COUNCIL MINUTES

VILLAGE OF FOREST HILLS

July 02, 2013

The regular meeting of the Village of Forest Hills was held on July 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

Carl Hooper

Clark Corwin

The following Non-Council members were present:

Stephanie Gibson, Village Clerk

David Moore, Village Attorney

Quinton Ellison, Sylva Herald

Carl Iobst, Village Homeowner

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

 (2)  Vote on Agenda: Councilman Corwin made a motion to approve the agenda; Councilman Hooper seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

 (3)  Approval of meeting minutes from June 04, 2013 Council meeting:  Councilman Corwin made a motion to approve the minutes, Councilman Hooper seconded, unanimously approved.  (Approved meeting minutes are posted on the Village website.)

 (4)  Financial Information:  

a)      Financial Report for the Month of June:  Stephanie Gibson provided the Financial Reports.  The budget for June included $3,322.82 in revenues from interest, sales tax, and Ad Valorem Taxes and expenditures of $1,961.42 for notices/ads, police protection, entrance operating, streets, and clerk fee.   Motion to accept the financial report was made by Councilman Hooper, seconded by Councilman Corwin, unanimously approved.

b)      Update Relative to the Budget for 2013-2014:  Stephanie Gibson noted that the Budget for FY 2013-2014 needed to be revised to remove uncategorized expenses as a line item and proposed that $2,000 of that money go into Capital Outlay and the other $550 into Office/Administrative funds.

Mayor Wallace noted that we would have a public hearing at the Village meeting in August to approve the budget revision.

 

c)      Potential Bond and Loan Possibilities for the Village: Stephanie Gibson spoke with the Kari     Millonzi with the School of Government about the possibility of bonds and loans for the Village of Forest Hills should they want to purchase property.  Ms. Millonzi sent a link to Stephanie that provided the guidelines for a municipality to use bonds and loans for purchasing property; Stephanie discussed those options with the council.

The council briefly discussed the idea of purchasing property with the consensus being that purchasing property would be a large obligation for the Village with its current budget.  Councilman Corwin suggested waiting for the other two council members before discussing further.

 (5)  Village Entrance: 

      a)   B.H. Graning Contract:  Stephanie Gibson discussed the Graning contract for the Village and said        that due to an error in the contract price for services, B.H. Graning Landscapes, Inc. had sent a revised contract changing the price to $1600 for ten months of maintenance for the Village.  A motion was made to accept the revised contract by Councilman Corwin, seconded by Councilman Hooper, unanimously approved.

       b)  Mulch:

            Mayor Wallace noted that Ben Graning submitted a quote to install mulch at the village entrance for $60. /yd. Councilman Hooper said that he had received a price for mulch from Carolina Mulch and that their fee was $40. /yd.  Councilman Corwin suggested that bids be requested from both companies outlining what they would use, area to be covered, and the depth of the mulch installed and ask that they be submitted within two weeks.  Mayor Wallace noted that the old mulch did not need to be removed and that new mulch needed to be a depth of at least 2 inches.  Councilman Corwin made a motion to have bids submitted to the clerk and that the lowest bid is accepted, Councilman Hooper seconded, unanimously approved.

(6)  Village Responsibilities:  Mayor Wallace said that he had spoken with the School of Government about the responsibilities of the Village regarding road maintenance.  He said that they outlined the responsibilities of the village and they said that to be Powell funded, they must enforce State Bldg. Code and contract services.  To be eligible for Powell funds, the Village must provide two of the following services:  1) Water distribution 2) Sewage collection and disposal 3) Garbage collection 4) Fire protection 5) Police protection 6) Street maintenance and lighting.  This is according to GS 136-41.2C

Mayor Wallace said that the Municipality may accept private roads maintenance but the charter states that the town should not expend public funds to pay for private roads.

It was noted that Cave Springs Road has not been dedicated to the Village and that they have their own association.

Attorney Moore recommended creating an Ad Hoc Road Committee to determine what roads the Village owns or that have been dedicated to the Village.

Councilman Corwin asked how the Village will determine what they own and the Attorney responded that the Register of Deeds would have record of that information.  He suggested tabling the discussion until that question was answered.

(7)  Planning Board:  Mayor Wallace noted that the Planning Board needs another member, Carol Martin-Vegue resigned.  He said he has asked that the Planning Board work on the Mission and Vision for the Village.

(8)  Upcoming Election:  Mayor and 3 Council Positions (Corwin, Hooper, and Mau for half term):  Mayor Wallace announced that he would not be running for re-election.  Also, he asked that the dates be listed on the website, the registration for candidacy is noon July 5 through noon July 19.

(7)  New Business:  Stephanie Gibson asked about attending a conference being held for Municipal Clerks at Harrah’s in Cherokee in August, the cost is $130.  A motion was made by Councilman Hooper made a motion to approve the request, Councilman Corwin seconded, unanimously approved.

 (8)  Old Business:  A motion was made by Councilman Hooper to go into closed session to discuss financial matters, Councilman Corwin seconded, unanimously approved.

At 8:00 a motion was made to go back into open session by Councilman Corwin, Councilman Hooper seconded, unanimously approved.

(9)  Public Comment:  None

(10)  Adjourn:  At 8:00 Councilman Hooper made a motion to adjourn, motion was seconded by Councilman Corwin, unanimously approved.