BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING

TOWN OF SYLVA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 5:30 PM Board Room, 83 Allen Street Sylva, North Carolina MINUTES PRESENT: Jonathan Brown, Commissioner Paige Dowling, Town Manager Blitz Estridge, Commissioner Amanda Murajda, Town Clerk Mark Jones, Commissioner Eric Ridenour, Town Attorney Johnny Phillips, Mayor ABSENT: Mary Gelbaugh, Mayor Pro-Tem Brad Waldrop, Commissioner CALL TO ORDER Mayor Phillips called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. STAFF PRESENT: Robbie Carter (Assistant Police Chief) and Aimee Sumner (Lieutenant). VISITORS: Luther Jones, Travis Rountree, Nelia Waldrum, Cathy Stillwell Gibson, Ben Guiney, Kristen Caplinger, John Caplinger, Destri Leger, Mardy Ashe, Patrick Cochran, Blair Smoker and Natalie Newman. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Jones made a motion to add an item to the agenda to discuss the local ABC distribution rates. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. Commissioner Estridge made a motion to approve the agenda as amended. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA Commissioner Jones made a motion to approve the consent agenda. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None. MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor Phillips met with County Commissioners about changing the ABC distribution formula to 50/50 for the next 5 years. This would help the town during the Highway 107 construction phase. COMMISSIONER’S REPORT: Commissioner Jones reported that he met with Public Works and visited Bryson Park to see the construction of the new playground equipment. He also thanked everyone for attending the Matt Stillwell concert where over $4,000 was raised and a tremendous amount of canned food was collected for UCM. Commissioner Estridge reported that he and Commissioner Waldrop were continuing to work on the clean-up of cables and wiring on Mill Street. MANAGER’S REPORT: Manager Dowling reported the following:  The Town should have a contract soon from Bartlett Operations for the Bryson Park pavilion. The poured-in-place rubber is being installed this week on the playground.  Unfortunately, the Town did not receive the PARTF grant for Pinnacle Park this funding cycle, but the application for the Recreational Trails Program was submitted y Equinox last Friday. Sylva will need to submit the PARTF application again for a future funding cycle.  Employee flu shots are scheduled for October 8 th. PUBLIC HEARING: ORDINANCE AMENDMENT—CHAPTER 30: STREETS AND SIDEWALKS: Commissioner Estridge made a motion to open the public hearing. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. Luther Jones explained that he did not like the proposed changes and that they do not fix the problem. He added that it gives the Chief of Police and Town Manager judicial power that is not warranted. Ben Guiney also addressed the board and expressed his dislike of the ordinance. Destri Leger and Sarah Hirsch also expressed their disapproval of the proposed ordinance changes. Commissioner Jon Brown thanked everyone for their comments. He added that he had been in conversation with others since Regular Board Meeting September 12, 2024 the last board meeting and he felt it was important to make the Town a welcoming place. He noted that the ordinance as it stands is sufficient and changes are not needed. Being no further comment, Commissioner Estridge made a motion to close the hearing. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. NEW BUSINESS PROCLAMATION FOR CONSTITUTION WEEK 2024: Mardy Ashe addressed the board and gave a history of the Constitution. She requested the Town adopt a proclamation declaring September 17-23, 2024 Constitution Week. This request is made on behalf of the local DAR chapter. Commissioner Jones made a motion to approve the proclamation. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. SYLVA WEBSTERFEST 2024: Cathy Stillwell Gibson addressed the board about the upcoming Sylva Websterfest giving details of all events planned. ORDINANCE AMENDMENT—CHAPTER 30: STREETS AND SIDEWALKS: Mayor Phillips asked for the pleasure of the board. Commissioner Jones made a motion to deny the proposed revisions to the ordinance amendment of Chapter 30: Streets and Sidewalks. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. SPECIAL EVENT REQUEST: UNCOMPLICATED KITCHEN CROQUET TOURNAMENT—ALCOHOL REQUEST: Uncomplicated Kitchen is requesting to have Innovation Brewing serve beer at their croquet tournament and carnival October 5th at Bridge Park which needs board approval. Commissioner Estridge made a motion to approve the request. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. SPECIAL EVENT REQUEST: WARD’S PLUMBING EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION EVENT—ALCOHOL REQUEST: Ward Plumbing is requesting to have Innovation Brewing serve beer at their employee appreciation event October 2nd at Bridge Park which needs board approval. Commissioner Brown made a motion to approve the request. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. SPECIAL EVENT STREET CLOSURE RESOLUTIONS: EVENT STREET CLOSRUE RESOLUTIONS: (A) EVENT RESOLUTION—TREAT STREET: A request has been made by the Main Street Sylva Association to close Main Street for the purpose of having a “Treat Street” festival for Halloween on October 31, 2024. (B) EVENT RESOLUTION—WCU HOMECOMING PARADE: A request has been made by Western Carolina University to close Main Street for the purpose of having a homecoming parade on November 1, 2024. (C) PARADE RESOLUTION—CHRISTMAS PARADE: A request has been made by the Main Street Sylva Association to close Main Street for the purpose of having a Christmas parade on December 1, 2024. (D) EVENT RESOLUTION—GREENING UP THE MOUNTAINS: A request has been made by the Main Street Sylva Association to close Main Street for the purpose of having the Greening Up the Mountains festival on April 26, 2025. Commissioner Estridge made a motion to approve all of the event street closure resolutions. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. MSSA FAÇADE GRANT APPLICATIONS APPROVAL: Bernadette Peters presented two applications eligible for a 1:1 match up to $3,000 to the board for approval: 1. Kent Cranford—Motion Makers Building 2. Badley’s Chocolates Commissioner Brown made a motion to approve the two grant applications. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. FY 2024-2025 FEE SCHEDULE AMENDMENTS: Changes are proposed for Bridge Park fees for alcohol vendors, food trucks, and vendor tents. Staff are proposing these increases because the types of events Bridge Park is being rented for are changing and it is primarily used for large events. The park rental fee will remain the same at $50 for two hours (with a discount for town residents) but it is proposed to change the alcohol fee to $25.00 per vendor. The previous fee was a flat $50.00. The Town Board will continue to approve alcohol requests. Staff are also proposing adding a flat fee for up to six Regular Board Meeting September 12, 2024 food trucks of $75.00. In the past, food trucks were approved with a separate permit fee of $30.00-$65.00 based on the type of event. The final suggested change is adding a $100 fee if the park rental includes vendor tents. This is the rate for up to 30 tents, which is all that can feasibly fit for most events on the grass. These fees will help offset maintenance costs and electricity, but the fees will reflect the types of events the park is now being rented for. Commissioner Jones made a motion to approve the proposed changes. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. ABC DISTRIBUTION RATES: Mayor Phillips would like to request that Jackson County agree to change the ABC distribution rates to from 60/40 to 50/50 for the upcoming 5-year period of Highway 107 construction. Commissioner Jones made a motion to request that staff construct a request to be sent to Jackson County requesting that the distribution rated be changed for a period of 5 years. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Brown made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:07 p.m. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. _____________________________________ _________________________________________ Johnny Phillips Amanda W. Murajda Mayor Town Clerk