The Council meeting and Work Session for the Village of Forest Hills were held at the Jackson County Recreation Center at 6:00pm on February 07, 2017.

The following members of the Council were present:

Mayor Kolleen Begley

Councilmember Carl Hooper

Councilmember Clark Corwin

Councilmember Debbie Rowland

The following Non-Council members were present:

Stephanie Gibson, Clerk

Sharon Stovall, Village Homeowner

Jodi Miller, Region A Partnership for Children

1. Call to order: Mayor Begley called the work session to order at 6:05 pm

• Village Entrance – reinstalling low maintenance foliage / decisions to instruct B.H. Graning to finish. 

       Mayor Begley showed slides of the current work that had been done on the Village Entrance, the bushes removed, the fence repairs, and the removal of the trees that were starting to die and the plan submitted by B.H. Graning for additional work.  Council members said they felt that the work suggested in the plan was too extensive, they would like to downscale the maintenance that would be required.  They discussed bringing the turf up to the wall and not having mulch, maybe some stone.  Council agreed to bring the grass back toward the wall and have some space with some stone/pea gravel and some small year-round plants, discussed dwarf plants that would not obstruct the view of the wall.  Mayor Begley said that she would contact B.H. Graning about spacing and plant materials discussed. 

1. Call to order: Mayor Begley called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm. 

2. Announcements:

1. Calendar Widget on the website is updated for 2017 monthly meeting dates and places.

2. Public Hearing Planning Board: Monday February 20, 2017 @ 7:00 pm

   Public Hearing Council: Tuesday March 7, 2017 @ 6:00 pm

   Both held at Jackson County Rec. Center in Cullowhee for the addition of a Mixed Use District Ordinance, revisions to the Noise Ordinance, Sign Regulations, and administrative changes creating a Code of Ordinances.

3. Approval of the Agenda: Councilmember Corwin made a motion to accept the agenda; Councilmember Rowland seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

4. Approval of Meeting Minutes: January 03, 2017 Regular Council Meeting: Councilmember Hooper made a motion to accept the minutes with corrections (to include the motion made to reclass funds between line items), Councilmember Rowland seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

5. Approval of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of January, 2017: Councilmember Hooper made a motion to accept the Financial Report with the changes to reclass funds between line items per motion at the January, 2017 meeting, Councilmember Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

Mayor Begley suggested moving $3,000 from the Non-Powell Streets budget line item to the Attorney budget line item in order to account for new known costs upcoming. Councilmember Corwin made a motion to move $3,000 from the Non-Powell Streets budget line item to the Attorney budget line item; Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

    6. Region A Partnership for Children: Jodi Miller provided materials and made a presentation to the Council on the organization, www.RegionAkids.org:

Jodi Miller provided handouts with information and presented on the primary functions of Region A Partnership for Children. Ms. Miller discussed that she coordinates for the Smart Start program located in the seven WNC counties and the Qualla boundary, they provide support networks, Community In-Service training, and provide family support.  Ms. Miller noted where the organizations funding comes from, and that the greatest need she currently encounters in Jackson County is for Transportation and a Homeless Shelter.  Ms. Miller will continue to send out information to governmental boards when needs arise in an effort to help network for potential solutions.

   7.  Public Comment: None

   8.  Appoint a new board member for open Council seat: Mayor Begley opened the floor for nominations, discussions, and a vote. Councilmember Hooper nominated Sharon Stovall to fill the term of the council seat vacated by Ron Mau. Councilmember Corwin asked Sharon about her interests in being on the Council, she replied that she has lived in the Village for approximately 10 years, is currently a Real Estate Broker, and is happy to serve as she cares about the Village and community. Council discussed time, duties, and potential duties involved in the position, none of which presented an issue for Sharon Stovall. Councilmember Corwin made a motion to appoint Sharon Stovall to fill the term of the council seat vacated by Ron Mau; Councilmember Rowland seconded the motion, unanimously approved. Mayor Begley noted that the seat Sharon would fill on the Council to replace Councilmember Mau would be up in December of this year and that if she was interested in continuing on the Council at that time, she will need to sign up via the Board of Elections this summer to run for the seat which will be up for election this November. Mayor Begley shared that a Village resolution was passed requiring at minimum that all governing board members attend at least 1 day of the 2-day “Essentials of Municipal Government” conference (or other qualified source) in addition to the 2-hour ethics training required under North Carolina law after each election or re-election to office. Mayor Begley also noted that documents relating to rules, procedures, and responsibilities of Village board members are on the Village website under the Documents tab.

   9.  Reports:

Mayor’s Report: Kolleen Begley - Mayor Begley noted that she has updated the website with some minor revisions and added the new Village logo and that the Stop Sign for Cave Spring Road has been ordered. She discussed an Ordinance Violation brought to her attention by Ken Dickert (Village Ordinance Administrator) regarding a home business and advertising signage for it in the road right-of-ways. Since these are new residents to the Village, the Council recommended that a warning letter without a fine be sent first in order to bring the ordinances and fines for violations to their attention as they may not be aware that they are within Village boundaries where ordinances are enforced.

Safety & RPO Board: Carl Hooper – Councilmember Hooper noted that there were no reports on traffic violations, and a warrant was attempted to be served but the occupant had moved. Councilmember Rowland noted that she had been notified of a robbery at one home and an attempted break-in at another within the past month. Councilmember Corwin recommended requesting data from the Jackson County Sheriff’s office be given to the Village for ALL reports of calls that occur in Forest Hills in order to better assist the Council in decisions made on Village patrol. Councilmember Corwin also noted that the compiled information could serve well in organizing the Neighborhood Watch Program meeting. 

Roads: Debbie Rowland (Update on parking on private property, road name sign replacements on state-maintained roads) - Councilmember Rowland said that she contacted 911 addressing about the road sign replacements and was forwarded to the County Works Dept. and they said the missing signs should be installed within a month.                    

Planning Board:  Clark Corwin (Updates from Kristy Carter) - Councilmember Corwin said that the Planning Board and Kristy Carter are working on two documents: the Mixed Use District Ordinance and the Code of Ordinances. He noted that they have been working to make revisions to the Noise Ordinance in order to be consistent with Jackson County’s ordinance.  The Planning Board will have their public hearing on these items at the regular meeting to be held on February 20^th.  Mayor Begley asked about the creation of the form for Ordinance Violations and Councilmember Corwin said that he would follow up with Kristy Carter about it.  Councilmember Corwin noted that he will follow up with Nilofer about going into the Clerk of Court’s office to renew her term on the Planning Board. 

Website:  Stephanie Gibson (stats on website) – Stephanie noted that she has not had a response from the website but will try to reach them again and have the information at the next meeting.

  10. Unfinished Business:

Village Entrance & Rebranding: Kolleen Begley (work session in March for new entrance sign) –  Mayor Begley asked Council to research and bring ideas for the shape, size, and material to use for a new entrance sign (based on our new logo) as well as potential sign companies to use to the March meeting.

  11. New Business:

Revisit Neighborhood Watch – Councilmember Rowland said that the Neighborhood Watch seems dormant and suggested that this be revived by holding another organized community meeting. She also noted that she doesn’t feel that the current Neighborhood Watch signage stands out.  Mayor Begley said that the Village had a large turnout at the last Neighborhood Watch organization meeting held where the Sherriff’s office attended to present the information.

Councilmember Corwin said that he feels that at least a year of hard data of calls within the Village needs to be gathered from the Sherriff’s office prior to organizing the Neighborhood Watch meeting. Council agreed to discuss the Neighborhood Watch further at the next meeting. Mayor Begley asked Sharon if she would be the point person for the Neighborhood Watch as her reporting area for upcoming meetings and she agreed. 

Councilmember Corwin suggested the possibility of posting meeting reminder signs for Council or other meetings, Council agreed to revisit at the next meeting.

  12. Additional Public Comment: None

  13. Adjourn: At 8:20 pm, Councilmember Rowland made motion to adjourn; Councilmember Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved.