Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/21/2011 - Regular1 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD AT 7:00 P.M. ON TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2011, 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 Matthew S. Hare William W. Nance STAFF PRESENT: Chris Lawrence, Town Manager Elizabeth Dillon, Town Attorney Darleen R. Bailey, Town Clerk Michael Kennedy, Public Works Director Anita McMillan, Planning Director Ben Cook, Police Captain Steve Doyle, Police Sergeant Agenda A. 7:00 P.M. - Roll Call and Establishment of a Quorum B. INVOCATION – B’ Hai Faith C. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE U. S. FLAG D. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Request to Approve Minutes for Regular Meeting of May 17, 2011 E. AWARDS, RECOGNITIONS, PRESENTATIONS 1. Recognize Finance Department for GFOA Award 2. Police Chief Report 3. Officer of the Month for May, 2011 – Officer Christopher Hays F. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS AND PETITIONS -This section is reserved for comments and questions for issues not listed on the agenda G. PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. Disposition of Recently Vacated Town of Vinton Right-of-Way Property Known as Bowman Street Located Between Madison and Washington Avenues to Bob Woods Union 76, Inc. – Ordinance No. 914 2. Conveyance of Access Easement Located on Well Tract 16 of Map # 4 Lindenwood on Briarwood Drive in the County of Roanoke to Eula B. Ayers – Ordinance No. 915 H. TOWN ATTORNEY I. TOWN MANAGER 1. Request to Adopt Budget for FY 2011/2012 – Ordinance No. 916 2. Consideration of Proposed Amendments to Vinton Business Center Covenants – Resolution No. 1926 3. Consideration of Agreement Between the Town of Vinton and Roanoke County for Purchase of Property at 304 South Pollard Street for Future Roanoke County Vinton Branch Library – Resolution No. 1927 2 4. Request to Allocated Funds for Summer Intern in Town Manager’s Office Resolution No. 1928 J. MAYOR K. COUNCIL 1. Accept Financial Reports for April and May L. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Grose called the regular meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Following roll call, Claudia Whitworth,The Baha’i Faith, gave the invocation and Ms. Fidler 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 Vice Mayor Fidler and seconded by CouncilmanAltice. The motion passed with all in favor. Approved Consent Agenda Council recognized the Finance Department employees on obtaining GFOA award. Mr. Lawrence reported that the Police Chief’s final report would be delayed until the July 5th meeting. Mr. Nance read a letter from Chief Cooley naming Officer Christopher Hayes as Police Officer for the Month of May Under the Citizens Comments and Petitions section, Mr. Charles Hartman who lives at 1211 E. Washington Avenue, spoke in opposition of a request toallow William Byrd High School to place an automated sign in the Town’s right-of-way at Washington Avenue and the By-Pass. Theresa Rawling of 1112 Washington Avenue also spoke in opposition to the sign placement. She asked if there had been any changes in the school’s proposal since the last meeting and whether citizens would be informed if there are changes. The Mayor assured Ms. Rawling that any new information would be passed on to all interested parties.MsRawling brought up zoning issues that needed to be considered before the sign placement is approved.She asked that Council consider requiring the sign to be turned off at night if the proposed sign placement is approved. Mr. Nance asked if Ms. Rawlinghad any preference for the time it should be turned off. She recommended that it be turned off from 10:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. Mr. Robert Obenchain of 1041 Washington Avenue, spoke in opposition to the proposed sign placement. He stated that he, his wife and Mr. and Mrs. Harmon visited all the other schools in the Valley and found that none of them have signs near residential property. Mr. Jason Peters of 337 Dawn Ridge Drive in Roanoke County felt the sign was a great idea but did have concerns about placing the sign at the proposed site because of the high volume of traffic in that area. He encouraged Council to have the school look at other locations for the sign. He briefed Council on 2009 daily traffic figures from VDOT for the area. Mr. Peters recommended putting the sign either at the old middle school or in front of the PFG plant. He pointed out traffic counts for the two locations and advised that VDOT traffic counts for both locations are higher than at 3 the By-Pass. Mayor Grose reported that the proposed sign placement would be an item at a future Council meeting and advised that all interested parties would be notified of that meeting. He noted that they can also check Vinton Town Council’s meetingagenda items on the Town’s website. Mayor Grose pointed out that the sign would be paid for by the school and not by the Town. Mayor Grose opened a public hearing at 7:33 p.m. to take comments and questions regarding the disposition of recently vacated right-of-way property known as Bowman Street located between Madison and Washington Avenues, to Bob Woods Union 76. Mr. Lawrence brought out that Council had previously vacated the propertybut did not convey the property to anyone. He went on to say that Councilnow needs to hold a second public hearing to deed the property to Bob Woods Union 76. He acknowledged that the second stepconveying the property,was left out of the first ordinance. There were no public comments. Mayor Grose closed the public hearing at 7:35 p.m.Mr. Hare moved to adopt Ordinance No. 914 approving the conveyance of the Bowman Street right-of-way to Bob Woods Union 76. The motion was seconded by Mr. Altice and passed unanimously on a roll- call vote. Adopted Ordinance No. 914 conveying the Bowman Street right-of- way to Bob Woods Union 76 Mayor Grose opened the second public hearing at 7:36 p.m., to take comments and questions regarding the conveyance of an access easement located on well tract 16 of Map # 4 Lindenwood on Briarwood Drive. Mr. Lawrence reported that Council had been briefed on this issue at their last meeting. He advised that the deed had been drafted and all legal descriptions and references have been completed to grant a private access easement for the property owned by Eula B. Ayers whose driveway crosses the Town’s well tract.Mr. Lawrence pointed out that if the easement is not granted, Ms. Ayers’ property cannot be sold. He also pointed out that Ms. Stafford, daughter of the property owner,paid for the survey that was done. Ms. Fidler asked the Town Manager to notify a second property owner whose driveway also crosses that same well lot. Mayor Grose closed the public hearing at 7:40 p.m. Mr. Nance moved to adopt proposed Ordinance No. 915 conveying an easement to Eula Ayers’ property on Briarwood Drive. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hare and passed unanimously on a roll call vote. Passed Ordinance 915 approving conveyance of an access easement on Briarwood Drive in Lindenwood Mr. Lawrence expressed his appreciation to staff for their efforts in putting the 2011/2012 budget together. He noted that it accomplishes several goals: Adopted Ordinance No. 916 approving 2011/ 2012 Budget 4 1. Alleviates reliance on water/sewer fund 2. Accomplishes first step toward to show the real costs to run the War Memorial 3. Maintains all core services and many “value added” services 4. Shows a dedication to economic development by putting away money for investment for a future project in the downtown area He pointed out that Council had been presented with all revisions at their last meeting which have been incorporated into the proposed budget. Mayor Grose expressed his deep gratitude to staff for putting together a very good budget in these difficult times. He commented that it is his intention to have intensive reviewsof the budget each quarter because there are areas that need to be closely watched. Ms. Fidler noted it was very gratifying to be able to work out problem areas of the budget and that she was very proud of the work they did to get a good budget. Mr. Altice stated that he felt the budget would “work” but that it would need to be carefully reviewed on a quarterly basis with any needed changes made at that time. Mr. Nance shared the Mayor’s appreciation of staff and each department’s work on the budget and hoped that staff realizes that Council was listening to them. He went on to say he was not thrilled with the new budget but it is a good compromise from five Council members who have different priorities and concerns. He stated that in some ways, it is a maintenance budget but it has accomplished a number of priorities such as investments in the Town and in the Town’s employees. Mr. Hare echoed everyone’s statements and stated that he was excited to see what can be done with $10.5 million in a year. He commented that Council made strategic decisions that will position the Town to be better off in the future. He mentioned the strategic planning meetings that will be held later in the year which will be a good time for staff to discuss what’s important and where the Town’s priorities lie. Ms. Fidler moved to adopt proposed Ordinance No. 916 approving the FY 2011/2012 budget. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hare and unanimously approved on a roll call vote. Mr. Lawrence reported that Council was briefed by Consuella Caudill at their last meeting on the proposed amendments to the Vinton Business Center Covenants. He noted that the Business Center is located in the County but Town Council needs to formally adopt and sign off on the covenants as half owner of the property. Mr. Lawrence noted that the proposed resolution authorizes him to sign the document. Adopted Resolution No. 1926 approving amend- ed covenants for the Vinton Business Center 5 Mr. Altice moved to adopt proposed Resolution No. 1926 approving the amended covenants for the Vinton Business Center. The motion was seconded by Ms. Fidler and passed with a unanimous roll call vote. Mr. Lawrence reported on a proposed agreement between the Town and Roanoke County for the purchase of property at 304 South Pollard Street for a future Roanoke County/Vinton Branch Library. He reported that the three parcels involved are owned by Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Dunman and Mr. Peters. Mr. Lawrence advised that the properties are being sold for $1.25 million and that the Town would be responsible for half of that amount or $625,000 with Roanoke County being responsible for the remainder. He stated that, according to the agreement, the Town would make a good faith deposit of $100,000 that would come out of fund balance. He advised that the remaining amount would be paid out over ten years, $50,000 for years one through five and $55,000 in years six through ten. The Town Manager noted that this property and the Vinyard property are the key properties for revitalization in the Downtown Improvement Plan. Mr. Lawrence reported that Roanoke County would have a second reading of their Resolution on June 28th after they have had an opportunity to work out a couple of concerns they have. Mr. Lawrence asked Council to delay taking action on the agreement until all the concerns have been considered. He advised that the matter will again be taken up at the Town’s July 5 meeting. Mr. Nance noted that the Town’s portion of the purchase is not insubstantial and that he feels Council is making a very legitimate showing of how important this purchase is to the Town and hoped the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors will make a similar commitment. Mr. Lawrence asked Council to consider proposed Resolution No. 1928 designating funding from a Virginia Tech arranged scholarship to pay for a summer intern for the Town through private investment. He noted that this is an accounting function that will allow the Town to allocate funds to pay theTown’s intern, Anthony Lizan. He pointed out that these funds were not included in the budget. Mr. Lawrence also pointed out that $1,600 of Mr. Lizan’s salary would be paid by the Town. Ms. Fidler moved to adopt proposed Resolution No. 1928 to allocate funding to pay the Town’s summer intern’s salary. The motion was seconded by Mr. Altice and passed unanimously on a roll call vote. Adopted Resolution No. 1928 allocating funding to pay Town’s summer intern The Town Manager reported on damage that was done to pavement at the corner of Pollard and Cleveland due to a storm earlier in the day. Mr. Kennedy advised that he anticipated the road would be closed for up to a week and a half. 6 Mayor Grose announced that the Vinton-Roanoke Veterans Monument dedication took place on the previous Tuesday and was very successful. He complimented the committee that put it together. Mr. Hare asked about the process for repairing the street that was damaged by the storm. Mr. Kennedy explained the process for making the repairs depending on what they find after they are able to dig it out. Mr. Hare reported that the Finance Committee held a meeting at 6:00 to discuss financialsfor April and May. He commented that every department except for Recycling was under-spending and should be commended for their efforts. He anticipated that the Town would be within budget at the end of the fiscal year. Mr. Hare reported that the Utility Fund is currently $35,000 ahead of what was anticipated. He noted that the recent rate increase was helping to cover utility expenses but predicted that the Utility Fund will probably end the budget year at a zero balance or in the negative. Mr. Hare reported that as of the end of May, the Town had $2.5 million in cash. He went on to say thatthe Finance Director/Treasure was able to transfer an additional $100,000 into an investment account on June 1st. Mr. Altice moved to accept the Finance Committee’s report for April and May. The motion was seconded by Ms. Fidler with all in favor. Mr. Nance expressed appreciation to the Finance Department for all their efforts as he is aware that members of Council have asked a lot from them recently and the GFOA award is a testament to their efforts. Mr. Nance noted that he had not been able to attend the Monument Dedication due to illness and apologized to the Mayor and the Vision Committed for his absence. Mr. Lawrence informed Council that RVTV produced a video of the Dedication Ceremony and will run it on Channel 3 as well as offer the video for sale. The upcoming 4th of July celebration was discussed and Mr. Hare asked that everyone planning to view the fireworks at the War Memorial should be made aware that they can be seen only from the left side of the front lawn or behind the War Memorial building. Mr. Lawrence commented that he will make sure that Mary Beth Layman, Special Programs Director, is aware of that. Ms. Fidler expressed appreciation to Mr. Nance and Mr. Hare for their efforts on the Finance Committee. The Mayor echoed Ms. Fidler’s statement. Mr. Lawrence asked Council to consider going into a closed meeting to discuss negotiations for the proposed library property purchase. Mr. Hare moved to go into closed meeting pursuant to Virginia Code 7 Section 2.2-3711 (A) 7 for the purpose of receiving legal advice with regard to an agreement with Roanoke County to purchase property for construction of a new library. The motion was seconded by Ms. Fidler and passed with all in favor. At 8:40 p.m., Council came back in to regular session. Mr. Altice moved to approve the certification that the closed meeting was held in accordance with the State Code. The motion was seconded by Ms. Fidler and approved with all in favor. Mayor Grose adjourned the meeting at 8:41 p.m. APPROVED: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor ATTEST: Darleen R. Bailey, Town Clerk