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Resident calls for two‑way outreach; chairman rebukes delivery in heated public‑comment exchange
Summary
During public input resident Johnny Edge urged broader community engagement and listed priorities including transportation and youth programs. Chairman Brent Watts interrupted repeatedly, questioning Edge’s methods and prompting a tense back‑and‑forth.
During the public‑comment period, resident Johnny Edge urged commissioners to strengthen community outreach, saying 12 Columbus County communities had responded to a request for ideas and highlighting needs such as transportation, affordable health care, youth programming and expanded sewer infrastructure.
Edge said the county should ensure information flows both ways between decisionmakers and residents. "They’re excited," he told the Board when describing citizens’ ideas. The exchange turned contentious when Chairman Brent Watts repeatedly challenged Edge’s basis for the remarks and criticized his approach, saying, "Every meeting you come up here and pretty much fuss at us," and later: "Don’t tell me I do wrong when I try my best in the community." The two traded interruptions before the Chair closed the public comment.
The transcript records both the substance of Edge’s requests for broader outreach and the Chair’s objections about delivery and frequency of comments. The Board did not take action on the points raised during the public‑comment period at this meeting.
