Board of Commissioners

Fuquay-Varina Town Board Meeting Minutes Book - Page Fuquay-Varina Town Board Meeting January 3, 2023 J. Blake Massengill, Mayor Larry Smith, Mayor Pro-Tem William H. Harris, Commissioner The Regular Meeting of the Fuquay-Varina Town Marilyn B. Gardner, Commissioner Bryan Haynes, Commissioner Board scheduled for Tuesday, January 3, 2023, at Vacant Seat - Commissioner Adam G. Mitchell, Town Manager 7:00 p.m. was held at the Fuquay-Varina Town Hall, Mark D. Matthews, Assistant Town Manager 134 N Main Street, Fuquay-Varina, NC. James (Jim) E. Seymour, Assistant Town Manager Rose H. Rich, Town Clerk James S. Adcock, III, Town Attorney In attendance were Mayor Blake Massengill, Mayor Pro-Tem Larry Smith, and Commissioners Marilyn Gardner, William Harris, and Bryan Haynes. Also in attendance were Town Manager Adam Mitchell, Assistant Town Manager Mark Matthews, Assistant Town Manager Jim Seymour, Town Clerk Rose Rich, Town Attorney James Adcock, IT Director Scott Clark and various other department directors. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Massengill called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE Mayor Pro-Tem Larry Smith provided the invocation and Police Chief Brandon Medina led the Pledge of Allegiance. VIRTUAL MEETING PROTOCOL Town Manager Adam Mitchell reviewed the meeting protocol noting that the meeting was both in- person and live streamed on the Town’s YouTube Channel and Facebook. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 3A The December 20,2022, minutes of the Town Board of Commissioners regularly scheduled meeting. MOTION: Mayor Pro-Tem Smith SECOND: Commissioner Harris MOTION RESULTS: Passed Unanimously (4-0) PRESENTATIONS 4A There were no presentations for the January 3, 2023 Town Board meeting. PUBLIC COMMENTS 5A No one chose to speak in person or virtually during public comments. ITEMS PREVIOUSLY TABLED 6A There were no items previously tabled for the January 3, 2023 Town Board meeting. PUBLIC HEARINGS 7A There were no public hearings for the January 3, 2023 Town Board meeting. CONSENT AGENDA 8A. Budget Amendment - Powell Bill Capital Projects Purpose – To consider a budget amendment in the amount of $602,230 to transfer Powell Bill funds as the local match for previously approved LAPP grant projects. Recommendation – Approve budget amendment BA-23-33 as presented and recommended. 8B. Project Ordinance Amendment - Fire Station #4 Purpose – To consider and approve the project ordinance amendment to amend the funding sources as approved in the revised agreement with Wake County Fire and EMS in the amount of $9,040,000. Recommendation – Approve project ordinance amendment POA-23-06 as presented and recommended. Ordinance No. N-23-03 8C. Project Ordinance and Budget Amendment (BA-23-31) - Wallace Adcock Boulevard Project Purpose – To consider a project ordinance establishing a budget for Gold Leaf Commercial Development in the amount of $10,000,000 and budget amendment in the amount of $7,350,000 to fund the Wallace Adcock Boulevard roadway infrastructure improvements associated with the Gold Leaf Commercial Development project. Recommendation – Approve the Project Ordinance and Budget Amendment (BA-23-31) for the Gold Leaf Development project as presented and recommended. Commissioner Harris requested that this item (8C) be removed from the Consent Agenda for discussion. 8D. Project Ordinance - Whitted Road Roundabout Purpose – To consider approval of a Project Ordinance for the Whitted Road Roundabout Project in the amount of $1,000,000. Recommendation – Establish a Project Ordinance for the Whitted Road Roundabout Project in the amount of $1,000,000 as presented and recommended. Ordinance No. N-23-02 8E. Roadway Fee-In-Lieu – Hilltop Self Storage and Retail Purpose – To consider approval of a fee-in-lieu for certain roadway improvements related to the Hilltop Self Storage and Retail project. Recommendation – Approve a total of $92,809.06 as payment in lieu for roadway improvements associated with the Hilltop Self Storage and Retail project as presented and recommended. A motion was made to approve Consent Agenda Items 8A, 8B, 8D and 8E. MOTION Commissioner Harris SECOND: Mayor Pro-Tem Smith MOTION RESULTS: Passed Unanimously (4-0) ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT 9A Project Ordinance and Budget Amendment (BA-23-31) - Wallace Adcock Boulevard Project Purpose – To consider a project ordinance and budget amendment to fund the Wallace Adcock Boulevard roadway infrastructure improvements associated with the Gold Leaf Commercial Development project. Discussion – Commissioner Harris asked for an updated on the status of the Gold Leaf Project. Town Manager Mitchell stated that the developer is advancing the project and getting closer to a groundbreaking in 2023. Assistant Town Manager Seymour stated that the developer is working with Town staff on getting site entitlements as far as public utilities, erosion control, and grading. Commissioner Harris asked about the at grade railroad crossing for this project. Town Manager Mitchell stated that there is approval for the at grade railroad crossing. He stated that the crossing will initially be four lanes. Assistant Town Manager Seymour stated that it will be constructed as a four-lane road crossing the railroad but will have the capacity to be built out to six lanes depending on when full build out of the development occurs.  Mayor Massengill stated that at one point the hold up was the railroad and he asked if the developer has gotten approval from Norfolk Southern Railroad. Assistant Town Manager Seymour stated that the developer has received approval. Recommendation – Approve the Project Ordinance and Budget Amendment (BA-23-31) for the Gold Leaf Development project as presented and recommended. A motion was made to approve Consent Agenda Item 8C. MOTION Commissioner Harris SECOND: Commissioner Gardner MOTION RESULTS: Passed Unanimously (4-0) Ordinance No. N-23-01 Mayor Massengill then made other comments regarding items on the Consent Agenda. He stated that in December 2021 the Town received funding from the General Assembly for Wallace Adcock Boulevard and the Whitted Road Roundabout projects and Representative Erin Paré came to a Town Board meeting and presented a check. He then stated that about 60 days later in February, the NC Office of State Budget Management informed the Town of a requirement that property had to be owned by the Town, so the money went to fund the Community Center North project since the Town owned the land. He stated that the agenda item talks about the funds coming from bond proceeds, but the only difference is which project is obtaining financing. The two road projects received money from the General Assembly at the request of Rep. Paré. He reported that the Town received $1 million dollars for Whitted Road and $9 million dollars for Wallace Adcock Boulevard, which was a huge savings of tax dollars. Town Manager Mitchell stated that these projects address substantial needs and safety concerns in the community, with the Whitted Road having a blind curve, and boosting mobility efficiency for Wallace Adcock Boulevard connecting NC Highway 42 to US Highway 401. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS 10A There were no administrative reports for the January 3, 2023 Town Board meeting. OTHER BUSINESS 11A Manager’s Report Town Manager Adam Mitchell gave the following updates: o Fire Department – The Fire Department responded to 5,737 calls in 2022, an increase of 12.2% over the previous calendar year. He stated that with the opening of Fire Station #4 the new nine fire fighters will help with that increase. o Police Department – The Police Department has one vacancy, and they have 6 applications for that position. He reported that Police Chief Medina and his team are doing a good job of getting the word out and recruiting police personnel. The NCLM risk review process will be conducted on January 9th and will be presented to the Town Board by the first meeting in February 2023. o Communications Department – The Communications Director has been working with a stakeholder’s group on a Black History Month video series entitled “Fuquay-Varina Firsts”. He stated that Mayor Massengill, Commissioner Harris and Commissioner Haynes have been a part of the process. o Public Works – The Public Works Department has hired Yolonda Gunn as a Sanitation Collector. He also reported that the Christmas light removal started today and will take about a week and a half to take them down, weather permitting. o Arts Center – The Arts Center’s winter classes are starting back this week. o Finance – The Finance Department has begun work on the budget submissions for FY 23-24. o Parks & Recreation – The Parks & Recreation Department has hired Zack Johanson as the Parks and Recreation Grounds Superintendent. o Public Utilities – The Public Utilities Department had approximately 30 customer issues with frozen or broken pipes and four water service line repairs during the cold weather event over Christmas. Town Manager Mitchell stated that the Town Board Retreat is a little more than a month away and he asked Board members to let management know within the next week of any topics they would like to discuss during the retreat. He reported that WRAL reported a brief story on dead buzzards at the Jones Street water tank. The Army Corps of Engineers Wildlife is investigating the cause of death for these federally  protected birds. Town Manager Mitchell stated that there is speculation that the bird deaths may have been caused by the avian bird flu. 11B Project Status Report – January 2023 11C Town Offices Closed for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday - Monday January 16, 2023 11.D Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration – Cultural Arts Society of Fuquay-Varina – January 16, 2023 - 10:00 am Town Manager Mitchell showed the map route for the march on the screen. Commissioner Harris stated that the railroad crossing at Southern Street was closed and he asked if the marchers would be able to use that route crossing the abandoned railroad. Town Manager Mitchell stated that the railroad crossing is closed to vehicle traffic, but he would verify that pedestrians can still cross it. 11.E Coffee with a Cop - Brus on Main - 135 S. Main Street - Tuesday February 14, 2023 - 9:00 am - 10:30 am BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Commissioner Gardner stated that she enjoyed the Employee Christmas Luncheon, and it is always a fun time when the Town Board can spend time with the employees. She reported that Coffee with a Cop had a good turnout. She stated that one of the commercial realtors had reported to her that the out of state investors had discovered Fuquay-Varina and she was getting lots of calls from them. She said that it is always exciting to have a favorable balance between the commercial business part of the Town’s tax bases and residential part of the tax base. She stated that she is looking forward to this year and the Town has a lot of exciting things happening. Commissioner Harris wished everyone a Happy New Year. He stated that he attended the Open House for Pine Acres Community Center 60 Year Celebration. The celebration highlighted the history of Pine Acres and the impacts it has had on the community. He complimented Commissioner Haynes and the executive board for the upgrades that have been done to the facility and the future programming at the facility. He stated that he was grateful that the founders of the facility for having a vision where it would one day be not only a meeting place for the African American community, but they had a larger vision where it would be an example of cooperativeness and collaboration to serve the community at large. He thanked Commissioner Haynes, and everyone involved for their efforts in the celebration, and stated that it was a great event. Commissioner Haynes wished everyone a Happy New Year. He stated that he had a great time at the Employee Christmas Luncheon. He reported that his heart is still full from the 60 Years Celebration of Pine Acres Community Center that was established in 1962. He reported that the Center needed about 100 new chairs and the people who attended the celebration pledged enough money to be able to purchase 130 chairs. He thanked everyone for stepping up and helping with the donations to purchase the chairs. Mayor Pro-Tem Smith wished everyone a Happy New Year. He stated that he was unable to attend the Pine Acres celebration due to sickness at his home. He recalled that when he was Police Chief, the National Night Out event was held several years at Pine Acres Community Center. He congratulated Commissioner Haynes for his hard work, and everyone involved with the Center. Mayor Massengill reported that the partnerships the Town has and the grants that the Town has gotten have afforded the opportunity to help save the citizens money. He reported that Representative Deborah Ross was able to get $3.3 million for the Triangle Regional Water Partnership, and $180,000 for new body cameras for the Police Department. He stated that these partnerships is what help saves the taxpayers dollars. The following items are Mayor Massengill’s past and future events: Past Events 1/3 – Coffee with a Cop Upcoming Events 1/12 – Chamber Ribbon Cutting – Nils Restaurant 1/13 – Special Olympics – The Mill 1/16 – Celebration in Honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1/16 – Wake County Mayor Association Meeting ADJOURNMENT A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 7:32 p.m. MOTION: Mayor Pro-Tem Massengill SECOND: Commissioner Gardner MOTION RESULT: Passed Unanimously (4-0) The minutes from the January 3, 2023, Town Board of Commissioners regularly scheduled meeting are adopted this 17th day of January in the year 2023 in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. FUQUAY-VARINA, NORTH CAROLINA J. Blake Massengill, Mayor ATTEST (TOWN SEAL) Rose H. Rich, Town Clerk