Cumberland County Commissioners Agenda Session Wrap-Up
Mar 8, 2023, 12:09 PM
by
Jon Soles
The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners discussed E.E. Smith High School replacement, County employee health insurance plans and the Historic Orange Street School Restoration Project at the regular Agenda Session meeting March 7.
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – The following is a summary of the Mar. 7, 2023, Cumberland County Board of Commissioners Agenda Session, which was held at 1 p.m. in Room 564 of the Judge E. Maurice Braswell Cumberland County Courthouse. To view the agenda and supporting materials for this meeting, go to www.cumberlandcountync.gov/bocmeetingmaterials.
The Board received the following Presentations:
- Proposed Site for E.E. Smith High School Replacement – Cumberland County Schools staff including Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly Jr., Associate Superintendent of Business Operations Jay Toland, and Associate Superintendent of Auxiliary Services Kevin Coleman provided the Board with an update regarding the proposed replacement of E.E. Smith High School. They shared a potential site for the school across from the intersection of Honeycutt Road and Parham Blvd., but said they are also still investigating the site’s feasibility as well as looking at other sites. The proposed school would be 254,479 square feet and accommodate 1,600 students. School officials estimated the cost to build the school at $90 million before the pandemic but gave a current estimated cost of just over $159.5 million. Commissioners expressed concerns over the projected cost increase but gave consensus for the school system to continue moving forward and provide periodic updates.
- Health Insurance Plan for Fiscal Year 2024 – Kevin Quinn and Ed Boardman with USI, the County’s benefits broker, presented Commissioners with a recommended health insurance plan for FY 2024. They previously came to the Board on Feb. 7 with preliminary renewal options and incorporated direction the Board gave during that meeting into the recommendation. USI is currently projecting a $2,582,828 (or 11.6%) increase over the current year’s costs of $22.3 million. Recommendations to reduce some of the cost increase include replacing the County’s current HRA deductible reimbursement with a $50 copay for specialist visits, increasing premiums by 11.6% to keep up with overall projections, change the pharmacy formulary option to remove outlier drugs, take advantage of drug manufacturer coupons and implement a platform to assist with management of members with multiple chronic conditions. USI estimates the recommendations would reduce the projected increase for FY 2024 by $938,000. Commissioners gave consensus to move the recommendations forward to the March 20, 2023 regular meeting for consideration.
- Orange Street School Funding Request – Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation Director Michael Gibson provided the Board with an update on the Historic Orange Street School Restoration project, which seeks to renovate the historic school and provide Arts & Technology-focused programming for community youth interested in additional opportunities outside of the school environment. Gibson requested $350,000 from the County to purchase equipment and supplies required for youth, cultural arts and community programming at the former school. – Commissioners voted to move the request forward to the March 20, 2023, regular meeting consent agenda.
- Rules of Procedures for the Board of Commissioners – This item was removed from the agenda and will be presented at a future meeting.
Commissioners received the following monthly reports in their agenda packet:
- Financial Report
- ARPA Quarterly Project and Expenditure Report as of Dec. 31, 2022
- Health Insurance Update
- Project Updates
Meetings are live streamed on CCNC-TV though the County’s website at cumberlandcountync.gov, YouTube Channel and on CCNCTV Spectrum Channel 5. All associated documents to this meeting can be found on the Cumberland County website to include meeting agendas, minutes and links to the videos under the Board of Commissioners tab.
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