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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-17-20 Minutes of the Pulaski Town Council Work Session held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 15, 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; Brooks Dawson; 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: Rebecca Leeper, Finance Director David Quesenberry, Clerk of Council Rick Tawney, Project Engineer Jordan Whitt, Social Media Director Press: Melinda Williams, Southwest Times Others Present: Dr. Michael Hickman Jill Williams 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Mayor Collins. 2. Roll Call. Following the call to order, the roll was taken. Present were: Mayor Collins, Mr. Clontz, Mr. Dawson, Mr. Penn, Mr. Radcliffe and Mr. Reis. With all Council members in attendance, a quorum was present for the conduct of business. 3. Modification of the Closed Session Agenda No modifications were noted for the Closed Session Agenda. 4. Closed Session Mayor Collins then asked for a motion to enter Closed Session for three matters: one item under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (a) (1) regarding prospective candidates for employment; and two items under VA Code 2.2-3711 (a) (7) consultation with legal counsel concerning a zoning violation and a code violation. Mr. East moved to enter Closed Session. The motion was seconded by Mr. Clontz and approved on the following voice vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Michael P. Reis -Aye Mr. Collins asked the Clerk of there should have been a Closed Session matter on boards and appointments. After a discussion, Mr. Reis moved to modify the Closed Session agenda to add an item under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (a) (1) since there was an additional need to add a personnel matter concerning committee/board appointments due to a clerical error. Since there was no objection from Council or persons in attendance, the matter was added to the Closed Session. Page 1 of 17/December 15, 2020 5. Certification of Closed Session Council returned from Closed Session at 6:25 p.m. At 6:30 p.m., Mayor Collins then requested a motion that Council discussed only those three matters for which it went into Closed Session: one item under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (a) (1) regarding prospective candidates for employment; and two items under VA Code 2.2-3711 (a) (7) consultation with legal counsel concerning a zoning violation and a code violation. Mr. Reis reminded Council that right before they went into Closed Session he moved to add to the Closed Session a matter from Va. Code 2.2-3711 (a) (1) one item regarding personnel matters concerning committee and board appointments for four matters. Mr. Reis then moved to certify the three matters the Mayor mentioned and the one that he added. Mr. Reis' motion was seconded by Mr. Dawson and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Michael P. Reis -Aye 6. Modification to the Public Session Agenda Mayor Collins asked if there were any modification to the public session of the agenda. Mr. Reis said there was one modification and moved to add one item under"New Business"for an employment contract for the Pulaski Town Manager. The motion was seconded by Mr. Radcliffe and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Michael P. Reis -Aye 7. Welcome to Guests and Visitors Mayor Collins welcomed guests who were present and those watching on Facebook. 8. Presentations a. Ca/fee School Update, Ms. Jill Williams Dr. Michael Hickman and Ms. Jill Williams next updated Council on the Calfee School Project. Dr. Hickman thanked Council for renaming a portion of West Main Street/Magnox Drive to Corbin- Harmon Drive. He added that the renaming brought a great deal of joy to Calfee School alumni along with many positive responses. Ms. Williams then read a letter from Dr. Marilyn Harmon, daughter of Chauncey Harmon principal of the Calfee School. In her letter Dr. Harmon expressed her sincere gratitude and appreciation for renaming a street in honor of her father. Dr. Hickman said there had been many activities underway in connection with the project and that a list of activities of the Board of Directors would be distributed to Council. Dr. Hickman said that the museum portion of the project would recognize the educators of the school as well as provide exhibits on student life. These exhibits would have educational threads which was hoped would be attractive to school age children and would mesh with the Standards of Learning. Along with the museum, other facilities included: the Lucy-Chauncey Harmon Learning Center, a child care center; the Lena Huckstep Community Kitchen; the Venable Learning Lab; and a community events center created from the former cafeteria and auditorium, as well as other spaces available for smaller Page 2 of 17/December 15, 2020 events. These facilities Dr. Hickman explained were named for well-known teachers and staff at the school. Ms. Williams noted that the process was characterized by community engagement involving over 500 citizens in various activities (e.g. Clean Up Day, Open House). The Board was appointed in October 2019 and shortly received its 501 C (3) designation. Regarding the needs for the project, Ms. Williams said there was the fact that most people did not know the history associated with the school. Another need was the desperate lack of child care, with the local area designated as a "child care desert". Only 8.5% of children under the age of six have spaces in a licensed quality child care centers or have licensed child care centers at all. Conversations with social services and other providers indicated that there was the possibility of much funding that could be brought into the County for child care. Social services had to turn people away daily who wanted to get jobs or an education, but they had no child care opportunities or placements for their children which the Federal Government or state government would pay for. Employers had also indicated that one of their greatest challenges in employee retention was child care. Because of the lack of child care, children were kept by grandparents or other family members. If they were not available, then employees were not showing up on the job because they had nowhere to leave their kids. The need for child care had increased due to the current school closures and children having to operate virtually. Cooperative extension had identified building up the local food economy in Pulaski County as their highest priority. While there were many local food entrepreneurs, the locality had been described as an undeveloped network. Some of these needs could be addressed by the Community Kitchen. Ms. Williams said Thompson Litton had been procured as the architect for the preliminary portion of the work. Both the Board and Town Staff had worked with them to develop a site plan. For the outside grounds a parking area and a half-basketball court had been proposed including outdoor child care spaces. Ms. Williams then did a preliminary review of the floor plan for the Calfee Center. Ms. Williams told Council that the Town had the CDBG grant for the business plan and the designs for the child care center. A second public hearing would be needed before the grant application was submitted. The Center had worked with other organizations (e.g. YMCA) to design a blended funding program to support children of all income levels within the same classroom. The plan was for the Center to serve 100 children some would be school age care, leaving 64 spaces for six weeks to five year olds. Also offered would be "drop-in" and part-time child care since there was no location in the NRV that offered such licensed care. An outdoor play space would be provided for the day care which would be open to the public in the evening. The Lena Huckstep Community Kitchen would be a commercial grade facility that would be used by some partners such as Pulaski Daily Bread for a possible evening meal using local produce. Beans and Rice was under consideration to provide some cold or dry storage on the premises in consultation with the Town. The Dorothy Venable Learning Lab would consist of 13 computer stations which could be used for workplace credentialing. The Fine Arts Center was interested in providing digital art classes, while private providers could offer workforce credentialing. Dr. Hickman said that older citizens were interested in computers, but had nowhere to go for training. Dr. Hickman suggested the event center could be used for large family gatherings and celebrations in addition to theatrical performances. Page 3 of 17/December 15, 2020 Ms. Williams said the projected opening time for the center was Spring 2023. Grant applications, with the Town as applicant, were being prepared with the assistance of the Town Manager. If the grants were awarded, the plan was to start comprehensive construction design in Fall 2021; contractor procurement in Spring 2022; with construction completed in Spring 2023. These dates could be pushed back given COVID and funding availability. The overall projected cost would be approximately$3.5 million with the majority of the funds coming from grants. Plans were to raise $200,000 locally. Once in operation the child care center would be a source of funds, while creating jobs at the center and allowing people to work in local businesses. Discussions were underway with the County EDA on purchasing slots at Calfee to offer in their incentive packages for businesses to move to the County.Ways were being discussed to have the center incorporated into economic development. Another source of funding would be to use state and federal historic tax credits. Dr. Hickman then reviewed the membership of the Board and the various committees involved in the project and noted the willingness of individuals to participate. Ms. Williams suggested there were several ways that the Council could assist one of which included a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which had been drafted and reviewed by the Town Manager, and would be distributed to Council for consideration at a later meeting. There were plans to apply for an Appalachian Regional Commission grant on February 2nd upon which the Memorandum of Understanding could be attached. The MOU would specify that the Redevelopment and Housing Authority would hand over the building at the appropriate time to the Calfee Board after construction was completed, allowing the Board to use the appraised value of the structure as a local match. Other grants being submitted were to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Parks Service and the Appalachian Regional Commission CDBG. The Town she added could also assist with a grant from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation for a public access easement on the Calfee deed. If the National Parks Service grant was successful, Town assistance would also be needed for a preservation easement to be added to the deed. Dr. Hickman commended Ms. Williams for her work on the Calfee project and noted that the National Chairman of the NAACP, Leon Russell, was a Calfee Training School alumnus. He hoped that Council could see the value of the Calfee Community and Cultural Center to the Town Following closing remarks, the presentation concluded. Council next heard a report on the Cares Act Funds. b. Cares Act Funds, Mrs. Rebecca Leeper and Mr. Jordan Whitt Mr. Whitt thanked Council for allowing him to present a brief summary of the CARES Act spending in the Town from late August and September. Once uses for the funds from Pulaski County were identified, there were brainstorming activities across all Town departments for ideas for purchasing needed infrastructure items; sanitation items';;`personal protective equipment(PPE); as well as grant funds and payroll expenses. Approval was received for$700,000 in CARES Act funds. Through that approval, the Town tried to divide it up between the different categories as best as possible as to what were the high priority items. Referring to the presentation handout, Mr. Whitt reviewed the expenditures by each category. In the Infrastructure category expenditures were approximately$175,000. Items included in this category included the Downtown WiFi hotspot installation. Improvements for the Municipal Building included "touchiess" door entry; environmental basement control renovation system; cleaning of ventilation ducts at the Museum and Senior Center; ionization units for HVAC systems; Finance Dept. customer drive Page 4 of 17/December 15, 2020 through window and countertop installation, which would be coming up in early January. Various improvements for the Fire Department were automatic bay doors, commercial grade air vents; and gear racks. The Police Department was slated for a negative pressure ventilation system for the prisoner processing area. Additional Town signage was planned for promotion of small businesses and non-profit organizations that had been hard hit by the pandemic Regarding Sanitation Expenditures, Mr. Whitt reported that approximately $28,000 had been spent for items such a disinfectant sprayers and disinfectant; automated soap/hand sanitizer dispensers; refills and standard cleaning supplies. Mr. Whitt added there were also spreadsheets available for this and other categories detailing all purchases which would be made available upon request by Council members. Concerning Personal Protective Equipment, Mr. Whitt reported that approximately $59,000 had been spent on purchases of protective gear including; extra uniforms; hazmat suits and breathing apparatus; eye goggles and voice activated radios for the Fire Department; and facemasks for staff and visitors at the Municipal Building. Next under Telework Capabilities, Mr. Whitt noted that approximately$18,000 was spent on purchases of laptops and accompanying software for staff members to work from home. Additional units were ordered for the Police Department and one each for the Fire Chief and Fire Marshal. The units had been ordered and most had arrived with the last group being in transit. In the worst case scenario of an outbreak in the building, Mr. Whitt explained the employees would have the capability to work from home to do the work they needed to do. The largest category was Grants where approximately$320,000 was used to provide grant money to business and non-profit entities such as Beans and Rice; Pulaski Daily Bread; and the YMCA of Pulaski County. Small business and non-profit grants were made available to those entities affected by the pandemic. Grants of$5,000 were distributed to a total of 47 small business and non-profit entities. Under Payroll Expenses approximately $50,000 was allocated for payroll expenses from March to December of this year. These expenses covered time spent by employees dedicated to a task or situation relating to COVID-19 issue (e.g. extra sanitation of areas; staff reimbursement for quarantine and qualified emergency personnel expenses). Concerning Public Health and Safety Salaries, the community was able to request reimbursement for these funds. Once reimbursed the funds received from the County could be used for items that would be normally considered outside the scope of approved CARES Act items. Funds had been used for research on Peak Creek bacterial levels; Wi-Fi hotspot network; and payment to public safety employees for their hard work throughout the pandemic. Mr. Whitt then concluded his presentation. Mr. Reis asked to see the spreadsheet with the expenditures which he felt should be publically posted so the public could see what was done since it was public money and that it would be a good thing for citizens to know. He told Mr. Whitt and Mrs. Leeper that he knew how hard they had worked. Mr. Whitt said he would be glad to provide that (spreadsheet) and would work with Mrs. Leeper and Mrs. Burcham to prepare something for the public. Mr. East requested, when the information was posted, that an anticipated completion date for items that were still pending would also be posted. He realized anticipated completion dates would vary given the uncertainties due to the pandemic. Mr. Whitt said that was especially true with respect to large items. Mr. East thought a more general time frame should be used. Mr. Reis suggested a quarterly report would be fine. These were the kinds of things he continued that citizens would want to know. Mr. East complemented Mr. Whitt and Mrs. Leeper for a good job. Page 5 of 17/December 15, 2020 Mr. Dawson ventured that there was a huge misunderstanding of how much work had gone into this to find out what to do and how to appropriately make use of these funds. He felt the report made it clearer how much work had to be done. Mr. Whitt responded that the work was not limited to them (Mr. Whitt and Mrs. Leeper) but also included people in other departments that had also worked really hard on it. Mrs. Leeper explained that the Town Manager had met with the Department Heads and asked what they could use for various things. The Department Heads did a lot of research on their own, which was compiled, then sent to the County, who held the funds, for their approval. Once the approval was given, then ordering of the items could proceed. Depending on what was purchased, the County would pay some of the bills, while things that pertained to structural items or would affect Town assets would have to be paid by the Town. The Town would then approach the County for reimbursement of those items. She added that it was a lot of work by a lot of people but it was benefitting the citizens, which was the main goal. Mr. East asked that word be passed back to the other staff involved that Council appreciated their efforts. c. General Chemical Company Site Remediation Update-Mr. Rick Tawney Council then heard a report on the General Chemical Company site remediation from Mr. Rick Tawney, project engineer. Mr. Tawney said the project was scheduled for completion on January 31st. but that an extension had been received. He noted that RFP's were issued on October 9th via electronic media and contact with contractors. The pre-proposal meeting was scheduled for October 26th, but no contractors appeared. Mr. Pedigo and Mr. Tawney discussed the matter of RFP's with Draper Aden and noted that the RFP process was rather too involved for local contractors. Mr. Tawney ventured that the 42 page RFP probably"scared off' local contractors. Amendments were written up for a virtual meeting on November 4th, which likewise did not generate any attendance. Contractors told staff that they were already busy and that the site might be a too small of a job for them. With the RFP's due on November 16th, the Town did hear from CCI (Containment Control Incorporated) who informed the Town they were interested but did not have enough time to submit an RFP. In response, the Town created a second amendment to extend the date to November 20th. On the 20th an RFP was received from CCI for a projected amount for$405,000, which was twice the amount of money the Town had for the project. Mr. Tawney said he discussed the matter with two engineers from Draper Aden and suggested the Town could do better by contacting local contractors for a bid, since the paperwork had already been issued. Draper Aden began contacting contractors and three showed up, with fourth one scheduled for a site visit. During the meeting the job was explained to the contractors. Referring to a handout distributed to Council, Mr. Tawney reviewed the site showing where brick, concrete and assorted rubble was located for removal and that one foot of the soil down from the present elevation would also be removed. There was contamination at the site, but it was very little and could be disposed of along with the debris at the New River Resource Authority landfill. Mr. Tawney noted an area in the drawing, which had higher levels of heavy metals that could also be disposed of at the Authority landfill. To save on money, Mr. Tawney said the concrete that was broken up would be piled up and samples taken for testing. If there was no contamination one contractor said he could take it and grind it or the Town could use it for fill which resulted in more cost savings from the project funds of$217,000. Mr. Tawney thought if he could get the demolition done and the pads prepped for under$200,000 the project would be in good shape. Page 6 of 17/December 15, 2020 Mr. Tawney gave the contractor(CCI) an opportunity to bid on the work as it was being looked at now and that the Town would pay the tipping fees so it would get the paperwork back which would leave a record where the debris went. Mr. Tawney then reviewed the conceptual site plan for the proposed recreational site which he estimated could cost$1 million. He felt it was a good use for the property with the skate park and the basketball court, which were out in the open. He found that when sites were somewhat out of the way, things happened (e.g. spray painting). The project when finished he added was in a good spot. Contractors who had been contacted had until December 23rd to submit a bid. It would be after Christmas before the Town would know if it would have a contractor to begin work. Mr. Tawney said he had talked to DEQ and explained the situation with the RFP and that the Town did not want to lose the money it had. DEQ agreed and also approved the Town directly approaching two contractors. Mr. Tawney requested an extension until June 2021, DEQ gave an extension until September 2021. Once a contractor was secured, demolition and work on the pad could be done. Mr. Reis asked about the actual time spent working on the project. Mr. Tawney responded the demolition and the pad would take about 3-4 months depending on the weather. If every day had good weather then the work might take 2 months. Mr. Dawson asked when quotes were expected back from the contractors. Mr. Tawney responded December 23rd. Mr. Radcliffe said he recalled that the project area had never flooded to which Mr. Tawney replied he had never seen it up there. He also told Council that he had stressed the erosion and sediment control portion of the project on the creek side to the contractors and that the Town did not want sediment getting into the creek. Mrs. Burcham noted that while Mr. Tawney had shown Council how the site could be used once it was "clean", the Town would then have to look at funding for the site. Presently funding was not available which was why she wanted Mr. Tawney to give the update (1)to demonstrate what we have to go through to get a project done along with what was encountered; and, (2)to correct the perception that the project would be done right away, given people's understanding that this concept was given sometime back and expectations raised that the project would be done quickly. Mrs. Burcham ventured that this project would be on a Capital Improvements Budget slated for discussion in mid to late January or early February. The project would be on a list of other projects which Council would have to prioritize how to spend the available funds. The site would not be available to do anything until after remediation. She added it was unfortunate that some people would see a design and think that would be the next thing done, when there were many things that Council would have to discuss before that happened. The Town would end up with a clean site which could be used for a number of activities, which would require Council to decide how best to use that property. d. 67& 69 West Main Façade Update-Mr. Rick Tawney Mayor Collins then requested an update on the façade for 67 &69 West Main Street and again welcomed Mr. Tawney's comments. Mr. Tawney reported that the brick masons working on 67 & 69 had power washed the building and after a week of work managed to match the mortar. The masons then informed Mr. Tawney that the parapet wall was in bad shape due to the long term exposure to the weather and needed to be removed. Ms. Ariel Clark from Southwest Restoration in Richmond came and inspected the parapet wall and concurred with the findings of the masons and that the wall could not be saved. The question was raised as to how far down would the work have to go to reach a solid surface. Page 7 of 17/December 15, 2020 Mrs. Burcham noted that the properties in question were owned by the Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Any cost of repairs would have to be absorbed by the Town since the Authority was more of a place holder than a funding source. Mr. Dawson asked if the parapet was above the roof level to which Mr. Tawney replied it was two and one-half feet above the roof level. Mr. Reis asked if the parapet was the portion of the façade that stuck up above the roof. Mr. Tawney replied that it was. Concerning the rafters, Mr. Tawney, referring to his diagram, said they went into the parapet wall and were flush with the outside. While the ends of the trusses were in bad shape, the trusses themselves inside the building were in good shape, with only a small area in one corner having water damage. Once repair of the wall began, there would be temporary supports needed under the rafters that were there to maintain the weight if repairs to the facade went below the rafters. There would be an effort to retain any brick if possible so they could be reused. One idea considered was to remove brick from the back parapet and move those to the front and use regular brick in the back which would save some money. Mr. Tawney added he did not think bricks to match the front could be found. Mr. Reis asked if the mortar wore out and started to deteriorate because it had not been maintained properly. Mr. Tawney said it was that plus weather and cracks on top that allowed water to seep in. Ms. Clark said from what she saw, within two to three years that it was possible that the front of the building or a portion of it would come down. Mr. Reis asked if the Town had looked at other buildings, since he had noticed similar issues with other structures, and if a survey had been done. Mr. Tawney said that the structure to the left of 67 & 69 had the same issue, while the structure to the right of those two buildings was in worse shape. There was a new roof put on 67 &69 a few years back, but from what he could tell the material that was used for the roofing was not installed properly at the front. Mr. Tawney said in discussing the matter with the superintendent, there had to be a way to seal the cracks. His suggestion was to use break metal, but was concerned that it would not come far enough up the wall. A proposed solution was to take the tarp that was there bring it over and use concrete screws to bind it to the brick, but it would have to be brought down far enough to get something solid. That would stop water and snow from getting into the building. Regarding other projects, Mr. Tawney reported that 84 W. Main was completed and would be shown to a prospective buyer the next day. 74 West Main was scheduled to be completed by Wednesday of next week. 67 &69 had the windows reworked and repainted. Concerning the awning that had been removed on 69 W. Main, Mr. Tawney reported that the remaining angle iron protruded about one inch from the building's face. To cover the angle iron up would cost $2,200 dollars, but he thought that Public Works could do the work which would consist of 2 X 4's being framed and then finding someone who could break the metal and fold it over the front to protect it. Mr. Tawney then concluded his presentation. Mr. Dawson asked about the value of these buildings and the cost to fix them. Mr. Tawney replied to repair the wall, in talks with a contractor, the cost was figured by the hour and was not to exceed $30,000 since it wasn't known how far the down the repairs would go to seek a solid foundation. Mr. Dawson asked, given the scope of work, if it could be done for$30,000. Mr. Tawney said he would like to think it might be possibly a little bit cheaper. Page 8 of 17/December 15, 2020 Mrs. Burcham said it depended on how much more needed to be done to the buildings to make them marketable which probably was the idea of having the Town take these buildings. This building proved to be a surprise as to what was there. There was façade grant money that was being used on that building and others in anticipation of additional tenants and occupants. There had been two buildings sold Downtown, one needed some work, so there were people willing to make that investment. The real issue tonight she ventured was the upcoming discussion on capital improvements. As an example, she mentioned that the Town did not have the$30,000 to make the needed improvements to the building (67 & 69). Mr. Reis asked if the building would qualify for fagade funds. Mrs. Burcham said no, that the Town was struggling to get enough facades done as required for the original grant. Mr. Reis asked if the structures would not qualify for that (façade funds)to which Mrs. Burcham responded they would not be considered facades. The Town was spending money on the facades of the structure, but the repairs went beyond that. Previous roof repairs used UDAG funds. The parapet repair would cost the Town more to make it a marketable building. Mrs. Burcham said she wanted to impress upon the public the creativity of Public Works in finding ways to deal with unanticipated expenses but keep the public and the structure safe and secure. Mr. Tawney mentioned that all loose brick were removed from both adjoining buildings, one of which had since been sold with improvements anticipated by the new owner. 69 West Main was in better shape internally than 67 West Main, which needed floor work done due to a water issue. The interior of 69 West Main he added was framed from rough cut timbers and was solid. Mr. East felt this should be given serious consideration in doing the Capital Improvement Plan. In the current state, he thought the Town was sitting on these buildings which would make it harder to move them, which was the ultimate goal. Mr. East felt the Town should think seriously about locating monies to III get that structure (67/69)fixed. Mr. Tawney added that he was looking for masons to do the work so the Town could get a different price. He felt that by January he should be able to come up with somebody. Mrs. Burcham mentioned that marketing materials and information were being put together for the Town's Facebook page and website about available buildings and properties owned by the Town and the Redevelopment Housing Authority. The Town needed to make sure when those properties were listed, they would be something that someone would want to have. If a structure had major problems, they had to be dealt with first before being put on the market as she found out with 72 East Main, which she felt the back part should be removed. Mr. East agreed that the Town had to spend money to make money. Mr. Reis asked if anybody had checked on the status of the old jail. Although owned by the County, he felt the Town should look at it and other buildings on Main Street to see if there was work to be done. Mr. Radcliffe asked about the Peak Creek Mercantile Building. Mrs. Burcham responded that the structure had been condemned. Since the owner had not responded to a letter regarding demolition, pending a review for asbestos, the structure would be demolished and a lien placed on the property. Regarding the jail, Mr. Radcliffe said the structure was not demolished because of the cost being over$1 million since it was made of steel and concrete. With discussion concluded, Council next considered the Consent Agenda. 9. Consent Agenda a. Consideration of December 1, 2020 Council Meeting Minutes Mayor Collins asked for a motion regarding consideration of the December 1, 2020 Council meeting minutes. Page 9 of 17/December 15, 2020 Mr. Clontz moved to approve the November 4, 2020 Council minutes as written. The motion was seconded by Mr. East and approved by a roll call vote of Council as follows: Lane R. Penn -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye 111 Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Michael P. Reis -Aye Council next considered approval of subordination agreements for 89 & 94 West Main Street. 10. Finance a. Approval of Subordination Agreements for 89 & 94 West Main Street Mrs. Burcham reminded Council that the agreements had been discussed with them previously because of the loans Mr. Critchfield had, and that he was obtaining permanent financing through the Virginia Housing Redevelopment Authority (VHDA). The closing for these loans was scheduled for next week. Council needed to affirm publicly that they were aware of the subordination to that loan with VHDA. Mr. Reis asked if it was correct that Council had to approve the subordination agreement. Mrs. Burcham said that it was. Mr. Reis asked if the loans in question were up to date. Mrs. Burcham responded that they were, including the one with the County. Mr. Reis moved to approve the subordination agreements for 89 and 94 West Main Street as written. Mr. Dawson seconded the motion which was approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Michael P. Reis -Aye b. Resolution 2020-40, Budget Reimbursement from the County for the CARES Act Mayor Collins then asked Council to consider Resolution 2020-40 concerning CARES Act reimbursement from the County Mrs. Burcham explained that these were funds mentioned earlier in the presentation by Mr. Whitt and Mrs. Leeper and had been used for various activities including the Wi-Fi system, the bacteria study in Peak Creek, and funding a portion of the bonus given to employees. Mr. East moved to adopt Resolution 2020-40 as written. 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 -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Michael P. Reis -Aye Council next considered Resolution 2020-41 concerning changes to qualified immunity for law enforcement officers. 11. Safety a. Resolution 2020-41, Resolution Opposing Changes to Qualified Immunity for Law Enforcement Mr. Radcliffe moved that Council accept Resolution 2020-41 as presented. Mr. Reis then made the following statement: "I'm going to have to get on my soapbox for a minute. I apologize cause I know that, but...! have a real. . I have a real problem with qualified immunity as a concept for a couple of reasons. One, qualified immunity only applies when there has been an actual deprivation of Page 10 of 17/December 15, 2020 constitutional rights. Two, it's a judicial doctrine, which means it's not found in statute. No one, no person, no elected official, no voter has ever has ever approved it. It was created 80 years after the adoption of the law on which it applies, that's Section 1983 of the U.S. Code which provides for redress for our citizens if their constitutional rights are violated. And to be clear those are all their constitutional rights, not just the 4th Amendment of freedom from search and seizure, not just their First Amendment rights but also things like their Second Amendment rights. And I think we have a lot of constituents in this Town who care a lot about their constitutional rights. And so it was created in 1967 or so and it basically says that if you violate, if you. . Let's say a law enforcement officer violates somebody's constitutional rights, you are only held liable if it violates clearly established law. What does "clearly established law"mean? Well, courts say that it has to be something another court has found to be a deprivation of human rights. You may have heard of the case out of Pulaski County where a member of the Sheriff's Department was sued for swearing out a warrant and getting an indictment against somebody and it was the wrong person's name. The only reason that that individual, the wrong person who lived in a different state for eleven years, was able to get past this qualified immunity, was the judge had to find that not only was this individual wrongly imprisoned and had the legal right to not be imprisoned, but also that the officer didn't have probable cause to investigators. Because this exact same scenario happened in a different part of Virginia, actually it was North Carolina, my apologies, in which an individual was suspected of purchasing/selling drugs to an undercover agent, but just had the same name as somebody else. And the law enforcement office didn't do the proper search. Qualified immunity is not an effective mechanism in protecting law enforcement officers from liability because, in the first case, almost all localities we bear the burden of paying for those things. We as a town and the citizens do. And it's not exactly a problem in Pulaski County because we have law enforcement liability policy to VACORP. So we don't actually pay. Just like if you get into a car accident we don't actually pay toward that cost. And qualified immunity, because it has almost meets the exact same facts, it has the perverse reaction. . . where in a case out of Florida at 1:30 in the morning, a man and woman were in their home and heard knocking at their door. That man was concerned, he picked up his legally owned handgun and walked to the door, opened it and was shot by a law enforcement officer. The court said that law enforcement officer never announced him or herself, (they)got qualified immunity for that. And I think that was something that would happen in this Town. There are a lot of folks here in the Town of Pulaski who might, if the door was knocked on at 1:30 in the morning, have to go and. . . . would feel the need or the desire to come to their door armed. And I think that is something that's. . It is not to say that there aren't many fine law enforcement officers who do a good job and are conscientious and that there is a mechanism for assuring that these individuals aren't held personally liable;it is called a jury trial. And I think that they like the rest of us would have to go through that process like we all do. I understand that there is a concern about law enforcement officers being exposed to individual liability for actions they take on the job, but there is a better way to do that than qualified immunity. And it's not just me saying this. It's people like the Cato Institute who just recently came out with all the problems with qualified immunity. It's a 28 page policy statement. The Cato Institute is a famous libertarian organization, It's the one that me and most libertarians agree that there needs to be personal accountability for people when they make mistakes. When our constitutional rights are violated there should be a mechanism for redress, and that mechanism according to the Congress of the United States is through a court case and that should be the way they do it. Page 11 of 17/December 15, 2020 And so, I'm not telling anybody how to vote, but that's how I. . . I just feel I need to say that because I'm going to vote no and I want people to know why." Mr. Radcliffe made the following comment: I've been doing this stuff for 30 years. You have a split second to make a decision to save your life or somebody else's life and I'm not going to wait on no jury to make that decision. I've been shot. I've been drug through the mud with this trash. This is not going to become Seattle. I'm here to protect law enforcement, they have a serious job. They have a job that is not being filled right now. I don't know what the heck these people are going to do when they pick up that 911. Maybe we'll send a bunch of lawyers up there to take those calls, I don't care. I am not going to put what I have worked for all my life to some piece of crap(unintelligible) that thinks he was done wrong. I've got a second to make my decision; one second. Everybody else has 24 hours to sit back and quarterback me. I was out there at two o'clock in the morning, three o'clock, one o'clock;you all was home sleeping. I could sit back and quarterback your job, your job, your job and your job;if I've got enough time. We're talking about a split second decision. That's what we're talking about. I made the motion." Mr. East said: "I would like to make one comment with regard to qualified immunity. I understand there's an exception. . .1 think there's an exception to any. . .anything, I mean there's always going to be that worst case scenario. But I think as a general rule, and you(Mr. Reis)cited some of those worse case scenarios, that happens and it's extremely unfortunate. But I think that having a knee-jerk reaction and going back all the way the other way to the other side of the spectrum to where you expose, in what the way I read it, you expose your law enforcement to frivolous, harassing lawsuits;I think it's a mistake. " Mr. Reis responded: "Here's the thing though, qualified immunity doesn't prevent anybody from being sued. In all these cases, like the case out of Pulaski County, that was in the context of a lawsuit. And the judge,just to be clear, the judge who made that decision is a recent court judge appointed and prior to that was the chief prosecutor for the Western District of Virginia. So not unnecessarily someone. . .was someone that second guesses law enforcement, but somebody who found that . . .the thing is. . But we are all judged on split second decisions. The gentleman who hit the two state troopers while driving his car maybe made a split second decision to look at his phone and then hit some. . . " Mr. East said "But at the same time as a law enforcement officer, it's your job to make split second decisions under very dangerous circumstances and I think I'll say one other thing. I'm obviously not as well versed on the legal aspects of this, I mean obviously you have done some homework. But I will say that to. . .you know the timing of this I think is also suspect and I think it raises concern with a lot folks, in that it comes among or amidst this"Defund the Police"movement that we've seen nationally. So there is certainly a timing aspect of this too. You might be absolutely right from a legal standpoint, but from my perspective the optics are bad. And it may legitimately not do anything that you say, but the optics are bad to say, hey we're going to. . . that police officer out there risking his life, hey I'm a layman, we're going to take away his qualified immunities so some, you know, thug can sue him because he didn't do something right." Mr. Reis responded: "That's one of those things, that I understand that perspective. But I think the reality of it is if you have ever spent time in a courtroom especially here in Southwest Virginia, if you've got 12 jurors on there I don't think that those jurors, and I would be hard pressed to find many lawyers, who would going to go and challenge an individual for a split second decision without it being particularly egregious. And he. . .that individual would still have to prove that lawsuit. . ." Page 12 of 17/December 15, 2020 Mr. Radcliffe added: "It's a decision that 1 have to make. I'm speaking as a law enforcement officer. It's in the back of my mind, am I going to get sued for every little bitty thing I do? This opens up the door for that. It opens up the door for everybody that says I was done wrong to sue me." Mr. Reis said: "They already have that right" Mr. Radcliffe replied: "They have that right to a certain extent. But what I'm putting in my mind is what you're putting in other police officer's minds is hesitation to defend you, because he's afraid he's going to get sued. Don't do that, I'm sorry. I have a split second at two o'clock in the morning. I don't have all night to sleep on it with a cup of coffee. You do, the Sheriff and Chief does, I don't That's all I'm saying. It's a split second decision." Mr. Penn commented that he knew a girl that was arrested for drugs, but didn't do it. Mr. Reis added that she spent a week in jail for something she never did; wrong person; wrong thing; never was identified. Mr. Radcliffe responded: "We're not saying mistakes were not made. We're not saying that" Mr. Reis said: "I don't care. If I was put in jail for a week because somebody didn't do. . . If I did the same thing at my job, if I sued somebody who was the wrong person, when I got the right information and didn't do anything. . . 1 would be personally liable. The judge would say, `Mr. Reis you need to pay this lady for her time'. . ." Mr. East responded: "Seems like we're throwing the baby out with the bathwater. That's the appearance. . . that's the perception I have." Mr. Reis said: "I think the whole doctrine would be anathema to the people who wrote our Constitution. They would find it to be terrifying that agents of the state empowered to hurt, kill and imprison us weren't liable when they made mistakes. Because people should be liable when they make mistakes, you are, I am, Mr. Radcliffe is when he is outside of uniform. I think we should all be treated the same exact way." Mr. Radcliffe then said: "Who are we going to get to do this work? Who's going to do it? They've already had a social service worker stabbed to death. These idiots. . .it's getting out of hand. These idiots are wanting these social service workers to go up and answer these domestic calls. Just had to do it (unintelligible)had her stabbed to death, because they are not getting police officers. Not getting people to fill. . . I'll be damned if I'm putting what I've got in my life for anybody sitting in this room that's going to turn around and sue me for protecting you. Ain't going to happen. I don't have all night to sit in a courtroom.(unintelligible). . .I've been in a courtroom a lot longer than you have and you are a lot smarter than I am probably. . I've been in these courtrooms many years. . . murders, rapes you name it. If it wasn't for that police officer putting everything he had on the line to defend the very person who is going to sue him, who's going to do it? Who's going to do it? The Chief now is struggling to hire officers. At the Sheriff's(Office) we got seven uncertified people. Never in my history, thirty years, have I seen that. Who's going to do it?Sure as hell isn't going to be me (unintelligible), I ain't losing what I got to some piece of crap laying on the street thinks I done him wrong." Page 13 of 17/December 15, 2020 Mr. Penn referenced the incident in Louisville involving Breonna Taylor who was shot in her home during a raid by police. Mr. Reis said: "It's not saying that all law enforcement officers should be liable for every little thing they do. Just saying when they make a big mistake there should be consequences. Just like there is for the rest of us." Mr. East replied: "I believe there are consequences. (Mr. Reis interjected "Sometimes, sometimes not.') There's always room to improve the system but I think you just have to be careful making those improvements. You are, to Mr. Radcliffe's point, going to undermine the profession." Mr. Reis responded: "The problem with qualified immunity right now is that it is not clear. It's difficult for even lawyers and judges with 24 hours to look at it, to say is this subject to qualified immunity or is it not?Is it similar(unintelligible). I don't think police officers are out there thinking well, I heard in North Carolina a lady did XYZ so I'm not going to do that. I think that people if they know the rule is clear and consistently applied, they will do a good job." Mr. East commented: "That's funny. I had a conversation with a gentleman the other day, an expert who teaches, and he was talking about"fight or flight". And he said that they had done studies that when you are put in a life or death situation or"fight or flight"situation, that you basically lose your hearing and you get"tunnel vision"to your threat, whatever your threat is. So if somebody is pointing a gun at you or something or you believe they are pointing a gun at you, that's what you believe and that's what you react to. Accidents are going to happen in that scenario, they absolutely are. But at the same time, if we start second guessing our officers in the field, our officers are going to get killed. If they hesitate, they're going to die. Who'd want that job? You're not going to get rich doing it;you're not going to make a lot of money. People do it because they want to protect and serve the community. But if the community is not going to support them and the minute they make a mistake they're going to end up getting charged with murder or in jail, what dumbass would want to do that job. Excuse my language. Who would want that job?Nobody. And guess what, who's going to suffer when nobody wants that job, the citizens of the very communities we talk about protecting, our own community. I don't just see it." Mayor Collins noted there was a motion on the floor. Mr. Dawson wanted to make sure he understood the nature of the motion. Mr. Reis said the motion was to oppose any legislative effort to repeal or revise the judicial doctrine of qualified immunity for law enforcement officers. Mr. Dawson asked if the motion was to oppose the bill. Mr. Reis responded yes. Mr. Radcliffe stated that it basically opened us up (unintelligible). Mr. Reis responded he thought that was not an accurate statement on the law and its effects but there was a difference of opinion. He wanted to point out for the record the incorrect use of the term "deputy" and "cities" in the ordinance where it should be "officers" and "Town". (This was noted by the Clerk and corrected in the resolution's final version.). Mayor Collins asked if there was a second. Mr. East seconded the motion which was approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Present James A. Radcliffe -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Michael P. Reis -Nay 12. New Business Page 14 of 17/December 15, 2020 Mr. Clontz mentioned that there was an additional item added to the agenda for Council's action. Mayor Collins said the Town Council advertised the position of Town Manager in June of 2020 and at the same time executed a contract with the Berkley Group for an interim Town Manager. Council received 32 applications, which was reduced to 13 application which were scored by all member of the Council with "Zoom" interviews conducted with the top five candidates. One candidate met with Council for several hours. During this time Council had the opportunity to witness first-hand the manner which Mrs. Burcham dove right in and began correcting long standing items of concern to Council. They could not resist comparing applicants to her experience and skills and were unanimous in their belief that the best person for the job was the Interim Town Manager. She did not apply for the job and seemed happy in the interim position. Wanting to consider someone who would likely stay with the Town for a number of years, Council had discussions with Mrs. Burcham concerning this. Because Council compared all candidates, Mrs. Burcham, the Mayor continued was very reluctant to consider a long term position at the Town. Council waited and had repeated discussions with her. In the intervening months, Council had never wavered from its desire to employ Mrs. Burcham on a full time basis. Mayor Collins noted that after several months of negotiation, Mrs. Burcham had agreed to a two-year contract with the Town and would take up residence at her earliest opportunity. Mayor Collins then announced the new Town Manager who would take office effective January 1, 2021 would be Mrs. Darlene Burcham. Mayor Collins added that this decision was made by all of Council. Mr. Reis then moved, to approve the employment contract of the Pulaski Town Manager dated December 15, 2020. The motion was seconded by Mr. Radcliffe and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Michael P. Reis -Aye 13. Council Comments Mayor Collins next asked for Council comments. Mr. Penn had no comment. Mr. Dawson said the evening's presentations were great and there was a lot of positive energy. The purchase of buildings which signaled activity he felt, was huge in a town of its size. He thought that might be slightly understated, but tied in with the energy with Calfee School and a new Town Manager was something that people did not need to lose sight of as the energies were put in place. Mr. Dawson said he was looking forward to planning for the upcoming budgets along with true, trustworthy, candid conversations about the Town's financial future, using data that could be trusted. He felt this had not been done in a very, very long time. In his time on Council, Mr. Dawson said he felt he had never had a true perspective on what was to be accomplished financially. He expressed the sentiment that the Comprehensive Plan was a set of words and in the time he had been on Council, there had never been a true perspective on what was trying to be accomplished financially. There were a lot of things presented, but there was never a true plan. Probably the most exciting thing that could happen to the Town was if Council as a group could actually set a true plan that was workable and know what they were trying to accomplish. Mr. Dawson said that was probably the most important thing that Council had going as it moved forward. Page 15 of 17/December 15, 2020 Mr. East asked if the work and documentation on Calfee School and Main Street was available on the Town's website by way of a link and could an inexpensive template be attached to the Town's website that would take somebody visiting to that page to see what was going on at the school and the Main Street Facade Program. He added that the Town was doing a lot and that it wasn't always visible to the general public. Mrs. Burcham responded that the Town did not have those links now but it could be reviewed. She suggested the organizations could put it on their own website or Facebook page and the Town could do the links. Mrs. Burcham wanted to look into it because she thought the Town was doing a lot, mentioning the Weekly Reports to Council as an example, and due to the length of some projects it might appear there was little going on when there was a lot going on. She asked Council to identify certain projects they desired to be highlighted this way, which certainly could be added. Mr. East said he was visualizing the issues as if seeing the Town for the first time and navigating the website would allow him to see what was going on. Mrs. Burcham added that the website was currently being revamped and emphasized her interest in how things were positioned to get people's attention. She mentioned Mr. Whitt was working on it and Mr. Deal had been brought in as a "fresh pair of eyes"for another perspective. Mr. East thanked Mrs. Burcham for her remarks. Mr. Radcliffe thanked Mrs. Burcham for joining the Town and commented the work that had been done with the Council had amazed him. He added he looked forward to the next two years and felt she had a great group to work with. Mr. Clontz had no comment. Mr. Reis thanked Mrs. Burcham for joining the Town and that Council was appreciative of the work she had done. He had heard from staff how excited they were to work with her and emphasized there was a chance to change and do things they desired. Mr. Reis hoped the momentum could be sustained and that there were a lot of enthusiastic staff members who went beyond what was required. He hoped they would get the chance to do what they could do and keep that momentum going. 14. Manager's Report Mayor Collins then asked for the Manager's Report. Mrs. Burcham noted that Public Works had been preparing for the anticipated bad weather since the day before. One of the service award recipients she added, had arrived at the ceremony covered in mud from getting equipment ready. She said the Town was ready for the weather event and the staff was working to have the best response possible. Mrs. Burcham discussed the movement of inoperable vehicles in the Town about which she felt there had been some misunderstandings. The Council approved an inoperable vehicle ordinance which required a vehicle to have identification. If there was no identification, the Town had the authority to remove the vehicle after advising the owner and giving them a reasonable amount of time to address the issue. She continued that the Town had notified the property owner at both locations on Route 11 and Bob White Boulevard that those vehicles were in violation of the Town Code. Vehicles towed from the Route 11 location were towed at no expense to the Town with the expense paid by the owner upon retrieval of the vehicle. The owner of the towed vehicles chose to put them on Bob White Boulevard, which was not the Town's desire at all. The Town understood there was another property elsewhere that was properly zoned for a junkyard, which was defined as five or more inoperable vehicles. Neither site on Route 11 or Page 16 of 17/December 15, 2020 Bob White Blvd. qualified since they were zoned B-1 which did not allow that use, even by special exception. The Zoning Administrator issued a zoning violation for the Bob White location which was appealed by the owner to the Board of Zoning Appeals, a citizen group appointed by the Circuit Court judge. The Board met on December 3rd and unanimously upheld the decision of the Zoning Administrator. Mrs. Burcham said the Town would continue to tow vehicles under the inoperable vehicle ordinance and had been towing vehicles from other locations. This had received the notice of the public who had begun to take care of their automobiles or remove them. She felt it was a good ordinance that would improve the appearance of the Town over time. Mrs. Burcham wanted the public to understand that this had not been done at public expense and that the inoperable vehicle ordinance was being enforced in the Town. Mrs. Burcham then concluded her remarks. 15. Reminder of Future Council Meetings and Adjournment Mr. Clontz stated that the first January meeting was to be cancelled. Mr. Reis moved to cancel the first meeting in January. The motion was seconded by Mr. East and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Michael P. Reis -Aye Mayor Collins then announced that the next Council meeting would be January 19, 2021 as a work session with the Closed Session beginning at 5:00 p.m. and the public session beginning 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 8:45 p.m. Approved: IF, W. Shannon Collins Mayor ATTEST: David N. Quesenber Clerk of Council Page 17 of 17/December 15, 2020