MINUTES
STATE
OF NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
COUNTY
OF HENDERSON FEBRUARY 19, 2003
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 Grady Hawkins,
Vice-Chairman Larry Young, Commissioner Bill Moyer, Commissioner Charlie
Messer, Commissioner Shannon Baldwin,
County Manager David E. Nicholson, Asst. County Attorney Russell
Burrell, and Clerk to the Board Elizabeth W. Corn.
Also present
were: Planning Director Karen C. Smith, Budget and Management Director Selena
Coffey, Fire Marshal/Emergency Management Coordinator Rocky Hyder, Public
Information Officer Chris S. Coulson, Environmental Planner Nippy Page, and
Deputy Clerk to the Board/Volunteer Coordinator Amy Brantley.
Absent was County
Attorney Angela S. Beeker.
CALL TO
ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman
Hawkins called the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance.
PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE
Commissioner
Moyer led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
INVOCATION
Jerry Senn,
Hendersonville Church of Christ, gave the invocation.
Chairman
Announcement
Chairman
Hawkins announced that we had a student present observing our meeting today,
Samantha Childers from North Henderson,
who was doing her internship. At our next
meeting, March 3, the whole class is scheduled to be at the meeting.
Chairman
Hawkins also announced that Angela Beeker would not be present today. Russ Burrell, Asst. County Attorney was
present for any legal assistance.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT
OF AGENDA
Commissioner
Moyer asked for the following addition(s) to the agenda:
BRCC
land and Human Service Building - Discussion Item AE@
Commissioner
Messer asked for the following addition(s) to the agenda:
Maximum
Security Prison - Discussion Item AF@
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion to approve the agenda as revised. All voted in favor and the motion
carried.
CONSENT AGENDA
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. All voted in favor and the motion carried. The CONSENT AGENDA consisted of the
following:
Minutes
Draft minutes
were presented for the Board=s review and approval of the following
meetings:
January
15, 2003, regular meeting
February
3, 2003, regular meeting
Tax Collector=s Report
Terry F. Lyda,
Tax Collector, had provided the Board with the Tax Collector=s Report dated
February 18, 2003.
Deputy Tax
Collector=s Report
Darlene B.
Burgess, Deputy Tax Collector, had provided the Board with the Deputy Tax
Collector=s Report dated
February 11, 2003.
Apple Country
Greenway=s Annual Report
The Apple
Country Greenway Commission had submitted their Annual Report for 2002 for the
Board=s review. No action was necessary. It was for information only.
Sheriff=s Department -
Sidearm Request
Sheriff George
H. Erwin, Jr. requested that the Board authorize the sale of a service firearm
to Deputy Mary Harwood Poole (Becky).
In 1994, the Board approved a Service Sidearm Policy. According to the policy, the Board must
establish a purchase price for the weapon.
The Sheriff had indicated that the value of the sidearm is $420. Should the Board approve this request,
Deputy Poole would be responsible to pay for the weapon less the discount
provided by the Policy.
The County
Manager recommended the Board authorize the sale of this sidearm based on the
adopted policy.
Tax Release
Requests (57)
A list of 57
tax release requests was submitted for Board approval.
Tax Refund
Requests (20)
A list of 20
tax refund requests was submitted for Board approval.
Request for
Improvement Guarantee for Taylor Forest Subdivision
LAM
Investments, Inc., Developer
Luther E.
Smith, agent for LAM Investments, Inc., had submitted an application for an
improvement guarantee for road improvements in a subdivision known as Taylor
Forest. Taylor Forest will be located
off of Gilreath Loop Road in the Mills River area. The Planning Board granted approval of the Master Plan and
conditional approval of the Development Plan for the project on January 21,
2003. The improvement guarantee is
proposed to cover the cost of grading, drainage, seeding, placement of stone
and paving of the first 1,000-linear foot section of a 1,367-linear foot road
serving the subdivision.
Pursuant to
Section 170-38 of the Henderson County Code, a developer may, in lieu of
completing all of the required improvements prior to Final Plat approval, post
a performance guarantee to secure the County=s interest in seeing that satisfactory
construction of incomplete improvements occurs. One type of permitted guarantee is an irrevocable letter of
credit. The developer intends to secure
a letter of credit from Mountain Federal Credit Union in the amount of
$48,399.00, which includes the cost of the road improvements to be guaranteed
($38,720.00) as well as the required 25% contingency of $9,680.00. The proposed completion date for the improvements
is August 31, 2003.
A draft
Performance Guarantee Agreement was submitted for the Board=s
consideration. If the improvement
guarantee application is approved, the developer must submit a letter of credit
in accordance with the terms of the Agreement.
The County Attorney must review the letter of credit and certify the
Agreement as to form prior to its execution by the Chairman and the developer.
Cable Audit
Contract
A proposed
contract was submitted for Board review with John Howell of Telecommunications
Consulting Associates to audit Mediacom (our Cable TV provider). Both the franchise fee paid to the County
and compliance with the franchise will be audited. This idea was discussed with the Board at the February 3
meeting and is the first step in the process of negotiation of their franchise.
The County
Manager recommended that the Board approve this contract. We will use funds generated from the
Franchise Fees to pay for this contract.
Release
Agreement
The Board had
entered into agreement with Tax Assessor Eddie Mitchum to end his employment
with Henderson County. The agreement
was effective February 13 meaning his last day with Henderson County was
February 12, 2003 which is approximately five months in advance of the
expiration of his term of appointment as the Henderson County Assessor. A copy of the agreement is attached as a part
of these minutes.
NOMINATIONS
Notification of
Vacancies
The Board was
notified of the following vacancies which will appear for nominations on the
next agenda:
1.
Solid Waste Advisory Committee - 4 vac.
Nominations
Chairman
Hawkins reminded the Board of the following vacancies and opened the floor to
nominations:
1.
Nursing/Adult Care Home Community
Advisory Committee - 9 vac.
There
were no nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
2.
Fire and Rescue Advisory Committee - 1
vac.
The
Fire and Rescue Advisory Committee had nominated Bill Stepp as their
representative, position #4. Chairman Hawkins made the motion to accept Mr.
Stepp by acclamation. All voted in
favor and the motion carried.
3.
Juvenile Crime Prevention Council - 1
vac.
Commissioner
Messer nominated Maria White. Chairman
Hawkins made the motion to accept Ms. White by acclamation. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
4.
Historic Courthouse Committee - 4 vac.
Amy
Brantley reminded the Board that several positions were filled at the last
meeting but the Board still needs representatives from Travel & Tourism,
Chamber of Commerce, Historic Preservation Committee and the Downtown
Beautification Committee. Travel &
Tourism submitted Tom Young=s name.
Chamber of Commerce submitted Spence Campbell (appointed at the
last meeting but not to a specific position) and Vanessa Mintz. Historic Preservation Commission submitted Judy
Abrell. Downtown Beautification
Committee submitted Jim Kastetter.
Commissioner
Moyer had nominated Spence Campbell at the last meeting. He suggested that Mr. Campbell represent the
public and put Vanessa Mintz into the Chamber position.
Commissioner
Moyer nominated Tom Orr as a public representative.
Commissioner
Young nominated Melissa Maurer to represent the Downtown Beautification
Commission, Merchant=s Association and the School System. He also nominated Theron Maybin as a
citizen representative from the farming community.
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion to accept all the above nominations to the Historic
Courthouse Committee. All voted in
favor and the motion carried.
5.
Henderson County Comprehensive Plan
Advisory Committee
Jack
Lynch and Tedd Pearce were both nominated for Chairman at the last
meeting. The Clerk was asked to poll
the Board and the outcome was as follows:
Commissioner
Moyer Tedd Pearce
Commissioner
Messer Tedd Pearce
Chairman
Hawkins Jack Lynch
Commissioner
Young Jack Lynch
Commissioner
Baldwin Jack Lynch Jack Lynch is the new Chairman.
6.
Agriculture Advisory Board - 2 vac.
Chairman
Hawkins nominated Kenny Barnwell and Theron Maybin for reappointment. Commissioner Baldwin nominated R.D.
Hodges. A vote will be taken at the
next meeting.
Commissioner
Moyer indicated that if it was the Board=s pleasure he would serve as
ex-officio, non-voting member to this Board.
7.
Board of Equalization and Review - 2 vac.
Chairman
Hawkins nominated Babs Kuykendall and Bill Farrell for reappointment. Chairman Hawkins made the motion to
accept both nominees by acclamation.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
8.
Recreation Advisory Board - 2 vac.
Commissioner
Messer nominated James Schweitzer and Virgil McClure. Chairman Hawkins nominated Don Ward. A vote will be taken at the next meeting.
9.
Henderson County Planning Board - 1 vac.
Commissioner
Baldwin nominated Rick Merrill.
Chairman Hawkins nominated Cindy Dabaibeh. A vote will be taken at the
next meeting.
PRESENTATION
OF EMS SYSTEM CERTIFICATE
During
2002, Henderson County had to complete and submit documentation to the State
Office of Emergency Medical Services to re-certify our EMS. We recently were informed that the Henderson
County Emergency Medical Service had received its certification. This has brought all the Emergency Services
together; Rescue Squad, Fire Departments, First Responder Programs, Blue Ridge
Community College.
Mr.
Jim Morris (Regional Coordinator), North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical
Services, was at the meeting and presented the certificate from the State of
North Carolina to Terry Layne, our EMS Director. Henderson County is now a
County EMS System. Mr. Layne thanked his staff for their hard work in this
process. They spent a lot of time and effort on this. Jennifer Jackson assisted Mr. Layne legally. Dr. Crit Harley, Medical Director, and the
Quality Management Committee also assisted very much in this process.
David
Nicholson thanked Terry Layne and his staff as well as the Quality Management
Team. They did a wonderful job putting
this together.
STRATEGY
FOR COMPLETING MAJOR PLANNING INITIATIVES
During
the retreat last month, the Board asked Staff to develop a strategy for
completing the County Comprehensive Plan (CCP) and to present the strategy to
the Board on February 19, 2003. The
Board was interested in adding a community participation process to the
development of the Plan and it also wanted staff to incorporate previous small
area plans (such as the Mills River/Fletcher Area Study) and future studies as
proposed in the 1999 Countywide Land Use Regulation Guide.
Also
during the retreat, the Board discussed the status of the Zoning Ordinance
Rewrite project and the steps required to adopt zoning text and map
amendments. Staff agreed to meet with
Commissioners Young and Baldwin to orient them to the project and the Board
decided it would set a workshop to discuss outstanding issues. Because the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite
(including related zoning map amendments) is also a major planning project,
Staff had developed a recommended timeframe for completing it given the strategy
for finishing the CCP.
In
developing its plan to accomplish the CCP and the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite
projects, Staff consulted with Geoffrey Willett of the North Carolina
Department of Commerce, Division of Community Assistance.
Mr.
Willett made some introductory comments to the Board prior to Staff presenting
its recommendations. Mr. Willett stated
APlanning is thinking carefully, one step at a time@. He reminded the Board that they have a staff that wants to do the
best job for this county and he has confidence that they can do it. Much of this work will be enhanced by
GIS. Some outside resources will be
needed. He is conservative on staff,
feeling staff needs to be lean, particularly in government but in this period
coming up we don=t have the in-house resources to fully cover this
project. He supports staff=s
recommendation regarding resources and agrees with it. The proposal stretches into 2004 and the
Board was hoping to finish this by the end of 2003. He felt that if the Board looked at all the pieces of the project
they would understand why it stretches into 2004.
Karen
Smith, Planning Director, reviewed the charts with the Board which were the
County Comprehensive Plan (CCP) Revised Project Schedule as well as the major
planning initiative timeline. The
Project has been broken into six phases:
1.
Introduction
1)
Review/update existing drafts:
Henderson
County in Perspective
Demographics
Analysis
Assessment
of Factors Influencing Growth
2)
Update Advisory Committee (2/12/03 mtg.)
3)
Update Planning Board (2/18/03 mtg.)
II. Focus Area Determination
a) Determine focus areas for community
based planning
2)
Input from Advisory Committee
3)
Input from Planning Board
4)
Update Commissioners
III. Community Based Planning
1)
Development and distribution of community
survey
2)
Structure and organize community meetings
3)
Hold community meetings
4)
Assimilate community input from meetings
and survey
5)
Report community input/survey information
6)
Update Advisory Committee
7)
Update Planning Board
8)
Update Commissioners
IV. Element Development
1)
Continue preparation and update of
element drafts
2)
Incorporation of community input into
element drafts
3)
Input from Advisory Committee
4)
Input from Planning Board
5)
Update Commissioners
22.
Development of Implementation Strategy
1)
Development of growth management strategy
2)
Development of implementation strategy:
Prioritization
of small area planning efforts
Final
analysis of element recommendations
3)
Draft CCP to Advisory Committee
4)
Draft CCP to Planning Board
5)
Present draft CCP to Commissioners
6)
Publicize draft CCP
VI. Adoption/Implementation
1)
Adoption of 2020 Comprehensive County
Plan
2)
Development of small area plans
3)
Begin implementation of CCP
recommendations
According
to the plan, staff would not take on any new small area studies until the plan
is completed. The Advisory Committee
and the Planning Board have both seen the Plan and are supportive of it. The
Planning Board would like for their role to be defined and would like to be
sure that there will be sufficient resources provided.
The
Zoning Ordinance Rewrite is another big planning project that has been going
on. Staff tried to figure out how to
make that work with this completion of the CCP. Staff proposed that the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite be tabled until
CCP completion. Prior to that, staff
needs some direction from the Board so they can complete the Zoning Ordinance
Rewrite Clean-up. Ms. Smith recommended
a workshop for the Board to work with staff through some of the main issues of
the Rewrite. Staff proposed to bring
that back to the Board in April.
Although the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite would be on hold people would
still be able to come in with rezoning applications so while staff work would
not be concentrating on drafting new text they would still be accepting
applications for changes in zoning under the current zoning ordinance. Staff resources will be needed to complete
those studies as needed.
There
was some brief discussion of whether or not a moratorium would be needed on
permits or on rezoning. Staff had not proposed any type of a moratorium. Mr. Nicholson felt there should be no
hold-up on routine rezoning requests.
There
was discussion of how the Mills River study would affect this time line. Karen Smith stated that the Mills River
study has already been done.
Implementation of that study not yet begun. She questioned whether the Board would want to implement that
study and its recommendations based on the current zoning ordinance or if they
would want to wait for the New Zoning Ordinance Rewrite. The Mills River study did not encompass all
the area proposed for incorporation but it did have some recommendations for future
land uses.
There
seemed to continue to be questions about small study areas. Mr. Nicholson explained that if a study
could not wait, then staff would need to rework the time line. Much discussion followed.
Resources
David
Nicholson stated that Henderson County has invested about $25,000 in this
project the last couple of years. Mr. Nicholson, Mr. Willett and planning staff
recommended to hire someone whose
full-time job is to focus on this project. He proposed hiring a Planner III. He=s looking for someone with a planning background but
experience as a project manager ($11,300 for the remainder of this fiscal
year). He also suggested putting
$2,000 toward the survey design and
development about May of this year. He
estimated the need for $50,000 about July of this year for community based
planning expenses (included postage and mailing processing, supplies, expenses
associated with survey tabulation and reporting of data, overtime, etc.).
$10,000 has been planned for community group facilitation about August of this
year.
Mr.
Nicholson also reviewed the planned expenses for 2004:
$10,000 Element consulting assistance
$10,000 Printing expenses (included printing
of draft and final documents)
Mr.
Nicholson stated that the process of revisiting the time line and reworking the
process has energized staff.
It
was the consensus of the Board to get staff to add the Mills River Study and
#25 North Study to the time line, rework it and bring it back to the Board
along with a firm cost so the Board can take action to approve the
proposal. The Mills River Study has
been done but the implementation has not yet been done. US #25 North area needs studies because of
the widening of the road in that area. There was some discussion of US #64 East
and Upward Road but it was decided that the Mills River and the #25 North areas
were more important at this time.
Everyone realized that during the time line (next 18 months) there will
be other day to day business to take care of in the planning department
(business as usual). There was some
discussion of a moratorium on zoning or on permits but it was decided that it
was not an appropriate tool to use at this time.
Staff
was directed to bring this item back to the Board at the next meeting, March 3,
2003.
INFORMAL
PUBLIC COMMENTS
1.
David White - Mr. White (WCCA) stated that Western
Carolina Community Action operates Apple Country Transportation. Over the last 20 years WCCA has worked with
the county to provide services that are valued by county residents. WCCA has also worked closely with NC DOT=s
public transportation division which administers community transportation
programs like Apple Country. He is
hearing that some doors are closing and one of those is the rural operating
assistance program and administrative funds through the section 53-11 program
for rural transportation systems as well as the rural public transportation
funds that are being used to fund the current public transportation
routes. We have 800 people a week
riding on our public transportation routes currently.
At
the same time he hears that other doors are opening; i.e. increased federal
funding that will be coming through the MPO which could help replace some of
the doors that are closing and allow for additional services. In order for
these doors to open fully and do the most for Henderson County, he recommended
that we need to participate fully in an M.P.O. By fully participating in the
M.P.O. Henderson County will have the opportunity to strengthen Apple
Country. If the county does not
participate in the M.P.O. he believes it would weaken Apple Country and allow
folks in other municipalities and other counties to make decisions about what
kind of community transportation program Henderson County has.
2.
Dick Baird - Mr. Baird had been asked by the
management of WHKP to make it clear that when he speaks before the Board he is
speaking as Dick Baird, a private citizen, not as a member of the WHKP staff.
He is not an employee of WHKP. He is an
analyst and commentator but he receives no compensation.
He
briefly mentioned the State Prison issue.
He stated that the Dept. of Corrections is going to build a prison
facility of 1,000 beds in Western North Carolina. A number of counties are being considered for that facility,
Henderson County included. It will
create 410 employment opportunities, half or so would be local. He felt that this issue needs to be
discussed and public input received.
The State is expecting the county to come up with 150 acres of prime
flat prison suitable land. He mentioned
that the old Agfa plant is vacant, Transylvania County has an unemployment rate
of about 13%.
He
discussed budget guidance. He stated
that the first thing that should have been on the budget schedule was Board
direction to the Budget Director.
Philosophically
he feels that the Board needs to get on with the County=s business, don=t shift
it back to the citizens.
Courthouse
Committee - He feels the Board
should step up and make that decision
Gun
Ordinance - He feels that the
Board should make some changes to the proposed
ordinance
and get on with it.
Farmland
Assessment - Farmers are very
unhappy with the way they were treated.
He
stated that he had never understood why governments don=t have Master Plans -
It could be a simple document that gives a general philosophy of where the
entity wants to go, how they want to get there, etc.
Comprehensive
County Plan - the Board has put off what was progressing nicely last fall.
Comments
from Commissioners
Commissioner
Moyer stated that the State Prison was an add-on to this agenda and will be
discussed but one of the provisions the State has put on the property is that
it has to have access to at least one major highway. (This is the reason the State has rejected the idea of using the
old Agfa property).
Commissioner
Messer also informed Mr. Baird that the Gun Ordinance was also scheduled to be
discussed later during this meeting.
Technical
Recess
Chairman
Hawkins called a brief technical break to change videotapes.
3.
P.M. Anderson - Mr. Anderson stated that he would like
to obtain official confirmation that revenue neutral principles will be applied
this year following the recent assessment of real property.
4.
Bette Taylor - Ms. Taylor discussed animal control,
stating that two Pit Bulls and a pup were running loose in her
neighborhood. She lives in the
Stonecrest area off Highway #25. She has had to fence her property for her own
protection, 12,000 sq. ft. She
suggested a leash law or perhaps imposing a higher fee of insurance for those
who have dogs running loose.
PUBLIC
HEARING - Road Names
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion for the Board to go into public hearing. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Rocky
Hyder requested the Board approve the following list of road names (renaming):
Old
Name Proposed
Name
Pisgah
Pride Lane Willow
Valley Farm Way
Holly
Knoll Circle Holly
Hill Dr North
Unnamed
Road Racing
Lane
Pheasant
Ridge Drive Old
Logging Trail
Public
Input
There
was none.
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion for the Board to go out of public hearing. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion that the Board accept the above names as
submitted. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
PUBLIC
HEARING on Property Address Changes
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion for the Board to go into public hearing. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Rocky
Hyder stated that pursuant to NCGS 153A-239.1, the Board of Commissioners
established a public hearing for the purpose of approving property address
number changes in Henderson County. The
record of changes had been filed with the Clerk to the Board. This is usually
done on an annual basis. Approximately
1,400 changes have been effected since last February. He requested the Board to formally approve those property address
changes.
Public
Input
There
was none.
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion for the Board to go out of public hearing. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion that the Board accept the changes as presented. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
UPDATE
ON NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM
Rocky
Hyder reminded the Board that during the Board=s retreat last month, Staff
reported that it was beginning to reexamine the issue of whether the County
should participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Henderson County is one of three counties in
North Carolina that do not participate in the program.
Staff
had prepared a slide presentation that provided some basic information about
flooding and the NFIP. The presentation
reviewed reasons why it is time to discuss NFIP again and outlined some of the
requirements for participating in the NFIP.
The
power point presentation was designed to provide the groundwork for future
discussions of this issue by the Board.
The
County Manager stated that it had been several years since Henderson County had
considered participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. Due to legislation which was passed during
last year=s General Assembly Session that could effect our ability to receive
Federal and State assistance during and following disasters, we will have to
strongly consider the adoption of this program. It will take several months to complete the necessary work to
apply for inclusion in the program and develop the required ordinance which
will include building standards.
The
Board was requested to hear the presentation and consider authorizing staff to
develop the necessary elements for participation within the National Flood
Insurance Program. Mr. Nicholson
explained that as staff begins this effort our goal will be to first protect
life and property through the ordinance.
Mr.
Hyder explained that the NFIP was developed in the 1960's as a result of
efforts from communities that had a lot of land area within the
floodplain. Private insurance carriers
would not insure those properties because flooding is such a common occurrence
as a disaster. Therefore the Federal
Government decided to step in and subsidize an insurance program so that those
communities that had a large land area in the floodplain would be able to develop
those areas so that their tax base would be substantial enough to support their
operations.
Senate
Bill 300 was passed last year which amended GS 166-A which is the General
Statute that effects disaster relief funding in North Carolina. The amendment tied any type of State or
Federal disaster assistance that the county may be eligible for to
participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.
Mr.
Hyder stated that there had been rapid growth in the county including
development in the floodplains. Since
1982 we have had about 439 structures actually built in the floodplain. We have also had Land Use and other Studies
that have recommended some type of method to manage the floodplain. The State of North Carolina has undergone a
statewide floodplain mapping effort which began in August of 2000. They have projected that they will map our
area in 2005; however, that particular project is unfunded at this time.
There
are three basic components to participate in the NFIP:
1.
Update 1982 FIRM maps (flood maps)
remap
floodplain showing encroachment
2.
Adopt floodplain management regulations
adopt
ordinance
3.
Provide enforcement
There
are about 200 miles of river that we would be responsible for in Henderson
County. It has been estimated that it could cost $340,000 to map Henderson
County=s floodplains. We are one of
only three counties that do not participate in the program.
FEMA
(Federal Emergency Management Agency) establishes what the minimum standards
are in regard to managing the floodplain:
No
construction or filling is permitted in the floodway.
Construction
is permitted in the flood fringe if it is elevated above the BFE. Fill is permitted in the flood fringe if
hydraulic engineering studies are conducted.
FEMA
sets the minimum standard but they are actually regulated by a local
ordinance.
County
Options
Allow
development
Develop
some standard for lowest floor elevation
County
could apply stricter standards than NFIP, based on public safety
Do
not allow development (1-2% of the property
in the county)
No
development or fill in the floodplain (including flood fringe)
Benefits
of participation
C
Make flood insurance available
C
Make Federal and State disaster
assistance available
C
Adjacent Property owners may be protected
from effects of improper fill activities
C
Prevent floodplain encroachment, which
would
Protect
public health and safety
Protect
environmentally sensitive areas
Protect
farmland
If
we do not participate?
The
following services are unavailable for property located in the floodplain:
Flood
insurance
Federal
and State assistance
grants
and loans (for buildings)
disaster
assistance and
mortgage
insurance
Discussion
Items:
Cost
of joining program
Floodplain
mapping
Engineering studies showing encroachment
Additional
staff for:
Enforcement
Administration
On-going
training/certification
Mr.
Hyder explained that participating in the NFIP would probably forever change
what happens in our floodplains.
Depending on our level of participation, we would either decrease or
increase the loss of life and property within the floodplain area. Our level of participation would also
determine how we manage some of the more sensitive, natural areas in the
county, while protecting our water quality.
Floods are the most common disaster in the United States.
Discussion
followed. The Board is in favor of
proceeding with trying to get in the NFIP.
The Board asked David to check and see if the State will allow us to use
the 1982 floodplain maps initially.
Recess
Chairman
Hawkins called a short break, stating the meeting would be called back to order
at approximately 12:35.
ANIMAL
SERVICES ORDINANCE
Tom
Bridges reminded the Board that on November 4, 2002, the Board of Public Health
presented the Board a new proposed Animal Services Ordinance. At the Board=s retreat, they requested a
formal presentation be made to the Board at this meeting on this proposed
ordinance and its alternatives.
David
Chapman, Chairman of the Board of Public Health could not be present but Tom
Bridges, Public Health Director was.
The Henderson County Board of Health appointed an Animal Control
Committee with the following members: Dr. David Chapman, Chairman; Dr. John
Bell, Physician; Dr. William Martin, Veterinarian; Commissioner Marilyn
Gordon; Tom Bridges, Robert Smith, Brenda Miller; and Russ Burrell, resource
staff. The Animal Control Committee met
about a year and a half on this matter.
In studying the issues, they reviewed ordinances from other North
Carolina counties to see how North Carolina animal control laws fit. They reviewed ordinancess from Halifax
County, Forsythe County, Durham County, Chatham County, Wilson County and the
1998 Animal Control Ordinance revision that was previously proposed by the
Henderson County Board of Health which was never acted on by the Board of
County Commissioners. They also
contracted with John Mays, Executive Director of the National Animal Control
Association and he reviewed our Animal Control Program and prepared a report
which was given to the Board of Commissioners in November 2001. He provided some proposals as far as
operations, efficiencies, or issues that he felt were important to be
addressed. He made some
recommendations. His report states the
ideal. Mr. Bridges stated that they
began to try to implement what they could within the current budget. They have written policies and procedures
already. No public hearings have been
held yet.
Mr.
Bridges stated that this report is available on the web site for the Health
Department. The Animal Control
Committee and the Board of Health limited the scope of the proposal due to the
following reasons:
Cost
perspective - the Ordinance proposed by the Board of Health was rewritten from
the perspective of current activities while recommending citations or civil
penalties for enforcing State and County laws and providing additional revenue
base to cover some of the cost for the program. (The Board of Commissioners
actually set the fees)
Currently
animal control services are operated through the Henderson County Health
Department and have been for quite a few years. He suggested that it might be better to have another department over Animal Control.
The
proposal may not adequately address municipal county issues regarding animal
control services and how budgeting would be determined. It was the opinion of
the Board of Health that this issue needs to be dealt with more directly by the
Board of Commissioners and the municipalities.
Overall the Board of Health is a representative body of the community
and was split over the optional ordinances that are in part 3 of this report
i.e. county-wide leash law, licensure of all dogs.
A
workshop was recommended so the Animal Control Committee and the Board of
Commissioners could meet and
review items in detail.
Mr.
Bridges stated that it was the opinion of the Board of Health that counties
often make the mistake to design and build an animal control shelter that in
the long run is less efficient and becomes more costly to build or
maintain. The Board of Health
recommended that a consultant credentialed and experienced in plan design of an
animal control shelter with the goal of establishing an appropriate setting and
shelter design that would enable a doubling or tripling of animal adoptions, if
it=s properly placed and sited and built in a way to attract people to adopt
animals. They would also like to promote more animal control education
opportunities to educate people about spay and neuter, rabies shots, neglect,
abuse as well as microchipping.
The
Board was agreeable with having a workshop on this issue. Chairman Hawkins asked the County Manager to
get some of the discussions lined up with municipalities and others on this
issue.
FY
2003-2004 BUDGET ISSUES
Chairman
Hawkins stated that he would like to see the Board develop some kind of
statement on ARevenue Neutral@ and work on setting some goals for the three
large fund users: Sheriff=s Department, Board of Education, and Department of
Social Services. He felt the Board
should give the County Manager some guidance on what they feel Capital Projects
should be for the year and whether or not the Board anticipates additional
school construction in this budget year.
The Board should offer some guidance on Article 44 tax and on fund
balance for the year. Chairman Hawkins
reminded the County Manager that the Board is awaiting a County Vehicle Policy
on the utilization of our county fleet.
Mr.
Nicholson mentioned that the Board had asked for some prebudget workshops,
working on goals for the largest departments. He had distributed information
from the four largest departments from last year=s budget for the Board=s
review. Those departments were: Sheriff=s
Department, Board of Education, Department of Social Services, and Public
Health Department.
Budget
Outcomes
During
discussion at the last Board meeting concerning the upcoming budget, the Board
asked staff to schedule pre-budget meetings with the Board of Education,
Department of Social Services, Department of Public Health, and the
Sheriff. The purpose of these meetings
is to discuss their goals for the coming fiscal year. Staff had updated a budget calendar that included these
workshops. Staff also provided information from some of the previous budget
presentations which included goals and outcomes.
The
Board may discuss setting some of those prebudget workshops under AImportant
Dates@ at this meeting.
During
discussions Chairman Hawkins gave some examples of goals the Board of
Commissioners would be interested in - Board of Education: reduce drop-out
rate, improve end of course test grades for minorities, demonstrate some
educational quality improvement with class size.
Revenue
Neutral
Chairman
Hawkins stated that it is important to realize in discussion of revenue neutral
it is not necessarily what your total budget was last year, but the portion of
the budget revenue that you can control, which is basically property tax. For Henderson County that is about $40 some
million although we have a $77,000,000 budget.
Commissioner
Moyer discussed the revenue neutral approach which means that when David looks
at the tax rate of 50 cents and we get the revaluation numbers, we take the
growth (using a formula) and work your
way backwards. If the rate becomes 44
or 45 cents that sets the rate and is the starting point. If the Board sets the tax rate at higher
than that rate then they need to be prepared to explain why to the public
(increase for whatever project).
Commissioner
Baldwin stressed that when you talk about revenue neutral you=re not really
dealing with the same revenues because of growth. What you really have is
revenue neutral plus growth which combines to give you your revenue level to
start with.
Commissioner
Messer expressed that along with the growth you have added expense.
Mills
River Incorporation will affect our sales tax, whenever the incorporation
happens. The County will lose close to
one million dollars worth of revenue when Mills River incorporates. The Article 44 Sales Tax that goes into effect
July 1, 2003 will bring in over a million dollars.
Commissioner
Baldwin stressed the need for discussions with the various departments on the
front end so the Board becomes a little more active in establishing parameters
for the budget. He felt it important to
know where the departments are going and what their needs are before attaching
dollars to their programs.
Break
Chairman
Hawkins called a brief technical break, to change videotapes.
There
was consensus of the Board to have some early dialogue with the larger
departments, at least the three larger ones: Sheriff, Board of Ed., DSS, and
have some mutual goal settings.
Discussion
followed concerning capital projects the Commissioners wished the County
Manager to include in next year=s budget:
Human
Services Facility
Animal
Shelter
Historic
Courthouse (at least set aside a quarter million dollars this year)
Mr.
Nicholson informed the Board that staff will present a Capital Improvement Plan
as part of the budget this year. He
mentioned EMS, the main station as well as the satellite station planned for
Upward Road. Library branches have been
on the table for several years now.
They
also directed Mr. Nicholson not to appropriate fund balance. We are currently at the 10.5 cent
range. LGC suggests a minimum of 8%
fund balance. The Board discussed the
Incorporation of Mills River.
David
Nicholson suggested that we plan to take the monies from the sales tax and use
them for one-time issues, maybe a one time capital project like the animal
shelter. Or it may be needed to replace
fund balance if Mills River doesn=t incorporate until July 2004.
Sales
Tax Distribution
Within
the units of local governments, county government can choose annually the
distribution method for sales tax. The
two options are by population and by Ad Valorem Tax Levy. Should the Board wish to change the method,
we must notify the NC Department of Revenue by April. Mr. Nicholson had prepared a spreadsheet with information
concerning the alternatives. There was
also some discussion of the tax effect due to the possible incorporation of
Mills River.
Mr.
Nicholson reviewed briefly a couple of examples that had been prepared
concerning the options for sales tax distribution. Partly because this is a
reappraisal year, it was the consensus of the Board to wait until next year to
think about going to ad valorem tax distribution.
Motor
Vehicle Valuations
At
a previous meeting, the Board discussed information on the effect of a possible
change to the motor vehicle valuation.
Currently, Henderson County uses the high value (decision was made by
former Tax Assessors). The vast
majority of North Carolina Counties use the standard valuation. Mr. Nicholson had prepared some information
for the Board concerning the different options.
Following
discussion, Chairman Hawkins made the motion to go to the standard rate from
the high rate on motor vehicle valuation, effective July 2003. A vote was taken and the motion passed four
to one with Commissioner Baldwin voting nay.
APPROVAL
OF ORDER GRANTING A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR EXPANSION TO A PREEXISTING MINING
AND EXTRACTION OPERATION FOR HOOPERS CREEK QUARRY
Chairman
Hawkins reminded those present that Ms. Beeker was absent and she had prepared
this order but he also made everyone aware that when the State permitted the
extension to the quarry it changed the amount of area included. It was Ms. Beeker=s advice that the Board
postpone this issue to an upcoming
meeting to open up the hearing again and get the actual boundary size that the
State has permitted and include that as part of the deliberatons.
No
action was taken. This item was rolled.
ORDINANCE
TO REGULATE FIRING OF WEAPONS
Chairman
Hawkins also suggested that this item be rolled, partly due to the fact that
Ms. Beeker was absent from the meeting.
We will still have a public hearing.
Commissioner Moyer felt that there were some major problems with the
proposed ordinance and he felt that the Board needed to reconsider this
issue.
Chairman
Hawkins referenced some laws that are already on the books. The Board will
reconsider this issue at a later date.
BLUE
RIDGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROPERTY - add-on by
Commissioner Moyer
Commissioner
Moyer stated that he would like to get some more information for the Board on
the piece of property in question. He
and Commissioner Messer went out and looked at the property. Mr. Moyer felt that the Board should get an
impartial person to do a site plan of what it would cost for site preparation
and what type footprint of a building (80,000 sq. ft.) could be put on that
site. The Board was in agreement to get more information on this piece of property.
STATE
PRISON - add-on by Commissioner Messer
Commissioner
Messer stated that it was brought to his attention in the last few days of some
talk about locating a prison in either Henderson, Haywood, or Transylvania
county. He would like to see this Board
discuss the impact it would have on Henderson County, the pros and the cons.
Chairman
Hawkins stated that to his knowledge the County had not been contacted yet by
the Bureau of Prisons with an inquiry as to whether or not we want it in our
county. The Commissioners had received
a forwarded e-mail from Representative Justus that posed the question. Apparently they are looking for 100 - 150
acres of land to be donated for the site.
Chairman Hawkins had asked Scott Hamilton of the Chamber of Commerce,
our economic guru, to look around and there has been some search for that
amount of land to fit the requirements they were asking for. They also requested that the land be close
to a major road with sewer and gas.
There are advantages to having that workforce for our citizens but there
is no guarantee that the workforce would come out of our county.
Commissioner
Young asked that Mr. Nicholson check with the County Manager in McDowell County
because they have a prison that=s been in operation there for 10-15 years which
is a 2,000 bed prison. Property in
McDowell County is probably worth $15,000 an acre and its probably $50,000 an
acre in Henderson County. It would be
interesting though to know what the prison has done for McDowell County as far
as revenue increased, jobs, etc.
Commissioner
Moyer felt that the Board owed it to the citizens of the County to do a
thorough investigation and list the pros and cons of locating a prison in our
county.
Chairman
Hawkins suggested that Scott Hamilton might be able to assist Mr. Nicholson
with a presentation of the pros and cons and a result of some of the
investigations that have been on-going.
MPO
BOUNDARY EXPANSION
Mr.
Nicholson informed the Board that there are two things that are happening with
the MPO. The first one is on the boundaries
of the MPO. The other is the memorandum
of understanding. The Board will need
to have some discussion over its involvement.
We will be asked to join this MPO formally soon. At tomorrow=s MPO meeting they are going to
consider the boundary that affects
Henderson County. We=ve had a
hands-off attitude in Henderson County about the issue of the MPO. Mr. Nicholson wanted to give the Board an
opportunity, if they wished, to make any comments about the boundary lines that
will be presented tomorrow to their policy board. Mr. Nicholson stated that he was at the meeting where the
original boundary lines were drawn but did not participate in the discussion
because he had no authority from the Board. The Hendersonville City Manager,
Laurel Park Manager, and the Fletcher Town Manager all gave input to the
process.
He
showed the boundaries on a map. Mr.
Nicholson stated that except for the National Forest, the far eastern part of
our county and the far southern part would not be included in this boundary but
the rest of the county would. The
majority of the transportation issues associated with Henderson County are
probably going to be in this MPO boundary.
RPO will become a lesser issue for Henderson County because the majority
of Henderson County is now in the MPO.
Following
discussion, it was the consensus of the Board for Mr. Nicholson to relay that
Henderson County would prefer to have the minimum area of our county in the MPO
that is required by the MSA. This Board
felt that we should do our own transportation planning.
IMPORTANT
DATES
Mr.
Nicholson asked if the Board wished to have the prebudget meetings during
regular meetings or to call a special meeting.
It was decided to try to schedule them for regular meetings.
There
was discussion concerning a workshop on the Animal Control Ord./Facility.
Chairman Hawkins suggested a workshop be scheduled for Tuesday, March 4 at 7:00
p.m. No motion was made. Everyone just added this to their calendars.
Chairman
Hawkins made the motion to reopen the public hearing on the Hoopers Creek
Quarry for March 3, 2003 at 7:00 p.m.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
County
Manager Announcement
Mr.
Nicholson wanted to notify the community that Henderson County has been awarded
$112,500 of CDBG funds for the Parkside Commons project at the old East Flat
Rock Elementary School Property. This
Community Development Block Grant will help with utility costs for the project.
ADJOURN
There
being no further business to come before the Board, Chairman Hawkins made
the motion to adjourn the meeting at approximately 2:55 p.m. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Attest:
Elizabeth
W. Corn, Clerk to the Board
Grady
Hawkins, Chairman