to be being used for? And are they going to be partnering with the heart? Because that's the program that the city has that's supposed to be working with persons in Durham that have mental health issues. Dr. Lee, >> thank you, Miss Peterson. I appreciate it. Alrighty. So, are there any other comments about from from the board about this particular item? Go ahead, Wendy.

>>, well, we have Helen Lad here who is the director of this program. I think it's important to clarify that this is the fourth final year funding of a 4-year SAMA grant and it's specifically for a wonderful program that our EMS runs for opioid response, overdose response and Helen, you could speak very eloquently about this program. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you for your comments, ma'am. The program that this funding will serve is the first responders comprehensive addiction and recovery act grant and it is geared to get nlloxxone narcan into the community to help those who have opioid use disorders and to keep them from dying from overdose.

We have in the past year been able to get over 3,000 Nlloxxone kits into the community. We also our community paramedic program. I manage that program along with getting the lockone into the community. We start treatment for opioid use disorder in the field and get people connected to services in the community. And so the the mental health that you saw was the SA was the substance abuse mental health associate. It was SAMA who is actually the funer. They're not receiving funds. They're providing the funds. So that that helps hopefully that helps to clear that particular thing up. And yes, we do work with HART. I I it's a wonderful program.

They work specifically with the mental health side. We work with the substance use side. And they many times in the work that they do will find someone who needs additional services for their substance use and they'll refer them to us. And we do the opposite. When we when we have patients that can benefit from their expertise with mental health, we refer to them. So we work very closely with heart in many ways. And so we're very glad for that partnership. So, I'm not sure if that answers your question, but I hope it at least starts to.

>> And Helen, I apologize for calling you, not calling you Helen trip. Sorry. >> Okay. >> I didn't even catch it. >> Thank you very Thank you very much. All right. So, we'll accept a motion to approve the budget ordinance amendment for number for bud B budget ordinance amendment number 26 BCC 023. >> So moved. >> Second. Oh, sorry. You go ahead. >> Second. >> We have a a motion that's been properly stated and properly seconded. Any further discussion? All in favor say I.

>> I. I all oppose please use the same sign. It passes unanimous. The next item on our agenda that has been moved that time the time for we could talk later. That's that time has been has passed. The next item on our agenda that has been moved was the 25-0601,. Which is the budget ordinance amendment number BCC038 to recognize $21,347 in community donations from Carolina Arbor's community to the Durham County Sheriff's Office. we have two signed up. One was going to be online. Is that person on? Okay, they're both here, are they?

I'm sorry. All right, I know that we have Herman Sperling for comments. Yes, >> you can come to the moment. >> He stated that there person. >> Okay. Do we have a a Kim Crossman in Ken? Oh, yeah. Come on. Yeah. Alrighty. >> Yes. I'm sorry. I just didn't recognize the name. I didn't recognize Ken's name. Okay. >> Well, when we meet then. >> Yes. >> Anyway, I wasn't planning on speaking. but thank you for this opportunity and the opportunity frankly to help support our sheriff and to be able to contribute have our help our community to contribute towards the purchase of of I'll call it deputy dog. But so thank you very much. That's it. I hope it's representative of the people in Durham coming up to support all of the offices and all of the people that manage and protect us in Durham.

And that's all I have to say. Thank you very much. >> All right. >> I just concur with Herman. I hope we can continue this opportunity next year and possibly for EMS or some other worthy function of the county. Thank you again. >> All righty. So then since this was pulled off a consent, we'll have to approve it separately and I'll just open it for a motion. >> Mr. Chair, may may I provide a few comments? >> Yeah, absolutely. I apologize.

>> So, let me say thank you to the Carolina Arbor community for coming together and supporting the sheriff's K9 unit. I had an opportunity to be out in that community. I thought this was a rather unique sort of circumstance for the community to come together and show that they were in support of the the sheriff's office. And so I want to say thank you for your community or to your community. >> Okay. Commissioner Jacobs, >> I was going to let Commissioner Valentine to make the motion.

>> Any other comment from the side? Okay, >> Mr. Chair. So moved. >> Second. All right, we have a motion that's been properly seconded. Any further discussion on this item? >> All in favor say I. >> I. >> All oppose, please use the same sign. It passes unanimously. That brings us to the end of our agenda, which means we will need we do have a close session. That brings us to the end of our public agenda. We will need to go into close session. Sorry here.

To adjourn in a close session. Discuss matters related to location, expansion of industries or other benefit businesses in the area served by the public body, including agreement on the tenative list of economic development incentives that may be offered to public body in negotiations pursuant to general statute 143-318.11A4. That's a mo That's a proposed motion. >> So moved. Second. It's been moved and properly second and we go into close session for the reasons stated. Any discussion? All in favor say I. >> I.

>> All oppose, please use the same sign. Passes unanimous. So we are in close session.

The board of Board of County Commissioners met in close session. No action was taken. I'll now I'll accept a motion to adjurnn. >> So moved. Second. >> Direction was given to staff with no action taken. >> I move to adjurnn. >> Second. >> The motion to adjurnn has been properly moved and seconded. All in favor say I. >> I. All post please use same sign. We are journ.