MINUTES
STATE
OF NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF
COMMISSIONERS
COUNTY
OF HENDERSON JANUARY 4, 1999
The Henderson
County Board of Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at 5:30
p.m. in the Commissioners' Conference Room of the Henderson County Office
Building.
Those present
were: Chairman Grady Hawkins,
Vice-Chair Bill Moyer, Commissioner Renee Kumor, Commissioner Don Ward,
Commissioner Marilyn Gordon, County Manager David E. Nicholson, Assistant
County Manager Angela S. Beeker, County Attorney Don H. Elkins, and Clerk to
the Board Elizabeth W. Corn.
Also present
were: Staff Attorney Jennifer O. Jackson, Finance Director J. Carey McLelland,
Public Information Officer Chris S. Coulson, County Engineer Gary Tweed, Tax
Assessor Robert Baird, and Planner Stuart Rohrbaugh.
CALL TO
ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman
Hawkins called the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance.
PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE
Commissioner
Gordon led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
INVOCATION
David Nicholson
gave the invocation.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT
OF AGENDA
Chairman
Hawkins welcomed those in the audience who were present at their first Board
meeting. He outlined how the Board of Commissioners take public comments:
through a Public Hearing, Public Input Sessions, and Informal Public Comments.
Chairman
Hawkins moved Discussion Item AB@, Draft Motor Sports Facilities Ordinance
and Discussion Item AC@, Task Force=s Draft Noise
Ordinance to immediately after Informal Public Comments.
It was the
consensus of the Board to approve these adjustments.
INFORMAL PUBLIC
COMMENTS
1. Dr. Howard
Norton
- Dr.
Norton noted that he has been active in the fire and rescue service for 30 years. On average, volunteer firefighters
spend approximately 4 hours a week in training or on calls. He discussed the
variety of services provided to the county by fire and rescue volunteers. He
stated that the fire district tax is the only tax in Henderson County that the
tax payers actually benefit from. He requested that prior to the enactment of
any ordinances pertaining to the Fire and Rescue Personnel Departments, the
Board of Commissioners accept input from the people these ordinances would
affect.
2. Keith
McKinney
- Mr. McKinney spoke about the proposed speedway ordinance. He read a statement
from Naples Baptist Church concerning their opposition to the proposed
speedway.
3. Bill Eadie - Mr. Eadie
asked that the Board of Commissioners enact an ordinance to force the racetrack
owners to move to a better suited location.
4. Mike Kirchen - Mr. Kirchen
spoke in opposition to the proposed racetrack. He asked that the needs of the
citizens be taken into account.
5. Tony Peranio - Mr. Peranio
spoke in opposition to the proposed racetrack. He asked that the moratorium be
extended indefinitely, or until an ordinance is enacted.
6. Kay
Blackwell
- Ms. Blackwell seconded Mr. Peranio=s statements.
7. F. R. Dorsey - Mr. Dorsey
stated that if the racetrack is built, it will cause property values in a five
mile radius to decrease by 25%. He further stated that not every religion=s Sabbath is on
Sunday, and a racetrack operating on
Saturday would be extremely disruptive. He asked the Board to put a stop to the
racetrack threat.
8. Sam
Fritschner
- Mr. Fritschner is representing the North Henderson County Community
Association, and Park Ridge Hospital. He stated that the hospital believes it
is critical that there be a great distance between the noise and emissions of a
racetrack and a hospital. There are numerous articles available regarding the
effects of noise on recovery, on the condition of the person who is ill or
injured, on ICU patients, sleep and on the attention of medical staff. He
requested that the minimal distance requirement for any medical facility be at
least one to two miles.
9. James Guyer - Mr. Guyer
stated that he believes Commissioners Moyer and Gordon are making an error by
staying on the Planning Board. He stated that he believes room should be made
for other citizens, especially the northern part of the county. He cited the
1982 ASeparation of
Powers Act@.
Commissioner
Moyer responded that he has already resigned as Chairman of the Planning Board,
and has submitted his resignation to the board to be effective in January.
Commissioner
Gordon also stated that she only wished to remain on the Planning Board long
enough to clear up some loose ends, and they are very close to doing that. She
was assured that it was legal for her to remain on the Board since she was
already on when elected.
10. James
Harvey
- Mr. Harvey stated that he does not understand why the Commissioners have not
put a stop to the racetrack already. He stated that everything he has is tied
up in the equity in his home, and he does not wish to see it destroyed. He
asked the Board to pass an ordinance to ban the proposed racetrack.
11. Bryan
Aleksich
- Mr. Aleksich spoke regarding volunteers appointed to Boards and Committees.
He stated that in his experience on the Library Board of Trustees, there is no
sense of being an actual working entity. He gave three suggestions on how to
improve the service delivered by those boards.
A. Require an
oath from each appointee, and a statement from the Chairman of the Board of
Commissioners stating that the trustees represent the citizens of the county,
and remain detached, objective, and free from the influence of all government
employees.
B. The trustees
should have tenure. They should know that they serve at the pleasure of the
Board, and bad judgment may be cause for dismissal. They should also serve for
no longer than ten years.
C. Look for
people of modest means and good judgment, not just distinguished citizens and
businessmen.
12. Dean
Bonessi
- Mr. Bonessi stated that he is not opposed to the racetrack, but hopes that
any building would be done in a way that benefits the county. He questioned
access to the facility if it is built where it is planned. He noted that there
are state funds available to assist with road projects to sporting facilities.
He also noted
that the noise study being used was conducted at Bristol Motor Speedway. The
type of racing done there is not the
type that will be done here. Our study should be compared to noise levels found
at the Asheville Speedway for a true comparison.
13. Jack
Oechslin
- Mr. Oechslin stated that in Buncombe County, a section of Kenilworth which is
located near the Asheville Speedway receives an objectionable amount of noise.
He requested that the Commissioners focus on the common good versus the
interest of a few, and enact a ban on the racetrack.
14. Janet Arwe - Ms. Arwe
spoke in opposition to the proposed racetrack. She stated that building the
racetrack would not be in the best interest of the county, and that the wrong
decision will have far reaching consequences.
15. Ben Potts - Mr. Potts
spoke in favor of the racetrack. He stated that the hospital is located very
close to the interstate, and that they have had to deal with a train blocking
quick access for years. He has started a petition in favor of the track.
16. Mike Gentry - Mr. Gentry
is the President of Park Ridge Hospital. He stated that the hospital based its
decision on fact, not opinion, and that is why they took a month to make their
decision. After a long process of consultation with many companies who deal
with the sound output from race cars, they now know much more than they ever
wanted to. They took a position only after receiving sound evidence that it
would be a serious issue for patients in the hospital.
Chairman
Hawkins stated that despite the misconception that there is some economic
benefit for the county associated with the racetrack, there is none. He also
noted that the Board of Commissioners is painfully aware of the time schedule
involved. Staff has spent endless hours working on this particular issue.
DRAFT MOTOR
SPORTS FACILITIES ORDINANCE
At its meeting
on December 16, 1998, the Board directed Staff to draft an ordinance which
would regulate the location of race tracks in Henderson County. The Board, in its direction, requested such
regulation to include minimum separation of race tracks of four miles from such
institutions as schools, hospitals, nursing homes, libraries and churches. In addition the Board asked that Staff look at providing a minimum separation for
residential areas showing a relatively high density.
After
discussing the four mile minimum separation from the above-mentioned
institutions, the Chairman suggested that the ordinance be drafted with a one
mile minimum separation.
Ms. Jackson
presented the ordinance as drafted.
To aid the
Board in evaluating the draft ordinance and the minimum separation, as
originally proposed by the Board and as presented, Ms. Jackson presented a map
of the county, prepared by the Assessor=s Office, which shows the location of the
institutions which the Board is seeking to protect.
It was the
recommendation of Staff that the Board send the ordinance to the Planning Board
for review with their comments to be received by the Board of Commissioners by
not later than February 1, 1999. In
addition, staff recommended that the Board set a public hearing for January 20,
1999, in order to receive public comment on the draft ordinance and to
advertise that hearing in accordance with NCGS 153A-323.
Ms. Jackson
went over the findings section. First, motor sports facilities do provide a
recreational outlet for Henderson County citizens. Second is that motor sports
facilities do have objectionable operational characteristics. Third, adverse
secondary impacts could be detrimental to the health, safety and welfare of the
citizens. Fourth, is a finding that it is in the best interest of the citizens
of Henderson County that the location of motor sports facilities be regulated
so as to minimize those adverse secondary impacts.
Section 6
provides that no new motor sports facility can be constructed or operated
without receiving a permit. The permit shall be granted by the Board of
Commissioners, after receiving an application, and after holding a public
hearing on that application. The application must specify the geographic
location in which the facility is proposed, and the applicant should have given
notice to property owners in that area.
A permit must
be issued if all restrictions are met. If all restrictions are not met, the
permit must be denied. The restrictions include the location relative to health
care facilities, schools, public libraries, religious institutions, or
residential zoning districts. All terms are defined in the definitions section
of the ordinance. The restrictions would not apply to any existing motor sports
facilities.
The
restrictions also include the residential density. No new motor sports
facilities may be located where the residential density exceeds 1750
residential dwelling units within a one mile radius. The 1750 number came from
taking the R-40 zoning district, and mapping out how many units could be
located within that district.
Commissioner
Moyer asked if the ordinance could be adopted as it has been presented. Ms.
Jackson stated that it could be adopted
after holding a public hearing on it. He questioned the permitting process,
which Ms. Jackson had added as a means of ensuring an effective, enforceable
ordinance. He stressed that if a permit
would automatically be issued upon meeting the restrictions, and denied if the
restrictions were not met, then a quasi-judicial public hearing would not be
necessary.
Commissioner
Moyer commented on whether or not the right institutions were listed, and
correct distances noted. He wished to eliminate several of the categories,
especially residential zoning district. He stated that the categories be
limited to health care facilities, and residential density, and would set the
limits at no less than two miles. He also wished to eliminate the permitting
process.
Commissioner
Gordon stated that she was confused about whether they are really using zoning
powers in drafting the ordinances. She was concerned that some of the
terminology would not hold up if it were challenged in court. Ms. Jackson
responded that in her opinion, this ordinance should be considered under the
land use powers.
Commissioner
Gordon also stated that she felt the protected categories should be narrowed,
this is meant to be an ordinance addressing motor sports facilities at all
locations. She felt that trying to count residential density would be
cumbersome, and questioned whether or not it could be done accurately.
There followed
much discussion about whether this should be a land use ordinance or a police
power ordinance.
Commissioner
Ward stated that he would like to see a permitting process, too many things
slip by unless you are notified. He would also like more detail in the
ordinance.
Commissioner
Kumor agreed that if you don=t do it right, and in as much detail as
possible, someone will find a loophole. She stated that while the Board may
support the Ordinance, they should have a workshop to iron out the
details.
Commissioner
Moyer questioned how much input was expected from the Planning Board, and how
much time the Planning Board would have to work on the ordinance. He would like
to see a time line drawn up to outline all the steps that need to be taken.
Commissioner
Kumor made a motion to extend the moratorium for another 90 days to meet all
the thoughtful requirements of the proposed ordinance. Chairman Hawkins
questioned whether the moratorium could be extended under police powers. Ms.
Jackson reminded the board that the moratorium that is in effect until February
9, 1999 was enacted under the police power for the enactment of a noise
ordinance. Therefore, if that moratorium is being used to enact a land use
regulation, it should be done after a public hearing.
Commissioner
Kumor withdrew her motion following discussion on the noise ordinance.
Chairman
Hawkins=s stated that
the problem that arises then is whether this particular problem is police
powers, which has more latitude as far as public hearings are concerned. He
then noted that regarding the draft ordinance, questions the Board has are:
location in relation to facilities, distance from those facilities, and
permitting.
Following
additional discussion, it was decided that a workshop would be held on Friday,
January 8th at 2:00 p.m. The public hearing will be set at the
workshop.
TASK FORCE=S DRAFT NOISE
ORDINANCE
The Noise
Ordinance Task Force has actively met since December 15, 1998, and has worked
very diligently in order to present the Board of Commissioners with a draft
ordinance by its January 4, 1999 meeting. Many hours have been volunteered by
the members of the Noise Ordinance Task Force in the hope that a balanced and
reasonable noise ordinance could be drafted.
In order for
the draft ordinance to receive the most publication as possible, staff
recommended the following:
1. Publication on the Internet with access
to the public comment line.
2. Copies available for the public to pick
up at the County Administration Building.
3. Public input scheduled for January 20,
1999 at 9:00 a.m.
4. Review by various state and county
departments such as the Sheriff=s Office
and
the District Attorney=s Office; and
5. Review by the Henderson County Bar.
If the Board
wishes to hold a public input session on January 20, 1999, staff will advertise
such public input session. At such
meeting the Task Force may be presenting a minority positions report to be
considered by the Board. In addition,
staff may also be presenting comments on the draft. Also for the Board=s regularly scheduled meeting on January
20, 1999, staff is trying to arrange a short audio presentation to demonstrate
certain decibel levels.
The draft noise
ordinance was presented for information purposes only. No discussion on the ordinance was expected
at this meeting. It was staff=s desire that
the Board consider the time line presented and provide direction on that time
line and the methods by which the Board wishes to have the draft ordinance
publicized.
Commissioner
Kumor questioned how the public comment line would work. Ms. Jackson stated
that the public comments would be received by Public Information Officer Chris
Coulson, who would reply that the email had been received and forwarded to the
Commissioners. Comments will be compiled, and presented to the Commissioners.
There were no plans to further respond to e-mails.
Commissioner
Ward stated that in addition to steps #1-5 noted above, he would also suggest
sending the ordinance to the Agriculture Advisory Committee, the Homebuilders
Association, and the Landscapers Association. Commissioner Ward made the motion
to extend the moratorium for 60-90 days, to allow comments back from the
Associations.
Following
discussion, Commissioner Ward amended the motion to put the moratorium on the
calender to be voted on after the public hearing at the mid-month meeting.
Commissioner
Moyer questioned whether or not the two discussed ordinances should be tied
together. He asked if the Board can extend the moratorium on the racetrack for
90 days, while the Noise Ordinance is being considered under the land use
powers. Ms. Jackson stated that this can be done if the language in the
moratorium is changed, but a public hearing should be held prior to such
change.
Following
additional discussion Commissioner Ward withdrew his motion. It was decided
that a public hearing could be scheduled for January 20th, to
establish a moratorium on the racetrack that will run for 90 days. Chairman
Hawkins made the motion for the record. The motion made was to hold a public hearing on January 20th,
the purpose of which is to establish a moratorium on the racetrack operation.
The second part of the motion was to take the draft noise ordinance,
distribute it to the previously
indicated parties, ask them for feedback within a 45 day period, and continue
with a time line of developing a noise ordinance. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
PUBLIC HEARING
- Proposal of the 1999 Schedule of Rules, Standards, and Values and
the 1999
Present-Use Value Schedules
Commissioner
Kumor made the motion to go into Public Hearing. All voted in favor and the
motion carried. Robert Baird presented the proposed schedule of values. The
schedule has been on file in the Assessor=s office. Following the adoption of
values, the schedule will remain open to the public for 30 days.
The Board of
Realtors will be providing the comparisons for the last quarter of 1998. Those
comparisons will be included in the final schedule, but should not create any
significant adjustments.
Larry Pace from
the Assessor=s Office
explained how values had changed on some commercial properties. A property on
25N was used as an example. The building had decreased slightly in value due to
age and depreciation. However the land value had increased, making up the
difference in the 1995 vs. 1998 assessments.
Commissioner
Moyer questioned how vacant buildings are assessed. Such properties have either
an economic factor adjustment because they are not being used, or if it=s not for sale
they determine the reason why.
There was
discussion on the upcoming meetings with citizens. Mr. Nicholson spoke to the
need for space for these meetings. They would like to use the available space
across the hall from the Assessor=s office rather than moving to an
off-site space. This would save time with wiring for phone calls, moving
pertinent files, etc. Mr. Nicholson hopes to have resolved this issue shortly.
Commissioner
Kumor made the motion to go out of Public Hearing. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
PUBLIC HEARING
- Proposed Abandonment of Cave Inn Drive (SR#1661)
Henderson County
had received a petition from William Cone and Randy Evans asking that the
County request NCDOT to abandon and remove from the State Maintenance System
Cave Inn Drive (SR# 1661). This petition, along with various letters of support
and maps of the area were submitted for the Board=s review. The comments of the Planning Department were also presented along
with a summary of the request and issues raised by the request.
NCGS 136-63
sets out the procedure by which a road may be abandoned. This statute requires that before NCDOT
abandons a road in the manner requested, the Board of Commissioners must adopt
a resolution requesting that the road be abandoned. The adoption of such a resolution must be based upon a finding
that Athe best
interest of the people of the County will be served thereby.@
At its December
7, 1998 meeting, the Board scheduled public input for this meeting in order to
receive public comments on the proposed abandonment of Cave Inn Drive. The County has received written comment from
Mrs. Thelma Canova. Some comments have
also been received from public safety officials and they were submitted for
review.
If the Board
finds that the best interest of the citizens of Henderson County will be served
by the abandonment, appropriate action could be taken upon motion to request
that the North Carolina Department of Transportation abandon Cave Inn Drive
(SR# 1661).
1. Thelma
Canova
- Mrs. Canova lives in Bat Cave at Cave Inn Drive. She stated that she uses
this road all the time. She put in a new driveway not only for herself, but to
assist her neighbors as well. She
believed she had a right-of-way when she purchased the property. She feels that
if the road is abandoned, she will not be able to receive emergency services if
she should ever need them.
Jennifer
Jackson reminded the Board that abandoning a road is very different than
closing a road. The Board of Commissioners can not request that a road be
closed, they can just state that it is in the best interest of the citizens of
the county to remove the road from state maintenance.
Commissioner
Ward made the motion to not abandon Cave Inn Drive. Commissioner Gordon stated
that she was reluctant to continue maintenance on a road when the property
owners do not wish to have it maintained.
Following
discussion, a vote was taken and the motion carried four to one with
Commissioner Gordon voting nay.
SET HEARING ON
A REQUEST FOR A VARIANCE BY WHITE OAK PARK, INC. FROM THE MORATORIUM ON
MANUFACTURED HOME PARKS
White Oak Park,
Inc., an existing 45 unit manufactured home park located on Zeb Corn Road, was
denied a building (set up) permit for one additional manufactured home in his
park on December 17, 1998. The denial
was due to the fact that his manufactured home park had in excess of 30 units
and the moratorium precludes expansion of such parks.
The moratorium
however allows the Board of Commissioners to grant variances based on
hardship. The moratorium also calls for
a hearing for such variances. Staff
requested the Board to set a public hearing on this matter for January 20,
1999.
Commissioner
Ward questioned whether a variance was really necessary, since this is an
existing park rather than a new one. Jennifer Jackson stated that in the
strictest sense of the moratorium, a variance is necessary since there are more
than 30 units in place.
Commissioner
Gordon stated that she was very upset to see this item on the agenda. She had
not wished for the moratorium to create this type of situation. She apologized
to those people who had been inconvenienced by such an oversight.
There was
discussion about amending the ordinance to clean up such situations, especially
in situations where two of the three utilities (water, septic and electric)
already exist on a site. Chairman
Hawkins made a motion stating that in the section dealing with service
connections, the intent was that if a permitted septic field was present, that
constitutes a service connection and therefore would comply with the verbiage
in the ordinance. Following discussion, Chairman Hawkins withdrew his motion.
Commissioner Moyer made a motion to include in the definition of requisite
utility connections, septic system permits issued prior to the effective date
of the ordinance. A vote was taken and
the motion carried four to one with Commissioner Ward voting nay.
PETITION TO
ABANDON MUD CREEK CEMETERY ROAD (SR#1165)
The Board
reviewed a petition on August 19, 1998 from Mud Creek Baptist Church, Inc. and
Joe Crowell Construction, Inc. (the developer of Rutledge Subdivision) asking
that the County request NCDOT to abandon and remove from the state maintenance
system Mud Creek Cemetery Road. The
petition was presented for Board review along with a map showing the location
of the road and a staff report on the road.
The Board
requested that the Chairman write the City of Hendersonville and the Village of
Flat Rock concerning this request. We
have not received a written response to the county=s letter. However, the County Manager has spoken to
Flat Rock Mayor Cyrus Highlander and Hendersonville City Manager Chris Carter
considering this issue. Both indicated
that their municipalities had reviewed the request and did not oppose it.
NCGS 136-63
sets forth the procedure by which a road may be abandoned. This statute requires that before NCDOT
abandons a road in the manner requested, the Board of Commissioners must adopt
a resolution requesting that a road be abandoned. In addition, this resolution must be based upon a finding that Athe best
interest of the citizens of the County will be served thereby.@
Although no
public hearing is required to abandon a road, the Board has previously set
public input sessions to receive comments before considering such a
resolution. Staff suggested February 1,
1999 at 7:00 p.m. for this public comment period.
Commissioner
Moyer questioned a memorandum issued by the Planning Department titled AComments on the
Closing of Mud Creek Cemetery Road@. David Nicholson commented that he had
spoken to the City of Hendersonville and the Village of Flat Rock, pointing out
that this was not a closing, it was an abandonment. Abandonment is the first
step associated with this process. The second likely issue will be the closing
of the road.
Following
discussion, Commissioner Kumor made the motion to set a public hearing for
February 1, 1999 at 7:00 p.m. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
REQUEST FOR
IMPROVEMENT GUARANTEE FOR NORTHERN VIEW ACRES SUBDIVISION
An Application
for Subdivision Improvement Guarantee dated December 29, 1998 was received from
Grover Barnwell, developer of Northern View Acres Subdivision. By way of this application the developer
requested permission to post a guarantee to cover the estimated cost of the
road improvements for the proposed major subdivision. Northern View Acres is a major subdivision located off Academy
Road in Henderson County. Staff showed
the location of the subdivision by map.
Pursuant to
Section 170-39 of the Henderson County Code, a developer, in lieu of completing
all of the requirements within the subdivision (i.e. road construction) prior
to Final Plat approval, may post a performance guarantee to secure the County=s
interest. One type of permitted
guarantee is a cash deposit (certified check). Upon approval by the Board of
Commissioners and satisfaction of any remedial conditions imposed by the
Planning Board, Planning Staff may approve the Final Plat for Northern View
Acres subdivision.
Grover Barnwell
has agreed to offer a cash deposit (certified check) to guarantee the road
improvements for Northern View Acres in the amount of $25,507.50, which
includes the amount listed on the cost quotation plus the required additional
amount of 25%. A draft Performance
Guarantee Agreement was presented for the Board=s review. The Staff Attorney reviewed the Agreement and certified it as to
form.
Planning Staff
has reviewed the request and recommended approval in accordance with county
regulations.
Jennifer
Jackson requested that the Board allow some clean-up amendments to this
agreement. The agreement was based on a standard agreement which references an Airrevocable
letter of credit@. In this case
cash will be used rather than a letter of credit, so this language needs to be
revised. Also, a statement regarding the use of the money in the event of
default should be added.
Commissioner
Ward made the motion to grant Jennifer Jackson the authority to make the above
stated changes to the agreement. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
CONSENT AGENDA
Chairman
Hawkins requested that the Fire and Rescue Advisory Board Notification of
Vacancies be pulled from the consent agenda. Following discussion on the Blue
Ridge Mall Tax Release, Commissioner Kumor
made the motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented with the
exception of the Fire and Rescue Advisory Board Notification of Vacancies. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Following
additional discussion regarding the Blue Ridge Mall Tax Release, Commissioner
Kumor corrected her motion to adopt the
Consent Agenda deleting the Notification of Vacancies, and deleting from the
Tax Releases the Blue Ridge Mall item.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
The CONSENT
AGENDA included the following:
Tax Refunds
A list of (13)
tax refund requests was presented to the Board by the County Assessor for
review and approval.
Tax Releases
A list of (202)
tax release requests was presented to the Board by the County Assessor for
review and approval.
Tax Collector=s Report
Terry F. Lyda,
Tax Collector had provided the Tax Collector=s Report dated December 31, 1998. The Board also received the mid-December
report on the day of that meeting and had asked for time to review same.
Certificate of
Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting
The Government
Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada has awarded
Henderson County=s Comprehensive
Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1997, the Certificate of
Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. This Certificate is the highest form of recognition in the area
of governmental accounting and financial reporting.
The
Comprehensive Annual Report, which was judged by an impartial nationwide panel,
met the high standards of full financial disclosure in communicating to the
users of the annual report.
The Henderson
County Office of Budget and Finance was assisted by an Independent Auditing
Firm, Dixon, Odom PLLC, in preparation of this report for submission to the
Board of Commissioners, various state agencies, national bond rating agencies
and the citizens of Henderson County.
This is the eighth consecutive time the certificate of achievement has
been awarded to Henderson County.
Henderson
County Public Schools Financial Report - November 1998
The November
1998 report was submitted for information only. Consent approval was requested.
Henderson
County Financial Report - November 1998
The November
1998 report was submitted for information only. Consent approval was requested.
NOMINATIONS
Chairman
Hawkins informed the Board of the following vacancies and opened the floor to
nominations:
1.
Nursing/Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee - 4 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
2. Henderson
County Zoning Board of Adjustment - 4 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
3. Henderson
County Travel & Tourism Committee - 3 vac.
Dennis Page,
Myra Wood, Jim Hall and Connie Backlund were nominated at the previous meeting.
Following a vote, Dennis Page and Myra Wood, were appointed unanimously and Jim
Hall was appointed with three of the five votes.
4. Henderson
County Partnership for Children - 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
SWAC
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Solid Waste
Advisory Committee (SWAC) had reviewed several issues as requested by the Board
of Commissioners. Over the past few
months, the SWAC has considered these issues and the hauler=s proposal to
consider franchising. Gary Tweed
presented the following recommendations to the Commissioners:
1. Steam
Treatment Technology
It was
recommended to the Henderson County Board of Commissioners that the use of
steam treatment technology of solid waste, as proposed by Team Systems
International, be placed on hold.
2. Landfill
Siting Criteria
It was
recommended to the Henderson County Board of Commissioners that should they
decide to site a landfill within Henderson County, that the Landfill Siting
Criteria, previously developed by the SWAC, be followed with the consideration
in making the landfill a regional solid waste landfill.
3. Franchising
of Solid Waste Haulers
It was
recommended to the Henderson County Board of Commissioners that they allow
staff to work with the Solid Waste Haulers Association to develop Franchising
of solid waste collection in Henderson County.
Commissioner
Moyer moved that the Board adopt these three recommendations and authorize the
Commissioner candidate to move forward. All voted in favor and the motion
carried.
Commissioner
Gordon informed Gary Tweed that she had been elected as the Commissioner
candidate, and requested that he bring her up to date on all future meetings.
ENGINEERING
SERVICES - C & D LANDFILL
Gary Tweed
reminded the Board that when the tipping fee was set, part of the plan was to
start a Construction & Demolition Landfill. The County applied for a permit
to continue the existing landfill with C & D waste. That permit was issued,
and now it is estimated that the existing area will only last for about a year.
He recommended to the Board that Henderson County contract with Camp Dresser
and McKee to provide technical services to develop an additional site for a
Construction and Demolition Landfill at our current Solid Waste Facility. The contract cost for this agreement is
$80,000 which includes preparing documentation for the NC Division of Solid
Waste. Following approval from the
state office, a grading plan and specifications will need to be developed, the
site surveyed, the site developed for the C & D Landfill and the
installation of a ground water monitoring system. The total cost of the project is $150,000. The net projected annual income following
operating expenses is $235,370.
Mr. Nicholson
and staff recommended that Henderson County employ Camp Dresser and McKee to
begin the development of an additional site for a Construction and Demolition
Landfill. Henderson County has worked
with this firm on several recent projects and they have a history of receiving
project approval from the Division of Solid Waste. The net revenues from the C&D Landfill would be used within
the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund.
Angela Beeker
pointed out to the Board that the contract states that no rezoning is
necessary. She informed the Board that in the future, Staff may recommend that
a zoning classification be created and future expansions rezoned to that
classification.
Commissioner
Moyer made the motion to accept this recommendation and authorize the
appropriate officials to move forward. All voted in favor and the motion
carried.
HOME AND
COMMUNITY CARE BLOCK GRANT - Supplemental Funds
Historically
the General Assembly appropriates supplemental funds for the Home and Community
Care Block Grant (HCCBG) Program each fiscal year. In the current fiscal year, Henderson County will receive an
additional $63,976.00 in block grant funds.
The County=s initial funding for FY 1998-99 was$508,833.00
for this program.
The Steering
Committee for the Older Adults Planning Committee reviewed requests for
additional funds from service providers.
All service providers currently participating in the HCCBG Program had
the opportunity to make a request for additional funding. Three agencies submitted requests for
additional funding.
The Steering
Committee recommended allocating the supplemental funds as follows:
Council
on Aging $42,000.00
WCCA 12,000.00
Housing
Assistance Corp. 9,976.00
TOTAL $63,976.00
The Planning
for Older Adults Committee approved this recommendation and voted to send it to
the Board of Commissioners for final approval.
Commissioner
Hawkins questioned whether the additional monies granted to Council on Aging
would help assist citizens on their waiting list. Carey McLelland stated that
they will be trying to serve all the people on the waiting list, but they
cannot make a guarantee.
Following
discussion, Commissioner Kumor made the motion to accept the schedule as
presented. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
CORRECTION TO
THE CODE
Staff
discovered a section of the code (Section 200-73(B)) that is in conflict with
the corresponding section of the Zoning Ordinance (Section 1201). Section 1201 of the Zoning Ordinance, Initiation
of Amendments, was amended by the Board of Commissioners in November of
1996 to differentiate between the process of initiating a text amendment and
initiating a map amendment. As amended
by the Board, Section 1201 was divided into two sections, Section 1201.01, Text
Amendments, and Section 1201.02, Map Amendments, Section 1201.01, Text
Amendments, allowed the Board of Commissioners, the County Manager, the
Planning Board, the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and the Watershed Review Board
to submit text amendments by right, and allowed a citizen to submit an
amendment only at the discretion of the Board of Commissioners. Section
1201.02, Map Amendments, allowed the same persons to submit an
application for a map amendment by right as for a text amendment but did not
allow a citizen to submit an amendment for someone else=s property
without their consent. These amendments
to the Zoning Ordinance were done by the Board after the code materials had
already been sent to General Code Publishers.
These amendments were inadvertently omitted from subsequent information
sent to General Code Publishers for inclusion in the Code. Therefore, Section
200-73 of the Code, Initiation, does not contain the same
differentiation between text amendments and map amendments.
Staff requested
the Board of Commissioners to consider setting a public hearing for February 1,
1999 at 7:00 p.m. to correct the text of the Code, and to request that the
Planning Board review the proposed correction during the month of January
1999. Alternatively, the Board may
decide to keep the Code language of Section 200-73 as presently written.
Commissioner
Hawkins questioned the necessity of the public hearing, since it was simply an
omission. Ms. Beeker stated that if it is a publishers error, that would be
true. However since it was a staff error in the information that was sent in,
the correction will be necessary.
Following
discussion, it was the consensus of the Board to table this item to the next
meeting for further discussion.
UPDATE ON
PENDING ISSUES:
Property
Addressing
Chairman
Hawkins informed the Board that he has been working with Robert Baird and the
MIS Director to try to find a solution to the municipalities sovereign rights
to leave their property addressed as they so desire. The Town of Fletcher has
voted to participate with the County, and are currently working on duplicate
street names.
Mountain Area
Service Area Workshop
Chairman
Hawkins informed the Board that in July of this year Congress passed the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and the President signed the Act into federal
law on August 7, 1998. This legislation
will replace the Federal Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA); however, this
legislation continues a State-Local government partnership and will establish
One-Stop (in North Carolina JobLink) Career Centers as the method for delivery
of services to job seekers, training seekers and employers.
They have
requested Henderson County=s comments concerning designation of
sub-state areas for administration of this new legislation.
The Workforce
Investment Act (WIA), like the Job Training Partnership Act, provides for the
designation of local workforce development areas within States. The WIA has provisions for a single unit of
local government with a population of 500,000 or more, to receive automatic
designation upon request. The second
provision is for designation of existing sub-state areas under JTPA, which have
a population of 200,000 or more, and which have demonstrated acceptable
performance and fiscal integrity for the last two years. Our multi-county consortium, Mountain Area
Service Delivery Area meets the second population criterion and is composed of
Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania Counties as one of the State=s Service
Delivery Areas under the Job Training Partnership Act.
In an initial
step toward recommending sub-state area designations to the Governor, the
Governor=s Commission on
Workforce Preparedness, the State=s workforce investment board voted at its
November 18, 1998, meeting to recommend that North Carolina continue the
current sub-state areas of the Job Training Partnership Act as designated areas
for the Workforce Investment Act.
However, prior to final recommendation to the Governor for designation
of sub-state areas, Henderson County=s comments were requested. This recommendation was that the Mountain
Area consortium continue as a sub-state area for administration of the
Workforce Investment Act.
The North
Carolina Department of Commerce requested comments on the recommendation for
continuation of the Mountain Area Service Delivery Area of Buncombe, Henderson,
Madison, and Transylvania Counties as a designated sub-state area for
administration of the Workforce
Investment Act, to the Governor=s Commission on Workforce Preparedness in
writing by January 8, 1999. They have a
very compressed implementation calendar for transition from the Job Training
Partnership Act to the Workforce Investment Act. The absence of written comments will be considered as agreement
with the recommendation of the Governor=s Commission on Workforce Preparedness
for retaining the current sub-state areas.
IMPORTANT DATES
The Board was
reminded of the last two of four county-by-county informational meetings for
local officials on the Council=s (Land-of-Sky Regional Council) regional
wireless (cell tower and pager) antenna site marketing and leasing program. The meetings are sponsored by the Council and
its Regional Civic Connectivity Commission (RC3), and presented by MetroSite
Management=s North
Carolina Marketing Manager, Susan Rabold.
These meetings are intended to give local government officials the information
needed to decide whether their jurisdictions wish to enter into a wireless
antenna site marketing and leasing contract with MSM. A representative from the
Planning Department will attend.
There was
discussion regarding scheduling an inclement weather backup date on February 1,
1999 for the Race Track Moratorium Public Hearing. Chairman Hawkins requested
that if they do set such a backup date, the Notice must contain a phone number
for citizens to call and find out if it has been canceled. Chairman Hawkins
made the motion to establish such a notice. All voted in favor and the motion
carried.
CLOSED SESSION
Commissioner
Kumor made the motion for the Board to
go into Closed Session pursuant to NCGS 143-318.11 for the following reasons:
1. (a)(1) To prevent disclosure of
information that is privileged or confidential pursuant to the law of this
State or of the United States, or not considered a public record within the
meaning of Chapter 132 of the General Statutes, in order to consider matters that
may be withheld from public inspection pursuant to NCGS 143-318.10(e) and
Section 11-4 of the Henderson County Code.
2. (a)(3) To consult with an attorney
employed or retained by the public body in order to preserve the
attorney-client privilege between the attorney and the public body, which
privilege is hereby acknowledged and to consult with an attorney employed or
retained by the public body in order to consider and give instructions to the
attorney with respect to the following claim:
MULTIMEDIA PUBLISHING
OF NORTH CAROLINA, INC., d/b/a ASHEVILLE CITIZEN TIMES PUBLISHING COMPANY, a
North Carolina Corporation v. HENDERSON COUNTY and HENDERSON COUNTY BOARD OF
COMMISSIONERS (Henderson Co. File No 98-CVS-1630).
3. (a)(4) To discuss matters relating to
the location or expansion of industries or other businesses in the area served
by the public body.
4. (a)(5) To establish, or to instruct the
public body=s staff or
negotiating agents concerning the position to be taken by or on behalf of the
public body in negotiating (I) the price and other material terms of a contract
or proposed contract for the acquisition of real property by purchase, option,
exchange, o lease; or (II) the amount of compensation and other material terms
of an employment contract or proposed employment contract.
All voted in
favor and the motion carried.
Commissioner
Ward made the motion for the Board to
go out of Closed Session. All voted in
favor and the motion carried.
Commissioner
Kumor made the motion to approve an amendment to the economic development
agreement with Branford Wire. The
amendment was to extend the agreement for one year and agree to the
reclassification or renaming of the 15 positions they are obligated to create
and fill on or before April 6, 2000. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
There being no
further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at
approximately 11:03 p.m..
ATTEST:
Elizabeth W.
Corn, Clerk to the Board Grady Hawkins, Chairman