Consent Agenda and Monthly Oral Reports Added to Future Meetings

The town council votede 6-0 to add a Consent Agenda to future board meetings to be approved en masse.. Any council member can request an item be pulled from the consent agenda to be discussed individually. At the request of Councilman Joe Collins, the oral monthly reports from department heads will be also added to the agenda of future meetings. It was noted that former town manager Sam Greenwood had unilaterally discontinued the practice. Details are in the video embedded below.

Gavel-to-gavel video of the Feb 2019 meeting and supporting documents are posted on the blog. [LINK]

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Published at 12:12 pm on February 5, 2019

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Council Discusses Town Liaisons to Advisory Boards

The town council discussed the possibility of selecting members of the council act as liaisons with town advisory boards like the county commissioners do. Details are in the video embedded below.

Gavel-to-gavel video of the Feb 2019 meeting and supporting documents are posted on the blog. [LINK]

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Published at 12:11 pm on February 5, 2019

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Council Discusses Personnel Policies: General Leave, Holiday Pay and Tests Employee Evaluations

The town council has approved adjustments to thw town personnel policy regarding Gneral Leave and Holiday Pay to meet Federal Fair Labor Standards by a vote of 6-0. The council also approves a test run of a written Employee Evaluation Policy by a vote of 6-0. Details are in the video embedded below.

Gavel-to-gavel video of the Feb 2019 meeting and supporting documents are posted on the blog. [LINK]

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If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month. Those who support Macon Media with at least a dollar a month receive early access to video of some events and meetings before they are made public on the website. Videos and news involving public safety are not subject to early access.

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Published at 12:10 pm on February 5, 2019

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Council Reappoints Planning Board Members

The town council reappointed Janet Greene, Vice-chair and ETJ Representative, to the town planning board. Also reappointed were Denton Higdon and Susie Ledford.

Gavel-to-gavel video of the Feb 2019 meeting and supporting documents are posted on the blog. [LINK]

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Published at 12:08 pm on February 5, 2019

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Proposed Changes to Parking Ordinance Discussed Council Vote Postponed Until March

Justin Setser, Land Use Administrator, brought some proposed changes to the Chapter 75 Parking Schedule Ordinance from the town planning board. John Henning, Jr., requested the vote on the matter be held off until the March meeting. A video of the segment is posted below.

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Published at 12:06 pm on February 5, 2019

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Council Passes Proclamation for Rotary International Day

A member of one of the local Rotary Clubs was present for the reading and signing of the proclamation of Saturday, February 23rd as Rotary International Day in Franklin. A video of the segment and a copy of the proclamation is posted below.

Gavel-to-gavel video of the Feb 2019 meeting and supporting documents are posted on the blog. [LINK]

Rotary International Proclamation

WHEREAS, Rotary International, founded on February 23, 1905 in Chicago, Illinois USA, is the world's first and one of the largest non-profit service organizations; and

WHEREAS, there are over 1.2 million Rotary club members comprised of professional and business leaders in over 32,000 clubs in 200 countries and geographic areas; and

WHEREAS, the Rotary motto "Service Above Self" inspires members to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards, and promote good will and peace in the world: and

WHEREAS, Rotary funds club projects and sponsors volunteers with community expertise to provide medical supplies, health care, clean water, food production, job training, and education to millions in need, particularly in developing countries; and

WHEREAS, Rotary in 1985 launched Polio Plus and spearheaded efforts with the World Health Organization, U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF to immunize the children of the world against polio; and

WHEREAS, polio cases have dropped by 99 percent since 1988 and the world stands on the threshold of eradicating the disease; and

WHEREAS, Rotary is the world's largest privately-funded source of international scholarships and promotes international understanding through scholarships, exchange programs and humanitarian grants: and

WHEREAS, more than 47,000 students from 110 countries have studied abroad since 1947 as Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars; and

WHEREAS, Rotary's Group Study Exchange program has helped more than 57,000 young professionals explore their career fields in other countries; and

WHEREAS, 7,000 secondary-school students each year experience life in another country through Rotary's Youth Exchange Program; and

WHEREAS, there are over 250 Rotary club members in the 4 clubs here in Macon County sponsoring service projects to address such critical issues as poverty, health, hunger, illiteracy, and the environment in their local communities, and abroad.

Therefore, I Mayor of the Town of Franklin, ___________ do hereby proclaim Saturday, February 23 as Rotary Day in Franklin, and encourage all citizens to join me in recognizing Rotary International for its more than 100 years of service to improving the human condition in local communities around the world.





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Published at 12:04 pm on February 5, 2019

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Council Passes Proclamation for Hunger Awareness Month

A youth group from First United Methodist Church were present for the annual signing of the proclamation for Hunger Awareness Month in support of their participation in the 30 Hour Famine to 'raise awareness of the issues of world hunger among our youth, congregation and community'. A video of the segment and a copy of the proclamation is posted below.

Gavel-to-gavel video of the Feb 2019 meeting and supporting documents are posted on the blog. [LINK]

PROCLAMATION FOR HUNGER AWARENESS MONTH
(Digitized by Macon Media))

WHEREAS, worldwide, one in every nine people do not have enough to eat; and

WHEREAS, 31 children die of starvation every hour; and

WHEREAS, 1 in 3 children in Macon County live in a food insecure household, and over 73,818 weekend meals have been provided to Macon County children though the CareNet backpack program; and

WHEREAS, the National food insecurity rate is 21.6% and is 30.6% here in Macon County; and

WHEREAS, at least one in eight people in Macon County live at or below the Federal Poverty Level; and

WHEREAS, the youth of First United Methodist Church are leading the 30 Hour Famine to raise awareness of the issues of world hunger among our youth, congregation and community, and to:
• Collect money and food for CareNet to help address the need locally
• Collect money for World Vision to help address the need around the world
• To work together with others in the area doing "hands-on" projects related to hunger and poverty
• To fast by going without food for 30 hours to learn more about what many experience each day

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Town of Franklin hereby proclaims February as Hunger Awareness Month.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town of Franklin encourages all residents of Macon County to help address hunger by supporting the 30 Hour Famine and donating food and money to help address hunger both locally and around the world.


Statistics provided by World Vision, World Food Programme, Feeding America, Access NC and CareNet.





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Published at 12:03 pm on February 5, 2019

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Pauline Avenue Resident Voices Concerns Over Blighted Properties at Town Council Meeting

During the public comment period of the February 4th meeting of the Franklin Town Council, a resident (accompanied by neighbors) of Pauline Avenue spoke about concerns about several properties on that street. 

Mayor Bob Scott shared with members of the council (but not the media or the public) printed photos he had taken on the street earlier that day. He and John Henning, Jr., the town attorney discussed the problem and methods that were available to the Town of Franklin to deal with what the mayor called urban blight. 

The mayor spoke about the broken windows theory and expressed a desire to handle problems like this as quickly as possible with the town taking summary action and clearing up the property on their own. He floated the idea that the Fire Chief could search the property without a search warrant, what he called an administrative search to discover if there were imminent dangers to the community on the property. The town attorney counseled the mayor against immediate action because it was 'legally perilous'. The mayor directed the Fire Chief to visit the property to inspect it to see if the property posed an imminent danger to the community. 

The gist of the discussion was that the timeline for addressing resident's concerns was months, not days, it would take perhaps something around 60 days or so.

Gavel-to-gavel video of the Feb 2019 meeting and supporting documents are posted on the blog. [LINK]


Terms and Concepts

Broken Windows Theory [LINK]
Administrative Search Warrants in North Carolina [LINK]
Urban Blight [LINK]

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Published at 12:02 pm on February 5, 2019

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Council Approves UDO Amendment to Allow Tasting Rooms in Mixed Use Neighborhoods

During the February 2019 regular meeting of the Franklin Town Council, there was a public hearing and vote on amending the text of the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) for the Town of Franklin to include Tasting Rooms as allowed uses in Chapter 152.032 NMU (Neighborhood Mixed Use. After a briefing public hearing during which no one from the public spoke, the town board approved the amendment by a vote of 6-0 on a motion by Culpepper and a second by McRae. Videos of the public hearing and vote are posted below.

Gavel-to-gavel video of the Feb 2019 meeting and supporting documents are posted on the blog. [LINK]



Public Hearing

Vote

Motion: David Culpepper
Second: Barbara McRae
FOR (L-R): Joe Collins, David Culpepper, Dinah Mashburn, Barbara McRae, Brandon McMahan, Adam Kimsey.
OPPOSED: None

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Published at 2:40 am on February 5, 2019

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