BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING

TOWN OF SYLVA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING Thursday, November 14, 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 Mary Gelbaugh, Mayor Pro-Tem Eric Ridenour, Town Attorney Mark Jones, Commissioner Johnny Phillips, Mayor Brad Waldrop, Commissioner ABSENT: CALL TO ORDER Mayor Phillips called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. STAFF PRESENT: Bernadette Peters (Economic Development Director) and Robbie Carter (Assistant Police Chief). VISITORS: Carol Hall and Chuck Hall APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Commissioner Brown made a motion to approve the agenda. 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. COMMISSIONER’S REPORT: Commissioner Jones noted the new street lights in town look good. Commissioner Estridge noted the Christmas tree looks fantastic. Commissioner Brown thanked public works for their work on the homecoming parade and treat street. MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor Phillips reported that FEMA has released their new flood maps and there were issues with where they placed a flood zone. MANAGER’S REPORT: Manager Dowling reported the following:  Manager Dowling has been working on applying for FEMA public assistance for the wall behind Town Hall and Public Works. She and Jake Scott met with a contact from NC Emergency management and Mayor Phillips, Jake, and Manager Dowling met with Congressman Edwards. They are very hopeful that FEMA will be able to fund this repair.  Bartlett Operations has started work on the pavilion at Bryson Park. The contract amount is $263,490. This is part of the SCIF grant received from the State budget. The Town is incredibly grateful to Senator Corbin and Representative Clampitt for the grant funding for Bryson Park and Allen Street. The pavilion renovation is expected to be complete by the end of March.  The public restrooms are very close to being completed. Cameras are being installed this week. The punch list walk through will be late this week or early next week. The Town expects a C.O. by the middle of next week.  Duke Energy is installing the new streetlights on Main Street. They are replacing between 6-9 lights per day. They should all be replaced by the end of the month. This has interrupted the Veteran banners and garland, but Public Works is coordinating.  Jake Scott and Manager Dowling will be attending the School of Government’s purchasing course in Asheville this Friday. Regular Board Meeting November 14, 2024  Town offices are closed for Thanksgiving Nov. 28 th and 29th.  The tree lighting is Nov. 29th at 6:00 p.m.  The Christmas Parade is Sunday, December 1st at 3:00 p.m.  Town offices will be closed for Christmas December 24-26th. NEW BUSINESS MAIN STREET—CREATING OUTDOOR RECREATION ECONOMIES STRATEGIC PLAN: The Creating Outdoor Recreation Economies Strategic Plan was developed with the NC Main Street program over the last year. Implementation of the plan has already started, but the Board needs to officially adopt the plan. Bernadette Peters gave a recap of the program at the last work session. Commissioner Estridge made a motion to approve the plan. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. MSSA FAÇADE GRANT CORRECTION: The Ilda facade grant award should have been $1,123 instead of $1,085.40. The $37.60 was a clerical error. The Board needs to approve the $1,123 award amount. Commissioner Waldrop made a motion to approve the correction. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. CHRISTMAS PARADE—BOARD PLANNING: The parade is Sunday, December 1st. Manager Dowling noted that board members will need to meet at Town Hall at 2:00 p.m. to walk to the parade lineup. SCHEDULE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING—DECEMBER 5, 2024 AT 1:00 P.M.: Commissioner Gelbaugh made a motion to schedule the meeting.. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. WORK SESSION AGENDA CHANGES: The Board needs to take official action to return to having two meetings a month if that is the pleasure of the Board. During the last work session, we discussed separating action items and items for discussion on the agenda. Commissioner Waldrop made a motion to return to having two board meetings a month instead of one of them being a work session. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. TWSA BOARD APPOINTMENT: Jeff Goss needs to be reappointed for a third term on the TWSA board. Jeff currently serves as Chairman. This will be the last term he is eligible to serve. Commissioner Gelbaugh made a motion to reappoint Jeff Goss to the TWSA board. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. FY 2025-2026 BUDGET CALENDAR: Commissioner Jones made a motion to approve the FY 2025-2026 budget calendar. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. SCHEDULE HOLIDAY LUNCH FOR DECEMBER 12, 2024 AT 12:00 P.M.: Commissioner Estridge made a motion to schedule the holiday lunch for December 12, 2024 at 12:00 P.M. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. CANCEL NOVEMBER 28, 2024 REGULAR BOARD MEETING: The November 28, 2024 Regular Board of Commissioner Meeting falls on the Thanksgiving holiday. Commissioner Gelbaugh made a motion to cancel the meeting. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. CANCEL NOVEMBER 28, 2024 PLANNING BOARD MEETING: The November 28, 2024 Planning Board Meeting falls on the Thanksgiving holiday. Commissioner Jones made a motion to cancel the meeting. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. CANCEL DECEMBER 26, 2024 REGULAR BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING: The December 26, 2024 Regular Board of Commissioners Meeting falls on the Christmas holiday. Commissioner Brown made a motion to cancel the meeting. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. CANCEL DECEMBER 26, 2024 PLANNING BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING: The December 26, 2024 Planning Board Meeting falls on the Christmas holiday. Commissioner Brown made a motion to cancel the meeting. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Waldrop made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:03 p.m. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. _____________________________________ _________________________________________ Johnny Phillips Amanda W. Murajda Mayor Town Clerk