July 2016

COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
VILLAGE OF FOREST HILLS
JULY 05, 2016

 

The Council meeting for the Village of Forest Hills was held at the Southwestern Commission in Sylva at 6:00pm on July 05, 2016.

 

The following members of the Council were present:

Mayor Kolleen Begley

Councilmember Ron Mau

Councilmember Debbie Rowland

Councilmember Carl Hooper

Councilmember Clark Corwin

 

The following Non-Council members were present:

Stephanie Gibson, Clerk

Jay Patel, New owner of the University Inn

 

Work Session

 

  1.  Call to order:  The work session was called to order at 6:10 pm by Mayor Kolleen Begley

 

  • Introduce Jay Patel:  Mayor Begley introduced Jay Patel as the new owner of the University Inn and asked that he share his ideas about the property with the Council.  Mr. Patel said that he closed on the property last week, he said that he plans to leave the Inn as it is with the hotel and apartments but will be doing a lot of renovation to the property.  Mr. Patel said that he is having the vegetation around the property removed and cleaning up the debris and trash on the property.  .  Mr. Patel said that renovation will begin with the 10 unit building first followed by the 4 unit building and then the hotel.  He noted that if there was a demand, they may make more two room apartments.  He said that there would be an open house when renovations are completed.

 

Mr. Patel said for now, the swimming pool would not be open but that he would restore it and potentially have it open for next season.  Councilmember Rowland asked Mr. Patel if he would consider allowing the residents to pay a fee to be able to swim at the pool and he said that he would be willing to consider that, he said selling passes to residents could help cover the expense of operating the pool. 

 

Mr. Patel discussed with the Council his desire to potentially add a mini-mart in the hotel to offer supplies and limited wine and beer sales.  Councilmember Corwin said there are no current restrictions on having a small store. 

 

Mayor Begley asked Mr. Patel about the billboard and he said that there is an easement and he will have to discuss options with the land owner, he said he would like to replace the current sign with a traditional motel sign rather than a billboard.  Councilmember Corwin referred him to the Village Ordinances 405 – 408 about signage.  Mr. Patel said that he has discussed a possible franchise with Days Inn and that they will be meeting soon, he said the benefit of a franchise is primarily to have a national reservation system.

 

Mayor Begley suggested that Mr. Patel have flyers prepared to be handed out at the Community event so that residents were aware of the new owners and the renovations in process.

 

  1.  Adjourn:  Councilmember Mau made a motion to adjourn the work session; Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously agreed.

 

Council Meeting

 

  1.  Call to order:  The meeting was called to order at 6:45 pm by Mayor Kolleen Begley.

 

  1.  Announcements:   1)  Reminders:  August regular Council Meeting will be held at the SW Commission in Sylva

                               2)  July 23rd is “Meet Your Neighbor Day” 5:00 to dusk behind the entrance sign on Hwy. 107

3)  Public Hearing at the Planning Board Meeting scheduled for Village ordinance text amendments:  Monday, July 11th 6:00 pm at Cullowhee Valley Elementary School (incorporating conditional zoning and district changes, change in lot size requirements, and technical corrections.)

4)  Public Hearing at Council Meeting scheduled for Village ordinance text amendments:  Monday, July 25th 6:00 pm at Cullowhee Valley Elementary School (incorporating conditional zoning and district changes, change in lot size requirements, and technical corrections.)

                                              

  1. Approval of Agenda:  Councilmember Rowland made a motion to approve the agenda; Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

 

  1. Approval of Meeting Minutes from the June 7, 2016 Council Meeting:  Councilmember Corwin made a motion to approve the Council meeting minutes; Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

 

  1. Acceptance of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of June, 2016:  Councilmember Hooper made a motion to accept the Financial Report; Councilmember Rowland seconded the motion; unanimously accepted.

 

  1. Public Comment:  None

 

  1.  Reports
  • Mayor’s Report:  Mayor Begley said there was nothing new to report since the last Council meeting.
  • Safety & RPO Board:  Carl Hooper - Councilmember Hooper said that there was one accident and that two vehicles were stopped for speeding.  The next RPO Board meeting is scheduled on September 26th.
  • Roads:  Debbie Rowland – Councilmember Rowland said that the potholes previously mentioned were the only road concerns and that Councilmember Hooper was going to discuss those with Parker Paving and try to get them filled at the same time they do the Paving project approved for Cave Springs Road.
  • Jackson County CTP:  Ron Mau – Councilmember Mau said that Travis Lewis is applying for a grant to get 11 towers for the county for high-speed internet.  He also mentioned that he heard that WCU had sent a request for proposals to run wire on existing power poles.  Councilmember Mau noted that the Travel & Tourism Authority has some funding for small projects and are assisting Dillsboro with some money for signs, he will ask Nick Breedlove about the potential for assistance with a sign for the Village.
  • Planning Board:  Clark Corwin – Councilmember Corwin said that the Planning Board just needs to get minutes approved from previous meetings at the meeting on Monday, July 11th.

 

  1. Unfinished Business: 

 

  • Paving Update:  Councilmember Hooper said that he had spoken with Parker Paving and that the work should be done in the next couple of weeks.

 

  • Meet Your Neighbor Event:  Debbie Rowland update:  Councilmember Rowland provided an update of items needed and preparations made for the “Meet your Neighbor Day”.  She noted that Ron Yount is going to mow the area of the event and that she can purchase supplies needed and be reimbursed by the Village.  She needs assistance with set-up between 2:00 – 4:00 pm.  Mayor Begley obtained a banner for the eventand Councilmember Corwin said that he would speak to someone he knows about providing music for the event.

 

  1. New Business:
  • Village Entrance: Kolleen Begley (new logo, new sign, scaling back the landscaping to reduce ongoing maintenance costs as well as clean it up) – Mayor Begley said that she and Councilmember Hooper met with B.H. Graning to discuss a plan to reduce the maintenance costs needed to maintain the Village entrance.  She noted that B.H. Graning provided a proposal to rework the area, remove shrubbery, trees, repair fence, create a smaller area needing mulch, and fill in some areas making the space needing maintenance smaller for the sum of $6,700.00.  He noted that the current monthly maintenance fee would be reduced with the work proposed completed.  Councilmember Mau made a motion to do a modified Phase 1 to the entrance for up to $2,775.00, authorizing Mayor Begley per the design contract to remove the Junipers and weeping cherry trees, complete work on the fence, and complete landfill work, Councilmember Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

 

10.  Additional Public Comment:  None

 

11.  Adjourn:  At 8:20pm Councilmember Mau made a motion to adjourn; Councilmember Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved.