February 2015
The regular meeting of the Village of Forest Hills was held in the meeting room at the Jackson County Recreation Center at 6:00pm on February 03, 2015.
The following members of the Council were present:
Mayor Kolleen Begley
Councilmember Clark Corwin
Councilmember Ron Mau
Councilmember Carl Hooper
Councilmember Dan Perlmutter
The following Non-Council members were present:
Tanner Hall, the Sylva Herald
1) Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 6:00pm by Mayor Kolleen Begley.
2) Announcements: 1) The 2015 meetings for the Council and Planning Board meetings have been scheduled with the Recreation Center, the only two months that a room is not available at the Recreation Center for the Council meeting is July and August, they have Day camp. Mayor Begley asked Webster Mayor Breedlove about the possibility of using their facility for those two months and he said he will check with his board and get back to her. For the November meeting, the Council meeting will be held the second Tuesday due to the election, and the second Monday of each month for the Planning Board. 2) The County and Municipal joint meeting has been rescheduled for will be held on Monday February 23rd at the Department on Aging at 6:00pm, if you would like to eat, serving will be from 5:30 – 6:00. 3) The joint meeting for the Council and the Planning Board will be held at the Jackson County Recreation Center on Monday February 16th at 7:00pm.
3) Approval of Agenda: Councilman Perlmutter made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Councilman Corwin, and unanimously approved.
4) Approval of Meeting Minutes from January 06, 2015 Council meeting: a motion to approve the minutes from the January 6th Council meeting was made by Councilman Corwin, seconded by Councilman Hooper, unanimously approved.
5) Acceptance of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of January, 2015 Stephanie provided copies of the Financial Report for January. In January, there were expenses of $1,446.82 for Police protection, Administrative fees and reimbursement, and Entrance operating fees. Revenues for January were $20,748.59 from Ad Valorem Taxes, Sales Tax, and Interest earned. The ending balances in the Money Market, Checking, and Powell accounts totaled $197,475.58.
Councilman Hooper asked if the Budget was in line for the year and Mayor Begley said it was in line for expenses and noted that the Sales Tax revenue will exceed the original projections.
Councilman Mau made a motion to approve the financial report; Councilman Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
6) Public Comment: None
7) Charrette/Survey Report: Mayor Begley shared that Consultants Chipley and Kostelec submitted the report and that she emailed a copy of the report to the Council, she noted that the consultants would be attending the joint Council and Planning Board meeting to be held on February 16th.
8) Reports:
Planning Board: 1) Councilman Corwin said that at the last meeting the Planning Board discussed speed limits and they did an exercise, having everyone mark roads on a map of the village and recommend speed limits that they felt would be appropriate for those roads. Councilman Corwin said that the suggestion was for an average of 15mph throughout the village. Mayor Begley said that she feels a consistent speed and posting of slow signs in areas that residents would need to go slower than the posted speed would be a good idea. Councilman Hooper suggested getting four signs, two speed limit signs, and two slow signs.
Mayor Begley noted that Village ordinances must be in place before the Council recommends a speed limit, she made a proposal to hold a public hearing to revise/update the ordinances.
Councilman Corwin noted that due to time the Planning Board tabled Rules of Procedure until a future meeting.
Councilman Corwin said that the Planning Board would like the no parking on roads to be consistent with the state statute of no parking on road pavement and to park on the shoulder, you have to have 200’ of vision. Mayor Begley said that she would add this recommendation to the public hearing agenda.
Council agreed to have the April meeting set as a Public hearing, Mayor Begley said she will make a draft of the proposed changes to include the recommendation for village speed limits, the no parking statute, the definition of family, and make administrative fixes.
Safety: Councilman Hooper said that the he has not heard from his contact for January’s safety report.
Councilman Hooper asked about Law Enforcement for the 5K cleanup and Mayor Begley said that she would call LeeAnn. Councilman Hooper asked about having a Cub Scout group help with clean up for public service. Councilman Hooper noted that DOT would supply garbage bags. Councilman Perlmutter asked about safety vests, and pick-up sticks, Council suggested gloves as well.
Councilman Hooper asked Mayor Begley about cleaning on Caves Springs Rd. and she said she did not think it was necessary.
Mayor Begley suggested asking LeeAnn if she has a couple of teenagers that could assist with clean-up. She noted that LeeAnn would like to set up the booth for the 5K near University Inn and that the advertisement for the 5K and the Sponsorship forms are on the website, the tab is under announcements.
Mayor Begley said that LeeAnn will be at the March Council meeting to provide updates.
Village Roads & RPO Board: Councilman Perlmutter said that Jackson County was discussed in the Transportation Consulting Committee, a potential round about and NC 107 sidewalks are on the list. He suggested that the Village be prepared and if any right-of-ways are needed from residents that they be obtained and that funding be available in order to make a strong approach/bid to the DOT. He noted that Rose Beaguess, with the Southwest Commission, will assist. Councilman Perlmutter said that 2016 is when the piecing together would begin for the Southwestern, RPO, and Jackson County projects would begin.
Jackson County: Councilman Mau said that the Steering Committee for the Jackson County Comprehensive Plan will be held tomorrow.
Councilman Mau noted that he will be having a conference call with Attorney Moore on Thursday to review the water drainage issue update and report back.
Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Begley said she and Councilman Perlmutter are planning a meeting with Elizabeth St. John to discuss funding options and look at potential sidewalks from the Village Inn to Hwy. 107. She noted that the Village needs to come up with $100,000, get right-of-ways, and have a Pedestrian plan in place to submit a strong proposal in September.
Mayor Begley shared that she went to the Region A business meeting and she spoke with the Director of the League of Municipalities and he said that Powell funding may be reduced in the future due to decreasing fuel prices.
9) New Business
- Agenda items for joint Council & Planning Board meeting February 16th - Report from the consultants, and attachment A from the last meeting. Mayor Begley said she would draft an agenda and email it to the Council for review.
- Weather Station purchase from Local Yokal? – Council suggested seeing what the Village already has and get more information on the Weather Station and present it at a future meeting.
10) Adjourn: At7:35pm Councilman Hooper made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Corwin, unanimously approved.