The Avery County Board of Commissioners met in Regular Session on Monday, May 1, 2006 at 3:00 p.m. in their offices, Avery County Administrative Complex, Newland, NC.

Members Present: Kenny Poteat, Chairman; Susan Pittman, Vice-Chair; Joe Strickland, Phyllis Forbes Members Absent: Bill Beuttell

Call to Order
Chairman Poteat called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. The Chairman then led in prayer.

Public Appearances
There were no comments from the public.
Commissioner Strickland commented that he was impressed by a political ad that said the County spends $70,000 per year in salaries for Commissioners. He said that each Commissioner receives about $5,000 per year and that has not changed in the last 6 years. The total amount for all the Commissioners for one year would amount to about $25,000, Joe said. He said he didn’t know where the $70,000 figure came from, but that amount is not being paid to the Commissioners. If you figure it on an hourly rate, Joe said, the Chairman makes about 25 cents per hour.

Press Release – Revenue Neutral Tax Rate
Chairman Poteat read aloud a Press Release from the Board of Commissioners which aired on the local radio station today, as follows:
“ The Avery County Board of Commissioners would like to announce the Revenue-Neutral Tax Rate for 2006-2007 of 37.4 cents, which includes the Fire Tax. The current tax rate is 53 cents. The County Commissioners will make every effort to keep the 2006-2007 tax rate as close to the Revenue-Neutral Tax Rate of 37.4 cents as possible. Signed: Kenny R. Poteat”.
Chairman Poteat then read aloud the definition of the Revenue Neutral Property Tax Rate from the General Statutes: “The Revenue Neutral Property Tax Rate is the rate that is estimated to produce revenue for the next fiscal year equal to the revenue that would have been produced for the next fiscal year by the current tax rate if no reappraisal had occurred.”

Joe Strickland commented that there will be slight changes in some taxes, but for the most part, taxes should go down for those people who have small or medium sized houses, Those who have larger homes such as some of those found in the resort areas may notice some increase. However, the intent is still revenue neutral insofar as the collection is concerned, Joe said.

County Manager Report – Robert Wiseman

Road Name Requests
The County Manager addressed two road name requests on today’s agenda as follows:
1)Request from Spencer Robbins to name the Beech Mountain Parkway in honor of Grover C. Robbins, Jr.
2) Request from Rep. Phillip Frye and others to change the name of Hwy. 194 portion at Three Mile to the Lulu Belle & Scotty Wiseman Memorial Highway.

Robert Wiseman advised that there seems to be some confusion as to the request from Mr. Spencer Robbins to name Hwy. 184 from Banner Elk to the crest of Beech Mountain in honor of his brother, Grover C. Robbins. We are unsure whether this request was to change the name of the Beech Mtn. Pkwy or a request to recognize Mr. Robbins’ contribution to that area of our county as well as the State of NC. There are several issues that need to be finalized before this Board would make a decision on this matter, Wiseman said. If the intent is to change the name of the road, then we have serious issues which will need to be looked at on both road name requests. If the Beech Mtn. Pkwy. road name is changed, we would have to go into our data bank and change every address on that road. It would take approximately 45 minutes to make all the changes to each address, plus the people living on the road may have to be in agreement with this, etc. This road is quite different from the request on Hwy. 194 at Three Mile, because it starts at the Town of Banner Elk, goes to the Town of Beech Mountain and into Watauga County. Four separate entities would have to be in agreement to change the name of that road, as I read this information, Wiseman said. Whereas, if the Hwy. 194 road name were changed, I think the only entity involved would be the County Commissioners.

Brief discussion. Robert Wiseman added that there would be no problem if the original road names were left as is, with appropriate signage at certain points to recognize the individual being honored. Robert said he didn’t know if Mr. Robbins wanted to change the name of the road or just have his brother recognized with signage on the road. Mr. Wiseman then recommended that the Board defer this matter pending further study.

Mr. Peter Chamberlain, Beech Mountain Town Council member, spoke to the Board about the Beech Mountain Parkway road name request. Mr. Chamberlain said that the Beech Mountain Town Council does want to honor Mr. Grover Robbins in some way and we think that it would be a good idea to have signage honoring him. He said that this Board has letters dated April 19 indicating that Beech Mtn. approved this. What we actually approved were small signs for either end of the Beech Mtn. Parkway honoring Mr. Robbins, not a road name change. The way it came out, it’s renaming the road. Mr. Chamberlain recommended tabling this matter until such time as we see the signs, what they say and where they will be located. All affected entities could then adopt Resolutions in this regard. He added that there are a few inaccuracies in Mr. Spencer Robbins’ letter, but we can address those at another time.

Representative Phillip Frye spoke on behalf of a group of persons requesting that a section of Hwy. 194 in Avery County be named for Lulu Belle & Scotty Wiseman. He said that Mr. Terry McKinney and his wife approached him a few months ago asking about keeping the memory of Scotty and Lulu Belle alive and dedicating a section of Hwy. 194 in their memory. We felt that a sign on each end of th
e road and one in the middle that would say “Scotty and Lulu Belle Memorial Highway” would be a fitting memorial. This dedication would come through the Highway Dept. at the request of this Board.
In view of what Mr. Wiseman has indicated about changing the name of a road, Mr. Frye said he would like to change the word “name” to “dedicate” in his request. They are now requesting that a portion of Hwy. 194 at Three Mile be dedicated in memory of Lulu Belle & Scotty Wiseman. This would not require any changes of address, Frye said. Senator Keith Presnell spoke briefly in favor of this request and added that he is honored to be a part of this memorial to Scotty & Lulu Belle Wiseman.
Mr. Wiseman added that the Scotty & Lulu Belle road name request is different from the one for Mr. Robbins in that it does not affect any municipality, only the County itself.

Mr. Terry McKinney briefly thanked the Board for considering this request, adding that the old cabin belonging to Scotty & Lulu Belle burned down about a month after a film documentary was made there.
Rep. Frye thanked Mr. McKinney for the extensive research he prepared on the careers of Scotty & Lulu Belle Wiseman.

Discussion on the renovation project which is currently underway at the old Carolina Theater in Spruce Pine. They have applied for and received their non-profit status and hope to receive some grant funds to help with the restoration, Rep. Frye advised. Mr. McKinney said we hope to see the theater become part of the area again, that the people will come back and the theater will once again thrive.

Road Name Honoring Lulu Belle & Scotty Wiseman
Motion by Joe Strickland and second by Phyllis Forbes to adopt a Resolution asking that a portion of Highway 194 in Avery County, known as Three Mile Highway, be dedicated to honor Lulu Belle and Scotty Wiseman. Further, to authorize the Chairman and interested parties to sign said Resolution. Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Road Name Request in Memory of Grover Robbins
Motion by Joe Strickland that item 3.4A on the Agenda regarding renaming of road in honor of Grover Robbins be deferred until the May 15 Regular Meeting in order to give the Manager an opportunity to resolve any unresolved questions for the benefit of this Board. Motion seconded by Susan Pittman and unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Tax Collector Report – Mary Daniels
Mary Daniels, Tax Collector, reported a total collection for April 2006 of $183,217.26.
Motion by Susan Pittman and second by Phyllis Forbes to approve this report as presented. Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Tax Assessor Report – Phillip Barrier
In the absence of Phillip Barrier, who was assisting the 2006 Board of E&R, the Tax Assessor Report was presented by Mary Daniels, Tax Collector.

Mrs. Daniels read aloud a Memo from the Tax Assessor to the taxpayers of Avery County regarding Revaluation notices and the options available to taxpayers who might wish to appeal their new values.
Mary advised that Phillip is working with the Board of E&R today and that they are moving along swiftly with their appointments. They have around 300 appeals out of approximately 22,300 parcels.

Real & Personal Releases
Real & Personal Releases were presented in amount of $230.21 plus $17.62 Fire Tax.
Motion by Susan Pittman and second by Phyllis Forbes to approve the Real & Personal Releases as presented. Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Real & Personal Refunds
Real & Personal Refunds were presented in amount of $820.44 plus $33.36 interest.
Motion to approve the Real & Personal Refunds by Phyllis Forbes and second by Joe Strickland. Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Motor Vehicle Releases
Motor Vehicle Releases were presented in amount of $196.84 plus $16.07 Fire Tax release.
Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Joe Strickland commented that we are basing the proposed tax rate, which the Chairman read earlier, on a $3.7 billion dollar assessed value. He said his understanding is that several resort areas are making an appeal. By the time that process is completed, we will have set the tax rate. If they prevail and it affects our revenue, then it needs to be recognized that that money has to be made up from Fund Balance if we have a loss of projected revenues that are anticipated in the budget. It needs to be recognized that it will all be in concrete before these things are resolved, and it may or may not have an impact. The public deserves to know what it means and where that money has to come from, Joe said.

County Manager Report – (Continued)
Revision to Board of Commissioners Policy Manual
Robert Wiseman stated that as previously discussed, this is a request to revise the Board’s Policy Manual regarding the holding of Public Hearings. This request is made in the interest of continuity of operation and to make the flow of Board Meetings easier, the Manager said. The Board previously discussed establishing a specific point in the agenda to hold Public Hearings at the beginning of the Regular Meeting, rather than in the body of the meeting or at the end of the meeting. That was done in part so that people who wanted to attend the public hearing would not have to sit through the other agenda items prior to the hearing. The issue was also researched by our County Attorney and her opinion is attached. In order to revise the agenda for this purpose, we would add another paragraph to Section 3.2, which would be (D) Public Hearings. Discussion. The section would not be time specific to the extent that there would be a specific time it would start, rather it would appear in this same section of each meeting, the Manager said.

Motion by Phyllis Forbes to revise the BOC Policy Manual to include a Section D under Section 3 Agenda Format for the placing of Public Hearings. Motion seconded by Joe Strickland and unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Withdraw Items from Manager’s Report
The Manager requested permission to withdrawn Item 3 – Records Maintenance & Security Policy and Item 4 – Employee Classification & Salary Info. Packet from today’s agenda and ask the Board to defer discussion on these items until our next Regular Meeting. He advised that he felt these items need further discussion with the County Attorney. There is a gap in our policy that leaves several things nebulous as to how things that are public record are made available to the public. For the record, Wiseman said, Avery County has nothing to hide. We are not ashamed of anything in our records. However, as your agent, I need some discretion as to how many hoops I have to jump through to provide this information. I received a request for public information, some of which I don’t think was appropriate. We have about 208 people on our payroll right now. The request I received was to provide information, part of which was public, and would involve at least 6 individual computations on each employee as to salary, FICA and fringes. That would amount to around 1,250 individual computations which would then change at the next payday due to normal payroll changes. We need some method of dealing with this, Wiseman said. He also added that we are not trying to circumvent the availability of public record. He added that 330 pages (copy of each job description in Avery County) have been copied and readied for the person requesting this information; however, no one has ever come to pick them up. There was no request for specific names, just a request for everybody, how much retirement, vacation, salary, etc. for all employees. I think that is a little excessive, Wiseman said.

Joe Strickland commented that the Manager is at risk as to what to do on some of these requests. The law is quite specific about public record items. If the Board maintains a position, and for us to determine what is reasonable, I think we should discuss this and come to a conclusion so that when someone asks for documents, we have something for the Manager to use. Joe added that it is appropriate for the attorney to advise both the Manager and the Board on this issue.

Robert Wiseman advised that the Information Packet referred to in Item 4 is a generic document which is in its infancy right now. It is a manifestation of our good faith in this situation. The packet will be in a folder or stapled together. A reasonable person with a reasonable education can take the document relating to sick, vacation, fringes, etc. at any time, with an updated personnel roster attached showing date of employment, classification and grade level, and use it and go to that schedule and compute any employee’s salary as of that date.
Discussion was also held on the viewing of public documents and what requirements we may need to establish such as requiring that the document be viewed in the presence of a certain person, etc.

Health Department Construction Update
Robert Wiseman reported that the Health Department project is back on schedule. He encouraged the Board to visit the site and see the work that has been done inside thus far. Robert advised that we hope to be able to occupy the facility in late July or early August 2006.

Finance Officer Report – Tim Greene
Tim Greene, Finance Officer, presented the monthly Finance Office Report.
Moved $750,000 from the NCCMT Account to the General Account on 4/28/06.

Tim Greene added, as a clarification regarding how much money we have on hand, that of this total amount, $7.5 million will be in the Courthouse Project Fund. Of that $7.5 million, all of it has been spoken for; Annex Construction to be started shortly; the Jail Addition/renovation will be started in the coming year and the original building renovation. We project at this point that we are about $1.5 million short to do all of those things, so the $7.5 million is spoken for, plus we need funds in addition to that, Tim said.
We have about $7.9 million in the General Fund, of which $4.4 million of that is our Unreserved Fund Balance or our 20% of last year’s General Fund expenditures and transfers. This is the 20% of Undesignated Fund Balance that we try to hold at that point. The remainder of the $7.9 million is strictly cash flow. We will move anything over our 20% Undesignated Fund Balance either into the Courthouse Project Fund and use the money to pay for Avery High School Renovation which is $3.05 million or we will start setting aside for our Banner Elk Elementary School Project, which is estimated at $7.5 million at this time.

Joe Strickland said that from what I hear Tim saying, that even if the Board wanted to, it could not deplete the Fund Balance in order to build the Banner Elk School, which would be nothing more than a fantasy. Tim said yes, that’s what I was saying. Kenny Poteat said that we have at our disposal, rather than $16,300,000.00, more like $5 million because we can automatically reduce that amount by $11million dollars (the $7 million and the $4 million). Robert Wiseman said he feels that once we get into the Banner Elk project that our “pay as you go” philosophy may hit some rough waters. Tim Greene said if you take the 20% aside, we have about $3 million to work with right now. Keeping in mind this “pay as you go” philosophy, if we were borrowing money for the Courthouse Expansion or Jail addition, you could count on at least half of the total project being spent just for interest cost, if we were borrowing money.
As an example, if we spent $10 million on the Courthouse/Jail Renovation, we would have to come up with an additional $5 million to cover the interest if we were borrowing that money, Tim said.

Budget Amendment #______________
The EMS Department has received various contributions in honor of EMS Week.
Request budget amendment to recognize $550 in their training line item and the other half going into their revenue account.
Motion by Joe Strickland and second by Susan Pittman to approve a Budget Amendment of $550 in the EMS Department to recognize revenue. Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Budget Amendment #______________
The Agriculture Extension Dept. has received a contribution from Helen M. Clabough Charitable Foundation to be used for the 4-H Summer Program in amount of $3,000.00.

Motion by Susan Pittman and second by Joe Strickland to recognize revenue in amount of $3,000 into the Ag. Extension Dept. for the 4-H Summer Program. Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.
Chairman Poteat expressed appreciation to Mrs. Clabough for this very worthy donation of $3,000 for the 4-H Summer Program.

Budget Amendment #____________
Tim Greene advised that we did a budget amendment in March on this same item. We have received additional funds from the NC Dept. of Crime Control & Public Safety Crisis Housing Assistance Funds (CHAF) in amount of $176,280.00, bringing the total grant up to $1,545,780.00. The funds are being used to replace homes destroyed by Hurricanes Frances & Ivan.

Motion by Joe Strickland and second by Phyllis Forbes to approve a Budget Amendment in amount of $176,280.00 from the CHAF Grant for replacement of homes destroyed by Hurricanes Frances & Ivan. Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Budget Amendment # _________________Undesignated Fund Balance in Excess of 20%
The Finance Officer requested that the undesignated fund balance in excess of 20% of the total General Fund Expenditures and transfers to other funds at the end of Fiscal Year 2004-05 be appropriated for the Courthouse Project Fund. That would then bring the Courthouse Fund Balance up to the $7 million we previously discussed.
Motion by Susan Pittman and second by Phyllis Forbes to approve the transfer of $3,063,036.00 revenue and expense into the Courthouse Project Fund. Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Public Hearing – ROAP Grant – Linda Cuthbertson
Motion by Joe Strickland for the Board to convene in a Public Hearing on the 2006 ROAP Grant at 4:00 p.m. Motion seconded by Susan Pittman and unanimously approved.

The Chairman called the Public Hearing to order at 4:00 p.m.
In attendance were Commissioners Kenny Poteat, Phyllis Forbes, Joe Strickland and Susan Pittman. Absent: Commissioner Bill Beuttell.
Also attending were Robert Wiseman, County Manager; Tim Greene, Finance Officer, Michaelle Poore, County Attorney, as well as members of the press and public.

Linda Cuthbertson, ACT Director, explained that this Public Hearing is being held for the purpose of receiving public comments regarding the proposed ROAP Grant for Avery County. These are Rural Operating Assistance Grant Funds which the County applies for on an annual basis through the N.C. Dept. of Transportation. These monies help fund our Elderly Disabled Program, the Work First Program,
and the General Public Program. Total grant request is $73,802.00. Last year we received $75,277.00 in grant funds, so we will be receiving $1,475.00 less than last year. This is 100% State and Federal monies, with no matching required. Linda added that the part our agency and our clients like the best is the Elderly Program. We use that money to transport the elderly and disabled as well as our Veterans. We mainly transport our Veterans to medical facilities or for shopping needs, so we especially appreciate the Elderly Program monies, Linda said.

The Chairman asked if there were any questions or comments from the public regarding this grant application. There were none.

Chairman Poteat advised that the surrounding counties are receiving grant funds which are close to the amount Avery County has been receiving. Robert Wiseman, County Manager, advised that of the six counties we use for external comparison on our funding, they are all within a few thousand dollars of each other, ranging from $72,000 to around $76,000.

There were no further comments.

Motion by Phyllis Forbes and second by Susan Pittman for the Board to close the Public Hearing and resume Regular Session at 4:08 p.m. Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Motion by Joe Strickland and second by Phyllis Forbes to adopt a Resolution seeking to apply for ROAP Grant Funds for the 2006-07 fiscal year in Avery County and to approve the appropriate parties to sign said Resolution. Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

County Attorney Report – Michaelle Poore
Michaelle Poore advised that there have been no developments in any pending litigation this past month.
She added that she has a few tax foreclosures that are still in the process of working their way through.

Chairman Poteat asked if the citizens who are involved in the foreclosure process still receive a letter which tells them that interest and extra costs, including attorney fees, could well exceed the amount of the taxes owed if not paid in a timely manner. Michaelle Poore said it doesn’t say that it may exceed the amount of the tax, but they receive two notices. They get a letter first. If they pay the taxes, then there are no fees involved at that point. They are informed that if they fail to pay the taxes owed, then litigation will be filed and that is the time when the extra costs will be incurred. This is included in the paperwork that is served on the property owner once the lawsuit is filed. A paragraph is included in there which says that attorney fees and costs are going to keep accruing the longer it progresses, Michaelle said.

JCPC Update
There was no representative from JCPC available for discussion. The County Manager advised that the appropriate monies, as they relate to this presentation today, have been included in the proposed budget as requested by JCPC.

Approval of Minutes
Motion by Phyllis Forbes and second by Susan Pittman to approve the Minutes of the April 3, 2006 Regular Meeting of the Board. Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Recess
Commissioner Strickland requested a brief recess in order for him to discuss an issue with our two legislators in attendance today (Senator Presnell & Rep. Frye) regarding pending Medicaid issues. We do not have a full Board today and are unable to amend our agenda to discuss this matter in open session, Strickland said.
The Chairman declared a 5 Minute Recess. The Board came out of Recess at 4:24 p.m.

Agenda Consent Items
Agenda Consent Items were approved by consensus.
Discussion on whether Board Members would be able to attend the get-together at the prison facility on May 4, 2006 regarding the Cell Dogs Project through the Avery Humane Society. Chairman Poteat, Phyllis Forbes and Susan Pittman indicated they would like to attend.
Discussion on attending the Legislative Briefing, May 17, 2006 in Raleigh. Board Members are to advise the Clerk by May 4 if they will be able to attend.

The Clerk reminded the Board of a Welcoming Ceremony which is scheduled on May 8, 2006 at the Avery Campus of Mayland Community College in honor of Dr. Suzanne Owens.

Chairman Poteat reminded the Board of the Joint Meeting with the Board of Education on May 4, 2006 at the Board of Education.

Adjourn
Motion by Joe Strickland to adjourn this meeting at 4:32 p.m.

______________________________
Kenny Poteat, Chairman
Avery County Board of Commissioners

ATTEST: _____________________________
Nancy H. Cook, Clerk to the Board