CITY OF NORTHWEST REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2020  7:00 PM  ASSEMBLY  The Northwest City Council held their regular meeting on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at Present were. James Knox, Mayor; Councilwoman: Sheila Grady and Councilmen:  7:00 PM at 4889 Vernon Road, Northwest NC.  Charles Carroll, Aaron Perkins, Haywood Miller, and Michael Troy.  CALL TO ORDER & INVOCATION  Mayor Knox called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM Councilman Haywood Miller gave the invocation.  CONSENT AGENDA  A. FINANCE REPORT  BANK BALANCES  Councilman Charles Carroll MOVED, SECONDED by Councilman Haywood Miller to adopt the Consent Agenda as presented. The MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. A. PUBLIC HEARING-1 PLANNING BOARD BYLAWTEXT AMENDMENT Councilman Charles Carroll MOVED, SECONDED by Councilman Haywood Miller to open the public hearing at 7:10 PM. The MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The Planning Board held aj public hearing on February 11, 2020 and made the following. recommendation to City Council for approval. The changes to the Planning Board Bylaws includes a meeting date and time change. The regular Planning Board meetings will be changed to the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 PM. Below are the recommended changes from the  DISCUSSION & ACTION ITEMS  ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE 20-02PB  Planning Board. I.General Rules:  ARTICLEVH BYLAWS FORT THE OPERATION OF THE CITY OF NORTHWESTI PLANNINGI BOARD  The City of Northwest Planning Board created byal Local Ordinance dated May3, 1993, shall beg governed byt that Ordinance, Chapter 160A, Article 19ofthe General Statutes of North Carolina, Cityof Northwest Unified Development Ordinance, andt these A.Terms: The Planning Boards shall consist off five members. Alli five members shall be citizens and residents oft the City of Northwest forap periodr nol lesst than oney year and: shall be appointed byt the City Council." Two oft thei initial members shalll be appointed fora term ofc oney year; two, for twoy years; and onet for three years. Theirs successors: shall be appointed for terms oft three years. Vacancies occurring fori reasons othert thane expiration oft terms shall bef filled ast they occurt for thep period fort the unexpired term. Members  Bylaws. II. Members and Terms of Office:  may be removed for cause by the Northwest City Council.  II. Officers and Duties: City Council  02/25/2020  1    A.E Election of Officers: The Planning Boards shall organize and elect a chairman, vice-chairman, ands secretary at the regularr meeting in July. All officers mays succeed themselves., The persons soC designated: shall serve int these capacities for terms of one (1)year. B.T The Chairman: The chairman: shall preside ata all meetings andp public hearings oft the Planning Board; shall decide ona allr matters of order andp procedure; shall appointa any committees necessary tos studys specific matters; shallo developa ar meeting agenda with the assistance oft the City Clerk; ands shall provide the Northwest City Council with ana annual report of Planning Boarda activities by May C. The Vice- Chairman: Int the absence oft the chairman, the vice-chairman. shall perform allo duties assigned tot the chairman. D. The Clerk: The City Clerk or his/her designee shall serve ast the Clerk tot the! Planning Board. The clerki is charged with! keeping the minutes ofa all regular meetings, specialr meetings, andp public hearings called byt the Planning Board. The clerk, after conferring with the chairman, shall sendr notices ofa allr regular meetings, special meetings andp publich hearings atk least four (4) daysi in advance oft the meetinga and shallt notify members by phone ati least twenty-four (24) hours ina advance ofs special ore emergency meetings. In addition, the clerks shall carry on routine correspondence andr maintain the Planning Board'sr records andf files.  30th ofe eachy year.  E.The Building Inspector: Inspections will bey provided by Brunswick County.  IV. Meetings:  A. Regular Meetings: Regular meetings oft the Planning Board shall! be! held ont thes second Monday. Tuesday of each month. Unless special noticei is given byt the chairman allr meetings will begina at 7:00-pm- 6:30p.m. and will be conducted att the City Hall. B. Special Meetings: Specialr meetings oft the Planning Boardr may bec called ata any time byt the chairman or the vice chairman actingi in the absence oft the chairman, providedt thata a minimum oft twenty-f four (24) hours noticei is given tor members. D.Conduct of Meetings: Allr meetings shall be open tot thep public and public comment ori inputs shall bee encouraged. The-orderef  C.Quorum:A A quorum: shall consist oft three (3) members. usnesstrguarmesinershsisessoiow:. 1.CaH-to-erder 3.Old-business 4-New-busimess 5-Commitee-eports 6-Chairman'sepor 7-Membercomments 8-Publiecomment 9.Adjourmment  -AppoaieiminuEyeNhepewousmeting  E.C Change of Bylaws: Nor recommended change shall ber madet tot these! bylaws without thea affirmative vote oft two-thirds (2/3) F.Vote: Excepta as otherwise specified herein, the vote ofa majority oft those members present shall bes sufficient to decide matters coming beforet the Planning Boardp provideda a quorum is present. Members shalll ber required tov vote unless excusedb byt the chairman forr reasons off financial orp personali interest ont the subject. Ana abstention: shall constitute: ana affirmative vote. Proceeding shall be G. Cancellation of Meetings: Whenever there is no business for the Planning Board, the chairman may dispense witha a regular H.A Attendance: The Planning Board will request the City Councilt to replace any member missingt three (3) consecutive unexcused .Agenda Preparation for Regular Meetings: The: agenda for regular meetings shall bep prepared byt the chairman-witht the-assistanee ofthe-clerk Clerk tot the Planning Board. Onlyt thosei items requested by planning boardr members ort those items properlyf filed with the Citya according toi its ordinances: shall bey placed on the agenda. Thep publica and specifici interests maya appear for comment or input on any matter not ont the agenda ata any meetingr regular ors special, butr not formala action will bet taken onr non-agenda items.  members oft the Planning Board." Three (3) votes shall constitute that requirement.  conducted: according toF Roberts Rules of Order. meeting! by giving notice toa allr members.  regular meetings orf fifty percent (50%) or more ofa allr meetings over at twelve (12)r month period.  City Council  02/25/2020  2    Thisr rule does not preclude public comment andi input on regular agenda items that willl be actedu upon. Thea agenda shall be circulated to allr members oft the Planning Board, the City Council, andt the City Clerk byt the Thufsday Friday prior tot the regular J.Conflicts ofl Interest: To preserve public confidence int thei integrity of the Planning Board and the Chty/sgovernmental. process, each Board member shall have righta and duty to avoid even the appearance ofac conflict ofi interest. Ac conflict ofi interest can be defined asp participating inan matter where there ise either a direct/indirect benefit tot the Board member, ort the perception ofa benefit. The Board member shall askt the Chair tob be excusedf from participation ina any matter beforet the Boardi inv whicht the member's impartiality mightr reasonably be questioned. Ifa any other Board member questions the impartially ofaE Board member before or duringt the Board'sconsideration: ofan matter, the Chair shallt treat thisa asar requestt thatt the member be excusedf from participation. Any request that a Boardr member be excused from participation must disclose the basisf for ther request. Itist the Chair's responsibility to determine ifa conflict ofi interest does exist andt to either excuse or not excuse the Board member from A.F PublicF Record: Allr records oft the Planning Board shall ber made available tot thep publici ina accordance withs state statutes. B.F Retention:" The clerk shall maintain at file ofa alls studies, plans, reports, recommendations, minutes, and correspondence oft the Planning Board." Thet file should! ber maintained att the City Hall. Requests for copies shalll bet forwarded to or addressedi tot the building Councilman Charles Carroll MOVED, SECONDED by Councilman Haywood Miller to  meeting date.  participation.  V.R Records:  inspector City Clerk.  close the public hearing at 7:25 PM. The MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.  After discussion,  Councilman Aaron Perkins MOVED, SECONDED by Councilman Charles Carroll to approve the adoption of Ordinance 20-02PB as presented to Council. The MOTION  CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.  B. CRYSTAL SPRING #793- CURTIS WASHINGTON  Curtis Washington, representing Crystal Spring #793 Masons stated that he and his wife both participated in the Trunk or Treat last year and was impressed with the event. Mr. Washington stated that he liked the "family" & fellowship feeling that was evident at the event. Mr. Washington and the Mason's that he represented would like toj partnership with the City to  co-sponsor the following City activities. 1. Spring Extravaganza - Easter Egg Hunt 3. Fall Festival - Trunk or Treat  2. Summer Celebration - Water Events & Movies in the Park 4. Winter Family Celebration - Christmas Crafts & Music  Mr. Washington stated that with approval he will be able to help develop a plan and It was the CONSENSUS ofCouncil to approve the Mason's (Curtis Washington) and the  budget tol help with activities.  City. joining as partners to help sponsor the City'sa activities listed above.  C. CITY COUNCIL EMAILS  Donna Strickland, City Clerk, stated that below are City Council's email addresses. Mrs. Strickland stated that once you log into outlook.com you will need to put in your email address and password that has been provided, then you will need to reset your password. Mrs. Strickland stated that ifa anyone needs assistance to please let her know.  City Council  02/25/2020  3    ooxicivononsicon carrol/cityofnorthwest.com Sgradvdcttyo'northwest.com vdiicbonrinsiom hmiller/cityofnorthwest.com yIepoersion  D. 2020-2021 BUDGET CALENDAR  Tuesday, February 25, 2020 March 2020 Wednesday, April1,2 2020 Tuesday, May! 5,2 2020  Mayor and Councila adopts budget calendar (Regular Meeting) 7:00PM ors shortlyt thereafter Budget Kick Off-F Finance Officer works with Department Heads and Liaisons to develop budgets Finance Officer Begins Compiling Department Budget Workshop 6:00 PM ors shortlyt thereafter City of Northwest Council reviews revenues and  Request for Council Expenses for: General Fund Powell Bill Project Request Capitall Improvement Request Finance Officer presents the budget to City Council (Regular Meeting) 7:00F PMC ors shortlyt thereafter City Council holds a public hearing on the 2020-2021 Budget (Regular Meeting) 7:00 PM ors shortlyt thereafter City Council adoptst the 2020-2021 Budget (Regular Meeting) 7:00F PM ors shortly thereafter Finance Department completes the posting oft thef final budget and distributes it to City Councila and Department  Tuesday, May 26, 2020 Tuesday, June 23, 2020 Tuesday, June 23, 2020 Tuesday, June 30, 2020 Wednesday, July 1,2 2020  Heads The! budgeti isi implemented  Councilman Charles Carroll MOVED, SECONDED by Councilwoman Sheila Grady to adopt the Budget Calendar as presented. The MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. E. SET SPECIAL MEETING - AUDITOR PRESENTATION  MARCH 5, 2020 AT 5:30 PM  Donna Strickland, City Clerk, stated that staff has been working diligently the past two years to bring transparency to Northwest Council and Citizens. Mrs. Strickland stated that while this is still a work inj progress, we are: moving forward. Mrs. Strickland stated that she is requesting Council to set a special meeting to review the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 audit  findings. City Council  02/25/2020    Councilwoman Sheila Grady MOVED, SECONDED by Councilman Haywood Miller to set a special meeting for March 5, 2020 at 5:30 PM: for the purpose oft the Auditor presenting  the 2018 & 2019. audits. The MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.  F. CITY HALL RENOVATION  Councilman Charles Carroll MOVED, SECONDED by Councilman Haywood Miller to grant Mayor Knox, Councilwoman Sheila Grady, and Councilman Haywood Miller the authority tos select al bidder and begin the renovation project. The MOTION CARRIED G.NCSOUTHEASTERM HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN UPDATE proxy to represent the City for the NC Southeastern Hazard Mitigation Plan Update.  UNANIMOUSLY.  Donna Strickland, City Clerk, stated that the City ofl Northwest needs to appoint an acting Councilman Charles Carroll MOVED, SECONDED by Councilman Haywood Miller to appoint Brandon Hackney, Brunswick County Project Planner to represent the City ofNorthwest for the NC Southeastern Hazard Mitigation Plan Update. The MOTION CARRIED  UNANIMOUSLY. 4. LIAISON REPORTS Administration. Annexation.. No report Park.. Police..  Councilman Haywood Miller Councilman Aaron Perkins  Nothing in addition to the above  Mayor James Knox Councilman Charles Carroll  Nothing in addition to the above  Police Report  Councilwoman Sheila Grady MOVED, SECONDED by Councilman Haywood Miller to approve the police report as presented. The MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.  Roads..  Councilman Michael Troy Councilman Aaron Perkins Councilwoman Sheila Grady  Working with Ms. Iris McCombs, NC DOT toj patch the potholes on Northwest Rd.  Information Technology & Marketing.  No report  Finance. possible. City Council  The City of Northwest Public Utilities and Brunswick County Public Utilities continue to work together making sure that the City's utility accounts switch over with as few: mistakes as  02/25/2020  5    PUBLIC COMMENT  Councilwoman Sheila Grady stated that Dr. Gene Smith, President of Brunswick Community College and Trustee Les Tubb (former Brunswick County Schools Superintendent) will be guests at the City ofNorthwest Council meeting on March 24th at 7:00 PM. Councilwoman Grady stated that students, parents, and community members are encouraged to attend this special informational meeting. Programs offered at the college will be discussed and  available scholarship opportunities for high school and adult students.  ADJOURNMENT  Councilman Charles Carroll MOVED, SECONDED by Councilwoman Sheila Grady to  adjourn the meeting at 8:121 PM. The MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.  doma Shicklane Donna Strickland, City Clerk/Finance Officer  amAag James A. Knox, Mayor  City Council  02/25/2020  6