The following members of the Council were present:

Mayor Jim Wallace

Councilmember Ron Yount

Councilmember Marcia Almond

Councilmember Nilofer Couture

Councilmember Daniel Shields

The following non-Council members were Present:

Stephanie Gibson, Clerk

Larry Ingersoll, Planning Board

Jim Hartley, Resident

Judith Lambert, Resident

Skip Almond, Resident

Kim Poteet, Jackson County Clerk of Court

1. Call to order: at 7:00pm Mayor Wallace called the meeting to order. 

     2.  Announcements:

Reminder – Please silence cell phones for meeting. 

     3. Swearing in of Mayor, Councilmembers and Planning Board member:  Jackson County Clerk of Court Kim Poteet swore in Councilmembers Nilofer Couture, Robert Kehrberg and Larry Ingersoll, Mayor Marcia Almond, and Planning Board member, Judith Lambert. 

     4.   Audit Report:  Bronwyn Burleson of Burleson & Early provided handouts of the draft audit and reviewed the language and financial statements with the Council and Mayor.

     5.  Public Comment: 

     6.  Approval of Agenda: Councilmember Couture made a motion to approve the agenda, Councilmember Almond seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

     7.  Approval of Meeting Minutes for November 14, 2023, Regular Council Meeting:(All meeting minutes are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.) Councilmember Shields made a motion to approve the meeting minutes for November 14, 2023, Councilmember Couture seconded the motion, unanimously approved. 

     8.  Acceptance of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of November 2023: (All financial reports are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.) Councilmember Shields made a motion to accept the financial report and reclass funds to correct budget line overages from professional services and non-Powell funds, Councilmember Couture seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

     9.  Reports: 

Mayor’s Report: Jim Wallace – Mayor Wallace mentioned that he spoke with BH Graning about his concerns about there being enough large rocks at the front of the entrance on the left side to prevent additional parking.  He said that Ben Graning said they could add 3-4 more rocks, but it would be $200 per rock.  Council discussed and decided not to have additional rock put there at this time.

Roads: Ron Yount – Councilmember Yount said that all the areas in the pavement to be filled are complete except a small area past Tim Echard’s house. 

RPO/TAC: Marcia Almond – Councilmember Almond said the next Southwestern Commission meeting will be next week.

Planning Board: Planning Board member Larry Ingersoll shared that the board had a short meeting with no new business items.

Village Safety: Nilofer Couture – Councilmember Couture said that the village was patrolled but she has not received the report with the number of hours. She said that there were -911 calls, she noted that about 40% of the calls were from Prospect.  

    10.  New Business: 

• New Mayor and Councilmembers – Mayor Wallace thanked the Council for their service to him and the Village and turned the meeting over to the newly elected mayor, Marcia Almond, and Councilmembers Larry Ingersoll and Robert Kehrberg, who assumed Councilmember Yount’s seat on the Council. 

    11.  Unfinished Business:

• SCC Road – Councilmember Yount said that he tried to contact Travis Williamson who is over the DOT roads in the area but has not heard back.  Councilmember Almond said that she would call and try to reach Travis or Chris Lee to see if someone could attend the next meeting to discuss the roads. 
• Village Social: Council discussed details for the Holiday social and asked that Council members helping arrive by 1:00pm on Sunday, December 17^th.  They discussed food and door prizes for the event.  Councilmember Almond said that she would purchase some Christmas plants to use as door prizes and Councilmember Yount said that he would donate a wood carving for a door prize.  Stephanie has mailed postcards to Village property owners and residents.  

• Update on Prospect Commercial Space:  No recent updates.  Councilmembers said that the Axe Bar is open now. 

• Update on Grants:  Councilmember Couture said she would check with Patricia and ask that she be researching grants that might be applicable to the Village.

    12. Adjourn: At 8:25pm, Councilmember Shields made a motion to adjourn, Councilmember Couture seconded the motion, unanimously approved.