December 2019

Village of Forest Hills
Council Meeting
Tuesday, December 3, 2019 – 6:00 pm
Forest Hills Assembly Hall, Cullowhee NC

 

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.  
  1. Announcements: 
  • Reminder – Please silence cell phones for meeting 
  1. Approval of Agenda – Councilmember Corwin made a motion to approve the agenda, Councilmember Rice seconded the motion, unanimously approved.
  1. Approval of Meeting Minutes –November 12, 2019 Regular Council Meeting: Councilmember Rice made a motion to approve the minutes; Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved.  (All meeting minutes are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.) 
  1. Acceptance of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of November 2019:  Councilmember Corwin made a motion to accept the financial report; Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved.  (All financial reports are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.) 
  1. Fiscal Year-End 06/30/19 Audit Report:  Bronwyn Burleson, CPA - Bronwyn provided a review of the Village Audit Report for fiscal year ending 06/30/19 and provided draft copies of the report.  Bronwyn said that she will email journal entries and review with Stephanie. 
  1. Southwestern Commission:  Russ Harris – Mr. Harris provided an overview of the services available and provided by the Southwestern Commission as well as the various departments and an overview of their services.  He noted that his department is Economic Development and they assist with Grant writing.  Russ said that Rose Bogus is over the RPO and Ethics Training Webinars are available, the next one will be held on Tuesday, December 10th.  He said that anyone can sign up to receive their newsletter by going to the Region A website and signing up. 
  1. Unfinished Business:   
  • Meeting with NCDOT about road shoulder parking on NCC & Stadium View Drive:  Kolleen Begley – Mayor Begley and Marley, the property manager at Prospect Western, met with Chris Lee about parking issues, he is going to start by posting new signs and gathering more information about the parking issues.         
  • Jackson County Municipal Grant approved: Kolleen Begley – Mayor Begley noted that the Village had received grant approval to purchase trash containers and move forward with the litter letter project.  She said that she would like to remain involved in the litter letter project and recycling initiatives within the Village. 
  • Patrol contract draft: Councilmember Corwin met with Anthony Fox and Kim Hooper and discussed what enforcement can be implemented.  Kim is going to check with Sheriff Hall, County Attorney Heather Baker was also in attendance.  They discussed mitigating issues on Village roads and looked at signage and discussed a contract to enforce towing.  Councilmember Corwin is waiting to hear back from Attorneys Fox & Baker to formalize and determine enforcement possible.  They discussed having the speed trailer placed in the Village periodically.  Councilmember Corwin said that he will follow up with Attorney Fox to see where it stands with Jackson County. 

Jim Wallace asked about property owners parking on the shoulder and about the possibility of video cameras recording tags of people speeding or parking illegally. 

  • Pedestrian Advisory Shoulder Application:   Councilmember Corwin said Anna Sexton at J.M. Teague is the contact to review the application and explained that traffic calming is the purpose.  He noted that it would be an experiment for the Village.  Councilmember Corwin said that the application was sent in mid-October and they have not received a response yet.  He shared that the website offers a link with examples of where the project has been implemented.  Mayor Begley said that if approved and implemented, there is no cost to the Village and if it isn’t satisfactory to the Village, it would only be paint and signs.  Councilmember Corwin will check with the Congressional office to inquire if no response is received soon.  Councilmember Brooks said that the Pedestrian lane would not be in areas that there is not adequate space or road width.  He said if approved, there will be a process to move forward.  DOT expressed interest if this is implemented and successful in the Village. 
  • Entrance sign paint fading:   Mayor Begley obtained two quotes to repaint the sign, one was to strip and paint the sign for $235 and the other was to strip the sign and repaint it for $1400.  Councilmember Rice made a motion to have the sign stripped and painted for $235.00, Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved. 
  • Planning board seat vacated:  Councilmember Corwin shared that a seat on the Planning board was vacated by Jack Brown.  He noted that the Planning board consists of 5 members and said that he would like to have anyone interested in filling the seat go online to the Village website and submit an application. 
  1.  Public Comment:  Dan Perlmutter thanked the current Council, for those staying and those leaving for the work they have done and their service to the Village and welcomed the newly elected Mayor and incoming Councilmembers.  He also mentioned that retired faculty from WCU meet periodically and discussed the idea of retirement homes and whether WCU would be interested in working with the Village. 

Mayor Begley thanked the past and current Council and Planning Board members for their commitment and work within the Village.

10.  Swearing-in new members to Council:  Ann Melton, NC Clerk of Court – Ann swore in the new Mayor and Councilmembers.

  • Jim Wallace, Mayor
  • Marcia Almond, Council
  • Nilofer Couture, Council

11.  Organizational Meeting:  Jim Wallace, Mayor - Mayor Wallace said he would like to move the future Council meetings start time from 6:00pm to 7:00pm, Councilmember Almond made a motion to approve the time change, Councilmember Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved. 

Councilmember Corwin suggested appointment of duties, RPO, Safety, etc.  He noted that Councilmember Rice has been reporting on roads in the Village and that he has been working with and reporting on the Planning Board.  Mayor Wallace asked Councilmember Corwin to create a list of duties and anyone interested can assume those duties.  Councilmember Almond said that she would be happy to attend and report on the RPO.  Councilmember Couture agreed to report on Village safety.  Terry Michelsen agreed to continue as Co-Clerk.  Mayor Wallace said that a Budget Committee would need to be approved and asked about the Resident’s Communication Committee duties.

 12.  Adjourn:  At 7:25pm, Councilmember Almond made a motion to adjourn; Councilmember Couture seconded the motion, unanimously approved.