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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/18/2025 - Regular 1 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD AT 6:00 P.M. ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2025, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE VINTON MUNICIPAL BUILDING LOCATED AT 311 SOUTH POLLARD STREET, VINTON, VIRGINIA MEMBERS PRESENT: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor Laurie J. Mullins, Vice Mayor Keith N. Liles Sabrina M. McCarty Michael W. Stovall STAFF PRESENT: Richard Peters, Town Manager Cody Sexton, Deputy Town Manager Megan Lawless, Town Clerk/Admin. Operations Manager Jeremy Carroll, Town Attorney Andrew Keen, Town Treasurer/Director of Finance Fabricio Drumond, Chief of Police Donna Collins, Director of Human Resources & Risk Management Nathan McClung, Assistant Director of Planning and Zoning Mayor Grose called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. The Town Clerk called the roll with Council Member Liles, Council Member McCarty, Council Member Stovall, Vice Mayor Mullins, and Mayor Grose present. Roll call After a Moment of Silence, Council Member McCarty led the Pledge of Allegiance. Under Upcoming Community Events/Announcements, and Council Activities, Council Member McCarty announced the following events: November 26 – Town Offices will close at 12:00 p.m. in observance of Thanksgiving and will remain closed on the 27th and 28th; December 4 – The Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place at 6:00 p.m. with the Christmas Parade to follow at 7:00 p.m.; December 9 – The Santa Crawl will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will end at 9:00 p.m.; December 11 – Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Holiday Open House at 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Vice Mayor Mullins announced the following Council Activities: October 23 – Council Member Liles attended the RVTPO meeting; October 23 – Mayor Grose, Council Member Liles and Council Member Stovall attended Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge Annual meeting; October 27 – Council Member Liles attended the Vinton Planning Commission meeting; October 30 – Mayor Grose 2 attended the Ribbon Cutting ceremony for Big Lots; October 30 – Mayor Grose, Council Member Liles and Council Member Stovall attended Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission’s 56th Annual dinner; November 1 – Mayor Grose attended the Veterans Annual Ruck; November 5 – all members of Council attended the Council Retreat; November 6 – Mayor Grose attended the Roanoke Regional Partnership Board of Directors meeting; November 6 – Mayor Grose attended the Field of Honor Dedication ceremony; November 17 – Council Member Liles attended the Vinton Planning Commission Work Session; November 18 – Mayor Grose and Council Member Stovall attended the Finance Committee meeting. Under requests to postpone, add to, or change, Council Member Stovall made a request to add to the consent agenda as item E5 to consider a Resolution appropriating funds in the amount of $993.00 from the sale of scrap metal. Council Member Stovall made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented; the motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Mullins and carried by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) -Liles, McCarty, Stovall, Mullins, Grose; Nays (0) – None. Approved minutes of the Regular Meeting from October 21, 2025; approved minutes from Council Retreat from November 5, 2025, approved Resolution No. 2654 appropriating funds in the amount of $2,500.00 for receipt of deductible from the insurance claim made on a traffic signal pole that was damaged by a motor vehicle; approved Resolution No. 2655 appropriating funds in the amount of $450.00 for the receipt of an insurance claim made on a piece of Public Works equipment; approved Resolution No. 2656 appropriating funds in the amount of $993.00 from Revenue Account 10035003- 190204, Recoveries and Rebates to the Public Works Operating Budget Account Number 10041104-505040, Maintenance Highways, Streets and Bridges Admin Other Maintenance Cost. Under awards, introductions, and presentations, Ms. Collins recognized November as National Veterans and Military Families month and honored the veterans within the Town of Vinton workforce – Mayor Grose, Chief Drumond, Sergeant Brandon Alterio, and Corporal Jesse Dibble. Each veteran was presented with a small gift. Other employees who are veterans but not present at the meeting are Detective Jake Miller, Officer Sean McKittrick, Code Enforcement Officer Scott 3 Stephenson, Jr., and Equipment Operator II Tim Perdue. Ms. Collins then recognized The Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 4522 of Vinton on their 80th anniversary. She called all members who were in attendance to come to the podium to accept an accolade as appreciation for their dedicated service. A member from The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4522 shared appreciation for the acknowledgement. Mayor Grose thanked the group for their dedication and service and presented the accolade. Under citizens’ comments and petitions, no one offered any comments. Under briefings, Mr. McClung provided details about a Special Use Permit application for proposed medical clinic located at 600 South Pollard Street. He shared that this building is already in place so there is no concern for off-street parking. The applicant provided a letter that listed all of the services that will be provided at the clinic. This letter is in the posted agenda packet and is on file at the Town Clerk’s office. Action for the approval of this Special Use Permit will take place at the Town Council meeting on December 2, 2025, in the form of a public hearing. Under briefings, Mr. McClung advised that Director of Community Development Amanda McGee with Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission will provide a presentation at the next Town Council meeting on December 2, 2025, on the 2025 Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission Hazard Mitigation Plan to be adopted and incorporated as an amendment to the Town’s Comprehensive Plan. Action for adopting this plan should take place sometime in January 2026. Under briefings, Mr. McClung shared proposed amendments to the Vinton Zoning Ordinance, which include adding a new use type of commercial kitchens and commissary kitchens to the use table in Article IV (District Regulations) and add a definition for these use types in Article XI (Definitions) and amending multiple provisions and requirement for Planned Unit Development Districts in Article IV, Division 4 (Planned Unit 4 Development Districts). Action for this amendment will take place at the next Town Council meeting on December 2, 2025, in the form of a public hearing. There were no questions from Council. Under Items Requiring Action, there were no items requiring action. Under reports from committees, Mr. Keen provided an update from the Finance Committee. Mr. Keen recapped the Resolutions that were reviewed in the Finance Committee meeting and then approved at tonight’s Town Council meeting under the Consent Agenda section. Mr. Keen shared the highlights from the October Financial Statements that showed revenue trends remaining strong. The second half of real-estate billing was mailed out at the end of October; the bulk of the collections from this billing will arrive in November with a payment deadline of December 5, 2025. He continued by sharing that personal property tax collection is just over 10% and vehicle license tax collection is around 17%. Our state sales tax collection is 34%, and the meals tax collection is 37%. He then shared that current pari-mutual tax collection is at 41%, and cigarette stamp collection is 47%. Mr. Keen advised that at this point in the budget year we would like to see revenues at 33% and acknowledged that many of the individual revenues are 10% over budget. We are starting to draw some of the investment funds down to fulfill performance agreement payments and capital projects expenses. We are still collecting around $35,000.00 on interest earnings per month; however, we expect to see that go down as we spend from the accounts and interest rates decrease. Mr. Keen shared that we are implementing a fuel card process and hope to have cards by mid to the end of December with a go-live date of January 1, 2026. This will eliminate liability that comes with the underground fuel storage tanks that no longer can be used. 5 Last, Mr. Keen stated that the last penny was minted in the United States. There will be some discussion on implementing a rounding system to accommodate situations where they cannot provide change. There were no questions or comments. Mr. Keen then asked for approval for the October 31, 2025, Financial Statements. Council Member McCarty made a motion to approve the October 31, 2025, Financial Statements; the motion was seconded by Council Member Liles, and carried by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) – Liles, McCarty, Stovall, Mullins, Grose; Nays (0) – None. Under Town Attorney, Mr. Carroll shared that the pennies and nickels issue has come up and that his legal partner, Mr. Michael Luckaby, will be at the next Town Council meeting filling in for Mr. Carroll and will be able to answer any questions about this issue. Under Town Manager’s Projects Updates, Mr. Peters had no announcements and wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Under Council and Mayor comments, Mayor Grose commented on how busy our staff is and shared appreciation for their work. Council Member Liles shared excitement over the concrete footers being poured for the hotel and the progress on the Vinton War Memorial Community Park. He wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Council Member McCarty shared appreciation to everyone who worked on the Field of Honor. She complimented the Downtown Trick-or-Treat event. She shared her appreciation for the Vinton family and wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Vice Mayor Mullins shared appreciation for the Council Retreat and wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Council Member Stovall shared appreciation for the staff and their support in recognizing veterans the Field of Honor. He shared excitement for the Vinton Café opening and the progress on the hotel. Approved October 31, 2025, Financial Statements. 6 Next, he thanked the Town Clerk for the work she has done thus far in her new role. Mayor Grose shared appreciation for Chief Drumond and his speech at the Field of Honor ceremony. He then wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. No other comments were offered. Council Member Liles made a motion to adjourn the meeting; the motion was seconded by Council Member McCarty and carried by the following vote 5-0; Yeas (5) – Liles, McCarty, Stovall, Mullins, Grose; Nays (0) – None. ATTEST: _______________________________ Megan K. Lawless, Town Clerk Meeting Adjourned at 6:40 p.m. APPROVED: _______________________________ Bradley E. Grose, Mayor