MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE TOWN COUNCIL FOR THE TOWN OF STRASBURG, HELD ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2006, AT 7:30 P.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE TOWN HALL.
Mayor Crisman opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and the invocation was given by Vice Mayor Taylor.
ROLL Called with the following members present: Mayor Tim Crisman, Vice Mayor Taylor, and Council Members Le Vine, Mauck, Nicholson, Rinker, Terndrup, Wallace, and Whittle.
Minutes of the September 12, 2006 Town Council Meeting and the September 14, 2006 Public Hearing were passed as presented. Mayor Crisman welcomed all in attendance and said all petitions and communications had been directed toward the appropriate committees.
Visitors/Guests:
Dora Buck, Hometown Strasburg, Inc.: In giving a history of the grant, Mrs. Buck said the group has been meeting since November 1, 2004. They have contacted other towns in the County to get their input on this program. They have had several people speak to them --- Jane Beasley, Charlie Moore, and Mary Embrey --- who have helped them put the grant paperwork together. It has been a slow process with meetings taking place twice a week. They need the resolutions in order to show the support and they are required to have a government sponsorship.
Council Member Le Vine said he thinks it is a wonderful idea, but he does have a few questions. He asked who will maintain the parks; Mrs. Buck said this is a reason they are trying to get the Town “on-board” with them. If they are awarded a grant, the money will be coming to the Town as projects are completed so technically the money belongs to the Town. She said the thought had been that using the gas light look of lights would be difficult, but Council Member Rinker had told them he thought this could be done because power does not come down through the center of Town, but behind King Street so these lights can be used. Improvements such as this will benefit the Town. Mr. Mil Wallen added Hometown Strasburg, Inc. is approaching the Strasburg High School and asking for volunteers for maintenance for the parks and also for the office as community service projects. Council Member Le Vine asked if this would be true of hanging baskets, etc., or would they be the responsibility of the Public Works Department; Mr. Wallen said they are hoping for all volunteers.
Council Member Le Vine asked if they have talked to the owner of the Rathskill who has come before the ARB regarding a Farmer’s Market being opened in the lot beside the restaurant. He was wondering if maybe this lot could be landscaped in keeping with the other parks. Mrs. Buck said to date they have been working with Fort Valley Nursery for bids.
Council Member Le Vine asked what is required financially --- are matching funds necessary? Mrs. Buck said the funding is 80%/20% and the 20% can come from volunteer hours, the land for the park, monetary donations, and other in-kind donations.
Council Member Le Vine asked about the lighting in the parks and Mrs. Buck said they would continue on with the historic style lights in the park, as well as along the street.
Council Member Whittle asked who would own the parks; Mrs. Buck said the park beside the theatre would be owned by Hometown Strasburg. Council Member Whittle asked what the amount of the grant is for and Mrs. Buck said it would be between $800,000 and $1 million.
Vice Mayor Taylor asked about a possible start date. Mrs. Buck said it would be March before the group would know if they have the funding. She said even after being approved, there is still a long process.
Council Member Mauck said that in grants she had applied for it asks how these will be maintained. One of the reasons the Town needs to the body that sponsor this is because if the volunteers do not come through, there is a sure, safe way this will be maintained so the responsibility is ultimately the Town’s.
Council Member Terndrup said an $800,000 grant would be a $160,000 commitment from the Town; where will that come from. Mrs. Buck said the value of the land, volunteer hours, attorney hours, builder’s hours --- everything has a price to it and this will all go into the $160,000. It will also take fundraising from Hometown Strasburg, Inc. Council Member Terndrup asked about the reimbursement to VDOT and Mr. Seelbach said this is the review costs for VDOT and they may not request it back. It is a requirement from VDOT for any organization applying to include this wording. Council Member Terndrup asked how this will fit in with the Town’s Comprehensive Plan. Mrs. Buck said they have not discussed this with the Planning Commission. He also asked about parking for the information center and Mrs. Buck said there will be on-street parking.
Council Member Rinker moved to ratify the resolution before them as so stated, sanctioning it; second by Council Member Nicholson.
Discussion:
The motion passed unanimously by roll call vote.
Citizens Comments
George Crossman, 179 Stony Pointe Way, Strasburg, VA: Mr. Crossman said a petition has been signed and given to Council Member Rinker, asking for the extension of the sidewalk from Jackson Street to the entrance of Stony Pointe. This is a safety factor for those who want to walk downtown from Stony Pointe. This could also benefit the businesses in the downtown area.
Mr. Crossman also asked if the streetlights in Stony Pointe are the responsibility of the Town or Allegheny Power. He is concerned that most of the street lights tend to lean. He added none of the lights are currently at the point of falling over, but this could happen in the not too far future.
Council Member Rinker read the petition (attached hereto) which contained approximately 82 signatures. Mayor Crisman directed this issue to the Streets Committee.
Dorothy Miller, 29137 Old Valley Pike, Strasburg, VA: Mrs. Miller said she was in attendance to voice some concerns about the work that was done on Queen Street, particularly at 171 E. Queen Street. At this point there is a low area and when the sidewalk was installed it was raised 18” to 24” above the normal sidewalks. She has some concerns about water. The water meter previously had been at the edge of the driveway and was moved into the yard. Downspouts were coming off the house for rain and that water was being carried out to the street. Her tenant said he was told the line was broken and it was closed off entirely. She would have liked to have been informed of this. Now they are genuinely concerned about where water will go as it can’t drain. They also do not like that you come out of the house and then have to go up to the sidewalk. She added her neighbors are also concerned. She was just wondering if anything can be done with those areas.
Mayor Crisman said this will be taken up at a Public Utilities meeting and asked Mrs. Miller to attend this meeting and also asked Director of Public Works Rhodes to attend this.
Joyce Gary, 744 Crystal Lane, Strasburg, VA: “Mr. Chairman, as you experienced, at the July Council meeting, two Council members planned and executed a walk-out of that Council meeting with the purpose being (according to a direct quote from these council members) to stop town business.
Because of this action, a petition has been circulating for the removal of these council members from their offices. According to Virginia State Code, 85 signatures are needed to petition for the removal of Mr. Nicholson and Ms. Wallace from their elected offices. As of today, 228 people have signed the petitions.
We have spoken with you, Mr. Mayor, and met formally with you and the Vice Mayor, asking that some official statement be made to officially censure these two Council members for their actions. We have also spoken with some council members individually and asked that they bring the matter before the town publicly. Our requests have been met with affirmations and sympathy, but with no “takers.” We understand that this town needs to move on, but, to simply ignore this type of behavior is the same thing as pretending that it didn’t happen. But, it did happen. And, as it was a public action, it requires a public reaction.
As spokesperson for the signatories to this petition, I want to say that we would prefer not to take the matter to court only because it is a further embarrassment to this Town which has seen enough theatrics to make it the laughing stock of the county. However, it is also an embarrassment for this town and an insult to this Council and the Town’s citizens to let the actions of these individuals go unacknowledged, uncensored.
Our meeting with you was to seek out any and all other options instead of filing this petition with the courts. So far, no options have been suggested. Instead we have been told to, ‘do as you wish.’
We don’t wish this, however, if something else is not done, we will be forced to take the matter to the County courts.
It has been heard about Town that neither of these Council Members wishes to seek re-election, and there have even been reports that thought has been given to resigning their offices. That would be the best -- and the most-- that could be done for the Town. The very least would be for Council Members Wallace and Nicholson to offer a public apology for their actions as a good faith gesture that they intend to fulfill the obligations of their offices in a professional and conscientious manner until their terms expire.
We continue to welcome, even solicit, comments and suggestions with regard to this issue.”
Mayor Crisman said this issue will be discussed during “Old Business”
Town Officer’s Reports:
Town Attorney Neal: There will be a need for a Closed Session for an update on the Voices of Strasburg litigation.
Town Manager Fauber: Stated he hopes all are getting the weekly summaries. The Capon Road water and sewer project has started and is a 90-day contract.
In the absence of Town Planner Amos, Town Manager Fauber gave her report.
SUP2006-05 Chris and Pam Fry requesting a Special Use Permit to operate a cabinet and
furniture shop on property zoned Commercial (C-1). The property is located at 181
West King Street.
Town Manager Fauber said the application was filed on August 24, 2006 and went through the proper Public Hearing, Worksession, and Planning Commission meeting. The Planning Commission recommended approval with the following three conditions:
Council Member Nicholson moved for approval of SUP2006-05 Chris and Pam Fry with conditions that were recommended by the Planning Commission; second by Council Member Rinker.
Discussion:
Council Member Le Vine said in the Staff report, the applicant had said all work
would be done between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and then Staff recommends 8 a.m. to 6
p.m. and this shows inconsistency. He would suggest that the hours of operation
should be stated as a condition. Also, in the application the Fry’s have stated
there will be no shipping or outside storage and he would like this to be added
as a condition. Lastly, since there were some questions about fumes and noise,
he would like to add a condition that the facility must meet all County and
State health and safety regulations with respect to dust, etc. He said this is
probably implicit, but he wants it to be explicit since this issue had been
raised. These are the three conditions he would like to see added to the
permit, but then asked what happens if the applicant violates any of these
conditions. Mayor Crisman said the permit could be revoked.
Vice Mayor Taylor said he knows there was an issue was with the time; he asked if this was because of the noise. Council Member Whittle said that as this went through the Planning Commission process, the main concern was with noise and he said it was decided to follow the noise ordinance because he hates to give a business an exact timeframe of when they can be open. The front of the building will be used for retail and he especially wouldn’t want to limit those hours of operation. He does not think anyone on the Planning Commission was concerned about the retail operation, but the concern was with the noise factor. Council Member Whittle feels the noise ordinance will cover this. Vice Mayor Taylor agrees and added the theatre is just getting started at 6 p.m. and he doesn’t think Mr. Fry will be making more noise than that business. He also doesn’t want anyone to have to be a “watch dog” to make sure nothing is going on after 6 p.m. Council Member Terndrup pointed out the noise ordinance has a time factor built in. Council Member Le Vine said he was willing to drop his suggestion on the time.
Council Member Whittle spoke about the storage area. He was under the assumption that a “lean-to” area would be used for storage which could be considered outside storage. Council Member Le Vine said he does not think that would be considered outside; he considers outside to be in the parking lot.
Council Member Nicholson stated Council Member Le Vine’s condition about the dust; he thinks the State will be checking on this. Council Member Terndrup said he has walked through the facility and there are internal mechanisms that will take care of this. Council Member Le Vine said he is more concerned with future owners, and not with Mr. and Mrs. Fry; he just wants to make sure there are no problems. Town Attorney Neal said Special Use Permits usually do not transfer with the property.
Council Member Mauck said it was suggested the Fire Marshall and Building Inspector be contacted and asked if this has taken place. Mr. Fry said neither have visited the building even though they have been asked.
Richard Burnett, 1 Front Royal Road, Strasburg, VA: He is an adjoining property owner and has spoken with Mr. Cromer, Fire Chief of Strasburg Fire Department, and he does not think this will be an issue. Mr. Burnett said he tried to get Mr. Cromer to visit the building, but he didn’t think that was necessary.
Mr. Le Vine withdrew his suggestions.
The vote was called for by Vice Mayor Taylor
The motion passed unanimously.
Town Manager Fauber reminded all the VML Conference will be next week, October 15-17, in Virginia Beach and he and Vice Mayor Taylor will be attending.
Council Member Le Vine said a rezoning application from the County had been included in Council Packets. He thinks the project looks nice and he likes the concept. An important issue to him is the preservation of the railroad station and using it either as a commercial building or a museum. Preserving the “look and feel” of this building is very important to him. He asked what a “minor anchor” is. Town Manager said this could be a minor retail or fast food restaurant. Council Member Le Vine said also important to him is the cohesion of these 60+ acres: the architectural look and the landscaping. This is an entrance to our Town even though it isn’t in the Town and this should be looked at.
Any other comments on this plan can be forwarded to Town Manager Fauber to be sent on to the County. Mayor Crisman asked if the Town could submit additional comments during the site plan process. Vice Mayor Taylor said he thinks it would be a good idea to include the Design Guideline packet to the County along with the Town’s comments.
Council Member Nicholson said he knows this is in the industrial park and that the Town agreed not to annex for 15 years, but if this is changed to Commercial zoning, would that also change the timeframe for when it could be annexed. Town Manager Fauber said this was a good question and may be worth pursuing and the Town go on record as saying they would like the opportunity to explore annexing.
Council Member Whittle said he likes the idea of annexing, but will the developer come to the Town asking for water and sewer hook-ups before an annexation. He would like this to follow along with the Entrance Corridor Guidelines of the Town.
Director of Finance Mullins: Taxes are being mailed out next week. She also stated the website is down and attempts are being made to restore this ASAP.
Director of Public Utilities Tewalt: Absent (vacation).
Director of Public Works Rhodes: Fall leaf pick-up will be during the month of November. Council Member Mauck asked if the paving had taken place on East King Street on Oct. 9th, as planned. Mr. Rhodes said it had not and VDOT has not given a new date for the paving as of now.
Chief of Police Robinson: Absent; Officer Bodkin said the police report will be given by Vice Mayor Taylor
Town Planner Amos: Absent.
Standing Committee Reports:
Public Safety: Vice Mayor Taylor reported the Police Department answered 773 calls during the month of September resulting in 109 adult arrests and no juvenile arrests.
The Public Safety Committee met on Thursday, September 28, and toured all public safety facilities. It was very informative and gave the committee a good idea of what takes place when a 911 call is received, etc. Vice Mayor Taylor publicly thanked the departments for their hospitality. The three departments are now being asked to submit a list of short and long term needs. Since the tours lasted more than 2 ½ hours, the committee did not have time to work on the Emergency Action Plan; this will be done at the October meeting. Vice Mayor Taylor reminded all of the brochures available to help prepare citizens for pandemics or other emergency events.
Personnel Committee: Chairman Whittle thanked committee members for their hard work since July. Vacancies on the Recreational Advisory Board, the BZA, and Planning Commission have all been filled, as well as the Town Attorney position.
The Personnel Committee met on September 27, 2006. Attending the meeting were Council Members Nicholson, Terndrup, and Whittle (Chair) and Town Manager Fauber.
It was noted there were still openings on the ARB and BZA. An ad will be placed in the Northern Virginia Daily (NVD) and information will be on the Town’s website.
Concerning the Police Chief opening, a survey will be given to members of the Police Department for input on hiring a new chief. Town Manager has placed ads in the NVD, Winchester Star, and Daily News Record, as well as the Town’s website. Applications/resumes will be due by October 27, 2006. Town Manager Fauber and Council Member Whittle will research interview questions.
The Personnel Committee will be reviewing the Personnel Manual at the October meeting and members are asked to look over this prior to the meeting. The Manual will need to be updated to include the Family Leave Act. The Committee and Town Staff will research this issue.
The Committee will review the Town Employee Evaluation Form and comparing it to forms used in other localities. A follow-up of this will be discussed at the November meeting.
The one-on-one sessions between Council Members and Town Manager Fauber need to be completed. Town Manager Fauber will contact Members to schedule these sessions.
The next meeting of the committee will be on Wednesday, October 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Public Utilities: Did not meet
Recreational Advisory Committee: The committee met on Tuesday, September 26 at 6:30 p.m. with the following people in attendance: Town Manager Fauber, Vice Mayor Taylor, Council Members Whittle and Mauck (Chair) and Advisory Members Debbie Whittle and Carol Haycock.
Visitors to the meeting were three young men who were present to discuss their need for community service projects to obtain Eagle Scout. Ideas generated were a gazebo along the new walking trail, interpretive signs to be placed along the walking trail, new flag pole with flag etiquette, bike paths off of the main walking trail and work on a new informational sign along Route 11. These young men are to develop a plan on a project they are interested in and report back to the committee. There are a total of five scouts in need of projects.
Debbie Whittle, manager of the Strasburg Pool reported that the pool season went well. She feels there is a need to rethink the pool pass system. Both the main pool and the baby pool surfaces need to be refurbished and prices are being sought to do this work.
Renee Kronk, concession stand operator at the pool, was in attendance with a request. This will be discussed further at a later date.
Town Manager Fauber reported he has been in contact with the firm doing the archeological study on the Walking Trail and they have finished the study and are working on the final report to send to the Department of Historic Resources for their approval. This is the final approval needed for the grant. Once this is approved, the project can be put out to bid.
Jim Moore has indicated his willingness to deed over a portion of his property along Newman Street to the Shenandoah Battlefield Association for an interpretative park. The Association would like to partner with the Town on this project for maintenance. More information on this will be available soon.
Finance Committee: The Finance Committee met on October 3, 2006 with the following persons in attendance: Council Members Le Vine (Chair), Rinker, Terndrup, and Wallace, Town Manager Fauber, and Director of Finance Mullins.
Council Member Rinker gave a report on his tenure as chairman of this committee.
Town Manager Fauber reviewed the history of the Town Transient Occupancy Tax, which is basically a tax on hotel rooms and bed and breakfast rooms. Currently this tax is 2%, all of which is collected quarterly by the County and devoted towards its Tourism Committee. The County has asked Strasburg to join in a formal agreement whereby the Town would raise the tax to 5%, but the County would still receive their 2%. The Committee agreed:
To defer consideration of the County’s request for an agreement under which the Town would increase the tax, but the County still would receive 2%
The rationale for this decision:
§ Uncertainty whether the Town is receiving adequate “return on investment” from the current County’s tourism effort. Currently the tax received is not that great, but will increase this year because of the Ramada Inn and could become substantial if the Marriott (Strasburg Inns) and the Claytor/Aikens hotel are built.
§ Woodstock has not participated for a couple of years; New Market is considering withdrawing. Thus, our funds are, in effect subsidizing those who do not contribute since the County advertises the entire County, not selected towns. This issue needs to be worked out with the County.
§ Why should citizens provide extra funds for a service that, on the surface, should be supported from our County taxes.
Council Member Le Vine moved to start the process for increasing the Transient Occupancy Tax to 5% effective January 1, 2007 or as soon thereafter as practicable. The Town would collect the tax and apply the entire revenue to our general funds and consequently, terminating the existing relationship with the County; second by Council Member Rinker.
Discussion:
Vice Mayor Taylor said he believes there has been a conscious effort made to work with the County. The point about Woodstock and the fairness of the tax is a legitimate point. Ms. Hill gave a presentation on the materials produced by the County. He is concerned if we cut the cord, who will take over these mailings and all the things that take place from this department. Will the Town take over this? He believes a good service is being made available to the Town now.
Council Member Rinker said the Town has its own tourism group and Chamber of Commerce gets brochures out about Strasburg. He doesn’t think we are getting “our bang for our buck” and has been dismayed by the tourism department for a long time. Ms. Hill wears “two hats” as she is the tourism director part of the time and the economic development person the other half of the time. He thinks there should be two individual people to do each job and he does not feel we are getting what we need from the County.
Council Member Nicholson agreed with Council Member Rinker and said he has complained to the County especially about the industrial authority. He doesn’t think Ms. Hill should be doing both jobs and he would support 0% for the County.
Council Member Terndrup said it appears the County is getting the word out, but feels this is a funding issue. When some of the Towns pulled out, the “rules of the game” changed. He thinks someone should go to the County and suggest the funding come from general funds as getting it from the individual towns isn’t working.
Mayor Crisman said there are a lot of feelings on this and they go beyond the borders of the Town. The motion is just to start the process and start the dialogue.
Council Member Mauck feels it is important to get information from other areas and find out what they are charging. Are other areas charging more or less than the 5%? She thinks the information should be collected before starting the process. Council Member Rinker feels this type of information will be gotten during the process.
Council Member called for the vote. The motion passed unanimously.
Continuing his report, Council Member Le Vine said the Committee agreed to focus on providing high level-guidance to the Staff (i.e. goals of the Capital Improvement Plan, the allocation of salary increase funds). The Staff remains responsible for the detailed budget and accounting processes.
To better understand the financial needs of the Town as well as to assist making funding decisions, the Department Heads will be invited to Finance Committee meetings. Discussions will involve their major tasks, challenges they are confronting, long term needs (especially as they relate to the CIP) and where the Finance Committee might assist ensuring we have the capabilities to best serve our citizens.
The Finance Committee is aware that its role is confined to fiscal matters, and therefore, has no intention of infringing on the prerogatives of other Committees. To ensure this, members from other committees are invited to attend these meetings. The schedule for said meetings is:
November --- Public Works
December --- Water and Sewer Service
January --- Administration
February --- Police
Other meetings will be arranged if they seem appropriate.
Council Member Le Vine invited other committees to attend these meeting, but the Finance Committee will be looking at the finances.
Council Member Le Vine gave a Power Point presentation of what the budget is for the year. This presentation showed where the money goes.
Mayor Crisman said he thinks it would also be helpful to see how proffers are going to impact the figures shown in the PowerPoint presentation. Council Member Le Vine said a presentation will be given on how the revenue is collected at the November meeting.
Ordinance Committee: Present at the meeting were: Vice Mayor Taylor, Town Council Member Terndrup, Town Attorney Neal, and Town Planner Amos.
Council Member Terndrup reported correspondence from Mr. William Holtzman had been received requesting an ordinance change to allow smaller parking spaces for restaurants. A reduction from 10 to 9 feet would also reduce asphalt. Planner Amos will construct a revised definition in regards to this ordinance.
Town Attorney Neal suggested we include an end date for building permits to address the construction debris issues in Town.
The committee will re-examine the inoperable vehicle ordinance and they have begun looking at occupancy standards. Herndon and Winchester have adopted standards. Next month, the committee will look at enforcement issues regarding this and possibly a public hearing will be held in November concerning this.
The Ordinance Committee will propose a revision to the subdivision ordinances to prohibit cul-de-sacs. This will go to a public hearing in November.
Planner Amos will coordinate with the Planning Commission to begin joint work sessions to integrate elements from non-traditional design into the Planned Development ordinances. The committee also needs to begin the integration of current ordinances into the Comprehensive Plan as well as our current Capital Improvement Plan. Future proffers depend on a comprehensive alignment of code to ordinance.
Building and Grounds Committee: Chairman Wallace said the committee met with Public Safety on Sept. 28. She added this was a very informative meeting.
Streets Committee: Did not meet
Special Committee Reports:
Shenandoah Telephone Advisory:
Strasburg Heritage Society: Meeting next Wednesday
Chamber of Commerce: Mrs. Carla Wallen gave the report. She said the Chamber Board had met the morning of October 10 and met the new administrative assistant, Jackie Thompson. The Chamber received about 50 resumes and only a small amount was from the Strasburg area. The Chamber will be moving its offices with a target date of November 1. Their new address will be Suite 204 at Stony Pointe. Mrs. Wallen expressed the Chamber’s appreciation to First Bank for the use of their building during the past years.
The Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution in support of Hometown Strasburg, Inc. grant proposal. Plans are underway for Christmas celebration on December 2. Following suggestions, the parade time has been changed; the parade will begin at 4 p.m., with line-up at 3 p.m. The annual banquet will be in early April. Due to an illness in the family, Patsy and Stanly Morehead have had to step back in their Chamber activities and so the Chamber has decided to hire a Mayfest coordinator.
Main Street Program/Chamber of Commerce: Due to several obstacles, one being the trouble in obtaining entertainment and the other being the illness in the Morehead family, the Oktoberfest has been cancelled. Mayor Crisman asked all to keep the Morehead’s in their prayers.
Vision Committee: The Committee met on October 4th, 2006, with 15 citizens in attendance. Each member answered three questions:
The Committee made lists of responses, had a lively discussion and agreed to continue the discussion of these issues at our next meeting on October 17th.
The major accomplishments of the meeting were first the forthright discussion of the major sensitive issues confronting the Town (growth, commercial development, tensions between cultures and attitudes, etc.) an, second, the involvement of people who had not previously been active. Future meetings will be on the first Wednesday and third Tuesday of each month.
Beautification Committee:
Shenandoah Valley National Battlefield Association:
Old Business and Unfinished Business:
Mayor Crisman made a statement concerning ethics and things that have happened. Over the last few months, many of the comments he has received have been in reference to the behavior of Council, and the way they act and interact with each other. Council has been trying to address these issues in Worksessions. More importantly are the comments of “please make it stop.” He is not sure how to do that and he wishes he could. They are trying to address some of the issues to make sure that don’t happen again and progress has been made. The ethics statement includes items Council would like to see be done, but not all members of Council are comfortable with signing the affirmation or with sanctions of some sort. Mayor Crisman said he has been working with Vice Mayor Taylor on these issues and they would like to have gone into Closed Session to discuss some of the issues before them. They consulted with Town Attorney Neal to see if this was an issue that could be discussed in Closed Session.
Town Attorney Neal gave a short synopsis of what can be done in Closed Session: A lot of these things could be resolved if people could talk openly, but there is an audience. Virginia doesn’t allow for Council to talk about issues such as this in Closed Session. You cannot take a formal vote behind closed door, but there are about 26 items you can discuss in Closed Session. When it is a close call as to whether this can be discussed in closed session, it should be done in open forum. Behavior, etc., while it would be easier to go into closed session, Virginia does not allow for this. Virginia does allow going into closed session for litigation, pending litigation, or negotiation of a contract. What is there we can do legally to resolve some of these issues? Town Attorney Neal says he has talked to many Council Members and most want to move forward and close this chapter. The Code says you are not to leave a meeting unless excused, but it goes no further so you can’t do anything. The Code of Ethics could handle this, but it would still be more verbal, more of an embarrassment. The Code of Ethics would let people know the consequences if the Code was broken. But, a Code of Ethics is not perfect and will not solve all personality conflicts you might have. It is encouraging to him to see that relations are smoother now since the election has gone by. Time has gone on and a relationship of trust is developing. Everybody on the Council has the best interest of the Town at heart. He does like the idea of the Code of Ethics.
Mayor Crisman said there is a petition that an issue could be taken to court. Would this still not make it an issue that could be discussed in closed session? Town Attorney Neal said this is directed toward individuals and not the Town or the Council. This is an example of a “close call” and so it should be discussed in open session.
Mayor Crisman said it is an extremely delicate situation and he is spending most of his time dealing with this issue. Something needs to be done to come to a resolution of this. He is concerned about making a public statement as it would be a personal statement and so he is not clear on this as it could bring litigation upon him. Town Attorney Neal said it is not clear to him either as the law gives any guidance. The issue of the Island Farm is what brought everything to a head and maybe now this can be resolved.
Council Member Rinker asked Town Attorney Neal if he had ever heard of a jurisdiction having any kind of sanctions on members who become irate or leave meetings. Town Attorney Neal said you don’t see this a lot, but you can’t plan what is going to happen in a public meeting, but typically the sanctions would be a verbal reprimand. This lets people learn that fellow Council Members do not like the way they have behaved.
Council Member Rinker said many have approached him on this issue. Some think they did the right thing and others don’t think they did. You don’t know how you will react in given situations. People have a petition and are prepared to go forward and Council would be remiss in not listening to this.
Town Attorney Neal said if someone files a petition, they have that right. Is it something to be concerned about? Yes, but not much can be done officially by the Council. You need to come to a resolution and move on. Council Member Rinker agrees it can’t keep going and he wants to move on as it isn’t doing the Town any good. It is a waste of good minds and valuable time.
Council Member Le Vine said he is concerned with the good of the Town and that is all that matters to him. He doesn’t think this is a legal issue, but it is a difficult issue and a delicate issue and we need to find a compromise. One possible compromise would be to commit to a Code of Ethics and this should include some consequences. The Town Code could be amended to have consequences if you walk out of a meeting. He does feel, though, let the past go and go forward. Debates were held tonight and they were friendly debates. He thinks Council should make a good faith effort to go forward and ask the citizens to give them the benefit of the doubt and let the petition go. Citizens could give Council a probation period, but ultimately all will have to compromise.
Vice Mayor Taylor said he would have liked to have been able to go into closed session. Should Council address what happened? Some citizens feel Council is ignoring this issue. He asked fellow Council Members if they felt a public statement should be made or have we done enough by working on the Code of Ethics?
Council Member Terndrup said this is a citizenship lesson. We live in a democracy and need public debate and be able to speak to our ideals and ideas without prejudice. All sides are heard, a vote is taken, and majority rules. Democracy is on issues and not personalities and you cannot pick and chose the rules we want to follow. Council needs to obey the rules as we expect the citizens obey. He feels Council needs to pledge to that and we will behave in a manner that will make you proud of us.
Council Member Mauck said she does not feel Council is dodging this issue, but the perception is that it is being dodged. At the VML Conference attended by several Council Members, they were told if a Council Member leaves a meeting without permission, they have broken the law, but there are no consequences for that. Having heard that, they came back and decided to work together as a team and part of that teamwork is the Code of Ethics. “I cannot reprimand an elected official; I was elected, you were elected, I am an equal; we are peers.” This can be worked on through the Code of Ethics.
Council Member Whittle agreed we need to move forward and schedule another Worksession to iron out the Code.
Mayor Crisman said everybody needs to understand the gravity of the situation and that Council needs to get past this for the Town.
Council Member Le Vine suggested that all need to think about the issues discussed tonight. Mayor should talk to individual Council Members and the petitioners and find out if items discussed this evening would be a workable solution. He thinks the Code of Ethics is a good outcome of this issue.
Mayor Crisman said this is acceptable to him and he will be contacting Members in the near future.
Joyce Gary stated they are not talking about punishment, but about acknowledgement. The petitioners would like it to stop, too and feel a gigantic step has been taken tonight. She would still like to have the acknowledgement that the people who did this admit they were wrong.
The date for the next Worksession will be Thursday, October 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Council Member Le Vine asked about the progress on “Action Items” that Town Manager Fauber is working on. Mr. Fauber said he is working on this.
Vice Mayor Taylor said Gloria Stickley has agreed to over see the production of the video, “The Great Valley Road.”
Council Member Whittle welcomed the Fry’s and said he was glad to see a business was going to be in the Artz building. Council Member Le Vine said he likes the look of the Marathon Bank.
New Business:
Committee Meeting Dates as Follows:
COMMITTEE DATE TIME
Public Safety Committee Thursday, Oct. 26 7:00 p.m.
Personnel Committee Wednesday, Oct. 25 7:30 p.m.
Utilities Committee Monday, Oct. 30 7:30 p.m.
Recreation Committee Tuesday, Oct. 24 6:30 p.m.
Finance Committee Tuesday, Nov. 7 7:15 p.m.
Ordinance Committee Wednesday, Nov. 1 7:00 p.m.
Streets Committee Wednesday, Oct. 18 7:30 p.m.
Buildings and Grounds Committee TBA
Vision Committee Thursday, Oct. 17 7:15 p.m.
Closed Session
Council Member Le Vine moved to go into Executive Session, pursuant to Code of Virginia Section 2.2-3711.A.7, to consult with legal counsel concerning actual litigation, namely the pending lawsuit filed by Voices of Strasburg; second by Vice Mayor Taylor. The motion passed unanimously.
Adjourned to closed session at 9:58 p.m. Reconvened at 10:23 p.m.
Mayor Crisman stated , “The Council of the Town of Strasburg hereby certifies by Roll Call vote that to the best of each member’s knowledge (1)only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia Law were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification resolution 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 Council of the Town of Strasburg.” He continued by saying each member should respond “I so certify” by Roll Call vote and the following responses were recorded:
Council Member Le Vine “I so certify”
Council Member Mauck “I so certify”
Council Member Nicholson “I so certify”
Vice Mayor Taylor “I so certify”
Council Member Rinker “I so certify”
Council Member Terndrup “I so certify”
Council Member Wallace “I so certify”
Council Member Whittle “I so certify”
Mayor Crisman “I so certity”
Adjourned at 10:25 p.m.