Town of Woodland Board Minutes
Date: April 1, 2021
7:00 PM

Board/Staff Present:

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

Commissioner Christison 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 approve the agenda as written. 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 Closed Session Board Meeting dated February 15, 2021, Regular Board Meeting dated March 4, 2021, and a Special Called Meeting dated March 11, 2021. Commissioner Cooper made a motion to accept the minutes with the amendment. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.

Consideration of Bills: Commissioner Cooper 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.

Fire Department: Robbie Collier announced an upcoming boot drive this Saturday, April 3, 2021 from 8-12.

The fire department would like to reserve the town park on May 22, 2021 for a cornhole tournament. Mr. Collier invited the board to the tournament.

Robbie Collier filed the demolition permit with the county and notified Johnny Sykes that this permit has been completed. The building permit has also been filed.

Mr. Collier read the monthly fire report. He informed the board of a recent church fire and thanked everyone for a job well done.

According to the School of Government, false alarm charges will be very involved, therefore the fire department most likely will not go through with charging for false alarms.

The fire department is looking at purchasing a 1992 Ford 450 for $10,000 from Caprin, VA. This will replace their equipment truck which they will then be able to sell.

Police Report: Chief Hoggard read the police report which will be included in the Minutes Book. Chief Hoggard said the equipment grant money should be available next week for him to start spending. He reminded the board that the Chief’s Convention is coming up in May, and there is a school he is considering attending coming up in June.

Clerk Report:

a. The Request for Secondary Employment form was changed to meet the request of the board. Commissioner Morris made a motion to accept this form and have it go into effect immediately. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.
b. Tony Burnette with Northampton County Emergency Management submitted some information regarding the Northampton County Hazard Mitigation Plan. This information was included in the board’s packet. Mrs. McDermott will let the board know when the county schedules the meeting.
c. A budget meeting needs to be planned. The board agreed to have Commissioner Christison and Mrs. McDermott come up with a preliminary budget first and then schedule the meeting.
d. Mrs. McDermott shared with the board that she just found out about a large sum of money the Town of Woodland will be getting from the American Rescue Plan. This plan was part of the stimulus package put in place by the US government. The estimated amount we are expected to receive is $205,724. As of today, there is no guidance on how we can spend the money. We are waiting for this information to come out. According to the www.nlc.org website, this money can be used for infrastructure, but again, we are still waiting for clear instructions.

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

a. Michael Wray sent an engineer to Woodland recently to give an estimate on asphalt repairs to Woodland. The estimated cost per the NCDOT is $47,000. This estimate includes 6” of asphalt base mix and 2” of asphalt surface mix on NCDOT roads, utility patches on town streets to include 3” of asphalt surface mix, and non-utility patches on town streets to include 1.5” of asphalt surface mix. There are other estimates in the packets, and these estimates are mainly for HWY 258 and 35. The question was asked if Powell Bill funds will cover the cost of these repairs, but the answer is no since 258 and 35 are state roads. The state is not responsible for the cost since the repairs needed are due to utility cuts in the roads. Commissioner Cooper asked if we could downsize in order to be able to spend on Powell Bill streets. Commissioner Cooper said he wants the holes on Spruce St. and by the new well site patched as soon as possible.

Mr. Eaton is currently getting estimates for sidewalk repairs as well.
b. Commissioner Morris made a motion to hire James Byrum as a maintenance worker as of March 29, 2021 with a probation period of six months, ending in September. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.

The board was reminded that the town has a policy for Employee Contract for Certification. This policy states that the town will pay for certification of employees and in return the employees will work for the town for two years, otherwise the employee will have to pay the town back for the cost of the certifications. J.R. (James) Byrum signed this certification which will be on file.

Raymond Eaton recommended Mr. Byrum take classes after his probation period. The board agreed, let him finish his probation period first and then start with classes, however small certifications such as mosquito control or traffic school can begin immediately.

Raymond Eaton said Commissioner Cooper donated pebbles for the memorial park. The maintenance department has been fixing up the area. Mr. Eaton would like to have the building and bricks pressure washed next.

It is Mr. Eaton’s recommendation that Julian Odom be moved up to maintenance supervisor now that Perry Collier has retired. Commissioner Morris asked if this means a salary increase, as he believes it should. Commissioner Cooper suggested waiting until the new budget to make this move.

The water tower has not been filling up properly. Mr. Eaton has been in touch with Rivers & Associates. Mayor Beale asked to check into the warranty information on the new well.

Mr. Eaton is currently working on the new water permit for the town.

Zoning Report: An individual in town wants to put a well in for gardening purposes. Commissioner Cooper asked if this well would be near our town well, in which the answer was yes. Commissioner Cooper said no because of the possibility of contaminating town water.

CDBG: The monthly report for the CDBG was submitted to the board and a copy will be in the Minutes Book.

The state notified the UCPCOG to say they discovered the grant administration contract between the COG and the Town of Woodland did not meet current NC DEQ compensation requirements. Therefore, an addendum was done to delete the first sentence of page 8 with a new paragraph written as described on the addendum. Commissioner Cooper made a motion to approve the addendum to the Contract for Grant Administration between the Town of Woodland and the Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments 2019 CDBG-I for Wastewater Collection System Rehabilitation CDBG-I 19-I-3116 Project. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.

Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF):

a. Commissioner Morris made a motion to approve Rivers & Associates the engineer for the Peachtree/Chestnut sewer replacement project and to approve the Resolution Selecting Peachtree/Chestnut Sewer Replacement Project Engineer Town of Woodland Grant #CS370639-01/SRP-W-0200. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.
b. Commissioner Cooper made a motion to approve the omnibus resolution titled Resolution by Governing Board Pertaining to a NC DEQ SRP Grant/CWSRF Partial Principal Forgiveness/Loan for 2020 CWSRF Peachtree/Chestnut Sewer Replacement Project CWSRF Project # CS370639-01/SRP-W-0200. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.
c. Commissioner Cooper made a motion to approve the Project Budget Ordinance for the Peachtree/Chestnut Sewer Replacement Project CWSRF Project # CS370639-01/SRP-W-0200. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

CADA: Three gas packs need to be replaced at the CADA building. The town and CADA split the cost of expenses such as this, but in order for CADA to expend their money, they must use a contractor willing to follow Davis Bacon requirements. White and Woodley were the only contractors who submitted a bid for replacing the units who follow the Davis Bacon requirements. Their bid to replace the three units was $12,900. Commissioner Cooper made a motion to accept White and Woodley’s bid for $12,900 to replace the three units and to split the cost 50/50 with CADA. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

Armory: The settlement statement was signed today and a check will be dropped off in the next week to close the deal.

Mr. Kim Richardson emailed Mrs. McDermott with some concerns about the winning bidder for the armory not stating their intentions for the building. The board agreed the purchaser can do with the building what they wish as long as it meets the zoning requirements.

Commissioner Outland reminded the board that the proceeds from the armory goes to the fire department fund.

Comments from the Mayor: Mayor Beale stated the dinner for Perry Collier’s retirement was very nice.

Comments from the Commissioners: Commissioner Cooper asked if the town can get any vendors for fire department’s fundraiser and could we possible have some flyers done and put up to promote the cornhole tournament. Commissioner Outland said the fire department is cooking hot dogs and hamburgers so there was no need for vendors for this event. Chief Hoggard said the cornhole tournament league takes care of the advertising for these events.

Public Comments: No comments

BUAt 8:16 p.m., Commissioner Outland made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.