Commissioner's Minutes

January 13, 2004 Agenda
January 13, 2004 Minutes

Action Agenda
REGULAR MEETING OF THE EMERALD ISLE
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2004
7:00 PM - EMERALD ISLE TOWN HALL

Call to Order
Roll Call
Pledge of Allegiance
Adoption of Agenda
(Agenda adopted by 5-0 vote with addition of two items to be added (1)Carteret County Comprehensive Plan and (2) Occupancy Taxes)
Public Announcements
Consent Agenda

Minutes – December 9, 2003 Regular Meeting
Tax Refunds / Releases
Capital Project Ordinance Amendment – Eastern Phase Beach Nourishment
Budget Amendment – Beach Nourishment Debt Service / Reserve Fund
Budget Amendment – Hurricane Isabel Beach Renourishment
Resolution Authorizing Construction Contract for Community Center Repairs
Resolution Authorizing Design Contract for Hurricane Isabel Beach Renourishment
(Consent agenda approved by 5-0 vote)

Public Comment
Hazard Mitigation Plan

Public Hearing
Consideration of Hazard Mitigation Plan
(Approved 5-0 vote)

Town Purchasing and Contracting Policy
(Approved 5-0 vote)
Lands End / Spinnakers Reach Boundary Clarification

Discussion
Budget Amendment
Resolution Authorizing Contract with Prestige Surveying
(Tabled 5-0 vote)

Land Use Plan Update – Procedure / Schedule
Planning Board Appointments
(Board appointed by 5-0 vote the following individuals to the Planning Board: Jim Craig, Ceil Saunders, Gerald Huml, Frank Vance, Robert Smith, Robert Conrad, Eddie Barber)
Comments from Town Clerk, Town Attorney, and Town Manager
Comments from Board of Commissioners and Mayor

Adjourn

Unapproved
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETING
OF THE EMERALD ISLE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2004 – 7:00 P.M. – TOWN HALL

Present for the meeting were Mayor Art Schools, Commissioners Nita Hedreen, Robert Isenhour, Floyd Messer, Pat McElraft, and John Wootten. Others present were Town Attorney Derek Taylor, Town Manager Frank Rush, Assistant Town Manager and Finance Officer Mitsy Overman, Town Clerk Rhonda Ferebee, and Planning Director Kevin Reed.

After roll call all who were present recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

4. ADOPTION OF AGENDA

Mayor Schools asked that two items be added to the Agenda after Item #12. The first item to be added is discussion of the Carteret County Comprehensive Planning Committee, and the second item to be added to be discussion of the Occupancy Tax.

Motion was made by Commissioner Wootten to approve the amended agenda. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried.

5. PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mayor Schools announced the following meetings:

Board of Commissioner Special Meeting – Thursday, January 15, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. to discuss the status of the Bogue Inlet Channel Erosion Response Project;

Land Use Plan Steering Committee Meeting – Monday, January 19, 2004 at 5:30 p.m. – this should be the final meeting but if necessary another Land Use Plan Steering Committee Meeting will be held on January 28, 2004 at 5:30 p.m.

Mayor Schools announced that the Mayor and Board of Commissioners would attend the Essentials of Municipal Government course sponsored by the UNC-Institute of Government in Greenville on January 20 – 22, 2004.

Mayor Schools added there was also a Planning Board meeting on January 26, 2004 at 7:00 pm, and there would be a Blood Drive on January 30, 2004.

Commissioner Wootten mentioned there would also be a Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee meeting on Monday, January 19, 2004 in the Parks and Recreation Center at 6:00 p.m.

6. CONSENT AGENDA

Minutes – December 9, 2003 Regular Meeting
Tax Refunds/Releases
Capital Project Ordinance Amendment – Eastern Phase Beach Nourishment
Budget Amendment – Beach Nourishment Debt Service/Reserve Fund
Budget Amendment – Hurricane Isabel Beach Renourishment
Resolution Authorizing Construction Contract for Community Center Repairs
Resolution Authorizing Design Contract for Hurricane Isabel Beach Renourishment

Commissioner Isenhour wished to comment on Item f. Resolution Authorizing Construction Contract for Community Center Repairs. He noted the significant difference in the high and low bids for the repairs of the Community Center. He cautioned that we watch what is being done, watch the progress, and make sure that the work is done the way it needs to be done.

Motion was made by Commissioner Isenhour to adopt the Consent Agenda. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried.

7. PUBLIC COMMENT

Dick Eckhardt, 4304 Ocean Drive, commented on the Budget Amendment for the Hurricane Isabel Beach Renourishment. He appealed to the Board to do whatever was in their purview to assure future Emerald Isle beach nourishment projects used compatible beach material. He noted that a recent bulletin sent out by the Carteret County Shore Protection Office covered the Harbor Section 933 project relative to the work to be done on Indian Beach and Pine Knoll Shores. He said in the document there was a quote covering sand quality - “top grade beach quality sand will be utilized for the Outer Harbor Section 933 Beach Nourishment project”. He added that the Town had assured property owners that the nourishment project, Phase II, would use high grade, compatible material. He felt the homeowners on the eastern reach deserved the same quality project as those in Pine Knoll Shores, Indian Beach, and the western reach.

Lee Lipsitz, 11007 Inlet Drive, congratulated the Board on their election and thanked them for their service.

Commissioner Wootten asked Town Manager Rush, regarding the question by Dick Eckhardt, about the higher expectations of this sand.

Town Manager Frank Rush said that the material for the Section 933 project was coming out of the navigation channel which is right off of Shackleford Banks, and Bogue Bank, and is believed to be of a higher quality based on the analysis done.

Commissioner Wootten asked about the source material for the Isabel fix.

Mr. Rush said the source material for the Isabel fix has been identified as Borrow Area ‘A’ which is one of two sources used last year. He added that they had a better experience with the material last year from Borrow Area ‘A’, and that is why they focused this time on that area. He said they are trying to refine this even more to find the “best of the best”. He added that the Board and the community should prepare itself for material similar to what was placed in the area from roughly the 4000 Block to the 6800 Block. He said the contract approved on the consent agenda does include additional boring in Borrow area ‘A’.

8. HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN

Planning Director Kevin Reed presented the draft Hazard Mitigation Plan to the Board. (A copy of the draft Hazard Mitigation Plan in its entirety is attached). Mr. Reed briefed the Board on the legal requirements that they must undertake. He said there are two acts, the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, and the NC Senate Bill 300 (SB 300), which require local governments to have an approved hazard mitigation plan in order to receive federal and state public assistance funds for state-declared disasters. He noted the Plan must be submitted to the NC Division of Emergency Management by January 30, 2004. The NC Division of Emergency Management (NCDEM) will review the plan and submit review comments back to the Town within 30 days. The Town must adopt its approved Hazard Mitigation Plan by November 1, 2004. Failure to meet this deadline will make the Town ineligible for disaster assistance both state and federal.

The draft plan for the Town has been developed with the above list of key elements in mind. Specifically, the Town’s draft plan is composed of six major parts.

Part One of the plan is the Introduction. This portion of the plan includes a general discussion of hazard mitigation and notes the following four key benefits of hazard mitigation planning:

1. Saves lives and property

2. Achieves multiple objectives

3. Saves money

4. Facilitates post-disaster funding

Also, included in the introduction section is a discussion of the 8-step planning process that is being employed for the development of this plan. Those eight steps are:

1. Hazard Identification and Analysis

2. Vulnerability Assessment

3. Community Capability Assessment

4. Mitigation Strategy Development

5. Prioritization of Strategies

6. Establish Procedures for Revisions and Updates

7. Adoption

8. Compliance Review

Part Two of the plan is the Community Profile. In this section there is a general discussion of the Town of Emerald Isle which includes the following subject areas: History, Climate, Population, Water Resources, Sewer Facilities, Natural Resources, Public Access and Recreation and Critical Facilities. The intent of this section is to provide a “snap shot” of the Town by providing information on some of its physical, social and demographic characteristics.

Part Three of the plan is the Hazard Vulnerability Analysis. The beginning of this section of the plan explains that in order to plan for hazard events, Emerald Isle must know the following: the types of hazards that threaten the Town, the history of those hazards, and the vulnerability the Town has to each one of the hazards with a vulnerability index of: Low, Moderate or High. The following is a list of the hazards discussed in the plan and the Town’s vulnerability to each hazard.

§ Drought – Moderate

§ Earthquake – Low

§ Extreme heat/Heat waves- Moderate

§ Wildfires – Low

§ Flooding- High

§ Winter Storms – Low

§ Hurricanes – High

§ Coastal Erosion – High

§ Tornadoes – High

§ Severe Thunderstorms – Moderate to High

§ Hazardous Materials Events – Low

Part Four of the plan is the Community Capability Assessment. This section of the plan is intended to analyze the Town’s current capability to mitigate the hazards that threaten Emerald Isle. The Town was assessed in light of its legal, institutional, technological and political capability to mitigate hazards. This part of the plan also contains an analysis conclusion that states the efforts of the Town clearly indicate that implementation of the mitigation strategies will take place.

Part Five of the plan is the Mitigation Strategies. This part of the plan includes the mitigation goal, mitigation objectives for each goal and one or more implementation measures for each objective. The plan contains the following six mitigation goals:

1. Improve Public Awareness

2. Minimize the Impacts of All Hazards

3. Minimize the Impacts of Natural Hazards on Built Structures

4. Minimize the Impacts of Coastal Erosion

5. Minimize the Impacts of Severe Thunderstorms

6. Minimize the Impacts of Flooding

Part Six of the plan is the Prioritization of Strategies. In this section each of the implementation measures is ranked and classified as: currently implemented/ongoing, short-term, and/or long-term or some combination of the foregoing.

Motion was made by Commissioner McElraft to open the Public Hearing. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried.

There were no comments from the public.

Motion was made by Commissioner Isenhour to close the Public Hearing. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried.

Motion was made by Commissioner Wootten to adopt the Hazard Mitigation Plan and submit the plan to the NC Division of Emergency Management for approval.

Commission Isenhour thanked Planning Director Kevin Reed for the excellent job in his preparation of this Hazard Mitigation Plan. Commissioner Isenhour said that after a weather event, specifically a hurricane, the one thing that people want and need, in order to return to some semblance of normality, is electricity. He mentioned the comment on Page 27 of the Hazard Mitigation Plan which states – “the only option to mitigate the effects of this issue (the issue being utility lines) is to bury utility lines. Obviously the burying of all lines is not an alternative due to financial constraints”. Commissioner Isenhour said he understood that burying utility lines is very expensive, but he said he would like to find out what the dollar figure would be to bury utility lines. He felt that unless the amount was prohibitively expensive, he thought that one of the best, long range things they could provide for the Town would be to bury the lines, in addition to being aesthetically pleasing as well. He proposed that if they could do this, it be done in a piecemeal fashion over a period of years, and a certain amount of money be put into the budget in order to accomplish this goal.

Mayor Schools said they could easily get the amount from Carteret-Craven Electric.

Commissioner McElraft noted that they have buried lines in Spinnakers and they are still without electricity.

Commissioner Isenhour said this was probably due to trees being down across lines before reaching Spinnakers.

Commissioner Hedreen also thanked Mr. Reed for a thorough and well written document.

The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried.

9. TOWN PURCHASING AND CONTRACTING POLICY

Assistant Town Manager and Finance Officer Mitsy Overman gave a brief summary of the Town Purchasing and Contracting Policy (a copy of the Town Purchasing and Contracting Policy in its entirety is attached). The summary is as follows:

Purchasing and Contracting Policy
Policy Summary


Action	Threshold	Final Approval Authority

Request for Check - No P.O. Required	< $250	Department Head

Purchase Order Required - Supplies, Equipment	$250 - $5,000	Finance Officer
	$5,000 - $90,000	Town Manager
	> $90,000	Board of Commissioners

Competitive Price Quotes Required	> $1,000	Finance Officer / Town Manager

Blanket Purchase Orders	All	Finance Officer

Use of Petty Cash	< $25	Finance Officer

Town-Issued Credit Cards	All	Finance Officer

Specifications	< $50,000	Department Head
	> $50,000	Town Manager

Formal Bids Required - Supplies, Equipment	> $90,000	Board of Commissioners

Formal Bids Required - Construction, Repairs	> $300,000	Board of Commissioners

Use of "Piggyback" Exception	> $90,000	Board of Commissioners
Supplies, Equipment

Architect / Engineer / Surveyor Selection	Qualifications	Town Manager
		Board of Commissioners

Contracts for Services -	< $30,000	Town Manager
Construction, Repairs, Consultants	> $30,000	Board of Commissioners

Amendments to Contracts for Services -	< $10,000	Town Manager
Construction, Repairs, Consultants	> $10,000	Board of Commissioners

Real Property Purchases, Leases	All	Board of Commissioners

Disposal of Surplus Property - Personal	< $5,000	Town Manager
	> $5,000	Board of Commissioners

Disposal of Surplus Property - Real	All	Board of Commissioners

Ms. Overman concluded by saying that these guidelines are basically set up by North Carolina General Statute and they could certainly be changed or amended by the Board.

Commissioner Wootten stated that the key thing in any operation is that when making a payment you have a receipt in front of you, and that is exactly what the Town does, and so there is a safeguard that there isn’t any money going out of Town Hall without a receipt that the Finance Officer Mitsy Overman sees, and validates.

Mr. Rush added that it is required that the Department Head and the Finance Officer sign off on receipts to ensure that they are paying things appropriately.

Commissioner Isenhour said it was mentioned to him that $90,000 was a lot of money for the Town Manager to have at his disposal. He personally had no problem with this limit, however, they could add a stipulation that says the Town Manager must inform the Board if he spends over $50,000. He said that Mr. Rush does a marvelous job of keeping the Board informed at all times but if he were to leave for whatever reason, any new manager may not be as conscientious.

Commissioner Messer said that if they got another Town Manager they could address that issue then.

Motion was made by Commissioner Messer to adopt the Purchasing and Contracting Policy presented by the Town staff as presented.

Commissioner Hedreen asked as a point of clarification if this applied to items already in the budget or not.

Mr. Rush said that the Policy is really a second level of protection, the budget being the first level. If there are not sufficient funds budgeted for an item then they would not complete that purchase unless they came to the Board with a budget amendment to provide sufficient funds.

The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried.

10. LANDS END/SPINNAKERS REACH BOUNDARY CLARIFICATION

Town Manager Frank Rush explained that the Board is asked to consider actions to correct a discrepancy in the boundaries between Lands End subdivision, a Town public access easement, and Spinnakers Reach subdivision. It appears that the eastern boundary of Lands End and the western boundary of Spinnakers Reach were delineated from opposite directions, and this has resulted in an overlap of the boundary between these two subdivisions. The result is that a platted and recorded Town public access easement is in question. This issue has been discussed with the relevant parties, and a potential solution is the re-delineation of a 10 foot wide public access easement in this area that would be carved out of existing Lands End “common area”. Prestige Surveying has submitted a proposal to perform this work at a cost of $5,000.

The Board discussed in detail the proposed survey expenses. The Board also had many questions concerning the re-delineation of a 10 foot wide public access easement versus a 15 foot wide public access easement between the two subdivisions.

Mr. Rush noted that the plat that was recorded for these subdivisions have the public accesses dedicated on the plats. He said we would essentially be recording a new public access easement by doing the survey and following through on the easement.

Town Attorney Derek Taylor explained the difficulties surveyors experience in Emerald Isle. He said it would be better for the Town overall if they could come up with a plan where everyone could get together, because it may be extremely difficult to do anything else.

Mark Brennesholtz, 9322 Ocean Drive, said first he would not like to give away land, but second he would hate to pay someone $5,000 for work that they have already been paid to do, especially if one of the surveyors happened to be Prestige. He felt they were the ones that needed to straighten this issue out.

Commissioner McElraft asked what would happen if the Town did nothing.

Attorney Taylor said that the Town could assert that it has an easement that is 15 feet wide going from Coast Guard Road down to the beach according to the dedication that was done by these plats, and nobody should be able to interfere with that, and by main strength and awkwardness, you say it is there, let the property owners have their say, and decide whether they are sufficiently disturbed by our policy to bring a lawsuit.

Mr. Rush said at this time he didn’t see the Town making use of the easement but there may be some issue or project down the road that they haven’t anticipated where the Town would want to use it for some reason, whether for beach access parking or stormwater pipes.

Attorney Taylor said since Mr. Odom with Prestige was not here tonight, the Board may want to consider tabling this and having Mr. Odom with Prestige come to them and discuss why it needs to be done and how it occurred. Mr. Odom, he added, could best describe the problem that currently exists, why the Town needs to straighten it out, and how he plans to proceed, what his final work product is. The Board may want to know that before they decide.

Motion was made by Commissioner McElraft to table this tonight. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried.

Commissioner Wootten suggested that there were workshops coming up, and they could get the interested parties in and have a broader, more casual conversation about this problem.

Commissioner McElraft added for the public record, one surveyor is not anymore guilty than the other.

11. LAND USE PLAN UPDATE – PROCEDURE/SCHEDULE

Town Manager Frank Rush said that the Land Use Plan Steering committee is nearing a completion of its recommended plan, and formal Planning Board and Board of Commissioners review will begin in February. A revised schedule and suggested procedure has been developed, and is attached for the Board’s review and concurrence. If the Board is comfortable with this approach, then it would be helpful for the Board to appoint two Commissioners to serve with two Planning Board members to complete a detailed review of the Land Use Plan Update recommended by the Steering committee. The revised schedule establishes a target final adoption date of April 13. The Town’s deadline established by the NC Division of Coastal Management is May 2004.

Emerald Isle

CAMA Land Use Plan Update

Revised Schedule

January 12 Results of community survey back from NC State University

January 13 Board of Commissioners appoints 2 members to serve on Joint Subcommittee with 2 Planning Board members

January 19 (SC) LUP Steering Committee reviews survey results

January 28 (SC)* LUP Steering Committee makes final adjustments * if necessary to policies and future land use map

LUP Steering Committee finalizes recommended Land Use Plan

February 4 LUP Steering Committee presents recommended plan to the Planning Board at special joint meeting of Planning Board and LUP Steering Committee

Planning Board appoints 2 members to serve on Joint Subcommittee with 2 Commissioners

February 5 *tentative Town Board / Planning Bd Joint Subcommittee

February 9 *tentative meetings to review Land Use Plan

February 12 *tentative

February 23 Full Planning Board reviews results of Joint Subcommittee review

Planning Board makes recommendation to Board of Commissioners

March 9 Board of Commissioners reviews / tentatively approves plan

March – April Send Land Use Plan to NC Division of Coastal Management for review / approval

April 13 Board of Commissioners final approval of Land Use Plan

The Board by consensus indicated their concurrence with general procedure and schedule.

Motion was made by Commissioner McElraft to appoint Commissioner Hedreen and Commissioner Wootten to the subcommittee to work with the Planning Board subcommittee members they choose to review the Land Use Plan Update. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried.

12. PLANNING BOARD APPOINTMENTS

Mayor Schools said there are three appointments that expire in March 2004, and hopefully whoever is appointed to those three will be appointed all the way through to 2006.

Motion was made by Commissioner McElraft to nominate Jim Craig, Ceil Saunders, and Jerry Huml for the appointment to the Planning Board with the term beginning today to serve out the remaining term, and to be reappointed for the following term which will expire in March 2006. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried.

Mayor Schools said there were four appointments that will serve through March 2005.

Motion was made by Commissioner Messer to nominate Frank Vance, Bob Smith, Bob Conrad, and Eddie Barber to the Planning Board for the term beginning today and ending March 2005. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried.

Mayor Schools announced the next Planning Board meeting would be January 26, 2004. He said he would be there to start the meeting and the first item of business would be to elect a Chairman and Vice-Chairman. He requested that the Town Clerk provide the new members with the resumes of those selected to assist them in determining their vote for Chairman and Vice-Chairman.

Commissioner Wootten wanted for the public to know that they had eighteen applicants to the Planning Board which he thought was fantastic. He added that they also have four people back on the Planning Board with previous experience here in Town.

ADDED ITEM #1 – CARTERET COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DISCUSSION

Mayor Schools advised the Board that he had received an email from former Commissioner Farmer who served as the Carteret County Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee member for Emerald Isle that she was resigning from that position. He said the Board needed to recommend someone. He would then write a letter to the County Board to ask them to appoint.

Motion was made by Commissioner Isenhour to recommend Commissioner McElraft. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried.

ADDED ITEM #2 – OCCUPANCY TAXES DISCUSSION

Mayor Schools said that the County Commissioners had come up with a plan that if the five groups signed on they said they would rescind their repeal. Four of those groups had signed. One group said they would not sign. He said they had worked on this for six months, and it has been a very ticklish issue. Mayor Schools said he would like for the Board to appoint Commissioner McElraft and himself as Board representatives to work with Mr. Rush in exploring the alternatives for the Town. He felt they needed to be careful in how they proceed and figure out what the people in Emerald Isle want to do.

Commissioner Messer recommended that anyone with any clout with the County Commissioners please call them and ask that they reinstate this. This is a half-million dollar loss that has already been budgeted to the Town of Emerald Isle. If it doesn’t happen then this translates to a 4-cent tax increase.

Commissioner McElraft added that the half-million dollar loss is just one years loss. The overall loss is huge and also impacts the 50-year nourishment project.

Commissioner Messer said the County Commissioners are repealing tax money that doesn’t cost the citizens of Carteret County a dime. It is all money brought in by tourists and vacationers.

Mr. Rush noted that the room tax generates about 3.4 million per year in Carteret County and roughly 85% of that money comes from Bogue Banks, with roughly 50% of that grand total of 3.4 million comes from Emerald Isle.

Mark Brennesholtz, 9322 Ocean Drive, made the comment that every one of the candidates for Commissioner was in favor of the room tax during the campaign and he hopes for a positive program to get this reinstated. He added that they had said they would wait until January, and at that time they would still have time to get a local alternative in place. He would like to hear a more specific plan.

Frank Vance, 2302 Ocean Drive, wanted to remind everyone that there is a County Commissioner election coming up on November 4, and he felt we should start getting our ducks in a row, and felt they needed at least two on this Island representing them on the County Board.

The Board by consensus indicated their concurrence for Mayor Schools and Commissioner McElraft to work with Town Manager Frank Rush in pursuing alternatives.

13. COMMENTS FROM TOWN CLERK, TOWN ATTORNEY, AND TOWN MANAGER

Town Clerk had no comments.

Town Attorney Derek Taylor gave a quick update on the beach renourishment easements for the west end. He said they have received 247 and recorded them. He said they are still 197 short. He commented to the audience, if any of them were west end owners, in response to several questions from people as to why they had to do permanent easements. He explained the 933 project could be used as a good example. Everyone that they had gotten a temporary easement from, if they have a problem they may have to go back and get another easement from those same people. Every time he has to come to their door to ask for another easement because of another project, it costs the Town money. They must record another document, and go through the process over and over again. He asked for people to give consideration to that, and also to go ahead and send in their easement if they have them.

Town Manager Frank Rush advised the Board that they had closed on both the Cook property, and the Deer Horn Dune property. Both of those were involved in the water tank deal. The only remaining transaction is to finish that deal which involves deeding the 1.1 acre from Emerald Isle Woods to the water company and then have them deed the Ocean Oaks site to the Town. He said in order to make that happen by the February 4 deadline it required the Board to come together for a very brief Special Meeting to be held the week of January 26^th. The creation of this new lot for the water company at Emerald Isle Woods is technically a subdivision, and we need to go through an approval process with the Planning Board and the Town Board. He would like to meet at 5:30 on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 for a short meeting to approve the subdivision and then they can close on the transfer of the property by the end of the week.

Mr. Rush said that several Commissioners had indicated they might be interested in changing the time of the regular monthly meeting to a 6:00 p.m. start as opposed to our current 7:00 p.m. start, and wanted to bring this up for discussion.

Commissioner Messer said the reason he was in favor of this was mainly for the town employees who had to participate in the Board meetings, and he felt it made sense to do it at 6:00 p.m. mainly for their benefit.

Mr. Rush said on behalf of the employees they would appreciate that and thanked the Board for their consideration.

Motion was made by Commissioner Messer to change the time of the regular monthly board meetings to 6:00 p.m. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried.

14. COMMENTS FROM BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND MAYOR

There were no further comments from the Commissioners or Mayor.

15. ADJOURN

Motion was made by Commissioner McElraft to adjourn the meeting. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted:

Rhonda C. Ferebee
Town Clerk