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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-16-19Minutes of the Pulaski Town Council Work Session held at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 16, 2019 in the Council Chambers of the Town Municipal Building at 42 First Street, N.W. In attendance were: Mayor: David L. Clark, presiding Councilmen Present: G. Tyler Clontz; Brooks R. Dawson; Gregory C. East (arrived at 5:35 p.m.); Joseph K. Goodman; Lane R. Penn; James A. Radcliffe Administration: Shawn M. Utt, Town Manager Nichole L. Hair, Deputy Town Manager Legal Counsel Spencer A. Rygas, Town Attorney Press: Jen Cardone, WDBJ Melinda Williams, Southwest Times Mike Williams, PC Patriot Staff: Capt. Brandon Hamblin, P.F.D. Rebecca Leeper, Finance Director Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer David Quesenberry, Clerk of Council Chief Gary Roche, P.P.D. Others Present: Cheri Adams Lisa Choate Preston Lloyd Adam Marion Catherine Van Noy 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Mayor Clark. 2. Roll Call. Following the call to order, the roll was taken. Present were: Mayor Clark, Mr. Clontz, Mr. Dawson, Mr. Goodman, Mr. Penn, and Mr. Radcliffe. Absent at Roll Call was Mr. East. (Mr. East arrived at 5:35 p.m.). Given that a majority of Council members were in attendance, a quorum was present for the conduct of business. 3. Modification of the Agenda. Mayor Clark requested a motion to modify the agenda under the Closed Session, to remove one item under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (A) 8, consultation with legal counsel concerning a UDAG application. The requested motion was made by Mr. Goodman, seconded by Mr. Dawson and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Absent James A. Radcliffe -Aye 4. Guests and Visitors. Mayor Clark welcomed all persons to the meeting and expressed his appreciation for their attendance. Page 1 of 7/July 16, 2019 5. Consent Agenda. a. May 21, 2019, Council Work Session Minutes. Mayor Clark moved on to the Consent Agenda and entertained a motion to approve the minutes of the May 21, 2019 Council work session. Mr. Dawson moved to approve the minutes. The motion was seconded by Mr. Penn and approved by a voice vote of Council with Mr. Goodman abstaining. Council next heard the Second Quarter Report on the activities of Pulaski on Main from Ms. Catherine Van Noy. 6. Public Hearings. There were no public hearings scheduled for this meeting. 7. Presentations. a. Pulaski on Main, Second Quarter Report In her report to Council, Ms. Van Noy mentioned that the Town had received mention in the local media involving initiatives involving programs such a Local Foods, Local Places. Another visible program was work in conjunction with Ms. Hair with the Regional Tourism Office to identify itineraries for Downtown Pulaski to advise visitors looking for a particular kind of attraction in the Town. The itineraries are underway and being reviewed to ensure the Town has ample coverage and attention. The Town also hosted a Revitalization Revival. The two day event, funded by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources grant, hosted 100 attendees from across the state. By having classes in different locations (e.g. Theater, Municipal Building) attendees got to see what was going on, especially the new construction on Main Street. As a follow-up to the event, the Town was unofficially notified that it was awarded a grant from the Dept. of Historic Resources to update the Historic Guidelines, which had not been updated since the 1980's. The grant, $22,500, would be used to secure assistance from professionals to assist with updating the guidelines. Small Business Week was observed on May 6-11 and featured educational opportunities with the assistance of the Small Business Development Center. Held at Pulaski on Main, the class offerings were determined by a survey of local business of their needs and area of interest. Another group of classes were scheduled for the fall and were in the process of development. Ms. Van Noy said the classes were a great way to promote Pulaski on Main and demonstrate the Town's support for Downtown businesses, while assisting those businesses in developing new skills and developing partnerships. Work on the "Puloveski" sign was continuing with the sign's location approved and its design preliminarily approved. The preliminary location of the sign would be at the "tourism hub" anchored by the Marketplace, the Ratcliffe Museum and the Dora Trail Head. The sculpture would consist of letters six feet tall, which were pictured in a concept drawing by a Virginia Tech student. Ms. Van Noy noted that she was having difficulties in securing a location for a welder to assemble the sign. Mr. Goodman offered use of his facilities for assembly of the sculpture. Ms. Van Noy said the sign project was very exciting in terms of design and elevating the Town's tourism programming. She added she hoped the project would be completed this fall. Concerning the "Local Foods, Local Places" engagements, Ms. Van Noy said that representatives from various government agencies were present for planning calls about the program, while some attended the two-day workshop at the Train Station. Presently, the committee is meeting to review the draft action plan that was scheduled to be complete by early September. Upcoming events included the Virginia Main Street Conference during which, Ms. Van Noy would enter a "pitch competition" on June 24th to compete for a $5,000 grant. Ms. Van Noy also said that word was received from DHCD that they will issue a call next spring for applications to become a fully Page 2 of 7/July 16, 2019 designated Virginia Main Street community. In addition, draft bylaws were currently being reviewed, a local attorney was preparing the paperwork for Pulaski on Main's 501 C3 designation, and several individuals were identified as probable Board members. Mr. Radcliffe offered his assistance to secure a welder for the "Puloveski Project". Following an announcement of a Pie Contest on Harvest Night, Ms. Van Noy concluded her presentation. Mayor Clark expressed his appreciation to Ms. Van Noy for her presentation Council next considered capital improvements planning. 8. Public Operations No matters were presented for consideration. 9. Finance a. Capital Improvements Planning Mr. Utt noted the asset listings in the packet from the Police and Fire Department's that was similar to the same material from the Water Fund for the July 2nd meeting. He said there was still a need to prepare listings for Sewer, Streets and General Properties. Funds may be needed to assist with the sewer side, since grant funds had been provided by the Health Department for the water fund. DEQ had a similar grant, but no word had been received when it might be worthwhile to inquire. He added he would check with Ms. Van Noy on that funding possibility. Mr. Utt said he was not aware of any funding to assist with Streets and that VDOT money may have to be used. He also mentioned that a sidewalk inventory, prepared some time ago, would be utilized in connection with the street asset listing. Mr. Dawson asked if the need for the sewer, streets and sidewalks asset listing to require grant funds was because of the time and energy involved. Mr. Utt responded mostly that it was. Using the Water Fund as an example, he said that CHA Consulting had three people come in and tour the water facilities in an intensive effort lasting two weeks. Staffing was most of the cost Mr. Utt said, and to have a plan ready in time for the budget would require pushing ahead more quickly. Next item Council considered was the Water Filter Plant update. 10. Legislative No issues were scheduled for deliberation or review. 11. Public Utilities a. Water Filter Plant Update Concerning the failure of Filter No. 4 at the Water Filter Plant, Mr. Pedigo reported that the Town had met with its VACORP representative on July 3 I in a very positive meeting. An engineering representative on July 11th, performed a very thorough investigation of the filter. Although the final report had not been issued, Mr. Pedigo said the engineering representative thought the cause was a rebar failure in the concrete. Thanks to special equipment, she was able to get good pictures of the filter interior. Mr. Pedigo said that he had one repair quote for $180,000 and that the Town's engineering group was reviewing it to make sure it would suffice. Additional estimates would be sought from other firms for other types of repairs. He asked if Council had any questions. Page 3 of 7/July 16, 2019 Mr. Goodman asked if VACORP determined that there was rebar failure or some other component failure, would that make it more likely that they would pay for repairs. Mr. Pedigo said he thought so noting that the VACORP representatives were positive there would be a claim. Mr. Utt added that the Town had heard from the Health Department which said that if the Town went back with a filter similar to the others, then the Town would not need the timeframe of a construction permit process since it was an emergency repair. Mr. Pedigo said that was correct provided that if the Town went back to the same type of filter that was in the facility, the Health Department might forego the construction permit. Mr. Utt mentioned that the construction permit could be a three or four month process. There being no further comments, Council moved on to discuss ladder truck options. 12. Safety a. Ladder Truck Options/Discussions Mr. Utt referred to the memo Chief Kiser gave to Council with background information on the used ladder truck. He said the Town of Blacksburg has a 1999 platform ladder truck which they were replacing. The vehicle had 8,300 miles on it and was very well maintained. Noting the Town's previous efforts over the last three years to get a grant for a new ladder truck and the close connection between the two departments, Mr. Utt said the Blacksburg Fire Department was working up a price to directly surplus the unit to the Town of Pulaski. According to conversations he had, the cost of the unit would be from $150,000 to $200,000. Mr. Utt said he would very much like to purchase the vehicle. He asked authorization from Council to contact banks to see what financing options there were to avoid drawing funds from reserves. The new unit he ventured would last the Town 15 to 20 years. Mr. Goodman asked if a motion was needed. Mr. Utt replied that he sought direction from Council to find out what the financing options would be. Mr. Goodman said that a way needed to be found to secure the vehicle. Council assented to Mr. Utt's investigating financing options for the ladder truck. With discussion concluded, Council next considered appointments to the Agency on Aging. 13. Human Resources a. Resolution 2019-22, Appointments to the Agency on Aging Mr. Utt said this was an annual appointment for the town's representatives to the Agency on Aging Board. He noted that Mrs. Hickam and Mr. Hancock had agreed to serve for a year as representative and alternate respectively. Resolution approval would make the appointments official. Mr. Clontz moved to approve Resolution 2019-22, A Resolution Appointing Town Representatives to the Agency on Aging, as written. The motion was seconded by Mr. Radcliffe and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Absent James A. Radcliffe -Aye Following the approval of the resolution, Council heard a report on mandatory training on the Conflict of Interest Act. b. Mandatory Training -State and Local Conflict of Interest Act Mr. Quesenberry reported that the General Assembly had approved a law, effective July 1, 2019 that local officials, in this case Council members, had to participate in a training session for the Conflict of Interest Act. The training would be offered online in a 55 minute session. Participants were required to Page 4 of 7/July 16, 2019 sign up for the sessions on-line, so participation could be verified and entered into the Clerk's records by the December 31 st deadline. Mr. Goodman added that the state Ethics Commission had a list server that sent out notifications on ethics training and documents of interest, which was how he found out about the training. Mr. Utt said the attachment in the packet could be emailed so Council members could click directly on the link to access the training. The attachment would be in the Weekly Summary for Council's use. Council moved next to the Round Table Discussion to receive member's comments. 14. Round Table Discussion Mayor Clark asked for comments from Council. Mr. Penn and Mr. Dawson had no comment. Mr. Goodman expressed pleasure at how well the Yankees, the Marketplace, and the Town in general were doing. He thanked staff for doing a good job on the Fourth of July Parade. Mr. Clontz and Mr. Radcliffe had no comment. Council next prepared to enter the Closed Session. 15. Closed Session Mayor Clark requested a motion for Council to go into Closed Session for three items as follows: two items under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (A) 1, personnel matters concerning the Town Manager's contract and the Town Attorney's contract and one item under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (A) 7, consultation with legal counsel concerning actual or probable litigation regarding a zoning application. Mr. Clontz moved to enter Closed Session for the referenced matters. The motion was seconded by Mr. Goodman and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Absent James A. Radcliffe -Aye Council entered Closed Session at 5:30 p.m. Mr. East arrived at 5:35 p.m. Council returned from Closed Session at 6:25 p.m. Mayor Clark asked for a certification motion that the Council discussed only those three items for which they went into Closed Session: two items under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (A) 1, personnel matters concerning the Town Manager's contract and the Town Attorney's contract; and one item under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (A) 7, consultation with legal counsel regarding actual or probable litigation regarding a zoning application. Mr. Goodman made the certification motion which was seconded by Mr. Clontz and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Page 5 of 7/July 16, 2019 1 Mayor Clark then requested a motion concerning the Town Attorney's contract. Mr. Clontz moved to approve the Town Attorney's contract, as amended, effective July 1, 2019. Mr. Penn seconded the motion which was approved by the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye After voting on the certification motion for the Closed Session and the Town Attorney's contract, Council next considered the special exception request from Pulaski Medical. 16. Special Exception Request, Pulaski Medical Mayor Clark then called for a motion on the zoning application. Mr. Goodman moved that Council adopt Ordinance 2019-08, An Ordinance Approving a Special Exception for an Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Clinic at 1006 East Main Street. The motion was seconded by Mr. Clontz. During the vote Mr. East made the following statement as he cast his ballot: "1 support the Planning Commission's recommendation to deny the request for a special exception regarding expansion of Pulaski Medical. My vote is 'No". Mr. Radcliffe, when called to vote replied "Strongly No." At the end of the voting on the motion, a tie vote resulted as follows: Lane R. Penn -Nay Brooks R. Dawson -Aye Gregory C. East -Nay Joseph K. Goodman -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Nay Mayor Clark noted that the vote was a tie, which placed him in the position as a tie-breaker. He added that he would make a few comments before he cast his vote. Mayor Clark then made the following comments: "This is one of those situations where what people were talking about and what the public was talking about are two very, very different things in our locality. As a Town we have a very narrow task. We need to make a land use decision based on a zoning ordinance and purely a land use decision. Our decision is going to be based on what we are allowed to evaluate. An attempt to base our decision on anything beyond that land use issue would expose us to potential and expensive, and very wasteful, defense litigation that is an irresponsible use of public funds. Council has worked tirelessly to amass reserves to improve the financial condition of the Town. Such an irresponsible decision could cost our Town as much as a third of our annual real estate tax revenue. We would be doing what the public wants, which we do need to do as often as we can, but we would be doing it in the wrong forum and basing it on facts and issues beyond which we are legally allowed to and reaching beyond what the federal and state governments say we can do. Since the federal and state governments have limited what we can do, it's really up to them to be able to meet the public responsibility and take care of the things that our citizens demand for the safety of all of our communities. So my vote will be yes. Page 6 of 7/July 16, 2019 Following Mayor Clark's remarks and vote, the Clerk announced the motion (adoption of Ordinance 2019-08) passed 4 (Aye) to 3 (Nay) as follows: Lane R. Penn -Nay Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Nay James A. Radcliffe -Nay Mayor Clark -Aye 17. Future Meetings and Adjournment Mayor Clark reminded Council of its next meeting on August 6th at 7:00 p.m. as a legislative session in Council chambers followed by a work session on August 20th. Mr. Utt reminded Council of the upcoming employee picnic on August 18tH There being no further business, Mr. Goodman moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Radcliffe and approved by unanimous voice vote of Council at 6:29 p.m. c Approved* avid L. Clark Mayor ATTEST: 26,�V 'Izu� David N. Quesenberry Clerk of Council 1 Page 7 of 7/July 16, 2019