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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-21-20Minutes of the Pulaski Town Council Work Session held at 5:00 p.m., July 21, 2020 in the Council Chambers of the Town Municipal Building at 42 First Street, N.W. In attendance were: Mayor: Shannon Collins, presiding Councilmen Present: G. Tyler Clontz; Brooks R. Dawson; Gregory C. East; Lane R. Penn; James A. Radcliffe; Michael P. Reis Administration: Darlene Burcham, Interim Town Manager Staff: Rebecca Leeper, Finance Director Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer David Quesenberry, Clerk of Council Jordan Whitt, Social Media Director Others Present Cathy Hanks George Santucci Joe Rees Tracey Rees Laura Walters 1. Call to Order Mayor Collins called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call The roll of Council was then called. Present were: Mayor Shannon Collins; Mr. G. Tyler Clontz; Mr. Gregory C. East; Mr. Lane R. Penn; and Mr. James A. Radcliffe. Absent for roll call was Mr. Brooks Dawson and Mr. Michael Reis. 3. Modification of the Agenda Upon the recommendation of Mr. Rygas, a Closed Session item was added under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (A) (1) a personnel matter concerning the Building Inspector. The recommendation was so moved by Mr. Penn, seconded by Mr. East 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 -Absent Mr. Reis joined the meeting at 5:02 p.m. Mr. Dawson jointed the meeting at 5:03 p.m. 4. Recognition of Guests and Visitors Mayor Collins extended a welcome to all guests and visitors in attendance. Next on the agenda was a presentation from Mr. George Santucci from the New River Conservancy on the Peak Creek Restoration Plan. 5. Presentations a. Peak Creek Stream Restoration Plan, Mr. George Santucci, New River Conservancy Mr. Santucci thanked Council for the opportunity to speak and mentioned that the conservancy first got involved with Peak Creek in 2016 when members presented seminars on stabilizing streambanks Page 1 of 14/July 21, 2020 and conducted studies of water quality along the eastern section of Peak Creek. Due to the April flooding, the Conservancy added flood mitigation to its research and investigations. Mr. Santucci said the Conservancy had come up with six recommendations of both limited and longer duration efforts to address both water quality and flooding issues. The first recommendation was to remove the small dam in the Peak Creek channel which acted as a barrier for sediment to be transported downstream for bacteria and as a barrier for fish. Since the dam was under five feet tall it would not fall under the jurisdiction of the Dept. of Conservation and Recreation, but would remain under the auspices of the Dept. of Environmental Quality and the Army Corp of Engineers. Mr. Santucci noted the creek was trying to get around the dam by undermining the creek bank. He reviewed the regulatory requirements, concern over soil toxicity and general expense of the project. Estimated cost of this phase was $50,000 to $200,000 with a project time of one to two years. The second recommendation addressed poor water quality. Under the 2004 report on the Total Maximum Daily Load, Peak Creek was found to exceed the minimum standards regarding the permitted bacterial load. Mr. Santucci recommended using the data to prepare an implementation plan that would allow the community to access Federal funds through the Clean Water Act to restore the water quality of the stream. Project duration was estimated at 1-2 years with a cost $30,000- $50,000 dollars. Extra funds might become available if the project was approved by the EPA. The third recommendation addressed both creek erosion and reduced carrying capacity of the stream. Mr. Santucci explained how bank erosion damaged the stream channel and the problems it could produce. He described using benching as a way to stabilize stream banks while also increasing the carrying capacity of the stream itself. This would also assist in improving water quality as well as flooding issues by allowing Peak Creek to accept more water. Mr. Santucci recommended a stream channel restoration project to restore 2.5 miles of the creek channel. Cost was estimated to be from $200,0004500,000 per project with the number of projects not yet determined. The full effort was estimated to take from 2-10 years. This would also require involvement by the DEQ and the Army Corps. One positive aspect of the project was that most of the land involved was owned by the Town. The fourth recommendation was to implement a form of storm floodwater retention above the Town. Mr. Santucci used the Magnox area as an example of where a retention basin could be reconnected to the flood plain. When the flooded stream came down some would flow into this area which would catch some of this water, acting somewhat as a "shock absorber". It would also take a lot of energy from the stream flowing into Downtown by lowering its velocity. Each individual project would be $200,000 each. Multiple projects could be done which would eliminate a lot of volume coming into town. The fifth recommendation was to create a full inventory of the storm water in Town. Mr. Santucci noted that there was no comprehensive listing of all the storm water flow points. If these points are unknown the storm water could not be controlled or stopped. He hoped the Army Corps would be able to suggest ways to catch the storm water in Town before it gets to the stream channel. Smaller retention systems (e.g. "rain gardens" style storm water catch systems) could be used to decrease the volume in the stream channel. The first priority would be to locate the infrastructure and determine its condition. This could be done using robotic cameras to go inside pipes and inspect it from within. Currently he added, there was an intern mapping the Town's storm drains which would provide a starting point to determine the location of pipes coming from the street to where the outfall was. The full analysis would be in the $20,000 - Page 2 of 14/July 21, 2020 $40,000 range with the equipment being the most expensive component. He mentioned various options for procuring the needed equipment. The final recommendation suggested having areas where the water could get out of the channel and not damage property by employing FEMA flood plain buyouts. Mr. Santucci noted he heard that some residents in the flood plain favored a buyout. He also said that the state government was considering putting together its own flood monies, given the cumbersome FEMA process. Even though the process was cumbersome, he felt it should be on the table. After those comments, Mr. Santucci concluded his presentation. Mr. Radcliffe asked if removal of the small dam would affect the everyday flow of the creek. Mr. Santucci said it was hard to tell, but it would affect it some, especially on low water days where you would see a reduction in volume. On higher water days it would allow the water to move faster. He added he was not saying there would not be some tradeoffs. Mr. Radcliffe then mentioned the NS train trestle and that it presented an actual dam. He added that Mr. Utt was to have sent a letter to NS for an engineer to come to talk to Council, but had received no response. He felt the next step was to go the Town's elected officials for assistance. Something needed to be done he said and he felt in light of discussions on boundary adjustment, that the other areas needed to be taken care of before taking on another area. Mr. Radcliffe ventured that the value of the total damage from all the floods that had happened would have paid for the flood mitigation efforts discussed. He added that he felt the Town was on borrowed time until a major event happened. Mr. Santucci felt the situation would not get better. Mr. Radcliffe expressed hope that the Town could take what was presented and move on. Mr. Santucci informed' Council that FEMA was remapping the flood plains in Town, with a comment period proposed for November. He said that some sections that were in the flood plain had been proposed for removal. He added that he recommended that the more properties that were removed from the flood plain the more potential exposure you had for properties actually in the flood plain. 'Mr. Dawson asked concerning the bacterial implementation plan, what were some of the things that could be done to reduce those numbers. Mr. Santucci replied with the 319 monies, that the problem was considered a non -point source which did not allow funds to improve the Town's wastewater system. He ventured that the Town's pipes were one source of the bacteria entering the stream. If the storm water could be prevented from affecting the waste water system it could reduce bacterial loads in the stream. Mr. Reis asked if Mr. Santucci was referring to I&I which Mr. Santucci said was correct. He added that in an urban setting like this that the Town's infrastructure would be the prime loading source which was a common problem in all areas. Mr. Dawson said that there were alternative sources coming in. Mr. Santucci mentioned several other sources (e.g. unconnected residences) that could contribute to the problem. Mr. East, referring to the dam removal, commented that it had a hefty price tag and asked if there were grants available for the dam removal. Mr. Santucci said there could be. DCR had some funds that might be available, but he urged that all avenues be explored adding that a match might be required to leverage some of the federal funds. Mr. East then asked who would actually drive the effort to remove the dam noting the extensive work with DEQ and the Army Corp. Mr. Santucci suggested the Conservancy could work with the Town. One opportunity was the Army Corp's "Silver Jackets" program that was to provide a report that also recommended the dam's removal but their assistance would be a long time coming. Mr. East said his concern was how the project could be kept moving over a period of time without losing site of what Page 3 of 14/July 21, 2020 needed to happen. Mr. Santucci mentioned other groups like Friends of Claytor Lake and suggested formation of a subcommittee or task force to meet regularly and look at all the issues and track the issues to show progress. Mrs. Burcham said she had an opportunity to discuss the recommendations earlier with the Town's brownfield consultants and learned the dam was privately owned which would require contact with the owner. Draper Aden & Associates had agreed to make that contact to determine the interest of the owner and to see if some of the brownfield money could be used for a Phase I or Phase II environmental survey. Planning money and restoration money was also available. Mrs. Burcham added that the Town needed to adopt and review on an annual basis a Capital Improvements Plan that has this project and other things as well and to keep it in front of staff and the Council as a reminder of what was to be done. As the presentation showed, the creek issue was a multi-year endeavor that required taking systematic steps. Mrs. Burcham said she would be working with staff to create a Capital Improvement Plan that would include this and other items to be evaluated and prioritized. After a short discussion on possible ways to track and break projects down into smaller portions, the presentation concluded. After discussion, Council heard a presentation concerning a proposed motocross track. b. Motocross Track, Mr. Joe Rees Mr. Joe Rees addressed Council concerning the possibility of putting in a motocross trail system between Valley Road and Route 11. Referring to maps distributed to Council, Mr. Rees suggested that an area that had been logged could be cleaned up and used for beginning and intermediate . riders of motorcycles and ATVs. Mr. Rees suggested that within the next 15 years both ATV's and motorcycles would be electrically powered resulting in elimination of the noise issue in the long term. Presently he thought that some of the area could be opened for public enjoyment. He said that he owned 40 acres and reviewed with Council its location to the Town and other properties. If an additional four acres were purchased, it could allow parking on Maple Street as an access to the property. Access was difficult to get to the riding area due to the terrain with one possibility using the bicyclist's entrance and cutting a new trail. Another possibility was accessing the site near a Town pump station near Calfee Park with another route from Crestline Drive. Mr. Rees then described some land areas on Crestline and Maple Street that might be used for trails, parking or RV parking. He proposed that the Town, through the zoning process, could allow some of these property owners to have businesses or better use their property. Mr. Rees said the primary issue he had was liability. He discussed the matter with his insurance agent who suggested the Town could lease Mr. Rees property, which would then allow the area to be covered by the Town's liability policy. People had been riding in the area and there were trails present. Mr. Rees said he did not mind riders on his property, however he did not want the liability. Mr. Rees then discussed various other motocross events in the surrounding region as well as his own personal involvement and enjoyment of motorcycles. He felt the area was an untapped resource that in addition to motocross could accommodate camping and other activities. Mr. Rees said he was willing to do anything to assist and proposed renting his property for $1 to the Town from April through November to permit people to ride. He added he hoped he could generate some interest and excitement and do something with this. After proposing several recreational uses for the property and reviewing the land area for motocross use, Mr. Rees concluded his presentation. Page 4 of 14/July 21, 2020 Mr. Radcliffe expressed his appreciation for Mr. Rees presentation and felt this was an outstanding opportunity given the demand for recreational activities. He suggested that a board be formed to begin the proper procedures in determining the next step. Mr. Rees suggested that riders could park on Maple Street and ride up the mountain and see the area for themselves. After a short discussion on trail construction, possible routes and styles of motocross riding that could be done in the area, Mr. East asked Mr. Rees if he was interested in a public-private partnership since the Town owned the land. Mr. Rees said that was what he thought about initially, but that all he knew was he did not want to cover the liability. Mr. East asked if Mr. Rees was proposing that he would build the trail. Mr. Rees responded that the riders would do it as they had done in Rural Retreat, or similar as to what the mountain bikers did. Mr. Dawson said he knew that currently there was mountain bike riding on Town property, but he had never asked if the Town was at risk liability wise. Mr. Reis asked if it was a governmental or proprietary function. Mrs. Burcham responded that it was a matter of being officially sanctioned vs. somebody using it with or without permission. If it was marketed for this use, then we would have liability. Mr. Reis noted that was an analysis used in discussing sovereign immunity. The Town usually had immunity if it is involved in something that is a typical governmental function vs a propriety function. Mr. Reis felt it should be looked into. Mr. East felt that the liability was something that needed to be understood. Mr. Reis again suggested the matter be looked into with respect to people going onto the property or marketing it as a function of the Town. Mrs. Burcham added that she did not know how the property was being currently used. Mr. Dawson replied that it was being used from a biking standpoint. Mrs. Burcham asked if it was marketed as being available. Mr. Reis said he learned of it from someone. To Mrs. Burcham's question if it was on a map, Mr. Reis responded as far as he knew it wasn't. Mr. Rees felt that it must be since he met some people from North Carolina who said they had seen it on a map. Mrs. Burcham ventured that it may have appeared on a website to demonstrate it was available. She felt that those were distinctions that would have to be looked at. Mr. Clontz said that Pulaski on Main or the Chamber had marketed the trails as a destination point in the Town of Pulaski. Mrs. Burcham asked if this particular location was on there. Mr. Clontz replied no, that it was on biking websites that rated the trails. Mrs. Burcham ventured that the biking enthusiasts marketed places to each other for certain biking experiences. Mr. Clontz thought that Pulaski on Main had done it about a year to a year and a half ago. Mr. Dawson asked if there was horseback riding that went on to the overlook as well. Mr. Reis said he had been on those trails and could not imagine riding a horse on them. Mr. East felt that there was potential there and he liked the concept, but that the first thing to figure out was the liability. After the presentation, Council next considered finance matters involving new budget controls and a fund balance policy. 6. Finance a. Implementation of New Budget Controls Mrs. Burcham said she had reviewed the way the Town practiced budget measures and felt like there was a tremendous need to modify those immediately. All Departments had on-line access to their Page 5 of 14/July 21, 2020 budgets but she was not sure how often they were checked on. She had instituted a process where the Department Heads would receive a hard copy of their budget each month. The Department Heads would be required to sign those verifying that they had seen them and made the necessary budget adjustments so that no line item is in the red from month to month. Changes would have to be made immediately to see that the line item is in the black. In addition, a requisition process was being instituted, so that before anything was purchased, except for emergencies, the requisition would have to be approved and signed off on in terms of the money being available in that particular account. If funds were not available, money would have to be transferred to that account before the purchase order was issued. These changes had been explained to the Department Heads. Presently, Mrs. Burcham said purchase orders over $5,000 had to be signed by the Town Manager before payment. That not being a good use of the manager position she recommended that the limit should be raised to $7,500, possibly to $10,000, after it's seen how it's being managed by individuals. With the new requisition process and budget controls, there should not be any issues. Mrs. Burcham said her policy was not to sign anything until she knew what it was for and what was its benefit to the organization. For whatever reason, she thought that people were waiting on others to be responsible rather than being individually responsible. It appeared that not everyone knew what was in their budget, what was approved or not approved which had been a "rude awakening" for her and some departments. She believed what had been put in place would give assurance in the future to how money is spent. The question of how much money we had was another issue but budget controls would be maintained which she thought Council would be satisfied with. Mrs. Burcham said she and Mrs. Leeper would answer any questions Council had. Mr. East asked for an elaboration on Mrs. Burcham's statement that some did not know what they had. Noting an incident that day, Mrs. Burcham said under the current arrangement the Town Manager signed off on a number of payroll sheets of individual employees who weren't technically in the official departments. The Town Manager was the department head of a number of activities. For example in reviewing the Senior Center budget, she found a reduction in the budget of $5,000 of which the employee was unaware. Mrs. Burcham noted that the individuals she had spoken to were most cooperative and eager to know and work within the guidelines. There were a lot of surprises for everyone, but she felt they were working with them well. Mr. East agreed saying the staff was the best and any issues experienced were systemic and he was glad to see Mrs. Burcham was looking at it closely. She responded that things were slowed down so she could learn them but once she learned and her expectations were understood, things should move faster. With respect to a future Town Manager, Mr. Dawson, recognizing the amount of learning and change, asked if there was a concern with some of the changes implemented that would slow a new Town Manager's learning process. Mrs. Burcham responded that what she was putting in place should be standard operating procedures, so anyone coming in should pick up on those. The things suggested she felt made a lot of sense and were supported and a new person should be able to pick up and move forward rather quickly. It would also help them because they would not have the same learning curve she had, to know these things were not in place or that they were needed. To better illustrate his question, Mr. Dawson noted that if the Town Manager no longer signed off on purchases below a certain amount as proposed, would that slow the new Town Manager's ability to know what those expenditures were or was that unnecessary knowledge. Mrs. Burcham responded that to some extent it may be unnecessary. Given the budget concerns that this and the previous Council have had, everybody needed to scrutinize every purchase which should be the responsibility Page 6 of 14/July 21, 2020 of the Department Heads. Not having some of the suggested procedures in place had allowed a laxness that was going to be corrected. Department heads would be held accountable for their budgets because they were going to have responsibility that she was not sure they had before. Mr. Reis asked if the term "account" as used referred to a line item in the budget. Mrs. Burcham said that was correct and what had happened was that people were looking at the bottom line. The problem was by focusing on the bottom line it was too late to make corrections. Mr. Dawson asked about software changes. Mrs. Burcham responded there was something that was in the software. Mrs. Leeper explained it was a module that was already in the software. Employees were training with it and later it would be determined who would have access to the purchase order system. Mrs. Leeper noted it was hard for a department head to monitor a budget if multiple persons had access. Even though it made it hard on departments if only one person could enter the purchase order, she insisted that the change needed to be made. Mrs. Burcham said one forgotten fact was that government was big business which dealt with a lot of money. There was a responsibility to be sure the money was spent in the way it was meant to be spent. There would always be unknown circumstances that would come up, but they should be discussed in advance not dealt with after the fact. That was why it was important to have the procedures at the "front end" so what comes out is what was expected. Each individual department was a small business that needed to be managed in that manner. Mrs. Burcham added that she had not met any resistance to making these changes. Following a short discussion on weekly reports, Mr. East asked if Mrs. Burcham saw anything from the new budget controls that needed to be documented from a procedural standpoint or was that something that was still being determined. He observed that he was not convinced that nothing was wrong with documented procedures but it could be overdone. Mrs. Burcham responded that the next item of discussion was an example of that where there were procedures that were not being followed. She ventured in the case of the requisition system, when that was put into place people would not be able to do what was done in the past. Some things might fall into place but for new people coming in written procedures with bulleted points could be used to show them what to go through which could be reviewed. b. Fund Balance Policy Mrs. Burcham noted that back in the spring, Council received information on how other communities dealt with their fund balance noting a particular interest in the Town of Vinton. While the issue appeared to remain in limbo, Mrs. Burcham said more research was done and that there were policies in place that were not being adhered to. In referring to the document "Principles of Sound Financial Management" Mrs. Burcham noted the seventh item said the undesignated fund balance should be target at least 10% of operating expenditure (capital excluded) with the goal of increasing the balance above 15%. Mrs. Burcham said data gathered on the undesignated fund balance indicated that with the exception of the year before last, the Town had exceeded the 10% on an annual basis and had risen as high as 16% two or three years ago. The policy had been adhered to but it was desirable for the balance to be no less than 10% but to strive for 15%. Mrs. Burcham suggested that if there was a drop in funds below 10% or there was an aggressive policy to move to 15%, there should be in each annual budget an amount identified as going to reserves. This year, she continued there were amounts in both the Water Fund and Sewer Fund that were going to reserves; $60,000 in the Water Fund and approximately $25,000 in the Sewer Fund. She suggested in the future if there were difficulties in reaching either the 10% or 15% level, then an Page 7 of 14/July 21, 2020 amount needed to be budgeted like debt service and earmarked for the fund balance. The good news she added with the exception of the one year, the Town had been adhering to its policy. Mr. East noted the accounting firm seemed to recommend a minimum of 15% with changes in accounting methods and a fund balance of 20%. He asked Mrs. Burcham if that sounded reasonable to her. Mrs. Burcham responded that up to the FY 19, the Town was doing what the policy required because the fund balance was at 15%-17%. She added that she had not heard auditors recommend as high a level of 20%. Another measure was that there should be at least two months of operating reserves. Mrs. Burcham then reviewed Section 6.09 of the Charter, which addressed amendments after adoption. She read a highlighted section which required if at any time if the funds available appeared insufficient to meet appropriated amounts, the Council was to be notified without delay and indicate the level of the deficit. Council would then take the necessary action to minimize any deficit. She again emphasized there was a policy in the Charter that as soon as a deficit was known, it should have been brought to Council's attention. The fact that it wasn't did not change the policy. Mrs. Burcham said her analysis of what the Town experienced was the way the Town budgeted with respect to grants. She had instructed the Finance Director that any grant is to have a budget separate from the General Fund. What happened in FY 19, was the full amount of a grant was appropriated even though the grant may have taken more than that current fiscal year. The expenses were in the General Fund, but were more or less than the grant money. By taking the grants out of the General Fund budget and separating them, you would not be looking for money to come in to balance your budget for general operations. By having a separate account, there would be a separate line item budget for that grant allowing tracking of revenue and expenditures and those funds would carry forward as part of the grant and not part of the General Fund. Mrs. Burcham said her analysis indicated that was where the problem was and should have been known sooner. Whenever a grant is put into the General Fund that takes longer than a year, you're setting yourself up. The focus was on the bottom line without thought where the revenue was coming from. In her explanation, Mrs. Burcham used the example of the VDOT allocation which can only be used for eligible roads. Mrs. Caudill she noted spend her time tracking eligible expenditures towards that allocation. It could not be used for something else and yet in the budget amendment resolution in early June, money was removed from that account to balance the budget which was not allowed. Grants should be set up in a manner where there was an absolute understanding of revenues for a specific activity. Mrs. Burcham recommended in doing grants, those that require a match should have that amount appropriated or there could be the risk of not having the required match. Some matches may be in-kind, but others had to be cash. In discussions earlier in the day concerning grants, Mrs. Burcham made it plain that additional grants with matches could not be considered until matches for existing grants were met. Mr. Reis asked if the Section 6.09(c) was clear enough concerning when funds were judged insufficient and asked what would be the time period with respect to notification. He asked Mrs. Burcham if she was concerned and should the policy be obvious. Mrs. Burcham responded that it should be obvious and given the situation there should be a quarterly report from the Finance Director and the Town Manager as to where things stood with expenditures and revenues. Council members she continued were constantly asked to consider various issues. If there was not a reminder as to what was available, they could get themselves in trouble. Mrs. Burcham said she believed that there were easy corrections and that it needed to be made clear to the next manager that this was your expectation, that the Charter and Town Code be read and adhered to. If there was a budget concern, Council was to make their expectations clear. Page 8 of 14/July 21, 2020 Mrs. Burcham said Council had two critical functions: hire the manager and adopt a budget. Budget adoption was not a once a year activity but something that required keeping an eye on, possibly on a quarterly basis and clearly at the sixth month. Mr. Dawson said the issue had been discussed heavily over time with regards to the budget process. He asked about the confusion of looking at a budget with grant funding mixed into the General Fund in the current budget and how hard it would be to adopt a change to start that immediately. Mrs. Burcham proposed that some of it would happen with the "carry forward" appropriation in August. It may reduce what would go into fund balance, but some of that would be corrected. The real issue for some of the grants was the match side. Money had been spent and each grant had an in-kind or monetary match that the Town had to be sure was available. Mr. Dawson asked at the "carry forward" moment would it be possible to place the grant money into its own fund. Mr. Burcham said it might look "lop sided" because monies may have been spent under the assumption of the General Fund. A meeting was scheduled with the Finance Director and Town Engineer to review all the grants the Town had and their status. In the case of the Downtown Grant for the Town to meet its obligations, some grant activities may have to be "cobbled together". She pointed out that the grant's funding for sidewalks had been spent so that they could not be done. The Town would also be behind in requesting an extension of the Downtown grant. It was also anticipated that the Town would be approved for two sidewalk grants which would satisfy improvements needed for the first grant. The problem was the sidewalk grants had a 20% match which the Town would have to come up with. Mrs. Burcham suggested using a technique similar to a Gantt chart to schedule when resources would be required. Because the way the VDOT grants worked, as reimbursements were requested, the Town would have to provide its matching funds for that particular bill. This would have to be programmed out. Mrs. Burcham felt once it was done there would be a template for future grants. Mr. Dawson then stated that there was always a question as to how the budget was created. He felt there was some opportunity as to where it started from as to the initial communication of wants, needs, and concerns. After reviewing what he understood was the budget process, he opined that the timeline and process may have some opportunities and ventured Mrs. Burcham might have some insight. Mrs. Burcham responded that the Finance Director needed to have a very significant role in revenue projection because she dealt with revenues on a daily basis. From the expenditure side, the Finance Director determined the revenue, with which the expenditures had to be balanced to that. There had to be some give and take between the Finance Director, the Department Heads and the Town Manager. The process had to be started early enough to allow time for the "give and take" and requests from outside agencies. Deadlines were required so they would come in to be evaluated. Mrs. Burcham said she would have meetings with Council members to get their input on the budget. Her goal had been by the time of the budget's public presentation, that the Council would be comfortable with what was being presented especially if tax or fee increases were proposed. Communication was one of the most critical shortcomings she had found and that was changing. Mrs. Burcham clarified that it was not her intention to be critical of people who did things in the past. She felt the intentions were good but sometimes people took on too much which led to her comment at the first meeting to identify three priorities and work as a staff to make those happen, then come back for more. Some people that you have and some that you had had too many things going. When that happened everyone ends up not doing well on any of them. Creating a list and making it smaller to start with would allow Council to feel successful and ready to take on the next ones. Page 9 of 14/July 21, 2020 Mrs. Burcham said having a five or ten year capital budget helped to see what was needed, which would then be prioritized by Council. All capital requests could not be funded, because needs were always greater than resources which required the need to prioritize. Council would have to do the "heavy lifting" while staff would have to present its best recommendations. Mrs. Burcham said she felt the policies were in place and reinforcing that current policies were to be adhered to was all that was needed at this point with respect to the fund balance. She opined that Council should have been advised as soon. as the budget problem was found and which should have known prior to the audit. A six-month budget review might have indicated all or part of the problem, but she encouraged Council to put regular reporting practices in place. Mr. East in reference to his earlier question, asked Mrs. Burcham if she was comfortable with the procedures in place and that they would do what they needed to do. He agreed the quarterly budget review needed to be done and that Council's most important role involved the budget. Mrs. Burcham responded that Council should focus on the general status of revenues and expenditures and if they were high or low, require an explanation. Mr. East thought having the quarterly report would help Council in knowing what questions to ask. Mrs. Burcham said the Finance Director would be sharing the information with the Town Manager who would then share it with Council and be prepared to explain any questions on the budget. Discussion having concluded, Council next discussed economic development. 7. Discussion Topic -Economic Development Mrs. Burcham noted that Pulaski had a lot of potential as well as challenges. There was a need to identify which one of the challenges or opportunities that Council wanted worked on immediately as opposed to long-term. Staff would supply the information on what resources were needed to make that happen. Some projects may or may not be in progress. She asked for Council's consensus as to what they wanted staff to work on in the next year. Mr. East said the Deputy Manager position was originally framed as a Community Development position that changed into something else. The goal of the Community Development Dept. was to have a "laser like focus" on developing the community. That person would have the sole responsibility of developing all things growth in Pulaski. Mr. East felt the Town lost sight of that and did not accomplish its goal. Mr. East wanted to know Mrs. Burcham's thoughts on the original concept. Mrs. Burcham responded that someone was needed whose job was to worry about the future of the Town in terms of bringing additional opportunities for jobs, revenue growth, etc. The County had an economic development activity that focuses on the Town but largely on the County given its land resources for industrial development. The Town's development was either rehabilitation of existing structures that have emptied out and the development of small business and retail for the Downtown. She felt that it was needed to have someone focused on that. There had been a planner position that went away, but she said that position was needed. The Community Development budget was not a "laser focus" but was the sum of code enforcement, building inspections, permits and the planning function. She felt that was somewhat of an overload. What Mrs. Burcham wanted to see was the Town deciding what it wanted to focus on. Using Pulaski on Main as an example, she felt the person would be independent of the Town and report to a board of directors. She thought that too many things were seen as the Town's focus when it should be someone else's. As an example, whatever funding was given to Pulaski on Main, should be used by them to hire a director with the Town setting forth the expectations it had in return for the appropriation. They (POM) should be the "voice".of the people marketing Downtown because they were located there. Separating the downtown organization from government was more successful. Page 10 of 14/July 21, 2020 Mr. East said he thought the community development concept was a bit overloaded which needed to be simplified. He elaborated on the term "laser like focus" using as an example Mr. Solomon's focus on industrial recruitment. He felt the Town had an opportunity, on the retail or restaurant side, but had not pursued it. What pursuing meant was not understood if it meant going through Pulaski on Main or another way. Originally the focus on discussing community development was to grow the tax base by pulling in restaurants and the "mom and pop" shops through incentives and support of existing businesses. Mr. East felt things got "sidetracked". Grants gave the illusion that a lot of thing were getting done but the "rubber never really met the road". While the grants provided a lot of work, it was difficult to point out what had been accomplished. Mrs. Burcham remarked that the easiest part of a grant was getting the grant while the hard part was the execution and the requirements that came with them. She complemented the Town on its success in getting grants, but having so many had diminished the ability for someone to do the "laser focus". She suggested continued support for Pulaski on Main by giving them a contribution to set up their network to be directed by their board of directors consisting of downtown businesses and private sector individuals. They would do the nurturing of the downtown businesses and recruitment. A town funded position would be needed that was reportable to the Town Manager which dealt exclusively with working with Pulaski on Main in addition to going out and finding businesses to bring to the Town. She suggested it should be a "two pronged" approach. Mr. Dawson suggested if an appropriation was given to Pulaski on Main for the downtown, there should be some conditions such as oversight over the Marketplace and providing a contact location for inquiries. Business recruitment or property would fall under the Town and including teaming with the County. Mr. Dawson, while agreeing with Mr. East that properties needed to be marketed and businesses recruited, asked where was the Town "dropping the ball" in marketing these properties or recruiting businesses. Mr. Reis said one thing he had heard was that people don't know who owns the properties or how to contact them. You could not walk in and get the information. Mr. Dawson thought the Chamber had done that to which Mr. Reis responded that was done that for Downtown properties. Mrs. Burcham said that Pulaski on Main should do that and that there should be an inventory of incentives to encourage property owners to do something with their property. She had also discussed with the Town's Social Media Manager, Mr. Whitt of using the Town's website to highlight what the Town had to offer and where the Enterprise and Opportunity zones were. Businesses she emphasized tended to go the websites first where they could catch all the information. Mrs. Burcham said it was easy to put together an inventory that you wanted, provided you knew what you wanted. She used an example of a listing of properties from Draper Aden that had environmental assessments done. Her thought was to contact those property owners and ask to post their properties on the Town's website for which Phase 1 and Phase 2 environmental work had been done along with their contact information. That kind of property inventory would be a first step. Another strategy would be to find suppliers of existing businesses. For small businesses another approach would be to go to other communities and see what kind of businesses they attracted. A decision needed to be made on the focus for the downtown liaison recognizing it would take time to build and inventory, make contacts, etc. Mr. Radcliffe observed that nobody was looking for businesses, but that other smaller areas were successful in attracting businesses. Mrs. Burcham agreed that these business had to be sought out and contacts made for immediate or future possibilities for development. Mr. Radcliffe mentioned a previous contact by Roses' store to return to Pulaski which did not materialize due to his assertion that the Town did not offer them anything. Concerning incentives he felt there was nothing there. Page 11 of 14/July 21, 2020 Even in historic districts, Mrs. Burcham pointed out that there needed.to be something that marketed what benefits there were. There needed to be materials available to inform visitors about aspects (e.g. tax rates, etc.) of the community. While things would not happen immediately, Mrs. Burcham suggested that Council identify things they would like to see in the community over the next three years, etc. This would give the "laser focused person" a list of what they needed to go by. Mr. Radcliffe then asked Mrs. Burcham what she needed to start this process. Mrs. Burcham responded that a person was needed to come in and do what had been discussed. She recommended that a planner position be recruited. In addition, she recommended that Mr. Whitt's position as media person be made full time since there was so much that the Town could do with media if the time was taken to focus on it. Mr. East agreed with making Mr. Whitt full time and felt that media had to be "fresh" and current. Mrs. Burcham stressed the need for informing the community what the Town was doing and things that one could do in the Town. Mr. East noted some of the pristine homes in older neighborhoods as one of the positives that were not promoted. He ventured if there was a person focused on the Town and one restaurant came that would pay for the position. There had been some lofty goals set such as a new first responder's building. Mrs. Burcham asked if the first responder's building would promote economic development. Mr. East responded it would not and that it would not happen if a way could be found to grow the town commercially and residentially. That was he felt the path forward. Mrs. Burcham suggested that long term the Town needed a diversified housing stock so people would have choices. Because choices were available, they would choose to live here and not in another area that had housing they were interested in. There was land in the Town that could be developed in that manner. Mr. East suggested the proposed position would be involved in identifying housing needs and recruiting developers. He felt the Town had a shortage of middle income housing that needed to be worked on. Mr. Reis said, in considering economic development, there were businesses here. He had noted frustration of businesses interacting with the Town at times on zoning etc. He suggested a survey of current business owners be done to pinpoint what the Town could do. It was easier he noted to get an existing business to add a few positions than to bring in a new business. He asked if there were things holding current businesses back from expanding or increasing their business. Current business owners had expressed frustration that the emphasis was on new business and not established businesses. Mr. Reis suggested that someone could go out and canvas existing business and inquire as to their problems or issues holding them back. What would be something that the Town could do to so the owner could invest or expand? Mrs. Burcham noted that business expansion had the biggest growth. Mr. Reis added that the largest growth,was in businesses with five to 50 employees. He questioned what could be done to get these smaller businesses to add employees or to bring in businesses that would complement or supply existing businesses. Mr. East agreed proposing that existing businesses should be the first priority then recruit new businesses. Mrs. Burcham mentioned that existing businesses didn't always like new businesses coming in because it forced them to be more competitive and placed a strain on getting new employees. Mr. Dawson asked what were the incentives that the Town could put out front and mentioned Mr. Solomon's remarks that he preferred to see that done after a deal was in the works. Mrs. Burcham suggested that a performance contract could be employed. Incentives could be placed on-line which was standard, but to lure a major business it may be preferable to have a performance agreement for a rebate of certain taxes after conditions were met. Mr. Dawson asked on a smaller scale, should the Page 12 of 14/July 21, 2020 Town be advertising smaller scale incentives on the front side. Mrs. Burcham said all that the Town had published and adopted should be out for all to see. Mr. Dawson then mentioned trying to attract residential growth mentioning incentives for residential improvement. Mrs. Burcham encouraged that those items be publicized as well mentioning interest in infill housing especially in new housing. She added that Pulaski needed different housing options for people. Mr. Dawson then asked about revitalizing an economic development or community development position mentioning there were too many jobs going through that position. He then asked if some of those functions as code enforcement and others answer to a different position to clean up what that person was supposed to do. Mrs. Burcham agreed emphasizing that the Town Manager should decide the placement of the positions. She noted there were vacant funded positions that should be released because they were essential to getting the job done (e.g. certified police officer or fireman). Council was then asked if there were specific items involving the Town that they saw as critical to moving forward. Mr. Clontz mentioned vacant properties especially those owned by the Town that should have something done with them. Mr. East felt the Town should facilitate existing businesses, which he felt was a primary responsibility that needed to be focused on. Mrs. Burcham said citizens should be treated like customers and there should be a sense of urgency about how business was done. Mr. East felt someone asking about the community should be able to go to one place and get information to make the process easier. Mrs. Burcham suggested she could talk with businesses about their needs. Mr. East stressed communication mentioning existing businesses if left out were not much interested in investing in the community. He suggested finding a person who could facilitate discussions with the business community. Mrs. Burcham requested that Council ask the businesses they interacted with what their concerns were. Mayor Collins asked how hard it would be to put the "man in the street" on the Facebook, which Mrs. Burcham felt could be done. Mr. Dawson ventured that there was agreement as to what Pulaski on Main would be more involved in. He also mentioned the discussion on hiring etc. and if there was a desire to move forward should Council regroup and comfortably proceed forward. After a short discussion on why positions were not filled, Mayor Collins suggested the three positions in Public Works be released for hiring. Mr. East asked if something was needed from Council. Mrs. Burcham said she intended to move forward unless told to stop. She said she intended upon a review of finances to hire Mr. Whitt and move forward with the planner's position. Council acceded to her request. Council then went into Closed Session. 8. Closed Session Discussion having concluded, Mayor Collins called for a motion to enter Closed Session concerning four items as follows: three personnel matters under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (A) 1 regarding the performance of the Interim Manager; Committee and Board appointments; and, the Building Official; and, one item under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (A) 5 concerning a prospective business or industry where no previous announcement has been made. A motion to enter Closed Session was made by Mr. Penn, seconded by Mr. Clontz and approved on the following roll call vote: Page 13 of 14/July 21, 2020 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 then entered Closed Session at 8:43 p.m. and returned from Closed Session at 9:03 p.m Mayor Collins asked for a certification motion that Council discussed only those items for which it went into Closed Session: three personnel matters under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (A) 1 regarding the performance of the Interim Manager; committee and board appointments; and the Building Official; and one item under Va. Code 2.2-3711 (A) 5 concerning a prospective business or industry where no previous announcement had been made. Mr. Reis moved to certify the Closed Session. The motion was seconded by Mr. East and approved on the following roll call vote: Lane R. Penn -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Brooks R. Dawson -Aye G. Tyler Clontz -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye Michael P. Reis -Aye 9. Adjournment ' There being no further business, Mayor Collins called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. A motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Reis, seconded by Mr. East and approved by the unanimous voice vote of Council at 9:15 p.m. Approved: W. Shannon Collins Mayor ATTEST: David N. Quesenber Clerk of Council Page 14 of 14/July 21, 2020 1 1