Clay County Commissioners Minutes Thursday, September 6, 2018 Chairman Penland called the Clay County Board of Commissioners meeting to order at 7:00PM. Those present where: Robert Cline Penland, Chairman, Dr. Rob Peck, Vice Chairman, Commissioner, Ed Roach, Commissioner, Clay Logan, Commissioner, Mark Pullium, County Manager, Merinda Woody, County Attorney, the press and general public. Commissioner Randy Nichols was absent. Items 1 and 2 - Prayer and Pledge A prayer was offered to open the meeting and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America was said. Item 3 - Public Comment There were no public comments Item 4 Consider Resolution regarding a Building Re-Use Grant Application Chatuge Regional Hospital, Inc. d/b/a Hayesville Family Practice NC Department of Commerce. County Manager Pullium read resolution regarding Building Re-Use grant for and Immediate Care Facility Ed Roach as the question whether Union General Hospital is same as Chatuge Regional Hospital? Answer-County Manager Pullium stated, Union General Hospital owns Chatuge Regional Hospital. The facility will be much like an urgent care center. Vice Chairman Dr. Rob Peck made a motion to adopt the resolution, seconded by Clay Logan. Motion passed unanimously. Item 5- Consider adoption of a Resolution regarding the governance structure of Tri-County Community College and the appointment of members to its Board of Trustees County Manager Pullium read the resolution regarding this matter. Clay Logan asked whether the county would cut our ties with Tri-County Community College. Mr. Pullium state the administrative area of the college is defined as Cherokee County and there are 67 full-time employees from Cherokee County and 13 full-time employees from Clay County. Page 1 of 5
Chairman Penland noted there are 9 trustees from Cherokee County and only 2 trustees from Clay County. Vice Chairman Dr. Rob Peck stated the 1974 agreement was meant to be a true partnership with equitable contribution from the member counties. The 2015 legislation voided the 1974 agreement. He further noted his opinion that Clay County would be better to use these funds to support our own Board of Education and that we don t have equal representation on the Board. Clay Logan asked the question, how do we know what is fair for Cherokee, Clay, and Graham. He said he didn t want to jeopardize services for our students and wants to continue negotiations. Chairman Penland commented that in May of 2015 House Bill 393 became law and that Cherokee County called for a joint meeting in August of 2015 to discuss financing of Tri-County Community College but did not mention that HB 393 had become a local law. He further stated that Clay County he does not believe the County should be paying for a Cherokee County school. Ed Roach indicated he did not want to see the County get into a contest with Cherokee County Board of Commissioners. Tri-County is a state school and is obligated to take our students but I do not want to alienate the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners. However, it is a matter of fairness. Max Evans a citizen, asked if anyone knows how much sales tax is leaking to Cherokee County from Clay County citizens who patronize businesses such as Walmart, Lowes, Sears, Tractor Supply and so forth? Sandy Zimmerman a citizen, asked what percentage of enrollment is from Clay County? The Answer was given by Chairman Penland 22 %. Ms. Zimmerman also asked if anyone has approached the legislators to change the legislation? Answered by Chairman Penland, that is the reason for this resolution. Mr. Hindsman a citizen, asked who are our trustees? Again by Chairman Penland Mr. Ron West, and Mr. Bryan Hedden. Clay Logan stated we need to keep negotiations open. Vice Chairman Dr. Rob Peck made a motion to adopt the resolution as read, seconded by Mr. Ed Roach. The resolution was adopted by unanimous vote. Page 2 of 5
Item 6 - Consideration and discussion concerning the potential adoption of a County Ordinance for the civil enforcement of NC General Statute 20-217 by means of an automated school bus safety camera installed and operated on any school bus located within Clay County (Passing Stopped School Bus) Charlie Cheeks Master Trooper, NC State Highway Patrol Trooper Charlie Cheeks would like to use the cameras that are already installed on buses to enforce a proposed new ordinance to penalize those who pass stopped school buses. And, he recommended the County Commissioners adopt an ordinance for civil enforcement. Under the proposed ordinance, the first offense would cost $400 in fines, the second $750 in fines, and the third $1,000. Clay Logan read that 3,000 buses get passed every year in North Carolina. And, this is a very serious problem. Ed Roach moved to develop an ordinance for civil penalty for passing a stopped school bus in Clay County. Clay Logan seconded the motion. The motion carried by unanimous vote. Item 6a Sarah Thompson Presented the Annual Report for the Southwestern Regional Planning Council. The organization represents seven Counties, 16 towns and cities throughout Western North Carolina. The Council was established in 1965 and provides services such as pass-through grants and efficiency measures. The most recent year consisted of $157,000 in dues. The dues are used to administer the Council. Several areas of focus include: Advisory Committee on Aging, Workforce Development, and Community and Economic Development and has worked on things with the Appalachian Regional Council as well as broadband. Item 7 - Consideration and discussion of amending or otherwise changing the Solar Farm Ordinance in Clay County to make provision and establish guidelines for the installation of small solar installations for Homeowners or similar small entities. The Commission has been asked to consider amending the solar farm ordinance to accommodate a higher kilowatt system for small businesses. For example, change the ordinance to allow 100 kilowatt system without all of the costly expenses that apply to large solar farms. Vice Chairman Dr. Rob Peck moves to modify the solar farm ordinance as requested, seconded by Clay Logan. The motion passed unanimously. Page 3 of 5
Item 8 - Hear presentation regarding the Imagination Railroad for children s books Maggie Butler Ms. Maggie Butler started the program in 2013. The books program started in 2014 currently sending 400 books on a monthly basis. Over 17,000 books have been given out to date. Item 9 - Presentation of Annual Report for Clay County Community for Students Theresa Waldroup Executive Director Presentation of Annual Report of Clay County Community for Students Ms. Waldroup made the presentation and was accompanied by Karen Dudley who is the site coordinator. The duo has started a library at the school. The Board heard the presentation and thanked Ms. Waldroup and Ms. Dudley for their work. Item 10 - Review of fees and rules for Clay County Campgrounds for the 2019 camping season The proposal was tabled until the October meeting. Item 11 - Review of Fees Clay County Health and Human Services Health Department Stephanie Johnson Clay County Public Health Director After investigation of Medicaid Cost Settlement, it was determined that the Board of Commissioners needed to ratify the fee schedules for 2016-2017, and 2017-2018. And, needs to adopt the fee schedule for medical fees for FY 2018-2019. The reason for this is to optimize fees for the Medicaid Cost Settlement recovery. This item was tabled until the October meeting. Item 12 - Review of Fees Clay County Transfer Station Kevin Shaheen Kevin Shaheen recommendations were tabled to the October meeting. Item 13 Consent Agenda a. Approval of Minutes b. Approval of Refunding Tax Payments c. Approval of Budget Amendments Motion made by Clay Logan to approve the items on the consent agenda, seconded by Ed Roach. Motion passes 4-0. Item 7 Old Business a. Update on Primary School County Manager Pullium - The county was set to open bids on August 9, 2018. Unfortunately, only 1 bidder was present. The bid was not opened since it was a formal bid and could not be awarded due to lack of sufficient competition Page 4 of 5
on the first bid opening. The bid opening was rescheduled to September 27, 2018 at 3pm. The County staff has developed a list of local subcontractors and provided this list to the architectural firm. The Architect has been instructed to make this list available to potential general contractors in an effort to try to drive cost savings on the primary school building. b. Consolidation of Health Department and Social Services Vice Chairman, Dr. Rob Peck said he would like information on the impact of the consolidation Debbie Mauney, Director of Health and Human Services gave an update on consolidation. c. Commissioner Ed Roach National Bass Tournament On September 20-23 the top 50 anglers in World will be here on Lake Chatuge. He further stated that many top news outlets would likely be on hand for this event. He hoped we were prepared to take care of this important event. The Towns County Chamber of Commerce including Commissioner Bradshaw has been very helpful in assisting the County Manager of Clay County and our staff to develop some very nice banners to welcome the anglers to the North Carolina side of Lake Chatuge. Vice Chairman Dr. Rob Peck moves to go into executive session for contracts and attorney client privilege. Clay Logan seconded the motion and it was unanimous. The time was 8:53 pm. At 9:39 pm the Board resumed open session by Ed Roach moving to re-open the regular session, seconded by Vice Chairman, Dr. Rob Peck. The motion carried 4-0. Being no further business, Vice Chairman, Dr. Rob Peck made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Ed Roach, the motion passed unanimously. 4-0. The time was 9:39 pm. Chairman, Robert Cline Penland Vice Chairman, Dr. Rob Peck Commissioner, Clay Logan _ Commissioner, Ed Roach _ Commissioner, Randy Nichols Attested: Clerk to Board Page 5 of 5