MINUTES

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

COUNTY OF HENDERSON OCTOBER 16, 2002

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at 9:00 a.m. in the Commissioners' Conference Room of the Henderson County Office Building.

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: Planning Director Karen C. Smith, Finance Director J. Carey McLelland, Assistant to the County Manager Selena Coffey, Fire Marshal/Emergency Management Coordinator Rocky Hyder, Paralegal Connie Rayfield, and Deputy Clerk to the Board/Volunteer Coordinator Amy Brantley.

Absent was: Public Information Officer Chris S. Coulson.

CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME

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

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

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

INVOCATION

Rev. Gus Martschink, a member of the Chaplaincy Program at Pardee Hospital, gave the invocation.

DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT OF AGENDA

Chairman Moyer added one item under Staff Reports as AF-3 Update on LGCCA meeting and TIP recommendations.@

Chairman Moyer moved AF-1 Leasing of Vehicles@ to just after the Public Hearing at 11:00 on the Local Law Enforcement Grant.

Angela Beeker requested that the Board go into closed session at the appropriate time, as allowed pursuant to NCGS 143-318.11 (a)(3) to consult with her on some property tax appeals.

Commissioner Hawkins added one item as AB-1 under Staff Reports, Budget Amendment.@

Chairman Moyer made the motion to approve the revised agenda. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

CONSENT AGENDA

Chairman Moyer asked that item AC - Tax Releases@ be pulled from the consent agenda.

Angela Beeker asked that item AF - Order to Grant a Vested Right to Harry L. and Marilyn G. Schenimann@ be pulled for some comments.

Commissioner Hawkins asked that item AH - Waterline & Sewerline Extension(s)@ be pulled for some discussion.

Chairman Moyer made the motion to approve items A, B, D, E, G, and I of the consent agenda. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Following are the approved consent agenda items:

AA@ Minutes

The Board had been given draft copies of the minutes of the following meetings for review and approval: September 3, 2002, regular meeting

October 3, 2002, special called meeting

AB@ Tax Collector=s Report

Terry F. Lyda, Henderson County Tax Collector, had provided the report for the Board=s review dated October 14, 2002.

AC@ Tax Releases were pulled and will be on a future agenda.

AD@ Tax Refunds

A list of 50 tax refund requests had been submitted by the County Assessor for approval by the Board of Commissioners.

AE@ Plat Review Officer Resolution

NCGS 47-30.2 requires that all persons appointed as plat review officers be so appointed by resolution and that the resolution be recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds. Plat review officers are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that all plats that are to be recorded comply with the plat requirements set out in the General Statutes. On September 17, 1997 the Board first adopted a resolution appointing certain named persons as plat review officers in accordance with NCGS 47-30.2. The Resolution adopted on September 17, 1997, also set out certain procedures that all plat review officers must comply with. Copies of that resolution and an excerpt from NCGS 47-30.2 were presented for Board review. The Board has from time to time updated its list of appointed plat review officers.

The Board should again consider updating the list of those persons appointed as plat review officers. The Planning Director recommended that those persons no longer with the Planning Department be removed from the resolution. A proposed resolution had been prepared and was presented for Board consideration in order to accomplish this update. The proposed resolution restates all of those persons currently appointed as plat review officers.

As additional staff is hired within the Planning Department the Board will be asked to consider further revisions to the resolution in order to add plat review officers to replace those that have been deleted.

Staff advised it would be appropriate, and advisable, for the Board to take action at this meeting by adopting the proposed Resolution in order to provide the Henderson County Register of Deeds with an updated list of review officers authorized to approve plats for recordation.

AG@ LiquidLogic - Final Incentives Agreement

On September 3, 2002, the Board of Commissioners held a public hearing to consider the request of LiquidLogic for economic development incentives. LiquidLogic, a company that has a kayak research and development office in Henderson County and a kayak manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania, had been considering consolidation of all of its operations to a location in Henderson County. At the close of the public hearing, the Board, by motion, authorized staff to proceed with final negotiations of an economic development incentives agreement with LiquidLogic, granting incentives in the amount of $35,000 for water and sewer costs for the completion of Phase I of its plan to consolidate its operations to Henderson County, and $24,000 to be reimbursed over a 5-year period for completion of Phase II, for total, potential economic development incentives in the amount of $59,000 if both phases are completed.

LiquidLogic has decided to accept the County=s offer of economic incentives and proceed with the consolidation of their operations in Henderson County. The initial taxable capital investment from the project is expected to be $1.7 million (although the notice of public hearing stated that Phase I would be $1 million), the retention of 9 employment positions and the creation of a total of 12 new employment positions paying an average wage of $30,500 annually. LiquidLogic will also be considering a Phase II taxable capital investment of $1.2 million and the creation of an additional 13 new employment positions. If both phases are completed the total taxable capital investment for this project would be $2.95 million and a total of 25 new employment positions will be created.

Presented for Board review was an economic incentives agreement to finalize the offer and acceptance of economic incentives and the company=s obligation to consolidate their operations to Henderson County.

AI@ Proclamation - Henderson County Benefit Toy

The Board was asked to adopt a resolution proclaiming Saturday, November 22, 2002 as the 2002 Henderson County Benefit Toy Run Parade Day. The resolution is attached as a part of these minutes.

AH@ Waterline & Sewerline Extension(s)

Commissioner Hawkins had asked that this item be pulled for discussion.

This was a review for the Board of Commissioners for a waterline extension to serve the Mills River Clinic at Park Ridge Hospital. He expressed concern that we continue to get requests for approval that first of all was scheduled for the Planning Board review on November 19 and because the project doesn=t have adequate hydrant location and spacing. He wants the City to be aware that the Board is very concerned about the lack of fire protection, hydrant protection on waterline extensions in the county. He asked that the Board correspond back to the City of Hendersonville the concern he expressed.

Staff Comments/Recommendations were Ainstall a fire hydrant within 400 feet of any portion of the building per NC fire code section 508.5.@

Commissioner Hawkins made the motion to approve item AH@ with a letter expressing the Board=s concerns to the City of Hendersonville. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Chairman Moyer - Announcement

Chairman Moyer mentioned LiquidLogic and the approval of the Final Incentives Agreement for them. The Committee of 100 and this Board has been working hard to try to implement the economic development plan that was put together by the Committee of 100, looking at certain types of industries to bring into the area. LiquidLogic is a perfect example of what we=re trying to attract.

Scott Hamilton, Committee of 100, introduced Tom Demsey, President of LiquidLogic. Mr. Demsey also introduced Steve Jordan the Vice-President of LiquidLogic. Mr. Demsey stated that they were pleased and excited to announce their plans to expand in Henderson County at the Upward and Crest Road site. He thanked the Committee of 100, the State of North Carolina, and the City of Hendersonville, as well as the Henderson County Board of Commissioners. They plan to build about a 20,000 square foot facility that will consist of probably three buildings: offices, an R & D facility, and a manufacturing and warehouse facility. They will commence to manufacture in the new facility as soon as they possibly can.

NOMINATIONS

Notification of Vacancies

The Board was notified of the following vacancies which will appear for nominations on the next agenda:

1. Travel & Tourism Committee - 4 vac.

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

Commissioner Gordon stated that the Travel & Tourism Board has four vacancies, those terms end December 31, 2002. The Travel & Tourism Board plans to have their annual Board Retreat in November and would like to have those appointments made prior to that retreat so that they could attend and get up to speed. Commissioner Gordon has served on that Board for four years and her seat will be vacant. Myra Wood has served five years and will not be eligible for reappointment. The Commissioners also have the option of appointing the Chairman of that Board.

Nominations

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

1. Equalization and Review - 1 vac.

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

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

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

3. Zoning Board of Adjustment, Hendersonville City - 1 vac.

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

4. Zoning Board of Adjustment, Fletcher - 1 vac.

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

5. Community Child Protection Team - 6 vac.

Chairman Moyer nominated Mary Murray, Savie Underhill, Joanne Grimm, and Walter Harper to the Community Child Protection Team. Two vacancies remain. Chairman Moyer made the motion to suspend the rules and appoint these four nominees. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

WORK FIRST BLOCK GRANT COUNTY PLAN FY 03-05

The planning process for Henderson County=s Work First Block Grant Plan for FY 03-05 is completed. Approval of the plan by the Board of Commissioners is needed in order to mail the plan to Raleigh by the required date of November 1, 2002. The planning process developed no new initiatives or creative measures to remain an electing county. Therefore, it was requested to revert to standard county status and that the required form be amended and resent to Raleigh notifying the State of this change in status.

Peggy Gray requested the Board approve the plan allowing Henderson County to revert to a standard county. The Plan had been presented to the DSS Board and they agreed to the change to standard status. She also answered some questions from the Commissioners.

Following some discussion, Chairman Moyer made the motion to approve the Work First Plan including the change to standard status. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Chairman - announcement

Chairman Moyer announced that Peggy Gray is serving as the Interim Director for DSS (Department of Social Services).

UPDATE FROM COMMITTEE OF 100

The Board had requested that representatives from the Committee of 100 provide regular updates to the Board of Commissioners concerning their efforts, particularly related to economic development in our community.

Scott Hamilton made a Power Point presentation to the Board regarding the Committee of 100's implementation of their Master Plan.

Areas of Focus

1. Retention and Expansion

Visitations

C Continue visits to local industries and Headquarter companies in Henderson County

C Visit Headquarter offices of local companies based outside of Henderson County

2. Product Development

Buildings & Sites

C Update current inventory of buildings & sites

C Identify unlisted available building & sites

C Pursue CIS designation of the Brickton Industrial Park

C Develop tour of existing Henderson County industrial parks for C-100 Board and elected officials

C Develop tour of industrial parks outside of Henderson County for comparison purposes

Industrial Park Development

C Identify how other communities developed their parks (size, ownership, costs, funding, etc.)

C Identify potential help from NC Department of Commerce

C Identify potential sites and design cost analysis report

3. Relationship Building

Membership

C Host three meetings per year to communicate to membership activities of the Committee of 100. Distribute mid-year update to membership

C Distribute monthly newsletters to membership via Apple Corps and electronic format

Commercial Realtors

C Host event for commercial Realtors

C Develop and distribute quarterly update to commercial Realtors

C Participate in the monthly Board of Realtors Luncheon

N.C. Department of Commerce

C Present an overview of Henderson County to the Raleigh staff of the NC Department of Commerce

C Leverage time in Raleigh

C Continue to work closely with regional commerce staff on retention, expansion, and recruitment projects

Regional

C Attend Advantage West=s Board Meetings

C Support Advantage West=s programs and activities

C Leverage relationships with Advantage West and Carolina West to benefit Henderson County=s economic development programs and activities

Consultants

C Meet with consulting firms based in NC, SC, and Georgia

C Invite selected consultants to visit Henderson County

C Send Committee of 100 newsletter to consultants

4. Marketing

Web Site

C Develop RFP

C Select entity to design and/or host site

C Produce new economic development web site for Henderson County. The site will contain a building and site inventory, demographic information, quality of life information and strategic reasons to locate in Henderson County

Materials

C Design and produce a tri-fold brochure

C Design and produce target market brochures

C Design and produce building and site fact sheets

C Develop and produce a four color single sheet demographic profile on Henderson County

C Re-design and enhance the current county detailed demographic information book

Activities

C Develop and produce direct mail piece

C Select targeted companies for direct mail campaign

C Implement direct mail campaign

C Host call mission to Headquarters of target market companies and to potential clients generated from marketing efforts

C Identify trade shows within target markets to attend or participate in

5. Staffing

Economic Development Project Coordinator

C Create job description

C Advertise job availability

C Hire qualified candidate

Mr. Hamilton discussed their Implementation Timeline and what has been accomplished to date. He again mentioned the most recent announcement of LiquidLogic=s expansion plans.

Mr. Hamilton mentioned the following announcements since January 1^st:

C The following companies have announced total growth exceeding $40 million in investment ($200,000 in new tax revenue): ArvinMeritor, GE, Print Pack, Borg-Warner and LiquidLogic

C 75 new jobs have been created

C An undetermined amount of jobs have been saved

There was some discussion about the new incentives the State has recently announced. Mr. Hamilton stated that the new incentive is a Agood thing@. Some of the guidelines, he felt, need to be revised. He thinks this will put North Carolina back into an economic development game and make us competitive again the way the tax credits did when they initially came forward.

Chairman Moyer thanked Mr. Hamilton for the report and thanked him for what he has been doing for Henderson County.

Commissioner Gordon stated that she was pleased to see the enthusiasm that came through in the report from the Committee of 100, what is going on and the steps that have been taken in a relatively short time since the consultant=s report was released.

AF@ Order to Grant a Vested Right to Harry L. and Marilyn G. Schenimann - Angela Beeker had asked that this item be pulled so that she could share some comments with the Board from the other attorneys.

Angela Beeker stated that one of the attorneys had not arrived yet and asked that the Board delay action on this until a little later in the meeting.

On Monday, July 22, 2002, the Board of Commissioners convened a quasi-judicial proceeding to consider the application of Harry L. and Marilyn G. Schenimann for a vested right pursuant to the Henderson County Vested Rights Ordinance to develop a mini-storage facility on Howard Gap Road. This proceeding was continued to July 24, 2002, August 21, 2002, and was concluded on September 18, 2002. At the September 18, 2002 meeting of the Board, the Board directed staff to prepare an order granting the requested vested right consistent with the Board=s discussion and comments.

Staff had prepared the order to grant a vested right for the Board=s consideration. The Order had been circulated to the attorneys representing most of the parties to the proceeding for comment. An Order must be approved no later than October 18, 2002 if the vested rights are to be granted in order to meet the 30-day time frame given by the Vested Rights Ordinance.

Ms. Beeker informed the Board that we had received one contact by one of the parties after the close of the hearing by way of a voice mail message on the Chairman=s phone. She had purposely recommended that we did not share that with everybody to limit the exposure to that exparte contact. It has been transcribed and is in the file that the Clerk has. She didn=t want it to impact the Board=s decisions in adopting the order. It was upon her recommendation that that be withheld.

Ms. Beeker reviewed with the Board the comments she had received:

Craig Justus, attorney for the applicant:

C page 3 of the Order, top of the page ADevelopment Plan A-3 should read A-1"

C page 5, paragraph L, she needs to insert the locations of the sediment ponds -

in the first instance it should read Awhere storage building five is proposed to go@ and

the second one should read Ato the right hand side of storage building five@

In paragraph M on the same page, third line it reads six foot fence but should read six foot high fence.

C page 8, paragraph 2 concerning buffers. The applicant has requested that as to the buffer along Ms. Conley=s property line that they be given more time for it, that it not have to be in place until they begin constructing those storage buildings on that side of the property and for the rest of the buffers that they be in place by June 1 rather than May 1, 2003.

C page 8, paragraph 4 concerning temporary storage of vehicles, the applicant has asked that the number of allowable vehicles be increased from five to thirty. She asked for direction from the Board on this item.

C page 10, paragraph 11 concerning exempted property there was a typograhical error she pointed out plus a renumbering of paragraphs needed on that page

C page 11, paragraph 13 concerning duration of building permits she asked to be permitted to insert the applicable statute, NCGS 153-344.1(d)(5)

C page 12, paragraph D -Ms. Beeker stated that by accepting this order the applicant will be required to acknowledge and agree to some things and one of those things is that the Board still has the right to enact police power ordinances so that if the Board chose to have a mini-storage facility ordinance that said that no hazardous materials could be stored in a mini-storage facility they would be bound to that like any other mini-storage facility. The problem is though there does have to be some sort of line drawn that you couldn=t enact a mini-storage facility ordinance that said within five years all mini-storage facilities would have to cease operation. Their attorney had suggested that the same language at the end of paragraph C be added to the end of paragraph D Aproviding that no such change shall compromise Grantees ability to perform satisfactorily their obligations or rights under this Ordinance@.

Discussion followed.

The attorney (Sam Fritschner) for the other parties raised four comments from his client(s):

1. That the client really objects to the whole project.

2. She objected to the exemption from zoning ordinances on the property.

3. With regards to the 45 vehicle limitation, it should include the four rental trucks. Ms. Beeker stated that was the Board=s intent and was the direction the Board gave to staff. On page 4, paragraph I now reads Aand a maximum of 4 rental trucks@ but will be changed to read Aincluding a maximum of 4 rental trucks.@

4. The lighting is too pervasive.

There was discussion about the temporary storage area for vehicles and the change in the number from five to thirty. Following discussion, it was the consensus of the Board to go with a maximum of 20 vehicles in the temporary storage including a maximum of 4 rental trucks.

The Board was in agreement with the buffer suggestions from earlier, along Ms. Conley=s property line.

Chairman Moyer made the motion to approve the revised agreement with the changes discussed today and to authorize Ms. Beeker to share copies with the other parties and then if it is agreeable then the Chairman will execute the Order on behalf of the Board. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

BUDGET AMENDMENT - add-on by Commissioner Hawkins

Commissioner Hawkins had distributed a hand-out, memo to the Board concerning a budget amendment which he offered to the Board as an alternative to the half cent sales tax ( prior to the up-coming agenda item on the Article 44 Sales Tax). I have attached that memo as a part of these minutes.

The further along in the budget cycle you get the more difficult it is to make cuts in the budget. In our case we have at least $137,000 in capital/technology that has not been committed and another $103,000 plus/minus in personnel unfilled positions. We were fortunate in picking up an additional $175,000 of EMS reimbursements. He suggested a combination of those things and some transfer from fund balance would preclude the county from having to add an additional half cent sales tax to make our budget balance. That would still leave us at 10.5% fund balance which is above the State recommended 8%.

Commissioner Hawkins made the motion that the Board authorize the County Manager to move $1.1 million from the fund balance to balance the short fall initially and that he report to the Board of Commissioners every 90 days on savings realized from some of the areas mentioned in his memo and also give the Board a comparison of actual versus projected sales tax for the reporting period.

Commissioner Hawkins stated that over the last two years 74% of the NC counties have increased their taxes at least once and 14% have increased their taxes twice. He hoped that we would only increase taxes as a last resort. He felt that we could market Henderson County as a good place to shop because our tax rate will be cheaper.

Mr. Nicholson was asked for his opinion and he said that his heart tells him we can put this off and not raise the sales tax but his head tells him that we need that tax in order to provide the needed services in our county. The Board may still need to deal with this again later due to things happening to us that have not been anticipated.

Following much discussion, a vote was taken and the motion passed three to two with Chairman Moyer and Commissioner Messer voting nay.

ARTICLE 44 SALES TAX

A prepared resolution was presented for the Board=s consideration and possible adoption.

Chairman Moyer made the motion to proceed to levy the additional half cent sales tax, based on the notice the Board has already given, adopt the Resolution and move the date to January 1, 2003 instead of December 1, 2002. A vote was taken and the motion failed two to three with Chairman Moyer and Commissioner Messer voting aye.

INFORMAL PUBLIC COMMENTS

1. Dick Baird - Mr. Baird asked for a clarification on what just happened before making comments. He was informed that the Article 44 Sales Tax was not passed. He did not comment due to that action.

2. David Stoneman - Mr. Stoneman stated that he would like to reserve his comment until the issue is discussed concerning firing of weapons.

3. Keith Shelley - Mr. Shelley owns a jewelry store in Hendersonville. He urged the Board to keep our sales tax low.

REVISED MBE GUIDELINES

Mrs. Beeker informed the Board that in December of 2001, the Construction Laws of North Carolina were substantially revised, including the minority business requirements. The County=s MBE guidelines were last updated in 1996 and need to be updated to conform to the requirements of the revised Construction Laws. The revisions are based on the State=s updated MBE guidelines and Catawba County=s updated MBE guidelines. She informed the Board that they are consistent with what is being used across the State.

Commissioner Hawkins made the motion that the Board approve the prepared revised MBE guidelines. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Recess

Chairman Moyer called a short technical recess.

PUBLIC HEARING - Local Law Enforcement Grant

Commissioner Ward made the motion for the Board to go into public hearing. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Sheriff Erwin explained that this is a grant that they apply for every year. They have been fortunate enough to have received this grant for several years. It is a 10% match grant and the Sheriff=s Department has already met their match this year. They usually utilize drug seizure monies to match it so no money has to come from any of their line items in the budget.

A Public Hearing is required by the U.S. Department of Justice and that is the purpose for this hearing. The first process was that they had to form a local committee of individuals from education, criminal justice system, and law enforcement and the committee would come together and decide what they should utilize this money for. Staff presented to the committee and the committee agreed to use the funds for technology purposes. One of those items is a portable forensic computer and software ($7,000) which would allow them to access all the information off a suspect=s hard drive without damaging their computer. They haven=t had that ability in the past and have had to call on the SBI for assistance and would still have to seize the suspect=s computer. The SBI is only available to assist in selective major cases. The second item ($2,500) they wish to purchase with the funds is a laptop computer for their composite program. Last year they purchased (leased to own) a new composite software program from SIRCHIE. They need a laptop computer to load the program on so they can use it. They haven=t loaded it on any of their workstations since it is licensed for use on only one computer. Some of the rest of the money will go into the community policing program to use for the youth programs.

Public Input

There was none.

Commissioner Hawkins made the motion to authorize filing for the grant. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Commissioner Ward made the motion for the Board to go out of public hearing. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

UPDATE ON PENDING ISSUES

1. Leasing of Vehicles

Mr. Nicholson had distributed to the Commissioners yesterday a revised AAnalysis of Lease Versus Purchase of County Vehicles@ for their review. He reviewed the document with the Board including charts. After looking at the program, staff made the following recommendations:

1. That the County consider leasing vehicles for the following public safety departments only:

Sheriff=s Department, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Inspections Department, and Environmental Health.

2. That the County consider leasing Sheriff=s Department Patrol Division vehicles for a 4-year

term. This would allow patrol officers (high usage/mileage/maximum reliability) to keep a vehicle for 3 years and rotate the vehicle to other divisions (low usage/mileage) for another 1 year.

3. That the County purchase vehicles for non-public safety departments. Because the County=s

lease program does not have bargain purchase option at the end of the lease term, it is most economical that vehicles for these departments be purchased outright rather than purchasing previously leased vehicles. Staff further recommends that they be permitted to maintain a management plan for the replacement of these vehicles in order to keep the County=s fleet in good condition. This management plan will be based on the County=s Vehicle Replacement Policy.

4. That staff be permitted to work with the leasing company to develop a program that allows

the County to sell leased vehicles and recoup percentage savings at the end of the lease term.

Mr. Nicholson stated that although staff had recommended continuing the lease of select County vehicles with certain restrictions, staff realizes the cost effectiveness of purchasing some County vehicles outright. Should the Board of Commissioners decide that it wishes to purchase the aforementioned public safety vehicles rather than continue the leasing of these vehicles, staff would recommend the development of a plan to replace vehicles on staggered terms, so as to minimize the impact on the annual budget.

Sheriff Erwin discussed the importance of not having high mileage vehicle for their safety vehicles and discussed the maintenance costs. He stated that he could not stress enough the issue of public safety and officer safety.

It was the consensus of the Board to consider some combination of lease/purchase for vehicles. Staff is looking at how to begin phasing in purchasing some of our vehicles in case the Board takes action to do so.

Sheriff - Announcement

Sheriff Erwin thanked Commissioners Gordon and Ward for their service to this community and for being willing to run for political office. He stated that this community owes them a debt of gratitude.

2. Firing of Weapons

Chairman Moyer stated that we had some citizens from the McDowell Road area who spoke during informal public comment, raised some concerns with respect to firing of weapons near farms and occupied homes.

Angela Beeker had distributed for the Board=s review some research that was done by the Sheriff=s Department on what other jurisdictions have done with regards to this issue. The Board has clear authority in the General Statutes to regulate the firing of weapons. She asked for direction from the Board. Buncombe County=s Noise Ordinance makes it illegal to fire a weapon within 300 feet of an occupied residence.

Chairman Moyer asked staff to further explore this and draft an ordinance and bring it back for the Board=s consideration. The consensus of the Board was in agreement.

MUD CREEK WATERSHED RESTORATION COUNCIL

Renee Kumor, as a member of the Mud Creek Watershed Restoration Council, requested that Henderson County apply for a two-year grant from TVA and other state agencies. One of the elements of the grant is to hire a Watershed Management Coordinator. Henderson County would be responsible to manage the funds and hire and supervise the position. A copy of the prepared job description had been submitted for the Board=s review.

We have an opportunity after two years of study of the Mud Creek, to request a Coordinator position to help take over the data that has been collected, the maps developed by TVA and to work with the people along Mud Creek to help raise the quality of the stream and to address issues of education.

Ms. Kumor requested that the Coordinator position be housed in Henderson County Government.

Bob Carter, Soil & Water Director, spoke about the need for this position, stating that it couldn=t be handled by existing personnel and programs. He explained that there have been two watershed assessment studies done over the past two years. One was done by the Division of Water Quality where they went out and sampled the water for pesticides and chemicals which might cause impairment. They have also done biological sampling where they went into the streams to determine the health of the streams, what kind of bugs were there and what kind of bugs and fish were not there. From that they have determined that the streams in this watershed have significant impairment. The other study was done by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) who did a photographic study where they flew the watershed and then determined the land use and which types of land uses could be causing impairment; i.e. erosion problems, problems where there are pollution sources near the stream, etc. What they found was there are basically four different types of problems in the watershed. One is stormwater generally caused by impervious areas. One is non-point-source agricultural activities and those are problems caused by pesticides and nutrients in the streams. One is habitat degradation which would be a bad stream. The last is up-land sources of sedimentation which is a significant problem in the watershed which is generally caused by construction activities, by unpaved roads and driveways and by development. Our existing programs primarily address agricultural activities. A lot of the agricultural practices have been adopted by farmers and they embrace those. Some of the other things have not been addressed as readily and those are the types of problems that he felt needed specific study and where we need to look for specific types of programs and cost-sharing and those types of things. This new position would allow targeted activity into this specific watershed and targeting these problems which have been scientifically observed and determined. This would be the third such watershed project in the county. There is the Mills River project and the Upper Broad River project. The project would be voluntary following education.

David Nicholson explained that he was not sure what the County=s role is in the implementation of this grant. He also was not sure where this position should be housed within the County government. He felt it appropriate to forward this request to the Board for consideration and direction.

Ms. Kumor suggested that the person be physically located in GIS because there is a lot of mapping involved.

Much discussion followed. Chairman Moyer made the motion that Henderson County agree to serve as the sponsoring and supervisory entity subject to the development of a memorandum of understanding between the groups that would clarify duties, responsibilities and what part each group will serve. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

FINANCING - HUMAN SERVICES BUILDING

At the Board meeting last Monday evening the Board asked to look at the idea of getting the bids on the November 20 agenda for discussion. The Board would not be able to take any action on that unless there was a financing plan in place to do so.

In order to meet the dates that the Board requested, they had begun to expedite this portion of the project. Below is the proposed financing calendar:

October 16, 2002 Board adopts a resolution authorizing the project

Board reviews a proposed interest rate

Board authorizes staff to file application with the LGC

Board sets date for public hearing on financing documents

November 4, 2002 Board holds a public hearing on financing documents

November 5, 2002 Local Government Commission approves application

November 29, 2002 Closing on loan

Mr. Nicholson explained that it is about a 45 day process to put a financing package together. To help speed up the process he proposed that we use the same financial institution (BB&T) that holds the current loan on the building and land to place a new loan for approximately 7.7 million dollars. This would allow us to considerably reduce the timeframe and our costs. He further proposed that during calendar year 2003 we pursue a COPS issue to refund the financings for the middle grade projects and the Human Services Building, as well as any request for major school capital projects in 2003.

Staff had already contacted the LGC and BB&T. Both groups had expressed their willingness to work with the County to complete the financing portion of the project. No commitment can be made on the construction or financing contracts without Board action.

BB&T had quoted a 4.59% interest rate. At this point we do not have a formal commitment letter. Normally we would have that. BB&T has not issued the letter yet although they have sent us the financing documents.

Mr. Nicholson reviewed the ADebt Service Financing Plan@ with the Board. He discussed refinancing the Human Services Building Project as well as the Middle Grade Project during the first quarter of next year.

Angela Beeker distributed the first draft of the financing documents. She stated that if the Board wished to proceed, there were two resolutions in their packet that they would need to adopt. The first is a resolution that would authorize the filing of the application with the LGC for approval. That would be Fed Ex=ed this afternoon to meet their time frames to get on a November calendar for consideration. One thing listed in the Resolution is that the County Attorney has rendered an opinion that the proposed project is authorized by law, that=s the purpose of the legal opinion in the documents. The second is a Resolution to set the public hearing for November 4 at 7:00 p.m. in this room. This will not be considered by the LGC until November 5 so if by the time it is calendared to be considered by the LGC we have not received a letter of commitment from BB&T we would simply need to notify the LGC to pull this from their agenda. In order to get on their agenda the Board must adopt the resolutions. The idea is to have a package in place that when the bids come in if the Board chose to accept a bid the infrastructure to allow them to do so would be in place.

Following discussion, Commissioner Gordon made the motion to adopt the AResolution Authorizing the Filing of an Application for Approval of an Installment Financing Contract in Connection with the Renovation of the Human Services Building@ and the AResolution to Set a Public Hearing on the Proposed Installment Contract Financing@ for November 4, 2002 at 7:00 p.m. A vote was taken and the motion passed three to two with Commissioners Moyer and Messer voting nay.

CLOSED SESSION

Chairman Moyer made the motion for the Board to go into closed session as allowed pursuant to NCGS 143-318.11 for the following reasons:

1. (a)(3) To consult with an attorney employed or retained by the public body in order to preserve the attorney-client privilege between the attorney and the public body, which privilege is hereby acknowledged. To consult with an attorney employed or retained by the public body in order to consider and give instructions to the attorney with respect to a claim:

Appeal of GE Lighting Systems Inc (Personal) 1993-1998

Henderson County 99-PTC-492

Appeal of GE Lighting Systems Inc (Real) 1993-1998

Henderson County 99-PTC-493

Appeal of GE Lighting Systems Inc (Real) 1999

Henderson County 99-PTC-494

Appeal of GE Lighting Systems Inc (Personal) 1999

Henderson County 00-PTC-15

All voted in favor and the motion carried.

US 25 SOUTH CORRIDOR STUDY

At the July 24, 2002 meeting, the Board of Commissioners instructed Planning Department staff to revise the US 25 South Corridor Study to reflect changes imposed by recent annexations by the City of Hendersonville, and to provide the Board with suggestions regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the Study applicable to the area remaining in the County=s jurisdiction.

The executive summary of the Study had been revised accordingly.

Recommendation 3 proposed two rezonings. Staff recommended that the Board consider setting a public hearing in order to proceed with adopting the recommended zoning map amendments.

Recommendation 5 proposes several amendments to the C-2P district text. Such recommended amendments had been submitted to Planning Director Karen Smith, for consideration within the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite. No specific action on the part of the Board is necessary at this time.

Staff had submitted the transportation recommendations (6-10) to the Henderson County Transportation Advisory Committee and personnel of the NCDOT responsible for developing the Hendersonville Urban Area Transportation Plan. Should the Board of Commissioners choose to adopt these recommendations, Staff suggested that appropriate action would be to advocate for their inclusion in the Transportation Plan.

Recommendation 11 proposes an access management program, and Recommendations 11-13 propose the application of a Corridor Overlay District. Should the Board choose to adopt these recommendations, Staff suggested the following:

C That the Board advocate for the inclusion of language laying the groundwork for Recommendation 11 within the Transportation Plan.

C That the Board use the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite process to help develop the tools necessary to implement Recommendations 11, 12, and 13.

C That actual development of the overlay districts (and standards thereof) suggested in Recommendations 11, 12, and 13 take place after completion of the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite.

Recommendations 14 and 15 discuss inter-jurisdictional matters such as annexations and sewer policy. Should the Board choose to adopt these recommendations, Staff suggested that appropriate action would be to advocate for their implementation through the LGCCA, or other action deemed appropriate by the Board.

Josh Freeman asked for direction from the Board regarding what recommendations they support and which they do not support.

Mr. Nicholson recommended that the Board of Commissioners take all aforementioned steps toward implementation of the US 25 South Corridor Study, including the scheduling of a public hearing, regarding the rezonings recommended therein.

Chairman Moyer stated that the Transportation Recommendations have been given to the Thoroughfare Planning Group and to the TIP Groups and the Comprehensive Plan Group.

Mr. Moyer felt the Board should proceed to hold the necessary public hearing for the requested rezoning from R-40 to R-20 the area on map 4.

The Board will plan to set a public hearing under AImportant Dates@ later on the agenda.

Larry Rogers informed the Commissioners that in the City Council meeting last Thursday night they presented a new map that the intended annexation area goes way down almost to Highland Lake Road.

WATER AGREEMENT NEGOTIATIONS

Commissioner Gordon has been part of the negotiating team and she will be leaving the Board. Commissioner Ward will also be leaving the Board so Chairman Moyer wanted to be sure that the Board was aware of where the negotiations stood.

Attached as a part of these minutes is a summary of the Proposed Revised Contract. There was discussion of the summary. The Commissioners preferred to ask for two members to the Authority rather than one.

Commissioner Hawkins felt we should challenge the WNC Caucus to see if they=d look at having a dialogue with the parties involved to see if they could come up with a solution.

Commissioner Ward didn=t feel that WNC Caucus would want to take this on. Mr. Ward said he would like to see closure on this issue.

Commissioner Gordon felt that the approach that has been tried was the most reasonable one. She felt that the summary was a good compromise and would like to approach Asheville with the compromise and see if they might agree to it.

Recess

Chairman Moyer called a five minute recess to change videotapes. He asked the Board members to review the summary on this break.

Chairman Moyer reviewed some of the points of the summary. He told the Board that he would like to go back to the City of Asheville with the proposal per the hand-out.

Following discussion, Commissioner Ward made the motion that this Board of Commissioners proceed to place this counter proposal on the table. A vote was taken and the motion carried three to two with Commissioners Hawkins and Messer voting nay.

3. LGCCA meeting

Chairman Moyer stated that the LGCCA met yesterday. Fletcher came forward at the meeting and talked about some voluntary annexations in the Hoopers Creek area. The City of Hendersonville also talked about annexation. They are preparing a letter of area of consideration where sewer might be needed in the Upward Road and I-26 area.

They talked about a regional water planning group and Mayor Niehoff is drafting something now. It would be similar to the sewer group that Commissioner Ward serves on. Chairman Moyer will circulate that when it is available.

The Transportation Advisory Committee came up with their lists of recommendations for the Transportation Improvement Plan for this year, a list of eight road projects. Chairman Moyer is drafting that now for the Board=s review. The LGCCA approved it, including the City of Hendersonville. Each Mayor will now take it back to their entity.

CANE CREEK WATER & SEWER DISTRICT - no business

IMPORTANT DATES

Set Public Hearing - Community Transportation Program

Mr. Nicholson stated that this item had been pulled. He got word from Javonni Burchette that WCCA can hold the public hearing. Originally they had requested the Board set a public hearing on a Community Transportation Program for Apple Country Transportation. Apple Country was requesting State funds for a transit bus, wheelchair van, administrative expenses, technology and facilities. They expect the grant to exceed $600,000.

Mr. Nicholson reminded the Board of the need to set a public hearing on the US 25 South Study. Chairman Moyer made the motion to set this public hearing for November 20 at 11:00 a.m. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Mr. Nicholson reminded the Board of the need to set a public hearing on the Howard Gap Road/Brookside Camp Road Zoning Study area. Chairman Moyer made the motion to set this public hearing for November 12 at 7:00 p.m. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

County Manager - Announcement about Flu Shot Clinic

David Nicholson reminded the Board of the up-coming flu shot clinic scheduled for October 31 and November 1 at the old Wal-Mart building off Four Seasons Boulevard. Cost for shots will be $15.00 unless you have part B Medicare which would make it free. Our Health Department, EMS, Park Ridge Hospital and Pardee Hospital have planned this as a training session in case we have a need to do mass immunizations.

Adjourn

There being no further business to come before the Board, Commissioner Hawkins made the motion to adjourn the meeting at 2:10 p.m. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Attest:

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