Town of Woodland Board Minutes
Date: September 3, 2020
7:00 PM

Board/Staff Present:                                                             Guests:

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

Chief Eddie Hoggard was absent.

Call to Order: Mayor Beale 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 Cooper made a motion to add 5a and move items from the clerk report for Blaine Humphrey, who joined the meeting via Zoom, to discuss the Well Project Loan, Clean Water State Revolving Fund, and the Water AIA application. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.

Commissioner Christison made a motion to add a closed session pursuant to G.S. 143-3181(a)(6) for personnel matters. Commissioner Outland 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 August 6, 2020, the Closed Session Meeting dated August 6, 2020, and the Special Called Meeting dated August 25, 2020. 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 Outland seconded and the motion carried.

Public Comments: There were no public comments.

a. Blaine Humphrey explained to the board the amounts for the final reimbursement request sent to NCDWI for the well project. Our total loan for this project is $784,924 with a principal forgiveness in the amount of $331,775 with an interest rate of 0%. Out of the $784,924, the town has already requested and received $505,227 leaving a difference of $279,697 remaining for us to be able to request reimbursement. However, due to the extended date of the completion of the well, the engineer costs have continued to accrue. Now the total cost for reimbursement is $290,000, a difference of $11,000. Mr. Humphrey said the town can either request a loan increase to include this $11,000 or the town can opt to pay this amount outright. Commissioner Christision made a motion the town pay this amount outright using the water and sewer fund. Commissioner Cooper seconded and the motion carried.

Since the town board decided to turn down the recent funding option of a $2 million loan with a 25% grant from the state for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, the board discussed options to reapply with hopes of a higher grant percentage. Blaine Humphrey asked the board what size project we are looking at doing and will we accept a 0% or 25% grant. Mr. Humphrey stated we could have a higher grant percentage if we have the points and if the money is available, also stating if we wait until spring to reapply then state money will not be available. Applying this fall is the best option. Commissioner Christison said we need to stay around the $1.1 million mark. Mr. Humphrey said if the town states on the application that we will only accept a 50% grant then the state may not even consider us. He recommends putting 0% or 25% on our application in order to be considered. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve the resolution to reapply for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, also known as the CWSRF, with a choice of 25% grant at $1.1 million for a project consisting of 10 in. pipe. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

Blaine Humphrey informed the board that Woodland will be reconsidered for the Water Asset Inventory Assessment (Water AIA) for our water system. This would be a $150,000 grant with a small match, possibly 5%. This grant would consist of putting together a hydraulic model and putting together a capital improvement plan. There is no action required from the board as we are automatically being reconsidered.

Mr. Humphrey said the property lift station #1 is on is owned by Dominion Power, not the town. He suggests we get a clear site certificate, especially since we are putting so much money into this project with the CDBG money. Commissioner Cooper asked if we needed to acquire more land. Mr. Humphrey said if we own what’s fenced in, that should be adequate. Commissioner Cooper said we may need to contact our town attorney or possibly get the land surveyed. After more discussion, the board recommended going to land records in Jackson to research who actually owns the lot.

Mrs. McDermott shared with the board a resolution that was passed on September 4, 2004 offering incentives for installation of low flow devices. The board discussed raising the credits given for each low flow device and also discussed requiring proof either with receipts or a visual from our maintenance department. Commissioner Christison made a motion to amend the Resolution for Incentives for Installation of Low Flow Devices to $5 per fixture for replacement of faucet, $8 per fixture for replacement of shower head, and $25 per fixture for replacement of toilet effective September 1, 2020. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried. The board asked to have this resolution posted for public viewing.

The Town of Woodland will be receiving money from Northampton County to use for response to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Commissioner Cooper made a motion to create a Coronavirus Relief Fund per NCGS 159-26(b)(2) for $30,0378.76 to spend to help citizens in the city limits of Woodland. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.

Fire Department: There was no fire department report.

An ad was put in the Roanoke Chowan News Herald requesting bids for demolition of existing fire department and construction of a new building. The bids are open until September 14, 2020.

Police Department: There was no report as Chief Hoggard was on vacation.

Maintenance Report: Raymond Eaton read the maintenance report which will be included in the Minute Book.

Mr. Eaton reported there were trace amounts of pesticides detected from Well #2 in George.

Mr. Eaton asked the board to consider giving employees comp hours for being on call Monday through Sunday.

Zoning Report: The new zoning board will meet on September 10, 2020.

Library: Mrs. Barbara Gosney did some research about basic needs for a library and sent in a report for the board to read. This will be included in the Minute Book. Commissioner Christison asked who it is we need to talk to about the requirements. He also stated we may need to talk to our insurance company. Commissioner Christison is concerned about the money we would have to put into the building to turn it into a library. He said we may still have a building not worth the money put in it. Commissioner Christison is also concerned we will not have enough volunteers staying committed to keeping it open.

Commissioner Cooper asked if there is any money available for funding a library. After more discussion, Commissioner Christison said he will talk with Mrs. Gosney to get more feedback.

Comments from the Mayor: Mayor Beale encouraged everyone to continue being safe.

Comments from the Commissioners: Commissioner Cooper asked Mayor Beale to get a letter out to REA requesting they put a tower on our water tank tower to make internet more accessible.

Commissioner Morris asked if the town could take community service workers now. Raymond Eaton said yes, we can.

Public Comments: No public comments.

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