December 2015

COUNCIL & WORK SESSION MINUTES
VILLAGE OF FOREST HILLS
DECEMBER 01, 2015

 

The Council meeting for the Village of Forest Hills was held at the Jackson County Recreation Center at 6:00pm on December 01, 2015. 

The following members of the Council were present:

Mayor Kolleen Begley

Councilmember Ron Mau

Councilmember Carl Hooper

Councilmember Clark Corwin

Councilmember Debbie Rowland

The following Non-Council members were present:

Tanner Hall, Sylva Herald

Bronwyn Burleson, Burleson & Early PA

Stephanie Gibson, Clerk

David Moore, Attorney

Lee Budahl, Planning Board Member

Ann Melton, Jackson County Clerk of Court

 

  1. Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by Mayor Kolleen Begley.

  2. Announcements:  a) There is an Essentials of Municipal Government course being held in Asheville February 17 and 18. Scholarships for courses are available to local elected officials through the Local Elected Leaders Academy. Essentials of Municipal Government satisfies the Village education policy and satisfies the required Ethics training law.

             b) Ethics Training: NC law requires at least 2 hours of ethics training within 12 months after each election or reelection to office.

             c) The January meeting date will be Tuesday, January 05 with the work session beginning at 6:00pm and the meeting beginning at 6:30.

   3.  Approval of Agenda: Councilmember Corwin made a motion to approve the agenda, Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

  4.  Approval of Meeting Minutes from the November 10, 2015 Council Meeting: Councilmember Hooper made a motion to approve the minutes, Councilmember Mau seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

  5.  Acceptance of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of November, 2015: Councilmember Corwin made a motion to accept the Financial Report; Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion; unanimously accepted.

  6.  2014-2015 Fiscal Year Audit Report from Burleson and Early PA: Bronwyn Burleson provided bound paper copies of the Audit Report to Council members and reviewed the report results and recommendations with Council.

  7.  Public Comment: None

  8.  Swearing-in Ceremony: Clerk of Court, Ann Melton, swore in new council and planning board members, Councilmembers Ron Mau and Debbie Rowland were sworn in, each of their terms is for four years. Mayor Begley was also sworn in for an additional two year term. Planning Board members Caleb Bailey, and Jayne Buchanan were unable to make the meeting so they will be sworn in at the Clerk of Courts office.

  9.  Reports

  • Mayor’s Report: Kolleen Begley (update on ordinance violations and roads) – Mayor Begley noted that Ken Dickert had contacted the owners of the property behind the Summit for four wheeling going on, she will follow up with Ken on response.

    Mayor Begley asked about letter sent to University Inn property owners, Attorney Moore said that another letter was sent out to the University Inn owners with a deadline of November 30th to resolve the ordinance violations and pay fines. Ken Dickert communicated to Mayor Begley that the property managers of the Inn had contacted him saying that the property owners were having some financial difficulty and having difficulty making the payments. He noted that they have cleaned up some of the trash.

    Mayor Begley noted that the brush and weeds around the tennis courts are grown up and need to be cleaned up again, and trash has accumulated outside of the apartments. She asked the Council how they would like to proceed. Councilmember Hooper suggested giving a time frame for the owners to have property cleaned up and if no resolution, proceeding as necessary with legal action. Attorney Moore suggested going into closed session at the January meeting to discuss further action if there has been no response from the property owners.

  • Planning Board: Clark Corwin (prior Planning Board meeting notes, update next items for planning board) – Councilmember Corwin said at the last meeting members updated Caleb Bailey with the duties and expectations of the Planning Board. He noted that Kristy Carter will be attending the meeting on December 21st. Kristy will assist with the Land Use Map, lot sizes, Subdivision Regulations, Design Standards and with the Conditional Zoning document started by Gerald Green.

    Mayor Begley noted that the Land Use Map doesn’t change the current zoning.

  • Safety: Carl Hooper - Councilmember Hooper said that the Village was patrolled and officers reported it was quiet but they did meet a couple of residents who said they were happy to see the officers in the village.

    Council discussed officers being notified of four wheeling disturbances, Councilmember Corwin said he would notify Chris Green regarding the noise and four wheeling.

  • Jackson County CTP: Ron Mau – Councilmember Mau emailed survey results to Council, he said that the next meeting will be held in January.

10. Unfinished Business: None

11. New Business:

12. Organizational Meeting:

  1. Mayor Begley said that the Rules of Procedure have been adopted and are listed on the website. 

  2. Councilmember Hooper nominated Councilmember Corwin to continue as Mayor Pro Tem, Council unanimously agreed. 

  3. Mayor Begley asked about Village Clerk, Finance Officer, Ordinance Administrator, and Attorney positions, Council voted unanimously to maintain David Moore as the town attorney, Ken Dickert as Ordinance Administrator, and Stephanie Gibson as the Clerk/Finance Officer. 

  4. Reporting Areas for Council Members: Councilmember Mau will continue to report on the Jackson Co. CTP and continue to be the contact person for arranging snow and ice removal in the Village. Councilmember Corwin will continue to be the Planning Board liaison. Councilmember Hooper will continue to report on Safety and will take over as the Village representative on the SW Commission’s RPO board. Councilmember Rowland will report on Roads – any issues, littering, and events such as the annual 5K race. Mayor Begley will give the Mayor’s Report – reporting on other meetings attended during the month, ordinance violations, and resident comments/concerns.

    Councilmember Rowland asked about an abandoned vehicle near Lee Budahl’s residence, Attorney Moore recommended that she call the Sheriff’s office and give them the tag number.                                           Councilmember Hooper asked if the Summit did not have adequate parking since so many vehicles are parked below the complex, Councilmember Mau said they do but that guests do not use the available parking for fear of being towed. Mayor Begley asked Councilmember Rowland if she could call the Summit to inquire about excess parking. Councilmember Corwin noted that ETJ is for Zoning Ordinance, the police do not have authority to address the issue.

  • Update website: Stephanie Gibson will update the website with new councilmember and new planning board member and their terms. 

  • Opt-in Mini Grant: (See agenda package) – Mayor Begley noted that Sara Thompson already informed the Council about the grant and she recently provided information via email to apply for it and the due date is 1/6/16. Council discussed the grant and they did not feel that it was suited for any Village activities at this time until they are further defined.

    Meeting dates for 2016 – Mayor Begley said the January meeting date has been confirmed with the Jackson County Recreation Center and further dates will be confirmed after January 1st, she noted that November is the only date anticipated to be the 2nd Tuesday due to elections. Mayor Begley asked Councilmember Corwin to remind the Planning Board that they need to contact Brian at the Recreation Center to confirm their meeting dates for 2016.

  13.  Additional Public Comment: None

  14.  Adjourn: At 7:45pm Councilmember Corwin made a motion to adjourn; Councilmember Mau seconded the motion, unanimously approved.