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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8/16/2006 - Special August 16, 2006 667 Roanoke County Administration Center 5204 Bernard Drive Roanoke, Virginia 24018 August 16,2006 The Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia, met this day at the Roanoke County School Administration Office, 5937 Cove Road, N.W., Roanoke, Virginia, this being an adjourned meeting from August 8, 2006, for the purpose of a joint meeting with the School Board. IN RE: CALL TO ORDER Chairman Stovall reconvened the School Board meeting at 5:05 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Michael W. Stovall; Vice-Chairman William A. Irvin, III; C. Drew Barrineau; Jerry L. Canada; Marion G. Roark MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Dr. Lorraine S. Lange, Superintendent; Allen W. Journell, Assistant Superintendent of Administration; Penny Hodge, Assistant Superintendent of Finance; Dr. Martin W. Misicko, Director of Operations; Brenda Chastain, Clerk; Darlene Ratliff, Deputy Clerk Chairman Wray called the meeting to order for the Board of Supervisors at 5:06 p.m. The roll call was taken. 668 August 16, 2006 MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Michael A. Wray, Vice-Chairman Joseph P. McNamara, Supervisors Michael W. Altizer, Joseph B. "Butch" Church, Richard C. Flora MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Elmer Hodge, County Administrator; Diane Hyatt, Chief Financial Officer; John Chambliss, Assistant County Administrator; Dan O'Donnell, Assistant County Administrator; Paul Mahoney, County Attorney; Pete Haislip, Director, Parks, Recreation, and Tourism; Brent Robertson, Director, Management and Budget; Anne Marie Green, Director, General Services; Tarek Moneir, Deputy Director, Development; Teresa Hamilton Hall, Public Information Officer; Mary V. Brandt, Acting Clerk IN RE: OPENING REMARKS Chairman Stovall welcomed the Board of Supervisors and thanked the Board for its support during the budget process in the spring. IN RE: PROPOSED USES FOR COUNTY FACILITIES .1:. William Byrd Middle School and the Former Roanoke County Public Safety Buildina Mr. Hodge advised that he had toured both buildings accompanied by Dr. Lange, Dr. Misicko, and Mr. Chambliss to determine future uses for the buildings. He reported that a consulting firm had been hired to evaluate the condition of the buildings and recommend possible uses. He advised that, according to the consulting firm's draft report, William Byrd Middle School will need extensive renovations regardless of how the building is used in the future and no recommendation was made August 16,2006 669 concerning it. Supervisor Wray inquired if cost estimates were available for the William Byrd renovations. Mr. Hodge responded that the projected cost is approximately $8 to 10 million. Dr. Misicko reported that the school system needs to maintain a satellite bus facility in that location regardless of the building's future use. Mr. Hodge advised that although the County has no plans for the building, the County and the school system will need to work together to ensure that the building remains in use. Mr. Stovall advised that the school system has tentative plans to move out of the Roanoke County Career Center (RCCC) and into the former Southview School, currently the County's public safety building. He indicated that Southview will require extensive renovations. Mr. Irwin advised that both Boards had agreed to split the cost of evaluating these buildings, and he inquired if the same consulting firm could evaluate Southview. Mr. Hodge replied in the affirmative. Mr. Hodge advised that a decision needs to be made regarding the disposition of the former public safety building. He recommended that the building be evaluated by an engineer prior to any action being taken with it. Mr. Hodge added that the State of Virginia is interested in the property for an expansion of its forensics lab. Mr. Hodge advised that the State will require an appraisal for use during budget deliberations if they decide to purchase the property and that the State is primarily interested in the land. He added that the State is concerned about the property being sold on the open market. Mr. Irwin noted that the proceeds from the sale of the property would partially offset the cost of any necessary building evaluations. Ms. Roark inquired if it 670 August 16, 2006 would be possible to divide the property into two parcels. Supervisor McNamara agreed that keeping the portion of the property that fronts Peters Creek Road might be advisable. Mr. Stovall suggested that the money from the sale could be used for the RCCC. Supervisor Wray stated that the property should be sold to the State at fair market value. Mr. Hodge advised that he would proceed with an appraisal of the property and provide additional information at a future date. 2. Discussion of Baseball Field at Stonebridae Park in Vinton Mr. Stovall advised that he had been approached by a middle school baseball coach regarding the use of the baseball field at Stonebridge Park. Dr. Misicko advised that after discussing this request with Supervisor Altizer, he had met with Pete Haislip, Director of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, and the middle school baseball coaches to develop a new schedule that utilizes the fields at Vineyard Park as well as the field at Stonebridge Park for middle school baseball during the season. He further advised that in order to implement this plan, the baseball field at Stonebridge Park will need to be increased in size to 300 feet. Dr. Misicko further advised that he has been working with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to develop a solution to the traffic congestion at the entrance to William Byrd High School. Dr. Misicko proposed that the entrance into William Byrd High School should be altered in conjunction with the ball field alterations at Stonebridge Park to resolve the traffic issue. August 16, 2006 671 Pete Haislip, Director of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, reviewed the proposed alterations for the ball field at Stonebridge Park and the revised ingress into William Byrd High School. Mr. Haislip advised that there is enough room to increase the size of the ball field. He reported that he planned to review the proposal with the Vinton Booster Club to see how these changes would impact their program, and he would also examine how these changes would impact the park as a whole. Mr. Haislip noted that Stone bridge Park had been developed with federal funds and therefore has restrictions and covenants to be considered. Mr. Haislip reported that Paul Mahoney, County Attorney, was reviewing the legal ramifications of the proposed changes. Supervisor Altizer advised that this proposal needs further review by all the impacted parties prior to its implementation. He further advised that although there was a bottleneck at the entrance to the school, he had concerns with any alterations that would reroute buses through a residential neighborhood. He added that safety is a high priority and suggested that a community meeting be held to involve citizens in the process. IN RE: OVERVIEW OF CAPITAL PLANS AND SCHEDULES Dr. Misicko advised that Penny Hodge, Assistant Superintendent of Finance, had distributed the current capital plan and schedule via e-mail prior to today's meeting. He advised that Northside High School's renovation has begun and the renovation of William Byrd High School is in the planning stage. He noted that the Northside renovation was originally estimated at $10 million but due to increases in 672 August 16, 2006 construction costs, it is now estimated at $20 million. He added that the renovations planned for William Byrd are similar in scope to the renovations underway at Northside. Dr. Misicko reported that the next three projects the school system has planned are land acquisition in the Route 221 corridor, a new middle or elementary school for Cave Spring, and an assessment of the school system's other campuses. Supervisor Wray inquired if a decision had been made on whether to build a new middle school or elementary school in the Cave Spring area. Mr. Barrineau responded that a final decision would not be made until land for the project has been acquired. Supervisor Wray asked if the acquisition of land was delaying the project. Mr. Barrineau replied that construction costs are the driving force. Ms. Hodge added that the timeline for the new school project is 2011/12, so a decision does not need to be made until suitable property is acquired. Ms. Roark advised that more capital projects could be undertaken with increased funding. Supervisor Wray suggested that an additional joint work session be scheduled to review the capital improvement program and contribution schedule. It was the consensus of the Board to schedule a joint work session in October for this purpose. DISCUSSION REGARDING UTILIZATION OF ANTICIPATED YEAR- END REVENUES Mr. Hodge advised that the auditors were working on the year-end figures and that the year-end revenues would be included with the report on capital in October. IN RE: August 16,2006 673 IN RE: DISCUSSION REGARDING JOINT FUNDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP) Mr. Stovall advised that the joint funding contributions need to be increased. Supervisor Wray agreed that a reassessment of funding for the capital improvement program was warranted. Supervisor Altizer stated that the capital needs of the County as well as the school system should be reviewed. Ms. Stovall requested that Ms. Hyatt and Ms. Hodge develop new contribution scenarios. Mr. Barrineau suggested that $500,000 be used as the starting point and that the additional scenarios should be based on increments of $100,000. Supervisor McNamara advised that he supported an increase in contributions, noting that he had originally suggested a $500,000 joint contribution. He requested that new and total revenues be evaluated for additional funding sources. Supervisor Flora requested a comparison of current construction costs versus the cost of construction when the CIP funding program was implemented to ensure that the contribution schedule keeps pace with rising construction costs in order to avoid potential project delays. Supervisor McNamara agreed that the increase in contributions needs to keep pace with rising costs and inflation in order to be effective. Supervisor Flora advised that the reevaluation should be done before the next budget cycle to ensure that the revised funding schedule is incorporated. 674 August 16, 2006 Supervisor Church advised that it may take more than one work session to effectively reevaluate the CIP and find additional funding sources. Dr. Lange stated that a more effective forum for this reevaluation might be a retreat. There was a consensus of both Boards to re-examine the CIP and to increase the program's funding. IN RE: UPDATE ON THE PARKS, RECREATION, AND TOURISM MASTER PLAN Mr. Haislip advised that the Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Department is developing a comprehensive master plan with extensive input from the community. This master plan will contain a complete inventory of physical assets and programs as well as an abstract of national standards for parks & recreational areas. He reported that this will enable the County to establish guidelines and standards as well as best management and maintenance practices for its facilities and programs. Mr. Haislip advised that a citizen survey was recently completed and, according to this survey, County citizens are satisfied with existing programs. He further advised that the survey identified the need for more passive recreation spaces such as trails and greenways as well as indoor recreation centers. He concluded that Parks, Recreation, and Tourism should coordinate with the school system to identify overlapping needs and cooperative opportunities. August 16,2006 675 Mr. Hodge suggested that Mr. Haislip review the master plan in more detail with the School Board at a future date. Supervisor Flora noted that there was a strong demand for more passive recreational spaces. Mr. Haislip advised that the County had previously focused on developing athletic facilities for its organized sports programs and now must meet other needs. Supervisor Church asked if the $15 to $17 million estimate for a multi-generational recreational facility currently under consideration by the Board was accurate. Mr. Haislip responded that the estimate was correct. Supervisor Flora reported that the multi-generational recreation centers toured by Board members and County staff on a recent trip to St. Louis, Missouri, were very impressive and that small children and seniors had been the predominant users of these facilities. Supervisor Altizer reported that these recreation centers had many features such as aquatic facilities and basketball courts that could be used to develop a sports marketing program for the County. He added that the citizens he had spoken with were very pleased with these facilities. Supervisor Altizer further advised that he had made a presentation to the Vinton Town Council on August 15 regarding the St. Louis trip. Supervisor Wray stated that a sports marketing program could help attract people to the area. Mr. Canada inquired if the County had any plans for a dog park. Mr. Haislip responded that a dog park was one of features requested in the citizen survey and that dog parks are a growing national trend. He advised that finding a 676 August 16, 2006 suitable location for a dog park may be difficult and there could be management issues. Mr. Canada reported that he has visited many dog parks in the Raleigh, North Carolina, area that functioned well. Supervisor Wray noted that the City of Roanoke has been working on the dog park concept for some time. IN RE: DISCUSSION REGARDING POSSIBLE ESTABLISHMENT OF EMPLOYEE HEALTH CLINIC Mr. Hodge advised that he and Dr. Lange had been approached by the Western Virginia Water Authority (WVW A) regarding the establishment of an employee health clinic. He reported that he was interested in pursuing this concept as part of the County's focus on health care prevention and wellness. He added that the City of Roanoke has a health clinic which is funded with the annual savings in health care costs generated by the clinic. Mr. Hodge reported that he would like to have the Human Resources Department work with representatives from the WVW A and the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority to develop this concept which will provide a benefit to employees while generating savings for the County. Mr. Canada advised that he was favorably impressed by the City of Roanoke's clinic which is free and is available to spouses of employees. Supervisor Wray advised that a health clinic would be a valuable benefit, and he requested that the feasibility of the concept be evaluated to determine its viability. Dr. Lange concurred that the clinic's feasibility needs to be established, and Mr. Hodge agreed to move forward with a feasibility study. August 16, 2006 677 IN RE: BOARD MEMBERS COMMENTS Mr. Canada: He advised that the school system did very well on the Standards of Leaning this year and that the School Board is very proud of its employees who were responsible for this success. He added that there is a need for additional discussion regarding salary increases based on market value and how to fund these increases. Supervisor Wray stated that salary discussions were part of the budget process. Mr. Canada responded that Roanoke County Schools were ranked 13th in the State by Roanoker Magazine and that the school system is the third largest employer in the County, so compensation is an important issue. IN RE: ADJOURNMENT Chairman Stovall recessed the School Board meeting at 6:08 p.m. Chairman Wray adjourned the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors meeting at 6:09 p.m. until Tuesday, August 22, 2006, at 3:00 p.m. for the regularly scheduled Board meeting. Note: After the meeting, the Board of Supervisors toured the new Roanoke County Public Safety Building located adjacent to the School Administration Office. Submitted by: Approved by: -<\Y)~ Q. W~~ Michael A. Wray - - - \ Chairman 678 August 16, 2006 (This page left intentionally blank)