Sustainability takes root in Cabarrus

Vision of sustainable culture becoming a reality for county government; commissioners hope public follows the example

By Jason King
Assistant Communications Director

President Barack Obama told federal agencies in early October that he wants the federal government to set an example for the rest of the nation by reducing employees' travel and commutes, and pollution from federal facilities and fleet vehicles. It's a great plan, but it's several steps behind what a handful of North Carolina counties – including Cabarrus – are already doing.

Cabarrus County Cooperative Extension Agent Carl Pless (second from right) talks with Sustainability Manager Kevin Grant about progress at the Elma C. Lomax Incubator Farm. The concept behind the farm is similar to a small business incubator project; the county offers classroom and hands-on instruction to help individuals interested in farming. Above, program participants help prepare soil for a "high tunnel" greenhouse, which will allow for the growth of summer crops in the winter. (Photo by Jason King)

The "Building Sustainable Counties" toolkit that attendees received upon checking in at the NCACC's 102nd Annual Conference included eight model initiatives for counties to become more sustainable. Two of those featured initiatives – Green Fleet and Green Purchasing – are merely a sample of Cabarrus County's sustainability efforts. With the strong support of the Board of Commissioners, the guidance of the county manager, and the dedication of employees involved in the effort, the county is getting the word out to its citizens about the county government's sustainability practices and hoping the public will follow.

Board of Commissioners Chairman Jay White said sustainability initiatives began to take root in the county when the board developed new mission and vision statements and goals to guide county government in its principals.

"We as a county have really had the idea of sustainability infused throughout county government," he said. White added that he believes that the county and its elected leaders have a responsibility to lead by example.

"I cannot expect a citizen to do something that I'm not willing to do myself," he said. "If we are asking the people in the county to work toward being sustainable we need to lead by setting the example."

The change in mindset of county employees is something that hasn't happened overnight, but the county keeps hammering home the point.

"You want every employee to think, 'What can I do to be more sustainable?'" said Kevin Grant, the county's sustainability manager. "It took so many years to create the culture of what you're doing. We're slowly seeing a turnaround."

In some instances, reminders are literally staring employees in the face: light switch plates in county facilities have a sticker with a reminder to employees to turn off the lights when they leave the room, and employees are reminded to shut down their computers and switch off their monitors at the end of each workday. Other initiatives, such as green purchasing practices, have taken a little longer to take off.

A combination of national and local circumstances contributed to the broad yet integrated scope of sustainability initiatives, said County Manager John Day.

"The staff and I recognized the importance of making sustainability a part of the way we do business for a number of reasons," he said. "There was such a convergence of things at one time – the problems of our economy, issues with the food system – it made the need to change the way we do things apparent to everybody, including the board."

The root of the problem

"What we're doing is really all very integrated, so one of our concerns is the rate and nature of development that we have experienced," Day said. "There are a lot of wasted resources that go into the type of development that we have experienced."

The NCACC sustainability toolkit distributed at the 102nd Annual Conference includes eight model initiatives, which are available online at www.ncacc.org/toolkit.html.

Bordering Mecklenburg County to the northeast, Cabarrus experienced rapid growth and development in a short period of time. The sprawl quickly outpaced infrastructure and gobbled up what was rural land. New infrastructure had to be built – at the expense of maintaining and replacing existing infrastructure.

The growth prompted the county to enter into a 15-year interlocal agreement with the City of Concord to establish growth boundaries and funnel development into areas where infrastructure already existed. Zoning and the growth boundaries prohibit utility expansion into certain areas of the county – but Day said the county still has an obligation to ensure that people who live there can use their land productively.

With a strong agricultural heritage and a large local commodity in beef cattle, the county forged ahead to try to pave the way for food to be raised, processed and consumed locally.

Appetite grows for local food, healthy lifestyle

Day points out that there's a considerable amount of public health funds that support people with preventable diseases and health problems caused by poor eating habits. Growing the local food base and widening the net of sellers of locally grown foods and restaurants that serve local products will result in more people eating fresher, healthier foods. There's also an economic development aspect of building a robust local food system, of course, and keeping more money spent on food in the local economy can be a major economic driver.

The county has seven farmer's markets, providing a good outlet for local food sales. But building a demand for local food won't work without maintaining and growing the supply of local foods and providing fertile ground for new farmers to flourish. That's where the Elma Lomax Incubator Farm comes into play.

In partnership with N.C. Cooperative Extension, the county provides classroom-style and hands-on education at the 30-acre farm. In its first year of operation, nine new farmers learned the science and economics of farming. Each participant receives roughly a third of an acre to grow his or her produce.

The county also obtained a $675,000 grant from the N.C. Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund to help build a beef slaughter facility adjacent to a family-owned processing plant. The facility is currently in the design stages. Once completed, beef cattle born in the county will never have to leave – it's a true homegrown, farm-to-fork operation. It's all part of creating a more resilient local economy, according to White and Day.

"If we all keep it here in Cabarrus County, it's able to help our farmers, it protects our farmland and our heritage, and provides product to local consumers," White said.

Day, who has been appointed to the N.C. Sustainable Food Advisory Council, said the Board of Commissioners plans to create and appoint members to its own Local Food Policy Council. That council will oversee a community food assessment that will help county leaders identify the types of foods individual and institutional consumers are demanding, and how the county can help connect buyers with local sellers, among other things.

Healthy eating habits are but a part of the lifestyle changes county leaders are hoping to see result from the initiatives.

Commissioner Bob Carruth said he is particularly proud of the county's development of jogging and walking trails and decision to promote walkable, livable communities. And the county didn't miss an opportunity to educate the public about wildlife and plants at the parks by installing educational signs along pathways, according to General Services Director Kyle Bilafer.

Conserving at a new level

The county's purchasing policy encourages employees to buy products that are made of recycled material, but county employees have taken it to the next level. The General Services Department has set up an online "swap and shop" program that allows one department to see if another department already has supplies that would normally be ordered from a vendor. That reduces the number of trips the vendor has to make to deliver supplies to county government offices, and allows for larger orders and less packaging. The end result is less waste and a smaller carbon footprint for the county.

The carpeting that the county installs in its facilities is cradle-to-cradle, in that it is made from recycled materials. Once it has outlived its lifespan, it will simply be recycled and reused to make new carpet.

Bilafer said the county has installed automated HVAC systems at eight county facilities that are programmed to shut off at down times to conserve energy.

A new facility that will house five county agencies will be a LEED certified building, and according to White, the architect is a county native, and the construction manager's workforce consists of 90 percent to 95 percent county citizens.

"This is what gives my work as a board member validation," he said. "It's going to be designed and built by people here in Cabarrus County. That's something that I'm very proud of."

The county currently owns 33 hybrids – 26 Toyota Camrys, five Ford Escapes and two Mercury Mariners – in its fleet. The bulk of the vehicles are used by Social Services personnel; they replace the gas-guzzling Ford Crown Victorias that are handed down from the Sheriff's Office. The county also trains its employees on proper driving techniques and how to optimize fuel economy in a hybrid. Grant said that for 2008-09 the county realized a fuel savings of roughly 10,000 gallons of fuel – equating to 96 tons of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere – by incorporating hybrids into its fleet.

Leading by example

The county is promoting its sustainability practices on its Web site (www.cabarruscounty.us), through monthly discussions at libraries, and via other events such as the annual county fair.

Commissioners have taken sustainability to heart as well, implementing their own practices and changing their habits at home.

"For the first time in many years I dug up a little patch of land in my backyard, no more than 2 feet wide by 8 feet long, and plopped down three tomato plants," Carruth said. "We've had a bumper crop of tomatoes. I always thought I didn't have time to do it. Next year I want to expand it a little more."

White said his family's eating habits have helped to teach his children about where food comes from.

"I've joined a local CSA – which is supporting farmers and buying vegetables from them locally," he said. "The meats my family eats now are raised and processed in Cabarrus County. And if it's not within Cabarrus County it's within North Carolina.

"When I grew up, going to the farmer's market was an every-Saturday event. We've gotten away from that. It's good that my children are looking that person in the eye and knowing who has grown that vegetable and where it came from."