MINUTES
STATE
OF
The Henderson County
Board of Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at
Those present were: Chairman Bill Moyer, Vice-Chairman Charlie
Messer, Commissioner Larry Young, Commissioner Shannon Baldwin, Commissioner
Chuck McGrady, County Manager Steve Wyatt, Assistant County Manager
Also present were: Assistant
County Manager Selena Coffey, Fire
Marshal Rocky Hyder, Finance Director J. Carey McLelland, County Engineer Gary
Tweed, Utilities Director Doyle Freeman, Development & Enforcement Director
Toby Linville and Deputy Clerk to the Board Amy Brantley.
CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman Moyer called
the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Commissioner Young led
the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
INVOCATION
Commissioner Shannon
Baldwin gave the invocation.
INFORMAL PUBLIC COMMENTS
- Theron Maybin – Mr. Maybin stated that Dr. John Bell is
willing to put a price on the property in question for a park in the
Tuxedo community. The availability for a park in the
Mr.
Maybin then addressed the Commissioners as a member of the Henderson County
Soil & Water Conservation Board, stating that the Board had been promised a
used vehicle for years. He stated that we are not a second class county and not
a second class soil and water board. He
felt that a new vehicle should be budgeted into the budget for the coming year
for a vehicle that would meet the needs of the soil and water board.
- Dick Baird – Mr. Baird reminded the Board that he had
spoken on Budget Review at the April 3 meeting. Since he had not been contacted by any
Commissioner nor is there any item on today’s agenda concerning taxpayer
budget review committee, he made a formal request that the Board take
formal action on his previous recommendation for a Taxpayer Budget Review
Committee. His written comments asked that this proposal be a formal
discussion item for the May 1 agenda.
Mr.
Baird then addressed the issue of a Fraud Audit Committee, stating there had
been two instances of fraud by county employees in recent history. One involved
the loss of nearly $400,000 within the school system and the other involved
relatively small kick-backs to employees of the school system and a fire
district. The disturbing thing about
both of these frauds is that they were identified by outsiders. He stated that
a fraud audit organization yields two important benefits, probably the most
important being a deterrent effect. The identification, investigation, and
prosecution of the lawbreaker is the other. He requested that this proposal be
a formal discussion item for the May 17th agenda. He stated that a
volunteer citizen audit committee appears to be the best alternative.
- Patti Keck – Ms. Keck stated
that we live in a beautiful wonderful county, it’s just gorgeous. She
expressed concern about the ordinance that will keep people from having such
junkyards in livable neighborhoods. She passed around a couple of pictures
of junk that she sees in her neighborhood. She urged the Board not to
grandfather in anything in that ordinance.
- Anna Cymorek – Ms. Cymorek also
addressed the nuisance ordinance, stating that she has unbelievably filthy
neighbors. It isn’t just a bad
sight but is also rat infested. She stated that she lives in a lovely neighborhood
except for this one filth infested residence. She asked the Board to please do
something about it.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT OF AGENDA
There were none.
Commissioner Messer made the motion to approve the
agenda. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
CONSENT AGENDA
Commissioner McGrady made the motion to approve the consent
agenda. All voted in favor and the
motion carried. The Consent Agenda
consisted of the following:
Minutes
Draft Minutes were
presented for the Board’s review and approval of the following meeting(s):
Tax Collector’s Report
Terry F. Lyda, Henderson
County Tax Collector, presented the Tax Collector’s Report dated
Title Attorney contract, Crisis Housing Assistance Fund
Grant
A proposed contract with
Angela Beeker, Esq. was presented for the Board’s review and approval. The contract with Ms. Beeker was to perform
title work for the Crisis Housing Assistance Fund grant projects. All costs of
this contract would be paid by the grant.
Title services as stated in the contract are required by the terms of
the grant. The proposed contract
attorney was chosen by the County staff responsible for grant administration.
If the Board is so
inclined the following motion was suggested:
I move that the Board enter into the contract for legal services
which is attached to the agenda item for this matter.
Sale of parcel owned by Henderson County Hospital
Corporation
As proposed in the March
15 Commissioners’ meeting, notice of a bid and the right to upset bid was
published in The Times-News regarding
the offer by Webb Real Estate Investments, L.L.C., to purchase the real estate
located at 9 Cross Roads, Horse Shoe, NC (currently the office of Dr. Bob
Webb), for the price of $649,000 (with certain restrictions). A copy of the offer was included with the
Board’s agenda items for the March 15 meeting.
The time for upset bids passed and no upset bids were received.
The Board was requested
to approve or deny the sale, the terms of which are as follows:
·
The
sales price was, as noted above, $649,000.00.
·
·
The
property is restricted to use as a medical office for a period of ten (10)
years after the sale.
If the Board is so
inclined, the following motion was proposed:
I move that the Board give final approval of the sale of
real estate to Webb Real Estate, L.L.C., on the terms stated in the offer which
was included with this Board’s agenda materials for March 15, 2006.
If the Board approves
the sale as stated above, the Board then needs to address the issue of the
disposition of the sales proceeds.
Personnel from the hospital will be available to address this issue with
the Board if desired.
Improvement Guarantee for Cloven Cliffs
Mr. Robert L. Bruner,
property owner, submitted a request for an improvement guarantee for Phase II
of the Cloven Cliffs major subdivision. The project site for Phase II of Cloven
Cliffs is located on 42 acres of land off Little Creek Road. A total of 10 lots are proposed in Phase II.
The Henderson County Planning Board granted conditional approval of a Master
Plan and Phase II Development Plan for Cloven Cliffs on
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 and for final plat approval, the developer may post a
performance guarantee for the improvements. Section 170-38 of the Henderson
County Subdivision Ordinance also state that the installation of the
improvements must be completed within two years of the improvement guarantee
approval date. The developer intends to
post with the County an irrevocable letter of credit in the amount of at least
$215,250.00 to cover the cost of the improvements ($172,200.00) as well as the
required twenty-five percent (25%) contingency ($43,050).
A draft Performance
Guarantee Agreement was attached 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
Resolution – National Day of Prayer 2006
Staff recommended
adoption of the National Day of Prayer 2006 Resolution as follows:
RESOLUTION
NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER
2006
WHEREAS, National Days of Prayer
have been part of our country’s heritage since the first one was declared by
the Continental Congress in 1775; and
WHEREAS, leaders of our Nation have
relied upon the power of prayer throughout American history; and
WHEREAS, May 4, 2006, marks the 55th
consecutive observance of the National Day of Prayer, as mandated by both
Congress and by our President in Public Law 100-307; and
WHEREAS, it is good that we acknowledge
that we are all God’s handiwork and that it is appropriate to call upon Him in
prayer; and
WHEREAS, “America Honor God … I will
honor those who honor me” is the theme for the 2006 National Day of Prayer.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the
Henderson County Board of Commissioners proclaims May 4, 2006 as “NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER” in Henderson
County and urges our citizens to join together in their homes, places of work,
and places of worship, to pray for the unity of the hearts of all mankind and
to continue in prayer for our County, State, and Nation.
Adopted
this 19th day of April, 2006.
William L. Moyer, Chairman
Attest:
Elizabeth W. Corn, Clerk to the Board
At the Board’s request
the EMS Accounts Receivable Report was provided as information for consent
approval.
STATUS REPORT
Balance @
Add: New
charges (1) 270,057.48
Less: Payments
(2) On calls prior to
On calls after
Insurance contractual adjustments (3) ( 120,457.04)
Write-off of old bills (4) ( 101,364.23)
Estimated insurance contractual
Adjustments from
write-offs (5) ( 6,759.21)
Balance @
(1)
New
patient charges from
(2)
Payments/credits
received from
(3)
Actual
Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance contractual adjustments for charges not
owed by patients.
(4)
Primarily
small balances less than $100 remaining that were written off after insurance
payments were received.
(5)
Estimated
Medicare, Medicaid, and other insurance contractual adjustments/denials for
charges not owed by patients.
Crisis Housing Assistance Funds Grant Program Amended
Funding Approval and Disaster Budget
The North Carolina
Department of Crime Control and Public Safety requested that the County approve
an amended 2005 Crisis Housing Assistance Funds (CHAF) Program funding
agreement. These funds are reserved for
recovery efforts for the 2004 tropical storm systems. Included in the packet was the amended
funding approval form along with a disaster relief budget form.
The
The forms are attached
hereto and incorporated as part of the minutes.
NOMINATIONS
Notification of Vacancies
The Board was notified
of the following vacancies which will appear for nominations on the next
agenda:
1.
Industrial
Facilities and Pollution Control Authority – 1 vac.
Chairman Moyer added two
additional notifications of vacancy:
2.
Community
Child Protection Team - 1 vac.
3.
Governmental
Financing Corporation – 1 vac.
Nominations
Chairman Moyer reminded
the Board of the following vacancies and opened the floor to nominations:
1.
Animal Services
Committee – 1 vac.
Commissioner Young
nominated Lorrie Shelly. Chairman Moyer
made the motion to accept Ms. Shelly by acclamation. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
2.
Apple Country Greenway Committee
– 2 vac.
Commissioner McGrady
nominated Dixie Dellinger for the nearly 2 year term that is open, slot #1. Chairman Moyer made the motion to accept Ms.
Dellinger by acclamation for that position. All voted in favor and the motion
carried.
(Please see below, end
of #4)
3.
Child Fatality
Prevention Team – 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
4.
Previously nominated
were the following: Mike Cooper, John Antrim, Collette Summitt, Boyce Laughter,
and Paul Patterson. The Clerk polled the Board with each Commissioner getting
three votes, results follow:
Commissioner Young: Cooper,
Laughter, Patterson
Commissioner Messer: Cooper,
Antrim, Laughter
Chairman Moyer: Cooper,
Antrim, Laughter
Commissioner McGrady Antrim, Summitt, Laughter
Commissioner Baldwin Cooper, Antrim, Laughter
The three appointees
were: Cooper, Antrim, and Laughter.
Commissioner McGrady
asked to be able to go back to the Apple Country Greenway Committee, for the
one remaining vacancy, stating that Collette Summitt had indicated that she
would be willing to fill that Greenway slot if she weren’t appointed to the
Planning Board.
Commissioner McGrady
nominated Collette Summitt for the remaining position. There were no other
nominations. Chairman Moyer made the
motion to accept Ms. Summitt by acclamation.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
5.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
6.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
7.
Juvenile Crime
Prevention Council – 5 vac.
Ms. Brantley stated that
for position #12, for a person under 18 years of age, we have an application on
file for Shelby Murray. Ms. Murray is 15
years of age.
Commissioner McGrady
nominated Shelby Murray. Chairman Moyer
made the motion to accept Ms. Murray by acclamation. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
8.
Mountain Area Workforce
Development Board – 1 vac.
Ms. Brantley stated that
at the last meeting Richard Sheldrick was nominated to the Board. She has spoken with him and he is interested
in serving and it appears that he is eligible.
Commissioner Baldwin made the motion to appoint Mr.
Sheldrick by acclamation. All voted in
favor and the motion carried.
9.
Nursing/Adult Care Home
Community Advisory Committee – 7 vac.
Ms. Brantley stated that
Cal Titus’ appointment will be ending at the end of May, she sent him a letter
and he replied that he is interested in serving again if it’s the pleasure of
the Board.
Commissioner McGrady
nominated Cal Titus. There were no other nominations. Chairman
Moyer made the motion to accept Mr. Titus to position # 9 by acclamation. All
voted in favor and the motion carried.
10.
Solid Waste Advisory
Committee – 2 vac.
Commissioner McGrady
nominated Richard Stewart for the vacancy expiring
LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX DISTRIBUTION METHOD
This agenda item is a
follow-up to the Board’s meeting on
According to NC General
Statutes, “during the month of April each year” the Board of Commissioners must
determine whether to use the “per capita” method of distributing the revenue
from the optional sales taxes authorized by the County between the County and
its municipalities, or to use the “ad valorem” method of distribution. Should
the Board determine that the ad valorem method is appropriate, no decision on
whether to adjust fire district tax rates is required at this time.
The
Chairman Moyer reminded
the Board that yesterday at
Russell Burrell
distributed an 8 page hand-out entitled “Interlocal Agreement” for the Board’s
review and discussion. He also distributed a 2 page hand-out of several options
for sales tax distribution and reviewed same with the Board.
Following discussion, Chairman Moyer made the motion to approve
the per capita method of sales tax distribution with a 50/50 option with a 3-5
year contract with an out, for each party to be able to renegotiate on an
annual basis for whatever reason and there will be automatic renegotiation if a
new municipality is formed or if the amount of the sales tax deviates in any
year by more than 25% and authorize the County Manager and officials to enter
into this agreement with the municipalities and resolve this issue. All voted
in favor and the motion carried.
LEASE WITH
Chairman Moyer asked to
defer this item as Dr. Jones is not present and he felt that Dr. Jones would be
here for this item.
DRAFT NUISANCE ORDINANCE
Through the recently
adopted County Strategic Plan, the Board of Commissioners made enhanced code
enforcement a priority. As part of this
effort, the adoption of a new Nuisance Ordinance is scheduled. Various versions of this ordinance have been
discussed during three recent meetings.
Staff recommended
adoption of the updated Nuisance Ordinance.
Toby Linville reviewed
with the Board the information they had received in their agenda packets:
1-
last
month’s draft
2-
a
revised draft with changes (new language
in red)
3-
a
matrix of some of the text amendments already made
4-
a
report of how the ordinance will be implemented, if approved
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Toby Linville
highlighted changes with the Board and answered questions. His recommendations
to the Board:
1.
Approval of the draft ordinance,
2.
Set July 1 as the effective date and allow the 60-day voluntary compliance
period.
They would begin formal
enforcement
Much discussion followed
with some revisions offered.
Staff worked on the
revisions during first recess so they could distribute it back to the Board for
action.
Dr. George Jones had
sent Chairman Moyer a note stating that he would not be present at the meeting
and that he was comfortable with what the Board had for review.
LEASE WITH
This lease was drafted
by the
Tom Orr came forward to
address the Board. He stated that one of
the points they made with the
County staff requested
further direction and approval/disapproval of this draft lease.
Commissioner McGrady made the motion that the Board approve
the lease as drafted and present the same for execution to the Courthouse
Board. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously.
UPDATE CONCERNING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ACTIVITIES
Scott Hamilton,
Committee of 100, Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce came forward to address
the Board. He recognized others in attendance:
Bob Williford, President of the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce;
Kyle Edney, Economic Development Project Coordinator; and Chip Gould, a past
Chair of the Partnership and also the current Product Development Chairman at
the Partnership for Economic Development.
Scott Hamilton explained
that their core values would be to continue to create quality jobs in
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This item was for
information only, no action was required.
Recess
Chairman Moyer called a
brief technical recess, to change videotapes.
Due to the hour, public
hearings were held next.
PUBLIC HEARING – CDBG INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT
CLOSEOUT – Howard Gap Waterline Extension
Commissioner Messer made the motion for the Board to go into
public hearing. All voted in favor and
the motion carried.
Kate O’Hara,
Public Input
There was none.
Commissioner McGrady made the motion to go out of public
hearing. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
No action was required,
except for allowing citizen input during the public hearing.
PUBLIC HEARING – RURAL OPERATING ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM (ROAP) GRANT APPLICATION
Commissioner Messer made the motion for the Board to go into
public hearing. All voted in favor and
the motion carried.
Justin Hembree reminded
the Board that the purpose of this public hearing was to allow for citizen
comments concerning the County’s application, on behalf of Apple Country
Transit, for the upcoming fiscal year’s Rural Operating Assistance Program
grant through the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Included in the agenda packet was a copy of
the grant application packet. This grant
has been one of the major funding sources for Apple Country Transit. The FY 2006-2007 application requests
$142,093 and calls for a match from
Public Input
There was none.
The
Commissioner McGrady made the motion to approve the grant
agreement and certification statement resolution as presented. All voted in
favor and the motion carried.
Commissioner McGrady made the motion to go out of public
hearing. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
SANITARY SEWER INTERCEPTOR PROJECTS FINANCING
OPTIONS
Gary Tweed reminded the
Board that they had requested staff to develop a priority list and financing
plan for the proposed sanitary sewer projects being developed in the Cane Creek
Water and Sewer District. A list of the
sanitary sewer projects as identified in the County Master Sewer Interceptor
Plan has been developed. Within the Cane
Creek Water and Sewer District, the Mud Creek Interceptor is the top
priority. This project was developed to
be constructed in three phases. The
Board authorized the design and construction of the first phase and this phase
is now under design with projected construction completion by the end of 2005.
The second phase of the Mud Creek Interceptor project was discussed with the
Board as a result of proposed development on
Gary Tweed presented a
PowerPoint presentation as follows:
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Carey McLelland informed
the Board that the District is in good financial position with Retained
Earnings of $3,817,683 and is projected to grow $340,000 in FY 2006. He chimed in on the financial end of the
Power Point presentation. The outstanding debt is approximately
$1,187,000. The District has about 2,210
customers and is growing at about 150 customers per year. The District is more than capable of constructing
the Mud Creek Interceptor Projects both Phase I and II and covering the debt
service on financing of these phases of the Mud Creek Project. It is staff’s recommendation that with the
low interest rates available at this time that both Phase I and II be financed. In addition, a financial contribution of
$300,000 toward Phase I will be coming from the Windsor Aughtry Riverstone
Development.
There was much
discussion of the debt, the fund balance, the user fees, etc. for the Water
& Sewer District.
Carey McLelland
suggested financing these projects and letting the revenues from the new users
pay for the capital cost of the line over a period of time, 10-15 years.
This was information
only, no action was requested at this time.
Gary Tweed reminded the Board that there are some zoning issues the Academy
folks are working on. He would like to work with them as they go through the
process. If they get zoning set up so
that they can do the type project they are wanting and then if we can negotiate
an agreement, then he feels we should be able to move forward. There was general consensus for Gary Tweed to
continue working on this and as things firm up then he’ll bring it back to the
Board. General consensus of the Board was to continue to work on Phase II if
all the answers work out as planned.
CONTINUATION OF DRAFT NUISANCE ORDINANCE
Staff had working on the
suggested language changes in the Nuisance Ordinance during the recess. The
revised Nuisance Ordinance was distributed and reviewed.
Following discussion, Commissioner McGrady made the motion to
approve the Nuisance Ordinance as revised and discussed. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
FINANCING RESOLUTION:
Russell Burrell explained
that this is a resolution (in a form similar to that used in previous similar
circumstances) for consideration concerning the proposed installment contract
financing for the Sugarloaf Road and Mills River School projects, the Blue
Ridge Community College Technology Education building, and the renovation of
the Historic Courthouse.
First, the resolution
makes the necessary findings for the undertaking and authorizes the preparation
of an installment purchase financing contract which will provide the funding
for these projects.
Second, the resolution
authorizes the Chairman and Staff to submit an application to the Local
Government Commission for its required approval of the installment purchase
financing contract. The resolution also
authorizes staff to apply for municipal bond insurance with respect to the
contract and approves the financing term necessary to complete the process.
Last, the resolution
calls for a required public hearing on the financing documents to be held on
the Board of Commissioners’ May 1 meeting date at
Commissioner
McGrady moved the following resolution (the "Resolution"), a copy of
which was made available to the Board and which was read by title:
"RESOLUTION OF THE
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THECOUNTY OF
I. Undertakings
WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners (the
"Board") of the County of Henderson, North Carolina (the
"County"), desires to provide for the design, acquisition,
construction, renovation and equipping of two elementary schools ("the
School Facilities"), the design, acquisition, construction and equipping
of a Technology Education and Development Building at Blue Ridge Community
College ("Technology Building") and the design, renovation,
construction and equipping of the Henderson County Historic Courthouse (the
"Courthouse") building (collectively, the "Facilities");
and
WHEREAS, the Board now proposes to finance the
Facilities through an installment financing contract (the "Contract")
with Henderson County Governmental Financing Corporation, Hendersonville, North
Carolina ("the Corporation"), obligating the County to repay in
installments the amount financed at a fixed annual interest rate of not more
than 5.30% over a term not exceeding 20 years, resulting in a total amount
financed not to exceed $51,000,000 (excluding reserves and costs of issuance);
and
WHEREAS, pursuant to N.C.G.S. Section 160A-20,
the County is authorized to finance the design, acquisition, construction,
renovation and equipping of the Facilities by entering into the Contract and a
deed of trust (the "Deed of Trust") that create in the School Facilities
and the Courthouse a security interest to secure payment of the obligation
thereby created; and
WHEREAS, subject to the prior approval of the
Local Government Commission of North Carolina (the "LGC") pursuant to
N.C.G.S. Section 159-148, the County intends to finance the cost of the
Facilities pursuant to N.C.G.S. Section 160A-20 by executing and delivering to
the Corporation or other financing entity the Contract providing for the
financing of a principal amount not to exceed $5 1,000,000 (excluding
reserves and costs of issuance); and
WHEREAS, the County has received an insurance
commitment from Arnbac Assurance Corporation to issue an insurance policy that
will guarantee payments by the County under the Contract; and
11. Undertakings
Necessary
WHEREAS, the County staff has advised the Board,
and the Board hereby finds and determines, that the County must design,
acquire, construct, renovate and/or equip the Facilities in order to maintain
and enhance the County's public schools, Community College and certain administrative
facilities to enable the County to perform its public functions, and that the
Facilities will benefit the County and its residents; and
WHEREAS, a public hearing must be held to
receive public comment on the desirability of installment financing for the
Facilities, and the Board received evidence supporting the need for such
financing; and
WHEREAS, the Board finds and determines that the
undertakings are necessary and expedient for the aforesaid reasons and that the
Facilities be financed under the terms, conditions and parameters heretofore
stated and to be further determined with more particularity at a later date;
and
111. Funds Not Excessive
WHEREAS, the sums to fall due under the Contract
can be included in the County's budget without difficulty; and
WHEREAS, the above factors lead to the
conclusion that the payments under the Contract are not excessive for the
stated purposes of designing, acquiring, constructing, renovating and/or
equipping the Facilities; and
IV. Transaction a Public
Purpose
WHEREAS, the County Attorney has advised the
County that the Facilities are authorized by law and are purposes for which
public funds may be expended pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the State
of North Carolina; and
V. Installment Purchase
Financing Desirable
WHEREAS, the Board finds and determines that
short term or pay-as-you-go financing for the Facilities would place strains on
the County's ability to fund general operations and education without a
significant tax increase; and
WHEREAS, use of the County's un-obligated fund
balance to finance the Facilities would reduce the fund below the guideline
established by the LGC and would not be in the County's best interest; and
WHEREAS, the use of non-voted debt would not
provide sufficient funds to complete the Facilities in a timely manner; and
WHEREAS, although the cost of financing under
the proposed Contract is greater than the cost of general obligation bond
financing, installment contract financing would be preferable to general obligation
bond financing because a general obligation bond authorization probably could
not be perfected in a timely manner and would not permit the alternative
financing structures and repayment provisions available in the proposed
negotiated installment contract financing; and
WHEREAS, the proposed cost of financing the
Facilities is too great an amount to be funded by current appropriations; and
WHEREAS, the Board finds and determines that
installment contract financing is therefore the most viable and efficient
alternative and that the cost of such financing is reasonable; and
VI. Compliance With Debt
Management Controls
WHEREAS, past audit reports of the County
indicate that its debt management and contract obligations payment policies
have been carried out in strict compliance with the law and the County has not
been censured by the LGC, external auditors, or any other regulatory agencies
in connection with such management; and
VII. Estimated Tax
Increase
WHEREAS, the Board estimates that the County's ad
valorem tax rate will
be increased by approximately $0.05 per $100.00 assessed value in order to
sustain the proposed financing; and
VIII. No Default
WHEREAS, the County is not in default in meeting
any of its debt service or contract obligations; and
IX. Application
WHEREAS, it is the Board's intention to adopt
this Resolution for the purpose of authorizing the design, acquisition,
construction, renovation and/or equipping of the Facilities, making certain
findings and determinations, approving the submission of an application for
approval of the Contract to the LGC and authorizing such other acts deemed
necessary and advisable to carry out the design, acquisition, construction,
renovation and/or equipping of the Facilities.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE
Section 1. The Chairman of the Board, the County
Manager, the County Attorney, the Finance Director and the Clerk to the Board
are hereby authorized and directed on behalf of the County to proceed with the
preparation of the Contract providing for the financing of an amount not to
exceed $51,000,000 (excluding reserves and costs of issuances) at an annual
interest rate not to exceed 5.30% and a term not to exceed 20 years, and
otherwise proceed with the plan of financing for the Facilities described at
this meeting.
Section 2. The Chairman of the Board, the County
Manager, the County Attorney, the Finance Director and the Clerk to the Board
are hereby authorized and directed to submit an application for the LGC's
approval of the Contract pursuant to N.C.G.S. Section 160A-20 and Section
159-148, and to execute a sworn statement of debt of the County pursuant to
N.C.G.S. Section 159-150, in connection with the financing of the Facilities.
Section 3. The financing team of LeBoeuf, Lamb,
Greene & MacRae LLP, as special counsel, Wachovia Bank, National
Association. as underwriter, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson P. A., as
underwriter's counsel, Arnbac Assurance Corporation, as bond insurer, and
First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, as trustee, is approved.
Section 4. This Resolution shall become
effective immediately upon its adoption and shall supersede any and all
previous resolutions regarding the design, acquisition, construction,
renovation and/or equipping of the Facilities on an installment financing
basis.
Section 5. That a public hearing (the
"Public Hearing") shall be conducted by the Board of Commissioners on
May 1, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. in the Commissioners' Meeting Room of the County
Administration Building at 100 North King Street, Hendersonville, North
Carolina, concerning the Contract, the Deed of Trust, the proposed design,
acquisition, construction, renovation and/or equipping of the Facilities and
any other transactions contemplated therein and associated therewith.
Section 6. The Clerk to the Board is hereby
directed to cause a notice of the Public Hearing to be published once in a
qualified newspaper of general circulation within the County on
On
motion of Commissioner McGrady, the foregoing resolution entitled
"RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE COUNTY OF HENDERSON,
NORTH CAROLINA, AUTHORIZING THE NEGOTIATION OF AN INSTALLMENT FINANCING
CONTRACT, DIRECTING THE PUBLICATION OF NOTICE WITH RESPECT THERETO AND
PROVIDING FOR CERTAIN OTHER RELATED MATTERS THERETO AND MAKING CERTAIN FINDINGS
AND DETERMINATIONS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH" was duly adopted by the
following vote:
Aye:
Moyer, Messer, Young, Baldwin, McGrady
Nay:
None
EXHIBIT A
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
ON WHETHER THE BOARD OF
COMMISSIONERS
FOR THE COUNTY OF
SHOULD APPROVE A
PROPOSED INSTALLMENT FINANCING
CONTRACT TO FINANCE THE
COST OF CERTAIN PROJECTS
NOTICE
IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Henderson County Board of Commissioners (the
"Board") will hold a public hearing on May 1, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. in
the Commissioners' Meeting Room of the County Administration Building, 100
North King Street, Hendersonville, North Carolina for the purpose of considering
whether the Board for the County of Henderson, North Carolina (the
"County") should approve a proposed installment financing contract
and certain related documents under which the County would obtain financing
pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes 5 160A-20, as amended, to
finance the cost of the Projects hereinafter described and under which the
County would secure the repayment of it of moneys advanced pursuant to such
installment financing contract by granting a security interest in the School
Facilities and Courthouse (each as defined below) and related sites and
property thereof under a deed of trust. The Projects consist of (1) the design,
acquisition, construction and equipping of the Sugarloaf Road Elementary School
to be located at 2270 Sugarloaf Road, Hendersonville, North Carolina; (2) the
design, construction, renovation and equipping of the Mills River Elementary
School located at 96 School House Road, Horse Shoe, North Carolina (together,
(I), and (2) are "the School Facilities"); and, (3) the design, acquisition,
construction and equipping of a Technology Education and Development Building
at Blue Ridge Community College located at 100 Alumni Way, Flat Rock, North
Carolina; and, (4) the design, construction, renovation and equipping of the
historic Henderson County Courthouse building located at 100 Main Street,
Hendersonville, North Carolina ("the Courthouse"). The combined cost
of constructing the Projects is estimated at approximately $51,000,000, Drafts
of proposed financing documents are available for inspection in the office of
the
/s/ Elizabeth W. Corn
Clerk. Board of
Commissioners
Published:
UPDATE ON PENDING ISSUES
This portion of the
meeting serves as an effort to keep the lines of communication open between
Commissioners and staff. To that end, it
gives individual Commissioners and staff the opportunity to bring the full Board
up to date on issues that occur between meetings. Furthermore, it is also a time for staff to
ask for direction so that the County’s public positions on current and upcoming
issues can be developed. Individual Commissioners will also be given the
opportunity to report on committee work and assignments.
Land Development Code Update
Steve Wyatt stated that
he had been meeting with the Chairman of the Planning Board and they have met
with the full Planning Board to talk about the process to get this project on
track. Based on the consensus and the
discussion of the Planning Board last night, he feels the project is on track.
There was considerable discussion regarding resources, time frame, process, and
people that should have access to participation in the process or at least be
aware of the process. There is a
consensus that outside resources for some of the technical aspects of the
evaluating of zoning and updating would be helpful and expedite the process. It
appears that there will be at least one facilitated public meeting to get feed
back from the public and to televise that meeting. He explained that the
process should be transparent, that people should be able to see how this is
birthed and then the process it goes through. Currently the thought is to have
a recommendation to the Board sometime around Labor Day with the caveat that
the process will take as long as the process takes. We hope for the strongest
and best product with a strong consensus of those involved. Staff is ready to begin some discussions with
the CMR Benchmark folks, to talk about a scope of services which would probably
include not only the technical assistance but also looking at the facilitated
televised meeting. Staff and Benchmark will begin as soon as possible to put
together a work plan.
Steve Wyatt stated that
the Planning Board is taking this charge very seriously and very thoughtfully
and are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work on this.
Planning Dept. vacancy
A question was raised
about the process of filling the Planning Director position. Steve Wyatt
explained that staff had been working with Human Resources on that process. A
couple of interested persons have contacted
STRATEGIC MONTHLY REPORT
Selena Coffey addressed
the Strategic Plan, giving the monthly update.
The document was in the agenda packet. She informed the Board that Amy
Brantley has started the process of examining the roles of County advisory
boards and committees pursuant to Strategy 2.5 in the Strategic Plan. The
analysis of these boards and committees should reveal if we have any
duplications or areas within committees where they’ve already met their charge
and have done what they were meant to do and whether we need to continue with
those.
Selena Coffey mentioned
Goal 5, which is to implement the projects within the Capital Improvements
Program. She called the Board’s attention to the three pages at the end of this
report from David Nicholson on the progress of our three capital projects:
Historic Courthouse Rehabilitation,
Status of Negotiations with Mediacom
Chairman Moyer asked
Commissioner McGrady to update the Board on this issue. Commissioner McGrady stated that one of the
primary discussions occurring is going through the reconciliation process where
they are trying to match Mediacom subscribers to the municipality or county
(franchising unit). There is a mismatch present currently, meaning there are
subscribers of Mediacom that are allocated to the county that are actually in
the city or are allocated to the city and ought to be allocated to a different
municipality. Part of this relates to
the different billing addresses that separate themselves from the property
addresses. Each subscriber has a unique
account number that has embedded in it a number which reflects which of the
franchising entities they are located within. When they determine in fact that
someone lives in the City of
Chairman Moyer stated
there is active federal legislation to take cable franchising completely away
from counties and have a federal franchise. If the federal legislation goes
through there still is some protection for franchise fees and other things for
the local governments. There is also a movement, pressed by a lot of Bell
Companies, to have a state franchise where the state would grant the
franchise. Based on the bills circulated
so far, these would take local governments out of the process entirely. The monies collected would be franchise fees
but they would be sales tax and there would be some kind of method of
distribution. Chairman Moyer stated that this is so active and so current,
everyone is so convinced that something has happened, that Mediacom has said
they are not ready to proceed to negotiate until they see what action will be
taken on the federal or state legislation because if one of those bills gets
passed, then the whole process changes. The Flat Rock franchise is up in July.
They have already talked about an extension of one year to wait and see how
everything works out. Chairman Moyer
stated that basically the committee is on hold with respect to that negotiating
process until we see whether legislation gets passed or not. There are several
states that have gone to the state franchise system and taken it completely
away from local governments.
Chairman Moyer stated
that with respect to the education channel, the Community College is now saying
that as part of their technology building they would like to go ahead and start
with the education channel, they would need annual operating costs to move
forward with this. We would pay our
share out of our franchise fees. The municipalities revisited this and all said
they were not interested in paying their share out of anything, either their
local taxes or out of their franchise fees.
They are kicking that back to the county and saying they are out of the
issue. That is an issue for the county to work out with the community college.
No report was given.
No report was given.
IMPORTANT DATES
Chairman Moyer reminded
the Board that they had already set the Financing Public Hearing for
There was a request to
set a Public Hearing for the Solid Waste Management Plan update. Commissioner McGrady made the motion to set
the public hearing for
There was a request to
schedule a workshop on the County Recycling Efforts and to receive
recommendations from SWAC (Solid Waste Advisory Committee). Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to set the workshop for Thursday, April 27 at 5:00 p.m .to
consider the County’s Recycling efforts and if necessary any issues relating to
the distribution of sales tax. All voted
in favor and the motion carried.
DRAFT INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT
Russell Burrell
distributed a draft interlocal agreement.
Chairman Moyer asked the Commissioners to take a look at it and give the
Chairman any comments. He hoped to send
it out to the municipalities and get it signed as quickly as possible.
CANE CREEK WATER & SEWER DISTRICT – no
business
CLOSED SESSION
Chairman Moyer made the motion for the Board 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.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
ADJOURN
Commissioner McGrady made the motion to adjourn the meeting@
Attest:
Elizabeth W. Corn, Clerk
to the Board
William L. Moyer, Chairman