Money poured out the doors of the Lenoir County Courthouse Monday as county commissioners approved funds for a new shell building, voting machines, a heating and air conditioning system for the library and a $70 million bond referendum for schools.

The largest expenditure, however, will depend on voters. A proposal to spend $70 million to upgrade schools will be on the spring primary ballot in May. If voters approve the measure, they’ll add 5 cents per $100 of assessed property value to their tax bills, and possibly another 4.5 cents if lottery proceeds don’t develop as expected. Lottery money is being seen as a source to pay for some of the construction.

New voting machines, required by federal law to ensure accurate election results, will cost the county $145,000. The state and federal governments will pay the remaining $333,660, for a total of $578,600, to buy up to 130 new machines, and pay for software and training. The old machines will be thrown away since they cannot provide a paper trail, which is one of the new election requirements.

The county will build a new shell building to replace the building West Pharmaceutical Services moved into after that company’s factory was destroyed in an explosion three years ago. County officials said 85 percent of companies considering a move want to have a new building to move into. The cost estimate for the building was set at about $1.2 million to $1.3 million, which does not include buying the land.

A new $240,000 heating and air conditioning system for the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library will be paid for by the county with a 50 percent contribution from the Little Bank. The old system was deemed inadequate for the new building, and was not included in construction estimates.

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