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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-17-20Minutes of the Pulaski Town Council Work Session held at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 17, 2020 in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building at 42 First Street, N.W. The Town also provided a live -cast of the proceedings on the Town's Facebook page. In attendance were: Mayor: Shannon Collins, presiding Councilmen Present: G. Tyler Clontz; Gregory C. East; Lane R. Penn; James A. Radcliffe; Michael P. Reis Administration: Darlene L. Burcham, Town Manager Legal Counsel Spencer A. Rygas, Town Attorney Staff: David Quesenberry, Clerk of Council Jordan Whitt, Social Media Director 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Mayor Collins. 2. Roll Call. Following the call to order, the roll was taken. Present were: Mayor Collins, Mr. Clontz, Mr. Penn, Mr. Radcliffe and Mr. Reis. Absent from Roll Call were Mr. Dawson and Mr. East. With a majority of Council members in attendance, a quorum was present for the conduct of business. 3. Introduction of New Staff Mrs. Burcham then introduced Council to Mr. Brady Deal the new zoning administrator and economic development director. Mr. Deal said he was very passionate about public service and was very community oriented which led him to teaching following completion of his undergraduate degree. He said his graduate degree then led him to pursue a career in local government. He felt the Town had a great future ahead of it as well as a great history behind it. He told Council he looked forward to working with them and that if they needed anything to reach out to him. Mr. Radcliffe told Mr. Deal that Council was willing to help him with anything that he needed. He also thanked Mr. Deal for coming to the Town. 4. Modification of the Closed Session Acienda Mayor Collins then asked for a motion to modify the Closed Session agenda to add one additional item to the Closed Session agenda under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (a) 1 a personnel issue concerning prospective candidates for employment. Mr. Penn moved to approve the motion. Mr. Clontz seconded the motion which was approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Absent G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Absent Michael P. Reis -Aye 5. Closed Session Mayor Collins then requested a motion to go into Closed Session for the following matters: two items under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A) (1), personnel matters involving; appointments of Council Members, staff or citizens to committees and boards and discussion of prospective Page 1 of 8/November 17, 2020 candidates for employment; and (2) two items under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A) (3) involving acquisition or disposition of publicly owned real property; Mr. Reis moved to enter the Closed Session as requested. The motion was seconded by Mr. Clontz and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Absent G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Absent Michael P. Reis -Aye Council entered Closed Session at 5:05 p.m. Mr. East arrived and joined the Council in Closed Session at 5:06 p.m. 6. Certification of Closed Session Council returned from Closed Session at 6:30 p.m. Mayor Collins asked for a certification motion that Council discussed only those items for which it went into Closed Session: two items under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A) (1), personnel matters involving appointments of Council Members, staff or citizens to committees and boards and discussion concerning prospective candidates for employment; and two items under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A) (3) involving acquisition or disposition of publicly owned real property; Mr. Reis 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 James A. Radcliffe -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Absent G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Michael P. Reis -Aye 7. Modifications to the Public Session Agenda There were no modifications to the Public Session agenda. 8. Welcome to Guests and Visitors Mayor Collins welcomed guests and visitors watching the proceedings on the Internet. 9. Consent Agenda a. Consideration of November 4, 2020 Council Meeting Minutes Mayor Collins then asked for a motion regarding consideration of the November 4, 2020 Council meeting minutes. Mr. East moved to adopt the November 4, 2020 Council minutes as written. The motion was seconded by Mr. Penn and approved by a unanimous voice vote of Council. Lane R. Penn -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Absent G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Michael P. Reis -Aye 10. Legislative a. Resolution 2020-39, Resolution Accepting Terms of a FEMA Grant Page 2 of 8/November 17, 2020 Mrs. Burcham told Council that the notification that the Town had received the FEMA grant surprised everyone because it had been applied for five years ago and notification that the application was approved was just received. The grant she thought was requested when there were a number of improvements underway following the tornado. The improvements were indeed welcomed and the grant would be accepted. Mr. Clontz moved that Resolution 2020-39 be approved as written. Mr. East seconded the motion which was approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Absent G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Michael P. Reis -Aye b. Discussion of Street Naming Process -Review of Draft Ordinance 2020-11 Mr. Rygas said what the staff was looking for was whether the Council in general desired the terminology in the draft. If Council approved, Mr. Rygas said the staff would "touch up" the draft and bring it back later since there were organizational issues because it was taken from another community. Mr. Rygas explained the Town's ordinances typically used Division 1 as a general provision which would contain provisions that applied to the entire ordinance. This draft was not clear due to the placement of naming criteria in one section and additional naming criteria was listed for buildings and rooms in another section. Mr. Rygas felt the ordinance could be streamlined with different language. He added the draft was brought before Council to see if this was in general what they desired in regards to naming streets, land and public facilities. Mr. Reis suggested the only thing he would add for consideration was to make the ordinance clear on renaming because of previous discussions on applications for subdivisions and who would name that. He felt it should be clear as to whether or not it applied to renaming existing things. Mrs. Burcham responded that the Subdivision Ordinance in the Town Code required a developer when they applied for a subdivision permit, to name their streets. Part of the process had the Town review it to make sure the name was not already in use. Mr. Reis suggested adding a sentence mentioning exceptions subject to the provisions of the Subdivision Ordinance to prevent confusion on the part of a citizen. Mrs. Burcham responded that would be added or referred to in the ordinance. 11. Round Table Discussion Mayor Collins asked Council if they had any comments. Mr. Penn had no comment. Mr. East asked about the lights in Jackson Park. Mrs. Burcham informed him the lights had been checked and were operational. She noted that in the past the tree -lighting was done in concert with the Christmas parade. Given the pandemic situation, Mrs. Burcham proposed, with Council's consent, a "virtual tree lighting", not the traditional observance, in which the lights would be turned on the afternoon of Thanksgiving Eve and remain on. She reported that the Jaycees still planned to hold a "reverse Christmas parade", but that other localities in the NRV and elsewhere were having to rethink, given the Governor's limitation on such groups, how those events would happen if they happened at all. The lighting of the Christmas tree would be done virtually. The Town would make an announcement of the time and the date of the event which would be broadcast on the Town's Facebook page. Mr. East thanked Mrs. Burcham for her report. Page 3 of 8/November 17, 2020 Mr. Radcliffe asked for staff to check on an old garage and a gray house with a failing roof on South Washington which he thought was already on the Town's "radar'. Mrs. Burcham replied that she thought it was under code enforcement, but that she would check on it. Mr. Radcliffe said he was looking forward to working with Mrs. Burcham and that she would be great for the Town and the Council. He thanked her for the work she had done already remarking that Mrs. Burcham had made a world of difference and complemented her on the staff she had put in place. Mrs. Burcham in turn complemented the Town staff. Mr. Clontz had no comment. Mr. Reis said the public would be interested in the status of the Martin issue and conversations with them and requested that Mrs. Burcham update the Council and the community on the issue. Mr. Reis mentioned that the Town's playground equipment was rather old and said he noticed exposed nails and broken pieces of wood on some of the equipment at the Train Station Park. From a safety perspective he felt that needed to be dealt with and suggested that Council needed to come up with a plan to deal with those issues. While he recognized the Town was limited by current circumstances regarding recreational opportunities, if the intent was to help the community grow by getting people with families to move here, recreational facilities were something that people looked for and that needed to be addressed. He hoped that something could be done, especially in light of the pandemic, to encourage outside activity. Mr. Radcliffe agreed mentioning that the parks were not ADA compliant. He added that he would like develop a parks committee and develop a wish list of what was desired to be in the parks. Parks he continued were huge in economic development. Mr. Radcliffe said he would like to set on the committee along with four or five people and encouraged that.a parent with a child who could benefit under the ADA also be included on the committee. Mrs. Burcham responded that most playground equipment in older communities was not compliant with current safety codes. When equipment was inventoried, it usually ended up having to be replaced. Another consideration were the regulations governing many aspects of recreational equipment. Mrs. Burcham suggested that some of the potential items for parks could be on the Capital Improvements Plan which she hoped to bring before Council next month. She said Council would need to prioritize within certain categories, using playgrounds as an example, which ones were in the best or worst condition and which ones had greater use than others. These things needed to be looked at and citizen input obtained. Mrs. Burcham agreed having a Capital Improvements Plan and a committee to work on parks would be desirable. In addition, fund raising activities could be done by neighborhoods along with donations, to meet the community's needs since the same type of playground equipment was not needed in each park. She understood there were more challenges at the Train Station due to vandalism and unauthorized movement of equipment. She felt there needed to be a systematic review of what the Town had and how the replacements would be prioritized. Mr. East asked if there were bike patrols being done at the Train Station park. Mrs. Burcham responded that in the weekly report the Police Chief made note of where foot patrols were being performed and that the Train Station was almost without exception on the patrol list. Mr. East said he did not know if P.D. was riding the bikes out the trail. Mrs. Burcham said the bikes were not being used much at all which was something she would like to see more of. Mr. East said the previous Council had discussed the importance of bike patrols which he felt sent a good message to the community. Page 4 of 8/November 17, 2020 Mayor Collins mentioned that there was a vacant section of 6th Street Park on the northeast corner and asked if that section could be a site for a dog park. Mrs. Burcham said she had done some of those and that they were not as simple they sounded but they were very much used in any community that had them. She said it could be looked at. Mayor Collins then stated that since the process for naming a Town Manager had taken longer than originally anticipated and the cost of Mrs. Burcham's service was estimated at three to four months, Mrs. Burcham had offered to withdraw from the contract and agreed to work part time as an interim Town Manager until the end of the year as a temporary employee of the Town. This arrangement he continued would save the Town money in these uncertain times as well as not rush the Council to a decision. The Council accepted this arrangement and thanked her for her attention to the Town's finances. Mayor Collins then asked Mrs. Burcham for the Town Manager's report 12. Town Manager's Report Mrs. Burcham mentioned that the Council received a report in September of last year (2019) from the Forest Service concerning a controlled burn in the National Forest that came on to Town owned property at Gatewood. One phase of the burn was handled before the pandemic hit and the second burn was delayed until now. She wanted to inform Council that there may be a controlled burn at the end of this week with the Forest Service having responsibility for property owners in the vicinity. The Town would have some fire equipment on standby as in the past. Mrs. Burcham said she wanted to be sure Council was informed and that Council had previously concurred with that process. Mr. Reis suggested that news of the controlled burn be put on the Town's Facebook page because some persons hunted or hiked in that area. Mrs. Burcham replied she had a map of the area and would see that it would be put on Facebook. Mrs. Burcham, referring to the earlier presentation of Mr. Deal to Council, said he would be serving as the Town's planner/economic developer who would also be serving as zoning administrator. She requested that Council officially appoint him as the Zoning Administrator for the Town since the state and Town code required that Council concur with that appointment. Mr. Reis moved that Brady Deal be appointed as the Town's zoning administrator in accordance with the Town and state code. Mr. East seconded the motion which was approved by roll call vote as follows: Lane R. Penn -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Absent G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Michael P. Reis -Aye Concerning the Martin situation, Mrs. Burcham reported that since the last Council meeting she had met with Ms. Martin who had asked primarily about access to some of their personal property which Town personnel found out had been stored in a town owned building without permission of the Town. The locks were changed on the building and "No Trespassing" signs put up. At the meeting, there was nothing reported by Ms. Martin on progress for the two options, access and relocation, that Council had suggested. The first option required securing an access to the rear of the location of the trailer, because Council had indicated the current access would not be allowed given the development potential of the property (approximately 10 acres) that clearly was Page 5 of 8/November 17, 2020 not in its highest and best use. Mrs. Burcham said she had previously indicated to Council that housing was a great need in the Town and that would be one possibility for that property. Mrs. Burcham said during the meeting last week that Ms. Martin indicated they had spoken with a representative of MacGill Village but had not received an answer back from the owners as to whether or not an easement or access could be given to the rear of the residence's current location. Mrs. Burcham asked where the Martin's stood on the issue of relocation. The answer she said was pretty much what had been heard before that the Martins had looked at several properties, one of which was only available for rent (in which her father was not interested in renting); one had been sold and one was in the County and would require septic service. Mrs. Burcham strongly encouraged Ms. Martin to bring to her office or send to her office by last Friday an update, which would have been shared at today's Council meeting, a timeline for both of those options (easement and relocation). She also gave Ms. Martin examples for instance of a timeline showing how long it would take to get septic installed at the location in the County or how long it would take someone to move the trailer once the septic was installed so Council could see that there was a plan to be executed on both options including possible purchase regarding the easement issue. Ms. Martin said she had spoken to the MacGill people but did not have an answer and had not spoken with them in a week or so. Mrs. Burcham said she encouraged Ms. Martin to put that in writing so Council could see that progress was being made with both options. She added that she did not receive anything from them last week and honestly thought the Martin's would be present this evening, given Ms. Martin's concern that the Town had locked a building which the Town did not know they were using or had access to. Mrs. Burcham advised Ms. Maratin that access to that property would not be given until Council was informed as to its contents and their participation in a decision about when that property would be made available. Mrs. Burcham said she had nothing further to report but did say to the Council that she thought that the public needed to understand that the conversation was not about taking anyone's property. The Martin's property was only the "double -wide" trailer, but it was located on Town -owned property. The Town would not be able to allow the kind of access the trailer had in the past if the property was going to be developed. She encouraged the Council to allow staff to start marketing the property to see what its potential was for future development involving the community and neighborhood and also to hear what those plans might be in helping the Council before a decision was made as to its eventual use. The parcel she said was about 10 acres and in comparison with the community was relatively flat. Given the demand for housing, there was a viable solution that would benefit the community in general and provide housing. Mrs. Burcham said she would like to see people live in the Town and not just work here and leave. She mentioned that Council was told about a fairly recent report that indicated that only 18%-20% of people living the Town also worked in the Town. The rest worked in the Town but lived somewhere else, a trend she wanted to reverse. Mr. Reis said if timelines were not being given, then maybe the Martin's should be provided with timelines. He felt that everyone agreed that they would like to see something happen with that property, which with a small exception, was unused or not being used to the potential that it should be. Mr. Reis added that he thought that Council was in agreement in that they would like to see something done with that property beyond what was being done now. He felt the Martins' should be provided with a harder and faster timeline which, with the concurrence of Council, could be communicated by Mrs. Burcham to the Martin's. He then asked if there were any comments on his remarks. Page 6 of 8/November 17, 2020 Mr. East asked Mrs. Burcham if it had been relayed to the Martin's that the current right of way would not be acceptable given the fact it was a ten acre tract and the current driveway would divide that property and devalue it greatly which would not be an acceptable option. Mrs. Burcham said she had told the Martins' concerning the status of the current right of way. She added that the only option that had been discussed with them as far as Council's consideration of allowing them to purchase that property was if they could obtain access from the rear because the current access would not be permitted. Mrs. Burcham said the Martins mentioned they had made contact with the MacGill Village manager, but as of last Tuesday had not received an answer from the owner. They had not considered using the current access. Mr. East said without the access/right-of-way information it was impossible for Council to do anything. He proposed that the first step was to establish a time line for having that information (e.g. right of way; access) available. If that access was not feasible, that changed where the parties were in the discussions very dramatically. He suggested thirty (30) days to which Mr. Reis asked if that was to see if the access was feasible and that there should be something in writing. Mr. East agreed. Mrs. Burcham clarified that Council would want something from whoever would be granting the access and that they agreed to do so. Mr. East said if the access was available, then Council could proceed regarding an offer on the property or whatever they (Martins) chose to do. Mrs. Burcham said since a drawing had been provided showing what property the Martins were interested in, she thought it would be advisable to suggest that as the 30 days were out for a decision on access, the Martins could work simultaneously on a value on the property they would propose to the Town for a purchase. That was something that Council absolutely had to have as part of both its decision making and the public process. Mr. East felt that made sense and Mr. Reis agreed that there needed to be an initial proposal to look at. Mrs. Burcham suggested that needed to be in writing as well. Mr. Reis agreed noting the Council's responsibility to the citizens. Mr. Radcliffe emphasized that any correspondence should be addressed to Mr. Gary Martin and to him solely as the property owner going forward. Mr. Rygas clarified it was personal property (e.g. manufactured home). Mr. Reis added that Mr. Martin was the owner of the structure and was the one who had the agreement with the Town and had the potential for purchase of the real estate. Mrs. Burcham said at the last meeting with Ms. Martin she told her that she would only speak directly with her father, Mr. Martin. Mr. Reis felt it was necessary for Council to provide a final deadline about what would happen if they were unable to locate an easement to that property. Mr. Radcliffe asked about the 30 days, to which Mr. Reis said that was for determining the access. Mr. East said at that point if Council needed more information on other options on how they planned to proceed, he suggested that and additional 90 days after the 30 days would be reasonable. Mr. Reis said that would be four months which would be about six or seven months since the initial letter. Regarding an offer, Mr. Penn felt the Martins should have the land appraised. Mr. Reis felt they would have to have an appraisal and then, using the appraisal, make an offer to the Town with a price based on that appraisal. He added that he felt that Mr. Penn was correct in that there should be some form of appraisal as a basis for an offer to be evaluated by Council. Mrs. Burcham said Ms. Martin indicated before if the property that was defined on the drawing was acceptable, then they would proceed with getting it appraised. Mrs. Burcham suggested in a future communication with the Martins, she could write that Council would be willing to consider the portion of the property in the drawing, if the access could be determined, an appraisal performed and a purchase price offered in writing. Page 7 of 8/November 17, 2020 Mr. Rygas suggested rather than putting out that four month date or something that could be misconstrued later on in the event the property was not purchased, that the Town say that the 30 days regarding getting access should be addressed at a meeting either the work session in December or the first meeting in January. At that point the Town should have the information in hand as to whether or not the Martins had a written commitment to get an easement. If not, Council could then discuss a timeframe from there as to what was expected given that it was a potential moment to proceed with evaluating pricing or, if the access could not happen, the unlikely nature of proceeding forward with discussing the subdivision of the parcel. Mr. East felt that was a valid point and that Council did not want to be arbitrary at all, understanding the significance of what was trying to be accomplished. Having the discussion after the 30 day period with more information in hand would be important. Depending upon where things went from there would help Council establish a timeline and work in conjunction with them (Martins) as long as they want to work with Council. Mrs. Burcham felt it would be important for any correspondence she would prepare, which would be copied to Council, to suggest in that same 30 day period concerning access, that the Martins should be using that same 30 days to look for other options so the efforts on the two options would run concurrently. Council was agreeable to her suggestion. 13. Reminder of Future Council Meetings and Adjournment Mayor Collins noted upcoming meetings of Council: a Council meeting on December 1, 2020 with the Closed Session beginning at 5:30 p.m. and the public session at 7:00 p.m. and a Council Work Session on December 15, 2020, with the Closed Session starting at 5:00 p.m. and the Public Session at 6:30 p.m. There being no further business, Mayor Collins called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion was made by Mr. Penn, seconded by Mr. East and approved by unanimous voice vote at 7:14 p.m. ATTEST: David N. Quesenber Clerk of Council Approved: W. Shannon Collins Mayor Page 8 of 8/November 17, 2020 1