MINUTES

 

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA                                                   BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

COUNTY OF HENDERSON                                                                         JANUARY 17, 2001

 

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 Bill Moyer, Vice-Chair Marilyn Gordon, Commissioner Grady Hawkins, Commissioner Don Ward, Commissioner Charlie Messer, County Manager David E. Nicholson, County Attorney Angela S. Beeker, and Clerk to the Board Elizabeth W. Corn.

 

Also present were: Public Information Officer Chris S. Coulson, Assistant to the County Manager/Budget Analyst Selena Coffey, Finance Director J. Carey McLelland, Planning Director Karen C. Smith, and County Engineer Gary Tweed. Amy Brantley, Volunteer Coordinator, was present through the Nominations.

 

CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME

Chairman Moyer called the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance.

 

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Commissioner Messer led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.

 

INVOCATION

Chaplain Gus Martschink, from the Chaplaincy Program at Pardee Hospital, gave the invocation.

 

CHAIRMAN=S STATEMENT

Chairman Moyer stated that we had been having some trouble with our Public Address System and its inter-relationship with our taping of our meetings.  The taping and the sound on the tape is good but our speakers are faulty so the sound is not so good at times in the meeting room and in the hall.  Now that we=ve found the root of the problem, it has been scheduled to be fixed.  He asked the public to please bear with us.

 

DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT OF AGENDA

Chairman Moyer added ATax Collector=s Report@ as item B under Consent Agenda.  The report got put in the agenda packets but it did not get typed onto the agenda.

 

Chairman Moyer asked to pull item AH - School Purchase of Land@ for some discussion.  He added it under Discussion Items.

 

Chairman Moyer asked to add one additional vacancy to #10 - Recreation Board under Nominations, making 4 vacancies instead of 3. He also added #11 under Nominations, AHospital Board of Directors, 1 vac.@

 

David Nicholson added # 2 under Staff Report AC- Update on Pending Issues@- Legislative Goals Conference.

 

Angela Beeker deleted Closed Session item #2.

 

Commissioner Ward added one item - Corridor Zoning.  Chairman Moyer stated that could be discussed under Important Dates.

 

Commissioner Hawkins asked that there be discussion of the addition to Nominations regarding the 1 vac. on the Hospital Board of Directors.  Chairman Moyer stated that there could be some discussion.

 

Commissioner Ward made the motion to approve the above adjustments to the agenda.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

CHAIRMAN=S STATEMENT

Chairman Moyer informed the public of the Employee Recognition Luncheon today that the Board will attend at 12:00.  The Board will need to stop the meeting around 11:45 or so to attend the luncheon.

 

CONSENT AGENDA

Commissioner Gordon asked to pull the minutes of the January 4, 2001 meeting.  She would like to recommend a correction prior to their approval. 

 

Commissioner Hawkins had a question about the tax releases.  Chairman Moyer answered the question so the releases were left in the consent agenda.

 

Commissioner Messer 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 for the Board=s review/approval of the following meetings:

August 24, 2000, special called meeting

December 18, 2000, special called meeting

January 2, 2001, regular meeting

January 3, 2001, special called meeting

January 9, 2001, special called meeting

 

Tax Releases

A list of 118 tax release requests was presented for the Board=s approval.

 

Tax Refunds

A list of 48 tax refund requests was presented for the Board=s approval.

Tax Collector=s Report

Terry F. Lyda, Tax Collector, had provided the tax report for the Board=s information, dated January 10, 2001.

 

Disposition of Surplus Personal Property from Horse Farm & Small House

Henderson County had received a letter from Susan Justus indicating her interest in purchasing some personal property associated with the horse farm and small house owned by the County and located near the Solid Waste Management Facility.  She has offered to purchase the fencing and gates on that property for $400.00.  The County Manager, based on staff input, was 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.  Those statutes were submitted for the Board=s review.

 

Staff recommended that the Board declare the fencing and gates located on the horse farm property as surplus and sell them to Mrs. Justus for $400.00, by adopting the prepared resolution. 

 

Main Library Reroofing Bids

Maintenance Director, Les Capps, has been working with architect Stuart Stepp on getting the Main Branch of the Henderson County Public Library re-roofed.  On December 29, 2000, bids were taken by Stuart Stepp.  His letter advising the Board of that bid opening was submitted to the Board along with the Bid Tabulation Sheet.  Mr. Stepp advised that all bids received, except for the Baker bid, were responsive.

 

Gutter installation should be completed simultaneously with the replacement of the roof; therefore, Mr. Capps recommended that Alternate G-1, Kynar Gutters, be approved.  With this alternate the lowest apparent bidder was Driscoll, Inc. with a total bid amount of $134,672.00.  This amount is within the budget for the project which was $150,000.00.

 

Mr. Stepp recommended that the Board approve the bid and award the contract to Driscoll at this meeting.  This award will allow the contractor ample time to order materials and complete installation as soon as the weather gets a little warmer.

 

Staff recommended that the Board enter the bid results in the minutes for this meeting, award the construction contract to Driscoll, Inc. with Alternate G-1 for a total contract amount of $134,672.00 and direct the Legal Department to provide assistance with the construction contract.

 

Updated Calendar on Property Addressing

The Board was presented with an updated calendar on the Property Addressing Project.  At the Board of Commissioners= meeting of December 20, 2000, staff provided the Board with a calendar covering the first quarter of 2001.  They felt it important to set a calendar for their goals for the entire year.

 

Staff will continue to provide the Board with monthly written reports and quarterly presentations on this Project.

 

Detention Center Project Report

The monthly Capital Improvements Project Report for December for the new Detention Center was submitted.

 

Request for Extension of Improvement Guarantees for Grove Hills Subdivision

Henderson County Habitat for Humanity is constructing a 28-lot subdivision known as Grove Hills near the intersection of Oak Grove Road and Crest Road in East Flat Rock.  Habitat for Humanity and Henderson County were approved for a $176,000 grant from the State of North Carolina to cover the cost of road construction, waterline installation and erosion control.

 

Habitat for Humanity has two active improvement guarantees for Grove Hills.  On September 15, 1999, the Board of Commissioners approved the first improvement guarantee, a surety performance bond in the amount of $6,750.00, for road improvements to serve lot #6 on Grove Hills Drive.  The Commissioners subsequently granted an extension for the Grove Hills Drive improvement guarantee on February 16, 2000, which provided for a January 31, 2001 completion date for the improvements.  The second improvement guarantee, a surety performance bond in the amount of $8,707.50, is for road improvements to serve lots #7, and #21-#28 on Pleasant Court in Grove Hills Subdivision. The Board of Commissioners approved the improvement guarantee for Pleasant Court on May 1, 2000.  The required completion date for the road improvements on Pleasant Court is also January 31, 2001.

 

A letter was provided for the Board from Jack Houtman, Vice-President of Site Development for Henderson County Habitat for Humanity.  Mr. Houtman requested, on behalf of Habitat for Humanity, that the Board of Commissioners extend the completion dates for both of the improvement guarantees described above to March 31, 2001. Mr. Houtman=s letter states that cold weather has delayed completion of the improvements.

 

The County Planning Board approved the preliminary plan for Grove Hills Subdivision in March of 1999, prior to the amendments to the Subdivision Ordinance enacted in May of 1999. Therefore all actions pertaining to Grove Hills are governed by the provisions in existence prior to the amendments.  The Board was given a copy of Section 170-39 regarding performance guarantees (from the former Land Development Ordinance) which is applicable.  Section 170-39C(1) states that the time between initiation and completion of the required improvements, including any provision for extension, shall not exceed two years.  Staff has confirmed that if the Board of Commissioners grants the extensions as requested, the time period between the approval of the initial agreements and the proposed completion date of March 31, 2001 will be within the two year maximum.

 

Draft Performance Guarantee Agreements for both the Grove Hills Drive and the Pleasant Court improvements were presented for the Board=s review.  Both proposed Agreements reflect the completion date requested by Mr. Houtman.  If the request is approved, Henderson County Habitat for Humanity must submit revised surety performance bonds in accordance with the terms of the Agreements.  The Assistant County Attorney must review the bonds and certify the Agreements as to form prior to their execution by the Chairman and representatives of Habitat for Humanity.

 

Mr. Nicholson stated that the extensions, if granted, would not cause Habitat for Humanity to exceed the two year maximum time period for the required improvements.  Therefore, Board action to approve the request to extend the completion dates for both of the improvement guarantees for Grove Hills Subdivision (Lot #6, Grove Hills Drive and Lot #7 and Lots #21 - #28 on Pleasant Court) to March 31, 2001, subject to the Assistant County Attorney reviewing the amended surety performance bonds, would be appropriate at this time.

 

Employee Recognitions/Awards

Joy Staton, County Extension Director for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service in Henderson County received the ACollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences Outstanding Extension Service Award.@  Dr. Jon Ort, Associate Dean and Director of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service presented the award at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Annual Faculty meeting on January 4, 2001 at North Carolina State University.  The three other recipients of this award were: Charles Lytle, Zoology; Michael Waldvogel, Entomology; and Mike Williams, Poultry Science.  The award is based on outstanding contributions in Cooperative Extension.

 

NOMINATIONS

Notification of Vacancies

The Board was notified of the following vacancies which will appear on the next agenda under ANominations@:

 

1.               Retired Senior Volunteer Program Advisory Council - 1 vac. (due to resignation)

Joan Tuttle from Land of Sky has been trying to help us find someone who meets the criteria for appointment to this vacancy.

 

 

Nominations

Chairman Moyer reminded the Board of the following vacancies and opened the floor to nominations:

 

1.             Nursing/Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee - 6 vac.

There were no nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.

 

2.             Mountain Area Workforce Development Board - 1 vac.

There were no nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting

 

3.               Child Fatality Prevention Team - 1 vac.

Commissioner Gordon nominated Ron Justus to fill this position. Commissioner Gordon made the motion to suspend the rules and appoint Mr. Justus.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

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.               Juvenile Crime Prevention Council - 1

Commissioner Ward stated that he was recently placed on this Board and he has a conflict with his work schedule.  They meet the third Thursdays at 8:30 a.m. This made 2 vacancies. This was rolled to the next meeting.

 

6.         Fire and Rescue Advisory Committee - 1 vac.

There were no nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.  Chairman Moyer stated that the Fire Advisory Board has a candidate to recommend but had not confirmed that the person was willing to serve yet. 

 

7.               Equalization and Review - 2 vac.

There were no nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.

 

8.            Planning Board, City of Hendersonville - 1 vac.

Commissioner Hawkins nominated Mark Pace.  Commissioner Hawkins made the motion to accept Mr. Pace by acclamation.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

9.               Recreation Advisory Board - 4 vac.

Commissioner Messer nominated Wally Sneed.

Commissioner Ward nominated Corum Smith and Roy Huntley.

Commissioner Gordon nominated Jeff Donaldson.

Commissioner Ward made the motion to suspend the rules and appoint these four nominees.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

10.       Mud Creek Advisory Board - 2 vac.

Commissioner Hawkins nominated Tom Cooper and Bill Merrill.  Commissioner Hawkins made the motion to suspend the rules and appoint Mr. Cooper and Mr. Merrill.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

11. Hospital Board of Directors - 1 vac.

Chairman Moyer stated that there would be discussion before the Board considers this vacancy. He opened the floor to discussion.

 

Commissioner Hawkins brought up the subject of Commissioner participation on Boards.  His initial concern was with trying to make an appointment to the Hospital Board today because as near as he could determine there was not a position to appoint anyone to at this time.  AIt is my understanding that the Articles of Incorporation are articles that need to be amended by the Board of Directors of the Hospital, not the Board of Commissioners.  That action has not taken place and there is some fairly succinct procedures laid out in the by-laws of the Board of Directors for changing their by-laws. And uh, I guess my first question is how does the Board of Commissioners go about making changes to the Hospital=s by-laws when that=s solely a function of the Board of Directors at the Hospital?  I just don=t think that you can do that and that has not occurred.@

 

Chairman Moyer asked the County Attorney to review the procedure that has to be followed. Chairman Moyer stated ABack in October, as I indicated before, the Board voted to change our membership on the Board of Trustees to an ex-officio, non-voting status and if we went to ex-officio, non-voting that means that there would have been an 11th voting member on the Board and that position would be vacant and pursuant to the action that was taken at the October 18 Board meeting, four people were appointed to that, were nominated by members sitting here and we directed staff to look into how this would be carried out.  The County Attorney has done that and I will ask her to indicate what she has found out.@

 

Angela Beeker - AThank you Mr. Chairman. I would also remind the Board before I do that, that the Board also asked me to look into any other issues that might need to be addressed or changed with respect to the Articles and the Lease since there is an upcoming hospital financing that is pending.  So I immediately contacted Ms. Alexander who is Attorney for the Board and she and I met and she=s been working on that list of longer issues besides just this one.  So I still have not received a list from either herself or the Board.  My understanding from Commissioner Hawkins is that that hasn=t worked it=s way through the Board of Trustees with respect to the other issues that might need to be changed.  With respect to the membership on the Board however an amendment to the Articles of Incorporation are necessary, not the by-laws at this point.  The first step is amending the articles.  That is done by the Board of Trustees.  It has to have the consent and approval of the Board of Commissioners so this amendment really is coming forward as a request from the Board of Commissioners to the Board of Trustees.  Um, so I have put in your box Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation as well as a Waiver of Notice of meeting. Pursuant to the Statutes, before the Board of Directors could amend their Articles of Incorporation they have to give all the members of the Corporation notice.  The County is the only member of that corporation so the County and the Board on behalf of the County would be entitled to 30 days notice before the Board of Directors initiate any change.  So the second document that I attached and put in your box was a Waiver of Notice.  You can waive notice, that 30 day notice so that the Board of Directors could go ahead and act to approve these Articles of Amendment.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AAngie, can I interrupt you right there? Where is the 30 day requirement listed in the Articles of Inc....?@

 

Angela Beeker - AIn the General Statute, it=s in the General Statute.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AIt=s in the General Statute?@

 

Angela Beeker - AYes sir, it=s in the 55A-10.... it=s either two .... and I don=t have that citation in front of me but there is a notice requirement.@

Commissioner Hawkins - AThen if I could just back up one more step.@

 

Angela Beeker - ASure@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AIn your information you said it=s important to know that the Articles of Incorporation must be amended by the Board of Directors, not the Board of Commissioners.  So I don=t see how the Board of Commissioners is changing the Articles of Incorporation and not the Board of Directors as you indicated in your note.... it=s double talk.@

 

Angela Beeker - AYou lost me there.  You are asking them to take the action to amend their Articles, is what you=re doing.  If my memo is a little unclear I apologize for that but what you are doing is saying >Board of Directors of the Hospital, we would like to change the composition. In order to do that the Articles have to be amended and we would request that you would take the action to approve the amendment.=@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AAnd that=s not occurred.@

 

Angela Beeker - AThat=s what=s before you today.@

 

Chairman Moyer - ASo in effect that=s what we need to do today.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - ABut you can=t make, you couldn=t make nominations to a position prior to that occurring at the Board of Directors.@

 

Angela Beeker - AI have not been asked to give any advice on making nomination or filling those vacancies to the Board.  I just am reporting on getting the position created.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AWell, I=ll ask you then.@

Angela Beeker - AWithout removing a member@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AThe Articles have not been considered by the Board of Directors, is what I=m saying.@

 

Angela Beeker - ABut they will go before the Board of Directors on January 31.@

 

Chairman Moyer - AAnd we can nominate and have in the past, a person to fill a position upon it becoming either established, effective, or the person in it ceasing to be in that position.@

 

Angela Beeker - AYeh@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AWhat if the Board of Directors don=t make the change to the Articles of Incorporation?@

 

Commissioner Gordon - AThen there=s no seat@

 

Chairman Moyer - AThen they don=t go in the position@

 

Angela Beeker - AThat=s correct@

 

Commissioner Gordon - AI think it=s unfortunate that we made the vote in October to get this process going and this is now mid January but we can=t go back and undo that.  I think we were all very aware on October 18 what we voted and how we voted it.  And uh, so I think that this is an effort, part of that motion was to establish the process that needed to be done to make these changes happen.  This is the process that needs to be done and we=ve got to move forward with it.  I think we=re into a position now where other new members are coming onto the Hospital Board, there=s going to be I=m sure some extensive training and orientation taking place for those new members and in an attempt to be efficient about this I think it would be very appropriate to have a nominee in place, lined up with the assumption that this seat will open up, if it doesn=t then they will be very aware up front that it might not.  But at least they can become aware of what=s going on and step into position up to speed.  I=m not, I know you=re arguing technicalities here and yes this does have to be approved by the Board of Directors of the Hospital and what we=re doing today is making a request to them that they do that.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - ABut that goes against the whole idea that I thought was germain to the discussions you had in October where the Board of Commissioners was trying not to have an influence on the Hospital Board and then the first thing we do is direct them to change their Articles of Incorporation.@

 

Commissioner Gordon - AMaking a request that we change the status of our one member and not any other members hardly could be construed as trying to have undue influence on the Board of the Hospital.@

Commissioner Hawkins - AI guess that=s a matter of opinion but the other thing is I think it=s unfair to Mr. Messer who=s just kinda joined in on the, on the end of the discussion, as far as to a policy that we=re really talking about on the Board and that=s whether or not the Board considers it important for it=s Commission members on Boards, this just being the Hospital Board, to be a voting member and I think if we=re gonna do anything we need to be consistent, either that=s important for all Board or it=s important for no Boards and not single Boards out, for example Marilyn sits on the Health Board so you could use the same argument and say... A

 

Several people were talking at once.

 

Chairman Moyer - AExcuse me Mr. Hawkins, I=m gonna cut off this discussion.  This is a separate issue.  We can get into a discussion of what you think the policy should be on Boards.  The facts are that this Board by Resolution adopted a course of action back in October and directed that this be done and that is what is on the table and that=s what we=re proceeding on.  It=s maybe unfortunate that Commissioner Messer wasn=t on the Board at that time but he wasn=t but this Resolution was duly adopted and as Commissioner Gordon has indicated the reason this is pushed, though I don=t think it should have sat this long either but the reason that it=s important now is that the Hospital Board is beginning their orientation session. It has been made clear to me that if we=re going to have a new member coming on the Board, it would be very advantageous to them to start the process with the other Board members and not wait another month to do it and it=s pursuant to that and that session is scheduled to start January 22 and this is the last opportunity we have and certainly the person can be told that if your Board, the Hospital Board, votes this down they will not go on but the Hospital Board felt it important enough that this person start orientation with the others.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - ABut the Hospital Board hasn=t taken any action on this.@

 

Chairman Moyer - AI realize that.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AAnd so I don=t know where you got your last statement from but is it my understanding then that you=re asking for the Board to take a vote on the waiver because I would assume you=d have to do that before you could ask for the waiver and are you asking for the Board to take a vote on the suggested amendment that=s gonna be directed over to the Hospital Board to make in the Articles of Incorporation?  And is that gonna occur before you make your nominations which are already on the floor.@

 

Chairman Moyer - AYou have nominations already on the floor but as I told you I would not take action on those until we voted on the item that the County Attorney has presented so the order as I see it would be pursuant to the action the Board took before, what I think the County Attorney is saying, and you correct me if I=m wrong, She was directed to come up with a procedure to carry out the intent of the Board.  She has come back and told us >we don=t have one, two, three, four alternatives. To proceed with the way we have indicated we=re going to go, this is what has to be done.  This is what we have to do.  We don=t have any choices in this.  To carry out the resolution we previously adopted, this is what must be done and then it goes over and we need to sign the waiver which is just ancillary to that and then it goes over to the Hospital Board for their action and then we=re, then it=s up to them.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AThe provisions was to include some information on participation in closed session, that=s not included on any of the recommendations that we have here.  So if we=re gonna, you know if the idea is to go back and pick up on October 18, we=ve not done that.@

 

Chairman Moyer - AWell, lets ask the County Attorney to discuss that issue cause it has not been neglected.@

 

Angela Beeker - ANo, no it hasn=t and before I do that I want to make sure that the substance of the amendment meets the Board=s intent, if I could have a second to explain what the substance of the proposed amendment actually does.  It adds another position as drafted that would be the ex-officio, non-voting position which I had understood the Board wanted to be a Commissioner member.  The non, let=s see, the BOC Trustee that is provided for already in the Articles that said you could fill that with a Commissioner or not stays intact.  So this is another position for an ex-officio, non-voting position.  So you still have the eleven Board members that you originally had on the Board of Trustees.@

 

Chairman Moyer - AThat is correct.@

Commissioner Hawkins - ASo you could have two Commissioner members on the Board under your resolution?@

 

Angela Beeker - AAs it=s written you could, that=s correct.  But uh I understood you wanted to kinda leave that up to the discretion of the Board.  If you wanted to make it so that you could only have one Board of Commissioner member, then we would need to add another sentence that says that, to change that.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AAnd how do you deal with the, this closed session for that non@

 

Angela Beeker - AI=ve discussed that with the Attorney for the Hospital and she feels comfortable that the ex-officio, non-voting person could attend the closed sessions of the hospital.  So.@

 

Commissioner Ward - AWould he have input, or she?@

 

Angela Beeker - AOh sure but they just wouldn=t be able to vote.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AWell in the letter that Mrs. Jackson sent out she said that the members of the Board to establish the parameters of authority which is different from what I hear you saying.@

 

Angela Beeker - AIf the Board of Trustees, I don=t know what you=re talking, I=m sorry I don=t know what you=re talking about.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AThis is a letter from, that was sent on December 13 that has not had any action taken on it which is what I referred to earlier - >to the Board Members of the Pardee Board=@

 

Angela Beeker - AFrom Ms. Alexander?@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AYes.@

 

Angela Beeker - AOK, right. Let me say that=s why this particular issue had not moved ahead because it was waiting for those other issues until the Chairman told me to proceed ahead and get this one because of the orientation, up-coming orientation.  But, I=ve not seen that December 13 letter yet from Ms. Alexander so I apologize, I=ve not read it.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - ALet me ask you this since you deal in legal terms and I=m not that savvy in them. What, when you start a sentence that says >in an abundance of caution= what does that mean in terms of layman language?  The Articles should authorize the appointment by the Board of Commissioners and the Board of Directors of ex-officio members. Now you refer to that in you information to us but I don=t know what >in an abundance of caution= means.@

 

Angela Beeker - AI cannot comment on what Ms. Alexander is trying to@

 

Chairman Moyer - AI can tell you what it means to me.  I give an opinion and I=m not 100% sure it=s right I say >well in abundance of caution= I=m going to do X, Y, and Z to try to be sure it comes.@

 

Again, about three people were talking at once.

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AThat=s where in that same sentence dealt with the attendance at closed session so I don=t know that that=s - uh if - from what you=ve said that that=s an item that got addressed from the 18th.@

 

Chairman Moyer - ABut as you know from the Board, that=s not a new issue.  You have ex-officio member now.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - ABut he does not participate in closed session.@

 

Chairman Moyer - ASome cases or in all cases?@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AI=d have to go back and look at the record but I don=t think it=s ....  Dr. Jones can you help me on it.@

Chairman Moyer - ANo we=re not going to@

 

Angela Beeker - AWith respect to this member that is being created, I cannot comment on another ex-officio non-voting position.  But with respect to this member, Ms. Alexander and I specifically discussed participation in closed session.  And she agreed with me that it would be entirely appropriate for this person to participate in closed session.  The only exception that she raised is if there were some kind of conflict between the Board of Commissioners and the Board of Directors in which case it might not be appropriate for that person to participate but short of that she saw no problem with it.@

 

Commissioner Gordon - AAnd if my understanding is right, the ex-officio appointment that the Board of Directors has made and has sitting on the Hospital Board is basically with the assumption, because nothing was addressed in the by-laws, they assumed that they had that ability.  We=re setting up a position that is specifically addressed in the by-laws that this position is there and we have the right to appoint....@

 

Angela Beeker - AThat=s correct and there is also a sentence clarifying the Board of Director=s ability to establish ex-officio, non-voting members in the future as well.  I think a Board can set as a policy if they are adding ex-officio, non-voting positions themselves that they could set as a policy to make it understood with that person when they appoint them that we don=t think it=s appropriate for you to attend our closed sessions.  I think they could set that as their own internal policy but with respect to this position, she did not indicate that that would be a problem. That=s the best information that I have.  Ultimately it is a Board decision as to whether you wish to vote on and pass these Articles and the Waiver and as to whom you wish to appoint and how you wish to do that.  That=s your call.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AWhy does the General Statute, in your opinion, have a requirement for a 30 day notice?@

 

Angela Beeker - ASo that the Board of Directors could not, on its own, go and change the Articles of Amendment without making the members aware of it.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AAnd who are the members?@

 

Angela Beeker - AThe County is the only member for this corporation.  Since you=re initiating the amendment, I see no reason to have a 30 day notice because you=re aware of it but if you wish to have that 30 day notice, you=re certainly entitled to it.@

 

Chairman Moyer - AAnd the members are always entitled as you have done here to waive notice.@

 

Angela Beeker - ACorrect@

 

Chairman Moyer - AIf they=re well aware of what is happening.@

 

Angela Beeker - AThat=s correct.  There is one correction on the Articles of Amendment.  It should be Article V instead of Article VIII.@

 

Chairman Moyer - AYou did verify that, OK?@

 

Angela Beeker - A2-A should be Article V instead of Article VIII.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - ABut the Articles of Incorporation has to be amended by the Board of Directors of the Hospital.@

 

Angela Beeker - ACorrect and they also say that it takes the consent of the Board of Commissioners to do that.  So therefore.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AThat=s out of the General Statute?@

 

Angela Beeker - ANo, that=s in the Articles of Incorporation themselves.  So therefore you are collapsing two steps into one to make it occur most expeditiously.  If you wish, you don=t have to do that, you could send it over, then they would send it back to you for approval.  But if you=re the one that=s initiating it seems that you=ve already approved it.@

 

Chairman Moyer - AI would move that we adopt the amendment that=s attached to the Memorandum and execute the Waiver of Notice, send this issue over to the Hospital Board for action with the understanding that we have that participation by whoever is the ex-officio, non-voting would be able to attend and have discussion at the closed session meetings.  I think that is exactly the intent of where we started and this does no more than carry out what the Board previously authorized.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AIs that your motion?@

 

Chairman Moyer - AThat=s my motion.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AWell with that on the floor, I=d just add to discussion back to the previous and that simply is I don=t think that=s the best route to go in interest to the County.  I certainly don=t think that the Board ought to be directing the Hospital Board to make Articles of Incorporation changes out of sequence.  And so I could not support that motion.@

 

Chairman Moyer - ACommissioner Hawkins, that=s been the case of my participation on the Library Board, that=s exactly what we do.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AWell, we=re not talking about the Library Board here.@

 

Chairman Moyer - AWe said to the Library Board - we said to them we want our person to be ex-officio, non-voting and we asked them to change the ...@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AThe Library is not an incorporated area.  That=s a whole different subject.  If we=re not gonna talk about the overall as you cut off earlier, then we can=t talk about the Library Board, unless, unless you=re gonna open it back up for my previous discussion.@

 

Commissioner Gordon - AI think we have to bear in mind that this is a very closed corporation with only one entity as a member of it and that is this Board so there is really no other way for something like this to happen.  And I think we just have to follow the procedures that are set up and we are making a request to the Board of Directors to make this change and I support going ahead as we voted in October.@

 

Commissioner Hawkins - AAnd if the Board don=t vote for it then that=s gonna be the end of it I suppose.  If the Board of Directors at the Hospital don=t see fit to change the Articles I guess then that would be the extent of it.  Is that right Ms. Beeker?@

 

Angela Beeker - AThat=s correct.@

 

Chairman Moyer - AOk, ready to act on the motion?@

 

Commissioner Messer - AYou know I=ve got a question - is, you know, of course like I said my name=s been brought up a couple of times in discussion and it=s, you know the way I get it and the way I look at these minutes and so forth, if it was voted on October 18, 2000, why wasn=t it carried through then other than, you know what=s the hold up now compared to.   And you know, I=ve got another question, what do or what does the Hospital Board think of this motion, of us changing the criteria in this.  I mean you=re saying that, you know they=re gonna have you know a meeting next month or what the 23rd of January or 31st, like I said you know I=ve kinda been brought into this in the middle and really don=t like to make a decision without knowing all the facts.@

 

Commissioner Gordon - AWell if I can, I think, correct me if I=m wrong Grady, but I don=t believe the Hospital Board sitting as a Board has discussed this so I don=t think we can have an official opinion from them until this is presented to them officially and that=s what this is about.  You know, we all understand that it has to go to them and they have to sit as a Board and make a decision and that=s what this process initiates.@

 

Commissioner Messer - AOK@

 

Chairman Moyer - AAnd I think Commissioner Messer all we=re doing today is carrying out what the Board previously authorized to be done and then we send it over to the Hospital Board for their consideration.@

 

Commissioner Ward - AThe only thing that I can add to this that I didn=t vote for it the first time cause I think this is a multi-million dollar corporation and I think the Commissioners= vote is a viable vote on that, it basically is a vote that all the other Trustees on the Board looks to as a leadership on the Board of Directors up there.  The importance of a Commissioner sitting there I think is vital to keep the County informed as we are of the members of that.  And I think this probably, other than the Planning and Zoning, is the most important Board we=ve got and I think we=ve got to take that into consideration also.@

 

Chairman Moyer - AAnd I think all of that was done prior to making the vote as you indicated.@

 

Commissioner Gordon - AAnd we respect that this request goes to that Board of Trustees and they can make a determination on whether they feel this is an appropriate move so I, but I do think that there are some clear distinctions here that we need to make and I think we should proceed.@

 

Commissioner Messer - AWell I basically don=t have a problem with that as long as it goes before that Board to make this decision and if that=s all we=re doing then you know I understand that, that=s the process of it which you know I=m willing to accept.@

 

Chairman Moyer - AAll in favor of the motion, say aye.@

 

The motion carried three to two, with Commissioners Hawkins and Ward voting nay.

 

11. Hospital Board of Directors - 1 vac.

Chairman Moyer stated that he had given the Board a copy from the October 18 minutes, just to refresh their memory.  There were four nominations at that time: Helen Bonnett, Frank Brown, Madeline Daubert, and Gary Jones.  There were no further nominations.

 

Chairman Moyer asked the Clerk to poll the Board.  Chairman Moyer stated AWe are voting for one person.  It=s the eleventh seat which will be vacated if the prior action is taken by the Hospital Board and this person, if it=s not taken this person would not assume a seat and if it is then, if the action is approved by the Hospital Board, then this person would step into that seat.  Now we will leave it to the Hospital to decide whether that person would start orientation or not.@  Each Commissioner got one vote.  Gary Jones got four out of the five votes. 


 

Chairman Moyer stated he would send a letter to the Hospital Board explaining what the Board of Commissioners did, what the intent was, and the stipulation with respect to closed session so that everything is spelled out so the Hospital Board will have everything in front of them when they act on this.

 

Angela Beeker stated AIf the Articles of Amendment are approved by the Board of Directors, as soon as they are filed they will be effective and we expect that to occur if it=s approved by the end of the second week of February.@

 

Chairman Moyer stated that when the Board approved the Commissioner slots for the various Boards he indicated that Commissioner Ward would be replacing him on the Alliance for Human Services Board of Directors, upon his resignation from the Blue Ridge Community Health Services.  Mr. Ward had advised the Chairman that as of next Monday, it will be his last day of being directly associated in any specific way with Blue Ridge Community Health Services so his appointment to the Alliance for Human Services Board will commence effective Monday.

 

OKLAWAHA GREENWAY, PHASE I

On March 21, 2000, the Board of Commissioners granted conceptual approval of the proposed Oklawaha Greenway and endorsed and supported the efforts of the Apple Country Greenways Commission (ACommission@) to develop the Greenway.  The Commission has secured a DOT grant for Phase I of the Oklawaha Greenway.  Phase I includes sidewalk and streetscape improvements along Fourth Avenue, crossing King, Grove, Pine and Harris Streets, and the construction of a paved 10-foot multi-use trail from Jackson Park to US Highway #64.

 

Jennifer Jackson informed the Board that the County and City are now being asked to execute the Enhancement Agreement which was presented for the Board=s review.  This is the standard DOT grant agreement and essentially serves to ensure that the Project is completed and maintained.  It imposes certain duties on both the City and the County; however, the County proposes to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding which delegates substantially all of the County=s responsibilities for the Project to the City which will act as the County=s agent on the Project.  This Memorandum of Understanding does reserve the right for the Board to approve the design concept once it has been developed.  A copy of the Memorandum of Understanding along with a summary of the obligations of the City, County and the Commission as outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding were distributed to the Board.

 

The County Manager supports the County=s limited involvement in this Project and, therefore, recommended that the Board authorize the execution of both the Enhancement Agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding by adopting the proposed prepared Resolutions.

 

Following discussion, Commissioner Ward made the motion to approve the Enhancement Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding by adopting the two prepared resolutions.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

OWNERSHIP OF FLETCHER LIBRARY BUILDING

The Board had been given a copy of a letter from the Community Foundation noting that they approved the transfer of ownership of the building that houses the Fletcher Branch of the Public Library.  Originally, the Foundation raised the funds to construct this facility.  The County agreed at that time to house the Library within the facility and provide for the maintenance, utilities, and insurance coverage for the building.

 

The County Manager was contacted several months ago by the Foundation=s Executive Director requesting that the County take ownership of the building.  The Foundation is divesting itself of any buildings that are owned by the Foundation.

 

Mr. Nicholson did inform the Board that the building needs to be reroofed at this time. It has already been budgeted.

 

David Nicholson recommended that the Board approve the transfer of the building to the County.  He did not expect any additional costs to the County associated with this transfer.

 

Chairman Moyer stated that the Library Board has considered this issue and there is the ability to expand the Fletcher Library. It appears to be in a good location.

 

Chairman Moyer made the motion to approve the transfer of the building and to direct the County Attorney to take whatever appropriate steps we can to try to deal with the issues that have been raised at this meeting.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

UPDATE ON PENDING ISSUES

2001 Holiday Schedule

Chairman Moyer had asked that this be added to the agenda.  When he received the Holiday Schedule he was surprised because he did not think it carried out the intent of what he thought he had voted for.  As he recalled, the Board wanted to adopt the date of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.=s Birthday as a holiday to honor his memory and they wanted to make a change to track the State holiday schedule to the extent that they could so staff would be open and closed on the same days wherever appropriate.  When he got the schedule and counted the number of days and saw that employees would have 12 paid holidays next year and at Christmas the offices would be closed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, it did not seem consistent with what had been acted on.  He wished to bring this back to the Board for discussion and possible action.

 

There was much discussion, pro and con.  Three of the five Commissioners actually felt the Board had erred in their earlier vote, as their intent was not to increase the number of yearly paid holidays. 

 

David Nicholson actually presented the earlier agenda items that the Board had seen and voted on twice. Mr. Nicholson felt that this action was consistent with other counties in our state as well as consistent with the state holiday schedule.

 

Following much discussion, it was the consensus of the Board to leave the schedule as is for this year as it was approved by the Board and has already been distributed to department heads and to employees this year. 

 

Commissioner Ward made the motion to cut the extra Christmas day, changing the Christmas holidays back to two days (the day before Christmas and Christmas day), effective January 1, 2002, for a total of eleven holidays per year.  All voted in favor and the motion carried. This year staff will get 12 paid holidays with three of them at Christmas.

 

 

INFORMAL PUBLIC COMMENTS

1. Polly Orr - Ms. Orr asked for the Board to put in place an asphalt plant ordinance and to declare a moratorium while an ordinance is being written.

 

2. Chuck Mason - Mr. Mason distributed copies of Chairman Moyer=s comments from the recent (1/10/01) town hall meeting.  He urged the Board to study the area of the proposed asphalt plant.  He spoke briefly about safety net/open use zoning.

 

3. Bob Wilson - Mr. Wilson spoke in opposition to the proposed asphalt plant.  He felt that another location could be found.

 

REPORT ON MINERAL & LAPIDARY MUSEUM

Larry Hauser gave his annual report on the activities of the Mineral & Lapidary Museum of Henderson County.

 

Geological Statement

Mr. Hauser asked to be allowed to make a geological statement in response to one of the speakers from informal public comments (#2 Chuck Mason).  Mr. Hauser stated that the reason we have a high incidence of radiation in this county is due solely to the fact that there are rare earth pegmatites, we know them as zircon mines.

 

Mr. Hauser worried that the Mineral Museum could have financial difficulties if they were to take over title to the building.  The Mineral museum is currently paying one third of the cost of utilities and must also pay one third of the building=s maintenance costs as well.  He felt that paying their share of the utilities should not be a problem.  However, having to pay their share of replacing the antiquated heating and cooling system, or replacing an old roof on the building are excessive and potentially financially damaging expenses.

 

Mr. Hauser then explained how wonderfully well the Mineral Museum is serving the County and City of Hendersonville.  Their attendance in 2000 was 22,027, an increase of 5,930 and their attendance in January, 2001, thus far, exceeds all of January of last year!

 

He stated that once the Genealogical Society gets its County Historical Museum in operation, the Mineral Museum will benefit greatly from the additional attraction for the visitors. 

 

SCHOOL PURCHASE OF LAND

This had been pulled from the Consent Agenda for discussion.

 

At the end of December 2000 the Henderson County Board of Public Education purchased Lot #18 in Forest Park subdivision for $12,000.00.  This end-of-the year purchase was necessary for the Vocational Education Program which teaches students to build homes.  The purchased lot will be used to locate a home that has been constructed by students.  The School Board used funds that were budgeted to the Vocational Education Program to complete the transaction.

Normally, in accordance with NCGS 115C-426(f), the School Board seeks approval of the purchase price by the Board of Commissioners in advance of entering into a purchase contract; however, in this instance the transaction had to be completed quickly.

 

Ms. Beeker stated that the School Board was now requesting that the Board of Commissioners ratify the execution of the Offer to Purchase and Contract and subsequent purchase by the Board of Education.  Mr. Nicholson recommended that the Board of Commissioners ratify the Board of Education=s purchase by approving the amount spent to acquire the property.

 

Following discussion, Chairman Moyer made the motion to approve this but to send a letter to the Board of Education reminding them of their duty, to maybe alleviate this happening again in the future and to also remind them of their duty to ask the Board of Commissioners whether they wish to purchase property they wish to sell before they sell it, in effect giving the Board of Commissioners the right of first refusal.   All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

Chairman Moyer called a five minute technical recess, to change videotapes.

 

Chairman=s Statement

Chairman Moyer stated that due to time, we will likely roll the Legislative Goals item and roll the closed session.

 

2001 HOME Program Applications

Selena Coffey reminded the Board that Representatives from Housing Assistance Corporation and Habitat for Humanity were in attendance and had presented their 2001 HOME Program Applications for the Board of Commissioners= review and approval.  Both organizations had provided information of their respective projects.

 

Henderson County=s planning level for 2001 HOME funds is $161,543.  The 2001 Planning Level Summary was presented for Board review:

 

1.  Application from Habitat for Humanity requesting $100,000 for land acquisition.

 

2.  Letter and supporting materials from Housing Assistance Corporation requesting

     $161,543 for the first phase of their AVillages at King Creek@ development.

 

The total of these applications was $261,543, which exceeds the County=s planning allocation.  However, the Board may choose to endorse funds exceeding the planning level.

 

Malcolm McCormick made the presentation for Habitat for Humanity and Ken Perkins made the presentation for Housing Assistance Corporation.

 

Mr. Nicholson stated that the deadline for applications to be filed with the Asheville Regional Housing Consortium is January 31, 2001.  He recommended that the Board approve both requests for HOME funds.  He realized that the total requests exceed our planning allocation; however, Housing Assistance Corporation qualifies as a CHDO and the balance of their request could come from that source.

 

The Board realized that these are both very worthwhile projects. This Board of Commissioners was impressed with the fact that the Housing Assistance Corporation is meeting some special needs that are important to the Board. Chairman Moyer recommended that the Board approve and strongly endorse both applications that have been presented.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

There was much discussion of whether or not to prioritize the projects. Commissioner Hawkins made the motion to approve $111,543.00 for Housing Assistance Corporation (Home Aid) and $50,000.00 for Habitat for Humanity and to request that the two groups try to reach a resolution regarding land. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

Ms. Coffey stated that staff will draft a letter to the Housing Consortium informing them of this Board=s action today.  Staff will also get the actual applications for signatures in the next couple of days.

 

Chairman=s Statement

At 12:00 noon, Chairman Moyer stated that the Board would consider AImportant Dates@ next but will hold Legislative Goals and Closed Session for the next agenda.

 

IMPORTANT DATES

Set Public Hearing on Three Proposed Amendments to the Test of the Henderson County Zoning Ordinance

Mr. Nicholson recommended that the Board schedule a public hearing on the amendments recommended by the Planning Board for Monday, February 5, 2001, at 7:00 p.m. 

 

Commissioner Ward made the motion to set the public hearing as recommended.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

Set date for joint meeting with Buncombe County Board of Commissioners.

Mr. Nicholson explained that the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners has requested a joint meeting with this Board of Commissioners.  They suggested February 27 at 4:00, but that is a conflict for this Board.  There was much discussion about what the agenda would be. This Board would want to have a specific agenda.  Mr. Nicholson will notify the County Manager for Buncombe County that this is a conflict and that this Board wished to have an agenda prior to setting a joint meeting.

 

 

 

Land Use Workshop

Mr. Nicholson reminded the Board that they had planned to set a workshop to discuss Land Use Planning.  The Board agreed that there is a real need for this. That workshop was set for Monday, February 12 at 1:00 p.m.

 

Commissioner Gordon made the motion to adjourn the meeting and go to the Employee Awards Luncheon.  Commissioner Hawkins seconded the motion.  All voted in favor and the motion carried.

 

Attest:

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                            

Elizabeth W. Corn, Clerk to the Board                        William L. Moyer, Chairman