By Miles Layton

PLYMOUTH — The Washington County Board of Commissioners moved through a packed agenda Monday night, approving routine financial items, holding a public hearing on a proposed subdivision ordinance amendment, and reviewing a detailed draft of the county’s updated strategic plan.

The special-called meeting, led by Commission Chairman John Spruill, focused heavily on long-term planning and regulatory updates, with County Manager Curtis Potter providing extensive explanations on both fronts.

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Consent Agenda Approved

Commissioners began by approving the consent agenda, which included tax refunds and releases, insolvent accounts, and an audit response letter addressing concerns raised by the North Carolina Local Government Commission.

The audit response letter addressed a Financial Performance Indicator of Concern tied to the county’s water and sewer infrastructure. Officials noted the county’s Water and Sewer Capital Assets Condition Ratio had fallen below the recommended threshold but pointed to ongoing infrastructure investments — including a $10 million expansion project — as steps toward improvement.

Public Hearing on Subdivision Ordinance

Commissioners then opened a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the county’s subdivision ordinance, aimed at restoring a long-used but previously undocumented exemption.

Potter explained the background, describing the ordinance as the framework governing how land is divided in Washington County.

“Commissioners, this is a legislative hearing about amending the subdivision ordinance, which is a standalone ordinance that governs the rules under which property is subdivided in Washington County,” Potter said.

He said the issue came to light after a recent plat claimed an exemption that could not be found in the written ordinance.

“We have historically applied an exception to our subdivision ordinance that for some reason is no longer in the ordinance itself,” Potter said. “So this amendment is to put that exception back into the ordinance so that we can continue to utilize it.”

The proposed amendment would create what Potter described as a “limited family slash second dwelling division,” allowing property owners to subdivide land to create one additional lot for an immediate family member.

“This would allow currently for one additional lot to accommodate a single-family dwelling or manufactured home for an immediate family member,” he said.

The proposal includes several safeguards, including minimum lot sizes, water and sewer requirements, and a five-year restriction on transferring the newly created lot.

Potter emphasized that those protections were added after consultation with local officials and health inspectors.

“You don’t know what’s going to happen down the road,” he said. “You don’t know who’s going to end up renting or selling one or both lots.”

He added that the amendment would be one of several existing exemptions already in the ordinance.

“This adds one more exemption to about a half dozen that are already in the subdivision ordinance,” Potter said.

Chairman Spruill expressed general support but indicated he would like to see additional refinements.

“I feel like it’s our responsibility to make it easy for people to keep family farms and situations property in the family,” Spruill said. “With restrictions, of course, because we don’t want people to be able to abuse and not be treated fairly.”

After discussion, commissioners closed the public hearing without taking final action.

Strategic Plan Draft Reviewed

The bulk of the meeting centered on a detailed presentation of the county’s draft 2026 strategic plan, which Potter said has been in development for months.

“This is something that staff has been working on for quite some time,” he said.

The plan is organized around four primary focus areas: organizational excellence, safe and healthy communities, sustainable economic growth, and strong educational opportunities.

“You have eight pages there laid out,” Potter told commissioners, noting the document includes approximately 47 action items.

He said the updated plan places a stronger emphasis on measurable outcomes.

“We spent a lot more time thinking about specific measurable statistics,” Potter said.

Among the new initiatives is a goal to improve collaboration with municipal and regional partners.

“A new fifth goal in this revision would be to seek ways to work collaboratively with municipal and regional partners,” he said.

Other additions include creating an “innovation lab” to test new ideas in county operations, updating personnel and technology policies, and developing a long-term site plan for the Washington County Community Center in Roper.

Potter also highlighted efforts to modernize county operations, including electronic payment systems.

“That’s something that has been on our back burner for a while, and we hear about from citizens sometimes,” he said.

Public Safety and EMS Focus

Within the public safety portion of the plan, Potter said the county aims to improve its two-county EMS system, particularly in response to concerns raised in neighboring areas.

“To improve our two county EMS system performance and to improve the customer satisfaction with services provided,” he said.

He noted challenges including staffing shortages and funding limitations.

“The barriers to that are statewide shortage of available paramedics, funding limitations, limited time for our EMS leadership and then dual county politics,” Potter said.

Other goals include updating emergency management plans, conducting training exercises, and addressing long-term volunteer firefighter shortages.

“Volunteers are getting harder and harder to find, and the ones that are there are getting older,” he said.

Economic Development and Growth

The strategic plan also outlines steps to strengthen economic development, including closer coordination with municipalities and workforce development initiatives.

“We do want to continue to facilitate our economic development council meetings,” Potter said.

The plan also calls for supporting internship programs and developing a local chamber of commerce.

Another major component involves completing ongoing water infrastructure projects totaling more than $11 million.

“It’s about 11 million plus dollars in water system infrastructure upgrades,” Potter said.

Education and Workforce Initiatives

Education-related goals include stronger coordination with Washington County Schools and expanded partnerships with community colleges.

Potter said the county plans to “hold joint Washington County School administrative leadership meetings at least quarterly” and expand internship and work-based learning opportunities.

Other initiatives include supporting career and technical education programs and continuing teacher supplement funding.

Commissioner Feedback

Commissioners largely expressed support for the plan, while acknowledging the workload it represents.

“I would just like to say that I appreciate what you’ve done on this and the rest of the staff,” Spruill said. “I know it’s a lot of work.”

He added that each item represents both opportunity and responsibility.

“Each one of these items on here represents something that’s enhancing our county, and it also represents a lot of work that has to take place to get those goals accomplished,” Spruill said.

He described the plan as a useful roadmap.

“These are all good goals, and it’s a good plan for us as a county,” he said. “It’s good to have it on paper and a roadmap for us to be following.”

Next Steps

Potter said the draft will be refined and brought back for formal adoption in April.

“We will bring it to the April meeting in a final format,” he said. “And we’ll bring it with a resolution to adopt it.”

Following brief additional discussion, commissioners closed out the meeting.

With no further business, the board moved toward adjournment, concluding a session focused on planning, policy, and the county’s long-term direction.