The following members of the Council were present:

Mayor Marcia Almond

Councilmember Robert Kehrberg

Councilmember Nilofer Couture

Councilmember Larry Ingersoll

Stephanie Gibson, Clerk

The following members of the Council were absent:

Councilmember Daniel Shields

The following non-Council members were Present:

Jim Hartley, Resident

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

     2.  Announcements:

Reminder – Please silence cell phones for meeting. 

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

     4.  Approval of Meeting Minutes for June 04, 2024, Regular Council Meeting:(All meeting minutes are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.) Councilmember Couture made a motion to approve the meeting minutes for June 04, 2024, Councilmember Ingersoll seconded the motion, unanimously approved. 

     5.  Acceptance of Financial Report & Checklist for the month of June 2024: (All financial reports are posted on the Forest Hills website once approved.) Councilmember Ingersoll made a motion to accept the financial report, Councilmember Couture seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

Stephanie shared that she had checked other financial institutions regarding their interest rates and feels that the Village could get better interest rates than they currently are. The council revisited their discussion from the June meeting about moving some funds to NC Class (NC Cooperative Liquid Assets Securities System). Council discussed depositing $100,000.00 out of the current Money Market account at Jackson Savings Bank into a NC Class fund and depositing the remainder of the funds in that account into the Village checking account currently at United Community Bank. Councilmember Kehrberg made a motion to deposit $100,000.00 with NC Class and deposit the remaining funds in the Money Market account into the Village checking account, Councilmember Ingersoll seconded the motion, unanimously approved.

The council adopted the resolution required to participate in NC Class. Mayor Almond said she would invite the Investment Director to the August meeting to discuss the next steps in depositing Village funds and to answer any additional questions.

The council discussed the interest rates of the Village checking account and would like to check other financial institutions to see if we can secure a better rate and see if United Community will match that rate or if funds need to be moved to another bank. Stephanie will follow up on rates and report at the next meeting.

     6.  Public Comment:  None

     7.  Reports: 

Mayor’s Report: Marcia Almond – Mayor Almond shared that she attended a Municipal Finance Seminar with the NCLM.

Mayor Almond said that she had spoken to representatives about the water system and CWS (Carolina Water System) said that they could run sewer lines if TWSA (Tuckasegee Water & Sewer) hooked them up into the existing lines.

Mayor Almond shared that it was advertised that all schools in Jackson County will provide free school breakfast and lunches to children.

There will be an Opioid Settlement meeting on Tuesday, July 9^th at 1:00pm and Councilmember Ingersoll said that he would attend. Mayor Almond announced that the Southwestern Commission’s annual dinner will be held on July 22 at 5:30Pm at the Vineyards at Bettys Creek and that all Councilmembers and their spouses are welcome to attend.

Roads: Larry Ingersoll – Councilmember Ingersoll said that he called Aaron’s paving to get an update on the schedule to pave in the village and was told that they got held up on a job in Cashiers and had some equipment issues, but they plan to come to the village as soon as they finish in Cashiers, it should be no more than 2-3 weeks.

Councilmember Ingersoll said that he spoke with Robbie Hess, he has mowed the village entrance, pruned trees, and said he has installed poles for Valhalla and Cox Farm roads, placed the pole for NCC Dr., and will install those signs as well as the sign for Saxony Trail by the weekend. Councilmember Ingersoll said that Robbie said he had adjusted the lights at the Village entrance, but they need some additional attention from an electrician before he changes bulbs again. Mayor Almond said that she would contact Catamount Electric about the lights.

Councilmember Ingersoll said that Carolina Water needs to fix the road across from 720 SCC due to a water leak that was repaired. He will call the contact at CWS. Mark Teague called from Cave Springs Road to request that the village pay for roadside mowing in Cave Springs and repair Meigs way road where village maintenance applies.

Councilmember Ingersoll said that the county advised him on where to place mirrors and recommended 20” mirrors for those needed on village roads. He said he will check on ordering the mirrors.

Councilmember Ingersoll said that the previous complaint about the dog in the road has been addressed but that the neighbor mentioned a Beagle in the neighborhood that often kept her children awake, she was not sure who the owner is. He said that the complaint about furniture near the cabins and cross ties had been taken care of. The owner of the dogs, who some people had said seemed aggressive, seems to be keeping those dogs in.

Planning Board: Councilmember Ingersoll mentioned that Jim Hartley may be interested in serving on the Planning Board and one of his new neighbors, he will check with them. Councilmember Kehrberg said that he would also speak to one of his neighbors to see if they might have an interest in serving on the Planning Board since there are two seats to fill. The council will discuss at the August meeting.

Village Safety: Nilofer Couture – Councilmember Couture said that she has not received the 911 report for June. She said that officers patrolled 42 hours for the month of June and issued three citations.

8.     New Business: 

9.     Unfinished Business:
   

•          Summer Social Update:  The Council discussed the Village Summer Social to be held on July 14^th. Stephanie has mailed postcards to residents and ordered signs. Council discussed games to be played and decided to have Bingo and Pickleball. Consensus was to order the games from Amazon so the village would have them for future use. Stephanie will order the games. Council discussed getting gift cards for door prizes and decided to purchase twenty gift cards for $20/ea., Stephanie will get those for local establishments. There are tickets left from the last social to use. Councilmember Ingersoll said that he will ask Ron Yount about calling Bingo for the social. Mayor Almond asked that everyone meet at 3:00pm on Sunday the 14^th to set up at Catamount Jaxe. 

•          Update on Tree Removal:  Councilmember Shields said that Sylva Tree removal came and has taken down the four trees in danger of falling and he sent the invoice to Stephanie, and she sent a check to the company. He noted they did not remove the stumps to prevent causing issues with the root systems of the existing trees. 

•          Road Projects:  Councilmember Ingersoll said that residents at 1090 SCC Drive spoke to him about there not being a stop sign at the entrance to Cave Springs Rd. The council agreed that there should be a stop sign there and thought that there had been one there. Councilmember Couture made a motion to purchase a stop sign for Caves Spring Road, Councilmember Ingersoll seconded the motion, unanimously approved. 

•          University Inn:  Mayor Almond said that she was told that The University Inn should be ready to open in mid-July, she noted that most residents have been moved with the exception of a couple in the side apartments and in the back brown colored apartments for the renovations and new residents will have to apply for a space in the renovated buildings. 

•          Update on Prospect Commercial Space:  No current information. 

•          Update on Grants:  Nothing new to report.

     10.  Additional Comments:  None

     11.  Adjourn: At 8:50pm, Councilmember Kehrberg made a motion to adjourn.