MINUTES
STATE
OF NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
COUNTY
OF HENDERSON JULY 26,
2000
The Henderson
County Board of Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at 9:00 a.m.
in the Commissioners= Conference Room of the Henderson County Office
Building at 100 North King Street, Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Those present
were: Chairman Grady Hawkins,
Vice-Chair Bill Moyer, Commissioner Renee Kumor, Commissioner Don Ward,
Commissioner Marilyn Gordon, Acting County Manager J. Carey McLelland, County
Attorney Angela S. Beeker and Clerk to the Board Elizabeth W. Corn.
Also present
were: Assistant County Attorney Jennifer O. Jackson, Planning Director Karen C.
Smith, County Engineer Gary Tweed, and Public Information Officer Chris S.
Coulson.
Absent was
County Manager David E. Nicholson.
CALL TO
ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman
Hawkins called the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance.
PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE
Commissioner
Moyer led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
INVOCATION
Chairman
Hawkins requested observance of a moment of silence in honor of Fletchers= Mayor Bob
Parrish, who recently passed away. He
introduced Charles Kirby, Director of Pastoral Care at Pardee Hospital, who gave
the invocation.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT
OF AGENDA
Commissioner
Gordon asked for an addition to Update on Pending Issues, #2 - AAsheville
Regional Housing Consortium Report and Housing Update@.
Commissioner
Ward asked for an addition to Update on Pending Issues, #3 - ASolid Waste
Fees - waiver@.
It was the
consensus of the Board to approve the adjustments to the agenda.
CONSENT AGENDA
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
The CONSENT
AGENDA included the following:
Transportation
Advisory Committee - Bylaws and Rules of Procedure
Since its
formation in February of 2000, the Transportation Advisory Committee has been
meeting regularly. On June 29, 2000 the
Transportation Advisory Committee held a regular monthly meeting and, as one of
its items of business, approved a set of Bylaws and Rules of Procedure. These Bylaws require the approval of the
Board of Commissions and were submitted for that approval.
Ambulance
Franchise - Arc Angel Trans=Support Services
On July 3,
2000, the Board considered the application for a nonemergency medical transport
franchise which was submitted by The Odin Corp., d/b/a Arc Angel Trans=Support
Services in accordance with Chapter 87 of the Henderson County Code. After modifying the language of Section 3.10
of the Ordinance, the Board approved the first reading of the Ordinance which
grants the franchise to The Odin Corp.
NCGS 153A-46
requires that the granting of a franchise be achieved by the adoption of an
ordinance at two regular meetings of the Board. Therefore, the Board was asked to approve the Ordinance so that
the ambulance franchise could be effectively granted as requested.
The operation
of the franchise, if approved at this second reading, would not be affected by
either the Board=s approval of
the proposed amendments to Chapter 87 of the Henderson County Code or the Board=s action in not
approving such amendments.
County Attorney
Employment Agreement
Angela Beeker
had prepared and submitted for the Board=s approval a draft employment agreement
for the County Attorney.
Settlement of
Lawsuit
In 1999,
Henderson County brought a condemnation action in order to obtain property
located at 828 Stoney Mountain Road which is located adjacent to the Henderson
County Solid Waste Management Facility.
The caption of the lawsuit is:
Henderson
County (a political subdivision of the State of North Carolina),
Plaintiff,
vs. Thomas E. Crosby and Linda G. McGraw (a/k/a Linda G. McGraw
Crosby),
owners; Asheville Federal Bank, a federal savings bank; and First Union
National
Bank of North Carolina, Trustee, Defendants. [Henderson County File
No.
99-CVS-527]
During
mediation a tentative settlement was reached wherein Henderson County in settlement
of the action would pay the total sum of $350,000 to Crosby for the
taking. The settlement further provides
that Crosby is entitled to maintain possession of the property up to 120 days
after the filing of a consent judgement consistent with the mediated settlement
agreement.
Staff reported
to the Board that this settlement was finalized on June 27, 2000 with the
filing of the consent judgement.
NCGS
143-318.11(a)(3) requires that the settlement be publicly reported and entered
in the Board=s minutes as
soon as possible within a reasonable time after the settlement is
concluded. Therefore, the Board was
requested to approve this settlement in the consent agenda and enter such
settlement in the minutes of the Board meeting.
Petition to
Abandon a Portion of Whitehead Road (SR #1589)
On June 5,
2000, the Board considered a petition to abandon and remove from the State
maintenance system a portion of Whitehead Road (SR #1589) which is located off
Bearwallow Road. After discussion, the
Board had approved the petition subject to a favorable review by the applicable
emergency officials.
The Sheriff,
EMS Director, Fire Marshal and the Edneyville Volunteer Fire Department were
contacted. Written comments were received from the EMS Director and Fire
Marshal and were submitted to the Board.
The Fire Marshal spoke with the Edneyville Volunteer Fire Department and
there were no concerns that were expressed.
The Sheriff indicated verbally that he didn=t see any
problem with the abandonment as proposed.
A letter dated
June 27, 2000 from William Berry, the lead petitioner, was submitted which
addresses the concerns of the Fire Marshal related to future maintenance of the
portion of the road that is being taken off of the State maintenance system.
If the Board
feels that the comments received were favorable and Athe best
interest of the citizens of the County would be served ...@, it would be
appropriate to adopt the draft Resolution and forward it on to NC Department of
Transportation.
Green River
Fire Department Lease Purchase
Green River
Volunteer Fire & Rescue, Inc., is planning to purchase a 2000 Ford F-350
Brush Truck and a 2001 Chevrolet Suburban Medical Responder Unit. The leading institution, United Financial of
North Carolina, requests the Chairman of the Henderson County Board of
Commissioners sign a prepared letter.
The minutes of
the public hearing held at Green River Volunteer Fire & Rescue, regarding
the matter were submitted for the Board=s review.
Capital
Improvements Project
The monthly
report for June 2000 was submitted for review on the new Detention Center.
Resolution -
Frank J. Aaron, Jr.
Staff had
prepared a Resolution honoring Frank J. Aaron, Jr. for his service as Chief
Executive Officer of Margaret R. Pardee Memorial Hospital. The Board was requested to approve the
Resolution.
NOMINATIONS
Notification of
Vacancies
The Board was
notified of the following vacancies which will appear under ANominations@ on the next
agenda:
1. Community
Child Protection Team - 1 vac.
2. Recreation
Advisory Board - 1 vac.
Nominations
Chairman
Hawkins reminded the Board of the following vacancies and opened the floor to
nominations:
1.
Nursing/Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee - 2 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
2. Juvenile
Crime Prevention Council - 1 vac. This vacancy must be filled with someone under the age of 21. There were no nominations at this time so
this item was rolled to the next meeting.
3. Mountain
Area Workforce Development Board - 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
4. Child
Fatality Prevention Team - 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
DISPOSITION OF
SURPLUS PERSONAL PROPERTY FROM HORSE FARM & SMALL HOUSE
Jennifer
Jackson informed the Board that Henderson County had received a letter from
Marta Bruenn, the tenant of the horse farm and small house located near the
Solid Waste Management Facility, indicating her interest in purchasing some
personal property associated with the horse farm and small house. She has offered to purchase them for the
amounts listed in the Summary of Requested Items which total $2,500.00. The Summary of Requested Items was attached
to the letter and to the draft resolution as Exhibit A. The County Engineer is of the opinion that
the County is not likely to need the items listed and therefore requested that
they be considered surplus and sold as indicated in the letter.
NCGS 160A-266
allows the Board of Commissioners to appoint an officer to dispose of personal
property by private negotiation and sale when the personal property is valued
at less than $30,000.00. NCGS 160A-267
requires that the County adopt a resolution authorizing the disposal of the
personal property by private sale at the negotiated price. The sale can be consummated 10 days after
the contents of the resolution are summarized in a notice and the notice is
published.
If the Board
wishes to declare the items listed in the letter as surplus and sell them to
Marta Bruenn for the prices she has listed (totaling $2,500.00), the Board
should consider adoption of the prepared resolution. The statutes require the
Board to adopt a resolution appointing a person to carry out the sale. Staff had prepared such a resolution for the
Board=s consideration
and would appoint the County Manager as the person to carry out the sale.
Commissioner
Ward stated that he had visited the site and there were (removable) stalls that
would be disposed of. He suggested that
we lump these things together to have one sale. He suggested that the County Manager or his agent take care of
this.
After some
discussion, staff was directed to revise the Resolution to include the sale of
the stalls, as long as lumped together it did not exceed $30,000.
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion to adopt the amended Resolution as discussed above to
allow the sale of the stalls in addition to the items listed in the letter from
Marta Bruenn. All voted in favor and
the motion carried.
UPDATE ON
PENDING ISSUES
1. Carolina Apparel
Building
Chairman
Hawkins asked Bill Blalock, Project Manager, to update the Board on the current
status of this project.
Property
The Board
authorized and executed a purchase agreement for the Carolina Apparel property
and five contiguous residential properties at the rear at a price not to exceed
$2.65 million. If the properties in the
rear end up costing less than was anticipated, the County realizes the
savings. Carolina Apparel does not
close until June 1, 2001. It is
currently being leased by IRG and the lessee leaves in May 2001. Three properties in the rear have been
closed on - Seabaugh, Hill, and Campbell.
Henderson County currently owns those three residential properties. The Investment Realty Group will identify
two additional contiguous properties and will come forward with that
approximately mid August. One would
probably close around September 1 and one around Oct. 1, 2000.
One of the
neighboring properties to the Carolina Apparel property may partner with us in
getting the Duke Power lines at the rear of the two properties moved which
could create a cost savings.
Architect
The request for
qualifications went out and submissions were received on June 13, 2000. The project team (which consists of Renee
Kumor, David Nicholson, Bill Byrnes, Gary Tweed, and Bill Blalock) met and
reviewed the Architect submissions focusing on qualifications and
capabilities. The project team narrowed
it down to a short list of three Architects.
They also did some site visits to see projects that the short list of
three had done. The project evaluations
are completed.
The Board had
indicated that they wanted to personally approve the short list. Mr. Blalock requested approval from the
Board. He also suggested that the Board
schedule a workshop and interview the three finalists and make the final
selection.
Timeline
(rough)
If we have an
Architect on board in the next 60 days, we have approximately 15 months, or
December of 2001 to get the plans finalized.
Construction would start approximately January 2002 and end
approximately December of 2002 (based on building approx. 128,000 square feet).
If we don=t build
something that big, the timeline would change. Occupancy could be January or
February of 2003. Then alterations
could be done on the Administration Building for the Sheriff=s
Department which would take March -
June of 2003.
There were
questions as to why it would take so long for the first part of the project,
the A & E and the State approvals, and the bidding and financing. Bill explained that the A & E would take
approx. 9 months and that is crunching,
there are three cycles of state approvals that we will have to go
through that can take as much as five months, bidding, and then financing needs
90 days.
Commissioner
Kumor asked for some explanation of the state approvals so that the public
would understand (that might watch the meeting on cable). The Department of
Insurance must approve any structure that a municipality or county builds. They will review the schematic plans and
then the detailed design plans, and again when the final documents are
ready. The Department of Social
Services at the State level will reimburse us significantly (approx. 51%) for a
major portion of the DSS work and therefore we will run the plans through them
also. They are not an approval body but
will provide comments back to us. We
will receive some reimbursement through the State for the Health Department
(based on square footage occupied) also but it is entirely different and not as
large a reimbursement.
Some of the
members of the Board expressed that the time could be shortened some and that
was what they wanted. Staff can shorten
some of the process by hand carrying documents to Raleigh and sitting in
someone=s office to
make sure that things are done in a timely fashion.
Planning &
Design (space information)
Departments
that are planned for the building are:
C
Commissioners and Clerk to the Board
C
Administration
County
Manager
Legal
Finance
Human
Resources
Risk
Management
Agriculture
Development
Public
Information Officer
Veteran
Services
Project
Management
Planning
Fire
Marshal/Emergency Management
Building
Inspections
Utilities
Department
C
Department of Social Services
C
Public Health Department
Human
Services
Environmental
Services
C
Election Board
He reviewed the
space plan which consisted of the space requirements for each department,
existing and projected, and increase or decrease. The new facility proposal supports office growth from an Aexisting@ level of 254
to a Aprovided@ level of 385,
providing growth space for the next five years.
Following Mr.
Blalock=s presentation,
Chairman Hawkins suggested that the Board set a workshop on this project under
Important Dates to review the specific space requirements.
Commissioner
Kumor reminded the Board that the Historic Courthouse rehabilitation is also
tied to this project and if we begin to delay this project we also start to
delay the activities with the Historic Courthouse. The plans that will be brought to the Board in mid August will
suggest that if the Board delays the moving that they will impact the
rehabilitation of the Historic Courthouse.
Following
discussion, it was the consensus of the Board to have the project team do the
interviewing of the architectural firms
and make a recommendation to the Board as to the final selection of the
Architect.
Commissioner
Moyer made the motion to authorize the project committee to interview the
architectural firms on the short list and bring back a recommendation to the
Board of Commissioners at the August 7 meeting, but to advise the Commissioners
of the dates in case any of them choose to sit on the interviews. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
It was also the
consensus of the Board to pursue the process of moving the Duke Power
lines. No decision has been made but
the Board would like to know the options available.
2. Asheville
Regional Housing Consortium Report/Housing
Commissioner
Gordon informed the Board that there is an informal committee meeting working
on ways to pinpoint strategies defined in the report that could be applicable
in Henderson County. The first step
will be to ask the LGCCA for time on their agenda to give a report and then
will likely ask for a time on this Board=s agenda to go over some of the findings
in the report.
Commissioner
Gordon stated that there was an article in the paper about an award that was
received by the group that did the report, for the process that they used. Commissioner Gordon was very impressed with
the amount of input and the effort that went into the report. She feels that the findings are very valid.
She has
attended several meetings and stated that the committee is working on ways to
address affordable housing needs in Henderson County.
Commissioner
Moyer stated that Commissioner Gordon was a little modest. As reported in the newspaper, the
Department of Housing and Urban Development recognized the Asheville Regional
Housing Consortium for having one of the four hundred best practices for
community growth and planning. They
have made a good start. This is
obviously an area that the Board has identified as needing top priority and it
is good to see this kind of activity and planning in this area.
Chairman
Hawkins stated that the next LGCCA meeting was originally scheduled to be
conducted in Fletcher but with the recent death of their Mayor, Laurel Park
will likely host the next meeting in Laurel Park in September and affordable
housing will likely be a topic on the agenda.
As the date becomes available, Chairman Hawkins will notify the rest of
the Board.
3. Solid Waste
Fees/waiver
Commissioner
Ward stated that he had been approached by some individuals from a local Church
who were offering to clean up a senior citizen=s property in the Zirconia area. It is a small Church and they wondered if
the County might waive the solid waste fees. Neither group can afford to clean
it up and pay the disposal fees.
Gary Tweed had
talked with Les Capps about the same project.
He stated that much of the waste material would go into our C & D
landfill, such as concrete materials and old wood, etc.
Much discussion
followed with the Board not wanting to set a precedence. The Board has had similar requests for
waivers from nonprofit organizations, school projects, and the highway clean-up
program. Some times the county can use
concrete and masonry material in laying road beds and if so, we do not charge
for the disposal of the materials.
Staff (Gary
Tweed) was directed to research this and come back with a recommendation to the
Board of Commissioners. There was some
discussion about SWAC reviewing this sort of request and making a committee
recommendation. There was some
discussion that some of these requests would involve public health and
safety. There was also some discussion
that the Board may want to set a definite policy to deal with requests like
this in the future.
IMPORTANT DATES
The
Commissioners= calendar was
reviewed. Chairman Hawkins reminded the
Board that August 10-13 is the NC Association of County Commissioners= Annual
Conference which will be held in Durham County this year. If any of the Commissioners plan to attend
they need to let Ms. Corn know of their intent so that she could register them
and make their arrangements. He also
informed them of an invitation received from Camp, Dresser & McGee for the
Board to have dinner with them at the Angus Barn on August 10. He needs to respond to them with a number of
attendees from our County.
Chairman
Hawkins reminded the Board that August 21 is a joint facilities meeting with
the Board of Education at the Board of Education on 4th Ave. West at
5:00 p.m.
Chairman
Hawkins reminded the Board of the Property Addressing workshop scheduled for
August 30 at 3:00 p.m., here.
Chairman
Hawkins informed the Board of a Rural Economic Development workshop in October
in Raleigh. If interested in attending,
again, please let Ms. Corn know as soon as possible.
Chairman
Hawkins asked the Board to set a redistricting workshop. The workshop was set for 3:00 p.m. on
Monday, August 28, 2000. Beverly
Cunningham and Robert Baird will both be present at that workshop.
The Board was
reminded of the August 15 joint meeting scheduled with the City of
Hendersonville, to be held here, to discuss Historic Courthouse
Rehabilitation. Staff will develop an
agenda.
Chairman
Hawkins asked the Board to set a workshop to discuss the CAT building. The workshop was set for Thursday, August 24
at 1:00 p.m.
Chairman
Hawkins stated that there are a number of organization issues that the Board
has talked about and he asked if the Board wished to set an organizational
workshop (tax collector, tax assessor, deputy tax collector, EMS, a different
organization for the Planning Board, different organization for property
addressing, etc.). The workshop was set
for Wednesday, August 23 at 3:00 p.m.
There was some
discussion regarding the annual volunteer appreciation banquet. Some of the Board suggested either a Tuesday
or a Thursday in October. Commissioner
Moyer stated that the last Tuesday of the month is the Planning Board
meeting. Commissioner Ward stated that
the third Tuesday of the month is the Recreation Board meeting. Chairman Hawkins said to concentrate on
Thursdays (5th or 19th preferably).
Commissioner
Moyer stated that we still need to set a date to meet jointly with DSS on
mental health issues. This was
previously scheduled and canceled. The
Board suggested that we might be able to meet with DSS on Monday, September 11
at 3:30 p.m.? Chairman Hawkins will
clarify date and time with Chairman Bill Lapsley.
Angela Beeker
reminded the Board that they had received a Special Order to Set a Public
Hearing for an Industrial Project for Andy Petree Racing, Inc. Ms. Beeker stated that we have a project
here in our county that is seeking industrial revenue bonds. This is a way that the Board of
Commissioners can assist in economic development without cost to the taxpayers. We have an Industrial Facilities and
Pollution Control Authority that can actually issue these bonds.
Scott Hamilton
with the Chamber of Commerce then addressed the Board. The Commissioners have been asked to hold a
public hearing to get public input and then approve in principle the bond
package and the industrial revenue bonds for Andy Petree Racing. The bonds are to be issued by the Henderson
County Industrial Facilities and Pollution Control Financing Authority in a
proposed amount of five million dollars for the benefit of Andy Petree
Racing. The project is going to be
63,000 square feet of additional manufacturing space at their current
facility. The investment will be
between $4.5 to $5 million. They are
requesting a little more than what they anticipate for the project for a
cushion. If it is approved at $5
million and they don=t use that $5 million, that=s OK. If it=s approved at
$4 million and they need 4.5 or 5 million then they would have to go through
this whole process again so they are building in a little cushion. This project will bring 15 jobs to Henderson
County and will be relocating one of their facilities in Buncombe County to
consolidate all into one operation. It
will create another 10 jobs in Henderson County. It will also save approximately 20 existing jobs that are at the
facility already. This will bring their
employment base to 96 - 100 people in Henderson County. Their average wage rates for these jobs will
be $22.50 hour. The wage is significant in Henderson County because of our
underemployment rate and is substantially higher than our average wage rate in
the County. The Henderson County
Industrial Facilities and Pollution Control Authority has already given
preliminary approval to the project and to the bonds. They will meet again prior to the closing of the bonds to once again
give final approval. The NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources and
the Local Government Commission (LGC) all have to approve the bonds before they
are issued. The bonds will be fully
backed by a letter of credit by Wachovia Bank which means that the County and
the State do not have any responsibility in the repayment of these bonds.
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion to set a public hearing for August 16 at 11:00 a.m. to
consider the Industrial Bonds. All
voted in favor and the motion carried.
Commissioner
Kumor made the Commissioners aware of several Mud Creek Task Force Meetings:
August 2 @ 7:00
p.m. at St. John in the Wilderness - host Rick Merrill
August 3 @ 7:00
p.m. at North Henderson High School - host Renee Kumor
August 4 @ 10:00
a.m. at the Henderson County Library - host Mayor Fred Niehoff
She further
informed the Board that at the Commissioners= meeting on August 7 there will be a
presentation of this project.
CANE CREEK
WATER & SEWER DISTRICT
Commissioner
Kumor made the motion for the Board to adjourn as Henderson County Board of
Commissioners and convene as the Cane Creek Water & Sewer District
Board. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
Cane Creek
Annual Report
Commissioner
Gordon is a member of the Cane Creek Water & Sewer District Advisory Board.
She presented their annual report.
The purpose of
the report is threefold:
1. Present the
annual report of the work that has been done in the past year as required by
their charter.
2. Specifically
to address the review of the rate structure which the committee completed in
June.
3. To present
the work plan for the coming year.
Annual Report
for past year & Rate Structure review
The first part
of the report addressed the structure of the committee, staff assisting the
committee, and the meetings which are held the last Tuesday of every month,
4:00 p.m. at Fletcher Town Hall.
Progress on
specific charges to the committee:
1. Monitor
developments in pending grant applications.
Grant
applications pending at the time of the charter were not successful. Both the Hwy. 25 project and the original Mills River proposal for a
treatment plant were not funded. The
Town of Fletcher has developed the Hwy. 25 project without grant funding and
that is currently under construction. Another grant application to the Clean
Water Trust Fund has been made by the Cane Creek Water and Sewer District. This new application includes a gravity
interceptor that would provide for both existing and future needs in that
area. A determination on this
application is expected by the end of the year.
Commissioner
Gordon explained that at this time there is a grant application pending on a
new application for Mills River, more comprehensive and determination on that
is expected momentarily but for certain by the end of this year (2000).
2. Examine
current boundaries.
Expansion of
the District into the Mills River area was reviewed and recommended by the
Committee. The Cane Creek Board
approved this and it became effective July 1, 2000. This corresponds to the proposed sewer line extension to serve
this expanded area along with the new regional water treatment facility
start-up. The Committee has done
preliminary review of a proposed expansion of the District in the Hooper=s Creek area
and anticipates that this will be the next area for annexation into the
District. Further work on this will be
included in review of the Master Plan as also directed in the charter.
3. Develop a
Master Water & Sewer Plan including phases and costs.
Preliminary
review of existing studies and plans has been part of both the boundary and
rate discussions. An updated overall
plan is anticipated as the next step in addressing our charge. The Committee
expects that this plan will pull existing plans together and update them in
coordination with both Henderson County and Town of Fletcher Planning
Departments. The Committee expects to
make recommendations on phases with the realization that accurate costs can be
determined as these phases are implemented.
4. Develop a
strategy for integration into the MSD and Regional Water Authority=s systems,
including co-ordination of expansions by MSD and RWA and representation on MSD=s board.
No specific
work on this charge has been done to date, but the Committee recognizes the
importance of both the extension of the
District into Mills River and construction of the interceptor to this
effort. The increased customer base and
revenue from this expansion will enhance our position in fulfilling this
charge. It is anticipated that once
these plans are finalized, efforts will be specifically directed at these
goals.
5. Review
system maintenance, replacement schedules, and plan for new customers.
This charge has
been addressed during the orientation period and as a part of the rate
study. Additional review will be done
as work on the Master Plan takes place and another review of the rate,
including allocation for ongoing maintenance and small capital projects, takes
place.
6. Examine
level of services and develop uniform rate structures.
The Committee
recommended the purchase of specialized software designed for use in
establishing rates for water and sewer systems and contracting with Crisp,
Hughes, Evans, LLP, to set up the software and use it for a full evaluation of
the rate structure. The Cane Creek Water
and Sewer Board authorized this expenditure and contract that was completed in
late April, with final review in late May and June by the Committee.
The results of
the rate study, as initially implemented, showed a need to increase the current
rate in order to fully meet both debt and deficit repayment, increased charges
from MSD for processing, capital project needs, maintenance reserve funding,
and implementation of accounting procedures for allocation of indirect costs
incurred by the County in operating the system. An example used showed a sample bill going from $39.07 to $41.50
per month.
Subsequent to
this recommendation, notice was reviewed of an additional increase in
processing fees from MSD, effective July of 2000, to $3.70 per thousand
gallons, up 15 cents. This is in
addition to an increase last year of 15 cents that had already been absorbed by
our system.
After reviewing
the options available in setting rate structure, the Committee agreed at its
June meeting to recommend the following:
C
That the current rate be held until the deficit is
eliminated. It is estimated that this
will happen in early 2001, at the current rate of reduction and with absorption
of increased charges from MSD.
C
That a new rate structure be established at that time, with
a goal of a reasonable rate reduction.
C
That this new rate structure should include establishment of
both a capital reserve fund for small projects and a fund for future
maintenance needs. It should also
establish indirect cost allocation for County services provided in the
operation of the district.
C
That it include a provision for some rate of return on
investment to the system. This rate of
return would be used for reinvestment in the system. The Advisory Board is currently reviewing proposed projects in
the Cane Creek Industrial Park and the Westfeld-Hudson area and expects to make
recommendations on these prior to implementation of a new rate structure early
next year.
C
That the current billing process through the Hendersonville
Water Dept. (at a cost of $2.50 per monthly bill) be discontinued as soon as
the number of users reaches the point that it would be cost effective to do it
in-house. This is viewed as important
in terms of both cost reduction and public perception of the Cane Creek
system. Separate billing by Cane Creek would
provide separate identity not currently perceived by many users. This is important as we develop better
communication with the users.
C
That this rate review be considered a part of a continuing
process of evaluation and revision of rates for the system, with a goal of
ongoing reductions as the number of users and the volume increases, the system
expands both in Fletcher and Mills River, water services becomes a reality, and
system structure changes.
C
That a proactive public information plan be enacted to
inform the users of the system about the basis for the recommendations and the
goals for the system.
The decision to
recommend holding the rate structure was based on a number of
considerations. Some of the most
important were:
The operating
deficit can be eliminated quickly under the current rate and accounting
system. Elimination of this deficit
will put the system in a much better position to address capital needs,
especially financing for large projects.
The Mills River
expansion project is still pending and is being considered for grant
funding. There was concern that no rate
changes be made until the financial needs for this expansion are known. It is anticipated that if grant funding can
be secured for the cost of the installation, the increased revenue generated in
Mills River could enable the system to offset enough expenses to make a rate
reduction possible when that goes online.
Some relief to
users of the Cane Creek system has been provided through the use of separate
meters for outside water outlets.
County staff has worked out a system that makes it possible to rebate
sewage charges to the customers who install these meters and monitor them. This was a major concern for many users and
has helped to diffuse some of the pressure for immediate rate reduction.
Work Plan for
coming year
1.
Implement public information effort relating to rate structure and
system goals.
2.
Evaluate capital projects prior to rate review in early 2001.
3.
Initiate that rate review based on elimination of the deficit.
4.
Evaluate and revise Master Plan for system based on addition of Mills
River line and changes taking place in Mud Creek system.
5.
Develop strategy for improved integration with MSD.
The Committee
requests that the Board of Commissioners, sitting as the Cane Creek Water &
Sewer Board, review this report and make recommendations to the Committee for
its continued activity in the coming year.
The Committee also
requests that after review of this report by the Cane Creek Water and Sewer
Board, this report be made available to the Town of Fletcher for its review.
Respectfully
submitted on behalf of the Committee by Commissioner Marilyn Gordon, Chairman,
on July 26, 2000. The Chair recognized
the assistance of Committee member Robert DiDiego in the preparation of this
report.
Chairman Hawkins
commended the Advisory Board on what they have accomplished this year and what
they continue to be doing. He asked for
any comments from the Board.
Commissioner Ward
stated that he would like to see the rates lowered. He has had numerous calls from people who have large water and
sewer bills. He felt that the users
need some relief.
Commissioner Kumor
felt that the Advisory Committee had done a good job and had set a good basis
and recommendation.
Commissioner Moyer
supported the recommendations in the report, stating that he was very
sympathetic to Commissioner Ward=s comments but the
Committee has looked at the rate schedule exhaustively and have done the best
they can.
Commissioner Moyer
made the motion to adopt the recommendations in the report as given by
Commissioner Gordon. Chairman Hawkins added that the Advisory Committee is
headed in the direction that there is some realistic hope for some relief in
the rates in the not too distant future. A vote was taken and the motion
carried four to one with Commissioner Ward voting nay.
Minutes
Minutes were
presented for the Boards= review and
approval of the following Cane Creek meetings:
November 17, 1999
and March 15, 2000.
Commissioner Kumor
made the motion to approve the minutes as presented. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Commissioner Kumor
made the motion for the Board to adjourn as Cane Creek Water & Sewer
District Board and reconvene as the Henderson County Board of
Commissioners. All voted in favor and
the motion carried.
INFORMAL PUBLIC
COMMENTS
1. Lois McDonald - Ms. McDonald had
applied to the Inspection Department for a set up permit for a manufactured
home. She resides at 75 Livingston Road in Hoopers Creek. She is a widow with four adopted
children. A daughter has been evicted
from her home and wishes to place a double wide mobile home on Ms. McDonald=s property in
Hoopers Creek. That presents an
emergency since she has no place to live.
Ms. McDonald stated that she attempted to follow protocol and prepare
her property for the mobile home. She
received septic tank approval and put in the septic tank. She then discovered there was an ordinance
against her property which was put in June 1999 that she was not aware of. She stated that she was not notified of the
ordinance or of the action taken and placed against her property. She stated that it would be nicer for her
family to be on her property than being in a trailer park. She also stated that her daughter could not
afford park rent. The daughter has
three teen-age children. She asked for assistance from the Commissioners, to
help her to go through the proper channels for a waiver of the ordinance or a
variance. She stated that her property
extends across Livingston Road, it takes in part of Livingston Road. Henderson County residents are using that
road at no cost to them. The road cuts
her property off though, it is a right-of-way.
She stated that would be a pretty good trade off for the right-of-way on
her property.
She had gotten some
neighbors to sign that they didn=t care if she put a
mobile home on her property.
Ms. McDonald
reminded the Board that the family is in distress. She stated that the mobile home has shingle roof, vinyl siding
and will have masonry underpinning. It
will be a house, will be classified as a house and taxed as a house. It will not be an eyesore, it is a nice
home. Houses are sometimes built on as small as a 1/3 of an acre.
Ms. McDonald
submitted hand-outs to the Clerk for distribution to the Board. They were several pages in length but there
were only five copies.
According to
Karen Smith, Planning Director ---
Ms. McDonald
had applied to the Inspection Department for a set up permit for a manufactured
home. The Inspection Department had directed Ms. McDonald to the Planning
Department. Her property was zoned RC
(Rural Conservation) last summer. Ms.
McDonald lives in a single-family dwelling that already exists on the property.
According to
County tax records, Ms. McDonald=s property contains 0.83 acres, although
she says that she has a survey showing she has more than an acre. Although the RC district allows manufactured
homes, it also requires that each dwelling (regardless of type) have at least
one acre of property. Therefore, Ms.
McDonald does not have enough land to place the manufactured home. She has enough for the current dwelling but
she would need another acre for the new unit.
When Karen Smith informed her of this, she told Ms. Smith that she had
received a septic permit and had already installed the tank. She has also purchased a manufactured
home. She said that she did not know
she was zoned. Ms. Smith told her that
the septic permit application form should have had a statement that directed
people to contact the Zoning Department to find out if there were any restrictions. Ms. Smith also explained the zoning action
that took place in her area. Ms.
McDonald was aware of the controversy at that time regarding Roger Wolff=s proposed
manufactured home park. Ms. Smith
looked in the zoning file for Hoopers Creek and it did not appear that their
office had sent Ms. McDonald a notice of the public hearing regarding the
zoning. Ms. McDonald said that she
never saw the notice nor does she get the paper. Ms. McDonald was extremely angry and insisted on placing her
unit. Zoning Administrator, Brian Gulden, and Karen Smith presented Ms.
McDonald with the options they could think of from the zoning perspective, as
follows:
1.
Rezoning
2.
Variance
3.
Appeal
4.
Assistance from Fletcher
5.
Common Law Vested Right
6.
Temporary Use Permit
After reviewing
Karen Smith=s comments and
hearing Ms. McDonald, the Board asked staff some questions. It was the consensus of the Board that Ms.
McDonald had several options she could pursue to remain in compliance with the
zoning ordinance, one of which was adding some additional property.
Ms. McDonald
stated that she had talked with a Congressman=s Office and the Governor=s Office and
they suggested a waiver. Angela Beeker explained that this Board would not have
jurisdiction to do that under State Statute, only the Zoning Board of
Adjustment would. The Zoning Board of
Adjustment is the enforcing agency of the ordinance. The only thing the Board of Commissioners could do is amend the
ordinance.
Following much
discussion on the issue, Commissioner Moyer felt that it would be wise to ask
the Board of Health to review the policy and procedures with respect to whether
zoning approval is obtained prior to the granting of septic permits and ask
them to review their procedure and come before the Board of Commissioners. He
felt it was worthwhile to ask staff to review this sequence of events in their
policy.
2. Roger King - Ms. McDonald
stated that Mr. King had to leave.
PUBLIC HEARING
- To Consider a Proposed Amendment to Code Chapter 87 - Emergency Medical
Services
Chairman Hawkins
made the motion for the Board to go into Public Hearing. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Jennifer
Jackson reminded the Board that on June 21, 2000, the Board of Commissioners
scheduled a public hearing for today to consider a proposed amendment to
Section 87-12 of the Henderson County Code.
This Section is contained in Chapter 87 which is entitled AEmergency
Medical Services@ and has been
commonly referred to as the Ambulance Ordinance. Both Chapter 87 and the proposed amendment to Section 87-12 were
submitted for the Board=s review.
The proposed
amendment to Section 87-12 allows an ambulance franchisee to set its own rates
for services but prohibits those rates from exceeding the comparable rate
charged by Henderson County EMS unless the franchisee receives specific
approval from the Board of Commissioners.
The proposed amendment also requires an ambulance franchisee to keep his
current schedule of rates filed with the County=s EMS Office.
In accordance
with NCGS 153A-250, this public hearing was advertised on July 12, 2000 and
July 19, 2000. Ms. Jackson informed the
Board that at the close of the public hearing, Board action to approve the
proposed amendment would be appropriate.
Public Input
There was none.
Commissioner
Kumor made the motion for the Board to go out of Public Hearing. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion to approve the amendment as presented and asked that
the fees be posted along with our fees in the Henderson County Library as a
convenience to the public. Mr. Aaron
will also be given a chance for input at budget time when EMS fees are
set. All voted in favor and the motion
carried.
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.
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.
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion for the Board to go out of Closed Session. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
There being no
further business to come before the Board, Chairman Hawkins adjourned the
meeting at approximately 12:00 noon.
Attest:
Elizabeth W. Corn, Clerk to the Board Grady Hawkins, Chairman