MINUTES
WATAUGA
TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2011
The Watauga County Board of Commissioners held a regular meeting on Tuesday, March 1, 2011, at 8:00 A.M. in the Commissioners’ Board Room of the
PRESENT: Nathan A. Miller, Chairman
Robert E. Nelson, Jr.,
Anita J. Fogle, Clerk to the Board
[Clerk’s Note: Commissioner Deal was not in attendance due to a prior commitment.]
Chairman Miller called the meeting to order at 8:06 A.M., welcoming those in attendance.
Vice-Chairman Blust opened the meeting with a prayer and Commissioner Gable led the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chairman Miller called for additions and/or corrections to the February 15, 2011, regular and closed session minutes.
Commissioner Futrelle, seconded by Commissioner Gable, moved to approve the February 15, 2011, regular meeting minutes as presented.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
Commissioner Futrelle, seconded by Commissioner Gable, moved to approve the February 15, 2011, closed session minutes as presented.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Chairman Miller called for additions and/or corrections to the March 1, 2011, agenda.
Vice-Chairman Blust, seconded by Commissioner Gable, moved to approve the March 1, 2011, agenda as amended.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
PRESENTATION OF W.A.M.Y.’S FISCAL YEAR 2012 COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT APPLICATION
Ms. Bobbie Willard, Project Coordinator, W.A.M.Y. Community Action, Inc., presented the Agency’s FY 2012 Community Services Block Grant Application. W.A.M.Y.’s funding source required that the application be presented to the Board of Commissioners.
The application was presented for information only and, therefore, no action was required.
SHERIFF’S OFFICE VEHICLE BID AWARD REQUEST
Captain
Boone Ford $47,335.00
Piedmont Truck Center $35,417.00
Bobby Jones Ford $32,298.60
The low bidder was Ashe County Ford in the amount of $32,286.60; however, the bid amount did not include emergency equipment such as light bars, radios, or decals that may need to be added. In FY 2011, $125,000 was budgeted with the goal of purchasing five replacement vehicles. In addition to three that have been purchased, this was to be the fourth vehicle requested out of the $125,000 allocation. The approximate balance was currently $47,000 for the two remaining vehicles. Captain Redmon stated that the Sheriff’s Office was aware that, by purchasing the 2011 Ford F-250 Super Duty diesel crew-cab truck, a fifth vehicle purchase was not possible.
Commissioner Futrelle, seconded by Vice-Chairman Blust, moved to approve the bid award for a 2011 Ford F-250 Super Duty diesel crew-cab truck to Ashe County Ford in the amount of $32,286.60.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT UPDATE
Mr.
The report was given for information only and, therefore, no action was required.
TAX MATTERS
A. Monthly Collections Report – Tax Administrator
B. Releases and Refunds – Mr. Byrd presented the following Refunds and Releases for February 2011 for Board approval:
TO BE TYPED IN MINUTE BOOK
Vice-Chairman Blust, seconded by Commissioner Gable, moved to approve the Refunds and Releases Report for February 2011, as presented.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
FINANCE MATTERS
A. Real Property Surplus Request – Ms.
County Attorney Eggers mentioned the following options available to sell real property: advertise for sealed bids; the negotiated offer/upset bid process; public auction; and electronic public auction.
After discussion, Commissioner Futrelle, seconded by Commissioner Gable, moved to declare the lot surplus and direct staff to use the type of sale best suited for this property.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
B. Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCB) Allocation Surplus Request – Ms. Pierce stated that in FY 2010, $1,351,726 in Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCB) was approved for use by the School Board. The bonds had an effective interest rate of 0%; however, in submitting the appropriate projects, the School Board did not request to borrow $61,452 of the approved amount. The NC Department of Public Instruction has requested an official release notification for the $61,452 from the County to allow the allocation to be returned to the State for reallocation.
Vice-Chairman Blust, seconded by Commissioner Futrelle, moved to release $61,452 for return to the State in Qualified School Construction Bonds.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
C. FY 2011 Audit Contract – Ms. Pierce stated that, at a previous meeting, the Board approved entering into contract negotiation with Bryce Holder, CPA, PA, to conduct the FY 2011 financial audit. Ms. Pierce presented a proposed contract for an amount not to exceed $52,400. Ms. Pierce stated that the contract had been reviewed by the
Commissioner Gable, seconded by Vice-Chairman Blust, moved to approve the contract with Bryce Holder, CPA, PA, for FY 2011 financial audit services as presented by Ms. Pierce.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
D. Budget Amendments – Ms. Pierce presented the following budget amendments for Board approval:
Account # Description Debit
Credit
263991-399101 Fund Balance Appropriation
$16,775
264330-451000 Capital Outlay-Furn & Equip $11,300
264330-451000 Capital Outlay-Furn & Equip $5,475
The amendment appropriated funds for an emergency generator for the Courthouse at $11,300 and the purchase of five AED units at $5,475. These were part of the planned spend down of 50% of the E-911 Fund Balance.
Commissioner Gable mentioned that the
Commissioner Futrelle, seconded by Vice-Chairman Blust, moved to approve the budget amendment as presented by Ms. Pierce.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
DISCUSSION OF SALES TAX RESOLUTION
Deputy County Manager Geouque presented a draft resolution based on discussions held at the Annual Pre-Budget Retreat which called for a referendum to consider a quarter-cent local option sales tax with revenues from the tax to be used to pay down debt.
The Deputy County Manager read the resolution and stated that, if approved at the projected date of a May 17 election, the tax was projected to generate approximately $1,183,109 for FY 2011. If the resolution was not approved at this time, a delay to the timeline could cost the County approximately $550,000 in projected revenue. Deputy County Manager Geouque also stated that the word “service” should be removed in the second “Whereas” as the amounts shown reflected current debt not debt service.
After lengthy discussion, Commissioner Gable, seconded by Vice-Chairman Blust, moved to adopt the resolution as amended to remove the word “service” from the second “Whereas” and to add the following to the end of the resolution: “AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Watauga County Board of Commissioners shall call for a special election to repeal the additional one-quarter percent (0.25%) sales tax in accordance with NCGS 105-473 within three (3) years of the first day of collection.”
VOTE: Aye-3(Miller, Blust, Gable)
Nay-1(Futrelle)
Absent-1(Deal)
At this time, Commissioner Gable, seconded by Commissioner Futrelle, moved to amend the agenda to allow for a discussion regarding a public hearing to allow citizen comment on the proposed quarter-cent local option sales tax.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
After a brief discussion, Commissioner Gable, seconded by Commissioner Futrelle, moved to set a public hearing for Tuesday, March 15, 2011, at 6:00 P.M. to allow for citizen comment on the proposed quarter-cent local option sales tax.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
MISCELLANEOUS ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
A. Emergency Fire Dispatch Purchase Request – Mr.
Captain
Commissioner Gable, seconded by Vice-Chairman Blust, moved to waive the bidding process, per G. S. 143-129(e)(6), for reasons of compatibility with existing equipment and software and approve the purchase of the Emergency Fire Dispatch (EFD) items from Priority Dispatch.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
B. Discussion of the Town of Boone’s Water Intake Project – Mr. Furman stated that there were three issues to be discussed regarding the Town of Boone’s Water Intake Project: 1) potentially sending a letter to the Division of Water Quality’s Committee regarding the Town’s request; 2) sending a County representative to the Division of Water Quality’s Committee meeting where the Town’s request was to be considered; and 3) water allocations for the old high school property and a future Hwy 421 South corridor.
After discussion, Chairman Miller, seconded by Commissioner Gable, moved to direct staff to send a letter to citizens within the affected area of the proposed intake detailing changes that would occur if the intake project was approved.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
Vice-Chairman Blust, seconded by Commissioner Gable, moved to set a public hearing for Tuesday, April 19, 2011, at 6:00 P.M. to allow for citizen comment on and to provide details on changes that the Town of
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
Mr. Furman stated that an estimation of the amount of water required for the type of development that might be located at the old high school property once sold was approximately 200,000 gallons-per-day (GPD).
After lengthy discussion, Vice-Chairman Blust, seconded by Commissioner Gable, moved to direct the
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
Discussion was held regarding potential future needs for water supply to the Hwy 421 South corridor to allow for economic development.
Commissioner Gable presented the current need for fire hydrants in several locations in that area.
After lengthy discussion, Commissioner Gable, seconded by Commissioner Futrelle, moved to direct staff to request cooperation from the Town of
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
B.1. Citizens’ Plan Action Committee Appointments – Mr. Furman reported that the current Citizens’ Plan Action Committee was comprised of the following membership:
Commissioner Futrelle suggested adding a citizen representative to the CPAC and recommended Mr. Charlie Wallin who had served on the committee until recently as a Planning Board representative.
After discussion, Commissioner Futrelle moved to reappoint himself as the Board of Commissioners representative; Ric Mattar, Planning Board representative and Paul Combs, Economic Development Commission representative; and to appoint Charlie Wallin as a citizen representative; and representatives from the Tourism Development Authority and a second representative from the Planning Board as chosen by those respective Boards to the Citizens’ Plan Action Committee.
Due to the lack of a second, Commissioner Futrelle’s motion died.
B.2. Economic Development Commission Joint Meeting Request – Mr. Furman stated that the Economic Development Commission requested to hold a joint meeting with the Board of Commissioners to discuss and request direction on current issues.
By consensus, the Board tabled action to set a date for the joint meeting until July.
C. Discussion of Ethics Training
By consensus, the Board agreed to direct staff to order the webinar.
D. Boards and Commissions – County Manager Nelson stated that Mr.
Commissioner Futrelle, seconded by Vice-Chairman Blust, moved to reappoint Ms. Gelene Atwood and Mr. George Miles to the Watauga County Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee, both for three-year terms.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
The
Vice-Chairman Blust, seconded by Commissioner Futrelle, moved to reappoint Ms. Pat Taylor and Ms. Angie Greene to the Watauga County Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee, both for three-year terms.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
The
The
The
The
The above were first readings and, therefore, no action was required at this time.
E. Announcements – County Manager Nelson announced that the Cooperative Extension’s Annual Report to the People was scheduled for today, Tuesday, March 1, 2011, at 11:45 A.M.
The
The
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
CLOSED SESSION
At 10:41 A.M., Vice-Chairman Blust, seconded by Commissioner Futrelle, moved to enter Closed Session to discuss Attorney/Client Matters, per G. S. 143-318.11(a)(3) and Personnel Matters, per G. S. 143-318.11(a)(6).
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
Commissioner Futrelle, seconded by Chairman Miller, moved to resume the open meeting at 11:27 A.M.
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
ACTION AFTER CLOSED SESSION
Upon a review of personnel records, County Manager Nelson reported to the Board that 2 current employees had lapses in time worked compared to the months of credit in the Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System (LGERS).
Commissioner Futrelle seconded by Vice-Chairman Blust, moved for the County to pay for 50% of omitted time should the LGERS allow for repurchase in this manner. The County will pay for 50% of the omitted time should the affected employees choose to pay the balance of the cost (50%).
VOTE: Aye-4(Miller, Blust, Futrelle, Gable)
Nay-0
Absent-1(Deal)
ADJOURN
Chairman Miller adjourned the meeting at 11:29 A.M.
Nathan A. Miller, Chairman
ATTEST:
Anita J. Fogle, Clerk to the Board