St. Helena Council Minutes

December 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 Kaye Knowles, Councilwoman Judy Katalinic, Building Inspector Louis T. Hesse, Planner Stephanie Moore, and Village Clerk Mary D. Bakan. Absent was Councilwoman Nancy Jones.

In the audience were Carey Childress, Mary Velie, Alexis Velie, Jose Sanchez, Andrea Sanchez Gomez, Gerald Velie, Alice Southerland, Cornelia Barnhill, and Elizabeth Smith (surveyor).

Mayor Barnhill called the meeting to order 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 Knowles, and seconded by William Hunter, the minutes of November 16, 2023 were approved unanimously.

On motion by Judy Katalinic, and seconded by Neil Benton, the November 2023 financial report was approved unanimously.

The swearing in of newly elected officials was next. Mary Bakan swore in Carey Childress first and switched seat with Kaye Knowles. Second was Gerald Velie (with a Bible being held by his wife Mary Velie) who took Nancy Jone’s regular seat, then William Hunter was sworn in, and finally Robert Barnhill with his wife Cornelia holding the Bible.

Mayor Barnhill acknowledged the good work of Kaye Knowles and Nancy Jones.

Under new business, Louis Hesse introduced the town’s new planner, Ms. Stephanie Moore. Ms. Moore went over the plat of Jose Sanchez and Andrea Sanchez (PIN 3228-22-1579-0000). The Sachnez siblings are requesting their plat be divided into two smaller lots so that they can build next door to each other. Both sub-plats have enough road footage. The question about “Family Subdivision” vs. “Major Subdivision” was discussed. Judy Katalinic made the motion to approve the plat but the motion died due to the lack of a second. William Hunter brought up the issue of the plat being subdivided again and discussed the parameters of the family subdivision. Louis Hesse stated that the family subdivision requires that the owner cannot divide the sub-plats for five years. Louis found out that the “five-year rule” has accidently been deleted during a previous rewrite. Louis suggested that the town should not charge a fee for the Sanchez siblings’ resubmission as a family subdivision. Louis also wanted the planning board to put the “five-year rule” back in as a text change. Louis Hesse also pointed out that the text change has to have a public hearing. William Hunter and Neil Benton said they will feel better with the “five years” text change and agree with Louis that the plat should be resubmitted as a family subdivision and the text change must be approved before approving the plat. On motion by Gerald Velie, and seconded by Neil Benton, the council unanimously agreed to send the plat and the request for the text change back to the planning board and that the Sanchez siblings should not be charged a fee.

Mayor Barnhill asked for a recommendation for the Mayor Pro-Tem position. Judy Katalinic made the motion that William Hunter should continue to be the Mayor Pro-Tem. Neil Benton seconded it. William Hunter was unanimously approved to remain as Mayor Pro-Tem for St. Helena.

Neil Benton had a few things to report. He talked about the restroom redo and the idea of locating the septic tank in the back area of the old town hall because of the ramp. It was pointed out that the original idea was to have the septic tank in the nearby field that the town owns and that the pipe going to the septic tank can be run across the ditch. Neil Benton mentioned that he will talk to someone who put in septic tanks and it should have a 250 feet lead line and 2-inch field pipes. Neil Benton was hoping to have the old town hall and the new town hall using the same septic system but Louis Hesse said that cannot be done.

Bland Road was brought up. The possibility of the train coming through St. Helena was discussed.

Mayor Barnhill brought up the two vacant positions on the planning board. After much discussion among the council, Gerald Velie made a motion to appoint George Brunetti and Mike Milam to be the new planning board members. Judy Katalinic seconded it. The council unanimously approved the selections.

The St. Helena Board of Adjustments was discussed. It was pointed out that some towns have the same board being both the planning board and the board of Adjustments. Mr. Barnhill was against that. He wanted separate boards.

The position of attorney was mentioned. William pointed out that we might have to pay the attorney more than what is budgeted. Mr. Barnhill made a list of possible local attorneys to contact. William said he would like to talk to the candidate that we were going to interview but the candidate backed out.

On motion by William Hunter, and seconded by Judy Katalinic, the council unanimously agreed to adjourn.

A reception was held afterwards.