By Miles Layton

GATESVILLE — Gates County commissioners spent much of their Sept. 16 meeting preparing for the Nov. 3 general election, hearing an absentee ballot update from the elections director while also approving grants for senior transportation and community center upgrades.

Elections Director Christy Gaskins gave commissioners an update on preparations for the Nov. 3 general election. She said her office began mailing absentee ballots Sept. 4, sending out 63 so far — 11 military and 52 civilian — with three military ballots already returned.

Gaskins said the deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 20, with a Nov. 2 deadline for military and overseas voters. Early voting will run from her office Oct. 15 through Oct. 31, with same-day registration available. She noted the county currently has 8,297 registered voters, including 2,931 Democrats, 2,381 Republicans and 2,950 unaffiliated voters.

Gaskins also addressed mailers some residents have received from a group called the Voter Participation Center that have caused confusion.

“Some people are getting confused thinking that they’re not registered, but they are registered,” Gaskins said. “This third party … they send it out. It’s nothing we can do about it. The state is aware of it.”

She reminded residents that free photo IDs remain available through the elections office and that taking pictures of a completed ballot is against the law.

In other news, Gary Arline, founder of the Gates County-based nonprofit Power of the Mind Inc., pitched commissioners on a community farmers market aimed at addressing food insecurity and its ties to mental and physical health.

Arline pointed to the mind-body connection between food access and wellbeing, citing county health data showing food insecurity rates worse than state and national averages.

He laid out a four-phase plan beginning with partnership-building among local government, growers and schools before a market launch. Commissioner Brian Rountree praised the proposal.

“This is awesome. I take my hat off to you, sir,” Rountree said. “I can see this benefiting Gates County tremendously.”

In other business, Patrice Lassiter presented the county’s annual application for the fiscal year 2028 Community Transportation Program grant, which commissioners approved following a public hearing that drew no speakers. The request includes $113,860 for administrative costs and funding to replace an aging minivan with a smaller, lift-equipped vehicle, along with a separate $60,000 request for enhanced transportation services for seniors and residents with disabilities. Lassiter said the overall request is smaller than in past years.

Commissioners also approved a $100,000 grant agreement with the Obici Healthcare Foundation for improvements at the county’s community center, including new playground equipment, drainage work, safety netting near the ball fields and padded backstops. Assistant County Manager Warren Perry said the playground’s rubber mulch surfacing alone accounts for much of the cost.

“They talked me down to 100,” Perry told the board, referring to the original $106,000 quote. He said work should begin next month and finish by mid-January.

Commissioners also approved a $2,500 budget amendment tied to a United Way grant and voted in closed session to approve a $5,000 economic development planning grant for a site near the Hertford County line.

As to growth, zoning and infrastructure, County officials reported 76 new dwelling permits issued since Jan. 1, including 63 single-family homes — a sharp increase over the roughly 30 permits issued in all of last year. Commissioners also reviewed a Planning Board recommendation on zoning language for data centers, with a public hearing expected in October before any vote.

Staff outlined ongoing work with the Perquimans-Gates 911 Center to realign fire district boundaries and dispatch priorities after discovering some coverage areas were misaligned. Public Utilities updates included progress on pump testing for emergency replacement Well 2-A, with officials hopeful the system will soon supply more than 500 gallons per minute, and continued work addressing an illegal water connection at a mobile home park.

The county also reported that General Fund sales tax revenue exceeded projections for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2026. In the new fiscal year, which began in July, the utility fund posted net income of more than $203,000 through the second week of September — largely due to new water and sewer rates — compared with a net loss of about $23,000 over the same period last year.

Commissioners closed the meeting by reminding residents of the Gates County Fall Festival this weekend and the GEMS food distribution program’s new location at Buckland.