Volunteers say Brutonville Community Center finances restored; resident urges county help on sewer contamination tests

At the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting on March 17, community volunteers reported stepping in to stabilize operations at the Brutonville Community Center and restore its finances after alleged malfeasance, and a resident urged the county to help investigate possible sewage contamination and related health complaints.

Earl Leake, who said he is working with a nonprofit called Friends and Focus, told commissioners volunteers reviewed bank records, produced current profit-and-loss and balance-sheet statements, and found "a almost a little bit more than a $176,000 left in that account." Leake said volunteers moved about $80,000 to a separate account earmarked for capital projects and contacted the district attorney and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services for guidance on disposition of remaining funds. "We moved those funds to a separate account," Leake said, adding the money is being preserved for facility renovation and will be documented.

Leake described four areas of restructuring: financial controls, clearer membership and governance rules (membership established at $5 the first year and $10 thereafter), compliance with the county equity grant reporting, and operational changes including a rental agreement to generate revenue. He said the center has resumed monthly board meetings and programming and noted that a playground donated by Better Together Montgomery was recently installed.

Nearby in the meeting’s public forum, resident Pandora Dumas presented results of a volunteer-led environmental survey in the Brutonville/Broomfield area. "We last week, we started our testing… and we collected 20 samples," Dumas said, describing water and soil sampling that volunteers sent to two labs—one in Tennessee and another in Winston-Salem—for analysis. She showed photos of what she described as uncovered sanitary manholes and an illegal dumping site and said some neighbors report skin lesions and respiratory symptoms.

Dumas asked the board to consider assisting with further testing or cleanup when the county begins budget work later this year. Planning and public-works staff said the county’s inspections team is following up on an illegal-dump report, and commissioners discussed smoke-testing sewer lines as a diagnostic tool to find open taps or breaks.

County Manager Frankie said the county can have utilities staff inspect the reported sanitary manhole covers and noted staff had made a note to follow up. Dan Jones, the planning director, and inspections staff were identified in the meeting as points of contact for follow-up.

Next steps announced at the meeting: A more detailed environmental update is expected after lab results are returned (Dumas estimated some analyses could take 7–14 days) and county inspections will pursue reports of illegal dumping. Volunteers said they will continue community outreach and said they are documenting finances and governance changes for transparency.

Clarifying details: the volunteers reported roughly $176,000 remained in the center's account; about $96,000 was spent on facility renovations and roughly $80,000 has been separated for capital uses, per the volunteers' statements. Initial sampling consisted of 20 specimens; Dumas said sample unit costs ranged from about $20 to $40 for some tests and higher for others (asbestos testing was sent to Winston-Salem).

The county manager said staff will follow up with sanitation inspections and consider requests for assistance when preparing the county budget.