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HomeMy Public PortalAbout12-03-2009 Special MeetingDecember 3, 2009 Special Meeting Approved: January 11, 2010 1 of 4 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING HILLSBOROUGH TOWN BOARD Thursday, December 3, 2009 7:00 PM, Orange County Campus, Durham Technical Community College BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Mayor Tom Stevens and Commissioners Frances Dancy, Mike Gering, L. Eric Hallman, and Evelyn Lloyd. STAFF PRESENT: Assistant Town Manager Nicole Ard, Police Chief Clarence Birkhead, Lt. Brad Whitted, Lt. Davis Trimmer, and Planning Director Margaret Hauth. ITEM #1: Open the Meeting. Mayor Stevens called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. He did not read the Public Charge but noted it would be followed. He noted there was a short business item to discuss before beginning the discussion of the event policy. ITEM #2: Agenda Changes and Agenda Approval. Mayor Stevens asked the members if there were ay agenda adjustments or additions. Hearing none, he deemed the agenda approved as written. ITEM #3: Consideration of a Resolution to award a $1,045,741.80 contract to S.T. Wooten Corporation for construction of the Nash Street Sidewalk Project (TIP U4726 JA) pending concurrence from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for review and approval. Ms. Ard noted that the Town had solicited bids for the Nash Street Sidewalk project and this item would award the bid to the S.T. Wooten Company, pending concurrence from NCDOT. She noted these steps were required under the funding award to the town to use American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funds as well as other state, federal, and local sources to construct the project. Ms. Ard noted that a bidder had withdrawn from the project and that S.T. Wooten was determined to be the lowest responsible bidder. She noted a needed correction to the resolution in the final paragraph to reflect the correct contract amount. MOTION: Commissioner Hallman moved to approve the resolution awarding the bid, as corrected. SECOND: Commissioner Gering. VOTE: Unanimous (4 -0). ITEM #4: Community Information Session on Special Events. December 3, 2009 Special Meeting Approved: January 11, 2010 2 of 4 Mayor Stevens began the discussion by highlighting the 5 principles the town had used in crafting a draft policy about park use and event management. He noted that the focus for this meeting was on permitting, not on fees. He noted that his proposal relating to fees was for there to be no fee if an application came in by the 70 day deadline, a minor fee up to a few weeks before the event, and a penalty fee for events without permits or too short of notice. Commissioner Gering noted that he had been contacted that the current twenty -five dollar fee was burdensome to some organizations when they are having events as fund- raisers. Margaret Hauth described the different components of the policy. She noted the policy defines 5 types of events based on whether it was a public or private event and whether it takes place on public or private property. The fifth category is for street events. She noted the threshold for review is generally 100 attendees or the site's capacity, whichever is less. The exception is private events on private property where the threshold is 500 or the site's capacity, whichever is less. Lori Taft from Orange County Parks and Recreation asked how this policy applied to their programming, which often exceeds 100 participants or County Commissioner meetings. Ms Hauth said the policy would not apply to anything with a regular schedule. Commissioner Lloyd asked who is called to the recreation department if there is a disturbance. Ms Taft said the police are called and she has previously arranged for and paid for extra security to be provided by the police. Ms Hauth described some of the new components of the policy. She noted that the policy provides a mechanism for growing interest in using the town's parks for family reunions and other events with more than 50 participants, which is the primary reason for her involvement. She said the policy specifically allows for the town to decide to sponsor certain events, which they do not do presently. Ms Hauth noted that the policy also discusses "piggy back" events where multiple events are scheduled at the same time to take advantage of the activity. She said possibly the greatest change is unrelated to the policy, but by having a permit process, the town's new website can be used to plan and advertise events. She noted the new site has improved interactive and automated capacities to people to view potential and approved events. She noted that this will also provide free publicity to events that get permits as they will be noted on the calendar. Ms Hauth noted the final new component is the provision for an appeal to the Town Board in the event that a permit is denied by staff. She noted that, to date, no permits have been denied, but a process should be available in case the need arises. Questions were asked about the piggy back component and exactly what types of events would be considered piggy back. Chief Birkhead noted that right now, events at the Burwell School and Presbyterian Church are considered piggy back to Last Fridays because the "foot print" for Last Fridays is limited to the court house square. Mayor Stevens added that the foot print was reduced at the request of the Arts Council because the other activities off the square were too much to manage along with the actual event. Ms. Hauth discussed the variety of permit requirements, noting that most are things already asked for. She noted that the requirements would act as a planning checklist and help ensure the details of each event were covered. Ms Cooley asked what type of documentation the town was expecting about the organization to confirm its "status." Ms Hauth said a tax status letter or some document that would help the town know whether the sponsor was non - profit, for profit, a formal entity or a loose association. Ms Woodman asked why that was important. Ms Hauth said it would help the town know the possible capacity of the organization and its ability to get liability insurance. Mayor Stevens noted that some events are neighborhood block parties or other less sophisticated or organized events, which could impact the town's requirements. Ms Hauth offered to explain the previous reference to a twenty -five dollar application. She noted the Zoning Ordinance has current permit regulations for a few temporary uses that staff re- discovered after public inquiries about some public events. She noted that these requirements are likely to be removed during the rewrite of the Zoning Ordinance because that document is not the correct location for event regulation. Darcie Martin asked about the parking requirement. She noted that the museum and Burwell School have limited to no parking. Ms Hauth noted that the town would take into consideration the parking the facility generally has available. As an example she said if the Museum planned something a 4 PM on the 25 of the month when the Town Hall annex parking would be congested with water bill customer, the town may suggest a different date or time so that parking would be available. Lori Taft asked about coordination between the town and county for event they may permit in county parks or on county land. Ms Hauth said her preference would be for an event to get approval from the county first and then be reviewed by the town. Ms Taft noted that they could work to have the town listed as an additional insured during their review of the applications. Chief Birkhead, Ms Taft and Ms Hauth all agreed the two jurisdictions would continue to coordinate. Elizabeth Read asked what the implementation timeframe was. Ms Hauth noted that the Board would likely not review the policy until January. Mayor Stevens noted that January would also mark the beginning of the town's budget process, when the board would determine the amount they would set aside for event expenses. Margaret Cannell said she understood the need for the policy. She added that the Chamber would be meeting next week to discuss Hog Day to see what solutions might exist to prepare for the impacts of rain and heat on the event's success. She invited others to join the discussion because everything can be improved. ITEM #5: Adjourn. There being no further comments, Mayor Stevens adjourned the meeting at 8:05 p.m. Donna F. Armbrister, MMC Town Clerk December 3, 2009 Special Meeting Approved: January 11, 2010 3 of 4 December 3, 2009 Special Meeting Approved: January 11, 2010 4 of 4 RESOLUTION NUMBER 200912034? i+EESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR. TOWN MANAGER OR TOWN MANAGER'S REPRESENTATIVE TO EXECUTE ON BEHALF OF THE TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH A CONTRACT AND ANY CHANGE ORDERS WITHIN THE BUDGETED AMOUNT WITH S.T. WOOTEN CORPORATION FOR THE PROJECT KNOWN AS (NASH STREET SIDEWALK PROJECT WHEREAS, S.T. Wooten Corporation responded to advertisement by the Town of Hillsborough and was the lowest responsible bidder submitting a proposal of $1,045,741.80; and WHEREAS,' the Engineer's Estimate for the project was $1,048,069; and WHEREAS, S.T. Wooten Corporation has demonstrated a good faith effort to met the minimum required DBE goal of 8% by exceediing that with a goal of 36.68 %; and WHEREAS, S.T. Wooten Corporation is licensed and certified to do business in North Carolina, NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH THAT: The Mayor, Town Manager, and/or designated representative of the Town of Hillsborough is hereby authorized to execute on behalf of the Town of Hillsborough the attached contract with S.T. Wooten Corporation in the amount of $1,045,741.80 and any change orders within the budgeted amount for the Nash Street Sidewalk Project, TIP U-4726 JA, W138 Element 36268.3.ST.21, Federal Aid No: STM- 0711(11), pending concurrence with award by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Read approved and this 3r d day of D f OWN CLERK APPROVED AS TO FORM TOWN ATTORNEY olution 21