TOWN OF STOKESDALE Regular Town Council Meeting 8325 Angel Pardue Road Stokesdale, NC27357 June 8, 2017  The Regular Town Council Meeting of the Stokesdale Town Council was held on Thursday, June 8, 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. INVOCATION: Given by Pastor Jason Riddle from Heritage Baptist Church, 8901 Ellisboro Road,  White-lawrence, Tim. Jones.  Stokesdale.  PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Recited by Council members and citizens in attendance. REVIEW AND ADOPT AGENDA: Vicki White-lawrence made a motion to adopt the agenda as written. Bill Jones seconded the motion. All Council members voted aye and the motion carried. READING AND APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR THE FOLLOWING: April 26, 2017 Personnel Benefit Workshop; April26, 2017Town Council Business Meeting; May 3, 2017Town Council Business Meeting; May 17, 20171 Town Council Business Meeting: Bill Jones made a motion to approve the minutes listed on the agenda. VickWhite-lawrence seconded the motion. Mayor Braswell, Bill. Jones, Frank Bruno, and Vicki White-Lawrence voted aye. Tim. Jones voted nay. The motion carried witha 4to 1 vote. COMMENTS FROM THE FLOOR AND/OR COMMENTS ABOUT THE PROPOSED WATER AUTHORITY: Mary Maness, 8405 Tree Court, Stokesdale, said that someone is going to get killed on Clintwood Drive between US Highway 158 and NCI Highway 68. Drivers speed down that road like they are driving on I-40, Mayor Braswell will have staff contact Bobby Norris from the North Carolina Department of  and iti isv very dangerous. Someone is going to get killed. Transportation (NCDOT) look into the matter.  NEW BUSINESS:  Report from Guilford County Sheriff's Department: No deputy was present to give the report. The Tim Jones asked if the Town is inviting the Sheriff's Department to attend the Regular Town Council  report is available online andi in the Northwest Observer.  Meetings. Kim Hemric verified that they have an ongoing invitation to attend.  1  June 8, 2017 Regular Town Council Meeting    Finance Report - May, 2017: Philip Pulliam, Budget Officer, provided details about the General Fund, Water Enterprise, and Water-Sewer Financial Reports for May, 2017. (Please see the Financial Reports, Tim Jones asked why the $75,000.00 transfer was necessary (General Fund). Mr. Pulliam said it was PUBLICHEARING: FY2017-18 Budget, BudgetAmendments, & Budget Message: Mayor Braswell made ar motion to open the Public Hearing for the 2017-18 Budget. Bill. Jones seconded the motion. All Council Kim Hemric read the Finance Officer's Budget Message (Please see the attachment to the minutes).  which are available in the Town Hall lobby, for details).  transferred in order to pay salaries and bills in the next couple of months.  members voted aye and the motion carried.  Mayor Braswell asked for Public Comments.  John Flynt, 8133 Belews Creek Road, Stokesdale, was looking under the Water Enterprise Fund, Revenue of approximately $480,000.00, Administrative Expenses of $143,832.00. He wanted to know how many salaries are coming out oft that. Philip Pulliam said that there were four (4): salaries for four (4) part-time employees and a potential Water Technician noty yet hired. Mr. Flynt asked if the salaries are strictly for the Water Enterprise activities or are they for more General account business functions. Kim Hemric explained that all ofsalaries have been assessed and three of the employeesaredvided into percentages between the General Fund and Water Enterprise Fund. One of the Deputy Clerk's salary is 100 percent under the Water Enterprise Fund and the 20-hour Water Technician position that Town Council is considering is also 100 percent under the Water Enterprise Fund. That is strictly the salaries allocated for Tim. Jones wanted to know if Kim Hemric remembered those percentages. Kim Hemric did not have the information with her at the meeting. Philip Pulliam said he is 60 percent Water Enterprise Fund and 40 percent General Fund. Kim Hemrici is 70 percent General Fund and 30p percent Water Enterprise Fund, and he wasn't sure of Diana Marcus' percentages. They estimated the times between the two funds as best they could. Mayor Braswell thinks Diana Marcus is 50 percent General Fund and 50 percent Water Enterprise Fund. Alisa Houk is 100 percent Water Enterprise Fund. If he remembers right, three yearsa ago Tim. Jones wanted to know, in sO far as the utilities and operation cost of the Town Hall building, if the Water Enterprise Fund is still not paying any utilities int the building. Philip Pulliam said that is correct. Joe Thacker, 7936 Lester Road, Stokesdale, said he understands that this past year there was $45,000.00 int the budget to install new electronic meters and software to go with them. The new meters are read electronically without having to stop and get out of the truck to read them manually like the old meters require. The current budget includes an additional $45,000.00 for more electronic meters. He wants to knowi ifspending this $90,000.00 willl help decrease billing and administrative costs this year or next year. Bill. Jones said that they are working towards that. When there are old meters int the ground, they cannot bet totally replaced in one year. The cost of reading the meters will decrease once allo oft the old meters are replaced with electronic meters. Due to safetyi issues on NCI Highway 68 with reading meters, they started  that fund.  there were no salaries allocated under the Water Enterprise Fund at all.  2  June 8, 2017 Regular Town Council Meeting    replacing those meters first. He thinks that as time goes by and the old meters are replaced with new electronic meters, which require much less time for the meters to be read, the cost ofr reading meters will decrease substantially. The new electronic meters are more efficient and accurate and able to resolve meter reading issues by computer rather than having someone physically go out to the property for a meter reread. There are many advantages by replacing the old meters with new electronic meters. Mayor Braswell wanted to add that not only are the new electronic meters replacing 10-year old rotting and leaking meters that cost valuable water loss, but there was a safety concern with the employees reading the manual read meters along highways with heavy traffic and no shoulders to pull off onto. Joe Thacker said he was mainly concerned about how much return you can expect on the Town's investment or how long iti isgoing to take the Town to recoup that $90,000.00. Mayor Braswell thinkst that is a good question. He needs to go back and look at his worksheet when they were researching this ini the many water workshops that Town Council has had during the last two years. He would need those Tim. Jones advised that they make every effort to put the cost into the category it belongs in. That is one reason he wants to charge the water system ar reasonable amount for utilities. He welcomes citizen input Mayor Braswell said that his primary decision to go with electronic read meters was due to the person's safety. He can't give a return on investment with a person's life. Whatever it costs to keep the meter reader safe has to be the number one goal. He and Alisa Houk road down the roads and read 70 meters inl less than anl hour. He estimates that once the remaining old metersarer replaced withe electronic meters, it may take only two or three hours to complete the job, instead of 10 or 12 hours that it was taking to read all of the manual read meters that were in the ground. That will be a significant decrease in man- power and something a future Town Council will have to negotiate with Yates Construction Company, because, right now, the Town is spending $1,200.00 per month to have the meters read. Mayor Braswell made a motion to close the Public Hearing. Bill Jones seconded the motion. All Council Mayor Braswell explained the process involving public budget meetings, comparison budget estimates from previous years, future improvement budget estimates, and a growing water system with the employees and equipment needed to run it, which led up to the current budget on the table now for Bill Jones wanted to say that next year after Mayor Braswell is gone, the Town will realize how much he didi fort the water system. Hopefullya, part-time Water Technician willl bel hired before he leaves, sO he can Mary Maness, 8405 Tree Court, Stokesdale, wanted to know who the Town hires to work out on the ball fields at the Town Park. Mayor Braswell said the cost to maintain the fields is budgeted in the General Fund, which includes mowing, weeding, seeding, fertilizing, cleaning bathrooms, emptying trash cans, and locking and unlocking the gate. Mary Maness suggested asking for volunteers to help.  numbers in order to provide Mr. Thacker with an accurate answer to his question.  about any item that can be cut from the budget in any way.  members voted aye and the motion carried.  approval.  train them.  3  June 8, 2017- - Regular Town Council Meeting    Tim. Jones wanted toi thank Town Council and staff for their time working ont the budget. Hei iso opposed to a property taxi in Stokesdale for many reasons, but his primary reasoni is he thinks that the citizensalready pay too many taxes to the federal, state, and county governments. He doesn't think that they spend enough time as a Council, asal Town, as neighbors, as a community discussing the problem with theirs sales taxi revenue being taken away by Guilford County. The Town is losing quite al bit ofr money, because of the decision that was made in 2004 (by the Guilford County Commissioners). It seems like taking that into account and the history with the sales tax distribution money being some of the basis that the Town was incorporated in the first place, Town Council is not conservative enough with their budget. If he had the sole responsibility of preparing the budget that he would prefer, it would be somewhat more conservative. He would look at the Town's hours, perhaps the lights downtown, the Piedmont Council of Government the Town pays, and anything else in the budget that he thinks they could get away with not having. He thinks every line item in the Town's budget should be reviewed every year and considered whether it is feasible to continue paying that amount or whether the Town can do without it. That is the way he feels as a Council member. Also, the general opinion that he gets out on the street with his neighbors and fellow citizens he meets, he rarely encounters someone that wants to pay more or wants the Town to dor morei ift they have to payi fori it. There are certainly those that have a special interest agenda and he understands that. We all are passionate about various interests, but overall, he just doesn't feel the Town's citizens are that excited about paying a property1 tax and he doesn'tfeell like the Town cantake their money and deliver anywhere near close in terms of a dollar's worth of goods and services to those citizens. Town Council is a government and they don't operate that efficiently because oft that. Frank Bruno thinks Town Council did a pretty goodj job, especially in the last few years with the budget in removing some of the things that was originally being spent. To have an Undesignated Fund Balance of $75,000.00 right now, he thinks is very good. That's extra money that goes into the bank that the Town doesn't need to use. He thinks that's a pretty good savings for the Town considering the Town is ona limited $300,000.00 plus budget, which is a small budget. To be able to put that much money away each Bill Jones thinks this is probably budget number six (6) that the three of them (Mayor Braswell, Frank Bruno, and himself) have been involved with preparing since they came (on Town Council). He thinks the budget is about the same as it was the very first year, so he doesn'tagree with Tim. Jones when he seems to think they are not doing a good job budgeting. He thinks Town Council is doing good. He doesn't find any other government agencies operating with the same funds they were operating with six years before. That'sj just his opinion. He thinks Town Council has been very conservative, and he doesn't think anyone Frank Bruno made a motion to approve the FY2017-2018 Budget for the General Fund. Vicki White- Lawrence seconded the motion. Mayor Braswell, Bill Jones, Frank Bruno, and' Vicki White-Lawrence voted Frank Bruno made a motion to approve the FY2017-2018 Budget for the Water Enterprise Fund. Vicki White-lawrence seconded the motion. All Council members voted aye and the motion carried. The FY2017-2018 Budget is hereby incorporated and made aj part of the minutes of the meeting. Mayor Braswell made a motion to approve the Budget Ordinance Amendment June gth, 2017. It doesn't  year is pretty good, so he is happy with that ont the budget.  is out running around looking for an excuse to have a (property) tax either.  aye. Tim Jones voted nay. The motion carried with a4 4to: 1 vote.  have a document number.  4  June 8, 2017 Regular Town Council Meeting    Katy Gregg said, justt to be clear for the record, this is a Budget Amendment to the 2016-2017 Budget. Mayor Braswell said this is for the General Fund. Frank Bruno seconded the motion. He added that the Budget Ordinance Amendment is for $34,400.00 total. All Council members voted aye and the motion carried. The Budget Ordinance Amendment is herebyincorporated and made ap part oft the minutes ofthe Mayor Braswell made a motion to approve the Budget Ordinance Amendment June g", 2017, for the 2016-2017 budget cycle for the Water Enterprise Fund increasing maintenance for water tank and water purchases. Frank Bruno: secondedi the motion. All Council members voted aye and the motion carried. The Budget Ordinance Amendment is hereby incorporated and made a part of the minutes of the meeting. Rouse, Rouse, Penn & Rouse, LLP: Mayor Braswell made a motion to approve and authorize the Mayor to sign the contract to audit the accounts for the General Fund and the Water Enterprise Fund. He amended his motion to also have the Finance Officer and Budget Officer sign the contract. Bill Jones seconded the motion. Mayor Braswell, Bill. Jones, Frank Bruno, and' Vicki White-lawrence voted aye. Tim Timmons Group-Feasibility, Study: Katy Gregg went overt the changes that werer made on the contract. Mayor Braswell made a motion that Town Council enteri into this agreement with the Timmons Group for the purposes of an Engineering Study to Determine the Feasibility of Developing: a Regional Water System in Northwest Guilford County. Included in the Feasibility Study area are the Towns of Oak Ridge, Stokesdale, and Summerfield, as well as certain unincorporated portions of Guilford County. Stokesdale's responsibility will be for 25 percent of the $175,130.00 total project fee. After confirmation, discussion with the Deputy Director for the State Budget Office has determined that the available funding will be upfronted either in one (1), two (2), or four (4) installments. The bottom line is the County and the Municipalities would not need to front any local money for the Feasibility Study. A copy of the draft agreement will be available approximately a week prior to review from the State Budget Office. Vicki White-lawrence seconded the motion. Bill. Jones made al Friendly Amendment to authorize the Mayor to sign and execute (Letter of Agreement) on page three (3). Mayor Braswell, Bill Jones, Frank Bruno, and Vicki White-lawrence voted aye. Tim Jones voted nay. The motion carried witha4 4to1 vote.  meeting.  Jones voted nay. The motion carried witha a4tolvote.  She confirmed that she was good with the changes and the contract.  Green Engineering and McGill Associates:  Information was gathered from each of these two  engineering firms in order for Town Council to make an informed decision on which firm would be best suited to assist them with options pertaining to the proposed Regional Water Authority or Interlocal Bill Jones made a motion to hire McGill Associates as the Town's engineer of record. Mayor Braswell seconded the motion. Mayor Braswell, Bill. Jones, Frank Bruno, and VickWhite-lawrence voted aye. Tim  Agreements that would be in Stokesdale's best interest.  Jones voted nay. The motion carried with a4tolvote.  UNFINISHED BUSINESS Stokesdale Water System:  5  June 8, 2017 Regular Town Council Meeting    Citizens' Comment Period on the Stokesdale Water System: John Flynt, 8133 Belews Creek Road, Stokesdale, wanted to know if the expenditure for the engineering firm chosen to help Town Council was included int the Budget. He is also concerned about the proposed Regional Water Authority, because they would have taxing authority without any recourse. Town Council can be voted out if they propose a tax the public doesn'tl like. He has heard estimates of$ $100,000,000.00 for the cost to expand the water lines. Another thing he is concerned about is that a Regional Water Authority could require mandatory connection tot the water system which would force the citizens to spend money they don't have and cause areal burden. A property tax could be a definite possibility ift this happened. He hopes that Town Council moves cautiously towards a decision onal Regional Water Authority, because it seems liket theya are moving Frank Bruno advised that in the Budget under the Water Enterprise Fund, Engineering Consultation Fees  too quickly and without caution.  are listed under Expenditures, sO the engineering firm was built into the Budget.  Other Issues Pertaining to the Water System:  Continued-E Emergency Access Water Usage Policy: Mayor Braswell said that he and Deputy Clerk. Alisa Houk are still working on the Emergency Access Water Usage Policy. He has actually had a change in position due to something he has recently learned about, but hei is not going into that tonight. Mayor Braswell made a motion to continue this agenda item until the. July 13th Regular Town Council Meeting. Bill. Jones seconded the motion. All Council members voted aye and the motion carried.  COMMITTEE. AND BOARD REPORTS:  Property Committee: Mayor Braswell announced that hei is officially off ofthe Property Committee, but he knows that Kim Hemric has been working with Keith Tuggle Mowing on a new proposal he submitted. VickWhite-lawrence would like to see Council reactivate committees. Council discontinued committees until they could review them and reorganize them to see what committees are needed. Community involvement is needed and committees are a way to groom people for leadership roles, sO she would like Mayor Braswell said he has always encouraged citizens to step up if they see a need. The Ordinance Public Safety: and Water Committee: Thearon Hooks (Committee Chair)is planninga a Portable Generator Class that he will coordinate withJ&J JI Electric and the church. He will announce the date at the. July: 13th Regular1 Town Council Meeting. He also is rewriting aj procedural manual for the portable generator. Library Committee: Frank Bruno said he is the only one on the Library Committee.  to see Council get back to reviewing and reorganizing committees.  Review Committee has been very active and has been doing some good work.  Parade Committee: Vicki White-Lawrence announced that she is officially off of the Parade Committee. Departmental and Administrative Report - Town Administrator: Kim Hemric wanted to share some seneralwaterimtomation. The most recent bill from the CHy-waSMmSPANAN wanted  6  June 8, 2017 Regular Town Council Meeting    to break it down. This billing's average cost per day was $552.86, in comparison to last month's average cost per day billing of $605.44. Last year it was $634.84. Since the last Regular Town Council Meeting, ten (10) new water meters were sold. The water meters will be read on Saturday, June 10th. She anticipates approximately 537 to 539 water bills will be generated. This is the second month the electronic meters willl ber reada and kinksares stilll being workedo lout. Af fewweeksa ago,shec completedt the C-Distribution: School for Public Water Systems provided by the North Carolina Rural Water Association, and received her Trenching and Confined Spaces Certificate. She should have her license from the State in a couple of months. Within the next 12 months she also hopes to get her B-Distribution. Should Town Council hire the Water Technician, she should be able to support that process due to the training she'sr received about what goes on int the field and on the administrative side of the water. The Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) is due before July 15t, sO she will submit that next week. Changing the topici from water, Oliver Bass, the Town Planner, will start providing her with a summary report every month, starting after the. July 6th Planning Board Meeting, about some oft the activities he works on. She plans to share that information at the. July1 13th Regular Town Council Meeting. Approximately thet third weeki in August, she will be attending additional training through the North Carolina Association of Municipal Clerks. She also plans to schedule a Citizens Academy, during the last week of August, which is a Town Hall open house for the public and an opportunity to learn about the roles of the Town Council and the staff and what they do at Town Hall. It'salsoa an opportunity to learn about they water billing process, general statues, and what a Town Council form of government is. It is similar to a Lunch and Learn Program, which she and the staff will host. She encourages feedback and questions from the Town citizens, sO that she can have the appropriate materials available that will be helpful to them. Since this is an election year, she will share some insight COMMENTS FROM THE FLOOR AND/OR COMMENTS ABOUT THE PROPOSED WATER AUTHORITY: Mayor Braswell said that. John Flynt commented that he thought that Town Council was rushing into this thing (Proposed Water Authority). He and Bill Jones attended their first meeting on this over a year ago, possibly a year and al half ago. At that time, it was only about Rockingham County and Stokesdale. Since then, there have been multiple meetings involving the Chairman of the Guilford County Commissioners, Guilford County Commissioner. Justin Conrad, County Manager Marty! Lawing, Mayor and Town Manager of Summerfield, Mayor and Town Manager of Oak Ridge, He and Bill Jones, Kim Hemric has attended multiple meetings, and Frank Bruno and Vicki White-Lawrence have attended some meetings. Tim. Jones was invited, but chose not to attend. He doesn't know how much more cautiously they could have approached this, because things were moving on with three (3) other governing bodies. They went through the process of engineer selection by qualification, sO all of that process was taken and followed. A firm was selected and then their price was negotiated. Their Scope of Services is in great detail. The Town is not signing up to join a Water Authority. A Feasibility Study is all that the Town is a part ofr right now. County Manager Marty Lawing has a lot of water utility knowledge and with the help of the State Senate, funding was found for it. Town Council has to know where Stokesdale stands with their tiny little water system before making any major decisions. Het thinks theyl have moved very cautiouslyf fort the Town. He does agree thati ity willl be a veryi important votei for Town Council. He doesn'ts see al lot of citizens coming to Town Hall and expressing: any concerns. He disagrees that Town Councili is moving hastily. Town Council needs to know the feasibility of al Regional Water System. Right now, the burden of fire protection is on 500 water customers, and John Flynt seems to be strongly opposed to the Fire District helping support Stokesdale's tiny water system. When there are only 500 water customers using the water system, thati is al lot of cost and liability for them. Hel has worked hard, personally, to overcome some of the hurdles that he thinks was carelessness from prior Councils. He sees some signatures on some documents that make him make those statements. He wonders if the prior Councils acted too hastily when they built the initial  about that process as well. Please email her at OKesdAceMONesAEOR.  7  June 8, 2017 Regular Town Council Meeting    phase of the water system (by not running the waterlines down all of the roads in Stokesdale). He thinks this current Council has worked to correct some of the mistakes made by the prior Councils. This Council will do the best they can to read the documents, attend the meetings, and, hopefully, the next Council will make the right decision. Right now, Town Council needs some citizen input, but very few citizens attend the meetings. The Northwest Observer has put it in their paper. Kim Hemric has put information on the Town's website and Facebook page. The Stokesdale Water System is growing now which is increasing revenue. He thinks that Councilhasi made: some goodi moves tog get things ontrackand! het thinks the water system will be fine ten (10) years down the road once all oft the new housing developments are completed. He thought the Feasibility Study was a worthy endeavor in order to find out where the region Mary Maness, 8405 Tree Court, Stokesdale, agrees with everything that Mayor Braswell said. The people that want to get on the water system, can't get on the water system (because the waterlines were not initially run down all of the roads in Stokesdale). It's not the citizens fault that there are only 500 water  stands.  customers on the water system.  ANNOUNCEMENTS: Mayor Braswell read the announcements listed on the agenda.  COMMENTS FROM COUNCIL: Tim. Jones thanked Mayor Braswell for all the work he does on the water system. The Mayor puts in a lot of time on the water system and he wishes that wasn't necessary. He often representsaminorityviewpoint andt that'snotr necessarily welcomed byt the other Councilmembers, buti it's an alternative to having other forms of government that existi in other parts of the world. He very much appreciates the right to have the opportunity to express his own opinion and to vote to represent the citizens that voted for him. He does oppose a property tax for Stokesdale. He just doesn't think they are at that point yet, and for as long as it can be avoided, that's what he favors. He favors small government, and he doesn'ti think there isa a sini in that. He has deep concerns about this proposed Water Authority. One thing he often thinks about is Guilford County and how receptive they've been to the Town'sneeds in regards to their sales tax distribution money. Stokesdale is at tiny little towni inj proportion to Guilford County, and he guesses that's why they don't get very much notice from the Guilford County Commissioners. He is concerned that Stokesdale will wind up with a Water Authority Board that Town Councilwill not be able to have any impact ona as a town no matter what they do. Iti is certainly something they can do, but the question is should they, and how far should they go. In the end, he hopes the best decision is made for the Town of Stokesdale regardless of what decision each individual Council member makes, because those decisions they make, the Town will have to live with for many years in the future. He doesn't always think they should be progressing forward as fast as possible. He thinks that this is a unique town and there is a lot of opportunity for the citizens to have their freedoms, if we would just allow them to do SO. He would like to thank the seven (7) citizens sitting through the meeting and still being present at the end. It is true that there isn't very much attendance at these meetings, which he thinks concerns all of Council regardless of any point of view on any given subject. Council is certainly always concerned that the citizens out there are not aware of what they're doing and why, and what they're not doing and should be. That's why Council is SO dependent on Steven Mann and the Northwest Observer to get the word out. Hei thanked everyone, again, for coming to the meeting. Frank Bruno wanted toi thank the staff and the Council for the work they did on the budget this year. He thinks having Mr. Pulliam there for one cycle at least and this being his second year helping with the budget made it al lot easier. He liked how the budget was spread out for three (3)years, which gave them a much better understanding of where they are coming from and where they are going. He appreciates  8  June 8, 2017 Regular Town Council Meeting    all the work that Mr. Pulliam put in on the budget. He wanted to make a quick comment about the proposed Water Authority. He thinks Mayor Braswell said it best. This isa Feasibility Study and you have to understand what is out there and what the cost might be before you can make an informed decision. That is his point about agreeing to the Feasibility Study. Council needs to know and understand the information. It doesn't mean anyone on Council is for or against it, but without that information, it is impossible to make an informed decision. Hei is glad they are moving forward with the Feasibility Study in order to see what's available for Stokesdale and what the Town's options will be int the future. Bill Jones agrees with what Frank Bruno said. He thinks when the possibility of the Water Authority Feasibility Study came up, he did make the comment that they owe it to the citizens now and they owe it tot thet future citizens to look at any option that anyone brings their way. Council has already learned about the Town's water system, how other water systems work, and how they can improve the Town's water system just by sitting in the meetings with all of the different engineering firms that came from all over and spoke on different topics about water systems. You can't help but learn something from attending these meetings. Hei thinks that twenty (20) years from now people can'tsay that those guys didn'thave: a chance to develop a water system. Oak Ridge, Summerfield, and Guilford County did it, but Stokesdale didn't, sO here we are outi in the cold. Hel has his personal opinion as to what he thinks the end result will be, but! he's notr ready to: say anything yet. Hel knows they are looking at geological studies thaty were done in 2005 or before, and ift those studies weren't done, they wouldn't have anything tol look ati in 2030w when another one is done. They are going to have a snapshot in 2017 or 2018, when the Feasibility Study is complete andr recommendations are made byt the Timmons Group. The Timmons Group recommendation could be thata al Regional Water System wouldn't bef feasible. But, ifitisf feasible, then Stokesdale willl know thati information before making a decision. Twenty (20) years from now, when this may be looked at again, they will know where they stood in 2018, and he thinks that's pretty important. You don't know where you're going until you look at where you've been sometimes. It's a pretty good indicator of where you might want to go in the future. He doesn't regret voting for the Feasibility Study. He doesn't think the citizens can accuse Town Council of making any irrational decisions during the past six (6) years. He does think it's as shame that more people don'to come to the Town Hall meetings and he appreciates the people that are at the meeting tonight. He thinks the reason they don't! have a roomi full of people at the meeting is because they must trust that Town Council makes pretty good decisions, sO they can sit at home and watch television on Thursday nights. He keeps hearing Tim Jones make comments that the citizens don't want a property tax, but he hasn't heard anyone suggest that they want a property tax. He doesn't understand why Tim Jones keeps talking about it. He hasn't heard any Council member recommend a property tax, andl het thinks they are al long way from! having a property tax. Hel has looked at the possibility of some way to devise a property tax that would fund universal garbage collection in Stokesdale. There might be a way to make it work sO the Town can get their sales and use tax distribution money back. He thinks that could be a viable option, but he is still working on how to do it. That would almost be a tax without at taxa and anything that was received from Guilford County would be on top oft that. It might keep VickWhite-lawrence wantedi to thank everyone for attending ther meeting. She appreciates the work that staff and Council has done on the budget. They puta a lot oft time in ont the budget. She doesn'tnecessarly think the room is empty because the Town citizens agree with Council. Possibly, they don't hear from people because they think Council doesn't want to hear from them. She would like to hear from more people than they do. Whether Council agrees or doesn't agree, she thinks they need input from the citizens. She would still like Town Council to review committees and determine what committees are  some of the trash out of the roadside ditches.  9  June 8, 2017 Regular Town Council Meeting    needed. Fore example, the Property Committee doesn'th have to be made up of only Council members. She thinks they need to provide as many opportunities as possible to involve the Town's citizens. Mayor Braswell announced that his oldest son, Jonathan and his wife. Jenna are expecting a baby at the ADIOURNMENT: Frank Bruno made a motion to adjourn. Tim. Jones seconded the motion. All Council  end of this month, which will be he and Cindy's second grandchild. members voted aye. The meeting adjourned at 8:40pm.  Mus Mers Diana Marcus, Deputy Clerk  Approved:  DheR  D. Randall Braswell, Mayor  10  June 8, 2017 Regular Town Council Meeting    TOWN OF STOKESDALE P.O. BOX 465  STOKESDALE, NORTH CAROLINA 27357 BUDGET ORDINANCE AMENDMENT  June 8, 2017  BEIT ORDAINED by the Governing Board of the Town of Stokesdale, North Carolina, that the following amendment be made to the annual budget ordinance for the fiscal year  June 30, 2017:  ending  Section 1: To amend the General Fund, expenditures for Expense:  Decrease  Increase $7,000.00 $1,500.00 $2,000.00 $400.00 $900.00 $12,000.00 $400.00 $1,000.00 $500.00 $200.00 $500.00 $7,000.00 $1,000.00  Admin Exp, Services & Fees Building Upkeep Printing/Office Supplies Membership & Dues F.I.C.A. Salaries Postage Legal Fees Telephone Water Expense Utilities Town Park/Expenditures Streets & Highways-Lighting: Undesignated Funds  $34,400  Section 2: Copies of this budget amendment shall be furnished to the Clerk of the  Governing Board, and to the Budget Officer/Finance Officer for their direction.  Adopted this gthday of. June, 2017  pRdlhe  D.) Randall Braswell  ATTEST:  Town Administrator/Town Clerk  K.Hemrie) Kesuio    TOWN OF STOKESDALE P.O. BOX 465  STOKESDALE, NORTH CAROLINA 27357 BUDGET ORDINANCE AMENDMENT  June 8, 2017  BEITO ORDAINED by the Governing Board of the Town of Stokesdale, North Carolina, that the following amendment be made to the annual budget ordinance for the fiscal year ending  June 30, 2017: Follows:  Section 1: To amend the Water Enterprise Fund, expenditures for Expense Accounts: As  Increase  Increase $3,000.00 $33,000.00  Maintenance Repairs/Water Tank Water Purchase Tap Fee Income  $36,000.00  Section 2: Copies of this budget amendment shall be furnished to the Clerk of the  Governing Board, and to the Budget Officer/Finance Officer for their direction.  Adopted this 8th day of June, 2017  D.E Randall Braswell  akLeks  ATTEST:  JEja  Town Administrator/Town Clerk