REGULAR BOARD MEETING of January 18, 2006, with Mayor Don Mullen and
Commissioners H. N. James, Dennis DeWolf, Alan Marsh, Amy Patterson,
and Hank Ross present.
Also present were Richard Betz, Bill Coward, Lamar Nix, Larry
Gantenbein, Bill Harrell, Kim Lewicki, Jim Lewicki, Adam Thompson,
Lindsey Wisdom, Clem Patton, Ginger Slaughter, Beth Hamm, Charles
Simmerson, Rick Siegel, George Mathis, Bronce Pesterfield, David Bock,
David Hourdequin, Barbara James, Bill Nellis, Katy Calloway, James
Manley, Wayne Estabrooks, and others.
I. Call to Order.
The Mayor called the Regular Board Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
II. Approval of Agenda.
Copies of the agenda had been distributed by mail. The Town
Administrator reported that one item of New Business, bids on the
reconductoring project for NC-28, could be deleted. He also
requested that discussion of B-3 zoning, setting public hearings for
three subdivision variances, and receiving bids on a Fire Department
truck be added under New Business.
MOVED BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED
TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS AMENDED.
III. Approval of Minutes.
Copies of the minutes of the January 4 Regular Board Meeting had been
distributed by mail; a typographical error was noted.
MOVED BY COMM. DEWOLF, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED
TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS CORRECTED.
IV. Reports.
1. The Mayor reported that he had attended the
January 9 meeting of the County Board of Commissioners and succeeded in
requesting that a Memorandum of Understanding be approved for funding
of Recreation. The four-year agreement called for $500,000
annually the first year, one-half upon execution of the agreement, and
succeeding payments at the end of each quarter. The agreement had
been executed and he understood that the initial check for $250,000 was
being processed.
2. The Town Administrator reported that the Town's
Clean Water Management Trust Fund application for a Stormwater Master
Plan had been received by that agency; a decision was expected at
either the May or July meetings.
V. Old Business.
1. The Town Administrator reported that the Public
Works Committee had met on January 10 to discuss a proposed Ordinance
regulating parking and construction activities on Church Street, and
also a proposal made by Bob Wright, Clerk of Session of First
Presbyterian Church, regulating construction parking. The
Committee had recommended that Old Edwards Inn request their
contractors and sub-contractors to park on their property at Nick's,
Rib Shack, and Kelsey-Hutchinson. Comm. Patterson said she was
not certain the recommendation would solve the problem. Comm.
James pointed out that it was only a temporary solution.
2. The Board discussed permits issued at previous
meetings for use of Town right-of-way for construction activities by
Old Edwards Inn on Church Street, which had expired on this date.
George Mathis was present and said that he had spoken to the
contractors about parking in the recommended areas. The Town
Administrator added that he had received a request for a dumpster to be
placed on the north side of Church Street in front of the spa building
to serve continuing construction activity there. Comm. Patterson
noted that there was a problem with issuing a permit with use of both
sides of the street at the same time; Comm. James agreed, and felt the
Town should look into prohibiting such activities. George Mathis
said that he would need to excavate Church Street in order to install a
sewer tap and storm drain, at the owner's expense; Comm. James noted
that this was a good time of year to do that work, and he thought he
should proceed with coordinating it with the Town Engineer.
MOVED BY COMM. JAMES, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO EXTEND THE PERMIT UNTIL THE FEBRUARY 15 MEETING, AND ASK
GEORGE MATHIS AND THE TOWN ENGINEER TO WORK OUT THE SCHEDULE FOR THE
SEWER TAP AND STORM DRAIN WORK.
3. Comm. Patterson said that she, Comm. Ross,
Planning Board member Clem Patton, and Larry Gantenbein had met with
Lee Hodges, David Hourdequin, Tommy Chambers, and Mike Bryson to
discuss the concerns of "Citizens Against ETJ." The Committee had
found common ground and had agreed to proceed with meeting with
affected residents in the ETJ area, section by section. A letter
was being drafted containing a proposed meeting schedule and another
meeting of the ad-hoc committee was scheduled for Thursday. David
Hourdequin was present and said that his group had been pleased with
the meeting.
4. Each Board member had reviewed problems on Second
Street where a pond and other encroachments had been constructed by
Warth Construction Company subject to a Revocable License Agreement;
there had been some concern about adequate room to walk along the edge
of the road. Comm. Patterson agreed that there was inadequate
room for two cars to pass and no room to walk, but noted that the pond
acted as a silt trap. Comm. James felt that the Town should
consider extending the culvert and adding a shoulder. Comm. Ross
wondered what the Board was trying to achieve by improving the road; he
pointed out that the entry into Highlands Plaza was very
dangerous. After some discussion, the Mayor appointed Comm.
DeWolf, Comm. James, and the Town Engineer to review this matter and
return with a recommendation at the next meeting.
VI. New Business.
1. The Town Administrator said that when the Board
had discussed the Conditional Use Zoning amendment adopted at the
previous meeting it had neglected to address the recommended increase
in Fee Schedule which had been proposed by the Town Planner, which was
$500 for re-zoning applications and $1000 for conditional use zoning
applications. He noted that there was time and work involved in
these applications and that the current fee of $100 was far below the
fee charged by most jurisdictions, and he concurred with the
recommendation. Comm. James said he felt it was a little
high. Comm. Patterson said that normally an applicant had a
specific development project in mind when applying for re-zoning.
MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO AMEND THE FEE SCHEDULE TO INCREASE THE FEE FOR A RE-ZONING
APPLICATION TO $500 AND TO SET THE FEE FOR A CONDITIONAL USE ZONING
APPLICATION AT $1000.
2. An application for conditional use zoning had been
received from Bruce W. and Barbara L. Werder, the culmination of a
lengthy series of meetings and amendment of the Zoning Ordinance at the
previous meeting. The Town Administrator said that the
application appeared to meet all requirements and had been accompanied
by a $1000 application fee. A memo from the Town Planner had been
included in the agenda package outlining the schedule for processing
the application, and Larry Gantenbein asked that the memo be
incorporated into the record because it contained several conditions
shown on the drawing which had been submitted and which were part of
the application:
"Drawing amended to include the following
conditions: 1) structures to be situated as shown on drawing; 2)
historic home to be preserved as shown on drawing; 4) roadway and cul
de sac to be situated as shown on drawing; 5) parking as shown on
drawing; and, 6) project time frame. Any of the foregoing
conditions may be negotiated differently than shown on the drawing
provided the record is clear with regard to what was negotiated.
Additional conditions may negotiated by the TB as the Board sees
fit. The law presumes that all applicable zoning ordinances apply
to this project and the negotiated conditions outlined above become
additional zoning ordinances applicable only to this project."
MOVED BY COMM. ROSS, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED
TO SET A PUBLIC HEARING FOR FEBRUARY 15 TO CONSIDER THE APPLICATION FOR
CONDITIONAL USE ZONING, AND TO REFER IT TO THE PLANNING BOARD FOR A
RECOMMENDATION.
3. An application for Parks and Recreation Trust Fund
grant in the amount of $162,500 for the Houston property had been
prepared by the Town Administrator, Recreation Director, and GIS/Field
Technician. It proposed a three-year development for the property
which would include re-locating the playground, building a toddler
playground, and building a pavilion with accessible toilet facilities,
and in the meantime using the house for other functions; the plan could
be amended at any time and was not binding.
MOVED BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO APPROVE THE GRANT APPLICATION
4. Wayne Estabrooks was present representing UNC-TV,
which he said had served the area for 25 years but was unable to
continue broadcasting on Satulah Mountain due to replacement of the
tower on which their antenna was located. He proposed placing his
equipment on the Upper Brushy Face Water Tank site; it was the same
size as the WCQS Highlands-Cashiers Public Radio repeater, which paid
$100 annually according to the Town Administrator. He said that
the station was supported by public funds and asked that the normal fee
of over $1000 annually be waived or reduced. Comm. James and
Patterson felt that the Town's telecommunication consultant should be
contacted for a recommendation on the amount of the rent.
MOVED BY COMM. ROSS, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, TO APPROVE THE ANTENNA
AT AN ANNUAL RENT OF $100 FOR A TERM OF FIVE YEARS. The motion
carried, with Comms. Ross, DeWolf, and Marsh voting "aye" and Comms.
James and Patterson voting "nay."
5. Each Board member had received copies of the
Highlands Fire & Rescue Department's Annual Report, as well as a
letter requesting assistance in replacing a 50-year-old generator
serving the Department as well as the Police Department/EMT
building. The cost of the generator would be $20,000 and the
Department could fund $10,000; a budget request had been submitted to
the County for $5,000 and the Town's General Fund was requested to fund
the balance.
MOVED BY COMM. JAMES, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO ACCEPT THE REPORT AND APPROVE PURCHASE OF THE GENERATOR.
6. Comm. Marsh said that he felt the Planning Board
should be asked to review the B-3 Zoning District. The Town
Planner reported that this was one of the recommendations of the Land
Use Plan but had not yet been addressed due to the Planning Board's
heavy schedule. Comm. DeWolf agreed with Comm. Marsh; he said he
was concerned over B-3 in relation to other parts of the Ordinance such
as the clustering provision, proximity to Town, and clarification of
incidental apartments vs. residential use.
MOVED BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED BY COMM. JAMES, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED
TO REFER THIS TO THE PLANNING BOARD. The Mayor asked that the
Planning Board schedule it as soon as they could.
7. The Town Administrator said that three
applications for variances would be submitted at the next meeting and
that normal practice had been to schedule the quasi-judicial hearings
now required at the preceding meeting. The variances were road
width variances for one-way streets for Old Edwards Inn in the Satulah
Park and Old Creek Lodge subdivisions, and for a two-way street in the
Crunkleton Ridge Subdivision. The Town Engineer briefly described
what he knew about the requests. Comm. Patterson said that she
felt the Board should see the applications before setting the
hearings. It was agreed by consensus that setting of the public
hearings should be scheduled for the February 1 meeting and the
hearings themselves for February 15.
8. Three bids had been received for a pumper/tanker
for the Fire Department subsequent to invitation for bids; they were
opened and read by the Mayor, as follows:
● Taylor Fire Group
$192,817
● Moore Farm Equipment Co.
177,915
● C. W. Williams & Co. Inc.
194,886
MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. JAMES, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO APPROVE THE LOW BID, SUBJECT TO REVIEW BY THE FIRE CHIEF TO
BE SURE IT MEETS SPECIFICATIONS.
9. MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH,
AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO G.
S. §143-318.11(A)(6) TO REVIEW APPLICATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT FOR
PATROL OFFICER AND TO DISCUSS POLICE PERSONNEL MATTERS, AND PURSUANT TO
G. S. §143-318.11(A)(3) TO DISCUSS LEGAL MATTERS WITH THE TOWN
ATTORNEY. All present left the room except the Clerk and the
Police Chief. Before leaving the room, Larry Rogers commented
that he was opposed to the Town closing a portion of Fifth Street and
the planting of shrubbery.
A. Police Chief Bill Harrell said
that when John Cherry had been employed as Patrol Officer, he had
intended to recommended an increases from 11-1 to 11-3, rather than
11-2 as recorded in the minutes, upon completion of his field
evaluation; he recommended an increase to 11-3.
B. The Police Chief also reported
that Tony Carver had submitted his resignation. He reviewed with
the Board an application for employment from Mike Jolly, whom he
recommended employing as Patrol Officer at a salary of 11-2 with a
proposed series of step increases over a period of less than 12 months
to 11-7. The Town Administrator again expressed concern over the
departure from normal policy of starting new employees at Step 1.
The Police Chief then left the room.
C. The Board had agreed at the
previous meeting to ask the Town Attorney to review plans submitted by
Old Edwards Inn for the Satulah Park and Old Creek Lodge subdivisions
with respect to compliance with the watershed regulations, and he
briefed the Board at somoe length on this matter. The Town
Attorney then left the room.
D. The Board discussed Police
personnel matters.
MOVED BY COMM. JAMES, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO GO INTO OPEN SESSION. The door was opened to the
public.
10. MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM.
MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO EMPLOY MIKE JOLLY AS PATROL OFFICER
AT A SALARY OF 11-2 ($24,688).
11. MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM.
MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO INCREASE JOHN CHERRY'S SALARY TO 11-2
($24,688).
VII. MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON TO ADJOURN.
There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting
was declared adjourned by the Mayor at 9:50 p.m.
________________________________
Richard Betz, Town Clerk