The following members of the Council were present:

Mayor Marcia Almond

Councilmember Robert Kehrberg

Councilmember Daniel Shields

Councilmember Larry Ingersoll

The following members of the Council were absent:

Councilmember Nilofer Couture

The following non-Council members were Present: 

Stephanie Gibson, Clerk 

Residents Ron & Rochelle Mau, Jim Hartley, Brian Hartley, Sharon Stovall, Robert & Debbie Rowland, Mary Anne Barker, Jayne Buchanan, Patrick Buchanan, and Amy Bollinger, Planning Board Chair. 

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

     2.  Announcements:

          Reminder – Please silence cell phones for the meeting. 

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

     4.  Approval of Meeting Minutes for May 06, 2025, 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 May 06, 2025, Councilmember Couture seconded the motion, unanimously approved. 

     5.  Acceptance of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of May 2025: (All financial reports are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.) Councilmember Shields made a              motion to approve the financial reports, Councilmember Ingersoll seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

     6.  Public Comment: Resident Jim Hartley spoke, saying that he had worked with the Planning Board and they reviewed the STR Ordinance.  He said that he had asked and submitted a                  request in writing to have his property grandfathered in as a short-term rental.  He said the Village should consider eminent domain.  Mayor Almond said that they had spoken to the                    attorney and that he had said that Mr. Hartley’s property did not qualify to be grandfathered in because it was not being operated as an STR before the ordinance.  Mr. Hartley said that he            did not agree with that decision and was disappointed that the law firm did not have regulations in place.  He is also disappointed that the council had not spoken with him and answered                some of his calls.

          Brian Hartley also spoke in regards to his family’s property, saying that he had also submitted a request to have the property grandfathered in as an STR, saying that they purchased the                property earlier in the year, May 2023, before the STR ordinance was adopted in November. Mayor Almond said that the property was not known to be an STR at the time of the ordinance              and had not been before Mr. Hartley purchased the property.  Mayor Almond said that notices of the ordinance will be sent to the County as well as all local Real Estate agencies.

          Councilmember Ingersoll said that before the ordinance being adopted in 2023, the two residents whose properties were grandfathered in came before the council and made their case to              continue operating as they had been as an STR and that they were both occupying the properties in question.

          Resident Ron Mau discussed the budget and asked about the revenue neutral rate and mentioned that the taxes would increase significantly with the current mil rate with the increased                  property revaluations.  He said the tax rate is required to be listed and that the revenue neutral rate should be known based on the new property values of the Village and the tax rate to              determine the rate of tax increase residents would be paying.

     7.  Public Hearing: Mayor Almond opened the public hearing to review the STR Ordinance Amendment and Draft Budget for FY 25-26.  Mayor Almond and Councilmembers discussed the STR           Ordinance Amendment and the recommendation by the Planning Board.  She said that the budget would be reviewed at a separate public hearing on June 19^th.

     8.  Close Public Hearing and return to Council Meeting.

     9.  Vote on STR Ordinance Amendment: Councilmember Ingersoll made a motion to approve the STR Ordinance Amendment, Councilmember Shields seconded the motion, unanimously                approved.

   10.  Reports: 

Mayor’s Report & RPO/TAC: Marcia Almond – Mayor Almond shared that she attended the Southwest Commission meeting and that they did not have a quorum, so the meeting was rescheduled for June 4.  She said that the TAC meeting was also cancelled.

Roads:  Councilman Ingersoll said that the estimate was sent from Patrick Rice to clean out ditches along Cave Springs in the amount of $600 that the Village will pay.  He said that the new Cave Springs Rd. sign was on its way and would be delivered to his home and then installed by Robby Hess. Councilmember Ingersoll said that trees are leaning on NCC and SCC, and one that is urgently needing to be removed is near Judith Lambert’s house.  He also received a quote from BH Graning in addition to Aaron's for Meigs Way and Reservoir Road.  He noted that the quote was $16k from Aarons Paving and $20K from BH Graning for Reservoir Rd., and both were approximately $6K for Meigs Way. 

Councilmember Ingersoll said that he had photos of three dogs that were at large in the Village, and he will send letters to the owners.  Also, he noted two properties on lower SCC Dr. that had been mentioned appeared to be working on the areas noted.

Village Safety: Councilmember Couture was absent; she was out of town.

•          TWSA: None 

•          Planning Board: Amy Bollinger, Chair of the Planning Board, shared that the board met on May 27^th and sent their recommendation on the text amendment request by   Brown Haven Homes to the Council.  She noted that they did not recommend approving the text amendment request based on the current ordinances and feedback from residents.   
•    11. New Business: 

Village Summer Social: Mayor Almond and Council discussed the summer social to be held on July 13^th.  Mayor Almond said that B&ALs would cater for the meal, and the Council decided that the event would be from 4:00-7:00 pm.  The council discussed games, and Music Bingo was suggested. Mayor Almond said that she would check on getting a group to do that.  Details will be confirmed at the next meeting. 

Resolution in support of Fontana Regional Library:  Councilmember Shields prepared a resolution in support of FRL.  Mayor Almond and Council discussed the resolution and voted unanimously to approve the resolution and submit a signed copy to the county, the board of commissioners, and the FRL Board.

      12.  Unfinished Business: 

•          Updates on Engineering Study: The Engineering Study is underway and should be concluded soon. Updates are sent as the company completes each stage of the study. 

•          Updates on Ordinance discussed for Animal Care:  TBD
  
•          Update on Grants: TBD

     

     13.   Additional Comments: 

     14.   Adjourn: At 8:5pm, Councilmember Ingersoll made a motion to adjourn.