August 2017
The Council meeting for the Village of Forest Hills was held at the Southwestern Commission Building in Sylva at 6:00pm on August 01, 2017.
The following members of the Council were present:
Mayor Kolleen Begley
Councilmember Carl Hooper
Councilmember Clark Corwin
Councilmember Sharon Stovall
The following members of the Council were absent:
Councilmember Debbie Rowland
The following Non-Council members were present:
Terry Michelsen, Co-Clerk
Niall Michelsen, Village homeowner
Call to order: Mayor Begley called the meeting to order at 6:05 pm.
Announcements:
Reminder – please silence cell phones for meeting
September 5th Council meeting will be held at the Jackson County Recreation Center 6:30 pm, preceded by a Work Session from 6:00-6:30.
Whee Farmer’s Market is held every Tuesday from 4-7 pm in the Village next to the University Inn.
3. Approval of the Agenda: Councilmember Corwin made a motion to accept the agenda; Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
4. Approval of Meeting Minutes: July 11, 2017 Council Meeting: Councilmember Hooper made a motion to accept the meeting minutes; Councilmember Stovall seconded the motion, unanimously approved. Mayor Begley noted that she asked Stephanie to underline motions in future minutes.
5. Acceptance of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of July, 2017: Stephanie Gibson - Stephanie emailed the Financial Report to the Councilmembers for review. Mayor Begley reviewed the report with Council at the meeting. Councilmember Stovall made a motion to accept the Financial Report; Councilmember Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved. All financial reports are uploaded to the website. Stephanie completed the Certified Statement and Expenditure Reports for the NCDOT Powell Report and emailed the electronic copy of the 2017 Powell Bill Map from the Engineer to Councilmembers and requested a hard copy for all members.
6. Public Comment / Public Hearing/ Vote: (open and close the public hearing for each below)
Mayor Begley opened the public hearing for the revision of the Unreserved Fund Balance Policy to a flat $100K and revision of the fiscal year 2017-2018 budget by increasing the amount of the Fund Balance Carryover from $30K to $40K to cover upcoming paving projects. There was no public so the hearing was closed. Councilmember Corwin made a motion to accept the amended Fund Balance Policy to reflect retaining $100K minimum Fund Balance, Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion unanimously approved. Councilmember Stovall made a motion to add $10,000 from the Fund Balance Carryover to Street Maintenance; Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
Mayor Begley opened the public hearing for the minor amendment recommendations to the Mixed Use District zoning ordinance. There was no public so the hearing was closed. Councilmember Corwin said that the Village planner sent an email outlining the suggested changes to the ordinance, modifying certain sections. Councilmember Corwin said he will ask Josh to insert the changes into the full document for clarification on density and mixed use requirements. Councilmember Corwin made a motion to accept the revised Village Mixed Use District Conditional Zoning amendments based on recommendations 1-6 from the handout provided by the Village planner, Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
7. Reports:
Mayor’s Report: Kolleen Begley - Mayor Begley said that she has not been to a Mayor’s meeting since the last Council meeting and has not been informed of any ordinance violations.
Safety & RPO Board: Carl Hooper – Councilmember Hooper said that he attended the annual RPO meeting that was held at the Vineyards of Betty’s Creek, he said it was well attended, probably 75-100 people, he noted business wasn’t discussed, it was a social event but there were a few speakers, one being Jim Davis. He said there were no new safety concerns to report, he asked if Council wanted to have patrol work extra time for the weekend before and after the first week of school at WCU, Council agreed so he said he would speak with the Sherriff’s office.
Roads: Debbie Rowland was absent. Mayor Begley noted that she had received written notification from all three residents on Poppy Lane about a request for the Village to maintain that road and the need to have potholes filled. Councilmember Stovall made a motion for the Village to assume maintenance of Poppy Lane; Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously approved. Mayor Begley noted that a request could be made to the engineer, Victor Lofquist, to add Poppy Lane to the Powell Bill map net year which may result in additional Powell Funds to the Village from the State.
Planning Board: Clark Corwin – Councilmember Corwin said that the Planning Board needs two members, he said that Steve resigned his position and that Lee phoned him before the last meeting and said that he would not be able to attend and since his seat was up for renewal, he did not want to renew his term. He noted that Ben Graning was sworn in as a new member but was unable to attend the last couple of meetings due to prior obligations.
Neighborhood Watch: Sharon Stovall - there was not a Neighborhood Watch meeting since the Meet Your Neighbor event is to be rescheduled.
8. Unfinished Business: (Paving quotes) - Councilmember Stovall said that she has a quote from Black Bear paving and from Parker Paving and HMC Paving from Bryson City has agreed to come out and provide a third quote for the project. Mayor Begley noted that all three companies will need to provide a quote when the specifics are finalized in order for each to price comparatively. Attorney Moore drew up a contract for the previous paving project and another will be needed for this project.
9. New Business: New Council Member – Mayor Begley asked Niall Michelsen if he would consider replacing the seat that Debbie Rowland resigned from on the Village Council. Niall said that he would be willing to serve on the Village Council. Councilmember Stovall made a motion to appoint Niall Michelsen to the Village Council, seconded by Councilmember Hooper, unanimously approved.
10. Adjourn: At 7:30 pm, Councilmember Corwin made a motion to adjourn; Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously approved.