MINUTES
STATE
OF
The Henderson County
Board of Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at 5:30 p.m. in
the Commissioners' Conference Room of the
Those present were: Chairman
Also present were: Public
Information Officer Chris S. Coulson, Finance Director J. Carey McLelland, EMS
Director Terry Layne, Fire Marshal/Emergency Services Director Rocky Hyder, Tax
Collector Terry Lyda, Deputy Tax Collector Darlene Burgess, Deputy Clerk to the
Board Amy Brantley, Planning Director Judy Francis, Development and Enforcement
Services Director Toby Linville, Library Director Bill Snyder, Planner Autumn
Radcliff, and DSS Human Services Planner/Evaluator Peggy
Gray.
CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman Moyer called
the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Commissioner Young led
the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
INVOCATION
Commissioner Baldwin gave
the invocation.
INFORMAL PUBLIC COMMENTS
1. Dan Ames – Mr. Ames stated that in September, 2005, he
had submitted legal action against DSS for withholding what he believed was
deserved compensation. On October 24, 2005, Mr. Burrell had submitted a request
for an extension of 30 days. Statutes required that his case be heard in 15
days. He recently received a letter from Mr. Burrell, forwarding a copy of a
determination from the court case which had been heard on January 17th.
Mr. Ames had not been advised that the court case was scheduled. He asked how
the County was going to handle the situation. Chairman Moyer stated that the
Board could not answer that, but someone would be in touch with him within five
days.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT OF AGENDA
Chairman Moyer added
three items under Notification of Vacancies: Transportation Advisory Committee,
Hospital Corporation and Mountain Area Workforce Development Board. He also
added Discussion Item G-4: Strategic Plan, and Closed Session to discuss
personnel and approval of minutes.
Commissioner Messer
requested that Discussion Item G-2: EMS Billing, be moved to directly after
Discussion Item D, as it dealt with the Arc’Angel request.
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to adopt the agenda as amended. All voted in favor and
the motion carried.
CONSENT AGENDA
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to adopt the Consent Agenda. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
The Consent Agenda
consisted of the following:
Minutes
Draft
minutes were presented of the following meetings for the Board’s review and
approval:
·
January
12, 2006 – Special Called Meeting
·
January
19, 2006 – Special Called Meeting
·
January
25, 2006 – Special Called Meeting
Financial
Report – December 2005
Cash Balance Report –
December 2005
These reports were presented for
information and consent approval.
Non-departmental expenses were for
Property/Liability and Workman's Compensation insurance coverage that had been
or would be allocated out to each department during the fiscal year.
The YTD deficit in the Emergency 911
Communications Fund was due to FY2006 approved appropriations for the purchase
of Emergency Medical Dispatch software, necessary replacement of the 911
Center's dated Un-interruptible Power Supply-Battery Backup System and a GIS
software application update that links GIS data with the Computer Aided
Dispatch (CAD) system in the 911 Center.
The YTD deficit in the Mills River
Watershed Protection Project, the Mud Creek Watershed Restoration Fund, the
Emergency Watershed Protection Project and the Mills River Sewer Capital
Projects were all temporary due to timing differences in the expenditure of
funds and the subsequent requisition of Federal and State grant funds or Cane
Creek Water & Sewer District funds for the Mills River Sewer Project to
reimburse these expenditures.
The YTD deficit in the Historic
Courthouse Capital Project will be reimbursed by proceeds from the anticipated
sale of Certificates of Participation (COPS) in June 2006.
Henderson
County Public Schools Financial Report – December 2005
The Schools Report was presented for
information and consent approval.
Petition
for Addition to
The following petitions for
addition to the
It has been the practice of
this Board to accept road petitions and forward them to the NC Department of
Transportation for their review. It has also been the practice of the Board not
to ask NCDOT to change the priority for roads on the paving priority list.
LEPC
Annual Report
Pursuant to Article
VIII, Section I of the Henderson County Emergency Planning Committee by-laws,
the annual report of activities conducted in the 2005 calendar year was
submitted.
The
NCDOT and the Board of Commissioners held
a Public Hearing on the North Carolina Department of Transportation Fiscal Year
Dana Fire
and Rescue Lease Purchase Agreement
At the
A motion to approve the purchase of the E-One
mini-pumper was made by Rick Livingston and seconded by Richard Barnwell. It
passed with unanimous approval. Dana Fire and Rescue respectfully request the
Chairman sign the prepared letter to United Financial.
Improvement
Guarantee for
A.L.D.
Investors, Inc., owner and developer of the project, submitted an application
for an improvement guarantee for a subdivision titled Hickory Run. Hickory Run
is a 38-lot major subdivision on 85.35 acres of land off of
According
to Sections 170-38 and 170-39 of the Henderson County Subdivision Ordinance,
where the required improvements have not been completed or in lieu of
completing all of the required improvements, in order to submit a Final Plat
and also prior to Final Plat approval, the developer may post a performance
guarantee for the improvements. Section 170-38 of the Henderson County
Subdivision Ordinance also states that the installation of the improvements
must be completed within two years of the date of approval of the improvement
guarantee. The developer intends to post with the County an irrevocable letter
of credit in the amount of at least $62,822.00 to cover the cost of the
improvements ($50,257.00) as well as the required twenty-five percent (25%)
contingency ($12,565.00). The proposed completion date for the improvements is
October 6, 2006.
A
draft Performance Guarantee Agreement was presented for the Board’s
consideration. If the application is approved, the developer must submit an
irrevocable letter of credit in accordance with the terms of the Agreement.
Once the County receives a letter of credit in proper form, the relevant
parties must execute the Agreement. The
Improvement
Guarantee for
Wayne
Nix and Sons Investments, LLC, owner, submitted an application for an
improvement guarantee for a major subdivision named
According
to Sections 170-38 and 170-39 of the Henderson County Subdivision Ordinance,
where the required improvements have not been completed or in lieu of
completing all of the required improvements, in order to submit a Final Plat
and also prior to Final Plat approval, the developer may post a performance
guarantee for the improvements. Section 170-38 of the Henderson County
Subdivision Ordinance also states that the installation of the improvements
must be completed within two years of the date of approval of the improvement
guarantee. The developer intends to deposit with the County a certified check
in the amount of at least $42,500.00 to cover the cost of the improvements
($34,000.00) as well as the required twenty-five percent (25%) contingency
($8,500.00). The proposed completion date for the improvements is February 1,
2007.
A
draft Performance Guarantee Agreement was presented for the Board’s
consideration. If the application is
approved, the developer must deposit with the County the certified check in
accordance with the terms of the Agreement. Once the funds are submitted for
deposit, the
Surplus
Property Request
Benjamin Pace retired from the
Sheriff’s Department on January 1, 2006.
Mr. Pace had served with the Sheriff’s Department since May 19,
1977. The Sheriff had requested that
action be taken to surplus Mr. Pace’s duty weapon in order for Mr. Pace to be
able to obtain the weapon. It was noted
that this is common practice for retiring law enforcement officers and has been
a common practice in
Surplus
Property
Presented for the Board’s consideration
was a resolution declaring some vehicles and equipment no longer used by the
County as surplus property. The resolution also authorized Staff to advertise
for sale and dispose of the surplus property by electronic public auction at www.govdeals.com after the required
advertisement of the sale.
Presented for the Board’s consideration
was a resolution recognizing
Henderson
County Hospital Corporation –
Henderson County Hospital Corporation had
negotiated with the City of
Order on
Feldman addressing appeal
Presented for the Board’s consideration
was a draft order pertaining to the Board’s January 18, 2006 hearing on Clement
Feldman’s addressing appeal. At that meeting, the Board voted unanimously to
deny Mr. Feldman’s request for a property address change.
Water and
Sewer Line Extensions
The
City of
1. Orchards at Flat Rock, Offsite & Phase 1
– Water Line Extension
2. Orchards at Flat Rock,
Offsite & Phase 1 - Sewer Line Extension
The City of
Water Line
Extension
The
City of
The City of
NOMINATIONS
Notification of Vacancies
The Board was notified
of the following vacancies and these will appear on the next agenda for
nominations:
Nominations
Chairman Moyer reminded
the Board of the following vacancies and opened the floor to nominations:
1.
Agriculture Advisory Board
– 1 vac.
Chairman Moyer nominated
Ken Allison for reappointment to Position #1. Chairman Moyer made the motion to appoint Mr. Ken Allison by
acclamation for Position #1. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
2.
Animal Services
Committee – 1 vac.
Ms. Brantley stated that
since the last meeting she had spoken with Walter Kidd, who was currently
serving, had been nominated at the last meeting, and did wish to be
reappointed. She reminded the Board that Kimberly Osborne had also been
nominated, but her application had not yet been received by the office. There
being no additional nominations, the Board was polled with the following votes:
Commissioner Baldwin –
Walter Kidd
Commissioner McGrady –
Walter Kidd
Chairman Moyer - Walter
Kidd
Commissioner Messer –
Walter Kidd
Commissioner Young –
Kimberly Osborne
Walter Kidd was
reappointed to the Animal Services Committee.
3.
Child Fatality
Prevention Team – 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
4.
Equalization and Review
Board – 6 vac.
Ms. Brantley stated that
the members who wished to be reappointed to the Board were: #4 – Charles
Porter, #7 – Vollie Good and #8 – Phillip Stanley. Ray LeStrange had moved out
of
Commissioner McGrady
nominated Franklin Carland, but asked that the appointment be held until the
next meeting to ensure that he did wish to be reappointed. Commissioner McGrady
then nominated Kennith Martin to Position #1 and Richard Sheldrick to Position
#2. Commissioner Messer nominated Dutch Burdette to Position #2. Chairman Moyer made the motion to accept
Kennith Martin to Position #1 by acclamation. All voted in favor and the motion
carried.
5.
At the last meeting,
Terry Hicks and Bruce Benton were nominated to the Committee. However, Mr.
Benton’s name had been withdrawn as he had previously served on the Committee.
There being no additional nominations, Chairman
Moyer made the motion to accept Terry Hicks by acclamation. All voted in favor
and the motion carried.
6.
There were no nominations at this time so
this item was rolled to the next meeting.
7.
Juvenile Crime
Prevention Council – 3 vac.
There were no nominations at this time so
this item was rolled to the next meeting.
8.
Nursing/Adult Care Home
Community Advisory Committee – 8 vac.
There were no nominations at this time so
this item was rolled to the next meeting.
9.
Recreation Advisory
Board – 3 vac.
Commissioner Messer
nominated for reappointment #2 – James Schweitzer, #8 – Wally Sneed and #9 –
Virgle McClure. There being no additional nominations, Chairman Moyer made the motion to accept those three by acclamation.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Tax Collector’s Annual Presentation
Mr. Lyda – “In accordance with N.C.G.S.
105-369, Advertisements of Tax Liens on Real Property for Failure to Pay Taxes,
I respectfully submit the following report:
Annual
Bills (not including Motor Vehicle)
2005 Total Collector's
Charge: $43,573,244.32
Payments: $40,563,451.80
Unpaid Taxes: $ 3,009,793.14
Percentage Collected
through 2/2/2005: 93.09%
Advertisement of Tax
Liens:
Effective January 1, 1985,
advertised only once. A taxing unit may
choose to advertise the tax liens more than one time, but it is not
required to do so. The list must still be
posted at the Courthouse or City Hall door and it must be advertised in
one or more newspapers having a general
circulation in the taxing unit. The advertising may be done at any time from
March 1 through June 30.
Effective January 1, 2001, N.C.G.S.
105-369 has been modified and will require us to provide notice to and
advertise liens under the name of the
current owners of real property as well as the listing owners.
It is my recommendation to the Board of
Commissioners that unpaid tax liens be advertised once: on May 15,
2006 (the third Monday in May). The
reasons for my recommendation are as follows: (1) our tax statements sent to
the taxpayers tell them that as long as their taxes are paid by April 30, their
lien will not be advertised; (2) the Times-News states that they must
have ample time for preparation of the advertisement; and (3) with the
implementation of the new rules regarding advertisement, our costs per parcel
will essentially double even without allowing for any per-inch increase the
newspaper may add. Since many people rely upon income tax refunds to pay their
property taxes, I feel we should remain on the same schedule we have used to
reduce as far as possible the costs incurred by advertising. Giving taxpayers
until the end of April to pay ensures that anyone who is planning to use income
tax refunds to pay county property taxes has an opportunity to do so.
Respectfully submitted, Terry F. Lyda Tax
Collector.”
Mr. Lyda explained that
last year as of this time 92.82% had been collected. He also presented the Tax
Collector’s Report (monthly) dated February 2, 2006.
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to accept Mr. Lyda’s recommendation regarding the
advertising of delinquent taxes. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Darlene Burgess then updated the Board on
delinquent tax collections. They were preparing to send certified mail notices
on real property parcels that were unpaid. Currently there were 67 delinquent
real estate parcels from 2003 backwards. Ms. Burgess stated that she was
particularly proud of that number, because when she came to work for the
County, there were between 800 and 1,200 delinquent parcels. They were also
beginning the title searches on 2004 unpaid taxes. They had an overall
collection percentage of 99.64% on all regular tax bills. That figure included
ten years of bills, some bills that were considered outside the statute of
limitations, bills determined to be uncollectible and bills that were under
bankruptcy. There was about $1.1 million outstanding in regular tax bills,
which included real estate parcels and individual bills. To date they had
collected 96.94% of all delinquent DMV tax since 1993.
Etowah Library Real Estate Purchase Contract and Financing
Resolution
Presented for the Board’s consideration
was a draft reimbursement resolution for the construction of the Etowah library
branch. The resolution would allow the reimbursement of certain expenses. The
amount listed on the resolution was intended to be the maximum amount which
could be financed, and was not intended to be an accurate project cost
estimate. Justin Hembree reminded the Board that this item was included in the
Strategic Plan, with the planning stage expected to go through May, 2006.
Bill Snyder stated that the project was
to replace a 4,000 square foot building currently serving as the Etowah
library. It had served as the library for about 22 years, and was on a one acre
site that was prone to flooding. This purchase would provide a final library
site which drains well and was of adequate size for any future expansions. The
budget was based on a projected cost of $160 per square foot.
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion that the Board approve the draft financing reimbursement
resolution as presented. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Requesting Revision of the BY-Laws for the
The Henderson County
Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPC) members had revised the Council’s
current By-Laws, and requested that they be modified to better meet the needs
of the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council. Ms. Brantley had reviewed the bylaws
proposed, and compared them with the statutory requirements for the Council.
One of the revisions proposed to change the membership requirement for Position
#2 from “Chief of Police” to “Chief of Police, or designee”. Ms. Brantley
pointed out that while the statute allowed for a designee for many of the
positions, this position did not allow for a designee.
There was also
discussion about issues of attendance, and the wording that would require the
Board of Commissioners to remove members due to non-attendance. Chairman Moyer
stated that he would prefer that the Board have the same rule for all
Committees. It was the consensus of the Board that the rules should be the
same, with Commissioner McGrady preferring that rule be self-executing as
opposed to needing to come before the Board of Commissioners. It was further
the consensus of the Board to have Staff address this issue as review of bylaws
commences as part of the Strategic Plan.
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to adopt the amendments as presented, striking the page
3 reference to the Chief of Police and striking the page 7 provision relating
to attendance. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Animal Ordinance Amendment
Rocky Hyder noted that domestic animals
that were not confined to the owner’s property were the source of many
complaints to the Animal Services Department. The Animal Services Committee
carefully considered the effect of a restraint/confinement amendment in
addressing this issue for the community. The Committee determined that an
amendment requiring restraint or confinement of domestic animals, enforced on a
complaint driven basis, would be a logical approach to resolving this problem.
Such an amendment had been drafted and was presented to the Board for their
consideration.
There was some discussion of the
definition of Domestic Animals, and the penalties involved if animals were not
properly confined. Commissioner McGrady stated that he would be in favor of
scheduling an opportunity for public input. He also asked that Staff make a
concerted effort to circulate the proposed amendment to the various dog and cat
related organizations for their comments.
Commissioner Baldwin asked what the
definition of a legal hunt was. Rocky Hyder answered that was hunting an animal
in season. A pack of beagles running rabbits in March would not be a legal
hunt. Similarly, a single beagle hunting on its own during rabbit season when
the owner was not present would also not be a legal hunt. Commissioner Messer requested
staff consider circumstances such as hunting without a weapon, and hunt clubs
that run dogs. Mr. Hyder stated that Staff would address training and field
trials, and bring that back to the Board.
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to adopt recommendation #1, schedule an opportunity for
public input at the February 15, 2006 meeting, provide direction to staff
following public input and adopt the amendment on second reading at a
subsequent meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
UPDATE ON
PENDING ISSUES
Carey McLelland reminded that Board that
at the previous meeting, they had requested he develop an action plan for the
·
Contacted
Medicare to make them aware of the filing issues, and requested assistance to
get claims filed.
·
Contracted
additional personnel experienced in the software package to help file claims
and meet immediate deadlines.
·
Finance
Department assumed full responsibility for the billing function
·
Staff
had worked extended hours to meet filing deadlines
Current and future plans included:
·
The
vacant
·
Insurance
filing procedures were being reviewed and refined.
·
Records
and report monitoring were being reviewed.
·
Billing
duties were being examined to ensure future billings were filed.
·
·
Working
with
·
Several
grants had been applied for, for equipment and software which would be used in
the field, uploading information directly into the billing system.
·
Request
that during the next financial audit, the external auditors look at the
The Board clarified that while the billing
clerks were still physically located in the
Commissioner Young questioned whether Mr.
McLelland could yet provide the Board with an accounting report showing how
much was not billed or collected, how much had been collected, the remaining
collectable balance, and the balance that would have to be written off. Mr.
McLelland felt he would be able to bring such a report to the Board at their mid-month
March meeting. Commissioner Young stated that he felt that once accounts had
been settled, a letter should be sent informing the customer of what been
collected, and thanking them for their cooperation. There followed much additional
discussion about the overall picture of accountability with respect to billing
in a variety of county departments.
Request from Arc’Angel Trans’Support Services Concerning Allowed Per
Mile Transport Rate
At the Board’s last meeting, the
decision had been made to have the County’s current
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion that the Henderson County EMS fee schedule be adjusted
to allow for the full amount of mileage fees as set forth in the 2006 Medicare Ambulance Fee Schedule. Chairman
Moyer stated that per the rules of procedure, neither himself nor Commissioner
McGrady could not make that motion since they had previously voted to raise the
fee. Russ Burrell stated that Chairman Moyer was correct, but that if the
motion were made by another Commissioner it could be voted on at this
meeting.
Commissioner
Young then made the motion that the Henderson County EMS fee schedule be
adjusted to allow for the full amount of mileage fees to be charged, which
would also allow any franchisees to raise their rate.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Proposed
Russ Burrell informed the Board that the
Federal Communication Commission (FCC) had proposed a rule that would do away
with local franchising of cable and other video services. Mr. Burrell believed
the Board would view that to be an unfavorable development, especially in light
of the current renewal negotiations with Mediacom. The National Association of
Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) had proposed that all local
governments in favor of retaining franchising authority make comments, as the
federal rulemaking procedure allows, to the FCC expressing that they were not
in favor of a rule that would do away with local franchising authority. Mr.
Burrell provided the Board a draft proposed comment from
Chairman Moyer stated that the only
problem he had with the proposed draft, was that it implied the Board was
comfortable with the present authority it had to control cable companies. He
stated that he was not comfortable with that because he did not feel the
present authority went far enough. He felt that the County should have more
rights with respect to programming and rates. Mr. Burrell stated that he would
be happy to strengthen that language to say something like local franchises
provide a means, though while a somewhat ineffective means, and the County
would actually prefer a stronger means.
Chairman
Moyer made the motion to send the comment as submitted in the draft, but that
the tone be changed to reflect that we believe local government should have the
ability to control cable companies and we would prefer that the ability to
control be strengthened, not lessened. All voted in favor and the motion
carried.
Russ Burrell stated that a similar issue
was arising in front of the State Legislature. It would have the same effect of
granting a statewide franchise. At some point in the future he would likely
suggest that the Board write a letter to the legislators expressing their
opinion on that proposed legislation.
There are two basic methods of purchasing
furniture where there is a requirement for formal bids. The
County can choose to develop our own set
of bid specifications or we can choose to 'piggy-back' upon furniture that has
already been bid. This idea can be done by using other local governments, North
The two major departments who would
occupy the building had been working on furniture needs for nearly a year. The
preference was to use a company that could provide both local service and
already competitively bid prices. A local vendor, Professional Business
Interiors (PBI), who can sell through US Communities, had been working with the
Department of Social Services since spring of 2005 and with the Public Health
Department since late summer to assist them in the design, layout and possible furniture
solutions. PBI had worked with the City of
A complete walk-though of both
departments including a needs assessment for DSS had been done. Every office
was analyzed and all current furniture was ranked to its condition and possible
future uses. Inventories were taken of all filing needs at both the office
level and for larger areas such as medical records and DSS overall filing
system. Other major issues, such as the open office/panel systems were
reviewed. Based on this information and a set of the architectural plans,
discussions were held which reviewed every new office to determine its use and
needs. Several draft furniture plans were developed and reviewed by county
staff and finally signed off on. A draft
cost proposal was developed to be used for budgetary purposes.
Staff recommended that
Following some discussion about the budget for
all furniture, fixtures and equipment, Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to accept the recommendation to purchase the furniture
through
PUBLIC HEARING –
Rezoning Application #R-2005-05 (O&I to I-2)
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to go into Public Hearing. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
Matt
Cable informed the Board that on November 15, 2005, the Henderson County Board
of Public Education submitted an application to rezone approximately 27.03
acres of land off
The
subject area was located on the old county fairgrounds within a ¼ mile of the
intersection of
Staff
supported the rezoning of the property to be rezoned for industrial uses, based
on the 2020 CCP and contiguous zoning classification. The Planning Board had
considered the application at its meeting on December 20, 2005, and had voted
5-1 to send the Board of Commissioners a favorable recommendation on the
rezoning.
Public Input
There
was none.
Chairman
Moyer made the motion to approve the rezoning application as submitted. All
voted in favor and the motion carried.
Commissioner
Messer made the motion to go out of public hearing. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
QUASI-JUDICIAL PUBLIC
HEARING – Application for an Amendment to a Special Use Permit for an Expansion
to the
Commissioner McGrady disclosed to the Board that
he was the President of the Applicant in this case, and requested the
permission of the Board to recuse himself from the proceedings. Chairman Moyer made the motion to recuse
Commissioner McGrady from the proceeding because of the conflict. All voted in
favor and the motion carried.
Commissioner
Messer made the motion to go into public hearing. All voted in
favor and the motion carried.
Chairman Moyer – “Um,
this is a, has to be conducted as a quasi-judicial proceeding. It’s a, in, with
respect to the petition in re: application of Partners in Health Condominium
Assoc, Association, LLC. where Partners in Health Condominium Association LLC
is the Petitioner. This uh, I think as most of you know is a quasi-judicial
proceeding is very much like a court proceeding, it’s much more formal that
our, the last proceeding that we had where ones individual rights are being
determined under a specific set of rules. One of the things we normally do at
the beginning of such a hearing is identify whether there’s any person who
feels they’ll be affected by this decision who would like to be made a party to
this proceeding. Is there anyone in attendance that would like to be a party to
this proceeding and participate in the proceeding? Mr. Lapsley would you
approach the uh, microphone? I ask you on behalf, behalf of the Board and the
Planning Department whether you would agree to waive, since there’s no other
parties, the quasi-judicial and we can proceed on a much more informal basis.”
Bill Lapsley – “Yes sir,
we would agree.”
Chairman Moyer –
“Planning Department have any objection?”
Autumn Radcliff – “No.”
Chairman Moyer –
“Alright then, we will proceed um, to hear this application. We will begin with
uh, Ms. Uh, Autumn Radcliff will uh, present the um, the Staff’s background.”
Autumn Radcliff stated that on November
3, 2005, William G. Lapsley & Associates, on behalf of Partners in Health
Condominium Association, LLC., submitted a development plan and applied for an
amendment to their Special Use Permit (SP-46-96) to expand the existing
building owned by Four Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care. The proposed
expansion would provide administrative space for their clinical staff and six
additional patient care rooms. Notices of the public hearing were published in
the Times-News on January 13, 2006 and on January 19, 2006. On January 19, 2006
the Planning Department posted notices at the project site to advertise the
hearing. On January 20, 2006 the Planning Department sent notices of the public
hearing via certified mail to the applicant and adjacent property owners.
On December 20, 2005, the Planning Board
reviewed the application for the Special Use Permit, and voted 6-1 to send a
favorable recommendation to the Board of Commissioners with the following
conditions:
·
Pathway
designation for the bicycle and pedestrian path between Four Seasons Hospice
and the
·
Landscape
buffering along
·
Time
frame - the Planning Board specified that these be installed prior to the CO
being issued.
Planning Staff had reviewed the application,
and found it to be in general compliance with the CCP. Staff recommended approval
of the application subject to the recommendations of the zoning administrator
and Planning Board, with the exception of the time frame for the landscaping
buffer. Staff felt that the landscaping condition was in the original special
use permit, and should be installed prior to the zoning permit being issued for
the expansion.
Natalie Berry, Zoning Administrator, reviewed
a map of the site, showing where the addition would be placed on the site. She
noted that the following conditions included in the original SP-46-96 had not
been completed as of January 12, 2006:
·
Item
7 – pedestrian crossing, bike paths, etc to
·
Item
10e – stated the need for Landscaping along the west side of
Ms.
Bill Lapsley stated that he had no
objections to the conditions discussed. He did not know how those conditions
were missed seven years ago, but they should have been done and they will be
done. The landscaping could be done immediately, and they were currently
working with the college to make sure the sidewalk was put in the right place.
Russ Burrell noted that the Board would
need to make findings consistent with the general and special conditions for
the special use. If the Board was able to make those findings from the
materials presented, they could make the findings from that written material
alone, and the other necessary finding would be made in the order which would
be presented at the next meeting. Ms. Radcliff had presented the necessary
findings in her written exhibits to the Board, and briefly reviewed those. Mr.
Burrell reminded the Board that if they found all the necessary findings had
been adequately met, then they should move to grant the permit.
Chairman
Moyer made the motion that all the findings required for granting the special
use permit had been met, and that the Board issue an order approving the
special use permit subject to the conditions that had been laid out by staff
and the Zoning Officer with respect to the conditions that need to be in the
order. The motion carried 4-0, Commissioner McGrady having been recused from
the proceeding.
Commissioner
Messer made the motion go out of public hearing. All voted in
favor and the motion carried.
Edneyville
PARTF Grant Project
Justin
Hembree reminded the Board that several months ago the Strategic plan had been
amended to reflect a priority for seeking Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF)
money to work with the Edneyville Community in development of a multi-purpose
facility in that community. The PARTF grant had been drafted and sent to the
Parks and Recreation Trust Fund. That was being reviewed, and Mr. Hembree
expected to hear something back from them between mid-March and early April.
Granting of funds from that trust would be the key to the planning of the
facilities details. The Edneyville community continued to work with Habitat for
Humanity to possibly identify more property to expand the project to include a
wider range of community facilities, specifically recreation facilities.
2006 STRATEGIC PLAN
A
special called meeting had recently been held on the 2006 Strategic Plan. At
that meeting, the Board had suggested some changes and revisions to the draft
prepared by Staff, and asked Selena Coffey to implement those changes and bring
the Plan back. Ms. Coffey distributed the Plan, stating that the changes were
highlighted in red. She reviewed those changes with the Board.
Chairman Moyer discussed Strategy 1.8: Protect
Water Quality, Action Step 3 which read “Amend CCP schedule to create and
implement a local Sedimentation and Erosion Control Program in FY 06-07”. He thought
the Board had agreed to amend the CCP to study whether the County wished to
create and implement a local plan, or change and improve local enforcement of
the existing state plan. He felt the Board should study both the plan and the
enforcement, but did not believe they had come to the conclusion to definitely
create a local plan. Commissioner Baldwin noted that if the county were to
enforce the regulations, the Board would have to adopt a local plan. The County
would have to adopt the state model, which could be tweaked to match particular
needs, and would then establish a program and enforce it. If the County were to
establish a program, it would preclude future enforcement by the state. There
followed much discussion about how the County should proceed. Chairman Moyer made the motion to approve Action
Step #3 with the deletion of the words “create and”. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
With
respect to Strategy 2.5: Examine the roles of County advisory boards and
committees, Chairman Moyer questioned whether Action Step 4, “Determine whether
boards and committees meet the County’s current and future objectives” was
broad enough to cover a thorough review of whether the current boards and
committees were appropriate, should be merged, de-activated, etc. Ms. Coffey
stated Staff could certainly modify that language. Commissioner Baldwin stated
that the Committees should be placed within the context of the larger framework
of looking at where the County is going and whether the Committees help the County
get to that end.
Commissioner
Baldwin updated the Board on the most recent events surrounding an Excursion
Train. He had spoken with individuals associated with the economic development
arms of
With
respect to Strategy 5.4, Action Step 1 “Evaluate Sheriff’s Department facility
utilization”, Chairman Moyer felt that the evaluation should be of the use and
potential uses of the land currently containing the Sheriff’s Department,
Courthouse, and former water department building. He suggested changing that
language to cover an evaluation of the land in that area.
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to approve the Strategic Plan as presented with the
three revisions noted by the Chairman. All voted in favor and the motion
carried.
IMPORTANT DATES
Chairman Moyer informed the Board that on
Thursday, March 9, 2006,
Land
Development Code (LDC) Workshop #2
Chairman Moyer reminded the Board of the need to
schedule the second Land Development Code workshop. Chairman Moyer made the
motion to schedule a special called meeting on Thursday, March 16th
at 4:00 to continue discussion of the Land Development Code. All voted in
favor and the motion carried.
CLOSED SESSION
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to go into closed session pursuant to NCGS
143-318.11(a)(1) to prevent disclosure of information which is not a public
record and pursuant to NCGS 143-318.11(a)(5)(ii) to discuss and give instruction
on the County’s negotiating position concerning an employment contract. All voted in
favor and the motion carried.
Action
taken after Closed Session
Commissioner
McGrady made the motion to continue the meeting until Friday, February 10, 2006
at 9:00 am. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Attest:
Elizabeth W. Corn, Clerk
to the Board William L. Moyer, Chairman