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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/20/2026 - Public Hearing 1 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD AT 6:00 P.M. ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2026, 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 Jeremy Carroll, Town Attorney Kimberley Ramsey, Interim Town Treasurer Tiffany Stewart, Interim Finance Director Fabricio Drumond, Chief of Police Timothy Lawless, Deputy Chief of Police Jesse Dibble, Police Corporal Donna Collins, Director of Human Resources & Risk Management William Herndon, Director of Public Works Jill Acker, Assistant Director of Public Works Anita McMillan, Director of Planning and Zoning Nathan McClung, Assistant Director of Planning and Zoning Mandy Adkins, Director of Cultural Placemaking and Events 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, Mr. Herndon led the Pledge of Allegiance. Under Upcoming Community Events/ Announcements, and Council Activities: Council Member McCarty announced the following event: Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce will host Membership Casino Night on January 22, 2026, 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the Vinton Moose Lodge. Vice Mayor Mullins announced the following Council activities: January 13 - Council Member Stovall attended the Virginia Municipal League Board meeting; January 14 - Mayor Grose attended the Roanoke Regional Chamber meeting; January 14 - Vice Mayor Mullins and Council Member McCarty attended the Public Works Committee meeting; January 15 - Mayor Grose attended the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional 2 Commission meeting; January 20 – Mayor Grose and Council Member Stovall attended the Finance Committee meeting; January 20 - all members attended the Council Work Session for the Strategic Plan. Council Member Stovall made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented; 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. Approved minutes of the Regular meeting of January 6, 2026. Under Awards, Introductions, Presentations, and Proclamations, Ms. Collins recognized Mrs. McMillan for 30 years of service with the Town of Vinton. Under Awards, Introductions, Presentations, and Proclamations, Ms. Collins recognized Mrs. Adkins and Mr. McClung for being recipients of the Roanoker Magazine 40 Under 40 which honors the young professionals working to affect positive change in our community. Under Citizens’ Comments and Petitions, no comments were offered. Under Briefings, Chief Drumond presented the new organizational chart for the Police Department and provided a brief explanation of the new Traffic Unit where Corporal Dibble is serving as a traffic officer and will supervise the community services officer. Council shared their appreciation for the briefing. Under Items Requiring Action, Mr. Peters shared that the Western Virginia Water Authority has requested an easement across the property through Gearhart Park that is owned by the Town for construction of the Gus Nicks/Gish’s Mill Water Line Improvement Project. This project will support residential and commercial water supply and fire flow along Highland Road, Wayne Street, Marloe Street, Billy Byrd Apartments, Sav’on Signs, and Gish’s Mill. Mr. Peters anticipates this project to be awarded in late winter or early spring with a five-to-six-month construction timeline. 3 Council Member Liles made a motion to adopt a Resolution for an easement for Western Virginia Water Authority for Gus Nicks/Gish’s Mill Water Line Improvement Project; 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. Under Public Hearing, consideration of public comments regarding amendments to the Town of Vinton Solid Waste Management Plan. Mayor Grose opened the Public Hearing at 6:32 p.m. Approved Resolution No. 2661 Opened Public Hearing Mr. Peters stated that the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality requires all localities to do a five-year update to their Solid Waste Management Plan. He then introduced TRC consultants, Julie Williams-Daves and Mike Lawless who worked with Town staff to update our plan. Mrs. Williams-Daves shared a PowerPoint presentation that will be on file at the Town Clerk’s Office as part of the permanent record. The presentation highlighted waste generation rates, goals for solid waste planning, disposal capacity, and detailed information on outreach programs through the Clean Valley Council and recycling opportunities. There were no comments or questions offered. Mayor Grose closed the Public Hearing at 6:44 p.m. Vice Mayor Mullins made a motion to adopt a Resolution for the revised Solid Waste Management Plan; the motion was seconded by Council Member McCarty and carried by the following vote, with all members voting: Vote 5-0; Yeas (5) -Liles, McCarty, Stovall, Mullins, Grose; Nays (0) – None. Under Reports from Committees, Mrs. Stewart provided a briefing on items discussed at the Finance Committee meeting that was held on January 20, 2026. The General Fund had revenues that exceeded expenditures for the month of December 2025 for a total of $127K which included a 4% increase in Closed Public Hearing Adopted Resolution No. 2662 4 sales tax collection for the month of October. Sales tax funds are on a 2-month delay. We had $46K in cigarette tax collection. Also, we had a 14% increase in interest revenue for the funds that we have at Pinnacle Bank and Bank of Botetourt. Business License Renewal applications were mailed on December 11, 2025. Those applications will be due in late February. Currently, it is projected to collect $127K for the renewals. The Grant Fund had normal expenditures. The Capital Fund has an increase in expenditures due to project progress with the Vinton War Memorial Community Park and the renovations at the Vinton War Memorial. There was one less account payables check run in the month of December due to holidays, so the expenditures were moved forward to January. In order for us to keep the operating account balanced, we transferred $1.2M in funds from Pinnacle Bank, so we can recoup some of the expenditures that we are issuing from the Capital Fund. There were no comments or questions offered. Council Member Stovall made a motion to approve the Financial Statements for November 30, 2025, and December 31, 2025; 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 Reports from Committees, a copy of the Public Works Committee Agenda was provided at the Council meeting to give an overview of all the projects that were discussed at the January 14, 2025, meeting. Mr. Herndon shared that we have received some quotes for the Vinton Farmer’s Market trash compactor and fencing to go around it. The goal is to have a complete packet of policies and procedures for business owners in March. All of the plumbing work has been completed in the restrooms located at Wolf Creek Greenway. The last item to be completed is the sidewalks. Approved the Financial Statements for November 30, 2025, and December 31, 2025. 5 RK&K was onsite last week to analyze the repairs for 3rd Street. They conducted a traffic count and will issue that report sometime near the end of January or first of February. We are working on updating the furniture in the downtown area. New trash cans will be placed on the north block of Pollard Street, Walnut Avenue up to Lee Avenue, and along the new public parking lot. The committee was briefed on the updated Solid Waste Management Plan which was presented earlier during this Town Council meeting. The Town has received the new fuel cards, and a policy has been published. Once all staff review and acknowledge the policy, the cards will be distributed. The fuel tanks have about 30 days left for use. Once the tanks are close to being empty, we will take the necessary steps to decommission them. We are working towards putting in a disc golf course near Wolf Creek Greenway. The course will be designed for beginner players and families. The water line will be installed at the Vinton War Memorial Community Park in February as soon as weather permits. The Public Works Department is actively taking down the Christmas decorations around town. The Town has purchased new entrance signs. The concrete footers will be installed on January 26th and 27th so the signs can be installed on February 2nd and 3rd, weather permitting. The sidewalk at E. Lee Avenue was damaged during the demolition after the fire. The Public Works Department is going to remove the damaged portions and install a new sidewalk in February. The Walnut Avenue parking lot will have a crosswalk installed to connect to Lee Avenue alleyway. Storm drain repairs will take place at 2nd Street and Cedar Avenue and then go down to Walnut Avenue. The intersection of Cedar Avenue and 2nd Street has a dry well and will hold water during 6 heavy rain. Installing two stormwater drains will help with this issue. There was a brief discussion on the new remote- controlled mower. It will help mow swamp-like areas. Under Town Attorney, Mr. Carroll shared that a draft ordinance on trespassing will be coming to Council soon for action. Under Town Manager’s Projects Updates, Mr. Peters commented on how quickly the hotel is being built. He then reminded Council that there are scheduled tours for the Vinton War Memorial on February 3rd and one for Gish’s Mill on March 3rd. If weather permits, we will tour the Vinton War Memorial Community Park on the same days as the Vinton War Memorial. He continued by sharing that the parking lot has been paved at the park, and another section of sidewalk has been added to create a walking loop. Additionally, extra lighting has been installed as well. Last, Mr. Peters provided the timeline for drafting and adopting the budget. The budget is currently scheduled to be adopted on June 2, 2026. There were no comments or questions offered. Under Council and Mayor Comments, Council Member Liles complimented the Public Works Department and their quick response to service requests. Council Member McCarty complimented the work that has been put into the draft of the Strategic Plan. Vice Mayor Mullins complimented the staff and expressed excitement over the progress of all the projects. Council Member Stovall shared that his father worked at Vinton Weaving Mill (which is now Precision Fabrics Group Inc.) for 44 years with a gentleman by the name of Joseph Brown. Council Member Stovall went to high school with Mr. Brown’s son, Carl. All of them would hunt rabbits together with the assistance of beagles. 7 As it turns out, Carl is the brother and Joseph is the father to Jill Acker, Assistant Director of Public Works. Unfortunately, Carl passed away in December 2024. As Jill was cleaning out the family home, she found a collar from one of the beagles that belonged to Council Member Stovall’s father, Joe Stovall. Council Member Stovall expressed much appreciation for the collar. Council Member Liles added that today is Carl’s birthday. Mayor Grose emphasized to be safe this weekend during the winter storm. He then thanked Chief Drumond for the coffee mugs. No further discussion. Vice Mayor Mullins 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 7:16 p.m. APPROVED: _______________________________ Bradley E. Grose, Mayor