Lumberton City Council OKs $200 bonuses for employees who get COVID-19 vaccine

Sep. 9—LUMBERTON — City of Lumberton employees who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, or are vaccinated before Oct. 31, will receive a $200 bonus.

Lumberton City Council unanimously approved the bonuses during its monthly meeting on Wednesday in an effort to increase vaccination rates among city employees.

City Manager Wayne Horne estimates between 40% and 50% of city employees are vaccinated. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services' COVID-19 Dashboard shows 38% of Robeson County residents have received at least one vaccine shot as of Wednesday and 31% are considered fully vaccinated.

"It's pretty evident that Robeson County is trailing the entire state in vaccinations," Councilman Leroy Rising said. "It's not me I worry about so much, it's our children. Our children are trying to get back in school, we want normalcy as much as we can get, and the way to get that is to become part of the solution, and not a part of the problem."

Horne presented Council with multiple incentive options: $200, $100, a day off, or $100 plus a day off. City staff felt the $200 bonus would have the most impact, and Council agreed.

"We need to look at incentives versus any sort of penalties (for the unvaccinated)," Horne said.

American Rescue Plan dollars can be used in part to fund the bonuses, Horne said. If 100% of employees became vaccinated, the total cost would be between $70,000 and $75,000. The city's internal estimation is that the highest percentage likely to be vaccinated would be 75%, which would cost about $50,000.

In addition to keeping city employees healthy, keeping them at work was also discussed as a reason for the incentive.

"The employees are very valuable to the City of Lumberton, and help keep the city going," Rising said. "We don't want to see a wholesale of people come up and get sick and have to start on a rotation like we did earlier in the pandemic."

Employees must be considered fully vaccinated by Oct. 31 to receive the bonus. Those who have already been vaccinated will receive their bonus in the coming weeks, Horne said.

In other business, Council approved tax incentives for a "major industry expansion" in Lumberton that will create 20 new jobs.

The project was referred to as Project Mt. St. Helen in the meeting, and the name of the company was not said, but multiple documents publicly available on the city's website state that the company is Elkay Plumbing Products Company.

Real estate and property tax grants will be made available to the company, which is making a $28.25 million investment in real property and an additional $5.5 million investment in personal property, including machinery and equipment.

The expansion is part of the I-95/I-74 Industrial Park. Elkay qualifies for incentives under the city's Economic Development Policy.

In addition to the 20 new jobs, 26 existing jobs will be retained.

Several other items relating to the Industrial Park were tabled until next month's meeting. This includes the annexation of several parcels into the city, the proposed rezoning of a portion of the Industrial Park, approval and application of an Overlay Ordinance for a portion of the Park, and a special use permit application for the Park's subdivision and infrastructure.

"We would request all of those items be continued to your October meeting, as we're in continual communication with the developer and the new tenant out there and have some minor adjustments to work on between now and then," City Attorney Holt Moore told the Council.

One item regarding the Industrial Park did move forward. Council authorized staff to move forward with an engineering agreement for a water tower at the Park. This was held out of the original engineering contract in anticipation of applying for a U.S. Economic Development Agency grant.

The estimated cost of the water tower is $2.5 million, with the majority being paid using American Rescue Plan funds. The project has an estimated timeline of eight to 10 months.

Council also approved a special use permit for the Robeson County Community Art Guild to open and operate an art gallery at 109 W. Ninth St. The facility will be used for meetings and classes, lunch-and-learning sessions, art exhibitions, and special events for the community, and will house a gift shop.

"This is not just something we think is a good idea. There are a lot of people; we now have 110 paid members, and we are anxious to get on with this job," said Nila Chamberlain, a member of the organization's governing board.

Council tabled motions to rename both the Parkview Activity Center and a portion of Inman Street after the late Rev. Shedrick T. Byrd. No reason was given for the delay, but the motions were tabled last month when the decision was made for the city to investigate the costs and procedures that would need to be followed, particularly for the potential street renaming.

Council also awarded a contract to Bureau Veritas to create an ADA Transition Plan. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires all local governments to self-evaluate to ensure compliance.

The city took three bids for the project, and Bureau Veritas' bid was chosen based on their qualifications. Attorney Moore said Bureau Veritas performed similar services in Lexington and "had a good outcome."

The contract cost of $75,500 already is in the city's budget for the current year.

"Not only do we have to look at our policies (pertaining to ADA); we have to look at our buildings, at infrastructure such as sidewalks, city facilities with handicap-accessible bathrooms and those sorts of things. The plan that Holt (Moore) is working on would be to develop the scope of work and to identify those areas that we're going to have to modify to comply with ADA standards. ... So this is just the tip of the iceberg," City Manager Horne said.

Council also approved a contract for an environmental assessment regarding the floodgate to be constructed underneath Interstate 95. The city had previously selected the Timmons Group to perform the assessment, which must be completed for the project to continue.

The cost of $19,900 is about what the city was expecting, Public Works Director Rob Armstrong said. The North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) will reimburse that cost.

In other business, Council:

— Approved the application for $750,000 in Community Development Block Grant Neighborhood Revitalization funds, designated for housing, housing-related activities, and public facilities. A second public hearing will be held, as required, before the application is finalized in October.

— Approved $250,150 in local match funding for the repair and reconstruction of a runway at the Lumberton Municipal Airport.

— Approved a bid of $64,306.75 from Charles R. Underwood, Inc. to replace a high-service pump valve at the city water plant, and a bid of $223,950 from Kemp Inc. for the east filter media replacement at the plant. The city's capital budget includes $60,000 for the valve project and $200,000 for the filter media project; the remaining cost will be funded by money reallocated from other projects that currently are on hold.

— Approved the preliminary engineering report for lagoon improvements at the Water Treatment Plant. The city received a $500,000 low-interest North Carolina Drinking Water State Revolving Loan to remove sludge from the water plant's backwash lagoon and make improvements to the lagoon to allow for more efficiently managing the sludge in the future. The report is the "first design milestone" for the project. The city is asking The Wooten Company to put the report together because of the looming deadline of November for the report to be completed. The proposed cost of $15,000 for the report will be paid back through the loan.

— Allocated the following in Community Revitalization Funds: $1,250 to Robeson County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers for a medicine wheel garden on the Lumberton Agricultural Fairgrounds; $850 for Octoberfest, a community event in Precinct 2; and $450 to the Oakridge Homeowners' Association for its fall festival.

— Approved an easement for pedestrian and golf cart use on a bridge near Southeastern Fitness Center, and also for a light to be installed for security. The city is working with abutting property owner N.A. Martin on the easement.

— Approved the rezoning request of Guillermo Baily Bail for a property located off Baxter Road to allow a mobile home on the property.

— Gave Final Plat Approval for nine lots in the Amberdale Subdivision.

— Set a public hearing for October's meeting regarding an annexation request by Jordan Bowley for property on Arbor Lane.

Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at [email protected]