Board of Commissioners

TOWN OF BURGAW BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING DATE: January 14, 2020 (continued on January 28, 2020) TIME: 4:00 PM PLACE: Burgaw Municipal Building BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Kenneth Cowan Mayor Pro-tem Wilfred Robbins Commissioners Jan Dawson, Bill George, Vernon Harrell, James Murphy STAFF PRESENT: James Gantt, Town Manager Kristin J. Wells, Town Clerk Zachary Rivenbark, Town Attorney Alan Moore, Public Works Director Louis Hesse, Building Code Administrator Daniel Fuller, Assistant Police Chief Wendy Pope, Finance Officer Tiffany Byrd, Deputy Finance Officer Cody Suggs, Parks & Recreation Director Andrea Correll, Planning Director MEDIA PRESENT: Andy Pettigrew, Pender Post & Voice INVOCATION: Reverend Nick Smith PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: All The meeting was called to order by Mayor Cowan at 4:00 PM and the invocation was led by Reverend Smith. Approval of Agenda Commissioner Harrell made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. The motion was seconded by Commissioner George and carried by unanimous vote. Approval of Consent Agenda Commissioner Robbins made a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Murphy and carried by unanimous vote. A. Approval of the December 10, 2019 regular meeting minutes B. Approval of the December 10, 2019 closed session minutes SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS Tourism Development Authority (TDA) Updates – Jennifer Hansen, Chairperson Jennifer Hansen, TDA Chairperson, gave updates from the TDA committee. She advised the billboard recently purchased by the TDA is now being displayed on the interstate. She also advised the TDA will hold a Community Business Workshop on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 from 5:00 to 6:00 PM at the Train Depot. The purpose of this meeting is to get ideas and input from the public on ways to promote tourism in town. City of Wilmington Rail Realignment Project Update – Aubrey Parsley Aubrey Parsley, Director of Rail Realignment for the City of Wilmington, gave a brief presentation on the rail realignment project in the Wilmington area. He asked for support from the town and shared the regional benefits. ITEMS FROM THE ATTORNEY – Zachary Rivenbark, Town Attorney In conversation with town staff, Attorney Rivenbark recommended for the board to repeal Ordinance 2019-04 regarding recent amendments to the fire code. The ordinance was presented to the board during the time Chief BOC MINUTES JANUARY 14, 2020 & JANUARY 28, 2020 PAGE 1 of 5 Taylor was on deployment. Upon his return, it was determined there are some typos within the ordinance that was approved, and after conversations with staff and Attorney Rivenbark, it was determined the town did not need all of the appendixes of the fire code adopted. Attorney Rivenbark stated the fire code is adopted by statute and applies to us by statute, but not the appendixes. He stated the appendixes are not adopted automatically. Attorney Rivenbark and Chief Taylor explained the reasoning for repealing the ordinance. Without the ordinance, staff can have discretion on the requirement of fire access roads. If the appendixes were specifically adopted by ordinance, this would limit staff to strictly follow the appendixes as adopted. Attorney Rivenbark stated he is in support of Chief Taylor if he feels the town can safely go with following the fire code as adopted by statute. Attorney Rivenbark commented staff will work on verbiage in the Unified Development Ordinance so that the code will be clear in the future. After some discussion, Commissioner Harrell made a motion to repeal Ordinance 2019-04. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Murphy and carried by unanimous vote. ITEMS FROM THE MANAGER – James Gantt, Town Manager US Highway 117 Sewer Improvement Study – Discussion This was ongoing discussion from previous board meetings. Ms. Pope gave a handout to the board members about breaking down the costs for the project and information on the system development fees. Commissioner Dawson asked about the current capacity in the area. Mr. Gantt advised the capacity at the White Tractor Company lift station has been allocated to Hardison for 26 homes in phase one of his project. Mr. Gantt advised Creekside capacity also runs to this lift station. He explained a full study would have to be done to get a definite number of units versus capacity. He commented the lift station at the corner of Fremont Street and Highway 117 is near capacity as well. Mr. Gantt said the town home developers had been advised they would need to run a line down Wilmington Street and tie into the force main that comes from Chloride. This would possibly accommodate 20 units. Mr. Gantt said if the town is not willing to move forward with increasing the sewer capacity, then staff needs to let the town home developer know so that he can stop spending money on the project. There was much discussion regarding capacity and where the line would run. Mr. Gantt advised the new line would be a direct tie in into the force main to Wallace. He advised the project would cost approximately $2.1 million dollars and it is staff recommendation to pay for the project with funds the town already has. He advised there is currently $2.4 million dollars available in the water and sewer fund, plus approximately $355k in system development fees. Mr. Gantt gave a variety of funding options. He commented the fees collected from the future development would pay back the water and sewer fund. Commissioner Robbins expressed his concern with spending all of the money for this project and developers might not even come. He also has concern with spending money on our current roads and infrastructure that are deteriorating. Mr. Gantt advised the town has applied for a grant to study the entire infrastructure of the town. He suggested money to be set aside each budget year over the next several years so that money will be there when needed to replace infrastructure lines, etc. Commissioner Robbins asked the feasibility of paying half of the project and financing the other half. Mr. Gantt explained his thoughts on paying for the project. Commissioner Harrell commented he does not feel the project is essential, but is necessary. He said the sooner we start, the better off we will be. He also feels like the board needs to make a commitment over a ten year period to set aside substantial amounts of money every year to improve the existing infrastructure system we have. Commissioner Harrell commented he would like to see $250k set aside every year. He stated the current project in discussion is important for development and is in favor of moving forward with the project. Commissioner Robbins commented he would like to see more of the costs breakdown and financing options. After much discussion, Commissioner Harrell made a motion to move forward with the project, seek RFQs and put together two to three financing proposals. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Dawson. Commissioners George and Murphy voted “aye” and Commissioner Robbins voted “nay.” FY 2020-2021 Budget Preparation - Discussion Mr. Gantt presented a proposed budget calendar for the FY 2020-2021 budget process. He requested feedback from the board regarding the schedule. The consensus of the board was in favor of a budget retreat and decided to have BOC MINUTES JANUARY 14, 2020 & JANUARY 28, 2020 PAGE 2 of 5 two half days to discuss the goals and objectives for the upcoming budget. The set dates and times determined were February 27, 2020 and February 28, 2020 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM each day. The second retreat was set for April 21, 2020 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The board determined a third retreat was not necessary as proposed for May 5, 2020. This date was removed from the budget calendar. Commissioner George made a motion to adopt the budget calendar as amended. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Dawson and carried by unanimous vote. Other items from the Manager Mr. Gantt advised there has been some progress on the renovation project at the old EMS Building. He advised we have a proposal from Guidry Architect and will move forward with the design work. Commissioner Dawson requested the design to allow as much space in the open room as possible. Mayor Cowan requested a roll up door on the side of the open room area. ITEMS FROM MAYOR AND BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Appointment of Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee Member Commissioner Dawson recommended appointment of Riley Jordan. She has volunteered a lot of time with the town already helping Mr. Suggs with special events and activities. Commissioner Robbins made a motion to appoint Riley Jordan to the Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Dawson and carried by unanimous vote. Commissioner Dawson requested Mr. Suggs to encourage the committee to remain active. BREAK 5:17 PM – 5:32 PM PUBLIC FORUM No one signed up to speak during the public forum. Consideration of RFQs for Courthouse Avenue Project Mr. Gantt advised there have been six firms that submitted under “Requests for Qualifications (RFQ)”. He stated once the board selects a firm, then the town would progress with a “Request for Proposal (RFP).” Commissioner Harrell stated he preferred WithersRavenel because of four basic things he reviewed in their packet: public input was key, made a prominent account helping find funding sources, employee owned, and they use “fun” in their public information phase. He also commented he would be comfortable with WK Dickson. Commissioner Dawson expressed she was not interested in WK Dickson, but like Stewart because they did the Pender Memorial Park master plan with Pender County. She commented she would like to pick the top three and invite them to do a presentation for the board. Commissioner Robbins commented he likes McGill because they have experience doing smaller towns. He suggested the board select two firms to hear from. Mayor Cowan commented on the Kimley-Horn master plan that was done years ago. He would like to look at the entire downtown area to be studied. Commissioner Robbins commented he wants to only concentrate on Courthouse Avenue and not the whole downtown area. Commissioner Harrell commented we may get side tracked if we go too large in our scope; he feels like whatever we do on Courthouse Avenue will set a tone for the rest of town. Commissioner Robbins agreed. Commissioner Murphy commented his top two are McGill and Stewart. After some discussion, it was decided to invite three firms to present to the board: WithersRavenel, Stewart and McGill. It was decided to continue this meeting to Tuesday, January 28, 2020 at 5:30 PM to hear from the firms. Mayor Cowan commented he would like to bring in Kimley-Horn to meet with himself, Mr. Gantt, and Ms. Correll to review the master plan done in the past. Other Items from the Mayor and Board of Commissioners Commissioner Robbins thanked the town for the sympathy shown to his family during the loss of his brother. BOC MINUTES JANUARY 14, 2020 & JANUARY 28, 2020 PAGE 3 of 5 Commissioner Robbins commented he would like to look at the depot policy regarding guidelines of giving use of the building for free. Commissioner Dawson commented she has spoken with Mr. Gantt and Mr. Hesse regarding the deteriorating condition of the Community House. Mr. Gantt advised staff is currently working on this. Commissioner Harrell thanked the Police Department and Fire Department for the work they did during a recent fire incident. Mayor Cowan commented on the drainage issues in the area of Chloride. He advised NC DOT has met with staff to look at cleaning the ditches along the interstate and extend just beyond the east side of the interstate. NC DOT has expressed agreement in doing this project. Mayor Cowan asked the board to approve up to $200k to spend on this project. He commented the town needs to protect the jobs in the area of discussion since they pay taxes here. Commissioner Robbins stated he would like to see costs. Mr. Gantt advised we would need to go through the bid process. After discussion, it was the consensus of the board to move forward with the bid process. MOTION TO CONTINUE MEETING – 6:00 PM Commissioner Harrell made a motion to continue this meeting until January 28, 2020 at 5:30 PM. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Dawson and carried by unanimous vote. MEETING RECONVENED JANUARY 28, 2020 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Kenneth Cowan Mayor Pro-tem Wilfred Robbins Commissioners Jan Dawson, Bill George, Vernon Harrell, James Murphy STAFF PRESENT: James Gantt, Town Manager Kristin J. Wells, Town Clerk Zachary Rivenbark, Town Attorney Wendy Pope, Finance Officer Andrea Correll, Planning Director MEDIA PRESENT: Andy Pettigrew, Pender Post & Voice Mayor Cowan reconvened the meeting at 5:30 PM. As requested during open session on January 14, 2020, Mr. Gantt advised the top three firms selected by the board for the Courthouse Avenue project are present to do their presentations. He stated the order of presentations were selected by drawing the firms’ names in random order prior to the meeting. Representatives with the following firms each gave a PowerPoint presentation and were limited to 30 minutes each. Detailed information for each firm is on file in the Clerk’s office. Presentation #1 – WithersRavenel Gary Warner and Drew Crumpton presented. Presentation #2 – Stewart Christopher Miller and Jay McLeod presented. BREAK 6:33 PM – 6:40 PM Presentation #3 – McGill Mike Norris, Michael Norton, Jim Ford, and Robert Hyatt presented. After the presentations from the firms, there were brief comments from the board regarding the presentations. It was the consensus of the board to think about the presentations and discuss this item further at the next regular Board of Commissioners Meeting on February 11, 2020. BOC MINUTES JANUARY 14, 2020 & JANUARY 28, 2020 PAGE 4 of 5 ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Harrell made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Commissioner George and carried by unanimous vote. The meeting was adjourned at 7:19 PM. _____________________________ Kenneth T. Cowan, Mayor Attest:_____________________________ Kristin J. Wells, Town Clerk BOC MINUTES JANUARY 14, 2020 & JANUARY 28, 2020 PAGE 5 of 5