Town of Walnut Cove Board of Commissioner Meeting January 2, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes  Members Present: Nellie Brown - Mayor Elwood Mabe - Commissioner Thomas Mitchell - Commissioner Chad. Jarvis - Commissioner Johnnie Hairston - Commissioner Kim Greenwood -T Town Manager Amanda Bryant - Town Clerk  Absent  Meeting Call to Order: Mayor Brown called the meeting to order at7:00 pm  Invocation: Town Manager Greenwood Pledge of Allegiance: Town Manager Greenwood  Announcements  a. Walnut Cove Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting, February 6, 2024 @ 7:00 pm at the b. Walnut Cove Volunteer Fire Dept. Monthly Meeting. Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024 @ 7:00 pm The Cove Group February 6, 2024, at 6:30pm at the Walnut Cove Public Lib e. League of Municipalities Dinner hosted by the Town of Walnut Cove. Jan. 18, 2024 @ 6:30pm f. Town Office & LPA Office ciosed, January: 15, 2024, Martin Luther King Holiday Martin Luther King Town walk sponsored by Christian Awareness Program. 01/15/2024,  Walnut Cove Senior Center  d. Town Recycling. Jan.19,2024 & February: 2, 2024 at the Walnut Cove Public Library.  starting at the Times of Refreshing Well at 10am.  Adjustments to Agenda  Old Business - Item E. Commissioner Meeting Dates (conflict ofl Interest) New Business- Item H. Consideration of posting agenda on Town website.  Item I. Approval of blanket email Mayor and Commissioners as needed.  Item. J. Weather Update and Preparation.  Commissioner Jarvis stated due to not having November minutes in the agenda packet he would also like to add to the adjustments to table the November minutes approval to the February meeting. AI motion was made by Commissioner, Jarvis to accept the adjustments toi the agenda. The motion was  seconded by Commissioner Hairston. Motion carried unanimously.  1    A motion was made by Commissioner Jarvis to table the approval of the November minutes until the February meeting. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Hairston. Motion carried unanimously.  Public Comments -  1. David Coffill - 1270 Briarwood Dr, Walnut Cove, NC 27052 to all veterans and ifi it wasn't for veterans, you wouldn't be here.  Mr. Coffill a 30-year veteran very angry the Board did not take into consideration the VFW meeting held at the Walnut Cove Senior center when they changed their meeting times. He stated it is disrespectful **Mr. Coffill left without giving the Board of Commissioners to opportunity to speak to them. Mayor Brown stated: she would still like to address the issue. She stated there was al lack of communication, and thought everything was verified prior to the meeting. She wanted to personally apologize to everyone for the misunderstanding: and also to every' Veteran, it was never the intention to jeopardize their meetings or to show any form of disrespect. Town Manager Greenwood stated he had verbal confirmation the date was available with no conflicting schedules. Commissioner. Jarvis stated he was not trying to disrespect Commissioner Mabe'si involvement with BSA but wanted to know if there was another day that would work. Town Manager Greenwood made the suggestion of the libraryift the Board wishes to continue thet first Tuesday of each month, Commissioner Jarvis felt there wouldn't be enough space at the Library and didn't want to disrespect the Colored school. General discussion on the Amotion was made by Commissioner Jarvis to change the meeting date to the second Thursday of each month pending confirmation of no other conflict and meeting advertising requirements. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Mitchell. Motion carried unanimously.  Board about possible meeting times.  2. Angie Bailey- - The Cove Group  Wanted to take a minute to thank the Board for their continued support and sponsorship. She states they appreciate the Town and other organizations in Town which help support them as well. Ms. Bailey stated she would be submitting the 2024 event permits at the February meeting. She also stated regardless oft the Board's decision tonight to renew the Cove Square lease, they would continue to hold  their meetings at the same time and place each month.  1. Consent Agenda  a. Approval of Minutes from December 12, 2023, regular meeting  A motion was made by Commissioner Jarvis to approve the December 12, 2023, minutes. The motion  was seconded by Commissioner Hairston. Motion carried unanimously.  b. Revisit, November 14, 2023, minute approval.  **ar n motion, second and unanimously vote was made ini the adjustment to the agenda to table the  approval of November 14, 2023, minutes until February 8, 2024, meeting.  2    Old Business  a. Revisit Dates for Fowler Park Association and Personnel  Mayor Brown recommended having Town Manager Greenwood discuss dates with the Fowler Park Association, in addition to emailing all documentation toi the Board to allow them time to research. Commissioner. Jarvis stated he agreed with the Mayor's recommendations. Town Manager Greenwood  asked ifi it would be ok to consider meeting with them at the budget retreat.  Consensus of the Board.  b. Revision of NCLM Contract  Town Manager Greenwood explained the revised contract for NCLM now has a "cap" of $15001 for additional expenses. Mayor Brown asked about the number of employees, Town Manager Greenwood stated 12 which includes the tag office. Commissioner. Jarvis asked if this is a turn-key deal, which included a personnel policy. Town Manager Greenwood referred to the contract which includesa review and update of current personnel policy. Commissioner, Jarvis stated he wanted to move forward A motion was made by Commissioner Jarvis to approve the NCLM contract, the motion was seconded  with this and wants it done.  by Commissioner Hairston. Motion carried unanimously.  C. Appointment of Town Attorney  Town Manager Greenwood complimented Commissioner Jarvis fort the Coates Cannon links he sent to the Board members. Town Manager Greenwood: stated the list of potential attorneys he has reached out to them but is awaiting the response many have been off work due to the holidays. He will follow up withi the attorneys on the list and will provide their response as they become available. Commissioner. Jarvis recommended Town Manager Greenwood to contact every municipal Board in surrounding counties to inquire about their Town attorney. There was a discussion regarding a special meeting, but Commissioner. Jarvis stated he felt it would best to wait until Town Manager Greenwood heard back from the list of potential attorneys, then have the Mayor call a special meeting to appoint  them.  d. Approval of RFQ for Town Attorney  Town Manager Greenwood provided the Board with a copy oft the RFQ for a Town. Attorney. There are A motion was made by Commissioner Hairston giving permission to advertise the RFQ with corrections to change the words Village and Council. The motion was seconded by Commssioner  some corrections to wording that need to be corrected.  Jarvis. Motion carried unanimously.  New Business  a.E Budget Amendment (Fund 101 to Fund 80)  Assistant Town Manager Bryant requested a budget amendment to transfer $5000 from Fund 101 fund balance to Fund 80 (WS Administration Building), to cover the cost of invoices currently in the office. Commissioner. Jarvis stated for future budget amendment request to please include the invoices the funds would cover. Mayor Brown agreed there needed to be invoices included for documentation purposes. Assistant Town Manager Bryant stated she would include them int the future. The funds  would be reimbursed upon the receipt of funds.  3    Commissioner. Jarvis made a motion to approve the budget amendment request to move $5000 from Fund 101 to Fund 80. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Hariston. Motion carried unanimously.  b. Cell Phone Policy adding officials' discussion.  Town Manager Greenwood provided the Board with a current copy of the personnel policy which only provides a cell phone policy for employees. Commissioner Jarvis stated other Boards have their own policy onl how to conduct themselves. He stated he would work on a draft Board of Commissioners policy for the Town. He felt it would be best to table the discussion on the Board of Commissioners cell phone policy until the Board of Commissioners has their own policy. Mayor Brown stated she agreed with Commissioner Jarvis, the Board needs their own policy. Commissioner Mitchell and Commissioner A motion was made by Commissioner. Jarvis to table the discussion on Board of Commissioners cell phone policy. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hairston. Motion carried unanimously. Town Manager Greenwood stated in the packet there is a copy of the current lease with the Cove Group along with a new lease. There are no changes in the lease other than the dates for the lease agreement for another 5 years. Commissioner Jarvis asked the Board their thoughts on future economic development especially concerning the building beside of Cove Square, the lease agreement does not provide the Town with an out if needed. Mayor Brown stated she considers all the Cove Group does for the Town, they help bring in people and businesses to Town especially since the Town does not have a Chamber of Commerce. Cove Group does al lot of great work for the Town and they work very hard, she feels the Board should continue the lease. There was a general discussion regarding the potential ofa chamber of commerce and grants available fort funding. Commissioner Jarvis asked to have item 6 removed from the lease fori it isn'ta applicable. The Mayor recommended to narrow the lease to 2 years instead of 5 years. Commissioner Mitchell stated he felt 2 years would be good, due toi the possibility of AI motion was made by Commissioner. Jarvis to approve the lease of Cove Square to the Cove Ground, with the noted changes of a 2-year lease and removing item 61 from the lease agreement. The motion  Hairston stated it was fine with them to table until the Board has their own policy.  c.Cove Group Contract Renewal discussion  ac chamber of commerce.  was seconded by Commissioner Mitchell. Motion carried unanimously.  d. Approval of RFQ1 for Lead Service Line  As required the Town must advertise an RFQ for the Lead Service Line, a request for permission to advertise was presented to the Board. Commissioner. Jarvis asked does this cover going past meter, Town Manager Greenwood explained currently the Town does not go past the meter but the Federal government is going to cover the cost to go from the meter: to the home, if lines are found. Town Manager Greenwood explained once the lines are identified for citizens there is available funding to have those replaced. Mayor Brown asked if the grant covered the schools, Town Manager Greenwood stated he would find out. Commissioner. Jarvis asked about the timeline, Bryant stated 10-14 months AI motion was made by Commissioner Hairston.to advertise the RFQ for the Lead Service line, the motion was seconded by Commissioner. Jarvis. Motion carried unanimously.  roughly.  4    e. Required Online Ethics training for newly elected officials and other available training. Assistant Town Manager Bryant stated alle elected officials are required to complete ethics training, the school of government offers two options, in person or online. There was a general discussion with the Board choosing to participate in ethics training online. Commissioner Jarvis wants to attend the Essential of Municipal government class with the other Board members choosing to email Assistant  Town Manager Bryant if they can attend. f.Planning/Zoning Board member discussion  Currently the Town has three ETJ vacancies, Commissioner Jarvis recommends contacting the Interim County manager and ask to place vacancies on their website, the Stokes County Board of Commissioners are to appoint those positions. Town Manager Greenwood stated the Town can add al link to the County's website for the applications. Commissioner. Jarvis also asked if the current planning and zoning members receive compensation for meetings they do not attend. Town Manager Greenwood stated they do, Commissioner Jarvis stated most Boards, ifar member is not present, they do not receive compensation. Mayor Brown asked if members are required to attend a certain number of meetings, Town Manager Greenwood stated it has never been in policy regarding attendance. The Board until Cory took over was under the assumption: anyone can vote regardless of their position on the Board. Commissioner. Jarvis stated they have a very important role in maintaining a small town. He recommends their meetings should be at least an hour long, in the event they dor not have items for the agenda, they should be completing training, reviewing ordinances and relevant information to stay on  top of things.  g.Budget Retreat Date Consideration  Commissioner Jarvis questioned the timeframe for the MAPS: study through NCLM, Greenwood stated it could take up to 90 days to complete. Town Manager Greenwood stated the Town typically receives their taxi information from the county in late February. Commissioner Mitchell provided the dates in March he is off work, the discussion also included Commissioner Hairston'swork, schedule. A motion was made by Commissioner. Jarvis to schedule the budget retreat for March 5, 2024, at 2pm at the Walnut Cove Library. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hairston. Motion carried  unanimousiy.  h. Agenda on Town website and social media  There was ag general consensus of the Board to post the monthly agenda on the Town's website and social media outlets, once published and presented to the Board of Commissioners.  i. Board of Commissioners weekly email update  A discussion ensued on the Board as members requested the Town Manager to send out a weekly email update of happenings in Town. The email can be a bulleted listj just to give the highlights int the event A motion was made by Commissioner Jarvis instructing the Town Manager to generate a weekly email of updates to each Board member. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hairston. Motion  citizens were to ask them, they can be prepared to give them an answer.  carried unanimously.  5    j.Weather Update and Preparation  Town Manager Greenwood provided the Board with the latest update from the National Weather Service on the impending weather. The Public works department is aware of thei incoming weather and have securing 3 loads of salt for Town streets. Commissioner. Jarvis asked if per tradition the Public works department exclude scraping gth Street sO the children can sled. Town Manager Greenwood stated Public works will not touch it as well as place barricades at Summit Street and Lakeside Drive. Administration: - The building projects are progressing. Concrete and footings have been poured and the walls start going up on. January 8. MtDonaldsanticipates: mid-January, Iwill advise when we know the exact date as McDonalds has issued an invite to the Mayor and Board. Share a copy of the Revised  Dept. Report and Explanation of Departments - Town Manager Greenwood  funding which includes part of the DEQ monies.  LPA:  Iwill advise the LPA numbers next month as at the time of writing December figures are not available. The meter reading for the bi-monthly schedule was completed this week and billing has been posted.  Public' Works  The street Christmas lights will be taken down on. January 2, 2024, and stored.  Items for Future Consideration League Diner January 18th, 2024 5. Items of General Concern  Martin Luther King Walk, January 15, 2024, downtown.  Mayor Brown stated she appreciated the work ofe everyone at the Christmas parade and is excited about Commissioner Jarvis questioned if the Town has a payment plan policy for Town citizens with past due balances. Town Manager Greenwood stated a copy of the policy isi included in the agenda packet.  the new Board, declaring there is al lot of work to be done.  6. Adjournment  Ar motion was made by Commissioner Jarvis to adjourn the meeting, the motion was seconded by  Commissioner Hairston. The motion carried unanimously.  6. Meetingasjournedy, :03PM Nellie rolwn, Mayor Lilaoo  Amanda Bryant, Town Clerk Anukgf  dbgany  Date  lbgaaay  Date  6