MINUTES
 
WATAUGA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2008
 
            The Watauga County Board of Commissioners held a regular meeting on Monday, December 2, 2008, at 9:00 A.M. in the Board Room of the Watauga County Administration Building.
 
                        PRESENT:       Jim Deal, Chairman
                                                William R. Winkler, III, Vice-Chairman
                                                John Cooper, Commissioner
                                                Winston Kinsey, Commissioner
                                                Mary Moretz, Commissioner
                                                Tim Futrelle, Commissioner-Elect
                                                Andrea Capua, County Attorney
                                    Robert E. Nelson, Jr., County Manager
                                                Deron Geouque, Deputy County Manager
                                                Anita J. Fogle, Clerk to the Board
 
            Chairman Deal called the meeting to order at 9:02 A.M., welcoming those in attendance.
 
            Commissioner Moretz opened the meeting with a prayer.
 
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
 
            Chairman Deal called for additions or corrections to the November 18, 2008, regular meeting and closed session minutes.
 
            Commissioner Kinsey, seconded by Vice-Chairman Winkler, moved to approve the November 18, 2008, regular meeting minutes as presented.
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
            Commissioner Moretz, seconded by Vice-Chairman Winkler, moved to approve the November 18, 2008, closed session minutes as presented.
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
            A recess was declared at 9:05 A.M. for the swearing-in of newly elected Commissioners Jim Deal, Tim Futrelle, and Winston Kinsey.
 
            The meeting reconvened at 9:14 A.M.
 
            Commissioner Cooper, seconded by Commissioner Kinsey, moved to adopt a resolution of appreciation in honor of former Commissioner Mary Moretz.
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
BOARD ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS
 
            The meeting was turned over to County Manager Nelson for the election of the Chairman of the Watauga County Board of Commissioners.
 
            A.        Election of Officers. County Manager Nelson called for nominations for Chairman of the Watauga County Board of Commissioners. 
 
            Commissioner Cooper, seconded by Commissioner Kinsey, moved to re-appoint Commissioner Deal as Chairman.
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
            The meeting was then turned over to Chairman Deal.
 
            Chairman Deal called for nominations for Vice-Chairman of the Watauga County Board of Commissioners. 
 
Commissioner Kinsey, seconded by Commissioner Cooper, moved to re-appoint Commissioner Winkler as Vice-Chairman.
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
            B.         Staff Appointments. Vice-Chairman Winkler, seconded by Commissioner Futrelle, moved to re-appoint Robert E. Nelson, Jr. as Watauga County Manager.
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
            Commissioner Cooper, seconded by Commissioner Kinsey, moved to re-appoint Anita J. Fogle as Clerk to the Board and Angie Ritter and Monica Harrison as Substitute Clerks to the Board.
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
            Vice-Chairman Winkler, seconded by Commissioner Cooper, moved to appoint di Santi Watson Capua & Wilson as the Law Firm representing Watauga County as legal counsel for Watauga County including the Watauga County Department of Social Services.
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
            C.        Commissioner-Boards & Commissions Appointments. The following Commissioner Board appointments were made by Chairman Deal:
 
            Appalachian District Health Department                                                            Kinsey
            AppalCART Authority                                                                          Futrelle
            Blue Ridge Resource Conservation & Development Area                                  Cooper
            Caldwell Community College &Technical Institute
                Watauga Advisory Board                                                                             Futrelle
            Children’s Council/Child Protection Team                                                         Futrelle
            Committee of 100                                                                                             Cooper
            Community Based Affordable Housing Steering Committee                   Cooper
            Community Council (2 appointees)                                                                    Cooper
                                                                                                                                    Deal
            Criminal Justice Partnership                                                                               Futrelle
            Economic Development Commission                                                                 Cooper
            Educational Planning Committee (2 appointees)                                     Deal
                                                                                                                                    Futrelle
            EMS Advisory Committee                                                                                Kinsey
            Future Forward                                                                                                Cooper
            High Country Council of Governments-Exec. Bd.                                              Winkler
             Northwest Advisory Council of Advantage West
             Rural Transportation Advisory Committee
            Juvenile Crime Prevention Council                                                                     Futrelle
            Library Board                                                                                                   Winkler
            Motor Vehicle Valuation Review Committee                                         Winkler
            New River Service Authority Board                                                                  Winkler
            Smoky Mountain LME (Mental Health)                                                            Futrelle
            POA Advisory Committee                                                                                Futrelle
             (Home & Community Care Block Grant)
            Watauga County Cooperative Extension’s Advisory Leadership Board Kinsey
            Watauga County Energy Park Working Group                                      Kinsey
            Watauga County Fire Commission                                                                    Kinsey
            Watauga County Medical Center Board of Trustees                                          Deal
            Watauga County Personnel Advisory Committee                                               Deal
            Watauga County Recreation Commission                                                          Deal
            Watauga County Department of Social Services (2 appointments)                     Winkler
                                                                                                                                    Dr. Bobbie Short
            Watauga Opportunities, Inc.                                                                             Cooper
            Western North Carolina Local Government Caucus                                          Deal
            Workforce Development Consortium                                                                Chairman
 
            D.        Fidelity Bonds. The following individual fidelity bonds were presented for approval:
 
Position                                                Bond Amount               Statutory Requirement
 
Finance Director                                   $50,000                       At least $10,000, no more
                                                                                                            than $250,000 G.S. 159-29
 
Deputy Finance Director                       $50,000                       Same as above
(County Manager)
 
            Tax Collector                                       $50,000                       Amount considered reasonable
                                                                                                            by BCC G.S. 105-349-c
 
Register of Deeds                                 $50,000                       At least $10,000 but no more
                                                                                                            than $50,000 G.S. 161-4
 
Sheriff                                                  $25,000                       $25,000 maximum G.S. 162-8
 
                Commissioner Cooper, seconded by Commissioner Futrelle, moved to approve the individual fidelity bonds as presented.
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
            E.         Meeting Schedule. Chairman Deal announced that the Board of Commissioners’ regular meetings were scheduled for the first Monday of each month at 9:00 A.M. and the third Tuesday of each month at 6:00 P.M.
 
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
 
            Chairman Deal called for additions and/or corrections to the December 2, 2008, agenda.
 
            County Manager Nelson stated that a closed session needed to be added for Attorney/Client matters per G. S. 143-318.11(a)(3).
 
            Vice-Chairman Winkler, seconded by Commissioner Kinsey, moved to approve the December 2, 2008, agenda as amended.
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
FISCAL YEAR 2007/2008 AUDIT PRESENTATION
 
Mr. Bryce Holder, CPA, PA, reviewed the County’s Fiscal Year 2007/2008 audit, discussed the general fund fund balance, and noted that the overall tax collection rate was very good. In addition, Mr. Holder commended all County department heads, management, and staff. Mr. Holder also commended the handling of grants awarded to Watauga County during the fiscal year.
 
This report was for information only and therefore no Board action was required.
 
PROJECT ON AGING REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION OF STATE FUNDS FOR SENIOR CENTERS
 
Ms. Angie Boitnotte announced that the Project on Aging was eligible to receive an additional $17,453 in Senior Center funding from North Carolina Division of Aging. The allocation required a 25% local match, totaling $5,517.00, which was currently in the Agency’s existing budget.
 
            Commissioner Cooper, seconded by Commissioner Futrelle, moved to approve the additional appropriation of State funds and the required local match as presented.
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
FINANCE MATTERS
 
A.        Budget Amendments – Finance Director Doris Isaacs presented the following budget amendments for Board approval:
 
            Account #                    Description                                                           Debit             Credit
104199-499100           General Admn.-Contingency                                                     $3,170
109800-498014           Transfer to Public Assistance                             $3,170
143980-398010           Transfer from the General Fund                                                $3,170
145890-469817           Psy. Ser. Juv. Court-Co. Match                                                  $630
145890-463101           Oasis-County Allocation                                    $3,800
 
            The amendment recognized the transfer of funds from the Federal Administration contingency to the Public Assistance fund to provide additional funding to Oasis for property taxes associated with the purchase of their new facility. A portion of the funding ($630) will be provided from excess JCPC local match. The JCPC program’s local match is being provided by the program. This was approved at the November 3, 2008, Board meeting.
 
            Account #                    Description                                                           Debit             Credit
103612-385501           Town of Boone – P&R                                    $33,576
106121-412100           Salaries-Regular                                                                       $4,860
106121-418100           Social Security Cont.                                                                   $534
106121-418200           Retirement Cont.                                                                         $525
106121-418300           Hospital Ins.                                                                             $1,692
106121-418600           Worker’s Compensation                                                             $357
106121-418900           Deferred Compensation                                                              $525
106121-418901           Deferred Comp.-$30/month                                                        $120
106121-412601           Officials                                                                                      $960
106121-429000           Athletics-Supplies                                                                    $1,700
106121-451000           Capital Outlay-Equipment                                                        $1,600
106121-431200           Travel-Subsistence-Admin                                                          $704
106121-431200           Travel-Subsistence-Aquatics                                                       $456
106125-431200           Travel-Subsistence-Athletics                                                    $1,276
106126-431200           Travel-Subsistence-Sp. Pops                                                      $280
106128-431200           Travel-Sp. Programs                                                                   $684
106120-439500           Employee Training-Admin                                                           $765
106121-439500           Employee Training-Aquatics                                                        $300
106125-439500           Employee Training-Athletics                                                        $500
106126-439500           Employee Training-Sp. Pops                                                       $560
106128-439500           Employee Training-Sp. Programs                                                $410
106120-431100           Travel-Mileage-Admin                                                                $100
106121-431100           Travel-Mileage-Aquatics                                                             $455
106125-431100           Travel-Mileage-Athletics                                                             $508
106126-431100           Travel-Mileage-Sp. Pops                                                            $126
103612-361220           Aquatics                                                                                  $3,886
103612-361250           Athletics                                                                                   $5,438
103612-361260           Sp. Populations Programs                                                        $1,840
103612-361280           Special Programs                                                                     $2,415
 
            The amendment reduced a portion of the anticipated funding from the Town of Boone for Parks and Recreation. In order to replace a portion of the revenue lost from the Town, some recreation fees were increased ($13,579) and savings in salary and fringe due to change in personnel was reflected ($19,997). This left a balance of $11,224 in lost revenue from the Town of Boone, which needed to be addressed through additional expenditure cuts in the Parks and Recreation budget.
 
            Account #                    Description                                                           Debit             Credit
663300-374200           NC DENR-Recycling                                                             $14,937
667420-429002           Recycling Grant                                                 $7,468
667420-429003           Recycling Grant-TOB                                        $7,469
 
            The amendment recognized the award of a joint recycling container grant with the Town of Boone from the NC Department of Environmental and Natural Resources.
 
            Account #                    Description                                                           Debit             Credit
219930-461100           Emergency Communications                                                     $6,488
219800-498010           Transfer to the General Fund                              $6,488
103980-498121           Transfer from Capital Reserve                                                  $6,488
104320-451000           Capital Outlay-Equipment                                  $6,488
 
            The amendment transferred funds from the Capital Reserve Fund Emergency Communications set-a-side to the General Fund for the unanticipated replacement of Channel 1, Boone Fire and Watauga Medics antennas. These were the main dispatch antennas for the Sheriff’s Office 911 Communications Center.
 
            Account #                    Description                                                           Debit             Credit
123492-336000           NCNDR & Comm. Dev. Grant                                                $6,498
124920-449900           Housing Rehabilitation                                        $6,498
 
            The amendment re-appropriated unspent funds at June 30th for the Scattered Site Housing Grant.
 
            Commissioner Futrelle, seconded by Commissioner Cooper, moved to approve the budget amendments as presented.
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
B.         Surplus Property Request – Ms. Isaacs presented a list of property and requested it be surplused and subsequently sold through GovDeals, recycled, or demolished.
 
            Commissioner Kinsey, seconded by Vice-Chairman Winkler, moved to surplus the property as presented and to authorize the property either for recycling, demolition, or for sale on GovDeals.com.
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
C.        JCPC Funding Allocation and Membership Request – Ms. Isaacs presented a revised Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPC) budget with an additional $2,319 added to the original allocation. Additional local match was to be provided by the agency receiving the funds.             Ms. Isaacs also presented the JCPC membership committee roster for approval as required each year.
 
            Vice-Chairman Winkler, seconded by Commissioner Kinsey, moved to approve the revised JCPC budget as presented and the JCPC membership roster as presented.
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
TAX MATTERS
 
            A.        Monthly Collections Report – Tax Administrator Kelvin Byrd presented the Tax Collections Report for the month of November 2008.
 
B.         Releases and Refunds – Mr. Byrd presented the following Refunds and Releases for November 2008 for Board approval:
 
TO BE PRINTED IN MINUTE BOOK
 
Commissioner Cooper, seconded by Commissioner Futrelle, moved to approve the Refunds and Releases Report for November 2008 as presented.
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
MISCELLANEOUS ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
 
A.                 New High School Matters
 
1.         New High School CM Contingency Requests #’s 17, 19, & 20 – County Manager Nelson presented Construction Management Contingency requests #’s 17, 19, & 20 for the new high school project. Number 17 was for cleaning of neighborhood houses in the amount of $500. Number 19 was for $20,670.57 for additional roof deck angle installation as required to join the masonry brick wall veneer with the roofing underlayment where the classroom sections meet the wedge area of the building. Number 20 was to relocate roof joists in the main gymnasium. The relocation was necessary to address discrepancies in the original drawings and to allow the construction of a masonry wall that would be much less expensive than the alternate of installing a poured-in-place wall. The amount of this change was $23,208.52. County Manager Nelson recommended Board approval for contingency change order #’s 17, 19, & 20.
 
            Commissioner Cooper, seconded by Commissioner Kinsey, moved to approve Construction Management Contingency # 17 in the amount of $500; # 19 in the amount of $20,670.57; and # 20 in the amount of $23,208.52.
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
2.         Report on Filling of Sediment Trap – County Manager Nelson stated that the sediment trap at the rear of the Edmisten house needed to be filled and landscaped, prior to declaring the Edmisten house as surplus for sale by the upset bid process. This work was to occur in the near future, weather permitting, but if not, was to occur in the spring of 2009. When this occurred, the Edmisten house was to be requested to be declared surplus for sale.
 
This report was given for information only; therefore, no action was required.
 
B.         Discussion of Pre-Budget Retreat      County Manager Nelson stated that it was time to begin planning for the Annual Pre-Budget Retreat that was conducted at the end of February or the first of March each year. The County Manager stated that the schedule could be established at a future meeting and requested the Board begin to consider topics to be included for discussion.
 
            Action on scheduling a date for the Retreat was tabled until a future meeting.
 
            C.        December Meeting Schedule – County Manager Nelson stated that at the last meeting, the Board rescheduled the first meeting in December and discussed cancelling the second meeting in December; however, no action was taken regarding the second meeting.   The County Manager stated that historically, the second meeting was cancelled due to the numerous Christmas meetings and events attended by Board members.
 
            By consensus, the Board agreed to cancel the second meeting in December; therefore, the next regularly scheduled meeting was to be held Monday, January 5, 2009, at 9:00 A.M.
 
            D.        Selection of Voting Delegate for the Legislative Goals Conference – County Manager Nelson stated that at the last meeting, discussion was tabled regarding the selection of a voting delegate for the NCACC Legislative Goals Conference on January 15th and 16th in Raleigh. Each attending County was requested to appoint a voting delegate.
 
            Commissioner Cooper, seconded by Commissioner Futrelle, moved to appoint Chairman Deal as Watauga County’s voting delegate for the NCACC Legislative Goals Conference scheduled for January of 2009.
           
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
E.         Announcements – County Manager Nelson announced that the MountainKeepers seminar entitled “Working to Create a Resilient Community,” originally scheduled for Saturday, November 22, 2008, was postponed due to inclement weather. Those who were registered to attend were to be notified when the make-up date was scheduled.
 
County Manager Nelson announced that the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners’ Legislative Goals Conference was scheduled for January 15 & 16 in Raleigh.
 
County Manager Nelson announced that the NC Institute of Government was sponsoring a Local Leaders Academy Training Seminar entitled, “Good Growth: Chance or Choice” at various locations and times.
 
            County Manager Nelson announced that the County Christmas Luncheon was Thursday, December 18, 2008, from 12:00 P.M. to 2:00 P.M. at the Dan’l Boone Inn.
 
            County Manager Nelson announced that the Watauga County Register of Deeds and Clerk of Court invited the Board to attend their annual Christmas celebration scheduled for Monday, December 8, 2008, from 11:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. in the hallway of the Courthouse between their offices.
 
            County Manager Nelson distributed copies of the Transportation Improvement Plan which included information on the Dan’l Boone Parkway a.k.a. the Boone Bypass and announced that the Department of Transportation planned to schedule a joint meeting with the County, Town of Boone, and Town of Blowing Rock to discuss the project in late January 2009.
 
            County Manager Nelson announced that, due to the State requesting Departments cut their budgets and send funds back in, the Board may wish to take action to request that the Department of Transportation continue funding the King Street project (# U-4020).
 
            County Manager Nelson announced that the Department of Transportation had begun right-of-way acquisitions for the new high school project.
 
            County Manager Nelson announced that Commissioner appointments to the Watauga County Planning Board and the Board of Directors for the Boone Rural Fire Protection Service District were unintentionally omitted from the Boards and Commissions discussion at the beginning of the meeting.
 
            By consensus, the Board agreed to table those appointments until a future meeting.
 
PUBLIC COMMENT
 
There was no public comment.
 
CLOSED SESSION
 
            At 9:58 A.M., Vice-Chairman Winkler, seconded by Commissioner Futrelle, moved to enter Closed Session to discuss Attorney/Client Matters, per G. S. 143-318.11(a)(3).
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
            Commissioner Cooper, seconded by Commissioner Futrelle, moved to resume the open meeting at 10:58 A.M.
 
VOTE:   Aye-5
              Nay-0
 
ADJOURN
 
            The Chairman adjourned the meeting at 10:58 A.M.
 
 
Jim Deal, Chairman
 
 
ATTEST:
Anita J. Fogle, Clerk to the Board