COUNCIL MINUTES

VILLAGE OF FOREST HILLS

April 02, 2013

The regular meeting of the Village of Forest Hills was held on April 02, 2013 in the meeting room at the Jackson County Recreation Center at 6:00pm.

The following members of the Council were present:

Jim Wallace, Mayor

Clark Corwin

Suzanne Stone

Ron Mau

The following Non-Council members were present:

Quinton Ellison, Sylva Herald

 (1)  Call to order: 6:00pm by Mayor Jim Wallace

 (2)  Vote on Agenda: Councilman Mau made a motion to approve the agenda and Councilwoman Stone seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

 (3)  Approval of meeting minutes from March 05, 2013 Council meeting:  Councilman Corwin made a motion to approve the minutes, Councilman Mau seconded, unanimously approved.  (Approved meeting minutes are posted on the Village website.)

 (4)  Financial Reports:

       a)   Stephanie Gibson provided the Financial Reports to Mayor Wallace to present on her behalf since she was absent from the meeting.  The budget for March included $1,063.78 in revenues from interest, and expenditures of $2,925.03 for police protection, attorney fees, snow removal and Clerk fee.   Motion to accept the financial report was made by Councilman Mau, seconded by Councilman Corwin, unanimously approved.

(5)  Resolution to adopt the Smoky Mountain Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan:  Councilman Corwin made a motion to adopt the plan, Councilwoman Stone seconded, unanimously approved.

(6)  Village Road Repairs:  Mayor Wallace requested that the council approve road maintenance relative to repairing a short segment of a “road” leading to the Meigs’ residence from Cave Springs Road and a few minor potholes on the non-state maintained portions of North and South Country Club Drive. 

This lead to a discussion relative to the Council request made to the Planning Board to identify all infrastructures that the village was responsible for e.g., the Village Entrance, and roads and properties for which the village was responsible.  Secondly, the Planning Board was also asked to prioritize improvements for the infrastructure.

Further the Planning Board was to differentiate between roads the village was responsible for maintaining, and, defining the difference between “roads”, driveways, and right of ways.  Councilman Corwin asked what the difference was between his shared driveway serving two houses and the one lane road serving the property belonging to the Meigs and Bailey as there were other “shared driveways” within the village.  Councilman Mau stated that the Village should not be responsible for repairing right of ways and asked if the Village should repair all “right of ways.”  Councilman Corwin asked if we should hold off on any road work until these questions are settled.

Councilman Mau made a motion that the Village hold off on all road repairs until the Village clarifies which roads they are responsible for, Councilman Corwin seconded, unanimously approved.

(7)  June and July Meetings:  It was suggested that Mayor Wallace meet with Jeff Carpenter, Jackson County Recreational Center, to determine which dates are available in June, July, and November for the Village to meet.

(8)  Approval of a Planning Board Member:  Ricardo Cardona (Councilwoman Stone made a motion to approve Mr. Cardona to Planning Board, Councilman Mau seconded, unanimously approved.

(9)  New Business: 

      a)  Letter from the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer questioning the Village Budget:  Mayor Wallace was asked to contact the auditor, Bronwyn Burleson, and ask her to respond to the request.

       b)  Councilman Corwin suggested that the Zoning Administrator, Ken Dickert, contact the person who is renovating the “St. David’s House.”

 Councilman Corwin also asked if a building permit was required for remodeling homes if it did not increase the size of the house.  Mayor Wallace will check into this.

(10)  Old Business:  None

(11)  Public Comment:  None

(12)  Adjourn:  At 7:40pm Mayor Wallace called for a motion to adjourn, motion was made by Councilwoman Stone, seconded by Councilman Corwin, unanimously approved.