HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-15-88.March 15, 1988 8339
Minutes of the regular meeting of the. Pulaski Town Council .held .March 15, 1988,
at
7:00 p.m. in the. Council Chambers in the. Municipal Building.
There were present: Mayor Gary C. .Hancock, presiding
Council .Members: John A. Johnston, Robert N. Glenn, Andrew L. Graham,
.James M..Neblett, James R. Neighbors, W. H. Schrader,
Ira S. Crawford, Mary Lou Copenhaver
Town pf Pulaski
Planning Commission: Dr. A. W. Anneski, William T. Smith, Jr., W. H. Schrader,
Roy D'Ardenne, David Warburton, Joe Weddle, Andy
McCready
Also Present: Frank Terwilliger, Town Attorney
Anne Burgess, Assistant Town .Manager
Ruth A. .Harrell, Clerk
Rebekah Corso, .Secretary - Planning Commission
Visitors: .Dee Lindsey, Bob Thomas,Jessica Clarke of the news media
H. W. Huff
Hugh Huff
J. R. Schrader
Polly Mitchell
.Jeff .Bain
.Randolph Eley
R. Glenwood Lookabill
Emma Jean Foley
.Mary Wineburger
Claud Kirkland
Tim .Ramsdell
Jeff Berkley
Lydia Hickam
Wayne Farmer
.James .Lawson
9 area citizens
The invocation .was given by Councilman Neblett.
Councilman Neblett.made a motion that the minutes of the .regular .meeting of
.March 1, 1988, be approved as submitted, seconded by Councilman Glenn, and .carried.
TRAILER Ms. Emma Jean Foley and .her attorney Mr. Lockabill addressed Council .regarding
REQUEST lacement of a trailer on a lot
P purchased for Mrs. Wineburger, Ms. Foley's Mother.
The. lot .was purchased in August, 1987, on Tower Street, and .was annexed by the Town
on .January 1, 1988. This lot is adjacent to McMillians Trailer .Park. According to
the. present zoning ordinance, a trailer .cannot be placed except in a trailer park.
Ms. Foley and Mr. Lookabill requested an exception be .made.
Mr. Tezwilliger'advised that they could apply for .variance or special exception,
and then follow the. appeal procedure as .set forth in the. ordinance.
Councilman Neblett.made a motion that this request be placed in the Ordinance
Committee to look at ordinance for .next .meeting, .seconded by Councilman Crawford and
.carried.
.Mayor .Hancock advised that the next items on the agenda .were .two public hearings;
the first being a public hearing .regarding the conditional use application of F &
R .Market.
Roll .call of Council and the Planning Commission .was then .taken with all members
~ present.
PUBLIC F & R Market are proposing to install .gas pumps at their convenience store on
HEAR. the ¢orner of Rt. 11 and Alum Spring Road.
R. & R ~~R$~dolph Eley, representing Richard Johnson, .owner of adjoining property, addressed
MKT.
Council expressing the concern as to where the_gas tanks would be placed and if they
are placed in such a respect that they would affect the. property that is owned by
Mr. Johnson artd the. right of .way that .was extended originally to .Markets, Inc. The
right of way goes by the. corner of the F and R.Market Building. A scale drawing of
where the gas .tanks would be placed was requested. They did not .want traffic on the
right of .way as it .was only given to get to the dumpster. Mr. .Ramsdell is to prouide
8340 .March 15, 1988
the Town with a site plan as soon as possible. Also, stakes to .be installed for an
on-site visit.
ZONING After considerable discussion by Council and the Planning Commission, at
ANNEXED 7:30 p.m. Public .Hearing .was continued until April 19, 1988,
AREA
Mayor Hanock then proceeded to :call to order the .second public .hearing with
regard to the. proposed zoning map of the. annexed area.
Mr. H. W. Huff, owner of the Huff :f arm and land in question to be .rezoned,
stated that when the. Town annexed, one of the reasons .was for more commercial.lan
He felt it would be impossible for a small business to afford the. expense of .water
and sewer extension, filling and drainage. It would .have to be a big commercial
development to utilize this .l and, which is located on Route 11, north between More-
head.Lane and the .Retirement .Center.
Mr. Jeff .Berkley, President of .Berkley Tool, opposed the rezoning of this
property to B-1 as it would .make ib. unrestrictive. He .felt once Council .makes the.
change to B-1, the .developer or owner of the .land could put whatever they .wanted on
the land. He felt agreement with the Town to pay one-half of cost of installation
of
water and sewer to this land should be withdrawn as if .land .developed, they could
foot the. bill for this installation.
Ms. Lydia Hickam stated she. liked change and progress, but did not .want it
on this property in question.
Mr. .Warburton .felt that property should be zoned the_same on both sides of
Route 11. Mr. Huff answered questions as asked by Planning Commission Members and
Council.
Mr. Huff stated that a developer, seeing an area zoned residential, would
move
along somewhere else. Councilman Johnston questioned worth of conditional zoning
with Mr. Huff stating the. big developers:had to know what .was going to .happen. He
did not feel conditional zoning would work with this tract of .land. He further stated
we~rizere talking about approximately 60 acres.
Dr. Anneski clarified their recommendation for Rp zoning on Rt. 11. He
explained that it .was .never intended that the zoning extend to Pulaski Retirement
Center; only to the Wyatt house on Rt. 11. He further .read a resolution that .was
adopted by the. Planning Commission to Town Council .regarding the zoning .map and
their recommendation that the. area be zoned R0. A copy of this .resolution is
attached to permanent file copy of these minutes.
Mr. D'Ardenne felt that the final plans on the. proposed shopping center
on Memorial Drive .was a good looking .center and this .was due to conditional zoning.
Without conditional zoning, we could end up with a shopping center such as on Rt.
99.
He stated the. purpose of the. zoning .map is to give zoning specifications for prope
that will be used in the. immediate future. The. purpose of the land use .map is to
give us the. intent of how property will be zoned in the future. He .felt that the.
zoning district .map should state to "check property on the .land use .map before
purchase".
Mr. McCready stated that the. Planning Commission is not against .development -
it was the difference .between controlled .development and uncontrolled development.
He stated the. Council, Planning Commission and Town staff were ready to assist in
the development of this property and othbr property throughout our Town to insure
that!.our..~taxes and .services remain what we have now or better. We-need to .maintain
this
.March 15, 1988 8341
ZONING - ANNEXED AREA
control as this is the .largest tract of developable commercial .l and.
Mr. .Warburton stated the Planning Commission's resolution was not unanimous.
He publically dissented at their .meeting and would do so today. He .believed that
Rt. 11 is .major corridor and we would .have .development on both sides of the street.
H~ $elt it should be readvertised and zoned the .same on both sides of the street.
Mr..~:Jeff~:~Ban, ddveloper, took exception to .developer not being interested
if .land is zoned R0. One thing that is pumped into .development cost is .legal cost
for change in zoning. He .felt Blacksburg had quality and tight controls. Also,
.Galax .has tight. controls. He stated that if we are to grow, we .have to exercise
controls. He commended the. Huffs in purchasing the property in question and felt
it .was ideal for commercial .development. He .recommend that Council go with the.
RO zoning with the future intention that it be changed to B-1 in order to .facilitate
a shopping .center, or whatever .can be enticed onto this property, but under strict
controls of the conditional zoning. The. conditional coning is in place for this
specific
purpose.
Mr. Huff stated that when applying for a building .permit, the code .requires
a lot of the things being requested.
Mr. Hugh Huff stated that a lot of good points .had .been .made by both sides
and he .has a nice house in this area. He will .see that the area surrounding his home
is not ruined.
Mr. .Wayne .Farmer, .resident. of NE side of Rt. ll, felt that both side of
street should be zoned the .same., whether commercial or R0.
Mr. Berkley stated we could .take the Messrs. Huff's word that they would
do everything they .said they would do, or we could treat it in a businesslike .manner
and .make it with .restrictions. We need regulations and restrictions on .paper.
Mrs. .Pauline Mitchell stated if the area is to be .developed, we would .have
to do something about the highway and stop lights, and asked who .was going to be
respon~~.l~.le for all that change. .Taxpayers in Pulaski?
At 8:07 p.m. Mayor Hancock adjourned the public .hearing.
Councilman Neblett advised that he thought. one reason that the other side
of road .was not looked at in the beginning was the topography, the hilly side on
the. other side of the. road.
Councilman Glenn .made a motion that we accept the. Planning Commission's
proposal to zoning the. property in question as RO and adopting the zoning .map,
seconded by Councilman Johnston.
Councilman Glenn stated we .had spent a tremendous amount of time to .develop
controlled growth. We .have gone through an annexation suit, rezoning, .land use .map,
created conditional zoning ordinance, paid a consultant to tell us how to grow, the.
administrative staff .has advised what their .feelings are, which is to go with RO at
this point, the. Planning Commission .has-recommended RO and in that .regard he felt
we
.had invested so much to come now to the 11th hour and consider, as it were, throwing
it all away in .favor of a Bl. He further stated a developer had stated that he did
not .care what developers did .say at other .malls. If his clients .wanted to develop,
they would come to an area and if they .had to fight. for zoning, they would fight for
zoning. He advised that reference had been made to the .Memorial Drive proposed
shopping center, and this did not come to a vote as the developer withdrew. He felt
if it .had come to a vote, it most probably would .have been voted through.. Also,
that RO is the best he could give because it .gave him the only .vehicle for using the
conditional zoning ordinance. He .felt that if someone .came with a good plan, Council
would help them develop it. Further, he did not believe we need more .retail develop-
ment in Pulaski. He .felt we .needed industrial .development .because this is where the.
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March 15, 1988
the. j~.obs;-and money are.
Councilman Johnston stated that when conditional zoning .was adopted, it .was
felt it .was a good ordinance and one which would .help .decisions in the future. He
f elt we should .make use of this ordinance. He did not .feel anyone .was against deve-
lopment.
Councilman Graham stated he .had .seen the. controversy of home .owners in the
Memorial Drive area in .rezoning attempts. He could visualize people building on the.
Huff property and then future Councils faced with the .same situations to change to
commercial. He appreciated the. Planning Commission and he hoped they would not tak
o~fe,nse to~~~hss mo.tidn. ~..He~ felt~~.the Town .was not the developer and we could not go
in and .say exactly what we .want. The developer has to .have some .latitude to develo
his total project.
Councilman Graham .made a substitute motion that the Huff property in question
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be zoned B-1 and proposed zoning .map be adopted, .seconded by Councilman Neblett.
Councilman .Neighbors stated this .was a difficult .decision to .make. He .was
not against commercial .development bit the land use plan does designate this piece
of property for commercial or business development. He did not know if we should
do~thi5y
with the. intent of something .being there. Zoning is one thing to him and .land use
is another To zone this property business without something intended to go out there,
he-hhd:a problem with.. He felt this was controlled .development that bothered him.
He would like to .see orderly growth. He also .felt this .was the .beauty entrance to
our Town. He stated he had to go along with the. Planning Commission's recommendation
.Mayor .Hancock .felt there .were .two things that we could all agree on. 1) We
all hope that the. Huff .farm will eventually be commercial .development and 2) when
we annexed property, 3.3 sq. miles, one of the. things that we told the. citizens the
reaso.n~l.to annex .was that we .needed commercial .development. He .had worried long and
hard~~.about this issue and questioned do we in essence cut off our nose to spite our
face if we zone the. property other than something that we know it is eventually going
to be used for. We all know it will be B1 eventually but we don't .want to zone it
go with the R0 at this time.
that now. Do we .send out the wrong image to .people coming to Pulaski to look for
business property. He would .respectfully disagree with Mr. Glenn. He .felt we
desperately need retail .development in the. community. Questions arise that are
.have control, not just the. Ordinance Committee.
complex but he felt we .had an obligation as Council, to insure that there is controlled
development within the Town. We also .have an obligation to .see that the Town grows
and prospers in a business sense. This is the ultimate issue that we .have to decide
tonight.
Councilperson Copenhaver stated that she had heard tonight "is our conditional
zoning no good". She felt that all of Council .had .passed this ordinance so we coul
Councilman .Neighbors agreed with Mr. D'Ardenne's statement that .map should
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.marked .calling attention to .land use .map. He also asked why the. urgency to zone this
property Bl if there .was nothing on the. drawing board to be put on the property.
Miss Burgess clarified that property in question to be .rezoned .was from
Morehead .Lane up to the Wyatt house.
Substitute motion .made by Councilman Graham then .carried on the. following
recorded vote:
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John. A. Johnston - No .James R. .Neighbors - No
0
N Robert N. Glenn - No W. H. Schrader - Aye
E Andrew L. Graham - Aye Ira S. Crawford - Aye
D B-1 .James M. .Neblett - Aye .Mary Lou Copenhaver - No
Mdvnr C~rv T.I~nnnnb _. Avo
March 15, 1988
8343
CABLE TV In hearing from the. public, Mr. ,James .Lawson addressed Council regarding
the. increase in .Cab le Entertainment.rates without any input from the. Council or
citizens. Also, they .have advised customers that this is what they .have;. either you
.take it or they will remove system from your home. There are no options.. He .requested
Council write the. president of this company.
.Mayor .Hancock requested Vice Mayor Neighbors to preside over this portion
of
the. meeting.
Mr. .Terwilliger stated that in 1984, Congress .passed the .Cable Communication
Act 1984 and it .says that no locality can make any .law that conflicts with this act
and no state .can .make any .law that conflicts with this act. Congress controls .cable
television. The towns-were not given any powers whatsoever other than set the franchise
fee. The. Town .cannot dictate how .many channels they .have, carat they charge for the
channels, what they show on the. channels.
Councilman Crawford .made a motion that a letter be sent to the. president of
the .cable company stating we object to the. increase and also to the format in which
it .was presented to the. public. It .was presented as a cost reduction .rather than
an increase.Motion seconded by Councilman Glenn. Councilman Johnston suggested
no.t~:only writing to the .cable television .people
but also the newspapers publishing the address of where citizens.can write these
governmental agencies who_have control of .cable .television. Also, publishing a
telephone number if available. Motion then .carried. -~~ _•~~`
Councilman Graham also suggested that copy of letters be sent to our Congress-
men and .Senators.
As there .were no further comments from the. public, .Mayor .Hancock .called for
Council Committee Reports.
UTILITIES COMMITTEE
Chairman Johnston advised that Peppers Ferry had met. One report from the
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E consulting engineers .dealing with Pulaski Pump Station status report on contract 4A
P .was distributed. Olver, Inc. will do some .design modification involving the shafts
P
E and vibrations and will submit to the Army Corps of Engineers for approval. They
R also .want to .have an independent consultant to assess the. potential for long-term
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.maintenance for any possible equipment .fatigue, to come in and .make an analysis of
F the shaft and vibration. A report is to be prepared and recommendations made by the
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R next Authority meeting in April.
R Chairman Johnston stated they .were presented with the. proposed .Peppers Ferry
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Budget which .has been distributed to Financial Director, Town Engineer and Town .Manager.
In the User Agreement, we stated that .needed to .have some facts and figures from
Peppers Ferry in order to be able to plan our budget for the Town of Pulaski for next
fiscal year. We .need this budget by the first of April. They are trying to get this
budget passed by the. end of .March.. Assistant Town Manager and Treasurer will visit
with Mr. .Maus on this budget and .Peppers .Ferry will .have a work .session on Thursday.
Councilman Crawford stated the. budget does mntain some increases in costs
to the Town from prior years; somewhere in the .range of 9~. He .has been advised that
even if this budget stays in its present state, it does not appear that we would .have
to .raise any .water and sewer rates. Budget is .based on .last .year's flow figures and
we knwo they were extremely high. Peppers .Ferry is an enterprise fund - it .pays its
.own .way.
X344 .March 15, 1988
PUBLIC & PERSONNEL RELATIONS, NOMINATING COMMITTEE
APPOINTMENTS Chairman Neblett advised that we .had advertised for .persons to .serve on our
TO committees and commissions and we .have not .been blessed with a lot of .names.
BEAUTI.
COMMITTEE Councilman Graham moved that Ruth Nuckols be reappointed to the Beautif ication
Committee, seconded by Councilman Glenn and .carried.
Chairman Neblett stated the Beautification Committee would like to expand
and so moved that Alan Rudisill, Vickie .Hawks and .Mary Lee Duncan be appointed to
the Beautification Committee, .seconded by Councilman Glenn and .carried..
PUBLIC OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
Chairman Neighbors .had no report, however, he .requested that a committee
meeting be scheduled.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Chairman Crawford had no report.
ORDINANCE COMMITTEE
Prior to giving .her .report, Chairperson Copenhaver advised a committee meeting
needed to be scheduled. Committee .met .March 8 and .reviewed the subdivision ordinance.
A public hearing is scheduled on this ordinance on April 5.
Chairperson Copenhaver advised that the Ordinance Committee and Utilities Committee
met jointly to review the water and-sewer extension policy. Changes, as suggested
by the. two- committees will be incorporated.
The committees also discussed the Critzer Pump Station and PSA line. Town
Engineer John .Hawley presented a report on Critzer Pump Station and the PSA gravity
line between 4B pump station and the start of the Town's system. An evaluation of
the. line and pump station indicates these .facilities would be sufficient to serve
the. Town's .needs in the near future after needed repairs. Engineering has determine
the repairs, as determined by the. County, would be cost effective. The County
has already x eceived a bid for .repairs at a cast of $29,200. Town .ownership
of the. line and pump station would complete the Town's control over its system.
The $29,200 could be charged against the. Town's bond issue account for I & I abate-
ment.
CRITZER Chairperson Copenhaver .made a motion that the Town assume ownership of Critzer
PUMP Pump Station and the PSA gravity line .beginning at Pump Station 4B to the. start of
STATION
the Town system; and further that the County be authorized to .make .repairs to the
Critzer Pump Station and PSA gravity line, and that the Town reimburse-the. County
for contract costs, currently estimated at $29,200. Motion .seconded by Councilman
.Neblett and .carried on the. following .recorded vote:
John. A. Johnston - Aye .James R. .Neighbors - Aye
Robert N. Glenn - Aye W. H. Schrader - Aye
Andrew L. Graham - Aye Ira S. Crawford - Aye
.James M. Neblett - Aye .Mary Lou Copenhaver -Aye
MAYOR'S REPORT
PARKING Mayor .Hancock advised he-.had appointed a Parking Committee .made up of C. E.
COMMITTEFBoyd, Jr., A. J. Smith,_Pam Jones, Andy McCready and Tom Cox to discuss the.
APPT.
request by the..Merchant's Association to look at the .parking situation downtown
and to look into short .term .parking .needs for downtown Pulaski.
.Mayor .Hancock is presently working on teh appointment of a Transportation
Committee and he should have this accomplished by .next .week.
TOWN ATTORNEY'S REPORT
Mr. .Terwilliger .had no .report.
TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT
FILTER Miss Burgess advised that a pilot .test plant of the superpulsator at the
PLANT .Water treatment lant had been set u The
P p. pilot .test plant contains a small scale
.March 15, 1988 8345
version of the superpulsator and will be operated to .determine if the superpulsator
.can achieve the required treatment .levels for the. Town's .water. This pilot program
will operate for approximatley four weeks to provide sufficient data for evaluation.
Using the superpulsator in a plant upgrade would allow the Town to use an existing
sediment basin for sludge instead of the construction of a sludge holding .lagoon at
a savings of $200,000. Any Council Member wishing to view the pilot .testing should
contact Duane Cox at 980-2000 or John Hawley to arrange the. visit to insure that the
Infilco Degrement operator is available.
Miss Burgess stated that Town crews .had repaired 11 out of 14 defects that .were
identified in the .sewer line cleanouts. A memo.was distributed .detailing these repairs
and specifications are .being prepared for all .needed .manhole .repairs which will go
out to bid within 30 .days.
A request .has been received from the. Virginia Municipal .League to nominate
committee members to their .seven policy committees. Reggests should be forwarded
to the ,Mayor through the. Clerk.
TRAFFIC Miss Burgess advised the. Town .has been notified by the Department of Transporta-
LIGHTStion that the will
y put out to bid all five traffic lights in the. downtown area
with their funding-being 95~ and the Town picking up 5~. As previously reported,
the. Department of Transportation .had questioned whether. all five of the. lights met
the various warrants for .need. With the help of .Delegate Dobyns we have obtained
the Department of Transportation commitment to the project. This project will go
out to bid in August.
Miss :Burgess stated that a schedule of upcoming bid openings .had been distributed.
Miss Burgess stated the Planning Commission held their site plan review
.hearing on a conditional use application for a four unit apartment building on 4th
Street, NE. She requested that Council .set a joint public hearing with the.
Planning Commission.
Councilman Glenn so moved that public hearing be .set for April 5, 5:00 p.m.
seconded by Councilman Graham and carried.
Vice .Mayor .Neighbors advised that Mr. .Patton with the .New River .Valley .Rescue
Squad .had requested decals be furnished to their volunteers. Mr. .Patton .had stated
that the County furnishes members of the .rescue squad with County decals. It .was
determined that the Finance Committee would .review this .matter.
At 9:05 p.m., Councilman Graham .made a motion to adjourn, .seconded by Councilman
Neblett and .carried.
APPRO D:
.Mayor
ATTEST:
Clerk of Council