8/5/03 Meeting Minutes, Town of Holly Springs

Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting

Tuesday, August 5, 2003

MINUTES

The Holly Springs Town Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, August 5, 2003 in the Council Chambers of Holly Springs Town Hall, 128 S. Main Street. Mayor Dick Sears presided, calling the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. A quorum was established as the mayor and all four sitting board members were present as the meeting opened. At this time, there is a vacancy on the board.

Board Members Present: Commissioners Steve Tedder, Chet VanFossen, Peter Atwell, Hank Dickson and Mayor Sears.

Board Members Absent: None.

Staff Members Present: Carl Dean, town manager; Chuck Simmons, assistant town manager; Ernest Pearson, town attorney; Joni Powell, town clerk (recording the minutes); Linda Harper, deputy town clerk; John P. Schifano, staff attorney; Drew Holland, finance director; Len Bradley, director of parks and recreation; David Smith, director of athletic programs; Cecil Parker, chief of public safety; Stephanie Sudano, director of engineering, and Gina Bobber, planning director.

2 and 3. The pledge of allegiance was recited, and the meeting opened with an invocation by Rev. Horace Ferguson, pastor of the Holly Springs United Methodist Church.

4. Agenda Adjustment: The August 5, 2003 meeting agenda was adopted with changes, if any as listed below.

Motion By: Atwell

Second By: Dickson

Vote: Unanimous.

Items Added to the Agenda: None.

Agenda Items Removed: None.

Other Changes: None.

5a. Town Charter Presentation - Senator Richard Stevens and Representative Paul Stam presented to the Town of Holly Springs the revised and consolidated Town Charter, which was ratified by the General Assembly in May, and a North Carolina flag that was flown over the State Capital.

5b. Presentation of Appreciation - Mayor Sears presented Senator Stevens and Representative Stam with plaques of appreciation for their work on the Town’s Charter.

5c. Recognition of Former Commissioner John Schifano - Mayor Sears presented former Commissioner John Schifano with a token of appreciation for his service on the Town Board from 1999 to 2003. Mr. Schifano said that he enjoyed working with the Town of Holly Springs as Commissioner and looks forward to a future with the Town as attorney.

5d. Holly Springs All-Stars - Mr. Bradley recognized the Holly Springs 9- and 10- year‑old boys All‑Star baseball team that won the District 4 Little Tar Heel Championship on Sunday July 13 by defeating Western Harnett 7‑0 in the finals.

Mr. Bradley said the boys beat Lillington in the first round 13‑5; Coats in the 2nd round 7‑5; and Western Harnett 13‑2 in the semifinals. He said the Holly Springs All‑Stars played in the State tournament in Erwin July 24‑27. The team lost to Rocky Mount 8‑1; beat Erwin 13‑11; and then lost to Gastonia 12‑6.

Mr. Bradley said players were David Hudspeth, Joey Roach, Mike Roach, Ryan Glembocki, Drew Doares, Kevin Fortier, Eric Becker, Paul Thompson, Steven Thompson, Miguel Sanchez, Lee Elander and Nick Binz. Jose Yepez was the team manager, and the assistant coaches were Jim Roach, Cary Binz and Tim Becker.

Mr. Bradley advised that 95% of the players on the team are involved this evening in soccer and football practice. He suggested the formal recognition be placed on a future agenda so that the youngsters could be present to receive their certificates.

6. Public Hearing: Ordinance 03-13 - Chief Parker said that at the June 3, 2003 Town Board meeting, the Board adopted an ordinance establishing a "local 911call center." He said adoption of this ordinance paved the way for the Town to collect the 911 surcharge on telephone and wireless telephone bills to fund the Public Safety Answering Point.

Chief Parker said that upon adoption of this ordinance in June, Mr. Schifano noted legal requirements for an advertised public hearing, a step which was not taken prior to adoption of Ordinance 03‑06.

Chief Parker said that Ordnance 03‑13 would repeal Ordinance 03‑06 adopted by the Board in June and then enact the same local legislation following the public hearing, which was advertised.

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 Ordinance 03-13 repealing Ordinance 03-06 and then establishing a Public Safety Answering Point “911" Service.

Motion By: VanFossen

Second By: Atwell

Vote: Unanimous

A copy of Ordinance 03-13 is incorporated into these minutes as an addendum page.

7. Jones Park Design and Construction Bids from Wake County - Mr. Bradley reported that he received a letter and a bid sheet from Wake County for design and construction of facilities at Jones Park. Mr. Bradley said that he wanted to inform the Board of the status of Jones Park and that further information will be presented at the August 19 Board meeting.

Mr. Bradley explained that Wake County had reviewed the bids received for the proposed improvements at Holly Springs Elementary School/Jones Park. Available county funds for the project are $154,000.

The low bid was received from HY-Tech Construction at $185,000, with a deduct price for the ball field lighting of $40,000. The final result is a cost of $145,000 for only ballfield construction.

Mr. Bradley explained that if the Town desires to provide lighting on the ballfield, it could do so at its own expense, estimated at $40,000. If the Town decides to participate in this way, the County would need a commitment from the Town no later than Aug. 15 so that a change order with HY-Tech could be executed. Or, Mr. Bradley said, HY-Tech could proceed with construction and provide mechanisms during construction for future lighting.

Commissioners asked if there were any means of providing multi-purpose lighting on a multi-purpose field rather than dedicating the lighting to the proposed baseball fields.

Mr. Bradley said he would look into the possibilities and report back to the Board at the next regular meeting.

Action: None.

8. Consent Agenda: All items on the Consent Agenda were approved following a motion by Commissioner Atwell a second by Commissioner Dickson a unanimous vote. The following actions were affected:

8a. Duke & Abbott CPA, PA Contract ‑ The Board approved the Duke & Abbott CPA, PA contract for audit services. A copy of the Duke & Abbott CPA, PA contract is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.

8b. Pump Maintenance Building Change Orders ‑ The Board approved three (3) change orders to the construction contract for the Pump Maintenance Building project in the amount of $6,456. Copies of the contract change orders are incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.

8c. Resolution 03-19 - The Board adopted Resolution 03-19 authorizing application for federal funding in the amount of $68,088 from the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. A copy of Resolution 03-19 is incorporated into these minutes as an addendum page.

8d. Minutes ‑ Minutes of the Board’s regular meeting held on July 15, 2003 were approved.

9a. Public Safety Building Bids ‑ Mr. Simmons reported that the Town opened bids for the Holly Springs Police Station project at 2 p.m. on Tuesday July 22 at Town Hall. Mr. Simmons said the project is for the restoration of the existing structure and a new addition.

Mr. Simmons said the town received four (4) bids ranging from a low $715,934 to a high $864,100. Mr. Simmons said the low bidder was Raleigh‑Durham Construction, located in Raleigh. He said that since the lowest bid was higher than the Town's proposed budgeted amount (between $500,000 and $600,000) for this project, staff and Brian Simpson of Little Diversified Architectural Consulting met with representatives of Raleigh‑Durham Construction on July 25 to attempt to value engineer the project.

The result of that meeting was that the bid proposal was reduced from $715,934 to $555,000.

Mr. Simmons said that town staff and the consultant reviewed the form of proposals and bid bond and found all information to be in order and recommended that the Board award the general construction contract for the Holly Springs Police Station to Raleigh‑Durham Construction Company in the amount of $555,000.

Items amended in the contract in order to lower the cost included deductions for:

Action: The Board approved a motion to award the bid for the Holly Springs Police Station renovation and addition project to Raleigh-Durham Construction Company in the amount of $555,000 and authorized staff to execute the contract.

Motion By: Tedder

Second By: Dickson

Vote: Unanimous

A copy of the Raleigh-Durham Construction Company value engineering and the bid tabulation are incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.

9b. Appointment of Commissioner - Mayor Sears said that with the resignation of former Commissioner Schifano, there exists a vacancy on the Board of Commissioners for a term that will expire in December 2003. He said Commissioners have recommended several citizens as possible replacements to serve the remainder of the term.

From conversations with individual board members, Mayor Sears said, Planning Board member Mike Taylor has been suggested multiple times.

Mayor Sears opened the floor for nominations and discussion.

Commissioners agreed that a Planning Board member would be best suited to fill the vacancy, and Mike Taylor, Jeff Bateman, Glenn Myrto and Lisa Martin were mentioned as possible nominations. Commissioner Tedder added the names of George Sharpe and Lisa Martin.

Commissioner Dickson nominated Mike Taylor. Commissioner Atwell seconded the motion.

Commissioner Tedder nominated Lisa Martin; however, the nomination did not receive a second.

Action: The Board approved a motion to appoint Mike Taylor to fill a vacancy on the Town of Holly Springs Board of Commissioners for a term that will expire as of December 2, 2003.

Motion By: Dickson

Second By: 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 dedication and open house of Town Hall is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 20. He asked the board members to submit potential Friday night dates for a retreat in the next few weeks.

13. Closed Session ‑ The Board approved a motion to enter Closed Session, pursuant to G. S. 143‑318.11(a)(6), to discuss the appointment of the Town Attorney and retaining a person to assist with obtaining rights of way along Sunset Lake Road for roadway improvements. The Board also cited G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3) in order to discuss with its legal counsel details in the matter of Wake County vs. Holly Springs.

Motion: Dickson

Second: Atwell

Vote: Unanimous

General Account Closed Session - August 5, 2003

The Board discussed the qualifications of a candidate for Town Attorney. The Board discussed qualifications of a few candidates for possible contract work to assist in obtaining rights of way along Sunset Lake Road for a road improvement project.

Mr. Pearson outlined the contents of a consent judgement in the matter of Wake County vs. Holly Springs. Mr. Pearson advised that the document basically states that the Town understands and accepts the rulings of the judge in the court case in which the Town rescinded a 1992 approval to Wake County for the South Wake Landfill project.

- End General Account

Action: The Board approved a motion to reenter Open Session.

Motion By: VanFossen

Second By: Atwell

Vote: Unanimous

Action: The Board approved a motion to appoint John Schifano as Town Attorney.

Motion By: VanFossen

Second By: Atwell

Vote: Unanimous

Commissioner Atwell said he was fundamentally in favor of putting the Wake County vs. Holly Springs matter to rest, but that he is not comfortable with a sentence in the consent judgment that, as it is worded, might be construed to state that the current town board of commissioners agrees to the siting of the landfill project in Holly Springs. He said that is not the case.

Action: The Board approved a motion to accept the Consent Judgment put forth by Wake County to conclude the Wake County vs. Holly Springs matter.

Motion By: Tedder

Second By: VanFossen

Vote: The motion carried following a 3-1 vote. Commissioners Tedder, VanFossen, and Dickson voted for. Commissioner Atwell voted against.

A copy of the consent judgement is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.

14. Adjournment - There being no further business for the evening, the August 5, 2003 meeting of the Holly Springs Board of Commissioners was adjourned at 8:55 p.m. following a motion by Commissioner Dickson, a second by Commissioner Atwell, and a unanimous vote.

Respectfully Submitted on Tuesday, August 19, 2003.

_________________________________

Joni Powell, CMC

Town Clerk

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