Town of St. James

TOWN OF ST. JAMES Regular Meeting September 1, 2009

The St. James Town Council met in regular session at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday August 4, 2009, in the second floor training room at the SJ fire station.

Council Members Present: Councilors Jim Donnelly, Bob Morrow, Gary Tagtmeyer and Mayor Shelley Lesher. Staff Present: Town Clerk/Administrator, Josann Campanello. Others: Tom Kuhn, Chairman of the SJ Stormwater Committee, Walt Madsen, Resident Project Engineer for the TH/CC, Lisa Stites of the State Port Pilot, a reporter from the Star News and approximately 60 citizens.

CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Lesher called the meeting to order and all in attendance joined in the Pledge of Allegiance.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilor Donnelly made the motion to approve the agenda as written. Motion: Jim Donnelly Vote: 4/0, motion carried

APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA Councilor Tagtmeyer made a motion to approve the Regular Meeting Minutes of August 4, 2009 and the Special Meeting Minutes of August 13, 2009. Motion: Gary Tagtmeyer Vote: 4/0, motion carried

MAYOR/COUNCIL/STAFF REPORTS a. Report from Stormwater Committee – Chairman Tom Kuhn – Using a power point presentation, Tom reviewed the ongoing projects that the Stormwater Committee has been involved with over the past year. b. Annexation Petition from Reserve Development Co., LLC – Town Clerk – The Town of St. James has received a request for voluntary annexation of a parcel of land in the Reserve section of SJ, which is approximately 24.90 acres and is shown as “Exhibit A” attached to these minutes. This petition was received at Town Hall on August 17, 2009. The various resolutions pertaining to this action will be acted on under General Business. c. Water Pressure Update – Councilor Morrow - In response to the many complaints regarding low water pressure, Councilor Morrow has been in contact with the Brunswick County Public Utilities Department; and in fact read a letter from Jerry Pierce, Director of Brunswick County Public Utilities, stating the possible things that customers can do to alleviate the problem as well as stating the changes that the County has implemented. d. Report on Bid Opening and Project Update – Mayor Lesher/Walt Madsen – The architectural firm hired by the Town, John Sawyer Architects, conducted the bid opening on August 18th. TOWN OF ST. JAMES, REGULAR MEETING MINUTES, 09.01.09, PAGE 2 OF 3

Twelve companies submitted bids. Based on the bids received, the architects recommended accepting all alternates to be included in the buildings and that the contract be awarded to RL Casey, Inc., the low bidder at a total price of $3,927,920. Councilor Donnelly reviewed the two step process required to obtain a construction loan. RFPs have been sent to five banks with the bid opening scheduled for Thursday September 3rd. Ultimately, the LGC must approve the bank construction loan.

GENERAL BUSINESS a. Appointment of Trustees to the St. James Fireman’s Relief Fund – Bill Hurcomb, Walt Madsen and Paul Maguire have volunteered to continue as Trustees. Councilor Donnelly made a motion to approve the above referenced men to continue as Trustees to the Fireman’s Relief Fund. Motion: Jim Donnelly Vote: 4/0, motion carried b. Resolution 2009-07 – Directing Clerk to Investigate the Sufficiency of the Petition from Reserve Development Co., LLC – Councilor Morrow made a motion to Direct the Clerk to Investigate the Sufficiency of the Petition. Motion: Bob Morrow Vote: 4/0, motion carried Town Clerk Campanello stated that she was prepared to certify the petition at this time. c. Resolution 2009-08 – Setting Date of Public Hearing on Annexation Petition – Josann stated that the next Regular meeting of the Town Council is October 6th. Councilor Tagtmeyer made a motion to approve setting the Public Hearing Date for this Annexation Petition on October 6th. Motion: Gary Tagtmeyer Vote: 4/0, motion carried d. Award of Construction Contract for Town Hall/Community Center – Councilor Donnelly made a motion to award the construction contract for the building of the Town Hall and Community Center to RL Casey, Inc.; subject to approval of the final required documents from RL Casey, Inc. Motion: Jim Donnelly Vote: 4/0, motion carried

PUBLIC COMMENT a. Edward L. Rapp, 6797 Gorman Notch, Ocean Ridge Plantation, Ocean Isle Beach: Mr. Rapp wanted to express his reasons for joining the fight against involuntary annexation. Basically, his issue is with regard to the rights of the citizens. b. Mike Richards, Sunset Harbour: Mr. Richards feels that his constitutional rights are being taken away from him and he is fighting the only way he can. c. George Gunter, St. James: Mr. Gunter essentially does not agree with involuntary annexation. However, St. James is following the rule of the law and should continue doing what it is doing.

TOWN OF ST. JAMES, REGULAR MEETING MINUTES 09.01.09, PAGE 3 OF 3

ADJOURNMENT At 5:00 p.m., Councilor Morrow made a motion to adjourn this meeting Motion: Bob Morrow Vote: 4/0, motion carried

Respectfully Submitted, Approved,

______Josann A. Campanello Shelley Lesher, Mayor Town Clerk/Administrator