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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/3/2018 - Public Hearing and WorksessionMINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE TOWN OF VINTON PLANNING COMMISSION HELD ON THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2018, AT 5:30 P.M., AT THE VINTON MUNICIPAL BUILDING, 311 SOUTH POLLARD STREET. MEMBERS PRESENT: Dave Jones, Chairman Keith Liles, Vice Chairman Bob Benninger Bob Patterson MEMBERS ABSENT: Bill Booth STAFF PRESENT: Barry Thompson, Town Manager (work session only) Anne Cantrell, Treasurer/Finance Director (work session only) Anita McMillan, Planning and Zoning Director Julie Tucei, Planning and Zoning Coordinator OTHERS PRESENT: Elizabeth Meador (and husband Billy), Petitioner, (public hearing only) Vinton AGENDA WORK SESSION I. Call to Order—Roll Call II. Briefing on the Special Use Permit (SUP) request of Elizabeth Meador to operate an in- home music studio for the instruction of individuals or groups in piano and/or voice at 705 Dillon Drive, Tax Map Number 061.17-03-70, which is zoned R-1 Residential District. III. Capital Improvement Programs (CIP) FY 2018-2019 IV. Planning Commission 2017 Annual Report V. Adjournment of Work Session REGULAR SESSION—6:30 P.M. VI. Call to Order—Roll Call VII. Election of Officers: Chairman Vice Chairman Secretary Recording Secretary VIII. Approval of Minutes 1. December 7, 2017, Work Session and Public Hearing IX. Public Hearing to receive comments concerning: Petition of Elizabeth Meador for a Special Use Permit (SUP) to operate in-home music studio for the instruction of individuals or groups in piano and/or voice at 705 Dillon Drive, Tax Map Number 061.17-03-70, which is zoned R-1 Residential District. a. Chairman opens public hearing • Report from Staff • Receive petitioner’s comments • Receive public comments • Commissioners discussion and questions PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION AND PUBLIC HEARING MAY 3, 2018 PAGE 2 b. Chairman closes public hearing c. Commission takes action on proposed SUP X. Comments of Planning Commissioners and Planning Staff XI. Adjournment WORK SESSION A work session of the Planning Commission was called to order at 5:52 p.m. by Chairman Jones. Roll was called, and all members were present, except Mr. Booth. Mr. Thompson and Ms. Cantrell were both present for the CIP presentation, so that item was moved up on the agenda. Mr. Thompson stated that one budget work session with Council has been held. He said that, on May 15th, there will be another held with Council. Mr. Thompson said the budget has been very challenging this year. He then turned it over to Ms. Cantrell to present the Town’s CIP requests for FY 2018-2019. Ms. Cantrell mentioned that the Commissioners were supplied with two CIP lists in their packets to refer to. She mentioned that this year’s requests for the General Fund include the purchase of police vehicles and a knuckle boom truck. She said the Utility Fund includes the leasing of a new truck, garage door replacement, and the replacement of some computers. She stated that the computers have to be replaced by 2020 per Roanoke County IT Department due to the loss of support by Microsoft for Windows 7. Ms. Cantrell said no projects would be funded under the Stormwater Fund in the coming year, but it is still shown on the list as a separate entry. A complete list of all the requests is provided in the packets, along with the list of recommended items to be included on the CIP, copies of which will be made a permanent part of the record of this meeting. Vice Chairman Liles asked about the garage door replacement in the utility fund. Mr. Thompson said the new garage doors would be to protect the utility equipment, some of which has water stored in it. The new door will be insulated. Chairman Jones inquired about the mobile generator. Mr. Thompson said it is used to power the water system if there is a major power outage, such as the derecho a few years ago. It would be used to supply power to refill the water holding tanks, and then it would be moved to the next holding tank to refill it. Each water station needs to be fitted and wired to accept the generator. Chairman Jones also asked about the police vehicle request. Ms. Cantrell explained in detail how the fleet lease program works. She said they are trying to get into a replacement schedule for the vehicles so they don’t have to run them for 10 years. Chairman Jones asked how much the knuckle boom will cost. Ms. Cantrell said it will cost about $170,000. She mentioned that the truck the Town currently owns has had about $20,000 worth of repairs just this year, and she was just notified that there may be about $7,000 more in repairs coming soon. Chairman Jones asked what the entire cost of the request was for the CIP for this year. Ms. Cantrell said that the General fund has requests for $1.1 million total, and the short list included in their packets is all that will be funded. Mr. Thompson mentioned that the Police Department’s Dodge Chargers are not holding up as well as expected, and some may not last the entire lease cycle as expected. According to Ms. Cantrell, some of the Dodge Chargers are in the shop at this time. Mr. Thompson said they are looking at a maintenance program and gas program for the vehicles. Ms. Cantrell said they are also considering converting to police sport utility vehicles—SUVs. Mr. Benninger asked how many water meters have been changed out to the radio read type. Ms. Cantrell said all the business water meters have been changed. She said they are moving to Town residential meters now, including those along busy corridors and also in the Midway neighborhood area. She said if they can PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION AND PUBLIC HEARING MAY 3, 2018 PAGE 3 get a bond issue they may go ahead perform the meter replacements, plus some water and sewer line work that needs to be done. Chairman Jones asked if a recommendation was needed. Mr. Thompson said a consensus from the Commissioners is needed on whether to move the CIP forward to Town Council. Mr. Benninger asked if the generator that is listed on the CIP will be large enough to run even the largest wells. Mr. Thompson told Mr. Benninger he would have to check on it and get back with him on the specs of the generator. Ms. Cantrell said there is $2.7 million dollars of requests in the utility fund. She stated that the large projects would probably require bonds. Mr. Thompson said the utility fund is in a good solid situation now, and they want it to stay there. If there are projects such as the sewer lift station or line improvements, the water sewer rates will need to support them. Chairman Jones asked how the Town’s rates compare to Western Virginia Water Authority’s (WVWA) rates. Mr. Thompson said the Town’s rates are currently lower than WVWA’s. He stated that the Town bills bi- monthly, and the WVWA bills monthly. Ms. Cantrell said for someone using 5000 gallons, the Town is about $50, compared to about $90 with WVWA. Chairman Jones asked the Commissioners for their thoughts on the CIP. He mentioned that, from his standpoint, the Town doesn’t have any choice with only bringing what they have to have in the CIP. Mr. Patterson and Vice Chairman Liles agreed. Chairman Jones said he recommended the CIP as presented, and the other commission members agreed that is should be recommended to Council. With there being no further time for discussion, the work session was adjourned at 6:30 p.m. by Chairman Jones. REGULAR SESSION The regular session of the Vinton Planning Commission was called to order at 6:32 p.m. by Chairman Jones. All members were present, except Mr. Booth. The first item on the agenda was the election of officers. For the Chairman position, Mr. Benninger made a motion to nominate Mr. Liles. The motion was seconded by Mr. Patterson. A roll call vote was taken, and all members voted in favor of the motion. For the Vice Chairman position, Chairman Liles made a motion to nominate Mr. Jones. The motion was seconded by Mr. Patterson. A roll call vote was taken, and all members voted in favor of the motion. Next, Mr. Benninger made a motion to nominate Ms. McMillan for Secretary, and Ms. Tucei for Recording Secretary. The motion was seconded by Vice Chairman Jones. A roll call vote was taken, and all members voted in favor of the motion. Once the elections were finished, Vice Chairman Jones and Chairman Liles switched seats on the dais. The next item to be heard was the approval of minutes from the December 7, 2017, Work Session and Public Hearing. Mr. Patterson made a motion to approve both sets of minutes as submitted, and Mr. Benninger seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken, and all members voted in favor of the motion. The next item on the agenda was the public hearing to receive comments concerning the petition of Elizabeth Meador for a Special Use Permit (SUP) to operate in-home music studio for the instruction of individuals or groups in piano and/or voice at 705 Dillon Drive, Tax Map Number 061.17-03-70, which is zoned R-1 Residential District. PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION AND PUBLIC HEARING MAY 3, 2018 PAGE 4 Chairman Liles opened the public hearing at 6:37 p.m. Ms. McMillan presented the staff report, a copy of which will be made a permanent part of the record of this meeting. When finished, she mentioned that no comments had been received from the public despite the notifications by mail and the Notice of Hearing sign in the Meador’s yard. Next, Ms. Meador gave her comments regarding her petition. Ms. Meador said she recently found out that she would need a Special Use Permit (SUP) and a business license in order to operate a music studio in her home. Ms. Meador stated that having the classes in her home is much more cost-effective for the students and convenient for her. Mr. Benninger asked what days and hours she would hold classes. Ms. Meador responded that the classes would be held Monday through Friday, and she is trying to have the classes end by 7 p.m. each day. Vice Chairman Jones asked if she had done lessons in other places before wanting to move them to her home. She said she has taught at home in the past and also at Vinton Baptist. She said the setup was not ideal at the church for the lessons due to the layout of the area she was teaching in. Ms. Meador had no further comments. There were no members of the public present for the public hearing. Therefore, Chairman Liles closed the public hearing at 6:43 p.m. Mr. Patterson made a motion to recommend that Town Council approve the SUP request. Mr. Benninger seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken, and all members who were present voted in favor of the motion. Each member then described why they voted in favor of motion. Mr. Benninger said that he believes this will be a good situation for the Meadors and doesn’t think it will have an impact on the neighborhood. He said it is a valuable service for the community. Vice Chairman Jones stated that he agrees with Mr. Benninger. He said it is a good service and adds value to the neighborhood. He said it seems to be the right thing to do. Mr. Patterson said he also thinks it is a good service for the community. Chairman Liles stated that he agrees with Vice Chairman Jones. He said it is a wonderful thing for the neighborhood and community. He said he believes having the lessons in a private home will create confidence in the students. Ms. McMillan reminded the Meadors that the Council hearing will held be on May 15, 2018, at 7 p.m. The next item on the agenda was the comments of the Planning Commissioners and Planning Staff. Ms. McMillan stated that they have offered Karla Turman’s former position to an upcoming graduate from Virginia Tech, Nathan McClung. He will graduate in May and will start working for the Town in July. She stated that they had two rounds of interviews for the position, and ended up interviewing seven applicants which were narrowed down to two for the second and final interview. The two finalists were Nathan McClung and Margaret Pierson. After the second interview, Mr. McClung was selected by the interview committee and was offered the job. Mr. McClung has previously interned with City of Alexandria and also for the Town of Tazewell. She stated that she hopes he will stay with the Town for at least three to five years or more. Ms. McMillan thanked those members who attended the UDA meeting. She mentioned that she wished she had more members of the public in attendance for the meeting. PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION AND PUBLIC HEARING MAY 3, 2018 PAGE 5 Ms. McMillan stated that code enforcement for nuisance issues will soon be transferred to the Police Department. The Planning and Zoning Department will continue to handle enforcement of zoning and sign issues. With there being nothing further to discuss, the regular session was adjourned at 6:57 p.m. on a motion by Vice Chairman Jones and a second by Mr. Patterson. Respectfully Submitted, Anita McMillan Planning Commission Secretary