Town of Hertford Work Session Meeting Monday, March 24, 2025 - 6:00 PM Horace Reid Community Center, 305 W Grubb Street The Council of the Town of Hertford held a Work Session Meeting at the Horace Reid Community Center on Monday, March 24, 2025, at 6:00 PM. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT Ashley Hodges, Mayor Sandra Anderson, Mayor Pro Tem Keith Rouse Connie Brothers COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT Rhonda Waters STAFF PRESENT Doris Walton, Interim Town Manager Gina Durante, Town Clerk Ashley Eure, Finance Director A quorum was present. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hodges called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The invocation was given by Counciwoman Brothers, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mayor Pro Tem Anderson made a motion to approve the agenda with the addition of 7g) Budget Amendment under New Business. Councilman Rouse seconded. The motion passed unanimously, 4-0. CONTINUED BUSINESS a) None NEW BUSINESS a) Merger Regionalization Feasibility Grant Presentation (attached) The Town applied for a Merger Regionalization Feasibility Grant in 2022 and was awarded $75K from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Infrastructure. We were able to use this funding for a consolidation March 24, 2025 Work Session Minutes 1 feasibility study for a possible merger of our wastewater system with the Town of Winfall's wastewater collection system. Shannon Moore of Withers Ravenel presented the study. b) Budget Presentation - General Fund and Fire Department Ashley Eure and Fire Chief Drew Woodard presented the Fire Department budget requests for FY25-26. Director Eure highlighted the budget changes from last year in the following departments: Governing Body Administration Planning and Development Cemetery DMV Main Street Council discussed and had questions answered by the presenters. c) Adopt Resolution FY25-11 to Allocate Funds for an Outdoor Fitness Court as Part of the 2025 National Fitness Campaign The Town of Hertford applied for and received a $30K grant from the 2025 Healthy Cities Campaigns. Council authorized Manager Walton to proceed with the PARTF application grant in the amount of $100K as additional funding is needed for the fitness court. The PARTF application is due May 1, 2025. The $30K grant we were awarded requires Council to adopt a resolution to allocate those funds for the outdoor fitness court as part of the 2025 National Fitness Campaign. Mayor Pro Tem Anderson motioned to approve the resolution to allocate the $30K grant from 2025 Healthy Cities Campaign for the outdoor fitness court. Councilman Rouse seconded the motion, and it passed, 4-0. d) Adopt Ordinance FY25-15 to create a Historic Preservation Commission for the Town of Hertford Manager Walton reiterated to Council that with the Historic West Hertford designation and the acquisition of the Hertford State Theatre, the Town needs to be a Certified Local Government to apply for federal grants. A CLG requires us to have a Historic Preservation Committee. The adoption of this ordinance will allow us to create the HPC for the Town. March 24, 2025 Work Session Minutes 2 Councilman Rouse motioned to approve Ordinance FY25-15 to create a Historic Preservation Committee. Mayor Pro Tem Anderson seconded the motion, and it carried, 4-0. e) Approve the Sale of Surplus Town Vehicle on Gov Deals The Tahoe, designated as a Public Works Superintendent vehicle, does not serve the department's needs. There is a line item in our current budget to purchase an additional truck for PW. A trade-in value of $21,000 has been given on the Tahoe, but we believe we could get more than that if we sold it on Gov Deals. The Tahoe has low miles and is in very good condition. We are not obligated to accept any offer on Gov Deals, SO if offers were less than the trade-in value, we would decline those and accept the trade-in value. A first and second motion were made by Mayor Pro Tem Anderson and Councilman Rouse to approve the sale of the Tahoe on Gov Deals for no less than $21,000. The motion passed unanimously, 4-0. f) Appointment to the Planning Zoning Board of Adjustment With the passing of Mr. Marvin Sutton, there is a vacancy on the PZBOA. Coretta Calloway Norman submitted an application for consideration. After reviewing and discussing her application, a first and second motion were made by Councilwoman Brothers and Councilman Rouse to approve Coretta Calloway Norman to fill the vacancy on the PZBOA. The motion carried, 4-0. g) Budget Amendment FY25-37 Move funds from Contingency to Equipment to pay for East Coast Power & Lighting to repair our cables. Decrease Electric Contingencies 52-5900-577 $4,953.20 Increase Electric Equipment 52-5900-523 $4,953.20 Councilwoman Brothers made a motion to approve Budget Amendment FY25-37. Mayor Pro Tem Anderson seconded, and the motion passed, 4-0. MANAGER'S UPDATE Manager Walton informed Council that the PZBOA has changed their meeting time from 7 PM to 6 PM. The PZBOA meets on the third Monday of the month when there is business scheduled for them. It was already announced that the Municipal League has dropped medical coverage for the municipalities. Sarah Nixon has met with an insurance provider and has another meeting, March 24, 2025 Work Session Minutes 3 possibly two meetings, scheduled with another provider. After considering the options for the Town staff, a recommendation will be brought to Council. Regarding the $2M grant upgrades from Harbor Town for our docks, Peter Thomson and the engineer will possibly be presenting to us ideas/mprovements we want to see during the Work Session in April or the Regular Session in May. Building inspector Virgil Parrish met with Manager Walton today regarding a conversation he had with the owner of H&J Pallets. The owner has been made aware that he will be shut down if he doesn't comply with regular inspections. Virgil advised him of what things must be disposed of, putting the garbage in the dumpsters and not left on the side of the building. Virgil hopes to have an update to Manager Walton next week. Councilman Rouse asked if the Town has a plan for that property in the Riverwalk plan or plans for the property right now. Manager Walton answered that the property is privately owned and not the property of the Town. Manager Walton reported that during her meeting last Thursday with Withers Ravenel she was told that the estimated start date for waterlines being put down for the WWWTP rehab, the Meads station, and the lift station replacement is April 25th. The Town will be placing door hangers at the affected residences at the end of this week, and the first robocall is happening Monday, then every other day. Estimated construction time is expected to last into November 2025. Wastewater lines will also start in April and end in November. The sewer line rehabs needed for the lift stations will begin in June of this year and continue through February 2026. The wastewater treatment plant should not affect the residents, but construction tools will be on site beginning June 2025 through February 2026. Phone numbers must be current in the utility billing system to receive the robocall. If you are unsure, please check with the utility office. Residents are asked if anything is blocking or obscuring your water meter, please remove them because the meters are being moved to the Town's side of property lines. The Brinn House at 1000 West Grubb is coming up on the one-year extension requested by the new owner. He had difficulty with the custom windows and requested a one-year extension that Council approved last year. He was given until March 31, 2025, to get the exterior of the house up to code. The owner is once again requesting an extension due to the lack of water/electric services at the residence. His request for those is on a 3-week timeline as the Town cannot get to his request due to manpower shortages and the house has been without those services for sO long. Manager Walton is recommending approving the extension because this current issue with the 3-week time delay is due to the Town and not him. She is recommending Council to grant him until April 30, 2025, to have the exterior of the house up to code. Councilwoman Brothers expressed her disapproval to grant yet another extension when a one year extension was previously granted. A motion was made by Councilman Rouse to approve the April 30, 2025, extension for 1000 West Grubb Street. Mayor Pro Tem Anderson seconded, and the motion carried, 3-1. Manager Walton asked Council to consider the $10K in the budget request for five $2K donations. She advised Council to be mindful if that is something they still want to move forward with in the budget. The five organizations earmarked for receiving the $2K are: Open March 24, 2025 Work Session Minutes 4 Door Pantry, Chamber of Commerce, PAL, TDA, and Seeds of Success. There is uncertainty that Seeds of Success is still operating. Council is asked to provide their feedback as we get closer to presenting the final budget for FY25-26. There will be a presentation at ECU of a feasibility study for two hotels in Hertford that was done by a group of interns. That presentation is open to us as well as the Perquimans County Commissioners. Manager Walton will get back to Council tomorrow regarding available travel funds for CityVision April 29-May 1 in Greenville. COUNCIL CONCERNSIREPORIS Councilwoman Brothers thanked Manager Walton and Finance Director Eure for their work on the budget. She expressed concern that Perquimans County has not shown support for the people of Woodinville who were impacted by the tornado. Councilwoman Brothers discussed her conversating with Jonathon Nixon for an awareness program to assist those in a natural (or other) disaster situation. Councilman Rouse was talking with a local artist, and they were discussing the wall on the old Hertford Hardware Store. Manager Walton advised him that the TDA with America 250 NC received monies for a mural on that wall. The mural has already been drawn, but we do not have a start date for it. Mayor Pro Tem Anderson announced the Betsy Fest that is taking place in downtown Hertford on April 26, 9AM - 7 PM. The Betsy Fest commemorates young Betsy Dowdy's ride from Currituck to Hertford to warn General Skinner that the British were coming. Holy Trinity Episcopal Church will be hosting a pancake breakfast in the morning. There will be demonstrations, vendors with colonial goods for sale, activities, food, crafts, and games for the kids. There will be a Be a Betsy contest. People are asked to dress in colonial attire and there will also be a Best Dressed contest. Mayor Pro Tem Anderson also shared that she attended the Mainstreet Conference. She said that she was glad she went. She met many people from other small towns. There were 15 break-out sessions each day. Sandra shared that at a grant writing session, they were told that it is important to pitch your project like how projects/products are pitched on The Shark Tank. She found that very helpful. There is a program called Destination Businesses and Henry House completed all the training and Carolina Moon Bakery has been recognized in the Destination Business Registry. Small Town Trendz is nearing completion of their training. Mayor Hodges stated that there will be a meeting at ECU on April 30th regarding the hotel feasibility study that was done, and the students want to come here to see some sites probably over in the industrial area and walk the waterfront. They will coordinate with Manager Walton as well for that and let Council know. He spoke with the contractor working on the March 24, 2025 Work Session Minutes 5 hardware store and Mayor Hodges is hoping that work will begin soon, as well as work on the gas station. The new owners have posted no parking in the gas station because they are beginning work soon. He and Councilman Rouse attended the Perquimans County High School girls' basketball game playoffs to support them in their efforts for a State Champion title. Councilwoman Brothers stated that Mr. Winslow has begun demolition on the property at Woodland Circle. ANNOUNCEMENTS Manager Walton urged residents to ready the newsletter enclosed with their monthly utility bill to be aware of upcoming events. ADJOURNMENT A motion and a second were made by Counciwoman Brothers and Councilman Rouse to adjourn the meeting at 8:05 PM. The motion passed unanimously. March 24, 2025 Work Session Minutes 6