PENDER COUNTY — A neighboring county’s school board took up numerous issues in the last week, some of which have drawn ire in the past but other seemingly routine votes which ended up taking hours of conversation, multiple days of meetings and some flaring tempers.
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Multiple items were left deprived of resolution last Tuesday, leading the all-Republican board to meet again earlier this week in a special session to revote.
Approved Monday was an 80% payout to Moseley Architects via Bordeaux Construction for a design-build contract on the district’s new K-8 school. Two parking projects also were taken up: One to repave the handicap parking lot for Annandale Elementary School and another to create an additional 110 parking spaces at Topsail High.
However, one issue with a successful vote last Tuesday, July 16, included the cancellation of the contract with Duke Energy to provide three electric buses to the district. They would be paid for via a grant stemming from the $30 million North Carolina Volkswagen Settlement Program. It’s been a hot topic since the board passed the contract in last year or so, with Phil Cordeiro and Brent Springer dissenting.
Some conservatives have shoo-shooed its support, citing it as unnecessary spending and pushing President Joe Biden’s “green agenda.”
The contract stipulates PCS will receive the EV chargers for the buses on loan until the end of 2025. Then, Duke Energy has the option to transfer ownership at no cost or “minimal payment” to the district.
Some board members took issue with this, not knowing how much the electric company could charge the district. They asked Chief Auxiliary Services Officer Michael Taylor to request Duke Energy amend its contract to reflect only charging the district $1 for the stations at the end of the contract; Duke denied the request.
Last September, Springer brought up a motion to cancel the contract upon hearing this, agreed by Cordeiro. However, members Beth Burns, Ken Smith and Don Hall dissented, so the motion failed.
It was déjà vu Tuesday, as Springer brought up the cancellation of the contract again, citing no movement has taken place with the stations or electric buses so far.
“And it’s been almost a year,” he said.
He originally was against them, citing issues with fire safety, particularly with reports of buses catching fire easily, and lithium batteries leaching.
Of the 161 bought with the settlement money, more than 100 were dispersed across the state, just not yet to Pender County.
Springer put forth the motion to “kill the Duke Energy contract,” seconded by Cordeiro on Tuesday.
Though it wasn’t on the July 16 agenda posted by the schools, the board voted to add the item at the beginning of the meeting; Burns was the only member to decline doing so.
Smith exited just as chatter began about the buses; by the time he arrived back to the dais, roughly 2 minutes later, the motion had passed 2-1.
Smith told PCD he stepped out to use the restroom and was “surprised how quickly the board acted.” But his stance on the topic had not changed, he added. Smith stated last fall it would be a “PR nightmare” if Duke decided to charge school districts, before executing his nay vote when Springer first suggested canceling the contract.
Burns had not changed her stance either. She told PCD the operations department already had begun marking where the charging stations would be placed.
“While I had hoped the project would move more quickly, I didn’t see that as a reason to abandon the project in its entirety,” Burns wrote in an email to PCD, nor did she think the district should cease a contract it already agreed to.
Burns said her support of it also stemmed from an award-winning electric vehicle program once offered at Topsail High School that provided teachable moments to students, particularly in science, technology, engineering and math.
“It has led PCS to partner with local industries to provide STEM labs in all of our middle schools,” she explained. “I felt that the electric buses were an innovation that would have allowed us to give our students a tangible example of a real-world application to what they are being taught in those labs. These buses could have been used as teaching tools. Our job is about providing students with an exceptional educational experience that sometimes goes beyond the classroom.”
Yet, with Smith in the restroom, Springer and Cordeiro’s votes were enough to solidify its cancellation, 2-1.
Had Smith been present and voted against the move, Chair Hall would have needed to be the tie-breaker. However, by the swiftness and somewhat abrupt interjection in its aftermath, it’s unclear if a different outcome would have come to fruition.
Upon the motion passing, and just as Smith came back into the room, someone called out from the audience: “Mr. Chair, may I speak?”
He approached the dais to tell Hall the buses were in production already, with delays on parts and a backlog in place but was cut off before he could finish.
“It doesn’t matter, we’re done with it,” Hall said, arms in the air. “Thanks.”
Cordeiro suggested staff work with the department of public instruction to relay the board’s desire to get out of the contract: “I’m sure you can make it work.”
Taylor asked if the attorney, Brandon McPherson, would be able to help, to which he said yes, but not before Hall interrupted again:
“We’re done with this discussion,” he snapped, before rocking back in his chair. “I’ve heard all I want to hear about an electric bus, for eternity.”
Annandale Parking
It wasn’t the only time the chair’s frustration boiled over in the meeting. After discussion about repaving Annandale handicap and staff parking, Hall lost his cool while breaking a tie vote, stalling the pavement project from moving forward.
A motion was put forth at the beginning of the meeting to approve $69,804 from capital outlay funding for the improvements. However, it died without a second before another motion was put forth later in the meeting.
Annandale Elementary parking has been in need of repair for a while, prompting complaints by teachers, according to both Smith and Burns. Yet, Springer took issue over staff only receiving two quotes instead of three from contractors.
Lisa Nowlin, chief financial officer, surmised staff was OK with having two since it was “imperative” to finish the work before the traditional school year starts Aug. 26. Springer asked when bids first came in, to which Nowlin could account for only one — received June 26.
“If it was that imperative, shouldn’t it have gone on when school ended, so they could get started soon — when summer started?” Springer asked.
Smith brought forth the second motion to ask the board to reconsider passing the improvement funds. He was understanding of the want for three bidders but didn’t believe it should outweigh a need of the school. Burns seconded and Smith put in an addendum that moving forward, staff would bring at minimum three bidders to all projects before the board.
“Would that solve what you’re looking at, Mr. Springer — three bids?” Smith asked.
Springer said the problem was with staff ignoring phone calls and continued to drill the issue.
“We put it out to bid, but no one picks up the phone to call a contractor,” he said. “If you’re waiting on a contractor to look at a computer, you’ll be waiting for years.”
Hall agreed the issue has prevailed in getting the county to respond in recent years, to which Springer said there has also been a “money-spending problem” county-wide. Not finding if a third option could come in cheaper — whether it’s a buck or $10,000 — would be a disservice to constituents, he said.
Nowlin countered that the finance and purchasing department works diligently to encourage participation in the bid process. She added the district is seeing contractors no longer participating after being outbid numerous times.
“[They’re] the same small companies in our area,” who the district constantly reaches out to, she added. “They just stop responding.”
Springer said communication is a two-way street.
“I know this to be factual: There are two or three contractors I know to call a certain office and never get a returned phone call back,” he said. “You cannot open your vendor pool without communicating.”
Hall brought up the idea to pull the item from the agenda and host a special meeting Friday, July 19, in attempt to get another quote. Burns asked the chair if he “really” wanted staff to take time away from regular work to call around for one more quote — and she questioned whether it would be worth it.
In the end, Hall asked McPherson if he could pull an item from the agenda, to which the answer was not unless a vote was taken. Hall called for a vote for Smith’s re-pitched motion, which landed 2-2 — Springer and Cordeiro against the funding approval.
“Alright, I break the tie as opposed, motion failed,” Hall said and slammed a hand full of papers on the desk in frustration.
The board reconvened Monday, July 22, to take up the repaving project again. This time it successfully received a third bid, which came in at $76,000 — higher than what was received previously.
The board voted unanimously for the $69,804 repaving project.
New K-8 School Installment Payment
Last week’s meeting left the board desiring more input from its contractor on the new build of its K-8 school, under construction at N.C. Highway 210 in Hampstead. The board was slated to approve a $1.3-million payment from Pender County’s general fund to cover 80% of completed construction documents.
The money would be earmarked for Moseley Architects, which devised the plans.
But Springer took issue with the contractor, Bordeaux Construction — who is overseeing the entire project, including bidding out its subsidiary needs, such as the architectural designs. He did not think the contractor was properly communicating its timeline of events and called Bordeaux’s scheduling “bogus.” Springer also accused the contractor of not moving ahead on the project expeditiously.
“I want to hold their feet to the fire and taxpayers will probably agree. What have y’all done except knock trees down?” Springer asked. “We haven’t gotten the first set of blueprints or hard prints to say we need to change this, this or this.”
Nowlin reiterated the agenda item was for 80% of the payment for completed construction documents, as designed by Moseley — not physical construction. She added the documents were complete. But Springer held tight it was part of Bordeaux’s contract to provide a firm schedule of work and what was put forward seemed inadequate.
Burns was sympathetic to Springer’s concerns about Bordeaux’s lack of presenting a firm schedule to the board; however, she also advocated for paying for work completed in a timely manner.
“It should be an activity on the schedule, but it’s not,” Springer said of the payment.
Springer asked if a representative from Bordeaux Construction was in the audience, to which no one was. Smith agreed not having someone present for a project of this caliber was unprofessional.
“What Mr. Springer is asking could have been answered had someone been here,” Smith said, to which Burns also concurred.
“We’re talking about $1.3 million here,” she said.
Cordeiro wanted to know what staff member is overseeing Bordeaux, claiming stronger accountability should be the path forward. Superintendent Brad Breedlove has taken it over, according to McPherson.
“Well, he has failed this evening,” Cordeiro said, noting his absence.
The assistant superintendent, Taylor, said questions Springer had for Bordeaux should be forwarded to him.
Smith motioned to table the 80% payment until someone could attempt to get Bordeaux on the phone to discuss plans and scheduling. It didn’t happen by the end of the meeting, so the board took it up again Monday.
Plans and specs had been sent out to the board Friday, July 19, according to a Bordeaux representative. He relayed some of its scheduling to the board at their meeting, explaining on Monday, Aug. 5, it will finalize prequalified subcontractors to bid and thereafter the contractor will begin advertising remaining bid packages.
Springer was informed further scheduling will be solidified for updates to the board. The board approved 80% payment to for construction documents unanimously.
Topsail High Parking
Also taken up Monday was Topsail High parking, with the board asked to approve $84,000 for an additional 110 spaces, made of pervious stone. It will be paid from the capital fund and bring parking from 544 to 654 spaces on the school’s campus.
Springer wanted to know why money from the parking fund — totaling $6,781 — was not being utilized to help buffer the cost.
“I got heartburn over that,” he said, noting the board previously agreed to keep parking passes at $50 instead of dropping to $25 to cover maintenance needs. Springer wanted to decrease pass prices but the board voted not to last year.
“Go ahead roll your eyes, Mrs. Burns, that’s fine,” Springer then spat to his fellow board member. “I’m just saying what we discussed before doesn’t align with what we’re doing now.”
Burns then made a motion to approve payment for the project and later asked the chair to remind board members to follow ethics policy 2120, item B-4, emphasizing a need for civility and respectful dialogue.
Nowlin told Springer if they accessed the parking fund money, it wouldn’t be able to pay the attendant. The person’s salary is paid from the fund, which also covers the purchase of parking placards, chains, cones and other needs to help block off spaces accordingly.
The additions to the parking lot were not submitted in the new budget, Nowlin clarified. Springer took issue with the parking attendant’s salary being covered by student fees for parking instead of being included in the general budget, such as other teacher and nurse salaries; those salaries are paid by the county.
“Is that how it’s always been done?” he asked.
“It’s always been paid by the school,” Nowlin said.
“Of course,” he responded.
Burns thought it was reasonable the largest lot in Pender County schools could pay for itself: “I think it evens out.”
“I think we’re comparing apples to oranges,” Springer responded. “I’m not going to vote for it.”
The vote ended in a tie, 2-2, Burns and Smith agreeing; Hall broke the tie in favor.
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