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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/1/2015 - RegularMINITES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD AT 600 P.M. ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 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 Sabrina McCarty Janet Scheid MEMBERS ABSENT: 1. Douglas Adams, Jr. STAFF PRESENT: Christopher S. Lawrence, Town Manager Theresa Fontana, Town Attorney Donna Collins, Human Resources Director Anita McMillan, Planning and Zoning Director Karla Turman, Associate Planner/Code Enforcement Officer Chad Helms, Lieutenant -Fire Joey Hiner, Assistant Public Works Director The Mayor called the work session to order at S6:00 po li p.m. The first item was a briefing on t B ighl Abatement Plans for: 123 Gus Nicks Boulevard, Tay as Number 60.16-1-3, Zoned CB Central Business District; 830 S. Pollard Street, Tax Map Number 60, 19- 4-4, Zoned R-2 Residential District; and 308-B 9th Street, Tax Map Number 60.10-4-27. Zoned R-2 Residential District. Karla Turman began by commenting that after the Spot Blight Abatement Ordinance was passed last year, a team was put together and five properties were reviewed. In August of last year, letters were sent to all of the property owners outlining the blight on their properties and giving them 30 days to respond with a plan. With regard to the property located at 1323 Hardy Road, it has been demolished by the property owner. The property at 530 North Blair Street has changed hands several times and the newest owner acquired the property in January of this year. He has started doing some work on the property and has submitted a letter indicating he will continue to make improvements. Ms. Turman next commented on 123 Gus Nicks Boulevard. After the notification letter was sent in August of 2014 to the property owner, he left a message in November that he had made arrangements to demolish the house. A dumpster was placed on the property at that time, but nothing has been done. Also, there has been no further contact with the property owner. She then showed and commented on a series of pictures of the property. Council Member Scheid asked if a title search was done and Ms. Turman responded yes. Ms. Scheid then asked the purpose of the title search and Ms. Turman commented to make sure that we notify the right property owner or owners. All the taxes on the property are up to date and he did pay for the title search. PA 9 There was a concern that if we put a lien • the property we would not be able to collect on that lien if the •#• went to tax sale. There are legal cost that the County incurs • have a tax sale which alway get paid first. In the past the County paid their lien first and we received what funds were left over, if any Barry Thompson and our Town Attorney have met wit the Roanoke County Treasurer and we now have verbal agreement that there will be an appropriat distribution of a pro-rata share of the remaining funds However, it is fair to expect that the Town may not ge • b.ck, The taxes are fully • on the 123 Gus Nick Boulevard property, so there is no legal trigger to forc the sale of the #•#- The taxes would have to b three years behind •« forcing a tax sale. Council Member Scheid asked if the other two properties wer up to date • the taxes. Ms. Turman commented tha she felt the taxes on 308B gth Street were probably up to date. Ms. Scheid then commented that the onl property we would possibly be able to sell is the one a 830 South Pollard. The Town Manager next commented that if the heirs to a piece of property are in conflict regarding who owns the property, there is a legal way that they can force a sale of property through the Court to get a clear title for a new • Council Member McCarty asked how much it would cost to demolish the properties. Ms. Turman responded that earlier this year she received quotes and by adding 20% to the median price to demolish the house and clear the property it would be around $29,000. For 830 South Pollard Street, the estimate is about $18,000 in addition to the $2,500 that is already owed in taxes, liens and the title search. Vice Mayor Hare commented that we can go through the process to have it legally torn down and then we have a flat piece of land that the Town will have to pay to have mowed for the next 70 years and the lien continues to grow. It is not in the best • of the citizens to continue to invest in that property. He wondered if there would be another solution such as imminent domain. E! there will be some properties that the community can assist with. Vice Mayor Hare next asked if we could offer to purchase the property # then the Town can tear it down and sell it. We might be putting more # front,but #' f have moreof of getting some money back. The Town Manager commented that the Town can •. • to buy property # go through the real estate process and make an offer. Vice Mayor Hare commented that the properties should go through this process, but perhaps before we condemn # ! we make « proposal. The Town Attorney commented that if a properm, owner is delinquent on their taxes, the best solutiI would be a tax sale because # the title the property. Otherwise, youwould have to # releases from f f subjectin favor of scheduling the Public Hearing on the thre.-. properties. She then asked if there would be more properties f Ms. Turman responded that rightnow most •# to the community. Anita McMillan commented that in early 2000 after notice was given of a Public Hearing to demolish three houses, the property owners decided to demolish Once they saw that the Townserious, Mayor The Mayor then asked if this is a plan that we a going to pursue, #! we f# the routeof # Hearing now or • " • that t original # on states the Town may abate t violation by demolition of the property. The prope owner of 123 Gus Nicks Boulevard hasbeen «► copy of the recommendation by staff for Council I 9 .?,pprove to abate the property. The Town Manager commented that the Public Hearings can still be held. They are designed to meet a legal process to gain input from the public. After the Public Hearings, staff can be directed to do something further before action ,s taken. The Town Attorney next commented that the property can be demolished and if it goes to a tax sale, the Town can be a bidder at the sale. Council may not want to set a precedent that we are offering individuals' money to buy their derelict properties. After further comments from Vice Mayor Hare concerning the taxes being up to date and not being able to force a tax sale, the Town Attorney commented that a tax sale can be forced to satisfy the lien. The lien for the demolition becomes parity with the taxes, The Town Manager commented that staff has always understood that only real estate taxes are a trigger for a government tax sale. The Town Attorney indicated she can provide the citations in the Code and there are enforcement procedures. If the government spends money and tears the property down, we can go and collect the money. She will provide Council with a written legal opinion. Council gave their consensus to direct the Planning Commission to schedule their Public Hearing. In lieu of time, the next item on the work session relating to the briefing on the petition of Ms. Zizi LoFaro, dba Healing Solutions, LLC, the Petitioner for a Special Use Permit (SUP) to operate a counseling services office at 36 W. Cleveland Avenue, zoned GB General Business District was moved to the regular meeting under the Town Manager's section. The Mayor called the regular meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. The Town Clerk called the roll with Council Member McCarty, Council Member Scheid, Vice Roll call Mayor Hare and Mayor Grose present. Council i Member Adams was absent. After a Moment of Silence, Council Member McCarty led the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag. 111nder upcoming community events, Council Member McCarty announced the upcoming Mingle at the Market on September 12 1h . The Mayor announced the Vietnam Veterans Traveling Memorial Wall will be at the VA Hospital in Salem on September 16 1h through 20th A Vice Mayor Hare made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented; 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, Hare, Grose; None; Absent (1) - Adams. Under awards, recognitions and presentations, Vice Mayor Hare read a Proclamation declaring September as National Preparedness Month. The next item on the agenda to consid 'o tio 'd er a of a Resolution authorizing the Town lvlanage�r t execute an Agreement with the Commonwealth Virginia, Office of Intermodal Planning and Investmen for the Urban Development Areas (UDA) Plannin Grant. The Town Manager began by commenting tha he had provided Council with a Memo summarizing th requirements of the grant. The grant is for $65,00 0 n I a and is connection with the State's new effort through number of policies and programs to realign all th transportation funding processes. They startedal Vision Plan of 2040 to be implemented through Hous Bill 2 which is now the structure for how projects will be funded. An example of their new goal is the Walnut Avenue project, which was one big project from downtown to the Town/City line. We were on the six -year plan, had a couple of million dollars in the bank ready to go and we realized with VDOT that it would not be enough, So, we just did the bridge. It will take many years before we get the next sections funded, under the old model. The new model is that if a project is chosen based on all of the criteria and formula, it will be fully funded and guaranteed that it will be completed. This is the good side, but the downside is a project may not get funded for a long time because the competition for frunds will be with projects all over the State based on the five scoring factors. There will still be a six -year improvement plan for th State as well as House Bill 1887 which is the actua budget to appropriate $25 billion over the next si years. I VDOT has established and fully funded this grant and if Council chooses to go forward, we have already been assigned a consultant. This will be a citizen- d... iven, Council -directed process for the Town to identify land use vision and issues, transportation and how to we want to redevelop. The grant requires that we amend our Comprehensive Plan and Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance within one year of the a completion of the study which is estimated to take ten months. We will decide what the amendment to • Comprehensive Plan will be based on the principles of a traditional neighborhood development. He and staff have a telephone conference scheduled for Thursday to get the process started. The Mayor asked if some of these funds could be used • the expense of the community meeting. Anita McMillan responded the $65,000 will be paid to the planning • for their services. Council Member Scheid asked if we know anything about the consultant being assigned to us. Ms. McMillan responded that this same consultant is working with the City of Salem. Also, they have worked with the Town of Blacksburg and some locaes in the Southwest. This is the second round of this planning process. Vice Mayor Hare expressed concern that if we declare an urban development area it would force development in certain areas and require the Town to make dramatic changes that may not be the wishes of the citizens, but those in Richmond and Washington that feel we need to be more integrated economically and socially. The Town Manager responded that an urban development area, based on what he has read, is fundamentally focusing on transportation demands at they work through VDOT. It is more of an urban mixed -use traditional neighborhood with interconnected roads, sidewalks with homes that are possibly less than one acre. It is a planning tool and if we have the designation it will help with scoring for VDOT projects. If we do not, it means we may not score as high. It can be a designation that includes the entire Town or just include certain areas, but it will be up to us. Roanoke County did not receive a grant because they have their own planners to •• the work, but they are defining their urban growth areas for approval by the Planning Commission and ultimately the Board to be everything outside of the Town boundary to the Bedford County line Adopted Resolution No. 2116 authorizing the Town Manager to Council Member Scheid made a motion to adopt the execute an Agreement with the Resolution as presented; the motion was seconded by Commonwealth of Virginia, Office Council Member McCarty and carried by the following of Intermodal Planning and roll call vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0; Yeas Investment for the Urban (4) — McCarty, Scheid, Hare, Grose; Nays (0) — None; Development Areas (UDA) Absent (1) - Adams. Planning Grant A The Town Manager next commented that at the September 1 51h Council meeting, a Council Member needs to be appointed to serve on the UDA Grant Committee. The next item, which was moved fro.T theowo session, related to the briefing on the p( ition f M Zizi LoFaro, dba Healing Solutions, LLC, the Petition for a Special Use Permit (SUP) to operate counseling services office at 36 W. Cleveland Avenu - zoned GB General Business District. Anita McMill commented on the staff report that was provided wi the agenda package. The Planning Commission w - briefed at their August 6, 2015 work session andil. 2015The Council Public Hearing will be September 15, 2015. The property is zoned General Business and the surrounding properties are zoned either General Business or Commercial Business except for one property that is developed and still used a single family. On August 18, 2015, the adjoining property owners were mailed letters notifying them of the request and the Public Hearing to be held. To date they have not received any inquiries or objections, but they do have the right to attend either of the schedule Public Hearings. The property was used as a real estate office and the Building Commissioner has indicated that a change of use will not be required. Ms. McMillan next commented that the petitioner will be doing the counseling, but in the future she may add two additional staff. The hours of operation were also provided in the staff report. The petitioner did not submit any proffered conditions, but during the Public Hearing the Planning Commission and/or Council can impose conditions that can be accepted or rejected by the petitioner. Vice Mayor Hare asked what type of counseling services would be provided and Ms. McMillan responded the petitioner indicated it would be all types. Council Member Scheid asked if she was a licensed counselor and Ms. McMillan responded they did not ask, but she will inquire. The Mayor asked if there would be any overnight patients and Ms. McMillan responded no based on what was submitted and the structure does not have accommodations, If she is to have overnight patients, 9 the Building Commissioner would have to be notified. She has indicated that it will be for an office -type use. Council Member McCarty commented that when the Chamber started Mingle at the Market, the Church on the comer was offering AA meetings and they had an issue with the alcohol being served so close to the Church. She assumed this would not be a problem with the counseling service since it is also close to the Farmers' Market. Ms. McMillan responded that she would contact her about the event. Vice Mayor Hare commented that he had concerns that this could turn into a drug -rehabilitation type of counseling. He did not know how counseling would be defined but he would not want it to grow into something that we did not anticipate. Ms. McMillan responded that she would refer this question to the Town Attorney because the definition of "counseling service" in our Zoning Ordinance is very broad and general. The Mayor commented on the curb and gutter wo" that the Public Works Department has been doing Town. The Mayor next read a written statement wi his comments concerning two recent events--t recent marriage ceremony of Council Member McCa and Chris McCarty and the tragedy in which Ali Parker and Adam Ward of WDBJ7 were killed a Vicki Gardner of the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber Commerce was injured, I The next item on the agenda was to consider cancellation of the October 1, 2015 Council meeting to allow Council and Staff to attend the VML Annual Meeting in Richmond, Virginia from October 4-7, 2015 Council Member McCarty made a motion to cancel the October 1, 2015 Council meeting; the motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Hare and carried by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0; Yeas (4) — McCarty, Scheid, Hare, Grose; Nays (0) — None; Absent Adams. The next item on the agenda was a report from the Public Safety Committee, In the absence of Council Member Adams, the Town Manager commented that the minutes of the August 24 1h meeting were included in the agenda package. He then made brief comments on the Regional DUI Task Force matter and indicated that Chief Cook recommended that due to staffing levels in the department, they would not participate. With regard to the replacement of the K-9 police car that was totaled in an accident, the matter will be referred to the Finance Committee for review and a recommendation. Approved cancellation of October 1, 2015 Council meeting ff The transition to 24-hour fire service has beerf7 completed and career staff and volunteers are working very well together. With regard to the renovations to the fire house, there have been some issues, but all have been handled through the normal chain of command. A final project for the Fire/Rescue Building is to install a new electronic lock system at a cost of $30,685.00. The Town and Roanoke County have partnered to fund the new system with Roanoke County contributing $15,000. Council will be requested at a future meeting to approve the Town's portion. The Town Manager next commented on the new ambulance grant to replace unit 23. We did not receive the grant that was applied for in the Spring, A new grant application will be submitted this Fall for a career replacement ambulance. If this grant is not approved, we will re-evaluate and bring the matter back to the Committee, This is a partnership with Roanoke County as well. Also, the format of the monthly reports showing call volume and response time for the volunteer fire, first aid crew and career staff that are furnished to Council will be changed to more accurately reflect a breakdown for the career staff and volunteers. With regard to the item in the minutes concerning K-9 unit, Council Member Scheid asked what wou happen to the dog and if it was purchased by t`1 I Town. The Town Manager responded that he w purchased using Asset Forfeiture Funds. We al trying to evaluate if there is someone who can stE, into that position since Officer Froeschl has resignE* as the K-9 Officer to go back to patrol. If not, a evaluation and decision will have to be made. Council Member Scheid next asked if the compensation study was going forward and was it budgeted. The Town Manager responded it is not budgeted, but he and the Human Resources Director are evaluating the best way to accomplish Scheid asked if there was a problem with doing the study and proving the point that there are gaps in compensation if there is not money in the budget to correct those gaps. The Town Manager commented that if we do the study we are going to have to be able to respond to it in a reasonable amount of time. Vice Mayor Hare made a motion that Council go into a Closed Meeting pursuant to § 22-3711 A of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended, for discussion t,1PA*k*9TWA** ##r iV114, 2uthorized by subsection I . The motion was seconded M Ivry Council Member Scheid and carried by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0; Yeas (4) — McCarty, Scheid, Hare, Grose; Nays (0) — None; Absent (1) - Adams. Council went into Closed Certification of Closed Meeting Meeting at 8:15 p.m. At 9:01 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 Vice Mayor Hare; seconded by Council Member McCarty and carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting: Vote 4-0; Yeas (4) — McCarty, Scheid, Hare, Grose, Nays (0) — None; Absent (1) - Adams. Vice Mayor Hare made a motion to adjourn the 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, Hare, Grose; Nays (0) — None; Absent Adams. The meeting was adjourned at Meeting adjourned 9:07 p.m. APPROVED: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor : EST- I, Susan N.JoF hnso Town Clerk I WA AT A CLOSED MEETING OF THE VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD ON TUESDA SEPTEMBER 1, 2015, AT 7:00 P.M. IN THE IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF TH VINTON MUNICIPAL BUILDING LOCATED AT 311 SOUTH POLLARD STREE VINTON, VIRGINIA I �hx "M an-maIMMA TTHEREAS, 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: 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 Hare, and seconded by Council Member McCarty, with all in favor. Clerk f Council