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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-07-10 Miqu es of the Town Council:Meeting held September 7, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.in the Council Chambers of the ..M0141pal.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., Robert A. Bopp, Joseph K. Goodman Staff: John J. Hawley,Town Manager Patricia Cruise, Clerk of Council R. D.Warburton,Town Attorney David N.Quesenberry, Assistant to the Town Manager Sherry Boyd, Finance Director Gary Roche, Police Chief Dave Hart, Parks and Facilities Director John White, Economic Development Director Bill Pedigo,Town Engineer Debbie Bivens, Computer Tech Others: Shawn Utt Jamie Radcliffe Douglas Wilson Phillip Shrewsbury Shirley Shrewsbury John Ayers Clark Payne Sandy Payne Betty Quesenberry Amy Lewis Melinda Williams, Press Mike Williams, Press Mayor Worrell called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Councilman Goodman led the Pledge of Allegiance and Councilman.Bopp gave the invocation: Mayor Worrell welcomed the public to the meeting. The first item on the agenda was Public Comment period. Barbara Smith addressed Council regarding the cemeteries. She advised that her husband,a veteran,was buried in Oakwood Cemetery. She places a United States flag in a vase on the grave. She noticed that her flags were being removed from the flower vase. She asked that if it was necessary to remove the flags, could Council direct staff to wait until after Labor Day beforeremoving her flags? Additionally, Ms.Smith asked whether Council wouldconsider installing a flagin the cemeteries to honor the veterans? Lastly,shesuggestedthat Council consider eliminating the Town sticker charge to help the unemployed and elderly in our area. Mayor Worrellresponded that one vase was allowed in the cemetery, and he did not think there was a limit on what you put into the vase. He advised that there would be a meeting of the Cemetery Committee trustees in the near future and suggested that Ms.Smith attend to address the request for a flagpole in the cemetery. Next,James Radcliffe addressed Council regarding Comcast cable. He complained that Town citizens had no one to speak to in Town when there was a problem with the cable. He stated that Comcast needed to keep a presence in the Town as their contract stipulated and Council should insist on it. Mayor Worrell responded that the Town does have a contract with Comcast. They were currently in violation of that agreement and a legal remedy was being pursued. Phillip Shrewsbury of 3900 Valley Road complained of low water pressure on Valley Road. Hesaidhe had been dealing with low water pressure for three months. He felt it was a health hazard. He felt the Town was not helping him. He asked for Council's help. Mayor Worrell advised that the Town was aware of the problem and he thought that staff would be checking the pressure that week. September 7,-2010/Page 1 of 5 Douglas Wilson.of 977 Valley Road voiced the same water pressure problem and asKea for LouncnFs neip in resolving it. 45 Mayor Worrell moved on to the Consent Agenda consisting of the Council minutes of August 3, 2010I . Councilman Goodman advised of an error on page 2,in the 10th paragraph, that there was no last name for the motion to adopt the Consent Agenda. The Clerk advised that she would research the information and amend the minutes for adoption at the next meeting. Mayor Worrell moved on to Project Update. The first item was Dora Highway CDBG.. Mr. Hawley advised that LMW, Inc., a second rehab specialist, had been brought in to assist with the Dora Highway project. They had begun the process of completing the bid package for two housing rehabs and two substantial rehabs for the project. He added that the first two housing rehab projects had been completed. The next item on the agenda was boundary adjustment. Mr. Hawley advised of the receipt ofthree emails and an anonymous letter expressing opposition to the change. One of these was not included in the potential boundary adjustment area. He advised that a draft questionnaire for the public had been included in the packet for Council's review. Additionally, he advised that the 1987 Settlement Agreement included providing a sanitary sewer pump station and collection system for the East Main Street area including Block Plant Road. Because there had been little growth in the area,nor any request for sewer to the two houses,it had not been installed. It had been determined that the two residences on Block Plant Road can be served by gravity with the interceptor attached to the East Main Street bridge. He advised that Engineering would provide the cost estimate to complete. This would have to be budgeted and scheduled toshowcompliance. Mr. Hawley advised of a report that had been placed at Council's desk detailing the higher level of service that would be available in any area served by the Town. Mayor Worrell suggested that the boundary adjustment survey be made available for existing Town citizens and also to County citizens that would not be in the proposed boundary adjustment zone. Councilman Welker suggested that information regarding higher level of service be included with the survey and an explanation of the advantages and disadvantages of being a Town resident. Mayor Worrell advised that he would like Chris Cullinan of Tischler Bise to produce a scenario without the cost of the new fire house in it as well as one showing more growth on Route 99. Mayor Worrell added that he traveled up and down the interstate quite a bit. Wythe and Carroll counties have installed or are in the process of installing water and sewer at the interstate exits and developers are coming to their counties. The Town would only have approximately a mile to install. The next item on the agenda was Government Outreach Program update. Mr. Hawley advised that staff had been compiling information for the citizens of Pulaski as well as newcomers to our area tobeincluded on the "Ask Pulaskitown" web site. He added that staff training was scheduled for the following day. Once the training was complete andsomefine tuning on the web site completed, "Ask Pulaskitown"would-be opened to the public. Councilman Goodman asked thatlanguage be added stating that complaints would remain confidential through.the Freedom of Information Act so that citizens would feel comfortable making complaints. Discussion ensued regarding how this would work with the system with Manager advising that he would speak with the vendor. September 7,2010/Page 2 of 5 Councilman Clark stated that there had been some discussion that people won't make complaints if they think th4i&ormation will be given out. Councilman Goodman emphasized that his intent was that any time a complaint is made in any form to the Town, that it is held in confidence. Councilman Goodman suggested a few other changes to the site,with the Manager advising that he would speak with the vendor. The next item-on the agenda was Old Business. The first itemwascomputer lease. Mayor Worrell advisedthat this topic hadcomeup during budget discussions,with Council agreeing to review it closer to the end of the lease. Mr. Hawley advised that the current computer lease expired in January,and the company had to be notified by September 30,2010 if it would not be continued. Staff had included information in the packet for review. Option 2 of the packet info had been funded for the 2010/11 fiscal year. He added that Councilman Goodman had submitted some questions regarding the information in the packet and staff had attempted to respond. This information had been placed at Council's desk for review. He suggested that if the questions were not answered clearly,that another email be sent to staff to respond. He noted that a decision was not expected at this meeting, but would be discussed at the next Council Work Session. Councilman Welker requested that the figures be spread out over the duration of the lease for review. Mr. Goodman suggested that the Town use-a-life cycle management policy,where the newly purchased machines go to those.who need the most updated programs and the other machines are passed down according to need. He advised that at his job, this was found to be the most fiscally responsible. Mrs. Bivens responded that the Town already used a life cycle management policy. Extensive discussion ensued regarding the lease options. Mayor Worrell advised that this topic would be discussed at the next Council Work Session. The next item on the agenda was Harrison sewer update. Mr. Hawley advised that the neighbor to the east of the Harrison property showed no interest in granting a sewer easement. He had been in contact with Mr.Wright,who owns the property between Mr. Harrison and the sanitary sewer line. Mr. Wright indicated that he did-not need additional connection fee waivers,which the Townusuallyoffered for easements. He did not rule out the possibility that he would sell the Town an easement, if the Town chose to do so. Public Works had prepared a cost estimate of approximately$40,000 to extendthe line,which did not allow for any blasting should rock be encountered. This would require Mr. Harrison to install a pumping system to use this line. Mayor Worrell commented that the Town does not have the funds to do thiseasement request. He opined that negotiations with the neighbor was not at a dead end. He felt that staff should try to negotiate a price with the neighbor. Following extensive discussion, the consensus of Council was for staff to try to negotiate with Mr. Wright. If the cost was-low,Council could consider paying it, otherwise,the information would be passed on to Mr. Harrison for action. Mayor Worrellmovedon to Boysaw/Allen building update. He advised that the Town Manager had consulted with the Town Attorney and developed a plan. If Council desired, the Town crew would begin demolition of the Boysaw building within the-next two weeks. The Allen building demolition would be contracted out. September 7,2010/Page 3 of 5 - Mr. Hawley added that the next step was to get court orders for both structures and advertise the demolition of the property y at 55 West Main (the Allen building). 47 Councilman Goodman advised that before he could vote on a motion to proceed with the Allen building, he wanted to see a clear plan and schedule from the Town Manager with dates and milestones of how the Town would use the lien and taxation laws and fully use the resources of Mr..Warburton to ensure that the Town was paid back. He advised that he could not spend almost$32,000 in tax payer money without having a plan to get the money back. He felt it "would send a clear message to anyone else in the Town,shouldtheylet this happen,that they're going to pay the bill, not us". Mr.Warburton commented thathe could do his part in less than 48 hours and if he had known about it last Friday, he would have had the information for Council today. He added that "if Mr. Goodman and the rest of Council are looking for guarantees that we'll get our money back, I will be unable to produce those". He would do everything in his power to see that the Town's interests were protected, but he could "not guarantee that you'll ever get a penny of it back". He pointed out that the recovery is limited by the value of the vacant land once the lien is established. He added he would do everything in his power to pursue the costs, however, that it was not realistic to expect to receive anything greater than the value of the land. Extensive discussion ensued regarding other possible options that might be available to the Town. Councilman Welker moved to authorize staff and Town.Attorney to obtain a court order for the demolition of and solicit bids for demolition of the 2 properties, one on Main Street owned by Mr.Allen and one on Randolph Avenue, owned by Mr. Boysaw.. Further to direct Town staff to prepare a plan and schedule to address collection of all or part of the costs associated with the demolition of these properties by the next Work Session. Councilman Clark seconded the motion. Councilman Goodman made a friendly amendment to use the word schedule rather than plan in the second line of the motion. Councilman Welker moved to amend his motion to direct staff to obtain a court order for thedemolition of and Isolicit bids for the demolition of these 2 properties,one on Main Street owned by Mr. Allen and one on Randolph Avenue owned by Mr. Boysaw. Further,direct the Town staff to prepare a plan and schedule to address collection of all or part of the costs associated with the demolition of these properties before the next Work Session and further_to prepare a plan for collection of demolition liens on all other properties in the Town within two months. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and itcarried 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 Valley Road water pressure. Mr. Hawley advised that staff was scheduled to conduct some systematic week long testing in the area. The data willthenbe evaluated to determine what action may be required. Mayor Worrell moved on to New Business. The first item was Auxiliary Police Force Program. Mr. Hawley advised that the Police Chief recommended that an Ordinance be drafted instituting an auxiliary police force program. A sample Ordinance had been included in the packet for review. Following discussion, Councilman Clark moved to direct staff to prepare an Ordinance instituting an auxiliary police force program for Council review and include language as directed by the Town Attorney. Councilman Kidd seconded the motion and so carried on the following recorded vote: September 7, 2010/Page 4 of 5 Morgan P. Welker -Aye Joel B. Burchett, Jr. -Aye 48 H. M. Kidd -Aye Robert A. Bopp -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye The next item on the agenda was Resolution 2010-23,Supporting Lewis Gale Medical Center's Application To Establish A Neonatal Special.Care Unit. Mr. Hawley advised that the Pulaski Hospital Administrator contacted him asking for the Town's support of Lewis Gale Medical Center's application to establish a neonatal special care unit. Councilman Welker moved to adopt Resolution 2010-23,Supporting Lewis Gale Medical Center's Application To Establish A Neonatal Special Care Unit. The motion was seconded by Councilman Kidd and carried on the following recorded voter 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 At 8:40 p.m., Councilman Clark moved to enter into Closed Session under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A-7) Consultation with legal counsel and briefingsby staff members pertaining to probable litigationand consultation with legal counsel employed by the Town regarding specific legal matter requiring the-provision of legal advice by such counsel. 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 At 9:18 p.m., Council returned from Closed Session and adopted the Certification Resolution onmotion by Councilman Clark,seconded by Councilman Goodman 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 Therebeing no further business, the meeting adjourned on motion by Councilman Clark,seconded by Councilman Kidd and so carried. Approved: t.z ./ -..• ey S.Worrell, Mayor September 7,2010/Page 5 of 5