The Foxfire Village Council deferred any decision about whether to accept 156.37 acres of donated land along Woodland Circle, during its Tuesday, February 8 meeting, in order to allow additional time for a legal review of and report on the property.
The large tract was offered to Foxfire Village earlier in the month by McKean Brothers Nominee Trust, following the Council’s adoption of the $1.9 million Woodland Circle assessment roll, on which McKean’s property was assigned the lion’s share of expenses: a $1.4 million assessment.
Mayor George Erickson reported that the Village’s attorney has recommended that the Council accept the gift, because the alternative, foreclosure, would take both time and money. However, a formal check for liens on the property was incomplete and action was tabled.
In addition, Councilman John Eltschlager suggested that an environmental impact study should be conducted prior to approval. Presently, it is known that 34 acres of the 156 acre tract are delineated as wetlands.
Finance
The first nearly $200,000 annual loan payment for the Woodland Circle Extension project is due April 3.
Finance Director Leslie Frusco reported during the February 8 meeting that the General Fund stood at $783,000 at the end of January, which includes restricted funds of $50,000 in capital reserve and $20,980 in the Stonehill Pines account. The Water Fund was reported to total $262,916, plus an additional $135,439 held in a restricted escrow account for a new well.
On a budget versus actual basis, Frusco reported that 98 percent of budgeted property taxes were collected by the end of January. Outstanding tax liens will be advertised, and include $11,988 from FY 2008, $46,535 from FY 2009, and $56,142 from FY 2010.
Public Safety
Foxfire Village received two new AED defibrillator devices from Moore County, Councilman Vic Koos announced at the February 8 meeting. The newer, fully-automated systems can accommodate both adults and children, and are are maintained in Foxfire Police vehicles, at the pool, and Town Hall.
Councilman Vic Koos reported that grant funding may provide the the Village with 12-hour per day paramedic service. Previous grant funding allowed updates to the Fire Department facility to accommodate a 24-7 First Responder.
Koos also noted that he is looking at options to replace the glass light fixture at Village Green Park and that directional signs at that location are showing woodpecker damage.
A recent theft of golf clubs at Foxfire Country Club resulted in an arrest, and Koos thanked Foxfire Police Officer Scott Patterson for his work on that investigation.
Streets
Representatives for the NC Department of Transportation will be conducting a traffic count study at the Hoffman and Richmond Road intersection and evaluating visibility, Councilman Eltshlager reported. He said that overgrown trees obstructing views are a concern; the report will indicate whether sight lines are adequate for the speed zone.
Responding to a concern over roadside hedges, Eltshlager said that thirty inches is the maximum height for shrubbery in the line of sight.
State of the State report
Mayor Erickson reported on an economic presentation he attended through the Triangle J Council of Governments, that looked at North Carolina tax policy and other timely topics.
Over the last twenty years, the legislature has conducted five major tax studies, but made no major changes in the state’s system of taxation.
From the 1930’s to 1980’s, the sales tax hovered around three percent, but is currently at seven percent. With a shrinking tax base, the only way to cut the sales tax rate would be to expand the types of items being taxed. A one percentage point sales tax increase approved last year, if allowed to expire this year, will result in a loss of $1.3 billion in state revenues.
For the past five years, the pension funds for state workers have not been fully funded. 45,000 of 290,000 jobs lost in the state during the recession [out of a 4 million strong workforce] have returned, but the housing market is still the weakest recovery area.
A report from ‘Down Under’
Foxfire resident and West Pine Middle seventh grader, Amalia Harsany, offered the Council a first-hand account of her trip to Australia last Summer as a member of the Durham delegation of the People to People Student Ambassador Program.
Souvenirs were passed around the room as Harsany described visiting farms, zoos, an Aboriginal village, the Great Barrier Reef, and famous landmarks in Brisbane and Sydney.
Harsany was the only Moore County student recommended for the program and said she plans to travel with People to People again, this time to Europe — with the hope of reaching her goal of visiting all seven continents before finishing high school. The daughter of Susan Harsany, Amalia is a junior Black Belt, one of three top Girl Scout cookie sellers in the county, and a member of the Beta Club, orchestra, and chorus at West Pine.
Other Business
In other business on Tuesday, February 8, the Foxfire Village Council:
• Unanimously approved the Moore County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. The five-year update reports Foxfire Village at low risk for natural hazards, and no future actions were recommended.
• Unanimously approved an amendment to the Farm Animal ordinance that exempt hens and rabbits from a list of otherwise prohibited small animals that may be kept on lots five acres and larger in the RA and EU districts.
• Heard a concern from Susan Harsany that there is a dip in the road as you enter Woodland Circle along the east side of Hoffman Road. Erickson asked Councilman John Eltschlager to investigate the area.
• Heard from Councilman Ed Lauer that Moore County is in a drought and that Foxfire Village remains under voluntary water restrictions.
• Heard from Chairman Mick McCue that Long Range Planning has held two focus group sessions with Village citizens and three more have been scheduled.
• Appointed Mick McCue to serve on the Planning & Zoning Board, effective February 2011 to Dec 2014.
