REGULAR BOARD MEETING of September 3, 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, Selwyn Chalker, Kim Lewicki, Melody Spurney, Eric NeSmith, Bob Kieltyka, and Alan Marsh.

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; it was approved by consensus.

III. Approval of Minutes.

Copies of the minutes of the August 20 Regular Board Meeting had been distributed by mail.

MOVED BY COMM. DOTSON, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS DISTRIBUTED.

IV.  Public Comment Period.

Comm. Alan Marsh was present and once again expressed concern about flooding behind Trillium Place and the culvert in Horse Cove Road; he had received a letter from the D.O.T. saying that replacement of the culvert would not provide sufficient benefit to justify the costs, but he felt Senator John Snow should be contacted about the problem.

V.   Reports.

1.   The Mayor felt that the Board needed to meet to prioritize the projects identified in a report prepared by the Town Administrator at the previous meeting.  After some discussion, it was agreed that Staff would work on updating the costs and integrating them into the Capital Improvement Program for consideration early next year.

2.   Comm. Ross again discussed a problem with equipment parking on Oak Street near its intersection with First Street.  Comm. DeWolf reported that he was working on plans for remodeling of the Houston house.

3.   Each Board member had received a copy of the Town Engineer/ Public Services Administrator’s report for the month.  Lamar Nix was present and reported that he had received an informal bid of $38,932 from Haynes Utility for replacing 18 utility poles; the Town would be reimbursed by BalsamWest for three of the poles.  He also said that he and the Town Planner had met with OEI officials and discussed improving the intersection at Satulah Village South.  The Board had expressed an interest in the project at one time, agreeing to be a conduit for OEI funding; Mr. Nix was asked to proceed with the discussions.

4.   Each Board member had received a copy of the Police Chief's report for the month; since there was no business on the agenda, the Town Administrator said he had excused Chief Bill Harrell from the meeting.

5.   Each Board member had received a copy of the Recreation Director's written report for the month; Selwyn Chalker was present and reminded the Board that it had discussed an after-school program for middle school students last May, and he had been asked by several concerned citizens to proceed; funds had been budgeted for a Program Director but no action had been taken thus far on that position.  He recommended using part-time employee Rebecca Shuler for the program on a trial basis; although she was related to Civic Center Coordinator Maxine Ramey, which conflicted with the nepotism policy in the Personnel Manual, he pointed out that Rebecca would only be working three to five hours per week and would not be on the same shift as Maxine.  The Board approved the recommendation by consensus. 

Mr. Chalker also reported that the Greenways Committee would begin working on a trail in the Recreation Park property, and distributed a map showing the location; copies of the “Highlands Greenways News” were distributed. 

He also recommended employing Lance Hollars to work part-time at the front desk since Bill Wallen had resigned; the Board agreed by consensus. 

He also reported that he had attended a workshop earlier in the day on preparation of PARTF grants; the application deadline was February 2, 2009.

6.   Each Board member had received a copy of the Town Planner/ Zoning Administrator's written report for the month; Joe Cooley was present, and reported that data collection had commenced on the parking study.  He expected to received an estimate soon from the same firm, Wilbur Smith, for preparation of a Unified Development Ordinance.

7.   Each Board member had received a copy of the Treasurer's Report for the month. 

MOVED BY COMM. DEWOLF, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO ACCEPT THE REPORT.

8.   The Town Administrator distributed copies of a memorandum he had prepared on the Town’s wholesale power supply, and reported that he, the Mayor, and the Town Engineer had met with officials from Duke on August 25; the Duke officials had informed the Town that they would be terminating the current wholesale power arrangement and outlined the time-table and options that would be negotiated with the help of the Town’s attorneys in future months.  Details were not known at this time, but the new rates, which had not been increased since 1997, would not go into effect until March of 2010.

He also updated the Board on the status of the Macon County Transit Station.  He also reported that Old Edwards Inn Inc. had offered to donate its Christmas decorations for the Methodist Church tree to the Town this year.  He also reported that he had been working with the Town Attorney on court exhibits for the Bowery Road condemnation lawsuits scheduled for October 13.

VI.  Old Business.  None.

VII. New Business.  None.

VIII. MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. ROSS, 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 8:00 p.m.

                             ________________________________

                             Richard Betz, Town Clerk