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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-17-12Minutes of the Town Council meeting held April 17, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. at the Train Station, 20 South Washington Street, Pulaski. Present were: Jeffrey S. Worrell, Mayor Council: David L. Clark, Morgan P. Welker; H. M. Kidd; Robert A. Bopp; Joseph K. Goodman, Gregory C. East Staff : John Hawley, Town Manager Patricia Cruise, Clerk of Council David Quesenberry, Asst. to the Town Manager David Warburton, Town Attorney John White, Economic Development Director Sherry Boyd, Finance Director Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer Gary Roche, Police Chief Dave Hart, Parks and Facilities Director Bill Webb, Fire Chief Gary Jennings, Chief Waterworks Operator Stephen Thorpe, Waterworks Operator Class IV Others: Larry Clevinger, II Clark Payne Sandy Payne Robert N. Glenn James A. Radcliffe Pat Matzie Sheldon Matzie Sunshine Cope Gretta Eanes Shawn Utt Melinda Williams, Press Mike Williams, Press Mayor Worrell called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Following roll call, Councilman Clark moved to add a Closed Session to the Agenda under Virginia Code 2.2- 3711 (A-7), Consultation with legal counsel and briefings by staff members regarding specific legal matters regarding provisions of legal advice by such counsel. 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 -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Councilman Clark moved to adopt the minutes of the March 20, 2012 Council meeting as written. Councilman Kidd seconded the motion and carried on voice vote. Mayor Worrell moved on to the Public Hearing regarding potential real estate increase. Mr. Hawley advised that the Public Hearing had been advertised as required by the Code of Virginia. The advertised real estate tax rate was up to a 4 cent increase. He noted that following the Public Hearing, Council could set the tax rate immediately, or they could schedule it as an agenda item for the May 2 Council meeting, or they could schedule a Called Council meeting to increase the real estate tax if necessary. Mayor Worrell opened the Public Hearing regarding potential real estate tax increase at 5:05 p.m. Sandy Payne of Henry Avenue addressed Council advising that she was okay with the increase as long as Council reviewed the proposed budget carefully and made good business decisions. She opined that Council had an "opportunity at this time to make a positive impact on our Town now and perhaps more important in the future". She encouraged them: "Don't pass up this opportunity. Do what you know is right". April 17, 2012/Page 1 of 6 Clark Payne of Henry Avenue addressed Council advising that he had no problem with the 4 cent increase. Additionally, he congratulated Council on the progress made to date on blight in the Town. He opined that Council could recover $20,000 of the shortfall in the budget with no loss of services or staff. He suggested that Council exercise its power and pursue Mr. Richard Allen, who owed approximately $20,000 to the Town for the stabilization and abatement of his building on Main Street, by legally obtaining the four additional properties he owned in Town and utilizing them to reimburse the Town for the fees owed the Town. At 5:15 p.m., there being no further comments, Mayor Worrell closed the Public Hearing. Following discussion, it was the consensus of Council to wait until further work had been done on the budget to see if it could be balanced without a tax increase. Mayor Worrell advised that the next budget meeting would be Tuesday, April 24th at 5:30 p.m. Next, Mayor Worrell introduced Stephen Thorpe as the April 2012 Employee of the Month. He read a Press Release aloud and presented Mr. Thorpe with the award. He advised that in addition to receiving this award, Stephen would receive an extra paid day off from work and be eligible for the Employee of the Year award at the end of the year. The next item on the agenda was Public Operations. Councilman Goodman moved to un-table Camper Street right of way. 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 Gregory C. East -Aye Mayor Worrell advised that this issue had come up at a previous meeting and had been tabled. Councilman Clark advised that since the previous meeting, the petitioner for closing Camper Street right of way had canvassed the neighborhood and presented a petition signed by twenty seven residents in support of closing the right of way. He moved to direct staff to prepare the proper paperwork to close the Camper Street right of way. The motion was seconded by Councilman Kidd 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 Gregory C. East -Aye The next item on the agenda was short term goals. Regarding Pulaski Furniture, John White reviewed some of the improvements already in process. He advised that it had been requested that the Town assist in getting a tall enough crane to eliminate the "pipes to nowhere" and that some repairs were needed to repair the right of way area as one turns into the west side of Madison lot. Additionally, it had been noted that the sidewalk and part of the roadway had eroded and needed to be repaired. Councilman East inquired into the status of the strategically placed fencing around the area? Mr. White responded that the owner was very concerned about security as he had many businesses operating in the area. He felt that the owner was interested in being a good citizen, but he was balancing that with the return on investment on the property. Mr. White added that he was trying work on the other less expensive tasks at hand and move on to the more expensive items. April 17, 2012/Page 2 of 6 Councilman Welker commented that the issues that Mr. Swartz brought up that are the responsibility of the Town need to be taken care of expediently. Councilman Welker pointed out that the sidewalk area between the Southwest Times parking lot and Madison Avenue needed to be repaired. Next, Bill Pedigo provided an update on the improvement of the Route 11 corridor noting that the sign inventory was continuing; staff was continuing to gather information on a potential bike route and reviewing the drawing provided by Councilman Welker and had worked with some volunteer groups to clean out and freshen up the flower bed near the Southwest Times. Mr. Hawley added that work had begun on flower beds around Town to prepare for planting after the frost time. Mr. Webb provided an update regarding the volunteer group. He noted that the committee had discussed placing a letter in the utility bills inviting citizens to join the volunteer group. This was tentatively scheduled for ~. June or July. He added that the group had worked on establishing a Volunteer Pulaski letter link on the town web site and established a volunteer email address. He advised that the Southwest Times had published an introductory media article and group picture. He noted that the Kiwanis Park creek cleanup was scheduled for April 28, 2012. Mr. Welker suggested placing the information on the Town Facebook page as well. Mr. White advised that he would take care of that. Regarding the Allen property on Main Street, Mr. Hawley advised that he had spoken with one of Richard Allen's family members who agreed that they would deliver a letter containing the Town offer to Richard Allen if the Town Manager wrote a letter to him. Discussion ensued regarding other options available to Council. Councilman Welker opined that since the Town had already started a legal process it needed to be completed. He added that if this process did not work, then the Town could try something else. Mayor Worrell moved on to agreement with Winston-Salem's "Southbound Model Railroaders". Mr. White advised that after an advertised RFP process resulted in no other responses, an agreement had been drawn up to allow the Southbound Model Railroaders to dismantle the Brockmeyer O gauge model train lay out and install it in the new Museum. The agreement stated that the Town would pay Southbound Model Railroaders $33,500 plus motel expenses. He summarized the details of the agreement and asked Council to allow the Town Manager to sign the agreement. Councilman Clark moved to authorize the Town Manager to enter into an agreement with Southbound Model Railroaders. Councilman Welker seconded the motion. Following discussion, Councilman Clark withdrew his motion and Councilman Welker withdrew his second. Councilman Clark then moved to authorize the Town Manager to enter into a contract with Southbound Model Railroaders with item 10 stricken from the contract. 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 Gregory C. East -Aye i"l 1 1 April 17, 2012/Page 3 of 6 Mayor Worrell asked Mr. Hawley to summarize the options for funding of the contract with Southbound Model Railroaders. Mr. Hawley summarized the options and advised that if Council concurred, the funding would be taken from the Museum Committee contributions and the state appropriations. Council concurred. Mayor Worrell moved on to Legislative issues. The first item was Ordinance 2012-02, Approving A Zoning Amendment To Allow Two Family Attached Dwellings In The R-2 Residential District. Mayor Worrell advised that this completed action of Council. Councilman Kidd moved to adopt Ordinance 2012-02, Approving A Zoning Amendment To Allow Two Family Attached Dwellings In The R-2 Residential District. Councilman Goodman 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 Gregory C. East -Aye The next item on the agenda was review of Town Ordinances for possible changes in penalties. Mr. Hawley advised that the packet contained possible changes in penalties for some of the Town Ordinanoes. Chief Roche advised that staff had reviewed Town Ordinances and suggested changes that would eliminate most of the possibilities or the likelihood of having to pay for court appointed attorneys. A few other issues had been amended as well. Councilman Welker moved to direct staff to prepare an Ordinance changing the Table of Penalties in the Town Code as presented in the Council packet and changing Chapter 38 Article 2, Section 38-31 to make it legal to mow the grass, drive a car, talk to your neighbor or listen to music. Mr. Warburton noted that the request needed two motions. Councilman Welker withdrew his motion. Councilman Welker moved to direct staff to prepare an Ordinance changing the penalties in the Town Code. Councilman Clark 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 Gregory C. East -Aye Councilman Welker moved to direct staff to prepare an Ordinance changing Chapter 38, Article 2, Section 38- 31 to permit mowing the grass, driving a car, talking to your neighbor or listening to music. Councilman Goodman seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker -Aye Robert A. Bopp - No H. M. Kidd - No Joseph K. Goodman -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Gregory C. East - No Mayor Worrell -Aye April 17, 2012/Page 4 of 6 Following extensive discussion it became apparent that because of acoustics in the room, some of the Council members misunderstood the motion and voted based on that misunderstanding. Therefore, Councilman Welker restated his motion to direct staff to prepare a draft Ordinance amending Chapter 38, Article 2, Section 38-31 to make mowing the grass, driving a car, talking to your neighbor or listening to music no longer a crime. Councilman Goodman seconded the motion and it carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker -Aye Robert A. Bopp -Aye H. M. Kidd - No Joseph K. Goodman -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Mayor Worrell moved on to New River Valley Fine Arts Center lien. Councilman Bopp abstained from discussion or voting on this topic as he had current business dealings with the New River Valley Fine Arts Center. Mr. Hawley advised of a request that Council consider removing or clearing the lien attached to the property on North Washington that will be the New River Valley Fine Arts Center's new location. He explained that the lien secured the $25,000 loan to the Center which was used as a match for other funding which they have secured. This was requested by Rural Development for their loan package. He noted that by removing the lien this would make this adonation/grant for the construction. Mayor Worrell interjected that when Resolution 2009-21 was adopted in 2009, it included wording that the Town could forgive the loan in the future if certain criteria was met. Councilman Clark moved to release the lien of $25,000 for the New River Valley Fine Arts Center. Councilman Welker seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker -Aye Robert A. Bopp -Abstain H. M. Kidd -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye The next item on the agenda was easement request from Verizon. Mr. Hawley advised that Verizon had requested an easement across the Ridge Avenue water tank property to serve the current cell tower leases on the town site. Councilman Clark moved to authorize the Town Manager to execute the easement for Verizon for Ridge Avenue. Councilman Kidd 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 Gregory C. East -Aye Councilman Worrell advised that the next agenda item was budget discussion. He suggested that this be carried over to the next budget work session. Council was in agreement. At 6:45 p.m., Councilman Clark moved to enter into Closed Session under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A-3) acquisition or use of real property for public purpose, or disposition of property and (A-7), consultation with legal counsel and briefings by staff members regarding specific legal matters regarding provisions of legal April 17, 2012/Page 5 of 6 advice by such counsel. Councilman Goodman seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: 1 Morgan P. Welker -Aye H. M. Kidd -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Robert A. Bopp -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye At 7:05 p.m., Council returned from Closed Session and adopted the Certification Resolution on motion by Councilman Clark, seconded by Councilman Goodman 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 Gregory C. East -Aye There being no further business, Councilman Clark moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Goodman and carried on voice vote. Approved: . Worre ,Mayor 1 ~~ April 17, 2012/Page 6 of 6