REGULAR BOARD MEETING of August 1, 2007, with Mayor Don Mullen and
Commissioners Alan Marsh, Amy Patterson, Hank Ross, H. N. James, and
Dennis DeWolf present.
Also present were Richard Betz, Lamar Nix, Bill Harrell, Bill Coward,
Josh Ward, Selwyn Chalker, Kim Lewicki, Jim Lewicki, John Dotson, Larry
Brannan, Gary Drake, Bill Nellis, Cynthia Strain, Tanji Armor, Fred
Jones, Katherine Willoughby, Debbie Grossman, Lloyd Wagner, and others.
I. Call to Order.
The Mayor called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
II. Approval of Agenda.
Copies of the agenda had been distributed by mail. The Town
Administrator noted several items of New Business to be removed, plus
the addition of an application for employment in the Public Works
Department and discussion of land acquisition in the closed session
already scheduled.
MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS AMENDED.
III. Approval of Minutes.
Copies of the minutes of the July 18 Regular Board Meeting had been
distributed by mail. They were approved by consensus.
IV. Public Comment Period.
The Mayor stated that this was the public comment period required by
law.
Cynthia Strain was present and said that she had encountered some
obstacles with her planned Labor Day arts and crafts fair; she had
found that in order to use Pine Street Park for the event she would
have to provide off-street parking, thus making use of the park for
this purpose impossible. She asked for the Board to consider
permitting her to use the park, or closing Oak Street Alley as she had
for her previous show. Interim Planning Director Richard Betz
confirmed that there was a problem with holding this type of event on
Pine Street Park; he recommended that a Committee be formed to develop
a policy for use of Pine Street Park so that it would be in place when
it became Town property. Tanji Armor, Debbie Grossman,
Katherine Willoughby, and the owner of Why Not Knit all spoke in favor
of the event. Larry Brannan also spoke in support, but suggested
restricting exhibitors to items made by the exhibitor. Lloyd
Wagner also spoke in favor of the event and pointed out that it was a
type of outdoor merchandising, an item which was to be discussed under
Old Business; he urged the Board not to cripple merchants' ability to
be creative and do business in Highlands by unwisely regulating outdoor
display of merchandise.
V. Reports.
1. The Mayor reported that the League of
Municipalities convention would be held October 12-14 this year, and he
also reported that a breakfast meeting with Heath Shuler was scheduled
for August 21; he encouraged Commissioners to attend.
He also suggested that the Board meet with architects Mitchel Sorin
& John Fisher again to discuss the Town Hall project; the Board
agreed by consensus to schedule a special meeting for that purpose on
August 22.
He also reported that the Special Meeting scheduled for August 8 had
conflicted with the Zoning Board's regular monthly meeting, and he
suggested cancelling it and placing the subject of the meeting - Robert
Smith's report on recycling - on the agenda of the August 15 meeting;
the Board agreed by consensus.
2. The Town Attorney was present but deferred his
report to closed session items.
3. Each Board member had received a copy of the Town
Engineer/ Public Service Administrator's report for the month; Lamar
Nix was present to review the report.
The Mayor said that a sidewalk at the corner of Fourth and Main at the
Texaco station had been discussed for some time, and he thought that
the Town should proceed with it. The Town Engineer recommended a
raised brick sidewalk at the intersection, depressed at the driveway
entrances, and he said he had discussed it with the tenant.
MOVED BY COMM. JAMES, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED
FOR THE TOWN ENGINEER TO DESIGN A SIDEWALK FOR THIS LOCATION AND OBTAIN
A COST ESTIMATE. He was also asked to discuss it with the
property owner, Neville Bryson.
4. Each Board member had received a copy of the
Police Chief's report for the month; Chief Bill Harrell was present to
review the report.
5. Each Board member had received a copy of the
Recreation Director's written report for the month; Selwyn Chalker was
present to review the report.
6. Each Board member had received a copy of the
Interim Zoning Administrator's written report for the month,
accompanied by minutes of the Planning Board minutes of June 9 and June
23.
7. Each Board member had received a copy of the
Treasurer's Report for the month; it was reported that the audit was
underway.
MOVED BY COMM. DEWOLF, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED
TO ACCEPT THE TREASURER'S REPORT.
8. The Town Administrator reported that a prototype
bench which Mountain Findings had offered to fund for the planters on
Main Street had arrived and was in front of Town Hall for review.
He also distributed copies of a letter from the Chamber of Commerce
thanking the Board for approving the culinary event at the previous
meeting.
VI. Old Business.
1. The Board again discussed Section 114 of the
Zoning Ordinance, Outdoor Display of Merchandise:
"It shall be unlawful for any commercial business to
display goods, wares, or merchandise outside the building in which said
business is conducted, except for merchandise which is of such a nature
that it ordinarily remains out of doors after business hours, such as
produce, firewood, fertilizers, or garden plants; such merchandise
shall in no way obstruct a public walkway required by the North
Carolina State Building Code."
The Town Administrator had drafted an amendment for discussion deleting
the words "is of such a nature that it ordinarily," so that merchandise
which actually remained outdoors overnight would be exempted; he said
this had been the interpretation for the past five years. Town
Attorney Bill Coward suggested deleting the words "such as produce,
firewood, fertilizers, or garden plants," which was unnecessary and
could be confusing. Comm. DeWolf said he had no particular
objection to outdoor merchandise provided it consisted of articles
normally found outdoors and did not have price tags; otherwise he
thought it added to the character of the community. Comm. Ross
said he had no problem with outdoor merchandise, including clothing; he
had researched several other zoning ordinances and could not find
another Town that prohibited outdoor display of merchandise on private
portions of the sidewalk. The Mayor agreed. Comm. James
felt that too much merchandise could make the Town look tacky; Comm.
Patterson agreed. The Board agreed by consensus to send the issue
to the Planning Board for input.
VII. New Business.
1. The Board reviewed final subdivision plats for
Phase I and Phase II of Riverwalk Subdivision. A memo dated July
17 from the Town Engineer confirmed that improvements had been
installed, and the Planning Board had approved the plats at its
previous meeting. Comm. Marsh described the proposed County
Subdivision Ordinance and asked if a property owners association would
be responsible for the roads; he was told that they would and that
covenants would be recorded with the plats.
MOVED BY COMM. JAMES, SECONDED BY COMM. ROSS, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED
TO APPROVE THE PLATS.
2. A petition for re-zoning had been received from
Thomas E. Young Jr. for a 0.64-acre parcel adjoining TLC Realty and the
Bascom-Louise Gallery on US-64W.
MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO SEND THE PETITION TO THE PLANNING BOARD FOR RECOMMENDATION.
3. Several bids had been received for surplus
vehicles and equipment, as authorized at the July 11 meeting, and were
opened and read as follows:
1997 Ford F-350 Dump truck:
● Mitchell Rice $501.50
● Linda Nicholson 800.00
● Larry Shirley 1,500.00
1995 Ford F-350 diesel truck:
● Bill Hawkins $3,000.00
● Mitchell Rice 4,101.50
● Linda Nicholson 1,100.00
● W. D. Chastain 6,250.00
1996 Ford F-750 Dump truck:
● Larry Shirley $2,500.00
● Linda Nicholson 6,301.00
Ramsey Winch:
● C. E. Russell Inc. $125.00
● Larry Shirley 200.00
● Wade Shope 201.25
5000-watt propane generator:
● Craig McCall $140.00
● Mike Burrell 55.00
● Matt Shuler 209.00
● C. E. Russell Inc. 175.00
MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO SELL THE ITEMS TO THE HIGH BIDDER.
4. The Police Chief reported that the Board had
increased the fine for repeat violations of the Parking Ordinance on
April 5, 2006, from $50 to $100; he had since discovered that a fine
greater than $50 was not consistent with State law, and he requested
that it be rescinded.
MOVED BY COMM. JAMES, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED
TO RESCIND THE APRIL 5, 2006 ACTION.
The Board also discussed taking repeat parking ticket violators to the
Magistrate when they amounted to a substantial amount. Chief
Harrell said he had been told the local Magistrate could not hear such
cases in Highlands. The Town Attorney offered to
investigate. Larry Brannan suggested that the Board consider
posting "sticky tickets" on windshields.
5. The Police Chief had asked that the Board consider
adopting one of the recommendations of the personnel study last year,
permitting vacation carry-over and conversion to sick leave, as well as
converting excess vacation to sick leave. The Town Administrator
did not recommend changing the current policy, which encouraged
employees to take their vacation time within a year, although he said
that informally some leeway in carry-over had been provided in special
circumstances; he felt that it was important for employees to use
vacation time for rest. Comm. Marsh moved and Comm. Ross seconded
to approve the change, but Comm. Patterson said she wanted more time to
study the issue, and Comm. Marsh withdrew his motion.
MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. ROSS, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO TABLE THIS MATTER.
6. The Mayor said that the discussion of a kiosk as
part of the Town Hall conceptual plan had sparked interest in the need
for a central location and coordination of all activities, and he
thought that it was related to use of Pine Street park. Comm.
Ross thought that the Chamber of Commerce should be involved in
scheduling events; Comm. Patterson agreed that the Visitors Center
should be the central disseminator of information and was not sure it
was the Town's responsibility. Comm. James felt that we needed a
policy for use of the park but wasn't sure we needed another
Committee. After some discussion, the Board agreed by consensus
to appoint Comm. Patterson and Comm. Ross to an ad hoc Committee to
draft a policy for the use of Pine Street Park.
MOVED BY COMM. JAMES, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED
TO PERMIT CYNTHIA STRAIN TO CLOSE OAK ALLEY BETWEEN FOURTH AND FIFTH
STREET FOR HER UPCOMING EVENT WHILE THE POLICY IS BEING DRAFTED.
7. MOVED BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON,
AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO G.S.
§143-318.11(A)(6) TO REVIEW APPLICATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT, PURSUANT
TO G.S.§143-318.11(A)(3) TO CONSULT WITH THE TOWN ATTORNEY, AND
PURSUANT TO G.S.$143-318.11(A)(5) TO DISCUSS ACQUISITION OF REAL
PROPERTY. Those present left the room except the Town Attorney,
the Public Services Administrator, the Recreation Director, and the
Town Administrator.
A. The Town discussed the
acquisition of real property.
B. The Public Services
Administrator reviewed an application for employment from Edgar
A.Campbell Jr. for the Trimming Crew.
C. The Board consulted with the
Town Attorney on the Riverwalk and ETJ litigation, and reviewed a
letter he had prepared on property between Fifth Street and the
Presbyterian Church, as requested by the Church at the March 21 meeting.
D. The Town Administrator and
Mayor reported on interviews they had conducted with possible
candidates for the Planning Director position.
MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO GO INTO OPEN SESSION.
8. MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM.
DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO EMPLOY EDGAR A. CAMPBELL JR. IN THE
TRIMMING DEPARTMENT AT 10-1 ($24,323).
VIII. The Board agreed by consensus to adjourn.
There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting
was declared by the Mayor to be adjourned at 9:05 p.m.
________________________________
Richard Betz, Town Clerk