HomeMy WebLinkAbout4/7/2026 - Public Hearing
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MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD AT 6:00
P.M. ON TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 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 Director of Finance
Fabricio Drumond, Chief of Police
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, Mrs. Ramsey led the
Pledge of Allegiance.
Under Upcoming Community Events/
Announcements, and Council Activities, Council
Member McCarty announced the following events:
April 21 – Wolf Creek Greenway Restroom Ribbon
Cutting & Arbor Day event at 10:00 a.m.
April 24 – Vinton Dogwood Concert at 6:00 p.m.
April 25 – Vinton Dogwood Festival at 10:00 a.m.
April 25 – Open House at Vinton History Museum
During the Dogwood Festival.
April 30 – Glade Creek Greenway Ribbon Cutting
ceremony at 1:00 p.m.
Vice Mayor Mullins announced the following
Council activities: March 26 – Mayor Grose
attended the Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional
Commission Board meeting and Council Member
Stovall attended the Roanoke Valley
Transportation Planning Organization monthly
meeting.
March 30 – All members of council attended the
joint meeting with Roanoke County Board of
Supervisors.
April 1 – Mayor Grose, Vice Mayor Mullins, and
Council Member McCarty participated in the
planting of pinwheels with Vinton Police
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Department and GFWC VA Woman’s Club in
honor of Child Abuse Prevention Awareness
Month.
April 2 – Mayor Grose attended the Roanoke
Regional Partnership Special Board of Directors
meeting; Vice Mayor Mullins attended the RVTV
Committee meeting; and then all members of
council attended the Vinton War Memorial Park
Ribbon Cutting ceremony.
Council Member Stovall announced that the
Town of Vinton received a $25,000.00 VBAF
grant from VADEQ and VEDP to assist with the
hazardous waste from the building at 7 Walnut
Avenue. The history museum is working towards
installing a cargo lift. This project will cost
$172,000.00. Also, disc golf baskets will be
installed as soon as they arrive.
Requests to postpone, add to or change the
order of agenda items, no requests were offered.
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
March 17, 2026, and joint meeting of March 30,
2026. Adopted Resolution No. 2667 in support of
opposing current policy discussions in Virginia
regarding “skill” gaming.
Under Awards, Introductions, Presentations,
and Proclamations, Council Member Stovall read
the proclamation for National Public Safety
Telecommunicators Week. Mrs. Bekki Craft,
Operations Manager for Roanoke County
Emergency Communications, accepted the
proclamation and expressed gratitude for the
recognition.
Under Awards, Introductions, Presentations,
and Proclamations, Council Member McCarty read
the proclamation for Child Abuse Awareness
Prevention Month. Ms. Kathryn Sowers, Co-
President of GRWC VA Woman’s Club of Vinton
accepted the proclamation. The GFWC Woman’s
Club of Vinton, in conjunction with the Vinton Police
Department, planted pinwheels in the flower
garden in front of the Municipal Building on April 1,
2026, at 2:00 p.m. Mr. Sowers expressed gratitude
to Council and the Vinton Police Department for
their partnership in promoting awareness about
child abuse.
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Under Awards, Introductions, Presentations,
and Proclamations, Vice Mayor Mullins read the
proclamation for Arbor Day. Mr. McClung accepted
the proclamation. The Town of Vinton has been
designated as a Tree City USA for the past 25
years. This year’s Arbor Day celebration is planned
in conjunction with the Wolf Creek Greenway
Restroom Ribbon Cutting ceremony on Tuesday,
April 21, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.
Under Citizens’ Comments and Petitions, no
comments were offered.
Under Items Requiring Action, The annual
operating budget of the Roanoke Valley Regional
Cable Television must be submitted for approval by
each of the governing bodies after approval by the
RVTV Committee. Scott Ramsburg, Director of
Roanoke Valley TV, provided a PowerPoint
presentation on their FY2026-2027 operating
budget that showed a total budget of $648,671.00.
This presentation is on file at the Town Clerk’s
Office as part of the permanent record.
Vice Mayor Mullins made a motion to adopt a
Resolution approving the FY2026-2027 operating
budget for the Roanoke Valley Regional Cable
Television Committee in the amount of
$648,671.00; 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 Items Requiring Action, Mrs. Ramsey
presented a Resolution to Council to set the
allocation percentage for Personal Property Tax
Relief in the Town of Vinton for the 2026 tax year.
A new personal property model has been
developed by Roanoke County Information
Technology staff to allocate the State block grant
of $203,096.00 allocated to the Town of Vinton
annually. Based on this model, the calculated
effective reimbursement rate for Calendar Year
2026 is 43.28%. This is up by 1.1% from 2025 and
3.93% from 2024.
Property Tax Relief Act (PPTRA) of 1998
established a statewide program to provide relief to
owners of personal use motor vehicles. The 1998
Act envisioned a five-year phase-in of relief
expressed as a percentage of the bill related to the
first $20,000 of personal use vehicle value. Costs
Approved Resolution No. 2668 approving the
FY2026-2027 operating budget for the Roanoke
Valley Regional Cable Television Committee in
the amount of $648,671.00.
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soared, and the percentage was frozen at 70%
since 2001.
No comments or questions were offered from
Council.
Council Member Liles made a motion to adopt
a Resolution setting the allocation percentage for
Personal Property Tax Relief in the Town of Vinton
for the 2026 tax year; the motion was seconded by
Council Member Stovall 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, Mayor Grose opened the
public hearing at 6:34 p.m.
Mr. Sexton asked for consideration of the setting of
the annual real estate tax rate. The bills will be
mailed in the spring, so Roanoke County has
asked the Town to adopt the rates. The rate
proposal is unchanged at $0.07 per $100 of
evaluation for real property within the town.
The public hearing was advertised in accordance
with the Code of Virginia in the Vinton Messenger.
There were no public comments.
There were no comments or questions from
Council.
Mayor Gorse closed the public hearing at 6:35 p.m.
Council Member McCarty made a motion to
adopt an Ordinance regarding the setting of the
real estate tax rate for the calendar year 2026; 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, Mayor Grose opened the
public hearing at 6:35 p.m.
Mr. Sexton asked for consideration of the setting of
the personal property and machinery and tools tax
rates for calendar year 2026. The bills will be
mailed in the spring, so Roanoke County has
asked the Town to adopt the rates. The rate
Approved Resolution No. 2669 setting the
allocation percentage for Personal Property Tax
Relief in the Town of Vinton for the 2026 tax year
Opened public hearing at 6:34 p.m.
Public hearing closed at 6:35 p.m.
Adopted Ordinance No. 1072 regarding the
setting of the real estate tax rate for the calendar
year 2026.
Opened the public hearing at 6:35 p.m.
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proposal is unchanged at $1 per $100 of
evaluation.
There were no public comments.
There were no comments or questions from
Council.
Mayor Grose closed the public hearing at 6:36 p.m.
Vice Mayor Mullins made a motion to adopt an
Ordinance regarding the setting of the personal
property and machinery and tools tax rate for the
calendar year 2026; 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 Public Hearing, Mayor Grose opened the
public hearing at 6:37 p.m.
Mr. Sexton shared that the cost of the Gus Nicks
Blvd/Gish Mill Waterline Improvement project is
$814,000.00, which is below the estimate. Due to
the legal requirement to hold a public hearing to
amend the budget when the amendment is greater
than 1% of the budget, Mr. Sexton presented a
Resolution appropriating the amount. The total
amount is listed as $1.628M because of how the
money must move from the General Fund to the
Capital Fund.
There were no public comments.
There were no comments or questions from
Council.
Mayor Grose closed the public hearing at 6:39 p.m.
Council Member Stovall made a motion to
adopt a Resolution to amend the Town of Vinton’s
FY2025-2026 budget to appropriate funding for the
Gus Nicks Blvd/Gish Mill Waterline Improvement
project; 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
Closed the public hearing at 6:36 p.m.
Adopted Ordinance No. 1073 setting the property
and machinery tools tax rate for calendar year
2026.
Opened public hearing at 6:37 p.m.
Public hearing closed at 6:39 p.m.
Adopted Resolution No. 2670 to amend the Town
of Vinton’s FY2025-2026 budget to appropriate
funding for the Gus Nicks Blvd/Gish Mill
Waterline Improvement project.
Under Town Attorney, Mr. Carroll introduced
Rob Hubbard who is a new attorney with Spilman
Thomas & Battle PLLC.
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Under Town Manager’s Projects Updates, Mr.
Peters expressed appreciation to Council for their
attention and participation at the joint meeting with
Roanoke County Board of Supervisors along with
their participation in the Vinton War Memorial Park
Ribbon Cutting ceremony.
Mr. Peters acknowledged the staff and all the time
they put into these events. He then recognized
Mrs. Lawless, Mrs. Ramsey, Mrs. Stewart, Chief
Drumond, and Mr. Sexton for their involvement in
the Council work session and Council meeting.
Under Council and Mayor Comments, Council
Member Liles expressed appreciation to Mrs.
Lawless for all that she does behind the scenes.
He then acknowledged the joint meeting with
Roanoke County Board of Supervisors and
complimented the progress of the Gish Mill
renovation. Next, he complimented the Vinton War
Memorial Park.
Council Member McCarty expressed excitement
for the Vinton War Memorial Park. She thanked
Mrs. Ramsey for her presentation. She then
reminded everyone that Cleanup Day is April 9th.
Next, she gave a shoutout to Vinton Café and
thanked Vice Mayor Mullins for the hockey game
tickets. Lastly, she announced that the Lions Club
is having a membership meeting on Thursday,
April 9th at Macado’s from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.
Vice Mayor Mullins acknowledged Vinton Café
along with several other businesses for attending
the Vinton War Memorial Park Ribbon Cutting
ceremony. She has heard a lot of positive feedback
about the park and thanked staff for their efforts.
Council Member Stovall shared that the joint
meeting with Roanoke County Board of
Supervisors showed that two localities can work
together. He has received several compliments
from Supervisors for the meeting. He then thanked
the staff for their efforts and complimented the
Vinton War Memorial Park Ribbon Cutting
ceremony. Lastly, he complimented the draft
budget that was presented at the work session.
Mayor Grose agreed with the comments from
Council and thanked the staff for their work. He too
enjoyed the joint meeting with Roanoke County
Board of Supervisors and said it is an indication of
how well the two governments work together. He
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reiterated the grant that the Town received for the
hazardous material waste removed for 7 Walnut
Avenue and shared that it is important to dispose
of things in a proper manner. Lastly, he shared that
staff from the Public Works Department will
participate in the annual Roadeo on April 8th from 9
a.m. until 12:00 p.m.
Council Member Liles made a motion to adjourn
the meeting; the motion was seconded by Vice
Mayor Mullins 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 6:54 p.m.
APPROVED:
_______________________________
Bradley E. Grose, Mayor