County to upgrade voting equipment; Board approves grant for business in Ramseur

ASHEBORO — Darrell Frye was once again reelected as the chairman of the Randolph County Board of Commissioners when the group met Monday for its regular business meeting.

Kenny Kidd was reelected as vice chairman.

“We do have lots of issues that are in front of us, but we also have some good things that are going on in our county,” Frye said. “It’s a great county, a good place to live and raise our children and be a part of that process. I thank you for your confidence and look forward to serving the citizens of this county.”

Frye has served as a Randolph County commissioner since being first elected in 1982.

The board then approved the purchase of new voting equipment from Elections Systems and Software.

“The legislature passed a bill that came into effect in January and that essentially made a lot of changes in our absentee voting processes, our provisional processes and due dates,” said Melissa Kirstner, county elections director. “Part of the changes were to move up and speed up the timing of getting our results out on election night. So now we have to do things faster than ever before.”

The equipment, which is just newer versions of what the county is already using, will cost just less than $330,000 for 32 new voting tabulators, ballot boxes, high-speed counter and software.

The funding for the upgrades were already allocated in the current year’s budget

“This is going to give us a seamless voting system that all works well together,” Kirstner said.

Kirstner said the old equipment will be traded back to the company for a $34,000 discount on the new equipment.

The board also held a public hearing for potentially supporting an economic development project in the Town of Ramseur.

Earth Retention Industries, a company specializing in the design and supply of retaining wall solutions, acquired property in Ramseur and is looking to repurpose an existing building to establish a manufacturing operation in the county.

“The company is committed to an investment of at least $350,000 in building renovations, making the project eligible to apply for a North Carolina Commerce Building Reuse Grant of $175,000,” said Crystal Gettys, Randolph County Economic Development Corporation business recruitment director. “The total investment in renovations, machinery and equipment is likely to well exceed the $350,000 committed.”

Gettys said the company is also committed to creating 22 new jobs that will pay $57,048 as an average annual wage, exceeding the county’s average wage of $49,355.

In total, those new jobs will amount to around $1.2 million in new annual payroll in Ramseur

Following the hearing, the board approved a $4,375 local match for the application of a building reuse grant.

“The EDC believes that Earth Retention Industries project is a good economic development project for the Town of Ramseur, increasing the value of the building, generating investment in new machinery and equipment and resulting in the creation of 22 new jobs above our average pay,” Gettys said.

The Randolph County Board of Commissioners will next meet Jan. 5.