Regular Meeting
July 15, 2008
MINUTES
The
Staff Members Present:
2 and 3. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, and the
meeting opened with an invocation by David and Tiffanie Pinson, pastors of The
Family Worship Center.
4. Agenda
Adjustment: The
Motion By: Sack
Second By: VanFossen
Vote: Unanimous
Items Added to the
Agenda: None.
. Items Removed from the Agenda: None.
Consent Agenda
Items Removed for Discussion: Item
7f., fire station budget amendment.
Other Changes: None.
5. Public
Comment: At this time, an opportunity was provided for
members of the audience who had registered to speak to address the Council on
any variety of topics not listed on the night’s agenda. The following input was recorded:
Karen
McQuade,
Judy
Classen,
Ms.
Classen and residents of DNA were overjoyed that within a few a months, bus
service was provided for them to Wal-Mart and the library once a week; and just
this week, the sidewalk was completed from
6a.
Mr.
Hibbard explained that the north entrance into the subdivision at the corner of
He
said the Scot’s Laurel HOA is in the process of transferring ownership of the
subdivision common areas from developer Lennar to the HOA, and the HOA wishes
to have the
Mr.
Hibbard said the HOA feels that people heading south on Kildaire Farm Road are
confused by the signage and are not sure if the entrance actually leads into
Scot’s Laurel.
He
added that Lennar representatives have said the development company would
remove the town lettering if the Town Council provides permission to do so.
Ms.
Clapp had reported in Council agenda packets that this structure was a
condition of approval for the Scot’s Laurel development, but there was
discussion by the Council on
Ms.
Clapp said that she has many e-mails regarding this topic and that Councilman
VanFossen attempted on many occasions to meet with Lennar’s representative,
Bruce Whitten; however, Mr. Whitten cancelled several meetings that had been
scheduled. In October 2006, Mayor
She
said in addition to the decorative sign that was constructed by the developer,
a standard town limits sign is in place; however, the stone wall structure was
required to be constructed when the Scot’s Laurel subdivision was approved in
order to provide a “gateway entrance feature” for the town as was specified in
the Town’s previous 10-Year Comprehensive Growth Plan. Plans and support for having a decorative
monument at this corner identifying the Town’s corporate limits has been
continuously supported by the Council through the adoption of the Northeast
Gateway Plan Policies that state a gateway feature is to be installed to
“create a sense of arrival into Holly Springs” and in the newly adopted Vision
Holly Springs Comprehensive Plan Community Character Section that states in
Section 4.4.2 that:
“Secondary Gateways are
generally the point along a Major or Minor Thoroughfare where the official
corporate limits of
Ms. Clapp advises that
should the Town Council agree to allow the Scot’s Laurel HOA to change the sign
to read “Scot’s Laurel” instead of “Welcome to
Councilman Sack said he remembered the meeting at which
the monument sign was required.
Councilman VanFossen said he had no problem with the
requested wording change to feature Scot’s
After much discussion, the consensus of the Council was
that the sign should be changed to read “Welcome to the Town of
Action:
The Council approved a motion
to not allow any changes to the lettering on the
Motion By: Sack
Second By: VanFossen
Vote: Unanimous.
7. Consent
Agenda: The Council approved a motion to approve all
remaining items on the Consent Agenda.
The motion carried following a motion by
7a Minutes – The Council approved minutes of the Council’s regular meeting held on
7b. Budget
Report – The Council
received a report of amendments to the FY 2007-08 budget approved by the town
manager. A
copy of the budget amendment report is
incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.
7c. Resolution
08-35 – The Council adopted
Resolution 08-35 to begin the town’s process of issuance of revenue bonds for
the
7d. Green
7e. Green
7f. Budget Amendment, Fire Station No. 3 – This
item was removed during Agenda Adjustment.
7g.
Budget Amendment, $865 – The Council adopted an amendment to the FY
2007-08 budget in the amount of $865 to receive insurance proceeds to repair a damaged
parks and recreation vehicle. A copy
of the budget amendment is incorporated into these minutes as an addendum page.
7h.
Budget Amendment, $3,271,000 – The Council adopted an amendment to the
Water Project Fund to establish a project budget in the amount of $3,271,000
for the town’s reclaimed water project. A copy
of the budget amendment is incorporated into these minutes as addendum pages.
7i.
Item
Removed from the Consent Agenda:
7f. Budget Amendment, Fire Station No. 3
– Councilman DeBenedetto asked if the
town had heard from the Department of Insurance as to whether the plans the
town has to lease a building and sparsely man and equip the facility would be
acceptable.
Mr. Dean
reported that personnel would be designated for that site, but the town will
not have to fully staff it until September 2009.
Councilman
DeBenedetto said he had a concern that the town bought a used fire truck for
$2,500. He said he wanted an assurance
that the town was not making a mistake.
Chief
Parker said the town currently has a back-up fire truck that will be moved to
Fire Station No. 3. The recently
purchased used fire truck will be equipped and put into reserve as a replacement
back-up to be used only in the case that one of the department’s existing
engines breaks down.
Councilman
Womble also expressed displeasure that the town had purchased an old fire
truck.
There was
much discussion about the adequacy of the town’s plans and the cost.
Mr. Dean
said the town will begin the planning process for a permanent station in this
area of town, as it is planned in the town’s Capital Improvement Plan, which
calls for the station to have been built in 2011. He said the Department of Insurance has
indicated that the town’s stop-gap measure will be adequate to safeguard the
town’s insurance rating.
Action: The Council adopted an amendment to the FY
2007-08 budget in the amount of $70,000 to cover the costs of establishing
Motion By:
DeBenedetto
Second
By: Womble
Vote: Unanimous
8a. Annexation Petition A08-05, Adams,
Coley, Lorenzen, Vaughan Properties – Mr. Jones said that at the June 17 Town Council meeting, the public hearing
for this petition was opened and closed; however, action was deferred by the
Council at the request of the applicant until July 15.
The
applicant, Mr. Jones reported, is Mr. Jay Gilleece who said contractual
obligations are not yet complete and he would ask that the Council further
defer action until Aug. 19.
Action:
The Council approved a
motion to defer action until Aug. 19 on Annexation Ordinance A08-05.
Motion By: Sack
Second By: VanFossen
Vote: Unanimous.
8b. Rezoning Petition 08-REZ-03 – Mr. Jones said this rezoning request relates
to the subject property of annexation A08-05.
Because annexation did not take place, the rezoning cannot take place
and will need to be deferred until Aug. 19.
Action #1: The
Council approved a motion to defer action until Aug. 19 on Annexation
Rezoning 08-REZ-03.
Motion By: VanFossen
Second By: Sack
Vote: Unanimous.
At this time,
Ms. Powell noted that if the Mayor and Councilman
VanFossen were to be recused, there would no longer be a quorum of the Council,
in the absence of Councilman Dickson.
Councilman Dickson had said he would be a bit late for the meeting, but
that he would arrive shortly before
The Council decided to deviate from the agenda by
proceeding to Item 9b. The Council would
return to Item 9a. upon the arrival of Councilman Dickson and the ability to
maintain a quorum of four Council members.
Councilman Dickson
arrived, and the Council at
9b.
Resolution 08-36 – Mr. Dean explained that on
He said in May, the NRC
issued a public notice that it would be gathering information necessary to
prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) in support of the review of the
application for the
During this meeting,
NRC staff stated that issues involving safety and security are important to the
NRC and will be considered in a separate safety review, and that although the
environmental scoping process is focused on those issues affecting the human
environment including radiological effects, ecological effects, socioeconomic
effects, and effects on the physical environment, that comments regarding
safety also may be submitted to the NRC with comments regarding the
environmental scoping process and that they would be shared with NRC staff
preparing the safety review.
Mr. Dean said in an
effort to communicate to the NRC some of the Town’s concerns in a unified
voice, Resolution 08-36 has been drafted to include not only some of the
environmental concerns that the NRC specifically is seeking, but also other
concerns that have been expressed over the last few years.
Councilman Womble asked
if it would be better to be specific in the resolution in describing the exact
width of
Councilman DeBenedetto
suggested the replacement of Harris Park, which will be under water with the
rise in the lake level. He also
suggested that the town host a fall forum and invite Progress Energy to
communicate to citizens what the company’s plans are for the plant expansion.
At this time,
Mayor Sears said he agrees
that there should be a public information meeting and has communicated on this
subject with Progress Energy that the company hold a meeting to explain what
its plans are. Councilman DeBenedetto
stressed that he felt like the town should take the lead in organizing the
meeting by contacting Progress Energy by letter. Mayor Sears said he would write a letter to
that effect to Progress Energy.
Action: The Council considered
a motion to adopt Resolution 08-36 as amended (to include specific description
of road improvements and design on Avent Ferry Road for evacuation purposes) expressing
the Town’s comments for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s environmental
impact statement related to Progress Energy’s application for the expansion of
Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant.
Motion By: Sack
Second By: Womble
In discussion, Councilman Dickson pointed out that
the town is the one who approved the schools and developments along Avent Ferry
Road and he doesn’t think the impact of having additional reactors there would
require the company to widen Avent Ferry Road.
Councilman DeBenedetto said he feels the current
evacuation routes are inadequate.
Councilman Dickson said that the NRC will not take
No. 6 in the list on the resolution very seriously. He suggested that perhaps the resolution
should be reworded to ask the NRC to conduct a study to determine if evacuation
routes are adequate.
Councilman VanFossen said a lot of people need to get
out of the area, but he agrees that the town created the congestion. He suggested that the resolution be reworded
to omit a phrase describing the schools.
Mayor Sears asked if the resolution was non-binding.
Mr. Schifano said yes, it was non-binding.
Mr. Dean said he feels the roadwork would still
qualify for environmental impact because they will be under water.
Councilman Dickson suggested that there be a wording
change to No. 6 in the resolution that requests that Progress Energy widen and
resurface roads – in general, not just Avent Ferry Road -- to provide adequate
evacuation.
Amended
Motion: The Council
considered an amended motion to adopt Resolution 08-36 as amended so that item
6 would read, “secondary impacts would include the need to widen and resurface
roads to provide adequate evacuation;” and otherwise expressing the Town’s
comments for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s environmental impact statement
related to Progress Energy’s application for the expansion of Shearon Harris
Nuclear Plant.
Motion By: Sack
Second By: Womble
Vote: Unanimous. The amended motion disposed of the original
motion.
At this time,
Action: The
Council approved a motion to recuse both Mayor Sears and Councilman VanFossen
from Item 9a. on the agenda due to the mayor’s previous relationship with and
Councilman VanFossen’s current professional relationship with Wakefield
Development.
Motion By: Sack
Second By: DeBenedetto
Vote: Unanimous.
9a.
Green
He said having the
developer do this work at this time as opposed to having to re-construct these
components (such as headwalls and culverts) later with the construction of the
4-lane portion of the roadway represents a significant cost savings to the
Town.
The amount that the
Town owes the developer for the additional work is approximately $1,082,000.
Mr. Schifano said the
developer has completed a significant portion of the work; however, the company
apparently has run into some financing difficulties that affect the completion
of the two-lane roadwork, a responsibility of the developer, which is estimated
to be $650,000.
He said since the Town
owes the developer this amount, and the developer owes their contractor more
than the cost to complete the road, the contractor, Fowler Grading, has agreed
to move forward with completing the construction of the two-lane portion if
they receive the funds owed to the Developer by the Town.
He said under this
three-party agreement, the Town would pay progress payments for the completion
work directly to the contractor with the funds owed, and any balance from the
Town’s required payment would be paid to the contractor.
The agreement also
provides that the developer repay the Town certain costs incurred by the Town
regarding the environmental violations during construction.
Mr. Schifano noted that the way the project was
scheduled provided a cost-savings to the town of about $1 million for the
four-lane roadway.
Councilman Sack asked if there is time limit in the contract
and whether meeting the time line would be hold punitive damages.
Mr. Schifano said yes, that the time limits was 54
days. The penalty for not making the deadline, he said, would be $500 per day.
Councilman Sack asked Ms. Sudano what she thought
about the agreement.
She said it represents a good solution for the town
to be able to move forward. She added
that budget amendments covering all of the aspects of the agreement and road
construction would be forthcoming in September.
Councilman Womble asked if the $35,000 to be
recovered from the developer was included in the agreement.
Mr. Schifano said, yes.
Councilman DeBenedetto asked why was there a need for
a three-party agreement. Mr. Schifano
explained why.
Action: The Council
approved a motion to enter into a three-party agreement among Fowler
Contracting, Wakefield Development and the Town for the completion of the
two-lane portion of Green Oaks Parkway at an estimated cost of $911,820.
Motion By: Womble
Second By: Dickson
Vote: Unanimous.
A copy of the Fowler Contracting,
Action: The Council approved a motion to readmit
Councilman VanFossen and Mayor Sears into the meeting.
Motion
By: Sack
Second
By: Womble
Vote: Unanimous.
10. Other
Business: Councilman Womble thanked the engineering
department for the sidewalk leading from Wendy’s to Food Lion.
Councilman DeBenedetto reminded those in the room that
ride to work day is July 16.
Councilman Dickson lauded the Parks and Recreation Department
for the weekend tournament. He said the
park was impeccable, and staff was great. He said the town has upper-crust parks, and area
businesses missed out on a good advertising opportunity by not participating in
some way in the tournament.
13. Manager’s
Report: Mr. Dean reported that staff is looking into
setting goals and objectives for the upcoming bond referendum. He said he projected a September or October workshop
of the Council to set priorities for the projects. He reminded council members of the upcoming Novartis
tour; that a Russian delegation would be visiting Holly Springs on July 25; that
the town had been awarded a sidewalk grant in the amount of $371,000 for Main
Street sidewalk to be constructed from Town Hall northward to G.B. Alford
Highway; and that the Rex soccer fields would be opened the first week in
September.
14. Closed Session: The Council approved a motion to
enter into Closed Session, pursuant to G.S. 143-318.11(a)(4)
to discuss potential economic development and pursuant to G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3) to discuss with the town attorney a matter
of land condemnation and a matter of minimum housing code violations
Motion By: Dickson
Second
By: Sack
Vote: Unanimous
General Account of Closed Session –
In Closed Session, the Town Council received a report of
a potential economic development project.
The Council then provided direction to the Town Attorney
as to how to proceed with the acquisition of property. Action was taken, and the minutes were sealed
until the release of those minutes to the public would no longer frustrate the
purpose of the Closed Session.
Action: The Council approved a motion to seal the
minutes of the
Motion By: DeBenedetto
Second By: Womble
Vote: Unanimous
The Town Attorney reported to the Council that there have
been 116 police and
The Town Attorney recommended two directions to follow in
addressing these problems. He said the
town should enforce the minimum code violations and also put the owner of the
property on order to hook up to town water.
The Council consensus was that these two paths should be
followed in order to help the residents who live there while perhaps ridding
the neighborhood of trouble makers.
Action: The Council approved a motion to return to
Open Session.
Motion By: Sack
Second By: Dickson
Vote: Unanimous
-- End General
Account
15.
Adjournment: There being no further business for the evening, the
Respectfully Submitted on
_________________________
Addendum pages as referenced in these minutes follow and are a part of the official record.