MINUTES
STATE
OF
The Henderson County
Board of Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at 9:00 a.m. in
the Commissioners' Conference Room of the
Those present were: Chairman Bill Moyer, Vice-Chairman Charlie
Messer, Commissioner Larry Young, Commissioner
Also present were:
Budget and Management Director Selena Coffey, Public Information Officer Chris
S. Coulson, Fire Marshal Rocky Hyder, County Engineer
CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman Moyer called
the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Commissioner Baldwin led
the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
INVOCATION
David Nicholson gave the
invocation.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT OF AGENDA
David Nicholson informed
the public that a new Planning Director had been hired. Her name is Judy
Francis, and she is currently the Planning Director in
INFORMAL PUBLIC COMMENTS
1. Eva Ritchey – Ms. Ritchey spoke as the head of the Henderson
County Democratic Party. She addressed the Board on the issue on WHKP. She
urged the Board to follow their own policies, and not allow a private industry
a forum on a public resource. She also discussed the Transportation Plan, and urged
the Board to reconsider the Plan focusing on a cleaner environment, alternative
fuels, and public transportation.
2. Margaret Davidson -
Ms. Davidson spoke on behalf of the Edneyville community. She requested
the Board support Edneyville in building a recreation facility. To date, the
community had raised $100,000, and would be purchasing land on September 30th.
They were prepared to apply for grant
funding, would continue their fund raising efforts, and hoped to have the
center built soon.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT OF AGENDA -
continued
Chairman Moyer added to
the Consent Agenda Item “F” – North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Grant. Chairman
Moyer also added Discussion Item “F” –
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to adopt the agenda as amended. All voted in favor and
the motion carried.
CONSENT AGENDA
Commissioner
McGrady
made the motion to adopt the Consent
Agenda. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
The Consent Agenda items included the
following:
Minutes
Draft minutes
were presented of the following meetings for the Board’s review and approval:
June 13, 2005 – Special
Called Meeting
September 6, 2005 - Regular Meeting
Tax Collector’s Report
Terry F. Lyda, Henderson
County Tax Collector, had provided the Tax Collectors Report dated September
19, 2005 for the Board’s information.
Set Public Hearing: 2002
CDBG Scattered Site Housing Program Closeout
Staff
requested that the Board of Commissioners set a Public Hearing on the closeout
of the 2002 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for the Scattered Site
Housing Program for Monday, October 3, 2005 at 7:00 p.m.
Improvement Guarantee
for
Cummings
Cove Company, LLC, owner of the project, submitted an application for an
improvement guarantee for two phases in the Cummings Cove major subdivision.
Phase I of the Mountain Top Area in Cummings Cove will consist of 40 single
family lots on 36 acres of land. Phase II proposes 25 single family lots on 23
acres of land. Both Phases were conditionally approved by the Planning Board on
July 19, 2005. The improvement guarantee is proposed to cover the grading,
construction of the road, the water distribution and sewer system improvements,
erosion control and road shoulder stabilization for Phase I and Phase II of the
Mountain Top Area in Cummings Cove.
According
to Sections 170-38 and 170-39 of the Henderson County Subdivision Ordinance,
where the required improvements have not been completed or in lieu of
completing all of the required improvements in order to submit a Final Plat and
also prior to Final Plat approval, the developer may post a performance
guarantee for the improvements. Section 170-38 of the Henderson County
Subdivision Ordinance also states that the installation of the improvements
must be completed within two years of the date of approval of the improvement
guarantee. The developer intends to post with the County an irrevocable letter
of credit in the amount of at least $2,311,562.50 to cover the cost of the
improvements ($1,849,250.00) as well as the required twenty-five percent (25%)
contingency ($462,312.50). The proposed completion date for the improvements is
June 30, 2006.
A
draft Performance Guarantee Agreement was presented for the Board’s consideration. If the application is approved, the
developers must submit an irrevocable letter of credit in accordance with the
terms of the Agreement. Once the County receives a letter of credit in proper
form, the relevant parties must execute the Agreement.
The
Non-Profit Funding
Agreements
Subsequent
to the approval of the FY 2005-06 Budget, staff had distributed the funding
agreements to the non-profit agencies receiving County allocations. Staff will
be including signed funding agreements on the Board's consent agendas as we
receive them from the agencies.
The
1.
Partnership for Health
2.
Helping Hand
3.
Mainstay
North Carolina
Governor’s Highway Safety Grant
Staff received a request
from the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department to proceed with a grant request
for funding under the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. The amount of the grant was $10,000 and
requires no match.
NOMINATIONS
Notification of Vacancies
The Board was notified
of the following vacancies and these will appear on the next agenda for
nominations:
1.
Community Child
Protection Team
– 6 vac.
2.
Nursing/Adult Care Home
Community Advisory Committee – 2 vac.
3.
Planning For Older
Adults Block Grant Advisory Committee – 1 vac.
Amy Brantley requested
the addition of a Notification of Vacancy on the Animal Services Committee.
Position #4, Joe Duckett has resigned from the Board, having moved out of
state.
Nominations
1.
Cemetery Advisory
Committee – 7 vac.
Commissioner Baldwin
nominated John Boyd, Michael Arrowood, Karen Carswell, Jay Jackson, Wanda Case
and Jerald Willingham for reappointment to the Committee. There were no other
nominations. Chairman Moyer made the
motion to appoint the nominees by acclamation. All voted in favor and the motion
carried.
2.
Child Fatality
Prevention Team – 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
3.
At the last meeting,
Commissioner Young nominated Joe Cox. Mr. Cox currently serves on that Board in
an alternate position. Chairman Moyer
made the motion to accept the nomination to move Mr. Cox from the alternate
position to regular position #2. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
4.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
5.
Juvenile Crime
Prevention Council – 5 vac.
Commissioner McGrady
nominated Don Fisher for reappointment to Position #2 – Chief of Police. Chairman Moyer made the motion to accept Mr.
Fisher by acclamation. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
6.
Mountain Area Workforce
Development Board – 1 vac.
There
were no nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
7.
Nursing/Adult Care Home
Community Advisory Committee – 2 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
8.
Senior Volunteer
Services Advisory Council – 2 vac.
Commissioner McGrady
nominated Catherine Lee for appointment to Position #1 and Jerald Wright to Position
#3. Mr. Wright is interested in serving, but does not currently have an
application on file. Mr. Wright will be filing an application. Chairman Moyer made the motion to accept Ms.
Lee to Position #1 by acclamation. All voted in favor and the motion
carried.
Centralized Permitting Presentation
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Application for Solicitation Permit
David
Nicholson presented to the Board for their consideration an Application for a
Solicitation Permit from Mr. Andrew M. Torres of Torres Concessions, Tropical
Dreams. Mr. Torres wished to place a hot dog/sandwich push cart at the new
Courthouse each weekday from 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM. A copy of the Solicitation Policy was also
presented for the Board’s information.
There
was some discussion about possible problems such an operation may generate regarding
litter around the courthouse. There was also discussion about licensing issues
with the City of
Commissioner Young made the motion to
deny the permit request. The motion carried 3-2 with Commissioner Baldwin and
Commissioner McGrady voting in opposition.
Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Grant
Justin
Hembree reminded the Board that the County’s Five Year Capital Improvement
Program (CIP) includes a line item entitled “Jackson Park Improvements” with a
total estimated cost of $1,103,000. As
the Board may recall, the majority of these funds were planned to be used for a
multi-purpose recreation facility in Jackson Park. Per the CIP, a portion of the costs for this
facility is planned to be paid for through a 2005/2006 Parks and Recreation
Trust Fund (PARTF) Grant.
County
staff had been approached by citizens from the Edneyville Community concerning
a planned recreation facility in that part of the County. As the Board was aware, the Edneyville
Community had been working to raise funds to pay for a recreation facility for
some time and has raised approximately $100,000 to date. The Community had requested that the County
apply for a 2005/2006 PARTF Grant to assist in the costs of the Edneyville
project. The Community also requested
that the County agree to own, operate, and maintain the proposed recreation
facility.
Obviously,
it would not be wise for the County to apply for two PARTF Grants in the same
year. Therefore, these two projects, the
Jackson Park Improvements and the Edneyville Recreation Project, needed to be
prioritized. In order to facilitate this
process, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board considered this issue during
their meeting on September 20, and voted unanimously to recommend that the
Board of Commissioners support the Edneyville Community by either applying for
a PARTF grant, or applying for a PARTF grant on behalf of the Edneyville
Community, and that the multipurpose facility in Edneyville be placed on an
amended CIP to priority over the multipurpose facility in Jackson Park.
Mr.
Hembree stated that Staff supported the recommendation by the Parks and
Recreation Advisory Board. He recommended that the Board direct Staff to amend
the Capital Improvement Program and the Strategic Plan to reflect the change in
priorities in terms of PARTF funding. With this action, at some point the
County would take over ownership of the facility.
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to accept the recommendation of the Parks and
Recreation Advisory Board as reported, specifically support the application of
the grant, direct Staff to come up with the necessary language to amend the CIP
and reflect the Board’s understanding that the ownership, operation and
maintenance of the proposed Edneyville facility will be the County’s
responsibility.
All
voted in favor and the motion carried.
MSD – Extension of Interceptor
David
Nicholson informed the Board that the Metropolitan Sewerage District of
Buncombe County, North Carolina (MSD) was requesting that Henderson County/Cane
Creek Water and Sewer District waive the formal application process for a
project to extend their sewer interceptor. They were planning to extend the
current major interceptor line, which currently ends at the
Staff
held a meeting with MSD staff concerning this request several months ago and
requested that a flow study be completed that would analyze the future needs
from both our projects, as well as expected flows from southern Buncombe
County. This study, which was performed by CDM, indicates that there is
adequate capacity in the existing interceptor to handle these future flows.
Staff
had no problem recommending to the Board that the formal application process be
waived for the interceptor portion only. Any connections to this line would
have to go through our normal application process. However, Mr. Nicholson
recommended that MSD ensure Henderson County/Cane Creek Water and Sewer
District that any need to enlarge the interceptor in the future due to
additional needs in Buncombe County be borne by MSD.
Mr.
Nicholson had attended a MSD Board of Directors meeting where this issue was
discussed. He was asked by their Board to discuss the status of the District
and our future plans. It was very apparent that the members of that Board do
not understand the customer base and needs in northern
Following some discussion among the Board about
the long range benefits of extending the sewer interceptor, and the application
process that would still be followed by individuals tapping onto the
interceptor, Chairman Moyer made the
motion to waive the formal application process for the project to extend the
sewer interceptor with the caveat that MSD would bear the cost of any future
expansion of the size of the line. All voted in favor and the motion
carried.
HCTV-11 Radio Criteria
David
Nicholson reminded the Board that at the last meeting, they had directed staff
to develop a set of criteria concerning radio broadcasting on HCTV-11. The
following were draft criteria including requirements for allowing a radio
signal on the channel and the type of programming that would be prohibited:
Permitted by
Broadcast Policy and not prohibited in the Mediacom Access User Guide/Contract
The
following types of programs are permitted when submitted by a department of
*
Emergency programming affecting public safety and health in the community
*
Public meetings involving the elected and appointed officials within
*
Programs and meetings which explain county policies and programs, county
facilities, and services;
*
Public meetings or programs of other governments that affect
*
Programs that highlight the cultural and historic resources of
*
Public service announcements
*
Factual information concerning information on any ballot issue affecting
be allowed. (Character-generated) election
results may also be aired.
Not Permitted by Broadcast Policy and Mediacom Access User Guide/Contract
*
Programs containing slanderous, lewd, obscene or violent material
*
Programs containing copyrighted materials without proper copyright
authorization.
*
Programs which promote, endorse, or advertise any nonprofit agency, private
business, commercial service
or
product, profit-making activity, political candidate or partisan cause
*
Programs pertaining, directly or indirectly, to lotteries or other programs
involving prize or chance
(Note – does not apply to a State lottery
under the authority of State law.)
*
Programs which solicit donations of any kind
*
Programs advocating a personal viewpoint
Items
to be considered for inclusion in radio requirements
*
Contact person on call at night to break into network programming for
emergencies
*
Cut-ins for local emergency news
*
Station would provide all necessary equipment required to broadcast radio
signal on HCTV-11, and upon
relocation of cable head-end, station would
provide additional equipment as needed, based on the county’s
equipment standards
*
Station would supply engineering support for troubleshooting problems, and
repair or replace station
equipment in a timely manner
*
Hourly local news briefs at predetermined time
*
Daily community calendar listing of county meetings and events at predetermined
time
*
Promotion of county’s government channel including programming schedule
*
Twenty 30-second ads per month to be used at county’s discretion
*
Free county use of other station advertising outlets – message boards,
websites, publications
*
Unlimited public service announcements for county events or programs with no
paid sponsorship
*
Some amount paid to county for use of the channel to be set aside for capital
expense of video equipment.
Commissioner
Baldwin discussed the points that he would like to see on the Channel, but felt
it would be extremely difficult for any radio station to meet the criteria
specified above. Chairman Moyer stated that it would be up to the stations to
decide whether or not they could meet the criteria, once the Board decided on
the criteria. It would be up to the radio stations to determine whether they
can meet the criteria. He suggested sending a letter to the stations with the
criteria, ask them how their radio station could comply with those criteria and
what the limitations would be. He suggested a two week deadline, to allow for
discussion at the Board’s next meeting.
Commissioner
McGrady stated that he didn’t have any problem going forward as suggested, but
felt that at some point the Board would have to deal with the issue of
religious programming. Commissioner Messer expressed concern that the County
was not in a position to broadcast emergency information in the event that no
radio station was on the station. Commissioner Young questioned whether the
County could broadcast live on the station in the event of emergencies. David
Nicholson stated that he would determine the feasibility of such a broadcast,
and place it on the next agenda for discussion.
Chairman
Moyer made the motion that the criteria developed by Staff, including the
issues raised with respect to religion and political talk shows involving
Commissioners expressing views in an impartial way, be sent to radio stations
so they may review the criteria to determine whether they would be willing and
able to provide a radio signal over Channel 11, and if not, what changes would
have to be made in the criteria to enable them to do so. All voted in
favor and the motion carried. Chairman
Moyer stated that letter would be sent the following day, and asked that the
stations get their responses back a few days prior to the next meeting so it
could be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.
David
Nicholson discussed the September 2005
With
regards to the
Commissioner
Baldwin questioned where the Regional Water Authority currently stood. Chairman
Moyer stated that the process was moving far slower than he would prefer. He
was hopeful that the process was not caught up in municipal elections, and
stated that he would continue to try to push the process along.
CLOSED
SESSION
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to go into Closed Session as allowed pursuant to NCGS
143-318.11 for the following reasons:
1.
(a)(3) To
consult with an attorney employed or retained by the public body in order to
preserve the attorney-client privilege between the attorney and the public
body, which privilege is hereby acknowledged.
To consult with an attorney employed or retained by the public body in
order to consider and give instructions to the attorney with respect to a
claim.
2.
(a)(4) To
discuss matters related to the location or expansion of industries or other
businesses in the area served by the public body.
3.
(a)(6) To
consider the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness,
conditions of appointment, or conditions of initial employment of an individual
public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee; or to
hear or investigate a complaint, charge, or grievance by or against an
individual public officer or employee.
All voted in favor and the motion
carried.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWING
CLOSED SESSION
David
Nicholson announced that following 30 years of service, at the end of the year
he would be retiring. He had offered to stay on in a part time, temporary
capacity to continue to work on some capital projects. He appreciated having
had the opportunity to serve the Board and the community for 30 years. The
Board thanked David for his contribution to the County, stating they were
looking forward to working with David in a new capacity.
PUBLIC HEARING – CDBG
Housing Development Grant Closeout – Parkside Commons
Commissioner
Messer made the motion to go into Public Hearing. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
Kate
O’Hara stated that under the terms of the Community Development Block Grant
program, the County was required to hold a closeout Public Hearing to receive
citizens’ comments on the closeout of the Fiscal Year 2002 Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) for the Parkside Commons Senior Apartment
Building Project.
Public Input
There
was none.
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to go out of Public Hearing. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
IMPORTANT DATES
David Nicholson reminded the Board of the upcoming
Historic Courthouse presentation at
CANE
CREEK WATER & SEWER DISTRICT - no business
ADJOURN
Commissioner Messer made the motion to adjourn the
meeting. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
Attest:
Amy R. Brantley, Deputy Clerk
to the Board William L.
Moyer, Chairman