Town of Pleasant Garden January 3, 2017 at 7:00PM Kirkman Municipal Building Minutes Regular Meeting In attendance Mayor Carla Strickland Mayor Pro Tem Ron Surgeon Councilman Steve Brandt Councilman Alan Marshall Councilman Rick Wallace Also in attendance Town Administrator/Clerk Sandy Carmany Assistant Clerk Tracy Cooper Town Attorney Torin Fury Audience 6 Call to Order Mayor Strickland called the meeting to order at 7:03PM and welcomed everyone. Invocation Dr. Lawrence Clapp of South Elm Street Baptist Church gave the invocation. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Strickland led the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call Town Administrator/Clerk Carmany called the roll and all members were in attendance. A quorum was present. Approval of the Agenda Mayor Strickland requested to add a closed session to consider the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness, conditions of employment, or conditions of initial employment of an individual public officer or employee; or to hear or investigate a complaint, charge, or grievance by or against an individual public officer or employee as item #16. MOVED by Councilman Marshall to approve the agenda as amended. APPROVED 5-0 Consent Agenda The consent agenda included the approval of the minutes of the December 6, 2016 Regular Meeting. MOVED by Councilman Marshall to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. 5-0 APPROVED Town Council Regular Meeting January 3, 2017 Page 1
Public Comment There were no speakers. Reports A. Town Administrator/Clerk Carmany: Mrs. Carmany pointed out the site plan for the ADA improvements at the Pleasant Garden Community Center prepared by Joel Moulin of McKim & Creed. The plan will be submitted to Guilford County Planning for review in hopes of it being ready for approval at the January 23 rd Zoning Board meeting. She reported Attorney Ken Lucas was ready to proceed with the closing on the acquisition of the community center. B. Finance Officer Carmany reported a balance of $1,123,255 in the General Fund and a balance of $1,637,186 in the Capital Reserve Fund for a total of $2,760,441. She noted the significant increase in interest earnings on the recently renewed CD. C. Town Attorney: Attorney Torin Fury referred to the email sent by Town Attorney Hill earlier in the day stating that no certificate of occupancy would be issued for the Hooker Furniture building until the fire code violations were fixed. Mayor Strickland announced Mr. Hill was unable to attend the meeting because his daughter was in the hospital. Recreation Board: Chairman Dean Maddox said the RFP for the June 2017 Independence Day celebration fireworks display would go out next month. The Guilford County fire marshal gave a presentation at the December meeting and shared recommendations to enhance future displays and increase attendance capacity by allowing ground effects fireworks and reducing shell sizes. Councilman Brandt noted the offset would be that people viewing the show from offsite locations such as Clapps Nursing Home would not be able to see as much because the bursts would be lower. Mr. Maddox responded the board was reluctant to reduce the shell sizes for that reason but was interested in allowing for the grounds effects fireworks. He will work with Town Administrator/Clerk Carmany to make that change in the upcoming RFP. Mr. Maddox announced the winning floats and performances in the 2016 Christmas Parade. The Food Drive achieved the goal of 10,000 items for the Pleasant Garden United Methodist Church Food Pantry, a 43% growth over last year. This equated to 2.5 months of food to help families in the local community. Councilmembers praised the Recreation Board for the successful events. Old Business A. Parks, Recreation and Facilities Director position: determination of salary: Mayor Strickland presented her recommendation to council members for consideration. The proposed base salary was $56,000; the total annual compensation was approximately $73,356 with taxes and benefits. Councilman Marshall responded he could not justify that level and his maximum figure was $50,000, inclusive of benefits. Councilmembers calculated the equivalent base salary to be $32,136. Mayor Strickland and Councilman Brandt did not think this salary would attract qualified applicants. Both stated the town should not take over the Pleasant Garden Community Center unless the Town was going to fill the position. Mayor Pro Tem Surgeon asked to whom this position would report and how this salary compared to the administrator/clerk s salary. Town Attorney Fury responded the position would report to whomever the council designated and coordinate with other town staff. Councilman Marshall said he would be willing to consider a base salary of $40,000 plus benefits. Town Council Regular Meeting January 3, 2017 Page 2
Councilman Wallace stated he could not support any of these proposals because the council would have to increase the property tax rate two cents or dip into fund balance. He did not see any return coming on the investment; all he could see was expense. Councilman Brandt agreed there would not be an immediate return and pointed out the town did a good job of providing only one service, parks and recreation. This was an enhancement which might produce off-setting revenue in the future. Someone must oversee the facility and current staff could not handle the additional workload; either a staff person or contracted position was needed. Councilman Marshall clarified that his problem was with the amount being proposed at this time for limited responsibilities; the salary could go up in the future as duties were added. He suggested recruiting recent college graduates in the parks and recreation field who would be looking for a starting position to build their resume. Mayor Pro Tem Surgeon said he was looking for positive returns on the investment. He said it was a tough decision to put the money up front and get started, but an excellent director with vision and a good plan could be successful in increasing town property values. Councilman Brandt asked about the legal requirements for advertising a job and whether the salary level had to be stated. Attorney Fury responded the position could be advertised without stating a salary amount. Town Administrator/Clerk Carmany said the salary must be determined and included in the budget by the time a job offer was made to comply with pre-audit certification requirements. Councilmembers discussed basing the salary on the applicant s qualifications and needs. MOVED by Councilman Brandt based on the latest revision of the job description that the town authorize the advertising through normal channels of the position of the Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Director without mention of salary. APPROVED 4-1 (Yes Brandt, Marshall, Strickland and Surgeon; No Wallace) B. Approval of work agreement with McKim & Creed for implementation of the PARTF grant: Town Administrator/Clerk Carmany reported only one firm responded to the RFP. She pointed out the proposed agreement contained the revised general conditions approved by Town Attorney Hill in a previous contract. MOVED by Mayor Strickland to approve the agreement with McKim & Creed for the PARTF grant project with the amended conditions in the contract. APPROVED 4-1 (Yes Brandt, Marshall, Strickland and Surgeon; No Wallace) C. Amendment to Soccer Policy - sponsorship guidelines: Mayor Strickland said she did not receive any council comments about the policy revision. She asked that the item be placed on the retreat agenda for discussion. New Business A. Approval of contract with Guilford County Emergency Management Services for fire inspection and investigation: Town Administrator/Clerk Carmany said Town Attorney Hill had reviewed and approved the contract. MOVED by Mayor Strickland to approve the revised contract with Guilford County Emergency Management Services as presented. APPROVED 5-0 B. Approval of 2016-17 audit contract: Bernard Robinson s proposed contract included a 3% fee increase. MOVED by Councilman Marshall to approve the audit contract as presented. APPROVED 5-0 Town Council Regular Meeting January 3, 2017 Page 3
C. Release of closed session minutes: Town Attorney Hill reviewed the August 4, 2016 closed session minutes and recommended they be released with one redaction. MOVED by Councilman Marshall to release the closed session minutes as presented. APPROVED 5-0 D. Amendments to the Development Ordinance: Town Administrator/Clerk Carmany presented amendments to the Development Ordinance proposed by Guilford County Planning Director Leslie Bell. Some were a result of legislative action that the town must adopt but others were optional. The process called for the Zoning Board to review the amendments and make a recommendation to the Town Council on adoption. Mrs. Carmany suggested if councilmembers were not in favor of some of the optional amendments, there was no need to forward them to the Zoning Board and waste their time. MOVED by Mayor Strickland to accept the mandatory amendments, the optional amendments down to Section 4.2, and omit the others from there on down. Councilmembers expressed concerns about giving the county authority in Sections 3-11.4, 5-6.3, 5-6.4 and 5-6.5 to approve minor and major subdivisions/preliminary plats without Zoning Board/Town Council review and input. There was some confusion over which amendments to send to the Zoning Board. Mrs. Carmany clarified nothing would change if an amendment was not accepted; the current practice would continue. The motion was WITHDRAWN. MOVED by Mayor Strickland to include all the mandatory amendments and all the optional amendments except for those concerning the preliminary plat approvals for the Zoning Board s review. APPROVED 5-0 E. Discussion of planning retreat: Mayor Strickland asked if councilmembers had topics to add to the agenda of the January 28 th planning retreat agenda in addition to those already suggested. Councilmembers added the soccer policy amendment, discussion of the town website update, and improvements at the Ritters Lake Road/Pleasant Garden Road intersection. Closed Session MOVED by Mayor Strickland to go into closed session for personnel reasons. APPROVED 5-0 Councilmembers moved to the conference room at 8:05PM. Councilmembers returned to the council chambers at 8:28PM. MOVED by Councilman Brandt to return to open session. APPROVED 5-0 The open session was reconvened at 8:29PM. Public Comment Dean Maddox of 2303 Hunters Ridge Drive suggested a work session with the Town Council and the advisory committee to dive into some of the operational details of the Pleasant Garden Community Center, articulate what the responsibilities of the parks and recreation position should be, and share ideas. This staff position could produce revenue by attracting tournaments; perhaps a base salary with a percentage commission based on the revenue generation might give this person incentive. Town Council Regular Meeting January 3, 2017 Page 4
Staff Comment None Council comment Councilman Brandt thanked everyone for staying. He said he liked Mr. Maddox s comments and the good points he raised. Mr. Brandt commended councilmembers on continued civility while working on difficult issues. He wished everyone a happy new year. Mayor Pro Tem Surgeon wished everyone a successful 2017. He said the council would keep on working and would achieve something that would benefit the entire citizenry of Pleasant Garden after some ups and downs. Councilman Wallace wished everyone a happy new year and announced his daughter became engaged over the holidays. He shared the results of his heart scan the previous week; there was no blockage, only a weak heart that could be treated with medication, sleep and diet. Councilman Marshall congratulated Mr. Wallace on his daughter s engagement. He announced that Long-Range Planning Board member Dick Winn had a stroke over Christmas; it was not lifethreatening but it had affected his vision. Mr. Marshall wished everyone a happy new year and said he looked forward to working with everyone. Adjournment Mayor Strickland adjourned the meeting at 8:35PM. Clerk Date Mayor Town Council Regular Meeting January 3, 2017 Page 5