Swift action replaces 2 Northern Regional Board members

The Surry County Board of Commissioners made significant changes at its last meeting, including naming replacement members to the Northern Regional Hospital Board of Trustees and initiating the process by which to dissolve the Flat Rock / Bannertown Water and Sewer District following its transfer to the City of Mount Airy last year.

Upon returning from a closed session, Chairman Van Tucker announced the board had selected replacement members for the two vacant seats on the Northern Regional Hospital Board of Trustees. He made a motion that T.J. Bledsoe and Jody Phillips be added to the board, which was seconded by Commissioner Larry Johnson and approved unanimously.

At the board’s May 6 meeting the commissioners voted to remove from the Board of Trustees’ Chairman Bill Woltz and Vice Chair Monty Venable.

In the days following the vote, Tucker gave some insight into the decision saying that the county commissioners have oversight over the hospital’s board. He made it clear that there was no malfeasance nor any specific reason for removing the two board members.

He explained, “We have the latitude to change, adjust, enhance, or infuse the board with new ideas, it is our responsibility to do so… We are just looking at a new direction.”

Tucker was correct in his assessment at that time that he expected replacement board members to be named in short order. He also suggested more changes could be made to the Board of Trustees including adding or replacing members but did not state any specific further changes were being considered.

Bledsoe said Tuesday that he was to start orientation for his new role on the board on Wednesday morning and to the best of his knowledge the selection of a new chair and vice chair of the Board of Trustees is still forthcoming.

In an unrelated matter, County Manager Chris Knopf advised the board it needed to address two pieces of business as the Flat Rock / Bannertown Water & Sewer District Board of Directors. Tucker recessed the commissioners meeting and then called the water and sewer meeting to order. Knopf said the board needed to approve an audit contract and engagement letter with Gould Killian CPA Group, P.A., which has conducted the county’s audits in the past.

“As you recall the assets were transferred (to the City of Mount Airy) but the Flat Rock / Bannertown Water and Sewer District did operate for about a month and a half or two months, so we will have to perform an audit,” Knopf said. Commissioner Bill Goins made a motion that was seconded by Commissioner Eddie Harris to engage with Gould Killian and the matter passed unanimously.

Also, County Attorney Ed Woltz requested the board schedule a public hearing on June 17 to consider a resolution to abolish the aforementioned water and sewer district per general statute. Goins moved to schedule the meeting, Vice Chair Mark Marion seconded, and the meeting was ordered unanimously.

There should be no further pending business that would continue any association between the county and the water and sewer district following that meeting. The board first heard a plan to turn over operation of the water district to the City of Mount Airy during their spring 2023 budget planning retreat in Elkin.

In other board news,

- Jamie Edwards, director of the Surry County Office of Substance Abuse Recovery, was approved by the board to reclassify one position in his department from a peer support specialist to recovery support transport driver.

He explained, “Our shift was a small realignment of resources to better build transportation capacity. The position is also a new pilot effort called Recovery Support Transport Driver. The staff will not only drive as normal but also go through Recovery Coach Training to provide better support to passengers during their rides. It is a more holistic view that even brief conversations in a car can be recovery focused and impactful.

“I don’t see our drivers as just drivers. Some of the most important conversations I’ve ever had with clients have been informal conversations of hope and support. Those are the seeds that can grow into a tree,” Edwards said.

- The board approved an easement at the Surry County Service Center in Dobson that would allow Brightspeed to upgrade its internet services for the USDA office inside the building. They requested a ten foot by five hundred fifty-foot easement be established in the natural border between the Service Center and the county building housing the newly renovated Health and Nutrition Center.