The following members of the Council were present:

Mayor Kolleen Begley

Councilmember Niall Michelsen

Councilmember Clark Corwin

Councilmember Jerry Rice, III

 

The following Council members were absent: 

Councilmember Jonathan Brooks

 

The following Non-Council members were Present: 

Stephanie Gibson, Clerk

Mike Poston, Planning Director, Jackson County Planning Department

Village Residents and Property Owners

 

1. Call to order:  at 6:00pm Mayor Begley called the work session to order.  Mayor Begley introduced the Council and expressed her appreciation for the residents in attendance. 
   

2. Jackson County Planning Department:  Mike Poston – summary of the process of any official rezoning request.  Mike Poston provided a summary of the rezoning processes noting that Forest Hills has two separate rezoning processes, one being a standard zoning map amendment and the other being conditional zoning.  He said with the standard rezoning, if an application is denied, the applicant must wait twelve months to resubmit a request but if they choose to appeal the denial, it would go through the court. 

Councilmember Corwin asked if the Planning Board doesn’t recommend a rezoning request be approved, does the council still have to review the request, Mike responded that the council does still have to review the request.

Mike said that with conditional rezoning, a request can be approved with conditions set forth by the council.  Councilmember Corwin asked about the time frames with an application process and Mike said that the timelines are set after an application is received.  Councilmember Michelsen asked about the potential affects rezoning might have on land values and how that is determined, Mike said that land values would have to be determined by an appraiser.

Several residents spoke on the potential of future land development on the 72 acres known as the old golf course.  Dolphus Brown, Nilofer Couture, Rick Cardona, Wes Stone, Dale Brotherton, Debbie Rowland, Jean Adams, and Ron Yount spoke on behalf of themselves and fellow residents in opposition to any rezoning of any current R-1 properties and any future high-density development.  A petition was presented with over 100 signatures and 35 written letters were received all opposing any high-density development in Forest Hills, including student housing particularly in the valley.

 

      

      1.  Call to order:   at 7:20 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 June 4^th at the Health and Human Sciences Building on WCU West Campus, Room 204.  All meeting dates/times/place are posted on the calendar widget on the Forest Hills website and in the Sylva Herald.

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

4. Approval of Meeting Minutes – April 2, 2019 Regular Council Meeting: Councilmember Michelsen made a motion to approve the minutes; Councilmember Rice seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

5. Acceptance of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of April 2019:  Stephanie Gibson provided copies of the Financial Report for the Council’s review.  Councilmember Corwin made a motion to accept the financial report; Councilmember Rice seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

6. Public Comment: (Please see attached copies of emails, letters, and petition received from Village residents). 

Several residents spoke on the potential of future land development on the 72 acres known as the old golf course.  Dolphus Brown, Nilofer Couture, Rick Cardona, Wes Stone, Dale Brotherton, Debbie Rowland, Jean Adams, and Ron Yount spoke on behalf of themselves and fellow residents in opposition to any rezoning of any current R-1 properties and any future high-density development.  A petition was presented with over 100 signatures and 35 written letters were received all opposing any high-density development in Forest Hills, including student housing particularly in the valley.

7. Reports: 
   

• Mayor’s Report: (meetings, ordinance violations) Mayor Begley said there is no new significant information to report from the last mayor’s meeting.  She mentioned there is a new project called bluezones.com and that she would like to invite the leader of the project, Highland’s Mayor’s wife, to a future Council meeting to speak more about the project, she said that its purpose is to brand communities to provide healthy ideas and promote wellness through the program. 

Mayor Begley noted that there were two ordinance violations – a parking matter and a noise disturbance. The Ordinance Administrator sent certified letters to the owners of the properties where the violations occurred. 

• Roads:  Councilmember Rice reported that the contractor still needs to complete the culvert repair started on North Country Club Dr, including armoring and clean up, the bid was approved last month, and he will follow up with the contractor for a completion date.

Councilmember Rice said that a resident told him that there was a pothole on Cox Farm circle, but he drove by and did not see it.  He said he would alert DOT to check the area. 

Councilmember Rice said there were some trees on the right-of-way on NCC Drive that needed to be cleared.  Councilmember Corwin made a motion to approve up to $500 to have trees cleared, Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

• RPO/TAC: Councilmember Michelsen said that there is a meeting scheduled the end of May and prioritization 6.0 for the fall will begin and new proposals will be reviewed.  Councilmember Michelsen said that he spoke with the County Manager, Don Adams, and was told that the county got a grant for new bike paths and sidewalks and Councilmember Michelsen volunteered to be the representative for the Village.

• Planning Board: Councilmember Corwin said that Planning Board members Rick Cardona and Paul Heckert resigned their seats on the board.  He said that he would like to nominate Diane Martinez who lives on SCC Drive to fill Paul Heckert’s seat and Jack Brown who agreed to serve on an interim basis to fill Rick Cardona’s seat.  Councilmember Corwin made a motion to fill Paul Heckert’s seat with Diane Martinez and to fill Rick Cardona’s seat with Jack Brown, Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved.    Mayor Begley noted that the new Planning Board members would need to be sworn in by the Clerk of Court.  Clark said he would arrange to have them go to the Clerk’s office or have the Clerk of Court come to the next meeting.  Council review and further nominees at the next Council meeting.

• Village Safety: Councilmember Brooks was absent.  

8. Unfinished Business:  
   

• Roads paving maintenance quotes. Council reviewed the paving priorities and Mayor Begley and Councilmember Rice said that they would get two quotes from paving companies by the June meeting.
• Road Name Signage installed (NCC/SCC loop, Pincushion):  Mayor Begley noted that the hired contractor installed the new road name signage and that one of them has been knocked down but would be replaced.

9. New Business: 

• Resolution:  Catawba Casino in Cleveland County – Mayor Begley shared a draft of Forest Hills Resolution # 2019 – 06-04a based on a request sent out to towns in Jackson County and Western North Carolina by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in opposition to a proposed Catawba Indian Nation Casino being established in North Carolina stating that it would negatively impact the economy in Western North Carolina.  Councilmember Corwin made a motion to adopt the Resolution with the amendment to change the date adopted as May 14^th instead of the June 4^thdate on the proposed Resolution, Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved. Stephanie will forward the signed documentation as requested to North Carolina Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis.
• Review 2019-2020 Fiscal Year Proposed Budget:  Mayor Begley reviewed the proposed 2019-2020 fiscal year budget with Council and asked that if anyone had questions or wanted changes to notify her before next meeting so any adjustments can be made before the public hearing.  The budget is required to be finalized on or before June 30.
• Set Public Hearing on Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Budget for June 4^th meeting:  Councilmember Corwin made a motion to advertise the Public Hearing for the June 4^th meeting, Councilmember Rice seconded the motion, unanimously approved.  Stephanie will contact the Sylva Herald to advertise the hearing.
• August meeting venue change:  Jonathan Brooks/Stephanie Gibson:  Mayor Begley told the Council that the Rec Center contacted her to let her know that the meeting room would not be available to Forest Hills in August as previously confirmed. The Rec Center had a change in plans with a group that takes priority over Forest Hills. Stephanie will check to see if there is an alternate venue where the August Council meeting can be held.

   10.  Additional Public Comment:  None

   11.  Adjourn: At 8:55pm, Councilmember Corwin made a motion to adjourn; Councilmember Michelsen seconded the motion, unanimously approved.