Town of Hertford  Regular Session Meeting (In Person/Facebook) Monday, October 9, 2023 -6 6:00 PM Horace Reid Community Center, 305 W Grubb Street  The Council of the Town of Hertford held a Regular Session Meeting at the Horace Reid Community Center (also by Facebook) on Monday, October 9, 2023, at 6:00 - PM.  COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT Ashley Hodges, Mayor Pro Tem Connie Brothers Earnell Brown, Mayor STAFF PRESENT Janice McKenzie Cole, Town Manager Gina Durante, Town Clerk John Leidy, Attorney A quorum was present. CALL TO ORDER  Jerry Mimlitsch Sandra Anderson  COUNCIL MEMBERS NOT PRESENT  Mayor Pro Tem Hodges called the meeting to order. INVOCATION & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE  The invocation was given by Councilwoman Brothers, followed by the Pledge of  Allegiance.  APPROVAL OF AGENDA  Ar motion was made by Councilwoman Brothers to approve the agenda as presented and Councilman Mimlitsch seconded. The motion to approve the agenda passed, 4-0.  CONSENT AGENDA  Councilwoman Anderson made a motion to approve the Regular Session Minutes September 11, 2023, and the Work Session Minutes September 25, 2023. The motion  was seconded by Councilman Mimlitsch. The motion passed, 4-0.  SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT Department activity. (Attached)  Sheriff Shelby White presented the third quarter report of Perquimans County Sheriff  October 9, 2023 Regular Session Minutes  1    Sheriff White is instructing his deputies to enforce loitering which could lead to problematic situations. Sheriff White noted that the increase in calls is due to the community being more willing to report incidents than previously and having more trust in the Sheriff's Department. Sheriff White will be requesting two additional patrol deputies when their contract with the Town is renegotiated. He also discussed the department's intent to purchase shot cameras for the town, at the approximate cost of $17,000 each. They have applied for grants for the purchase of these cameras. They are looking into surveillance cameras that can capture footage and/or vehicle tag information, as well. Also, residents in the community with the Ring doorbell are able to call the Sheriff's Department and provide their name and address. In the event of an incident, a resident's Ring doorbell may contain valuable video footage/information for Mayor Pro Tem Hodges discussed getting a copy of the Sheriff's Department's grant and installing fiberoptics hot spots in locations where different types of cameras could be installed. He commented on the positive presence the Sheriffs Department has established in Hertford. There is a strong sense of trust from the community, and the deputies and Sheriff White are building good relationships with the residents by getting  the Sheriffs Department.  involved and getting to know people. Residents are feeling safer.  CITIZEN CONCERNS None CONTINUED BUSINESS  a. Update on Grants - Manager Cole presented a matrix of the Town grants and Manager Cole did note that she sits in on the monthly grant meetings with Withers Ravenel's liaison person and the engineers or lead personnel. During the meetings they go through all the grants, progress status, what is needed, and timetables. Manager Cole tracks the reporting to the grantors, reviews and signs Manager intends to track the value of everything for which we have received money. She plans to write to each grantor and let them know what we accomplished with their money and that it is greatly appreciated.  an update of the status of each grant. (Attached)  invoices, and forwards them to finance for payment.  Manager Cole concluded the presentation and stated that next year when much of the work on these grants starts, there may be a need to hire a part-time person to administer the grants, invoices, and reports. Mayor Pro Tem Hodges stated that it may be possible that on grants requiring a match, the funding of personnel to manage the grant out of our Town budget fall under our match. Manager Cole  is going to look into that.  October 9, 2023 Regular Session Minutes  2    Manager Cole shared pictures and videos of work done today at Hyde Park and Edenton Road Street as a diver and backhoe were removing stumps, logs, and debris blocking the flow of water through the culvert. By the end of the day, water was flowing, as it is designed to through that culvert. Hyde Park will remain closed on October 10 to complete the cleanup of the mud removed from the culvert. This has all been coordinated with the schools as it affects the buses and the DOT as Edenton Road Street is a DOT street. All have been very  cooperative. NEW BUSINESS  a. Use of Powell Bill Funds - Manager Cole asked for Council's approval to use Powell Bill funds to fund the diver that cleared out the culvert. These expenses Councilman Mimlitsch made a motion to all Manager Cole to use Powell Bill funds to pay for diving activity at Jennie's Gut. Councilwoman Anderson Manager Cole also asked Council to approve the use of Powell Bill funds to purchase additional asphalt for street repair/maintenance, another allowable use Councilman Mimlitsch made a motion to allow asphalt to be purchased using Powell Bill funds per the invoice quote presented. Councilwoman Brothers b. BudgetAmendment - Manager Cole requested Council to approve the  are an acceptaple/alowaDe use of Powell Bill funds.  seconded and the motion passed, 4-0.  oft those funds.  seconded the motion and it also passed, 4-0.  following Budget Amendment:  1. FY24-12 Move $14,500 from Water Contingency to Water Distribution to fix leaks on King Street, Railroad Street, and Dobbs Street. Councilman Mimlitsch made a motion to approve Budget Amendment FY24-12. Counciwoman Anderson seconded and the motion was unanimously approved, C. Consolidation of Certain Bank Holdings - Manager Cole explained that during our conversion to the new Black Mountain Software, we are experiencing some issues as our banking situation does not follow the best practices for the design of the software. Our banking structure, set up by a previous Council, is such that the Town utilizes two banking institutions. First National Bank (FNB) is used for our Payroll and money market accounts. The Town's major operating account is at PNC. Money is periodically transferred from PNC to FNB to cover payroll and credit cards. BMS recommends that we use one account for all our operations. Acting Finance Director Ashley Eure explained that consolidating with PNC would be a smoother and timelier transition due to direct deposits we receive  4-0.  October 9, 2023 Regular Session Minutes  3    from the State and catching them at the different intervals (monthly, quarterly, etc.) in which they are deposited. Ms. Eure discussed different scenarios with consolidating our accounts to either institution. Manager Cole stated that the Town found that the fees at PNC and FNB were comparable during a recent inquiry. She also stated that Council should assess moving the money market accounts at FNB to our Capital Management Trust as we are earning 5.67% interest. Once Council decides which bank to use exclusively, new signatories will be determined in December after the elections. Manager Cole will gather more information and formal documentation regarding each bank's fees and policies for Council to review and choose which financial institution to use. Attorney Leidy confirmed that there is no legal requirement for selecting the Town's financial institution, no bidding or RFP process is required. 1. Hyde Park will be closed Tuesday, October 10th.  d. Manager's Update -  2. Manager Cole stated that periodically, funds are moved from our PNC accounts to our Capital Management Trust. Manager Cole will bring Council a report showing the interest earned since the trust was opened. 3. Manager Cole commented that Council did not receive financial reports due to the transition process to the new software. All the codes, all the line items have to be changed and that process is not completed. Mayor Pro Tem Hodges noted that North Carolina League of Municipalities contracted with this software company and NCLM represents us and other municipalities and government entities. When we are having issues, we are dealing with the people from the NCLM and software reps.  COUNCIL REPORTSICONCERNS  Councilwoman Brothers thanked Manager Cole for all her work and efforts. She also thanked the supportive citizens of Hertford. She has been appointed to the Chowan- Perquimans Smart Start Executive Committee and will meet on October 19th. She will provide Council an update of her duties on the committee. Counciwoman Brothers stated that Toys for Tots applications are being accepted through October 31st. Councilman Mimlitsch expressed his appreciation to Manager Cole for creating the grant matrix and all her hard work. He stated that the community is happy with the sheriff patrols and theiri interaction with the community and coming together with Public Works. He noted that the Ghost Tour is October 20th and 21st and his home is one of the Counciwoman Anderson thanked those who came to the meeting, Manager Cole, and Sheriff White. She mentioned that the sheriff's department was very helpful in helping in her neighborhood with a situation. Councilwoman Anderson shared that residents have expressed their satisfaction with the sheriff's department and noted seeing them  featured houses!  periodically patrolling/driving through the community.  October 9, 2023 Regular Session Minutes  4    Mayor Pro Tem Hodges turned the floor over to Manager Cole to discuss the purchase of the new firetruck. Manager Cole first announced that the kayaks are here and at the Hertford Marina. The Town will use ARPA money to purchase the firetruck and use the fund balance for the new Public Works building. There were some questions regarding the bidding process as wea are looking to purchase a demo truck, and Andrew Howell at Attorney Leidy's office confirmed that there is a provision for using cooperative organizations and the Town is registered with one. We are working through the cooperative organization to acquire the demo firetruck and they believe they will work through it in time for us to close this month. The seller has been notified. The fund balance will be used for the PWI building, and the Town will not acquire any debt through either transaction. Manager Cole recapped that if the Town were to finance half of the firetruck cost, we would have had to get approval from the LGC for the loan at  their October 3rd meeting. ANNOUCEMENTS ADJOURNMENT unanimously, 4-0.  Mayor Pro Tem Hodges read the announcements.  Mayor Pro Tem Hodges asked for a motion to adjourn. Counciwoman Brothers made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Councilman Mimlitsch seconded. It passed  The meeting was adjourned at 7:28 PM.  October 9, 2023 Regular Session Minutes  5