Regular Council Meeting Minutes
April 7, 2009
Page 2
Town of Surf City
Regular Council Meeting Minutes
April 7, 2009
Mayor Guy called the regular monthly meeting of the Surf City Town Council to order at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Pro Tem Medlin gave the invocation, and Councilman Curley led the Pledge of Allegiance. Also present for the meeting were Councilwoman Albury, Councilmen Helms and Fowler, Attorney Trey Carter, Town Manager J. Michael Moore, Finance Director Jane Kirk and Town Clerk Patricia Arnold.
PROCLAMATION
Spring Litter Sweep April 18 – May 2, 2009. Motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Medlin and seconded by Councilman Fowler to approve the Resolution and was carried unanimously.
Beautification and Appearance Recognitions
Mayor Guy presented the Proclamations for the Home of the Month for April to Charles & Sandy Smith for their property located at 2068 S. Shore Drive and the Business of the Month for April to Palladium at 13480 NC Hwy 50/210 owner by Mo & Anita Afify.
Approval of Minutes
Minutes of the March 3, 2009 Regular Meeting were recommended for approval by Town Attorney Trey Carter. Motion was made by Councilwoman Albury and seconded by Councilman Helms to approve as presented and was carried unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARING
Mayor Guy recessed the regular council meeting at 7:07 P.M. to open the public hearing for comment on a text amendment for Chapter 11 Nuisances. Article IV Peddlers/Beggars to add Third Party Vendors and to do administrative cleanup.
No public comment
Public Hearing was closed at 7:13 P.M.
Mayor Pro Tem Medlin made a motion to approve the text amendment to Chapter 11 Nuisances. Article IV Peddlers/Beggars to add Third Party Vendors and to do administrative cleanup. Councilman Helms seconded motion and was carried unanimously. Copy of ordinance is attached to these minutes.
PUBLIC HEARING
Mayor Guy recessed the regular council meeting at 7:14 P.M. to open the public hearing for comment on a text amendment for Chapter 15 Solid Waste Management to do administrative cleanup.
No public comment
Regular Council Meeting Minutes
April 7, 2009
Page 2
Public Hearing was closed at 7:15 P.M.
Councilwoman Albury made a motion to approve the text amendment to Chapter 15 Solid Waste Management to do administrative cleanup. Councilman Helms seconded motion and was carried unanimously. Copy of ordinance is attached to these minutes.
Tax Releases
Finance Clerk Jane Kirk presented a list of tax releases that were initiated by the County due to clerical errors.
Councilwoman Albury made the motion to approve the tax releases. Motion was second by Mayor Pro Tem Medlin and unanimously approved. List of released taxes are attached to these minutes.
Charter Communications
Finance Director Kirk stated that Back in November 2007 the town was contacted by Mr. Harris who was working on an audit of customers for Charter for Onslow County. He contacted the Town and we contracted with him to perform an audit on the number of customers Charter was paying franchise fees on to the Town and how many customers had cable in the Town that was miscoded and not on their list as being residents in the Town of Surf City and the Town was receive in no franchise tax monies. At the conclusion of the audit, Charter agreed that they owed the town $23,968.01 in back franchise fees going back to 2003. Charter stipulated that they would pay this amount if the Town would sign a resolution,
Councilwoman Albury made the motion to approve the Charter resolution. Motion was second by Councilman Helms and unanimously approved. Copy of Resolution is attached to these minutes.
Board of Adjustments Appointment
Mayor Pro Tem Medlin made a motion to approve Larry Bartholomew as a member for the Board of Adjustment. Councilwoman Albury seconded motion. Motion carried unanimously
Resolution Inlet Hazard Areas
Councilman Fowler made the motion to approve the Resolution. Motion was second by Councilman Helms and unanimously approved. Copy of Resolution is attached to these minutes.
Topsail Island Comprehensive Transportation Plan
Tyler Bray, Triangle Planning Group of NCDOT gave an update on the transportation Plan.
Consensus of Council to move forward.
Auditor Contract
Councilwoman Albury made the motion to approve Auditor’s Contract. Motion was second by Councilman Helms and unanimously approved.
Wastewater System UPDATE & WATER SYSTEM UPDATE
Manager Moore gave update for Gus Simmons, Cavanaugh & Associates
Mainland Pump Station
Bids were opened on January 27, 2009. The apparent low bidder has been identified as Seaside Environmental Constructors, Inc. (SEC), which is the contractor that is completing the Phase 1 WWTP improvements. The lump-sum complete bid for this project provided by SEC is $1,559,500.00. A Discussion of Bids and a Certified Bid Tabulation have been presented to the Town for review.
The Town has submitted this project for eligibility for funding through the Economic Recovery Act (stimulus money), and is awaiting acceptance of the project for funding by this program. The Town will also be meeting with the Local Government Commission (LGC) in the coming days to discuss other funding scenarios for the project, should funding the project through the Stimulus Act not succeed. Per the contract documents, the Town has 60 days from the bid opening date to award the contract for construction for the bids in hand. Given this, Notice of Award was to be issued by March 28, 2009.
The Town sent a Request for Extension of Bids letter to Seaside in hopes of extending their bid guarantee for the project while awaiting notification of receipt of the notification of the projects’ status with regards to stimulus funding. Seaside responded that they would honor their bid for another 30 days on all aspects of their bid, except for their electrical subcontractor, who would not maintain their bid. As such, Seaside committed to work to try to find another electrical subcontractor and committed to be transparent in this process with the Town.
Given this, it is recommended that the Town await notification regarding stimulus funding, and continue to pursue maintenance of the project bid with Seaside, as the apparent low bidder. Regardless, the Town maintains its right to reject all bids and rebid the project if it desires.
Surf City Wastewater Treatment Facilities
Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP): Work has continued to progress well at the WWTP in March. The date for Substantial Completion, which also coincides with the plant being in an operational state, is April 27, 2009. Therefore, there is a great deal of ‘finishing touches’ work occurring at the WWTP at this time. The Contractor has all the major equipment and processes in place, and all that is required for the plant to become operational is the completion of the electrical construction and performance of functional testing. The following summarizes the completion status of the major components of work associated with the wastewater plant:
· Piping and Equipment are being completed on the SBR’s;
· Grinding and cleaning of all vertical concrete walls is continuing;
· Painting and touch-up work;
· Electrical wiring and connections are continuing and are nearly complete. This remains the major effort and focus of work.
The synthetic liner required for the post-equalization basin remains to be installed, but the material is on site and the sludge has been removed from the basin.
Juniper Swamp Forcemain: All of the pipeline and appurtenances have been installed and tested. Performance testing is now being conducted on the infiltration basin and the groundwater lowering system. Substantial completion will not be issued until the performance testing is completed.
Phase 2 Disposal at Juniper Swamp: Land Management Group (LMG) is onsite, performing the required monitoring well and hydrogeologic testing to facilitate the design of the Phase 2 effluent utilization and disposal, which will increase the Town’s disposal capacity from 700,000 gallons per day (GPD) to 3,000,000 GPD. LMG expects to complete this work by the end of May, which will facilitate submission to the State for permitting in late June, first of July. Cavanaugh had a progress meeting with LMG last week, and the preliminary results from their work looks very good.
Phase 2 WWTP Expansion: Cavanaugh has begun design of the Phase 2 WWTP Expansion, which will expand the WWTP from 1.5 MGD of treatment capacity to 3.0 MGD. Cavanaugh is in the process of the detailed design development, and has made significant progress in the development of construction plans already.
The progression of the Town’s WWTP Master Plan, inclusive of the expansions described above, is timely, given the availability of low-to-zero interest loans available through the State Revolving Fund (SRF). Cavanaugh previously reported the very favorable meeting that was held with Dan Blaisdell of Construction Grants & Loans (CG&L), who administers the SRF funds. Since that time, the passage of the Infrastructure Stimulus Bill has strengthened the opportunity for Surf City to participate and acquire very favorable loan terms. There are opportunities to obtain term extensions (from 20 years to 30 years) and reduced, or zero, interest rates. The exact terms will not be determined until the application package is submitted to CG&L.
The next step in preparation of the application package is completion and submission of the design package, inclusive of the WWTP and Juniper Swamp Disposal.
Surf City Recreation Park Upgrade
The Bid Advertisement was publicized last week, and Bid Opening is set for April 28, 2009.
Surf City Parking and Transportation Plan
Cavanaugh has solicited proposals for the design and permitting of the proposed traffic circles, and has presented these proposals to the Town for review.
Surf City Island Sidewalks
Cavanaugh has completed the revisions to the Master Plan, as discussed at the Town Council Workshop, and delivered final copies to the Town and NCDOT.
Water Treatment Plant Optimization Study
Cavanaugh has completed the Optimization Study, and has already worked with Town Staff to implement several no-cost improvements to the operation of the water plant. There are several items that may yet be implemented that will increase the performance of the plant and reduce operating costs and chemical costs. Cavanaugh plans to meet with Town Staff and perform a comprehensive review of the findings and recommendations of the report in April.
Other Items of Interest: Cavanaugh assisted the Town with preparation and submission of several projects included in the Water System Master Plan and Sewer System Master Plan for Infrastructure Stimulus Funding. C&A has continued to work very closely with the State on the development of these two programs, and believe Surf City will be able to capitalize on these efforts.
Public Forum
Jack Solak, 2408 S. Shore Drive, stated that he was grateful for the town pushing sand and they are doing a great job. He said that Mr. Carter’s bulldozers are broken down right now but he is working hard to get them running.
Council Forum
Councilman Curley thanked everyone for coming and hoped everyone has a Great Easter.
Mayor Pro Tem Medlin thanked everyone for coming.
Councilwoman Albury thanked everyone for coming and said Happy Easter.
Councilman Fowler Reminded everyone about the Easter Egg Hunt on the 11th and Chamber Membership pig picking on April 23rd at Soundside Park.
Councilman Helms thanked everyone for coming and wished them a Happy Easter.
Mayor Guy thanked everyone for coming.
Manager Report
No report at this time.
Town Attorney Report
No report at this time.
Adjournment
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. upon the motion by Councilwoman Albury and seconded by Councilman Helms. The Council unanimously approved motion.
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Patricia E. Arnold, CMC Town Clerk A. D. (Zander) Guy, Jr., Mayor