October 14, 2019 (REGULAR MEETING)  Minutes of the regular meeting of the Mayor and Board of Commissioners of the Present: Mayor Sam Bishop, Commissioners Cecily McCulloch, Robert Ball, Jeff Also present: Town Manager Brent Cornelison, Assistant Town Manager and Recreation and Parks Director Adam McComb, and Town Clerk Cathie Tilley. Mayor Bishop welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order. He told everyone that Finance Director John Holcomb's mother had passed away, and asked for a moment of silence in her memory. Next, Mayor Bishop asked Police Mayor Bishop explained that Commissioner Will Gwyn was absent tonight, and asked the Board to consider excusing him. Commissioner Wheeler made a motion to excuse Commissioner Gwyn from tonight's meeting. Upon a second by Commissioner Eidson, the motion was unanimously approved. The following items were presented for the consent agenda:  Town of Elkin, October 14, 2019, 6:00 p.m. at Town Hall. Eidson and Tommy Wheeler. (Absent: Will Gwyn)  (Absent: Town Attorney Raymond Parker)  Chief Monroe Wagoner to lead our Pledge of Allegiance.  CONSENT AGENDA (Tab A)  Minutes of September 9, 2019 (Regular Meeting) Tax Releases and Discoveries (included as Exhibit A)  Amotion by Commissioner Wheeler to approve the Consent Agenda was seconded by Commissioner Ball and was unanimously approved.  SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS  Mayor Bishop:  Read a letter to Elkin City Schools Superintendent Myra Cox expressing appreciation for the teachers and students who participated in the National Day of Service on September 11, 2019. They volunteered at the Police Department and at the  Recreation and Parks Department. This is Hispanic Heritage Month.  Mayor Bishop:  Attended a special church service at Iglasias Cristo Vive  church.  PUBLIC COMMENTS  Mayor Bishop opened the public comments period. Martha Smith, 131 Gwyn Avenue:  Spoke regarding the all-way and two-way stop signs in Listed several violations she has witnessed.  town.    Downtown is no longer pedestrian friendly. Traffic lights assured her of her safety. Does not trust drivers to stop at the signs.  Linda Osborne, 127 Graham Street: two-way stop signs. Does not see this as helping at all. this matter.  Agreed with Ms. Smith's comments regarding all-way and Thanked Ms. Smith for speaking sO eloquently regarding  There being no other public comments, Mayor Bishop closed the public  comments period.  MAYOR AND BOARD COMMENTS FOR STAFF  Commissioners had no comments.  Mayor Bishop:  Looking forward to the community picnic this Sunday at the park.  REGULAR MEETING Ordinance (Sarah Harris)  1. Consider Adopting Proposed Campground and Recreational Vehicle Park  On May 30, 2019, Gerard Davis II submitted a petition to create a text amendment that allows a campground as a permitted use in the M-1 Planning Board reviewed the petition and recommended approving the text amendment with the adoption of the Campground and Recreational At the August 12th Board of Commissioners meeting, Mr. Davis requested cabins to be incorporated in the proposed ordinance. Planning Board reviewed the request and made the recommendation to the Board of Commissioners to adopt the revised Campground and Recreational Vehicle Park Ordinance. Revision included:  Industrial District.  Vehicle Park Ordinance.  Stick built cabins One accessory structure  Setback of 20 feet between cabins (had been 40 feet). Request you adopt the proposed Campground and Recreational Vehicle Mayor Bishop asked for consideration of the Town Council Action Required sheet. Commissioner McCulloch made a motion to approve the statement that this application is consistent with all of the objectives and policies for growth and development contained in the Town of Elkin Land Use Plan. There were no questions. Upon a second by Commissioner Eidson, the motion was unanimously approved. Commissioner McCulloch made a motion to approve the statement that the application is both reasonable and in the public interest (reason: this will help accomplish Town's goal to develop tourism and increase our economic status). There were no questions. Upon a second by Commissioner Wheeler, the motion was unanimously approved. Thus, the Town Council Action Required sheet was approved (copy included  Park Ordinance.  as Exhibit B).  Page 2of7    Commissioner Wheeler made a motion to approve an Ordinance Amending the Zoning Ordinance oft the Town of Elkin, North Carolina to Allow Revisions to the Town of Elkin M-1, Industrial Business District, Sections 87.3. There were no questions. Upon a second by Commissioner McCulloch, the motion was unanimously approved. (Copy of Ordinance may be found in Ordinance Book 5, Pages 2019-10-  0030 through 2019-10-0031.)  2. Receive an Update from the. ABC Commission (Robin Turner)  Here to share an update on the Yadkin Valley ABC Store. Recognized board members in attendance: Regina Adkins, Jonesville James Gillespie, Jonesville Ron Ashman, Elkin Irepresent Elkin  Lori Gwyn, Secretary, represents Elkin (unable to attend tonight) We have four very loyal employees who run the store smoothly: Cory Vestal, Store Manager (18 years) full-time Dean Spicer (31.5 years) full-time Clifford Ross (20 years) part-time Jessica Wood (3 years) part-time Last week, we closed on the .6-acre tract:  Sold for $73,500 to. J&KH Holdings out of Wilkesboro.  Will be breaking ground anytime now to build a drive-thru  coffee shop on this site. FY Sales : $2,127,911.91 (up 6.9%) same month the year before  Shared following financial highlights:  Monthly average sales were up 7.4% comparing a month to the Seven out of twelve months our sales were up over 5% May of 2019 was the highest month - up 13.1% Have not had a down month in the past two years Last down month was May 2016 Current customer count averages between 6,500 to 7,000 per  month Old Store:  Sales last fiscal year- $1,480,511.08 Customer count - 5,000 to 5,800 per month Have increased sales $650,000 and customer count 1,200 to  1,500 per month Original loan - $1,100,000 Owe - $660,000 Paid - $440,000 Elkin - $50,000 Jonesville $25,000  Will be disbursing funding this year which is earlier than planned.  This totals $75,000 which is the amount we were disbursing before the new store.  Few other things for your information:  Page 3of7    Have 400 new products on our shelves  Last year, we sponsored Mike Hall (an alcohol and drug speaker/entertainer, for Elkin and Starmount middle and high  schools  3. Accept a Grant from the U.S. Department ofJustice's Bulletproof Vest Partnership in the Amount of $2,029.46 (Josh Tulbert)  Applied for a grant from U.S. Department of. Justice for funding for In2 2019, we spent $6,235.00 to purchase bulletproof vests to replace expired vests and vests for new officers. We were awarded a Grant in the amount of $2,029.46. Commissioner Eidson made a motion to accept a BulletproofVest Partnership Grant in the amount of $2,029.46 provided through the U.S. Department of Justice. There were no questions. Upon a second by Commissioner McCulloch, the motion was unanimously approved. Provided timeline from the time the petition for the text amendment was received (July 21, 2018) through the time the Board of Commissioners granted the conditional use permit for Ebenezer Church Solar, LLC September 30, 2019, Planning Board reviewed request from Ebenezer Church Solar Farm, LLC to extend their permit for one year.  bulletproof vests.  4. Consider an Extension for a Conditional Use Permit Issued for Ebenezer  Church Solar, LLC (Sarah Harris)  (November 13, 2018).  Have not started construction. they can connect to the grid).  Their in-service date from Duke Energy is 2020 (means when  Duke Energy is performing upgrades.  Once upgrades are completed, construction should  be able to start.  Ebenezer Church Solar, LLC has signed interconnection agreement from Duke Energy and made the financial commitment. Planning Board recommends granting the requested extension Commissioner McCulloch made a motion to grant an extension to Ebenezer Church Solar, LLC for one year beginning November 13, 2019. There were no questions. Upon a second by Commissioner  beginning November 13, 2019.  Wheeler, the motion was unanimously approved. 1960-70 fora a Block Party in Downtown (Brent Comelison)  5. Consider. Approving a Special Event Application for Elkin High School Classes  This request is from Elkin High School Alumni to block the street from Will be the first non-Explore Elkin or non-downtown merchant associated request for a block party in downtown. All business owners are in favor of this event. There will be no alcohol at this event; there will be music. Requesting to close block from Bridge Street to Church Street. Commissioner Eidson made a motion to approve the Special Event Application for Elkin High School Alumni to block the portion of Main  noon until 5:00 p.m.  Page 4 of7    Street on May 2, 2020, from noon until 5:00 p.m. from Bridge Street to Church Street for a block party. There were no questions. Upon a second by Commissioner McCulloch, the motion was unanimously  approved.  6. Consider Amendments to the Personnel Policy to Allow Employees to Transfer Sick Time to Other Employees in Extenuating Circumstances and to Consider Holidays as Time Worked for Overtime Calculations (Brent Comelison) We will be looking at the first part of this topic tonight.  There aresome questions concerning the second part of this topic (considering holidays as time worked for overtime Going to look at this a little more to make sure all  calculations).  employees are treated fairly.  There was some discussion about having automatic overtime. Staff recommends approval of the follow addition to the Town's  Personnel Policy:  Article VII. Holidays and Leave, Section 6: Sick Time, Item H: Sick leave benefits may be transferred to fellow employees under certain conditions on a voluntary basis as follows; when a deserving employee is threatened with loss of income due to extended illness or family crisis. Transfer of time will require approval by the employee's supervisor and department head and must be reviewed and approved by the Town Manager. Employees may transfer no more than one-half (1/2) of their time to a deserving employee and the amount of time eligible for transfer is directly proportionate to the amount of time needed by the Commissioner Eidson made a motion to approve the above requested amendment to the Town's Personnel Policy. There were no questions. Upon a second by Commissioner Ball, the Town Manager Cornelison will get back with the Board on the second  deserving employee.  motion was unanimously.  part of this topic. Trails Center (Brent Cornelison)  7. Discussion on Surry County Community College's Use of the Heritage Arts and  Our oversite committee worked with the Chamber of Commerce and Surry Community College regarding use of the Center and paying for SCC was going to be responsible for twenty percent (20%) of the utilities, but they did not have the funding in their budget last year. Dr. George Sappenfield said they would pay their portion this Town Manager Cornelison and Commissioner Eidson met with Dr. David Schockley who said SCC did not have the funding in their budget  utilities.  year.  this year.  SCC paid for the flooring  They have agreed to leave the tables and chairs at the Heritage Arts and Trails Center in lieu of their utility payment.  Page 5of7    With their other locations, they have not needed to use the HATC They have used it for an art class on Tuesday's.  very much.  Dov we want to let SCC use the HATC free? (will be just under $2,000.00).  Town Manager Cornelison suggested the town pay the 20% for last year Commissioner Eidson recommended that going forward, the town should renew the lease with the Chamber of Commerce paying one Following brief discussion, Commissioner Eidson made a motion for the Town of Elkin to pay the twenty percent (20%) of the utilities for the Heritage Arts and Trails Center through December 2019, and notify the Chamber of Commerce of the change in the lease whereby they will be responsible for one hundred percent (100%) of the utilities and Surry Community College will be allowed to use the building free of charge. There were no questions. Upon a second by Commissioner McCulloch,  hundred percent (100%) of the utilities.  Would encourage SCC to use the HATC.  the motion was unanimously approved.  8. Consider Taking Ownership of the Waterline Extending West on Hwy. 268 from  Surry County (Brent Comelison)  County Commissioners voted at their October 7th meeting to begin negotiations with the Town of Elkin regarding the town taking ownership of the waterline extending west along Highway 268. Met with Chris Knopf, County Manager, to begin discussions to determine ift the town has interest in owning that waterline. Public Works Director Robert Fuller said the lines are new, and he has Presented figures regarding usage and rates including but not limited to:  no conçerns about taking them over.  Weyerhaeuser was billed for October $10,942.23.  Their billing for October using town rates would be:  Outside rate: $32,771.26 Inside rate: $16,385.63  We are going to have to look at the county rates. They have raised their rates 7% a year. We sell water to the county at a bulk rate.  The county contracts with us to bill and collect those fees. The county rates are higher than our bulk rate, therefore,  there is a potential for positive revenue.  The biggest discussion for us to bring to the retreat is how do we scale Once the county gets the debt for the waterlines paid off, they want to Dobson is looking into connecting to our waterlines; they are currently Commissioner Eidson made a motion for the Town of Elkin to enter into negotiations with Surry County on taking over the waterlines. There  these rates.  give the waterlines back to the municipalities. Staff recommends we take over the waterlines.  getting water from Mt. Airy.  Page 6of7    were no questions. Upon a second by Commissioner McCulloch, the  motion was unanimously approved.  MANAGER UPDATES (Brent Cornelison):  We did not have enough participants to sign up for the Citizens  Academy.  Have contacted each person who signed up.  Ifthey are interested in coming individually, our department heads will meet with them to provide information they would have received if attending the  classes.  Met with Laura and Mr. Cheek regarding Halloween. We plan to block off West Main Street.  Will keep it blocked off a little later than past years (usually blocked from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.) Police Department will be there as in the past.  Note: No closed session  There being no further business, Commissioner Wheeler made a motion to adjourn. Upon a second by Commissioner Ball, the meeting adjourned at 6:35  p.m.  Sam Bishop, Mayor  Attest:  C Câtherine C. Tilley, Town  A  Page 7of7