Agenda 615 Town Council Meeting-January 9, 2025 MILL RIVER CALLTO ORDER Mayor Mayor Mayor CALL FOR APPROVAL OF AGENDA COUNCIL COMMENTS MANAGER UPDATES PUBLIC COMMENTS CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of Minutes- December: 12, 2024 Regular Meeting B. Appointment of Kristen Rintoul as Tax Collector, effective February 1, 2025 REGULAR. AGENDA A. Presentation oft the Tax Collector Report Presented. by Tax Collector Aurelie Taylor Presented by Clerk Patty Brown Presented by Clerk Patty Brown B. Discussion of Parks, Trails, & Recreation vacancy and appointment fora a term ending in 2027 . Discussion of Board of Adjustment vacancy and appointment for at term ending 11/18/2027 D. Adoption of Resolution 2025-01, Resolution Strongly Opposing Provision of Senate Bill 382/Session 2024-57, Limiting Zoning Authority of Local Governments Presented: by Manager Matthew McKirahan OTHER BUSINESS CLOSED SESSION: Pursuant to 9143-318.11 (a)(4)- Economic Development discussion ADJOURN Town of Mills River Regular Meeting of the Town Council Thursday, December 12, 2024 Mills River Town Council met on Thursday, December 12, 2024 at 6:30 PM in Mills River Town Hall. The public was allowedto attend in-person or watch viai internet streaming. Mayor Gonce called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Council present: Mayor Shanon Gonce Council member James Cantrell Council member Chae Davis (outgoing) Council member Sandra Goode Council member Brian Kimball Council member Jeff Moore Council member Jeff Young (outgoing) Town Manager Matthew McKirahan Finance Director Sue Powell Town Clerk Patty Brown Planning Director Michael Malecek Parks and Recreation Director Nicole Sweat Tax Collector Aurelie Taylor Planning Technician Kevin Webb Deputy Tax Collector Kristen Rintoul Staff Present: Mayor Gonce recognized, with the presentation of a plaque, outgoing Council members Chae Davis and Jeff Young, thanking them for their service to the town. The meeting was turned over to Mr. McKirahan, who directed the Organizational Council members Brian Kimball and Jeff Moore were. sworn into office. Their oaths Council member Cantrell made amotion to nominate Council member Gonce to the office of mayor. The motion was seconded by Council member Moore Council member Cantrell made a motion to nominate Council member Moore to the office of mayor pro tem. The motion was seconded by Council member Meeting. of office are attached to these minutes. and passed unanimously by verbal assent. Kimball and passed unanimously. 1 There was a discussion of Council meeting room layout and expectations. Council member Goode made amotion to adopt the 2025 Meeting Schedule as presented. The motion was seconded by Council member Kimball and passed Rules of procedure for Council meetings were discussed. Council member Kimball made a motion to approve the Rules of Procedure with the modifications discussed. The motion was seconded by Council member Council member Kimball made a motion to approve the agenda. It was Directions were given to the Town Manager. unanimously by verbal assent. Moore and passed unanimously by verbal assent. seconded by Council member Moore. It passed unanimously. COUNCIL COMMENTS = Council members Kimball and Moore both thanked the citizens andresidents of Mills River for their support in the election and look forward to serving on Town Council. STAFF UPDATES A. Finance Director - no report B. Town Clerk- Thank you to Council member Cantrell for the poinsettias used to C. Tax Collector- January 6 is the last day to pay taxes without penalty. D. Parks and Recreation Director- Santa Touri is Saturday. The groundbreaking E. Planning Director-The contract has been finalized for the Forge Mountain cell tower. Transportation priorities can be identified in an online survey for the upcoming metropolitan transportation plan, Elevate 2050, it is linked from the Town's facebook page. Pepsi is completing an addition to their building on F. Town Manager - presented FEMA updates, gave an update on Emergency Preparedness: and identifying future issues in the event of another weather decorate Council chambers for the meeting. for the new playground was last week. Fanning Fields Road. disaster. PUBLIC COMMENTS- There was none. 2 CONSENT AGENDA A. Adoption of the Minutes- November 7, 2024- Special Meeting B. Adoption of the Minutes- November 14, 2024- Regular Meeting D. Approval of the updated Audit Contract for 2024 C.T Tax Collector Report Council member Kimball made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Council member Cantrell seconded the motion and it passed unanimously by verbal assent. REGULAR AGENDA A. Audit Presentation Travis Keever from Gould Killian CPA Group, P.A., gave a presentation of the Audit Report. No action was taken from Council. B. Discussion of Council Appointments to Boards and Committees *LGCCA (LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE FOR COOPERTATIVE ACTION) (Mayor Council member Moore made a motion to appoint Mayor Gonce and Council member Goode (both currently serve) to the LGCCA. The motion was seconded by Council member Kimball and passed unanimously by verbal assent. isr required to serve) *LAND OF SKY REGIONAL COUNCIL Council member Kimball made a motion to appoint Council member Moore to the Land of Sky Regional Council. The motion was seconded by Council Goode and passed unanimously by verbal assent. *FRENCH BROAD METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION (FBMPO) Mayor Gonce made the motion to appoint Council member Moore to the French Broad Metropolitan Planning Organization. The motion was seconded by Council member Kimball and passed unanimously by verbal assent. 3 HENDERSON COUNTY TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (TAC) Councilman Kimball made a motion to appoint Mayor Gonce and Council member Moore to the Henderson County Transportation Advisory Committee. The motion was seconded by Council member Goode and passed unanimously by verbal assent. "HENDERSON COUNTY AGRIBUSINESS (AgHC) BOARD Council member Moore made ar motion to keep the positiono on the AgHC vacant at this time. Council member Cantrell seconded the motion and it passed unanimously by verbal assent. HENDERSONVILE WATER/SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE Council member Moore made a motion to appoint Council member Goode (currently serving) to the Hendersonville Water/Sewer Advisory Committee. The motion was seconded by Council members Kimball and Cantrell and passed unanimously by verbal assent. "HENDERSON COUNTY HISTORIC RESOURCES COMMISSION No action was taken. Kathie Doole, a community member, currently serves. Her term does not expire until 6/30/26. *SILVER RIDGE ADVISORY COMMITTEE Mayor Gonce made a motion to drop the Silver Ridge_Advisory Committee as it was no longer needed. The motion was seconded by Council member Kimball and passed unanimously by verbal assent. Mr. Malecek noted the committee's establishment was a condition of a special use permit. Therefore, Council member Moore made a motion to appoint Council member Kimball to the Silver Ridge Advisory Committee. The motion was seconded by Council member Goode and passed unanimously. *MILLS RIVER PARTNERSHIP BOARD Council member Goode made a motion to appoint Council member Cantrell to the Mills River Partnership with a term ending in 2027. The motion was seconded by Council member Moore and passed unanimously. *MILLS RIVER TOWN COUNCIL FINANCE SUB-COMMITTEE 4 Council member Cantrell made a motion to appoint Council members Goode and Kimball to the finance subcommittee. The motion was seconded by Council member Moore and passed unanimously by verbal assent. *HENDERSON COUNTY PARTNERSHIP FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Mayor Gonce currently serves on this committee. He has concerns about time restraints that prevent him from attending some meetings. Council member Kimball made a motion to appoint Mayor Gonce to the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development. The motion was seconded by Council member Goode. A vote was called. There were for ayes (Council members Cantrell, Goode, Kimball, and Moore) and 1 nay (Mayor Gonce). The motion carried. Mayor Gonce will continue to serve. Council member Moore volunteered to try and attend meetings when Mayor Gonce was unable. STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE Council member Moore made ar motion to appoint Council members Goode and Kimball to the Strategic Planning Committee. The motion was seconded by Council member Cantrell and passed unanimously by verbal assent. C.F Planning Board Appointment Councilmember Moore made amotion to appoint Jennie Sealey to the Planning Board for a two-year term ending April 23, 2027. The motion was seconded by Council member Goode and passed unanimously, D. Public Hearing for R-24-04 Council member Moore made an motion to set the public hearing for R-24-04,315 Banner Farm Road, for January 23. The motion was seconded by Council member Kimball and passed unanimously. E.A Appointment to the Strategic Planning Committee Council member Goode made amotion to appoint Jim Sawyer to the Strategic Planning Committee. The motion was seconded by Council member Moore and passed unanimously. Council member Kimball made a motion to appoint Bryan Ross to the Strategic Planning Committee. The motion was seconded by Council Other Business - There was discussion on recently passed Senate Bill 382 and the ramifications to municipalities and counties. Consensus of Council was to discuss member Cantrell and passed unanimously. 5 at a. January meeting after Mr. McKirahan and Mr. Malecek meet with the Town Attorney. Staff was directed to consider drafting a resolution in opposition to the Town Council adjourned on the motion of Council member Kimball and bill. seconded by Council member Moore at 8:32 pm. Respectfully Submitted: Approved: Patty Brown, CMC, NCCMC Deputy Town Clerk Shanon Gonce Mayor 6 STAFF REPORT Town Council, Thursday, January 9, 2025 Title: Year To Date Tax Collections, January 6, 2025 Speaker: Aurelie Taylor, Tax Collector Prepared by: Tax Department Approved by: Matthew McKirahan, Town Manager Background Per North Carolina General Statute 105-350 (7), the general duties of the Tax Collector include submitting to the governing body a report of the amounts collected on each year's taxes, the amountre remaining uncollected, andi the steps being taken to encourage the Since the date of delinquency for the taxy year is generally 5 days after the end of! December, ith has been the Tax Collector's practice to present this report as of the date of delinquency rather than the end of the month. This year the date of delinquencyl is. January 7, which prevented thei inclusion of an accurate reporti in the Council packet distributed on. January 6, 2025. The report will be available to Council at the Town Council meeting scheduled for payment of uncollected taxes. Thursday, January 9, 2025. STAFF REPORT Title: Speaker: From: Background website. Name Town Council, Thursday, January 9, 2025 Appointment to Parks, Trails, and Recreation Advisory Committee Patty Brown, NCCMC, CMC-Town Clerk Administration There is a vacancy on the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Advisory Committee. There are 3 active applications on: file. The position has been advertised on our Facebook page and our Current/Past District Employment Engineer Software Engineer Stay atl home 2 mom Application expires 8/20/2026 12/22/2026 1/1/2027 Jack Thyen Retired Steven Waller Sarah Mazanec 3 3 Recommendation Town Council's options are as follows: 1. Appoint from applications on file to a term ending January 9, 2027. 2. Advertise position and address at a future meeting. 1 STAFF REPORT Title: Speaker: From: Background Town Council, Thursday, January 9, 2025 Appointment to Board ofAdjustment Patty Brown, NCCMC, CMC-Town Clerk Administration There is a vacancy on the Board of Adjustment created by Councilman Moore's election to Town Council. There are 2 active applications on file. The position has been advertised on our Facebook page and our website. This board consists ofa! 5-member board and two alternate members. Applications on file: Name Current/Past District Employment Municipal Planning Asst. Professor 3 Application expires 11/24/2026 12/6/2026 Brad Burton Retired from 3 Jacob Hagedorn Alternate positions: Name Bryan Ross Jim Foster Term Expires 2/23/2026 11/18/2027 *Note: Bryan Ross has reached out to say he would like tol be seated on the board as a member: and not just an alternate. Town Council's options are as follows: Recommendation 1. Appoint from applications on file to a term ending November 18, 2027 2. Appoint from one oft the two alternate positions. We then would need to address filing 3. Continue to advertise the position and address at a future meeting. that position. 1 STAFF REPORT Town Council, Thursday, January 9, 2025 Title: Consider Adoption of Resolution 2025-01, A Resolution to Strongly Oppose Provision of Senate Bill 382/Session 2024-57, Limiting Zoning Authority of Local Governments Speaker: Matthew McKirahan, Town Manager Prepared by: Administration Discussion Senate Bill 382/Session 2024-57 was passed into law on December 11, 2024. Provisions in this bill remove local government authority over certain zoning decisions. At a previous Council meeting, staff were directed to draft a resolution specifically opposing the zoning provision presented in the bill. Resolution 2025-01 RESOLUTION STRONGLY OPPOSING PROVISION OF SENATE BILL 382 /SESSION LAW: 2024-57 LIMITING ZONING AUTHORITY OFI LOCAL GOVERNMENTS MILLS RIVER WHEREAS, the Town of Mills Rivers strives to offer exceptional quality ofl life toi its residents, property WHEREAS, zoning is considered the most basic tool communities have available to maintain land WHEREAS, North Carolina local governments have the most information about the needs andy wants oft their citizens and remain the beste equipped to determine thei interests oft their communities through local owners, and businesses; and use compatibility, achieve desired density, and ensure orderly growth and development; and elections and public engagement; and WHEREAS, Senate Bill 382, entitled DISASTER REUEFS/BUDGETAAROUS LAW CHANGES was initially drafted as Dental Practice. Act Changes andi then modified via conference report with no opportunity for public input or amendments; and WHEREAS, Senate Bill 382, in addition to many other changes unrelated to Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, includes a section with changes to NCGS 160D-601(d), which would remove local government authority to initiate down-zoning amendments without the written consent of all property owners whose property is the subject of down-zoning; and WHEREAS, for the purposes of this amendment, down-zoning refers to any zoning provision that reduces development density to any degree, removes any permitted uses of land from any zoning district, or creates non-conformities in non-residential zoning districts, and requires that communities obtain consent from all property owners that are affected by changes to setbacks, lot coverage, height, and bulk provisions of zoning ordinances which meet the definition of down-zoning; and WHEREAS, the down-zoning provision of SB 382 will require local governments to incur significant expenditures in both time and money for consideration of any zoning amendments, including the analysis and implications of each potential down-zoned property/parcel. Additionally, there will be significant time and taxpayer funds required to determine who are the owners that might need the required consent correspondence, a level of analysis and outreach which has never been previously required under North Carolina law and can present innumerable and unnecessary obstacles, such as interpretation issues concerning what is and what is not a down-zoning, nonconformity, missing/absent property owners who can't be tracked down for consent, and similar problems not considered to date; and WHEREAS, the down-zoning provision of SB 382 would effectively lock the current zoning schemes for most communities in place now and into the future, making it nearly impossible for local governments to provide land use regulations that are int the best interest oft their communities; and WHEREAS, the Town of Mills River adopted the Making Mills River 2040 comprehensive land use plan in 2021, and the number one, goal identified by two years of public input from citizens, stakeholders, and community leaders is to "protect and enhance the rural and small-town character of Mills River", in addition to preserving agricultural lands and open space; and WHEREAS, when the Town of Mills River incorporated in 2003, approximately three-quarters of the 22 square-mile jurisdiction was assigned a Mixed-Use zoning district, which allows almost all industrial, commercial, and residential uses by-right, with very few limitations on land uses; and Resolution 2025-01 WHEREAS, in 2023 the Town identified that the Mixed-Use zoning district is inconsistent with what its residents desire in the Making Mills River 2040 comprehensive plan, and the Mixed-Use zoning goes against the primary goal to protect and enhance the rural, small-town character; and WHEREAS, the Town of Mills River was in the process of rezoning more than one-third of its 22 square-mile, jurisdiction to ar new Rural Residential zoning district to ber more in line with its residents' vision ofar rural Mills River, which is now prohibited by Senate Bill 382; and WHEREAS, the Town of Mills River is also in the process of rewriting its land use, zoning, and development codes into a new unified development ordinance that reflects its residents' desires in the comprehensive plan, and this is the largest expense the Town has dedicated to updating its planning and zoning regulations in the Town's history; and WHEREAS, the Town of Mills River unified development ordinance project is heavilyi impacted by SB 382, which prevents the Town from modifying many ofi its existing zoning districts and land use regulations to be consistent with the Making Mills River 2040comprehensive plan and residents' input; and WHEREAS, the Town of Mills River is also in the process of completing its first strategic planning effort, which will further align the Town's planning and zoning efforts with other organizational goals to create a clear vision fori the Town's direction over the next five-plus years; and WHEREAS, the Town of Mills River and its citizens were impacted by Hurricane Helene, the largest natural disaster in Western North Carolina history, and SB 382 impedes local zoning authority to address issues of public safety, health, and welfare in areas still recovering from Hurricane Helene; and citizens were not provided an opportunity to review or comment on the proposed changes; WHEREAS, the reasons fort these statutory changes were not made cleara and local governments and NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the Mills River Town Council hereby adopts Resolution 2025- 01, Strongly Opposing Senate Bill 382, which includes provisions removing local government authority to maintain land use compatibility, achieve desired density, ensure orderly growth and development, and prohibits the Town from protecting and preserving Mills River's rural, small-town character, which are the desires of Mills River citizens. Adopted this the 9th day of January, 2025 Shanon Gonce, Mayor ATTEST: Patty Brown, Town Clerk