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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3/3/2009 - RegularMINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD AT 7:00 P.M. ON TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2009 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 William E. Obenchain, Jr. STAFF PRESENT: Chris Lawrence, Town Manager Elizabeth Dillon, Town Attorney Darleen Bailey, Town Clerk Ben Cook, Police Lieutenant Joey Hiner, Assistant Public Works Director Barry Thompson, Finance Director/Treasurer Agenda A. 7:00 P.M. – Roll Call and Establishment of a Quorum B. INVOCATION – Rev. John Ott, Parkway Wesleyan Church C. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE U. S. FLAG D. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approval of Minutes: February 17, 2009 2. Resolution No. 1814 Amending Roanoke Valley Resource Authority’s Members Use Agreement ACTION E. AWARDS, RECOGNITIONS, PRESENTATIONS F. PUBLIC HEARING 1. Amend FY 2008/2009 Budget – Ordinance No. 877 2. Proposed Rate Increase for Commercial, Industrial and Institutional Water & Wastewater Service – Ordinance No. 878 3. Request to Establish Water and Wastewater System Development and New Connection Fees and Charges – Ordinance No. 879 G. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS AND PETITIONS H. TOWN ATTORNEY I. TOWN MANAGER J. MAYOR K. COUNCIL L. ADJOURNMENT WORK SESSION 1. Council Vision Statement 2. Budget Priorities 3. Downtown Revitalization Mayor Grose called the regular meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Following roll call, Pastor John Ott from Parkway Wesleyan Church gave the invocation and the Mayor led the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag. Mayor Grose discussed the role of the invocation at Town meetings and thanked Rev. Ott for taking the time from his busy schedule to come and give the invocation at this evening’s meeting. Roll call, invocation and Pledge of Allegiance to U.S. Flag. The Consent Agenda was approved on motion by the Vice Mayor, Billy Obenchain, that was seconded by Ms. Fidler and approved with all in favor. Approved Consent Agenda – Resolution No.1814 amending RVRA’s Members Use Agreement Mayor Grose read a letter that was received by Chief Cooley thanking him for helping someone from out of Town get in touch with her son. Mr. Jason Peters, who is a member of the Vinton Vision Committee, reported that the Committee should have a signed contract by the end of the week for the construction of the Veterans Memorial Monument and expected the work to begin within the next 30 days. He reported that the Committee has over $170,000 in the bank, and has pledges of over $260,000. He advised that the committee had reviewed the contract at their meeting on the previous evening and realiized that they needed clarification from Council on a section of the contract that states the Town would provide electricity and water to the site during construction. He went on to say that both electricity and water are available at the site from the War Memorial and they wanted reassurance that Council was aware of this and continued to be in agreement with this section of the contract. He added that he did not believe there would be much usage of electricity until the last two months of construction when the lighting would be installed and very little water would be used until the landscaping is done and the fountain is set up. Mr. Lawrence advised that he had previously discussed this issue with Mr. Peters and the Mayor and that if they were to keep track of the cost of electricity and water usage, temporary meters would have to be installed at a cost of at least $400 to $500. He continued that he felt it would be cheaper to use power and water from the War Memorial. Ms. Fidler asked who would be paying for the electricity Report and request by Jason Peters on the Veterans Monument 2 and water after the construction is completed. Mr. Peters replied that the Vision Committee would be responsible for these costs until the monument is paid for and then would probably be turned over to the Town. He added that the committee has also discussed the possibility of setting up an endowment for the upkeep and utilities for the monument. Ms. Fidler then asked if permanent meters would ever have to be installed and Mr. Lawrence replied that it would not be necessary as usage would be very minimal. Mr. Peters stated that the water used in the fountain would be re-circulated and the lights to be used would be low voltage lights. Mayor Grose pointed out that the committee wanted to raise at least $400,000 and already had $260,000 in pledges. He asked if the $170,000 in the bank was a part of the $260,000. Mr. Peters replied that it was and that the committee had spent $25,000 to $30,000 of the $260,000 they had already collected. Mr. Obenchain noted that, at one time, they had discussed the possibility of installing a camera at the monument site and inquired as to whether this was still in the plans. He stated that he feels there should definitely be a camera at the location. Mr. Peters replied that he was not aware of any plans to install a camera. Mr. Lawrence replied that they would look into the issue. Mayor Grose opened a public hearing at 7:20 p.m. to take comments and questions on a proposal to amend the FY 2008/2009 Budget. Mr. Thompson reported that the public hearing was advertised in the Vinton Messenger on the previous Thursday. He further reported that staff is proposing to reduce the General Fund by $296,098 from $8,152,847 to $7,856,749. He noted that the Utility Fund would remain the same and the Capital Improvement Program would be reduced by $1,825 from $62,000 to $60,675. The Treasurer further noted that the total revenue and expenditures for the revised FY 2008/2009 budget would be $11,327,443. Mr. Lawrence advised that the proposed budget reduction was related to the current economic situation as sales tax, invested income, State public safety funding as well as the Town’s admissions tax is not what was projected when the budget was adopted. He stated that Department Heads were charged with the task of cutting their department’s spending without affecting services to the Town’s citizens. The Town Manager thanked the Department Heads and Mr. Thompson for accomplishing this task. Mayor Grose and the remaining Council members also thanked the staff for their efforts. Ms. Fidler thanked Joey Hiner for taking over the Public Works Adopted Resolution No. 877 amending the 2008/2009 budget 3 Director’s responsibilities while Mr. Kennedy is out on sick leave. Mayor Grose closed the public hearing at 7:30 p.m. He stressed that the process to reduce the budget has been under way for an extended period of time, that it had not occurred overnight. Mr. Altice moved to adopt proposed Ordinance No. 877 amending the FY 2008/2009 budget. The motion was seconded by Ms. Fidler and passed on a unanimous roll call vote. The second public hearing opened at 7:31 p.m. Mr. Lawrence explained that a request for Council to approve a resolution increasing the commercial, industrial and institutional water and wastewater rates had been scheduled for the February 3rd meeting but was pulled from the meeting agenda at the request of the Town Attorney. She had advised staff just prior to that meeting, that the proposed increase would have to be done by ordinance, not by resolution, and would require a public hearing to be held. The item was rescheduled for the March 3rd meeting so that a public hearing could be advertised in the Vinton Messenger and an ordinance prepared. Mr. Lawrence noted that the delayed approval would not change the April 1st beginning date for the increase. He pointed out that the rate would be gradually increased over the next three quarters up to $2.96. The public hearing closed at 7:34 p.m. Ms Fidler then moved to adopt proposed Ordinance No. 873 approving the rate increase for commercial, industrial and institutional water and wastewater. The motion was seconded by Mr. Obenchain and passed unanimously on a roll call vote. Adopted Resolution No. 873 increasing commercial, industrial and institutional water and wastewater rates The third public hearing opened at 7:35 to take comments and questions on a request to establish water and wastewater system development fees and new connections fees and charges. Mr. Lawrence noted that Council had been briefed on the issue by the Public Works Director at a meeting in February. He advised that the Town’s System Development Fees are calculated using a nationally recognized and accepted methodology from the American Waterworks Association and the Water Environment Federation. The Town Manager advised that the idea behind system development fees contains three elements: 1) replacing the value of the Town’s current infrastructure assets; 2) the total accumulated depreciation; 3) the number of equivalent service connections. He went on to say that there are inspection charges and meter setting fees which are calculated using our current and projected costs for labor, material and equipment. Adopted Ordinance No. 879 establishing water and wastewater system development fees 4 He advised that system development fees went up by a nominal amount of 1.6%, inspection fees went up by 1.5% to 2%, and that water meter setting fees up to an inch were unchanged. Mr. Lawrence pointed out that some fees decreased because the Town’s costs decreased. The Town Manger stated that the proposed increase would help the Town to maintain the system and to plan for the future. He advised that notices of the increases were sent out to customers but no responses were received. After further discussion, Mayor Grose closed the public hearing at 7:42 p.m. Mr. Obenchain moved to adopt proposed Ordinance No. 879 establishing water and wastewater system development and new connection fees and charges. The motion was seconded by Mr. Altice and passed unanimously on a roll call vote. The Town Manager reviewed a schedule of activities for Vinton’s 125th Anniversary celebration on March 17th provided by Mary Beth Layman that advised Council of where they needed to be on that day and when. He noted that Cox Communications had put together a 30 minute presentation that will be shown that day. He advised Council that he wanted to adopt the Town’s Vision Statement at the March 17th meeting. Mr. Lawrence thanked the Police Department for their very quick response when the wireless panic button was mistakenly pushed earlier in the day while he and the Town Clerk were preparing the Council Chambers for the evening’s meeting. He advised Council that within seconds, four Police Officers including the Police Chief, responded to the alarm. Comments by Town Manager Mark McKaskill who is with the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, gave a brief report on President Obama’s Economic Stimulus Plan. He advised he would pass on any further information as he receives it. Mayor Grose asked about the “shovel ready” list of projects, prepared by the Regional Commission, that might qualify for stimulus money and Mr. McKaskill replied that the Regional Commission’s Executive Director had contacted localities and put together a list, many of which are “fix it first” type of projects. He went on to say that the list has been put on the Governor’s website. 5 Mayor Grose introduced Melissa Lacombe who is part of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Program. Mr. Nance commented that he had received several announcements along with his water bill and felt it was a very effective method of getting information out to the Town’s citizens. He thanked the Public Works Department for their efforts in removing snow from the Town’s streets on Monday while successfully performing their normal tasks that day. Ms. Fidler reported that Mr. Van Der Maten has indicated that he would be advising the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors of his plans for the Explore Park property, as well as with the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority Board. She informed Council that she would advise Council of the date when it is set. Mr. Lawrence expressed his appreciation for Mr. Nance’s comments on the snow removal efforts by the Public Works Department. He also highlighted an incident that occurred on Monday night regarding a small fire that took place at the Assisted Living Center during a power failure. He complemented the excellent job performed by the Volunteer Fire Department, the Volunteer First Aid Crew as well as the Police Department Comments by Mayor and Council As there was no further business, the regular meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. WORK SESSION 1. Council Vision Statement Mr. Lawrence reported that Mr. Obenchain and Mr. Nance met with him the week before to work on putting together an opening paragraph for Town Council’s Vision Statement. He noted that the statement focuses on what Council would like for the Town to be twenty years from now. He advised that if he has a consensus from Council, he wanted to present the Vision Statement to Council at their March 17th meeting for approval. He went on to say that, as they move forward, the statement would need to be put through the Comprehensive Plan Update process. He asked Council members to look at the Vision Statement and make any changes they feel need to be made. 2. Budget Priorities The Town Manager pointed out some ways for the Town to increase revenues for the FY 2009/2010 budget and asked Council for their feedback. He pointed out that the Capital Improvement Program would be wrapped up this week by staff and would go to the 6 Planning Commission next week. He advised that some of the key revenue sources are real estate taxes, meals tax, Planning and Zoning fees, pool fees, and War Memorial fees. He noted that the Town does not currently collect cigarette taxes but has the option to do so on Council’s approval. He asked Council to advise him of any areas that Council feels the staff needs to evaluate. During a discussion on a possible cigarette tax, Mr. Lawrence reported that it would bring in somewhere between $20,000 to $40,000 in revenue depending on the tax rate and would be a decreasing revenue source. The Town Manager stated that a real estate tax increase was another avenue to increase revenue, but pointed out that this tax would not be a large revenue source for the Town. The Mayor stressed that he was definitely not in favor of raising real estate taxes. Mr. Lawrence commented that the meals tax was another good source of revenue for the Town. He advised that when a business pays the Town a meals tax, they are allowed to keep 3% of their total meals tax payment as an administrative fee. He explained that in the past, the meals tax was much more labor intensive to calculate than it is today as most businesses are now computer driven with electronic cash registers and accounting programs. If the administrative fee was reduced to one percent, it would increase meals tax revenues by $20,000 to $30,000 per year. Mr. Lawrence informed Council that staff can look into reducing the fee if it is Council’s wish. Other fees discussed were Planning and Zoning fees and swimming pool fees and it was pointed out that none of these fees generate large revenues. Mr. Obenchain stated his feelings that non-Town residents should pay more to use the Swimming Pool than Town residents pay. Following further comments on this issue, Mr. Lawrence advised Council he did not have the figures in front of him but that Mary Beth Layman had conducted a survey last summer for those people who used the pool and found that they came from all over the Roanoke Valley. Mr. Nance felt that the fee should be increased across the board which would ensure that those who are using the pool would be paying for running the pool. The Town Manager recommended looking at the War Memorial fees structure since it has been in use for a year to see if the current fees are where they should be. He pointed out that government and civic organizations have been getting a discounted price when they have events in order to get them to use the facility. He noted that at some point in the future, they were going to have to consider increasing those fees, keeping in mind that the War Memorial is run like a business but it is also a community facility. Mr. Lawrence advised that he had appointed an Employee Budget Advisory Team with one employee from each department who came up with approximately 65 recommendations on ways to cut costs or generate more revenue. On the expenditure side of the budget, it was noted that the Town had already started a hiring and promotion freeze. During a discussion on the costs of health insurance, the Manager advised that he had received some good news earlier in the day when he met with 7 the Town’s health insurance carrier who had advised that there would not be an increase in premiums for the upcoming fiscal year. Mr. Lawrence felt there would not be any pay for performance or salary increases for next year. He added that he did want to find a way to encourage and reward high performers. He then reviewed a change that was made to the Town’s Employee Handbook allowing employees who have worked for the Town for more than 10 years, to be paid for their vacation. This would help long-term employees to avoid a large build up of vacation days. He noted other areas of costs to the Town for employees such as the gift cards, employee picnic and luncheons that need to be evaluated. Other issues discussed were retiree’s benefits and the Police Department’s take-home vehicle policy. Mr. Lawrence felt this policy is valuable to the Town in terms of recruitment as well as a community policing impact but it needs to be evaluated. The Town Manager did not see a need to furlough employees at the present time. Another area where the Town spends a considerable amount is for non-governmental agency requests and this will be looked at very critically during budget studies. The last item, special event funding, needs to be evaluated to determine the value received. Following the Town Manager’s report, Mr. Nance asked when a decision needs to be made on the Fire/EMS Chief’s position and Mr. Lawrence replied that a decision needs to be made by the end of the month as to whether to proceed or not so that staff knows whether to include funding in the budget. Mr. Nance questioned whether it was justified to add the cost of the new position when the Town has a hiring freeze in place and employees are not getting a pay raise. Mr. Obenchain asked about having a budget meeting before staff gets involved in their part of the budget process to advise staff of Council’s priority. Following further discussion, a budget work session was scheduled for March 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Vinton War Memorial. 3. Downtown Revitalization Mr. Lawrence advised that he has begun work with the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to get a preliminary assessment of the Town’s downtown business district for planning purposes. He went on to say that the DHCD needs to be assured the Town has done its base line assessment of the condition of the Town which provides them with the information as to whether their relationship with the Town would be a viable successful partnership. It was noted that it would be an eight week process that would include a housing needs assessment, a physical inventory of all open spaces and businesses, vacant and occupied and general condition of all downtown buildings. The Town Manager stated that the Town would also work on a business inventory of the Central Business District, specifically looking at the number of businesses, number of employees, their square footage, hours of operation, amount of parking, length of time at location, etc. 8 9 The Town Manager advised that by the end of May, the Town has to set up a management team of about 20 people. This would assure DHCD that Vinton has enough organization, community interest, leadership and “buy-in” to initiate the downtown process. A public meeting would also be held. Mr. Lawrence stated that if DHCD determines that it’s worth initiating the partnership, the Town could receive up to about $35,000 in grant money to begin the planning work. He added that if the Town gets the grant funds, the planning process would take about two years and would get the Town ready for construction money. Mr. Obenchain asked about a stop light on Washington Avenue. Mr. Lawrence replied that a replacement unit has been ordered. Joey Hiner added that the Town has not be notified as to when the unit will be shipped. The work session adjourned at 10:05 p.m. APPROVED: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor ATTEST: Darleen R. Bailey, Town Clerk