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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-01-19Minutes of the Pulaski Town Council meeting held at 7:00 p.m., October 1, 2019 in the Council Chambers of the Town Municipal Building at 42 First Street, N.W. In attendance were: Mayor: David L. Clark, presiding Councilmen Present: G. Tyler Clontz; Brooks R. Dawson; Gregory C. East; Joseph K. Goodman; Lane R. Penn; James A. Radcliffe Administration: Shawn M. Utt, Town Manager Nichole L. Hair, Deputy Town Manager Legal Counsel: Spencer A. Rygas, Town Attorney Staff Chief Robbie Kiser, P.F.D. Rebecca Leeper, Finance Director David Quesenberry, Clerk of Council Chief Gary Roche, P.P.D. Others Present: James Babb Cindy Craft Corey Haggerty Linda Hall Ray Harnish Justin Kemp Tim Kuntz Richard Meadows Mike Sparta Steve Wallen 1. Call to Order Mayor Clark called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilman Clontz. 3. Invocation The Invocation was given by Councilman Goodman. Marie Babb Joe Cruff Patrick L. Haggerty Ron Hall Seneca Hemans George Kennedy Daniel Mabry Adam Parker Tina Sparta Christy Willis Susanne Zander Chris Conner Amber Haggerty Patrick R. Haggerty Margaret Harnish Alex Hock Teresa Kennedy Mike McMillion James Savesky Cindy Viers Rick Zander 4. Roll Call After the Invocation, the roll was called. Present were Mayor Clark, Mr Clontz, Mr. Dawson, Mr. East, Mr. Goodman, Mr. Penn and Mr. Radcliffe. All members of Council were present which established a quorum to conduct business. 5. Modification of the Agenda Mayor Clark then requested two modifications to the agenda: the addition of Item 12a "Filter Plant Update" under "Old Business" and the addition of one item to the Closed Session under Va. Code. 2.2-3711 (a) 1 a personnel matter concerning Community Development staffing Mr. Goodman moved to approve the modifications. The motion was seconded by Mr. Clontz and approved on the following roll call vote: Page 1 of 15/October 1, 2019 Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James R. Radcliffe -Aye After modification of the agenda, Council proceeded with the "Presentations" portion of the agenda. 6. Recognition of Guests and Visitors This was inadvertently skipped during the meeting. 7. Presentations a. Resolution 2019-30, Resolution of Appreciation for the Service of Timothy R. Kuntz Mayor Clark then moved to the front of the dais where he was joined by Mr. Tim Kuntz. Mayor Clark then read "Resolution 2019-30, Resolution of Appreciation for the Service of Timothy R. Kuntz" recognizing him for eighteen and one-half years' service on the Board of Zoning Appeals. Following the reading of the resolution, Mayor Clark called for a motion regarding Resolution 2019-30. Mr. Penn moved to approve the resolution. Mr. Dawson seconded the motion which was approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James R. Radcliffe -Aye Mayor Clark then presented Mr. Kuntz with the resolution to the applause of the audience Mr. Kuntz then made the following remarks: "I'm honored not only because of all the good words you said ...but I am honored to be among friends, people I have worshipped with, studied with, served with, .. You're good folks. This is an example of the people with whom I have served." b. Resolution 2019-31, Resolution of Appreciation for the Service of Linda B. Hall Mayor Clark then asked Mrs. Linda B. Hall to join him at the dais while he read "Resolution 2019-31, Resolution of Appreciation for the Service of Linda B. Hall" recognizing Mrs. Hall for her fifteen years of service on the Planning Commission. After reading the resolution, Mayor Clark called for a motion regarding Resolution 2019-31. Mr. Penn moved for approval His motion was seconded by Mr. Dawson and approved by the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James R. Radcliffe -Aye Mayor Clark presented Mrs. Hall with the resolution to the applause of the audience. Mrs. Hall then made the following remarks: "First of all I want to thank the Town for this recognition, it's really important to me and I feel very honored to get it. It's been an honor and a privilege to serve my home town as a member of the Planning Commission. I've enjoyed working with Town Staff and Council and Councilmembers for fifteen years. I look forward to continuing to work to make our town the best possible place to work, play, raise a family, and retire, in whatever capacity that I am able. Thank you. " Council then heard a presentation from Mr Justin Kemp of the Adult Fall Prevention Center. c. Adult Fall Prevention Center, Mr. Justin Kemp Mr Kemp thanked Mr. Kuntz and Mrs. Hall for their service Page 2 of 15/October 1, 2019 Mr. Kemp then introduced himself to Council as a member of the Board of Directors for the Pulaski Adult Day Service and Fall Prevention Center and thanked Council for the opportunity to make his presentation. He also recognized two additional board members present: Mr. James Radcliffe and Mrs. Cindy Viers. Mr. Kemp told Council that the purpose of the Center was to provide quality daytime care for dependent adults and an alternative to long term care. The Center was an excellent alternative for dependent adults who are unable to stay at home alone and need socialization and motivation during the day. Mr. Kemp said the Center's program could delay the transition to a long-term care facility for individuals who may have disabilities that require professional care and supervision. Caregivers who work were able to continue to do so without having to be concerned over leaving family members at home unattended. Caregivers who were not employed outside the home were given relief from the constant responsibility of care Participants in the program, Mr. Kemp continued, varied in age as well as in physical, mental and social needs. The Center provided services to individuals age 21 and over, but currently most participants were age 65 and over. Enrollment for participants were for a minimum of two days per week up to a maximum of five days per week. Direct care was provided by a staff consisting of registered nurses, certified nursing assistants, and nursing assistants. The Center also received support from Pulaski County General Services for housekeeping and maintenance. Mr Kemp encouraged Council members to stop by and tour the facility and expressed a desire for support from the Town with particular focus on using the Town's website, in addition to promotion of the Center at Town and community sponsored events. He also invited Council to an open house and social event in November at the Center. After thanking Council for the opportunity to speak, Mr. Kemp concluded his presentation Mr Radcliffe thanked Mr. Kemp and encouraged Council to visit the Center He also noted that efforts were underway to get approval to assist veterans with support from Congressman Morgan Griffith's office. Council next heard a presentation concerning the 2020 Census. d. 2020 Census, Complete Count Committee Mr. James Sevesky presented an update to Council on the upcoming 2020 Census He said that the Census was mandated by the U.S. Constitution and all information gathered by it was subject to strict confidentiality. The primary purpose of the Census was to distribute representation (House of Representatives) and to determine the distribution of $675 billion in government funds Mr. Sevesky said that for the first time, the Census would be available on-line. In March 2020, postcards would be distributed through the mail with information on how to complete the Census on-line. The Census could also be completed by mail or by telephone. Consisting of results from nine basic questions, the Census was to indicate where individuals were living on April 111. He again emphasized the importance of confidentiality and that all data and data sources were privileged information. To assist in obtaining an accurate count, Mr. Sevesky discussed with Council the implementation of Complete Count Committees. The primary purpose of these committees, composed of local leaders and influential community members, was to assist in obtaining complete counts for their community and publicizing the overall Census effort. He further emphasized that local participation was key to the success of these committees. Following a brief discussion of recruiting efforts by the Census Bureau, Mr Sevesky concluded his presentation. Council then moved on to "Public Hearings" beginning with the hearing for the General Obligation Bond. 8. Public Hearings a. General Obligation Bond Funding for Ladder Truck and Repairs to the Historic Train Station Mr. Utt asked Mr Alex Hock to make a brief presentation to the Council regarding the G.O.B. bond. Page 3 of 15/October 1, 2019 Mr. Hock presented the results of the RFP process for the Town's 2019 General Obligation Bond for acquisition of a ladder truck and Train Station improvements. Mr. Hock said the Town picked a good time for an issue since interest rates were at historic lows Mr. Hock said the RFP was distributed on August 16th to over twenty-five local, regional and national lending institutions. By August 28th, seven proposals were received with U.S. Bank coming in at a low interest rate of 2.111 %. This rate he added was fixed for the ten year term of the 2019 bonds. The total financed amount would be up to $420,000 for the indicated projects at an interest rate of 2.111 %. U S. Bank did offer the Town the flexibility to prepay the bond in the future with a slight penalty of 3% of the outstanding amount as well as not having closing costs. He added that the closing deadline for the bonds was October 26th. Mr. Hock noted the debt service over the ten year term would be approximately $46,500 per year. Mr. Hock recommended that the Town move forward with the U.S. Bank proposal since U.S. Bank's interest rate was the lowest of the proposals received In addition, the interest rate was fixed until final maturity which would not lead to interest rate resets between now and the last payment date. Prepayment before final maturity was offered. The interest rate would also remain fixed between now and closing as well as after closing. Mr. Hock added that there would not be any additional lender's fees. After reviewing the timetable for the bond process, including a public hearing and adoption of a resolution on October 15th, Mr. Hock said work with the Town's bond counsel would continue to finalize all closing documentation and complete the process so funds would be issued by October 26th. After asking for questions and receiving none, Mr. Hock then finished his presentation. Mr Utt said that while the payments for the original bond for the ladder truck alone was in the $30,000 range, the addition of $16,000 for the Train Station was manageable and could be worked with He added that he had not seen such a good interest rate from the private sector Mr. Dawson asked, given previous discussions on the uncertain Train Station costs and equipment for the ladder truck, if $420,000 was a firm number as to what was expected. Mr Utt replied that the $420,000 was set, but where the money went was flexible as long as it was fire truck or train station related. If the Train Station came in at $130,000 instead of $150,000, the difference could be applied towards equipment for the truck. He said that Mr. Pedigo had been working with three contractors to have them prepare separate estimates for wood repair, gutter replacement and new roof work. Mr Utt said that he was trying to keep expenses between $120,000 and $130,000. He felt that range would be where the cost would fall Mr. East asked what the estimate was based upon Mr. Utt responded conversations with contractors. The question he added was could eight runs of the roof be removed without removing the entire station roof. Mr. Dawson asked if there was a chance the $420,000 was not enough or did we know that. Mr. Utt replied that we did not know that but higher estimates for costs had been made If a higher bond amount was desired, it would require another RFP and a public hearing Mr. East suggested that in the worst case reserves could be used. Mr. Goodman said his concern was he still did not hear numbers and asked if there was a firm number from the Fire Department of what was needed at a minimum Mr. Utt responded that at a minimum the truck was $240,000 which had a generator that would cost $10,000 to be repaired. He said that in discussions with Chief Kiser, the generator was not needed allowing $10,000 to be used for equipment since the Department had another generator it could use. Mr. Goodman objected, saying that $10,000 in maintenance was being delayed that would have to be done eventually and should not be "kicked down the road." Mr. Utt said the generator could be removed and the Department use the one it had, allowing the space on the truck to be used for storage. Chief Kiser said they had a generator that came off another truck which would save money. Mr. Utt said that $10,000 for equipment; along with equipment from two trucks that were surplused; $10,000 from the bond; as well as a state grant the Town received every year could be pieced together to have enough funds for the ladder truck. The question mark at this point he said was the Train Station on which he had set a spending limit of $150,000. Page 4 of 15/October 1, 2019 Mr. Goodman inquired if the cost of the truck would be $270,000; $240,000 for the purchase and $30,000 for repairs and equipment to be purchased. Mr Utt replied there would be costs at closing for the bond counsel and for Davenport; estimated in the $20,000 range. Mr. Goodman said he thought U S. Bank had no closing costs. Mr. Utt responded that the Town had to have bond counsel. Mr. Goodman asked if the Town did not know the costs beyond the borrowing costs. Mr. Utt said staff would have the full cost breakdown, but they would not know until the bond was locked in. Mr Goodman expressed his unease over the unknowns. Mr Utt said he felt comfortable knowing there was enough to purchase and equip the truck and fix the Train Station. Mr. Goodman asked what if the expenditures were less. Mr. Utt thought the funds had to be expended to the truck and the train station. He asked Mr. Hock if the bond document language could include fire related vehicles. Mr. Hock responded he would have to consult Mr Day. Mr. Utt said that the present requests of staff was to hold the public hearing and authorize staff to prepare the necessary documents for October 15tH Mr East asked Mr Utt if he felt he would have better numbers for the Train Station by the next meeting. Mr. Utt said yes. Mayor Clark then opened the public hearing on the General Obligation Bond at 7:41 p.m receiving no comment he closed the public hearing at 7:41 p m. and asked for a motion from Council. Mr. Goodman moved to direct staff to prepare the necessary paperwork for the general obligation bond as proposed earlier with U.S. Bank at 2.111 % up to $420,000. The motion was seconded by Mr. East and approved on the following roll call vote, Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James R. Radcliffe -Aye Council next conducted a public hearing on Planning Commission Case No 2019 -SE. b. Planning Commission Case No 2019-02SE-Special Exception Request by Cory Haggerty Ms. Hair provided the staff report to Council and said that the Town had received a request for a special exception for a boarding house at 28 Dora Highway. The Planning Commission held a public hearing and recommended denying the request Of note was the site's designation as commercial on the Future Land Use Map which was a consideration by the Commission. She continued that the applicant was present to discuss the application for a boarding house, but indicated it would be a recovery home for tenants. There being no questions for Ms. Hair, the staff report was concluded. Mayor Clark said he would allow persons who had filed speaker slips to speak first followed by the public hearing. He asked that given the number of persons, that remarks be kept as brief as possible Ms. Hair recommended that Mr. Haggerty have the opportunity to speak first. Mayor Clark agreed and opened the public hearing at 7,44 p.m. The first speaker was Mr. Cory Haggarty the applicant who made the following remarks: "Hello gentlemen. My name is Cory Haggarty... 28 Dora Highway. What we're proposing to do is open a sober living home which will provide a safe and stable family -like environment centered on peer support and free from drugs and alcohol. To my knowledge there are none in this area which is a major roadblock to those seeking recovery. For an individual to maintain sobriety they have to surround themselves with like-minded people who also work a program of recovery. Sober living homes are a crucial stepping stone to becoming a responsible, contributing member of society. I am in recovery. I went from homeless to homeowner in less than four years. If it wasn't for recovery focused environments and examples and support given to me by other men in recovery in the sober living homes I stayed at, I would not have made it this far. One of the most extensive studies (oo sober living house models, people who lived there decreased substance abuse, reduced probability of relapse, lowered rates of incarceration. People generated higher incomes, increased employment and improvement of family function. Page 5 of 15/October 1, 2019 Also studies showed that there was no known evidence that showed sober living homes lowered property values or affect the ability to sell a home even though the home is next door, cause an increase in crime or cause drug(s) or alcohol to increase in that area. No known evidence. Also I want to make clear that this is about helping people. If it were about money, I would just rent my home out to a single family which would generate more and carry less risk. I'm more than happy to share with Council a cost analysis that shows that 1 might break even on my cash investment in April of 2021. Along with providing an environment that's conducive to recovery, it's also about making it accessible. 1 don't require a deposit or a credit check and I provide everything except food, its utilities, cleaning supplies, toiletries, everything a person needs to live In summary, a safe, drug and alcohol free environment conducive to recovery, peer support centered, and financially accessible to those at risk of losing their sobriety due to dangerous living situations they may be forced to stay in without this alternative. We're just trying to give people a source of recovery in an area that there is none. You know there's obviously a drug problem everywhere, but there is also a recovery problem, there's not enough of it. People need a stepping stone in order to get from Point A to B. If they don't, they stay at A. That's all, thank you." Mr. Haggarty then asked for questions. Mr. Radcliffe asked the following question: "When you purchased the house, what did you originally purchase it for? Mr. Haggarty responded. "My wife bought the home for our family, we have three children. Six days after closing on the house, my father was hospitalized and we had to make a decision either getting a full- time nurse for him and moving into our home or finding another solution We already had a dream, a goal providing sober living homes. So it is a first choice" Mr. Radcliffe then asked: "When you decided to change your mind and to do the recovery house or whatever you were going to do with it, did you come to the Town to get your information; find out if it was zoned for that, what you have to do; what kind of headache this thing would be, or did you just take for instance you would go ahead and work on it, do it and then come do that?" Mr. Haggarty replied: "Yeah, /just ... Mr. Radcliffe added "Cart before the horse?" Mr. Haggarty said, "A little bit of that, a little bit of cart before the horse. I didn't know exactly what it would all entail. I just went at it with an attitude of let's do it. " There being no further comment, Mayor Clark called the first speaker, Mr. Ray Harnish (34 Dora Highway) to the podium. Mr. Harnish made the following statement: "I'm Ray Harnish. I live right next door to 28, 1 live in 34 Dora Highway. And I don't like to ... I have a lot of stuff written down here. But I talked to Mr. Haggarty and his wife as soon as I got back from South Carolina, and I asked them right then I went over and talked to them and I said who I was and welcome to the neighborhood. And, I asked them if they were going to live in this house. They said no. I said are you going to be my new neighbors? They said "No, we're not sure what we're going to do with this yet". So that was Mr. Haggarty. About a week later, I talked to Mrs. Haggarty. She said the same thing. I said "Did you decide yet?" She said "No, we're not sure yet what we're going to do with it. " So I had a feeling from day one, when they seen this house up for sale, they had in their minds, you know, that's just me speculating. When 1 talked to them, this what I got from them. You know, Mr. Haggarty talks about how well this is going to be taken care of. In his own statements... in his own application he has ten clauses in there that states when him and his staff member can't control these... if they are back on drugs; if they misbehave; if they don't pay the rent, all of these things are going.. evict them immediately. Where's he going to evict them to? Right back on our street, then it's our problem. Can you imagine a drug addict living right next door to me, just been evicted, has no money, cause he couldn't pay his rent; back on the street taking drugs? We already have problems, we don't need seven more, you know. That's what he says he is going to bring in, seven recovering addicts. We have children right next door to us. I have grandchildren, great-grandchildren Page 6 of 15/October 1, 2019 come and play and I am only twelve feet away, there's nothing separating our properties but grass. You know, seven recovering drug addicts right next to me, but, I leave my wife at five o'clock in the morning to go to work and leave her alone. Mr. Haggarty said I don't understand drug addicts. Well, I lost a brother 33 years old because my other brother, on drugs and alcohol, they had a car wreck. One was killed and one was disfigured for life. I lost my Dad at 54, he was an alcoholic. I had a brother in rehab, they say well this is so good. Well, I got him out of jail and he went to a halfway house. Soon as he got to the halfway house, two days later the FBI was at my door looking for my brother, cause I was responsible. Well, two weeks later he called, he was in California and I (unintelligible) turned himself in. I know they don't work. They can put all the statistic up they want. Since I was a kid, I remember as an alcoholic I know how they recover. Like I said, my Dad died at 54 of alcohol. As a little kid this high, I used to take anything I could get and beat my father on the legs, anywhere, because he was punching, beating on my mother. I don't need that right next to my house 1 don't need neighbor's kids (unintelligible). Our street is a good street. You can walk up and down that street anytime. The kids can play out there. We can sit on our porch, enjoy the sunset, eat lunch ....1 eat nearly every meal on my front porch. I just can't see the value of bringing seven more drug addicts into Pulaski. We don't have them on our street, we have a nice clean street. The reason we don't cause when they come through there, if they hang around there, we call the Police Department. They come. In fact they just picked one up today over in the park and we've called them two times already this week. So, we just don't need no more. I know they need a place, but in this residential area with little kids, train station across the street, park right here, VFW over here ... I mean they have birthday parties over there just about every week. And I know they need help, cause my family needs help, but 1 just think it's the wrong place at the wrong time. Thank you very much. Mayor Clark then called Mr. Mike Sparta (38 Dora Highway) forward to speak. His comments were as follows: "How are you doing, my name is Mike Sparta. We live two doors down right beside Ray. We purchased our house in 1997 and moved in February 1998. This whole thing with the rehab and all that, it's kind of being ... this whole thing has been shady from the get -go and they have been using discrimination and things like that and I know people talk about the drug addicts and everything. It seems like it's been more put together as a business right from the get -go. There's no rehabilitation there. His whole statement was, okay, as long as they work a Twelve Step Program, they're good. I think the numbers were $400 to $700 per month per person to share a room. So they're trying to call a four bedroom house, five bedrooms; double up two people in each room and charge that much money. Somebody coming out of rehab don't have that kind of money right off. You don't have parking for that area. You have maybe ... if you look at the plat, there's no front yard there and one little side driveway. You would literally have to come in that back alleyway, pave that whole back yard which borders Ray's property. If you look at the plat, it's small and the parking for this area ... the whole zoning. it's not there. There's no way you can comply with all the codes in the Town As far as lowering our property values, it absolutely will lower mine. You know, they stated the last time well give us a chance and we'll do these things. Okay, you go paving a yard and turning this into a business, it doesn't work and everybody's gone, who's going to buy that as a home? That's not going to happen, is it? Our property values are going to be lower than that. You know, we've spent over twenty years there now. Ray's put over $100,000 into his home, that's a lot of money, that's his lifetime savings right next door. He remodeled that whole house, landscaped everything. That's what's my concern. It's not about the person that's going to be there. They knew right off the bat they were going to do a business and double up people in each one those rooms and charge that much money. There's no way around it. You can look at all the paperwork from the get -go. It was never... it was called Oxford House ... well that didn't work we pulled that off the Internet. They pulled everything down so it just kept rolling and rolling, you know as the weeks went on. And it's kind of upset me, it went through the Town Page 7 of 15/October 1, 2019 first, you know, then once we got wind of it as neighbors, we weren't even told about it until the last minute. We find out, so we start approaching the Town, you know. Then right before the zoning meeting all of a sudden we didn't get any letters, but once we knew we needed to get one, we got one. Then we came down here and spoke our minds. This whole deal is .. hasn't been handled the best way. That's all l got, but it looks like it was generally set up just as a business. I don't see anything where it's anything about rehab at all. It's just a rental property. It's just a way to get instead of one family there, your able to put two people in each bedroom and charge them that much money. That's all, thank you. " Mayor Clark than asked Mr. Rick Zander (26 Lexington Avenue) to speak. Mr. Zander made the following statement: Hi, I'm Rick Zander and I live around the corner on Lexington Avenue. First thing I want to say is I have never, ever heard of putting drug addicts together and having it work. It doesn't in prison. They use stronger drugs, they get them in there. So, how's he going to keep them out of his house? And uh, there's not enough bedrooms for what he is wanting to do. Four hundred a month, who is going to pay four hundred a month for half a bedroom; one-fourth of a bathroom; one-sixth of a kitchen? Nobody in Pulaski is going to do that. The parking, the only thing they have is tandem down one side. Even in a family, somebody I'm sure here has the same problem. Somebody gets home first, well there the ones that goes to work first. So how's that going to work? You can't go in through the back alley because the property drops four feet down and up to the house. And so, there's no way they're going to do that other than fill that all in. I can't see them doing that. Then, who is going to pay for all the testing that's got to be done, for all the monitoring that's got to be done? I don't know. My wife and I love living on Lexington Avenue. It's a dead-end street, it doesn't go all the way through First Street, so we have very little traffic. And, we love the sound of the kids playing out in the street. My wife and I are both up there in age, but we love kids, that's our future. And so it's nice to hear the sounds of them and I'd like to keep it that way. That's basically all I've got to say." Mayor Clark then asked for Ms. Crystal Willis to come forward and speak. Ms. Willis made the following comments: "Hello. I am a person who suffers from substance abuse disorder, as well. I've been in recovery for about fifteen years. However, I understand their concerns, but I also know that if it wasn't for people letting me stay with them, because my family was all addicted too, and they were doing the same lifestyle that I was, I'd have never made it. I have a lot of people in my network that live in sober living houses and the ones that go home end up using. The ones that go to sober living houses end up being productive members of society. They all have jobs, they're responsible. We need the stability of that. We need the accountability, the drug testing, the going to meetings. All that stuff is essential for people in their recovery, without that we won't make it. Like we'll end up back in jail, we'll end up breaking the law again. I haven't broke the law since I've been clean. I haven't broke the law. I haven't stolen anything. I'm of service to the people in the community. Today, I work in the field. I try to help people. Drug addicts are not all bad. We get clean and we do good. That's all I have. Thanks for letting me share. Next to speak before Council was Mr. Joe Cruff (Quartermaster VFW Post 1194). He made the following comments: I'm Quartermaster for VFW Post 1194 right beside that house. My concern, one is the playground right across the road from it; little children over there daily. We're up there off and on. We're not there all the time. I have come up there on Sunday morning, this happened this year, on Sunday morning about 9:00 in the morning, and there was a guy, we have a picnic table out there for smokers to sit and smoke cigarettes. And guy was laying on that table passed plumb out. And I don't think .. you know, if you want to get somebody Page 8 of 15/October 1, 2019 recovered, they don't need to be seeing that. I should have called the law, but I managed to get him awake. He got on up and went on. Wherever he went I do not know. But also, our meetings at nighttime, our auxiliary are mostly women, and I'm worried about them in that neighborhood to start with. There's no use putting more on them. That's all I have to say. Thank you. Council next heard comments from Mr. Mike McMillion (Pulaski Bikes) as follows: "Mike McMillion. I own Pulaski Bikes across the street from this proposed project. Since the Planning Commission meeting, which I spoke at also, I haven't heard anything has changed. The Planning Commission voted 5-1 to deny the exception. I still haven't heard a word from Mr. Haggarty or any of his parties. They've not ever approached me as a business owner across the street ... Hey we'd like your support we want to do this project. What would you like to do? And you know, I said that at the first meeting, still nothing from them. So that raises a question with me what kind of neighbor are they going to make .. and problems will arise. How would 1 know that? Cause, I have 17 years clean and sober too. I went through a detox facility and I didn't drink and I went to meetings and I did (unintelligible) work. I worked a (unintelligible) program and I've seen people get sober. I didn't go to a halfway house, I went to work. I got divorced after that and I had to separate from my family that didn't live that way and that's okay. I haven't done drugs or drank for a long time. However during the early years of my sobriety, I dated a woman who ran a half -way house in Greenville, Tennessee and Vicki and I for over a year and a half had a great relationship. But I know personally what happens when someone relapses in a halfway house and it causes chaos and all structure goes out the window. And I don't know how many times we had an evening interrupted because we have to go back, the police are at the halfway house. Someone relapsed, someone brought drugs in and there's a fight. Her halfway house only had women. I can only imagine if you have a coed safe house, drug house whatever you're going to call it. So the bottom line when the whole thing is ... this exception, in my opinion would without a doubt, adversely affect property values and that's not fair to your existing property owners. I can tell you first hand the experiences I've had in the park and exactly what's going to happen when they kick out their first tenant. Where are they going to go? Down in the park, probably under the bridge. Because Haggarty's perhaps erred in purchasing a property that is zoned residential, I don't feel that you warrant this exception and Council doesn't owe them an exception. There's just so much more that I learn every time some of the other neighbors speak. I'm hearing numbers like four hundred dollars a month for seven residents. That's twenty-eight hundred dollars a month coming in with no counseling services no food program or something and I'm not calling that non-profit. That sounds for-profit to me. Maybe I close the bike shop and open a halfway house in there. I have so much anecdotal evidence of folks coming to our Town. I am in the Golden Triangle between the museum, the hotel and the depot. When they come to our town, that's the impression they get of Pulaski. I was talking to a lady who was from Florida, who said, "I wanted to go down the Dora Trail the other day, but there was a pretty sketchy looking person. I went "Yeah, you're absolutely right. You probably are not safe walking down that trail " We've made gains. I think this is going to take us backwards a step. I believe it is a good project. It is necessary. Not everyone's going to get sober without different circumstances. It's the right project, that's the wrong place for it in the neighborhood. I urge you to vote against the exception. That's all I have, thank you." There being no further comments, Mayor Clark closed the public hearing at 8:07 p.m. He then asked for comments from Council. Page 9 of 15/October 1, 2019 Mr. Radcliffe had the following comment: "When you go into investigation work, you start from front to back, not back to front. Mr. Haggerty came over here after he purchased the property. Had he found out what kind of trouble we'd be rezoning ... what he's wanting to do. 1 don't know if we'd be sitting here today. Or, he would at least went through the proper steps to get it taken care of before we got here today. Now, we've kicked this can down the road ... couple of more places. Don't kick this can down the road. All right, you should have done it right to start with. We wouldn't be up here today arguing about it or not arguing ... talking about it. To me, when you started back to come forward and you built the house, you were doing it, you were trying to sneak stuff around.... Now, I'm not against recovery we've got it all over the County. And, I do know that "Bike Mike" is right .... the one we have at Fairlawn... we have multiple calls there .. multiple calls. Don't know he would have any calls. I once again say that I see a need for it, not in a residential area period. We have a park across there. We have kindergarten kids go over there that play. We have people picnic, it's just not the place for it. .. Have a business, "Bike Mike" fights it all the time ... all the time. (unintelligible) we're going to keep at that problem. We're going to fix that problem. That's all l have to say." Mr. Goodman had the following comments: "I want to echo your comments Mr. Radcliffe. Really the problem here is we had a need for this, but this particular location is not good for the community. There are a lot of residences that would be adversely affected. It's in an area where we are trying to do a lot of redevelopment and show off what we are doing in the Town and our successes. All you are trying to do is trying to bring a potentially negative impact to it. Its counter to everything we're trying to work on. I cannot see why we would approve this for any reason." Mr. East made the following comments: "The only thing I'd like to say, you know I've mentioned this thing before, we've had a lot of special exceptions come before this Council and they kind of get piecemealed in from all spectrums. One thing I've encouraged this Council to do previously is look at the big picture, you know where we are going. And I think that's what you are alluding to Mr. Goodman, where are we going as a town and what is our long term vision. I think our first obligation is to look at each special exception with a lot of scrutiny. Special exceptions are special for a reason. Our zoning regulations are in place to protect the character of our Town. So with that, first and foremost, I think we have to consider our... number one, people that live in the communities we're talking about and also the business owners. I think that should always be our first responsibility when looking at a special exception. " There being no further discussion, Mayor Clark asked for a motion. Mr. Goodman moved that Council follow the advice of the Planning Commission and deny the request. The motion was seconded by Mr. Radcliffe and Mr. Penn and approved on the following roll call vote, Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James R. Radcliffe -Aye Council next reviewed Planning Commission Case No. 2019-03RZ c. Planning Commission Case No. 2019-03RZ-Rezoning Request by Sheneca Hemans. Ms Hair presented the staff report noting that a rezoning request was received to rezone 210 Randolph Avenue from B-3 Central Business to R -O Residential Office. Historically used as a residential structure, the building but had gone unused and lost its grandfathered status as a non -conforming use. The applicant could do a residence associated with a business use on the second floor, but she preferred a strictly residential use which led to the application for a Residential Office designation Ms. Hair reported that during the process, it was determined there were two parcels involved which had discrepancies as to the owner of the parcels. At its hearing the Planning Commission recommended tabling the request until the involved parties could resolve the ownership question. Mr. Utt mentioned that even though the Planning Commission tabled the issue, it had been advertised for a Town Council public hearing. Page 10 of 15/October 1, 2019 Staff felt compelled to proceed with that step since it was advertised and also in case there were new updates involving the request. Mayor Clark opened the public hearing at 8:14 p.m. Ms Hemans told Council that efforts were underway to secure the proper paperwork to get the situation resolved. There being no further comment, Mayor Clark closed the public hearing at 8:15 p.m. Mayor Clark told Council that they should table the request. He clarified that the house sat on two lots, both of which had different owners which was what was being sorted out. That was why the Planning Commission tabled the issue. Mr. Goodman moved to table the Planning Commission case request 2019-03RZ until such time that the Planning Commission can make a recommendation for motion. The motion was seconded by Mr. Penn and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James R. Radcliffe -Aye Council moved on to the "Public Comment Period". 9. Public Comment Period There were no comments received from the public. Council next reviewed the Consent Agenda. 10. Consent Agenda a. Consideration of the September 3, 2019, Council Meeting Minutes Mayor Clark asked for a motion to approve the minutes of September 3, 2019. Mr. Penn moved to approve the September 3, 2019 Council meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Mr. Dawson and approved by unanimous voice vote Next item for review was the Project Summary Sheet. 11. Proiect Updates a. Project Summary Sheet Mr. Utt began his review of projects starting with the boundary adjustment which had not been updated. He informed Council that preliminary work was under way and that the Town had submitted the final summary numbers, except for police car values, for creation of a model The consultant (Tishler-Bise) hoped to get their model developed and the report out in the coming weeks, probably by November. The preliminary report would be an update to the 2011 report and would focus on costs and revenues. Mr. Goodman mentioned several investors were pushing heavily on the issue. He wanted to make sure once the report was issued that the Town would work closely with the Board of Supervisors and see if a way could be negotiated to move forward and not "drag our feet" anymore. Mr. Utt said he had kept the County Administrator up to speed on developments and added that in 2011 the County was not involved in that portion of the discussion, but they were now a partner regarding the update of the report. There was a "2 X 2" meeting that needed to be scheduled with the County for more conversations. Mr. Goodman stressed that time was short and, according to developers, the window was shrinking. He suggested that "2 X 2" meetings should happen every week to show that the Town was taking the issue seriously, because it could adversely affect the Town for the next 20 years if we didn't move forward. The Town he said was still reeling from the mistakes made in 1986 and he did not want to see that happen again. Page 11 of 15/October 1, 2019 Mr. Dawson asked for a more detailed update on the Downtown Revitalization. He noted that original expectations were that construction would begin in April and that at this point in time we should have been highlighting the work Downtown. He said that projects were lingering like a "lost hope" of what might have been and furthermore he did not get the impression that there was an idea of what to expect moving forward. Ms Hair responded that she had an update. Ms. Hair reported that she had a conference call with the Regional Commission's consultant, Hill Studio, and Syncom, who bid on the Downtown Project's Pocket Park and streetscape pieces. Syncom was reviewing its bid package which had come in high and exceeded allocated funds. The overall review included what projects could be done under a VDOT grant, what Public Works could assist with, and a thorough review of what a contractor would do. Ms. Hair discussed with the contractor the October 2020 deadline by which all CDBG funds had to be expended and grant objectives addressed The contractor made assurances that if work started this spring (2020) work could be completed in three to five months. She added that both she and Mr. Utt would be meeting with the Regional Commission consultant, the DHCD consultant, and Mr. Pedigo to discuss what parts that Public Works could assist with to get as much as possible done. Currently, under what was bid the pocket park would be done, but she wished to get additional things done as well Mr. East asked about the scope of what the Town was having bid, in light of the problems in getting bids. Ms. Hair replied that was an issue Originally, she explained, there was a 90 day completion date with the first bid for the streetscape. The Town was told that the completion date was not realistic, but now is has been told that it is realistic. The Town considered adding crosswalks as part of its VDOT application. Mr. East asked if all of that was being bid as one. Ms. Hair responded that it would be two different grants. Originally, thought had been given to using the VDOT grant for the sidewalk portions that could not fit in the project, since funds did not go far enough. Mr. East clarified that he was speaking from a contractor's standpoint and asked if the Town was looking for one contractor who was going to do everything. Ms Hair replied yes and that they would in turn employ subcontractors Mr. East asked if there was one contractor that was interested to which Ms Hair replied that one bid was received. Mr. East expressed concern that if there was one bid, there was the possibility of paying a lot extra because of the lack of competition. Understanding the problems with getting bids, Mr. East proposed that the project be broken up into smaller projects and then go out to bid. He suggested that would attract smaller contractors who were able to perform the work and might be more competitive. Mr. Utt said that was on his meeting list for discussions with DCHD officials and the project team. Mr. East expressed discomfort over the Town locking itself into one contractor whom he thought would see "grants and dollar signs" at the same time. He said his preference was breaking the project into small parts and get ten smaller contractor who wanted to do the work. Ms. Hair said she could definitely talk to Ms. Rumley at DHCD about that. She said both she and Ms. Rumley wanted to get the project underway, but there had been issues. Mr. East mentioned another area of his concern was that originally there was a summer start date. Now he was hearing a spring start date with a "drop dead" date of October. He expressed concern over losing the grant and the potential negative effect that would have with the state. Mr. Utt responded that the Town had received a lot of CDBG grants most of which were housing grants which were much easier to manage than a downtown grant. This grant was challenging considering the involvement of the Dept. of Historic Resources, which was slow in its responses. Mr. East ventured that if a contractor could not be secured nothing mattered. Ms. Hair added that in discussions with Ms Rumley, Pulaski was not the only community facing the problem with contractors Mr. East suggested that something different needed to be done. Ms. Hair said she would get with Ms. Rumley and see what else could be done Mr. Dawson asked because the bids came in higher, the Town was negotiating to do less and also compensate with Town staff and resources to account for the difference. Ms. Hair replied no, that the Town was going to do less based on the grant and the bid. The Town was obligated to do "in-kind" work of Page 12 of 15/October 1, 2019 approximately $200,000 from the Town crews in match funding. With respect to this evening's discussions she said the Town wanted to "whittle away" on the bid that was presented and pitch in our portions of "in- kind" through our Public Works staff to do more projects. Mr. Utt added that a certain amount of staff time had been planned for the Downtown project. It was a matter of shuffling that time to get the maximum impact. Mr. East requested a breakdown of what the Town was bidding. Ms Hair said it could be sent by Dropbox links. Mr. Utt suggested pictures of the areas for bid could be included in the Weekly Update. Mr. Goodman concurred with breaking the project up and prioritizing each part. He suggested calling municipalities in other area of the state to find out what contractors they were using and not limit inquiries to Southwest Virginia Ms. Hair said the contractor that placed the bid was from Mt. Airy. After a short discussion on costs and streetscape, Mr. Goodman said he would also like a breakdown. Mr. East said the situation had a "bad feel" to it. Ms. Hair agreed and said she had conversations with Mr. Byrd and suggested having Ms. Rumley here as well as calling in the architects. Mr. Dawson asked if there was no chance to start before spring. Mr. Utt replied that was realistically what the Town was looking at. Ms Hair said some demolition could be done but construction would begin in the spring. Mr. East suggested that some demolition work could be done in the warm part of the winter. He added that a plan was needed and whatever needed to be done should be done. Mr. Utt suggested that whatever the Town crews could do should be done to demonstrate progress Mr. Goodman said he wanted to see a schedule and opined that it appeared that project management had "fallen off the rails" and there needed to be some accountability. He added that citizens and others had been making inquiries about the project. Mr. Dawson asked about where things stood on the public safety building. Mr. Utt said there were many factors to consider and there was much work to do He hoped to have something to present to Council at the November legislative meeting, but noted that things would be tight. He did commit to having something for the November meeting. Mr. Goodman asked if it would be easier to take sites off the list to focus on cost. Mr. Utt said he wanted to focus on the intersection of Bob White and East Main. The middle school cost wasn't too far off and there might be funding from VDOT to assist with the street issues. A short discussion ensued over funding gaps and whether or not to narrow the focus to a couple of sites for the Public Safety building. After the discussion, Council next moved on to "Old Business" regarding the Filter Plant update. 12. Old Business a. Filter Plant Update, Resolution 2019-34 Mr. Utt said this item had been added to keep the issue front and center with Council. As reported previously he continued, the claim had been denied by the insurance and there was currently an appeal underway on the claim with the goal of submitting it by the end of the week. He recommended that the Town needed to seek funding alternatives that might be available One alternative mentioned was the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project in Roanoke which had low interest loans available for water and sewer projects. The filter plant repairs would be an emergency project he said, and would rank above other projects on their waiting list. Staff was working to pull an application together which required an authorization by the governing body to apply for the funding. Mr. Utt said that Resolution 2019-34 would give that authorization for applying for up to $235,000. Mr. Utt reported than another contractor had been contacted, who had worked on the last rehabilitation at the Filter Plant. The contractor had given a price for the work, but Mr. Utt said the Town would have to step back and get full bids and specifications. He recommended applying for the $235,000, noting that if more funding was needed SERCAP could add it in since would not be considered at the same level as a general obligation bond. Mr. Utt requested that Council approve the resolution which authorized an application for the funds but Page 13 of 15/October 1, 2019 did not commit the Town to accept the loan if there were other options. Efforts were still being made with the Health Department to add the project to the Brookmont Project, but progress he added, was slow due to required testing that had to be submitted. Mr. Goodman noted that if another filter failed there would be more overtime, etc. Mr Utt responded that the Town would at that point be buying water from the County. Mr. Goodman, wanting to proceed faster, expressed concern over taking a step back and mentioned that, with the state, there were certain situations that changed the procurement process. Mr. Utt responded that it did, but it was a matter of who would do the funding. The difference he explained between this funding (SERCAP loan) and a general obligation bond was that this would be a revenue bond since it involved the enterprise fund. The interest rate he ventured might be 2.6% for a ten year period. A discussion then ensued concerning possible methods of financing including an internal loan and a possible timeline for more traditional loan inquiries. Mr. Goodman proposed that the resolution be passed and that the Town Manager be authorized to look at other options. Mr. Goodman moved to adopt Resolution 2019-34 as proposed The motion was seconded by Mr. Clontz and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James R. Radcliffe -Aye Mr. Goodman then moved to authorize Town Staff to start working on a backup plan for funding options with traditional banks and Davenport to come up with the funding for the filter plant. The motion was seconded by Mr. Clontz and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James R. Radcliffe -Aye Council next considered the reappointment of Larry Clevinger to the NRVRC. 13. New Business a. Resolution 2019-32, Reappointment of Larry Clevinger to the NRVRC Mr. Utt told Council that Mr. Clevinger's term had expired, but that the Regional Commission did not issue a notification about the term expiration. He recommended approval of the resolution if Council chose to do so Mr. East moved to adopt Resolution 2019-32. The motion was seconded by Mr. Goodman and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James R. Radcliffe -Aye Council next entered the Closed Session 14. Closed Session Mayor Clark then requested a motion to enter Closed Session for two items under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (A) 1-a personnel matter concerning the Town Manager's contract; and, Community Development staffing Mr. East moved to enter Closed Session for the two items. The motion was seconded by Mr. Dawson and approved on the following roll call vote: Page 14 of 15/October 1, 2019 Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Council entered Closed Session at 8.50 p.m. and returned from Closed Session at 9:24 p.m. Mayor Clark asked for a certification motion that Council only discussed those two items for which it went into Closed Session: two items under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (A) 1-a personnel matter concerning the Town Manager's contract and Community Development staffing. Mr Clontz moved to certify the closed session. The motion was seconded by Mr. East and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Mr. Goodman then moved to adopt the proposed employment contract between the Town of Pulaski, Virginia for the services of Town Manager by Shawn Utt effective September 30, 2019 as proposed. The motion was seconded by Mr. Penn and approved on the following roll call vote. Lane R. Penn -Aye Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye 15. Reminder of Future Council Meetings and Adiournment. Mayor Clark made note of that four members of Council would be attending the Virginia Municipal League Conference on Sunday through Tuesday, which should be entered into the official record. In addition there was an upcoming work session on September 17th and a regular Council meeting on November 5th which might require later discussion since that date was also Election Day. He also said the Fire Parade was next Thursday, (October 10th) There being no further business, Mayor Clark requested a motion to adjourn. The motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Goodman, seconded by Mr. Penn and approved by the unanimous voice vote of Council at 9:28 p.m ATTEST - David N. Quesenberry Clerk of Council 7 M. Page 15 of 15/October 1, 2019 Mayor