COUNCIL MINUTES

VILLAGE OF FOREST HILLS

December 6, 2011

The regular meeting of the Village of Forest Hills was held in the meeting room at theJackson County Recreation Center at 6:00pm on December 6, 2011.

The following members of the Council were present:

Jim Wallace, Mayor

Clark Corwin

Carl Hooper

Suzanne Stone

(Gene Tweedy was absent due to health reasons)

  The following Non-Council members were present:

  Kolleen Begley, Finance Officer, Co-Clerk

  Leanne Pate, Clerk

  Ann Melton, Jackson County Clerk of Court

  David Moore, Village Attorney

  Rick Cardona, New Zoning Board of Adjustment

  Ken Dickert, New Zoning Board of Adjustment

 (1)    Call to order: 6:00pm by Mayor Jim Wallace

 (2)    Vote on Agenda:  Jim Wallace proposed an addition to item 4, Village Clerk Position, adding Stephanie Gibson, and a change to item 12, New Business, adding “Website” and “Organizational Meeting” to the agenda. Jim Wallace called for approval of the agenda as amended, unanimously approved.

  * Jim Wallace added an update on Gene Tweedy, saying that he is recovering well from surgery.

 (3)    Approval of meeting minutes for November 1, 2011 Council meeting:  A motion to approve the minutes as amended was made by Carl Hooper, seconded by Suzanne Stone, unanimously approved.  (Approved meeting minutes are posted on the Village website.)

 (4)    Village Clerk:  Jim Wallace announced that Gwen Nicholson is no longer interested, but that Stephanie Gibson is tentatively interested in the position.  Clark Corwin raised questions as to hiring procedures, which will be addressed in closed session, per advice of David Moore.

 (5)    Financial reports for the months of November, 2011.  Kolleen Begley gave the Financial Report as 5 months into the 12 months fiscal year, stating: cash position is good at $25K,  general expenses included police protection, audit, attorney fees, and entrance expenses paid to BH Graning.  Powell Bill funds are due by the end of the month.  Jim Wallace questioned classification of BH Graning work, Kolleen explained why this was considered “capital outlay” expense, as opposed to “operating” expense.   Motion to accept the financial report was made by Carl Hooper, seconded by Clark Corwin, unanimously approved.

  (6)     Swearing-In ceremony:  Ann Melton, Jackson County Clerk of Court, led the ceremony for swearing-in Mayor Jim Wallace, council-person Suzanne Stone, and Zoning Board of Adjustment members Rick Cardona and Ken Dickert.  Gene Tweedy will be sworn-in at the January meeting.                                                                       

 (7)    Compensation for Village Clerk and Finance Officer:  (Closed session)

 (8)    Long-Term Vision Statement for the Village:  &

 (9)    Rules of Procedure:  Carl Hooper made a motion to table these items, seconded by Suzanne Stone, unanimously approved.

 (10) BH Graning work:  Jim Wallace read a letter from BH Graning explaining the overage of the bill for the work on the Village Entrance, due mainly from labor and parts to replace the existing water system, which was in poor condition.  His letter stated that winterizing of the system would be done at no extra charge.  A motion to pay the overage was made by Suzanne Stone, seconded by Clark Corwin, unanimously approved.

  (11) North Country Club Drive / NCDOT Update: Carl Hooper addressed the council, noting a meeting scheduled next month with NCDOT representative Jonathon Woodard.  Jim Wallace addressed the need to encourage and promote the signing of the right-of-way petitions by Village residents.

  (12) New Business:

    a)      Village Finance Officer: Kolleen Begley announced her resignation, primarily due to the amount of donated time required to perform those duties.  She recommended finding a person with accounting experience due to all the detailed governmental reporting, specifically the reporting required to obtain state funding like Powell Bills

   b)      Website:  Kolleen Begley will no longer be maintaining the Village website, adding that Suzanne Stone knows how to access the website.

   c)      January council meeting:   Due to the holidays and conflicting schedules, the January meeting will be delayed.  Jim Wallace called for a motion to meet on January 17, seconded by Clark Corwin, unanimously approved.

  d)     Organizational Meeting:  Clark Corwin nominated Suzanne Stone for current Mayor Pro-Tem, pending return of Gene Tweedy, who will then be nominated.  Carl Hooper made a motion to approve the nomination, seconded by Clark Corwin, unanimously approved.  Jim Wallace called for election of Suzanne Stone as Mayor Pro-Tem, unanimously approved.  Jim Wallace addressed the council as to committees, and recruitment of Village residents or  ETJ residents to  serve on the committees .  David Moore clarified that ETJ residents could serve on committees.  Jim Wallace addressed the council as to three proposed committees, including finance, public works, and public safety.

 (13) Old Business:  Road Maintenance clarification requested by  Kolleen Begley, to clarify who will be in charge of contacting contractors.  Carl Hooper will contact Tim Green when snow scraping is needed.  Jim Wallace will contact BH Graning for right-of-way trimming.  Kolleen recommended contacting the contractor soon in order to schedule for June.  Mark Teague will advise Carl Hooper as to gravel scraping, Carl Hooper will contact Tim Green.  For tree trimming and fallen trees, Carl Hooper will be the contact person, and will notify DOT for state-maintained roads.  He and  Jim Wallace may contact BH Graning for non-DOT roads.  Either Carl Hooper or Jim Wallace may approve tree-trimming expenses less than $500.

 At 7:29pm Jim Wallace called for a motion to adjourn, made by Clark Corwin, seconded by Suzanne Stone, unanimously approved.