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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-17-10Minutes of. the Special Town Council Work Session held August 17, 2010 at.5:UU p.m. in the t-ounuo %�.,r iu+i iuc+3 ul the Municipal Building at 42 First Street-, NW. 3.9 There were present: Mayor Jeffrey S. Worrell Council: Morgan P. Welker, H.M. Kidd, David L. Clark, Robert A. Bopp, Joseph K. Goodman Absent: Joel B. Burchett, Jr. 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 Sandra Miller, Tax Clerk Mike Parmelee, Acting Lieutenant of the Police Department Gary Roche, Police Chief John White; Economic Development Director Dave Hart, Parks and Facilities Director Bill Webb, Fire Chief Others: Hope Dalton Jamie Radcliffe Robert Strenz Clark Payne Charles Wade Melinda.- Williams, Press Mayor Worrell -called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Following roll call, a needed change in the Council Work Session minutes of July 20, 2010 was brought to the Clerk's attention. On Page 3, the addition of a last name for Chris of Tischler Bise, whose last name was Cullinan. Councilman Clark moved to adopt the minutes of the July 20, 2010 Council- Work Session as amended. The .motion was -seconded by Councilman Welker and carried on voice vote. Mayor Worrell.moved on to Saved By The Belt Award. It was determined that the recipient was not in -attendance, so Mayor Worrell moved onto the -Employee of the Month for August, 2010. Mayor Worrell introduced Sandra Miller. He read a Press Release aloud and .presented Mrs. Miller with -an award. He advised. that Mrs. Miller 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. The next item on the agenda was Public Operations. Mayor Worrell introduced David Clarke from VDOT to provide an update on Route 99, East Main Street, Exit 94 options. Mr. Clarke was present to speak with Council about project funds available to the Town. Mayor Worrell advised that Council had safety concerns regarding Exit 94. Councilman Kidd inquired whether the entire cloverleaf at Exit 94 could be clear cut to improve visibility at this exit? Mayor Worrell interjected that VDOT had. done some clearing in the .past,, however, the concern for visibility still existed. He opined that VDOT could complete that task at minimal expense and yet great improvement to _visibility and safety to the citizens. August 17, 2010/Page 1 of 5 Mr. Clarke felt the clearing could be.done and made a note of the request. Councilman Clark advised that in the winter time when the trees were bare, the visibility was. good. However, in the summer time, the driver is all the way out into the merging lane before they have enough visibility to merge. Mr. Clarke advised that he would try to schedule a major cutting at the exit. Councilman Goodman inquired if Mr. Clarke knew when a redesign of exit 94 might be. rescheduled? Mr. Clarkeresponded that he did not know if or when a -redesign would be rescheduled. He encouraged participation in the Six Year Plan Public Hearings held by VDOT. Discussion ensued regarding the improvements on Route 99. Councilman Goodman inquired whether bridge maintenance had -been included in the scope? Mr. Hawley advised that it had not been included in the -scope. He added that this could be done, however, it would take away from the other part of the project. On a different topic, Mayor Worrell brought a problem on Route 611 to Mr. Clarke.'s attention. He -advised that since James Hardie Way had been constructed, the area from the Town limits to -James Hardie Way had a lot more industrial traffic. He asked that VDOT look at making that section of road a no passing zone. Mr. Clarke responded that he would look at the area. The next item .on the agenda was Dillon Street closing. Mayor Worrell reminded Council that a Public Hearing had already been held on this matter, and Council had tabled the issue so that they could visit the site before voting. Councilman Clark moved to remove the Dillon Street closing from the table. The motion was seconded by Councilman Goodman and carried on voice vote. Mr. Hawley advised: that. Mrs. Betty Quesenberry had contacted the office and indicated that she did not wish to close the alley. Her only wish was to be able to shape part of the alley so that it could be mowed easier. If Council:would allow her to do that, she would withdraw her request. He addedothat the Engineering staff had reviewed the -site and indicated that there would be no problem with some minor modifications being. made to help -with maintenance. It was the consensus of Council to allow Mrs. Quesenberry to shape part of the alley so that it could be mowed easier. It was noted that Engineering would check the drainage of the alley before and. after the shaping. It was also noted that Mrs. Quesenberry was withdrawing her request for the alley to -be closed. Mayor Worrell moved -on to TEA -21 projects. Mr. Hawley advised .of the -receipt of letters from VDOT indicating that this year they would only accept Enhancement Projects for current projects, which are the Iron Bridge Walking Trail and the Ratcliffe Transportation Museum. He added that it was his understanding that every other year a new project could be submitted. Additionally, Mr. Hawley advised that site plan approval had been given for the Museum from. VDOT. Staff was preparing to submit .the site plan and photographs to -Department of Historic Resources. He hoped to have that submission completed this week and be out to bid and ready by the November deadline to apply for TEA 21 funds. Mayor Worrell moved -on to the Economic Development report. He advised that a report had been included in the packet from -Economic Development. He inquired whether -this would be included in the Annual Report? August 17, 2010/Page 2 of 5 1 1 1 Mr. Hawley confirmed' that the Economic Development and Finance reports would be included in the Ahnua4 l Report. Councilman Goodman inquired whether the Economic Development report could be done quarterly and then added to the Annual Report? Mr. White agreed to this request. The next item on the agenda was Boysaw and Allen buildings update. Mr. Hawley advised that letters.had been sent to both Mr. Boysaw and Mr. Allen requesting payment -for stabilizing the sites and to contact the Town to provide their plan to remove the nuisance. A return receipt had been received from Mr. Boysaw, but no further contact had been made. No return receipt had beenreceived from Mr. Allen. Mr. Warburton encouraged Council to allow a little more time before legal action was taken as one of the notification .letters had gone to Nevada. Additionally; he. advised that up to this time the process had been dictated by common sense rather than legalities in an effort to work with the owners. He noted that it made sense that if the Town's request for repayment for stabilization of the sites :had been. ignored, that it could be assumed that they were not. going to respond to the next bill, which would be to remove the debris and other costs associated with that. He added that effectively, the recovery if any, of these expenses would be capped by the value of the real estate after removal of the debris. He commented that he was hopeful for a _positive response from the owners, but he was not all that hopeful. Mayor Worrell inquired what the next step would be in the legal process if Council decided to pursue it? Mr. Warburton advised that either an agreement with the landowners or a court order would have to -be obtained to remove the buildings and the debris, which would take approximately sixty to ninety days. Once that was done; alien would have to be placed on the property. He suggested that Council might like to do a cost benefit analysis to determine whether they wanted to spend the money for what would probably be a losing proposition. Mayor Worrell commented that it had been less than two weeks since the letters -had been sent to the owners. He felt that by the time Council met again, Council should have some indication whether or not a reply was going to be received. He felt that the status could be reviewed again at the next meeting and a decision made. Councilman Kidd advised that he had spoken with the Building Inspector about the Boysaw-building; who felt that .the most inexpensive way to handle this would be to coordinate with PSA, get some roll offs and haul it off a little bit at a time. Mayor Worrell advised that Council would know more by the next meeting and could discuss the issue more fully at that time. The -next item on the agenda was Rental Inspection update.. Mr. Hawley advised that a report from Engineering and Code Compliance had been included in the -packet. He advised of the receipt of some questions from Councilman Goodman, which he had not had time to answer. He hoped that the -inclusion in the packet of the Rental Inspection Ordinance in the packet would provide some of the answers to those questions. He added that he would prepare a response to Mr. Goodman's questions and copy Council. He stated that if Council had other questions they would like answered, to notify his office so they could be included in the response package. He noted that one of the questions was in reference to property at 15. and 19 West Main Street. He advised that both buildings have potential for apartments, but currently had no apartments in there. If the owner chooses not to apply for a Rental Certificate of Occupancy, then he does not have to. He added that the Town was developing a method to keep someone from occupying an apartment before the Rental Certificate of Occupancy has been obtained. The Engineering Department was developing a list of addresses that either don't currently August 17, 2010/Page 3 of 5 have apartments or -have apartments that are empty. The Finance Department would be given this list so that if sQrPeone applied for water service at one- of those addresses, they would be refused until, the proper certification had been received. Councilman Welker asked whether the district boundaries had been clearly defined? In the past, the maps did not conform. Mr. Hawley responded that more work needed to be done to the maps. Councilman Welker read Section 18-53, subsection A, of the Rental Ordinance aloud and asked whether that meant the provisions applied to individual rental houses anywhere in Town? Mayor Warburton advised that he would research the matter while Council continued with the meeting. Councilman Welker advised that he had another- question for the Town Attorney. He asked the meaning -of the words "per occurrence" in Section 18-54, subsection C and Section 1&55? "How do you define occurrence?" Would it be assessed per day or per year or what? Mr. Warburton advised that it would be assessed per notice sent. Councilman Welker.responded thathe just wanted to make sure that it did not -mean that once you paid the first assessment, you would never have to pay another one. Mr. Warburton withdrew to research Section 18-53, subsection A for Council. Councilman Welker then reviewed Section 18-53, subsection C, opining that it meant that if there was a particular building anywhere in Town that Council wanted to include in the rental inspections, it could be done. Councilman Clark interjected that he did not think you could choose a certain building, that there would have to be certain criteria met before a public hearing was scheduled. Councilman Goodman read a section_ of the state code regarding this topic aloud that confirmed Councilman Clark's comment. Mayor Worrell suggested that the meeting continue while the Town Attorney completed his research. He moved on to Valley Road petition for water pressure. He advised of a petition included in the packet from residents of Valley Road, expressing concern for poor water pressure. They also expressed concern for fire protection due to the low water pressure. Mayor Worrell reassured the residents that the Fire Chief expressed no concern for pressure issues in fighting a fire. He added that the Engineering -Department would be doing pressure checks to try to determine the problem with the pressure. He hoped to have information to pass on to the residents very soon. Mr. Warburton advised that he had completed his research. He advised that Code Section 18-53, subsection c, requires that a particular property outside the rental area meet the same criteria as those identified within that zone. However, he notedthat it requires careful consideration of whether it meets or does not meet the criteria regarding blight. Mr. Hawley interjected that as he remembered the discussion when the Ordinance was being prepared, the intent was to begin with the designated rental area and look at other areas as needed. Councilman Welker felt it would be helpful to have a data base of every address in the rental district, who - owned it, the status of the occupancy, and inspection date. Mr. Hawley advised that Engin had started.a data base already, and that it would be updated to include the information specified. August 17, 2010/Page 4 of 5 Councilman Goodman asked the Town Attorney if there were any criteria that determined where a rental inspection district was located? i 43 Mr. Warburton advised that you'd develop a zone that would be less than the whole Town and you would have to -show some careful consideration of the -criteria of that area before you designate that it in or out of that district. He added that you can have more than one zone. You just can't cover the entire Town. Mr. Hawley interjected that the Town currently has three rental inspection districts identified by the Ordinance. Councilman Goodman -then inquired -whether there was something in the state of Virginia that allows the Town to ensure that rental property in the Town has some sort- of annual inspection for health and safety? He used the Town of Blacksburg as an example. Mr. Warburton advised that he did not know and would have to research the matter. However, he assumed that since Blocksburg.did annual inspections, the Town probably could too. The next item on the agenda was blight. Mr. Hawley advised that the Blight Team had been -actively meeting. -He noted that a current list of structures needing. action had been included in the.pdcket. He added that hand written responses to Councilman . Goodman's questions had been distributed to Council. He reviewed the responses. Mayor Worrell moved on to Legislative. The first item was family health care structures. He advised that these structures are now allowed by the General Assembly effective July 1, 2010. The topic needed to be referred_ .to the Planning Commission for discussion and incorporation into the Zoning Ordinance. Councilman Clark moved to refer temporary health care structures to the Planning Commission for incorporation into the Zoning Ordinance. Councilman Welker seconded the motion and so carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Absent H. M. Kidd - Aye Robert A. Bopp - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye The.next item on the agenda was Resolution -2010-22. Mr. Hawley advised that there was a -need for a preliminary engineering report regarding the condition of the Crestline Water Storage Tank. He added. that funds are available for planning grants, through the Office of Drinking Water Planning Grant Program. Resolution 2010-22 authorizes: the Town Manager to process a funding application for a planning grant and execute the required documents for such funding upon review of the Town Attorney.. Councilman Welker moved to adopt Resolution 2010-22, Approving, A Virginia Department Of -Health Planning Grant Application In An Amount Of Up To $30,000. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and it carried on the following. recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Absent H. M. Kidd - Aye Robert A. Bopp - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye Therebeing no further business, the meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m. on motion by Councilman Clark, seconded - by Councilman Welker and so carried. Approved: i S. Worrell, Mayor August 17, 2010/Pag 5 of 5