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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-21-20Minutes of the Pulaski Town Council Work Session held at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 21, 2020 in the Council Chambers of the 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; James A. Radcliffe Councilmen Absent: Lane R. Penn 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: Todd Garwood, Fire Marshal Chief Robbie Kiser, P.F.D. Jackie Morris, Assistant Finance Director Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer David Quesenberry, Clerk of Council Chief Gary Roche, P.P.D. Jordan Whitt, Social Media Manager Others Present: April Bennett Umarea Bolden Lisa Bolden Shamea Bolden Zayvion Bolden Justin Kemp Joe Rees Catherine Van Noy Emily Viers 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Mayor Clark. 2. Roll Call. Following the call to order, the roll was taken. Present were: Mayor Clark, Mr. Clontz, Mr. Dawson, Mr. Goodman, and Mr. Radcliffe. Absent from Roll Call was Mr. Penn. With a majority of members of Council in attendance, a quorum was present for the conduct of business. 3. Modification of the Agenda. No modifications were requested to the agenda. 4. Guests and Visitors. Mayor Clark welcomed everyone to the meeting and expressed his appreciation for the presence of the special guests. 5. Consent Agenda. a. December 17, 2019, Council Work Session Minutes. Mayor Clark moved on to the Consent Agenda and called for a motion to approve the minutes of the December 17, 2020 Council work session. Mr. Clontz moved to approve the minutes as written. The motion was seconded by Mr. Dawson and approved by a unanimous voice vote of Council. There being no public hearings, Council proceeded to "Presentations" beginning with the Henry Avenue Fire Assistance Recognition presentation for Umarea Bolden. Page 1 of 12/January 21, 2020 6. Public Hearinqs. There were no public hearings scheduled on the agenda. 7. Presentations. a. Henry Avenue Fire Assistance Recognition, Fire Department Certificate of Honor/Resolution 2020-03 Mayor Clark was joined on the dais by Chief Kiser, Fire Marshal Garwood and D'marea Bolden and his family. Mayor Clark then read Resolution 2020-03 which recognized D'marea Bolden for his actions on December 22, 2019 in reporting a fire at a neighbor's home to the Fire Department then rushing to the burning home to alert those inside. D'marea gave credit to the Fire Prevention Programs, sponsored by the Pulaski Fire Department and the Fire Marshal's office for telling him what to do in an emergency. Following the reading of the resolution Mayor Clark presented the resolution to D'marea. After the presentation of the resolution, Fire Marshall Garwood read the following from a Certificate of Honor from the Pulaski Fire Department recognizing D'marea for his actions: "The Pulaski Fire Department would like to recognize D'marea Bolden for demonstrating heroic courage on behalf of his neighbors, having put into action skills learned through Fire Prevention Programs at his school. Bolden's quick action during a neighbor's house fire likely saved lives. " Fire Marshall Garwood and Fire Chief Kiser then presented the Certificate of Honor to D'maera. After the presentations, Mr. Goodman moved to adopt Resolution 2020-03 as written. The motion was seconded by Mr. East and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Absent Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye After awarding the honors, Council next heard a report from Mrs. Emily Viers on the FY 19 Draft Audit Presentation. b. FY 19 Draft Audit Presentation Mrs. Emily Viers, the audit manager for the Town's 2019 audit, addressed Council regarding their findings on the previous year's finances. Mrs. Viers reviewed two different audit reports and the Town's financial statement. Regarding the independent auditor's opinion as to the material correctness of the financial reports in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Mrs. Viers reported the Town had a clean unmodified opinion which meant the auditors felt the Town's numbers were correct as presented. The second opinion involved government auditing standards which examined internal controls and compliance requirements under the APA specifications for cities, counties and towns. There was no non- compliance noted under the APA specifications. However there was one material weakness noted in internal controls relating to material audit adjustments being posted as part of the audit procedures. Mrs. Viers explained that every year, as part of the audit, there were often proposed audit adjustments. This year, either individually or in the aggregate, some of those adjustments were material which were required to be reported as a finding in the report. Mrs. Viers said normally people wanted to know if the adjustments related to the day-to-day operations or if it was something that staff did incorrectly throughout the year that needed to be fixed. Usually it was adjustments to get to a modified statement, so it was not something that staff had done on a day to day basis. It related to getting the financial statement from cash basis operations, when you operate on a day to day basis, to a modified or (unintelligible) statement. Those were usually controlled by adjustments which Page 2 of 12/January 21, 2020 were posted where there were inconsistencies or errors found. The finding, Mrs. Viers continued, was not uncommon. Mr. Utt said this was the first year that Brown Edwards had done the pre -audit work. Mrs. Viers added that once things were concluded this evening, she would send an email to Brown Edwards letting them know there was a material weakness this year and what those findings were in case they had questions. Mrs. Viers said she would next cover the audit presentation packet. Mr. Goodman said it was disappointing to have material findings for the first time in a long time. Mr. Utt said he did not expect it to happen next year. He said the former pre -auditor dropped the Town extremely late in the process, which resulted in the Town scrambling to get Brown Edwards. Due to the short time frame, Brown Edwards also hurried to get the data together. Mr. Utt said he was disappointed too, but he thought the Town would be better off next year. Mr. Goodman felt it was important to have staff come back with a plan to address this so it did not occur in the next audit. He added now we had been "dinged," it was time to address it. Mr. Utt said it was not necessarily a bad "ding" but it was something that happened. Mrs. Viers added while a finding was not desired, of all the findings that you could have, this was the one she would prefer because that meant that there were no compliance issues, segregation of duties issues or other internal control problems. A lot of the adjustments she continued would come from them (Robinson Cox Farmer). Mr. Goodman asked which GASB standard was being used and what version. Mrs. Viers responded that all the required GASB standards were implemented and that GASB 88 had been implemented during the year. There were a few new GASB standards that were coming up that the Town would have to implement. Mrs. Viers then reviewed the audit presentation starting with select financial information concerning: government funds; fund balance breakdown; long term obligations; and long term obligations per capita. Mrs. Viers noted that the unassigned fund balance had declined fairly significantly which was due to a couple of factors which led to a large decrease. On the revenue side, $205,000 was transferred to the General Fund from the enterprise funds the prior year which was not repeated in the current year. The Water and Sewer Funds had previously transferred monies related to overhead costs to the General Fund each year. However that created a negative cash balance in the Water and Sewer Funds and inflated the value of the General Fund. Mrs. Viers said in light of this they recommended that the funds not be transferred until the enterprise funds became self-sustaining. This resulted in a revenue drop of $205,000 for the current year. Another factor was the one-time sale of a cell tower for $270,000 in the prior year which was not repeated the current year. This resulted in a total revenue decrease of $475,000. With respect to expenditures, Mrs. Viers noted that general and administrative expenditures increased by $165,000 which was related to data processing. Of this amount, data processing expenses increased by nearly $100,000 for maintenance and computer expense costs, including a possible phone purchase, with the remainder for an increase in salaries of approximately $30,000. Community Development increased by $190,000 which included all economic development, brownfields, the Downtown Project, Kersey Bottom and projects of a similar nature. Overall Mrs. Viers said expenditures increased by $355,000 and revenues decreased by $475,000 which combined, resulted in the decrease of the fund balance. Mrs. Viers opined that hopefully the revenues were outlying things that would stabilize. If there were no unusual outlying expenditures she ventured it would be business as usual for the year. Hopefully the number (unassigned fund balance) would come back up next year. Next, Mrs. Viers reviewed the Town's long-term obligations that included long-term debt balances, pensions and Other Post -Employment Benefits (OPEB) all of which decreased. There was a change in the OPEB actuarial valuation where the number of employees were reduced that were eligible for staying on the Page 3 of 12/January 21, 2020 Town's insurance after they retired out. This resulted in a significant decrease in liability. Since the Town made payments on its debts, the decrease shown was primarily due to the fluctuation in pensions and OPEB. Concerning the Enterprise Funds (Water and Sewer) Net Position, Mrs. Viers reported that the net position went up slightly due to the transfers not being made to the General Fund. Regarding the unassigned fund balance as a percentage of expenditures, Mrs. Viers reported the figure was 8.32% as compared to last year's 15.34%. She noted the $700,000 drop had an impact on that percentage which hopefully would improve. She said that the GFOA (Government Finance Officers Association) recommended that there should be two months of reserves which would be 16%-17% for the Town. Mr. Goodman asked if what Mrs. Viers was referring to as "unassigned" was what Council referred to as "reserves". Mr. Utt responded they were two different things and he had discussed the issue with Mrs. Viers. The audit marked a point in time, in this case June 30, 2019. In theory the Town had $800,000 in reserves but had near $2,000,000 in its checking account. This was the number that was referred to as reserves. Mr. Goodman said he understood that between FY 18 and 19, reserves went down $700,000 because of a lack of certain revenue coming in and an increase in unbudgeted expenditures. Mr. Utt said it was different things. On the Community Development side there were a lot of brownfield projects with two CDBG projects going at once. Whether or not revenues got back in time, he felt it would correct itself in the next audit. Mr. Goodman responded he was thinking what had been done this year, mentioning $250,000 for the fire truck and $300,000 for the Filter Plant repair. Based on these numbers he added, there wasn't much left. Mr. Utt replied that the fire truck and Train Station were loans and the water treatment plant would be a loan. He felt the situation would correct itself. Mrs. Viers returned to the General Government Fund Balance and Debt sheet and emphasized that it was desirable for the long term obligations to decrease, which they had done in FY 19, and for the fund balance and unassigned balance to increase. Going back to the Enterprise Net Position graphic, Mrs. Viers observed that the Water Fund's net position increased markedly due to the OPEB change. The Sewer Fund decreased slightly due to an increase in sewer expenses of $600,000 over the prior year due to contractual services. She also noted that the Water Fund's cash balance had increased along with improvements in the Sewer Fund. By FY 2021 she ventured that it may be possible to resume transfers to the General Fund. She told Council that she had discussed moving direct expenses only for a short time period rather than the entire overhead pool with direct expenses. That way Water and Sewer could continue to grow while the General Fund could recoup some of its money. Concerning Revenue Sources, Mrs. Viers said that things remained consistent. Other Local Taxes did go up because of the Meals Tax which increased approximately $80,000. She also noted that recovered costs decreased due to an insurance recovery of $60,000. On Functional Expenditures by Fiscal Year, Mrs. Viers noted that Public Safety jumped in 2016 due to participation in central dispatch. By August 2020, payments were scheduled to end which should cause central dispatch payments to come down. Public Works experienced a jump in 2016 and 2017 due to the purchases of vehicles and equipment. Expenditures for 2018 and 2019 had dropped back and appeared to have stabilized at normal levels. Concerning revenue sources from 2015-2019, Mrs. Viers noted that the majority of the Town's revenues were generated from the same sources: General Property Taxes and Other Local Taxes. If additional revenue was sought, those were the two largest areas to cause an increase in overall revenue. The remaining revenue sources would have to be raised significantly to show an increase in overall revenue. Page 4 of 12/January 21, 2020 She advised reviewing this chart and the expenditure chart when considering raising revenue or cutting expenditures. Regarding tax assessments, there had been an increase in Machinery & Tools due to the James Hardie expansion. It was not known if the increase would continue or level off in the next year. The other assessments appeared to be leveling off or declining which was in-line with area trends. Mrs. Viers then conducted a brief review of the Letter of Communication and Recommendations and comments. She said while she realized the fund balance issue was not what was hoped for, she felt the audit went well and asked if there were any questions. Mr. Goodman said at the next work session he wanted to go more in depth on the issue of the reserves to get a better grasp of what happened, why it happened and what was being done about it. He said that over the last ten years they had worked to get the reserves up closer to 20% and to see it drop so low was a huge disappointment. Mr. Utt said he had been working on some recommendations regarding the issue. Mr. Dawson said, regarding a conversation on Water and Sewer Transfers, that the auditor's comments seemed to contradict what he understood that a larger amount of money should be transferred out of the Water and Sewer Funds and that there was a more appropriate amount that should have been coming out of the General Fund to pay for the administrative side. Mr. Utt said there was a Cost Allocation Plan in which a consultant would come in and look at all costs and all operations to determine what percentage of costs, both direct and indirect, should be apportioned among funds. For many years, the Town could not afford to fully fund the direct and indirect costs. Using the Water Fund paying rent on a building as an example, Mr. Utt said the cost allocation plan may call for the Water Fund to pay $300,000 to the General Fund, but only $180,000 was transferred. If the cost could be supported the full $300,000 should have been transferred. However, the direct costs may have been $8,000, so more than the direct costs were transferred. Mrs. Viers said that the matter was not that the Water Fund owed the General Fund the full amount of the Cost Allocation Plan, it was that the Water Fund did not have the money to pay the full Cost Allocation Plan and would end up with a negative cash balance. Until the Water Fund had enough money to pay for all the Cost Allocation Plan (both direct and indirect costs), she thought a way to meet in the middle would be once the enterprise funds became self-sustaining to pay for the direct costs first for a while. Then as the enterprise funds continued to grow the full Cost Allocation Plan could be phased in. Mr. Utt said the Water Fund was more stable but the Sewer Fund was the fund that could not afford it now. He thought that a couple of wet years had resulted in payments to Pepper's Ferry that were greater than what was budgeted. Mr. Dawson then said as Council went into the 2020 Budget, there were substantial funds that were planned to be transferred to the General Fund from Water and Sewer. The auditors had suggested not to do transfers in 2019 or 2020, but to do them in 2021. The current budget, Mr. Dawson observed had a large transfer coming out of Water and Sewer. Mr. Utt said that this year, the Town should look at the direct costs perhaps from the Water Fund only and let Sewer continue to build. Presently he said the Sewer was $600,000 to the good which should be good cash flow, dependent upon a dry spring and reasonable Pepper's Ferry costs. Mr. Dawson then asked about the transfer amounts for this year's budget. Mr. Utt thought they totaled about $300,000. Mr. Dawson suggested that amount probably should not be transferred. Mr. Utt said the transfers had not been done nor had there been corresponding expenditures. Mr. Goodman suggested there should be a discussion on this year's budget. Mr. Utt suggested the February work session. Mr. Goodman said he did not want to transfer money to the detriment of a fund that the Town had been trying to get stable and self-sufficient. The current budget he observed had transfers projected that may not happen. The amount of the changes would exceed the Manager's authority and would have to be made by Council. Mr. Utt said he could handle the expenditure portion and thought Page 5 of 12/January 21, 2020 Council could have a better understanding overall. Mr. Goodman responded that he didn't believe it was a better understanding, but that Council would have to make some cuts and added that he was not a fan of going into reserves to make up a shortfall. He suggested the February work session become a budget session for this year before getting into FY 20-21. Mr. East agreed. Mrs. Viers said Council may want to look at the 2020 Water and Sewer Funds which may have bounced back more than she expected, which may allow some transfers to be made. Mr. East asked if there were any monies that had been paid out that could be anticipated to return. Mr. Utt thought there might be some grant funds that had drawdowns by June 30. Mrs. Viers said the auditors matched revenues with the expenses. There was some deferred revenue from money received up -front which had not been spent which would go into revenues. Currently it was shown as a liability until the expenditure was made, which should result in an offset in the future. Mr. East asked, regarding corrective action on the write-up, since it didn't appear that it was presented to anybody, do we just wait until next year to see if we got it right. Mrs. Viers responded if you had Federal findings and Federal dollars in excess of $150,000, the audit with Federal documentation would be uploaded to a Federal clearinghouse, where it would be available to the public. Since there were no federal findings, it showed up in the report and hopefully would go away next year. Mr. Utt said he did not know if there was anything the staff could do regarding corrections since that was the consultant's work. Mr. Goodman asked why there were a lot of adjustments. Mr. Utt said it was to get an understanding of the Town's operations. Fern & Hickok were here for seven years and had a thorough understanding of the Town's operations. Brown Edwards came in and had a matter of weeks to do what they had to do. Mr. Dawson asked if they (Brown Edwards) would do it again next year or would there be someone else. Mr. Utt thought he would look at them to do it next year since they now had a better understanding. Mrs. Viers added that there were not a whole lot of options since some consultants had staff turnover and others were not taking new clients. Mrs. Viers offered to contact some consultants and share the results with Mr. Utt and Mrs. Leeper. Mr. East said not understanding the root cause of the issue made him uneasy. Mrs. Viers said Council would get copies of the journal entries when the hard copy of the reports arrived. Some of the adjustments inadvertently doubled accounts payable in the amount of $300,000 over the funds. There an additional error in payments to a specific vendor for water/sewer improvements. Mrs. Viers said they would review the adjustments and the journal entries with the pre -audit firm. Mr. Goodman ventured that the errors were not made by Town staff. It was the consultant (Brown Edwards) who made errors that had to be corrected and also resulted in the finding that Mrs. Viers' firm made. Mrs. Viers said that was correct but that the consultant had to be treated as an extension of the Town. Mr. Goodman mentioned that there was usually a penalty if something was not done and was that available concerning the consultants. Mr. Utt said the consultants only had about a month and their services were obtained under emergency procurement. The alternative he said was having a C.P.A. on staff. Mrs. Viers said the risk of having a C.P.A. on staff was that there were so many GASB rulings issued that the person might not be able to keep up with all the rulings. Mr. East opined that the findings and what happened was sloppy. Mrs. Viers said generally findings were related to more complex issues. Some of the issues she thought were due to not enough time or lack of appropriate review. The reports were different from what she was used to seeing and they were not the usual actions that had to be adjusted. While she would not characterize the actions as sloppy, they were not the normal actions that resulted in that kind of finding. Page 6 of 12/January 21, 2020 Mr. Dawson asked how much time would normally be spent on this process. Mrs. Viers said consultants usually started in the fall after everything was done. She thought Brown Edwards only had a month. Mr. Dawson said in all fairness to them they appeared to "draw the short straw". After the conclusion of the auditors report, Council heard a report from Mrs. Catherine Van Noy concerning Pulaski on Main. c. Pulaski on Main Mrs. Van Noy told Council that Pulaski on Main was addressing strategies from the Community U. and priorities recommended through the Virginia Main Street Program. She wanted to convey to Council why Pulaski on Main does what it does and where its focus was. She also wanted to have a good "back and forth" with Council with respect to goals. Given the timing of the fiscal year, she noted that new goals were not yet designed. However, she had sketched out some goals in light of the progress of Pulaski on Main. She reported the Board for Pulaski on Main had been established and had met informally on the 11 th Among the tasks she mentioned for the immediate future was approval of the bylaws and articles; as well as proceeding with their 501 (c) 3 application. Referring to the 4th Quarter report in the packet, Mrs. Van Noy mentioned several items they were working on among which were: a non-profit application and the Virginia Main Street Designation application. She noted interest from newly elected Supervisor, John Travis, who had expressed interest in Pulaski on Main and had inquired reinstituting a business lunch/small business opportunity. There had been such an activity in the past sponsored by DHCD, but had lapsed to the displeasure of DHCD. Mr. Travis felt that such an event would help seed small businesses in Pulaski and had expressed his preference that Pulaski on Main revive that event. Other programming included: naming the pocket park, for which there had been strong interest; spring educational offerings; Music and Merchants in May; Puloveski (ARB approved their design); Pedal Pushers; Calfee School Project; and Local Food, Local Place. One important event coming up was the "Pulaskiworks" informational open house on January 31 st at the Train Station as well as a feasibility study for 37 West Main Street. Mrs. Van Noy also discussed the Virginia Main Street Designation application. Currently, Pulaski was a commercial district affiliate but could become a fully designated Downtown organization. DHCD sponsored this with the application due March 31St. She learned at an application seminar in Marion, that DHCD wanted Pulaski to apply and felt it was ready. It did require a three year commitment to continuing Pulaski on Main for which she requested some feedback from Council. In addition, Mrs. Van Noy noted that her contract ended on April 1 st. She stated she would like to present a proposal and would want to consider one more year. Mr. Goodman said what he was looking at in the next fiscal year, was a report as to expenditures by Pulaski on Main; what grants were brought in each year that were specific to the existence of Pulaski on Main; the potential cost if Pulaski became a full-fledged Main Street affiliate; and the year to year cost for the three years. He ventured that there might not be many grants in year one, but saw more opportunities in years two and three. This would allow a look at long term capital costs as well as the value that could be gained for the community. Mrs. Van Noy said that a three year budget would be included as part of the application including projected costs and revenue streams. One benefit was that the difference in grant availability between a commercial district affiliate ($7,000) and a fully designated Main Street member ($29,000-$30,000). Mr. Goodman said he would like to know the effect on community development and the potential economic development impact. Mr. Dawson said to him it was a two -fold conversation discussing what was done by Pulaski on Main so far and what it might be able to accomplish with what could be done financially with the funds available. A Page 7 of 12/January 21, 2020 discussion then ensued concerning the financial situation and the framework of possibilities as to what could be done. Mr. East asked how many Main Street communities were there. Mrs. Van Noy thought approximately 60 with 90 affiliates. Mr. East then asked about the politics behind the Main Street. A short discussion then started concerning the inner workings, some financial, some political of the program as well as the general impact goals of the program. Mrs. Van Noy noted there was an intermediate step of Virginia Downtown in the Main Street program which Pulaski might attain. Mr. Goodman commented that it seemed like a pyramid scheme, where if you don't buy in you don't get the discount. His concern was that the Town would be spending money to be involved which had to be quantified in some form. What he was looking for was a return on investment into the heart of the community. Mrs. Van Noy suggested that the County could be of assistance and that she would be talking with them. The opportunities that had arisen through grants had been outside of DHCD. A budget she envisioned would consist of projects like that in addition to getting investors. She estimated additional funding would total $60,000 for a community of Pulaski's size. She then concluded her presentation. Following Mrs. Van Noy's presentation, Council then considered matters under "Public Operations" beginning with a forensic nursing grant. 8. Public Operations a. Proposed Forensic Nursing Grant Mr. Utt said the Town had applied for a similar grant over a year ago. Unlike the last grant no Town funds were involved, but the Town was required to act as the fiscal agent for the program. Mrs. Bennett said this was a new grant through the Department of Justice which would award $500,000 (no matching funds required) for a 36 month time period. Initial staffing would include one forensic nurse and one part-time medical director. There was a candidate for the director's position who was a nurse practitioner that could practice autonomously and had more forensic experience, in addition to holding a national certification. Lewis-Gale Hospital -Pulaski had agreed to provide space for conducting exams. The program also mandated partners for the program that had to be service providers in the area. The Women's Resource Center, the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office and the Office of Social Services had agreed to partner under the grant. Social Services had agreed to partner even though the grant did not cover child abuse exams for children under the age of 11. Mrs. Bennett said she planned to provide those exams but bill for the service for reimbursement. She did not want to exclude those children from the service, so under that condition Social Service agreed to be a partner. Mrs. Van Noy reminded Council that last year the Town was not the applicant but was a partner in Giles County's application. That process was not satisfactory due to the number of decisions that had to be made by Giles County. This application had been underway for some time for assembling the grant's components. She added that Pulaski County provided a very strong case for this application due to the lack of services. Mr. Utt asked Council for the authorization to apply for the grant funds and to sign the application. There was work proceeding on an agreement to make sure it served the three year term of the grant and specified the fiscal agent role among other issues. Mrs. Bennett remarked that the participation of Lewis-Gale was a huge step. Mr. Utt noted that the applicant would be the Town of Pulaski and the program was called the "Safe Center of Southwest Virginia". Mr. Rygas asked if the program staff would be employees of the Town. Mrs. Van Noy said they would. Mr. Goodman asked if VRS and the Town's health insurance would be offered to program employees. Mr. Utt Page 8 of 12/January 21, 2020 said they would. Mrs. Bennett said the fringe benefits could be adjusted. Mr. Utt said they appeared fine for now. Mrs. Bennett added that in the program budget, she would be FLSA exempt so there would be no overtime. The medical director was non-exempt but would not exceed 12 hours per month. To Mr. Goodman's question if they were looking at 2.5 hours per week, Mrs. Bennett said they might be looking at 8 hours one week and 4 hours the next. The hope was that the director would be present with Mrs. Bennett for follow up examinations and peer review. Mr. Goodman noted that the Town's involvement would require that it be HIPAA compliant and policies developed for review by Council. Mrs. Bennett said for the first three months, October through December there were no plans to see patients. This time would be used to develop policies, plans, procedures, guidelines, and standing orders, in addition to procurement of equipment and supplies. Mr. East asked if there were any liability concerns. Mr. Utt said there would be an increase to our insurance that was covered in the budget. Mr. Goodman asked if the budgeted amount for medical malpractice ($3,000) was enough. Mrs. Bennett said it was hard to get an accurate number unless the program was created. The original cost was $6,000 but that was for a larger group of six or seven people. With only two employees, and after input from a similar program, the amount listed in the budget was the amount ($3,000) for malpractice that the other program paid. Mr. Utt said the program was performing only exams, no surgeries or procedures. Mr. Goodman suggested the information technology costs were too low. Mrs. Bennett said she went to Best Buy and purchased units that would meet the standards. Mr. Goodman suggested the budgeted amount be doubled. Mr. Dawson asked what would happen after three years. Mrs. Bennett suggested they would look for other grants and possibly bill for exams including accessing the Virginia Victims Fund. Mr. Utt asked if the program could bill through the grant cycle. Mrs. Bennett replied that it could. Mr. Utt suggested that the program could almost create a reserve fund. Mrs. Bennett responded that while the grant cycle was paying her to do the job, it did not necessarily pay for medications, equipment, etc. Mr. Dawson asked if any income generated would go to the Town. Mr. Utt said a separate account would be set up similar to the CDBG account. Mr. Goodman asked if another application could be submitted in three years. Mrs. Bennett replied if the grant became available they could resubmit. She added if there was a continuing application the grant was for $750,000. Mrs. Van Noy noted there were some bonuses for programs that had proven sustainable. Mr. Goodman asked if Radford University has been approached to be a partner. Mrs. Bennett replied that Radford University was now affiliated with Carillion, but that the community college was a possibility. Mr. Goodman then asked what action was required. Mr. Utt responded authorization to apply and authorization for him to sign the necessary documents, possibly subject to Town Attorney review. Mr. Goodman moved that Council authorize staff to apply for the Department of Justice Violence Against Women Program for $500,000 with documentation to be executed by the Town Manager after review and approval of the Town Attorney, as well as a base operating agreement being drafted. The motion was seconded by Mr. East and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Absent Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Council next heard a proposal from Mr. Radcliffe on a motocross facility in the Town. b. Motocross Facility Mr. Radcliffe proposed the possibility of bringing motocross back to Pulaski County and the Town of Pulaski. He mentioned the local interest in the sport and that citizens had been asking about where this might be Page 9 of 12/January 21, 2020 located. Mr. Radcliffe said he had been informed of an investor who was interested and had met the individual and discussed the matter with them in an hour meeting. Regarding the land area, Mr. Radcliffe mentioned the investor had forty acres available for a potential motocross track .A potential track Mr. Radcliffe continued would have three different phases: a track for younger riders; a motocross track; and an all -natural terrain race. Another discussion concerned a firing range. The land for a potential firing range adjoined the County and the Town and would have campsites with hookups. Mr. Radcliffe felt it could be a great thing given the nearby presence of Downtown and Gatewood. He proposed at the next meeting that three or four individuals who were involved in motocross sports be picked to help. Mr. Radcliffe stressed getting input from citizens. The investor he added would provide the property, all they asked was that the Town work with them. Mr. Radcliffe then showed a video of a motocross event in a neighboring community noting the participation of women in the sport and the large number of entries for particular races. Both Chief Kiser and Mr. Radcliffe mentioned that many participants in these events were from Pulaski County. Mr. Radcliffe again mentioned the possibility of a firing range and the demand from the public for one. The investor he noted had requested that the Town work with them. Mr. Goodman asked if the person was requesting a public-private partnership. Mr. Radcliffe replied that the matter would be discussed at the next meeting, but he did know that there would be some zoning work on the part of the Town. Mr. Goodman said there was a bill pending before the General Assembly that would bar firing ranges within 500 feet or 500 yards from a residential property. Consideration would have to be given to the zoning and to a buffer. Mr. Radcliffe said the proposed location for the firing range was between two mountains where there were few residences. Mr. Rygas cautioned if it was a commercial firing range, there would have to be a special exception or variance required if it was a business or commercial entity. Mr. Goodman added that if a range went commercial there were more laws involved. Mr. Radcliffe said there would be another meeting with the individual who had maps and documentation ready. He added he was excited at the prospect since many people had been asking for it. After a short discussion on the potential motocross committee, Council moved on to consider transfer of the Cougar Trail Waterline. c. Cougar Trail Waterline Transfer Mr. Utt said that this presentation was for informational purposes. Mr. Pedigo reported that in the past when the Town water system served Dublin, there was a water line that went out Cougar Trail Road In referring to a map in the packet, Mr. Pedigo pointed out the location of a meter which was the point that the Town purchased water from the County to serve Newbern Heights. The Volvo expansion would require some fill work and there had been several breaks in the line in that section. Mr. Pedigo said it was appropriate to move the meter towards the Town, since it would give the Town less line to maintain and provided a better point to meter water purchases. There might be a loss of two or three customers but there was nothing of major concern. Mr. Pedigo said moving the meter would have benefits for the Town and the County to serve the new facility. Mr. Utt indicated on the map for Council where the new meter would be located at the County's expense. He wanted to notify Council since there would be some water lines that were being given up which were rather old. The County wanted to do this so they could serve the new facility off of their own line. If Council had no objections, Mr. Utt said he planned to move forward with the transfer. Council had no objections. Having completed items under Public Operations, Council next considered an appointment to the Cemetery Trustee Board. Page 10 of 12/January 21, 2020 9. Finance No items were scheduled for discussion. 10. Legislative a. Appointment to the Cemetery Trustee Board, Resolution 2020-04 Mr. Utt reported that a vacancy had been on the Cemetery Trustee Board for many months and that a citizen had volunteered and agreed to serve. He asked for Council's consideration in approving Resolution 2020-04 to appoint John Seagle to the Cemetery Trustee Board. Mr. Goodman moved to adopt Resolution 2020-04 as written. His motion was seconded by Mr. Clontz and approved on the following roll call vote. Lane R. Penn -Absent Joseph K. Goodman -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye There being no business under Public Utilities, Safety, and Human Resources, Council moved on to the Round Table Discussion. 11. Public Utilities There were no items scheduled for consideration. 12. Safety No issues were scheduled for discussion. 13. Human Resources No issues were scheduled for consideration 14. Round Table Discussion Mr. Dawson requested a schedule of budget events and plans, including what was to be discussed and when it would be discussed, leading up to the new budget. This would provide a general timeline as well as detailing what items might be approved and what would be done in those meetings. Mr. Utt responded that the budget calendar was approved by Council at the February legislative meeting and it would be at that meeting. Mr. East had no comment. Mr. Goodman said neighbors had voiced their concerns on the rental property on 37 Eighth St., N.W. There were a lot of complaints from residents who also inquired as to what the Town was doing about it. He had been told the landlord had not hired a contractor but used a tenant who did repairs for rent. Mr. Goodman went on to say he received complaints about the structure from adjacent streets. Residents asked him why they should put money in their house, when they had to deal with that property. They also asked if the Town enforced its codes or was it just "letting them slide". Chief Roche said there were actually two properties, the other was at the corner of 81h and Jefferson which was owned by a person from Tennessee who visited occasionally. Mr. Goodman encouraged that contact be made with Mr. Hagen who had expressed interest in purchasing the property. Mr. Goodman's second concern were issues on the Dora Trail Extension involving trash, vagrancy, and drugs. Some persons reported seeing others doing drugs on the trail. Mr. Goodman added there were a lot of people in the community that were asking about what was being done on the Trail to keep it safe, secure and clean. Mr. East observed this had been an ongoing problem and personally had encountered a person under the influence. He said this was the last thing you wanted to have on the trail. The only way to deal with it was to Page 11 of 12/January 21, 2020 have a presence on the trail possibly several times a day. Something needed to be done he continued and noted that some sections of the park were quite "sketchy" at times because of the people "hanging out". Mr. Goodman suggested looking at some low bandwidth, low power consumption security camera systems. Mr. East responded that it came down to a policing plan; not just using police but other options. Mr. Dawson said it would be of benefit to clean up some of the brush, leaving the large trees, to make the area more open and to deny cover. Mr. Utt wondered if inmate labor could be used for clearing the trail. Mr. Radcliffe felt that a serious effort to change ordinances was needed, since there was only so much an officer could do. Mr. East agreed. Mr. Goodman remarked the citizens were getting louder on the issue and an effort was needed to get serious and work on a real path forward. Chief Roche said that he received complaints from citizens on other activities that had gone on for several months. He questioned why they had not called sooner, and that their complaint to him was usually the first he had heard of it. Mr. Goodman added that he told citizens there were various ways to contact him so he could pass their concerns on. Chief Roche said there were ways for citizens to make contact anonymously with the Police Department if necessary. Mr. Clontz had no comment. Mr. Radcliffe encouraged Council members to go by Calfee School and look at the improvements. Mayor Clark noted that National Public Radio had conducted an interview with the last surviving teacher from the school. Mayor Clark also encouraged Council to participate in the "Flash Mob" on Saturday, January 25th. Mr. Utt said it involved a series on HGTV where people come in and renovate residences and commercial buildings. The group was completing work in Mississippi and were looking for their next community. There had been extensive postings about the event on Facebook and the Chamber of Commerce site, in addition to flyers distributed throughout the community about the event. After all comments were received, Council moved on to consider future meeting and to adjourn. 15. Closed Session There were no matters scheduled for discussion by Council in the Closed Session. 16. Future Meetings and Adiournment Mayor Clark reminded Council of the Chamber Legislative Dinner in Richmond on January 23rd and that Council's next meeting was the legislative session of February 4th at 7:00 p.m. There being no further business, Mr. Goodman moved to adjourn the meeti a mo -fib was by Mr. Dawson and approved by unanimous voice vote of Council at 6' p.m. ATTEST: David N. Quesenberry Clerk of Council Approved: David L. Clark Mayor Page 12 of 12/January 21, 2020