Lacking a quorom, the Edgecombe County Health Department Board discussed the renewal of several contracts at Tuesday night's meeting.

A vote on the contracts took place, but not enough board members were present Tuesday to grant consent for any of the items.

One item that did go into effect, however, was a hiring freeze imposed by County Manager Lorenzo Carmon.

"Only essential personnel" within the Health Department would be hired during the freeze, Edgecombe County Health Department Director Karen Lachapelle said. She knocked on wood when she announced that there had been no resignations since April's board meeting.

After that announcement, Health Department official Clancy Pullen presented two items before the board. His first item was a $50 fee that will be applied on "temporary food establishments;" the fee would go into effect July 1.

It will apply to temporary food stands that set up at events like this past weekend's Happening on the Common. In Pullen's words, the fee applies to stands that sell "potentially hazardous foods" that would required inspection by the Health Department before being sold to the public.

Non-profit organizations, like churches, would be exempt from the fee; however, they would have to prove their non-profit status in order to set up fee-free.

Board member Dr. Tom Knox asked Pullen questions about the $50 fee; was it a one-time fee, what would be considered a hazardous food and would the state collect the fees.

Pullen responded that it was a recurring fee, applied each time the stand set up. He said a hazardous food would include barbecue, hot dogs, hamburgers; items that are "high in protein" and that require a lot of "manual preparation" to be served to the public.

Pullen also said that the money from the fee would go to the county's Health Department, not to Raleigh.

Knox also asked Pullen if a person selling boiled peanuts on a street corner in Princeville would be assessed the $50 fee.

He responded that food like boiled peanuts or pork skins are not something the Health Department would have to inspect, so a fee would not be collected on stands selling those food items.

That motion was approved without the quorom, but is not effective until Board members who were not present vote on the matter.

The second item Pullen presented was a "Sunset Provision" issued by the state that sets new guidelines for wells.

Effective July 1, Pullen said that counties with well ordinances would have to consider "adopting more stringent rules" that follow the new guidelines set by the state.