City Council

MINUTES WENTWORTH TOWN COUNCIL January 4, 2022 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, January 4, 2022 at 7:00pm. Council Members Present: Mayor Dennis Paschal Jr., Mayor Pro Tem Evelyn Conner, Daryl Crowder, Cheryl Moore, Dennis Paschal III 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 – Town of Wentworth Hiram J. Marziano, II, MPA CFM, Community Development Director La-Deidre Matthews, Associate, Fox Rothschild LLP – Strata Solar 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 ‘Consideration for Budget Amendment No. 1 for FY2021-2022’ under New Business E”. Mayor Pro Tem Evelyn Conner seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “To approve the amended agenda”. Councilmember Dennis Paschal III seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Article IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Town Council Meeting – November 4, 2021 B. Town Council Meeting – December 7, 2021 Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We approve both sets of minutes”. Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes January 4, 2022 – pg. 1  Mayor Pro Tem Conner seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Article V. OLD BUSINESS Article VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Consideration of Resolution Providing an Extension of Developmental Approval for Case #WW2018-001 (Solar Farm) until July 1, 2022 George Murphy explained the need for a Resolution to extend the Developmental Approval for a Solar Farm Special Use request from 2018. (Note: Mr. Murphy’s presentation is herein incorporated and made a part of these minutes.) Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes January 4, 2022 – pg. 2  Mr. Murphy read the proposed resolution. (Note: The Resolution Providing an Extension of Developmental Approval for Case #WW2018-001 is herein incorporated and made a part of these minutes.) Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes January 4, 2022 – pg. 3 Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes January 4, 2022 – pg. 4  Mayor Paschal asked if the applicant was firm on the proposed July 1, 2022 date. LaDeidra Matthews, Associate at Fox Rothschild LLP, representing Solar Strata, explained they are awaiting word from Duke Energy to obtain the permits they need to proceed and feel certain they will have them by July 1, 2022. Councilmember Paschal III asked if all the conditions placed on the original approval would still stand. Mr. Murphy explained the original approval and conditions therein will be the same, and the only change will be the deadline to obtain permits and start construction. Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We approve the Resolution Providing an Extension of Developmental Approval for Case #WW2018-001 (Solar Farm) until July 1, 2022”. Councilmember Daryl Crowder seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Article VI. NEW BUSINESS B. Consideration of Bank Proposals for Town of Wentworth Accounts Yvonne Russell, Town Clerk & Finance Officer reviewed a spreadsheet of the proposals received from three local banking institutions. She explained that each proposal was fairly lengthy and she only included the services the Town uses or would use in the spreadsheet. Ms. Russell’s recommendation listed in the spreadsheet reads, ‘HomeTrust Bank, in my opinion, is the preferable option because even though they do not offer interest on their Business Advanced Checking Account, they include two services that the other banks charge an additional fee for’. Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We have Yvonne contact HomeTrust Bank and see if we can get our accounts switched over to them”. Mayor Pro Tem Conner seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. (Note: Ms. Russell’s summary of bank proposals is herein incorporated and made a part of these minutes.) Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes January 4, 2022 – pg. 5 Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes January 4, 2022 – pg. 6 Article VI. NEW BUSINESS C. Discussion of Digital Sign for Wentworth Town Hall Mayor Paschal said he had mentioned a digital sign for the Town Hall to Ms. Russell and asked her to get some information together for Council. Ms. Russell showed Council some examples of digital sign designs and gave Council an estimate that the Town received in August 2021 from Graphic Solutions. The estimate from Graphic Solutions is $15,996.50 for installation of a 3’x6’ full color programmable LED Sign with base structure, laptop for WIFI communication and programming, a 5 year warranty, and temperature and light sensor for weather display and auto dimming at dusk. Councilmember Paschal III asked if the Central Business District Guidelines would come into play with a digital sign. He referenced the digital sign at Rockingham County Community College and said he seemed to remember some issues in getting their sign approved. Mayor Paschal said the issue there was with the size of the proposed sign. Ms. Russell explained that the Town property and the Community College’s property are not zoned Central Business District but are within the NC 87-65 Highway Overlay District. Mayor Paschal asked Ms. Russell to continue looking into a digital sign and get more estimates and information for the February meeting. (Note: Since the meeting, Ms. Russell has checked the Zoning Ordinance and found the guidelines for signs in the NC 87-65 Highway Overlay District. The guidelines state, “Other than the exceptions listed below, signs shall be in conformance with Chapter 2, Article X.” The guidelines address ‘Ground sign’ as such, “Any Ground sign braced to a post(s) shall be no greater than 36 square feet, shall measure at least 12 feet from ground level to the bottom of the sign face and shall be no taller than 18 feet. Any Ground sign attached to a contiguous structural base or planter box that is the same width or greater than the message portion of the sign shall be no greater than 24 square feet and no taller than six feet.”) Article VI. NEW BUSINESS D. Consideration of Appointments to Wentworth Boards/Committees 1. Wentworth Planning Board and Board of Adjustment a) Kyle Ambrose, 155 Rama Ln., current Alternate Member, to fill Daryl Crowder’s term Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We appoint Kyle Ambrose to fill Daryl Crowder’s term on the Wentworth Planning Board and Board of Adjustment”. Councilmember Crowder seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Ms. Russell reminded Council that Brian Benfield and Aaron Bailey’s terms on the Planning Board have expired and replacements need to be appointed at the February Council meeting. Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes January 4, 2022 – pg. 7 Article VI. NEW BUSINESS D. Consideration of Appointments to Wentworth Boards/Committees 2. Wentworth Minimum Housing Appeals Board Reappointments a) Howard Steed, 8660 NC 87 – 1 year term b) Wayne Seymour, 115 Cove Rd – 2 year term Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We approve Howard Steed for a 1 year term and Wayne Seymour for a 2 year term”. Mayor Pro Tem Conner seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Ms. Russell reminded Council that Daryl Crowder’s seat on the Minimum Housing Appeals Board needs to be filled since he is now on the Town Council. Article VI. NEW BUSINESS E. Consideration of Budget Amendment No. 1 for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Ms. Russell reviewed the Budget Amendment. Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We approve Budget Amendment No. 1 for Fiscal Year 2021-2022”. Mayor Pro Tem Conner seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. (Note: Budget Amendment No. 1 for FY 2021-22 is herein incorporated and made a part of these minutes.) Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes January 4, 2022 – pg. 8 Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes January 4, 2022 – pg. 9 Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes January 4, 2022 – pg. 10 Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes January 4, 2022 – pg. 11 Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes January 4, 2022 – pg. 12 Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes January 4, 2022 – pg. 13 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, January 18, 2022, at 7:00 pm at the Wentworth Town Hall.  The next regular meeting of the Wentworth Town Council is scheduled for Tuesday, February 1, 2022, at 7:00 pm at the Wentworth Town Hall.  The Wentworth Town Hall will be closed Monday, January 17, 2022 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Article IX. ADJOURN Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We adjourn”. Mayor Pro Tem Conner 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 January 4, 2022 – pg. 14