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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-16-14Minutes of the Town Council meeting held September 16, 2014, 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, David L. Clark, James A. Radcliffe, Lane R. Penn, Absent: H. M. Kidd Staff: Shawn Utt, Town Manager Patricia Cruise, Clerk of Council David Warburton, Town Attorney Bill Webb, Fire Chief Tony Meredith, Lieutenant Craig Quinn, Project Engineer Chris Phillips, Street Superintendent Pam Witten, Finance Director John White, Economic Development Director Dave Hart, Parks and Facilities Others: Judy Ison Meredith McCrady Janet Golden Jonna McGraw Calvin Pynn, Press Mike Williams, Press Mayor Worrell called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Following roll call, Councilman Clark moved to add item 10C, First Amendment to the Calfee Park Purchase Agreement. Councilman Radcliffe 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 -Absent James A. Radcliffe -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye Mayor Worrell welcomed the visitors to the meeting. He advised that the first item on the agenda was the adoption of the August 19, 2014 Council minutes. Councilman East moved to adopt the Consent Agenda consisting of the August 19, 2014 Council minutes. Councilman Steele seconded the motion and carried on voice vote. The next item addressed by Council was Public Operations. The first item was Weeds and Grass Ordinance recommendations. Mr. Utt advised that two attachments had been included in the Council packet for Council's review. One was a summary of ordinances from peer localities around the region, complete with any required abatement conditions, exemptions, notice required and appeals and penalties. The second attachment was a recommendation to Council for changes to the Weeds and Grass Ordinance. He reviewed the recommendations from staff. Councilman Radcliffe felt there would be a better response from the public if the uniform division would hand deliver the nuisance letters to the public. Councilman Penn and Councilman East agreed with Councilman Radcliffe. Mayor Worrell commented that the Ordinance could-say personal delivery and whomever the Town Manager assigned that duty would be covered. . September 16, 2014/Page 1 of 6. Councilman East suggested that an appeals process was needed as well as detailed steps and time frame for staff to follow. Following discussion, Councilman Clark moved to direct staff to prepare the necessary paperwork for Council's review to amend the Weeds and Grass Ordinance as discussed. Councilman Penn 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 -Absent James A. Radcliffe -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye The next item on the agenda was Iron Bridge Walking Trail (Tea-21 Funded project). Mr. Utt advised that in 2004, the Town was awarded a Transportation Enhancement Act grant in the amount of $31,000 to construct a 10-foot wide trail using the Norfolk-Southern donated right-of-way beginning at First Street, adjacent to the Rice Building and extending across the railroad trestle to the former Pulaski Furniture complex. He noted that approximately $2,000 had been spent from the grant for survey work and some VDOT charges. Since there has been no recent activity on this project, VDOT had asked for a determination of whether or not the Town wanted to complete this project. He added that he was having a hard time justifying the need to continue at this time. He explained his reasoning for recommending that the project not be completed at this time. Mayor Worrell commented that he did not feel this project should be pursued at this time and he encouraged Council to return the funds to VDOT. Councilman Radcliffe agreed with the Mayor. Councilman East suggested that the project be added into the long term Comprehensive Plan. Councilman Clark moved to direct staff to prepare a Resolution to return the TEA 21 grant funds for the Iron Bridge Walking Trail back to VDOT. Councilman East 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 -Absent James A. Radcliffe -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye The next item on the agenda was the Industrial Revitalization Fund (IRF) grant for the Fine Arts Center of the New River Valley. Mr. Utt advised that staff had been searching for opportunities to use the Industrial Revitalization Fund proceeds. He added that he had been approached by members of the Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley Board about the potential of using these funds to "close the gap" and get their project off the ground. He explained the Fine Arts Centers project and its status. Judy Ison, Executive Director of the Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley, provided an overview of the status of their project to renovate the Rutherford property at the corner of Washington Avenue and Route 11. She requested Council's support of a resolution supporting their request to use the Industrial Revitalization Fund proceeds for their project. Following discussion, Councilman Clark moved to authorize staff to work with the Fine Arts Center and Pulaski County staff to prepare a grant application for the Industrial Revitalization Fund and bring a Resolution back to September 16, 2014/Page 2 of 6 the first meeting in October. Councilman East seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele -Aye H. M. Kidd -Absent Gregory C. East -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye Mayor Worrell moved on to Gatewood improvements. Mr. Utt advised that as a result of citizen comments at the August 5 Town Council meeting, discussion of Gatewood improvements had been added to the agenda. He noted that an email summary from Mr. Hart had been included in the packet with pertinent points to consider regarding long-term camping and swimming. He asked for Council's input on the matter. Councilman Radcliffe commented that he did not want to lose money at Gatewood. He suggested forming a committee to review ideas to upgrade Gatewood. Mayor Worrell commented that Gatewood had the potential to be another Mountain Lake if the Town had the resources to put in it. He advised that discussions had been held over the years regarding possible improvements. He wondered whether it was time for an RFP or for privatization of the operation or portions of the operation. He suggested perhaps someone would want to take over the concessions or perhaps someone would be willing to build cabins and rent them or perhaps some type of public/private operation could be achieved. Councilman East agreed with the Mayor. He opined that the Town does not have the resources needed to make Gatewood the place it could be. He liked the idea of looking into privatizing the operation or portions of the operation of Gatewood. Following more discussion, staff was asked to bring back a list of people to appoint to a Gatewood Review Committee for the October Work Session. Staff was encouraged to reach out to the colleges in the area for conceptual ideas. Mayor Worrell moved on to Main Street Strategic Vision. Mr. Utt advised that the Chamber of Commerce had been working with Radford University to help compile a strategic vision for the downtown area as requested by Council. He added that they had requested thirty to forty-five minutes with Council to brainstorm ideas and get a better idea of where Council wished the downtown area to be in 5, 10, or 15 years. Following discussion, Council asked to have a Called Council meeting on September 23 to discuss this issue. Mayor Worrell moved on to Finance. Mr. Utt advised that he had failed to include several items at the previous month's public hearing that needed to be included. He asked Council to approve Resolution 2014-31, Transferring Funds from the FY 2013-2104 Budget to the FY 2014-2015 Budget for the Comprehensive Plan Update. Councilman Clark moved to adopt Resolution 2014-31 as written. Councilman Penn 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 -Absent James A. Radcliffe -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye September 16, 2014/Page 3 of 6 "lie nzxt item on the agenda was Legislative. Mr. Utt advised that Council had requested that staff draw up an Ordinance Amending Section 54-2 of the Town Code regarding recreational activities on certain property. The Ordinance had been included in the packet. Mayor Worrell noted that the effective date on the Ordinance was incorrect and should have been the 16th of September. Councilman Clark moved to adopt Ordinance 2014-19, Amending Section 54-2 of the Code of Ordinances Town of Pulaski with the amendment of the effective date being the 16th day of September. Councilman East seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele -Aye H. M. Kidd -Absent Gregory C. East -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye The next item on the agenda was Planning Commission and BZA (Board of Zoning Appeal) vacancies. Mr. Utt advised that the Planning Commission currently had three vacancies and the BZA currently had one vacancy and two alternate positions that were vacant. He continued that all of these vacancies needed to be filled. He noted that several citizens had contacted the Town indicating an interest in serving on certain committees and he reviewed those requests. Following discussion, staff was asked to contact the interested citizens and make sure they were still interested and ask them if they prefer a certain appointment over another one. Mayor Worrell moved on to the first amendment to the Calfee Park purchase agreement. Mr. Utt advised that a draft agreement had been placed at their dais titled First Amendment To Agreement For Purchase And Sale Of Real Estate. He advised that it had been discovered that Calfee Park had never been subdivided from the Mountain Park property that included seven hundred some acres that became the Landfill and the Armory and the left side of Route 11 going up the mountain. Because of this discovery, the closing on the property would take longer than anticipated. He added that the Town Attorney had reviewed the agreement. He asked Council to approve this amendment to the Calfee Park Purchase Agreement. Councilman Clark moved to authorize the Mayor and Town Manager to execute the First Amendment To The Agreement For Purchase And Sale of Real Estate and the Town Attorney serve as Escrow Agent. Councilman East seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele -Aye H. M. Kidd -Absent Gregory C. East -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye The next item on the agenda was Public Utilities and Sewer Vacuum truck purchase. Mr. Utt advised that a problem had arisen with the planned purchase of a sewer vacuum truck. The price had risen to $10,000 more than originally thought. He suggested using the $10,000 that was originally budgeted in this year's CIP for the Calfee Park retaining wall. Councilman East moved to transfer $10,000 from the Calfee Park retaining wall line item to the sewer vacuum truck purchase line item in the CIP. Councilman Penn seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: September 16, 2014/Page 4 of 6 Heather L. Steele -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye David L. Clark -Aye H. M. Kidd -Absent James A. Radcliffe -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye Mayor Worrell moved on to Police Radio Replacement for Joint Dispatch. Mr. Utt advised that a summary of the costs associated with the radio replacement related to the joint dispatch had been included in the packet. He reviewed the breakdown of the costs and suggested that the items be paid for utilizing the proceeds from the Calfee Park sale. Councilman Radcliffe agreed that the listed items needed to be purchased. He felt it was a safety issue. Mayor Worrell agreed with Councilman Radcliffe. Councilman East moved to authorize the Town Manager to proceed with the purchases of the police radio replacement for Joint Dispatch using funds generated from the Calfee Park sale. Councilman Radcliffe seconded the motion. The Town Attorney pointed out that the Town did not have any proceeds yet. Following discussion, Councilman East withdrew the motion and was seconded by Councilman Radcliffe. Councilman East moved to authorize the Town Manager to proceed with the purchases of the police radio replacement and associated equipment for Joint Dispatch. Councilman Radcliffe 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 -Absent James A. Radcliffe -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye Mayor Worrell moved on to Round Table Discussion. Councilman Radcliffe thanked staff for everything they had done. Additionally, he thanked Council for their work in making decisions and beginning to turn the Town around. At 6:15 p.m., Councilman East moved to enter into Closed Session under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A-3), discussion for consideration of the disposition or acquisition of publicly held property regarding Dalton Building Proposed Option, First Street alleys and Loving Field and 2.2-3711 (A-7), consultation with legal counsel and briefing by staff for discussion of specific legal matters and matters subject to probably litigation regarding UDAG loan and Unsafe Structure on First Street. Councilman Clark 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 -Absent James A. Radcliffe -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye At 7:13 p.m., Council returned from Closed Session and adopted the Certification Resolution on motion by Councilman Clark, seconded by Councilman Penn and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye David L. Clark -Aye H. M. Kidd -Absent James A. Radcliffe -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye September 16, 2014/Page 5 of 6 .,~u~ ~~ilman East moved to schedule a Public Hearing regarding the sale of two alleys that border 68 First Street NW to Shah Development LLC. Councilman Clark 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 -Absent James A. Radcliffe -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye Councilman East moved to schedule a Public Hearing regarding the option to have a year for the purchase of the Dalton Building by Shah Development LLC. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele -Aye H. M. Kidd -Absent Gregory C. East -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye Next, Councilman Clark moved to accept alump-sum pay-off for a UDAG loan to Hawkeye East. Councilman Penn seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele -Aye H. M. Kidd -Absent Gregory C. East -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye At 7:15 p.m., there being no further business, the meeting adjourned on motion by Councilman Penn, seconded by Councilman Clark and so carried on voice vote. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned on motion by Councilman Clark, seconded by Councilman Kidd and so carried. Approved: ~~`~ rey S. Worrell, Mayor September 16, 2014/Page 6 of 6