April 2017
The Council Work Session for the Village of Forest Hills was held at the Jackson County Recreation Center at 6:00pm on April 04, 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
Kristy Carter, J.M. Teague Planning
Josh Freeman, J.M. Teague Planning
Mike Poston, Jackson County Planning Director
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
Matthew Metcalf, Designer for B.H. Graning Landscaping came to discuss potential designs for reducing the maintenance of the Village entrance. He discussed foliage options for low growing green shrubs and Nandina to add color. He said that there is approximately 2100 sq. ft. of mulch that they can hydro seed. He noted that they would have about a 12’ open space area for the sign. Council asked the cost of going with the design presented and he said the cost would be approximately $3300, less if not as much foliage is used. Mayor Begley said the council had discussed adding short stone columns to mount the sign on the front of the wall (half above/half below) and asked if that was something that B.H. Graning could do and he said that they could do that.
Mayor Begley said she had reviewed ideas and photos of signage and said many sign businesses now 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 and paint on this material is less susceptible to fading, so are recommended over wooden signs but can be made to look just like wood. She researched cost and the best pricing she found so far 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. Councilmember Rowland said she contacted a company in Sylva called Sign Works and that the cost seemed to be less than many others, they provided an estimate of approximately $1600 for a sign 2” in depth using the HDU. Councilmember Rowland noted that the company had done several area signs including the Tater Knob Estates sign in Glenville. Mayor Begley said she could also contact this company to 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 April 04, 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
Call to order: Mayor Begley called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm.
Announcements:
Whee Farmer’s Market new location behind the University Inn – Tuesday evenings 4:00pm – dusk.
Solar Eclipse info. PDF emailed to councilmembers – August 21, 2017 2:35 pm
3. Approval of the Agenda: Councilmember Hooper made a motion to accept the agenda; Councilmember Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
4. Approval of Meeting Minutes: March 07, 2017 Work Session: Councilmember Corwin 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 Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
5. Approval of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of March, 2017: Councilmember Hooper made a motion to accept the Financial Report; Councilmember Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
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.
Kristy reviewed the Mixed Use District Ordinance document for recommendation to Council and explained it would provide the Town Center feel with a mix of uses such as residential and residential/commercial. She noted that it would provide greater walkability and a greater sense of community. Kristy said that anything under 5 acres would not be an issue but areas over 5 acres would become more complex. A developer would have two options, with Mixed Use Residential there are three types of development (conditional zoning would apply and be folded into the ordinances.)
Councilmember Corwin asked if wetlands area can be counted as open space. Mike Poston said that he feels it could be incorporated depending on how it is incorporated by the developer and the design.
Mayor Begley asked if the potential golf practice field that had been mentioned by an interested developer could be counted as open space. Mike said it depends, and would have to be owner function or owned by a Homeowner’s Association or other entity allowing use by the community.
Mayor Begley said that as the Zoning Administrators, Mike Poston and his office are the initial point of contact and will receive any applications submitted.
Mayor Begley opened the Public Hearing at 7:15 pm, no public; hearing was closed at 7:15 pm.
7. Vote: VMU District: Councilmember Corwin read the motion from the staff report; (attached) Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion, adopted by all councilmembers.
Kristy submitted the Code of Ordinances document for vote.
Mayor Begley opened the public hearing for the Code of Ordinance at 7:37 pm, no public, hearing closed at 7:37 pm.
Councilmember Corwin made a motion as recorded in the staff report to accept the changes and technical corrections to the Code of Ordinances, Councilmember Rowland seconded the motion, unanimously accepted.
Mayor Begley opened the public hearing for the Technical corrections at 7:50pm, no public, hearing closed at 7:50 pm.
Councilmember Corwin made a motion to adopt the changes to the existing regulations in various sections as stated in the staff report; Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously accepted.
8. Reports:
Mayor’s Report: Kolleen Begley - Mayor Begley summarized Village police calls list she arranged by date and type of call. She noted that there were no ordinance violations brought to her attention during the month.
Safety & RPO Board: Carl Hooper – (police, RPO meeting 3-27) – Councilmember Hooper said that there was one arrest on a warrant. Mayor Begley asked the Council if they felt any changes were needed for patrol schedules, all members seemed satisfied with the current schedule. Councilmember Hooper provided copies of the RPO meeting notes to Council.
Roads: Debbie Rowland (Update on parking matter on Stadium View Road, road name sign replacements, and new road name signs for NCC/SCC loop) - Councilmember Rowland reported that the state road name and stop signs have been installed. She noted that she would like to discuss adding North and South Country Club road name signs near the water tower at a later date, pending the finished paving project in that area. She also noted that she contacted the D.O.T. about the Stadium View Rd. parking and maintenance complaints.
Planning Board: Clark Corwin (Update on upcoming Planning Board meeting topics, update on interest in ETJ property) – Councilmember Corwin said that the Planning Board does not have any current assignments but they still need to find a new member to fill a vacated seat. He noted that he would check in with Kristy Carter before she leaves her current position.
Website: Stephanie Gibson (stats on website) – Stephanie reported that she created a Google Analytics account in order to report on future statistics.
Neighborhood Watch: Sharon Stovall (discussion on reorganizing the Neighborhood Watch program, when to have community organized meeting, and avenues to inform citizens of the meeting).Councilmember Stovall said that she called the facilitator from the sheriff’s office and he agreed to facilitate an initial Neighborhood Watch meeting for the Village. Councilmember Rowland suggested incorporating the Neighborhood Watch meeting with the Meet Your Neighbor event in July.
9. Unfinished Business:
Motion for BH Graning to finish grounds work in front of entrance: (From this evenings work session. Cost comes out of the budgeted “Village Entrance – Capital outlay” line item.
Councilmember Stovall made a motion to have B.H. Graning finish the grounds work in front of the entrance for up to $3,200 as discussed in the work session; Councilmember Rowland seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
Appoint new Planning Board member to fill vacant seat: Clark Corwin will discuss at the May meeting.
Photo Contest / Calendar idea: Clark Corwin – Councilmember Rowland suggested submitting the idea to Cullowhee Valley School as a potential artwork/photo project. Will discuss at next meeting.
10. New Business:
Ordinance Violation Template: Mayor Begley said that the template wasn’t written broad enough to be a template for the Ordinance Administrator to use for any violation, so she will revise it and run it by the attorney.
Appoint 2017-2018 Budget Committee: Councilmember Stovall made a motion to appoint Kolleen Begley, Stephanie Gibson, and Carl Hooper to the Budget Committee, Councilmember Rowland seconded the motion, unanimously approved. The meeting is set for April 24 at 6:00 pm at the Recreation Center.
11. Adjourn: At 8:45 pm, Councilmember Rowland made a motion to adjourn; Councilmember Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
Note: Staff Report is under the Document tab.
