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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/15/2009 - RegularMINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD AT 7:00 P.M. ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009 IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE VINTON MUNICIPAL BUILDING LOCATED AT 311 SOUTH POLLARD STREET, VINTON, VIRGINIA. MEMBERS PRESENT: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor Robert R. Altice Carolyn D. Fidler William W. Nance William E. Obenchain, Jr. STAFF PRESENT: Chris Lawrence, Town Manager Elizabeth Dillon, Town Attorney Darleen Bailey, Town Clerk Consuella Caudill, Asst. Town Manager Agenda A. 6:15 P.M. – Roll Call and Establishment of a Quorum B. CLOSED MEETING 1. Request to Convene in a Closed Meeting Pursuant to §2.2-3711 (A) 3 – Discussion or consideration of the acquisition of real property for a public purpose, or of the disposition of publicly held real property, where discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the public body C. 7:00 P.M. Reconvene and Adopt Recertification of Closed Meeting D. INVOCATION E. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE U. S. FLAG F. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Request to Report and Accept Amended Highway Safety Commission’s By-laws ACTION: APPROVE REQUEST 2. Appointment to Highway Safety Commission – Doug Adams ACTION: ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 1841 G. AWARDS, RECOGNITIONS, PRESENTATIONS H. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS AND PETITIONS I. TOWN ATTORNEY J. TOWN MANAGER K. MAYOR 1. Proclamation – Fall Waterways Cleanup 2. Vinton Wesley Church’s 75th Anniversary L. COUNCIL M. ADJOURNMENT WORK SESSION 1. War Memorial Update At 6:15 p.m., Mayor Grose called the regular meeting to order. Following roll call, Ms. Fidler moved to convene in a closed meeting pursuant to § 2.2-3711 (A) 3 – discussion or consideration of the acquisition of real property for a public purpose, or of the disposition of publicly held real property, where discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the public body. The motion was seconded by Mr. Nance and passed unanimously on a roll call vote. Roll call, convened in a closed meeting At 7:00 p.m., Vinton Town Council reconvened the regular meeting. The Certification that the Closed Meeting was held in conformity with State Law was approved on motion by Ms. Fidler, seconded by Mr. Obenchain and approved unanimously on a roll call vote. The Mayor gave the invocation and Mr. Altice led the Pledge of Allegiance to the U. S. Flag. Reconvened regular meeting, adopted Certifi- cation of Closed Meeting The consent agenda was adopted on a motion by Mr. Nance that was seconded by Ms. Fidler. The motion passed unanimously with all in favor. Mr. Nance read a letter from the Police Chief, Herb Cooley, naming Craig Frye as Officer of the Month for August. The Mayor congratulated Doug Adams on his appointment to the Highway Safety Commission and thanked him for his dedication to the Town. Mr. Obenchain questioned how resolutions were handled when there were several listed under the consent agenda and the Town Clerk explained that a statement is added to each resolution that it was approved by consent and then lists who made the motion to approve the consent agenda, who seconded the motion and the vote. Mayor Grose reported that a proclamation had been prepared and signed recognizing the Fall Waterways Cleanup and asked everyone to take part in this activity. He also reported that the Town Clerk would be preparing another proclamation in honor of the Vinton Wesleyan Church’s 75th Anniversary. Mayor Grose, Ms. Fidler and the Town Manager briefly reported on a trip to Galax and Floyd they had taken with the Downtown Revitalization Committee. He pointed out that the trip was very educational as the committee was able to look at what the two communities had done with the help of grant funding. Ms. Fidler commented that she was impressed with the way the two communities had done their branding. Mr. Lawrence pointed out that the communities had established what they wanted to be known for and then crafted the branding behind it. Mayor Grose stated that one of the things that struck him was the general cooperation and support from the community. He went on to say that in all the localities the Committee had visited, there seemed to be some cultural aspect on which they capitalized. Ms. Fidler informed Council that Donnie and Rhonda Wray may have found 2 someone to take over the Blue Grass Festival next year. She recommended that either the Town Manager or the Assistant Town Manager get in touch with the Wrays to discuss the possibility. Mr. Lawrence thanked Consuella Caudill and Anita McMillan for arranging both of the very well organized economic development trips. Ms. Fidler reported that there had been very positive feedback from the Explore Park’s Economic Development Consortium at their last meeting on options for the Explore Park if Larry Vander Maten’s plans for the Park do not materialize. In regard to the trips taken by the Downtown Revitalization Committee, Ms. Fidler pointed out that very few members of the business community had taken part in the two trips made by the Downtown Vitalization Committee. Mayor Grose responded that he has been concerned about that too, but all the Town can do is to make the trips available. Mr. Lawrence reported on a planned Council retreat that is scheduled for September 29, 2009, at 5:00 p.m. at the Vinton War Memorial. He advised that he is trying to work out a date for the Utility Department work session and will inform Council when a date has been selected. Mr. Lawrence announced that the Annual Dinner for the Regional Commission would take place on October 22 at 6:00 p.m. He asked Council to advise the Town Clerk if they planned to attend so that she can RSVP for them. The regular meeting adjourned at 7:19 p.m. WORK SESSION 1. War Memorial Update Laura Reilly gave a quarterly update on the Vinton War Memorial. She pointed out that the information in the financial spread sheet she had provided in the Council packet, did not come from the Treasurer’s Office but were from the War Memorial’s reservation software and would more accurately reflect last year’s financial numbers. Ms. Reilly advised that in a comparison of funds brought in by the War Memorial in 2008 and 2009, she found the facility made only $.75 more this year than last year despite an increase in the number of events in 2009. She pointed out that 2008 events were larger, higher cost events than this year’s events which tended to be showers and birthday parties. She felt that the lower than expected numbers appear to reflect the economic times and she expected they would continue to experience a lag in revenues as the economic downturn continues. Ms. Reilly stated that she anticipated having to negotiate some of the pricing this year and noted that other similar facilities such as the Jefferson Center have had to lower their rates also. 3 She reported that some major maintenance issues have occurred during this quarter including problems with the HVAC system. She noted that the company who installed the HVAC system planned to replace the control panel at no cost to the Town which should fix the problems they are having. Ms. Reilly noted that there is currently a problem with the paint coming off of the terrace doors. She explained that the doors were originally interior grade doors and were supposed to have had an exterior grade finish put on them so they could withstand outdoor conditions. Unfortunately, this was not done by the manufacturer and the paint has started to peel. She advised that Avis Construction’s painter would be coming by to look at the doors and repaint them. She also reported that the flag pole spot light was going to have to be replaced but she did not know what the replacement cost would be. Ms. Reilly also reported that two light poles had been damaged recently, one by Thor, the contractor for the Veterans Monument, and one by the Town’s “claw” truck. She noted that Thor’s insurance company would be paying for the one they damaged. The Facilities Manager praised her staff and pointed out that it has been very helpful to have the consistency her staff provides. Regarding advertising costs, Ms. Reilly advised that she is trying to spend her advertising dollars where they would be most effective. She stated that she had drastically cut back on print advertising and had cut out FOX TV advertising completely. She noted that she was running ads on Channel 7 exclusively as they had offered her a very good advertising package. Ms Fidler commented that recent PBS advertising was wonderful. Ms. Reiley commented that the PBS advertising is free in exchange for allowing PBS TV to use the War Memorial at no charge for an event in November. In concluding her report, Ms. Reilly reviewed some of the War Memorials upcoming events. Mayor Grose advised of comments he had received regarding the great staff at the War Memorial. Mr. Obenchain questioned whether the Treasurer had encountered any difficulty in collecting personal property tax since the Town stopped issuing vehicle decals. He also made a recommendation that a camera be installed at the Veterans Monument to record all activities that take place there. Mr. Nance asked Ms. Reilly about her “wish list” for the War Memorial and she replied that there were going to be unexpected maintenance issues that will probably come up next year such as the hardwood floor repairs and other upkeep that will need to be addressed. She also noted that the sound system needed to be upgraded as she has had issues with the current system since it was installed. She also noted an issue with the location of the sound system’s control panel. Ms. Fidler asked if Council had any interest in hosting a retreat planned for the Explore Park in November. Mr. Lawrence felt it would be beneficial for the Town to host Explore meetings. 4 In response to a question from the Mayor regarding deposits paid by caterers, Ms. Reilly reported that all caterers have to pay a $500 deposit to cover any damage that is incurred. The Mayor asked if any of the caterer’s had objected to paying this fee and Ms. Reilly replied that they do not complain because of the amount of the business she sends them. Ms. Reilly noted that Mary’s Party Works had been added to the caterer’s list and will be one of the less expensive caterers. Other Issues Ms. Caudill gave a brief update on plans for the Vinyard property. She advised that Mr. Vinyard met with the staff from Wiley and Wilson and a landscape architect from Hill Studios to evaluate Mr. Vinyard’s property. She advised the original scope for the work was for Wiley and Wilson to give two “deliverables”, one of which was to determine how the facility might be reused as a mixed use, mixed income property and the other was to offer a schematic on a new facility. She commented that when the evaluation was completed by Wiley and Wilson, they found that the building was not in good condition. Because of this, the engineers changed the scope of their work to new construction only. She noted that the old Cundiff Drugstore building, which is part of the property in question, was in fairly good condition but needed roofing work and interior upgrades. Ms. Caudill stated her hopes that the information gleaned from Wiley and Wilson and Hill Studio would help to market the property for Mr. Vinyard. In response to a question from Mr. Nance regarding the scope of the work done by the engineers on the proposed uses for the property, Ms. Caudill advised that the scope of the engineers work was in response to grant’s guidelines to look into the viability of the property as a mixed use, mixed income property. She noted that the most likely use for the property would be retail on the lower floor and residential on the upper floor. Mr. Lawrence pointed out that the current building would be viable for uses other than the one proposed by the Town. Mr. Obenchain stated that he would like to see the old showroom stay but did not have any preferences for how the rest of the building is changed. Mr. Lawrence noted that he would like to see an indoor showroom with three or four cars displayed. Mayor Grose asked if the report would include required infrastructure for a restaurant, and Ms. Caudill replied that the assessment does include an infrastructure component. Mr. Obenchain commented on a recent Vinton Business Men’s luncheon that he and the Mayor had attended, along with staff from Roanoke County and the Town, to discuss change of use and other business issues. He advised that another meeting would be scheduled and encouraged anyone interested in making a positive impact on the business community to attend and advise Council of the changes they would like to see happen in the Town. Mr. Nance questioned whether the negative comments that came out of the meeting were specific enough to tell whether the problems mentioned are with the Town, the County, the State or with the Federal government. Mr. Lawrence replied that he felt most of their problems involve difficulties with rezoning property from residential to business and 5 6 with the building permit process. He went on to say that the Town controls the zoning issues but the building permit process is state driven and the Town has very little control except in certain cases where modifications can be allowed. The Town Manager reported that someone getting a permit has to deal with the Town for zoning issues, the County for building issues and the Fire Marshall for fire code issues. He assured Council that Town staff will work with anyone having difficulty getting through the process and will make sure they are informed of all their options. The Mayor advised that he will forward any information coming out of the Vinton Business Men’s meetings to the other three Councilmen. Council and staff briefly discussed their decision to close the Vinton Pool next year. The work session adjourned at 9:05 p.m. APPROVED Bradley E. Grose, Mayor ATTEST: Darleen R. Bailey, Town Clerk