Ag Center preview, farm audits, prep for America 250 come before commissioners

ASHEBORO — Randolph County commissioners took up new emergency vehicle purchases, which will include filling orders that never arrived last year. At the July 7 meeting, they also heard the cost to fix drainage in the upcoming Farm, Food, and Family Agricultural Center and asked to review how the county counts farm equipment toward taxes.

America 250 logo unveiled

Mac Whatley, chair of the Randolph County American 250 Committee, shared the logo for the local celebration, which is themed “Revolutionary Randolph.”

It depicts a cavalry man from a pottery tile discovered at an archaeological dig at Mount Shepherd, the former property of potter Jacob Meyer.

He said the stars are different from today’s American Flag because the committee based them off of flags carried by North Carolina troops during the War for Independence.

America 250 is a nationwide campaign to celebrate national and local history during the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026. County Manager Zeb Holden said they expect to build upon the momentum to celebrate Randolph County’s 250th year in 2029.

Among their local projects, Whatley said they are trying to locate the burial sites of soldiers. In the long-term, they are trying to put together roadside signs and tours of historic spots.

Emergency vehicles, staffing

The county will carry over funds for emergency vehicles that were on back order last year. Emergency Services Chief Donovan Davis asked commissioners to approve four ambulances and three SUVs to replace aging vehicles.

Davis explained that they had approved two ambulance purchases last year, but the company did not have enough. This year, they found four available at Spartan Fire & Emergency Apparatus.

Commissioners approved $1,360,140 to buy the Ford F350 4x4 diesel Crestline ambulances and another $159,021 for three 2025 Chevrolet 4x4 Tahoes.

Farm equipment audits

Tax Assessor Debra Hill gave the annual report. She said in 2024-25, the overall collection percentage for all tax districts was 99.12 percent, similar to the previous fiscal year. Fifty-one properties were posted for sale and 16 sold, with $153,101.79 tax and fees collected.

At the end of her presentation, Commissioner Kenny Kidd asked about how the county audits farms and farm equipment. Hill said they have included farms in audits since 2019.

“They are included because they are operating a business. It is a farming business,” she said. “They file their equipment on a depreciation schedule with their income tax. That’s what every other business does.”

Kidd said he thought it unfair that a separate level of taxes is levied on the equipment, whereas other counties use a flat rate. “After looking at numbers from accountants,” he said, “taxing, for example, this chicken farmer more here than they are at Moore County, and it’s putting them directly at a competitive disadvantage right out of the gate.”

Hill said she did not know Moore County’s schedule of values, but Randolph County’s process fits Department of Revenue’s recommendations for real estate and personal property.

Chairman Darrell Frye asked Hill to review the differences between the county’s farm taxes and neighboring counties.

Ag Center drains, procedures

County Engineer Paxton Arthurs gave an update on fixing the drainage for the Agricultural Center. He said a computer glitch caused a discrepancy in the floor plan provided by the Wooten Company, and some of the storm drains are off by an inch to a foot.

After negotiating repair costs, the Wooten Company said its insurance company would pay $212,000. Commissioners approved paying the remaining $43,000.

Agricultural Center Coordinator Taylor Wright shared the draft for the standard operating procedure with price ranges for booking the event center, the arena,and classrooms. Non-profit groups and school programs will get discounted rates.

Proposed rates are:

■ Event Center: $300 for half a weekday, $450 for full weekday, $675 for weekend day.

■ Arena: $350 for full weekday, $450 for weekend day.

■ Both: $675 for full weekday, $950 for weekend day.

■ Education and Resource Center: $25 to $135, depending on the room and number of rooms needed.

Commissioner David Allen said certain events could have extensive set-ups and takedowns, which would eat up a lot of cost. Wright said they will monitor over the first year, and the contract process will include working with the vendor on the scope of set-up.

Wright told commissioners that they still need to decide whether to allow firearms and knives inside the facilities for display, trade and sale shows.