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8/8/2018 - Regular August 8, 2018 305 Roanoke County Administration Center 5204 Bernard Drive Roanoke, Virginia 24018 The Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia met this day for the purpose of a joint work session with the Roanoke City Council. IN RE: CALL TO ORDER Chairman Hooker and Mayor Lea called their respective boards to order at 11:30 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Martha B. Hooker; Supervisors George G. Assaid, Phil C. North, Joseph P. McNamara and P. Jason Peters STAFF PRESENT: Thomas C. Gates, County Administrator, Daniel R. O’Donnell, Assistant County Administrator; Ruth Ellen Kuhnel, County Attorney; Deborah C. Jacks, Chief Deputy Clerk to the Board ROANOKE CITY COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Sherman P. Lea, Sr.; Vice Mayor Anita J. Price (arrived late); Michelle Dykstra; Joseph L. Cobb, William D Bestpitch; Dejuna L. Osborne and John A. Garland ROANOKE CITY STAFF PRESENT: Chris Chittum, Roanoke City Planning Director; Bob Cowell, City Manager, Sherman Stovall, Assistant City Manager – Operations; R. Brian Townsend; Assistant City Manager – Planning; Daniel J. Callaghan, City Attorney and Stephanie Moon Reynolds, City Clerk IN RE: REQUEST TO POSTPONE, ADD TO OR CHANGE THE ORDER OF AGENDA ITEMS County Administrator, Thomas C. Gates, requested that the second closed session for the Roanoke County Supervisors be removed. There were no objections. August 8, 2018 306 IN RE: REGIONAL TRANSIT DISCUSSION Mr. Kevin Price, General Manager of the Greater Roanoke Transit Company provided an overview, with a focus on expansion of existing service areas to create a regional transit network. Mayor Lea express his opinion that transportation is becoming a major issue. It is something we need to look at as we expand in certain areas of the County. All the citizens of the County and the City have expressed a need to expand Valley Metro. Supervisor McNamara stated that the Board would certainly want to look at any and all opportunities that make sense. He wants to make sure that we are not looking at a solution to a problem that has not been identified. From his perspective, we really need to see an identification of need. He has not heard this from his constituents; he has heard from the regionals. He knocked on 2,200 doors last year and it never came up. He is concerned about dollars associated with that. One thing he has heard there is an issue with the Barrington Apartments as it related to CORTRAN/RADAR. Maybe it is possible to combine with grant funding, but we definitely hear that CORTRAN will run into the City for a doctor appointment, but RADAR will not run into the County. So, that is an area we might want to look at. Supervisor North stated that he represents the Hollins District and we have several town hall meetings about the needs, wants for future planning. One question was on transportation and about 17% said they were interested in bus service. He noted that there was some input on a trolley service. He stated he did not know if they could do a cost projection model, which would be very interesting to see. Mr. Price reminded everyone there are many ways to deliver transit. The cost per hour in existing transportation is approximately $76 an hour. With regard to CORTRAN service, that type of on-demand service can be combined. The models of transit that you see today can be tweaked. Councilman Bestpitch commented the vision is really a twenty-five year plan. Part of what we want to keep in mind is how to we plan for something that might not be funded this year, but rather than being caught off guard, it should be part of the planning process so what when that time comes, we are in a better position to work on things. Supervisor Peters commented he appreciates the presentation and thinks the Strategic Plan that the Board adopted back in 2016 talked about transportation. He is curious to see if we can combine and save money. He would like to see Tanglewood Mall transformed into some kind of town center and we are going to see more of a need for different modes of transportation as we develop the major corridors. We will need to keep our minds open to what the needs are. Councilman Garland inquired if the study had data on the ridership and where the ridership would originate because most people assume ridership starts in August 8, 2018 307 Roanoke and goes to the County and comes back. Is there data on the County needs of ridership or is it talking about total ridership. Mr. Price stated where we stop, people continue to walk. One of the parts of the study was a survey that involved current passengers and general public. Based on those surveys, we were able to draw trip lines, i.e. Rt. 419 to Vinton. What we were able to do with the recommendations was develop a transit system that tried to identify all of these straight lines. Mr. Garland stated if there was data that could be given to the Board of Supervisors, that showed it would serve x number of citizens and cost x number of dollars, then they would have concrete data. Is there that specificity in the study? Mr. Price advised obtaining that information would involve a survey of some sort. Councilwoman Dykstra noted these numbers are always going to be hard to pin down, but if we are looking from a region standpoint, we need to be as proactive as we can. We need to look at transportation and public transportation as something that is going to be beneficial not just for folks who don’t have a car. We are attracting millennials hand over fist to this regions. They are moving here from larger cities and they are used to public transportation. When she lived in Chicago, she got used to her daily commute; she could read every day, she did not have to sit in traffic. When we look here at the Tanglewood area, Rt. 419, Orange Avenue, we see the congestion that is already building up. She loves that we are increasing our population. Roanoke City is very proud of that and they are going to continue to see more and more traffic backups. Increasing our public transportation is a way that we can help that in the future. She does appreciate that we need some numbers, but she would like for us to be proactive at looking at what public transportation can do to solve some of the problems we are going to have in the future as our population continues to rise, which is something that we all are excited about and how we can serve this young community that is moving in. Councilman Cobb stated what he appreciated about the work that Valley Metro and Mr. Price are doing is the changing realities of transit and who is riding it. We talked recently with not only millennials, but retirees who come from larger places and they move here intentionally without a vehicle and they can access the trolley, public transit. He thinks we have to look at the reality of where we are as a region, but also where we are going to be in 5-10 years in terms of more and more people moving here and choosing to move here and not relying on a car. It might be cycling, public transit, there are a variety of forms. The other things that he thinks is important is our business community. If there is a way we can engage our business community regionally to find out how public transit can support their work. One of the things he has heard over and over again, they want to hire people and a lot of the people that we hire utilize public transit, but because of the times public transit ends or runs, they are limited in terms of who they can hire. He is curious about that, especially with our increased manufacturing, industrial companies that are not city based, but regional based. These are just a few things that he feels would be helpful in getting this data. August 8, 2018 308 Councilwoman Osborne stated people want to not just get to work, but recreation too. People of all demographics want to shop, visit friends and so it is not again focusing on the fact they do not have access to a vehicle and not just getting to work. They want to do other things. She is also curious about how public transit effects all the other forms of transit, i.e. uber drivers, Bick Lick Boomerang, etc. and how they would be incorporated into the plan. Mayor Les stated three years ago we had a bad winter storm in this area and it forced them to shut the buses down. Staff went out to check the roads to make sure it was safe for the buses to start running again and we stopped at a Burger King on Franklin and there was a man outside sweeping trying to get the ice off. They asked if they could order something. It was the manager and he said they were closed because the buses are not running and our employees cannot come in until the buses start running. So, transportation can be a tool for economic development. Supervisor North stated he grew up in the Washington, DC area and knows a lot about transit, subways, etc. and he worked in transportation. He asked if all routes begin and end downtown. Mr. Price responded in the affirmative outside of the trolley for now. One of the things he brings up today, is the subway system in Washington, especially in Alexandria. There are buses that feed into the subway stops. IN RE: SHARED PLANNING INITIATIVES Philip Thompson, Roanoke County Acting Director of Planning; Chris Chittum, Roanoke City Planning Director provided a PowerPoint presentation of the shared initiatives. A copy of the PowerPoint presentation is on file in the office of the Clerk to the Board of Supervisors. IN RE: PRESENTATION REGARDING VIRGINIA TECH CARILION RESEARCH INSTITUTE (VTCRI)/VIRGINIA TECH CARILION SCHOOL OF MEDICINE (VTSOM AT THE VTC HEALTH SCIENCE AND MEDICINE CAMPUS Dr. Michael Friedlander, VTCRI, provided a PowerPoint presentation, a copy of which is on file in the office of the Clerk to the Board of Supervisors. At 1:00 p.m., Mayor Lea adjourned Roanoke City Council. IN RE: CLOSED SESSION At 1:02 p.m. Chairman Hooker moved to go into closed session. The motion was seconded by Supervisor McNamara. No roll call was taken. August 8, 2018 309 1. Section 2.2-2711.A.1, Personnel, named discussion concerning appointment to the Chief Local Elected Official Consortium (CLEO) The closed session was held from 1:12 p.m. until 1:19 p.m. IN RE: CERTIFICATION RESOLUTION RESOLUTION 080818-1 CERTIFYING THE CLOSED MEETING WAS HELD IN CONFORMITY WITH THE CODE OF VIRGINIA WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia has convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote and in accordance with the provisions of The Virginia Freedom of Information Act; and WHEREAS, Section 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia requires a certification by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia, that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia, hereby certifies that, to the best of each member’s knowledge: 1. Only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting which this certification resolution applies; and 2. Only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed or considered by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia. On motion of Supervisor McNamara to adopt the ordinance, seconded by Supervisor North and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Supervisors Assaid, North, McNamara, Peters, Hooker NAYS: None IN RE: ADJOURNMENT Chairman Hooker adjourned the meeting at 1:20 p.m. 310 August 8, 2018 bmitted by: Approved by: / . i 4 ,-r- )(RoAtiftx,..... 11 13'6 it tk_ z -borah C. J. Martha B. Hooker Chief Deputy - erk to the Board Chairman