MINUTES OF TOWN COUNCIL MEETING OF THE TOWN OF STALLINGS, NORTH CAROLINA

Transcription

1 MINUTES OF TOWN COUNCIL MEETING OF THE TOWN OF STALLINGS, NORTH CAROLINA The Town Council of the Town of Stallings met for its regular meeting on March 25, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. at the Stallings Town Hall, 315 Stallings Road, Stallings, North Carolina. Those present were: Mayor Lynda M. Paxton; Mayor Pro Tempore Reed Esarove; Council Members Paul Frost, Shawna Steele, and Fred Weber. Those absent were: Council Members Wyatt Dunn and Harry Stokes. Staff present were: Brian W. Matthews, Town Manager; Minor Plyler, Police Chief; Erinn E. Nichols, Town Clerk; Richard Tanner, Town Services; and Dena Sabinske, Director of Parks and Recreation. Invocation, Pledge of Allegiance and meeting called to order Mayor Paxton welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for their interest in local government. Council Member Weber delivered the invocation. Mayor Paxton led the Pledge of Allegiance and called the meeting to order. Public Comments No one was present to give public comment. Special Presentation: Pamela Caskey, Safe Alliance Ms. Caskey stated that in the past year Safe Alliance had implemented a new strategic plan which introduced the organization s new name of Safe Alliance. The new name represented: 1) a safe place from violence for all residents; and 2) the word alliance represented the community partnerships with local law enforcement, Union County Health Department, District Attorney s Office, Union County Department of Social Services, and Carolina s Medical Center. The new logo 9926 March 25, 2013

2 represented a lotus flower which typically grew in dark, murky water blooming only when it touched light which symbolized Safe Alliance s journey with its clients. Safe Alliance provided critical services to those victimized through sexual assault, physical abuse, and violent crimes. In Union County, Safe Alliance had the Tree House Children s Advocacy Center to serve children who had been victims of abuse. Safe Alliance also provided a Rape Crisis Center with a 24-hour rape crisis hotline. Safe Alliance requested that the Town of Stallings consider contributing to the organization to help pay for all services it provided the community. 1. Reports A. Report from the Mayor Mayor Paxton passed out her report to the Council and highlighted the following items: The MUMPO-MUO sub-committee still had no decision regarding weighted voting but looked at a few difference scenarios regarding fee structure based on population and vote share. The Town of Stallings currently paid approximately $6400 to MUMPO. Many citizens in the Lake Norman area were opposed to the conversion of HOV lanes to HOT lanes. The new name for MUMPO would be CRTPO (Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization). The resolution from the Union County Chamber supporting the bypass passed unanimously at the MUMPO meeting. MonroeBypassFacts.com was holding a public meeting at the Hemby Bridge Community Center at 7 p.m. on April 2. Turnout was good at the Mayor s Forum with Union County s Tax Administrator John Petoskey who discussed the tax base for the Town of Stallings and the upcoming revaluations. The next Mayor s forum would be: April 15 at 7 p.m. on Public Stuff and May 20 on a budget challenge activity. herein. Mayor Paxton s complete report is attached to these minutes and therefore incorporated B. Reports from Council Members Council Members Frost and Weber had no reports March 25, 2013

3 Council Member Steele highlighted two Stallings businesses: Tullock Automotive and the Asian Market. She had recently used both of these businesses and was very pleased with the products/goods/services these businesses provided. Council Member Esarove had no report. C. Report from Town Manager Town Manager Matthews reminded the Council that only Town-sponsored fund raising events were currently allowed in the parks. There was a request from someone to hold a private fundraising event in the Stallings Park. Council would need to decide if it wanted to allow privately held fundraising events in the parks. This item would be placed on the Council s April Agenda for discussion. D. Report from Town Departments There were no reports from Town Departments. E. Report from Town Committees Council Member Frost reported that the Finance Committee had met the previous Friday and received an update on the potential revenue from a special tax district and discussed the budget. F. Police Department Bike Patrol Interest Clarification It was explained that members of the Police Department attended a Callonwood HOA meeting and sought the residents level of interest in starting a police bike control. One officer recommended that the HOA and other businesses contribute to the Police Department to help 9928 March 25, 2013

4 fund a bike patrol program. A concern was reported regarding officers soliciting money for Town operations. Chief Plyler explained the officer misspoke. The officer was trying to see if the community was interested in a having a bike patrol and if it would support such a patrol financially. The sergeant present corrected the misstatement at the HOA meeting and reiterated that they were not requesting funding from the HOA for the Police Department for any program but rather seeking information on the level of interest of such a program. Staff is looking into the possibility of combining Parks and Recreation and Police Department fundraising efforts in order to make sure all fundraising was equitable across departments. 2. Agenda Approval Town Manager Matthews requested that Agenda Item 6, Boards/Committees Appointments/Reappointments, be moved to Agenda Item 2.B. Town Manager Matthews also requested adding Agenda Item 8.A. as Park Erosion Issues/Sod in the Park and Agenda Item 8.B. as Kimley Horn Project Description. Mayor Paxton requested that Agenda Item 7, April Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month Proclamation, be moved to Agenda Item 2.A. Council Member Esarove made a motion to approve the Agenda with the above noted changes/additions. The motion passed unanimously after a second from Council Member Steele. 2.A. April Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month Proclamation Original Agenda Item 7 Mayor Paxton read the April Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month Proclamation aloud into the record. Council Member Steele made a motion which was passed 9929 March 25, 2013

5 unanimously by Council to adopt the April Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month Proclamation. The motion was seconded by Council Member Esarove. The April Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month Proclamation is attached to these minutes and therefore incorporated herein. 2.B. Boards/Committees Appointments/Reappointments Original Agenda Item 6 Town Manager Matthews explained that the Planning Board (PB) used to serve two roles: that of the PB and the Board of Adjustment (BOA) which was allowed by statute. Mr. Matthews suggested splitting the board into two boards when he came to work at Stallings to allow for more volunteers. However, due to lack of need to hold BOA meetings, the BOA members felt their talents were underutilized and that they were not engaged in the community. The BOA function was extremely important as their decisions were made independently from Council. At the latest BOA meetings, quorums were a challenge and most decisions statutorily required four members to be present to take action. The BOA had a five member board with one alternate position which had been vacant for many years. One of the current BOA members was not seeking reappointment. Mr. Matthews had discussed the situation with the current BOA members. The BOA members were willing combine the BOA duties with the PB and the former BOA members were willing to relocate to other board/committees positions of they were not able to serve on the PB. The BOA recommended: 1) the BOA function be made up of a five member subgroup of the PB; and 2) Mr. Matthews discuss the situation with the PB to get its opinion on the situation. Mr. Matthews would like: 1) direction from the Council on combining the PB and BOA; 2) allow Mr. Matthews to meet with PB to discuss the potential merge; and 3) delay all board/committee appointments until April March 25, 2013

6 Council held consensus to add a youth ex-officio member between the ages of to the Parks and Recreation Committee, Stormwater Committee, and Public Safety Committee. Council also held consensus to remove the voting Council Member positions on the Public Safety Committee. Council discussed combining the BOA and PB. Council Member Frost made the motion to defer all board/committee appointments until the second meeting in April and instruct the Town Manager to discuss the potential merger with the PB. The motion passed unanimously after a second from Council Member Weber. 3. Vehicle Use Policy Council Member Weber made a motion to adopt the Vehicle Use Policy. The motion passed unanimously after a second from Council Member Esarove. The Vehicle Use Policy is attached to these minutes and therefore incorporated herein. 4. Personnel Policy Town Manager Matthews explained that the changes made to this policy were recommended from Attorney Chuck Kitchens who the Town had contracted with to make improvements to the Personnel Policy. The changes pertained to violence in the workplace; grievance policy; substance abuse policy; disciplinary actions; vacation leave; and active duty leave. Council Member Esarove made a motion to approve the changes to the Personnel Policy. The motion was seconded by Council Member Weber and passed without opposition. The updated Personnel Policy is on file in the Office of the Town Clerk and available for public inspection March 25, 2013

7 5. Council Project/Assignments Spreadsheet Mayor Paxton led the Council through the Council Project/Assignments Spreadsheet and made updates where applicable. The updated Council Project/Assignments Spreadsheet is attached to these minutes and therefore incorporated herein. 6. Boards/Committees Appointments/Reappointments This Agenda Item was moved to Agenda Item 2.B. 7. April Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month Proclamation This Agenda Item was moved to Agenda Item 2.A. 8. Lawyers Road Sidewalk Project Bid Award Mayor Paxton explained that WM Warr and Son, Inc. presented the lowest bid for the Lawyers Road Sidewalk Project in the amount of $146, Staff reminded the Council that the final amount could be more if there were onsite issues. Bobby Jackson would be the Town s inspector on the project. Council Member Esarove moved to authorize the Town Manager to enter into a contract to build the Lawyers Road Sidewalk with WM Warr and Son, Inc. in the amount of $146, The motion received Council s unanimous support after a second from Council Member Steele. 8.A. Park Erosion Issues/Sod in the Park Town Manager Matthews reminded the Council of the erosion issues in Stallings Park. The Town received a report from Site Solutions that there were potential violations of the Town s Phase 2 Stormwater Permit as well as potential violations of the FEMA flood plain regulations. Sod/grass could help fix both of the issues. Irrigation installation had begun. Grass would take 9932 March 25, 2013

8 months to take hold and could not be walked during the initial growing process. Sod would take a couple of weeks until it could be walked on. Staff was recommending Council allow sod to be installed in three of the four irrigation zones. (The fourth zone would not be sodded currently due to the fact that it was the area of the Phase 3 Park Improvement where work was scheduled in the near future.) The cost would be approximately $38,000 and could be funded out of the Fees in Lieu of Park Lands which were expected to be received before the end of December Sections of the park would have to be closed during the sod establishment. A motion was made by Council Member Frost to authorize the installation of sod costing up to $38,000 and pay that cost out of Fees in Lieu of Park Lands. Council Member Steele seconded the motion which passed unanimously. 8.B. Kimley Horn Project Description Mr. Matthews explained that NCDOT was encouraging Stallings to move forward with the Streetscape Project at the Potters/Pleasant Plains Road intersection. Stallings had received confirmation from Union County regarding the intersection areas in which Union County would help assist with the costs. Because of all these components, Kimley Horn had revised its proposal for scope of services to the Town for engineering, planning, and design for the Streetscape and Potters/Pleasant Plains Road Intersection improvements. The NCDOT right-ofway acquisition phase could not begin until engineering and design was complete for the project. Engineering and design for the water and sewer were expected to be completed by Union County. Council Member Weber made the motion to authorize the Town Manager to execute the revised contract (individual project order #2) with Kimley Horn up to $328,600. The motion passed unanimously after a second from Council Member Steele March 25, 2013

9 9. Closed Session pursuant to North Carolina General Statute (a)(6) Council Member Weber made a motion to go into closed session pursuant to North Carolina General Statute (a)(6). The motion passed unanimously after a second from Council Member Esarove. Council went into closed session at approximately 9:28 p.m. and reconvened in open session at approximately 10:11 p.m. 10. Adjournment Council Member Steele moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Council Member Weber, and the motion received unanimous support. The meeting was adjourned at 10:12 p.m. Approved on May 13, s/ Lynda M. Paxton s/ Erinn E. Nichols Lynda M. Paxton, Mayor Erinn E. Nichols, Town Clerk Approved as to form: s/ Perry, Bundy, Plyler, Long, & Cox, LLP Perry, Bundy, Plyler, Long, & Cox, LLP 9934 March 25, 2013