Board of Commissioners

Town of Swansboro Board of Commissioners September 12, 2022, Regular Meeting In attendance: Mayor John Davis, Mayor Pro Tem Frank Tursi, Commissioner PJ Pugliese, Commissioner Larry Philpott, Mayor Pro Tem Tursi, Commissioner Pat Turner, and Commissioner Jeffrey Conaway. ********************************** Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 5:30 pm. Mayor Davis led the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comment John Dunn of 1261 Mt. Pleasant Road addressed the board regarding the amount his yearly property tax increased and wanted to know details about how the Town budget was handled with the increases. Adoption of Agenda and Consent Items On a motion by Commissioner Tuner, seconded by Commissioner Philpott, the agenda and the below consent item were adopted unanimously. - Resolution Approving the Plan to Annex Certain Real Property - Stormwater Planning Application Assistance Resolution of Support Appointments/Recognitions/Presentations Employee Introductions Public Works Director Gerald Bates introduced his two new employees, EJ McHale and Aaron Swain. Parks & Recreation Director Anna Stanley introduced her new employees Marissa VanDyke and Jason Demyer. Public Hearing Petition for Voluntary Annexation – Swansgate Subdivision Town Clerk Alissa Fender reviewed that the property owners of Swansgate subdivision petitioned to voluntary annex consolidated real property known as the Swansgate Subdivision. The consolidated real property was zoned R20SF and was located within the ETJ – contiguous to the town limits. Board members shared concerns about accepting the subdivision for annexation without knowing the condition of the streets and stormwater facilities. Attorney Parson shared that annexation occurs before any facilities are accepted, once annexed the developer is responsible for petition the Town of acceptance of the facilities to which the Town is not obligated to accept until they are brough up to the appropriate standard. The public hearing was opened at 5:55 pm Page 1 of 3 Thomas Periati of Meeting Park Lane shared that as a resident of the Charleston Park subdivision, he suffers from repairs that aren't being made by the Town because the developer did not petition for street or stormwater acceptance. He would like to know how to be deannexed so that he doesn't continue pay taxes for services that he doesn't receive. He urged the board not to do that same thing to Swansgate. Jonathan McDaniel of Tidewater and Associates, representative of the Swansgate developer, shared that his firm did complete inspections during the construction of the roads to state standards, and he issued a street certification. The process of requesting annexation must occur before the street dedication is processed in order for the developer to know which entity would be responsible. If not annexed that would result in the HOA being responsible thus resulting in an increase in their dues. The stormwater permit was already in the process of being transferred to the HOA. In response to an inquiry from the Board, Attorney Parson shared that the boards recourse if there are issues with infrastructure are the bonds that should be in place. The public hearing was closed at 6:01 pm On a motion by Commissioner Turner, seconded by Commissioner Pugliese, Ordinance 2022-O13 annexing the Swansgate Subdivision as described by its legal description and all exhibits into the Swansboro Town Limits was approved unanimously. Business Non-Consent Future Agenda Items Future agenda items were shared for visibility and comment. In addition, an opportunity was provided for the Board to introduce items of interest and subsequent direction for placement on future agendas. The following items were addressed: - The October 10, 2022, Regular Meeting was approved for cancellation. - The public hearing for Annexation of Certain Real Property owned by the Town was scheduled for the October 24, 2022, Regular meeting. Public Comment Citizens were offered an opportunity to address the Board regarding items not listed on the agenda. No comments were given. Board Comments Board members responded to Mr. Dunn’s public comments earlier in the meeting, addressing the tax increases, informing him that the town had held multiple public meetings on the budget and although there were revenue increases due to valuations of Page 2 of 3 property increasing the budget funded many items and increased due to many other factors. The board urged Mr. Dunn to contact town staff for further assistance. Commissioner Philpott shared that 5 RFQ’s were received for the EOC/Public Safety Building project an interview panel would be created from the EOC committee to complete interviews. Adjournment On a motion by Commissioner Philpott, seconded by Commissioner Turner the meeting adjourned at 6:16 pm. Page 3 of 3  Regular Meeting September 12, 2022 1 1. Please turn cell phones to “off” or “vibrate”. 2. The Board offers the public three opportunities to speak during the meeting: A comment period is offered at the beginning and end of the meeting. Please note that a separate opportunity is provided for those items requiring a public hearing. Public Hearing(s) – There are 1 public hearings scheduled for this meeting. 2 1  PUBLIC COMMENT Citizen opportunity to address the Board for items listed on the agenda. 3 AGENDA AND CONSENT ITEMS Action Needed: Motion to Adopt the Agenda as prepared (or amended) and approval of the Consent Items 4 2  Employee Introductions 5 PUBLIC HEARING Petition for Voluntary Annexation – Swansgate Subdivision The property owners of Swansgate subdivision have petitioned to voluntary annex consolidated real property known as Swansgate Subdivision. The consolidated real property is zoned R20SF and is currently located within the ETJ – contiguous to the town limits. Recommended Action: 1) Hold a public hearing; and 2) Motion to adopt Ordinance 2022-O13 annexing the Swansgate Subdivision as described by its legal description and all exhibits into the Swansboro Town Limits. Presenters: Alissa Fender- Town Clerk 6 3  NEW BUSINESS/NON-CONSENT Future Agenda Items Future agenda items are shared for visibility and comment. In addition, an opportunity is provided for the Board to introduce items of interest and subsequent direction for placement on future agendas. Action Needed: Discuss and provide any guidance Presenter: Alissa Fender – Town Clerk 7 PUBLIC COMMENT Citizen opportunity to address the Board. 8 4  MANAGER’S COMMENTS Paula Webb, Town Manager 9 BOARD COMMENTS Mayor John Davis Mayor Pro Tem Frank Tursi Commissioner Pat Turner Commissioner Harry “PJ” Pugliese Commissioner Larry Philpott Commissioner Jeffrey Conaway 10 5  CLOSED SESSION Motion to enter break out room for Closed Session pursuant to NCGS 143-318.11 (a)(?) …….. 11 ADJOURN 12 6