ROCKINGHAM- The Richmond County Board of Commissioners held their regular scheduled meeting Tuesday evening. In his monthly report, County Manager Bryan Land discussed the recent hurricane event and the county’s response.
“I’m very pleased we are finally getting back to a sense of normalcy after Hurricane Florence,” said Land. “We were extremely fortunate in Richmond County; our neighbors to the east were not as fortunate.”
Land thanked all the county employees, as well as the local first responders who braved the storm to serve the citizens of Richmond County. Land suggested that the extensive pre-planning that has been done in recent times was a significant factor in the success of the efforts locally.
“At one time during the event over 75% of Richmond County was without power; however, less than 10 of our citizens went without water.” Land continued, “This is an extraordinary feat that was accomplished while our main 16 inch artery on Nicholson Road was breached.” This line, according to Land, is responsible for nearly 50% of Richmond County’s entire water system supply. This main line was severed in a road washout during the storm.
The uninterrupted water supply was made possible by efforts in recent years to improve the county’s backup systems which previously consisted of one portable generator. All the pumping stations and the water treatment station now have permanent generators to provide power in emergency situations.
Land also noted that Richmond County was able to come to the aid of neighboring counties Moore, Scotland and Robeson for assistance with essential emergency services during the storm. “Our new emergency services complex performed impeccably during the event, relying on generator power alone for over two days,” he said.
Land commented on the performance of the services provided by Donna Wright and her staff at Emergency Management Services: “This operation would not have been able to run as smoothly as it did if not for the training and capability of Donna and her team to operate smoothly under fire.”
The commissioners heard an update from Health Director Tommy Jarrell concerning the infestation of mosquitoes in the county since the hurricane and subsequent flooding. Jarrell brought news of funding being made available to Richmond County and the other 27 counties in the state that have been designated as disaster counties. A total of $4 million is being distributed across the affected counties with Richmond’s share being $55,112 for mosquito abatement.
Options are being reviewed for the best solution to take for application. Jarrell’s recommendation to the board was to contract with the low bidder to perform the spraying in order to get it completed in a timely manner.
Recent testing according to the department of health indicated a landing count of 50. This is a measure of how many mosquitoes would land on an individual in a given minute of time. Current data suggests a widespread issue with no significant difference from one area of the county to another.
Commissioner Don Bryant brought concerns of how the mass spraying for mosquitoes could have a significant negative impact on the local bee population. “Richmond County has one of the biggest bee clubs in the state,” noted Bryant.
Jarrell agreed that there needs to be good communication with the local bee keepers prior to spraying to help ensure they take adequate measures to protect their bees prior to the actual spraying operation.
The board voted to give Jarrell the approval to continue to pursue options for application. All commissioners with the exception of Bryant voted to move the plan forward.
