Town of Holly Springs

Town Council Regular Meeting

Tuesday, July 6, 2004

 

MINUTES

 

The Holly Springs Town Council met in regular session on Tuesday, July 6, 2004, in the Council Chambers of Holly Springs Town Hall, 128 S. Main Street.  Mayor Pro Tem Hank Dickson presided, calling the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.  A quorum was established as the mayor pro tem and three council members were present as the meeting opened. 

 

Board Members Present:  Councilmen Parrish Womble, Chet VanFossen and Peter Atwell and Mayor Pro Tem Hank Dickson.

 

Board Members Absent: Councilman Mike Taylor and Mayor Dick Sears.

 

Staff Members Present: Ricky Blackmon, interim town manager; John Schifano, town attorney; Linda Harper, deputy town clerk, (recording the minutes); Gina Bobber, director of planning and zoning; Kendra Stephenson, project engineer; Len Bradley, parks and recreation director; Drew Holland, finance director; and Cecil Parker, chief of public safety.

 

2 and 3.  The pledge of allegiance was recited, and the meeting opened with an invocation by Rev. Otis Byrd, pastor of First Baptist Church of Holly Springs.

 

4.  Agenda Adjustment:   The July 6, 2004 meeting agenda was adopted with changes, if any, as listed below.                         

            Motion By: Atwell

            Second By: Womble

            Vote: Unanimous

            Items Added to the Agenda:  Consideration of a Bass Lake Visitors Center contract change order in the amount of $16,000 for paving of the parking lot was added to New Business as item 6c., and the consideration of entering into an inter-local agreement with Wake County for the Western Wake Sewer Consortium regarding a shared effluent line was added under New Business as item 6d.

            Consent Agenda Items Removed: None.

            Other Changes: None.

 

5a.   Flint Point Lane Fire Station Exterior Finish – Mr. Simpson of Little Diversified Architectural Consultants presented the Council with exterior and interior finish options for the Flint Point Lane Fire Station.  Mr. Simpson said that the type of covering selected by the council would be used in the design specifications.

Mr. Simpson reviewed flooring, counter tops and basement interior finishes.  He said that the exterior finishes of the fire station project would be a variety of textures and styles.  Options are a textured weatherboard style, with decorative panels suitable for accents, which would create dramatic shadow lines horizontally and consist of vertically-grained and textured panels.

Councilman VanFossen said that his concerns are with the look of the vertical beside the brick.

At this time, Mr. Simpson updated the council on the project status.  He said that in late August, the town will request proposals for construction bids and completion of the project would be in nine months to one year.

            Action: The Board approved a motion to select the fiber cement siding product for the exterior finish to be used in the design specifications for the Holly Springs Flint Point Lane Fire Station project.

            Motion By: VanFossen

            Second By: Atwell

            Vote: Unanimous

 

6a.  Flint Point Lane Fire Station Alternate Site Plan – Mr. Simpson explained that town staff had met with Holly Springs Moravian Church officials regarding a number of easements and right-of-way conveyances requested by the Town related to the Flint Point Lane Fire Station site.  Mr. Simpson said church officials have been cooperative, but the church has concerns regarding the usability of a portion of their remaining property to the north of the requested conveyance.

            Mr. Simpson said that the Moravian Church officials have considered, but have declined the conveyance of the right-of-way extension along the northern boundary of the fire station property.  The request for the 52-foot right of way would have connected Flint Point Lane to the Rhamkatte PUD, a connector that was required when the Rhamkatte PUD was approved, while also serving as an access point to the basement level training facility in the fire station. 

            Mr. Simpson said the church also denied the Town’s request to place a stormwater energy dissipator on the church property.  He said this stormwater dissipator could have been removed once the church property is developed.  Instead, the church proposes to sell all of the affected property to the Town along with the requested right of way.  However, no specific selling price has been mentioned to this point, he noted.

            Ms. Bobber said the original approved fire station special exception use site plan included several variance requests, including one to allow a 24-foot driveway in the sideyard setback along the northern property line, should the right of way not be granted by the Moravian Church.  However, as the project engineer has continued to move forward with detailed construction drawings, the cost to construct this driveway makes the driveway unfeasible.

            Mr. Simpson said that due to these developments, an alternative site plan layout for the fire station site has been developed and is in its preliminary stage.   The alternative site plan would access the fire station basement via an extension of the southern driveway and turn to follow the western property boundary.  He said that to utilizate this scheme would negate the need for the stormwater dissipator as well.  The project costs when comparing the two alternatives are "almost a wash," according to the site plan engineer.

            However, the driveway would be 24 feet wide, which exceeds the UDO maximum width for a driveway in the rear yard, which is 20 feet.

Mr. Simpson said the request is for the Town Council to consider authorizing Little Diversified to proceed with fully developing this alternative site plan and for Thompson & Associates to submit estimates outlining the additional design cost for the alternative plan.

There was much discussion among town staff and the council members regarding the requirement of the stubbed out street connecting the church property to the Rhamkatte PUD site.  It was noted that there is not a time frame that would require the church to install the road improvements.

            Action: The Board approved a motion to table discussions on these issues until more information on the cost difference between the original site driveway and the proposed relocated driveway compared to the cost of purchasing the property from the church could be provided.

            Motion By: Womble

            Second By: VanFossen

            Vote: Unanimous

            Councilman VanFossen asked if moving the right of way 25 feet down-hill would be feasible and what would be the cost of making that change.  After more discussion, the council requested that this item be brought back before the board with more information.

 

 6b.  Wake County / Holly Springs Inter-local Agreement for 800 MHz and CAD Services -  Mr. Parker explained that the request is to enter an inter-local agreement between Holly Springs and Wake County for 800 MHz and CAD services in the FY 2005.  He said the town's costs for next year should be $8,485 for radio service, and staff and Wake County are in the process of working out the mechanics of installing the CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) at the police station.

            Mr. Parker reviewed the cost of the CAD equipment that was formerly considered at a previous board meeting.  Mr. Parker said the most Wake County could bill for the 800 MHz/CAD system user is $100,000 for each municipality with the option if the shared-cost is greater than $100,000, they can bring that improvement back to the Council for review and approval.  He said that he estimates Wake County billing to the Town for the equipment would be $24,000.

            Mr. Parker said the two most important issues with this agreement would be 1) the propriety nature of the system, and 2) the ambiguity of the operating cost with this agreement.  He said that the agreement would allow the town manager to serve as a member of the management board as a voting representative and the chief of public safety would serve as a non-voting ex-officio member who would be responsible for system management and support services for the management board.

Action: The Board approved a motion to enter an inter-local agreement between the Town of Holly Springs and Wake County for 800 MHz and CAD, (Computer Aided Dispatch) services for the FY 2005.

Motion By: Atwell

Second By: Womble

Vote: Unanimous

A copy of the Wake County and Holly Springs inter-local agreement for 800 MHz/CAD system is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.

 

6c.  Bass Lake Visitors Center Parking Lot Contract Change Order – Mr. Bradley updated the Council on the Bass Lake Visitors project.

            He said the building is ready for a temporary certificate of occupancy, but the parking lot needs to be paved before opening of the building.  Town staff directed the contractor to make several changes in the plans and now is requesting approval of a change order in the amount of approximately $16,000.

            He said that staff has submitted two independent quotes for paving of the parking lot, which are as follows:  TR Vernal - $108,990; and Kiddco - $99,058.

Mr. Bradley said, based on the bids received, the town would save between $20,000 and $30,000 by approving the change order.  The established date to have the park open is July 15, depending on the weather.

Councilman VanFossen said that he thought the survey charges for staking of the revised plans in the amount of $2,244 were high in the change order proposal.

Action: The Board approved a motion to approve the Bass Lake Visitor Center contract change order in the amount of $16,000.

Motion By: VanFossen

Second By: Womble

Vote: Unanimous

A copy of the Bass Lake Visitor Center contract change order is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.

 

6d.   Wake County Inter-local Agreement with Western Wake Sewer Consortium –  Mr. Schifano explained to the Council that this request is to enter in an inter-local agreement between Holly Springs and Wake County regarding participating in the cost of a shared effluent line with the Western Wake Consortium.  Mr. Schifano said that this option would allow the town to continue to operate the Utley plant (pending modifications) and would alleviate the need for an additional discharge permit in Utley Creek, the certainty of which is very questionable.

            Mr. Schifano said that he would give the Council’s recommendation to Phil Stout, Wake County's Facilities Director, who is organizing the effort to bring all parties to contract.

Mr. Schifano said in order for the town’s options to remain open, staff is asking that the town manager be given authority to enter into an inter-local agreement with the Western Wake Consortium, committing approximately $2 million in land acquisition costs to be repaid to the County over 20 years, and approximately $6.58 million in capital improvement costs to be repaid over 20 years, starting in 2008.

He said that there is some concern whether this type of arrangement of commingling effluent is permissible under the state regulations.  Any agreement for Holly Springs' participation would be conditioned on the ability to actually discharge treated wastewater in the effluent line.

After much discussion among the town staff and the councilmen, it was decided to participate with Wake County with the Western Wake Sewer Consortium with added conditions favorable to the Town.

Action: The Board approved a motion to authorize the town manager to enter into inter-local agreement with Wake County subject to terms favorable to the Town of Holly Springs, as approve by the town manager, town engineer and town attorney. 

Motion By: VanFossen

Second By: Womble

Vote: Unanimous

A copy of the Wake County Inter-local Agreement with the Western Wake Sewer Consortium is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.

 

7.  Consent Agenda:  All items on the Consent Agenda were approved following a motion by Councilman Atwell, a second by Councilman VanFossen and a unanimous vote.  The following actions were affected:

            7a.  Budget Amendments, $55,000 - The Board adopted a budget amendment to the Utility Fund in the amount of $55,000 to cover excess water purchased for the new water tank and other water needs.  A copy of the budget amendment is incorporated into these minutes as an addendum page.

7b.  Budget Amendment, $20,000 – The Board adopted a budget amendment to the General Fund in the amount of $20,000 to cover landfill fees for yard and construction waste.  A copy of the budget amendment is incorporated into these minutes as an addendum page.

            7c.  Minutes - Minutes of the Board’s regular meeting held on June 15, 2004 and special meeting held on June 23, 2004 were approved.

 

8. 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:

            Otis Byrd of 705 S. Main Street – He said that his concerns were about enforcement of street closing procedures or ordinances.  His major concern was enforcing the town ordinances and issuance of street closing permits equally to all citizens.   Chief Parker explained to the Council that the Town has street closing procedures in place but on this particular situation they were not followed and he apologized to the Board and Mr. Byrd for not following protocol.  Mr. Byrd accepted the apology.

                       

  9. Other Business: Mayor Pro Tem Dickson thanked Ricky Blackmon for sitting in for the Town Manager who was on vacation. 

Councilman Womble requested the town to send a letter to the property owner of the building that houses the Post Office on Third Street to erect a “do not enter” sign at the first driveway, which is being used as an exit only.

Councilman Atwell added that the property owner be asked to repair the parking lot. 

Councilman Atwell requested that the town add more lights to the Council Chambers at the podium area, other than the over head fluorescent lights so that visual presentations would be seen.

 

10.  Manager’s Report: None.

11.  Closed Session:  None.

12.  Adjournment:  There being no further business for the evening, the July 6, 2004, meeting of the Holly Springs Town Council was adjourned at 8:24 p.m., following a motion by Councilman Womble, a second by Councilman Atwell and a unanimous vote.

 

Respectfully Submitted on Tuesday, July 20, 2004.

                       

           

 

 

 _________________________________

Linda R. Harper, CMC

Deputy Town Clerk

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