The five hundred and fifty-second session of the board of Alderman Village of Alamance

June 17, 2024

7:00 p.m.

Present: Mayor Tichy, Mayor Pro Tem Isley, Alderman Crouse, Alderman Andrews, Alderman Hunt, and Alderman Tichy

Absent: Alderman Cheap

Invocation and call to order given by Alderman Crouse

Alderman Tichy made a motion to approve Alderman Cheap’s participation remotely, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Isley. Motion carries 5-0

Motion to approve May 6^th, 2024, special meeting minutes made by           Alderman Andrews, seconded by Alderman Tichy. Motion carries 5-0.

Motion to approve May 20th, 2024, regular meeting minutes made by Alderman Hunt, seconded by Alderman Tichy. Motion carries 5-0.

Public Comment

Naydine Sharpe stated she is in the process of preserving much of the history of the Village and would like to know if the board would consider buying a large cabinet for the foyer to house it. Mayor Tichy asked Mr. Farmerie to look into prices. Alderman Tichy said the history should also be available on the website.

Alderman Andrews motioned to go into a public hearing, seconded by Alderman Tichy. Motion carries 5-0

OLD BUSINESS

Public Hearing – FY 2025

Mr. Farmerie reviewed the new proposed budget by department, starting with the general fund. The largest General Fund department is the administrative department at 43%, this includes salaries, code enforcement, and other day-to-day operations.  The second largest department is transportation due to the upcoming paving projects. The third largest is sanitation at 18% due to purchasing trash cans instead of renting them. This cost should decrease next year. The finance department is next followed by contingency and all other departments are in the last three percent.

The enterprise fund’s largest department is Operations. The second largest expense is administrative, with contingency, and debt services followed at 5% and 3 % respectively.

The General fund has a significant amount of revenue brought in from investment income. The tax rate will remain the same for residents. These positive financial benefits are a result of the board being fiscally responsible with funding.

The enterprise expenditures will see larger increases for water and sewer purchases along with maintenance.   Mr. Farmerie explained that he is working with a grant-writing agency to help get funding for Capital projects, he is also trying to establish an NC Capital trust fund as a way of opening a new revenue stream within the Enterprise Fund.

The reason for the volumetric rate increase is that the village has operated at a loss for the last four years and was cited by the LGC last year for having a negative net operating ratio. The proposed rate increase along with the implementation of a volumetric rate schedule should help to balance the water and sewer fund.

There are some fee schedule changes for next year, a nuisance abatement fee of $150, an excess yard waste fee of $75 per 660 cubic ft, and a public information request fee of 0.15 per page have been recommended.

Sherry Ford asked if the grant writing service could find funds to support a police officer for the Village and also for the water tower. She wanted to know why $50,000 would be used for park planning. Mr. Farmerie and Mayor Tichy explained that this is a part of the planning procedure and will cover multiple topics like finding land, public opinion, and more. Mrs. Ford asked why the budget was $200,000 more than last year. Mr. Farmerie explained that it was primarily from the water and sewer and trying to recover the loss from last year of $200,000. Mayor Tichy said the infrastructure is aging and leaks are becoming more prevalent, so the Village has to plan for these types of events by raising the water and sewer rates so that the fund is more balanced. Mrs. Ford asked for the salaries of Mr. Farmerie and Clerk Folwell. Attorney Koonts explained that while salaries are public information but are not part of a budget discussion. A public information request can be made, and any employee compensation can be disclosed. Mrs. Ford would like to see a police officer budgeted for, to be in the Village for 8 -12 hours a week. She said speeding is a big problem in the area and that the speed signs are not preventing it. Mrs. Ford said it would cost $40.00 an hour to contract an off-duty officer for the Village. Mayor Pro Tem Isley said he does not think an officer is needed because it’s a congestion issue. A brief discussion of a possible bypass around the Village was discussed. This is a DOT project and has been on the back burner for them for 20 years.

April Weaver said she agrees that there is a traffic problem in the Village. She said an officer was out a couple of weeks ago and wrote multiple tickets which helped with the speeding for a time. She would like the Village to consider hiring an off-duty officer, as Sherry Ford suggested.

Alderman Tichy made a motion to go out of the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Crouse. Motion carries 5-0

Alderman Tichy made a motion to adopt the budget as presented, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Isley. Motion carries 5-0

Engineer Report

Mr. Novelli reported in place of Mr. Reich. He said that after some review it was decided that the drainage pipe for Cardinal Ln should be 42” instead of 36” so that it can handle the 25-year and 100-year storm events. They are considering adding a catch basin to help water move off Cardinal LN more easily. There is some consideration as to whether a portion of the brick arch structure upstream and downstream of the recently installed yard inlet can be salvaged or if it will need to be replaced. Advertisements for paving bids will be put out this week, they will postpone paving Cardinal Ln until the drainage issue is repaired. The bids will be presented at the next meeting. Encroachment agreements have been submitted to DOT for approval for the ETJ signs. They are beginning to grade the roadway for Heritage Glen phase 5C.2 and Mr. Novelli plans to visit the site before the next board meeting.

ORC Report

Mr. Allred reported that the NC 62 pump station needed a new battery and receptacle. THM testing and distribution are good.

New Business

Update with 4129 S NC 62

Ms. Weaver said it was difficult to determine the exact date when they came into compliance because the code enforcement officer only came once a week. Eric Clem the State code enforcement officer gave the board the timeline for the property to be in compliance. He stated that he was at the property on April 30^th, the 22^nd day of civil penalties, which had accrued to $2200 at that point. He showed them a couple of things left to be done. Ms. Weaver said they were able to complete these things within a day or two but Mr. Clem could not get back out for a couple of weeks to check the property. The Board discussed the penalties and decided to settle on $1800

Mayor Pro Tem Isley made a motion to reduce the penalties to $1800, seconded by Alderman Crouse. Motion carries 5-0

Quarterly Traffic Report

Mr. Farmerie said due to development in surrounding counties and towns he will be giving quarterly traffic reports using the data from the speed limit signs. The number of vehicles going by the bridge was 196,562 for the last three months. The percentage of speeding vehicles was 26.30% over 5 MPH, 7.01% over 10MPH, 1.77% over 15MPH. the vehicle count by E.M. Holt was 82,589 ( with data missing from April 18^th to May 23^rd ) the number of speeding vehicles was 18.4% over 5MPH, 6.24% over 10MPH, 1.86% over 15MPH.  Mr. Farmerie said it appears the time of most speeding occurs late at night.  The board would like to see the number of cars that pass per hour and the rate of speed at those hours.

Enterprise Fund, Operations Department Budget Amendment

Alderman Tichy made a motion to approve the budget amendment of $60,000 from the enterprise fund, with $30,000 to go to contracted water services and $30,000 to go to contracted sewer services, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Isley. Motion carries 5-0

General Fund, Sanitation Department Budget Amendment

Alderman Crouse made a motion to accept the budget amendment of $10,000 moved from the capitol furniture and equipment department into the sanitation department for contracted services for waste removal, seconded by Alderman Andrews. Motion carries 5-0

OTHER BUSINESS

Alderman Crouse made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Alderman Hunt. Motion carries 5-0.

Mayor Tichy____________________________________

Misty Folwell, Clerk_______________________________