St. Helena Council Meeting Minutes

September 21, 2023

St. Helena Town Hall 6:30 p.m.

Attending the meeting were Mayor Robert Barnhill, Mayor Pro-Tem William Hunter, Councilman Neil Benton, Councilwoman Nancy Jones, Councilwoman Kaye Knowles, Councilwoman Judy Katalinic, Building Inspector Louis T. Hesse, and Village Clerk Mary D. Bakan.

In the audience were Carey Childress and Ms. Alice Southerland.

Robert opened the meeting and led the prayer.

Allegiance to the U.S. Flag and a salute to the N.C. Flag were said by all.

On motion by Kaye and seconded by Judy, the minutes of August 17, 2023 were approved unanimously.

On motion by William, and seconded by Kaye, the August 2023 Financial Report was approved unanimously.

Nancy also brought up the insurance on the town hall. She said that she checked with Farm Bureau, and they said that the town hall’s policy hasn’t been renewed since the 1990s and the building is only insured for $75,000. Nancy suggested that since Robert is mayor, then he should be the one to contact them about the renewal.

Robert brought up repairs to the town hall. Louis thinks that we should put in masonry and railing for the two side doors, and he also showed the council and the audience pictures of the ramp and doors that he thinks it would be better for the town hall. He also pointed out that the wheelchair ramp was in bad shape and was built of wood before 2008. Louis said that the cost does not include the repairs to the back side door, and it cannot be estimated because of not knowing how much damage is done to the wood surrounding the door. An hourly wage might be in order. Robert mentioned putting three-foot overhangs to protect the doors from rain.

Robert said we can pull the money for repairs out of the building fund. Nancy said we can use the ARP money. The ARP Fund has about $135,000 and the only reason it has not been put in the general fund was because we were getting interest in that account. Everyone agreed that it is a good use of those funds to repair the hall.

Louis talked about the contractors that he got the bids from. Nancy wants 2 sets of bids. Kaye said she knows someone she can contact to get a bid for railings.

Louis then brought up David Peterson’s property and that Mr. Peterson wants to divide the land into two parts. Louis said that Nathan used to go over the subdivision plans as a courtesy but since Nathan is no longer with St. Helena, we need to hire a planner or another lawyer who knows about planning.

Judy asked Louis on what the status of the Peterson’s subdivision is. Louis said that at this point, everything is on hold because we don’t have an attorney or planner.

Louis brought up an issue with Westgate. Westgate has permission to put up two signs but not three but now there are three signs. Louis gave them the option of requesting a text change or take the third sign down. The text change request has not been submitted nor is the sign taken down. They also are putting vehicles on the grass in front of the dealership, and they are not allowed to have cars located there because it is in the right of way.

Nancy asked how the Project Fresh is doing. Louis said he hadn’t talked to them in about few months but back then, they were ready to get started.

Robert asked if there was any other business. William said he had a few things. He wants the town to rent out the whole ten acres next door to the guy who has been farming it. Up to now, we had to pay someone to cut the grass on part of those ten acres. No one had a problem with William’s suggestion and as he pointed out, the town will save money by not paying someone to cut the grass.

William also wanted the town to send a letter to a property owner that has a ditch that needs to be cleaned out some. He wants either the owner to clean it out or give permission for the town to do it. The ditch is located near Fairfield. Robert said that Ms. Bakan can write the letter.

Neil brought up last month’s minutes. He said that he was not at Council meeting last month but in the minutes, it was brought up that we wanted to put up curtains to dampen the echo in the building. Neil said that he thinks we should do something about it and the sooner the better. He said he will look into getting the curtains and how much it would cost. On motion by Neil, and seconded by William, the council unanimously voted to have Neil get prices and information about dampening the echo in the building.

William also suggested that Neil get an estimate on replacing the town hall sign that is located near the ditch. Judy brought up the bathrooms. Judy wants the panel in the girl’s bathroom taken down and new flooring put in as well as handrails so that people in wheelchairs can use the facilities. On motion by Neil, and seconded by William, the council unanimously agreed that Neil should get estimates for the curtains, making the bathroom ADA compliant, and the cost of a new sign out front.

On motion by Nancy, and seconded by Kaye, the meeting was adjourned unanimously.