August 12th, 2024 - REGULAR MEETING August 12th, 2024, 6:00 p.m. at Town Hall.  Minutes of the regular meeting of the Mayor and Board of Commissioners of the Town of Elkin, Present: Mayor Sam Bishop, Commissioners Cecily McCulloch, Robert Ball, Alvin Hayes, Jeff Eidson and' Will Gwyn. Also present: Town Manager Brent Cornelison and Town Clerk Darla Mayor Bishop welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order. He asked Police Chief Joey  Parker.  Vanhoy to lead our Pledge of Allegiance.  Consent Agenda  Approve minutes of the. July 8th, 2024 Board of Commissioners meeting.  Approve tax releases and discoveries. Approve Utility' Write-offs for Fiscal Year 2024. Reserve funds for improvements to the Carlton building. seconded by Commissioner Gwyn and passed unanimously.  Approve BA#2025-2 in the amount of $100,000 from the Economic Development Capital A motion was made by Commissioner Eidson to approve the consent agenda in its entirety,  Special Recognitions  1. Swearing in of new Police Officers  Mayor Bishop along with Chief Vanhoy gave the oath of office to our new police officers, Joseph Pyrtle and Gabriel Ortiz. Police Chief Vanhoy introduced three new officers that are currently attending BLET at Surry Community College, Courtland Stanley Hardy, Mustafa Ricardo Bilal Jaziri, and Devon Forrest Stone. They will become fulltime police officers for the Town of Elkin after graduation in December 2024. Everyone welcomed 2. Town Manager, Brent Cornelison recognized several employees for their years of service with the Town of Elkin. Travis Butcher, Public Works Director for 10 years, Police Officer, Joey Johnson for 15 years, Police Officer, Scott Sanders for 15 years, and Randy Gilliam, Public Works for 20 years. Special recognition for. Jesse Johnson on his upcoming retirement for having been with the Town of Elkin for 30 years. Many  our new employees.  congratulations were given from the BOC and community.  Public Comments -none Mayor and Board Comments  All Commissioners and the Mayor thanked the Elkin Police Department for going above and beyond to assist the citizens of Elkin and thanked all oft the staff for the great job of keeping the Town running on a daily basis. Brent Cornelison was commended for being a tremendous  leader.  Public Hearing - Amendment of the Golf Cart Ordinance  Mayor Sam Bishop opened the public hearing at 6:11 pm. Town Manager Brent Cornelison presented recommendations from the Golf Cart Committee to amend our existing ordinance that was approved in January 2024. The amendment would allow golf carts to travel on streets with ap posted speed limit of 35mph with the exception of north of the Oakland Dr./Claremont Rd. and N. Bridge St. intersection, and Johnson Ridge Road. The committee is also recommending to add signage at designated points to warn others that golf carts are permitted and not permitted to travel in certain areas of town. Graham "Bear" Ray of E Main Street and Chair of the Golf Cart Committee spoke about how the committee worked together to recommend the changes.    Having no further speakers, Mayor Bishop closed the public hearing at 6:14 pm. A motion was made by Commissioner Eidson to approve the amendment to the Golf Cart Ordinance, seconded by Commissioner McCulloch and passed unanimously.  Regular Agenda  Surplus Property  Adam McComb requested that the BOC consider approving to surplus the existing playground equipment at Crater Park via online auction or sealed bid. After a brief discussion a motion was made to surplus the playground equipment and authority was given to Adam McComb to sell the equipment by Commissioner Edison. Motion was  seconded by Commissioner Ball and passed unanimously.  Great Trails State Grant  Adam McComb requested that the BOC be the Fiscal Agent" for the Great Trails State Grant between the Town of Elkin and the Elkin Valley Trails Association. The Elkin Valley Trails Association is currently performing a recreational trail masterplan for the Elkin Creek Headwaters land that will be owned by the Town. Once completed, the masterplan will be the guide for recreational development and extension ofe existing trails. This includes paved trails or greenways, natural surface trails, biking trails, equestrian trails, and any other type of trail recognized by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The Great Trails State Grant application is due in September. The EVTA and Town staff will jointly work on submitting the $500,000 grant application. The value of the land donation to the Town from Piedmont Land Conservancy will act as the match to the grant in the amount of $100,000, sO no cash match will be required from the Town or EVTA. Commissioner Eidson asked if there might be a possibility of having primitive camping along the impending trail areas. This is something the EVTA has and will be looking into for the future. After some discussion a motion was made by Commissioner McCulloch, seconded by Commissioner Gwyn to approve that the Town of Elkin will act as the agent for the Great Trails State Grant. This motion was  unanimous.  HVAC - Recreation Center  Consider approving the purchase of a new HVAC unit for the recreation center in the amount of $18,820.00. The system that air conditions and heats the office space, lobby and the cardio fitness room is in need of replacement. It is requested to allocate fund balance to replace this unit. After some discussion a motion was made by Commissioner Eidson to use fund balance to pay for the HVAC replacement, seconded  by Commissioner Gwyn and passed unanimously.  Downtown Parking Ordinance  The Main Street Advisory Board has approved the revisions to the downtown 3-hour parking ordinance and are recommending these changes to the BOC. Laura Gaylord, Main Street and Community Manager is requesting the BOC set a public hearing for September gth, 2024 at the BOC monthly meeting with anticipation of approving the parking ordinance changes after the public hearing is concluded. After some discussion, ar motion was made by Commissioner Eidson to set the public hearing for September gth, 2024, seconded by Commissioner McCulloch and passed unanimously.  Page 2 of5    Annual Tax Settlement  Tax Collector, Darla Parker presented a Resolution for approval and acceptance of the 2023-2024 settlement of property taxes along with an Order of Tax Collection for the 2024-2025 tax year. After some discussion a motion was made by Commissioner McCulloch, seconded by Commissioner Ball and passed unanimously.  Water Agreement - Ronda  Town Manager, Brent Cornelison presented to the BOC an amendment to the Water Agreement between the Town of Ronda and the Town of Elkin amending the amount of water provided for sale from the Town of Elkin up to a maximum of 3 million gallons per month. The water committee has discussed and recommends the increase. After some discussion a motion was made by Commissioner McCulloch, seconded by  Commissioner Gwyn and passed unanimously.  Passenger Bus Agreement  Town Manager, Brent Cornelison presented an agreement for approval between G&B Energy and the Town of Elkin for the donated 1999 Freightliner passenger bus. This document contains mutual agreements for the usage of the vehicle. Commissioner Jeff Eidson recused himself from the vote due to being an owner of G& B Energy. A motion was made by Commissioner McCulloch to recuse Commissioner Eidson, seconded by Commissioner Gwyn and passed unanimously. After some discussion a motion was made by Commissioner Gwyn to approve this agreement, seconded by Commissioner  McCulloch and passed unanimously. Flag Pole = Heritage Center  Consider approving the installation of a flagpole at the Heritage Center. The cost of the installation including refurbishing the pole, lighting and concrete apron is $7270.00. The price does not include getting electricity to the site. Electrical work will be completely by a local electrician to be determined. The VFW has agreed to donate $2000.00 towards the cost of installation. Derrick and Denise Cordova have agreed to donate $2635.00 towards the cost. The town would pay the remaining balance including electrical work. Funds are currently available int this fiscal year budget to cover our portion of the project. The VFW and the Cordovas' would like to be recognized by a small plaque located on the base of the flagpole. After some discussion, a motion was made by Commissioner  Eidson, seconded by Commissioner Ball and passed unanimously.  Street Closure  Consider adopting an ordinance for street closures for the annual Pumpkin Festival. NCDOT requires an ordinance be passed for street closures on DOT maintained streets. This ordinance will be valid each year as long as the festival is held the last Saturday in September each year. Amotion was made by Commissioner Eidson, seconded by  Commissioner Ball and passed unanimously.  Commissions and Boards - None  Page 3 of5    Manager Updates:  Drain line Repair - W. Depot Alley  The water run-off drain line behind the Rock Façade on' W. Depot Alley has developed a large sinkhole that is in need of repair. A quote has been given for the repair by Greenhill Environmental for approximately $30,000. These lines are extremely old and continue to cause drainage issues. Town Manager, Brent Cornelison has discussed this issue with property owners on W. Main St. It was suggested by Commissioner Eidson to come up with a payment plan for the property owners. The Bonanza Group/Prism owns about 50% of the damaged area of drainage pipe. The Town of Elkin and John and Leslie Fesperman also own portions of the damaged area. A motion was made by Commissioner Eidson giving authority to Town Manager Brent Cornelison and Attorney Raymond Parker to develop an agreement between owners for a payment agreement to the Town of Elkin for there portion oft the repairs. The payback time period shall not be more than 3-years. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Ball and Ar new church is being built on Poplar Springs Rd and has inquired about tapping onto town water. We are already extending the water line for new future houses, sO we would only need to There will be a Surry Economic Development meeting at Cross Creek Country Club in Mount Airy on Thursday, August 22nd. A pre-meeting will be held at 10:30 am with a speaker and lunch  passed unanimously. Poplar Springs Rd. - Water Line  extend it a short distance further for the church.  Surry EDP at 12:00 pm.  W. Main Street Community Meeting - Water line  There will be ai floating meeting on Tuesday, August 20th from 4:00 - 6:00 at the Heritage Center to discuss with citizens about what to expect while the water lines are being replaced on W. Main Street. The replacement project is getting ready to go through the bid process.  Upcoming Events wine, and music.  The Elkin Airport will be holding an event on Saturday, August 17h from 10:00 am until. Pistons, Props & Pilsners. There will be a fly-in, car show and motorcycle show along with food, beer,  We need to go into closed session to discuss real property NCGS 143-318.11 Ar motion was made by Commissioner McCulloch to go into closed session, seconded by  Commissioner Eidson and passed unanimously at 6:54 pm.  Return to open session at 7:09 pm.  A motion was made by Commissioner Eidson to purchase additional property in the amount of $59,000 for the building of our new fire station on Claremont and Eldon Parks Drive. The motion was seconded by Commissioner McCulloch and passed unanimously. Attorney Raymond Parker noted that the Hospital would have to release the bond attached to the property before  we could purchase and close on the property.  Page 4 of5    There being no further business to discuss, a motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Commissioner Gwyn, seconded by Commissioner Ball and passed unanimously. The meeting  adjourned at 7:15 pm  Sam Bishop,Mayor  NAL Darla S. Parker, Town Clerk  Page 5 of5