Lincoln County supervisors heard about improvements to the county’s infrastructure and communications during their Monday meeting at the Lincoln County-Brookhaven Government Complex.

     The first item brought before the board was a request by Woody Sample of Sample and Associates, a firm that specializes in locating funding for various projects and organizations, to have the supervisors sign an agreement for a new roof to be put on King’s Daughters Medical Center, which is located in a county-owned building.

     The $400,000 Community Development Grant from the state calls for a 10 percent or $40,000 match by the county, which in this case would be picked up by KDMC. The hospital sent Woody Sample a letter indicating their willingness to pick up the match, but board attorney Bob Allen said that wasn’t enough.

     “We need more concrete approval than just a letter,” Allen said. “We don’t want to get in a situation where there is a sudden change in leadership at the hospital and the new person does not agree to put up the money.”

     After discussion, Allen said the board could agree to the terms of the grant, pending written approval from the hospital to put up the $40,000 required.

     In a unanimous vote, the board voted to approve a memorandum of agreement, a resolution to comply and the match, pending further action by KDMC. Sample agreed the application would not be submitted until an agreement with KDMC is in place for the 10 percent match.

     When contacted later, KDMC Chief Executive Officer Alvin Hoover anticipated no problems in following the grant process and the hospital meeting its commitment. He indicated the current grant effort would work similarly to one the county assisted with several years ago.

     “I don’t expect the county to have to put up any more money or resources for it,” said Hoover, adding that the hospital appreciates the board’s assistance and pointing out the grant would not even be possible if the county did not own the building.

     Sample said the money for the grant was left over from 2011 and the state wanted to use that money before they got into 2012 money.

     “We need to get this application in as soon as possible for this grant,” Sample said. “Work on the new roof could begin as soon as August of this year once it gets approved.”

     King’s Daughters Medical Center currently employs around 600 people, according to Sample.

     Other terms of the grant are for the hospital to add 20 new positions, with 51 percent of them going to people of low or middle income households and to commit to $4 million in private investments.

     Hoover said he expected the jobs requirement to be met through staffing as part of the hospital’s physician recruitment efforts. And the $4 million in private investment is typical of what hospitals put into a facility for equipment maintenance and upgrades.

     In other board business Monday, supervisors heard from Lincoln County Civil Defense Director Clifford Galey about a federal program to provide emergency alerts through phones.

     Supervisors have been discussing the need for emergency alert systems in the county for some time now, and that theme continued during Monday’s meeting.

     Galey said the service is through FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Weather Service and would come at no cost to the county.

     The alert would come to cell phones similarly to a text message and would not disrupt the any of the phones’ features.

     The alerts for inclement weather or other emergencies would come automatically to phones, with users having the ability to opt-out of the service if they wanted.

     District Three Supervisor Nolan Williamson said the weather alert system is very important.

     “Every house in the county needs a weather alert system,” he said. “They all need to have something to protect them.”

     District One Supervisor the Rev. Jerry Wilson echoed Williamson’s comments.

     “We need something,” he said. “We’ve been blessed to have been passed over by storms in the past, but we have to be prepared for ones in the future. You cannot put a price tag on human life.”