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Town of Holly Springs Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting Tuesday, July 20, 1999 MINUTES The Holly Springs Town Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, July 20, 1999 in the Town Board meeting chambers, located in Town Hall, 128 S. Main St. Mayor Pro Tem Parrish Womble presided, calling the meeting to order at 7:45 p.m. A quorum was established as the mayor pro tem and three board members were present as the meeting opened. Board Members Present: Commissioners Tim Sack, Ken Martin and Bill Banks and Mayor Pro Tem Womble. Board Members Absent: Mayor Gerald W. Holleman and Commissioner Hank Dickson. Staff Members Present: Ernest C. Pearson, town attorney; Joni Powell, town clerk (recording the minutes); Don Mizelle, planning director; Jennifer Carr, director of community development; Stephanie Sudano, engineer director; Len Bradley, parks and recreation director; Luncie McNeil, director of public works; and Cecil Parker, chief of public safety. 2 and 3. The pledge of allegiance was recited, and the meeting opened with a moment of silent meditation. 4a. Public Comments: Jeff Barhum -- Mr. Barham of Lutheran Family Services reported to the Board of Commissioners that a refugee family from the Country of Liberia was relocating to Holly Springs. He told the Board a little about the family of five that was being assisted by New Life Community Church. He asked the Board to keep the family in mind and to consider whatever assistance it could. No action taken. 5. Agenda Adjustment - Commissioner Sack moved that the meeting agenda for July 20, 1999 be adopted with the following changes, if any. Commissioner Banks seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Items Moved from the Consent Agenda: Item 8b., a budget ordinance amendment for 1998-99 regarding the SOS grant received, be moved to New Business. Items Added: None. 6a. Staff Communication: Economic Development - Mrs. Carr addressed the Board, giving a detailed report on recent economic development activities. A copy of a memo outlining this report is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages. No action taken. 6b. Requests: Charles H. McKoy - Mr. McKoy addressed the Board, saying that he would be willing to provide a 20 x 302-foot easement along his property frontage for future road widening of Sunset Lake Road if he was compensated and only when the road is about to be widened. He challenged the Town's ordinance that requires dedication of easement upon subdivision of property without compensation. Commissioner Sack asked if he was correct in interpreting the ordinance to state that only the reservation of the right of way.was required. Mr. Mizelle explained that reservation is required for existing platted lots; however, with minor or major subdivisions, actual dedication of right-way is required. Commissoner Sack asked if NCDOT would pay Mr. McKoy for the land at the time when the road is ready be widened. Mr. Mizelle said he did not know and he explained the reasoning behind the ordinance. The purpose of the ordinance is to encourage road widening projects by having the public easement in place. Commissioner Sack suggested requiring reservation as opposed to dedication. Commissioner Banks cautioned the Board against setting a precedent. There was much discussion. Mr. Mizelle explained that all minor subdivisions are handled in-house and that this is the first time someone has challenged the ordinance, so it is being brought to the board. Commissioner Martin said he empathized with Mr. McKoy, but said he was worried about setting a precedent. Commissioner Sack agreed. Commissioner Sack said he felt the ordinance should be applied. Commissioner Banks agreed and pointed out that, in that case, no action by the Board was needed -- the ordinance would simply be enforced. The Town Attorney offered a middle ground since the Board seemed divided between enforcing the ordinance and granting lattitude. Mr. Pearson suggested that the Town allow Mr. McKoy to reserve the right-of-way upon subdivision of his property and then provide it to NCDOT in return for compensation at such time that the state is prepared to widen Sunset Lake Road. Commissioner Banks said he felt that any compromise would negate the intent of the ordinance and that other property owners planning to subdivide property would request the same thing. There was debate between Commissioner Banks and Martin over enforcing the ordinance and allowing compromise.. Residents George Hamzik and Lesli Doarhees spoke to the Board in terms of the percentage of property that is given. Mr. Hamzik said that because the frontage of Mr. McKoy's property is long, it increases the percentage of his property that he is required to dedicate. He suggested that the Board consider setting a limit to the percentage of property that would required for dedication. At first commissioners agreed that this was a good idea; however, after calculations were made, it was determined that the dedication required was only about 2% of Mr. McKoy's property. Action: Commissioner Sack moved that the request be deferred until the Aug. 3 meeting of the full board. Commissioner Martin seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. 6c. Olde South Homes Request - Mr. Frank Wiesner of Olde South Homes addressed the Board requesting that he be allowed to relocate an access easement across one of his lots back onto the Town's adjacent property. The easement was once used to access a water well site; however, the water well site has been abandoned and there is no longer a need for the easement on the neighboring property. Mr. Wiesner offered to move and reconstruct the roadway on Town property so that the easement could be used for access to a church cemetery. He said all expenses would be borne by his company. Commissioner Banks did not support the request. Commissioner Martin said he did not feel it would be a detriment to the Town to relocate the easement; however, he wanted the proposal to have staff review before action was taken. Because the agenda item was a late-arriving request from the public, it did not receive staff review before agenda packets were prepared. Action: Commissioner Martin moved to defer action on the request until Aug. 3 when staff would have had the chance to review the request and make field inspections. Commissioner Sack seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
7a. Firetruck Sale/Purchase - Chief Parker explained the background of his proposal. Chief Parker proposes a fire equipment disposal/acquisition plan. Some initial steps of that plan already have been taken through earlier board action. Among the steps in the plan is a proposal to replace the Town's existing 1994 tanker with a pumper/tanker combination vehicle. Chief Parker proposes to sell the 1994 model 4Guys tanker Northwest Harnett Volunteer Fire Department for $82,000. If the vehicle is sold, Chief Parker said, it must be replaced. To replace the tanker truck, Chief Parker proposed three options, and he requests the Board consider each and give direction (if the Board agrees to sell the existing truck). Option 1 = Purchase a 1992 Central pumper/tanker combination from Firetec Used Fire Apparatus for $90,000. The purchase would be funded through the sale of the tanker, proceeds from the previous sale of a 1974 pumper, and savings in insurance and maintenance costs. With this option, no additional funds would be needed. Option 2 = Purchase a new pumper/tanker for approximately $150,000. Chief Parker believes this purchase would be partially funded through the sale of the tanker and proceeds from the previous sale of a 1974 pumper. He suggests that the Town could do a lease/purchase, putting down the minimum amount required for this fiscal year (and placing the left over money - about $50,000 -- in the budget). Chief Parker believes the balance of the cost of the truck would be paid for by Wake County through an increase in funding in the town's service contract next fiscal year, 2000-2001. [See Finance Officer's Memo regarding this]. Option 3 -- Chief Parker said the Town also could buy a new vehicle with no down payment and request Wake County provide 100% financing next year. Chief Parker explained that it takes about six months for a truck to be delivered from the manufacturer. He said a mutual aid agreement is in place and ready to go for Fuquay-Varina to provide equipment assistance until the new one arrives. Commissioner Sack said he had some reticence about trusting Wake County to pay for the new truck, but he lauded Chief for his replacement program. Action 1: Commissioner Martin moved that Resolution 99-30 declaring a 1994 Four Guys pumper fire truck surplus property and authorizing its sale be adopted. Commissioner Banks second, the motion, which carried unanimously. A copy of Resolution 99-30 is incorporated into these minutes as an addendum page. Action 2: Commissioner Banks moved that the Town authorize the purchase of a new pumper/tanker combination with no down payment. Commissioner Martin seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. 7b. Budget Amendment - Commissioner Martin moved that a budget ordinance amendment to align S.O.S. grant funds received in FY 1998-99 be adopted. Commissioner Sack seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. A copy of the budget ordinance amendment is incorporated into these minutes as an addendum page. 8. Consent Agenda -- Commissioner Banks moved that all remaining items on the Consent Agenda be approved. Commissioner Martin seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. The following actions were affected by the motion. 8a. Audit Contract - The Town entered into a contract with Duke & Co. for the annual audit of the Town's financial records. A copy of the contract is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages. 8b. Budget Amendment -- Moved to New Business earlier in the meeting. 8c. Minutes -- Minutes of the Board's regular meeting held on June 15, 1999 were approved. 9. Other Business -- Mr. Pearson explained that the Board had authorized the town manager to make decisions in extenuating circumstances regarding request to obtain a building permit during the 45-day moratorium. Mr. Pearson proposed that the Board adopt a resolution authorizing the mayor to act in this capacity in addition to the town manager. He added that if the Board hires an interim town manager later in the evening, then there would be no need for the resolution. Action: Commissioner Sack moved that Resolution 99-31 authorizing the mayor to make building permit issuance decisions be adopted. Commissioner Martin seconded the motion. During discussion, Commissioner Banks suggested an amendment to the motion: that the words "in addition to town manager" be replaced with "in the absence of the town manager." Commissioners Sack and Martin agreed to amend their motion, and it carried unanimously. A copy of Resolution 99-31 is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages. 10. Mayor's Report - None.
11. Commissioners' Reports: Commissioner Banks - Commissioner Banks asked for a report on the Raleigh waterline. Mrs. Sudano reported that line is up and running and doing fine. She the Town is now receiving water from both Raleigh and Fuquay-Varina. She said the Town has applied for permission to use a radio transmission license held by the police department for use at the booster pump station. Commissioner Martin -- None that resulted in action or directions. Commissioner Sack - Commissioner Sack reminded staff that no parking signs need to go up on LaFoy and Linksland. Commissioner Sack then asked Chief Parker to report on the Town's recently-acquired speed trailer. Chief Parker explained that the Town had applied a year ago for funding for the purchase of a speed-recording device that would advise motorists how fast they were going on a roadway. The trailer also is equipped to record a number of traffic statistics. The Town learned last week that it had won 1/3 of a trailer, to be shared with Cary, Apex and Holly Springs. He said the trailer would be stationed in Holly Springs for three weeks every nine weeks. He said it would be positioned for two days at a time at various locations throughout town.
12. Closed Session - Commissioner Martin moved that the Board take a 10-minute recess before reconvening in closed session for the discussion of the acquisition of real property, a personnel issue and litigation. Commissioner Banks seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. No action was taken in Closed Session. A General Account of the Closed Session Follows:
General Account of Closed Session 7/20/99: The Town Attorney updated the Board on three issues of litigation. One involves the landfill, and the other two are zoning violation that have entered litigation. The Board also discussed the position of town manager and a candidate to fill the vacancy. The Board also discussed a pay increase for an employee in the Public Utilities department. Action: Commissioner Martin moved that the Board return to Open Session. Commissioner Banks seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. - End of General Account
Action Taken on Return to Open Session: Action: Commissioner Martin moved that Public Utilities Dept. employee Charles Barbee be given a 5% salary increase, effective with the beginning of the current pay period. Commissioner Banks seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Action: Commissioner Martin moved that the Town make an offer of employment to Mr. Richard B. Self for the position of interim town manager. Commissioner Banks seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. A copy of the letter of offer of employment, which details terms of employment, is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages. 13. Adjournment - There being no further business, the July 20, 1999 meeting of the Holly Springs Board of Commissioners was adjourned at 9:52 p.m. following a motion by Commissioner Martin, a second by Commissioner Banks and a unanimous vote.
Respectfully Submitted on Aug. 17, 1999,
______________________________ Joni Smith Powell, CMC Town Clerk Addendum pages, as referenced in these minutes, follow and are a part of the official record of this meeting.
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