MINUTES
STATE
OF NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
COUNTY
OF HENDERSON OCTOBER 2, 2000
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 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, County Manager David E. Nicholson, County Attorney Angela S. Beeker,
and Clerk to the Board Elizabeth W. Corn.
Also present were:
Finance Director J. Carey McLelland, Public Information Officer Chris S.
Coulson, Assistant County Attorney Jennifer O. Jackson, Planning Director Karen
C. Smith, County Engineer Gary Tweed, and Fire Marshal Rocky Hyder.
CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman Hawkins called
the meeting to orderand welcomed those in attendance.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Chairman Hawkins led the
Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
INVOCATION
Dr. Victor Rampey,
Pastor of Main Street Baptist Church, gave the invocation.
SPECIAL PROJECT
Chairman Hawkins recognized
Commissioners Kumor and Gordon, who are currently working on a special project.
Commissioner Kumor called attention to the necklaces that she and Commissioner
Gordon were wearing. They were wooden
bead necklaces. It is a project to help
bring attention to breast cancer awareness.
The Girl Scouts in the community are helping by assembling the
necklaces. Members of the Pardee Foundation will be selling the necklaces and
the money will be used to help make women aware that this is Breast Cancer Awareness
Month and time to make sure that you=ve had your annual mammogram. She thanked the
Girl Scouts for their support.
Commissioner Gordon
thanked Commissioner Kumor for the many years of service she has given to this
cause.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT OF
AGENDA
Angela Beeker requested
that one item be added to the Closed Session, a Personnel item pursuant to NCGS
143-318.11(a)(6).
David Nicholson
requested that one item be added under Important Dates - to set a Public Input
Session.
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 consisted
of the following:
Minutes
Minutes were presented
to the Board for review and approval of the following meetings:
August
15, 2000, special called meeting
August
28, 2000, special called meeting
Henderson County
Financial Report - August 2000
The Henderson County
Financial Report for August had been submitted for the Board=s review and approval.
During the month of
August, the County received a significant amount ($5.74 million) of State
reimbursements included in the August revenue totals that were actually
recorded as accounts receivable at June 30th. These revenues will be
adjusted from the current fiscal year=s totals after the final FY 2000 adjusting
entries have been completed and the audit report is issued for the previous
fiscal year.
Henderson County Public
Schools Financial Report - August 2000
The Henderson County
Public Schools Financial Report for August had been submitted for the Board=s review and approval.
Tax Collector=s Report
Terry F. Lyda, Tax
Collector, had submitted the Tax Collector=s Report for the Board=s review as of September
28, 2000.
Darlene Burgess, Deputy
Tax Collector, had submitted the Deputy Tax Collector=s Report
NOMINATIONS
Notification of
Vacancies - there
were none.
Chairman Hawkins noted that
there were no notification of vacancies but reminded the Board that at the last
meeting the Board chose to continue to be an electing county. That committee must be updated. It should be on the next agenda if there are
any vacancies that need to be filled.
Nominations
Chairman Hawkins
reminded the Board of the following vacancies and opened the floor to
nominations:
1. Nursing/Adult Care
Home Community Advisory Committee - 3 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
2. Mountain Area
Workforce Development Board - 2 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
3. Child Fatality
Prevention Team - 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
4. Land-of-Sky Regional
Council Advisory Council on Aging - 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
5. Adjustment, Henderson
County Board - 2 vac.
There were no nominations
at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting. One vacancy
must be filled with someone from the Lake Summit area. Chairman Hawkins asked that staff
contact Debra Stierwalt (from Lake Summit area) to see if she is interested in
continuing to serve on this Board.
6. Community Child
Protection Team - 5 vac.
There were nominations
at the last meeting as follows: Mary Murray, Dotty Effinger, Jo Anne Grimm,
Walter Harper, Jane Lindsey, and Thomas Hix.
Chairman Hawkins
requested that staff contact Jane Lindsey and Thomas Hix to see if they are
interested in continuing to serve, prior to the next meeting.
Chairman Hawkins had
received a request to change the terms to staggered terms. This will be addressed at a future meeting, either
when appointments are made or after that time.
7. Downtown
Hendersonville, Inc. - 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
8. Hospital Corporation
Board of Directors - 5 vac.
There were no nominations
at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting. Letters have been sent to all the applicants
that we had for this Board, advising them of an orientation session at Pardee
Hospital on October 10 and 11.
9. Travel & Tourism
Committee - 3 vac.
At the last meeting
there were four nominations as follows: Delmar Jones, Myra Woods, Dennis Page,
and Jim Hall.
There were no more
nominations at this time. Chairman
Hawkins asked the Clerk to poll the Board.
The appointees were:
Page, Woods, and Jones.
10. Juvenile Crime
Prevention Council - 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
11. Fire and Rescue
Advisory Committee - 7 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
Chairman Hawkins stated
that the Board of Commissioners will be appointing six people but three of them
will be recommended from the Fire & Rescue Association. The Board decided to wait for the
recommendation from the Fire & Rescue Association.
12. Henderson County
Planning Board - 2 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
SOLID WASTE FEES
The Board of
Commissioners requested that the Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) provide
a recommendation on the waiving or lowering of the solid waste fee for
non-profit organizations.
Gary Tweed informed the
Board that the SWAC met on September 6, 2000 and recommends that the Board not
change the current program.
Following discussion,
Commissioner Kumor made the motion to adopt this recommendation as part of the
Board Solid Waste Policy (that there is no waiver of fees for
non-profits).
Following additional
discussion, Commissioner Kumor amended her motion that this be placed in the
Solid Waste Ordinance rather than as a Solid Waste Policy. A vote was taken and the motion passed
unanimously.
PROPERTY ADDRESSING
BUDGET
Rocky Hyder, Emergency
Management Coordinator/Fire Marshal, presented a budget for Property Addressing for the remainder of the fiscal year. The personnel expenses of $44,078 for the
Property Addressing Coordinator and Address Technician #1 will be transferred
from the Land Records Department=s budget.
The balance of $37,017 was requested to be transferred from
Contingencies to Emergency Management.
Mr. Hyder stated that
the biggest challenge in property addressing at this point is to communicate
the change in our mission for property addressing. They have been actively trying to do that. They will be more aggressive in
communicating that to the public. They
have been trying to let the citizens know that we are no longer proposing or
promoting a one-size fits all addressing system.
Mr. Hyder reviewed the
budget requests with the Board. Following
discussion, Commissioner Moyer made the motion to approve the budget request
but to work with the County Manager to recoup. as much money as they can from
the current budget as well as transfer $44,078 from Land Records to Emergency
Management. All voted in favor and the
motion carried. Chairman Hawkins will
address the issue with Mr. Baird.
There was much
discussion between staff and Commissioners regarding additional monies that
remain in the Assessor=s budget that were
appropriated for property addressing and could now be put back into
contingencies to account for some of the above transfers.
SALE OF FOXWOOD DRIVE
PROPERTY
Angela Beeker informed
the Board that staff had received a proposed resolution authorizing the County
Attorney and Staff to proceed with the sale of a portion of that property
recently purchased by the County adjacent to the Solid Waste Management
Facility on Stoney Mountain Road, the property being located on Foxwood Drive. At a recent meeting the Board directed that
the property be sold by public auction.
The proposed Resolution authorizes such a sale.
Mrs. Beeker stated that
first of all the Board must designate the property as surplus, the Resolution
does that. The Resolution also must set
the date, time, and place of the sale.
She has been in touch with a local auctioneer, Mark White. The Board does not have to go out for bid on
auctioneer services. An auction date of
November 18 has been suggested at 12:00 noon at the property location. It must be advertised 30 days prior to the
sale date; therefore staff would have to get this to the newspaper next
week. She reviewed the provisions of
the Resolution with the Board.
A map showed the
property subdivided into two parcels. A
recent appraisal of the two parcels combined stated the value at $344,000. It was recommended though that the property
be sold as one block.
Following discussion,
Commissioner Kumor made the motion to approve the Resolution with the changes
suggested by the County Attorney regarding filling in the blanks of the
Resolution and to accept Mr. White=s proposal as auctioneer for this project. All
voted in favor and the motion carried.
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL
SERVICES - Positions
Staff had received requests
from the Department of Social Services for additional positions. These positions include two Child Protective
Service Workers and a Domestic Violence Social Worker. These positions will be funded entirely by
federal and state grants and require no county match. They also requested utilizing a vacant half-time position to
assist with the creation of a full-time interpreter for the Department. They would use already budgeted lapsed
salaries to fund the additional cost.
Liston Smith had three requests
and presented each one separately:
#1 2000 Session - General Assembly Fund
Allocation to meet Child Protection Staffing Standards.
The General Assembly
appropriated for each of the counties in North Carolina an allocation of child
protective service funds. They did this
based on the >99-=00 level of service for
each county. They came up with a
formula. The intent of the Bill was
proactive, to try to get ahead of this
growth curve. There was 12% growth
statewide, 13% growth in Henderson County in the number of children reported as
abused and neglected.
General Assembly moved
funds from Federal TANF Block Grant ... reimbursement linked to families= TANF eligibility. They allocated $101,000 to Henderson County
which is a recurring annual allocation. It is non-supplanting, cannot be used
for existing staff. It has to be staff
that has been hired since July 1, 2000.
It is 100 % Federal, no county match or state match required.
He requested two
additional child protection services personnel to be funded by securing these
Federal funds.
Following discussion,
Commissioner Kumor made the motion to approve the request. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
#2 2000 Session - General Assembly Fund
Allocation for Domestic Violence Services to Workfirst.
Because we are using the
Workfirst Block Grant funds, they have to link it to TANF eligibility which
means the family has to be below 200% of the poverty level. Henderson County has been a pilot county
with the state at no cost with domestic violence. Each County has been allocated $30,000.
Liston requested one
additional Social Worker III as a project employee.
He has worked out a
contract with Mainstay where he can offset their costs for all the folks who
would be Workfirst eligible. We can
support Mainstay shelter and counseling basic need services to Workfirst
customers (for example, reimburse daily shelter cost of Workfirst family
staying in shelter overnight). They would provide a specialized domestic
violence social worker for women with children experiencing domestic
violence. He hopes to outpost this
worker at Blue Ridge Community College.
Commissioner Kumor made
the motion to authorize the hiring of an additional social worker as a project employee to work on the DSS Domestic
Violence Program. All voted in favor
and the motion carried.
#3 Request for Vacant Half-Time Position
Change to Full-Time Social Services Interpreter Position.
Liston Smith explained
that the Social Services Board voted on this in July. This is not a position
relating to any General Assembly action. Social Services is experiencing a real demand for interpreter
services.
Inaccurate or incomplete
information can delay service or cause denied service. It could even discourage
applications for service. Accurate or
complete information can cause things to flow much smoother. Federally funded
program providers are required to Aensure@ fair/equal opportunity for customers of Alimited English
proficiency@.
Liston requested reallocation
of a half-time to a full-time position and he will use some lapsed
salaries. No additional monies are
needed. The interpreter will focus in
the Medicaid/Public Assistance area and be available for folks who come into
the lobby.
Commissioner Kumor made
the motion to approve a full-time Social Services Interpreter position. All
voted in favor and the motion carried.
INFORMAL PUBLIC COMMENTS
1. Theodore Etherington - Mr. Etherington read
a one page typed statement AGAINST the TIP Committee/Sub-Committee proposal to
widen Highway #25 South from White Street to Highland Lake Road. He lives in the area and feels that Highway
#25 South is a scenic, unique, residential road and would be changed into an
ordinary road if widened as planned.
Highway #25 South parallels Highway #176, a five-lane thoroughfare which
is all commercial. The two roads are
never more than .5 mile distant from each other.
CLOSED SESSION
Commissioner Kumor made
the motion that the Board 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 a claim.
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.
3.(a)(6) To
consider the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness,
conditions of appointment, or conditions of initial employment of an individual
public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee; or to
hear or investigate a complaint,
charge, or grievance by or against an individual public officer or employee.
All voted in favor and
the motion carried.
Commissioner Gordon made
the motion for the Board to go out of Closed Session. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
TRANSPORTATION
IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
Commissioner Moyer
serves as Chairman on the Transportation Advisory Committee which was appointed
by the County Commissioners. There is
one person on the Committee put there by each of the municipalities. The Commissioners appointed eleven other
members. It has a broad-based
representation from the community.
There is a representative from the Sheriff=s Department, one from the Schools and
two representatives involved in public transportation, bikeways and walkways.
The Transportation
Advisory Committee met on September 28, 2000 to review the T.I.P. Sub-Committee=s recommendations on the
Draft 2002-2008 Transportation Improvement Program. The Sub-Committee had ranked each project based on safety,
growth, land use, congestion, main entrances, environmental impact, bikeways
and walkways, effect on community and cost effectiveness.
It was the
Transportation Advisory Committees= position that if they were going to carry out
the function that the Commissioners had asked them to do with respect to road
projects and the connector, etc., that they should study the Transportation
Improvement Program and make a specific
recommendation to the Commissioners and to the LGCCA with respect to the
T.I.P. as proposed by the State.
The Sub-Committee chose
not to consider any projects currently under construction such as the widening
of US #25 North or Interstate 26 Projects such as guardrails, weigh stations or
bridge construction. In addition to the projects on the Draft T.I.P., the
Sub-Committee agreed to consider an alternative solution to the NC #191 Project
and added US #64 West from Buncombe Street to Daniel Street to the list. The Sub-Committee also ranked the US #25
South Project that has been suggested by the City of Hendersonville.
The following is the
unanimous recommended ranking of the T.I.P. Projects from the Advisory
Committee:
1.
Widen and straighten Upward Road (SR #1783) to a
four or five-lane facility from US #26 to US #176, including improving the
South Allen Road (SR #1756) intersection.
Construct bridges and extend or replace pipes and culverts. Construct bikeways and walkways along entire
length of road. Four-lane facility
should be constructed north of grass strip and trees between lanes to create an
attractive boulevard entrance to the County and City and enhance economic
development in the southern end of the County.
2.
Widen US #64 West to a four-lane facility from
Buncombe Street to Daniel Drive.
Construct bikeways and walkways along entire length of road, where
feasible. Insert into T.I.P.
3-A Widen NC #191 to add a third lane for
turning and improved access from US #25 to intersection of Mountain Road (SR
#1381) and Stoney Mountain Road (SR #1383).
3-B Widen NC #191 to a four-lane facility from
the intersection of Mountain Road (SR #1381) and Stoney Mountain Road (SR
#1283) to NC #280. Should be
constructed with grass strips and trees to create an attractive boulevard
entrance into the County and City.
Replace bridges and extend or replace pipes and culverts. Construct bikeways along entire length of
road.
3.
Widen and straighten Stoney Mountain Road (SR
#1383) to a four-lane facility from NC #191 to US #25. Extend or replace pipes and culverts. Construct bikeways and walkways along entire
length of road. Insert into T.I.P.
4.
Widen and straighten US #25 South from White Street
to Highland Lake Road (SR #1783) to three lanes for turning and improved
access. Construct bikeways and walkways
along the entire length of road. Insert
into T.I.P.
5.
Widen the NC #225/US #25 & I-26
Connector. Extend or replace pipes and
culverts.
The
Advisory Committee suggests that this report be presented to each of the
County=s elected boards and to the LGCCA for discussion. The LGCCA should attempt to reach consensus
among its members to support the Transportation Advisory Committee=s
recommendations. A public hearing
should then be held to seek input from the citizens on this plan. Following the hearing, a unified proposal
should be developed for presentation to the NC Department of Transportation.
Commissioner
Moyer hoped to have a unified (from the LGCCA, The County Commissioners,
and the municipalities) recommendation
to take to the T.I.P. hearing scheduled for November 15 in Sylva, NC, 2:00 to
4:00 p.m. The Commissioners have a
regularly scheduled Board of Commissioners= meeting scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on
that day. Mary Jo Padgett asked the
State to change the time of this hearing and they refused. Commissioner Moyer felt that we should
continue to go on record that we are not satisfied with the time, that it is
difficult for the Board and for the citizens to attend a meeting in Sylva at
2:00 in the afternoon.
Commissioner
Moyer mentioned that there was a scoping meeting in Raleigh today concerning
how many lanes to make Hwy. #191 coming into Hendersonville. David sent Selena Coffey to monitor the
meeting. He asked David to update the
Board on that scoping meeting.
Update
on Scoping Meeting - Raleigh
concerning
number of lanes for Hwy. # 191
David
Nicholson stated that Henderson County also asked to have this meeting moved
and were told no they would not move
it.
Selena
Coffey left Mr. Nicholson a voice message and he reported on the meeting from
the voice mail as follows:
She
stated that it was a very worthwhile meeting for her to be at from the standpoint
of getting our information to the state officials. They talked very specifically about what they were looking at
for Hwy #191. They were very much interested in what the Transportation
Advisory Committee was going to be submitting at today=s Commission
meeting.
Mr.
Nicholson took Ms. Coffey out Hwy. #191 last Friday afternoon, driving it and
explaining what the issues were. The
state was very favorable toward our presentation. Roger Briggs, the City Planning Director, was also there
representing the City and he spoke in support of item A, which is the three
lane, turn lane, for Hwy # 191 from the intersection of Hwy. # 25 to Mtn.
Road/Stoney Mountain intersection. Ms.
Coffey had the opportunity to speak on all three parts, 3-A, 3-B and what she
called 3-C but is actually # 4 on the list.
According to Ms. Coffey, they felt that items 3-A and 3-B were right in
line with what they would want to do to the road. They were very interested in our proposal and would want to work
with us on that. Number four is a
change in the scope of the
project. They really did like the idea
of improving Stoney Mountain. They said
it made a lot of sense to look at Stoney Mountain as another access off of #
191 to # 25 and were very impressed with that idea. That however, is a change in the current T.I.P., because that is
a funded project. They requested a
letter from the County and from the City saying we would like for you to also
consider as a part of this project the improvements to Stoney Mountain
Road. Mr. Briggs indicated he would
approach the Council about that and Ms. Coffey indicated she would approach the
Board of Commissioners about getting the letter.
Ms.
Coffey was very positive about the meeting, about the response that we got from
the standpoint of the recommendations from the Transportation Advisory
Committee and particularly from the standpoint of the three lane/turning lane
on the front part and then four laning after that on Hwy. #191 as well as the
improvements to Stoney Mountain Road.
She will give David a complete report when she gets into the office
tomorrow.
Chairman
Hawkins stated that he has already been working at getting this topic on the
agenda for the next scheduled LGCCA meeting for October 19 at Blue Ridge Community
College (tentative).
Chairman
Hawkins stated that he would be happy to draft a letter to Secretary McCory and
ask him to change the time of the hearing to evening hours, and get the signatures
of those from the LGCCA on the letter before sending it.
Much
discussion followed.
IMPORTANT
DATES
Karen
Smith informed the Board of the need for the Board to set a Public Hearing on a
Proposed Zoning Map Amendment Regarding a Portion of Property Owned by Mr. Leon
Allison.
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion to set the Public Hearing for Monday, November 6, 2000
at 7:00 p.m. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
David
Nicholson informed the Board of a petition received to abandon a portion of
Fanning Field Road. The Board set a
Public Input Session for October 18 at 11:00 a.m.
The
Board set a Work Session to discuss various water agreements for Thursday,
October 12, 2000 at 10:00 a.m.
There
being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Attest:
Elizabeth
W. Corn, Clerk to the Board Grady
Hawkins, Chairman