Town Council 04-14-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilman Warthen asked if the declaration covered only the Historic Downtown portion of Mooresville, and was told by Beth Copeland that it pertained to any portion of the town that was damaged by the storm notjust in the path of the tornado Councilman Warthen asked if the declaration gave the authority to spend taxpayer money for essential construction. Beth Copeland let the council know that was not the intent of the proclamation, it is not for public infrastructure but private infrastructure, as there are state codes set up addressing the use of taxpayer funds for projects even in an emergency. This primarily pertains to requests for construction from service providers to reestablish essential services. Beth Copeland went on to explain that the declaration could assist homeowners and business owners provide proof that the situation has been declared an emergency. Councilman Williams asked if the declaration could assist in things like the request by the Police Chief for more officers or requesting a private firm to help guard the area of downtown that is currently shut down. Beth Copeland let them know that the declaration would trigger the emergency plan set forth by the county to provide additional resources as needed. Beth Copeland also assured the council that this proclamation would not allow citizens to circumvent the UDC, but rather allow them to start preparations while waiting to be able to go to the UDO to obtain the proper permissions. Councilman Williams stated for the record that the reason he did not declare an emergency on his own because he was unable to determine based on the emergency comprehensive plan whether or not it gave him the permission to executively declare an emergency. In addition, he wanted to make sure that the entire council was able to be heard and participate in the decision of whether to declare an emergency. Councilman Cook motioned to approve the Town of Mooresville Local Emergency Proclamation as written; motion was seconded by Councilwoman Hester. Motion carried 5-0 Eric Rogers from PDS Connect presented himself before the council to request the ability to replace the damaged 80ft tower with a 120ft tower away from the downtown area to better serve the people of Mooresville and ensure that there is not an outage during the rebuilding process and moving from two towers to one functional tower for the town. Councilman Warthen raised concerns about circumventing the zoning commission, however there is only one functioning tower that is in the downtown area, and the structural integrity of that tower is in question. Tim Bennet addressed the council to clarify that the council should only be able to approve the replacement of what was previously there to restore service and not be able to approve a new temporary tower that is large than the current one. Beth Copeland agreed with that assessment, and inquired when the next meeting of the zoning committee could be called to address the issue. Councilman Williams suggested putting in a contact with the BZA to call a meeting at their earliest convenience to discuss the matter further. An email was also received from Haley Mynatt at 5 EAST requesting a temporary move to another location that is not designated for the use of her business. Beth Copeland stated that this is not a matter that the town council can consider at this time as it is not an essential service, and the matter should be referred to the BZA. Department head reports — Chief Jilian of the Police department gave a report of the actions that the department took the night of the tornado. He requested assistance in getting additional resources to guard the downtown area. Councilman Warthen suggested bringing in the fire department to assist with the security issue, however John Robinson of the Fire Department was not in favor of that idea because of the 24 hour shifts the members of the Fire department currently work. suggested hiring a private security firm that could call on the Police and fire departments if needed. David Moore of the street department suggested allowing the street department employees to patrol the closed downtown area with a radio to call in the police if they are needed. Beth Copeland raised the issue that suggestion would raise a large liability. Mike Toomey suggested looking at a mutual aid agreement with other local jurisdictions. Mr. Toomey addressed the council letting them know that per federal statute if the town is out of resources they can request aid from another department and per state statute the department