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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4/2/2013 - RegularMINIMUM= INI I IT, IN ilk I Lei I V-11 a Q NJ I a N I elk MEMBERS PRESENT: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor William W. Nance, Vice Mayor Robert R. Altice Matthew S. are STAFF PRESENT: Christopher S. Lawrence, Town Manager Susan N. Johnson, Town Clerk Elizabeth Dillon, Town Attorney Ryan Spitzer, Assistant to the Town Manager Ben Cook, Police Chief Gary Woodson, Public Works Director Barry Thompson, Finance Director/Treasurer Karla Turman, Assoc. Planner/Code Enforcement Ofcr. Joey Hiner, Assistant Public Works Director The Mayor called the work session to order at 5:30 p.m. After opening comments from the Town Manager, Courtney Rogers of Davenport & Company gave a Power Point presentation regarding the service study/water and wastewater rates. Mr. Rogers commented that since the last presentation to Council on December 4, 2012, the revenue and expenditure model has been updated to show the revenue increases necessary to provide for growing expenditures and capital spending of over $16 million over. the next ten years. The last increase in rates was March of 2011 . The fund balance at the end of FY2012 was just over $100,000, which we need to increase. Revenuei increases from the December presentation averaged 9% over the five year period reviewed with increases of 9.4% for the first two years. The objective is to continue running the water and sewer enterprise fund as a self-supporting operation and for the users of the system to pay for it. A fund policy guideline is to achieve a target of net revenues after operational expenditures to be at least 1,3 times the debt service requirements. This will result in additional funds to use toward capital projects rather than having to keep borrowing for those items. Another goal is to pay for capital projects of less than $100,000 with cash. I Mr. Rogers then commented on historical revenues and expenditures including the projection for FY2014 as well as the historical fund balance. The existing debt service stands at $6.4 million to be paid out by 2028. Some key assumptions made were consistent averagE consumption use patterns; total operational expenditures tc grow approximately 3.6% post budget FY2014; the OF plan totals $11 million to FY2018 and is funded with 890 YC bonds, 5% from WVWA and 6% equity; and long term debi is assumed to be amortized over 30 years. Next, Mr, Rogers commented on a graph showing the existing and proposed debt service and cash for capital over the nexi five years. This represents about $2 million in projects. The recommendation is to adopt three years of increases at 8.7% for FY14,8.9% for FY15 and 8.9% for FY16. The intent is to keep the revenue growth level to provide for operations, capital and to build up a fund balance. It is suggested to advertise and put three years of increase into place and then it is set, If we end up being over conservative, then there will be more cash and less borrowing. The current debt service is slightly over $600,000 and we are going to need to get up above $800,000. Pretty soon it will be over $1.2 million, which is doubling where we are now in a span of three years. Mr. Rogers next commented on residential data based on 2011. This is on a bi-monthly basis and most customers are in the 0-10,000 range in terms of usage, The current tiers go up to 3,000 for fixed and the next tier is 42,000. Essentially, while there are four tiers, there are really only two that residential customers fall into. There is no usage in tiers three and four. For the commercial/ industrial side, there are more groupings which are due to a lot of small establishments and then the more industrial users. I The proposed water rates were shown with an 8.7% increase on a bi-monthly and monthly basis and omitting the current last two tiers, The second tier would go down [I from 42,000 gallons on a bi-monthly basis to 30,000. M r. Rogers then commented that the Water Association has looked at 50 gallons a day as an average for most households. This breaks down to a one -person household on average using 3,000 on a bi-monthly basis or a household of eight using 24,000. So a new tier of 30,000 is still more than an eight person household might use. Mr. Rogers reviewed the effect on bills for water showing the current bill and the proposed increase on a monthly and bi-monthly basis for FY2014 through FY2016. For wastewater rates, the proposal is essentially the same to move to a monthly billing cycle. The end result is to produce a certain amount of revenue either with water or sewer, but there are different ways to get there. Most of the Town's users are water and sewer combined. K Vice Mayor Nance commented about going to more of a fixed cost or a fee to each consumer since the increase in the water usage is not as expensive as keeping the infrastructure up-to-date. Those fixed costs are really the drain on the system. Mr. Rogers commented that by having a fixed cost, whether the consumer uses the water or not, it still cost the Town a certain amount to provide the service. The question was asked how many consumers would fall into the 1,500 gallon per month category and the response was that in January of 2013 there were 843 residential meters that supported that 0-3,000 figures. If you added in commercial, there would be about 1,100 total meters that fall into this category, which would be about 20% of the customers. Mr. Rogers ended his presentation by commenting that we will have to advertise for a Public Hearing and discuss the borrowing options for capital needs. The plans are to come to the April 30th Special Meeting for further discussion, Regarding the capital needs, the Vice Mayor indicated that he is depending on staff and their expertise to prioritize those needs and bring back to Council. 111' QQJQ QW _Q17113RU I I EM111 " and smaller capital projects that we could handle with no additional debt in the General Fund side. All of this is for priorities. There is funding for capital in this proposed budget. This is based on the approval of the $0.15 to accomplish our equipment and capital needs. The Walnut Avenue Corridor Improvement Project at $19,000 is the VDOT project for the new bridge, which is our share of the cost or 2% for this year. The second priority is to replace our Town's file server, to add our Laserfiche records storage program to the server and to add our Finance and Planning & Zoning Department to the system. Other items included the asphalt roller compactor and our share of the Greenway trail from Walnut to Virginia Avenue, which is our match to the 50/50 Revenue Sharing Grant with VDOT. The cost shown for the replacement of the dump truck with 2, hooklift and dump body is based on a five-year lease. Various street improvements includes combining three small projects that have been recommended by the Highway Safety Commission. Items related to the Fire House are painting the Fire House and the high traffic 7reas of the Crew Hall and replacing carpet with tile flooring 0 in the Fire Aouse. The grant match for the Police Department Speed Trailer was included along with painting of the interior of the pool and the purchase of the Cityworks Asset Management Software requested by Public Works. Mr. Hare asked if we could possibly pay for the asphalt roller compactor out of our current budget and the Town Manager responded that staff can look at that option and report back to Council. The Mayor called the regular meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. The Town Clerk called the roll with Council Member Altice, Council Member Hare, Vice Mayor Nance, and Mayor Grose present. After a Moment of Silence, Vice Mayor Nance led the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag. Concerning the consent agenda, Vice Mayor Nance requested a correction to the March 19th minutes on page 11 from "Vice Mayor Nance commented that we saw good results from the Ford Motors study. When we discuss finding extra funds, are we talking about from the Town?" to "Vice Mayor Nance mentioned the Ford Motor study and asked if when we discuss finding extra funds, are we talking about from the Town?" Mr. Hare requested a correction to the March 19th minutes on Page 11 from "Mr. Hare commented that there have been interested buyers and the School Board has increased the price at least five times its assessed value." to "Mr. Hare commented that he has been told that there have been interested buyers..." Vice Mayor Nance made a motion to approve the March 5, 2013 minutes and the March 19, 2013 minutes with corrections; the motion was seconded by Mr. Hare and carried by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0; Yeas (4) — Altice, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays (0) — None; AbsentAdams. The next item on the agenda was a Proclamation for Mayor's Day of Recognition for National Service. Samantha Lukasiewicz, the AmeriCorps VISTA Leader through The Advancement Foundation made brief comments regarding the VISTA Program, Three of the 18 VISA volunteers were present as well. The Mayor read the Proclamation and presented to the group, The next item was recognition of the GFWC Woman's Club of Vinton and their participation in Child Abuse Awareness Prevention Month. Kathryn Sowers made brief comments regarding the pinwheel garden that was planted in front of the Municipal Building prior to the Approved minutes of regul meeting of March 5, 2013 a minutes of March 19, 2013 re#ul. meeting with corrections 51 Council meeting. She also thanked the Police Department for partnering again with the Club this year in the planting. The pinwheel garden will be displayed through the month of April. The next item was a request for funding presentation by Krystal Thompson, Executive Director, on behalf of Brain Injury Services of SWVA. Ms. Thompson made brief comments regarding the services they provide which include case management, life skills training, community - outreach and education and a new program CLIC, which stands for community living connection, an internet based support group. They are currently serving three individuals from the Town of Vinton and are requesting $500 The next item was a presentation by Wayne Strickland on behalf of the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission. Mr. Strickland made comments that the Commission has assisted the Town with various projects over the past years, but the most recent was the Downtown Revitalization efforts. They also assisted with a Regional Water Supply Plan which combined the efforts of 13 communities and is in the process of being approved by the State Water Control Board. Current projects relate to the new mandates regarding stormwater, Mr. Strickland gave Council a copy of their 2012 Annual Report and also a Regional Report Card which lists over 100 multijurisdictional contracts and agreements among communities in our region. Mr. Strickland also mentioned that in this fiscal year, our region has been designated as a new type of MPO by the Federal Highway Administration through the U.S. Department of Transportation as a transportation management area. Because of this designation, the MPO has been allocated $8.2 million this year to spend on transportation related projects. Each of the localities will be asked to submit projects that could qualify for these funds. This amount will be spent in FY2014, but after that the region will continue to get over $4 million a year for these projects. The Town should submit any projects they have by April I gth to the Commission. 0 the briefing on the matter to Council on March 19, 2013, 11 Mr. Boyd has offered that, should the petition be approved, he will put solid screening along the north side of the property that faces West Augusta. The Planning Commission held their Public Hearing on March Vh and voted unanimously to recommend approval. I WO "71707 1 =-Ml i - FE77711 dr, F 151PT place and this allows expansion of vehicles of different origin to be stored on the property. Ms. Turman responded that was correct. The original SUP was for police impounded vehicles only. Vice Mayor Nance asked about the current SUP and if there were conditions in regard to the fence around the property and the response was the only condition was that the fence be maintained and kept clear of vegetation. Ms. Turman indicated she has talked with the current co -owners of the property regarding the need to remove the vegetation from the fencing. The Mayor opened the Public Hearing at 7:44 p.m. Roger Public Hearing opened at 7.44 p.m. Overstreet, 809 South Pollard Street, Vinton, presented a letter from Richard Thompson, the property owner for 709 South Pollard, expressing his objections to the petition. He commented that it is already a police impound lot and he is restricted by what he can do without a fence around his property. They are being allowed to keep their vehicles outside an open fence for as long as 30 days. Since they are doing the same kind of business, he wants to be treated equal. He also commented on the vehicles stored there waiting to be detailed and that any car without a tag looks the same on any lot, Mr. Overstreet next commented that Mr. Boyd said at the March r hearing he would not be selling any cars on the property and he presented a print- out of two Craigslist ads showing cars for sale on the property. He also indicated that Chief Cook had three cars towed off of 2nd Street and he thought the Town was interested in getting vehicles with no tags out of the area, Tim Meadows of 814 2 d Street, Vinton commented that he runs a towing service off of the same lot. If he is allowed to park five or six vehicles there for the Police Department, what is the difference in having a couple of more cars. He commented that the vehicles Chief Cook had towed were on Town property and half of the parking lot of Mr. Overstreet's business is on Town property. Mr. Boyd has also indicated he would have to move out of Vinton if his petition is not approved. Mr. Meadows said they have cleaned the fence several times and if this is approved, they are going to take down the fence, remove the trees and put a new fence up. Vice Mayor Nance asked if Mr. Meadows was at this property when the first SUP was granted and Mr. Meadows said no. He and Mr. Boyd started renting the lot at the same time. CA Troy Hicks of 545 Olney Road, Vinton who works with Scorpion Towing, asked to look at the craigslist ads furnished by Mr. Overstreet. Mr. Hicks then commented that one of the vehicles listed on Craigslist is an employee of theirs and they were not aware he had it listed. It will be taken care of. The second vehicle is not on their property. Mr. Overstreet commented again that he was not just talking about the storage of his vehicles with no tags in the front. He has a fence around most of his lot in the back, but no gate because the wind keeps blowing it down. He cannot store anything in the back lot unless it is shielded by a solid fence and he is restricted whether it is in the front, si4e or Wqic,a. r WMTS. # � i Mr. Hare asked Mr. Overstreet if he does not necessarily disagree with the petition, he just wants to be treated fair. ! Mr. Overstreet responded yes and then commented that ' I every time he asks about something he gets cited for something else. Mr. Hare expressed thanks to Mr. Boyd for going through this process and offering the fence. Vice Mayor Nance commented that he appreciates individuals who go through the system the correct way in making their request. Since a SUP has already been approved for this property for a very similar use, it is a reasonable request. To be fair, Council can only address the issue that is before them and the complaints made do not impact the reasonableness of this request. He also appreciates the willingness of Mr. Boyd to address the fence issue. The Mayor reiterated what the Vice Mayor had said and commented that he can support the petition. Vice Mayor Nance made a motion to adopt the Ordinance as prepared with one typographical correction in Item 2. From "chink" to "chain"; the motion was seconded by Mr. Hare and carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting. Vote 4-0; Yeas (4) — Altice, Hare, Nance, Grose;Absent (1) - Adams. The next item on the agenda was a Public Hearing to receive comments regarding the petition of Jason M, Varney, t1a Consolidated Real Estate Enterprises, LLC, authorized agent, for a Special Use Permit (SUP) to convert a single-family dwelling, located at 134 West Augusta Avenue, tax map number 060.15-05-18, zoned RB Residential. Ms. Turman commented on the petition of Mr. Varney. Because the two-family dwelling does not meet the lot area of 12,000 square feet and the lot width requirements of 75 feet, it requires an SUP. Council was briefed on the petition at their March I 9th meeting and the Planning Commission held their Public Hearing on March 7th and voted unanimously to recommend approval. Adopted Ordinance No. 9 approving the petition of T Boyd, t/a Scorpion Towing Recovery, authorized agent, October 4, 2005, Special U Permit (SUP) to operate a poli impoundment storage lot at 81 2nd Street, tax map numb #60.19-02-16, zoned M-1 Limi Industrial District 0 The Mayor opened the Public Hearing at 8:01 p.m. Jason Public Hearing opened at 8:01 p.m. Varney, owner of the subject property, commented about the concerns of Council that were mentioned at the March Wh work session. He stated that he is not trying to change the landscape of the neighborhood and that the property was used as a duplex in the past. The property has adequate parking for a duplex and there are other multi -family dwellings on the street. This is a one-time event and he has no intention of coming into Vinton and converting other single-family residences to multi -family. Mr. Varney then stated that renting the property as a single- family unit will not support the amount of investment he plans to make in the property. He would like Council to consider how the property will best serve the neighborhood, not how many people will be living there. He also stated that he conducts background checks, rental references and employment verifications on his renters, Mr. Varney then asked if Council could not grant the standard SUP, would they consider some kind of conditional SUP to help create a win/win situation for all involved. The Mayor asked Mr. Varney if he was aware that it was a single-family dwelling when he purchased it and the response was yes. He then asked Mr. Varney if he has done a lot of these and the response was they have rehabilitated one other property. However, this is his first full rehabilitation, The Mayor asked what would happen if Council denied this SUP and the response was they will not be able to get the investment out of the property that they were hoping to get. They may be able to lease as a single- family residence, but they will not be able to make the improvements they would like to do. He does not think it will be marketable in its current condition. Neat Jessup of 4018 Horsepen Mountain Drive, Vinton, commented that his business is at 600 South Pollard Street, He appreciates what Mr. Varney is trying to do because the proposed project is within a block of his office. He is familiar with Mr. Varney through his Church and he has a good reputation of taking care of the church property as well as his own. Jacob Sinclair and Crystal Williams of 4949 Polly Hill Lane, Roanoke made comments. Ms. Williams commented that they rent one of the properties that Mr. Varney manages. They have rented for five years and are very pleased with the way the property is maintained, Mr. Sinclair commented that renting is important to a lot of individuals and especially having a nice place to rent. Ms, Williams stated that Mr. Varney does interview all his renters and there is not a big turnaround with his properties. The Mayor expressed his thanks for the comments heard tonight. Mr. Varney's quality of work and the condition of his existing properties are not the issue. He opposes the SUP, but it has nothing to do with Mr. Varney or his reputation. His opposition is based on his nine years of service on the Planning Commission and the certification training he received during that time. At that time, he does not recall any single-family homes being built, but a lot of duplexes were built on what we now call non -conforming lots. The requirements of the lot area at that time was 8,000 square feet and it has been raised twice since then up to the existing 12,000 square feet. a safe place for children to play. The Mayor further commented that he thinks Augusta Avenue will be impacted in a negative manner if this SUP is issued and does not feel we can expect any further investment in single-family dwellings in that neighborhood, It will serve to create an opportunity for builders to build more duplexes not just in that neighborhood but in all our RB Zoning districts. This property had been occupied as a single-family residence until the legal procedure of foreclosure was commenced and he feels the neighborhood is still predominately single-family, This Council has been very pro -business, but he thinks we have an obligation to protect our neighborhoods and feels we would be lowering our standards to what they were before and what the long-term effect might be. Vice Mayor Nance stated that he has been very torn about this petition because an SUP makes an exception to the rule. Council prior to him made a very strong and just decision to protect our neighborhoods by setting very definite limitations on multi -family homes within RB districts. He thinks the reasons were to avoid crowding on particular lots and to promote single-family dwellings, The question is when do we draw the line to prevent Special Use Permits from becoming the rule rather than the exception. Mr. Nance further commented that the concerns were not about Mr, Varney or his commitment to invest in the property. However, he does think there are some unique situations on this property. It is pre-existing building that has been used for the exact purpose that Mr. Varney is 9 requesting even though its most current use was single family. Also, the building having two gas lines and two electrical services makes is somewhat unique. Mr. Nance then commented that two of the three principles he ran on was being pro -business and pro -property rights and if that is the precedent he has set for himself, he has to stick to it. In this particular case he feels that he can stick to those principles without adversely affecting this neighborhood and he hopes with the petitioner that he may be doing this neighborhood a service. ffir. Hare commented that he has made several tri is supportive of someone wanting to make this kind investment in his Town. He thinks that type of investme for that type of house will be hard to come by as a singl family residence. He has family members who cannot o homes and to have quality rental housingTown Ii Vinton is great compared to some of the places they fi themselves in now. He fully respects the former Coun 's - RR ft 0_1 Mr. Altice, commented that he was on the Planning Commission with the Mayor and the biggest concern when this was changed was putting a duplex on a 50 foot lot and it being new construction, not old construction. This property has been a duplex as long as he remembers and there have been little improvements to the property, He supports it being a duplex because unless there are two units there, one family is not going to pay the high rent required to cover the improvements that need to be do ne. It is the best use for it and he respects the Planning Commission for their recommendation to make this a duplex. This property already exists and there is plenty of parking. Mr. Altice made a motion to adopt the Ordinance as pratreremf; tie Vrte Mr&jr#r+1a(Yt& and carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting: Vote 3-1; Yeas (4) — Altice, Hare, Nance; Nays (1) — Grose; Absent (1) - Adams. The next item for consideration was a Resolution to 11 authorize the Town Manager to execute a contract with Lawrence Equipment of Cloverdale, Virginia in the amount of $27,695 for a Case Farmall 5A 2013 Grounds Tractor plus additional accessory equipment in the amount of $12,805 for a total of $40,500. Mr. Woodson, Public Works Director, made brief comments regarding the purchase of the tractor with accessories to replace two of the older Adopted Ordinance No. 935 approving petition of Jason M. Varney, t/a Consolidated Real Estate Enterprises, LLC, authorized agent, for a Special Use Permit (SUP) to convert a single- family dwelling, located at 134 West Augusta Avenue, tax map number 060,15-05-18, zoned RB ResidealiA im tractors. The funds are already in the FY2013 budget. The Town Manager commented for the record that he has no relation to Lawrence Equipment. After further comments from Council, Vice Mayor Nance made a motion to adopt the Resolution as presented; the motion was seconded by Mr. Hare and carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0,Yeas (4) — Altice, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays (0); Absent (1) - Adams. The next item for consideration was a Resolution to approve the budget for the CDBG Downtown and Economic Revitalization Grant. Mr. Spitzer commented that the Town Manager has met with Hill Studios and they will work within the budget we have. Also, Mr. Spitzer commented that he is in the �vvocess of working with AEP regarding some of their lighting options. One option is they own, operate and repair the lights and we pay a $13 per month charge per light. Their lights cost approximately $2,000 and they would give us a $730 credit for those lights. We currently have budgeted $3,000 for those lights. In response to a question about a light being damaged, Mr. Spitzer commented that AEP will replace it up to three times. After that they consider it to be in a bad location and will remove it. Vice Mayor Nance asked if there is a cost savings, could we get up to the location of the new library with lights and the response was yes. Mr. Spitzer also commented that AEP will do all of the layout work, the engineering specs and will pay to run the conduit to the pole and install the base and the light. The Town would have to bid out laying the conduit on the street assuming we do not already have conduit in place. These lights will include plug -ins, places for the Christmas lights and the banners, The Town Manager commented that having only met with AEP today regarding the lights, there will be additional meetings to - further work out the details. The other option is for the Town to own and operate the lights and we just pay AEP for the electric charge. After further comments, Mr. Altice made a motion to adopt the Resolution as presented; the motion was seconded by Mr. Hare and carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0; Yeas (4) — Altice, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays (0); Absent (1)- Adams. I Adopted Resolution Alo. 2009 authorizing the Town Manager to execute a contract with Lawrence Equipment of Cloverdale, Virginia in the amount of $27,695 for a Case Farmall 5A 2013 Grounds Tractor plus additional accessory equipment in the amount of $12,805 for a total of $40,500. Adopted Resolution Ro. 201 0 a-�tyr# 6U Downtown and Econom Revitalization Grant I if The next item was a briefing on the Programmatic Agreement between the Town and DHR. Mr. Spitzer commented that the reason for the agreement is that DHR determined that our downtown area is a potential historic place based on Criterion A (commerce) from 1884-1963. This Agreement will simplify the steps that we have to go through to get the projects done. He has received a letter from the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation, the federal agency, and they declined to participate unless we need them to intervene between us and the State. The Vinton Historical Society has declined because Judy Cunningham is already on the Project Management Team and we are still waiting to hear back from the other organizations. Mr. Spitzer commented that he asked for another 30-day extension to May 8 1h because of the delay in the Programmatic Agreement process. Council will need to authorize the Town Manager to execute the Agreement no later than April 16'h. Mr. Spitzer then commented on several sections of the Agreement. Mr. Spitzer stated that the main purpose of the Agreement is for DHR to be sure that we keep the integrity of the downtown area as it is now and do not do any major demolition. Mr. Spitzer indicated that if Council would approve this Agreement now, he can proceed with the FONSI (Finding of No Significant Impact) and the Request for the Release of Funds. After comments from the Town Attorney that she has reviewed the Agreement and sees nothing that would cause legal concern, Mr. Hare made a motion to authorize the Town Manager to sign the Programmatic Agreement in substantially the same form as presented to Council; the motion was seconded by Mr. Altice and carried I by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0; Yeas (4) — Altice, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays (0); Absent (1) - Adams. The next item was a briefing on the Agreement between the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and the Town accepting the $700,000 Downtown and Economic Revitalization Grant, Mr. Spitzer commented that the draft of the Contract Agreement has been provided for Council's review and it will be brought back to the May 7 th Council meeting for their approval. The Mayor expressed his thanks to Mr. Spitzer for all the work he is doing on the project. He does not want staff to feel like Council does not think this is important, but he has confidence in staff to handle the project. Authorized the Town Manager execute the Prog Agberammaol reement tween The Twn an the Virginia State Histo Preservation Office im Mr. Hare asked if we could postpone the review of the I Financial Report for February 2013 to the April 16, 2013 meeting and made a motion to that effect. The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Nance and carried by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0; Yeas (4) Approved postponing the review of — Altice, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays (0); Absent (1) - the Financial Report for February Adams, 2013 to the April 16, 2013 meeting Vice Mayor Nance commented that he feels this Town is blessed to have Mr. Grose as the Mayor and he appreciates his passion and his principles. Vice Mayor Nance made a motion to adjourn the regular Regular meeting adjourned meeting; the motion was seconded by Mr. Hare and carried by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0; Yeas (4) — Altice, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays (0); Absent (1) - Adams. The regular meeting was adjourned at 9:14 p.m. Under the Work Session, the Town Manager began with comments regarding the employee benefits and compensation for the FY2014 budget. First, he commented that our health insurance premiums will increase 9.76% this year, which is the first significant increase in five years. The recommendation is to keep the same allocation between employee and employer. The additional employee cost will range from $8 per month for employee only and up to $70 more per month for the family plan. The next issue is how we compensate our employees. I This past year we were very successful in providing a 2.25% salary increase on top of the 5.75% VRS reallocation. This was the first raise since 2008 for our employees. The Town Manager made further comments and indicated that there are options, if Council so desires, to compensate our employees with a raise and/or a merit type of bonus. We want to entertain the perspective of Council and answer any questions so as we go through budget process we will know how to address and focus on some of our efforts. Council Members made comments on retaining good staff 2nd the pros and cons of providing a raise as opposed to a bonus. We need to stay competitive in our market and are still able to hire at our current salary rates, but how long will it last. Mr. Hare solicited comments from the leadership team present at the work session. The Town Manager commented that there is probably room in our current budget for a merit bonus because of salary savings. However, we need to make sure all of our revenues come in as projected. im TTr(rIiTf7!or 7511111renteo In closin -- - - IfIrIct that we should do something and it now becomes not just a financial consideration, but a way to show appreciation for our staff. The Town Manager commented that Roanoke County has finalized the contract with the architects for the library and we are on track to have the first public meeting on April 18th. AT,TEST: Susan N. Johnson, own Clerk APP-R-qV g �le E'. or r—a- y r e, Ma' a or Ell