Board of County Commissioners | Regular Meeting | May 18, 2026

001Mhm. >> Mhm. >> [snorts] [clears throat] >> I call the May 18th, 2026 regular meeting of the Union County Board of Commissioners to order. At this time, I'd like to recognize Commissioner Belton for the invocation. >> If you're so inclined, would you please bow your head? Dear Lord, we come to you this evening with thankful hearts. Lord, we just ask that um you would lead, guide, and direct us as we conduct the business in the county. Lord, we thank you for this county. Um and all all your many blessings. Lord, we just seem to be so blessed, blessed beyond measure, blessed beyond anything we would ever deserve. And we know where every good and perfect gift comes from. So, we just ask you lead, guide, direct us that it's just my prayer that our business,

002fellowship, the way we conduct our business is pleasing in your sight. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. >> Please join me for the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> All right. Next on the agenda is informal comments from the community. I have Mr. Thomas Marsh. Um let's say each speaker must address the board from the lectern and begin their remarks by giving their name, stating whether they're residents of Union County, indicating the municipality in which they reside if any. Each speaker will have 3 minutes to make remarks. A tone may sound at the conclusion of your remarks. A speaker may not yield any of his

003or her time to another speaker. Speakers may not discuss matters which are the subject of public hearing and they must be courteous in their language and presentation. Re-statements or repetitive comments by the same speaker, whether at the same meeting or separate meetings, may be ruled out of order and terminated by the chair. Personal attacks will not be tolerated. Speakers may leave written comments and or supporting documents if any with the clerk to the board. All right. And first we have Thomas Marsh. All right. Are there any speakers who have not signed up who wish to speak? Okay, hearing none, we'll now move to the next item of our agenda. Uh the next two items on the agenda are public hearing both for rezonings. Before opening the first public hearing, I will read the rules that

004apply to members of the public for each of these public hearings. >> [clears throat] >> Each speaker must address the board from the lectern and begin their remarks by giving their name, stating whether they're residents of Union County, indicating their municipality within which they reside if any. Each speaker may have up to 3 minutes to make their remarks. A tone may sound at the conclusion of your remarks. A speaker may not yield his or her time to another speaker. Speakers shall limit their remarks to the subject of the public hearing. Speakers may leave written comment and or supporting documents if any with the clerk of the board. The first public hearing on our agenda is item 26-270. The rezoning position of CZ-2026-001. Marsham, I will open the public hearing and recognize Bjorn Hansen, senior planner,

005for brief comments from the county staff. >> Evening commissioners, manager Matthews. This is a conditional rezoning. I'll wait for the screen to come down. Should I wait on the big one or go ahead? Okay, we'll go ahead. Very well. All right, sorry for that sorry for that delay. So, this is um a conditional rezoning called Marcham for the owner of the property uh in terms of its location in Union County, it's on NC 75 just east of Mineral Springs. This is the site plan associated with the rezoning. This is NC 75 with the railroad tracks on the north side. This is a um landscaping supply business with some limited equipment um storage associated with it. The uh material storage will be here where my cursor is and the buildings associated with it and um employee

006I'm sorry uh parking will be uh where the cursor is here. There'll be a stormwater pond in the back and the remaining back portions of the property will be undisturbed. There is a buffer around the perimeter with the required landscaping. Uh I'll note that the access is uh left in and right in, but for vehicles exiting they'll only be able to turn right. That's because the thinking is that there's going to be a lot of um trucks towing trailers, they aren't going to be able to accelerate very well, and the left turn could be challenging on 75 with the traffic. So, to make a left, you would actually turn right and then do a 180 at the roundabout at Rocky River Road. In terms of the requests and the conditions with the site plan that

007I've reviewed is what the applicant would be limited to. It's a landscaping supply business and construction equipment storage. Requested 5-year vesting. Uh we've uh reviewed this and believe that it can meet the uh development standards under the UDO as of the date of approval, and the access that's limited uh to the site could be changed to right in right out if it's determined by the DOT that there are safety issues that are are result of operations at this facility. So, in terms of existing conditions, it's undeveloped. You can see in the upper left, it's just a a field with limited trees. On the north side, you can see uh the tree line and then the railroad just beyond there. And then east and west uh along NC 75 two-lane road with large lot residential and

008undeveloped parcels. Uh you can see from the development status map again, um large lot residential up and down NC 75. Environmental features, there's no streams or flood plains on the property. Uh limited forest in the back, which is the uh lower portion of the site. In terms of zoning, um generally it's RA-40. As you get closer to the Rocky River intersection with NC 75, there's some light industrial and business that's been rezoned over the years. And to the west, you can see where Mineral Springs is located. In terms of transportation, there's no funded improvements along this section of NC 75. Current traffic count is uh nearly 8,000 vehicles per day and uh access considerations were listed earlier. In terms of the land use map, it all shows up as purple because it's an overlay for

009an an employment corridor along NC 75. To the north of NC 75 would be single family residential, to the south would be rural residential, but because of the industrial request, we evaluated against the employment corridor. Because it's commercial in nature, we didn't contact the school system. Public water is available. They will use a septic system for sewer service on site. Community meeting was held in late March with six residents. They asked questions about the development of the site and stormwater impacts, but no changes were made as a result of that meeting. And Mineral Springs was consulted and didn't have any concerns over this development. So, in terms of the negatives and the positives, the concern it's always had is an area that's rural residential on an employment corridor is that transition from residential or undeveloped

010property to employment uses and that can create conflict if they're inappropriately cited. Also, it will add more traffic to NC 75. In terms of the positives, it's consistent with the map. It provides a needed service to nearby residents. Uses like these aren't proposed if there isn't a demand. It can meet our development standards and it's a reasonably sized parcel. So, overall, we recommend approval and the planning board also recommended approval at its meeting last month on a unanimous vote. I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have. The applicant is also here to provide additional information. >> If the applicant desires to provide comments, you're welcome to do so at this time. >> Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the commission, uh Manager Matthews. Uh my name is Christopher Duggan and I am an

011attorney. I represent the applicant. I have uh the applicant here tonight, Mr. Tom Marsham, his son, Stone, as well as Frank Cantrell, who is the engineer on the product uh project. Uh this is a proposal for a uh uh landscaping supply business, both uh bulk as well as residential. Uh the applicant has gone to great lengths to make sure that this facility will fit in with the neighboring property. Uh in the community meeting that we had, uh there was only the six residents there. Uh there was a a uh a feeling of they were glad it's not another set of homes going in. Um so there there were happy with that. The applicant listened uh and what we uh anticipate is having a low-impact uh facility. Uh we're not going to have big lights on

012like you would a car lot. We'll have the lights that are down. Of course, we'll have to run the the candle light study before uh any lights are there. Uh they will be predominantly triggered by motion. So, if someone comes onto the property, but the property will be secured. Uh the applicant anticipates uh that we will have approximately 25 to 45 uh car counts a day, just depending on the day. Um we anticipate that it it's again it's going to be serviced by uh county water. Septic is on the property. We've already had the soil test done. We believe that the project uh will fit in with the employment corridor uh that this is is uh seen to be on on Waxhaw Highway. That right out, you've got a a quarter mile up the road,

013you got the roundabout on Waxhaw or uh I'm I'm sorry, on uh um Oh gosh. Thank you, Rocky I couldn't remember the name. Uh right on Rocky River. Uh there is uh the railroad right across the way from there. Uh we don't believe that there's going to be any substantial impact on the value of the property. In fact, we submitted from Morrison Appraisals who did an appraisal on the value of the properties uh and was not found to have a substantial impact uh on the neighboring property values. We'll believe it will fit in with all of the criteria for the commercial uh or I'm sorry, the light industrial conditional zoning. Uh we have reviewed the proposed conditions uh and those conditions are acceptable. Uh if if the board has any questions for the applicants or

014the engineer for the project, be happy to offer them to the board. >> All right. Thank you very much. >> All right. Uh County Manager Matthews, has anyone signed up to speak at this public hearing? >> I do not believe they have. >> Thank you. All right, we have no speakers from the public at this time. Are there any speakers that have not signed up who wish to speak on this matter? Okay. Hearing none, so I will now close the public hearing. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. The second public hearing is item 26-271 for the rezoning position of CZ-2026-006, House of Pearls. I will open the public hearing and again recognize Bjorn Hansen for brief comments from county staff. >> Thank you, Madam Vice Chair. This is a second conditional rezoning. Call

015it House of Pearls because that's the operation that they um are proposing to place on this facility. It is located south of Marshville and Wingate. This site plan associated with this rezoning is on Camden Road. It's on the south side and would have a series of communal living spaces for the residents of the treatment facility that we'll get into with a a meeting building here on the right that I'm using my my cursor over. There's parking on the site, but these aren't for the residents' vehicles. These are for employees or for people who are volunteering with the facility. The only reason we're going through this rezoning process is this would normally be a special use permit, which is allowed under RA 40, but because they want to phase this over time, they would have to

016go back every after every year and request a new special use permit which we thought was too onerous, so we're proposing as a master plan development to give them the flexibility to go through this process once. You see a lot of conditions. These conditions are not necessarily related to this business or this facility. It's the fact that it could be sold and someone else could use the rezoning that you approve to operate some other business or or operation treatment facility on the site. We wanted to give them some flexibility for maybe some different types of facilities in the future, but not so much flexibility that is completely different to what you are considering. So, you'll see the list here. The overarching one is that it's a residential recovery and life skills program. It's not meant

017to be a week-by-week type of situation, but it's also not meant to be forever. So, 90 days to 24 months was the range that was agreed to. Shall not include medical detox detoxification or inpatient clinical treatment services. Um, it's not going to be converted to a shelter or a boarding house or a correctional facility. The only people who can um, stay there overnight are the participants and on-site staff. The maximum number of residents shall not exceed 80. That's a little bit higher than what their proposal is, but it get but based on the the size of the buildings, it gives them that that flexibility. Um, the development may occur in phases, which is the real reason we're going through the rezoning process. Uh, the outdoor lighting shall have the cutoff aspect to keep with the

018rural nature and not have glare from uh, lighting on site. And uh, the quiet hours essentially from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. And and they'll provide a contact information to us updated annually in case um, there isn't a a staff person on site and we need to get into contact with them. And no no on-site parking is for residential vehicles. So, people the people who are going through the the service are are dropped off essentially. So, in terms of existing conditions, again, you're talking about an undeveloped piece of land largely forested. North is a a portion of the parcel. Uh, we're noting that that is not part of the rezoning. It'll retain the RA-40 zoning. So, in case they wanted to sell it off in the future or combine it with another parcel, it's not

019going to cause any problems. Uh, west of the site is a church and to the east is agricultural land. In terms of development, again, you can see the parcel. The only one you're rezoning is the large portion on the south. The one on the north is not part of the rezoning. So, therefore, it can be sold off or developed in some other way in the future. Uh, and again, large lot residential surrounding most of the site. In terms of environmental features, there is a stream at the northern end of the site. It's incorporated into the storm water facilities for this um Uh, we've been we've become familiar with this with the the applicant and this overall site for more than a year because they've done a significant amount of work to um do the engineering

020to confirm that a short line water extension at their own expense could occur to provide water to the site, which would make it much more feasible compared to uh operating it with a well. In terms of zoning, it's all RA-40 in this portion of the county. There's no municipality nearby. In terms of transportation, very low volume roads, only 300 vehicles per day on Camden and 1,300 on Old Pageland Marshville. There's no funded improvements in the immediate vicinity. Land use map calls for rural residential and again, this type of use is allowed in uh RA-40 with a special use permit, which means it would have gone to the Board of Adjustment. In terms of schools and utilities, uh cuz we're considering this commercial even though people will live there, um they won't have their families there.

021UCPS was not consulted. In terms of utilities, public water will be available once the extension is made and they'll use a private engineer septic system with the site plan shown uh with that septic field on the on the southern portion of the parcel. In terms of public feedback, uh very well-attended community meeting at the end of March. 19 uh residents, um many staff and representatives of the of the overall organization were there. Question were asked about fencing, signage, lighting, storm water, uh no changes were made. And um because of the distance to both Marshville and Wingate, they were not consulted for comments. So, in terms of the negatives, um again, with any any proposed rezoning, you could establish a precedent for more of these. You could have uh additional activity on this property relating to

022uh visitors or staff coming to visit, increase traffic in the area, and would um you know, uh be under the MPD which is a broad use but could open other other uses that we're not intending to apply in this area proposes an MPD based on the precedent created by this but the positives are in small text small font rather but the use is consistent with the comprehensive plan the development can meet our development standards there were no comments expressed we have heard that there are at least a couple residents who who oppose this and perhaps they've spoken up to signed up to speak tonight but we haven't heard any comments directly about it and it's a large piece of of land so it's not like you're having these uses immediately adjacent to houses and it

023provides a a needed use in the community and so for these reasons we recommend approval planning board recommend approval on a unanimous vote there are many people here on behalf of the the program the applicant is here to answer any questions you may have and I understand there's also several people signed up to speak so I'm happy to answer any questions you may have before that >> Any questions for Mr Hansen? >> Okay Commissioner just out of curiosity how long has House of Pearls been operating in Union County? >> I would defer to the the applicant on that question. >> Since 2006. >> 2006? And do you have a rough number of how many ladies have gone through House of Pearls through the program? >> It would just be a guess in the last um

0245 to 7 years we've had 153 >> Can I ask you to come to the lectern please sir so everybody can hear Thank you. >> Yes, ma'am. My name is Steve Merritt and I'm the chairman of the board of House of Pearls. Um to answer your question, in the last um 5 to 6 years, we've had 153 that go through the program. And uh we've had 853 applicants in that same time frame that we could not um help. So, since 2006, we we've probably helped nearly a thousand women. And that's just a guess. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. Again, my name is Steve Merritt and I'm the chairman of the board. Um thank you um for your time tonight, Madam Chairman and Commissioners, county manager, attorney. I hope we don't need you. And

025uh >> [laughter] >> But we're But we're >> [laughter] >> But we're glad you're here. Um Uh we have quite a few that like to speak on our behalf and and we have quite a few um Pearls here that are either actively in the program or have graduated the program. Um so, [clears throat] just give you a little history. Um Our uh founder, Terry Merritt, was a chaplain of the Union County jails um when this started uh back in 2006. Uh Terry passed away um around 2010, 2011. Um and uh the program has been thriving ever since. And um we've as we said earlier, we've helped uh many, many women overcome addiction. Um we are a non-profit, faith-based um organization. We don't charge for these women to come and stay with us. Um nor do

026we make them stay. Once they get with us, we uh encourage them to stay It's a year-long program. Um, we uh we help women that have suffered from addiction um of drugs, alcohol, maybe even sex trafficked, uh some kind of substance abuse. Um, they could be a mom, a daughter. Um, we've kept we've taken some from the jail system. Uh we hope to keep them out of the jail system. We have a good relationship with probation officers. Um, and in lieu of jail time, we can bring them into our facility and uh help them um if they graduate the program. Um, while in the program, we they have responsibilities to learn how to live be learn live life beyond alcohol and drug addiction. Um, we're a full-time center 24/7. So, they are with us full-time.

027Um, and uh so, we limit who they can see during that time with us. Um, we're very protective of our women and um we don't like for any of their past relationships to to uh be a part of this program. Um, they learn financial awareness, life skills, which some of the life skills are used in the jail system now. Uh we use some of those same skills. Um, uh and some of which um we help get their GED or their driver's license back. Lot of times, um the ladies that we get uh have been in trouble um with um criminally been in trouble and we try to help them overcome some of those charges and um let them learn how to live society um like it should like they should be. Um, uh there's again

028no charge for our facility and we're fully supported by churches, local citizens, uh and some corporations. Uh they help us our residents um are closely supervised. And um 24/7. Is that me? I'm done? >> I'll give you I'll allow you a few more minutes. >> Okay, thank you. Okay. I'll try to talk faster. >> [laughter] >> Um and um some of our residents, we have a transitional home after they stay with us 12 months. We um have do have a transition home. And I think you might hear one or two from them tonight uh how the transition home works. But we like to help them get a job. We like to help them survive outside of this program and uh become productive citizens in society. Um And again, like I was uh Mr. Balcom, I

029was I was telling you um and since two it was 2019, we've had um 853 women we could not help, but 153 have gone through the program. If you graduate our program, you have a 90% success rate to not go back into addiction. >> What was the success rate again? I'm sorry. >> 90% >> Yes. Yes, ma'am. If you graduate the program, and that's a 12-month program. Um and we have some aftercare alumni programs that help with that. What we're asking tonight is um the 12-acre site, 10 acres of it to be rezoned uh so that we can build for the future. Um again, we've been part of this community uh for 20 years. If you haven't heard of us, that's great. If you have heard of us, we hope that we were able to

030help you. Um With that, are there any questions for me? >> Any questions from board members? Okay. >> And we we would ask that if you could, I'm sorry. >> You're fine. Go ahead. >> If you if you could vote for us tonight, Uh we would like the approval um if possible. >> Thank you. >> Okay, we do have a list of people to speak tonight. First, Delaine Clay. Good evening. [clears throat] My name is Delaine Clay and I am a Union County resident who lives on Camden Road in Marshville. I'm speaking on behalf of several neighbors who are here tonight in support of some concerns that we have with the House of Pearls. If y'all could stand and show your support for me. Thank you. First, I want to be clear that we respect

031the mission of House of Pearls. Supporting women in rehabilitation is meaningful and important work. Our concerns are not about the purpose of the organization, but about whether this location and the proposed site or proposed scale of development are appropriate to our rural community. From the planning board presentation, the proposal includes eight homes housing up to 10 women each, plus a life center on less than 11 acres of land. While residents were initially told the project would begin with two homes and a life center, we now understand that this is only the first phase of a much larger long-term plan that can grow to 80 residents. That level of expansion is a major concern for our community. First, infrastructure environmental impact. This property does not perk and sits within wetlands. Our land and road systems were

032not designed to support this level density and traffic. Camden Road is a quiet rural road that already has safety challenges with farming and there is a dangerous intersection about a quarter of a mile from where they are proposing to be and if you're coming from Wingate, you will have to go through that intersection. Um increased daily traffic from staff, residents, deliveries, and visitors will significantly change the character and safety of our area. Second, transparency growth. We are being asked to approve rezoning based on a smaller initial phase while knowing the long-term plan is much larger. Once rezoned, further expansion comes far easier. We believe decisions should reflect the full scope of the long-term plan not just the first step. Third, safety and security. In a rural and remote area, we need clear, detailed plans showing

033how the safety of both residents and neighbors will be maintained at all times. We respectfully ask that the board consider limiting the development to no more than four homes and a life center along with requiring thorough traffic, environmental, and safety planning but before any approval. We appreciate your time and ask you carefully consider these concerns when voting on the rezoning permit. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next, we have Chad Clay. >> I spoke last week. >> Okay. Okay. Uh moving on, Steve Merritt. >> I I spoke last >> Okay, you're good. Okay, then no. Can I ask again? Uh Oh. >> Yes. >> Yeah, you're more than welcome. You've got 3 minutes. >> Okay. >> Yes, sir. >> [laughter] >> Talk fast. Okay, yes. Uh We we are planning to build the the eight homes

034and the family life center. As Bjorn said earlier, the traffic is going to be very limited. We we don't include I mean none of the residents will have vehicles to travel in. We have a van that will take them on and off site. We will have volunteers that will come in periodically, but there's not going to increase the traffic as as they're concerned. Our people that are there, if there's a concern about our women being in the neighborhood, they're in our control and under strict control 24/7. They're not going to be walking the streets as they are now. They're on the streets now and and a lot of times people say, "Yeah, we need this, but not in my neighborhood." But they're already in your neighborhood. They're they're walking the streets. We're they're off the

035streets with us and they're safe and the neighborhood will be safe. We've been in this community for 20 plus years. You can check with any incident reports where at and we're at in the Wingate House, we're at Marshville and there's been no incidents whatsoever and not none with the neighborhood. And I think that addresses most most of them. And as far as the the dangerous intersection, um there'll be very few of our vehicles going through that intersection. Not not there's nothing to be concerned about as far as our residents. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> [clears throat] >> Next we have Delores Carpenter. >> You did pretty good with that name. So, I'm Delores Carpenter. Thank you all for letting us speak. I am the executive director of House of Pearls and have been for

036going on 8 years. I live in Lancaster County, but of course I work in Union County. Um we have three homes located in Wingate, Marshville, and Lancaster counties. Um the name House of Pearls reflects our mission and our belief that every person has value, purpose, and worth. So much like a pearl that's formed through difficulty, pressure, and perseverance, many of the individuals and families we serve are overcoming hardship, instability, trauma, addiction, or difficult seasons in life. Our ministry exists to provide support, hope, guidance, and a safe place, and it is safe, where residents can be restored and strengthened. The women in our program are taught practical daily life skills, as Steve's already said, along with job training. Um and we have a store in Monroe. Some of you might be familiar with Pearls in there

037in there working, being taught how to have a work ethic. Among other places in in Union County, you'll see them. Um we work closely with the women to help them address their legal issues, to restore their driver's license, as Steve said, to overcome barriers that once prevented them from moving forward. Most importantly, they're taught accountability. That's a big part of our program. >> [clears throat and cough] >> Learning to acknowledge their past mistakes without allowing those mistakes to define their future. Our goal is to help them become stable, responsible, and productive members of society who are able to contribute positively to their families and their community. Today we are asking for your support in allowing development on the land we have purchased in Marshville because we simply need more room to help more people. Our

038current capacity limits the number of individuals and families we're able to serve, as Steve said, we've turned a lot of people away. This new property represents an opportunity to expand our reach, to provide additional housing resources and life-changing programs, and to create a lasting positive impact in the community. This is not just about buildings or land development. It's about people. It's about broken people who need help. It's about giving individuals a second chance to rebuild their lives, to restore their families, to grow in stability, and to move forward with dignity, accountability, and support. Over the nearly 8 years that I've been a part of this ministry, I personally have witnessed many lives changed. I've watched women who once struggled with addiction become productive members of society, even in Union County, making a positive difference in

039this community. And more importantly, I've seen them be restored with their families. Children who thought >> It's time for me to stop. >> Children who thought they'd never get their mamas back now have them back. Mamas and daddies who were broken and call us crying now have their families members back. Um and these these are the reasons that this ministry means so much to me, cuz I see the transformation. It's not about recovery. Recovering the old person isn't what we're trying to do. We're trying to help them transform their lives. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Next we have Brandy Cook. >> Um hi, my name is Brandy Cook and I'm a Pearl graduate. I came to House of Pearls in April 2023. I was lost, broken in addiction for 17 years. I tried quitting a

040few times, but never succeeded. Nothing seemed to work for me. I heard about the House of Pearls through a friend while sitting in a jail cell in Wyoming. Even though the fight wasn't easy, I missed a few flights battling the enemy every step of the way, but the House of Pearls never gave up on me. They held my bed until I finally made it. I'm sure any other program would have given it up. Walking through those doors was exactly what I needed. The life skills, the therapy, the structure, the discipline, the Bible studies, the love that I got from strangers that I didn't even know, the volunteers. It all began to change from the inside out. For the first time in a long time, I wasn't just surviving. I was being transformed and it was

041not easy. In fact, the program was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Waking up at 5:55, having an hour to get ready, starting chores right away, straight to Bible reading every single morning. God used it all to break me down and rebuild me the right way, using the House of Pearls to guide me, shape me, and mold me into the woman I am today. I graduated 2 years ago. I'm still using everything they gave me to continue my sobriety, leaning on God daily, staying disciplined, and using my tools in my toolbox I was given while there. I am forever grateful for this program because I truly believe I wouldn't be 3 years sober if it weren't for them. And the love and the support, it doesn't stop when you graduate. And

042I am still connected, still involved, and still loved by them. This isn't just a program, it's a family and we are an army. >> [applause] [applause] >> Thank you, Erica Sullivan. >> Hi, thank you for allowing me to speak tonight. My name is Erica Sullivan. I'm 21 years old and I'm currently the youngest person in the program. I've been here for about 7 months, but leading up to 2024 December when I got arrested here in Union County, I spent 3 years in a very aggressive fentanyl addiction that resulted in my brother losing his life. In this program, if it weren't for DD, if it weren't for Steve, and if it weren't for what this program does, I would have ended up exactly where my brother is. On a path straight straight down there. Um >>

043[laughter] >> It is because of this program that I've been able to learn the life skills that I need to be able to hold a job. I've been working for over a month now, and I've not been able to hold a stable job since I was 17. I've been able to look my mom in the eyes and confidently say that she trusts me again. I've been able to see my father start going to church, Lord. I've seen my family restored in ways that I never thought was possible. I was that kid on the streets making [snorts] a mess of communities. I was that kid on the streets stealing things from everybody and doing stuff that I never even thought I would have done. But because of House of Pearls, I now can confidently say that

044if I stay here in Union County when I graduate, which I plan to do, y'all don't have to worry about me going out there and re-offending. Y'all >> [applause] >> Y'all don't have to worry about me going out there and finding my next fix. Y'all don't have to worry about me going out there and going to the next bank to try to find money to buy my next fix. I can help other people the way that this program has helped me. But unless we get the space to be able to help more people, there's going to be more kids on the street. No kid, and I was a kid, I was 17 when I ended up on the streets. No kid should have to go through that. And if it wasn't for this program, I

045hate to say it, that's probably where I'd be right now. And I think No, I I know that this program will continue to function the way that it has. I mean, everybody on that side of the room is a testimony of what this program can do. I just ask I I I agree with um Stephen Didi. I just ask that y'all see fit that this is God's plan. Um Genesis 50:20 tells us that though the world plans evil for us, God plans it all to purpose out for good. And that present result is the surviving of all of these people that wouldn't have survived if it weren't for the House of Pearls. So, with that, I just say as one testimony out of the the 20-something that are in this room, out of the hundreds-of-something

046that have gone through the program, see us for the people that we not the people that we were, but the people that we are becoming and the people that the ones that are on the streets now can become. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Natalie Reed. >> Hi, my name is Natalie Reed. I'm 27 years old. I'm a current resident of Union County. I reside in the Whitley House in Marshville. I'm originally from Lancaster, South Carolina, though. Um I just want to um start off with Psalm 62:2 says, "He alone is my rock and my salvation. My fortress, I will never be shaken." Um The House of Pearls for me has very much been a safe haven. Um I came from a very rough upbringing, um but not only that, I found myself in

047a lot of abusive, drug um abusing relationships. Um And the House of Pearls has always been I've I've known about the House of Pearls since I was about 14 years old. Um But, um the House of Pearls has always been uh dear to my heart for the fact that they've never given up on me. Um I'm actually not a first-time resident, I'm a second-time resident, and I'm proud of that. Um When you know where to come back to and who your people are, it means all the world. Um I'm very blessed now that not only have I learned how to be sober, but I've learned how to um be a mom again. And um I just recently got to see my children for the first time after being here 4 months and they had somewhere

048safe and fun that they could come to to visit me. Um I was able to spend Mother's Day with my mom, my stepmom, and all three of my kids. Um the Lord has been restoring my family greatly. Um both sides, my mom's side and my dad's side. They're separated and my mom was spending Mother's Day with my stepmom and all my kids, you know, and so it's just things that I never thought would be possible with my family that I see the Lord working. Um not only um have I seen him work in my life though, I have gained relationships with women here who I can pass my um experiences along to the next person and that's really a lot of what this program is about. Um DD tells us all the time it's not

049just about us. Um and that's really resonating with me, especially right now in my life because it's not about us, it's about helping the next person and about the families that are impacted. Um and I just really want to speak on that. My brother was a severe alcoholic and since me being in the program, he's completely quit drinking. Um he comes and visits me and um yeah, so that was mainly what I wanted to talk to y'all about. Thank y'all so much for hearing us out and I just pray that y'all will vote on us tonight. Thank you. >> Thank [applause] you. >> Next we have Bones. >> [laughter] >> I wonder who that is. I'm not a pearl. >> [laughter] >> Sure you are. >> My name is John Bradley and I am a

050member of the Heaven's Saints Motorcycle Ministry. I live in Lancaster County, but our mother chapter is here in in in Monroe and I just appreciate you giving us the time to come and talk about what the House of Pearls is and the people who have heard me speak before, I've got a good bit of ADD D and so I wrote my I I I wrote my comments down so if you just bear with me. My name is Bones and I represent the Heaven Saints Motorcycle Ministry. I stand before you tonight on behalf of the women whose lives are being changed by the House of Pearls. Tonight you're being asked to vote on rezoning but I respectfully ask you to see that there's something greater than acreage and ordinances. I want you to see people. I

051want you see daughters. I want you see mothers. I want you see women who once believed their lives were too broken to ever matter again. Many of these women have walked through addiction, abuse, homelessness, trafficking, depression, and loss. Some have lost children. Some have lost families. Some have lost their lives, almost, nearly lost their lives. But yet they're still here. Because nope, life isn't easy. Nope, they haven't been given shortcuts. They're here because someone opened the door. In Luke chapter 14 verse 23, Jesus said, "Go into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in so that my house may be full." This verse isn't about a building. This verse is about people who society overlooked. It was about the forgotten, the addicted, the broken, the hurting, the ones others gave up on. And

052the House of Pearls is doing exactly what Jesus commanded. They're going into the highways and hedges of brokenness and compelling women to come in with love and truth and hope and with a message that their story isn't over. Tonight the rezoning simply about isn't about approving property. It's about approving possibility. Possibility for the woman who thinks that she'll never see her children again. Possibility for the addict who believes she's too far gone. I'm sorry. I'm going to keep on going. Possibility for the woman standing one bad night away from an overdose or prison or even death. This ministry has already proven that restoration is possible. Lives have been changed. Families have been reunited. Chains have been broken and hope has been restored. And I know there's concerns about growth and traffic. I understand that. Your

053responsibility is important. But I ask you tonight to weigh one more thing alongside traffic studies and zoning maps. What's the value of a restored life? What's the value of a mother getting sober? Of a child getting their parent back? Of a woman that's discovering that she's more than her worst mistake? Because if this place helps even one life, then it matters. There are people alive today because someone believed they were worth fighting for. And tonight you have an opportunity to help create a place where healing can continue. A place where grace has room to work. A place where broken people can encounter hope again. And years from now, long after this vote has been forgotten, there will still be women walking in freedom because this board chose compassion over compliance and vision over fear. I

054respectfully ask you to approve this rezoning request. And I appreciate you letting me go over. Thank you for your time and your service and your consideration. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> April McElveen? You got it. >> [clears throat] >> You did good. Um so my name is April McElveen. I am a resident of Cabarrus County, Concord to be exact, but I am the administrative director of the House of Pearls. Um but in 2020, I came in as a resident, as an atheist, as a meth addict, um as a convicted four-time felon, and a completely different person than who I am standing before you today. Um the House of Pearls The House of Pearls saved my life. Jesus saved my soul, but he used the House of Pearls to put me on a

055firm foundation and to show me who he was. He met me there. He chased me and he met me. And my life has been drastically changed. Um I want to speak kind of to the logistics of the House of Pearls though because I know I can understand what the fear could be because someone like me, a four-time felon, you know, comes in. I do background checks on every woman that we talk to, that we that we I get an application for. We don't accept anyone who has an extensive assault record, no violent charges, no sex offenders, none of that kind of stuff. If something does arise when they're with us, it's handled. They are removed. We will not tolerate any kind of any kind of junk. We won't do it. Um I've watched this program

056change the lives of so many people. So many people and I've watched what it's done. Without this program, I would be dead or in prison for life, one of the two. That's an absolute. Um I really I just kind of got nervous. I don't really know what else to say, but please do it. >> [laughter] >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> Jessica Webb. So name is Jessica Webb. I'm a resident in Wingate the Wingate house. I'm a night and weekend manager there. Um I understand the fear that the community has with women coming in and and having a background like us. I came from a well-off family and I'm sorry, but I was the one in your net backyard. Um I was the one you would have never expected. This program not only changed my

057life, but it's changed the lives of my sisters. >> Bless her heart. >> Yeah. I'm asking that you guys vote tonight for approval so that the unspoken shame and guilt that many of us women carry because we actually have a bit here doesn't have to carry on, that we can help [clears throat] more women. And that's all. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Margaret Butler. >> My name is Margaret Butler and I appreciate the opportunity to be with you tonight. Thank you for allowing us to speak. I'm resident of Mint Hill, but I'm married a Union County native and you make good people, I'll tell you. >> [laughter] >> I am a licensed marriage and family therapist. I've one of I'm one of three licensed therapists who give our time to work with the residents at

058the House of Pearls because we know that they don't just choose to turn to alcohol and to drugs. We know that they are trying to deal with some kind of pain that nobody has ever taught them how to deal with. So, they just kept stuffing it and stuffing it and stuffing it down until they don't know what to do with it anymore and they just want the pain to stop. So, they turn to drugs or alcohol. And we therapists help them dig down to the roots of this trauma. We help them learn stronger, better, healthier ways to deal with the pain. >> [clears throat] >> So, that when they graduate from help House of Pearls, they can take these pieces, their tool kits as we call it, and apply it to their lives and the

059lives of their families for the rest of their lives. I am 73 years old. And if my family history holds through, I'm in my last decade of life. And I choose to spend a good portion of it at House of Pearls because this program works. It is my personal and professional opinion that there is no finer place for anyone to come to be healed of their addiction. And to become the creatures that God intended them to be, the mothers, the wives, the daughters that God created them to be. I would welcome them as my neighbors. I've been doing this for several years. I've never gone to one of the campuses of any of these homes and seen trash in the yard, seen built-up leaves. I've seen flowers. I've seen freshly raked yards. I've seen only

060the very best because they're taught to care for their homes. And this is what the House of Pearls is for them during that year. It's their homes. So, I encourage you to allow them to be the good neighbors in this new property that they have been in others. And to allow us to reach even more people. And also to give us a therapy office. Much as I love Much as we've come to love the little therapy nook that's at the end of the laundry room, >> [laughter] >> it would be very nice to have a room for that is dedicated Uh the laundry at the other end. Thank you so much. [laughter] >> [applause] >> They have a nice laundry room. >> [laughter] >> Next we have Wally Glimmer. >> [clears throat] >> First of

061all, I want to say to y'all that in the neighborhood, I understand we understand your concern. We really do. And on behalf of the House of Pearls, I want to thank you for coming tonight. I know it took courage. But I give you my word if if if there was any danger or any risk, I would not be involved in this ministry at all. And I just want y'all to know that we appreciate you coming, okay? I'm Wally Glimmer. I'm a pastor and as a Baptist preacher, I had to write this down so I have been known to go over a few seconds in a sermon. So uh >> [laughter] >> So here you go. I live in Charlotte now, but I lived in Union County for 25 years. I had a business here, welding

062and machine shop for 10 years. I was the chaplain of Union County jail for 5 years. But let me just give you a little bit of background here. This is not about me, but I have been involved with the House of Pearls from the very beginning in one way or another. I remember the first time I heard of it was in a Sunday school class I was teaching way before I went into the ministry. Sunday school class and one day James Smith, who was one of our faithful class members, he said, "Wally, I want the class to pray for a new ministry." And so he began to talk about it, said it's going to be kind of a halfway house type ministry where ladies are going to come to get off of drugs and alcohol,

063out of jail, out of prison. Uh and so he asked us to start praying and so I I told him I said, "Well well I said, what do you have? Do you have a place?" And he They didn't have anything, nothing. No nothing. Except, and I've got it here. Here's what he said. I'll never forget this. This is the last thing he said that morning before we prayed for the first time. He says, "Wally, all we have right now is a name and a dream." That was it. A name and a dream. And he said, "But we believe that God's going to make it a reality." Amen. And he did. And he did. Well, anyway, a few years after that Well, not long after that, really. Miss Merritt asked me to start teaching a Bible

064study there, and I told her I said, "Miss Merritt, I've never taught women before. I've taught men and men and women together." And she said, "Wally, men and women are a lot different from each other, but he she said there's one thing they have in common. They need Jesus and they need the word of God." Amen. And she said, "Just come and give them the word of God." So, for the last 15 years, every week, that's what I've done. I've taught a weekly Bible study at all three houses and after Well, I do it through Zoom now. And then they asked me to be on the board and I don't know what year that was, but I know that I think I'm the longest-serving board member uh that we have right now. I've I'm saying

065just to tell you, I've seen a lot of stuff. And you've heard it tonight. I've [clears throat] seen lives totally transformed by the power of God. I've seen women restored to their parents, mothers restored to their children. I've seen women who paid their fines, settled their court cases, got their driver's license restored, and one case, a nursing license restored. Lives changed, and these women have become productive citizens. And so, guys, that's all we're asking is to give us an opportunity to expand this ministry so that we can have more to come. But I want to finish with one example of how important this ministry really is. When we say people are saved through this ministry, yeah, we're talking about their souls through the blood of Jesus Christ, but we're saying not metaphorically, but lives are

066literally being changed because of this ministry. Three years ago, a lady named Maria I'm almost done, okay? Three years ago, a lady named Maria applied to the House of Pearls. We had an open bed, so she was accepted. Maria was already in a 90-day program somewhere else, but having been through rehab many times, she knew she still needed more help. She applied to come to our full-year program, and by the way, that's why we have it a year. When we started out, it was 6 months, then we went to 9 months, and then we went to a year, and every time we extended it, the the the the the success rate doubled. And you heard right when they said 90%. Leslie Dykes is unbelievable what God does, but she was told to come straight from

067that facility to the House of Pearls. So, Mr. Lewis told Maria's father and brother, whom she spoke to on the phone, who loved her dearly, to bring her straight to the House of Pearls. Do not go anyplace else. Drive straight from there to here. But Maria talked her father into letting her spend the night to see her family and her beloved dog. Nothing to worry about, right? Just a short visit, and then straight to the House of Pearls. The next morning, the phone rang. It was Maria's brother. He was weeping uncontrollably. Maria had talked them into letting her stay over. She had some drugs left over from before she went to the 90-day program, and that night she overdosed and died. Maria's father found her in her room dead the next morning. Now, when Delores

068told me this story back when it happened, she said she said, "Wally, if only they'd listened. If only they'd listened." I will never forget it. When the brother called, it was March 22nd, my birthday. Now, listen. This story was her fault. But what I'm thinking about is the numbers that we have where we have turned away 700 women in the last 5 years. And the thing that haunts me every day is how many of those women that we never heard of again died because they didn't have a bed. I beg of you tonight, please commissioners, I beg of you to do the right thing and approve this rezoning. With drug abuse becoming more and more rampant, let Union County be a safe haven for those who are begging for help. Let us build for those

069ladies who are yet to come. Thank you and God bless you. >> [applause] >> Allison Judd Good evening. I'm a graduate of the House of Pearls going on 3 years sober. Um I am the house manager at their transition home in Peachland, North Carolina. Um um also the kitchen supervisor here at A Call for Teen Monroe and have been there almost 2 years. Uh what this program does, it is life-changing. I mean, you sit and you hear the stories and I'm living proof of that. I mean, they are doing wonderful wonderful works in the community. Um and I can understand the concern as well. But I just want to say um those people are on the streets now, whether or not you know it, they're already in your community. Um this place is just opening

070doors to hopefully help women more women in the future than what they're currently able to because what if it was your daughter? What if it was your mom? What if it was your daughter-in-law or you know, your niece? Uh that's really what they're wanting to do, you know, is take them off of the streets, put them somewhere, teach them the right way to deal with things, show them the love of God, and that they can overcome this. I did. I was an alcoholic. I was very suicidal. I didn't want to live anymore. I made the choice to go to detox, and I did follow the advice and went straight from the doors of the hospital to the doors of House of Pearls, and I have stayed sober ever since. I apply everything that they've ever

071told me to my life daily, and I still call on my army, uh, the volunteers, everybody that we have that just supports us. I can call on them at any moment. What, you know, we call our army. They give advice. I look for that godly counsel in them, and I now know what to do. I now know how to be that productive member of society because of what I was taught there. So, I do get the fear, but by blocking these things from happening, you're only prolonging and just allowing those numbers to continue to grow. So, why not do something productive to bring those numbers down and give them that chance to turn it around? So, I am for this, and I hope that just by everything that you've heard and from my, you know,

072my statement tonight that you guys will see that this is really important to be passed and approved, and I appreciate your time. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Are there any speakers who have not signed up who wish to speak? Yes, ma'am. >> Hey, everybody. My name's Deborah Long. I currently reside in Concord, Cabarrus County. Um >> [clears throat] >> I just wanted to Thank you for letting me come speak. Um I'm 41 years old. Um I've been clean for 6 years now, over 6 years. I graduated from the House of Pearls in 2021. Um I grew up um in a alcoholic, my father was an alcohol-alcoholic, and I moved in with my grandmother, but my grandmother, she did a great job with me and my brothers. Um I was very smart in school. I had

073a lot of friends. I was a cheerleader. I played basketball, track. Went to college, got my associate's degree in nursing from Rowan Cabarrus Community College, and then went back to Winston-Salem State to get my bachelor's degree in nursing. I was working on the floor. My doctor prescribed me Xanax because I was having anxiety at home. I became addicted to the Xanax pills. I was taking them at work at the hospital, and eventually that rolled into an addiction to opiates. I shot up um Dilaudid in the bathroom at the hospital so bad that I was falling asleep, and I went and secretly Narcaned myself at work. I was diverting drugs from the hospital that I worked at. I was very depressed, and I wish I could say that that was my lowest point, but it absolutely

074was not. I um started doing crystal meth, and I had lost everything. And I have three beautiful daughters. They are absolutely gorgeous, and I was sharing custody with their father, and I felt my daughter starting to pull away from me. Obviously, because of the state that I was in, and it was not safe for them to be around me. So at that point, I decided that I would rather just commit suicide and die if I were going to be this kind of mother. I was in my addiction for almost 5 years. I had surrendered my nursing license for the North Carolina Board of Nursing because I did not deserve them, and they were going to take them anyways. >> [snorts] >> But here today, I went to the House of Pearls. They told me that

075Jesus came and died for people like you, women in sin, men in sin. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God. My sin was visible. I have track marks on my arms. I couldn't work a job. It was a disgrace and I was embarrassed. And I was broken. I didn't want to live anymore. >> [snorts] >> So, I begged for them to let me in cuz I couldn't look at my daughters anymore for what I had done. They let me in and they told me that Jesus loved me. I worked the whole program. I reapplied to the North Carolina Board of Nursing. They let me do a temporary period for 3 years where I had to have random drug tests that were observed for 3 years anytime of the day. I had

076to go if I were called in. Passed every single one of them. This morning, I'm over 6 years clean. I'm remarried. I wake up at 3:30. I read my Bible and spend time with the Lord until 4:00 and then I come to work and I drive from Concord to Monroe. I work at Davita in Union County on Comfort Lane. And I worked all day pouring back into those, probably caring for people that you may know. And the Lord restored that all. So, I'm not a dumb woman and I was raised right. I was just broken. And if it weren't for the House of Pearls, I don't know if I would be here today. I thank you so much for listening to me and please approve it. >> [laughter] [applause] >> Is there anyone else who

077wishes to speak? Yes, ma'am. >> [clears throat] >> Um hi. My name's Molly and um I actually went through Sorry. House of Pearls uh twice and the first time um I didn't know anything about Christianity. Um I didn't grow up in church. My family were atheists and um I just knew that like I needed a change in my life and um I got saved in jail and the Holy Spirit told me to go to House of Pearls. And um >> [clears throat] >> I was not fully surrendered the first time and I came back the second time and it was really then that I learned um what the grace of God was. Um like the parable of the prodigal son. And um since I've graduated um I'm with my kids full-time and uh Miss Margaret

078actually she was my therapist. And um because of my childhood um like just traumatic stuff um I decided to uh I'm actually in uh Liberty University right now um doing psychology and um hoping to help uh young people and adults with you know trauma and addiction so you know if I can help at least one person not have to go down the road that I did but I um I wouldn't have known what love was until I came to House of Pearls. And it's it's really changed my life. Um my family is in church now. My mom has a relationship with the Lord and like it's like that that verse where he's like uh he does exceedingly abundantly more than we can ever think or imagine. And like, we see that in this program all

079the time. And um >> [clears throat] >> yeah, it it definitely it definitely saved my life. And um I I really hope that we're able to grow it because uh the uh opiate and uh like drugs is only getting worse. And um I I feel like uh 30-day programs are not enough like to get you um to where you need to be like mentally and with the Lord. Cuz I've tried those, too, and it didn't work. >> [clears throat] >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> Anyone else like to speak? Okay, hearing none, I'm going to conclude the public hearing. Mr. Kay? >> Uh for the folks who have requested a vote on tonight on this particular rezoning petition, uh want to make everybody aware that we do have a rule

080in our uh board's rules of procedure that have been adopted uh many, many years ago before this board was here. However, that rule prohibits being able to vote on something the same night if there was opposition voiced. Obviously, a lot of wonderful, inspiring stories here, but there is a process by which the board takes and deliberates for a couple of weeks to help make good solid sound decisions for the community and at the end of the day this is a wonderful story of a program who wants to use the site but it's a land use based decision so they need to take a little bit of time to think about that and it will be eligible for consideration at the next meeting. >> Okay, thank you sir. Now it's time for consideration of any changes

081to the agenda. Are there any motions regarding requested revisions or amendments to either the consent agenda or business agenda? Okay. Is there a motion to approve the items listed on the consent agenda? >> So moved. >> Thank you. All those in favor? >> I. >> Thank you. And we are now at the business portion of our agenda. The first item from the business agenda item 26-268. America 250 update. I will now recognize Liz Keuber, public communication director concerning this item. >> All right. Thank you. Commissioners, management team, staff, thank you for the opportunity to share about America 250. Union County is proud to join organizations, municipalities throughout the country in celebrating America's 250th anniversary this summer on July 4th. I'm going to give you kind of an overview of some of the initiatives, programs, events

082that the county's working on and how we're helping elevate and promote partnerships and events throughout other jurisdictions, municipalities throughout the county. So these are a few things that we will discuss. So, for those who may not be aware of America 250, it is a national initiative to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States. Um there are numerous events, programs, initiatives, um all over the country. Some that are available and throughout the state, of course. Um some that are available virtually, a lot in person, and each, you know, group or organization um is free to celebrate uh how they wish and provide different programs and events. And so, that's some of the um items that we're going to discuss. So, our goals in planning um this initiative is, of course, to celebrate local history and

083heritage, promote civic pride and community unity, engage residents of all ages, highlight Union County contributions, and offer information and connection to the national initiative for Union County residents. We have several initiatives and events that um have been in motion for several months. We have a dedicated webpage on our website. The short URL is unioncountync.gov/america250, and that's our hub for all information related to America 250. We've got lots of stories, videos, um events, a calendar of events specific to America 250. We have produced several new videos leveraging um our wonderful Union County staff, uh everything from genealogy resources at the library to our register of deeds and the work that they do, and kind of explaining how Union County families can learn more about their history, uh featuring our charters of freedom that are on display

084outside of the government center, and several other videos. We share events regularly through our community e-newsletter that goes out every Friday called the Union County Horizon and our social media platforms. We have several upcoming initiatives and events that we want to make you all aware of and of course the community and again everything is on the Union County website but I'll highlight a few. Our veteran services team is hosting its inaugural almost home veterans resource fair on May 30th. It's a free event that will connect veterans and their families to numerous resources and support opportunities. Then we have right now a student art contest that we're very excited about and partnering with the Union County Community Arts Council and that is open right now. We are accepting submissions through June 12th and excited that once

085we have those submissions the Arts Council is gathering a panel of local artists who will help us curate and shortlist to finalists that the community will then vote on through our engaged Union County platform and then the people's choice winners will be invited here to a Board of Commissioners meeting on July 20th. We'll have an art reception and they'll get their photos taken with you all. So we're excited about that. All the information for that and criteria is on our website. The library is doing an America's 250th for kids program series throughout June and July with several fun children's programs and events. At the June 16th regular meeting of the board we will have a proclamation for you all to recognize July 2026 as America 250 month in Union County. Throughout the summer we're partnering

086with the fire marshal's office and emergency services and share several safety messages, sparkler fireworks safety, all of that kind of stuff, um grilling safety. And then we are excited to help promote um a large concert that the Parks and Recreation Department is uh organizing and hosting called Country Under the Stars, and that is open to all Union County residents and families on July 25th at the Simpson Event Center. Uh we'll have local food vendors. Hopefully we'll have fireworks that will be uh weather permitting. And then um again ongoing promotion of several events and initiatives both by county departments and community partners. Um I won't necessarily read through all of these, you know, you can see them on your screen, uh but lots of exciting opportunities for community members to get involved. Again, all of this

087information is on our website, and something that I really want to highlight is even though I'm the one um you know, standing up here and giving you this update, there are so many people uh both within our organization and with our municipal partners and community partners who are really um bringing the the patriotic spirit of this initiative to life. And so we're just excited to help elevate and promote those different programs throughout the county. So people watching at home may want to know where all do I get the information? Again, everything's on our website. Um if you don't follow Union County on social media, follow uh social media platforms, and um Engage Union County is our engagement platform, and that's where we will be uh promoting the opportunity to vote on our art contest. Um

088that'll be the voting window for that will be next month. And then uh another opportunity of course to stay connected is the Union County Horizon, which is our community e-newsletter. Currently goes to about 60,000 email subscribers every Friday, and so we're always trying to um encourage more people to sign up, and we share um community events, news, programs, all of that throughout the county. Engagement, of course, is a cornerstone of this initiative. We want to be inclusive and make sure that we're sharing this on multiple platforms and engaging our municipal partners. There are several youth engagement opportunities, family-friendly events, and and I mentioned, of course, the Engage Union County platform that we will be promoting for additional engagement opportunities. So, in conclusion, I will shout out and thank Vanessa Martin, my colleague here, who's really

089helping organize and either manage or assist our county departments with organizing and promoting all of these and is daily updating that webpage to make sure that everything's up and running and current. And last, before I wrap, our fire marshal's office, every single year, designs a challenge coin, which is, you know, very um important to emergency services, departments, and agencies. And so, this year they did an America 250 and they gave me some to give to commissioners. So, we do have challenge coins, thanks to Fire Marshal John Williams. Any questions? >> Questions from board members? Okay. >> Thank you, Ms. Clouse. >> You're very welcome. >> All right, next on our agenda is item 26-284, the drought update, stage two. I will now recognize Aubrey Lofton, the Union County Water Planning and Resource Management Director, for

090this item. >> Oh, did I get closed? Hold on, just one moment. All right, good evening, commissioners. I was told to make it quick. So, um I tend to talk fast anyway, so if I'm going too fast, please stop me. >> [laughter] >> Uh or feel free to interrupt with questions, but I'll I'll try to make it quick. All right, so I'm here because it's not good. We're in a drought. Thank people who've been hearing about it. It's an entire region. So, thankfully it's not just us and the message is getting out. But really we've been we've been arriving here slowly over a long period of time. And we're really starting to see it in customer demand. We're in just April we had a 37% increase in demand over last year. Of course, April this

091year was also warmer. We've had a nice chilling effect in May which has been helpful. But we are a part of the Catawba Water Drought Management Advisory Group and they have declared a stage two. So, skipping ahead in the future you know in the time. We we have quickly moved from stage one to two. So, we are now in a two which requires some new mandatory restrictions for our customers and that's mainly why I'm here just to make sure we're getting the word out for everybody. So, looking at the past just to kind of get a sense of how dry it's been. If we look back this is about two and a half years look. And you can see that green line is where we should typically be in normal rainfall and you can see

092how many months since Hurricane Helene have fallen under that line. So, we've only had two months in that time period in the Charlotte area that had that minimum or that that average amount of rain. So, again it was a slow build over a long period of time but then it is rapidly developed as we've hit the spring time not getting those typical spring rains rainstorms and and I'll show you show you what the triggers look like. So, this is what the Drought Management Advisory Group is looking at the low inflow protocol for the Catawba Basin. And just to help orient you there's three main triggers that the the primary one is the reservoirs. So, it's looking at all of the the lakes all the way up to Lake James down to Lake Wateree. And it's

093looking kind of the average level based on what it should be. You know, versus what it actually is. And then when we're looking at the stream flow the average stream flow is a six-month average. So, it's a long period of time and you can see that scary number very very low on this trigger matrix it's actually fallen below into that stage four zone even since this came out on May 1st. And then the final trigger is looking at the US Drought Monitor, which hopefully y'all are familiar with. And that just takes kind of an average snapshot over the whole Catawba Waterway Basin over a 3-month period. But I just want to highlight again that streamflow because it's a 6-month average and it's already so low. To get back up to a stage one in this

094this protocol, all three of those triggers have to move back up to stage one. So we have to get that 6-month streamflow all the way back up to stage one to come out of stage two. So just to set expectations, we're going to be in stage two for a while. It's going to take months of sustained rain for that to start recovering. I'm going to skip by this cuz it's already been updated since since I came out. Just looking at the US Drought Monitor over time, you can just see the how quickly things have gotten worse. This is a comparison from March to early May. And May 1st is is the time frame that it the the stage two was declared. You can see the entire Southeast US basically got shades of red darker since

095March 5th. But little little teeny rays of hope, if you look at the a one-week glimpse of just North Carolina, we're looking at May 7th compared to May 14th. So we had that one rain event y'all probably remember because we've gotten so few, that couple inches that we got on the weekend made a difference. It took Union County out of that D4 designation. And we actually had some areas recover to the D2 that in in the Catawba Waterway Basin. But you can also see the upper part of the basin got virtually no rain or very little and they saw no recovery in terms of improvement of the drought status here. So again, just kind of orienting, it's going to take a lot of sustained rain over a period of time for us to start reversing

096some of these triggers. Again, when they're multi-month averages, it it's just going to take a minute. And setting this in a For context, the LIP goes back to 2006. Uh and you can see we've been dipping in and out of stage ones since then, but we haven't had to go to stage two since the 2007 to 2009 drought of record for the Catawba Basin. So, probably a pretty boring slide, but basically, this is all to say we have to do this. We're a part of the um drought management advisory group. Um the low-inflow protocol uh is a tied to the FERC permit that Duke Energy has to operate those reservoirs and having an intake in that in that project, uh we are where we are. There's also all the other utilities in the same boat

097as us. It's not just us that's doing this. This is the entire Catawba Waterway Basin. So, we also have a water shortage response plan that we can implement when these things happen. Uh we uh last I did a major update in 2015 to update based on all the lessons learned from the last drought uh as well as uh as a part of our pursuit of our interbasin transfer. Uh I know those no don't necessarily seem like they go together, but they do um because if you jump to the bottom, um we were required to have the most stringent water conservation plan and drought management plans as a part of pursuing an IBT. That's just part of North Carolina law. So, um we have to have the most stringent uh restrictions of the entire Yadkin-Pee Dee

098Basin, which is a very large area. So, de facto, we we have very stringent um requirements compared to the Catawba Waterway as well. So, looking at the different reasons we can trigger a a water shortage, um the top one, water resource limitations, essentially means drought. That's what we're talking about here. Uh no matter why we're declaring a water shortage, all of the stages and responses are the same. So, when we're looking at a stage two, we're looking to reduce usage by 5 to 10%. We have some things that we're required to do for our water shortage response plan. Most of them have already happened. It's essentially notifying people. And hopefully y'all have seen those communications going out to the public. Um we declared stage two on May 15th, so that was Friday. Um, we've already

099seen the uptick in customer calls today, so people are hearing, they're hearing about it and they have questions to make sure that they're following the new restrictions. Uh, and then I just want to highlight the last one, enforcement, that is a part of uh, what we need to do with these new restrictions. Um, but we are really um, excited to be leveraging our AMI system, also helping direct folks to their customer portal so that they can look at their usage in a new way. Um, so we will be uh, have to be ramping up those workflows of what that even looks like with our new AMI system. We'll also be focusing on education. We're not looking to write tickets right out of the gate and penalize folks. We want to make sure everyone knows uh,

100why things are the way they are, what the new rules are, and how they can um, and how they can help um, lower their bills. Um, so all of the restrictions that we have in place in stage two are listed here. I mainly want to highlight the spray irrigation, right? That's the typical lawn irrigation that folks are thinking about, and that is limited now to two days per week for all customers. If you have an even street address, it's Tuesdays and Saturdays. If you have an odd street address, it's Wednesdays and Sundays. Nobody should be watering between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. It's also a horribly inefficient time of day to water anyway, so we're doing you a favor. Um, anytime you want to do hand watering, um, that's fine. Holding a hose, holding a

101watering can, it's fine any day, any time. Um, we also new new rules, uh, no washing your car at your house. Commercial car washes are great. We're not looking to try to shut down any businesses. Uh, no filling of new swimming pools or fountains except to support aquatic life. Uh, and then they know there's already been some confusion about power washing, but essentially no public buildings as well as sidewalk or street washing. So, if there's any questions, again, we're already getting those um, to us, but we also have a website, unionconserves.com, where folks can go and get their answers uh, ques- questions answered as well. Uh, additional restrictions, these are just things that trying to limit. Again, thinking about conservation, construction uses, and even our own operational uses like flushing. Obviously, there's some things that

102still have to happen, um, but we're trying to rethink how we're operating as well. Just to remind folks that this is in the water shortage response plan. These are approved in our ordinance. So, again, we really want to focus education uh, at the outset, but then we have um, really the obligation to start enforcing, which you can see quickly goes from one warning up to $200 at stage stage two. So, um, can all the way go up to uh, disconnects as well. So, folks aren't if aren't paying attention or being responsive. So, we want to give our customers every chance to respond. Um, not looking to to run up these fines or or disconnect customers, but we want to make sure that folks are paying attention. Uh, just another important um, thing that we want

103to mention is that with stage two, we do have escalated rates. Uh, so the looking at just specifically tier four and tier five on both the irrigation and the the residential rates. And uh, and then we also have non-residential um, agriculture and industrial rate changes. So, again, just being mindful that customers are paying attention. Um, if you're irrigating more than 10,000 using, you know, more than 10,000 gallons per month, you will start to see it in your bill. Um, the that is the beginning with the usage that occurred starting May 16th. So, stage two was declared on May 15th, uh, Friday. Uh, so any usage starting Saturday moving forward is going to be uh, charged at the new rates. So, you're going to see that prorated on your next bills. And this is unfortunate timing,

104but we just want to remind you that the annual rate increases that have already been uh, scheduled will occur starting with July 1 usage. So, I just want to show these all side by side. We'll actually be moving up within the stage two rates to FY27 rates uh, as of July 1. So, this is a quick summary. We're basically we're in stage two. We're going to be in stage two for a while. Um again, really want to hit the irrigation. That's the big one. That's the big water user in a typical residential um home. Uh and if you have any questions, you can service.com is a great resource. That's all I have. >> Thank you. >> quick. >> Was that quick enough? >> [laughter] >> All right, impressive. >> Very quick. Thank you. >> Any

105questions from board members? Comments? Okay. Thank you, ma'am. >> Thank you. >> All right. The next item of business is item 26-188, Marshville Bypass Tolling Proposal. I will now recognize Bjorn Hansen, senior project planner, for brief comments. >> Good evening again, commissioners, Manager Matthews. This is an update on something that you requested several years ago, um the which was a proposal to evaluate the Marshville Bypass as a told project. And we now have the results to share with you and um next steps. So, as a reminder of what we're talking about, the Monroe Expressway is on the the left side. It's been built, that's why it's in solid blue. The dash line is the proposed Marshville Bypass. Uh it's currently shown going on the south side of Marshville. I'll note later in the presentation that

106doesn't mean that's where it will absolutely have to go. Uh it's just the first cut of an alignment. The cost is estimated at $287 million in last year's dollars, so you know what's up since then. And in terms of access, it would behave just like the Monroe Expressway, so you'd have interchange there on the west side of Marshville, one on the south side, Landsford Road, and then one on the east side where it accesses the existing US 74. It has a long history going back 40 plus years where it was first envisioned as part of the initial Monroe bypass going east of Marshville. It was then um pulled back to just go around Wingate and not Marshville itself. Um since then it's been included in the conference of transportation plan. There was concerned by the

107town nearly 10 years ago that it was going to bypass their town and cut off a lot of economic activity due to the traffic. So they had concerns about it. Uh study was conducted with the uh residents uh of Marshville and the determination was that they want the trucks out of the town and therefore the bypass was supported. They thought that tolling it would be a good compromise because it wouldn't divert all the traffic, only the people who really just wanted to get further east and west of Marshville um would be taking that. And so 5 years ago both the county and Marshville submitted resolutions to CARTPO asking it to be studied as a told project. Um we then adopted our conference of plan Union County 2050 identifying US 74 as a future Interstate which

108is consistent with state vision as well from Matthews all the way to Wilmington having it be an Interstate. And then between the town and the county in '21 and '25 through the previous two iterations of the long-range plan development through CARTPO, project was submitted both as a told project and as a I'm sorry, as a told project where it was going to be a stand-alone project and and as a free project. And both times it uh did not score high enough to be funded. And then just a few months ago the NCDOT and the Turnpike Authority completed their tolling analysis. So that's 40 years worth of history to get us where we are. Um >> [clears throat] >> Now, I brought up before talking about it as a standalone project. The Monroe Expressway is a

109standalone project. However, because this would be a direct continuation of it, the NCDOT said this could be evaluated as an overall part of the Monroe Expressway, and that's really important because by itself, the Marshville Bypass doesn't generate enough money to be worth tolling, but as a part of the overall Expressway, it does. Uh approximately 3/4 of that cost would be paid for through tolls on the existing Monroe Expressway. Um the scenario would be that you would have to extend it out um approximately 16 years. As it currently stands, the the rules are that when the bonds are paid off that help pay for it, they would expire. That would occur in the 2050s. This proposal would be to extend it out to 2070, which is the practical limit for bonding out uh revenues. And that

110would apply to the entire corridor, the same funding uh and and uh billing structure would would remain. And only at that point that a project was decided to to actually take this project forward to implementation, would the actual alignment be set. I have a a screen capture of the study area for the Wadesboro Bypass, which is partially funded. The Transportation Planning Organization for Wadesboro set the alignment on the north side of Wadesboro. However, the NCDOT through its environmental analysis is looking both on the north and the south side of Wadesboro. That's really important because the same type of assumption should be made in Marshville. To say it's absolutely going to go on the south side, can't say. They've They've approved a lot of development on the south side. Honestly, it could make it more difficult

111to to get a corridor through and around those developments. So, it may actually make more sense to go on the north side, but those decisions won't be made until it's a funded project. So, I'll stop for a second. Does anyone have any questions? Okay. So, what's the local impacts of a bypass? This data, this screen capture of the Union County points to the east and then up into Charlotte, is of actual traffic data from 2025 going through US 74. So, it asked the question, the traffic that goes on US 74 on a weekday, where does it go? You can see that a pretty good amount peels off and goes onto the Monroe Expressway. And the and the traffic that goes into on existing 74 through Wingate, it gradually declines as it reaches its destinations. Maybe

112in Wingate, maybe in downtown Monroe, maybe some of it goes up on Old Charlotte Highway, some of it goes on through Monroe itself, but you can see that the traffic wanting to get through Union County is taking the bypass and then it splits off on 45 or US 74 into Mecklenburg. And for truck traffic, it's even more apparent. There's a a healthy percent of the traffic that is directly to the Port of Wilmington. It it doesn't stop. And so, that's um that's important to note because it this is literally a statewide uh caliber project. And the other local impact of a bypass is that state law says that when you generate non-DOT revenues to help pay for a project, you essentially get a rebate or a bonus. And for Union County, Marshville, and all the

113municipalities based on whatever distribution formula were was approved, approximately $100 million would come to Union County to apply to projects. It would be our choice where to assign it. Of course, we'd need to work with the DOT because in most instances, they would be the ones delivering the projects, but this would be money dedicated to Union County, Marshville, and and other relevant municipalities. And this would be as a benefit of um bringing new money to the table to help pay for transportation projects. These are historic volumes along US 74 and the expressway since the early 2000s. I would note that at the county line near Peachland, um during a 15-year period where Union County more than doubled in population, traffic on US 74 didn't change one bit. But immediately after the expressway opened, it it

114bumped up almost a third. Um so, the expressway has had impacts. It has increased traffic. You can see the impacts and increases um in Marshville. And then you look to the west uh near Wingate, traffic volumes decreased. So, it's doing what it's supposed to do, but it's not it's it's it's not an absolute lack of traffic in traffic in Wingate. There is still traffic in Wingate, but there is less than what there would be otherwise. And what you see a reduction of is the truck traffic, and that's what's really important because that's it's where your noise comes from, it's where your pollution comes from, it's where your safety concerns come from. So, by diverting that onto an expressway away from the downtown of Marshville, it's really beneficial. So, what happens now in terms of implementation

115timeline? We have roughly till Labor Day to consider supporting this. What happens is that it then goes to CARTPO. The CARTPO board has to vote and endorse this as a toll project, which allows it to be submitted to the NCDOT for that remaining 1/4 of the funding that wouldn't be covered by the tolls. Uh that's a pretty competitive project, statewide tier project, 75% being paid for by non-DOT sources. There's a good chance that the remaining money will will be found um in the in the step process. So, we would submit it in 2027 and 2028. If everything goes well, it would be included in the statewide tier for funding. And then in 2029, it would be adopted with this project included in their list. And then at that point, the state can start the machinery

116of issuing bonds, doing the design work, contacting property owners about purchasing right-of-way, and actually building it. So, this is something that could be built in the 2030s under this scenario. So, that's the status update. We presented to Marshville earlier this month. They received it very favorably. They didn't have any concerns with meeting to to talk through this together. They understood the need for the project. They understood all the truck traffic going through their town. And they authorized their town manager to coordinate a joint town and county meeting. And so, at this point, just asking for your feedback to help inform us as at the staff level so we can make sure we we provide everything you need to help make a decision. I do have Kendall Platen from the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization, an

117engineer with them. He can answer questions about process as well. But otherwise, I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have. >> Mr. Okay. Thank you, Brian. Okay. Next on our agenda is item 26-242, appointments to boards and committees. There are five boards with with vacancies for consideration this evening. These vacancies have been advertised in accordance with applicable law. The first board board vacancy is with the Juvenile Crime Prevention Committee, the JCPC. There are several vacancies to fill. One member of the faith community, one juvenile defense attorney, two members of as a commissioner appointee, one park and rec, and one um nonprofit such as United Way. Uh we can make all the appointments at once for in one motion if we name each individual for the qualifying position. >> I would like to make

118a motion to approve John Kirkpatrick, member of faith and community, for that position. Angela Watkins for the juvenile defense attorney. James Johnson Jr. as the county commissioner appointee, along with Natasha Stovall, also as the county commissioner appointee. Jim Chafin from parks and rec as the representative, and Delon Fulgham um to be the United Way or other nonprofit position. >> Thank you, Commissioner Merrill. Okay, we have a motion on the floor. All those in favor, please say aye. >> Aye. >> And now opposed? Thank you. The next board with vacancies for consideration this evening is the land use board. There are three regular member positions up for appointment on this board. I will now entertain a motion for nominations for the three regular positions. Again, we can take them all at once or one at a

119time. >> I would like to make a motion to recommend Richard Davis, Charles Darrin Green, and Andrew Medlin to the three positions. >> Thank you, Commissioner Commissioner Merrill. All those in favor, please say aye. >> Aye. >> That's everybody. Thank you. The third board with vacancies this evening is the South Piedmont Community College Board of Trustees. There is one member vacant on this board. I will now entertain a motion for nominations. >> I would like to make a recommendation for Tom Eck for the one position on South Piedmont Community College. >> Thank you. We have a motion on the floor. All those in favor? >> Aye. >> Is that everybody? Thank you, Commissioner Merrill. And the fourth board with a vacancy is for consideration is the Central Lana Workforce Development Board. There's one vacancy for

120vocational rehab representative. I will now entertain a motion for nomination. >> I would like to make a motion for Natalie Ward to fill that position. >> Thank you. All those in favor? >> Aye. >> Thank you. And the final board with vacancy is for consideration is the Consolidated Human Service Board which has two vacancy positions. Again, I can take them all at once if we name the nomination for each particular vacancy slot. >> I would like to make a nomination for Amy Dickey for the position of consumer of health human services and Brandy Smith for the other position. >> Thank you, Commissioner Merrill. All right. We have a motion. All those in favor? >> Aye. >> Is that everybody? Thank you much. And now I'll recognize the county manager for his comments. >> I have

121no comments. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Manager Matthews. >> [laughter] >> All right. Now it's time for Commissioner comments. Commissioner Balcom. >> Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll just encourage everyone to pray for rain and be Be on the way home. >> Commissioner Merrell. >> I have no comments tonight. Thank you. >> Commissioner Wedra. >> Just like to thank all of the speakers tonight and the staff for all the work they do behind the scenes. Appreciate it. Safe home everyone. >> And last but not least, um, thanks to all those that came out and to speak tonight. Um, those for and against for House of Ferrals. It's great organization um, and we will hear them again next week. There was a lot of moving testimony tonight. Um, very excited for

122um, with Liz's presentation on America 250. I think that's um, something that we all are looking forward to. Um, and to reiterate what uh, Commissioner Balcom said, praying for rain. I think I've uh, said that every single meeting in the last month or so, if not longer. Um, please continue to pray for rain. We're going to get a small amount hopefully this week. Um, but everybody please do their part to cut down on water consumption. Turn off the water when you're brushing your teeth, shorter showers, that sort of thing. Um, because uh, it's going to take a long time before we get out of that stage. So, and with that uh, let's conclude this meeting. I make a motion that we adjourn. All those in favor? >> I. >> Thank you. >> Woo.