STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
COUNTY OF AVERY

The Avery County Board of Commissioners met in a Special Meeting on Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 4:00 p.m. in their offices, Avery County Administrative Complex, Newland, NC.

Members Present: Kenny Poteat, Chairman; Phyllis Forbes and Bill Beuttell
Members Absent: Joe Strickland and Susan Pittman

Call to Order
Chairman Poteat called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. He advised that this meeting has been called for the purpose of discussing the purchase of voting equipment for Avery County. He added that Board of Elections members were unable to attend today due to some being ill and others out of town. Commissioners Strickland and Pittman are also out of town. Wayne Johnson, Supervisor of the Board of Elections, is here to represent that Board.

Purchase of Voting Equipment
Chairman Poteat read aloud a Resolution concerning the purchase of voting equipment for Avery County with Federal grant monies from the HAVA Election Fund. The County is entitled to receive up to $250,000 in grant funds for this purpose. The County is considering purchase of 44 machines (22 Optical Scan Machines (counters) and 20 Auto Mark machines for persons with disabilities. This total also includes 2 back-up machines and one machine for One-Stop Voting at the Board of Elections Office.

Chairman Poteat advised that he recently attended a demonstration of the Auto Mark Voting machine. Several of the Board of Elections members, poll workers and members of the public were also in attendance at the demonstration. He reported that in his opinion, it was very state-of-the-art equipment and that it was user friendly. The Chairman then asked Wayne Johnson to give the Board some information about the new equipment.

Wayne Johnson advised that the Optical Scan machine is basically the same kind of machine that we have been using for the past 8 years. Since our old machines have been de-certified, we need to get a new version of this machine, Wayne said. We will still be voting on paper ballots and this machine just counts the ballots once they have been marked. We will need a total of 22 Optical Scan machines--one for each of the 19 voting precincts, one for One-Stop Voting at the Board of Elections Office, and two back-up machines. If we use this type of machine, we won’t need to run a dual system. Programming costs will be higher though.

The Auto Mark machine is a machine which can be used by voters with disabilities to allow them to vote unassisted. It is designed to be used by people who are blind, quadriplegic, etc. Some of the features of the Auto Mark are Braille, head phones, touch screen and privacy screen. It can also be operated with the sip and puff method. This equipment does not total the ballots; it just marks the ballot as instructed by the voter. Once the ballot has been marked, it will be counted in the usual manner by running it through the Optical Scan machine. We will need 20 Auto Mark machines--one for each of the 19 voting precincts and one for the Board of Elections office, Wayne said. The Chairman added that federal mandate states that we are to buy one of these machines for each of our voting precincts. Phyllis Forbes added that the grant money will pay for all of this new equipment; however, once it is out of date, we will have to buy more equipment. However, whenever it becomes out of date, we probably won’t have any more grant funds for the purchase. Wayne added that even though our current equipment is de-certified in N.C. (as is the voting equipment in all of the other counties in N.C.), that it is still usable in other states and that we could sell it to another state. He said that the ES & S Company will handle that on a consignment basis. Phyllis suggested that since we can sell the old equipment, that we consider setting up a fund, putting money from the sale of the old equipment into that fund and adding to the budget each year. When we have to replace these machines, we will then have funds available. Bill Beuttell asked how long the new equipment would be usable. Wayne advised that it will be usable almost indefinitely because of the upgrades available for it.

Discussion was held on number of machines that will need to be purchased. Wayne reiterated that we will need to buy a total of 20 Auto Mark Machines (one for each precinct and one for the Bd. of Elections office). We will also need to buy a total of 22 Optical Scan Machines (one for each precinct, one for the Bd. of Elections and two back-up machines). Discussion was also held on training expense for training sessions for this equipment. Wayne said that the training expense is included in the original purchase price for the Board of Elections members, but not the poll workers. He added that the training expense won’t be very high for the poll workers--approximately $2,500 for 4 training sessions on the Optical Scan and for 4 sessions on the Auto Mark machine. Phyllis said that the programming costs are not figured in the totals that Wayne has given us. Wayne said he does not have any idea yet as to how much the programming cost will be for the Auto Mark machine.

Kenny Poteat estimated that the machines would cost around $210,000.00 and the training sessions might cost around $2,500, for an estimated amount of $212,000.00. Wayne advised that we will also continue to have programming costs on an ongoing basis. Discussion continued. Kenny asked if the grant monies would be enough to cover all of our expenses associated with the purchase of this equipment. Tim Greene, Finance Officer, advised that it is his understanding that the grant money would more than cover the expenses.

Kenny Poteat said that he talked with Rep. Phillip Frye, who said he felt certain that the federal monies will be there for this purchase. Poteat said he asked Frye to check and see if we would be getting the money up front or if we would have to wait for it to be returned to us. Rep. Frye checked on it and called back with the message that he thought that Avery County would not have to up-front any monies because it should all be in place.

Wayne Johnson advised that this Friday is our deadline for getting this equipment purchased. Bill Beuttell asked if we have to send the money when we issue the purchase order for the equipment. Wayne said that it appears from a Memo from the State Board of Elections that they are going to be handling this. They want to make sure that all the HAVA Grants are used up before any County funds are expended. We need to meet the deadline that Wayne has mentioned, Kenny said. Wayne reminded the Board that we will only get the amount we have expended, up to $250,000.

The Chairman advised that the Resolution we are considering has an estimated cost of $215,290 and that this amount could fluctuate. The final amount could end up being a few dollars more or less.
There being no further discussion, the Chairman asked for a Motion to adopt the Resolution as read.

Motion by Phyllis Forbes to approve the Resolution on the voting equipment for Avery County as read. Motion seconded by Bill Beuttell and unanimously approved with 3 members in attendance.

Chairman Poteat asked when the Bd. of Elections would pass the Resolution. Wayne advised that their Chairman was going to sign their adopted Resolution and return it to him via overnight mail. He will then e-mail or fax a copy of the Resolution to the state before the deadline on Friday.

Filing for public office opens at noon on February 13, 2006 and ends at noon on February 28, 2006, Wayne advised.

Adjourn
Motion by Bill Beuttell and second by Phyllis Forbes to adjourn this meeting at 4:28 p.m. Motion unanimously approved with 3 members in attendance.

________________________________
Kenny Poteat, Chairman
Avery County Board of Commissioners

ATTEST: ______________________________
Nancy H. Cook, Clerk to the Board