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

September 23, 2024

7:00 p.m.

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

Absent:

Invocation and call to order given by Mr. Reich

Alderman Tichy motioned to approve the agenda, seconded by Alderman Cheap. Motion carries 6-0

Motion to approve August 26, 2024, regular meeting minutes made by Alderman Andrews, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Isley. Motion carries 6-0.

Public Comment

Sherry Ford of 3968 S NC 62 asked why funding for a police officer was not considered through the grant writing service. Mr. Farmerie said the board had identified several projects to seek grant funding, but an officer was not one of them. A few Aldermen noted an uptick in police presence and had recently seen several cars pulled over in the Village. Mrs. Ford also expressed frustration over the water tower and felt there was misinformation regarding it.

Debra Cheap of 4312 S NC 62 asked the board to reexamine the 4-day work week. She said a few people had approached her with concern about this. Mayor Tichy said it could be reviewed during the budget retreat.

ONGOING BUSINESS

Engineer Report

Street Repair for FY 24-25: The Pre-construction conference was held on Tuesday, September 3, at 10:00 am. The Contractor plans to begin work the week of September 30, 2024 (weather dependent). They will pass out flyers, and we will have signs on paving.   We have negotiated a revised scope of work for the Cardinal Lane drainage issue. We have eliminated a section of pipe and catch basin on the north side of the road, will install HD-Storm pipe instead of RCP, and the contractor reduced some unit price items. The revised Contract Amount is $149,713.00. There was some discussion about waiting to do the project, but it was acknowledged that it could cost more later and the project is necessary. Alderman Crouse motioned to accept the contract at $149,713.00, seconded by Alderman Tichy. The motion carries 6-0. The ETJ Signs have been installed, and NCDOT requested to provide the final approval of the work. NCDOT plans to review the work week of September 23rd. Heritage Glen Phase 5C.2: No additional work has been performed on-site. Nick has received 3 RFQs from 3 local contractors for the utility building. We plan to review the RFQs on October 2, 2024.

ORC Report

Mr. Allred said the collection side was doing well, and the distribution side was running well. He said they flushed about 170,000 gallons of water, and the water thief in Heritage Glen was caught. He said that the NC 62 pump station generator was being run by hand once a week. There had been some low-testing water samples more recently, but he had been talking with someone in Burlington, and the water being put out was testing well. With the rate changes, Mr. Allred said there was not as much water in the Village right now, so that is likely the reason for lower testing samples. Although the samples have tested lower recently, they are still well within State guidelines.

Historical Cabinet – Glass Quote

Mr. Farmerie said the total cost of the glass and installation would be $997.54 for two large glass panels with silver frames to go on the cabinet. Alderman Cheap asked if we wanted the public to be able to touch the documents. There was some discussion about whether the glass was necessary, so the decision was tabled until next month. Mr. Cass said the price for the glass was good for 90 days.

New Business

Issuing Civil Penalties for 4163 S NC 62

Mr. Farmerie reviewed the process leading to civil penalties with the Board. The original citation was 8-15-23. Some repairs were made, but ultimately, they were not completed, and the six-month window began on 2-27-24. The deadline to complete repairs was 8-27-24 and was not met. It is coming before the board to issue civil fines of $100 a day plus the $150 nuisance abatement fee. Mr. Farmerie showed the board pictures from the original date of nuisance to the current date. There is very little done. Mr. Farmerie said ownership had changed since the original complaint, and the Village gave extended time to work with them. Alderman Cheap made a motion to begin fines for noncompliance, seconded by Alderman Hunt. Motion carries 6-0.

4228 S NC 62 Civil Penalty Update

Mr. Farmerie told the board the fines for the junk vehicle began August 13th and were abated September 3rd. The second citation was for failing to obtain a permit to set up a privacy fence. The fines started August 13^th and were abated September 3^rd; The total fine is $2350.00.  Alderman Tichy motioned to waive the penalties if the previous fine of $1200 was paid in the agreed-upon monthly installments, with no late or missed payments, and there were no more complaints about the property, seconded by Alderman Andrews. Motion carries 6-0

Account 944 Utility Bill Request

Mr. Farmerie explained there was a leak at the property, and he needed a payment plan. Alderman Tichy motioned to allow three monthly payments to pay off the balance, seconded by Alderman Cheap. Motion carries 6-0

Alderman Andrews made a motion to allow staff to offer a four-month payment plan to residents with unusually high water bills, seconded by Alderman Hunt. Motion carries 6-0

Quarterly Finance Report

The general fund side for revenues looks slightly lower now because property tax and Powell bill money have not come in yet. We have only collected a little over $49,000, which is only 5.5 % of what is budgeted to be collected for the year. The enterprise side shows a more significant percentage out of the sanitation fund due to the cost of the trash cans we purchased. That is a one-time expense. The general fund expense shows just under $100,000 going out. This trend should look much better for the next report.

The enterprise revenue side has only two months of data so far. There has been a 16% increase in water intake and 14% in sewer intake. Overall, the last two months’ intake was $86,000. August showed a slight decrease in intake, possibly due to adjustments in water usage from the rate increase. The expenditure side is doing well, with an overall 6.2% of the administration fund spent for the year to date and less than 8% spent on operations. This puts the village at $40,000 for expenditures. Within this 2-month time frame, the Village has gained $47,000 in the enterprise fund. This is a positive trend for the first two months. The funds will be reviewed again in December.

Quarterly Traffic Report

The report was run from June 13^th through September 15^th. Over 250,000 cars passed on the bridge side, with 27% traveling 5 mph over the speed limit, 7.3% over 10 mph, and 1.8% over 15 mph. The average speed was 33 mph. Alderman Cheap asked where the sign starts recording the speed and which speed it logs if it registers more than one per car. Mr. Farmerie said he would have to do more research to figure out the fine points of information the sign gets. The E.M. Holt side had over 200,000 cars pass, with 17.4 going over 5mph, 5.5% over 10 mph, and 1.6% over 15mph, with the average speed being 33.4 mph.

OTHER BUSINESS

Alderman Cheap made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Alderman Tichy. Motion carries 6-0.

Mayor Tichy____________________________________

Misty Folwell, Clerk_______________________________