MINUTES

WILKES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

SEPTEMBER 1, 2009

The Wilkes County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 5:00 P. M. with the following members present: Chairman Zach Henderson, Vice Chairman Keith Elmore, Commissioner Gary Blevins, Commissioner Luther Parks, and Commissioner Charlie Sink. 

Also present for the meeting were Tony Triplett, County Attorney; County Manager John Yates; and Alene Faw, Clerk to the Board. 

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Henderson who welcomed those in attendance.   

INVOCATION & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance were led by Commissioner Luther Parks.

MINUTES - Motion was made by Commissioner Charlie Sink, seconded by Vice Chairman Keith Elmore and unanimously adopted to approve the Minutes of the Board Meeting held on August 18, 2009.

BUDGET AMENDMENTS - Vice Chairman Keith Elmore stated there is an amendment for the Solid Waste Department. He asked if the Landfill has started recycling glass. County Manager John Yates stated they are getting ready to recycle glass and are building a pad to set the machine up. He stated they have purchased four cans for the convenience centers for collection and hopefully will start within the next month.  Vice Chairman Elmore stated he was told they are already accepting recyclable glass. Mr. Yates stated they have bought the machine from Orange County and are getting ready to start. He stated they will grind the glass at the Landfill to use for gravel or landscapers can use if for landscaping material. 

Commissioner Gary Blevins made a motion to approve Budget Amendments No. 5 (General Fund), No. 6 (Landfill), No. 7 (General Fund), and No. 8 (Maternal Clinic and Programs Salaries). The motion was seconded by Commissioner Luther Parks and unanimously approved.

NORTHWESTERN REGIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY - Ned Fowler, Executive Director of Northwestern Regional Housing Authority, stated he is here to discuss the critical issue of affordable housing. He stated he is not here asking for County revenues. He stated thirty years ago he stood before this public body and they asked him to pledge to not assist housing with County revenues and he has kept that pledge for thirty years and does not intend to break that pledge tonight. He stated even before the current housing and financial crisis there were 725,000 households in North Carolina who are priced out of the market. He stated now that is probably closer to one million with the crisis currently on-going across the State and fully 5,000 of these households live here in Wilkes County. He stated this means they are priced out of home ownership and often even priced out of the rental market by paying 50% or more of their income toward shelter and utilities, are seriously overcrowded, or are living in dilapidated, unfit, unsafe houses. Mr. Fowler stated at the Regional Housing Authority they do not pander to the poor. He stated they labor to find solutions to their housing problems. He stated through a unique combination of public and private investment, local commercial lending, the Regional Housing Authority provides rental assistance, affordable housing development, certified property management, and free comprehensive housing counseling. He stated they have recently hired a full time Housing Counselor just to service Wilkes County. Mr. Fowler stated they are still mourning the untimely death of Vanessa Combs Church, their Co-Manager of Housing. He stated they sorely miss her. He stated they welcome a new professional to their staff, Denise Sidden, who is now serving very ably as the Wilkes County Contract Manager. Mr. Fowler gave the Board a copy of their Annual Report. He stated on Page 9 are the annual expenditures for the region and Wilkes County both deserves and receives the lion’s share of the Regional Housing Authorities annual spending. He stated Page 15 shows details of the annual Wilkes housing expenditures by numbers of families, which program, how many dollars, how many are on the waiting lists, etc. He stated he can say in a nutshell they are spending about $3 million per year in Wilkes County. He stated that is direct dollars that are spent housing and counseling folks in need in Wilkes County. He stated their counseling activity alone on delinquency default foreclosure prevention has increased by 300% in Wilkes County in the past twelve months. 

Mr. Fowler stated once every five years State law requires the Board of Commissioners consider an appointment to the Board of Trustees for the Regional Housing Authority. He stated he is proud to serve with Edward Holland. He stated Mr. Holland has been a tremendous Board member for them and has represented the County extremely well on the Regional Board and currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Trustees for the Regional Housing Authority. Mr. Fowler stated they respectfully request the Board to consider reappointment of Mr. Holland. He stated they appreciate the Board’s consideration of that action if it so pleases the Board. 

Chairman Zach Henderson stated he has known Mr. Holland for some time and he thinks the Board would be hard pressed to find a better person for that position.

Commissioner Gary Blevins made a motion to reappoint Ed Holland to the Northwestern Regional Housing Authority for a five year term. The motion was seconded by Vice Chairman Keith Elmore and unanimously approved. 

Commissioner Blevins thanked Mr. Holland for serving saying he is very capable. 

Chairman Henderson thanked Mr. Fowler for the report and for what they do for the County. 

Mr. Fowler asked the Board, the staff, and the County Attorney if they hear of housing problems in Wilkes County they may not be aware of to let them know and if they do not have the answer they will try to find the answer. He stated it is a pleasure to serve. 

DEER RUN, PHASE 18 - Eddie Barnes, Planning Director, asked the Board of Commissioners to approve the final plat for Deer Run, Phase 18 owned by Mountainside L. L. C. He stated during regular session on August 24, 2009 the Wilkes Joint Planning Board reviewed and recommended for approval the final plat for the above mentioned subdivision. He stated the proposed subdivision is located on Casey Mountain Road and Tupelo Lane in Jobs Cabin Township. Mr. Barnes stated the proposed subdivision consists of 10.86 acres to be divided into nine lots with an average lot size of 1.21 acres. He stated streets in the subdivision are to be private without paving and constructed to non-D. O. T. standards per section 71 of the Wilkes County Subdivision Ordinance. He stated this subdivision is not located in a zoned area or a protected watershed. Mr. Barnes stated all documentation, lot size, and setback requirements have been met. He stated the developer has submitted an estimate for a Performance Bond of $7,500 to complete some graveling on Tupelo Drive which is a new road being constructed.

Motion was made by Commissioner Luther Parks to approve Deer Run, Phase 18 as presented by the Planning Department and to approve the plat of the same for recording, pursuant to the Wilkes County Subdivision Ordinance. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Charlie Sink and unanimously approved.

NORTH CAROLINA RURAL CENTER - Eddie Barnes, Planning Director, stated he and Commissioner Gary Blevins attended a North Carolina Rural Center Seminar on August 21, 2009. He stated the seminar was sponsored by the North Carolina Rural Communities Assistance Project and focused on rural water and wastewater projects with an emphasis on RFPs and Preliminary Engineering Reports. Mr. Barnes stated the County is eligible for bonus points by having representatives attend the workshop. He stated one of the requirements for the County to obtain those bonus points was to have a brief description of the seminar read into the Board’s Minutes. He stated he and Commissioner Blevins heard about some of the requirements for submitting RFPs and Engineering Reports to the North Carolina Rural Center. He stated any future projects the County may submit or any applications to the Rural Center will be eligible for the bonus points by going to the workshop.

Chairman Zach Henderson stated he appreciates Commissioner Blevins and Mr. Barnes attending the workshop and making the County eligible for the bonus points.

COUNTY PROPERTY - OFFER TO PURCHASE -   County Attorney Tony Triplett stated he has received an offer to purchase County property. He stated this happens from time to time with a piece of property the County owns or in this case a piece of property the County foreclosed on for taxes. He stated the County was the only bidder. Mr. Triplett stated an adjoining property owner, Roaring River United Methodist Church, is seeking to purchase the property. He stated this is a small piece of property less that a tenth of an acre that adjoins their Church property in Roaring River. He stated their offer is consistent with what the County tells people who approach about buying County property. He stated on a tax foreclosure sale he typically lets people know what the past policy is of the Board which is, the offer has to be at least in the amount the County has in the property if not more and also to cover the cost of advertisement and deed preparation. Mr. Triplett stated the offer for purchase of the property by them is $1,300 plus the cost of advertisement and cost of preparation of a deed. He stated the County has a little less than that in the property or $1,275.20. He stated typically this is the way things have been done in the past. Mr. Triplett stated if the Board wishes to proceed, these are done by negotiated offer, advertisement, and upset bid. He stated tonight the Board would authorize him to advertise the offer for ten days and give any other interested party the right to upset the bid and raise it. He stated if they do, he will advertise again and they have ten more days. Mr. Triplett stated he will keep advertising every time the bid is raised until the ten day period expires and there are no more raised bids. He stated at that time he will bring the offer back to the Board and they will decide if they want to accept it or not.

Commissioner Charlie Sink made a motion to publish notice pursuant to General Statute 160A-269 of the offer received from Roaring River United Methodist Church for the purchase of property formerly owned by Ann Pardue Cook (Minnie Cook) being Lot No. 1 in Block No. 1 as shown in C. H. Greenwood’s Development Map and recorded in Book 90, Page 508 in Edwards Township and having been acquired by Wilkes County through tax foreclosure in Deed Book 888, Page 096 Wilkes County Registry for $1,300 plus advertising costs, recording costs, and deed preparation fees provided the County first receives a 5% deposit from Roaring River United Methodist Church. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Luther Parks and unanimously approved.

VFW BALLFIELD - County Manager John Yates stated the VFW Ballfield has been reseeded, limed, and fertilized so it should be able to be practiced on next year. 

JAIL WORK SESSION - County Manager John Yates stated Sheriff Dane Mastin has contacted him requesting the Board of Commissioners set up a Work Session to talk about some alternatives to take care of overpopulation at the Jail.

Chairman Zach Henderson set a Work Session on Friday, September 4, 2009 at 8:00 A. M. to discuss dealing with the Jail overflow and what the County can do on that for the short term.

CLOSED SESSION - Commissioner Luther Parks made a motion to go into Closed Session to consult with the County Attorney to consider and give instructions concerning one or more potential judicial or administrative actions; to consult with the County Attorney to consider and give instructions concerning a pending judicial action entitled Wilkes County versus Donald Roberts; to consult with the County Attorney to protect the attorney-client privilege; and to discuss the location or expansion of business in Wilkes County. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Charlie Sink and unanimously approved. 

Motion was made by Commissioner Luther Parks seconded by Commissioner Charlie Sink and by unanimous vote adopted to adjourn back into regular session.

ADJOURN - Motion was made by Commissioner Charlie Sink seconded by Commissioner Luther Parks and by unanimous vote adopted to adjourn the meeting of the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners at 6:40 P. M.

Alene E. Faw, Clerk                                                                  Zach Henderson, Chairman

WILKES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

Approved: