March 2012
COUNCIL MINUTES
VILLAGE OF FOREST HILLS
March 06, 2012
The regular meeting of the Village of Forest Hills was held onMarch 06, 2012 in the meeting room at the Jackson County Recreation Center at 6:00pm.
The following members of the Council were present:
Jim Wallace, Mayor
Clark Corwin
Carl Hooper
Suzanne Stone
Gene Tweedy
The following Non-Council members were present:
David Moore, Village Attorney
Stephanie Gibson, Village Clerk/Finance Officer
Ken Dickert, Village Zoning Administrator
Ann Melton, Clerk of Court
Maggie Tobias, Sylva Herald
(1) Call to order: 6:00pm by Mayor Jim Wallace
(2) Vote on Agenda: Jim Wallace proposed an addition to the agenda, voting on Ken Dickert as the new Zoning Administrator, and if approved his being sworn in for the position. A motion was made by Gene Tweedy to approve the agenda, seconded by Carl Hooper, unanimously approved.
(3) Approval of meeting minutes fromFebruary 07, 2012 Council meeting: A motion to approve the minutes was made by Carl Hooper, seconded by Gene Tweedy, unanimously approved. (Approved meeting minutes are posted on the Village website.)
(4) Financial reports for the month of February, 2012. Stephanie Gibson provided the Financial Reports that were handed out. The budget for February included $17,801.22 in revenues and $1,168.06 in expenditures. Other revenues included interest ($4.88). General expenses included police protection, utilities, office supplies/postage, and attorney fees. Motion to accept the financial report was made by Carl Hooper, seconded by Clark Corwin, unanimously approved.
(5) New Business:
a) Voting for Zoning Administrator: Gene Tweedy made a motion to accept Ken Dickert as the new Zoning Administrator for the village, the motion was seconded by Carl Hooper, unanimously approved. Mr. Dickert was sworn in by Clerk of Court, Ann Melton.
b) Village Concerns: Jim Wallace shared that for the first time in a while he has heard from six or seven residents concerned about the appearance of the Village. Jim asked that Council Members take time to drive slowly around the Village to see what may need to be taken care of, mainly brush and debris.
Jim mentioned that he would like to discuss with the council allowing him to hire students or anyone interested in doing cleanup. He noted that there is a culvert stopped up near the Devane’s residence. Gene Tweedy asked if we have a contract with anyone to do this kind of work and Jim responded that we do not for small cleanup jobs. Carl Hooper mentioned the issue of being insured and his concern for anyone uninsured doing a job in the Village, he noted that B.H. Granning is currently contracted to do trimming twice a year. Gene asked about the contracts we currently have and what is included. Suzanne mentioned calling both Granning and Greene to see what is covered by whom. Jim replied that he felt B.H. Granning would most likely be the responsible party.
Jim asked that Stephanie scan the current contracts and send them to him and each of the council members as well as the Village Attorney for review.
Clark Corwin suggested having anyone with a complaint or issue within the Village be asked to bring it to a council meeting. Gene said that it might not be a bad idea for them to either come to a meeting or submit the complaint in writing so that everyone has the clear message.
c) Department of Transportation Meeting: Jim Wallace shared that he received a notice of the meeting DOT will hold on March 15 regarding Highway 107 for anyone interested in attending.
d) B.H. Graning Contract Renewal: Jim Wallace said that he got a call from Ben Granning that he was getting ready to begin work on the entrance and wanted to see if a new contract was going to be signed this year, he noted that prices would remain the same as last year. Jim asked if the contract could be renewed automatically and was advised by the attorney that the contract would need to be re-bid since it was for a term of one year.
Jim asked that members gather names of any interested parties quickly so that the growth doesn’t get out of hand. Gene Tweedy asked if in the new contract they could put in a clause for the ability to renew the contract automatically. Jim noted that B.H. Granning could go ahead and begin the work since they have a current contract. Clark Corwin asked about advertising for bids. Jim asked that we see the contracts first. The attorney advised that the Village could advertise for bids and vote on next year’s contract at the April meeting. Clark suggested that we have performance indicators on future contracts.
It was decided to view the contracts before making a decision.
(6) Old Business:
a) Carl Hooper – Road Condition: Gene Tweedy asked the status on the road condition, having North Country Club Drive turned over to the state for maintenance.Carl said he brought a spreadsheet a couple months ago to the meeting andthat the road condition was discussed and that council members had volunteered to visit some of the neighbors about the road conditions but as of the February meeting there had not been a lot of activity. Suzanne Stone said that it was in progress but there was nothing concrete to share, she spoke with three of the five she agreed to talk with but they were uncertain, did not want to commit at this time. Jim asked Carl about bringing updated forms to the next meeting.
b) Gene Tweedy – Assistance with ditch above his home: Gene asked what kind of relief he could get to have the ditch above his house dug so he can get the water turned to go into the ditch behind him instead of going through his yard. Jim asked Gene permission to discuss the history of the problem and Gene agreed, Jim said 6-7 years ago when Sue Burton was a council member, a motion was made and approved for $5,000 to be allotted to take care of the drainage problem Gene is referencing and the drainage problem he has on his property due to Forest Hills Estates.
Jim said they went to an engineer, Lofquist, who kept promising for over a year that he would address the problem. Jim said the problem is causing hydraulic damage to the Spell home. He said they have had the state out to check on it and they will not do anything, if anything is done, the Village will have to take care of it. Carl asked about the $5,000 and Jim responded that it was not spent. Carl asked if this situation could be funded by the Powell Bill and Jim responded yes. Carl suggested checking on the cost of the repairs and bringing it before the council at the next meeting, Carl suggested using Powell Bill funding if possible and if not, using the Village funds to correct this problem. Carl also noted it would be a good idea to identify a new engineer.
c) Vision Statement/Planning Board: Council Members said they plan to start creating a vision statement for the community and looking at how the village can move forward and develop. Clark Corwin said that Forest Hills is part of the greater Cullowhee area and he thinks we are an integral part of the process. Also as part of the process, Jim Wallace said we plan to have a full planning board formed by May.
At 6:55pm Jim Wallace called for a motion to adjourn, motion was made by Gene Tweedy, seconded by Clark Corwin, unanimously approved.