27 Jan January 27th, 2014 Minutes

THE FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY EIGHTH SESSION OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN

VILLAGE OF ALAMANCE
January 27, 2014 – 7:00 PM

Present: Mayor Bundren, Mayor Pro Tem Tichy, Alderman Clemmons, Alderman Sharpe, Alderman Crouse, Alderman Slaughter, and Clerk York.

Absent: Alderman Gregory

Alderman Clemmons gave the invocation.

Alderman Sharpe moved to approve the December 16, 2013 meeting minutes. Mayor Pro Tem Tichy seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS

Report on Cabin Pump Station Project

Mark Reich reported that good progress has been made and provided a total of 10 sheets of drawings for the Board to review. He first addressed the Plan & Profile which shows where the project is going to be, and how deep the sewer lines will be in relation to different areas. He pointed out where the existing pump station is located, along with the sanitary sewer manhole. This is at the upper end of the project where they are tying onto the existing line. From the existing line, they cross the creek and go down to Pond Road. The siphon and the dosing tank will be on the other side of Pond Road, as Mr. Reich indicated on the plans. Then, they cross the big creek to tie back in on the Burlington side. Mayor Bundren asked if this would come down behind the houses on Highway 62. Mr. Reich clarified that they were looking at Pond Road on the drawing and pointed out the location of Highway 62 in relation to this. There is a grass driveway coming back into the bonus property. This is where the project will be crossing, in this vicinity. It is several hundred feet from the existing bridge back up to the crossing.

Mr. Reich pointed out some existing manholes and the location of a new manhole that will be set up on the other side of the creek. On a different drawing, Mr. Reich addressed a different view, on a one-to-one scale. This gives a realistic view of what is happening, versus the skewed scale just reviewed on the Profile. This drawing shows where they will be starting the bore and where they will be coming out, from underneath the bore. Radiuses go underneath and back up. This can be tracked when the boring is done. This technology has come a long way in the last 5-10 years. Mr. Reich pointed out a section on the side of the hill, next to the road, where they are building it back up to grade for the road grade. This is also above the 100 year flood elevation. They will need to grade this a little differently, to have a driveway, in case they ever did need to get down to that section of line. Mr. Reich plans to touch base with Alderman Crouse on this, and give it some thought. It would behoove the Village to go ahead and add a little more field dirt for better access. Mr. Reich stated that he also wanted to talk with Arnold Allred about that.

Next, Mr. Reich presented some of the schematics they will be using for the dosing tank itself. It will be in a concrete manhole which will extend all the way to the top of the ground. It will be deep, but it will still be accessible. This will be the key for Arnold, in case they need to come back in there. Next, Mr. Reich addressed the site plan for the Highway 62 pump station. They will be extending the pad out and putting in the emergency generator and the control panel. There will be an open shelter, about 10’ by 10’, so that when it does rain there can be lights and protection from the weather for working on the control panel. Next, Mr. Reich presented more schematics. They may still need to make some changes. They are working with the electrical engineer as well on this. He has not yet given his final CAD version. This and the following page are the schematics for the electrical part of the project. Mr. Reich pointed out that the sizing would be changed by the electrical engineer. He will provide the updated version later.

The next 3 sheets of drawings Mr. Reich referred to were detail sheets that would be used for the project. He also provided two easement maps for the Attorney to begin doing title work. They will be needing easements from four people: the Connets, Ms. Bowman, Timothy Crouse, and a Kirkpatrick on the opposite side of the creek. Mayor Bundren asked Mr. Reich if contact had already been made. He said contact had been made early on. After the Attorney has done his legal work, it would probably be good to send a letter to the individuals. Then they can arrange a meeting to go over the project with the individuals. They can ask if anyone wants to dedicate an easement. Clerk York asked about this process. Mr. Reich said if a sewer line was crossing someone’s property, it could be dedicated to the town at no cost. Generally speaking, they do offer fair compensation and then give them the option to waive that right. Mr. Reich has done this on some sidewalk projects. Usually, with sanitary sewer projects, this is not done. Mr. Reich asked if there were any further questions. Mayor Bundren asked if all the easements were underground easements, or if there were above ground right-of-ways involved. Mr. Reich said they could have to go back in there to maintain the sanitary sewer line, or maintain a manhole, more likely. They will be able to have access. Mayor Bundren commented that they did not want to run into situations they’ve had in the past. Attorney Bateman stated that this should not be an issue. Mayor Bundren thanked Mr. Reich for his report.

ORC Report

Arnold Allred reported that there had been a State Inspection from Ron Boone. They should be receiving a letter soon. They had a three hour meeting with Mr. Boone. Mayor Bundren asked if everything was okay, overall. Mr. Allred confirmed that everything was okay. Clerk York also commented that there were no problems with the inspection. There are a couple of items for the Village to work on. Overall the inspection went well. Mr. Allred reported there was a manhole on Heritage Lane that Jerry has repaired. The concrete was knocked off the top of the manhole, but this has been repaired. Mayor Bundren thanked Mr. Allred for his report.

There was no further Old Business.

NEW BUSINESS

Public Transportation in Alamance County

Clerk York called attention to the packet of information. He pointed out the map of the proposed public transportation routes in Alamance County. As of now, the Burlington City Council is seeking input from the other towns. There is not a route proposed to come through the Village of Alamance. Clerk York also addressed the overall costs of the program. It will not cost the Village anything, since there is no proposed route there. Most of the cost will be covered through a federal grant. The total operating cost would be $1.2 million. The federal share of that would be $640,000.00 and the local share would be $620,000.00. Clerk York noted the cost allocations for the different municipalities are based on how many miles come through each area. One way that municipalities can help finance this is a motor vehicle tax. Clerk York commented that he was sharing this information and asked if there were any comments. Mayor Bundren confirmed that the Village of Alamance was not being asked to share in the funding. Clerk York stated this was correct, because a route is not proposed to come through the Village. The Village of Alamance would be asked to contribute a local share if any part of the route came through the Village. Alderman Tichy added that this provided the greatest potential for the project to break even. Mayor Bundren asked if the vehicle tax option gave the Village a right to impose a vehicle tax and if this was only applicable to public transportation. Attorney Bateman said that the tax could be used for other purposes as well and not just for public transportation. Clerk York added it was another way to raise revenue. Alderman Clemmons said they might think about putting a parking lot on the Burlington side, so people coming in from this side of the county could park and ride. Mayor Bundren added that many people do not want to get into traffic, so this might be an option.

Budget Amendment

Clerk York presented the budget amendment, noting that two items are being added on to, for carrying to the end of the year. The main item is the appropriated fund balance. He has added $28,000.00 to that, in order to pay for the paving for Liberty Drive. Mayor Bundren asked if the paving for Liberty Drive was coming out of Powell Bill funds. Clerk York affirmed that this was correct. Alderman Clemmons made the motion to approve the budget amendment as presented. Mayor Pro Tem Tichy seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Alderman Clemmons introduced discussion of the extra Plaid Day checking account, with the consensus of the Mayor and the Board. The account is not being used and is costing $20.00 per month. It was the consensus of the Mayor and the Board to close the Plaid Day account.

Finance Report

Clerk York presented the Finance Report. There are two CDs that have matured since the last meeting. Each earned about $500.00 in interest; the last one earned .6%. Clerk York checked with a couple of other banks. One bank had a special of .57% for 9 months. When Clerk York told Carter Bank about that, they increased the rate from .3% to .6%. He suggested that, now that Carter Bank is aware the Village might move some of the money, they may be more amenable to a higher rate.

OTHER BUSINESS

Alderman Sharpe introduced Joe Thompson, originally from Alamance. He married and moved to Oregon, but has returned to Alamance. He is a practicing attorney. Mr. Thompson then spoke. He graduated from UNC-CH and went to Yale Divinity School. He earned a degree from Oregon School of Law and worked as a deputy district attorney and administrative law judge. Mr. Thompson moved back to Alamance eight months ago with his wife and daughter. He is opening a law firm in Graham. He asked that the Village contact him in the future if they needed him. He is a resident of the Village and has a great deal of experience in government law. He expressed his hope that the Village would consider calling him, if needed. Mayor Bundren thanked Mr. Thompson for coming to the meeting.

Clerk York added that Mr. Thompson’s wife is also a pastor. Alderman Sharpe also noted that Mr. Thompson’s aunt was Frances Seymour, who helped incorporate the Village of Alamance.

There was no other business.

Public Comment

There was no other public comment.

Alderman Crouse moved to adjourn and Alderman Clemmons seconded. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned.