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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-19-07Minutes of the June 19, 2007 Council meeting held at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building. There were present: Charles L. Wade, Mayor Council: Jeffrey S. Worrell, Dan Talbert, Jr., Lane R. Penn, David L. Clark, Larry G. Clevinger, II Joel B. Burchett, Jr. arrived at 5:05 p.m. Staff: John J. Hawley, Town Manager David Quesenberry, Asst. to the Town Manager Kim Caudill, Administrative Manager Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer Sherry Boyd, Finance Director John White, Economic Development Director Barbara Tate, Community Relations Director Bill Webb, Fire Chief Dave Hart, Parks and Facilities Director Terry Nester, Asst. Town Engineer Gary Roche, Police Chief Others: Abigail Convery Mickey Seagle Trudy Lytton Ritche Lytton Clark Payne Shawn Utt Jane Amburn Janie Hurd Akers Delegate Crockett-Stark Melinda Williams, Press Mayor Wade called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Mr. Hawley announced that the Closed Sessions scheduled for the meeting that required the presence of the Town Attorney, would not be held tonight as Mr. Eley was absent. This was item 13a. Councilman Penn moved to adopt the minutes of May 15, 2007 as written, seconded by Councilman Clark and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Absent Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry G. Clevinger, II - Aye Next, Mayor Wade announced that the Employee of the Month award for June, 2007, was being presented to William (Bill) Mason. He read a press release aloud and congratulated Mr. Mason and presented him with an award. The Mayor noted that in addition to this honor, Bill would receive an additional paid day off and be considered for the Employee of the Year Award in December. Councilman Burchett arrived at 5:05 p.m. The next item on the agenda was the Green Infrastructure Project. Ms. Convery provided a handout to Council and advised that she was seeking a letter of support for a grant application being submitted by the New River Valley Planning District Commission. The funding from the grant would be used to integrate and prioritize both built and natural resource infrastructure for the New River Valley communities within Pulaski, Floyd, Montgomery and Giles Counties and the City of Radford. Mayor Wade advised that he read recently that Virginia is the second largest dump site in the United States because we are allowing other states to dump in Virginia. He thought that should be included in the green infrastructure and inquired if that was included in the groups consideration? Ms. Convery agreed to check into adding that item to the list. The consensus of Council was for the Town Manager to send a letter of support. Next, Ms. Convery addressed Council regarding the New River Trail Extension funding. She advised that the Planning District Commission had been working on a proposal to link the New River Trail to the Huckleberry Trail. A grant application for funding was submitted last fall and Phase One, linking the New River Trail to Randolph Park had now been funded. She advised that current plans for the next Phase call for the link to Pulaski to go up the Route 11 corridor and into Dublin. She suggested that if Council was interested in a different route, that they speak with Dave Hart, the Town’s representative on the Committee. Next, Mayor Wade introduced Delegate Crockett-Stark. Delegate Crockett-Stark was to present a Resolution from the House of Delegates Honoring Betty Steger to Mrs. Steger’s daughter Trudy Lytton. She advised that she had laryngitis and asked Mrs. Mickey Seagle to read the Resolution aloud for her. The Resolution was read aloud and presented to Mrs. Lytton. Next, Mayor Wade presented Delegate Crockett-Stark with a Cat’s Meow collectible depicting the Courthouse arches as a token thank you for her assistance to the Town. The next item on the agenda was a Public Hearing for FY 2007-08 budget. Mr. Hawley advised that the budget had been advertised as required by law. He commented that staff was present to respond to any questions from the public or Council. Mayor Wade opened the Public Hearing at 5:30 p.m. There being no questions, the Hearing was closed. The next item on the agenda was Ordinance 2007-14, Amending the Code of Ordinance for BPOL. Mr. Hawley advised that this amendment was required in order to balance the budget. Councilman Worrell moved to adopt Ordinance 2007-14, Ordinance Amending §22-39(a) of the Town of Pulaski, Virginia Code of Ordinances. The motion was seconded by Councilman Penn and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry G. Clevinger, II - Aye Mayor Wade moved on to Ordinance 2007-18 regarding volume charges for sewer service. Mr. Hawley advised that this amendment was required in order to balance the budget. Councilman Worrell commented that the Town was at the mercy of Peppers Ferry Water Treatment Authority. He added that the Town represents 40% of the flow of the Authority, which means the Town represents 40% of the revenue. However, the Town is only represented by 25% of the Board. He continued that the two Town representatives have worked diligently to affect some change in the Board’s thinking, to no avail. Mayor Wade commented that the two Town representatives had done a good job and their work was appreciated. He asked that the representatives bring up two issues at the next meeting. One was a legal opinion on using reserve funds to pay the bond for the other members. The second item was that the Authority quoted experts who stated that sulfates was the problem and that most of it came from the Town of Pulaski. He asked that experts be found that said that spending two million dollars was going to correct the problem. Where are those experts? Councilman Worrell advised that they would ask the questions. He added that the Town is being assessed 84% of the repair of the sulfate damage. He advised that they had asked for a certification that the Town is responsible for 84% of the damage. He did not believe they were going to give the Town the certification. Mayor Wade said we may not get that certification, but should at least have something in writing that says the proposed solution is actually going to fix the problem. Councilman Worrell agreed and said that he would ask again. Councilman Penn moved to adopt Ordinance 2007-18, Amending Ordinance 2004-24, Regarding Volume Charges for Sewer Service. The motion was seconded by Councilman Talbert and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry G. Clevinger, II - Aye The next item on the agenda was Ordinance 2007-19, Water Rate Change. Mr. Hawley advised that the Public Hearing had already been held and this would help balance the budget. Councilman Clark moved to adopt Ordinance 2007-19, Amending Ordinance 2004-13, Regarding Volume Charges for Water Service. The motion was seconded by Councilman Clevinger and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry G. Clevinger, II - Aye The next item on the agenda was Resolution 2007-08, Adopting benefit changes for VRS. Mr. Hawley advised that there was one error in the document included in Council’s packet regarding the date of adoption. That error had now been corrected. Councilman Talbert moved to adopt Resolution 2007-08, Amending VRS Benefit Changes for Hazardous Duty Employees (Leos). The motion was seconded by Councilman Penn and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry G. Clevinger, II - Aye The next item on the agenda was Resolution 2007-09, Adopting the 2007-08 Budget and the Five Year CIP. Mr. Hawley advised that staff had met all the advertising and legal requirements required by law and the document was ready for adoption. Councilman Talbert moved to adopt Resolution 2007-09, Adopting a Budget Establishing Appropriations For the Town of Pulaski Virginia for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2007 and Ending June 20, 2008 and Adopting a Five Year Capital Improvement Plan. The motion was seconded by Councilman Worrell and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry G. Clevinger, II - Aye Mayor Wade moved on to Public Operations. Mr. Hawley advised that he received a call regarding flowers that were being stolen from the cemetery and the condition of trash cans. Staff corrected the trash problem. The complainant inquired whether the Town could pass an Ordinance or rule with a substantial fine for stealing or defacing cemetery property and then place signs indicating this fact. He suggested the monetary penalty be stiff enough to deter vandalism. Following discussion, staff was directed to study the cost of installation and use of security cameras. In the meantime, staff would add signage warning against vandalism. Additionally, staff was asked to research the threshold that the state will allow for punishment. Councilman Clark advised that he had received several phone calls asking what the Town planned to do with the trees at the cemetery that were damaged by wind. Mr. Hawley advised that he would get an update from staff and return to Council. The next item on the agenda was Resolution 2007-10, Urban Construction Initiative. Mr. Hawley advised that the Resolution would allow the Town the option of locally administering any urban construction project. He added that it may be some time before we have a project, however, he recommended that the option be retained. Councilman Worrell moved to adopt Resolution 2007-10, Resolution of Intent to Join the Urban Construction Initiative. The motion was seconded by Councilman Talbert and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry G. Clevinger, II - Aye Mayor Wade moved on to Litter Grant. Mr. Hawley advised that an update regarding the litter grant had been enclosed in the Council packet. He advised that provisions had been made to track where the clean ups are being done and ensure that the Town’s portion of the grant is used in the Town. He suggested that the quad groups could suggest areas to clean in the Town to utilize the grant funds. Additionally, he advised that James Babb had agreed to serve on that Committee and he planned to ask Doug Burchett if he would serve as well. That would give the Town four representatives on the Committee at that point. The consensus of Council was for the Manager to implement his plan. The next item on the agenda was Ordinance 2007-17, Discontinuing Request for Proposals for Loving Field. Mr. Hawley advised that the Town Attorney reviewed the state code regarding the Ordinance. A memo from the Town Manager was placed in the file recommending that the Request for Proposal Process be discontinued based on the recommendation of the Town Attorney. Councilman Talbert moved to adopt Ordinance 2007-17, Discontinuing Request For Proposals For Loving Field. The motion was seconded by Councilman Penn and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry G. Clevinger, II - Aye Mayor Wade moved on to Utilities. Mr. Hawley advised that Council needed to consider the adoption of the Industrial Sulfate Limits for Pepper’s Ferry Regional Wastewater Treatment Authority. He commented that it was very clear that the Town of Pulaski did not agree with the limits. However, the Town was a member of the Authority and required to adopt the limits. He added that as of January 11, 2008, the Town would only be allowed to discharge 1855 pounds of sulfate per day to the Authority. Staff had provided Council with three options, however, staff recommendation was to allocate the allowable sulfate poundage by proportional flow at this time. He emphasized that by the fall of 2009, the limits would have to meet Peppers Ferry design calculations. Following extensive discussion, the consensus of Council was to follow staff recommendation. Mayor Wade moved on to Human Resources. He announced that Larry Clevinger had agreed to replace Dan Talbert on the New River Valley Planning District Commission. Councilman Worrell moved to appoint Larry Clevinger to replace Dan Talbert on the New River Valley Planning District Commission. The motion was seconded by Councilman Penn and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry G. Clevinger, II - Abstain Mayor Wade commented that the Council Work Sessions had evolved into regular Council meetings. He advised that the Council Work Session were to be restricted to time critical projects and items that were previously handled by Committees. Next, he asked Police Chief Roche to give a press release. Chief Roche advised that today, police searched for 37 drug dealers and 118 indictments, and had all but nine of them in custody by two p.m. Next, Mayor Wade advised of the receipt of an email from Tony Ostrowski from VHDA, that SPARC funds had again been set aside for the Town. He also advised of the receipt of youth smoking prevention program materials sponsored by Phillip Morris. He planned to order some of the literature and have it distributed at the Pulaskifest in September. Next, Councilman Burchett inquired whether the Town along with Greater Pulaski Alliance and the Southwest Times would like to sponsor a candidate forum for the upcoming County elections. Staff agreed to try to help coordinate the event. Councilman Penn asked for the status of the downtown improvements to the sidewalks, roads would be complete? Mr. Hawley advised that the completion date should be in October. Mayor Wade asked Mr. Hawley to give an update on the Sound Ordinance. Mr. Hawley advised that he intended to advertise the Noise Ordinance amendment for the July 3, 2007 Council meeting. Councilman Talbert inquired whether staff had considered moving the July 3 Council meeting to the 10th because of the 4th of July holiday? The consensus of Council was to hold the meeting on the 10th of July. Next, Mr. Hawley advised that the Town had the opportunity to have the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show, Inc. perform at Calfee Park for Pulaskifest. They would have three shows. The cost would be $6,500. Turman Log Homes agreed to sponsor $2,000 for the show and the Town was trying to find other sponsors. He asked Council if they were interested in contracting with the group. Mayor Wade commented that he felt it was appropriate to ask the County to contribute $2,000 to $3,000 to the event as well. Shawn Utt, County representative, agreed to bring the request to the Board of Supervisors. The Mayor also suggested staff contact Lowes, Home Depot and 84 Lumber regarding sponsorship of the event. Mr. Hawley advised that if Council was amenable, staff would sign the contract. If the donations were not forthcoming, the Town would pay the bill out of Special Events. He wanted Council to know of the possibility of overdrawing the Special Events line item in the budget. Barbara Tate, Community Relations Director, added that in keeping with the Jamestown theme, a Pipe and Drum Corps would perform. The next item for discussion was UDAG payments. Ms. Boyd, Finance Director, advised that one of the UDAG accounts was in arrears. Penalties were being added, and they have agreed to bring a payment in, however, it would not bring them up to date. Mayor Wade asked how long penalties are added before severing the loan? Ms. Boyd suggested that Council needed to discuss the situation and the action to be taken. Mayor Wade advised that they would discuss the situation in Closed Session when the Attorney was able to return to work. At 6:38 p.m., Councilman Worrell moved to enter into Closed Session under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A-1), Consideration of assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, or resignation of specific public officers or employee of the Town and (A-5), Discussion of acquisition of real property for a public purpose. The motion was seconded by Councilman Talbert and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry G. Clevinger, II - Aye At 6:55 p.m., Councilman Talbert moved to adopt the Certification Resolution for the Closed Session held under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A-1), Consideration of assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, or resignation of specific public officers or employee of the Town and (A-5), Discussion of acquisition of real property for a public purpose. The motion was seconded by Councilman Penn and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry G. Clevinger, II - Aye Councilman Worrell moved to direct staff to prepare the proper documents to create a Mechanic I and II position, seconded by Councilman Penn and carried on the following recorded vote: Jeffrey S. Worrell - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye Dan Talbert, Jr. - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Lane R. Penn - Aye Larry G. Clevinger, II - Aye At 7:00 p.m., Councilman Penn moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Talbert and carried on voice vote.