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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-19-18Minutes of the Pulaski Town Council Work Session held at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 19, 2018 in the Council Chambers of the Town Municipal Building at 42 First Street, N.W. In attendance were: Mayor: Robert N. Glenn, presiding Councilmen Present: David L. Clark; Gregory C. East; H.M. Kidd; Lane R. Penn; James A. Radcliffe Councilmen Present by Remote Communication: Joseph K. Goodman, non-voting (Remote Location: Hilton Americas, 1600 Lamar Street; Houston, TX 77010) Administration: Shawn M. Utt, Town Manager Nichole L. Hair, Deputy Town Manager Legal Counsel Spencer A. Rygas, Town Attorney Press: Melinda Williams, Southwest Times Mike Williams, Pulaski County Patriot Staff: Dana Bishop, Finance Department Debbie Bivens, IT Technician Kim Caudill, Adm. Manager, Public Works Dave Hart, Dir. of Parks & Facilities Chief Robbie Kiser, P.F.D. Gary Martin, Gen. Superintendent, Public Works Elaine Newman, P.P.D. Suellen Palmer, HR -Finance Department Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer Chris Phillips, Street Superintendent David Quesenberry, Clerk of Council Rebecca Reece, Finance Director Chief Gary Roche, P.P.D. Barbara Tate, Senior Center Angela Viers, P.P.D. Others Present: Tyler Clontz Brooks Dawson Kim Hart Margaret McManus Clark Payne 1. Call to Order. Mayor Glenn called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call. Following the call to order, the roll was taken. Shown as present were: Mr. Clark; Mr. East; Mayor Glenn; Mr. Kidd; Mr. Penn and Mr. Radcliffe. Mr. Goodman was present, via electronic communications from Hilton Americas, 1600 Lamar Street, Houston, Texas 77010, in a non-voting capacity. A quorum to conduct business was physically present within the Council Chambers. 3. Modification of the Agenda. Mayor Glenn called for a motion to modify the agenda for June 19, 2018 to add three items: (1) one item under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (a) 1 for a personnel matter regarding retirement agreement for Parks and Facilities department head; (2) one item under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (a) 8 consultation with legal counsel concerning modification to a UDAG/RBEG loan; and (3) to move Item 11a. to Item 8a. Page 1 of 8/June 19, 2018 Mr. East moved to approve the modifications to the agenda. The motion was seconded by Mr. Radcliffe and approved on the following roll call vote: Mr. Radcliffe -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Not Voting Gregory C. East -Aye H.M. Kidd -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye 4. Guests and Visitors. Mayor Glenn welcomed those persons in attendance at the meeting. Mr. Rygas noted that according to the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) rules, if a person was participating by video conference that person had to disclose the address where they were located. Mr. Goodman stated for the record that he was at the Hilton Americas in downtown Houston, Texas. 5. Consent Agenda. a. May 15, 2018, Council Work Session Minutes Mayor Glenn called for a motion regarding the minutes of May 15, 2018. Mr. Kidd moved to adopt the May 15,- 2018 Council work session minutes as written. The motion was seconded by Mr. Clark and approved by voice vote of the Council with Mr. Penn abstaining (4 Ayes -O Nays and 1 abstention). 6. Public Hearinqs. There were no public hearings scheduled for the meeting. 7. Presentations. There were no presentations scheduled for the meeting. 8. Public Operations a. Ordinance 2018-08, Vacating a Portion of the Floyd Avenue Right -of -Way Mr. Utt reported that the draft ordinance finalizing the vacation of a portion of the Floyd Avenue right of way was in the packet. Referring to a sketch on the telescreen, he informed Council that Mr. Pedigo and Mr. Rutledge (Historic Calfee Park, L.L.C.) had worked out a plan regarding the traffic with striping, and arrows to keep the traffic flow consistent with Floyd Avenue. Signage would be provided marking the street as one-way. This he added was the simplest approach that did not require repositioning the Rupe's driveway towards Route 11. He felt it solved the problem and insured educating the Police Department that the one-way traffic would not begin until the area of the Rupe's mailbox or until the signage clearly marks where the travel lanes were. He hoped that Council's concerns that Mr. Rygas brought up at the last meeting were addressed. If so, the ordinance should be good as presented. Mr. East asked Mr. Rygas if the proposed solution satisfied his concerns over liability. Mr. Rygas replied he was just pointing out the potential for liability and that he did not know whether a liability would be created. He ventured that given the appropriate signage, the review done on the proposal, and due diligence performed, that the ordinance would be satisfactory. Mr. East moved that Council adopt Ordinance 2018-08, Vacating a Portion of Floyd Avenue Right—of-Way, as written. The motion was seconded by Mr. Kidd and Mr. Clark and approved on the following voice vote: Mr. Radcliffe -Aye Mr. Goodman -Not Voting Mr. East -Aye Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. Clark -Aye Mr. Penn -Aye b. Pulaski Drop Site Options Mr. Utt reviewed a letter sent by former Mayor Worrell to the Town and County requesting that a higher priority be assigned to a drop site for the Town of Pulaski. The County/PSA had completed an enlarging of the drop site at Dublin and were preparing for a large expansion of the Fairlawn drop site on land leased from Page 2 of 8/June 19, 2018 the Waste Water Treatment Authority. The Town of Pulaski and western Pulaski County however were left in need of a place where both household garbage and brush could be dropped off. A response from the County Engineer and PSA Director included a site plan dating from 2011 which showed a drop site designed on property still owned by Honeywell, with the expectation that the Town and County would negotiate for ownership of an additional two acres in addition to the 2.5 acres ceded to the Town by Honeywell. The additional 2 acres however, were retained by Honeywell. Mr. Utt, speaking as a layman, felt that removing the open area from the County's site plan would leave adequate space for the Town's 2.5 acre lot to be used for a drop site. The only issue was the access road (Lafayette St.) coming by the Sheriff's Office. Mr. Utt also told Council that a portion of the access road was paved by the Town to reach the parcel in anticipation of moving forward with the drop site. Mr. Utt asked the Council for feedback on what could be done further and suggested the drop site issue could be discussed between Council and the Board of Supervisors in a "2X2" meeting. Mr. Radcliffe asked if what was being said was the site would not work. Mr. Utt responded that the PSA developed a site plan for 4.5 acres, but the Town's site was 2.5 acres. Mr. Utt questioned whether the Town could do what was shown on the 4.5 acre plat on the Town's 2.5 acres, because of the amount of open space shown on the County's site plan. He added that his question to the County would be that there appears to be an open space for brush that could fit on the 2.5 acre site. Mr. Clark commented that he remembered the previous problem was there was not enough distance between the brush grinder and existing businesses. He wondered if the brush grinder was intended for the lot behind Hot Wheels. Mr. Utt said he would not oppose bringing the brush grinder into the site for couple of days for convenience sake. Since the new drop site was larger and out of sight, he added he would like to find a way to make the 2.5 acre site work. Mr. Utt said the Town had approached Honeywell with various ways to obtain the adjacent property but had not been successful. Mr. Radcliffe proposed that Honeywell could be approached to allow their parcel to be used for the grinder when needed, with the Town offering to maintain the property. He agreed a larger area could be mown and fenced in for the grinder when it was needed. The grinder was the main problem since it launched debris into the road at the Dora site. Mr. Penn asked if there was a problem with disturbing the soil. Mr. Utt answered that fill material would have to be brought in, probably shale, for trucks to back in to the same level as the dumpsters. Mr. Penn asked who would bear the costs. Mr. Utt replied that the PSA had a fund set aside to do the work. The agreement was for the Town to obtain the property and the PSA would do the work. Mayor Glenn added that the agreement was for the Town to own the site while the PSA would operate it. Mr. Utt said that was correct, but that the Town needed more land. Mr. Radcliffe suggested that the Town start a two-phase process with Honeywell to acquire the additional lot and also start moving the drop site out of Dora Highway. Mayor Glenn asked if there were no other locations available. Mr. Utt responded that he did not know of any land owned by the County PSA or the Town that would be suitable especially in the short term. Mr. Goodman felt that the brush was the more serious issue. He felt it was better to find a solution for the brush. Mr. Radcliffe felt a problem might be that Honeywell would be concerned about digging. Mr. Utt and Mr. Goodman noted that digging was not allowed and that filling in would have to be done instead. While the Magnox property might be a perfect site, holding off on the brush issue was not favorable to the citizens. Mr. Utt said that earlier in his tenure, a contact was made by Honeywell concerning trespassing on their property. Mr. Utt used that opportunity to bring up the drop site and was told that Honeywell would be reluctant to donate more land if nothing had been done with the first property. If a way could be found to deal with the brush issue, leasing could be a way to get use of additional property. Page 3 of 8/June 19, 2018 Mr. East felt they were two issues, and favored a phased approach while other options were pursued on brush. He added that in working with an international company, persistence was required. Mayor Glenn suggested move the trash to the new drop site and put the brush on Dora Highway. The issue with Dora Highway Mr. Utt responded, was that the Dora site did not have room to run the grinder. The goal was to get the Dora site closed out and there were other sites that could be used for brush (e.g. former Renfro parking lot). The grinder site had to be a manned site, which might require a part time position paid either by the Town or PSA. Mr. Radcliffe suggested checking with Norfolk Southern for a site. Mayor Glenn said he heard that National Guard armories were being consolidated, and would there be room at the armory. Mr. Utt he had no information on the armory and noted access to the landfill was difficult and there could be no digging. Mr. East asked if the site plans were fully developed. Mr. Utt responded the plans included the two additional acres owned by Honeywell. He did not know if there were plans for the Town's 2.5 acres. Mr. Pedigo said there were some developed for the drop-off areas. Mr. Goodman asked if the APCO site could be used for brush and the Honeywell property used for trash with a gatekeeper controlling access. Mr. Utt said the Honeywell property kept the operation out of sight. Mr. East said he felt the Town could move forward with the trash dump and several temporary options for brush. Mr. Goodman added that the County's main issue was that the site needed to be manned to prevent contractor waste from damaging the tub grinder. Mr. Clark said there was a definite option to use the Honeywell site for household refuse and address the brush issue. At least one of the problems would be addressed regarding the Dora Site. Mr. Penn asked about use of the grinder. Mr. Utt said the grinder's owner, the New River Resource Authority required the site to be manned to prevent damage to the grinder. Mr. Utt felt the first step was to contact PSA and look at a phased commitment for brush and figure out an interim brush collection point to present to the PSA. Mr. Radcliffe suggested asking the County if they would accept what the Town wants to do. Mr. Utt felt the trash and brush were both priorities because he wanted them away from the trail. Mayor Glenn felt Mr. Utt should proceed talking with the PSA on a split site, a reasonable site for brush drop, and cost sharing. Mr. East asked when the issue would be revisited. Mr. Utt replied by the July work session. c. Schedule Public Hearing for Solar Farm Council then considered scheduling a public hearing concerning a solar farm. Ms. Hair said the Town had received a request for a special exception for a solar farm at 1945 Warden Springs Road. She requested that Council formally set the hearings for the Planning Commission and Town Council. Recommended dates for the hearings was Monday, July 9th at 6:00 p.m. for the Planning Commission public hearing and Tuesday, August 7th at 7:00 p.m. for the Town Council public hearing. Mayor Glenn asked Ms. Hair if she had talked to Supervisor Joe Guthrie on this issue. Mr. Utt said he had not heard from Mr. Guthrie. Mayor Glenn said he had talked with Mr. Guthrie the previous Friday evening and he indicated the County was working on a trail parallel to the property in question. Ms. Hair responded that the project would not affect the trail and that the owner spoke with staff on that issue and that he had spoken with Mr. Guthrie directly. She added that the location of the solar array would be away from the proposed trail. Mayor Glenn mentioned that Mr. Guthrie said there was some issue involving the right-of-way. Mr. Utt said that staff would check on the issue. If Council scheduled a public hearing, Mayor Glenn strongly suggested that staff make contact with Mr. Guthrie to make sure that there was not something that would come up that would cause a problem. A problem would come out at the public hearing anyway, he added but it would be preferable to get ahead of it. Mr. Clark moved to direct staff to take the necessary action to schedule a public hearing for the July 9th Planning Commission meeting and the August 7th Town Council meeting for the solar farm at 1945 Warden Page 4 of 8/June 19, 2018 Springs Road. The motion was seconded by Mr. Penn. On a call from the Mayor for further discussion, Mr. East said he assumed that more information would be available at the public hearings. Both Mr. Utt and Ms. Hair said it would. Council then approved Mr. Clark's motion to schedule the public hearings by roll call vote as follows: Mr. Radcliffe -Aye Mr. Goodman -Not Voting Mr. East -Aye Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. Clark -Aye Mr. Penn -Aye 9. Finance a. Parks & Facilities Transition Plan Mr. Utt reviewed a three page draft of a transition plan for Parks and Facilities which covered: (1) the activities performed under Parks & Facilities; (2) the appearance of a possible transition plan incorporating some activities into Community Development and then others into a Public Works Parks Division; and, (3) potential savings and where individual activities would be moved. He commented that if activities mentioned in the Parks and Facilities Department were split into maintenance and community oriented programming, that was what the Community Development -Public Works Parks Division approach would be. Mr. Utt then reviewed the potential costs and savings as well as where each individual area could be moved. He noted that Ms. Hair acts as a Deputy Town Manager for Community Development because that was how her position was developing. Returning to the document he highlighted areas such as: working through the Gatewood vendor with respect to the store and campground; moving the Train Station maintenance and oversight to Community Development; and moving the Museum to Community Development. He felt the document successfully sketched out what would happen during a transition period Mr. Utt strongly emphasized that the Town was not proposing closing parks or getting rid of any facilities but was transitioning from one operational structure to another. Mayor Glenn asked if the Community Director position had been hired. Mr. Utt said the position was not filled and that all of the operations under the Community Development "umbrella" are supervised by Ms.Hair. He did not see that changing in the foreseeable future. The Town might look at adding additional staff for different duties (e.g. tourism person, marketing person, social media, etc.) , but he did not see having a department head over Community Development in the foreseeable future. Mayor Glenn asked about the $37,000 salary, which Mr. Utt said that he did not know what a Superintendent position would come out at. There were options available that were being reviewed to move from current positions to a superintendent role. He saw the position as a working superintendent who would be out in the field, but that still needed to be worked out. Mr. Hart said that was the Park Maintenance Tech position that was current. Mr. Utt said the Park Maintenance Tech was in the document; the additional was for the Superintendent. The $37,000 covered the Park Maintenance Tech costs over time. The additional would be for the Park Superintendent salary depending what that person was brought in at. Mayor Glenn asked what the Park Maintenance Tech would be doing. Mr. Utt said it would be the day-to-day work. There used to be two employees doing the maintenance until Calfee was sold which left one full-time position and one part-time position. That person would still be doing maintenance with the superintendent filling in the gaps. Mayor Glenn noted the Community Development payroll was listed at $72,000. He asked where those positions were. Mr. Utt replied that was for the Code Compliance Officer and the Town Planner. Mr. Glenn said Council needed to understand who is employed and in what department so there would not be an excess of people. Cutbacks for expenses he noted usually came back to employment. As long as the Council was fully aware of who was filling what position, and things were coordinated (e.g. Gatewood in the winter) he had no problem. Page 5 of 8/June 19, 2018 Mr. East commented that he would like to see the issued reviewed from a full perspective. He felt Council needed to look at the big picture and that the goal of the Council should be to develop the structure that is conducive to the Town's future, not the past. If the way the Town conducted business was not reviewed he added, the Town risked having a hodgepodge of something that may or may not work. While mentioning Ms. Hair's position was evolving into a community development -type role, he opined that such changes should be a deliberate act. Everything done from the Town structure perspective to a personnel perspective needed to be a deliberate act, which should be created by the Council. Mayor Glenn asked if Mr. Utt required action from Council. Mr. Utt said that given the conversation at last week's meeting concerning the Parks & Facilities transition, he assumed Council would want to review the information. He expected conversation and feedback from Council and offered to meet with them on a one- on-one basis if needed, since the budget deadline was approaching. Mr. East said the draft transition document was a good short-term plan. He felt the new Council would have to revisit this early in the new fiscal year. Mr. Kidd felt the budget should be adopted soon. If Council waited and something came up he asked, was it worth the risk of shutting things down. He said Council need to adopt the budget now, because it could always adjust it later. To Mayor Glenn's question if he desired to make a motion, Councilman Kidd moved to adopt Resolution 2018-21, Adopting a Budget Establishing Appropriations for the Town of Pulaski, Virginia for the Fiscal Year beginning July 1, 2018 and ending June 30, 2019, as written. The motion failed for lack of a second. Regarding the transition, Mayor Glenn estimated that Council would look at it for a week or two. Most likely the transition would be discussed again in July for final direction. Mr. Utt said the main goal was to get something into Council's hands so they would understand how the revised budget would be implemented. b. Resolution 2018-21, FY 2018-2019 Budget Adoption Mayor Glenn said his impression was that Council was not willing, based on Mr. Kidd's previous motion, to proceed with budget approval. He opened the floor to discussion by Council as to what their intentions were for the budget given the deadline and any comments or thoughts that Council members had on the budget. Mr. Goodman, speaking via teleconference from Houston, felt that Council was close to adopting something, even though not everyone agreed with it. Given the substantial changes to the budget since it was initially proposed, he felt that it would be appropriate to have a public comment period where the citizens had the opportunity to let Council know their thoughts and concerns about the proposed budget. The budget he continued, had been changed more than 1 %, which could potentially trigger some things, fortunately it sounded like from Mr. Rygas that would not be a problem. It would be a disservice to the community he added, if there was not another opportunity for the citizens to speak to the new budget. Mayor Glenn appreciated his comment noting the number of calls and emails from citizens asking to make comments on the budget. Both he and Mr. Utt had discussed the matter several days ago concerning the option of tabling the budget resolution tonight until the work session on the 26' at 6:00 p.m. If it were the pleasure of the Council he continued, the meeting would be open for public comment. Mayor Glenn said he had no objection and felt that the proposed hearing was appropriate. Mr. Utt cautioned that the meeting should not be listed as a public hearing since that would require seven days between the hearing and the budget. The Town already had a public hearing according to the Charter, but that a public comment session would be an appropriate title for the meeting. Mayor Glenn noting Mr. Goodman's referral to a 1 % change in the budget, said that if it were a 1 % or greater increase that a public hearing would have to be re -advertised. He then asked for Council's comments. There being no comments, Mr. East moved that Council table Resolution 2018-21 until June 26th at 6:00 p.m. The motion was seconded by Mr. Radcliffe and approved on the following roll call vote: Page 6 of 8/June 19, 2018 Mr. Radcliffe -Aye Mr. Goodman -Not Voting Mr. East -Aye Mr. Kidd -Nay Mr. Clark -Aye Mr. Penn -Aye Mayor Glenn noted that the motion had carried and asked the press to note that there would be a meeting the next Tuesday (June 26th) c. Resolution 2018-22, Five -Year Capital Improvements Plan Adoption Mr. Utt recommended that since the resolution followed suit with the budget that it should be tabled also. Mr. East moved that Council table Resolution 2018-22 until the June 26th meeting at 6:00 p.m. Mr. Penn seconded the motion which was approved on the following roll call vote: Mr. Radcliffe -Aye Mr. Goodman -Not Voting Mr. East -Aye Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. Clark -Aye Mr. Penn -Aye 10. Legislative There were no items listed for consideration on the agenda 11. Public Utilities There were no items scheduled for consideration on the agenda. 12. Safetv There were no issues slated for consideration on the agenda. 13. Human Resources No issues were scheduled for consideration 14. Round Table Discussion Mr. Radcliffe, Mr. East and Mr. Clark had no comment. Mr. Kidd said, since his term was coming to an end, that he wanted to say he really appreciated everybody's support over the last years. He hoped that he did a good job and that he tried be fair. He wanted to say "Thank you" to everyone and that it meant a lot. Mayor Glenn told Mr. Kidd that his service was appreciated. Mr. Penn had no comment. Mayor Glenn said that the Marketplace seemed to be doing well and the Concert in the Park was well attended. It was really good he continued that the Town had these events going on and that he commended the staff for their efforts. 15. Closed Session Mayor Glenn then called for a motion to enter Closed Session for three items: (1) one item under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (a) 1 a personnel issue regarding a retirement agreement the for Parks & Facilities Department Head; (2) two items under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (a) 8 consultation with legal counsel regarding a (i) UDAG Loan application and (ii) modification of a UDAG/RBEG loan. Mr. Penn moved to enter Closed Session. The motion was seconded by Mr. Clark and approved on the following roll call vote: Page 7 of 8/June 19, 2018 Mr. Radcliffe -Aye Mr. Goodman -Not Voting Mr. East -Aye Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. Clark -Aye Mr. Penn -Aye Council entered Closed Session at 6:04 p.m. Council returned from Closed Session at 7:33 p.m. Mayor Glenn asked for a certification motion that Council discussed only those three items for which it went into Closed Session: (1) one item under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (a) 1 a personnel issue regarding a retirement agreement the for Parks & Facilities Department Head; (2) two items under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (a) 8 consultation with legal counsel regarding a (i) UDAG Loan application and (ii) modification of a UDAG/RBEG loan. Mr. Clark made the motion which was seconded by Mr. Radcliffe and approved on the following roll call vote: Mr. Radcliffe -Aye Mr. Goodman -Not Voting Mr. East -Aye Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. Clark -Aye Mr. Penn -Aye Mr. East then moved that Council authorize Town staff to execute a UDAG loan agreement with J.S. Ballard Investment, L.L.C. not to exceed $10,000 one will have a six year term at 2.75% interest and the Town will secure a first lien position deed of trust on 228 North Madison Avenue, Pulaski, Virginia and further authorize Town staff to expend up to $5,000 for nuisance abatement for demolition purposes on the same property. The motion was seconded by Mr. Clark and approved on the following roll call vote: Mr. Radcliffe -Aye Mr. Goodman -Not Voting Mr. East -Aye Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. Clark -Aye Mr. Penn -Aye 16. Future Meetings and Adjournment Mayor Glenn reminded Council that there was a meeting on June 26th at 6:00 p.m. to finalize the budget. There being no further business, Mayor Glenn asked for a motion to adjourn, which was so moved by Mr. Kidd. The motion was seconded by Mr. Clark and approved by unanimous voice vote of those present at 7:35 p.m. Approve . David L. Clark Mayor ATTEST: David N. Quesenberry ' Clerk of Council Page 8 of 8/June 19, 2018