MACON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS  NOVEMBER 14, 2017 MINUTES  Chairman Tate called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.mm. and welcomed those in attendance. All Board Members, the County Manager, Deputy Clerk, Finance Director, County Attorney, members of the news media and interested citizens ANNOUNCEMENTS: Chairman Tate noted that during a press gathering earlier in the day, Mission Hospital presented a new ambulance to Highlands- Cashiers Hospital. Commissioner Shields recognized David Culpepper, the new council member-elect for the Town of Franklin. The County Manager, County Attorney and the board members briefly discussed the scheduling of a public hearing on the revised grading portion of the county's sedimentation and erosion control ordinance, but took no action. Commissioner Beale reminded the board members that the Southwestern Commission meeting would be held in Franklin on November 27th, Commissioner Shields thanked all of those who participated in the Veterans Day parade and the unveiling of the Charters of MOMENT OF SILENCE: Chairman Tate asked those in attendance to observe ar moment of silence, and Commissioner Beale asked everyone to remember the family of longtime Town of Franklin Council Member Billy Mashburn, who died PLEDGE TO THE FLAG: Led by Commissioner Higdon, the pledge to the flag PUBLIC HEARING ON THE MACON COUNTY COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM APPLICATION: Chairman Tate called the public hearing to order at 6:11 p.m. and stated that the hearing is held to allow members of the community the opportunity to comment on transportation needs and the grant application. No one signed up to speak. Chairman Tate then recognized Macon County Transit Director Kim Angel. As the public hearing was designed to cover four separate programs, Ms. Angel addressed each one briefly, beginning with the Section 5311 application. Funds for this  were present.  Freedom monuments.  recently. was recited.  Minutes 11.14.17 Page 1 of7    program cover administrative costs, and she noted that $190,009 was being requested for the next fiscal year (beginning July 1, 2018), with the local match of15 percent being $28,501. Next, she said the Section 5310 program involves operating costs, and the total request of $165,000 requires a 50 percent match of $82,500, most of which comes from contract revenue generated by the transit service. She then addressed the mobility management project, which is as shared program with the State of Franklin. Ms. Angel said she hoped to have an interlocal agreement betweèn the two organizations for the board's consideration at the next meeting. She explained that the total for the shared position was $51,600; with only a 10 percent local match at $5,160, of which the county would pay half. The last program is Capital, which is the biggest of the four with a total of $265,245, and requires a 10 percent match of $26,525. Ms. Angel said the request includes three new vans, propane conversion kits for them, a new laptop computer for. the mobility manager and parking lot paving. Overall, the request totals $671,854, with local matching dollars of $142,686. Mr. Angel pointed out that she had received no written comments from the public in advance of the hearing. Chairman Tate asked if there was anyone who would like to speak about the 5311 Community Transportation Program grant. No one did. Chairman Tate asked if anyone wanted to speak about the 5310 Operating grant, and no one responded. He asked if anyone would like to speak about the Mobility Management grant, and no one did. Finally, he asked if anyone wished to speak regarding the Capital Program grant, and no one responded. Chairman Tate closed the public hearing at 6:23 p.m. Following further comments from Ms. Angel and from the County Attorney, upon a motion by Commissioner Shields, seconded by Commissioner Gillespie, the board voted unanimously to approve the Public Transportation Program Resolution (FY 2019 Resolution) as presented, a copy of which is attached Attachment and is hereby made a part of these minutes. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: David Culpepper, the newly elected council member for the Town of Franklin, asked the board members to contact the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) regarding the replacement of the bridge on Belden Circle, requesting a sidewalk along Belden Circle to the newly opened Ingles Supermarket. He also commended the county on the renovation of the Robert C. Carpenter Community Building and noted that the MainSpring Conservation Trust had purchased property that would allow the Little Tennessee River Greenway to be connected to the community building. He told the board that if he could be of any assistance on ADDITIONS, ADJUSTMENTS TO AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Upon a motion by Commissioner Beale, seconded by Commissioner Shields, the board voted unanimously to make additions to and approve the agenda as  the latter project to let him know.  adjusted, as follows:  Minutes 11.14.17 Page 2 of7    To add discussion of the Southwestern Community College (SCC) appraisal for the proposed fire safety training complex under Old To add a brief presentation on the trade program at Franklin High School under Reports and Presentations as Item 9(A), per Commissioner  Business as Item 10(C), per the County Manager.  Gillespie.  TRADES PROGRAM AT FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL: Commissioner Gillespie reminded the board members that about six months ago, they heard a conversation about a joint "trades" program between Franklin High School, SCC and the L.B.J. Job Corps. He said he had spoken- to Macon County Schools Superintendent Dr. Chris Baldwin, and the program is coming to fruition." He said it appears that dual enrollment of students in both FHS and SCC will work. "We're going down the road, it looks very favorable," he said. Commissioner Beale asked what the next step would be, and Commissioner Gillespie said that would be actual enrollment of students, adding that "we DISCUSSION OF THE 2018 REGULAR MEETING SCHEDULE: Chairman Tate reviewed the board's recent conversations about the possibility of having regular meetings in Highlands and perhaps Nantahala next year and opened the topic for discussion. Commissioner Beale pointed out that if the board goes to Nantahala, it will need to hold meetings in the other communities as well and asked the County Manager to address the issue. The County Manager noted that by meeting in the boardroom, courthouse security is available and the meetings can be streamed on the Internet, and if some piece of information is needed from a file in a nearby office, it can be easily accessed. There was discussion of a meeting location in Highlands, but Commissioner Tate said he sensed that the "pros" of moving the meeting did not outweigh the "cons." Commissioner Higdon said he felt the board would need to "show respect" to Nantahala if it decides to hold a meeting in Highlands. After further discussion, the consensus of the board was to "stay here," and upon a motion by Commissioner Higdon, seconded by Commissioner Shields, the board voted unanimously to schedule its 2018 regular meetings for the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the commission boardroom on the third floor of the CHANGE ORDERS FOR THE ROBERT C. CARPENTER COMMUNITY BUILDING: The County Manager and Tom Ritter with Ritter Architecture provided brief overviews of the proposed change orders for the Robert C. Construction, LLC, and included a number of items at an additional cost of $12,462, raising the contract total to $309,583. Upon a motion by Commissioner Shields, seconded by Commissioner Beale, the board voted  have interest from the kids." No action was necessary.  Macon County Courthouse in Franklin.  Carpenter Community Building.  The first one was from Arrowood  Minutes 11.14.17 Page 3 of7    unanimously to approve Change Order Number 2 from Arrowood Construction as presented, a copy. of which is attached Attachment2) and is hereby made a part of these minutes. The second change order was from Bryson Enterprises, LTD, which covered additional asphalt for the new lane at the traffic light and for paving of an additional area where a concrete slab was removed at the north side of the building. The additional cost was $2,586.80, bringing the new contract amount to $112,807.45. Upon a motion by Commissioner Beale, seconded by Commissioner Shields, the board voted unanimously to approve Change Order Number 001 from Bryson Enterprises as presented, a copy of which is attached Attachment3 and is hereby made a part of these minutes. APPRAISAL FOR FIRE TRAINING COMPLEX SITE: The County Manager informed the board that he learned just today of the appraisal performed on behalf of SCC for the proposed fire safety training complex located off of Siler Road. SCC President Dr. Don Tomas told him it was $386,000, compared to the one. performed on the county's behalf that came back at $375,000. The County Manager said he needed board consensus to take the next step in the process by sending both appraisals to the state for approval, and it was AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES WITH READ2ME: Following an explanation by the County Attorney and additional comments by Brittney Lofthouse, upon a motion by Commissioner Shields, seconded by Commissioner Gillespie, the board voted unanimously to approve as presented an "Agreement to Provide Recreation Opportunities" with Read2Me that will allow for the installation and maintenance of 13 additional story walk reading boards along a stretch of the Little Tennessee River Greenway north of the dog park. A copy of the agreement is attached CONSENT AGENDA: Following a brief question and answer session with Diane Keener from Macon County Public Health regarding changes in the department's fee schedule, upon a motion by Commissioner Higdon, seconded by Commissioner Gillespie, the board voted unanimously to approve the items on the consent agenda as follows: the minutes of the October 10, 2017 regular meeting; the following budget amendments: #67 for the Sheriff's Department to allocate $28,000 in donations for the K9 Unit; #68 for the Housing Department to allocate $10,500 received from a PNC Healthy Housing Grant; #69 for the Solid Waste Department to allocate $3,851 in insurance settlement funds; #70 for Emergency Services to appropriate a $100,637 fund balance to disburse funds to the fire districts from the 2016 wildfire reimbursement from the State of North Carolina. (Funds were shown as accounts receivable in the last fiscal year, allowing this to be an appropriation from fund balance); #71 for the Health Department to account for a $7,105 decrease in Healthy  granted without a formal vote.  (Attachment.4) and is hereby made a part of these minutes.  Minutes 11.14.17 Page 4of7    Mothers/Healthy Children Block Grant funds; #72 for the Health Department to account for a decrease of $3,500 in Healthy Mothers/Healthy Children Block Grant funds; #73 for the Health Department to appropriate $9,000 due to increased demand for flu vaccines; #74 for the Health Department regarding a BCCCP AgrementAddendum for Fiscal Year 18 which awarded $20,655 to the county - $8,670 less. than what was originally budgeted; #75 for the Health Department regarding a decrease of $2,641 in Wisewoman revenue; #76 for the Health Department to allocate $43,500 in new grant money for the Medical Access. Progràm; and #77 for the Health Department to allocate $80,130 in additional Fiscal Year 16 cost settlement revenue. (Copies of the amendments are attached); tax releases for the month of October in the amount of $991.36. (Copies of the releases are on file in the Deputy Clerk's office); a tax refund to Edward J. Moore in the amount of $393.94 following the settlement of a tax appeal case before the state Property Tax Commission as recommended by Tax Administrator Richard Lightner; a list of fee changes at Macon County Public Health as approved by the Macon County Board of Health on October 24, 2017 (a copy of the list is attached); monthly ad valorem tax collections report (no APPOINTMENTS: (1) Highlands Tourism Development Committee: (A) Following a recommendation by the Highlands Tourism Development Committee and upon a motion by Commissioner Beale, seconded by Commissioner Shields, the board voted unanimously to appoint Brian Stiehler, a Town of Highlands Commissioner who will serve as the town's representative on the committee, along with Laura Huerta representing Lakeside Restaurant, who will be an at-large member of the committee. (2) Planning Board: Upon a motion by Commissioner Gillespie, seconded by Commissioner Shields, the board voted unanimously to appoint Town of Highlands Planner/Zoning Administrator Andrew Bowen as the Highlands area representative on the Macon County Planning Board. (3) Community Funding Pool: The County Manager first gave a brief history lesson, explaining that the task force was initially a 12-member board where two-thirds of the members represented non- profit organizations, with four of those eight seats being designated for specific non-profits. He noted that one of those, the Volunteer Council of Franklin, no longer existed. He told the board that he was now recommending a 13-member board to develop recommendations for the commissioners on how to allocate $75,000 in annual funding. He also recommended moving REACH of Macon County into the designated non-profit member slot vacated by the Volunteer Council. By moving to 13 members, the County Manager said it would allow for five community representatives on the task force and have a two-fold benefit better balance and no tie votes. He said he and the County Attorney had discussed drawing up a set of by-laws for the reconstituted body. He then listed each of his 13 recommendations for appointment to the task force, and suggested the board take two votes, one to consider the changes he  action necessary).  Minutes 11.14.17 Page 5 of7    recommended and the other to make the appointments. Following additional discussion, and upon a motion by Commissioner Beale, seconded by Commissioner Shields, the board voted unanimously to increase the size of the Community Funding Pool task force to 13 and make REACH the fourth specifically designated non-profit seat on the task force. Upon a motion by Commissioner Gillespie, seconded by Commissioner Shields, the board voted to appoint the following individuals to the Community Funding Pool task force:  Representing the four designated non-profit agencies: Patrick Betancourt for Macon Program for Progress Robert Smith for the Peggy Crosby Center Andrea Anderson for REACH of Macon County Foundation (pending final approval) Representing the other four non-profit agencies: Emily Ritter for the March of Dimes Tyler Shook for the Rotary Club Rick Westerman for Habitat for Humanity Diane Cotton for Read2Me Shelia Jenkins Bobbie Contino Kyle Garner Karen Wallace Jennifer Jones  An unnamed representative of the Macon County Community  The five community representatives will be:  CLOSED SESSION: At 7:21 p.m., upon a motion by Commissioner Beale, seconded by Commissioner Shields, the board voted unanimously to go into closed session for the purpose of preserving the attorney-Chent privilege and to discuss the acquisition of real property. (NOTE: Chairman Tate had to leave the meeting prior to the end of the closed session.) At 8:19 p.m., upon a motion by Commissioner Beale, seconded by Commissioner Shields, the board voted 4-0 to come out of closed session and return to open session. No action  was taken.  ADJOURN: With no other business, and at 8:20 p.m., upon a motion by Commissioner Beale, seconded by Commissioner Shields, the board voted unanimously to recess the meeting until Tuesday, November 28, 2017 at 6' p.m. at the Robert C. Carpenter Community Building located at 1288 Georgia  Minutes 11.14.17 Page 6of7    Road in Franklin, primarily for the purpose of holding a joint meeting with the Franklin Town Council and the Town of Highlands Board of Commissioners.  Derek Roland  Jim Tate Board Chairman  Ex Officio Clerk to the Board  Minutes 11.14.17 Page 7 of7