MINUTES
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
COUNTY OF HENDERSON JANUARY 4, 2000
The Henderson
County Board of Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at 5:30
p.m. on Tuesday, January 4, 2000 in the Commissioners= Meeting Room
of the Henderson County Office Building.
Those present
were: Chairman Grady Hawkins, Commissioner Renee Kumor, Commissioner Don
Ward, Commissioner Marilyn Gordon, County Manager David E. Nicholson, Assistant
County Manager/Interim County Attorney Angela S. Beeker, and Clerk to the Board
Elizabeth W. Corn.
Also present
were: Finance Director J. Carey McLelland and Planning Director Karen C. Smith,
and Public Information Officer Chris Coulson.
Absent were:
Vice-Chairman Bill Moyer, Staff Attorney Jennifer O. Jackson, and County
Engineer Gary Tweed.
CALL TO
ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman
Hawkins called the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance.
PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE
Commissioner
Gordon led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
INVOCATION
David Nicholson
gave the invocation.
Chairman
Hawkins explained that Commissioner Moyer would not be at the meeting this
evening. He was in New Orleans for the
Sugar Bowl with his son who was playing in the Hendersonville High School Band
at the Sugar Bowl half-time ceremonies.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT
OF AGENDA
Chairman
Hawkins deleted one item, #1 under Notification of Vacancies. That position is appointed by the Social
Services Board, not the Board of Commissioners.
Chairman
Hawkins added one item under Update on Pending Issues as #2 - Discussion on
Asheville Airport Racetrack.
Commissioner
Ward added item AE@ under Staff
Reports - Taping our workshop sessions in between regular Commission meetings.
Addition to the
Record
Chairman
Hawkins asked the Clerk to distribute copies of a prepared statement that had
been presented to her just prior to the meeting to be included as part of the
proceedings. He gave the Commissioners
time to read the comment from Mr. Harold Engleman. They were as follows:
AMy name is Harold
Engelman and I am the Vice-President and a Director of the Carriage Park
Homeowners Association. Our Association
respectfully requests that the Board of Commissioners give no further approvals
to Carriage Park Development Corp. until they bring themselves in full
compliance with the terms and conditions of Special Use Permit 93-13 by
immediately conveying open spaces and common areas in previously approved
development parcels. We further ask that
our request be made a part of your official record. If my verbal statement will not be a part of the record, please
tell me so that I can follow up with a letter to the Board. Thank you for your consideration.@
After the Board
had time to read the above statement, Commissioner Ward requested that item AE@ be pulled from
the Consent Agenda - ARequest for Improvement Guarantee for Off-Site
Improvements for Carriage Park, Section 20 (Carriage Meadows).
It was the
consensus of the Board to approve the changes to the agenda.
CONSENT AGENDA
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion to approve the Consent Agenda with the omission of item
AE@. He stated
that item would be on the next agenda.
All voted in favor and the motion carried. The CONSENT AGENDA included the following:
Henderson
County Financial Report - November 1999
The Financial
Report for November was presented for the Board=s review.
Henderson
County Public Schools Financial Report - November 1999
The Financial
Report for November was presented for the Board=s review.
Tax Refunds (8)
A list of 8 tax
refund requests was presented for the Board=s review and approval by the County
Assessor.
Tax Releases
(27)
A list of 27
tax release requests was presented for the Board=s review and approval by the County
Assessor.
Extension of
Improvement Guarantee for High Vista Falls, Phase III
As allowed by
the former Land Development Ordinance (Chapter 170 of the Henderson County
Code), the Board of Commissioners, on April 5, 1999, approved the posting of an
Irrevocable Letter of Credit in the amount of no less than $249,839.00 as an
improvement guarantee for High Vista Falls, Phase III. The Agreement related to the improvement
guarantee, executed April 7, 1999, required that the water, sewer, road and
drainage improvements be completed by January 18, 2000. In May of 1999, the
County released a portion of the Irrevocable Letter of Credit in the amount of
$67,876.25. An amended Letter of Credit was submitted to the County in the
amount of $182,124.75.
A letter was
reviewed from Robert J. Duffy, Jr., on behalf of Carolina Development Resources
(and K&M Development Resources, Inc., d/b/a Development Associates, LLC),
requesting that the Board of Commissioners extend the completion date for
improvements to January 18, 2001. Due to refinancing, the developer had to stop
work on the improvements for a period of time and has recently begun working on
them again. The developer is willing to
post an amended Letter of Credit (with a new expiation date) in the amount of $182,124.75
to cover the cost estimate of the remaining improvements plus 25% as required
by the Land Development Ordinance.
Staff stated
that it would be appropriate for the Board to take action at this meeting on
the request for an extension. If the Board
wishes to grant such an extension, Staff had prepared a draft Agreement for the
Board=s
consideration. The County Attorney will
review the amended Letter of Credit, once submitted, and the Agreement before
certifying them as to form.
In the event
that the Board declines to grant the requested extension, Staff would be
seeking direction from the Board on whether Staff should pursue any remedies
under the Letter of Credit should the Developer fail to complete the
improvements by January 18, 2000.
Request for
Improvement Guarantee for White=s Lake
Subdivision
An application
and supporting documentation had been received from Smith & Lowe
Development, Inc., for an Improvement Guarantee for White=s Lake
Subdivision. Pursuant to Section 170-38
of the Henderson County Code, Smith & Lowe Development, Inc. proposes to
post with Henderson County an Irrevocable Letter of Credit to guarantee
completion of road improvements in White=s Lake.
A Letter of Credit will be provided in the amount of $93,603.75 which is
125% of the cost of the improvements.
The anticipated completion date for the improvements is June 1,
2000. A draft Performance Guarantee
Agreement was presented for the Board=s review.
The Henderson
County Planning Board approved a revised Master Plan and a revised Development
Plan for White=s Lake subject
to several conditions on November 30, 1999, including approval of the variances
that were considered by the Board of Commissioners on December 13, 1999. Approval of the Improvement Guarantee will
allow Planning Staff to approve the Final Plat for the subdivision prior to
completion of the improvements.
Planning Staff
has reviewed the improvement guarantee application and recommends
approval. Board action to approve the
Improvement Guarantee subject to the Staff Attorney or County Attorney
reviewing the Letter of Credit, once submitted, would be appropriate.
Smith-Lowe
Development Co. Variance - Draft Order
At the
Commissioners meeting on December 15, 1999, the Board considered the
Application for Variance from Section 170-21 of the Henderson County
Subdivision Ordinance submitted by Smith-Lowe Development Company, the
developer of a 41 acre subdivision to be known as AWhite=s Lake
Subdivision@ off Macedonia
Road in Henderson County.
The Board conducted
a Quasi-Judicial Proceeding to consider the requested variance. After hearing all of the testimony the Board
discussed the matter and voted to grant the variance.
The Board had
directed Staff to prepare proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law
consistent with the information presented and with the Board=s discussion
and vote to grant the variance.
Staff presented
the proposed order for the Board=s review and consideration and stated
that it would be appropriate for the Board to adopt the Order as presented or
as the Board wished to revise it.
NOMINATIONS
Notification of
Vacancies
1. Social
Services Board - 1 vac. (Chairman
Hawkins had deleted this item from the agenda, above)
2. Land-of-Sky
Regional Council - 1 vac. (Economic representative from each county).
Chairman
Hawkins suggested that he write the Economic Development folks for some input
or suggestions. Mr. Nicholson stated
that he had spoken to Bob Williford of the Chamber of Commerce today and they
will send Chairman Hawkins a letter with their recommendation.
Chairman
Hawkins reminded the Board that they had received a letter of resignation from
Mr. Frank Blazey who served for many years on the Social Services Board. Chairman Hawkins suggested that the Board
send a letter of thanks to Mr. Blazey.
He has been active for a long time in the Department of Social Services
and has acted as Chairman of their Board.
Chairman Hawkins stated that Mr. Blazey had made a significant
contribution to the county via his efforts with DSS.
Commissioner
Kumor stated that the Social Services Board has asked Commissioner Moyer to sit
on the DSS Board because they felt they needed to improve the communication
with the Board of Commissioners.
Nominations
Chairman
Hawkins reminded the Board of the following vacancies and opened the floor to
nominations:
1.
Hendersonville City Zoning Board of Adjustment - 1 vac. (alternate)
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
2.
Nursing/Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee - 5 vac.
Chairman Hawkins
nominated James Edwards. A vote will be
taken at the next meeting.
3.
Transportation Advisory Committee - new committee
Chairman Hawkins
stated that he had received a letter from the new Mayor of Flat Rock but had not
received their nominee yet. The
Transportation Advisory Committee will be composed of a total of 15
people. He made an appeal for
interested persons to serve on this committee.
There was some
discussion that the Board may want to increase the number of persons from 15 so
that they could cover all the areas of interest and the people interested in
serving on this committee.
The Nominees from
the last meeting for this committee were:
Paul Stepp Commissioner
Kumor
Jack Lynch Commissioner
Ward
Chip Gould Commissioner
Ward
Bob Eklund Commissioner
Gordon
Ray Bryson Commissioner
Gordon
Robert Johnston Chairman Hawkins
Rochelle Miller Commissioner Moyer
Nominees from this
meeting:
Tom Looby Commissioner
Gordon
Virgil McClure Commissioner Gordon
Rodney Raines, Capt. Commissioner Ward
Greg Gosnell Commissioner
Gordon
Ed Green (DOT) Commissioner Ward
There was some discussion of trying to get
someone on the committee that was familiar with school bus routes. It was decided that the Chairman should
write a letter asking for a recommendation for someone in this capacity from
the Chairman of the Board of Education.
4.
Henderson County Fire Commission - 3 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
Y2K UPDATE
David Nicholson had
scheduled this time to report to the Board on any issues associated with
Y2K. He stated that it would be a brief
report but all went well. The 9-1-1
system, telecommunications, our tax systems, finance systems, our billing
system, our LAN system at DSS, all checked out and we have had no problems with
them. Our major systems and even our
minor systems in county government are operating well.
Mr. Nicholson
reminded the Board that staff operated the emergency operations center for Y2K
on the evening of December 31 in the large meeting room. The Board of Commissioners had approved a
preparedness plan around the first of December. The plan was carried out.
David asked Rocky
Hyder to update the Board, as emergency management coordinator, on any issues
that he saw on the evening of December 31.
David thanked all those who helped out on the evening of December 31.
Rocky Hyder
characterized what was done on the evening of December 31, 1999 as an excellent
drill preparing for the winter season.
Rocky Hyder recognized all the different agencies that either
participated here in the operation center or in the field:
Henderson
County Board of Commissioners
The
American Red Cross
North
Carolina Forest Service
Town
of Fletcher
Ham
Radio operators (ARES group amateur radio emergency services)
Communication
Services (the Vendor for our 9-1-1 center)
Finance
Department personnel
EMS
personnel
Maintenance
personnel
NC
Department of Motor Vehicles
Sheriff=s Department
personnel
Dept.
of Social Services personnel
Health
Department personnel
Fire
Departments, cities and towns and the county
City
of Hendersonville
Girl
Scouts of America (some were working on merit badges)
Village
of Flat Rock
Duke
Power
N
C National Guard
N
C Highway Patrol
Town
of Laurel Park
County
Manager
Assistant
County Manager
and
Rocky=s wife.
He gave all these
people credit for being here through the New Year.
David Nicholson
stated that it was a very quiet evening.
About the only phone calls received were people checking in to say that everything was OK. David stated that the key is to be prepared
and Henderson County was.
CDBG -
ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACT
David Nicholson
informed the Board that Henderson County has been awarded $207,822 in a
Community Development Block Grant for Habitat for Humanity=s Grove Hills
Subdivision. Within the grant, funds
are available to cover a contract with Land-of-Sky Regional Council to provide
assistance in project planning and other administrative assistance. A copy of the contract was reviewed. Staff and Habitat for Humanity recommended
the Board=s approval of this contract. This is
primarily for infrastructure needs.
Commissioner Kumor
made the motion that the Board approve
the contract as presented. All voted in
favor and the motion carried.
CAPITAL PROJECT
FINANCING - Fletcher Elementary School
Carey McLelland
explained to the Board that there were several actions associated with this
agenda item that the Board needed to consider to facilitate financing a new
Fletcher Elementary School Project. The
first one is to award the financing.
The County mailed out requests for proposals to banks and three
financial institutions responded to the RFP.
A summary was reviewed. Staff
had certified that the proposal from Branch Banking & Trust (BB&T) was
the lowest responsible proposal and recommended that the Board consider
awarding the financing to BB&T.
There was some
discussion regarding responsible bids and the bidding process.
Commissioner Ward
made the motion to approve awarding the financing to BB&T. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Angela S. Beeker
then reviewed the Memorandum of Understanding proposed to be entered between
the Board of Commissioners and the Board of Public Education. It outlines basically the responsibilities
of each Board with respect to the new school.
The School Board will transfer title to the real estate to the
County. The County will be responsible
for procuring financing and will then enter into a contract back with the School
Board so that the School Board will actually make the award of the construction
contract. Once the school has been
constructed, the Board of Commissioners will then lease the facility back to
the School Board so that they may use it.
They will be responsible for the insurance and the maintenance with
respect to that school. The
Commissioners will primarily act as the financing agent for the project and
hold title to the property.
Mrs. Beeker then
reviewed the financing/construction timetable.
Chairman Hawkins
made the motion to accept the Memorandum of Understanding as presented. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Carey McLelland
then informed the Board that a Public Hearing is required on the Installment
Contract Financing. This public hearing
will be on the financing documents only.
Chairman Hawkins
moved the adoption of the following resolution:
RESOLUTION
TO SET A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE
PROPOSED
INSTALLMENT CONTRACT FINANCING
WHEREAS, the Henderson County Board of Commissioners desires to hold a public
hearing on the proposed documents for the installment financing by the County
of a new elementary school in the Fletcher community:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Henderson County Board of
Commissioners as follows:
1. That
a public hearing upon the proposed financing documents for the installment
contract financing of the new Fletcher Elementary School shall be held on the
19th day of January 2000, at 11:00 a.m. in the Commissioners Meeting
Room of the County Administration Building located at 100 N. King Street,
Hendersonville, North Carolina, 28792;
2.
That the Clerk to the Board is hereby directed to cause a notice of
such hearing to be published in a qualified newspaper no fewer than then (10)
days prior to such public hearing.
This the 4th
day of January 2000.
The motion was
seconded by Commissioner Kumor and was adopted by the following vote:
AYES: Chairman
Hawkins, Commissioner Kumor,
Commissioner
Gordon, and Commissioner Ward.
NAYS: None.
Carey McLelland
then requested the Board authorize the filing of an application with the Local
Government Commission (LGC). This is
also a requirement.
Chairman Hawkins
moved the adoption of the following Resolution:
RESOLUTION
AUTHORIZING THE FILING OF AN APPLICATION FOR
APPROVAL
OF AN INSTALLMENT CONTRACT
IN CONNECTION WITH THE
ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, INSTALLATION
AND EQUIPPING OF
THE NEW FLETCHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners of Henderson County, North Carolina desires
to provide for the acquisition, construction, installation and equipping of a
new elementary school for the Fletcher community pursuant tot he request of the
Henderson County Board of Public Education pursuant to N.C.G.S. 153A-158.1; and
WHEREAS, as allowed by N.C.G.S. 153A-158.1, the Board of Commissioners desires
to finance the elementary school by use of an installment financing contract
authorized under North Carolina General Statutes 160A-10; and
WHEREAS, findings by this governing body must be presented to the North Carolina
Local Government Commission so it can make the findings set forth in North
Carolina General Statutes 159-151 prior to approval of the proposed contract;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of Henderson
County, as follows:
1.
The proposed contract is necessary and expedient because of the
pressing need for a new elementary school in the Fletcher community.
2.
The proposed installment financing contract is preferable to a bond
issue particularly because a general obligation bond authorization cannot be
obtained in a timely manner and will not permit the alternative financing
structures and repayment provisions available in the proposed financing
contract.
3.
The sums to fall due under the contract are adequate and not excessive
for the purpose and can be included in the County=s budget without
difficulty.
4.
Past audit reports of the County indicate that its debt management
procedures and policies are good and have been carried out in strict compliance
with law.
5.
The Board of Commissioners has increased the County=s ad valorem tax
rate 1.5 cents per $100 of assessed
valuation ($769,500.00) to meet the sums to fall due under the proposed
contract, a tax increase not considered excessive.
6.
The County is not in default on any of its debt service obligations.
7.
The Interim County Attorney has rendered an opinion that the proposed
project is authorized by law and is a purpose for which public funds may be
expended pursuant to the Constitution and laws of North Carolina.
8.
The Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes its Chairman, the County
Manager, the Finance Director and the Interim County Attorney to submit to the
Local Government Commission an application for approval of the installment
financing contract.
9.
This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption.
Approved by the
Board of Commissioners of Henderson County this 4th day of January,
2000.
The motion was
seconded by Commissioner Kumor and was adopted by the following vote:
AYES: Chairman
Hawkins, Commissioner Kumor,
Commissioner
Ward, and Commissioner Gordon
NAYS: None.
UPDATE ON PENDING
ISSUES
Needs Assessment of
the Elderly - Renee Kumor
Commissioner Kumor
referred to a report entitled AAssessing the
Social Service Needs of Senior Citizens@. Since the Board has encouraged some
strategic planning for children, she suggested that a comparable parallel
strategic plan be done for the elderly in the community. Some of the services are similar, such as
transportation needs. Some of the
things that will be studied and researched with regard to children would also
fit the aging adult population with regards to accessing the community
risks. She suggested that the Board
write to the groups in the community who are advocates for the elderly and make
this suggestion to work together:
Barbara
Hammer, Chairman, Planning for Older Adults Committee
Mae
Harter, DSS Manager of Adult Protective Services
Karen
Smith, Director, Council on Aging
Ask for information
in a timely manner from them regarding strategic planning for elderly with
prioritized needs.
Commissioner Kumor
requested that if the Board agreed with this proposal, that letters be drafted
to the above three individuals and ask them to come back with a proposal on how
they would have a strategic plan ready for the Board of Commissioners. The consensus of the Board was for Chairman
Hawkins to send the letters and await replies from Barbara Hammer, Mae Harter,
and Karen Smith.
Discussion on
Asheville Airport Racetrack - Grady Hawkins
Chairman Hawkins
mentioned briefly pending actions by the Asheville City Council. This Board has previously written Mayor
Sitnik and asked for any additional input that might be forthcoming in their
discussions on the plans of the City of Asheville and/or the Airport Authority
in reference to some proposals for locating a racetrack in the area of the
Airport which borders on the Buncombe and Henderson county lines. We have received on letter back from Mayor
Sitnik but subsequent to that letter the Asheville City Council has met and had
some more discussions on the possibility of locating a racetrack in that
area. Chairman Hawkins had drafted a
letter to Mayor Sitnik and distributed it to the Commissioners. He requested that Mayor Sitnik include the
Henderson County Board of Commissioners in any further discussions that the
Asheville City Council has in regards to this property and the airport
racetrack. This Board is particularly
concerned about the locating of a racetrack in that area and the impact it
would have on future airport expansion and some other land issues. The Henderson County Board of Commissioners
does not feel that this is a suitable location for a racetrack. It was suggested that Chairman Hawkins
indicate that he would be glad to meet with Mayor Sitnik.
Discussion regarding
taping of Board workshops
Commissioner Ward
had asked that this be an add-on to the agenda. He requested that the County Manager look into the possibility of
taping additional Board meetings, such as workshops and the costs of such
taping. Much discussion followed bu it
was the general consensus of the Board that
more of the meetings should be discussed. Much work of the Board is done between the two regularly
scheduled meetings at special called meetings.
The Commissioners prefer the informal setting for workshops and would
like to continue to sit down below at table and chairs with other Boards/staff
participating at the table. There is a
problem with the current set-up of our cameras and taping of that type meeting,
also a problem with our microphones picking up discussion at the table. Staff
will look into the possibilities and the costs.
INFORMAL PUBLIC
COMMENTS
1. Bob Black - Mr. Black spoke
in support of a racetrack for Western North Carolina. He is a native North Carolinian, having lived in Henderson County
for the past 45 years. He currently
lives in Etowah. He stated that our
airport use has decrease over the years.
He suggested that the airport let their needs be presented, whether they
have a future use for the property in question.
2. Dick Lantrip - Mr. Lantrip is
President of the High Vista Home Owners Association. He opposes the airport racetrack. He is also one of the organizers of the Regional Organization
Against the Airport Racetrack known as ROAR.
Mr. Lantrip read a prepared statement on behalf of members of both
organizations who could not attend this meeting. This property in question is not in Henderson County but it is
surrounded on three sides by Henderson County.
He stated that the
Airport Authority Board has identified this property in their strategic plan as
critical to expansion, passed a Resolution opposing any use of this property
for other than airport use, and presented that to the Asheville City Council on
December 21. So far, the Asheville City
Council has not honored that Resolution.
The boundaries
between Buncombe and Henderson County were adjusted with State approval in 1959
for the express purpose of building a regional airport. Almost, of not all of the current Asheville
Regional Airport is on land that was provided by Henderson County to Buncombe
County. Subsequent to the adjustment of
the county boundaries, the City of Asheville, again being a satellite
annexation, with State approval, proceeded to annex the airport property which
was previously Henderson County property, for the purpose of building a
regional airport.
He stated that this
item (the Airport Racetrack) will be back on the January 11 agenda for the
Asheville City Council. He urged the
Board of Commissioners to get involved and become a party to this issue.
3. Bob Chapman - Mr. Chapman is a
member of ROAR. He has lived in North
Henderson County for 12 years. He
thanked the Board for enacting the Noise Ordinance and the Racetrack Ordinance.
He is not against racetracking but feels that it must be put in the right
location. He spoke some about noise and
stated that a drag strip=s noise is somewhat
louder than a racetrack=s noise. He requested the Board of Commissioners have
personal contact with Asheville City Council to voice citizen concerns
regarding the airport racetrack.
4. Gerry Pasternack - Mr. Pasternack
is a Mills River resident and spoke strongly against an airport racetrack. He stated that more than 4,000 residents of
Henderson County will be directly affected, negatively. He requested that the Henderson County Board
of Commissioners register their concern to the Asheville City Council and do so
in an official and public manner prior to the Asheville City Council=s January 1lth
meeting on this subject.
5. Ron Bailey - Mr. Bailey is a
Buncombe County resident. He is a
property owner at the Buncombe County/Henderson County line. He spoke in opposition to the airport
racetrack.
Chairman Hawkins
mentioned briefly about annexation laws.
Commissioner Gordon
asked the County Attorney to check the terms of the original agreement
regarding the airport construction. Was
this property exchange for the express purpose of the airport? She asked that
the legal issues be clarified.
CLOSED SESSION
Commissioner Kumor
made the motion for the Board to go into Closed Session as allowed pursuant to
NCGS 143-318.11 for the following reasons:
1. (a)(3) To
consult with an attorney employed or retained by the public body in order to
preserve the attorney-client privilege between the attorney and the public
body, which privilege is hereby acknowledged.
To consult with an attorney employed or retained by the public body in
order to consider and give instructions to the attorney with respect to the
following claims:
Henderson
County v. Crosby (File No. 99-CVS-527)
Henderson
County v. Jackson (File No. 99-CVS-526)
2. (a)(4) To
discuss matters relating to the location or expansion of industries or other
businesses in the area served by the public body.
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.
Chairman Hawkins
called the meeting back to order and distributed copies of the signed letter to
the media as promised before going to a break and Closed Session. It was a letter addressed to Mayor Sitnik,
Asheville City Council, regarding the airport racetrack. Commissioner Ward requested a response from
Asheville City Council prior to the January 11 meeting. David Nicholson stated that he would relay
that concern to the Asheville City Manager.
Commissioner Kumor read aloud the letter in question.
IMPORTANT DATES
Chairman Hawkins
reviewed the Commissioners= calendar with the
Board. There was discussion of a need
for a budget workshop in January. No
meeting dates were set as we did not have a full board in attendance.
TRAVEL EXPENSES -
Nursing/Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee
David Nicholson
stated that Jack Reed, Chairman of the Community Advisory Committee, and he had
discussed this item prior to the presentation of the budget to the
Commissioners last year including Mr. Nicholson making sure there were funds
available in non-departmental costs to grant the travel expenses. However, staff omitted this and did not bring
it to the Board=s attention.
Mr. Nicholson felt it was imperative that the Board discuss this and
make a decision.
Mr. Nicholson
stated that this is an unusual case - this committee=s job is to travel,
to go between different facilities.
These committee members travel on a regular basis.
Jack Reed - Annual
Report
Mr. Reed presented
the annual report for 1999. Mr. Reed
distributed copies of the annual report for all the Commissioners. He stated that there is still a shortage of
CNAs (Certified Nursing Assistants). As long as the unemployment figures stay
around 1.2-1.4%, there is no readily available source for personnel to fill
this need. Sign-on bonuses of
$1,200-1,500 are being offered in the newspapers for CNAs. He suggested that the only short-term answer
is for the community to get involved.
There needs to be more involvement by community residents who themselves
will need help in these facilities at some point in the future. There are many small tasks that volunteers
could perform that would be of major assistance to the staff and the residents.
Mr. Reed stated
that the committee did visit all the facilities in excess of the minimum
requirements of the State. There are
approximately 30 facilities they are required to visit and are asked to visit
them on a quarterly basis.
There were 11
resignations from the committee this past year.
A retired
veterinarian has donated approximately 100 pet birds, cages and food for
distribution by the committee to Nursing/Adult Care Homes. The therapeutic effect of the bird program
on the residents (and staff) has been phenomenal.
As of this report
date, committee members have devoted over 960 hours and traveled 5,300
miles. This is an incomplete record as
many of the resigned members did not turn in an activity report. These figures when extrapolated project
1,300 hours and 6,500-7,200 miles for the year.
He thanked all the
hard-working members of the committee.
Most of them are professionals with experience in the health care field.
Mr. Reed stated
that each member of the Committee would be required to document his/her mileage
and then submit a request for payment to the County to receive
reimbursement. The payment would be
based on the County=s travel policy. This policy indicates that they would be reimbursed for mileage
at the IRS approved rate. Mr. Reed
projected that annually members of the Committee travel approximately 7,000
miles. Based on this projection, the
annual cost would be $2,275 (7,000 x .325 cents per mile). Funds are available in the Non-Departmental
- Travel Account.
Commissioner Kumor
made the motion to approve paying this committee=s travel
expenses. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
PRESENTATION ON
PUBLIC TRANSIT
Paul Stepp stated
that in most every needs assessment, public transit falls near the top of
needs. He distributed a proposed route
(#1) for a local transit system and stated that $7,500 would be needed to do
this one route. This would be the first
increment in a projected multi route system.
As ridership grows and public requests dictate, other routes would be
suggested and tailored to the demands of those it serves. Connection with other nearby communities
would be possible as the project matured.
This proposal is above and beyond what Apple Country Transportation is
currently providing.
Mr. Stepp explained
that the fare recovery would be about 8-20%, depending on how much services
were offered. The plan that he
presented did not involve government money.
He proposed two options for financing this project:
1.
Have advance sell of tickets, either weekly or monthly passes, selling
them to
Churches
and business organizations. In turn,
they would be offered to customers
and
to residents who need public transit.
He could not estimate how much revenue
that
would create. He did state that we have
104 Churches. If each Church bought
$100
worth of tickets a month, that would go a long way toward financing the
project.
2.
Property tax bills go out in September each year. These bills bring in $30 million
a
year in revenue. He suggested sending
these tax notices, anticipate that date by a
year
and include a letter that any monies that are sent in prior to the due date
would
be
set aside and invested and the dividends would be dedicated to the public transpor-
tation
system. The people who send in their
money early would be making a contribution.
Mr. Stepp
anticipates a ridership of 500-600 people a day just from school children who
cannot drive and the elderly. Mr. Stepp
felt that the biggest problem at the present is getting some group with
credibility in the community to get behind this project and support it.
Commissioner Ward
suggested taking this project to the LGCCA as 90% of the proposed route is in
the municipalities. He suggested
getting this project going. The
Commissioners asked Mr. Stepp if he had made this presentation to the City of
Hendersonville. He had to Mayor Niehoff
but not to the City Council. It was
also suggested that he address the Community Foundation. It was also suggested that the
Transportation Advisory Committee review this project.
Mr. Stepp has
talked with numerous business people.
They are currently trying to get a bus donated. There was a mention of
the possibility of utilizing school buses during the day for such a
project. State regulations may prohibit
it.
There being no
further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at
approximately 8:11 p.m.
ATTEST:
Elizabeth W. Corn, Clerk Grady
Hawkins, Chairman