Town of Woodland Board Minutes
Date: December 1, 2022
7:00 PM

Board/Staff Present:

Randy Beale - Mayor
Ricky Morris - Commissioner
Brian Christison – Commissioner
Eddie Hoggard – Police Chief
Raymond Eaton - ORC
Donielle McDermott – Town Clerk

Commissioner Outland and Commissioner Cooper were both absent.

Call to Order: Mayor Beale called the meeting to order at 7pm. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited followed by a moment of silent reflection.

Approval of Agenda: The first item of business was the approval or amendment of the agenda. Commissioner Morris made a motion to approve the agenda as written. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: The next item on the agenda was the approval or amendment of the minutes for the planning meeting for the Office of State Budget Management (OSBM) grant, the regular meeting, and the closed session meeting all dated November 3, 2022. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

Consideration of Bills: Commissioner Morris made a motion to pay all the current bills and to also pay all the regular bills that come in throughout the month. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.

Public Comments: Bobby Mann stated he was glad to see the water leaks being fixed and would like the streets to be next.

Fire Department: Robbie Collier read the monthly fire report.
• December 10, 2022 at 3:00 pm, Santa will be in town to ride on the fire truck throughout town. Then at 6:00 pm the public is invited to the fire station for coffee, hot chocolate, and baked goods. Santa will be there as well.
• January 10, 2023 will be the annual Ladies Night and the board and their families are invited.

Police Report: Chief Hoggard read the report for the month of November.
• Chief asked the board for permission to request our money back for the cameras purchased in 2020 from Phoenix Camera and Technology Solutions. They have yet to be installed, and customer service is terrible. We have an awful time having Kay Wyman call us back. Chief Hoggard would like to switch companies, with possibly a company out of the Garner area. We may have to pay a contract fee of around $1,800. The board told Chief Hoggard to get a quote from the company and to move forward with requesting a refund from Phoenix Camera and Technology Solutions. Mayor Beale said to make sure the doctor’s office is aware of the request and to be sure they get their full refund as well.
• Charles Timberlake is asking $1,000 for storage of the vehicle that was seized by law enforcement and will be turned over to the town for ownership. Chief Hoggard said Mr. Timberlake has been generous to the town many times and believes this is a fair price.

Clerk Report:
• Mrs. McDermott spoke with a representative from the Office of State Budget Management to ask some questions about the $250,000 grant. The scope of work is the only part missing before we receive the contract to sign. There is not time limit on turning this in, but we will not receive the money until this is done. They will need the full plan on how we will spend the money and if there are any changes beyond 10%, we will need to submit a new scope of work. Mrs. McDermott read over the list of how we wish to spend the money and Ms. Jordan said everything on the list sounds like an approved use of funds. There is no date when the money must be spent. Any unused money does not revert to the state until the projects are complete.
• Commissioner Christison made a motion to use OSBM grand funds for the following:
o Get the electrician from Chesapeake to fix pumps at the spray field
o 10 solenoids $2,200
o Grit chamber $6,000
o Tools for the trucks $2,000
o Water meters $5,000
o Shop tools $8,000
Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.
• Mrs. McDermott contacted the board of elections office to remind them that the town would like them to consider moving the voting poll to the Town Hall. They have a meeting on December 13th and will get back with us.
• Mrs. McDermott told the board that the new billing and accounting software is up and running, but due to some issues with the file configurations between the handheld meter reader and the new software, the maintenance guys had to read the meters three different times. The issue was finally resolved, but there are almost two extra weeks of usage on our customers’ bills. For this reason, Mrs. McDermott asked for the board to waive late fees this month. Commissioner Morris made a motion to waive the late fees for the month of December. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.
• Customer Libby Pierce’s granddaughter called town hall to ask why they are being charged for sewer if they have a septic system. Apparently, Mrs. Pierce’s account is water only, but they have been charged for both since she moved in 2020. The difference in what they have been charged and what they should have been charged is $615.43. Commissioner Christison made a motion to refund Mrs. Pierce $615.43 in overage charges. Commissioner Morris seconded and the motion carried.

Maintenance Report: Raymond Eaton read the monthly report.
• Mr. Eaton reported a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) to the state on November 25, 2022.
• Kenny Godfrey started his C Distribution class today.
• Commissioner Christison asked Mr. Eaton to find out from the electrician what it would take to change the wastewater system to DC from AC. Then Commissioner Christison told Mr. Eaton to get the quote first before ordering the solenoids because changing to DC may mean ordering different solenoids.
• Commissioner Christison asked Mr. Eaton how labor is going and if there is enough work to keep the maintenance workers busy. Mr. Eaton said yes.

CDBG: The monthly report is included in the Minute Book.

Comments from the Mayor: Mayor Beale wished everyone a merry Christmas, encouraged everyone to be safe and enjoy their families. He asked Chief Hoggard if he would be bringing in extra deputies during the holidays. Chief Hoggard said no, the deputies will be patrolling the area as normal, but we won’t be calling to request specific help. Chief Hoggard told the board that the rate has now changed from $25 per hour to $30 per hour for the deputies.

Comments from the Commissioners: Commissioner Christison thanked the board and the workers for all they do.

Commissioner Morris asked for an internet update. There was no update so Commissioner Morris said he will reach out to someone and get the update.

Public Comments: Chief Hoggard thanked the board for the employee luncheon. He then said he would like to buy some pipe from the town for personal use for the current cost, so he does not have to wait for it to come in. The commissioners both said they would rather Commissioner Cooper be present to discuss that. They suggested Chief asking Commissioner Cooper his opinion on this.

Raymond Eaton shared with the board a map from Rivers & Associates showing all the places in town that the maintenance department needs to locate valves. There are quite a number of them.

Adjourn: At 7:59, Commissioner Morris made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Christison seconded and the motion carried.