HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/14/2014 - RegularOctober 14, 2014 693
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 October 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 an invocation was given by Pastor
Ryan Linkous of Christian Life International. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all
present.
IN RE: CALL TO ORDER
Chairman McNamara called the meeting to order at 3:05 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: REQUESTS TO POSTPONE, ADD TO, OR CHANGE THE ORDER OF
AGENDA ITEMS
Paul Mahoney, County Attorney, advised that Supervisor Moore and Mr.
Garst of Turner Long have requested a postponement of the agenda item concerning
the Noise Ordinance Waiver. They would like to have a community meeting before
coming before the Board.
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Supervisor Church inquired if citizens would be allowed to speak with
Chairman McNamara advising he would allow those who wished to speak to do so.
There was no objection.
IN RE: PROCLAMATIONS, RESOLUTIONS, RECOGNITIONS AND AWARDS
1. Proclamation declaring the month of October 2014 as Fire
Prevention Month in the County of Roanoke (Richard E. Burch,
Jr., Chief of Fire and Rescue)
The Deputy Clerk read the proclamation. In attendance for this
recognition was Chief Richard E. Burch, Fire Marshall Brian Simmons; Brian
Clingenpeel, Public Educator; Deputy Jones, Spot and Patches.
IN RE: BRIEFINGS
1. Briefing by EQT / Next Era Energy regarding proposed Mountain
Valley Pipeline (Daniel R. O'Donnell, Interim County
Administrator)
The following individuals were in attendance and provided the Board with
an overview of the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project: Joseph M. Dawley, Corporate
Director, Government Affairs of EQT; Christopher P. Sherman, Director Regulatory and
Legislative Affairs, Nextera Energy Resources, and Maurice Royster, Manager
Government Relations, EQT.
Supervisor Moore asked how could our citizens find the most updated
map, what would be the best way to find the most detailed map of where this pipeline is
to go? Mr. Dawley responded the most updated map is on their website called
MountainValleyPipeline.info. There are pdf maps on that location. Ms. Moore then
asked how long will the corrosion map on the steel pipes are expected to last and how
often would you expect the pipes and is there any prevention for explosions. She noted
there have been some across the nation recently and knows that is always a fear. Mr.
Dawley responded he can answer generally but his pipeline safety department should
get into the details of that as it is their job on a daily basis. He indicated they have 300
miles of interstate pipe and over 10,000 miles of gathering lines. So, they have a robust
safety department about pipeline safety. The wrap is there to protect from corrosion
and there is also what they call, cathartic protection that is pretty complicated in
preventing corrosion, part of which are electrical fields. There are ways to get electrical
fields to go through it with cathartic protection and that is part of the construction. The
best way to monitor safety is through these smart pegs which go through the line and
there are computerized machines that go in there and scan the inside of the pipe and
that is how you can best understand the integrity of the pipe by looking at the inside as
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opposed to the outside. He would be happy to do a deep dive on pipeline safety with
the subject matter experts. Supervisor Moore advised maybe they can provide some
information so that the Board can get it out to our citizens. She then asked how deep
will the pipe be laid. What type of trenching, equipment, etc? Will there be any blasting.
Mr. Dawley responded the pipes will be buried between three and four (3 and 4) feet
below surface. It will be an open trench. Construction in terms of blasting he is unable
to answer that without information about the geology or from information from their
engineering group about what they understand about the geology and the depth of rock
and things of that nature. Supervisor Moore asked if there would be a public hearing on
the environmental impacts with Mr. Dawley responding in the affirmative.
Supervisor Church recognized Peter Larkin from Bob Goodlatte's
office. He stated that he began to get calls from some of his constituents before
Roanoke County had hardly any information. He guessed the property owners, he was
told were getting some sort of notification, letters, requests to go on their land. What
concerns him more than anything is maybe how quickly it is coming to certain areas and
the impact if it goes into certain areas. He is sure they are aware they have the entire
valley water supply, Spring Hollow Reservoir, which is of major concern. With the
drought we had a few years ago, not to the major valley's water supply. Even if it is
impacting one person's well, or several hundred thousand people that is a concern to
him as well as anyone else. He then asked them to explain how the process went out
to property owners before local government officials? Mr. Dawley advised as he
mentioned in the schedule, we did at the beginning try to reach out. This project was
being worked on with three concurrent paths: commercial, land and routing, regulatory
and government outreach. We are behind on that outreach to the local governments to
apprise you of what our plans are and give you information about the project and
apologize for that. These are dynamic projects with a lot of moving parts. It is helpful to
get out in front of the public for outreach and public understanding and that is what they
want to do, open the doors of dialogue to provide as much information as we can and
get caught up to that land component. Supervisor Church asked why the map that is
being presented to the public seems to be so vague in terms of clearness. The detailed
map being used by EQT to contact property owners is totally different. Is there a reason
for that; one is not as clear as the other. He had hoped there would be some
transparency and consistency there. Mr. Dawley advised they were in the initial stages
of getting the information out to the public so what was launched on the website on
October 7t" certainly is not as granular as you would like, but we can work to get more
information to you and the public so they will have more details on the route. It
changes, so if we start publishing one route and then it completely changes it is part of
the dynamic nature. We are not trying to hide anything or not be transparent, it is just a
lot of moving parts to the project and that is the best way to describe it. Supervisor
Church asked if they know the proposed plan to cross the Blue Ridge Parkway. Mr.
Dawley responded in the affirmative stating he cannot provide but that a couple of the
routes were south of here and there are two keys areas that they are concerned about
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from an environmental standpoint, the Appalachian Trail and the Jefferson National
Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Part of the route changes from where we are
today as a proposed route. We are looking at places along the Appalachian Trail and
the Blue Ridge Parkway where there is the least environmental impact. He has some
maps that he can show you where that is. They are looking for places where the
environmental impact is limited and that is what part of the process is for pipeline
permitting is if you can co -locate along existing right-of-way or find an environmental
area or an areas that has less impact on resources that is what the permitting process
requires and that is the iterations and iterations they have been going through over the
last six (6) months. Supervisor Church asked if any contact has been made with the
Western Virginia Water Authority. Mr. Dawley responded not to his knowledge.
Supervisor Bedrosian stated with all the things they have stated, it is quite
a process, just looking at all the things you have to go through. He stated he
commended them for that because it is an incredible process to go through. Supervisor
Bedrosian stated they are a business that wants to transfer product to another part of
the country. You are going to go with your venture across peoples lands. When he is
listening, he is hearing them say they ask for permission. Does it start with you asking
permission and what if somebody says no, what happens. Mr. Dawley stated in terms
of the process they look at all environmental and cultural resources so that is why we
ask. So, if we cannot then we have to skip over that area or look at adjacent properties.
Supervisor Bedrosian noted he loves business, the lifeblood of America and energy is
too. It is just when he looks at these things, he says to himself here is a company that
wants to conduct business, but they are going over people's land that may not want
that. So, when that happens, what happens next and the question is the whole eminent
domain. Can you dictate to somebody that they have to do it? Does that happen,
because it is not the government asking permission it is a private company. So what
happens with hundreds of families that say, "No, we don't want it here?" Mr. Sherman
advised they deal with a lot of linear type projects like this one and everybody's reaction
is apprehension, but we want to as Joe had said, they are at a very preliminary stage in
the process where we want to ascertain the best route. There are a lot of things like
proximity to a water supply, cultural resource or something of a species oriented nature
that is delicate. We want to know that. When we go to people it really is in the spirit of
cooperation so that we can identify the best route possible. Ultimately, when we come
back with a more finalized route before we go to a prefiling, it is the best route.
Supervisor Bedrosian stated so when you do that and the citizens allow the use of their
property. Are they compensated or is it being put here whether people want it or not.
Mr. Sherman stated he thinks he understands, what the process look like, is there public
involvement, is your voice heard beyond just Joe and I and the answer to that is yes.
Not only are there open houses and public comment periods, but through this, really it is
a comprehensive, national environmental policy act review where they take everything
into consideration over probably an eighteen to twenty-four (18 to 24) month period.
Obviously, their first introduction today is just to say conceptually this is what we are
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looking to do and site it. Supervisor Bedrosian stated some of their apprehension may
be if they say yes they may be committing to this coming here. Mr. Sherman stated he
has been involved in energy infrastructure development for twenty (20) years and it is
always the same reaction. It is a daunting process and what we want to do is advance
a process that has the most transparency and the most public comment. He thinks it
makes people more comfortable with the process, but it also really makes a better
project at the end of the day. We meet a need. We see an abundant resource. We
see economic development, but it is not ultimately us developing this in a vacuum.
Supervisor Bedrosian then asked if they know roughly how many family tracks actually
are effected; thousands, a couple of hundred, etc. in Roanoke County. Mr. Dawley
stated there are fifty-five (55) parcels as the route is identified today.
Supervisor McNamara stated the route was originally through Floyd and
he knows they had quite a citizen activity level opposing the route and then the route
changed. Did the route change as the result of citizen activity and if so, why would
Roanoke County not do the same playbook at Floyd.
Chairman McNamara asked the audience to listen to the best they can.
Mr. Sherman advised to answer that would be unequivocally no. There
were substantive reasons for the relocation. It was part of a desktop analysis. There
were crossings that were less ideal than other locations for the line. Supervisor
McNamara stated in the current scenario and under their best guess, has everybody
been contacted that potentially might have the pipeline in Roanoke County, the fifty-five
(55) potential homeowners and knows Roanoke County is one of them. Have they all
been contacted or are there others still waiting to be contacted? Mr. Dawley stated he
would have to talk to his land department, but there have been a lot of letters that have
gone out and a lot of route changes just in the last couple of weeks so in terms of
keeping up with the route changes and letters out to different entities, landowners and
large developments, that is information that he can go back and find out about.
Supervisor Peters asked if the pipeline that is being proposed, is it for
domestic use or something to pipe to the coast so we can send overseas. Mr. Dawley
stated the purpose is for Pittsylvania County and routes along the way. Supervisor
Peters so it will be used for domestic gas only. Mr. Dawley stated gas flows all over the
place and cannot say that for sure. Supervisor Peters then stated for clarification for
this Board. This is going to be permitted by the feds and the County has nothing to do
with their permitting process. Mr. Dawley advised the FDRC is the lead agency, but
they do consult with other resource agencies, both State and Federal resource
agencies. There are some stormwater permitting issues that the County now maintains
and if subject to stormwater permitting requirements that would be something they
would go to the County with. Supervisor Peters stated we have an ordinance on the
books if a wind system wanted to come to Bent Mountain, to his knowledge there is
nothing on the books referencing a pipeline. Is this a permitting process for the pipeline,
not stormwater, or is this all being handled above us. Mr. Dawley advised it would be
handled by the feds.
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The following citizens spoke:
Polly Branch of 5928 Crowell Gap stated as a native of Roanoke, she is
grateful to live in such a beautiful and culturally rich part of the State and country. Our
valley and mountains are unique and known for the Blue Ridge Parkway and
Appalachian corridor and is grateful for their continued work as supervisors to keep
these resources free of damage, contamination and safe for the future generations and
visitors as Supervisor Church mentioned in his questions regarding concerning our
water supply in relation to this pipeline proposal. She advised she is not an expert on
the proposed gas line pipeline and is just catching up on this idea of Roanoke being in
its pathway and quite frankly she is very worried. She stated she is not sure if this is a
request or as Supervisor Peter's asked a done deal with the federal government and
what our process is here. She is worried because we have seen consequences from
these types of maps of gas lines transported from across the country. She is not only
worried because of those calamities but as humans we have a tendency to repeat
ourselves even harmfully despite our best intentions to learn from the past. Businesses
must make claims of progress and safety in order to secure their own existence and to
seek our trust. The fracking process to obtain this gas is of course still new and
dangerous technology. The high pressure pipes for transport have their own challenges
to secure and maintain and they cannot be guaranteed to be free from accidents,
destruction of environment during construction nor free from the possibility of future
calamity and danger. She encourages the Board as she knows you will and already
have, research this proposal not only from the perspective of those who will profit from
it, but from those who have the wisdom, foresight and experience to understand the
project and all its consequences. As we know, there are alternative energy production
and transportation methods now and being developed to answer the need for energy
and safety. We are very lucky to be living in a time of incredible global knowledge and
the potential for creating and serving safe and efficient energy. We need not rush to
accommodate the natural gas industry single point of view. The pipeline is a massive
project with inherent unknown consequences and it cannot be claimed as a necessary
aspect to the well-being of Roanoke citizens. She cannot in good faith support it. She
thanked the Board for continuing to follow these most rigorous and informed processes
as you have already shown with your questions today. Thank you for your wisdom and
your guidance.
Anne Lusby -Denham of 3512 Wright Road stated her concerns regarding
this pipeline are many. She understands that these pipes could be forty-two (42) inches
in diameter and it could be one of the largest in the country, which means in the event of
an explosion, there would be more pressure. The size would also mean more
excavation and blasting during construction, which would cause more damage and risk
to the land and the water supply. Blasting alone could alter streams and pollute the
water. All of our lives depend on water and she does not think we give enough thought
to that and we really need to. Then, there is the threat of pipeline leaks not to mention
the spraying of herbicides to control the growth of plants above the pipeline. The
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proximity of Spring Hollow Reservoir is also a big issue. There are also questions about
the impact on property values, insurance issues, right-of-way, impeding agricultural use,
access to farms, homes and businesses. There is also the issue in SW Virginia of a
lawsuit against EQT that apparently there has been some who have not been
compensated for the natural gas on their land. The bottom line for her is that she would
not want this pipeline on land of her own and also would not like to see her neighbors
have to deal with the above issues. Her wish is that EQT can feel the same about their
neighbors as she does.
Anne Rogers of 6347 Backcreek Road stated she is a resident of
Roanoke County. Roanoke County landowners are being asked to buy into this project
without the benefit of any environmental studies on the pipeline's impacts to the
County's water supply. Let's turn our thoughts for a moment to the geological formation
that being at Poor Mountain, continues into Bent Mountain and extends into Floyd
County. This geological formation is called the Blue Ridge Plateau. Underground water
in the Blue Ridge Plateau is held in fissures. If you disturb those water -bearing fissures,
you cut off and change the direction of the water flow. The construction of the Mountain
Valley Pipeline will likely require extensive blasting. This blasting will most certainly
disturb the water -bearing fissures in the Poor Mountain and Bent Mountain areas. This
will put the County at risk of impairment to the private water supplies for a huge
segment of real estate in the southwest part of the County. With loss of productivity of
springs and private wells, land values are at risk of plummeting. While landowners may
be paid off by the pipeline company, the County will be left with devalued real estate,
which is likely to have a negative impact to County tax revenues. She would
respectfully request that the Roanoke County Planning Department contact Lydeana
Martin, an employee of Floyd County who is knowledgeable about the extensive
research that has been conducted collaboratively with Virginia Tech to better
understand the fragile groundwater situation presented by the Blue Ridge Plateau.
Please consult with Floyd County and please import the hard-won information that they
have obtained through a decade of research on the unique and fragile hydrology of the
Blue Ridge Plateau that we share with Floyd County.
Eldon Karr of 8011 Poor Mountain Road stated he is an architect and
knows most of the Board. Recently, you might have seen in the paper yesterday and
he just became aware of this late last week and as an architect he does have a little bit
of ability with computer graphics and was able to overlay the pdf file that he got from
Mountain Valley Pipeline's website and was able to make a transparency out of that and
overlay it on Google Earth so that he can see specifically where that map went. The
detail on the map and the pdf file is not really clear enough to identify it that way. He
found himself shocked; his property is in the middle of it and he had not heard anything
from anybody, but some of his neighbors had. He has since found out that his property
is not on the list, but his point is this and his request is this. There has been a lot
mentioned in regard to transparency. This will have a dramatic impact on the Bent
Mountain Plateau, the northern most end of the great Blue Ridge Plateau and folks in
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Roanoke County by now certainly may recognize that a lot of the runoff feeds into the
Roanoke River that supplies Spring Hollow Reservoir is from the Bent Mountain
plateau. We are talking about major disruption of Tier III streams on Bent Mountain.
Bottom Creek is a Tier III stream as designated by the DEQ or EPA, one or the other. It
is a pretty dramatic impact that we have and I ask again through transparency and they
have obviously identified clearly which property owners they wanted to initiate
discussions with early and if we can see that then we can see the route that is being
proposed and understand more clearly what environmental dangers might be. He
would hope the Board might ask the company to very quickly present to the Planning
Department detailed maps that describe the proposed route at this point with the
understanding they may be modified. He added the previous three speakers touched on
some very strong issues.
Brian Wishkoff of 2913 Wycliffe Avenue stated he had some different
information to share with the Board. He is not representing anyone and does not have
any land on Bent Mountain. He has taken up an interest in pipelines because he is
afraid they are oversold in terms of their economic impact. He wrote an Op -Ed piece for
the Richmond Times and would be leaving it for the Board. If you look at the economic
impact of railroads versus pipelines, the economic impact is significantly better. So, if
your concern is jobs, everyone claims that it is and he would urge the Board to take a
look at rail as an alternate. There was also a story in the Wall Street Journal on
September 21, 2013, entitled "Railways reshape Crude Market" and what has happened
and he is not trying to tell the Board anything they don't already know. In 2008 when
the Keystone pipeline was proposed, our oil production in the United States was almost
zero. Now we have so much oil that we are looking at exporting it. What happened
was, some creative people in North Dakota and that part of the country came up with
the technology that allowed them to put, in that case, oil on railcars and that is why we
have such an explosion of energy growth is because of that person's ingenuity. We
have gone from almost no oil carried by trains a couple of years ago to twenty percent
(20%) of the Country is carried by trains and growing. The way they do this is they build
a terminal where the oil, each terminal is about $50 million, a significant capital cost.
Each terminal has about sixty (60) jobs with it so in North Dakota alone by the end of
2013, they had thirteen (13) of these terminals with 650 jobs associated with it just in
North Dakota with terminals built and onto the rails. So, to him, there is quite a
difference in jobs. Another thing that the Board may find interesting about railroads
versus pipelines is that railroads deliver to the highest bidder. If there is not a better
example of a free market, he does not know what is. A pipeline creates a monopoly
and that is why he thinks it is such a job killer; it has such an unfair advantage to one
entity. Energy has changed so dramatically. Who knows ten years from now what it is
going to be. Again, with the pipeline you are stuck, with the railroad you are not. If we
cannot get railroad safety correct as a country, then we ought to be ashamed of
ourselves. It is not like it is hard stuff, it is stuff you know that can get done. The last
piece is from Reuters and the headline was, "After oil, natural gas may be next on North
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American rails" and doing the same thing with natural gas, but you have to give a little
bit of time. His final suggestion would be that everybody stop, it is not just this pipeline,
it is a worthy discussion for the whole country. The Keystone Pipeline is somehow
getting the reputation of being this great job creator and actually just the opposite and
we go on and stop and look at all these rail alternatives and see if something similar can
be done here in this part of the world. Create real jobs and sustainability. Can you
imagine, the same type of arguments were made with the slurry pipeline? The
economic impact on Roanoke had that been built would have been devastating.
Kirk Bowers of 240 Howard Drive provided a PowerPoint presentation that
lasted for approximately three minutes. A copy of this presentation is on file in the office
of the Clerk to the Board of Supervisors. He stated he is a native son of Roanoke
County. He grew up in Glenvar and graduated from North Cross and then from Virginia
Tech. His role in this is he is the Chairman of the Pipeline Committee of the Virginia
Chapter of the Sierra Club. We oppose all pipelines. He then went through his
presentation.
Jim Woltz of Bent Mountain stated he understands that this is going to be
federally decided but thinks it is important that everybody is aware of a few things. If it
is going to happen, he thinks it would be good that our County take a positive role and
provide the leaders with some guidance if it comes through here and he personally
hopes that it does not. When he was twenty-three (23) he bought his first piece of land
and it was on Bent Mountain. Over the years, he has put together about four hundred
and fifty (450) acres there where he lives. He invested his money in Roanoke County,
still believes in Roanoke County. On that property there are probably forty (40) plus
springs that originate and represent the head waters of the Roanoke River, Back Creek
and areas that start there up on the mountain. Within a mile and one half to two (1 '/2 to
2) miles, there are other properties that contain the head waters for the Spring Hollow
Reservoir and the other side of the Roanoke River. Also nearby is the nature
conservancy that started with a six hundred (600) acre boundary. He sold that about
twenty (20) years ago to the nature conservancy. Over the years, thousands of acres
have been added to that conservation easement, a thousand acres of his own property
he put in as an easement that is right near where this pipeline is going. He took the
easement really to control the head waters of the Bottom Creek gorge and gave the
nature conservancy this thousand (1000) acre conservation easement. There was a
site at Bottom Creek gorge and the way this all came about some twenty (20) years ago
with the nature conservancy was they wanted to buy this land to protect a species at
Bottom Creek called Orange Feminent Madtop. Years ago this was the site of a dam.
The dam was abandoned because it was cavernous underneath and they could never
figure out how to make the dam stick. So, this tells you a little bit about the geography.
He is sure they are going to do their studies; they will find this and hopefully that might
solve the issue of where it is going to go. Wherever it goes, he just asks that everybody
keep in the mind, the people building the pipeline, the people who are helping guide our
County, that property ownership is a real valuable thing and if it has to pass through
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somebody's property hopefully there will be enough respect for that property owner to
be part of helping with the placement and understanding the impacts or telling them the
impacts it would have on their daily lives or personal lives on the property.
Kevin Orcutt of 4217 Arlington Hills Drive stated there are so many things
to talk about here it is impossible to cover it all in a five-minute statement, but right off
the bat this EQT Corporation is under six (6) criminal charges in Pennsylvania. Three
for polluting waters and three for disturbances in the waterway. Here is this company
that cares so much about us and our livelihood and water and livelihood more than
anything that you cannot live without it. They are already under these charges. They
come here; they know who to contact, the people that own the land to survey to see if
they come through there, but they do not have the decency to even let our Board here
know they are in town. So, that is being secretive, just his opinion. Then, they want
their proposed site, from his understanding, to go right through Spring Hollow, our
reservoir and the Bent Mountain watershed. To him, common sense says something is
wrong here. They have just been booted out of Floyd County because that is a
humongous watershed and now they are going to trickle down here and think our water
does not count. It seems like they are saying, "well it is all up to feds and we are here to
shove it down your throat." You have to talk to the feds even with any questions, just a
basic question; where is this pipeline going to. He could not even flat out say it is going
to end up going all around the world; he could not even answer that straight. The
bottom line is one reason they are doing this pipeline is to make money and they don't
give a hoot about the water. Hardly anybody has said anything about the wildlife except
for the last gentlemen and it is going to totally destroy a lot of wildlife up on Bent
Mountain and all around and then with the water and that trickles down to more than
just Roanoke. Our whole Roanoke County is going to be really good with polluted water
and he just cannot see how in anyway on top of it they can go right through the
Appalachian Trail, right through the Blue Ridge Parkway, right through our water
reservoir and just say, "take it because we are going to do because we have the right
from the federal government." They do not seem to be transparent at all; just within the
way they were answering the Board's questions and then their presentation. They are
saying this is a forty-two (42) inch pipeline. They have to take one hundred and twenty-
five (125) feet to put it in and keep seventy (70) feet of right-of-way the whole time it is
there, but it is just a forty-two (42) inch pipeline. To him, they are not being honest and
forthright from the very beginning so how are they going to be later on down the road.
He thinks it is the worst thing that could happen to Roanoke County.
Mara Robbins of 959 Thunderstruck Road stated she is really glad to hear
all of the different concerns from your residents about the water. It has been one of the
major focuses for Floyd County has been protected our water and she truly believes
that we are so blessed to have abundant, clean water in this region. If not already, it will
soon be the single most valuable resource on this planet and we need to do everything
we can to protect it. A lot of what she was intending to say has been covered already.
So, what she would like to do is to offer, if the Board wishes, to open a dialogue from
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Floyd County to Roanoke County. If you would like, she would request to be on the
agenda for the next meeting and she could come and do a presentation and share
some of the research that Floyd County has done over the past three (3) months. The
first landowner that we know of that was contacted in Floyd County was on June 30tH
So they have had a long time to explore this issue. If that would be helpful, they would
be happy to offer that.
Virginia Wise of 1158 Bottomcreek Drive on Bent Mountain stated
obviously she is very concerned about this whole project. She appreciates the
informative discussion and that the Board is listening to their views and as a Roanoke
County resident of many decades and Bent Mountain resident, she is speaking today to
appeal to the Board to defend their properties in the pristine Bottom Creek and Poor
Mountain areas and all over Roanoke County. These are some of the most pristine
areas on earth that they are proposing to bring this through. This project proposes no
benefit to our community; they have made that very clear. There are no distribution
lines coming into us; they just want to come right through our area and use it up. As so
many people have stated, there are so many potential environmental hazards to
residents, residences, homes to farms to livestock to wildlife and although the
gentlemen have made mention that they are going to look at all these federal guidelines
we all know they are a grave hazard and you cannot accomplish that with just following
those guidelines. She is so pleased that so many people have discussed the
groundwater. We have beautiful springs, groundwater and wells up there that are so
pure and the damage to that would be irreversible. With such a large pipe under so
much pressure, she appreciates Ms. Moore talking about the explosion hazard that is of
great concern as well and the blasting and excavation required would definitely effect
our land and as she said this pristine environment. She is a beekeeper; she has a small
farm. The bees are disappearing as we all know. She would not like to see the
spraying of herbicides on this huge project to control the native plants because what
happens as we know is the invasion plants come in. The County of Floyd worked with
the residents and supported them and she appreciates the Board doing the same. She
appreciates their wonderful comments and concerns to these people and hope they
continue.
Brian Velkoff of 3927 Chaparral Drive, right around the corner. He stated
he has two (2) issues. First is the noise variance for Turner and Long. Chairman
McNamara advised the Board is not on this issue yet. With regard to the pipeline and
when dealing with a company like EQT, which is a subsidiary corporation of a much
larger parent corporation, which is afraid of liability and is why they create these little
spinoffs. If against all reason you allow this pipeline to be built, make sure you have a
secured trust fund type deal in escrow to cover the eventual damages that will occur. At
some point the pipe will leak, explode, degrade or something will go wrong and when
you have the judgment with companies like this they just fold. The judgment are then
not worth the paper they are printed on. Please be very careful if you decide to go
ahead with this.
704 October 14, 2014
EQT responded by saying all of the issues that were raised by people are
substantive ones and are valuable ones. They agree to the beauty in this area and it is
their intent to be open and transparent. This is the beginning of a very long process.
They understand that there are automatic concerns about infrastructure coming into the
area and it is an involved process. It will be a better process with the County leaders
and citizens involved because it is input that is welcome as companies, but it is
welcomed by the permitting authorities as well.
IN RE: NEW BUSINESS
1. Request to transfer funds in the amount of $28,231 from Board
Contingency (429000-9605) to the Hidden Valley High School
Minor Capital Account (153503-8904) (Daniel R. O'Donnell, Interim
County Administrator)
I_Qi 111 El I El51
Mr. O'Donnell outlined the request, which was brought forward at the
request of Joe McNamara.
Chairman McNamara recognized Principal Stegall and Coach King as
being in attendance. He added this is certainly needed. He advised that Board
Contingency was in place for things we do not anticipate within a budget cycle. We
were fortunate this year, there was a balance left in that account. He thinks the balance
would come available in a couple of months. The money will be put back in and the
account will not be impacted. The reason is that the business leaders and community
have done an exceptional job and the school system has helped them and they have a
big project. When you have a new school and you do not have the years of community
involvement and volunteer efforts and you are starting from scratch it is a little bit more
difficult. Unfortunately, the track was not put in right. It is not usable. It is not
something we have not done in the past, he feels it is appropriate.
Supervisor Church stated he has been on record supporting school items
in the past. He advised his concern is that in the past the Board has used the
Contingency Fund for different smaller amount items and secondly on a contingency
basis, which it is called a contingency fund for. If we do this, he stated he feels it needs
to be done in the proper budgetary process. He asked for confirmation on the amount
and reiterated he feels this is a step out of our normal budgetary process. He stated if
the Board does vote to go ahead that the Board be ready to help out each and every
school system in every district out of the contingency fund because that is the only fair
way to do it.
Supervisor Bedrosian stated it is his understanding that the schools have
their own budget and he is surprised that the Board is doing this; take money out of
County government budget that was left over from last year. There are a lot of things
around Roanoke County that needs to get done; cutting grass is one thing. There are
October 14, 2014 705
so many things on the government side that need to be done. School should take care
of schools. They have a budget at the beginning of the year; if they have money left
over, then do it. If it is not, then they need to reduce spending on other areas. He
stated this is not good; absolutely not good. We need to keep those funds separate.
Supervisor Moore stated she just wanted to say our citizens use this track
also and it needs to be in good repair for students and everyone who uses the track so
she is in favor.
Chairman McNamara stated the $28,231 does not take this project to
where it needs to be, however, it takes it close enough. There will still be things they
will continue to work on through the community. They will be able to begin the track and
there will be other areas they continue to fundraise for. He knows at another high
school a couple of years ago we actually contributed $50,000 out of the Board
Contingency Fund. We have done it for other schools over the past years.
Supervisor Peters stated his only statement is that he does not feel this is
a school issue; it is something that is used by the community. He has been very
grateful because he has been part of committees before he got involved with Roanoke
County and knows the Board has given money to other entities such as the
Vinton/Roanoke County Veterans Monument. To him this is something that he believes
will support the community; not just money being doled out to the schools.
Supervisor Bedrosian stated that the issue since citizens use tracks that
now it becomes not just a school issue. Could we not say that about everything? Our
families go to schools, so families are part of the community and does not know where
you would ever separate this. Schools have their budgets; they need to use their
budgets to do things on school property and this Board has its budget and we need to
do things using our budgets. There are so many other things that we could use this
resource for. When trying to justify everything just so that we can do something, that
bothers him. He stated he heard we have done this before. He thinks it might be time
we wake up and not always do things like we have done before. Maybe that is the
problem that has gotten us into some of the issues we have today. Can we just try to
think differently?
Supervisor McNamara moved to approve the staff recommendation to
transfer funds in the amount of $28,231 from Board Contingency (429000-9605) to the
Hidden Valley High School Minor Capital Account (153503-8904). The motion carried by
the following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: Supervisors Bedrosian, Church
706 October 14, 2014
2. Resolution supporting an application for $500,000 of matched
transportation funding through the Virginia Department of
Transportation Fiscal Year 2015-2016 Revenue Sharing Program
(David Holladay, Planning Administrator)
Mr. Holladay outlined the request for the resolution and referenced the
work session held previously.
There was no discussion.
RESOLUTION 101414-2 SUPPORTING AN APPLICATION FOR
$500,000 OF MATCHED TRANSPORTATION FUNDING
THROUGH THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION FISCAL YEAR 2015-2016 REVENUE
SHARING PROGRAM
WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors reviewed the projects identified in the
Roanoke County Revenue Sharing Program for fiscal year 2015-2016; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors desires to submit an application for an
allocation of funds of up to $500,000 through the Virginia Department of Transportation
fiscal year 2015-2016 Revenue Sharing Program; and
WHEREAS, $500,000 of these funds are requested to fund the projects identified
in the Roanoke County Revenue Sharing Program for fiscal year 2015-2016.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke
County, Virginia, as follows -
1 .
ollows:1. That the Board of Supervisors hereby supports this application for
allocation of $500,000 through the Virginia Department of Transportation
Fiscal Year 2015-2016 Revenue Sharing Program.
2. If such funds are approved by the Commonwealth, the Board of
Supervisors by separate action, will consider the required matching
funding appropriation.
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
October 14, 2014 707
This item has been postponed.
IN RE: FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES
Ordinance accepting and appropriating funds in the amount of $17,685
to Fire and Rescue for a grant from the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) for the purchase of automatic fire
suppression devices for independent living apartments (Richard E.
Burch, Jr., Chief of Fire and Rescue)
Todd Maxey, Deputy Chief; Brian Simmons, Fire Marshall; and Brian
Clingenpeel, Public Educator were in attendance to outline the request for the ordinance
and appropriate funds.
Supervisor Church's motion to approve the first reading and establish the
second reading for October 28, 2014, was approved by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: None
IN RE: SECOND READING OF ORDINANCES
1. Ordinance approving the amendment of five (5) of the seven (7)
agreements with telecommunication companies at 220 East Main
Street, Salem, Virginia ("DSS Building") (Ruth Ellen Kuhnel, Senior
Assistant County Attorney; Richard L. Caywood, Assistant County
Administrator)
There were no changes from the first reading. There was no discussion.
ORDINANCE 101414-3 APPROVING THE AMENDMENT OF
FIVE (5) OF THE SEVEN (7) AGREEMENTS WITH
TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANIES AT 220 EAST MAIN
STREET, SALEM, VIRGINIA ("DSS BUILDING")
Will
This item has been postponed.
IN RE: FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES
Ordinance accepting and appropriating funds in the amount of $17,685
to Fire and Rescue for a grant from the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) for the purchase of automatic fire
suppression devices for independent living apartments (Richard E.
Burch, Jr., Chief of Fire and Rescue)
Todd Maxey, Deputy Chief; Brian Simmons, Fire Marshall; and Brian
Clingenpeel, Public Educator were in attendance to outline the request for the ordinance
and appropriate funds.
Supervisor Church's motion to approve the first reading and establish the
second reading for October 28, 2014, was approved by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: None
IN RE: SECOND READING OF ORDINANCES
1. Ordinance approving the amendment of five (5) of the seven (7)
agreements with telecommunication companies at 220 East Main
Street, Salem, Virginia ("DSS Building") (Ruth Ellen Kuhnel, Senior
Assistant County Attorney; Richard L. Caywood, Assistant County
Administrator)
There were no changes from the first reading. There was no discussion.
ORDINANCE 101414-3 APPROVING THE AMENDMENT OF
FIVE (5) OF THE SEVEN (7) AGREEMENTS WITH
TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANIES AT 220 EAST MAIN
STREET, SALEM, VIRGINIA ("DSS BUILDING")
708 October 14, 2014
WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County (the "County") has
entered into five (5) leases and two (2) licenses (the "Agreements") currently with
varying expiration dates and renewal options at a County owned building known as the
Department of Social Services (DSS) Building (the "Building"), formerly known as the
Salem Bank and Trust Building, located at 220 E. Main Street, Salem, Virginia 24153;
and
WHEREAS, three (3) of the long-term leases were assumed with Roanoke
County's purchase of the Building on May 15, 2001, authorized by this Board by
Ordinance 041001-10 and the other four (4) agreements have been entered into at
various other times throughout the life of the ownership of the Building; and
WHEREAS, all of the Agreements had varying terms which contractually must be
honored by the County; and
WHEREAS, the County approved a comprehensive building renovation (by
Ordinance 062513-11 authorizing an appropriation of funds to finance various public
facility projects) which will require replacement of the roof and displacement of the
tenants; and
WHEREAS, County staff has been working to relocate tenants and alter the
Agreements without material breach while retaining the income stream from the
contracts and minimizing costs to the project; and
WHEREAS, Roanoke County and the tenants have agreed, subject to this
approval, to amend each of the Agreements to reflect new locations of the equipment
and other adjustments to each accordingly.
WHEREAS, the first reading of this ordinance was held on September 23, 20147
and the second reading of this ordinance was held on October 14, 2014.
BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia, as
follows -
1 .
ollows:1. That the following Agreements are amended to read and provide as follows:
a) AT&T (Lease): Current Agreement: Original ten (10) -year term ended
June 2008, in second (2nd) five (5) -year option expiring 2018, have an
existing option expiring June 2023, currently paying $1,513 per month;
New Amendment: No changes to the economic terms, however the
location of the leased area changed from the roof to the interior fifth (5th)
floor, and costs associated with outfitting said space are included in the
overall capital renovation project. New "Rooftop Space" and new "Building
Space" exhibits required to designate the new Leased Premises.
b) CoxCom (License): Current Agreement: Original term July 2012 for five
(5) years expiring 2017, and automatic year-to-year renewals, either party
can terminate with thirty (30) days' notice, currently paying $75 per month;
No New Amendment Required: No changes since they are currently in
the basement not to be materially disturbed.
c) City of Salem (Lease): Current Agreement: Original term May 1, 20107
expiring 2015, one (1) five (5) -year renewal term expiring 2020, no current
October 14, 2014 709
rent payment but consideration is the City maintaining a fiber optic
connection between the DSS Building and the Roanoke County Court
Services Building; No New Agreement Required: Staff has determined
that the equipment is not on the roof at this time so no changes needed to
Agreement, although Agreement preserves fiber optic cable arrangement
with City of Salem not connected to this building renovation.
d) Lumos (License): Current Agreement: Original five (5) -year term October
17 2013, expiring 2018, and automatic year-to-year renewals, either party
can terminate with thirty (30) days' notice, currently paying $75 per month;
New Amendment: Rent increases to $175 per month in exchange for
premium equipment position and reimbursement for Roanoke County
providing conduit; premises moved from rooftop to basement. Details to
be determined once contractor is awarded and has input.
e) Ntelos (Lease): Current Agreement: Original five (5) -year term ended
January 31, 2006, with three (3) five(5)-year options, in second (2nd) five
(5) -year option expiring January 31, 2016, with one (1) remaining five(5)-
year option ending January 31, 2021, currently paying $1,984 per month,
escalating fifteen percent (15%) at five(5)-year option renewal date; New
Amendment: Granted an additional five(5)-year term through January 31,
2026, no change in rent or escalation terms, with Landlord reimbursing
Tenant up to twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) in verifiable relocation
costs.
f) U.S.Cellular (Lease): Current Agreement: Original twenty (20) -year term
ends October 2018, with two (2) five (5) -year options ending 2028, current
monthly rate is $2607.55 with annual escalations tied to the Consumer
Price Index; New Agreement: Grant two (2) additional five (5) -year
options through the year 2038, rent remaining the same, a fifteen percent
(15%) escalation of rent at the five (5) -year option renewal.
g) Verizon (Lease): Current Agreement: Original five(5)-year term ended
October 2007, with four (4), five (5)- year options, currently in second five
(5) -year option ending October 2017, currently paying $1,380 per month,
escalating by fifteen percent (15%) at each renewal option anniversary;
New Agreement: No term changes except exhibit changes to reflect new
rooftop location, and addition of one (1) parking space to the lease at
$1,000 per month for Tenant to place a generator, which shall run on a
year-to-year term. Rent total will become $2,380, combining the two (2)
revenue streams once the parking space is made available to Verizon.
2. That the annual rents derived from the above named Agreements are
hereby appropriated to the former Salem Bank and Trust Building account.
3. That the County Administrator or an Assistant County Administrator, or
any other person that either person designates is hereby authorized to execute a lease
agreement or amendment on behalf of the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County
710 October 14, 2014
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
approved by the County Attorney.
4. That this ordinance shall be effective on and from the date of its adoption.
On motion of Supervisor Church to adopt the ordinance, and carried by the
following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: None
IN RE: CONSENT AGENDA
RESOLUTION 101414-4 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
ollows:That the certain section of the agenda of the Board of Supervisors for October
14, 2014, 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 7 inclusive, as follows -
1 .
ollows:1. Approval of minutes — August 26, 2014
2. Confirmation of appointments to the South Peak Community Development
Authority and Total Action Against Poverty Board of Directors (at Large)
3. Request for appointment of representative to the Roanoke County
Community Policy and Management Team (CPMT)
4. Request to accept and allocate grant funds in the amount of $24,424.81 from
the U.S. Department of Justice's Bulletproof Vest Partnership to the Roanoke
County Sheriff's Office for the 2013 and 2014 award solicitation
5. Request to accept a donated K-9 ballistic vest valued at $950 from Vested
Interest in K9s, Inc. for use by a Police Department K-9
6. Resolution expressing the appreciation of the Board of Supervisors of
Roanoke County to William M. Sowers, Parks Crew Leader, upon his
retirement after more than thirty-seven (37) years of service
7. Request to transfer funds in the amount of $70,000 from the Fire/Rescue
Capital Reserve account (102890-9670) to the Fire and Rescue EMS Data
Reporting System account (102857-6509)
On motion of Supervisor McNamara to adopt the resolution, and carried by the
following recorded vote:
October 14, 2014 711
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: None
A -101414-4.a
A -101414-4.b
A -101414-4.c
A -101414-4.d
RESOLUTION 101414-4.e EXPRESSING THE APPRECIATION
OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF ROANOKE COUNTY
TO WILLIAM M. SOWERS, PARKS MOTOR EQUIPMENT
OPERATOR III, UPON HIS RETIREMENT AFTER MORE THAN
THIRTY-SEVEN (37) YEARS OF SERVICE
WHEREAS, William M. Sowers was hired on August 17, 1977, and has worked
for Public Works and the Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Department during his tenure
with Roanoke County; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Sowers retired on September 1, 2014, after thirty seven (37)
years and one (1) month of devoted, faithful and expert service with the County; and
WHEREAS, during his time serving Roanoke County, Mr. Sowers served Public
Works to maintain the grounds and landscaping on Roanoke County properties, and
where he served Parks, Recreation, and Tourism as a Motor Equipment Operator I to
maintain parks and ball fields by operating large capacity mowers and specialty
equipment, and where as he served as a Motor Equipment Operator 11 by operating
loaders, tractors, and graders, and where as he last served as Motor Equipment
Operator III to help facilitate our agricultural program and work with heavy equipment to
improve our park amenities and enhance the quality of life for the citizens of Roanoke
County and our visitors.
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 William M. Sowers, for thirty-seven (37) years and
one (1) month 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 -101414-4.f
712 October 14, 2014
IN RE: CITIZENS' COMMENTS AND COMMUNICATIONS
The following citizen spoke:
Max Beyer stated he wanted to speak today on the recent publicity
regarding the staff and the personnel actions. There is a cloud over the County. The
personnel/procedures matter suggested by some Board members have spilled over into
unacceptable levels of public concern and knowledge. He does not think the Board
cannot handle this situation without its own formal investigation. There is too much
press involvement and public interest to sweep it under the rug. Staff has completed its
job and the results are controversial to some. It is now time for the Board to conduct its
review of the facts and circumstances of the staff action. He does not know why the
majority of the Board do not even want to read the record of what has happened. He
finds that is unacceptable. Upon reading that, the Board's inquiry should focus on
process and procedures; it is not a witch hunt. Procedural action has been taken by the
staff. The primary focus of the Board's inquiry should be to determine if County
procedures have been followed and what changes need to be made in those
procedures and policies. The resulting changes, if any, should be made public. Again,
this Board is the only body that is capable of handling this situation and removing the
cloud from the County. He asked the Board if they would execute their responsibilities.
IN RE: REPORTS
Supervisor Bedrosian asked for an overview of the following reports:
General Fund Unappropriated Balance; Capital Reserves and Reserve for Board
Contingency, which Ms. Owens, Director of Finance provided.
Supervisor Bedrosian moved to receive and file the following reports. He
also requested that Finance include the Current Debt going forward. 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. Proclamation declaring October 26 -October 31, 2014, as Red
Ribbon Week in the County of Roanoke
5. Proclamation declaring October as National Crime Prevention
Month in the County of Roanoke
October 14, 2014 713
IN RE: REPORTS AND INQUIRIES OF BOARD MEMBERS
Supervisor Bedrosian stated there were three things he wants to talk
about. First of all he wanted to thank Superintendent Lange. He was at a dinner the
other evening when she was there and after the meeting they had small talk about her
daughters and granddaughters that are artists. After that, she told him that she did not
think our schools were "Godless". She was referring to a Dan Casey article a week or
so ago commenting on something that he had discussed with him sometime last year.
Ms. Lange went on to say that in Roanoke County schools, they do practice a moment
of silence. He is taking time to tell the story because Ms. Lange and he are talking
about two different things. He had a very enjoyable conversation with her and she is
very forthright and opinionated from New Jersey and he thinks that is great; they had a
great conversation. He wants to take a moment here and talk about what he means
about this. He stated he is a firm believer that we have a great nation that is due to the
fact that our nation was formed under heavy influence of Christianity and not a moment
of silence. He is talking about Christianity. The fact that you can see this in our nation
with all the monuments we are actually trying to tear down. Schools in America started
for the most part in small little churches with a specific purpose to be able to read the
bible. Now this has all changed and we have now allowed government to dictate
education so biblical authority has been removed and we have filled it with a humanistic
world view. His discussion with Superintendent Lange also centered on the fact that he
and his wife home school their children because they want their children to have a
biblical world view and think that is important for their children. He realized that our
government schools have many "Godly" individuals in them, but we are in great need of
a separation of school and state and we need to allow for school choice where parents
can choose whatever type of education they want in Roanoke and maybe have a credit
to do so. Ms. Lange and he disagreed on that issue and we soon moved on to
conversations with other people. He just wanted to clarify this and thank Ms. Lange for
a very good discussion on the issue. Our government schools have many "Godly"
people in them, however, government has removed the biblical base that our education
system once had. The next thing he wanted to talk about is something that came up
unexpectedly today. It is interesting that he was out doing an activity and was listening
to radio over the internet with his headphones. Actually listening to a station that he
normally does in Joplin, Missouri. It was interesting because at the new break the news
story went to talk about the fact that Joplin, Missouri was searching for a City Manager.
To his surprise, they listed all the candidates that were the finalist for the job. One was
the current Assistant Manager and listed his name and the other three (3) were from out
of state and were currently employed in another city or county and they listed their
names. We are very secretive here in Roanoke County and we do not do any of that so
he thought it was interesting. He got on the phone and called the radio station in Joplin,
Missouri and asked the news director if he heard correctly that they revealed the names
of all the candidates, even he thinks that is a little unusual. If anything in this process, if
714 October 14, 2014
you are looking for a job you probably don't want your name to be out there. The news
director responded, "absolutely" and explained the process of an executive placement
company that received forty-five (45) applicants and they whittled it down to twelve (12)
by the executive placement company based on certain criteria; very similar to what we
do. Then the City Council whittled it down to four (4) and now these four (4) people
have their names plastered all over the news. She said, "It is a very important job and it
is important that they hire the right person and the people of Joplin need to know about
it." Those names will be out there so people could do their research and figure out
whether that person was the right person. He told her he would bring this up at our
Roanoke County Board Meeting because we live in Roanoke County and think
everybody does it the way we do it and it is not true. This is just one out of the blue
where somebody does it different here. He would strongly like to urge the County
government to change the way we deal with these closed sessions relating to how we
choose the County Administrator and actually every other item that we do. It is amazing
that every area does not have closed meetings like we do or a lot of them. It is actually
a very unusual circumstance that they do this. So, this led him to his third comment. As
many of you are very aware, we had interviews yesterday on the County Administrator
and he was involved in those interviews. He has had a problem with the whole thing of
closed session and doing everything in secret. He thinks that the Board needs to stop
this process immediately of selecting a County Administrator and fix the current
personnel issues that we have right now before we bring anybody else on. Our current
Chairman says we are on a fast-track to select a new Administrator and he cannot
disagree more with that; he thinks that is the wrong thing. He thinks we are served well
with our current Interim Administrator. He speaks for himself, but he does not have
confidence in how the Board is proceeding with this and thinks this entire process is
detrimental to the citizens and large group of employees right here in Roanoke County.
He knows the votes are against him; we have three (3) Board members that have said
over and over again they are not willing to take a look at the serious issues we have as
referenced by one speaker. He thinks a new Administrator will be overwhelmed
learning a new job and will not have any time to look at these personnel issues.
Because he thinks it is impossible to negotiate in good faith over this issue because the
vote count will always be three to two (3 to 2) on this Board. He thinks also the
continual use of closed sessions to talk about items he thinks should be discussed out
in the chamber with everyone. He thinks we do too many closed session meetings.
Usually, if it not about a personnel issue, we are trying to talk about giving companies
incentives to come to Roanoke County or not leave Roanoke County. He is not a
believer in that; he believes in a free enterprise system and that no-one should be given
any special incentives. He will be available to do interviews with any new candidates
that we have, but he will not be attending the closed sessions today. In fact, he is not
going to attend either one. He really wants Roanoke County to open up and thinks the
Board needs to do things out in the open. He is definitely ready to interview and then
when we finally do the vote of the new County Administrator, he will be there. His vote
October 14, 2014 715
may or may not be with the majority. It is really not that important to him. He will vote
for whoever he feels is the best candidate. A lot of times, this Board wants to do things
on a unanimous vote, but if we don't feel that way, he does not think they should vote
that way.
Supervisor Church asked Doug Blount to pass on his gratitude to Mark
Courtwright in relation to the Roanoke Valley Cricket Association Championship. He
was introduced to a new sport and what a neat sport it really is. We spent hours out
there last weekend, Sunday, and had no idea what cricket was. He thought it was like
baseball, but it is not. It is amazing to find out that some cricket games go on for five (5)
days. This one started at 11:00 a.m. and it was almost dark when they finished; he
does not know the score. Richmond beat our Roanoke Valley team and the score was
200 plus to 180 plus; does not know the score for sure. There was one player who
scored over one hundred (100) by himself. The cricket ball hit him in the head and had
to be taken to the hospital for stitches so he was eliminated and there went our
chances. The Richmond team was not happy to see him get hurt, but they were happy
to see him leave the field because he had been at bat for an hour. He was so talented
and could turn and hit it behind him. There were probably 200 people and it was a
grand time and had the pleasure to award the championship trophy to Richmond, and
second place to Roanoke. Cricket is here to stay. Green Hill is a home to them and
they are very appreciative of Roanoke County and it is just a unique sport; if you ever
get the opportunity please take a game in.
Supervisor Peters wanted to direct staff to two things that have missed the
Board's radar and does not know why. Mr. DeWeese is here today and he gets the
privilege of seeing him on Sundays as well. We have talked about the discharging of a
firearm within so many feet of a home. He would like to see a work session and now
would be the time to do this to set the bar for next year if we choose to go down that
road. Two or three months ago we began the budget process and had requested some
information at that time and also another work session. Neither one has occurred and
would ask that staff work on that. The last comment he is going to make is regarding
the County Administrator position because he feels that the process being put on hold
does not make sense. It does not make sense in the real world; he cannot find that
anywhere else and knows there are people on this Board that disagree with him when
he says the County is run like a business. No, he is not after profits and does not
answer to shareholders, but answer to citizens and taxpayers. In business if a CEO
leaves, retires, they immediately go try and find a new CEO. If a CEO leaves under a
cloud of doubt, what do they do? They still go out and find a CEO as soon as they can
because we need a leader. We need someone leading the County through whatever
problems may or may not be out there, we need someone out there. It is not the five (5)
of us; that is not what we are called to do in the day to day operations. So, Mr.
O'Donnell is doing a great job filling in, but he thinks this County would be best served
by finding someone permanent to take care of any issues that come forth in the future.
Supervisor Moore stated with regard to the pipeline, if they could get to
716 October 14, 2014
staff a way for our citizens to contact the FREC with their comments and concerns and
also provide a list of property owners in Roanoke County who may be effected by the
pipeline. She also recognized Red Ribbon Week is October 26th through October 31,
2014 and October is national crime prevention month. The police do a great job on
protecting our County. Last, she would like to make a comment on Mr. Bedrosian's
comment of "we will also vote in a 3-2, there will always be a 3-2 vote on this Board."
That is nonfactual; there has been a lot of different votes on this Board and would also
like to comment on his comment and agree with him that she will always vote on how
she feels on an issue, but will also respect others and how they voted. She also
thanked all the wonderful County staff and employees for coming to work every day and
doing the best job they can. She appreciates them and all they do.
Supervisor McNamara inquired of Mr. O'Donnell and the pipeline folks,
how does this pipeline compare to the one that currently runs through Penn Forrest
School and the Merriman soccer complex. Mr. O'Donnell responding that he had no
idea at this point, but would look into it.
At 5:26 p.m. Chairman McNamara recessed to the 4th floor for work
session and closed meeting.
IN RE: CLOSED MEETING
At 5:24 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
Discussion or consideration of the employment and appointment of specific public
officers, appointees or employees, namely the County Administrator and Section
2.2.3711.A.3 Discussion or consideration of the disposition of public held real property,
where discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or
negotiating strategy of the Board of Supervisors
The motion carried by the following recorded vote:
AYES: Supervisors Moore, Church, Peters, McNamara
NAYS: Supervisor Bedrosian
Supervisor Church commented that he had only missed one closed
session that dealt with dates and interview times. He remarked that he had not missed
a single interview. Finally, he advised he has addressed his concerns with Chairman
McNamara.
The Closed Meeting was held from 6:27 p.m. until 6:51 p.m.
October 14, 2014 717
IN RE: WORK SESSIONS
1. Work session to discuss entering into an agreement with a
communications tower company for rental of County and School
sites (Anne Marie Green, Director of General Services)
In attendance for this meeting was Penny Hodge from the Roanoke
County School System. Ms. Green provided a PowerPoint presentation concerning this
agenda item. She advised it is staff's recommendation not to have an exclusive
contract. Supervisor Peters inquired why would staff not pursue on their own; would it
not be worth it to figure out and go ahead and market.
Supervisor McNamara stated he thinks a Request for Proposal should be
done.
Supervisor Moore remarked that she would like to see nicer towers.
It was the consensus of the Board to move forward with the staff
recommendations to issue our own Request for Proposal (RFP) that does not make an
exclusive agreement.
The works session was held from 5:43 p.m. until 6:03 p.m.
2. Work session to discuss House Bill 2 (Richard L. Caywood,
Assistant County Administrator)
Mr. Caywood provided a PowerPoint presentation and went through the
House Bill Priorization Talking Points of September 18, 2014. He indicated that there
would be a public meeting on October 21, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. at Northside High School, a
Design meeting on the Park and Ride on October 16, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. and a Public
Hearing on the design of Planation Road on November 20, 2014.
The work session was held from 6:04 p.m. until 6:16 p.m.
IN RE: CERTIFICATION RESOLUTION
At 6:52 p.m., Supervisor McNamara moved to return to open session and
to adopt the certification resolution.
718
IN RE: ADJOURNMENT
October 14, 2014
Chairman McNamara adjourned the meeting at 6:54 p.m.
itted by: Approved by:
orah C. Jac .dos, ph P. McNamara
Deputy Clerk to a Board Chairman