BOC Budget Meeting

ELIZABETHTOWN – The Bladen County Board of Commissioners met for their second meeting of the month of March, where they received brief updates from Bladen Community College and approved budgets for local mapping. BCCC administrative members, alongside Dr. Amanda Lee took the time to thank the BOC for their support and they outlined some things that are going on around the campus.

BCCC got their stamp of approval to move-in and renovate the old Booker T. Washington Elementary School from the Board of Education a few weeks ago in order to repurpose the grounds to fit the needs of the college. Dr. Lee asked the Board of Commissioners for a slight increase in the $150,000 budget to accommodate their needs. The Board of Commissioners were also notified by BCCC that federal money from COVID Relief is set to expire this year and money must be spent to prevent it from being lost.

Roy Thompson was also introduced as BCCC’s new Vice President of Finance/CFO and he was commended by Dr. Lee for his hard work on keeping track of the budget. This May will also mark the first class of graduates from the newly introduced Public Administrative Program. BCCC have also broken ground on their sewer project that is located on the main campus.

The Board of Commissioners approved $68,000 for the purpose of local mapping in Elizabethtown in connection to their flood water study. Bladen County Schools also got their capital outlay request approved by all members of the BOC. A representative from Vineyard Golf Course in White Lake took the time to address the BOC and outline a future proposal to create a new 50 acre subdivision.

Vineyard feels like the golf course would be a prime location to build a subdivision but they would first need access to county water. The estimated cost for the new subdivision would be around $300,000 but Vineyard believes this will be a great investment for the community. The BOC says they will have to go through the paperwork process before water can be brought to the location.