THE ERWIN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS SPECIAL CALLED SESSION MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2024 @ 9:00 A.M. ERWIN MUNICIPAL BUILDING BOARD ROOM  AGENDA  1. 2. 3. 4.  MEETING CALLED TO ORDER A. Invocation B. Pledge of Allegiance APPROVAL OF AGENDA DISCUSSION OF ERWIN DEPOT  ADJOURNMENT    TOWN OF ERWIN P.O. Box 459. Erwin, NC28339 Ph:9 910-897-5140-F Fax: 910-897-5543 www.erwin-nc.org  Mayor Randy L. Baker Mayor Pro Tem Ricky W. Blackmon Commissioners Alvester L. McKoy Timothy D. Marbell Charles L. Byrd DavidL. Nelson William R. Turnage  Notice ofTown of Erwin Board Special Called  Workshop  The Erwin Board of Commissioners will hold a Special Called Workshop on Monday, April gth, at 9:00 AM in the Erwin Municipal Building Board  Room located at 100 West] F. Street.  The Workshop will be held to discuss the Erwin Depot.    8961  ERWIN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS SPECIAL CALLED MINUTES APRIL 8, 2024 ERWIN, NORTH CAROLINA  Thel Board of Commissioners for the Town ofErwin with Mayor Baker presiding held a Special Called Meeting in thel Erwin Municipal Building Board Room on. Monday, April 8, 2024, at 9:00 A.M. in Erwin, Board Members present were Mayor Randy Baker, Mayor Pro Tem Ricky Blackmon, and Commissioners Town Manager Snow Bowden, Town Clerk Lauren Evans, Town Attorney Tim Morris, Public Works  North Carolina.  Timothy Marbell, Charles Byrd, David Nelson, Billy Turnage, and Alvester McKoy. Director Mark Byrd, and Police Chief. Jonathan Johnson were present. Mayor Baker called the meeting to order at 9:00. A.M. Commissioner Nelson gave the invocation. Commissioner Blackmon led the Pledge of Allegiance.  APPROVALOF AGENDA  Commissioner Turnage made ai motion to approve the agenda as presented and was seconded by  Commissioner Blackmon. The Board voted unanimously.  DISCUSSION OF ERWIN DEPOT  Mayor Baker thanked everyone for attending the meeting. Hes stated this issue had been going on fora long time andi it was the hope oft the Board tol leave this meeting with clear goals and directives for this project. Staffprovided the Board with at timeline summary of the history of the Erwin Depot from the time the Board took ownership. He asked Town Manager Snow Bowden toj please review the timeline for  everyone present.  Town Manager Snow Bowden read through the following timeline: January 2012- Thel Depot was first mentioned  August 2012- Discussion began about taking ownership of the Depot November 2013- Bill of Sale/Transfer of Ownership of the Depot  February 2013- "Friends oft thel Depot" raised over $14,000 according to the meeting minutes. Bricks were donated for the foundation of the Depot from Coats Elementary which was set up by February 2014- Hager Smith was selected to complete a feasibility study with funds provided by  Henry Elmore.  November 2013-Transfer of ownership for the Depot was approved.  thel Erwin Historical Society totaling $5,500.    8962  MINUTES CONTINUED FROM APRIL 8, 2024  September 2014- Resolution supporting aj partnership with the Erwin Historical Society to June 2014- Initial cost estimates were presented to the Board for the Depot Project- $655,777to July 2015-7 Thel Board authorized $21,2701 to bej paid from the remaining Textile Museum Funds and existing Community Enhancement Funds to complete phase 1 ofthe) project by Hager Smith. Hames Brewington was authorized to move thel Depot once phase 1 ofthe project was American Earthworks in-kind donation of $5,800-89,800: replaced damaged soils at the Cost estimate presented to move the Depot due to having to move cables and powerlines. Thel Board authorized the move ofthel Depot for a price not to exceed $15,678. Paid $75,500 for design drawings oft the building completed by CSI March 5, 2020- CSI presented potential costs oft the Depot Project- $865,609  renovate the Depot. complete thej project.  completed to the site oft thel Depot- $15,000.  January 2016- the foundation was ready to. have thel Depot placed on it  previous site oft thel Depot.  2017-$50,000 grant from the State of NC  Mayor Baker opened the floor for discussion amongst the Board  Commissioner Turnage stated Erwin was the first to! have al Depot. Thel History Room had al lot of artifacts with no room to put them. He stated that thel Lester Group agreed to give us thel Depot on the condition that wej put aj plaque with their name on: iti into the Depot. He asked Town Attorney" Tim Morris Town Attorney Tim Morris asked could they sue? The answer is always yes but the real question would bei ift they would have the grounds to eliminate the entire project. It would be an easy problem to fix. Commissioner Turnage stated the Board has taken many quotes to fix thel Depot. Years ago, Henry Elmore told the Board that the Depot was salvageable but thel Board never put at tarp on it. Ifwe could find the funds to fix the Depot, wei needed to fix the roof and put new siding on the building to makei it look] presentable. Rome was: notl built in a day. Maybe ifv wei make some progress on thel Project, we could Commissioner Nelson stated he and Commissioner Marbell were the newest members and had not voted tol have any money spent on thel Depot. It would cost al lot of money toi fix thel Depot andi ift that building was sitting in anyone else' 's yard int the Town of Erwin, we would have condemned it. It was wrong on our part to allow thel Depot to sit in our backyard int the condition it was in. He could not see asking Taxpayers to spend the amount of moneyi it would take to fix the Depot. We could tear it down, build a metal building, and be much better off. Ift the Town could find the funding without the Taxpayers having top pay fori it, he would be all fori it. Hel had spoken to residents of all ages and no one wanted to save the Commissioner Byrd stated it was a tough situation. Hel knew ift the Board could go back and we had the funding, different decisions would have been made. He was al big supporter of preserving the history of Erwin and was proud of Erwin. Henry Elmore donated al lot of time and energy to the project and when Commissioner Byrd was elected to the Board, he visited the site with Mr. Elmore to see ifthel building  ifthat could be aj potential lawsuit int the future.  apply for grant funding.  Depot.    8963  MINUTES CONTINUED FROM APRIL8. 2024  was salvageable and was informed it was no longer salvageable. Certain parts oft the building could be taken toj preserve history but thel building itself was not salvageable. It was sad but he had tol look at the Town of Erwin as a whole, not just the Depot. There were other issues in the' Town and Erwin was not a metropolis with at ton oftax revenue. We had to look at what our wants were versus our needs. The Board was currently facing a need to fix al broken road and fix the Stormwater issues in' Town. If wel had fixed thel Depot years ago, we could have but as oftoday, looking at our budgets, he did: not see wheret the revenue was going to come. from. Thel longer we allow thel Depot to sit there, the worse it will get. He would: much rather salvage thej parts that we could, tear the building down to the foundation, and start Commissioner Marbell stated most people he had spoken with were: not for rebuilding the Depot. It was too much money and] he could not see spending tax money on that building. We could take parts oft the building toj preserve history. just like wei took bricks from the school but he could not see fixing the building. It needed to bet torn down, hauled off, and start all over again, or find al building downtown. This discussion had been ai thorn in our side, it comes up at every meeting. It was hard and no one wanted to do Commissioner. Blackmon stated we originally didi have: funds but ifyou go back and look at the history, our goal was and still is toj preserve the history of Erwin. The museum was a viable project but how we did that was the Board's decision. Wel had discussed taking the Depot down tot the foundation a year ago and funds were available int the Community Enhancement Fund. First, we needed tol have thel Depot analyzed to see what could bes saved, it was obviously not the same Depot that was uptown. Part was the building was removed when: moving the building but it was still the Depot. He stated depending on how much money thel Board wanted to spend would depend on what we do moving forward. He suggested having designs drawn up ofar replica oft the Depot to preserve that part ofit. He felt we should continue with the project and where thel Depot is currently located was the perfect place fori it. This project would add to the Downtown and bring other things as well. He stated we first needed tol know the cost, a discussion was had last year to takei it down to the foundation and it had been drug out and that was part of the problem. His opinion was to take it down to the foundation and have ai replica ofthel Depot. Commissioner McKoy stated thel Depot was aj part of Erwin's! history and we: needed to preserve something, even ifit was just a brick or two. Wel had been kicking this can down the road for a long time Mayor Baker asked Si Harrington to indulge the Board by answering some questions for them. He asked Mr. Harrington stated that the original Depot was built 1902-1903, it burned down in the summer of Mayor Baker inquired about the material on the building. He asked what was left out there after the move Mr. Harrington stated any material on the building other than plywood was original. He would guess Mayor Baker stated when the Board visited thel Depot a year ago, many oft the members were: not structurally sound. We would have to: replace thel bad material with new: material but at what point would it be considered. a dismantling and a rebuild Vs. a: renovation? We cannot change what has happened in the past, that building has been neglected. We could onlyl learn from thej past and move forward. He wanted  over.  anything about it but we. had to do something.  Commissioner McKoy arrived at 9:20A.M.  and we: needed to act.  ifthe structure was the original Depot.  1907, and the current structure was built int the fall of1 1907.  was part of the original building.  about 90% of the building was the original structure.    8964  MINUTES CONTINUED FROM APRIL 8, 2024  to get an idea of what we had and thel history behind it. He along with his fellow Board members felt that history was important, andl Erwin was founded on history. Ifit were not for our ancestors, none ofus would have been there that day. Ifit were not fort thel Mill and what it didi for the Town of Erwin, Erwin would not be what it is today. He envisioned thel Depot as part ofal bigger plan tol be used for multi-facet things to be used forl Downtown events. Hel had tried to solicit grant funding. The Town recently received an. Economic Development grant of $500,000 and he had asked Town Manager Snow Bowden to look into whether that funding could be used for this project. He would like to see what could be saved to keep thei integrity oft the building, anything not structurally sound would be removed and replaced. Ifv we could incorporate the doors and tops oft thel building, he would like to do so and build ai replica oft thel building. Wel had: retired some debt with the consolidation of thel Library, Community Enhancement Funds could be utilized and grant funding was available. Incurred debt may be required in order to fund this project. He Commissioner Blackmon stated we: needed to tear the Depot down to the toundation and salvage thej parts that we could. Hei felt it was a worthwhile project and sooner or later, we were gonna have to take the plunge to get people to Erwin. Hei recommended having a designed replica of what it was. He also  asked the Board for direction.  recommended looking into removing the Depot from the primary fire limits. Commissioner McKoy agreed with Commissioner Blackmon.  Commissioner Turnage stated wel had roughly $250,000: in thel Depot. He recommended using the money Mayor Baker asked Public Works Director Mark Byrdi ifl hel had room at the Public Works Building to Public Works Director Mark Byrd stated it depended on how much needed to bes stored. Commissioner Byrd stated he appreciated thel Historical Society. He asked what would satisfy the Mr. Harrington answered Commissioner Byrd's question with a question. The Board is discussing tearing the building down and building it back up. Thel Board could not find the funding toj preserve thel Depot, Commissioner Byrd stated the Board did not know. The budgetary part of the project was a big part ofit. Town Manager Snow Bowden was constantly looking for grant funding and the cell tower money Joey Powell stated hel hated to see thel Depot go but he understood the current building was too far gone. His questions were ifthe Depot was torn down, could the Board guarantee it would be rebuilt and also guarantee that it would be used as a History Museum? Ift the progress began on rebuilding the Depot, could the Board not then reach out the our State Representatives for funding the help finish thej project? Commissioner Byrd stated it was hard from al budgetary standpoint and he thought thel Board could: not guarantee everything would be funded and completed in a year. The only thing the Board could guarantee  we: received from the Cell Tower.  store the parts oft thel Depot we wanted to salvage.  Historical Society.  where did the Board plan to find the funding tol build ai new building? mentioned by Commissioner Turnage was at third of what it would take.  would bei ifwe decided to go down a path, we were committed to that project.  Discussion continued among thel Board. Town. Attorney Tim. Morris lef at 9:49A.M. MINUTES CONTINUED FROM APRIL 8. 2024    Mayor Baker asked the Board to entertain thei idea of enduring an expense tol hire an Engineer toj provide Commissioner Blackmon inquired about the whereabouts of the rendering oft the original building. Commissioner Blackmon recommended: hiring an independent agency to come in and look at thel Depot sO we can answer the questions of whether the building can be renovated the way iti is and what the Commissioner Byrd recommended looking at the cost ofj just rebuilding thes structure VS. adding thet ticket Mayor Baker stated once the Engineer comes back with the estimated costs, thel Board will make a  the Board with an analysis oft thel Depot.  The Historical Society had a copy in the History Room. estimated cost would be to tear it down and rebuild it again.  booth and stage.  decision on how to move forward. Discussion continued amongst the Board.  Commissioner Blackmon made a motion toi instruct Town Manager Snow Bowden to hire an Engineer or Architectural Firm with a timeline of 60 days to hire thei firm and come back to the Board with the results. The maximum allowable amount to bes spent was $10,000. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Marbell and passed 5t tol 1(Commissioner Nelson). Mayor Baker asked Staff to ensure the Historical Society was invited back when the results were  presented.  ADJOURNMENT voted unanimously.  Commissioner Byrd made ai motion to adjourn at 10:20 A.M. and was seconded by Turnage. Thel Board  MINUTES RECORDED AND TYPED BY LAUREN EVANSTOWN CLERK  ATTEST:  Baker Randy Mayor  Lauren Evans, NCCMC Town Clerk  GR6  chugfine