Macon County Commissioners Meeting Video July 12, 2010

This is the full video of the Macon County Commissioners meeting that took place on Monday, July 12, 2010.


Commissioner Jim Davis spoke about the destruction of his barn by fire caused by oil soaked rags left in a bucket. He praised the volunteer firefighters of the several volunteer fire departments, the EMTs of the Macon County EMS and the officers of the Franklin Police Department that responded to the fire for their professionalism.


Public Comment


18 year employee of Macon County, Sandy Preston, addressed the Commissioners regarding her layoff as a result of budget cuts. She indicated that her husband is 100% disabled and that without her paycheck, she is concerned about losing her home and her car and she cannot afford the COBRA payments to keep her health insurance. 


Tom Ritter made a proposal about having a weekend camping event for veterans and their families in the Macon County Veterans Memorial Park.


Reports/Presentations


Commissioner Bobby Kuppers gave a report on the problem of finding a place for the teenagers of Nantahala community to swim in since they have been chased off Queens Lake by the Fish and Wildlife Service. He said that he had spent the day in Nantahala investigating the situation and potential solutions, the best of which was to find out what it will take to allow the teenagers to return to Queens Lake.


Old Business


County Manager Jack Horton presented a report on the Whitley Products lease in the Business Incubator Building in the Industrial Park. He recommended that the lease be renewed.


Commissioner Bob Siimpson reported on the Holly Springs Community Building and noted that their proposed building restoration project would have to stay within certain guidelines to preserve their ability to have the building placed on the historical register and county funding options and grant applications were also discussed. The property was deeded by Macon County to the Holly Springs Community Development Club in the 1950's. 


New Business


A property line adjustment at the existing Iotla School to allow for a safer entrance was discussed. A property line survey revealed that there had been some property line encroachment by a neighbor of the school who had built a shed that was over the boundary between the two properties. County Attorney Chester Jones described the best options for the county to relieve the situation and certain legal requirements that must be observed in the property transfer.  There was also discussion of the Cullasaja School property being declared surplus. 


The Consent Agenda


During this portion of the meeting, all items are voted upon in one motion and included approving the following items, the minutes of the June 28th Meeting of the Commissioners, several budget revisions were made, and the cancellation of the July 26, 2010 meeting was discussed. (The commissioners have wanting to go back to just one meeting a month instead of the two meetings a month schedule they have observed since 2008). Chairman Ronnie Beale was designated the voting delegate to the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) Annual Conference in Pitt County on August 26-29, 2010. 


The entire consent agenda was passed unanimously. 


Appointments


A new nonprofit corporation is being formed to receive ownership of the Orchard View Housing complex and Macon County has been allocated a position on the oversight board. Stan Jeffries was recommended and approved for the position. The term will expire on July 1, 2013. 


Closed Session


The commissioners then went into a closed session for the purposes of preserving attorney/client privilege. There were no announcements after the session.