MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND THE TOWN COMMISSIONERS OF  BILTMORE FOREST HELD DECEMBER 12, 2023  Bei it remembered by those that follow these proceedings that the Governing Board oft the  Town of Biltmore Forest met and conducted the following business:  Roll call taken by the Clerk:  Mayor George F. Goosmann, III, present Commissioner Doris P. Loomis, present Commissioner Fran Cogburn, present Commissioner Glenn Kelly, present  Mr. Jonathan Kanipe, the Town Manager, was present. The Town Attorney, Billy Clarke,  was not] present.  Mayor Goosmann called the meeting to order at 4:30 pm.  The Pledge of Allegiance was conducted.  Commissioner Loomis made a motion to approve the minutes from November 14, 2023.  Commissioner Cogburn seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.  Chief Trevor Lance gave the report for the Skyland Fire Department. Chief Lance said there were a total of23 calls for the month and 10 of those were false alarm calls. Chief Lance safety tip of the month is to watch space heaters and make sure they are three feet away from objects, sO they don'tcatch on fire. They are looking forward to Santa coming over on Christmas  Eve at about 9:15 am sO he can say hello to thel kids in' Town.  ChiefChris Beddingfield gave the report for the Police Department. There were 600 calls for service. There were no arrests for the month. Thet traffic citations increased this past month and    the number one complaint from residents is speeding vehicles and traffic issues. Chief Beddingfield said the department did a "no shave" December and raised $400 for the Kiwanis Aktion Club of Rutherford County. There was a substantial break in on Hemlock where the homeowner did everything right. They had a camera system and an alarm system. The suspects were only there for two minutes. They were covered up sO it was very difficult to see them. Chief Beddingfield said they got a lot of leads and have also partnered with the State Bureau of  Investigation to work on technology leads as well.  Chief Beddingfield said they have new radio systems that were distributed and they are  working very well.  Commissioner Kelly said he did some research on the Tesla vehicles and found them not tol bea asi reliable and very expensivet toi repair. ChiefBeddingfield said they are doing their research right now and he is talking with the Weaverville Police Department and their Chief, who has several vehicles and is following what hei is doing very closely. ChiefBeddingfield said they are weighing the pros and cons of electric vehicles versus gas vehicles. Itis new technology, sO iti is at tough decision, but they want to do what is best for the Police Department and for the' Town.  Mr. Harry Buckner gave the report for the Public Works Department. The focus has been on leafcollection. Mr. Buckner said there were 791 loads ofleaves and brush collected. They have completed two passes on both sides of Town sO far. Mr. Buckner anticipates fifty loads for the  month ofI December.  Mr. Buckner said the Metropolitan Sewerage District project was completed today. The greenery was also hung up for Christmas decorations outside the Town Hall and in the median. Mayor Goosmann said the parking area at Greenwood Parkl looks very nice. Mr. Buckner thanked Mayor Goosmann and said the parking areas have also been striped. They are also almost 90% done with the tree removal for the trail at Brooklawn Park. Mr. Buckner said the focus for  December is leaf collection.    Commissioner Kelly asked about a further update on the stormwater project. Mr. Buckner said they are waiting for a total of four permanent easements that were needed for stormwater infrastructure that did not have easements on them from when it was originally built. They are currently finishing up this negotiation. Mr. Buckner said he will bei meeting with a consultant next Wednesday tol lay out the final bidding schedule which will be advertised in. January 2024 and bids will begin in February 2024. Itis a sizeable project and is unsure how long the project willl bel but  Mr. Buckner said approximately nine months.  Mayor Goosmann asked Mr. Buckner if they are going to be able to stipe Brookside  anytime soon. Mr. Buckner said they can do this ift thel Board would like.  Mr. Tony Williams's Planning report was referred to the Board in his absence.  Mr. Kanipe gave the report for the Town. They had al kickoff meeting with the architects last week and their consultants regarding thel Master Facility Planning project. They inspected each sitel by walking through each building and reviewed their initial findings. Mr. Kanipe anticipated they will get more information by the end of the week with their site thoughts in terms of space needs. We willl be able toi reconvene after the first oft the new year and bring this back to thel Board.  Mr. Kanipe said Mr. Kris Wetmore has communicated to staff they have finalized what they have done in Brooklawn Park. It looks good, and they are saving one more day in case they  need to do additional tree work with the trail contractor.  Planting was completed with the Cedar Hill Stabilization and Stream Restoration project. There are a lot of planting materials that were put down there. Staff will continue evaluating the  site and make sure: it continues to look good.  Mr. Kanipe discussed the personnel policy for Town staff and said department heads have started looking over this and willl begin putting together initial findings toward the end oft the year. We will also meet at the beginning of the year to discuss further details about what needs to be    addressed. We will also engage Town staffv with surveys and asking further questions to1 redevelop  the personnel policy wel have.  Mr. Kanipe discussed the upcoming holiday closures as last year we adopted the State holiday calendar. This year, we will be closed Monday, December 25th through Wednesday,  December 27th and again on Monday, January 1St.  New Business was discussed by Mr. Kanipe and the Consideration of Resolution 2023-02 Honoring Officer Samantha Bombace for Service to the Town. Commissioner Cogburn made a motion to approve the Resolution. Commissioner Loomis seconded the motion and was  unanimously approved.  Consideration of Resolution 2023-03 was discussed and is a Resolution Awarding Badge and Service Sidearm to Retiring Officer Samantha Bombace. Commissioner Kelly made ar motion to approve the Resolution. Commissioner Cogburn seconded the motion and was unanimously  approved.  ChietBeddingheld reminded the audience that on December 20th, there will be ai reception for Sam with a presentation of her service weapon. All are invited to attend. Samantha Bombace  completed 26 years of service with the Town ofBiltmore Forest.  Consideration of Resolution 2023-04 Centennial Committee. Mr. Kanipe said the Friends of Biltmore Forest Committee spearheaded initial planning efforts for the centennial events through the leadership of Cindy Holman, who chaired the Centennial anniversary sub-committee. They all did ai fantastic job creating events and specific and unique activities for thei rear. Aj plaque will be made that recognizes all the members. Mr. Kanipe read the Resolution:    Commissioner Loomis made a motion to approve Resolution 2023-04, Commissioner  Cogburn seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.  Ms. Fran Noel presented the FY 23 Audit Presentation from Carter P.C. Ms. Noel went over the internal control letter Ms. Noel said there were also some Budget violations in the financial statement. In the general fund, the overage was due to personnel expenses which exceeded the amounts for Public Safety and debt service was also over budget due to a new loan  and the payment was: noti included in the budget.  The water and sewer fund was over budget which is due to the sewer purchases being significantly more than what was included in the budget. Only $185,000 was in the budget for sewer purposes and it is normally 300,000. There was an over budget comment in there for this. There were no difficulties in dealing with management and their performance. There were no disagreements over financial accounting matters. There were some journal entries but just the normal GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board) adjustments for pensions and debt. The adjustments did decrease the new positions ofthe Town by $642,000. There will need to bea letter to the Local Government Commission to give their formal approval. Ithink they are behind and there will need tol be al letter uploaded tot them concerning the Budget violations. Ms. Noel also stated the water and sewer infrastructure may need to be replaced soon and this is a new  calculation.  There was an unmodified opinion on the governmental financial statements and the major funds were the General Fund and the ARPA fund. The total assets increased by about $700,000 and most of that was in cash. The total liability decreased by $129,000 even with the new loan. The pension related liabilities increased about $630,000. The total net position increased by about $660,000. The General Fund revenues were $50,000 more than budgeted and expenses for the  General Fund were $592,000 less than budgeted total.  The General Fund balance at year end was 4.8 million dollars which was an increase of $675,000. The water fund revenues increased by $81,000 over the prior year and the expenses    decreased by $10,000 over the prior year. The property valuation for the Town was 898 million  dollars which was an increase of13 million from thej previous reporting year.  Commissioner Kelly asked Ms. Noel about the water and sewer line infrastructure. Ms. Noel said the assets that arei reported to thel Local Government Commission are only the assets that  the' Town owns. Mayor Goosmann thanked Ms. Noel for her report.  Consideration of Appointment of. Janet Whitworth to thel Board of Adjustment ini replacing Mr. Lowell Pearlman. A motion was made by Commissioner Kelly to approve the appointment. Commissioner Cogburn seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.  The meeting was adjourned at 5:07pm  PUBLIC COMMENT  There was no Public Comment.  ATTEST: daua Laura Jacobs Town Clerk  ay Adleman 7A  George F. Goosmann, III Mayor  pale