MINUTES
STATE
OF
The Henderson County
Board of Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at
Those present were: Chairman Bill Moyer, Vice-Chairman
Also present were:
Planning Director Anthony Starr, Communications Officer Pam Brice, Human
Resources Director Jan Prichard, Deputy Clerk to the Board Terry Wilson, Fire
Marshal Rocky Hyder, IT Director Becky Snyder, Veterans Services Officer Mike
Murdock, Engineer Marcus Jones, Elections Director Beverly Cunningham, Assistant
Elections Director Karen Hebb, Library Director Bill Snyder, Animal Services
Manager Brenda Miller, Research/Budget Analyst Amy Brantley, Building Services
Director
CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman Moyer called
the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
East Henderson High
School ROTC led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
INVOCATION
Commissioner
NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE SIGNING CEREMONY
Human Resources Director
Jan Prichard made introduction and recognition of the Henderson County
employees who are active in Reserve and Guardsmen, Master Sergeant Greg Cochran
– Air Force Reserve, Staff Sergeant Matt Jacobson – Army Reserve, and Sergeant
Ken Johnson – Army National Guard. The
men were given a standing ovation.
Chairman Moyer read the
Statement of Support for the Guard and Reserve on behalf of
We recognize the
National Guard and Reserve as essential to the strength of our nation and well
being of our communities. In the highest
American tradition the patriotic men and women of the Guard and Reserve serve
voluntarily in an honorable and vital profession. They train to respond to their community and
their country in time of need. They
deserve the support of every segment of our society. If these volunteer forces are to continue to
serve our nation increased public understanding is required of the essential
role of the Guard and Reserve in preserving our national security. Their members must have the cooperation of
all American employers in encouraging employee participation in Guard and Reserve. Therefore we join other employers in pledging
that employment will not be denied because of service in the Guard or
Reserve. Employee job and career
opportunities will not be limited or reduced because of service in the Guard or
Reserve. Employees will be granted
leaves of absence for military service in the Guard or Reserve consistent with
existing laws without sacrifice of vacation and this agreement and it’s
resulting policies will be made known throughout our organization and this I
sign on behalf of the Board of Commissioners and the public. It is also signed by the Secretary of Defense
and the National Committee of Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve.
Jan Prichard
acknowledged current employees who were formerly in the National Guard or
Reserve by asking them to stand. They
also were given a standing ovation.
Jan Prichard introduced
Dr. Robert Lair from the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard
and Reserve.
Dr. Lair introduced
Foyce Fleming, a retired Guardsman and the Area West Chair for the State for
Support of the Guard and Reserve. Mr.
Fleming shared a letter from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and thanked the Board of
Commissioners. He provided the Board
with patriot pins detailed with an ESGR and the
INFORMAL PUBLIC COMMENTS
Chairman Moyer asked
each person who had signed up for informal public comments to please limit
their time to about 3 minutes.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT OF AGENDA
Commissioner McGrady made the motion to adopt the
agenda. 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.
Minutes
Draft minutes were
presented for the Board’s review and approval for the following meetings:
March 20, 2007 – LDC Public Input
March 27, 2007 – LDC Public Input
April 3, 2007 – LDC Public Input
April 10, 2007 – LDC Public Input
April 17, 2007 – LDC Public Input
Tax Collector’s Report
Terry F. Lyda, Henderson
County Tax Collector, had provided the Tax Collector’s Report dated July 6,
2007 for the Board’s review and consent approval. Collection information through July 5 for the
2006 bills mailed on August 18, 2006, as well as vehicle bills, was included as
follows:
Annual Bills G01 only:
2006 Total Charge: $49,390,710.20
Payments & Releases: 48,408,091.55
Unpaid Taxes: 982,618.65
Percentage collected: 98.01%
Motor Vehicle Bills G01 only:
2006 Total Charge: $ 4,944,061.63
Payments & Releases:
4,342,502.61
Unpaid Taxes: 601,299.23
Percentage collected: 87.84%
Fire District all Bills
2006 Total Charge: $ 5,277,662.75
Payments & Releases:
5,096,294.26
Unpaid Taxes 181,324.81
Percentage collected: 96.64%
Tax Refunds
A list of 14 refund
requests was presented for the Board’s review and consent approval.
Tax Releases
A list of 31 release
requests was presented for the Board’s review and consent approval.
Non-profit Performance Agreements
Subsequent to the
approval of the FY 2007-08 Budget, staff had distributed the funding agreements
to the non-profit agencies receiving County allocations. Staff will present signed funding agreements
included on the Board’s consent agenda as they are received from the agencies.
1.
2.
Boys
and Girls Club
3.
Children
and
4.
United
Agenda for Children
5.
Healing
Place
6.
Partnership
for Health
7.
Pisgah
Legal Services
8.
The
Free Clinics
9.
United
Way 211 Program
10.
Vocational
Solutions
11.
12.
WNC
Communities
If the Board is so
inclined, the following motion was suggested:
I move the Board authorize the Chairman to execute the
attached funding agreements and, in doing so, authorize the release of the
first of the aforementioned agencies’ quarterly allotments.
On December 5, 2005,
following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in the gulf region, the Board of
Commissioners approved a resolution adopting
The Community Foundation
has identified a fund that fits the Board’s intention of helping our “sister
county”. The “Build Back the Coast Fund”
would accept the funds with a conditional designation that they only be used to
assist in the care and coordination of volunteers working on projects to
rebuild the community in
If the Board is so
inclined, the following motion was suggested:
I move the Board of Commissioners approve the $5,000
available in the Hancock
2007 Strategic and Capital Improvement Plan Monthly Update
This June report was
presented for the Board’s review and consent approval.
Designation of Voting Delegate to NCACC Annual Conference
The North Carolina
Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) requested that the Board of
Commissioners designate a Voting Delegate to the Annual Conference being held
in
If the Board is so
inclined, the following motion was suggested:
I move the Board of Commissioners designate Chairman Moyer
as
NOMINATIONS
Notification of Vacancies
The Board was notified
of the following vacancy which will appear for nominations on the next agenda:
1. Transportation
Advisory Committee – 1 vac.
Nominations
Chairman Moyer reminded
the Board of the following vacancies and opened the floor to nominations:
1.
Adequate Public
Facilities Task Force Charter – chair appointment
Commissioner Young
nominated
2.
Child Fatality
Prevention Team – 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to 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 – 6 vac.
There were no nominations
at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
5.
Commissioner McGrady made the motion to reappoint Meredith
Galloway to position #2. All voted in
favor and the motion carried.
6.
Nursing/Adult Care Home
Community Advisory Committee – 3 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
7.
Planning for Older
Adults Block Grant 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 – 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
9.
Transportation Advisory
Committee – 1 vac.
The
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Application for Solicitation Permit
County Manager
There is no county wide
policy regarding the use of county facilities.
Staff does not recommend solicitation in county buildings. It is up to the Board to consider this
matter. The county ordinance says that
anytime someone comes forward with a request it must be brought before the
Board.
Commissioner Young made the motion that the Board of Commissioners
deny the request for the Application for Solicitation Permit. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Friends of the Library Report
Chairman Moyer called
Mr. Ray McKenzie-Wilson to the podium.
Mr. McKenzie-Wilson
stated that he was the president of Friends of the Henderson County Public
Library. He quoted from The Friends of
the Henderson County Public Library Constitution.
Article 2 – Purpose
“The purpose of the
Friends shall be to establish closer relations between Henderson County Public Library
and its patrons; to promote knowledge of and informed interest in the
functions, resources, services and needs of the Library and to assist in the
development of programs for the extension and improvement of library services
and resources.”
The Friends organization
was formed in 1957 and, over the years, has continued to pursue that
purpose. In recent years we have
supported many programs run by both library staff and Friends volunteers and
have purchased much needed equipment that the county could not fund. Programs include the children’s and teens
summer reading programs at the main and branch libraries, the Teens “Open Mic
Night” which has met with great success and the many music and literary
programs, run in the Kaplan Auditorium that are open and free to the public. Each year the Library Director solicits a
“wish List” from his staff and the Friends fund the purchase of such equipment
as their budget will allow. This year
purchases include a PC Interface and a Reader Printer for the main library, a
work station for the Baker-Barber collection, the replacement of a Fiche
machine in the main library reference department, a Projector for the Fletcher
Branch and a new lawn mower.
The funds for this
support come mainly from the Friends annual book sale. In 2006 the book sale raised $114,222 of
which approximately $89,000 has been committed to library support. Since the inception of the book sale in 1981
over $1,060,000 has been raised by the book sale. He provided a bar chart to show the book sale
income as a function since 1981. Over
the same period about a similar amount, in the form of donations from book sale
income, private donations and bequest, has been donated to the library.
The Friends
responsibilities to the community go well beyond support of the library. As County Commissioners you are no doubt
aware that the Friends is the Fiduciary for the Scott Bequest which is
providing much of the funds to build the new Etowah branch library and when
completed the bequest will have provided, through the Friends, more than 50% of
construction funding for this project.
An additional $40,000 will be provided directly by the Friends to
purchase much of the soft furnishings for the new building. These funds are not part of the annual donation
to the library.
Mr. McKenzie-Wilson
presented the Commissioners with a copy of the recently published book by Bill
Mitchell, “Buildings as History, The Architecture of Erle Stillwell.” Friends sponsored and funded the publishing
and printing of this book. In years to
come this work will be looked upon as a definitive statement of the
architectural history of
Chairman Moyer thanked
Mr. McKenzie-Wilson on behalf of himself and the Board of Commissioners for the
book.
Mr. McKenzie-Wilson
noted that they held their annual sale the first three weekends of September
after the Apple Festival. They are
located at
Moseley Architects Presentation
Jim Wilhide of Moseley
Architects provided a power-point presentation which will be attached as part of
these minutes.
The Board discussed the
scoring procedures and how a building was determined to be LEED certified. Mr. Wilhide informed the Commissioners that
it was a point system. There is a potential for around 79 points. Out of the 79 points, 29 are needed to be
certified. The Board was curious as to
how the current schools would score based on the present plans that had been
presented.
Mr. Wilhide stated that
he would try to do a study to determine how the current schools would score.
Bo Caldwell of the
Henderson County Public Schools explained that the schools had done a lot of
energy management work trying to conserve energy. They had never done a tally for LEED
certification.
Discussion Followed.
Commissioner Young made the motion that the Board approve
additional funding up to $750,000 for two schools to obtain LEED certification
and with the agreement that the school system develop a report of the savings
they are achieving and provide it to the Board.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Revision of Economic Development Incentives Guidelines
These guidelines areto
be used in the typical case, but by approval the Board is not limited in
incentives grants to grants conforming with these guidelines. They are meant as a guideline to be used in
dealing with possible investment partners, and are not intended to in any way
limit this Board’s discretion under
The revised Guidelines
are as follows:
Economic Development
Assistance Guidelines
The following guidelines
are adopted to promote diversified economic development, encourage growth in
the property tax base, improve recruitment of business and industry, enhance
job creation, and to continue
1) General
a)
The
companies that seek economic development assistance must first submit a letter
requesting such assistance and a completed economic development grant
application. The letter must demonstrate
that a project is under consideration (“the project”), that Henderson County is
being considered as a possible site for the project (but that other sites are
under consideration as well), that no final approval of the project has been
made, and that without County assistance, Henderson County would be at a
relative competitive disadvantage in obtaining the project.
b) Projects must neither
have started construction nor been publicly announced prior to consideration of
the application.
c)
Economic
development incentive grants must comply with the N.C. Gen. Stat. §158-7.1 and
other applicable general statutes.
d) The company must enter
into a binding economic development and incentives agreement with the County
(“the agreement”).
e)
The
recipient must demonstrate compliance with all program criteria prior to
receiving assistance.
f)
Leased
properties may qualify if the applicant will enter into a binding lease that
exceeds the length of the period for which grant payments will be made under
the agreement.
g) Economic development
assistance under these guidelines is limited to new businesses and existing
businesses undertaking expansions.
I. Assistance under these
guidelines will not be awarded to existing businesses contemplating shifting
locations within the County.
II. An exception may be
provided to this provision for business retention activities as described in
paragraph 4), below.
h) There is no right or
entitlement to economic development assistance.
All such assistance is made at the discretion of the Board.
i)
All
statements herein are guidelines and are not intended to limit the discretion
of the Board under N.C. Gen. Stat. §158-7.1 and other applicable laws.
2) Projects:
a)
The
County may consider providing economic development grants for industrial
projects that meet the following criteria:
I. Net Minimum increase
capital investment of $1,500,000 or more measured by an increase in the
property tax assessment;
II. The project must create
full-time jobs that pay wages at or above the median industrial wage for
III. Economic development
grants for industries may be made in annual payments for up to six (6) years to
projects that meet these criteria. The
size of the annual grant will be determined as stated below.
IV. Industrial projects
include corporate headquarters and research and development facilities that
qualify under the requirements of NC Article 3J credits.
b) The County may consider
providing economic development grants to non-industrial projects that meet the
following criteria:
I. The project must create
new employment that pays wages at or above the median industrial wage for
II. The projects must
increase the assessed value of real property by no less than $1,500,000.
III. Non-industrial economic
development grants may be made in annual payments for up to five (5) years to
projects that meet these criteria. The
size of the annual grant will be determined as stated below:
IV. Non-industrial projects
include professional offices, health care services, back office operations, but
exclude residential projects. The
following uses are not eligible for non-industrial economical development
grants: cemeteries, golf courses, public utility uses, resource recovery
facilities, adult uses, private clubs, agricultural uses, abattoirs, mining,
landfills, retail uses, personal service uses and telecommunications
towers. Mixed-use projects are eligible,
but any residential element must have its portion of the investment subtracted
from the calculations of tax value. The
residential portion of the project may be eligible for other grants for the
creation of opportunities for home ownership.
3) Grants: Project grants
are generally made in annual payments in an amount and for a period as
determined in this policy. No payment
may be made until the applicant demonstrates compliance with all terms of the
agreement. Should any applicant fail to
comply with conditions agreed to in the incentives agreement, the applicant
shall refund all incentive payments to the County.
a)
Average
grant length, up to the maximum lengths stated in paragraphs 2)a)III)and
2)b)III) shall be four (4) years for industrial projects, and three (3) years
for non-industrial projects.
b) Grant amounts for each
project are determined in the discretion of the Board. However, it is intended that average grant
amounts for projects will vary directly with the number of jobs created or
retained directly as a result of the project, on the following schedule:
Jobs Created or Retained
Maximum Annual Incentive Payment
1-25
70% of each year’s property taxes generated as a result of the project for which the
incentives are granted, limited to the period for
which incentives are granted
25-50 80% of each year’s property taxes generated
as a result of the project for which the
incentives are granted, limited to the period for which incentive
are granted
50-75 90% of each year’s property taxes generated
as a result of the project for which the
incentives are granted, limited to the period for which incentives
are granted
75-150
100%
of each year’s property taxes generated as a result of the project for which the
incentives are granted, limited
to the period for which incentives are granted
Over 150 120% of each year’s property taxes generated
as a result of the project for which the
incentives are granted, limited to the period for which incentives
are granted
4) Business Retention
Incentives. The County may consider
providing incentives to retain business and industry under certain
conditions. The intent of these
incentives is to provide a tool for the County to retain significant tax base
and employment in the event of a critical and potentially catastrophic business
or industrial closing. Grants cannot be
used to subsidize or artificially sustain businesses and industries when job
losses or closings appear inevitable.
Grants or loan funds under this program are intended to benefit the
County, its employees and citizens by increasing worker education, worker and
company productivity and long-term industry competitiveness on a global
basis. These incentives may not be used
to protect companies from local business competition.
a)
Retention
incentives may be used for the following purposes:
b) Funding may be provided
in the form of a loan or annual grants.
c)
Conditions
of approval include commitment to maintain or increase levels of employment and
tax base throughout the period agreed to in the incentives agreement.
d) The recipient must agree
to participate in public information programs about all modernization and
employee training efforts in order to share information concerning successes in
making local industries more competitive in the global economy.
$5,000,000
investment in real property,
25 new/retained jobs
Current
guidelines annual recommended incentive: $20,000
each year
Proposed
guidelines: $16,170
each year
$5,000,000
investment in real property,
50 new/retained jobs
Current
guidelines: $20,000
each year
Proposed
guidelines: $18,480 each year
$5,000,000
investment in real property,
100 new/retained jobs
Current
guidelines: $22,000
each year
Proposed
guidelines: $23,100
each year
$5,000,000
investment in real property,
200 new/retained jobs
Current
guidelines: $25,000
each year
Proposed
guidelines: $27,720
each year
$10,000,000
investment in depreciable personal
property (10 year depreciation), 50 new jobs:
Current
guidelines: $40,000
each year of incentives
Proposed
guidelines: $36,960
in first year
$33,264 in second year
$29,568 in third year
$25,872 in fourth year
$22,176 in fifth year
$18,480 in sixth year
$14,784 in seventh year
$10,000,000
investment in depreciable personal
property (10 year depreciation), 175 new jobs:
Current
guidelines: $50,000
each year of incentives
Proposed
guidelines: $55,440
in first year
$49,896 in second year
$44,352 in third year
$38,808 in fourth year
$33,264 in fifth year
$27,720 in sixth year
$22,176 in seventh year
Commissioner McGrady made the motion that the Board approve
the revised guidelines with a minor change.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Andrew Tate, President
and CEO of Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development came to the podium. He thanked the Board for continuing to be
aware of the guidelines and update them.
He felt that the guidelines were very flexible and would give the Board
a great deal of discretion to award the kinds of projects that the Board feels
are valuable to
Policy on Public Use of Facilities and Grounds
Commissioner McGrady
questioned item #13 in regard to animals being allowed on County property, Farmcity
Day for example. He made reference to
#12 and recommended adding “unless advanced provisions have been approved with
the application”.
Chairman Moyer
questioned item #14 in regard to open, pit, or other types of fires being
prohibited. He did not understand how
the pits in the parks could be used with this wording.
County Manager Steve
Wyatt stated that item #14 should read except in designated areas.
Chairman Moyer questioned
item #20 in regard to signs, decorations, or other attachments; if someone had
a family reunion they would not be able to put up a sign.
Commissioner Young
questioned item #1 in regard to the applicant being a
Commissioner McGrady
questioned item #5 in regard to the County not accepting reservations for a
series of meetings. This item needed to
be delineated in order to allow a series of meetings where the primary purpose
is to inform the public on an issue.
Commissioner Young
stated that there needed to be more emphasis on pets being brought into Jackson
Park and requested the policy of a leash law in the park.
Marcus Jones informed the
Board that signs had recently been added at the entrance of the parks and
deputies are enforcing them.
Chairman Moyer requested
that Marcus revisit and revise the issues recognized and bring the policy back
to the Board at the next meeting.
It was the consensus of
the Board that it be revisited and brought back to the Board.
Stormwater Management Continued
Marcus Jones stated that
the purpose of this agenda item was to present options for the Board’s
consideration regarding development of a County Stormwater Management
Program. The three options presented by
staff were as follows:
A power-point presentation
was provided and will be included with this set of minutes.
County Manager Steve
Wyatt stated that this needed to be done in a very thoughtful and deliberate
fashion.
Chairman Moyer was in
favor of option number three but not ready to implement an ordinance. He felt that more research and gathering of
facts was necessary. What would the cost
to the County be?
Steve Wyatt informed the
Board that planning type grants were available such as the Clearwater
Management Trust Fund Grant.
Discussion followed.
Chairman Moyer made the motion that the Board move in the
direction of having a delegated County Stormwater Program by continuing to
gather information, continuing to look at all the options, continuing to see
what grants could be available to help in this area, and what the staffing
requirements would be; but to continue to look at having our own program. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Five Minute Break
A five minute break was
taken to change video tapes.
Continuation of Discussion Items
Demolition of Old Animal Shelter
The purpose of this
agenda item was to inform the Board of the Solid Waster Department’s plans to
demolish the old Animal Shelter. With
the following considerations, the old Animal Shelter next to the Soney Mountain
Land Fill needs to be demolished as soon as possible:
Commissioner Messer made the motion that the Board approve
the demolition of the old
Request to begin Etowah/Horse Shoe Small Area Plan
Commissioner McGrady
stated that Section 4 of the Henderson County 2020 Comprehensive Plan calls for
a series of small area plans for the unincorporated areas of the County. Those plans were intended to outline the
future goals for each area, provide recommendations related to the land use
infrastructure, community facilities, agriculture, economic development, and housing
among others. Each small area plan was
intended to have extensive public input where we enlist the participation of
citizens within the study area to put together this plan. The Draft Land Development Code incorporates
this recommendation with the idea under the Draft Land Development Code that we
would create overlay districts in particular areas of the County as
appropriate. Given the development
pressures that the Board recognizes in Etowah and Horse Shoe, Mr. McGrady did
not see any reason to wait until work is completed on the Land Development Code
to begin a small area planning process. If
the Board begins the process now in Etowah/Horse Shoe the Board can get a jump
start on potentially putting overlay districts in place when we ultimately pass
the Land Development Code. Commissioner
McGrady was not aware of any conflict or disagreement with respect to the idea
of considering overlay districts for a number of area’s in the county. Given the obvious problems associated with
development in the Etowah/Horse Shoe area he is requesting that the Board
proceed with this process.
Commissioner McGrady made the motion that the Board
authorize staff to begin the small area planning process in the Etowah/Horse
Shoe area and proceed with appointments of Etowah/Horse Shoe residents to this
small area planning process committee.
Chairman Moyer asked if
the Strategic Plan/Comprehensive Plan calls for what order to study, is this
consistent with the County’s plan?
Planning Director
Anthony Starr responded that yes it was consistent with the County plan.
Commissioner McGrady
inquired if the County has the capacity to take this on?
Mr. Starr felt that the
County did providing they did not go back and do substantial overhaul of the
Draft Land Development Code.
Commissioner McGrady
questioned what timeframe Mr. Starr anticipates it to take to come up with
overlay districts for Etowah and/or Horse Shoe.
Mr. Starr stated that
the process typically takes between eighteen and twenty-four months or less
depending on the conflict. He noted that
in regards to determining the boundaries of the area he expressed that the
appropriate thing to do was when the committee was approved is to charge them
with the boundaries up front. The boundaries
are largely already defined by the comprehensive plan. Mr. Starr would like to get the committee
meetings started by late September or October.
The next plan after the Etowah/Horse Shoe is the 191 corridor plan which
is the
Chairman Moyer felt that
it was important to clarify to the committee as to what can and cannot be
done.
A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously.
UPDATE ON PENDING ISSUES
Grand Highlands at
Commissioner Williams
stated that the Board had visited this issue at the last meeting and had taken
a vote in which the request was denied; he had voted against it. Commissioner Williams was concerned with the
following issues:
Commissioner Williams requested
that the issue of Bearwallow waterline extension be brought back up for
discussion and reconsideration because of a revision made to the request by the
developer reducing the number of homes from three hundred and twenty (320) to
two hundred forty-nine (249) homes. Two hundred and forty-nine (249) homes
would place the project within the proposal of the land development code.
Commissioner Williams made the motion that the Board
reconsider the issue of the waterline extension for the Grand Highlands at
Commissioner Williams
called City Engineering Department representative Dennis Frady to the podium
for questions. Commissioner Williams stated
that the Planning Staff had already approved this project. Grand Highlands would be built at some level
of density. It was not an issue as to
whether or not the development would be going in. The level of density would hinge upon the
availability of water. From the city
perspective, Commissioner Williams asked Mr. Frady if this plan coincides or
follows what the city already had in mind to do to correct some of the problems
with pressure in the water system that is already in place.
Dennis Frady responded
that the city did have intentions to build a tank and increase the pressures on
the east side of the interstate which would fall in place with this plan. The city will continue to build a tank at
some site, given this or not, to address those concerns.
Discussion followed.
Commissioner Williams
felt that the bigger issue was the extension of the line from Hwy 64 to the
tank. The concerns he heard from the
community largely were that they fear that it would open up for
development. Commissioner Williams did
not discount this at all however, from his prospective, it is not the waterline
extension that is going to dictate development; zoning will dictate the density
that occurs and where to place septic systems on property. He does feel that this waterline extension
will benefit the community both from a healthier source of water and greater
protection from fire to the families. There
are benefits to the community as well.
If there are improvements in fire ratings there could be lower insurance
costs. Commissioner Williams stated that
this was the single most difficult issue that he has faced since serving on the
Board.
Commissioner Williams made the motion that the Board approve
the revised request for the extension of waterline based on the fact that the
density levels would drop from 320 home sites down to 249 home sites to improve
services to the community. The vote
passed 3-2 with Chairman Moyer and Commissioner McGrady voting nay.
STAFF REPORTS
County Attorney’s Report
There was nothing
further at this time.
Steve Wyatt addressed
issues regarding the restoration of the historic courthouse and the noise and
fumes. Mr. Wyatt and the Board had
discussed the potential for temporary relocation of some of county offices that
are adjacent. They were going to have to
move forward with some of those relocations on basically an as needed skeleton
type situation. The noise in Human
Resources is becoming a health concern in his opinion. The alternative they are looking at is the
ground floor of the county building at
Mr. Wyatt stated that
one of the Boards objectives for the current year was to do a facility needs
assessment leading to a master facilities plan.
He believes that the Recreation Advisory Board has met with Commissioner
Messer and they are going to be kicking this off on August 2 and will keep the
Board apprised of that facility needs assessment and make recommendation back
to the Board of Commissioners.
Commissioner McGrady
stated that an Energy Plan had been submitted for the county and wanted to know
what the status of this was at this point.
He also suggested, in regards to the historic courthouse, having an
assessment done to see if things had been done with respect to the energy; such
as lighting and HVAC.
Mr. Wyatt responded that
he would get an update for the Board and questioned how much detail they
wanted. He referred to County Engineer
Marcus Jones.
Marcus Jones said that
it was their intent to look at all the buildings. Several of the county buildings have been
audited and they were planning on auditing them all and then apply cost to the
recommendations so that they could prioritize the implementation of them to
take benefit of the measures that would reduce their cost.
Commissioner Young
inquired as to provisions being made to have a generator installed in the
basement of the courthouse for power supply purposes similar to the Health and
Human Services Building.
IMPORTANT DATES
Annual Volunteer Appreciation Banquet
Commissioner Messer made the motion that the Board set the
2007 Volunteer Banquet for Tuesday, October 23, 2007 to be held at Highland
Lake Inn. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
Set Public Hearing on Noise Ordinance Amendments
This item was rolled to
a future meeting.
2008 “Mayors Cup” Raft Race
Chairman Moyer stated
that some of the Board would be participating along with other employees from
the county.
CANE CREEK WATER & SEWER DISTRICT
Commissioner McGrady made the motion that the Board adjourn
as the
Commissioner McGrady made the motion that the Board adjourn
as Cane Creek Water & Sewer District and reconvene as the
IMPORTANT DATES CONTINUED
Set Public Hearing on Economic Incentives Grant
Commissioner McGrady made the motion that the Board set a
Public Hearing on Economic Incentives Grant for Continental Teves for the next
regular scheduled meeting on August 13 at 7:00 p.m. All voted in favor and the motion
carried.
CLOSED SESSION
Commissioner McGrady made the motion for the Board to go
into closed session as allowed pursuant to NCGS 143-318.11 for the following
reasons:
ADJOURN
Commissioner McGrady made the motion for the Board to
adjourn. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
Attest:
____________________________________ _________________________________________
Terry Wilson, Deputy Clerk to the Board William L., Moyer, Chairman