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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-07-17Minutes of the Town Council meeting held Tuesday, February 7, 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, David L. Clark, Joseph K. Goodman, Lane R. Penn Absent: H. M. Kidd 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 Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer Robbie Kiser, Fire Chief Rebecca M. Reece, Finance Director Others: Gordon Jones Emily Viers Brenda Adams Tom Underwood Brooke Wood, Press Mike Williams, Press At 7:00 p.m., Mayor Glenn called the meeting to order. Councilman Radcliffe led the Pledge of Allegiance and Councilman Clark gave the Invocation. Mayor Glenn advised that the first item on the agenda was a Presentation of the FY 2016 Audit. Gordon Jones, Acting Partner in Charge for Robinson, Farmer, Cox introduced himself to Council. He also introduced Emily Viers, the Audit Manager, who was also present at the meeting. He explained the reports provided by Robinson, Farmer, Cox and distributed an Annual Financial Report to Council. Mayor Glenn thanked Mr. Jones for his presentation. The next item on the agenda was Public Comments. Brenda Adams Publisher for the Southwest Times, addressed Council regarding the Southwest Times Readers Choice Awards. She explained that the awards were voted on by the public and that some Town employees had won an award. She read the list of employees and their award and congratulated everyone. Mayor Glenn thanked Mrs. Adams for her presentation. The next speaker was Tom Underwood. He addressed Council regarding a nuisance abatement problem he had. He advised that he had a house at 224 LaGrange Street. He continued that he allowed the neighbor across the street to park in his driveway. He added that when he cleaned out brush in the yard, he left it in the driveway until he could clean it up. The neighbor did not like that his parking space on the driveway was blocked with brush, so he called the Nuisance Abatement officer to file his complaint. Mr. Underwood continued that the Nuisance Abatement officer issued a letter and fine for $500 to him. He noted that he had already mowed the front yard and had half of the brush out prior to any work being done by Town contractors. He asked Council to take care of it and to let him know the result. Page 1 of 5/February 7, 2017 On another point, Mr. Underwood commented that a friend had come to visit him and told him that Pulaski was a prison fence town. He continued that after his friend left, he drove around and realized that the Town did have a lot of chain link fencing that could come down. Mr. Underwood also advised of several issues that the Town needed to address. He noted that he had a building next to his church that was in the process of falling down. He added that there was a 50,000 gallon steam tank with a hole in it in the same yard that was filled with water. He noted that the tank with the hole in it had been there for at least five years. He continued that he brought it to the Town's attention many years before and it had never been addressed. He advised that he also had an open drain from the Town as well as a picnic pavilion that looked out on an area filled with junk that needed to be addressed. Mayor Glenn asked Mr. Underwood to write down the complaints along with the addresses and take it to Mr. Utt's office along with the citation he had received and Council would address the issues. He specified that he could not guarantee the outcome, but Council would consider the issues. Mayor Glenn advised that the next item on the agenda was the Consent Agenda. Councilman Goodman moved to adopt the Consent agenda consisting of the January 3, 2017 Council minutes. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and approved on voice vote. Mayor Glenn moved on to Project Updates. Mr. Utt summarized the Project Review Chart included in the Council packet including that the 3rd round of bids for the Kersey Bottom/Case Knife Road project had been received. He continued that the third round of bids consisted of four houses that were bid as rehabs. He added that all of them came in well over the maximum allowed by the state. He noted that staff had reached out to the state for guidance for the next step. He advised that staff had been working on General Property Maintenance complaints and would work on the complaints received from Mr. Underwood regarding the buildings on Commerce and on Town property. Councilman Goodman asked whether a plan had been made for trees in Oakwood Cemetery. Mr. Utt advised that staff had an idea where the trees would be planted, but were waiting on spring weather to start. Councilman Goodman asked whether a plan could be presented at the February Work Session. Mr. Utt advised that there was a plan in place, but they could not be planted yet. Councilman Goodman emphasized that he wished to see the plan and wanted the citizens to be able to see it as well before it was implemented. Mr. Utt responded that he would bring a plan to Council. He continued that the Finance Department computer software update was complete. He noted that the delinquent real estate notifications had been mailed once. He added that staff would be working on a complete plan of action with dates and milestones to collect the delinquent taxes. He continued that decals were going on sale March 1 with a due date of April 1. He advised that he had renewed the agreement with USDA for the vulture disposition/relocation. Councilman Goodman asked whether there were any other options available in case USDA was slowed down by Washington. Mr. Utt responded that there was a noise maker available. Page 2 of 5/February 7, 2017 Councilman Goodman suggested contacting the residents in the Northwood area where the vultures had been seen roosting to see if the noise maker could be used in their area. Mayor Glenn wondered whether a drone could be used to fly into the area and force the vultures to move. Mr. Utt continued that staff was working on the specs for a new Rescue Engine for the Fire Department, which was anticipated to be funded in FY18 by the County. He advised that staff was waiting for a decision on the application to the Virginia Brownfields Abatement fund that would allow cleanup of toxins in the soils at the former General Chemical Foundry (near the Iron Bridge). Additionally, he advised of the receipt of comments from EPA on the Phase One assessment of the West Main property that may have potential for recreation use as suggested in the Peak Creek Promenade study. He advised that a public input hearing was held to share past CDBG projects and the process thus far for the West Main Development and Downtown Renewal. He added that Arnett Muldrow's team met in January to assist the community in developing a brand for the Town. It was expected that the brand would be shown to the public in the near future. Mr. Utt continued that staff met to discuss the remaining renovations needed to complete the Senior Center and that once pricing had been established, he would present it to Council at a Work Session to see whether they wished to fund it this year or roll it over to a CIP item. Councilman East asked for an update on the playground improvements. Mr. Utt responded that $25,000 had been placed in the Reserve Fund of the 2016-17 budget. He continued that in the meantime Xaloy advised of their intent to do a playground project before they closed. He added that staff was working with their corporate offices to get a project started. He noted that staff was also working on a Kaboom grant, which required a corporate sponsor. He continued that Xaloy could be that corporate sponsor. Then the Town could take the Town's $25,000, the Xaloy funding and funds from the Kaboom grant and have a much larger effect. Councilman East asked whether Town staff had reached out to other businesses. Mr. Utt responded that we have not, but we should. Mayor Glenn asked for an update on the Gatewood Advisory committee. Mr. Utt. responded that he needed to pull that group back together to talk about the budget. He felt that all of the needs of Gatewood had been covered except for the water system. He added that the wells and treatment facility had been taken care of. After that, the committee could focus on some of the larger items such as a bridge from the campground to the store and picnic pavilions. Mayor Glenn suggested that Mr. Utt call the committee together within the next 30 days. He added that Council could attend if they wished. He suggested re -organizing the committee so that they could take over doing the projects and then Council could give assistance with funding. Mr. Utt agreed to schedule a meeting and include it in the weekly summary. Mr. Utt continued that staff was working on the Special Events calendar for the year including the Concerts in the Park, the Cruise -Ins, the Easter Egg Hunt, Pulaskifest and others, coordinating with the Chamber of Commerce and their calendars. He advised that there were vacancies on the Planning Commission and the Housing Redevelopment Authority. Mayor Glenn moved on to department update. Rebecca Reece, Finance Director, provided Council with a review of the general operations of the Finance Department and its staffing. Page 3 of 5/February 7, 2017 Following comments from Council, Mayor Glenn requested that delinquent taxes be discussed during Budget Sessions. He then moved on to New Business. The first item was Dispatch Center financing agreement with Pulaski County. Mr. Utt advised that during the audit process, it was discovered that the Town and County failed to formally execute an agreement related to the financing of the one-time equipment expenditures related to the combined dispatch center operations. He continued that both governing bodies discussed the financing arrangement during open meetings. He added that the total cost of that equipment was $676,268, of which the Town was responsible for 26.3% or $178,080. He noted that the Town and County verbally agreed to a 5% interest rate financing for a 5 -year term with the Town paying the County a monthly payment of $3,424.58. He continued that those payments began in November 2015. He asked Council to formally approve this financing and authorize the Town Manager to execute a loan agreement upon review and concurrence of the Town Attorney. Councilman Goodman moved to direct staff to develop the necessary paperwork for the financing agreement and to approve the Town Manager's execution of the agreement upon review by legal counsel. 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 - Absent David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye The next item for consideration was the Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response grant (SAFER grant) application. Mr. Utt advised that staff was informed by the grant writer of a Staffing for Adequate Fire & Response grant that would provide funding for a new position in the Fire Department for three years. He noted the grant would cover 75% of the funding for the first two years and 65% of the funding for year three. He continued that the goal of the grant was to enhance a local fire departments' abilities to comply with staffing, response and operational standards established by the National Fire Protection Act (NFPA). He added that the cost for the Town for years one and two was estimated at $10,500 and year three would be $14,700 for a full time employee. He emphasized that there was no obligation to the Town for year four unless Council wished to fund the position. Mayor Glenn opined that if the Town was awarded this grant, the Town needed to plan to fund the position beginning in the fourth year. Following discussion, Councilman Goodman moved to direct staff to apply for the Staffing for Adequate Fire & Response grant. 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 - Absent David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye At 8:20 p.m., Councilman Clark moved to enter into 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 First Street property remediation; UDAG/RBEG loan amendment; and UDAG loan request. Councilman Goodman 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 - Absent David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Page 4 of 5/February 7, 2017 At 9:13 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: James A. Radcliffe -Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye Gregory C. East - Aye H. M. Kidd - Absent 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: Page 5 of 5/February 7, 2017