March 2018

Village of Forest Hills
Council Meeting/Public Hearing
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 – 6:00 pm
Jackson County Rec. Center, Cullowhee

 

The following members of the Council were present:

Mayor Kolleen Begley

Councilmember Clark Corwin

Councilmember Niall Michelsen

 

The following members of the Council were absent:

Councilmember Sharon Stovall

 

The following Non-Council members were present:

Stephanie Gibson, Clerk

Josh Freeman, J.M. Teague Engineering, Planning Director

 

  1. Call to order: at 6:00 pm Mayor Begley called the meeting to order.     

  2. Announcements:

  • Reminder – Please silence cell phones for meeting

  • 2018 Council meeting dates calendar

    3. Confirm Quorum – Mayor and two councilmembers were present, one councilmember absent, and one vacated seat.

    4.  Approval of Agenda – Councilmember Corwin made a motion to approve the agenda, Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

    5.  OPEN PUBLIC HEARING: Mayor Begley opened the hearing for public comment.

  • Zoning Ordinance Text Amendments: Josh Freeman, Planning Director, J.M. Teague Engineering: Josh summarized and further clarified the “structure height” requirements the Village proposed and discussed the amendment to Section 3.8 E (m) (Mixed Use District Ordinance minimum distance between buildings on the same lot) on a project-by-project basis.

    6.  CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING: There was no public comment so Mayor Begley closed the public hearing.

    7.  Vote: Councilmember Corwin made a motion to approve the proposed Zoning Ordinance Text Amendments per the handout provided by Josh Freeman dated 2-19-18 (see attached), Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

    8.  WCU Student Projects Update: Dr. Todd Collins, Political Science & Public Affairs at WCU

  1. Project #1: Survey

  2. Project #2: Cost/Benefit Taxpayer Services

(Kaitlyn was unable to attend the meeting but will attend the April meeting and provide an update and present her project in May).

    9.  Approval of Meeting Minutes – February 6 & 13, 2018 Regular Council Meeting: Councilmember Michelsen made a motion to approve the minutes; Councilmember Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

   10.  Acceptance of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of February 2018: Stephanie Gibson provided the Financial Report. Councilmember Corwin made a motion to accept the financial report; Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

   11.  Reports:  

  • Mayor’s Report: Mayor Begley reported that she had no reports of ordinance violations from the Ordinance Administrator. She summarized the police patrol reports provided from the Sheriff’ office for the times that officers patrolled the Village.

  • Roads & RPO: Councilmember Michelsen will meet B.H. Graning to show them where to install the speed limit signs when they contact him. He noted that he will attend the next RPO meeting, he completed the forms, and will have voting ability on 3-26 as the member representing the Village. Councilmember Michelsen said that a potential RPO 101 class was being discussed.

  • Neighborhood Watch & Safety: Councilmember Stovall was absent. Stephanie will check with her about the Neighborhood Watch signs.

  • Planning Board: Councilmember Corwin noted that there was not a quorum present at the last Planning Board meeting so it was cancelled. He noted that Jack Brown resigned from the board. Councilmember Corwin said that Rick Cordona might agree to become a board member as the ETJ member. The Planning Board will be working on reviewing a Planning Board 101 session. The next meeting is scheduled for March 19th.

   12.  Unfinished Business: None

   13.  New Business:

  • Nominations to appoint new Councilmember to fill vacant seat: No interest/no nominations at this time. Mayor Begley said she would send out an email to all residents advertising this vacancy and will have this on next month’s agenda again.

  • Budget Committee members and meeting for 2018-2019 fiscal year municipal budget: Mayor Begley and Stephanie will discuss a date to meet in April.

  • Invite WCU Electric rep to April’s meeting: Council would like to know if tree’s can be trimmed and who’s responsible for trees that are near power lines. Stephanie will check on contact.

   14.  Additional Public Comment: None

   15.  Adjourn: At 7:15pm, Councilmember Corwin made a motion to adjourn; Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved.