Town of Woodland Board Meeting
Date: January 4th, 2024
7:00 PM

 

Board/Staff Present:

Randy Beale – Mayor
David Cooper - Commissioner
Brian Christison - Commissioner
Ricky Morris - Commissioner
Michael Kellett - Part Time Police Officer
Brittany Burgess - Town Clerk

Commissioner Outland and Mr. Raymond Eaton was absent.

Call to Order: Mayor Beale called the meeting to order at 7 PM. Pledge of Allegiance was recited and 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 approve the agenda, Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion passed.

Approval of Minutes: The next item of business was the approval or amendment of the minutes from the regular board meeting dated December 7th, 2023. Commissioner Morris made a motion to approve the minutes from the regular board meeting dated December 7th 2023, Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion passed.

Consideration of Bills: Commissioner Morris made a motion to approve the bills, Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion passed.

Public Comments: No public comments.

Fire Department: Mr. Robbie Collier read the Fire Department report. The Fire Department changed the date of the Annual Awards Banquet to the 3rd Tuesday of January, the 16th at 7 pm. Mr. Collier reported that they are getting ready to start back training. The Fire Department is hoping to get some more grants. They only have one more class until they are Medium Rescue Certified, which will then make Woodland’s Fire Department the only one on the East end that is certified. Mr. Collier said they are still getting prices for the new building, and the Fire Department is working on completing the grant paperwork to receive the $500,000. The Board appreciates all the help the Fire Department provides and thanks them for all their hard work. The Fire Department is going to have 12 or 13 volunteers to help move everything out of the Town Hall for the remodel, Commissioner Cooper offered his enclosed trailers to help with the move.

Police Report: Commissioner Morris reports that he reached out with Major Harmon from the Sheriff’s Department to increase the coverage of the town to 7 days a week and plan to do some more walkthroughs of the businesses at the end of each day. Mayor Beale tells his wife to reach out to the town with any issues, but he brings up the fact that some people park and drive through at the CADA Head Start parking lot in the mornings and Mayor Beale and wife are concerned about the children getting injured. Officer Kellett asked if Mayor Beale can find out exactly what time that they are doing this, Mayor Beale said he will find out and let Officer Kellett know.

Chris Collier was sworn in to the Town of Woodland as a Part Time Police Officer by Mayor Beale.

Clerk Report: Mrs. Burgess informed the Board that on the only available day to move things from Town Hall to the Fire Department, there were some Maintenance workers that weren’t present. In order to get everything moved that day, she called her brother-in-law, Tyler Burgess, to assist with the move. Commissioner Christison agreed to pay $100 to Tyler Burgess for helping with the move, he would like the $100 to be taken from the 45 fund, Town Hall repairs. Mrs. Burgess brought the difference in the amounts for Southern Software fees for the Town and for the Police to the attention of the Board. There will be a $45 difference for Police, and a $120 difference for Town Hall.

a. Cost of Living Raise – Commissioner Christison would like the 3% cost of living raise to be applied on second payroll of January, the 10th. He would like for it to be applied across the board, for full time and part time.

b. Remodel of Town Hall – Mr. Kloss from Rapid Restoration was in attendance and explained there will be a one week demo, couple of days of cleaning and scrubbing, 2-3 weeks for the rest of the mold abatement. Rapid Restoration will be providing a dump trailer for waste and taking it off each day. Commissioner Christison asked if we can relocate the police evidence from one vault to the other while they are working in the first vault, Mr. Kloss replied yes. Mr. Kloss asked when the carpet will be removed as he will need a minimum of 2 weeks. Mr. Kloss said he will cover the carpet wherever he is working if the carpet is still present. Commissioner Christison mentioned that the carpet removal should only take 2 days. Commissioner Christison thanked Mr. Kloss for his quick work. Commissioner Christison is going to make some keys for Mr. Kloss. Mr. Kloss prefers that no one come into the building throughout the 2 weeks of work. The Board agreed we should get inventory of Police items during the move/remodel. Officer Kellett says the vault could have a workable lock if they would like. Officer Kellett plans to move the most important and confidential items and information into the vault. Chris Collier asked about using the Substation with the Sheriff’s Department for the housing of the Police Department and Commissioner Morris replied that he will find out if we can share usage with the Sheriff's Department.
Commissioner Christison asked if it is legal for any of the Town Employees to drive any of the police vehicles, as there was a situation recently where Mr. Godfrey drove a police vehicle to Williamston to have the radar recalibrated. Officer Kellett replied that Town Employees are allowed to drive the police vehicles as long as they don’t try to pull anyone or put on blue lights. He assured us that Mr. Godfrey was escorted by himself to Williamston.

c. Legal Contract for Internet Café – Mayor Beale and Commissioner Cooper would like for the first paragraph should say “is made and entered into __ day of January 2024 and ending on __ day of January 2025” so if we are not comfortable with renewing, then we don’t have to. Mayor Beale says we should have some terms in the contract for so many calls to the police or so many occurrences where the police are needed that could cause a shut down, Officer Kellett referred to it as nuisance and abatement. Commissioner Morris believes there is a bill that it is illegal to be within 1,000 ft of a religious establishment, he is going to talk to Luther Culpepper about if the bill has been passed. Officer Kellett suggested adding something about not having illegal games in the establishment. Commissioner Morris is going to touch back with Luther Culpepper about adding some more stipulations to the contract. Commissioner Christison says we need to do a moratorium for internet cafes, vape shops and the like from here on out, as it shouldn’t even be able to pass Zoning. The Board would like to revisit this contract before joining with Mr. Wahid.

d. Sewer Credit - Mrs. Burgess reported the issue of Mrs. Mayle’s sewer being backed up. Commissioner Christison plans to talk to whoever from Maintenance fixed the issue and find out if it was an issue on our side or the resident’s before issuing her a credit.

Maintenance Report: Mr. Eaton was absent, Mayor Randy Beale read off the Maintenance Report.

a. Handheld – Mrs. Burgess reported that ours is not working correctly and has become obsolete, so we need to purchase a new one that works with our current meters. The Board would like to buy a new one now and a backup one once we are in the new budget.

b. Water Shortage Plan – The Town must have a Water Shortage Response Plan, it is included in the minute book. The Town Board must adopt the Plan, as it has already been approved by the State. Commissioner Christison made a motion to adopt the Water Shortage Response Plan, Commissioner Cooper seconded and the motion passed.
Comments from the Mayor: Mayor Randy Beale thanked everyone for all the help to run this town smoothly. He specifically thanked the Fire Department and Police Department for all of their support and help. The Mayor thanked the Board for all their help. Mayor Beale asked for prayers for his wife.
Comments from the Commissioners: Commissioner Cooper spoke with Ken Manuel over the holidays and found out he is battling cancer. Commissioner Cooper would like us to send him a “Get Well Soon” card. Commissioner Christison spoke high praise of Ken Manuel who got our town into grants. Commissioner Christison also expresses gratitude to the Fire Department for all their help and support of providing the Town Hall with a temporary workspace while the Town Hall gets remodeled. Commissioner Christison asked about the issue with getting reimbursement from Fybe for the water leaks and breakages that they caused the Town, Mrs. Burgess explained that Mrs. Bolton and Mr. Eaton are working together to get some figures to request from Fybe. Commissioner Morris says the Maintenance Department needs to drag the walking trail.

Public Comments: Mr. Mann would like to know how quickly we could get some roads fixed and repaved in Town. The Board explained that the main problem is with the pipes underneath the roads. The pipes need to be replaced before we can repave the roads, otherwise we will have the same issues happening over and over. Commissioner Christison explained that if Michael Wray continues to help and support our town, we may be able to get the roads fixed, but it is going to be a very long process. Commissioner Christison reports there is a giant hole on Carter St. that the Maintenance Department needs to fill with rocks. Mr. Mann mentioned the tractor trailers that are parked in town are disrupting the roads.

Adjourn: Commissioner Cooper made a motion to adjourn the public meeting and go into closed session for personnel issues pursuant to NCGS 143-318.11(a)(6), Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion passed.