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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-05-17Minutes of the Pulaski Town Council meeting held July 5, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building at 42 First Street, N.W. In attendance were: Mayor: Robert N. Glenn, presiding Councilmen Present: Gregory C. East; Joseph K. Goodman; H.M. Kidd; Lane R. Penn; James A. Radcliffe Councilmen Absent: David L. Clark Staff: Shawn M. Utt, Town Manager Nichole L. Hair, Deputy Town Manager Spencer Rygas, Town Attorney Press: Others: Kim Caudill, Adm. Mgr. Public Works Carla Hodge, Code Enforcement Officer Robbie Kiser, Fire Chief David N. Quesenberry, Clerk of Council Rebecca M. Reece, Finance Director Gary W. Roche, Police Chief Mike Williams, PC Patriot Brooke J. Wood, Southwest Times Tracy Belcher Stanley Frost Ann Jameson Karen Kegley Terry McPeak Clark Payne Ronald Boothe Tonya Hughes Shirley Jessee Neal Kegley, Jr. Barry Montgomery Lee Pearman Gloria Duncan Rick Hughes John Jones Lynn Loftus Shirley Montgomery Henry Whitehurst Mayor Glenn called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Councilman Kidd led the Pledge of Allegiance and Councilman East gave the invocation. Following roll call, Mayor Glenn then welcomed Mr. Quesenberry as the new Clerk of Council. There being no modifications required for the agenda, Mayor Glenn greeted guests and visitors to the meeting. Next order of business on the agenda was Presentations regarding the Code Enforcement Officer. Ms. Hair introduced Ms. Carla Hodge, the newly appointed Code Enforcement Officer formerly of the Wythe County Sheriffs Office and Commonwealth Attorney's Office. Mayor Glenn and Council welcomed Ms. Hodge and encouraged her to contact them if they could be of any assistance. Page 1 of 9/July 5, 2017 Following the presentation, Council conducted a public hearing on Planning Commission Case 2017-04SE, a request from Robyn A. Sheets for a rooming/boarding house at 1213 Pepper's Ferry Road. Ms. Hair presented the staff report that Mrs. Sheets was requesting a rooming/boarding house at 1213 Pepper's Ferry Road for more than three individuals to live there while working with the parole and probation office to assist these persons to reestablish themselves in the community. Ms. Hair noted that she had contacted the parole/probation office in Radford to discuss the details of the program due to a lack of information. She learned that the parole/probation office had an issue with emergency housing for parolees that might not be able to afford rent upon release. The applicant, Mrs. Sheets, was considering participation in that particular program. The Planning Commission, she continued had reviewed the request and conducted a public hearing where they found that the location for this use was not suitable and recommended to Town Council that the request be denied. Being primarily a residential district, she concluded, the Commission did not feel that was an appropriate location for the facility. Mayor Glenn opened the public hearing at 7:04 p.m. and called for public comment. There being no comments received, .Mayor Glenn closed the hearing at 7:05 p.m. The Mayor then asked if Council had any comments. Mr. Penn expressed his concern over the proposed use of the property because it was close to a school bus stop used by many children. He did not feel that using that location was a good idea. Following the comment, Mr. East moved that the Council accept the Planning Commission's recommendation to deny the special exception. Mr. Penn seconded the motion which was approved on the following roll call vote: Mr. Radcliffe -Aye Mr. Goodman -Aye Mr. East -Aye Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. Clark -Absent Mr. Penn -Aye Next item on the agenda was the Public Comment Period. Ms. Lynn Loftus addressed the Council concerning having chickens on her property. She said that since 1989 she had raised horses and hay on her eight acre property which she claimed was zoned agriculture at that time. She said that as of June 3rd she had purchased six laying hens but received a violation notice on June 12th that chickens were not allowed in the R-1 District. Her concerns were that (1) she had unknowingly violated the law; and, (2) her property was zoned R-1. She thought the chickens would be grandfathered in, but was told by the zoning administrator that the grandfathering applied only to those animals living on the property in a 24 month period. Other communities she noted allow chickens. Ms. Loftus submitted a petition with accompanying photographs and requested that Council grant a specific exemption for her to keep chickens on this specific parcel of land subject to conditions applied by Council. Page 2 of 9/July 5, 2017 Mr. Radcliffe asked if the property was agricultural and was changed to R-1 after she purchased the chickens. Ms. Loftus said no, that the chickens came in June of this year. Mr. Kidd asked if Ms. Loftus was living on the property in 2003. She replied that she lived on the property since 1963. Mr. Utt recommended that the Planning Commission should review the issue, which would require a referral from Council to the Commission since there were no provisions in the zoning regulations for chickens in this district. Mr. East offered that the Planning Commission could review the issue and offer guidelines for keeping the animals. Mr. Utt recommended that a referral to the Planning Commission involve a recommendation along with guidelines for the use. Following discussion, Mr. East moved that Council refer the issue of chickens at 1409 English Forest Road to the Planning Commission for review of a special exception with the intent of possibly receiving guidelines for special exceptions for the future. Mr. East's motion was seconded by Mr. Penn and carried on the following roll call vote: Mr. Radcliffe -Aye Mr. Goodman -Aye Mr. East -Aye Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. Clark -Absent Mr. Penn -Aye The next speaker, Mr. John Jones asked if Council had investigated as to whether or not all fluids had been removed from the vehicles stored at the VuhVanagon property on Route 11. With respect to Kiwanis Park he suggested that smoker stations could be placed closer to park benches and further asked that some low hanging limbs over the walking track be pruned back. He also asked whether or not Chief Roche had received any input on putting a box on East Main Street as far as speeding was concerned. Chief Roche replied that between June 15th and June 27th there were approximately 15,742 vehicles captured passing through the area at an average speed of 37 mph. Five citations were issued: three for speeding; one for defective equipment; and one additional citation in addition to two warnings. A brief discussion then resumed between Mayor Glenn and Mr. Jones regarding his concerns with and current status of the VuhVanagon property on Route 11. Mrs. Tracy Belcher then addressed Council stating that she had no problems with Ms. Loftus' request concerning chickens. She expressed concern over the condition of Pepper's Ferry Road, between Memorial Drive and Route 11 because of the potholes and potential accidents caused by drivers dodging the potholes. Another problem she noted was the growth on the side of the right of way extending into the road and scratching vehicles passing by. In addition she complained about inoperative vehicles at a residence on Pepper's Ferry Road. Mr. Radcliffe asked if Pepper's Ferry Road was a town road and if so it needed to be looked at. Mr. Utt responded that the road is a town road and is scheduled to be paved from Memorial Page 3 of 9/July 5, 2017 Drive to Route 11 this year. Mayor Glenn asked if the entire section would be paved. Mr. Utt said it would but it would take a little longer because the existing pavement would need to be milled before the paving began. Mr. Radcliffe said that he felt that Pepper's Ferry Road should be widened. Mr. East mentioned that a similar conversation took place weeks ago concerning grading the roads in the Town and asked where that project stood. Mr. Utt responded that of the roughly 220 roads in the Town system, 2/3rds had been graded. Mr. East asked what would be involved in widening Pepper's Ferry Road. Mr. Utt replied that such a project would involve a VDOT grant application which would take several years possibly involving acquisition of right of way, because of power lines, and a large amount of engineering. Next agenda item was the Consent Agenda for the minutes of June 6 and June 13, 2017. Mr. Kidd moved that the minutes for June 6, 2017 and June 13, 2017 be adopted as written. His motion was seconded by Mr. East and approved by voice vote with Mr. Goodman abstaining. Regarding the next agenda item, Project Updates, Mr. Utt asked if there were any questions on the Project Review Chart. Mr. Goodman asked about a section of fence at Pinehurst Cemetery that he noticed was in rough shape. Mr. Utt responded that the damage was due to a fallen tree limb and a vehicle, but it had been placed on the repair list. Mr. Kidd asked about the vultures remarking that a number had been seen on the former Jefferson Mills and 'Western Village". He said that he noticed that the sound cannons were not fazing them as much. Mr. Utt responded that P.D. would look into other options that might be available. Mr. Utt then began his review of the 3/6/9 month goals focusing on the higher priority projects. The first item involved the Brookmont Water System PER. The Town he noted, continued to receive more questions back from the PER which will require a revision of the target completion date. An additional complication was the addition of a new engineer at the Abingdon office of the Health Department which had resulted in a reset of reviews of projects submitted, causing additional delays. Regarding the Landscaping Design Plan, the Town was continuing work on the plan with the assistance of the Beautification Committee. Concerning the skateboard park, Mr. Utt reported the current surface was being cleaned and sealed hopefully in the next week, certainly by the end of the month as a temporary "fix". He told Council that the "grassroots" group were doing a fund raiser in partnership with the YMCA and had established a "GoFundMe" account online. He observed the group was making a concerted effort which the Town would continue to support. The long term solution for the skate park, Mr. Utt ventured, would be to find a different location or a better, more visible location which would require grant applications and other work by the town. Page 4 of 9/July 5, 2017 Mr. East asked if the lighting was adequate at the current skate park. Mr. Utt responded that it was not, with possibly one light at Newbern Road, which gave no visibility past the trees. Mr. East further inquired if dusk -to -dawn lights would be feasible. Mr. Utt said those could be added rather easily through the AEP contract. Mayor Glenn asked what the cost of the resealing was. Mr. Utt ventured it was approximately $3,400 to $3,500. Mayor Glenn inquired if the Town would ask the group for further assistance or use their funds for the bigger project. Mr. Utt responded that he would prefer for the group's funds to be applied to the bigger project, because it would be a significant investment. If the current park surface was sealed, he said that it could be used as a tennis court, but that he recommended that the Town do that in the short term and have the group work on the long term approach. Mayor Glenn asked Council if there were any objections to the Manager's proposal. No objections were made. Mr. Utt added that the short term expenditures could be incorporated into the current budget. Mayor Glenn felt it was appropriate for the group to continue to accumulate their funds to which Mr. Utt added that the YMCA would act as a 501(c) 3 for donations and would be the responsible party for the funding. Mr. East complemented the YMCA for its assistance and stated that if dusk -to -dawn lights for the current skate park were feasible, he felt the Town should proceed with them. Mr. Utt noted that the cost would be minimal to the town. Concerning Town -wide spraying, Mr. Utt said he would have to change the target date to July 30th. The Town had contracted with Asplundh to spray the creek walls and sidewalks this year. He informed Council that the Town has an employee who was certified in the past for spraying and that they would sit for the test again to get recertified which would allow the Town to do its spraying in the coming months. However, they would not be certified in time for the current spraying season which was scheduled to start Monday, July 10th Mayor Glenn asked if the employee who could be certified could do the creek walls. Mr. Utt replied that they could not because a different certification would be required. Due to liability concerns he felt that the Town should continue to contract out the spraying of the walls. The Mayor agreed citing the liability situation with the waterway. Mayor Glenn complemented Public Works employee Robin Kirby for the extraordinary job on the flower beds observing that the Beautification Committee was making headway, but that it would take two to three years to turn things around. He also mentioned that citizens had expressed comments to him that the Town is looking nicer and commended the Town Manager and Public Works for their efforts. Continuing his review of the 3/6/9 short term goals, Mr. Utt told the Council that the new generator at Pump Station 4B was now fully operational and that the old generator was sold on GovDeals for $11,000 for eventual shipment to Vietnam. At the conclusion of his review, Mr. Utt informed Council that several minor financial questions regarding the PER for the James Hardie sewer had been received by the town, but he anticipated that a funding plan could be readied in the next few months. Page 5 of 9/July 5, 2017 Next on the agenda was Old Business with the first item of business being Alley Closing 3-2017. Mr. Utt reminded the Council that this case involved Mr. Lindamood's Vanagon request to close an alley which was tabled at the last Council meeting because there were some adjacent property owners that had expressed concern about access to their properties. Referring to the map in the packet, Mr. Utt informed Council that Mr. Lindamood had spoken with Mr. Haney and Mr. Turman and would be acquiring their five lots that might have become landlocked. A remaining concern was that there were two additional lots that he has not had contact with the owner, which will be landlocked if the right of way vacation goes through. Mr. Utt recommended Council continue to table the request until the town received verification that (1) Mr. Lindamood owned the properties he said he would purchase; and, (2) that Mr. Lindamood discussed some type of proposal with the Powers Family for their lots to not be landlocked. It was not known if contact with the Powers family had been made. Mayor Glenn asked Ms. Hair on the status of other outstanding issues with the property. She reported that the site plan had been received and reviewed by staff and that the only issue holding things up was the street vacation and a hearing before the Board of Zoning Appeals for a variance request for another part of the property adjoining Northwood. Mr. Lindamood, she continued, is currently waiting to go before the Board of Zoning Appeals in case the right of way vacation does not go through which would require him to request two variances for his properties. Mayor Glenn responded that his concern was that if the right of way is closed, there was no guarantee that the buildings would be built for these vehicles. Ms. Hair responded that if the site plan was approved by the Town Engineer and Town Manager, a bond could be requested against the project. That way, she explained, if the site plan is not fulfilled the Town could take action. Additionally if the vehicles are not housed and the structures not built, Ms. Hair had been informed the Town could take Mr. Lindamood to court and proceed with action up to and including auctioning off the property and the vehicles. Mayor Glenn asked if Ms. Hair was of the opinion that the Council could go ahead, once everything is done correctly for the alley closing, and give that approval at a future date based on what Mr. Utt said about getting the property owners and property transfers complete. Ms. Hair replied that he was correct and that the site plan process could move forward and a site plan approved once the setback issue was resolved. She felt that the property could be brought into compliance. Mr. East asked if the Town had heard from all the other property owners including the Rupe and Reasor families. Mr. Utt said he did not think that the town had heard from all property owners, but both the Rupes and the Reasors had street access. The Haneys, Turmans and Powers were the parcels having access from unconstructed right of ways. Mr. East observed that there was still impact on other property owners narrowing their ability to enter their property. Mr. East's asked if notification was made to all property owners. Mr. Utt replied that all property owners were notified. Page 6 of 9/July 5, 2017 Mr. East posed another question concerning leaking oil from the vans, in light of the number of springs in the area, as to how that problem would be addressed. Ms. Hair said she did not review the Erosion and Sediment Plan but assumed there would be some information in the Engineering Department. Mr. Utt ventured that if there were contamination issues, the matter would be turned over to the Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Mr. Radcliffe asked if the DEQ was involved in the past, but was informed by Mr. Utt, that it was the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) that was involved. Mr. Kidd asked if the alley was not closed, what effect would it have on what Mr. Lindamood wanted to do. Ms. Hair answered that Mr. Lindamood would go before the Board of Zoning Appeals asking for a variance from Northwood and a zero setback from the street right of way, since the proposed building is right up to the right of way line. If that was denied, then the site plan would have to be adjusted. At this point Mr. Goodman requested that the Council address the matter according to its rules and moved to bring the issue (Alley Closing 3-2017) from the table to allow discussion legally. Mr. Kidd seconded the motion which was carried by unanimous voice vote. Following the vote Mayor Glenn asked if there was more discussion. Mr. East asked about the erosion issue. Ms. Hair responded that a portion of the plan had to be done and reviewed concerning state and local standards for storm water, quality and contamination issues. Mr. East then asked if it would deal with current or future contamination. Ms. Hair believed that current contamination was addressed but that she would have to check with Mr. Pedigo. Mr. Utt proposed that it would be appropriate to table the matter until the applicant could present to Council verification of ownership or finalized acquisition of properties or settlement of concerns of the three property owners most heavily hampered by the request. Mayor Glenn called for a motion. Mr. East moved that Council table the discussion regarding Alley Closing Case No. 3-2017 until a future meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Penn and carried on the following roll call vote: Mr. Radcliffe -Aye Mr. Goodman -Aye Mr. East -Aye Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. Clark -Absent Mr. Penn -Aye Following the vote, the Council considered a report on leave time accruals. Mr. Utt reported that as of November 2014 he brought up to Council that the Town had accrued just over $500,000 leave time between compensatory time and vacation time that was in excess of the Personnel Policy's maximum accruals. To reduce the time, staff decided to set a deadline of June 30, 2017 to bring excess accrued leave to required levels and to enforce the policy's rules from that time forth for maximum accrual of leave. Mr. Utt reported that the goal had been met with the exception of four employees losing leave time of 106 hours total from an excess leave amount of 20,000 hours. Despite the difficulties, Page 7 of 9/July 5, 2017 Mr. Utt commended the Department Heads and the employees for their effort in reducing this liability. Next item on the agenda was New Business concerning the Roof Revolving Loan Fund requests. Mr. Utt told Council the Town had received three loan requests for Commercial Roof Loans under a Rural Development grant. Two were from the Pulaski Redevelopment and Housing Authority who acquired by donation 67 and 69 West Main Street. He noted the rear of 69 W. Main had been demolished to stabilize the building. The next step was to replace the roof so that the Housing Authority could go through an RFP process to find developers interested in using the buildings. The initial roof loan applications were for $20,000 each for 67 & 69 W. Main. Bids for roof repairs were received from two companies with the low bid of $38,000 for the two buildings with an additional $5,000 contingency for unknown structural issues. Coverage of the additional expense he said, could come from the Housing Authority's budget or the Nuisance Abatement budget. The other application he said, was from 34 West Main Street, the former AEP building. The front portion of the roof was in bad shape and was seen as the primary reason the building was not marketable. The application from William Denny, owner, sought repairs to 2,500 square feet of roof in the amount of $12,500. Mr. Utt informed Council that the loan committee reviewed the requests and recommended approval. Furthermore, Mr. Utt told the Council that the Town has until July 31St to drawdown the Rural Development Grant Funds. The Town requested an extension to December 31St and expects it to be approved. He also told the Council there may be two more additional applications coming up with enough additional funds left for two more loans should applications be received. The loan amount by December 31St should total $150,000. Any payments received did not have to be returned to Rural Development but could be re -loaned by the Town. Funds not loaned out but remaining in the loan balance would be returned to Rural Development. Mr. Utt recommended that the two loans be made to the Housing Authority at $20,000 each and one loan to William Denny of $12,500. Mayor Glenn asked for clarification that the Housing Authority owns 67 & 69 West Main Street and that if the properties were sold, the Town would get its money back. Mr. Utt said that was correct. He envisioned an RFP process being used to get a developer into the buildings. Basically the acquisition costs would only be the amount of the roof loans since no other money was placed in the structure. He ventured that the demolition costs would be recouped when the structures were placed back on the tax rolls. Mayor Glenn then opened the floor for questions or a motion from Council. Mr. Goodman moved that the Pulaski Redevelopment and Housing Authority be loaned $20,000 each for 67 and 69 West Main Street for a total of $40,000 and Mr. William Denny be loaned a total of $12,500 for 34 West Main Street from the revolving loan fund with liens of like amount placed on each structure. The motion was seconded by Mr. Penn and carried on the following roll call vote: Page 8 of 9/July 5, 2017 Mr. Radcliffe -Aye Mr. Goodman -Aye Mr. East -Aye Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. Clark -Absent Mr. Penn -Aye Following a reminder of future meetings, Mayor Glenn asked Vice -Mayor East to preside over the meeting on July 18th since he would be out of town. There being no further business, Mayor Glenn entertained a motion to adjourn. Mr. Kidd moved to adjourn the meeting. His motion was seconded by Mr. Penn and carried by unanimous voice vote at 8:00 D.M. ATTEST: David N. Quesenberry Clerk of Council Approved: Page 9 of 9/July 5, 2017