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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/19/2019 - Regular MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD AT 7:00 P.M. ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE VINTON MUNICIPAL BUILDING LOCATED AT 311 SOUTH POLLARD STREET, VINTON, VIRGINIA MEMBERS PRESENT: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor Keith N. Liles, Vice Mayor Sabrina McCarty Janet Scheid Michael W. Stovall STAFF PRESENT: Barry W. Thompson, Town Manager Susan N. Johnson, Executive Assistant/Town Clerk Jeremy Carroll, Town Attorney Pete Peters, Assistant Town Manager/Director of Economic Development Anne Cantrell, Finance Director/Treasurer Tom Foster, Police Chief Nathan McClung, Principal Planner Jessica Parker, Executive Assistant to the Police Chief The Mayor called the regular meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The Town Clerk called the roll with, Council Member Scheid, Council Member McCarty, Council Member Stovall, Vice Mayor Liles and Mayor Grose present, Roll call After a Moment of Silence, Randy Layman led the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag. Under upcoming community events, Council Member McCarty announced the following: November 24 - 6:00 p.m. — Community Thanksgiving Service — Vinton Baptist Church; December 1 — 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. - The Bargain - Star City Playhouse; November 23 — 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. — Billy Byrd Apartments Open House; December 4 — 7:30 a.m. — State of the Town —War Memorial; December 5 - 6:00 p.m. — Downtown Tree Lighting followed by the Christmas Parade at 7:00 p.m.; December 12 — 600-9:00 p.m. - Town of Vinton Night at Illuminights — Explore Park and December 19 — 5:00-7:00 p,m. — Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce Holiday Open House — Charles R. Hill Community Center. Council Member Stovall made a motion to Adopted Resolution No. 2326 appropriating approve the Consent Agenda as presented; the funds in the amount of $3,962.00 received motion was seconded by Council Member from the Department of Criminal Justice McCarty and carried by the following vote, with Services to purchase two Tactical Security all members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) — Gear Drawers for two Jeeps, a detention 1 McCarty, Scheid, Stovall, Liles, Grose; Nays bench for the Booking Room, twenty-one (0)— None. North American Rescue CAT Tourniquets, and two Streamlight Stinger DS LED Flashlights; adopted Resolution No. 2327 appropriating funds in the amount of $5,000.00 from the Garthright Bridge Funding account to the Police Department Computer Replacement account to cover overage in the purchase of new computers Chief Foster made comments relative to the first Thanksgiving and then read a quote from Cicero, "A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues". The next item on the agenda was the consideration of public comments on a request to vacate a portion of a public utility easement located on 410 South Pollard Street, Vinton (Tax Map lD#: 060.16-09-01.00) and 119 East Cleveland Avenue, Vinton (Tax Map ID#: 060.16-09-02.00), being a portion of Sycamore Road that was vacated by Town of Vinton Ordinance dated February 21, 1961, of record in the Clerk's Office of the Circuit Court of Roanoke County in Deed Book 664, Page 356. The Mayor opened the Public Hearing at 7:07 p.m. Public Hearing Opened Nathan McClung first commented that Council was previously briefed on this request at the November 5, 2019 meeting. He referred to two plats that were furnished to Council showing where the easement is located on the properties. After the agenda went out, the Ordinance was been revised to match the reference "waterline and sanitary sewer easement" contained in the original deed that was recorded in 1961. Also, since the briefing, all of the major utility companies have been contacted and confirmed their approval of vacating the easement. The current location of the easement across these two property lines (15 feet on each side) would impede any kind of future economic development of this parcel. Hearing no public comments, the Public Hearing was closed at 7:09 p.m. Public Hearing Closed Council Member Scheid made a motion to Adopted Ordinance No. 1008, as revised, to adopt the Ordinance, as revised; the motion vacate a portion of a public utility easement was seconded by Vice Mayor Liles and carried located on 410 South Pollard Street, Vinton 2 by the following roll call vote, with all members (Tax Map ID#: 060.16-09-01.00) and 119 voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) — McCarty, Scheid, East Cleveland Avenue, Vinton (Tax Map Stovall, Liles, Grose; Nays (0) — None. ID#: 060.16-09-02.00), being a portion of Sycamore Road that was vacated by Town of Vinton Ordinance dated February 21, 1961, of record in the Clerk's Office of the Circuit Court of Roanoke County in Deed Book 664, Page 356 The next item on the agenda was a briefing on a Cooperative Agreement to accept a $300,000 Community-wide Brownfields Assessment Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Pete Peters commented that the Town was notified that we had been awarded the Grant in June. The purpose of the Grant is to evaluate under-utilized property and/or perceived brownfield sites throughout the community that are in need of revitalization by performing Phase I and Phase 11 Environmental Assessments. The program would also allow for up to three design concepts and marketing materials to be developed with the hope of engaging potential developers to consider taking on the redevelopment project. The Town would also be able to qualify for some mitigation funds should we find some environmental challenged sites throughout the process. This is a 100% reimbursable grant with no local match. During the month of July and August, staff completed the pre-contract activities with the EPA and was provided the Cooperative Agreement which was a part of the agenda package. Council will be asked to take action on this matter at their December 3rd meeting. We anticipate starting the grant program in January of 2020 by establishing a steering committee to develop a priority list of properties that we will be undertaking through the three- year grant program. With regard to a question on a schedule of how the funds can be spent, Mr. Peters commented that a preliminary budget has been submitted. It is somewhat scheduled, but with the ability to adjust as necessary depending on what the projects require. In response to a question regarding the number of projects, Mr. Peters commented that Edwards to make the presentation on the Report. Mr. Gilmer first commented that he is a Senior Manager with Brown Edwards and this is the required public presentation of their Audit of the Town for 2019. The results of the audit and related deliverables were discussed in great detail with the Finance Committee earlier in this week. He expressed thanks to Council for the opportunity to serve the Town and commented on the great relationship they have with the Town. Mr. Gilmer next commented that the Town has been issued a clean, unmodified opinion and then proceeded to reference several pages in the Report. Page vi has the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence Financial Reporting by the GFOA, which the Town has received for over 20 years and Page 3 contains the Management Discussion and Analysis, which is a good summary of the Report. The Balance Sheet on Page 14 shows the unassigned fund balance of$2.9 million,which is approximately $250,000 more than the prior year. A metric they use is how many months of expenditures could the Town cover if not another dollar came in. The national average is two months and the Town is at 4.39 months, which is a nice healthy level. Pages 20-21, the Statement of the Enterprise Fund, shows the net income of the water and sewer fund at$144,040. Page 77 shows the Principal Water and Sewer Customers, which shows diversification in the Town. In 2010, PFG was close to 10%, but now they are only about 5%. The Schedule of Finding and Response on Page 92 lists the one compliance finding that the Town has dating back to 2007 and dealing with segregation of duties. Since that time, the Town since 2007 has done a great job of addressing this finding and we have a lot of clients with this same finding given their size, limitations and budgets. Mr. Gilmer next commented that a Report on Comments and Suggestions, Accounting and Other Matters and Required Communication and a Management Letter were also issued. The Financial Analysis breaks the 150 page CAFR down into 12-15 graphs that are easy to interpret and shows trends. 5, Ms. Cantrell expressed appreciation to Brown Edwards for all of the work they did in preparing the CAFR. Council Member McCarty made a motion to adopt the Resolution as presented; the motion was seconded by Council Member Scheid and carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) — Adopted Resolution No. 228 approving the McCarty, Scheid, Stovall, Liles, Grose; Nays June 30, 2019 Comprehensive Annual (0) — None. Financial Report The next item on the agenda was to consider adoption of a Resolution appropriating funds in the amount of $11,765.00 received from the Department of Criminal Justice Services to purchase materials, supplies; and equipment needed for "McGruff's Safety Club" to be hosted by W.E. Cundiff Elementary School and Herman L. Horn Elementary School, Chief Foster first recognized Jessica Parker, his Executive Assistant, who spearheaded the Grant. He then commented that his department was always looking for ways to find money to do things that are new; innovative and of no cost to the Town. This year DGJS was calling for proposals for a youth engagement grant and Ms. Parker submitted the grant application for the program at the two elementary schools. The Library has recently also been added as another partner, which will allow for programs at the Library and with home school co-ops. Chief Foster next commented on the objectives of the program and that the McGruff Safety Club will meet once a quarter at the schools and Library with McGruff and Scruff attending and doing 20-30 minute sessions to talk about safety topics, hand out educational materials and show videos. There will also be Meet and Greet sessions at Town of Vinton and other local events. The Grant period will run through June 30, 2021 and is the only program like this in the area. After comments from Vice Mayor Liles and Council Member Stovall, Council Member Scheid asked when the funds would be received. Ms. Parker responded on January 1, 2020, but they can go ahead and spend all the funds in the first quarter and do quarterly progress and financial reports for reimbursement. Chief Foster further commented that there are the up 6 front costs, but the ongoing costs for the most part will be donations from non-profits. Ms. Parker further commented that the McGruff materials are relatively inexpensive and can be paid for with their department's printing and binding budget. Adopted Resolution No. 2329 appropriating Council Member Stovall made a motion to funds in the amount of $11,765.00 received adopt the Resolution as presented; the motion from the Department of Criminal Justice was seconded by Council Member McCarty Services to purchase materials, supplies, and carried by the following roll call vote, with and equipment needed for"McGruff's Safety all members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) — Club" to be hosted by W.E. Cundiff McCarty, Scheid, Stovall, Liles, Grose; Nays Elementary School and Herman L. Horn (0)— None. Elementary School The next item on the agenda was to consider adoption of a Resolution authorizing the Town Manager to execute a Performance Agreement with Vinyard Station LLC and the Roanoke County Economic Development Authority (EDA) for the purpose of investing in public infrastructure and incentivize the redevelopment of the former Vinton Motors into a mixed-use development to be known as Vinyard Station. Pete Peters commented that Council was briefed on this Agreement at their November 5, 2019 meeting. The Agreement will help secure the acquisition and development of the necessary centralized parking infrastructure needed to support to the project and provide adequate and attractive pedestrian access to connect this development to the greater downtown business district. The initial private investment anticipated to buy the property is approximately $2.7 million and is expected to generate in excess of $130,000 annually in net new revenues for the Town and County in addition to generating numerous employment opportunities based only on the one known restaurant tenant that has been secured. A bigger positive economic impact is anticipated once the additional 7,000 square foot is leased as well as the benefits that the adjacent parcels and businesses will receive from this capital investment. The Performance Agreement includes an initial cash payment of $250,000 and an annual incentive payment of $50,000 for a period of ten years with the total package being capped at $750,000. The Agreement also requires the developer to achieve predetermined investment goals, construction deadlines, achieve and maintain minimal employment thresholds and maintain ownership of the property through the duration of the Agreement. The Town will also be given fee simple ownership of the vacant lot on Lee Avenue and the pedestrian easement that will connect the parking lot to Pollard Street. Mr. Peters next commented that the Roanoke County Economic Development Authority unanimously approved this Agreement at their November 16th meeting. Also, the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding related to the Project, which was the next item on the agenda. Mr. Peters recognized Jeremy Carroll, the Town Attorney, for all of his work on the agreements and then recognized Dale Wilkerson, Greg Rhodes, David Spiegel and Virginia Vinyard in the audience and expressed thanks for all of their patience, professionalism and trust over the last several years. Dale Wilkerson next shared the history of how the project came to be and that Billy Vinyard's driving force was to respect the relationship that he and his Dad had with the citizens of Vinton and to give back to the community and reflect the values of those that lived here. A lot of factors had to come together all at once and it would not have happened without the vision of Council. Mr. Wilkerson further commented that he was sorry that Billy was not here to see all of this because relationships were important to him, not transactions. After comments from the Mayor, Virginia Vinyard also made comments regarding the project. Adopted Resolution No. 2330 authorizing the Town Manager to execute a Performance After comments from other Council Members, Agreement with Vinyard Station LLC and the Vice Mayor Liles made a motion to adopt the Roanoke County Economic Development Resolution as presented; the motion was Authority (EDA) for the purpose of investing seconded by Council Member McCarty and in public infrastructure and incentivize the carried by the following roll call vote, with all redevelopment of the former Vinton Motors members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) — McCarty, into a mixed-use development to be known Scheid, Stovall, Liles, Grose; Nays (0)—None. as Vinyard Station The next item on the agenda was to consider adoption of a Resolution authorizing the Town Manager to execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Town and Roanoke County for support from Roanoke County for the Vinyard Station Redevelopment Project. Pete Peters commented that the Town submitted a formal request to Roanoke County in September to seek$200,000 in financial support to off-set the Town's commitment with the anticipated Performance Agreement. This was based on the net new revenue that was anticipated to be received by the County during the initial five years of the project after its opening. At their November 6, 2019 meeting, the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the MOU in the form of economic development grant in the amount of $200,000. The total amount of the grant will cap at $40,000 annually and will not exceed $200,000 over the five-year term. If the revenues generated by the development are less than $40,000 annually; the actual payment will be less. The five year term will begin on January 1, 2021 to account for the entire first year of the operation of the development. Mr. Peters next expressed appreciation to Jill Loope with Roanoke County for her support and the members of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors. He also expressed appreciation for all of the positive comments tonight and commented on the support he has had from all of Town staff toward this project. Council Member Scheid a motion to adopt the Adopted Resolution No. 2331 authorizing the Resolution as presented; the motion was Town Manager to execute a Memorandum seconded by Council Member Stovall and of Understanding between the Town and carried by the following roll call vote, with all Roanoke County for support from Roanoke members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) — McCarty, County for the Vinyard Station Scheid, Stovall, Liles, Grose; Nays (0) None. Redevelopment Project The next item on the agenda was to consider adoption of a Resolution authorizing the Town Manager to execute a Collaboration Agreement with the Vinton Historical Society to operate the Vinton History Museum. Pete Peters commented Council authorized a Lease with the Vinton Historical Society for 210 East Jackson for the purpose of operating the Vinton History Museum in September. The purpose of this Agreement is to outline the funding and staffing arrangement for the operation of the Museum which falls outside of the parameters of the actual Lease. A funding arrangement between the Town and the Historical Society has been ongoing for many years, but a formal agreement had not previously been endorsed by Council outside of the Town's annual budget adoption 9 process. Mr. Peters next commented on the terms of the Agreement and that it will run concurrent with the Lease Agreement. The Town Attorney and Finance Director assisted in the preparation of the Agreement and the Historical Society has agreed to its terms. The Finance Committee has also reviewed the Agreement and recommends its approval. Randy Layman, Historical Society President, made comments on future plans for the Museum and indicated that they would be making semi- annual report to Council after the first of the year. Vice Mayor Liles a motion to adopt the Resolution as presented; the motion was seconded by Council Member Scheid and Adopted Resolution No. 22 authorizing the carried by the following roll call vote, with all Town Manager to execute a Collaboration members voting: Vote -0; Yeas (5)— McCarty, Agreement with the Vinton Historical Society Scheid, Stovall, Liles, Grose; Nays (0) None. to operate the Vinton History Museum The Town Manager commented that several meetings ago Council adopted a Resolution in support of National Park Service maintenance at the time the Parkway was closed. Our Resolution along with 10 others from surrounding jurisdictions was delivered by Virginia's Blue Ridge to Senator Warner and other Congressmen's Offices. Today the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee approved their Bipartisan "Restore Our Parks Act" legislation that would address the nearly $12 billion deferred maintenance backlog at the National Park Service and establish the National Park Service legacy Restoration Fund. Under reports from Council Committees, Anne Cantrell first commented that the Finance Committee met on November 12, 2019 and reviewed the June 30, 2019 CAFR Presentation (Brown Edwards); the Police Department Capital Fund Appropriation, Byrne JAG Grant Appropriation and Local Law Enforcement Grant Appropriation; the Town Museum Legal Agreement and the EPA Brownfields Community Wide Assessment Grant and Environmental Consulting Contract, all of which were previously discussed during the meeting tonight. Ms. Cantrell then reviewed a PowerPoint presentation on the September 2019 Financial Statements, which will be on file in the Town Clerk's Office as a part of the permanent record. 10 Council Member Scheid made a motion to approve the September 2019 Financial Report; the motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Liles and carried by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) — McCarty, Approved the September 2019 Financial Scheid, Stovall, Liles, Grose; Nays (0)—None. Report The Mayor commented on the recent grand re-opening ribbon cutting at Kroger, the luncheon provided for Town employees who are Veterans, other Veterans Programs that were held in the Town, a ribbon cutting at The Hair Company and the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission annual dinner that was attended by Council and staff. Comments from Council: Council Member McCarty commented on everything that took place during the meeting tonight and shared a quote, "Build a team so strong that no one can point out the leader" and expressed appreciation to all of staff. Council Member Scheid asked when the small cell facilities matter would be brought back to Council. The Town Manager responded that the RFPs will be opened and Mike Lockaby, Town Attorney, would be doing a briefing on the proposed Ordinances. The Town Clerk commented that the Joint Public Hearing with the Planning Commission will be on the second meeting in December. Council Member Scheid next asked about a Council tour of the security improvements to the building and the Town Manager responded that it would be scheduled after the glass is installed in the Finance and Planning Departments. Council Member Scheid next asked for an update on recent issues that have been brought up about the water quality in the Town. The Town Manager responded that he had met with staff on Monday and they are working on the matter. He plans to schedule a Work Session with Council in the near future for further discussion. The Town Manager and Ms. Cantrell also commented on the recent issues with the misread meters. Council Member Stovall commented that the CEDS Committee would be taking an economic tour of the Town on December 11 th. Vice Mayor Liles made a motion to adjourn the meeting; the motion was seconded by Council Member McCarty and carried by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 5- 0; Yeas (5) — McCarty, Scheid, Stovall, Liles, Grose; Nays (0) — None. The meeting was Meeting adjourned adjourned at 8:48 p.m. APPROVED: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor ATTEST: itwo"LJ IV( Susan N. Johnson, WC, Town Clerk 12