REGULAR BOARD MEETING of March 21, 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 Coward, Bob Kieltyka, Kim Lewicki, Jim Lewicki, Eric NeSmith, Bruce Koehler, 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 Clerk reported that the attorney for Riverwalk LLC had requested that item No. 2 under New Business be deferred until April 4.

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 7 Regular Board Meeting had been distributed by mail.

MOVED BY COMM. JAMES, SECONDED BY COMM. ROSS, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS DISTRIBUTED.

Copies of the minutes of the March 14 Regular Board Meeting had been distributed by mail; one correction was noted by Comm. James.

MOVED BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS CORRECTED.


IV.    Reports.

1.    The Mayor reported that the Town was looking into the possibility of D.O.T. funding for paving Hickory Hill Road if the State failed to obtain right-of-way.

2.    Comm. Ross expressed his appreciation for the public works crews removing all of the asphalt and concrete from the Pine Street Park property.  He said the Steering Committee was working on free fill, and Sapphire Lakes Country Club had agreed to grass the property gratis.  

He also said that the Organizational Review Committee had scheduled a retreat at The Mountain on April 17 at 7:00 a.m. lasting most of the morning; Robert E. Smith would be facilitating a discussion on organization of the Town.

3.    The Town Administrator distributed copies of notices of violation he had issued to Riverwalk LLC on February 16 and March 9, a letter from attorney William Clarke dated March 20, and his reply dated March 21.  He said that the developers had agreed to provide a revised soil erosion plan and have the site in compliance by March 29, and an inspection had been scheduled for March 30.


V.    Old Business.

1.    The Board discussed again a proposal from the Highlands Chamber of Commerce concerning parking in the downtown area. Comm. Ross said he liked the parking regulations the way they were but thought the Town might consider three-hour parking and elimination of the parking pass system; it would simplify the regulations and help realtors and visitors.  Comm. Patterson favored keeping the regulations as they now are; she thought two-hour parking provided a turnover.  Comm. DeWolf agreed, as did Comms. James and Marsh.  Comm. Ross pointed out that two-hour parking on Church Street was a separate matter, but he felt it should be considered only for the western portion of the street.  All Board members felt that the Downtown Business District Parking Ordinance, which restricted employee parking, should remain the same.

MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH, AND CARRIED TO LEAVE THE CURRENT TWO-HOUR PARKING RESTRICTIONS IN PLACE, BUT TO TO EXTEND TWO-HOUR PARKING ON CHURCH STREET ONLY AS FAR AS THE EASTERN END OF THE OEI PROPERTY ON THE NORTH AND THE OEI PROPERTY ON THE SOUTH.  The motion carried, with Comms. Patterson, Marsh, James, and DeWolf voting "aye," and Comm. Ross voting "nay."

MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. ROSS, AND CARRIED TO EXTEND THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PARKING PASS SYSTEM FOR ANOTHER YEAR.  The motion carried, with Comms. Patterson, Ross, DeWolf, and Marsh voting "aye," and Comm. James voting "nay."


VI.    New Business.

1.    The Town Administrator reminded the Board that budget requests were due to Jackson and Macon County and to the Chamber of Commerce by March 31.  He said that the request to the Chamber for 50/50 funding of the public restrooms would be approximately $10,000, the same as last year.  The request to Jackson County for funds equivalent to Macon County fire tax revenue would be approximately $21,000, the same as last year.  The Board had also discussed last year requesting funding for the School Resource Officer, since the County provided this service elsewhere; the cost of salary and benefits would be $59,295.  

Funding in a range of $500,000 would be provided for the next three years for the Recreation Department through the Memorandum of Understanding betweemn the Town and the County executed in January of 2006, but the agreement also provided for additional funding for capital expenditures in excess of $10,000.  The Board agreed that the request to Macon County should include additional funds for mowing Zachary Field, an estimated cost of $35,000 to $45,000 for new Nautilus equipment, the unexpected additional expense of $34,614 approved at the March 14 meeting for the roof of the Civic Center, and one-half of the cost of the roofing of the Civic Center.  The Board agreed by consensus for these budget requests to be sent to the respective agencies.

The Board also asked the Mayor to contact Charles Leatherman and schedule a joint meeting to discuss these budget matters and the expenses for the Rich Gap Transfer Station.

2.    Copies of a letter from First Presbyterian Church had been distributed at the previous meeting concerning a triangle of land between the church and Fifth Street relocated in 1925; the letter requested that preliminary legal work on the question be turned over to the Town Attorney for his opinion and guidance.   The Board agreed by consensus.

3.    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 CONSIDER APPLICATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT, AND PURSUANT TO G. S. §143-318.11(A)(3) TO CONSULT WITH THE TOWN ATTORNEY ON PENDING LITIGATION.  The Board adjourned to the adjoining meeting room with the Town Administrator, the Public Services Administrator, and the Town Attorney.  Gary Nicholson arrived during the closed session and joined the Board.

    A.    The Public Services Administrator reviewed an application for employment for the Tree Trimmer Crew Leader position from Chris Parker; he and the Town Administrator recommended that he be employed at a salary of 13-3 ($28,770).

    B.    The Board consulted with the Town Attorney on pending litigation with Riverwalk LLC.

    C.    The Board consulted with the Town Attorney on pending litigation with Macon County.

    D.    The Board reviewed an application for the position of Planning & Development Code Official from Josh Ward; a salary of 19-4 ($39,659) had been recommended.

    E.    Gary Nicholson updated the Board on his review of applications for the position of Planning & Development Director.

THE BOARD AGREED BY CONSENSUS TO GO INTO OPEN SESSION AND ALL RETURNED TO THE MEETING ROOM.

4.    MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. ROSS, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO EMPLOY JOSH WARD IN THE POSITION OF PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT CODE OFFICIAL AT A SALARY OF 19-4 ($39,659).

5.    MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO ADOPT JOB DESCRIPTIONS FOR PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT CODE OFFICIAL AND PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR THAT HAD BEEN PREPARED BY CONSULTANT GARY NICHOLSON.

6.    MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. ROSS, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO EMPLOY CHRIS PARKER IN THE POSITION OF TREE TRIMMER CREW LEADER AT A SALARY OF 13-3 ($28,770).

7.    Comm. Ross has asked Gary Nicholson to discuss procedures for running background checks, and Mr. Nicholson briefed the Board on Castle Branch Employment Screening, a consulting firm that provided this service.

MOVED BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO USE CASTLE ROCK EMPLOYMENT SCREENING FOR BACKGROUND CHECKS IN THE FUTURE.

8.    Comm. James felt that the Board should schedule a review of the recommendations of the MAPS personnel study in the near future.  The Town Administrator said that he and other staff had reviewed the study in some detail and had some recommendations.


VII. MOVED 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 9:10 p.m.



                         ________________________________
                        Richard Betz, Town Clerk