Lee County commissioners approve rezoning, ARPA home‑repair match and CIP; hear updates on RENEW, opioid plan, Trillium and Brickyard development

The Lee County Board of Commissioners on Monday approved a rezoning request for a small parcel on Hawkins Avenue to allow expansion of a metal‑fabrication business, authorized $125,000 from ARPA revenue‑loss funds to match the City of Sanford for a home‑repair program, adopted the county's 2026–2030 capital improvement plan and accepted an $18,288.98 veterans services grant. The board also received detailed presentations on the county's RENEW behavioral‑health programs and opioid‑reduction initiative, an annual report from Trillium Health Resources, and a development update from Helix Ventures on the Brickyard/Kiawah Kirin site in Sanford.

Autumn Smith of Community Support Services and Emma Bach, a North Carolina fellow working on the county's opioid initiative, briefed the board on RENEW, a 2024 program that bundles behavioral‑health reimbursement, opioid use disorder treatment access and reentry services. "In this initiative for that year, we served 140 community members, and the total reimbursement was over $76,000," Autumn Smith said. Smith reported the county's reentry work served 85 people in 2024 and described a reentry success story of a resident who obtained employment and support services after 11 years in federal prison.

Emma Bach said the county expects to receive just under $8 million in opioid settlement funds between 2022 and 2028, with about $2.5 million received to date. She told commissioners the county contracted with Sanford Treatment Center to provide medication for opioid use disorder and showed interim outcomes the county is tracking: a reported 8.3% decrease in overdose deaths from 2021–2023 (2024 data not yet confirmed), a 52.8% decrease in emergency‑department overdose visits (142 in 2021 to 67 in 2024), and a nearly 60% reduction in EMS overdose response calls (376 in 2021 to 53 in 2024), all figures Bach attributed to state data and local program activity. Bach and Smith emphasized partnerships with the jail, the sheriff's office and local providers as central to those efforts.

Cecilia Pierce, regional vice president for Trillium Health Resources, reviewed Trillium's role as one of North Carolina's four tailored plans and local management entities for behavioral health. Pierce said Trillium serves a 46‑county region and, between July and December of the prior year, provided services to about 1,100 Lee County members with an associated claims value just over $10 million. She described local programs including early‑childhood intervention (Child First), suicide‑prevention and crisis training, a health‑recovery smartphone app and technology to support members living in the community.

John Keeter of Helix Ventures presented a development update on the Brickyard site in Sanford and projects elsewhere the company has built in the region. Keeter described the Brickyard as a multi‑phase, long‑term industrial and mixed‑use park and discussed commitments by Kiawah Kirin (a company that has taken 75 acres in the park) and other partners; he said the project will include public amenities and a partnership to sustain local Optimist Club sports fields.

On formal business, planning staff recommended and the board voted to rezone a 0.24‑acre portion of a 5‑acre tract adjoining Metal Impressions at 3313 Hawkins Avenue from Residential‑Agricultural (R‑RA) to Highway Commercial (HC) to allow expansion of the existing business. The planning board had recommended approval, noting the rezoning is not consistent with the Sandley long‑range land‑use plan but that the site is not conducive to residential development given frontage on a four‑lane section of Hawkins Avenue.

The board also approved a $125,000 allocation from the county's ARPA revenue‑loss funds to match an equal contribution from the City of Sanford for a home‑repair program the preserving‑homes group is managing, after staff told commissioners the city had already approved its share and staff confirmed sufficient revenue‑loss funds were available. The manager was authorized to sign the MOU with the city.

Commissioners adopted the fiscal‑year 2026–2030 capital improvement plan resolution as adjusted at the board's recent work session. At the meeting several commissioners debated the scope and timing of projects; one commissioner urged reconsideration of the board's decision to defer many capital items, saying postponement could raise future costs and hamper long‑term planning. Another asked staff to look at sites where septic constraints limit potential school expansions and to seek funding for sewer connections.

Finally, the board accepted an $18,288.98 grant award from the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to support salaries and benefits for veterans services staff and authorized the county manager to sign the grant agreement after staff review.

The meeting also included updates from Saga and county staff on a proposed River Birch redevelopment; Saga reported the developer and potential tenants remain in discussions and that national economic uncertainty has slowed a final decision. Commissioners closed the meeting with several procedural items and routine commissioner comments.

Votes at a glance - Approve agenda as amended — approved (voice vote). - Approve consent agenda — approved (voice vote). - Rezoning: 3313 Hawkins Ave., R‑RA to HC — approved (motion recorded; planning board recommended; board acknowledged inconsistency with Sandley long‑range land‑use plan). - ARPA home‑repair match: $125,000 from county ARPA revenue‑loss funds to match City of Sanford — approved; chair authorized to sign MOU. - Capital Improvement Plan: adopt FY2026–2030 CIP resolution (adjusted) — approved. - Accept grant: $18,288.98 from NC Department of Military and Veterans Affairs for veterans services — approved; manager authorized to execute contract.

The board recessed for a 10‑minute break during the meeting and adjourned after routine commissioner comments. Commissioners indicated follow‑up is expected on school‑expansion constraints and on interlocal discussions about service coverage and annexations.