SURF CITY TOWN COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES March 16, :00 a.m. William J. (Buddy) Fowler, Mayor Pro-Tem

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1 SURF CITY TOWN COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES 9:00 a.m. Council Present: Douglas C. Medlin, Mayor William J. (Buddy) Fowler, Mayor Pro-Tem Nelva Ablury Donald Helms Teresa Batts Public Present: Bobby Owings Alexi Derstein Peter Sloan Jack Solak Chris Gibson A. Call to Order Douglas C. Medlin, Mayor B. Invocation C. Pledge of Allegiance D. The Gathering Sponsorship Bobby Owings Bobby Owings with the Gathering at Surf City Baptist asked for a request for sponsorship for their May 20 th family event, and September 23 rd church anniversary event. Both events are held in Soundside Park and they are free to the community, they offer food, games, and community support. He thanked them for their assistance in the past and look forward to many more great events. Lt. Voorhees explained that community safety is their number one concern. The police department is requiring 3 officers for each event, these are off duty extra officers not regular on duty officers. Mr. Fowler stated this is a new program, and he understands that each event would have to request sponsorship, and there would be an allotted amount of money for the total year. He requested Chad to look into the total cost of the event and what it would cost to cover that event. Mayor explained that the town cannot discriminate against anyone group. It has to be fair across the board. Mr. Owings stated the church is only holding two events this year instead of four, to cut down on town cost and church cost. Mrs. Nelva made a motion to approve the May 20 th sponsorship. Mr. Fowler seconded the motion and it was carried. E. Greater Topsail Area Chamber Presentation Peter Sloan & Alexi Derstein with the Topsail Greater Area Chamber of Commerce presented a chamber update. Mr. Sloan explained they are currently seeking a new director, they have hired a Page 1 of 6

2 new membership coordinator, and they are re-building the structure from the ground up. The Topsail App. has grown by 100,000 clicks within the last quarter. He discussed that each town could have their own link within the app. He stated that the new area guides have been distributed in the Pender area. They are working on updating their statistical data to assist with new growth and where the growth has been. Jeep Week is coming up in the third week of September. This is the third year for hosting Jeep Week and it is a family friendly event. Mrs. Derstein explained that membership growth is their number goal currently. They currently have about 350 members. There are many events hosted throughout the month. She asked the Council how they could be better connected? She stated they are trying to stay more plugged in with local events, they are looking to have a more visible presence. The member appreciation is Friday, April 27 th at the Welcome Center. They are also requesting nominations for Man and Woman of the Year and the Life Time Achievement Award. All the ongoing events and documents for nominations are available online. Mr. Bergman asked that the Chamber send all information to the Town Clerk or himself. F. Consent Agenda 1. Soundside Park Extension Proposal 2. Operation Top Cat Sponsorship 3. Ordinance Amendment Section Cross Connection Control, Backflow Prevention Assemblies Required, Program Established 4. Surplus Resolution Parks & Recreation 5. Financial Systems Specialist Job Description & Salary Range Mr. Helms made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Mr. Fowler seconded the motion and it was carried. Mrs. Batts stated that after talking about pay scales she would like to have that position salary and realign it in lines with Southport. She made a motion for the range to be $36,582 to $54,773. Mr. Fowler seconded the motion and it was carried. Mr. Fowler ask for the town salaries to be submitted to the League as well. G. Old Business 6. Advisory Board Recommendations Mr. Fowler stated at the last meeting we decided to stay with our current recommendation process. He made a recommendation to place Thom Olds on the Board of Adjustment. He is a retired attorney and district attorney with Pender County. He teaches law at the community college as well. 7. TI Coastal Beach Nourishment Program Chris Gibson with TI Coastal discussed the beach report that was sent out earlier in the week. The report gave a few options with moving forward with a private beach project. Mr. Gibson s recommendation was option one; he explained that they were able to find a new sand source that was not as far as the ocean bar, along with sand from Banks Channel which should qualify for offshore drafting funds. Option one is will build a face berm and fix the escarpment, the width of beach is estimated at 148 feet of beach, currently at high tide there is about 30 feet. This would put almost all wave energy off shore. Over time it will be easier and easier to push the dune line Page 2 of 6

3 out and a larger vegetative line. Option one is a multiple step process, but there is no fix for beach nourishment, there is always maintenance. They are all management plans, right now given what the current funding is and what the town could get from the shallow draft inlet fund, the town could finish this project with no financing. He suggested avoiding financing the first project as much as possible. The total estimate is $22 million. The type of dredging as well as what the town plans on doing is vital so that the material matches. Timing is also a vial key to this project because of the timing of the Topsail Beach upcoming project. There is a possibly that the town could come in on the tail in of the Topsail Beach project for the end of All of this depends on how fast the Topsail Beach project moves. Mr. Bergman ask what the next phase for the town is and what is the cost? Mr. Gibson stated they would need to put together a design to go to the state, this would take about a week or two. The request needs to be put out early, because June is the next hearing date. They only do approvals twice a year. He stated that the stuff north of Queens Grant is 5.5 years old and is outdated and may have to be redone. Then the permit application could begin after some field data processing. The permit approval takes between days. This should put the contractor on the beach around December Mr. Bergman discussed the funding of the project and the possibility of not sun setting the beach nourishment tax. The estimate is about $1.2 million a year for a private project to continue. Mayor stated we plan to sunset the current nourishment tax but we may have to add some back on to continue, it will all have to be calculated out before a conclusion is reached. Mr. Gibson stated if you at a 50/50 cost share then the current tax is correct. Currently the town gets about $1.3 per year from the nourishment tax. Some towns choose to take on debt for nourishment projects. Mrs. Loftis if the shallow draft inlet fund is given up front or paid back. Mr. Gibson stated every time a check is written you turn it in and the turnaround for payback is about 2-3 weeks. Typically in the past a town would pay out one month but before the next payout the reimbursement has already come in. Mr. Bergman made a recommendation to council that if they want to continue with TI Coastal is to see if this project will qualify for shallow draft inlet funding. Mr. Helms made a motion to proceed with the next phase to see if the project will qualify for shallow draft inlet funding. Mrs. Albury seconded the motion and it was carried. G. New Business 8. Salaries Classification & Merit Pay Mr. Bergman stated the council was given the classification scale that the town uses. The first set was approved in August 2015, and department heads have been given the opportunity to add different classifications, which is the second one that was provided. Periodically these classifications need to be updated to insure the town stays competitive with neighboring town s salaries. The merit pay is all done expect for the department heads, he still has to do those. It is up to the council to create a funding source for those merit pay increases. He stated that he is Page 3 of 6

4 working with Mrs. Loftis to come up with a funding source for the merit increase proposed for this year. Mrs. Batts asked if this was approved in 2015 but has not been implemented? Mr. Bergman stated yes. Mrs. Batts stated she has a document from the League of Municipalities on salaries and ours do not always compare. Mrs. Albury stated that the human resources officer has been here two years and there is still nothing done. The taxpayers will not be able to stay here, the tax payers cannot afford it with the way things keep going up. Mr. Fowler stated we have steps in the classification study that allow for raises after so many years of service. Those employees that preform the best would be awarded with a merit based salary increase. Mr. Bergman stated we have steps but the cost of living does not necessarily get you to the next step. But just because you are a new employee does not mean you start at the bottom, it is based on experience. He explained that if there was no cost of living giving and no merit base pay they would not get any increase under our current policy. Mrs. Albury stated she was thankful for all employees, but those employees out in the field are not compensated. Mrs. Batts stated she like the merit pay idea. She stated she did not like the survey that was passed around. She gave an example for a sports coordinator that has been here two months that makes more than someone who has been here five years that digs holes and works in sewer. Mr. Bergman stated this was built on a classification system that came from human resources where she is aware of the updated classifications around the state. There are many factors that go into classifications such as education, supervisory roles and certifications. Mr. Helms stated he was under a merit system in his career, but it can easily become a popularity system. The town needs to think about police and fire because it cost so much to train these people. The town will have to have a merit system in order to promote healthy growth and keep our well-trained employees. 9. FY Departmental Budget Request Mr. Bergman discussed that all departments were asked to provide a spreadsheet of budget request along with details about their organization and reasoning for their request. This also provides a time to look at fees and current fee schedules. These are just request, these are not manager recommendations. This will provide a list of considerations from each department. There will be upcoming planned work sessions where all this will be put together to come up with a balanced budget for approval. On the revenue side, he met with Onslow County asking for support for the EMS funds. They did offer grant opportunities for funding for some local project and Mountains to Sea Trail conference. He also ask for partnerships with Parks & Recreation. 10. Rocky Top Water & Sewer District Page 4 of 6

5 Mr. Bergman stated the town received a letter from Pender County utilities that the town was trying to extend water lines into the Rocky Top water district which already has water supplied by Pender County. Pretty much the letter states the town needs permission before supplying water to residences in that district. However, water has been supplied by the town since the construction of Lowes. The county has a significant debt on water lines that do supply this area. The town ordinance states we do not provide sewer without water, and being annexed into the town. Mayor stated the county did not give the town permission to serve Lowes. They applied to the county and the county could not service because of fire suppression needs. Lowes would not be there if they were depending on the county. The county would have never gotten tax dollars from Lowes or Harris Teeter or any other commercial that needs that much fire suppression. The county cannot offer sewer, which cuts down on commercial growth. Mr. Helms stated these developers come here for this water and sewer. There would not be half as much growth if the town has not built a water and sewer system. Mr. Fowler stated these developers have paid for put in these water and sewer lines all down Hwy 210. The county is looking to re-coup some dollars to pay down depth. The town service is superior to what the county has. Something needs to be worked out that will work for Pender County and the Town. Mr. Bergman stated the town attorney Charles Lanier, is working on the legality of the whole situation. He suggested an open discussion with Pender County representatives and town attorneys. Mr. Helms stated we put in larger lines in anticipation of growth because of the new school. Mr. Rademacher stated that the county signed off on the line to the school because USDA had them too. The other side of this is that the town is already getting ask about future devolvement. At the Pender County meeting they stated the sign off was for that specific school project only. We are getting calls for new annexation every day for our water and sewer. Mayor ask for a meeting date to be set with Pender County and our Town Attorney. H. Public Forum Jack Solak thanked everyone for their beach nourishment commitment. He threw out the idea of collecting the trash on Thursday instead of Monday. I. Adjournment Mrs. Albury made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Helms seconded the motion and it was carried. Stephanie E. Hobbs, Town Clerk Douglas C. Medlin, Mayor Page 5 of 6

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