Rockingham County commissioners on Tuesday approved a set of budget and infrastructure actions, accepted a sealed bid for the county’s old jail parcel and heard public concern about a proposed Transco-Williams gas pipeline as the board considered a fire-department consolidation proposal for Jacobs Creek.

The meeting’s most consequential votes included implementation of a market-based salary adjustment for county employees, a request to increase contingency funding for the US 220 sewer main upgrade, approval of a new lift-station contract for Fishing Creek and acceptance of a $2,500 sealed bid for the former jail site on NC Highway 65. Commissioners also approved using federal equitable-sharing (seized asset) funds to send Sheriff Sam Page to a national conference.

The pay-plan change, driven by a market study from the Piedmont Triad Regional Council and county staff, moves multiple positions one or more pay grades, creates a monthly service-recognition increment and aims to reduce pay compression. Olivia Leggett, budget analyst, said the board was not being asked for new money and that the county will use budgeted funds; the plan’s partial-year cost for the current fiscal year was presented as about $477,000 with a projected full-year cost of $954,000.

"We did have the money in the budget this year. This is not asking for any new money here," Leggett said. Commissioners voted to adopt the package and gave the county manager limited authority to make clerical adjustments before formal placement on the consent agenda.

Commissioners next turned to several water and sewer projects the county is running. Bill Lester and Ronnie Tate, county staff on project oversight, asked the board to raise the project contingency for the US 220 Fourth Main upgrade from 10% to 15% to cover additional change orders tied to unanticipated bores, conflicts with existing utilities and material costs. Lester said the team believes the final cost increase will be closer to 12% but requested the higher cap to avoid returning for another request.

"Right now we're right at the 10. We're just a little over the 10 and doing the final negotiations that we think is going to remain under 12," Lester said. The board approved the increase; staff reported the extra 5% equates to roughly $1,083,500 and would bring the contingency to about $3.25 million.

The board also approved a contract with ELJ Incorporated for a new Fishing Creek lift station to move an existing station out of a floodplain. The contract base was listed as $1,093,860 with a 10% contingency, bringing the total authorization to $1,203,246. Commissioners voted to allow the county manager to approve change orders up to $50,000 without separate board approval.

Public comment at the meeting centered on a proposed Transco-Williams pipeline (SSE project). Several residents urged the board to delay or oppose a county resolution supporting the pipeline, citing local environmental and safety concerns. Dr. Crystal Cavalier Keck, a business owner and member of the Dan Riverkeeper group, said the project’s own application acknowledged local communities would not realize benefits while bearing risks.

"Approving this resolution will make a mistake that puts our community's health, safety and environment at risk for generations to come," Dr. Cavalier Keck said. Jason Keck, speaking afterward, asked the board to delay action so residents could have additional hearings.

The resolution in question was on the meeting’s consent agenda and the board approved the consent agenda earlier in the meeting by voice vote. Commissioner Mark Barrow later noted the resolution is nonbinding and does not itself authorize construction; he also said supporters argue increased pipeline capacity can reduce regional energy prices.

The board heard an informational presentation from county staff about a potential consolidation of Jacobs Creek Fire Department with the Huntsville Fire Department. Melissa Joyce, of the fire marshal’s office, told commissioners the merger discussion was initiated by the two volunteer fire boards because of declining volunteer ranks and response concerns; she said an operational agreement signed Dec. 9, 2024, has Huntsville personnel providing response within Jacobs Creek’s district during the transition. Joyce said public informational meetings in both districts will precede any county public hearing required under North Carolina law.

"This is not something that was initiated by the county. This is something that was initiated by the boards of each of those fire departments," Commissioner Barra asked to confirm; Joyce replied, "That is correct."

On real property, the board accepted the single sealed bid for the old county jail at 1101 NC Highway 65. Clyde Albright, county staff handling the sale, said the lone bid from Dustin Frantz was $2,500 and that the county’s tax value for the parcel is about $107,000; engineering had estimated demolition at roughly $60,000 (not including hazardous-material abatement). The motion to accept the bid carried by voice vote and the board directed staff to prepare the deed and arrange closing.

Sheriff Sam Page requested use of federal equitable-sharing (seized asset) funds for travel and registration to attend the National Sheriffs Association Winter Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. Page told commissioners the sheriff’s office has used seized-asset funds for training, equipment and undercover vehicles and that the asset-forfeiture account balance was $46,986.57. The board approved the request by voice vote.

Other items approved included reallocations in the Rockingham County Schools capital plan to accelerate a vestibule project at Rockingham County High School and to fund a safety net at Reidsville High School from savings on other school projects. Orsail Young of Rockingham County Schools said these are internal reallocations of previously approved capital funds and not new appropriations; commissioners approved the reallocations unanimously and thanked school officials for coordinating with county staff.

The board also received and discussed the county’s FY 2024 audit presentation from the auditors (the audit included an unmodified or "clean" opinion) and recognized county staff who assisted disaster relief work in western North Carolina after recent storms.

Votes at a glance

- Consent agenda (including a nonbinding resolution of support for the Transco-Williams pipeline): adopted by voice vote.
- Approval of agenda: adopted by voice vote.
- Acceptance of sealed bid for county property at 1101 NC Highway 65 (old jail): accepted; bidder Dustin Frantz, $2,500; board to prepare deed and close.
- Transfer of seized-asset forfeiture funds for sheriff’s conference (National Sheriffs Association): approved (requested amount $2,403; asset balance reported at $46,986.57).
- School capital reallocation (move Rockingham County High vestibule earlier; fund baseball safety net at Reidsville High; change funding sources for two auditorium/media projects): approved; funds reallocated from previously approved projects, no new county appropriation requested.
- Increase contingency for US 220 Fourth Main upgrade from 10% to 15% (additional ~ $1,083,500; new contingency ~ $3,250,500): approved; county manager authorized to execute change orders up to the approved cap.
- Contract award for Fishing Creek lift station to ELJ Inc.: base $1,093,860; 10% contingency; total authorization $1,203,246; change orders up to $50,000 authorized to the county manager.
- County market/pay study and implementation of revised salary pay plan (includes monthly service recognition): approved; partial-year cost this fiscal year presented at ~$477,000; full-year cost ~$954,000; funded from existing budgeted amounts.

What remained informational

- Jacobs Creek Fire District merger update: staff reported the consolidation was initiated by the local fire boards in response to declining volunteer numbers and that community meetings and required statutory steps will occur before any formal public hearing is requested of the board.

Context and next steps

Staff indicated community meetings and statutory notifications will be scheduled in the Jacobs Creek and Huntsville districts before the county schedules any public hearing on consolidation. Project managers said the US 220 work is nearing final installation and pressure testing; staff expect pump‑station completion and testing in the coming months. The county manager and staff will finalize documents and closings for the accepted property sale and will implement the pay-plan changes on the January payroll cycle, per staff’s timetable.

(Recording and transcript excerpts: Jacobs Creek consolidation brief, sheriff’s forfeiture request, pay-plan presentation, US 220 contingency request, Fishing Creek contract, property-sale presentation and public comments on the Transco-Williams pipeline.)