TOWN OF STOKESDALE Regular Town Council Meeting 8325 Angel Pardue Road Stokesdale, NC: 27357 February! 9,2017  The Regular Town Council Meeting of the Stokesdale Town Council was held on Thursday, February 9, 2017, at the Stokesdale Town Hall on 8325 Angel Pardue Road in Stokesdale, North Carolina. COUNCIL MEMBERS: Mayor Randy Braswell, Mayor Pro Tem William N. (Bill). Jones, Frank Bruno, Vicki OTHERS PRESENT INCLUDED: Katy Gregg, Town Attorney; Kim Hemric, Town Administrator; Diana Marcus, Deputy Clerk; Philip Pulliam, Budget Officer; Steve Mann, Northwest Observer. CALL COUNCIL MEETING TO ORDER: Mayor Braswell called the meeting to order at 7:00PM.  White-Lawrence, Tim. Jones.  INVOCATION: Given by Mayor Braswell.  PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Recited by Council members and citizens in attendance. REVIEW AND ADOPT AGENDA: Frank Bruno made ar motion to adopt the agenda as written. VickiWhite- Lawrence seconded the motion. All Council members voted aye andi the motion carried. READING AND APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR THE FOLLOWING: July 14, 2016 Regular Town Council Meeting; September 8, 2016 Regular Town Council Meeting; January 4, 2017 Town Council Business Meeting; January 12, 2017 Regular Town Council Meeting; January 18, 2017 Town Council Business Meeting; January: 25, 2017Town Council Business Meeting: Bill Jonesmade ar motion to approve these minutes listedo ont the agenda. Vicki White-Lawrence: seconded the motion. All Council membersvoted. aye COMMENTS FROM THE FLOOR AND/OR COMMENTS ABOUT THE PROPOSED WATER AUTHORITY: No  and the motion carried.  comments were made from the floor.  NEW BUSINESS:  Report from Guilford County Sheriff's Department: No deputy was present to give the report. The Frank Bruno said for the first time in al long time there was a little vandalism in downtown Stokesdale, sO ifanyone sees carsort trucks that don'tk belong there, please call the Sheriff's Department. Someone broke through the back door of his office, but he thinks they were trying to get into the hardware store next  reportis available online.  door.  1  February 9, 2017 Regular Town Council Meeting  Book 13, Page 3042    Finance Report-January,: 2017: Philip Pulliam, Budget Officer, provided details about the General Fund, Water Enterprise, and Water-Sewer Financial Reports for January, 2017. (Please see the Financial Reports Recognition of Stokesdale Parks and Recreation Association as the 2017 N.C. Recreation Association of the Year by the N.C. Youth Soccer Association: Vicki White-lawrence introduced Scott Hoffmann, Executive Director oft the Soccer Program, Jason Baynes, Director of Coaching for the Soccer Program and President of Stokesdale Parks and Recreation, and Brad Suggs, Assistant Director oft the Soccer Program and Media Manager for Stokesdale Parks and Recreation. They were invited to the meeting tonight sO Stokesdale Parks and Recreation could be recognized for receiving the NC Youth Soccer Association's (NCYSA) 2017 Recreation Association of the Year award and have their picture taken to be posted to the Town's Facebook page. Stokesdale Parks and Recreation has offered: soccer for more than ten years, has over 50 volunteers, serves over 220 kids in the soccer program, and has been affiliated with the NCYSA for over three years. They were recognized for helping developt their soccerskills, as well as demonstrating positive reinforcement oni thei field andi int the community. They alsor received ar monetary donation which Repealing and Enacting a 25 MPH Speed Limit on US Highway 158: Discussion took place about extending the school zone on US Highway 158, currently on the east side of NC Highway 68, also to the Frank Bruno made a motion that Council repeal a 25 MPH speed limit on US 158, from NC 68, eastward to a point 0.04 mile west of SR 2102, Angel Pardue Road, in Stokesdale, Stokesdale Elementary School Zone, in effect from 30 minutes before to 30 minutes after school begins and ends on school days only. Vicki White-Lawrence seconded the motion. All Council members voted aye and the motion carried. Frank Bruno made a motion that Council enact a 25 MPH: speed limit on US 158 between a point 0.07 mile west of NC 68 and a point 0.04 mile west of SR 2102, Angel Pardue Road, in Stokesdale, Stokesdale Elementary School Zone, in effect from 30 minutes before to 30 minutes after school begins and ends on school days only. Vicki White-lawrence seconded the motion. All Council members voted aye and the Consider Adding Kennerly Engineering & Design, Inc. to the Town Vendor List: Vickie White-Lawrence made a motion that Council add Kennerly Engineering & Design to the Town Vendor List. Bill Jones Nikole Kennerly gave al brief overview of the services Kennerly Engineering & Design provides. Tim. Jones  for details).  will be used to upgrade the equipment for their soccer program.  west side of NC Highway 68.  motion carried.  seconded the motion. All Council members voted aye and the motion carried. asked for a rate sheet. Ms. Kennerly will: send Council a rate sheet. All Council members voted aye andi the motion carried.  Water System RFQ: Discussion Regarding "Request for Engineering Qualifications" to Evaluate Town of Stokesdale's Current and Potential Water Customers "Best Value" Water Supply Options and Water System "Best Management Practices" (BMP) Said Evaluation to bel Performed for Exclusive Benefit of theTownofStokesdale: only: Tim. Jones would like to get an expertt to evaluate the Town's water system specifically for Stokesdale in conjunction with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in order to determine Stokesdale's best options. The expert would be expected to make a recommendation as to  2  February 9, 2017 Regular Town Council Meeting  Book 13, Page 3043    whether or not Stokesdale should join a Water Authority or whether there is a better option for Stokesdale. His concern is that they don't currently have an expert watching out for the best interests of Stokesdale and its citizens. Mayor Braswell advised that he has the names of two engineering companies that were referred to him by the North Carolina Rural Water Association that could be used for this purpose. Discussion took place about sending the RFQs (Request for Qualifications) out with or withouta Mayor Braswell asked Kim Hemric to put this item on the agenda for the Wednesday, February 15th Discussion to Hire an Interim Stokesdale Water System Director: Tim Jones distributed a memo to Council for their review. He thinks this is something that Council should consider. Discussion took place about a job description and the immediate need to hire a Deputy Clerk to handle the internal Mayor Braswell wants to continue this item to the Wednesday, February 15th Town Council Business  deadline and thet time needed to accomplish this task.  meeting sO Council can discuss and vote on the RFQ for a consultant.  administrative duties for the water system.  Meeting.  UNFINISHED BUSINESS Stokesdale Water System:  Citizens' Comment Period ont the Stokesdale' Water System and the Proposed Regional Water Authority: Mahalia McGee, 8403 Shilling Street, Stokesdale, doesn't understand why Stokesdale got involved with this Water Authority when they already purchase clear, clean, good quality water from Winston-Salem that works fine. Shei is also confused about how an Interim Water System Director got twisted around into Mayor Braswell advised that a Water Authority has not yet been created. An RFQ (Request for Qualifications) was sent out Friday to engineering firms for the purpose of performing at feasibility study. The feasibility study will be performed by a qualified engineer that studies the region of the unincorporated area of Guilford County, Summerfield, Oak Ridge, and Stokesdale. He thinks the citizens of Stokesdale need to be looking at 25 years. The water line coming from Winston-Salem is 12 inches. That isr not goingt tol be enough water to supply ther needs oft this system in2 25 years, whichisa an unqualified statement coming from! him. Over ay year ago, he and Bill Jones metv withagroup: about Stokesdale possibly becoming a member of a Water Authority. He brought this information to the rest of Town Council's attention on May 2, 2016, that he and Bill Jones had attended a meeting that specifically spoke about Stokesdale possibly becoming a member of a Water Authority. There is a long way to go even though we have at timeline that mays say different. Things are moving pretty fast." The cost fort the feasibility study may bey paidi for with the $14.5 million dollars that has been allocated. It has been requested that it be paidi for with the grant money, but how much money that will come to Guilford County has not yet been addressed. Depending on what the feasibility study indicates wheni it is completed, will help determine the decision they make for Stokesdale. There are other options that Stokesdale is looking at other than joining a Water Authority. An inter-local agreement would allow Stokesdale to continue handling the Stokesdale Water System, but would allowt the Towni to buy water from the Water. Authority. Town Council is trying to find al better water rate andl lower accessibility fee for the citizens of Stokesdale. They want to  al Deputy Clerk.  3  February 9, 2017- Regular Town Council Meeting  Book 13,1 Page 3044    get the best quality of water at the best price for Stokesdale, and they need to hire professional help in Tim. Jones made a motion to attach the Request for Qualifications to our minutes for this meeting, what we! have heret that's dated February: 1, 2017, so it willl be a permanent part oft the record. Katy Gregg advised that since Council discussed and voted on the Request for Qualifications at the February 1st Town Council Business Meeting last week, the Request for Qualifications should be made a part ofthose minutes. It doesn't need to be voted on, but needs to be ap part oft those minutes and can be  order to make the best decision for Stokesdale.  put into the minute books.  Other Issues Pertaining to the Water System: No items were discussed.  Continued - Resolution to Establish a Policy for Approval and Opening of Closed Session Minutes and General Accounts: Katy Gregg gave an overview and detailed explanation of the revised Resolution that she prepared so that Council understands what it means. Discussion took place about thei inventory list of Mayor Braswell made a motion to continue the Resolution to Establish Policy for Approval and Unsealing of Closed Session Minutes and General Accounts to the February 15th (Town Council Business Meeting): at 4:00pm for a possible vote. Vicki White-Lawrence seconded the motion. All Council members voted aye Mayor Braswell asked Katy Gregg how much this is going to cost. Ms. Gregg said she didn't have a clue because it depended on how longi it would take her to read the minutes and do any research that may be Mayor Braswell made a motion to continue the other two items to the February 15th Town Council Business Meeting. Bill Jones seconded the motion. All Council members voted aye and ther motion carried. Update on Dropbox for Water Payments: Bill Jones made a motion to continue this item to the Wednesday, February 15th meeting. Frank Bruno seconded the motion. All Council members voted aye  the closed session minutes.  and the motion carried.  necessary.  and the motion carried. COMMITTEE AND BOARD REPORTS:  Public Safety Committee: Thearon Hooks continues to work on the community watch program. He is contacting the new person at the Guilford County Sheriff's Department that isi in charge ofthe community watch program. He is hoping to have al Deputy Sheriff come to al Town Hall meeting to do a presentation. Property Committee: The Property Committee has been quiet, due tot the cold weather. Library Committee: Frank Bruno reminded everyone about the May 6th Make-A-Difference Day cleanup  and asked everyone to keep thinking about projects for the Town Park. Water Committee: The Water Committee has been quiet.  4  February 9, 2017- Regular Town Council Meeting  Book 13, Page 3045    Parade Committee: VickWhite-lawrence advised that the Parade Committee had a wrap-up meeting Departmental and Administrative Report-Town Administrator: Kim Hemric wanted to confirm that Deputy Clerk Sandra Murrell resigned on good terms and she appreciates all the hard work she did and wishes her well with her future endeavors. Water meters will be read on Saturday and water bills will be sent out by Friday next week. A couple of weeks ago, she met with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) to review: specifics about the water system and everything was great. She completed a webinar this week that parallels the Town's billing softwarewhich: she will put on the agenda for the February 15th Town Council Business Meeting. Redline Datai is offering some great benefits at no additional cost to the Town, such as a telephone portal available 24/7 where customers can call to pay their water bill. They also provide an online portal where customers can view their water account and make a payment on their water bill. She also plans to develop a Citizens Academy to be rolled out on Saturday, May 6th for Make-A-Difference Day. It is a way to educate the public about what Town Council does, what the roles/duties are for the Town Administrator, Town Clerk, Deputy Clerk, Finance Officer, and Budget Officer, and what staff does with the water system. Today is Ms. Hemric's one-year anniversary with the Town of Stokesdale. She appreciates the opportunity and Town Council's support. She wanted to share some data that she compiled this past year about what she handles every day at Town Hall, which does noti include either of the Deputy Clerks. She was hired as the Town Clerk and then promoted to Town Administrator five or six months later. She wants to give Council a real perspective of what she does every day here at Town Hall, sO the numbers she is providing are on the low side because she didn't want to exaggerate the numbers. She has responded to over 3,600 emails on behalf of the Town pertaining to administrative, clerk, and finance officer functions, which does not include filtering out spam, the NC811 locates, or about 95% of the water emails. She has received and followed up on 1,040 phone calls. She has processed approximately 2,080 documents over the course of the year that doesn't include public requests for information or any special projects like new developments. She has submitted 27 state or municipal administrative reports over the last year. She has attended the Clerks Academy, the local governments finance officers' seminar, a technology and digital summit for small municipalities, attended 12 regular Town Council meetings, about 26 Wednesday business meetings, ten staff meetings, six Budget meetings, two Planning Board meetings, and lots and lots of online webinars and: seminars. Over thel last year, she has hadi face-to-face! interactionwith over 600ofthe Town's citizens. Although Stokesdale is a very small community, an enormous amount of information is processed. There isal lot of internal communication among staff and Council members as well. She is ini full support of  last month at Stokeridge. General items were discussed for next year.  replacing the Deputy Clerk.  ANNOUNCEMENTS: Mayor Braswell read the announcements listed on the agenda.  Tim Jones asked the Town Administrator to put an announcement on the Town website about the "We COMMENTS FROM COUNCIL: Tim Jones thanked Kim Hemric for her year of service. He thinks that everyone will miss Sandra (Murrell). Hei thanked Ms. Hemrici fort thet time she puts in on the water system. Its still concerns him that the Towni is not advertising for an individual that hast the expertise ande experience needed for the water system to help alleviate some of the pressure that is on Town Council and the staff.  the People" Classes that are being held at Town Hall.  Hea also thanked everyone for coming to the meeting.  5  February 9, 2017- - Regular Town Council Meeting  Book 13, Page 3046    Frank Bruno advised that our gth Circuit Court. Judge has decided to make law instead ofe enforcing law. He thinks they should attend a' "We the People" Class, sO they can learn that their job is to actually enforce Bill Jones advised that a Resolution was passed in November, 2015, requesting that the Guilford County Commissioners return Stokesdale'ssales taxi money backt toi the Town. Hel has tried to create ani interactive website for people in the state to access and learn about this issue, but has been unsuccesstul in his attempt. Therefore, he would like someone that is computer literate to assist him with this endeavor. The officials don'ti feel any obligation to return the sales tax money back to the small towns, so he thinks iti is going to take a state-wide effort to make it happen. There are 47 counties including Guilford County that base theirsales tax distribution on ad-valorem, which means those others small towns are not getting their sales taxi money back either. Therel have been some local bills passedi in: some oft the other counties. Once this interactive website is created with all of this information, it will be provided to the public for their input and will be sent to these small towns. He feels that what they are doing is immoral, and although may be legal, just isn't right. As long he is on Council, he will fight for this change until he succeeds or Mayor Braswell said the Town: appreciates all the hard work Bill Jones has done tot try getting the sales tax money back for the Town. Hei feels that Bill. Jones is doing a lot of good for al loto of communities similar to Mayor Braswell said it was exciting to see Stokesdale Parks and Recreation be recognized publicly. Those are some very hard working people that do a lot for our community in many ways. They do a lot for the Mayor Braswell congratulated Kim Hemric on her one-year anniversary. He knows that it has been a very challenging job for her to handle. He is looking forward to Ms. Hemric being a fixture in Stokesdale for many years to come. He also spoke very highly of Sandra Murrell and all thel hard work she did. Mayor Braswell advised that Stokesdale was included in a study and ranks as the number one most affordable place to live in North Carolina. This is a study that is important to builders and economic development, but he feels that what makes a community the best place to live is an organization like Mayor Braswell said his son, Jonathan, and his wife had a reveal party last weekend which he had never seen before. His son shot a target and the target exploded into a pink color. They are going to have a girl named Iris in. June, sol he and Cindy are now going to have two grandchildren, Everett and Iris. Vicki White-Lawrence wanted to commend Kim Hemrici for her idea about the Citizens Academy. She had participated in the Guilford County Citizens Academy this past fall and it was great. Theyi introduced the department heads from all of the departments. When they offer it again she would certainly encourage everyone to participate, because, as Kim Hemrics said, itr really teaches about how the government works within the county, and Ms. Hemric's idea for a Stokesdale Citizens Academyi is a great idea.  the Constitution and not make the Constitution. This is just an observation.  drops dead.  Stokesdale throughout the state.  kids and lot to bring the community together. Hei is proud to bei their Mayor.  Stokesdale Parks and Recreation.  6  February 9, 2017- Regular Town Council Meeting  Book 13, Page 3047    ADIOURNMENT: Vicki White-Lawrence made a motion to adjourn. Frank Bruno seconded the motion.  All Council members voted aye and the meeting adjourned at 9:20pm.  Klane Pheus  Diana Marcus, Deputy Clerk  Approved:  D. Randall  DEAR  7  February 9, 2017- Regular Town Council Meeting  Book 13, Page 3048