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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/19/2010 - RegularMINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD AT 7:00 P.M. ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2010, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE VINTON MUNICIPAL BUILDING LOCATED AT 311 SOUTH POLLARD STREET, VINTON, VIRGINIA. MEMBERS PRESENT: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor Robert R. Altice Carolyn D. Fidler William W. Nance STAFF PRESENT: Chris Lawrence, Town Manager Elizabeth Dillon, Town Attorney Darleen Bailey, Town Clerk Consuella Caudill, Asst. Town Manager Herb Cooley, Police Chief Mike Kennedy, Public Works Director Barry Thompson, Finance Director/Treasurer Ben Cook, Police Lieutenant Agenda A. 7:00 P.M. – Roll Call and Establishment of a Quorum B. INVOCATION – C. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE U. S. FLAG D. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approval of Minutes: a. Special Called Meeting Held on December 22, 2009 - Declaration of a State of Emergency b. Special Called Meeting for a Closed Meeting Held on December 30, 2009 c. Special Called Meeting for a Closed Meeting Held on January 12, 2010 E. AWARDS, RECOGNITIONS, PRESENTATIONS 1. Recognition of the Vinton Public Works Department's Efforts to Keep the Vinton Water System Operational During This Period of Extreme Cold Weather F. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS AND PETITIONS G. PUBLIC HEARING 1. Request to Amend Town Charter, Section 3.2, Extending the Number of Days from 30 to 45 to Fill Vacancies on Town Council - Resolution No. 1853 H. TOWN ATTORNEY I. TOWN MANAGER 1. Approval and Authorization to Award and Execute Professional Services Contract for the Preparation and Completion of Vinton Business District Revitalization Plans – Resolution No. 1854 2. Highway Safety Commission Recommendation for Pollard Street 2 3. New World System CAD and Records Management System – Resolution No. 1855 4. Grant Match to Allow Purchase of Mobile Data Terminals for Patrol Vehicles – Resolution No. 1856 J. MAYOR K. COUNCIL L. ADJOURNMENT WORK SESSION 1. Economic Development Strategy Presentation Mayor Grose called the regular meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Following roll call, William Booth gave the invocation and Mr. Altice led the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag. Roll call, invocation and Pledge of Allegiance to U.S. Flag. The Consent Agenda was approved on motion by Mr. Nance and seconded by Mr. Altice with all in favor. Mayor Grose expressed his appreciation to the Public Works Department employees for their efforts to keep the Vinton water system operational during the recent period of extreme cold weather and asked that the Public Works Director, Mike Kennedy, forward his comments to his employees. Mr. Nance, Mr. Altice and Ms Fidler echoed the Mayor’s comments. Mr. Booth commented that he had written a letter to the Roanoke Times editor regarding the excellent job done by Town crews in clearing snow off of the Town’s streets. Mayor Gross opened the public hearing at 7:05 p.m. to consider a request to amend Section 3.2 of the Town Charter extending the number of days allowed to fill vacancies on Town Council from 30 to 45. The Town Manager advised that the State Code allows up to 45 days to make the appointment. He further advised that the Town’s Charter stipulates that the appointment be made within 30 days. He went on to say that the Town Attorney had advised him that the Town’s Charter takes precedence over the State Code on this issue and if Council wishes to extend the time period allowed to fill a vacancy to 45 days, they will need to hold a public hearing and adopt a resolution requesting that the General Assembly amend the Town Charter. Mayor Grose closed the public hearing at 7:11 p.m. and Ms. Fidler moved to adopt proposed Resolution No. 1853 requesting that the General Assembly amend the Town’s Charter to extend the time period for vacancies on Town Council to be filled. The motion was seconded by Mr. Nance and passed unanimously on a roll call vote. Mr. Lawrence advised that a copy of Resolution No. 1853 would be sent to Senator Ralph Smith before the General Assembly session begins next week. Adopted Resolution No. 1853 requesting amend- ment to Town Charter 3 Anita McMillan reported on a request for Town Council to authorize the Town Manager to execute and award the Professional Services Contract for the Vinton Business District Plans. She advised that in June, 2009, the Town applied for a planning grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (VA DHCD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. Ms. McMillan went on to say that the total grant amount is $35,000 with $3000 being allocated for pre-contract activities and the remaining $32,000 to be spent on the completion of Downtown Economic Restructuring/Marketing Plan and Downtown Physical Improvement Plan. Ms. McMillan reported that the Town received seven proposals in response to a Request for Proposals issued by the Town for the Vinton Business District Revitalization. She advised that the proposals were reviewed by a staff committee consisting of Chris Lawrence, Consuella Caudill, Mary Beth Layman, Mike Kennedy and herself, who selected four of the seven responders to be interviewed by a panel consisting of Carolyn Fidler, Ed Mazeika, Judy Cunningham, Chris Lawrence, Consuella Caudill, Mary Beth Layman and another member of the Chamber of Commerce, who chose Hill Studio to perform the work. Mr. Altice moved to adopt proposed Resolution No. 1854 authorizing the Town Manager to execute and award the Professional Services Contract for the Vinton Business District Plans. The motion was seconded by Mr. Nance and passed unanimously on a roll call vote. Mr. Altice expressed his appreciation to Ms. McMillan and everyone who had worked on the project as he realized it had been a very difficult task. Adopted Resolution No. 1854 authorizing and awarding professional services contract for Vinton Business District Plans Mr. Lawrence reported on a recommendation by the Highway Safety Commission to remove parking spaces on Pollard Street from Lee Avenue to Washington Avenue. He noted that the issue had been discussed at the December 1st Town Council meeting. He went on to say that the Assistant Town Manager had sent out letters to the businesses owners advising them of the possibility that four or five parking spaces on Pollard Street from Lee Avenue to Washington Avenue, may be removed. Mr. Lawrence noted that staff received a response from Mr. Poff, owner of the Dogwood Restaurant, opposing the recommendation. Ms. Fidler asked if the business owners had been contacted in person and Mr. Lawrence replied that staff had spoken with several of the business owners that would be affected. Ms. Fidler commented that changing the spaces to a five to ten minute loading zone might be sufficient to correct the traffic problem. Mr. Lawrence replied that he was concerned that making it a loading zone could be confusing since this would be the only parking spaces in the downtown area that is limited to five or ten minutes. Ms. Fidler moved to approve the Highway Safety Commission’s recommendation to remove the parking spaces located on Pollard Street between Lee Avenue and Washington Avenue. The motion was seconded by Mr. Altice and approved Approved request to remove parking spaces on Pollard Street 4 unanimously on a roll call vote. Mr. Nance noted that he regretted having to take the parking spaces away but he felt it was a safety issue. Mr. Lawrence reported on a request to use funds from the Wireless 911 Grant Account to purchase the New World System CAD and Records Management System for the Police Department. He advised that as a part of the Town’s efforts to merge with Roanoke County’s Communications Center, it is imperative that the Town convert to the New World System to be compatible with Roanoke County. He added that the Police Department had recommended the conversion to the New World System even if the Communications Merger did not take place. Mr. Lawrence noted that the staff report states that $150,000 would need to be transferred but the actual funding needed for this year would be $76,225. He further noted that the Town would be billed over a two-year period for the total amount. He advised that funding for the software would come from the Wireless E-911 Grant funds that are received quarterly from the State which accrue from budget year to budget year. Mr. Lawrence pointed out that the Town’s contract with Interact, our current CAD system, with expire in 2011 and advised that the contract with New World System will save the Town at least $30,000 over what it would cost to renew the contract with Interact. Mr. Nance expressed concern that using most of the money in the E-911 account would cause a hardship for the Town for other expenses that routinely come up. Mr. Lawrence explained that the Town will receive $12,000 each quarter from the State until the Town no longer operates a dispatch center. Mayor Grose inquired as to how the loss of the Wireless E-911 funds would affect the Town should funding be needed to replace items such as new mobile data terminals and other items needed for the Police Department. Mr. Lawrence replied that the Town will have to rely on grants or the General Fund. Mr. Altice moved to adopt proposed Resolution No. 1855 transferring funds to purchase the New World System. The motion was seconded by Ms. Fidler and approved unanimously on a roll call vote. Adopted Resolution No. 1855 transferring funds to purchase the New World System Mr. Lawrence reported on a request to allocate matching funds for a grant received by the Police Department from the Department of Criminal Justice to purchase 6 mobile data terminals for Police patrol vehicles. He noted that the actual grant amount is $38,503 with a grant match of 12,835 for a total grant amount of $51,338. He also noted that the new terminals would help with the implementation of the New World System software. Mr. Lawrence advised that the funding for the grant match would come from Wireless E-911 funds. The Town Manager reported that the Police Department had been successful in Adopted Resolution No. 1856 allocating grant funds to purchase mobile data terminals 5 obtaining a grant to purchase air cards (allowing wireless access for their data terminals wireless) making their patrol vehicles into mobile offices. Mr. Altice moved to adopt proposed Resolution No. 1856 approving the use of E-911 grant funds for the grant match in the amount of $12,338 and transferring the Department of Criminal Justice grant funds in the amount of $38,503 to allow the purchase of six mobile data terminals for patrol vehicles. The motion was seconded by Ms. Fidler and passed unanimously on a roll call vote. Mr. Thompson gave an explanation of the Town’s W-2 forms that had recently been distributed to Town employees. He explained that the gross salary amount on the forms appeared to be higher that it should have been because there were 27 pay days in this W-2 reporting period for 2009 and explained that employees were paid on January 1st of 2009 and December 31st of 2009. He stressed that there would be no budget impact for the extra pay period. Ms. Fidler reported that Council had worked extra hours to perform one of the most difficult tasks required of a council member. She went on to say that the Town Charter requires that Council appoint someone to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Vice Mayor Billy Obenchain. Ms. Fidler moved to adopt Resolution No. 1857 appointing Matthew Scott Hare to serve on Vinton Town Council for a term extending through June 30, 2010 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Billy Obenchain. Mr. Altice seconded the motion that passed unanimously on a roll call vote. Mayor Grose noted that Mr. Hare was very qualified to serve on Town Council, and with his qualifications as a Financial Analyst, he would be very helpful during the upcoming budget deliberations. Ms. Fidler stated that she feels he will bring much wisdom to Town Council. Adopted Resolution No. 1857 appointing Matt Hare to Town Council Mr. Nance commented on his “lingering feeling of doom” regarding the present budget situation. He encouraged Council to provide some very broad guidelines to staff during the next couple of meetings as what Council’s priorities are. He felt that Council should have pro-active approach to the budget this year rather to react to Department Heads requests. Mr. Altice felt that priorities need to be set. Ms. Fidler stated that she hoped that the citizens would look at what Council does with the Town’s money and would come forward with ideas and suggestions for Council. On another note, Ms. Fidler stated that the Recreation Facilities Authority had met that morning and had a discussion on what would happen if Mr. Vander Maten does not fulfill his contract with the Explore Park. She noted that a consortium made up of various business leaders, was appointed to work on this issue. She advised that the Consortium has another meeting scheduled for January 29th. She pointed out that Chris Lawrence had been a member of the group since the second meeting and had been highly praised by everyone for the work he has done for the consortium. Ms. Fidler asked for ideas from the public for possible uses of the property. 6 Mr. Lawrence stated that staff had considered an early March date to meet with Council to set budget priorities but felt that it might be better to move that meeting up to late February. He assured Council that staff looks forward to working with them on the budget as it helps immensely to have clear direction. There was no further business and Mayor Grose adjourned the regular meeting at 7:55 p.m. WORK SESSION 1. Economic Development Strategy Presentation Ms. Caudill, Assistant Town Manager, gave a presentation on an economic development strategy for the Town of Vinton. She noted that this presentation is a follow-up from a Council planning session that took place last year at which Council had indicated that they wanted to focus on economic development in the downtown area and the town, overall. A copy of Ms. Caudill’s slide presentation on Economic Development Strategy is attached as a part of the work session minutes. Mr. Lawrence reported that sometime during the next couple of meetings, staff will brief Council on different, more specific plans for the Town such as the Farmers Market, the Pool, the Second Quarter Financial Update and information about other key areas that Council might need or want. The Town Manager briefly discussed some of the difficulties that will need to be considered during the upcoming budget deliberations. The work session was adjourned at 9:45 p.m. APPROVED: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor ATTEST: Darleen R. Bailey, Town Clerk