Ag Center’s kitchen rental: $12 hr.

ASHEBORO — The Agricultural Center now has a fee schedule to rent its kitchen. 

Center Coordinator Taylor Wright and Cooperative Extension Local Food Agent Sophie Farlow said this will benefit business owners and entrepreneurs who need the space to make foods to sell.

The news came at the Oct. 6 Randolph County Commissioner meeting, with Vice Chair Kenny Kidd convening the meeting in place of Chairman Darrell Frye, who was recovering from an injury.

The kitchen can be rented for $12 an hour, with a one-time application fee of $50 and additional costs for storage, deliveries, late payments or cancellations, and sanitation violations. Renters will be required to have a food handler certification.

The kitchen, Wright said, will have commercial-grade equipment and separate ventilation and HVAC to present cross-contamination. Renters will be expected to bring their own smaller cookware. 

In other business:

 ■ The county adjusted job positions in three departments, with County Manager Zeb Holden saying they need to be modernized or come with a higher salary:

— In Planning and Zoning, the GIS planner will now be a senior planner.

— In Administration, the reporting specialist will be deputy finance officer. Commissioners voted that the current reporting specialist, Michael McKenzie, should keep that position.

— In 911 Communication, 38 positions were bumped up one new pay grade, including telecommunicators, supervisors and a training officer.

Holden explained that the county had to use carryover funds to pay temporary 911 callers from outside of the county. He hopes these changes will make the communications center more competitive and fill staffing shortages.

■  Commissioners approved the 2026 meeting schedule. 

Regular meetings will remain at 6 p.m. on the first Monday of the month. The one exception is in September because Labor Day falls on Sept. 7 next year. They voted to hold that meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 1. 

The meeting with the Randolph County Schools Board of Education will be on Jan. 12, 2026, at 4 p.m.

■  Commissioners tabled a vote to amend the United Development Ordinance. Interim Planning Director Kim Heinzer said they would like to adopt changes for posting outdoor signs. 

The county opened a public hearing, and no one spoke for or against the changes. However, commissioners said they would like more time to read through the amended section.

■  Commissioners recognized Betty LaGrange, who turned 100 years old on Oct. 11. She came up to accept a certificate and gave everyone on the dais a butterfly made out of a calendar, which her family said is one of her favorite hobbies.

LaGrange, born Betty Gibbs, grew up on a farm in New York, had six children and moved to North Carolina in 1996. Her family said she still lives independently at the Cross Road Retirement Community.