MOVED BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS AMENDED.

Transcription

1 REGULAR BOARD MEETING of February 7, 2007, with Mayor Don Mullen and Commissioners Alan Marsh, Amy Patterson, Hank Ross, H. N. James, and Dennis DeWolf present. Also present were Richard Betz, Selwyn Chalker, Bill Harrell, Erika Olvera, Bill Coward, Sonjia Stewart, Bill Coward, Kim Lewicki, Jim Lewicki, Linsey Wisdom, John & Joanna Baumrucker, Rick Siegel, Jim Mullen, Griffin Bell, Melody Spurney, Dwight Bryant, Jonathan Heald, J. P. Johns, Bill & June Hogue, Sandra Baty, David Wilkes, Karen Booth, Terry Potts, Al Bolt, and many others. I. Call to Order. The Mayor called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. Approval of Agenda. Copies of the agenda had been distributed by mail. The Clerk reported that the scheduled public hearing and agenda item requesting a subdivision variance for Riverwalk had been postponed, and also that the Mountain Environmental proposal for removal of silt from Big Creek had been postponed. MOVED BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS AMENDED. III. Approval of Minutes. Copies of the minutes of the January 17 Public Hearing and Regular Board Meeting had been distributed by mail. Comm. Patterson noted two typographical mistakes. MOVED BY COMM. MARSH, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS CORRECTED. Copies of the minutes of the January 24 Special Board Meeting had been distributed by mail. MOVED BY COMM. DEWOLF, SECONDED BY COMM. PATTERSON, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS DISTRIBUTED. IV. Public Comment Period. Dwight Bryant was present on behalf of Highlands Playhouse to request that the Board reconsider its decision not to approve use of the Civic Center for a proposed antique show. He said the Playhouse would agree to set the show up on Tuesday, September 25, after the building had closed for the evening, and the show would take place Wednesday through Saturday; a donation would be made to the Town as they had the previous year. V. Reports. 1. The Mayor recommended that the Public Works Committee meet with D. O. T. District Engineer Wesley Grindstaff early in March to discuss various projects, and the Committee agreed by consensus. He also reported that the Affordable Housing Committee was moving forward and hoped to have an initial report in the next couple of months.

2 2. Town Attorney Bill Coward reported that the County had filed the notice of appeal with the N. C. Court of Appeals on the ETJ lawsuit; the County would have 30 days after the record on appeal had been assembled to file a brief. He also reported that both parties in the Riverwalk litigation had filed required pre-hearing statements. 3. Each Board member had received a copy of the Town Engineer/ Public Service Administrator's report for the month; Lamar Nix was present to review the report. He said that he had met with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and DENR concerning the Mountain Environmental silt removal proposal that would be on the agenda of the next meeting; there would be no problems with the regulatory agencies. 4. Each Board member had received a copy of the Police Chief's report for the month; Bill Harrell was present to review the report. 5. Each Board member had received a copy of the Recreation Director's written report for the month; Selwyn Chalker was present to review the report. Three informal bids had been received for mowing the Town Ball Park and the Recreation Park property, and they were opened and read: Tate Landscaping $24,960 J & J Lawn Service 24,196 Zoellner Landscaping 14,940 Mr. Chalker agreed to review the bids for conformity to specs and report back at the first meeting in March. 6. Each Board member had received a copy of the Interim Zoning Administrator's written report for the month, accompanied by minutes of the Zoning Board, Planning Board, and Appearance Commission meetings from the past month. He said that the Zoning Board had approved a storage building for Bucky Meredith on US-64 in the ETJ at its previous meeting; the project was on hold pending approval of the soil erosion plan. The Planning Board had heard a presentation by Hillrie Quin and Ran Shaffner on the Greenways Program, which had included several proposed Ordinance which had already been drafted: a Historic District Ordinance, changes to the watershed buffer requirements, and a new Parks and Open Space appendix to the Zoning Ordinance. Planning Board Chair Griffin Bell was present, and the Board discussed with him the need to meet jointly to prioritize the many items on the Planning Board agenda; by consensus, a Special Meeting was scheduled for March 14 for that purpose. The Planning Board would also be discussing site specific locations for multi-family development at its next meeting, as well as text amendments clarifying clustering, equipment sheds, and non-conforming uses, drafted by the Interim Planner and reviewed by the Town Attorney; the amendments would be on the February 28 agenda and copies would be mailed to the Board before the meeting. The Appearance Commission had approved the Performing Arts Center addition and the addition of a bar at Rib Shack; the latter item would be heard by the Zoning Board on February Each Board member had received a copy of the Treasurer's Report for the month. MOVED BY COMM. DEWOLF, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO ACCEPT THE TREASURER'S REPORT. 8. The Town Administrator said that he had included a letter from ETJ resident Karen Hawk in the agenda package; that the Clean Water Management Trust Fund grant application for the Harris Lake Sewer Project was being prepared for submittal; and that Highlands Cable Group had filed for a cable TV franchise with the N. C. Secretary of State under new legislation which went into effect on January 1. He understood that the report from consultant Ted McGavran on the Town's utility poles and clearances would be submitted in March. VI. Old Business. 1. The Board had agreed to discuss renewal of parking passes issued by the Chamber of Commerce and two-hour parking restrictions on Church Street and elsewhere at this meeting. Rick Siegel spoke on behalf of the Chamber requesting that the permits be renewed, unless the Board wanted to review two-hour parking in general. Comm. James

3 felt that the Board might as well eliminate two-hour parking if the exemptions were being granted. Police Chief Bill Harrell recommended that the two-hour parking be eliminated but the Employee Business District Ordinance retained in the B-1 District. Several people present, some of them unidentified, commented on the parking restrictions; Terry Potts said he thought the Employee Business District Ordinance was unfair and discriminatory. After some discussion Comm. James suggested that the Board suspend two-hour parking for one year, but extend employee parking restrictions to the entire B-1 District. Comm. Patterson felt that the Board should review the Ordinances and the history of their adoption before rushing into anything. Comm. Ross commented that the Ordinance originated as a response from Chamber of Commerce merchants; he thought they should provide a proposal. Rick Siegel said the Chamber would agree to that, and by consensus the Board agreed to hear this proposal at the March 7 Board meeting. 2. The Chamber also requested permission to post six signs in various locations around Town directing visitors to the Visitor Center. MOVED BY COMM. ROSS, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO APPROVE THE SIGNS CONTINGENT ON APPROVAL BY THE TOWN ENGINEER AND THE D. O. T. VII. New Business. 1. J. P. Johns and Jonathan Heald were present from McGill Associates to present the final Stormwater Master Plan, funded in part by a CWMTF grant, which Mr. Johns described as a limited detailed master stormwater plan. He described the data that had been collected with the help of Matt Shuler and Lamar Nix, the systems that had been modeled, and some 30 capital projects that had been recommended for the Mill Creek, Upper Munger Creek, and downtown business areas, at a total cost of between $10 and $20 million if they were all completed. The Plan would provide the basis for seeking funds from CWMTF, but could also be funded by a stormwater utility, and would focus on restoring streams and buffers and creating ripple and pool systems that would impact the 303(d) impaired status of Mill Creek. They had also created a matrix of the Town's Ordinances, and they recommended adoption of a Stormwater Ordinance to which existing ordinances would refer; that would help the Town meet Phase II requirements when they came into effect. He recommended involving the various stakeholders in the development of such an Ordinance and taking an aggressive and realistic approach. Replying to questions from the Board, the engineers described how some projects could be constructed for little cost in some environmentally sensitive areas. The Mayor thanked them for their excellent work. 2. Each Board member had received a copy of a re-written Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Ordinance prepared by the Town Attorney and approved by the State which incorporated several amendments. Bill Coward said that the major changes involved the civil penalties procedures in Section 19, as well as a new Section 21 requiring restoration after non-compliance. Comm. Ross asked about the plan preparation requirements in Section 15, Mountain Overlay Districts, a section unique to the Highlands Ordinance that had been adopted five years ago, according to the Town Administrator; he understood that under State law, soil erosion plans could be prepared by landscape architects and other individuals, not just engineers. The Town Attorney agreed to review the requirement. MOVED BY COMM. ROSS, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO ADOPT THE RE-WRITTEN ORDINANCE PROVIDED SECTION 15 IS CONSISTENT WITH STATE LAW. 3. Each Board member had received a copy of a letter dated January 17 from Al Bolt, asking the Board to consider widening the lower section of Second Street to two lanes and installing a sidewalk; the road would connect to Highlands Plaza through a new parking lot in the rear of the old Highlands Hardware building, then exit onto the driveway to NC-106 near the Chinese Restaurant. The Board discussed the request at some length, finally agreeing to place this on the agenda of the next meeting and look at it in the meantime. Comm. Ross commented that the Board ought to think about priorities; other projects may be more important. Bill Hogue and June Hogue both spoke in opposition to widening the road. 4. The Board again discussed a proposed sidewalk along Fifth Street which Comm. Marsh had brought to the Board at the previous meeting; the estimated cost was $47,350. Comm. Patterson pointed out that the Stormwater Plan

4 presented earlier in the meeting recommended a five-foot grass strip adjacent to a five-foot sidewalk. Other items which had been included in this $200,000 line item in the budget in addition to sidewalks, according to the Treasurer, were replacing tree planters on Main Street, continued phased replacement of non-conforming handrails, trash cans, and additional street paving. The Board agreed for the Town Engineer and Town Administrator to compile an updated list and consider it at the next meeting. 5. David Wilkes was present on behalf of the ABC Board to update the Board on its progress in seeking a new building. The Board had looked at leasing a 6000-SF building or constructing one on a site in the Town limits; lease of the present building expired in September. Three possible locations had been located, but rent would take all of the distributions generated by the ABC Store; this year's distributions totalled $130,000, but the Board had been holding them pending a decision. He asked the Board to consider if it would be willing to help purchase another piece of property. The Board took this information under advisement. 6. MOVED BY COMM. DEWOLF, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO G. S (A)(3) TO CONSULT WITH THE TOWN ATTORNEY ON LEGAL MATTERS, AND PURSUANT TO (A)(6) TO CONSIDER AN APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT. The Board adjourned to the adjoining meeting room with the Town Administrator, the Town Attorney, and the Town Engineer. A. The Board consulted with the Town Attorney and the Interim Zoning Administrator on Riverwalk. B. The Town Engineer reviewed with the Board an application for employment for Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator from Alec Templeton; Mr. Templeton was certified as a Grade III operator, and he and the Town Administrator recommended a starting salary of C. The Board also discussed the Town Planner/Zoning Administrator and Code Enforcement Officer application process. MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO GO INTO OPEN SESSION. All returned to the meeting room. 7. MOVED BY COMM. PATTERSON, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO OFFER THE POSITION OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT OPERATOR TO ALEC TEMPLETON AT A STARTING SALARY OF 16-3 ($33,364). 8. MOVED BY COMM. ROSS, SECONDED BY COMM. MARSH, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO CONTRACT WITH GARY NICHOLSON TO REVIEW THE ZONING POSITIONS RECENTLY ADVERTIZED AND TO HELP THE TOWN FIND CANDIDATES FOR THESE POSITIONS. 9. Comm. James said that he had changed his vote on permitting the Highlands Playhouse antique show. He thought the show should be permitted this year as outlined earlier in the meeting by Dwight Bryant, from late Tuesday night after the Center closed through Saturday. MOVED BY COMM. JAMES, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND CARRIED TO PERMIT HIGHLANDS PLAYHOUSE TO HOLD AN ANTIQUE SHOW THIS YEAR AT THE HIGHLANDS CIVIC CENTER FROM SEPTEMBER 25 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 29. Comms. James, DeWolf, Patterson, and Ross voted "aye;" Comm. Marsh voted "nay." VIII. MOVED BY COMM. JAMES, SECONDED BY COMM. DEWOLF, AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO ADJOURN. There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was declared by the Mayor to be adjourned at

5 9:35 p.m. Richard Betz, Town Clerk