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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-03-19Minutes of the Pulaski Town Council meeting held at 7:00 p.m., December 3, 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 Press: Melinda Williams, Southwest Times Staff Chief Robbie Kiser, P.F.D. Rebecca Leeper, Finance Director Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer David Quesenberry, Clerk of Council Chief Gary Roche, P.P.D. Others Present Dale Akers Guy Bishop Ricky Cole Chuck Doss Terry Hale Justin Kemp Adam Mitchem Tracy Rees Roy Songster Jay Sutphin Wayne Trail Jamie Williams Leissa Akers C.R. Bopp Joe Cruff Tracy Doss Ronald Hall Donald Mabe Adam Parker James Ridpath Jamie Steele Terri Sutphin Donna Travis Mark Williams 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. Rhonda Alley Tiffany Burch Stephanie Davis Adam Gifford Daniel Johnson Terry McPeak Tony Patterson Jeremiah Roche A.L. Stoots Angie Trail John Travis Tracy Belcher Anita Cole Chelsea Doss Tyler Gworek John Jones Richard Meador Joe Rees Robyn Sheets Judy Stoots Cole Trail Crystal Williams 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. Recognition of Guests and Visitors Mayor Clark welcomed members of the audience and thanked them for attending the meeting. He remarked how refreshing it was to hear the "Pledge of Allegiance" recited with much heart and gusto. Page 1 of 14/December 3, 2019 6. Modification of the Agenda Mayor Clark then requested a motion to modify the agenda to move Item 9, the "Public Comment Period" and Item 13a. "Second Amendment Sanctuary Review Request" to just before Item 7a. "Presentations". The motion was made by Mr. Goodman, 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 then proceeded with the Public Comment Period. 9. Public Comment Period Mayor Clark explained the process for the comment period, in that he would take the comments as they were presented. Council would then discuss the item and make a decision on what they wished to do. Mayor Clark emphasized that a vote would not be taken until the work session on December 17th. He also expected that the audience would be respectful of the speakers. Mayor Clark called the first registered speaker, Mr. Joe Rees to come forward and address the Council. He asked that Mr. Rees give his name and address and reminded him of the three minute limit for comments. Mr. Rees approached the podium and made the following remarks: "Joe Rees, I live at 739 Newbern Road in town. I've got property in the County too and I was at that meeting as well. As I said in that meeting, I am not a hunter, but I am a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment and all of our freedoms that we have. Not only the U.S. Constitution, but the Virginia Constitution spells out very clearly that we have a right, all of us do as individuals not just as a militia, but we are all in the militia too. Most people don't know that. I didn't know that until I started researching all this. We are all in the militia. If you live in Virginia, you are in the militia until you are 75 years old, if you're needed. And so they intended, I've read a lot about what our Founding Fathers said. They intended us all to take care of ourselves and our families. They, when my ancestors first came here in 1627 by law, they had to have one pound of powder; four pounds of lead; they had to have a rifle out in the field with them; they had to be ready to be called up if they had to go. They were expected to know how to use their firearms. They were expected to have a firearm as comparable to those they might be going up against. If China were to invade us today with AK -47's we shouldn't have muskets, we should have something comparable to what they have. Our liberties are being infringed upon with the fifteen or so new Senate laws that we see coming through. That's the reason so many people are here now. We are being infringed upon. That's the issue. It's gotten to the point where we can all start to feel that way. And it's very clear that they don't have the authority to do so. You can read the Forefathers either by natural law or by God's law, you can pick which ever one you want. They said we all have a right to keep and bear arms. Arms are called "weapons of offense". I looked at three different dictionaries from that time period, looked at all these different words. Arms, "all manner of weapons for fighting". Bear, "to keep, to bear, to carry, to hold up. " That means you can take it with you, you can walk down the street with anything you can carry on your person according to these guys. To infringe, "that's to break a law, custom or privilege". I am accustomed to being able to carry in this state since 1627. Why did it change in my generation? All my 27 or so grandfathers up to this point in time have been able to. How come all of a sudden I can't, my children can't and if I end up with grandchildren, they can't either. It doesn't make sense. Why did things change so much in the past ten years? Why did Mr. Bloomberg need to come down here to Virginia with all his money? Why did Mr. Soros have to come here with all his money and influence Fairfax County, Henrico County and all the other ones who are going to vote these laws into place? Page 2 of 14/December 3, 2019 My time's about up but the bottom line is if you want to read it, it's there. It's in the Constitution just like anything else. I think we've kind of shirked our responsibilities because we are supposed to be more involved and I'm sorry, I'm just as guilty if not more so than anybody. And we all have an obligation to be involved. And uh, we all have these rights and even if someone doesn't want to exercise them, they shouldn't be taken away from other people. Before I had guns, I felt comfortable knowing that other people did, you know, even if I didn't want to carry them. I like the fact that more people are carrying weapons in public, concealed, open, any way as long as they are law abiding. Those are the people you want carrying them. I like having a well -supplied police force. I like having a well -supplied military. We want law and order. We don't want to be law breakers. We want to obey the law. But if they pass these laws, like they say something like 90 -95% of guns are going to be illegal that are now legal. You know, it's crazy. And we just can't let people come from outside Virginia and tell Virginians what to do. Thank you." Next speaker was Mr. Jamie Steele who made the following remarks: "Hi, I'm Jamie Steele. I live at 1027 Melborn Street here in town. I'm a registered gun owner, I'm a registered concealed weapons carrier. In the early Nineties, if it wouldn't have been for my weapon I don't know what would have happened to me. I took a beating over here in Wade's parking lot... If I wouldn't have had a weapon, honestly I don't know what would have happened to me. I mean they hit me in the damn head with a lock. And finally the police showed up, they took me to jail and saved my life all at the same time. What I am getting to though is no, you ain't getting my gun. Virginia gun owners... I honestly don't believe we would be here if enough Virginia gun owners vote, just simply vote. Research your local and your state leaders; research them; see what they are voting for and voting against and let that be your guide. And vote on what you feel like is best for you and your community. I ain't talking about Federal elections, I'm talking about your State and Local elections. I'm talking about you guys. I'm talking about our State leaders. You're going to have to start looking at these people. And I honestly believe there is enough gun owners in the state of Virginia to overrule all that junk going on up in the northern part of Virginia. But we set back and say "They aren't getting my gun. " 1 went down here in November and voted, walked right in there, wasn't no line, no nothing. So you know, I go down here to vote for President, I got to stand in line. The President isn't coming after my guns, my Governor is coming after my guns. Gun owners in Virginia has got to vote. Thank you, that's all I got to say." The next speaker was Mr. Ron Hall who made the following remarks: "I'd like to respectfully request five minutes, because I will probably be the only one that's going to speak from this point of view. I am Ron Hall. I live in Pulaski, as do my parents and my grandparents on both sides. And my roots in Pulaski go all the way back to Robert Martin who used to own all this land. My grandmother told me when she was 100 years old, that the Pulaski Land and Development Corporation did not pay the family for that land. So, I've got a vested interest in Pulaski. I am also a gun owner. I'm a little bit too old to be in the militia that my cousin Joe spoke about. I want to first read a letter that's an opinion letter that's going to be in a local newspaper here in a few days goes like this: Gun related mass murders happen with sickening frequency in this country. Some states are trying desperately to better protect their schoolchildren, shoppers and church goers from the madness. Some counties are responding to those efforts by adopting what they call "Second Amendment Sanctuary Resolutions". Inevitably, one of those massacres is going to happen in one of those counties in a state that has enacted new gun laws. Many innocent people will die and many more will be wounded. Tears and thoughts and prayers will follow like they always do. Usually it is there, but this time, the time that it's going to happen in Page 3 of 14/December 3, 2019 that county is going to be different. Someone will step forward and say that they could have alerted authorities about that illegal gun or that unstable threatening gun owner, but were discouraged from doing so because their county resolved not to enforce the law. Or, someone will say that they did report to the authorities but were rebuffed or ignored because of the sanctuary resolution. This will open up the gate and tort lawyers will come swarming. Bereaved families will sign up, it will be argued in civil court that the county's resolution not to enforce the law, makes them negligible and an enabler to the tragedy and therefore liable. The lawsuits will make their way to higher courts in places where the judges and juries are not sympathetic to gun owners -gun enthusiasts. Liability insurers will deny coverage claiming contributory negligence on the county's part. The county will have such judgements to pay that they will not be able to fix potholes or buy a fire truck or update their Christmas decorations for decades. Liability policies for all the other Second Amendment Sanctuary counties will be cancelled or premiums will skyrocket. Counties will scramble to rescind the resolutions they hastily adopted. Another round of community squabbles will arise like we have now, only worse and gun sales will spike again. Meanwhile, the gun lobbyist who dreamed up this sanctuary stunt, will be enjoying the back slaps from his or her colleagues and cronies and laughing about how gullible we are. And I say that, because every legal expert opinion that I have read says these resolutions are not worth the paper they are printed on unless the Constitutional Officers of the county are on board. That would be the Sheriff and the Commonwealth's Attorney. That's the end of the letter. (Unintelligible) I'd like to invite you to ask Mr. Rygas if anything I said in that letter is unreasonable or if anything the writer said in that letter is unreasonable. Now imagine there is a Pulaski citizen who knows about an angry in-law or neighbor with a rifle with a buck stock and silencer or a fifty round magazine who is making threats against his coworkers. We don't want that citizen to think that they can't alert the police to that threat because of any non -enforcement resolution. So I am asking you to consider a simple counter -resolution. That says the Town of Pulaski will not be bound by any County resolution that can be seen to tie the hands of our own police and that we will trust our police to use due diligence and common sense in investigating and enforcing any law applicable to their jurisdiction. If you do that, Pulaski can be the model for all the towns in this country that do not want to be dragged by their county on to the slippery slope deciding which laws to enforce. Thank you. " There being no further comments, Mayor Clark moved on to Item 13a regarding the sanctuary request as previously mentioned by Mr. Radcliffe. 13a. New Business Second Amendment Sanctuary Request by Councilman Radcliffe Mr. Radcliffe made the following comment: `7'll keep mine brief tonight because every Councilman I think will speak a little bit. I take my Second Amendment to heart. I'm a gun owner, I have a lot of guns and love my guns. I'm a veteran. I'm a thirty year police officer -deputy sheriff, the only man serving longer than me is standing right here (indicating Chief Roche). What these four eyes have seen is carnage, hangings, stabbings, rapes, muggings, everything. In my thirty year career, I have seen very little by weapons, very little. I said it didn't happen, I said I've seen very little. Drown yourself, stab yourself, hang yourself, wrecking cars, jump off cliff, jump off bridges. You've got to stop them. I'll move on with this. I love the Second Amendment and I've always and I always will stand by it. As a police officer, I would not ever, ever go to anyone's house, other than criminal ordered by the judge to remove the weapon. I'll resign first. I want you to come to my house to get mine, 1'll come to get yours. I have plenty, plenty of guns. I don't know that they've killed anybody. I've got them locked up downstairs and I checked them when I left. Page 4 of 14/December 3, 2019 I carried a gun for thirty years and knock on wood, I haven't had to use it. But I want to see a show of hands tonight of those who all in here has been shot before. Me, I was.... 308 rifle ...12 foot ... pierced my vest my right bun and came back out. I still stand by my Second Amendment right. You have a right to own that weapon. Yes he went off, he did and what he did was wrong. But I didn't go to the papers, I didn't go to the news (and) whine and cry because my inner feelings was hurt. I am a Second Amendment guy. He had every right to own that weapon. If he didn't do it with that, he would have done it with a stick. He'd a beat the brains out. Does that make it any better? Absolutely not. We can sit here and point fingers at weapons all we want to. Yes Mr. Hall's correct and I respect him because he's my friend and he will always be my friend. I respect him to the utmost. Mr. Hall replied "The feeling's mutual. " Mr. Radcliffe continued, 'But I stand on the other side of this coin, okay. Tonight the Town of Pulaski will make a move. I want to read a paragraph in it and 1'll let the rest of them speak. This is the one we're looking at, doesn't mean it won't be (unintelligible) ... very powerful paragraph in this one. Where it says "Board" we'll say Council: "... urges the Virginia General Assembly and the United States Congress and other agencies of the state and federal government to vigilantly preserve, protect, those rights by rejecting any provisions, law, regulations, that may infringe, have the tendency to infringe, or place any additional burdens, on the rights of law abiding citizens to bear arms in the Town of Pulaski. " In concluding his remarks, Mr. Radcliffe noted that Councilman Goodman brought the stickers to the hearing and paid for them for which he thanked him. Mr. Radcliffe thanked Mayor Clark for the privilege of speaking and the citizens for attending the meeting. Mr. Goodman then made the following remarks: "First of all, thank you for coming out. I wish we had a room full like this for all the issues that we deal with. I'm sure a lot of you are going, "He's from Eastern Connecticut probably doesn't like guns. He's one of those carpetbaggers that came down and won't leave. " I'm not going to leave. I got to thinking about this after the election and went "Oh man, this is not good. " Thinking about what has been going on in our country and so forth, you know as Ron mentioned, we've had these mass shootings and what goes on with those and what we are dealing with as a society. I started to think back, you know. I got my invitation the other day for my high school reunion. It was twenty years ago that I graduated. In my senior year was when Columbine happened. And it's fresh in my memory `cause I can still remember taking a calculus exam the next day and Mr. Bryant my principal called me down to the office because he was afraid I was going to shoot up the school. His sole reason for that was I was on the rifle team. I had my own gun. At that time it was still ok to lock my gun in the case, put it in the back of my car, drive to school and after school go to the rifle range and practice. How many of you did that when you were in school? Gone hunting, stuff like that, yeah? Now, we can't do that. And it's because in the last twenty years, something in our society has fundamentally changed. We've started to talk about guns and not think about what's going on with them. We ... when there's a shooting we don't blame the shooter, we don't ask why did they do this. Did they not get the mental help that they needed that this country is so poor making available? We always blame the gun. We blame the parents for not locking up the guns. We blame the bullet manufacturer for making the bullets, but we take no responsibility for why that person came and felt it was ok to go to school and shoot the people they didn't like. You know, when you drink and drive, is it the alcohol's fault that you got in the car, hit somebody and killed them? Is it the car manufacturer's fault that you hit somebody and killed them? No, it's your fault. It's your fault that you got behind the wheel and you drove drunk and you killed somebody. Page 5 of 14/December 3, 2019 But when it comes to guns, we blame the guns. And before we take away more of our rights, before we allow and tolerate the Second Amendment to be eviscerated, we have to ask ourselves what's going on in our society? Why is it that kids think its ok to kill other kids? Is it the video games that they play where they shoot realistic looking people in the game and their brains splatter against the wall? Is it the movies they're watching? I'd like the federal government and the state before they start making more laws to study this and figure out why all of a sudden we tolerate the taking of human life. Why? It's time that we stop and do that before we make more laws and we ban more things and we take away things and we let the lawyers take over. It's time for us to look inward and figure out how do we stop this. So I stand with all of you tonight. I stand for the Second Amendment. I stand for our great constitution of Virginia and I'm glad to be an adopted Virginian; glad to be out of Connecticut and away from their laws. So I ask tonight that all of you think about this and you go to your legislators in Richmond and you ask them to do something about it. Ron's right, these shootings are going to continue to happen. You take away guns, they're just going to find something else. Guns are illegal in most of England except for hunting shotguns. They still have gun crime. On Thanksgiving, a guy took a knife stabbed and killed two people. Two years before that, a person got in a car and drove through a Christmas village, killed a bunch of people. You take away guns, people are still going to find a way to kill each other. It's when you bring back the sanctity and respect for human life that you solve this problem. That's all I have. Mr. East added the following comment: "I would only add one thing to what you just said. Taking away guns, I could make a case that it would actually make things worse and would make it easier for folks that have ill intentions to carry out deeds. " Mr. Penn commented that he believed everything had been said. Mr. Dawson and Mr. Clontz made no comment. With no further comments, Mr. Radcliffe said he would like to direct the Town Manager to draw up a resolution for a Second Amendment sanctuary city similar to the Botetourt version 13.8.3 and be ready for Council's acceptance two weeks from tonight. 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 heard a presentation concerning the Capital Improvements Plan from Dr. Stephanie Davis of Virginia Tech. 7. Presentations a. Proposed Capital Improvements Plan, Stephanie Davis Dr. Davis addressed the Council and noted that this was the third year of preparing the Capital Improvement Plan for the Town for which she thanked Council for the opportunity to provide this service. Dr. Davis reminded to Council that they were not approving the CIP at this meeting, but were reviewing the first draft for the upcoming budget process. She noted that the work on the capital plan involved fiscal years 2021 through 2025, which was a five year plan. The Town's CIP provided for the acquisition, replacement, repair, and construction of capital projects. Capital projects for the Town were defined as projects that must have a useful life of more than one year or a total cost of $5,000 or more. She explained to the citizens present that these projects were such things as facilities, expensive apparatus for the Fire Department and large projects. She emphasized that the CIP work was a collaborative process that involved Department Heads who she described as having worked diligently to complete their forms, review their projects, and update cost Page 6 of 14/December 3, 2019 estimates in addition to other related issues. Dr. Davis also noted that the CIP was reviewed by the Planning Commission in October. The plan was approved in that it was in accordance with the Comprehensive Plan. Dr. Davis noted the FY 21-25 total CIP was $3.9 million spread out between the General, Water and Sewer funds. She reviewed prior year (FY 19-20) approvals in addition to proposed projects for the upcoming five year period (FY 2021-2025). She reminded Council that the plan was updated every year with projects added and removed. With respect to the CIP Revenue Summary, Dr. Davis said that it was a combination of looking at how projects would be funded using General Fund dollars from the Town, state grant and loan funding, and federal funding. Revenues for the Water and Sewer funds, were funded on their own through the revenues generated through their charges. Dr. Davis then reviewed the General Fund projects table which listed the project, the project funding source, and the operating impacts associated with the project. She noted that under Town Administration for the first year, it was recommended that a Vehicle Reserve Fund be established. The vehicle reserve fund would be set up with dollars set aside to pay cash for vehicles for the Town Administration. In the CIP, $200,000 was allocated for vehicles including police and other vehicles needing replacement. Dr. Davis said there was some enthusiasm on this category's inclusion in the CIP since it gave some flexibility to the Town Administration to decide what vehicles got funded based on priority needs. Funds not used in one year would be carried forward to the next year which set up a reserve component as well. Other projects discussed over the course of the five year CIP period included: recodification of the Town Ordinances ($50,000); crowd barriers; Fire Dept. replacement windows and doors ($15,000); Command/Chief vehicle ($61,000); training tower repairs, possibly using federal funds ($27,000); replacement Fire Marshal vehicle ($54,000); P.D. funding for three vehicles for each year ($663,000); night vision sighting systems funding, replacement and purchase ($89,000); speed measuring devices ($28,000); mobile dispatching ($30,000); and computer laptop replacement ($80,000). Additional projects included an articulating boom; playground improvement reserve fund; event tent and skateboard -basketball recreation area; tandem dump truck; and salt spreaders. The General Fund CIP projects totaled $2,000,000 over the five year period. Regarding General Fund Revenues for the CIP, Dr. Davis mentioned that revenues would be from General Fund dollars ($1,664,786); state funding ($403,000); and federal funding ($27,000). She noted for the citizens in attendance that once projects were chosen, the means of funding the projects would then be determined. Concerning the Water Fund, Dr. Davis noted that CIP projects were funded through charges or issuing debt based on the Water Fund charges. Potential Water Fund CIP projects mentioned were water tank painting & rehabilitation ($500,000); water line replacement and repair ($300,000); fire hydrants; water valve exercising equipment; and the Gatewood Dam rehabilitation reserve. She emphasized that the Town Council had done a nice job of setting up the reserves to mitigate expensive costs all at once. Dr. Davis then showed the costs of Water Filtration and Water Transmission and Distribution, noting total requests of $1,000,000 and how those requests would compare to Water Fund revenue over the five-year period. Likewise the Sewer Fund was funded through charges or issuance of debt. Projects mentioned were: sewer line replacement and repair ($100,000); grit chamber collection system repair ($30,000); Pump Station 4A & 4B reserve fund; programmable logic controllers for the pump stations ($200,000); Critzer pump station rehabilitation ($75,000); sewer force main reserve fund; and manhole rehabilitation reserve fund. Total costs for the Sewer Fund CIP totaled $655,000 with consideration being given to sewer fund revenue or state loan revenue for financing. Dr. Davis then concluded her presentation observing the CIP was very similar to last year's. Page 7 of 14/December 3, 2019 Mr. Radcliffe said that it was good to have the report for Council's review. He noted that in years past projects were not usually discussed because of funds. He credited the staff working with Council to put money back into reserves for times like these. Mr. Goodman said to Mr. Pedigo that there were not a lot of requests for Public Works with respect to vehicles, etc. He said that in the past Public Works got shortchanged and wanted to make sure this CIP reflects the need. Mr. Pedigo said it did. Mr. Utt added vehicles under Town Administration were for town - wide vehicle purchases for different departments as the time came for purchases to be considered. Mr. East said that regarding the Water and Sewer Funds, increases had been planned out over the last several years. He asked how these funds were looking for use of some of the excesses. Mr. Utt said reserve funds were set aside. One fund had to be used for the Critzer Pump Station repair several months ago. The reserves had come in handy and if it had not been there, it would have required $60,000 to be taken directly from unfunded reserves. An effort was underway not to pull too much from the reserves but to build them up as much as possible. Mr. Goodman said he did not favor debt but favored: "pay as you go"; avoidance of debt issuance; maintenance of the Town's credit rating; and continuance of building reserves. He also mentioned that there may be a sizeable debt in the future. Mr. Dawson asked Dr. Davis if they handled this process for other communities. Dr. Davis replied that they did CIP's for a number of small communities in addition to other forms of technical assistance. The work she felt added value to Va. Tech and also gave students real skills experience. Mr. Goodman noted that he worked for a different department of Virginia Tech so there was no conflict of interest. Mr. Dawson said there had been previous discussions on CIP plans concerning several items, e.g. police cars that were on the CIP as a capital improvement, but were more of an operational /maintenance matter. He asked if it was typical that such items were included on other community's CIP's. Dr. Davis responded that it was not. She explained when it came to vehicles if you were paying for those with cash, they did not necessarily have to be shown in the CIP. They could be shown in the operating budget of the individual department or in another line item in the General Fund. Dr. Davis said when the Town's CIP was set up, the thought was to show all of the expenses associated with the Police Department and to stick with the rule (definition of capital item) of one year's use or cost in excess of $5,000. She said they knew there was some discretion with the Police vehicles and other Town vehicles as well. It's really locality -dependent she said and could be shown either way. Smaller localities were having to issue debt for police vehicles so they would be shown in the CIP. If Council wished, the issue could be revisited to show vehicles in the operating budget and not the CIP. Mr. Utt ventured that the reason that vehicles were kept in the CIP was the Town's final report to the Auditor of Public Accounts. If $140,000 in police cars were shown in the CIP it would show a bigger reinvestment back into the community. As opposed to being operational, if however times got bad, it might require not purchasing three police vehicles for the next year. While vehicles could be put in the operational budget, Mr. Utt felt keeping it in the CIP was a more appropriate report to the state that there were reinvestments being made in the community. Mr. Dawson said to him capital improvement was an investment in change and creation in one way or another. He ventured if something did happen to a police vehicle that was listed as an operational line item, the line item would be reduced the same as if it were a capital item. By mingling maintenance with capital improvement, he felt that there would be a "watering down" of the understanding of what a capital improvement was truly doing. In reference to previous comments on the CIP, Mr. Dawson felt that Year 1 and Year 2 showed a vision of things that were going to be done. Year 3, Year 4, and Year 5 tended to be more towards operational/maintenance, which he felt made the CIP incomplete. He felt there had to be intentions to Page 8 of 14/December 3, 2019 measure change. If there was something not mentioned that would be done in Year 3, 4, 5, then how could the effect of decisions be measured based on what was planned to be done. He felt there were no intentions shown for the final three years of the CIP. Mr. Goodman said he saw the plan in terms of capital/improvement, which was also our capital plan for assets we have to buy. GASB required a devaluation of these improvements which he thought was why capital items were done a particular way. He agreed there should be a forward thinking element to the plan. Mr. Utt said the first CIP plan he noticed at the Town tended to have large expenditures for the first year and much smaller for the second year. He attributed this to CIP proposed expenditures that were simply passed on to the next year for consideration at that time. In addition, the presence of "lean years" made in hard for Department Heads and supervisors to plan ahead when they knew projects were not going to happen, so a "band-aid" approach was adopted. This mind set Mr. Utt said was very difficult to change. Mr. Dawson said he understood the hardness of the process, but felt it was the responsibility of the process to say what was being planned and the process for planning what was to be done. He felt given what he felt was the normal two year term for a project, that the Town would not be able to determine what was to be done the third year, which would put the Town behind three years. Mr. East ventured the CIP could give a false sense of security in that it was not showing what was in the budget every year hidden under capital improvement. Following the presentation and the discussion, Council next conducted a public hearing on proposed zoning amendments for medical centers. 8. Public Hearings a. Proposed Zoning Amendments for Medical Centers Ms. Hair noted for Council's information, the draft amendment changes in the packet. Per Council's directive, staff reviewed the zoning amendment regarding mental health centers and hospitals. The definition of "hospital, health care center' was taken directly from the Virginia Code. The zoning ordinance was reviewed for each location where "medical clinic" or "hospital" was listed in the Rural Residential (RR); B-1; B-2; and B-3 districts. The ordinance was adjusted to reflect "hospital" or "health care center" with those uses listed as a special exception. This allowed for general Council oversight on impact on surrounding properties. In addition, items were struck from the ordinance such as pain clinics, etc. because it is included in the definition of a health center. The major changes she concluded were taking those uses to the B-1, B-2 and B-3 as a special exception to allow Council to have an oversight for that use for facility placement or expansion. Mr. Utt added that the Planning Commission had reviewed the issue at its October meeting and had recommended its approval. If Council chose to adopt the changes, a draft ordinance was included in the packet for its consideration. Mr. Dawson asked for clarification that the changes would require a special exception for anything designated a medical center in those three areas. Ms. Hair replied that he was correct. Mayor Clark opened the public hearing at 7:57 p.m. No comments being received he closed the public hearing at 7:57 p.m. Mr. Utt noted there was a draft ordinance in the packet, Ordinance 2019-12, concerning the amendments. Mr. Clontz moved that Council approve Ordinance 2019-12 as written. The motion was seconded by Mr. East and approved on the following roll call vote: Page 9 of 14/December 3, 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 the vote, Council then reviewed the Consent Agenda. 10. Consent Agenda a. Consideration of the November 6, 2019, Council Meeting Minutes Mayor Clark called for a motion to approve the minutes of November 6, 2019. Mr. Dawson moved to approve the November 6, 2019 Council meeting minutes as written. The motion was seconded by Mr. Penn and approved by unanimous voice vote. Next item for review was the Project Summary Sheet. 11. Proiect Updates a. Project Summary Sheet Mr. Utt noted that the biggest project highlight was not on the chart. He added that the "Notice to Proceed" meeting was scheduled for tomorrow for the Streetscape portion of the Downtown Project. Facade work was continuing with some property owners stepping up and filling the funding gap. Other projects were being renegotiated to get the cost of fagade projects down so other property owners could afford it. Progress he noted was continuing on the streetscape side. A proposed fence on the creek wall on the other side had been removed and crosswalks were also pulled from this project and placed with the VDOT grant. Ms. Hair added that items that would be included were: lights along the alleys to highlight them for pedestrian access; completion of the pocket park; and wayfinding signage for the Downtown project area. Where the railing was to come out, the contractor would prepare the area for plantings which will be taken over by Friends of Peak Creek to make the area more inviting as part of their beautification effort to eliminate blight as called for in the grant. Mr. Penn asked if anything was included to fix the old trees. Mr. Utt replied that there had been some discussion on removing the trees which had outgrown the tree boxes they were in. He added that something needed to be decided if whether or not to put trees back, install shrubbery or do nothing. He believed it was time to pull the trees out along with the stumps. Mr. East asked about the project timeframe. Ms. Hair responded that there would be contract negotiations tomorrow (12-18-19) with the contractor who has indicated that with the break of winter/early spring he could have the project complete in 90 days. Mr. Utt added the notice to proceed would be issued tomorrow (12-18- 19) with later dates to be worked out. Ms. Hair said some demolition work would be done by Town crews as part of the Town's in-kind match, referring to work on the "pocket park". Mr. East asked if there was a drawing of the "pocket park". Mr. Utt said there was an earlier one he could make available. Ms. Hair added as part of the "pocket park" project, Pulaski on Main was going to assist in the naming the park as soon as the contracts were signed. Mr. East asked how far behind the facades were. Ms. Hair responded that because the numbers were so high from the contractor, the Town was going back to the original fagade owners to have discussions with them. The contractor had identified the blight that had to be addressed. The "wish list" pieces had been separated out and the property owners asked as to what they could afford. Ms. Hair said she saw that being completed shortly. Some property owners had the funds ready to move forward. Mr. Utt ventured that he saw several of the facades being under construction early next year. Mr. East asked if there was still an October deadline, to which Mr. Utt responded there was. Mr. East ventured that if the project was not well underway at the first of the year, there was a real risk of missing that deadline. Mr. Utt replied that most of the fagade work would be done in 30 to 45 days for the first seven facades. Ms. Hair added there had been discussions with DHCD regarding key corner lots and buildings because of sidewalks. Mr. Penn asked about the crosswalk at Jefferson and Main. Mr. Utt replied Page 10 of 14/December 3, 2019 that would be part of the repaving project next summer. Mr. Penn asked what would be done there. Mr. Utt said that he thought they were looking at stencil over pavement. Mr. Pedigo said that would be his recommendation. Mr. East asked regarding the facades, was the Town looking to work with the same contractor or a new contractor. Ms. Hair said there were two contractors: one for public space and the other for the facades. The next set of facades would be bid out and could be done by a different contractor. Mr. East asked how many facades were in the first set. Ms. Hair replied seven with eight in the second round. Funds left over from blight elimination for facades, would be used in working with other property owners for things like painting, pressure washing, etc. to ensure they met the intent of the grant. To Mr. East's question on the bidding for the second set of facades, Mr. Utt and Ms. Hair responded they wanted to get the bids out in January (2020). Mr. Radcliff reported that on the Calfee School project, two forty foot containers were loaded with paper during cleanout of the facility. He said that inmate labor had nearly finished cleaning out the structure with the exception of one room, which Mr. Utt noted had a collapsed ceiling. A way would have to be figured out to take care of the electrical wiring before the inmates could clean the area out. Mr. Utt reported that work on the school's CDBG planning grant was underway with the response due Tuesday. He expected to be under contract by early January. He did not think that the deadline for a construction grant application could be made by March, because of the RFP process. He felt there would be an application by next March (2021) so that a quality application could be prepared and submitted. Both the Management Team and Oversight Board appeared comfortable with that unless other funding sources could be found to fill in the gaps. Mr. Radcliffe encouraged members of Council to visit the school. Mr. East asked if the date for given for the narcotics unit would be the date that officers would be through the academy. Mr. Utt replied that was the date there would be a group of officers dedicated solely to narcotics. Mr. East clarified that he was asking for the status of the narcotics unit on October 2020 as to whether or not officers would be in place given position placement comments. Chief Roche responded that the placement comment was for position 2 and that position 1 and the replacement was in field training. The candidate going to the academy in January was position 2 along with their replacement. Mr. East asked if the 2020 deadline was accurate. Chief Roche responded that things were "on track" Mr. Goodman asked if the Town received a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) from the Regional Task Force. Chief Roche replied that an MOU was not done, but a clause was added to the agreement. Mr. Dawson asked about the James Hardie and the meetings that were to be held with them. Mr. Utt responded that the goal was to get the sulfate study going which had taken some time. The only conversation that had gone to Hardie's Chicago office involved the $300,000-$400,000 match. Hardie's response back asked what the benefit to the company would be. Staff was preparing a business plan or some items that would be of benefit. Mr. Utt said Hardie would benefit in that the project would be able to be used for pretreatment, which would not require Hardie to build their own, and they would not have to pay as much on the chemical charges. Mr. Utt maintained that Hardie would recognize a quick return on their investment. Mr. Dawson then asked about the timeline for the water project -Filter Plant and getting that repaired. Mr. Uti replied that the biggest roadblock was getting feedback from the insurance company. The filter claim was initially denied, then appealed for further review. In the meantime, the local government representative was educating officials to the needs of the Town. Mr. Utt felt the insurer's rationale for denying the claim was not good reason because they cited contact with water. He emphasized that a submission was made to SERCAP with a high probability that the award would be a loan. One problem was that SERCAP got their loan funds from the USDA, which required them to wait until a federal budget was finalized before any funds could be released. A loan might be available in January with the hope there would be no other serious issues. If there were serious water breaks, the County could supply the east side of the Town, but there would be concerns for the southwest side where the pressure zones change out. Page 11 of 14/December 3, 2019 Mr. Dawson emphasized that the problem needed to be fixed and asked if the Town could move forward to pay for it depending on whether insurance pays for it. Mayor Clark called the approach a "slippery slope" Mr. Utt said the Town's strongest point in its argument was the loss of 25% of the water processing capacity. Money could be taken out of reserves, $318,000, for repairs. The upside Mr. Utt said, was that extra things could be included to assist in planning to replace the other three filters more cheaply in the future. Mr. Dawson asked how much did it cost for the overtime regarding the filter operation. Mr. Pedigo said he had not calculated it. Mr. Utt estimated it might be $500 per paycheck Mr. East asked if there was some idea what to expect regarding the insurance. Mr. Utt replied that he expected VACORP to come back with an offer for a percentage possibly 30% or 40%, probably not to exceed 50%. At that level, he would feel more comfortable pulling the balance from reserves. Mr. Utt said he was being overly cautious on spending money from reserves, but thought the Town was still in a comfortable area. Mayor Clark felt the insurance would "wash its hands" of the matter should repairs be started by the Town and it would be a mistake to head in that direction. Mr. Utt again said he felt there would probably be some kind of offer from the insurance company. Mr. Goodman asked how long it would take to fix the filter plant. Mr. Pedigo estimated it would be a while. The project would be a labor intensive process since water production would have to continue during the repairs. Forms would have to be built and cast in place. If work started tomorrow he estimated construction would be three to four months. Mr. Goodman asked if the work had been bid out and the contractors selected. Mr. Pedigo responded that he had prices, but did not do a bid thinking insurance funds would be available. Mr. Utt said sealed bids were not done but the Emergency Procurement Process was used. Mr. Goodman expected not to have any movement by the insurance company until January. Mr. Utt said it was pushing two months since the appeal letter was issued. Mr. Goodman suggested that a follow-up be sent, possibly a resolution from Council since the situation was not acceptable. He asked was it possible to get the bid process underway, so as soon as something was known about the financing, efforts could get underway quickly in January. Mr. East asked if the process would have to be rebid. Mr. Pedigo said he did not think so and that he thought the contractor would honor their bid, but there would be some lead time for their equipment. Mr. Goodman suggesting getting materials, etc. and "get the ball rolling". If there were a legal way to move forward with that, he thought that would be the right way to do it, to get construction started sooner rather than later. Mr. Dawson said no one wanted to do anything to hinder funding, but he expressed a preference if there were items that could be moved forward, to do so since he preferred not to be kept waiting then start. Council next moved on to "New Business" regarding appointments to various boards. 12. Old Business There were no items scheduled for consideration under "Old Business". 13b. Resolution 2019-38, Recommendation for Board of Zoning Appeals Appointment Mr. Utt referred to a memo in the packet from the Clerk of Council updating the expiration of terms. Mrs. Sunshine Cope's term on the Board of Zoning Appeals had expired. She informed staff that she was willing to serve another five year term. Mr. Utt reminded Council that the resolution was a recommendation to the court (Circuit) who would make the actual appointment since the BZA was an arm of the courts. Draft Resolution 2019-38 was in the packet if Council was amendable to continuing Mrs. Cope's service. Mr. Utt added that Mrs. Cope had been very attentive concerning the BZA meetings. Mr. East moved to adopt Resolution 2019-38 as written. The motion was seconded by Mr. Goodman and approved on the following roll call vote: Page 12 of 14/December 3, 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 With discussion concluded, Council then considered Resolution 2019-39 appointing a member to the Pulaski Redevelopment and Housing Authority c Resolution 2019-39 Appointment to the Pulaski Redevelopment & Housing Authority Mr. Utt reported that Mr. Penn's term on the Housing Authority had expired and that he strongly recommended his reappointment. He also informed Council that Mr. Penn served as the Chairman of the Housing Authority and that he had consented to serve another four year term. Mr. Goodman moved to adopt Resolution 2019-39 as written. Mr. East seconded the motion which was approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Abstain 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 one item under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (A) 1, a personnel matter concerning Town Manager employee oversight. Mr. Goodman moved to enter 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 Council entered Closed Session at 8:22 p.m. and returned from Closed Session at 8:39 p.m. Mayor Clark asked for a certification motion that Council only discussed the single item for which it went into Closed Session under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (A) 1, a personnel matter regarding Town Manager employee oversight. Mr. Goodman moved to certify the closed session. 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 A. Radcliffe -Aye 15. Reminder of Future Council Meetings and Adiournment. Mayor Clark reminded Council of the work session on December 17th; the Tree Lighting and Christmas Parade on December 5th; and the employee Christmas Luncheon at noon on Friday, December 13th at AI's on First. Page 13 of 14/December 3, 2019 Business having concluded, Mayor Clark requested a motion to adjourn. The motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Goodman, seconded by Mr. Clontz and approved by the unanimous voice vote of Council at 8:40 p.m. Approved: avid L. Clark Mayor ATTEST: &-,42, �,? -Y, David N. Quesenberry Clerk of Council Page 14 of 14/December 3, 2019