Halifax County commissioners today rejected an offer of $75,000 from the Center for Energy  Education to buy 26.025 acres of land where the educational and solar training facility is located on Airport Road outside Roanoke Rapids.

The motion brought to the table by board Chair Vernon Braynt also included a statement that the county isn't interested in selling the property.

Much of the discussion centered on a memo that County Attorney Glynn Rollins had prepared for a January 21 meeting which was cancelled due to inclement weather. That memo recommended that the county reject the offer based on future economic prospects such as the four-laning of Highway 158 and the proposed Weldon to Raleigh passenger rail project.

The unanimous vote by the board does not alter the current lease the county has with the center, a lease born out of negotiations with Geenex Solar back in 2014 which brought the educational center to life. The lease expires in 2040.

In bringing his motion to the table, Bryant said, “As Halifax County commissioners, each one of us is charged with doing what is best for Halifax County and its citizens. We’re not charged with doing what’s best for a select group, entity or individuals.”

Bryant acknowledged comments made earlier in the discussion by Commissioner Gary Redding, who reminded the chair he had stated the center had served the county well. Redding had indicated he would like to have more time to hear what the center’s future plans are.

Bryant said the issue was not about the good the center has done but to make a decision on the center’s offer to buy the property. “It is also worth noting that all the information that (County Manager Dia) Denton and Attorney Rollins has put before us points in the direction of not selling the property.”

The chairman said selling the nearly 27 acres of land will limit the county’s ability to leverage the infrastructure improvements to attract higher economic opportunities in the future such as industrial, commercial or mixed developments that generate permanent sustainable jobs and a significant tax base when the current lease expires June 30, 2040.

Before Chenoa Davis cast the second, Bryant said, “I want to make this clear that if this motion passes it in no way interferes with the Center for Energy Education operating under the county lease … I can even go a step farther, and I’m speaking for me … there’s been discussions about grants and all the things that they may need to move forward … but by them being good stewards, I think this board without question would offer any type of letter of support to make things happen for the Center for Energy Education.”

Reaction and comments

While she had no immediate comment following the vote, C4EE Executive Director Mozine Lowe said in a statement this afternoon, “Today’s meeting highlighted hidden gems in Halifax County; public comment made it clear the Center for Energy Education belongs in that category with Sylvan Heights Bird Park and Weldon Mills Distillery.” 

Lowe said that, “C4EE provides a range of high-quality programming — many that distribute nationally-recognized educational credentials — at no cost to the county or its residents. C4EE was also overlooked as a source for current utility-solar workforce development data despite our expertise in it.”

As for its purchase offer, Lowe said, “C4EE was not given a voice in the conversation. I’m disappointed I was not asked to speak nor was I given the opportunity to provide details of the offer’s value to the community and the reasons for it.”

James Pierce, who serves as the vice chair of the C4EE board, was the former board of commissioners chairman who helped craft the economic development agreement that led to the center.

He said after the vote, “I can understand both positions as I’ve been on both sides. They made a decision that they felt like needed to be made.”

Asked whether he was bothered that the board never offered C4EE officials a chance to speak during the deliberations, Pierce said, “It does when you’re given the opportunity to speak after the fact. They voted no and now we can meet with them. Yeah, that’s a problem.”

Pierce said he did not feel betrayed by the vote after the work he helped put in that led to the center’s creation. “Like I told you, I’ve been on both sides of these decisions and I can understand the position they took.”

Pierce said discussions in the county memo about the Weldon train station and its potential impact to the property where C4EE is located is confusing. “I don’t have a clue what this has to do with the Weldon train station. I’m trying to understand that one right now. That track runs north to south to 301. The one at 158 is gone.”

He said he is willing to sit down with the county board. “I’ll give them all the information they feel like they need to make a proper decision for all of Halifax County.”

‘We have a filled a gap’

The center or its representatives were not asked to speak during the deliberations on the offer. There were 10 signed up to speak on behalf of the center during a public comment portion earlier in the meeting, a number which was whittled down to six.

Reginald Bynum Jr., the center’s community outreach director, told the board, “I’ve always wanted to come back and give back to my community to help our county with economic development in a space that I feel is always kind of forgotten.”

Bynum said in the county’s current Tier 1 status there is a lack of vocational programs in the school systems. “We all know the vocational programs I had when I graduated Weldon High School in 1994 we no longer have. Twenty-five percent of our kids are going to college — one quarter of our kids are going to college and with the lack of vocational programs and the gap that that creates between someone coming out that’s 18-years-old that’s looking to go into the workforce, with the lack of talent development we have in this area, it’s (causing) our population to decrease.”

Bynum talks to those young people who are in the need of finding jobs. “A large population of our workers in that young adult age group, in which 80 percent are on Medicaid, are making $12 to $15 per hour.”

He said, “We have filled a gap that is needed in our county. There is a gap and if we want to deny that then I think we’re being oblivious here. There’s a major gap we have in our kids. Economic development is created by the people.”

Other speakers highlighted the following accomplishments of the center:

110 Roanoke Valley residents, including veterans and re-entry candidates, trained in solar installation

40 high school students trained in OSHA 10 certification

More than 200 attendees in the Thriving Communities Convening

More than 40 attendees in 2024 Election Town Hall

More than 900 attendees at SolarFest

More than 250 students attending renewable energy camps

More than 365 students attending SolarFest

More than 240 high school students attending the Clean Energy Career Fair

11 scholarships awarded to Radiant Rays interns

More than 204 North Carolina and Indiana public officials attended C4EE workshops

2024 Partnership Award in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education

2024 Diversity in Cleantech Award

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