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Home My WebLink About08-04-15Minutes of the Town Council meeting held Tuesday, August 4, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building. There were present: Mayor: Jeffrey S. Worrell Council: Heather L. Steele, Gregory C. East, David L. Clark, H. M. Kidd, James A. Radcliffe, Absent: Lane R. Penn Staff: Shawn M. Utt, Town Manager David Warburton, Town Attorney David Quesenberry, Asst. to the Town Manager Patricia Cruise, Clerk of Council Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer Pam Witten, Finance Director John White, Economic Development Director Robbie Kiser, Assistant Fire Chief Gary Roche, Police Chief Others: Brenda Blackburn Sandra Hillyer Rick Newton Joseph Goodman Matt Claus Calvin Pynn, Press Mayor Worrell called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Councilman Radcliffe led the Pledge of Allegiance and Councilman East gave the Invocation. The first item for consideration was the Public Comment period. Brenda Blackburn addressed Council regarding the high grass and weeds at the former Randolph House. She asked that the property be cleaned up. Mr. Utt advised that the property was already on the next bid list to be cleaned. Next, Sandra Hillyer addressed Council regarding the loudspeakers at "Taking It To The Streets" church. She advised that the noise disturbed her and her tenants. She added that she had asked the church to turn the volume down, to no avail. She asked for help from the Town staff to decrease the noise level. Additionally, she advised that there was a County building on her street that had pigeons coming out of it. She added that she was trying to do her part with cleaning up the Town and encouraged other citizens to do the same. Mayor Worrell commented that he was aware of the building with the pigeons and that staff would speak to the owners of that building again. He added that staff would follow up with the "Taking It To The Streets" folks. Mr. White advised that he had noticed Ms. Hillyer cleaning the flower beds in the County parking lot and he thanked her on behalf of the Town. Mayor Worrell moved on to the Consent Agenda. Councilman Clark moved to adopt the Consent agenda consisting of the amended Minutes of the July 7, 2015 Town Council meeting. Councilman East seconded the motion and carried on voice vote. The next item on the .agenda was Project Review Chart. Page 1 of 4/August 4, 2015 Mr. Utt summarized the Project Review Chart including that the water modeling project and the gis work was progressing. He noted that the drying bed greenhouses had been advertised with no bids received. He added that subsequently, staff had received a few phone calls, so staff re -listed them. He advised that Town -wide paving was due to start within ten days. Councilman Radcliffe asked whether the grass and weeds growing along the sidewalks in Town could be addressed. Mr. Utt responded that staff had been working with the weed eaters, and they were trying to get staff certified to allow spraying of the weeds and grass. He added that staff would address these issues earlier in the year next year. Councilman Radcliffe suggested that staff and Council look at the program the County had in place to address weeds and grass. Councilman East felt that staff seemed to be reactive in addressing weeds and grass and suggested that staff be proactive next year. Mr. Pedigo commented that there seemed to be some confusion about when someone had to be certified to spray weed killer. Councilman East suggested researching the cost effectiveness of hiring contractors to do that work. Mr. Utt continued with his summary of the Project Review Chart advising that the July training session for the new program in the Finance Department was complete. He noted that credit card payments were now being accepted in the office. He added that the permit had been renewed for vulture relocation, and that no recent activity had been reported or observed. Councilman Kidd advised that he had seen several vultures on the top of the Jefferson building. Mr. Utt responded that staff would watch that area. Moving on to Economic Development, Mr. Utt summarized the progress with the EPA Brownfields grant. He advised that the Gatewood Advisory Committee was set to assist the New River Valley Regional Commission in the development of the Master Plan for Gatewood. He hoped to have a draft plan for Council consideration in late November. Councilman East inquired into a time frame for the renovations at the Senior Center? Mr. Utt responded that he planned to renovate the front entry area first and then work on the rest of the plan. Mayor Worrell inquired whether the second entrance into Pinehurst Cemetery was to be included in the town wide paving? Mr. Pedigo responded that he would like to wait until next year to allow the work to settle prior to paving. Councilman East inquired into the status of the website update. Mr. Utt replied that staff had been directed to identify what they'd like to see included in the web site. He hoped to have a draft website ready for testing by mid-September. Mayor Worrell moved on to Old Business and Ordinance 2015-17. He advised that this Ordinance completed action of Council. Page 2 of 4/August 4, 2015 Councilman Kidd moved to adopt Ordinance 2015-17, Standardizing the Reconnect Fee for Service Disconnections. Councilman Radcliffe seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye James A. Radcliffe - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Absent Mayor Worrell moved on to New Business. The first item was CIP lease financing proposals. Mr. Utt advised that as part of the FY16 budget, the Council agreed to proceed with a VML/VAC0 lease/purchase option for two Public Works vehicles, a backhoe and street sweeper. He summarized the bid results and recommendations as well as a timeline for issuing the financing. He added that he was pleased with the interest rates. Councilman Kidd moved to adopt Resolution 2015-15, Approving 5 year Lease Financing Terms for two new 3/ ton trucks. Councilman East seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye David L. Clark - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye James A. Radcliffe - Aye Lane R. Penn - Absent Councilman Clark moved to adopt Resolution 2015-16, Approving 10 -Year Lease Financing Terms for a backhoe and street sweeper. Councilman Kidd seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye James A. Radcliffe - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Absent The next item for consideration was Virginia Enterprise Zone #41 Amendment. Mr. Utt advised that in an effort to maximize the utilization of the Town's Enterprise Zone designation before it expired on December 31, 2015, staff recommended amending the boundaries to include Calfee Park. His recommendation included removing the Norfolk -Southern rail yard property along Dora Highway from the designation which would provide ample acreage to move to Calfee Park. He added that to begin the process, a Public Hearing needed to be scheduled. Councilman Clark moved to direct staff to schedule a Public Hearing for Virginia Enterprise Zone #41 amendment for the September 1, 2015 meeting. Councilman East seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye David L. Clark - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye James A. Radcliffe - Aye Lane R. Penn - Absent At 7:26 p.m., Councilman Clark moved to enter into Closed Session under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A-1), discussion for consideration of employment, assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of public officers, appointees or employees regarding Museum staffing; and two items under (A-3), discussion for consideration of the disposition or acquisition of publicly held property regarding Peak Creek Way and Pulaski Area Transit; and two items under (A-5), discussion concerning a prospective business or industry, or the expansion of an existing business and industry, where no previous announcement has been made of the business' or industry's interest in locating or expanding its facilities in the Page 3 of 4/August 4, 2015 community regarding Project BB and Project PCS. Councilman East seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye David L. Clark - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye James A. Radcliffe - Aye Lane R. Penn - Absent At 8:05 p.m., Council returned from Closed Session and adopted the Certification Resolution on motion by Councilman Clark, seconded by Councilman East and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye David L. Clark - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye James A. Radcliffe - Aye Lane R. Penn - Absent There being no further business, the meeting adjourned on motion by Councilman Kidd, seconded by Councilman East and carried on voice vote. Approved: y S. Worrell, Mayor Page 4 of 4/August 4, 2015 1 1 1