MINUTES
STATE
OF NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
COUNTY
OF HENDERSON OCTOBER 1, 2001
The Henderson
County Board of Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at 5:30
p.m. in the Commissioners= Conference Room of the Henderson County
Office Building at 100 North King Street, Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Those present
were: Chairman 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, Planning Director Karen C. Smith, 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.
PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE
Commissioner
Gordon led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
INVOCATION
David Nicholson
gave the invocation.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT
OF AGENDA
Chairman Moyer
informed the Board of a need to go into closed session for a personnel item.
Originally no closed session was scheduled.
Chairman Moyer
added as C-2 - Sheriff=s Department Lease.
Chairman Moyer
added as C-3 - Pardee item, MRI funding.
Chairman Moyer
added as C-4 - update on the State Budget.
Commissioner
Ward added as C-5 - update on the bid process for the architectural firm on the
old courthouse, whether we=re complying with the State Statutes.
David Nicholson
asked to move AF@ from the
consent agenda to just after Nominations - APartnership for Health - Funding Request@.
Chairman Moyer
made the motion to approve the revised agenda.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
CONSENT AGENDA
Commissioner
Ward made the motion to approve the Consent Agenda, with the exception of item AF@ which was
pulled for discussion. 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:
November
18, 1998, special called meeting
September
17, 2001, special called meeting
Tax Collector=s Report
Terry F. Lyda,
Tax Collector, had provided the Tax Collector=s report for the Board=s information,
dated September 28, 2001.
Henderson
County Public Schools Financial Report - August 2001
The August
Public Schools Financial Report was provided for consent approval. The School System=s Finance
Officer will be asked to provide budget information for the Local Current
Expense Fund on the September Financial Report. Due to the lateness in receiving the August report for this
agenda, a revised report was not requested.
Financial
Report - August 2001
Cash Balance
Report - August 2001
The August
Financial Report and Cash Balance Report were provided for consent
approval. Non-departmental expenditures
in the General Fund include the annual premiums paid to the NCACC Insurance
Pools for the County=s Worker=s Compensation and Property/Liability
insurance coverage. These costs will be distributed out to each of the
departmental budgets. Excess expenditures in the Revaluation Reserve Fund are
due to 50% of the budgeted vehicle lease payments being paid in July and
August.
Set Public
Hearing - Law Enforcement Grant
Annually, the
Henderson County Sheriff=s Department receives a grant from the US
Department of Justice. It is time to
apply for the 2001 Local Law Enforcement Block Grant. The amount of the grant is $17,613 and it requires a local match
of $1,957. The match will be provided
through drug seizure monies.
David Nicholson
recommended that the Board schedule a Public Hearing on October 17, 2001 at
11:00 a.m. for the purpose of applying for this grant.
Approval of
Closed Session Minutes
The Board was
requested to adopt the following motion:
Motion - The
following closed session minutes and general accounts are hereby approved and
shall be deemed sealed as provided by Section 11-6 of the Henderson County
Code:
Minutes
for the closed sessions held on January 4, 1999, July 6, 1999, August 18, 1999,
October 4, 1999, July 25, 2001, August 6, 2001, and August 15, 2001 as
presented and amended during the closed session held on September 19, 2001.
Unsealing of
Closed Session Minutes
The Board was
requested to adopt the following motion:
The closed
session minutes and general account reflecting discussions of the specific
items listed below are hereby unsealed:
1. January
4, 2000, Item Discussed Pursuant to N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3), Henderson County
v. Crosby (99 CVS 527) and Henderson County v. Jackson (99CVS 526).
2. February
7, 2000, Item Discussed Pursuant to N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3), County of
Henderson v. City of Hendersonville.
3. March
6, 2000, Item Discussed Pursuant to N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3) Consult with an attorney. Henderson County v. Jackson.
4. March
15, 2000, Item Discussed Pursuant to N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3) To Consult with an Attorney - Threatened
Lawsuit
5. April
3, 2000, Item Discussed Pursuant to N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3), County of
Henderson v. City of Hendersonville.
6. April
19, 2000, Item Discussed Pursuant to N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3) Henderson County v. Crosby (99 CVS
527).
7. April
19, 2000 Item Discussed pursuant to N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(1) To prevent the disclosure of information
that is privileged or confidential . . . or not considered a public record.
8. April
19, 2000 Item Discussed Pursuant to
N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3), County of Henderson v. City of Hendersonville.
9. May 1,
2000 Item Discussed Pursuant to
N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(5) Acquisition
of Real Property.
10. May
1, 2000 Item Discussed Pursuant to
N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3), Henderson County v. City of Hendersonville.
11. July
26, 2000 Item Discussed Pursuant to
N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(4), Location or
expansion of Industry in the area.
12. October
2, 2000 Item Discussed Pursuant to
N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(4), Location or
expansion of industries in the area served by the public body.
13. November
15, 2000 Item Discussed pursuant to
N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(1)
Review/approval of Closed Session Minutes
14. December
4, 2000 Item Discussed pursuant to
N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(1) Confidential
Information.
15. January
2, 2001 Item Discussed pursuant to
N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(1)
16. February
5, 2001. Item Discussed Pursuant to
N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(5)
17. February
5, 2001 Item Discussed pursuant to
N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(1) Approval of
Closed Session Minutes
18. February
21, 2001 Item Discussed Pursuant to
N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(5) Property
Acquisition.
19. March
12, 2001 Item Discussed Pursuant to
N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(5) Acquisition
of Real Property.
Funding Request - Partnership for Health
The Henderson
County Partnership for Health has been awarded a grant from the Community
Foundation for a Health Care Access and Assessment. They are required to provide a match for the grant and requested
$4,000 from the County to assist with the match. It is a $7,500
challenge grant.
Anya
Petersen-Frey explained that they need assistance in filing the application and
getting data.
She requested
$4,000 from Henderson County and will request $1,000 from the City of
Hendersonville and $2,500 from Board partners for a total of $7,500 in matching
funds.
There was much
discussion with much of it concerning the fact that this request is out of sync
with our budget cycle. There was a
consensus of the Board to give this request strong consideration in the next
budget cycle and to ask that it be placed in the Health Department Budget.
NOMINATIONS
Nominations
Chairman Moyer
reminded the Board of the following vacancies and opened the floor to
nominations:
1.
Mountain Area Workforce Development Board - 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
2.
Equalization and Review - 3 vac.
Commissioner Gordon
nominated Babs Kuykendall to fill position #3.
Commissioner Gordon made the motion to suspend the rules and appoint Ms.
Kuykendall. All voted in favor and the
motion carried. There are two remaining
vacancies.
3.
Retired Senior Volunteer Program Advisory Council - 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
4.
Juvenile Crime Prevention Council - 3 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
AMENDMENT TO
HENDERSON COUNTY WORK FIRST PLAN FOR FY 01-03
The approval of the
Board of Commissioners was needed for the amendment (with signature of the
Chairman on the certification page) to the Work First Plan for FY 01-03. No additional county funds are needed. This amendment will allow the use of
existing funds available in the Work First Grant to supplement funds in the
Child Care Block Grant. This will allow
more children to be served and the waiting list to be reduced.
In Liston Smith=s absence, Patti
Leonard asked the Board=s permission to
amend the plan. The amendment would
allow the funds to be used in a little different way, spending the money on the
working poor. There is a real need for
day care funds (child care service) in Henderson County. They plan to use a smaller portion of the
funds to help with job retention.
Following
discussion, David Nicholson told the Board that Staff would provide to them an
audit of the program, a full report soon.
Chairman Moyer made
the motion to approve the amendment to the Henderson County Work First Plan for
FY 01 - 03 as set forth, specifically listed under Article 10 of the plan. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
The County Manager
recommended approval of the Amendment to the Henderson County Work First Plan
for FY 01-03.
AIR QUALITY ISSUES
The Environmental
Advisory Committee (EAC) was asked by the Board of Commissioners to study and
make a recommendation on the Smokestack Bill and the Resolution of the
Henderson County Board of Health.
Fielding Lucas,
Chair of the Environmental Advisory Committee discussed air quality issues with
the Board that the Environmental Advisory Committee had been studying. He presented a recommendation to the Board
of Commissioners to support legislation to improve air quality in North
Carolina and a recommendation to support the Board of Health Resolution. The Committee will continue to work on this
and will come back to the Board with a recommendation on how they want to
proceed with monitoring, etc.
The Environmental
Advisory Committee requested that the Board of Commissioners support legislation
at the national and state level to improve air quality in North Carolina,
particularly with respect to contributions made by coal fired utilities and
vehicle emissions.
The EAC also
respectfully requested the Board of Commissioners support the Henderson County
Board of Health Resolution.
The County Manager
recommended the support of the Henderson County Board of Health Resolution.
Following
discussion, Commissioner Gordon made the motion that the Board support the
resolution of the Board of Health. All
voted in favor and the motion carried.
UPDATE ON PENDING
ISSUES
Hospital Revenue
Bonds
David Nicholson
reminded the Board that we have closed on the Pardee financing since the last
time the Board met. Due to the issues
with air travel because of the attack on America on September 11, this closing
was done by mail. The final amount was
$15.3 million and with fees the interest rate for the first week was 2.815%.
Pardee Hospital -
MRI funding
Henderson County
Hospital Corporation recently acquired a second MRI which is now in
service. This equipment has already
noticeably eased scheduling difficulties and allowed the hospital to provide a
better quality of care to patients who are in need of MRI services.
The plan for
acquisition of this MRI has always included the financing of this
purchase. In order to expedite the
provision of this service, the hospital corporation initially paid the purchase
price and continued the process of obtaining the necessary financing. The hospital corporation solicited bids from
interested lenders (twice) and entered into a commitment with Wachovia Leasing
Corporation who was the low bidder, taking into account the interest rate and
applicable expenses. A commitment
letter has been issued and executed and the Installment Purchase Contract has
been tendered to the hospital corporation.
Copies of both documents were provided for the Board=s review.
NCGS 160A-20(el)
requires the county=s approval of this contract. Bill Dunn requested (by letter) the county
commissioners approve this borrowing under the terms as outlined in the
commitment and Contract.
The terms of the
commitment from Wachovia require that this transaction be closed on or before
October 5, 2001, which would be before the Board=s next
meeting. That is why the Board had not
received prior notice of this agenda item.
Traditionally, the
hospital corporation has paid these monies from its reserves and needs to Areimburse@ the reserves as
soon as possible. The hospital
corporation just approved Wachovia as the lender at its meeting on Wednesday,
September 26 and the need for county approval was noted on September 28.
This borrowing was
included in the projected long-term debt figures that were furnished to
BB&T in their consideration of provision of the letter of credit which
secures the bond financing.
Chairman Moyer
asked Ms. Beeker what action the Board needed to take. Ms. Beeker stated that if the Board so
desired, they would just need to issue a consent to the borrowing of the money.
Commissioner
Hawkins made the motion for the Board to approve the borrowing from Wachovia
Leasing. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
Sheriff=s Department Lease
Ms. Beeker
distributed a lease that had already been approved by the lessor. The Sheriff=s Department has an
opportunity to lease about 10 acres of property for use by the Mounted Patrol
Program, basically for the taxes owed.
This amounts to about $700 per year.
The lease is for five years with an option to renew for an additional
five years. The lessor has to remain
responsible for paying the property taxes.
Henderson County has to pay the insurance which will come out of the
Sheriff=s Dept. budget as will the $700.00. No security deposit is required.
Mose Highsmith,
Attorney for the Sheriff=s Department,
introduced Wallace Mooney who is the Director of the Mounted Patrol
Program. Mr. Highsmith stated that this
property is in the Horse Shoe/Etowah area.
It is 10 acres of an approx. 22 acre tract owned by Billie Mullinax. He
explained that the Mounted Patrol plans to build some training rings and use
that area to train their horses for crowd control, etc.
Ms. Beeker stated
that the Sheriff=s Department will implement an acceptable use
policy for the Mounted Patrol to make sure that the activities conducted on the
property would be in accordance with their mission and would be insurable.
Mr. Mooney
distributed a policy statement on what they do with the horses in the program.
He explained that a horse and rider has to be certified once a year.
Commissioner Gordon
made the motion to approve the lease and to send a letter to Mr. Mullinax
thanking him for making his property available. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
INFORMAL PUBLIC
INPUT
1. Carol Kauppert - Ms. Kauppert spoke in reference to the
draft ordinance on the agenda APublic
Demonstration Ordinance. Tuesday she
inquired as to whom to speak to about such an ordinance. She talked with Carey McLelland who informed
her we didn=t have such an ordinance but there would be
discussion of one on tonight=s agenda and
possible adoption. Ms. Kauppert felt that this had been pushed through quickly.
Angela Beeker
explained that if the Board chose to adopt this ordinance this evening, they
could do so. No public hearing is required. It would be a police powers ordinance.
Ms. Kauppert
questioned the 10 day permit period since she had originally inquired on
Tuesday. Ms. Beeker explained that
could be changed Afor good cause@. Ms. Beeker also informed Ms. Kauppert that
she would be glad to answer any of her questions following the meeting.
Update on State
Budget
David Nicholson
informed the Board that the State had final agreement on a set of revenue
enhancements which include both sales tax and an increase in some of the income
taxes across the county. The
reimbursements and the issue of the half cent sales tax were of particular
interest. The State approved a
state-wide half cent sales tax which goes into effect October 15, it is not a
local option sales tax. However, it has
a sunset at the end of June 2003. The
State sales tax will go away then and the Board will have the option prior to
April of that year to continue it on as a local option sales tax. The State wanted to get this in place
quickly so they put the State sales tax in effect and continue reimbursements,
the intangibles tax reimbursement and the inventory tax reimbursement as well
as the homestead exemption and the sales tax on food stamps. The State will continue to keep those
reimbursements in the next couple of year=s budgets and then
turn around the following year and eliminate the reimbursements and replace
them with a local option sales tax. Mr.
Nicholson explained that this was done just to get this tax in place as quickly
as the State could.
Carey McLelland had
informed Mr. Nicholson that last Friday, Henderson County got a wire transfer
of $611,223.44 for half of the inventory tax. Mr. Nicholson assumes that in
April we will get the other half.
The Board has until
April of 2003 to decide about the local option sales tax. Mr. Nicholson will distribute any
information he gets from the NC Association of County Commissioners to the
Board as he gets it.
Bid Process -
Architectural Firm - Historic Courthouse
Commissioner Ward
had asked if we were following bid compliance for the work on the old
courthouse.
Mr. Nicholson
stated that we have followed the rules and procedures that we had in effect
back in the 1990s. We are still working
under that contract. The project had
just been put on hold for some time.
That contract is only for the footings of the current building
(footprint). An addition may have to be
an amendment to the contract, Staff will research that.
Ms. Beeker was
asked for her legal opinion on this.
She stated that the Board has not approved anything finally with respect
to the historic courthouse. It is still
being considered and under discussion.
At the point in time that the Board does vote, if they decide to stick
with the historic courthouse proper, then there is a contract. If the Board decides to go with the
addition, she would recommend updating the contract and that the Board exempt
themselves from any requirement for going out for bids on the new addition. She felt that going out for qualifications
on the new pieces would end up costing much more money because we would have to
pay a new architect to get up to speed and then could have two architects who
would have to correlate and work together. Legally the Board could go out for
proposal on the new piece if they choose to.
IMPORTANT DATES
Change the date of
the mid-November Commissioners= meeting
Chairman Moyer
reminded the Board that the mid-November meeting is scheduled for the day
before Thanksgiving. Some people go
away for the holiday. There was some
discussion of changing that date either one week earlier or one week later and
November 14 was the suggested date.
Chairman Moyer made
the motion to change the date of the regularly scheduled meeting from
Wednesday, November 21 at 9:00 a.m. to Wednesday, November 14 at 9:00 a.m. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Set Public Hearing
on Rezoning Application #R-03-01 (OU to I-2)
Hollabrook Farms, A
Partnership, Applicant
Hollabrook Farms, A
Partnership, had submitted an application requesting that the County rezone a
222.31 +/- acre parcel from OU (Open Use) zoning to an I-2 (General Industrial)
zoning district. The parcel proposed
for rezoning is located along Butler Bridge Road, just east of the intersection
of Butler Bridge and Jeffress roads, and lying on the eastern bank of the
French Broad River and the northern bank of Mud Creek.
The Henderson
County Planning Board reviewed the application at its meeting on Tuesday,
September 25, 2001 and voted to send the Board of Commissioners a favorable
recommendation on the request to rezone the property from OU to I-2. Before taking action on the application, the
Board of Commissioners must hold a public hearing. Staff proposed that the hearing be scheduled for Monday, November
5, at 7:00 p.m.
Commissioner Ward
made the motion to set the public hearing for Monday, November 5 at 7:00
p.m. All voted in favor and the motion
carried.
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
TO THE HENDERSON COUNTY SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE
At its retreat on
September 14, 2001, the Henderson County Planning Board voted to send the Board
of Commissioners a favorable recommendation on a set of three proposed
amendments to the County Subdivision
Ordinance.
Most of Proposed
Amendment 1 involves modifications of an amendment related to Adriveways@ that was part of a
set of amendments the Planning Board sent to the Board of Commissioners last
year. The Commissioners did not adopt
the Adriveway@ amendment, rather
they referred it to the Planning Board for additional work. A new component of Amendment 1 involves the
addition of standards for one-way roads.
Proposed Amendment 2, which clarifies the road standards applicable to minor subdivisions of 3 or fewer lots,
was initiated by staff and the Planning Board to help eliminate interpretation
questions. Proposed Amendment 3
clarifies an amendment the Subdivision Ordinance adopted in November of 2000
regarding construction standards for bridges.
It also requires the submission of an engineer=s certification
that a bridge has been constructed according to plans before the County signs a
final plat or releases an improvement guarantee.
The Board of
Commissioners must hold a public hearing prior to taking action on amendments
to the Subdivision Ordinance. At this time, Staff requested that the
Board determine whether it wants to schedule a workshop on the proposed
amendments prior to scheduling a hearing or if it wants to schedule both a
workshop and a hearing. If the Board
decides to schedule a public hearing, the earliest regular evening meeting at which
it could be held, due to notice requirements, would be Monday, November 5,
2001, at 7:00 p.m.
The Board had some
discussions and decided they would prefer to have a workshop prior to the
public hearing. The Board will set a
date at a later time. Mr. Nicholson
asked the Clerk to list this on the bottom of the AImportant Dates
Calendar@.
Commissioner
Hawkins raised the question of a need for the Board of Commissioners to meet
with the Board of Education to discuss class sizes, teachers= aides and similar
issues. The State Budget will have a
direct effect on them and these issues.
Mr. Nicholson will speak with Dr. Burnham and try to get a date or
something to bring back to this Board.
DRAFT PUBLIC
DEMONSTRATION ORDINANCE
From time to time
the County is approached by groups wishing to utilize County property to stage
public demonstrations. The Board was
given a draft ordinance that they could review and consider for adoption. This ordinance attempts to regulate the
time, place, and manner in which public demonstrations will be permitted on
County property.
Adoption of this
draft ordinance could be accomplished as an exercise of the police powers
granted to the County. In order for it to pass on its first reading the vote of
the Board would need to be unanimous.
Ms. Beeker
distributed a summary of the Proposed Public Demonstration Ordinance. She informed the Board that this ordinance
is a compilation of four or five different ordinances from across the nation as
well as some of her own ideas.
Ms. Beeker reviewed
the Ordinance with the Board. The Board
of Commissioners controls county property and this ordinance would control
activities on county property. The
Board can regulate time, place, and manner for public demonstrations. There are very few instances where the Board
can regulate content; therefore, this ordinance does not attempt to regulate
content with one small exception.
The County Manager
is the administrator of the ordinance.
The Ordinance requires a permit. A law enforcement officer is required
at a public demonstration, more than one if Mr. Nicholson deems necessary. The applicant for the permit is the
responsible party and must pay any additional costs incurred by the County,
such as additional law enforcement or any clean up costs.
She reviewed the
restrictions on the public demonstration:
1.
Must be conducted in a peaceable manner
2.
Limited to area permitted
3.
Cannot interfere with normal operations of county government
4.
Cannot interfere or impede provision of emergency and public safety
services
5.
No weapons allowed
6.
No vicious animals allowed
7.
No obscenity could be used
If a permit is
denied there are a couple of options available in the ordinance. The permit may be revoked if:
1.
Terms of permit or approved application violated
2.
Public disaster or public emergency
3.
Where necessary to protect public safety
She explained that
the law enforcement officer on site would have the authority to order dispersal
of the demonstration. Adverse decisions
are appealable to the Board of Commissioners.
She did anticipate
that there would need to be amendments to the ordinance in the future.
There was much
discussion about the proposed $200 fee and the fact that they felt it was
excessive. Costs would directly depend
on the length of the demonstration, an hour is one thing but a 8 - 10 hour
demonstration would be much more expensive.
Following
discussion, Chairman Moyer made the motion to approve the Ordinance with
the $25 filing fee, effective today,
and authorize Mr. Nicholson to estimate other costs. Part of the motion was for
Staff to look into the fee arrangement to see if there were better ways to
handle it. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
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 reason:
1.(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.
Chairman Moyer 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.
Attest:
Elizabeth
W. Corn, Clerk to the Board
William L. Moyer, Chairman