The five hundred and seventy-third session of the board of Alderman Village of Alamance

June 23rd, 2025

7:00 p.m.

Present: Mayor Tichy, Alderman Andrews, Alderman Hunt, Alderman Crouse, Alderman Tichy, Alderman Cheap

Absent: Mayor Pro Tem Isley

Invocation and call to order given by Alderman Cheap

Approval of Agenda: Alderman Tichy motioned to approve the agenda, seconded by Alderman Cheap. Motion carries 5-0

Approval of May 19^th, Regular Meeting Minutes: Alderman Andrews motioned to approve May 19^th Minutes, seconded by Alderman Tichy. The motion carries 5-0.

Motion made by Alderman Crouse to move into a Public Hearing for Presentation of proposed FY 2025-2026 Budget. Seconded by Alderman Hunt. Motion Carries 5-0.

Public Comment:

NO public comment

OTHER BUSINESS

Engineer Report:

Cardinal Lane Drainage Issue: Mr. Novell states that they are still working with all parties to resolve easement issues on the Cardinal Lane project. Discussions have been held regarding Mr. Rolls’ property and the easement lines, and offers have been issued to the property owner for resolution. We are awaiting a response.  Heritage Glen Phase 5C.2. Mr. Novell states that no work has been done since the last update. Mr. Novell has spoken with Mike Davis regarding the Utility Building; they are awaiting the submission of structural plans along with all other necessary documents for a permit, and hope to submit them soon. Mr. Novell stated that flushing was completed and so far seems to have worked as anticipated with the Water Quality Issue. SL 2023-134, DWI requested some additional information, which, to the best of Mr. Novell’s knowledge, does not exist. He is unsure if the Village will be reimbursed the $9,352 initially requested. In the research files, Mrs. Folwell found additional documentation where Mr. Farmerie requested reimbursement for $73,633; however, when he submitted the documents, he listed himself as the DWI contact, and thus the form was most likely never received, since Mr. Farmerie doesn’t work for DWI, we submitted documentation to DWI on May 8^th but have not received a response.  In addition, we inquired about using that money to upgrade the Birch Pump Station- we have not received a response. At 2175 Tradition Drive, the flow is being hindered prior to sediment buildup, and flooding is apparent in the low areas of the property. County Line Wastewater Services provided two quotes. Mr. Novell states that the first quote is for $5,400, which includes removing the riprap, removing the built-up sediment, and restoring the riprap. The second quote is for $7,500, which includes the addition of geotextile fabric below the riprap and the installation of additional riprap as needed. Alderman Cheap states that he went out and looked at the property after it had rained and noticed that the grade inclines at the end of the culvert pipe, wanting to ensure that the runoff is still flowing down, as it appears to be going up. Alderman Cheap fears that if this route is decided upon, their problem will not be resolved, and the runoff will ultimately cause an issue on Baptist Loop. Mayor Tichy stated that the water has always flowed this way, stating that is why they have the riprap down, to keep the speed down; therefore, you have a legal right to allow the water to flow there forever. Mayor Tichy states that you aren’t allowed to speed up the flow, to cause erosion to a property. The cost has been determined by the need to access the existing easement and restore the yard that the property owner maintains. Alderman Crouse inquires if using the empty lot behind 2175 Tradition Dr as an access point to eliminate tearing up the residential yard. Mrs. Folwell states she has spoken with the property owner of the empty lot, and he said he doesn’t want to be involved and doesn’t want his property to be used as an access point. The homeowner stated they would be acceptable with seed and straw for completion of the work.  Alderman Cheap mentions that gullies are already forming in the lot 2175 Tradition Drive, and Mr. Novell informed the board that this is happening due to built-up sediment, causing it to be a singular flow instead of spreading it across the riprap. Mayor Tichy states that the primary question is; assuming that the grade is adequate, which will be checked before starting any work, does the board want to go ahead with the first quote of $5,400? Mayor Tichy and Alderman Cheap both state that this has been tabled and discussed for several months. Alderman Cheap made a motion to proceeds with the $5,400 quote, subject to grade approval. Seconded by Alderman Tichy. Motion carries 4-1. The sidewalk/driveway improvements: AWCK has solicited out bids. Pre-bid will be on Wednesday, June 25^th, and we will be talking bids on July 15^th. Mr. Novell states that Clay with AWCK has evaluated the existing Birch Street Pump Station, and has proposed a few options to discuss with Arnold. Once they are able to discuss the options, he will give us a better update.

ORC Report:

Mr. Allred states that in May, the alarm system at the Birch Pump Station stopped working. (Back in April, one of the alarm systems at the NC 62 Pump Station stopped working, so it was sent in for repair.)  Mr. Allred called about getting it repaired and was informed they had been having some radio problems. They sent Mr. Arnold the radios, so he doesn’t have to send the units in. Mr. Allred was able to update all the units and software at all the pump stations. After all repairs were made at Birch Pump Station, everything is working well. Everything is working well at the Pond Pump Station. Everything is functioning properly at the NC 62 Pump Station.

Distribution:

Mr. Allred states that the UDF Flushing was completed and noted that Brookstone and Freedom were the worst areas they saw; everywhere else appeared to be clear. Alderman Cheap asks Mr. Allred if he can forecast how often this needs to be done, and states this is something that we will monitor over time. Mrs. Folwell states that it is recommended to do it yearly. THMs all passed.

New Business

2025-2026 Budget:

Mayor Tichy requests a motion to go into Public Comment, Alderman Tichy makes a motion and is seconded by Alderman Andrews. Motion carries 5-0. Mayor Tichy mentions that the Budget was presented to the board last month. Mrs. Folwell states that the fees for water and sewer were increased by 2.5%, a flat rate was added for irrigation, and that there were minimal changes to the budget itself. The budget increased slightly under $1000. Mayor Tichy states that the budget is essentially the same as last year’s and mentions that there was inflation in many utilities and line items from last year’s budget. There is an almost $40,000 savings from last year’s budget due to the purchase of the trash can. Mayor Tichy mentions there will be no change in the tax rate. Mayor Tichy asks if there are any public comments about the Budget. NO PUBLIC COMMENTS. Mayor Tichy asked the board if there were any comments regarding the budget. Alderman Cheap states that he reviewed last year’s budget and is requesting a correction, as his numbers differed. Mayor Tichy informs Alderman Cheap that the documents he is referring to, along with the dollar amount, are the original budget before it was amended throughout the year. Alderman Cheap confirms that it has been noted that we are staying revenue-neutral at 14.56 per 100, and our budget still works based on those numbers, with the expectation that values and incomes will increase this year. Mayor Tichy requests for a motion to go out of Public comment. Motion made by Alderman Crouse, and seconded by Alderman Tichy. Motion carries 5-0. Mayor Tichy requests for a motion to adopt the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year Budget as presented. Motion was made by Alderman Tichy, and seconded Alderman Crouse. Motion carries 5-0.

New Policy for Leak Adjustment:

Mrs. Folwell mentions that at the last board meeting, there was a conversation about offering residents breaks/credits on sewer when a leak occurs on their property. The City of Burlington does not allow us to take credit for the sewer. We’ve decided to adjust our Policy Operation, stating that if someone has a leak or excessive use that they were not aware of, an adjustment could be made, where they will be charged at the 2^nd tier charge rate. There will no longer be credits on the sewer for a high bill. Pool fills are no longer eligible for a sewer credit, as they are not considered ‘high usage’. Mayor Tichy requests a motion to adopt the New Policy for Leak Adjustments. Alderman Crouse makes a motion and seconded by Alderman Andrews. Motion carries 5-0

Contract for State Code Enforcement:

Mrs. Folwell goes over the contract sent by Dennis. Mrs. Folwell states that the changes in the contract are in Section 10: ‘correct wording is “termination of the Contract”. We can terminate with a 30-day notice; SCE is required to give us a 60-day notice. The other change is under Section 4: if you look at compensation, there is ‘hourly contracted amount and postage cost for sending letters.’ The change states, ‘Rates may increase by up to 5% on July 1st of each year starting in 2026, for a cost-of-living adjustment.’ The reason he has this wording in the contract is that he doesn’t want to have to renew it every year; he would like to have this contract signed until we need to make a change to something. Mrs. Folwell asked if anyone was opposed to a longer-term contract, other than yearly. Alderman Cheap states he is fine with it as long as we are reviewing it. Alderman Cheap states that he continues to review the SCE ordinance, and when he reviewed it for ‘Parking in the front yard’, he has read it numerous times and still remains unsure what it is supposed to mean. Alderman Cheap then states that he looked up the county Ordinance about ‘Junked Car’, reading it aloud and mentioning that he is able to understand what it says. Alderman Cheap states he has a problem with paying State Code Enforcement, when 9 times out of 10, we can have the county handle the issues, and we don’t have to pay to enforce it. Mayor Tichy informs Alderman Cheap that the county will not handle within our town’s limits; the county prefers not to enforce incorporated areas. Alderman Tichy makes a motion to approve the State Code Enforcement, seconded by Alderman Hunt. Motion carries 5-0.

Naming New Finance Officer:

Mrs. Folwell states she had a few conversations with the town’s accountant and our auditor and explains to the board that there is nothing wrong with having an alderman be the finance officer. What most municipalities do is they have the Clerk have a second roll. Mrs. Folwell tells the board that we would have Mrs. Quigley, our Town Clerk, also be our finance officer. She explains how helpful it would be to have the finance officer in-house, due to a lot of paperwork that comes through that needs a signature, she explains that these are things that the Town admin and Town Clerk are dealing with daily in office, so having to call our current finance officer to come sign something she’s not fully aware of, makes her feel a bit uneasy. Having an in-house Finance Officer will also speed up getting things done as we move forward. The Board oversight will stay the same; Alderman Andrews will still sign checks. The Town Administrator and Town Clerk will process bank records together, but the Alderman will still review what we do and ensure that you provide approval. Mayor Tichy gives an explanation as to why we had a board member as the finance officer. When Mr. York was the only one in the Office, we couldn’t have him be the Town Admin and the Finance Officer; someone else needed to be the Finance Officer. Now that we have two people in the office, we can relieve Alderman Andrews of this duty. Mayor Tichy states they want to appoint Mrs. Quigley as the Town’s Finance Officer. Alderman Cheap makes a motion to make Mrs. Quigley our Town’s Finance Officer, seconded by Alderman Andrews. Motion carries 5-0.

Estimate for Cabinets in Lobby & Front Office:

Mrs. Folwell states that we currently have a conference room that is utilized to a fair extent; however, the room is cluttered with historical material. Mr. Ken Cass came in and looked at our lobby area to see about putting up cabinets. The cabinets would be underneath what has already been built on the wall. Mrs. Folwell also mentioned that we could use some extra cabinet space in the main front office. Mr. Kass has provided us with two different options for the lobby cabinets. Option one is to buy the pre-built cabinets for the front office. Option two is custom-built cabinets for the lobby area. Alderman Andrews makes a motion to approve the submitted quote, seconded by Alderman Cheap. Motion carries 5-0.

Insurance-POP Plan:

Mrs. Folwell states she had a meeting with Becky and Treux with Asure. They bought out payroll solutions, which is the company that handles our payroll. They offer a variety of options, including insurance. After discussing how the insurance stipend is offered, we found out that we cannot just receive that money as a check without being taxed at 38%. Mrs. Folwell states that the way they do this is that they will draw up a contract with Asure, they will run the stipend that we sent them, and since they are a compliant company, it will then come back to us, with no taxes and the Village will get a tax right off for paying those premiums. It will be a $267 flat fee. Alderman Crouse makes a motion to adopt the POP plan. Seconded by Alderman Andrews. Motion carries 5-0.

Public Comment:

Jeremy Vestal at 4533 Alamance Baptist Church Loop asks what is going on in the back part of the loop, where they have cleared land. Mayor Tichy informed Mr. Vestal that a single-family home is being built on Yorkshire in Heritage Glen and will use the cut-through as its own private driveway. This is allowed if it is a non-paved driveway.

Debra Cheap at 4312 S NC 62 wanted to thank everyone for being open and honest during discussions; it gives her a better feeling of trust and comfort. It makes her feel more comfortable being part of the Village.

Motion made by Alderman Cheap to adjourn. Seconded by Alderman Andrews. Motion carries 5-0

Mayor Tichy____________________________________

Hannah Quigley, Clerk_______________________________