[00:00:05]
[1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL]
AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
I'M GONNA ASK YOU IF YOU REMAIN STANDING, WE'LL HAVE A SHORT INVOCATION.
HEAVENLY FATHER. LORD, WE GIVE THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TONIGHT TO COME TO THIS PLACE, TO CONDUCT OUR BUSINESS, OUR CONCERN, OUR COUNTY, AND FOR ALL THOSE WHO ARE WHO HAVE COME TONIGHT TO PARTICIPATE.
WE'RE TRULY THANKFUL. LORD, WE ALL HAVE SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR EACH AND EVERY DAY.
AND WE JUST WE GIVE YOU THE PRAISE FOR ALL THE BLESSINGS YOU GIVE TO US.
WE ASK TONIGHT THAT YOU BE WITH US AS WE CONDUCT THIS MEETING.
AND WHEN WE FINISH, LORD, WE ASK THAT YOU BE WITH US AS WE CONTINUE OUR GENDER, OUR JOURNEYS HOME.
LORD, THESE THINGS WE ASK YOUR SON'S NAME, JESUS CHRIST.
AGAIN. WE WILL. THE PLANNING COMMISSION WELCOMES.
WELL, CHERYL, YOU AND MR. FULLER, WE'RE GLAD Y'ALL COULD BE WITH US TONIGHT.
APPRECIATE YOU. ALWAYS APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S PRESENCE HERE.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE EVERYONE IN ATTENDANCE TONIGHT.
AND THAT IS WONDERFUL. OF COURSE, THIS IS OUR DECEMBER MEETING.
OUR LAST MEETING OF THE YEAR. BUT IT'S NICE TO HAVE A FULL HOUSE TONIGHT.
SO APPRECIATE Y'ALL MAKING A SPECIAL POINT TO BE OUT TONIGHT.
AT THIS TIME I'LL CALL THE ROLL. PLEASE ANSWER AYE IF YOU'RE HERE OR WHATEVER.
MISS ALLSTON. AYE. MR. CLAUD. PRESENT. DR. EDWARDS.
YO. MR. MANN. HERE. MR. RANDALL. HERE. MR. TURNER.
HERE. MR. URQUHART. PRESENT. MR. DRAKE, I'M HERE.
OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO, MISS SECRETARY, EVERYBODY, THANK YOU.
AND BY THE WAY, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT TO MISS TINA.
APPRECIATE HER BEING HERE. OKAY, SO ITEM NUMBER 3 IS THERE OF THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES? WELL, LET ME BACK UP. MY AGENDA FROM THE LAST MEETING.
DO WE, MR. PRINCE? YES, SIR. ITEM NUMBER
[2. ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS]
02, THE ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS. THAT WAS THE UPDATE ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON THE MEETINGS TO ADDRESS.AND WE DID THIS PREVIOUSLY. CORRECT. YES, SIR.
YOU KNOW. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE NEED TO ELABORATE BEFORE WE GO TO ITEM NUMBER THREE? NOTHING REALLY TO ELABORATE, OTHER THAN. JUST, IT WAS A [INAUDIBLE], THAT WAS CONCERNING JUST TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY FOR THE ONES THAT WERE THAT MAYBE NOT WAS HERE.
IT WAS THE WAY THAT MEETINGS ARE NOW BEING RECORDED WITH THE FORMATTING.
WELL, THAT'S WHAT THE END RESULT OF THE FORMATTING PROCESS IS.
SO IT'S ALL ABOUT MAKING ALL THE WORDAGE FIT.
AND THAT'S THE WAY IT'S ACTUALLY. HEY, MR. BRADSHAW, I'LL LET YOU COULD, IF YOU WOULD.
THAT'S THE WAY IT'S ACTUALLY RECORDED FOR THE WRITTEN PART, CORRECT? CORRECT. OKAY. SO NOW WHEN WE WHEN WE REVIEW THE MINUTES AND WHEN WE SIGN OFF ONCE THEY APPROVED AS PRESENTED THAT WILL BE THE ACTUAL WAY THAT THEY ARE ACTUALLY RECORDED IN THE OFFICIAL RECORD.
CORRECT. I THINK THE ONLY THING WE CHANGED WAS THAT NOW THE CHAIRMAN, VICE CHAIRMAN AND THE DIRECTOR. DO YOU SIGN TO. NO, NO. JUST THE THREE OF US.
YES. THAT IS WHAT THE OFFICIAL SET WILL LOOK LIKE MOVING FORWARD.
SO YOU WILL SEE THAT. YEAH. THERE'S SPACES FOR THE THREE SIGNATURES AS REQUESTED.
AND MAKE SURE WE GOT THAT PROPERLY DONE. THANK YOU.
AND THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN THE, I'M GOING TO CALL IT THE DRAFT OVERLAY, OUT OF THE ONES THAT WE DO AT THE MEETING, CORRECT? CORRECT.
THE WATERMARK THAT SAYS. WATERMARK, RIGHT, RIGHT.
[00:05:03]
SO ANYWAY. YES, SIR. GOT ONE QUESTION. I WENT THROUGH THESE, BUT I WASN'T AT LAST MEETING.BUT NOVEMBER'S MEETING MINUTES ARE NOT IN HERE.
CORRECT. SO IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD APPROVE TONIGHT? MY ANSWERING. NO, THEY WERE APPROVED LAST AT LAST MEETING.
NOVEMBER? NO, THE NOVEMBER MEETINGS OF LAST MEETING NEEDS TO BE APPROVED TONIGHT.
THE. I DID NOT INCLUDE NOVEMBER'S DRAFT MINUTES.
SEPTEMBER'S WERE APPROVED. CORRECT. THAT'S RIGHT.
THERE WAS NO MEETING IN OCTOBER. CORRECT. LAST MONTH FOR NOVEMBER IT WAS DISCUSSING THE AMENDED MINUTES JUNE 2024 THROUGH AUGUST 2025. THAT IS WHAT IS ON THE AGENDA AGAIN.
SO THEREFORE I CHOSE TO NOT INCLUDE LAST MONTH'S DRAFT BECAUSE LAST MONTH YOU FOCUSED ON FIRST SEPTEMBER'S DRAFT MINUTES AND THE PRIMARY WAS THE AMENDED MINUTES.
WHICHEVER HOWEVER YOU CHOOSE FOR WHATEVER YOUR FORMAT OF AMENDED MINUTES TO BE APPROVED, WE NEED TO HAVE THOSE APPROVED, PRINTED AND RECORDED. AND IN JANUARY FOR NEXT MONTH, YOU WILL HAVE A DRAFT OF NOVEMBER AND TONIGHT'S FOR APPROVAL AND THAT WILL PUT YOU UP TO PLACE.
BUT TO AVOID ANY CONFUSION AT THIS POINT, I LEFT THE MOST CURRENT DRAFT OUT SO THAT THE SOLE FOCUS FOR TONIGHT AT MR. PRINCE'S REQUEST FOR THE COMMISSION IS THE AMENDED MINUTES.
CORRECT. OKAY. MY ONLY QUESTION WAS IF WE, TO CLEAN EVERYTHING UP, IF WE GO INTO MEETING AND THEN WE ADJOURN THE MEETING, SHOULD WE APPROVE WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN THAT MEETING SEPARATELY FROM COMBINING TWO TOGETHER? THEY ARE.
SO THEY ARE. MAYBE I'M CONFUSING SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT, BUT I'M JUST SAYING IF WE ADJOURN A MEETING, WE SHOULD APPROVE WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN THAT MEETING ONLY. BUT THAT'S. SO THIS MEETING TONIGHT.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO APPROVE. YES. THIS IS NOT CONTINUE.
IF WE OPEN A MEETING, CLOSE THE MEETING, THEN WE SHOULD HAVE MINUTES FOR THAT MEETING SEPARATELY FROM. BUT THIS IS NOT A CONTINUATION, THIS IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MEETING. WHAT? THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. BUT OUR NOVEMBER MINUTES TO APPROVE ARE NOT HERE. EXACTLY.
THEY WILL BE IN DECEMBER. SO YOU WILL, WHEN, EXCUSE ME.
THEY WILL BE WITH DECEMBER IN JANUARY. SO, WHEN YOU GET YOUR JANUARY AGENDA IT IS GOING TO HAVE ITEM APPROVAL OF MINUTES A NOVEMBER. I CAN'T REMEMBER THE DATE. WHAT WAS IT LIKE THE 16TH OR THE 18TH, 2025TH NOVEMBER? YEAH, 13TH. DECEMBER 11TH, 2025. YOU WILL APPROVE EACH OF THOSE DRAFT MINUTES IN TWO SEPARATE MOTIONS.
THIS IS NOT UNCOMMON. THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DOES IT.
OKAY, I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND HOW YOU'RE SAYING I GOTCHA.
YOU SAY CONTINUATION. I THOUGHT WE WERE DOING BOTH AT ONE TIME.
I SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. IT'S A VERY VALID POINT, BUT I THINK I CAN SPEAK FOR THE STAFF.
THIS HAS BEEN OVERWHELMING, SO I UNDERSTAND PERFECTLY, SHE MAY NOT HAVE HAD THE TIME, BUT ANYWAY, I DON'T THINK IT'S ANYTHING WE'RE DOING WRONG.
WE JUST HAVE TWO SETS OF MINUTES THAT'LL BE VOTED ON SEPARATELY.
WE'LL ADDRESS IT IN JANUARY. OKAY. RIGHT, THAT'S FINE.
SO, WHAT I JUST HAND IT TO HER WAS THE SEPTEMBER MEETING, WHICH WE DID GET CORRECTED.
AND THAT WAS THE MAIN FOCUS OF OUR PREVIOUS MEETING.
BUT TONIGHT, AS WE PROGRESS TO ITEM NUMBER 3 AND I'M GETTING TO THAT IN A SECOND, HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET LET'S JUST SEE HOW IT GOES. BUT WE'RE TAKING IT ONE STEP AT A TIME.
BUT WE'RE GOING TO OPEN THAT UP FOR DISCUSSION HERE IN JUST A MINUTE.
SO DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION WHY WE DON'T HAVE THE.
YEAH WE'RE JUST TABLING THE APPROVAL UNTIL JANUARY AND WE'RE DOING TWO SEPARATE ONES.
THAT'S FINE. I'M SURE IT'S BEEN OVER. I WAS JUST WHEN I WENT THROUGH HERE, I DIDN'T SEE THE PACKET.
RIGHT. I WAS JUST WONDERING HOW WE WERE. YES.
NOT SO MUCH AS A MATTER AS IT'S OVERWHELMING ON MY END.
IT IS LESS CONFUSION FOR THE COMMISSION WITH HAVING DRAFT MINUTES AND AMENDED MINUTES.
RIGHT. BECAUSE AMENDED BASICALLY MEANS NEW DRAFT.
HAS TO BE DONE AGAIN. YEAH. SO YOUR AMENDED MINUTES ARE A NEW DRAFT, THOSE NEED REVIEWING.
AND SHOULD YOU SO CHOOSE YOU MAY APPROVE ALL OF THOSE SETS IN ONE MOTION.
[00:10:06]
WE WILL THEN BE CAUGHT UP AND BE ON TRACK. OKAY.ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY. NO, NO QUESTIONS.
THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT OF AN ISSUE, BUT WE GOT THAT PASSES.
[3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
AMENDED MINUTES FROM JUNE TO 13TH, 24 TO AUGUST 21ST, 25, WHICH IS THE MINUTES THAT SOME DISCREPANCIES WERE NOTED.AND I APPRECIATE THE STAFF AGAIN SHOWING THE DRAFTS THAT WERE PRESENTED TO THIS BOARD. OKAY. AND THEN THE REASON THE DIFFERENT COPIES SACHSE WAS SENT OUT, WHICH SO YOU CAN MAKE THOSE COMPARISONS AND BE SURE THAT THE AMENDED SET AND I HOPE EVERYBODY GOT THE AMENDED SET CORRECT. EVERYBODY GOT THIS ONE SAYS AMENDED.
RIGHT. CORRECT. OKAY. SO TO MAKE SURE THAT ANY DISCREPANCY OR WORDING OR WHATEVER. THAT HAD NOT BEEN CORRECTED OR YOU DON'T SEE A PROBLEM WITH.
AND THAT'S WHAT THE PURPOSE OF THIS PORTION OF THE MEETING IS TO REVIEW.
DID YOU SPOT ANYTHING WHERE IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CORRECTED IN THIS COPY? LIKE I SAID, I KNOW IT'S A LOT TO READ. BUT ANYHOW, I'M GOING TO OPEN IT UP AT THIS TIME.
MR. PRINCE, YOU GOT ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO ADD, BEFORE WE GO FORWARD? NO. WELL, OTHER THAN, LIKE I SAID, THE, WHAT WAS SENT TO YOU FOR THIS MONTH WAS THE MINUTES THAT WERE PREPARED BY OUR PREVIOUS YOU KNOW, STAFF MEMBER. AND YOU CAN COMPARE THAT VERSUS THE ONES YOU RECEIVED LAST MONTH.
RIGHT. AND YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS, BECAUSE THE ONES THAT WERE PREPARED BY MISS BRADSHAW, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE FOIA COMPLIANT. SO YOU'RE LOOKING NOT ONLY AT THE CHANGES, ANY KIND OF GRAMMATICAL OR ANY KIND OF OTHER CHANGES THAT WERE DONE TO REFLECT TRULY WHAT WAS HAPPENING DURING THE MINUTES. I MEAN, DURING THE MEETING, AND ALSO TO MAKE SURE THERE ARE FOIA COMPLIANT.
RIGHT. SO THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS GOING ON.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE AMENDED MINUTES THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO VOTE ON APPROVING TONIGHT.
THANK YOU. SO I'LL OPEN THE FLOOR UP FOR ANY DISCUSSION.
I'D MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AMENDED PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES FROM JUNE 13TH, 2024 TO AUGUST 21ST, 2025. THE AMENDED SET. CORRECT.
CORRECT. OKAY. SECOND. OKAY. HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
AND I, THANK YOU FOR THAT. I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT IF YOU IN DISCREPANCIES, I NOTE IT HAS ALL BEEN CORRECTLY CHANGED, AND I'M CERTAINLY IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THIS PRESENTED.
IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION BEFORE WE VOTE? LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING. YES, SIR. WE'VE GOTTEN NO DIRECTIVE FROM THE COUNTY ATTORNEY ON GOING BACK THIS FAR ON THE MINUTES.
AS FAR AS I MEAN SOMETHING, I'VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE WITH MINUTES GETTING AMENDED THIS FAR BACK.
WELL, IT WAS. MR. RANDALL CAN ANSWER THAT, HE MET WITH HIM.
HE WAS IN THE MEETING WITH US WHEN WE MET. AND IT WOULD DO WHAT HE INSTRUCTED.
EXACTLY WHAT HE INSTRUCTED. YEAH, OKAY. HE SAID IT WAS A GO AHEAD.
YOU KNOW, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE IF WE'D HAVE GOTTEN AN EMAIL FROM THE COUNTY ATTORNEY.
THERE'S A LOT OF TIMES IN THE PAST THE ATTORNEY'S BEEN SITTING BACK HERE AND WE HAD A QUESTION.
WE ALL HEARD IT, AND IT WAS PART OF THE MEETING.
BUT WHAT WE'VE GOT IS AN ATTORNEY THAT GAVE ADVICE AT A NONPUBLIC MEETING.
[00:15:06]
COMMISSIONER. WELL. MR. MANN I JUST COMMENT, NOT ONLY WAS MR. RANDALL AT THE MEETING, MR. PRINCE WAS AT THAT MEETING, AND MRS. BRADSHAW WAS ALSO AT THAT MEETING, AND SO FOUR OF US HEARD AND WE SPECIFICALLY ASKED WHAT WOULD BE THE PROPER CHANNEL TO GO THROUGH, BECAUSE WE WERE LOOKING FOR NO DISRESPECT TO MR. RANDALL HERE, HE'S AN EXPERT, TOO. BUT WHAT THE PROCEDURE WOULD BE TO GET THIS CORRECTED.AND WE'RE DOING EXACTLY. AND I DON'T DOUBT THAT, I'M NOT, I AGREE, I KNOW ALL OF YOU WERE THERE.
YEAH, WELL, JUST THE EMAIL BASED ON WHAT Y'ALL HEARD, IT MAKES IT PART OF THE RECORD.
PRETTY MUCH WHAT WE'RE DOING IS, AND I'M SURE Y'ALL INTERPRETED EVERYTHING HE SAID, BUT PROBABLY I'M NOT QUESTIONING THAT. SOMETIMES WHEN YOU GET AN EMAIL, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WILL STAND OUT IF SOMEBODY CHALLENGES IT.
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SAY OUR COUNTY ATTORNEY ASSURED US THAT WE WERE FOLLOWING THE RIGHT PROCESS.
I'M JUST LOOKING FOR THE INTEGRITY OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
THAT'S ALL I'M LOOKING FOR. I APPRECIATE THAT.
WELL, MR. PRICE, YOU WANT TO CUE IN ANY COMMENT? I MEAN. NO, I WAS GOING TO MENTION THAT, YOU KNOW, ABOUT WHAT ERIC GREGORY MENTIONED DURING THE OCTOBER 14TH MEETING.
AND SO I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED THAT UP FRONT, BUT THAT WAS DEFINITELY WHAT WAS DISCUSSED.
WE CAN, MOVING FORWARD, I CAN ASK ERIC GREGORY TO MAYBE ATTEND THE MEETINGS VIRTUALLY IF POSSIBLE.
I DON'T KNOW, WE'D HAVE TO GATHER IT PERSON BE ON STAFF TO MAN THAT SYSTEM.
WELL, I KNOW HE SENT AN EMAIL ONE TIME ON SUGGESTION.
HOW WE MAKE A MOTION. SO IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT IS UNHEARD OF TO GET ADVICE FROM HIM FROM AN EMAIL.
AND, BUT TECHNICALLY, THERE'S BEEN NO FORMAL ADVICE TO THE COMMISSIONERS AS A WHOLE.
IT'S BEEN TO YOU ALL, AND I, IT'S ENTIRELY UP TO Y'ALL, BUT I JUST.
WE JUST HAVE TO WRITE THIS OFF TO EXPERIENCE AND MOVE ON.
YEAH. WELL, I JUST HAVE A SUGGESTION THAT MAYBE MR. GREGORY COULD JUST WRITE A STATEMENT THAT WOULD BE INCLUDED OR PRESENTED OR ADDED TO THESE PARTICULAR MINUTES, BECAUSE I AGREE WITH MR. MANN. THERE SHOULD BE SOME STATEMENT THAT SAYS THIS WAS THE PROCESS USED TO AMEND THESE MINUTES.
OKAY. IT'S JUST PART OF HISTORICAL RECORD. RIGHT.
20 YEARS FROM NOW FOR YOUR REQUEST, PEOPLE GO BACK.
AND LOOK, I TRUST EVERYTHING Y'ALL ARE SAYING.
DON'T GET ME WRONG. IT'S JUST LIKE A VERIFICATION STATEMENT.
I AGREE. MR. PRINCE, YOU'RE MAKING NOTES IF YOU THINK YOU CAN.
YES, SIR. YES, SIR. I'M MAKING NOTES AND I'LL PRESENT THAT TO MR. GREGORY. OKAY. REQUEST THAT TO HIM AND SO HE CAN INCLUDE A STATEMENT FROM HIM.
JUST TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WAS DONE CORRECTLY. CORRECT. OKAY.
ALL RIGHT. IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION BEFORE WE VOTE? ALL RIGHT. IF THERE'S NO OTHER NO OTHER COMMENTS.
THE MOTION IS TO ACCEPT THE AMENDED SET OF MINUTES FROM JUNE 13TH, 24 TO APRIL THE 21ST, 25 AS A BLOCK VOTE. ALL IN FAVOR OF THE APPROVAL OF THE DONE MANY SETS.
AGAIN, I'M GOING TO TAKE A I'M GOING TO TAKE A ROLL CALL.
I'M GOING TO CALL IT AGAIN. MRS. ALLSTON. YES.
MR. CLAUD. YES. DR. EDWARDS. YES. MR. MANN. I'M GOING TO ABSTAIN FROM VOTING.
OKAY. MR. RANDALL. YES. MR. TURNER. YES. MR. URQUHART.
AYE. AND MR. DRAKE AND THAT'S AYE. OKAY. ALL RIGHT.
WELL, THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. I'M GLAD WE WERE GETTING PAST THAT.
OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WE'LL GO TO ITEM NUMBER 4, PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
[00:20:11]
ALL RIGHT, IF NOT, I'LL CLOSE THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.THERE WAS NO PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED TONIGHT.
I'LL MAKE ONE COMMENT. IN READING THE TITLE OF THE NEWS, I KNOW YOU SAW IT, MR. PRINCE. OH, I DON'T KNOW. I GUESS THEY, THAT WAS A MIX UP OR IT WAS ADVERTISED LIKE THERE WAS GOING TO BE A HEARING BUT THERE WAS NO HEARING LISTED. SO JUST A MISTAKE ON THAT PART, I GUESS.
THAT'S PROBABLY MY ERROR. WELL, IT DIDN'T REALLY.
PUBLIC HEARINGS. IT KIND OF CUT OFF AND LEFT YOU HANGING, BUT.
OKAY. ALL RIGHT. I GUESS IT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE FIELD TRIP TODAY, WHAT I WAS THINKING.
COULD BE, YES. ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC HEARINGS IN JANUARY? THERE WILL BE. WE'LL GET THAT IN A MINUTE. YES, THERE WILL BE TWO IN JANUARY.
OKAY. ALL RIGHT, SO NO PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED TONIGHT.
ANY UNFINISHED BUSINESS, SAYS NONE. ALL RIGHT.
[7. NEW BUSINESS]
NEW BUSINESS. SO, [INAUDIBLE] YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT POSSIBLE HEARINGS, MAYBE SOMETHING ON THE AGENDA.ANYTHING YOU CAN HAVE THE LIBERTY TO SPEAK ABOUT.
THE ONLY TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS. ONE IS, FOR COMMISSIONER JACK RANDALL, HIS PROPERTY, HIS DEVELOPMENT. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING FOR THAT, FOR REZONING AND I THINK CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR THAT PROPERTY. AND A CITIZEN WANTS TO PRESENT A NO WAKE ZONE APPLICATION A BACK UP TO THE NOTTOWAY RIVER. AND THE REQUEST IS TO INSTALL TWO NO WAKE ZONE BUOYS ON THAT WATERWAY, AND ALSO ASK FOR PERMISSION TO PUT A FLOATING DOCK, A SMALL FLOATING DOCK FOR SOME SMALL BOATS, RECREATIONAL BOATS THEY HAVE. AND THOSE ARE THE TWO THE TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS WE'LL HAVE NEXT MONTH.
OKAY. MR. PRINCE, I'M JUST GOING TO, IF YOU'LL JUST GIVE A SHORT COMMENT ABOUT HOW I'M CALLING OUR FIELD TRIP TODAY TO MECKLENBURG JUST TO INFORM THE COMMISSION.
JUST TO GO INTO DETAIL, JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW, IF YOU WOULD.
YEAH, IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE FIELD TRIP WE HAD TO THE MECKLENBURG COUNTY THE TRAINING CENTER THERE FOR THE DATA, DATA CENTERS. AND THEY WE WERE MET BY THE DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THEIR COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, AS WELL AS TWO OTHER STAFF MEMBERS ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE IN THAT AREA.
AND SO AFTER GOING THROUGH INTRODUCTIONS YOU KNOW, THEY TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE STRATEGIES THEY HAD TO USHER USHERED THROUGH THE DATA CENTER PROJECT, HOW IT AFFECTED THEIR TAX BASE. WHAT ELSE? OH, AND YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS, YOU KNOW, THEY HAD TO MAKE SURE THE SITE WAS, WAS READY. YOU KNOW, THEY HAD WHAT THEY CALLED PAD READY SITES.
THEY HAD THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE, WATER LINES SOME OF THE ROADWAY AND THE PAD ITSELF READY TO GO FOR MICROSOFT TO INSTALL THERE OR TO BUILD THEIR DATA CENTER.
IT'S A RATHER LARGE CENTER. IT'S LIKE 250,000FT², SO.
AND IT DOESN'T LOOK, IT'S A ONE-STORY BUILDING.
IT LOOKS KIND OF LOOKS LIKE A SUPER-SIZED WALMART, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT'S TALL, IT'S MUCH LONGER THAN IT IS WIDE, BUT IT ALSO HAS A SUBSTATION NEXT TO IT AND AN ELEVATED WATER TOWER NEXT TO IT TO HELP WITH THE COOLING.
YOU KNOW, THEY WITHDRAW THE WATER FROM THEIR PUBLIC SYSTEM AND THEN IT GETS RECIRCULATED TO COOL THE SERVERS IN THERE. BUT IT'S IN AN AREA THAT'S ALREADY ZONED FOR INDUSTRIAL.
THAT'S WHAT MICROSOFT REALLY LOOKED FOR. THEY HAD THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE.
BUT YEAH, WE, THEY WERE VERY OPEN ABOUT HOW THEY ALSO DO THE TRAINING TOO, AS WELL.
[00:25:04]
THAT WAS ONE THING THEY WANTED TO DO. MICROSOFT WANTED TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS SOME A BANK OF PEOPLE OR A POPULATION THAT THEY CAN DRAW ON THE TECHNICAL ASPECT OF IT. SO THEY REALIZED THEY NEEDED TO HAVE SOME TRAINING INVOLVED WITH THAT AS WELL.SO THEY REACHED OUT TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO ESTABLISH A TRAINING CENTER.
AND YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY SHOW YOU HOW TO REPLACE THE SERVERS AND DIFFERENT COMPONENTS.
YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANT I MEAN, EVERYTHING IS VERY SECURED.
SO THEY DON'T ALLOW ANY KIND OF TOURS ANYMORE.
SO THIS TRAINING CENTER WAS IDEAL BECAUSE IT ALLOWED US TO TAKE PICTURES AND ASK QUESTIONS.
AND THEY WERE VERY, INFORMATIVE, VERY WELCOMING TO ALL OF OUR QUESTIONS.
SO IT WAS VERY NICE TO HAVE LUNCH FOR US AND EVERYTHING.
AND WE WENT ON A TOUR. WE WENT DRIVING BY THE EXISTING FACILITY SO IT WAS VERY NICE.
WE GOT OUT OF THERE ABOUT 2:00 AND TIME TO GET BACK HERE FOR THE MEETING.
QUESTION. YES. DID THEY MENTION HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD BE EMPLOYED ON A LONG-TERM BASIS? THEY DIDN'T SAY EXACTLY HOW MANY LONG-TERM BASIS.
WHAT THEY SAID YOU GET A LARGER CONCENTRATION OF PEOPLE, OF COURSE, DURING THE CONSTRUCTION.
RIGHT. AND THEY ALSO TALKED ABOUT HOW THAT, YOU KNOW, TRICKLE DOWN IN TERMS OF HOW THEY SPEND THEIR MONEY IN THE COUNTY, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT TAKES ABOUT TWO YEARS, ABOUT TWO YEARS TO BUILD THAT FACILITY.
IT'S HUGE. AND BUT YOU HAVE A SMALLER DEDICATED, YOU KNOW, NUMBER OF PEOPLE MANNING THE FACILITY THROUGH NEW HIRES OF WHATEVER CURRENT STAFF AS WELL AS THE CONTRACTORS.
THERE'S A LOT OF SUBCONTRACTORS OR CONTRACTORS ON A MAINTENANCE TYPE STATUS THAT ARE CONSTANTLY IN THE IN THE FACILITY, UPGRADING SERVERS AND OTHER THINGS.
SO THEY DON'T REALLY TELL YOU HOW MANY, BUT I WOULD GUESS, SAY ABOUT, JUST LOOKING AT THE CARS, AT LEAST ABOUT 40 TO 50 CARS, 40 TO 50 PEOPLE.
ARE THEY STILL IN A CONSTRUCTION STAGE? NO, THEY FINISHED CONSTRUCTION.
OKAY. SO THEY'RE NOW WITH THE PROBABLY THE MORE PERMANENT KINDS OF EMPLOYEES.
I WAS JUST WONDERING THE IMPACT ON THE COUNTY.
YEAH. AS FAR AS NEW JOBS. I WOULD SAY IT VARIES, BUT JUST LOOKING AT THE PARKING LOT, WE WENT OUT THERE TODAY, IT LOOKED ABOUT AT LEAST 40 PEOPLE. 40. 40 TO 50 CARS.
RIGHT. YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF PEOPLE ARE CARPOOLING, BUT IT LOOKED PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL AND THEY ARE, WHAT THE COUNTY WAS TELLING US, THAT THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE ON THERE ON A DAILY BASIS, THEY LIKE TO THEY CONTRIBUTE TO SPENDING IN THE COUNTY, YOU KNOW, SO THEY HAD TO BUILD NEW HOTELS. THEY'VE HAD TO BUILD, YOU KNOW, SO IT KIND OF ONE DEVELOPMENT REALLY SPARKED DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE COUNTY BECAUSE THEY NEEDED HOTELS FOR THE CONTRACTORS, THEY NEEDED SUBDIVISIONS, NEW SUBDIVISIONS POPPED UP BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE.
AND WHAT IS SURROUNDING THE BUILDING. ARE THERE HOUSES NEARBY OR IS IT FAIRLY ISOLATED? IT'S ISOLATED TO MANUFACTURING TYPE DEVELOPMENT.
YEAH. RESIDENTIAL. NO RESIDENTIAL? NO. RESIDENTIAL.
RESIDENTIAL. YEAH, IT'S IN A BUSINESS PARK. IT'S IN A BUSINESS PARK.
YOU KNOW, PUTTING INDUSTRY IN AN AREA THAT IS RESIDENTIAL IS JUST UNDESIRABLE.
SO I WAS JUST CURIOUS AS TO THE FORETHOUGHT THEY PUT INTO WHERE THEY LOCATED THAT FACILITY.
VERY NICE. AND ALSO TO SOME OF THE KNOWN PROBLEMS THAT WE, OR COMPLAINTS THAT I'VE BEEN HEARING IS THERE'S A NOISE PROBLEM. RIGHT. BUT WHEN WE WENT TO THAT LITTLE TRAINING CENTER AND THEY TURNED ON THOSE, THEY TURNED ON WHAT WOULD BE THE OPTIMAL NOISE LEVEL. YOU KNOW, THEY TURNED THEM ALL. I JUST HEARD THE GUY BACK IN THE BACK CLICKING, AND HE WAS TURNING ON, TURNING ON FANS AND DOING THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO IT GIVE YOU SOME SENSE OF HOW NOISY IT WAS.
[00:30:07]
BUILDING. BUT AS FAR AS BEING ABLE TO HEAR ANYTHING OUTSIDE THE BUILDING, WE COULDN'T HEAR ANYTHING AND WE WERE FAIRLY CLOSE.WE WERE FAIRLY CLOSE TO THE BUILDING WHERE WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HEAR SOMETHING, BUT WE DIDN'T HEAR ANY ANY FANS BLOWING ANYTHING THAT WOULD CAUSE A DISRUPTION IN ANY KIND OF NEIGHBORING AREA. SO MAYBE THERE IS NEW TECHNOLOGY BECAUSE THAT IS ALWAYS YOU HEAR THAT WAS THE ISSUE WITH THE EARLIER DATA CENTERS, IS THAT THERE WAS A CONSTANT HUM, AND PEOPLE WHO LIVED NEARBY HEARD THIS CONSTANT HUM VIBRATION OR WHATEVER FROM THE BUILDING.
YES. ALL THOSE FANS IN THERE THAT I MEAN, IT'S THEY I GUESS THEY HAVE FANS THAT CIRCULATE AIR IN THERE SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THE SERVERS DON'T OVERHEAT. SO IT WAS IT WAS REALLY LOUD WHEN WE WERE IN THE BUILDING.
I WAS LIKE, HEY, THIS IS GETTING LOUD, YOU KNOW? BUT THAT'S INSIDE THE BUILDING. OUTSIDE THE BUILDING WE DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING.
AND YOU SPOKE ABOUT THE WATER. IS IT COMING FROM.
YES. THE SERVERS. YES. THERE'S WATER. THEY DRAW THE INITIAL WATER FROM THE TOWN'S WATER SYSTEM, WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. THEY RUN THAT THROUGH THEIR COOLING SYSTEM THEN, BUT THEY RECIRCULATE, SO IT'S NOT A CONSTANT DRAW ALL THE TIME. SO THEY RECIRCULATE IT.
THEY THEN THEY HAVE A WATER TOWER. SO I THINK THAT EVERYTHING COMES IN FROM THE MAIN DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM TO THE WATER TOWER TO THE DATA CENTER, PULLS FROM THE WATER TOWER, DOES THE COOLING, BUT IT CIRCULATES JUST SORT OF LIKE A CAR WASH.
OKAY. HOW IT JUST RECIRCULATES WATER REUSES THE WATER LIKE THAT UNTIL IT GETS TO A POINT, AND THEN IT, YOU KNOW, IT EITHER DOES SOMETHING WITH THE WATER OR JUST KEEPS CIRCULATING IT, AND THEN IT JUST KIND OF DRAWS FROM THAT WATER TOWER AS NEEDED.
IT SOUNDS LIKE THE TECHNOLOGY HAS IMPROVED GREATLY OVER THE YEARS.
IT HAS. IT SURE HAS. AND I WAS THINKING AT SOME POINT AND I'M GOING TO REACH BACK OUT TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR TO SEE IF SOMETIME NEXT YEAR TO RESCHEDULE ANOTHER FIELD TRIP MEETING FOR THOSE PLANNING COMMISSIONERS THAT DIDN'T ATTEND THIS ONE, IF THEY WISH TO GO TO ANOTHER ONE, PREFERABLY IN A TIME WHEN IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, DURING THE HOLIDAYS WE CAN GO BACK DOWN THERE AGAIN.
IF A TIME LIKE THIS ONE BETWEEN 10 AND 2 IS FINE, THEN.
HE'S THE ONE THAT TOOK YOU THROUGH THE MOCK UP OF THE DATA CENTER, AND I HAVE PICTURES OF IT, AND I CAN PROBABLY TAKE THOSE OFF MY PHONE AND EITHER EMAIL THEM TO EVERYBODY AND YOU CAN KIND OF SEE WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND GO FROM THERE. IF IF EMAIL IS NOT GOOD, I CAN PRINT THEM OFF, JUST MAIL THEM TO YOU AS A GENERAL.
HEY, THIS IS WHAT WE SAW TYPE OF THING. ARE THEY USING THE TRAINING CENTER AT ALL? THEY HAVE THEIR OWN TRAINING CENTER, BUT ARE THEY USING THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE THAT'S IN THE NEXT TOWN FROM LAWRENCEVILLE? YOU KNOW, I THINK SO. I THINK THAT'S THE GENTLEMAN WHO WE TALKED TO.
OKAY. YES, I THINK IT'S CALLED A SOUTHEASTERN UNITY COLLEGE, I THINK.
YES, YOU'RE CORRECT. OKAY. AND IT'S VERY, VERY INFORMATIVE.
THEY RECRUIT THE STUDENTS, AND THEY BRING THEM RIGHT ON THROUGH.
YOU KNOW, ONCE THEY LEARN 1 OR 2 SOFTWARES PROGRAMING SOFTWARE, THEY'RE THERE, THEY'RE READY TO GO.
THEY PULL THEM RIGHT FROM THE SCHOOL RIGHT TO THAT DATA CENTER.
AND IT'S REALLY NICE. I HAVE NO MORE QUESTIONS.
OOPS. YOU KNOW HE. WELL LET'S SEE. HE, HE MENTIONED SOME TAX INFORMATION.
[00:35:01]
LET'S SEE THAT THE DATA CENTER IS 40% OF THEIR TAX BASE.AND SO FAR, THEY'VE GOT $10 MILLION FROM THAT, THAT DATA CENTER.
LET'S SEE. THE ESTIMATED WILL BE 200 MILLION IN THEIR GENERAL FUND AND TEN MORE YEARS. SO THAT'S HOW MUCH THEY'VE GOT SO MUCH MONEY, THEY REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO WHAT TO SPEND IT ON.
THEY ARE INCLUDED. THEY ARE DOING SOME SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS.
THEY'RE BUILDING A NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THAT CASH $38 MILLION.
THEY'RE USING THAT MONEY FROM THAT GENERAL FUND TO FUND THAT NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
I THINK THEY'RE DOING SOME ADDITIONS TO IT AND THEY'RE MAKING SOME IMPROVEMENTS.
BUT $38 MILLION, THEY'RE GOING TO USE THAT CASH.
NO LOAN OR WHAT HAVE YOU BONDS OR ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE.
AND 10 TO 20 YEARS, THEY ESTIMATE TO HAVE A RESERVE OF 300 MILLION.
YOU KNOW, SO THEY TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD BE POSSIBLY THE IMPACT OF THE SURROUNDING THE, SURROUNDING PROPERTY VALUES. I KNOW COMMISSIONER URQUHART, YOU KNOW, YOU ASKED ABOUT THE LEGACY IMPACTS, AND THEY ADDRESSED THAT AND AFFORDABILITY OF RENT AND LAND PRICES.
SO THEY SPOKE TO THAT AS WELL. YOU KNOW SO, I MEAN, THEY TALKED ABOUT THE POWER GRID POWER BILL CONCERNS. YOU KNOW HOW THEY'RE GOING TO ADDRESS THAT, BECAUSE, I MEAN, THEY PROBABLY FEEL LIKE SOME PEOPLE ARE GOING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE POWER BILLS. AND I DON'T THINK IF CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT ATTENDED WAS THERE.
I'M NOT SURE HOW THEY SAID THEY WERE GOING TO ADDRESS THAT ISSUE IF THAT WAS EVEN AN ISSUE FOR THE POWER BILLS OF SURROUNDING COMPANIES OR RESIDENTS, WAS THERE, WAS THERE A BIG CONCERN WITH THAT? I DIDN'T EVEN SAY ANYTHING. DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
OKAY. OKAY. NO, BUT OTHER THAN THAT NO. EVERYTHING ELSE, THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH THE GIST OF IT. ASIDE FROM THE ACTUAL GOING THROUGH THE TRAINING CENTER AND LOOKING AT THE MOCK UP, THAT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE. BECAUSE THOSE THINGS ARE HEAVY.
I MEAN, I TRY TO LIFT ONE OF THOSE THINGS UP. THEY MUST BE ABOUT ALMOST 100 POUNDS.
WELL, MAYBE 50 POUNDS OR SO, BUT IT'S PRETTY HEAVY.
IT LOOKS IT DOESN'T LOOK VERY HEAVY, BUT THEY'RE ABOUT THIS THICK.
THEY'RE THEY'RE THAT THICK AND IT'S A WHOLE SHELF THEY HAD TO PULL OUT.
AND THEN THEY JUST REPLACE FANS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE THAT NEEDS TO GET REPLACED.
AND THEN THEY DO WHATEVER THEY DO, THEY SHOVE IT RIGHT BACK IN AND THAT'S IT.
SO IT'S ABOUT THIS SIZE, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT WIDER, BUT IT'S THAT TYPE OF MOTION.
THAT'S WHAT THE DATA CENTER TECHNICIAN DOES. SO YEAH, THEY WERE SAYING THE SYSTEM IS BASICALLY SELF-DIAGNOSTIC AND YOUR TECHNICIAN IS THERE AND MOST OF YOUR BLADE SERVERS THERE.
GO PULL FAN. SO AND SO GO PULL BOARD. SO AND SO GO PULL CHIP.
AND YOU CAN JUST LITERALLY JUST REACH IN AND GRAB IT, PULL IT OUT.
HOT SWAPPABLE. AND PUT A BRAND NEW ONE IN AND SHOVE IT BACK AND KEEP GOING.
SO IS THIS AI OPERATING THE BUILDING? PROBABLY.
YEAH. YEAH. LIKE I SAID, VERY REDUNDANT. YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY AUTOMATED.
YEAH. SO IT'S VERY AUTOMATED. PRETTY MUCH JUST LIKE YOUR ONBOARD COMPUTER IN YOUR CAR THAT JUST SITS THERE WITH ALL YOUR SENSORS MONITORING EVERYTHING, AND THEN IT SHOOTS ERROR CODES OUT TO YOU. YEAH.
IT GENERATES A TICKET FOR THE TECHNICIAN TO GO IN AND.
OKAY, JUST LIKE YOU SAID, REPLACE THIS PIECE.
TAKE IT. JUST LIKE LEGOS, MORE OR LESS. YOU KNOW, YOU TAKE IT.
TAKE THAT OUT, PUT THAT IN, PUSH IT BACK IN. AND THE ONE THING THEY WERE SAYING THAT WITH THE E-COMMERCE THAT FLOWS THROUGH THAT CENTER AND EVERYTHING THEY'RE DOING, WHAT WAS IT LIKE THOUSAND TRANSACTIONS IN A SHORT TIME FRAME, AND THEY DON'T WANT TO DISTURB ANYTHING, SO TO SPEAK.
SO BASICALLY RIGHT NOW, JUST FOR THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, BASICALLY THEIR TECHNICIANS ARE THERE, BUT IT'S ALMOST LIKE A DO NOT TOUCH TYPE SITUATION GOING ON BECAUSE IF SOMEBODY DOES SOMETHING,
[00:40:07]
YOU HAVE SEVERAL ENTITIES WHO ARE USING THAT SYSTEM, SAY YOU MAY GO AND MESS UP SOMETHING ON AMAZON'S SIDE AND SHUT DOWN TARGET COMPLETELY. SO THEY WERE SAYING IT'S VERY CRITICAL AND EVEN TO A POINT THEY WERE THE FIBER OPTICS AND TRANSACTIONS GOING ON THAT IT WAS DOWN MINUTELY TO WHERE IT WAS A SLIGHT BEND IN THE CABLE WOULD CUT DOWN ON THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TRANSACTIONS THEY COULD DO IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.SO THAT'S HIGHLY, HIGHLY TRAINED THE TECHNICIANS AND EVERYTHING.
THEY HAD. REAL NICE SETUP, GOOD, GOOD TRAINING SYSTEM.
AND I WOULD SAY, JUST LIKE IN ALL THINGS NOW, WE ARE FALLING GREATLY BEHIND ON TRAINED INDIVIDUALS TO GO IN AND DO THINGS. THERE'S NO MORE SAY ENGINEERING, SO TO SPEAK.
AND YEAH, YOU GOT GREAT DESIGNS ON PAPER, BUT TO A POINT, WE HAVE PEOPLE TRAVELING THOUSANDS OF MILES TO COME HERE TO BUILD THE ACTUAL THING. AND WHO WAS IT? OH, THEY WERE SAYING, WHAT WAS IT, MICROSOFT? THAT WHEN THEY EVEN HAD VOLUNTEERS TO COME IN AND DO A CERTAIN THING, MICROSOFT WILL PARTNER AND SAY IF THEY'RE PAYING $25 AN HOUR FOR A PERSON TO DO A PERSON A PARTICULAR JOB, THEN MICROSOFT WILL PIGGYBACK ON TOP OF THAT AND DONATE THAT TO A PARTICULAR COMMUNITY PROJECT.
SO VOLUNTEER TIMES IS GOING INTO LIKE A COMMUNITY FUND TO FUND OTHER THINGS.
DID THEY SAY WHAT KIND OF VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES THERE ARE? WHAT JOBS WOULD HAVE BEEN VOLUNTEERS? WELL, THE ONE THAT THEY SAID BASICALLY WAS THE INITIAL CLASSROOM THAT THEY SET UP, THAT THE MICROSOFT PEOPLE CAME IN AND THEY HAD VOLUNTEERS THERE HELPING THEM JUST SET UP THE FACILITY AND THE TRAINING CENTER, AND THEY USE THAT FUNDING FOR THAT. AND IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, IT WAS ALSO JUST LIKE OTHER LITTLE COMMUNITY PROJECTS JUST FOR VOLUNTEERS.
AND I WAS JUST LIKE, WE HAVE ADOPTED SPOT TYPE VOLUNTEERS TO COME AND DO IT.
THEY ACTUALLY PAY A PER DIEM FOR WHOEVER SHOWED UP TO HELP ON THAT PROJECT.
OKAY, I'M GONNA MAKE A COMMENT. I'M HOPING TO HAVE A REALLY SHORT MEETING, BUT WE'LL CONTINUE ON.
BUT I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH MY TAKE ON IT. IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE.
SEEING NONE YOU LEARN A LOT ABOUT IT TODAY. THE TRAINING CENTER WAS SPOT ON.
AND THE, WELL JUST THE WAY THE ROOMS WERE SET UP WITH HVAC AND THE WELDING AND THE IT AND THEN THE MOCK UP ROOM. WHAT THE THING LOOKS LIKE. IT REALLY GIVES YOU AN APPRECIATION FOR THE JOBS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR AND PRETTY MUCH TARGETED AT YOUNG PEOPLE, YOU KNOW CAREER MINDED. AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS FANTASTIC.
NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT. AND I WISH, I THINK IT'S KIND OF A MODIFIED VERSION OF WHAT WE EXPECT, LIKE OUR VOCATIONAL SCHOOL OR MAYBE AT OUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
SO KIND OF, KIND OF MAYBE REMINISCE SOME OF THE SOME OF THE CURRICULUMS THEY HAD AT PAUL D AND THEY WENT BY THE WAYSIDE, BUT I THINK THAT THEY ARE IMPORTANT. AT THE SAME LATE, AND I DID LEARN YOU DON'T TAKE PICTURES AT THE DATA CENTER. MR. PRINCE, IT WAS KIND OF FUN WATCHING HIM.
HE WAS GOT ROUGH, ROUGHLY FEATHERED A LITTLE BIT.
NO, IT DIDN'T WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG. BUT WE GOT WE GOT CAUGHT.
WE GOT CAUGHT. AND THAT WAS KIND OF. THAT'D BE A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE.
MR. PRINCE? YEAH. YES, SIR. ANYWAY, THEY WERE DOING THEIR JOB, AND I APPRECIATE, I APPRECIATE THAT.
IT'S VERY, IT'S ALMOST LIKE A, IT'S ALMOST LIKE A PRISON.
[00:45:02]
I MEAN, IT'S REALLY GOT IT. AND YOU'LL REALLY SCRUTINIZE TO GET ENTRY.YOU KNOW, YOU I MEAN, THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT READING YOUR PUPILS ON DIFFERENT SCANS.
YES. AND YOU PRINT. A RETINA SCAN. YEAH, YEAH.
SO I MEAN, IT'S. AND THEN, AND ONE OF THE SPEAKERS TALKING TO US, WE WERE TRYING TO GET MORE TECHNICAL SPECIFIC, LIKE THE WATER USAGE AND THE ACTUAL TAX.
YOU KNOW, AND THEY SAID THEY'RE WORKING ON IT.
THEY HAVE A GREAT PARTNER, BUT A LOT OF IT IS SECRETIVE AND I DON'T WELL, I KIND OF UNDERSTAND WHY.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO KNOW MORE SPECIFICS, YOU KNOW.
BUT THAT THAT BOTHERED ME A LITTLE BIT, BUT WHEN I WAS SITTING THERE AND I KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR THIS, I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND ADMIT IT RIGHT NOW. MR. PRINCE KNOWS I LIKE HE KNOWS I LIKE, TALK A LOT.
AND I DIDN'T TALK FOR TWO HOURS. HE ASKED ME ONE TIME, SAID MR. DRAKE, YOU ASK THE QUESTION AND I JUST, BECAUSE I'M LISTENING AND I AND I LEARNED MORE ABOUT LISTEN WHEN I OPEN MY MOUTH, I'M NOT HEARING YOU. BUT I DID A LOT OF TALKING AFTER LUNCH AND ESPECIALLY AT THE SITE.
BUT I THOUGHT I WAS IN A SOLO APPLICATION PROCESS.
I JUST CANNOT. I LEARNED SO MUCH FROM THAT DILEMMA.
OKAY. YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW MY FEELINGS ON THAT BECAUSE PEOPLE SIT RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF US AND THAT WERE NOT HONEST, THEY WERE NOT HONEST. AND THIS SALES PITCH WAS SO UNBELIEVABLE THAT IT MADE ME TAKE A SECOND THOUGHT. IT JUST CAN'T BE THIS GOOD WITH TODAY.
IMMA TELL YOU WHAT, I'M READY TO PUT ONE. I GOT 150 GRAND.
I'M READY TO PUT ONE IN RIGHT NOW. I MEAN, NOT REALLY, BECAUSE MONEY.
MONEY DOESN'T MAKE ME HAPPY. OKAY. MONEY MAKES PEOPLE IN MECKLENBURG HAPPY.
THE MORE MONEY THEY GET, THE HAPPIER THEY ARE. BUT MONEY.
I WANT SOME MONEY. I WANT TO PAY MY BILLS. BUT MONEY IS NOT WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY, OKAY.
BUT IT WAS THE GREATEST. I MEAN, THEY WERE. THEY MADE ME WANT YOU TO JUMP IN ALL HANDS AND LEGS, BELIEVE ME. YEAH. SO I THINK MY TAKE ON IT, I THOUGHT ABOUT IT A LOT COMING HOME.
NOW I WANT TO HEAR THE OTHER SIDE. I'VE HEARD THIS SIDE.
AND THEY DID GREAT. I RESPECT THEY TOOK THEIR TIME TODAY.
THEY ANSWERED EVERY QUESTION THAT THEY COULD.
I THINK THEY WERE HONEST. I DO. AND IT WAS IT WAS A GREAT.
AND I APPRECIATE MR. REAGAN TRYING TO SET UP ANOTHER FIELD TRIP.
I MUST SAY, IF ANYBODY WANTS TO GO, I THINK IT WAS FANTASTIC.
BUT NOW I NEED TO HEAR THE OTHER BECAUSE I'M NOT HEARING THE REBUTTAL TO IT.
IT'S GOT TO BE SOME REBUTTAL TO IT. AND THE ONLY THING I PICKED UP TODAY WAS ACTUALLY MISS WENDY.
I'M SORRY. I CAN'T CALL HER LAST NAME. THAT'S NOT HER FIRST NAME. MY DAUGHTER'S NAME? YEAH. SHE WAS UPSET THAT THEY'RE PUTTING A NEW TRANSMISSION LINE ACROSS HER PROPERTY.
HER AND HER HUSBAND HAS FIVE ACRES. THEY HAVE FIVE ACRES.
AND THEY BEGGED AND PLEADED TO GO AROUND IT, AND THEY'RE COMING RIGHT ACROSS IT, AND, YOU KNOW.
BUT SHE BELIEVES IN PROGRESS. SHE SAID, YOU KNOW, WE'LL GET WE'LL GET USED TO IT.
BUT IT'S A HIGH TRANSMISSION LINE FEEDING ONE OF THESE CENTERS.
NOW IF I RECOLLECT CORRECTLY, THEY HAVE 20 NOW, ISN'T THAT CORRECT? AND THEY LOOKED AT 20 MORE. OH THE DATA CENTERS.
THE DATA CENTERS. YEAH. WE WENT I THINK WE PROBABLY WENT TO ONE OF THE LARGER ONES TODAY.
OR MAYBE IT WAS THE CLOSEST ONE TO THE TO THE CENTER AT, BUT THEY HAVE MANY.
AND ONE ADVANTAGE MECKLENBURG, BRUNSWICK AND HALIFAX AND GREENVILLE HAVE OVER US.
AND THEY AND I DISCUSSED THIS IN A PRESENTATION BACK IN THE EARLY 2000, IT WAS CALLED THE TOBACCO FUND PAYOUT. DO YOU ALL REMEMBER THE PACIFIC? IT'S LIKE THE PHILIP MORRIS GROUP.
THEY PAID ALL THESE MILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
WELL, THAT THOSE COUNTIES. IF YOU DON'T ELABORATE.
BUT ANYHOW, THOSE COUNTIES GOT THESE GRANTS ON A YEARLY BASIS FOR SO MANY YEARS WHERE THEY WERE SMART AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERSON SAID, YOU KNOW, THEY JUST THEY JUST TOOK IT AS AN INSIGHT THAT THEY WENT OUT AND BOUGHT TRACTS OF LAND AND
[00:50:05]
GOT SOME OF THEM READY PREPPED FOR, LIKE A MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY, LIKE WE'VE DONE HERE IN THE COUNTY.BUT THEY NEVER HAD SUCCESS IN, IN MOVING THEM.
NOBODY THEY NEVER DID LAND A CLIENT. AND THEY EVEN BUILT A SPEC BUILDING ON THIS SAME PROPERTY.
TRYING TO ENCOURAGE, YOU KNOW. BUILDINGS OR WHATEVER.
THAT WAS A SHELL, BUT THE ONE ON THE LEFT, YOU DRIVE UP THE STREET.
SO, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE TRYING TO ENCOURAGE AND SPENT A LOT OF MONEY.
I MEAN, ONE OF THE PROJECTS WAS 30, $30 MILLION IN LAND PREPARATION TO GET THIS SITE.
I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REALLY BIG DOLLARS, JUST TO GET THE SITE READY.
AND THEY SELL THEM FOR SEVERAL, SEVERAL YEARS.
AND THEN IN 2010, THEY HAD THE FIRST SITE READY.
YES, 2010 AND THE FIRST PROPOSED CENTER DIDN'T COME TO FRUITION.
BUT A FEW YEARS LATER. AND WAS THAT AMAZON GROUP? ANYWAY. IT WAS ANOTHER GROUP. ANOTHER GROUP. AND THAT'S HOW THEY GOT STARTED.
SO THEY'VE BEEN IN THE DATA CENTER BUSINESS MUCH LONGER THAN I REALIZED.
I THOUGHT THIS WAS ALL LIKE RECENT RECENT, BUT IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR A DOZEN YEARS OR MORE.
BUT THEY LOVE IT. THEY LOVE IT. AND THEY SAID THEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE AS MANY AS 80 IN THEIR COUNTY.
WELL, WAS IT COUNTY OR REGION? I THOUGHT IT WAS.
WAS THAT IN. THE REGION? THE REGION. BECAUSE THEY PARTNER WITH GREENVILLE AND PARTNER.
[INAUDIBLE] PARTNERS. RIGHT. IT'S SEVERAL NOW.
I DON'T IF THAT'S ALL THAT TOBACCO BUILT GROUP, BUT SOME OF THEM ARE NOW IN THE 58 CORRIDOR.
AND IT GOES ON BACK TO SOUTH. DIDN'T THEY MENTION SOUTH BOSTON? YEAH, I THINK THEY DID. SO IT'S THE RIGHT LONG STRETCH.
AND THEY MENTIONED CLARKSVILLE THEY MENTIONED.
BUT LIKE I SAID, IT MAKES YOU. IT MAKES YOU TO BRING IT ON, YOU KNOW.
BUT NOW I DO WANT. BECAUSE WHAT BOTHERS ME IS THIS IS THE OTHER SIDE.
WHEN I READ THE PAPER, THERE WAS ON THE WORLD NEWS JUST LIKE BEFORE LAST, THERE WAS A SEGMENT OF SOME OF THE CONCERNS BECAUSE SOME LOCALITIES DON'T WANT ANY MORE. AND I WANT TO READ.
I WANT TO FIND OUT. THEY DON'T REALLY GO INTO DETAIL WHY, BUT I WANT TO FIND OUT.
I WANT TO FIND OUT SOME OF THOSE ISSUES. I DON'T WANT TO BE.
HOW IS THAT A CONVENTION, A WEEK OR SO AGO IN LOUDOUN COUNTY, LOUDOUN COUNTY AND PRINCE, WILLIAM COUNTY, THERE WAS PEOPLE ALWAYS SAY TO VIRGINIA, THIS DELEGATION I WENT TO, AND THEY DON'T WANT ANYMORE.
THEY GOT A LOT OF THEM RIGHT NOW. THEY DON'T WANT ANYMORE.
IT'S THE ONE IN THE MORNING. BUT I GOTTA FIND OUT WHY, SO.
WELL, TODAY WAS EXCELLENT MR. PRINCE. I APPRECIATE YOU AND MR. HECK. YEAH. ARRANGING THAT. AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU ALL IF YOU GET A CHANCE TO GO.
BUT I STILL GOT A LOT OF INFORMATION I WANT TO GET.
BUT IT WAS GREAT. IT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION.
BUT THE WORKSHOP, THE FACILITY THAT WAS CRACKERJACK.
I WISH WELL, I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO SHARE SOME.
YEAH, THAT WAS. THE LOCAL COLLEGE AND THE VO-TECH, I THINK THAT'S TREMENDOUS.
IT WASN'T LIKE WE OR THE COUNTY ENCOURAGED THEM TO DO IT.
WE WANT TO MAKE THIS MOCK UP TRAINING CENTER, YOU KNOW, JUST TO NOT ONLY HELP WITH EDUCATING THE KIDS OR FUTURE EMPLOYERS, BUT JUST, YOU KNOW, IN GENERAL TO LET THE THE GENERAL PUBLIC KNOW THAT, HEY, THIS IS WHAT ONE LOOKS LIKE INSIDE. YEAH. ONE THING I DID WANT TO ADD THAT TO ADD TO WHAT YOU JUST SAID COMMISSIONER MANN, I MEAN, DRAKE I'M SORRY THAT THEY MICROSOFT WANTED TO KEEP EVERYTHING PRIVATE.
SO ANY OF THE OUTSTANDING THINGS THAT THEY DO OR CONTRIBUTIONS THEY DO TO THE COMMUNITY OR FOR THE COMMUNITY, THEY STILL WANT IT TO BE KIND OF A PRIVATE THING.
[00:55:01]
THEY DIDN'T WANT THE PUBLICITY OF YOU KNOW, ALL THE THINGS THEY DO TO, FOR THE COMMUNITY.SO BUT THEY DO CONTRIBUTE TO FIRE RESCUE. THEY SAY THEY WILL CONTRIBUTE TO FIRE AND RESCUE AND THE SCHOOLS IN THE REGION, SO. THAT'S A, THAT WAS A PLUS, YOU KNOW, FOR A LOT OF US.
ALL RIGHT. WELL, IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE LAST ELECTION AND WE HAVE DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR, AND EVERY YEAR THERE'S BEEN A MOVE IN THE LEGISLATURE TO TAKE AWAY OUR POWER OF DECIDING WHAT WE WANT HERE.
AND I GUARANTEE YOU THAT CHANGE THE VIRGINIA CONSTITUTION IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE CHANGED.
YOU WAIT AND SEE. YOU WATCH WHAT LEGISLATURE, WHAT'S HERE IN JANUARY WHEN THEY CONVENE.
AND THAT BILL TO CHANGE THE CONSTITUTION HAS FAILED TO PASS FOR 1 OR 2 VOTES EVERY YEAR.
AND NOW THE DEMOCRATS HAVE HAVE HAVE A MAJORITY, A CLEAR MAJORITY.
BUT DOESN'T THAT HAVE TO GO ON THE BALLOT? WHAT'S THAT? THAT CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE DOESN'T HAVE TO BE.
IT HAS TO CHANGE THE STATE CONSTITUTION. AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S COME UP IN THE, THEY'RE PROBABLY GOING TO DO IT, BUT I'M SURE THEY'RE GOING TO DO IT. DOESN'T IT HAVE TO BE VOTED ON BY THE CITIZENS? I THINK IT TAKES IT TAKES A COUPLE OF YEARS, YEAR AND A HALF OR SOMETHING, I MEAN, IT'S.
SO EVERYTHING WE'RE DISCUSSING TONIGHT MAY BE A MOOT DISCUSSION.
YEAH. YEAH. I HOPE NOT, BUT THAT'S THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION.
MY MAJOR TAKEAWAY FROM THE WHOLE TRIP, ALONG THE LINES OF JUST INFRASTRUCTURE ITSELF, IS THERE LOOKING FOR THE LOCATION TO BASICALLY MODEL THEIR FACILITY ITSELF TO WHERE THEY'RE LOOKING TO HAVE, SAY, LIKE THE RACK, YOU BUILD A RACK FOR THEM, AND THEN THEY COME IN AND PUT IN THEIR FACILITIES AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT.
SO, THEY'RE LOOKING MORE ALONG THE LINES OF WHO HAS THE BEST INDUSTRIAL PARK THAT'S SHELF READY.
YEAH. AND WE HEAR, WE DON'T HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
ALL RIGHT. ANYTHING ELSE? I'LL ENTERTAIN ANOTHER COMMENT.
WELL, I WILL SAY TODAY I NOTICED THAT DATA CENTERS ARE EXPRESSING AN INTEREST IN GATES COUNTY, WHICH IS RIGHT NEXT TO US. AND THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ON DECEMBER THE 17TH.
SO IT MIGHT BE A GOOD LOOK INTO A WINDOW OF WHAT MIGHT BE IN FRONT OF US.
I DON'T KNOW, AND I'VE NOT HEARD ANY DETAILS OF IT.
AND THEN IT'S ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE NEWS-HERALD ROANOKE-CHOWAN PAPER.
SO, THAT'S CLOSE ENOUGH WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT COULD GO AND SIT IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM AND SEE THE INS AND OUT OF. THAT'S HOW YOU'RE GOING TO LEARN, YEAH. DOES THE COUNTY HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE LIKE THE INDUSTRIAL PARKS ALREADY THERE? I, I CANNOT SAY YAY OR NAY. I KIND OF DOUBT IT.
BUT I'D HATE TO SAY, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT.
THERE? YEAH. THEY'RE BRINGING IT OUT, SO. AND WE LEARNED A LOT FROM OUR NEIGHBORS SOUTH OF US WHEN WE HAD THE SOLAR FACILITIES, SO AN AWFUL LOT. WELL, ONE THING I FAILED TO MENTION, THEY DO NOT LIKE SOLAR.
THEY WERE VERY I COULD SAY THAT, BUT THEY WERE VERY BOISTEROUS.
THEY SAID IT SEVERAL TIMES. THAT WAS THE BIGGEST WASTE OF TIME.
WASTE OF LAND MASS, WASTE OF LAND MASS, WAS PUTTING SOLAR.
AND THEY DO NONE OF THAT GROUP LIKE SOLAR. MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
MECKLENBURG COUNTY. SO, I, THEY'RE PROBABLY WATCH ME ON THE SCREEN RIGHT NOW, BUT THEY SAID THAT,
[01:00:03]
SO. WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES THAT HAVE OUR QUESTIONS ON THE, WHAT SOLAR DOES FOR US, BUT THEY DO NOT. AND I DON'T THINK YOU'LL PUT A SOLAR FACILITY IN MECKLENBURG RIGHT NOW, BUT THEY LOVE DATA CENTERS.OKAY, THAT WAS VERY OBVIOUS. THEY DON'T LIKE SOLAR, BUT THEY LIKE DATA CENTERS.
AND BUT IF Y'ALL WANT TO STAY, WE'LL TALK MORE.
BUT I'D LIKE DR. EDWARDS THAT IT MAY BE OUT OF CONTROL ANYWAY.
IT'S GOING TO TAKE, LIKE MR. PRINCE SAID, IT'S GOING TO TAKE YEARS YOUR YEARS AWAY.
SHE DID NOT. SHE DID NOT OFFEND ME BY NO MEANS.
BUT SHE TOLD ME SHE LOOKED LIKE SHE SAID. AND YOU PROBABLY WON'T BE HERE TO SEE THE FRUITS OF THE DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE IT TAKES SO LONG JUST TO GET THE EQUIPMENT MADE AND GET SITE READY, AND THEN DIDN'T GET THE BUILDING BUILT.
IT'S YEARS. AND THEY ADMITTED THAT IT TAKES YEARS.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT GOES UP IN A YEAR, A YEAR OR TWO.
IT TAKES YEARS TO GET THROUGH BEFORE IT ACTUALLY BECOMES OPERATIONAL.
BUT ANYWAY LOOK, A GOOD TWO YEARS BEFORE THEY EVEN START BUILDING, SO.
THE ONE IN PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY THEY WORKED ON FOR 12 YEARS AND THEN FINALLY DECIDED NOT TO DO IT.
WELL, ANYWAY BUT WE NEED TO BE LOOKING FORWARD.
WE GOTTA BE THINKING ABOUT IT. YOU JUST WANT TO BE THE RIGHT DECISION, THE RIGHT PLACE FOR MONEY.
THEY BUILT TWO NEW SCHOOLS IN MECKLENBURG COUNTY WITH THE MONEY.
IT'S A LOT OF MONEY. AND. A LOT OF MONEY BEING PAID.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AN ESTIMATE IF WE HAD A MEDIUM SIZED ONE HERE, ABOUT $25 MILLION A YEAR.
TAX MONEY. SO YOU HAVE TO DECIDE WHETHER YOU WANT THE MONEY OR YOU WANT THE PEACE AND QUIET OR WHATEVER ELSE PROBLEMS THAT COME WITH IT, LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE. YEAH. HOW MANY ACRES WAS THE WHOLE FACILITY? WHAT'S THAT? HOW MANY ACRES WAS THIS FACILITY TODAY? I KNOW YOU SAID. 200 TO 250,000FT². THAT'S SIX ACRES OF FLOOR.
SO YOU ASSUME YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE ABOUT TEN-ACRE SITE.
MAYBE 15-ACRE SITE. RIGHT. AND THAT INCLUDES A SUBSTATION NEXT DOOR AND THE WATER TOWER.
SO IT WAS A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL POWER SUBSTATION.
YES. OKAY. AND THEY HAD SEVERAL MORE. I MEAN THEY DO ONE AT A TIME.
THEY'RE GOING TO DEVELOP THAT WHOLE PARK. YEAH.
I GUESS THEY DON'T. THIS IS THE LARGEST ONE THEY HAVE IN MECKLENBURG.
I'M GOING TO CLOSE IT RIGHT HERE JUST SO WE CAN ALL GET HOME EARLY.
IT IS DECEMBER. I APPRECIATE Y'ALL COMING. APPRECIATE YOUR DISCUSSION.
AND I'M SURE THIS WILL COME TO LIGHT AGAIN AT SOME POINT.
WON'T ALL BE OPEN. I JUST WANT TO BE VERY INFORMED AS WE GO FORWARD.
AT SOME POINT, WE'LL GET IN FRONT OF IT, AND WE WANT TO BE READY, WE WOULD BE READY AND REACT WISELY FOR THE BEST INTEREST OF OUR COUNTY. MR. CHAIRMAN, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYBODY. BE SAFE, AND I WILL CALL FOR A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
SO MOVED. DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. WE ARE ADJOURNED.
Y'ALL HAVE A SAFE TRIP HOME. THANK YOU.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.