County E-911 Center gets 8-person classification

Nov. 14—LUMBERTON — Robeson County's E-911 Communications Center is now recognized by the NC 911 Board as an eight-person center.

The news was shared with the Robeson County Board of Commissioners during a regularly held business meeting.

The County's E-911 was formerly categorized as a four-person center, a decision E-911 Director Chad Deese has tried to remedy since 2019. Deese said the number of people recognized by the state determines the amount of funding received for anything from office equipment to training.

"Before, we've been working six and seven people in our center. The state recognized us as a four so anytime that we bought anything within the center from a mouse, to a monitor, to a chair or anything in there, we always had to divide it up," Deese said.

County funds are budgeted to make up the difference.

"With this recognition, we're able to be fully funded by the 911 Board across the board which should make everybody smile," Deese said. "We're using less. A very limited amount of county funding for anything on the operations side of the center."

"From a budgetary aspect, that will save us hundreds of thousands of dollars on a yearly bases."

The decision was made to retroactively take effect in July, meaning the E-911 Communications Center will be reimbursed for expenses accumulated during that time.

"We have begged the state that we are a big command center but they would only pay for four positions ... It's major for us to double the amount of state funding," Robeson County Manager Kelli Blue added.

ARP nonprofit distribution update

In other news, the Robeson County Board of Commissioners learned that Lumber River United Way has distributed $243,750 of the county's allotted American Rescue Plan funding to nonprofits in its first quarter.

"These dollars are at work in Robeson County providing critical services to citizens," said Tate Johnson, Lumber River United Way's executive director.

Of the total funding distributed, about $190,482.83 of the funding has been utilized.

"That amount can be explained by Lumbee Land Development and Friends of Main Street Lumberton not being ready to utilize funds based on construction timelines," Johnson said.

Johnson told the commissioners that the amount distributed equaled up to 11,863 individuals served, or about 10% of the Robeson County population.

Some of the success stories of funds distributed were that 83 spay/neutered vouchers were redeemed at the Robeson County Humane Society, the Robeson County Church and Community Center proved 28 families with rental assistance and 13 families with utility assistance, and SEED Harvest graded and dropped gravel to provide safe passage for 50 homes in the Littlefield community.

In its first quarter, the funding also helped serve 185 behavioral and/or substance abuse patience with access to healthcare, and 490 behavioral health and/or substance abuse patients who were uninsured.

Lumber River United Way has been charged by the county with distributing $1 million.

Electric buses

In other business, the commissioners heard from Christopher Clark, the dean of the Old Main Stream Academy in Pembroke, who solicited the county's support in matching funds granted to the school through the NC Volkswagen Settlement Program.

The charter school was awarded three school buses and three charging stations, which amounts to more than $876,000. The school is expected to provide an additional $291,000 in mating funds over the next three years and invited the county commissioners to approve $40,000 of that funding each year for the three years.

Commissioners took no action on the matter.

Old business

In old business, commissioners again tabled two requests from TD Pate Investments, Inc., who sought the rezoning of a 5.51 tract from Residential Agricultural R-A District to a Residential Single-Family District for the expansion of a mobile homes park on N.C. 72 West; as well as requested the special use permit for the establishment of a mobile home park and waste facility business in a Residential Single Family R-1 District on Bald Eagle Road.

The mobile home expansion matter was met with discontent at a previous meeting due to its proximity to the McArthur Farm, which is classified as a century-old farm.

Tomeka Sinclair can be reached at tsinclair@robesonian.com or 910-416-5865.