A meeting of the Town Council was held on May 08, 2006. Present were Mayor Wes Foy and Council Members Phillip Hise, Gregg Henline, John Boone and Rocky Buchanan. Staff in attendance included Richard Canipe, Darlene Johnson, Dave Lindsey, Coy Hollifield and James Ramsey. Other attendees included Robin Beard, Donnie Beard, Millie Hudson, Kay Goins, David Niven, Michael Hall (Mitchell News-Journal) and Dave Cooley.

CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Foy called the regular meeting to order at 5:30 PM and Rocky Buchanan gave the invocation.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Phillip Hise moved to approve the minutes of the April 24, 2006 regular meeting. Rocky Buchanan seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
Millie Hudson requested that the Town Council consider changes to the Zoning Ordinance. She suggests smaller lot requirements to increase home-building in city limits.

APPOINTMENTS
David Niven, Donnie Beard and Millie Hudson spoke on behalf of the Spruce Pine Business Association. They commended Kay Goins for her successful Fire on the Mountain Festival. They also requested that the Council fund the Main Street program adequately for next fiscal year to keep the momentum going. The Council asked that the Spruce Pine Business Association consider supplementing the Main Street budget, possibly through a Municipal Tax District. David Niven requested a list of business owners who would be affected by such a tax. The Town Council would like to meet with the Business Association to discuss funding options for Main Street.

DEPARTMENTS:

MAIN STREET
The Blacksmith Festival was very successful. Evaluation forms have been mailed. Advertising for the festival cost approximately $6000.
Kay hopes to establish an Events Committee to work on festivals year-round.
Work continues toward placing flowers on the bridge in town.

POLICE DEPT
The new police car has been marked but lacks a light bar, radio and console.

FINANCE
The 2005 property tax collection rate is at 98.08%.
Phillip Hise moved to accept staff’s recommendation to accept the proposal of Cody LeGrant McKinney, CPA for audit services. John Boone seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
A budget workshop will be held on Thursday, May 18 at 5:30 PM in the Town Hall Boardroom.

WATER/SEWER
Dave Cooley and Richard Canipe have set a fee for accepting the waste from the Altec facility in Burnsville at $50/load. Sampling and testing of the waste is in process.

ISSUES
Council will begin a walk-thru of the downtown area after the budget workshop on May 18.
Kay Goins will contact Gene Stano of Mayland Community College regarding the possibility of landscaping the Town of Spruce Pine sign at the intersection of Oak Avenue and Hwy. 19E. Council will consider the location of the third sign.
The consensus of the Council was to allow the Civic Club sign proposed by Steve English to be placed at the cemetery. The Council directed Richard Canipe to approve the actual location and make sure that the sign would be owned by the Town of Spruce Pine.
Wednesday, June 7 is the date for Town Hall Day. Wes Foy, John Boone and Richard Canipe plan to attend, Rocky Buchanan will advise.
The Public Hearing for the dialysis center will be held on May 18 at the Yancey County Courthouse.
A work order is in place to scrape Grant Court.
Richard will look into the age and condition of the air conditioner removed from the demolished daycare at Riverside Park.
Work toward ownership of the CSX Depot is on-going. The possibility of renovating the depot and retaining an office for CSX is being considered.
Phillip Hise moved to offer Yellow Bird Realty $35,000.00. for the Swofford property adjoining the cemetery. Gregg Henline seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
The dogwoods for the cemetery have been delivered and will be planted.
Areas around Greenwood Rd., Stroup Rd. and English Woods will experience water interruptions for 3-4 hours on Thursday, May 11, weather permitting.

MANAGER'S UPDATE
Gregg Henline moved to adopt the Resolution Adopting the Mitchell County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. John Boone seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Said resolution is incorporated by reference and attached to these minutes.
Richard will meet with McGill and Associates on Thursday regarding the dredging and spillway repairs of Beaver Creek Dam. The Town is considering the option of draining the Grassy Creek Dam.
The lowest bid for resurfacing the walking path at Riverside Park was $18,950 from Burleson and Phillips Paving of Marion. Richard will contact PARTF about the possibility of negotiating with the paver to only repave flood-damaged areas of the trail.
The handicap ramp at Brad Ragan Park should be paved this week.
Richard will contact Ronnie Pitman of Pepsi regarding a scoreboard for Riverside Ball Field.
The tax evaluation from the Mitchell County tax office is fairly level from the previous year.

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned upon motion of Gregg Henline.