HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-19-13..,,. ~,.,~~ of the Town Council meeting held February 19, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the
Municipal Building at 42 First Street, NW, Pulaski, Virginia.
Present were: Jeffrey S. Worrell, Mayor '
Council: Heather L. Steele, Gregory C. East (arrived at 5:08 p.m.), David L. Clark, H. M. Kidd,
Joseph K. Goodman, James A. Radcliffe
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Staff: John Hawley, Town Manager
Patricia Cruise, Clerk of Council
David Warburton, Town Attorney
Dave Quesenberry, Asst. to the Town Manager
Bill Webb, Fire Chief
Gary Roche, Police Chief
Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer
Sherry Boyd, Finance Director
John White, Economic Development Director
Dave Hart, Parks and Facilities Director
Others: Clark Payne Janet Golden Brenda Blackburn
Nick Glenn Shawn Utt Scott Wickham
Deanna Cox Mike Williams, Press Melinda Williams, Press
Mayor Worrell called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. and welcomed the visitors to the meeting.
Following roll call, Councilman Clark moved to add item 13A, Discussion of Finance Director's Position to the
agenda. Councilman Radcliffe seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote:
Heather L. Steele -Aye H. M. Kidd -Aye '
Gregory C. East -Absent Joseph K. Goodman -Aye
David L. Clark -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye
Mayor Worrell moved on to the Consent Agenda.
Councilman Kidd moved to adopt the Consent Agenda consisting of the January 15, 2013 Council minutes as
written. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and carried on voice vote.
Councilman East arrived at the meeting at 5:08 p.m.
The next item on the agenda was Presentations.
Mayor Worrell introduced Mark Bentley, the Employee of the Month for February, 2013. He read a Press
Release aloud and advised that in addition to receiving the Employee of the Month award, Mr. Bentley would
also receive an additional paid day off from work and be eligible for the Employee of the Year award at the end
of the year.
The next item on the agenda was the presentation of the 2011-12 Audit.
Sherry Boyd introduced Deanna Cox of Robinson, Farmer, Cox, Associates to give the presentation.
Deanna presented an audit presentation to each member of Council and reviewed the information with
Council. She advised that the Town had an unqualified opinion from the audit, which was the best opinion that'
the Town could have. She also noted that the Town was now considered a low risk auditee, which was an
improvement over the past three years. She added that one weakness shown in the audit was that the
February 19, 2013/Page 1 of 8
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f„ .,,~~„+~~., cr,P SI Innaared that the Town should maintain a fund balance of about 10% of the current
concentration account had not been reconciled in a timely manner. She noted that Town staff was alrea.
addressing that issue. Additionally, she noted that the unassigned fund balance was too low as recommended
to maintain. She suggested that the Town should maintain a fund balance of about 10% of the current
expenditures. She encouraged the Town to work to increase the fund balance.
'Mayor Worrell moved on to Public Operations.
tti'~' fiPSt item was Pulaski Furniture short term goals.
Mr. White advised that the Town was working to complete the trail over the Iron Bridge connecting the First
Street Redevelopment area to Main Street and onto Third Street. He noted that the trail would essentially
connect two downtown industrial areas. It was hoped that the public thoroughfare would be an incentive for
the Pulaski Furniture complex owner to improve its physical image, thus making the building in the complex
even more marketable. Additionally, he advised that Bluebird was purchasing additional equipment and wiould
be taking on more work in cooperation with Phoenix.
Councilman Goodman inquired whether the Town had heard anything more from the Pulaski Furniture
complex property owner in regard to site improvements to enhance the overall appearance of the property?
Mr. White responded that the last conversation that he had with the owner was that he would be willing to
facilitate in any way the Town's partnering with him, with the Town paying for the work. The Town, at that time,
did not take the offer.
Councilman Goodman continued, "so broken fences, broken windows, tall grass'?
Mr. White responded that would have to come under nuisance abatement's enforcing of codes. .~:
Councilman East commented that Council had seen little to no movement on the Pulaski Furniture complex.
He added that he did not consider it partnering when the Town is asked to foot the bill. He agreed that
nuisance abatement and code enforcement would have to take over.
Mayor Worrell moved on to Route 11 corridor.
Mr. Hawley advised that he had been contacted by the landscaping and architecture Professor from Virginia
Tech regarding his class working in the Town. He noted that they had traded several voice mails and he
hoped to contact him soon.
Mr. Pedigo advised that a summary of the progress of the Engineering Department and Pulaski County on
incorporating the Museum landscape and parking with the County's plan to improve the Maple Shade parking
lot had been included in the packet. It was hoped to have this work completed in time for the opening of the
new Museum. Additionally, he advised that staff was going to try to focus on some property maintenance
issues on that corridor.
Councilman East commented that at one point there had been talk of some shelters that were to be privately
funded on the Maple Shade lot as well as repaving the parking lot.
Mr. Pedigo responded that as far as he knew, the County was only looking at lighting and paving
improvements for that parking facility.
Mr. Hawley advised that he was not aware of any recent contact from the individual who had spoken of raising
funds for shelters. He had sent several emails but had no response.
' Councilman East asked for clarification as to what the Town would be responsible for.
February 19, 2013/Page 2 of 8
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Mr. Pedigo responded that the Town would be responsible for the sidewalks and the parking lot would be the
responsibility of the County.
Mr. Hawley advised that discussions had been held regarding the coordination of the location of the parking lot ,
entrances and of the sidewalks.
Councilman East inquired whether Councilmen Clark and Goodman could ask for the Board of Supervisors
help in coordinating this work when they had their monthly meeting with their representatives?
Councilman Goodman advised that it could be brought up at the next meeting and see how the Board of
Supervisor representatives wished to handle it.
Mayor Worrell moved on to volunteer short term goals.
Fire Chief Webb advised that the Committee held a volunteer sign up meeting on January 16 with seven
persons signing up with Human Resources. He noted that some of these were new contacts. He added that
there had been some new phone interest since the meeting and the Committee would be contacting them. He
noted that several individuals were interested in volunteering at the Museum. He added that the Committee
needed to discuss what type of recognition program they wanted to do for the volunteers later in the year. .
Mr. White interjected that he and Dave Hart had been asked to work up a job description for the volunteers that
work at the Museum. He reminded them that he had sent a draft job description to Council several weeks
before and thought they might want to review it.
Councilman East inquired whether staff had decided what hours the Museum would be open? He hoped that
volunteers would be able to man the Museum as much as possible.
Mr. Hawley advised that for the purposes of setting a budget, staff had used 5 days a week at 6 hours a day or'
some variant of that. He advised that Council also needed to decide whether they were going to set an entry
fee.
Mayor Worrell interjected that was something to discuss and try to adjust accordingly
Mr. Hawley added that staff was at the point of setting up displays and deciding what type of cash register to
purchase, etc.
On a different topic, Councilman East advised that Food City was interested in discussions regarding
sponsorship of the Easter Egg hunt.
Mr. Hawley advised that a letter had been sent to all the businesses regarding the opportunity to sponsor
different events in Town.
Councilman East replied that he would like for staff to pursue the contact with Food City for the Easter Egg
hunt. He asked that Council be kept in the loop on the progress of these discussions.
Councilman Goodman suggested finding contacts in corporate offices to sponsor or adopt events and also
provide staffing for events.
Mr. Hawley advised that staff had some contacts in corporate offices, but would strive to find more. He added
that staff would work on a packet for Council to review that could be sent to corporate offices. ,
Mayor Worrell moved on to joint dispatch update.
February 19, 2013/Page 3 of 8
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of tho firs} items that nPPded to he c:omnleted was brinaina a director on board as soon as oossible to handle
Chief Roche advised that staff had traveled to Smith and Wythe Counties to observe their joint dispatch '
systems at work. He added that they learned what not to do and also what was best to do. He noted that Gne
of the first items that needed to be completed was bringing a director on board as soon as possible to handle
all the coordination.
' Councilman Goodman inquired whether they heard any comments regarding whether there were cost savings
or better quality to the citizens?
Chief Roche responded that he was not aware of those things. He noted that Smith County funded the entire
joint dispatch.
Mayor Worrell moved on to the use of the Armory.
Mr. Hawley advised of the receipt of an email from the Virginia Army National Guard regarding the funding for
the armory. He asked Mr. Hart to explain.
Mr. Hart advised that the Virginia Army National Guard wished to update the Town's Shared Use Agreement.
He advised that after reviewing the Town's current use of the Armory and the cost of that use, staff suggested
that the Town request the state to discontinue the Shared Use Agreement since the Town had no future need
for the it and turn all expenses over to them.
Following discussion, the consensus was for staff to write a letter to the Virginia Army National Guard
requesting to discontinue the Shared Use Agreement and turn all use and expenses back over to them.
Mayor Worrell moved on to Finance.
The first item was guidelines for contribution requests.
' Mr. Hawley advised that per Council's request, David Quesenberry had researched and drafted some
guidelines that might be used to evaluate requests for contributions.
Mr. Quesenberry reviewed his draft guidelines.
Councilman East advised that the reason he had requested this information was to make it awell-documented
process rather than a subjective process. He opined that it would keep the potential for favoritism out of the
selection process. He noted that Herndon's guidelines were a good example of what he had been looking for.
He liked the check the box requirement style.
Councilman Goodman liked both Herndon and Montgomery County's examples. He added that mental health
was just as important in this country and that the Town needed to make sure they were supporting our citizens
in all realms. He felt the Town should give equal treatment to any organization that provides either mental
health or physical health support.
Following more discussion, the consensus of Council was for staff to develop a check list utilizing the Town of
Herndon and Montgomery County as an example of the criteria. This information was to be ready for the
March 5 Council meeting.
Mayor Worrell moved on to consideration of fees.
Mr. Hawley advised that Council and staff had been reviewing and discussing fees in the Police Department
and in the Finance Department. He added that staff had set the fees at an amount to cover the costs incurred
' by the Town as directed by Council.
February 19, 2013/Page 4 of 8
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motion and carried on the following recorded vote:
~,~,...~~ig discussion, Councilman Clark moved to direct staff to prepare an Ordinance increasing the fees in
the Police Department effective April 1, 2013 as shown in the packet. Councilman Goodman seconded the
motion and carried on the following recorded vote:
Heather L. Steele -Aye H. M. Kidd -Aye ,
Gregory C. East -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye
David L. Clark -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye
Councilman Clark moved to direct staff to prepare an Ordinance increasing the fees in the Finance Department
effective April 1, 2013 as shown in the packet. Councilman Goodman seconded the motion and carried on the
following recorded vote:
Heather L. Steele -Aye H. M. Kidd -Aye
' ~' Gregory C. East -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye
David L. Clark -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye
Mayor Worrell moved on to annual decals. He commented that this had been a topic of discussion for Council
more than once. He added that Council needed to decide one way or another.
Mr. Hawley advised that Council had discussed several times whether to return to the annual decal. He added
that if Council wished to implement the decals, a decision needed to be made so the funds could be
incorporated into the budget.
Councilman East advised that he had previously stated that he did not have an opinion either way on whether
to return to the annual decal. He added that was no longer the case. He advised that he was now against
reinstituting the annual decal. He advised that he had done some homework regarding why other areas had
not reverted back to the annual decal. He had discovered the difference led back to the Virginia Debt Set off
Program. He felt that implementing the program would offset the manpower investment. ,
Mr. Hawley commented that manpower was an issue for the Town, but they would try to implement the
program if that was Council's desire. (He noted that depending upon which department at the County handled
delinquent taxes, they might have enough manpower.)
Councilman Goodman agreed with Councilman East. He was against the annual decals. He noted that his
research showed a commonwealth wide trend going away from the decals. He felt the Town should try the
Virginia Debt Set Off Program for a year and see if payments increased. If they didn't, Council had the option
of reinstituting decals at that time.
Cownciknan East moved to direct the Town Manager to actively participate in the Virginia Debt Set-off Program
through the Virginia Department of Taxation and provide the Town Council with a quarterly update of individual
claims entered, number of hits and resulting revenue collected. Councilwoman Steele seconded the motion.
Councilman Clark asked if staff had looked at what it would take financially to get the Town up to speed on that
program.
Ms. Boyd advised that there would be some upfront filing costs. Additionally, she had staffing problems and
might have to come back to Council on that. She noted that she would not be able to file anything until
November 1, 2013, so quarterly updates would not begin until then.
The motion then carried on the following recorded vote:
Heather L. Steele -Aye H. M. Kidd -Aye ,
Gregory C. East -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye
David L. Clark -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye
February 19, 2013/Page 5 of 8
Mayor Worrell moved on to Budget presentations. He noted that staff had been working on the 2013-14
budgets. The first draft had been placed before Council.
Mr. Hawley summarized the budget report for Council.
' Following discussion, the consensus was for Council to review the first draft of the budget in preparation for a
budget work session the next week.
Councilman East advised that he would like the electronic tablets removed from Council's budget.
Mayor Worrell advised that could be discussed at the budget work session.
The next item to be addressed was Legislative.
The first item for discussion was mopeds.
Mr. Hawley advised that Mr. Quesenberry had researched regulations regarding mopeds in other localities.
This report had been included in the Council packet.
Mr. Quesenberry summarized the report provided to Council.
Following discussion, the consensus was for staff to work with the County to create an Ordinance acceptable
to both governments for Council and the Board of Supervisors review.
The next item was zoning referral.
Mr. Hawley advised of a memo included in the packet regarding "pain management clinics" indicating that the
' Planning Commission review.
Councilman Clark moved to refer to the Planning Commission the discussion of "pain management clinics".
Councilman Goodman seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote:
Heather L. Steele -Aye
Gregory C. East -Aye
David L. Clark -Aye
H. M. Kidd -Aye
Joseph K. Goodman -Aye
James A. Radcliffe -Aye
Mayor Worrell moved on to Finance Director position. He advised that Councilman East had requested the
addition to the meeting.
Councilman East advised that he wanted to discuss the position opening for the Director of Finance for the
Town. He felt that since discussion was ongoing with the County regarding the possibility of the County
collecting Town taxes, that the position should not be filled at this time. He opined that if the County took over
the taxes, the job description could change substantially.
Councilman Goodman inquired whether Councilman East felt that if the County took over the taxes, the Town
Finance Department might be overstaffed?
Councilman East replied in the affirmative.
Councilman Clark asked if the Town should continue to take applications for the position?
Councilman Goodman felt it might be good to attack it at both fronts, but hold off giving an offer letter until it is
determined whether the County would take over the tax collection.
February 19, 2013/Page 6 of S
:.,.wley advised that the Town had already advertised the position and received applications for the job
based on the current job description. He added that staff had been preparing to schedule interviews.
Mayor Worrell commented that he could not support that. He could not imagine not needing a Finance ,
Director regardless of how the tax collection issue comes out with the County. He added that he had no idea
how long it would take to work out the joint tax collection issue. He opined that a Finance Department without
a Finance Director would do far more harm to the Town.
Councilman East responded that was not what he was saying. He added that he was looking at the potential
for a downgraded position. He stated "there would still be management requirements, but would it rise to the
occasion of the requirements for the current position". He added that he felt "there is a good possibility that it
won't". He continued "which means while there would still be management in place long term should this work
out, it would be less expensive". He added that all he was asking was "that we at least understand what those
requirements are going to be six months to a year from now before we make a decision to hire somebody that
ultimately may end up over qualified".
Mr. Hawley responded that he had sent an email to the County about the joint tax collection that day and the
County Treasurer had sent an inquiry to the other treasurers across the state asking how they handle that. He
noted that those responses have been varied. He added that "working with the Finance Director for fourteen
years, there is a whole lot more to jt than tax collection".
Mayor Worrell advised that we have a Finance Director that's already announced the date of departure and
we've already advertised the position and taken applications and we are to the point we're ready to start
interviews. He added that he would strongly recommend that we move forward with that.
Councilman East countered that if you bring somebody in, it would be very difficult to downgrade the position.
Councilman East then moved that the upcoming vacancy for the position of Director of Finance for the Town of
Pulaski be held vacant pending a full review and understanding of the revised position requirements should the,
County of Pulaski agree to assume some or all of the responsibilities of which the current position entails.
Councilman Goodman seconded the motion.
Mayor Worrell reminded Council that "just a few minutes ago you made a motion to have the Town Manager
place additional duties on the Finance Department. Now you've made a motion to hold off hiring a Finance
Director".
Councilman East responded "I'm aware of my motions Mayor'.
AAr. Hawley noted that an answer might not be forthcoming until after July 1.
Councilman Kidd felt the Town was "in need of a Finance Director regardless of the tax situation, because the
job is more detail oriented than a lot of people think".
Councilman East responded "I think this will give us the opportunity to fully vet and understand that and if that
is in fact correct, then we'll be one hundred percent certain as we move forward".
Councilman Goodman commented there was nothing to say that "we can't try to get this vetted out in two
weeks to a month and turn around and go, OK, good idea, bad idea and move forward".
The motion then carried on the following recorded vote:
Heather L. Steele -Aye H. M. Kidd - No '
Gregory C. East -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye
David L. Clark - No James A. Radcliffe -Aye
February 19, 2013/Page 7 of 8
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The next item on the agenda was Round Table Discussion.
Councilwoman Steele commented that she was excited about the progress that "we're going in". She felt as
though Council was moving forward more with the decals and such. We're being progressive and not
' digressing back to the past.
Councilman Radcliffe thanked staff for everything they do and was looking forward to getting started on the
budget and moving forward with this show.
At 7 p.m., Councilman Clark moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Radcliffe and carried on voice voUe.
A roved: ~2~~~'
PP
ey S. Worrell, Mayor
February 19, 2013/Page 8 of 8