HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/1/2020 - Regular - DRAFT
December 1, 2020
581
Roanoke County Administration Center
5204 Bernard Drive
Roanoke, Virginia 24018
The Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia met this day at the
Roanoke County Administration Center, this being the first regularly scheduled meeting
of the month of December 2020. Audio and video recordings of this meeting will be
held on file for a minimum of five (5) years in the office of the Clerk to the Board of
Supervisors.
IN RE: OPENING CEREMONIES
Before the meeting was called to order, a moment of silence was
observed. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all present.
IN RE: CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Radford called the meeting to order at 3:02 p.m. The roll call
was taken.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman David F. Radford; Supervisors Martha B. Hooker,
Paul M. Mahoney, Phil C. North and P. Jason Peters
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: Daniel R. O’Donnell, County Administrator; Richard
Caywood, Assistant County Administrator; Rebecca Owens,
Assistant County Administrator; Peter S. Lubeck, County
Attorney; Amy Whittaker, Public Information Officer and
Deborah C. Jacks, Chief Deputy Clerk to the Board
IN RE: BRIEFINGS
1. Briefing to discuss with the Board of Supervisors the 2021 Real
Estate Assessment and Roanoke Valley Economic Conditions
(Kenneth Fay, Director of Real Estate; Meredith Thompson,
Budget Division Director; Steve Elliott, Budget Manager)
Mr. Fay presented a PowerPoint presentation and reviewed the real estate
assessment for 2021.
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Supervisor Mahoney asked who was on the Board of Equalization and
Real Estate Assessment, with Mr. Fay responding Steve Claytor, Bill Watson, Todd
Ross and Herbert Kilbourn.
Meredith Thompson, Budget Division Director, provided the fiscal impact.
Steve Elliott, Budget Manager, provided economic conditions.
Supervisor Peters stated as the business models have changed around us
over this past year, a lot of employers are probably going to make working from home a
new normal rather than having the overhead of office space. His concern is while he is
very pleased with what has been shared with us today, he has a little bit of a concern
and am just asking whether or not you have seen it or heard it. If people begin working
from home more, what will that do to our commercial values in Roanoke County, more
specifically to office space? Mr. Fay responded there have been a lot of updates lately.
CoStar being a commercial provider of all kinds of information and a lot of webinars and
it seems like right now that the property owners are holding their properties. The
vacancies are a little bit higher, but they're not selling property, so we're not seeing the
sales. Salespeople are just waiting in hopes that the vaccine might change the way the
pandemic is handled and whether people will return back to the office. Now, there's a
consensus among property owners, specifically office buildings, is that some may never
come back. Working at home has certainly shown some benefits as far as office space.
So a lot of the office buildings are looking to do more flex kind of space and offer
different kinds of services than a typical office space rental in the past. So from a value
standpoint, not sure yet, but there are some concerns.
Supervisor Peters sated over the last couple of years, as a board, we
know the pressure on retail space is more and more as things have moved online.
There was an article several months ago, where there was a large company, he
believes in California or maybe it was Oregon, maybe it was Washington State. It was
on the West Coast and they had been working to build a new corporate headquarters.
When COVID hit, they found that it's cheaper to have everybody work from home. So by
the time they were able to occupy the building, they put it on the market to sell it. He is
just concerned that when he see that, and having dealt with business owners personally
through my job, they've expressed the same thing, they said, "We found it's cheaper to
send them home with a laptop and a printer and let them do it from home, and we don't
have to worry about all the overhead of office space." So his concern is how that may
trickle down to local government. Mr. Fay responded we have a concern in the office
building, certainly hospitality and restaurants, how this will impact that. We're looking at
those and we've recently sent out income request letters and we're getting those back
and filtering through those as well. So we'll be certainly keeping an eye on it.
Supervisor North stated with the concern and risk to some of the forecasts
of office vacancies, he has read about redevelopment that is occurring in some
properties. What are you hearing from your webinars that you participate in? Any news
of potential redevelopment? In other words, making lemonade out of offices and maybe
turning them into rentals for small businesses and/or for even residences? Mr. Fay
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responded, there's been all kinds of ideas floating around how they have to be a little
more flexible in their plans, and flexible also meaning flex space, and that's one of the
items that they're really looking toward, is even though employees are working at home
or teleworking, there's still opportunities for meetings and for temporary office space,
and that's one of the areas I see.
IN RE: NEW BUSINESS
1. Presentation of Year End Financial Results for June 30, 2020,
acceptance of audit report and allocation of year end funds
(Laurie Gearheart, Director of Finance and Management Services)
A-120120-1
In attendance was Chris Banta, Partner at Brown Edwards, who provided
a brief overview of the results. Last piece still waiting on federal government
compliance.
Supervisor Mahoney At the beginning of your comments, you talked about
material events. What's the dollar definition of materiality these days? Mr. Banta
responded materiality, actually it's interesting, but, so each different fund of the
government actually has a different level of materiality. If you look at the County as a
whole, it could be a million dollars; materiality is different. We have to look and think
about all the different users of these financial statements. Who's looking at each fund?
Who's looking at the general fund and who's looking at the capital projects fund? And
who's making decisions based on those funds? And then come up with a range of what
we think is a financial or numerical difference that would make a difference in a user's
opinion. He has some clients where the general fund materiality could be a million and
a half dollars, where we really get antsy about a problem, but then they have a small
little internal service fund where materiality is $5,000 in the same audit, because each
different fund is almost a separate audit. And whereas if you own a private company,
you have one audit, one set of materiality, in a government, there's all sorts of different
opinions, levels of materiality. Mr. Banta added sometimes it's not numerical.
Sometimes it's qualitative. Sometimes we could look at something really small and say,
"I could see a citizen being upset about that. Let's dig into that a little more." So it's a
hard number. It's hard.
Supervisor Mahoney then stated for Roanoke County's general fund, its a
million dollars? Mr. Banta responded he does not have the number in front of me, but
it's pretty decent. And then we use different levels of scopes and things of that nature
that go even smaller than that.
Supervisor North asked a question in general, he is not asking him to get
specific with regards to other governments, but your firm does a lot of government
audits all across the commonwealth. Interest rates are at an all-time low. People are
buying homes, as we've seen earlier in the presentation, because interest rates are at 3
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or below 3% fixed 30 year mortgages. Bond rates are at an all-time low. No one can
remember them ever being that low. With strong stable government, like Roanoke
County, it might be a good time to give an eye over on capital plans to save money by
borrowing now, rather than waiting four or five years when interest rates most likely will
go back up again at the end of the next administration. What's your thoughts on that?
Mr. Banta responded that is something for bond counsel or management to evaluate.
IN RE: PUBLIC HEARING
1. Public hearing to receive citizen comments regarding proposed
amendments to the fiscal year 2020-2021 budget in accordance
with Code of Virginia Section 15.2-2507 (Laurie Gearheart,
Director of Finance and Management Services)
Chairman Radford recessed the meeting from 3:40 p.m. until 3:50 p.m. to
allow for ecomments. Chairman Radford opened and closed the public hearing with no
comments.
IN RE: FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES
1. Ordinance authorizing Hazard Pay in the estimated amount of
$452,668.25 and Gratitude Bonus in the estimated amount of
$556,012.25 from General Funds and a bonus for sworn positions
in the Sheriff's Office in the amount of $44,674.75 from General
Funds to be mostly reimbursed by the Virginia Compensation
Board (Due to the Pandemic Disaster, it is requested, upon a
four-fifths vote of the Board, the second reading be waived and
the ordinance adopted as an emergency measure) (Daniel R.
O'Donnell, County Administrator)
Daniel O’Donnell outlined the request for ordinance.
Sheriff Orange stated his comments could have probably easily been
shared with you via email, but thinks when it comes to a matter of genuine concern or
appreciation, those are best expressed in person. While these comments come prior to
a vote, he thinks that it's important that you all are also recognized for your service and
dedication to the citizens of Roanoke County and to the staff that serve. So, he just
want to share with you briefly some comments, and then I too will be available for
questions, should you have any. He wanted to take a moment to express appreciation,
specifically on behalf of the men and women of the Roanoke County Sheriff's Office, for
your consideration of today's proposal regarding hazard gratitude and compensation
with pass through funds. He would also like to thank you for your willingness to consider
information submitted previously by myself and the two chiefs, regarding the
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implementation of a public safety pay scale plan. Your desire and willingness to assist in
addressing issues of recruitment, retention, compensation, and compression for
members of Roanoke County Public Safety are greatly appreciated. As you are well
aware, the men and women of our Police/Fire/Sheriff's office and the men and women
throughout Roanoke County provide an unparalleled level of service, both in public
safety and beyond. As such, your efforts in helping us to recruit and retain highly
qualified staff is of the utmost importance. Actions such as the ones proposed here
today in this agenda express your openness to discussion related to future actions, and
also remind our staff that you as a board support and appreciate the sacrifice and
service to our community. So again, thank you for your consideration here today, and
God bless.
There was no discussion.
ORDINANCE 120120-2 AUTHORIZING HAZARD PAY IN THE
ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF $452,668.25 AND GRATITUDE BONUS IN
THE ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF $556,012.25 FROM GENERAL FUNDS
AND A BONUS FOR SWORN POSITIONS IN THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE
IN THE AMOUNT OF $44,674.75 FROM GENERAL FUNDS TO BE
MOSTLY REIMBURSED BY THE VIRGINIA COMPENSATION BOARD
WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic created many uncertainties for the County budget;
and
WHEREAS, the original fiscal year 2021 budget, proposed on March 10, 2020, included
a 2.75% across-the-board compensation adjustment for County employees, along with funding
to be utilized to address findings from the recently conducted Compensation Study; and
WHEREAS, as a result of COVID-19 and the resulting economic downturn, the County
was required to decrease revenue projections by $11 million and to eliminate the previously
proposed salary increases; and
WHEREAS, accordingly, the approved fiscal year 2021 budget did not include any salary
adjustments for employees; and
WHEREAS, on August 11, 2020 the Roanoke County Board Supervisors authorized
Hazard Pay to all full-time and part-time, sworn public safety employees through the
Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) through the CARES Act; and
WHEREAS, on August 11, 2020 the Roanoke County Board Supervisors also voted to
provide a Gratitude Bonus for all other employees from use of fiscal year ending June 30, 2020
funds from the General Fund; and
WHEREAS, Roanoke County employees have continued to provide stellar service and
adapted to new working environments throughout the pandemic; and
WHEREAS, to continue to retain and support employees and reward their hard work, it
is recommended that unallocated general funds be used to provide a second round of hazard
pay and gratitude bonus for County employees; and
WHEREAS, it has been proposed that uniformed employees in the departments of
Police, Fire and Rescue, and Sheriff receive hazard pay as recognition for the increased risk
assumed during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
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WHEREAS, it has further been proposed that all other County employees receive a
gratitude bonus as recognition for increased risk assumed during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the 2020 Special Session I of the General Assembly approved funding to
reimburse a $500 bonus for Compensation Board funded and filled sworn positions as of
November 5, 2020,
WHEREAS, the Sheriff has approved a list of sworn employees to receive the $500
bonues;
WHEREAS, Section 15.2-1508 of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended, authorizes
the governing body of any locality to pay monetary bonuses to its officers and employees, and
WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County deems that it is in its best
interests to authorize the payment of the proposed hazard pay and gratitude bonuses to
recognize the services rendered by County officers and employees during these difficult
economic times; and
WHEREAS, the first reading of this ordinance was held on December 1, 2020; and
because County Administration would like to make such payments to employees on December
11, 2020, the second reading of this ordinance has been dispensed with since an emergency
exists, upon a 4/5ths vote of the members of the Board.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County,
Virginia, as follows:
1. The County Administrator is hereby authorized to pay hazard pay to uniformed
employees in the departments of Police, Fire and Rescue, and Sheriff from
unallocated County General Fund as follows:
a. Full-time uniformed, sworn public safety employees shall receive $1,000 in
hazard pay.
b. Part-time uniformed, sworn public safety employees shall receive $500 in
hazard pay.
c. Such total payments from the County General Fund are estimated at the
amount of $452,668.25.
2. The County Administrator is hereby authorized to pay a gratitude bonus from the
County General Fund to all other Roanoke County officers and employees as
follows:
a. All full-time employees not receiving hazard pay shall receive a $750 bonus.
b. All regular part-time employees not receiving hazard pay shall receive a $250
bonus.
c. Such total payments from the General Fund are estimated at the amount of
$556,012.25.
3. The County Administrator is hereby authorized to pay a one-time bonus from the
County General Fund for sworn sheriff department employees as follows:
a. All eligible sworn positions identified by the Sheriff shall receive a $500 bonus
to be mostly be reimbursed by the Compensation Board.
4. County employees qualifying for the hazard pay or gratitude pay bonus are
further defined as full-time and regular part-time employees who are in active pay
status at the time the hazard pay or gratitude pay bonus is paid. Regular part-
time employees are those recommended by their respective department director.
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Part-time casuals and temporaries, and members of boards and commissions
are not eligible for the gratitude bonus.
On motion of Supervisor North to adopt the ordinance as an emergency measure
and waiving the second reading with a 4/5ths vote; seconded by Supervisor Hooker and
carried by the following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Mahoney, Hooker, North, Peters, Radford
NAYS: None
2. Ordinance to receive education grant awards related to the
COVID-19 pandemic, and to appropriate $2,909,646.61 to the
Roanoke County Public Schools' Grant Fund for fiscal year 2020-
2021 (Due to the Pandemic Disaster, it is requested, upon a four-
fifths vote of the Board, the second reading be waived and the
ordinance adopted as an emergency measure) (Susan Peterson,
Director of Finance, Roanoke County Public Schools)
Susan Peterson outlined the request for ordinance.
Supervisor North thanked Ms. Peterson on behalf of the Board for the
work she does with our staff.
There was no discussion.
ORDINANCE 120120-3 TO RECEIVE EDUCATION GRANT
AWARDS RELATED TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, AND TO
APPROPRIATE $2,909,646.61 TO THE ROANOKE COUNTY
PUBLIC SCHOOLS’ GRANT FUND FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020-
2021
WHEREAS, the Virginia Department of Education accepted applications for the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act awarded emergency relief
funds to states for elementary and secondary education through the Elementary and
Secondary Relief (ESSER) Fund and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief
(GEER) Fund on August 14, 2020; and
WHEREAS, in addition, on October 9, 2020, the Virginia Department of
Education notified all school divisions in the Commonwealth that the Governor had
allocated $220.8 million of the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) for educational
purposes, and that each school division in the Commonwealth would receive a portion
of such funds. These CRF awards are intended for costs incurred related to COVID-19
in re-opening and operating public schools during the first months of the 2020-2021
school year, but can be used for qualifying costs back to March 1, 2020; and
WHEREAS, Roanoke County Public Schools received the following grants:
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A. $130,116.61 for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)
Act Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) State Set-
aside Fund. Grant funds will be used for facility upgrades and cleaning
supplies.
B. $419,900.00 for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)
Act Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) State Set-aside Fund.
Grant funds will be used for hot spots for low income families with no access
to internet.
C. $2,359,630.00 for Federal Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) Awarded to
School Divisions. Grant funds will be used for the replacement of laptops for
all students learning through the 100% online program, air purifiers for all
classrooms and other staff support; and
WHEREAS, the first reading of this ordinance was held on December 1, 2020,
and it has been proposed that in order to facilitate a timely distribution of funds to the
Schools, that the second reading ordinance of this ordinance be dispensed with since
an emergency exists, upon a 4/5ths vote of the members of the Board.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke
County, Virginia, as follows:
1. Grant funds totalling $2,909,646.61, from the sources set forth above, are
received and appropriated to the Roanoke County Public Schools’ Grant
Fund for fiscal year 2020-2021.
2. An emergency is deemed to exist, the second reading of this ordinance is
dispensed with, and this ordinance shall be effective upon its adoption.
On motion of Supervisor Hooker to adopt the ordinance as an emergency
measure and waiving the second reading with a 4/5ths vote; seconded by Supervisor
North and carried by the following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Mahoney, Hooker, North, Peters, Radford
NAYS: None
3. Ordinance authorizing the acquisition (with conditions) of Real
Property from the Commonwealth of Virginia, located at 0 Old
Cave Spring Rd. (Tax Map No. 076.20-03-05.00-0000), 4555 Old
Cave Spring Rd. (Tax Map No. 076.00-03-02.00-0000), 4607 Old
Cave Spring Rd. (Tax Map No. 076.20-03-01.00-0000), 4445
Brambleton Ave. (Tax Map No. 086.08-04-04.00-0000), and 4441
Brambleton Ave. (Tax Map No. 086.08-04-05.00-0000) in the
Windsor Hills Magisterial District; and authorizing execution of a
Memorandum of Agreement and deeds of conveyance (Richard L.
Caywood, Assistant County Administrator)
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Mr. Caywood outlined the request for ordinance and provided a
PowerPoint presentation.
There was no discussion.
Supervisor Mahoney’s motion to approve the first reading and set the
second reading for January 12, 2021, was seconded by Supervisor Hooker and
approved by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Mahoney, Hooker, North, Peters, Radford
NAYS: None
4. Ordinance accepting and appropriating $165,450 from the Virginia
Outdoors Foundation for the purchase of a half-interest in 34
acres adjacent to Explore Park in Bedford and Roanoke Counties
(Doug Blount, Director of General Services and Parks, Recreation
and Tourism)
Mr. Blount outlined the request for ordinance.
Supervisor Mahoney asked if Mr. Blount had contact Bedford County; are
they okay with Roanoke County acquiring property in Bedford County? Mr. Blunt
responded staff has been having discussions with Bedford County in terms of a
partnership with the Bedford County side of the Roanoke River. They are interested in
potentially working with us in some form of a partnership, but there hasn't been any
movement in terms of coming up with whether they want to own land within the Explorer
Park section on Bedford County, or if they prefer for Roanoke County to own the land,
and they just participate in the management.
Supervisor Mahoney then asked for Mr. Blount or the County Attorney to
advise if this ordinance is only authorizing the acceptance and appropriation of the
funds. Mr. Blount responded in the affirmative. Supervisor Mahoney then asked if we
would have subsequent ordinance later to actually accomplish the acquisition? Mr.
Blount responded in the affirmative.
There was no additional discussion.
Supervisor Peters’ motion to approve the first reading and set the second
reading for December 15, 2020, was seconded by Supervisor North and approved by
the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Mahoney, Hooker, North, Peters, Radford
NAYS: None
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5. Ordinance authorizing a permanent drainage easement to the
Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Transportation on
Property owned by the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors
(Tax Map No. 027.14-02-18.00-0000) for the purpose of
constructing Route 11 (Williamson Road) and Route 117 (Peters
Creek Road) Pedestrian Safety Improvements, Hollins Magisterial
District (Megan Cronise, Transportation Planning Administrator)
Ms. Cronise outlined the request for ordinance. There was no discussion.
Supervisor North’s motion to approve the first reading and set the second
reading for December 15, 2020, was seconded by Supervisor Mahoney and approved
by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Mahoney, Hooker, North, Peters, Radford
NAYS: None
IN RE: SECOND READING OF ORDINANCES
1. Ordinance appropriating $5,990,386.83 for Roanoke County
Public County Public Schools from fiscal year 2019-2020 year-
end funds and re-appropriating $682,560.17 from the Roanoke
County Public School Health Insurance Fund (Susan Peterson,
Director of Finance, Roanoke County Public Schools)
Supervisor Hooker stated prior to this being heard, she would like to
remind everyone that she is employed by Roanoke County Schools and in order to
avoid an appearance of impropriety, especially on this issue, she will abstain from
deliberating or acting upon this matter.
Ms. Peterson outlined there were no changes since the first reading held
on November 17, 2020.
Supervisor Mahoney stated he would like to make a couple of comments.
First, he handed out a chart and asked the Clerk to put the chart upon on the screen so
that everyone can see it. He wanted to indicate that he will be voting yes on the second
reading of this ordinance. He thinks it is important that we provide some financial
support for our teachers. He thinks as you've seen earlier in our agenda, we're providing
bonuses, gratitude bonuses, for our responders, our police officers, our other county
employees, and he thinks we should provide some financial support for our teachers.
He disagrees respectfully with our school board. They are providing a one-step increase
to their employees. He has tried to convince the school board members to do a bonus,
but has been unsuccessful in convincing them of that approach; but wants to emphasize
that we all have the same goal in mind; we just have different paths of getting there.
What he is showing on the screen and he has had some assistance from Ms. Owens to
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prepare this as he not an expert in putting together Excel spreadsheets. What he
wanted to show was on the one hand, he felt that a $1,000 bonus would provide a
whole lot more money immediately in teacher's pockets. What the chart shows is what a
one-step increase would provide to various categories of employees. If you look on the
chart, grades T1 through T5 are teacher grades. T1 is a teacher with a bachelor's
degree. T3 is a teacher with a master's. T5 is a teacher with a doctorate. And then the
others are, if you have one degree, but you get extra credits to go to the next. It also
shows the number of employees in each of those categories. And then from the school
boards' pay and classification plan, what a minimum salary would be, a midpoint and a
maximum, that's over on the right, and then in the middle, it shows the gross amount of
a one-step increase before taxes or other deductions. And I think you can see that, for
many of the teachers, it's not like they're receiving a whole lot of money with a one-step
increase. The grades 24 through 30, those are a variety of a central office positions. So
24s are supervisors, 30s are directors, 27s, 28s, 29s are the different principals,
elementary, middle, and high school. You can see that the lion's share of the one-step
increase is going to folks not necessarily teachers. What he also learned, what
surprised him, is that there's one scale for teachers for a one-step increase and that's
about 1.5%, but for all other employees, the scale for a step increase is 2.33%, which
surprised him again. Again, it seems like the lion's share of the one-step is going to a
different category other than just teachers. He keeps saying teachers, but it's really that
category is teachers, librarians, and instructional aides. So again, he thinks the school
board is making a mistake, but then as he has been lectured, he should stay out of the
weeds. The weeds are the school board's issue, not my issue, and that is correct. That
is their proposal to us and while he thinks it's the wrong path to take, he thinks we do
have to support this endeavor because it is providing some benefit for our teachers. But,
he does want to point out what he perceives to be the disparity in financial impact that's
involved here. He is not an accountant, I'm not a CPA, but from 1979 to now, he has sat
through hundreds of budget work sessions by governing bodies and every message
that he ever heard from anybody in any one of those boards or budget work sessions is
you don't take one time dollars and use those dollars for a recurring expense. Well, the
one-time dollars are the money that's left over at the end of the year and the recurring
expense is a step increase. That seems to violate basic budgeting to me. He thinks
this is going to cause us, the school board and the Board of Supervisors, it will cause us
some future budget headaches, and that's going to be a problem. The the other part is,
he can remember the bad old days in the '80s and the '90s, when the school board and
Board of Supervisors were always fighting with one another and then in the later '90s
and later on Joe McNamara, Drew Barrineau, Penny Hodge and Diane Hyatt, put
together a series of financial policies. Those financial policies have been revised and
altered and polished up and tweaked over the years, but we have a financial policy
those boards have agreed to. Those financial policies call for, when you have year-end
money, you put it into major and minor capital. Then we've changed that a little bit and
tried to address school safety because we were worried. We saw what was happening
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592
nationally with shootings and whatever, unfortunately, in schools. Then, we also were
concerned about the comprehensive services act, which deals with helping special ed
children, in our system and that's where those carry over dollars should go to not to
recurring expenses like one step increases. So to him, it is troublesome that we
abandoned our agreed financial policies for this year. Additionally, he thinks that's
troublesome particularly where you have major capital. Major capital goes into the
school construction program, which is like a down payment on buying your house.
When you put more money in your down payment that means you borrow less in the
future. We're going to be issuing all kinds of Virginia Public School Authority bonds and
if we can put more money down upfront, that means we borrow less for the next 20
years. Which he feels helps all our taxpayers and citizens. So with all that, he
appreciates the Board's patience in listening to his ranting and raving.
There was no further discussion.
ORDINANCE 120120-4 APPROPRIATING $5,990,386.83 FOR
ROANOKE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS FROM FISCAL YEAR
2019-2020 YEAR-END FUNDS, RE-APPROPRIATING
$682,560.17 FROM THE ROANOKE COUNTY PUBLIC
SCHOOLS HEALTH INSURANCE FUND, AND TEMPORARILY
SUSPENDING TERMS OF THE COUNTY’S COMPREHENSIVE
FINANCIAL POLICY
WHEREAS, Section 10(6) (B) of the County of Roanoke Comprehensive
Financial Policy (the “Policy”) states that “\[a\]ll School Operating Fund appropriations
remaining at the end of the year will not lapse but shall be appropriated to the Schools
and used for Major Capital projects, Minor Capital projects, Capital Maintenance
Program, School Safety and Security, and/or Comprehensive Services Act reserves”;
and
WHEREAS, there were many uncertainties due to the onset of the COVID-19
pandemic in developing the fiscal year 2020-2021 budget for both County of Roanoke
(the “County”) and Roanoke County Public Schools (the “School Board”); and
WHEREAS, the Board the School Board discussed flexibility in the use of
available fiscal year 2019-2020, year-end funding for Roanoke County Public Schools;
and
WHEREAS, insofar as several of the School Board’s proposed uses of year-end
funds fall outside of the categories set forth in the Policy, it is necessary for the funds to
revert back to the Board for re-appropriation; and
WHEREAS, the School Board has requested the allocation of year-end funds in
the amount of $5,990,386.83 of fiscal year 2019-2020 for various purposes which will be
set forth below; and
WHEREAS, the School Board has further requested the transfer of $682,560.17
from the Roanoke County Public Schools Health Insurance Fund, to supplement
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funding from fiscal year 2019-2020 year-end to provide for a one-step retroactive raise
for all Roanoke County Public Schools employees; and
WHEREAS, the School Board has proposed the Board re-appropriate funds to
be used for the following purposes, in the following amounts:
Proposed purposes for FY 2019-2020 year-end funds Amount
Adopted FY 2021 CIP Project Funding $599,999.84
1-step raise for school employees 1,098,046.83
Transfer to Capital Maintenance Program 1,000,000.00
Rollover of Outstanding Purchase Orders 7,127.20
Bus Driver, Lot Attendant and Bus Aide Bonus 393,999.00
$500 bonus for all employees in grades 0 through 13 507,425.50
Laptop Credit Card Fees Refund 7,001.00
Laptop Waiver and Refund 356,500.00
Parking Fees Waiver 36,800.00
Transfer to Fleet Replacement Fund 50,000.00
Transfer to Technology Replacement Fund 652,624.00
Curriculum Development for Remote Learning (COVID-196,947.46
19)
English Language Arts Textbook Adoption 993,916.00
CTE Equipment 50,000.00
Music Uniforms 20,000.00
Conferences and Travel (Mostly for Staff) 20,000.00
Proposed purpose of Transfer from Health Insurance Fund Amount
1-step raise for school employees $682.560.17
Total Funds for Appropriation $6,672,947.00
WHEREAS, the Board desires to re-appropriate the funds requested by the
School Board in order to assist them in addressing the unique circumstances presented
by the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the first reading of this ordinance was held on November 17, 2020,
and the second reading of this ordinance was held on December 1, 2020;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke
County, Virginia, as follows:
1. That A) the sum of $5,990,386.83 from Roanoke County Public Schools fiscal
year 2019-2020 year-end funds, and B) the sum of $682,560.17 from the
Roanoke County Public Schools Health Insurance Fund, are hereby re-
appropriated to the Roanoke County Public Schools to be used as deemed
necessary by the School Board.
2. In making such re-appropriations, and because of the unique circumstances
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board temporarily suspends Section
December 1, 2020
594
10(6) (B) of the County of Roanoke Comprehensive Financial Policy (only as it
pertains to year-end, carryover funds from fiscal year 2019-2020).
On motion of Supervisor North to adopt the ordinance, seconded by Supervisor
Mahoney and carried by the following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Mahoney, North, Peters, Radford
NAYS: None
ABSTAIN: Supervisor Hooker
2. Ordinance approving a Site Use Agreement between Roanoke
Gas Company and the County of Roanoke for use of a tower
located on Poor Mountain, 8487 Honeysuckle Road; Windsor Hills
Magisterial District and accepting and appropriating $275 monthly
for the term of the lease (Susan Slough, Assistant Director of
Communications and Information Technology)
Supervisor Mahoney stated before we proceed with this matter, like he did
back on November 17th, he wanted to make a disclosure that he owns approximately
350 shares of RGC resources, which is the parent of Roanoke Gas. Those shares are
valued over $8000. In an abundance of caution, He consulted with Mr. Lubeck and
together we reviewed this matter and the applicable provisions of the conflict of interest
act. He has concluded that the provisions of the act do not prevent me from fully
participating in this matter and is confident that he will be able to participate in this
matter in a fair and impartial way.
Mr. Hunter advised there were no changes since the first reading held on
November 17, 2020. There was no discussion.
ORDINANCE 120120-5 AUTHORIZING AND APPROVING A
GROUND LEASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN ROANOKE COUNTY
AND ROANOKE GAS COMPANY FOR A COMMUNICATIONS
ANTENNA AT 8449 HONEYSUCKLE ROAD
WHEREAS, Roanoke County and Roanoke Gas Company (“RGC”), wish to
enter into a ground lease for an antenna site and ten square feet of space inside the
County’s equipment shelter on property owned by the County at 8449 Honeysuckle
Road in the Windsor Hills Magisterial District, for purposes of installing and maintaining
RGC communications equipment including but not limited to transceivers and antennas;
and
WHEREAS, RGC is the primary natural gas utility in the County and location of
the antennas and communications equipment is critical to its operations; and
December 1, 2020
595
WHEREAS, the parties have determined that such ground lease will not
adversely affect the County’s emergency communications equipment and tower on the
property; and
WHEREAS, Section 18.04 of the Roanoke County Charter directs that the
acquisition or conveyance of an interest in real estate, including leases, shall be
accomplished by ordinance; the first reading of this ordinance was held on November
17, 2020 and the second reading was held on December 1, 2020.
THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke
County, Virginia, as follows:
1. The 2020 ground lease between Roanoke County and Roanoke Gas
Company be approved.
2. That the County Administrator or an Assistant County Administrator is
hereby authorized to execute a lease agreement on behalf of the Board of
Supervisors of Roanoke County and to execute such other documents and
take such further actions as are necessary to accomplish this transaction, all
of which shall be upon form and subject to the conditions by the County
Attorney.
3. That this ordinance shall be effective on and from the date of its adoption.
On motion of Supervisor Peters to adopt the ordinance; seconded by Supervisor
Radford and carried by the following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Mahoney, Hooker, North, Peters, Radford
NAYS: None
IN RE: CONSENT AGENDA
RESOLUTION 120120-6 APPROVING AND CONCURRING IN
CERTAIN ITEMS SET FORTH ON THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS AGENDA FOR THIS DATE DESIGNATED AS
ITEM I- CONSENT AGENDA
BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia, as
follows:
That the certain section of the agenda of the Board of Supervisors for December
1, 2020, designated as Item I - Consent Agenda be, and hereby is, approved and
concurred in as to each item separately set forth in said section designated Items 1
through 3 inclusive, as follows:
1. Confirmation of appointments to the Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare Board
of Directors and the Western Virginia Regional Jail Authority
December 1, 2020
596
2. Request to accept and allocate funds in the amount of $2,433.90 from the
U.S. Department of Justice's Bulletproof Vest Partnership to the Roanoke
County Sheriff's Office
3. Request to accept and allocate funds in the amount of $19,275 to the Clerk
of the Circuit Court from the Commonwealth of Virginia for Technology Trust
Funds
On motion of Supervisor Peters to adopt the resolution; seconded by Supervisor
Hooker and carried by the following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Mahoney, Hooker, North, Peters, Radford
NAYS: None
A-120120-6.a
A-120120-6.b
A-120120-6.c
IN RE: REPORTS
Supervisor Mahoney moved to receive and file the following reports. The
motion was seconded by Supervisor Hooker and carried by the following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Mahoney, Hooker, North, Peters, Radford
NAYS: None
1. Unappropriated, Board Contingency and Capital Reserves
2. Outstanding Debt Report
3. Statement of Treasurer's Accountability per Investment and Portfolio
Policy as of October 31, 2020
IN RE: REPORTS AND INQUIRIES OF BOARD MEMBERS
Supervisor Hooker stated s he wanted to congratulate Doug Blunt and all of
the Parks and Recreation team for continuing through with Illuminights under difficult
circumstances. She looks forward to going, looking forward to participating in that and
knows that many County residents will enjoy that too. So congratulations on that.
Secondly, she would to send a note of condolences to the McElwee family on the
passing of Richard McElwee, who was the Glenvar High School athletic director who
passed actually on Thanksgiving Day after a valiant battle with cancer; he will be
missed. Lastly, she hopes we all had a happy and safe Thanksgiving. We have much
to be thankful for.
December 1, 2020
597
Supervisor North stated first of all, he would like to thank the staff for all
the work they've done the last few weeks in preparation for answering and presenting
our CIP questions that we'll hear about in the future. It was very timely and challenging
and I want you to know that no good deed goes unpunished. So sorry about the
timeliness. However, you've done a good job, I think. Secondly, we had some good
comments in this afternoon's meeting. Unemployment is down 4.5%; still some ways to
go and 50% of the jobs we heard will be recovered by the end of January. Concerns
over small businesses and COVID impact still are on the horizon. Real estate
assessments have been strong and we hear they're going to be about 3.68%, which is a
positive sign of growth in the County in spite of the recession and downturn due to
COVID. Real estate sales are high: 1350 homes. That makes a lot of people in the real
estate market happy and also contributes to movement and growth in our real estate
values. Our audit report was unmodified. Year-end audit, which is outstanding, we
didn't discover any weaknesses, which is also good and is a testimony to all those
responsible for that here in county government. Interest rates are at all-time lows. The
Wall Street Journal today had the 30 year mortgage just under 3%, 15 year mortgage,
much, much lower, and bond rates, he understands, are deeply low compared to what
they'd been in many, many years. In fact, I've never seen them that low before. It's an
opportunity for Roanoke County. In the stock market, you buy low and sell high. It's an
opportunity to consider some capital projects with such low rates. If we ponder and wait,
those rates won't be low probably in 45 years from now. So, lots to think about in the
days ahead. He also wanted to thank everyone for their efforts, and is glad that
everyone had a safe Thanksgiving. He hopes that we can continue to have a safe
holiday season. Although every time you want to go out and do something, you've got to
stop and think about, "What should I do? Where should I go? How should I do it?" And
it's becoming second nature to the extent that I do hope one day that we can break out
of this once the vaccines arrived.
Supervisor Peters stated the only comments he has today are echoing
what Miss Hooker said to Doug and his team at Explore Park at Illuminights. He
encouraged everybody to come out. He has already heard great things before speaking
to Doug tonight, and things on the public side of it were going very well. So I wanted to
hear from the County side if things are going well. He assured me that it is. He
appreciates the effort and continuing to make that a robust operation up there. He looks
forward to getting there myself.
Supervisor Mahoney stated he had the opportunity this morning to speak
on the telephone with Mike Wray who is chairman of the Roanoke County School
Board. I think many of you know that Mike has been in the hospital for about the last
seven, eight days, but he is doing much better. He sounds pretty good, even though
he's speaking through a mask. He stated he wanted to just give his hopes and wishes to
Mike and his family that he continues to improve and get better. But he sounded good
today and he's out of the hospital and that's good news.
December 1, 2020
598
Supervisor Radford stated he agreed with Mr. North, that was a good
report, a clean report, from our auditors and the team that is responsible for that. A lot of
them were sitting out here and a big hand clap for all you do. It's a big responsibility and
means that we've picked the right people that are in place. So that's a great credit to the
team sitting out there. Supervisor Radford stated he wanted to remind the community
that we have our Christmas tree lighting; Monday, December the 7th at 6:00 PM. It'll be
at Tanglewood Mall near the Firestone area. The only problem is you can't come.
You're going to have to watch it virtually. We're going to turn it on and he is going to
make a few remarks and we're going to broadcast all the details. Supervisor Radford
asked Ms. Whittaker, Public Information Officer if it would be broadcast. Ms. Whittaker
advised Facebook. So we'd still love to have the little ones watch the best they can. It'll
be a short presentation and we'll hit the lights quick, again, Monday, December the 7th
at 6:00 PM. In closing, Supervisor Mahoney thank you so much for taking a deep dive
into the school. You stood your ground on your principles. You let them know how you
thought. You did research. They called you up and told you what they felt. So there was
dialogue, there was back and forth. That's what government is supposed to do. And if
we don't have deliberations, then you know, it's just a rubber stamp. So he appreciates
that deeper dive and look forward to getting more conversations about other things. He
then congratulated Doug Blount for continuing through with Illuminights under difficult.
His condolences to the McElwee family.
IN RE: ADJOURNMENT
Chairman Radford adjourned the meeting at 4:38 p.m.
Submitted by: Approved by:
________________________ ___________________________________
Deborah C. Jacks P. Jason Peters
Chief Deputy Clerk to the Board Chairman