Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Better and better and better very nice work. Good evening. Everybody welcome to the July 13th, 2026 town of hills board of commissioners meeting. I call this meeting to order invite everyone to please stand and join me in the pledge of allegiance. Please join me in a moment of silence. Thank you. Good evening, everybody. Nice to see everyone. Our next item of business this evening is our agenda approval.

We have an agenda before us.

Motion approved. Second. We have a motion and a second. Am I right? Any more discussion? Hearing none, all in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. We have a motion. All right, moving on. Now is our first opportunity set aside for public comment. This is an opportunity for anyone in the audience to address the board on any topic that they're choosing that pertains to the town. We do ask when you're called upon, approach the podium, speak into the microphone, and identify yourself by name and address. If anyone would like to speak at this time, the floor is open.

Nobody? I was looking at that, Colleen.

Well, seeing no takers, we'll close our first opportunity for public comment. Nothing to respond to. Ongoing business. All right, let's move on to new business item number one, recommendation for bid acceptance for Water Systems Building Project 703 West Fresh Pond Drive.

Good evening, Mayor Windley, members of the board, Pete Berkheimer with American Engineering. And it really ought to be an architect, but the architects involved in this project are not only out of town or out of state, they're out of the country right now. It just lined up oddly with their schedule, but we were teamed with them. And so the item you have before you is a result of some, I'll say this from a 50-year perspective of working with architects, some pretty good architectural work. Not only have they given you a good design, but they also went the second and third mile in rounding up good bids for the project. And the fruits of their labor is that we have a project that came in under the architect's estimate. And oftentimes, we have one or maybe two bidders and have to rebid or whatever. We had five bidders here. And again, the direct fruits of Oakley Collier's going out to the community and encouraging folks to bid. So I congratulate you for the good result that we have here. I won't be as skilled as they would in terms of answering questions about the building. Certainly Steve and Derek are here. It's going to be their building and they know more about the innards and functions of it than I do. But I certainly would commend it to the board for favorable action. There also is a proposal in there. Oakley Collier is working through us on our annual services. So there's a proposal in there of which they get about 85% to oversee the construction phase of it and review submittals and make inspections and that sort of thing. So with that, Patrick Lewis and I and others will stand by for any questions that you may have of us.

all right thank you so much any questions or comments regarding this project i was impressed with the five bids too because it seems recently getting that many bids on a big project awfully hard thing to do uh it's nice to see the higher level of interest from people who have the capacity to do this type of work so yeah that is that was good news uh anybody else If no one has any comments or questions, I'm happy to entertain the motion.

I'll make a motion that we approve the bid acceptance for the water systems building project at 703 West Fresh Pond Drive. I'll second.

All right. We have a motion and a second. Any more discussion? Hearing none, all in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Aye.

Thank you. Thank you, gentlemen. And just to remind you, the ones that designed the EMS and fire station here. Beautiful. Very good work, along with American Engineering, who does outstanding work as well.

I give the architects too much credit. At the end of the year, they're here. Pat them on the back, too. Moving on, any committee reports this evening?

No. The streets committee is meeting this month, so we're looking at, I think, July 21st, I believe, is the date. Meeting for that committee, and then we'll report back to you next meeting how that went.

Um, let's say we haven't met in a while, but we have projects to.

in the hopper of course and that was a really good video a lot of things we've talked about over the years coming coming true and just really exciting to see a safer place to walk uh and for everybody in the town it's the dark streets where everybody's squeezing if we could do all these west streets uh someday maybe but uh

I like the video referred to the cycle of where we go and regrade all of our streets and surrounding infrastructure. Cameron, when's the next time that cycle resets itself?

I'm going to punt to Steve.

27. 27. It's a handy process to really identify that acute need throughout town. It's worked well for a long time.

You drive around, what, 80 miles? It's every... 80 miles, is that right? 80 miles is killed over the roads? Yeah, you've done it. Okay. I have not done it, but I've heard about it.

Yeah, that's a big chore. You're doing this the whole way. All right. Any more committee reports this evening?

The tourism board had a small internal legal meeting back half off schedule, the back half of the last month. It was just something to do with their insurance, which has since been settled. And I don't think we're meeting this month. There will be a small agenda, but we're not doing a formal meeting for somewhat lack of business. That's all for me and the tourism board.

Glad you get a month off, sir. Anybody else? Nothing for me. All right. Commissioner's agenda.

No agenda.

No agenda. All right. hearing none move on to mayor's agenda i do have a few things this evening um independence day weekend i want to take a moment to express the board's appreciation to everyone with our independence day weekend celebrations our police fire and public services departments did an incredible job keeping our residents and everyone coming to celebrate july 4th holiday safe From traffic to crowd control, from the fireworks to the beach cleanup, we appreciate each of our staff, our fireworks vendor, and all the volunteers who made an incredible holiday. I want to call out Colleen for your nice email that you kind of set the tone for this. It was an incredible task to keep up with all the people and all the garbage you left on the beach. And Steve, please send our deepest appreciation to your team from keeping up with that. It was kind of a perfect storm. It was hot, good beach weather day. A very, very important July 4th weekend on a Saturday. Everybody came to the beach and our staff really answered that call and keeping things neat and clean and town in the great shape it always is in. So thank you, sir. Thank you, folks. So that's hard work. Those trash cans overflow. First Flight Farmers Market. Please take time to visit our First Flight Farmers Market at Aviation Park on Veterans Drive, across from the high school. They're held every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through August 4th. Block Party with KDH in Dare County. Some of our KDH staff will be joining Dare County for its Community Block Party on Friday, July 17th, this Friday at I believe from 4 to 8 p.m. at Dare County Family Recreation Park and Aviation Park. And then a few more upcoming events. Please mark your calendars. We have National Night Out Tuesday, August 4th from 5 to 8 p.m. I hope the weather is just like it is outside right now.

Yeah.

We've had some hot ones. Our Ice Cream Social will be Tuesday, September 22nd from 4.30 to 6.30 p.m. And our Fire Department will have... uh an open house on tuesday october 6th from four to seven pm um a few more things uh there has been a lot of um emails and calls etc around e-bikes that is probably the most frequent concern or complaint that i get a call or email and things like that and i know Very recently, House Bill 1094 was signed by the governor, which may give municipalities some new tools to address this problem. Looking at all the changes from the legislative level and issues of the other towns and communities like ours are experiencing, I'd like to ask staff to really delve into this, look at the options, the new options we may have to address the problem, study what some other communities may have done, and I will say maybe September, come back and report to us as a board of kind of what the new updates are, what some of our options may be to address it, some things that comparable communities around the state, even around the country may be doing to address it, and then we can learn and discuss it from there.

Yes, sir.

All right. And two more things. I want everybody to look to my left, the sharply dressed gentleman at the desk in the corner, Mr. Michael O'Dell. I would like to congratulate you, sir, on your recent appointment to the North Carolina League of Municipalities Board. I'm glad our town is well represented with you.

Thank you very much.

That's the small news. The big news that I'm much more excited to share and announce is yesterday's arrival of Mr. Damien Oliver Merrick. Congratulations, Grandpa. You have a dedicated employee. but they show up to work the day after our first grandchild's born.

They mean business.

So congratulations, sir, and to your old family. That's the most beautiful baby I've ever seen in my life. All right. Very good. That's all I have. Town manager's agenda?

Yes, sir. Nothing to save me.

Town attorney.

Nothing for me. I was just congratulating. He's an elder statesman.

Oh, I got to say, that baby's going to have lots of nice ties to the ankle real soon. All right. Consent agenda.

Yes, sir. Thank you. Tonight, consent agenda minutes from the June 8th, 2026 meeting. the main monthly report we have um five budget amendment or excuse me we have four budget amendments um outlined in the in the memo and we have one budget transfer and this was from funds for finance to mis um number four is the adoption uh recommended um acceptance and adoption of the east card and adoption of the powell bill map for the town to reflect the improvements This street was completed by developer Gary H. Justin Jr., and he's petitioned the board for these improvements to be accepted into the town's public street system. Staff recommends that that be done. An approval of the consent agenda would adopt the attached resolution, which accepts the streets and right-of-ways and revises and adopts the Powellville map. The Powellville map has been posted and is on the electronic website. Staff recommends approval of the consent agenda as presented, and a motion would be in order. I'll make a motion to approve the consent agenda.

I'll second.

We have a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda. Any more discussion? Hearing none, all in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Very good. Thank you. Consent agenda is approved. Now is the time to be set aside for our second public comment opportunity. If anybody... Like to share anything? Now is your time. Okay. Seeing no takers, we'll close public comments. Do you have anything to respond to? And I'm happy to entertain a motion to adjourn.

So moved.

Second. All in favor please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

We are adjourned. Thank you. Duke, every time you come, meetings are over like that.

That's a good one.