Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/3/2015 - Regular MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD AT 7.00 P.M. ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2015, 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 Janet Scheid Sabrina McCarty MEMBERS ABSENT: 1. Douglas Adams, Jr. STAFF PRESENT: Christopher S. Lawrence, Town Manager Susan N. Johnson, Executive AssistantlTown Clerk Theresa Fontana, Town Attorney Anita McMillan, Planning &Zoning Director Donna Collins, Human Resources Director Gary Woodson, Public Works Director Jeff Dudley, Interim Police Chief Mary Beth Layman, Special Programs Director Chad Helms, Lieutenant-Fire Joey Hiner, Assistant Public Works Director The Mayor called the regular meeting to order at 7.00 p.m. The Town Clerk called the roll with Council Member McCarty, Council Member Scheid, Vice Mayor Hare and Mayor Grose present. Roll call Council Member Adams was absent. After a Moment of Silence, Council Member Scheid led the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag. Under upcoming community events, Council Member McCarty first commented on the success of the Downtown Trick or Treat last Thursday. She then announced the Christmas Parade on December 3rd. The Town Manager announced the State of the Town on November 1 gth at 8:00 a.m. at the War Memorial, sponsored by the Vinton Chamber. The opening of the new Vinton Branch of the Roanoke County Library will be on November 18 1h at 10:00 a.m. and November 17 th is the State of the County. Mary Beth Layman announced the Blue Ridge Veterans Celebration this Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the War Memorial. Under awards, recognitions and presentations, Donna Collins recognized the employees present who are veterans and presented them with a Certificate—Melvin Ferguson, Chad Helms and Mayor Grose. Ms. Collins next called out the names of the other employees who are veterans— Wayne Bernard, Kevin Orange, Silas Chapman, Greg Quesinberry, Fabricio, Drumond, Terry Pittman, Chris Lnkous and John Hobbs and thanked them for their service. The Town Manager made brief comments ents and introduced Richard "Pete" Peters, Jr., the new Assistant Town Manager/Director of Economic Development. The next item on the agenda was a briefing on the petition of Old School Partners, LLC, Authorized` Agent, for a rezoning of the former Roland E. Cook School Property, from R_2 Residential to Mixed Use Development (MUD) to convert to 21 residential apartments with supporting recreational/small business uses, at 412 S. Poplar Street, Vinton, Tax Map Number 60,1 b-09- . } and 40.00. The Town Manager first commented that David bill, one of the Old School Partners, will be giving the presentation. He also recognized Jill Loope and Philip Thompson from Roanoke County who were also present. David bill introduced David Spigle and Greg Rhodes, two of his partners who were present at the muting. Dale Wilkinson was not able to attend the meeting, but did attend the Planning Commission meeting several weeks ago. Mr. bill began his Power Point presentation and first commented that he has been personally involved with the revitalization of downtown Vinton for the last decade and this particular building is an important piece of that puzzle. He commented on the seven goals for building the left apartments.: Next, a slide was shown of the current school and Mr. Hill indicated that the biggest change would be with the restoring of the old windows. `There are 21 spaces, mostly old school rooms which will be adapted into apartments. The large gymnasium upstairs will remain as a community open space. Additional slides were shown of the building and Mr. Hill commented that the chain link fence will be removed. A number of trees would remain intact on school grounds because of being memorial trees. He will attempt to get additional information so those trees can be memorialized even more. The old paved playground at the back of the building will be turned into parking. The cornerstone of the building was laid In 1915,; which means it is 100 years old this year. They Dope to get the project started by the end of this year and have it completed by Spring of 2017. The next slides showed drawings that were a part of the Planning Commission packet; Mr. Hill commented that this is the first attempt to use the new mixed-use district and it has been very useful in developing a site plan. If the property went through conventional zoning, they would never be able to put enough parking on the site to meet the ordinance requirements. The mixed-use district allows them to undertake a historic preservation project and leave some of the character like the front lawn intact. Also, if they are not going to put in conventional parking, they are required to look around the site for additional parking. A slide was shown identifying 59 on-street spaces within 20 feet of the site and 159 on-street spaces within 4499 feet of the site. In response to a question, Mr. Hill indicated they would be able to get 28- 9 parking spaces on the property. There will be a back door and an elevator put in the building at the location of the old principal's office and they propose to put handicapped parking in the back spaces will have access to that part of the building. There will be 11 additional parking spaces at the top right of the diagram on the alley, for a total of 29 spaces. Mr. Hill next commented on the open house that was held at the Wesleyan Church which was well attended. One of the suggestions at that meeting was to angle the parking. Also, they originally had some courtyards on the side towards Jefferson Street and after the meeting they realized they were not a great idea because they would fill up with water. The next slide showed the most recent version of the site plan with the angled parking and a couple of courtyards in the front yard and the ones on the Jefferson Street side being were removed. Vice Mayor bare commented that there is no at grade entrance to the school, you either go up or dawn. Mr. Hill commented that the second floor at the bade is about four feet higher than the asphalt outside. They plan to have a very subtle ramp dawn to the parking lot and will be able to get a sidewalk into the first floor by removing the current retaining wall. This will allow them to get handicapped residents on the first and second floors. The steps inside that go up and down will remain as they were. They will also leave the formal stairway up front as it is today. The final slide showed the wall with the signage of Roland E. Gook Lofts. Mr. dill next commented that this building will be listed on the rational Register of Historic daces which will allow them to develop the property with historic tax credits. Mica Mayor Hare asked about the standards listed in the application for the rezoning that pertain to historic buildings.. Mr. Hill commented that about 20 years ago there was an attempt to put this property on the National Register and it was not successful. There are some items they probably would not do if they were not trying to get it on the National register such as replacing the windows and preserving the open gymnasium. They are allowed to upgrade the HVAC and electrical systems. Vice Mayor Hare next asked about the market for the lofts in the Town in this neighborhood.. The initial market was for individuals who attended the school. Also, it is for people that have homes with big yams and who are tired of taking care of them; but want a really nice, high amenity place that is easier to take care of as well as those who wasn't a place with an elevator and these who want to walk to downtown. It is all different ages, young adults as well as empty nesters. Council Member Scheid asked if there was any thought of trying to get the utilities underground. Anita McMillan responded that they did contact AE regarding that request and have started the conversation. Council Member Scheid next asked what was envisioned for the gymnasium. Mr. Hill responded that the principle purpose would be as an amenity for the residents. It is very difficult to develop this particular school to historic standards and get a traditional kind of commercial use there. The kind of uses that might work well in that space would be health club kind of activities or catering. Council Member Scheid last asked if the windows would be restored back to those in 1915 or were they changed out. Mr. Hill responded that the photo shown was in the 1950s and it appears to have the wooden windows. He has not found a photo that is older with more detail on the windows, so he is not sure if they were replaced between 1915 and 1950. They were changed between the 1955s and the 1970s. The mayor asked` about the market for these apartments. Mr. Hill commented that they will be up market with nice finishes. They will mostly be one bedroom with some upstairs having lofts if they will let them do the lofts. A number of the rooms on the 4 top floor are tall enough that they can get a mezzanine loft in those. The Town Manager commented that the Public Hearing on this matter will be on the November 20th Council agenda.. The Planning Commission is meeting on November 5°"for their Public Hearing. The next item can the agenda was a briefing can the proposed granting of a teas Franchise to Roanoke Gas Company. After the Town Manager commented that John t'Crazio; President and CEO of Roanoke Gas was present; the Town Attorney commented that essentially the proposed Agreement is a renewal of the existing agreement. Back in 1996, it began with a franchise fee of $55300 and over the years it has escalated three percent per year and is now at $98,196 per year which is shared between the City of Salem, City of Roanoke and the Town. The amount is divided between the three localities by taking the total dollar value of the Grantee's gas sales within the locality and then divided by the total dollar value of the Grantee's gas sales in the three localities. An Ordinance has also been in place since 1995 which covers items such as insurance requirements, indemnification and the requirement to restore the roadways when any construction is done within the right-of-ways. The Town Attorney further commented that as part of the Public Hearing requirement, we have to advertise for buts and so the notice states that we will accept bids from other gas companies. Unless another company submits o bid, the Public Nearing t the next meeting will be to approve this proposed agreement for another 20 years; The franchise is non-exclusive; so there could be another company that we could award a franchise to, but they would have to run their own lines. The Town Manager commented that we have a great relationship with Roanoke teas and they de phenomenal work in repairing the cuts they make in the roads. Anita McMillan also commented that her contact with Roanoke Gas is also very cooperative anytime she needs assistance. In response to a question regarding the foe, the Town Manager commented that the three localities met: Mr. D' razio also commented that Chris Morrill with Roanoke City looked at other localities to see how their franchise fees were determined and he basically came back and said that what they are doing is fair and equitable. 5 The Mayor thanked Council and staff for successful strategic planning retreat. He also thanked the Veterans and reminded everyone of the event this coming Sunday. Comments from Council embers. Council Member Scheid and Vice Mayor Flare expressed thanks for the Veterans, welcomed Mr. Peters and commented can the strategic planning retreat. Council Member McCarty welcomed Mr. Peters and requested an update on the Vinton Baptist Church parking lot. The Turn Manager responded that he had received a copy of the invoice from the Church. The Town Attorney is preparing an agreement which will be presented to Council for action at their next meeting. Vice Mayor Aare made a motion to adjourn the regular meeting; the motion was seconded by Council Member Scheid and carried by the following vote, with all members voting; Vote 4-0; Yeas (4) -- McCarty, Scheid, Flare, Grose flays 0 -- None Absent 1 j - Adams. The regular meeting was Regular meeting adjourned adjourned at :04 p.m. After a brief recess, the work session began at 8-13 p. n. for;a review of the Vinton Area Corridors Plan Study and downtown Devitalization Plan as it relates to Washington hington Avenue. The Town Manager began by commenting that as a follow up to the strategic planning retreat, Council wanted to review the three plans as they pertain to properties along Washington Avenue. The original Comprehensive Plan that dates back to 2004 has changed over time in specific areas. He showed a slide of the future land use and transportation plan map and commented on the property types along !Washington Avenue. The Downtown Vinton Revitalization Plan was the next plan which shows more of the commercial, service-related downtown. This Plan specifically targeted to get out to the War Memorial to tie it back to downtown. Most of the language in this plan was very focused on the aesthetics and the transportation network of Washington Avenue and getting it to Mountain View. It mentioned that the Washington Avenue gateway with its surrounding land uses, as well as the fast-moving traffic snake it an uninviting barrier for pedestrians. There is not a lot of language about land use. The Corridor flan was a very transportation focused plan and targeted some areas such as downtown 6 revitalization, the commercial faade grant program and aesthetics, but not a lot about land use. However, it did prompt the start of changes to the feature land use of properties from the War Memorial up to the Pizza Shop with the concept that those residential properties had a lot of potential for more commercial use since they are located on a four- lane highway. Anita McMillian commented during the process of establishing Urban Development areas with the consultant the six corridors that were studied back then will be considered. The Town Manager next commented that when the Corridor Plait was done in 2010, there was no discussion of the library property being anything other than a library. He then react language from the Comprehensive Plan that mentioned further growth of Vinton depending on redefining the role o being a commercial destination. This can only be accomplished through better utilization of commercial inill opportunities. Vice Mayor Rare asked what type of businesses fall under the classification of residential/business. lbs. McMillan commented that it is very limited and includes some businesses such as barber shops and heir salons. Other businesses that may be for more personal services would require a Special Use Permit. There was discussion some time ago about creating another district called residential business tPB ; but it never went far enough to go to Council for consideration. The Town Manager commented that with regard to the old library property, no matter what goes there, if it is not for governmental use, it will require a rezoning. Also, the parking for the property is can the Town's property. The rezoning of the property to mixed use would give a lot of flexibility for protection of the adjoining neighborhoods and parking and we would be able to dictate all the types of uses that we wanted. The Mayor commented that anything we can do to help develop properties on Washington .Avenue into revenue producing properties would be advantageous for the town. He does not know if the current zoning is discouraging any businesses from doing in there or not. Ms. McMillan commented that most of the issues have been related to the change of use and fire protection requirements, not the zoning. With regard to the fire protection, 7 further comments were made that there is plenty of pressure in the area, but there is an issue with water flow: In response to a question, the Town manager commented that staff will always work with anyone who .is interested in putting a business in the area. The Town !Manager asked if Council wanted staff to look at a planning process to pursue a vision for working with the County on that corner property and maybe the larger 11 acres there or do they want staff to pursue a project can that property and them bring the proposal back for public input and their consideration. The Mayor commented that if we have a proposed project, we would definitely want to get the public involved, if we started the process and got are incredible amount of pushback, obviously we could stop of that point, He asked how long this process would take. The Town Manager, using Roland E. Cook as an example, commented that once we have a developer, the rezoning process would take about three to four months. However, it would probably take the County approximately three to six months prior to that point to secure the buyer; negotiate the contracts and go before the Board of supervisors. Town Council provided direction to the Town Manager to proceed in discussions with Roanoke County and their efforts to solicit bias to sell the property. Once a buyer is identified, Town Council would consider a rezoning request and solicit public input. Any future use will need to conform to the vision of the Comprehensive Plan and go through a thorough public vetting process; specifically as it relates to any impacts on the adjacent public property and neighborhood. The work session was adjourned at 9:16 p.m; APPROVED: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor A EST: Susan N. Johns , Town Clerk l