REGULAR
BOARD MEETING of October 15, 2008, with Mayor
Don Mullen and Comms. Amy Patterson, Hank Ross, Dennis DeWolf, Larry
Rogers,
and John Dotson present.
Also
present were Richard Betz, Joe Cooley, Hilda
Brown, Bill Coward, Kim Lewicki, Geoff Slade, Bryan Starnes, David
Wilkes,
Sandra Baty, Linsey Wisdom, Hillrie Quin, Scott Paxton, and Alan Marsh.
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
Town Administrator said that David Wilkes
had asked him earlier in the day if he could give the Board an update
on the
ABC Store.
MOVED BY
COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF,
AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS AMENDED.
III. Approval
of Minutes.
Copies of
the minutes of the October 1 Public Hearing
and Regular Board Meeting had been distributed by mail.
MOVED BY
COMM. DEWOLF, SECONDED BY COMM. ROSS, AND
UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS DISTRIBUTED.
IV. Reports.
1. The
Mayor reminded the Board that they would be meeting at an informal
dinner
meeting with the County Commissioners and Town of Franklin Aldermen on
October
21 at the Fireside Restaurant. He also
reported that he had met with another group that wanted to begin a
recycling
program in Highlands and had asked about a franchise; they had not
shown him a
business plan but said they would prepare one in the near future.
2. Comm.
DeWolf reported that he had received an informal bid from NEO
Corporation of
$30,600 for doing work, including asbestos remediation, in the Houston
house;
he was trying to get some informal bids on HVAC, electrical, and
plumbing work
that would need to be done. The Board
approved the work by NEO Corporation by consensus.
He also
reported that he and Comm. Ross had been
working on the plans for Town Hall, reviewing design and costs. Comm. Ross recommended that the Board
re-group and have a work session at the November 19 meeting, and the
Board
agreed by consensus.
3. Town
Administrator and Treasurer Richard Betz had prepared a report on the
status of
Town revenues and expenditures, investments, and pension fund in light
of the
economic slowdown:
*
*
*
Revenues and
Expenditures
According
to
the latest information we have received from the League of
Municipalities, the
economic slowdown is likely to reduce General Fund revenues
significantly. All across the State, construction is down and
unemployment is up; the tight credit market and these other factors is
obviously
reducing consumer spending, so Sales Tax revenues will be down.
We have
already received the Powell Bill allotment for the year, and it is down
10% - I
would not be surprised if other revenues are reduced even more.
The
League says that they “hope and believe” that the Governor will not
withhold
our State-collected local revenues as he has done in the past, but
that, too,
is a possibility.
On
the local
level, property taxes will not be affected until our next revaluation,
but in
many areas the soft market has meant lower assessed values;
foreclosures are on
the rise, and we have even seen some here in Highlands. We may
also see
more and more consumers having difficulty paying their utility bills as
a
result of unemployment or slow work in construction.
For
this
reason, the League has urged municipal officials across the state to
consider
reducing expenditures for the current fiscal year; as they point out,
it may be
easier to do so now than later in the year. I would echo that
advice, and
recommend that the Board carefully consider ALL expenditures that have
not yet
been approved in the coming year until we get a clearer picture of
where we are
headed. Many other cities have already instituted hiring freezes
or
reductions, and the communications I see on the City & County
Managers
Association Listserv reveal a very serious problem, especially for
cities with
minimal capital reserves. Now is the time to be extremely
conservative
with spending.
Another
factor that might affect us is the upcoming wholesale electric rate
increase
from Duke Power – Duke has been delayed in getting back to us and we’re
not
scheduled to meet now until early December, but we can certainly expect
an
increase. Although that won’t go into effect until March of 2010,
passing
the increase on to consumers at that time might be difficult if
economic
conditions remain unimproved. Thus, the historically healthy
profit we
have made from our Electric Distribution System may be affected.
That
being
said, the Harris Lake Sewer Project is fully funded – our CWMTF grant
has been
committed, and our matching funds have been placed into the Capital
Projects
Fund for the contract. Future grant money is certainly going to become
tighter
and tighter, although PARTF funds seem to be unaffected for now.
So only
time will tell to what extent some of the larger capital project we
have
discussed – such as Phases II and III of the sewer projects, Town Hall,
and
Pine Street Park – can be funded, but for this year we have the
resources to
move forward. We also have healthy capital reserves, as Bryan
Starnes
will tell you later in the meeting. Our water, sewer, and
electric rates
are adequate to operate as true Enterprise funds which don’t need to be
subsidized from General Fund revenues.
Investments
As
far as our
investments, the State of North Carolina is probably in a stronger
position
than most other States. The Local Government Commission
continually
“looks over our shoulder,” as well as the shoulder of banks, to ensure
that our
investments are in order. All of the Town’s capital reserves are
secured
through the so-called “Pooling” method, rather than the “Dedicated”
method. This means that they are collateralized by the State
Treasurer in
a “Pool” with other municipalities. The State Treasurer monitors
the Pool
and ensures that sufficient collateral, in the form of high-quality
securities,
is available for all public deposits. Funds deposited by Wachovia
are
thus fully protected, as are the Certificates of Deposit that we have
with RBC
Centura.
Unfortunately,
despite our excellent credit rating, the Town’s ability to borrow money
long
term has virtually disappeared. Nobody is buying municipal bonds,
and our
ability to proceed with a bond issue for a large capital project would
be
affected; interest rates would simply not be feasible. The State
Treasurer is urging all local governments to limit debt issues to
essential
projects that cannot be delayed.
Pension Fund
Like
every
other 401K in the country, our optional employee-funded 401K has been
hit by
the stock market crisis. However, all of our employees are
members of the
Local Governmental Employees Retirement System, which has been
conservatively
invested and wisely managed. In fact, the State Treasurer told us
on
Monday that North Carolina has the second best pension fund in the
country, and
is prepared to weather the downturn. Employees can be confident
that
their benefits will be there when they retire, and we will be giving
them all a
more detailed written report in their next pay check to re-assure them.
So
the bottom
line is: we are in a lot better shape than many public
institutions, but we have to tighten our belt.
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*
*
The Town
Administrator then pointed out that Bryan
Starnes was present and asked that his presentation of the audit be
taken up
now, rather than under New Business, because he had another appointment. Mr. Starnes then reiterated Mr. Betz’s
comments concerning the financial health of the Town.
He pointed out that the Town was fortunate in
having the State Treasurer and Local Government Commission in times of
crisis. He then briefly reviewed the
audit for year ending June 30, 2008; the Town had healthy capital
reserves and
was in good financial condition.
The Town
Administrator then returned to his
report. He noted that now that Cullasaja
Drive had been paved and become a Town street, the Board needed to
designate a
speed limit; the Town Engineer had recommended 25 MPH.
MOVED BY
COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. ROGERS,
AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO DESIGNATE A SPEED LIMIT OF 25 MPH FOR
CULLASAJA
DRIVE.
He also
reported that McGill had submitted the CWMTF
grant proposal for Innovative Stormwater Projects for stormwater
improvements
at Pine Street Park; the deadline was October 15, and the Town should
know
whether it was approved or not by the end of the year.
He said that the Town Engineer had asked
about beginning some of the infrastructure work on the project in the
meantime,
including moving power, water, and sewer lines; the Board approved by
consensus
proceeding with this work.
Included
with the agenda package was a report of hours
worked and services provided by Bill Wilder on the Town Manager search.
The Town
Administrator had also prepared a report
showing budgeted Recreation Department expenditures for the past two
years, the
current year, and projected coming year.
Comm. Dotson asked that the actual budget figures in the report,
and he
offered to provide them before the joint meeting.
It had
also been reported by the Planning Director that
James Manley and Allan James had not attended any Zoning Board meetings
this
calendar year; Mr. Manley had resigned, but he had been unable to
contact Mr.
James, and it was critical that there be adequate membership on this
Board. After some discussion and a brief
adjournment, the Town Administrator obtained from his office the names
of
members of the public who had applied to serve on Boards.
MOVED BY
COMM. PATTERSON AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO
APPOINT ALTERNATE MEMBER DAVID ROHRER AS A REGULAR MEMBER TO FILL THE
UNEXPIRED
TERM OF ALLAN JAMES, TO APPOINT ERIC PIERSON AS AN ALTERNATE MEMBER TO
FILL
JAMES MANLEY’S UNEXPIRED TERM, AND TO APPOINT BRIAN STIEHLER TO FILL
DAVID
ROHRER’S UNEXPIRED TERM.
V. Old
Business.
1. The
Town Administrator reported that he had contacted the Underwriting
Supervisor
with the Town’s insurance carrier and discussed insurance for the
Greenways
Committee proposal discussed at the previous meeting.
He had said that volunteers working for the
Committee were not covered by Town insurance since it was a separate
501(C)(3)
organization, and he recommended that the Committee obtain its own
general
liability insurance with a minimum limit of $1,000,000 per occurrence,
the same
limit as the Town, naming the Town as an additional insured. Hillrie
Quin was
present and said that he had obtained a quote for such insurance, as
well as
for workers compensation, from Insurance Services; he submitted a
revised request
for funding which consisted of the following:
Insurance
$ 1,200
Rock for steps
4,800
Training by Fred Lashley
1,800
Track Dump Truck
6,000
Mini-excavator
22,000
TOTAL
$35,000
Mr.
Quin reported that, other than the materials cost of replacing the
bridge over
Mill Creek in the Recreation Park, his Committee would make no further
requests
for funding this fiscal year from the $100,000 budgeted.
MOVED
BY COMM. ROSS, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO
APPROVE THE
FOREGOING BUDGET REQUEST, INCLUDING PURCHASE OF THE EQUIPMENT TO BE
ADDED TO
THE TOWN INVENTORY.
Mr.
Quin also submitted copies of a proposed amendment of the Subdivision
Ordinance
drafted by an intern for the UNC Institute for the Environment program,
which
he said was similar to amendments made to the Zoning Ordinance last
year. He said that the Greenways Committee
had
agreed to work with the intern, and that he had discussed the need for
this
amendment with the Planning Board Chairman some time ago, but the Town
Administrator and Planning Director had advised him that he should take
the
request first to the Town Board. Joe
Cooley was present and explained that the Planning Board was working on
a list
of priorities established jointly by the two Boards, and this was not
on the
list. He also felt that this was a
policy decision the Town Board needed to address, and had not seen the
amendment before tonight. Finally, he
questioned whether any amendment should be made while the Unified
Development
Ordinance was underway. After some
discussion, the Mayor suggested that this item by placed on the agenda
of the
November 5 meeting so that Board members would have time to review it.
Comm.
Alan Marsh was present and asked about the proposed sidewalk along
Chestnut
Street between Fifth and Sixth streets; he said Herb and Barbara James
walked
that street frequently and felt it was needed.
The Town Administrator said that he and many others that he knew
walked
and ran this street nearly every day and none of them felt a sidewalk
was
necessary.
VI. New Business.
1. Each
Board member had received a copy
of the Highlands Playhouse lease, set to expire December 31, 2008. Comm. Ross said that several groups had
spoken to him about wanting to use the facility during the shoulder
season. The Town Administrator reminded
the Board that it had discussed this matter for several meetings five
years
ago, and the result had been the current language in Section XVI of the
lease:
“. . . The Lessor agrees that it will allow
other
responsible persons, entities, or groups to use the Leased Premises at
reasonable times and upon reasonable notice and upon such other
reasonable
conditions as Lessee may deem appropriate.”
Comm.
Ross suggested that the Highlands School, Community Theater, Instant
Theater,
and Highlands Playhouse all be invited to a meeting to discuss how the
building
can be used, and the Board agreed by consensus to place this on the
agenda of
the November 19 meeting. Scott Paxton
was present from the Instant Theater and said that he had tried to rent
the
building in October and November and had been told that the building
could not
be heated; he also complained about excessive rental fees being set by
the
Playhouse.
2. The
Town Administrator reported that
the Federal Trade Commission was requiring that every municipality with
a
utility system adopt an Identity Theft Prevention Program before
November 1,
2008. He had drafted a policy based on
information from the League of Municipalities, the Fair and Accurate
Credit
Transactions Act of 2003, and sections of the Federal Register, and the
Town
Attorney had reviewed it.
MOVED
BY COMM. DEWOLF, SECONDED BY COMM. ROGERS, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO
ADOPT THE
IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION PROGRAM.
3. Each
Board member has been asked by
Bill Wilder at the previous meeting to e-mail him with any thoughts
they had on
the draft of the Town Manager Employment Profile submitted at that
meeting. Apparently some Commissioners
had understood that Mr. Wilder was to have met with the Town
Administrator, who
said he had not heard from Mr. Wilder and that had not been his
understanding,
to make changes to the Profile. The
Board agreed to forward any changes they felt were needed directly to
Mr.
Wilder before the October 22 Special Meeting, scheduled to be set later
in the
meeting.
4. David
Wilkes was present from the ABC
Board and reported that the Board had reviewed several options for the
ABC
Store, as discussed at many previous meetings.
He felt that the Board needed to expand the Store, get out of
it, or
have the Town tell them to operate as is for the next few years. He said that he had an opportunity to lease a
place for the Store for about $80,000 annually, which would come out of
the
$150,000 annual net profit, and he needed some direction on whether or
not to
proceed. Comm. Ross suggested that the
Board include this matter in the discussion of Town Hall design on
November 19,
and the Board agreed by consensus.
5. MOVED
BY COMM. ROSS, SECONDED BY COMM.
PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO SET A SPECIAL MEETING FOR 7:00
P.M. ON
OCTOBER 22, TO CONSIST OF A CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO G. S. '143-318.11(A)(6)
TO REVIEW APPLICATIONS FOR TOWN
MANAGER.
VII.
MOVED BY COMM. ROGERS 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