Commission addresses grants for home delivered meals

By Ron Fitzwater
County Commissioners met in regular session Monday with a small but necessary slate of agenda items. The commissioners had met earlier in the day to tour.

First on the agenda was a request for a revision in the Home and Community Block Grant for Older Adults; representing ASA was Fiscal Officer Mary Owen.

"This will be the second revision of the year for the block grant funding. The revision we would like to make is to move some of the money that we have set for congregate meals to home delivered meals. The amount we would like to move is $4,067 because with our congregate meals this year we have seen an increase in the cost sharing that people are paying and so we have been able to serve more meals for less money. We have a waiting list for home delivered meals and we can definitely use that money to expand the home delivered meal program to additional citizens in the county who need it," Owen said.

The redistribution of the grant funds will remove 802 meals from the congregate meals program and add 754 meals to the home delivered program reducing the number of people on the waiting list.
The request was approved unanimously.

Ashe County Emergency Management Coordinator Patty McMeans presented the board with the first reading of a proposed Ambulance Franchise Agreement. According to the ordinance, Blue Ridge Medical Transport, Inc., Helton Ambulance Service, Ashe County Rescue Squad, Inc. and Fleetwood Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department are each granted franchise rights to operate ambulance service and provide back-up service for specific coverage areas. The ordinance will go into effect on June 30 and be in effect until June 30, 2014.

Additional provisions of the ordinance direct the service providers to participate in quality management activities and abide by all protocols outlined in the county's mandated EMS plan, maintain a minimum of $1 million liability insurance and $1 million medical malpractice insurance.

The ordinance was approved by the board, rendering all former EMS ordinances null and void.

McMeans, also a member of the county personnel policy committee, presented the board with amendments to the county personnel policy.

The changes requested included adjustments to bring the policy in compliance with the National Family Medical Leave Act. The changes will permit county employees to take leave to aid in the recovery and recuperation of specific military relatives wounded in action.

Additionally, a change was requested that would make the county liable to pay for defensive driving classes for employees that receive two moving violation citations, two vehicle accidents that are ruled to be their responsibility or a combination of the two while operating a county vehicle within a three year period.

Commissioners were required to approve the leave amendment to be in compliance with federal law, but sent the defensive driving class amendment back to the board for additional consideration. The major sticking point in approving the amendment was vocalized by Commissioner Judy Poe who explained she had misgivings about the county paying for the classes when it was the employee's fault that they received the citations and expressed her feelings that they should be responsible for those actions.

Commissioners passed a resolution in support of the continuation of operations at the Upper Mountain Research Station in Laurel Springs based on the facility's long history of working with local farmers through agricultural research to sustain the farming industry. The station has conducted studies in areas such as fertilization, ground cover, bud abortion, needle retention, tolerance to insects, best pest management practices, vegetative management and seed bed weed control along with other ongoing areas of study.

Commissioners approved the staffing of two committees; The Building Inspections Advisory Committee and the Scattered Site Housing Committee to serve the county for the next six years.