Appalachian Trail Community Committee Holds Annual Meeting Officers Elected

The Franklin Appalachian Trail Community Committee met for their annual meeting at The Lazy Hiker due to their space being double booked by the Town of Franklin.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Chairperson..........Rob Gasbarro
Vice Chairperson...Matt Bateman
Sec/Treasurer.......Kristina Moe

MEDIA ROLL CALL (media outlets present for the meeting)
Macon Media (me)


Here is the video of the meeting:

Agenda

AT Community Committee Meeting

Annual Meeting

June 9, 2015

10:00 - 11:30 am

1. Welcome: (Matt Bateman)
    Introductions
    New members
    Guests

2. Review minutes of May 12, 2015 meeting (Kristina)

3. Old business:
    TDA and/or TDC issues
    AT Community Conference Nov 2015
2    013 Hiker Service Brochure corrections/updating
    Hiker Survey for 2016 Questions and survey locations

4. New business:
    Council nominating recommendations for Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Secretary/Treasurer, discussion and vote
    Focus of effort going forward

5. Updates from Committee members

6. Next meeting date (July 14, 2015)

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Franklin TDA June 2015 Meeting and Board "Retreat"

Update: The video has been added.



Meeting in Brief

Matt Bateman resigned from the board, PRiemiere Marketing made their annual budget presentation to the board. Doug Morton of The Taste of Scotland Festival spoke to the board, wanting additional funds. He said an article in a local paper stating the festival had made a profit of $1,000 last year had cost them donations this year. After a lengthy conversation with Morton, the board denied the festival additional funds.

David Linn spoke to the board regarding a 5K to raise funds for the Shriners Hospital in Greenville, SC. He will be back at a later meeting with an updated budget to present to the board.

The remaining 5 members of the board approved the budget prepared and presented by PRiemerewith the addition of $3,500. $3,000 to pay for an audit and $500 to pay for the Finance Officer's bond. The total 2015-2016 budget is $113,700. For reference, the 2014-2015 budget was $118,400. 

2015-2016 Franklin TDA Budget

BUDGET LINE ITEM	AMOUNT
Festivals/Miscellaneous	$30,000
Pandora (Mobile Audio/Advertising)	$20,000
Trip Advisor (2 runs @ $10,000 ea/Advertising)	$20,000
Asheville Citizen	$26,500
Facebook	$30,000
Google Ad Words	$10,000
PRemiere Marketing Services	$3,700
A/V Media	$0
Photography	$0
Internal Audit/Finance Officer Bond	$3,500
TOTAL	$113,700

The board will meet again on July 13th at 5:30 pm in the lower level of the Franklin Town Hall.

MEDIA ROLL CALL (Media outlets with reporters present)

Macon Media (me)

Macon County News and Shopping Guide

The Franklin Press

The Franklin Tourism Development Authority will be having the June 2015 meeting today at 5:30 pm in the lower level of the town hall. The meeting will also serve as the annual "retreat" for the board. The public agenda and the press packet have been posted below and the video will be added sometime after the meeting.

Franklin TDA Press Packet for June 2015

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Macon County Sheriff Holds Press Conference on Arrests at South Macon Elementary School

Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland held a press conference to share information with the media about the arrest of Adam Conley and Kathryn Jetter at South Macon School.

Here is the full audio of the press conference:



Here is full video of the press conference:



Here are some photos from the press conference: [Link to Flickr Album]

Created with flickr slideshow.

Macon County Sheriff Officers Close Down South Macon School to Search for Weapons

Regarding the "missing" post from this morning.

Facebook got back to me and said that the school deleted their post, which I had shared. Since I shared their post, my post disappeared when theirs did. A couple of people confirmed this when they messaged me and said they had shared the original post by the school, too and theirs had also went missing.

So, there is no conspiracy to delete posts on developing public safety situations. YAAY!!!!



So, instead of directly sharing posts by the school and other local government pages, I plan on copying and pasting then linking when something major is going down so the chain of information is not broken and people can be kept up to date on situations in the community that involve public safety.

For some reason my previous post has been removed. Fortunately, I had it mirrored:

Macon County Sheriff Officers have temporarily closed South Macon School after a brief foot chase netted the recovery of four firearms from two subjects. Macon County EMS was called to the scene to remove taser probes from at least one of the subjects.
The reason for the temporary closure is a search for possible additional weapons. Macon Media has left a message on the Sheriff's phone and is awaiting a response on how long the school will be closed and will relay additional information once it becomes available. Please stay away from the area until the all clear has been given.

As of 6:20 am, a bag with a pistol and ammo was discovered on one of the school buses and the search for additional weapons continues.

‪#‎WNCscan‬ ‪#‎MaconEd‬

**6:39 am** Students that arrive will be placed at the church on the hill near the school. All school buses have been searched and no additional weapons found.

**6:43 am** Macon Media has been following this story since before 6am.
https://twitter.com/WNCSCAN/status/606396226985025536

**6:48 am** Sheriff Officers are going back into the school to retrieve breakfast bars and drinks for the students who are being housed at the church near the school. The Sheriff has requested the NC Highway Patrol respond to assist with traffic control at the scene.

**6:54 am** Two people, a male and a female have been transported to the Macon County detention Center.

**7:23 am** School at South Macon Elementary has been cancelled for today and faculty are to report to Prentiss Church of God near the school.

**8:05 am** Superintendent Dr. Baldwin made the decision to close South Macon Elementary for the day. Parents can return to school to pick up their children. Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=837754229627638&id=178160228920378

**8:45 am**

South Macon Elementary has now been cleared by law enforcement officials. Faculty & Staff may now enter the campus and parents may pick up their child if they were at school. There will be no classes at South Macon today, Thursday, June 4, 2015. All other schools in Macon County are on regular schedule.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1615642172012021&id=1489091731333733

For some reason my previous post has been removed. Fortunately, I had it mirrored:Macon County Sheriff Officers have...
Posted by Macon County Public Safety, Road Conditions and Weather Updates on Thursday, June 4, 2015

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Franklin Town Board June 2015 Meeting

**update 12:18 am June 2nd** Here is the video of the meeting. Supporting documents are embedded below.




The Franklin Town Board of Aldermen will be meeting tonight for their regular June 2015 meeting. Among the items on the agenda is a public hearing and vote on the Fiscal Year 2015-2016 budget for the Town of Franklin. You can see a copy of the proposed budget and a video of the complete work session held by the town board to review the budget at this link. 

A copy of the 1 page public agenda and the 59 page agenda packet that the Town of Franklin shares with the members of the media are posted below. Currently, Macon Media is the only organization that shares the larger packet with the public.

After the meeting, a full video of the proceedings will be added to this post at the top of the page, so please bookmark it and come back to see exactly what happened and who said what at the meeting.

Town of Franklin Board of Aldermen 

Agenda 

Monday June 1, 2015 7:00 p.m. 

1. Call to Order- Mayor Bob Scott

2. Pledge of Allegiance- Vice Mayor Verlin Curtis

3. Adoption of June 1, 2015 Proposed Agenda

4. Approval of the May 4, May 16 and May 18, 2015 Board Minutes

5. Public Hearing 7:05 p.m. for Re-Zoning Request for Dan Street and Watauga Street

6. Public Hearing 7:10 p.m. for Proposed Fiscal Year 2015-2016 Town of Franklin Budget

7. Public Hearing 7:15 p.m. for Text Amendment to the Sign Ordinance Regarding Banners

8. Public Session

9. New Business

A.) Board Action on Re-Zoning Request for Dan Street and Watauga Street

B.) Board Action on Proposed Fiscal Year 2015-2016 Town of Franklin Budget

C.) Board Action on Text Amendment to the Sign Ordinance Regarding Banners

D.) AT&T Wireless Telecommunications Eligible Facilities Request- Land Use Administrator Justin Sester

E.) Budget Amendments- Finance Officer Kyra Doster

F.) Request for Indoor Gun Range at 245 Carolina Mountain Drive- Land Use Administrator Justin Sester & Town Manager Summer Woodard

G.) Re-Appointment of Cheryl Pullium to the Tourism Development Authority Board- Town Manager Summer Woodard

H.) Re-Appointment of Josh Drake to the Tourism Development Authority Board- Town Manager Summer Woodard



10. Legal

A.) Amendment to Streets and Sidewalks Ordinance Permitting Banners- Town Attorney John Henning Jr



11. Announcements

A.) Town of Franklin Employee Luncheon will be July 2, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. at Fat Buddies

B.) The Town Hall Offices will be closed Friday July 3, 2015 in observance of this holiday



12. Adjourn

Press Packet June 2015 Aldermen Meeting

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