Minutes

Forest Hills Village Council Meeting

Monday, December 6, 1999

7:00 PM

Cullowhee Valley School

Present:  Mayor Irene Hooper; Councilpersons Larry Kolenbrander, Harold Williford, Jean Adams, Sharon Jacques; Clerk, Mary Ann Budahl. Sylva Herald reporter, Rose Hooper; and two Village residents

Mayor Hooper called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM.

1.       Mayor Hooper welcomed our new resident, Ron Stephens to the Village. 

2.      Swearing in of Sharon Jacques, our new Council member, and Harold Williford, re-elected Council member.  Appreciation was expressed to Jean Adams for her hard work and diligence as a Council member for the past two years, and as a current member of the Planning Board.

3.      Mayor Hooper asked everyone present to pause for a moment to remember our friend and neighbor, Jim Pearce.  Jean Adams spoke of Jim as a driving force in our Village who saw need, and worked hard to meet those needs.  She referred to Jim as "The Father of our Village," and entreated the Council to continue his work.  Larry recalled two of Jim's common expressions, "Is this a great country, or what?" and, "There's no them, only us."  Consensus agreement that he will be missed.  Motion to express our gratitude for his devoted service.  (Jean Adams, Sharon Jacques).  Passed unanimously. 

In the matter of replacing Jim Pearce on the Village Council:  Mayor Hooper consulted with the Board of Elections who advised that since an election was recently held, and another was not planned until 2001, a replacement to fill the unexpired term is to be appointed by the Council within 90 days of the vacancy.

4.      The minutes of the November 1, 1999 meeting were corrected as follows:  "In the matter of choosing an attorney to act on behalf of the Village, Jean Adams moved that the services of Jay Coward be retained on a year to year basis.  A suggestion was made that a monthly fee of $200.00 be offered for routine legal advice."  Jim Pearce was to be consulted regarding this process.  Larry Kolenbrander moved that the corrected minutes be accepted; seconded by Harold Williford, and passed unanimously.

5.      Mayor Hooper reported that she had approached Jay Coward to retain his services as council to the Village, and a target date of January 1, 2000 was mentioned.  The Council will draw a contract. 

6.      Financial summary:  The bank balance was $17,549.07 on November 30, 1999.  Motion to accept the financial report (Sharon Jacques, Larry Kolenbrander) Passed unanimously.  Mayor Hooper reported that she had ordered invoices with the official Village address, and a rubber stamp which can be used to update our checks so that Village business can be transacted more efficiently, and will comply with state audit requirements. 

7.      Our Second Annual Holiday Gala Open house will be held Sunday, December 12 from 6:00 to 8:30 PM at the University Inn.  All Village residents are cordially invited to attend.  Santa will not be attending.  The judging of decorations to houses and lawns as visible from the outside will be done on Sunday from 5:00 - 6:00 PM and winners of 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd places will be recognized during the evening.

8.      Mayor Hooper reported that the next meeting of the Southwestern Commission will be held at 7:00 PM Tuesday, January 18, 2000 at the Sylva Town Hall at which time they will discuss greenways.  Members of the local municipalities are invited to attend, along with anyone else who would like to attend.  The Forest Hills Village Council will be represented by several members.

9.      Mary Ann Budahl reported on the progress of the Local Update of Census Addresses Program that Forest Hills has been invited to participate in.  The Update, will be submitted by the end of this week.

10.    Larry Kolenbrander addressed the problem of the dumpsters and the overflowing trash problem.  He reported that the University Inn provides a dumpster for use of the Motel and its tenants; however, residents of University Place use it without authority, causing it to overflow.  The owner of University Place Apartments does not provide trash receptacles for their tenants.  The Health Department has no jurisdiction unless there is a problem of longstanding trash accumulating on the ground.  Larry will continue to monitor the situation.  Also discussed: a chair, couch and other junk which has been dumped near the water tower on North Country Club Dr; a demolished white car near Slate Mountain Drive which was set ablaze over the weekend, then hauled further into the Valley and abandoned; and vehicles which are left parked in the road at the west end of North Country Club Drive making the road impassible.  Mayor Hooper will consult with the County Sheriff regarding these situations. 

11.     A discussion involving winter maintenance of non-state maintained roads.  Larry Kolenbrander presented a request from the Planning Board "that a committee be appointed to look at long term maintenance of the roads in Forest Hills, come up with a plan of action, and present it to the Planning Board, who will then bring it to the Council."  The initial members suggested or already agreed upon are Angela Davis, Dick Iobst, Harold Williford, and Ron Stephens; Jim Wallace will be asked to serve as well. 

12.    Larry Kolenbrander will contact DOT regarding lowering the speed limit from light to light on Hwy 107, installation of a traffic light at the intersection, and the availability of grant funding to expedite same.

Move to recess until December 20, 1999 made by Harold Williford and seconded by Larry Kolenbrander.  Passed.

Meeting recessed at 8:35 PM. 

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Ann Budahl, Village clerk