City Council

MINUTES WENTWORTH TOWN COUNCIL October 5, 2021 7:00 pm Wentworth Town Hall 124 Peach Tree Road, Wentworth NC The Wentworth Town Council held their regularly scheduled monthly meeting at the Wentworth Town Hall, on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 at 7:00pm. Council Members Present: Mayor Dennis Paschal Jr., Mayor Pro Tem Evelyn Conner, Cheryl Moore, Dennis Paschal III, Iris Powell Council Members Absent: A quorum was met. Staff Present: George Murphy Sr., Town Administrator Yvonne Russell, Town Clerk & Finance Officer Others Present: Ellis Martin, Attorney – Fox Rothschild LLP Article I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Dennis Paschal Jr. called the meeting to order. Article II. INVOCATION Mayor Paschal gave the invocation. Article III. APPROVAL OF TOWN COUNCIL AGENDA A. Requests and Petitions of Citizens B. Approve/ Amend Agenda Mayor Paschal made a MOTION to add Discussion/Consideration of Allowing Schools to Use Wentworth Park Facilities under New Business A., and Discussion/Consideration of Renting the Wentworth Consolidated School Gym to RAGE Youth Basketball League under New Business B. Mayor Pro Tem Conner seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes October 5, 2021 – pg. 1 Article IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Town Council Meeting – September 7, 2021 Mayor Pro Tem Conner made a MOTION, “The minutes stand approved as written”. Mayor Paschal seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Article V. OLD BUSINESS A. Discussion of Landscaping at Wentworth Park Foresa Coe, member of the Wentworth Appearance Committee, addressed Council. She discussed the need for shade trees around benches, picnic tables and the amphitheater viewing area in the Wentworth Park. Ms. Coe suggested there would need to be 16 to 20 trees planted and she recommended using Oak or Maple. Based on preliminary pricing Ms. Coe has acquired, she believes 16 – 20 trees would cost approximately $6,000 - $7,000. That would be for ball and burlap trees that are approximately $300 each. Mayor Paschal mentioned a nearby tree farm and said he would try to talk to someone there. Ms. Coe said she spoke to the Interim Director of the Environmental and Planning program at Rockingham Community College and was told that the program would be interested in students working with the Town to install trees in the park; however, the lab for that program does not start until Spring of next semester and is contingent upon how many students register for the program. Council discussed whether or not to plant all of the trees at one time and how many quotes to get before purchasing the trees. Mayor Paschal said the trees would probably have a better chance of surviving if they were planted in the fall. Mayor Pro Tem Conner said she would like to keep the RCC program in mind for plantings of flowers and other things in the park. Mayor Paschal asked, “What if we approve $7,000 and then see if we can find something cheaper?” He added, “That way we’ll have it approved if we need to go that way. If we can find a place to save a little money then we will”. Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We approve up to $7,000.00 for landscaping in the Wentworth Park”. Mayor Pro Tem Conner seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Mayor Paschal asked Ms. Coe to continue her work with the park landscaping project. Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes October 5, 2021 – pg. 2 Article V. OLD BUSINESS A. Discussion of Christmas in the Park Yvonne Russell, Town Clerk & Finance Officer, discussed decorative lighting for the event. She said she found led snowflake displays for the light poles throughout the park. The displays are approximately 2.5’ in diameter and are priced at $335 each. There are 11 light poles in the park. Ms. Russell noted that in her research she discovered that buying string lights and wreaths would cost as much or more than the snowflake displays. Councilmember Paschal III, who is also working on the Christmas in the Park event, shared his discussions with Wentworth Elementary staff. Councilmember Paschal explained that last year Wentworth Elementary held a drive-through Christmas event with decorations and teachers dressed in character costumes. There were stations set up along the drive-through route with giveaways and craft projects. Mr. Paschal said the Wentworth Elementary staff are very interested in partnering with the Town for the Christmas in the Park event. The following are just some of the ideas he discussed with them:  Mini-parade with golf carts  Holiday cookie decorating station  Story time station  Hot chocolate and apple cider  Band/Chorus performing Christmas music  Letters to Santa station  Invite Rockingham Middle and High School students to get involved with the event by having band, chorus, or drama students dress in costume and walk around the park Council discussed holding the event on a Friday evening and the size of entries in the mini-parade. It was decided that golf carts and atvs would be allowed and they will be allowed to pull a small trailer under 8 feet in length. Mayor Paschal said the parade needs to be small so that we have room in the park for it. Ms. Russell said she has asked the landscaper that the Town contracts with to find a large tree for the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the event. Mayor Pro Tem Conner told Ms. Russell that Council would like the led snowflake displays for all 11 light poles in the park. Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We meet with the schools and report back at the November Council meeting”. Mayor Pro Tem Conner seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes October 5, 2021 – pg. 3 Article VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Discussion/Consideration of Allowing Schools to Use Wentworth Park Facilities Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We waive the rental fee for schools to use the park”. Mayor Pro Tem Conner seconded the motion. George Murphy, Town Administrator asked, “Is that Monday through Friday during school hours?” Mayor Paschal replied, “I’d say anytime. If they end up having something on the weekend and we don’t already have something planned…any time they want to use it.” Town Attorney Ellis Martin suggested adding “at the discretion of the Town of Wentworth”. Mayor Paschal amended his MOTION to add, “It will be at the discretion of the Town of Wentworth as far as scheduling goes to avoid any conflicts”. Mr. Murphy asked, “Is that extended to just schools?” He noted the Central Office has used the picnic shelter. Mayor Paschal stated, “Right now we’re just doing the schools”. Mayor Pro Tem Conner seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Article VI. NEW BUSINESS B. Discussion/Consideration of Renting the Wentworth Consolidated School Gym to RAGE Youth Basketball League Mayor Paschal discussed his meeting with members of the RAGE Youth Basketball League. They are interested in using the gym for practice. He noted that RAGE has their own liability insurance. Mr. Murphy handed out a rental application that Mayor Paschal asked him to draft. Mr. Murphy asked Mr. Martin if he if he had any insights or suggestions regarding the draft rental application. Mr. Martin did not. Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We approve lease of the gym and use the Facilities Use Agreement for the Wentworth Consolidated School Gym”. Mayor Pro Tem Conner seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. (Note: The Facilities Use Agreement for the Wentworth Consolidated School Gym is herein incorporated and made a part of these minutes.) Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes October 5, 2021 – pg. 4 Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes October 5, 2021 – pg. 5 Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes October 5, 2021 – pg. 6 Article VII. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no comments. Article VIII. ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Paschal made the following announcements:  The next regular meeting of the Wentworth Planning Board is scheduled for Tuesday, October 19, 2021, at 7:00 pm at the Wentworth Town Hall.  The next regular meeting of the Wentworth Town Council is scheduled for Thursday, November 4, 2021, at 7:00 pm at the Wentworth Town Hall.  Wentworth Town Council Municipal Elections will be held on November 2, 2021. Polls open at 6:30am and close at 7:30pm. One Stop – Wentworth Voting will be held at the Board of Elections Office 240 Cherokee Camp Road (Located in Wentworth – Behind the Governmental Center) October 14, 2021 – October 30, 2021. For more information contact the Board of Elections at 336-342-8107. Article IX. ADJOURN Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We adjourn”. Councilmember Powell seconded the motion, and the meeting adjourned. Respectfully Submitted By: Approved By: _______________________ __________________________ Yvonne Russell, NCCMC Dennis Paschal, Jr. Town Clerk Mayor Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes October 5, 2021 – pg. 7