SPECIAL BOARD MEETING of February 27, 2008, with Mayor Don Mullen and Comms. Amy Patterson, Hank Ross, Larry Rogers, and John Dotson present; Comm. Dennis DeWolf was not present.

The Mayor called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. and stated that the purpose of this special meeting was to discuss personnel matters in closed session.

THE BOARD AGREED BY CONSENSUS TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO G.S. §143-318.11(A)(6) TO DISCUSS PERSONNEL MATTERS.  

    The Board discussed personnel matters.

THE BOARD AGREED BY CONSENSUS TO GO INTO OPEN SESSION.  

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 10:00 a.m.



                         ________________________________
                        Richard Betz, Town Clerk








REGULAR BOARD MEETING of February 27, 2008 - re-scheduled from February 20, 2008 - with Mayor Don Mullen and Comms. Amy Patterson, Hank Ross, Dennis DeWolf, Larry Rogers, and John Dotson present.

Also present were Richard Betz, Lamar Nix, Joe Cooley, Kim Lewicki, Jim Lewicki, Linsey Wisdom, Bob Kieltyka, Melody Spurney, Mitchel Sorin, and John Fisher.


I.    Call to Order.

The Mayor called the Regular Board Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.


II.    Approval of Minutes.

Copies of the minutes of the February 6 Regular Board Meeting had been distributed by mail.  Comm. Patterson noted an error.

MOVED BY COMM. DEWOLF, SECONDED BY COMM. ROSS, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS CORRECTED.


III.    Business.

1.    The Mayor reported that the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers had contacted him and wanted to discuss removing silt from Lake Sequoyah; a meeting had been scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on March 11 to discuss the project.

Comm. Ross thought that the Land Use Committee should meet to discuss the off-site parking amendments and the Stormwater Ordinance; the Committee agreed to meet at 9:00 a.m. on March 4.

The Mayor reported that Staff had met with D.O.T. officials the previous week concerning Hickory Hill Road, Chowan Drive, and Cullasaja Drive; estimates were going to be re-evaluated, but Sen. Snow and Rep. West, who had attended the meeting, had assured the Town that more funds would be available if needed.

2.    Mitchel Sorin and John Fisher were present to discuss conceptual plans for a new Town Hall.  The architects said they had incorporated comments received pursuant to the November 14 meeting from Staff and Board members, and revised the plans.  They then reviewed in some detail the new plans, which increased the size of the building by 2100 SF.  Several Commissioners voiced their enthusiasm over the new plans, and the Town Administrator said he thought they had incorporated all of the comments from his staff and the Police Chief.  It was agreed that the new plans would be reviewed in more detail by the Town and comments forwarded to the architects.

3.    Board members had reviewed a report on the status of Land Use Priorities prepared by the Interim Planner.  Comm. Ross said that he felt the five most important items were a Stormwater Ordinance, clarifying the status of non-conforming buildings, a "Dark Skies" initiative, impact fees, and a Unified Development Ordinance.  Town Planner Joe Cooley said he felt a UDO would be helpful in removing ambiguities in land use ordinances and organizing them better; such a project would normally be contracted to a Planning firm.  Comm Patterson asked him to get an estimate on the cost for budgetary purposes.  The Board also discussed over-building on conforming lots; the Town Administrator said he and Josh Ward had recommended to the Planning Board that one way of addressing this problem would be to apply the watershed built-upon limits to all lots, conforming or non-conforming.  Comm. DeWolf asked about water-dependent structures and expressed a concern that they could, in Mirror Lake, extend far into the lake because property lines generally went to the center; the Town Planner said that some limits on size and other controls could be drafted.  The Board also discussed time limits on plat review in the Subdivision Ordinance; it was agreed that application deadlines and review times should be reviewed to provide the Town Engineer and Planning Board with ample time for review, within reasonable limits.

The Board agreed by consensus to schedule a joint meeting with the Planning Board on Monday, March 24, at 7:00 p.m.

4.    MOVED BY COMM. DEWOLF, SECONDED BY COMM. DOTSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO G.S. §143-318.11(A)(3) TO CONSULT WITH THE TOWN ATTORNEY CONCERNING AN OFFER OF SETTLEMENT IN THE BOWERY ROAD CASES.  All present left the room except the Town Attorney, Town Administrator, Town Planner, and Town Engineer.

    The Board consulted with Town Attorney Bill Coward on an offer of settlement in this matter and gave him instructions.

MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO GO INTO OPEN SESSION.  The room was opened to the public.


VIII. MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON 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 9:00 p.m.



                         ________________________________
                        Richard Betz, Town Clerk