Town of Hertford  Regular Session Meeting (In Person/Facebook) Monday, October 10, 2022 - 6:00PM 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 10, 2022, at 6:00 PM.  COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT Earnell Brown, Mayor Jerry Mimlitsch Connie Brothers STAFF PRESENT  Ashley Hodges, Mayor Pro Tem Sandra Anderson  Janice McKenzie Cole, Interim Town Manager Brock Mitchell, Attorney (subbing for John Leidy)  A quorum was present. CALL TO ORDER  Mayor Brown called the meeting to order. INVOCATION & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE  The invocation was led by Jerry Mimlitsch and followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.  APPROVAL OF AGENDA  A motion to was made by Mayor Pro Tem Hodges and seconded by Jerry Mimlitsch to strike the consent agenda and approve the balance of the agenda. The motion was  approved and the vote was as follows: Councilman Mimlitsch Counciwoman Anderson aye Mayor Pro Tem Hodges aye Connie Brothers Mayor Brown  aye aye aye  CITIZENS CONCERNS  Sara Winslow reminded Council that she addressed them in March 2021 about the condition of the roadways in the Cedarwood and Roadside cemeteries when it is wet. She presented a copy of her comments (attached) from 3/8/21 and noted that she had even recommended a vendor and the costs for materials at that time. She asked that  Council do something about this.  October 10, 2022 Regular Session Minutes  1    Murielle Harmon complimented the appearance of the pathways coming into Hertford. She also commended the merchants for taking it upon themselves to put up billboards. She wants the Town to approach DOT to find out what signage we are entitled to have on Hwy 17 directing people into Hertford. She thought it should include fine dining, historic, antiques. She also suggested that sometimes members of the audience be  asked to give the invocation at Council meetings  CONTINUED BUSINESS  None  NEW BUSINESS Credit card fees  Interim Manager Cole explained that in March 2020 the Town instituted a hiatus on the collection of credit card processing fees, due to COVID, shifting the expense from the users to the Town. Itis time to terminate the hiatus. It is costing the Town about $5,000 per month, or $60,000 per year. The credit card company tells us that there were two other governing bodies who instituted a hiatus and both terminated theirs  about one year ago.  Councilman Mimlitsch made a motion seconded by Counciwoman Anderson to terminate the hiatus. The motion passed 5-0, with the following vote:  ABC Board  Interim Manager Cole explained that Todd Tilley's term on the AC Board terminates in October and he has indicated that he is not seeking reappointment. Retired Judge J.C. Cole has been recommended to replace him. A motion was made by Counciwoman Brothers and seconded by Councilwoman Anderson to appoint J.C. Cole to the. ABC  Board. The motion passed 5-0, with the following vote:  Councilman Mimlitsch Councilwoman Anderson aye Mayor Pro Tem Hodges aye Councilwoman Brothers aye Disposal ofsurplus equipment  aye  Mayor Brown  aye  a) Interim Manager Cole explained the Town has equipment that has been inoperable for 2 or more years taking up space. Some have been repaired  October 10, 2022 Regular Session Minutes  2    only to breakdown again shortly thereafter and others are too old to locate parts. Itis time to sell it on GovDeals.com. She provided photos and the Ai is a leaf vac which requires the workers to walk along side the vehicle holding that big tube. This is a safety hazard. Plus it is not running now and B is a paver that is not utilized and for the volume that it is designed to handle, it would be more cost effective to contract that work out. Cis a Hot Box. It is supposed to heat up loose asphalt. Does not work properly. Will not stay lit. So have used it just to carry the asphalt, but DI Paving Machine - hot asphalt is put in here, but since we can't keep the asphalt hot it serves no purpose. No one on staff knows how to operate it E1 Truck - broke down about two years ago It's hard to get parts for it and  following explanation for each:  old enough that we cannot get parts.  backhoe can do that.  and the markings for usage are warn off. So it has been sitting there since.  Mayor Pro Tem Hodges expressed that he was sorry and frustrated that much of the equipment was not used, but you have to have employees who know how to use it and there has been a lot of turnover in Public Works. The Public Works Director was trying to learn how to use it, but when he left, no one else knew how to use it. The equipment A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Hodges and seconded by Councilman Mimlitsch to surplus this equipment and place it for sale on GoveDeals.com. The motion passed  iss sitting there just getting older and older.  5-0 with the following voice vote: Councilman Mimlitsch Councilwoman Anderson aye Mayor Pro Tem Hodges aye Councilwoman Brothers aye  aye  Mayor Brown Manager's Report  aye  Electric Meters - Installation is complete for now. 598 meters have been installed and there are 38 remaining in inventory. We need to order additional meters for Meads Trailer Park because it requires a different type of meter and also for the higher volume (commercial) users. Itwill take 81 to 10 months to get those. Staff went through a half day training on October 6th There were some glitches. One person was charged for 44 days instead of 30 or 31 so if anyone else saw that discrepancy on their bill they should  contact Utilities.  October 10,2022 Regular Session Minutes  3    Sale of timber on spray field - Interim Manager explained that in following through on Council directions at the retreat, she spoke with Mark Williams of Perquimans County, a logger broker and asked him to assess the lumber at the spray field. He said there was low quality timber that was in wetlands. Someone had cut around the edges in 5 years, maybe more, and cut the high ground off. There is some cypress, but it is scattered. He did not feel that he would be able to get anyone interested in logging it. Mayor Pro Temp Hodges it would be an expense for the Town if we have to clear it for development. Councilman Mimlitch expressed concern that it might be too wet to perk anyway. It was agreed we need to study other usage for that land. The Mayor suggested something like bird sanctuaries. Interim Manager Cole said she would explore possibilities and reach out to the representative from the NC Dept of Natural & Cultural Resources who attended when the Hometown Strong group visited the Town. Christmas Parade - The Town plans to have a float in the parade and the children of  staff and the Council are invited to ride on it. Council's Reports/Concerns  Councilwoman Anderson reported that the Own a Home Workshops scheduled for Thursday, October 20th and Saturday, October 22nd has not had the minimum requirement of 10 participants sign up thus far. One person has signed up for the 20th and 4 for the 22nd. Even if they have to cancel, they will meet individually with those Councilman Mimlitsch complimented HHI for the billboards going. They look good. Also, he has gotten a lot of compliments on the work of Public Works. Councilwoman Brothers thanked everyone for their condolences and support. She has volunteered to with Toys for Tots. The give away will be at the Perquimans Recreation Center. The toys should not be wrapped because the parents want to see what their children are getting. Each parent is allowed to pick three (3) presents and then if there are still some left over, the children can come and make a selection. The application deadline is October 29th for those who wish to participate. Applications are at Social Mayor Pro Tem Hodges reported that the EDA application that he, Sharon Smith (Albemarle Commission) and Interim Manager Cole worked on has been filed. He also Mayor Brown thanked Public Works for their assistance in getting the screen ready for the Movie in Central Park on October gth and thanked Howard Williams at the Recreation Center. She also thanked Ashley Eure for getting the checks ready on  who have signed up to give them guidance.  Services, and the Municipal Building.  noted that Public Works and Finance are doing a good job.  Wednesdays for signing.  October 10, 2022 Regular Session Minutes    Interim Manager Cole read the announcements.  Mayor Pro Tem Hodges made the motion to adjourn the meeting. Councilman Mimlitsch seconded the motion. It passed 5-0 with the following voice vote:  Councilman Mimlitsch Councilwoman Anderson aye Mayor Pro Tem Hodges aye Counciwoman Brothers aye Meeting adjourned at 7:05pm  aye  Mayor Brown  aye  October 10, 2022 Regular Session Minutes    March 8, 2021  Thank you, Mayor Brown and Council members for the opportunity to speak. Ad couple of these issueslv was going to address at last months meeting. However, Iwas informed by Chief Brown when larrived that allowed attendance was at capacity; no other citizens would be allowed in. Five other citizens were turned away at the same time. Yet, Ihave had several citizens express concern relative to the condition of the drives and poor condition in Cedarwood (new parts) and Edenton Road Cemeteries. The Town of Herford owns and sells the plots in these cemeteries; thus, iti is the Town's responsibility to maintain. Water standing and some people almost getting stuck visiting family graves, certainly not acceptable.  additional folks were allowed in after we left. Double standard?  Even before all the monsoon rains, we have had.  Michael Stallings Trucking - Price per ton delivered (just materials)  #57 stone $32 per ton Crush and Run $26 per ton Slag $23 per ton (may! hold the best) Would probably need 4- - 6inches  Ihave read the 15 sets of TC meeting minutes posted on the Town's webpage and presented in February for approval. When I looked over the agenda for tonight's meeting 4 sets of minutes have been removed from the February list. Not sure how some WS and RS minutes can be identical in text. No doubt that an English teacher would run out of red ink on these. Numerous times I have cited the requirements of minutes in the NCGS and Town Charter/Ordinance Whyi is the approved 2020/2021 Town of Hertford Budget not on the website? Only the On February 22, the water line to my home was broken again for thei third time in last several months as a result of the bridge work. Between February 22-26, my path was blocked for access for over 16 hours by Town of Hertford Vac Truck, equipment or plumbing company. Church Street was onel lane and at times no one or only one person was directing traffic andi no signage..great liability to the town. During thei time, some personnel were not wearing safety colors. Public' Works personnel said' "they were doing the best they could do". The Town didn't fix the problem - a plumbing company' was hired and, in the process, cut an electrical conduit..which resulted in no street lights on Church for several nights. On the 26th the water was cut off on Church Street- -Ihave not talked with anyone who received notification that this was going to happen or when water was restored. The plumbing contractor and NCDOT informed me that the Town was supposed to have notified (water shut off at 10:30 AM) those effected. So much for the new call alert system! received no notification from the Town relative tol loss of access, when water was to be shut off or when restored. Where is al little common courtesy?lleft a message at the Municipal Building at 11:15 AM and requested a call  (December 15, 2020). Looks like still "15 sets not complete.  recommended budget.