February 28, 2025 (Recessed Meeting Retreat) Minutes of the recessed meeting of the Mayor and Board of Commissioners of the Town of Elkin, February 28, 2025, 9:00 a.m., at the Heritage Center. Present: Mayor Will Gwyn, Commissioners Cicely McCulloch, Robert Ball, Jeff Eidson, Alvin Hayes, and Graham Ray. Also present: Town Manager Brent Cornelison, Assistant Town Manager/Director of Recreation and Parks Adam McComb, Finance Director Dina Reavis, Town Manager Assistant Missy Calhoun, Public Works Director Travis Butcher, Police Chief Joey Vanhoy, Police Captain Joey Johnson, Fire Chief Kevin Wilson, Economic Development and Planning Director Leslie Schlender, Town Attorney Raymond A. Parker and Town Clerk Darla Parker. Welcome- Mayor Will Gwyn Mayor Gwyn convened the meeting at 9:00 am and welcomed everyone before turning the meeting over to Town Manager Cornelison. We will give you a forecast of where we are, what has happened and what we need to move forward. Reminded everyone of the order presentations would be heard. Brent announced that some of the new equipment purchased for the Public Works department is on display in the parking lot and all are welcome to view during the lunch break. Land/New Water Plant - The BOC have been discussing in closed sessions about offering to purchase a parcel of land from Mr. Jack Partin. Town Manager, Brent Cornelison was given authorization to offer a purchase price of $400,000 for this parcel to be used for a future water plant. Mr. Partin accepted the offer of $400,000, $200,000 up front and $50,000 per year for 4 years, and no penalty for early payoff. A motion to approve the offer to purchase and the release of closed minutes was made by Commissioner Eidson, seconded by Commissioner Hayes and passed unanimously. A motion was made to approve the budget amendment to appropriate Water Fund balance to make the down payment was made by Commissioner Eidson, seconded by Commissioner Ball and passed unanimously. Financial Update Dina Reavis, Finance Director gave an update of all balances as of February 28,2025. (See attached statements). The expenses have exceeded the revenue currently for 2024. Expenses are higher currently due to the purchase of the new fire truck among other big-ticket items carried over from 2024. There has been a slight increase in sales tax revenue of 2%. For FY2024 we were awarded $10,276,003, and FY2025 $5,623,181 in grant monies with the Town matching $2,045,535. The fund balance is currently at 46%. We have collected approximately $203,704 in delinquent taxes of years 2010-2023. A total of 26 properties have been sent to foreclosure and 13 of those have paid in full without going to sale. The current tax collection rate for 2024 is at 93%. Current interest earnings for Town accounts are approximately $28,900 per month with the interest rates being FNB 4.27% and NCCMT 4.38%. A discussion of a revenue neutral tax rate was discussed due to Surry County having a revaluation year. We would lose and estimated $306,000 in potential tax revenues if we go to a revenue neutral tax rate. The tax valuations will not be finalized until March or April. The discussion of leaving the current tax rate of 55/100 as is or making any changes will be done after the appeal process is complete. Town Manager Brent Cornelison Surry County Economic Development update the EDP has asked for a $5,000 increase for the upcoming year. We would have a slight increase the next 3 fiscal years to get to the $6 per capita spending for all 4 municipalities. Prior to last year, Dobson and Pilot were well below their current allocations. Our board requested that the EDP work towards a per capita fee that was equal for everyone. Fireworks - The upcoming year marks the 250th anniversary of America. We are adding an additional $5000.00 to aid in purchases of additional fireworks and other supplies for the celebration. We are expecting an increase of 4% - 5% from Waste Management. Water Plant expenses will be at a 4% increase. We are currently not planning on a water rate increase. Capital projects recommended to stay in the budget: Police Department radios and Mobile Data Terminals replacements. Fire Department turn-out gear and scuba bottle replacements. Water & Public Works The proposed purchase of a truck is budgeted as % of the cost will come out of Public Works and % out of the water fund. *-Recreation Department = new fitness equipment. Page 1 of 6 Special Projects for Consideration in Next Fiscal Year (See attachments) Brent referred to the Retreat Priorities 2025 handout and explained to prioritize each item from 1 to 5, 5 being the highest priority and is an item that you would like to see funded. General Fund Department: Public Buildings Library painting 66,000 Library building lighting 21,500 o Library Courtyard lighting 8,000 Waterfall lighting 15,500 Stage dance floor 14,500 Economic Dev/Planning/Main St. Rock Façade flooring 40,000 Christmas tree 9,500 Insulation for Carlton building 48,000 Fire Department o Chevy Tahoe Response Veh. 105,000 Recreation and Parks 0 Ball Field Lighting 250,000 ) Columbarium 35,000 Police Department Police UTV 36,500 Drone Program 12,000 ) Evidence Room upgrades 60,000 o Canine 28,500 Additional COLA 38,380 Public Works Powell Bill o Salt shed 20,000 Salt spreader 18,000 Airport Entrance sign 35,000 Kitchen renovation 30,000 Hangar doors 375,000 Water Department Wachs Pipe Saw 20,000 Public Buildings Town Manager, Brent Cornelison went over the needed capital projects for public buildings. The library is in desperate need of painting the louvers and trim around the building. He is checking with Duke Energy about lighting around the sidewalk and entrance so we may not need to pay for this. The proposed waterfall lighting will showcase the Big Elkin Creek at night. Lighting is also needed fori the backside and underneath of the building for security purposes. The proposed cost includes the pressure washing of the library building. There is a need for a concrete apron for a dance floor at the new' "River" stage at the Heritage Center. Mayor Gwyn announced that Martha Smith, Director of the Elkin Library will be retiring in March, 2025. The trustees and the Northwestern Regional Library are currently accepting applications for this position. Mayor Gwyn and Manager Cornelison have reached out to offer support if needed. Currently the Library is making plans to upgrade the landscaping and have a sidewalk installed to the end of Front Street and Market Street for better safety for students walking from the school to the library and downtown. We currently receive $9700.00 per year in rent from the library. Since 2019 the Town has spent approximately $90,000 on the building for upkeep and repairs. Economic Development. Planning, Tourism & Main Street Leslie Schlender went over projects for the upcoming 2025-2026 year as well as updates on planning and Main Street requests. (See Attached) Currently the BOC has approved $200,000 for the remodel of the Carlton Building at the airport. The building needs to have insulation installed at a cost of $48,000 which we may be able to keep this cost within the $200,000 budget. To date, there have been $140,000 of expenses of the $200,000 budgeted. We are currently working on the well trying to get clean water to Page 2 of 6 the building. After some discussion the BOC directed Leslie to go ahead and advertise the building available to lease. The rock facade flooring and brick side walls on W. Main Street is in desperate need of repair. The floor epoxy is coming up and water is standing in low places due to improper drainage. The brick walls need to be sealed to keep brick dust from falling. The Downtown Mainstreet board is requesting a large real Christmas tree to be planted between the River Stage and N. Bridge Street. The cost presented also includes electrical connections to the area for the lighting of the tree during the annual "Light Up the Night" celebration. Fire Department Chief Wilson is requesting a new fully equipped Chevy Tahoe for emergency responses. They are currently having to share one truck and sometimes they have 2 calls simultaneously. If approved for purchase, the BOC will need to decide whether to pay in full at purchase or finance. Police Department 1. Requesting a 12.5% COLA in addition to the 7.5% proposed for 8 of the lowest paid officers which are (4) corporal and 4 patrol officer positions. These increases are based on the figures from the NCLM and several of the surrounding competing agencies. We are currently below the average of all the competing agencies. Several of our new police hires through the BLET program are getting offers from other Towns. The competing agencies are even offering to buy them out of their contract with the Elkin PD. 2. The PD is also requesting a Utility Terrain Vehicle to be able to go off road on to trails, etc. The size of this vehicle would allow it to cross pedestrian bridges at the park and trails as well as being very helpful downtown during all the festivals. 3. Chief Vanhoy is requesting a heat seeking drone to aid in search and rescue. This item could be used by all emergency departments if needed. 4. Ar request for renovations in the police department are needed to increase room for evidence and new personnel. 5. The PD is requesting a canine officer. 10:45 a.m. Mayor Gwyn recessed the meeting for a 15-minute break. 11:00 a.m. Mayor Gwyn reconvened the meeting. Recreation and Parks Adam McComb presented the need for new lighting at the Little League fields. The current lighting is not safe. Adam has been approached about the possibility of having a softball tournament in the future and this would generate tourism for our town. He is also requesting to build (2) Columbarium at the Hollywood Cemetery. Each columbarium would have a capacity of 40 niches. Commissioner Eidson recommends that we leave enough room to install additional niches in the future. Another request is for new fitness equipment. All of the treadmill machines have been well used and need to be replaced. A new schedule of fees was presented to the BOC and will be approved at the March 10th BOC meeting. Public' Works Projects Travis Butcher presented slides along with explanations and discussion for the purchase of a new salt spreader and would like to construct a new salt shed. The salt is currently housed at the old public works building and is in a flood area. Approximately $7,000 worth of salt was lost during the 23-24 FY due to flooding. He would also like to purchase a Wachs Pipe Saw that would aid in the repair of water lines. After some discussion, Brent stated that if we have money in the current budget we will go ahead and purchase the saw. Airport Projects Brent gave a list of projects that are requested by the Airport Commission including a new sign at the airport entrance, kitchen renovations and new hanger doors. There is also discussion of paying the FBO more money for the additional mowing at the Airport. The bathrooms are currently being renovated and the cost is in the current 24- 25 budget. Various Topics: Brent Cornelison 1. Assistant Finance Officer, Lori Dexter is retiring September 1st, 2025 and we need to advertise her position so we can hire someone soon to be able to train with her before she leaves. We will need $15,000 to cover this new person while training. A motion was made by Commissioner Eidson to proceed with hiring someone now, seconded by Commissioner McCulloch and passed unanimously. Page 3 of 6 2. Downtown Parking the 3-hour downtown parking restrictions are still an issue sO we propose that Laura Gaylord use the downtown camera app to monitor vehicles that are in violation of the 3-hour restriction. She will then contact the PD to place a ticket on the vehicle. 3. The new stages located at the Heritage Center need to have names to identify them for advertisement purposes. The large stage will be called "River" because it faces the Yadkin River. The smaller stage will be called "Creek" due to it facing the Big Elkin Creek. 4. The YV Chamber office is in need of additional trash receptacles. Maybe a dumpster would be a better option, due to the addition of the stages and increased attendance to the outdoor venues. We will split the cost of the dumpster with the Chamber which will about to approximately $864.00 each per year. 5. Commissioner Eidson stated that G&B Energy is attempting to work out an agreement with parcels currently owned by the Tri-County Citizen's Foundation to purchase sO they can upgrade and pave the lots for additional parking downtown. He also has plans to have a Mexican restaurant downtown. The annual Reevestock Music Festival will now be held at the Heritage Center stages. 12:15 p.m. Mayor Gwyn recessed the meeting. 1:05 p.m. Mayor Gwyn reconvened the meeting. WithersRavenel Brandon Inscore and Shannon Moore with WithersRavene! Engineering presented the Elkin Water AIA/AMP and Rate Study. (see attached) After the presentation there was discussion of current water rates and how we determine the minimum usage. The YVSA sewer rates are double our current water rates. Brent along with the Water Committee will start working on getting figures together by this time next year, of the cost of producing and maintaining municipal clean water. 2:00 p.m. Mayor Gwyn recessed the meeting for lunch 2:15 p.m. Mayor Gwyn reconvened the meeting. Department Updates: Brent stated that Travis is looking into the Public Works Dept. taking over the garbage and recycle pickup. He is getting costs together on (2) garbage trucks, (1) employee. In a preliminary study, we will come out about $18,000 ahead. If this is feasible, we may even venture out and offer garbage pickup to surrounding municipalities. All board members thought this was a good idea to get pricing and compare to what we are paying Waste Management. Economic Development, Planning, Tourism & Main Street (Leslie Schlender) Economic Development Update: Leslie gave praise to Blake Moyer at the Surry EDP for the job he is doing to keep Elkins' name in front of the EDP NC for the available property we have here for building of commercial projects. We need available space to lease or sale SO we will be discussing the construction of a shell building at a later date. We have several commercial businesses coming to the CC Camp Road area. This is keeping Sarah Harris very busy and we are trying to keep up with potential traffic congestion. The Mill project is going well and beginning to fill up with which just reiterates the need for commercial space. The project on Fremont Lane is going well. There are still projects at the Heritage Center to be completed, such as the trails and outdoor exhibits. One project we are still working on is the small sign that will be a replica of the big Elkin sign near the interstate interchange. They are still working on a new wall exhibit at the Heritage Center and the theme will be "lt Starts with a River". The next exhibit we would like to have build is the "Trail Exhibit" and we are turning this project over to the EVTA to oversee. Planning Update: We have had quite a few new construction permits this year, 7 of those have been commercial, with the remainder being single family homes, residential additions and sign permits. We currently are at a 14% decrease from the 23/24 FY but still up 18% from 22/23 FY. Alliance Code Enforcement has opened 495 cases to date, 250 being in 23/24 FY. There have been 436 cases abated, 208 being in 23/24 FY. Some of these cases have translated into fining the property owner which is a lien on their property. Main Street Update: Laura Gaylord had an update printed that nighlights the many things that have taken place in Downtown Elkin for the 23/24 FY. (see attached) Data shows that the busiest day for downtown is on Saturdays and especially Saturday evening. We had an average of over 229,000 people in downtown Elkin over the course of ay year. We really need to recommend to our downtown merchants to have more available open hours of operation to serve the growing number of people visiting our downtown area. Tourism:the Tourism Partnership of Surry County which includes Pilot Mtn., Mt. Airy, Elkin, and Dobson plus the unincorporated areas are pooling their funds. We are looking at rebranding and also looking at restructuring as to what each of those entities brings into to the partnership. We need to pool our money so we can widen our marketing area. Page 4 of 6 Police Department Captain Joey Johnson We have received 8 of our 12 new patrol cars purchased and 80% of weapons purchased. We are currently fully staffed and this is the first time in about 8 years. Captain Johnson gave an update on the number of calls responded to over the last year. (see attached) Fire Department Chief Kevin Wilson We currently have 35 members of the Elkin Fire Department of which 3 are new, 26 are certified medical, 22 are certified fire, 3 are fire inspectors, 2 are fire investigators. We have had 1352 hours of training this year and have done 81 fire inspections. We had multiple false fire alarms to one commercial building due to them having faulty equipment. We finally had to fine them and then repaired the equipment. (see attached) for number of calls and responses. Parks and Recreation Adam McComb Gave an update on the number of people attending the Elkin Municipal Park and the programs being offered this summer. He currently working with Cemify to complete GIS and webpage for all plots at the cemetery. The dog park will be getting some river rock installed between the sidewalk and fence, along with working on some drainage issues. Landscaping will be added around the chain link fence for a nicer visual. The Crater Park project is almost complete and they hope to have a grand opening on Memorial Day weekend TBD. The mowing contract was sent out for bids for maintenance and beautification of the Hollywood Cemetery and downtown area. Andrews Lawn Care and Landscaping won the contract for the 25-26 FY. Public Works and Water Travis Butcher The street department has continued to keep the mowing done on a timely basis along with any maintenance needed. We have picked up 43 tons of bulk items, 413 tons of leaves, and fixed or replaced 226 trash and recycle receptacles. We have rented the dump truck 24 times to residents. The water department had 4 water main breaks with disruptions to residents. Our meter technician went out 245 times for leak checks, cut on 194 meters and cut off 155. We installed 5 new water taps and replaced 102 meters. We also do 811 water line locations which are time consuming. The water plant has continued with maintenance and capital items. We completed the water and sewer lines for Crater Park. The lead service line inventory, mandated by the Federal Government was completed which consisted of digging up both sides of the meter to check what type of material is used. We entered all of this information into the GIS system and gave out letters to all residents. We assisted with the new drain. We installed 550' of 6" water line on Poplar Springs Rd. for Chris Baker who is planning to build a few residential houses. Travis showed pictures of various repairs completed around town. Airport (Town Manager Cornelison) We have 2 projects that we will bid out in the late summer, the partial parallel taxiway and the apron expansion. Hopefully we can break ground in the fall and this will have very little disruption to air traffic. Last years Air Show that Sandy Shore spearheaded was a great success and will take place again this fall. The town has offered to help in the organization. Fire Station update: We have completed the environmental assessment and waiting on the State to approve. Hopefully if all goes well, we will break ground in the fall. 3:30 p.m. Mayor Gwyn recessed the meeting for a 10-minute break. 3:40 p.m. Mayor Gwyn reconvened the meeting. Prioritization of Projects Discussion Cost of Living Increase: Last budget year Elkin was 17% to 35% lower in pay than other towns based on our population and demographics. had proposed an increase of 7.5% COLA and a 1% merit if warranted and we need do the same for this year to aid in getting us closer to the average starting pays. There was much discussion concerning increases for starting wages in the police department. We need to take another look at these figures and maybe give less of a COLA increase and more of a merit increase. The BOC listed their top capital items that need to be addressed in the upcoming 25-26 FY. The police UTV, additional police COLA, Library building lighting, library painting, police evidence room upgrades, (1) columbarium, and the Fire Dept. Chevy Tahoe response vehicle. Possible look at financing the Tahoe and maybe payoff early. There was much discussion of trying to approve other items on the request list if possible. Brent stated that he and Dina will be working on updating the budget items and we can get back together the early part of April to go over all figures again. They may be able to have some updated figures by the BOC meeting on March 10th. Page 5 of 6 Mayor Gwyn thanked staff for a great budget workshop and concluded the meeting. There being no further business, Commissioner McCulloch made a motion to adjourn. Upon a second by Commissioner Bear, the motion was unanimously approved. The Board adjourned at 3:57 p.m. Will Gwyn, Mayor Attest L /. k Darla S Parker, Town Clerk Page 6 of 6