Town of Woodland Board Minutes
Date: April 16, 2020
7:00 PM

Board/Staff Present:

Randy Beale – Mayor
David Cooper – Commissioner
Barbara Outland – Commissioner
Brian Christison – Commissioner
Donielle McDermott – Town Clerk
Eddie Hoggard – Police Officer
Marshall Lassiter – ORC
Raymond Eaton - ORC

Commissioner Ricky Morris was absent.
This meeting was closed to the public due to restrictions put in place due to COVID-19, but the meeting was aired FaceBook Live.

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 Christison made a motion to change the date on the agenda to reflect today’s date rather than the original date of the meeting and to add # 17 “closed session” to discuss a contract. Commissioner Cooper seconded and the motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: The next item on the agenda was the approval or amendment of the minutes from the Special Called Meeting with Andrew DeIonno dated 3/5/20, Regular Board Meeting dated 3/5/20, Special Called Meeting to Discuss COVID-19 dated 3/19/20, and an Emergency Meeting for COVID-19 dated 3/20/20. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve all the minutes as written. Commissioner Cooper 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 Outland seconded and the motion carried.

Public Comments: Tuani Ruvolis sent in a public comment via email. She wanted to thank the town workers and town citizens for responding so quickly to the damage her house sustained from the recent thunderstorm while her and her husband were out of town.

Pattie Manuel also sent in a public comment via email. She asked if the town was going to have their annual spring clean up and if so, when.

Fire Department: Donielle McDermott stated the balance in their checking account as of March 31, 2020 was $52,138.73.

Commissioner Cooper stated how much he likes the refurbished sign the Robbie Collier did at the fire department.

Police Report:
• Chief Hoggard said our part-time officer, Michael Kellett, was sworn in on Monday, April 13, 2020.
• The Tahoe should be ready in the next 2-4 weeks. We will then get rid of one of our current vehicles, not sure which one yet.

Clerk Report:
a. The actuarial data request needed to be approved by the board. This is a report that has to be done yearly, and for the past couple of years the NCLM has recommended Cavanaugh Consulting, LLC for this. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve Cavanaugh Consulting to do this report. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.
b. Mrs. McDermott told the board that she had been approached by Pat Liverman asking if she would be willing to handle the reservations for the Woodland Community Building. This building does not belong to the town, but the town hall would be a convenient place for people to fill out reservation forms and pay their deposits for these reservations. Mrs. McDermott is willing to do this if the board is in agreement. After some discussion the board decided to allow this on a temporary 6 months basis to make sure it does not get in the way of her regular work.
c. The board discussed spring clean up week. Commissioner Christison made a motion to have our annual spring clean up week, but push it back to the first week in June. Commissioner Cooper seconded and the motion carried. Mr. Lassiter and Mr. Eaton reminded the board that we cannot accept paint, liquids, or tires with rims still on. The board asked Mrs. McDermott to put this notice on the water bills.
d. Mrs. McDermott reminded the board that to be in compliance with the CDBG, the mayor and a town board member must attend two mandatory meetings in June. She does not need to have them registered for these meetings until June 5, 2020. Mayor Beale prefers the meetings in Kinston and asked for us to wait a little closer to June to see where the state is in regards to the pandemic.

Mrs. McDermott asked the board to please be vigilant at checking their emails and responding to them.

Maintenance Report: Raymond Eaton read the monthly maintenance report which will be included in the Minute Book. Mr. Eaton told the board that he received a residential complaint about their water from John Young, the owner of the land and lake behind the boat factory. His complaint was that his water smelled a bit like petroleum or gas. The maintenance crew found a lab from Wilmington, called Envirochem, who can test the water for petroleum. The cost will be $60 for the test and $40 for travel costs. They came this morning to take the samples. We will contact the owner with results. Mr. Lassiter said if they find petroleum in the water, we have a big problem that will need to be fixed. However, the crew thinks that since Mr. Young is the only resident on that particular line, his water is stagnant which gives off a different odor. The crew decided to flush the line every time they read meters so the water will not be stagnant.
a. Mr. Lassiter told the board that he had been helping Mrs. Dorothy Bates on Myrtle Street try to find a leak. He stated that for months her bill indicated over 9,000 gallons of usage, which is extremely high for one person. He and Mrs. Bates went through a series of different ways to check her lines around her house, including him keeping a daily record of her usage. Mrs. Bates had a couple of different plumbers come and check for leaks. Nobody had been able to find anything that indicated a leak. Mr. Lassiter decided to change out her meter. The new meter that had been installed when all the new meters were put in, was showing a leak. Mr. Lassiter took that meter out and put in a new old style meter. Right away this meter showed no leak. Mr. Lassiter continued to monitor her daily usage while having the other meter checked out by Ferguson Waterworks. The new old style meter proved to Mr. Lassiter that there was not a leak after all, however, Ferguson claims that when they checked the meter their system says the meter is not faulty. Mr. Lassiter still believes it is the meter that was wrong and is asking the board to give Mrs. Bates a credit for her overage beginning in December of 2018 through February of 2020. This credit totals $744.88. Commissioner Cooper agrees that the meter likely was not working properly. The board was all in agreement. Commissioner Cooper made a motion to credit Mrs. Bates’ future water bills in the amount of $744.88 due to a malfunctioning water meter. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.
b. Marshall Lassiter thanked the board saying it was a pleasure working for the Town of Woodland. He said he would be happy to come back anytime we needed his assistance. Mr. Lassiter turned over to Raymond Eaton ideas he had for Woodland. The commissioners and mayor all thanked Mr. Lassiter for all he has done for Woodland. Commissioner Cooper asked Mr. Lassiter if he had an hourly rate he would charge the town in the event we need to call on him, and Mr. Lassiter said yes, the same rate he currently charges the town. At this time, Commissioner Outland made a motion to make Raymond Eaton ORC for the Town of Woodland as of April 6, 2020. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.
c. Mrs. McDermott told the board that the maintenance crew would like to take the golf cart to St. John’s Carts to have it looked at. They tried to fix it themselves, but have not had any luck and the golf cart makes reading meters much easier. The board agreed to take the cart for an estimate.
d. Commissioner Christison asked the maintenance crew for a list of things that need fixing for next year’s budget. He also asked for a wish list from the department.

Well Report: Mayor Beale recently spoke with Kyle Jefferys from A.C. Schultes. Mr. Jefferys acknowledged he was behind on the project due to change orders. Mr. Jefferys made it a point that he did not want to get lawyers involved. Mr. Jefferys would like to meet with the town board to discuss mediation. Mayor Beale said he will talk to the board about setting up a meeting and get back with Mr. Jefferys. After some discussion, the board agreed to meet first with our lawyer, Marshall Lassiter, Kenny Manuel, Blaine Humphrey, Dale Anderson, and possibly Pat Liverman in a closed meeting to discuss this contract. Mayor Beale urged the town to move swiftly on this matter.

Zoning Report: No report

COVID-19: Mayor Beale said that the most recent news from the president is that he will leave it up to each state’s governor to lift current restrictions.

Comments from the Mayor: Mayor Beale encouraged everyone to continue to be safe during this time.

Comments from the Commissioners: Commissioner Christison said we need to set up a budget meeting as soon as possible.

Commissioner Cooper told Raymond Eaton that he was glad to see him back with the town. He also said he was glad Chief Hoggard was getting a new car and was glad to have a new part-time officer. Commissioner Cooper reminded the board that Perry Collier may be considering retiring soon so the town may want to be thinking of planning for his absence. Mr. Lassiter said we should look strongly at March of 2021.

Commissioner Outland welcomed Raymond Eaton back.

Raymond Eaton told the board that Tommy Pierce needs to get his GED before being able to gain any certifications for water or sewer. He asked the board if they would consider helping financially for Mr. Pierce to get his GED. Commissioner Cooper said to add this to his wish list. Mr. Lassiter spoke up stating he feels like this is something Mr. Pierce should do on his own.

Public Comments: Chief Hoggard read a comment from the FaceBook Live from Jean Bryant, “Thank you to Marshall, and welcome home Raymond.”

Adjourn: The board decided that since they will be calling a special closed meeting to discuss the well contract within the next week, there was no need to go into closed session this evening. At 8:18 pm, Commissioner Christison made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.