Soil & Water - Agenda Item 2C - Draft 6-16-26 SWCC Special Called Business Session Minutes

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ATTACHMENT 2C

NORTH CAROLINA
SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION

Special Called
BUSINESS SESSION COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
June 16, 2026

Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Soil & Water Conservation
Virtual Through Microsoft Teams

Meeting Attendance
Commission Members Guests Online Guests
Barbara Bleiweis, Chair James Errante
Gail Hughes Paula Day
James Lamb Duane Vanhook
Matt Reynolds Stephanie Y Alston
Patrick Baker Lorien R Deaton
Spencer Stock
Anne Coan
Commission Counsel Sheila M. Mode
Philip Reynolds Heather Reichert
Victor Unnone Pabitra Aryal
Guests Steven Porson
David Williams Casey L Turlington-King
Julie Henshaw Tyler Ross
Michael Shepherd
Bryan Evans
Matt Safford
Rick McSwain
Joshua Vetter
Rachel Smith
Tinesha McNeil
John Beck

I. CALL TO ORDER: Chair Bleiweis called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.

II. PRELIMINARY: Chair Bleiweis charged the Commission members to declare any conflict of interest, or appearance of conflict of interest, that may exist for agenda items under consideration, as mandated by the State Ethics Act.

Welcome – Cell phones set to silent

III. BUSINESS:

  1. Approval of Agenda: Chair Bleiweis asked for approval of the agenda. Commissioner Matt Reynolds moved to approve the agenda, and Commissioner James Lamb seconded. Motion carried.
  2. Streamflow Rehabilitation Assistance Program (StRAP) Round 3 and Deferred Round 2 Allocations: Chair Bleiweis recognized Mr. Matt Safford to present. His report (Attachment 2) is included as an official part of the minutes.

    Recommendation:
    Award Haywood SWCD funding for their approved sites that are NOT on FEMA’s list for consideration (total: $869,801).
    Reserve the balance of county cap ($626,449) so that remaining Haywood SWCD can revise their requests as FEMA completes its work.

    The Division requests that the Commission approve the following awards:

    • $10,528,845 in funding to selected applications in Round 3 counties.

    Commissioner Gail Hughes motioned to approve. Commissioner Matt Reynolds second. Motion carried.

    Other items of discussion will be revisited at a Special Called meeting in July 2026.

IV. PUBLIC COMMENTS: David shared that the Block Grant Application has closed. There were 521 applications that involved roads, bridges and culverts and there is a lot of work ahead. Additionally, he will send out a list for districts to be able to get a list of the applicants for Block Grant.

VI. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 11:01 a.m.

_______________________________                                 ________________________________
David B. Williams, Director                                          Tinesha McNeil, Recording Secretary
Division of Soil & Water Conservation, Raleigh, N.C.

These minutes were approved by the North Carolina Soil & Water Conservation Commission on July 29, 2026.

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