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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4/16/2013 - Regular1111=4115OW1 Now*, 11:9001#1001"1 u1n. 10 IN MEMBERS PRESENT: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor William W. Nance, Vice Mayor 1. Douglas Adams, Jr. Matthew S. Hare STAFF PRESENT: Christopher S. Lawrence, Town Manager Susan N. Johnson, Executive Assistant/Town Clerk Elizabeth Dillon, Town Attorney Ryan Spitzer, Assistant to the Town Manager Ben Cook, Police Chief Mark Vaught, Police Lieutenant Christopher Linkous, Fire/EMS Captain Chad Helms, Fire Lieutenant Barry Thompson, Finance Director/Treasurer Gary Woodson, Public Works Director Joey Hiner, Assistant Public Works Director Anita McMillan, Planning & Zoning Director Stephanie Dearing, Human Resources Director Kevin Kipp, War Memorial Facility Manager The Mayor opened the meeting at 6:30 p.m. and welcome everyone in attendance. Joseph Banks of 315 Franklin Avenue asked about th plans to upgrade the sewer line that runs through Frankli Avenue. He -• that several times it has backed up into hi brother's basement. His brother's name is Ronald Banks, 31 Franklin Avenue and he furnished his contact number to Mr. Woodson, Public Works Director, for follow offi �Ullllllll James • • 101 Giles Avenue asked about plans for the buzzard situation. He said at times his roof is completely covered with buzzards. The Town Manager responded that they have created a problem in the Town for • years, but they are a federally protected species. They were at the old - William Byrd High School and now they are at the Public Works facility and obviously in the Gladetown neighborhood. Public Works has taken some measures to keep them from roosting. Lieutenant Vaught commented that a •' which makes a lot of noise has been used to try and scare them away. Mr. Wright commented that he just put a new roof on his house last year and Yvonne Childress mentioned they are a problem on Craig Avenue as well. The Town Manager indicated that citizens can call his office or the Police Department when they see them in the neighborhood. Mr. Hare asked the group what they think about the car repair service on 2 nd Street. Diane Childress responded that it causes a problem with traffic flow because cars are parked in the road. Harriet Childress commented on the traffic on 2 nd Street and the U-Haul trucks that are parked there. Diane Childress also commented about the rental of U-Hauls from that business operated by Mr. Overstreet and Mr. Hare asked if he was allowed to do that. Anita McMillan, Planning & Zoning Director, responded that this is allowed and that staff continues to meet with him regarding the parking of his vehicles in the right-of-way. Harriet Childress commented on the stop sign at the intersection of Augusta and North Pollard and the fact that drivers treat it as a yield sign. At this time, all of Town staff, Council and the visitors present introduced themselves. James Wright asked why we now have a moment of silence as part of the meeting instead of prayer. The Mayor responded that based on recent controversy and lawsuits on the issue of prayer, this Council carefully considered all of the different approaches it could take along with the advice of our Town Attorney. Council agreed that the moment of silence best served our community in that it gives everyone the opportunity to pray in a way that they - see fit. Mr. Hare, Vice Mayor Nance and Mr. Adams also expressed their personal feelings about the issue, but confirmed their support of the decision made by Council as a whole. The Mayor called the regular meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll call The Town Manager called the roll with Council Member Adams, Council Member Hare, Vice Mayor Nance and Mayor Grose present. The Mayor introduced the Moment of Silence and Diane Wright led the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag. Mr. Adams made a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented; the motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Nance and carried by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0; Approved minutes of Sped Yeas (4) — Adams, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays (0) — None, Absent Budget Work Sessions of Mar (1) - Altice. 28 and 29, 2013 Vice Mayor Nance read a letter from Chief Cook naming Police Officer Daniel King as Officer for the month of March 2013. 1 9 The next item, not on the agenda, was a Proclamatio recognizing April 16, 2013 as the sixth anniversary of th Virginia Tech Remembrance Day. As the group stood, th Town Manager commented that he is honored to read th Proclamation because he is a graduate of Virginia Tech an was working in Blacksburg the day of the tragic event. He the read the Proclamation. The next item was to consider adoption of a Resolutio approving the 2013-2014 operating budget for the Roanok Valley Regional Cable Television Committee. Elaine Bays Murphy began with background information regarding RVT Channel 3. The operational budget is based on the amount o Cox subscribers in each locality. The Town's share of th upcoming budget is 4%. This past year they produced the High Ground Anniversary event; completed several PSAs including the Dogwood Festival, the Farmer's Market and several of th Town's website PSAs. Three shows —Roanoke County Today, 9 Roanoke County Business Partners and Accent Excellence also feature the Town. The total operating budget n 1 $382,917 and the Town's 4% will be $15,317, which is a decrease from last year of $2,873. Mr. Hare asked about the use of surplus funds last year. Ms. Murphy -Bays responded that the Committee established a policy of a $15,000 cap on the surplus funds and they will not draw from those funds for the upcoming budget year. Mr. Hare asked if we have less Cox subscribers, how are the messages getting out to those people and the response was social media through websites, Facebook, Twitter and U-Tube, for example, Mr. Hare asked if we have RVTV linked to our website and the Town Manager commented that we will check on it. Vice Mayor Nance made a motion to adopt the Resolution as Adopted Resolution No. 20 presented; the motion was seconded by Mr. Adams and carried approving the 2013-20 by the following roll call vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0; operating budget for t Yeas (4) — Adams, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays (0), Absent (1) - Roanoke Valley Regional Cab Altice. Television Committee The next item was to consider a Resolution approving the 2013-2014 operating budget of the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority. Council had already been briefed in detail at their April 2 Ild meeting. Dan Miles, Executive Director, presented the total operating budget request of $8,237,335 and made brief comments. This budget does include a $2 per ton increase. Mr. Hare asked what prompted the Board to get rid of the wood mulch sales. Mr. Miles responded that because of a fluctuation at the mulch site, sometimes not enough and sometimes too much, a decision was made to put the commercial sales of the mulch out for bid. Based on two bids they received, it was 4ecided to sell the mulch commercially to one vendor, but still provide the free mulch to residents. After further comments, Mr. Hare made a motion to adopt the Resolution as presented; the motion was seconded by Mr. Adams and carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0; Yeas (4) — Adams, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays (0); Absent Mr. Miles indicated that the Town's portion of this budget is $168,000 The next item was to consider adoption of a Resolution authorizing the Town Manager to execute an Extraterritorial Arrest Agreement between the Town, Roanoke County, Roanoke City and the City of Salem. Chief Cook commented that all of the other localities have approved this Agreement. The Agreement will give every officer in each locality the authority and ability to enforce laws in each other's jurisdiction. This will allow an officer who is actively investigating a crime to Adopted Resolution No. 2012 approving the 2013-2014 operating budget for the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority 11 continue into another jurisdiction without having to wait on officers in that locality to assist. It will also allow assistance from Adopted Resolution No. 2013 neighboring jurisdictions to conduct special enforcement authorizing the Town Manager operations. Vice Mayor Nance made a motion to adopt the to execute an Extraterritorial Resolution as presented; the motion was seconded by Mr. Hare Arrest Agreement between the and carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting: Town, Roanoke County, Vote 4-0; Yeas (4) — Adams, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays (0); Roanoke City and the City of Absent (1) - Altice. Salem The next item was a briefing on the purchase of a 250/300 KW Mobile Diesel Generator. The Town Manager first commented that this purchase is two -fold, (1) to replace the generator at the 3rd Street Sanitary Sewer Lift Station, and (2) to have a generator that can be mobilized at other Town facilities in the event of an electrical power outage for emergency backup support. Mr. Woodson next reviewed a Power Point presentation. All of our three existing lift stations are required to have backup generators. Niagara was done about four years and the other was done about 10-12 years ago. The 3d Street lift station generator has been there for 20 plus years and we can no longer get parts. This Mobile Diesel Generator is proposed to be utilized at any of our 10 wells or any of our three booster pump stations. For an example, in an emergency situation if the whole Town lost power, we could actually connect to the Bush 2 well and supply water to the entire Town. In response to a question, Mr. Woodson responded that it i proposed to set up a connection point at the wells and booste pump stations for easy connection of the generator. H reviewed the specifications for the generator. The estimate cost received three years ago for a fixed generator was $60,00 and we projected the cost today to be $65,000. However, w contacted a vendor and were told we could get a fixed generato for $55,000. The cost estimate of getting the mobile unit is $85 125,000. The increase in the cost is due to a new EPA Tier Emissions compliance requirement on all non -road these I engines. In addition the projected additional cost to connect a I sites would be $5-7,000. in summary, Mr. Woodson commented that a fixed unit would I be less expensive and would replace the odne at the 3 Street Station. If a mobile unit was purchased, it could be use throughout the Town for various emergency situations. Mr Adams asked what cost was involved last summer when w rented a generator. The Town Manager explained that whe the Governor declared a State of Emergency that opened Stat funding for emergency management. We then declared ou State of Emergency and VDEM handled the rest with no cost t the Town. R Vice Mayor Nance asked if this would be a replacement for the one on 3 Id Street or a backup for that one until it is no longer operational. Mr. Woodson responded that if we purchased the mobile unit, it would be a backup. Vice Mayor Nance then commented on paying $70,000 more for the mobility, but the mobility disappearing as soon as the old one fails. So, do we buy the fixed one and then a smaller second generator to give the flexibility we need at some of the other pump stations? Mr. Woodson then commented that if Council ' decides proceed with the mobile generator and we have an incident fo whatever reason, such as a power loss, we will have generator capable of handling the outage. The 3rd Stree generator may continue to run for five more years. However, if i fails and the repairman can repair it again, the propose generator will keep it running long enough for the repair to b made, In response to a question about the size of the curren generator at 3rd Street, it is not as large as the one proposed Mr. Woodson suggested that it be sent out for bid as propose s with an option for a fixed unit and see during the bid proce what kind of numbers come back. E After further comments, Mr. Hare indicated the most importan issue is to have a backup system for the 3"d Street station. H would suggest replacing the 3d Street generator with permanent generator to eliminate the risks and to possibly pu another mobile unit at Bush 2 for a backup. 11 The Town Manager summarized by saying that Council ha been presented with the scenario of where we are, what th options are and now staff can put together some proposals an bring back to Council for further consideration. Mr. Woodso 4.1 rV-4444 MA-02a#24 #'-W��rflsk#rs 21111, opposed to a mobile unit which has more flexibility. Mr. Har asked if it would be possible to have a switch at the 3rd Stree! Station that would automatically turn over to the new generator if the old one failed and the response from Mr. Woodson was that! he would follow up and report back, The next item was to consider nominations for the 201 VML Policy Committees. After comments from the Mayor, th following nominations were read — Community & Economi Development — Mr. Adams and Christopher Lawrence Environmental Quality — Mayor Grose and Anita McMillan I Finance — Mr. Hare and Barry Thompson; General Laws — Vic Mayor Nance and Transportation — Mr. Altice and Gar Woodson. Mr. 4dams made a motion to accept the nomination] as read; the motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Nance and carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting: Accepted nominations for the Vote 4-0; Yeas (4) — Adams, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays (0); 2013 VML Policy Committees Absent (1) - Altice. The Mayor expressed thanks for those in attendance and to th Craig Center staff and Town staff for their work in preparing fo and attending the meeting. He also invited everyone to the firs public meeting on the proposed Vinton Library Branch on April 18 at the War Memorial at 7:00 p.m. Mr. Hare made brief comments on the financial report fo February 2013. We are on track where we should be in th General Fund and slightly above our target. From a cas standpoint we are up $200,000 cash in the Bank from las month. Our expenditures are down, but a lot of that relates t timing issues. He then commented briefly on the Utility Fun and the new format for revenue comparisons in the report. Mr Hare moved that Council approve the February 2013 financia report; the motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Nance an carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting Vote 4-0; Yeas (4) — Adams, Hare, Nance, Grose, Nays (0) Absent Comments from Council Members: Mr. Hare asked for an update relating to the fireworks for the July 4h celebration. The Town Manager responded that Mary Beth Layman is collectin ty the information and will make a report to Council at the April 30 Special Meeting. The options relate to costs. Ms. Layman is also researching the option of setting off the fireworks at Herman L. Horn School, but not for this year. Mr.`Aare next asked for an update on the email to Council regarding the EPA notice of violation. The Town Manager responded that Ms. McMillan is gathering all the information to make a response and he is very confident that we will be able to resolve the issues with either more documentation or some training which is acceptable to the EPA, Mr. Hare then asked about the email regarding submitting our,, transportation priorities to the MPO Committee for funding and why we chose the Greenway as our first priority. The Town Manager responded that when staff reviewed the 10 criteria for this federal transportation funding, the biggest one is a project of a regional benefit. In considering every project we have in the Town that would help our region and applying all the other criteria, we considered what would make the most competitive application. After talking to our neighboring localities, the number one project that serves our entire region is the Greenway system. Since the Town does not have a connection to the regional Greenway system because of the creek between us, we Approved the February 2013 financial report 0 elevated our Greenway bridge project to compete on the coat tails of the regional Greenway project, which has a huge amount *f support. Other projects we listed are Walnut Avenue improvements such as sidewalks, striping, pedestrian crosswalks and bicycle lanes and a Phase 2 to Walnut Avenue. At this point we need a consensus from Council to proceed with our submittal. The four local localities have been asked to write a letter in support of the Greenway System and we need the consensus of Council as well. Mr. Hare commented that this bridge would connect the Glade Creek Greenway across to Tinker, but how does that bridge connect the rest of the Town to Roanoke County. Ms. McMillan responded that the connection to Tinker Creek goes all the wa� to the Roanoke River. The Town Manager commented that there is a gap for people in the Fallen Creek, Wolf Creek and Lindenwood sections of Town and then explained how you can walk through the Town by using sidewalks, etc. and connect to the future Glade Creek Greenway. Mr. Hare asked if we should have the Greenway Commission also write a letter of support and Ms. McMillan said she would contact Liz Belcher. The Greenway Commission has also indicated their support of our submittal of the pedestrian bridge project. The Town Manager indicated he would also put in the same letter information regarding the need for the pedestrian bridge to connect the Town. Mr. Hare moved that Council approve the submittal of the four projects from the Town to the MPO and submittal of a letter of support for the Greenway system along with asking the Greenway Commission to send a letter of support for our pedestrian bridge project; the motion was seconded by Mr. Adams and carried by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0; Yeas (4) — Adams, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays (0); Absent Vice Mayor Nance expressed his appreciation to thoi attending the meeting. Also, the Vinton Baptist Youth work throughout the Town on Saturday doing volunteer projects su as the exterior wall on Angelo's, helped at the Rescue Missio Manna Ministries and also the Charity Cottage. Mr. Adams at l expressed thanks to the citizens who attended the meeting. I lit I IV #1101EC I I IT*, Approved submittal Of application to the MPO Committee along with letter of support for the Greenway system Mr. Adams moved that the regular meeting be adjourned, Regular meeting adjourned the motion was seconded by Mr. Hare and carried by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0; Adams, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays (0) — None; Absent (1) - Altice. The regular meeting was adjourned at E-01 The work session began at 9:15 p.m. with a review of the Town 's Manager's goals --carrying out ©e two-year strategic goals for set by Council and coordinating with Roanoke County to relocate our current Laserfiche Document Imaging system to the new network server and to implement this program in the Planning and Finance departments. Also, during this process we will be transferring all the police car videos to the network for backup purposes. The Town Manager then commented that we reduced our budget $2,500 and have included an increase of $1,500 in training/travel for him to attend a National ICMA Conference in Boston for begin work on his Credential Manager certification. The next year it will be in Charlotte, North Carolina. In Building and Grounds, the Health Department budget was increased $7,000 which reflects costs of utilities paid by Town and reimbursed by tenants. The Advancement Foundation is interested in renewing their lease for the upstairs area which will be brought back to Council for approval. Postage was increased $4,500 and capital outlay of $12,000 to replace the egrlierAj.ettiotled file se,*,jer4v,,.* u amrp,*etiieLgse-t4iesysteiiii, The Town Manager reminded Council of the Special Meeting on April 30'h at 6:00 p.m. primarily to focus on the water and sewer rate increases, He then provided Council a comparison of the proposed salary increases of the adjoining localities. The Work Session was adjourned at 9:37 p.m. Ts'"T"'n x- Su n N. Johnson, Tlolerk Work Session adjourned at 9:37 p.m. APVROVE adley t rose, a 9