28 Jan January 28th, 2013 Minutes

Posted at 10:55h in by

THE FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTEENTH SESSION OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN

VILLAGE OF ALAMANCE
January 28, 2013 – 7:00 PM

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

Alderman Clemmons gave the invocation.

Alderman Clemmons moved to approve the December 17, 2012 meeting minutes. Mayor Pro Tem Sharpe seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS

Plaid Day

Alderman Slaughter reported that she and Clerk York have discussed different options for Plaid Day. One option discussed was doing a smaller event like a concert. Food would be available for purchase and the Town would hire one band to perform for the entire event. The event would be held in the late afternoon/early evening. Clerk York said that they had discussed possibly using the field at E.M. Holt. Mayor Bundren asked if the Town would be able to use the concession stand. Clerk York said that he would have to ask the Board of the Alamance Civitan Club. The concession stand does have facilities that include a grill, refrigerator, freezer, and fryer. It would be harder to use the concession stand during baseball season because the club would have its food and drinks in the coolers and there might not be enough room for the Village’s supplies. Mayor Bundren asked Clerk York to check on the dates for the baseball season and with the Alamance Civitan Club to see if the Village could use the concession stand.

Website

Clerk York said that he has not heard back from the website company that he has contacted. He has been trying to find a company to contact that would be able to help with the website. Alderman Clemmons suggested checking with the County to see who maintains their website. Alderman Tichy suggested checking with other municipalities as well. Clerk York said he would contact other municipalities as well as the County.

Report on Cabin Pump Station Project

Mark Reich reiterated the options before the Board. Option 1 is to upgrade both pump stations. The expected cost of this option is $955,000. Option 2 is to eliminate both pump stations and install gravity siphons. This option would cost $754,000. Option 3 is to eliminate the Cabin pump station and install a siphon. The NC 62 pump station would also be upgraded under this option. The cost of this option would be $453,000. Mr. Reich then went over the financing alternatives available to the Board should they select Option 3. A Rural Development Loan from the USDA would have an interest rate of 2.75% and a term of 40 years. The Annual payment would be $18,819 and total interest over the life of the loan would be $299,760.00. A Private Bank Loan would have an interest rate of approximately 3% and a term of no more than 20 years. The Annual payment would be $30,456 and total interest over the life of the loan would be $156,122.00. The Board also has the option of funding the project out of the General Fund. It was the consensus of the Board to use General Fund money for the project. The Board discussed whether or not to establish a payment schedule to reimburse the General Fund from the Water and Sewer Fund but did not make a decision. The Board decided to have a called meeting sometime before the next Board Meeting date of Feb 25th to make a decision about the project and it’s financing. This would allow Alderman Tichy to be present at the meeting as he will be out of town on the 25th of February. Alderman Clemmons asked Clerk York to write a list of Pros and Cons for the Board to use in evaluating the project. Mayor Bundren asked Clerk York to work with Board members to set a meeting date before the 25th.

ORC Report

Arnold Allred reported that the valve program had been completed successfully. Mayor Bundren asked if the State would be satisfied. Mr. Allred said that he believed the State would be happy with our valve program. He said that he would like to start doing the valves earlier this year so there wouldn’t be so many valves to turn at the end of the year. It was the consensus of the Board to move forward with turning the valves throughout the year.

There was no additional Old Business.

NEW BUSINESS

Approval of Mowing Contract

Clerk York indicated that he was waiting on one more proposal before he submits them to the Board. This item was tabled.

Finance Report

Clerk York reported that 2 CDs had matured since the last meeting. An $110,500 CD purchased from Carter Bank in March, matured on December 19, 2012. It earned $498.15 in interest. A new CD was purchased for $110,998.15. The new rate for this CD was .45%. An $110,500 CD purchased from Carter Bank in March, matured on January 19, 2013. It earned $554.40 in interest. A new CD was purchased for $111,054.40. The new rate for this CD was .45%.

Alderman Clemmons said that the Village should be aware of the balance of its Powell Bill funds. Clerk York said that the Village would not be in danger of the balance reaching its maximum limit for a couple of years. We are now receiving the Powell Bill payments in two installments each year. Because of this, the state has allowed the Village to maintain a balance equal to its last 20 payments. Previously the state allowed the Village to keep only the last 10 payments on hand.

OTHER BUSINESS

There was no other business.

Public Comment

Joey Frye approached the Board to discuss water deposits. He is planning to open a convenience store in the now closed Alamance General Store building. Clerk York informed him that to open a water account he would be required to pay a $200 deposit. Mr. Frye said that when he was on the Board, the decision had been made to require only those that were renting buildings to pay a deposit. Owners would not be required to pay a deposit. Clerk York said that all other businesses in the Village except for one have a deposit on file. Alamance General Store was required to have a deposit. Alamance Grocery, which was in business at that location prior to Alamance General Store, did not have a deposit on file. Mr. Frye said that that was because his father owns the building and was not required to have a deposit. It was determined that Clerk York would research the minutes to find out what policy had been adopted by the Board.

Mayor Pro Tem Sharpe said that she had received complaints about chickens running loose in people’s yards. She asked if there was an ordinance to regulate this. Clerk York said that there was an ordinance regulating animals. All owners must keep their animals on their own property. Clerk York said that he could write a letter to the owner.

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