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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-23-2007Minutes of the Town Council meeting held January 23, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building. There were present: Charles L. Wade, Mayor Council: Jeffrey S. Worrell, Dan Talbert, Jr., Lane R. Penn, Joel S. Burchett, Jr., Larry Clevinger, II. Absent: David L. Clark Staff: John J. Hawley, Town Manager Randolph D. Eley, Jr., Town Attorney Bill Webb, Fire Chief John White, Economic Development Director Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer E. T. Montgomery, Police Captain Dave Hart, Parks and Facilities Director Sherry Boyd, Finance Director Dave Quesenberry, Asst. to the Town Manager Barbara Tate, Community Relations Director Michael McManus, Gatewood Park Manager Patricia Cruise, Clerk of Council Others: Robert Bopp Margaret McManus Evan McManus Daniel McManus Jackson McManus Al Smith Betty Lou Kirkner Judy Ison Carol Wade Shawn Utt Tye Kirkner Pam Kirkner Paul Dellinger, Press Melinda Williams, Press Mayor Wade called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Following roll call, Councilman Penn moved to amend the agenda to add 9i, Request from New River Valley Agency on Aging. The motion was seconded by Councilman Talbert and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Absent Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry Clevinger, II - Aye Mayor Wade welcomed the visitors present and introduced Rick Lawrence, a James Hardie Building Products representative who was in attendance. Councilman Worrell moved to adopt the Consent Agenda, which consisted of the Council minutes of 10-24-06 and 12-19-06 and also Ordinance 2007-02, Amending the Zoning Regulations to Permit Rebuilding on Non-Conforming Lots. The motion was seconded by Councilman Penn and carried on voice vote. Next, Mayor Wade introduced Michael D. McManus, Gatewood Park Manager, as Employee of the Month for January 2007. He read a press release aloud and congratulated Mr. McManus and presented him with an award. He noted that in addition to this honor, Mr. McManus would receive an additional paid day off and be considered for the Employee of the Year Award in December. Mayor Wade moved on to James Hardie Building Products land request. He advised that staff had been trying to complete the contract with James Hardie Building Products. There had been some issues regarding some late delivery penalties. Since then, some discussions had been held with the company and he offered the following for Council’s consideration, and if approved by Council, to offer to the James Hardie Building Products representatives. To offset the delay charges to the Town and after a Public Hearing: 1. 25.1 acres across the road from James Hardie, as is, and 3.31 acres located beside the power lines, as is. 2. Additionally, the Town would pay for the closing costs to transfer the land. 3. The Town would relocate the water line at the entrance way, should it need to be relocated, once it’s uncovered by the James Hardie contractor. 4. The Town would provide a check in the amount of $40,000 to James Hardie. 5. Once the land is transferred, their contractor will complete the truck tie down area within four months of the land transfer. This would close out the contract with James Hardie Building Products. Councilman Worrell asked what the late penalties totaled? Mayor Wade advised that the late penalties totaled $387,000 in round figures. Councilman Worrell asked whether the 25.1 acres was to be used for the truck tie down area? Mayor Wade advised that was in the original plan. He added that if Council approved the concept that the Mayor presented, then Rick Lawrence, representative of James Hardie could be asked that question. Councilman Penn moved to approve the offer to James Hardie Building Products, seconded by Councilman Burchett and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Absent Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry Clevinger, II - Aye Mayor Wade invited Mr. Lawrence to come forward and asked whether he accepted or rejected the offer on behalf of James Hardie Building Products? Mr. Lawrence advised that James Hardie Building Products accepted the offer as stated in principle and looked forward to further discussions to close the contract out. Mayor Wade asked Mr. Lawrence to shake on the deal and that was done. Mr. Lawrence went on to address Council stating “how pleased James Hardie is with the efforts of the Town of Pulaski. And we couldn’t be happier to be here and to be located in southwest Virginia. It’s a fantastic place. All of our guys who live here, love it. The guys who are not here, want to come here. And they want to participate in being part of a premier plant. One of our largest that we have, 600 million annual square feet and the second low cost producer in James Hardie. It’s wonderful to be here and great to have worked with everyone. John and Bill and the Engineering group, Mr. Mayor, John White, everyone. It’s just a fantastic opportunity. We look forward to closing out the site selection and construction portion of this and moving on to continued operations. We have a twenty year outlook and projected plant life and hopefully it goes beyond that as well.” Mayor Wade thanked Mr. Lawrence. The next item on the agenda was discussion of Strategic Plan. Mayor Wade asked whether Council wanted a Strategic Plan and if so, perhaps get started on that to drive the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Hawley advised that staff met for over 3 hours discussing Strategic Planning, the needs of the Town, and what needed to be done as a staff, as a Council and as a community. They felt that it was critical that the Town proceed with the planning process, agree on the plan and tie the budget to the plan. Councilman Worrell commented that he felt that a Strategic Plan was needed, however, staff and Council had gone through this process several times in the past and no action had been taken. Mayor Wade felt that two fundamental issues needed to be addressed: 1. How to address the decrease in population of the Town and the increase in public assistance for the citizens that are in Pulaski. 2. Since the Town is landlocked, the need to adjust the boundary lines so that the Town can evolve and grow. Mr. Hawley commented that staff had discussed the issue of land lock as well. Discussions would need to be held with the County to serve the best interests of the Town and the County. Mayor Wade opined that the Strategic Plan should drive the Comprehensive Plan and the Comprehensive Plan needed to be tied to the budget. Councilman Worrell commented that they needed to concentrate on developing the areas with the most potential for development and also needed to establish interstate presence. Mayor Wade thought that the Town should expand in three directions, which included the areas that Councilman Worrell had discussed. Councilman Burchett commented that another item could be addressed to entice more development to the Town. He suggested that property owners who own several small lots be allowed to bring a site plan for review and then if approved by Council, allow them to build on the lots without setback limitations. This would allow use of the small lots and provide more new housing and buildings in Town. Mr. Hawley also suggested hiring a professional to work with staff and the Planning Commission to review the Zoning Ordinances. He added that in today’s world, one needs to be able to respond to developers in a more flexible manner. Mayor Wade commented a way needed to be found to streamline municipal government any way that we can without breaking the Dillon rule. Following extensive discussion, Mayor Wade asked the Clerk of Council to copy the draft Strategic Plans completed by the Mayor, and staff and distribute them to Council for review by Council. Using this information, Council was asked to compose their own Strategic Plan for review at the February Council Work Session. Mayor Wade moved on to Museum grant. Mr. Hawley advised that he had spoken with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and they were opposed to doing any other construction outside the Train Station. They were not averse to building a free standing building on the out parcel next to the Maple Shade Shopping Center. They did not discuss whether construction could be done on the inside of the existing Museum. Mayor Wade opined that to build a new building of any kind in the near future was the wrong thing to do. He felt that there were other, more important things that needed to be addressed in Town. He added that the Train depot needed to be repaired. He felt that the Town should relinquish the grant funds awarded previously for the Museum and negotiate with the state regarding the funds already expended on the project. Mayor Wade also advised that he had spoken with the Brockmeyer family and they seemed open to the idea of making a professional dvd of the train layout and showing it in the Museum. Councilman Worrell agreed that the Train Station needed to be repaired. He added that if the Train Station was going to be enhanced, then the Trail needed to be completed to the Station. Once the Trail was complete, the Train Station could become a Visitors Center and Museum. He agreed that the Town should not take on building a free standing building at this time, however, he added that he was not quite ready to give up on the project completely. Discussion ensued as to what repairs, updates and additions could be made to the Train Station building which is in the historic district. Staff was directed to check whether bathrooms could be added to the Station and also an approximate cost to build a free standing restroom close to the head of the Trail so that all options could be considered. Mayor Wade moved on to graffiti. Mr. Hawley advised that staff had been discussing some other options besides the Ordinance to help control graffiti. He asked Captain Montgomery to expand. Captain Montgomery advised that the most recent graffiti case had been solved. Mayor Wade asked whether the Town had an Ordinance that was strong enough? Discussion ensued as to how the Ordinance could best be worded. Councilman Burchett left the meeting at 5:55 p.m. Councilman Worrell wondered if some additional street lighting might help prevent some of the graffiti? Captain Montgomery advised that additional street lighting could help and also, that the graffiti needed to be painted over as soon as possible and suggested that perhaps Public Works could paint over the graffiti until the owners could do the job properly. The next item on the agenda was the Trail. Mr. Hawley advised that he had spoken with the Environmental office in Salem and been told that an environmental authorization would be issued the following week. He planned to send the contract documents and estimate to Richmond by Thursday and hoped to be able to go to bid in early March and begin construction in late spring with completion in late fall. At 6:10 p.m., Councilman Worrell moved to enter into Closed Session under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A-3), Disposition of Public Property and A-7, Consultation with Legal Counsel. The motion was seconded by Councilman Talbert and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Absent Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Absent Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry Clevinger, II - Aye At 6:30 p.m., Council returned from the Closed Session and adopted the Certification Resolution on motion by Councilman Talbert, seconded by Councilman Penn and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Absent Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Absent Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry Clevinger, II - Aye Mayor Wade moved on to Loving Field. Mr. Hawley advised that the Engineering department recovered one of the maps from when the land was originally acquired at Loving Field. A copy of the map was enclosed in the Council packet. Staff was reviewing the information regarding exercising the option that went to the State Supreme Court and hoped to have more information at the February Council meeting. Several Council members expressed an interest in visiting the Loving Field site. Mr. Hawley advised that Dave Hart would take them. Mr. Hart advised that the model airplane club uses the portion of the land above Strauss Lane. They maintain the property themselves. The original agreement with them was that they would not fly when ballgames were at Loving and that their flight patterns would simply be out over the pasture and back to the landing strip. He advised that he had received two complaints in the last thirty days. One advising that they had crash landed their plane into the fence at Loving Field and the other complaint was from a neighbor complaining of the constant noise and requesting that the club not be allowed to fly their planes at all. The question arose, since the land is in the County, the County’s noise ordinance would apply, however, since the property is owned by the Town, should the Town stop the model airplane club from using the area? Discussion ensued, with no direction forthcoming from Council. The next item on the agenda was the Noise Ordinance. Mr. Hawley advised that the current Noise Ordinance had been included in the packet as well as a complaint that was recently received regarding a band playing at a business. The current Ordinance bans any amplified band after 6 p.m. The Ordinance needed to be amended. Mayor Wade advised that he had read the complaint and noted that the teens listening to the music were not unruly and were just having fun. Mr. Hawley suggested that perhaps the Ordinance could be amended to say that the time could be extended by requesting a special exception permit. Council was agreeable to the suggestion. Staff was directed to look at amending the Ordinance. The next item on the agenda was Wireless Contract. Mr. Hawley advised that Wiredog and the Town had agreed in principle to the contract and were finalizing the wording. Once the exhibits are received, staff will finalize the contract for Council’s consideration. Mayor Wade asked that staff make sure that no more than three terminals would be quoted at the residential rate as originally agreed upon, advising that would help the small businesses. The next item on the agenda was Artrain. Mr. Hawley advised that the Town did not receive the grant requested to fund the Artrain. Council did not include money for the Artrain in the 2006-2007 budget. They agreed that if funds were needed for the Artrain this year, they would address it at that time. He advised that staff would solicit donations, but asked if Council wished to appropriate some funds. Mayor Wade suggested asking Pulaski County, Wythe County and the Town of Dublin to contribute as well. Mr. Hawley advised that staff would be in contact with them and others for donations. Council did not appropriate any funds at that time. Mayor Wade moved on to New River Valley Agency on Aging. He advised that he received a letter from Tina King, New River Valley Agency on Aging, requesting that the Town consent to the Agency contracting with Marty McMahon, a Montgomery County attorney. Because Mr. McMahon is the attorney for Montgomery County, each of the local governments consent was needed for him to dually represent Montgomery County and the New River Valley Agency on Aging. Mayor Wade turned the paperwork over to Mr. Eley, the Town Attorney to handle and advised that the Agency needed the completed paperwork fairly soon. Mr. Hawley asked that Council go back to the Wireless contract. He noted that the contract was for a joint project with Wiredog and the Town had to put some money into the project. The money would come out of the Telecommunications line item in CDBG. Housing and Community Development will not recognize this as a match for any of the grants. He asked that Council direct staff to ask the Planning District Commission to file the application for the Town to get the money to do the planning grant for the broadband in the Town. Councilman Talbert moved to direct staff to ask the Planning District Commission to file the application for the Town. The motion was seconded by Councilman Penn and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Absent Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Absent Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry Clevinger, II - Aye Councilman Worrell commented that at the December 19th special Council meeting, Council voted to plan a Town meeting in January to provide information to the citizens related to Peppers Ferry discharge. He noted that the meeting had not been held. Mayor Wade responded that the meeting had not been scheduled because staff was waiting for some information from the County and other sources. Once the information was acquired, the Town planned to schedule a meeting. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:03 p.m. on motion by Councilman Penn, seconded by Councilman Talbert and carried on voice vote.