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Regular Meeting of the Town Council
March 18, 2008
7:00 pm
Minutes & General Account
Regular meeting of the Town Council, March 18, 2008, Council Chambers, Town Hall.
Council Members present: Mayor Volz, Council Member Thomas, Nixon-Roney, Gray and Lain
Staff Present: Kathryn Billings, Matthew Johnson, Chuck Smith, Martha Wolfe, Beth Koonce, Town Attorney.
Visitors Present: Jan, Carl & Carmen Galloni, Michael Pittman, Fred Kendall, Larry Bannon, Kerry Miller, Joyce Volz, R. Hamilton of the Guilford County Sheriff Department, Captain David Powell of the Guilford County Sheriff Department, Beverly Foster, Jim Watford, Melody Chamberlain, Betty B. Coleman, Carol Brooks of the Jamestown News, Hunter & Mary Lee Harrison, Charles Dowdy.
1. Call to Order – Mayor Volz called the meeting to order.
2. Invocation – Jim Watford of the Jamestown United Methodist Church gave the invocation.
3. Proclamation Red Cross Month – Mayor Volz presented a Proclamation to the Red Cross volunteer, Larry Bannon, which proclaimed March as Red Cross month.
(Insert Proclamation)
4. Public Comment Period – Mayor Volz asked if anyone signed up to speak. Bruce Davis, 1725 Deep River Road, High Point, NC registered to speak. Mr. Davis is at present Chair of the Guilford County Commissioners. Mr. Davis is seeking election to the NC House of Representatives. He said he has been a County Commissioner for 6 years. He would like to represent District 28, which includes Jamestown.
5. Approval of minutes from February 19th, 2008 meeting – Council Member Thomas made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Council Member Gray made a second to the motion. The motion passed by unanimous vote.
6. Guilford County School Bond Presentation – Melody Chamberlain introduced Fred Kendall to speak on the 2008 proposed school bond. Mr. Kendall said there is a $457 million school bond on the May 6 th ballot. The reason for this bond is we need a place for children to go to school. At present, there are 14,000 students in 672 trailers. This is not a good environment. Mr. Kendall said school bonds were passed in 2000 and 2003, but we are still trying to catch up with the increasing population of students. These bonds will provide 7,000 students to go to 6 new schools and renovate or expand another 15 schools. Also, the bond will build three new wings for children with autism.
Per Kendall, the 2000 Bond focused on the inner cities of High Point and Greensboro and the 2003 bond focused on the northern part of Guilford County. This 2008 bond will cover the southwest High Point area through Jamestown to Eastern High School. The bond will be split into 2 bonds. One bond is in the amount of $45 million to replace the Eastern High School which was destroyed by fire. The other bond is in the amount of $412 million which includes the Jamestown Middle School and Ragsdale High School projects. Kendall explained that Jamestown Middle and Ragsdale High were both on the 2003 ballot, but were dropped due to rise in construction costs of the other projects. North Carolina experienced a 53.7% increase in construction cost from 2003 – 2006.
Kendall said this on the 2008 bond; Jamestown Middle and Ragsdale High School are listed as the top two projects. Kendall is asking for the support of the Town Council on these school bonds. Chamberlain added that of the $ 412 million bond, $ 31 million is budgeted for expansion and renovation of Southwest High School. There are citizens of Jamestown that live within the Southwest School district. Mayor Volz asked why Southwest School, which is a newer school, has been budgeted more money than Ragsdale High School. Kendall said he would find out and report back to Mayor Volz. Chamberlain did confirm that the land for the Jamestown Middle School has been purchased. The design for the new Middle School is complete as well.
7. Guilford County Sheriff’s Department Annual Report – Captain David Powell said the Town of Jamestown contracts with the Sheriff’s Department to have the Town patrolled 24/7. Jamestown is located within district 3 with an office located at GTCC. Powell said he had been stationed here for 6 years. He has always reported a decrease in crime for Jamestown. However, this year the crime rate remained constant. Jamestown experienced a total of 84 part 1 crimes last year. Captain Powell said overall that is not bad. He stated Jamestown is a safe place to live.
Powell said the Sheriff’s Department has a good working relationship with the Town. The Town employees are good to keep the Sheriff’s Department informed of anything they see in Town of a suspicious nature. Powell said one of the biggest problems Jamestown has is the fact that High Point has 31 gangs, Greensboro has 24 gangs and Guilford County has 47. Jamestown is situated in the middle of these cities and gang activity must pass through Jamestown. Powell said the Town Employees are good about reporting gang graffiti.
Powell said that twice a year the prisoners from the County Farm pick up trash in Jamestown and 4 times a year the Department of Corrections pick up trash. Mayor Volz thanked Captain Powell for keeping Jamestown safe.
8. Consultant Selection recommendation of the Land Use Development Ordinance Committee – Kerry Miller, Chair, thanked the Council for the opportunity to serve the Community. He stated the Land Development Plan was approved by the Town Council in December. This was a 12 – 15 month process which included Town Staff, PTCOG and the Advisory Committee and well as 2 Town Meetings. The Land Use Plan concluded that major priorities were the downtown area, preserving the historic nature of Jamestown, multi family land use, annexation and new developments. The Land Use Plan is a good road map but it is time to take the next step and put some substance into the Land Use Plan.
Miller said that the Town staff recognizes that this will be a 12 – 18 month process. Staff feels the most effective and efficient way to accomplish this task is to hire a professional planning service. The Town will hire a consulting firm to provide planning services to the Town for the development of a comprehensive development ordinance to include the review, rewrite and modifications of the existing development ordinance. Per Miller, three proposals were received. The Land Use Development Ordinance Committee voted to recommend GreenPlan/Chenevert Architects, LLC as the Consultant in the amount of $100,245.00.
Mayor Volz asked if there were any questions. Mayor Volz asked Kerry Miller if the proposal is approved, could the Land Use Committee priorities the ordinances as to matter of importance. Miller said they would. Council Member Nixon – Roney made a motion to approve the proposal from GreenPlan/Chenevert Architects, LLC in the amount of $100,245.00. Council Member Thomas made a second to the motion. The motion passed by unanimous vote.
9. Approval of Interlocal Cooperation Agreement with City of High Point for Water Supply Service from Randleman Reservoir – Kathryn Billings stated the agreement presented was crafted after the current agreement Jamestown has with the City of Greensboro. Billings stated that since we want to be able to access water from the Randleman Reservoir from High Point and Greensboro we need to secure an agreement with High Point. Billings stated that High Point has been very willing to work with us. The High Point Council has already passed this agreement. The agreement states that Jamestown will reimburse the City of High Point at a rate equal to 10% of the current unit rate established by the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority for utilization of the City’s transmission line. This charge will cover the ongoing costs related to construction, maintenance and operation of the City’s transmission lines from the PTRWA to the Town. Staff recommends approval of the agreement.
Council Member Gray made a motion to approve the Interlocal Cooperation Agreement with City of High Point for Water Supply Service from Randleman Reservoir. Council Member Nixon-Roney made a second to the motion. The motion passed by unanimous vote.
10. Town Seal/Logo design – This matter was tabled at the February meeting. Billings displayed two samples for the proposed new Town seal. Mayor Volz commented he liked the seal on the left of the picture board however; add the Magnolia flower to the sample. Council Member Thomas made a motion to approve the seal with the modification of the magnolia. Council Member Nixon-Roney made a second to the motion. The motion passed by unanimous vote.
11. Consideration of a voluntary annexation petition submitted by Harris Investment Properties, Parcel Number 15-94-7041-939-41 – Kathryn Billings stated it is a requirement of the Town’s Water-Sewer Ordinance that when the Town is requested to extend lines a petition must be agreed to accept voluntary annexation if and when the Town deems appropriate. In this case, the Town just extended water to an existing tap. This property is not in our ETJ and it is not appropriate to annex. Staff recommends accepting and recording the application but table action on the request until a later date. Council Member Gray asked the Town Attorney if she had reviewed the agreement. Knooce said this is an agreement the Town has used before and is in compliance with General Statutes. Council Member Gray made a motion to accept the application but table action at this time. Council Member Thomas made a second to the motion. The motion passed by unanimous vote.
12. Charles P. Turner Community Park & Sports Complex Dedication – Kathryn Billings stated the June 17th date was not convenient with the Turner family. In order to have out of town family members present, a weekend date is needed. The requested date is Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 11:00 am. The Council agreed to this date and the Town Clerk will make arrangements with the family.
13. Appointee to the Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee – Mayor Volz stated there is a vacancy on the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board. We have 2 great candidates, Will Ragsdale and Linda Schumacher, for this position. Mayor Volz recommends appointing one person to serve as a member to the Committee and one to be an alternate on the Parks & Recreation Committee. Council Member Gray made a motion to appoint Will Ragsdale as the member to the Parks & Recreation Committee and Linda Schumacher as the alternate to the committee. Council Member Thomas made a second to the motion. The motion passed by unanimous vote. The Town Clerk will notify the appointees.
14. Resolution Recognizing Arbor Day – Matthew Johnson said the Town of Jamestown is currently working on becoming a Tree City USA. In order to achieve this status, several items need to be approved. One thing needed is a Tree Preservation Ordinance and the Parks & Recreation Committee is working on this. Another aspect is to raise community interest in urban forestry. One way we are doing this is by celebrating Arbor Day. This is our second year of celebrating Arbor Day. The Town has purchased two Cherry Trees to plant on the Town Hall campus. The date is Thursday March 20, 2008 at 4:00 pm. The HOPE Environmental Club from Ragsdale High School will be volunteering to help the Town. All are invited to attend. Council Member Nixon-Roney made a motion to accept the Resolution to Recognize Arbor Day. Council Member Gray made a second to the motion. The motion passed by unanimous vote.
(Insert Resolution)
15. Proclamation Litter Sweep – Martha Wolfe said the Town will participate in the Spring Litter Sweep. The Ragsdale High School Key Club will once again volunteer to help us pick up litter along Main St, Ragsdale Rd., Gannaway, Jamestown Park and E. Fork Rd. Wolfe stated we usually have 20 – 40 teenagers that volunteer. If you would like to participate, meet at the Food Lion parking lot on Saturday, April 19 th, 2008 at 9:00 am.
(Proclamation Litter Sweep)
16. Budget Amendment – Judy Gallman stated a budget amendment is needed to re-appropriate funds for landscaping at the Guilford Road entrance. This amount was in last year’s budget and we need to move into this current year in the amount of $6,300.00
A second amendment is needed to move funds from “contingency” line to “Other Contracted Services” line for design work on the Town seal in the amount of $1500.00.
Council Member Lain made a motion to approve the budget amendments as presented. Council Member Thomas made a second to the motion. The motion passed by unanimous vote.
17. Financial Statement – Judy Gallman presented the financial statement for the month ending February 29, 2008. She highlighted that painting expenses for the Town Hall were paid. Also, some engineering expenses for sidewalks were paid. Gallman said that all funds and departments are in line.
18. Other Business – Mayor Volz said that GTCC is celebrating its 50th birthday. He read a Resolution Honoring this celebration. This Resolution will be presented to GTCC to be displayed at celebration on April 3, 2008.
(Insert Resolution)
Still under other business, Council Member Thomas said he and the Town Manager attended a meeting with NCDOT to discuss projects of interest in district 7. The only project of interest to the Town of Jamestown was the Jamestown By-Pass. Council Member Thomas thanked DOT for resolving the connectivity issues and the traffic congestion issues around existing Greensboro Rd. and Vickrey Chapel Rd. Council Member Thomas also said that HPMPO has agreed to put money into conducting a feasibility study in regard to the pedestrian bridge on E. Fork Rd. Council Member Thomas said there is a possibility of other transportation projects for Jamestown.
Council Member Lain thanked the Council for their support and prayers during his Mother’s recent illness. Her passing was quick and unexpected and he appreciated all the cards and flowers.
Council Member Lain reported the Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee met last Thursday. The new Chair, Marla Kurzec, was introduced. The committee is working on the Tree Preservation Ordinance which Matt Johnson spoke about earlier. Also, the Committee was invited to attend the Arbor Day celebration. Council Member Lain said he talked to the Committee about the “mini festivals” which Council Member Nixon-Roney had brought up at the last Council Meeting. The Parks & Recreation thought it would be a good idea. It was stated to talk about this idea at the next meeting. The Committee hoped that JBA and other businesses would help since the Town did not have a large budget for such an ongoing event.
Still under other business, Council Member Gray reported he met with a small group of Main Street business owners recently. One concern they had was that the speed limit in the heart of Town was too fast. He asked if the Town could speak with NCDOT or Guilford County Sheriff Dept. about monitoring the speed with some device or get the Sheriff’s Dept. to see what the current speed and counts are on Main St. Billings said we would request that from Captain Powell of the Sheriff’s Dept. This way we can get the real data about the speeding on Main St.
19. Public Comment Period – Carl Galloni had registered to speak. He asked for clarification from Kerry Miller about the Green/Plan consultant project. Both Miller and the Mayor explained this consultant will assist the Town in a total rewrite of all Town ordinances to comply with the Land Use Develop Plan adopted last December.
Beverly Foster, not registered to speak, asked about the speed limit on Main Street and why Council did not relay this request to NCDOT at their meeting. Mayor Volz said the meeting referred to earlier was not the proper time or place for this request. The Town will address this request with Capt. Powell immediately.
Betty Coleman, not registered to speak, started to inquire about the window sign ordinance. Mayor Volz advised her to make an appointment with the Town Planner and he would be glad to assist her.
There being no further business, Council Member Thomas made a motion to adjourn at 8:05 pm. Council Member Gray made a second to the motion. The motion passed by unanimous vote.
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