BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION

TOWN OF SYLVA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION Thursday, October 24, 2024 at 9:00 AM 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 9:00 a.m. STAFF PRESENT: Jake Scott (Public Works Director), Bernadette Peters (Main Street Director) and Robbie Carter (Assistant Police Chief). VISITORS: None. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Brown made a motion to approve the agenda. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. COMMISSIONER’S REPORT Commissioner Gelbaugh reminded everyone that early voting continues through November 2, 2024. Commissioner Jones distributed Mountain Projects’ community report. Commissioner Estridge noted that streetlights on highway 107 have been working and thanked Jake Scott for working with Duke Energy on the poles. Commissioner Brown reported that a crew from Louisiana visited town and provided a hot meal for emergency services recently. He thanked this for visiting Sylva. MAYOR’S REPORT None. MANAGER’S REPORT: Manager Dowling reported the following:  Unfortunately, the skate ramp was not covered by insurance since it was located in an area not covered by the Town’s flood insurance. If it had been covered by insurance, the deductible would have been $50,000 and the equipment initially cost $10,000. The Board will need to surplus this on the next consent agenda so Public Works can dispose of it.  The new substantial completion date for the restroom is November 1st.  Dowling has submitted a Request for Public Assistance with FEMA. This is the first step in the process.  Audit site work has been rescheduled for November 4, 5, 12, 13, and 14 th. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT REPORT: Jake Scott reported the following: • Scott thanked all persons involved with cleanup after Hurricane Helene. • A contract has been completed with Bartlett Operations for work at Bryson Park. Bryson Park remains closed. • The Town is in the beginning phases of evaluating the Scotts Creek wall failure behind Town Hall. • Public Works continues to plan for upcoming town events. Regular Board Meeting October 24, 2024 POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORT: Robbie Carter, Assistant Police Chief, reported the following: • Officers Kirkland and McFalls began solo patrol on Wednesday, October 23 rd. • Sgt. Maleah Mathis has been awarded an intermediate law enforcement certificate. • Robbie Carter completed the Police Chiefs Institute • Just over 736 calls for the last month. • Mutual aid provided to Maggie Valley with their flood response during Hurricane Helene. • New vehicles will hopefully be delivered in the next week. FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT: None. MAIN STREET REPORT: Bernadette Peters reported the following: • Peters has been working with businesses during the hurricane outages. • Shopwnc.com is a website built in response to Hurricane Helene damage and closures. • The Creating Outdoor Recreation Economies Planning report will be presented to the board at the next meeting for approval. TWSA BOARD REPORT: Manager Dowling reported that TWSA has been focused on repairing storm damage and water outages from Hurricane Helene. PINNACLE PARK REPORT: Jake Scott reported that there were approximately twenty trees down from Hurricane Helene. The Public Works department cleared the trail of these trees. NEW BUSINESS—ACTION ITEMS EMERGENCY AMENDED EVENT STREET CLOSURE RESOLUTIONS: Manager Dowling explained that the Board will need to take action to amend the road closure resolutions for Treat Street and WCU’s Homecoming Parade. For safety reasons, the detour will now begin at 3:00 p.m. and cars parked on Main Street will still be able to exit up until the start of the event. Commissioner Gelbaugh made a motion to approve the resolutions. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. NEW BUSINESS—DISCUSSION ONLY DISCUSSION OF WORK SESSION AGENDA: Mayor Phillips explained that continuing to have the morning meeting as a work session is prohibiting the Town from taking action on important items. The board discussed having an agenda that would be split between action and non-action items. They were in agreement to have a split agenda for the morning meetings. This will be on the next agenda for a vote. FY 2025-2026 BUDGET CALENDAR—REVIEW ONLY: Manager Dowling presented the FY 2025-2026 budget calendar and asked board members to review prior to the next meeting. CLOSED SESSION: Commissioner Gelbaugh made a motion to enter closed session pursuant to NCGS. 143-318-11(a)(4) on economic development at 9:29 a.m. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. Commissioner Estridge made a motion to come out of closed session. The motion carried with a unanimous vote and the Board entered into regular session at 10:18 a.m. No action was taken during closed session. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Waldrop made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:19 a.m. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. _____________________________________ _________________________________________ Johnny Phillips Amanda W. Murajda Mayor Town Clerk