March 2017
The Council Work Session for the Village of Forest Hills was held at the Jackson County Recreation Center at 6:00pm on March 07, 2017.
The following members of the Council were present:
Mayor Kolleen Begley
Councilmember Carl Hooper
Councilmember Clark Corwin
Councilmember Debbie Rowland
Councilmember Sharon Stovall
The following Non-Council members were present:
Stephanie Gibson, Clerk
Work Session
March 07, 2017
6:00 – 6:30 pm @ Jackson County Recreation Center, Cullowhee
Call to order: Mayor Begley called the work session to order at 6:05 pm
Village Entrance – reinstalling low maintenance foliage decision
New signage discussion
Mayor Begley asked B.H. Graning to do a sketch of entrance landscape changes as discussed by Council in February for the Council to review for approval at the April meeting.
Mayor Begley said she had reviewed ideas and photos of signage and said many businesses recommend using signs made from HDU (high density urethane foam.) She noted that signs made from this material have a life of 20 years or more, paint on this material is less susceptible to fading, and are recommended over wooden signs but can be made to look just like wood. She researched cost and the best pricing she found was on a website called discountwoodsigns.com, they priced signs at $99/sq. ft. and offered free shipping. Mayor Begley said that she could send photos of the Village entrance and ask the company for ideas, the Council suggested placement of the new sign be half above the rock wall and bottom half on the rock wall. Councilmember Rowland said she researched several sites but wasn’t impressed with the signage she saw. Mayor Begley said she will talk to the company referenced and get ideas and pricing. Councilmember Hooper suggested pricing different appropriate sizing. One of the photos of an entrance sign example being reviewed showed two rock columns above the top of a wall with a sign in the middle, council agreed that style was most appealing and seemed to stand out and be more visible. Council to discuss further at the April work session.
The Council Meeting for the Village of Forest Hills was held at the Jackson County Recreation Center at 6:30pm on March 07, 2017.
The following members of the Council were present:
Mayor Kolleen Begley
Councilmember Carl Hooper
Councilmember Clark Corwin
Councilmember Debbie Rowland
Councilmember Sharon Stovall
The following Non-Council members were present:
Stephanie Gibson, Clerk
Council Meeting
March 07, 2017
6:30 pm @ Jackson County Recreation Center, Cullowhee
Call to order: Mayor Begley called the meeting to order at 6:40 pm.
Announcements: Whee Farmer’s Market to start up again next month – Tuesday evenings 4:00pm – dusk. Councilmember Hooper said that he would check with the property owner, Mr. Hooper and see about getting access to the gate lock for the Farmer’s Market.
- Approval of the Agenda: Councilmember Hooper made a motion to accept the agenda, adding Tree Ordinance discussion to New Business; Councilmember Rowland seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
- Approval of Meeting Minutes: February 07, 2017 Work Session: Councilmember Hooper made a motion to accept the Work Session minutes, Councilmember Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
Councilmember Hooper made a motion to accept the Council Minutes, Councilmember Rowland seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
5. Approval of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of February, 2017: Councilmember Hooper made a motion to accept the Financial Report, Councilmember Rowland seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
Council reviewed the budget vs. actual costs to date for the fiscal year. Councilmember Hooper asked about the status of completing the next paving project on the schedule. Mayor Begley said she thought they would look at the next phase of paving more toward the end of the current fiscal year in order to have a better idea of what funds will be available to use as a carryover for Capital improvements. (Current fiscal year runs through June 30, 2017)
6. Public Comment/Public Hearing: No public comment. Mayor Begley opened the Public Hearing to discuss the addition of a Mixed Use District Ordinance being added to the ordinances, revisions to the Noise Ordinance, Sign Regulations, and administrative changes creating a Code of Ordinances.
Councilmember Corwin said that the Planning Board approved the Mixed Use District Ordinance document for recommendation to Council to adopt, and summarized new Mixed Use District Ordinance proposal. Councilmember Corwin and Mayor Begley brought Councilmember Stovall up to date on the process to this point. Councilmember Corwin stated that the Mixed Use District may bring more incentives to the Village. Mayor Begley stated that the community input suggested they would like to see a more walkable community in the future. Mayor Begley said she feels the documents to be voted on at a public hearing should be posted on the website and suggested this be done and to schedule and advertise another public hearing for the April meeting. Council agreed and requested that Kristy Carter attend this next meeting to summarize the documents to Council before the public hearing. Councilmember Corwin made a motion to close the Public Hearing, Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
7. Vote: Council agreed to move the vote to the April meeting.
8. Reports:
Mayor’s Report: Kolleen Begley - Mayor Begley informed the Council that the Village Ordinance Administrator sent a letter to the residents that had an Ordinance Violation for the posting of unauthorized signs and noted that the signs have been removed. CTP Update: Mayor Begley reported the update from Ron Mau regarding the CTP status: the Southern bypass didn’t have enough support and will not be included.
Safety & RPO Board: Carl Hooper – (list of history of calls to police from Forest Hills) Councilmember Hooper updated the Council on the month’s patrol activity reporting that there were verbal warnings given for speeding and running a stop sign. Per Council request at the February meeting, Councilmember Hooper obtained and shared general information about the number of calls from a log of all calls made to police from the Village. Mayor Begley offered to tally the general data from the log into a summary of general categories to review at the next meeting.
Roads: Debbie Rowland (Update on parking on private property, road name sign replacements on state-maintained roads) - Councilmember Rowland reported that she followed up on the missing road name sign replacements and confirmed they are on the County’s list to be re-installed on state-maintained roads and on the Village contractor’s list to be re-installed on the village-maintained roads.
Planning Board: Clark Corwin (Updates from Kristy Carter, Civil Citation Form) - Councilmember Corwin reported that Nilofer resigned from the Planning Board, noting the position needs to be publicized and Council will need to bring nominations to a future meeting to fill the vacated seat. Civil Citation Form will be worked on after the ordinance updates have been completed.
Website: Stephanie Gibson (stats on website) – Stephanie reported that the website hosting company no longer gathers statistical information so she created a Google Analytics account in order to report on future statistics.
Neighborhood Watch: Councilmember Stovall discussed a need for advertisement and more signs for the Neighborhood Watch Program. Discussion. Councilmember Stovall said that she will call the facilitator from the Sherriff’s office and aim for a meeting in June but review the information at the April meeting.
9. Unfinished Business:
Village Entrance & Rebranding: Kolleen Begley (branding tag line ideas ie: “community first”, “welcome home”, “Center of the County, etc. – what do we want to be known for?) – Council agreed to review and bring forward to the April meeting.
Photo Contest / Calendar idea: Clark Corwin (work session needed?) – Council agreed to move to the April meeting. Councilmember Stovall suggested a possible kid’s contest to get residents involved.
10. New Business:
Tree Ordinance: Councilmember Corwin suggested the possibility of a Tree Ordinance, which regulates the maintaining, removal, and placement of trees. He asked if Council wants to discuss and said that he would run the possibility by Kristy and see if that would be something for the Planning Board to explore.
2nd Annual Meet Your Neighbor Event: Council agreed to move discussion for planning the event to the April meeting.
11. Additional Public Comment: None
12. Adjourn: At 8:45 pm, Councilmember Rowland made a motion to adjourn; Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously approved.