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Blowing Rock Town Council To Meet Wednesday: 2 Annexations and 2 Easements

The Blowing Rock Town Council will hold its regularly-scheduled meeting for November on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. in Town Hall. Usually, the council meets on Tuesday, but the meeting was rescheduled for Wednesday because of Election Day.

See agenda below:

CALL TO ORDER

Mayor J.B. Lawrence

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

October 11, 2016 Regular Council Meeting

October 31, 2016 Special Council Meeting

October 31, 2016 Closed Session Minutes

SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS AND REPORTS

Highway 321 Valley Boulevard Construction Update

Speaker: Kipp Turner, Maymead Construction

Recognition of $5,000 Donation from the Village Foundation of Blowing Rock

Speaker: John Aldridge, Village Foundation of Blowing Rock President, Director

CONSENT AGENDA

Speaker:  Scott Fogleman, Town Manager 

  1. Budget Amendment

Speaker:  Nicole Norman, Finance Officer

Grant funds of $4,000 from the Blowing Rock Community Foundation for the Police Department and Town funding of $1,500 set aside for Glen Burney Trail maintenance to match a $6,000 grant from the Blue Ridge Conservancy were in the process of being executed at the end of fiscal year 2016 and need to be reallocated from fund balance within the general fund for final spending in fiscal year 2017.  In addition, $1,700 of Blowing Rock Appearance Advisory Commission fund balance has been identified to fund hydro seeding of the ends of the 321 median under the Blue Ridge Parkway.

  1. Easement Release Resolution

Speaker:  Kevin Rothrock, Planning Director

A resolution has been prepared for Council consideration to release two sidewalk easements within a property owned by The Britt Group per their request.  These walkway easements were established in 1919 with the Mayview Park Subdivision plat. They have not been used nor are they part of the Town’s current street system or future plans.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

  1. Muscari Annexation (156 Heather Ridge Lane)

Speaker: Kevin Rothrock, Planning Director

The property owner has filed a petition requesting annexation of a single family lot located at 156 Heather Ridge Lane.  Council approved initiation of this annexation process at its meeting on October 11, 2016.  The property is currently on a septic system and the owners would like to connect to the Town’s sewer system which is available nearby on Heather Ridge Lane.  The owners will be responsible for the cost of extending the sewer line to their property, which is currently in the Extra Territorial Jurisdiction of the Town and is zoned R-15, single family.  This public hearing is the second and final step of the voluntary annexation process.  If approved, the annexation will become effective November 30, 2016.

  1. McIntosh Annexation (6236 Highway 321 South)

Speaker: Kevin Rothrock, Planning Director

The property owner has filed a petition requesting satellite annexation of a property located at 6236 Highway 321 South (Blowing Rock Investment Properties).  Council approved initiation of this annexation process at its meeting on October 11, 2016.  The owner is seeking to connect to the Town’s sewer system. The property is currently on a septic system. A simple sewer tap and connection is possible as public sewer service was recently installed on a contiguous lot when the lift station was installed for the Chestnut Ridge Post Acute Care Facility.  This public hearing is the second and final step of the voluntary annexation process.  If approved, the annexation will become effective November 30, 2016.

DISCUSSION AGENDA

  1. Winterfest Parade

Speaker:  Charles Hardin, Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce President

At its meeting on July 12, 2016, the Town Council approved a parade as part of the January, 2017 Winterfest event.  At its meeting on October 11, 2016, the Town Council approved a parade date and time of Saturday, January 28, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. with the parade branded as the “ASU Winterfest Parade” to help celebrate Appalachian State University, the success of its Athletic programs, and to help build upon the positive relationships between the Town and ASU.  The Chamber agreed to compensate off-duty Blowing Rock Police Officers to help with traffic control and to help with litter clean up following the parade.  The Town agreed to handle the participant registration process, conduct the parade, and make one extra garbage can run along Main Street shortly following the event.  Following conversations and scheduling issues for ASU, the Chamber is requesting to move the parade date to Friday, January 27, 2016 with the time to remain 5:30 p.m.

SPEAKERS FROM THE FLOOR

Prior to the meeting, anyone wishing to speak shall complete an index card supplied by the Town Clerk, on which they will provide their name, address, telephone number and the topic they wish to address. In deference to all who wish to speak, each speaker will be asked to limit his or her comments to no more than three (3) minutes.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

An executive session is currently planned to discuss the Town Manager recruitment process.

ADJOURNMENT