The following members of the Council were present:

Mayor Marcia Almond

Councilmember Daniel Shields

Councilmember Nilofer Couture

Councilmember Larry Ingersoll

The following Council members were absent:

Councilmember Robert Kehrberg

The following non-Council members were Present: 

Stephanie Gibson, Clerk 

Residents: Ron and Rochelle Mau, Sharon Stovall, Ron Yount, and Debbie Rowland.

 

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 Shields seconded the motion, unanimously approved.  

     4.  Approval of Meeting Minutes for July 01, 2025, Regular Council Meeting: (All meeting minutes are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.) Councilmember Couture made a motion to approve the meeting minutes for July 01, 2025, Councilmember Ingersoll seconded the motion, unanimously approved. 

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

     6.  Public Comment: None

     7.  Reports: 

Mayor’s Report & RPO/TAC: Marcia Almond – Mayor Almond shared that the Engineering firm, Withers Ravenel, completed the Forest Hills Sanitary Sewer Feasibility Study, and Engineer Dana Bolden will attend the Council meeting in September to discuss the study. Stephanie will post a copy of the study on the Village website. Mayor Almond attended the TAC meeting and shared that the scheduled paving of SCC Road resurfacing that was scheduled has been moved to 2030. Also, they shared that I-40 had reopened one lane of traffic. The top priorities of the committee for the coming year are the stop light at the intersection in Dillsboro, the median on 107 near Gateway, and Asheville Highway due to number of accidents in those locations.

Mayor Almond shared that the NCDOT is looking at creating a walking path from the entrance at NCC Dr. to the Jackson County Rec. Center. The project would be funded through Carbon Reduction Funds.

Mayor Almond attended the Annual Southwestern Commission meeting/dinner held at Betty’s Creek on July 28 and said that it went well and there was a good turnout.

Mayor Almond shared that WNC Fiber Optic is in the process of running fiber in the Village. Residents who are interested in getting fiber can call (828) 354-0010 and speak with Travis Lewis.

Roads:  Councilman Ingersoll said that he has received bids from Aaron Jones Paving, Black Bear Paving, Parker Paving, and BH Graning. He noted that Aaron Jones was the lowest bid for both Meig’s Way and Cave Springs Road. He would like to authorize him to start work as soon as possible when weather permits. Councilmember Couture made a motion to approve hiring Aaron Jones Paving to do the repairs on Meig’s Way and Cave Springs Rd., Councilmember Shields seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

Councilmember Ingersoll said that the state came out and picked up the log and branches lying adjacent to the Village entrance. He also shared that DOT came and picked up the furniture left along NCC Rd. near Ron Yount’s house.

Ordinance Updates: Councilmember Ingersoll received complaints about tall grass and weeds for some parcels on SCC Dr., he contacted the residents about section 7.1, etc. about keeping the front of their property trimmed from the edge of their lot to the curb-line or edge of the roadway.  The owners complied immediately.

Councilmember Ingersoll asked Mayor Almond to check with our legal counsel to see if they had contacted the “cabins” about enforcing our amended STR ordinance, specifically about completing the addendum and returning signed copies to our clerk, Stephanie, at the time of each rental. He noted that the completion of the addendum should also apply to the two properties that were grandfathered STR’s owned by Margot and Amy.

Comments: Councilmember Ingersoll said that he received advice from a former Council member regarding our legal counsel. He suggested that we prepare our agenda well in advance so that legal counsel has time to review and have answers ready if there are items to address. Hopefully, this will be a cost-cutting tool as well.

Councilmember Ingersoll asked if we have any prospects to fill the Planning Board positions that might be vacated by Jim Hartley and Amy Bollinger should they win council seats at the upcoming election.

Councilmember Ingersoll said he received an email from a real estate agent asking about the access for lot 65 in the ETJ along Panther Knob Drive. He asked if the parcel has access to this road even though it was never built, Parcel number 7549-60-4185?

Village Safety: Councilmember Couture said that Officer Ashe did not submit a patrol report for July. She said that there were 37 - 911 calls, 7 calls were from a commercial property, Alta View at Prospect, and that the reasons listed were commercial burglary and hit and run.

•          TWSA: None 

•          Planning Board: No members were in attendance, no updates. 

8.     New Business: 

9.     Unfinished Business: 

•          Village Summer Social Feedback: Mayor Almond and Council discussed the summer social and said it went well. Some residents shared that they were not as fond of the Music Bingo as regular bingo. 

•          Usage of the Assembly Hall: Mayor Almond and Council discussed having a policy for using the Assembly Hall. Council felt there should be a guide for use and who was eligible to use it. To be discussed further at the next meeting. 

•          Contract for JCPD Officers patrolling the Village: Mayor Almond mentioned a contract or MOU for officers. Stephanie could not reach Officer Ashe prior to tonight’s meeting but left a message for him to let us know when the Sheriff would be able to attend a meeting and discuss having officers resume patrolling the Village and have an agreement on file as recommended by the auditor.

    10.   Additional Comments: Debbie Rowland recommended having the NCDOT repaint the road lines repainted at the Village entrance, particularly the turn lanes, they are difficult to see. She also recommended to the Council that they post signs announcing Village meetings as they did in the past to remind residents of the day and time.

    11.   Adjournment: At 7:35 pm, Councilmember Shields made a motion to adjourn the meeting.