MINUTES
Town
of Blowing Rock
Board
of Commissioners
The Town of Blowing Rock Board of
Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 7:00 p.m.
in the Town Hall Council Chambers.
Present were Mayor J.B. Lawrence, Commissioners 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, Police Chief Owen Tolbert, Police
Chief Designate Eric Brown, Public Works Assistant Director Mike Wilcox,
Planning Director Kevin Rothrock, Emergency Services Director Kent Graham,
Parks & Recreation Director Jennifer Brown, Building Inspector Jesse
Horner, Finance Director Margaret Pierce and Town Clerk Sharon Greene.
Call
to Order
Mayor Lawrence called the meeting to
order at 7:00 p.m. and announced that Commissioner Ball was out of town and
unable to attend the meeting.
Approval
of Minutes
Upon a motion received from
Commissioner Tester, seconded by Commissioner Wiseman, the minutes for the
September 12, 2006 meeting were approved as written. Unanimously approved.
Public
Hearings:
1.
Code Amendment – Residential Driveway Definition (Ordinance #2006-06)
This issue was tabled by Council during
the September 2006 meeting for further review by staff.
Planning Director Kevin Rothrock
presented Council with a revised draft ordinance for their review clarifying
the standards for shared driveways. The
standards specified that driveways may be shared between two lots to limit land
disturbance and provide access to existing lots that might otherwise be
“landlocked”. The standards also required that shared driveways 75 feet in
length and greater would have to be 18 feet wide and could not exceed 18%
grade.
Mr. Rothrock stated that he and Town
Engineer Doug Chapman had measured the slope of numerous driveways throughout
town and they suggested that the maximum grade for the first 20 feet of
driveway be limited to 12%. This
transition would allow a leveling-off area, which is needed during inclement
weather, and would minimize damage to town streets and vehicles. It was also their recommendation that the
maximum grade for the remaining portion of the driveway be limited to 20% with
the exception of shared driveways that are limited to 18% grade.
Council was presented with several
photographs of driveways labeled with the approximate existing grade.
Commissioner Lentz commended Mr.
Rothrock on the work that had been done regarding Council’s request during the
September meeting regarding this issue.
Mayor Lawrence opened the public
hearing. After receiving no comments, a motion to close the public hearing was
made by Commissioner Lentz, seconded by Commissioner Tester. Unanimously approved. Commissioner Wiseman then made a motion to accept
Ordinance # 2006-06 as presented, seconded by Commissioner Lentz. Unanimously approved. Ordinance # 2006-06 Clarifying shared Driveway Standards and
Driveway Grades in the Land Use Ordinance – Exhibit A
2.
Glenmoore
Subdivision – Annexation Ordinance #2006-07
Council received a petition for
annexation from Mr. Kevin Donovan during the September 2006 meeting. With this action, the annexation process was
initiated. Planning Director Rothrock presented Council with an annexation
ordinance, which included a metes and bounds description of the property
boundaries and a corresponding map. Mr.
Rothrock stated if Council chose to approve the annexation ordinance, the
annexation would become effective immediately.
Mayor Lawrence opened the public
hearing. After receiving no comments, a
motion to close the public hearing was made by Commissioner Lentz, seconded by
Commissioner Tester. Unanimously
approved. Commissioner Lentz then made a
motion to approve Annexation Ordinance #2006-07 as presented, seconded by
Commissioner Tester. Unanimously
approved. Ordinance #2006-07 –Exhibit B
3.
Code Amendment – Open Burning & Special Waste Collections (Ordinance
#2006-08)
During the September meeting, Council
asked staff to prepare a draft ordinance to prohibit open burning in the Town
limits. Planning Director Rothrock
presented Council with a draft ordinance amending Chapter 12 in the Town Code
to follow the Chapter 15A of the North Carolina Administrative Code. Mr. Rothrock also advised that Section 1903,
Subsection (b) of the North Carolina Administrative Code provided standards for
open burning stating a condition of allowable open burning is that public pick-up
service not be available. He also
advised the Town provided annual public pick-up of large bulky items (white
goods and furniture) and brush. Leaves
are picked up by the Town between November 1st and April 1st. Therefore, according to Section 1903, open
burning is not allowed.
The draft ordinance would also amend
Chapter 11 to provide an additional fee-based waste collection on a request
basis. The Public Works Department would
make every effort to pick-up the waste items within 72 hours. The draft ordinance would also specify that
the Town would not collect tree trimmings and brush generated by landscape
services and tree trimming contractors, the owner would be responsible for the
removal of brush from these contracted activities.
Mayor Lawrence opened the public
hearing. After receiving no comments, Commissioner
Wiseman made a motion to close the public hearing, seconded by Commissioner
Tester. A motion to adopt Ordinance
#2006-08 was made by Commissioner Tester, a second was received from
Commissioner Wiseman. Unanimously approved. Ordinance
#2006-08 Opening Burning & Special Waste Collections – Attached as Exhibit
C
Commissioner Lentz requested that this
change be placed in the local newspaper so residents would be aware of the new
ordinance. He also inquired about the
amount of fines for those who did not abide by the new ordinance. Planning Director Rothrock stated the fine
would be $100. Commissioner Klutz asked
that several consecutive notices be placed into the newspaper. Mayor
Commissioner Klutz asked if residents
would receive a warning citation since the Town is recommending that pick-ups
happen within 72 hours. Town Manager
Hildebran stated that historically the Town had made pick-ups on rainy days, so
crews would not have to be pulled from another job. He also stated that
residents would be charged only if they required immediate pick-up instead of
waiting until the Public Works Department could accommodate them.
Commissioner Lentz asked how things
would be handled for offenders after 4:00 p.m. Town Manager Hildebran, as well
as Emergency Services Director Kent Graham advised this would not be
significant to the Town now, only to permits issued outside the Town limits.
Town Manager Hildebran stated the Town would be following state law and there
were some exceptions to the law such as campfires, bonfires, etc.
Town resident Ginny Stevens asked if the
$100 fine was a one time fee or would be charged per occurrence. Mr. Rothrock stated the fine would in fact be
per occurrence.
Old
Business
Planning Director Rothrock stated in
September an update on the progress of the restoration of the Edgewood Cottage
was given to Council. He said within the
last month, the NC Department of Insurance (NCDOT) had approved plans for the
building. After staff reviewed the plans
and a permit for the building foundation was issued, new discussions began on options
for the placement of the building were needed.
During a meeting between the Town Historical Society, and the Blowing
Rock Art & History Museum it was decided that the building be turned back
into its original alignment and moved south 5 feet to the original
footprint.
Mr. Rothrock stated that Blowing Rock
Historical Society representative Ginny Stevens and Project Architect Don Yelverton
were present for any questions Council had regarding the project.
Mr. Yelverton spoke regarding the
elevation and site plans that were given to Council for their review. He also
discussed some of the materials that were planned for the cottage, such as
using wood shingles on the outside if the budget allowed, stating this would
bring the cottage back to its original state.
Mrs. Stevens advised that they hoped to
have the building in place in the next 3 weeks or so. She also advised that some of the original
windows were found and were planned to be reused, which would also add to the
original state of the cottage when Elliott Dangerfield resided there. Commissioner Wiseman asked if wood shingles
were allowed in this district. Mr.
Yelverton stated according to NCDOI, as long as there was no increase in fire
hazard wood shingles would be allowed.
Commissioner Wiseman made a motion to
accept the placement of the cottage as presented, as well as the acceptance of
the materials discussed. The motion
received a second from Commissioner Lentz.
Unanimously approved. Proposed Elevation and Site Plans
– Attached as Exhibit D & E
New
Business
Town Manager Hildebran presented Council
with a request from the 2007 Winterfest Committee asking for the use of Town facilities
during some events which would be held on January 25-28, 2007. He also stated that Winterfest representative
Earl Horne was present to answer any questions Council had regarding this
issue.
Mr. Horne spoke of a new event that was
planned for Winterfest 2007, the Frosty 5K Road Race. He introduced Ms. Tamara Holshouser
coordinator for the event. Ms. Holshouser stated she hoped this new event would
meet Council’s approval, because she felt it would be a popular addition to
Winterfest and raise money for a non-profit organization. The proposed route was discussed
briefly. Town Manager Hildebran stated
approval from the NCDOT would be needed before the route could be approved by
the Town. Ms. Holshouser stated they
would come back before Council at next months meeting with a formal request.
Commissioner Wiseman asked if the
Police Department had any input regarding this request. Sergeant Eric Brown stated that as long as NCDOT
approved the proposed route, the police department would work with the coordinators
of the proposed road race.
Commissioner Tester made a motion to
approve the 2007 Winterfest request for the use of Town facilities and proposed
dates that were presented, seconded by Commissioner Lentz. Unanimously approved.
Mr. Aldridge asked that his request be
withdrawn.
Town Manager Hildebran advised the
current tenants (The Blowing Rock Stage
Commissioner Wiseman, seconded by
Commissioner Lentz made a motion to extend the current lease for another year
to the Blowing Rock Stage Company. Blowing Rock Stage Company Lease
– Attached as Exhibit F
Speakers
from the Floor
Mr. Alex Popper a resident of
Mayor
Town Manager Hildebran clarified this
was not a contract with the Town of
Mayor Lawrence offered his congratulations
to in-coming Police Chief Eric Brown, stating with the retirement of current
Police Chief Owen Tolbert, Mr. Brown’s new position would be effective December
1, 2006.
Adjournment
There being no further business to
discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
MAYOR__________________________
J.B. Lawrence
Attest: __________________________
Sharon Greene, CMC