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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-04-13Minutes of the Town Council meeting held Tuesday, June 4, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building. There were present: Mayor: Jeffrey S. Worrell Council: Heather L. Steele, Gregory C. East, David L. Clark, H. M. Kidd, Joseph K. Goodman, James A. Ratcliffe Staff: John J. Hawley, Town Manager David Warburton, Town Attorney Dave Quesenberry, Asst. to the Town Manager Patricia Cruise, Clerk of Council Gary Roche, Police Chief Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer Sherry Boyd, Outgoing Finance Director Pam Litton, Incoming Finance Director Kim Caudill, Administrative Manager Others: Clark Payne Charles Wade Dan Grubb Janet Golden Sharon Gray Shawn Utt Shannon Watkins, Press Mike Williams, Press Mayor Worrell called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and welcomed everyone present. Following roll call, Councilman Clark moved to add item 13e, Appointment to Friends of the Ratcliffe Board, to the agenda. The motion was seconded by Councilman Goodman 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 Public Hearings. The first hearing was consideration of an increase in the fixed charges for water services. Mr. Hawley explained that the Town had very little control of operational costs for electrical and chemicals used at the Filter Plant. He added that staffing requirements were set by the Virginia Department of Health, so there was no option for reducing the budget in that area. He noted that the Water Fund was not transferring the total amount to the general fund as determined by Maguire Associates of Virginia's cost allocation plan. And lastly, he advised that an inundation study that is part of the 08~M certificate process for Gatewood had to be done. He noted that staff recommendation was to increase the fixed water charge for water service by 15%. The increase for the average customer would be $1.31 per month. Mayor Worrell opened the Public Hearing at 7:04 p.m. There being no comments, the Hearing was closed. Councilman Goodman moved to direct staff to prepare the paperwork to increase the fixed charges for water service by 15% using the amounts listed in the legal display ad. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Ms. Steele - No Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. East - No Mr. Goodman -Aye Mr. Clark -Aye Mr. Radcliffe - No Mayor Worrell -Aye June 4, 2013/Page 1 of 7 The next public hearing was in regard to consideration of proposed five year Capital Improvements Plan for 2013-014. Mr. Hawley advised that Council and staff had worked on the five year Capital Improvements Plan for most of the year. He continued that a lot of work had gone into prioritizing the needs of the Town and the CIP was ready to be adopted after the Public Hearing. Mayor Worrell opened the Public Hearing at 7:08 p.m. There being no comments, the Hearing was closed. Councilman Clark moved to direct staff to prepare the paperwork for the Five Year Capital Improvements Plan as advertised for the June 18, 2013 Council Work Session. Councilman Kidd seconded the motion. Councilman East commented that the current CIP included two awnings for $2,500 each for vehicles. He added that the trolley was rather tall and would not fit under the awning. He suggested reallocating $2,500 or even the $5,000 for the bathrooms at Gatewood. He felt this would serve the public better than partially covering the trolley. Councilman Goodman commented that the covering for the trolley was to go between two structures. Councilman East responded that it would still leave the front and rear exposed, so you were only solving part of the problem. Councilman Goodman agreed that while it would not address the whole problem, however, by not protecting any of the vehicle more damage could occur to it. Following more discussion, Councilman East felt if the structure would not cover the whole trolley, the money could be better spent and better serve the citizens by using the funds for the Gatewood bathrooms. The motion then carried on the following recorded vote: Ms. Steele -Aye Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. East - No Mr. Goodman -Aye Mr. Clark -Aye Mr. Radcliffe - No The third Public Hearing was consideration of proposed budget for fiscal year 2013-14. Mr. Hawley advised that a memo had been included in the packet that delineated the changes made to the budget for the Public Hearing. He noted that if Council had any changes for the budget, that change would have to be voted on immediately in order to meet the timeline for adoption of the budget before the end of the fiscal year. Mayor Worrell opened the Public Hearing at 7:13 p.m. From the public, Charles Wade advised that after a cursory review of the budget, he found five areas in the General Fund that amounted to approximately $200,000 that he would consider somewhat discretionary. He continued that he realized that it was difficult to move money around from one item to the other, but there was always a way to do that. He added that what concerned him most was that one of the things that the government is supposed to do is concern themselves with the infrastructure and safety of the citizens of the Town. He noted that Longview Court had been complaining for years about the quality of their water and nothing had been done about it other than putting a band aid on it. He felt that Council should address this . issue. There being no further comments from the public, the Hearing was closed at 7:16 p.m. June 4, 2013/Page 2 of 7 Councilman East asked for an elaboration of the Longview Court problem. Mr. Hawley advised that the details were in a file in the office. From memory, he thought there was a water quality and perhaps a water pressure problem. He advised that Longview Court was a dead end road and any time there was a dead end, there was usually a problem with water quality. He added that typically staff flushed the line several times a year. Mayor Worrell commented that staff would look at the problem and update Council Councilman Radcliffe inquired whether the $44,735 included in the Museum portion of the budget was for part time employees? Mr. Hawley advised that a total of salary in the Museum was for part time help. He added that it was for two part time employees working six days a week, 5 hours a day for a total of $16,000 in the employee line item. Councilman Radcliffe stated that he thought that the Museum was to be run by volunteer help. He wondered if this would lead to a full time position? Mayor Worrell commented that the Museum had just opened. He noted that it will take some experimentation to get the Museum functioning in the best manner. Mr. Hawley advised that even when volunteers have been running the Museum, a member of staff has been opening and closing the doors. Councilman Goodman advised that at the time the budget for the Museum was discussed, no one knew how many volunteers would be available for the Museum. Therefore, some staffing was included in the budget for the first year, with the expectation that over time it would be totally run by volunteers. Mr. Hawley pointed out that if the funds were not needed, they could be moved into another account or be placed in the undesignated fund balance. Councilman Clark moved to direct staff to prepare the paperwork to adopt the 2013/14 budget. Councilman Kidd seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Ms. Steele -Aye Mr. East - No Mr. Clark -Aye Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. Goodman -Aye Mr. Radcliffe - No Mayor Worrell moved on to the Public Hearings for zoning amendments for pain clinics. Mr. Quesenberry advised that earlier in the year, some concern was expressed regarding pain management clinics. Council asked the Planning Commission to review the issue. After extensive research and three meetings, the Planning Commission recommended a series of zoning amendments regarding pain management clinics. He noted that these amendments were designed to regulate pain management clinics in such a manner as to enhance the public health, welfare and safety of the community and were included in the packet. Mayor Worrell opened the Public Hearing at 7:32 p.m. There being no comments from the public, the Hearing was closed. Councilman East commended Mr. Quesenberry and Police Chief Roche for a job well done. June 4, 2013/Page 3 of 7 Councilman Clark moved to direct staff to prepare the proper documents amending the zoning regulations regarding pain management clinics. Councilman East seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Ms. Steele -Aye Mr. East -Aye Mr. Clark -Aye Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. Goodman -Aye Mr. Radcliffe -Aye The next item on the agenda was the Public Comment period. Sharon Gray addressed Council regarding buzzards in her neighborhood on Commerce Street. She advised that the buzzards were taking over the neighborhood again. She added that she contacted Chief Roche on April 11 when they first hit ground again. He told her that the police department would not be handling the buzzards any longer, but he would pass on the complaint to someone else. She asked for help from Council. Mayor Worrell commented that he had not been aware that there was a problem again. Police Chief Roche advised that the police department got two or three calls in the early spring and observed the area. The department found that the birds were flying around but were not roosting, and there were no further complaints, so no action was taken. Mayor Worrell advised that staff would look into the problem again. Mayor Worrell moved on to the Consent Agenda. Councilman Kidd moved to adopt the Consent Agenda consisting of the May 7, 2013 Council minutes. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and carried on voice vote. The next item on the agenda was Project Updates. Mr. Hawley summarized the progress on the Dora Highway CDBG. He noted that a conference call would be held to discuss the closeout of the Dora grant. He added that the Town would be submitting its 13"' drawdown request on Phase 2 of the grant. Regarding the tornado CDBG, Mr. Hawley advised that information had been included in the packet that showed updates on the status of rehabs in the area. Additionally, he advised that the Town had received acceptance of the additional information requested by DHCD during the interim compliance review. Moving on to the drop site update, Mr. Pedigo advised that staff had met with the County Engineer to discuss the large item drop site plans. He noted that everyone was in agreement that they would like a full service site, which would include a chipper. The County expressed concerns about safely running a brush chipper in that area. He advised that the Public Service Authority (PSA) wished to acquire the lot directly north of the drop site property to provide more room for the chipper and would contact the Honeywell Company who owned that property. He added that if the option to purchase that lot exists, then the PSA felt that the drop site construction could start soon and eventually move to full operation. He noted that the County Engineer had taken the Town plans to change some design considerations for the PSA. Councilman East inquired what would happen if an option on the property could not be obtained? Mr. Pedigo replied that he did not know. C' Councilman East inquired whether the drop site would go forward even if there was not an option on the other property. June 4, 2013/Page 4 of 7 Mr. Hawley advised that would be up to the PSA because the Town owns the property but they control and operate the drop site. He felt that PSA would probably still want to install the drop site there even if they couldn't obtain the property to the north. Councilman East commented that while pursuing the option, work could continue on the drop site. Mr. Hawley advised that's what needed to be conveyed to PSA. Councilman Goodman inquired whether the PSA was saying that they did not want a chipper on the lot without the additional property? Mr. Pedigo replied that the chipper could still be used on the current site. Mr. East commented that the worst case scenario was that they could chip with the gate closed. Councilman Goodman asked staff to try to find a solution for the future so that a problem with the chipper won't come up again. Councilman East asked for an update on the meeting between the Town of Pulaski and the Pulaski County Service Authority. Staff agreed to the request. The next item on the agenda was the Iron Bridge Trail. Regarding the Iron Bridge Trail update, Mr. Hawley advised that staff would be submitting 50-75% completed plans to VDOT and to VDHR for review. He added that replies had been received from four of seven agencies for the Environmental categorical exclusion for the project. The next item on the agenda was Joint Dispatch study. Mr. Hawley advised that the Committee met and discussed multi-position dispatch centers. Preliminary cost estimates had been provided to Council for these positions. He advised that more preliminary information would be forthcoming from the Committee after the next meeting. Mayor Worrell moved on to Old Business. The first item was a request to designate the first Saturday in May as fund raiser for the Fire Department. Mr. Hawley advised that the Fire Department and the volunteers have been conducting fund raisers for the last two years. To avoid conflicts in the future, the Fire Department was requesting that Council designate the first Saturday in May as a fund raiser for the Fire Department. Following discussion, Councilman Goodman moved to designate the first Saturday in May as the Fire Department Fund Raising day and permit the Fire Department to hold a fundraiser on the first Saturday of May for the next ten years. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Ms. Steele -Aye Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. East -Aye Mr. Goodman -Aye Mr. Clark -Aye Mr. Radcliffe -Aye The next item on the agenda was the Ratcliffe operation. Mr. Hawley advised that included in the packet was a report on the first full month that the Ratcliffe Transportation Museum was open. The report included the number of visitors during the month of May, the June 4, 2013/Page 5 of 7 retail sales amount and a general report on the operations of Museum. Mayor Worrell moved on to the YMCA proposal. He advised that Town staff and the YMCA official's had met and a proposal from the Y had been included in the packet for Council's consideration. Mr. Hawley summarized the proposal and advised that one of the main issues for the YMCA was improving the area around the pool. He advised that Council was invited to tour the Y to gain knowledge of the improvements that needed to be made. Councilman Radcliffe inquired how the Town could consider spending tax money on anon-profit business in Town? Mr. Hawley advised that if Council approved this issue, the Town would be contracting with the YMCA to provide programming to the Town's youth and centers. They would provide services to the Town in exchange for the Town providing services for them. From the public, Dan Grubb addressed Council advising that nationally, YMCA's are working with municipalities, effectively involving the entire community in providing a recreational facility and improving quality of life. Discussion ensued regarding what the YMCA needed in exchange for assistance from the Town. Councilman Goodman commented that the one thing that concerned him on the list from the Y was the request to eliminate the monthly water and PSA charges. He noted that the Town could not absorb the expense of the water and PSA charges. Discussion ensued, with Mr. Hawley suggesting that the other requests be researched to see if the Town could assist the Y. Councilman Goodman commented that he would like to see an estimated cost from staff for each request so that Council would have greater knowledge when making decisions and when speaking with the public. Mr. Hawley advised that Town staff would continue to work with the YMCA staff to try to gather estimated costs for each request from the YMCA as suggested by Councilman Goodman. Mayor Worrell commented that he thought some of the requests could be accommodated by the Town. Further discussion ensued regarding whether the Town was fully utilizing the inmate crews? Mr. Hawley advised that he had spoken with the Pulaski County Administrator regarding the inmate crews. He felt that the inmates could be utilized for specific projects. He noted that the drawback to this was that the Town had to pay a deputy to stay with the prisoners. Staff could continue with routine work. Mr. Hawley also advised that staff would meet with Mr. Grubb to determine what could be done with the ceiling at the pool. The next item for discussion was New Business. The first item was consideration of a request for sponsorship of Livability Initiative Information Exchange. Mr. Hawley advised of the receipt of an email from Kevin Byrd of the New River Valley Planning District Commission. The email contained a request for the Town to be a sponsor for the New River Valley Livability Information Exchange at Radford University. June 4, 2013/Page 6 of 7 Councilman Goodman commented that he did not feel it would be appropriate for the Town to fund the program. He noted the lack of funds in the Town budget. The next item was Northwood Hills request. Mr. Hawley advised that Perry King was requesting assistance with the drainage for his project on Smith Lane. He added that Smith Lane is not eligible for VDOT maintenance funds. He noted that there was currently very little drainage on Smith Lane. Mayor Worrell suggested that the Town could possible pay for some of the materials. Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer, advised that because of the type of soil composition, staff was afraid they would tear up the Town equipment if they tried to help. The consensus of Council was for staff to gather a materials list cost and the cost of fees that the Town could waive and bring it back to Council. Mayor Worrell moved on to job requirements for the new Town Manager and establishing a search process for the new Town Manager. He advised that Council needed to get started on a search for a new Town Manager. He advised that the current job description had been included in the packet. He added that Council had talked about different options for the search process. He asked for comments from Council. Mr. Warburton advised that the current job description had been vetted by the Human Resources Manager and by himself and met all the needs to advertise for this position without violating any laws. He suggested that the references to gender be removed. Following extensive discussion, it was decided; 1. To change the job description to include that the Town Manager reside in the Town of Pulaski within six months of taking the position. 2. Take out references to gender. 3. Amend the job requirement to say 7 years of municipal administration or 7 years of municipal and corporate administration. 4. Town advertise the position to start with in local newspapers, the Richmond Times Dispatch and the Virginia Municipal League. If there were not enough applicants by July 16, 2013, then could proceed to advertise out of state. 5. Applications be sent to the Mayor. 6. Review the applications at the July 16, 2013 Council Work Session. Mayor Worrell moved on to appointment to the Friends of the Ratcliffe Board. He asked whether Council wished to add another member to the Board of the Friends of the Ratcliffe? Councilman Goodman moved to appoint Sandy Payne to the Friends of the Ratcliffe Board. Councilman East seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Ms. Steele -Aye Mr. East -Aye Mr. Clark -Aye Mr. Kidd -Aye Mr. Goodman -Aye Mr. Radcliffe -Aye There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. on motion by Councilman Kidd, seconded by Councilman Radcliffe and carried. Approved: ~fEr` y .Worrell, Mayor June 4, 2013/Page 7 of 7