HomeMy Public PortalAbout11-10-2008 Regular MeetingNovemb~~ 10, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: December 8, 2008
Page 1 of 29
Town
of MINUTES
Hills " --_ bh HILLSBOROUGH TOWN BOARD
vs+ November 10, 2008
7:00 PM, Town Barn
PRESENT: Mayor Tom Stevens, Commissioners Evelyn Lloyd, Frances Dancy, L. Eric
Hallman, Michael Gering, and Brian Lowen.
STAFF PRESENT: Town Manager Eric Peterson, Assistant Town Manager/Public Works
Director Nicole Ard, Planning Director Margaret Hauth, Town Clerk/Director of Administration
and Human Resources, Town Engineer/Utilities Director Kenny Keel, Finance Director Greg
Siler, Police Chief Clarence Birkhead, Public Works Supervisor Ken Hines, Budget Analyst
Emily Bradford, Town Attorney Bob Hornik.
Mayor Tom Stevens called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.
1. PUBLIC CHARGE
Mayor Stevens did not read the Public Charge, but noted it would be followed.
2. PUBLIC HEARING
7:01:24 PM Mayor Stephens opened the public hearing.
A. Public Hearing to receive comment on proposed amendment to Hillsborough Tree
Ordinance
7:01:52 PM Public Works Supervisor Ken Hines provided an overview of the proposed
changes to the Tree Ordinance. He said the Tree Board had believed the revisions necessary due
to changing times and Hillsborough's growth, and recognizing that parts of the ordinance were
outdated. He said some areas of concern were the protection of trees, educating the public, and
allowing the Tree Board to be more involved with the community. Mr. Hines said the Tree
Board was recommending that the ceiling for penalties be raised from $1,000 to a maximum
$2,500, which would better reflect the actual cost of replacing trees.
7:02:51 PM Commissioner Hallman arrived at the meeting.
Mr. Hines said other highlights included a recommendation to increase the membership on the
Tree Board from five to seven members, which would help them better perform their duties and
provide a better opportunity to achieve a quorum at meetings. He said there was also some
rewording suggested for clarification.
7:04:48 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Gering, seconded by Commissioner Dancy, the
Board moved to close the public hearing by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
November 10, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: December 8, 2008
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INTERVIEW VOLUNTEER ADVISORY BOARD CANDIDATES
B. Interview volunteer candidate to serve on the Margaret Lane Cemetery Committee
7:05:02 PM Mr. Hines indicated that Evelyn Poole-Kober was not present this evening.
Mayor Stevens suggesting waiting until they reached Item #5, Appointments, to allow Ms.
Poole-Kober time to arrive. He said that many of the Board were familiar with Ms. Poole-Kober
as she was very active in the community. There was no objection from the Board.
3. AUDIENCE COMMENTS REGARDING MATTERS NOT ON THE PRINTED
AGENDA
7:05:38 PM Mayor Stevens indicated that no citizens had signed up to speak at this time.
7:05:49 PM Commissioner Lloyd arrived at the meeting.
4. AGENDA CHANGES & AGENDA APPROVAL
7:06:03 PM Town Manager Eric Peterson indicated that an additional Personnel Issue had
been added to the Closed Session, changing it from two to three items.
7:06:26 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Lowen, seconded by Commissioner Dancy, the
Board moved to approve the Agenda as amended by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared
passed.
5. APPOINTMENTS
A. Consider appointment of Evelyn Poole-Kober to serve aThree-Year Term on the
Margaret Lane Cemetery Committee with a Term to expire on November 10, 2011
7:06:39 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Dancy, seconded by Commissioner Gering, the
Board moved to appoint Evelyn Poole-Kober to serve athree-year term on the Margaret Lane
Cemetery Committee with a teen to expire on November 10, 2011 by a vote of 5-0. The motion
was declared passed.
6. COMMITTEE REPORTS (Critical)
7:07:25 PM Commissioner Hallman said the Strategic Growth Planning Committee had met
and discussed density and how the Town would handle that. He said that was something they
needed to begin thinking about, but with that density came tradeoffs. Commissioner Hallman
stated he believed they needed to have a discussion, perhaps at the next monthly workshop,
regarding how density issues would be addressed.
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7:09:18 PM Mayor Stevens agreed density issues were important if they were going to be
intentional about their decisions and where they would go with the Strategic Growth Plan.
Commissioner Gering suggested talking about that when they reached Item 10.L. on the agenda,
'`Hot Topics.'" There was no objection from the Board.
Commissioner Dancy said she was presently working on the TJCOG legislative agenda, so if any
of the Board had concerns to please alert her to that. She said there were many concerns due to
the economy and the debt being carried by the State. Commissioner Dancy stated she would
share the legislative agenda with the Board when it was completed.
7. REPORT FROM THE TOWN MANAGER
7:10:51 PM Mr. Peterson indicated he had no report to offer at this time.
8. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS
7:10:58 PM Mayor Stevens asked if any Board members had key questions for staff, or did
staff have any items they wanted to flag for the Board.
Planning Director Margaret Hauth said as the Board moved towards Item 10. L. on the agenda,
there was also the discussion of the preferred alternatives that came out of the Long Range
Transportation Plan which the Board might want to address at a workshop possibly in November
or at the regular meeting in December. Ms. Hauth said it would involve a presentation to the
Board regarding the recommended options.
7:12:04 PM Commissioner Hallman said the road projects were still the same, and this was
more about the rail/transit part of it. He said the presentation should be brief. Ms. Hauth agreed.
The Board had no objections to taking that up when the Board got to Item I O.L. on the agenda.
7:12:30 PM Assistant Town Manager Nicole Ard said they had discovered today that their leaf
truck was temporarily out of service but replacement parts were in route for repairs. She said the
good news was that road resurfacing would be starting in the next couple of weeks, to include
Murray Street, Sherwood Lane, and North Hillsborough Avenue.
Ms. Ard said another piece of news was that the demonstration project at The Marketplace at the
Courthouse was recently completed.
9. ITEMS FOR DECISION -CONSENT AGENDA
Consider Approval of the Minutes of the September 18, 2008 Assembly of Governments
Meeting; the September 22, 2008 Monthly Workshop; the September 22, 2008 Monthly
Workshop Closed Session; the September 29, 2008 Special Meeting; the September 29,
2008 Special Meeting Closed Session; the October 13, 2008 Regular Meeting; and the
October 13, 2008 Regular Meeting Closed Session.
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2. Consider Approval of a Proclamation in support of Nonprofit Awareness Month
7:13:50 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Dancy, seconded by Commissioner Lowen, the
Board moved to approve the Consent Agenda by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
10. ITEMS FOR DECISION -REGULAR AGENDA
A. Receive letter of interest in annexation from W&W Partners regarding 119 acres
on US 70A
7:14:13 PM Ms. Hauth stated Kyle Ward and Mike Hunter, the W&W Partners, were present
tonight and wanted to speak to the Board regarding annexation of their project. She said the
property consisted of 119 acres across from the Triangle Sportsplex.
7:14:53 PM Mike Hunter commented that they were very supportive of the efforts of the Tree
Board in the preservation of trees, and also liked being able to create a community that addressed
density while at the same time complimented the fabric of community. He stated he believed
their vision of what they would like to bring to Hillsborough was very similar to what they had
heard this evening.
Mr. Hunter said he and Mr. Ward would welcome the opportunity to discuss their vision in more
detail with the Board. He said they would be very active, and wanted the Board members to feel
free to express their opinions or concerns with what they were trying to accomplish. Mr. Hunter
stated that they had previously named their project Ashton Hall, but that name had been taken
while they were still in the planning stages, so unfortunately they would be renaming the project.
He said that may be a positive since they would be incorporating some changes into the project
that they believed would make it better.
7:17:02 PM Ms. Hauth said to refresh the Board's memory of the steps in the process, a Letter
of Interest had been submitted. She said if the Board was interested in moving forward with the
request for annexation, the next step would be to direct staff to work with the applicant to bring
forward a fiscal analysis of the project, prior to the Board deciding whether or not to request a
petition of annexation which would begin the hearing process.
7:17:27 PM Commissioner Hallman asked for a timeframe for moving forward. Ms. Hauth
stated W&W Partners would like to appear at a January public hearing, although that may not be
particularly reasonable. She said depending on low elaborate an analysis was done and how
much the project had changed for the previous time, then it should not take too long to bring
forward. Ms. Hauth said April may be more realistic.
Mr. Hunter stated they would prefer the opportunity in January, but if it took longer that would
not be an issue for them.
7:18:15 PM Commissioner Lowen said since it did not appear on the surface that there were
major changes to the project, how much staff time would have to go into an analysis. Mr.
Peterson responded he believed it could be done fairly quickly as long as the applicant could sit
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down with them. He said the biggest item was getting the developer to provide estimates, and
once that information was received staff could move quickly. Mr. Peterson said they may be
able to get the work done during December if all needed information was provided promptly.
Ms. Hauth stated they would need to be able to present it to the Board at its December meeting
so that the Board could request a petition for annexation, and then it would be timely for a
January hearing.
7:19:58 PM Mayor Stevens said it sounded as if April maybe much more realistic. Ms. Hauth
said it depended on what the changes to the project were.
Mr. Peterson noted they already had the estimated number of units, and they would need the tax
values associated with that and then staff could discuss that. He said they had done enough of
these that it would not take long to turn it around. Mr. Peterson said he believed it would not be
a hardship to have it ready for the Board's December meeting.
7:20:42 PM Commissioner Dancy asked if Mr. Peterson felt comfortable with that. Mr.
Peterson said if everything fell into place it should not be a problem, but if not it would wait until
April. Commissioner Dancy said with everything else staff was working on, including the
upcoming budget retreat, she would be more comfortable waiting until April. Mr. Peterson said
that was a good point, and he would actually rather get it off his plate before they got fired up to
work on the budget. He said getting this ready for December would not be a problem as long as
the tax values were submitted fairly quickly. Commissioner Dancy said the main issue was
whether the Board was even interested in annexing that property.
Mayor Stevens said he knew the project had not been accepted the first time it was requested, but
the project did have a lot of merits that the Board appreciated.
7:2 ] :48 PM Commissioner Lowen stated he had liked the project the first time.
Commissioner Lloyd stated she had not had any problems with it, either, especially given the
amenities that might be offered to the Town, such as a water tower and a water line under I-85.
Mr. Peterson stated that would be something to discuss later, but said he knew there had already
been preliminary discussions with Mr. Keel and both parties were optimistic that they would be
able to work with the Town successfully to address concerns.
Commissioner Gering stated the threshold for getting started on this was fairly low, and believed
that W&W Partners deserved a chance to be heard and for the Board to discover if the project
would be of benefit to everyone.
Town Attorney Bob Hornik asked if there would be a zoning process along with the annexation
process. Ms. Hauth responded yes. Mr. Hornik asked then was January realistic in terms of a
public hearing. Ms. Hauth said yes, because most of the engineering work was already
completed and there was very little that needed to be changed. Mr. Hornik said he did not want
to get too far along with the annexation if there was an issue with the zoning. Ms. Hauth said
they intended to run the annexation and the zoning together.
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7:23:47 PM Commissioner Hallman said he had liked the project the last time, adding he
believed it was one of the best designs the Town had seen. He said the Planning Board had done
a lot of work on it, but he was still not comfortable with moving forward until the Board had its
discussion on density and water capacity. Commissioner Hallman said the project was in an area
of Town identified for residential growth, but the Town needed to look carefully at how to use its
remaining water capacity and where they wanted to put density.
Mayor Stevens stated this project would represent roughly 15% of the Town's remaining
residential water capacity. He said what he was hearing, and with the various cautions noted,
was that it was worthwhile to take a look at the project and move forward. There was no
objection from the Board.
Mr. Peterson stated they would also work on updating the water analyses, noting that the
assumptions they had used in the past had been very conservative. He said he would work with
Mr. Keel and re-examine peak day capacity and average usage. Mr. Peterson said they suspected
they had more capacity than estimated, but they would do the update and bring that information
back to the Board.
B. Consideration of contract with The Design Workshop to undertake the design
aspects of the Wayfinding Plan
7:26:51 PM Ms. Hauth stated that they had received a proposal from The Design Workshop to
work with the Town and the Wayfinding Sign Task Force to work on the design aspects of the
plan. She said since the logo and branding process was being done concurrently, and the
Wayfinding was a little ahead of that, they were hoping to be able to leave a placeholder on the
design for the new logo to be plugged in at a later date. Ms. Hauth stated the proposal was
selected by the Wayfinding Committee as the preferred proposal based on identified criteria.
Ms. Hauth stated there was $60,000 in the budget, and they would be using about $35,000 to get
the project started and then would move forward with allocations for the actual implementation
and construction of the signs.
7:28:40 PM Commissioner Gering elaborated that the Committee had done a thorough
analysis of the three applications received, and had interviewed the top two. He stated the other
firn~ considered, Frasier & Associates, was more than twice the projected expense, and the
Committee believed that The Design Workshop would provide a better result as well as be
cheaper. Commissioner Gering stated that eight of the nine Committee members had chosen The
Design Workshop over Frasier & Associates, saving about one-half million at the same time.
Ms. Hauth commented that Frasier & Associates had been the leader in Wayfinding in many
ways, and because of that she believed they were becoming somewhat "cookie cutter'" in some
aspects. She said she believed the Committee concluded that The Design Workshop would
produce aHillsborough-specific product.
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7:30:12 PM Commissioner Hallman said that The Design Workshop had worked for
Statesville, and asked had anyone contacted Statesville to get a reference. Ms. Hauth said she
did not believe so, but noted that The Design Workshop had been the only firm to respond when
they had thought they wanted a consultant to walk them through the entire process. She said
they had remained very interested in Hillsborough and had been very approachable, interested,
and excited about the Town's process. Ms. Hauth said they would be glad to contact Statesville
if needed.
Commissioner Gering stated the Committee had been impressed with the fact that The Design
Workshop had worked with a number of towns about the size of Hillsborough and even smaller,
and had felt that they had a creative edge.
Mayor Stevens said it appeared that the relationship that had been formed with The Design
Workshop had so far been very positive.
7:31:33 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Dancy, seconded by Commissioner Lloyd, the
Board moved to approve the contract with The Design Workshop to undertake the design aspects
of the Wayfinding Plan by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
C. Consideration of resolution in support of the Town's designation as a Preserve
America Community
7:32:04 PM Ms. Hauth stated that Item C and D were related. She said that the Preserve
America program was for communities that actively preserved its history and it was also used as
an economic development tool. Ms. Hauth said in order to apply for grants the Town would first
have to be designated as a Preserve American Community. She said they would like to be able
to start that two-step process by having the Board adopt the resolution in support of the Town's
designation as a Preserve American Community and that it was compatible with the Town's
goals.
Ms. Hauth said the harder question was how much to apply for. She said there would be $25,000
remaining in the budget after The Design Workshop's work, which would allow the Town to
apply for a total of $50,000. Or, she said, there was amulti-year funding option, so if the Board
wanted to commit the next $30,000 they could apply for more and leverage yet more funding to
turn their $55,000 into $110,000. Ms. Hauth said once the plan was done, the top figure they
could request was $250,000, so they were looking at that as a source of additional funding for
Riverwalk. She said they understood that the pool of applicants was very small, so the Town
would stand a good chance of the designation and at least the first grant.
7:34:43 PM Commissioner Hallman asked about the grant cycle. Ms. Hauth said it was four
times per year, and the next round would be coming up on December 1, which was when the
application needed to be in. She said Elizabeth Reed had been working diligently to get the
applications ready for submittal.
7:35:10 PM Commissioner Gering stated that the program may not survive the new
administration in Washington. He stated he was inclined to ask for more than $25,000, noting
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that the Wayfinding Committee did not have an estimate of fabrication and installation costs for
the signs, but they were fearful that it would be very expensive. Commissioner Gering said he
would advocate doubling the grant request.
Commissioner Hallman asked was there any possibility of matching funds coming from the
Tourism Board funds.
Commissioner Gering stated there was always a possibility.
Mayor Stevens said he recalled that they had another $30,000 earmarked for the next few years
so some of that might accelerate money, but essentially it was money in their long range
financial plan that they had budgeted. Ms. Hauth said yes, it was in the plan, but until the budget
was adopted, and given the way the economy was at present, that $30,000 may not stay
committed. She said she realized that it was only November and that she was asking the Boai•d
to make that commitment early, but believed this was an opportunity to grow those funds.
7:37:06 PM Commissioner Gering said that passing up a 50% discount on a project that the
Board had placed a high priority on for the number of years was not smart.
Mr. Peterson said the Board would have many difficult budget decisions to make on an array of
unpleasant options, and it was his feeling that any time they could leverage grant money for
something that was such a high priority then they needed to do that. He said of course, that
would obligate them to spend even more money, and there was no doubt they would likely have
to defer some capital projects in the next year or so. But, he said, this grant would give them
"more bang for their buck," and the suggestion of doubling the grant to a more appropriate
amount appeared to be a wise one.
7:38:22 PM Mayor Stevens stated it would also be saving taxpayers so much money. Mr.
Peterson agreed, noting the opportunities to receive grant funds were limited and when they had
such an opportunity then they needed to be aggressive in going for them. Mayor Stevens stated
the worst case scenario would be if the grant was awarded and for some reason the Board
decided it could not accept it. He said in the meantime, they would not get the grant unless they
went after it. Mr. Peterson said the fact that it was in the financial plan for future years made it
easier for staff to do financial adjustments, and if the grant was received in a larger amount it
would give them the opportunity to defer expense in a future year. So, he said, he saw no
financial problem with doubling the amount of the grant request, or even more if the Board
thought it was appropriate.
7:39:42 PM Commissioner Dancy stated they should still keep the Tourism Board in mind.
Commissioner Gering stated he believed that if the Board was going to approve this then they
should make the assumption that the Town would pay for it. There was general agreement from
the Board. Commissioner Gering then suggested that if they were going to invest $30,000 a year
in the Wayfinding signage program then he believed the grant request should be increased to
$60,000.
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7:39:47 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Gering, seconded by Commissioner Hallman,
the Board moved to approve the resolution in support of the Town's designation as a Preserve
America Community and grant application in the amount of $60,000 by a vote of 5-0. The
motion was declared passed.
Ms. Hauth asked was that $60,000 of grant money to go along with $60,000 in Town funding, or
was it $30,000 each.
After some discussion, the Board agreed the intention of the motion was to apply for $60,000 in
grant funding to be matched with funding from the Town of $60,000.
D. Consider adoption of an Ordinance amending Chapter 7, Section 36 of the Town
Code amending the Tree Ordinance
7:41:51 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Gering, seconded by Commissioner Hallman,
the Board moved to adopt the Ordinance amending Chapter 7, Section 36 of the Town Code
amending the Tree Ordinance by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
E. Consideration of Riverbend II Road Acceptances and Letters of Credit (Road and
Utilities)
7:42:25 PM Ms. Ard stated there were two different items, E and F, related to Riverbend II.
She said the first was for acceptance of the streets, which would be conditional acceptance
because they were waiting for one additional item from NCDOT, and the second was to set
speed limits and stop sign regulations once the roadways were accepted.
Ms. Ard stated one change was being requested by Mr. Cook in terms of stop signage, and that
was for Saponi (sp.?) Road, which was a State road, to have a stop sign. She said the proposal
was for 20 mph on Morelanda Drive and Claytor Drive. Ms. Ard indicated that Mr. and Mrs.
Cook were present, and had indicated they had received some information from NCDOT.
Ms. Ard stated there were two different Letters of Credit. She said the original Letter of Credit
that was submitted in July was not in the actual form that was needed, so the Cooks had
resubmitted it. She said given the error that was made on the Town's part, staff was
recommending a reduced amount and a time limit that would reflect the period of time that had
already past.
7:45:26 PM Wesley Cook added that the item they were waiting for from NCDOT was related
to approval of a driveway on US 70. He said it was impossible to get the State to move any
faster on that approval.
Mayor Stevens stated as Ms. Ard had said, the Board would be considering a conditional
approval, and asked was Mr. Hornik okay with that. Mr. Hornik replied yes, noting the
paperwork was all in place and appropriate.
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7:46:27 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Lowen, seconded by Commissioner Hallman,
the Board moved to approve conditional acceptance of the roads in the Riverbend II subdivision
as well as adjustment of the terms for the Letter of Credit as described during the discussion by a
vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
F. Consider adoption of an Ordinance amending Chapter 6, Sections 6-AS and 6-A12
of the Town Code to establish Traffic Regulations in Riverbend II Subdivision
7:47:00 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Hallman, seconded by Commissioner Gering,
the Board moved to approve the Ordinance amending Chapter 6, Sections 6-AS and 6-A12 of the
Town Code to establish Traffic Regulations in Riverbend II Subdivision, with the addition of a
stop sign on Saponi (sp.?) Road with a stop street of Claytor Drive by a vote of 5-0. The motion
was declared passed.
G. Consideration of Citizen Request for Town Staff Maintenance of Railroad Rights-
of-Way
7:48:06 PM Ms. Ard stated they had received a request from a citizen, Tom Deaton, that the
Town perform maintenance work at the Railroad property on Eno Street. She said since the
agenda materials had been prepared, they had met with representatives of the Railroad and Mr.
Hines would provide some additional information regarding that meeting.
7:48:36 PM Mr. Hines stated that he had met with Mark Bowman of Norfolk Southern
Railroad, and the area of concern was the Railroad right-of--way along Eno Street, bordered on
the north side by Eno Street and on the south side by Dimmocks Mill. He stated the Railroad
had had a contractor clear cut all the brush and small trees, which had made it unsightly and that
unsightliness was basically Mr. Deaton's complaint. Mr. Hines stated the request was that the
appearance of the area be improved, such as sawing trees flush to the ground and possibly
grinding them up.
Mr. Hines stated that Mr. Bowman appeared to be receptive to the type of work being suggested,
noting that their main concern was sight visibility and safety at the intersections. He said the
West Hill Avenue/Dimmocks Mill intersection and the South Bellevue/Eno Street intersection
were the main areas of concern, and the Town's Public Works staff could fairly easily saw the
tree stumps flush with the ground and clear out some of the larger brush. Mr. Hines stated the
smaller brush should remain for erosion control. He said he did not know if it would be possible
to grind the stumps given the slope and the difficulty that would present in getting the grinding
equipment in place, and it likely would not be necessary since over time weeds and grass would
cover them. Mr. Hines said the question was how much effort the Town wanted to put into this,
noting a realistic timeframe for the work to be conducted would be January or February after leaf
season.
Mr. Hines stated the Railroad would require an action plan since the work would take place in its
right-of--way, and once the Railroad approved that action plan then the Town could do the work.
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7:52:31 PM Commissioner Lloyd asked had the Railroad offered to pay to have the work
done. Mr. Hines responded no, noting the Railroad conducted maintenance once a year, and the
Railroad's contractor had met its obligation.
7:52:48 PM Commissioner Lowen said the Town of Mebane maintained its railroad rights-of=
way from city limit to city limit because it ran through the heart of town, and they had been
doing that maintenance for many years. He said his concern was that this was not in the heart of
Town, and if the Town took that on would they be taking it on forever. Mr. Hines responded that
would be for the Board to decide, but he was talking about only a general one-time clean-up. He
said the Railroad sprayed a herbicide once a year to kill the trees, and even if the Town cut the
stumps down flush with the ground and they tried to sprout, the herbicide would kill that and
eventually would attack the stump base itself, causing the stump base to rot away.
7:54:06 PM Mayor Stevens stated Commissioner Lowen's concern was valid, and asked if the
Town cleaned it up this time, would they be prepared to clean it up again and again. Mr. Hines
stated there should not be any more growth because everything had been clear cut in the area.
He added they would not be providing any landscaping or other work.
7:54:46 PM Mayor Stevens stated he would lean towards doing the work, while being very
careful about the time, effort and expense. Mr. Hines stated they would be conscientious about
that. Mayor Stevens stated he was in favor of improving the appearance of that area, noting it
seemed like the right thing to do.
7:55:14 PM Commissioner Lowen asked if they were talking about doing work only on the
west side, which was where it was most unsightly. Mr. Hines said they could do the west side
going up to Bellevue, which was the strip that was clear cut, using good judgment about clearing
out what was visible to the public to improve the appearance of the area. He said he would also
stay in contact with Mr. Deaton to make sure what was done would meet his expectations.
7:56:08 PM Commissioner Lowen stated he knew that Public Works was short staffed and he
would not like to see a huge amount of time spent on this. Mr. Hines stated they would do the
work once leaf season had slowed.
H. Update on the North Carolina League of Municipalities' Green Challenge Program
7:56:35 PM Budget Analyst Emily Bradford stated that the League of Municipalities had
begun a new project called the Green Challenge Program, which was a project aimed at local
governments to encourage them to participate and become more environmentally sustainable and
become more of a "green" organization. She said the Green Challenge had multiple levels, one
through four, and each level had different criteria for achieving the goals of that level.
Ms. Bradford stated at the League's annual conference the Town was recognized as having
achieved Level One of the Green Challenge, which had required the Town to adopt a
sustainability plan, which was the Cool Cities Initiative, to start tracking its carbon footprint, and
to conduct an energy audit. She said the Town had received a plaque for its achievement in
achieving Level One, and she presented the plaque to the Board.
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Ms. Ard stated the League had not yet set all the criteria for Levels Two, Three and Four, but she
anticipated receiving information on that in the coming weeks. She said once that was received,
they would evaluate what the Town's next steps might be.
7:58:37 PM Mr. Peterson stated there was the Energy Star program, the League's program,
and the Mayors' Cool Cities program. He said they needed to be realistic about what the Town
could and should achieve, noting there was some overlap in those programs where once
something was achieved in one program it could be transferred over to meet requirements of
another. Mr. Peterson said that Ms. Ard would be keeping him apprised of the benefits of each
program and the amount of staff time that was required, noting that it may be that eventually the
Town would participate in only one or two of the programs.
I. Discuss Collection of Delinquent Food and Beverage Tax Payments
7:59:44 PM Mr. Siler stated there were three businesses that were chronically and severely
delinquent in paying their food and beverage taxes. He stated he had made a phone call to each
of those businesses today to inform them that the Board would be discussing their payment
history at tonight's meeting, but no one had appeared to speak. Mr. Siler stated at the time the
agenda materials were prepared, two of the three businesses remained delinquent. He stated that
Sonny's Sandwiches had made payment, but the check had been returned to the Town by the
bank today. Mr. Siler stated that M&M Billiards remained outstanding, adding that the third
business had made payment today. He said providing that the check was accepted at the bank,
then that account would be cleared. Mr. Siler stated when he had received the check today he
had contacted the bank, who indicated that at that time the funds were not sufficient to clear the
check. But, he said, that did not matter; it would only matter whether it cleared when the Town
presented the check to the bank.
Mr. Siler stated tonight, they were requesting additional direction on how to handle those
delinquent accounts.
Mr. Hornik reminded the Board that at a previous Closed Session they had discussed how to
proceed, and after that meeting he had written letters to each of the businesses who had been
chronically delinquent to advise that after October 31, if the accounts had not been cleared then
the Board would consider authorizing further action.
8:02:10 PM Mayor Stevens stated he believed it had been well outlined with the information
provided in the agenda materials that this was revenue that was collected by the Town and they
had experienced good compliance from nearly all of the Town's businesses. He stated they were
not talking about aone-time delinquency with these businesses, and the Town had made clear
efforts to try to resolve that. Mayor Stevens stated they certainly wanted to be a business
friendly community, but on the other hand they needed to be fair to all citizens and all
businesses, especially those that were in compliance. He said with all that being said, he
assumed he was speaking for the Board that they should pursue the next steps in the process to
collect the funds owed.
l2
November l0, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: December 8, 2008
Page 13 0129
8:03:14 PM Commissioner Dancy stated she considered this to be embezzlement; that is, the
businesses were embezzling the Town's funds. She said if someone did that to these businesses
they would pursue it, so she believed the Town should go forward with collection procedures.
Commissioner Hallman agreed, as did Commissioner Gering.
Mr. Hornik stated the next step in the process would be to specifically notify these businesses
that their privilege licenses were suspended and they must cease doing business until all
arrearages were paid. He said if that directive was not complied with, then the next step would
be to go into court and get an order adjoining those businesses from operating, in other words to
shut the businesses down, until such time as they complied.
8:03:53 PM Commissioner Gering asked for a clearer distinction between the first step and the
second step described. Mr. Hornik said the first step would be the Town notifying the businesses
that their privilege license had been revoked and they could no longer operate. He said he
anticipated that one or more of the businesses would take the attitude of "make me." Mr. Hornik
said the second step would be to say "okay, we will." and the Town would have to get a court
order to do so.
Mr. Hornik said he had hopes that once the first step was taken that they would achieve a good
outcome, but they needed to be prepared to act if that did not happen.
8:04:28 PM Mayor Stevens stated the Town had never had to take the step of revoking a
privilege license. Mr. Hornik agreed, adding they had reminded those businesses back in the
summer that the Board had adopted the ordinance amendment that authorized that, and one of the
tools made available at that time was revocation of the privilege license.
Mayor Stevens asked would the Attorney send a letter to those businesses which stated that in
seven days the Town would proceed with further actions. Mr. Hornik stated he believed a few
days advance notice would be appropriate, and what he was asking from the Board was
authorization to proceed to the next step without having to come back to the Board.
8:05:09 PM Commissioner Gering stated he believed only a couple of days notice should be
given, rather than an entire week.
Mayor Stevens said he would say seven days notice.
Commissioner Gering stated he would advocate for three days maximum. Mr. Hornik stated a
"handful'' of days were all that was necessary at this point. He said the businesses had been
warned repeatedly over the last few months.
8:05:29 PM Commissioner Dancy stated once the license was revoked, would the businesses
have to come back to the Town and purchase another license. Mr. Hornik replied yes, adding
that the privilege license was not a big ticket item, but it did generate revenue for the Town.
13
Nov~~nber 10, 2008 Regular Mccting
Approved: December 8, 2008
Page 14 0129
8:05:51 PM Commissioner Gering asked were there penalties if the businesses continued to
operate with a revoked license. Mr. Hornik responded yes, noting there were monetary penalties.
He said at that point the businesses would be committing misdemeanors, adding that the bad
checks were an issue as well.
Mr. Siler stated that the bad checks gave the Town excellent and much quicker recourse. He said
it would allow the Town to actually take out a warrant against the businesses.
8:06:26 PM Commissioner Hallman asked if the Health Department required a license to
operate a business that served food. Mr. Hornik stated he was not sure but would inquire about
that. He said that the privilege license was a revenue source for the Town and the Health
Department approval was a public health safety issue, and he was not sure one was tied to the
other.
8:06:50 PM Commissioner Lloyd stated with the Health Department, if a business did not pass
inspection they were allowed time to come up to standard and a second inspection was
performed. She asked if the one whose check had been returned had given the Town a bad check
in the past. Mr. Siler said unfortunately, yes. Commissioner Lloyd said that was of concern.
8:07:18 PM Commissioner Gering said if the one check the Town had at the moment had
insufficient funds to clear the bank, then that business would be treated in the same way; that is,
it would have the same few days to comply or their license would be revoked. Mr. Siler stated
the banks were closed tomorrow, so he would not be able to contact the bank and get a definitive
answer until Thursday as to whether or not the check was in route back to the Town.
Commissioner Gering stated he just wanted to be sure that that did not get overlooked. He said
from this point on, the Board should decide if they needed to discuss and act on each case of
whether to revoke a privilege license, or should they make it a policy that the Attorney and
Finance Director would act in a like manner if such a situation arose in future. Mr. Siler said if
the Board gave the authority to do so, then they could mimic the letter the Attorney had sent the
first time to inform businesses what the consequences would be.
Mr. Hornik stated they were authorized by the ordinance to do that now, but they had been
reluctant to take that next step because they did not want to appear to be unfriendly to businesses.
One the other hand, he said, they also needed to make sure that all businesses knew that they
were being treated in a like manner and held to the same standards. Mr. Hornik said those who
were not shouldering their part of the burden should know that the Town would call them to
account.
Mr. Peterson stated that Commissioner Gering raised a good point, and the Board may want to
adopt a new policy or practice to set some kind of threshold. For example, he said if someone
was behind three months then that was a sufficient amount of time to trigger the next steps and it
would not need to come back before the Board. Mr. Peterson said such a policy could be
brought before the Board for adoption and then it could be shared with those who participated in
the process.
14
November 10, 2008 R'.egular Meeting
Approved: December 8, 2008
Page 15 of 29
8:09:55 PM Commissioner Gering stated that would be the way to be truly fair to all the
businesses. Mr. Hornik stated the Board could also consider something like a "three strikes and
you're out" kind of policy.
Commissioner Dancy suggested that because of what had happened during this process, that the
Town not accept checks for accounts that were delinquent. She said only bank money orders or
cashier's checks should be accepted, or cash.
8:10:18 PM Commissioner Lowen agreed, noting those businesses had tried to "pull the wool
over the Town's eyes" and delay the process, and that was troublesome to him. He said such a
requirement would give greater emphasis to the process and send a very clear message.
Mayor Stevens stated if that was the policy of the Board, then only exceptions should come
before the Board and not the enforcement of the standard. The Board agreed by consensus, with
Commission Gering stating that only those challenging the policy should come before the Board.
8:11:25 PM Commissioner Lloyd commented that she had a privilege license from the Town,
and always renewed it the day she received the notice because she did not want to make the
headlines in the newspaper. She wondered if the Town should go that far.
Commissioner Lowen asked was Commissioner Lloyd suggesting that the Towns consider
placing an item in the newspaper as public notice.
Commissioner Lloyd said it was a possibility that could be considered, although she was not sure
at what point that would happen. She said she would not like to see a citizen take their anger out
on Mr. Siler or other staff.
8:12:17 PM Mayor Stevens said this was the first time this had been discussed in open session,
and the public needed to be aware of how the Town conducted its business. He said it was the
Town's preference that businesses paid on time.
Commissioner Lowen said that was why they should follow Commissioner Gering's suggestion
and adopt a policy to allow Mr. Siler and Mr. Hornik to do their jobs. He said that policy would
be clear that staff was doing their jobs and the Board would hope that any anger would not be
directed at staff. Commissioner Lowen said that no one should think they could go into any
business in Town and take what they wanted for free. He said just like customers had to pay for
what services or products were provided to them, the businesses had to pay their food and
beverage taxes to the Town. Commissioner Lowen said if that needed to go into the newspaper,
then so be it.
J. Discuss and Provide Direction for the FY 10 Budgetary Planning Retreat on
January 24t" and the FY 08 Balanced Scorecard Annual Report
8:14:03 PM Mr. Peterson stated he had talked with Donna Warner last week to let her know
the Board would be discussing this item tonight in order to get direction on what types of items
to be placed on the retreat agenda. He said after that direction was given, he suggested that he,
15
November 10, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: Dw~embcr 8, ?008
Pagc 16 ot'2q
the Mayor, the Assistant Manager and the Budget Analyst meet with Ms. Warner to put together
a draft agenda for the Board to consider at its December meeting. Mr. Peterson stated he had
talked with Ms. Warner about the economic situation being faced by the Town, and by everyone,
adding that it would be the most challenging budget they had ever put together because of what
was happening nationally and the strain being placed on taxpayers. He said the worst case
scenario as far as expectations was likely the scenario they would now face, so this would
probably be the most important retreat the Board had had in a very long time.
Mr. Peterson said fortunately the timing with this being the second year of their Balanced
Scorecard, just getting the Annual Report completed, and going into the ten year format, that he
believed they were much better equipped with good, detailed information to help the Board make
well-informed decisions than they had been in the past. He thanked all of the departments for
their hard work in getting that information ready.
8:15:42 PM Mayor Stevens added that he had spent some time on learning how scorecards
worked and understanding the method of what they wanted to accomplish and how to finance it.
He commended staff on its efforts, noting he would like to continue to see the scorecard be a tool
to help them use their resources effectively and to help them focus in on the work they needed to
be doing. Mayor Stevens stated the work was well done and made sense.
Mayor Stevens stated he believed the Balanced Scorecard may need some `tweaking," but he
believed it reflected what it was the Board wanted to see accomplished. He said it provided
information about where their resources were going and what was working and what was not
working, and was glad to see that staff was willing to bring forward what was not working or
what needed changing.
Mr. Peterson stated if the Board had any questions, he encouraged them to contact him over the
next few weeks so they could discuss them. He said more time could be focused on it at the
retreat, and perhaps next year the information could be provided even earlier, perhaps at a fall
workshop.
8:17:30 PM Commissioner Dancy stated it was very helpful to be able to see what had been
gained and what had been done.
Mayor Stevens said he agreed with the plan spelled out by the Manager as far as getting a draft
of the agenda ready for the Board to consider as well.
Commissioner Gering agreed the framework was good.
Mr. Peterson said on a related side note, David Ammons at the School of Government,
considered by some to be the foremost perforn~ance measures expert in the country, had liked
Hillsborough's scorecard and had asked him last Friday to come and teach a section of his class
for other officials in the State. He said he had spent about an hour explaining what Hillsborough
was doing and what challenges they still faced. Mr. Peterson said he was glad to see that
Hillsborough was getting recognition for the work it was doing, and in the next issue of Popular
Government magazine there would be an article about Hillsborough and Charlotte using the
1~
November 10, 2008 Regular Meeting
Appro~~cd: December 8,'008
Page 17 of29
Balance Scorecard. He said that Bill Rivanbark (sp.'?) who had worked with the Town two years
ago at its retreat, had helped him co-author the article, and the new issue would be coming out in
the next month or so. Mr. Peterson said he was pleased to see the Town get that recognition for
its work.
Mayor Stevens stated that in many ways the Balanced Scorecard had become a central
document.
K. Discuss preparations for Town Manager's Annual Performance Evaluation
8:19:42 PM Mr. Peterson stated he had been negligent in putting together his self-evaluation,
and was hoping he would have enough time to do that before December and forward it to the
Board along with the evaluation forms. He said unless the Board wanted to do anything different
than what had been done in the past, the same forms would be used.
Commissioner Lowen said he saw no reason to change anything at this point.
Commissioner Hallman asked were they referring to the 360 evaluation.
Mayor Stevens stated he would be happy to discuss that with him, noting it may be something
the Board would want to look at to give them some data. He said it may prove to be a good tool
and they could certainly do a 360, and he agreed with Commissioner Lowen that he saw no
reason to change.
Mayor Stevens said for the self-evaluation, perhaps Mr. Peterson could refer back to such things
as the strap map (what is that?) and the top level goals. He said in many ways, the degree to
which the Town was accomplishing the goals in the map reflected what it was that the Manager
was doing.
L. Discuss possible "Hot Topics" for the November 27'x' Workshop
8:21:35 PM Mayor Stevens stated there were four items listed at the present time.
8:22:04 PM Commissioner Hallman said regarding the joint meeting with the Economic
Development Commission, he believed they would need to re-examine the Strategic Plan for that
Commission. He said the EDC would be meeting this Thursday, and since that Commission was
in transition at the present time with a new Chair he wondered if perhaps they should wait until
after the first of the year to hold that joint meeting.
8:22:39 PM Commissioner Gering asked if the Churton Street plan had an oversight
committee that would shepherd all the changes along the line. Ms. Hauth replied yes.
Commissioner Gering said he believed that had not really be formulated as yet, and believed that
needed to be a prerequisite before the joint meeting. Ms. Hauth stated the two plans listed out a
lot of items assigned to that oversight committee, but that had never been specifically relayed to
that committee. She said she had suggested adding the joint meeting as a method to try to move
17
Novembet~ 10, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: December 8, 2008
Page 18 of 29
those two plans forward, and at least making the Board aware that the EDC had been asked to do
those things by adopting the two documents.
8:23:50 PM Mayor Stevens said if that was the case, would that suggest that since the EDC
was in transition that the Town Board talk to that Commission even sooner to present the
material. Ms. Hauth replied she understood that the EDC had marked its calendar and planned to
attend the November 24`x' workshop. She said she would make sure that the Board in its agenda
packet was provided the list of items again. Ms. Hauth said some of the items on that list were
there because of the proposed redevelopment of the Boone-Collins property, but that was now
off the table so some of the things in the plan were not now relevant. She said she believed it
would be advantageous to talk the list over with the EDC and get a feel for what that:
Commission believed it could do or could not do, or what other things might need to be added.
8:25:21 PM Commissioner Hallman asked who would be attending from the EDC. Ms. Hauth
stated the entire Commission had been invited, and she expected most would attend.
8:25:36 PM Mayor Stevens said he liked the notion of beginning the discussion on density,
although he did not want that joint meeting to be too long so it may have to carry over into
another later meeting.
Commissioner Hallman stated it would inform a lot of the projects they would be seeing all over
Town. Ms. Hauth stated it also informed the train station committee getting ready to begin work
as well as the Zoning Ordinance rewrite. She said they could not continue rewriting the
Ordinance if they did not know how the Board felt about density in certain areas. Ms. Hauth said
that topic was one that they needed direction from the Board, since they had never had that
discussion.
Mr. Hornik stated a lot of what happened with the rewrite would flow from what the Board
decided it wanted to do about density and directing people towards one area or another. He
agreed that density would be an important discussion that should be held sooner rather than later.
8:27:09 PM Mayor Stevens stated he believed that would be a priority more than some of the
other items.
Commissioner Hallman asked if there was enough time to get some information together prior to
that joint meeting. Ms. Hauth replied it was matter of how much information the Board wanted,
noting she could provide information on the range of density allowed now and what that looked
like in a lot layout or photographs. She said for instance, if guidelines recommended density of
up to 25 units per acre, what exactly did that look like. Ms. Hauth said that was a really big
change and the Board could choose to land somewhere in between. So, she said, providing some
examples of that would be helpful.
Mayor Stevens said perhaps about one-half hour should be devoted to that, and that would help
them to form key questions to be addressed the next time it was discussed. He said he believed
that would be a big step forward for the Board.
18
November 10, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: December 8, 2008
Page 19 ot'29
Commissioner Gering stated he believed that coming out of that, they should engage the Historic
District Commission and the Planning Board by giving them the same information.
8:28:58 PM Commissioner Hallman said he remembered that when Scott Radway had
described for the Board what some streetscapes were like, that he had given the Board some
language that could be discussed. Ms. Hauth stated that could actually start the discussion of~
even how to begin the rewrite, since they had not yet concluded who would drive that process.
She said there were many new topics to be talked about, and there needed to be someone driving
that. She said the outcome of the discussion may be that the Board decided who would do the
driving so that they would begin to work through some of the larger issues with density.
Commissioner Gering said he liked that proposal.
Mayor Stevens said he could not imagine that they would veer from their overarching vision of~
preserving the small town character, but believed if they were not intentional about looking at
density then the Triangle sprawl would have an impact on Hillsborough. He said the Board
really needed to consider what that small town character would be over the next 100 years. Ms.
Hauth stated that meant different things to different people. Mayor Stevens agreed, adding that
was why that discussion needed to begin.
Mr. Peterson said regarding the water capacity issue, the one weakness was that they had likely
underestimated redevelopment in the future and the density that would come into the Town. He
said they did have aplug-in figure for the future, but he believed that was the big gap. Mr.
Peterson said they could do an update and adjust some of the assumptions, but now may be the
time to increase the allocation for that future development.
8:31:33 PM Mayor Stevens said then for the November 24t~' workshop, they would have the
joint meeting with the EDC and they would discuss density. He asked would they discuss the
other items as well.
Commissioner Gering suggested devoting 30 minutes to the density discussion and 45 minutes to
an hour for the joint meeting with the EDC.
Commissioner Hallman said he did not see 30 minutes being sufficient for the discussion on
density, noting that would just get them stated. Ms. Hauth stated then perhaps the joint meeting
with the EDC should wait until a later time, as long as it was explained to them why they had
been invited months ago and the Board had changed its mind.
8:32:17 PM Mayor Stevens suggested that perhaps the item regarding the archaeological and
landscape issues in the Town should be delayed.
Commissioner Lloyd stated she had been approached by Tom Magnuson about that, and believed
they should leave it on the agenda.
Mayor Stevens said discussion of that item could likely be contained and kept to a short
timeframe.
19
November 10, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: December 8, 2008
Page 20 of 29
Commissioner Lloyd stated she was under the impressing that the Town was being asked to
provide oversight of the County, since it appeared that no one was overseeing that. She said she
had indicated to Mr. Magnuson that she did not believe the Town should be doing that.
Mr. Peterson stated staff would work to put together a written response from their perspective so
that they could have an open, public dialogue rather that just Mr. Magnuson providing his points.
He said staff agreed with some points but had a different perspective on others.
8:34:11 PM Commissioner Hallman stated that Commissioner Lloyd had made a good point,
that much of Mr. Magnuson's points were County issues.
Mayor Stevens agreed that much of that was not in the Town's control, and they needed to stay
within their own circle.
Commissioner Hallman asked could that be discussed in a joint meeting with the County. Mr.
Peterson stated that Mr. Magnuson had raised the issues a couple of years ago, and he had a case
study that had been distributed to the public. He said it was the Board's decision whether or not
to discuss it, but in his perspective it would be better to address it at some point. Mr. Peterson
said it could be added to the joint meeting with the County, depending on what came out of that.
Mayor Stevens said it would be his preference to contain the discussion to one-half hour. Mr.
Peterson stated that would be adequate.
Mayor Stevens asked if the Annual Stormwater Report from Terry Hackett could be heard at a
future meeting. Mr. Peterson stated they could add it to the agenda for the December Board.
meeting. He said that agenda was beginning to get full, but he was not aware of anything major.
Mayor Stevens stated then the joint meeting with the EDC would take an hour, then one-half
hour on the archaeological and landscape issues, and at least one-half hour to 45 minutes as a
first pass on density.
8:36: l 7 PM Commissioner Lowen said the Board should consider addressing Mr. Magnuson's
issues at the joint meeting with the County. He said he believed it would be a good idea to have
some discussion about density issues before they had further discussions with the EDC.
Commissioner Hallman agreed.
Commissioner Lowen said having that discussion first would shape the discussion they would
then have regarding growth in and around Hillsborough. He said there may be some discussion
in that joint meeting about density, but the Board needed to have the discussion first as a
springboard into that further discussion with the EDC.
8:37:19 PM Commissioner Gering said in general, Commissioner Lowen was correct. Ms.
Hauth said that was something that could easily be added to the retreat agenda in January; in that
there maybe other tasks that the Board might want to ask the EDC to do.
Zo
November 10, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: December 8, 2008
Page 21 of29
8:38:1 l PM Commissioner Hallman said he could attend the EDC meeting and discern if they
really needed to meet with the Board right away, or if that would be important to the Churton
Street Task Force.
Commissioner Gering said he believed the discussion could be deferred as far as the Churton
Street plan, noting getting an oversight committee for that plan was more important.
Mayor Stevens stated he would be comfortable with Commissioner Hallman's suggestion to
attend the EDC meeting on Thursday.
Commissioner Gering said it sounded like they would not have time to discuss the transportation
item. Ms. Hauth stated it would be shortened, so it could be delayed until the December Board
meeting.
8:39:45 PM Commissioner Lloyd asked how long would the transportation discussion be. Ms.
Hauth said not long. Commissioner Lloyd said then there should be no problem delaying until
December.
Commissioner Gering said the EDC may be interested in hearing that discussion.
Commissioner Lowen suggested setting the agenda with specific time assigned to each item, and
try their best to stick to the time allotments.
8:40:54 PM Mayor Stevens said it appeared that the big question was the meeting with the
EDC, and they would wait until after the EDC meeting to decide how the other items would be
compressed.
11. CLOSED SESSION
A. Closed Session as authorized by North Carolina General Statute Section 143-318.11
(6) regarding a Personnel Matters (3)
8:41:16 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Lowen, seconded by Commissioner Dancy, the
Board moved to go into Closed Session by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
12. ADJOURN
Upon returning to Open Session and upon a motion by Commissioner Gering, seconded by
Commissioner Dancy, the Board moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:10 p.m. by a vote of 5-0.
The motion was declared passed.
espe~bmitted.
Donna F. Annbrister, MMC
Town Clerk
21
Noeember 10, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: December 8, 2008
Page 22 of 29
PieDC ~,2~08 /~ /O - /~~
HILLSBOROUGH BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Proclamation
Nonprofit Awareness Month
WHEREAS, the Town of Hillsborough is home to many charitable nonprofit
organizations which provide diverse services to the community; and
WHEREAS, North Carolina's nonprofii sector is growing faster than the business or
government sectors; and
WHEREAS, six percent of all jobs in the state are provided by charitable nonprofits; and
WHEREAS, nonprofit employees pay income taxes and spend their salaries locally,
paying local and state sales taxes, and buying houses, cars, computers, groceries, clothes,
home products, and all other items sold in our community; and
WHEREAS, Hillsborough nonprofits build partnerships and collaborate with
governments, businesses, faith-based organizations, and other groups to expand
resources; and
WHEREAS, nonprofits play a central role in the democratic process by providing a
means for individuals to deliberate on and advocate for public policies and decisions that
affect them; and
WHEREAS, Hillsborough nonprofits provide opportunities for developing skills,
leadership abilities, and service thorough civic engagement, and
WHEREAS, everyone who lives in Hillsborough benefits from nonprofits' vital
contributions of strengthening or social fabric, public policy, culture, sense of
community, and future;
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners
hereby declares November 2008 as NONPROFIT AWARENESS MONTH. and
extends its congratulations to charitable nonprofits serving our community for their
dedicated and unselfish services to the community and its sincere gratitude to the
residents of Hillsborough whose volunteer spirits and donations make these organizations
strong.
Adopted this] 0th day of November 2008.
Tom Stevens,
Town of Hillsborough
22
November I(I, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: Deg ember 8, 2008
Page 23 ot29
Town
of
Hills gh
RESULTION SUPPORTING HILLSBOROUGH'S
Preserve America COMMUNITY DES]GNATION
WHEREAS. Preserve America is a White House initiative developed in cooperation with the
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the U.S. Department of the Interior,
and the U.S. Department of Commerce; and
WHEREAS, the goals of this initiative include a greater shared knowledge about our Nation's
past, strengthened regional identities and local pride, increased local participation
in preserving the county's irreplaceable cultural and natural heritage asset, and
support for the economic vitality of communities; and
WHEREAS, this initiative is compatible with our community's interests and goals related to
historic preservation; and
WHEREAS, designation as a Preserve America Community will improve our community's
ability to protect and promote i[s historical resources;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Hillsborough Town Board of Commissioners
will apply for the designation of Hillsborough as a Preserve America Community; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Hillsborough Town Board of Commissioners will
protect and celebrate our heritage, use our historic assets for economic development and
community revitalization, and encourage people to experience and appreciate local historic
resources through education and heritage tourism programs.
This the 10`h day of November, 2008
`~^.
Tom Stevens, Mayor
101 6'a.~7 Orange Sn•eet P.O. Box 429 Nillshorough, North Cnrolinn 27378
919-732-1270 }"ar 919-644-23911
23
November 10, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: December 8, 2008
Page 24 of 29
DRD ~Db~///0 -/~•~
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 7, SECTION 7-36 TOWN TREES
THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH
ORDAINS:
Section 1 Chapter 7, Section 36, Town Trees is hereby replaced as follows:
Section 7-36. Town Trees
(a) Purpose.
(1) The purpose of this section is to regulate the planting, maintenance, and
removal of trees and shrubs on town-owned public property and rights-of--way within the
town and on municipally owned property wherever located (hereinafter named "town
trees"). In order to protect and conserve these trees, this section provides for the pruning,
treatment, and removal of trees and shrubs as deemed necessary by the town yr any
person authorized to act for the town. This section. is also intended to provide fvr the
trimming or removal of trees on public land when they obstruct streetlights, interfere with
utility lines, constitute a hazard to pedestrian or vehiculaz traffic, or otherwise endanger
the public health, safety or welfare. See Section 7.2(a) Streets and Sidewalks.
Obstructions.
(2) Another purpose of this section is to encourage the protection of trees and
express the town's intent to use trees to create a more natural and amenable human
environment, and to identify and promote the preservation of significant trees.
(3) This section shall further provide for the establishment of an advisory
committee known. as the tree board, which shall be responsible fvr promoting trees and
tree caze throughout the town.
(b) Definitions. The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this section,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly
indicates a different meaning:
Park trees refers to trees and shrubs in town-owned cemeteries, town parks, and all other
areas owned by the town, except street trees.
Street trees refers to trees and shrubs on land lying within rights-of--way on either side of
all public streets. avenues, or ways within the town.
Town Board refers to the Hillsborough, North Cazolina Town Board of Commissioners.
Town trees refers to all trees and shrubs on town property, wherever located, as noted
above.
24
November lo, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: December 8, 2008
Page 25 of 29
{c) Creation of a toN~n tree board. This section creates and establishes a tree board for
the Town of Hillsborough, North Carolina. The tree board shall consist of seven
members who shall be appointed by the Town Board. (Note: Ez q~cio members may be
appointed as necessary by a majority of tree board members)
1. Term of office. The tens of the seven persons appointed by the Town Board.
shall be staggered so that no more than two members' terms expire during the same yeaz.
In the event that a vacancy occurs during the teen of any member, a successor shall be
appointed by the Town Board for the unexpired portion of the term. Members shall serve
a maximum of two consecutive three yeaz terms.
(2) Compensation. Members of the tree board shall serve without material
compensation.
(3) Duties and responsibilities. The tree board shall. serve as an advisory board to
the Town Boazd with the following duties and responsibilities:
(a) To heaz all requests by Hillsborough residents and/or owners of property
within the towm for planting, maintenance, and removal of town trees. The Town Board
maintains the right to review any such requests and the trees in question in determining
whether to grant such requests;
{b) To facilitate the planting, growth, protection, and recommended removal of
trees within the town;
{c) To foster education and communication among the citizens of Hillsborough
that would provide the needed protection of trees and to coordinate active measures to
support their health and growth within the town;
(d} To conduct, every two years, a periodic safety audit of existing town trees for
the purpose of determining needed pruning and tree removal. Between audits, members
should report such needs as they detect them;
(e) To investigate available grants, loans, or contributions from other
governmental agencies, public or private corporations, or individuals and to recommend
the expenditure of any proceeds toward the accomplishment of the tree board's purposes;
(f) To establish guidelines for the selection and placement of trees on town
property, which guidelines should be maintained as a separate document;
(g) 7'o submit a copy of the minutes and proceedings of its regular and special
meetings to the Town Clerk for the public record;
25
November I o, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: December 8, 2008
Page 26 of 29
(h) To coordinate, insofar as appropriate, its purposes with those of the Town
Pazks and Recreation Board, the Historic District Commission, and other town and
county agencies;
(i) To submit an annual report to the Town Board;
(j) To create and promote an active urban forestry education program for all.
citizens of the town;
(k) To adopt rules of procedure for transaction of its business;
(1) To set a regulaz schedule of public meetings. The chairperson may call a
special public meeting upon request of a majority of members of the board or the
Director of Public Works or the Town Board;
(m) To advise owners and developers of private property within town limits on
the preservation of existing trees prior to planning board approval;
(n) To advise the town on the planting, pruning, maintenance, and removing of
trees on town properly;
(o) Residents of Hillsborough andlor property owners desiring to have a tree
planted on town property shall obtain approval of the tree board.
{p) It shall be unlawful as normal practice, except as described in this subsection,
for any person or town. department to top any town tree. The term "topping" means the
severe cutting back of limbs to stubs iazger than three inches in diameter within the tree's
crown to such a degee as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree. Trams
severely damaged by storms or other causes or trees that interfere with or are an
imminent threat to utility wires or other obstructions where other pruning practices are
impractical may be exempted from this section at the determination of the tree board.
{4) Where they are accessible, all stumps of town trees shall be removed below
the surface of the ground so that the top of the stump shall not project above the surface
of the ground.
{S) It shall be unlawful for any person to prevent, delay, or interfere with the tree
board or any of its agents, while they are engaging in and about the planting, cultivating,
mulching, pruning, spraying or removing of any town trees, as authorized. in this section.
(6) It shall be unlawful far any person, other than town employees and firms
performing tree maintenance services far or on behalf of the town, to prune, treat, or
remove any town tree. Exempt from this restriction are utility firms performing tree
26
November 10, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: December 8, 2008
Page 27 0129
maintenance services drat protect utility lines. See Section 7.2.a., Streets and Sidewalk
Obstructions.
(7) The Town Board shall have the right to review the conduct, acts, and
decisions of the tree board. Any person who lives in the town and/or owns real property
within the town may appeal any ruling or order of the tree boazd to the Town Board.
(8) Penalties. Any person willfully or negligently violating any provision of this
section shall be, upon conviction or plea of guilty, subject to a fine in the maximum
amount permitted by NCGS 14-4. Violations of this section may also result in a civil
penalty as follows:
(a) for a violation of subparagraph 6 above, up to $2,500 for each tree disturbed
or damaged;
(b) for a violation of subparagraph 5 above, up to $500;
(c) the actual cost to replace the damaged tree with a tree of similaz species and
maturity;
(d) in addition to seeking civil penalties, the Town may seek to enforce the
provisions of this ordinance via action in a court of competent jurisdiction.
The town may seek to collect civil penalties assessed under this section in an action in the
nature of debt in a court of competent jurisdiction.
The Director of Public Works under the general supervision of the Town Manager shall
have the authority and responsibility to administer and enforce the previsions of this
section.
The foregoing ordinance having been submitted to a vole, received the following
vote and was duly adopted this 1 Oa' day of November, 2008.
Ayes: ~
Noes:,
Absent or Excused:,l~
Donna F. Armbrister, Town Clerk
27
November (0, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: December 8, 2008
Page 28 of 29
ORDINANCE #20081110-10.F
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 6, MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC
APPENDIX A, SECTIONS 6A-5 and 6-A12 OF THE HILLSBOROUGH TOWN
CODE
The Board of Commissioners of the Town of Hillsborough ordains:
SECTION 1. All section references below refer to the Town of Hillsborough Code, Chapter 6,
Appendix A. Section 6A-14.
SECTION 2. Section 6A-5 Stoa Suns.
In accordance with Section 6-4, stop signs shall be erected at the stop street list below
along the approach to the main street as indicated:
Sto~Street Avnroach Main Street
US 70-A South Morelanda Drive
Clayton Drive Vilest Morelanda Drive
Morelanda Drive South Clayton Drive
Clayton Drive East Tuscarora Avenue
Tuscarora Drive West Clayton Drive
Tuscarora Avenue North Tuscarora Avenue
Tuscarora Drive South Saponi Drive
SECTION 3. Section 6A-12 Screed Limits.
In accordance with Subsection 6-20(b) the following speed limits aze established for the
streets indicated:
Speed Limit
(MPHI On Street From
20 Clayton Drive Tuscarora Avenue
20 Morelanda Dm~e Clayton Drive
To
cul-de sac
U S 70-A
28
Novemb~~- 10, 2008 Regular Meeting
Approved: December 8, 2008
Page 29 of 29
SECTION 4. All Provisions of any Town Ordinance in conflict with this Ordinance are
repealed.
SECTION 6. This ordinance shall become effective upon adopfion.
The foregoing ordinance having been submitted to a vote, receiving the fallowing vote and
was duly adopted this 10~' day of November, 2008.
Ayes: 5
Nces: 0
Absent or Excused: 0
~~~~~z
Donna F. Armbrister
Town Clerk
29