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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/2/2012 - Regular MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD AT 7:00 P.M. ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE VINTON MUNICIPAL BUILDING LOCATED AT 311 SOUTH POLLARD STREET, VINTON, VIRGINIA. MEMBERS PRESENT: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor William W. Nance, Vice Mayor 1. Douglas Adams, Jr. Robert R. Altice Matthew S. Hare STAFF PRESENT: Christopher S. Lawrence,Town Manager Susan Waddell, Town Attorney Stephanie Dearing, Human Resources Director Gary Woodson, Public Works Director Barry Thompson, Finance Director/Treasurer Anita McMillan, Planning &Zoning Director Chad Helms, Lieutenant, Fire Department Joey Hiner, Assistant Public Works Director The Mayor called the regular meeting to order at 7:00 Roll Call p.m. The Acting Town Clerk called the roll with Council Member Adams, Council Member Altice, Council Member Hare, Vice Mayor Nance, and Mayor Grose present. After a Moment of Silence, Mr. Hare led the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag. Mr. Adams made a motion to approve the consent Approved minutes of Council agenda as presented; the motion was seconded by Mr. Regular meeting of September 18, Altice and carried by the following vote, with all members 2012 voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) — Adams, Altice, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays(0)- None. The Mayor read a Proclamation declaring October 7-13, 2012 as Fire Prevention Week in the Town and presented to Lieutenant Chad Helms on behalf of the Fire Department. The next to on the agenda was citizens' comments and petitions. Roger Overstreet, 709 South Pollard Street, addressed Council concerning his business at 809 South Pollard Street. Mr. Overstreet indicated that he contacted Karla Turman, the Town's Code Enforcement Officer, in June to see what he needed to do to open a used car lot on the property. Ms. Turman told him that he could not park any cars in the front of the property, not even the car he drove to work, and he would have to keep everything in the back. She did not explain to him what the requirements would be. He then stated that later Ms. Turman contacted him regarding vehicles he had listed for sale on Craig's List and asked if he was selling vehicles without a license. He responded to her that they were his personal vehicles. Ms. Turman indicated that he would not be allowed to park any cars outside without any tags on then over two to three days. He then referred to other businesses that have cars with no tads on them and hour are they allowed and he is not. r. Overstreet also indicated he had spoken to the Town Manager in July and have not heard back from him. He would like to stay in Vinton and still have the building on South Pollard; but wants to be treated like everyone else. The Mayor made brief comments and referred the matter to the Town Manager and staff to review and report back to Council. The Town Manager indicated he would prepare a summary of the conversations with Ms, Turman and will contact Mr. Overstreet. Mr. Hare asked if Mr. Overstreet was given an option to apply for a special permit if it is outside the zoning ordinance for that area and the Town Manager responded that he would have to check on it. Vice Mayor Nance asked what would be a reasonable time to have a report to Council and for further discussion with Mr. Overstreet and the response y the Town Manager was by the end of the week.:. The next item on the agenda was to consider adoption of a Resolution re-appropriating funds in the amount of 4,050.00 to the Vinton Chamber of Commerce for the 3�`' and 0 quarters of Fiscal Year 2 '11-2E 12.. The Town Manager commented that after the approval of the FYI budget a letter was seat to each outside agency that had been approved for funding. The larger agencies were asked to invoice the Town each quarter for their allocated amount. The Vinton Chamber of Commerce sent an invoice for the 1st and 2"d quarters of FY12 which was paid by the Town, However, no subsequent invoice was sent and the Chamber identified this error in September while they were developing their 2013 budget. The Chamber contacted Barry Thompson, the Finance Director/ Treasurer, indicating that they had made the mistake and what process would they need to follow to receive their funding. Ms. Sabrina creeks, Chamber President, was present at the meeting and made comments regarding the oversight and apologized. She indicated they had reviewed their procedure and will in the future send one letter with four invoices for the entire year. After comments from Council, dice Mayor Nance made a ,approved Resolution No. 1989 re- motion to approve the Resolution as presented, the motion appropriating funds in the amount was seconded by Mr. Adams and carried by the following of$4,050.00 to the Vinton Chamber roll call vote, with all members voting: Vote -g; Yeas ( )- of Commerce for the 3`d and 0 Adams, Altic , Hare, Nance; Grose; Nays )—None. quarters of Fiscal Year 2 }11- g12. 2 The next item on the agenda was to consider adoption of a Resolution re-appropriating funds in the amount of 13,745.00 to Southern Air Inc. for a new NVAC Unit for the Municipal Building. The Town Manager commented that the NVA unit that services the Town Manager's Suite has been leaking due to the erosion of the condensation pan and drain system. After consultation with our HVAC contractor, it was determined that the hest course of action was to replace the unit: The unit has been installed by Southern Air and inspected by the Building Official. After comments from Council, Mr. Altice mach a motion to Approved Resolution No. 1990 re- approve the Resolution as presented, the motion was appropriating funds in the amount seconded by Vice Mayer Nance and carried by the of $13,745.00 to Southern Air Inc. following roll call vote, with all members voting: Vote 5-0 for a new HVAC Unit for the Yeas t —Adams,Altice, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays (0) -- Municipal Building. None. The next item on the agenda was a briefing on a 50,000 donation from Novozymes Biologicals, Inc. and potential use for Glade Creek Greenway. The Town Manager commented that as part of the agreement with Novozymes they agreed to pay each of the four localities 50,000 specifically for greenway improvements with a preference on expansions. wring the current sewer line replacement projects we have been reviewing the potential for the Glade Creels Greenway which has been in our master plan for some time. Town staff along with Liz Belcher, the Greenway Coordinator, have been evaluating the best way to proceed and the possibility of using Novozymes' $50,000 for a match with some VDT revenue sharing funds which will give us more of an opportunity to at least design and possibly even build the greenway. Anita McMillan, Planning & Zoning Director made further comments that since we have the $50,000 and are now aware of the VD T funding that is available, how can we expand the Greenway to connect to the Roanoke City Tinker Creek Greenway. The Tinker Creek Greenway goes all the way to the Roanoke River Greenway. With the current sewer project and the Walnut Avenue Bridge project which will have sidewalks on bath sides, it provides a great opportunity for a paved greenway in that area. A pedestrian bridge was discussed, but cost was a factor. The sidewalk along Virginia Avenue will provide an avenue to connect to the Tinker Creek Greenway. Liz Belcher, Greenway Coordinator, made further comments that when Novozymes came to the Greenway Commission the focus was to see the completion of the Roanoke River Greenway. It is so important to have a big long continuous greenway and we are now beginning to see the economic impact of the expanded project. The Novozymes payment to Roanoke County was used to build a 70-foot bridge at the Roanoke River Greenway in Greenhill Park and the next year was the piece in front of Carilion Hospital in the City of Roanoke. For the City of Salem, it was used to purchase a right-of-way for the Roanoke River Greenwa . Now, they want to make the payment to Vinton. In 2004, a study was stone for the best location and how to connect through Vinton. It is difficult on the Vinton side to get past the two parts of the railroad tracks.; However, Roanoke County has been talking to property owners on the south side of the Roanoke River and the Tinker Creek Greenwey would be the Town's connection to the Roanoke River Greenway, Ms. Belcher further commented that last year was the first year that VD T said revenue sharing money can be used for greenways. It has always been used in the pest for roasts and bridges. Since the Town :has the Novozymes money for its match, you cannot get a greenway any cheaper than that. Mr. Hare asked if the greenway was built before the read, will that effect anything. Nis. McMillan responded that the Town owns the two parcels so the greenway will not start right at Walnut, it will start at the location of the proposed low water bridge. Mr. Hare then asked if there would be a trail head there and the response was that VID T suggested doing the project in two phases, the first phase for the trail and the second for facilities. Once the bridge is complete and we feel that is where the trail head is going to be we can apply for additional funding, Mr. Mare then asked what is the plan for crossing the bridge on Virginia Avenue and Ms. Belcher responded that an option would be to have the greenway go up Virginia Avenue, cross at the light and then back down the sidewalk on the other side. Mr. Hare asked what priority would it be in the comprehensive plan and the response was that in the 2007 plan this is a priority three for Vinton, priority one is the Roanoke River and priority two is Tinker Creek. Vice Mayor lance asked if a paved greenway means hard topped trail or more like Wolf Creep and the response was the current process is to put concrete or asphalt where there is potential for flooding. Also, the surface would be chosen to best provide continuity between the connectors. The Town Manager commented that the ideal solution would be to have a bridge that connects trail to trail and where you put it between Virginia and Walnut is a decision to be made: There are possibilities of finding additional funding over time to pay for a bridge, so he suggested letting the engineering firm at least look at this alternative and where the best location might be. Also, with the proposed route, some consideration needs to be given to the narrowing between Cedar and Walnut. Since the manholes have to be out of the flood area and will need to e elevated, here is also the question of whether there will be a need for any grading or easements on private property. The Town Manager also commented that there is a concrete beat launch at Public Works and it may be a consideration for part of the trail. At this point, we need to refine some numbers and will bring back to Council to get their consensus to apply for the funding from V t T. 3r. blare stated that he is excited about the idea and agrees that any greenway within 80 feet of another existing greenway needs to be connected. The impact that a greenway has on a community is huge and it is hard to quantify what it does for a neighborhood. It has potential to brine customers into town especially as we seep to revitalize downtown. Also, Janet Scheid, our Town's representative on the Greenway Commission was not able to attend the meeting, but has emailed Council indicating her support of the project. The Mayor said greenways are valuable to a community and can be an economic tool, however; we do want to plan carefully. He then congratulated biz Belcher for her work with the Greenway Commission for 15 years. He then read a statement and congratulated her for being named the "Woman of Achievement"for 2012. The Town Manager gager indicated $100,000 may not be enough and VD T has said if we need more, we need to ask for it. We need to make sure we have enough because we do not want to come up short because we did not ask for more from V OT. lets. McMillen commented that she is meeting with a representative from Anderson & Associates on Friday. He has worked with Roanoke County and the City of Salem on their greenways and will be able to give us cast estimate for the engineering plan and the cost estimate to build the greenway. r. Hare asked if Pathfinders would have anything to do with the building of it. Liz Belcher responded that they go volunteer projects for the greenways and they have been able to provide funding in some circumstances. The next item related to an update can the proposed expansion of the Town's fagade program. lbs. McMillan made brief comments regarding the beginning of the fagade program in 2004 which only includes five blocks. a Since then other property owners have asked when we will plan to expand the program. When the Town applied for the CDC grant, it expanded the boundary. Council was provided information regarding how many business owners have applied for the faade since 200 which is 14 for a total investment of $120,00 .00 in downtown. She and the Town Manager have mot with Jill L:oope, Roanoke County's Economic Development Director and the Town Committee would need to make the recommendation to the EDA for its approval. The proposal is to expand the boundary two blocks north of Washington and six more blocks south of the current boundary,. Vice Mayor Nance asked how do we take action to change the definition of the area of the faade grant and the response was that before it was agreed to in a work session. Ms. McMillan stated there was not an official Resolution, but we should do one. Vice Mayor lance indicated that the funds are limited and how do they prioritize who to assist first and the response was on a first-come, first-serve basis and there has not been a problem up to this paint. The Town Manager responded that as of ,tune 30th we committed to spend all of the finds that were available. At this point there i $20000 of new honey in the EDA faade grant fund. We only grant up to $5,00 per application and we share that 0/50 with the County, so we have enough to do five projects at this time. There is also the possibility of meshing some of the CDBG grant money with some of the projects. Ms. McMillan mentioned that we have not had our negotiation meeting with the Mate yet, and with the current program we only allow exterior improvements, but with the State money there are lee ways to possibly help with interior improvements, The Town Manager commented that staff thinks this is the biggest boundary that the program should have. The Town Manager indicated that he wants to meat with the State first, discuss again with Roanoke County and then will bring back to Council for action at a future meeting. The Mayor commented that the faade expansion reminded him that some businesses had asked last year about puffing the Christmas flags on forth Pollard and could staff check on that, The last item on the agenda was a briefing on the VML/V eCo commercial paper loan application for the Glade-Tinker Creek Wastewater Interceptor Replacement Phase 2 Project. Barry Thompson, Finance Director/ Treasurer made brief comments that when the project was awarded in July we had some bond money left over of approximately $ 16,000 to apply to this project: We then applied for a $50 ,000 bridge loan with VML/VACo until the Town is ready to bond for new major projects. A Public Hearing has been advertised to be held at the next Council meeting on October 16, 2012. The Ivan is for an 1 -month period with a variable rate currently at 1.5% to 1; 5%. The Town Manager reminded Council of their Retreat scheduled for October 28-29, 2012 at the War Memorial, The State of the County address is November 9h and the State of the Town address will be November 10 at the War Memorial: The Mayor commented on the V L Annual Meeting and that there are a lot of exciting things happening in the Town; r, Hare commented on the August 2012 financial statement that revenues are up from last month, expenditures are at 79% and the Utility fund is in good shape. When this report was compared to the August 2011 report, revenues are pretty close, but we are up 60 ,000 in cash, which funds have been invested to realize a higher yield. Mr; Hare made a motion to accept the August 2012 financial report as presented; the motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Nance and carried by the Accepted August 2012 financial following vote, with all members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas t5 report as presented —Adams,Altipe, Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays t j—None. The Town Manager commented that the minutes of the Finance Committee will be provided to Council after approval by the Committee. Comments from Council — Mr. Nance commented on the drug Take-Sack Program that was held on Saturday; Council attended a service at Vinton Wesleyan to express appreciation for their help with the Pool and they will attend Lynn Haven Baptist this Sunday; the Fall Festival is October 13 th and the Vinton Breakfast Lions Club will have their breakfast on that morning as well. He also expressed thanks to the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors for their affirmative vote to begin the architectural and engineering study for the new library. Mr. Adams commented that he attended the MPO meeting this past week and with the change of our 7 demographics in the region we are now in a new MP and that there is $2 million in new highway funding that i being presented to the MPt . Also, they are >adding Montgomery County to the M O and reviewing a change in the voting structure that will be presented at the November meeting. Vice Mayor Nance made a motion that Council go into a Closed Meeting pursuant to Section . - 1 of the Code of Virginia, as amended, for discussion regarding appointments to boards and commissions; the motion was seconded by Mr. Hare and carried by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote -{ Yeas ( --Adams, Altice, Hare, dance; Grose; days (0) - done. Council went into Closed Meeting at 8:44 p.m. t 9:16 p.m., the regular meeting reconvened and the Certified Closed Meeting Certification that the Closed Meeting was held in accordance with Mate Code requirements was approved on motion by Vice Mayor Nance, seconded by Mr. bare and carried by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) —Adams, Altice, Hare, dance, Grose, flays g -lone., The Mayor asked for nominations for board and Appointed Sabrina Weeks to fill an commission appointments. Vice Mayor Nance made a unexpired Alternate position on the motion to appoint Sabrina Weeks to fill an unexpired Board of Zoning Appeals for a five Alternate position on the Board of Zoning Appeals for a year terra ending February 20, five-year term ending February 20, 2015 and to appoint 2016; appointed Arthur LaRoche, Arthur Laroche, 111 to fill an unexpired term on the lll, to fill an unexpired term n the Roanoke Valley Ureenway Commission for a three-year Roanoke Valley { reenway term erecting June 30, 2013; the motion was seconded by Commission for a three-year term Mr. Hare and carried by the following vote, with all ending June 30, 2013 members voting. Vote 5-0;Yeas 5)--Adams,Altice; Hare, Nance, Grose; Nays 0 None. The meeting was adjourned at :13 p.m. APP OVEDI. radley F os , Vaydr ATTEST: Stephanie bearing, Acting Town Clerl AT A CLOSED MEETING OF THE VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012, AT 7:00 P.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE VINTON MUNICIPAL BUILIDNG,311 SOUTH POLLARD STREET,VINTON,VIRGINIA. CERTIFICATION THAT A CLOSED MEETING WAS HELD IN CONFORMITY WITH THE CODE OF VIRGINIA WHEREAS, the Town Council of the Town of Vinton, Virginia has convened a closed meeting on this date, pursuant to an affirmative 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: 1. 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 Vice Mayor Nance and seconded by Council Member Hare,with all in favor. Acting Clk of Council