By Florence Gilkeson

Senior Writer

With the stroke of midnight on June 30, Cypress Pointe Fire Service District will come into existence to replace Circle V/Vass Fire Service District, Cameron Fire Service District and Vass Rescue Squad.

The Moore County Board of Commissioners made the change official at the May 17 meeting with approval of a resolution dissolving the three existing units and merging them into the new Cypress Pointe, effective July 1.

"This is historic and major. I hope it will be the model for future actions," Board Chairman Tim Lea said after the unanimous vote.

The merger proposal was worked out through a cooperative arrangement among the three service units, including the award-winning Vass Rescue Squad.

Representatives of the three units were recognized during the meeting to signal mutual agreement on the merger. A budget for the new unit is included in the budget recommendation for the 2010-11 fiscal year, to be voted on at the board's June 7 meeting. Formation of the Cypress Pointe Fire Department cuts the number of fire departments serving various parts of the county from 17 to 16.

Before their vote, the commissioners called a public hearing, but no one signed up to speak and no opposition was expressed.

D. Bryan Phillips, county public safety director, said that a contract for provision of service to the new district is the only remaining legal issue to be resolved.

The resolution, which was read by Phillips, says, in part, that "the consolidation will benefit the citizens of the newly consolidated service district by improving response times and equipment available for response and improving the overall insurance rating for residents within the new district."

Phillips said the concept of merger has been informally discussed by members of the three units for several years but those discussions did not become serious until 2007.

The commissioners held a public hearing on another subject during their Monday night meeting. This one involved a rezoning request by Herman Aldene Mabe, who asked the county to change the zoning for a 0.39-acre tract on Murdocksville Road from Highway Commercial-2 to Residential Agricultural-20. No one spoke in opposition, and the board agreed to the change in a unanimous vote, concurring with a recommendation from the planning board.

In other business at the Monday meeting, the board authorized the district attorney's office to submit a grant pre-application to the Governor's Crime Commission in the amount of $74,865.04 in federal funding. If it is approved, the county will be required to supply a local match of $8,897.01.

District Attorney Maureen Krueger said the two-year grant would be used to hire an investigator and a victim/witness advocate to work from the DA's office.

Other actions taken by the board Monday include:

- Acceptance of a $30,000 RAFI (Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA) grant to apply to the new Sandhills Farm to Table Cooperative. Planning Director Joey Raczkowski reported that so far, more than 900 Moore County residents have signed up as members of the cooperative, which enables local farmers to sell fresh fruits and vegetables directly to consumers.

- Approval of a bid award to execute a housing rehabilitation contract for one home in a Concentrated Needs Community Development Block Grant project in the Addor community. It completes terms of a previously approved contract. The $49,850 contract is federal funding and requires no local money.

- Approval of an amendment to the Tyler Technologies contract, changing to conversion work on the new ERP system.

- Acceptance of the quarterly fiscal report from Sandhills Center for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, presented by Caroline Xiong, interim finance officer.

- Approval of routine budget amendments.

Contact Florence Gilkeson by e-mail at florence@thepilot.com.