Town of
Blowing Rock
Board of
Commissioners
The Blowing Rock Board of Commissioners held a special meeting on Tuesday, August 22, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. to discuss several items. Present were Mayor J.B. Lawrence, Commissioners Bobby Ball, Keith Tester, Rita Wiseman, Terry Lentz, and Tommy Klutz. Others in attendance were Town Manager Scott Hildebran, Finance Director Margaret Pierce and Deputy Town Clerk Sonya Long.
Mayor Lawrence called the meeting to order at 9:00
a.m.
1.
Electronic Payment
Acceptance
Town Manager presented the Council with information
regarding the costs and options for accepting credit or debit cards for
payments the Town receives.
Mrs. Pierce explained that there would be fees
associated with offering this service and several factors would decide which
company or system the Town would contract with.
One of the more favorable options is the Official Payments Corporation. The company is internet based, which would
allow the customer to pay Town bills online or via a toll free number. Fees would be charged directly to the client
and the Town would receive the full amount owed. The customer would not be able to walk-in and
pay directly with a card, but we could place them on the company’s website to
make the payment.
Mrs. Pierce stated the funds would be settled
directly to our bank account daily.
Other electronic payment options through commercial banks for walk-in
transactions would require the Town to pay the fees, which would be based on
the amount of usage and average dollars of transactions each month. Several other municipalities in
The Council agreed using the Official Payments
Corporation would offer convenience to the customer and cost savings to the
Town.
With no
further discussion, Commissioner Wiseman made a motion to approve using
Official Payments Corporation, seconded by Commissioner Klutz. Unanimously approved. (Attachment #1-Contract
with Official Payments Corp.)
2.
Utility Billing
Outsourcing/Newsletter Capability
Town Manager Hildebran explained to the Council that
in 2004 the privacy laws changed regarding water/sewer accounts to restrict
account information. This information is not subject to the same public
information release requirements. He
stated that the Town feels postcard billings do not meet the privacy
requirements.
Town Manager Hildebran recommended converting to a
letter sized billing with a return envelope provided. He also recommended that the billing be
outsourced to SouthData. They would print out the bills, tri-fold
them, insert the bill and a return envelope, sort by US Postage regulations,
and mail them out at a discounted postage rate of $.29 The
estimated cost for this billing service is less than $1,800.00 annually plus
the discounted postage. There would also
be the capability to include a 2 page, 2-color newsletter with these mailings
as often as the Town desires. The bills
would go out two days after they receive the download file.
Mrs. Pierce stated she called other municipalities
that are with ICS, our accounting software and SouthData. They seem to have a great working
relationship and expressed great compatibility with both software
programs. This will lower our initial
setup costs with ICS and SouthData since data changes
are already written and tested.
Regarding the newsletter, the Town would download
the file to SouthData, and they would print, fold and
insert with the water/sewer bills. The
postage would not change, but there would be an additional cost of $.10 each.
Commissioner Tester made a motion to approve outsourcing the water/sewer bills to SouthData along with the newsletter. Commissioner Ball seconded the motion. Unanimously approved.(Attachment #2-Proposal from SouthData)
3.
Town Manager Hildebran updated the Council on the
latest information regarding the Forestry Globe Project. Mr. Hildebran along with Mayor Lawrence,
Commissioner Ball, Commissioner Tester and Watauga County Commissioner Keith
Honeycutt, would be meeting with Congresswoman Foxx later in the week to try
and get the area designated as a “Scenic Area.”
Commissioner Ball stated that the
Everyone thanked Commissioner Ball for the hard work
and dedication she has put forth for this major issue. Mayor Lawrence stated they should include in
the draft bill a distance perimeter for the view shed. Commissioner Ball pointed out that if the
designation were to pass, nothing would change on the 20,000 acres.
1.
Town Manager Hildebran stated the Town has been working with the NC
Department of Transportation regarding the wayfinding
road signage program. NCDOT has
expressed concern about the safety of the proposed signage. Mr. Hildebran proposed contracting with
former NCDOT Boardmember Mr. Sam Ebry
to help the Town discuss possible solutions to this problem.
Commissioner Wiseman made a motion to approve the
contract with Mr. Erby up to $1,000, seconded by
Commissioner Ball. Unanimously approved.
2.
Commissioner Wiseman reported to the Council the new
plans for the four laning of Highway 321,
3.
Town Manager reminded the Council of the High Country Council of
Government meeting on September 1, 2006 at Linville Ridge at 6:00 p.m.
Town Manager asked to go into Closed Session at 9:35 a.m.
to discuss several personnel issues.
Commissioner Klutz made a motion to enter into Closed Session by
authorization of NCGS 143-318.11 (3), seconded by Commissioner Tester. Unanimously approved at 9:36 a.m.
The regular
meeting reconvened at 10:15 a.m.
Commissioner Klutz asked for an update on the Town
beginning debris pick-up on a regular basis.
Town Manager Hildebran reported he had checked with other towns and the
fees charged. The Commissioners agreed
they would like to see the Town implement this as soon as possible and charge
the citizens a reasonable amount to pick the debris up. Mr. Hildebran stated staff would draft a
proposal for consideration in the near future.
Commissioner Wiseman asked that someone from the
Town call Mark Crumpler, owner of the Brass Exchange
in regards to his concerns on parking enforcement.
With no further business to discuss the meeting
adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
Mayor
__________________________________
J.B.
Lawrence
Attest:______________________________
Sonya
Long, Deputy Town Clerk