John MacKay leaves mighty big shoes to fill at North High Shoals City Council


Subject: TONHS Notes from Fred
To: ilovehighshoals@yahoo.com

Dear Fellow High Shoalers,                                                                September 1, 2014
The big news from this meeting is that John McKay will be moving and thus must resign his council seat.  Several people have already expressed interest which is great for our town.  You can find the instructions for registering to run if you are interested on the town web site.  We will really miss John and his leadership on many points including Dog Day.  Thanks John.
The Council set the millage rate for the year; they lowered it a bit to maintain the same tax as the town's assessment increases.  In addition, the Council voted to move ahead with plan to create a road shift and cross-walk in front of the city park to calm traffic and generally increase safety.  You can view the specific plans on the town's web site.
   Next NHS Council Meeting ………………………………………….September  15th  
Town Web Site……………………………………………www.northhighshoals.org
Mayor Mike Beall………………………………………nhsmayor.beall@gmail.com
Clerk Carolyn Pritchett………………………………………nhsclerk@yahoo.com
Thank you for your support of North High Shoals; I'll see you at the next meeting, if not before.
Fred Johnson

Unofficial Town of North High Shoals Council Meeting Notes
August 18, 2014
By Fred Johnson
Council Members at the Meeting: Council Members Mayor Mike Beall, Council Members Jason Wisniewski, Violet Dawe, John McKay, and Ann Evans.
Citizens and Guests: Eddie Tiller, Dave Evans, Lee Moody, Paul Dotterweich, Jason Presley, and Fred Johnson

 
Agenda Setting:
·         Motion by Council Member Wisniewski to accept the agenda as written. 2nd by Council Member Evans. Approved 4-0.
Presentation of Draft Minutes:
·         Motion to approve draft minutes, by Council Member Wisniewski. 2nd by Council Member Evans. Approved 4-0.

Presentation of Financial Statements:
·         Motion to accept August Financial Statements as presented by Council Member Wisniewski. 2nd by Council Member McKay. Approved 4-0.

Citizen Comments on Non-Agenda Items: 
·         Eddie Tiller requested a variance to the gun ordinance for usage of high powered weapons on his property.
·         Fred Johnson spoke in favor of the current ordinance with no variances.
Public Hearing – Millage Rate
·         1.49 is current millage rate.  1.46 or lower is the rate it could be set at to avoid public hearing by maintaining the same level of tax collection. 
Regular Business:
1. Millage Rate – M. Beall
  • Motion to adopt millage rate of 1.46  by Council Member McKay. 2nd by Council Member Dawe. Approved 4-0.
2. Ethics Committee Ordinance Amendment – John McKay
·         Motion to make the second reading by Council Member McKay. 2nd by Council Member Evans. Approved 4-0.
·         Motion to accept the second reading by Council Member McKay. 2nd by Council Member Wisniewski. Approved 4-0.
·         Motion to adopt this amendment by Council Member McKay. 2nd by Council Member Dawe. Approved 4-0.
3. Decide what action to take in regards to Smith Group plans for Hillsboro  – M. Beall
·         Council extensively discussed plans which were designed to slow traffic on Hillsboro.
·         Motion to adopt a plan to create a street scape to control traffic on Hillsboro by Council Member McKay. 2nd by Council Member Wisniewski. Approved 3-1 (Dawe) .
4. Town Hall Siding and Exterior Painting – M. Beall
·         Council discussed and decided to spend $1,700 to fix these items.
5. Fit Trail Update – A. Evans
  • Council heard plans from Lee Moody on steps he will take in their approved
6. Barn Ordinance – A. Evans
·         Council discussed first draft of this ordinance to preserve the barn in the park for the vultures that annually nest in it.
7. Park Path – V. Dawe
·         Council discussed patching of the park path.
8. Unimproved Portion of Shadyfield Lane  – V. Dawe
·         Council discussed options for maintaining this one lane city road.  Council decided to do some work on ditches.  No plans were made to widen or pave this section. .
9. Firearms Code Discussion  – V. Dawe
·         Council asked community members to submit their ideas concerning re-writing the ordinance.
10. Frasizer Hill Drainage and sign – M.Beall
·         Council will not be stripping this road due to its narrowness.
11. Site Meeting for New Town Hall  – M.Beall
·         Council discussed offering an open house and other ways to elicit community input.  They will be meeting at the park to examine locations suggested by the engineering from hired by the town. 
13. Sheriff Department Patrol Update – M.Beall
·         Sheriff Deputies are pulling people over and making its presence known.  Council is pleased with progress to date, but they want to continue this twice a week service and continually evaluate its effectiveness.
14. Amendments to Election Provisions of code and Charter  – M.Beall
Council discussed actions they could take to align town elections with county elections.  They are pursuing this because aligning the two would allow the town to save money on early voting requirements.
Mayor's Update:
(All requests to be on the agenda must be submitted at least 7 days before a meeting. Direct your agenda items to Town Clerk Carolyn Pritchett or any Town Council Member. Look for the agenda for the next council meeting on the Town's web site one week before the next meeting. The next Council meeting will be held at 7:30 pm on Monday, September 15, 2014.)
·         Resignation of John McKay:   Motion to accept the resignation of John McKay by Council Member Wisniewski. 2nd by Council Member Evans. Approved 2-1 (Dawe) .

Motion made by Council Member Wisniewski to adjourn.  2nd by Council Member Evans. Approved 3-0.

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