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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3/15/2016 - RegularMINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD AT 6:00 PM. ON TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2016, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE VINTON MUNICIPAL BUILDING LOCATED AT 311 SOUTH POLLARD STREET, VINTON, VIRGINIA MEMBERS PRESENT: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor Matthew S. Hare, Vice Mayor 1. Douglas Adams, Jr. Sabrina McCarty Janet Scheid STAFF PRESENT: Barry W. Thompson, Interim Town Manager Susan N. Johnson, Executive Assistant/Town Clerk Theresa Fontana, Town Attorney Richard W. Peters, Assistant Town Manager/Director of Economic Development Donna Collins, Human Resources Director Anita McMillan, Planning & Zoning Director Anne Whitehurst, Accounting Manager Gary Woodson, Public Works Director Joey Hiner, Assistant Public Works Director Jeff Dudley, Interim Police Chief Tom Foster, Police Chief The Mayor called the Work Session to order to hear a briefing on the Roanoke Valley Transit Vision Plan. Cristina Finch, Manager of Transit Planning and Programing at the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission began by commenting that this on Plan has been in the works for several years. This past year they have been developing recommendations and are headed for the final stretch, They want to make sure that they get local government input to the Plan before they make the final decisions. Ms. Finch next showed a Power Point Presentation and commented on the reason for Transit Vision Plan, the initial steps on the creation of the Plan and the members of the Steering Committee. The public outreach was done in three phases — Phase 1 on the technical report; Phase 2 on the connections and preferences and Phase 3 on the recommendations. In addition to public input, the consultant also took into account transit propensity which looks where transit services currently are and what the needs are based on the different demographics and where there are gaps in the information. They also looked at travel flow analysis which was made up of an type of trip on any type of mode that is taken withi our region. The next two slides showed ou I regional geography and the existing connections o our transit system. Ms. Finch next commented that in Vinton the short- term recommendation within the next six years is to keep the services that are currently offered, but to add a peak service for individuals to use in the mornings to access jobs. There is also a recommendation to extend hours into the evening as well as possibly an hour in the morning for early and later shift jobs. There is also the recommendation to add Sunday service, which is a gap in transit network in general at the present time, *n four different routes basically going North, South, East and West. ! 1c into ffe----Iilpnva I'll !1c le area, e ween a South Roanoke County to the Carillon area, to the North in Roanoke County connecting Plantation •# to the DMV as well as service further East towards Bonsack and East Park. In response to a question by Vice Mayor Hare about what employers have said about the need for •'`! • service, Ms. Finch commented that a bus route had started in January servicing the RCIT Business Park off of Blue Hills Drive for a trial period. The employers there had approached the City of Roanoke and indicated they were not able to look at a larger group of prospective applicants because of the lack of bus service, This extra service is currently being funded ♦ the City of Roanoke. Council Member Scheid asked if there is a process in place to get feedback in a year or 18 months on how well that bus service is working, how many people are using it to get to their jobs and the ratio to the cost of the service, Ms. Finch responded that Valley Metro is doing ridership counts every week to see how many people are using the ♦ service. However, currently, there has not been a lot of push to market the service. Council Member Adams asked if Valley Metro hal the ability to meter ridership on other lines like thrlm #ne in Vinton. Council has asked for tha information and it has not been made available L a'J Ms. Finch said there utas some ri4ers4ii i IN I I - I III MUIR 10101 ill (M-161 AIL0191 ir. [I Lei sax I fm 11[mmar, I 1.7wal II&MI414 It Ms. Finch next commented that the medium -term recommendations for six to 12 years from now includes a new service in Vinton with a smaller - scale bus that would go from A. Porters Haven to Clearview Manor to Kroger Shopping Center and even out to William Byrd High School. They heard in the public input sessions that it would be helpful to have transit going to the high schools because it enables the students to go work at jobs after school without having to depend on their parents for transportation. Other recommendations include connecting the South Roanoke County library to Tanglewood and then to the Clearbrook Walmart. Another service would increase frequency to the Cave Spring area by adding another peak service as well as additional frequencies along the Salem to I downtown Roanoke corridor. Also, there is the recommendation to provide a commuter service like the Smart Way into Botetourt County. With regard to long-term (12 to 25 years from now), there is a recommendation to provide a connection from Grandin Village to downtown Roanoke and downtown Vinton with 30-minute all day service. There are also recommendations for increased frequencies along Electric Road and up to the Valley View Mail area as well providing service between Tanglewood, downtown Roanoke and the Valley View/Crossroads area. Ms. Finch next commented that the broad term recommendation is to maintain a centralized hub in downtown Roanoke to facilitate transfers. Beyond that in order to make it more convenient for people to use transit and not always have to go into downtown Roanoke, the recommendation is to start developing peripheral connections at Tanglewood, the Crossroads/Valley View Area and Salem Goodwill. There is also the recommendation to coordinate the transit service with the upcoming Amtrak service which will be here next year. Other recommendations include establishing more partnerships, regionalizing services for people with disabilities across jurisdictions, providing pedestrian access to bus stops and dignifying waiting at bus stops with ADA compliance and amenities. The next step is to make this presentation to the other local governments and then they will be 9 finalizing recommendations based on the input tha they have received, cost estimates an implementation strategies. They are targeting t have a draft document out soon and a fina document this Summer which will go to athe TP Policy Board for pproval. Then the final will g back to the local governments for endorsements. I Vice Mayor Hare commented that the Town already struggles to pay for the bus services that we currently have and this is going to get really expensive, The last time Valley Metro was here, they told us on average there were nine riders on a bus. We have been subsidizing the services and the riders have not seen a rate increase in a long time. When he sees services grow, he wants to know how the services can support themselves without the local governments continuing to dig deeper and deeper. Council Member Scheid also commented on the a year ago during the budget process and her concerns about the costs, particularly about the environmental costs. She was glad to see the broad recommendation with regard to creating peripherals. After further comments from Council Member Adams regarding the requested ridership information, Ms. Finch responded that she was in a good position to bridge the gap from the regional perspective. She will look at the data she has available and talk with her counterparts at Valley Metro. Ms. Finch also commented that riders using the para-transit service were asked during their survey if they would be willing to pay more, Some said yes and some said no. Looking at zones and how far trips are going is something that Gan be considered in the future to help minimize the para- transit cost. Further discussion was had regarding the riders on the para-transit service and a question was asked if the fixed route buses were going to be - changed out to make them ADA complaint so they can accommodate those riders who might have otherwise taken the RADAR, Ms. Finch responded that because of the constraints of Campbell Court, previous General Managers avoided the need to go to wider buses. Now they must go to the standard wider vehicle which also provides the low floor and easy access. However, it does take some time to change over the fleet. EI Old •• Partners is expected to close • th property later this month and are completing th final design and pulling the necessary permits, 01 School Partners has also received designation o the National Register of Historic Places whic determined their eligibility for historic tax credits Staff has recently • the terms • the Town' performance agreement with Old !♦ which wa a part of the agenda package. In addition t • the financial investment renovating a vacant property, the developer also achieve various construction deadlines and ar 0 to be held to a design and construction standard that safeguards the historic character of the building. Mr. Peters next commented that the tota investment of the project is estimated to be $3. million with the Town's financial incentive packag to be valued at a maximum of approximate[ $8,000.00 spread out over a I 0-year period. I The Mayor commented that Council has been briefed on this matter before and there is an action item during the regular meeting to approve the Agreement. Barry Thompson also commented that Roanoke County will be closing on this property on ,d March 22 The Mayor called the regular meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. The Town Clerk called the roll with Council Member Adams, Council Member McCarty, Council Member Scheid, Vice Mayor Hare and Mayor Grose present, The Mayor announced that there will be a modification to the agenda to move the Closed Session item from the end of the meeting to right after the Citizens" Comments and Petitions section. After a Moment of Silence, Council Member McCarty led the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag. Under upcoming community events, Council Member McCarty announced that on March 22 nd from 10:00 p.m, to 2:00 p.m. is the Senior Expo at the Vinton War Memorial. Clean Valley Day will be on April 9th. Also, the Vinton Breakfast Lions Club Ih will have their draw down on April 16 � Council Member Adams challenged the other members of Council to be in a dunking booth at the Easter Egg Hunt at the War Memorial on March 26 th from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Also, Council received an email from Sergeant Byrd who will be participating in a Police Car show fundraiser for Deputy Tim McCoy at Life Church, The next item on the agenda was the appointment of the Police Chief and Swearing -in Ceremony. Council Member Adams made a motion to appoint Thomas L. Foster as the Police Chief for the Town of Vinton; the motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Hare and carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas Adams, McCarty, Scheid, Hare, Grose; Nays Appointed Thomas L. Foster as Police Chief Eli The Town Clerk conducted the swearing -in ceremony and the Mayor and Interim Chief Dudley presented Chief Foster with his ID, badge and colonel's eagles pins. The Mayor also presented him with an "In Vinton" pin after which Chief Foster and Council made additional comments. Interim Chief Dudley read the Memo naming Sergeant Michael Byrd, Corporal Scott Hurt and Officer Terry Pittman as Co -Officers of the month for February. All three were present at the meeting and congratulated, The next item on the agenda was the annual update from the Roanoke Valley Greenway Commission. Liz Belcher first commented that the budget for the Greenway Commission is the same as last year and Vinton's allocation is the same, She then began with a Power Point presentation and commented on the Roanoke River Greenway, which is the priority project. Starting on the west end of the County at Green Hill Park, the 50% plans were received last week. There is also a tentative scoring that would allow that project to get an additional $4.5 million out of the HB 2 Program assuming it gets through the CTB and VDOT. The next section is in Salem and they have been working on the design of the Eddy bridge which will come under the road and is projected to go to construction this summer. There was going to be a bridge widening at Apperson, but the bridge will not support it. Another issue in that area is a sidewalk project going up to Lewis Gale which has been bid twice without success, so they are going to build it themselves, They are still working on the right-of- way at Willow River for the next section; however, they do have the right-of-way behind the businesses on Cook Drive and are hoping to start construction in a year. Ms. Belcher next commented that the City has finished construction of a mile which goes under Peters Creek Road and is sort of disconnected right now. The next section is across to the rail yard, along that side and then it will have to come back along the bench cut from the flood project and by Associated Asphalt, Walker Foundry is a critical landowner on the portion that is close to the Foundry. The greenway is proposed to be next to the river with a wall and an overhang. Walker Foundry does not want to do that and the City is still working on some legislation to try to get them some environmental protection to make it more palatable to them. The next part of the City of eight miles is completed. Then we get to the east end of the County and they also just got 50% plans and have finished the archeological survey. The next slide showed a map indicating all of the construction work sites for 2013, 2014 and 2015. Other slides showed the ribbon cuttings at the Tinker Creek Canoe Launch, the Aerial Way section in Roanoke City and the one on the Lick Run Greenway bridge over 581. Another slide showed the ribbon cutting in February for the other blueway access point at the Blue Ridge Parkway made up of 216 steps that go down to the river. Ms. Belcher next commented that Pathfinders has continued with projects at Carvin's Cove, the Horsemen Bridge replacement and the Fisherman's Trail at the Blue Ridge Parkway. Also, the Town has been a leader this year on a program to get addresses on the Greenway. The projects that are coming soon are Phase 1 of the Glade Creek Greenway in Town. Phase 2 tentatively has some funding on it for June and one - of the CTB members has recommended that it be half -funded as part of the Transportation Alternatives Program in amount of $235,000. Council Member Scheid asked if once it got some funding, would they fund the rest of it. Ms. Belcher responded that the Town could get some funding out of the other CTB member who is from this locality. Another project is a joint City/County/Botetourt County project to finalize the location for the Tinker Creek Greenway, One piece is funded with RSTP funds that will come available in 2017. The City will start working on that as soon as the money comes up on the list and they have $1 .2 million to get it to Orange Avenue. The next piece is Orange Avenue to RCIT and the City is looking at cost estimates to build it themselves. The Ardaugh Company would like to have the greenway goes pass their property and Roanoke County is actively working on getting an easement worked out with them. There is a piece in Botetourt that would go to the Daleville Town Center from Greenfield. Botetourt County has requested to join the Greenway Commission and the intergovernmental agreement does allow other localities to join. Ms. Belcher commented that they made a presentation to the Commission and then she showed two slides detailing Botetourt's commitment to trails and their existing assets. The Commission will vote at their March meeting for a recommendation which will go to all four of the member localities for them to consider the matter and adopt ordinances. Other projects coming soon are the Catawba project. Part of the trail was built by volunteers several years ago and the County just got permission to put the bridge across the creek which will be done this Spring. Also, they are starting a Greenway Ambassador program in the City to try and create more good will along the trail. The 1 01h annual Gallop will be May 14 th and the VDOT Workshop is returning to Roanoke in September and Roanoke County is in the middle of their strategic plan. In closing, Ms. Belcher commented that there will be an on-line giving event called Roanoke Valley Gives Day on March 16 1h for individuals to make donations to 120 different non- profits of which the Greenway Commission is a part. The next item on the agenda was the annual update from the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission. Wayne Strickland n24Y 1C*- celebrate its 47th anniversary. In 1996, the Commission housed the Greenway Commission and hired Liz Belcher. They staff the Transportation Planning Organization, which is a federal and state i'lesignated regional transportation organization. zth# now house the Workforce Development Board in t,heir office. Over the years they have assisted the Town wit the comprehensive plans, zoning ordinance, hazar mitigation and corridor studies. The Town has als been involved in the regional comprehensiv economic development strategy, the Roanok Valley congestion management plan and th Greater Roanoke Water Supply plan. Mr. Stricklan next commented that most recently they were abl to obtain some funding for trees to be plante around Arbor Day. We have also participated wit the Downtown Revitalization Management team. I X Part of the TPO has allocated $100,000 for Walnut Avenue Phase 1 and has provided some other funding for projects such as the greenways, Two of the Commission's staff serve on the Vinton's UDA Advisory Committee and will continue to provide technical assistance, They are close to completing the Hardy Road crosswalk planning assistance project requested by the Town. They also provide mapping for a number of projects for the Town and an economic impact analysis of the redevelopment of the old William Byrd High School. Vice Mayor Hare asked for Council to be provided a copy of the analysis and asked if one was done for the Roland E. Cook property. The Commission continues to work with Town staff on the wayfinding project. They are also working on the Transit Vision Plan. The Mayor next called for a motion for a Closed Meeting pursuant to § 2.2-3711 (A)(3) of the 1950 1 Code of Virginia, as amended, for discussion or consideration of the acquisition of real property for a public purpose, where discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the public body. Council will not need the second Closed Meeting request that was listed on the agenda. Council Member Scheid made the motion; the motion was seconded by Council Member Adams and carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) — Adams, McCarty, Scheid, Hare, Grose; Nays (0) — None. Council went into Closed Meeting at &04 p.m. At 841 p.m., the regular meeting reconvened and the Certification that the Closed Meeting was held in accordance with State Code requirements was approved on motion by Council Member Adams; seconded by Council Member McCarty and carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) — Adams, McCarty, Scheid, Hare, Grose; Nays (0) The next item on the agenda was the consideration of public comments regarding setting of the real estate, personal property and machinery and tools tax rates for calendar year 2016, The Mayor opened the Public Hearing at 8:48 p.m. lmllw-= =M Barry Thompson began by commenting that the assessment for 2016 for real estate is $461,668,500 11 which is an increase over 2015 of $2,863,700. If I ITE the new construction is taken out of $1,223,500, the net increase is $1,640,200. Applying the $0.07 proposed real estate tax rate will generate $323,167 which is an increase over 2015 of $2,004. The increase is .62%, which is less than one percent. Section 58.1-3321 of the 150 Code of Virginia does not require a notice and Public Hearing unless the increase is over one percent. However, we did ,2.dvertise the Public Hearing for the tax rates in the Vinton Messenger in order to inform the citizens. Mearing no public comments, the Public Hearing was closed at 8.42 p.m. Public Hearing closed The next item on the agenda was to consider adoption of an Ordinance setting the real estate tax rate for calendar year 2016. Council Member Scheid made a motion to adopt the Ordinance as presented; the motion was seconded by Council Member Adams and carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting. Vote Adams, McCarty, Scheid, Hare, Grose; Nays (0) - None. The next item on the agenda was to consider adoption of an Ordinance setting the personal', property tax rate for calendar year 2016. Vic6 Mayor Hare made a motion to adopt the OrdinanclIt as presented; the motion was seconded by Council Member McCarty and carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) — Adams, McCarty, Scheid, Hare, Grose; Nays None. Barry Thompson commented that he, Pete Peters and Anita McMillan attended the announcement by the Governor today in Botetourt County of the Eldor Corporation. The Corporation will be bringing 350 jobs to the Greenfield Center with a $75 million investment which will be a regional boost for the area. The next item on the agenda was to consider adoption of a Resolution setting the allocation percentage for Personal Property Tax Relief in the Town of Vinton for the 2016 tax year. Barry Thompson commented that each year a review is done of the block grant which was set in 1998 of $203,096. This year the percentage is set at 61.71%. The County rate is 58.07%. Vice Mayor Hare made a motion to adopt the Resolution as presented; the motion was seconded by Council Adopted Ordinance No. 968 setting the real estate tax rate for calendar year 2016 Adopted Ordinance No. 969 setting the personal property tax rate for calendar year 2016 If Member Adams and carried by the following roll call i Adopted Resolution No. 2132 setting vote, with all members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) — the allocation percentage for Adams, McCarty, Scheid, Hare, Grose; Nays (0) - Personal Property Tax Relief in the None. Town of Vinton for the 2016 tax year The next item on the agenda was to consider adoption of a Resolution appropriating funds in the amount of $22,028.00 and transferring funds in the amount of $7,972.00, for a total amount of $30,000.00 for the purchase of a replacement vehicle in the Police Department. Chief Dudley commented that the $22,028.00 received is insurance proceeds from a wrecked leased vehicle in July of 2015. They want to add $7,972.00 from the Asset Forfeiture Fund in order to purchase a vehicle for the new Police Chief. Council Member Scheid asked about the plan for the current Police Chief vehicle. Barry Thompson responded that it will become an administrative vehicle. This has been brought before the Finance Committee and they have agreed in principle to allow it to become an administrative vehicle. Zoning Department which has created an issue when other staff members need to attend meetings or are doing Town business. The lights will be removed, the tags will be changed to public use tags and it will be marked with the Town seal on each side. Adopted Resolution No. 2133 After brief comments, Vice Mayor Hare made a appropriating funds in the amount of motion to adopt the Resolution as presented; the $22,028.00 and transferring funds in motion was seconded by Council Member McCarty the amount of $7,972.00, for a total and carried by the following roll call vote, with all amount of $30,000.00 for the members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) — Adams, purchase of a replacement vehicle in McCarty, Scheid, Hare, Grose; Nays, (0) - None. the Police Department The next item on the agenda was to consider adoption of a Resolution authorizing the Interim Town Manager to execute a Performance Agreement with Old School Partners, LLC., and the Roanoke County Economic Development Authority as part of the redevelopment of the former Roland E. Cook Elementary School. Pete Peters commented that Council was briefed earlier in the meeting regarding this Performance Agreement and the draft Agreement was enclosed in the agenda package. The total investment of the project is estimated to be $3.2 million with the Town's financial incentive package to be valued at,,, M approximately $8,000 over a ten year period which Adopted Resolution No 2314 will be administered through the Roanoke County authorizing the Interim Town Economic Development Authority. Council Member Manager to execute a Performance Adams made a motion to adopt the Resolution as Agreement with Old School presented, the motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Partners, LLC., and the Roanoke Hare and carried by the following roll call vote, with County Economic Development all members voting: Vote 5-0, Yeas (5) — Adams, I Authority as part of the McCarty, Scheid, Hare, Grose; Nays (0) - None. redevelopment of the former Roland E. Cook Elementary School. The next item on the agenda was the Financial Report for January 2016. Vice Mayor Hare commented that the Finance Committee met last week to review the reporL There was a very significant sales tax receipt from December of $150,000 and Mr. Thompson commented it was the largest sales tax receipt that he has received since he has been with the Town and would assume that it was probably the largest ever. The cigarette tax continues to be down. Cash is down about $100,000 from December to January, which is to be expected. Most departments are underspending except for economic development, which is due to the timing of the grant expenses and the War Memorial is significantly overspending its budget, To put it in context, the War Memorial from a revenue standpoint should be at $109,000 at this point and they are at $111,000. They should be at $158,000 in expenses, but they are at $185,000 in expenses. This is not the direction we want to go fi and it probably is not going to get better. However, we continue to get great reviews of the staff there and they have excelled with what we have given t4em. On the Utility side, the revenues continue to be strong and we do see some savings particularly around wastewater treatment fees that are helping us build a pretty good savings account to be used to fund future projects either through bonds, cash or some combination. To put this into context, four years ago the Utility Fund was in the red as far as cash and it now has $1,041,000. Vice Mayor Hare next commented that the Financ Committee will be meeting next week with th Budget Team to begin reviewing the propose budget. I Vice Mayor Hare made a motion to approve the financial report as presented; the motion was seconded by Council Member Adams and carried W by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) — Adams, McCarty, Scheid, Hare, Approved Financial Report for Grose; Nays (0) - None. January 2016 Vice Mayor Hare asked Mr. Thompson to give an I update on the real estate and property tax bills. Mr. Thompson commented that every year we attempt to move Council toward the adoption of the tax rates so it is completed by the end of March. This is to allow the processing time in the first part of April so we can get the bills out by mid -April. We will experience a processing issue this year which will cause a delay in getting the real estate and personal property tax bills out. The impact of the bills going out later will be for individuals who are accustomed to getting their bills on time. There will also be a shorted time period for the collection of the bills because the personal property bills are always due by May 31st and the real estate are always due on June 5 th , both of which are dictated by the State Code. Council Member Scheid asked what had caused the delay and Vice Mayor Hare responded a change in Roanoke County's budget process has pushed it back. Mr. Thompson commented that they plan to put a notice on the website that the bills will be delayed and he will run it by the Commissioner of Revenue and the Roanoke County Treasurer to make sure we get the appropriate wording. The Mayor expressed appreciation to staff for all the hard work they are doing with all that we have going on in Town. He also commented on the attendance at the recent UDA meeting. Comments from Council Members: Council Member Adams expressed thanks to Public Works for handling two recent issues in Town; Council Member McCarty asked about the skateboard park and Mr. Thompson responded that a letter from Mattern & Craig was sent on March 1 01h to VDEM asking that the project be pushed on to FEMA, Region III in support of the project; Council Member Scheid commented further on the request for Botetourt County to join the Greenway Commission and expressed thanks to Chief Dudley and welcomed Chief Foster. Council Member Adams made a motion tit., adjourn the meeting; the motion was seconded by Council Member McCarty and -• • the E following vote, with all members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) — Adams, McCarty, Scheid, Hare, Grose; Nays (0) — None. The meeting was adjourned at Meeting adjourned 9:22 p.m. 092000 Bradley E. Grose, Mayor AEST: Susan N. Johns n, Town Clerk IR �JiLW,69"' Intuit WHEREAS, the Town Council of the Town of Vinton, Virginia has convened a closed meeting on this date, pursuant to an at nnative recorded vote and in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act; and, WHEREAS, Section 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia requires a certification by the Vinton Town Council that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia Law. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Vinton Town Council hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge: I Only public business matters lawfully exempted from opening meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification applies; and 2. Only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed or considered by the Town Council. Motion made by Council Member Adams, and seconded by Council Member McCarty with all in favor. Clerk of &uncil