Residents urge expanded voting access, housing supports; speaker urges multi-story schools and EMS reorganization

During the public-comment portion of the Onslow County Board of Commissioners meeting March 3, two residents urged county action on voting access, housing and homelessness services, and emergency services planning.

Ari Rakowitz told the board she had tried to persuade commissioners to "respect separation of church and state" and urged the county to adopt services that are "accessible, quality...sustainably, equitably, and effectively so that the whole community can thrive." Rakowitz criticized reliance on occasional public-health events as insufficient and urged structural changes to support people experiencing homelessness. She said municipal voter turnout for Onslow County municipal elections can be "as low as 12%" and called for measures to improve access, including an election holiday, early-voting sites for every municipal election, ranked-choice voting, and a "vote of no confidence" option on ballots; she also said the county's Board of Elections building is the only early-voting site for municipal elections and described it as "more than a 2 hour walk from here." Rakowitz urged permanently available housing options and described proposals to repurpose closed hotels into apartment-style shelters, while noting she is an atheist and asked for respect for separation of church and state. She referenced public events hosted by AmeriHealth Caritas and local Onslow County NAACP celebrations and included local event details she said were available by email or online.

Mike Kaley, who identified himself as a fire-rescue commissioner and longtime chief at Halls Run Rescue, addressed the county budget and emergency services planning as the board begins work on the 2025-26 budget. Kaley urged commissioners to consider building 2- and 3-story schools rather than single-story campuses to conserve land and encouraged the county to consult engineers and ask detailed questions of school officials. He also urged strategic station siting and consolidation approaches for fire and EMS, including co-locating EMS bays within new fire stations, cross-training staff, and preserving volunteer resources while planning for a transition to more paid staff where necessary. "Put a paramedic in a fire station," Kaley said, and argued for consolidation of resources and careful consideration of where new facilities are built to serve growing housing developments.

Commissioners and staff responded with brief acknowledgments. Commissioner Carpenter thanked Kaley for his comments and said the board hears the concerns. Vice Chairman Knapp agreed the idea of multi-story schools raises engineering, safety, accessibility and cost issues and urged consideration of those trade-offs before changing school designs. Several commissioners thanked public speakers for participating.

Why it matters Public comments highlighted recurring county policy themes: access to voting, services for unhoused residents, school-capacity planning, and the long-term funding and structure of fire and EMS services. The comments could inform commissioners' upcoming budget deliberations and planning discussions; no formal directives or votes resulted directly from public comment.

What speakers asked for (selected) - Ari Rakowitz: election holiday, early-voting sites for every municipal election, ranked-choice voting, a vote-of-no-confidence option on ballots, more funding and staffing for the Board of Elections, permanent housing solutions and accessible voting for people experiencing homelessness, and respect for separation of church and state. She referenced AmeriHealth Caritas events and Onslow County NAACP activities. - Mike Kaley: consider building multi-story schools, consult engineers and planners on school projects, strategically site fire and EMS resources, cross-train EMS and fire personnel, and protect and support volunteer emergency responders while planning for paid staffing.

Meeting context The public-comment period included two speakers on March 3; both comments took place before the agenda's public hearings and did not result in motions or formal board direction. County commissioners acknowledged the speakers and referenced the topics during later commissioner comments and budget planning remarks.