Town of Woodland Board Minutes
Date: March 2, 2023
7:00 PM

Board/Staff Present:

David Cooper – Mayor Pro Tem
Brian Christison – Commissioner
Ricky Morris – Commissioner
Barbara Outland - Commissioner
Raymond Eaton – ORC
Eddie Hoggard – Police Chief
Donielle McDermott – Town Clerk

Mayor Beale was absent.

Call to Order: Mayor Pro Tem Cooper called the meeting to order at 7pm. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited followed by a moment of silent reflection.

Approval of Agenda: The first item of business was the approval or amendment of the agenda. Commissioner Christison made a motion to amend the agenda to change the date to March 2, 2023, move item 10 Zoning to item 4, add letter “a” Maintenance Worker to the maintenance report, and to approve the agenda. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: The next item on the agenda was the approval or amendment of the regular meeting dated February 2, 2023 and the special called meeting dated February 7, 2023. Commissioner Morris made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.

Zoning: Carlton Wiggins, Jr., Joseph Cutchin, Jr., and Paul Vaughan attended the meeting on behalf of the Kingdom Hall. The Kingdom Hall is about to start some renovations to the façade of the church and multiple renovations to the inside. They would like to house the construction crew during this time. They recently submitted a conditional use zoning permit with a $250 payment requesting two motorhomes to be parked on the church property for 8-10 weeks. These rvs will be hooked up to the church’s water and septic system. Raymond Eaton said the zoning board met and it is their recommendation to allow the rvs to be parked on the church property during this time. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve the zoning permit. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

Mr. Eaton told the board it is also the recommendation of the zoning board to reimburse the church their $250 since this is a church and it will be temporary.

Consideration of Bills: Commissioner Christison made a motion to pay all the current bills and to also pay all the regular bills that come in throughout the month. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.

Public Comments: No public comments

Fire Department Report: Robbie Collier read the monthly report which will be included in the minute book.

Police Report: Chief Hoggard read the monthly report.
• Part-time Officer Kellett has been working quite a bit recently.
• The gentleman who broke into the Dollar General has been caught.
• Commissioner Morris asked Chief Hoggard what the status was in hiring a new part-time officer. Chief Hoggard said the one prospect has not been able to get some dates for qualifications. Commissioner Morris said we need to move on and find another candidate.
• Commissioner Morris stated that the Duck Thru employees have asked for some police presence in the mornings as they open.

Clerk Report:
a. Mrs. McDermott pointed out that the 22-23 budget does not reflect proper income revenue for CADA rent. Rent went up, but the budget still shows the old amount. Commissioner Christison made a motion to increase revenue line item 10-400-01 by $11,654 (from $9,946 to $21,600) and to increase expenditure line item 10-420-94 by $11,654 (from $9,350 to $21,004). Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.
b. An audit findings response letter is required to be sent to the LGC in response to the findings found from our auditor in the 2022 Fiscal Year Audit. This letter was submitted to the board for approval. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve the audit findings response letter. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

Maintenance Report: Raymond Eaton read the monthly report. He informed the board that the cost of hypochlorite is going up yet again. We need to be prepared for the upcoming budget. The 2022 annual drinking water report has been uploaded to our website. Commissioner Morris asked if Kenny Godfrey’s test results have come in yet. The answer was no.
a. Julian Odom resigned. One application has already been received. The board decided to advertise the position on Facebook for ten days with March 13th being the deadline to apply. Make sure to include that a driver’s license is required.

Commissioner Christison stated it is very important to have a schedule each week. Barry Lane’s schedule needs to be Tuesday through Friday so two people will be working on Fridays. Commissioner Morris stated that workers need to request to be off before taking days off.

Mr. Eaton said the annual drinking water report’s website address will be listed on the next water bills for customers to be able to pull the report up online versus the town distributing the reports at each home in town.

Mr. Eaton will be going to a lead and copper meeting next week.

Chestnut/Peachtree Sewer Replacement Project (CWSRF):
a. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve the Notice of Award for project number CS370639-01 SRP-W-0200 to Step Construction for $810,280.40. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.
b. The Step Contracts are now able to be signed and returned to River’s & Associates.
c. The pre-construction meeting is tentatively slated for March 29, 2023 after the CDBG monthly progress meeting which is at 10:00 am.

CDBG:
a. The monthly report has not yet been submitted by the COG.
b. On February 21, 2023, Stephanie Morris, our state grant representative, conducted a monitoring visit to review procedures and documentation in the areas of conformity with the application. The visit went well and the areas reviewed appeared to be generally in compliance with the applicable CDBG requirements.
c. The next progress meeting is scheduled for March 29, 2023 at 10:00 am.

Stormwater Grant: The Town of Woodland applied for two separate grants to fulfill the stormwater project involving the big ditch by the Headstart building. The planning and design portion of the grant for $277,000 was approved, while the construction part of the project for almost $2.5 million was denied.

Comments from the Mayor Pro Tem: Mayor Pro Tem Cooper said we need to start thinking about budget workshop dates. One thing the town needs to consider is going up on the water bill rates. Mayor Pro Tem Cooper asked Raymond Eaton what his health care plan is. Mr. Eaton said he is continuing with dialysis and is still hoping to have the kidney transplant in the near future.

Comments from the Commissioners: Commissioner Christison thanked all the employees for what we do. Commissioner Morris said that if all goes as planned, he will not be here for a few months.

Public Comments: Sharon Boyce, a resident on North Persimmon St., said the ditch behind her house needs to be cleaned. The debris is getting tangled in the ditch causing a blockage. Mrs. Boyce asked for a letter to be sent to the property owners at the old church across the street from her house. They need to cut their grass and clean up the lot. There is a big dead tree across the street from her house as well that she is worried will eventually fall and land in the road. Is there anything the town can do? Mrs. Boyce asked Chief Hoggard to keep an eye on the section 8 house near her, stating there is a lot of activity and would like for him to patrol the area on Friday and Saturday nights from 7-9 pm.

Adjourn: At 8:00 pm, Commissioner Outland made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.