Chuck Hasty, a challenger, is running for a seat on the Halifax County Board of Commissioners.
The following are his answers to questions submitted by rrspin:
Why are you seeking this office, or why are you running for re-election?
This decision didn’t happen overnight. It came from years of living here, working here, raising a family here, and wanting more for the place we all call home. I’ve seen the challenges our community faces, but I’ve also seen just how resilient, hardworking, and caring the people of Halifax County are. That’s what inspired me to step forward. I’m running because I truly love this county and believe we deserve leadership that reflects who we are: strong, diverse, and full of potential.
Why do you believe you are qualified to serve as a Halifax County Commissioner?
I believe I am qualified to serve as a Halifax County Commissioner because I have spent more than 30 years serving the public. My career in law enforcement taught me the importance of leadership, accountability, fiscal responsibility, teamwork, and — most importantly — listening to the people I serve.
I believe my years of public service have prepared me to bring a practical, common-sense approach to those responsibilities. I know that a commissioner must be willing to listen to different opinions, examine the facts, ask difficult questions, and make decisions based on what is best for the county as a whole.
Most importantly, I am not seeking this office simply to hold a title. I am seeking it because I care deeply about Halifax County and want to use the experience I have gained through a lifetime of public service to help make our county stronger, safer, and more prosperous.
What do you consider the most critical issues facing Halifax County, and what specific solutions do you propose to address them?
Economic decline and population loss.
Halifax County is a rural county (Tier 1) that often faces fewer job opportunities, low wages and young people leaving and not coming back which in turn weakens the tax base and puts a strain on basic services for the county.
We need to target job creation that actually fits the county, Work force pipeline tied directly to employers (Halifax Community College), Public Safety crime reduction tied to opportunity: focused deterrence (repeat offenders & violent crime hotspots), Strong Community Policing & Youth intervention Programs. The goal is to make crime both riskier and less attractive.
Housing and quality of life improvements: Rehab Blighted properties, Invest in Broadband, Healthcare access and schools. Regional Strategies do not focus only on Halifax County (We can't do it alone): Tie into growth from corridors (I-95, Hwy 158, Hwy 48, Hwy 301 ) and collaborate regionally for economic development.
We have assets here: Immediate access to I-95, available land and lower cost than most urban areas, Halifax Community College that can provide training for trades and logistics. We must position Halifax County by having "Site-ready" (water, sewer, & power in place), Environmental & Zoning approvals done in advance, and clear timelines. Have 2 or 3 target industries, have a workforce pipeline, again work with Halifax Community College. Move at business speed not the government speed: single point of contact, fast track permitting/approvals, have incentive frameworks in place. Again, Think Regional partnerships, Invest in Quality of life, When we tell the story, have proof not just words, highlight actual successful stories; be able to show before/after redevelopment wins.
Do you support aggregate mining operations in Halifax County? Please elaborate on your position regarding local zoning, environmental considerations, and community impact.
I support responsible aggregate mining in Halifax County because economic development and environmental stewardship do not have to be opposites. My responsibility as a commissioner would be to make sure the operation follows state and county requirements, protects neighboring property owners and our infrastructure, provides economic opportunities for our citizens, and leaves the property responsibly reclaimed. I will support a fair and transparent process and use a practical approach on this topic.
Support economic opportunities.
Aggregate operations can provide construction materials, employment, investment, and a local source of materials for infrastructure. North Carolina DEQ identifies aggregate mining as an important part of the state’s construction-material supply and notes that permitted sites must ultimately be reclaimed.
Don’t bypass the permitting process.
Federal regulations must be followed (EPA, Clean Water Act, Mine Safety & Health Administration. OSHA) North Carolina requires a state mining operating permit.
DEQ is the state agency administering the Mining Act.
Protect county roads and infrastructure.
A large aggregate operation can substantially increase heavy-truck traffic. Before supporting the project, I would want documented answers regarding: Truck routes, road capacity and condition, bridge limitations, intersection improvements, road maintenance responsibilities, traffic safety, whether improvements should be paid for by the developer rather than county taxpayers.
Protect neighboring property owners.
For a hard-rock operation involving blasting, reasonable safeguards should address: Blasting and vibration, Dust, Noise, Operating hours, Lighting, Setbacks and buffers, Stormwater and erosion, Complaint response, Monitoring and enforcement
The important point is that these requirements should be objective and applied consistently, rather than created simply to favor or block a particular company.
Protect water resources.
The county should coordinate with the appropriate federal/state agencies concerning groundwater, surface water, wetlands, stormwater, and other environmental requirements. DEQ notes that mining operations can involve multiple federal, state and local permits and environmental regulations.
Require reclamation part of the conversation from the beginning.
Don’t wait until the mine closes. Ask what the property will become afterward —such as agricultural land, a reservoir, wildlife habitat, recreational property, or another productive use. NC DEQ specifically requires reclamation planning as part of the mining permitting process.
Work with the company rather than against it.
Encourage a prospective operator to meet with county staff, residents, emergency services, NCDOT, and appropriate state regulators early in the process. That can identify problems before they become disputes, which I believe this company has done by having numerous public events to let the public know what they are trying to do.
What are your thoughts on data center development in Halifax County? Do you support a temporary moratorium, and during that window, what specific provisions would you require in a community benefits agreement and local zoning regulations?
I think it could be beneficial, yes, to support a temporary moratorium on any further Data Center Developments.
Halifax County should welcome responsible economic development, but we should never write a blank check for it. Data centers should bring investment and opportunity while protecting our rural communities, property rights, water resources and taxpayers. Any project should pay its fair share of the infrastructure and public services it requires, meet clear standards for noise, traffic, water use and emergency response, and provide measurable economic benefits to Halifax County.
Rather than allowing a large data center broadly throughout the county, establish a defined use with clear sitting requirements.
Possible requirements: Locate primarily in designated industrial/commercial areas, avoid prime agricultural areas where practical, require appropriate separation from existing homes, require substantial vegetative screening, establish maximum building height and site-coverage standards, require appropriate setbacks from property lines, roads, streams and neighboring residences.
Comprehensive community-impact study (Requirement).
Before approval, the applicant should be required to document: Expected permanent and temporary jobs, construction investment, expected county tax-base impact, electrical demand, water consumption, wastewater requirements, traffic and road impacts, noise levels, emergency-services requirements, generator emissions, stormwater impacts, effects on nearby agricultural operations and impacts on schools and residential areas.
Strong water protection in place
No data center shall be approved unless the applicant demonstrates that its proposed water demand can be accommodated without adversely affecting the county’s existing residential, agricultural, industrial, and emergency-service water needs.
The ordinance could encourage or require, to the extent legally permissible: Closed-loop cooling, reclaimed water, water conservation technology, maximum daily/monthly water-use limits, water-use monitoring and reporting, emergency provisions during drought or water shortages.
Developer is responsible to pay for infrastructure needed (upgrades)
This is one of the most important principles. Halifax County should not leave taxpayers footing the bill for infrastructure made necessary primarily by a major private development.
The ordinance and development agreements could address where legally authorized: Road improvements, water-line extensions/sewer infrastructure, fire protection infrastructure/emergency-access improvements, stormwater facilities and other project-specific infrastructure.
Protections for neighboring property owners (residents).
The ordinance could establish: Larger setbacks from residences, berms and vegetative buffers, lighting restrictions, noise-performance standards, limits on overnight construction, generator testing requirements, visual screening, construction dust controls and construction traffic routes.
Emergency-services Plan(s) requirements
A large facility should demonstrate how it will support the county’s fire, EMS and emergency-management capabilities.
They should be required to provide: Fire-flow calculations, fire suppression systems, emergency-access plans, generator and battery emergency plans, hazardous-material information, on-site emergency response equipment where appropriate, regular coordination with local fire and EMS officials.
This is particularly important for a facility containing large electrical systems, batteries, generators and cooling equipment.
Requirement for a decommissioning plan
The plan could cover: Removal of obsolete structures/equipment, abandoned electrical equipment, restoration of disturbed land, disposal/recycling of equipment, long-term stormwater obligations and Financial security where legally authorized.
This is an issue that is easy to overlook. The goal is to avoid leaving Halifax County with an abandoned industrial wasteland.
Community benefits need to be measurable.
Don’t just say a project will “benefit the community,” Halifax County could require applicants to identify measurable commitments. Jobs (local hiring when possible), construction (local contractors), schools (partnerships for training), infrastructure (developer funded), water (conserve/monitoring), Fire/EMS/LEO (response coordination/training), residents (noise. lighting/ screening protections), Agriculture (setbacks & protections of farmland) and most important TRANSPARENCY.
Halifax County should distinguish between regulatory requirements and voluntary economic-development agreements so that it does not impose conditions beyond its statutory authority.
Don’t give away the farm through incentives.
The state already provides significant incentives to qualifying data centers, including sales-tax exemptions for certain data-center support equipment.
Halifax County should calculate the net community benefit before offering any additional local incentive.
Any incentive offered to a data center must be justified by a documented measurable public return that exceeds the value of the incentive, including consideration of infrastructure costs, public-service costs, employment, investment and long-term tax-base effects. This gives a framework for evaluating proposals rather than automatically approving or rejecting them.
Require a public hearing for major projects.
Residents should have an opportunity to understand and have input: Where it will be located, how large it will be, how much electricity it will consume, how much water it will use, what it will sound like, what roads it will use, what infrastructure will be required, what jobs it will create, What the county will receive and what the county will be responsible for.
If elected or re-elected, what specific initiatives do you envision taking to help Halifax County grow its economy and expand the local tax base?
The goal is to grow in the right places while protecting what makes the county valuable in the first place. Growth in defined areas (I-95 Corridor), make agriculture part of the economic strategy, smarter development standards, preserve quality of life. Have an economic plan that is not over 20 years old and have follow up progress reports on what we have accomplished in the plan and what is not going to work and refocus efforts.
Over the past year, utility contractors have struck county water lines, causing significant service disruptions. How should the county hold these private contractors more accountable, and what enforcement or oversight measures would you pursue?
I would need to know if there is a contract in place with the company that is using the contractors. If not, we need to have one and a county policy for this type of incident.
Halifax County policy could include Requirement of a pre-construction utility plan, require immediate reporting of every water-line strike, make the contractor pay for verified damage, require insurance and financial security, use retainage or contract security, establish a contractor damage-history system, require inspection before the excavation is covered, give the county the ability to stop work, and escalate repeated violations.
The contract should clearly state that when a contractor’s work causes damage to county water infrastructure, the contractor is responsible for the reasonable, documented cost of investigation, repair, restoration, water loss, traffic control, emergency response and other directly attributable costs, subject to applicable law and the contract.
What is your position on establishing a regional water system? What specific goals would you like to see accomplished, and which neighboring counties or municipalities should participate?
We need to have a clear countywide picture, not a plan that was developed over 20 years ago with no follow-up on what is working and what has not. Consolidate where it makes sense, fix basics first (leaks, inflows and maintenance), Have sites ready (water/sewer/power), leverage grants and low cost financing, stabilize rates (don't hide the real cost), Professional Operations and Accountability.
