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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/24/2015 - RegularFebruary 24, 2015 91 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 fourth Tuesday and the second regularly scheduled meeting of the month of February 2015. 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 Russ Merritt of Northminster Presbyterian Church. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all present. IN RE: CALL TO ORDER Chairman Peters called the meeting to order at 3-04 p.m. The roll call was taken. MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman P. Jason Peters, Supervisors Al Bedrosian, Joseph B. "Butch" Church, Joseph P. McNamara and Charlotte A. Moore MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Thomas C. Gates, County Administrator; Daniel R. O'Donnell, Assistant County Administrator; Richard Caywood, Assistant County Administrator- Paul M. '7 Mahoney, County Attorney; Amy Whittaker, Public Information Officer and Deborah C. Jacks, Deputy Clerk to the Board IN RE: BRIEFINGS 1. Briefing to update the Board of Supervisors from the Virginia Department of Highways (VDOT) regarding the February 16, 2015, snow storm (Dan Collins, Salem Residency Administrator, VDOT) The briefing was given. Mr. Collins advised he had met with Mr. Gates and Mr. Caywood earlier this morning and discussed strategies. 92 February 24, 2015 Supervisor Church inquired of Mr. Collins if outside contractors were used. Mr. Collins responded in the affirmative noting VDOT would be willing to take on more. He referenced a "Frequently Asked Questions" handout that has been filed in the office of the Clerk to the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Church then asked Mr. Collins to explain the difference between cities and counties. Supervisor Moore asked if Mr. Collins could explain about the crossover streets or cross streets and cul-de-sacs when you compare to the primary and secondary roads. Mr. Collins advised when you go into a highly developed area such as Hunting Hills, there are a couple of collector streets. Their goal is to go through the collector streets and make sure they are clear. Once they are clear they branch out to the branches. The problems with cul-de-sacs is because of how the cars are parked and the maneuverability compared to the others. Supervisor McNamara thanked the folks working the twelve (12) hour shifts. County. Chairman Peters remarked there seemed to be a lot of issues in East 2. Briefing to update the Board of Supervisors on the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) (Richard L. Caywood, Assistant County Administrator; Philip Thompson, Deputy Director of Planning) Mr. Caywood provided the briefing and provided a PowerPoint presentation. It is the recommendation of staff to have the Board appoint a Pipeline Advisory Committee. Supervisor Bedrosian stated the last time we had this discussion, the Pipeline people were contacting the citizens before contacting the County. He advised he guessed the protocol should have been to contact the County first and then the individual property owners. Mr. Caywood responded in the affirmative. He then asked why was there a stink about that and why was it wrong to begin with. Mr. Caywood responded there are different opinions about this. In the first case, the first anybody knew about the initial route was property owners getting letters in the mail asking for permission to survey their land. There was no larger context to the letter. It's just a letter so what happens is folks called us or their local Supervisor and wanted to know what was going on and we tried to call the company and see what was going on and he thought a better way to communicate with the local government is to say we're looking at a map like this with alternatives and we're reaching out to citizens requesting permission to survey. In this case we got the map two and a half weeks later and had no idea when the letters were mailed. Staff is in a position of not being responsive to folks concerned about potential impacts to their property, so he has asked on a number of occasions that they try to let us know either first or maybe on the same day they send the letters if they could send something to us and he could share it with the Board and staff and let them know that communication is made so when a citizen calls we're in a February 24, 2015 93 better position to answer the questions. So at that time we told them the next time you do anything make sure you contact us first. Mr. Caywood responded in the affirmative. So this recent thing that happened is on this new route they went ahead and contacted citizens before contacting us again? Mr. Caywood responded in the affirmative, stating everything happened like they did it before from what he could tell. When they contact citizens his biggest issue in this whole thing has always been the right of the citizens to say no to private business coming on the property. He added this is his overriding theme in this whole thing, so to me if a private business contacts the citizen without the government knowing, it is not a big issue to him, but in the context of this issue, it is different than a business contacting a landowner. When they contact the citizen, are they forcing themselves to come and survey or is it still at this point permission granted or denied by the citizen? Mr. Caywood responded it is his understanding at this point along this pipeline, this is only an ask process so far. There is a court case involving the Dominion Pipeline to the East of us where they have taken it up further and are actually seeking a court to affirm the Virginia Code that would allow them to go onto the property without permission. To his knowledge that hasn't happened on this pipeline corridor yet but that is driving the fear of citizens that they will exercise that piece of the Virginia Code to want to the land even if they don't grant permission. Supervisor Bedrosian stated so we're aware it's the Virginia Code and people I talk to says that our Constitution says there is no imminent domain when a private business in pursuit of profit that goes with private business has a right to go on anybody's property that they don't have the right so are we saying for this it's absolutely now this company can go on anybody's property even if they say no eventually? Mr. Caywood asked Mr. Mahoney to respond. Mr. Mahoney advised that legal issue that is the subject of the pending litigation currently in court now. There is a very clear Virginia statute that does provide that right, that power, but people are challenging that authority under the constitutional provision that you referenced and that's what is being litigated now and he figures some judge is going to make the determination and at some point in time, the loser will appeal it on up and that will go forward in the litigation process. Supervisor Bedrosian reiterated that we are saying as of right now no one has ruled that this company, MVP, has the right to go on anybody's property. Mr. Mahoney responded no one has ruled that the Virginia statute is unconstitutional. Supervisor Bedrosian then asked Mr. Mahoney to clarify what the statute says. Mr. Mahoney responded that the statute provides an opportunity for this organization to go onto a person's property to perform surveying, without their consent. There are certain notice requirements and timelines and certain protections that are set out in terms of if the survey team damages the property so there is some compensation elements attached to that, but there is a provision in the code that authorizes it. Supervisor Bedrosian commented so we are saying that Roanoke County citizens are being told the company is coming on the property whether they consent to it or not? Mr. Mahoney responded in the negative, advising they have asked for permission, but we have been told that the Company has not invoked that statutory provision as of this time. If they don't get permission, they 94 February 24, 2015 have the power to go to the second step, if they want to, to invoke the statute. Supervisor Bedrosian stated in a free society anybody has the right, and maybe the fear is once you allow this first level to happen, then obviously will go to the second level. Is that what we are all fearful of? He is trying to understand what really is the issue here at this level with what they are doing right now. They are asking consent to come on closed property, people can say no and some people have said no and some have probably said yes. Gentlemen from Catawba. Supervisor Church stated he has concerns of different directions and thinks it all comes back to the concern he has with the method of notification or the lack thereof. This Board had a briefing with the MVP/EPT people and they did express some regret that they did not go through the governing Board. With all due respect to any other supervisor, most of this activity seems to be taking place in his particular district. When you are talking about being approached by a MVP gas line, this is a serious thing. There is the possibility of leakage, explosion and everything else in between. His concern number one is the MVP did express regret of how they were doing the notification and over this past weekend he has received calls from citizens in the Catawba Valley that are very concerned. He advised that was his first notice that a different proposed route was even being considered. The citizens are in shock and they are scared. We don't know the type of people that occupy all of our properties. We have young and older, retired, farmers, landowners and everywhere in between so the different reactions could be incumbent upon how they feel about it. It is a type of threat, the FERC with the government and he is sure they have read the so-called power of imminent domain and that would unnerve himself if someone wanted to come on his land for surveying about the Mountain Valley Pipeline. So, this prompted him to send out a letter to the Montgomery Board of Supervisors and administration knowing they have expressed a concerted opposition and looking for a coalition of local governments. He believes there is strength in numbers. He does not believe everybody can be wrong here if they stand together as far as opposing number one maybe the route and number two the lack of notification; maybe in reverse order. He does not think anybody would be so angered, they might be bothered if they had done this in a different manner. So, as far as the committee, he stated he thinks when you get people involved, especially out citizens, we are going to be better off. His only concern is in looking at the number and going back to the Stormwater Management and sometimes we involve too many and the group gets so big we get bogged down and fifteen to thirty (15 to 30) people are going in different directions. So, he would encourage curtailing the size. As far as quarterly, he thinks there is too much time distance there; the quicker the better. Mr. Caywood to be responsive to the question about the committee, we could recommend a couple of different sizes to let the Board take a look at. He was envisioning the coming meeting more frequently and coming back to the Board on a quarterly basis. He would anticipate them meeting monthly and may need to meet every two weeks when there is something to look at. He wants to make sure that the Committee is ahead of the deadlines both for the Board and the February 24, 2015 95 FERC so that our voice is heard at various steps along the way. Supervisor Church stated it would be really nice if the MVP organization would agree to contact the governing body first and put it in writing. Supervisor McNamara stated he thinks when he was on the Board when Appalachian Power ran a power line and the Board held a number of rezonings and it is just as completely foreign that the person making the change does not work with the government to try to minimize impact. There are people in favor of the pipeline. There are certainly people that are opposed to the pipeline, but there is absolutely everybody opposed to the way this is occurring. Effectively, they are taking our voice out of this process. He thinks it is an excellent strategy to look at the pipeline advisory committee - the fact that will have the intervener capabilities he thinks is significant and critical t'� that organization because we really don't have that. He stated he, like several members of the Board, met with the representatives after a Board meeting at one of my stores, and the fellow just said he can't believe it happened the way it happened. He's extremely upset about it. Would like us to delay voting on this and delay voting on that. It wouldn't happen again. Guess what? He didn't get what he wanted and it happened again so the credibility of that organization has been tarnished to some degree. He stated he is wondering when you look at a committee I guess if you look at 15 as your target if you don't have 15 there's no significant number of people on that committee in order to be registered as an intervener is there? Mr. Caywood responded in the negative commenting he does not think that would effect that as there is no ideal number. He would like for it to be representative of the County as a whole. Supervisor McNamara stated he does not think it should be a committee of every single person against the pipeline. The other thing is would our County Attorney advise the committee or should there be an attorney on the committee. Mr. Mahoney stated if this is a committee that the Board decides to create, a committee to advise the Board, an Advisory Committee, in that case yes, the County Attorney's office and other staff would be assisting and advising the committee. Any party or any person can be an intervener. Supervisor McNamara thanked Mr. Mahoney for the clarification and stated he did not realize anybody could be an intervener and thought it had to be a formalized group. Supervisor McNamara then asked for clarification regarding bringing this back to the Board at some future Board meeting and asked Mr. Caywood to tighten that down. Mr. Caywood stated he would like to bring back recommendations of appointments to the committee at the second meeting in March 2015. Supervisor Moore stated she thinks a lot of the citizens might be affected by the pipeline and concurs this is a good idea and other localities can benefit from what we find out and vice versa. This will help our citizens and keep them more informed. Supervisor Church asked Mr. Mahoney in order to formalize does the Board need to vote to form a committee. An intervener means anybody, what process does the Board take. Mr. Mahoney responded it was two different issues. If the Board decides it wants to be an intervener, you do not need a committee to do that. With respect to creating an advisory committee, the Board in the past has the responsibility 96 February 24, 2015 to adopt some kind of legislative measure to authorize the creation of an advisory committee. If you will recall what the Board did with the Stormwater Committee, a resolution was adopted that set out many of the goals, standards, activities that Mr. Caywood has included in his Board Report. Back in July, the Board adopted a resolution authorizing the creation of an Advisory Committee. Then a month to six (6) weeks later, you came back and took a second action where you confirmed appointments of specific named individuals or groups to that committee. Supervisor Bedrosian stated he thinks a committee would be great. He is perplexed why MVP has done this twice. If they had contacted the County first, what would staff have done? Mr. Caywood stated ideally for us communicating with the Board and the citizens as soon as we had new information. We would share with staff and the Board and submit to the website; that way when they get a letter, they have some context and eliminate a lot of confusion. Supervisor Bedrosian stated it seems like this is making it worse for them. Is there anything that he is missing that says, what is the reason? Mr. Caywood stated he does not see the downside to coming to the County and helping communicate to the same citizens. Supervisor Bedrosian then asked if we have done anything as a County. Do we send out letters- we know approximately the area that it is in. Just so they would be aware of what i� going on. Mr. Caywood advises the County has not done any mailings. We have the capability to do that and that is another good thing for this committee to look at; what is the best communication that we could do. Supervisor Bedrosian stated he would think an immediate letter- they are getting letters from a company that may confuse a lot of citizens. Would ihis not be a duty of the County to send something out? Mr. Caywood stated he thinks this is something staff can look into. Supervisor Bedrosian stated it may need to be done sooner rather than later. Mr. Gates, County Administrator, advised there is a project website and we are putting information up to the extent that we know it. Chairman Peters advised he felt it would be a little difficult because staff does not know where it is going to go yet. Supervisor Bedrosian reiterated that a letter to let everyone know what is going on may not be a bad idea; better safe than sorry. It would put MVP on notice. Chairman Peters asked if we can take the new alternate routes and overlay throughout GIS system. Mr. Caywood stated they do actually have on the company website have that map now plotted by parcel. Chairman Peters then opened the floor to the speakers. Steve Hanes stated he wasn't expecting this conversation because it just totally destroyed what he has written down for his comments. One of the things you have to consider here too is there are several organizations in this County that have gone door to door with some of the people in these routes. This route is brand-new so they haven't gone door to door but they have been in contact along that route already. We try to keep them informed what might happen and one of the things he would like to say is the reason the reddish route down there is changed on the yellow is because in February 24, 2015 97 my opinion because there was so much resistance in the New River Valley that they decided it was less problematic to come from the route they originally proposed and move it over through Catawba and come in that way. The problem he has with it is two issues. Primary problem is imminent domain taking the property from citizens who own it and give it to a corporation; not give it but force the sale of it and the second thing is that the Poor Mountain watershed is there. The committee we're talking about is being formed right now because of the MVP. It may address other things later, but it's the MVP now and the biggest threat to the County is that Poor Mountain watershed. If the pipeline goes over to it there is severe risk to it and that is my issue and the other big concern he has is that government committees seem to run at a snail's pace. He is all for this committee; he really is as he thinks it is the best way for citizens to interact with government to get this thing done but when looking at time schedules and the timeframes in the two month, three month range, MVP wants a final approval from FERC by August or September at the latest. Then, it's a done deal and whatever the route is going to be is the way it is going to be and no changing it then. If we're going to change the route, it has to be done soon just like Blacksburg and the New River Valley did. They got it changed and MVP won't say that, but we think that it's in Catawba County right now because of the organized resistance going on in the New River valley and the problem here is if we don't speak loud enough; quick enough with enough authority to do the same thing as New River valley and that is why he is hoping this committee could help. He knows not everybody is not going to be opposed to the pipeline, but whether you are or not and you could be opposed to destroying the Poor Mountain watershed for the Roanoke valley and his suggestion is to move at a quicker pace rather than a slower pace because time is of the essence here. By the time we get to July, it's too late. We have to do it now. Roberta Johnson stated you Supervisors received a letter from my husband and I on the value of that watershed and bottom creek specifically so she would like to use this time to address how she thinks the way this PAC Committee has been outlined is not appropriate. Setting it up as it was set up for a Stormwater committee, which is more of an urban runoff problem, and this is dealing with rural areas, so she does not think that all of these same categories should be used. There should be people who can deal with historic resources, farmers and recreational value of the land in the County, and she hopes that will be addressed by Mr. Caywood and the rest of you before people are put before that committee. Natural resources don't have a very loud voice. As Steve Haynes pointed out, Montgomery County did an effective job, but they have a university and all those students and all the staff and all of the surrounding community. Bent Mountain, Catawba, they're not many people living in those areas. What you have there are resources that can be essential to the County's health in the future. They're assets. They need to be assigned dollar values and people need to be on this committee who think in those terms that we don't want to forego opportunity costs to use those assets in the future. 98 February 24, 2015 Greta Haynes -Self stated she is a community organizer with Preserve Roanoke, as a group that has formed in opposition of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. She thanked the members of the Board for adopting the resolution opposing the Mountain Valley Pipeline and she thinks that is an important first step. She also thanked Supervisor Church for taking a stand for our community in suggesting the need for a coalition of local governments to oppose the Mountain Valley Pipeline. This is a regional issue. We are sharing resources and thinks it is incumbent upon local leaders to take a stand for our community. This is an issue of public safety and health. It affects more than just the people who are landowners and the issue of imminent domain for private company's gain is a real threat to landowners. People choose to live here and don't expect to have a company come knocking on the door saying they have to survey their property and they're not being honest. When going door to door, she met with a few newcomers to this issue from Catawba before she came to this meeting and what she is hearing time and time again is that the company is knocking on the door. They may be sending a letter. They also come in unmarked vehicles. So, who are these people who are knocking on the doors of folks who live in the rural county area? How do folks know who they are and that they do have a right to say no? Is a verbal no acceptable or do they need to send a certified letter to the company? They need to have a way to get more information and feels like it would be helpful to have a coalition of local governments who are opposing this pipeline. We have organized as a citizen group and we need to do more of that. We need to educate the public and they're on the fast track. This is moving quickly and if we don't as a group stand up, as a community take a stand to protect our water, to protect the air, we're going to have some serious regrets. These jobs they're talking about are temporary and it's incumbent upon the leaders of the local government to take a stand on behalf of our community. Louise Garmon of 8430 Gravel Hill Road in Catawba stated she and her family did receive the letter. In fact, several of her families received the letter, her brother, two nephews and my son. When we got the letter it was a total shock to us and the problem was they were asking for permission to come on your property to survey and you had no earthly idea where the route was proposed. So she wore out the telephone calling and finally managed to get a couple of maps and found out it's going right through the middle of our farm and between our house and barn. She has been called a NIMB and she admits she is a NIMB for Roanoke County as well as Catawba and she appreciates the effort the Board has put into this and appreciates the resolution to try to keep it out of Roanoke County. She realizes that this country is very dependent on energy. She just feels like the way we were approached was very unprofessional. She also feels like that it may have been different. Consequently, she is here to tell you that Catawba has been posted until it looks like we are the most anti -social people in the world. There are over 200 posted signs put up. She does not like to do that; she does not like to see posted signs. We're in the process of getting "no pipeline" signs. We're having a meeting in the community this Friday night and I asked one of the February 24, 2015 99 Coates field representatives as that's the company they're contracting to do the surveying if they would like to attend. She was told by one "Yes, I would like to attend." Two days later he called and said "I can't come to your meeting "and she asked why not? "My Project Manager in Beckley, West Virginia said I can't come and there will be no public meeting on the alternate routes." She responded she would think you would want to come and speak in our own interest, but if you don't we will have the meeting anyway. She further added she would like to know why, when you have had thirteen (13) open house meetings initiated by your company, why you cannot have one in Catawba? And he said, "Because this is considered a reroute and we don't do public meetings with reroutes and yes they will use the imminent domain." She had been told that they will so what she is asking you to do and appears to me with what Mr. Caywood has in mind that you're on the way to doing that is just to help us, support us, and maintain the feeling that you don't want it in Roanoke County. It's not just my farm or just my neighbor. She was told if they get on your farm and we see that a significant reason that wouldn't be right to put it in that route then we would swing it over one way or another. She does not want them to swing it on my neighbors so please keep your stand. She appreciates the Board's efforts. Roberta Bondurant stated she appreciates the Board hearing from us this afternoon and she just has four or five comments. She wanted to follow up and say thanks to Ms. Garmon for her comments and her outreach and that's going to go to one of my comments about the FERC process, but also to highlight for you with regard to Ms. Johnson's comments. If you have participants on your citizen board or your community board with regard to this project, it's important to include people who can tell you about resources and tell you about historical data because that's what FERC looks at; that's within the FERC process. Mr. Bedrosian, she really appreciate your concerns. My husband and I have written a detailed letter attaching the lawsuits from the dominion pipeline issues and we have written to Chief Hall and to Commonwealth Attorney Leach with regard to issues that outline this in detail. She will get you all a copy of that letter and essentially we let them know that the issues come down that the notice provisions are circular and neither the surveyors nor the landowners can comply with the notice provisions, and so there's all kinds of questions about vagueness and enforceability. You asked about imminent domain. In this case, as a theoretical legal concept but real legal concept in effect for landowners is that imminent domain becomes a ruse. Imminent domain, if you believe in the concept, it's for the public good; the larger public good. The question here is as you say when this is for a private company for significant potential financial gain for a small number of people, the question is to what extent does it serve the purposes of the fundamental issue of imminent domain. Third, the FERC process truly does narrow at this point and as Ms. Garmon explained to you there are no hearings left for Catawba residents at this point and in regard to other people those hearings for that matter, they weren't like public hearings. They were like college fairs. Folks get to come hear the pipeline people explain the advantages of the pipeline in private small, few number conversations where concerned citizens and stakeholders 100 February 24, 2015 don't get and stakeholders don't get to hear each other's concerns. She really appreciates the idea of a mailing. The concern there is not just for affected landowners, but also for adjacent landowners and it's not only going to only affect immediate concerns of landowners with property values and water and that sort of thing. You have those concerns and it would be a truly beneficial thing to get a letter out immediately because as people who are working this issue have tried to contact landowners at the same time we can't get everybody. She really does appreciate your staffs efforts. My understanding is when people have come into these offices, they have gotten help from the staff in terms of getting on the maps and locating their property relative to the route. Mr. Peters, your concern is we don't know yet where the route is and that's a problem with the process. The old process has been stepped up, and now the company, the pipeline company is allowed to prefile and that moves the whole federal process forward by sixty to ninety (60 to 90) days and we appreciate your voice in this. We really appreciate you all taking ownership of this process and seeing your value in this process because even Ms. LaFleur, who heads up the FERC Commission sees as she's recently been quoted in industry magazine as seeing FERC a relatively small bureaucracy as responsible for essentially checking off regulatory and environmental concerns if those boxes are appropriately checked then they pass the pipeline. To the extent that you can weigh in on this as interveners, we feel it would be a truly effective process. Chairman Peters stated the citizens brought up some good ideas about who we have on the committee; he believes there is consensus of this Board to move forward with a committee sooner rather than later and asked Mr. Mahoney what the Board needs to do. Mr. Mahoney responded typically the Board does not take action on briefing items, but staff would like some indication from the Board and thinks we have all heard it; some formal action by the governing body to indicate support what the staff is suggesting and then staff can come back to the Board at a subsequent meeting with a list of potential individuals or nominees if you will who could serve on this committee. Chairman Peters stated based on what he has seen and heard today it is the consensus of the Board to move forward and bring back at our next meeting. Supervisor Church stated the comments made by the citizens are on target. Chairman Peters then recognized a citizen speaker on the VDOT issue. Susan Black stated she has been a resident of Roanoke County since 1986 and live in North Lakes, which she believes is one of the largest developments, population wise, in the County. She moved here from Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 1980. That's a huge county that surrounds the city of Philadelphia. It's so big it's broken into townships and each one has a Commissioner. My father was the Commissioner that represented our township. Their snow was not only plowed but had to be removed and dumped into the Delaware River. So she grew up knowing a little bit about snow removal. As Commissioner, my father insisted our street was cleared last February 24, 2015 101 so he knew when all of his constituents could get out; that is something to think about. She had very few snow days out of school as a result. When I moved my parents to Roanoke County in 2010, my father was agast at the snow handling or lack thereof and said that the Supervisors should be ashamed of themselves. He passed away two years ago or she knows he would be here today and trust me you're lucky he's not. There has been no improvement in snow handling. If there had been a medical emergency on our street, she is not sure an ambulance would have been able to make it through our neighborhood. Over this past weekend, a retired police officer with a four wheeler with a small plow on front came from several blocks away and helped clear some of our street, more than VDOT did. My street was finally plowed yesterday. How do we fix this problem? Perhaps we need a public meeting in which constituents can make suggestions hopefully helpful. There are many of us that came from areas where there's much more snow where there are marked snow emergency routes where you're not allowed to park- where there are plowing on even sides of the road one day and odds the accident, �nany other options. We need to find a solution to this problem to allow our people to get to work and allow our children to get to school. She understands they have been out seven days already. As my father would say, it's not rocket science; it's just snow removal. We can do this. IN RE: NEW BUSINESS 1. Resolution to consent to Assignment and Assumption of Ground Lease and Leaseback from GrainComm 1, LLC for the cellular tower located at the Hollins Fire Station (Anne -Marie Green, Director of General Services) Ms. Green explained the reason for the resolution and added it will also provide more revenue. Supervisor Moore inquired if they will be able to add more antennas. Ms. Green responded that GrainComm can add more to the tower if the tower can support them. RESOLUTION 022415-1 TO CONSENT TO ASSIGNMENT AND ASSUMPTION OF GROUND LEASE AND LEASEBACK FROM GRAIN COMM 1, LLC FOR THE CELLULAR TOWER LOCATED AT THE HOLLINS FIRE STATION WHEREAS, by Ordinance #102604-7 the Board approved a lease agreement with Virginia PCS Alliance, LC d/b/a nTelos for a 3,400 square foot tower site at the Hollins Fire Station on Barrens Road; and 102 February 24, 2015 WHEREAS, paragraph 14 of this lease agreement authorized assignment of the lease and/or approval of subleases with the consent of the County which "shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned"; and WHEREAS, Virginia PCS Alliance, LC ("nTelos") is in the process of selling many of its towers and tower related assets including the tower located at the Hollins Fire Station on Barrens Road to GrainComm 1, LLC; and WHEREAS, nTelos will be assigning the ground lease it currently has with Roanoke County and GrainComm will become the tenant at the time and nTelos will leaseback the space it currently uses on the tower and at the tower site for its wireless operations from GrainComm; and WHEREAS, nTELOS is requesting approval from the County for this action. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia, as follows - 1 . That the assignment and assumption of the Ground Lease and Leaseback from GrainComm 1, LLC for the cellular tower located at the Hollins Fire Station is hereby approved. 2. That the County Administrator or his designee are hereby authorized to execute such documents and take such actions on behalf of Roanoke County in this matter as are necessary to accomplish the acquisition of this real estate, all of which shall be approved as to form by the County Attorney. On motion of Supervisor Bedrosian to adopt the resolution, and carried by the following recorded vote- AYES- Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, McNamara, Peters NAYS- None 2. Request to revise the Roanoke County Severe Weather Policy to the Authorized Closing Policy (Thomas C. Gates, County Administrator) A-022415-2 Mr. Gates explained the request and asked to make retroactive to February 16, 2015. Supervisor Church commented he does not feel employees should be penalized. Supervisor Bedrosian commented he thinks reasonable. Supervisor McNamara questioned the impact on the constitutional officers. Mr. Gates responded the Sheriff works in public safety so they always work. The Clerk of Court follows the Court. The Treasurer is comfortable with this policy and will follow suit. He advised he has not spoken with the Commissioner of the Revenue. Mr. Mahoney replied that when elected and assumes office is agreement to be compliant February 24, 2015 103 with the rules and regulations of County Administration. Chairman Peters remarked it was disturbing to him that when we close the building we penalize the employees. He stated he feels this is a good amendment to the policy. On motion of Supervisor Peters to amended the Roanoke County Severe Weather Policy, the motion carried by the following recorded vote- AYES- Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, McNamara, Peters NAYS- None 3. Confirmation of appointment to the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission (At Large) A-022415-3 Mr. Peters stated the Board interviewed three candidates and opened the floor for a nomination. Supervisor Church recommended Mr. Gust. On motion of Supervisor Church to appoint Mr. Gust to the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission, the motion carried by the following recorded vote- AYES- Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, McNamara, Peters NAYS- None Supervisor McNamara thanked the other individuals who came and interviewed. Chairman Peters remarked that we need to market the airport as an Economic Engine. Supervisor Moore also thanked all three candidates. IN RE: REQUEST FOR PUBLIC HEARINGS AND FIRST READING OF REZONING ORDINANCES - CONSENT AGENDA 1 . The petition of Fountain Head Land Company, LLC, to amend the proffered conditions, the Planning and Design Document and the Master Plan for the Planned Residential Development (PRD) known as Ballyhack Golf Club (formerly Fountain Head Golf Resort). The proposed amendments would: change the name of Fountain Head Golf Resort to Ballyhack Golf Club; allow access onto Pitzer Road; remove language regarding minimum house sizes; increase the maximum height of lighting from 16 feet to 18 feet; and allow the possibility of the maintenance facility and 104 February 24, 2015 additional parking to be constructed on the south side of Pitzer Road. The Ballyhack Golf Club PRD measures approximately 368 acres and is located on Pitzer Road near Saul Lane, Vinton Magisterial District Supervisor Peters' motion to approve the first reading and to establish the second reading and public hearing for March 24, 2015, was approved by the following vote - AYES- Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, McNamara, Peters NAYS- None 2. The petition of Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc., to rezone approximately 5.59 acres from 1-1, Low Intensity Industrial, District to C-2, High Intensity Commercial, District for communication services (television production and broadcasting), located at 5305 and 5310 Valleypark Drive, Catawba Magisterial District Supervisor Church's motion to approve the first reading and to establish the second reading and public hearing for March 24, 2015, was approved by the following vote- AYES- Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, McNamara, Peters NAYS- None IN RE: FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES 1. Ordinance accepting and appropriating funds in the amount of $1,186,156 from the Commonwealth of Virginia to the Department of Social Services budget for fiscal year 2014-2015 for assistance programs (W. Brent Robertson, Director of Management and Budget; Joyce Earl, Director of Social Services Mr. Robertson outlined the ordinance. Ms. Earl was in attendance to answer any questions. There was no discussion. Supervisor Church's motion to approve the first reading and to establish the second reading and public hearing for March 24, 2015, was approved by the following vote- AYES- Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, McNamara, Peters NAYS- None February 24, 2015 105 IN RE: SECOND READING OF ORDINANCES discussion. 1. Ordinance accepting and appropriating $37,500 from the Virginia Department of Education to Roanoke County Public Schools for the 2014-2015 National Board Certification Bonus Award (Rebecca Owens, Director of Finance) Ms. Owens advised no changes from the first reading. There was no ORDINANCE 022415-4 ACCEPTING AND APPROPRIATING $37,500 FROM THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO ROANOKE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR 2014-2015 NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION BONUS AWARD WHEREAS, The Virginia General Assembly funds incentive awards to teachers in Virginia's public schools who hold special certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards- and WHEREAS, The Virginia 6epartment of Education distributes these awards and has awarded a continuing incentive of $2,500 and an initial incentive of $5,000 to eligible recipients; and WHEREAS, nine (9) Roanoke County teachers have been selected to receive the continuing award and three (3) teachers have been selected to receive the initial award in 2014-2015 school year- and WHEREAS, the incentiv� award is taxable and the school division assumes responsibility for ensuring all taxes are remitted; and WHEREAS, Section 18.04 of the Roanoke County Charter provides that funds be appropriated by ordinance; and WHEREAS, first reading of this ordinance was held on February 10, 2015, and the second reading was held on February 24, 2015. BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia, as follows - 1 . That the sum of $37,500 is hereby accepted and appropriated from the Virginia Department of Education to Roanoke County School Board for the National Board Certification awards. 2. That this ordinance shall take effect from and after the date of adoption. On motion of Supervisor McNamara to adopt the ordinance, and carried by the following recorded vote- AYES- Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, McNamara, Peters NAYS- None 106 February 24, 2015 2. Ordinance accepting and appropriating a Stormwater Management (SWM) Program fee in the amount of $95,386 from the Department of Environmental Quality to the Department of Community Development's minor capital National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) account for stormwater permit fees collected from local projects prior to July 1, 2014 (Tarek Moneir, Deputy Director of Development Services) Mr. Moneir advised there were no changes from first reading. There was no discussion. ORDINANCE 022415-5 ACCEPTING AND APPROPRIATING A STORMWATER MANAGEMENT (SWM) PROGRAM FEE IN THE AMOUNT OF $95,386 FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT'S MINOR CAPITAL NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) ACCOUNT FOR STORMWATER PERMIT FEES COLLECTED FROM LOCAL PROJECTS PRIOR TO JULY 1, 2014 WHEREAS, on July 1, 2014, Roanoke County became the Local Authority for the Virginia Stormwater Management Program (VMSP)- and WHEREAS, part of administering the progra�, the County collects permit fees associated with VMSP program activity. The permit fee is to help pay for costs associated with administration and management of the program and the County shares the collected fees with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) twenty- eight to seventy-two percent (28% to 72%) respectively; and WHEREAS, prior to July 1, 20147 DEQ collected fees associated with providing coverage under the state General Permit for Discharge of Stormwater from Construction Activities and as part of the program transition from State to Local administration, DEQ has now forwarded Roanoke County's portion of the program fees to the County in the amount of $95,386; and WHEREAS, Section 18.04 of the Roanoke County Charter provides that funds be appropriated by ordinance; and WHEREAS, the first reading of this ordinance was held on February 10, 20157 and the second reading was held on February 24, 2015. BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia as follows - 1. That the sum of $95,386 is hereby appropriated from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to the Department of Community Development- and 2. The funds are to be allocated to the "National Pollutant Discharge Elimi�ation February 24, 2015 107 System" (NPDES) account (103109-6509); and 3. That this ordinance shall take effect from and after the date of adoption. On motion of Supervisor Moore to adopt the ordinance, and carried by the following recorded vote- AYES- Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, McNamara, Peters NAYS- None IN RE: PUBLIC HEARING AND SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE 1. Ordinance approving the sale of the 419 Library property to Kissito Pace of Roanoke, Inc. and authorizing the execution of a contract of sale (Jill Loope, Director of Economic Development; Paul M. Mahoney, County Attorney) Mr. Mahoney outlined the ordinance. Chairman Peters opened and closed the public hearing with no citizens to speak on this issue. There was no discussion. Supervisor McNamara did comment that the worse thing is to let the building sit. ORDINANCE 022415-6 APPROVING THE SALE OF THE 419 LIBRARY PROPERTY TO KISSITO PACE OF ROANOKE, INC. AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF A CONTRACT OF SALE WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors owns property located at 3131 Electric Road consisting of two (2) parcels containing 2.526 acres and 0.93 acre previously used as the main headquarters for the County library system and known as the "419 Library�"and HEREAS, upon completion of the new South County Library, the 419 Library was vacated and made available for public acquisition; and WHEREAS, in July of 2014 the County advertised a Request for Proposals for either the sale or lease of the former 419 Library building; and WHEREAS, Kissito Pace of Roanoke, Inc. (a tax exempt 501c3 organization) submitted a proposal to purchase the property to establish an adult day care operation for senior citizens; which proposal the County accepted; and WHEREAS, a draft contract of sale has been prepared between the County and Kissito Pace of Roanoke, Inc. providing for the purchase of the property in "as is" condition at a purchase price of $2.7 million; and WHEREAS, this ordinance authorizes the conveyance of the former 419 Library located at 3131 Electric Road to Kissito Pace of Roanoke, Inc. upon the terms and conditions set out in the above mentioned contract; and 108 February 24, 2015 WHEREAS, Section 18.04 of the Roanoke County Charter directs that the acquisition and conveyance of real estate interests be accomplished by ordinance; the first reading of this ordinance was held on February 10, 2015, and the second reading and public hearing was held on February 24, 2015. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia, as follows - 1 . That the conveyance of a 2.526 acre parcel and 0.93 acre parcel of real estate known as the former 419 Library and located at 3131 Electric Road (Tax Map Nos. 076.16-02-07.00 and 076.16-02-08.00) to Kissito Pace of Roanoke, Inc., upon certain terms and conditions as set forth in a contract of sale, is hereby approved and authorized; and 2. That the County Administrator or Assistant County Administrator are hereby authorized to execute such documents and take such actions on behalf of Roanoke County in this matter as are necessary to accomplish the acquisition of this real estate, all of which shall be approved as to form by the County Attorney. On motion of Supervisor McNamara to adopt the ordinance, and carried by the following recorded vote- AYES- Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, McNamara, Peters NAYS- None IN RE: CONSENT AGENDA RESOLUTION 022415-7 APPROVING AND CONCURRING IN CERTAIN ITEMS SET FORTH ON THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AGENDA FOR THIS DATE DESIGNATED AS ITEM K- CONSENT AGENDA BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia, as follows - That the certain section of the agenda of the Board of Supervisors for February 24, 2015, designated as Item K - Consent Agenda be, and hereby is, approved and concurred in as to each item separately set forth in said section designated Items 1 through 3 inclusive, as follows - 1 . Approval of minutes — January 13, 2015; January 17, 2015 2. Request to accept and allocate grant funds in the amount of $74,104.21 from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program to the Roanoke County Police Department for the Roanoke Valley Regional Drug Unit 3. Request to accept and allocate grant funds in the amount of $1,000 from Coca-Cola Bottling Company to Roanoke County Fire and Rescue for the purchase of equipment for North County station On motion of Supervisor Peters to adopt the resolution, and carried by the following recorded vote- February 24, 2015 109 AYES- Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, McNamara, Peters NAYS- None A -022415-7.a A -022415-7.b IN RE: CITIZENS' COMMENTS AND COMMUNICATIONS The following citizens spoke - Dale Dewease asked the Board to bear with him as he tries to speak. After a good number of years volunteering in a rescue squad two things stand out, first aid and safety. If safety were practiced then first aid would not be needed in a lot of cases. The past few month, this Board has promoted and recognized safety in both the Fire and Police Departments, and he is all for safety. With safety in mind he is asking this Board to take another look at passing an ordinance that would prohibit the discharging of a firearm within 100 -yards of an occupied dwelling. The current ordinance only limits the discharging of a bow and arrow within 100 -yards, but not a firearm. This is truly unsafe. He does not know where any of you live, but would venture to say you would not like to have your children or grandchildren playing in your backyard and your neighbor was fifty or sixty (50 or 60) feet from your home shooting a weapon at a tin can, a tree or whatever. This is truly dangerous. Just because he owns some land does not give me the right to do whatever I feel like. What if he lived next door to you and wanted to play with fire bombs made with cans of gasoline just to see what would happen? He does not think either one of you would like it, but it's my property. What if he lived next door and wanted to burn something in the stove or barbecue pit that would put off a foul odor that would permeate the whole neighborhood. You wouldn't like it, but it's my property. What if I had a hog pin next to you? Smells don't kill, but bullets do. Roanoke County has a variety of ordinances from junked cars to grass cutting to sign restrictions and others and Roanoke County told me how much insulation he had to put in his attic. You have to get a permit to do just about anything on your property, but not to discharge a firearm. This is not about second amendment rights. He is all in favor of the second amendment. The first part pertains to State's rights, the second part gives the people the right to own guns and protect themselves. The right to bear arms does not give the right to discharge a firearm wherever you feel like. In Virginia, there are several counties that have this 100 -yard ordinance. There are over 20,000 gun ordinances in the USA. This is not just for the district he lives in, but affects the whole Roanoke County. He speaks for his area as well as hundreds of others and Roanoke County residents. We should have the right to feel safe in our backyard as well as each of you do. Without this ordinance, our rights will have been denied. It's all about safety. For example look at Botetourt County. 110 February 24, 2015 Max Beyer of 2402 Coachman Drive in Bonsack stated he didn't plan to speak but virtue of what was discussed in the pipeline hearings and the suggestions being made by some of the speakers and the reaction of the Board to some of those suggestions, he felt very concerned. Basically he thinks that the Board or the PAC that you're considering should have representation from the entire County rather than being excluded or confined to only those people that have a close proximity to any proposed pipeline. The existence of pipeline in Roanoke County affects everybody. There is an element of economic development that has not been discussed and people are very concerned about it. There are jobs and things associated with the pipeline and access. He stated he lives in Bonsack where the pipeline is not going, but he has lived here for thirty (30) years and has benefited by pipelines and the existence of terminal out in Montvale. A gasoline terminal that keeps our gasoline the cheapest of any locality and always in Virginia and he always enjoys coming back and filling up with cheap gasoline. Why is it available? Because there is a pipeline and terminal out there so there are many advantages. There are many terminals in Roanoke County. I think the Board needs to keep in mind that there is an economic development aspect of it that needs to be considered besides just not the beauty and the people living where the pipeline is going. He implored the Board to consider that and in making up the composition of this committee, which he think is a good idea. Now as an aside, he would like to concur with what is said about the role of the Board and this action. He thinks many of us have been affected by phone calls and mail that we have been slammed and fished and legally and illegally contacted about fishy suspect programs. In fact, he was late today because he had to handle one, and so he thinks the people look to the government, you and the staff of Roanoke County, to authenticate what is happening and when somebody comes they call one of you and what is going on and you don't know, then that's bad. That is bad, and the people who are responsible for the pipeline or any endeavor in the County need to keep the County government informed. So he certainly supports every effort and he really feels like you do when you're let down by businesses that don't keep you informed so he concurs with that aspect but again getting back to the PAC. Please don't make the PAC, Pipeline Advisory Committee into a Political Action Committee just for one side. Thank you. 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, McNamara, Peters NAYS- None 1. General Fund Unappropriated Balance 2. Capital Reserves February 24, 2015 111 3. Reserve for Board Contingency 4. Outstanding Debt 5. Comparative Statement of Budgeted and Actual Revenues as of January 31, 2015 6. Comparative Statement of Budgeted and Actual Expenditures and Encumbrances as of January 31, 2015 7. Accounts Paid — January 31, 2015 8. Treasurer's Statement of Accountability per Investment and Portfolio Policy as of January 31, 2015 At 5-00 p.m. Chairman recessed to the 4 th floor for work session. IN RE: WORK SESSIONS 1. Work session to discuss budget development for fiscal year 2015/2016 to review capital improvements planning and funding sources/uses scenarios for long-range capital project implementation (W. Brent Robertson, Director of Management and Budget; Rebecca Owens, Director of Finance) In attendance for this work session were Thomas Gates, County Administrator, Brent Robertson, Director of Management and Budget, Rebecca Owens, Director of Finance, Richard Caywood, Assistant County Administrator, Daniel R. O'Donnell, Assistant County Administrator and Paul Mahoney, County Attorney. The work session was held from 5-12 p.m. until 6-18 p.m. Mr. Gates gave a brief overview of what the work session would entail and advised the spreadsheets used were for illustrative purposes only. Mr. Gates then turned the session over to Mr. Robertson who provided the Board with a PowerPoint presentation. A copy of this presentation is on file in the office of the Clerk to the Board of Supervisors. Mr. Robertson went through the presentation with Ms. Owens outlining the funding with the schools and the debt ratios. Mr. Gates further explained the new capital process with overall organizational needs driving the funding on a ten-year cycle. Each year would be evaluated. Supervisor Church commented he wanted to make sure that the CIP Committee remained a part of the process. Supervisor Bedrosian asked for the assumptions used on the proposed capital improvement program debt ratios. Ms. Owens advised she would be happy to provide. Supervisor McNamara asked what is the denominator on the ratios with Ms. Owens responding general fund, plus schools, plus capital transfers netting where they are double counted. Mr. Robertson then went through the capital requests from the 112 February 24, 2015 departments. Supervisor Bedrosian asked for a comparison of operating the old Glenvar Library versus the new building. Ms. Green advised she would provide that information. Supervisor Bedrosian also asked from the Vinton Library as well. Chairman Peters stated he was concerned we did not put anything aside for maintenance costs. Supervisor McNamara commented that he thinks we need to expand the definition of a capital improvement that is currently defined as a tangible asset to include items such as stormwater management stream restoration, revenue sharing. We do not have $51 million worth of capital. He would like to use this as a funding source. In addition, there should be a statement limiting loans to twenty (20) years. Ms. Owens advised we could include in the debt policy. He also suggested a 3.5 discount rate to reduce overall usage from 6.5. His final comments were concerns on working through the possibility for a Board change and have three projects halfway through. He asked Mr. Mahoney to look into some way to verify this scenario. Staff remarked that vehicles are not considered in the capital scope, but he was under the impression they were not in there now. Mr. Robertson advised some were. Supervisor McNamara asked where the funding would come from. Funding is yet to be determined. Mr. Gates commented on what a great job staff has been doing with regard to budget preparation. IN RE: PROCLAMATIONS, RESOLUTIONS, RECOGNITIONS AND AWARDS Resolution of congratulations to the Glenvar High School football team for winning the Virginia High School League (VHSL) Group 2A Championship. The Deputy Clerk read the resolution. All Supervisors offered their congratulations. RESOLUTION 022415-8 OF CONGRATULATIONS TO GLENVAR HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM FOR WINNING THE VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE (VHSL) GROUP 2A CHAMPIONSHIP WHEREAS, team sports are an important part of the curriculum at schools in Roanoke County, teaching cooperation, sportsmanship and athletic skill; and WHEREAS, the Glenvar High School football team won their first State football championship and they are the only Glenvar team in the past forty-seven (47) seasons to win more than one (1) playoff game; and the first Glenvar team ever to defeat Giles County; and February 24, 2015 113 WHEREAS, Glenvar High School won the VHSL 2A Championship on December 13, 2014, by defeating Wilson Memorial 20 to 14 at Salem Stadium in overtime-, and WHEREAS, the Glenvar Highlanders finished their regular season with an outstanding record of 14 wins and 1 loss- and WHEREAS, Glenvar's only loss �as at the hands of Giles County High School, which was avenged by returning to Giles and defeating them 35 to 0; and WHEREAS, the Highlanders defeated Central -Wise High School 13 to 6 in round 1 of the playoffs; defeated Union High School 19 to 9 in round 2; defeated Giles County High School 35 to 0 in round 3 to reach the State semi-finals where Glenvar defeated Nottoway High School 37 to 14; and WHEREAS, the Highlanders have become the pride of the Glenvar Community and the entire County of Roanoke; and WHEREAS, the Highlanders are under the dedicated leadership of VHSL Coach of the Year Kevin Clifford and Assistant Coaches Rick Street, Alex Wilkens, Zach Hayden, Jay Goode, Maxx Crush, Steve Franco, Scott Woods, Al Woods, Clyde Landreth, Chris Dumler, Steve Motley and Andy Chapman; and WHEREAS, the following players have been named all State- Remington Stanley, DE; Zach Deck, DT; Zack Clifford, QB; Elliott Stigall, WR; Quentin Alls, DT; Savion Stone, LB and Corey Thompson, Punter. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia does hereby extend its sincere congratulations to the members of the GLENVAR HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM: Remington Stanley, Daryl Manns, John Carpenter, Jake Shaffer, Zack Clifford, Elliot Stigal, Jacob Mullins, Travion Humphreys, Ryan Painter, Alec Thompson, John Wilson, Devonte Wilson, Josh Clifford, Demerea Humphryes, Tyler Smith, Jordon Mabry, John Lewis, Dustin Brown, Cory Thompson, Daulton Palmer, Killian McCroskey, Seth Thompson, Christian Walters, Savion Stone, Chance Carmichael, Jacob Hurley, Will Tawney, Hunter Walls, Tristian Crockett, Tyler Stanley, Jon Deaton, Zach Deck, Quentin Ails, Andrew Chapman, Brandon Saunders, Nathan Nobles, John Shaffer, Nathan St. Clair, Marquis McKinstry and Thomas Helmick. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board of Supervisors extends its best wishes to the members of the team, the coaches and the school in their future endeavors. On motion of Supervisor Church to adopt the resolution, and carried by the following recorded vote- AYES- Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, McNamara, Peters NAYS- None IN RE: PUBLIC HEARINGS AND SECOND READINGS OF ORDINANCES 1. The petition of Sheldon Henderson to rezone approximately ninety (90) acres from R-1, Low Density Residential, District to 114 February 24, 2015 AG -3, Agricultural/Rural Preserve, District on property located at 3320 Harborwood Road, Catawba Magisterial District (Philip Thompson, Deputy Director of Planning) Mr. Thompson outlined the petition. Chairman Peters opened and closed the public hearing with no citizens to speak on this issue. There was no discussion. ORDINANCE 022415-9 REZONING AN APPROXIMATE 90.145 ACRE PARCEL REAL ESTATE FROM R-1, LOW DENSITY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT, TO AG -3, AGRICULTURAL/RURAL PRESERVE DISTRICT ON PROPERTY LOCATED AT 3320 HARBORWOOD ROAD, CATAWBA MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT (TAX MAP NO. 065.00-01-36.00-0000), UPON THE APPLICATION OF SHELDON HENDERSON WHEREAS, the first reading of this ordinance was held on January 27, 2015, and the second reading and public hearing were held February 24, 2015; and WHEREAS, the Roanoke County Planning Commission held a public hearing on this matter on February 3, 2015; and WHEREAS, legal notice and advertisement has been provided as required by law. BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia, as follows - 1 . That the zoning classification of a certain tract of real estate containing approximately 90.145 acres, as described herein, and located at 3320 Harborwood Road (Tax Map No. 065.00-01-36.00-0000) in the Catawba Magisterial District, is hereby changed from the zoning classification of R-1 , to the zoning classification of AG - 3. 2. That this action is taken upon the application of Sheldon Henderson. 3. That said real estate is more fully described as follows - BEING 90.145 acres located at 3320 Harborwood Road and further described as Tax Map No. 065.00-01-36.00-0000 4. That this ordinance shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days after its final passage. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance be, and the same hereby are, repealed. The Zoning Administrator is directed to amend the zoning district map to reflect the change in zoning classification authorized by this ordinance. On motion of Supervisor Church to adopt the ordinance, and carried by the following recorded vote- AYES- Supervisors Moore, Bedrosian, Church, McNamara, Peters NAYS- None February 24, 2015 115 IN RE: CITIZENS' COMMENTS AND COMMUNICATIONS The following citizens spoke - Roberta Bondurant stated she has a couple of things to add to her afternoon comments. She wanted to emphasize that she and her husband sent letters to the Board this afternoon. One with regard to process within the application stage, and the other with regard to the substance of our issues with the pipeline as it stands. With regard to that route, she would ask the Board to pay particular attention to the environment intertwined with the economy as that subject matter was presented within our letter and relied specifically with the expertise from Professor Steve Powers at Roanoke College and former DEQ environmental engineer Robert Johnson who has been a long time resident of Bent Mountain and for a decade has monitored Bottom Creek for DEQ and in addition to David Treble, who is a wetlands scientist and resident of Bent Mountain. The concern, and she apologized for not speaking at the last opportunity to speak, where Ms. Moore recognized not just Spring Hollow Reservoir but Bottom Creek as a water concern. That being that we can't address the concerns about Spring Hollow without also addressing Poor Mountain as a water shed, on the Southeast, Franklin County's Blackwater River, through the North, the Roanoke River and to the South and East to the New River. You know, all of that mountain in this contiguous mountain range feed the water shed. Why are the findings of Mr. Johnson relevant? They speak to the threatened species, a variety of species. What does that tell you? That it's pristine water. That it's, you know, the water has sanctity and in this age, we can't ignore that considering the issues of other jurisdictions. Lastly she would say she really appreciates your effort to have a forum for citizens and she certainly recognize and your residents recognize that not everybody is going to agree that there should not be a pipeline, but what we appreciate is that you are giving us a process to be heard and with that some satisfaction that there is some fair discourse on this. IN RE: REPORTS AND INQUIRIES OF BOARD MEMBERS Supervisor McNamara stated he would like to thank everybody for their patience over the last couple of weeks as we've all worked through some major snow events in the Roanoke Valley. It is gratifying and certainly on his street everybody has helped one another and taken turns pushing people out and getting them out of jams. Parks and Rec was mentioned earlier today and he ran into them earlier today and all the sidewalks were done around this building at 9-00 a.m. You couldn't get to the building but you can walk around the sidewalks. They really have done a very good job and worked very hard; appreciate that. We are five days away from March and warm weather is on the horizon and for one is certainly looking forward to it. Supervisor Moore stated she would like to second and echo what Mr. 116 February 24, 2015 McNamara just said. Everyone did a really good job. We really appreciate your patience to the citizens who live on the side streets with VDOT. They had their hands full and she was looking at the weather earlier and we may be getting another one so stay tuned; be safe. Supervisor Bedrosian thanked the folks, everybody who gets involved in helping clean up the County with these snows, but thinks it is also important that he states to the citizens that we are always looking for better ways and ways to improve our process. He for one thinks we need to offer the most excellent service that we can and people should have high expectations. People pay taxes and the emails and phone calls that he gets, people are frustrated and trying to get out, trying to get to work, trying to do the things they want to do. We can thank the folks and there are a lot of people to thank because it is a tireless job to try to keep the snow away from everybody and clean the streets, etc. We also need to continue to look for better ways to do that job. With snow removal and garbage collection, it puts a burden on the homeowner, so we need to look at the best possible ways to get that done and get it done and well. Also, he reminded everyone that we are getting together to look at the budgets for the upcoming year and it is important that we have participation from the citizens. He appreciates on the whole MVP thing, we had a lot of people coming out. The pipeline is a big issue and he would love to see that everything comes like that in the County. People get interested in other issues to. Come and bring your input. He loves sifting up here and just listening to different ideas that people have. His way of thinking is a certain way, but hearing something different will cause him to go investigate it. We really do need your input on how to spend your money. It is the citizens of Roanoke County that provide the money that is spent. It is important that you get involved in that process. You have an open forum to do that. A lot of people don't think they have that, but you have an open forum to come and tell us and give us your ideas. He thinks that is very important. He is strongly pushing to reduce the real estate tax rates this year and he wants to go on record again for saying that. We really do need to do it- it is good for the economy; it is good for economic development to reduce tax rates. It 7�ill help spur the economy. He has seen countless examples of doing that. Let people have back some of their own money instead of making it harder for them. With assessments going up, people will pay more in taxes this year for real estate. It would be good for them to get some of that money back. He appreciates those who came out today and always appreciates the comments of all the citizens. Supervisor Church stated he wanted to say again, thank you to our Parks and Rec. He knows it is redundant, but where would we be without their immediate help. Doug Blount and company; all the employees, but also thank you to our public safety people, our fire and rescue and police. He thinks back not many years ago, you may recall that it was such a brutal snow, so deep, that 1-81 in one direction was completely shut down. He happened to be out in Ft. Lewis No. 9, we had our people going out and rescuing families and bringing them back the wrong way in rescue vehicles to stay over at No. 9, Ft. Lewis Fire Department. These people were from February 24, 2015 117 everywhere, Oklahoma, North and South you name it and they sent thank you letters sayings what a hospitable place that Roanoke County is. They had little children that we took care of; provided food. We have a great place here. He wanted to go on record and thanked Ms. Bondurant for coming back. We would like to have people come every time to speak to us. We work for you. The folks that are watching and that are here tonight, we are here because of you. We want to be a Board that is inclusive that we can hear and feel the heartbeat and the opinions and the variety of thoughts of the people we represent. He does not know where this pipeline is going to end up, in Virginia or not in Virginia, we just need to include everybody we can that can be touched by it, directly or indirectly. He thinks that is what we are trying to do, provide a situation where we can come together and speak up and let others know that, we have a pristine place, we have a beautiful community. We have a place that we are proud of and whatever happens, let's try to make it happen for the betterment of everybody. Chairman Peters stated his comments tonight will be brief. He also wants to recognize all of our employees, both Fire and Rescue, Police Department. It is no secret that is a part of Fire and Rescue and when listening to the calls, the call volume always goes up when it snows because people always think they can clear that sidewalk and never fails they end up on the ground needing help. He thanked the Police Department for what they do. The Sheriffs Department, we cannot do without their assistance. He knows there is a lot of frustration with these snowstorms from a lack of clearing, but again as Mr. Bedrosian said, we are trying to find ways to always improve that service. He personally thanked Mr. Gates, Mr. Caywood for getting with VDOT, recognizing the problems and engaging them to find a way to resolve those problems as soon as we can. Unfortunately, it does look like there is more snow in the pipeline. Again, he recognized all the employees for what they do. IN RE: ADJOURNMENT Chairman Peters adjourned the meeting at 7-38 p.m. to Thursday, March 5, 2015, at 5:30 p.m. for a joint meeting with the Roanoke County School Board at the Roanoke County Public Schools Administration Center, 5937 Cove Road, Roanoke, Virginia 24019. S-u)pmitted by- Approved by: be,borah C. Jh�ks7- P. J4on Peters Deputy Clerk "e Board Chairman 118 February 24, 2015 PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY