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Randolph County approves $1.95M in opioid-settlement awards after split votes on naloxone and library navigator funding
Summary
The Board approved 11 opioid-settlement reimbursement awards totaling $1,950,000, endorsing a block of nine applications and separately approving Community Hope Alliance and the Randolph County Public Library’s navigator program after debate and 3–2 votes on the two contested items.
The Randolph County Board of Commissioners approved $1,950,000 in opioid-settlement reimbursement awards for local programs aimed at prevention, treatment and recovery supports. Assistant County Manager William Johnson told the board the funding round includes 11 applications vetted by a county committee and staff; the board approved nine applications in a block vote and separately considered two contested requests.
Johnson told commissioners that since 2023 the county has seen a roughly 50% reduction in 911 calls involving opioids and a roughly 75% reduction in overdose deaths since fiscal year 2023. He also noted that the settlement funds are reimbursement-based and must meet the state memorandum of agreement’s eligible expense rules.
In the first block motion the board approved the following awards (amounts are three-year reimbursement allocations): Adult Day Reporting Center, $150,000; Bloom Therapeutics, $150,000; Juvenile Day Reporting, $150,000; Keaton's Place (recovery support services) $300,000; Keaton's Place (recovery housing) $150,000; Path of Hope (recovery housing) $150,000; Randolph County Detention Center (naloxone distribution) $150,000; Randolph County Detention Center (MAT program) $300,000; Randolph County Emergency Services, $150,000.
Two applications were taken up separately after public and commissioner discussion. Community Hope Alliance asked for $150,000 to continue wide naloxone distribution in the community. A motion to delay consideration of that applicant until three years later failed; the board then approved Community Hope Alliance’s $150,000 award on a 3–2 vote. Commissioners who opposed the award said they wanted to review details; supporters cited the program’s past distribution (the record shows 16,278 naloxone kits distributed since 2017) and the role of community naloxone in reducing overdose deaths.
The board then considered a $150,000 request listed for the Randolph County Public Libraries to fund two navigator positions that would help people find treatment, housing and other recovery supports. Some commissioners questioned whether the library navigator program duplicated services provided by local nonprofits; others said navigators connect people to housing, transportation and short-term needs that support recovery. After debate the board approved the library navigator award on a 3–2 vote.
County staff and the commission emphasized that awards are reimbursement-based, require annual audits, and that the county's opioid team provides technical support to ensure compliance with MOA rules.
What happens next: Staff will finalize award contracts, monitor reimbursements and audit compliance, and the opioid funding committee will continue to track program outcomes and distribute funds under MOA-eligible uses.
