Town of Holly Springs
Board of Commissioners Regular
Meeting
Tuesday, November 4, 2003
MINUTES
The Holly Springs Town Board of
Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, November 4, 2003 in the
Council Chambers of Holly Springs Town Hall, 128 S. Main Street. Mayor Dick Sears presided, calling the meeting
to order at 7 p.m. A quorum was established
as the mayor and all five board members were present as the meeting opened.
Board Members Present:
Commissioners Mike Taylor, Chet VanFossen, Steve Tedder, Peter Atwell,
Hank Dickson and Mayor Sears.
Board Members Absent: None.
Staff Members Present: Carl Dean, town manager; Charles
Simmons, assistant town manager; John Schifano, town attorney; Joni Powell,
town clerk, (recording the minutes); Drew Holland, finance director; Len
Bradley, director of parks and recreation; Stephanie L. Sudano, director of
engineering; Alysia Bailey, senior planner; Martha Daniel Hobbs, planner; and
Gina Bobber, planning director.
2 and 3.
The pledge of allegiance was recited, and the meeting opened with an
invocation by Rev. Ross Carter, pastor of Sunrise Methodist Church of Holly
Springs.
4.
Agenda Adjustment: The November 4, 2003 meeting
agenda was adopted with changes, if any, as listed below.
Motion By: VanFossen
Second By: Atwell
Vote: Unanimous.
Items Added to the Agenda: None.
Agenda Items Removed: None.
Other Changes: None.
5a. Hurricanes Soccer Team - Mayor Sears presented a
proclamation to the Holly Springs Hurricanes soccer team and certificates to
each player on the U12 boys soccer team.
The Hurricanes recently completed an undefeated season and are the
regular season champions in their division of the Carolina Recreation Alliance
that includes Holly Springs, Fuquay‑Varina, Sanford, Clayton and East
Wake. Mayor Sears recognized coaches
Billy Smith and Brent Nelson for leading the team through a season with 4 wins,
0 losses and 4 ties.
5b.
World Planning Day - Ms. Bobber explained that the Town’s planning and zoning department
has endorsed the World Town Planning Day program for the past three years in
recognition of the efforts of the Town of Holly Springs to protect and enhance
the quality of life for residents through pro-active planning. Ms. Bobber said that each month the members
of the Planning Board and Board of Adjustment volunteer their time to assist
staff and the Town Board in the review of proposed development within the Town.
Ms. Bobber said that she, as a member of
the American Institute of Certified
Planners (AICP), is directed to promote Nov. 8 of each year as World Town
Planning Day and to plan associated local activities.
Mayor Sears presented Ms. Bobber
with a Mayoral Proclamation designating Nov. 3-7, 2003 as Planning Appreciation
Week in the Town of Holly Springs. Ms.
Bobber accepted the proclamation and introduced members of the community’s
Planning Board and Board of Adjustment.
6a.
Public Hearing: Holly Springs / Cary Annexation Agreement – Ms. Bobber explained that since the
October 2003 public hearings in Holly Springs and Cary on this question, the
Town of Holly Springs has received verbal and written requests from individual
property owners for adjustments to the proposed boundary line to incorporate
their properties on the Holly Springs side.
She noted that the Olive family has
requested that its large amount of land be completely included on the Holly
Springs side of the boundary line, even though the current proposal splits the
property because of a ridgeline that the proposed boundary follows. Ms. Bobber reported to the Board that a
similar request has been received from the T.A. Pierce family that its property
be completely included on one side or the other of the line, but not split.
Mr. Dean noted to the Board that
input from a public hearing held in the Town of Cary aired similar concerns
about the potential splitting of properties owned by single owners or families.
Ms. Bobber said that input from the
property owners has been compiled and has been reviewed by both staffs of Holly
Springs and Cary.
Mayor Sears said the Town would do
its very best to accommodate requests from property owners as to their wishes.
Action: The Board approved a motion to enter written and oral
comments received during the Oct. 21 public hearing into the record of the Nov.
4, 2003 public hearing.
Motion By: VanFossen
Second By: Taylor
Vote: Unanimous
With the explanation completed,
Mayor Sears opened the public hearing for further comments.
Betsy Olive, 712 Olive Church Road,
Zebulon – Ms. Olive
appealed to the Board to do all it can to ensure that her family’s very large
tract is not split by the proposed boundary line as originally proposed.
There were no further comments
during the hearing; however, as directed by the Town Board, the following
public comments recorded during the October 21, 2003 Town Board public hearing
and are reprinted below and are hereby incorporated into the record of the Nov.
4, 2003 public hearing:
Eric Spence, 4101 Lake Boone Trail,
Raleigh, who was
representing clients who own property in the area, requests that the line be
readjusted to include the entire Olive tract on side “A” instead of splitting
the parcel. Copies of the letters from
Martha and Nancy Olive and Betsy and Mary Singletary are incorporated into
these minutes as addendum pages.
Bill Miller, 5404 Huntingwood Drive,
of Middle Creek/Swift Creek Alliance Inc., said he opposed the annexation agreement and asked
the town not to enter it. Mr. Miller said
the citizens should be asked first where the line should be established; the
annexation agreement was not necessary; and that there are other ways to
develop this area. Mr. Miller said that
this action makes the people angry and the municipalities should ask the people
what they want.
J. C. Hampton, 9409 Holly Springs
Road, said that his
residence was supplied by a well for water and that he had spoken with town
staff previously regarding water connection onto the Town’s water system. Mr. Hampton said that no one from the town
has responded back regarding the availability of connecting to the Town’s
water. He said that he has iron in his
water and he wanders to which town would he apply for annexation or water.
Betsy Olive, 712 Church Street,
Zebulon, who owns
property on both sides of Pierce Olive Road said that she opposes the
annexation agreement, because the proposed annexation line divides her property
into two halves, with half on side “A” and the remaining half on side “B”. She said that this would create a hardship
and burden on the property owners as the property was developed. She requested the Board to readjust the
annexation lines to include the entire tract of property on the Holly Springs
side.
Jeff Pierce, 8524 Pierce Olive Road, said that he opposes the
annexation agreement because it would also divide his family farm, leaving his
property on both sides of Pierce Olive Road and his concerns were the same as
the concerns of Ms. Olive for her property.
Thomas Pierce, 8617 Pierce Olive Road, gave the Board his family history
and said that he does not like change and would like things to remain the
same. Mr. Pierce said that in 1997 the
Town of Cary located a sewer line across his property and made it difficult to
operate his dairy farm. Mr. Pierce said
that he opposed the annexation agreement for the same dividing concerns as his
son, plus the tax exemptions that applies to farmers.
Luke Ward, 9401 Holly Springs Road, said that he opposes the
annexation agreement and that his main concerns were the development of the
additional sewer and/or water lines along his property.
There being no further comments or
discussion, the public hearing was closed.
Commissioner VanFossen said he felt
like any property owners who want to be included on the Holly Springs side of
the line should be accommodated if possible.
He said he felt like the Town should incorporate on the Holly Springs
side all of the properties that owners have requested not be split.
Mr. Dean reported that Cary is
scheduled to act on the boundary line, presumably with no changes, later this
month. He said if Cary is unwilling to
go back and look at the line, the Town of Holly Springs will have to decide on
Nov. 18 on how important the annexation agreement is to the Town of Holly Springs.
Mr. Schifano explained that the Town
had a few options: adopt no line, or, adopt an adjusted line and then present
the revision to Cary for consideration.
If Cary does not agree to adjust the line, he said, the Board would then
not have an agreement.
Commissioner VanFossen clarified for
the Pierce family that consideration of this annexation agreement would in no
way effect the tax status of the property.
It would not change its agricultural exemption tax status or any other
aspect.
Direction: Mr. Dean summarized that it is the intention of the Town
Board that properties on the line not be split by the boundary line. Mayor Sears added for the record that the
Town Board’s position also is that the Town take into consideration the input
and accommodate as many requests as possible.
7.
Consent Agenda: All items on the Consent Agenda
were approved following a motion by Commissioner Atwell, a second by
Commissioner Dickson and a unanimous vote.
The following actions were affected:
7a.
Resolution 03-28 - The Board adopted Resolution 03‑28 authorizing the Assistant
Town Manager/Finance Director as agents of the Town of Holly Springs in the
FEMA procedures related to the Town's Hurricane Isabel clean up. A copy of Resolution 03-28 is incorporated
into these minutes as addendum pages.
7b.
Minutes -
The Board approved minutes of the Board’s regular meetings held on September 2
and October 21, 2003.
7c. Holly Glen Subdivision Median
Sign - The Board
accepted and deemed adequate evidence of indemnity offered by Holly Glen
Subdivision (03‑SP‑98) for
placement of a sign in the median.
8a.
Holly Springs, Wake County and Wake County Public School System
Inter-Local Agreement – Mr. Bradley said that staff has worked with Wake County and the Wake
County Public School System to devise an inter-local agreement for development
of the athletic facilities at the future Holly Springs High School property
located at the intersection of Avent Ferry Road and Cass Holt Road.
Mr. Bradley reviewed the agreement
terms and conditions relating to the design, construction, operation,
maintenance and ownership of the public recreation facilities on the property.
Mr. Bradley noted that the original draft
had been amended and that the amended version is the subject of the
Board’s consideration.
Action: The Board approved a motion to
enter an inter-local agreement among the Town of Holly Springs, Wake County and
Wake County Public School System – as amended –
for development of park facilities on the Holly Springs High School
property located at the intersection of Avent Ferry Road and Cass Holt Road.
Motion By: Tedder
Second By: VanFossen
Vote: Unanimous
A copy of a draft inter-local
agreement between the Town of Holly Springs, Wake County and Wake County Public
School System is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.
8b.
Wastewater Treatment System Options – Ms. Thompson explained that staff is requesting
permission to transfer funds from an existing Wastewater Acreage Fees Reserve
Account and to create a new account to cover wastewater capacity studies. She said these funds would be used to cover
on‑going aggressive work over several months to evaluate the next step
for the Town to pursue in expanding wastewater capacity.
Ms. Thompson said that the expansion
of the Town's currently available wastewater capacity is the single most
important needed capital project, and one that must be undertaken as soon as
possible.
In agenda notes, Mrs. Sudano had
reviewed the following scope of work to be covered by the funds:
* Prior to the recent Town Board
mini‑retreat, staff was requested to secure the services of an
engineering consultant to prepare a comprehensive engineering report to
evaluate short term “interim” wastewater capacity expansion options at 2 and 4
mgd increments. Action on the pending
expansion of the Town's existing wastewater plant has been put on hold in order
to evaluate these possible other options for meeting short‑term
wastewater needs, as outlined in the report.
The report, which was prepared by Green Engineering, was commissioned to
secure and consolidate information on all alternatives that could conceivably
meet the Town's short‑term needs.
After reviewing this information, the Town Board instructed staff to
proceed with one of the alternatives outlined in the report. The professional services in preparing this
report was undertaken by the consultant on an hourly basis, with the final cost
of the report totaling $11,486.26.
*Staff investigated one of the
alternatives outlined in the report by Leo Greene Engineering, possibly in lieu
of proceeding on the planned immediate
plant expansion. Mrs. Sudano said the alternative that staff was asked to
pursue is participating in the Harnett County/Fuquay Varina wastewater system
that will soon be under construction.
The project includes a gravity sewer line from Fuquay Varina to Harnett
County and expansion/upgrade of their existing wastewater treatment plant at
Lillington. She said it would also
require the construction of a pump station and force main from Holly Springs
Utley Creek plant to the new gravity line.
Participation in the gravity line and in the plant upgrade would have to
happen immediately, as the project is being bid in a month or so, she said. Mrs. Sudano said that in order to fully evaluate
this plan, engineering services are required.
Davis, Martin, and Powell Engineers performed some related work recently
for the Town. Funds are needed to
compensate Davis, Martin, and Powell for the work, on an hourly basis, that
will include the following items:
meeting with Harnett County, Fuquay Varina, and engineering staff,
researching and evaluating numbers provided for participation in the project,
meeting with funding agencies and providing information on the possible scope
change of the 201 Facilities Plan and funding requests that exist at present
for existing plant expansion – all work to be on an extremely short time
frame. Staff recommends establishing a
budget for $20,000 to cover this work.
Ms. Thompson said that under a
separate previous project, the Town had retained Davis, Martin and Powell to
secure re‑rating of the existing Utley Creek plant from the State to
increase the plant capacity for a short term period; however, the state will
not consider permitting such re‑rating until the Town has embarked upon,
and has a firm deadline for, a permanent capacity expansion (i.e. plant
expansion is under design and/or another viable, permittable option is
contracted and under design).
Action:
The Board approved a motion to transfer funds in the amount of
$31,486.26 from the Wastewater Acreage Fees Reserve account to set up a new
project account titled “Wastewater Capacity Studies 2003" to be used as
discussed and for an appropriate budget amendment to be prepared.
Motion By: Tedder
Second By: Atwell
Vote: Unanimous
8c.
Quick Lube Additional Road Widening ‑Ms. Thompson reported that Quick Lube has
submitted to the Town development plans for a facility to be located on NC
55. Development would require that the
developer provide construction of road widening along the property
frontage. She said the Quick Lube
widening and the required tapers on this property encroaches onto the adjacent
undeveloped parcel of property in between the Quick Lube site and the Windcrest
Farms site, leaving a very small section of Hwy. 55 that would be unimproved.
She said very little additional
widening would be required to have a continuous, widened length of NC55. During the development plan review, staff
recommended that the designer of Quick Lube design widening along the adjacent
property and secure a cost estimate for the additional work necessary to tie
the two widening projects together. She
said that this will give the Town an opportunity to pay for the difference in
cost to accomplish the additional widening.
She said the estimated cost for the additional road improvements with
the 100' right of way is $15,000, and she recommended that the Town Board
approve a motion authorizing the Town to participate in this project by
providing the small section that would not be the responsibility of the Quick
Lube site developer.
Action: The Board approved a motion to
extend the Quick Lube site road widening on NC 55/Main Street so that a
continuous length of the roadway would be improved at a cost not to exceed
$15,000 (which includes a 10% contingency); and that a budget amendment be
prepared to provide funding from the street fee-in-lieu account.
Motion By: VanFossen
Second By: Atwell
Vote: Unanimous
8d.
State Farm Office Building Development Plan 03-DP-10 ‑ Mrs. Hobbs said development
plan #03‑DP‑10 proposes a 0.64-acre office site located at 721
Holly Springs Road with conversion of an existing residential structure to an
insurance agency office.
Ms. Hobbs said the plan is compatible
with office use, and complies with the Ten Year Comprehensive Growth Plan. She added that the proposed project utilizes
an existing structure and an existing parking lot. Ms. Hobbs said the property is served by Town
water and a septic tank; and sewer service would be added at a later date as
directed by Town ordinance.
Action:
The Board approved a motion to recuse Commissioner VanFossen from the
meeting due to his affiliation to the project.
Motion By:
Atwell
Second By:
Dickson
Vote:
Unanimous.
Action: The Board approved a motion to approve development plan #03‑DP‑10
for 721 Holly Springs Road as submitted by Thompson and Associates, with the
following conditions:
1. This property must be annexed
into the Town limits prior to construction drawing approval.
2. Sign applications must be
submitted to and approved by the Department of Planning & Zoning prior to
the installation of any signage, temporary or permanent.
3. The following items are to be
included on construction drawings (later in the approval process):
a. RPZ addition to the waterline.
b. Final approval of fee‑in‑lieu amount for Thoroughfare
improvements.
Motion By: Taylor
Second By: Dickson
Vote: Unanimous
Action:
The Board approved a motion to readmit Commissioner VanFossen into the
meeting.
Motion By: Atwell
Second By: Dickson
Vote:
Unanimous
9.
Recognition of Commissioner Tedder - Mayor Sears presented retiring Commissioner Steve
Tedder with a token of appreciation for his service on the Town Board from 2001
to 2003. Mr. Tedder said that he enjoyed
working with the Town of Holly Springs for several years before he was elected
to the Town Board in 2001. His last two
years as a member of the Board, he said, have been particularly rewarding, and
he wishes the Town all the best in the future.
In closing, Commissioner Tedder said
he recommended that Commissioner Mike Taylor, who is currently fulfilling an
appointed term following the resignation of former Commissioner John Schifano,
be appointed by the Town Board to complete his term on the board after the Nov.
4 election fills Schifano’s seat by popular vote.
Action: The Board approved a motion to
appoint Mike Taylor as Commissioner, effective Nov. 5, to serve out the
remaining term of Commissioner Steve Tedder, whose term will expire in December
2005.
Motion: Tedder
Second: Atwell
Vote: Unanimous
10.
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: None
11.
Other Business: None.
12.
Manager’s Reports: Mr. Dean reported that the
Planning and Zoning Department and the Department of Public Safety have been
working with the Post Office to adjust the 27540 zip code area, which may
result in address changes to bring properties that are inside the town limits
also into the Holly Springs zip code.
From a public safety and growth
standpoint, he said, this process is critical.
At this time, Mayor Sears reported
that preliminary numbers from the three polling places in Holly Springs
indicate that the two top vote getters in the local municipal election were
incumbent Peter Atwell and Parrish “Ham” Womble.
13.
Closed Session: None.
14.
Adjournment ‑
There being no further business for the evening, the November 4, 2003 meeting
of the Holly Springs Board of Commissioners was adjourned at 8:04 p.m.
following a motion by Commissioner Tedder, a second by Commissioner Atwell, and
a unanimous vote.
Respectfully Submitted on Tuesday,
November 18, 2003.
_________________________________
Joni Powell, CMC
Town Clerk
Addendum pages as referenced in these
minutes follow and are a part of the official record.