October 2022

Village of Forest Hills Council Meeting
Tuesday, October 04, 2022 – 7:00 pm
Forest Hills Assembly Hall, Cullowhee NC

 

The following members of the Council were present:

Councilmember Nilofer Couture

Councilmember Ron Yount

Councilmember Marcia Almond

Councilmember Daniel Shields

Mayor Jim Wallace

The following non-Council members were Present:

Stephanie Gibson, Clerk

Tucker Shealy

  1. Call to order: at 7:00pm Mayor Wallace called the meeting to order. 

     2.  Announcements:

Reminder – Please silence cell phones for meeting 

     3.  Approval of Agenda: Councilmember Yount made a motion to approve the agenda, Councilmember Almond seconded the motion, unanimously approved. 

     4.  Approval of Meeting Minutes for September 06, 2022, Regular Council Meeting:(All meeting minutes are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.) Councilmember Yount made a motion to approve the meeting minutes for September 06, 2022, Councilmember Almond seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

     5.  Acceptance of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of September 2022: (All financial reports are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.) Councilmember Shields made a motion to accept the financial report, Councilmember Couture seconded the motion, unanimously approved. 

     6.  Public Comments:  None

     7.  Reports: 

Mayor’s Report: Jim Wallace – Mayor Wallace said that he spoke with the surveyor about surveying the three parcels the village plans to purchase and that the surveyor is supposed to come on Friday. 

He said that there was someone who wanted to put a link on the village website comparing internet services.  Councilmember Shields made a motion to not allow a link to be put on the website, Councilmember Yount seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

Roads: Ron Yount – Councilmember Yount said the roads looked okay but there were a few trees that needed to be trimmed or removed, tree limbs have been coming down.  He said that BH Graning Landscapes did not clear branches and side roads as normal.

RPO/TAC: Marcia Almond – Councilmember Almond said she was sick and could not attend the last meeting.  She said that she called Rose with Southwestern Commission and that paving is scheduled for the state-maintained roads in the village in 2026.

Planning Board: Rick Cardona was absent

Village Safety: Nilofer Couture – Councilmember Couture said that the village was patrolled a total of 46 hrs. for the month, but she did not receive the 911 report for the month.

Councilmember Couture said that there was a notice of a funding opportunity for safe streets, Mayor Wallace mentioned looking into asking a Grant Writer to investigate the potential of writing a grant to make a two-lane road.  Councilmember Couture said she would send Mayor Wallace the information.

  1. New Business: 
  • Disaster Response in Jackson County:  Tucker Shealy – Mr. Shealy is the Red Cross Disaster Program Specialist.  He provided a slide show and gave an informative overview of the many areas that the Red Cross assists in crisis situations and provides disaster relief in WNC. Mr. Shealy shared that the Red Cross assists not only in providing blood but also in assisting with shelter, food, and connecting people with organizations that can assist them with most any emergent or crisis. He noted that 90% of Red Cross workers are volunteers.  Tucker said that there are 5 lines of service, Preparedness & Training, Biomedical, Disaster Services, Services of the Armed Forces, and International Organization.  The chapter office is in Asheville.  Tucker said that 40% of the nation’s blood supply comes from the Red Cross.  He shared that they provide a lot of training for the volunteers, they are also paid to travel to disaster areas to volunteer.

Council unanimously voted to adopt the Smoky Mountain Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan and the 2022 Jackson County Emergency Operations Plan.

  • Village Social:  Councilmember Almond asked if the village was going to have a social in December.  Council will discuss at the November meeting.
  • Contract for snow/ice removal:  BH Graning Landscapes submitted a snow and ice removal contract for approval.  Councilmember Almond made a motion to accept the contract, Councilmember Shields seconded the motion, unanimously approved. 
  1. Unfinished Business:  
  • Planning Board meeting/member status: Councilmember Almond asked Councilmembers to ask friends or neighbors who might be interested. Councilmember Couture asked that Planning Board manuals be printed, Stephanie will have copies made for the council and 4 additional copies for future Planning Board members.
  • VFH SW Corner Property:  Councilmember Almond said the contract has been signed by the Village, but she hasn’t heard back on closing the purchase of the parcels purchased from the Dillards, she will follow up.
  • Discussion of entrance work not covered by the Municipal Grant:  Councilmembers discussed the work on the left side of the entrance quoted by BH Graning and said that we needed to get two additional quotes for the work not covered by the grant since the amount is over $5K.  Councilmembers discussed the property being surveyed as well and agreed that they should be done prior to closing if possible.  Mayor Wallace will speak with the surveyor and ask that the survey be done as soon as possible. 

    10.  Adjourn: At 8:50pm, Councilmember Almond made a motion to adjourn, Councilmember Yount seconded the motion, unanimously approved.