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Vision Resource Center urges larger county grant; commissioners move to lease space for $1 a year
Summary
Vision Resource Center leaders and family members described services for blind and visually impaired county residents during public comment on May 19 and requested larger county support; later the board authorized public notice of an intent to lease county property to VRC for three years at an annual rent of $1 with utilities paid by the landlord, to be finalized at a later meeting.
Speakers during the public comment period on May 19 urged the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners to increase funding to the Vision Resource Center (VRC), a local nonprofit providing services to blind and visually impaired residents, and explained what the organization does for clients and families.
Terry Thomas, executive director of the Vision Resource Center, told commissioners the organization served more than 2,100 people in 2024 and asked the board to increase a community-impact grant request from $10,000 to $50,000 specifically to support staff salaries. Thomas said the VRC does not receive steady state or federal funding and relies on local support to deliver independent-living training, assistive-technology services and youth programming.
Speakers who identified themselves as family members of VRC participants described concrete impacts. Angela Everidge said her son, who is blind from complications of premature birth, uses specialized assistive technology and orientation training that would be difficult or impossible for his family to afford without VRC’s help. Janelle Baker, whose brother is a VRC member, urged the board to consider the center’s 85-year history and the practical needs of members, including GPS-equipped canes and adaptive equipment.
Later in the meeting the board considered a separate item: the county’s lease with the Vision Resource Center for space at 2736 Cedar Creek Road. Staff told commissioners the existing lease (tenant expectation of an annual rental figure of $2,400) had historically included a requirement that the tenant pay utilities but county records showed the county had not collected utilities; county-paid utilities for calendar year 2024 totaled about $26,165. Finance committee members had recommended renewal of the lease with clearer terms. The finance committee also noted the county provided VRC community-impact and freed-capacity funding in FY24–25 totaling $65,000.
Commissioner S. Patel moved that the board publish public notice of the county’s intention to lease the property to the Vision Resource Center for a three-year term beginning July 1, 2025, at an annual rent of $1 and that utilities remain the landlord’s responsibility (the motion set a formal public-notice process under N.C. Gen. Stat. ch. 168). The motion directed staff to advertise a 30-day public notice period and indicated the board will consider final lease approval at its Aug. 11, 2025 meeting. The motion was seconded and approved by the board.
Why it matters: the VRC provides a mix of low-cost and no-cost training and assistive-technology services that clients and family members said are essential for independent living. Commissioners debated whether to collect utilities from the tenant; the approved public-notice motion sets rent at $1 and places utilities with the landlord for the proposed three‑year lease term, subject to the final lease approval process and the required public notice.
What’s next: staff will publish the formal 30‑day notice of intent and present a final lease for board action at the August 11, 2025 meeting. VRC executives have also asked the county to reconsider additional community-impact funding requests this budget cycle.
