MINUTES OF THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2007, AT 7:30 P.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE STRASBURG TOWN HALL.
The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and the invocation was given by Rev. Ed Winkler of the Strasburg United Methodist Church.
ROLL Called with the following members present: Mayor Crisman, Vice Mayor Taylor and Council Members Le Vine, Mauck, Nicholson, Rinker, Terndrup, Wallace, and Whittle.
Minutes of the October 9, 2007 Public Hearing and Town Council meeting were approved as submitted.
Mayor Crisman recognized all veterans and thanked them for their service to our Country. He also announced the Strasburg High School volleyball team is competing in the State quarter-finals tonight. The Town’s holiday festivities will be held on December 1 with the parade beginning at 4 p.m. He welcomed all in attendance and said all communications had been directed toward the appropriate committees.
Introduction of Visitors and Guests:
Citizen Comments:
Non-Action Items:
Greg Nash, 1027 E. Washington St., Strasburg, VA: Mr. Nash said a section of East Washington Street has been under discussion in regards to making it a two-way street. He has gone out and watched traffic in this area and making it a two-way street would create accidents and possibly put a house on this block in a dangerous situation. He knows the Police Department, State Police, and the Strasburg Fire Department, and several people have reported there is no benefit to making this a two-way road except to create more traffic. It would definitely be the cause of head-on collisions and pedestrians getting hit. He hopes Council looks at the safety factors before changing this from one-way to two-way.
Tom Carrier, 160 Massanutten St., Strasburg, VA: Mr. Carrier said he was a newcomer to Town and had a suggestion to make the community better. He lives across the street from the M Street Nightclub and he is not sure if people are aware that on many nights it sounds like a block party. (To demonstrate the noise he hears for four hours straight – 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., Mr. Carrier tapped on the microphone while speaking).He has suggested to the establishment to keep the door closed to help alleviate the noise, but this isn’t happening or they could turn the bass up so the “thumping” as noticeable. He would like the Council to make some sort of suggestion to the M Street Nightclub to make this a better neighborhood.
Mr. Carrier said he is a “vexillogist” (a person who collects and studies flags) and he has made sure the entire international flag community knows about he new flag and he suggested hanging a flag behind the Council.
Mayor Crisman asked both Council Member Terndrup and Vice Mayor Taylor to check about the noise as it pertains to both the noise ordinance and public safety.
Reports and Communications from Town Officers:
Town Attorney Neal: Stated the Sonner/Davison appeal has been filed with the Virginia Supreme Court and Council will need to go into executive session to discuss this.
He has received a plat from Larry Himelright for the vacation of the portion of North Street. He has been in contact with the neighbors and they are willing to cover the costs of this so this section of the street can be vacated.
He has presented an anti-blight ordinance to Council Member Terndrup; he received this ordinance from the City of Winchester. Copies of this ordinance can be given out to other Council Members.
In conclusion, he needs to do one more review of the PPEA.
Town Manager Fauber: Bids on the Walking Trail are due back on November 30 and much interest has been shown. General property and liability insurance proposals are also due on November 30 and the deferred compensation plan will be due on December 14. Resurfacing of the main pool started last week and should be completed soon. The contract for the Public Safety Needs Assessment will be presented at the December meeting; Wiley and Wilson was chosen as the firm to do this. Staff has been working with Hometown Strasburg, Inc. to get started on the pocket park at the Strasburg Fire Department and have met with Allegheny Power for electrical needs at this location. Over the last month Staff has worked with Ms. Struder on grants.
Council Member Mauck asked that the Buildings and Grounds Committee meet to review the pocket park plans with Staff and Hometown Strasburg so all have the same information.
Director of Finance Mullins: Taxes are being collected. Information has been sent out concerning the cigarette tax and the stamps were received today.
Town Clerk Keller: The Holiday Dinner will be held on December 7 at 6:30 p.m. Please let her know if you will be attending. Reminded all of the Holiday parade on December 1 at 4 p.m.
Director of Public Utilities Tewalt: Been in contact with the engineers and will be meeting in Richmond this Friday to discuss the proposed water plant and to receive an update on the wastewater plant.
Director of Public Works Rhodes: Reminded all they are in the midst of fall leaf pick-up and this will be extended until all leaves are collected.
Police Chief Sutherly: There was a fatality on North Massanutten Street recently and the department is talking about what can be done to make this a safer area. On Thursday, November 8, there was a domestic situation where Lorrie Norton said her husband, Chuck Norton, held a gun on her. He gave more information concerning this and said he was proud of the way the officers handled the situation.
Town Planner Amos: The Buildings and Grounds Committee needs to meet on the re-cycling program.
Standing Committee Reports:
Public Safety Committee: Vice Mayor Taylor said the committee met on November 1, 2007 at Town Hall at 7:00 p.m.
The committee went into closed session to discuss which company is preferred to handle the public safety building needs study. The two companies were PMA Planners and Architects and Wiley and Wilson. The top choice was Wiley and Wilson and here are some of the major reasons why:
i. 2 day on-site session where all the players come together with their design team to work on the design of the building
ii. They will create a blueprint and edit changes on the spot
iii. Good team building because all of our stakeholders will be involved in this process
iv. Saves time and costs
i. An existing facility assessment
ii. Needs assessment
iii. Site selection
iv. Concept development and budget
v. Final report and presentation
Next the committee received an update on our Emergency Action Plan. The departments are currently working on identifying and prioritizing services during a time of crisis. Once this is determined, each department has to make sure personnel are available to handle necessary services. This can be accomplished in house, via cross training across departments and involving local volunteers. Chief Sutherly and Town Manager Fauber will be giving updated reports on the progress of the plan during future public safety meetings.
During our public forum, a citizen asked about the use of our town siren to let people know of emergencies. Chief Sutherly checked into this and our siren is capable of creating different tones. This will be investigated further to see if using this is possible.
The Committee had received a request from a Town resident state trooper to consider allowing any state troopers living in Town to be exempt from paying our $25 motor vehicle license fee. We currently allow exemption on one vehicle for any active fire or rescue volunteer. We decided against this request since the current exemption is just for volunteers and we wish to keep it that way. If we opened it up to paid public safety personnel, the list could get very lengthy.
Chief Sutherly shared with the committee the Police Department currently has about 40 calls a month relating to cats and dogs. Most of these are situations where a dog is barking and disturbing neighbors. This was discussed as a request from the Ordinance committee. There have been some complaints about vicious acting dogs on properties and if there was anything that could done to address this. Basically a dog has to be determined to be vicious and this usually involves an attack. This information will be shared with the Ordinance committee.
Reports were given from the Police Department and Rescue Squad. Remember the Rescue Squad is still in need of volunteers. The County Fire and Rescue is still providing 24/7 assistance in order to meet the call demand. Please recruit and/or volunteer to assist our Rescue Squad.
Revisited was the issue of adopting an ordinance requiring the use of bicycle helmets for children 14 and under. It was decided not to pursue this any further at this time. A major factor for not moving forward at this time was local government’s role. Is it our responsibility to make this decision or the children and parents? Even though the decision was made not to move forward with the ordinance, the committee agreed they are in favor of children wearing helmets and we encourage all children (and adults) to do so. It was felt at this time the need is to concentrate on enforcing current laws that are in place dealing with bicycle safety. This involves obeying traffic laws when riding a bicycle, such as stopping at stop signs, riding on the appropriate side of the road, staying off of sidewalks where bikes are not permitted and addressing any equipment violations. The committee is encouraging education on bicycle safety via community awareness programs such as the Bicycle Rodeos that are held twice a year via our Police Department and working with our schools to ensure education on bicycle safety is occurring and assist in any way possible. We will send out safety reminders via our website, newsletter and any other means of communication. Finally, it was agreed upon to present a resolution in the spring stating our commitment to bicycle safety in our community.
The next Public Safety meeting will be a public meeting with personnel from our Police Department. Our Police Department will give some brief presentations on the department’s operations and procedures. This will be an opportunity for the public to ask any questions or voice concerns about our Police Department. Chief Sutherly has created a brochure containing information about the department and new programs that have recently been implemented. He has begun a door to door campaign to go out and meet our citizens and get feed back from them. This meeting will take place on Thursday, November 29 at the Town Hall beginning at 7:00 p.m.
*The Police Department have calendars available for the upcoming the year. The cost is a donation with all proceeds going to a charity of choice of Pat Cromer. As most of you know, Pat is employed in our department and is currently battling cancer. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Pat and Ronnie.
Personnel Committee: Council Member Whittle said the committee met on October 22 with Council Member Whittle (chair) and Terndrup and Director of Finance Mullins in attendance. At the meeting, applications for committees were finalized. Currently there will be three vacancies on the Board of Zoning Appeals and one on the Recreation Advisory Committee. All of these people currently serving can be re-appointed. Work is in progress on an informational sheet for these committees to go along with the applications.
The committee is continuing to look at RFP’s on the salary survey and personnel issues. They are considering what is needed most and the cost factor.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 28 at 7 p.m. pending the need for interviews for the vacancies.
Public Utilities Committee: Did not meet, but will have a meeting on Tuesday, November 27 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss the engineer report on the new water plant.
Recreation Committee: Council Member Mauck said the committee met on October 11 and discussed playground issues, resurfacing of the pool, the Walking Trail, and recreation working with the Tourism Committee.
In discussing the playground issues, Council Member Mauck explained Council passed a resolution to receive funds from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) for replacing the playground. She asked Ms. Margaret Struder to show the picture of the proposed playground and to give an update on the proceedings.
Ms. Margaret Struder explained the funding of the grant and said the playground company is offering a 50% discount/grant on two major portions of the playground. The grant application was completed in three days. She also said there will be a “public gathering” on November 20 at 7:30 p.m. to begin getting support from the community. She has also contacted several organizations for help and the most promising is the Lowe’s Company. Representatives of the company will visit the playground tomorrow to see the needs. She has no qualms that the money will come through for the new playground. Ms. Struder thanked the Staff for all their help and Council thanked Ms. Struder for her work on the grant process.
In conclusion, Council Member Mauck said there will be a “Support Our Community Playground” evening at the Town Hall on November 20 at 7:30 p.m. This will be a social event to bring citizens and businesses together to review the plans for the playground and to ask for help.
Finance Committee: Council Member Le Vine reported the Finance Committee met November 6, 2007. Present were Council Members Donald Le Vine (chair) and Scott Terndrup; Town Manager Fauber, and Director of Finance Mullins and also three residents from Signal Knob Condominiums.
Discussed at the meeting were:
The Town has two water/sewer usage fee schedules: commercial and residential. Director of Public Works Rhodes explained several months ago that this distinction is not entirely correct – ‘commercial’ and ‘residential’ are, in affect, determined by the size of the water line entering a building and not by what use is made of the building. ‘Residential’ is any structure served by a water line less than or equal to ¾ inches; any larger diameter line is defined as ‘commercial’.
The committee discussed the possibility of charging fees according to the actual use conducted in the building. It was decided this was too complicated to be practical (e.g., what rates should a building served by one water line but having both commercial and residential uses be assessed; who should monitor buildings to determine if the use changes; is a building used as a residence but for which rent is paid commercial since the owner is receiving a fee?).
Consequently, the committee decided to leave the current arrangement for determining fees in place but to create a clearer and more consistent policy for future development. The tentative decision was:
v If a building is intended exclusively for residential use (i.e., for use as people’s primary residence), residential fees would be applicable regardless of whether the building is owned or rented by the residents.
v All other buildings will be assessed at commercial rates (therefore, a building containing commercial and residential uses would be assessed commercial rates).
This policy change will be reviewed at the December, 2007 meeting.
Residents of Signal Knob Condominiums asked that their water/sewer rates be changed from commercial to residential since all 108 units are used exclusively for residents (about 20 are rental units, the others, owner occupied), but there are only four water meters so they are being charged at a commercial rate because of the size of the line. The loss of revenue to the Town would be approximately $1000/month. The committee was concerned about setting a precedent and that other complexes would ask for similar relief.
Director of Finance Mullins will compile a list of a multi-family complexes in the Town, whether they are exclusively residential, what fee schedule currently applies, the ratio of meters to units, and other data to assist the committee in determining what impact would occur by granting the Signal Knob request.
v Advertise as required by law,
v Notify current providers of related products to the Town,
v Consider the plan offered by the Virginia Retirement Service.
If this approach is acceptable, Town Manager Fauber will request proposals by mid-December, the committee will evaluate them at the January, 2008 meeting; some will be chosen for further analysis.
Director or Finance Mullins will ask Mrs. Struder if she would like to attend a grant writing course in December – the Town can pay her tuition and
expenses but not reimburse her for her time. If Ms. Struder cannot attend, then Council Member Mauck will go and the Town
will pay for her tuition.
Ordinance Committee:
Council Member Terndrup reported the
committee met on November 7, 2007 at 7 p.m. In attendance were Council
Members Terndrup (chair), Rinker, Mauck, and Vice Mayor Taylor, Planner Amos,
Planning Commission Chairperson Smith, Woodstock Town Planner Brent Manual, BZA
Chairperson Robert Baker, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Carver, and Elizabeth Wilkerson of
the Northern Virginia Daily. A Public Hearing will be scheduled for December
regarding Annexation Area tap fee and Spot Blight Abatement Ordinance
Discussed at the meeting were:
· Additional checks from the Planning Commission or the Ordinance Committee
·
"A list", perhaps a specific listing of ordinances. ( Ordinance
has asked that certain fence, parking lot and setback ordinances be included)
· What would be the appellate role of the BZA
· A suggested monthly report to the Ordinance Committee/ also the BZA
· A careful review of the legal wording: undo hardship, substantial detriment, "character of the zoning district", written notice( does the applicant pay for it?)
4.
Spot blight abatement: Mr. and Mrs. Carver presented the committee several
pictures to document their complaint against an alleged blighted property next
to their home and place of business. They spoke to a number of hazards to the
neighborhood in terms of people and property. The Ordinance Committee
unanimously agreed to instruct the Town Attorney to pursue the drafting of a
spot blight abatement ordinance. Several additional code authorities were
presented in addition to the original draft. It is proposed that the town
take a team approach when dealing with blighted property. It is necessary to
consider a variety of options when deciding a potential remedy. The creation of
a Blight Enforcement Task Force to include all department chairs, the
Town Attorney, the fire chief, needed County representatives for delinquent
taxes, public health, chairs form other boards or commissions as needed, all
led by the Town Manager to develop an action plan to remedy a prescribed
blighted property. Vice-Mayor Taylor noted that this may incur a cost and
certainly a time commitment. Planner Amos was directed to take steps to secure
the public safety against this specific property
5. The committee welcomed a draft proposal from Council Member Mauck regarding
a Historic District Ordinance.
Buildings and Grounds Committee: Report was included with the Public Safety Committee report.
Streets Committee: Council Member Rinker said the committee met on October 23 with Council Members Rinker (chair) and Terndrup and the Fred Ritenour family in attendance. The Ritenour’s spoke of some problems on the sidewalks and pavement near their home on Queen Street. Director of Public Works Rhodes had told them in 1998 that improvements would be done soon and it has not happened. Council Member Rinker said he explained there is some cost sharing with VDOT and decisions will need to be made of which end of the street will be taken care of first.
There has been some discussion of real brick being used on sidewalks versus stamped concrete. Many feel the historic value of our Town is being compromised by the stamped concrete. Some say they want real brick in front of their house and others want stamped and he does not want it to become a “hodge-podge.” The difference in cost of this will be studied.
Estimates from the engineering firms regarding the drainage issues behind the theatre will be discussed at the next meeting.
Special Committee Reports:
Strasburg Heritage Association: Council Member Whittle said the group’s biggest event of the year, the Holiday Homes Tour, will be on December 1, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 each and six places are on the tour.
Chamber of Commerce: Clerk Keller said the Chamber Board met that morning. At the December Membership Meeting, four seats on the Board will be voted on. The Board has received 21 potential names for people to hold these seats with commitments from seven.
Mayfest plans are moving ahead and sponsorship letters and crafter letters have already been sent notifying people of the date. The committee is planning more activities for Sunday to draw more people to the downtown area on this day. A soap box derby has been suggested. The Mayfest Beauty Pageant will be held in April.
Oktoberfest generated approximately $1,500 in profit.
The Christmas celebration will be on December 1. The parade will begin at 4 p.m.
Hometown Strasburg: Mrs. Wallen said plans are proceeding with Lighting Up Strasburg and businesses on King and Massanutten Streets have been given a free strand of commercial Christmas lights. Because of the DVD being made, permission was gotten to decorate the Brill building along Town Run. Hillary White painted the two windows and Justin Ritenour decorated the building.
There will be new Christmas ornaments on the street lights and the Town Crew will begin putting these up soon. The painted ornaments will be used in other ways within the Town.
The group is moving ahead with the drive to get a Strasburg license plate. They hope to have many applications turned in during the month of December. Applications are also available at the concession stand at the Strasburg High School during all home athletic events.
Mayor Crisman said several have asked about the possibility of having smaller Town flags made and Mrs. Wallen said they may look into this in the spring.
Council Member Rinker asked where the Town is on the new street lights. Mrs. Wallen said two street lamps have been ordered to use in the pocket park, but if the full amount of the grant is received, new lights will be put on the north side of King Street from Massanutten Street to Capon Street. If the grant is gotten in entirety, Hometown will receive $250,000. Council Member Rinker asked who had chosen the style and Mrs. Wallen said they are using the type that were originally used in Strasburg and she contacted other towns in the County for recommendations on which company to use.
Mr. Tom Carrier, a citizen who spoke earlier, commended Hometown Strasburg on the flag and added the flag will be highlighted in national and international conferences next month.
Old Business: Mayor Crisman thanked Council Member Mauck for her efforts in re-establishing the Tourism Committee. It is hoped a committee will be named before the end of the year.
Council Member Terndrup asked if the license plate could be advertised and if it were going to be in the newsletter. This will be in newsletter and Mayor Crisman said a running tally is needed. Vice Mayor suggested giving these as “stocking stuffers.”
Vice Mayor Taylor reminded Council Member Rinker the Streets Committee needs to look at the parking spaces in the front of or near the Town Hall. Fire apparatus has trouble turning out of the station when cars are parked along this area. Also, the committee needs to look into the possibility of making Washington Street one-way in front of the American Legion.
Vice Mayor Taylor said a date needs to be decided on for the Staff/Council Retreat. It was decided to have this on Saturday, February 16, 2008, beginning at 8 a.m. with the location to be announced later.
Council Member Terndrup reported Election Day went smoothly at the Strasburg United Methodist Church. On the topic of communication of meetings, etc. that was discussed at the Forum, he said he has seen mobile signs and was wondering if something like this could be used as a short term solution.. He would also like all to think about a quarterly forum for 2008 – February, May, August, and November. He thought the Forum went well and hopes committees will discuss ideas that came out of it.
In the Council Packet there was a note from State legislators and Council Member Terndrup would like the legislators to address unfunded mandates. Mayor Crisman said he spoke to Mr. Gilbert on Saturday and he is entertaining the possibility of speaking before Council.
Council Member Rinker said he was contacted about signs in Strasburg and he was wondering what was going on with signage in Strasburg. Kay’s Barber Shop has been asked to take down the sign on the building. Planner Amos will have the Ordinance Committee review the sign ordinance, but said she thought the developer was going to put matching signs up at the businesses.
Council Member Mauck suggested bringing up the sign to be used for communications to the Buildings and Grounds Committee. Mayor Crisman asked if the Town could possibly use the sign at the Fire Department until further notice.
Council Member Mauck announced she and Council Member Rinker have set up a meeting with VDOT, Streets Committee members, and Sheriff Carter and she invited Chief Sutherly and Town Manager Fauber to attend as well to discuss Route 11 safety issues. The meeting will be held on November 19 at 1 p.m. All Council is invited to attend. The group will meet at the Town Hall and then travel to the site.
New Business:
Council Member Le Vine stated he prefers the old brick versus the stamped brick concrete. He finds the monthly reports given by Director of Public Works Rhodes interesting and the cost of watering plants is very inexpensive and he is glad the Town does so. He thinks meetings need to be publicized more. He said he appreciated the comments on the flag and thanked Vice Mayor Taylor on getting the project going.
Committee Dates:
Public Safety Committee Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007 7:00 p.m. (Meeting with Jim Allen at 6 p.m.)
Personnel Committee Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007 7:00 p.m.
Public Utilities Committee Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007 7:30 p.m.
Recreation Committee Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007 7:30 p.m.
Support the Playground
Finance Committee Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2007 7:15 p.m.
Ordinance Committee Wednesday, Dec. 5 7:00 p.m.
Streets Committee Monday, Nov. 26, 2007 7:30 p.m.
Buildings and Grounds Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007 7:00 p.m
Vice Mayor Taylor moved the Town Council for the Town of Strasburg go into Executive Session pursuant to Code of Virginia Section 2.2-3711.A.7, to consult with legal counsel pertaining to actual litigation, to-wit the pending suit against the Town brought by Mr. and Mrs. Sonner and Mr. Davison; second by Council Member Le Vine. The motion passed unanimously.
Council adjourned to Executive Session at 8:43 p.m.; reconvened at 9:35 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”
Being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m.