Blowing Rock Town Council To Hold Public Hearings Tuesday on Noise Ordinance, Mountainleaf Project

By Jesse Wood

Aug. 11, 2014. The Blowing Rock Town Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 12, for its monthly meeting in August.

Agenda items that include recognizing Tom Robbins; an update on the U.S. 321 widening project; and recognizing the local ABC store for its $40,000 donation for the renovation of the American Legion Building.

In addition, two public hearings are scheduled on Tuesday. One is to hear from the public on a staff recommended noise ordinance that would limit “music amplification and related activities” to 65 decibels within 65 feet from property line.

The second public ordinance is to hear from the public – for a second time – on the Mountainleaf development, which is a Charlotte-based Catellus Group project that consists of a 112-room hotel and 20 condos with up to 26,000-square-feet of retail space, were to be approved.

The project would be located on seven acres two blocks from downtown.

During the first public hearing in July, some citizens of Blowing Rock told the commissioners that they feared this project would create “two Blowing Rocks” and others were concerned about the phasing of the project, which the developers have been reluctant to discuss. See minutes from this meeting here.

See this HCPress.com article for more information and details on this proposed project.

See the entire agenda below and click on the links for more info about each item.


Town of Blowing Rock Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting

1036 Main Street, Blowing Rock, NC

August 12, 2014

5:30 p.m.

CALL TO ORDER

Mayor J.B. Lawrence

APPROVAL OF MINUTES 

July 8, 2014 Regular Council Meeting

July 14, 2014 Special Council Meeting

July 29, 2014 Special Council Meeting

SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS AND REPORTS

Speaker: Mayor Lawrence

Tom Robbins is an American author based in Seattle who has published eight novels in a style described as satirical, non-linear, and often wildly poetic. He was born July 22, 1936 in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. His parents were George Thomas Robbins and Katherine Belle Robinson. He has two younger sisters. The Robbins family moved to Warsaw, Virginia in 1942. Robbins will be visiting Blowing Rock on Wednesday September 10, 2014.

  • Highway 321 Valley Boulevard Construction Update

Speaker: Kipp Turner, Maymead Construction

This brief presentation is planned for each regular Council meeting to provide the public with an update regarding the project activities accomplished in the prior month, those planned for the coming month, and an update regarding current expectations of the overall project timing and completion.

  • 2014 General Obligation Bond Referendum Overview

Speaker: Scott Fogleman, Town Manager

A brief presentation will be given to provide a summary of the General Obligation Bond Referendum planned to come before Town of Blowing Rock voters in November.

CONSENT AGENDA

Speaker:  Scott Fogleman, Town Manager

1.     ABC Store Travel Policy

Speaker:  Scott Fogleman, Town Manager

In accordance with the NC General Statute 18B-700 (g2), the ABC Store must have a personnel travel policy in place and it must be accepted and approved annually by its appointing authority which is the Blowing Rock Town Council.

2.     Recognize Donation from the ABC Store for the American Legion Building Renovation  

Speaker:  Scott Fogleman, Town Manager

The ABC Store has donated $40,000 to the Town of Blowing Rock to be used for the American Legion Building Renovation effort, bringing funds donated/pledged for the project thus far to $70,800.

3.     Water Line Connection at Tanger Outlets To Improve Service and Leak Detection Capability

Speaker:  Doug Chapman, Town Engineer

$60,000 is needed to move forward with a water line connection at Tanger Outlets

4.     Water Plant Filter Basin Repair

Speaker:  Doug Chapman, Town Engineer

When replacing filter material at the water plant recently, it was discovered that basin repairs are needed. The costs to complete the work are estimated to total $47,195. Staff proposes using $25,000 of currently authorized water capital funding and reallicating $22,195 of previously authorized sewer capital funding to fund this effort.

5.     Resolution Approving the Town of Blowing Rock Local Water Supply Plan for 2012

Speaker:  Doug Chapman, Town Engineer

The Town of Blowing Rock is required each year to complete a Local Water Supply Plan to the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR).  The 2012 plan has recently been reviewed and approved by NCDENR, and in order to complete the process, a resolution for officially approving the plan must be adopted by the Town Council.

6.    Wonderland Trail Road Repair Additional Funding

Speaker:  Doug Chapman, Town Engineer

The Wonderland Trail Road suffered damage as a result of the heavy rains in July of 2013.  That event has since been declared a natural disaster which made qualifying repairs eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) funding.  Council has already appropriated a combination of FEMA (75%) and NCDPS (25%) funding totaling $374,972.99 for this project. An additional $23,820 has been identified at this stage of the project to accommodate additional quantities of grout and shotcrete than initially anticipated.  The revenue appropriation for the project should be broken down as follows:  FEMA (75%) $17,865 and NC DPS (25%) $5,955.

7.     Easement Agreement For Emergency Raw Water Supply with RSK Mountain Resort, L.L.C.

Speaker:  Scott Fogleman, Town Manager

To recognize past access to Chetola Lake as an emergency raw water source and usage in excess of 93 million gallons valued at more than $574,000, along with the provision of the ability for the Town of Blowing Rock to utilize Chetola Lake in the event that a raw water emergency supply is needed in the future, an easement agreement including an appropriation of $200,000 from the water and sewer fund balance has been prepared.

8.     Pool Heater Remaining Funding to Allocate to Current Fiscal Year for Roof Structure  

Speaker:  Scott Fogleman, Town Manager

At the June 10, 2014 Council meeting, the Town Council approved a $16,000 appropriation for the replacement of the pool heater and the installation of a protective roof structure.  The work was in progress when fiscal year 2013-2014 ended on June 30 and the heater replacement component was completed.  The remaining appropriated funding of $3,375 currently resides in the general fund balance.  By approving this action, Council is approving that the $3,375 be reappropriated from general fund balance to be allocated for the protective roof structure work to be completed in the current fiscal year 2014-2015.

9.     Budget Ordinance Amendment #2014-30 Detailing Budget Related Actions Included Above

Speaker:  Scott Fogleman, Town Manager

One budget ordinance amendment has been prepared to consolidate the budgetary impacts of the scope covered on the previous agenda items for ease of administration.  Should any amounts as detailed above need to be adjusted, the respective section of this budget ordinance amendment would need to be adjusted accordingly.

PUBLIC HEARINGS 

1.     Noise Ordinance Amendment  

Speaker:  Kevin Rothrock, Planning Director

Staff is recommending a noise ordinance amendment that would establish decibel readings for music amplification and related activities.  Limits have been recommended allowing 65 decibels as measured 65 feet from the property line.  At their regular meeting on July 17, 2014, the Planning Board recommended approval of the draft ordinance as proposed.

 

2.     Conditional Use Permit – Mountainleaf 

Speaker:  Kevin Rothrock, Planning Director

Catellus Group, LLC is requesting a conditional use permit to construct a mixed-use project on a 7.359 acre parcel located on the corner of Main Street and Hill Street.  The applicant is proposing to build a 112-room hotel with conference space, spa, and restaurant, an additional restaurant, up to 26,000 square feet of retail space, twenty (20) condominiums, and related parking spaces. The subject property zoned CB, Central Business is located in the WS-IV-PA water supply watershed.  The property is further identified by Watauga County PINs 2817-08-4673-000 and 2817-08-9806-000.  The Planning Board forwarded the CUP along with conditions for Town Council consideration and a public hearing was held at the July 8, 2014 Council meeting.

DISCUSSION AGENDA

  • Action may be taken on Public Hearing items following each of the respective public hearings.
  • Any item pulled from the consent agenda will be discussed during this portion of the agenda.

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

  •       Executive session will be called if necessary.

ADJOURNMENT