The Beaufort County Commissioners meet on Thursday this week, as opposed to their normally scheduled meeting of the first Monday of the month.

The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Beaufort County Administrative Office. During a recent meeting, the time was also permanently changed from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., to allow working Beaufort County residents more time to get to meetings.

Commissioners are slated to discuss three properties the county is considering purchasing: The First Bank property located near the county office in Washington; a piece of property at Wright’s Creek and another property Belhaven property, the site of a former marina on the Belhaven side of the Pantego Creek bridge. Alligood said First Bank is seeking a new location and the downtown property may become available sooner, rather than later.

Also on the agenda are appointments to the Beaufort County Regional Medical Authority Board, the pending dissolution of which has pitted six commissioners against Beaufort County Commissioner Hood Richardson, the hospital board’s chairman.

“There are three of those (appointments) that are up,” Alligood said.

Alligood explained that, according to state statute, in counties consisting of less than 75,000 residents, the county Board of Commissioners decides the appointees, as opposed to the hospital board compiling a list of names from which the chairman of the Board of Commissioners chooses in counties with populations greater than 75,000.

Members of the “Save Blounts Creek” organization will make a presentation to commissioners Thursday, as well.

The date for Sound Rivers’ (formerly Pamlico-Tar River Foundation) appeal of an Office of Administrative Hearings decision is set for Sept. 17 at 9:30 a.m. in Beaufort County Superior Court. The earlier decision said the environmental advocacy group has no standing in questioning the state’s issuance of a permit that would allow a mining entity to discharge up to 12 million gallons of freshwater per day into the headwaters of Blounts Creek.

The full agenda for Thursday’s meeting will be available today.

The Beaufort County Administrative Office is located at 121 W. Third St., Washington.