HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/9/2014 - RegularSeptember 9, 2014 639
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 second Tuesday and the first
regularly scheduled meeting of the month of September 2014. 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 McNamara called the meeting to order at 3:01 p.m. The roll call
was taken.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Joseph P. McNamara, Supervisors Al Bedrosian,
Joseph B. "Butch" Church, Charlotte A. Moore and P. Jason
Peters
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: Daniel R. O'Donnell, Interim County Administrator; Richard
Caywood, Assistant County Administrator; Paul M.
Mahoney, County Attorney; Amy Whittaker, Public
Information Officer and Deborah C. Jacks, Deputy Clerk to
the Board
IN RE: PROCLAMATIONS, RESOLUTIONS, RECOGNITIONS AND AWARDS
1. Recognition of Roanoke County as one of the winners in the 2014
Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) Achievement Awards
Program (Bill Hunter, Director of Communications and
Information Technology)
Presentation was given by Eric Johnson, Director of Government Affairs
for VACo. Mr. Johnson gave a brief outline on what VACo does in Richmond and
recognized Ms. Moore who serves on their Board. Mr. Hunter recognized the GIS
640 September 9, 2014
Services Team who worked on this project: David Wray, GIS Manager; and GIS
Specialists II Gary Coleman, Todd Booth, Darren Jones and Todd Morland. All
Supervisors offered their thanks and congratulations.
2. Resolution expressing the appreciation of the Board of
Supervisors of Roanoke County to Betty B. Graham, Deputy
Assistant General Registrar, upon her retirement after more than
thirty-three (33) years of service (Judith Stokes, General
Registrar)
The Deputy Clerk read the resolution. Also in attendance for this
recognition was Ron Keith Adkins, Electoral Board. All Supervisors offered their thanks
and congratulations.
RESOLUTION 090914-1 EXPRESSING THE APPRECIATION OF
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF ROANOKE COUNTY TO
BETTY B. GRAHAM, DEPUTY ASSISTANT GENERAL
REGISTRAR, UPON HER RETIREMENT AFTER MORE THAN
THIRTY-THREE (33) YEARS OF SERVICE
WHEREAS, Betty B. Graham was hired on October 1, 1980, and during her
tenure with Roanoke County has served in the Registrar's Office as Officer of Election,
Clerk -Typist, Assistant Registrar and as Deputy Assistant General Registrar for the last
eighteen (18) years; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Graham retired on August 1, 2014, after thirty-three (33) years
and ten (10) months of devoted, faithful and expert service with the County; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Graham, throughout her employment with Roanoke County, has
been instrumental in improving the quality of life and providing services to the citizens of
Roanoke County; and
WHEREAS, during her time serving Roanoke County, Ms. Graham was one of
the foundations of Roanoke County Voter Registration and Elections. She served under
three (3) General Registrars and possessed an extraordinary friendly and helpful
attitude to everyone she came in contact with during her service. Ms. Graham selflessly
dedicated her professional life to voter registration and elections. She has been through
many changes over the years with the voting processes, including redistricting, adding
new voting precincts as Roanoke County grew, institution of a new statewide voter
registration system in 2007, touch screen voting equipment in 2003, and electronic poll
books in 2010; and
WHEREAS, during her time serving Roanoke County, Ms. Graham has assisted
many, many candidates running for public office; and has recruited and maintained
hundreds of Officers of Election to staff the polling places; and
September 9, 2014 641
WHEREAS, during her time serving Roanoke County, Ms. Graham completed
courses through The Election Center, Houston, Texas, and the Voter Registrars
Association of Virginia, and attained the certification of Virginia Registered Election
Official.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of
Roanoke County, Virginia expresses its deepest appreciation and the appreciation of
the citizens of Roanoke County to BETTY B. GRAHAM, for thirty-three (33) years and
ten (10) months of capable, loyal and dedicated service to Roanoke County; and
FURTHER, the Board of Supervisors does express its best wishes for a happy
and productive retirement.
On motion of Supervisor McNamara to adopt the resolution, and carried by the
following roll call and recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: None
3. Recognition of Mr. Troy Kincer for his work on the Parks,
Recreation and Tourism Advisory Commission (Doug Blount,
Director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism)
Recognition was given to Mr. Kincer, who is relocating out of Roanoke
County.
IN RE: NEW BUSINESS
1. Resolution establishing a written policy for participation in Board
of Supervisor meetings through electronic communication (Paul
M. Mahoney, County Attorney)
Mr. Mahoney outlined the resolution and the change in the law by the
General Assembly that expanded this. He advised this is not mandatory, however, the
Board must pass a written policy in order to allow.
Supervisor Church stated he did not personally feel this Board has a
problem with attendance. He inquired of Mr. Mahoney how an emergency is defined,
with Mr. Mahoney advising the language in the Code.
Chairman McNamara stated he felt the Board's attendance rate is good
and could this be adopted and executed at the same meeting with Mr. Mahoney
responding in the affirmative stating there was no time limit on the enabling legislation.
Supervisor Bedrosian inquired what is a quorum with Mr. Mahoney
responding three (3) Board members, a meeting could still be held with two (2)
members not in attendance. Supervisor Bedrosian then asked Mr. Mahoney when this
would ever be needed with Mr. Mahoney explaining if a Board member wanted to go on
642 September 9, 2014
record. Supervisor Bedrosian indicated he is not in favor.
No action was taken on this item.
2. Request to re -allocate funds in the amount of $150,000 from the
Fire and Rescue Generator account to Vinton Station Renovations
account and authorize the County Administrator to enter into an
agreement with the Town of Vinton (Richard E. Burch, Jr., Chief of
Fire and Rescue)
A-090914-2
Mr. Burch outlined the request as discussed in the work session. There
was no discussion.
Supervisor Peters moved to approve the staff recommendation to re-
allocate the funds from the Generator account to the Vinton Station Renovations
account and to allow the County Administrator to enter into an agreement with the Town
of Vinton. The motion carried by the following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: None
3. Request to re -allocate funds in the amount of $25,000 from the
Fire and Rescue Generator account to Masons Cove Station
Improvements account (Richard E. Burch, Jr., Chief of Fire and
Rescue)
I_Q@1411'ZCIN]
Mr. Burch outlined the request as discussed in work session.
Mr. Church gave a brief overview of the situation and asked Chief Burch to
explain the problem with the fumes from the bay floor.
Chairman McNamara asked for additional information with Daniel R.
O'Donnell, Interim County Administrator, advising while exact costs for the needed
improvements at the Masons Cove station are unknown at this time, staff would like to
hire an architectural and engineering (A & E) firm to design needed improvements at the
Masons Cove station. The projected costs for this professional service is $25,000.
Supervisor Church moved to approve the staff recommendation to re-
allocate the funds from the Generator account to the Masons Cove Station
Improvement account. The motion carried by the following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: None
September 9, 2014 643
4. Resolution authorizing the donation of surplus personal property
from the former William Byrd Junior/Senior High School to the
Breakfast Lions and the Dinner Lions Clubs of Vinton (Daniel R.
O'Donnell, Interim County Administrator)
A-090914-4
Mr. O'Donnell outlined the resolution and advised there is a cost of up to
$15,000 to update per the Fire Marshall if we have a public auction.
Chairman McNamara asked for the speakers who asked to speak:
Noah Tickle of 1603 Frosty Lane in Salem, Virginia stated he is the
appointed representative from the Catawba District for Common Sense, a Roanoke
County group. Roanoke County, not just Vinton Magisterial District School furnishings
items stored in Vinton belong to Roanoke County. Property of Roanoke County is a pie
with five (5) slices; all sharing the same pie. Catawba Magisterial District being the
largest. Schools are being renovated there and need to be refurnished. When the
Board of Supervisors give these items away, they go buy more, which will further
increase the debt being bragged about at previous meetings. This would seem so. His
son once had a summer job in DC with a supply company that furnished the
government. They would throw new furnishings from the government offices into
dumpsters and replace with more new furnishings; that does not seem right to him. If
there are donations made by Roanoke County governance, they should be made to five
(5) magisterial districts or used wisely to refurnish schools. Common sense please.
There is an old saying our forbearers said, "Use it up, wear it out, make something else
out of it, then burn the rest in the fire to cook up a good meal," That is a favorite saying
of an old, famous radio friend of mine. He says it all the time. Are we so go into debt
crazy and lost to the weeds of Alice's adventures in wonderland we can no longer
remember what our grandparents told us. I would like to be present if it were possible
to have grandparents and great grandparents of ours present when debt was being
bragged about by governance. The cuss words would be amazing and you know it;
kind of like that man who spoke here once saying many times over, "we've got a
problem" and he said it many times. We are not Rockefellers yet; we are just wantabes.
How about some common sense, please; is there any?
Supervisor Peters thanked everyone who has had an interest in the
surplus. The Board of Supervisors does not get involved in how the School Board
disposes of school surplus. The only reason the Board is involved now is due to the
fact that the old William Byrd was being used as a storage facility; the real estate has
now been turned over to the Board of Supervisors with the contents in it. He has just
returned from vacation and it is apparent to him that the information that was given to
the public is not accurate and needs to be clarified. Supervisor Peters stated nearly a
year ago, the Roanoke County School Board turned over the William Byrd High School
644 September 9, 2014
and its contents to the Board of Supervisors. At that time, the Chairman of the Board
contacted all Board members to see if they needed any surplus items. Again, this was
opened to all Supervisors. The only Supervisor that took advantage of this was
Supervisor Ed Elswick and he claimed some property that is now being used at the Bent
Mountain Recreational Center. Since the fall of 2013, no Supervisor has made any
attempt to remove anything or inquired about the contents of the property. In January of
2014, an invitation to bid on the contents was put out with no response. A second
attempt was made with no response. So, he began the process of ridding the County of
this surplus property so that we can better market the building for sale. If you have ever
seen an episode of Extreme Hoarding, well we have it over in Vinton; come and see.
He consulted with our attorney and Mr. Mahoney if he says anything out of place,
please stop him. He advised that we could not give the property to churches or
sectarian groups. He had four or five churches that knew about the property throughout
the County who inquired about and was told we were not allowed to do that. He did
learn through our Attorney that we can give the property to a 501(c)3 organization that
could head up a sale or auction of the surplus. So, he has two concerns. First, the cost
to the taxpayers. As Mr. O'Donnell stated, the public cannot enter the building due to
safety concerns unless we want to plop out another $10,000 to $15,000. So, a big yard
sale at the building cannot happen. If you look at Roanoke County and we took the lead
he believes it would take ten to fifteen (10 to 15) County employees working full time for
three (3) weeks to arrange a sale and how would they inventory the items. What does
that mean to you and me as a taxpayer? Twelve (12) employees at ten dollars ($10) an
hour, forty (40) hours a week for three (3) weeks would cost the taxpayers $14,400; that
is if they could do it in three (3) weeks. Now, take into consideration the contents of the
building, the number of chairs, desk, filing cabinets, televisions that are broken and truly
trash, he believes we would be left with six to eight thousand (6,000 to 8,000) items that
could be sold and does not know if you could get much at best maybe a dollar an item.
At the end of the day, say we made $8,000, it would be costing the taxpayers $6,400
plus the tipping fees at the dump, along with the $15,000 to make it safe for people to
come in. The second option would be to turn it over to a 501(c)3 organization and even
in the meeting that we had on August 26, 2014, he sat there before Roanoke County
and said if there is any organization who wants to be a part of this, please come
forward. He also noted he opened it up to any Supervisors, did they know of anybody,
please let him know. The goal was to give the surplus to the Vinton Lions Club and they
will work with other groups because once we give it to them, they do not have to follow
the same guidelines that we do as a County as far as what groups they work with
without recourse. The organizations could then organize a sale and divide the money
evenly. It has never been about one group as a member of this Board has mislead. It
has been for a common goal to help the County. He can tell you from the Vinton Lions
Club, anybody in this room that has been a part of a volunteer organization, how many
people do you actually have coming when you have twenty (20). Twenty percent (20%)
of the people do all of the work, so four or five (4 or 5) people will be the ones doing the
September 9, 2014 645
work. There is no way they could handle this. So, he can speak for the Lions Club,
they themselves could not do it alone; that option would have had minimal impact on the
County. He advised he guessed the part that bothers him about all of this is the fact
that we do have this building marketed for sale and the sooner we get it sold, the faster
that eighteen (18) acres of land with those buildings will get back on the tax roll and he
would be willing to say in the first year, the real estate taxes on that piece of property is
going to give us a whole lot more than this sale ever would. Again, he stated publically
on the August 26, 2014, that he was open to any suggestions from a Board member
and it is now 4:02 p.m. on September 9, 2014, and he has not heard a word from any
supervisor or any group. Where do we stand today? We have a member of our Board
that has put down a great organization in the Vinton Lions Club that does great things
and was trying to do something to help Roanoke County and in his estimation save
taxpayers thousands of dollars. What citizens do not know is time is of the essence
with this building and property. Before all the mudslinging, that what he will call it, and
he understands it went on for nearly an hour this morning talking about back -door deals
with the Vinton Lions Club, which is a reputable organization with reputable business
folks who again are a service organization trying to help Roanoke County and before all
that, he was advised several days ago that due to no other groups coming forward to
help the Vinton Lions Club would not be able to do this on their own. They have
withdrawn their request to help. So, what he would like to do at this point, is to make a
motion to authorize any Board member to contact a licensed auctioneer and have a
public auction within the next forty-five days and then have County staff remove the
remaining contents and take to the dump at the Regional Transfer Station.
Supervisor Church stated like the Paul Harvey show, the rest of the story
shows a lot has been left out of this process. He really is not sure where to start. He is
going to go through chronological order and noted the audience should be able to pick
out some glaring items that beg for logic. Yes, the Board became aware of this in June
of 2013. If the then Chairman polled Board members, he may have done in a hallway,
but no public discussion ever took place in this room concerning the surplus, to his
knowledge and he feels sure that is accurate. Now, we are into other items on our
Board and suddenly it is November 2013; election time with three (3) new Board
members selected. Well, all of the Board members know by now that beginning
January 1 until May, we were dealing with budget and nothing but budget. It wasn't that
these weren't important, it was never on the burner. So, you are given a timetable that
everything has been stonewalled and slow, but actually that is not the case because it
really was not on the radar. His initial objection, with all due respect to the Chairman,
when you mentioned the Supervisor from Vinton was ready to offer this a different way.
It is not up to any Supervisor from Vinton or any Board member to offer something that
is not his or hers. This belongs to the County citizens and this has created more of a
backlash, public input and he would like to comment to a few things. He is told by Mr.
O'Donnell that we need to have serious work done for safety. Are you saying the Vinton
Lions Club is not public with Mr. O'Donnell stating even if we let the Vinton Lions Clubs
646 September 9, 2014
come in we would still have to do the safety issues. He has been down there and it is
wall to wall, ten to twelve (10 to 12) feet high and Board members have commented at
the last Board meeting or so that it is all junk, but he has about two or three hundred
(200 or 300) people that is interested in this "junk"; they can use it everywhere. Yes, we
cannot legally donate it to churches, but he has a lot of people that belong to churches
that want these items themselves. He does not think we are going to follow them home
if they want to donate it to a church a month later should not be a problem, but even if
the churches are involved, what about a nominal fee. The bottom line is the citizens
have been left out and that is his major problem. They have been left out from the start.
We have a situation after our budget in May we come into August, August 12, 2014,
with a new business item. It has been stated by a Supervisor on this Board that
communication begins here. He has not known of any time when the Board has
discussed granted the "rights" to a particular area. We cannot do this, because it does
not belong to us. So, a lot of talk about the money. We cannot afford to leave our
people out in the long run. Let's talk about tipping fees, which has been brought up. At
$48 a ton, what Roanoke County has to pay, if you took five (5) pounds per item and
run the math, you are talking about 125,000 pounds would be $260 tipping fees. Is that
going to wreck us when you include what the citizens want? Double it to ten (10)
pounds per item, less than $6,000. What we are looking at is trying to put dollars and
cents on the public's ownership of these items. There is a lot involved here that the
citizens have never known about and that is the problem.
Supervisor Bedrosian stated it is interesting we talk about this all the time
and the Supervisor from Catawba stated there was an election and there are three new
Board members. When he started this was not something on the front burner at all. He
is trying to think back because it keeps getting mentioned that we talked about this, not
in any work session, we talked about the building being for sale but not about the
contents and what can we do with. There is no reason if we talked about this at that
time that he would not be doing the same thing. He knows a lot of people that can use
some of the contents. It does not make sense that we never had a conversation, work
session or openly about doing something with all of the contents there. This is a very
recent introduction to the Board. The other thing that bothers him, when we list in the
detail that it was going to be the Lions Club first, then neighboring school districts and
then the taxpayer. We don't specifically say taxpayer, but individuals. The whole thing
should be flipped around. The reality is that the taxpayers are the ones who paid for all
of this. If we were ever going to do something, he does not mind the Lions Club or any
other organization, but the reality is the taxpayer ought to get some of their money back
first. With the amount of emails he has received on this, there are a lot of individuals
that would love to have something. If we are going to donate it, find a way to donate it
back to the people who paid for it. He has been over there a couple of times and he
realizes that we allow people to roam free in that building, we would have a mess. But
even one County employee and one area, say the gym, there are ten to fifteen percent
(10-15%) of the goods in the gym; should not be dangerous. During rainy days, bring
September 9, 2014 647
more stuff down to the gym and keep feeding it out of the gym. He thinks we could do
something to make it fair for everybody. He has the Autism Center in his District. They
were one of the first ones to email him stating they could definitely use something for
their schools. The list just goes on. There are schools, Christian schools, can you just
sell it to them for five dollars ($5). There is a need in our community. This was the
biggest email response he has ever received in his short term on the Board. We have
had issues such as ICLEI, global warming issues, the Chick-fil-A issue. Both of those
combined did not equal the response that has come from this. It is inherent, it seems
like something is already done, already going down a certain path and why weren't they
involved in this. The Supervisor from Vinton had an idea, maybe the Lions Club could
do this, he is okay with that. He thinks it is after that when the real issues hit for him. If
he came up with an idea and got a little push back, his own response would be to
discuss it. He thinks that is what the Board needs to think about. He sees the public
has pushed back, there are a lot of organizations and a lot of people and thinks the
Board should concentrate its efforts on how we can get these products, these surplus
items, into the hands of people in our County. There are a lot of people that would love
to have these things. These are individual emails. Here is a stack of emails from all
over the County. The newest thing that is on the table seems like the Board ought to
shelve this since the Lions Club is not going to do this, to think about anything else this
quickly he would ask that we shelve or have another work session and talk about it and
plan. He would have a plan right now in giving it to the citizens and organizations and
he thinks we could set up something out of the gymnasium; we could move a lot of
product very quickly before going to any auction house, etc. He would ask the County
Attorney how we could set it up so it is legal and we do not have any issues to do it that
way.
Supervisor Moore stated she thinks one of the reasons that we have not
heard a lot about this surplus is because it was the School Board who stored these
surplus items and they took everything they could use, the message boards, probably
some of the kitchen equipment or anything of real value and the rest has just been
stored. Now, Roanoke County is trying to market the building and this has come up and
what are we going to do with the surplus. She thinks with Supervisor Peter's motion, it
would give opportunities to the Supervisors to reach out to the citizens who have
contacted them by email or phone call and see how they can arrange to let these
citizens come and provide them with some of the equipment if they want it. She thinks it
is a fair motion that we would have an opportunity to get rid of it so that we more
effectively try to sell the building.
Supervisor McNamara stated the general fund revenue for 2014-2015 is
$198 million. He has said in the past relative to this surplus equipment. In his opinion,
it is obsolete. It is equipment the School Board could not use. It is equipment that the
School Board could not give to somebody else. It is equipment that we could not use in
other County areas and the Vinton Lions were, and he knows that the resolution states
and the taxpayers are last, were taking all of the equipment. That was the plan; that
648 September 9, 2014
was not the way the motion was written, but the motion that could have been approved
several meetings ago had the Vinton Lions taking responsibility and essentially getting
rig of this junk. The Vinton Lions would then have other people come in that might be
churches, might be other organizations that could then try to procure some of this stuff
for their use. It was a very nice solution. We have a $198 million budget and we are
having multiple meetings over getting rid of surplus equipment that is beyond its useful
life and does not fit the needs of Roanoke County. The motion that is on the floor is
exactly what has been requested by two (2) Board members over this entire discussion.
You want to have it available to other organizations and that is exactly what this motion
is doing. It is saying, "Okay, here is exactly what you asked for, here is the opportunity
to now have auctions, bring in different groups and organizations and let them procure
the equipment." He hopes that it goes extremely well; he is concerned. He thinks it is
going to cost us more money than it is going to generate and thinks we have taken a
nonissue and made it an issue for multiple Board meetings now. He thinks that is
unfortunate. He would ask if this motion does pass and the forty-five (45) days has
lapsed that we have a full accounting of expenditures and revenues relative to the
disposition of this surplus property.
Supervisor Church provided a PowerPoint presentation with comments
from the citizens. He advised we forgot something along the way, our people, our
citizens. We have had two or three (2 or 3) meetings on this that we should never have
had. He referred to an email from the Chairman stating, "He believes it is the view of
the majority of the Board that the Lions Club solution is an appropriate solution," dated
August 18, 2014. When a Board member gets that and it seems the decision has been
made, he has to question himself, why do we have the meeting. When you have items
that are called to be junk and he gets so many telephone calls and emails back and
forth, it just jumps out at him that the citizens believe that this is far more important than
a percentage of our general fund revenue. The common theme is, "What happened,
why are we just now finding out, we just heard about this, etc." He advised he did not
have a good answer to give them. He even heard from someone in Martinsville about
the needs from Haiti. This is the first meeting in the public that you have been able to
hear on the air what is going on. He would encourage every Board member to
volunteer. "Meet your Supervisor Day." Get down there and have your people
systematically come in. The gymnasium is good, get in and get out. The issue is that
this item is about something that the citizens do not know about and when it is brought
forward it is for one area; that is not open and transparent government. This did not
have to be this way. Why did we not know?
Supervisor Bedrosian stated the Board makes comments that we have
more important business to do and he has heard that ever since he has been on the
Board. If we did not do business like this, and it has been on several issues now, then
we would not be doing it like this. We need to sit down before this item even was
brought up, we should have had a work session and talked about it and come up with
something that was equitable to the whole County, but we decided to go down this one
September 9, 2014 649
track, which then starts getting people saying, "What is going on." It is inevitable that
this is going to happen; we have done it with many issues throughout his short term. It
is just sprung on us instead of talking about it and making sure it is something that is
agreeable with all of us before we start going down this path. He is not sure that he
really understands the current motion on the table. On the one side he is hearing we
need to find an auction house and the other side, he is hearing this is something
agreeable to all of us and open it up to any organization; start getting the names and
numbers and now allow them to go over there and get the product. Is that what he is
hearing?
Supervisor McNamara stated there was a comment made from the
Supervisor from Catawba who read one sentence out of a letter. It was made at the last
meeting, which he did not respond to and has now been two meetings in a row. He
does want to respond to it because he thinks it was quoted to create the impression that
there was some package deal among Board members and that is not the context. The
sentence was taken out of context, so he would like to read into the record the actual
letter, it is very short, so that you understand the context from which this sentence was
pulled. The letter was in response to a request or a letter that was to him from the
Supervisor from Catawba and that letter is readily available as well. Essentially, the
letter was why was there a new business item relative to the Lions Club on our agenda
when he had asked for a work session at the prior meeting. His response to why is
there a new business item relative to the Lions Club and the surplus equipment and that
is the response that this sentence was pulled from. "Let me apologize for the delay
responding to you ... I have been out of town on vacation since our last board meeting.
There is a new business item scheduled for our August 26th board meeting regarding
the surplus school furniture. This item was requested by Jason [the Supervisor from
Vinton] during our July 22nd board meeting." If you will remember, any Board member
can request an item to be on a subsequent agenda, it is not his determination that it is
on the agenda or not on the agenda, it is a right and a privilege of any Board member to
request an item to be on the agenda. The new business item was requested from
Supervisor Peters during the July 22, 2014, Board meeting. "The new business item
was pulled at your request from our August 12th meeting." He added that the
Supervisor from Vinton had to agree with that request, because he is not going to
change the agenda. The Supervisor from Vinton has the right to have an item on the
agenda. The Supervisor from Vinton agreed to this in an effort to work with other Board
members. "This action was done to allow board members, myself included, to view the
surplus school furniture and to better evaluate the proper disposition. This individual
viewing has occurred, and I believe it is the view of the majority of the board that the
"Lion's Club" solution is an appropriate solution. In any scenario, it is appropriate to take
action on the new business item per Jason's request from our July 22nd meeting." So
any scenario is appropriate for that item to be on the agenda, so Chairman McNamara
stated he wanted to put this information into the record. There is no underhanded
action and he believes as Chairman he has been very fair in how the agenda is put
650 September 9, 2014
together and has not done anything to change from a fairness perspective on how an
item is presented.
Supervisor Church stated the Chairman had read the email accurately and
the sequence of what happened was and when asking at the bottom to correct the
placement or allowance of a work session. When you look at a couple of things, Board
members wanted to hold off until they viewed the surplus. This is August 18, 2014. He
does not know how many times this has been viewed; he knows how many times he
has been down there. His point is that the Board is ready to make a decision and this
action was done to better evaluate the proper disposition and view it. In his opinion,
and anyone else watching our meeting, this is a real quick turnaround. Yes, he did take
this as the decision was made. He thinks any logical person would. He has shown it to
more than five or six (5 or 6) citizens and they all took it the same way and asked why
have the meeting. He advised he is not trying to beat anybody down, he just wants
transparency and accountability. This is public record. He is not accusing anybody and
he did make the statement that he looked forward to the explanation of the
unexplainable.
Supervisor Peters stated that the backpedaling that has taken place is
disconcerting. One of the Board members has said this should be open for all of our
citizens. He stated he guessed he believed that the fair way for all of our citizens is to
have a public auction. They can come and bid; that is all he has requested here today.
He does not know what the continued debate is because he was looking for a way to
save money, it is still going to be sold to the public. He just feels like it is something that
needed to be done; it is not about his district. It is about, he has said it before and he
will say again, we have a building on an eighteen (18) acre site that we are trying to
market. We cannot do it. We are trying to find ways to get it back on the tax rolls, but
instead we are going to continue to go over this and over this. He stands by his motion;
he thinks a public auction is the best for the citizens of the County. He asked Mr.
Mahoney to correct him if he is wrong, if it is a public auction, any organization can
come with Mr. Mahoney responding in the affirmative. This will in turn open this up to
any organization that previously would not have been able to take part in this.
Supervisor Bedrosian asked for the exact motion.
Supervisor Peters moved to allow any Board member to find a licensed
auctioneer to sell the surplus property; then after forty-five (45) days from today have
the remainder of the contents disposed of at the Western Virginia Resource Authority
Landfill. The motion was approved by the following roll call vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: Supervisors Bedrosian, Church
Supervisor Church asked for a point of order. Fees for an auctioneer was
exorbitant; why would we go back. Chairman McNamara advised this is not a point of
order; a point of order referred to procedural issues only.
September 9, 2014 651
5. Resolution expressing the intent of the Board of Supervisors to
lease space to a minimum of four (4) cellular providers on the
water tower located at Green Ridge Recreation Center as
requested by Supervisor Al Bedrosian (Richard L. Caywood,
Assistant County Administrator)
Mr. Caywood outlined the resolution as requested by Mr. Bedrosian. He
advised that he has discussed with the water authority, they are on track to design the
tank and want to try to do so early next year at the latest. In the process of amending
the lease. Mr. Caywood then gave an overview of the path they are currently taking and
advised they are equipping the tower for providers.
Supervisor Bedrosian stated Mr. Caywood explained it would cost more to
equip for cell towers; how much more. Mr. Caywood stated an estimate would be
$50,000 to $100,000 in additional costs.
Supervisor Peters stated he was under the assumption that we were
building this so that cell towers would be put on. Mr. Caywood responded in the
affirmative with Supervisor Peters stating there are not any additional costs. The costs
are incorporated into the budget that was presented to the Board previously. Mr.
Caywood stated if the Board said today it did not want to accommodate cell providers,
staff believes the tank could be built less expensively. Everything he has shown in the
past assumed that the tank would allow for cellular providers.
Supervisor McNamara commented the spherical tower was approved for
cell towers at the Board's discretion.
Supervisor Church asked Mr. Caywood to confirm that the round,
conventional tank was less than the spherical tank. Mr. Caywood advised the standpipe
would be at no cost to the County; the spheroid design was estimated at $400,000 more
in total and the cost would be split with the Water Authority. Within the $200,000 each,
a portion of that, $50,000 for each party was earmarked to equip the tower to
accommodate the cell providers and maintain the aestics.
Supervisor Church stated that the atmosphere this was approved on was
to recoup costs; revenue and cell towers.
Supervisor Bedrosian stated this resolution would more formally state it is
the Board's intention to do cell leases. It is implied, but all leases would state they
would need to come back before the Board.
Supervisor Bedrosian moved to approve the resolution, alternative one.
Supervisor Bedrosian stated in order to clarify, when the Board held the meeting and
agreed with the aesthetically more pleasing one that could accommodate more cell
towers and the justification was if more cell towers were placed on this, it could be paid
back quicker and a boon for Roanoke County. He wanted to commit the members of
the Board to live up to what they said. He does not want to build the tower and have it
sitting pretty there and then all of a sudden not put any cell towers on it and have people
652 September 9, 2014
that want to put cell towers on it and it is not done because it is going to look ugly. He
thinks it is going to look ugly and that is why he did not want to go down this path. He
just wants this Board to commit to putting those cell towers on that water tower to pay it
back and if we cannot agree to commit then he thinks it will not be done. He thinks the
water tower is going to be there and probably build some other tower on the side and
the whole justification, at least the majority of it, was to make all this money. This
resolution should not be an issue to anybody because four (4) cell towers can be placed
on it and we can put more providers than the cylinder one. It looks so beautiful, let's go
with and will be paid back at $30,000 a year, half of that is $15,000 and four (4)
providers that is $60,000 and it has been paid back in three (3) years and now collecting
cash flow every year after that above our expenses. The other issue is that he thinks it
is a real disservice to Roanoke County to equip it for an extra $100,000 (split with the
Water Authority) structure to handle cell towers while we know we are not going to put a
cell tower up there ever. Supervisor Bedrosian stated that bothers him that we would
spend that kind of money. This is what the Board agreed to and nobody should be
dismissive of this.
Supervisor Moore stated the Board had a very healthy discussion on this
at a previous meeting in which we voted to approve the resolution then. She stated she
does not think the Board can commit to put any cell tower on until we hear from a
provider and a proposal and we have to hear about what they are proposing. She does
not think we can just say we are going to just accept anything. She stands with her
decision and vote from the last meeting.
Supervisor Peters stated his question is that his understanding is that this
is already in place. We agreed to put the cell towers on there. Supervisor Church then
added it must come before the Board so that we would have the last say so on what
goes on. He thinks this is a moot point; we have already covered this in the first go
round.
Supervisor Church stated his point is that he concurs with Supervisor
Moore, if we cannot commit then the Board needs to stop what it doing, wait a little
while and get the lease commitments. We cannot take off running on a hope and wish.
Let's stop until we get the commitments that we can handle. He believes that it will be a
further disservice to our citizens to go forward and wait until a "what if' situation. Let's
get the proposals. A little bit of delay to do something financially correct in a
conservative manner with an outlook for our people. This is his suggestion.
Chairman McNamara stated it is a resolution specifying the intent of the
Board to lease to a minimum of four (4) providers on a water tower located at Green
Ridge Recreation Center. This has been moved for approval and the reasoning being
to make sure that the Supervisors are going to put four (4) providers on that tower. He
personally does not need to have a resolution passed telling him what he is going to do
in the future. The Board has passed a water tower ordinance and at that time the intent
was to use that cell tower as a communication device as is done on most cell towers
that he has come across. He stated that was his intent; not everyone on the Board
September 9, 2014 653
stated it was their intent. At that time, the Board also had an opportunity to review
before approved, which gives the Board an extra opportunity to look at the aesthetics
and how it would play out. He has no intention of supporting this resolution.
Supervisor Bedrosian stated at our last meeting, the Board did not commit
to adding cell towers. The Board committed to the design of the water tower and this is
his issue with this. Since the Board did not commit, this is why he wants the
commitment from the Board. The Board justified in their minds that the tower could be
paid for by putting cell towers on it. Now, the day of reckoning comes to commit to that.
You can go out and see what spherical designs look like; it is not like someone is going
to design some weird structure on our tower. All he is saying and does not understand
why everyone is not jumping on it, is that we commit that surely if we had up to four (4)
cell vendors come to us and propose putting those towers on top of that spherical
design and we already know what they look like, we already know, they are all the same
that we would jump at the chance. The hesitation makes him feel like the Board is not
really committed to adding cell towers; he hopes he is wrong.
Supervisor Church stated he did say the Board would approve the design,
but what if three (3) members do not approve any design? In his opinion, the Board
handles resolutions committing themselves to actions every day. He has no problem
and thinks it is something that we owe our people to really back up and do what we said
we were going to do. This is something the Board owes its citizens; to backup and
really do what we said we were going to do. He thinks it puts it in black and white, on
the record, that the Board will put the four (4) towers up there. Look at the one in the
City of Salem, he does not see anything ugly about it. What is the issue here? This
was passed in his opinion based on the basis of recouping revenues and he would like
to see that put on the record.
RESOLUTION 090914-5 DENYING EXPRESSING THE INTENT
OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO LEASE SPACE TO A
MINIMUM OF FOUR (4) CELLULAR PROVIDERS ON THE
WATER TOWER LOCATED AT GREEN RIDGE RECREATION
CENTER
WHEREAS, by Ordinance 081214-1 adopted on August 12, 2014, the Board of
Supervisors of Roanoke County voted to appropriate up to Two Hundred Thousand
Dollars ($200,000) to the Western Virginia Water Authority to construct a spheroid
design water tower to be located at the Green Ridge Recreation Center; and
WHEREAS, while the spherical design would cost significantly more than the
cylindrical design one of the benefits of the spheroid design water tower is that it is a
better platform for cellular communications antennas; and
WHEREAS, the Board wishes to express its intent to lease space to at least four
(4) cellular communication providers on this water tank to offset the additional cost of
the spheroid design.
654 September 9, 2014
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke
County, Virginia, as follows -
1 .
ollows:1. That it is the intention of the Board to lease space to at least four (4)
cellular communication providers on the water tower to be located at the Green Ridge
Recreation Center.
2. That this intention is subject to successful negotiations of lease
agreements with cellular communication providers.
3. That this intention is subject to the concurrence of the Western Virginia
Water Authority.
4. That this intention is subject to the future adoption of an ordinance by the
Board authorizing same.
On motion of Supervisor Bedrosian to adopt the resolution, the motion was
denied by the following roll call and recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Bedrosian, Church
NAYS: Supervisors Moore, Peters, McNamara
IN RE: FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES
1. Ordinance accepting and appropriating $39,078.43 to the Roanoke
County Public Schools for various grants and supplements
(Rebecca Owens, Director of Finance)
Ms. Owens outlined the ordinance. There was no discussion. Supervisor
McNamara's motion to approve first reading and set the second reading for September
23, 2014, was approved by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: None
2. Ordinance approving an agreement between the County of
Roanoke and Craig Botetourt Electric Cooperative for the use of
space on tower sites and appropriating $6,000 to the County
Radio Replacement Fund (Bill Hunter, Director of
Communications and Information Technology)
Mr. Hunter outlined the ordinance. There was no discussion. Supervisor
McNamara's motion to approve first reading and set the second reading for September
23, 2014, was approved by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: None
September 9, 2014 655
IN RE: APPOINTMENTS
1. Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Review Committee (appointed
by District)
Supervisor Jason Peters has recommended the reappointment of Paul St.
Clair to serve an additional one (1) -year term to expire on August 31, 2015.
Confirmation has been placed on the Consent Agenda.
Supervisor Church has recommended the reappointment of Christine
Flippin to serve an additional one (1) year term to expire on August 31, 2015.
Confirmation will be placed on the Consent Agenda.
IN RE: CONSENT AGENDA
RESOLUTION 090914-6 APPROVING AND CONCURRING IN
CERTAIN ITEMS SET FORTH ON THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS AGENDA FOR THIS DATE DESIGNATED AS
ITEM H- CONSENT AGENDA
BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia, as
follows-
That
ollows:That the certain section of the agenda of the Board of Supervisors for September
9, 2014, designated as Item H - Consent Agenda be, and hereby is, approved and
concurred in as to each item separately set forth in said section designated Items 1
through 7 inclusive, as follows -
1 .
ollows:1. Approval of minutes —August 12, 2014
2. Resolution expressing the appreciation of the Board of Supervisors of
Roanoke County to Sandra D. Rycroft, Micro -Computer Technician -Social
Services, upon her retirement after thirty (30) years of service
3. Resolution expressing the appreciation of the Board of Supervisors of
Roanoke County to Charles W. Williams, Business Coordinator, upon his
retirement after more than thirty-one (31) years of service
4. Resolution expressing the appreciation of the Board of Supervisors of
Roanoke County to Claire T. Caldwell, Legal Secretary, upon her retirement
after more than twenty-seven (27) years of service
Request annppt and aIIGGate Grant fid in darnel nt of $78 128 from
vrc�. -acc" t..r-arra-anv �" yTurr rrr� an , cv�rvnT
Division of Motor VeiGes to the Roanoke County DnliGDpp Department
three (3) Highway Safety Drnnrrom Grants (This item was removed for
separate consideration.)
6. Request to approve amendment to the Roanoke Area Criminal Justice
Information Network (RACJIN) Governance Agreement
656 September 9, 2014
7. Confirmation of appointment to the Capital Improvement Program Review
Committee (CIP)(appointed by District)
On motion of Supervisor McNamara to adopt the resolution, with the exception of
Item H-5 and carried by the following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: None
RESOLUTION 090914-6.a EXPRESSING THE APPRECIATION
OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF ROANOKE COUNTY
TO SANDRA D. RYCROFT, MICRO COMPUTER TECHNICIAN —
SOCIAL SERVICES, UPON HER RETIREMENT AFTER THIRTY
(30) YEARS OF SERVICE
WHEREAS, Sandra D. Rycroft was hired as a Clerk II September 4, 1984, and
with rigid dedication and motivation her career progressed and she was quickly
promoted to Clerk III December 1, 1986, a position refinement of Account Clerk II, July
1, 1990, a promotion to Accounts Coordinator May 22, 1995, a promotion to Social
Services Automation Coordinator December 22, 1995, a refinement of position to
System Specialist on April 1, 1999 and title change in 2005 to Microcomputer
Technician; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Rycroft retired on September 1, 2014, after thirty (30) years of
devoted, faithful and expert service with the County; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Rycroft has consistently demonstrated vigilance and integrity of
all automated State and County systems at DSS; and
WHEREAS, with her caring nature and desire to help others she was respected
by her colleagues and;
WHEREAS, during her time serving Roanoke County, Ms. Rycroft as Micro
Computer Technician always strived to provide outstanding customer service to State
staff as well as internal Social Services staff; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of
Roanoke County, Virginia expresses its deepest appreciation and the appreciation of
the citizens of Roanoke County to Sandra D. Rycroft for thirty (30) years of capable,
loyal and dedicated service to Roanoke County; and
FURTHER, the Board of Supervisors does express its deep appreciation and
best wishes for a happy and productive retirement.
On motion of Supervisor McNamara to adopt the resolution, and carried by the
following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: None
September 9, 2014 657
RESOLUTION 090914-6.b EXPRESSING THE APPRECIATION
OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF ROANOKE COUNTY
TO CHARLES W. WILLIAMS, BUSINESS COORDINATOR,
UPON HIS RETIREMENT AFTER MORE THAN THIRTY-ONE
(31) YEARS OF SERVICE
WHEREAS, Charles W. Williams was employed by Roanoke County on July 25,
1983; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Williams retired on September 1, 2014, after more than thirty-
one (31) years of devoted, faithful and expert service to Roanoke County; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Williams, through his employment with Roanoke County, has
been instrumental in improving the quality of life and providing services to the citizens of
Roanoke County; and
WHEREAS, throughout Mr. Williams' tenure with Roanoke County, he served as
Account Clerk III in the Finance Department and promoted to Utility Billing Supervisor in
1999. In 2004, with the creation of the Western Virginia Water Authority (WVWA) and
elimination of the Roanoke County Utility Billing division, Mr. Williams served a short
time with the WMA as Utility Billing Superintendent. In 2005, he returned to Roanoke
County as a Budget and Compliance Specialist in the CommlT department. He
completed his tenure in CommlT, being promoted to Business Coordinator in 2013.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of
Roanoke County expresses its deepest appreciation and the appreciation of the citizens
of Roanoke County to CHARLES W. WILLIAMS for more than thirty-one (31) years of
capable, loyal, and dedicated service to Roanoke County; and
FURTHER, the Board of Supervisors does express its best wishes for a happy
and productive retirement.
On motion of Supervisor McNamara to adopt the resolution, and carried by the
following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: None
RESOLUTION 090914-6.c EXPRESSING THE APPRECIATION
OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF ROANOKE COUNTY
TO CLAIRE TRIBBLE CALDWELL, LEGAL SECRETARY, UPON
HER RETIREMENT AFTER MORE THAN TWENTY-SEVEN (27)
YEARS OF SERVICE
WHEREAS, Claire Tribble Caldwell was employed by Roanoke County on April
13, 1987, and has served as a Legal Secretary in the Commonwealth Attorney's office;
and
WHEREAS, Ms. Caldwell retired on September 1, 2014, after twenty-seven (27)
658 September 9, 2014
years and five (5) months of devoted, faithful and expert service to Roanoke County;
and
WHEREAS, during her tenure in the Commonwealth Attorney's Office of
Roanoke County, has been instrumental in improving the quality of life and providing
services to the citizens or Roanoke County; and
WHEREAS, by virtue of Ms. Caldwell's enthusiasm, dedication and
professionalism to her work, has earned the admiration and respect of her colleagues
throughout the Commonwealth.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of
Roanoke County expresses its deepest appreciation and the appreciation of the citizens
of Roanoke County to CLAIRE TRIBBLE CALDWELL for more than twenty-seven (27)
years of capable, loyal, and dedicated service to Roanoke County; and
FURTHER, the Board of Supervisors does express its best wishes for a happy
and productive retirement.
On motion of Supervisor McNamara to adopt the resolution, and carried by the
following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: None
A -090914-6.d
A -090914-6.e
The following consent agenda item was removed for separate
consideration by Supervisor Bedrosian:
Request to accept and allocate grant funds in the amount of $78,128
from Division of Motor Vehicles to the Roanoke County Police
Department for three (3) Highway Safety Program Grants
Supervisor Bedrosian stated it appears this is for three (3) grants and for
selective enforcement and the reason that he brings it up is that in the last two months
he has had multiple individuals talk to him about check points. It may be about nothing.
Are we allowed to do this? He had a discussion with Chief Hall. He then asked Chief
Mason if these three items are used for checkpoints. Chief Mason responded they are
for checkpoints, saturation patrol (targeting areas where we are having problems with
traffic crashes related to alcohol or speed), occupant safety, which is part of the click -it
or ticket campaign. Supervisor Bedrosian stated his understanding was always that if a
police officer pulled you over, there must be a reason and they could not just pull you
over and then figure out what the reason was. Chief Mason responded in the
affirmative. Supervisor Bedrosian then stated but a check point means they can stop
everybody and they are doing the same thing; the end result is the same. Chief Mason
September 9, 2014 659
advised when you roll up on a check point, whether it be a license or DUI, everybody
gets stopped or every other car gets stopped, etc. The Supervisor makes the
determination. Chief Mason stated there were certain rules regarding when they could
do a legal checkpoint, must be approved in advance, a supervisor must be present and
preapproved areas of the County. Supervisor Bedrosian noted there was a recent one
on Bent Mountain during lunch hour and traffic was backed up so much it hurt the
business person. He thought it was strange to do this during lunch hour.
Supervisor Church asked for clarification regarding running radar on
Interstate 81, which Chief Mason explained.
Supervisor McNamara moved to approve the request to accept and
allocate grant funds in the amount of $78,128 from Division of Motor Vehicles to the
Roanoke County Police Department for three (3) Highway Safety Program Grants. The
motion was approved by the following roll call vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: Supervisors Bedrosian
IN RE: CITIZENS' COMMENTS AND COMMUNICATIONS
The following citizens spoke:
Bufford Overstreet of 8503 Bent Mountain Road stated he wanted to talk
about Explore Park and to start with Pipestem State Park. He does not know if any of
the Board have ever been to Pipestem or not; he has been there many times and it is a
wonderful place. It is a poor man's Homestead. It is located midway between Athens
and Hinton, West Virginia or put in another way, the middle of nowhere. It is
approximately two (2) hours from Roanoke. It is on a two-lane road similar to S.R. 311
over to Craig County. It is owned and operated by West Virginia as a State Park. It's
location and size is similar to Explore Park, except it is larger. This is what they have
there: two hotels and restaurants, cabins, RV sites, tent camping sites, and aerial
tramway, a gift shop, a nature center, an outdoor amphitheater, horseback trails and
stables, hiking trails, a scenic viewing tower, archery, a museum, river (very similar to
Roanoke), three golf courses (a full eighteen (18) hole with a driving range, an
executive Par 3, a putt -putt type), fishing and boating lake, indoor and outdoor
swimming pools, tennis courts and basketball courts; need he say it is a nice place to
visit. The best part is that it is very reasonable. Most anybody that has a job making
any kind of money can go to Pipestem and have a good time. The reason he
mentioned this is that in the paper, you said you were going to put out for bid master
proposals for somebody to come back with a master plan. What he would like for the
Board to do is postpone that for a month. Explore has been nothing for the last ten (10)
years so another month is not going to hurt and preferably the entire Board take a van
and two-hour trip, go to Pipestem, look it over for yourselves, see what they have that
660 September 9, 2014
could be incorporated to Explore and if it can be successful in the middle of nowhere
with Roanoke by the door and the Blue Ridge Parkway right by the door, Explore cannot
miss if you do it right. If all of the Board members don't want to go, Mr. Blount could go
and take it all in. He would be glad to go as a guide; he has been there many, many
times. He has recommended it to so many people and he has never recommended it to
somebody that they did not return. So, before you get the cart before the horse and put
this thing out for bid, make sure what you want, he agrees with what was said in the
paper; basically it is going to be camp grounds and things like that. You cannot go
wrong by sending a person or going to Pipestem. That is all he is asking the Board to
do, postpone it a little while, sit back, take a little time to contemplate and he thinks it will
be well worth your time and money.
Mr. DeWeese of 4664 Bradshaw Road stated he wanted to address the
local firearm ordinances. He has talked to the distinguished Mr. Mahoney this past
week about this. Each county and city in the State of Virginia has its own firearm
ordinances. Virginia Hunting Laws and Regulations Book of July 12 -June 30, list four
(4) ordinances in Roanoke County. One of the ordinances states it is unlawful to
discharge a firearm within a hundred (100) yards of a dwelling, house or occupied
building not his or her own. It is also unlawful to discharge arrows from a bow one
hundred (100) yards from a dwelling or occupied building. This ordinance about the
firearms was left out of last year's book. It was also left out of this year's book. The
ordinance of discharging a bow and arrow is still in the book. This does not seem right.
His concern is this, a hunter can come now and discharge a firearm a hundred (100)
yards from a highway, but can be within sixty-three (63) feet of his house. The hunter
cannot discharge a bow and arrow within a hundred (100) yards of his house. He could
go east of his house and discharge a high-powered rifle and be a hundred (100) yards
from a highway, but be within seventy feet (70') of his neighbor to the east of his house.
A few years ago, he had one of his windows shot out; he does not know who did it. He
would venture to say, that not a one of you on the Board would like for someone to be
discharging a weapon within sixty-three feet (63') of your house; especially this day and
time when you see a lot of shootings going on. He would like to urge the Board to adopt
this ordinance that was in the book two (2) years ago that would include the firearm and
the bow and arrow; not only for hunting but for target practice because somebody could
come out there within sixty-three (63) feet of his house. What would happen if they hit a
rock and it ricochet off. There is an old saying, "To prevent an accident, stop it before it
happens."
Chairman McNamara asked Mr. O'Donnell to research and provide the
Board with a report.
Linda LaPrade of 5509 Will Carter Lane advised she was from the Cave
Spring District. She advised she watched presentations by the Broadband Authority
and Blue Ridge Advisory Services on the new, proposed fiber optic line. She stated it
seems to her that there are many unanswered questions and several points omitted
from these presentations. Has any formal survey ever been done of local businesses?
September 9, 2014 661
What did they need that they cannot currently get or cannot negotiate through private
providers? How can they possibly think they are going to solve a problem when you
have never defined what the problem is? She has heard absolutely no specifics with
this. At the work session, the Chairman of the Broadband Authority stated, "You must
provide the product before you try to sell it." Well, shouldn't you at least know
specifically what the need is before you create the product? She stated she thinks you
need to define the problem. Has a concept plan or feasibility study ever been done
showing the strengths and weaknesses of such a project? She is sharing a link with the
Board that was done by the City of Martinsville concerning fiber optics before their City
Council was ever asked to consider any financing. The world of technology is rapidly
moving, remember the old DSL lines? Remember how fast we thought AOL was in
those days; it has not been that long. Fiber optics is moving in the same direction.
They have told us that it will not be profitable for five to eight (5 to 8) years. Will it be
obsolete by then? Already companies are beginning to look at something called air
optics and she is also providing you with a link from that company called Air Advantage.
Will we be obsolete before a profit is every turned. How does this benefit Roanoke
County? It will not give access to rural areas; it will not be provided to individual homes;
they have told us they have no interest in being the last mile provider; will it draw
businesses to the area. Based on research that is a big question. The Blue Ridge
Advisory Services' website states, "We are still trying to achieve our primary mission of
creating new jobs." In researching businesses that the Mid -Atlantic Broadband listed on
their website in the Danville area most of them were drawn because of startup money
provided by the tobacco commission. Fiber optics was not mentioned in any newspaper
review. Salem will receive a profit immediately; they will lease their lines, they will rent a
building; no wonder they are promoting it. Roanoke County will not see any money
unless businesses come. It is time to do a cost benefit analysis and not spend $2
million on a dream of, "build it and they will come."
RoxAnne Christley of 7259 Willow Valley Road stated she is here also to
speak to the Board about the Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority. At the June 24,
2014, meeting, Bob Piche from the Blue Ridge Authority Service Group gave this Board
a presentation outlined the proposed business plan of this Broadband Project. After
taking some time to consider what possible benefit it would be to Roanoke County, she
obviously could not come up with absolutely one idea why. The incentive for us is
supposed to be some future economic broad-based technology that already exists and
is already being deployed by the private sector. In their own business plan, they do not
project to break even for six to eight (6 to 8) years and offer no guarantees for success.
They offer no promises that they won't be asking for more money down the road and
Roanoke County will never see a tangible return on their investment in this venture.
This gentleman, Bob Piche, commented that the free market is reactive and that it is
probably true to that degree, but he downplayed in his presentation that the free market
reacts very quickly to an opportunity and it does not take six to eight (6 to 8) years or
any taxpayer money. So, here is the way she is asking the Board to think of this
662 September 9, 2014
proposal. If each Board member were a private investor, would they risk $2 million of
their own personal money after listening to that sales pitch?
Carter Turner lives at 6960 Campbell Drive stated he is here to urge the
Board to reconsider the decision to exclude the Glenvar Library from the list of libraries
that will soon be open on Sundays. The Glenvar Library was a wise and much needed
investment in our community. He commends the Board and particularly Supervisor
Church for their efforts to make that happen. It is part of the revitalization of West 460
and is a tremendous source of pride for the families in Glenvar and is also a part of our
children's education. There are many families in the Glenvar area that do not have
high-speed internet and in some cases do not have computers so among others that will
enjoy the library on Sunday afternoons those children will utilize the library
tremendously and will be a continuation into an investment into their education. If there
is concern about how many people will actually utilize it, he would suggest adopting a
trial period, perhaps six months to a year, and we can track the numbers and find out if
people come. If they don't come, then it ought not to be open on Sundays, but he
suspects it will. He has spoken to a number of people in the community that think they
will use it. We are talking about a relatively inexpensive cost of less than $18,000 a
year. From the time that he moved to Glenvar and really going back to the time he
moved into the region as a child, the story or the narrative is that the citizens of Glenvar
are treated differently than other people in the rest of Roanoke County. We do not have
the same opportunities and are not treated as fairly. He does not know if that is true or
not, but he knows it is hard to argue against that claim when half the libraries in the
County are open on Sunday and ours isn't. He hopes the Board will reconsider; hope
you will continue the investment into Glenvar and invest in the education of our kids and
to fairness.
IN RE: REPORTS
Supervisor Moore moved to receive and file the following reports. The
motion carried by the following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: None
1. General Fund Unappropriated Balance
2. Capital Reserves
3. Reserve for Board Contingency
4. Proclamations
IN RE: REPORTS AND INQUIRIES OF BOARD MEMBERS
Supervisor Peters advised as he has stated within the last few months he
September 9, 2014 663
really enjoys spending time with people in his community and learning of the milestones
that are taking place right around him. In the month of August, he brought up one of our
fireman who has celebrated fifty (50) years along with a gentleman from the Ft. Lewis
Fire Department and this month he has Mr. Donnie Thomas who is celebrating his fifty
(50) years of being with the volunteer fire department in Vinton and wants to
congratulate him.
Supervisor Moore stated she would just like to thank all of our staff who come
to work every day. You do a good job; we really appreciate you and thank you for all
your efforts.
Supervisor Bedrosian stated the one thing the Board did in the very beginning
with Ms. Betty Graham, it was a touching moment today and he just wants to reiterate
that she is a very special woman, so he would like to thank her again.
Supervisor Church stated he would look into the Glenvar Library situation with
respect to Mr. Turner. When the Board first started looking at this, he tested the waters
in the Glenvar area and all comebacks were, "we are fine." It is extra expense, we have
to train new people for Sunday, but we can always take another look, especially on a
trial basis because he does not want the Glenvar area to be left out. He advised he
only had one person in favor and a number, at least fifteen to eighteen (15 to 18) that
said no. We do have to train personnel according to our Director of Library Services to
fill in. A lot of the citizens that contacted him were bothered by these people having to
work on Sunday. There is always two or three (2 or 3) sides to every story. Secondly,
he thanked Mr. DeWeese for coming; he asked Mr. Mahoney and Mr. O'Donnell to
verify that in 2011 we had an unfortunate situation, please take a look and come back.
Another item is Dry Hollow Road; Mr. Caywood, Mr. O'Donnell, Mr. Mahoney as all of
you know there is a situation there that is dangerous with a capital "D." The information
that he has over the years that has been involved in Dry Hollow (Supervisor Church
held over several folders.) He stated he would like staff to setup and coordinate a
meeting with Delegate Greg Habeeb and with the Virginia Department of
Transportation. He has been in touch on a personal level with a Vice President at
Norfolk Southern. Everybody wants to look in a different direction. Let's try to find out
who is on first, second and help him coordinate a meeting so that we can all get
together with Delegate Habeeb and find out, especially with Mr. Caywood's expertise
with VDOT. He offered congratulations to Glenvar and Northside; we have two great
sports outfits and right now it is football; Coaches Clifford (Glenvar) and Torrence
(Northside). They do great jobs working with our kids. He wanted to say a special hello
to Eric (Johnson from VACO) who gave tennis lessons to his son. It is really important
to see people come the full circle around. It is not just in the wins and losses, but how
they are working with the young adults of Roanoke County. Both are doing a great job
on the field and with the State Champions at Northside in three of the last five years in
football. He then sent his condolences out to one of the best football players in the
State of Virginia, who was here in this room last year. Chance Hall, 6'6', 300 pounds,
yes you heard that right, no mistake, a great player and before he played his first game
664 September 9, 2014
with the University of Tennessee. He had everybody in the world after him, including
Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, and had a season -ending injury on his
tendon and will not play a single game this year. It happened in the exhibition game for
the Virginia High School League prior to the season. What an unfortunate situation; his
heart goes out to him. He is just a tremendous athlete, young man, a leader at
Northside. Knowing this young man he will bounce back and he cannot wait to see him
down in Knoxville working in the SEC and wanted him to know he was thinking about
him; just a great young man, good luck.
IN RE: CLOSED MEETING
At 5:35 p.m., Supervisor McNamara moved to go into closed meeting
following the work sessions pursuant to the Code of Virginia Section 2.2-3711 A.1 to
discuss and consider the employment and appointment of specific public officers,
appointees or employees, namely the County Administrator and Section 2.2.3711.A.1 to
discuss a prospective business or industry or the expansion of an existing business or
industry where no previous announcement has been made of the business' or industry's
interest in locating or expanding its facilities in the County and Section 2.2.3711.A.1
namely discussion concerning an appointment to the Grievance Panel (At -Large).
The motion carried by the following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: None
At 5:36 p.m., Supervisor Bedrosian moved to go into closed meeting
following the work sessions pursuant to the Code of Virginia Section 2.2-3711 A.1, to
discuss and consider the employment, performance, demotion, disciplining or
resignation of specific public officers, appointees or employees.
The motion was denied by the following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Bedrosian, Church
NAYS: Supervisors Moore, Peters, Bedrosian
The closed session was held from 8:12 p.m. until 8:49 p.m.
IN RE: WORK SESSIONS
1. Work session to discuss the proposed Broadband Project by the
Roanoke Valley Regional Broadband Authority (Al Bedrosian,
Hollins Supervisor)
September 9, 2014 665
Chairman McNamara thanked everyone for taking the time to discuss this
project with the Board. Supervisor Bedrosian laid the ground rules for the discussion
emphasizing this was not a debate and is for information purposes only. In attendance
for this work session were: Willard Deets, Section Chief for Verizon; Steve
Cronemeyer, Government Affairs Manager from Verizon, Dan Overstreet, Director of
Sales for Lumos; Paul Combs, Director of Community Affairs with Comcast, Grey
Duncan from Comcast; Gene Price, Network Operations Manager from Cox
Communications, Katherine Falk, Government Affairs with Cox Communications, John
Seltz, Jeff Coffeehouse, Vice President of Operations for Rev.Net Technologies, Doyle
Edgerton, Chief Operating Officer for Rev.Net Technologies, Inc. and Andrew Cohill,
President and CEO of Design Nine. A roundtable discussion was held with these
representatives. Audio of this work session is on file in the office of the Clerk to the
Board of Supervisors.
The work session was held from 5:54 p.m. until 6:54 p.m.
2. Work session to discuss transportation priorities (Richard L.
Caywood, Assistant County Administrator)
In attendance for this work session were Richard L. Caywood, Assistant
County Administrator; David Holladay, Planning Administrator; Megan Cronise, Principal
Planner. A PowerPoint presentation was provided to the Board. It was the consensus
of the Board to proceed with placing the Priority List and Regional Surface
Transportation resolutions on the Consent Agenda for the September 23, 2014, Board
of Supervisors Meetings.
The work session was held from 7:08 p.m. until 7:41 p.m.
3. Work session on Roanoke County's Drainage Projects and
Maintenance Program (Arnold Covey, Director of Community
Development)
In attendance for this work session were: Arnold Covey, Director of
Community Development; Tarek Monier, Deputy Director of Development; Butch
Workman, Stormwater Operations Manager and Richard Caywood, Assistant County
Administrator. A PowerPoint presentation was provided to the Board. It was the
consensus of the Board to proceed with placing the adoption of the drainage projects on
the Consent Agenda for the September 23, 2014, Board of Supervisors Meeting.
The work session was held from 7:42 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
IN RE: CERTIFICATION RESOLUTION
At 8:50 p.m., Supervisor McNamara moved to return to open session and
adopt the certification resolution.
666 September 9, 2014
RESOLUTION 090914-8 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 resolution, and carried by the
following roll call and recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: Supervisor Bedrosian
IN RE: ADJOURNMENT
Chairman McNamara adjourned the meeting at 8:51 p.m.
Deputy Cie
Approved by:
(eph P. McNamara
airman