HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/15/2014 - RegularMINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD AT 6:00 P.M,
ON TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2014, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE VINTON
MUNICIPAL BUILDING LOCATED AT 311 SOUTH POLLARD STREET, VINTON,
VIRGINIA.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor
1. Douglas Adams, Jr.
William W. Nance
Sabrina M. Weeks
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STAFF PRESENT: Christopher S. Lawrence, Town Manager
Elizabeth Dillon, Town Attorney
Susan N. Johnson, Town Clerk
Ryan Spitzer, Assistant to the Town Manager
Barry Thompson, Finance Director/Treasurer
Ben Cook, Police Chief
Joey Hiner, Public Works Assistant Director
Anita McMillan, Planning & Zoning Director
Bonnie Bailey, Customer Service/Accounting Technician
Candace Poling, Accounting Manager
Lydia Verdillo, Financial Analyst
Wayne Guffey, Records Technician, Police
The Mayor called the work session to order at 6:00
p.m. for a review of the current Chapter 10, Animals,
Article 11, Dogs and Cats, Section 10-47, Limitation on
number of dogs and cats of the Vinton Town Code. The
Town Manager recognized David Flagler, Executive
Director for the Regional Center for Animal Care and
Protection, who was present at the meeting.
Chief Ben Cook began by commenting that his department
was asked to research the current animal ordinance as it
pertains to the number of dogs and cats allowed per
household. Lieutenant Vaught did the research and based
on the information found regarding the other surrounding
localities, we are the most restrictive locality in the
Roanoke Valley. From the Police Department's
perspective, we do not get a lot of calls for specifically the
number of animals. Usually when we do it is a retaliatory
call or we are at a residence on another issue and
over that they have more than is allowed. Most of the
time what we see is one too many.
Mr. Nance asked how many times that violation has been
charged. Chief Cook responded very few because they try
to work with the owners to get in compliance rather than
write a ticket. Mr. Nance then commented that we do
have other parts of the Code to focus on the issues that
may aggravate neighbors such as barking dogs and
running at large. The response was yes and his
department tries to work with the owners along those lines
2s well.
Mr. r1ance further asked Chief Cook if we were to loosen
the Code restriction to allow more pets, does he see any
negative effects for his department in the enforcement.
Chief Cook responded that he sees the benefit of
increasing the limit to three or four because hopefully
those who are currently in violation will get the proper
licenses and come into compliance.
Mr. Adams asked where the limitation of two pets instead
of two dogs or cats came from and the Town Manager
responded that it is the most restrictive and possibly was
decided because we are so densely populated. It should
be noted there is no financial drive to adding more animals
because the license fee represents very little revenue for
the Town. It is an incentive to get the animals spayed or
neutered. One strategy may be to allow households to
have more, but require that one or two have to be spayed
or neutered.
David Flagler next made comments from the audience that
when he moved to Vinton he discovered that he was over
the pet limit. He had spoken with the Town Manager
about the matter because he wanted to obey the law.
Since then one of the animals has passed away and he IS-11
in compliance. However, having lived over the years all
over the United States, he did know of one other
jurisdiction that had a pet limit of two. It is not uncommon
to see three and it is most common to see four.
want to be responsible, but there are a lot of pet owners
with three dogs and it makes his job difficult.
The -fTiayor commented that the number of three or
perhaps four seems to be a pretty accepted number. 11
would be nice if we decide to change this to include
something that would require that any over two or three
should be sterile. Mr. Nance said if we go as high as
allowing four dogs and four cats that perhaps we could do
in a house.
Joey Hiner asked if this would just apply to canine and
feline because some years ago someone had two
canaries and two dogs and wondered if they were over the
pet limit for that. Chief Cook responded that it is
specifically dogs and cats. Mr. Hiner then commented
that he has received inquiries from time to time about the
number of pets,
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The Mayor said he could support raising it to three with the
stipulation being that anything over two should be sterile.
The Town Manager responded that any action would
require a Code change and we would put a public
announcement in The Messenger. We would have to
work with the Town Attorney to see if we can require the
stipulation of spaying or neutering. Ms. Weeks indicated
that she thinks we should not go over three and Mr.
Adams commented that we need more than what we
currently have. Mr. Nance said he could live with three.
The Town Manager commented that we will proceed with
three and that our Code does not distinguish between
dogs and cats, we just say a total number. Mr. Nance said
we are only talking about adding one additional animal
and the Town Manager responded that it would have to be
sterile as an option. Mr. Nance said that limit is still rather
light and the Mayor agreed when you look at the limits of
our surrounding jurisdictions. Mr. Adams said he does not
have an issue if we go with four because three is barely
increasing it. Chief Cook said if Council decides on four, it
will probably encompass most of the citizens in Town that
have excess animals. The Mayor commented in closing
that the consensus is four.
The next item under the work session was a briefing
on the purchase of new in -car recording systems for Police
vehicles. Chief Cook began with comments that the
current vendor we have for our in -car cameras has given
very poor service and frequently the cameras are out of
service. These cameras are used to document evidence
for Court and increases officer safety. In 2009, we
installed in one of our Chargers the first Kustorn Signal
brand of recorder and have installed this brand in all the
new Chargers as well.
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on a SIM card which has to be taken out of the camera
and downloaded from a computer to a server with
Roanoke County. The process takes hours to download
and uses a lot of server space.
We have an opportunity to partner with Kustom Signal to
replace the older cameras as well as purchase a server
that will house only videos. This is a wireless system that
will download the videos when the vehicle pulls into the
Police parking lot directly into the server which can then be
viewed by the officers but not manipulated. This purchase
is $47,293.82 and there are asset forfeiture funds to
purchase the system.
Mr. Adams asked if that server will have a backup
capability and Chief Cook indicated they are working with
the vendor in that regard. It may be by an external hard
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drive or some other backup options. In the event
something happens with the wireless router, the video can
still be downloaded manually. Chief Cook also
commented that this is IP based and has the capability of
allowing someone to log on and view an accident or crime
scene remotely.
The Mayor asked about the origin of the funds and Chief
Cook responded that this is coming from the ATF fund.
Due to Craig Frye's efforts on the Task Force, we have
received several thousand dollars over the past few
months from a rather large seizure that was made. The
Town Manager asked how much is left in the fund and the
Chief Cook responded around $80,000. We just received
over $8,000 a few days ago. These funds have to be used
primarily for equipment for law enforcement activity.
The Town Manager gave an update on the Fire
Department renovations. The consulting design team has
presented a very firm scope of work and the cost estimate
which was twice as expensive as originally planned,
Some of that relates to scope of work which we will be
working through this week with the architect. This
building is 38 years old and we want it to last 10-15 more
years so spending several hundred thousand dollars is not
out of the question. But we want to make sure we have
the right design with the right expectations of scope and
then we will bring it back for appropriation of the funds to
do the work. The County is still fully supportive of funding
50/50.
The Town Manager next gave an update on the
request from a citizen at the last Council meeting to check
on property with a Code violation. Staff further discussed
the issue and consulted with the Town Attorney about
going on a neighbor's property to view another property
and she indicated we could legally do that if we have
consent. We did get the consent and Planning staff went
on the gentleman's property as requested. Staff found
issues on both properties which were addressed,
The Town Manager commented that we have completed
the Human Resources Specialist interviews, the top
candidates have been selected and background checks
gre being done at this time, We hope to have someone
hired and in place the first of August.
FWAITIM M-
The Mayor called the regular meeting to order at 7:00 Roll cal"
p.m. The Town Clerk called the roll with Council Member
Adams, Council Member Nance, Council Member Weeks
and Mayor Grose present. Vice Mayor Hare was absent,
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After a Moment of Silence, Ms. Weeks led the Pledge of
Allegiance to the U.S. Flag.
Under upcoming community events/announcements,
Mr. Adams commented on the July 4 th event and the
fireworks and that he has had several positive comments,
The Saturday night Mingle at the Market was well
attended. Ms. Weeks expressed thanks on behalf of the
Chamber to those from the Town who volunteered at the
event and announced the next Mingle at the Market on
August 9th. Mr. Nance announced the retirement
celebration for Clay Goodman, the Roanoke County
Administrator on July 22 nd and also the Finance
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Committee meeting scheduled for July 28
The Mayor mentioned that in lieu of the August 5h meeting
that Council will be participating in the National Night Out
Event at the Farmers' Market from 6-8 pm. Another
community event is the Breakfast Lions Club Drawn -Down
Event on August 16 Ih , The Town Clerk mentioned the
Community Pool dinner that several members of Council
and staff helped serve on July 9th.
The next item on the agenda was the acceptance Of
Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial
Reporting for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2013 awarded
to the Treasurer/Finance Department.
Barry Thompson recognized Candace Poling, Accounting
Manager; Bonnie Bailey, Accounting Technician; and
Lydia Verdillo, Financial Analyst, He also mentioned Paul
Miller and Lisa Morrison, both Accounting Technicians,
who were not able to attend the meeting, The Mayor
expressed thanks to Mr. Thompson and his staff for having
received this award for the past 19 years. He read tho
award and then presented the plaque. Mr. Thompson
commented that it is an honor to serve as the Treasurer
for the Town and expressed appreciation to all of his staff.
The Mayor next read a Proclamation for Bonnie Bailey
upon her retirement and then presented it to her. Ms,
Bailey made brief comments and Council then expressed
appreciation to Ms, Bailey for her service and made
additional comments regarding the entire Finance
Department staff.
The next item on the agenda was the Fiscal Year 2014
report from the Vinton Volunteer First Aid Crew. Wayne
Guffey began by commenting that the volunteer hours are
from 6 prn to 6 am Monday through Friday and 24 hours
on Saturday and Sunday, For FY2013-2014, the truck
was marked up 5,506 hours out of the 5,648 possible for
97%. During those hours they responded to 1,107 calls
out of a possible 1,392 for 80%.
Last year Roanoke County made several policies and set
our station for a 12-minute average response time. Our
goal is to get to a call 90% of the time under this average,
Our response time for the fiscal year was 10 minutes and
16 seconds with an average of six minutes and 24
seconds. This is from the time dispatched to time on the
scene. The total man hours which does include training
and standbys that we do for the community and other
areas was 20,507.
a new Stryker power stretcher with the assistance of a
State Grant and a new Rehab unit. This Rehab unit
responds to fire calls or other calls that are going to be
long in nature or have heavy exertion such as structure
fires or brush fires. With this unit we supply water and
food and also check vital signs during the call and have
also been to calls in other surrounding counties.
Mr. Guffey commented in closing that there are now 39
active members of the Volunteer Crew.
The Mayor asked about the power stretcher and Mr'
Guffey responded that it is a stretcher that lifts by itself on
hydraulics. This is a $12,000 stretcher which was funded
50% by the State grant and 50% by the Volunteer funds.
Now all three of our ambulances have these stretchers.
Mr. Adams commented that this year is the First Aid
Crew's 75 th anniversary and on October 4 1h there will be a
dinner and celebration and on October 5'h there will be an
open house at the First Aid Crew with an invitation to all of
the old crew members to attend. Across the State of
Virginia, the Vinton First Aid Crew is one of the few that
has three members that are still answering calls with 40
plus years.
The next item for consideration was a Resolution
authorizing the Town Manager to execute two new
Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) between
Roanoke County Board of Supervisors and the Vinton
Town Council for providing Stormwater Management Plan
Review Services and Stormwater Management Facilities
Post -construction Inspection Services to the Town, Anita
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The Town Manager made comments that before we had
these agreements with the County, we had a contract with
a private engineering firm which worked very well.
However, through conversation with some business
owners in Town and with all of the stormwater regulations
changing, this was a better option. This provides more
consistency of perspective and enforcement and prevents
a third -party engineering firm from reviewing another
Adopted Resolution No. 2072
engineering firm thus creating competition. This provides a
authorizing the Town Manager t*
much better environment for the customer.
execute two new Memorandums
of Understanding (MOUS)
The Town Manager further commented that we have
between Roanoke County Board
revised the Resolution to state that these are new MOUs
of Supervisors and the Vinton
instead of renewals. Mr. Nance made a motion to adopt Town Council for providing
the Amended Resolution as presented; the motion was
Stormwater Management Plan
seconded by Mr. Adams and carried by the following roll
Review Services and Stormwater
call vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0-1; Yeas (4) —
Management Facilities Post -
Adams, Nance, Weeks, Grose; Nays (0); Absentconstruction
Inspection Services
Hare,
- to the Town.
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and because of this donation, the 21 lights that we will
install will be right at this cost it not slightly under. The
Town Manager then commented that the limits of the grant
extended to Cleveland, but we have had requests from
other property owners asking about the lights all the way
tut to Virginia. That would be an excellent next phase to
consider.
Mr. Adams asked how much the sidewalks would be torn
up during the project and Mr. Spitzer responded that there
will be a cut in the sidewalk for each light. We are looking
at cutting at a square for the light, putting the light in and
then repaving the concrete around the light. The conduit
will run in front of the sidewalk where the blacktop meets
the concrete. Each block will have some scars and we will
coordinate with Public Works as part of our paving
program to mill and repave the area for a finished look to
also tie in the library project. We have around $50,000 in
the grant to run the conduit which will go out for bid along
with putting the bases underneath the ground. AEP will
then install the lights. Mr. Spitzer also indicated that our
Public Works employees have done sidewalks before, so
we can utilize them if we need to keep the costs in line.
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of the project and the response was construction will be
done between the Fall Festival and the Dogwood Festival,
The street lights will not be done until after the Mingle at
the Market events are over and prior to the Fall Festival
and everything must be completed within a year from now.
He has heard from DHCD that no project has been
completed within two years and they know that is an
unrealistic timeframe, but we are hoping to meet that
expectation. The Town Manager commented that the only
item that is out of our control within reason are other
private business facades, but all the public projects are
laid out between September and the end of the Spring
next year to dodge all of the downtown events.
The next site plan showed the current intersection of
Washington and Pollard. We have already taken out the
traffic loops in the pavement and as mentioned earlier, we
have installed a camera that now controls the traffic lights
for the entire intersection. We are going to repave
everything that is dark on the plan and the crosswalks will
be stamped concrete. We will re -do the two crosswalk
entrances on the other side of the road where the Exxon
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it a more presentable entrance into downtown, The ADA
ramp will also be fixed to match this as well.
The Town Manager commented that there is no formal
action required at this meeting, but staff needs a
consensus of Council to go ahead and put the RFP out.
After the bid is awarded and we have a contract, we will
bring the matter back to Council for approval.
The next item was a briefing on the Roanoke County
Litter program. The Town Manager commented that
Charlotte Moore, the Cave Spring District Supervisor for
Roanoke County, has approached all the surrounding
localities to consider implementing a similar proactive
program, She is not requesting that we adopt the exact
program but to make a good faith effort toward bringing
attention to the problem of litter. The County's program is
focused on education, but there is an enforcement piece to
try and effect a positive change in the habits of people.
We do not have a formal education program on litter, but
we do have a local ordinance. He and Chief Cook have
reviewed our ordinance which is pretty broad and relates
to dumping of unsightly matter on highway, right-of-way or
private property.
The Town Manager further commented that unlike th-1
County that has no street -sweeping ability, the Town on a
weekly schedule vacuums our streets. Also, our Publiv
Works grounds crew mows all of our rights -of -way on a
three-week cycle and picks up trash along those areas
before they mow. Our biggest issues are areas around
winds blow trash and litter. We do not have a formal
program for highway maintenance, but Anita McMillan
works each year with volunteers to do Spring clean-ups for
specific areas.
As far as what we could do in the Town, we could initiate
an Adopt -A -Highway program. From an enforcement or
public input, the County has set up an area on their
website where you can report a litterer along with their
vehicle tag number and Roanoke County will send a letter
to the registered owner of that vehicle as an education
piece. We already have a Report a Concern option on our
website which we could use for this purpose to at least
receive complaints, We have not discussed any type of
letters being sent, but possibly the complaints would alert
us to specific areas that we can clean up. There are
aspects of Roanoke County's program that we could
incorporate into a program in the Town to get the message
out. If there is an interest of Council to pursue it further,
we can do that. The Mayor said he thinks there are some
particular areas that we can give more attention to
concerning litter. He would like for staff to review the
matter and come back with some suggestions or ways we
might be able to help with these troubled areas and other
members of Council agreed.
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The Town Manager commented that regarding Clay
Goodman's retirement we will prepare a Proclamation that
the Mayor will take to his retirement celebration.
The Mayor announced that a ribbon -cutting was held
recently at the Lancer Lot for some improvements to their
building,
Comments from Council: Mr. Nance thanked staff for
the hard work on the July 4..
event which was very
successful and also commented on the good crowd at the
Mingle at the Market and expressed his thanks to the
Chamber. Also, he is pleased with staff's initiative and
Council's decision to allow more hours at the Farmers'
Market and hopes that it will continue. In response to a
question from Mr, Nance concerning the upcoming VML
Conference in Roanoke, the Town Manager answered that
Monday night of the Conference is Host City Night and
Tuesday is the formal banquet. Traditionally we always
cancel our Council meeting when the conference is held
out of Town, but this year it is local. The Mayor thought
that would be appropriate. Ms. Weeks thanked everyone
again for the Town's help at the Mingle at the Market, She
wants to help put Vinton on the map and she hopes that in
years to come we have so much going on in Vinton that
we do not have enough Council Members to be at all of
the events.
dir.—Rance made a motion to adjourn the meeting; the Meeting adjournet
motion was seconded by Mr. Adams and carried by the
following vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0-1; Yeas
(4) — Adams, Nance, Weeks, Grose; Nays (0) — None;
Absent (1) - Hare. The meeting was adjourned at 8:11
p.m. I
APPROVED:
Bradley E. Grose, Mayor
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Susan N. Johnso in Clerk
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