MINUTES
Town
of Blowing Rock
Board
of Commissioners
July 10, 2007
The
Town of Blowing Rock Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday,
July 10, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. at the Town Hall Council Chambers. Attending were Mayor J.B. Lawrence,
Commissioners Bobby Ball, Keith Tester, Terry Lentz, Rita Wiseman and Tommy
Klutz. Others in attendance were Town
Manager Scott Hildebran, Town Attorney Allen Moseley, Town Engineer Doug
Chapman, Planning Director Kevin Rothrock, Public Works Director Johnny Lentz,
Finance Director Margaret Pierce, Building Inspector Jesse Horner, Parks &
Recreation Director Jennifer Brown, EMS Director Kent Graham, Planning &
Zoning Intern Patrick Heavner, and Town Clerk Sharon Greene.
CALL TO
ORDER
Mayor
Lawrence called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and welcomed those in
attendance.
APPROVAL OF
MINUTES
Commissioner
Lentz made a motion to approve the minutes for meetings held on June 7, and
June 19, 2007, seconded by Commissioner Ball.
Commissioner Wiseman stated a sentence was missing on Page 2 of the June
19, 2007 minutes. After receiving a revised copy of Page 2, which included the
missing sentence, Council unanimously approved the minutes as written.
PUBLIC
HEARINGS
Sworn
to speak during the public hearing were Planning Director Kevin Rothrock and
Telecom Site Management, Inc. representative David Amory.
1. CUP #2007-02 – Sprint Stealth
Antenna
Council
received a request for a conditional use permit from Telecom Site Management to
locate three (3) Sprint/Nextel commercial telecommunications systems antennas
on the roof of
Mr.
Rothrock stated the Planning Board had recommended the approval of the
conditional use permit during their June 21, 2007 meeting with the following
conditions:
Commissioner
Lentz asked if three antennas were needed.
Mr. Amory advised all three were needed to provide coverage to the
area. Commissioner Klutz expressed his
concern in reference to noise from fans located in the equipment
enclosure. Mr. Amory stated the fans
would create minimal noise. After a brief discussion regarding the dimension of
the chimneys and their location, a motion to close the public hearing was made
by Commissioner Wiseman, seconded by Commissioner Ball. Unanimously approved. A motion to approve CUP # 2007-02 as
submitted was given by Commissioner Wiseman, seconded by Commissioner
Ball. Unanimously approved. CUP #2007-02 Sprint Alternative Cellular Tower Structure – Exhibit A
2. Tree and Landscape Revisions
(Ordinance #2007-03)
Planning
Director Rothrock presented Council with a draft revision to the tree
preservation and landscaping standards in the Land Use Ordinance for their
review. He advised that after 4 years of
study and public meetings, as well as consultation with Blowing Rock Appearance
Advisory Commission and Garden Club members, landscape professionals, code
officials with other municipalities, and local citizens, the draft revisions
were complete. He also extended his gratitude to everyone that assisted in the
process. Mr. Rothrock advised all revisions would be within (a) Article II –
Basic Definitions and Interpretations; (b) Article XVIII(B) – Commercial Design
and Appearance Standards; (c) Article XIX – Screening and Trees; and (d)
Appendix E – Screening and Trees.
Commissioner
Ball thanked everyone that helped with the revision process.
Commissioner
Tester had questions regarding who would evaluate the health of the trees and
make the final decision in the cutting of trees. Mr. Rothrock stated several arborists were
available to consult regarding the health of trees but town staff would
ultimately make the final decision.
Mayor
Lawrence verbalized his belief that the Town should not interfere with the
single-family property owner’s rights. Mayor Lawrence felt that property owners
should be able to cut trees on their property if they chose regardless of the
health of the trees. Commissioner Klutz
acknowledged that he was in agreement with Mayor Lawrence, stating that
property owners should be able to do what they wanted on their property and
their rights should not be infringed upon.
Commissioner
Ball suggested that everyone review Section 16-316.01 of the Land Use Ordinance
that pertained to Tree Credits. Mr.
Rothrock gave a brief explanation of the Tree Credit process.
Mayor
Lawrence again reiterated that in his opinion, this was a property rights
issue. Commissioner Lentz asked about liability issues should a tree fall on
someone’s home, and felt this might cause problems for the town. Commissioner
Klutz declared the fines for cutting trees were excessive and people should not
be penalized for cutting trees on their property. Mr. Rothrock stated that revisions to the
land use ordinance were needed especially regarding commercial property, but
Council could decide whether to modify the revisions being made to
single-family property if they desired.
Commissioner Wiseman also agreed the penalties were severe.
Mayor
Lawrence asked if anyone in the audience would like to speak regarding this
issue. Mr. James Craig, a resident in
the ETJ district voiced his opposition to the revisions pertaining to the
single-family areas.
Mr.
Albert Coffey approached Council and expressed disappointment that many of the
suggestions given in letters to the Town addressing the tree ordinance were not
taken into consideration. He felt the
draft revisions would not accomplish in the long term what the Town wished to
accomplish. Mr. Coffey stated that larger trees were subject to decay becoming
a liability and safety issue. He also
felt the suggested penalties were excessive.
Mr. Coffey advised he had no objection to the revisions being made to
other sections of the ordinance, but felt continued work was needed on the land
use ordinance revisions and asked Council to use their heads not their emotions
while voting and making the necessary amendments to the ordinance.
Commissioner
Wiseman made a motion to continue the public hearing at the next regular
meeting held in August in order to give staff more time to further study the
proposed revisions. Commissioner Ball
seconded the motion. Unanimously
approved.
OLD BUSINESS
1. Demolition bids – Structure @
Pursuant
to the Demolition Order (Ordinance #2007-09) approved by Council on June 19,
2007, Town Manager Hildebran presented the following bids for the demolition of
property located at 120 Yonahlossee Road:
Demolition
Costs Salvageable Material Total
Cost
D.H.
E. LUKE GREENE, CO. INC $12,500.00 N/A $12,500.00
Blowing ROck Renovators $13,015.00 $450.00 $12,565.00
Ebco Builders, INC. $14,452.50 $100.00 $14,353.50
Commissioner
Klutz asked if the Town was required to accept the lowest bid, because he felt
a local company should be used. Mr. Hildebran advised North Carolina General
Statute states that towns accept the lowest responsible bidder. He then advised
the lowest bid was received from D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co., Inc., and that they
were the third largest wrecking company in the nation.
Mayor
Lawrence asked if interest on the demolition money ($11,200.00) could be added
as an assessment to the property owner. Town
Attorney Moseley acknowledged that interest could be charged and treated as a
lien on the property.
A
motion to accept the lowest bid of $11,200.00 from D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co.
Inc. was given by Commissioner Wiseman, seconded by Commissioner Ball. In favor of the motion were Commissioners
Wiseman, Ball, Lentz & Tester.
Against the motion was Commissioner Klutz. Motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
1.
Art in the Park – 2008 Dates
Charles
Hardin Executive Director of the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce submitted a
proposed list of potential dates for the 2008 Art in the Park to Council for
their approval. Dates given were May 17,
June 14, July 19, August 16, September 13, and October 4, 2008.
Commissioner
Lentz asked if these dates conflicted with other events, such as family weekend
at ASU. Mr. Hardin stated that family
weekend at ASU would be on the same weekend as the “Mitford Days” event.
Commissioner
Wiseman advised that vendor parking continued to be a problem, especially those
who parked at
A
motion to approve Art in the Park 2008 Dates was given by Commissioner Ball,
seconded by Commissioner Lentz.
Unanimously approved. Art in the Park – 2008 Dates Exhibit B
2. Settlement of 2006 Property
Taxes/Charge of 2007 Property Tax Collection
As
required by N.C.G.S. 105-373, the annual report of the 2006 property taxes
charges was submitted to Council by the Tax Collector for their review. Also pursuant, to G.S. 105-321(b), an Order
of the Town Board for the Collection of Fiscal Year 2007-08 Property Taxes is
required in order for the Tax Collector to begin the 2007 tax collection
process.
After
reviewing the Annual Settlement Report, Commissioner Wiseman made a motion to
accept the report as submitted, seconded by Commissioner Ball. An Order of Collection authorizing the Tax
Collector to begin collection of 2007 taxes was also included in the
motion. Unanimously approved. Settlement of 2006 Property Taxes/Charge of 2007 Property Tax Collection
Exhibit C & D
3.
Pursuant
to a request from State Representative Cullie Tarleton, Town Manager Hildebran
submitted Resolution #2007-10 in Support of Funding for Truck-Activated Beacons
for U.S. 221 in Blowing Rock and Linville for Council’s consideration. Mr. Hildebran stated the town had received
several complaints regarding truck traffic along U.S. 221 and truck-activated
beacons would make motorist more aware of the safety hazards along this route.
Council
had several questions regarding the appearance of the beacons and where they
would be placed and decided more information would be needed before passing
Resolution #2007-10 and agreed to consider the resolution at a later date.
4. Approval of Agreement with GovDeals
to Provide On-Line Auction Services
Town
Manager Hildebran advised that effective August 2001, N.C.G.S. 160A-270 allowed
public agencies to conduct electronic auctions for the sale of real or personal
property. He stated the use of public
electronic auction services was another tool to create a broader level of
exposure and to gain the maximum revenues on the sale of Town surplus
property.
Mr.
Hildebran stated that GovDeals provided state-of-the art on-line auction
services to more than 175 city and county government clients in
Mr.
Hildebran presented Council with an agreement contract with GovDeals to provide
public on-line electronic auction to sell surplus town personal property for
their consideration.
With
no further discussion, a motion to approve the GovDeals contract was given by
Commissioner Tester, seconded by Commissioner Ball. Unanimously approved. GovDeals Seller Agreement – Exhibit
E
Speakers from the Floor
None
Departmental Reports
A
brief update on the progress of the new
adjournment
With
no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Mayor
____________________________
J.B. Lawrence
Attest:
________________________
Sharon Greene, Town Clerk