MINUTES

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

COUNTY OF HENDERSON AUGUST 4, 2003

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the Commissioners' Conference Room of the Henderson County Office Building.

Those present were: Chairman Grady Hawkins, Vice-Chairman Larry Young, Commissioner Bill Moyer, Commissioner Charlie Messer, Commissioner Shannon Baldwin, 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, Budget and Management Director Selena Coffey, Fire Marshal/Emergency Management Coordinator Rocky Hyder, Public Information Officer Chris S. Coulson, Risk Management Coordinator Bill Byrnes, and Paralegal Connie Rayfield. Deputy Clerk to the Board Amy Brantley was present through nominations.

CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME

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

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Commissioner Shannon Baldwin led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.

INVOCATION

Rev. Ed Heard, First United Methodist Church, gave the invocation.

DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT OF AGENDA

Chairman Hawkins reminded those in attendance that the Board planned to meet with the Mills River Council about 7:00 p.m. or just after the planned 7:00 Public Hearing.

There were no adjustments to the agenda.

Chairman Hawkins made the motion to approve the agenda as presented. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

CONSENT AGENDA

Chairman Hawkins made the motion to approve the consent agenda. All voted in favor and the motion carried. The Consent Agenda consisted of the following:

Minutes

Draft minutes were presented of the following meetings for the Board=s review and approval:

July 23, 2003, regular meeting

Tax Collector=s Report

Terry F. Lyda, Henderson County Tax Collector, had submitted the Tax Collector=s Report dated July 30, 2003 for the Board=s information.

Petition for addition to State Road System

Staff had received a petition for addition to the State Road system for Stone House Road. It has been the practice of this Board to accept road petitions and forward them to NC Department of Transportation for their review. It has also been the practice of the Board not to ask NCDOT to change the priority for roads on the paving priority list.

Amendment to Rules of Procedure

Staff had included for the Board=s consideration a resolution to make two clarifying changes to the Rules of Procedure for the Board of County Commissioners.

First, the Resolution proposed to remove all references to the Mud Creek Sewer District Board, as the Mud Creek Sewer District has now been dissolved.

Second, the Resolution proposed to clarify the language in Rule #32 regarding breaking tie votes when making nominations. The proposed clarification states that in the event of a tie vote on nominations, the Board will vote at the next regular meeting unless all members are not present. If all members are not present, the vote will be rolled to the following regular meeting, at which time the Board will vote regardless of absences.

Fletcher Resolution - Building Inspections

The Town of Fletcher had sent a Resolution (which they had recently adopted) concerning enforcement of the building code within their boundary. The Resolution included wording adding their recently passed Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance to Section 3 which covers the issuance of Certificate of Occupancy.

The County Manager recommended the Board approve the submitted Resolution. He had spoken to Sam Laughter, Code Administrator with the Inspections Department, who had no concerns about the additional ordinance being included.

Public Hearing for draft Hazard Mitigation Plan

Staff requested a Public Hearing date of August 20, 2003 at 11:00 a.m. for the initial draft of the Henderson County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan as required by NCGS 166A-6. The draft document will be provided to the Board prior to the August 20 Public Hearing and will be available for public inspection in the Emergency Management Office on or before August 8, 2003.

Set Public Hearing on Proposed Amendments to the Henderson County Subdivision Ordinance

In March of 2003, the Henderson County Planning Board amended Appendices 4 through 7 of the Henderson County Subdivision Ordinance (Chapter 170 of the Henderson County Code) as allowed by Section 170-50C of the Subdivision Ordinance. Such amendments were primarily intended to clarify for users of the Subdivision Ordinance the application and plan/plat detail requirements for subdivisions and to rectify any discrepancies between the Ordinance text and the Appendices. The amendments to the Appendices generated discussion by the Planning Board and it=s Subdivision Issues Subcommittee regarding some related amendments to the text of the Subdivision Ordinance itself as well as some other amendments that have been under consideration by the Planning Board.

The Subdivision Issues Subcommittee of the Planning Board presented recommended amendments to the Subdivision Ordinance on July 15, 2003, and the Planning Board voted unanimously to send a favorable recommendation on the amendments to the Board of Commissioners. The recommended amendments were presented for the Board=s review.

The Board of Commissioners must hold a public hearing prior to taking action on amendments to the Subdivision Ordinance. If the Board wants to schedule a public hearing on the amendments recommended by the Planning Board, the earliest regular evening meeting at which a hearing could be held would be Tuesday, September 2, 2003.

The County Manager recommended the Board schedule a public hearing on the proposed amendments to the Subdivision Ordinance for Tuesday, September 2, 2003, at 7:00 p.m.

Request for Improvement Guarantee for Etowah Golf Villas Subdivision

On April 16, 2003, the Board of Commissioners approved an application for an improvement guarantee in the amount of $79,112.50 for Etowah Golf Villas, LLC. The improvement guarantee, proposed as an irrevocable letter of credit, was to cover the cost of road improvements to construct a 150 linear foot portion of a street and the cost of sewer system installation to serve a portion of the Etowah Golf Villas subdivision. Etowah Golf Villas is a 34-lot subdivision being developed off Fairway View Drive in Etowah.

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. The previously approved improvement guarantee for Etowah Golf Villas would have allowed the developer to record a plat for 4 of the proposed 34 lots prior to completing all of the required improvements to serve such lots. The completion date for the road and sewer improvements proposed in the previous application was March 31, 2004.

Etowah Golf Villas, LLC, (the developer) has not yet submitted the letter of credit for the previously approved improvement guarantee nor executed the previously approved Performance Guarantee Agreement because the developer would now like to post an improvement guarantee for the entire project. The developer has, therefore, submitted a new application and cost estimate for an improvement guarantee. The new improvement guarantee, proposed in the amount of $151,162.50, is intended to cover the cost of road, drainage, water and sewer improvements ($120,930.00) as well as the required 25% contingency ($30,232.50). The new estimate includes the costs associated with the improvements that were the subject of the original application as well as additional improvements to complete the entire project. The new application is intended to replace the previously approved application. The developer proposed posting a letter of credit from RBC Centura (or other bank licensed to do business in North Carolina) as the improvement guarantee and still intends to complete all of the improvements by March 31, 2004.

A new draft Performance Guarantee Agreement, which reflects the proposed changes in the type and cost of the improvements was included for the Board=s consideration. The new Agreement also contained a provision to void the approval of the prior improvement guarantee. If the new improvement guarantee application is approved, the developer must submit a letter of credit and certify the new Agreement as to form prior to its execution by the Chairman and the developer.

The County Manager recommended that the Board approve the new application for the improvement guarantee for Etowah Golf Villas in the amount of $1512,162.50 subject to the terms of the new draft Performance Guarantee Agreement.

NOMINATIONS

Notification of Vacancies

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

1. Asheville/Buncombe/Henderson Water Authority - 1 vac.

The Board had received a letter of resignation from Commissioner Young who found it too difficult to attend their day-time meetings due to his work schedule.

The Board will discuss this item at the next meeting.

2. Juvenile Crime Prevention Council - 1 vac.

Nominations

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

1. Blue Ridge Community College Board of Trustees - 2 vac.

At a previous meeting there had been five nominees (Dr. Dowdeswell, Russell Burrell, Dr. Richard Todd, Tom Orr, and Ted Carland) for this Board. There were no other nominees at this time. The Clerk polled the Board with the results as follows:

Commissioner Moyer - Orr, Burrell

Commissioner Messer - Burrell, Orr

Chairman Hawkins - Todd, Carland

Commissioner Young - Todd, Carland

Commissioner Baldwin - Todd, Orr

Dr. Richard Todd and Tom Orr were the two new appointees.

2. Cane Creek Water & Sewer District Advisory Committee - 2 vac.

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

3. EMS Quality Management Committee - 1 vac.

Chairman Hawkins nominated Myra Epley. There were no other nominations at this time. Chairman Hawkins made the motion to accept Ms. Epley by acclamation. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

4. Henderson County Board of Health - 1 vac.

Commissioner Young nominated Dr. Jack Romer to fill the pharmacist position. There were no other nominees at this time. Chairman Hawkins made the motion to accept Dr. Romer by acclamation. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

5. Juvenile Crime Prevention Council - 1 vac.

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

6. Nursing/Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee - 6 vac.

Commissioner Messer nominated Kay Robinson to position # 15. Chairman Hawkins made the motion to accept Kay Robinson by acclamation. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

7. Senior Volunteer Services Advisory Council - 1 vac.

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

8. SmartStart - 1 vac.

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

9. Western Carolina Community Action Board of Directors - 1 vac.

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

HUMAN SERVICES BUILDING - FEASIBILITY STUDY

David Nicholson informed the Board that staff had received four proposals to perform a feasibility study on a pre-engineered building for the Human Services Building. The purpose of the study is to provide the Commissioners with a recommendation of how to best utilize the site, alternatives for the type of construction and an initial budget.

Staff=s initial review indicated that we should consider a contract with Calloway, Johnson, Moore & West of Asheville, NC to conduct the study. Their proposal indicated that they have vast experience in pre-engineered construction.

Calloway, Johnson, Moore & West have proposed a fee of $9,800 to complete this study and will provide the initial report within 30 days. It was Mr. Nicholson=s hope that this study would be the first step in developing this facility this fiscal year. He also hoped that by providing the Board and the future architectural firm with this information that the cost would be recouped.

Following some discussion, Commissioner Baldwin made the motion to award the contract to Calloway, Johnson, Moore & West of Asheville and to authorize the County Manager to move forward with this project. A vote was taken and the motion passed four to one with Commissioner Moyer voting nay.

UPDATE ON COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND OTHER MAJOR PLANNING INITIATIVES

Karen Smith reminded the Board that staff provides an update each month to inform them as to what staff had worked on for the past month and what they plan to do in the next month on CCP and Major Planning Initiatives.

She informed those in attendance of the up-coming community meetings:

Gerton/Bat Cave Fire District Aug. 28@ Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Club

Raven Rock A @ Sept. 4 @ Saluda Fire Station

Valley Hill #2 A @ Sept. 11 @ Valley Hill Fire Dept. (Main Station)

Green River A @ Sept. 18 @ Tuxedo Extended Day School

Dana A @ Sept. 25 @ Dana Elementary School

Mills River A @ Oct. 2 @ Mills River Elementary School

Edneyville A @ Oct. 9 @ NC Justice Academy

Etowah/Horse Shoe@ A Oct. 16 @ Etowah Elementary School

Fletcher A @ Oct. 23 @ Fletcher Elementary School

Mountain Home A @ Oct. 30 @ Rugby Middle School

Valley Hill A @ Nov. 6 @ Valley Hill Fire Dept. (Main Station)

Blue Ridge A @ Nov. 13 @ Blue Ridge Fire Dept.

Hendersonville A @ Nov. 20 @ Whitmire Building

Make-Up Meeting@ A Dec. 4 @ Henderson County Public Library (Main) Auditorium

Planning Staff is continuing to implement the Public Relations Campaign. They will be placing posters in each community advertising the meetings. They will use WHKP as well as other local radio stations, newspapers, etc.

Karen Smith stated that the US #25 North Corridor Study is progressing. Staff is working with Benchmark, Inc. Benchmark is working on a detailed Land Use inventory of the corridor. Staff plans to overlap some of the community input with the up-coming community meetings. There may have to be a separate meeting just for the folks in that corridor, probably in the Fall.

Ms. Smith stated that as far as the Mills River Planning Project, there is a planning committee that was a part of the former incorporation effort which now has officially been appointed by the Town and is working on the project. Planning Staff provided maps to them some months ago. They have conducted their own Land Use inventory and are reviewing our Zoning Ordinance at the present to determine what districts they think they would like to recommend for that area. They are focusing first on the Mills River Sewer Project area and then will work their way out. They hope to have something to present to their community in September and try to have something back to Planning Staff in October.

OFFER TO PURCHASE FORECLOSED PROPERTY

MULTIPLE LOTS IN ROCKY GORGE LODGE SUBDIVISION

Angela Beeker informed the Board that the County had received an Offer to Purchase in the amount of $9,400 for the following lots located in Rocky Gorge Lodge Subdivision which total to +/- 9 acres (recorded in Plat Book I, Page 151 of the Henderson County Registry):

Block 1 Lots, 1,2,3,4,5,6, and 7

Block 2 Lots 1,2,3,4,5, and Lots 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22

Block 3 Lot 5 and Lots 24, 25, 26, and 27

Block 5 Lots 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15

Block 6 Lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 12

Block 9 Lots 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, and 32

Block 14 Lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8

Block 15 Lots 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and Lots 38, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 72, 73, 74, and 75

Pursuant to the Policy Regarding the Sale of Real Property owned by Henderson County as a Result of a Tax Foreclosure Sale, an initial offer is presented to the Board of Commissioners, who can either reject the bid, or issue a proposed acceptance. If the Board issues a proposed acceptance, the bidder is required to post a bid deposit in the amount of 5% of the bid or $150.00 whichever is greater. The bidder must also pay to the County $120.00 to cover the costs of advertising the offer for upset bids. A notice of the offer is then published inviting any upset bids. If no upset bids are received within the ten days following the notice, the offer will come back to the Board for final consideration, at which point the Board may accept or reject the offer. If given final acceptance by the Board, the purchaser must pay the full bid price, and a quitclaim deed is issued.

This is a very old subdivision, established in the 1920's and the lots are approx. one tenth of an acre each.

The County Attorney has rendered a basic title opinion, which states that there were some irregularities in the foreclosure process and subsequent foreclosure sale. For this reason, she has prepared an Offer to Purchase, which has been signed by the Offeror, with relevant documentation attached, and requires the Offeror to sign a release as part of the purchase price for the properties before the Offer is advertised.

Ms. Beeker stated that Board action either to give a proposed acceptance or to reject the Offer received would be appropriate at this time.

Following some discussion, Chairman Hawkins made the motion to table this item until Commissioner Messer and Gary Tweed could have a chance to visit the lots to see if they might be something the county could consider for a community park in that area of the county. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

UPDATE ON PENDING ISSUES

Mayor=s Cup Raft Race - rescheduled

In celebration of River Month, over the past years, Land-of-Sky has sponsored the Mayor=s Cup Raft Race. This event has proven to be an exciting and welcome friendly competition among our Region=s elected officials which have made up 10, sometimes more, teams. Last year the City of Asheville was victorious. All equipment (rafts, paddles, life jackets) will be provided. There is no entry fee.

The date has been reset for Sunday, August 24, with a tentative start time of 3:00 p.m. at French Broad River Park. The purpose of the ARaft Race@ is to acknowledge the importance of the French Broad River to the four-county region as a cultural, economic, natural and recreational resource and is held in conjunction with the French Broad River Month celebration.

Henderson County=s original team was made up of the following:

Captain - Commissioner Bill Moyer

Charlie Messer Amy Brantley Duane Frickel

Ken McGraw Bengy Bryant

Commissioner Moyer is still willing to serve as Captain of the team. He asked the County Manager to get with the other members to check to see if they are still willing to participate.

NCACC Conference Voting Delegate Information & Call for 20-year Commissioners

None of our Commissioners were planning to attend any of the Conference this year. Mr. Nicholson is attending. He is a speaker at one of the sessions. Chairman Hawkins made the motion that David Nicholson serve as the voting delegate for Henderson County. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

IMPORTANT DATES

Chairman Hawkins made the Commissioners aware that a Joint Facilities Meeting had been set up with the Board of Education for Tuesday, August 12 at 2:00 p.m. in conference room 1-A of the School Board Administrative Offices at 414 4^th Ave. West. Chairman Hawkins and David Nicholson plan to attend.

Recess

Chairman Hawkins called a brief recess, stating the Board would hold the public hearing at 7:00 p.m. and then recess briefly to set up for the joint meeting with Mills River shortly after the public hearing.

INFORMAL PUBLIC COMMENTS

Dick Baird had signed up to speak but then marked his name off the list. There were no public comments.

Chairman comments

The Chairman asked the Commissioners to take a few minutes to look at the packet of information that Mrs. Beeker had prepared concerning Mills River incorporation.

Important Dates - revisisted

Chairman Hawkins stated there was one other important date to mention regarding setting a workshop on outcome based budgeting and some of our strategic planning that we plan to do this fall. While a couple of Board members were off on vacation he and the County Manager worked on an outline for strategic planning. He asked that this item be placed on the August 20 agenda for input.

Commissioner Baldwin mentioned using a facilitator, a trained person to help with the process.

Chairman Hawkins asked that it be added as a discussion item at the August 20 Board meeting.

PUBLIC HEARING for Street Names

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

Rocky Hyder reminded the Board that they had scheduled this date for a public hearing for the following new road names:

Will Hill Road

Parsonage Drive Ext

Public Input

There was none.

Chairman Hawkins made the motion to close the public hearing. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Chairman Hawkins made the motion to approve the list of road names as presented by Mr. Hyder. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Recess

A brief recess was called to reset the room.

MILLS RIVER INCORPORATION

The Board had agreed to continue to enforce certain of the County=s ordinances within the Town of Mills River until August 24, 2003 to enable a contract to be negotiated for a longer period of enforcement by the County.

Enclosed in the agenda packet for Board review were:

Draft Contract

This contract provides for the County=s enforcement of most of its ordinances within the Town of Mills River. At agenda preparation, the County Attorney was still discussing this draft with the attorney for the Town, and therefore may have some clarifying changes to present to the Board.

Ordinance Amendments - Cable Television

These amendments are necessary to allow both the Cable Television Ordinance and Mediacom=s to be applicable within the Town of Mills River if both the County and Mills River agree.

These amendments must pass at two readings of the Board, so if the Board would like for the Cable Ordinance and the Mediacom franchise to be applicable within the Town of Mills River before August 24, 2003, it will be necessary for the Board to vote to pass this Ordinance at both this meeting, and the regular meeting to be held on August 20, 2003.

Ordinance Amendments - Other Ordinances

These amendments are necessary for the ordinances listed to apply within the Town of Mills River if both the County and Mills River agree. As some of these ordinances are adopted pursuant to the County=s land use regulation authority, a public hearing is required before the Board can adopt them. Staff therefore requested that the Board set a public hearing on this Ordinance for 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, August 20, 2003 to be held in the Commissioners Meeting Room, 100 North King Street, Hendersonville, NC

Welcome

Chairman Hawkins welcomed the Mills River folks to the meeting.

Interim Mayor Roger Snyder called his meeting to order. In attendance from Mills River were the following: Interim Mayor Roger Snyder and Interim Council members Wayne Carland, Linda Brittain, Lois Pryor, Interim Town Clerk Sue Powell, and Interim Attorney Susan Alexander. One interim council member was absent - Jimmy Cowan.

Chairman Hawkins announced that Mills River will be meeting separately with the Sheriff to discuss contracting services from his office so that will not be an item for discussion today.

Because of the type of contract Mills River is requesting with Henderson County, the Board of Commissioners will have to change a number of ordinances that we currently have, particularly in the jurisdiction area so we=re able to apply them in Mills River. Chairman Hawkins stated that there are probably twenty-some ordinances Henderson County will be required to amend.

The Interlocal Agreement was reviewed, there were blanks that will need to be filled in. Number 4 of the Interlocal Agreement deals with Police Power Ordinances. Interim Mayor Roger Snyder stated that Mills River is asking Henderson County to enforce any and all of our ordinances in Mills River, including Cable T.V.

Chairman Hawkins made the motion for the Board to approve the first reading to approve the Cable T.V. Ordinance amendment. All voted in favor and the motion carried. This should be on the mid-month meeting for the second reading.

Chairman Hawkins made the motion to set the public hearing for amendments to several ordinances (all that require amendments) for August 20 at 11:00 a.m. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

The Boards then discussed the Interlocal Agreement. It was decided that Number 3 should read: AThe term of this Agreement is a period of four (4) years, commencing on the 22^nd day of August, 2003, and terminating on the 22^nd day of August, 2007.@

Number 5, Land Use Ordinances were then discussed. It was decided that following AE@ it would read: AThe Town hereby approves, ratifies, and permits such ordinances to be in effect within the Town, and the County hereby agrees to the same. Such ordinances listed as A-E above shall remain in full force and effect within the Town until August 22, 2005, and the Town hereby grants to the County as allowed by NCGS 160A-360 and NCGS Chapter 160A, Article 20, the authority to exercise the powers associated with the County=s administration and enforcement of the same. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Town may withdraw its permission for one or more of said ordinances to be effective within the Town by giving written notice to the County, duly authorized by resolution of the Town council, in which case the ordinance(s) listed in the Town=s notice to the County shall cease to be effective within the Town 180 days (6 months) after the day the County receives this notice. Any matters pending under any ordinance for which the Town has given notice shall automatically be transferred to the Town as of such effective date, and the County will lose all jurisdiction with respect to the same. Additionally, any matters pending on August 22, 2005, will be automatically transferred to the Town, and the County will lose all jurisdiction with respect to the same unless extended by mutual agreement.@

Number 6 discussion - it was decided to fill in the blank for six months or 180 days, the same as in Number 5.

The Boards then discussed Number 9 of the Agreement - Fees and Costs. There was no decision made but there was discussion between the two Boards.

Recess - Chairman Hawkins called a five minute technical break to change videotapes.

Chairman Hawkins suggested a possible figure of $250,000 annual fee for services the county is contracting to provide for Mills River. That is about how much short the county was on our budget due to figuring for the incorporation of Mills River. Mills River council had a much lower figure in mind, suggesting a $50,000 to $75,000 annual payment with fire inspections and some other services separate. Roger Snyder had a chart he distributed at this time and discussed briefly. It was the consensus for Grady and Roger to meet and discuss the fees at more length. Grady asked that this item be placed back on the agenda for the mid-month meeting for Board consideration.

The Town of Mills River will need to contract with the Board of Elections for Election Services. The contract with the county would not cover road signs nor property tax billing either.

There was some discussion that Henderson County needed two representatives from Mills River to serve on the Cane Creek Advisory Council.

Commissioner Moyer asked to see a figure of the total of fees for Mills River work, including inspection, elections, etc.

Chairman Hawkins made the motion to adjourn @ 8:38 p.m. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Interim Mayor Snyder then made the motion to adjourn their meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried.

Attest:

Elizabeth W. Corn. Clerk to the Board Grady Hawkins, Chairman