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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-21-10minutes or the Town Council Work Session -held September 21, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of tqe_ Municipal -Building at 42 First Street, NW. ,(� J There were present: Mayor Jeffrey S. Worrell Council: Morgan P. Welker, H.M. Kidd, David L. Clark, Joel B. Burchett, Jr. (arrived at 5:17 p.m.), Robert A. Bopp, Joseph K. Goodman Staff: John J. Hawley, Town Manager Patricia Cruise, Clerk of Council R. D. Warburton, Town Attorney -David N. Quesenberry, Assistant to the Town Manager Sherry Boyd, Finance Director Gary Roche, Police Chief John White, Economic Development Director Dave Hart, Parks and Facilities Director Bill Webb, Fire Chief Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer' Ron Cole, Public Works Crew Leader Debbie Bivens, Computer Tech Elizabeth Chitwood Others: Clark Payne Amy Lewis Mayor Worrell, called the meeting to order at. 5:00 p.m. Melinda Williams, Press Following roll call, Councilman Clark moved to amend the agenda by adding 9h, Early closing at Gatewood and 1.Of, Appointment of Robert Smith to Cemetery Trust Advisory Board. The motion was seconded by Councilman Welker and carried on voice vote. Councilman Clark moved to adopt the minutes of the August 3, 2010, August 10, 201'0, and August 17, 2010 Council meetings as written. Councilman Bopp seconded the motion and so carried on voice vote. The next item on the agenda was Presentations. Mayor Worrell introduced Ronald "Ron" Cole as the September, 2010 Employee of the Month. He read a press release aloud and presented Mr. Cole with an award. He -advised that Ron would-be given an additional_paid day off -from work and be eligible for the Employee of the Year award at the end- of the year. Next; Mayor Worrell advised of the receipt of the Census 2010 Plaque. John White accepted the plaque on behalf of the Town.' Mayor Worrell moved on to Finance. The first item was computer system options. Mr. Hawley summarized the three options for leasing/purchasing the Computer system and the impact for the next several years of each option. Mr. Hawley pointed out that one of the concerns with staff was that during budget discussions, funding might be taken from the I.T. budget and computers not purchased resulting in inadequate equipment for staff. Councilman Goodman responded that there would have to be a consensus that computers arepart of the critical infrastructure and money could not be taken from that line item. Following extensive discussion, Councilman Welker moved -to direct staff to proceed with option one and do a complete buyout of the computer system. The motion was -seconded by Councilman Goodman. September 21, 201Wage 1 of 6 Councilman Clark commented that he did not want to handicap the departments -by pursuing -option one. � He dicNt want the employees trying to work with equipment that was not adequate .for their -needs.. Councilman Goodman reiterated that Council would :have to agree that computers are part of the critical infrastructure and money could not be taken from that line item. Councilman- Clark advised that having. worked on the last several budgets and seeing what had to be. cut to balance the budget, it worried him to depend on that scenario. He did not want to handicap any department in the Town. Councilman Goodman pointed out that option one saved the Town. money each year. Councilman -Clark commented that if Council opts for Option one and buys out all the computer equipment, .then the funds that had been originally budgeted for this year to purchase computers- needed to stay in the -I. T. budget for the repair, update or purchase of equipment and not be used elsewhere. The motion then carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye Robert A. Bopp - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye Mayor Worrell moved on to collection of demolition costs/liens. He advised that staff had gathered more information as directed at the last Council meeting. Mr. -Hawley advised that the Town Attorney and Finance Director had .provided the steps to analyze the cost/benefit of collection of demolition of buildings, nuisance abatements for weeds and grass, and delinquent taxes. Councilman Welker inquired if the Town had a demolition lien on a property, and wanted to execute the lien, could a sale of the property be forced? Mr. Warburton responded yes, it could be done, but it was a cumbersome and expensive process. He added that at some point Council would have to decide whether it was worth spending money that you cannot recoup. Mayor Worrell commented that the vast majority of the liens on the spreadsheet were less than one hundred dollars. Extensive discussion ensued regarding what limit could be set before staff pursued a lien. Councilman Goodman expressed an interest in a treasurer's lien. Mr. Warburton explained how a treasurer's lien worked. Mayor Worrell suggested that staff take one or two.high liens and execute the liens as a trial. Councilman Burchett inquired how much it would cost for a forced sale? Mr. Warburton responded around $2,000 to $3,000. Mayor Worrell suggested that staff come back with an aggressive plan for collecting liens on properties over $5,000. Councilman Welker suggested that staff look at lots that might be usable to the Town for public -use, such as for parking or parks. September 21, 2010/Page 2 of 6 Mayor Worrell moved on to Annual Report for the Finance Department. He advised that the Report had bee included in the Council packet. Mr. Hawley commented that if Council had any questions, the Finance Director was present to respond. He noted the collection of property taxes that had been due prior to the 2009 tax year. The next item on the agenda was Public Operations. The first item was -rental inspection spread sheet. Mr.. Hawley reviewed the spread sheet included in the packet. He noted that the town can't inspect a unit until it is occupied or scheduled -to be rented. However, if an apartment project is renting units, the town could inspect units whether or not there is a current tenant. Mayor Worrell moved on to renaming Magnox Drive. Mr. Hawley advised that Councilman Welker had suggested that Magnox Drive be returned to its original name of West.Main Street. He. advised that this would have to be referred to the Planning Commission for review. Councilman Welker moved to refer to Planning Commission to return the name of Magnox Drive to its original name of West Main Street. The motion was seconded by Councilman Burchett and carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan. P. Welker - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Robert A. Bopp - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye -Mayor Worrell moved on to Hosting Crooked Road Music Trail Board of Directors meeting. Mr. Hawley advised of the opportunity for the Town to host the Crooked Road Music Trail Board of Directors meetingscheduled for November 10, 2010 -at Pulaski Theatre. The -Pulaski Theatre group was agreeable to this -use. He added that it would be necessary to provide a meal at no cost to -the Board. He hoped to find a sponsor for this event, but if one was not found, the Town would be responsible for the cost. Councilman Clark moved to direct the staff. to host the Crooked Road Music Trail .Board of Directors meeting on November 10, 2010. Councilman Welker asked that a cap of $400 be included in the motion? Councilman Clark amended his motion to direct staff to host the Crooked Road .Music Trail Board of Directors meeting on November 10, 2010 and approved up to .$400 for the event. Councilman Goodman seconded the motion and it carried on the following recorded vote.- Morgan oter Morgan P. Welker - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye David L. Clark - Aye -Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Robert A. Bopp - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye The next item on the agenda was Museum artifacts. Mr. White. advised that the Town had received a little over $21,000 in reimbursement from the insurance company for the artifacts damaged in the fire at the Train Station. It was anticipated that a total of $105,118.36 would be -received. He added that approximately $44,695 had been received for reimbursement for direct expenses related to salvaging historic artifacts, which included expenses for storing, salvaging and cleaning and curating artifacts. Councilman Welker inquired where the funds were going to go. Mr. White responded: that he thought that would be Town Council's decision. September 21, 2010/Page 3 of 6 i .M%wley added that staff -was. tracking the funds -separately. The Town had been reimbursed_ for.some. construction costs for the Train Station. Discussion ensued regarding some of the claims and the status of those claims. Mr. White pointed out that the -Town, would continue to incur costs for artifacts and at some point; when the insurance had been totally expended, the Town would become responsible for -storing artifacts. Mayor Worrell commented that that could. become an issue soon. Mr. White agreed. .Mayor Worrell moved on to Economic Development Board update. Mr. .Hawley -commented that the Boardwas reviewing its membership for reappointment. He reminded Council that this Boord.is very involved in the Town's brownsfield grant, so it was important to appoint a few more members. Mr. White added that he thought Council should -see who the members of the Board were. He advised that Councilman Burchett was the current Council representative and that he had a difficult time making the, early morning meetings due to h'is. job. He suggested that another Council member may wish to be appointed. Councilman Burchett agreed with that assessment. No action was taken. Mayor Worrell moved on to YMCA update. He advised of an update from the YMCA that had been included in the .packet showing that the Pulaski Days at the YMCA were well received. Mr: Hawley added that Council had previously been given paperwork showing the number of participants in Pulaski Days at the "Y". Ms. Wantland had made some suggestions in her email included in the packet for Council's review. Mayor Worrell reminded Council that the YMCA used funding from -the Town to facilitate the Pulaski Days for the citizens. He asked if this was something Council wanted to continue or perhaps they could ask for an - update on how the "Y"- is doing. Councilman Burchett responded that he would like a representative from the "Y" to come -to the next meeting and update Council on their status. Councilman Clark commented that he'd like to see how the funding broke.down. He added that he had no way of knowing what the normal guest fee was. Mr. Hawley said staff could correlate the numbers for Council. Councilman -Welker emphasized that he did -not think Council should continue to fund the YMCA. Mayor Worrell asked the Town Manager to schedule representatives from .the YMCA to attend a Work Session meeting and provide an update. The next -item on the agenda was Government Outreach "Ask Pulaskitown" home page. Mr. Hawley advised that some information had been received and included in the packet related to -the FOIA request information Councilman Goodman .felt should be included on the home.page. He added that the vendor representative.attempted to respond to Councilman Goodman's inquiry regarding how the system was setup for searches. He told Councilman Goodman -that if this did not answer his question, to please put it in writing so that he could forward it to the vendor fora more accurate response. September 21, 2010/Page 4 of 6 Mayor Worrell moved on to. early closing at Gatewood. He advised that money had been budgeted to ! 53 :improve a boat ramp at Gatewood. Staff had suggested that the campground be closed a month early to facilitate that work. -Mr. Hart advised that usually, Gatewood expensesexceed income in October. Following discussion, .Council directed staff to remain open on weekends. Further discussion ensued regarding, the possibility of developing a swim spot at Gatewood. Staff was directed to schedule further discussion for the October Work Session. The next item on the agenda was Legislative. The first item was auxiliary Police Ordinance. Ordinance 2010-08, Establishing An Auxiliary Police Force Under The Pulaski Police Department completed' action of Council. Councilman Welker moved to adopt Ordinance 2010-08, Establishing An Aukiliary.Police Force Under The Pulaski Police, Department. The motion was seconded by Councilman Clark and carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye Robert A. Bopp - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye Mayor Worrell moved on to Alternate For PFRWTA. An Alternate for the PFRWTA needed to be appointed for Lane Penn. Staff recommended Terry Nester. Councilman Clark moved to direct staff to prepare paperwork appointing Terry Nester as Alternate for Lane Penn -on the Peppers Ferry Regional Water Treatment Authority. Councilman Kidd seconded the motion and it carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Robert A. Bopp - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye The next -item .on the agenda was Council representative to Greater Pulaski.Alliance. Mr. Hawley advised that Mr. Clevinger's term as GPA representative had expired with his term ending on Town Council. Hehad agreed to -stay on the Board as a local businessman on the Board. Mr. Hawley advised that Mr. Welker had been attending the meetings. He suggested that Councilman Welker be appointed as Council Representative to the Greater Pulaski Alliance. Following discussion,. Councilman Clark moved to appoint Morgan Welker as Council representative to the Greater Pulaski Alliance. The motion was seconded by Councilman Kidd and carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker - Abstain H. M. Kidd - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr.. - Aye Robert A. Bopp - Aye Joseph K. Goodman -.Aye Mayor Worrell. moved on to appointment to Agency on Aging. He advised that Council needed to appoint --a representative and alternate for the Agency on Aging. September 21, 2010/Page 5 of 6 CQ� ilman Clark moved to. appoint Lydia Hickam, Representative, and Jill �Sandidge, Alternate to the Agency on. ng. Councilman Goodman seconded the motion .and it carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye Robert A. Bopp - Aye David L: Clark - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye The next item on the agenda was to designate VML Voting delegates. Councilman Clark moved to appoint Joseph Goodman voting delegate and David Quesenberry as Alternate to VML. Councilman Kidd seconded the motion and it carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye Robert A. Bopp --Aye David L. Clark - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Abstain Mayor Worrell moved on to appointment to Cemetery Trust Advisory Board. Councilman Welker moved to direct staff to prepare the proper paperwork to appoint Robert.Smith to the Cemetery Advisory Board. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and it carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye Robert A. Bopp - Aye David L..Clark - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye The next. item on the agenda was Valley Road Water Pressure. Mr. Hawley provided an update on the Valley Road water pressure problem. He advised that staff was continuing to work on the issue. At 7:07 p.m., there -being no further business, the meeting adjourned on motion -by Councilman Clark, seconded by Councilman Welker and carried. • •• • -• ,�//// l[t// Woifell,• • 1 September 21, 2010/Page 6 of 6