Town of Woodland Board Minutes
Date: December 5, 2019
7:00 PM
Board/Staff Present:
Kenny Manuel – Outgoing Mayor
Randy Beale – Incoming Mayor
David Cooper – Commissioner
Brian Christison - Commissioner
Barbara Outland – Commissioner
Ricky Morris – Incoming Commissioner
Donielle McDermott – Town Clerk
Eddie Hoggard – Police Officer
Marshall Lassiter – ORC
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited followed by a moment of silent reflection.
Call to Order: The outgoing mayor called the meeting to order at 7pm.
Approval of Agenda: The first item of business was the approval or amendment of the agenda. Commissioner Outland made a motion to move number 18, Closed Session, to January’s regular board meeting. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.
Approval of Minutes: The next item on the agenda was the approval or amendment of the minutes of the Special Called Meeting for the CDBG on 9/26/19, the Regular Board Meeting dated 11/7/19, Special Called Meeting regarding the Armory dated 11/20/19, and a Well Meeting with Blaine Humphrey dated 11/21/19. Commissioner Cooper made a motion to accept the minutes as written. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.
Consideration of Bills: Commissioner Christison made a motion to pay all the current bills and to also pay all the regular bills that come in throughout the month. Commissioner Outland seconded and the motion carried.
Police Commissioner Report: Commissioner Outland reported to the town that Officer Hoggard has done tremendous work for the Town of Woodland so far and has proven himself fit for the position of Chief. Commissioner Outland had Officer Hoggard stand up front where she gave him his Chief badge.
The Changing of the Board: At this time, outgoing Mayor, Kenneth Manuel swore in the new Town of Woodland Mayor, Randy Beale. Mayor Beale then swore in Commissioner Outland for her second term and Commissioner Morris for his first term. Mayor Beale thanked everyone for their votes and stated he was thankful for the older board members’ knowledge as he would be looking to them for guidance.
Public Comments: Donielle McDermott thanked Kenneth Manuel for everything he has done to help her with her job. She said she was going to miss him and wished him luck.
Fire Department Report: Robbie Collier stated the current fire department building was originally built in 1951 and they are in desperate need of a new building. With the help of the board and the fire department, they are trying to build a new fire station. The found a plan they like, but at the cost of around $750,000. Mr. Collier said that recently the fire marshal advised them to wait until the 3rd quarter in order to get some grant money. The fire marshal said more grant money should be coming in by then. Their next inspection is scheduled for February 4, 2020.
Robbie Collier invited the board and staff to the fire department’s annual Ladies’ Night dinner on January 14, 2020 at 7:00 pm.
Commissioner Cooper asked the fire department to get prices for the removal of the 46 trees on the site where the fire department will build in an effort to get the site ready. Mickel Pruden said they have two bids already. One is for $11,000 for everything, including stump removal. The other is for $4,600, but this one does not include removal of the tops and stumps.
Donielle McDermott asked the board’s approval to put the $12,500 into the fire department’s CD instead of writing them a check directly. Commissioner Christison made a motion to put the $12,500 that was approved at the October 3, 2019 meeting into the fire department’s CD in lieu of a reimbursement check. Commissioner Cooper seconded and the motion carried.
Maintenance Report: Marshall Lassiter thanked the board for his Christmas gift.
a. The well house in George is in need of having the top replaced and the interior walls redone, as well as the exterior of the chlorine room. Mr. Lassiter said the cost will be $2,100 and Kevin Carlile has agreed to do it for that cost, including supplies. We have $1,000 in our budget set aside for this, and Mr. Lassiter is requesting an additional $1,100 to be added to the budget to pay for this work. Commissioner Christison asked Mr. Lassiter if he foresees any big spending for the rest of this fiscal year. Mr. Lassiter said no, unless the board makes aggressive decisions with fixing the water problems in the town. Commissioner Christison said that labor on the water and sewer side may exceed what was budgeted so he is requesting the town to watch spending and maybe leave an extra $4,000 in the 30 fund. Commissioner Christison made a motion to allow $2,100 to go towards fixing the chlorine room and to allow Kevin Carlile to do the work. Commissioner Cooper seconded and the motion carried.
b. The Colorado needs some front end work and a tune up. This is a second vehicle for the maintenance crew, primarily used for mosquito spraying, but also a back up for the crew. Commissioner Cooper recommended maintaining it. Commissioner Cooper made a motion to allow up to $1,700 to be spent on fixing the Colorado. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.
c. Marshall Lassiter invited the board to come up after the meeting and look at a piece of pipe that was recently cut out of our lines.
Well Report:
a. Marshall Lassiter said the samples for the well have failed yet again. Two were taken from the fire hydrant, which passed, and two were taken from the well and those failed. A.C. Schultes has pulled the well out and put a camera down where they found algae. They have cleaned the algae and will be taking more samples soon. Commissioner Cooper asked if we have a warranty on the well. This was not known at the time.
b. Donielle McDermott shared with the board the letter to A.C. Schultes stating why the town was withholding partial payment from payment #7. The town withheld $10,000 due to accrued liquidated damages.
Police Report: Chief Eddie Hoggard welcomed the new board members and thanked Kenneth Manuel for his time as mayor. Chief Hoggard said there are four agencies working the recent armed robberies. He has received one application so far for a part-time officer position. Mayor Beale said that one of the main reasons he ran for the mayor position was to help fight the crime in our area.
Clerk Report:
a. Northampton County Museum, Inc. sent a letter to the town asking for a monetary donation. The board agreed this needs to be budgeted in, so we will not donate at this time, but may consider doing so with the new budget.
b. Due to the many problems Dollar General has had this past year with theft and vandalism, Commissioner Christison is worried the store may close down and the town would lose the revenue from the franchise tax. He is requesting the town to be careful on the spending in the general fund from now until the end of the fiscal year. Chief Hoggard said their loss prevention worker stated a work request has been put in to add cameras to their store therefore he feels like they are not planning on shutting down.
c. Donielle McDermott wrote Eddie Revelle asking him about the leaks in the town hall roof. He said it was too new to need a new one, but said he would be happy to take a look at it for us and fix what he can.
d. Virginia Cleary from the Northampton County Health Department called Town Hall to ask if the board has made any decisions on adopting a Tobacco Free Ordinance. She wanted Mrs. McDermott to pass on the word that she will be more than happy to help the board with passing this ordinance.
Zoning Report: There was nothing to report.
Armory: Kenneth Manuel said that Danny Harrell came to inspect the boiler at the Armory, but the maintenance crew did not know how to operate the boiler nor everything to be able to turn all the electricity and breakers back on. Because of this, Mr. Harrell was unable to inspect the boiler therefore he put a violation on the Armory. Mr. Manuel said he asked Perry Lee to contact White and Woodley next week for them to come take a look at the boiler and see if they can fix it. If they are able to fix it, we will then call Danny Harrell back to inspect the boiler. Mr. Harrell stated he will be charging us for this visit regardless of the fact that he was unable to do the work.
Conversation turned to selling the Armory, and Commissioner Outland said she has two people interested in putting in a bid. She is not sure how long they will wait. There was discussion on selling it “as is”, but Kenneth Manuel suggested speaking to Attorney Culpepper first about selling a building that has a violation. After more discussion it was decided to wait until the January meeting to make any decisions, but in the meantime, the board will contact Ellis Garris and see if he can go into the Armory with the maintenance crew to have a look and show them what to do before calling White and Woodley.
Comments from the Mayor: Mayor Beale thanked Kenneth Manuel again for all he has done as mayor for the Town of Woodland.
Comments from the Commissioners: Commissioner Morris said he was glad to be here and will be glad to listen to any of the citizens and what they have to say.
Commissioner Christison thanked Kenneth Manuel for his outstanding service.
Commissioner Outland thanked Kenneth Manuel and welcomed Mayor Randy Beale.
Commissioner Cooper stated that this job is an adventure. He thanked Kenneth Manuel for all he has done.
Public Comments: Patty Deneen asked the new board members and newly appointed Chief for photos to go on the website.
Bobby Mann thanked Kenneth Manuel and welcomed Mayor Beale. Mr. Mann said he would like to see the town invest in cut off valves throughout the town. He complimented the maintenance crew for their diligence to get the job done stating, “If the town had to depend on me to do what those workers did the other day, we wouldn’t have any water.”
Garfield Johnson asked if the town still has a curfew and asked for the curfew to be enforced.
Kenneth Manuel thanked everyone again. He said that the town is still waiting to hear about the AIA Grant and if we get it, we can put ourselves in a position to fix our old pipes.
Adjourn: At 8:27 p.m., Commissioner Cooper made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.