Board of Commissioners

Town of Swansboro Board of Commissioners April 24, 2023, Regular Meeting Minutes In attendance: Mayor John Davis, Mayor Pro Tem Frank Tursi, Commissioner PJ Pugliese, Commissioner Larry Philpott, Commissioner Pat Turner, and Commissioner Jeffrey Conaway. ********************************** Call to Order/Opening Prayer/Pledge The meeting was called to order at 5:30 pm. Mayor Davis led the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comment Citizens were offered an opportunity to address the Board regarding items listed on the agenda. No comments were given. Adoption of Agenda and Consent Items On a motion by Commissioner Philpott, seconded by Commissioner Conaway, the agenda and the below consent item was approved unanimously. - January 9, 2023, Regular Meeting Minutes Appointments/Recognitions/Presentations Employees of the Quarter Fire Chief Randall shared that Ethan Polk was selected at the Fire Departments employee of the quarter. Mr. Polk had been a part time member of the department since 2018 and had over 400 hours of duty. Additionally, he most recently received a lifesaving award. Police Chief Taylor shared that Teresa Stanley was selected as the Police Departments employee of the quarter. She started with the department in 2020 and has been very valuable at answering the phones and greeting the public. Proclamations Mayor Davis acknowledged Administrative Professionals Week April 23-29th, Municipal Clerks Week April 30-May 5th, and International Firefighters Day May 4th. Board members shared their appreciation for Admin staff, Clerks, and firefighters. Board Appointments Town Clerk Fender reviewed that due to a recent resignation that affected two boards, appointments for an in-town vacancy on the Planning Board and in-town ALT vacancy on the Board of Adjustment was needed. A Talent Bank Sheet was provided for those citizens with an interest in serving. Page 1 of 3 On a motion by Commissioner Philpott, seconded by Commissioner Conaway, John Fitzgerald was unanimously appointed to the in-town alternate seat on the Board of Adjustment. On a motion by Commissioner Conaway, seconded by Commissioner Philpot, Clara Abalos was unanimously appointed to the in-town seat on the Planning Board. Business Non-Consent GFL Q&A and Discussion Daniel Berry with GFL addressed the board regarding recent issues that had arisen with garbage collection and the quality of service. He shared that over the past weeks the company has put several procedures in place and felt confident that these would alleviate issues and poor quality. Those procedures included: - Addressed vehicles that were causing debris to fall out of the truck. - Any issues were to be reported to him and copied to 3 other employees to ensure handled. - Spoke with drivers about the situations. Community Meetings Discussion At its February 13, 2023, meeting, Board members expressed desire to add discussion on facilitation of community meetings such as those currently being held monthly by Mayor John Davis. It was suggested that the board sponsor such meetings and discuss how they would be structured and ways to connect with the community. Board members provided the following suggestions: - Hold the meeting monthly, in the evening and serve refreshments. - Target certain communities throughout town at different times. - Location considerations could be the Recreation Center or at a local restaurant. - Specify a certain topic for each meeting. Attorney Parsons shared that the City of Havelock held a similar meeting in an area restaurant and attendees were responsible for their own food and/or drinks. The meeting is treated like a special meeting and notice was given. The direction provided was for staff to research the cost of providing refreshments and locations where these meetings could be facilitated. Page 2 of 3 Future Agenda Topics Future agenda items were 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. The following items were added to the agenda by consensus. - Revisit the Wayfinding signs project. - Budget Workshop tentatively scheduled for May 17, 2023, from 8 am to noon. Mayor Pro Tem Tursi suggested that the Planning Board begin working on creating a Wetlands policy which was one of the items identified in the Land Use Plan update. Regarding High School recognitions, the board agreed that once the form was distributed to the school for nominations the cut off for submission would be two weeks. Public Comment Citizens were offered an opportunity to address the Board regarding items not listed on the agenda. No comments were given. Board Comments Mayor Davis requested that Chief Randall provide an update on the Fire Department Community meetings he had scheduled. Chief Randall shared that citizens were invited to an informational session and community workgroup to assist in developing the 2023-2028 Fire Department Strategic Plan. Input will help build and reinforce organizational goals, objectives, and priorities. There were 3 sessions scheduled. - Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. Swansboro Town Hall Board Room - Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. Swansboro Town Hall Board Room - Tuesday, May 23, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. Swansboro Town Hall Board Room Adjournment On a motion by Mayor Pro Tem Tursi, seconded by Commissioner Turner, the meeting adjourned at 6:47 pm. Page 3 of 3  Regular Meeting April 24, 2023 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 no 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 of the Quarter Presenter: Jacob Randall- Fire Chief 5 Employee of the Quarter Presenter: Dwayne Taylor- Police Chief 6 3  Recognitions Administrative Professional Week Municipal Clerks Week International Firefighter’s Day Presenter: Mayor John Davis 7 Appointments Board Appointments Due to a recent resignation that affected two boards, appointments for an in- town vacancy on the Planning Board and in-town ALT vacancy on the Board of Adjustment is needed. A Talent Bank Sheet is provided for those citizens with an interest in serving. Recommended Action: 1. Consider appointment to the Planning Board 2. Consider appointment to the Board of Adjustment Presenter: Alissa Fender – Town Clerk 8 4  GFL Q&A and Discussion 9 Business/Non-Consent Community Meetings Discussion At its February 13, 2023, meeting, Board members expressed desire to add discussion on facilitation of community meetings such as those currently being held monthly by Mayor John Davis. It was suggested that the board sponsor such meetings and discuss how they would be structured and ways to connect with the community. Recommended Action: : Discuss and provide any guidance Presenter: Alissa Fender – Town Clerk 10 5  NEW BUSINESS/NON-CONSENT Future Agenda Topics 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 11 PUBLIC COMMENT Citizen opportunity to address the Board. 12 6  MANAGER’S COMMENTS Paula Webb, Town Manager 13 BOARD COMMENTS Mayor John Davis Mayor Pro Tem Frank Tursi Commissioner Pat Turner Commissioner Harry “PJ” Pugliese Commissioner Larry Philpott Commissioner Jeffrey Conaway 14 7  ADJOURN 15 8