NEWTON COUNTY – A pair of old business items were handled at the June 3 Newton County Board of Commissioners (BOC) meeting.

During the meeting, the board voted unanimously to rework the county’s closure pay policy, while also compensating those who did not receive it through this past year. This came 60 days after the board tabled discussion of the topic.

While those seeking closure pay saw a happy ending, those wishing for the reopening of the Nelson Heights Community Center will have to wait a bit longer. The commissioners failed to second a motion brought forth by District 4 Commissioner J.C. Henderson that would allow the Taylor Made Foundation to run its programs out of the facility.

BOC unanimously votes to pay closure pay compensation

During the March 18 BOC meeting, commissioners discussed a change – or possible elimination – of section 1118 of the county’s handbook, which outlines closure pay policies.

Supposedly, some in Newton County Fire Services did not receive closure pay for various county closures as outlined in the policy. The board also questioned the overall effectiveness of section 1118 and some of the language used in the policy.

This led to the board tabling the item, prompting the June 3 discussion.

Interim County Manager James Brown told the board that he and the county’s law firm Jarrard & Davis analyzed the county’s closure pay policy. Following the analysis, Brown recommended that the board move forward with paying those who were not compensated, while starting the process for a new closure pay policy.

Following the official amendment for voting action to the agenda, County Attorney Patrick Jaugstetter attempted to clarify section 1118. But even Jaugstettter remarked that some of the language was not up to par.

“There’s some language in the closure pay policy that was, at best, vague,” Jaugstetter said

The new policy – which is in its early stages – would call for those who work during hours when the county is closed for emergencies to receive both closure pay and regular pay. 

This meant that, during a county closure, essential personnel who work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. would receive double pay during that time, while those who were not working would receive standard pay and would not be docked.

For any amount of time an essential employee worked outside of the normal county operation hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. period, their pay would fall under their regular pay.

Jaugstetter added that full-time employees who do not go into work during emergency closing receive their hourly rate as closure pay for eight hours. Part-time employees who are scheduled to work on days that are closed due to an emergency would be paid for four hours.

“It makes sure that there’s no windfall for working during the closure period, but also ensures if you work during the closure period you’re adequately compensated during that period of time,” Jaugstetter said.

An updated policy with full specifics will come back before the board at a later date.

However, the commissioners unanimously approved an authorization that will provide closure pay for Newton County Fire Services employees that they did not receive. Those fire personnel will receive closure pay for working during county closures attributed to Hurricane Helene, the BioLab Fire and the two snowstorms earlier this year.

Nelson Heights likely to be closed once again this summer

Just before the board’s closure pay discussion, the commissioners also opted not to move forward on a potential reopening of the Nelson Heights Community Center.

The center has been widely vacant since September 2023, when the county terminated its lease agreement with Nelson Heights Community Services Inc., a board of directors involving some of Henderson’s family members.

It was alleged in the weeks before the termination that Nelson Heights Community Services was subleasing the property to a daytime school called Dominion Leadership Academy for $2,000 per month, which would have been a violation of the lease agreement between the organization and the county. At the request of the District 4 commissioner, the BOC voted to terminate the lease. The building has remained largely vacant since.

This past February, the board voted 4-1 to authorize a nearly $1 million renovation plan for the site, while also developing an ambitious plan to reopen the community center this summer.

While the building’s renovations are underway, the county spoke with a number of groups about reopening with programming in place as soon as July.

But according to Brown, discussions with many of the groups stalled due to the county’s policy of capping funding for nonprofit organizations at $2,500. He said that this led to some organizations looking at charging $125-$150 per student, per week for their services.

District 1 Commissioner Stan Edwards asked if an expansion of programming for older children at the Washington Street Community Center would meet the county’s needs. Brown said that Washington Street had no wish to expand.

Henderson then entered the discussion, placing his support behind the nonprofit Taylor Made Foundation. Taylor Made was one of the nonprofits seeking to operate out of the facility and recently petitioned the commissioners for consideration.

“After three years being closed down without any plan, we thought [Taylor Made] was a good plan,” Henderson said.

The longtime commissioner then made a motion to amend the agenda for a formal vote on the subject. With none of his fellow commissioners willing to second the motion, it failed.

Just before his motion, Henderson sought to share a message with his constituents who are unpleased with the community center’s inactivity.

“Three years ago, we wanted to do something, and it’ll be like the next month or two, and now it’s been like three years,” Henderson said. “I think the community has been really nice, they’ve been asking for my guidance. I said just, ‘be patient.’ We’re going to do something over there sooner or later.”