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

Members Present: Kenny Poteat, Chairman; Susan Pittman, Vice-Chairman; Bill Beuttell and Joe Strickland

Members Absent: Phyllis Forbes

Call to Order
Chairman Poteat called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m.
Mr. Poteat then led in prayer.

Public Comments
Bill Close brought to the Board’s attention something he is currently working on in regard to the new Septic Tank and Health Department Fee Schedule recently adopted by the Toe River Health District. Close said that he was astounded by the amount and the severity of the increase in fees. He said he is addressing this matter because he expects it to become a future agenda item for this Board. Close said that he has been running demographics on the implications this fee structure will have on our citizens in Avery County and the economic development impact as well. He added that he brought this matter before the EDC Board this morning, but that he is not speaking on behalf of the EDC Board. However, the general feeling of those members was that these fees were extremely excessive and unwarranted. Close said that he is going to meet with the Builders Association and Board of Realtors and get a consortium of people who will be impacted, review the fees, and come back to this Board with an opinion. He added that he is also putting together a meeting of the Avery County members of the Toe River District Health Board to discuss this issue and its impacts. Susan Pittman advised that she did not attend the meeting in July when they took this action and that she did not vote on it. Bill Close said he felt that those Board Members did not receive sufficient information at that meeting in order to make an informed decision before they voted. He said he has heard that some of the fees will increase ten times.
He plans to get the information together and show this Board the true impact of those fees on the people of Avery County.

Joe Strickland commented that he felt the comments by Bill Close reinforce the notion that it is time for Avery County to give consideration to its own public health activities.

Commissioner-Elect Dan South commented that he has been contacted by at least 3 people in regard to these septic tank fees and that he feels this will be an issue that future boards will be considering. He added that he felt this is a legitimate concern.
Chairman Poteat added that he has also been contacted concerning this matter.

Board Appointments
Workforce Development Board
Robert Wiseman advised that Sam Ray’s term on the Workforce Development Board has expired. Mr. Wiseman then recommended that Mr. Ray be reappointed for another term on this board.

Motion by Joe Strickland and second by Susan Pittman to reappoint Sam Ray to another term on the Workforce Development Board. Motion unanimously approved with four members in attendance.
Chairman Poteat commented that he felt we could find no better board member than Sam Ray, adding that he has an exemplary attendance rate at all of his meetings.

Tax Assessor Report – Phillip Barrier
Phillip Barrier, Tax Assessor, reported that there are no Releases or Refunds for the month.
Barrier advised that 23,963 tax bills will be mailed out sometime before September 1. Total of those bills is $13,395,006.70. These bills are then due and payable from date of receipt until January 5, 2007.

Phillip advised that Mr. Scott Casey, Property Tax Division in Raleigh, worked with him on six appeals to the state. He said that he has three changes in assessed value that he needs the Board to approve. This information just came in by telephone this afternoon. Phillip said that they worked six appeals last Friday and three of them are “No change.” On the other three appeals, we went into the homes, re-measured and found a couple of errors on the property tax cards. Those three are all located at Linville Ridge. When they send the tax specialist up here to work on these cases, they want to make sure we are ready to go to Court, Phillip said. When it is ready to go to Court, the state has private appraisers go into the homes and do an appraisal. When the state goes into the home, you find out a lot you didn’t find out through the Board of E&R or the other processes we use.
Phillip said he feels good about the other 3 cases they worked on where it was ruled there would be no change. Out of those three with No Change, two accepted it; and with the other one we will be going with the County Attorney, in November or December for a Court Hearing in Raleigh.

Property Tax Appeals
Bernard Lipman
Linville Ridge residence; square footage problem. The value has gone from $740,000 to $578,200.00. Mr. Lipman ordered a private appraisal that came in at $570,000, so we are still over the private appraisal, Phillip Barrier said. Mr. Lipman’s total tax bill for 2006 would be $2,814.06, which would be a release of $617.50.The settled value on this home is $578,200.00. Phillip requested a release of $617.50 for Bernard Lipman.

Motion by Bill Beuttell and second by Joe Strickland to accept a tax release in amount of $617.50 for Bernard Lipman.
Joe Strickland commented that we are slightly amending the Agenda today and that he would presume the Chair is waiving policy for expedient reasons so we can deal with this matter today under the Assessor’s report. The Chairman advised that he is waiving policy today, adding that this kind of issue is normally handled in the Assessor’s Report anyway.
Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Carl Davne
Linville Ridge home. Value was $842,500.00. When we went inside, we found that there is no ceramic tile in the house, but there is carpeting, Phillip said. We adjusted the value down to $811,700 and there will be a release of $117.03.
The total tax bill for Davne will be $3,201.50.

Motion by Joe Strickland to approve the tax release in amount of $117.03 for Carl Daphne. Motion seconded by Susan Pittman and unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Sharon Mills
Linville Ridge home; 9,000 sq. ft house; square footage problem.
Value of the home was $2,932,500.00. We found an error in the lower level of the home, Phillip said. There is a swimming pool in the home that is in disrepair and cannot be used. The state felt that was a functional obsolescence in the home, and that whoever buys the home will have to either repair it or tear it out, at a great expense. The proposed value is $2,551,200.00 from the original $2,932,500.00. This will be a release of $1,448.94. The total taxes, after the release, will be $9,694.56.

Motion by Joe Strickland and second by Susan Pittman to approve a tax release on the Sharon Mills home in amount of $1,448.94. Motion unanimously approved.

Phillip Barrier added that they still have 24 more appeals to work on, but 12 of them are tied up with Grandfather, Elk River and Linville.

Appeals before Board of Commissioners
Joe Strickland requested an update on the status of the 3 appeals that are coming before this Board for review. Phillip advised that there are 2 appeals that still need to be heard by this Board. He added that if this Board agrees, the hearings could be held in the board room in the Courthouse. The Commissioners advised they would prefer to hold the hearings in their own meeting room. Phillip stated that he would be providing the Board with information regarding these hearings.
The County Manager mentioned that today the Board will be considering whether or not to cancel their second monthly meeting in August. If it is cancelled, the appeals will have to be re-scheduled. Phillip advised that the hearings can be moved up to September, if necessary.

Tax Collector Report – Mary Daniels
Mary Daniels, Tax Collector, reported a total of $124,373.16 collected through July. This amount includes around $40,000 in prepays for 2006.
Motion by Joe Strickland and second by Susan Pittman to approve this report as presented. Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Mary Daniels reported that interest collected for the fiscal year from 1994 through 2005 is $90,435.00. That is a sizeable amount of additional revenue to the county, Mary said. The total fire tax collected during 1994 through 2005 was a little over $1 million.
Total outstanding vehicle and real estate taxes from 1994 through 2005 are $967,000.00. That amount is down from the previous year, Mary said.

Brief discussion held regarding whether the General Assembly has voted to change the rules regarding collection of vehicle taxes. Mary advised that this bill is still in the Legislature. Joe said the Legislature may have already adjourned for this session.

Recess
The Board took a brief recess in order to recognize Mr. Crae Morton, grandson of Mr. Hugh Morton. Morton presented the Board with a signed, framed photograph of the swinging bridge on Grandfather Mountain. He advised that it was one of the last photos ever taken by Hugh Morton. He requested that the Board place the picture in the County offices in remembrance of his grandfather. The Board expressed their deep appreciation for this lovely photograph and assured him that it would be placed in their Board Room.

Road Addition – Mountain Shadow Lane
The Board considered a written request from residents of Mountain Shadow Lane to add approximately 0.2 mile of this road to the State System for maintenance. Mountain Shadow Lane is located off Fork Mountain Cemetery Road near Newland.
Motion was made by Bill Beuttell and seconded by Susan Pittman to request that the N.C. Dept. of Transportation add 0.2 mile of Mountain Shadow Lane to the state system for maintenance. Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Request for Subdivision Approval – Wilderness Trail
Mr. Don McNeil, surveyor from Watauga County, presented the Wilderness Trail Subdivision request to the Board for approval. The Board considered this request to approve Section I-A of Phase 1 of the Wilderness Trail project, which encompasses 64.42 acres and contains 40 lots. The project is located off Highway 194 at Newland, between Hickory Nut Gap Road and Blevins Creek Road. This 64 acres is a portion of an approximately 900-acre tract and it is just the first phase of this project.
McNeil advised that the Avery Planning Board has already reviewed and approved this request.

Tommy Burleson advised that the main entrance for the project will be located off Hwy. 194 with entrances at Hickory Nut Gap and Blevins Creek. The minimum lot size is .754. Most lots are at least 1 acre in size. The Planning Board has required a surety bond on the road construction. The total overview of the subdivision and golf course is 900+ acres. Tommy advised that Mr. Anthony Accetturo is here today as one of the primary investors in the project. Tommy added that the project is currently in compliance with all applicable ordinances. Tommy added that the public is showing a lot of interest in this project right now. It is another low-density, high-quality development in Avery County and I am very pleased with it, Tommy said. Tommy advised that the project has met all the criteria required of them thus far. Joe Strickland asked if this project is required to abide by the new regulations this Board recently adopted. Tommy advised that the project does not fall under those new regulations because it was submitted before that July date. Once the owners get primary approval from the Planning Board, they are allowed to go ahead with the development site plan and soil erosion & sedimentation plan, Tommy said. Joe Strickland was concerned that there would be nothing to prevent the owners from changing this project into a planning unit development project such as the Fish Camp project at Altamont (Linville River project.) Joe said he was concerned that the project could turn into a time-share at some point like the Linville River project did and that we wouldn’t have the mechanism to stop it. Joe said if they change plans, there is nothing under the new Ordinance that requires them to come back to us and give us a new game plan. Tommy advised that this project is already meeting the ¾ acre lot requirements and he didn’t think there would be any problems.

Anthony Accetturo advised that they are getting a substantial amount of money for their lots and that their company will maintain the Wilderness Trail feeling throughout the entire project. They will also maintain a lot of green space in this project, Accetturo said. He said he felt this project would be a big benefit for the Town of Newland and that the community will be satisfied with the end result of what we are doing here. Tommy Burleson added that there will be condominiums, but they are still restricted by the Avery County Building Height Ordinance and the Ridge Law. They still can’t be more than 42 ft. above natural grade, and they won’t protrude over the ridge line.

The Chairman asked about the portion of the project up for approval today. Tommy advised they are seeking approval for the 64.42 acres, only, today. Accetturo added that they will come back with Phase B of the project in about two months and will implement that phase over the next 1 to 1 ½ years.

Motion by Joe Strickland to approve the final plan development of Section 1A of Phase I of Wilderness Trail and to authorize the Chairman to sign the required documentation. Motion seconded by Susan Pittman and unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

County Manager Report – Robert Wiseman
Project Updates
Avery County Health Department
Robert Wiseman reported that as of this morning the Health Department facility is approaching substantial completion. The overhead inspection is scheduled for tomorrow, the electrical work is being done, the carpet is down and cabinets will be completed by tomorrow. He added that we hope to have a Certificate of Occupancy for this facility by the time we have our next Regular Meeting. Robert also advised that the paving of the parking lot is complete, but there are still a few issues with the curbing and planters to work out. He said that while this parking lot was being striped, he hired the same people to re-stripe all of our parking lots in this same area because it was badly needed. We have also created a new parking area next to the swimming pool.

Administration Building
We are installing a new metal roof on the Administration/DSS Building and the work is almost complete at this time, Wiseman said. Once they finish with this roof they will start work on the old Museum roof, which is in dire need of re-roofing.

Avery County High School
In regard to the HVAC system at the High School, the School Board has lined up an engineer from Asheville to come next week and meet with Tommy Burleson to see what has to be done in order for the duct work to be code compliant, Robert said. Once that decision is made, Bob Tatum can do some cost projections and bring them back to the board to see how much it would cost to bring the HVAC system up to code. We should have this information by our next meeting.

Policy for Naming of Structures
Joe Strickland commented that Avery County does not have any guideline or policy for naming of structures. If we decide we would like to name some of our new structures, such as the new Health Department, in honor of some outstanding citizen, should we consider adopting a policy for this purpose, Joe said. The Chairman felt it would be a good idea, and he asked Joe to work on this matter. Joe said that he would be glad to give the Manager something to contemplate if the Board approves. The Board approved for the Manager and Joe Strickland to work on such a policy.

Bill Beuttell – Request for Clarification
Bill Beuttell said he read an article in the newspaper about how the Superintendent of Schools said something about the HVAC system and that if the Commissioners could come up with the money for the new Astroturf and the track and auxiliary gymnasium that we could come up with some extra money for the HVAC since we are responsible for the maintenance of the facility. If that statement is correct, I have a bone to pick with her because the schools have their own maintenance department. If they want the County to do the maintenance, I’ll be glad to look at the County taking that under their umbrella and subcontracting it out to a private enterprise in the County, etc. I would like to know what is going on. As far as I am concerned, we have been very, very good to the Board of Education and the school system in providing not only for the past and present but also the future, and if there was any type of comment or inference made that we were not holding up our end of the bargain, then I’ve got a bone to pick with that, Bill said.

In this regard, Joe Strickland advised Bill that while Bill was out of town during one of our meetings, the Board decided to sit down with the Board of Education at our next Quarterly Meeting and strategize how to prioritize some of these things such as the Astroturf, auxiliary gymnasium, track, etc. in order to get done what we can do this fiscal year for the money that is allocated. That meeting has not yet taken place, Joe said. The Manager will set it up sometime in the near future. There are some changes that need to be considered such as toilet facilities at the stadium, such as if it can be accommodated by putting the auxiliary gym at the top of the priorities and putting facilities there to accommodate the ADA portion of the Federal law. Until we sit down and strategize what we need to be doing, all we can do is flounder, Joe said. Kenny Poteat agreed that until we meet, both sides should hold their comments.
Bill Beuttell said he feels that during his tenure here that we have addressed every need the school system has had, such as buses, maintenance, band uniforms, etc. If those comments were made within that structure, then I take offense to the statement in defending my fellow Commissioners, Bill said.
Kenny Poteat added that there is no doubt that over the last several years the Avery Commissioners have been a friend to education.

The Rock Project
Robert Wiseman advised that, as instructed by the Board, he has solicited proposals for the removal of “the Rock”, which has been a long process. We are not even close to starting. There has been a lot of dialog about the removal of the rock for the past 2 or 3 years. We have had issues expressed by the Bd. of Education for the potential for destruction to the High School as a result of blasting the rock. I contacted two local firms and a third one in Yancey County to give bids and I visited the site with each of these firms. As it progressed, the original idea by the School Board when they owned the property (we now have title to the property) was that we crack the rock, haul it off, and either stockpile it or do something with it. There is in excess of 100,000 cubic yards of material to be moved if we do that, Robert said. Option 1 that arose immediately when they started looking at the site was just to level it out, get it on grade, but don’t haul it off. The estimated cost for Option 1 is about $250,000.00. Then, two contractors said you don’t have to blast the rock, we can move it mechanically. If not all of it, the great majority of it, by using large machines such as Cat Excavator, etc. I have two bids and both are pretty close to what we can afford without a Budget Amendment, Robert said. He added that he is waiting for a third bid on the project. We are closer to being able to do this project than we have ever been, Robert said.

Joe Strickland commented that we will not adversely affect any priorities that are set by both boards by dealing with this rock project at this time. Robert said that no matter whether we do the artificial grass or building construction, the first thing that has to be done to accommodate any of these projects is the demolition of the rock. It has to be done before any of these other things can happen, Wiseman said. Joe said he wants to make sure that even though we didn’t have a commitment to priority, that we were not adversely affecting the overall objective that we will conclude with the Board of Education, and the Manager is saying no, it won’t affect it. Robert said if the artificial grass is the top priority, then a substantial amount of dirt will have to be removed from the ball field. It would only make good sense, that since we have to put topsoil over the playing area developed at the rock, to do the rock first, then we have the soil. If the turf is not the number one priority and if ours and School Board’s priority turns out to be a structure, then you have to have the rock gone anyway, Wiseman said. We may have to do a Budget Amendment at some point in time, but not an amount that would be excessive, and no matter which way we go, it won’t start happening for probably the next year, he added. Tim Greene, Finance Officer, advised that during the budget process we set aside between $50,000-$55,000 for the demolition of the rock and also set aside $139,000 as an annual debt payment on a $600,000 loan for 5 years at 5% or 6% interest (for an Auxiliary Gym and/or Astroturf). Joe Strickland said it will take more than $55,000 to do the rock project, which means you will be getting into another project for the other part of the money. Joe said if we take additional monies for the rock project, won’t we be affecting the priorities of what may exist for the other projects. Robert said the year is basically half over before you could even start doing turf or a building. If you do a building, there is no way, even if we started today, that we could be ready to start construction on a building before spring. Joe said he just wants to make sure that what we committed to in the budget process is not adversely affected. Bill Beuttell said we have not even secured the $600,000 loan yet, but we have the $55,000 already set aside for the rock. Joe said you will be getting into the additional funds that we have set aside for the rock because $55,000 won’t be enough, and that means you will be affecting some other project. Kenny Poteat said Joe is correct in his assumption that anything beyond $55,000 would cut into the $600,000 that we have approved as a Board.

Tommy Burleson said that “the rock” is a 2 acre site and that it needs to be leveled out and made site ready for whatever you want to do with it. That is priority one he said. Tommy added that it’s a beautiful place up there and would be great for Booster Club parking, a place that overlooks the field, etc.
Joe Strickland said that is academic now. I’m concerned that by pulling down additional money for the rock that we are going to affect the other projects in some fashion. I just want everybody to be aware of that, Joe said.
Robert Wiseman said that when he gets a low bid, he will bring it to this Board and ask for a Budget Amendment. The Board can then take it out of Fund Balance or out of the money that has been appropriated for this year. By doing so, you will affect what’s going on, and I am proceeding under that presumption, Robert said.

Bill Beuttell advised that he has spoken with Dan South in the past regarding constructing an auxiliary gym and using it for ROTC purposes as well. We also discussed grants that might be available through the NRA, the Government or shooting organizations. This Board would like to hear about that and would like to check into it at some point to see what could be made available, Bill said. Dan South said that both the NRA and the Civilian Marksmanship Program have grant programs available to help shooter clubs such as the ROTC Club to help them build facilities and run their clubs. We are thinking of asking for enough money to put a metal building over our existing range and just go with it, because I needed this in October, three years ago, South said. So, the auxiliary gym would no longer be an issue.

Robert Wiseman advised that he is proceeding, as understood, with the acquiring of another bid, if possible. I will then execute an agreement with that successful bidder and we will proceed with the rock project. The Board agreed.

Transportation Authority Grant
Robert Wiseman advised that this information he is relating is unofficial at this time and is only verbal; nothing is in writing. We have verbal verification that the Transportation Board met yesterday, August 2, 2006, and approved Avery County application to build our new Transportation Authority facility in the amount of $830,000.00, which was the low bid.

Robert stated that once adequate documentation is received, that he would like to make sure that he has the authority, on behalf of this Board, to accept the low bid, issue the Notice to Proceed and award the contract for this project. Chairman Poteat stated that Robert has the Board’s full approval and authorization to proceed with this project once adequate documentation is received.

Addition to Board Policy Manual
Robert Wiseman advised that we brought this issue up at our last meeting and Tim Greene and I have spent a lot of time discussing this matter. We have had knowledge that in the past we needed to address these issues that I am about to bring up. The time seems to be right to present this to the Board and give the Manager some authority in this regard to be in a position to demand accountability from the agencies who receive special allocations from Avery County.
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Robert Wiseman requested that the Board make an addition to the Commissioners Board Policy in Section 13, Delegated Authority of the County Manager, as follows: Paragraph J --- to state that the Manager shall be charged with the responsibility to ensure that proper accountability for the expenditure of all special allocations (public funds) be established and maintained. He then explained that he is asking for the authority to demand that people who receive County funds (public funds) and have never been held accountable for how those monies have been spent, be charged to do that. This would be an administrative policy that the Finance Officer and I would work on together, Wiseman said. We have many agencies which receive special allocations, but the majority of those agencies are public agencies and they are held accountable by virtue of the fact that they are public agencies and an audit is required, such as the Health Department, Mayland College, etc. Where the issue lies, in my opinion, is with these agencies which are public, non-profit corporations that we, as public employees, give money to and we have no accountability as to how those monies are being expended, Wiseman said. Discussion. Joe Strickland asked if there is any threshold as to which ones will be accountable and which ones will not. Robert said yes, there is. Joe asked if the Policy should say that the County Manager shall ensure the proper accountability for the expenditures of any or all special allocations. Because, without some clarification in Policy, the Manager is placed in the position of making an arbitrary decision, Joe said. If we say any or all, it gives him discretion.

Robert Wiseman advised that any public, non-profit corporation that receives $5,000 or more from County funds will be obligated to enter into a contract with Avery County for the expenditure of those funds. In the contract, the terms and conditions will be set forth that they must adhere to if they are going to receive those funds, Robert said. Joe Strickland said that this takes the Board out of the politics of this matter and the “any or all” removes the question of his delegated authority.

Motion by Joe Strickland to adopt this policy revision to the Avery County Board of Commissioners Policy Manual as recommended by the Manager, with the change as suggested by the addition of the words “any or all” before the words “special allocations”. Motion seconded by Susan Pittman.
Robert Wiseman said the list of agencies that will be affected is not very large; the two rescue squads which received $71,500 each this year and there is no audit trail for us, the Humane Society at $54,500, Yellow Mountain Enterprises at $22,000, ACADA at $20,000, Hospice at $17,500, Blue Ridge RC&D at $17,100 and WAMY, which falls in there somewhere as well. These are the agencies I feel that we need a contract with. If we are going to expend this much of the people’s money, then we need to do something different, Wiseman said. Joe Strickland said we also need to make it clear that we are not questioning the propriety of any organization or how they deal with their donation. As responsible stewards of the tax money, we are simply accounting for how these monies are spent, Robert said.
Vote: Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

County Attorney Report – Hal Harrison
Mr. Hal Harrison, County Attorney, reported that Michaelle Poore is taking a much needed and well-deserved vacation somewhere in Europe.

Since submitting my report to the Board, there has been an amendment to Item 1 in the case of Darrell Wayne Buchanan and Lois Buchanan v. Avery County, et. al., Harrison said. I received a letter from the attorney for the insurance company who is handling the case telling me that Judge Thornburg in the Federal District Court has dismissed the case. There is a possibility of appeal, but I do not think they will.

The remainder of this report is still the same as when I presented it.
Joe Strickland asked about Item 3 – Avery County Board of Elections/Sherrill Wayne Johnson Employment Commission Claim. Joe asked if it has been made clear that this is an employee of the Board of Elections and not the Board of County Commissioners. Mr. Harrison advised that was done during the last hearing which was a telephone conference, and it was made very clear, but it did not seem to make any difference.

Chairman Poteat thanked Mr. Harrison for his report, adding that Michaelle Poore has been an excellent employee and representative of their law firm.

Approval of Minutes
Motion by Bill Beuttell and second by Susan Pittman to approve the Minutes of the July 17, 2006 Regular Meeting. Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Agenda Consent Items
The Agenda Consent Items were approved by a consensus of the Board.

Upcoming Meetings
Chairman Poteat asked if it is still the Manager’s opinion, as previously discussed, to forego the upcoming August 21, 2006 Regular Meeting. Robert Wiseman advised that there is nothing coming up which would necessitate another meeting this month. If the Board chooses to cancel that meeting and something does come up, we still have the option to call the meeting.

Motion by Joe Strickland to cancel the August 21, 2006 Regular Board Meeting and notify the press. Motion seconded by Bill Beuttell and unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

Adjourn
Motion by Joe Strickland and seconded by Susan Pittman to adjourn this meeting at 4:30 p.m. Motion unanimously approved with 4 members in attendance.

_______________________________ Kenny Poteat, Chairman
Avery County Board of Commissioners

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