Town of Woodland Board Meeting
Date : December 7th, 2023
7:00 PM

Board/Staff Present:

Randy Beale - Mayor
David Cooper - Commissioner
Brian Christison - Commissioner
Brittany Burgess - Town Clerk
Terri Bolton - Part Time Town Clerk

Commissioners Outland and Morris were absent, as well as ORC - Mr. Raymond Eaton.

Call to Order: Mayor Beale called the meeting to order at 7 PM. 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. Mrs. Burgess would like to amend the agenda to remove section 6., add item d. Final Adjusting Change Order for CWSRF, and add item e. Rapid Restoration. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve the amended agenda, Commissioner Cooper seconded, and the motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: The next item on the agenda was the approval or amendment of the regular meeting dated November 2nd, 2023. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve the minutes as written, Commissioner Cooper seconded, and the motion carried.

Consideration of Bills: Commissioner Cooper made a motion to pay all the current bills and to also pay the regular bills that come in throughout the month, Commissioner Christison seconded, and the motion carried.

Public Comments: Darlene Yarborough is having a problem with getting a pool credit. She reports that in August, she received a $200 water bill and hasn’t received her pool credit yet. Mrs. Bolton clarified that it is a sewer credit for filling up your pool, not just free water. Mrs. Bolton said she has no information to apply this credit to Mrs. Yarborough’s account, as she has not received a reading prior to the pool fill up or after. Mrs. Yarborough states that Mr. Godfrey did the readings. Commissioner Christison asked if Mrs. Yarborough had talked to anyone about her credit, she replied that she had spoken to both Town Clerks and Mr. Godfrey. She also came to report a neighbor’s home which is a health hazard, and she is worried about rodents or bugs from said home coming over to her home. Commissioner Christison says we can send out warnings, then get the county involved which isn’t normally helpful. Beth O’Connor has concerns about the same neighbor and thinks it may be a department of health and human services issue. There is a daughter that lives with the mother who is also in bad health, and she is concerned that the daughter is not capable of taking care of the mother. Mrs. O’Connor states it is across from 121 W. Main St., house number may possibly be 118, 120, or 122. Mrs. O’Connor and her husband have made efforts to help them maintain their lawn. Commissioner Cooper questioned if there was anything the Zoning Board could do in this situation. Commissioner Christison believes the county needs to be called and asked if Mrs. O’Connor would mind making the call to the county as a concerned neighbor. Mrs. O’Connor replied she was willing to make the call. Commissioner Cooper says we need a paper trail of it because there is a lot of hearsay that happens when it is just phone conversations, Commissioner Christison agrees that a paper trail is needed.

Mrs. Laureen Flood reports there is nothing on the water bill that says the bill is late on the 15th and that a late fee will be applied. She states that if the 15th falls on the weekend, then citizens should have until 5 PM the next business day. Mrs. Burgess explained that the Town applies the late fees at 1 PM the following business day to the 15th to provide an extra 4 hours as a courtesy, because as stated on the back of each water bill after the 15th the bill is late. Mrs. Flood also wants an explanation as to why her water bill goes up and comes back down, she has smart toilets and they do not run after they are flushed so she doesn’t have a leak. Commissioner Cooper and Mr. Collier explained the process of the water flow of her home, and she still would like an explanation because she has no leaks, and she is the only person living in the home. The Board and Mr. Collier told her it must be the toilet, but she is adamant that the toilet doesn’t run. Commissioner Cooper gave an example of Mr. Mann’s church’s septic being completely full of water but normally no one uses the toilets at the church. In response Mr. Mann explained the flap in the tank of her toilet needs to be watched to see if it closes completely, Commissioner Cooper explained that the rubber flap and the chlorine in the water do not work well together, and the chlorine can wear the rubber down. Mr. Mann advised her to check the meter and see if the dial is turning, then she will know if there is flow. Commissioner Cooper suggested for her to pour a pack of Kool Aid in the back of the toilet and if the toilet water is the color of the packet by the next morning, then the tank is leaking into the bowl. Mrs. Flood said she will go home and try the Kool Aid method.

Fire Department: Mr. Robbie Collier read the Fire Department report.

The most calls the Fire Department has received in a year was around 126/127 and they are close to 100 right now. December 16th at 2 PM - 4:30/5:00 the Fire Department will be doing the Santa Run around town and then meeting back at the Firehouse, Mr. Collier invites everyone to come and enjoy. Commissioner Cooper asked about the town using a room at the Fire Department as the Temporary Town Hall, Mr. Collier says that they voted and agreed on the Town using the room and it is ready for the Town whenever we can. Commissioner Christison says our plan is to move to another building for Rapid Restoration to come in and do their job, Mr. Kloss says the furniture does need to be cleaned but he hadn’t added that pricing in because he didn’t know how far we would like to go in the remediation process. Commissioner Cooper said we need to make a sign about a Temporary Town Hall, Mr. Collier said that he can put something on the Fire Department’s sign about it. The Board thanks Mr. Collier for everything he does for the Town of Woodland.

Police Report: Commissioner Morris was absent, therefore there was no Police Report.

Clerk Report:

a. Mrs. Burgess received a letter in the mail from National Land Realty stating that they would like to buy the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Board said it was irrelevant and to throw away the letter.

b. Mrs. Burgess questioned when the Christmas dates will be for the Town offices, as the Northampton County Courthouse is going to be closed December 25, 26, and 27. The Board decided for Town Hall to be closed December 22, 25, and 26.

c. Mrs. Burgess informed the Board that the CDBG 15 & 19 Projects are completed.

d. Mrs. Burgess presented the Board with the Final Adjusting Change Order for the CWSRF Project and we are coming in under budget.

e. Mr. Jeff Kloss is here on behalf of Rapid Restoration to remove the mold in the Town Hall. He states there is excessive moisture behind the wallpaper, and it is difficult for it to get out therefore mold grows in the walls. Mayor Beale’s office had very high levels as well as the main room. Mr. Kloss says they will need to demo the walls, be thoroughly cleaned, and redone. He thinks there is also some moisture in the flooring ductwork and probably in the HVAC. Commissioner Christison says that we are going to put in a drop ceiling and seal the floor ductwork. Mr. Kloss is worried there is not enough air flow in this building and we need a lot more vents throughout the building. Commissioner Christison explained the workload that the estimate includes per the quote that Mr. Kloss sent to the Town Clerk via email. Mr. Kloss says the paint that he will use is mold reducing/killing. Commissioner Cooper asked about what time frame the Town would be looking at, Mr. Kloss replied at least a week of the remediation process. Commissioner Christison would like to meet with Mr. Kloss and go all the way through the list of things that need to be done. Mr. Kloss said that December 22nd is probably the next availability he has. Commissioner Christison asked if he could clean the acoustic ceiling, Mr. Kloss replied yes. Commissioner Christison plans to meet December 22nd at 9 AM with Mr. Kloss. Mrs. Burgess asked if after the remediation is complete could he come back and reread to make sure the mold count has been taken care/reduced considerably. Mr. Kloss answered that he can come back and reread the moisture levels. Commissioner Christison asked if Mr. Kloss believed there is mold in the ceiling tiles and he replied there is no growth on those ceiling tiles, just water stains so there is no need to replace them. Mr. Kloss says that as long as everything stays dry, it will not come back. He suggests when we purchase a new HVAC system, we need to make sure it has a dehumidifier built in.

Maintenance Report: Mr. Raymond Eaton was absent, so Mayor Beale read the Maintenance Report.

a. Mrs. Burgess informed the Board of Mr. Eaton’s Water Shortage Response Plan being accepted and how it needs to be adopted by the Board. The Board said they cannot adopt the plan because Mr. Eaton is not here.

b. Mrs. Burgess updated the Board on a gravestone that was damaged a while ago from a lawnmower, Boyette & Robertson has taken care of it.

c. Mrs. Burgess brought two Notice of Violation’s to the Board on behalf of the Wastewater Dept. She informed the Board that she had taken care of the violations.

Comments from the Mayor: Mayor Randy Beale thanked everyone for coming out and participating in our Town Board Meeting.

Comments from the Commissioners: Commissioner Cooper thinks the Employee Luncheon was very successful and we need to do it twice a year. The Board thanks the Town Clerk’s for everything they do behind the scenes. Commissioner Christison brings up the multiple leaks the maintenance crew has been working on and efficiently they have been repairing them. Commissioner Cooper asked if the Town could bill the contractors that are laying the orange pipe/line for Fybe, Commissioner Christison believes that we should. Commissioner Christison explains that one of the busted pipes was because of the equipment vibrating the pipes and asked if we could bill them even though they did not break the pipes. Mr. Collier asked if they came into town and inquired about the location of the pipes or did they show up and start digging one day, Commissioner Christison answered that they just showed up and started digging. Mr. Collier recalled that he used to have to go out and locate the lines for contractors before they could start digging. Commissioner Cooper informed the Board that the old Town Hall building has been sold and the owner would like water and sewer at the location, Commissioner Cooper then asked Mr. Collier how they would go about getting that. Mr. Collier answered that the lines would need to be pumped out. The Board expressed gratitude to everyone for everything that they do for the town’s benefit.

Public Comments: Mr. Wahid asked about the update on opening his internet cafe business in town, Commissioner Christison explained that we are waiting on the contract from the Town’s Lawyer. Mr. Wahid questioned how long it should be before the contract is ready, Commissioner Christison answered that we can notify him when it is ready. Mrs. Laureen Flood requested that the late fees be removed from both of her accounts, Commissioner Christison explained to her that we cannot remove it for one individual when it is a fee that gets applied to anyone that does not pay their bill on time.

Adjourn: Commissioner Christison made a motion to adjourn at 8:26, Commissioner Cooper seconded, and the motion passed.