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 Selena
Coffey, County Attorney Russell Burrell, and Deputy Clerk to the Board
Also present were: Development
and Enforcement Director Toby Linville, Animal Services Director Morgan
Woodward, Recreation Director Rick Harris and Zoning Administrator Natalie
Berry.
CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman Moyer called
the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Commissioner Messer led
the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
INVOCATION
Commissioner Shannon
Baldwin gave the invocation.
INFORMAL PUBLIC COMMENTS
1.
Michael
Spellicy – Mr. Spellicy spoke on behalf of the Henderson County Soccer
Association. He pointed out that the County does not have a single dedicated
soccer field, but rather multi-purpose fields which are very choppy and lacking
in grass. He requested a commitment from the Board to at least look at possible
funding sources for recreation in the County.
2.
Mark
Roloff – Mr. Roloff stated that the parents and athletes of Henderson County
soccer players were asking not only for a commitment for a dedicated soccer
facility, but the guidance to help get there. He requested that a soccer
facility become an active line item in this year’s budget.
3.
Fielding
Lucas – Mr. Lucas discussed his thoughts regarding a recent Joint Schools
Facility Committee meeting. He expressed concern over the School Board’s limit
of 600 students in an elementary school, given current economic and growth
realities. He also expressed concern over the lushness of some school
construction projects, and requested the Board consider using the school’s 10
year capital needs forecast for planning purposes.
4.
Eva
Ritchey – Ms. Ritchey addressed the Board as the Chairman of the Henderson
County Democratic Committee, on behalf of the Democratic Party Executive
Committee. She was present to present the Democratic Party’s unanimously
approved statement on “
5.
David
Radcliff – Mr. Radcliff urged the Board to pass the animal ordinance amendment
being considered. He commended the Board on the recently completed animal
services center, but expressed concern about direction to staff with respect to
dangerous dogs. No ordinance was worth anything without implementation. He also
asked that the Board consider dogs being a nuisance, even on their own
property.
6.
Dick
Baird – Mr. Baird commented on how the Board reacts at Public Hearings. He
stated that Public Hearings were conducted to get formal input from the Public
on decision issue at hand. He was concerned that following citizen comments at
a hearing, there was no recognition or discussion about the comments or
concerns. He also stated that he had yet to hear discussion regarding his
recommendations for a Tax Payer Budget Review Committee, Fraud Audit Committee
and a Blue Ribbon Panel on illegal aliens. He requested the Board hold
meaningful public hearings, and answer their mail.
7.
Debra
Stierwalt – Ms. Stierwalt spoke with regards to a Tuxedo park. She believed it
was the general consensus of Tuxedo residents that no one was interested in
leasing the
8.
Douglas
Coggins – Mr. Coggins concurred with Ms. Stierwalt’s comments. He requested the
Board take the necessary steps to work with the Board of Education to see that
whoever gets the old school property, uses it in a way that will preserve at
least the outside of the structure. He hoped the County could acquire the
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT OF AGENDA
Chairman Moyer added Discussion Item “G” –
Legislative Conference Update. Commissioner
Messer made the motion to approve the agenda as amended. All voted in favor and
the motion carried.
CONSENT AGENDA
Commissioner McGrady noted that he had
distributed the Community Child Protection Team Annual Report. With
that addition, Commissioner McGrady made the motion to adopt the Consent Agenda.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
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, had submitted the Tax Collector’s Report dated May 16,
2006 for the Board’s information and consent approval.
Community Child Protection Team – Presentation of Annual
Report
Commissioner McGrady met
with the Department of Social Services on May 11 and presented the report to
them at that time. He then provided the report for the Board’s review.
Tax Refunds
The Tax Assessor had
provided a list of three (3) tax refund requests for the Board’s review and
consent approval.
Tax Releases
The Tax Assessor had
provided a list of forty-six (46) tax release requests for the Board’s review
and consent approval.
Tax Discoveries
Sixteen (16) Notices of
Discovery have been prepared and mailed to property owners. All are presently within the statutory
challenge period. While the Notices of
Discovery have been prepared following a thorough review by the
The discovery
information was not submitted for approval by the Henderson County Board of
Commissioners at this time. It was submitted for information only.
Carey McLelland provided
an EMS Accounts Receivable Report for information and consent approval.
Mountain Laurel Community Services Update
Mountain Laurel
Community Services, the primary recipient of the County’s Mental Health
Maintenance of Effort Funds, had submitted information included in the agenda
packet as an update to their ongoing efforts in our community. This was presented for information, no action
was required.
Surplus Property Request
A letter was provided
from Eddie Watkins of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department stating that
Sheriff George Erwin will be retiring effective
The
Resolution Calling for an End to the Medicaid Burden on the
Counties of
A prepared resolution
calls for the General Assembly to put an end to the requirement that
The
Resolution Regarding the Fair Distribution of Lottery
Proceeds
Per the Board of
Commissioners’ direction at the May 1 regular meeting, staff had drafted a
Resolution Regarding the Fair Distribution of Lottery Proceeds.
The
Cemeteries Awareness Month Resolution
The County’s Cemetery
Advisory Committee had requested that the Board of Commissioners declare May
2006 as Cemeteries Awareness Month. The
adoption of the prepared resolution will make this requested action official.
The
Small Business Week Proclamation
The Chamber of Commerce
had requested that the Board of Commissioners proclaim the week of May 22 – May
27 as Small Business Week. The adoption
of the prepared proclamation will make this requested action official.
The
Amateur Radio Week Proclamation
A prepared proclamation
was presented which would set aside June 20 – 26 as Amateur Radio Week.
The
Agreement with Windsor-Aughtry Company, Inc., regarding Mud
Creek Sewer project
A proposed Agreement
with Windsor-Aughtry Company, Inc., was provided regarding their contributions
of $300,000.00 toward the cost of the Mud Creek Sewer Interceptor project. This is consistent with the Board’s previous
discussions and direction on this issue.
The
I move that the Board
accept the proposed agreement with Windsor-Aughtry Company, Inc.
Consolidated Contract Agreement with the NC Department of
Health and Human Services
Each year, in order to
keep the funding cycles without disruption of federal and state funds, the
Consolidated Contract Agreement with the NC Department of Health and Human
Services is signed ahead of the final county budget. It is understood by the State Division of
Public Health and the Henderson County Department of Public Health that the local
budgets are still being negotiated and will be finalized at a later date. It is also understood that program service
levels and funding support can be renegotiated as necessary. This agreement
contains items that include:
·
Business
Associate Addendum re: HIPAA compliance
·
Assurance
of Compliance with Title VI
·
Four
Certification Forms: Lobbying, Drug-Free Work Place
·
Environmental
Tobacco Smoke, Debarment
·
Agreement
Addenda
·
Maintenance
of Effort (MOE) Report for WCH Programs – updated through 2005
·
Public
Health Nurse Training Funds Reimbursement Request
Request that this
Consolidated Contract Agreement be approved as a consent agenda item and signed
as appropriate.
The
Water Line Extension – Gary King Property
The City of
A City of
The
Water Line Extension – Tradition Subdivision
The City of
A City of
The
Improvement Guarantee for Phase I of Blacksmith Run
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 states
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 $386,063.00 to
cover the cost of the improvements ($308,850.00) as well as the required
twenty-five percent (25%) contingency ($77,213.00).
A draft Performance
Guarantee Agreement was included in the agenda packet for the Board’s
consideration. If the application is
approved, the developer 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
NOMINATIONS
Notification of Vacancies
The Board was notified
of the following vacancies which will appear on the next agenda for
nominations:
1.
2.
Environmental
Advisory Committee – 5 vac.
3.
4.
5.
Juvenile
Crime Prevention Council – 5 vac.
6.
Mountain
Area Workforce Development Board – 3 vac.
7.
SmartStart
– 1 vac.
Nominations
Chairman Moyer reminded
the Board of the following vacancies and opened the floor to nominations:
1.
Child Fatality
Prevention Team – 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
2.
Commissioner
McGrady nominated Hunter Marks. Commissioner Young nominated Steven Orr. There
were no additional nominations. A vote will be taken on the nominees at the
next meeting.
3.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
4.
Juvenile Crime
Prevention Council – 5 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
5.
Nursing/Adult Care Home
Community Advisory Committee – 6 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
6.
Solid Waste Advisory
Committee – 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
FY 2007
Steve Wyatt presented to
the Board the FY 2007 budget, which he described as a plan that lays the
groundwork for the future of county government both as an organization, and a
player in the community. Contained within the document, were maps that showed
structures in the County in 1945, 2005 and the projection for 2025.
·
Revenue
growth is projected to be at 4% in the coming year.
·
$900,000
is anticipated from lottery proceeds.
·
The
recommendation was to allocate $515,563 in fund balance, bringing the fund to
near 12%.
·
Expansion
of the Strategic Plan, to a four year process aligned with the four year
revaluation cycle.
·
A
12 year Capital Plan, aligned to three, four year Strategic Plan cycles.
·
Establishment
of a citizen committee to review alternative revenue sources, and bring
recommendations back to the Board.
·
Over
$32 million of the general fund is dedicated to
·
·
The
County must think outside the box with regard to employee health care, finding
a comprehensive approach to solving that program.
·
An
aggressive employee training program was proposed to improve service to
citizens.
·
Economic
vitality is tied directly to the strength and advantage the County has in the
areas of quality of life and the environment. To maintain that strength and
advantage, a sedimentation and erosion control plan, and two environmental
health inspectors were recommended.
·
County
government should develop well thought out strategies and objectives, and the
plan proposes increasing accountability and scrutiny of expenditures. The
creation of the positions of Internal Auditor, Purchasing Agent, and Research
and Development/Grants Coordinator were recommended.
·
The
priority in developing the budget was to balance the public service needs of a
growing community with the taxpayer’s ability to pay. To achieve that balance
it was decided to limit operational spending growth to a level equivalent to
the normal growth in revenues. There was a 5 cent tax increase proposed, but it
was narrowed down to capital projects.
Selena Coffey then reviewed
the following major revenues and expenditures from the budget:
·
49%
of revenues come from property tax, 21% comes from sales tax, and $16 million
is restricted.
·
Major
expenditures are 36% to education, 33% to human services, and 21% to public
safety and code enforcement.
TUXEDO PARK PROJECT
Mr. Wyatt recently had a
very productive meeting with Dr. Bell, and had plans to proceed to meet on
further details. Mr. Wyatt felt there existed excellent opportunities to work
out a win/win situation, and looked forward to continuing to work with Dr.
Bell.
Rick Harris then discussed
his evaluation of the suitability of the site for a park. He felt the
Mr. Harris then
discussed the restroom situation, stating that the restrooms at Jackson Park
were very expensive. He suggested the County consider block restrooms, which
could be placed anywhere, and were a quarter of the cost of a regular restroom.
The possible location of two restrooms was indicated on the map.
Mr. Harris stated again
that the
ANIMAL ORDINANCE AMENDMENT
Morgan Woodward told the
Board that pursuant to their discussion on March 30th, the Animal
Services Committee has changed the recommended Restraint/Confinement Section of
the Animal Ordinance. The recommended
Section now excluded the method by which an animal owner shall confine a
domestic animal to their property. A summary of calls from the past 12 months
was presented by staff as well as a brief discussion on the
Dangerous/Potentially Dangerous Dog Ordinance and newly established customer
service initiatives. He reviewed the following PowerPoint Presentation with the
Board.
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The
Commissioner Baldwin questioned
who declared a dog dangerous. Mr. Woodward answered that he reviewed cases, and
if he determined that the dog was dangerous he completed the necessary
paperwork. The owner had three days to appeal that determination, which would
then go to the Animal Services Committee. The initial case review would be
prompted on a complaint driven basis.
Chairman Moyer asked
about the Spay/Neuter program, and the State programs which provide funding to have
a subsidized program. Mr. Woodward stated that there is a program, called the I
Care program. The money in that program comes from the sale of I Care license
plates and I Care rabies vaccination tags. The program is set up to be repaid
on a Tier system, and with
Commissioner Young
questioned whether the on-call situation had been resolved, so that an animal
control officer could be reached if a citizen had to call 911. Mr. Woodward
stated that the original on-call program had been established in 2002, but
recent communication breakdowns in the system had been corrected and all calls
were now being forwarded to the on-call officer.
Commissioner
Young made the motion that the Board adopt the Animal Control Ordinance for
RESOLUTION HONORING SERVICE OF SHERIFF GEORGE H.
ERWIN, JR.
Chairman Moyer stated
that the Board had received official notice that Sheriff George H. Erwin Jr.
would be retiring on June 1, 2006. A Resolution had been prepared recognizing
Sheriff Erwin’s service to
Commissioner Messer made the motion to adopt the Resolution.
The motion carried 4-1 with Commissioner Baldwin voting in opposition.
Commissioner Young also
noted that as part of the Consent Agenda, the Board had voted to allow Sheriff
Erwin to keep the service weapon he had used over the years.
CLOSURE OF TUXEDO POST OFFICE
As was mentioned during
the May 1 meeting, the Tuxedo Post Office is scheduled to close the end of this
month. Staff had invited a USPS representative from
Commissioner McGrady
noted that shortly after this item had been placed on the agenda, people who
have boxes at the Tuxedo post office got a letter saying that the office would
be closed, and that they could either move to their Zirconia land addresses, or
to the Zirconia post office. Unfortunately, the Zirconia post office doesn’t
have enough post office boxes to handle all of the
Within the last few
days, it had been announced that the Tuxedo post office would remain open
during the summer months. However, more had been published in the newspaper
than the Board had even heard. Commissioner McGrady questioned how long that
arrangement would last, noting that the USPS had been completely unresponsive
to requests for information.
STRATEGIC PLAN MONTHLY REPORT
Selena Coffey updated
the Board on the following points of interest in the Strategic Plan report:
·
Examine
the roles of Advisory Boards and Committees. The second step of that charge,
analysis of the mission and makeup of the Boards and Committees was currently
underway. A report was anticipated in June.
·
Construction
of the
·
Renovation
of the Historic Courthouse. The project was out to bid, and bids were expected
by June 26th. As only one bid package had been picked up, it was
anticipated that the County might not receive the necessary three bids. Russ
Burrell stated that if sufficient bids were not received, there would be a
re-advertisement for a second round of bids. An addendum to the contract had
been published earlier in the week, specifying exactly what the procedure would
be.
·
Construction
on the
·
Staff
continues to look at the Tuxedo park and library issues.
·
Phase
I of the Mud Creek Sanitary Sewer Interceptor Project was expected to bid in
June, begin in July, and be complete by the end of the calendar year.
·
The
County has been working with Mediacom and the City of
LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE UPDATE
Chairman Moyer noted
that several Commissioners had been in
The State currently has
a surplus of funds, and this is probably the best year to get the State to take
over Medicaid. This year’s cost to
Commissioner McGrady
agreed that the key issue for
PUBLIC HEARING – Update – 10 year Solid Waste
Management Plan
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to go into Public Hearing. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
The purpose of this
public hearing is to gain public input on the Update. The Public Hearing was
advertised in the Hendersonville Times News.
Following the public hearing, the Board may adopt the Update to the
10-Year Solid Waste Management Plan by Resolution. A resolution had been prepared and was
included in the agenda packet for the Board’s review.
It was the recommendation
of the
Public Input
There was none.
Commissioner
Messer made the motion to approve the Resolution presented in the agenda
package with respect to the Plan. 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.
PUBLIC HEARING –
Chairman Moyer – “Second
uh, public hearing is, at least we have to start as a quasi-judicial
proceeding, in the matter of the petitions regarding Blue Ridge Community
College Technology Education and
Commissioner McGrady –
“So moved.”
Chairman Moyer – “All in
favor say aye.”
In unison - “Aye”
Chairman Moyer – “Are
there any persons here other than the petitioner who wish to be made parties to
this proceeding?”
Matt Matteson –
“Chairman Moyer yes, um, I’m Matt Matteson representing the College. Uh,
President Sink is here and will be a party as well as Deputy Jason Stepp.”
Chairman Moyer – “Well
you are automatically parties as petitioner so, is there anyone else? Well with
the consent of the college I would like to uh, waive having this as a
quasi-judicial so we can have a more, more informal proceeding and move ahead
more expeditiously. Would you? Dr. Sink is indicating that uh, on behalf of the
petitioner they will waive the uh, requirement of having a quasi-judicial
hearing.”
Russ Burrell questioned
whether both matters would be combined together. He felt that since both the
special use permit and variance related to the same project, all the evidence
could be presented simultaneously. Chairman Moyer indicated that would be fine.
Zoning Administrator
Natalie Berry informed the Board that
Natalie Berry reviewed
the following PowerPoint Presentation with the Board:
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Matt Matteson then
addressed the Board on behalf of Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC). He
concurred with Ms.
Dr. Sink then responded
to the questions raised by Ms.
Public Input
There was none.
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to approve the special use permit for
Commissioner
Messer made the motion to go out of Public Hearing. All voted in
favor and the motion carried.
STAFF REPORTS
Russ Burrell reminded
the Board of the May 22nd quasi-judicial public hearing on
County Manager’s Report
Mr. Wyatt stated that an
offer had been made to an outstanding candidate for Planning Director. He hoped
to be able to inform the Board in the coming week that the candidate had been
hired.
IMPORTANT DATES
Request for Public Hearing on new road names
Commissioner
Messer made the motion to set a public hearing on road names for June 21st
at 7:00 pm. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Set a Public Hearing on the FY 2007 Budget
Chairman
Moyer made the motion to set a workshop on the FY 2007 budget for 5:00pm on
Thursday, May 25, 2006. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Chairman
Moyer made the motion to schedule a public hearing on the FY 2007 budget for
Monday, June 5, 2006 at 7:00 pm. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
CANE CREEK WATER & SEWER DISTRICT – no
business
CLOSED SESSION – none
HCTV discussion
Commissioner McGrady
noted that during informal public comments, the Board had been told they would
be sued regarding WHKP and HCTV if there was no resolution to the matter by
June 1st. Since the Board did not have another meeting until after
that date, he questioned how they should proceed. Chairman Moyer stated that
during the break, he spoke with Ms. Ritchey and told her that he would request
the matter be placed on the June 5th meeting for discussion. Ms.
Ritchey agreed to talk to the executive committee, and believed they would
await the outcome on June 5th prior to filing any legal action.
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