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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-04-10Minutes of the Town Council Meeting held December 7, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building at 42 First Street, NW. There were present: Mayor Jeffrey S. Worrell Council: Morgan P. Welker, H. M. Kidd, David L. Clark, Joel B. Burchett, Jr. (arrived at 7:02 p.m.) Robert A. Bopp, Joseph K. Goodman Staff: John J. Hawley, Town Manager Patricia Cruise, Clerk of Council David Quesenberry, Assistant to the Town Manager R. D. Warburton, Town Attorney Gary Roche, Police Chief John White, Economic Development Director Elizabeth Chitwood, Secretary Dave Hart, Parks and Facilities David Cook, Public Works Sherry Boyd, Finance Director Others: Glenn C. Hall, Jr. John Blair Larry Clevinger, II Ali Weigel Regina Elsner Amy Lewis Andy McCready Shawn Utt Mike Williams, Press Melinda Williams, Press Mayor Worrell called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Councilman Goodman led the Pledge of Allegiance and Mayor Worrell gave the invocation. Following roll call, Mayor Worrell introduced David Cook as the December, 2010 Employee of the Month. He read a press release aloud and presented Mr. Cook with an award. He advised that David would be given an additional paid day off from work and be eligible for the Employee of the Year award at the end of the year. Mayor Worrell commended Councilman H. M. Kidd for coming to the aid of a citizen with a medical emergency. Councilman Kidd had been riding in the parade with Town Council and got off the trolley to assist the citizen. The next item on the agenda was Public Hearings. The first Hearing was in regard to cemetery rates. Mayor Worrell advised that the Cemetery Trustees had suggested that the cemetery rates be changed to $400 per space in an effort to make them more uniform and more in line with other cemeteries in the area. Following discussion, Council had directed staff to schedule a public hearing to discuss the rate. Mr. Hawley added that this was an opportunity for the public to give input into the rates for a cemetery plot. He commented that if it was Council's decision to approve the rate increase, it would become effective January 1, 2011. Mayor Worrell opened the Public Hearing at 7:05 p.m. There being no comments, the Hearing closed. Councilman Clark moved to set the rates as recommended by the Cemetery Trustees effective January 1, 2011. Councilman Welker seconded the motion. Mr. Warburton interjected that the cemetery prices were last set by Ordinance, so an Ordinance would be C quired to amend the rate. ouncilman Clark withdrew his motion. December 7, 2010/Page 1 of 4 Councilman Clark moved to direct staff to prepare an Ordinance amending the rates for the Cemetery fees to $400 effective January 1, 2011 per the recommendation of the Cemetery Trustees. Councilman Welker seconded the motion and it carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye Robert A. Bopp - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye The next Public Hearing was in regard to New River Valley Water Supply. Mr. Hawley advised that Council had previously viewed a Power Point presentation. This Public Hearing would complete the action from the request from the Planning District Commission. Mayor Worrell opened the Public Hearing at 7:08 p.m. There being no comments, the Hearing closed. Councilman Clark moved to adopt Resolution 2010-25, Approving the New River Valley Regional Water Supply Plan. Councilman Goodman seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye Robert A. Bopp - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye The next Public Hearing was in regard to Drought Ordinance. Mr. Hawley advised that Ordinance 2010-12 went along with the Water Supply Plan. This would complete the action of Council. Mayor Worrell opened the Public Hearing at 7:12 p.m. There being no comments, the Hearing was closed. Following discussion, Councilman Welker moved to adopt Ordinance 2010-12, Amending Section 86-130 of the Town Code For Drought Declaration and Management. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and so . carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye Robert A. Bopp - Aye David L. Clark - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye The next item on the agenda was Public Comment period. Andy McCready addressed Council advising that he was speaking on behalf of himself and the citizens of the Wurno area who were opposed to being taken into the Town. He commented that they have all the services they need and don't need to pay extra taxes for services that they already have. He asked that Council look at one of the last pages of the 1989 annexation agreement and review the list of milestones that the Town committed to meet. He commented that they would find a long list of broken promises. He summarized that the citizens of the Wurno area did not want to be included in the proposed annexation and would take all legal and appropriate steps to insure that they remain Pulaski County citizens. He noted that there was a provision in the state code that allows a Town to hold land in the County for the purpose of economic development without boundary adjusting. He suggested that Council contact some of the developers in the area and ask them what assets they see. He opined that sometimes we grow accustomed to the surroundings and don't see them anymore. Mayor Worrell thanked Mr. McCready for his comments. There being no further speakers, he moved on to the Consent Agenda. Councilman Welker moved to adopt the Consent agenda consisting of the minutes of the November 2, 2010 Council meeting as written. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and it carried on voice vote. Mayor Worrell moved on to Project Updates. December 7, 2010/Page 2 of 4 The first item was Peak Creek. Mr. Hawley introduced Dr. Glenn C. Hall Jr. to address Council. Mr. Hall explained the history behind the ownership of a section of the walls between the East and West bridges on Peak Creek. He explained that the heirs of Mr. Hall's father and Mr. Frank Wysor own that section of the wall. He provided copies of the agreement and some letters regarding the property. He advised that he was willing to give his portion of the property to the Town whether the Wysor family did or not. Mayor Worrell thanked Dr. Wysor for his information and advised that the Town Attorney would review the information and report back to Council. The next item on the agenda was an update on the Brownsfield Grant. Mr. White introduced Ali Weigel, Project Manager from Draper Aden, who was involved with the grant. Ms. Weigel summarized the status of the grant program. Mr. White advised that the goal is to make the brownsfield sites viable. The next item on the agenda was dilapidated buildings. Mr. Hawley summarized the status of the dilapidated buildings in Town. He suggested that staff review the remaining structures that need attention and prioritize them to determine the best use of the remaining funds. Councilman Goodman reminded Council that the Pulaski Redevelopment and Housing Authority recommended a model plan from Lynchburg to help prioritize properties. He suggested that the Blight Team be given the task of doing the work using that model plan. Following extensive discussion, staff was asked to: 1. Look at the foundry building again and speak with the owner to get his schedule for repair. 2. Provide an updated list of all the remaining condemned buildings with photographs and rank them according to need to be demolished. Then Council could review the buildings themselves. Mayor Worrell moved on to Dora Highway. Mr. Hawley summarized the action on the Dora Highway project including that three rehabilitations had closed within the last week. The next item on the agenda was the Museum and current funding update. Mr. Hawley advised that a list of current funds available for construction had been provided in the packet. Additionally, he advised that a summary of the activities in progress or being completed had been included in the packet. He added that the Department of Historic Resources had recommended some changes to the physical appearance of the building, specifically removing the cupolas. Additionally, they suggested the use of horizontal "HardiPlank" siding. Mr. Hawley stated that paperwork would be completed and sent to the Virginia Department of Transportation as soon as possible. Councilman Welker inquired whether building a smaller building would help with electricity and climate control of the building and should scaling the building back be discussed? Mr. Hawley responded that the basic layout of the building had already been submitted for approval. He felt that scaling down would be easier than making it larger. Councilman Welker wondered if the Town was going to be able to meet the completion deadline set by the Brockmeyer family in order for them to donate the train set to the Town. He inquired whether staff had December 7, 2010/Page 3 of 4 contacted the family to make sure that if the building was completed after the deadline, that the train set would still be donated to the Town. If not, he opined that the building may not need to be constructed at all. Mr. Hawley advised that the contact needed to be made. Extensive discussion ensued regarding the size of the building and the need for contact with the owners of the property to be donated to the Town with no action taken. From the public, Mr. McCready advised that he had recently put up a similar type of building with Mr. Kirkner. He advised that it would actually cost more to build the Museum if the size was diminished. He added that when you reduce the footprint, you increase the cost per square foot. Mayor Worrell thanked Mr. McCready for his comments. He advised that staff would contact the owners of the Train Station and the hearse regarding the deadline. The next item on the agenda was Old Business. The first item was lien collection update. Mr. Warburton advised that the lien collection process was under control. Mayor Worrell moved on to the smoking policy. Mr. Warburton reviewed the draft Ordinance regarding the smoking policy. He explained that while the instruction from Council included the desire to specify areas of Town that the policy applied to, there was some current litigation in Virginia and he preferred to wait until those cases came to completion before preparing the wording for that section of the Ordinance. He continued that the Ordinance in the packet was a pared down version that only spoke to the use of tobacco products in and around Town buildings. Following extensive discussion, Council requested that the Ordinance include wording that the use of tobacco products was prohibited near any open window of Town buildings. Councilman Welker moved to adopt Ordinance 2010-13, Establishing a Policy Regarding the Use of Tobacco Products Inside Town Buildings with the addition of the wording "or any open windows" added to public entrance or exit. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and it carried on the following recorded vote: Morgan P. Welker - Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. - Aye H. M. Kidd - Aye Robert A. Bopp - No David L. Clark - Aye Joseph K. Goodman - Aye The next item on the agenda was an update on fire equipment. Mr. Hawley advised that a quote had been obtained to repair the aerial truck and research done into the cost of purchasing a used vehicle. He summarized that information including that the used trucks would not fit into the existing fire house. Extensive discussion ensued regarding the possible use of a multipurpose truck called a "quint" and also of the use of the Dublin aerial truck and whether the ISO rating would be preserved if that choice was made. Approved: /Ivlley S. Worrell, Mayor December 7, 2010/Page 4 of 4