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August 19, 2002 Page 440 <br /> <br />The Residents of Historic Concord urge the County Commissioners <br />to insist that county planning and management staff work closely <br />with the City of Concord's planning staff to achieve a design <br />that enhances the character of Classic-Historic Concord, and in a <br />location that is compatible with the downtown master plan. <br /> <br />The Board of the Residents of Historic Concord <br /> <br /> Mr. David Harrison, candidate for the Cabarrus County Board of <br />Education, addressed the Board concerning funding for the County Schools. He <br />thanked the Board for the allocation of $450,000.00 apProved earlier in the <br />meeting and suggested that the Schools spend that funding on the following <br />items: (1) Additional buses and drivers; (2) Professional development for <br />teachers and staff; and (3) Student band uniforms. <br /> <br /> Ms. Marilyn Barnhardt, resident of 5800 Wabash Lane, Concord, addressed <br />the Board concerning a number of issues, including the following: (1) Lack <br />of sprinkler system in new schools; (2) Proposed purchase of land at an <br />alleged cost of $100,000.00/acre for an indoor track and field arena; (3) <br />Opposition to the Westside By-pass; (4) Failure of the Board to support the <br />widening of 1-85; (5) Support of a lottery in North Carolina; (6) Candidates <br />for County Commission; (7) Funding of the Kannapolis baseball stadium; and <br />(8) Opposition to closed sessions or ~secret meetings". <br /> <br /> Mr. Clifton pointed out that Cabarrus County has no money in the <br />baseball stadium. He further advised that all new schools in the county were <br />built according to State Code and each has some type of fire protection <br />system. <br /> <br />(I) COMMISSIONERS DISCUSSION & RESPONSE TO INFORMAL PUBLIC COMMENTS <br /> <br /> Commissioner Fennel responded to comments by Ms. Barnhardt, stating he <br />is an advocate for the widening of 1-85. Also, as a point of personal <br />privilege, he commented on a newspaper article (August 14) that described the <br />events of a closed session held on August 13 by the Board of Commissioners <br />and the Kannapolis City Council. He expressed concern regarding the Board <br />member or Kannapolis City Council member who provided the confidential <br />information to the news reporter and stated that as a result of the article <br />the cost of the land for the proposed indoor track and field arena had <br />doubled. <br /> <br /> Vice Chairman Carruth also addressed the issue of closed sessions and <br />the reason for those closed sessions, specifically concerning the purchase of <br />land for public facilities. <br /> <br />(J) REPORTS <br /> <br />(J-l) Fitch and Moody's Ratin~ for 2002 Certificates of Participation <br /> <br /> Ms. Pam Dubois, Assistant Finance Director, reported on a recent trip <br />to New York to meet with rating agencies concerning the County's plans to <br />borrow $26 million for the County Expo, auxiliary gyms and school <br />administration facility. Fitch Ratings assigned an nAA-" rating and Moody's <br />assigned an "Aa3" rating to Cabarrus County for the 2002 Certificates of <br />Participation. <br /> <br />(K) Recess <br /> <br /> There being no further business to come before the Board, Chairman <br />Freeman recessed the meeting at 9:20 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, <br />August 21, 2002, at the Cabarrus Regional Chamber of Commerce, 2391 Dale <br />Earnhardt Boulevard, Kannapolis. <br /> <br />Clerk to the Board <br /> <br /> <br />