Town of Woodland Board Minutes
Date: January 2, 2020
7:00 PM

Board/Staff Present:

Randy Beale – Incoming Mayor
David Cooper – Commissioner
Brian Christison - Commissioner
Ricky Morris – Commissioner
Donielle McDermott – Town Clerk
Eddie Hoggard – Police Officer
Marshall Lassiter – ORC

Commissioner Outland was absent due to sickness.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited followed by a moment of silent reflection.

Call to Order: Mayor Beale called the meeting to order at 7pm.

Approval of Agenda: The first item of business was the approval or amendment of the agenda. Commissioner Cooper made a motion approve the agenda as written. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: The next item on the agenda was the approval or amendment of the minutes from the Regular Board Meeting dated 12/15/2019. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

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 Morris seconded and the motion carried.

Public Comments: Pat Liverman stated how nice it was to be on a different side of the table and she said she will support the board.

Fire Department: Donielle McDermott said there is a balance of $38,861.13 in the fire department’s checking account.

Commissioner Cooper would like for the town to pay for the trees to be cut down at the proposed site of the new building. There was discussion on this and the board agreed a copy of insurance is needed for whoever we choose to cut down the trees. Commissioner Christison will talk with Walt Pierce with Boyette and Robinson about insurance coverage for using the chipper. It was also discussed to see if there is anyone who would be interested in cutting down the trees for the wood. Mr. Lassiter asked if the local Mennonites bid on the job and said he will get a contact number for us. If the town takes care of the stumps the cost will be $4,600. Commissioner Christison suggested taking half of the money out of streets and sanitation and the other half out of administration. Commissioner Christison stated that the $11,000 bid is not a bad deal when you consider the time and work it would take to get the trees down, stumps grinded, and cleanup.

Mrs. McDermott reminded the board of the upcoming dinner at the fire department on January 14, 2020 at 7:00 pm.

Police Report: Chief Hoggard read the monthly report which will be included in the Minutes Book.

Chief Hoggard said the Crown Vic was involved in a minor wreck during a recent chase. He does not plan on fixing the car since a new vehicle is on order. When the new vehicle does arrive, Chief Hoggard would like to purchase a computer, radio, and a camera system to install in the vehicle.

Chief is still working on obtaining information from the Government Highway Safety Funds. That program inactivated Woodland, therefore the funds are still there, hopefully around $5,000. He would like to use this money for stop sticks, highway safety materials, possibly even a radar.

Chief Hoggard said he is waiting on F9 qualifications from our one applicant. Commissioner Morris asked if this applicant is radar certified and Chief Hoggard said he is.

Chief Hoggard has the charges typed up on the recent local robberies.

Commissioner Christison asked where we stand with the budget for part-time officers. We have currently used 77% of our part-time salary budget. A question was raised on how the county pays for insurance on the part time deputies since every bit of the $20 an hour goes straight to the deputies.

Clerk Report:
a. Donielle McDermott shared bereavement leave policies from other NC municipalities which allowed employees up to three days paid time off in the event of a death in the family. She suggested to the board that we adopt a similar policy. These examples will be included in the Minute Book. Commissioner Cooper said the board will need to review these policies and make a decision during budget season.
b. The annual Citi-Pak agreement for fiscal year 2020-2021 was reviewed. The annual support fee remains the same as the current fiscal year at $3,955.00. Commissioner Christison made a motion to accept the annual agreement with Citi-Pak in the amount of $3,955.00 for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Commissioner Cooper seconded and the motion carried.
c. Donielle McDermott reminded the board that Woodland Primary Care’s ribbon cutting ceremony would be on Wednesday, January 22, 2020 from 1-2:30 pm. They would like an RSVP so Mrs. McDermott will do so on behalf of the board.
d. Mrs. McDermott reminded Mayor Beale and Commissioner Morris of the upcoming Essentials of Municipal Government class on January 31, 2020 in New Bern.
e. Andrew DeIonno contacted Mrs. McDermott to try and schedule a time for the members of the Upper Coastal Plain Council of Government to meet with the new town board. The board agreed to meet on January 22, 2020 at Town Hall after the ribbon cutting ceremony at Woodland’s Primary Care.

Maintenance Report:
a. The current Christmas wreaths used as decorations in the town are very frail. The public works department has asked for the town to purchase new ones within the next year or so. They said the current decorations may last one more year. There are 40 in all. Commissioner Cooper made note that Fineline bought the ones we are currently using from another town. The board suggested using them one more year but adding the purchase of new ones to next year’s budget. We can purchase them when they go on sale after Christmas. Commissioner Cooper also noted that the last time decorations were purchased, a committee was selected and in charge of picking them out.
b. Marshall Lassiter requested permission to purchase a 20 or 24 volt cordless reciprocating saw. The approximate cost would be $200. Commissioner Christison made a motion to allow the public works department to purchase a 20 or 24 volt cordless reciprocating saw using line item number 30-810-33 when purchasing. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.
c. Mr. Lassiter stated we have had and continue to have problems with our spray fields. The new parts that were put in are different than the old ones whereas they are not meant to be in water. The old ones withstood water much better. Mr. Lassiter asked the board’s permission to call Robbie Collier and see if he has the ability to teach our maintenance crew how to fix and maintain the valves. If he cannot, Mr. Lassiter wants to go with a technician who is capable. Mr. Lassiter wants to get the sprayfield operational. He said a sump pump may be an option to keep the water out of the holes. Mayor Beale strongly encouraged the board to do something to fix this. Commissioner Christison excused himself from the vote but stated that Benchmark has two technicians who can look at this. Commissioner Cooper made a motion to allocate $2,000 to fix the valves at the waste water plant. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.
d. The wellhouse in George is about 90% complete and looks much better.
e. The Case tractor is back in the shop. Mr. Lassiter said the town may want to consider earmarking some money in the budget for the next few years in order to purchase a new 100 horsepower tractor. The board suggested we check into companies who give discounts to municipalities before next fiscal year. Commissioner Cooper would like to find out the price difference between the two wheel drive and the four wheel drive tractors.
f. Mr. Lassiter told the board that this is a new year and schools are starting up, but we do not have anyone in line to go who could begin qualifying for O.R.C.

Well Report:
a. The generator started up and worked just fine.
b. The maintenance crew has to wait on training until A.C.Schultes can make corrections to the transfer. Dale Anderson with Rivers and Associates was upset because the technician who is responsible was not present when he should have been and therefore unable to fix the problems they were having. Mr. Lassiter reminded the board that before we accept the well, he wants to do a series of at least three consecutive days of samples and get back three good samples. The board advised Mr. Lassiter to let them know if the samples or the well in general does not meet his standards.

Zoning Report: Raymond Eaton was not present, but he did drop off three computer quotes to Donielle McDermott. After some discussion, Commissioner Christison made a motion to spend up to $279 to purchase a computer for the zoning committee. Commissioner Cooper said he would like for us to get a price quote from Mickel Pruden first and possibly purchase from him. The motion was not seconded, therefore the motion failed. Mrs. McDermott will contact Mickel Pruden to ask for a quote.

Armory: Commissioner Cooper told the board that Diversified went to the armory with intentions of lighting the boiler but they did not know how to turn it on. The discussion turned to selling the armory as is to include a hold harmless agreement. After some discussion, the board agreed to start the process to file the deed and sell the armory. Commissioner Christison made a motion Luther Culpepper to file for the armory deed and put it in the Town of Woodland’s name. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried. More discussion ensued to include adding “as is” in the sale of the property and “we have the right to reject any and all bids” in the upset bid process. Commissioner Cooper wants to make sure we only sell the armory property on the west end of Cherry Street, not the vacant lot on the east side of Cherry Street. Commissioner Christison made a motion to amend his motion to not include the lot on the east side of Cherry Street, only the west side of Cherry Street. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

Comments from the Mayor: Mayor Beale asked who is responsible for the mess left at the CADA building. He stated they left terrible ruts all over the place and wondered who we can call. Donielle McDermott suggested calling Sally Surface. She will call and write a letter to document the phone call asking for them to finish landscaping the property.

Mayor Beale thanked Marshall Lassiter for the tour and thanked the maintenance crew for all they do.

Comments from the Commissioners: Commissioner Morris asked if the town is in need of community service workers. He said there is a big need to place workers because there are so many people needing community service. It was decided that Commissioner Morris and Chief Hoggard would look more into this.

Public Comments: Pat Liverman said she is delighted we are moving forward with the armory.

Closed Session: Commissioner Morris made a motion to go out of open session and into closed session pursuant to NCGS 143-318.11(a)(6) to discuss personnel. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.

Motion to Enter Open Session: Commissioner Cooper made a motion to go out of closed session and enter into open session. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

While in open session, Commissioner Cooper made a motion to give the town employees raises up to 5% based on the approval of Commissioner Christison’s budget. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

Motion to Adjourn: At 9:30 p.m., Commissioner Cooper made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.