MINUTES
Town
of Blowing Rock
Board
of Commissioners
Special
Meeting – August 1, 2007
The Town of Blowing Rock Board of
Commissioners held a special meeting at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 1,
2007. The meeting was held in the
conference room at Town Hall. Present
were Mayor J.B. Lawrence, Commissioners Bobby Ball, Rita Wiseman, Keith Tester,
and Tommy Klutz. Commissioner Terry
Lentz was unable to attend. Others in
attendance were Town Manager Scott Hildebran and Town Clerk Sharon Greene.
DISCUSSION
ITEM
Town Manager Hildebran presented
Resolution #2007-10 In Support of Funding for Truck-Actuated Beacons for U.S.
221 in Blowing Rock and Linville. A
motion to approve Resolution #2007-10 was made by Commissioner Wiseman,
seconded by Commissioner Ball.
Commissioner Klutz stated in his opinion a more suitable place for the
beacons would be on 321 Business before trucks got to Hwy. 221 because there
was no place for large trucks to turn around once they were on that road. Mayor
Lawrence mentioned a sign could be installed somewhere between Knights on Main
and the vacant lot near Speckled Trout, giving notice to truckers regarding the
narrow, curvy condition of Hwy. 221. Council suggested that a signed and
designated turn-around along Hwy. 221 may be more prudent. After some
discussion, the Board expressed concern about the amount of signage being
located in the downtown area. Town Manager Hildebran stated that N.C.D.O.T
would eventually decide the location for the sign. With no further discussion,
Commissioner Wiseman’s motion was unanimously approved. Resolution
#2007-10 Exhibit A
OTHER
Town Manager Hildebran reminded Council
of the special meeting to be held on August 7, 2007 at 4:00 p.m. to discuss several
engineering projects with McGill Associates.
He also mentioned several citizens had
approached town staff regarding the Chamber of Commerce 20-20 Vision
initiatives and their misconception that the town was overseeing this
effort. Mr. Hildebran stated that staff
needed some direction as these items were potentially planning & zoning
issues that would require public hearings and approval from Council. He also requested Council guidance relative
to town staff participation with these efforts. Commissioner Tester spoke of
his support for the Chamber of Commerce and their desire to become more of a
Chamber, but he expressed some concern with the direction of the initiatives.
He suggested that a meeting would be helpful between Council and the Chamber to
further discuss the direction they were planning to take regarding this issue.
Council expressed the following concerns:
overlap and duplication of town efforts and responsibilities –
specifically planning, zoning and beautification related issues; the effect of
the duplication efforts on members of town-appointed boards; and the effect on
ongoing town planning initiatives – specifically the downtown streetscape plan
and the NCDOT U.S. 321 widening landscape plan.
Commissioner Klutz stated that Council should
work towards preserving the Town as it is since Blowing Rock is the epitome of
what a town should be and that all of the towns suggested for visitation by
Vision 20-20 want to be like Blowing Rock. He questioned why people who moved
here wanted to change the town and copy other places.
Commissioner Wiseman stated through
town ordinances Council was trying to keep Blowing Rock moving in the right
direction regarding growth and change, while maintaining the character and
these responsibilities fall on the town.
Commissioner Ball stated that Council
had made tough decisions over the years to retain our community character. She
also advised that the Planning Board, Board of Adjustment and the Appearance
Advisory Commission had provided countless hours of service in the planning and
beautification of the town and any potential duplication or overlap might
discourage future service.
It was consensus of Council that a work
session between Council and the Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee needed
to be scheduled in order to express Council’s concerns and develop a mutually
cooperative direction for the effort.
Mayor Lawrence agreed to contact
Chamber President Pam Vines to request a meeting on the matter.
Commissioners Wiseman and Ball
commented on how beautiful the hanging baskets and flower gardens in town were
and what a great job the Blowing Rock Appearance Advisory Commission were
doing.
Commissioner Wiseman also requested
that a police officer patrol the downtown area on weekends. Mr. Hildebran stated the police department
was short-handed at the present time due to a patrol officer vacancy and a
pending vacancy with Officer Webb’s military activation, but he would relay the
comments to Chief Eric Brown.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business to discuss,
the meeting was adjourned at 4:45 p.m.
MAYOR _____________________________
J.B. Lawrence
Attest: __________________________
Sharon Greene, Town Clerk
Attachments
Resolution #2007-10 Exhibit A