The following members of the Council were present:

Mayor Kolleen Begley

Councilmember Niall Michelsen

Councilmember Clark Corwin

Councilmember Jerry Rice, III

Councilmember Jonathan Brooks 

The following Non-Council members were Present:

Stephanie Gibson, Clerk

   

1. Call to order:  at 6:00pm Mayor Begley called the meeting to order.  

2. Announcements: 

• Reminder – Please silence cell phones for meeting
• November Food Drive for the Community Table going on now through November 25^th for Thanksgiving organized by Prospect Western – donations can be dropped off at their clubhouse.
• Next monthly Council/Organizational meeting will be held Tuesday, December 3^rd at 6:00pm in the new Forest Hills Assembly building.  New board members will be sworn in after Unfinished Business and will conduct the remaining meeting.
• All meeting dates/times/venues are posted on the calendar widget on the Forest Hills website and in the Sylva Herald.
• We received electronic notification that Chris Green (property owner of the valley property) will be holding a new community input meeting on Thursday, November 14^th at the Jackson County Rec Center in Cullowhee for presentation of his revised ideas for his property.  This property is zoned R-1 and there has been no formal application submitted to request any rezoning.  If an applicant/property owner submits an application, it will be required to go through the process through Jackson County, the Forest Hills Planning Board, public hearings, and then to Council. 

3. Approval of Agenda – Councilmember Corwin made a motion to approve the agenda, Councilmember Rice seconded the motion, unanimously approved. 

4. Approval of Meeting Minutes –October 1, 2019 Regular Council Meeting: Councilmember Michelsen made a motion to approve the minutes; Councilmember Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved.  (All meeting minutes are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.) 

5. Acceptance of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of October 2019:  Councilmember Brooks made a motion to accept the financial report; Councilmember Rice seconded the motion, unanimously approved.  (All financial reports are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.) 

6. Public Comment:  Dan Perlmutter thanked the current Council for the work they have done and their service to the Village. 

He shared that there are annual meetings for retired faculty members and that he attended the last meeting and Dale Brotherton asked Chancellor if there was any plan for WCU to be involved in any construction for retired individuals looking to downsize. 

Jayne Buchanan thanked all the Council members for their service and said she was happy to see more residents becoming involved. 

Leroy and Amber Quick, new residents to the Village, asked about community events or activities such as trick or treating. 

Judy Keen introduced herself as a new resident of the village, shared that she and two other friends combined funds and purchased a home and remodeled it for their retirement home. 

7. Reports:  

• Mayor’s Report: (meetings, ordinance violations) Mayor Begley said that the cleanup day went well, there were approximately 22 individuals involved.  She said that she contacted DOT and they said it was ok to put 2 trash containers paid for by the Jackson County Grant off the shoulders of Stadium View Drive, one behind the Forest Hills entrance sign and one at the end of Stadium View Drive by The Summit entrance.   Prospect Western agreed to pick up the trash bag once weekly for the container at the end of Stadium View Drive and Mayor Begley will line up volunteers from Forest Hills to pick up the trash bag from the other container once/week.  Mayor Begley said that she should hear back soon from the grant that was submitted to purchase these containers and materials for the Litter Letter Project.  She said she was willing to organize future Community Roadside Litter Pick Up events. 

Mayor Begley asked for a motion to approve the $1/month lease agreement between Prospect Western and the Village for the Forest Hills Assembly Hall. The lease agreement was reviewed and revised by the Forest Hills attorney’s office.  Councilmember Corwin made a motion to approve the lease agreement, Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved.  The Village will be responsible for the utility bills for the bottom portion Assembly Hall space only and Stephanie will add the property insurance onto the current policy - there is a minimum $250 annual fee for property and liability coverage. 

Mayor Begley said that the ongoing parking on the road shoulders of Stadium View Drive has been largely due to The Summit not having enough parking and that Prospect Western has built ample parking for their residents and guests.  Mayor Begley said that parking on the shoulders of North Country Club Drive and Stadium View Drive has been a nuisance but has become more of a safety issue when WCU has home football games.  She and the property manager of Prospect Western, Marley Cunningham, will be meeting with a representative from the DOT to discuss ways to mitigate the ongoing road shoulder parking issues.  

• Roads:  Councilmember Rice said he talked to the DOT about the dip in the road near Valhalla apartments on NCC Dr. and reported that the DOT stated there is no imminent danger now and that it will be addressed first thing in the spring when weather permits. 

• RPO/TAC: Councilmember Michelsen said that there are no new reports since the last meeting, the next meeting will be on November 25^th. 

• Planning Board: Councilmember Corwin said the planning board discussed federal funding opportunities and whether the Village was in the right area for those resources.  

Jack Brown of the Planning Board suggested requesting white pavement stripes near the Stop Signs bringing further attention to the Stop Sign like is done in other areas.  Mayor Begley asked that Jerry Rice request that the DOT consider those stripes.  She mentioned that the DOT did put up 25mph Speed Limit signs on Stadium View Drive and additional 25mph Speed Limit signs on North Country Club Drive per the Forest Hills board’s suggestion. 

• Village Safety: Councilmember Brooks said there was a party at the Summit on October 5^th and a traffic stop on NCC and one stop for an individual who was lost.  He did not receive a 911 report. 

8. Unfinished Business:   

• Patrol contract draft: Councilmember Corwin reported that Attorney Fox will discuss the contract details with the County attorney for furthering enforcement of Village speed limits and ordinances. 

• Pedestrian Advisory Shoulder Application:   Councilmember Corwin will follow-up with Anna Sexton at J.M. Teague for more information on when to expect a reply from the Federal Highway Commission for approval. 

• Entrance sign paint fading:   Mayor Begley obtained two quotes to repaint the sign, one was to come and paint the sign on site for $175 and the other was to strip the sign first and then repaint it for $1400.  She will ask the sign company with the lower bid if stripping is needed and get a third quote and bring to the December meeting. 

• Meeting tables and chairs purchase for new Forest Hills Assembly Building space – Mayor Begley     discussed the need to purchase tables and chairs for the Assembly Building space.  Councilmember Corwin looked at Wal-Mart online and said the tables were about $95 and 10 chairs was about $140.  It was also suggested to check at Sam’s Club for pricing and availability for furniture.  Councilmember Rice made a motion to purchase chairs and tables up to $650.00, Councilmember Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved. 

9.  New Business:  None
10.  Additional Public Comment:  None
11. Adjourn:   At 6:55pm, Councilmember Corwin made a motion to adjourn; Councilmember Rice seconded the motion, unanimously approved.