Board Minutes

March 13, 2006

A regular meeting of the Bladen County Board of Commissioners was held in the Commissioners’ Room of the Courthouse at 6:30 p.m. with the following members present:

Chairman Taylor asked the Board to amend the agenda and remove a budget amendment from Item 1C (Social Services – Adult Day Care $22,627) and to delete Items 5 (Bladen County Water District) and Item 9G (Closed Session).

A motion was made by James G. Smith, seconded by Billy Ray Pait and approved to adopt the following Consent Items:

Approve Tax Refunds/Releases for February: Docket # 092

Approve Resolution Regarding Influenza Vaccine:

INFLUENZA VACCINE SUPPLY RESOLUTION
BLADEN COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH BLADEN
COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BLADEN COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

WHEREAS, each year, a substantial proportion of vaccine-preventable diseases occur among adults, despite the availability of safe and effective vaccines; and

WHEREAS, adult immunization levels continue to lag far behind childhood rates, and adult morbidity and mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases remain distressingly high; and

WHEREAS, adults form the core infrastructure needed to respond to any emergent public safety and health need;

and

WHEREAS, the burden of and responsibility for vaccinating high-risk and vulnerable populations often falls upon public health departments and their public partners; and

WHEREAS, public health is often unable to serve the high-risk and vulnerable populations within a community because of a lack of timely distribution of vaccine, especially influenza vaccine; and

WHEREAS, commercial vaccinators make early bulk purchases of influenza vaccine and are able to offer mass flu campaigns before public health can vaccinate high-risk populations; and

WHEREAS, the federal government and local medical providers look to the public health infrastructure to be prepared to respond to and coordinate the response of any communicable disease outbreak„ including an influenza pandemic; and

WHEREAS, the federal government has provided support for the childhood immunization program nationally that has resulted in dramatic reductions in childhood vaccine preventable diseases, and

WHEREAS, an adult immunization infrastructure is needed prior to implementation of a national universal influenza vaccine recommendation;

Now THEREFORE, in recognition of this compelling public health challenge, the Bladen County Health Department and the Bladen County Commissioners request that:

• Sufficient federal funding be identified to support a robust adult vaccine preventable disease vaccination infrastructure and program that would include influenza as a primary component;

• Guaranteed government prices for influenza vaccine be offered as an incentive for vaccine production to meet the demand;

• Federal government bulk purchase a base number of doses for public health;

• Regulations be created to guarantee distribution to public agencies first; and

Appoint Elizabethtown Town Council Member Scoti Ussery to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Steering Committee:

Social Services Director June Koenig provided an update on programs and services administered by the department. She distributed an annual report for fiscal year 2004-2005 and advised that during this time, Social Services employed 77 people. Ms. Koenig reviewed the following areas:

Incorporation of System of Care Approach
Programs administered by the Adult Services Unit
In-Home Aide Services-Case Management
Adult Day Care
Court Appointed Guardianship – health care, financial decisions, representative payee
Special Assistance In-Home Program (Bladen County piloted this program) The Special Assistance In-Home Program allows individuals to remain at home, who do not qualify for food stamps, but need financial assistance.
Adult Protective Services
Work First Program
Low Income Energy Assistance Program
Crisis Intervention Program
Adult Medicaid
Program Integrity
Child Support
Family and Child Medicaid
Food Stamps
Day Care
Foster Care

Ms. Koenig concluded her presentation and welcomed questions or comments from the Board.

(Item Removed from Agenda)

Safety Director Robert Mazur requested consideration of the Board to adopt a resolution regarding Zero Accidents Safety and Health Policy Statement. Mr. Mazur advised that the purpose of the resolution is to bring safety to the forefront and to protect employees. A motion was made by Billy Ray Pait, seconded by Delilah B. Blanks and approved to adopt the Zero Accidents Safety and Health Policy Statement. The vote was unanimous.

We are sincerely concerned with the safety and welfare of our employees and the public they serve. We acknowledge an obligation as an employer to provide the safest possible working conditions for employees and a safe environment for the public who use our services.

All Accidents Are Preventable

We believe that all accidents are preventable and it is our goal to have zero accidents and injuries. All employees are expected to commit to this goal. Our approach to accident prevention cannot be simple or basic; it is complicated by differences in tasks performed and differences in work environments. We can and must perform the tasks of government operations and public services without accidents. We will endeavor to maintain a culture that includes safety and accident prevention as core values, and we will base decisions of what we do on these accident prevention rules and assumptions:

• All accidents are caused and all can be prevented.
• Safety is a mark of skill and good common sense.
• Safety excellence benefits the employee, the employee’s family, fellow employees, the entity, and society as a whole.
• Safety is everyone’s responsibility.
• No job is so important and no service is so urgent that we cannot take time to perform our work safely.
• We have a moral obligation to each other to do everything possible to prevent accidents.
• Work areas and equipment must be kept as safe as possible. As hazards are discovered, corrective measures will be taken.
• Employees are to report all unsafe conditions encountered in their work to management
• No job or task is to be undertaken until it has been assessed for safety impact, and procedures have been established so it can be completed safely.
• No job is to be undertaken until it has been mastered by the employee and has been authorized by the supervisor.
• Compliance with safety rules is a condition of employment.
• We will achieve a good, mediocre, or poor occupational safety record in direct proportion to the amount of effort that is exerted. We will achieve an excellent safety record by making safety a core value by which we measure our daily performance.

Wishful thinking or discussions concerning safety will not produce the desired results. Only when our actions meet our desires will we achieve our goal of zero accident and injuries.

Safety is a continuous improvement process. We expect every employee to be on constant lookout for ways we can improve our safety. With incremental improvements, we can and will achieve our goal of zero accidents and injuries.

Consider Bid to Acquire Real Property: Mr. Martin advised that the County has received a bid from Gregory Raghubar for County property, PIN 0267-00-42-4664, Account # 20-08256, .65 acres located in the Bladenboro Township. Mr. Raghubar has offered $4,100 for the property and has submitted a 5% bid deposit. After a brief discussion, the following action was taken: A motion was made by Delilah B. Blanks, seconded by Billy Ray Pait and approved to start the upset bidding process regarding property identified by PIN 0267-00-42-4664, .65 acres.

A motion was made by James G. Smith, seconded by Billy Ray Pait and approved to adjourn at 7:30 p.m.