Here's a link to the agenda/mtg packet:
http://www.polknc.org/commissioners/b_o_c_meeting_agendas/docs/5_4_2015_Packet.pdf
YUP - it's that time again. Come out and see your commissioners in action! Looks like a fairly light agenda (compared to the last one), but as always THIS is your opportunity to provide comments to the commissioners on the local road paving deal, the upcoming review of the "new" water contract etc. --- sign up early to speak.
Here's a link to the agenda/mtg packet: http://www.polknc.org/commissioners/b_o_c_meeting_agendas/docs/5_4_2015_Packet.pdf
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The April 20 meeting of the Polk County Commissioners was well attended by over 100 concerned citizens. Because it was sometimes difficult hearing because people had difficulty using the mics, the following is a best attempt at a report of the events at the meeting.
The regular meeting was preceded by the public hearing on the Accessory Dwelling Units amendment to zoning. The amendment, to allow additional houses on individual lots was presented as supporting affordable housing in Polk County and thus being in line with the 20/20 vision. Representatives from Hunting Country and Collinsville, already zoned for 5 acre lots, ask to be exempted. The Hunting Company representative ask how many attendees were opposed to the amendment, to which almost everyone raised their hands.. The regular meeting began with citizens comments. Chair Tom Pack brusquely called on about 10 to 12 attendees including several River Rd residents living where it is to be paved, gave very logical, well prepared speeches opposing the paving. No one supported it and whomever requested it remained a mystery, as did the reasons for wanting it paved.. A representative of NCDOT presented the details of what was to be paved. Mr Gage proposed a 3 way stop sign to solves the horse community's concerns about safety on the pavement. Mr Gasperson asked that if paving had to be done it be placed to one side to allow as much unpaved space for horses as possible. Comments from the public also included problems with Polk County medical insurance not being addressed, and concerns over what was being done with the old St. Lukes property in Tryon. Objections to the use of tax payer money to fund waterline construction to non-public entities were raised. Also the statement that this was consistent with the 20/20 vision plan was challenged. This was not what the 20/20 vision plan intended and set a precedent that could then be applied to any place, was unfair and potentially ruinous to tax payers. The meeting then proceeded to a marathon agenda of 35 items and outlasted all but a very few attendees stamina. The first item was the approval for paving River Rd, with no consideration for public opposition or explanation of why it was to be done. Mr. Gasperson begged that the wording from a 1997 resolution saying no further paving ever be done be included. The resolution passed much to the very vocal distress of at least half the attendees who immediately left and reconvened outside the room, rather noisily. Then the Accessory Dwelling proposal was approved as quickly, again resulting in some distressed vocalization and the exit of almost everyone else, over-riding Mr. Gaspersons concerns about public health that will result from so many dwellings on so little land allowed by the amendment.. The next items on the agenda were processed even more expeditiously. Then Mr Williamson gave his 1st. quarter economic development report This was a lengthy presentation of the many projects Mr. Williamson has underway, a list 4 pages long. Many of these projects involve some sums ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars in grants applied for and some potentially resulting in new employment opportunities. Mr. McLendon reported on the tremendous success, a sell out for the 3rd year, or the farm to fork event, started by Mr. Lynn Sprague, at the ag center. He was congratulated by all the commissioners. None of the Republican Commissioners attended but Ray was there. The DSS director gave an extended report on DSS programs to reduce child abuse and fatalities. Mr Gage ask if any progress was being made in reducing the incidence of child abuse to which the director responded that no noticeable progress has been made because of the lack of funds available. Mr Gage also asked if these problems were generational; the director replied that they appeared to be. She was thanked for her good work. Mr Williamson and Mr Owens presented the proposed Polk County Flag. With it's soothing pastel colors, it contrasted sharply with other flags that were more striking. Some discussion followed on next steps and a request was made to erect some flag poles for its display so "people would know where they were".?! More agenda items, including the purchase of a $6676 4 burner stove for the jail, were approved very efficiently with no discussion. The managers report covered recreational softball and baseball (they are proceeding with the prerequisite participation) and approval of the decorative Cole Umbus tree carving for Stearns Park in Columbus. The commission then turned to discussion of next steps in the water contract with ICWD process. Mr. Pack outlined the steps as 3 meetings: first, County Commissioners only, no public or ICWD present, the second an opportunity for public comment, open to all, and third, the meeting to approve. The first meeting was scheduled for 6:00 a.m. so it could be conducted efficiently and expeditiously. The intent to approve the contract is clear. Further agenda items were disposed of and the Commissioners adjourned to their normal closed session. Your "curbside reporter" apologizes for anything missed or misheard. Additions or amendments would be most appreciated. Tonight's mtg is an important one as commissioners are requesting comment on modifying the zoning plan in a variety of districts including MU (Multi-use)
* 1. Proposed Partial Paving of River Rd. – Vice-Chair Holbert asked that this item be placed on the agenda to consider approval of a North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) proposal to pave a portion of River Rd. between Morgan Chapel Rd. and Golden Rd. Steve Cannon, NCDOT Division Engineer, will present the proposal. Motion to approve. Pages 8-11. * 2. Accessory Dwelling Units; Providing a Definition; Amending the Polk County Zoning Ordinance to Authorize Accessory Dwelling Units in Zoning Districts – To consider approving the changes subsequent to the public hearing. Motion to approve. Pages 12-15. 5. City of Saluda Tax Collection Agreement – Ms. Bowlin will present the agreement. Motion to approve. Pages 19-20. 7. Economic Development 1st Quarter 2015 Report – Mr. Williamson will present the report. Pages 26-28. 8. 5th Annual Farm to Fork Dinner – Patrick McLendon, Mill Spring Ag Center Director, will give a report on the event which was held on April 11, 2015. 9. Polk County Community Foundation (PCCF) Beekeeping Education Grant Award – Alex Rike, Agricultural Economic Development AmeriCorps Outreach Coordinator, will present the information. Pages 29-33. 10. Community Child Fatality Prevention & Protection Team End of Year Report – Lou Parton, DSS Director, will present the report. Pages 34-38. 11. Proposed New Polk County Flag – Robert Williamson, Economic Development Director, and former Commissioner Ted Owens will present a status report. 12. Application for Release of Lottery Funds to the Board of Education – To consider approval of an application requesting the release of $95,705 in State lottery funds to pay the QZAB payment for Tryon Elementary. Motion to approve. Pages 39-40. Resolution Requesting Restoration of Lottery Funds Designated to Polk County for School Capital Needs – To consider approval of a resolution regarding the restoration of State lottery funds. Motion to approve. Pages 41-42. 17. Manager’s Report – 2) Recreation baseball & softball update. 3) Handmade America/Discover Columbus art sculpture initiative update. 18. Work Sessions for the Proposed Draft Water Agreement with Inman-Campobello Water District (ICWD) – Chair Pack asked that this item be placed on the agenda to discuss scheduling work sessions on the agreement. Pages 64-67. 19. Procedure for Additions to the Agenda – Commissioner Gasperson asked that this item be placed on the agenda for discussion. Page 68. 20. Volunteer Boards for Vote – Adult Care/Nursing Home Advisory Board – 1 application, 1 vacancy; Council on Aging – 1 application, 2 vacancies; Planning Board – 2 applications, 1 vacancy; Sunny View Fire District Tax Commission – 3 applications, 3 vacancies. Motion to approve. Pages 69-77. 21. Volunteer Boards For Review – Agricultural Advisory Board – 4 applications, 4 vacancies; Economic & Tourism Development Commission – 4 applications, 2 vacancies; Library Board of Trustees – 2 applications, 2 vacancies. Pages 78-92. 22. Commissioner Comments 23. Closed Session – Motion to go into closed session for the purpose of attorney-client privilege, G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3), and acquisition of property, G.S. 143-318.11(a)(5). 24. Return to Open Session – Motion to return to open session. 25. Adjournment – Motion to adjourn. Repost of letter to the editor published in the Tryon Daily Bulletin that raises some good questions... (Published Tuesday, March 17, 2015)
Does Polk County really need a water system? All of this hoopla over our county commission giving away our water rights to ICWD in South Carolina is a valid reason for concern, but the real question is do we really need a county water system? Let’s think about the facts. To date our county has spent over $7.5 million on water lines which serve all of our schools and fire departments. Only 140 residents are served by these lines. That’s a cost of about $55,000 per resident, and you can bet that those residents are not going to pay that tab — all of us are. Even if these lines are expanded by ICWD, the Local Government Commission (LGC) in Raleigh estimated that there would be only about 1,000 voluntary subscribers unless use of the public water becomes mandatory, a real possibility. The draft contract as currently written (by ICWD) would also provide ICWD with the right of eminent domain. This would allow ICWD to install lines anywhere it is most economically feasible, including across your private property if deemed in the best interests of all concerned. In other words, with eminent domain, you will have absolutely no voice. If you disliked zoning you would really hate eminent domain. Think about it. Most of us have pretty good wells which have enabled us to maintain the rural character of our county as was envisioned in the Vision 20/20 plan. Sure, we have had some droughts, but most of us have gotten through those with sensible conservation efforts. Additionally, we aren’t being overdeveloped as would be the case with public water. To go further down this road, we would have to give up our water rights for up to 50 years to ICWD, an entity in South Carolina. ICWD would then sell our water back to us, and also to many in upstate South Carolina. This is a good deal for ICWD, and a bad deal for Polk County. So, do we really need a county water system? David Maxwell Columbus * Mtg. minutes provided by one of our supports who has volunteered to attend occasional meetings and report back so that we can all get a sense of what really happened in our mtgs. without having to wait for the TDB to write it up (or not).Contact us at: abetterpolkcounty@gmail.com to volunteer to attend a mtg!
BOC Meeting March 16, 2015 This meeting was short but far from sweet and not well attended. Even Ted Owens skipped it. The County Attorney and the Tax Administrator did not attend. There were only two citizen comments: Pat Salomon commented on a list provided by Jeff Walker of ICWD of the churches who have been provided with county water. Only Melvin Hill Church of the Brethren paid the 40% portion of a spur line. This was in accordance with the county water policy which requires cost sharing for spur lines. Salomon argued that constructing a spur line estimated to cost $150,000 to the Green Creek Baptist Church with no cost sharing sets a very bad precedent. What if all the churches in the county request a free county water line? [Interesting sideline: The Minutes of the April 26, 2010 BOC meeting report that pastor Gary Curtis of the Green Creek Baptist Church spoke in opposition to the proposal to run a line from Hwy 9 to the Green Creek Community Center which houses the Meeting Place II, the Senior Citizens and Meals on Wheels venue which is a county function.] Michael Veatch is the only citizen I know of who can get the BOC, especially Tom Pack, to engage in conversation with him. Usually they all sit there mute. Veatch asked if the Commissioners thought that any contract with ICWD should include a cap on the gallons per day ICWD would be permitted to withdraw from Lake Adger. He asked if the Board would say that the limit is 8 mgd? Would they say that having a limit on the amount of water withdrawn is a good thing? Pack would only say that no one has seen the latest (3rd draft) of the water contract between the county and ICWD and he was waiting to see what it said. [Neither of the previous two drafts mentioned a limit on the water ICWD could withdraw.] It seems rather poor policy to sit back and wait for ICWD to draw up the terms of a water contract with no involvement from Polk County. Michael Gage proposed skipping the April 6 BOC meeting “because it is the day after Easter.” Apparently, the meeting calendar will be rearranged again. Pack announced that he would like to refund the 40% cost sharing fee (about $7600.) to Melvin Hill Church of the Brethren and the $1500 “participation fee” paid by Door of Hope Ministry for county water service. Marche Pittman said that someone (not sure who), called the Commissioners to complain that the Melvin Hill church paid their fee and the Green Creek Baptist Church was getting a water line for free. Pack had a highlighted portion of the 20/20 vision plan put up on the projector which mentions the plan for water lines is to provide schools, fire stations and churches, etc. with county water. (If he read a little further, he would see the 20/20 plan advises against running lines to “low density areas due to economic ([insufficient number of users to support cost] and water quality considerations.”) Ray Gasperson pointed out that the Melvin Hill church has not yet made a formal request for reimbursement, the county does not yet have a formal policy on water system refunds and the county attorney was not present to give guidance. When he tried to explain the reason Tugaloo Pipeline was contracted to install the Melvin Hill line, Tom Pack refused to let Ray speak and said. “I'm cutting you off.” I would say that this was unbelievably rude except in Pack's case, it was believably rude. Ray said later that he has never been treated so badly at a meeting. Predictably, the Board voted to refund the Melvin Hill and Door of Hope fees. I left in disgust. There is a regular board of commissioners mtg tonight at 7pm at the Womack Bldg. - hope to see you there. Though it's not in the agenda for tonight there is still much concerns from citizens about the "new and improved" ICWD water contract that they are drafting and working with Marche Pitman on. Attached are links to tonight's agenda plus recent articles of note related to county services & the water contract. Stay informed - stay involved!
tonight's agenda/Feb 2nd mtg minutes & supporting documentation for tonights mtg: http://www.polknc.org/commissioners/your_commissioners/docs/Packet_for_March_16.pdf 1. Participation Fees for Churches – Chair Pack asked that this item be placed on the agenda. Page 16. 2. Proposed Annual County Goals – Mr. Pittman will present the proposed goals, which are Employee Retention, Public Image & Awareness, and Customer Service. Motion to approve. Page 17. 3. Manager’s Report – 1) Hwy. 9 to Sunny View School waterline extension project update. 2) Recreation baseball & softball update. 3) Handmade America/Discover Columbus art sculpture initiative update. Page 18. Combining town services article by Jim Wright: http://www.tryondailybulletin.com/2015/03/13/combining-services-what-are-the-benefits-costs/ Link to the latest Democratic newsletter with article related to the ICWD water contract (note that we would be happy to link to any articles being written by republican or independent sources as well, we just don't know of any): http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=66478ecd-8c0e-4327-a4b4-61e8a3b5d78e&c=74a36d90-4f46-11e4-887e-d4ae52754b78&ch=74a78c40-4f46-11e4-887e-d4ae52754b78 The February 23 Polk Board of Commissioners meeting had no obvious hot button items, so attendance was light.
Citizens Comment (recently approved waterline to Baptist Church) - Ms. Salomon addressed questions about the appropriateness of running a specially requested water line to the Green River Baptist Church, which appears to all watchers as a favor of some type, since this service has not been offered to other businesses or non-profits, or citizens, in the county. It is especially disconcerting that another church was made to pay a 40% participation fee, in compliance with the County’s official waterline extension policy, to have the water line run to its facility. Of course there was no explanation for or answer to this query. Citizens Comment (Lake Adger Water Value/ICWD Contract) - Michael Veatch asked the Commissioners if they could put a value on the water that was to be taken from Lake Adger since, according to Mr. Veatch, the numbers and values in the current proposed water contract do not make sense. Mr. Veatch explained that in the long way, it appears that we are greatly under valuing the water we propose to sell to the Inman/Campobello Water District. There was again no response from the Commissioners. Polk County Cooperative Extension Service Request to install carved tree - Extension agent Jimi Buell asked to install a carved tree truck named “Cole Lumbus” in Stearns Park as a public art/tourism draw. “Cole” is intended to be similar to “Eddie Stowe”, a carved tree trunk with a different character face on Edisto Island, SC. What should have been a simple endorsement dependent on the blessing of the County Board of Education (from whom the County leases Stearns Park), turned into a drawn out episode of procedure, ie: Do we approve or endorse first and then ask the county education board’s permission? Or do we ask first, and endorse at the next meeting. A few motions were offered, all confusing. Commissioner Gasperson suggested that the BOC go ahead and grant the endorsement, contingent on obtaining the Board of Education’s permission (if that is even needed in light of the lease), so that the transaction could be completed during this one meeting. That was too simple, and it was a suggestion by Commissioner Gasperson, so it was rejected for a more complicated procedure that would require another BOC meeting to complete. Planning Department request for a hearing for citizen comments on possible zoning changes - These changes would permit accessory domiciles on residential lots in all zoning districts. At a previous meeting, Mr. Gage had asked that the Planning Board look into additional affordable housing for Polk County. Instead, the Planning Board suggested allowing that all landowners be able to build additional housing on their properties that they could use for relatives or could rent out for additional income. Having already received complaints from at least one zoning district about such a change, Planning Director Cathy Ruth suggested that a public hearing on the matter be set for April 1. Sheriff’s Department - The Sheriff's Dept. asked permission to sell some old department handguns that have recently been replaced by new guns. The request was approved. Parks & Rec. Request - The final item of interest was a presentation by the Parks and Recreation Director, Jerry Stensland, who was explaining how children’s softball teams work and how much work was involved in setting up junior leagues. This went on forever. Mr. Stenslend was requesting additional employee hours to get the season’s softball games and teams organized. It was confusing exactly what he was asking for (full time employee or part time employee or full time part time?) and the Commissioners seem equally baffled about how to get it done. In the end, I was unsure of what they had agreed to do, and I felt that at least a part of the BOC was also clueless. The Board then went into a now customary "Closed Session" at which time I exited. Don't forget about the commissioners mtg. this coming Monday the 23rd (it is the makeup for the one cancelled due to inclement weather on the 16th). 5:30 Mtg. to discuss new jail proposals and normal mtg. at 7pm
Here is a link to the agenda/meeting packet http://www.polknc.org/2_23_15agenda.docx http://www.polknc.org/2_23_15SPECIALMEETING.docx http://www.polknc.org/commissioners/your_commissioners/docs/Packet_for_Feb23.pdf Here is an article from 2/19 in the TDB on the water issue and Ray's request for more transparency on an integrated water plan for the county going forward: http://www.tryondailybulletin.com/2015/02/19/polk-has-spent-7-6-m-on-water-system-so-far/ The 2/16/15 Board of Commissioner's Meeting Canceled Due to anticipated inclement weather, the special and regular Board of Commissioners’ meetings scheduled for February 16th have been cancelled. The meetings have been rescheduled for February 23rd
Most of the mtg. was devoted to the county wide hazard mitigation plan. *One citizen asked the commissioners "What was the criteria for waiving the cost share for the ($150,000) water line to Green River Baptist Church?" (since the county policy is to require cost sharing with the entity requesting the water line as had been done in the past) - the majority apparently had no answer for the question. Under the County Wide Water System Costs and Status Ray Gasperson recommended Polk hire an expert adviser or consultant to:
Thanks to our volunteer for attending the meeting and providing some details of the mtg. for this post! |
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