STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

COUNTY OF HENDERSON MARCH 11, 2002

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners met on Monday, March 11, 2002 at 5:30 p.m. in the Commissioners= Meeting Room of the Henderson County Office Building at 100 North King Street, Hendersonville, NC. The regularly scheduled meeting for March 4, 2002 was moved to this date to accommodate attendance of Chairman Moyer, Commissioner Messer and County Manager David E. Nicholson at the NACo Conference in Washington, D.C.

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

Staff present was Finance Director Carey McLelland, Planning Director Karen C. Smith, Fire Marshal/Emergency Management Coordinator Rocky D. Hyder, Assistant County Attorney Jennifer O. Jackson, and Assistant to the County Manager Selena D. Coffey.

Absent was Public Information Officer Chris S. Coulson. Deputy Clerk\Volunteer Coordinator Amy Brantley performed the video recording of the meeting.

WELCOME\CALL TO ORDER

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

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Commissioner Grady Hawkins led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.

INVOCATION

County Manager David E. Nicholson gave the invocation.

DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT OF AGENDA

Chairman Moyer made a motion to move the quasi-judicial public hearing on the application for Statutory Vested Rights, Final Phase of Lakewood RV Resort, Application #VR-02-01 by Howard M. George to begin after the public hearing on Economic Development Incentives-Meritor Heavy Vehicle Systems, LLC. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Under Discussion Items, Chairman Moyer added Item A, Update on the legislative conference in Washington, D.C.; added Item B, Draft LGCCA Resolution on State=s financial status for the Board=s consideration; added Item C, Discussion on Blue Cross Blue Shield becoming a profit-making entity and the Commissioners= recommended nominee for the regional board; and Item D, Update on the Western North Carolina Caucus.

Commissioner Ward requested that the Chairman write a letter to the Assessor inviting him to the next Commissioners= meeting to provide the Board with a quarterly update on the Assessor=s administration. He further requested that the Assessor pull ten random assessments since this is a reassessment year. Commissioner Ward thought the Board should be aware of what the assessment values in the County are going to be. Commissioner Ward had randomly pulled five

or six property assessments and based on those properties, it appeared there would be a huge tax increase for the citizens and he wanted to hear Mr. Mitchum=s opinion about that situation. If indeed there will be a huge tax increase, he wanted the citizens to be forewarned or see exactly what formula the assessments would be using.

Other Board members too expressed an interest in discussing the situation with Mr. Mitchum.

Chairman Moyer stated that the Assessor would be invited to the next meeting and he would give Mr. Mitchum an overview of some of the issues that the Board wanted to talk about or has interest in.

Chairman Moyer made a motion to approve the agenda with those changes. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

CONSENT AGENDA

Chairman Moyer reminded the Board that he had clarified a provision stated in the minutes for the February 4^th^{meeting and had provided that information to the Board
for its consideration.}

^{Commissioner Hawkins requested to pull Item J,
Proclamation-March for Meals for comment.}

^{County Manager David E. Nicholson noted that Item E,
Public Records disposal and destruction, was for EMS. Four records on the chart accompanying the agenda item were for
1981 through 1999. Mr. Nicholson
requested that the Board change that record to show through 1998 as opposed to
1999 to clarify a whole year under the property schedule. Chairman Moyer expressed concern that with
the change in EMS mileage rates there could arise a need for the old data to
support a claim. Mr. Nicholson replied
that we would still have three years of information but that was a valid point
and he would check on that situation.}

^{Chairman Moyer made a motion to approve Items A
through I with the changes to the EMS records as requested. All voted in favor and the motion carried.}

^{The Consent Agenda consisted of the following:}

^Minutes

^{Minutes were presented for the following Commissioners
meetings:}

^{January 16, 2002, regular meeting; February 4, 2002,
regular meeting; February 12, 2002, special called meeting; and February 14,
2002, special called meeting.}

^{Tax Collectors Report}

^{Tax Collector Terry F. Lyda presented the tax
report. Deputy Tax Collector Darlene B.
Burgess presented the report on the status of delinquent tax collections to
date.}

^{Financial Report-January 2002; Cash Balance
Report-January 2002}

^{Finance Director Carey McLelland presented these
reports for the Board}⁼^{s information only. No Board
action was required.}

^{Henderson County Public Schools Financial Report-January
2002}

^{Finance Director Carey McLelland presented this report
for the Board}⁼^{s information only.
No Board action was required.}

^{Public Records Disposal Request and Destruction Log}

^{EMS Director Terry Layne submitted a request to
destroy some old EMS records that dated 1981 to 1999. The date was changed to 1998 as requested by Mr. Nicholson
earlier in the meeting.}

^{Waterline Extension(s)}

^{The City of Hendersonville had presented proposed
waterline extensions for French Broad Baptist Church; Sunset Ridge; Cummings
Cove Wexford Neighborhood and Morgan Business Park.}

^{Approval of Closed Session Minutes}

^{The Board was requested to adopt the following motion:}

^{Motion: The
following closed session minutes are hereby approved and shall be deemed sealed
as provided by Section 11-6 of the Henderson County Code:}

^{1. Minutes for
the closed sessions held on October 17, 2001, November 5, 2001, November 6,
2001, and November 14, 2001 as presented and revised during the closed session
of February 20, 2002. The Clerk is authorized
to correct any typographical errors discovered subsequent to the February 20,
2002 closed session.}

^{Property Addressing Report}

^{The Monthly Property Addressing Report was presented
for the Board}⁼^{s information only.
No Board action was required.}

^{CJPP-FY03 Grant Request}

^{Staff presented a request on behalf of the Criminal
Justice Partnership Program (CJPP) for a State grant to fund a resource Center
for targeted convicted offenders and a pre-trial release program. Staff further recommended that the Board
approve the filing of the CJPP grant application with stipulations that should
the program not be fully funded, the program would be adjusted within the State
funds allocated.}

^{PROCLAMATION-}^A^{March for Meals}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins read a proposed proclamation by
the Board of Commissioners proclaiming the month of March as}^A^{March for Meals}^@^{and proclaimed March 23, 2002 as Henderson County}⁼^{s March for Meals day. Commissioner Hawkins made a motion for the Board to approve that
proclamation. All voted in favor and
the motion carried.}

^NOMINATIONS

^{Notification of Vacancies}

^{Chairman Moyer advised the Board of these vacancies:}

^{1. Community
Child Protection Team - 1 vacancy. Position #4 due to resignation.}

^{2. Planning
Board, Fletcher 1- vacancy. Position #5 due to expiring term}

^{3. Solid
Waste Advisory Committee - 3 vacancies.
Positions #2, 5 and 9 due to expiring terms.}

^{4. Planning
Board, Henderson County - 1 vacancy.
Position #2 due to resignation.}

^{5. Zoning
Board of Adjustment, Hendersonville City - 1 vacancy.}

^{Chairman Moyer reminded the Board a letter was
received from the Town of Fletcher asking that Duane Gentle be
reappointed. Commissioner Ward made a
motion to suspend the rules and reappoint Mr. Gentle to the Fletcher Planning
Board. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.}

^NOMINATIONS

^{Equalization and Review B 2 vacancies-Positions 7 and
8}

^{There were no nominations so these vacancies were
rolled to the next meeting.}

^{Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPC) B 5 vacancies}

^{Positions 4, 9, 10 and 12 were due to
resignations. Position # 26 was due to
Legislative change.}

^{Commissioner Messer nominated Christopher Smith for
position # 9 and Katherine Kirtley for position #12. Commissioner Ward made a motion to make those appointments for
stated positions. There were no further
nominations. All voted in favor and the
motion carried. The three remaining
vacancies were rolled to the next meeting.}

^{Henderson County Board of Health B 2 vacancies}

^{Positions 3 and 5 were due to expiring terms. There were no nominations so these vacancies
were rolled to the next meeting.}

^{Nursing/Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee B
8 vacancies}

^{Positions 2, 3, 7,12, 13, 16, and 18-Terms were due to
expire in 2002. Position #4 was due to
resignation. Chairman Moyer nominated
Joy Davenport for position # 7, Wanda Weiss for position # 16 and Marshall
Gravely for position # 4. There were no
further nominations. Commissioner Ward
made a motion to suspend the rules and appoint those individuals to the stated
positions. All voted in favor and the
motion carried. The five remaining
vacancies were rolled to the next meeting.}

^{Western Carolina Community Action B 1 vacancy}

^{Position 2 was due to resignation. There were no nominations so this vacancy
was rolled to the next meeting.}

^{STAFF REPORTS}

^{Fiscal Year 2001-2002 Budget Follow Up}

^{County Manager David E. Nicholson reminded the Board
at the February 20th meeting, the Board requested him to come back with a
detailed breakdown on any departmental line items that he was considering to
bring the Fiscal Year 2001-2002 Budget in balance due to the actions by the
Governor. Mr. Nicholson had provided
that information to the Board in a memo dated March 6, 2002.}

^{Commissioner Messer asked when the Economic
Development Incentive Agreement the County had with Raflatac for $47,268 went
into effect. Mr. Nicholson replied it
would go into effect next fiscal year.
Ms. Beeker further expounded that the first payment would be due
December 31st of this year because it}⁼^{s structured around when Rafalatac provided
certification that they have met certain requirements. Since that certification was not received
before December 31st of last year, the first payment will now be due December
31st of this year and it will actually be more than the $47,268 listed on Mr.
Nicholson}⁼^{s memo. Ms.
Beeker thought that amount would be $225,000.
Ms. Beeker assured the Board that Rafalatac would get their money.}

^{In a memo to the Board, Mr. Nicholson informed the
Commissioners that when he appointed Terry Layne as EMS Director, Mr. Layne
presented a proposal for a reorganization and change of responsibilities within
EMS. It was Mr. Layne}⁼^{s suggestion, and Mr. Nicholson concurred, that with
the new responsibilities Mr. Layne was assigning to the shift supervisors and
to the training officer that the position of Assistant EMS Director could be
eliminated. Mr. Layne formerly held
that position. That resulted in a cost
savings of $14,000.}

^{Commissioner Ward noted a lot of maintenance and
repair had been eliminated. He asked if
that was an over budgeted item or was it something Mr. Nicholson hoped to keep
for unexpected expenses. Mr. Nicholson replied there was a little bit of both
in that some were slightly over budgeted to guard against any un-projected
expenses. He had not heard of any
maintenance being postponed but if he learned of that need, he would release
the money for that need. Clearly,
maintenance needs would continue to be met.}

^{The amount of $4,000 reduction in the Assessor}⁼^{s budget resulted because Mr. Mitchum believes there
needs to be some reduction in the overtime and comp. time budgeted for his
Department.}

^{Mr. Nicholson explained the $15,000 reduction for the
Sheriff}⁼^{s Department was originally slated for the Drug
Enforcement program. That was money set
up in the budget for buy monies but the Sheriff had been able to use Federal
forfeitures to cover those costs and thereby the Sheriff would not have to
spend the County}⁼^{s
funds. The reduction of $15,000 in
Departmental Supplies was the same case.}

^{Mr. Nicholson explained the $15,000 savings under the
Recreation Department was due to the elimination of the Dana Summer Camp.}

^{UPDATE ON NACo Legislative Conference in Washington,
D.C.}

^{Chairman Moyer, Commissioner Messer and Mr. Nicholson
attended the NACo Conference in Washington, D.C. the first week of March. While there, they met with the North
Carolina delegation to discuss the budget situation and some of the concerns
about what the state organization was doing and not doing. Chairman Moyer felt that most of the
counties recognize that unless pressure is put on the state, both the Governor
and the legislature, to take action this situation is not going to be
resolved. Most people who have looked
at it from the counties standpoint believe the situation is going to be even
worse next year.}

^{Commissioner Messer noted that several counties in the
State are in worse condition than Henderson County. The municipalities are also putting pressure on State
representatives. The North Carolina delegation encouraged counties to continue
to talk with their state representatives about the situation and hopefully
something will break like it did last year.}

^{Commissioner Hawkins suggested the Board consider
joining a lawsuit against the Governor for taking our money illegally. He further stated the Governor, even when he
was Attorney General, defied the legislature and the laws and there}⁼^{s no reason to tolerate the inconvenience that the
citizens of this county and all 100 counties have had to put up with because
the Governor can}⁼^{t
balance the budget.}

^{Chairman Moyer sent a letter to the State as requested
by the Board at its last meeting and requested a special meeting of the counties.}

^{Mr. Nicholson advised that per Ron Aycock, Executive
Director of the County Commissioners Association, during the short session of
the General Assembly, there will be two days for the County Commissioners and
City Councils to address their concerns on this situation.}

^{Mr. Nicholson learned at the NACo Conference that a
provision was put in on the House side of the budget that the Governor could
not take funds without consulting with the members of the General
Assembly. He reminded the Board that
county governments were created by the General Assembly to serve the General
Assembly.}

^{ARTICLE 44 SALES TAX}

^{Mr. Nicholson stated that last October, the sales tax
was increased across the State by a half cent going from 6 cents per dollar up
to 6.5 cents per dollar. That was done
as part of a deal to insure that local governments would get the reimbursements
that are called for by the state budget act.
The General Assembly made it statewide for the first year and by July
1st of 2003, it will then become a local sales tax but the counties have to
levy it. As part of that, counties will
lose the inventory reimbursements, the intangible tax reimbursements, and the
elderly Homestead Act exemption reimbursements. This is not an additional sales tax. It}⁼^{s
just transferring that additional half-cent over to County government. At the Washington meeting, counties were
urged to consider levying this tax.
There is discussion among General Assembly about the possibility of
changing this half-cent sales tax to July 1st of 2002. A draft resolution from the North Carolina
County Commissioners Association was presented to the Board for its
consideration. The Association hoped to
get this resolution in place before the General Assembly meets again and
decides it needs those monies next year and the following year.}

^{According to the last statistical information that was
sent out our sales tax compared to the reimbursements netted a gain of $211,000.
More importantly, it}⁼^{s a growing revenue. In four
years, that $200,000 becomes $750,000.
So it gives us another revenue to be able to address our community}⁼^{s needs.}

^{Mr. Nicholson recommended the Board set a public
hearing on this matter for April 17, 2002 at 11:00 a.m. to levy this 2 cent
sales tax in July 2002 as opposed to July 2003.}

^{Chairman Moyer stated that the counties represented at
the NACo conference voted unanimously to adopt the resolution with the feeling
that if a resolution was adopted and implemented in accordance with the duly adopted
and enacted law with clear provisions that would make it much more difficult
for the Governor and legislature to reverse course.}

^{Ms. Beeker advised the Board if it chose to move the
effective date for the half-cent sales tax to July 1, 2002 rather than levying
it in July, 2003 that should be included in the notice of the public hearing
and the resolution.}

^{Chairman Moyer made a motion to set a date for the
required public hearing for the Article 44 Sales Tax for April 17, 2002 and
that notice to say that the effective date would be either the earlier of July
1, 2003 or such earlier date as the legislature gives us permission to
implement the 2 cent sales tax. There
was no further discussion. All voted in
favor and the motion carried.}

^{LGCCA RESOLUTION}

^{Mr. Nicholson read a draft resolution from the LGCCA
presented to the Board for its consideration.
The resolution urged Governor Easley to release all funds that are being
held by the State to the local governments; requested assurance from the
Governor and the members of the General Assembly that all funds due to the
local governments during Fiscal Year 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 would be fully
funded; and that a dialogue between the local governments and the State be held
concerning the issue of home rule for local governments.}

^{Chairman Moyer made a motion to adopt the resolution
and send it to the other local governments and to the LGCCA for consideration
and hopefully adoption so there would be an united effort on this matter. There was no further discussion. All voted in favor and the motion
carried.}

^{STANDARDIZED FIRE PROTECTION CONTRACTS}

^{Fire Marshal/Emergency Management Coordinator Rocky D.
Hyder explained to the Board this was a standardized contract that clearly
defines the role and the job that our fire departments provide for the citizens
of this county.}

^{Chairman Moyer made a motion to approve the
standardized contract and authorize the County Manager to execute such
contracts, filling in the appropriate blanks.}

^{Mr. Hyder noted that the Legal Department had advised
that three words were to be added to line six of paragraph 21, Indemnity
Agreement, before the contract is adopted.
The line should read, ÿ"procure all insurance coverage}⁼^{s stated in paragraphs one, two, six and sevenÿ}^@^It⁼^{s inferred in the document that six and seven would be required as
well. Paragraph six states that the
fire department names the County as an additional insured for liability
purposes only. Paragraph seven makes
sure the fire departments have a blanket fidelity bond to cover the revenues
that they get from the county each year, which is a standard business practice
as well. The indemnity agreement
inferred that would be the case but Mr. Hyder felt it needed more
clarification.}

^{Mr. Hyder noted the fire departments would have to
individually approve the standardized contract but he hoped it would be in
effect at the beginning of this fiscal year.}

^{Chairman Moyer amended his motion to include that
amendment in wording.}

^{Chairman Moyer called for a vote on the motion he made
earlier with the change to paragraph 21 in the indemnity agreement. All voted in favor of that motion as amended
and the motion carried.}

^{Mr. Hyder further explained the fire and rescue
advisory committee developed a new approach for developing the budgets for the
fire departments. Information was
gathered from each department about what specific line items they}⁼^{ve already budgeted and included into a database. That information could then be utilized by
the fire departments in the budget process to determine what the appropriate
amount of funding would be for each particular line item. That will provide a much better budget
review process with the fire and rescue advisory committee this year.}

^{INFORMAL PUBLIC COMMENTS}

^{Margo Nagel, 202 Scarlet Oak Lane}^{-Ms. Nagel distributed printed material to the
Commissioners. Ms. Nagel urged the
Board to evaluate the needs of the entire county population rather than just
the retiree population or special interests groups. The younger generation, who
is our future, has no voice in local government. To retain the younger generation, better jobs than work in the
fast food industry, affordable housing, and activities for the younger citizens
are needed for them.}

^{CLOSED SESSION}

^{Chairman Moyer made a motion 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) (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 a motion to go out of Closed
Session. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.}

^{QUASI-JUDICIAL PUBLIC HEARING-Application for a
Special Use Permit and Related Variance for a Proposed Baseball
Complex-Application #SP-01-04 by Blue Ridge Community College}

^{Chairman Moyer made a motion that the hearing be
canceled for this date. It would
probably be rescheduled for a later date.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.}

^{PUBLIC HEARING-on Economic Development
Incentives-Meritor Heavy Vehicle Systems, LLC}

^{Commissioner Ward made a motion to go into the public
hearing on economic development incentives for Meritor Heavy Vehicle
Systems. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.}

^{Scott Hamilton, Vice President of Economic Development
of the Committee of 100 of the Greater Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce,
reminded the Board that one of the top priorities of the Committee of 100 is to
work with our existing industry for their retention and their expansion. This public hearing was for economic
development incentives for Arvin-Meritor as they consider the purchasing of
machinery and equipment for their facility located in the Fletcher area. Also in attendance was Meredith Elliott, the
immediate past chair of the Chamber of Commerce, President of the Chamber Bob
Williford, Western Regional Manager from the North Carolina Department of
Commerce Ronnie James, and the Vice-President of Industrial Marketing with
AdvantageWest Sam Powers to support this request for Arvin-Meritor for this
economic incentive. Mr. Hamilton
introduced John Hawk with Arvin-Meritor and Fred Harbison also with
Arvin-Meritor to talk with the Board about their project, and what}⁼^{s proposed for the facility in Henderson County.}

^{Mr. Hawk explained the background of Arvin-Mertior,
formerly Rockwell in Henderson County. Arvin-Meritor in Henderson County is a
partnership that works for the employees for Arvin-Meritor and for the citizens
of Henderson County as well as the company. The relationship began twenty years
ago when Rockwell invested a hundred million dollars in the facility in
Fletcher and since that time, it has flourished. Additional investments were made that totaled two hundred
nineteen million dollars. These
investments allowed both the County and Arvin-Meritor to flourish. New investment is the right thing for
employees. It keeps good paying jobs in
Henderson County; it results in a positive revenue stream for the County. The pay rate is higher than ten percent of
the median wage in the County. The
investment that is proposed increases the tax base of that facility for years
to come resulting in roughly a hundred fifteen thousand dollars additional
taxes paid to the County. At a time of
downsizing in manufacturing in Western North Carolina, this would be a good
opportunity to continue the partnership and help an existing high paying
taxpayer.}

^{Arvin-Meritor is a good corporate citizen. It supports numerous charity and civic
organizations. The Fletcher facility is
a world-scale, world-class organization.
Meritor received the North Carolina Department Safety award for
seventeen consecutive years. It is also
ISO 9001 certified, QS 9000 certified, and ISO 14,000 certified which is the
environmental certification. It is a clean facility being recognized by the
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources as a small
quantity generator.}

^{The Fletcher facility employs 620 employees and is the
hub of the North American axle business for Meritor. It supports additional plants, one of which is a front axle
assembly plant in Arden. During the
most recent downturn in the truck market, the Fletcher facility was able to
bring work back to the Fletcher facility from Mexico by closing the Mexico axle
assembly facility. Also Meritor brought
work back from a facility in Frankfurt, Kentucky because the Fletcher facility
is a low-cost, high quality producer of axles.}

^{Mr. Harbison explained that the housing program or the
housing line that Meritor was considering putting in represents a twenty-one to
twenty-two million dollar investment of the total program. It would have specialized state-of-the art
robotic welding equipment and CNC machining equipment for the production of
housings. Most of the equipment to be
purchased would be one of a kind type of equipment and is specialized due to
the nature of the process that Meritor uses.
This line would increase the housing capacity at the Fletcher facility
by twenty-five to thirty percent and decrease their dependence on other sources
of housings. Currently, housings are
purchased from Mexico, Brazil and Turkey.
You don}⁼^{t often hear today that manufacturers are reducing
their dependence on off-shore sources of components, but Meritor is proud to
say they are. Meritor hopes to have the
line fully operational in about a year from now.}

^{As previously announced, the final axle assembly is
moving to the Forest City facility to make room for this additional
equipment. This will preserve about
thirty jobs by retraining employees currently assigned to the final axle
assembly to work in the housing area at the Fletcher facility.}

^{Meritor has had a great partnership with Henderson
County within the past twenty years growing the business well beyond the
original expectations of Meritor.
Meritor is genuinely excited about furthering this partnership and asked
for the Commissioners support on this project.}

^{Chairman Moyer stated the Board was certainly pleased
to have Meritor in the County and pleased to be a partner with them. We are also pleased the new housing division
would be placed here and coming from off-shore and other places. Meritor has been a good citizen of the
community and we are very pleased to that Meritor would be staying in the
county.}

^{Mr. James thanked the Board for the opportunity to
speak on behalf of Arvin-Meritor. He
had been associated with them for over two years and had found them to be
excellent citizens of the community and great people to do business with. The North Carolina Department of Commerce
was very pleased that Meritor was considering this expansion in Henderson
County and looks forward to a long, long experience with Arvin-Meritor. Mr. James, on behalf of the NC Department of
Commerce, strongly urged the Board to consider and support this request.}

^{Public Input}

^{No one had signed up for public comment during this
public hearing.}

^{Chairman Moyer thanked Mr. Hamilton on behalf of the
Board for retaining or bringing jobs to the County.}

^{Commissioner Hawkins made a motion to go out of the
public hearing. All voted in favor and
the motion carried. Chairman Moyer
adjourned the public hearing.}

^{Ms. Beeker informed the Board of six minor corrections
to the agreement. She noted the name is
correct as stated in the contract as Meritor Heavy Systems, LLC. In the opening paragrah, the contract
referred to Meritor as a Delaware corporation but Ms. Beeker noted the contract
should state Limited Liability Company, LLC, and the same for the second
whereas clause.}

^{In paragraph nine, page five at the top of the page,
the last full line of that paragraph stated that in the event that the
agreement is terminated, the County shall have no further obligation hereunder,
but it should say neither party shall have any further obligation hereunder.}

^{The same thing applied in paragraph number ten, the
last full line where it says a portion thereof which has actually been paid to
Meritor. Ms. Beeker explained if
Meritor had to refund any monies that were paid, the agreement would
terminate. Therefore, the wording was
amended to state neither party shall have any further obligation hereunder
after the word Meritor.}

^{In paragraph fifteen where the contract stated that
Meritor could not assign the agreement without the Board}⁼^{s consent, Meritor
had requested text to be added to state, which consent shall not be
unreasonably withheld.}

^{Ms. Beeker noted a typographical error in paragraph
number 12 and stated the words all obligations were in that paragraph twice and
the duplicate wording should be deleted.
Another error was noted in the signature line on page eight; the period
is to be deleted after LLC.}

^{Commissioner Hawkins made a motion that the contract
be approved as presented with the additions that the County Attorney put
forth. Chairman Moyer added to the
motion that the Board would be authorized to execute and deliver the
agreement. Commissioner Hawkins
accepted the amendment to his motion.
All voted in favor of that motion and the motion carried.}

^{Chairman Moyer thanked Meritor for its confidence in
the County and stated the Board certainly had confidence in Meritor and
extended to Meritor best wishes for its continued success.}

^{QUASI-JUDICAL PUBLIC HEARING-Application for Statutory
Vested Rights, Final Phase of Lakewood RV Resort, Application #VR-02-01 by
Howard M. George}

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{We continue the quasi-judicial public hearing with
respect to application for statutory vested rights, the final phase of Lakewood
RV Resort which we had begun at an earlier date and we}⁼^{ll continue that.
All the parties have been sworn and since we}⁼^{re continuing the hearing, there is no reason to swear
anybody, right?}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{Right. I would
make a motion to go back into that public hearing, Mr. Chairman.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{To reopen it or to.}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{To reopen it, yes sir.}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^{So moved.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{All in favor say aye.}^@^{All voted in
favor and the motion carried.}^A^{We were at the stage last time where we had all of the
direct evidence submitted and we were going to move into the rebuttal evidence
stage. I will ask is anyone present for
this hearing that wanted to be a party that was not a party as of the last
hearing? Good, okay. We have three parties, Mr. George, Alan Henderson and Ruby King that
were the parties of record last time and they will continue to be the parties
of record today. With respect to the
rebuttal evidence, we had a number of items that were open that people have
requested additional information. Does
it matter who we start with, Angie?}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{Do you have any preference? Usually you leave it up to the petitioner to choose as to whether
you would wish to go first or last.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Ok right go ahead.
This is Lex Veazey, council for petitioner.}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{We do have a little rebuttal evidence that we}⁼^{d like to submit to the Commissioners. There was a question about how emergency
vehicles could turn around in this development. We do have some more specific mapping survey work that I}⁼^{ve submitted to Karen Smith, a copy, and I}⁼^{d like to submit this to the Commissioners to look at
as far as how the end of the dead end roads in the development vehicles can be
turned around. This more specific
survey work, more detailed survey work, was done by Patterson and Patterson,
William Patterson and Paul Patterson who are the surveyors and engineers who
are here in the room with us today. We
also have, there was some question about the, that was submitted by Karen Smith
I believe, regarding the location of the floodplain.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Lex, before you leave that, do you have copies of that
for us and has Rocky been given, Mr. Hyder, been given a copy of this to take a
look at? And obviously the other
parties need to receive it.}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{Yes sir I do.
I have Paul Patterson here who will testify to the accuracy of this
proposal. Mr. Patterson, is this the more
detailed survey work showing turnaround areas and so forth at the end of the
dead end streets in the development?}^@

^{Mr. Patterson:}^A^{Yes it is.}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{Okay. I}⁼^{d like to submit that into evidence.}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^{What does the hash mark represent on that?}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{Those are gravel drives where vehicles can be
turnaround. They are partly the
driveway into each lot and that}⁼^{s how they will appear once the development is completed. What they can do, the vehicles can pull in
there, back out with relative ease, as I understand it.}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^{Is the solid shaded area the hard stands for the.}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{That is the proposed hard surface, yes for the street
itself and these are more driveways and turnarounds on the lots themselves, the
diagonal specified areas. And you}⁼^{ll notice there is one more dead end road that}⁼^{s pretty short.
It}⁼^{s about seventy-eight feet. There}⁼^{ll
be a similar turnaround at the end of that for emergency vehicles, fire trucks,
ambulances, etc., rescue squad vehicles.}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^{On the lot for seven and ten that you had up a minute
ago was that fourteen feet on either side or. I can see four, is that
fourteen?.}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{Which dimension are you looking for?}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:
AOn the map you}⁼^{ve got like a center line, like a center line down off the road and
then on either side of it, it looks like you}⁼^{ve got fourteen.
Is that gravel mount?.}^@

^{Mr. Patterson:}^A^That⁼^{s just the full dimension. It}⁼^{d probably be ten to twelve foot wide.}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^There⁼^{s not twenty-eight foot indicated there. It}⁼^{s
just fourteen?}^@

^{Mr. Patterson:}^A^{The total width would probably be twenty to
twenty-two, something like that.}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{And of course, this is probably better than most
residential driveways have as far as turnaround because you have a windy,
driveway sometimes, very narrow so we feel like this is a improvement over the
normal subdivision turnaround areas.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Any further questions on this at this time? All right, go on to you next point, Lex}^@^.

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{We would also like to submit a more detailed map that
was done by Patterson, Patterson surveyors showing the flood plain area. There was some question about how far the
hundred-year floodplain came onto the property and according to this map you
can see that it}⁼^{s on
either side of the creek. The tax
computer map is inaccurate in that it shows it all on one side of the creek
onto our property. The creek on the
northeast edge of the development is basically the dividing line between the
development property and the property northeast of that and I}⁼^{d like to show this to the Pattersons. Is this relatively accurate, Paul Patterson,
of the hundred year flood plain as it actually is located?}^@

^{Mr. Patterson:}^A^{Yes it is.}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{The maximum according to Mr. Patterson would be knee
deep if it ever did flood there.}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^{Could I ask you where that is in relation to the map
that we have. You said up in the north
east section, does it come into like lot 116 or ?}^@

^{Mr. Patterson:}^A^{It comes into, if you}⁼^{ll look on your map, these lots the creek runs along
the northeast side right here so it}⁼^{s the lots right here. It}⁼^{s
lots a hundred and twenty, going down to maybe lot seventy-five, seventy-five,
seventy-six, seventy-seven, seventy-eight, seventy-nine.}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^{Is that t twenty or one twenty?}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^That⁼^{s t twenty and t is standing for travel trailer which are more easily
or more quickly can be moved as opposed to a park model which would take a
little longer to move if there were a flooding situation. Is that correct?}^@

^{Mr. Patterson:}^A^Yes.^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^{And where is the extremity of the flood plain in
reference to say t twenty? Does it come
up into t twenty or is it just close to it?
I can}⁼^{t tell by correlating between that and this map.}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{It looks like it comes just into those lots. How many feet would you say, Mr. Patterson?}^@

^{Mr. Patterson:}^A^{In actuality, it would probably cover the entire lot
but once again these are the mobile units, these are the ones on wheels, these
aren}⁼^{t the park models so they can easily be moved. The park models on the other side of the
road, they}⁼^{ll be up approximately four blocks which is thirty-two
inches above ground so those should not be effected by any flooding that might
occur.}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{And some more evidence regarding rebuttal is regarding
the Henderson property that}⁼^{s on the south end of the development.
There were some concerns by Alan Henderson who is representative of his
mother, Elizabeth Henderson, the owner of that property about spray coming onto
the property. We have a proposal about
putting a tree, a tree buffer there. We
are proposing eighty-three Leland cypress trees which would be every ten feet
there would be these cypress trees planted.
Mr. Henderson is, with his experience planting trees with the orchard,
is willing to plant those for us along the line and we would provide the trees,
the expense of the trees to do that.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Would you indicate the lots from where looks like to
me it would from eight to forty-one.
Are you talking about eight to forty-one all the way?}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{Eight to forty-one, eight, nine, twenty-two,
twenty-three, fifty-one, fifty-two, fifty-five to where the existing house is,
fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine, forty, and forty-one and that
is a distance of approximately eight hundred fifty-four feet.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Well, if the soil is good they}⁼^{ll certainly have a quite a buffer in a very short
time.}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{And our information is that these are very good trees,
lot better than pine trees which we planted on the other side of Mr. Henderson}⁼^{s property as a buffer with the Nazarene church there.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Oh, yes. Do
you have anything else Mr. Veazey?}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{We do have a summary of.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^We⁼^{ll have closing comments a little later.}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{We have none as far as rebuttal.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Is that it?}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{Mr. Chair, if I could ask for one clarification. When you were reading off the lot numbers
did I misunderstand you to say fifty-five, fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight
or do you mean thirty or the thirties?}^@

^{Mr. Patterson:}^A^{Those are thirties.}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{Thirties. I}⁼^{m sorry.}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{Thirties. I
just wanted to clarify that for the record.}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{All the lots along the southern edge of the
development including the house, the existing house lot.}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^OK^@^.

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Well, they are thirties aren}⁼^{t they?}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^They⁼^{re thirties. Yes, sir.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Then forty and forty-one.}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{Yes sir, it}⁼^{s lots, my understanding is, eight through forty-one
inÿexcept thirty-three.}^@

^{Mr. Patterson:}^A^{Fourteen lots.}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{Right. OK.
Eight, nine, twenty-two, twenty-three, thirty-one.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Alright. Mr.
Henderson, do you have any questions of .?}^@

^{Mr. Henderson:}^A^{No, Mr. Chair, we}⁼^{re agreeable to do it.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Ms. King, do you have any.? Is she here?}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^She⁼^{s not here. Would you note that for the record that Ms. King did not
attend?}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^I⁼^{ve got one question. Do you
with this buffer that you all have agreed to plant, do you feel that from your
perspective that}⁼^{s
adequate to protect your whatever over spray might come through, that that}⁼^{ll preclude that as being a problem on your property?}^@

^{Mr. George:}^A^{We feel not only the spray but also the noise.}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^{And the noise? Thank you.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{If you}⁼^{ve ever seen a Leland cypress, they get thick and high very, very
quickly. Alan, would you come up to the
microphone and state for the record, are you in agreement with respect to the
row of Leland cypresses? You}⁼^{ve heard where it}⁼^{s proposed to be, does that satisfy your concern?}^@

^{Mr. Henderson:}^A^{Yes Mr. Chairman.
That will be very satisfactory.
And like I stated we are in agreement that we will help in the planting
of these trees down the property line.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{OK. All right,
then I assume you don}⁼^{t have any rebuttal testimony with respect to the issues we talked
about before. As indicated, Ms. Ruby
King is not here but she}⁼^{s had a chance for rebuttal testimony and obviously that she is
not. We can move to closing
comments. And let}⁼^{s see. Lex, I}⁼^{m going to give you a chance to go first again if you}⁼^{re ready for your closing comments.}^@

^{Mr. Veazey:}^A^{I sure am.
This hearing of course is for a request for a vested right. We}⁼^{re requesting five years for a RV park expansion. Currently, there are approximately a hundred
ten lots spaces for RV}⁼^{s in the current park and we}⁼^{ve requested a hundred twenty-two additional
spaces. The ordinance, both the County
ordinance and the state statue, requires there be a size specific development
plan which we feel we have given you showing the location of the lots, the
sizes of the lots, the street sizes, the location, the current location of the
water servicing this property, also the various lines for water and utilities
in the development. The statute, as you
know, for North Carolina and the County statute specifies that the vested right
for two years but can be up to five years and we feel like the five year
request is warranted in light of the relevant circumstances including the
relatively large size of the development and it}⁼^{s more than doubling present park and this will take
about three stages to do. We feel like
five years is necessary; two years would not be enough. The amount of investment is a consideration
in the five years and we feel like we are putting a sizable investment in this
development expansion. We}⁼^{re planning to connect to city water which will be
quite costly. We}⁼^{re also going to either need to expand the present
sewer system plant that}⁼^{s currently on the property that}⁼^{s being used by the current park or replace that
totally or connect to the city sewer which would be quite costly. Also the economic cycle is a consideration
as far as the length of the vested right.
Today}⁼^{s is pretty good for expansion because of the
increased number of vehicles traveling by car, RV rather than planes and other
means of transportation but that could all change. Also the relatively inexpensive cost of gasoline is allowing many
vehicles, more vehicles on the road encouraging that. But of course that could change, we}⁼^{ve seen gasoline prices go way up and way down very
quickly. Also the economy could worsen
during the next five years. So we feel
like the five year request for the vested right is warranted for these
reasons.}

^{As far as what we}⁼^{re proposing here, of course is not mobile homes; we}⁼^{re proposing recreational vehicles which include
travel trailers according to the County ordinance and park model homes as
defined in the County ordinance section two hundred dash seven. The vested right ordinance specifies the
Board may approve or disapprove the size specific plan based on the need to
protect the public health, safety and welfare.
Karen Smith has submitted requests to the various agencies in the County
regarding problems that they foresee.
We}⁼^{ve also had Elizabeth Henderson represented by her son
Alan Henderson regarding the possible spray problems from the adjacent
property.}

^We⁼^{ve also heard from Ruby King regarding her concern about additional
traffic coming into the park because of the present road is right in front of
her house. As has been explained in
prior evidence when Ruby King was present, there}⁼^{s another road that}⁼^{s being put in for the, onto Ballenger Road which is
pretty far away from her driveway. When
people come in, they will be coming in the present driveway in front, the
present road in front of her driveway because they have to check in but then
they}⁼^{ll be, most of them will be going out after that,
especially the ones in the newer part of the park, on the other road that}⁼^{s east of the present road.}

^{Also regarding the spray noise and the spraying from
the adjacent Henderson property on the southside of the park, the, as has been
presented in evidence there}⁼^{s been a proposal that eighty-three Leland cypress trees be planted
approximately ten feet apart on the property line between the RV park and the
Henderson property and the RV developer is of course will pay for the trees
themselves and Alan Henderson has agreed to help significantly with the
planting of the trees with his experience in planting apple trees. He I}⁼^{m sure would do a good job. That}⁼^{s
agreeable to him as he}⁼^{s testified. This would take
place very quickly too before the development that would be one of the first
things done in the development and these trees as I understand it grows very
quickly, better than the pine row buffer that}⁼^{s on the east side of the development that adjoins his
property, the Henderson property. Also
the, with regards to emergency vehicles coming to the park as shown in
evidence, we have a more detailed survey that}⁼^{s been presented showing turnarounds for these
vehicles. It should be
appropriate. We also need to consider
the relevant size of these lots as opposed to the size of a subdivision. The rows, the three rows coming in here are
shorter than or not longer than the average driveway in a subdivision. The fire hoses can of course go the full length
of these streets. There}⁼^{s a fire hydrant that}⁼^{s going to be placed at the intersection of Ballenger
Road and the new road going into the additional development which will be
sufficiently close enough to the new part of the development. Also as has been presented at the last
meeting, in addition to the fire hydrant, the pond is available for additional
water, plus the swimming pool. The pond
as testified by Mr. Hyder, the fire department would need approximately at
least a minimum of a hundred thousand gallons of water based on the pond being
about five feet and a hundred by a hundred approximately. Actually the pond
from testimony from Mr. George is actually six feet but being conservative here
and basing it on five feet deep, we come up with three hundred and fifty
thousand gallons of water from my calculations and also as I said we have the
swimming pool.}

^{As far as the flooding question that came up as has
been presented by rebuttal today, we have a more detailed map showing the
location of the hundred-year flood plain.
As testified by Mr. Patterson, this would be, if it did flood probably
be not more than knee deep. As
testified by Mr. George, the onsite manager of the park, he hasn}⁼^{t seen any evidence since May of any major flooding
there. He testified there was very good
drainage in the park. The lots that are
adjacent on the north east edge of the development that are adjacent to the
creek across which the flood plain area does approximately go is going to be
limited to travel trailers that can be easily moved. We}⁼^{re
not putting park models in that area which would take a little longer to move
out of that area.}

^{We feel like that we have explained any problems with
public safety, health and welfare and satisfied and hopefully in the Commissioners
opinion too any concerns that the Board had concerning the public health,
safety and welfare.}

^{In just a quick summary, we are proposing that we be
allowed to have recreational vehicles and park models in the park up to a
hundred and twenty; that we are agreeable to a buffer of trees on the southern
side; that the park will be built as proposed and the turnaround areas at the
end of the streets; that a new road will be put in, or actually it}⁼^{s a driveway now to the existing house will be
improved so that traffic will be coming in and out more that road than the
present road in front of Ms. King}⁼^{s property; and of course, we}⁼^{re under state and some county guidelines as far as we
have to get approval for expansion of the sewer system and of course putting in
the water system connected to the city.
Those are my comments. Do you
have any questions?}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{All right.
Thank you. No. No questions now, just closing remarks. Staff or Alan do you have any closing
remarks?}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^{I have one because I didn}⁼^{t hear Rocky}⁼^{s comment on the new better measure ends of the
road. I missed your comment on that.}^@

^{Mr. Hyder:}^A^{It appears that the way they}⁼^{ve designed the driveways at the very end of the road
should be sufficient space ,turnaround space for, an EMS unit was my biggest
concern because we don}⁼^{t want to be transporting patients down a middle of a road while we}⁼^{re trying to provide medical care and it certainly
seems that they have provided what}⁼^{s necessary for that.
I have one more closing comment, if you}⁼^{re ready for that.
In the flood plain area, it might be a good idea for them to designate
the lots that will be, I realize for travel trailers which is an excellent idea
because they can be moved quickly, but certainly those people may not be from
this area and may not realize that they}⁼^{re in a flood prone area and it would be advisable to
consider marking the lots that are in the designated in the flood plain area as
such so that the people that pull in there and if we do experience some of the
storms that we do get in the summertime and in the spring, they would be aware
of the hazard that}⁼^{s
near. Otherwise they may think that
small little branch that you can see now that}⁼^{s very unobtrusive and looks very calm could certainly
cause them a lot of problems if they weren}⁼^{t familiar with that.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Where would you like those markings? On the lots, are
you talking about a map that they give or what?}^@

^{Mr. Hyder:}^A^{I think they could be done either way. Certainly on the lot is going to be a little
more effective, even right beside where they plug the unit in because they}⁼^{re going to plug their unit in when they pull in to
hook up. So certainly, that would be a
place where you could be assured that they were notified of the area that they}⁼^{re in but even on the site map itself would certainly
make them aware of the area.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Mr. George, would you respond to that?}^@

^{Mr. George:}^A^{Yes, that}⁼^{s a good idea.
We have people on site, I have a permanent manager that lives there, and
there is a berm about three foot high along the creek there and I}⁼^{ve been on the property since May and we}⁼^{ve had some really incredible rains this week
ago. But I really don}⁼^{t feel that it}⁼^{s going to be a problem that we can educate those
people but get them out quickly too if we had to. But since May, we}⁼^{ve hadn}⁼^{t
had any flooding and again that berm is probably a good three foot high along
the stream there. But we}⁼^{d be glad to on the pedestal where the electric is we
could put a little sign. Sure.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{That would be fine.
Any other questions from any of the Commissioners? Do you want this, can we close the
quasi-judicial? I move we close this
quasi-judicial public hearing. All in
favor say aye.}^@

^{All voted in favor and the motion carried.}

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Is there any discussion?}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^{I would like to propose or make a motion that the
vested rights be approved as presented with the stipulation that we just talked
about on the pedestals as indicated by the ordinance. You know, I think the Board looks at public health, safety and
welfare. I think those areas where that
was required in the flood plain has been addressed by the mobile units in
posting the signs. Certainly there
traffic with the additional road has been addressed. The EMS vehicles has been addressed with your updated map. And you have worked out an agreement with
your neighbor for a compatible farm use noise and over spray. The public}⁼^{s concern for sewer and water will be dealt with
independently with the Health Department.
We don}⁼^{t have to set any requirements on that so I think that
they}⁼^{ve met all the requirements and should be granted the
vested rights.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{If I may just amend that a little. The motion will be to approve the
conditional size specific development plan for a five year period pursuant to
the authority given to us in the Ordinance, we can go up to five years, where
in light of all the conditions, size of the development, level of investment,
economic cycle, market conditions and merit and we}⁼^{re finding that those be merited. So in addition to the motion, we}⁼^{d asked staff to bring back findings of fact that
would cover the things Commissioner Hawkins has.}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{And actually in this case, you have to adopt, you have
to approve this by ordinance. So we
would need to bring an ordinance back to you for your consideration so if you
could just direct staff to bring back an ordinance for final approval then we
can take the intent of this motion and draft such an ordinance.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{I think there are only a few conditions we want. We need trees, I think was an agreed upon
condition, the road out for better access that was Ms. King}⁼^{s concern which they}⁼^{ve agreed to do, the signs on the post indicating
which lots are possibly subject to flooding in a way they deem appropriate and
that the indication of the gravel turnaround lane at the end of the two longer roads
indicated by Paul Patterson would be graveled as he indicated on his map. Was there one other Karen, another condition
that you mentioned?}^@

^{Ms. Smith:}^A^{It had to do with defining the units and I think that
was probably covered in Mr. Hawkins}⁼^{when he said as presented the travel trailers,
recreational vehicles and park models.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Do we need to put a number in there that they
indicate, but that}⁼^{s in
the cover, in the plan?}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^That⁼^{s in the plan. I had asked Mr.
Veazey at the last meeting if they would be okay with putting the definitions
in from our ordinance and they had said that would be fine as far as what}⁼^{s allowed to go in there.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Does the motion made by Commissioner Hawkins as
adjusted satisfactory to the various parties?}^@

^{Someone (possibly Mr. Henderson) uttered:}^A^{Yes sir, it is.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{All right. We
have a motion on the floor that we adopt an ordinance of findings and
conclusion of law and finding of fact in accordance with our discussion. Any further discussion or questions on what}⁼^{s in the motion?
All in favor of that motion say aye.
Opposed? Al right, it passes
unanimously. We}⁼^{ll bring back an ordinance consistent with what we
said tonight for our next meeting. Do
the parties get a copy of that before the meeting?}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{It is typical to do that if it}⁼^{s OK with the Board.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^We⁼^{ll try to get you a copy before the meeting so if there}⁼^{s any questions you can work them out with Angie
before we get to the meeting.}^@

^{Ms. Smith:}^A^{The next meeting will be March 20th.}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{It meets our timeframe for April 4th, doesn}⁼^{t it? I}⁼^{m sorry, April 1st.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Would April 1st be satisfactory?}^@^{(Someone,
possibly Mr. Veazey, uttered:}^A^That⁼^{ll be fine.}^@^)
That⁼^{ll give staff time, April 1st would be better and give
us a chance to get it to you, make sure there}⁼^{s no issues or problems and everything}⁼^{s satisfactory with the wording and then we}⁼^{ll consider it at our meeting on April 1st. If there}⁼^{s no questions, it may just be on the consent
agenda. It}⁼^{ll depend upon whether any of the Commissioners want
to take a look at it.}^@

^{PUBLIC HEARING-to consider Financing Documents to
Finance Improvements to Flat Rock Middle School, Rugby Middle School, and
Hendersonville Middle School}

^{Commissioner Ward made a motion to go into this public
hearing. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.}

^{Ms. Beeker stated this was the first of two public
hearings to consider financing documents for proposed financings for middle
schools improvement. This public
hearing is to consider financing improvements to all three middle schools,
Rugby, Flat Rock and Hendersonville Middle School with the security interest to
only be taken at this point in Rugby Middle School. She reminded the Board at the last meeting, the Board awarded the
financing to Branch Banking and Trust Company for nine point one million for a
term of fifteen years for a rate of five point five nine percent. Included in the agenda packet were the draft
financing documents as they stand right now.
Ms. Beeker only received some those late Thursday and she had not had a
chance to finish going through them and sending her comments to the bank.}

^{Two resolutions were also presented to the Board for
its consideration. The resolutions
approve the financing and approve the documents with the authority been given
to the Chairman to approve changes.
Since Ms. Beeker had not finished reviewing the financing documents, she
recommended the Board just continue this public hearing until March the 20th.}

^{Public Input}

^{No one had signed up to speak during this public
hearing.}

^{Chairman Moyer made a motion to continue this public
hearing until March 20 to consider the financing documents in final form at
11:00 am.}

^{All voted in favor and the motion carried.}

^{Commissioner Ward made a motion to go out of this
public hearing. All voted in favor and
the motion carried.}

^{PUBLIC HEARING-to consider Financing Documents for
QZAB Bonds to Finance Improvements to Hendersonville Middle School}

^{Commissioner Ward made a motion to go into this public
hearing. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.}

^{Ms. Beeker stated this public hearing was also to
consider financing documents for a financing using a QZAB bond. She further explained a QZAB bond is a
special program for qualified zone academies which means no interest will be paid. Hendersonville Middle School qualifies as a
qualified zone academy. The amount
would be for three million dollars for
a term of thirteen years. Ms. Beeker
explained since no interest would be paid that three million dollars principal,
debt service payments would actually go into a sinking fund that}⁼^{s going to draw interest because it}⁼^{s a balloon payment at the end. As a result, the actual amount paid would be
approximately two point three million dollars.
So not only was the method saving the interest but would also result in
a saving on the principal. Payments
then to that fund would be a hundred sixty four thousand three hundred and
sixty-three dollars per year with a guaranteed investment rate of five point
four percent that BB&T bid. Ms. Beeker
advised there still remained work to be done to complete the financing
documents. Therefore she requested that
the Board continue this public hearing to the 20th at eleven so that the final
documents could be brought forward for the Board}⁼^{s consideration.}

^{Chairman Moyer made a motion to continue this hearing
until eleven o}⁼^{clock on March 20th to consider the final financing
documents for the QZAB bonds to finance improvements at Hendersonville Middle
School.}

^{All voted in favor and the motion carried.}

^{Commissioner Ward made a motion to go out of the
public hearing. All voted in favor and
the motion carried.}

^{PUBLIC HEARING-on Proposed Amendments to the Henderson
County Subdivision Ordinance}

^{Commissioner Ward made a motion to go into this public
hearing on the Henderson County Subdivision Ordinance. All voted in favor and the motion carried.}

^{Ms. Smith explained that this hearing was on a set of
three proposed amendments to the Henderson County Subdivision Ordinance. The amendments have resulted from on-going
work of the County Planning Board to resolve some interpretation and also to
take a look at some other issues that have arisen since the new subdivision
ordinance was adopted in 1999. These
amendments were favorably recommended by the County Planning Board on September
14th, 2002. Ms. Smith gave a brief
summary of each of the amendments for the record.}

^{Amendment 1 involved modifications to reduce confusion
about the term driveways and how they}⁼^{re treated in the ordinance and to provide standards
for a new category of private roads called limited local roads that serve up to
three lots. Proposed amendment 1 also
clarified language related to road and right of way access; added minimum
standards for one-way roads; clarified standards for private roads and
commercial and industrial subdivisions; added a vertical clearance standard for
private roads; and gave staff the ability to approve alternate turnaround
designs for subdivisions in which they have approval authority.}

^{Amendment 2 was designed to clarify which road
standards, road name approval and right of way access, are applicable to the
minor subdivisions that have three or fewer lots and what the applicable
standards are. The amendment clarified
that roads in minor subdivisions with fewer than four lots do not have to be
constructed prior to final plat approval.
Ms. Smith noted some wording
changes that were made.}

^{Amendment 3 clarified the standards that relate to
bridges. It required submission of an
engineer certification that a bridge has been constructed according to the plan
submitted to the Planning Board before the County signs the final plat or
releases an improvement guarantee and that it also meets the requirements for
NCDOT approval of bridge plans for bridges on private roads.}

^{In accordance with state law and the County
Subdivision Ordinance notices of this hearing were in the February 25th 2002
and March 4th 2002 editions of the Times-News. Notices of the hearing were also sent to area land development
professionals, surveyors, engineers, landscapers, architectures and the
like.}

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Questions for Karen?
This is obviously a subject we got into great depth a while back and
asked the Planning Board to reconsider some of the previous recommendations
that they made and this is what they came forth with.}^@

^{No one had signed up to speak during this public
hearing but some individuals in the audience addressed the Board}

^{PUBLIC INPUT COMMENT}

^{William Patterson, 129 Ashwood Rd.}^{-Mr. Patterson stated he is a professional land
surveyor. He expressed concern about
the centerline radiuses for roads in the subdivisions and the requirements for
cut and fill and slopes.}

^{Stacy Rhodes, Route 2, Box 186-N, Hendersonville,
NC 28792}^{-Mr. Rhodes
stated he too is a professional land surveyor. He expressed concern about the cut and fill and slope
requirements as well as the centerline radiuses.}

^{A.J. Ball, Route 6, Box 276-}^{Mr. Ball had written a letter to the Board expressing
his concern about the requirements for centerline radiuses and cut and fill and
slopes. He wanted his letter entered
for the record.}

^{Commissioner Ward made the motion to go out of this
public hearing. All voted in favor and
the motion carried.}

^{There was much discussion among the Board about the
concerns raised by the land surveyors and Mr. Ball.}

^{Chairman Moyer made a motion that the Board approve
these proposed amendments to this Subdivision Ordinance and direct the Planning
Board to study and make a recommendation to the Commissioners for further
amendment with respect to site distance on vertical curves, centerline radius,
and cut and fill slope with respect to collector, local and limited local
roads, all three of those categories for each of the three items. All voted in favor and the motion carried.}

^{UPDATE ON OKLAWAHA GREENWAY}

^{Commissioner Hawkins reminded the Board that the
County and the City of Hendersonville entered into a memorandum of
understanding with the City of Hendersonville being responsible for
constructing the Oklawaha Trail. On
page four of the memorandum of understanding, parameters for funding were
stated that the City agreed to advance the entire cost of the project based on
the budget that was attached for a cost of approximately a hundred eight
thousand dollars for the trail.
Chairman Moyer had heard estimated costs for the trail might be as much
as three to four hundred thousand dollars and that concerned him. He pointed out to the Board that a term of
the memorandum of understanding stated that
Aif at anytime during the design or implementation of the project, it is
determined that the cost of the project will exceed the attached budget by more
than ten percent, the City has the right to terminate the project and any and
all of its obligations to construct the project under this memorandum.}^@^{Chairman
Moyer recommended that the Board correspond with the City of Hendersonville and
find out if in fact these costs will exceed the ten percent and inquire as to
what the City}⁼^{s course of action will be, whether it will terminate
the project or to fund it. He further
noted the agreement stated that the County has no funding obligation for the
trail aside from that portion that goes through Jackson Park. It would behoove the Board to find out what
the City intends to do on the project.}

^{The Board was in agreement for the Chairman to send a
letter to the City asking them what their plan for the project is.}

^{UPDATE ON BLUE RIDGE BIKE BASH}

^{Chairman Moyer advised the Board that legal staff had
prepared a draft letter to the State as requested by the Board at its last
meeting about the regulations for such an event. He had discussion with Mr. Myron and suggested to him an
alternate site in Henderson County which might be a better site for the event. Chairman Moyer had directed the County
Manager to try to set up with Mr. Myron a meeting to include him, Commissioner
Messer and the County Manager to discuss the other proposed sites and find out
if there was anything further the County could do to work out a suitable site
for the event.}

^{Mr. Nicholson had talked with Mr. Myron about such a
meeting but Mr. Myron was not ready to commit to such a meeting at this
time.}

^{Commissioner Hawkins expressed concern and
disappointment that the County was attempting to accommodate Mr. Myron by
seeking an alternative site for the bike bash.}

^{Commissioner Ward thought it was in the best interest
of the County to try to accommodate the event in Henderson County for economic
development sake and he thought it was a good idea to seek an alternate site in
Henderson County. However, Commissioner
Ward stated in his opinion the original proposed site in Etowah was a bad site
for the event.}

^{Commissioner Gordon stated it was important not to
just focus on the revenues such an event would bring but also to promote
activities of interest to the younger generation and such events promoted a
well-rounded community.}

^{Commissioner Messer stated that he was not opposed to
such events that would accommodate motorcycle fans and that the Board should
provide a window of opportunity to accommodate such events by suggesting
alternative sites in Henderson County.}

^{Chairman Moyer advised the Board that he would keep
them apprised of that offer and Mr. Myron}⁼^{s decision.}

^{UPDATE ON LEGISLATIVE CONFENENCE}

^{Chairman Moyer informed the Board that at the NACo
Legislative Conference, he attended a meeting with the Congressional staff
twice. Projects from Western North
Carolina were presented on which Federal help was needed. Henderson County projects presented were the
sewer project, Medicaid funding and reimbursements and the stormwater
issue.}

^{Commissioner Messer stated the theme this year was
homeland security. Awareness of what}⁼^{s happening around you was noted as a key factor for
homeland security in light of the terrorists attacks in September 2001. Bio-terrorism was another possible tactic
terrorists might attempt to use next.
Henderson County was well ahead of other local governments in being
prepared for bi-terrorism.}

^{Mr. Nicholson had attended a session on the Hippa
program. Hippa is a federal unfunded
mandate that has been passed along to states, local governments and private
business. The program started out being
the health insurance portability accountability act but regulations on privacy
were incorporated which will impact human services}⁼^{delivery of information on patients and clients.}

^{BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF NC}

^{Commissioner Hawkins reminded the Board that Blue
Cross Blue Shield will be going from a non-profit to a for profit type operation. The Board had received a public announcement
from the State Attorney General seeking qualified candidates to serve on a
regional board to administer the new for-profit organization of Blue Cross Blue
Shield. Jim Maher is very highly
qualified and had volunteered to spend the time that would be needed for this
position. Mr. Maher serves on the
Hospital Board of Directors and has a very extensive background in health care
both at the profit and non-profit level.
Commissioner Hawkins asked the Board to consider recommending Mr. Maher
to fill that position.}

^{It was the consensus of the Board for the Chairman to
send a letter to the other municipalities in the County and the Western North
Carolina Caucus urging them to also support Mr. Maher for that position.}

^{IMPORTANT DATES}

^{Mr. Nicholson reminded the Board it had to hold a
public hearing to close out the CDBG program for the Habitat for Humanities
project in the Grove Hills Subdivision.
Commissioner Hawkins made a motion to hold the public hearing on April
the 1st at seven o}⁼^clock.

^{All voted in favor and the motion carried.}

^{Mr. Nicholson reminded the Board of a need to set a
quasi-judicial public hearing on a special use permit from Blue Ridge Community
College for the proposed construction of a baseball field complex. Commissioner Hawkins made a motion to
conduct that on April 1st, 2002 at seven o}⁼^clock.

^{All voted in favor and the motion carried.}

^{Commissioner Ward asked the Board to direct Dr. Sink
to advise how the maintenance of the baseball field complex would be
funded.}

^{Ms. Beeker advised the Board to send this matter to
the Zoning Board of Adjustment for consideration of the special use permit due
to the conflict of interest.
Commissioner Ward had stated that would influence his decision of
whether or not to approve the special-use permit or not. Under the Zoning Ordinance, it is not a
condition for issuing a special-use permit.}

^{Commissioner Gordon made a motion to refer this matter
to the Zoning Board of Adjustment because of this potential conflict per the
County Attorney}⁼^{s
recommendation and also for the Board to adopt a resolution per the County
Attorney}⁼^{s recommendation to transfer this matter to the Zoning
Board of Adjustment to avoid a potential conflict with budgetary concerns.}

^{There was no further discussion on the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried.}

^{It was the consensus of the Board for Chairman Moyer
to send a letter to Dr. Sink inviting him to come to a future Commissioners}⁼^{meeting to address the concerns raised by the Board
about the funding of maintenance for the proposed baseball field complex.}

^{Commissioner Hawkins withdrew his motion to hold the
quasi-judicial public hearing on the special-use permit for Blue Ridge
Community College for the proposed baseball field complex.}

^{Mr. Nicholson advised the Board it needed to set a
quasi-judicial public hearing for Oleta Falls for a variance from the Henderson
County Subdivision Ordinance and recommended it be set for Wednesday, March
20th at eleven o}⁼^{clock
before noon.}

^{Chairman Moyer stated it was necessary for him to
request to be recused from the quasi-judicial public hearing:}

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{I think we have another issue with respect to this
because if you}⁼^{ll remember the Oleta Falls this was a matter that
came to us, we had a special meeting to deal with the performance bond to do
certain, so this Board has acted on a matter that has a very specific bearing
on this one and at least I feel I have a real conflict with this matter. I don}⁼^{t know that you were here Grady, I think that was when
you were out, we called a special meeting and we.}^@

^{Commissioner Ward:}^A^{No I was the one that wasn}⁼^{t here. I
assumed it was at ten and it was at nine and I came in an hour late.}^@

^{Mr. Nicholson:}^A^{I think there were only three here.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{They were going to have the opening of Oleta Falls and
they needed and maybe there was only three.}^@

^{Commissioner Messer:}^A^{There couldn}⁼^{t have been three because I was at the beach that
Friday, you had it on Friday at three o}⁼^{clock or something.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Well I guess the issue was there were discussions,
there were things in the Board, there}⁼^{s things in the minutes, are we still able to hear
this matter?}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{Well, the first and foremost question is can you be
unbiased with regards to this request and that}⁼^{s subject to a question that each of you would need to
answer. With regard to anything that
was presented at the prior meeting that you had, the minutes from that meeting
could be admissible and considered as part of the proceeding. If this were court, that would except any documents
that would be exceptions to the hearsay rule, if you want to put it
technically, so the minutes would be admissible for your consideration to the
extent that they contain information that}⁼^{s relevant to the request they would be making for a
variance. With regard to a conflict
though, I believe with respect to each of you, you}⁼^{d need to be able to answer the question that you can
remain impartial and unbiased with regard to this request, that you have not
already made up your mind and if you cannot then you would need to ask the
Board to recuse you from the consideration.
Then if there are more than two of you that feel that way, I would have
to come back to you with some sort of recommendation because off the top of my
head I}⁼^{m not sure what I would recommend that you do in that
scenario.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Well, I think the problem from my standpoint the Board
and I voted with the Board as taken specific action that has a direct bearing
on this that}⁼^{s in conflict with this.}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{And I would advise that other Board members may not be
in agreement and so would advise that those thoughts and considerations with
all due respect, and I don}⁼^{t mean for this to sound disrespectful, to be kept you know to yourself
so that any other.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{But if I ask to recuse myself.}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{All you need to say is you cannot remain impartial and
unbiased and I would then advise the Board to accept that and vote to recuse
you from it without you having to elaborate.}^@

^{Chairman Moyer:}^A^{Well that}⁼^{s where I}⁼^{ll be.}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{With regards to everyone else, if you}⁼^{ve had any personal contact with the developer or site
visits, then at the hearing you need to reveal that and then you would still
need to be able to say you could reveal you know what your contacts were, if
you visited it and make it a part of the hearing and then that would okay but
you would still need to say that you can remain impartial and unbiased.}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^{Angie, do you think that this a situation that would
fall into the category to refer it to the Zoning Board of Adjustment or does
that not really fit from just from a personal?}^@

^{Ms Beeker:}^A^{I wish it were that simple. This is a subdivision matter and there is not a like provision in
the Subdivision Ordinance.}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^{Well, let}⁼^{s see if we had two Commissioners that wasn}⁼^{t here, whatever occurred there wouldn}⁼^{t, I can}⁼^{t remember, I remember the meeting but I can}⁼^{t remember what happened.}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{If you can honestly say that you}⁼^{re not going to be influenced by what happened but by
your prior decision, then there}⁼^{s no problem.}^@

^{Commissioner Gordon:}^A^{Quite honestly, it wouldn}⁼^{t have occurred to me that it could have been an
issue. I had even forgotten about that.}^@

^{Commissioner Ward:}^A^{The only thing I can remember I requested a meeting
talking to Mr. Ball and I was late and missed the meeting so.}^@

^{Ms. Beeker:}^A^{It sounds like we have a majority that you don}⁼^{t need to elaborate unless you just want to, it sounds
like that we do have a majority of Commissioners that would feel that they can
be impartial and unbiased so it should be OK to go ahead and proceed with
setting it.}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^{I make a motion then that we set the hearing for March
20th at eleven a.m. for Oleta Falls variance from the Subdivision Ordinances.}^@

^{Commissioner Gordon:}^A^{May I ask is that, we started the discussion with
wondering if we needed to set a special meeting for that and the other zoning
request separate and apart for a regular meeting in order to keep the meeting
from being a marathon like we got into the last time.}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^{I would withdraw that if you want to make a separate
date for it.}^@

^{Commissioner Hawkins:}^A^{Then I just amend my motion to set the hearing for
October Ridge at two o}⁼^{clock on the 21st of March.}^@

^{All voted in favor and the motion carried.}

^{Mr. Nicholson advised the Board that the Chamber of
Commerce had extended an invitation for a meeting with the Board of Directors
of the Chamber and the County Commissioners and staff. The dates as proposed by the Chamber for
such a meeting were not accommodating to the Commissioners}⁼^{calendars.
Mr. Nicholson would request other possible dates from Mr. Williford and
advise the Board of those dates at the next Commissioner}⁼^{s meeting.}

^{Mr. Nicholson had provided the Board with a proposed
schedule for the pre-budget workshops and the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite. The
Board set a workshop for 5:00 pm on March 28th for the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite
and budget; April 11th at four o}⁼^{clock; two o}⁼^{clock
on May the 2nd; and a facilities workshop for April 4th at four o}⁼^clock.

^ADJOURNMENT

^{Commissioner Hawkins made a motion to adjourn the
meeting. All voted in favor and the
motion carried. The meeting was
adjourned at 9:50 p.m.}

^{APPROVED BY:}

^{WILLIAM L. MOYER, CHAIRMAN}

^{HENDERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS}

^Attest:

^{Elizabeth W. Corn, Clerk to the Board}