The following members of the Council were present:

Mayor Kolleen Begley

Councilmember Clark Corwin

Councilmember Niall Michelsen

Councilmember Jonathan Brooks

Councilmember Jerry Rice, III

 

The following Non-Council members were present:

Deb Clark, Communications Coordinator with CWS, Carolina Water Service

Stacy Goff, Area Manager with CWS

 

Work Session

 

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

(CWS Water to discuss the Utility Connect app & Forest Hills parcels served) 

Stacy discussed that CWS will send out voice messages to notify customers of any outages in the future. Deb discussed that CWS has Twitter and Facebook accounts that are updated promptly with any notifications that customers need to be aware of. Deb asked that the Village get the word out about the new CWS app ‘My Utility Connect’ that can be set up by customers to make payments and choose how they would like to be contacted for communications from CWS. Deb said she is available to speak at community meetings or events as needed to answer any questions or provide additional information about CWS.

 Councilmember Corwin mentioned that he has someone checking his water line because his bill spikes a couple of months a year. He said he would like to know more about the water infrastructure. 

Stacy discussed that when repairs were done previously to lines and/or pipes, they were wrapped but now instead of patching the problem area, they are replacing the pipes. He said that they are working on a project from the construction site up SCC drive and noted that Ductal would be the ideal product to use but it is 4” and to use 4”, it has to be approved by the state of NC Utilities Commission, it is more expensive than the 6” since it is not as common. 

Deb said that she has a resolution template that the Village could use to assist with recommendations for water service upgrades or improvements. 

Mayor Begley noted that the culvert near one of their water meters on North Country Club Drive

has been repaired.

 

Council Meeting

      

1. Call to order: at 6:50 pm Mayor Begley called the meeting to order.

2. Announcements:

1. Reminder – Please silence cell phones for meeting

2. Next monthly Council meeting will be held back at the Jackson County Rec Center in Cullowhee

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

 4.  Approval of Meeting Minutes – February 5, 2019 Regular Council Meeting: Councilmember Corwin made a motion to approve the minutes; Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

 5.  Acceptance of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of February 2019: Stephanie Gibson provided copies of the Financial Report for the Council’s review. Councilmember Michelsen made a motion to accept the financial report; Councilmember Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved. Council reviewed the budget, Councilmember Corwin made a motion to reclass $2500 from Street maintenance Non-Powell in the budget moving $2000 to Professional Services and $500 to Notices & Ads, Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved. 

Mayor Begley gave the board a request to approve an amendment to the audit contract from Bronwyn Burleson, the CPA. Bronwyn asked that an amendment be accepted due to their staff missing the original deadline date. Councilmember Corwin made a motion to approve the amendment, Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved. Mayor Begley signed the contract and Stephanie will submit the form electronically to the audit firm.

 6.  Public Comment: None

 7.  Reports:  

• Mayor’s Report: (meetings, ordinance violations) Mayor Begley said there is no new significant information to report at this time. She noted that the Cullowhee Planning Council is working with the Jackson County Planning Department on a process to complete a Small Area Plan for Cullowhee and that she along with Councilmember Corwin and Councilmember Michelsen attended their kick-off meeting to understand more about the process for their Plan. Councilmember Corwin will be the Forest Hills representative at their upcoming stakeholders meeting in preparation for this Small Area Plan. 

• Roads: Councilmember Rice reported that he drove around the Village and that there was some unsightly dead debris on NCC, but it is not a danger. He noted that the main issue is the culvert on North Country Club Drive that is still not completely cleared out. Councilmember Rice said that he received a quote from BH Graning to fix the culvert and repair the damage for the sum of $3600. Council discussed requesting more detail on this quote and obtaining an additional quote to compare by the next meeting. 

• RPO/TAC: Councilmember Michelsen reported that the Southwest Commission might connect with elderly services relating to the concept of aging in place. Councilmember Corwin said that he felt Economic Development might be able to assist with housing. 

• Planning Board: Councilmember Corwin reported that the Village Planning Board requested feedback from the Jackson County Planning Department about the existing Village ordinance related to lighting, and Mike Poston replied that it was written consistent with good practice. 

  Councilmember Corwin reported that Chris Green had a pre-submittal conference with Jackson County for his proposed plan but that it hasn’t moved forward, noting the plan is lacking connectivity and conditional usage. Mayor Begley said that the property would have to be re-zoned for any development plan since it is currently R-1 Residential. 

  Mayor Begley discussed that she received an email from a Realtor expressing confusion over the minimum lot size requirements in our ordinances depending on water and sewer sources. Mayor Begley asked that Councilmember Corwin bring this to the Village Planning Board to research and review, and recommending any amendments that may need to be made. Sewer is the main question and concern for environmental safety - the ordinance currently reads that any new construction requires a minimum ½ acre lot if connected to public sewer, and a minimum of 1 acre lot if septic is required. Councilmember Corwin will ask the Planning Board to obtain professional recommendations on minimum lot size requirements for sewer vs septic and suggested they also check with the Jackson County Planning Dept. to see what they recommend. 

• Village Safety: Councilmember Brooks reported that there were no incidents on reports he received other than one parking incident with a vehicle parked on the side of the road. He noted that he did not receive a requested report on 911 calls.

 8.  Unfinished Business:  

• Permanent Food Cart/Truck area:   Mayor Begley said that the area was originally projected to be ready by the end of April but due to the rain delays, she will check with the developer on the new time table. She noted that for the grant reimbursement, items are purchased first and then the receipts are submitted to Jackson County for reimbursement, ideally before the fiscal year end June 30^th.

  Mayor Begley said that the vendor asked if the Village could at least get the picnic table now, and the rest of the items at the later date when the area was ready. Mayor Begley also noted concerns about potential theft. Council decided to wait until the food truck was in its permanent location before getting the commercial picnic table so that they could secure it in the area it would remain. 

• Roads paving/resurfacing schedule: (see Pavement Condition Survey Map attachment) – Mayor Begley requested an updated map from J.M. Teague after she noted a section of a road missing. (This item will be moved to the April agenda). 

• Roadside trash pick-up: Mayor Begley noted that the upcoming semi-annual Village roadside litter pickup will be held on April 20^th in conjunction with Jackson County’s “Cleaning up the Mountains.”  Councilmember Rice said that he will get gloves and bags from the Department of Transportation. 

• ROW documentation: Mayor Begley noted that the Village still needs documented clarification of the road right-of-way’s. Councilmember Corwin said that he would check with the county attorney, Heather Baker, to obtain further information.

 9.  New Business:  

• Set Budget Committee and meeting date: Councilmember Rice made a motion for Mayor Begley and Stephanie Gibson to be on the Budget Committee, Councilmember Corwin seconded the motion, unanimously approved. Mayor Begley and Stephanie will set a date for the meeting and Stephanie will advertise the meeting on the website and in the paper. She asked that Council bring ideas or comments related to the upcoming fiscal year budget process to the next meeting.

10.  Additional Public Comment: None

11.  Adjourn: At 8:40pm, Councilmember Corwin made a motion to adjourn; Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved.