August 13, 2007

MINUTES
Snow Hill Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting
Monday, August 13, 2007-7:30 p.m.
Snow Hill Town Hall
201 North Greene Street, North Carolina 28580

The Snow Hill Board of Commissioners regular meeting convened at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, August 13, 2007, in the Snow Hill Town Hall with the following members present: Mayor Don Davis, Commissioners Phyllis Burruss, Percy Edwards, Geraldine Shackleford, Allison Thomas and Lorrine Washington; Recording Secretary Michelle Strickland; Town Administrator Bob Clark; and Attorney Brian Pridgen.

1. Call to Order – The meeting was called to order by Mayor Don Davis.

2. Prayer – Commissioner Edwards offered prayer.

3. Pledge of Allegiance – The pledge was recited by all in attendance.

4. Roll Call – Roll call was suspended by Mayor Davis due to all members being present and a quorum was declared.

5. Consider appointing Michelle Strickland, Recording Secretary – The Board consented to appoint Michelle Strickland as Recording Secretary.

6. Consider Approving Meeting Agenda – Motion was made by Commissioner Washington, seconded by Commissioner Edwards and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with changes made to item 8A4, the word resignation should be changed to retirement.

7. Consider Approving Meeting Minutes: July 25, 2007 – The July 25, 2007 meeting minutes were tabled until the next regular meeting.

8. Report of Officers:

a. Mayor:

1. Acknowledge Public Works and Utilities Director’s completion of Playground Safety Inspector Certification – Mayor Davis announced that Mr. Hill had passed the test needed to certify him to inspect playground equipment. Mayor Davis thanked Mr. Hill for his hard work.

2. Announce resignation of Chief Dana Hill from the Snow Hill Rural Fire Department – Mayor Davis presented a letter of resignation from Snow Hill Rural Fire Department Chief, Dana Hill to the Board (a copy therewith incorporated into this document). Mayor Davis thanked Dana for his hard work and wished him success.

3. Announce the appointment of Chief Bobby Carraway as the chief for the Snow Hill Rural Fire Department – Mayor Davis announced that past Chief, Bobby Carraway would be taking over as Chief once again. Mayor Davis asked that the Town’s appreciation be relayed to Chief Carraway in his absence.

4. Announce retirement of Ren Baker, Town Clerk-Finance Officer – Mayor Davis announced the retirement of Mrs. Baker and saluted her for her performance and thanked her for her service to the Snow Hill residents.

5. Recommend Bob Clark, Town Administrator to be appointed as Interim Town Clerk – Mayor Davis asked if it was without objection to table this until later in the meeting. The Board consented to table this item until later in the meeting.

The Board consented to receive this report from the Mayor.

b. Town Administrator:

1. Operations/Staffing:

a. Recommend authorizing overtime pay for Department of Administration staff to attend evening governing bodies meetings – Mr. Clark recommended to that Board that the administrative staff be paid overtime for taking minutes at the evening meetings of their respective governing body appointments. By paying overtime employees would be able to work the regular 40 hours during this time instead of accumulating compensatory time.

b. Seek to hire an office assistant position – Mr. Clark recommended that a full-time office assistant be hired in the Administrative Department of the Town. In hiring he recommends looking for someone that is capable of handling different tasks within the office.

2. Present Mr. Charles Lewis’ request for compensation for utility bill – Mr. Clark summarized for the Board Mr. Lewis’ problem and informed them of Mr. Lewis’ request for compensation. There were questions as to the amount of money Mr. Lewis was requesting to be reimbursed. Mayor Davis suggested that Mr. Lewis should come before the Board to answer any questions.

3. Agreement, Resolution, and Bid Award:

a. Recommend renewing the Cornerstone Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Agreement – Mr. Clark informed the Board that there was no change in the agreement with Cornerstone EAP and recommended consideration of renewing the contract.

b. Recommend approving a resolution to provide for transfer of ownership and control of New Wave cable service to Dale-Media – Mr. Clark recommended approval of this resolution providing for transfer of ownership and control of New Wave cable service to Dale-Media. He invited Mr. David Harris and Mr. Dale Hancock to address the Board. They spoke to the Board and answered questions about the transfer of ownership of the cable service. Mr. Harris recommended approval.

c. Recommend awarding a contract to Greenville Paving in the amount of $53,982.50 for paving streets in the Hart Street CDBG project – Mr. Clark recommended awarding a contract to Greenville Paving in the amount of $53,982.50. He also invited Mr. Charles Joyner, a Consultant Engineer from McDavid & Associates to address the Board. He spoke to the Board regarding two bids that were received for the project. Mr. Joyner recommended rewarding the bid to Greenville Paving. Mr. Clark informed the Board that funds for this project would come from CDBG and the remainder would come from Powell Bill funds.

4. Proposed Policies:

a. Recommend adoption of Time, Attendance, and Leave Recording Policy-Mr. Clark explained this policy and recommended adoption (a copy is herein incorporated by reference and made a part of these minutes).

b. Recommend adoption of Amendment #2007-001: Detrimental Personal Conduct Defined-Mr. Clark explained this proposed amendment and recommended adoption (a copy is herein incorporated by reference and made a part of these minutes).

c. Recommend adoption of Amendment #2007-002: Overtime Pay Provisions-Mr. Clark explained this proposed amendment and recommended adoption (a copy is herein incorporated by reference and made a part of these minutes).

d. Recommend adoption of Amendment #2007-003: Employee Benefits-Mr. Clark explained this policy and recommended adoption (a copy is herein incorporated by reference and made a part of these minutes).

Mr. Clark explained that the attorney had taken a look over each of the
policies.

5. Information:

a. Department of Administration staff meetings and organizational piorities – Mr. Clark informed the Board of the priorities that had been set for the Department of Administration as well as the regular meetings that were being held to see where all the staff was in regards to these priorities.

b. Staff/Governing Body training – Mr. Clark advised the Board that there is quite a bit of training coming up that staff is scheduled for. Mr. Clark also advised scheduling another governing body training for newly appointed members to the governing bodies.

c. Recent filings with regard to zoning matters – Mr. Clark informed the Board that notices were going to begin going out this week in regards to boarding houses and unlicensed group homes. He stated that there were between 8 and 9 notices that would go out.

d. Feedback from NC Department of Commerce on CDBG site inspection – Mr. Clark stated that the site inspection by Ms. Stacey Miller went well and that when he received the follow-up letter he will share it with the board.

e. Feedback from the August 10, 2007 skateboard tour – The skateboard demonstration had a great turnout, especially for such short notice. Mr. Clark thanked Mr. Dana Hill, Public Works and Utilities Director, and the National Guard Armory staff for their help in making this happen.

f. Update on the skateboard park – Mr. Clark stated that the design of the park is being worked on with the help of skaters and professionals. The next step is to prepare the surface of the park and repair the fence.

g. Feedback from the NC Rural Center Building Reuse final inspection Tide Tamer, Inc. and Worth Products, LLC – Mr. Clark reported that the inspection went well and the Town is in the process of closing the project.

h. Update on Community Center enhancement project – Mr. Clark updated the Board on important dates for the bid packages. He said that there would be a pre-bid meeting on August 20, 2007 and the bid opening would be on August 25, 2007.

7. Community Activities:

a. Celebrated National Health Center Week; August 5-11, 2007 – Mr. Clark mentioned that National Health Center Week stating that US Representative Butterfield was present. He asked Mayor Davis if he would like to speak on this activity. Mayor Davis informed the Board that the Health Center Week highlighted wonderful local facilities and encouraged everyone who had not toured the new Greene County Healthcare Administration Building to do so.

b. Back-to-School festival scheduled for August 18, 2007 from 3-7 p.m. in downtown Snow Hill – Mr. Clark informed the Board of the progress that had been made to make sure that this festival was a great success.

c. Latino Festival scheduled August 26, 2007 at Greene County Health Care—Mr. Clark informed the Board of the Latino Festival that was upcoming.

The Board consented to receive this report from the Town Administrator.

c. Public Works & Utilities Director: N/A

9. Report of the Boards, Commissions, Committees and/or Taskforces: N/A

10. Unfinished Business and General Orders:

a. June 27, 2007 regular meeting minutes – The Board consented to tabled the June 27, 2007 regular meeting minutes until the next regular meeting.

b. July 9, 2007 regular meeting minutes – The Board consented to table the July 9, 2007 regular meeting minutes until the next regular meeting.

c. Lease agreement between the Town of Snow Hill and Greene Lamp/County of Greene – The Board consented to table these lease agreements until at which time they are both ready for consideration.

d. Consider request for mixed beverage election – Motion was made by Commissioner Washington, seconded by Commissioner Edwards and carried unanimously to request a mixed beverage election.

11. New Business:

a. Consider appointing Bob Clark, Town Administrator as Interim
Town Clerk – Mayor Davis recommended that Mr. Clark’s name be withdrawn and consider appointing Michelle Strickland, Revenue Collector as Interim Town Clerk because such action could give an appearance of a government-employee relationship as opposed to a government-contractor relationship with regards to how the IRS defines Mr. Clark’s contract. Motion was made by Commissioner Edwards, seconded by Commissioner Shackleford and carried unanimously to appoint Michelle Strickland as Acting Town Clerk.

b. Consider the recommendation to authorize overtime pay for Department of Administration staff to attend evening governing bodies meetings – Motion was made by Commissioner Burruss, seconded by Commissioner Edwards and carried unanimously to authorize overtime pay for Department of Administration staff to attend evening governing body meetings.

c. Consider hiring an office assistant – Motion was made by Commissioner Burruss, seconded by Commissioner Washington and carried unanimously to hire a full-time office assistant.

d. Consider Mr. Charles Lewis’ request for compensation for utility bill –The Board consented to table this item until a time that Mr. Lewis could appear before the Board in person to answer any questions.

e. Consider authorizing renewal of the Cornerstone Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Agreement –Motion was made by Commissioner Washington, seconded by Commissioner Burruss to renew the Cornerstone EAP Agreement.

During debate, Commissioner Thomas questioned whether this Agreement was effective. She stated that we should ask the employees about the effectiveness of this Agreement. Commissioner Washington stated that you have to be careful questioning employees about this Agreement because of confidentiality. Attorney Pridgen agreed that the Board should be sensitive about the need to protect employee confidentiality. Mayor Davis stated especially in a small Town. Commissioner Thomas asked Dana Hill, Public Works and Utilities Director to address this Agreement. Mayor Davis ruled this as being out of order due to the need to protect employee confidentiality and directed Mr. Hill not to respond.

After debate, the motion carried 4 – 1 on a roll call vote to renew the Cornerstone EAP agreement (Aye’s– Edwards, Burruss, Shackleford and Washington; Noe—Commissioner Thomas).

f. Consider a resolution to provide for transfer of ownership and control of New Wave cable service to Dale-Media – Motion was made by Commissioner Washington, seconded by Commissioner Edwards and carried unanimously approve a resolution providing for transfer of ownership and control of New Wave cable to Dale-Media.

g. Consider awarding a contract to Greenville Paving in the amount of $53,982.50 for paving streets in the Hart Street CDBG project – Motion was made by Commissioner Edwards, seconded by Commissioner Shackleford and carried unanimously to award the Hart Street CDBG paving project in amount of $53,982.50 to Greenville Paving.

h. Consider the recommendation to adopt the proposed Time, Attendance, and Leave Recording Policy – Motion was made by Commissioner Thomas, seconded by Commissioner Burruss to hold a first reading for items 11(h-k) and to bring them back for a second reading at the next meeting.
The motion carried 3 – 2 (Aye’s—Commissioners Thomas, Burruss and Shackleford; Noe’s—Commissioners Edwards and Washington).

Motion was made by Commissioner Thomas, seconded by Commissioner Burruss and carried unanimously to adopt the proposed Time, Attendance and Leave Recording Policy on the first reading and to bring back for a second reading at the next regular meeting.

i. Consider the recommendation to adopt Amendment #2007-001: Detrimental Personal Conduct Defined – Motion was made by Commissioner Shackleford, seconded by Commissioner Washington and carried unanimously to adopt Amendment #2007-001: Detrimental Personal Conduct Defined on the first reading and to bring this item back for a second reading at the next regular meeting.

j. Consider the recommendation to adopt Amendment #2007-002: Overtime Pay Provisions – Motion was made by Commissioner Washington, seconded by Commissioner Shackleford and carried unanimously to adopt Amendment #2007-002: Overtime Pay Provision on the first reading and to bring this item back for a second reading at the next regular meeting.

k. Consider the recommendation to adopt Amendment #2007-003: Employee Benefits – Motion was made by Commissioner Washington, seconded by Commissioner Shackleford and carried unanimously to adopt Amendment #2007-003: Employee Benefits on the first reading and to bring this item back for a second reading at the next regular meeting.

By consent three workout facilities were named for employees to use. These were Greenridge Racquet Club, The Body Shop, and Chele’s Exercise Center all located in Snow Hill.

l. Consider entering closed session to discuss a personnel matter pursuant to NCGS 143-318.11(6) – Motion was made by Commissioner Shackleford, seconded by Commissioner Washington and carried unanimously to enter closed session.

Motion was made by Commissioner Washington, seconded by Commissioner Edwards and carried unanimously to reconvene in open session.

m. Consider appointment of an Interim Finance Officer – Motion was made by Commissioner Shackleford, seconded by Commissioner Edwards and carried unanimously to appoint Addie Watson, Assistant Administrator and Finance Officer as Acting Finance Officer.

12. Announcements and Public Comments–There were none.

13. Adjournment – Motion was made by Commissioner Edwards, seconded by Commissioner Thomas and carried unanimously to adjourn at 10:48 p.m.