Town of Woodland Board Minutes
Date: August 5, 2021
7:00 PM

Board/Staff Present:

David Cooper – Mayor Pro Tem
Brian Christison – Commissioner
Ricky Morris - Commissioner
Donielle McDermott – Town Clerk

Mayor Randy Beale, Commissioner Barbara Outland, Chief Eddie Hoggard, and O.R.C. Raymond Eaton were absent.

Call to Order: Mayor Pro Tem Cooper 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 Christison made a motion to add 10a Zoning and to call a closed session to discuss personnel in accordance with NCGS 143-318.11(a)(6). 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 July 1, 2021 and the Closed Session Meeting dated July 1, 2021. Commissioner Morris made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.

Consideration of Bills: Commissioner Cooper excluded himself from voting since a bill from his business was included in the bills to be paid. 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.

Walk Audit: Lauren Morris and E.B. Odom from Northampton County Cooperative Extension were present to discuss the recent walk audit held in Woodland. They presented the town with a report from the walk audit which will be included in the Minute Book. There were 15 participants in the walk audit. The results indicated the walking conditions in town are “ok but need some work with the sidewalks to make walking safe.” Now that the audit is complete and the results are in, Mrs. Morris and Mrs. Odom would like to get a group or a committee together to prioritize a plan of action. This group will consist of town citizens and town leaders. There are some small grant funds available which may help us put some of our plan of action into place. It was discussed that the Dept. of Transportation may need to be involved since some of the work needed to be done may fall on them. The use of the county’s small grant for this project will help us get in the minds of others who may be giving out larger grants later.

Mrs. McDermott will call the volunteers who participated in the walk audit to see if any would like to be part of the plan of action.

Public Comments: Bobby Mann asked what the town will do about the leaks in the road. There are a lot of leaks down Main Street going towards Dollar General and Hwy 35 towards Potecasi. Mr. Mann asked if we could move the location of the pipes so they are not directly under the roads. Mayor Pro Tem Cooper said we must find where the leaks are coming from. Being that the leaks are in the middle of the main roads, it will take some time to fix. We can repair the lines, but we cannot change the location of the pipes without an engineer.

Fire Department: Robbie Collier read the monthly response report which will be included in the Minute Book. On the new building, the cement is complete, the walls are up, and the roof will be done next week. They received a quote for $25,000 from Pantego for the doors. Commissioner Christison suggested ordering all their supplies as soon as possible due to the continued rise in prices. The cost to reskin the backside of the building is going to be roughly $6,400. They are considering painting instead.

Bryant and Lassiter put in a tank and pump on Oak Street side to run the water out from some sort of leak at which source is yet to be determined.

The Department of Transportation may be able to pay up to $25,000 to repave the driveway area of the new building.

Police Report: Chief Hoggard was absent however the report will be included in the Minute Book.

Clerk Report:

a. Commissioner Christison made a motion to hire Terry Bolton as part time clerk with her start date as July 29, 2021. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.
b. Commissioner Christison made a motion to accept the audit quote from Thompson, Price, Scott, Adams & Co., P.A. in the amount of $11,675.00. This quote is for audit services for fiscal year 2021 and preparation of the AFIR. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.
c. Commissioner Morris made a motion to accept the bid from Julian Odom in the amount of $500 to paint the front exterior of the Woodland Town Hall. Quote includes labor and materials. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.
d. Mrs. McDermott informed the board that Atty. Culpepper said the town has to have a public hearing before repealing solar farms as a permitted use in the Town’s Code of Ordinances. It was decided to hold a public hearing on September 2, 2021 at 6:30 pm prior to our regularly scheduled board meeting.
e.
1. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve a budget amendment of $9,500. This amount will be appropriated from Powell Bill Fund Balance to Powell Bill Capital Outlay to cover the cost paid to Trinity Paving to pave the Roanoke Chowan Housing Authority. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.
2. Commissioner Christison made a motion to amend the budget to increase the police department equipment grant revenue gl# 10-351-08 and expenditure gl# 10-510-61 in the amount of $20,215.70. This amount was the remaining unspent money from the FY2020-2021 Equipment Grant. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

Mrs. McDermott informed the board that the amount of money the Town of Woodland expects to receive from the American Rescue Plan has now gone up some. The expected total is now $224,044.30.

Mrs. McDermott read a thank you note to the board from Anna Burgwyn regarding flowers sent during the passing of former Mayor Margaret Burgwyn.

As a note of reference, Commissioner Christison and Commissioner Cooper both signed up to re-run for town commissioner.

Part-time Officer Kellett told Clerk McDermott that radio communication has been down on the east end of the county and until it is back up, he will not be working nights.

Maintenance Report: Mr. Eaton was absent, therefore Mayor Pro Tem read the maintenance report which will be included in the Minute Book.

- Mr. Eaton is still working on the quotes for the waste water treatment plant map.
- South Chestnut Street pipe has been fixed this past week.
- The badboy mower has been in the shop for months. It’s a bad time to be without a mower. The cemetery is in desperate need to be cut.
- The insurance company sent an email stating they are denying the Hamilton claim against the town.

Zoning: The zoning board approved a conditional use permit for 105 Spruce Street for Patricia Vinson to use this property as a car lot with stipulations which are as follows: Only one vehicle at a time. The vehicle is only allowed to be parked on the street during business hours. The Town of Woodland is not responsible for any damages or incidents that may occur. The board discussed this request and Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve the zoning boards request of approval. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

CDGB: The monthly report will be included in the Minute Book.

CWSRF: As a point of reference, our engineer with Rivers and Associates wrote a letter to Mayor Beale explaining how it is alright for the Town of Woodland to pay invoices for this project before funds are released from the state (approximately 2023). Originally, the COG recommended we hold off on paying the invoices because funds are not yet released. However when Mrs. McDermott contacted engineer Blaine Humphrey, he informed her that the town can indeed pay now and wrote this letter to clarify.

Water AIA: The town has been considering reapplying for the Water Asset Inventory Assessment for $150,000. This is a grant which will require a 5% match which can include in kind services. Commissioner Christison made a motion to adopt the resolution to request state grant assistance and apply for the Water Asset Inventory Assessment Grant. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

Comments from the Mayor Pro Tem: Mayor Pro Tem Cooper thanked the commissioners for their work. He told the clerk he was glad we were able to find a new part time clerk and he suggested we send Brenda Whitley a thank you card for all she did for the town.

Comments from the Commissioners: Commissioner Christison said our biggest issue right now is finding labor.

Public Comments: Bobby Mann said we need to get our streets fixed. He also stated the lot across from the Dollar General needs to be cut as well as the holding pond at Dollar General. The board asked Mrs. McDermott to get a letter out to them stating they need to have their grass cut.

Adjourn: At 8:14, Commissioner Morris made a motion to adjourn open session and go into closed session. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.