2026
June 2026
May 2026 Work Session
May 2026
April 2026
March 2026 Work Session
March 2026
February Work Session
February 2026
Village of Forest Hills Council Meeting
Tuesday, February 03, 2025 – 7:00 pm
Forest Hills Assembly Hall, Cullowhee, NC
The following members of the Council were present:
Mayor Ron Mau
Councilmember Amy Bollinger
Councilmember Daniel Shields
Councilmember Nilofer Couture
Councilmember Larry Ingersoll
The following non-Council members were Present:
Stephanie Gibson, Clerk
Jim Hartley, Planning Board member
Rochelle Mau, Resident
Clark Corwin, Planning Board Chair
1. Call to order: At 7:30 pm, Mayor Mau called the meeting to order.
2. Announcements: Reminder – Please silence cell phones for the meeting.
3. Approval of Agenda: Councilmember Shields made a motion to approve the agenda, Councilmember Couture seconded the motion, and the motion was unanimously approved.
4. Approval of Meeting Minutes for January 06, 2026, Regular Council Meeting: (All meeting minutes are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.) Councilmember Couture made a motion to approve the meeting minutes for January 06, 2026. Councilmember Shields seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
5. Acceptance of Financial Report & Checklist for January 2026: (All financial reports are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.)
· January Financials:
o North Carolina class account: $212,865.20
o United check account: $89,231.15
o Total assets: $302,096.35
o January revenues: $21,605.87 (from ad valorem sales tax and interest)
o January expenditures: $2,998.57 (utilities, salaries, patrol, etc.)
· A new printer and paper were purchased for $114.
· An issue with a web hosting bill from Catalyst was noted; a bill for $2,000 is inaccurate and requires follow-up.
· The budget is over on street maintenance due to maintenance contractor’s billing practices, which were addressed with him.
· The Planning Board has funds in the budget for training videos and continuing education materials.
Councilmember
Shields made a motion to approve the financial reports. Councilmember Couture
seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
6. Fund Balance Policy Discussion
· A new fund balance policy sent via email was discussed.
· The document shows that comparable municipalities have much higher fund balances, with some at 220% of their operating budget.
· The village’s operating budget is around $150,000, and the current reserves are under 100% of that.
·
Mayor Mau urged
the board to review the provided data to assess if the village’s reserves are
adequate.
7. Administrative Reports
· Sheriff’s Office Update:
o The village is on the list to receive traveling speed limit signs, but no date has been set.
o Speeding concerns on North and South Country Club Drive were discussed with the sheriff, who will scout locations for the signs.
· Meeting with Governor’s Office:
o Mayor Mau met with Holly Jones from the governor’s office to discuss village matters.
· Meeting with Brown Haven Representative (Derek):
o The representative suggested ideas like age-restricted housing to improve the development plan.
o Mayor Mau requested a visual plan comparing the proposed development to a standard half-acre lot plan.
o A discrepancy was noted between the developer’s statement on handling traffic and their traffic engineer’s report.
· The developer continued to indicate needs 160-180 units for the project to be financially viable. Based on 72 acres (minus wetlands and roads), a maximum of 124 half-acre lots would be possible but this is likely high due to other layout issue.
Roads Report
· Snow Removal:
o The snow removal contractor, BH Granning Landscapes, Inc., was responsive during recent weather events.
o Some homes on Virginia Lane experienced a 3-hour delay in plowing after the rest of the village was cleared.
o Residents were reminded to contract directly with Granning for driveway plowing and that there is a “post-storm” list for non-contracted jobs.
· Other Issues:
o A blue dumpster was successfully moved from near the road to the back of the lot.
o A registered sex offender notice was received for an individual residing at 487 North Country Club Road.
Planning Board Report
· The board is seeking a new chair. A potential new board member has been identified.
· A 12-month, five-phase plan has been outlined to update the Land Use Plan, zoning map, and ordinances to be consistent with each other and state law (160D).
· The Planning Board chair purchased a high-capacity printer to have available at the Assembly Hall.
· The goal is to host a facilitated workshop (charrette) within 4-6 months to gather input from the community on the village’s future.
·
The board will
now meet on the third Tuesday of each month.
Safety Report:
Councilmember
Couture shared that she has not received the patrol or 911 reports.
8. Public Comment: None
9. Unfinished Business
· Councilmember Bollinger made a motion to appoint Robbie Hess to the Planning Board, Councilmember Ingersoll seconded, motion passed unanimously.
·
The budget
amendment item was removed from the agenda and will be addressed at the March
meeting.
Adjournment: Councilmember Shields made a motion to adjourn at 8:15 pm.
January Work Session
January 2026
Village of Forest Hills Council Meeting
Tuesday, January 06, 2025 – 7:00 pm
Forest Hills Assembly Hall, Cullowhee, NC
The following members of the Council were present:
Mayor Ron Mau
Councilmember Amy Bollinger
Councilmember Daniel Shields
Councilmember Nilofer Couture
Councilmember Larry Ingersoll
The following non-Council members were
Present:
Stephanie Gibson, Clerk
Jim Hartley, Planning Board member
Rochelle Mau, Resident
Clark Corwin, Resident
Ron Yount, Resident
- Call to order: At 7:30 pm, Mayor Mau called the meeting to order.
2. Announcements:
Reminder – Please silence cell phones for the meeting.
- Approval of Agenda: Councilmember Shields made a motion to approve the agenda, Councilmember Ingersoll seconded the motion, and the motion was unanimously approved.
- Approval of Meeting Minutes for December 02, 2025, Regular Council Meeting: (All meeting minutes are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.) Councilmember Bollinger made a motion to approve the meeting minutes for December 02, 2025. Councilmember Couture seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
- Acceptance of Financial Report & Checklist for December 2025: (All financial reports are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.) Councilmember Shields made a motion to approve the financial reports. Councilmember Couture seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
- Administrative Reports:
Mayor’s Report & RPO/TAC: Mayor Mau – Mayor Mau provided a mayor’s report for the meeting with the following information: He has been reviewing the website for updates and items that need to be updated and looking at the best format to use.
Mayor Mau said that he has spoken to the Sheriff about the Village having speed trailers in the Village. Council agreed that it would be a good idea to get those when they are available.
He noted that Brown Haven will hold a public hearing on Thursday, January 8th, at the Hospitality Room in the Ramsey Center on the WCU campus. He asked if the Council felt that the Attorney should attend, and they agreed that he should.
Roads: Councilman Ingersoll shared that he had spoken to Jamie Ashe with the Sheriff’s Department about the abandoned truck at the Sky at Cullowhee. Jamie said that he would try to get that moved. Sarah, the manager at the Sky, said that her former tenant, D. Kelly Hastings, is the owner, and she has tried contacting him by phone but has not been able to reach him. She does not have a forwarding address. Jamie was going to try to obtain his address via the VIN number.
Sarah at the Sky said she has given notice to parties that have vehicles under repair for extended periods of time, that they have until January 15th to complete repairs.
Sarah said that she is also requesting that the blue dumpster be moved to an area out of the public view due to numerous complaints since tenants are placing garbage next to the dumpster.
Councilmember Ingersoll said that he received a call from Carolyn Meigs, and she is very happy about the road improvements to Meigs Way Road.
Councilmember Ingersoll said that there are a number of trees throughout the Village that are leaning towards our private roads. He asked what the plan is should they fall onto the roadway; some are too large for Robby Hess to remove. Is there a designated tree company to call? Councilmember Shields replied that Jeff Polson’s tree company had been called in the past, since he has a crane. He said that he could ask the Arborist to take a look at the trees along the road again. Consensus was to have the trees assessed again on the roadway.
Ordinance update: Councilmember Ingersoll said that since the holidays are over, he thinks he can be more vigilant about having residents keep up their property. He noted that he had complaints previously about the house on SCC Dr., and he spoke to him about potentially moving the boat from in front of the house and cleaning up the front area.
Councilmember Ingersoll said that he called the listing agents for properties at 719 and 1168 NCC Dr. to advise them that the Village does not allow short-term rentals in the areas zoned R-1.
He will be working on the updated dog ordinance; he has reviewed Jackson County’s and the Town of Webster’s dog ordinances.
Village Safety: Councilmember Couture said that Officer Shuler patrolled the Village for 4 hours in December. She said that there were 20 911 calls; she noted that 10 of the calls were from Prospect and there were 10 calls from Pin Cushion, The Sky, and SCC Dr. combined.
TWSA: None
· Planning Board: Jim Hartley said that they did not have a meeting in December, but are planning to have a meeting on the last Tuesday in January.
7. Public Comment: Rochelle Mau thanked the Council for the speed limit signs that have been put up in the Village.
8. Unfinished Business:
1. Select new attorney: Mayor Mau shared the RFQ presented by Attorney Jay Coward with the Council, and they reviewed the submission.
Councilmember Ingersoll moved to select Jay Coward to serve as the Village of Forest Hills Attorney, based on the qualifications submitted in response to the Municipality's Request for Qualifications (RFQ) issued on December 5th, 2025. He further moved to authorize the mayor to execute an engagement letter for legal services with said firm, subject to the terms and fee schedule discussed in the referenced RFQ. Councilmember Bollinger seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
2. Appoint Planning Board member(s): Mayor Mau shared that Charlie Bell had agreed to serve on the Planning Board and that Clark Corwin agreed to serve on the board as Interim Chair. Councilmember Couture made a motion to appoint Charlie Bell to the Planning Board and to appoint Clark Corwin to the Planning Board as Interim Chair. Councilmember Shields seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved. Mayor Mau said that they could be sworn in at the January Planning Board meeting or at the Clerk of Court’s office.
3. Donations update: Council had previously discussed a donation to the Sheriff’s Department. Mayor Mau said that he spoke with the Sheriff and the Jackson County Finance Officer, and they were not sure how that would work. Council agreed to consult with the Attorney for further direction on the matter.
9. Adjournment:
10. Adjournment: Councilmember Shields made a motion to adjourn at 8:00 PM.