FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Glenn Adams is the new chairman and Dr. Toni Stewart the vice chairwoman of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners for 2022. Adams, who served as the vice chairman this year, replaces Charles Evans, the outgoing chair. The action was taken during the board’s meeting this morning.
During his pre-recorded remarks Evans reviewed accomplishments and progress during 2021 and thanked his fellow commissioners, County Management and County employees for their hard work.
“I’m honored to serve with such a dynamic team of commissioners,” said Evans. “It took all of us to do it.”
Topics mentioned in his remarks included:
- New branding platform. “I believe those three words, ‘Together, We Can,’ serve as a guiding principle for county government, and this board of commissioners has worked together as one body to advance our priorities,” said Evans
- Homeless shelter: “The board allocated $250,000 in American Rescue Plan funding for site selection and design services, and the state budget included $1 million for this [construction of homeless shelter] project,” said Evans.
- Two public safety projects under construction: the renovation of the building at 500 Executive Place to house the Cumberland County Emergency Services Center and the construction of the Fayetteville Technical Community College-Cumberland County Fire and Rescue Training Center.
- Multi-purpose Event Facility: “After receiving the Market Analysis and Feasibility Study, commissioners are ready to take those next steps,” Evans said.
- Contaminated water in the Gray’s Creek area: Getting water to Gray’s Creek and other parts of the County remains a priority. “The goal is to develop a long-term financial sustainable water system to address GENx contamination,” Evans said. “The county is working to partner with Fayetteville’s Public Works Commission to have the utility serve as the water supplier.”
Other highlights Evans mentioned included the work of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee, achievements in transparency by launching CCNC-TV and streaming monthly agenda sessions, opening splash pads at five county parks, as well as conducting a General Services Center feasibility study, mobile adoption efforts by Animal Services and the elimination of fees by the Public Library.
Looking ahead to 2022, Chairman Adams said the board would be working to move many of the items listed by Evans to completion. These include the homeless shelter, Emergency Services and 911 Call Center, the regional Fire and Rescue Training Center, Multi-Purpose Event Center, Gray’s Creek public water expansion and economic development projects.
Adams cited challenges that will be faced in the coming year such as the continued variants of COVID-19 and workforce issues, not only in Cumberland County but across the nation.
“This county is resilient, and we will meet a challenge no matter what that is. You [heard] Chairman Evans talk about moving employees to $15 per hour, I think that is just the first step…we do have a study moving forward to deal with our salary structure,” Adams said.
“The great thing about this is we have a board that works together,” said Adams. “We will be able to meet these challenges as we go forward. Thanks to all my fellow commissioners for voting me to be the chairman, and I hope I can lead you in a way that will benefit this county.”
The meeting is available for viewing on the County’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/CumberlandCountyNC and will be re-broadcast on CCNCTV (Spectrum Cable Channel 5).
Please visit https://www.cumberlandcountync.gov for more information about the Board of Commissioners and Cumberland County services.