REGULAR
BOARD MEETING of December 3, 2008, with Mayor
Don Mullen and Comms. Amy Patterson, Hank Ross, Dennis DeWolf, Larry
Rogers,
and John Dotson present.
Also
present were Richard Betz, Bill Coward, Joe
Cooley, Bill Harrell, Selwyn Chalker, Lamar Nix, Kim Lewicki, John
Shearl, Melody
Spurney, Jack Bournemann, Alan Marsh, and others.
I. Call
to Order.
The Mayor
suggested that, since the posted agenda had
a closed session as the first item of business, the meeting begin early
for
that purpose; he therefore called the Regular Board Meeting to order at
6:50
p.m.
MOVED
BY COMM. DOTSON, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO
GO INTO
CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO G. S. '143-318.11(A)(6)
TO CONSIDER A PROPOSED CONTRACT FOR EMPLOYMENT FOR A TOWN MANAGER. The Board then left the meeting room and
convened in the adjoining small conference room with the Town Attorney
and the
Town Administrator.
The Board considered a proposed contract for
employment for a Town Manager.
MOVED
BY COMM. DEWOLF, SECONDED BY COMM. ROGERS, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO
GO INTO
OPEN SESSION. The Board reconvened in
the meeting room at 7:15 p.m.
II. Approval
of Agenda.
Copies of
the agenda had been distributed by mail. The
Town Administrator requested that one item
of New Business be deleted, a proposal from Green T Recycling, and that
one
item of New Business be added, approval of the Fire Department’s
election of a
Fire Chief and representative on the Firemen’s Relief Fund.
MOVED BY
COMM. DEWOLF, SECONDED BY COMM. ROGERS, AND
UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS AMENDED.
III. Approval
of Minutes.
Copies of
the minutes of the November 19 Regular Board
Meeting had been distributed by mail.
MOVED BY
COMM. DEWOLF, SECONDED BY COMM. DOTSON, AND
UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS DISTRIBUTED.
IV. Public
Comment Period.
1. Jack
Bournemann was present and made some comments about the search for a
Town
Manager that were incomprehensible to those present.
V. Reports.
1. The
Mayor reported that the Board had reviewed many candidates for the
position of
Town Manager and had agreed to contract with James R. Fatland for the
position. While copies of his CV were
distributed to the Press, he briefly described Mr. Fatland’s
credentials and
said that he would begin work on January 5, 2009.
MOVED BY
COMM. ROSS, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON, AND
UNANIMOMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE A CONTRACT FOR EMPLOYING JAMES FATLAND
AS TOWN
MANAGER.
2. Comm.
Ross reported that he and Comm. Dotson had met twice with Planning
Director Joe
Cooley and Wilbur Smith on the Parking Study, which was still in the
analysis
stage.
Comm. Ross
also said that, with employment of a Town
Manager, the work of the Organizational Review Committee which had
begun over
two years ago had ended. He said that he
was gratified by the way the Town had moved forward, and at the same
time
praised Town Administrator Richard Betz, who had resigned effective
February
28, 2009. The Mayor reiterated Comm.
Ross’s comments.
3. Town
Attorney Bill Coward was present but had no report.
4. Each
Board
member had received a copy of the Town Engineer/ Public Services
Administrator’s
report for the month. Lamar Nix was
present
and described progress on the Harris Lake Sewer Project.
5. Each
Board
member had received a copy of the Police Chief's report for the month;
Bill
Harrell was present, and reported that the Town had again received the
AAA
award for the Safest community under 10,000.
6. Each
Board member had received a copy of the Recreation Director's written
report
for the month; Selwyn Chalker was present.
7. Each
Board member had received a copy of the Town Planner/ Zoning
Administrator's
written report for the month; Joe Cooley was present.
8. Each
Board member had received a copy of the Treasurer's Report for the
month. He reported that the expected
decline in
sales tax revenue had not yet begun to show up, but that ad valorem tax
revenues were lagging behind schedule.
MOVED BY
COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. ROGERS,
AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO ACCEPT THE REPORT.
9. The
Town
Administrator reported that he and the Town Engineer had met the
previous week
with Joel Storrow and J. P. Johns of McGill & Associates concerning
an
upcoming February 1 deadline for Clean
Water Management Trust Fund grant funds for stormwater items identified
in the
Stormwater Master Plan. Lamar Nix then
reviewed a proposal which had been distributed with the agenda package
for
improving road crossings on Laurel and Fifth Streets; he recommended
that the
Town consider Option 3 in the proposal, which consisted of culvert
removal and
upgrades with CON/SPAN structures designed for a 100-year storm. The cost was estimated at $350,000, with
$291,00 being provided by the grant and $59,000 in match.
The cost of the CWMTF grant preparation would
be $7,000, and the Board agreed to discuss this at the January 7
meeting.
VI. Old
Business. None.
VII. New Business.
1. The
Town Administrator reported that he
had solicited contracts for mowing the Cemetery, Recreation Park, and
Zachary
Park; when factoring in the hourly rates, J & J Lawn Service would
be
awarded the Cemetery and Recreation Park contracts, and Zoellner
Landscaping
would be awarded the Zachary Park contracts.
2. The
Town Administrator submitted a
proposed Holiday Schedule and Meeting Schedule for 2009.
He said that he again had included an
eleventh holiday, Martin Luther King Junior Day, scheduled for January
19,
because it was consistent with holidays observed by most states,
municipalities, and the federal government; the post office and banks
were also
closed on that day, so business could not be carried out in the Town
Office. He commented that progressive
vacation and holiday schedules helped attract and retain qualified
employees. Comm. Patterson said she did
not object to
the holiday if another were removed; she thought that it was important
for
government to be responsive to the people, and she felt that eleven
days of holidays was too much. The Mayor
said
that he agreed with the Town Administrator and thought the holiday
should be observed. Comm. Ross agreed; he
said that he took offense
that the day was not observed by the Town and felt that it was long
overdue.
MOVED
BY COMM. ROSS, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND CARRIED TO APPROVE THE
HOLIDAY
SCHEDULE WITH THE ADDITIONAL HOLIDAY, AND THE MEETING SCHEDULE, AS
PRESENT. Comms. Ross, DeWolf, and Rogers
voted “aye,” and Comms. Patterson and Dotson voted “nay.”
3. The
Town Administrator recommended the
same Christmas bonuses approved last year, as follows:
Less
than one year of service....................$200.00
Between
one year and ten years of service........$250.00
Between
ten years and twenty years of service....$300.00
More
than twenty years of service................$350.00
Part-time
employees.................................Hams
MOVED BY
COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. ROSS, AND
UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE BONUSES.
The Town Administrator thanked the Board on behalf of all
employees.
4. The
Board agreed by consensus to cancel
the December 17 Board meeting unless there was an emergency.
5. It
was
reported that the Fire Department had recommended James Manley as Fire
Chief
and Olan Vinson as the Department’s representative on the Firemen's
Relief
Fund.
MOVED BY
COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF,
AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE APPOINTMENTS.
6. Comm.
DeWolf said that he had appreciated working with Richard Betz over the
years.
VIII.
MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO
ADJOURN.
There
being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was
declared by
the Mayor to be adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
________________________________
Richard
Betz, Town Clerk