2/3/04 Meeting Minutes, Town of Holly Springs

Town of Holly Springs

Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting

Tuesday, February 3, 2004

MINUTES

The Holly Springs Town Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2004 in the Council Chambers of Holly Springs Town Hall, 128 S. Main Street. Mayor Dick Sears presided, calling the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. A quorum was established as the mayor and all five board members were present as the meeting opened.

Board Members Present: Commissioners Parrish Womble, Mike Taylor, Chet VanFossen, Peter Atwell and Hank Dickson and Mayor Sears.

Board Members Absent: None.

Staff Members Present: Carl G. Dean, town manager; John Schifano, town attorney; Joni Powell, town clerk; Linda R. Harper, deputy town clerk (recording the minutes); Drew Holland, finance director; Len Bradley, parks and recreation director; Gina Bobber, planning and zoning director; Martha Daniel-Hobbs, planner I; Jennifer Mizelle, economic development director; Patty Dressen, finance department; Wayne Wilhelm, public works department; Luncie McNeil, public works director; Kendra Thompson, senior engineer; and Stephanie L. Sudano, P.E., director of engineering.

2 and 3. The pledge of allegiance was recited, and the meeting opened with an invocation by Rev. Hal Atkins of the Moravian Church of Holly Springs.

4. Agenda Adjustment: The Feb. 3, 2004 meeting agenda was adopted with changes, if any, as listed below.

Motion By: Dickson

Second By: Atwell

Vote: Unanimous.

Items Added to the Agenda: New Business: 8c. Consider authorizing paving of the police station parking lot and adoption of a budget amendment to FY 2003-04 budget in the amount of $30,000 to cover the cost of the contract.

Item 8d. Consider Public Works Disaster/Inclement Weather Response plan.

Consent Agenda Items Removed: None.

Other Changes: None.

5a. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Inspector – Mr. Musser introduced himself to the Board as the senior inspector for the Holly Springs area for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Mr. Musser said that he was replacing Joe Grady the previous senior inspector. Mr. Musser said that as part of his duties, he is to conduct daily inspections of the nuclear plant.

Commissioner Atwell asked what involvement does the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have regarding the evacuation plan. Mr. Musser said that he did not get involved with the planning stages, but he insures that all federal regulations are followed.

Action: None.

5b. Sign Request at 112 N. Main Street – Mr. Chapman the owner of 919 Marketing explained to the Board that his company is located behind the Citgo convenience store and the Clothing Closet on Main Street. Mr. Chapman said that he would like to request permission to place a sign on the Town’s property at the corner of the Clothing Closet directing visitors to his business.

Mr. Chapman said that all sign permitting and size limit regulations would be met. He said he needed the Town’s approval to place a double-sided business sign on Town property with the understanding that if and when the Town's property is transferred to another owner, permission from the new owner would be required for the sign to remain.

John Schifano suggested to issue a license to allow Mr. Chapman to place his sign on Town property.

Action: The Board approved a motion to allow Mr. Chapman, owner of 919 Marketing located at 112 N. Main Street, to place a double-sided business sign on Town property (corner of Clothing Closet) with the understanding that if and when the Town's property is transferred to another owner, permission from the new owner would be required for the sign to remain.

Motion By: Atwell

6a. Pubic Hearing: Annexation Petition A04-01, Beverly and Bobby Perry – Ms. Bobber said the Town has received a petition for voluntary annexation of land containing 7.5649 acres located at 4217 Optimist Farm Road on the Holly Springs/Cary annexation agreement boundary line. Ms. Bobber said the petition meets all the statutory requirements for annexation.

Ms. Bobber said that the Town of Cary was notified of this voluntary annexation petition, and staff has received no response from Cary.

With that explanation completed, Mayor Sears opened the public hearing to accept input. The following comments were recorded: None.

There being no comments, the public hearing was closed.

Action: The Board approved a motion to adopt Annexation Ordinance A04-01, Beverly and Bobby Perry property containing 7.5649 acres located at 4217 Optimist Farm Road, more particularly described as Wake County Pin(s): 0669.02-65-9933.

Motion By: Dickson

Second By: Atwell

Vote: Unanimous

A copy of Annexation Ordinance A04-01 is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.

6b. Pubic Hearing: Annexation Petition A04-02, Tri South Development, Inc. – Ms. Bobber said the Town has received a petition for voluntary annexation of land containing 4.0 acres located adjacent to lot 9, east of Cobble Ridge Subdivision, Phase 2. Ms. Bobber said the petition meets all the statutory requirements for annexation.

With that explanation completed, Mayor Sears opened the public hearing to accept input. The following comments were recorded: None.

There being no comments, the public hearing was closed.

Action: The Board approved a motion to adopt Annexation Ordinance A04-02, Tri South Development, Inc., property containing 4.0 acres located adjacent to lot 9, Cobble Ridge subdivision, more particularly described as Wake County Pin(s): 0659.14-44-8330.

Motion By: VanFossen

Second By: Dickson

Vote: Unanimous

A copy of Annexation Ordinance A04-02 is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.

6c. Pubic Hearing: Annexation Petition A04-03, Timothy L. Farless – Ms. Bobber said the Town has received a petition for voluntary annexation of land containing .744 acres located at 721 Holly Springs Road. Ms. Bobber said the petition meets all the statutory requirements for annexation.

With that explanation completed, Mayor Sears opened the public hearing to accept input. The following comments were recorded: None.

There being no comments, the public hearing was closed.

Action: The Board approved a motion to adopt Annexation Ordinance A04-03, Timothy L. Farless, and property containing .744 acres located at 721 Holly Springs Road, more particularly described as Wake County Pin(s): 0659.14-33-2599.

Motion By: Dickson

Second By: Atwell

Vote: Unanimous

A copy of Annexation Ordinance A04-03 is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.

6d. Pubic Hearing: 04-ZVR-01 Sunset Ridge, Phase 11, Lot 1160, Zoning Vested Rights

– Ms. Bobber explained to the Board that the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), Section 9.08 allows the town to grant Zoning Vested Rights for a site-specific development plan to allow for a project to be completed under the zoning regulations in place at the time of the approval of the original plan, if the regulations have changed since the initial approval.

Ms. Bobber said the developer of Sunset Ridge Phase 11, Jim Earnhardt on behalf of Bryan Properties, is requesting the Board to grant Zoning Vested Rights for lot 1160 to allow for the use of the zoning regulations of the Town of Holly Springs Zoning Ordinance that allowed the encroachment of steps into the front building line.

Ms. Bobber said the provisions of the UDO no longer allow for this encroachment. She said that it is anticipated that this will be the only lot within this development that will need to use Zoning Vested Rights to enable the development of the lot. She said the request is for a minimum of two years.

With that explanation completed, Mayor Sears opened the public hearing to accept input. The following comments were recorded: None.

There being no comments, the public hearing was closed.

Action: The Board approved a motion to approve #04-ZVR-01 for Sunset Ridge Phase 11, Lot 1160 to utilize the front yard encroachment allowance for a period of two years from this date to authorize the development of this property according to the terms and conditions of the Zoning Ordinance in place at time of approval of the Preliminary Plan.

Motion By: VanFossen

Second By: Atwell

Vote: Unanimous

6e. Pubic Hearing: Time Warner 2004 FCC Rate Filings – Mr. Bob Sepe the Town’s cable franchise consultant, explained to the Board his review of the rate filing reports submitted to the FCC by Time Warner Cable, (TWC). He said according to the FCC forms filed, Time Warner Cable (TWC) subscribers will be charged $13.50 for the basic service tier in 2004, an increase of 30 cents, or 2.27%. Mr. Sepe said the report indicates that TWC filed a FCC 1235 cost of service filing for cable network upgrades. He said that this fee is "added on" to the basic service tier rate. He report indicates that TWC charges for equipment and installation will decrease in 2004 from $37.62 to $37.50.

Mr. Sepe said that he evaluated the information submitted to the FCC with respect to conformance to FCC rules, and also performed independent calculations to verity the proposed rate structure sought. He said that after his review, he recommends adoption of the rate order to approve the rates, subject to conditions listed in the enclosed rate order (pages 14 and 15 of the report).

There was discussion among the Board members and with Mr. Sepe regarding the benefits of cable versus satellite dishes.

Andi Curtis, a representative of Time Warner, said that Time Warner is concerned with the number of customers moving to satellite dishes versus selecting Time Warner. Ms. Curtis said that she would inform Time Warner of the Town’s concerns.

Commissioner Atwell and Mayor Sears said that their major concerns were the increasing rates each year and asked Time Warner to consider lowering their rates.

Commissioner Atwell said that he had a solicitor from Time Warner to approach his door after dark and was concerned about this practice. Mr. Schifano said that the Town has a solicitor’s ordinance that permits soliciting in the Holly Springs area that Time Warner needs to comply with.

There was further discussion regarding televising the town board meetings on Time Warner Cable and that the Town of Cary has public access but Holly Springs does not.

With that explanation completed, Mayor Sears opened the public hearing to accept input. The following comments were recorded: None.

There being no comments, the public hearing was closed.

Action #1: The Board approved a motion to adopt its consultant’s report on Time Warner Cable’s 2004 FCC1240 and FCC1205 rate filings as the Town’s own report.

Motion By: Atwell

Second By: Womble

Vote: Unanimous

Action #2: The Board approved a motion to adopt the 2004 Rate Order with conditions stated in the order.

Motion By: Dickson

Second By: Womble

Vote: The motion followed a 4-1 vote. Commissioners Taylor, VanFossen, Womble and Dickson voted for. Commissioner Atwell voted against.

A copy of the 2004 Rate Order on Time Warner Cable’s FCC 1240 and FCC 1205 Rate Filings are incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.

7. Consent Agenda: The one item on the Consent Agenda were approved following a motion by Commissioner Atwell, a second by Commissioner Dickson and a unanimous vote. The following action was affected:

7a. Minutes ‑ Minutes of the Board’s regular meeting held on Jan. 20, 2004 were approved.

8a. Back-flow and Cross-connection Prevention Ordinance 04-02 - Mr. Wilhelm of the public works department said that the Town's current backflow and cross-connection prevention ordinance allows for a variety of types of backflow prevention assemblies, depending on the degree of hazard, to prevent the backflow of non-potable water into the public water supply system. Mr. Wilhelm said that he recommends the Town amend the ordinance to require reduced pressure principle (RP) assemblies in all cases.

Mr. Wilhelm said the ordinance also proposes that commercial construction with temporary water service; commercial water tankers and trucks; and residential construction sites with temporary water service be added to the list of uses governed by the ordinance. He said if adopted, the ordinance also would change the paragraph pertaining to irrigation meters: requiring that the backflow prevention assembly will be located at least 3 feet and no more than 30 feet behind the meter. Mr. McNeil said the reasoning behind the 3 feet was for servicing of the backflow prevention assembly and the no more than 30 feet behind the meter is for those concerned with appearance.

There was discussion among the Board members and staff about the average cost of $80 to $100 to change out these devises, plus the cost of the plumber. Mr. McNeil said there are few that would require these devices to be changed out.

Mr. Wilhelm said that these devices are required by State regulations to be inspected and certified annually.

There was discussion regarding the irrigation meter policy that requires separate meters for irrigation systems and the development standards that require backflow prevention devices to be installed above ground.

The Board asked staff to get more information and report back to the board.

Action: The Board approved a motion to adopt Ordinance 04-02, amending the back-flow and cross-connection prevention section of the Town Code, but advised staff to research concerns and to report findings.

Motion By: Atwell

Second By: Taylor

Vote: Unanimous

A copy of Ordinance 04-02 is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.

8b. 03-MAS-06, Braxton Village, Phases 7-11 - Ms. Hobbs said that this proposal is for approval of a preliminary plan for a 62.97-acre site located within the Braxton Village PUD. She said the developer proposes to develop 201 residential lots in 5 phases. She said that the preliminary plans are compatible with medium-density residential development and meet the requirements of the Town’s Ten-Year Comprehensive Growth Plan.

Ms. Hobbs said that a 20-foot semi-opaque buffer would be provided along the perimeter of the property as specified in the Braxton Village PUD. Also, water and sewer would be extended to the site by the owner and several street stubs have been required to allow future development of adjacent properties, she said.

Commissioner Atwell said that his concern is that the access to these phases from Avent Ferry Road was Holly Meadow Drive in Holly Glen Subdivision. Commissioner Atwell said that he is not interested approving future phases until better access from a main roadway is provided.

Ms. Sudano said the Braxton Village Master Plan was approved in 1998 and that the current plan is consistent with the Master Plan. She said the Master Plan was approved with conditions, and the developer has met those conditions.

After much discussion among the Commissioners and Town staff regarding the network of road circulation and access into this development from Avent Ferry Road, the board recommended to table this plan until further research from town staff.

Mr. Schifano said that if the Board feels the plan does not meet the safety, health and welfare of the public, the Board has the right to deny.

Commissioner Dickson asked if the Town was legally bound to approve these phases if they comply with the Master Plan.

Mr. Schifano said according to the approved 1998 Master Plan it will affect the developers vested rights since the plan meets the PUD regulations of the town at the time.

The Board suggested the developer table the preliminary plan and make amendments to show other accesses onto Avent Ferry Road.

Danny Blackburn of Blackburn Consultant Engineering said that the Board previously discussed the road connectively regarding the property adjacent to Braxton Village, which was not a part of this proposed plan.

Action: The Board approved a motion to table the Preliminary Plan #03-MAS-06, Braxton Village Phases 7-11, for further review of town staff.

Motion By: VanFossen

Second By: Atwell

Vote: Unanimous

Commissioner VanFossen requested that staff suggest to the developers to follow inter-connectively when developing road ways. Ms. Sudano said that staff can make changes to the design construction standards to construct collector roads without driveways.

Mayor Sears asked the town attorney to make a list of Town policies and ordinances to allow board members to be aware of these standards. Mr. Schifano said that at the point of codifying the ordinances would be a good time to review or make amendments. Commissioner Atwell said that everything does not need to be a policy or an ordinance.

Commissioner Womble said that he wanted to clarify that he was on the Board in 1998 and at that time the Braxton Village PUD Master Plan was a good plan, but as the Town grew, the plan became obsolete.

Commissioner VanFossen agreed with Mr. Womble and that things changed over a period of 10 years that don’t meet today’s needs.

8c. Police Station Parking Lot - Ms. Thompson said that the town is in the process of finalizing the parking lot plan for the police station that is currently under construction on Ballentine Street adjacent to Town Hall. Ms. Thompson said that Gelder & Associates submitted a proposal for construction of the police station parking lot that would not exceed $30,000. She said the scope of work would include construction of the parking areas, necessary drainage structures, and the final inches of asphalt for the travel lane that runs adjacent to the town hall from Main Street to Avent Ferry Road.

There was discussion among the Board members and staff to table this item to get additional bids for construction of the police station parking lot.

Action: The Board approved a motion to table the construction of the police station parking lot proposal until February 17, meeting to consider other bids.

Motion By: Womble

Second By: VanFossen

Vote: The motion carried, following a 4-1 vote. Commissioners Taylor, VanFossen, Atwell and Womble voted for. Commissioner Dickson voted against.

8d. Public Works Inclement Weather Response Plan - Mr. McNeil explained to the Board the goal of the Public Works Inclement Weather Response Plan is to safely maintain the Town’s emergency response capabilities and strive to secure a passable road network for citizens throughout inclement weather events. Mr. McNeil said that the plan strives to return the Town to pre-event conditions in the shortest time frame possible. Mr. McNeil said that staff recommends approval of this policy.

Action: The Board approved a motion adopt the Public Works Disaster/Inclement Weather Response Plan.

Motion By: Atwell

Second By: Womble

Vote: Unanimous

A copy of Public Works Disaster/Inclement Weather Response Plan is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.

9. Public Comment: At this time, an opportunity was provided for members of the audience

who had registered to speak to address the Board on any variety of topics not listed on the night’s agenda. The following citizens were heard:

Glenn Myrto of 408 W. Ballentine Street said that he had two comments regarding the town’s update of the Ten-Year Comprehensive Growth Plan. He asked that the Town consider the semi-density areas of development that are overlapping into the undeveloped areas and to include in the review of the growth plan the intersection of Avent Ferry Road and New Hill-Holleman Road.

10. Other Business: Commissioner Taylor asked the status of signs or crosswalks at the schools on Holly Springs Road. Mayor Sears recommended that staff email to the Board members the status of the crosswalks in front of the schools and painting crosswalks in front of Lowe’s food store located at the Holly Crossing Shopping Center.

Commissioner VanFossen said the Technical Review Committee met today and reviewed the landscaping for the Ideal development plan located at Holland Industrial Park, lot 10; and a prospective property owner to annex and rezone +/- 48 acres of property located between Holly Glen and Braxton Village.

11. Manager’s Reports: Mr. Dean asked Board members attending the April 22-25, 2004 Inter-City of Raleigh Chamber Annual Conference to be held in Florida to notify staff.

Commissioner Atwell asked town staff to set up a workshop to discuss the land use plan.

Mr. Dean said staff needs clarification on the alignment of Stinson Avenue right of way.

Ms. Sudano and Len Bradley discussed with the Board the different scenarios of realigning Stinson Avenue that would least affect the tree line and the Womble Park Master Plan.

Ms. Sudano said that this project has created several concerns with abutting homeowners and anticipates holding another information meeting. She said that this road will serve as a collector for a major roadway.

After much discussion among town staff and the Board members, a decision was made to accept the red-line proposal alignment which would keep 10 feet to 12 feet of trees, but would encroach on the fence.

Action: The Board approved a motion to accept the realignment of Stinson Avenue as presented.

Motion By: Taylor

Second By: Womble

Vote: Unanimous

12. Closed Session: None.

13. Adjournment: There being no further business for the evening, the Feb. 3, 2004, meeting of the Holly Springs Board of Commissioners was adjourned at 10:21 p.m. following a motion by Commissioner Atwell, a second by Commissioner Womble, and a unanimous vote.

Respectfully submitted on Tuesday, February 17, 2004.

_________________________________

Linda R. Harper, CMC

Deputy Town Clerk

Addendum pages as referenced in these minutes follow and are a part of the official record.