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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-20-25P" Town Council Meeting Minutes May 20, 2025 1. The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. and asked for a roll call. Jeremy L. Clark- Aye G. Tyler Clontz- Aye Mayor Collins- Aye Sunshine N. Cope- Aye Steven W. Erickson- Aye Brooks R. Dawson- Aye Joel B. Burchett- Aye 2. Modification to Closed Session- No modifications were made. 3. The Mayor asked for a motion to enter into Closed Session for the following items: a. VA Code 2.2-3711 (A) 1 (2 items)- Personnel Matters i. Fire Department ii. Police Department The motion was made by Councilman Clark and seconded by Councilwoman Cope. Jeremy L. Clark- Aye Sunshine N. Cope- Aye Brooks R. Dawson- Aye G. Tyler Clontz- Aye Steven W. Erickson- Aye Joel B. Burchett- Aye Mayor Collins- Aye The following council members and staff entered into Closed Session: Councilman Clark, Councilwoman Cope, Vice -Mayor Dawson, Councilman Clontz, Councilman Erickson, Councilman Burchett, Town Manager, Todd Day, Town Attorney, Scot Farthing, and Clerk of Council, Ms. Hale. 7:01 p.m. Open Session 4. Certification of Closed Session- The Mayor asked for a motion that only the following items were discussed in Closed Session: a. VA Code 2.2-3711 (A) 1 (2 items)- Personnel Matters i. Fire Department ii. Police Department The motion was made by Councilwoman Cope and seconded by Councilman Clark. Jeremy L. Clark- Aye Sunshine N. Cope- Aye Brooks R. Dawson- Aye G. Tyler Clontz- Aye Steven W. Erickson- Aye Joel B. Burchett- Aye Mayor Collins- Aye 5. Vice -Mayor Dawson led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. 6. Councilman Clark gave the invocation. Page 1 of 2 1 / May 20. 2025 7. Mayor Collins welcomed all in attendance and viewing online. 8. Modifications to Public Session- No modifications were made. 9. Presentations a. Fire Department Certificates of Appreciation- Chief Jeff Conner Mayor Collins read the Certificates of Appreciation. Chief Conner presented the awards to Firefighter Payton Hollins, with Pulaski County Fire and Rescue, Senior Firefighter, Zach Camacho, and Lieutenant John Hall, with Pulaski Fire Department. Chief Conner reported that the three individuals saved an individual from a third - story structure fire. Manager Day commented that one thing that stands out is the camaraderie of not only the Pulaski Fire Department but the Fire Departments across the county, that there were other fire entities that worked together to make that structure fire less than what it could have been. Chief Conner stated that the other entities that needed to be recognized were Pulaski County Fire and Rescue, Pulaski Fire Department volunteer and career staff, Newbern Volunteer Fire Department, Dublin Volunteer Fire Department, and Draper Volunteer Fire Department. Manager Day commented that he was very proud of all of our firefighters and proud of the teamwork across the county and thanked each one of them for their contribution. b. FY 2025-2026 Budget- Manager Day Manager Day reported the general fund is not seeing any rate increases and revenues do equal expenditures at $10,744,594, the water fund revenues and expenditures do equal $3,202,481.50, and the sewer fund at $4,872,635 which results in a balanced budget in both enterprise funds and the general fund. Manager Day reported on the water treatment plant, stating that it came online in 1952 and in the mid- 1980's it experienced somewhat of an upgrade. He reported that the Health Department has been very much involved, since his employment, with how the town proceeds with the plant, and the things that the town is doing have nothing to do at all with the distribution system or the pump stations. He stated that he has continued to try and stay transparent with this project by doing Facebook live videos in December 2024, April 2025, and also in May 2025 along with news articles from WDBJ7, WSLS, and the Patriot. Page 2 of 21 / May 20, 2025 Manager Day stated that the project is a $25 million project, which includes the water plant upgrade and a portion of that is two miles of raw water line, and that the town has a fiduciary duty to try to continue to deliver quality water pressure, the water quality out of the plant is rated some of the highest in the Commonwealth. He reported that the town is under a consent order with the Health Department, the consent order partially reflects on the water distribution system with the water tanks. Over the last five years, the town has done over $13 million within the water system, $7 million of that was from grants, and residents will see new water tanks, and different things that you can't see in the plant when it comes to filtration methods and procedures that we are held accountable to by the Health Department, the upgrade is twenty years past its longevity. Manager Day reported that the rear wall at the plant is leaking and the sed basins are no longer online, the pulsator is fine, but according to a structural engineer who was consulted earlier, the integrity of the plant is heavily jeopardized. He stated that the water rates across the board, with the low ends being on the upper side and the lower tier, have an average rate hike for three consecutive years to make the debt service payment of 25% on average. Depending on the category that's looked at in the rate structure tier, it might be 28 or 24, but the average is a 25% across-the-board rate hike for three consecutive years. Manager Day also reported the stretch of sewer line that was identified years ago has severely deteriorated and we are lining that sewer line, which DEQ is heavily involved with, which is estimated at $4 million. He reported that he has a letter addressed to Senator Warner's office from the director of the Health Department, where the Health Department is reaching out for financial aid at the congressional level, the town is extinguishing every avenue that we can find to come back in the next two or three months and say that next year's rate potential rate hike that's planned is going to be reduced. Manager Day ended his report stating that he cannot make it any more attractive nor is he covering it up, but it's not any different than what's being read and advertised, it's real, and the position we're in, where the consent order is the first step that the Health Department takes before they fine the elected officials. 10. Public Hearing a. Proposed Budget for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2026; FY 2025-2026 Mayor Collins stated the following, "We, the town council, value your input. In order to engage effectively, it is important to note the following. If you would like to speak regarding the public hearing for the FY25-26 proposed budget, please sign into the public hearing sign -in sheet, if you haven't done so, please do so now. Ms. Hale has the sign -in sheet. If you'd like to speak regarding other matters, other than the budget, please complete a speaker's slip, if you haven't already done so, to address the council during the public comment period. Please Page 3 of 21/ May 20, 2025 be sure to include your name and address when you approach the podium. It is important to speak slowly and clearly into the mic. Please be respectful to other speakers and do not speak out of turn. This public hearing is intended for you to state your input regarding the FY 2025-2026 proposed budget. No responses to your comments, questions, or concerns will be provided during the hearing. Hearings are a one-way conversation. The time allotted for each individual to provide input will be three minutes. There will be a visible timer from the podium. Mayor Collins read the Public Hearing ad that was advertised in the Patriot on May 9, 2025 and May 16, 2025. Mayor Collins opened the Public Hearing. Burman Grantham of Twin Oaks addressed the Council and the guests attending the meeting with the following, "I'm here tonight to kind of represent 99% of you. We talk about a 2.6% rate increase on your Social Security, here we talk about a 30% rate increase on your water. I can fix this really quick. How many senior citizens do we have in this county, in town? Do you know? Would you say 75% at least? Somebody give me a figure on 4,000 gallons of water, what it would cost you for 4,000 gallons. Does anybody have that? It comes up too quick. Hey, it's going to be unreal. All right. But you can fix it. Now, if you want to fix it, you can, but it's going to be painful for every one of you all and him. But anyway, you can fix it. These rate increases are astronomical. We can't stand it. But what you all need to do is put on the next budget in November to organize and let the county take you in. Do not back away from it. Let the county take you in and have one government. We don't need a police chief. We've got a sheriff. We don't need all this other stuff. Eliminate that extra money. We need to access the money. But at the same time, you know, you're talking about a different thing, but it's going to cost every one of your jobs. Because that's the only way you can fix it. Now, these people can pay their taxes, but at the same time every month, you're going to spend $40, $50 more on water. Well, by the end of the year, that's how much you're going to pay on your taxes. So, if you take and let the county take and go to them and let them annex us, we will take care of this problem, and you can build your water plant up there, evidentially, they need it, they said they do. But I've seen so many times where they said these schools need it. Now they're going to rent them $1,400 a month, and they wouldn't be safe for them kids to go to school in. But anyway, that's the only way it will take and mess every one of y`all up. I hate it for you, but that's the way. If you're going to support these citizens, whether you come here or not, annex with the county. Go to them and let them annex us, and that way people can pay their water bills. And Mr. Day, said he'd need it, and if he needs it, they need it. He wouldn't lie to us if he doesn't need it. Thank you." Marc LeBlonc of Lexington Ave addressed the Council, stating the following, "I've been a long-time resident here in this town. I love this town. I love the Page 4 of 2 1 / May 20, 2025 community. I'm not arguing against what the gentleman said, but what I'm arguing for is transparency, and there's a very, very high sense that we're being led along Primrose Path and we're being told, trust you, everything is okay, trust you. No. No. The way I figure it, I am paying the town $76.88 every month before one drop of water leaves my faucet. That's totally unacceptable. That's ludicrous. And there are people on fixed incomes that are going to be facing the same reality. The same exact reality. I've heard that there's extended water in place and we need to do something quickly or else you all are going to be fired. Well, you know, we didn't cause that. If this is something that you guys are facing, that's on you, not on us. But we're being asked to pay for it, and that's unacceptable. I've heard that this is going to be for three consecutive years, but I also hear that this is the budget for next year. Well, are we going to be facing the same questions and the same raises the year following and the year following? That is totally unclear to me. There's no transparency here. I don't know. We're being asked to okay this budget, and we're being told there's three consecutive years. Well, what happens then? Is it going back to what it was before? What's going to happen? We don't know. We're being asked to trust you. You know what's best for us. I don't live that way. I've not lived my life that way. We hear that the population is shrinking. People look around us. Downtown is still a mess. Main Street. What is going on? Why can't we present a clear vision for what we want to do with this town? And to come in the back door and ask for our money, and I know we've only got a few more seconds, but transparency is so important, and we just don't feel, at least I don't feel, and I suspect I'm speaking for a lot of people. Transparency is not there, and that's a huge problem. I also hear that we're subject to having this budget raised as gradually as we can. What exactly does that mean? Raised as gradually as we can? Folks, we're your neighbors. We're taxpayers, and we're stretched with real faith. Please don't stretch us any further." Fred Southern of Northwood Drive addressed the Council stating the following, "We need repairs. I get that. But, you know, like eight to ten years ago when I first moved into this town, I had asked the water department, you know, why is my sewer more than my water? It all goes down the same drain. Well, I'm sorry. You need to go to the town meeting. We had to raise it and fix the pumps. Nothing's ever changed. Everything just keeps going up. This past month, the sewer is 92%, or whatever, gallons more than my water. How does that? It almost looks like sewer can be whatever you guys want. There's no, you guys aren't setting no limit. One minute it's 35, another one's 55. I could have a high water bill this month. Next month, when no repairs, it's down low. How does that happen? Oh, we have these little antennas at the water meters. I still don't think it's actually accurate because it almost seems like you guys are just, especially on the sewer end, whatever you're wanting to put out there, we're expected to pay. This past month, like I said, it was $100 more. $92, you know, for a family of five. $303 with no leaks. You know, what do you got? Don't water your grass, don't wash your cars because the sewer is going to be $100 more if you just use what you're right, that you pay county taxes, town taxes. We don't get nothing. I mean, really, that's all I have to say. I mean, there ought to be some limit to what Page 5 of 2 1 / May 20, 2025 you guys can increase the sewer because right now we get the water. You use it, I understand it. Sewer, yes, we need repairs, but how high can you guys just raise it without us even really knowing? I mean, $100 more without even really knowing. And like the other gentleman said, when you're on a fixed income, $100, don't pay it, they shut the bill off next month. I mean, they don't care. You guys don't care. You just walk up, shut it off, and we're sorry, you know. Post online and maybe someone will donate money and turn your water back on. I mean, that's what's messy at all times. People asking for money to help pay water bills because it's shut off. Well, it's only going to get worse because now there's no standard. You're raising the sewer, whatever you want. There's a lot of relief to be at the top, no more than, I don't know what it is. And to just say, well, three more years, it could be whatever. And we all know it's probably not going to go down. Because once you guys start getting it, you'll just, everyone's used to it now, and it stays the same. And that's all I can say. Thank you" Rickey Finchum of 1 st Street addressed the Council stating, "I've lived in this town for 20 years, 25 years. And it seems like every year that everything just keeps going up. I'm on a fixed income. This town is poor. People that live here don't have a lot of money. People that do have a lot of money don't live here. The thing about it is, you keep talking about water going up and everything. Right now, as we're speaking, as I'm speaking, there's water coming up out of the ground right here at the end of Dora Highway and 99. It's been coming up there ever since back in the winter. It froze, solid sheets of ice in there, and it's still leaking out of there. Why does that not get fixed? I can't see this town. I think it was this lady here, she was on the 6 o'clock news. Am I mistaken? Okay, yeah, somebody that was on there that was talking about restaurants coming into this town. Well, they've been saying there's going to be a barbecue place coming into this town for three years at least. There's no barbecue place here. A decent restaurant does not want to come into this town. If you want to get something good to eat, you've got to go to Christiansburg. Now, I know that people can't afford to eat a steak, but maybe once a month. But if you do, you can't eat one in this town. And you can't drink the water in this town. Every morning I get up to take a shower and it smells like raw sewage. And if it doesn't smell like raw sewage, it just smells like you're pouring Clorox in your face. And I just think that the town can do a lot better than what it does. I know it's not left up to y'all, but every time that y'all have a little meeting or whatever and you have your meals catered to you, why don't y'all eat a bologna sandwich? Instead of having somebody from a big restaurant or a chain deliver y'all's food to you. I mean, it's a snack. You're not supposed to sit down and have a big meal. You're supposed to eat a little bit to keep you going long enough to get what you have to say done. And I think people in this town are eating bologna sandwiches. They're eating peanut butter. They're eating anything that they can get because they can't afford to live in this town due to the fact that the taxes just keep going up, the water keeps going up, sewage keeps going up, and the quality of everything keeps going down. Somebody on the six o'clock news said that they wanted to have a brewery come in here. You've got a brewery down here. The town gave them the building, Page 6 of 21/ May 20, 2025 supposedly. Is that correct? For the brewery? It was given to them. It was given to them. You had a ball park up here. That could have benefited this town if you'd have used it right. But no, what happened was the guy that owned it got ticked off because of the last people that was sitting up there in your place. That's why he left out of here. He doesn't want to have anything to do with this town anymore except for his big apartment that he's put up here at the end of town up here. And I think that this place is, this town is not for rich people. Y'all keep wanting people to come in here and fish and camp out. And you've got the wrong people running Gatewood. And this creek down here is filthy. I wouldn't eat a fish out of there if I was starving to death. And this water park that you had down here, last summer the thing went for days squirting on its own. Nobody was there. But it did get fixed. And Mr. Todd Day, I saw him there and I told him, I said, you've got 15 minutes to get this thing turned off or I'm calling WDBJ. And he did what he said he was going to do. He had it turned off. I like to see something happen when it goes right on the spot. Don't wait. If you keep waiting, it's only going to get worse. Like I said, we've got a water leak. It's been leaking since back in the winter. And y'all won't even fix that. It's coming out on Main Street. You come off Draper's Mountain and you come down through here, I know people can't afford a bitty brick house or whatever. And the people that live down through there, some of them don't have a lot of money. And when you come into this town, coming down the mountain, it looks bad on the town. When you come in the other way, you used to smell the town before you got into it. That's why they call it Pew Lasky. Because you had a smell. If you ride a motorcycle at night and you come through there and there's a fog on, when you get home, you're going to smell like you've been rolling around in that sewage. Thank you." Lisa Wade of 41h Street NE stated, "I've been a citizen of the town of Pulaski for 37 years. I've owned two businesses, me and my husband, for 25 years each. We have three water bills for 25 years. Two of those water bills are $400 a month. So, when you are proposing a 75% increase over a three-year period, that's going to hurt. That's going to hurt. I pay double taxes. Never been late. Look it up. Never been late. Never had a cutoff notice. You never had to ask me to pay my taxes. Always paid them on time. This is just unacceptable. I've been told by many people, including ex -council members, that it's a done deal. There's nothing we can do, nothing we can say to change this situation. Everybody knows we need a new water treatment plant. And what about the infrastructure? The town's infrastructure is, what, 30, 40, 50 years old? And what I mean by infrastructure is I mean the pipes that carry the water, and the sewer, constantly busting. The water's not drinkable. My dogs won't even drink the water. You ever heard that saying that, you know, you can take a horse to water. If it doesn't drink the water, you shouldn't drink the water either? Kind of the same saying with it goes with dogs. If they won't drink the water, something's wrong. That's all I'm saying is I don't know where y'all expect the taxpayers, the people that live in this town as taxpaying citizens, to, I don't know, absorb this? To absorb this? Yeah, we know it's an emergency. Very much an emergency. We know this. But we've also known this for over 20 years too. Probably at least 10. We have to admit that, Page 7 of 21/ May 20, 2025 right? At least 10. 10 years we've known about this problem. It's an emergency. I know this. And this project is going to take three years. We have to prepay for this project before it even starts. What are we going to drink in the meantime? What are we going to do in the meantime? Oh, two other little quick things. The splash park, who's going to pay for all that water? Are we as town citizens supposed to pay for a splash park that runs all day at a 75% increase in three years? I'm just wanting answers. I want clarity and I want answers. It's kind of hidden that, you know, I've even had ex -council members say, Lisa, you're crazy. It's a one-time 25% increase. No, not at all. It's for three years. Just tell the truth to the public. You know, I even clipped it on the news. I put it on all the talk of the towns right from the news. She knew it before we did. It's kind of disappointing. It's kind of disappointing. Just do better. I mean, I don't know how long I can afford Pulaski or how long anybody else can afford Pulaski. Thank you for your time." Stella Barron, of Bentley Hollow, stated, "I have lived most of my life here and I want you to know that I feel like you mismanaged the whole town. Main Street looks like a slum. You've got all these empty buildings sitting around. You could possibly be making some money with it. I don't know, but you don't. And I hate it for all of you and everybody that lives here. Yeah, I will continue to find meaning. And I hate it because I was born here. I'm not staying. As long as I can get out. And I just feel sorry for the rest of them. That's all I want to say." Mayor Collins closed the Public Hearing. 11. Voting Items a. Resolution 2025-18 Resolution Appointing Candidates to the Town of Pulaski, Virginia Building Code Technical Review Board The motion was made by Councilman Clontz and seconded by Councilman Clark to adopt the resolution as written. Jeremy L. Clark- Aye G. Tyler Clontz- Aye Mayor Collins- Aye Sunshine N. Cope- Aye Steven W. Erickson- Aye Brooks R. Dawson- Aye Joel B. Burchett- Aye b. Resolution 2025-19 Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Pulaski, Virginia, Expressing Support for Vegg Inc. and Authorizing the Town of Pulaski to Act as the Applicant for the FY 2026 Industrial Revitalization Fund Grant Program through DHCD. Councilman Burchett asked Manager Day to briefly explain Vegg Inc., what it is, where it's located, and what they do. Manager Day stated that Vegg Inc. and MOVA are two businesses that are located in the town, and they concentrate on collecting ammonia from animals, and this grant they're applying for, the town just has to administer it, being the Page 8 of 21 / May 20, 2025 local government. The town does not have funds in the project, the grant is applied through Vegg Inc. or MOVA through the federal government and if they're awarded those grants, the town is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the proper expenditure of those funds, which is commonly done through local government. The motion was made by Councilman Clark and seconded by Councilwoman Cope to adopt the resolution as written. Jeremy L. Clark- Aye G. Tyler Clontz- Aye Mayor Collins- Aye Sunshine N. Cope- Aye Steven W. Erickson- Aye Brooks R. Dawson- Aye Joel B. Burchett- Aye c. Ordinance 2025-01 Ordinance Authorizing Sale of Town Property to SHAH Development LLC Manager Day reported the Public Hearing ad ran weeks ago and the Public Hearing was at the last Town Council meeting and the contract is still in the negotiation stage. Back in 2021 in conjunction with every locality in the New River Valley, Giles, Montgomery County, Pulaski County, Radford, Virginia Tech, and Radford University, all participated in a program to look at housing across the New River Valley. In that study, Pulaski County has a dilapidated home issue, a closed door, boarded -up door issue, and trying to be proactive in modernizing homes was a task that was directly pointed to the Town of Pulaski. In May 2022, the town purchased a piece of property right off Route 11 at the price of $215,000, in December 2023, there was a larger piece of property purchased at $1.4 million. The town had an unsolicited bid that was offered by one of the only developers in the New River Valley that's pretty active in building a housing development there. The 174 acres consist of several homes, dwellings, and townhomes consisting of 187 single-family dwellings, 102 townhomes, 18.29 acres of commercial area for future development, and 72 acres of open space. The development will happen in six phases. 4.6 miles of VDOT-approved roads that are expected in this development, 2.9 miles of CG6 curb and gutter and sidewalks, sanitary sewer line, and waterline. The Fire Department houses a ladder truck in a building that SHAH Development owns, estimated at $246,000 and they want to give that building to the town. The ENS and the building inspections are all going to be done by SHAH, with a third party and each one of those inspections for those homes is an average of $1,710 in value, and that has a return of $478,000. The concept is to keep costs low, and the town is looking for workforce housing, the town is not building the roads, not putting in the infrastructure, not putting in the water line, sewer line, building the sidewalks, or electrical systems, 100% of the project will be done by SHAH, plus all the inspections on the property. Page 9 of 2 1 / May 20, 2025 Manager Day reported that he asked the County Treasurer to look at the values of the properties and just for the town, their return on investment, the town has a four -and -a -half return, at the county and town level, it'll pay for itself in a year - and -a -half. He stated that he understands the concept of giving the property away, however, the return on investment for the town's constituents has a positive payoff with the VDOT return on the property and the fire department trade-off. Mr. Finchum commented stating to sell off the cop cars that are sitting downtown and don't keep putting it on the people that live here. Amanda Burroughs asked Manager Day how much the homes will cost and if he believed that it's affordable to the people of the town. Manager Day stated that the homes were estimated between $250,000 and $300,000. Mr. Flinchum commented that the town expects people to come here, go to Gatewood, and fish when the road from here to Gatewood is torn all to pieces. Everett Shockley addressed the Council stating, "I've lived in the county for about... I came here in 1976. I became a town resident approximately 22 or 23 years ago. Mr. Day, earlier you said something about transparency with respect to something else, and I do believe that's very important when it comes to government, and I believe you made some reference to it too, Mr. Mayor. But anyway, first of all, I'd have to say that this agreement that you're talking about being in the town manager's office is not on the town website, is it? That, to me, is a complete lack of transparency. Why can't people go on the town website and read this agreement that there seems to be some hubbub about here? Well, it said on there that you can come to the town manager's office and read it. I did so last week, and I wanted to just point out... And you correct me if I'm wrong on the figures, if you would, Mr. Day. You said you initially acquired... How much was the acreage that you paid? 200-some thousand dollars for? But anyway, you've got right now 150 acres of undeveloped land that you're talking about selling, roughly. Is that right? Or is it more than that? And you paid $1.2 million for the largest portion of that, correct? And a little over $200,000 for the other. So, are we talking about a combined investment by the town of over $1.4 million? Am I correct, or is it more than that? Okay. I read the contract, and it says, and this is the... Let's see here. Anyway, the proposed agreement says that the town is going to sell this land that you paid $1.4-plus million for to SHAH. Can you tell me how much the town is going to sell it to them for? $256,000, right? Or $46,000. Which is it? Am I correct? $246,000 is what the proposed agreement says. So, you're basically going to sell it to them at a $1.2 million loss. Is that correct? You're going to sell it for $256,000? That's what the contract says that you've got in your office, sir. Plus it mentioned the inspections and everything in that contract has a value. That's peanuts compared to what this... When we talk about almost $1.5 million, you're going to sell it to SHAH for $256,000. Okay? Now, the agreement Page 10 of 21/ May 20, 2025 also goes on and talks about possible default both by SHAH and by the town. Is that correct? And those contingencies are distinct possibilities for whatever reason. Or they wouldn't be in the contract. You wouldn't even talk about them. Is that correct? What I read in the contract is that in the event SHAH should default for whatever reason, it may not be within their control. It may just be the houses aren't selling or whatever. But the town, after I think about a 12-month period of non -work in there and a 6-month period of getting it together, roughly 18 months, you can call the contract at an end. Is that correct?" Vice -Mayor Dawson commented stating that we have to give everyone the same time limit and Mr. Shockley has exceeded that limit. Mr. Shockley stated, "the people here need to hear this. You're talking about if they default and they land back to you, you have to pay them half of what they paid for it." Vice -Mayor Dawson stated, "I understand the questions, but I'm more concerned about us holding quorum in the meeting and holding everybody to the same time." Mr. Shockley stated, "I don't think that... One gentleman... First of all, I've been interrupted here. And... You're talking about an increase of 400 and some thousand dollars in real estate taxes when all of these are done, which is over a 6- to 10-year period. So basically, right now, on a gamble, you're selling close to $1.5 million to SHAH for $246,000. I'm not sure how that really makes sense. And I think really all of you ought to pick self -inspection and consider the contingencies of the agreement possibly not being fulfilled for whatever reason. That's a lot of money to be spending and selling for about a fifth of what you paid for it. That's just my opinion. Thank you." The motion was made by Councilman Clark and seconded by Councilwoman Cope to adopt the Ordinance as written. Jeremy L. Clark- Aye G. Tyler Clontz- Abstained Mayor Collins- Aye Sunshine N. Cope- Aye Steven W. Erickson- Nay Brooks R. Dawson- Aye Joel B. Burchett- Aye 12. Discussion(s) a. Vehicles ready for auction- Manager Day Manager Day reported there are several vehicles that are offline and he needs Council's approval to proceed forward with auctioning those vehicles off. Councilman Burchett thanked Manager Day and town staff for their quick actions on getting this done, as he had received several complaints about the appearance of the town property from people who live in that area, several weeks before this meeting. Page 11 of 21 / May 20, 2025 The motion was made by Councilman Burchett and seconded by Councilman Clark to move forward with the auctioning of the vehicles. Jeremy L. Clark- Aye G. Tyler Clontz- Aye Mayor Collins- Aye Sunshine N. Cope- Aye Steven W. Erickson- Aye Brooks R. Dawson- Aye Joel B. Burchett- Aye 13. Public Comment Period Mr. Grantham asked if Mr. Hagan would pay taxes on the 176 acres. Manager Day stated Mr. Hagan would pay taxes. Mr. Grantham stated, "Well, I do know that Mr. Hagan has promised he'd be able to build another hotel over where the Dalton Theater is. He's never done that. He's done a lot of promises. He's worshiped Moses. He's done a lot of promises, but all of them ain't come through. He bought over Hills and Christiansburg, but what'd they do? They went down to Q's. He promises a lot. Y'all, we are getting ready to get hosed. And ain't nobody in this room, and I don't mean, can afford $200,000, $250,000 a house, $40,000 for two cars sitting in their garage. Unless they got the money to pay for them cars, they can't afford it. So, we're going to get hosed on this deal, and every one of you on this council needs to remember that, because when the election comes up, as I keep saying, they need to take and annex this town to the county, because we can't afford it. We cannot afford it. Somebody needs to bring it up and take it to the county to where we can annex, and all of you will be gone. Thank you." 14. Consent Agenda a. Consideration of April 29, 2025 Town Council Budget Work Session Minutes The motion was made by Councilman Clark and seconded by Vice -Mayor Dawson to adopt the minutes as written. Jeremy L. Clark- Aye G. Tyler Clontz- Aye Mayor Collins- Aye Sunshine N. Cope- Aye Steven W. Erickson- Aye Brooks R. Dawson- Aye Joel B. Burchett- Aye b. Consideration of May 6, 2025 Town Council Meeting Minutes The motion was made by Councilman Clark and seconded by Councilwoman Cope to adopt the minutes as written. Jeremy L. Clark- Aye G. Tyler Clontz- Aye Mayor Collins- Aye Sunshine N. Cope- Aye Steven W. Erickson- Aye Brooks R. Dawson- Aye Joel B. Burchett- Aye Page 12 of 21/ May 20, 2025 15. Council Comments Councilman Clark asked Manager Day and staff to look at the leak on Rt. 99 and Dora Highway and that he appreciates all town staff and the effort that is being put forth for all the projects going on in town. Councilwoman Cope thanked the public works department for their efforts to keep the grass cut and things looking nice around town. Teresa Shockley stated they need to clean up from where trees were cut down on Pepper's Ferry and trash between Route 11 and the curb where the property actually sits. Vice -Mayor Dawson stated the council is elected to do the best job they can do to try and respect that responsibility to all 9,000 citizens. He stated he has been on the Town Council for six years and ninety-five percent of the meetings, no one attends. Ms. Shockley interrupted stating that today's meeting was announced, but there was no time involved in what time that meeting was going to take place and she had to call to find out what time she needed to be in attendance because her property adjoins the 176 acres and she's concerned about it. Vice -Mayor Dawson continued, stating that the town functions consistently, with the same practices, with the same meetings at the same time, every month. The public notice has happened in the same way, the communications through Facebook happen the same way, the phone number to the town offices has been the same for numerous years, emails are available for anyone that needs to be communicated with, and in his experience, he has never seen a communication go un-responded to, and he's never seen a town manager or a town employee that wasn't going to do everything to address it. He asked residents, if there is an issue to please contact town staff to get it addressed and asked if there are better ways to communicate that residents offer ways to improve that. Councilman Erickson stated the SHAH Development project was explained to him the same way it was explained to residents, and he sees that the town is terrible at real estate, he understands what the town will get in the long run, in four to ten years, but it does hurt when the Council has to come to residents and raise rates for other things. He also stated that he's heard someone is to blame for the deterioration of the water plant, that it's been needed for over 20 years, and that if he leaves in four years, and the same problems are here then, then it's his fault. He's mentioned to Manager Day and other councilmembers that the town needs to get out of the real estate business, that it's not the Council's job. He then thanked the guest speakers and encouraged them to keep coming. Councilman Burchett stated he was appalled and angered when he first saw the water filter plant, and the upgrades have to be done. He is also on a fixed income, but the town is in a mess and he doesn't see any other way out of it other than what's being done. He Page 13 of 2 1 / May 20, 2025 appreciated everyone for coming to speak and he was proud and pleased to see people come to voice their opinions. Mayor Collins stated, "I like seeing people here. I say it every time we have a meeting. If there's people here, I appreciate you here because you are the town. You're who we're supposed to be up here representing, and if you don't come, we don't know. And I know that I'm very public because of my business, and if you have problems, people come to see me, and they do. I don't turn them away. I will listen to anyone that comes to my my store, and I will do what I can because that's what you voted me in for is to get your problems solved. We are just, you know, the people in between you and our workers, and we're doing our best. I don't want to pay these bills either. God knows I don't want to pay them. I water a lot of plants at my store, and I'm paying a lot for water, and I'll be paying for the sewer too, even though I'm not using it, but it's fine. I do what I have to do, and we will survive. I don't want to change. I don't want that going up, but we've got to do something because if you see it, you know what it is. I mean, it's bad, and I'm not going to say it's someone's fault, but you know that something's happened over the years. We've went down. Someone said the schools. Same situation. If we take care of stuff as we live and continue to keep it up, then we don't have this problem. We did not keep this up. It is as we are here. It is our fault. We may not have been on the boards at the time, and we may not have been the elected officials, but now it is our fault, and we will do what we can, and we're going to do the best we can to support our town because God knows I love this town. I'm one of the biggest cheerleaders for this town. I love Pulaski, and I call it Pulaski. I do not call it Pew Lasky. That is one of the reasons I ran for mayor because I was tired of people talking bad about our town. Our town is full of wonderful people that are good people, and you voted me in here, and I hope that you voted me in because you believe that that's what I feel too, and I hope it's not just because no one else wants to do this job. Sometimes I think it is, but that's not right either, but I do love our town, and I will do anything that I can, so when you have problems, come to my store. I may be busy right then, but I will do what I can. Follow me as I water, and I'll write it down, and I will get to Mr. Day, and I will do what we can to get it fixed. Whatever it is, your potholes, your water leaks, whatever we've got. If a tree has fallen off of a neighbor's lot onto you, we'll do what we can. Thank you for coming out. Thank you for being here. Thank you for showing that you're important." Everett Shockley addressed the Council stating, "I say this with all due respect in a friendly manner to all of you and the town manager, what bothers me about the 170 acres being sold is more than the substantive aspects of it that I mentioned at the podium, the dollars and cents, is that I've read online the minutes and so forth after council meetings, and I've seen where it's been talked about behind closed doors in closed session. I haven't seen a whole lot written about it as far as in the minutes that are talked about through the public here and everything. And even tonight, I don't think the public really knows that much about the dollars and cents of it. Again, a copy of this contract, which is about 18 pages long, has not been put online on the town website, even though it involves, again, a whole lot of money being transferred for far less than what was paid for it. But even tonight, a vote started on it, and nothing had been said to the people here about, well, this is what we're planning to do, and this is what we paid for it, this is what we're gonna sell Page 14 of 21 / May 20, 2025 it for, and you know, et cetera, et cetera. I had to go up to the clerk here and say, what is this vote on what? I didn't know what your vote was on for sure. And so that's why I jumped to the podium because I just wanted to be heard. No, I didn't sign up ahead of time. That's my fault. But I just think its sort of been hidden from people. You know, it just hasn't been a whole lot said about it in the financial aspects of it or anything else. And so that's what bothers me. It's almost like it's just been a" Ms. Shockley interjected stating, "It's been a rush to do it, and now that we're all saying that we don't agree, that we want to know more, you just went ahead and passed it. You know, you were like, okay, you're done, let's take a vote. And we still have people in this room who don't understand that contract. And they don't understand that, you know, there's a lot of big promises being made about 10 years down the line, but what if it doesn't work? What if he gets in there, and he starts developing this property, and then he realizes that it's not going to work out the way he thinks it is? And then what are we going to do? I mean, we're screwed at that point, because we've got to make up that money that's already been spent on that property. And maybe if it was a little bit clearer to everyone, and then not in legalese, when only my husband and Marc LaBlonc will understand it, we need, in layman's terms, where you can write down, you know, this is what we've invested, this is what he's agreed to pay, but this is the repercussions of all this. This is what could possibly happen. We don't know if this is going to happen, but it could happen. So please be prepared, because you may see your taxes go up, you may see this property all torn to pieces, and then nothing ever gets built on it. You know, we have no promises that this is going to come to fruition in any way, shape, or form. And the contract proposal was just agreed on tonight in a room full of citizens that did not express happiness about what's going on there, because they're not informed. And if Everett hadn't gone over and actually taken photos of the papers, we wouldn't have understood fully what was going on with the numbers that are involved in this. But it's a lot of money, and it's a lot of responsibility, and I really feel like whenever we got our certified letters and had to sign for them, why didn't we get a copy of that contract along with it? You know, what's the big secret? You know, why can't we have that in front of us while we're being told that there could be encroachment issues, you know? I'm aggravated, I'm frustrated. I don't feel like everybody's had a chance to voice their opinions. I appreciate everything you guys do, but I also feel like maybe things are things that settled behind closed doors and then it's presented in a public meeting but voted on whether we agree with it or not. So, I just feel undervalued right now. I feel like my feelings are undervalued by this board." Alan Palmore stated some residents work and were not able to come to view the contract in the Town Manager's Office with the hours that were offered, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Ms. Shockley continued, "I have no problem with this water thing. I mean, I'm willing to say whatever to have fresh, clean, good drinking water. That doesn't bother me in the least. Spend the money, do it, you know, do what we need to have done. But this land thing is questionable at best in my mind. Unless you can enlighten me. And I feel like I missed something." Page 15 of 21 / May 20, 2025 Susan Rigney stated, "I try to read the newspapers. I try to stay aware. I try to be aware if I need to come to something. And this seemed like the very first opportunity to come and hear from the Town Council about this or hear any public comment and other people's opinions. But you're voting on it the same night. And it wasn't open for comment like the water was." Vice -Mayor Dawson stated the public hearing for the SHAH Development property was two weeks ago, and that it was advertised, just like the water rates. Communication isn't perfect but every piece of paper, every action, every wording of all of it is publicly available for every single meeting we have. Councilman Cope stated, "I wasn't elected until January. Most of this has been going on way before some of us got here. But they had public hearings about it prior to us getting here. It's not a quick action. I do want to say that it wasn't new. It just became, did you see it? Did you come? And those kinds of things. So I don't want you to think that it just started and you missed it." Ms. Rigney continued, "Most of what I understood is it was in closed session. So, I mean, I tried to keep up with those things. So it felt like it popped up and it's being voted on really before anyone, a significant amount of people got to think about it, chew on the bones of this, and come give you any feedback before you're taking a vote." Mr. Shockley stated, "I think if the contract had been put on the town website, that would have been certainly an ability on everyone's part to say, well, this is transparency. But to go by the Town Manager's office to have to see it makes me wonder. And then you weren't allowed to take it out. We were given copies to look at, but we were not allowed to take it out of the building." Marshall Dowdy stated, "I agree with what he's saying. I think in the long run it's going to be a great investment. But I'm with him. It needs to be out in public. And I think maybe you should try to direct this to be put out in public. Closed session's not a good place to handle things that people don't like. It ain't a good place at all. It makes them think that you're kind of sweeping it under. I do agree that it's probably a great investment. I listen to him. I think it's a great way to be six or ten years down the road. The problem is, though, when we lose that $1.4 million, but we're all having to pay $25 million to do the water, there's a problem. I don't know where that lies. I'm filtering my water. And I agree it needs to be done. But 25%, 25%, 25%. I've got a lady that's across the street. She's 77 years old. She's still mowing yards because she's trying to help herself stay afloat. 77 years old and mowing yards to make ends meet. Now, she's an awesome lady. But the fact is, there's going to be people like her that this is going to hurt. We're a two -income family. We will suck it up and buy a home." Ann Dowdy stated, "I do remember when the ballpark was sold and all that. They had big town meetings that we were at a different location. It was very well publicized. And all the citizens knew, and all the citizens went. So, I really feel like, and now where's the ballpark? The county owns it. Same development. Same group of people. Same person. Page 16 of 2 1 / May 20, 2025 So I really feel like that there should have been more knowledge of what was going on. Because if anybody in here remembers when the ballpark was sold, or whatever happened there, I can't remember. But there were like two or three big town meetings about it. And there was a lot of people there. They couldn't even hold it in chambers. It was so big. So, I don't know if this was before your all's time, but the fact of the matter is we didn't have that opportunity here. And that's that." Vice -Mayor Dawson stated, "The first public presentations about the concept, was probably, I don't know, six, seven months ago, January 7th. Now some of the, and obviously any of us can get the concern about closed session stuff there, are only very specific things that a council or any other governing body is allowed to go into a closed session to discuss. I mean it is very specific. You know, guided by, I guess, state code, that guides that. And in an instance of like with the property, when it's a contract that's being negotiated, not finalized, just negotiated, that obviously can't be done in a public forum because it violates the ability of whoever you're negotiating with of doing it in private. And so, all of that is not a decision -making. There's no decision -making that can happen in a closed session. And that's every time before we go in and when we come out. That's what every one of us is voting on is saying that that is absolutely what happened. And that's the intention. And so yes, there's some things that cannot be said in an open forum, but those aren't decisions. And just like things that are involving like an employee or things that make sure you can't talk about that in public, right? And so that's not hiding something. That's appropriate behavior, not inappropriate behavior. That's how you would launch it." Kevin Hill stated, "I'm glad everybody's saying something. I did come to the public meeting two weeks ago and have been trying to stay involved with this. And it sounds like the vote has happened, so it's going forward. At this point, we just need to make sure that it happens in a way that the aesthetics of it work, the roads work, the stoplights work, the retaining ponds work, that everything goes forward in a way that's going to be good. It sounds like you live near it. I live next to it. You know, is it good to 10 years from now? Sure. Should there have been some public meetings? That kind of was the crux of my conversation before. But I appreciate what Mr. Dawson said, what other members of the council have said, and maybe what Mr. Day has said. And let's just move forward and let there be some, you know, yes, it's a private developer, yes, it's a private city, but doggone it, this is going to affect our town for the next 60, 70, 80, 90 years. If it gets done, and it needs to be done in a way that is going to be good." Mr. Shockley stated, "If the contract has not been finalized, say it's still in negotiations, I trust that council members will take into account some of the things that have been mentioned on the specific aspects of it like if there's a default, you have to buy back the land that you sold for a fraction of what it's worth. I mean, those things need to be looked at and not negotiated. I mean, if everything goes well, I agree with Marty Dowdy, it might be a good idea, but there's that aspect in there of the town or SHAH defaulting, and then the shaft comes. We're left holding the bag on everything that's been done." Page 17 of 2 1 / May 20, 2025 Ms. Shockley stated, "It's what it appears to be in the contract that we read. It doesn't seem like it's, it seems like it's all kind of one-sided, like we stand to lose a lot, but if it's successful, the town will gain, but if it isn't, which that's a big possibility because we've already got one big development and between Dublin and Pulaski and countryside estates, that's kind of slowed down. They're not done there yet, and now we're getting ready to start another development in the middle of town, and we've got apartments that we're doing, we've got the middle school that we're working on. It's like, boy, you know, can we just not finish one thing at a time and get our water straightened out and then worry about building all these new buildings in the middle of town? What's the rush? I don't understand the rush. Someone asked if the water structure is going to be able to support the new development. Vice -Mayor Dawson stated Manager Day alluded to that when he went through the information that he covered, that the Health Department and VDOT and all the governing agencies are actively involved in anything of this nature, that there's no whimsical approach to it, that it's very specific to how things have to be done, how they have to be laid out to the standards that every other community functions under. Mr. Shockley stated his concerns with the roads on Pepper's Ferry, that they are relatively narrow and curvy, and if VDOT will have a domain to take parts of people's property. Vice -Mayor Dawson stated that's part of VDOT, that they will study and require to make sure that the traffic flows. Manager Day stated, "That question was brought up at the public hearing about this project a couple of weeks ago, and it's a very valid point. So, before any development can ever start, our attorney right here, went back and forth for literally two months with the attorney for SHAH and absolutely argued on behalf of the town. And I know there's a perception, and everybody's got an opinion on how every sentence is written, and the reality of being an attorney and interpreting it that way, I'm not going to play that part. I'll leave that up to Scot Farthing here, our law firm. But I absolutely feel like it's a solid contract. It has not been signed yet, and I don't know when that will take place. But to answer the question that was just announced, VDOT will not allow any development of that size to take place on a route that is not sufficient to handle it. We don't get VDOT reimbursement for streets that are inadequate. So, the Health Department is very much involved. The DEQ is very much involved. There's no end to it. All of these tasks, they're in the future. Have we looked at ENS? No, we haven't. We don't have a contract yet. We don't have a developer yet. So, there's a multitude of projects across the NRV that are very positive, and they are housing developments which reduce costs for everybody. So, I'm excited about this project, and absolutely, it doesn't take but four of them to vote to dismiss me. So, my strength is absolutely to bring you a project in this town that's positive. That's my objective. I mean, I hope nobody's questioning the reality of that. Interpreting that contract, I would argue with Scot until I'm blue in the face, and that's the reason he's an attorney and I'm a Town Manager. So, all of these points that y'all are Page 18 of 21 / May 20, 2025 bringing up are very, very valid points, and that certified letter that you received was not a requirement by law. That was actually a step that we took administratively, and originally, it was just going to be sent to the adjoining neighbors in one area that I know has some setback issues and we want to work with them. But instead, we sent it to everybody who joins, and the urgency of the project, I know that that property's been sitting there long before my appointment. I've got a number of phone calls from council's constituents saying thank you for this development, and I've also respectfully got calls on the other side saying, what's going on, where is it being? So I've always said that local government is the world's worst at communicating. I don't care how hard we try. This water project that we talked about earlier, there have been seven attempts to try to make that as transparent as we can by posting stuff on the internet. We've done Facebook. I mean, we have done everything we can, and we obviously still fall short. So it's not a secret. It never has been a secret. I'm very, very proud to be part of this project. I live here. I moved here. I'm a part of the community, and I want to see it successful. I promise you that everything that's happening in that contract, somebody can argue about. There's a different view, there's a different opinion. This government body has worked really, really hard to make that contract what it is today and to secure the investment that's out there. Combined, when you're talking about the town and the county, we've got 1.4 in it. There is less than a three-year return on investment there. That, to me, is a no-brainer. So is it a guarantee that when we build something, a park in the community, that people are going to use it? Absolutely not. Is there a guarantee that that housing development is going to take place in six or ten years? Nobody knows that. But thank God we've got a council that's got some foresight and that's got some vision to see this community thrive and grow. And I'm a big supporter of it. And a locality that ceases to grow will absolutely cease to exist. You can't tie inflation and the cost of living down. So when you're stealing from Peter to pay Paul, it's really hard. And to balance a budget in the general fund without rate hikes and without tax increases, when you don't have new businesses, literally defies the laws of economics. So we do steal from Peter to pay Paul in the budget. This development will change that. It'll give the government body and myself the opportunity to look at a new revenue. That's what every jurisdiction in the Commonwealth, in the United States, strives to do, is grow. You have to grow. If you're not growing, you're depleting your citizens. So we're doing the best we can at that. I feel really confident about that contract. Can you question the contract? Absolutely. I have questioned it with the attorney. And we've been several months negotiating that. I promise you I'm gonna get a bill from him pretty soon for that. And I stand behind that contract. I think it's very, very solid. Do we lose that property? Absolutely not. Do we have to pay for upgrades that he does on that property? Yes. So there'll be a restriction on how far he can expand. Does he pay taxes? Yes, he does pay taxes on the property. Am I gonna try to freeze it so that it benefits for the buyers, which is why we're not charging, so to speak, charging for that property? What do you think he's gonna do if we charge him half a million dollars? What do you think he's gonna do with it? He's gonna give it right back to whoever buys it. He's gonna give it back to whoever buys that home. So can you even build a $200,000 house in this economy? That's tough. I don't even know if that exists today. So are we doing everything we can do to make it attractive for our workforce? Absolutely. Is everybody gonna like it? Obviously not." Page 19 of 2 1 / May 20, 2025 1 Ms. Rigney commented, "I don't know if I'm hearing that people don't like the concept and when it first all came about. I think, again, several people mentioned transparency, and you're mentioning the difficulty of letting people know what's going on and being out there really broadly and in enough places that people really can get the information. But I think I'll also echo a few things that people said tonight about wanting people to see our town in a positive light and we need some positive and optimistic outlooks and some things that we're moving towards. And so there's a lot of good in this, but as somebody who does try really hard to know what's going on, this one was hard to know about. And I'm not saying you didn't try." Mr. Dowdy commented, "Let's just put it on the website, for God's sake, so we get a guarantee from one of you guys here to put the contract out there where everybody can go over and see it." Manager Day stated once the contract is signed, it will be put out there, but it is still being negotiated until it is signed. Mr. Dowdy stated, "You're selling property that belongs to the taxpayers, I think that should be put out there before we make the negotiations. And I don't think that's something you should do in a closed session, and I don't think that should be something that's allowed to do in the closed session. But, state law on that, I do know state law on a lot of other things, and so does Mr. Shockley, but not on that. But it doesn't look good. Vice -Mayor Dawson stated, "I agree with you, but it wasn't put out... The concept of what the town was looking to do was put out well before." Mr. Dowdy asked if push notifications could be implemented for residents to remind them of meetings and other events. Mayor Collins stated the town does not have the capability right now, but it is currently being worked on. Vice -Mayor Dawson asked residents to continue to come to town employees and ask questions and come to get resolutions to the questions that they have. 16. Manager's Report Manager Day had no other comments or reports. 17. Reminder of Future Council Meeting a. June 3, 2025; Closed Session 6:00 p.m., Open Session 7:00 p.m. 18. With no further business, the Mayor adjourned the meeting at 9:00 p.m. Page 20 of 21/ May 20, 2025