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

Board/Staff Present:

Randy Beale – Mayor
David Cooper – Commissioner
Barbara Outland – Commissioner
Brian Christison – Commissioner
Ricky Morris - Commissioner
Donielle McDermott – Town Clerk
Raymond Eaton - ORC

Chief Hoggard 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 approve the agenda as is. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: The next item on the agenda was the approval or amendment of the minutes of the Regular Board Meeting dated April 16, 2020 and the Special Called Meeting dated April 20, 2020. Commissioner Cooper made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.

Consideration of Bills: Commissioner Morris made a motion to pay all the current bills and to also pay all the regular bills that come in throughout the month. Commissioner Christison abstained from voting due to an invoice from his company being one of the bills. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.

Public Comments: There were no public comments.

Fire Department: The current balance was $52,399.61.

Police Report: The monthly report was read by Commissioner Outland. Commissioner Outland said Chief Hoggard’s truck is almost ready.

Clerk Report:
a. Commissioner Christison made a motion to name the Upper Coastal Plain Council of Government as grant administrator for the 2019 CDBG-I project and to approve the contract for grant administration between the Town of Woodland and Upper Coastal Plain Council of Government. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.

Mrs. McDermott informed the board that the dates for the CDBG training were moved to July 16th and 17th of 2020. Also, the CDBG start up meeting will take place in Woodland on June 10, 2020. This meeting will include one member from the COG, one or two people from DEQ, our engineer, mayor, one board member, and our clerk.

b. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve the resolution for the application of Clean Water Grant 2020. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried. The Upper Coastal Plain Council of Government is helping the town apply for this grant.

c. Commissioner Christison told the board that he and Mrs. McDermott had been working on the 2020-2021 budget. It was decided to schedule a budget meeting on May 21, 2020 at 7 p.m. in order to present the budget to the board. Commissioner Christison informed the board that the collection rate for the town has gotten lower and lower for the past several years. He stated that he would like for us to check into collecting our own taxes. Commissioner Cooper said it may do some good to write a letter to the county commissioners expressing our concern for the low collection rate.

d. Mrs. McDermott asked the board if we can open the office back up to the public in light of phase one beginning on May 8, 2020. The commissioners asked for her to first check with the county to make sure we are able to do so.

Maintenance Report: Raymond Eaton read the maintenance report. Mr. Eaton told the board that Granville Farms came to look at the lagoon. We are waiting for them to submit an estimate for sludge removal. Mr. Eaton talked to the board about replacing one of the fire hydrants on Main Street. Commissioner Cooper suggested Mr. Eaton contact Robbie Collier first because he remembers there being three major phone lines very close behind the hydrant.

a. The town received a $500 offer for one of the lawn mowers on our surplus list. Originally, the town was going to sell the surplus items at a public sale, but due to COVID-19, this sale was cancelled. The board asked Mrs. McDermott to find out what steps need to be taken to sell the items using the sealed bid method or private sale method.
b. The test results came back for 400 Cherry Street showing no signs of gas in the water. The results of this test were sent to Mr. Young, owner of the property.

Carita Hall-Reynolds recently asked the town if we could bush hog her lot. She was willing to pay the $85 per hour fee we charge. Commissioner Cooper asked for us to check on liability first to make sure the town is covered in case of an accident.

Mr. Eaton said the backhoe need to be repaired. The cost will be $3,500 for parts plus labor. The Case tractor is still not working well.

Well Report: The board discussed having a meeting with A.C. Schultes to discuss the contract, amount owed, and number of days past schedule they were. The board agreed to meet first with our attorney in a closed session to discuss more details. This meeting will be held on May 11, 2020 at 7 p.m.

Zoning Report: Raymond Eaton said he sent the county two ETJ members for them to vote on to complete the zoning board.

Library: Commissioner Christison told the board that he spoke to the family of Dr. Stanley. They are still waiting on an appraisal to be done.

Comments from the Mayor: Mayor Beale encouraged the board to continue being safe. He stated how much he appreciates the town and all they do.

Comments from the Commissioners: Commissioner Cooper said that our new officer, Michael Kellet, has come in with both feet running, in which Commissioner Christison replied that we have done very well with both officers.

Public Comments: There were no comments.

Adjourn: At 8:06 p.m., Commissioner Cooper made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.