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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-12-12Mr. Hawley advised that the "Elected Official Guide to Emergency Management" indicates that Towns are to "appoint a coordinator of emergency management to ensure integration into their county's emergency management organization". He suggested that Fire Chief Webb be appointed to that position. Councilman Clark moved to appoint Fire Chief Webb as Coordinator of Emergency Management. Councilman Goodman inquired who would be the backup for Chief Webb? Mr. Hawley advised that there was an Assistant Fire Chief. He assumed that line of command would be followed. Councilman Kidd seconded the motion. Following discussion, Councilman Welker offered an amendment to the motion to appoint Fire Chief Webb or his designee as Coordinator of Emergency Management. Councilman Clark amended his motion to appoint Fire Chief Webb or his designee as Coordinator of Emergency Management. Councilman Kidd seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker -Aye H. M. Kidd -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Robert A. Bopp -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Greg C. East -Aye At 8:30 p.m., Councilman Clark moved to enter into Closed Session under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A-5), Prospective Business or Industry. Councilman Goodman seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker -Aye Robert A. Bopp -Aye H. M. Kidd -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Greg C. East -Aye At 8:40 p.m., Council returned from Closed Session and adopted the Certification Resolution on motion by Councilman Goodman, seconded by Councilman Clark and carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker -Aye H. M. Kidd -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Robert A. Bopp -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Greg C. East -Aye Councilman Clark moved to request approval from Rural Development for funds of $79,000 from ARRA Funds awarded for support of small businesses in Town. Councilman Welker seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker -Aye H. M. Kidd -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Robert A. Bopp -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Greg C. East -Aye Following discussion, it was announced that by consensus, the Council meetings in January of 2012 would be held on the 2"d and 4th Tuesdays of the month. At 8:43 p.m., there being no further business, Councilman Clark moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Goodman and carried on voice vote. Approved: y S. Worrel ,Mayor December 6, 2011/Page 6 of 6 Minutes of the Town Council Meeting held January 10, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Municipal Building. There were present: Jeffrey S. Worrell, Mayor Council present: Morgan P. Welker, H.M. Kidd (arrived 7:45), Robert A. Bopp, Joseph K. Goodman, Gregory C. East Absent: David L. Clark Staff present: John J. Hawley, Town Manager David Warburton, Town Attorney Gary Roche, Police Chief John White, Economic Development Director Dave Hart, Director Parks and Facilities Sherry Boyd, Finance Director David Quesenberry, Assistant to the Town Manager David Warburton, Town Attorney Brenda Shelton, Acting Clerk of Council Others present: Gary Heinline Nick Glenn Elrica Graham Heather Steele Larry Clevinger, II Melinda Williams, Press Mike Williams, Press Mayor Worrell called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Councilman Bopp let the Pledge of Allegiance and Mayor Worrell gave the invocation. Councilman Goodman moved to appoint Brenda Shelton as the acting Clerk of Council, seconded by Councilman Welker and carried by unanimous voice vote. Following roll call, Mayor Worrell advised that Councilman Clark had expressed his regrets for missing the meeting. The first order of business was the presentation of the Annual Reports of the Housing Board of Adjustments and Appeals, BZA and Architectural Review Board. Mr. Quesenberry presented the reports to Town Council. Councilman Welker moved to accept the annual reports of the Housing Board of Adjustment and Appeals, Board of Zoning Appeals and Architectural Review Board, seconded by Councilman Goodman and carried by the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker -Aye Robert A. Bopp -Aye H.M. Kidd -Absent Joseph K. Goodman -Aye David L. Clark -Absent Gregory East -Aye Mayor Worrell opened the public comment session of the meeting and introduced Mrs. Elrica Graham. Mrs. Graham complimented the Council on the hard work they were doing for the Town. She added that an article that appeared in the TheBurgs, (formally The Current) of the Roanoke Times on December 23, 2011 written by Ray Cox concerned her. She added that the article regarded the conditions that the writer found at Gatewood Park on a recent visit to fish there. She commented that the Town doesn't need publicity such as this and hoped that the Town would give consideration to what could be done to correct the problem. Page 1 of 7/ January 10, 2012 Mayor Worrell thanked Mrs. Graham for her comments. Next, Councilman Welker moved to adopt the minutes of the December 6, 2011 meeting, seconded by Councilman Bopp and carried by unanimous voice vote. The Mayor moved on to Project Updates. The first item for discussion was Peak Creek Ownership. Mr. Hawley advised that twas about 25%e omplete on adjace'tnt property and theaact alc hannelhat relate to the Peak Creek channel and The next update was Dora Highway Revitalization. Mr. Hawley gave the following update: The bid for a new house to be built at 704 Dora Highway exceeded the amount allowed by the DHCD; however, the balance of the bid will be funded by the NRV HOME Consortium. An open house was tentatively set for March 8th for the new CHP, Inc. Infill houses. Work continues on the Baskerville/Stuart intersection. The water system upgrade had been started and was approximately 60% complete. • DHCD approved the budget revision #2 for Phase I and all reimbursements were up to date. The Mayor moved on to the Tornado Recovery CDBG Project. Mr. Hawley advised that SERCAP was working on write-ups for 3 houses that will go to bid, hopefully in January. He added that the Housing Oversight Board would be reviewing the prequalification applications for the rehab contractors. He continued that it was anticipated that four contractors from the Dora Highway project would become qualified to bid on the rehab work. He added that applications were now being taken by the Tornado Recovery office for rehab work. The next item was the Museum update. Mr. Hawley stated that the floor was poured on December 20. He added that the building was delivered on January 4, 2012 and should be erected in 2 weeks. He reviewed some of the plans for the building. He emphasized that efforts were being made to keep the use of the space flexible. Councilman Welker inquired whether staff had studied what kind of effort it would take to move the train set. Mr. Hawley advised that staff had been in contact with several professional moving companies regarding how to move the set, and discussed how to protect the set, and how to set it up. Councilman Welker inquired whether a new agreement needed to be made with the Brockmeyer family since the old one had expired. Mayor Worrell advised that the Brockmeyer family told him that they were comfortable with the current agreement in place. Councilman Welker commented that he would feel more comfortable having the agreement drawn up again with new expiration dates. He felt that would protect the Brockmeyer family as well as the Town. Following discussion, Mayor Worrell reiterated that in his discussion with the Brockmeyer family, they were happy to continue with the same agreement. Page 2 of 7/ January 10, 2012 The consensus of Council was that if the Brockmeyer family was happy with the agreement at this time, then Council was satisfied. Councilman Goodman inquired into the status of installing natural gas possibility of the heat system? Mr. Hawley advised that the engineering staff had been working on pump station issues, but he would speak with Mr. Pedigo, the Town Engineer, about the issue and update Council. Councilman Welker inquired when the pictures that were being restored after the Train Station fire would be received and installed at various Town locations? Mr. White responded that staff had copies of many of the photographs that were being restored and suggested that those copies could be hung until the restored pictures were received. He added that his intent was to receive all of the pictures at one time so they didn't have to be moved twice. Mayor Worrell moved on to Old Business. The first item was Martin Luther King Day of Service. Mr. White advised that he planned to work with some of the Pulaski Middle School children for Martin Luther King Day of Service. The children would be assisting with organization of the museum photographs. Another idea being discussed was for the children to paint a mural for display in the Municipal Building. The next item for discussion was the ratification of Department of Housing and Community Development contract. Mr. Hawley noted that Council previously authorized the Housing Rehabilitation contract with SERCAP. Additionally, they authorized the grant management contract for Community Planning Partners and appropriated funds for the project. However, there had been no official vote to authorize the Town Manager to execute the contract. He advised that in order to not delay the project, he executed the contract based on previous Council action, however, he needed a vote to verify that. Councilman Welker moved to authorize and ratify the Town Manager's signature on the DHCD contract as of December 28, 2011. Councilman Goodman seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker -Aye Robert A. Bopp -Aye H.M. Kidd -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye David L. Clark -Absent Gregory East -Aye Mayor Worrell moved on to the appointment to the Tornado Management Team. Mr. White advised that an appointment was needed for the CDBG Tornado Management team to replace Reverend .Thomas Harris who was moving. Staff recommended the appointment of Reverend Aaron Smith. Councilman Goodman moved to appoint Reverend Aaron Smith to the CDBG Management team. Councilman Welker seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker -Aye Robert A. Bopp -Aye H.M. Kidd -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye David L. Clark -Absent Gregory East -Aye Mayor Worrell moved on to Resolution 2012-01, Approval of a USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant. He noted that this completed action of Council. Page 3 of 7/ January 10, 2012 Mr. Heinline responded that the increase would help to add service into Hiwassee, Draper and Belspring area and possibly into Christiansburg to the community college located there. Councilman Welker inquired if the County was being asked to increase their funding as well to cover those areas? Mr. Heinline responded in the affirmative. Councilman Welker opined that the Town should not be paying more to extend service into the County when Town citizens would not benefit. Mr. Heinline responded that the County has been paying a large sum even though most of the benefit had been to Town citizens. Councilman Welker asked what had been done to increase the fare collected or reduce operating costs to try to keep the yearly increases down? Mr. Heinline advised that Council could choose to increase the fares, however, his suggestion was not to do that. He felt ridership would go down. Regarding reducing operating costs, Mr. Heinline advised that staff is always looking for ways to reduce costs. He noted for example that insurance costs had been reduced and different fuel types had been reviewed. Councilman Welker questioned the 75 cent fee for the transit to go to an able bodied resident's residence rather than walking a few blocks to catch the bus. He felt those residents should be charged more. Mr. Heinline explained that there were two types of pick up by the transit. One was demand response, where the rider paid $2.00 to be picked up at his residence at a certain time and delivered directly to their destination. The other option was for the rider to pay the 75 cent fee to ride the deviated fixed route around town until arriving at their destination. Following more discussion, Councilman Welker moved to obligate the Town to fund Pulaski Area Transit in the same amount as last year. The motion died for lack of a second. Councilman Goodman moved to adopt the budget request for Pulaski Area Transit as written for their next fiscal year, on condition that Town Council review the rates for the services in the next few months. Councilman Kidd seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker -Nay H.M. Kidd -Aye David L. Clark -Absent Robert A. Bopp -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Gregory East -Nay Mayor Worrell moved on to the proposed Hazard Mitigation Project. Mr. Hawley advised that Kevin Byrd, Executive Director of the New River Valley Planning District Commission proposed a 2 Phase Hazard Mitigation project through FEMA's 5% initiative. Phase I would inventory vulnerable roadways, driveways, bridges and culverts in 100 year flood plain and Phase I I would be flood hazard education. It was noted that a $500 match from the Town would be required for the Town to participate. Following discussion, Councilman Welker moved to appropriate $500.00 and participate in the 2 Phase Hazard Mitigation project through FEMA's 5% initiative. Councilman Bopp seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Page 5 of 7/ January 10, 2012 Morgan P. Welker -Aye Robert A. Bopp -Aye H.M. Kidd -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye David L. Clark -Absent Gregory East -Aye The next item on the agenda was modification of Town Criminal Code. Police Chief Roche advised that whenever someone is charged with a criminal offense in Town that carries the possibility of jail time, the Town could be liable for the attorney. They are entitled to an attorney to represent them. If they are financially unable to afford counsel, an attorney is appointed for them and these fees must then be paid by the Town because the Town instituted the charge. He suggested removing the possibility of incarceration from the penalties in the Town ordinances to eliminate this potential liability. Following discussion, Councilman Welker moved to authorize staff to review the Town code and identify the number and impact of eliminating the possibility of incarceration for penalty from Town ordinances. The motion died for lack of a second. Councilman Goodman inquired what level of deterrent was provided by having a possible jail sentence? He expressed concern that if there was no deterrent other than a fine, that citizens would just pay the fine. Chief Roche responded that in his opinion, as a practical matter, it wasn't a consideration. He continued that he could not remember the last time that jail time had been implemented for a Town code violation. Councilman East inquired whether that meant the incidents of the Town being required to pay for an appointed attorney was rare as well? Chief Roche responded that those charges are implemented sporadically. However, he advised that he had posters in his department reminding the officers to be sure and waive the jail time for Town code violations. He added that the instances tended to happen when multiple charges were involved. Councilman East commented that he agreed with the intent of the request, however, he was concerned to eliminate anything that would take the teeth out of the code. He continued that even if it's not enforced, it's still on the books and was an option. Councilman Goodman commented that he thought the Chief would prefer his officers to have more tools to use. Chief Roche responded that he was trying to lessen the liability for paying for those items, while still retaining the ability to charge under the Town code, so that any fines would be returned to the Town rather than the state. Following discussion, Councilman Goodman moved to direct staff to provide Town Council information regarding which Town ordinances have the possibility of jail time and bring to Town Council for review. Councilman East seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker -Aye Robert A. Bopp -Aye H.M. Kidd -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye David L. Clark -Absent Gregory East -Aye Mayor Worrell moved on to a proposal for Farmers Market structures. Mr. Hawley advised that the Town had received a proposal from a local businessman to raise funds to build permanent Farmer's Market shelters in the Maple Shade Center. He advised that the Greater Pulaski Alliance liked the idea. The businessman was requesting permission to move forward with the plan. Page 6 of 7/ January 10, 2012 Mayor Worrell confirmed that the business owner wished to place the shelters on the Maple Shade lot. He inquired what action was needed from Council? Mr. Hawley responded that if Council did not want the Farmer's Market at the Maple Shade Center, the County would not go along with the project. Council needed to advise whether they were comfortable with the concept and the location. Mayor Worrell advised that he liked the concept, but did not know Council's thoughts. Councilman East, liked the concept, but questioned why it had to be either at the Train Station or at the Maple Shade Center. He felt both areas could be utilized. Councilman Welker felt the Farmer's Market needed to be in an established location and liked the concept. Councilman East felt it would be nice to come up with a big picture and goal to utilize in the areas that the Town would be responsible for. Mr. Hawley felt this could be discussed during the retreat. Mayor Worrell noted that it seemed to be the consensus of Council to support the proposal and asked Mr. Hawley to contact the parties involved. Next, Mayor Worrell advised that he had been contacted by the staff of the Today In America show regarding the production of a segment for their show regarding Pulaski. This would be an opportunity for some national recognition of Pulaski. He noted that the total scheduling fee was $19,800. Councilman Welker commented that after reviewing the web site link provided, he was not if favor of going forward with this offer. Following more discussion, the consensus of Council was not to approve this offer. There being no further business, at 9:25 p.m. Councilman East moved that the meeting be adjourned, was seconded by Councilman Welker and carried on unanimous voice vote. Approved: . Worrell, Mayor Page 7 of 7/ January 10, 2012