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<br />results were fairly positive. The State has accepted some of the responsibility and has come <br />through with some additional revenue. OPC is not out of the hot water yet, but they are making <br />progress. He thanked the County Commissioners for approving the resolutions on May 4cn <br />Commissioner Gordon thanked Jason Baker for his presentation concerning the Water <br />Resources Initiative. <br />Commissioner Gordon reported on the Transportation Advisory Committee meeting. <br />They passed the motor vehicle emissions budget on acounty-by-county level. They also <br />approved the Work Program. The most startling thing was that the Division 5 Engineer said <br />that, because of financial problems in Washington, D. C., North Carolina would only be getting <br />86 cents back on every dollar they send to Washington, D.C., which is a huge setback from 92 <br />cents that had been proposed. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that she and Chair Jacobs went to the Master Aging Plan <br />meeting and they are on target with their recommendations. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis praised staff -Susan Mellot, Mike Tapp, Craig Benedict and the <br />rest of the staff who are making sure that the flea market on Buckhorn Road is operating in a <br />safe manner. He thinks that everyone needs to understand that public safety has to come first. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis thanked Commissioner Carey in advance for going to the State <br />Capitol tomorrow. He asked Commissioner Carey to ask Governor Easley why he wants to give <br />sales tax exemptions to professional motor sports racing companies and why he took away <br />sales tax reimbursements from schools. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that he is meeting with the Energy Conservation Task <br />Force on Monday and he has asked them to start looking at fuel consumption to track from last <br />year until this year. He wants to keep people's attention on fuel consumption. He asked that <br />fuel consumption information be put in future agenda packets just like water reservoir levels. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis thanked Chair Jacobs for responding to a citizen, Janet <br />Burnsten, who was very upset. Janet Burnsten had a good metal bed frame and a usable old <br />lawnmower, and she tried to bring them to the Eubanks Road recycling shed and was told to <br />throw them in the trash. He wants to look into this and follow up. He is tired of disappointing <br />citizens. He volunteered to work with the Manager and staff an this issue. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that in January 2005 Commissioner Foushee specifically <br />asked the Director of Auxiliary Services for OCS how they were going to get money for startup <br />casts for Gravelly Hill Middle School, and George McFarley responded that it would come from <br />the fund balance. He said that no one asked for any money for startup casts for Gravelly Hill <br />Middle School during the entire budget season of 2005. Last week they found out the fund <br />balances for both school systems and CHCCS had $2.3 million and OCS had $1,093,000. He <br />asked both boards if there had been any spending down of fund balances by either board in the <br />last two months, and he found out that on March 20, 2006, the OCS board voted to spend down <br />$538,165 out of the fund balance to do some upgrading at Stanback and Stanford prior to the <br />opening of Gravelly Hill. He does not know why they did this knowing full well that their <br />representative said that they would use the fund balance for startup costs. He said that he is <br />getting the feeling that he is being used and he does not like it. He has concerns about how this <br />came about. He said that this puts the Board of County Commissioners in a bad light. He <br />objects to this and he is offended and angry. He said that he has the minutes of the January <br />2005 meetings, and he has the audiotape. He said that he might ask for a full investigation into <br />this deliberate spending down of the fund balance by OCS because he thinks it is wrong. He <br />does not appreciate being put in a predicament. <br />Commissioner Carey said that he saw the memo from the school system and he was <br />also taken aback by it. He would like a list of the equipment that was purchased for the other <br />two middle schools with the fund balance. He said that bringing other schools up to par with a <br />new school is expensive and time consuming. He agreed with Commissioner Halkiotis' <br />sentiments. <br />