Iredell County commissioners approve series of grants, contracts and budget amendments at pre‑agenda meeting

The Iredell County Board of Commissioners approved a package of routine administrative items by unanimous consent at its pre‑agenda meeting on a Tuesday in February 2025, including federal and state grants, several budget amendments and contracts for county infrastructure and services.

The most consequential items included acceptance of a federal Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) award totaling $34,133; a budget amendment to appropriate $568,000 of countywide fire district fund balance to replace a totaled fire engine for the South Iredell Volunteer Fire Department; and authorization of budget amendment No. 31 to award a $76,432 construction bid (total amendment $101,000) to Ellis Building Company for a pedestrian bridge and related work as part of the Iredell County Health Department HR conference room and move.

Caroline Taylor, presenting the JAG award, said, "After the application was submitted, Ardo County was awarded the grant in the amount of $34,133. 10 thousand 3 hundred and 14 is awarded to the county ... and then the additional ... 23,819 is awarded to the City of Statesville," referring to the split between the county and the Statesville Police Department. The county portion was described as planned for thermal optics equipment as presented at an October meeting.

Library and parks grants were also approved. Julie Moore requested permission to apply for federal E‑Rate discounts covering internet service for three branch locations; the county expects to spend $13,140 on internet for Troutman, Harmony and Statesville libraries in FY 2026 and said E‑Rate would cover $7,884 of that amount at an approximate 60 percent reimbursement rate. The board approved three separate Library Services and Technology Act grant applications: a $39,750 project to install a story walk with outdoor musical instruments at Jennings Park (Iredell County Parks and Recreation to provide in‑kind match), a $15,525 project to purchase a mobile cooking cart to support joint programming with the county Extension/Ag Center (a 10 percent match of $1,725 was described), and a $27,500 application to the Unity Cemetery Preservation Fund to support work at the Mech Neck Cemetery, identified in the presentation as an African American cemetery with burials dating before the end of the Civil War and into the early 20th century.

Parks and Recreation presented two additional grant applications to the North Carolina Amateur Sports programs seeking equipment and small project funding for Jennings Park and Stumpy Creek Park; the board gave consent to apply.

The board approved an IT request to upgrade a Spectrum wide‑area network circuit from 500 megabits per second to 1 gigabit with a three‑year contract described as increasing bandwidth and saving about $200 per month. Finance staff requested approval of a 10‑year tower lease at 129 Tower Drive in Mooresville to Pinnacle Financial Partners and a three‑year master service agreement to replace existing jury‑selection software with a cloud‑hosted Genesys solution; presenters said current annual support costs are $6,995 and the new solution will move the application to the cloud and change the county's support model.

Additional approved administrative items included budget amendment No. 30 for $8,515 to expand a Hall of Justice space study contract with CPL to include the public defender's offices, approval of January 2025 tax releases and refunds (no commissioners were listed on the releases/refunds report), and approval of minutes from the Jan. 21, 2025 meeting and subsequent February budget workshops with minor spelling and clerical corrections noted.

All items discussed in the pre‑agenda portion were approved by unanimous consent with no recorded roll‑call vote in the transcript. The meeting announcement noted a public hearing at 6:00 p.m. to consider proposed amendments to chapters 7.5 and 10.5 of the Iredell County Code of Ordinances, and the board recessed into a closed session later in the evening for economic development matters under state law.

Votes at a glance

- Accept JAG award, Budget Amendment No. 32 — $34,133 total (county portion $10,314; Statesville PD $23,819) — outcome: approved by unanimous consent (presented by Caroline Taylor). Notes: county portion designated for thermal optics equipment.

- Health Department clinical services fee change (CPT code T1002) — set fee to $19.03 per 15 minutes for Medicaid patients — outcome: approved by unanimous consent (presented by Jessica Ridgeway).

- IT: Spectrum WAN upgrade to 1 Gbps, three‑year contract — outcome: approved by unanimous consent (presented by IT/administrator).

- Parks & Rec: apply for NC Amateur Sports Youth Sports and Endowment grants (Jennings and Stumpy Creek Parks) — outcome: approved by unanimous consent (presented by Daniel Leatherman).

- Library: apply for E‑Rate discounts (FY 2026 internet costs $13,140; E‑Rate covers $7,884); apply for LSTA grants — $39,750 (story walk with instruments) and $15,525 (mobile kitchen) — outcome: approved by unanimous consent (presented by Julie Moore).

- Library: apply for Unity Cemetery Preservation Fund grant — $27,500 for Mech Neck Cemetery preservation — outcome: approved by unanimous consent (presented by Julie Moore).

- Finance: Budget Amendment No. 33 — appropriate $568,000 to replace totaled fire engine for South Iredell Volunteer Fire Department — outcome: approved by unanimous consent (presented by Caroline Taylor).

- Finance: tower lease for property at 129 Tower Drive, Mooresville — 10‑year lease to Pinnacle Financial Partners — outcome: approved by unanimous consent (presented by Caitlin Sparks).

- Finance: three‑year master service agreement for jury software upgrade (move to Genesys/cloud) — outcome: approved by unanimous consent (presented by Caitlin Sparks).

- Administration: Budget Amendment No. 31 — $101,000; award to Ellis Building Company ($76,432 bid) for Health Dept HR conference room pedestrian bridge and related renovations — outcome: approved by unanimous consent (presented by David Salibi).

- Administration: Budget Amendment No. 30 — $8,515 to amend CPL Hall of Justice space study to include the public defender's offices — outcome: approved by unanimous consent (presented by Mr. Slaney).

- Tax Administration: approve January 2025 releases and refunds — outcome: approved by unanimous consent (no commissioner names listed on the report).

What happened next

The board closed the administrative portion of the meeting, announced vacancies on multiple boards and commissions and recessed into a closed session later in the evening for economic development under state law. A public comment period and a 6:00 p.m. public hearing on amendments to the county code were scheduled for later that night.