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JACKSON – Two new members were sworn in to serve on Northampton County’s Board of Commissioners. Keedra Whitaker and Keith Edwards raised their hands, took the oath, and then were seated with their fellow commissioners during Monday’s regular meeting, held on Dec. 2 at the new county courthouse.

The new board’s first order of business was to select a new Chair, as they do annually.

Commissioner Kelvin Edwards nominated Ed Martin for the position, and Whitaker provided the second. There were no other nominations, and the vote passed unanimously.

Martin then nominated Kelvin Edwards to serve as Vice Chair. Keith Edwards seconded, and again the vote was unanimously in favor.

Following those votes, the board then unanimously voted to reappoint Deborah Gatling as the Clerk to the Board and Scott McKellar as the County Attorney.

Martin then called for discussion for the proposed meeting calendar for 2025. He noted that they could continue with one meeting per month like they did in 2024, or they could return to two meetings per month, as they have done in the past.

“I feel like we did better with two meetings a month,” said Commissioner Melvetta Broadnax Taylor. “I feel like with everything we got going on in our county, the citizens need to have enough time to come and voice their concerns.”

Martin said he agreed, and then asked if the board wanted to hold two regular meetings per month or one non-voting work session and one regular meeting.

Broadnax Taylor said she was in favor of two regular meetings, and motioned for that option. But the rest of the commissioners voted against that suggestion.

“I would like for us to have two meetings a month. I feel the citizens deserve that,” Whitaker said, but added that she thought it would be better for them to have more time to digest presented information before they vote on it.

Martin noted that if they went with the work session option, they could still vote on items that needed immediate action.

Kelvin Edwards said he agreed with Whitaker’s point, and then motioned for the board to hold two meetings per month – the first would be a work session and the second a regular meeting.

Keith Edwards provided the second, and the vote passed by the majority. Broadnax Taylor cast the only dissenting vote.

With the approved meeting schedule, the Board of Commissioners will meet at 6 p.m. on the first and third Monday of each month in the multipurpose room of the new courthouse. If a holiday falls on one of those Mondays, then the meeting will be held on the Wednesday that week instead.

Once the board concluded their organizational meeting, they began their regular meeting.

Because there were two new members on the board who requested more time to review information, several items under consideration were tabled until January. Those items included an architect contract for a new county jail, a policy for naming county buildings, and a resolution and grant ordinance for the Gaston wastewater line project.