Town Council Work Session

TOWN OF ST. JAMES WORK SESSION MINUTES July 18, 2024 The St. James Town Council held a Work Session on Thursday, July 18, 2024, in the Earl Dye Council Chamber. Mayor Toner opened the Work Session at 10:00am. Council Members Present: Mayor Jean Toner, Mayor Pro Tem David DeLong, Councilors Lynn Dutney, David Morgan, and Jim Board. Staff Present: Town Manager Jeff Repp, Finance Director Pauline Haran, Temporary Office Assistant Jamie Burns Others Present: State Port Pilot Reporter Eliot Duke, Clayton Rivenbark with BEMC, and 3 residents. Administration Update a. Carbon Reduction Grant – BEMC Presentation Town manager Jeff Repp reviewed the Carbon Reduction Grant awarded to the town. The town was awarded the $400,000 (80% federal/20% local) grant, submitted approximately a year ago. This is a 100% reimbursement project to replace existing halogen street lights in the town with more energy efficient LED lights and fixtures. Mr. Repp stated that he met with Clayton Rivenbark of Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation (BEMC) to begin the process. He said that BEMC needed some input from the Town Council regarding types of fixtures and colors and that Mr. Rivenbark was in attendance to get that input. Clayton Rivenbark reviewed the variety of light fixtures that are currently in St. James. BEMC noticed that some poles need attention, and he is going to recommend that poles receiving new light fixtures be painted. There is only one section, in the Reserves, that has green poles and fixtures instead of black. Mr. Rivenbark asked whether the town wanted to stay with the green in that section or change to black. Mr. Rivenbark reported that there will be a delay of about 12 weeks when replacing green fixtures because they are not in stock. Councilor Board stated that mailboxes in that section are green, and Mayor Toner indicated that the signs are also green. The council decided to stick with green fixtures in the Reserve since POA controls street signs and individual homeowners are in charge of mailboxes. Areas with black streetlights will remain black. Councilor Jim Board asked Mr. Rivenbark about the blackout section/shields on the lights. Mr. Rivenbark noted that dark sky compliant lights shouldn’t have as much light pushed out and the light will be directed downward. Dark sky compliant lights are in compliance with the county ordinance. Mrs. Haran asked if the intent was to change out all of the streetlights. Mayor Toner stated that lights will only be changed in certain areas that still have halogen lights. Mr. Rivenbark will get figures to Mr. Repp as to how much energy will be saved by changing from Halogen to LED. Council indicated that they prefer the simpler, standard style of fixture. Mr. Rivenbark indicated that the lights have been well Page 1 of 4  received in Beaver Creek and down by the water area. Mr. Rivenbark asked about a timeline and Mr. Repp indicated a timeline of by the end of 2025. b. June 2024 Zoning Report Town Manager Jeff Repp presented the June zoning reports. For June there were 13 total zoning permits issued, 5 new construction and 8 additions/modifications. The cumulative total of permits issued in the last 12 months were 81 residential permits/new construction and 59 other permits. There have been somewhere between 5 and 10 new residential permits per month. c. June 2024 Community Center Monthly Report and Survey Town Manager Jeff Repp reviewed the Community Center reports for June. From January to June, there was a total of 1,418 reservations and the revenue billed for the same time period totaled $55,739. There is an increasing number of events and revenue on a yearly basis. Mayor Toner inquired about the Community Center parking lot lights being replaced. Mr. Repp indicated that it is in the current proposal to BEMC. She inquired if it could be done before. Mr. Repp stated that he had mentioned them to Clayton last week and hopefully he can do those beforehand. Councilor Jim Board inquired about a letter received from the Board of Elections regarding the use of the St. James Community Center for early voting. The Board of Elections will not utilize the facility at St. James this year for early voting but indicated that they think the community center would be a wonderful location for early voting in the future. The council agreed that if the Board of Elections would like to use the community center facility in the future they should be treated as other nonprofits and reserve the space. d. Draft Resolutions for Occupancy Tax and TDA Board Mr. Repp discussed the draft resolution involving the establishment of an occupancy tax and a tourism development authority board to oversee the distribution of the tax proceeds. In the last general assembly session, the town was given authority to be able to levy the tax. The town attorney drafted a resolution to levy an occupancy tax that can only be enacted after a public hearing and public comment before proceeding toward adoption of it. There is also a resolution to create the tourism development authority, a three-person board to meet on a quarterly basis to say that money can only be spent on tourism related expenses, which is the community center. This is a requirement of the statute. Mr. Repp indicated that it is up to the council to determine whether they would like to proceed or hold adoption of the resolutions in reserve until there is a hotel. Mayor Pro Tem DeLong does not see the urgency until there is a hotel. He wants to make sure the public has an opportunity to have a say and make sure to have a public meeting. Councilor Board stated it would be difficult to enforce and Financial Director Mrs. Haran agreed that it would be difficult to regulate. Mr. Repp indicated that they can speak with other communities who collect this tax. Mayor Toner stated that it is best to be prepared and have it in place because development will occur. The council agreed to move forward with a public hearing and schedule a public meeting/hearing for the September public meeting so that there is sufficient notice for the public. Depending on results of the public meeting, the earliest it would be considered would be the October meeting. Mayor Toner wants to ensure that Page 2 of 4  residents know what the occupancy tax entails so that they do not feel that this is an additional property tax. The occupancy tax only applies to short-term rentals. e. Shredding Day Wrap-Up & 2025 Schedule (Tentative April 19 & May 3, 2025) Mr. Repp discussed the two-day shredding event. There were an estimated 800 cars over the two days. The event ran well compared to the previous year. Kudos were given to the conservancy and fire department volunteers who helped make it efficient. The first hour and fifteen minutes was the busiest time. By 10:15 there was no line. Iron Mountain operators had a great attitude and there was no malfunction of trucks on either day. Everything was well organized. Mayor Toner stated that there would be a luncheon for the fire/police on August 6th as a thank you for their assistance with events. The dates of April 19th and May 3rd 2025 have been scheduled as the dates for next year’s shredding event. A contract has been signed with Iron Mountain reserving those dates. The 25th anniversary events worked out well. Mayor Toner stated that the car show was fabulous. There were 113 classic cars on display, and it had a lot of participation. Roger Albizou coordinated the event, and it was extremely well organized. She also stated that 500 people attended the Concert at Woodlands Park. There were issues noted with set up, security, garbage collection, and the sprinkler system. The POA was supposed to have all of this in place, not the town. Mayor Toner indicated that the conservancy scheduled their oyster event at the same time as the town’s children’s golf event which took children away from the golf event. The fireworks were fabulous and well received. People were complimentary and there was no traffic. Opening Legacy Park helped. There were no issues with the golf course. Finance Update Financial Director, Pauline Haran discussed parameters of the Veterans Day breakfast. American Legion thinks it is great that the town is willing to do this veteran’s breakfast. Mayor Pro Tem DeLong suggested letting the Legion send invitations out ahead of time. Since it is a Legion event, they can let the town know how many people to expect. Mr. Repp discussed that that the access road project is ready to go to bid. The town is waiting to hear from Barnhill about when they are planning to do their work at the entrance because the town has to tie into it. Mayor Toner asked if they have any idea of Barnhill’s timeline and Mr. Repp stated that he is waiting to hear back. Mayor Toner stated that two months ago they had said 2-3 weeks. Barnhill will be meeting with the POA to begin work on the entrance on the other side of 211 going into the main gate. As soon as Mr. Repp has a time from Barnhill when they will do the work the town will begin the advertisement process for the project and get it underway with the contractor. Adjournment Mayor Toner adjourned the Work Session at 11:14 am. Page 3 of 4 Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Jeff Repp, Town Manager Jean R. Toner, Mayor Page 4 of 4