REGULAR BOARD MEETING of March 15, 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, Lamar Nix, Larry Gantenbein, David
Hourdequin, Lee Hodges, Ginger Slaughter, Kim Lewicki, Jim Lewicki,
Adam Thompson, Bob Kieltyka, King Young, 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 asked that three items be added: Resolution
regarding appointment of Zoning Board member in the ETJ, request for
use of right-of-way for construction activities, and award of bids on
Phase II of the re-conductoring project.
MOVED BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS AMENDED.
III. Approval of Minutes.
Copies of the minutes of the March 1 Regular Board Meeting and the
March 8 Special Board Meeting had been distributed by mail.
MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS DISTRIBUTED.
IV. Reports.
1. The Mayor reported that Graham Fields from
Elizabeth Dole's office would be in Town to look at the silt problem in
the lakes on April 6 at 8:30 a.m. He also reminded the Board that
the Chamber of Commerce would be holding its annual retreat on March
29, and he urged Board members to attend.
2. Comms. Ross and Patterson reported that the ETJ
Liaison Committee had met on March 9 and mapped out a plan, forwarding
comments received from the first two sets of community meetings to the
Planning Board; dates for the last three sets of meetings had not yet
been set. The Committee would meet again at 5:00 p.m. on March 23.
Comm. DeWolf reported that he and Comm. Ross had prepared a final draft
of the RFP for the Town Administration Master Facilities Plan, approved
at the March 1 meeting, and would be mailing them out to area
architects.
3. The Town Administrator reported that the personnel
study would begin on Friday with an all-day kick-off meeting with all
of the employees outlining the program and requesting information on
job responsibilities. He also provided a copy of the lawsuit
filed by Macon County against the Town concerning proportional
representation in the ETJ. He reported that the moratorium on
commercial construction in the ETJ would expire the next day.
The Town Engineer reported that he had talked to the District Engineer
and the D. O. T. would be re-locating the culvert at the intersection
of US-64 and Hickory Hill Road, as discussed at the previous
meeting. He also said that the Engineer had indicated the Town
should send a letter requesting funding for the sidewalk and
curb-and-gutter along the east side of Chestnut Street between US-64
and Fifth Street, and the Board agreed to send such a letter by
consensus. Comm. James suggested that the letter indicate that
the Town would want to decide where the sidewalk would go. The
Town Administrator reported that Charles Simmerson would be coming to
the Board in April to clarify the location of the sidewalk which he was
required to install on the north side of Chestnut Street, as well as
along US-64 and Hickory Street.
V. Old Business.
1. Although not on the agenda, Lee Hodges was present
and requested that her request to exclude Blue Valley Estate, presented
for information at the March 1 meeting, be considered tonight.
She said that her subdivision was similar to Highlands Falls Country
Club and Cullasaja Club, which the Board had excluded when extending
ETJ last November. Comm. Patterson said she was not in favor of
exempting small subdivisions, which could have inadequate roads and lot
sizes and no enforcement of covenants. The decision to exclude
the two large subdivisions was a political one based on their size,
contiguity, and administrative boards able to enforce covenants.
Comm. DeWolf agreed; he thought there were significant differences
between the two subdivisions excluded and smaller subdivisions in the
ETJ. Comm. Ross also felt that smaller subdivisions should be
included in the ETJ, and he pointed out that he would not want to
eliminate anything at this point while in the middle of the
process. Comm. James said he did not see how the subdivision
regulations would affect existing subdivisions; however, he had not
agreed with the decision to exclude Highlands Falls and Cullasaja Club.
MOVED BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO DENY THE REQUEST.
VI. New Business.
1. Each Board member had received a copy of the
minutes of the March 13 Planning Board meeting. The Town
Administrator said that he had attended the meeting and he reported
that the Board would be considering a draft of an ETJ-Multi-Use
District at three upcoming 5:30 p.m. meetings March 20, March 27, and
April 3. The draft would incorporate the comments received from
the first set of ETJ meetings.
2. The Town Administrator had prepared budget
requests to Macon County, Jackson County, and the Highlands Chamber of
Commerce:
● Macon County: The budget request was for $500,000, and was
accompanied by a proposed 06-07 Recreation Department budget, including
revenues and expenditures. Comm. Patterson said that she wanted
time to review the budget, and the Board approved the request by
consensus, contingent on review by the Finance Committee.
● Jackson County: As in past years, the budget request was for
Jackson County to institute a fire district tax like Macon County and
most other counties in the State, or in lieu of that to fund the cost
of fire protection in the Jackson County portion of the Highlands
service area in an amount equivalent to that which would be generated
by the Macon County fire tax. The Board approved the request by
consensus; Comm. Ross agreed to contact Jackson County officials and
discuss the request.
● Highlands Chamber of Commerce: As in past years, the budget
request was for 50% of maintenance, supplies, and cleaning of the
public restrooms, which this year would again be $10,000. The Board
approved the request by consensus.
3. Each Board member had received copies of a filing
before the Federal Communications Commission, prepared for the Town by
its cable franchise consultant, David Harris. Mr. Harris had
prepared filings for 90 communities like Highlands requesting that the
FCC not interfere with local government authority over franchising.
MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO SIGN THE FILING.
4. The Town Administrator reminded the Board that it
had adopted a resolution and forwarded it to the Macon County Board of
Commissioners pursuant to the January 4 meeting, requesting appointment
of two members to the Zoning Board; new figures, subject of a lawsuit
with the County, indicated that only one member would be required on a
five-member Board to achieve proportional representation. The
Board agreed by consensus to place the revised resolution on the agenda
of the April 5 meeting for approval.
5. A request to use the right-of-way for construction
activities had been received from Handyman 4 You. The request was
for parking of a construction trailer on Main Street in order to
re-roof Acorns through the end of the following week; the trailer would
be moved on the weekend.
MOVED BY COMM. DEWOLF, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY
CARRIED TO APPROVE THE REQUEST.
6. The Town Engineer had opened two informal bids
earlier in the day for Phase II of the re-conductoring project, as
follows:
● M. B. Haynes $75,000
● Dillard Smith 90,988
MOVED BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED
TO AWARD THE CONTRACT TO THE LOW BIDDER.
The Town Administrator said that $264,000 had been budgeted under
Capital Outlay in the Electric Department, and Phase I of the
re-conductoring project, approved in December, had been only
$78,460. The Town Engineer suggested preparing a plan sheet based
on work that the GIS/Field Technician was preparing in order to develop
an RFP for changing out poles, as discussed many times in recent
months; the pole change-outs would bring clearances into compliance
with the National Electric Safety Code. The Board approved the
preparation of bids by consensus.
VII. MOVED BY COMM. DEWOLF AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO ADJOURN.
There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting
was declared adjourned by the Mayor at 8:00 p.m.
________________________________
Richard Betz, Town Clerk