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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-04-17Minutes of the Town Council meeting held Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building at 42 First Street, NW. There were present: Mayor: Robert N. Glenn Council: James A. Radcliffe, Gregory C. East, Joseph K. Goodman, David L. Clark, H. M. Kidd, Lane R. Penn Staff: Shawn M. Utt, Town Manager Nichole Hair, Deputy Town Manager Patricia Cruise, Clerk of Council David Quesenberry, Assistant to the Town Manager Spencer Rygas, Town Attorney John White, Economic Development Director Gary Roche, Police Chief Robbie Kiser, Fire Chief Rebecca M. Reece, Finance Director Dave Hart, Parks and Facilities Director John Leeper, Corporal, Police Department Barbara Tate, Senior Center Director Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer Others: Phillip Wall Jacob Hodge Cathy Hanks Austin Ellison Tyler Cook Wayne Lovern Sybil Atkinson Tammy Kidd Joshua Flock Jacob Masse James Whitt Mara Saunders McKayla McDaniel Stephen Spence Daniel Walk John Brown Linda Hall Justin Epperly Kristina Thompson Mike Williams, Press At 7:00 p.m., Mayor Glenn called the meeting to order. Nick Conner Clark Payne Joshua Linville Curtis L. Cox Matthew Boyd Vickie Houk Ron Hall Zachary Surber Chris Simmons B.J. Wood, Press Councilman Kidd led the Pledge of Allegiance and Councilman Clark gave the Invocation. Councilman Goodman moved to add item 13e, UDAG Payment From Town. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: James A. Radcliffe - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Mayor Glenn advised that the first item on the agenda was a Resolution of Appreciation for the Friends of Peak Creek. Mayor Glenn advised that in an effort to show the Town Council's appreciation for what the Friends of Peak Creek had accomplished in a few short years, staff had developed a Resolution of Appreciation to be presented to them. He asked Cathy Hanks to come forward. He read aloud Resolution 2017-07, A Resolution of Appreciation to the Friends of Peak Creek for Their Service to the Town of Pulaski. Page 1 of 8/April 04, 2017 Councilman Penn moved to adopt Resolution 2017-07 seconded by Councilman Kidd and carried on the following recorded vote: James A. Radcliffe -Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Mayor Glenn presented the framed Resolution to the Friends of Peak Creek. The next item on the agenda was a Public Hearing regarding a proposed alley closing request from John F. Leeper. Mr. Quesenberry advised that Mr. Leeper had submitted a request for the Town to formally close an undeveloped 15 -foot wide alley that split his properties on Clark Street. He added that if Council approved the request, Mr. Leeper planned to combine all of the lots into one, removing all interior lot lines. Mayor Glenn opened the Hearing at 7:10 p.m. There being no comments, the Hearing was closed. Councilman Kidd moved to direct staff to develop the necessary paperwork closing the alley requested by John Leeper for Council's approval at the April 18th meeting. Councilman East seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: James A. Radcliffe -Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Mayor Glenn moved on to the Public Comment period. Stephen Spence addressed Council regarding the state of the Skateboard Park near MacGill Village. He advised that the equipment was out of date and was in dire need of repair. He asked that the Park be re -paved and repaired. He asked that a gravel driveway leading to the Park also be paved. Councilman East confirmed that the current location of the Skate Park was not at issue, it was the condition of the Park. Councilman Kidd confirmed that the tennis court at the Park was not being used as a tennis court. Jacob Hodge addressed Council proposing that the Park be re -named the Travis Carter Memorial Skate Park as a memorial for one of their friends who passed away. He also proposed that video cameras be installed at the site, as well as more lights. He reiterated that the Park needed to be paved and requested street type obstacles be installed to replace the outdated equipment. He opined that if there were more obstacles and better pavement, the skaters would stay off the streets and off private property. Curtis Cox addressed Council advising that approximately a week before, he had a "miscommunication" with some pebbles and fell and broke his glasses and suffered severe road rash. He reiterated the comments of his friends. Councilman Goodman commented that the skaters should not be in the road and should not be on private property. That said, he agreed that the Skate Park needed to be repaired. He added that the Town did not have a lot of money to use for this project. He suggested that the skate boarders split the cost and help raise money to make it happen. He suggested several things they could do including working with the Town to match the funds. Matthew Bond asked if the group raised some funds, would the Town help them? Page 2 of 8/April 04, 2017 Councilman Goodman responded absolutely. Matthew Bond continued that if the Town would help them it would help build a better relationship and that both parties would have to respect each other. Councilman Kidd asked if taking the fence down between the skate area and the tennis court would help? The group responded in the affirmative and suggested moving the ramps to the other side. Councilman East commented that the work would have to be done in stages and that the first thing to address was the general safety. Following discussion, Mr. Utt suggested that he meet with the group to work on a plan to be discussed at the April Work Session. Mayor Glenn thanked the group for attending the meeting. He asked if this was the best location for the Skateboard Park. He asked was it convenient? He agreed that it would be good for the group to meet with Town staff to discuss the Park. He asked Stephen Spence, Jacob Hodge and Curtis Cox to act as liaisons for the group to meet with the Town Manager, the Parks and Facilities Director and himself. He asked the Town Manager to set up the meeting. Mayor Glenn moved on to the Consent Agenda. Councilman Kidd moved to adopt the Consent Agenda consisting of the Minutes of the March 07, 2017 Town Council Meeting as written. Councilman Penn seconded the motion and carried on voice vote with the abstention of Councilman Goodman who had been absent at that meeting. The next item for consideration was Project Updates. Mr. Utt advised that the Project Review Chart had been included in the packet. He continued that if Council had any question about a specific item, he would respond. Councilman Radcliffe advised that the vultures were at Kersey Bottom again. Mr. Utt replied that the USDA personnel were aware of the problem and planning to take action. Councilman East asked whether "ongoing" could be eliminated from the Project Review Chart. Secondly, he asked whether a quick system could be prepared to evaluate performance to a set schedule. He felt it would help gauge performance on whatever task is identified on the Project Review Chart or the 30/60/90 chart. Mr. Utt responded in the affirmative. Councilman Clark commented that at the last meeting, Council had been encouraged to look around Town for problems so they could be addressed before the leaves came out. He advised that the Nano-Chemonics site was crumbling. Mr. Utt agreed and added that was one of his goals for the Property Maintenance official to work on this summer. Councilman Goodman asked for an update on the Western Village site. Mr. Utt advised that the site was on the target list for the Property Maintenance official for this summer. Councilman Kidd asked for an update on the Fire Department rescue engine. Page 3 of 8/April 04, 2017 Mr. Utt advised that the last he heard, the County wanted to split the money over two fiscal years and had Y2 of the money included in the coming fiscal year budget and the other Y2 in the following fiscal year. He added that no word had been received on the ladder truck to date. Councilman Kidd asked for an update on the Gatewood upgrades. Mr. Utt advised that staff was waiting for engineering drawings for the water system and the storm water repairs had been concluded. Councilman Kidd asked for an update on the Route 99 project. Mr. Utt advised that the conduit had been laid, the street lights were on order and the guard rails had been ordered. Mayor Glenn asked whether a decision had been made regarding advertising a RFP for a road survey to check pavement. Mr. Utt advised that staff was waiting for a bid from a consultant who had a system to rate every road in the Town. He noted that the streets that needed to be repaired the most were probably not VDOT eligible. He added that meant that the Town would have to look at the budget to see what could be done. Mayor Glenn asked when the weeds and grass would be sprayed this year? Mr. Utt replied that he hoped that the company would be working in Town in May. Mayor Glenn continued that Councilman Clark had agreed to serve as the Chairman of the Beautification Committee and work with volunteers from the community to help staff make the flower beds look nice. Councilman Goodman inquired whether the company that sprayed last year would be spraying this year. He added that the company had sprayed some citizen's lawns last year. Mr. Utt responded that it was the same company, but there would be a better list of what needed to be done. He added that staff intended to hire 2 part-time weed eaters to assist with the job. Councilman East asked which company would be drawing up plans for the flower beds. Mr. Utt responded that Draper Aden and Associates would be creating landscaping plans. Mayor Glenn asked for an update on the new sign for the triangle. Ms. Hair responded that a price quote had been received that day and would be reviewed soon. Mayor Glenn inquired whether the conduit had been installed in Jackson Park. Mr. Pedigo responded that he had held off with the installation until after the Easter Egg Hunt. Mayor Glenn added that staff might contact Mrs. Adams at the Southwest Times regarding her plans for the light show at Christmas time to gather her input. Mayor Glenn moved on to Department update from the Senior Center. Page 4 of 8/April 04, 2017 Senior Center Director Barbara Tate thanked Council for the work done on the Senior Center to date. She noted that the seniors were very pleased. She summarized the activities offered and provided an update on the general operation of the department. Mayor Glenn asked what else was needed to complete the update at the Senior Center. Mrs. Tate responded that they had talked about updating the kitchen, which had not been updated since the 70's. She continued that some flooring needed to be redone as well as some dry wall. Councilman East interjected that the kitchen seemed like one of those low hanging fruit items to accomplish. He did not feel it would be that expensive. Mr. Utt advised that to replace the kitchen cabinets, appliances, countertop, flooring and drywall would be approximately $10,000. Councilman East asked if there were ever limitations for trips because of vehicles. Mrs. Tate responded in the affirmative, adding that there were waiting lists for some trips. She added that the van was an older model and wasn't as accessible for some of the seniors. As an example, she advised that there was a hump to go over to get to the back and some of the seniors could not maneuver over the hump. Councilman East commented that there should never be a waiting list. Mr. Utt advised that staff had looked at options for renting a vehicle for specific trips and added that might be something they could look at again. Mrs. Tate reminded that a driver had to be provided for each vehicle as well. Councilman East commented that it would be nice to be able to close that gap and ensure that everyone who wants to go is able to. Council thanked Mrs. Tate for her presentation. Councilman Radcliffe advised that he had several seniors tell him that they were very uncomfortable going to the park and walking. He wondered if the Crime Prevention officer might set up a time that she would meet the seniors while they walk to make them feel more comfortable. Mrs. Tate responded that they had discussed having the bike patrol ride the trail at certain hours, perhaps between 9 and 11, to make the seniors feel safer. She added that she had spoken with the County about having an indoor venue for the seniors to walk and that the County felt it would be better to wait until the cold weather returned before they set that up. Mayor Glenn asked Mrs. Tate to survey the seniors to see how many did not have proper size and type house numbers on their homes. He felt that they could get the numbers donated and have a service group hang them on the homes. Councilman Goodman suggested contacting the Scouts to see if someone was looking for an Eagle Scout project. He continued that if the numbers were not fully donated, they could raise funds to pay for -the remainder of the numbers needed and they could coordinate the labor. He added that they could survey neighborhoods and identify houses that did not have the correct type of numbers and ask if they would like the numbers installed. Mrs. Tate agreed and suggested that additionally, perhaps the Scouts could help seniors with projects around their house. Page 5 of 8/April 04, 2017 Councilman East advised that he was unhappy to hear that some of the seniors were uncomfortable walking in Kiwanis Park. He asked whether the Police Department and the bike patrol was continuing to maintain a healthy presence there. Mr. Utt responded that now that it was starting to warm back up that he assumed the patrols would start picking back up. Chief Roche added "as staffing permits". Councilman East continued that he thought there was an adopted Resolution that says we have an obligation to patrol. Mr. Utt agreed. He added that more folks might need to be certified for bike patrol to cover overtime. The next item on the agenda was Old Business. Mayor Glenn advised that Ordinance 2017-01, Amendment to the Zoning Ordinance related to Child Care Facilities completed action from the March 21, 2017 Council meeting. Councilman Goodman moved to adopt Ordinance 2017-01, Amendment to the Zoning Ordinance related to Child Care Facilities as written. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: James A. Radcliffe - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Mayor Glenn moved on to New Business. Joseph K. Goodman - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye The first item was Resolution 2017-08, Application to the Virginia Dam Safety Grant Fund. Mr. Utt advised that previously the Town had applied for a Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) grant for additional flood monitoring stations along Peak Creek and at Gatewood Reservoir. He continued that the grant had a match requirement that the Town had pledged funds to cover. He added that in the meantime, a grant fund through the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) had been located that could be used to match the VDEM grant as well. Staff proposed applying for the DCR grant in the amount of $38,817 (total project cost was $77,634). He continued that it would include 4 automatic threshold reporting weather stations as well as specific GIS upgrades for enhanced connectivity from the Regional Emergency Dispatch Center's Reverse -911 system. He added that the GIS upgrades would include equipment as well as mapping software that may be used for a variety of other projects as well. Following discussion, Councilman Goodman moved to adopt Resolution 2017-08, Authorizing the Preparation and Filing of an Application to the Virginia Dam Safety, Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund as written. Councilman East seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: James A. Radcliffe -Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye The next item on the agenda was Proposed Budget Amendment for FY17 General Fund. Mr. Utt advised that one of the recommendations from the most recent audit process was that the Town Council formally modify the budget on a more consistent basis as projects that are unbudgeted are approved Page 6 of 8/April 04, 2017 and moved forward. He advised that several items needed to be included in a budget amendment. He reviewed 6 items totaling $91,100. He noted that since the total amendment was less than 1 % of the Town's General Fund budget, it did not require a public hearing. Following discussion, Councilman East moved to approve the $91,100 budget amendment as presented. Councilman Penn seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: James A. Radcliffe - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Mayor Glenn moved on to Retiree Insurance Commitment proposal. Mr. Utt advised that the Human Resources Committee met and one of the items discussed was the retiree option for the Town's health insurance plan. He explained that there were some employees who would like to take advantage of the option but have some reservations on whether or not the Town will eliminate the plan before they qualify for Medicare. He noted that the cost to the Town was 1 % of the Town's overall cost. He added that the Committee proposed drafting a formal statement that the Town would commit to a 5 -year pilot plan allowing the employee who retires through VRS to remain on Town insurance at their own expense until they qualify for Medicare. The Committee also proposed that this be re-evaluated in year 5 to measure any budget results from the participation by retirees. Following discussion, Councilman Goodman moved to direct staff to prepare the necessary paperwork to create a 5 year pilot program for retiree health insurance program. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: James A. Radcliffe -Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye The next item for discussion was Virginia Brownfields Restoration Assistance Grant fund. Mr. Utt advised that relative to the brownfield work the Town had been working on for the lots on West Main Street, a planning grant had been awarded in the amount of $45,250 for a Phase 2 environmental evaluation of the site, mostly centered on soil analysis and evaluation. He advised that the required match for the state planning grant would be covered by EPA Brownfields Grant funding, so the Town would not be spending any local/general funds for the project. He asked Council to authorize the Town Manager to execute the performance agreement. Mayor Glenn pointed out that on page one of the agreement, in the first paragraph, the month needed to be changed to April. Councilman Goodman moved to authorize the Town Manager to execute performance agreement for Virginia Brownfields Restoration Assistance grant with any dates corrected as needed. Councilman East seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: James A. Radcliffe -Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye The next item for Council consideration was UDAG payment from the Town. Page 7 of 8/April 04, 2017 Mr. Utt reminded Council that the Town had close to two million dollars in the reserve fund. He continued that the Town owed 1.4 million dollars for a UDAG loan. He asked Council to consider making a payment of $100,000 toward that UDAG loan payment out of reserves in order to keep the UDAG fund going. Councilman Goodman moved to direct staff to allocate $100,000 from the Reserve fund to the principal balance due to the UDAG fund. Councilman Radcliffe seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: James A. Radcliffe -Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye At 8:30 p.m., Councilman Goodman moved to enter Closed Session under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A-7) consultation with legal counsels and briefing by staff for discussion of specific legal matters and matters subject to probable litigation regarding Downtown Revolving Loan Fund Application. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: James A. Radcliffe -Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye At 8:50 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: James A. Radcliffe -Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye There being no further business, the meeting adjourned on motion by Councilman Goodman, seconded by Councilman Clark and so carried. Approved: C-4 lt�g Ro rt N. Glenn, Mayor Page 8 of 8/April 04, 2017