Town Council Work Session and Action Meeting Summary - Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Thank you to those who joined the Town Council Work Session and Action Meeting held on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 8:30 AM in Town Hall. The following is a summary of the meeting for those who could not attend.  Please note that this is a summary of the meeting and not formal minutes which will be included in the following month's Regular Town Council Meeting Packet.  You may download the meeting packet for additional information.   

I. Call to Order: Mayor Pritchett called the meeting to order. 

II. Agenda Adoption: The agenda was adopted as written.

III. Public Comment: Mayor Pritchett asked if there were any public comments.  Ms. Pat Buede wished everyone a Merry Christmas.

IV. Resolution No. 23-12-20 for Lead Service Line Loan Application – Town Manager Hank Perkins advised that staff recommends taking action as it is a time-sensitive item*

• As discussed at the regular Town Council meeting on December 12, The Environmental Protection Agency requires that all community water systems and non-transient non-community water systems develop an inventory of all service line connections.
• This is required for both system-owned and customer-owned lines.
• The inventory must identify the potential presence of lead within each service line connection.
• The initial inventory must be completed and submitted to the North Carolina Public Water Supply Section by October 16, 2024.
• There is a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that invests $15 billion nationwide towards Lead Service Line Replacement (LSLR).
• With this investment, 49% of funds will be provided nationwide to communities as principal forgiveness loans to disadvantaged communities and disadvantaged areas, and 51% of funds will be available as low-interest loans.
• Funding is available for local governments, non-profit water companies, and investor-owned water utilities.
• In September, the State Water Infrastructure Authority approved 30 communities statewide to receive more than $34 million in funding for projects to find and replace lead service lines and additional funding is available for other communities in future rounds.
• At this time, there is $22 million available, $14 million of which will be provided as principal forgiveness loans. If awarded, the Town would use the loan to complete the required lead service line inventory.
• The funding amount available for this type of inventory project is a maximum of $1 million.
• The next application cut-off date is January 5, 2024, so staff recommends adopting Resolution No. 23-12-20 for Lead Service Line Loan Application at this time.
• Town Council approved the resolution.

V. Review Steering Committee Recommendation for Morse Park Improvements: 

• The Lake Lure Steering Committee is an ad hoc committee that is tasked with making recommendations for use of Rutherford County Tourism Development and other funds.
• The Steering Committee has been focusing on the Morse Park Master Plan and discussing how to realistically achieve the overall plan through phases and improvements.
• The Town received grant funding from the RHI Legacy Foundation and the North Carolina Division of Water Resources (DWR) to go towards the Morse Park Master plan, but with lack of other funding the Town had to reduce the scope for the next phase of the overall plan to include parking lot improvements and expansion, and the possible installation of restrooms. T
• he Town contacted RHI Legacy Foundation and DWR to request that each organization allow the grant funds offered to be used on a reduced scope.
• Both RHI Legacy and DWR agreed to maintain the grant offers based on the reduced scope.
• This agreeance was determined following the November 17th Steering Committee meeting.
• At the November 17th Steering Committee meeting, a motion was made to recommend that Town Council approve the reduced scope and use of available funding, contingent upon if RHI Legacy and DWR would agree to fund the reduced scope. Since each entity agreed, staff and the Steering Committee recommend that Town Council approve the reduced scope for the current phase of the Morse Park Master Plan and the use of available funding.
• There was a discussion regarding the plans and a recommendation to incorporate this plan into the Master Plan once it is finalized. 

VI. Update regarding the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge Education Center: 

• Ms. Kathy Tanner, Lake Lure Flowering Board Chairperson provided Council with an update regarding the future education center.
• Community Development Director Mike Williams provided a drawing to illustrate the latest plans for the Education Center.
• Ms. Tanner advised that the latest plans illustrate the reduced the size of the center which is now 24 x 30 and the front porch is smaller than in previous iterations. 
• She advised that there is a change to the direction the building will be facing.  
• She reported that there are 18 parking spots between the back of the property line and the little green house and Jason Birch from NC Department of Transportation (DOT) has provided a letter confirming DOTs permission to the egress and ingress of the parking spaces.  
• She advised that the challenge now is the sewer hookup.
• She explained that the LLFB construction committee has been working with Odom Engineering and Public Services Director Dean Lindsey to find a sewer hook up. 
• Ms. Tanner advised that they found a cast iron pipe but it is full of tree roots. 
• They have reviewed various potential options including running a new line where the old cast iron line is located with a 6 inch line to the education center. 
• The other option is to run a 6 inch line along Boys Camp Road to tie in with a line near Sea Wish Lane which would require approval. 
• There was a discussion about the various options and approvals that will be needed from the Board of Adjustment to move forward. 

VII. Project Manager Updates: Project Manager Mike Dydula provided updates on the following projects: 

1.  Reservoir Drain Project: The project is about 33% complete.  They are trying to get sewer done before the holidays.

• The contractors are working to control water issues to ensure a safe construction site.  There is a safety netting that could help with this and it costs $70,000.  We are checking with NC DEQ to see if this could be covered by our funding. 
• Crews are repairing the old road and this did not cost as much as we thought it would.
• We have looked at possible options that would allow us to lower the lake beyond the 12 feet that is planned but we concluded that it is likely not feasible.
• The work is still on schedule.

2.  Dam: We are still waiting on dam grant to start survey work.

3.  Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD): The HDD will probably be pushed to next year. Ruby Collins and LaBella Associates have bene in contact with two firms that may be candidates for this work. 

4.  Dam Bridge: We will meet with the key players to discuss Dam Bridge in January.

5.  Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP): A meeting is being planned for January to continue work on this project. LaBella plans to present WWTP master plan to Town Council in January.

6.  Dredging: We will go through a formal Request for Proposals to locate the next Dredging Contractor. Some of the cost estimates are around $125,000 for design. We are working to determine funding sources, but still working with Kevin Hart on our grant.  Discussed adding this to the Master Plan.     

VIII.   TOWN MANAGER UPDATES

1. Cell Tower:  Community Development Director Mike Williams advised that the project is still on track for completion during the first quarter of 2024. It was noted that we should ask Chief Waycaster to advise those that manage the emergency helicopters about the cell tower because they fly into Morse Park and we want to ensure they are aware. 

2. Interns: Town Manager Perkins advised that we have one intern secured for Town Hall and Mike Williams is developing the work scope for his intern and we hope to get this completed in January. 

3. Trash Pick-Up:  It was noted that trash will not be picked up on Monday, December 25, 2023.  This information has been posted.           P 

4. Boats and Boat Storage: It was noted that we should start looking at the future boats that are needed and plan for storage and access during the drawdown periods. We will establish a plan for fleet management for boats.

IX. Adjournment