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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-20-10Minutes of the Town. Council Work Session held July 20, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building. There were. present: Mayor Jeffrey S. Worrell Council: Morgan P. Welker, H. M. Kidd, David L. Clark, Joel B. Burchett, Jr. (arrived at 5:01 p.m.) Robert A. Bopp, Joseph K. Goodman Staff: John J. Hawley, Town Manager David N. Quesenberry, Assistant to the Town Manager Patricia Cruise, Clerk of Council Brenda Shelton, Administrative Secretary Sherry Boyd, Finance Director Bill Webb,. Fire Chief Brandon Hamblin, Fire Department Brian Cole, Fire Department Barbara Tate, Community Relations Director John White, Economic -Development Director Elizabeth Chitwood, Economic Development Assistant Gary Roche, Police Chief R. D. Warburton, Town Attorney Planning Commission: Nick Glenn Kathleen Kirk Tim Clontz David Allen Others: Larry Clevinger, II W. Grant Back Thomas B. Haller Chris Cullinan Mike Williams, Press Melinda: Williams, Press Mayor Worrell called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Following roll -call, Councilman Kidd moved to adopt the minutes of .the June 15, 2010 Council Work Session.. Councilman Welker seconded the motion and it carried on voice vote. Mayor Worrell advised that he was going to rearrange the order of the meeting and do presentations next. Additionally, he moved discussion of. the Train Station interior and, exterior to the -end of the meeting so that Council could visit the station to better understand the options. 25 Next, Mayor Worrell. introduced Sergeant -Brandon Hamblin of the Fire Department as the Employee of the Month for July 2010. He read a press,release aloud and presented Sergeant Hamblin with an award.. He advised that in addition to this award, Sergeant Hamblin 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. Mayor Worrell moved on to Resolution 2010 -15. Councilman -Clark moved to adopt Resolution 2010-1-5, Honoring Roland Cole For 47 Years Of Service To the Pulaski Fire Department. 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 - Aye Mayor Worrell read the Resolution aloud and presented it to Mr. Cole's son, Brian, who is also a Fire Fighter. Mayor Worrell moved on to Finance. July 20, 2010/Page 1 of 6 26 The first item was Heartwood Video. Mr. Hawley advised that the deadline for application had been extended to August 15. Staff needed a decision from Council on whether to proceed with the video. He reminded Council that the video would not be filmed until next year. Following discussion, Councilman Clark moved to direct staff to start the process for the Heartwood Video. The motion was seconded by Councilman Kidd 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 The next item on the agenda was a Joint Public Hearing with the Planning Commission. Brenda Shelton called -the roll for the Planning Commission. David Quesenberry .advised. that the First Presbyterian Church had requested a special exception to permit the installation of a columbarium on church grounds at 408 North Jefferson Avenue. The columbarium would be located on the Fourth -Street side of the structure, beneath the entrance ramp at the base of the bell tower. He added that zoning regulations have five criteria for evaluating a special exception request. Staff's review -of these criteria indicated a columbarium would appear to meet the standards of the criteria. Councilman .Goodman inquired whether a trust would be set up to ensure upkeep of the structure? Mr. Quesenberry replied that he would have to defer to the Church representative, Thomas B. Haller. Councilman Goodman expressed concern for ash scattering in the flood plain. Mayor Worrell opened the Public Hearing at 5:23 p.m. Dr. Haller advised that: perpetual care:information Would be included, in the purchase of a space in the columbarium and would be administered by the Session, which is the governing body of the Church. There being no further comments, the Public Hearing was closed at 5:28 p.m. The Planning Commission adjourned to another meeting room to discuss the request. Mayor Worrell moved on to Public Operations. The first item was East Main Street improvements. -Mr. Hawley advised that pursuant to questions. from Council, VDOT would provide a cost breakdown on the proposed crossover and modified north bound ramp being discussed for Exit 94. Additionally, Mr. Hawley advised that the Mayor had sent a letter to the VDOT resident Engineer requesting that he attend a meeting in August to discuss other issues Council brought up at the last Council meeting. Extensive discussion ensued regarding whether Council should spend part of the accumulated funds of approximately four million dollars to update the interstate exchange, or whether -it would be a better use of money to enhance Route 99 to the Interstate. Mayor Worrell, Vice Mayor Clark and Councilmen Kidd and Welker were in favor of enhancing Route 99. -Councilmen Burchett, Bopp and Goodman were in favor of reconstructing Exit 94 with the crossover. July 20, 2010/Page 2 of 6 27 Discussion ensued regarding -the possibility of clear cutting the exit and thereby improving: the site distance `and making the exit safer. Councilman Welker moved to direct staff to proceed with the VDOT Scoping Plan with Exit 94 improvements removed from the plan.. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and it carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - No H. M. Kidd - Aye Robert A. Bopp - No David L. Clark - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - No Jeffrey S. Worrell- Aye The next item on the agenda was Peak Creek maintenance. Mr. Hawley advised that a letter from the U. S. Corps of Engineers had been included in the packet. The letter was. in response to a request from the Town regarding the growth of brush and trees in the Creek and whether there was any financial assistance available to return Peak Creek channel from the low water dam to the:NS trestle to its original design. Following extensive discussion, staff was to try to find other options and. in the meantime have Town crews start some of the clearing work. Mayor Worrell moved on to boundary line adjustment. He commented that Council had their memo from Tischler Bise. Mr. Hawley advised that some of staff met with .Chris Cullinan of Tischler Bise about the data and discussed different scenarios. He asked that Council review the data and refer any questions to the Town Manager for discussion at a Called Work Session meeting. Mayor Worrell announced that there would be a Called meeting, of Town Council on August 10, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers to discuss the proposed boundary adjustment. Next; Nick Glenn, Chairman of the Planning. Commission returned with the Planning Commission's recommendation regarding the columbarium request. 'He advised that the Commission recommended approval of the special exception to constructa columbarium at 408 North Jefferson Avenue, subject to Town Ordinance on construction and the state statute on spreading columbarium ash. Councilman Welker moved to accept the Planning Commission recommendation to approve the special exception to construct a columbarium at 408 North Jefferson Avenue, subject to Town Ordinance on construction and the state statute as applies to spreading columbarium ash and direct staff to prepare the proper Ordinance. The motion was seconded by Councilman Goodman 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 The next item on the agenda was Museum artifacts. Mr. Hawley advised -that the Museum -Benefits -Auction held on July 8th was successful. He referred to the information included in the Council packet for Council's review. Mayor Worrell commented that he felt the artifacts sold well and that there was a good turnout. Mayor Worrell also recognized Larry Clevinger, II. for his hard work on the auction and for securing the services of Ken Farmer as auctioneer. - July 20, 2010/Page 3 of 6 j Mayor Worrell moved on to collapsed structure updates. Mr. Hawley advised that there had been no action on the West Main Street or Randolph buildings by the owners. Bothareas had.been stabilized and asbestos reports.had been obtained. The Engineering department felt they could handle the demolition and clean up of the Boysaw building on Randolph. However, the West Main Street building owned by Richard Allen would need to be handled by a licensed contractor that could help protect the -adjacent building. It was estimated that the cost to demolish the- West Main Street building would. be approximately $30,000. Staff recommendation was to direct the Town Attorney to obtain a court date as soon as possible on the Main Street building. Councilman Burchett inquired into the status of the Rice building. Mr. Pedigo advised that the report Mr. Rice submitted stated that he would have to rebuild the building. Mr. Hawley added that he did not believe the Rice building could take out any other buildings if it continued to collapse. The portions that had already collapsed were away from the Creek. Councilman Burchett wondered what the Town's responsibility was if the rear wall collapsed into the Creek? Mr. Hawley responded that that portion of the Creek was not owned by the Town, so it would be one property owner to the other property owner. Councilman Burchett advised that he. had.seen some roof replacement on the Jefferson School building. He asked for an update. Mr. Pedigo advised .that a building permit had been obtained and some plans had been developed to stabilize the western part of the building and that the owner was working with the building official. Mr. Warburton interjected that regardless of the ownership of the Creek, he recommended that Council consider the ramifications of the collapse of the Rice building into the Creek bed as a Public Safety issue, regardless of whether it lands -on land owned by the Town. He encouraged the Town to take action from -a legal standpoint before it in fact becomes an engineering problem: Additionally, he.stated that in reference to the Allen building on West Main Street, he needed assistance from the Engineering department. -He advised that it was not as simple as getting a court date and a judge toorder to clean it up or else the Town would clean it up for them. The demolition of this particular building was a complicated procedure and -would require a licensed contractor. And finally, regarding the Jefferson School building, it was optimistic that the owner- was working on the Jefferson School building even -if it was in -stages. Mayor Worrell opined that Town staff should be allowed to demolish and clean up the Boysaw building on Randolph as soon as possible and that the Town Attorney be authorized to push -for a court date for the Allen building on West Main Street. Discussion ensued regarding -possible negotiation options with Mr. Allen regarding the West Main Street building. Following extensive discussion, Councilman Welker moved to direct the Town Manager and the Town Attorney to try to negotiate an offer with Mr. Allen to walk away from the West Main Street building, if he's willing to reimburse the Town for expenses. already incurred. The motion failed for lack of a second. Following additional discussion, Councilman Clark moved to direct the Town Manager and the Town Attorney to -pursue every legal avenue available to hold this owner's feet to the fire and get this building taken care of. The -motion was withdrawn. Councilman Clark moved to direct the Town Manager and the Town Attorney to pursue through the court system the owner of .the said property on Main Street to have the building demolished and stabilization done. The motion was seconded by Councilman Goodman and carried on the following recorded vote: July 20, 2010/Page 4 of 6 Morgan P. Welker H. M. Kidd David L. Clark Mayor Worrell moved on to TEA 21 - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye - Aye RobertA. Bopp - Aye - Aye Joseph K. Goodman. - Aye Application for Dora Trail addition. 29 Mr. Hawley advised that he had been in contact with VDOT regarding the possibility of an additional TEA .21 grant for enhancements to the Dora Trail connection to the New River Trail. He reviewed some of the possible proposed enhancements. Following discussion, Councilman Bopp suggested using the funds to build bathrooms at Heritage Park. Councilman Welker was, in favor of expanding the Trail so citizens could -ride their bicycles to the shopping centers or some streetscape, sidewalk, tree plantings and bike lanes on Commerce Street from South Washington to Bertha. He felt that some upgrades needed to be done in the southwest area of Town. Mayor Worrell commented that he liked the idea of expanding the Trail. Mr. Hawley responded that Council and staff had several ideas to think about. He suggested that Council review these options and come back to it at a future meeting. He added that he hoped -the work could be done with no right-of-way acquisition required. Mayor Worrell moved on to Legislative. The first item was Resolution 2010-19, Prohibiting Payday Lending. Mayor Worrell advised that this Resolution completed action of Council. Councilman Clark moved to adopt Resolution 2010-19, Prohibiting -Payday Lending. The motion was seconded by Councilman Kidd. Councilman Welker commentedfor the public that this Resolution does not prohibit pay day lending. It asked the General Assembly to prohibit pay day lending. 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 The next item on the agenda was Human. Resources and the Drug and Alcohol Free Workplace Policy Mayor Worrell advised that Council had reviewed the final draft of the policy and it was ready for adoption, if - Council had no objection. Councilman Goodman inquired into several sections of the policy and asked for clarification. The Town Attorney responded -to the questions. Councilman Welker moved to adopt the Town Drug and Alcohol Free Workplace Policy as written. 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 advised that the meeting would be adjourned and reconvened at the Train Station. 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