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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-02-06Minutes of the May 2, 2006 Council meeting held at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building. There were present: Charles L. Wade Council: Jeffrey S. Worrell, Dan Talbert, Jr., Bettye H. Steger, Lane R. Penn, John T. Bolen, Joel B. Burchett, Jr. Staff: John J. Hawley, Town Manager Randolph D. Eley, Jr., Town Attorney David N. Quesenberry, Asst. to the Town Manager John White, Economic Development Director Dave Hart, Parks and Facilities Gary Roche, Police Chief Patricia Cruise, Clerk of Council Others: Benny Keister Harriet Anderson Mickey Seagle Laura Steger Katlyn Hundley Paula Flinchum Laura McCormick Megan Henley Stephanie Taylor Amber Hall Ted Hopkins Patrick Lambert Larry Clevinger, II David Clark Corey Akers India Crowder Adam Cregger Pam Whitesell Carol Wade Betty Quesenberry Kelly Barker, Press Mayor Wade called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Councilman Penn led the Pledge of Allegiance and Councilman Worrell gave the Invocation. Following roll call, Councilman Penn moved to add to the agenda: Item 7a, Resolution 2006-01; Change the Employee of the Month presentation to Item 7b; and add a Closed Session under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A-7), Consultation with legal counsel regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel. Councilwoman Steger seconded the motion and it carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye John T. Bolen - Aye Bettye H. Steger - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Councilman Penn moved to adopt Resolution 2006-01, Honoring Walter B. “Benny Keister”, seconded by Councilman Talbert and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye John T. Bolen - Aye Bettye H. Steger - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Mayor Wade thanked Mr. Keister for his work on behalf of the citizens of Pulaski as their representative to the Virginia House of Delegates. He read the Resolution and presented it to Mr. Keister. During further discussion, the Mayor pointed out that Mr. Keister had donated a Virginia Tech hand made rug signed by Jeff King to Relay For Life. The next item on the agenda was the Employee of the Month award. Mayor Wade introduced Phillip C. Tickle, the Employee of the Month for April, 2006. He read a press release and congratulated Mr. Tickle and presented him with an award. He noted that in addition to this honor, Mr. Tickle would receive an additional paid day off from the Town and be considered for the Employee of the Year award in December. Mayor Wade moved on to the Public Comment Period. Mickey Seagle asked Council what financial obligation the taxpayer had to have curb or sidewalk installed adjacent to their property? Mr. Hawley explained that there were two scenarios and explained the procedure for each scenario. Mrs. Seagle stated that she had paid to have curb installed at her home. She had been told by several people that their curb was installed at no expense to them. She thought that she should have received her curb at no cost due to the water problems that she has at her property. Councilman Penn asked the Town Manager what could be done if anything, at this time? Mr. Hawley advised that a previous Council had directed staff to install curb and gutter in the Northwood area in order to correct drainage problems. At that time, staff felt that it was the least expensive solution to the problem. Staff was directed to review the curb and gutter installations from the last three years and Council would review those installations as well as the Seagle installation and make a decision. Mrs. Seagle also advised that her husband had installed a pipe in the yard to alleviate some of the flooding problem on her property. Subsequently, she stated, the Town told her the pipe had to be stopped up. She asked how the Brick Row apartments pump water to the grate approximately every twenty minutes? She then questioned why she was required to stop her pipe up for a gravity flow. Following discussion, staff was directed to look at the site and report back to Council. Next, Patrick Lambert addressed Council regarding the After Prom party at the High School. He thanked Council for their recent decision to donate $500 to the After Prom party, but inquired when they would receive the check? Mr. Hawley advised that the check was in the system to be written this week. Councilman Penn asked Mr. Lambert whether students were charged to go to the After Prom party? Mr. Lambert responded in the affirmative. Mayor Wade asked Mr. Lambert to have his teacher call him to discuss why students were charged to go to the After Prom party when donations were taken for the party. Next, Councilwoman Steger moved to adopt the minutes of April 4, 2006, seconded by Councilman Penn and carried on voice vote. Mayor Wade moved on to Project Updates. Mr. Hawley advised that the court order had been signed for the church easement for the Dora Highway Baptist Church. He advised that staff was waiting to receive the signed easement from the Church. Mr. Hawley also advised that a new spreadsheet had been placed at Council’s seat with the current status of UDAG loans in the Town. He added that after review, if there were any questions, they could be directed to him. Next, Mr. Hawley stated that at the last Council meeting, Mrs. Elizabeth Gartner appeared before Council to express concerns of excessive noise, litter and dust from the Pulaski Business Park. He advised that staff and a representative from Conrock Concrete plant met with the Gartner’s at their property. Conrock was in the process of enclosing the concrete plant which will reduce, but will not eliminate the noise. Ongoing construction in the Industrial Park had contributed to the dust problem. The road is being paved. In the meantime, dust generated by Conrock will be minimized by applying water to the coarse and fine aggregate. Litter was removed from the Gartner property by Conrock personnel, although not all of the litter was from the concrete plant. Improved housekeeping procedures will be implemented at the concrete plant to eliminate litter from the Conrock property. Additionally, Mr. Hawley advised that there had been some other complaints regarding noise from the site at night. Staff planned to meet with the Plant Manager to see if any changes could be made to help the situation. Mayor Wade moved on to Old Business. The first item was Ordinance 2006-17, Waiving Business Park Covenants. Randy Eley, the Town Attorney, asked the Clerk of Council to distribute to Council the most recent draft version of Ordinance 2006-17. He explained that he had been in contact with attorneys for Hardie and Conrock all day, trying to find agreeable language for all involved. He advised that Covenants had been waived for some of the businesses in the Business Park. Ordinance 2006-17, waived covenants for all existing and future landowners within the Town of Pulaski Industrial Park. Following discussion, Councilman Penn moved to adopt Ordinance 2006-17, Release of Industrial Park Covenants, seconded by Councilwoman Steger and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye John T. Bolen - Aye Bettye H. Steger - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye The next item on the agenda was discussion of Ordinance 2006-16, Amending water bills. Mr. Hawley advised that at the last Council meeting, a motion to adopt the Ordinance died for lack of a second. The Mayor requested that the Ordinance be placed back on the agenda for discussion. Staff prepared more information for Council, including the cost involved in sending out second notices. He reviewed some of the costs. Mayor Wade commented that he asked that this be put back on the agenda because there were some second thoughts by some Council members about not sending out second notices. Councilman Penn interjected that he had had many complaints from citizens regarding the handling of water bills and cut offs. He asked that someone tell him what steps are taken if he doesn’t pay his bill on time. Mr. Hawley explained that water bills are due on the 15th of the month. A second notice is mailed out approximately five days after the bills are due, if it has not already been paid. The second notice advises the citizen that a 10% penalty for late payment has been added and that the water will be cut off in five days unless payment is received in the office by five o’clock p.m. on the fifth day. If the bill is not received by 5 p.m. on the fifth day, the water is cut off the next day. At that point, the citizen must pay a reconnection fee, a deposit if one is not on file and the total bill due before the water is turned back on. Following discussion, staff was directed to create a model bill with more detailed information on the first notice and again on the second notice, and to bring a model to the next Work Session. The next item on the agenda was the Gatewood fishing license activity report. Mr. Hawley advised that per a citizen’s request, staff inquired whether fishing licenses could be sold at Gatewood. The Department of Games and Inland Fisheries has advised that they would mail an application to the Town. He added that unfortunately, you must be online to request a fishing license and there is no internet service available at Gatewood at this time. Staff was researching to see whether internet service could be made available at that site. Additionally, Mr. Hawley advised that the benches in the shower area were installed and early season activity reports, show a strong start. Regarding Hogan’s Dam Best Use plan, Mr. Hawley advised that the Hogan’s Dam report had been completed. The marketability portion of the report was included in the Council packet. He advised that the report identifies some of the disadvantages of the site and indicates that if some of the obstacles can be resolved, the site would be suitable for a planned unit development. He advised that staff and the Committee were working on a formal request for proposals for the entire site. He added that the Best Use Plan shows one plateau that a road could be built on and building sites developed. Based on that Plan, staff requested that they be allowed to apply to the County for a Rezoning request to rezone the tract zoned C-1 to Planned Unit Development. It had been determined that settling this issue would help with the Request for Proposal. Councilman Burchett added that if the land was rezoned and the right of way issues corrected, it could be possible to receive a higher return on the land. Mayor Wade interjected that another issue that needed to be resolved was the spillway. The report indicates that it would need to be repaired before any reasonable offers could be expected for the property. He suggested that Council contact Senators Allen, Warner, and Boucher and ask for appropriations from the federal government to repair the spillway. He continued that the request for appropriations had already been made, but that Council needed to contact the Senators as well. Mr. Hawley inquired whether Council wanted staff to apply for the request from the County? Council and the Mayor responded yes. Mayor Wade moved on to New Business. The first item was Resolution 2006-12, the Police Department USDA grant. Mr. Hawley summarized the history involved with the Police Department original request for a grant to acquire two police cars. After the grant rules were changed, the Department shifted their request to acquire one police car. The Town match would be approximately $9,900 to acquire one vehicle. The money was not in the current budget, and would have to be taken from another line item. A requirement of the grant was a Resolution adopted by Council. Following extensive discussion, Councilman Worrell moved to adopt Resolution 2006-12, seconded by Councilman Talbert and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye John T. Bolen - Aye Bettye H. Steger - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye The next item on the agenda was 2006 paving contract. Mr. Hawley explained that a copy of the 2006 paving bid was included in the packet for informational purposes. Additionally, he advised that the Town had accumulated a large amount of millings. He wished to declare about half of the millings as surplus and take bids, with the purchaser providing proof of the weight to the Engineering department’s satisfaction. Any money received would then be applied to sidewalk work in the Town. The Council was agreeable to the plan. Mayor Wade moved on to Claytor Lake Festival funding request. Mr. Hawley advised that the annual request for funding for the Claytor Lake Festival sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce had been received. He added that the Town had participated in the past, although not last year. Following discussion, the consensus of Council was not to participate this year. The next item on the agenda was the SPARC request. Mr. Hawley advised that the Town participates in the SPARC program which loans money for first time home buyers. He had received a request from a Town employee to consider waiving the building permit fees for a successful SPARC applicant that involves a new structure. It would be an added incentive for use of this program and would be offset by the gain in real estate tax. Additionally, he commented that as the Town has progressed through the SPARC program the competition has increased. He suggested that implementing this waiver could help the Town’s application with the next SPARC grant. Following discussion, Councilwoman Steger moved to direct the Town Attorney to prepare an Ordinance allowing building permit fees to be waived for a successful SPARC applicant that involves a new structure. The motion was seconded by Councilman Penn and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye John T. Bolen - No Bettye H. Steger - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye At 8:15 p.m., Councilwoman Steger moved to enter into Closed Session under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A-7), Consultation with legal counsel regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel. The motion was seconded by Councilman Talbert and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye John T. Bolen - Aye Bettye H. Steger - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Council returned from Closed Session and adopted the Certification Resolution on motion by Councilman Talbert, seconded by Councilman Penn and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye John T. Bolen - Aye Bettye H. Steger - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Councilman Worrell moved to adopt Resolution 2006-13, Authorizing a UDAG Loan to Magnox, seconded by Councilman Penn and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye John T. Bolen - Aye Bettye H. Steger - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Next, Councilwoman Steger moved to adopt Ordinance 2006-18, Ordinance Concurring With a Resolution of the Industrial Development Authority of Pulaski County Authorizing a Loan To Magnox. The motion was seconded by Councilman Talbert and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye John T. Bolen - Aye Bettye H. Steger - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:06 p.m., on motion by Councilwoman Steger, seconded by Councilman Bolen and carried on voice vote.