Town of Woodland Board Minutes
Date: February 4, 2021
7:00 PM

Board/Staff Present:

Randy Beale – Mayor
Brian Christison – Commissioner
Barbara Outland – Commissioner
Ricky Morris - Commissioner
Donielle McDermott – Town Clerk
Raymond Eaton – ORC
Eddie Hoggard – Police Chief

Commissioner Cooper was absent due to a covid quarantine.

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 Morris made a motion to approve the agenda as is. 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 Special Called Meeting dated December 22, 2020 and Regular Board Meeting dated January 7, 2021. Commissioner Morris made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Commissioner Christison 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: No comments

Fire Department: Robbie Collier read the monthly report for the fire department which will be included in the Minute Book.

a. The asbestos inspection was done by East Coast Environmental, P.A., and the report has been generated. Asbestos was detected in the floors of the kitchen and bathroom and the window caulk. Robbie Collier and Perry Collier removed the tiles and window caulk and are waiting for special trash bags to come in they ordered specifically for asbestos. When the bags come in, they will dispose of the debris at the landfill.
b. Robert “Gunner” Wood with Dominion Energy reached out to Robbie Collier regarding the light pole near the fire station. Mr. Wood asked for the town to produce a letter requesting the removal of the light pole near the fire station. The fire department needs the light pole down before demolition can begin. This removal of this light will entail three projects: removal of the light/pole, removal of existing 3 phase service to old fire station, and a new 3 phase service for the fire siren. The fire department decided to leave the 3 phase, put a meter base back up, and leave the siren. This will save money in the long run. Dominion let the fire department have the pole, but we need to put it up ourselves.

There was no lead paint found during the asbestos inspection. Robbie Collier is working with Johnny Sykes on the permit for the demolition. They may have the permit next week. Mr. Sykes may know someone who can use the demolished blocks which will save the town a great deal of money on tipping fees. Robbie Collier said the goal is to see demolition begin in about six weeks.

Commissioner Christison asked if the building had been ordered. Mr. Collier said yes, and it should be here March 3, 2021. There were no changes in pricing. They will put the building on the concrete slab and cover with tarps until ready to build.

Robbie Collier stated that the fire department has voiced interest in charging a fee for false alarms. They have discussed this possibility for years but are unsure whether it is legal due to the fire tax already being charged, and they are unsure if they want to charge this fee. The board asked who would be responsible for paying this fee, and Mr. Collier said the charge would go to the homeowner, but the homeowners’ insurance policy would cover most of it. Donielle McDermott said she would check with Luther Culpepper to see if it is indeed legal.

Police Report: Chief Hoggard read the report which will be included in the Minute Book. Chief Hoggard is still awaiting funding from the equipment grant he was awarded last year. As soon as the funds are released, he will start purchasing the equipment. The chief recently applied for another $24,500 equipment grant and received word that it was approved in the first step. Now we are waiting for state approval.

Chief Hoggard will be out of work February 22-24th in order to quarantine before an upcoming sleep study he has.

Clerk Report:

a. Mrs. McDermott shared with board again the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Policy that Chief Hoggard submitted at last month’s meeting. Mrs. McDermott reminded the board that a conflict of interest policy needed to be in place for a particular grant that Chief Hoggard was applying for. There was discussion about this policy, in particular Mayor Beale was concerned with the wording saying that the current board understood the policy, but future boards may not which could cause problems later down the road. After some discussion, it was decided to proceed with the policy. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Policy as worded. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.
b. The Town of Red Oak is selling 25 Christmas wreaths for $1,000. Raymond Eaton recently drove to Red Oak to have a look at them. He said they are nice looking wreaths, well taken care of. There was some discussion on the wreaths since Woodland hangs 40 wreaths during Christmas, and Red Oak only has 25 to sell. After the discussion, Commissioner Christison made a motion to buy the 25 wreaths from the Town of Red Oak for $1,000 using the town beautification gl# 10-420-27. Move $1,000 from line item 10-420-94 to 10-420-27. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.

Maintenance Report: Raymond Eaton read the monthly report which will be included in the Minute Book. Mr. Eaton stated we received a Notice of Violation in November, but that notice had our previous mayor’s name on it, therefore Mr. Eaton asked them to resend it with Mayor Beale’s name.

Mr. Eaton asked the board to consider purchasing a plaque for Perry Collier as a retirement gift.

a. Raymond Eaton asked the board where they were with regards to hiring another employee for maintenance. There was much discussion on whether to hire two lower level positions, or one person at a higher position with higher pay. Mr. Eaton said he needs 3 people total for safety reasons while he is busy with paperwork. After more discussion, Commissioner Christison suggested having Commissioner Cooper call references while he is in quarantine, then they will get back together for a meeting. Commissioner Morris said he will contact Commissioner Cooper and they will individually look over the applications.
b. There was a discrepancy on the East Coast Seal Coating and Striping proposal that needs to be cleared up. The wording of the proposal said $5,255, but the numbers showed $2,255. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve East Coast Seal Coating and Striping proposal IF the proposal is for $2,255 using gl# 10-560-56. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.

Raymond Eaton received a verbal proposal from Michael Grant of $1,500 to fix the sidewalk section between the Town Hall and Grapevine. Commissioner Christison asked Mr. Eaton if he thought he could get a concrete grinder to level out the sidewalks as much as possible for less money. Mr. Eaton said he could rent one for $250 a week.

Mr. Eaton asked the board to consider wording the Conflict of Interest Policy in a way where it does not affect him working in Murfreesboro.

CDBG:

a. The board reviewed the monthly report from the Upper Coastal Plain Council of Government which will be included in the Minute Book.

Clean Water State Revolving Fund: The application for the CWSRF has been recommended by a board to be approved to award the Town of Woodland funding of $1,096,150. $500,000 of that funding will be a principal forgiveness loan, $177,000 a state grant, and $419,150 will be a state revolving loan. The final vote will take place within the next few days, therefore we should hear something certain very soon.

Zoning Report: No report

Armory: The Town of Woodland has not received payment for the Armory yet. Tam Sonnenberg is waiting for the bank to finish the loan process.

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

Comments from the Board: Commissioner Christison thanked the board for spending money on things that needed to be done.

Public Comments: No public comments, however Chief Eddie Hoggard asked the board if he would be able to spend the money from his equipment grant when the funding came in without having to ask approval for items over $1,000. Since these items were previously approved with the grant, he is good to spend the money.

Commissioner Morris asked Chief how things are going with getting more part time help here in Woodland. Chief Hoggard said he was having a hard time getting people to come and apply.

Adjourn: At 8:19 p.m., Commissioner Outland made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.