City Council

MINUTES WENTWORTH TOWN COUNCIL June 7, 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, June 7, 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: Yvonne Russell, Town Clerk & Finance Officer Others Present: Ellis Martin, Attorney, Fox Rothschild LLP – Town of Wentworth Jason Brooks – Rockingham Co Emergency Management Roy Sawyers – Rockingham Update (Media) Article I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Dennis Paschal, Jr. called the meeting to order. Article II. INVOCATION Councilmember Dennis Paschal, III 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 approve the Agenda as written”. Councilmember Paschal III seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Article IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Town Council Meeting – May 3, 2022 Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “The minutes stand approved as written”. Councilmember Daryl Crowder seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2022 – pg. 1 Article V. PUBLIC HEARING(S) A. Submission/Adoption of Budget Ordinance for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Mayor Paschal opened the public hearing. There were no questions or comments regarding the Budget Ordinance. Mayor Paschal closed the public hearing. Mayor Paschal made MOTION, “We adopt the Budget Ordinance for Fiscal Year 2022 – 2023.” Mayor Pro Tem Evelyn Conner and Councilmember Dennis Paschal III seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. (Note: The Budget Ordinance for FY 2022–2023 is herein incorporated and made a part of these minutes.) Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2022 – pg. 2 Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2022 – pg. 3 Article VI. OLD BUSINESS There was no old business. Article VII. NEW BUSINESS A. Discussion of Debris Removal from F1 Tornado on May 6, 2022 Yvonne Russell, Town Clerk/Finance Officer informed Council that the Town of Wentworth qualifies to request assistance from the State for removal of debris left from the F1 tornado that touched down in Wentworth on May 6, 2022. Ms. Russell and Mayor Paschal recently participated in a virtual meeting with Rockingham County Emergency Management and NC Emergency Management officials to discuss the damage assessment and cost estimate made by disaster recovery company, SDR. Ms. Russell said the Town would hire the company to remove the debris, and the State would reimburse the Town 75% of the cost of removing the debris. She asked Jason Brooks of Rockingham County Emergency Management to elaborate. Mr. Brooks replied, “If the Town chooses to go forward, like she said, it is a 75/25 shared cost. The State would pay 75%, the Town 25%. The company that came and gave all the estimates, they would directly bill the County for their parts, so all the debris would still be picked up. Wentworth Street, Salem Church Road, Stokes Road, all that being in the County, they would direct bill the County for that. The County does not qualify for this type of assistance. The way they look at the qualification is you have to be able to show that you would spend at least 1% of your annual budget. With the estimate from them, it was more than 1% of the Town of Wentworth’s budget and that qualifies for the assistance.” He added, “Unfortunately it is well below 1% of the County’s.” Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2022 – pg. 4  Ms. Russell said she previously sent a letter requesting assistance to the NC Emergency Management Department with the original quote for debris removal that included the County areas. She explained that after meeting with NC Emergency Management Officials again, she was informed that only the estimate for areas inside the town limits of Wentworth should be included in the request since the County does not qualify for assistance and would be billed separately. Ms. Russell said she will need to send an amendment to the letter with the estimate for Wentworth debris only, and an estimate for chipping fees which were not included in the original estimate from SDR. She asked Mr. Brooks to explain the chipping fees. Mr. Brooks explained, “Their estimate did not include tipping fees. The landfill will be a temporary storage site for the material. That material has to be ground up, so that’s what they are calling a “chipping fee”. According to the landfill, it cannot be left on site so it will have to be hauled away from that site.” He added, “SDR will have to give another estimate on whether they’ll be the ones that will do the grinding process and if they’re going to be the ones to haul it off. All of that would still fall under the 75/25 coverage, so whatever the final figure comes out to be, if it came out to be that $260,000, it would still be a 75/25, but it would only be for what is in the Town of Wentworth.” Mayor Paschal asked, “When they haul it off is there a chance that they’ll haul it somewhere there is a chance of more tipping fees?” Mr. Brooks replied, “It should not be. I’ve never dealt with one where they had to haul it once they ground it up and converted it to mulch. When we did this before the State hauled it, and there were alternate sites they carried it to, but it was not ground up and removed from that site. The other was the City of Eden when they were hit by a tornado. They had a storage facility on City property. When they ground it up, they used it as mulch for the City properties. I still don’t really know if we cannot reach out to them and see if that cannot be an avenue instead of having to pay to have it hauled. Maybe offer it to the other cities to use as mulch. It would depend on what the landfill’s regulation is on that. Can they give it away or does it have to be removed.” Mayor Paschal said, “We’ll get an updated cost on the tipping fees and chipping.” Ms. Russell said, “I just need to know if Council wants to proceed with getting the assistance and getting that company to pick up the debris that’s going to be pushed to the road.” Mayor Paschal mentioned publishing a Public Service Announcement to let citizens know when the debris removal will take place. Mayor Paschal referenced the estimate of $260,000, and asked what would be 25% of that. Ms. Russell replied, “$65,000.00.” Mayor Paschal said, “We’ve got that in the general fund plus we’ve got some extra from grant money.” Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2022 – pg. 5  Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “To move ahead with having Yvonne submit the application for the grant to fund the part of cleaning up the debris on the roadside in the Town of Wentworth.” Councilmember Daryl Crowder seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Article VII. NEW BUSINESS B. Consideration of Appointment to the Wentworth Planning Board & Board of Adjustment 1. Venus Carter - 631 Camp Dan Valley Road Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We appoint Venus Carter to the Wentworth Planning Board and Board of Adjustment.” Mayor Pro Tem Conner seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Article VII. NEW BUSINESS C. Consideration of Job Description for the Position of Deputy Clerk/ Accounting Clerk Councilmember Paschal III made a MOTION, “We approve the job description for the position of Accounting Clerk / Deputy Clerk with a salary range of $30,000.00 - $40,000.00 plus benefits.” Mayor Paschal seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. (Note: The Job Description for the Position of Deputy Clerk/ Accounting Clerk.) 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(Note: The Personnel Committee Memorandum regarding the employee performance evaluation for the Town Clerk/ Budget-Finance Officer is herein incorporated and made a part of these minutes.) Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2022 – pg. 15 Article VII. NEW BUSINESS E. Consideration of Audit Contract for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2022 Yvonne Russell, Town Clerk & Finance Officer, reviewed the annual audit contract. The contract with Rouse, Rouse, Rouse, & Gardner is for the total amount of $11,750.00. Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We approve the audit contract for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2022.” Mayor Pro Tem Conner seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Article VII. NEW BUSINESS F. Wentworth Park 1. Consideration of Amendment to Farmers Market Rules & Regulations – Start Date Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We amend the Farmers Market Rules and Regulations to have a market start date of May 1st.” Councilmember Paschal III seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. 2. Discussion of Vending Machines at Wentworth Park Town Council discussed the benefits of having vending machines at the Park, and asked Ms. Russell to investigate the possibility of putting a beverage vending machine near the picnic shelter. 3. Discussion of Automated Gates at Park Entrance and Exit Ms. Russell reported a quote for automating the existing gates at the Park to open at dawn and close at dusk. The quote from Asheboro Doors for an automated swing gate operator for each of the entrance and exit gates at the Park is $12,229.56. Ms. Russell noted that there are enough funds left in Capital Outlay to cover the cost since the gym repairs have not taken up the $50,000 that was budgeted for FY 21- 22. Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We get Asheboro Doors to install automated gates at the Wentworth Park entrance and exit.” Mayor Pro Tem Conner seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. 4. Consideration of Purchasing a Golf Car with Cargo Bed Ms. Russell reviewed quotes from Brad’s Golf Cars located in Belews Lake, NC. The first quote was $6,600.00 for a used 2018 Club Car Precedent with new batteries, small rear cargo bed, short top, fold-down windshield and battery charger. The second quote was $15,000.00 for a new Club Car Carry All with everything the used 2018 car has but with a much larger cargo bed. Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2022 – pg. 16  Councilmember Cheryl Moore asked Ms. Russell if she felt the first car quoted would be sufficient. Ms. Russell said it would probably be sufficient for what she needed to do at the park, but maybe not for some of the heavier maintenance work Mayor Paschal would do on the walking trail. Mayor Paschal explained that he plans to get up some of the fallen branches and trees, and cut down some small trees that are leaning over the trail. A larger cargo area would be helpful to haul the wood out after it was cut. Mayor Paschal said it could also be used for outdoor and lawn maintenance at the Wentworth Consolidated School. Councilmember Moore said, “Well if you’re going to get one it’s going to last a long time so you might as well get a good one.” Councilmember Moore asked, “Would that come out of that $50,000.00?” Ms. Russell said, “If you want to get it now, yes.” Councilmember Paschal asked where the golf car would be stored. Ms. Russell suggested the covered patio at Town Hall. Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We have Yvonne check into purchasing a golf car or side by side with a cargo bed and non-aggressive tires in a price range up to $16,000.” Mayor Pro Tem Conner seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion carried. Article VIII. PUBLIC COMMENTS No one signed the speaker register for public comments. Article IX. ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Paschal made the following announcements:  The next regular meeting of the Wentworth Planning Board is scheduled for Tuesday, June 16, 2022, at 7:00 pm at the Wentworth Town Hall.  The next regular meeting of the Wentworth Town Council is scheduled for Tuesday, July 12, 2022, at 7:00 pm at the Wentworth Town Hall.  The Wentworth Town Hall will be closed Monday, July 4, 2022, in observance of Independence Day. Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2022 – pg. 17 Article X. ADJOURN Mayor Paschal made a MOTION, “We adjourn”. Mayor Pro Tem Conner seconded the motion, and the meeting adjourned. Respectfully Submitted By: __________________________ Yvonne Russell, NCCMC Town Clerk Approved By: _______________________ Dennis Paschal, Jr. Mayor Wentworth Council Meeting Minutes June 7, 2022 – pg. 18