11 minute read
Oak Ridge Town Council meeting
Sept. 1 / MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
as reported by PATTI STOKES
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Mayor Ann Schneider, Mayor Pro Tem Jim Kinneman and council members George McClellan, Martha Pittman and Spencer Sullivan were present for the monthly council meeting, as were the town manager, planner, deputy clerk, attorney and about 40 citizens, including several firefighters with Oak Ridge Fire Department and an officer with the sheriff’s District 1 office.
Pastor Andy Lambert, formerly the senior pastor of Oak Ridge United Methodist Church, led the opening prayer. 5 0 (in separate votes) to approve the meeting agenda and Aug. 4 regular council meeting and closed session meeting minutes.
RECOGNITIONS
Recognition: Doug Nodine. Citizens and council members shared reflections on former Planning Board member/chairman and councilman Doug Nodine, who resigned from the council last March while serving his second four-year term; he passed away from glioblastoma in July. (See article on p. 2.) Recognition: Roger Howerton. Mayor Schneider announced that a park bench will be unveiled in Heritage Farm Park on Heritage Day (Sept. 24) and dedicated to former councilman and mayor pro tem Roger Howerton, who turned 90 this year, “in honor of his long and faithful years of service to the town.” Following the
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announcement, council members shared thoughts about Howerton. (See article on front cover.)
PUBLIC SAFETY
Sheriff’s office. A representative of the sheriff’s District 1 office reported officers responded to 227 calls for service in Oak Ridge last month; incidents reported included the theft of an enclosed trailer on Aug. 10, a shoplifting at the Verizon store on Marketplace Drive, and the theft of a 4-wheeler from an unsecured shed. No smash-and-grabs were reported in the town last month, and residents were encouraged to continue being vigilant about not leaving valuables in their vehicles, especially in plain view.
There were the usual traffic issues associated with the new school year getting underway, the officer said, and he encouraged parents of Oak Ridge Elementary students to follow the school’s traffic patterns. Oak Ridge Fire Department. After noting that members of the B shift were in attendance, Lt. Mike Ritchey reported the department responded to 82 calls for service in August; three were for fires (no resulting property damage), nine were for false fire alarms and 43 were rescue/medicalrelated. The average response time was seven minutes. Safety tip: Cooler temperatures this time of year combined with lower humidity create dryer conditions, and Ritchey advised residents to make sure all outside fires are contained.
When asked if the department’s personnel still installs children’s car seats, Ritchey said no, but Summerfield Fire Department does.
In response to another question about how residents can confirm whether conditions are safe for outside burning, Ritchey said N.C. Forest Service posts that information daily. Residents can obtain a burn permit on the fire department’s website or at www.ncforestservice.gov/burn_permits. Salaries. Ann Taylor with Piedmont Triad Regional Council presented results of the town’s 2022 Salary Update Study and recommendations for staff member salary increases.
Taylor noted the pay scale for town park groundskeepers was particularly low compared to what other municipalities pay, and she recommended reclassifying these positions to higher pay grades, resulting in an average increase of 9%.
Taylor also recommended reclassifying the deputy town clerk’s position to reflect expanded duties and the town clerk’s position to incorporate duties of an assistant town manager.
Town Manager Bill Bruce proposed accepting Taylor’s recommendations, but with a 2% salary increase per pay grade rather than 2.5%. Council discussion. Kinneman said the town had struggled to find park groundskeepers, which is one reason this pay scale study had been conducted. Expanding the responsibilities of the deputy clerk and the town clerk also made sense, he said.
“We have an amazing staff and we want to keep them. We need to fairly and competitively compensate them,” Kinneman added.
“I’m a firm believer that compensation should always accurately reflect skills and abilities,” Pittman said. “…I think the numbers clearly support the recommendation of our town manager.”
“By paying attention to being competitive, it tells our staff we value them and want to keep them here. I would hate to replace any of them – they’re too good,” Sullivan said.
Schneider said staff members are the town’s most valuable resource and
the recent celebration of two 10-year staff anniversaries and a 15-year anniversary was no accident. 5 0 to approve the town manager’s recommendations to reclassify two part-time and three full-time groundskeeper positions as well as those of the planning director, parks and recreation director and town manager to higher pay grades, for an average salary increase of 7.2%; to hire a full-time office assistant (salary already approved in this year’s budget); to expand the job duties of the deputy clerk and town clerk, resulting in average salary increases for their positions of 9%; and approve a budget amendment of $43,282 to implement the pay grade/salary adjustments and promotions. Heritage Farm Park. Bruce reported a 24-hour drawdown test on the new well in Heritage Farm Park confirmed it will provide enough water for the park’s irrigation and restroom needs,
“We’re hopeful we can turn dirt the fi rst part of next year,” the town manager said.
When asked about the status of financing for park construction, Bruce said paperwork and earlier quotes by two banks will be refreshed, and if interest rates rise above 3%, it will come back to the council for approval before moving forward. 5 0 to approve a resolution to lease or rent office space to Environlink, the town’s municipal water operator, for $1 a year.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Ricky Jones, a resident of W. Harrell Road, apologized for being slow to address being in violation of the town’s ordinances (Jones was notified over a year ago that his property was not zoned for use as an automobile storage yard and/or salvage yard). Saying he had experienced several personal hardships, Jones thanked the town manager and planner for their patience and said he would continue working with them to resolve the problem.
FINANCIALS
Town Finance Officer Sam Anders said the town recently received $675,336.12 collected on its behalf by Guilford County Tax Department for property and motor vehicle taxes.
The town also received a second and final round of federal American Rescue Plan funding, for a total of $823,051. Anders said it came with “no rules set in stone” and could be placed in interest-bearing accounts.
When asked if Anders knew when the town’s share of ARP funding from Guilford County would arrive, Anders said, “No. As of now, the county has not transmitted any of the paperwork to us.”
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Ann Steele, co-chair of the town’s Mountainsto-Sea Trail Committee, said the committee will share information about trails within the town at Heritage Day on Sept. 24. She thanked Anders for donating bamboo from the property he recently purchased, and said it would be used for children to make and decorate hiking poles at Heritage Day.
Last month a large tree fell during a storm and damaged the new fence in the gravel parking lot on Linville Road near the Haw River. Thanks to two volunteers, Joel Deaton and Don Gillespie, the fence was quickly repaired, Steele said.
An MST workday was planned for Saturday, Sept. 3.
...continued on p. 8
A kiosk and information panel were recently installed at the Headwaters Trail on Linville Road, which Steele said will be a great source of info for thru-hikers as well as locals.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Headwaters Trail is planned for Oct. 21. Conservation Easement. Chair Stephanie Farrell reported the committee recently narrowed its target list of property owners deemed to be a good fit for the easement program from 80 to nine owners who they will focus on reaching out to in the coming weeks to set up intro meetings and provide more information about the program. Special Events. Committee chair Patti Dmuchowski gave a shoutout to Maureena Shepherd & Associates for donating $5,000 to the Veterans Honor Green in Heritage Farm Park. To date, almost $130,000 has been raised through donations and fundraising, and the committee hopes to have raised $150,000 by the end of September.
The committee will have a booth at Heritage Day, and will sponsor an oldfashioned pound cake baking contest.
Plans for the annual “Light up the Night” on Saturday, Dec. 3, are in the works, Dmuchowski said, adding that volunteers will be needed to help test luminaries in September and install them in December; the luminaries will remain lit until after Christmas. There will be a new Santa Claus this year and as is tradition, he will arrive in Oak Ridge Fire Department’s antique fire truck. Fourteen craft vendors and food trucks have committed to participate.
The committee will sell hot dogs and hamburgers at RidgeFest, with all profits going to the Veterans Heritage Green.
Several committee members recently helped with cleaning up the Farmhouse Community Center (formerly referred to as the “Redmon house”) in the town park.
There will be a small 9/11 memorial placed at the flagpole in the park.
The committee will host a Veterans Day ceremony on Friday, Nov. 11, at 10 a.m. at the town park’s amphitheater.
A celebration for the town’s 25th anniversary next year is being discussed. Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Co-chair John Garrett reported the board recently approved Reese Bell, a high school sophomore, to serve as a teen advisor; approved a draft of the 2023 ORYA usage agreement and revision of for-profit permit rules for park use; and approved three board members to serve as Music in the Park subcommittee members.
Garrett said the Music in the Park on Aug. 13 was very successful, and somewhere between 500 and 700 people attended.
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“When we were done, everyone seemed happy and felt they had contributed to something worthwhile,” Garrett said, adding much of the event’s success could be credited to committee member Phyllis Anders and all the other volunteers.
The final Music in the Park this season will be held Oct. 8, from 5 to 8 p.m., and will feature two bands.
Deputy Clerk Ashley Royal reminded everyone that Heritage Day will be held Saturday, Sept. 24, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the town park, and several free activities are planned, including Revolutionary and Civil War reenactors and displays, live music and clogging demonstrations, blacksmithing and outdoor cooking demonstrations, food, games, exhibits of household goods, farm items and tobacco equipment, tractor-pulled rides, cannon firings, kids’ activities, and characters in period dress.
Kinneman suggested a prewarning before the cannon is fired, and was told a megaphone has been purchased and an announcement will be made prior to the cannon being fired each of three times during the day. Oak Ridge Elementary School. Royal read a report form principal Penny Loschin, who said the new school year got off to a great start and staff and the school’s Parent Teacher Organization have lots of events and clubs planned for this year. Loschin asked for the community’s patience with traffic issues associated with the beginning of school, and said these issues had already started improving. Oak Ridge Youth Association. Randy Collins, ORYA’s community relations advocate, reported the first night of RidgeFest, Sept. 8, would be ORYA night, and ride ticket packages would be discounted $5.
COUNCIL COMMENTS
Sullivan said the town worked hard and spent a lot of money to find a well that would serve the needs at Heritage Farm Park.
“There is a reason the town has been pursuing a water system and that was proved out by the time and money we spent to get the water we needed,” he said.
Pittman encouraged residents to attend Heritage Day and while there, to familiarize themselves with some of the town committees that will have tents set up. Kinneman said Oak Ridge Lions Club would be participating in RidgeFest and planned to again sell hot dogs at Heritage Day. Also, the Lions Club’s annual golf tournament and largest fundraiser will be Sept. 29.
WiFi in the town park is in the final testing mode.
Kinneman encouraged anyone able to donate blood to do so, and said several local churches have blood drives.
McClellan thanked the town’s volunteers and again, said Music in the Park in August was fantastic. Schneider thanked the volunteers who helped clean up the former Redmon house in the town park and credited the town’s Parks & Rec staff for their contributions to RidgeFest, which is an event held in partnership with the Merchants of Oak Ridge.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:39 p.m.
