MINUTES
STATE
OF NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
COUNTY
OF HENDERSON SEPTEMBER 19, 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 County Attorney
Jennifer O. Jackson, Planning Director Karen C. Smith, Assistant to the County
Manager/Budget Analyst Selena Coffey, Land Records Supervisor Pam Carver, and
Finance Director J. Carey McLelland. Amy Brantley, Volunteer Coordinator/Deputy
Clerk to the Board, was present through the Nominations.
CALL TO
ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman Moyer
called the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance.
Chairman Moyer
asked everyone to rise for a moment of silence in honor and recognition of
those who have lost their lives in New York and Washington and in respect for
those who have worked so hard and sacrificed so much to save the lives of
others.
PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE
Commissioner
Hawkins led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
INVOCATION
Rev. Gus
Martschink, Pardee Hospital Chaplaincy Program, gave the invocation after first
reading a poem.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT
OF AGENDA
Chairman Moyer
asked for the following to be added to the Consent Agenda:
Resolution
supporting the United Way campaign for this year (copies distributed this
morning).
He asked to add
under Staff Report - before AA@ - Well Regulations. Robert Smith will address that issue.
Chairman Moyer
also asked to add to Update on Pending Issues:
Regency
Development - Home Aid Housing Projects update
Regional
Water Agreement - Negotiations Committee update
LGCCA
meeting update
Annual
Volunteer Appreciation Banquet arrangements update
Chairman Moyer
stated that he would like the flexibility of moving the agenda around because
of the people present to address certain items, to better facilitate them
returning to work.
Chairman Moyer
made the motion to approve the agenda as adjusted. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
CONSENT AGENDA
Commissioner
Hawkins asked to pull item AI - Resolution - September 11, 2001"
for some comments.
Chairman Moyer
asked to pull item AJ - United Way Resolution@ (his add-on)
for comments.
Item AI@ - Resolution -
September 11, 2001
The Board was
asked to adopt the following resolution which Commissioner Hawkins read:
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, on September 11, 2001,
The United States of America was suddenly and brutally attacked by foreign
terrorists, and;
WHEREAS, these terrorists
hijacked and destroyed four civilian aircraft, crashing two of them into the
towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and a third into the
Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and;
WHEREAS, thousands of innocent
Americans were killed and injured as a result of these attacks, including the
passengers and crew of the four aircraft, workers in the World Trade Center and
in the Pentagon, rescue workers, and bystanders, and;
WHEREAS, these cowardly acts were
by far the deadliest terrorist attacks ever launched against the United States,
and by targeting symbols of American strength and success clearly were intended
to intimidate our nation and weaken its resolve, and;
WHEREAS, these horrific events
have affected all Americans. It is
important that we carry on with the regular activities of our lives. Terrorism cannot be allowed to break the
spirit of the American people, and the best way to show these cowards that they
have truly failed is for the people of the United States and their counties to
stand tall and proud.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED, that
the Henderson County Board of Commissioners condemns the cowardly and deadly
actions of these terrorists, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Henderson
County Board of Commissioners supports the President of the United States, as
he works with his national security team to defend against additional attacks,
and find the perpetrators to bring them to justice, and;
BE IT STILL FURTHER
RESOLVED, that
the Henderson County Board of Commissioners recommends to its citizens to
support relief efforts by giving blood at the nearest available blood donation
center.
Item AJ@ - Resolution supporting
United Way 2001 Campaign
Chairman Moyer read the following
resolution:
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The United Way of
Henderson County has launched its campaign for 2001; and,
WHEREAS, Its slogan for this year
is AYour United Way: A
Partner in Community Building@ by not only solving problems but preparing for the future;
and,
WHEREAS, United Way is a network
of caring people working to make help available to every person in Henderson
County: and,
WHEREAS, United Way impacts Henderson
County by:
$
Nurturing
Children and Youth
$
Promoting
Health and Wellness
$
Strengthening
Families
$
Providing
Crisis Intervention
$
Delivering
Elder Services
$
Developing
Self-Sufficiency
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED, that
the Henderson County Board of Commissioners applauds the United Way Board and
staff for their efforts on behalf of the citizens of Henderson County. The Henderson County Board of Commissioners
supports the United Way 2001 Campaign and encourages contributions from the
community and Henderson County=s employees.
Commissioner Gordon made the motion to
approve the Consent Agenda. All voted
in favor and the motion carried. The
CONSENT AGENDA consisted of the following:
Minutes
Minutes were presented for the Board=s review and
approval of the following meetings:
October 5,
1998, regular meeting
November 10,
1998, special called meeting
November 16,
1998, special called meeting
December 3,
1998, special called meeting
August 9, 1999,
special called meeting
Tax Collector=s Report
Terry F. Lyda, Tax Collector, had
provided the Tax Collectors= Report dated September 17, 2001 for the Board=s information.
Darlene Burgess, Deputy Tax Collector,
had provided the Deputy Tax Collector=s Report to the Board dated September 10,
2001, for the Board=s information.
Tax Refunds
A list of 17 tax refund requests was
presented for the Board=s approval.
Tax Releases
A list of 153 tax release requests was
presented for the Board=s approval.
Correction -
Budget Ordinance
The Board was requested to correct
certain sections of the Budget Ordinance - Fiscal Year 2001 - 2002. The salaries for the County=s elected
officials were incorrectly noted on the adopted ordinance.
Staff requested the Board to approve the
above correction to the Budget Ordinance and apologized for the error.
Library
Computer System Upgrade
The Henderson County Public Library is in
the process of updating its computer system which enables library cataloging
and circulation to be maintained electronically. The system that is currently being used, the Dynix software
system which was purchased from the predecessor of epitech, inc., was
installed in 1985 and is being phased out in favor of more advanced
technology. The Library Director and IT
Director have researched the currently available software and concluded that
the only compatible product on the market is the Horizon-Sunrise software which
is an upgraded replacement version of the Dynix software and only available
from epitech, inc.
The total cost of the upgrade to the
Horizon-Sunrise product and the conversion of our current data is
$144,531. This total cost includes the
software, services, hardware, supplies and shipping and is shown on the cost
breakdown (Rider A). While this cost seems expensive, the Library Director and
IT Department believe that it would be more costly (due to a more difficult
data conversion, extensive staff training, etc.) to implement a different
system which would not be compatible with the Library=s current
system. The Library Director,
therefore, wished to purchase this software upgrade and the hardware and
services necessary to implement it. In
anticipation of the upgrade a sufficient amount was budgeted to cover the
expense.
The hardware component of this project
had already been informally bid with epitech, inc. submitting the
lowest bid amount. Contracts for
services are not subject to the bidding laws.
Normally software purchases at this dollar amount would also be subject
to North Carolina=s bidding laws.
However NCGS 143-129(e)(6) provides an exception to the normal bidding
process for items when:
(i) performance
or price competition for a product are not available; (ii) a needed product is
available from only one source of supply; or (iii) standardization or
compatibility is the overriding consideration.
This software purchase appears to fall
squarely within the above-stated-sole-source exception. Consequently the Board was asked to approve
the purchase of the Horizon-Sunrise software and the Purchase and License Agreement
which was in the agenda packet and to authorize its execution by the County
Manager. The Legal Department and IT
Department have reviewed the Agreement and were comfortable with its provision.
The County Manager recommended the Board=s approval of
this purchase contract under the sole-source exception mentioned above.
State Road
Petition
Road Petitions had been received by Staff
for the following roads for addition to the State Maintenance System:
1.
Classic Oaks Circle
2.
Stonebridge Drive
It has been the
practice of the Board to accept road petitions and forward them to NC DOT for
their consideration.
Sale
of Voting Machines
The Board of
Elections requested the Commissioners sell the attached list of voting machines
to Transylvania County. These three old
Volronic machines and its associated totaling equipment were the first pieces
of equipment used for one-stop voting and are no longer used. Transylvania County has offered a total of
$4,500 for the equipment.
Staff
recommended the Board authorize the sale of this equipment.
Resolution
- September 11, 2001
Please see
above.
United
Way Resolution
Please see
above.
WELL
REGULATIONS
Commissioner
Gordon had previously mentioned to the Board of Commissioners that the Health
Department would be presenting a Resolution concerning well regulations. At it=s last meeting, the Board of Health
unanimously supported the proposed resolution.
She encouraged the Commissioners to support the resolution. Robert Smith is the person who deals with
these regulations on a day to day basis.
Robert Smith was recognized at this time.
Robert Smith
informed the Board that earlier this year he received a rule from the Division
of Water Quality stating that wells would have to be 100 feet from septic
tanks. It stated that the rule was in
effect upon receipt. He contacted our
Legislators who researched and found out that the rule was not properly adopted
because it had not gone to public hearing yet.
The Legislature got the rule changed on a temporary basis. Now the Division of Water Quality has
proposed to change the rule permanently and are going through the process of
holding public hearings. The hearing
dates have not been set as yet. Now is
the comment period, until October 15.
Hearing dates will be set throughout the state of North Carolina. They propose to require that a well be 100
feet from the septic tank. Currently
the rule states such but allows it to be cut to 50 feet for a single family
dwelling. The current sewage rules
state basically the same thing but for site plan considerations, it can be cut
to a minimum of 50 feet. For the most
part, 50 feet has been the standard for North Carolina. Public Water Supply requires 100 feet. Some counties in North Carolina have passed
100 feet as their requirement. Robert
stated that the problems he see are:
He
has not seen any scientific research in North Carolina requiring 100 foot
separation. He has asked to see such research and none has been produced.
This
would require about one acre, if you wish to have a private septic tank and
well for a house or mobile home.
Mr. Smith
stated that if the research proves that 100 feet is necessary, then he is in
favor but currently he is not convinced.
He hears from some experts that we need to be more concerned about
vertical separation than horizontal.
If this gets
passed, they will still allow 50 feet for repairs. Mr. Smith stated that if this is being done for public health,
then it should remain 100 feet for everyone, including repairs.
In the past,
Water Quality could grant variances for most of their regulations. Mr. Smith questioned whether they would
continue to grant variances. He has not
gotten a response yet.
A proposed
resolution was distributed and reviewed and it was suggested to add language Awithout
substantiating date relevant to Western North Carolina@.
Commissioner
Gordon made the motion to adopt the resolution presented by the Board of Health
concerning well regulations with the above language added. All voted in favor and the motion carried. A copy of that resolution is attached as a
part of these minutes.
DONATION
- APPLE COUNTRY GREENWAYS
Dan Gilbert,
Apple Country Greenways Commission, requested the Board release the Board=s
full funding of $2,500. The Board had
agreed to fund the Commission contingent upon equal support from all four
municipalities.
It was Staff=s
understanding that Hendersonville, Flat Rock, and Fletcher had all agreed to
fund $2,500 this year; however, Laurel Park only agreed to fund $1,000. Laurel
Park had some census discrepancies this year and could not afford to fund any
more than $1,000.
Mr. Nicholson
reminded the Board that they had agreed to fund Apple Country Greenways
Commission based on equal funding from all of the cities. Full funding has been received from three
cities with the fourth agreeing to the lesser amount. He recommended to the Board that they release the full funding
that is already included in the Fiscal Year 2001-2002 Budget. Phase I of their current greenway project
involves Jackson Park and Mr. Nicholson felt it was appropriate to support that
effort.
The Board asked
several questions of Dan Gilbert and Mike Egan, Chair of the Greenways
Commission. They explained that a
part-time Director has been hired for the Greenways, Mr. Bill Blalock.
Following much
discussion, Chairman Moyer made the motion to release these funds and encourage
continuation of the work on the project with the caveat of asking them to give
the Board of Commissioners an annual budget.
The motion was amended to state that the funds would be released on a
quarterly basis as has been done in the past.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Buffering
Chairman Moyer
addressed the Abuffering issue@ since Commissioner Ward had brought it up. He stated that he had a number of questions
from people with respect to the buffering issue in the county. He had responded that last year the
Environmental Advisory Board spent a considerable amount of time on the
buffering issue. After a lot of
information was presented, it was determined that the matter should be tabled
until we get the results of the Mud Creek Study since that is a major effort
going on. They will come back with
recommendations with respect to what should be done. The Board of Commissioners will readdress this issue after they
receive the recommendations from the Mud Creek Study.
UPDATE
ON COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN (CCP)
This item had
been scheduled for the Board=s continued discussion on the development of a
County Comprehensive Plan. The Chairman
had invited Mr. Denny Martin of Martin & McGill Consultants to attend this
meeting to discuss the Plan and the role that their firm can play in the
development of the Plan.
Selena Coffey
distributed a hand-out entitled AHenderson County Comprehensive Plan Planning
Process Outline@ dated September 16, 2001.
Denny Martin
informed the Board that he sees his role as facilitator and a resource. He reviewed the hand-out stating that he
will work with the other municipalities and with standing county committees
with a pause after each phase to regroup.
He would like to keep this process as un-complicated as possible. He explained that this CCP needs to
understand where this community is now as far as it=s growth and then where it=s
headed with its present policies and the approach that=s being taken to
infrastructure development and economic development and those things that
influence the way Henderson County grows and changes. Based on the Community=s growth objectives, what do we need to do
differently or what do we need to do to try to meet those objectives. Mr. Martin stated that he does not view this
as a land use plan. He had planned four
phases into the project and briefly reviewed those with the Board:
Phase
One - Establishing Strategic Priorities
Phase
Two - Growth Management Strategy
Phase
Three - Planning Key Growth Incentives
Phase
Four - Plan Implementation Strategy
There was
discussion of roads, school locations, water and sewer and their effect on our
county growth. Chairman Moyer explained that Phase I is scheduled to be
completed about December 15, 2001, Phase II about February 15, 2002, Phase III
about June 15, 2002, and Phase IV about July 15, 2002 with preparation of the
final report about August 15, 2002.
Following much
discussion, Chairman Moyer encouraged the Board and Mr. Martin to move forward
with phase I of the project and that was also the consensus of the Board.
INFORMAL
PUBLIC COMMENTS
There were
none.
OPTIONS
FOR SHARING NATIONAL FOREST RECEIPTS
Carey McLelland
explained that each year 25 counties in the State, including Henderson County,
receive a share of timber sale receipts from our National Forests from the U.S.
Dept. of Agriculture and it flows down through the State of North
Carolina.
The Local
Government Commission has informed counties that there are now two options for
sharing in National Forest Receipts, which are used in support of local school
budgets. Counties can continue to
receive these receipts under the traditional 25% payment option as has been
done in the past or elect to receive the funds based on the Full Payment Amount
option. This option is based on the
average of the highest three payments received between 1986 and 1999,
inclusive.
It would appear
that for Henderson County, election of the Full Payment Amount option would
result in a higher payment than what has been received in recent years. Electing this option would lock the County=s
payment for six years. The anticipated
Full Payment Amount the County would receive this year is $11,600. The average payment the County has received
over the past four years is $7,050.
This lower, average payment is due to the declines in the amount of
timber sold from national forest lands in recent years.
Administration
and use of these funds would not change under the Full Payment Amount
option. The Local Government Commission
is requiring that all counties inform them of which option is chosen no later
than September 21, 2001 in order to notify the U.S. Department of Agriculture by
their September 30, 2001 deadline.
The County
Manager recommended that the Board consider electing to receive future National
Forest Receipts under the Full Payment Amount option for the next six years
based on the anticipated increase in these payments under this option.
In Henderson
County, these monies go to our public schools.
Commissioner
Hawkins made the motion for the Board to approve the full payment option as
recommended by the County Manager and to direct staff to notify the appropriate
agency that Henderson County has chosen that option. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
TO
PURCHASE FORECLOSED PROPERTY OFFER -
LOTS 26, 38, 39, and 40
Lee
Morgan Subdivision
Angela Beeker
informed the Board that Henderson County had received an Offer to Purchase Lots
26, 38, 39 and 40, Lee Morgan Subdivision in the amount of $600.00. This property was acquired pursuant to a
Sheriff=s Sale, held for the nonpayment of taxes in 1985. Pursuant to the Policy Regarding Sale of
Real Property Owned by Henderson County As a Result of a Tax Foreclosure Sale,
an initial offer is presented to the Board of Commissioners, who can either
reject the bid, or issue a proposed acceptance. If the Board issues a proposed acceptance, the bidder is required
to post a bid deposit in the amount of 5% of the bid or $150.00, whichever is
greater. The bidder must also pay to
the County $120.00 to cover the costs of advertising the offer for upset
bids. A notice of the offer is then
published inviting any upset bids. If
no upset bids are received within the ten days following the notice, the offer
will come back to the Board for final consideration, at which point the Board
may accept or reject the offer. If
given final acceptance by the Board, the purchaser must pay the full bid price,
and a quitclaim deed is issued. Jerry
and Patsy Higgins have made the offer for those lots.
The County
Attorney had rendered a basic title opinion, which stated that there were some
irregularities in the foreclosure process and subsequent foreclosure sale. For this reason, she had prepared new Offers
to Purchase, which had been signed by the Offerer, which acknowledges these
irregularities, and required the Offerer to sign a release as part of the
purchase price for the properties before the Offers are advertised.
Board action to
either give a proposed acceptance or to reject the Offer received would be
appropriate at this time.
Following
discussion, Commissioner Hawkins made the motion that the Board issue a
proposed acceptance and follow the procedure outlined by the County
Attorney. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
ORTHOPHOTOGRAPHY
CONTRACT
David Nicholson
reminded the Board that they had received a draft of the contract with
Analytical Surveys Incorporated (AASI@) for the orthophotography project in
Henderson County. The County Attorney
had been working with ASI on several minor changes and reported those proposed
changes to the Board. The project had
been last discussed at the Board=s meeting on February 5, 2001. An excerpt of the minutes for that meeting
were also distributed to the Board for review.
Phase I of this
project, which included ground control/paneling and aerial photography, was
authorized by the Board on February 5, 2001.
This Phase I was completed as indicated by the April 23, 2001 letter and
has been accepted. Invoices in the
agenda packet show the payments that were made for the services related to
Phase I.
Mr. Nicholson
reminded the Board that this contract was approved during the previous fiscal
year=s budget. The funds were put aside
as part of the State Budget issues we were dealing with this past spring. Those funds have been released and moved
back to last year to help cover this project.
These funds are in hand to do this project.
Angela Beeker
distributed a memo regarding AChanges to the ASI Contract@ and discussed some
minor changes with the Board. She explained that phase II is converting those
pictures into digital orthophotos. Ms.
Beeker reviewed the recommended changes for the ASI contract:
C
The date was changed to September 19,
2001
C
Article I.I Definitions C It was
clarified that there are no PROCEDURAL DOCUMENTS nor any SOURCES for this
Project.
C
Paragraph 3.2.3 - It was clarified that
PROGRESS REPORTS will be given to the OWNER every 30 days. [to Pam Carver]
C
Paragraph 4.3.2 - The termination for
convenience clause had been removed.
C
Paragraph 4.3.3 - A typo was corrected.
C
Subparagraph 4.3.5.3 in conjunction with
Paragraph 9.3 - It was clarified that a termination of this Agreement for CAUSE
does not end the warranties provisions of the Agreement, nor Article 7, 8, and
9.
C
Paragraph 5.1 - Reflects that part of the
project has been done and paid for.
C
Paragraph 6.1 - Reflects that the
warranty period starts from date of OWNER=S ACCEPTANCE, not from the date of
delivery to the OWNER.
C
Subparagraphs 9.7.1 - 9.7.4 Provisions
related to an affirmative action plan had been deleted.
Ms. Beeker
stated that the total contract price for this project was $220,000. Phase I has been completed and there is a
balance on the contract of $153,409.
Funds had been appropriated of $160,000 to this year=s budget.
Pam Carver,
Land Records Supervisor, explained to the Board the reason for doing this
project. The orthophotos will provide
control to the Land Records Department, meaning that they help Staff map the
county. They interpret the photos when
they are reading documents and mapping them.
Other benefits:
C
We haven=t had new photos since 1992 and
there has been a tremendous amount of growth in the county.
C
We have a reappraisal coming up and Staff
needs to see the growth. The appraisers
rely on it heavily as well as the mappers.
C
In doing our GIS project, Planning needs
the photos also.
Ms. Carver
explained that the fact that the photos will be digital orthophotos will allow
the other departments more access.
Chairman Moyer
made the motion for the Board to approve the contract with the changes that Ms.
Beeker mentioned and authorize the signing of the contract and moving forward
with the project as stated. All voted
in favor and the motion carried.
Technical
Recess
Chairman Moyer
called a 5 - 10 minutes technical recess.
DONATION
OF REAL PROPERTY
David Nicholson
informed the Board that Henderson County had been approached by Ken Wilson
concerning a possible donation of real property to the County. Mr. Wilson would like to donate +/- 12.65
acres of land to the County located near Jackson Welding and running along a
portion of Mud Creek. Mr. Wilson acquired
this property in 1996 for $132,000 from the Moffits. It is composed of several tracts, including part of an old (1924)
subdivision. The tax value placed on
this property is $205,600. Staff felt
that the County would be required to pay the City and County taxes on this
property. County taxes for 2001 total
to $1,213.04. City taxes should total
to approximately $1,007.44 (based on a City tax rate of $0.49). Mr. Wilson is donating property to Buncombe
County to be used as soccer fields and felt that Henderson County might be able
to use this property for softball fields.
He did not mention any restrictions to be placed on the property. There do not appear to be any restrictions
prohibiting such a use, but a full title examination has not been conducted at
this point.
The deed which
conveyed title to the property to Ken Wilson Ford, Inc. as well as a map
showing the area was included in the agenda packet for the Board=s convenience
in reviewing this item.
David Nicholson
had visited the site and acknowledged that it is in the floodplain and
anticipated working with the Parks and Recreation Department to possibly locate
some soccer fields on the property. The
access to the property would, however, have to be developed or improved prior
to full utilization of the property.
If the Board
wished to obtain this property, it would be appropriate to authorize the
acceptance of a deed conveying the property to the County. Should Mr. Wilson wish to place restrictions
on the use of the property in the deed, the County Manager would bring that matter
back before the Board for consideration prior to the County=s acceptance of the
deed.
There was
discussion of isolation and security issues and the fact that there is no good
access to the property. This property
is along the area that is being considered for the greenway system.
It was the
consensus of the Board to pass on this property and to let Mr. Wilson know that
the City of Hendersonville or the Greenways Commission might be interested in
the property. David Nicholson was asked to work with all the entities
mentioned.
Commissioners
expressed interest in seeing a list of properties that are in Henderson County=s
name as well as the list of properties that the Board of Education own.
NOMINATIONS
Notification
of Vacancies
The Board was
notified of the following vacancies which will appear under Nominations on the
next agenda:
1.
Hendersonville City Zoning Board of
Adjustment - 1 vac.
Larry Young is
the person whose term is expiring and he has indicated a willingness to
continue to serve. Chairman Moyer
placed Larry Young=s name in nomination for reappointment. Chairman Moyer made the motion to suspend
the rules and reappointment Mr. Young.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Nominations
Chairman Moyer
reminded the Board of the following vacancies and opened the floor to nominations:
1.
Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) - 1
vac.
Commissioner
Hawkins nominated Linda Fritz for this vacancy. There were no other nominations.
Commissioner Hawkins moved the Board accept Ms. Fritz by acclamation. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
2.
Mountain Area Workforce Development Board
- 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next agenda.
3.
Equalization & Review Board - 3 vac.
The Board had
some discussion regarding qualifications and the need for recruitment to this
Board. It was mentioned that a Realtor would be good to have on this
Board. Scott Hamilton was present from
the Chamber of Commerce and he consented to take back word to the Chamber that
we need to find people to serve on this Board.
4.
Retired Senior Volunteer Program Advisory
Council - 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
5.
Juvenile Crime Prevention Council - 3
vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
Zoning
Board of Adjustment - Adjustment of Terms
In a recent
action of the Board of Commissioners, Section 200-65 entitled AZoning Board of
Adjustment@ was amended. This amended
Section provides that the regular and alternate members of the Zoning Board of
Adjustment be appointed for three-year staggered terms. The length and staggering of terms was not
changed as it was a requirement in the original text of Section 200-65.
The initial
appointments of the regular and alternate members have already been made,
however, in reviewing the Roster of this Board it appeared to Staff that the
three-year overlapping terms for both the regular and alternate members have
gotten out of sync.
For the regular
members there are three positions that are due to expire December 31, 2001, two
positions that expire December 31, 2003, and no position that expires December
31, 2002. Therefore, the Board was
requested to consider adjusting the terms to accomplish the appropriate
staggering. Similarly, but more extensively, the terms of the alternate members
are also out of sync. There are two
positions that expire December 31, 2001 and four that expire on December 31,
2002. No alternate member=s term
expires in the year 2003. The amended
Section 200-65 grants the Board of Commissioners the discretion to
appoint as many alternates as the Board deems necessary - there being no
specific number of alternate members required.
The Board was
requested to seek adjustment of the terms for existing regular and alternate
members. Staff was available to discuss
this matter and to answer Board questions pertaining to the Zoning Board of
Adjustment=s membership.
Mr. Nicholson
stressed the importance of the proper constitution of the Zoning Board of
Adjustment in light of the quasi-judicial nature of its work. He recommended that the Board adjust the
terms of the regular members and to reduce the number of alternate members to
three with terms ending December 31, 2001, 2002, and 2003.
The County
Manager=s proposal for the regular members was:
Member
Current Term Proposed Term
Tamra Crane December
31, 2001 same
Debra Stierwalt December 31,
2003 same
Diane Grant December
31, 2003 same
Anthony Engel December 31, 2001 same
John Davis December
31, 2001 December
31, 2002*
*Staff felt
that Mr. Davis= term should have originally been December 31, 2002.
It was
expressed that the Board might want to wait until the end of the year to see
who would be coming off as regular members before letting any of the alternates
leave.
Commissioner
Hawkins made the motion to take the regular members and their terms as
recommended by the County Manager and to ask Staff to contact alternate members
to see who was willing to continue to serve and for how long and consider the
alternate terms a little later. All
voted in favor and the motion carried.
UPDATE
ON PENDING ISSUES
G.I.S.
Project
David Nicholson
explained that he has created a Steering Committee of people who are directly
involved in the project, people from the Assessor=s Office, from Land Records,
from the IT Dept. and some of our major users. One of David=s major
concerns is the coordination of the project, to make sure it is done well and
is coordinated across county government. He has been assured that they can put
together a plan that would allow each area to be responsible for its basic
function but be in a position where the GIS function could be transferred to IT.
Mr. Nicholson
plans to move the GIS person to the IT Department to see how it will work on a
trial basis. The users envision the
GIS project being a user oriented product.
Staff is working on an updated GIS plan for the Board which will be
presented to the Board at the October 17 meeting.
Update
on Home Aid
Selena Coffey
informed the Board that the Parkside Commons Project (Regency Development) at
the old East Flat Rock School site did not receive the tax credits from the
North Carolina Division of Community Assistance; therefore, they did not
receive the CDBG funds. The project is
on hold until they can reapply for tax credits and funding next year. They are still very interested in the
project. The Village of King Creek
(Housing Assistance Project/Home Aid) project got the tax credits and will do
their project this year.
Regional
Water Agreement - Negotiations Subcommittee
Chairman Moyer
informed the Board that there have been several meetings. He stressed today that the next meeting will
be September 26 and will be here at 9:00 a.m.
It is a three hour meeting. He
encouraged the Commissioners and any other interested persons to attend the
meeting to hear the discussions. It is
a very important issue for the northern end of the county. At the end of the meeting, at least ten
minutes will be set aside for public input.
LGCCA
Chairman Moyer
informed the Board that the Local Government Committee for Cooperative Action
met yesterday, he and Commissioners Gordon and Hawkins were in attendance. He asked Commissioner Gordon to update the
Board on the meeting.
Commissioner
Gordon informed the Board that the bulk of the meeting was spent in a
discussion with representatives from Western Carolina University. They had asked to come before the LGCCA and
poll the group for interest in Western Carolina extending an MPA (Masters in
Public Affairs) Program into Henderson County.
Some of the local alumni have been working for awhile with Western
Carolina and encouraging them to be more of a presence in Henderson County and
get some programs here to benefit our local residents. LGCCA will discuss
further at the next LGCCA meeting. The
County Manager and the City and Town Managers have been asked to let the LGCCA
members know how many governmental employees might be interested in a MPA
Program and job descriptions that this would be of use to. She explained that most of the other
agenda items got put off until the next meeting. Chairman Moyer did present a draft of Planning Procedures for
LGCCA and it will be discussed again at the next LGCCA meeting also.
Annual
Volunteer Appreciation Banquet
Chairman Moyer
reminded those in attendance that the Banquet is scheduled for Thursday,
October 4, 6:30 for punch and fellowship and 7:00 p.m. the program will begin. He stressed that this was the Board=s chance
to get together with the volunteers once a year and share some hospitality and
thank them for their work throughout the year. This year we will have a group
of youngsters from the Boys and Girls Club performing - a Drum Corp and Dance
Troop. It will be held at The
Chariot.
ZONING
ORDINANCE REWRITE - SPECIAL USE DISTRICTS
To continue the
Board=s discussion of major issues in the draft of the new Zoning Ordinance,
Staff presented information on the issue of Special Use Districts (SUDs). At a workshop held on July 11, 2001 on the
new Zoning Ordinance, the Board of Commissioners discussed the concept of
SUDs. Some Board members expressed some
concerns about the concept, saying that it was a way to get around spot zoning,
that it could micromanage land use and that it did not provide a blueprint for
developing the county. The Board did
not want to see it defeat the comprehensive plan and there was a suggestion
made that perhaps SUDs could be used in certain areas such as through an
overlay district concept that defined what SUDs could be placed and in which
locations. The Board had decided to
discuss the issue again when more information was available.
Information
that attempted to explain the Special (or Conditional) Use District Zoning
concept was distributed to the Board.
The paper by Julia Cogburn included information about the use of SUDs by
other jurisdictions and also noted that there had been a recent decision by the
North Carolina Court of Appeals that may impact how the concept is used.
Karen Smith
went on to explain that for each general use zoning district there is a
corresponding Special Use District. For example, if you have an R-40 District,
you also have an SUR-40 District. If someone wished to apply for one of those
districts to be applied to your property, any of the uses allowed in the
general district would be permitted, however they do require a special use
permit.
The Special Use
District process entails two steps: rezoning or remapping of a parcel from an
existing zoning district to a special use district, and obtaining a special use
permit. While the two applications go through the process simultaneously, the
decision making is separate. The basic special use district is treated as a
legislative decision, while the special use permit is treated as a
quasi-judicial process.
There was
discussion on the pros and cons of the Special Use Districts. Ms. Smith
reminded the Board that information that attempts to explain the Special (or Conditional)
Use District Zoning concept was distributed in the agenda packet. The paper by Julia Cogburn included
information about the use of SUDs by other jurisdictions and also noted that
there had been a recent decision by the North Carolina Court of Appeals that
may impact how the concept is used.
Ms. Cogburn
informed the Board that the Special Use Zoning Districts are AFloating Zones@.
They are just out there, but are not applied until someone applies to have the
Board look at the actual application of a particular zone. She was unfamiliar
with any stipulation on where a zone can be applied. If a request is made that
does not fit with the Comprehensive Plan, the application does not have to be
approved. There was discussion on how much protection this allows the current
Board to grant given that future Boards may wish to have more Special Use
Districts than general districts. Ms. Cogburn reminded the Board that they
could not control what types of districts people might apply for, but they have
the final determination on where Special Use Districts best apply, and can
ensure that they don=t cover the whole County. There has been some recent court
action in Charlotte on the manner in which they have granted some districts.
Chairman Moyer requested that Karen Smith obtain a copy of that Special Use
Permit Legislation for the Board to review.
Ms. Cogburn
continues to gather information about the case and may submit some additional
information for the Board=s discussion at a later date.
The Board was referred
to S200-22C (page 26) and S200-119 (pages 198-202) of the draft of the new
Zoning Ordinance which discusses Special Use Districts.
Following much
discussion, Chairman Moyer stated that this is a piece that the Board will need
to look at again later on, after they see how the rest of the Ordinance is
going to be put together and where we come out on a number of other key
issues.
IMPORTANT
DATES
Set
a workshop on the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite
There was some
discussion regarding this need. The Board
set that workshop for Thursday, October 11 at 3:00 p.m.
CLOSED
SESSION
Chairman Moyer
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)(1) To
prevent disclosure of information that is privileged or confidential pursuant
to the law of this State or of the United States, or not considered a public
record within the meaning of Chapter 132 of the General Statutes, in accordance
with and pursuant to NCGS 143-318.10(e) and Article II of Chapter 11 of the
Henderson County Code.
2.
(a)(3) To
consult with an attorney employed or retained by the public body in order to
preserve the attorney-client privilege between the attorney and the public
body, which privilege is hereby acknowledged. 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.
3.
(a)(4) To
discuss matters relating to the location or expansion of industries or other
businesses in the area served by the public body.
4. (a)(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
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, the meeting was adjourned at
approximately 1:05 p.m.
Attest:
Elizabeth W.
Corn, Clerk to the Board William
L. Moyer, Chairman