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September 25, 2006 (Regular Meeting) Page 107 home had school age children. He said this project will put relatively little stress on the school system. Ric Starnes of 47 Spring Street NW in Concord spoke on the Inter Basin Transfer (IBT). He said it is a disgrace that the County cannot control its own growth and has to go to other counties to tap their water resources. He said there are other alternatives besides tapping the Catawba River and robbing other counties of their water resources. He said the next drought could be more severe and according to State models, based on Duke Power estimates, the Catawba River and Lake James would go down only another three to four inches. He said it is a disgrace for the State and Governor Easley to try to fool the people of the Catawba Valley with an unsubstantiated figure. The best thing Cabarrus County could do to control the water problem, he said is to stop uncontrolled approval of residential developments. He reported the people of Cabarrus County have begged City and County officials to stop the approval of new development because the County's roads are overcrowded, schools are over capacity, and law enforcement is stretched to the hilt. Despite citizen's protest of the IBT, he said nothing has stopped City or some County officials from approving subdivisions. He said it is time to stop the developers and the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance is the only tool the County has and it is being dismantled. As a former member of the Cabarrus County Planning and Zoning Commission, he said members of the Odell Community asked to have development stopped in 2005; the Planning and Zoning Commission turned down several developments and as a result, the Commissioners replaced several members of the Planning and Zoning Commission. He said that is not right. Jerry Williamson of 92 Marsh Avenue NW in Concord stated the County sold the former First Union bank building for $1.3 million and asked where the money went. He said the basketball team that was located at the Arena had free use of the facility; he asked the County Attorney to look into getting the County's money back and if the upcoming arena football team will have free rent. He said the Board fired an attorney who owed the County $130,000.00 and settled for $30,000.00. He asked if the County Attorney had been approached to get the remaining funds back or will the County write it off at the taxpayer's expense. He also reported the County hired Ms. Porter for eight months, fired her for disclosing secret meetings and paid her $75,000.00 in severance pay, along with her salary. Finally, he said impeachment proceedings should be in order when someone tells a lie and then votes for an item. John Clark of Lloyd Place in Concord and the Chairman of the Cabarrus County Democratic Party stated it was time to set the record straight on the $130,000 Doris Wright settlement. He stated he reviewed the file and said it was not Senator Hartsell's fault for the County losing money and the case was scheduled to be heard in Superior Court, but Commissioner Privette made a motion to settle the case. He said Commissioner Privette owes Senator Hartsell an apology. He reported there was a second hearing and the attorney from Hartsell and Williams, P.A. did not show up. He said the insurance company settled with the County and Commissioners need to tell the truth and admit the suit was settled by default. With there being no one else to address the Board, Chairman Carruth closed that portion of the meeting at 7:00 p.m. (E) OLD BUSINESS (E-1) Construction Project Update - Sheriff's Office and Detention Center Kevin Gass with Turner Construction Company reported the foundation is being installed for the retaining walls on the south side of the Annex and will be completed within twenty-five days, at which time backfilling will begin and last between two and three weeks. He said the foundation drain that ties into the tunnel foundation drain has been installed and the excavation for the elevator pit will start in the basement and will be completed within twenty-five days. Lastly, he said the foundation for the Annex will begin within twenty-five days and the tunnel design is being modified due to utilities. (F) CONSENT AGENDA UPON MOTION of Commissioner Privette, seconded by Commissioner Carpenter and unanimously carried, the Board approved the Consent Agenda with the exception of Item F-2 (Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office and Detention Center GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price) #1 (Jail Annex) - Change Order Requests