Susan S. Phillips Village Manager Stacy C. Eggers IV Village Attorney (828)898-9292 www.seesugar.com Gunther Jochl Mayor Scott. J. Brown Mayor Pro Tem Council Members David Ammann Wade Wittman Dick Casey THE VILLAGE OF SUGARI MOUNTAIN 251 Dick Trundy Lane Sugar Mountain, NC 28604 Manager's Monthly Report May 21, 2024 Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Board Meeting: The P&Z Board met on Wednesday, April 24th. The Board continued a review of the Village ordinances pertaining to the Commercial Business and the Multiple Use omingDstnetsreguatonsandrequrements and will makearecommendation for an ordinance amendment to the Council upon completion of the review. The Board has recommended an ordinance regulating wireless communication facilities. The draft has been forwarded to Four Eggers for review and recommendation of any changes before it is brought to the Council for consideration. At the May meeting, the Board will begin reviewing the other Tourism Development Authority (TDA) Board Meeting: The TDA Board met on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. The Board approved sponsorship in the amount of $5,000 to the Lees-McRae Summer Theatre. Dalton Kirby, Bramble Marketing, presented a marketing update for the period ofA April 15-30th. The Board discussed the $851,950 proposed fiscal year 2024-25 budget and set a public hearing on the budget for June 12th. Dalton Kirby submitted the attached April 2024 The March 2024 collections of the occupancy tax showed a 2% decrease in comparison to March 2023. The occupancy tax collections for the period April 2023 through March 2024 ($858,265) have shown a decrease of $127,032 or 12.89% decrease in comparison to the same period of Golf Course: The golf course opened for the 2024 season with a strong day on Friday, April 19th. We hosted a tournament of 80 ASU Accounting Association players in the morning and the course opened to the public at 2PM. Play has been steady since we opened, even with the typical unpredictable weather in April and May. We saw a 33% increase in April revenue as well as the The course is in great shape for this earlyi in the season. Tri-County Paving has begun the repairs and resurfacing oft the cart paths. They are expected to be completed in the upcoming week. 2024Tennis: Tennis opened for the 2024 season on Wednesday, May 1st. We will see the start of several ofthe regular season players returning in the next couple ofv weeks at which time ar regular zoning districts of the Village. marketing update. 2023 ($985,297). number of rounds played in comparison to April of 2023. schedule of play will begin. Courtyard by Marriott at the Grandfather Center: The contractor has begun the grading and installation of the infrastructure for the construction of the Courtyard Marriott in the Grandfather Center. The overflow parking lot at the north end oft the shopping center will be complete by the end of the month Street Maintenance: The Public' Works staff has worked extremely hard this Spring to clean debris from the culverts and roadsides of Village streets. The budgeted repairs and resurfacing of Village streets for thist fiscal year is expected in late May to early. June. Weather permitting, Public' Works willl be striping our streets next week. Phillip Sisco, contracted by the Village through funding by the TDA again this year, has begun the annual mulching of beds throughout the Village, tennis courts and on the golf course. The annual flowers will be planted in late May. Phillip will maintain all these areas throughout the summer Notice to Restore Properties: The property owners of lots 187 Shelter Rock Circle and lot 107 Rock Spring Circle were issued zoning permits in 2022, and now have been sent a notice requiring them to restore the respective properties to their original state and the Village's zoning permit is invalid; effective immediately. There was tree removal and grading that had taken place when the zoning permits were issued, and there has been no activity for construction of the homes since that time. The notice requires the owner to remove all debris, re-seed the property for erosion control and plant a minimum of twenty (20) trees at least six (6) feet high within thirty days ofr receipt of the notice. If the property owners do not comply, the Village can impose civil penalties in the amount of $200 per day for each day the violation Billboard Tynecastle Highway: Four Eggers has prepared the summary. judgement motion regarding the billboard on Tynecastle Highway that was damaged during a severe weather event in September 2021. The Village advised the property owner that because of the extent of the damage to the billboard, by Village ordinance he was prohibited to replace the sign. To date he has not complied with this order. A Property Tax Collections: Of the $1,410,225 total 2023 levy, $1,400,126 or 99.28% has been collected with a balance of $10,099 uncollected through May 17, 2024. A balance of $2,914 is Administrative Matters: Police Officer David Buchanan has resigned his position with the Village as of May 25th. David has accepted a position with the Town of Newland. A conditional offer of employment has been made to Michael Linkous to fill the position. Michael will graduate from BLET on Friday, May 17th. As is the case with all new law enforcement officers, there is a lot of paperwork that needs to be completed before submitting the application to NC Training and Standards for certification as well as approximately twelve weeks of field training before he will be on ar regular night schedule with the Village. ChiefTurbyfill will adjust the schedule of officers with construction oft the hotel to follow. season. continues. May 22, 2024, court date has been set to hear this case. still uncollected fori the 2014-2022 tax years. Kudos to Tammy! through September while Michael is int field training. Village Manager Zoupo