July 2014

                                                                        COUNCIL MINUTES

                                                                 VILLAGE OF FOREST HILLS

                                                                              July 01, 2014

 

 

The regular meeting of the Village of Forest Hills was held in the meeting room at the Webster Town Hall at 6:00pm on July 01, 2014.

 

The following members of the Council were present:

Mayor Kolleen Begley

Councilmember Clark Corwin

Councilmember Ron Mau

Councilmember Carl Hooper

 

The following members of the Council were absent:

Councilmember Dan Perlmutter

 

The following Non-Council members were present:

David Moore, Village Attorney

Stephanie Gibson, Finance Officer/Clerk

Nick Breedlove, Webster Mayor

Tanner Hall, The Sylva Herald

 

 

  1. Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 6:05pm by Mayor Kolleen Begley.

    2.  Approval of Agenda: A motion to approve the agenda was made by Councilman Corwin, seconded by Councilman Hooper, and unanimously approved.

    3.  Announcements: Reminder – August 5th monthly Council meeting will also be held in Webster’s town hall.

    4.  Approval of Meeting Minutes from June 03, 2014 Council meeting: a motion to approve the minutes was made by Councilman Hooper, seconded by Councilman Mau, unanimously approved.                                          

    5.  Acceptance of Financial Report for the month of June, 2014: Stephanie Gibson provided copies of the Financial Report for May. Revenues for the month included $295.85 in Ad Valorem Taxes, $1614.39 in Sales Tax, $1373.96 in Franchise & Utility Tax and $13.42 in Interest earned. Expenditures for the month included $560 for Police Protection, $390.95 for administrative and reimbursement fees, $38.40 for notices, $224.18 for UNC School of Government for books purchased, $1,050.00 for Attorney fees, $1,750.00 for Street maintenance and $444.46 in Entrance operating fees. As of June 30, 2014 there is $140,694.63 in the General Fund bank account and $16,242.69 in the Powell Bill bank account. 

A motion to accept the financial report was made by Councilman Hooper, seconded by Councilman Mau, and unanimously approved.

     6.  NC Cash Management Program: Stephanie Gibson shared information on the NC Cash Management system. (There had been a suggestion to move the $108,750 required unreserved fund balance to a separate acct. so it is clear on the monthly balance sheet what cash is available in the Operating & Powell Bill checking accounts). Stephanie spoke with Lynn, the Finance officer for the Town of Sylva, Lynn noted that the Town had funds in an account with NC Cash Management and had been customers for many years; she noted that the interest rate was currently low but had been competitive prior to the economy causing interest rates to drop. She noted that they had some funds in a term account that was beneficial if you were able to leave the money in the account for a significant amount of time. Lynn also shared that the town had funds in varied accounts for diversity purposes and that she had found better interest rates at local institutions for the time being.

Mayor Begley and Councilmembers asked that Stephanie contact some local financial institutions to determine what the best available rate would be if the Village transferred the unreserved fund balance to another account and share that information at the next meeting.

     7.  Public Comment: None

     8.  Rural Economic Development: Nick Breedlove, Mayor of Webster, attended the Rural Economic Development Institute three month training in Raleigh and shared with the Council some of the information he felt was most beneficial. He shared that there are scholarships available for training and Economic development projects that can be applied for. Mayor Breedlove said that he felt he benefited most from the training on Leadership Skills. He shared a handout that he was given at the training on Communication styles; the handout provided scenarios of how groups can communicate more effectively and be more productive in meetings and decision making.

Mayor Breedlove said he feels that small is good, he recommended focusing on assets in small areas such as rivers, walkways, etc., for Webster he said with no businesses, he feels their focus should be mainly on tourism and housing.  He also recommended leveraging community assets; he noted that Western Carolina University Grant writers assisted in helping him secure a $10,000 grant.

Councilman Corwin asked if anything specific on leveraging assets and Mayor Breedlove said that they are focusing on natural resources and what can be provided to residents.  Mayor Breedlove said that Webster held a separate meeting from the regular Council meeting on planning and visioning and he felt that was beneficial, members shared ideas and discussed ways to aide future growth and development.   He suggested taking ideas to Economic Development and getting in contact with available resources.

    9.  Reports:   

Planning Board: Councilman Corwin said that Jayne Buchanan and Nilofer were the only members that attended the last meeting.  He said that Ron Hancock also attended but the board did not have a quorum.

Mayor Begley suggested ideas for addressing attendance and communication of the Planning Board.  Councilman Corwin said that he would contact all members including the two new nominees and discuss projects and availability prior to the next meeting.

Safety:  Councilman Hooper said that there was surveillance but no reports.

Roads:  Councilman Perlmutter was absent, moved to August meeting.

Zoning:  None

Mayor’s Report:  Mayor Begley said that Chris Green contacted her about arranging a meeting to discuss and share ideas for his property.  She noted that one idea he had would not affect zoning, he said that he would discuss that idea with the parties involved and get back to her to discuss with the Council.

    10.  Parking Ordinance: Councilman Corwin (NCGS 20-161) – Councilman Corwin asked Attorney Moore how to re-write the ordinance. Attorney Moore suggested getting with the Planning Board and coming up with a proposed ordinance. Councilman Corwin said they would review the single family ordinance, parking, etc. at the meeting on July, 14.

    11.  Old Business:

Donated sign for corner of NCC/SCC – Mayor Begley said that the sign painting is in process.

Roadwork repair quotes – Mayor Begley said that the repair quotes need to be revisited, more information is needed. Councilman Hooper said that he will get more information from Parker Paving.

Village application forms: Councilman Mau (Note: Run these by Gerald Green, Jackson County) still in progress, moved to next meeting.

Planning Board: Mayor Begley asked that new members be sworn in at the Clerk of Court at their convenienceafter nominations are accepted at the August 5th meeting.

Board Compensation: Councilman Hooper made a motion that all Council, including the Mayor,       be compensated $25 monthly to each member that attends the monthly Council meeting; seconded by Councilman Corwin. Motion passed with Hooper and Corwin for, Mau against.

Councilman Hooper made a motion that the Council be paid semi-annually on December 15, and on June 15, Councilman Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

   12.  New Business:

  1. Garbage/Recycling service quote: Prices were too high to consider this service at this time.

  2. Workshop Planning: Council discussed applying for a grant to assist with the Charette. Councilman Mau said that the grant might not pay for expenses incurred prior to the grant being awarded. He said that he would call the contact listed for the grant to check the timelines and will write the necessary document to apply for the grant. He will check the timelines to determine whether the framing meeting will be in August or September. 

   13.  Adjourn: At 8:25pm Councilman Hooper made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Mau, unanimously approved.