City Council

Town of Montreat Board of Commissioners Town Council Agenda Meeting October 1, 2015 Walkup Building Board members present: Mayor Letta Jean Taylor Commissioner Jack McCaskill Commissioner Martha Campbell Commissioner Tim Helms Board members absent: Mayor Pro Tem Mary Standaert Commissioner Ann Vinson Town staff present: Ron Nalley, Town Administrator Stefan Stackhouse, Finance Officer & Deputy Town Clerk David Arrant, Master Police Officer Barry Creasman, Senior Water Operator Approximately 9 members of the public were also present. Mayor Taylor called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m., led the group in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and in prayer. Agenda Approval Mayor Taylor welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked if there were any corrections to the agenda. Commissioner McCaskill requested to add the following: 1) New Business: Hydrology Study – Texas Road Bridge Commissioner Campbell moved to adopt the Agenda as amended. Commissioner Helms seconded and the motion to approve the Agenda as amended carried 3/0. Mayor’s Communications Mayor Taylor stated that she would reserve her communications until next week. Consent Agenda Review The proposed Consent Agenda will include the following items: • May 21, 2015, Special Meeting – Town Council Meeting • June 4, 2015, Agenda Meeting • June 11, 2015, Town Council Meeting • June 18, 2015, Special Meeting • June 25, 2015, Special Meeting • July 2, 2015, Agenda Meeting (Pending) • July 9, 2015, Town Council Meeting (Pending)  Montreat Board of Commissioners Town Council Agenda Meeting Minutes October 1, 2015 • August 6, 2015, Agenda Meeting (Pending) • August 13, 2015, Town Council Meeting (Pending) • September 3, 2015, Agenda Meeting (Pending) • September 10, 2015, Town Council Meeting (Pending) Town Administrator’s Communications • Mr. Nalley stated that he will report on the Texas Road Bridge project at next week’s Town Council meeting and that due to a death in Mr. Freeman’s family, the Sanitation Services Discussion has been delayed until next month’s meeting. • Mr. Nalley reported that he, Mayor Taylor and Mr. Currie will interview four candidates for the Town Clerk position on Friday, October 2nd. Mr. Nalley is hopeful that the hiring committee will be able to narrow down the candidates to two finalists and also be able to schedule those finalists for interviews with the Board during a special meeting. • Mr. Nalley reported that due to the severe weather forecast, the Governor had declared a State of Emergency for North Carolina. In preparation, the CodeRed emergency notification system was tested during the afternoon with good results. With the forecast for additional rain and high winds, there could be many downed trees and power outages. If needed, the local Incident Command System will be activated and Town staff has spent the past two days, preparing for the event. Mr. Nalley encouraged everyone to be prepared by making sure that they have batteries, flashlights, a radio, medicines, food and water available. He also reminded everyone to please stay at home unless it was absolutely necessary to travel and that during flood events when water has covered a road or bridge, to please turn around and to not try and cross over the area. In response to a question from Commissioner Campbell, Mr. Nalley said that in the event of an emergency, the local Incident Command System would be initiated and depending on the circumstances, representatives from the Town, Conference Center and College would be included in any decision making process. Mayor Taylor warned that unlike 2004, the lake is now full and thus more dangerous. Administrative Reports The Board will hear administrative reports from the Police Chief, Public Works Director, Finance Officer and the Building Inspector/Code Administrator during next week’s Town Council meeting. Public Comment – Agenda Items Mayor Taylor reiterated that this Public Comment period was intended for remarks pertaining to items listed on the meeting agenda, including staff reports and communications. • Mike Sonnenberg, 125 Virginia Road, expressed concern with spending $39,875 at 2.69%  Montreat Board of Commissioners Town Council Agenda Meeting Minutes October 1, 2015 interest rate for the new Public Works truck. Mr. Sonnenberg felt that with research and additional negotiation, the truck should cost less than the proposed price from Asheville Ford. Old Business There were no matters under Old Business scheduled for discussion. New Business A. Public Works Department Vehicle Purchase – 2015 Ford F-250: In response to Mr. Sonnenberg’s questions, Mr. Nalley stated that the Town does send out specification sheets to multiple dealers, but that many do not respond. Most dealers bid off the State contract which limits the range of bids for equipment for small towns. Mr. Nalley stated that the Town received two bids for the truck and that Asheville Ford was the lowest bidder. The $39,875 bid was under the $45,000 budgeted for the truck and includes a snowplow. Mr. Nalley also stated that the Board decided during the budget process to spread the cost of the truck over three years in order to avoid a hit to the Town’s fund balance. In response to a question from Commissioner Campbell, Mr. Creasman stated that they expect delivery in a couple of months, which will hopefully be before the first big snowfall. B. Montreat General Ordinance, Chapter K, Article V: Trees and the Tree City USA Application – Montreat Landcare: Mr. Nalley reported that Montreat Landcare has been considering the benefits of becoming certified as a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation. In August, the Landcare Committee was unanimous in its recommendation that Tree City status is an appropriate and beneficial opportunity for Montreat. Accordingly, the Committee has been developing the application that will be presented to the Board of Commissioners in order to meet the December application deadline. Four standards must be achieved for certification. Two of them have already been met and the other two standards are easily achievable. One will be to designate a community-based public “Tree Board,” and for that it seems reasonable for Landcare to assume that role. The fourth standard, deals with legal definitions of what the tree board and Town do concerning public trees. In order to accomplish this, Montreat Landcare is recommending revisions to Section 625, “Trees in Greenspace and Regulated Tree Regulations,” of the Montreat Zoning Ordinance. Mr. Seaman, Chair of Montreat Landcare, will be present at the Council meeting to discuss the Tree City USA application and the first draft of the proposed Ordinance. Due to the tight December application deadline, Montreat Landcare will be reviewing the proposed Ordinance at their meeting on October 7th. Because of this, the first draft presented in the October agenda packet will likely be revised prior to the public hearing scheduled for November. Montreat Landcare will have the completed application packet with a final draft of the proposed Ordinance for the Board’s consideration at the November meeting. In response to a question from Commissioner Helms, Mr. Nalley stated that the proposed Ordinance applies mostly to trees on public property, but that there is a  Montreat Board of Commissioners Town Council Agenda Meeting Minutes October 1, 2015 provision regulating trees on private property which are a threat to the health, safety or welfare of the public. The proposed Ordinance, as does the existing Ordinance, also regulates trees located within designated greenspace. C. Hydrology Study – Texas Road Bridge: Commissioner McCaskill requested that this item be added to the agenda in order to get a second opinion on the hydrology engineering information provided by KCI Associates. Commissioner McCaskill will present a proposed scope of engineering services to the Board at their next meeting. Public Comment – Other Topics Mayor Taylor reiterated that this Public Comment period was intended for remarks pertaining to public business items not listed on the meeting agenda, including any reports or communications from other community entities. There were no comments from the public at this time. Commissioner Communications There were no Commissioner communications at this time. Upcoming Meeting Dates Mayor Taylor reviewed the following list of upcoming meeting dates and deadlines. Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting: October 6, 2015, 3:00 p.m. Town Services Building Montreat Landcare Committee Meeting: October 7, 2015, 9:00 a.m. Moore Center Meeting Room October Town Council Meeting October 8, 2015, 7:00 p.m. Walkup Building Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting: October 22, 2015, 7:00 p.m. Walkup Building Bulk Item Sanitation Collection: October 27, 2015 Audit Committee Meeting October 29, 2015, 3:00 p.m. Town Services Building  Montreat Board of Commissioners Town Council Agenda Meeting Minutes October 1, 2015 Agenda Items Due October 30, 2015, 5:00 p.m. Town Services Office November Agenda Meeting November 5, 2015, 7:00 p.m. Walkup Building November Town Council Meeting November 12, 2015, 7:00 p.m. Walkup Building Adjournment Commissioner Helms moved to adjourn the Agenda Meeting. Commissioner McCaskill seconded and the motion carried 3/0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:18 p.m. Letta Jean Taylor, Mayor Stefan Stackhouse, Deputy Town Clerk