Town of Woodland Board Minutes
Date: October 1, 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
Eddie Hoggard – Police Chief
Raymond Eaton - ORC

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 Outland made a motion to approve the agenda as is. Commissioner Christison 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 September 3, 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: Patty Deneen announced that the Woodland Community Outreach (WCO) board has decided to dissolve and end their 501C(3). They are concerned about the memorial park’s upkeep since WCO has been the group responsible for keeping up with the mulching and planting. They would like the town to consider keeping it landscaped. No decision has to be made tonight.

Jean Bryant stated if the town is willing to maintain the memorial park, WCO will donate some money to help offset the cost. She also said Ron Lane will continue taking brick orders, however the profit will now go to the town.

Commissioner Cooper said he appreciated what WCO has done for the town. His recommendation is for the town to take it over. Commissioner Cooper suggested adding a line item in next year’s budget for this expenditure in case we want to add a wreath or some other decor to the park. It was decided that the Town will make a formal motion next month after WCO has had their meeting and made their decision to dissolve and how to disperse their moneys.

Fire Department: Chief Chris Collier was present and read the fire call log for the month of September. This report will be in the Minute Book.

a. Chief Collier said the fire department only received two bids for the new building, one from Benchmark and one from Revelle Builders. Benchmark’s bid was for $106,305, which did not include plumbing. Revelle Builders bid was $114,896 plus $1,216 for an extra door, and this did include plumbing. The difference in the prices is the plumbing, the building materials are the same. The fire department did not receive anything in writing for demolition, however, Robbie Howell gave a verbal bid of $20,000. Robbie Collier met with Johnny Sykes to discuss demolition. Mr. Sykes can do the job, but he would price it by the load, and he would like to know where to take the bricks before he gives us a price.
b. Mr. Collier said the county may waive the tipping fees which will save us some money. Commissioner Christison said the County Commissioner Charles Tyner said we need to send a letter to the county stating our request of them waiving these fees. We should include the dimensions of the current brick building and our plans for a new building. The county commissioners may be able to offer some help.

The fire department’s goal is to have the building finished before next fall. There was discussion on the strength of the cement. Commissioner Cooper asked the fire department to check and see if the cement can be stronger than 3,000 psi. He also suggested storing the metal on the old concrete slab at the old town hall and cover it until it is time to use it.

Commissioner Christison recused himself from the vote since his place of employment is Benchmark. Commissioner Cooper made a motion for the Town of Woodland to purchase a metal building from Revelle Builders for the new fire department 60 x 60 building. We will contract with Revelle Builders to do the work in the contract for a total price of $114,896 plus $1,216 for an extra door. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried. Mayor Beale will sign the contract and the town will pay $5,000 down. All plumbing above grade and electrical work will be done by the fire department.

Police Report: Chief Hoggard thanked the town board for the new Tahoe. Chief Hoggard read his report which will be included in the Minute Book. Chief Hoggard said he would like to get more part time help and asked the board to raise part time pay to $18 per hour. He stated the money is in his budget. Mayor Beale spoke up and said he strongly encourages the board to do this. The board decided to table this until closed session.

Clerk Report:

a. The amended Resolution for the Town of Woodland to Offer Incentives for Installation of Low Flow Devices was discussed. The board said the resolution needs to be clear that the credit received is per item. Commissioner Christison made a motion to pass the resolution with the amendment to state credit is per item. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.
b. After some discussion, Commissioner Cooper made a motion for there to be no Halloween activities in the Town of Woodland for Halloween 2020 due to the rising number of COVID cases in Northampton County. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.
c. Mrs. McDermott reported to the board for informational purposes the property at 416 W. Main St. is going into foreclosure. A letter was recently received and turned over to Attorney Luther Culpepper.
d. Matt Bryant is requesting to purchase the flag pole at the old town hall building. Commissioner Cooper said he believes that flag pole was donated to the town by Dr. Stanley. The commissioners decided to keep the flag pole and asked for the maintenance department to fly a flag on the pole.
e. Mrs. McDermott reported that the town received their first reimbursement check from the county for the Coronavirus Relief Fund. This check was for $4,068.13. Mrs. McDermott will continue to send invoices to the county for reimbursement of costs related to COVID-19.
f. Northampton County has granted the Town of Woodland with a $1,000 grant. This grant came as a surprise to the town.
g. Governor Cooper has declared he is moving the state into phase 3 beginning October 2, 2020 at 5 p.m. More specifics of what this phase 3 will look like will be included in the Minute Book.

 

Maintenance Report:

a. Mrs. McDermott requested the board reconsider the practice of allowing customers a one time adjustment for their water/sewer in the event of a leak. Mrs. McDermott said she has seen instances where a customer has had a major water leak and then within a year and a half another leak of some kind arose. Because of the one time adjustment, these customers are stuck with an enormous water/sewer bill on top of the cost they paid to have it fixed. Mrs. McDermott checked with surrounding towns and the majority allows a one time adjustment per year. Commissioner Cooper made a motion to amend our water ordinance to allow a water adjustment once every twelve months and basing this adjustment off of a six month average. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.
b. Raymond Eaton gave the maintenance report and this report will be included in the Minute Book. Mr. Eaton also announced the fire department’s annual Deer Tournament which is scheduled for November 14, 2020.

CDBG:

a. Mrs. McDermott read the first monthly progress report from the UCPCOG for the CDBG-I. This report will be included in the Minute Book.
b. Raymond Eaton explained to the board that the liftstaion #1 property is not in the Town of Woodland’s name, but in VEPCO’s name. VEPCO has been contacted and they claim the land was never theirs. Mrs. McDermott, Raymond Eaton, and Attorney Culpepper have all gone to the Northampton County Land Records Office in search of some deed or easement for the property. No luck as of today. The town needs a clear site certification to satisfy the state for this project. The board decided to call a special called meeting at a different time to discuss this further.

Zoning Report: Raymond Eaton read the minutes from the zoning board meeting held on September 10, 2020. These minutes will be included in the Minute Book. Commissioner Cooper thanked Mr. Eaton for getting the zoning board back together.

Armory: Commissioner Christison asked if the town had any bids on the armory, to which the answer was no. Commissioner Cooper said the zoning board needs to have it properly zoned first. The board asked Mr. Eaton to expedite the zoning change. Mr. Eaton said he will call a meeting. Commissioner Cooper said we need to respect the adjacent property owners when making a decision on zoning. Commissioner Cooper suggested writing a letter to the neighbors and inviting them to the meeting. The discussion of the sale of the armory was tabled until after the zoning meeting.

Comments from the Mayor: Mayor Beale told everyone to continue being safe during this time. Many states are still spiking with COVID.

Comments from the Commissioners: Commissioner Christison said the keep doing what you’re doing; the town is still moving forward.

Commissioner Cooper thanked everyone for coming to the meeting.

Public Comments: Robbie Collier said that Joanne Nelson with Woodmen of the World has supplied the town with new flags for years. Mr. Collier gave us Mrs. Nelson’s phone number to call and ask if she would be interested in donating a flag to the town.

Patty Deneen told Chief Hoggard that her neighbors have a dog that jumps the fence regularly and she is concerned the dog will get hit.

Jean Bryant asked if the town has any police coverage since Chief Hoggard is typically off daily by 2 p.m. Chief Hoggard said that the sheriff’s department covers Woodland when he is off. Chris Collier spoke up and said there are typically two deputies who patrol this end of the county and they spend a great deal of time in Woodland. Mrs. Bryant thanked the chief for taking care of the ones who were riding four wheelers on the roads by her.

Closed Session: At 8:54 p.m., Commissioner Cooper made a motion to go into closed session pursuant to G.S. 143-31811(a)(6) to discuss personnel. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.