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HomeMy Public PortalAbout04-13-2009 Regular Meeting April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 1 of 22 MINUTES HILLSBOROUGH TOWN BOARD April 13, 2009 7:00 PM, Town Barn PRESENT: Mayor Tom Stevens, Commissioners Mike Gering, Evelyn Lloyd, L. Eric Hallman, Frances Dancy, and Brian Lowen. STAFF PRESENT: Town Manager Eric Peterson, Assistant Town Manager/Public Works Director Nicole Ard, Town Clerk/Director of Administration and Human Resources Donna F. Armbrister, Planning Director Margaret Hauth, Town Engineer/Utilities Director Kenny Keel, Finance Director Greg Siler, Wastewater Superintendent Jeff Mahagan, Budget and Management Analyst Emily Bradford, Police Chief Clarence Birkhead, and Town Attorney Bob Hornik. Mayor Stevens called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. He welcomed Troop 438 who was attending to learn about Town Government. 1. PUBLIC CHARGE Mayor Stevens did not read the Public Charge but noted it would be followed. 7:01:34 PM INTERVIEW CANDIDATES FOR TO FILL TWO VACANCIES ON THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD Vickie Wilson provided some brief information regarding her background and 7:01:46 PM interests, including her interests in parks, biking, and hiking, as well as her commitment to the Towns Connectivity Plan. Emily McNally also provided some brief information regarding her background and interests, noting she was a resident of West Hillsborough and the Connectivity Plan was very important to that community. She said one of her primary interests was in seeing that the wonderful things that had been accomplished in regard to parks and recreation were used by the community. 2. AUDIENCE COMMENTS REGARDING MATTERS NOT ON THE PRINTED AGENDA There were no public comments offered. 7:05:47 PM 3. AGENDA CHANGES & AGENDA APPROVAL Commissioner Gering added an item, best associated with Item 9.I, on strategy for 7:05:52 PM development or preparing for development of the Collins property. April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 2 of 22 Upon a motion by Commissioner Dancy, seconded by Commissioner Lloyd, the 7:06:36 PM Board moved to approve the agenda as amended by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed. 4. APPOINTMENTS A.Consider appointment to fill two vacancies on the Parks and Recreation Board Upon a motion by Commissioner Lowen, seconded by Commissioner Gering, the 7:06:57 PM Board moved to appoint Vickie Wilson and Emily McNally to vacancies on the Parks and Recreation Board by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed. 5. COMMITTEE REPORTS (Critical) Commissioner Hallman stated he had attended a recent Transportation Advisory 7:07:26 PM Committee meeting where they were allocating the $15 million in stimulus money, of which $8 million was for transportation which Hillsborough did not directly benefit from. Commissioner Hallman said of the $7 million left, Hillsborough on a pro rata share of all the MPO members was allocated only $160,000 which he had believed was unfair. He said he had complained that just two months before that because small municipalities got penalized on a pro rata basis and could never get enough funding to do a single project, they had agreed that everyone would receive a base amount and then above a certain base amount would then receive a pro rata share. Commissioner Hallman stated that was why they received regular STPDA money of $500,000 over a number of years plus a pro rata share. Commissioner Hallman said others at the meeting had recognized that it was unfair and that Hillsborough deserved more, but no one was willing to give up a portion of their share, including their Orange County representative and the Mayors of other municipalities in Orange County. He stated it was Bill Bell of Durham who had said the right thing to do was to give Hillsborough an additional $188,000, and had contributed that amount out of Durhams allotment so that Hillsborough could fund the Nash Street sidewalk project. Commissioner Hallman said if they had an opportunity, the Board should thank Bill Bell for doing the right thing. Commissioner Gering said the Tourism Board had met last Monday and he 7:10:00 PM wanted to thank Nicole Ard, Chief Birkhead, and Lieutenant Whitted for attending to discuss the Towns draft Internet policy. Mayor Stevens said he and Commissioner Gering would hold an informal meeting on Monday at 6 p.m. at the Community College with the Alliance, the Chamber, and other non-profits to discuss the policy and get community input. Commissioner Gering encouraged any Board members who were available to attend. 6. REPORT FROM THE TOWN MANAGER Town Manager Eric Peterson indicated he had no report to offer at this time. 7:11:43 PM April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 3 of 22 7. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS Town Engineer/Utilities Director Kenny Keel said regarding the West Fork Eno 7:12:01 PM Reservoir, they still had a few outstanding issues related to their construction permit related to wetlands and other associated work. He said they had just signed a contract for $6,000 for a firm to conduct some additional work to complete the State and federal environmental requirements of the construction permit that might gain them some additional credit towards those requirements. Mr. Keel said in several months there would be a much larger contract to be considered to move forward with the remaining work. He said they had about $300,000 left over from the construction project for that work, but at the present time did not know if that would be sufficient to complete the work. Mr. Keel stated if additional funds were necessary he would try to roll that into the Phase 2 project. Commissioner Lloyd asked if they still had the wetlands site. Mr. Keel said they still had that site and it may be included, and it may include additional lands that they already had around the reservoir or may require the purchase of additional land. He said it was too early to tell now, but they could use the Hatley site but they may not be able to get the amount of credit needed so they would look at it from a total cost standpoint and what it would take to meet the requirements. Mr. Keel said included with his report was a partial map of their system, and he 7:14:46 PM wanted the Board to be aware that Construction Grants and Loans, who was handling stimulus money for wastewater in the State, had indicated that any particular system would be able to get only funds for one project. He said rather than sending in several wastewater projects to consider they had concentrated on the one project that would give them the most return which was a relining project. Mr. Keel said that project would entail going into existing sewer lines and installing a new liner and would not require taking anything out of service or disturb the ground. He said they had identified about 9,000 feet of critical sewer pipes in various locations, which were shown in purple on the map he had provided. Mr. Keel said that was about a $700,000 project, but he was hopeful that they would receive the funding. Mr. Keel said that half of the funding would work like a grant, with the other half to be paid back likely structured like a 20-year loan with zero percent interest. He said that was a way to get a lot of work done at a very small cost to the Town on an annual basis. 8. ITEMS FOR DECISION  CONSENT AGENDA A.Consider Approval of the Minutes of the January 15, 2009 Joint Public Hearing; the February 24, 2009 State of the Town Address; the March 9, 2009 Regular Town Board Meeting; and the March 9, 2009 Closed Session B.Consider Approval of a Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2009 Proclamation C.Consider Approval of a Spring 2009 Litter Sweep Proclamation D.Consider Approval of a 2009 National Travel and Tourism Week Proclamation E.Consider Adoption of a Resolution giving the Mayor and Commissioners the option of being added to the Towns Group Health Insurance Plan at their own expense April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 4 of 22 F.Consider Approval of resolutions for applications for federal stimulus funds for Sewer Main Re-lining Project, Lawrence Road/I-85 Water Line Project, Water Meter Replacement Project, and Mayo Booster Pump Station Project G.Consider acceptance and start of warranty for Orange County Justice Expansion water facilities H.Consider Acceptance and start of warranty for Central Orange Senior Center water facilities I.Consider Adoption of an Ordinance to amend Chapter 3 Administration, Article VII, Section 48 of Town Code to change park open hours J.Consider Adoption of an Ordinance to amend Chapter 3 Administration, Article VII, add Section 3-50 to establish process and standards for reservation of facilities within town parks K.Consider Approval of Budget Amendments L.Consider Approval of Convenience fee charge of $3 on credit/debit card transactions taken over the phone or internet M.Consider Adoption of Cash Management and Investment Policy for the Town of Hillsborough and Approval of a Resolution Governing Management of Investments Upon a motion by Commissioner Hallman, seconded by Commissioner Lowen, the Board moved to approve the Consent Agenda by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed. 9. ITEMS FOR DECISION  REGULAR AGENDA A.Receive request for modifications to the approved Special Use Permit for Bellevue Mill and determine the process for reviewing these modifications Planning Director Margaret Hauth said that The Landmark Group of Winston- 7:17:39 PM Salem was interested in acquiring the Bellevue property for redevelopment and was requesting some modifications to the approved Special Use Permit. She stated the Town Board had the ability to determine whether a public hearing was needed for those requested modifications in addition to taking action on those changes. Ms. Hauth said modifications included increasing the number of units by 19 to a total of 104 apartment units and changing the driveway access to the site so that there was no longer a driveway connection to Bellevue. She said there would be a driveway from Eno Street which was the driveway access used for A Southern Season. Ms. Hauth said that a neighborhood meeting was held on Wednesday attended by about 15 people to discuss the changes. She said several emails had been received from neighbors expressing their interest in a public hearing. Eddie Belk with Belk Architecture, representing Bellevue Development LLC, 7:19:36 PM stated that due to a family illness the owner of the Bellevue property could no longer move forward with the project and had searched for and found a very suitable company in The Landmark Group to carry the project forward. He stated the primary change, as Ms. Hauth had explained, was the driveway access from Eno Street to minimize the impact on the neighborhood and the Town as most traffic would now use Eno Mountain Road for access. April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 5 of 22 Mr. Belk stated another concern was that they were not fully utilizing the heritage fabric of the mill, and they had talked with the State Historic Preservation office to discuss ways to better utilize the property which had led to the increase from 85 to 104 apartment units. He said the apartments would remain as rental units for the 5-year historic tax credit compliance period and then eventually convert to condominiums when and if the market allowed. Mr. Belk stated that density increase was necessary to make the project financially viable in todays market condition. Mr. Belk said the neighborhood meeting had resulted in good positive discussion about the project as well as a question and answer period. He said one concern was whether or not walking paths would be maintained in the project, and they had assured those in attendance that there would be walking paths throughout the project that connected to the sidewalks, and would maintain a walking path on Bellevue and maintain another down from Bellevue and across the creek up into the project. Mr. Belk said that would provide an interwoven connection with surrounding neighborhoods. Mr. Belk explained how they had clustered the parking into one area, had widened the drives in several areas to accommodate two wide comfortable lanes for traffic to enter and leave the site, and had moved the connection to Eno over to be more in line with the perpendicular connection coming out of the project. He said they had moved vehicular traffic to the west and away from the area where tractor trailers would access the site. Mr. Belk stated the proposed parking met the Towns requirements for residents and visitors as well as for A Southern Season including seasonal overflow parking. Commissioner Gering said he was glad to see the plan come back with what 7:27:33 PM appeared to be quality improvements. He wondered whether it was worth spending a lot of time now going through the details, since the import of the discussion was much larger than what could be address tonight. Commissioner Gering said the question for the Board was whether or not to hold a public hearing. Commissioner Dancy agreed, noting she believed a public hearing was necessary. Commissioner Lloyd and Mayor Stevens agreed as well. Ms. Hauth stated the next public hearing was scheduled for July, and Mr. Anderson wanted to speak to the Board about why July was too far in the future for their needs. She said the Board could call a public hearing on May 4 or later, and it could be held at a regular meeting or a workshop. Dwayne Anderson, representing The Landmark Group, explained the unique 7:29:08 PM situation they found themselves in and the stress now on the real estate market due to the economy. He said they understood the importance of due process, but also needed to realize that what would likely happen was that construction prices would increase substantially once the stimulus funds were distributed. Mr. Anderson said he believed it would be in everyones interest to move forward now before that expected increase became a reality. April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 6 of 22 Mr. Anderson said they were providing a big opportunity for the community through the revitalization of that neighborhood with that project, and whatever the Board decided The Landmark Group would participate in good faith to get the project moving forward. He said that Sue Green, the owner of the property, would be a participant with the project. Mayor Stevens said he believed the Board was excited about the positive potential 7:33:21 PM of the project and believed the changes suggested would be improvements, although there was a need to look at the project in more detail. He said he liked the idea of keeping the connectivity, and they had seen a lot of successful mill projects in other communities and would like to see the same in their community. Mayor Stevens said they understood that time was of the essence and appreciated the acknowledgement of due process. He asked Mr. Peterson when the best time would be to schedule a public hearing. Mr. Peterson stated that the budget presentation was scheduled for the May regular meeting, although he did not believe his overview would take more than 10 to 15 minutes. He stated there was no May workshop because of budget meetings. Commissioner Gering stated if they decided to hold a public hearing, would it be 7:35:01 PM followed with a Planning Board recommendation. Ms. Hauth said it would all be the same process, noting if they held the public hearing at its May meeting or the Planning Boards May meeting, there was the opportunity for the Planning Board to immediately deliberate and the Town Board could possibly consider it at its June meeting for a decision. She said that was the shortest timeframe possible, but if the public hearing were held after the May Planning Board meeting then the Town Board would not see it until July. Commissioner Gering said he would not want to press the Planning Board into making a decision the same night they received the material. Mayor Stevens said he had the same concern. Commissioner Gering encouraged Mr. Anderson to schedule another 7:36:38 PM neighborhood meeting to provide the neighbors with another opportunity to comment. Ms. Hauth commented that they were under no obligation to hold an additional meeting, but they had expressed that they would be willing to do so. Commissioner Lloyd stated the neighborhood meeting should be held at 7 PM or later, noting that meetings held at 6 PM caused difficulties for those with full-time jobs. She suggested that when planning the walking trails that they think about where people cut through now to get to various destinations. Mr. Anderson agreed to do so, noting he would like to get a copy of the Towns Connectivity Plan. Mayor Stevens said they would make sure that a copy was supplied to him. Upon a motion by Commissioner Gering, seconded by Commissioner Lowen, the 7:39:35 PM Board moved to receive the request for the modifications to the approved Special Use Permit for Bellevue Mills and to schedule a public hearing on May 11 to review those modifications by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed. April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 7 of 22 B.Consider approval of contract with Hazen & Sawyer for Wastewater Treatment Plant Preliminary Design Mr. Keel stated that on April 8 the Clean Water Management Trust Fund had 7:39:58 PM committed to giving priority to funding all the projects previously approved in 2008, which would include this project, so they were encouraged that the funding would be forthcoming. He stated they were recommending that the Board move forward with approving the contract with Hazen & Sawyer that was for preliminary engineering and a phasing plan, which would amount to about 10% of the design work for the plant. Mr. Keel said when that was completed if they still had not received funding, then they would reassess at that point. He said the Water Sewer Advisory Committee was recommending moving forward with the contract as well. Alan Stone, with Hazen & Sawyer, provided some brief information about his 7:42:08 PM company and the team that would be pursuing the project, as well as some ideas of how they would begin their work with the Town and advancing the treatment of wastewater at the plant and expanding the flows. He stated they would be working with a subcontractor, Davis Martin Powell in High Point, that they had worked with for the past 15 years doing very similar projects to Hillsboroughs. Mr. Stone provided an overview of what would be required to achieve the objectives of the project including incorporating green design principles and bringing the project in on time and under budget. Commissioner Lowen stated he believed that Hazen & Sawyer would do what 7:49:06 PM they were contracted to do, and added that bringing the project in on time and under budget was very important to the Town because they had experienced other projects that had not done so. He said their references indicated that they would do what was necessary to achieve that. Mr. Stone stated the reason they had been able to work with so many clients was because they did a good job of doing just that. He said because of the economy and the lower costs it was a good time to be designing and building something. Upon a motion by Commissioner Lloyd, seconded by Commissioner Lowen, the 7:51:27 PM Board moved to approve the contract with Hazen & Sawyer for the Wastewater Plant Upgrade and Expansion Preliminary Design by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed. C.Consider request for an encroachment at 105 West Orange Street for gravel parking area and drainage improvements Assistant Town Manager/Public Works Director Nicole Ard said that James Davis 7:51:49 PM had requested permission to gravel a parking area with a wall and drainage improvements in the right-of-way near 105 West Orange Street. She said because that right-of-way was public domain if the Town ever had to access it for any kind of work there was an understanding that the gravel area may not necessarily be maintained. Ms. Ard said that Mr. Davis had reviewed the agreement and understood that he would be responsible for maintaining the parking area and any costs associated with the removal or construction of the improved area should Town repairs be needed to the road, water, or sewer. She said that Mr. Davis had agreed to those requirements and had agreed to enter into the encroachment agreement upon approval by the Town Board. April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 8 of 22 James Davis provided some additional information regarding his familys plans to build a home on property that had been in his wifes family for generations. He said they had recently learned that the propertys address was actually 107 West Orange rather than 105. Mr. Davis said they had received a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic District Commission and had worked closely with Ken Hines and other staff on the specific request before the Board. He provided some details about the gravel parking area and the requested improvements, noting the graveled area would be used on a limited basis for guest parking along the street. Upon a motion by Commissioner Hallman, seconded by Commissioner Dancy, 7:58:27 PM the Board moved to approve the request for an encroachment at 107 West Orange Street for gravel parking area and drainage improvements by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed. D.Consideration of Private Road Subdivision proposed for 2.64 acres on the south side of Oakdale Drive to create 4 lots Mr. Peterson indicated that because he was the applicant in this matter, he would 7:59:12 PM step away from the table and sit in the audience and participate as a citizen until the Board had concluded its deliberation and taken any action. Ms. Hauth said the Planning Board had considered this request at its last meeting and had unanimously recommended approval. She said the proposal was to create a new road called Taskahaui Way with four lots, and the reason it was before the Board was because of the existence of the private road. Ms. Hauth said that private roads were required by Town Ordinance to be approved by the Town Board before construction, and while the Ordinance indicated there should be no more than three lots with access to a private road the Planning Board and the Town Board had in the past allowed additional lots for good cause. She said in this case it was family land and was to be divided into four lots. Ms. Hauth reiterated that the private road and whether that was an appropriate location was the issue and not the subdivision itself. She added that the applicant had already received a driveway permit from NCDOT. Town Attorney Bob Hornik asked if the sight distances were acceptable with the location of the drive. Ms. Hauth responded yes. Upon a motion by Commissioner Hallman, seconded by Commissioner Dancy, 8:02:06 PM the Board moved to approve the Private Road subdivision proposed for 2.64 acres on the south side of Oakdale Drive to create four lots by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed. Mr. Peterson, responding to a question about the street name, said that they had wanted to use a name that was associated with Occoneechee, and had discovered through their research that Taskahaui was the Occoneechee word for oak. April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 9 of 22 E.Consider adoption of a Resolution authorizing the filing of an application for approval of a Financing Agreement authorized by NC GS16A-20 and call Public Hearing Finance Director Greg Siler said adoption of the resolution would reduce 8:03:19 PM spending and save the Town some money over the course of the next ten years. He explained that approval of the resolution would allow for refinancing of the 1998 general obligation bond loan and the 1999 water installment purchase loan totaling an estimated $5.635 million at a combined loan rate of 3.6417% for 11 years. Mr. Siler said the timing was just right to refinance those loans, noting the savings was estimated to be $207,098. Commissioner Dancy said she really appreciated Mr. Silers work and that he consistently looked for ways to save the Town money. Upon a motion by Commissioner Lowen, seconded by Commissioner Dancy, the 8:06:53 PM Board moved to approve the resolution authorizing the filing of an application for approval of a financing agreement and to call a public hearing by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed. F.Discussion of request from Stratford Development to create a Special Assessment District for the Waterstone Development Mr. Peterson said that he had received an email this afternoon just prior to the 8:07:29 PM meeting from Stratford, but had not yet had the time to digest all of the information contained in that email. He said that Stratford was still in the process of analyzing whether or not they wanted to request a Special Assessment District (SAD) be created, and there were representatives from Stratford present who could address that. Mr. Peterson said one potential hurdle for the use of the SAD could be that when talking with the LGC they had said the bonds had to be rateable grade bonds in order to be sold, and that he had been told that such a rating would be extraordinary for that kind of financing. He said he had talked with the Manager of Mooresville who said they had just be told the same thing by the LGC, and if they had to pull a line of credit in order to get them to be rateable, then they could get a loan in any case so there would be no purpose to a SAD. Mr. Peterson said his second point was that the Town would be responsible for building all the future infrastructure, which meant that they would have to bid it and supervise it. But, he said, there was legislation being introduced in Senate Bill 97 which would change that if approved. Mr. Peterson said that Stratford had commented that they did not expect all 85 acres proposed to be sold to UNC Health Care would be tax exempt, but that could not be promised. Mayor Stevens asked why the Town would be responsible for the bidding and 8:10:46 PM supervising of all future infrastructure. Mr. Hornik stated because the financing was done essentially through the Town and the Town would own the infrastructure. Mr. Peterson said that would include water and sewer along with roads. Mr. Hornik agreed. April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 10 of 22 Commissioner Lowen asked would that be all interior roads including those for the homes. Mr. Hornik stated the interior roads would be the responsibility of the developer for each pod. He said he was talking about the main arterial road. Mr. Hornik said theoretically the cost of management was part of what was being raised through the financing, so it was suppose to be neutral to the Town. Commissioner Gering said they would have to be very sure that the bonds would cover the full cost of construction of the roads so that the Town would not be obligated to spend its own money. Mr. Hornik agreed, noting the contract would address all of those issues. Mr. Peterson said one of his questions was if the Town would be liable if construction costs came in over budget. Eric Braun, an attorney representing Waterstone, clarified that the intent of 8:14:00 PM Stratford with that late email was to supply the Town the information and that the Town Board would discuss it at a later meeting. He said one of the things that Stratford had pointed out was that usually such a process would deal with the cost of administering the bidding process, and that was usually through a consultant or some person independent of the Town who would prepare the bid package. Mr. Braun said that process was usually paid for out of the bond proceeds and the development agreement could state that any cost overruns not covered through the bond proceeds would be the responsibility of the developer. He said the intent was to make this revenue neutral for the Town, and the way the SAD statute was structured it would do so. Mr. Braun said he could not say that there would be no staff time involved, but he believed it could be minimized to a large extent. Commissioner Gering said to make sure that any cost overruns were covered he 8:16:10 PM believed a performance bond would be required. Mr. Braun said he was not a bond attorney but believed that some sort of security could be established, and he would make sure an answer was supplied to the Town. Mr. Hornik asked was Mr. Braun foreseeing that they would be entering into some formal development agreement that would encompass the entire project. Mr. Braun said he believed that was one methodology that would work, and Stratford had indicated that was done in other states and it was becoming more common. Mr. Hornik said the difference between where this project stood and other projects stood was that ordinarily a development agreement was not on the front end before work was done and approvals were granted. He said you would go almost through a rezoning process before acceptance of a development agreement. Mr. Hornik said there was nothing wrong with that and it could be done since the law allowed it, but it was what made this case different from other development agreement scenarios. Mr. Peterson said from conversations with others it seemed that LGC would not change its stance on the issue of rateable bonds, noting that was a deal killer or close to it. He asked if Mr. Braun had any comment on that. Mr. Braun said he believed that the entire State April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 11 of 22 government was looking at the issue, because the SAD was a very valuable tool used throughout the country, and everyone agreed that if the LGC did not change its position then the SAD may as well be removed from the statutes because it would render it unusable. He said he believed there was an effort underway to give the LGC a better understanding of the SAD vehicle, and there was some discussion in the legislature regarding bonds not having to be rateable. Mr. Hornik said the requirement for rateability was not in the statute, noting it 8:19:57 PM was the LGC being cautious since there had only been a few SADs created in North Carolina. Mr. Braun said Mooresville was the only one even remotely close to going forward, so right now there were none. He said he did not believe the LGC had the ability to rewrite the statute, so he believed that issue would be resolved. Mr. Braun said although it was still an open question, he did not believe it would prevent them from moving forward with the exploratory process. Commissioner Gering said part of the proposition was that Stratford would be able to offer lower purchase prices and amenities, and asked would that rate increase because the property was being sold for less money to account for the assessment. Mr. Braun said he believed that was true. Commissioner Gering asked what affect that would have on the tax valuation for the properties; that is, would the property values be lowered because the purchase price was lower. Mr. Braun responded from a purely appraisal perspective it should not have an effect, noting that one way to look at that was the sooner the project was up and running the sooner the Town would begin receiving revenues. Commissioner Gering said his concern was that the tax revenue would be 8:22:43 PM discounted by some amount due to the decrease in purchase prices. He said the Town had to consider that once the property was developed they would have to begin providing services. Commissioner Gering said if there was a reduction in property value there would likely be no gain for the Town. Mr. Braun replied that Mr. Snyder would be the better source to respond to those kinds of questions, and he would pass that question along and get a detailed answer. Mr. Peterson said the email he had received late today stated that Stratford said they did not believe it would affect the tax value, but ultimately they would need to confirm that by having a dialogue with the Orange County Tax Assessor. G.Discuss possible cost-sharing arrangement with Orange County to continue the use of parking in North Hills Shopping Center as a park and ride facility for the 420 bus route Ms. Hauth said this item was brought up at the joint meeting with the County 8:24:35 PM Commissioners in February, and County staff had drafted an agreement with the property owner and approached the Town with the possibility of helping to offset the cost. She said if the responsibility were shared equally with the Town, the County, and Triangle Transit Authority the Towns share for the remainder of this fiscal year would be $333, and then $1,000 a year. Ms. Hauth said there was an effort underway to find another home for the park and ride lot, most likely on County property, so this was likely to be a short-term commitment. April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 12 of 22 Commissioner Lowen said then the County was looking for a County-owned site for the park and ride lot. Ms. Hauth said that was correct, noting some space may be available at County Public Works that would allow for better movement for the buses. She said she did not believe the current lot would be used long term. Mayor Stevens said given their interest in public transportation this was the right thing to do, especially since it was a nominal amount. Commissioner Dancy moved, seconded by Commissioner Lowen, approval of the 8:27:20 PM cost-sharing arrangement with Orange County and the Triangle Transit Authority to continue the use of parking in North Hills Shopping Center as a park and ride facility for the 420 bus route for the remainder of the current fiscal year at a cost of cost $333. Commissioner Hallman remarked that Chapel Hill Transit, TTA, and Durham Transit had just received $8 million to split between them, and this could have been paid out of pocket change by them. Mayor Stevens stated Commissioner Hallman had made a good point, commenting it was very symbolic. The vote was 5-0. The motion was declared passed. H.Review the draft Interlocal Agreement between Hillsborough and Orange County which constitutes the next phase in implementing the Strategic Growth Plan Ms. Hauth said this was the agreement that would move them the next step 8:28:36 PM forward with sharing land use planning authority with Orange County. She said the agreement spelled out the next steps, and wanted to be clear that neither jurisdiction was budgeting any further consultant fees on this issue, and while they were now at the point where people would begin to see a real impact the speed with which they moved would now begin to slow down and future work would be done in-house. Commissioner Hallman added that this did not affect anyone within the Towns borders since everything would remain the same, but it did affect residents in the ETJ as they swapped jurisdiction over portions of areas. Mr. Hornik agreed, noting some areas now under County jurisdiction would become the Towns jurisdiction, and vice versa. Commissioner Hallman said the larger impact was for the County citizens that would have to adhere to the Towns planning guidelines. Upon a motion by Commissioner Hallman, seconded by Commissioner Dancy, 8:30:43 PM the Board moved to enter into the draft Interlocal Agreement between Hillsborough and Orange County which constituted the next phase of implementing the Strategic Growth Plan by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed. I.Discuss next steps in the rail station planning process and provide direction to staff Ms. Hauth stated they had held meetings with both Representative Price and 8:31:18 PM Representative Watt in partnership with the City of Lexington as recommended by the State Rail April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 13 of 22 Division regarding the rail station. She said they were mid-way between Burlington and Durham and Lexington was mid-way between two stations on their portion of the line, and they were the two selected sites that if there were to be additional rail stops they would be in Hillsborough and Lexington. She said for that reason working together with Lexington was very important from a lobbying standpoint. Ms. Hauth said they had heard repeatedly that they needed a plan for the area where they intended to put the rail station, so they had gone through the process to confirm that the Collins property was where they believed the best location to be. She said they now needed to go to the next step and determine exactly where on that 20-acre tract the rail station would go, what else would go there, how you would get to it, and what else might be around it that would support it. Ms. Hauth said answering all of those and other questions would begin to show that the Town had a plan, that they had considered the needed infrastructure, and how it would tie into the larger community. She said that would begin to show those who might fund the project that the Town had thought it through and knew what they were getting into. Ms. Hauth said that begged the question of what did they want to do with that 20 acres, what did they want to see on the surrounding land around a rail station from a development standpoint, and was the Town willing to make a statement about how much development and what type of development was to go on that surrounding land that supported the provision of a rail station there. She said all of that could be a very elaborate and detailed process or it could be a broad brush and quick, and part of that was a funding. Ms. Hauth said they needed to decide the best way to proceed in terms of developing their vision for that 20 acres and whether they wanted to broaden their vision to include the larger Collins property and invite others to participate in the process. Ms. Hauth said they certainly could go the route of using a consultant and produce a very detailed plan in a reasonably short timeframe, but there was an associated cost in doing that. Or, she said, they could do something in-house and make good use of all the involved and thoughtful citizens in the Town, although that may take a little longer but would be at a reasonably low cost. Ms. Hauth said they could also do anything in between. Ms. Hauth stated it was very unclear at the present time whether any stimulus funding might be possible for station construction. She said what she was looking for tonight was for some direction on how to bring this issue back to the Board in a way that would provide a better framework for the Board to make a decision. Mayor Stevens said they could make it a contest. Ms. Hauth agreed that was possible. Commissioner Lowen said he liked the idea of using community resources, noting 8:37:29 PM there were likely many people who had good ideas of what they could do on the Collins property. He said he believed that many people would very much like to have a rail station in Town and would want to participate in a process that would help bring that about. Commissioner Lowen said consultants were expensive, and believed they could get some creative ideas from citizens. Ms. Hauth said if the Board could establish some parameters then a well-crafted design competition may well be a possibility. April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 14 of 22 Mayor Stevens said whether they did a contest or just a panel of citizens, they would want to have prototypes of several different designs so that they could choose the best possible design for the property. He said if that would not undermine a process of funding, then that might be a good place to begin to get ideas on the table. Mayor Stevens said then if there were real commercial interests, which he believed there would be, then those interested developers could also be participants and float ideas without having to make a commitment. He said he believe it would be a good way for the larger community to test a lot of different ideas. Commissioner Dancy asked if the Town Board needed to put together a list of 8:40:36 PM ideas of what they envisioned on the property and what they believed needed to be built into whatever was designed around the rail station. Mayor Stevens replied yes, adding that the list should include specific things like a fire station, but also some parameters such as economic feasibility or marketability. Commissioner Gering said if that was to be successful it would seem to him it would need to include some notion about what would go around the entire property as well, and developing a plan in isolation was risky. He said he was not sure those making the decision on the funding would view it in that regard. Commissioner Gering said he would like to see what the Town Board wanted developed for its part and the other part accelerate a bit so that they would end up with a plan that worked not only for the Town but for potential developers who recognized the investment opportunity and knew the parts would all work together. Mayor Stevens said they could think of it as a circle of the Towns part of the site 8:42:10 PM and then a larger circle of the rest of the Collins property and how that fit into the overall Churton Street plan. He said they were really looking for concepts so that they could see a lot of different ideas, and not necessarily have to go through several iterations. Ms. Hauth said the process might be one where the Board would set certain thresholds, for instance that the number of dwellings could not exceed current water capacity so that people could begin to imagine the scale of what the development of the property could be. She said that kind of guidance would make it clearer but still not sharply focused. Commissioner Gering said he did not know what the difference was between quick and adequate for getting a project approved in terms of what they would have to spend. Ms. Hauth said her impression was that the level of planning that had been done in Lexington seemed to suit peoples needs, and that she could get those documents from them to give the Town an idea of the specificity. She said those documents had been prepared by students at A & T University. Ms. Hauth said those plans certainly were not complete and ready to go to bid, but they would give them a ballpark of specificity. Mr. Peterson said the timing issue was more funding related; that if they thought 8:44:24 PM there was an opportunity for funding such as stimulus money, then those deadlines would play a part. Ms. Ard stated that requirements for funding of projects was coming through the State, but to keep in mind that part of the discussion was conceptual so when it did come down to construction DOT would have someone assigned to the project. She said in the meantime the Board could think more in terms of the concept of what they wanted to go on the property. April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 15 of 22 Commissioner Hallman asked what had happened to Tom Campanellas student plans for American Asset Corporation, which was concept plans. Ms. Hauth stated they had some of them, but Mr. Campanella had taken the best and merged them into one plan. She said the more information that could be provided, whether it was a competition or a citizens panel or a consultant, the better the end product would be. Commissioner Lloyd said when they were discussing University Station, plans had been drawn up by UNC students. She wondered if the County would still have those plans and if they would provide some ideas or insight. Ms. Hauth said those plans were specific to the University Station area which was dramatically different from the Collins property. She said she would ask if those plans were available. Mayor Stevens said with the Village Station there were five plans drawn up, so 8:48:00 PM there were some good models out there but they probably needed to have something done that was specific to the Collins property. Ms. Ard said they could check with other communities to see what models they might have that they would be willing to share. Commissioner Lowen stated that he had recently visited Kannapolis and believed they may have an area plan they would be willing to share. He suggested that communities that had recently built a train station may be willing to share their plans as well, as well as provide information about what types of development had been planned around those stations. Mayor Stevens asked if the Board felt the idea of some kind of contest or citizens panel or even multiple groups working on concept plans was feasible. Ms. Hauth said in some ways it was very appealing because it meant less staff involvement, and they could set a specific timeframe especially if it was done as a competition, to put as much work as possible into a competitive submittal. She said other than staff putting together packets of information and then answering questions throughout the process, they would not be staffing a committee or overseeing a consultant, so it would require the least staff involvement until the proposals came in. Mayor Stevens said this was listed as one of their Hot Topics for the workshop, 8:50:25 PM and asked would it make some sense for staff to compile or at least draft some potential parameters, areas of concern such as water capacity and fiscal feasibility, what the Town Board would want to see on the property such as a Police and/or Fire Station, and what would be sustainable. He said getting that in advance would give the Board some information that would allow them to go forward with their discussion. Ms. Hauth agreed, noting they could begin to craft some information and compile some documents to have available for people who might be interested. She said the Board could then discuss it and make some decisions, and as close to the first of May as possible they could perhaps have an announcement of how they would go forward. Commissioner Lowen asked what timeframe they would be looking at, noting that the college year was about to come to an end. He asked how soon once this was announced would they need to have some finished product back. Ms. Hauth said she would have to do some research to see what would be a reasonable or standard timeframe for that level of scope. Commissioner Lowen stated that Tom Campanella may be able to help with that since he was at the University and April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 16 of 22 would have a good idea of what students may or may not be doing over the summer. Ms. Hauth said another idea was to try and contact those involved with the South Square project since they had conducted a competition for that project. She said she would also like to provide the Board with a list of people she believed they might want to invite to participate in the process, and have the Board add to that list as well. Mayor Stevens said it appeared that they now had a plan of how to proceed. 8:54:03 PM Added item regarding the Development of the Collins Property Commissioner Gering said when they had considered purchasing the Collins 8:54:11 PM property they had recognized that there were some impediments in terms of right-of-way access and other issues that would have to be solved by the time they developed the property. He said his interest in seeing that occur was that the rest of the Collins property could be developed without the same impediments. Commissioner Gering said the Board should consider whether or not to begin solving some of those problems even in advance of any concrete plans to develop their property in the hope that it would accelerate development of all of the Collins property. He said his opinion was that they should start to solve those problems now. Commissioner Lowen agreed, noting they should at least identify what would be needed to acquire the necessary access, in particular the right-of-way turning into Orange Grove Road and across the railroad track. He said those issues would hinder anything they decided to do as a Town or anyone else who wanted to develop the other acreage. Mr. Hornik said he believed the Orange Grove Road issue was no problem, because the Town could begin a process now and in about 60 days have good title to a 60-foot wide right-of-way, even if they had to acquire it through imminent domain. He said the issue there was that the plat showed the road at 30 feet, and the Town had used it, maintained it, and received Powell Bill funds for it. Mr. Hornik said even if the paper title was not good, the road was a public road. He said the first thing they should do was contact the adjoining property owners, who would benefit more from having a real, recognized public road there. Mr. Hornik said even if those property owners resisted the Town had the right to take the property for a public road through imminent domain. He said however they went about it, acquiring the right-of-way was not problematic. Mr. Hornik said what was problematic was railroad access, because the NC Railroad or Southern Railroad right-of-way, whichever entity it was, believed that their interests trumped anyone elses. He said whether that was true or not that was the attitude they took, and they could make it very difficult for anyone to acquire superior rights to theirs. Mr. Hornik said his experience was that a negotiating process with a railroad was difficult, time consuming, and uncertain. Commissioner Lowen said they should not sit on it but to at least begin to look at 8:58:24 PM it. He said he understood the right-of-way issues with the railroad, but if there was any future development that might take place on the remaining acreage of the Collins property, then there would hopefully be additional road access coming from other areas that could address connectivity. Commissioner Lowen said as things stood now, just for the Town to get to their piece of that property, the access just stopped. Mr. Hornik reiterated that the first step should be April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 17 of 22 to contact the adjoining property owners from whom they would have to acquire the additional right-of-way, whether that was 50 or 60 feet. Ms. Hauth said she believed they would want 60 feet for the flexibility to get as much of the road and utilities within the road right-of-way as possible. She said it would be worthwhile to talk to some people who know more about that, adding that she believed it was becoming clearer that because of the elevation it was possible to go under the rail crossing rather than over. Commissioner Lowen said there were also great benefits to that from a safety standpoint, noting the advantage of not having to stop for long trains and not having to delay traffic, as well as no vehicles on the rails. Ms. Hauth stated a grade separated crossing was much easier to get the railroad to agree to that an at-grade crossing. Mr. Hornik said they needed to first contact the property owners regarding the right-of-way. Ms. Hauth agreed, noting they would need to pull development plans for those adjoining properties to make sure taking 15 feet on each side of the existing road would not put them into a building. Mr. Hornik stated that discussion should at least start, and then the Board could determine whether the next step was to negotiate acquisition or to file intent to take the property. Commissioner Lloyd asked about the Orange Grove Road access, and asked about 9:03:14 PM the turn when they reached John Roberts Road. Ms. Hauth stated she would have to confirm it, but believed there was 60 feet between those buildings. She said they had property surveys that they could check. Commissioner Lloyd asked once the rail station was built, to whom it would belong. Ms. Ard responded it would belong to the Town and the Town would be responsible for maintenance, but Amtrak would have a contract with the Town to operate the station. Ms. Hauth said she believed she had an understanding of what the Board needed for its workshop meeting. Mayor Stevens offered to make some of the contacts with other entities to get information, if appropriate for him to do so. Mr. Hornik said he believed having the Mayor ask for information would give such requests more weight. J.Receipt and Consideration of Tax Map for Potential Publication Commissioner Gering said he had asked for County tax information in map form 9:06:25 PM and had worked with the Planning Department to develop a colored map to outline trends, the idea being that when the Board considered setting its tax rate that they understood who would be affected and by how much. He said in addition, their taxpayers may be asking for consideration of their revaluation and the map might help put that in perspective as far as what property values were in respect to others in the neighborhood. Commissioner Gering said with the very good help of Ms. Ard, Stephanie Trueblood, Greg Siler and Emily Bradford, they had pulled together the relevant data which was the parcel data from the County with the 2004 and 2005 valuations as well as the preliminary 2009 valuations. He said they had also used the preliminary tax revenue neutral rates for both Orange County and the Town. April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 18 of 22 Commissioner Gering said the map showed four colors to represent different quartiles in how th valuation increased from 2004 to 2009: the green line indicated those in the 25 percentile saw th their valuation increase 13% or less; the light green line indicated those in the 50 percentile saw th their valuation increase between 14% and 20%; the orange line indicated those in the 75 percentile saw their valuation increase between 21% and 32%; and, those in the upper percentile saw their valuation increase 33% or more. Mayor Stevens clarified that Commissioner Gering was referring to 25% of parcels, so Waterstone would essentially be a parcel. Commissioner Gering said it was a very direct calculation to translate those figures into what people would experience with respect to their tax bills relative to their tax revenue neutral figure. He said the chart on the page prior to the map contained the information he had just described as well as the County taxes, which indicated, for example, that 25% of the people within Hillsborough would experience a tax reduction of 2% of County taxes and a 3.86% increase with Hillsborough taxes relative to the revenue neutral figure. Commissioner Gering said there were some interesting generalizations that could be derived from the map. He said it seemed that subdivisions south of Town, such as Cornwallis Hills and Becketts Ridge, were generally on the favorable side of the equation, and those on the north side of Town, in particular West Hillsborough, were seeing their tax valuations and property values go up more than the median. Commissioner Gering said when you went even further north to the Fairview community you saw that they were less than the median. He said down Churton Street, it appeared that their commercial buildings were increasing less than the median in property values, and the same was true for the Daniel Boone commercial area. Commissioner Gering said that Waterstone south of Town was the exception, in that they were in the fourth quartile. Commissioner Gering said putting the information in map form had given him a better understanding of the revenue neutral calculations, and it might be interesting for the Town to post the map on its Web site with appropriate disclaimers, qualifications and explanations. Mayor Stevens stated he had found the map very interesting and asked was there 9:13:27 PM any reason why they would not want to post the map. Commissioner Lowen said he believed it was extremely helpful information, and there were people would live out in the County who would be interested to see that map reflect property in the County. Commissioner Hallman said one issue of posting the map was determining who would answer questions that it would provoke. Mayor Stevens said that was an issue, noting it would likely generate as many questions as it would provide answers. Mr. Peterson said from looking at the table and working hard on the budget, and trying not to raise the tax rate or to make it revenue neutral, they knew how much revenue they would bring in through property taxes and what they could anticipate next year. He said when they calculated out the revenue neutral rate, looking at the last column in the table April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 19 of 22 there appeared to be a disconnect. So, Mr. Peterson said, he had been asking himself where that disconnect was and believed if the average value of property had increased 20% which was what they had been told, then it seemed that they should be able to drop the property tax rate about 20%, putting it in the mid 50s. But, he said, it was not computing that way according to the chart. Mr. Peterson said one thought was that that was just the real estate value, and they had already been told that the public service properties such as utilities would drop between 10% and 20% in value, and then personal property would drop about 5% because vehicle values had crashed. So, he said, real estate would have to carry the burden of those decreases, but that still did not make up the gap so they were continuing to work on that. Mr. Peterson said they had recalculated the revenue neutral rate and were working to see if the rate they would recommend would be the correct rate based on the statutory formula. He said they had looked at one version that dropped it about a penny and a half, but they would continue to work on that. Mr. Peterson said it was their intent that when the budget was presented that citizens would be able to understand how their taxes were calculated. Mayor Stevens said the takeaway was that any neutral rate would hover around 9:17:52 PM 20%, and asked would that mean that 50% of the property owners in Town would pay significantly more or significantly less taxes. He said with any rate they set there would still be 25% who would pay a lot less in taxes compared to 2004. Mr. Peterson said he would not term that as a lot of people. Mayor Stevens said it appeared from the chart that 25% of properties would have less taxes even at the neutral rate and 25% would have higher taxes even at the neutral rate. Commissioner Gering asked if part of the concern was that there was a bug in the calculation th that skewed the results. Mr. Peterson said if he was reading it correctly that even in the 25 percentile they were saying those taxpayers would still be paying 3.86% higher taxes. He said that was why he wanted to take a closer look, because if they had a revenue neutral rate it seemed that the percentages were higher than he would expect if the calculations were correct. Commissioner Gering said they could calculate just on what revenue neutral would be based on the valuations, and then he would expect that 50% of the people would be less than zero and 50% would be greater than zero. He said they had done the calculations based on the formula in the statute. Commissioner Hallman said the other thing the figures indicated was that in 9:20:10 PM Orange County the resale value tracked the property tax value, in that the more expensive homes had gone up in resale value disproportionately, and that was one reason for the disparity or discrepancy. Mr. Peterson said he believed the map was a really good idea and that many people would be interested in seeing it. Commissioner Hallman reiterated that any questions should be directed to Orange County. Ms. Hauth said what jumped out at her from the map were the red parcels, which were almost all April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 20 of 22 vacant and many of them were recently annexed. So, she said, that process of annexation raised their value. She said Becketts Ridge was their newest construction and it was below the median, West Hillsborough and the historic district were above the median, and Hillsborough Heights and Fairview were below the median. Ms. Hauth said that properties that turned over had higher value, but properties that did not turn over did not have higher value with some exceptions. Commissioner Hallman said people would look at the map and see that they were 9:22:48 PM red and their neighbor was orange, so he was sure that the map would generate questions. Commissioner Lowen suggested putting on the Web site that questions should be directed to the County tax office. Mayor Stevens said he believed the Board had a consensus to publish the information since they had found it to be useful. He said as a courtesy they should send a copy to the County to warn them that they may begin to get questions associated with the map. Commissioner Lowen stated they had a satellite annexation north of Town that was not shown on the map. Ms. Hauth said there were actually two, the Wilkerson property which was not shown on the map but should be, and the Phelps property which was irrelevant because it was in the use value program. She said that was one reason why the Corbinton Commons property showed up in red, because it was also in the use value program and the owners had been forced to pay back taxes. Mayor Stevens thanked the staff and Commissioner Gering for bringing that information to the Boards attention. K.Receive Information: Towns FY08 Balanced Scorecard Report Awarded the Association of Government Accountants Bronze Certificate of Achievement in Service Efforts and Accomplishments Reporting Budget and Management Analyst Emily Bradford said back in the summer the 9:25:55 PM Town was invited to speak at the NC Local Government and Budget Association summer conference to present their balanced scorecard efforts and educate the budgeting community on how that effort worked. She said after her presentation she had been approached by a representative from the Association of Government Accountants and who had indicated she was impressed with what Hillsborough was doing and was glad to see small towns participating in performance measurement type programs. Ms. Bradford said she had told representative that they were working on their year-end report, and in the fall the representative had seen the report on the Towns website and commented that the Town should apply for their Achievement in Service Efforts and Accomplishments Reporting award, which was their award for performance measurements reports. Ms. Bradford said she had told the representative that they had not prepared their report with that award in mind, but she had been encouraged to apply anyway. She said they had submitted the report hoping only to get some good feedback, but were surprised and excited to learn that the April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 21 of 22 Town had received the Bronze Award for the report. Ms. Bradford said they actually had enough points to receive the Silver Award, but there were some key criteria not contained in the report because they had not prepared the report with that in mind. She said they had received some good feedback and hopefully next year they would receive the Silver or the Gold award. Ms. Bradford presented the Mayor with the Association of Government Accountants Bronze Certificate of Achievement in Service Efforts and Accomplishments Reporting Award. L.Discussion regarding the Town Poet Laureate Appointment Mayor Stevens said it had recently been brought to their attention that it had been 9:28:44 PM two years since they had appointed a Poet Laureate, which was established as a two-year term which would expire at the end of April this year. He said the first question was did the Board want to continue the practice of appointing a Poet Laureate, and the second was if the current Poet Laureate should be reappointed, noting he had indicated an interest in reappointment. Mayor Stevens said when they had created the position two years ago, they had had five applicants. Commissioner Lowen said now that the two-year term was expiring, should they publicize the fact that the Town was recruiting for that appointment. Mayor Stevens said two years ago they had formed a committee of citizens who had some special expertise. Commissioner Hallman said he believed it would appropriate to allow others interested in the appointment to apply, including the current appointee. Commissioner Lowen wondered if it was even a good idea to reappoint someone to hold the position for back-to-back terms. Commissioner Dancy suggested the current Poet Laureate could be placed on the committee that would search for applicants. Mayor Stevens suggested that they approach those that had served on the 9:31:50 PM committee two years ago and see if they were interested in serving again. He said they could also ask the current appointee to serve on the committee and advertise the search. Commissioner Lowen said they needed to decide if they would consider a reappointment or to make it a policy that appointments were for one term. He said if the current appointee wanted to serve another term, then it would not be appropriate for him to serve on the committee. Mayor Stevens said he believed that could be left up to the committee, although he believed there were reasons to limit appointments to one term. He said he believed other communities rotated their appointments every two years because there was plenty of talent available to be able to do that. April 13, 2009 Regular Meeting Approved: May 11, 2009 Page 22 of 22 Commissioner Dancy agreed there was a lot of talent available in the community and the position should rotate. Commissioner Lowen agreed as well, as did Commissioner Hallman. Mayor Stevens said when they completed that process they should have some sort 9:33:38 PM of ceremony to honor the Towns first Poet Laureate. Commissioner Lloyd said whoever was appointed should be available to attend various functions throughout the term, noting the current appointee had attended everything he had been asked to attend plus many others, and had also written various poems during his term and shared them with citizens. M.Discuss possible Hot Topics for the April 27, 2009 Workshop Mr. Peterson said he had noted three items in the memo as possible agenda topics 9:36:29 PM for the workshop, and did not believe there were any others that needed to be included. Mayor Stevens said he believed those topics would make for a substantial meeting and nothing else should be added. 10. CLOSED SESSION Upon a motion by Commissioner Dancy, seconded by Commissioner Lowen, the 9:36:55 PM Board moved to go into Closed Session by a vote of 5-0. The motion to go into closed session. A. Closed Session as authorized by North Carolina General Statute Section 143- 318.11 (5) regarding Property Acquisition for Riverwalk Phase II Upon returning to Open Session, and upon a motion by Commissioner Gering, seconded by Commissioner Lowen, the Board moved to authorize the Town Attorney and staff to move forward with the quiet title proceeding and the purchase of 5.67 acres for the contract price by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed. ADJOURN Upon a motion by Commissioner Dancy, seconded by Commissioner Lowen, the Board moved to adjourn at approximately 10:30 PM by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed. Respectfully submitted, Donna F. Armbrister, MMC Town Clerk