MINUTES OF THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2008, 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 Addie Guthrie, member of the Signal Knob Middle School FFA.
ROLL Called with the following members present: Mayor Crisman, Vice Mayor Taylor and Council Members Le Vine, Mauck, Nicholson, Rinker, Terndrup, Wallace, and Whittle. Absent
Approval of the Minutes of the January 8, 2008, Town Council meeting was postponed until the next meeting
Mayor Crisman welcomed all in attendance and said all communications had been directed toward the appropriate committees. Mayor Crisman said many people give much to the Town, but one of the most important things you can give is your time. Mr. Gary Rutherford gave much time and energy to this Town. A moment of silence was held in memory of Mr. Rutherford who passed away in January.
Introduction of Visitors and Guests:
Mayor Crisman introduced Boy Scout Mark Colson and Scout Leaders Randy Cook and Howard Colson. Mark was in attendance to help earn a merit badge.
Signal Knob Middle School FFA under the leadership of Jaclyn Roller, teacher.
Addie Guthrie, president of the SKMS FFA, told what was being done at the school and in the community to celebrate National FFA Week.
Samantha Crisman read the National FFA Week Proclamation and Mayor Crisman signed this document.
Ashley Smith and Brittany Polk gave a brief outline of FFA in the world. Mayor Crisman thanked the group for all the projects they do in the community and also the amount of time Ms. Roller gives to both the students and the community.
Citizen Comments:
Non-Action Items:
Reports and Communications from Town Officers:
Town Attorney Neal: Absent, out of town for personal reasons.
Town Manager Fauber: Reported work on the Needs Assessment Study has started with Wiley & Wilson. There have been several meetings between the firm and representatives of Fire, Rescue, and Police Departments. A draft report has been received and will be looked at more closely during the next Public Safety meeting.
The Human Resource study has begun. Employees met with a representative of Springsted recently and are working on surveys which will ultimately help develop a job description for all positions in the Town.
Staff has been having discussions with Premier Pyrotechnics who will be doing the firework show at the 4th of July Celebration. The show will be a change from past shows as it will be set to music and broadcast over a FM radio station. More information will be forthcoming on this.
Staff is continuing to work with the 2008-09 Budget with the Finance Committee.
Director of Finance Mullins: Absent, in Raleigh, NC, on financial training.
Town Clerk Keller: Stated the Preserve America resolution had been removed from the Final Agenda, but additional information on this was left at each Council Member’s seat for their review.
Director of Public Utilities Tewalt: The Virginia Department of Health has the design plans for the water plant which they hope to have done by mid-March so it can hopefully go out to bid in early April.
Council Member Le Vine questioned the water usage in January as it seems like it was so much larger than in January 2007; it seems as if it is a mid-summer amount. Is there a reason for this? Mr. Tewalt said it was just the water consumption. Council Member Nicholson asked if the fire on King Street was included in this amount, but Mr. Tewalt said that was in February.
Director of Public Works Rhodes: The old playground has been disassembled and removed. Town Crews are out this evening to combat the ice that is expected.
Council Member Le Vine said the Washington, D.C., area was terrible today and so he appreciates the preventive measures being taken by the Town Crew.
Police Chief Sutherly: The Second Senior Citizen Academy will graduate on Wednesday, February 13. The Police Report will be given by Vice Mayor Taylor.
Council Member Mauck asked if Chief Sutherly was in on the telephone conference call on Monday, February 11, regarding the state of emergency in Virginia with fires. Chief Sutherly said he was apprised of the situation by Mr. Yew from the Shenandoah County Fire and Rescue Department.
Council Member Le Vine thanked Chief Sutherly for allowing him to spend 7 hours with police officers (Officer Sager and Payne) recently. He told about his experiences with the officers.
Town Planner Amos: The monthly Worksession for the Planning Commission will be held on Wednesday, February 13, instead of Thursday evening. There will be a Public Hearing regarding a change in proffers from Mr. Scott Rosenfeld and the Shenandoah Green project. She also announced she has an intern, Zach Wakeman, in the Planning Department from the AP Government class at Strasburg High School. On Wednesday, Planner Amos will be meeting with representatives from the recycling company and Mr. Brad Dellinger of the Shenandoah County Landfill to work on a recycling proposal.
Standing Committee Reports:
Public Safety/Buildings and Grounds Committee: Vice-Mayor Taylor said the committee met on January 23, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Hall.
The Committee received updates from Police, Fire, and Rescue on the Public Safety Building Needs Assessment. They have all been very pleased with Wiley and Wilson. They feel they have been very thorough and Mr. Taylor added the county has also been involved in the process.
Vice Mayor Taylor said he has received financial reports from Fire and Rescue showing how their donations from the Town are being used and this was forwarded to Finance as they begin budget considerations for 08-09.
A request was made for a three way stop at the intersection of High and Sharpe Streets. The committee discussed this and they were more comfortable with a two way stop, due to the steep incline. The matter was discussed after the Public Safety meeting in the Streets Committee meeting and they recommend a three way stop for good reasons cited by Director of Public Works Rhodes.
Planner Amos gave a report on recycling options. Updated information will be shared during the Public Forum on February 25.
The committee went into closed session to discuss renovation work on the Fire Department. Personnel from the Fire Department put together a quote to handle the renovations in house and have passed that on to us for consideration. We plan to discuss this during the next Finance meeting.
Vice Mayor Taylor gave highlights of the monthly police report (attached here-to). He thanked the Fire Department for the great job they did handling the fire at the old grain mill behind Cristina’s Restaurant. He also asked that all please be extra careful during the winter months when it comes to fire prevention. Please clean out flues and chimneys and to be careful with kerosene heaters and the use of space heaters.
Personnel Committee: Council Member Whittle reported the committee met on January 30, 2008, with Council Members Whittle (Chair), Le Vine, Mauck, and Terndrup in attendance. Discussed was the Springsted Personnel Review Update, which Town Manager Fauber discussed earlier in the Council meeting.
In other business, the committee interviewed several citizens for the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Recreation Advisory Committee. He thanked all those who were interviewed for their strong desire to make Strasburg a better place. He said the Town is always taking applications for boards and committees and he said people can help other civic groups such as the Strasburg Museum, the Strasburg Heritage Association, Strasburg Rotary, Strasburg Chamber of Commerce, and Hometown Strasburg.
Dee Morrissey was interviewed, but it came out she is most interested in tourism and preservation and so she will be working on the Mayor’s Tourism committee.
Council Member Whittle nominated Lucinda Lough for the vacancy on the Board of Zoning Appeals; second by Council Member Le Vine.
Discussion:
Council Member Whittle said Ms. Lough was interested in both the BZA and Planning Commission, but currently there are no vacancies on the Planning Commission. She is working on her civil engineering degree and he feels she will be beneficial to the BZA.
The nomination passed unanimously. (Her term will end on December 31, 2012).
Council Member Whittle nominated Charles Cottrill to the Recreation Advisory Committee; second by Council Member Le Vine.
Discussion:
Council Member Whittle said Mr. Cottrill comes to the Town with 40 years of experience in parks and recreation management and has a wealth of knowledge. Council Member Mauck added she is very excited about his interest in the committee.
The nomination passed unanimously.
The next meeting will be an Executive Session on February 27, for the performance review with Town Manager Fauber.
Public Utilities Committee: Council Member Nicholson said the committee did not meet. Updates on the water plant project had been given by Director of Public Utilities Tewalt. He added there were no issues with the water flow at the recent fire on King Street and thanked the men at the Water Plant for this.
Recreation Committee: Council Member Mauck said there was a meeting of citizens interested in helping re-build the playground on February 4. Sub-committees were developed from this meeting. A list of the citizens attending and the committees they will be serving on was included in the Council Packets.
The dates of construction for the two new units of the playground will be March 26 – 29, 2008, with a grand re-opening on Sunday, March 30. Many volunteers are needed to get to this occasion. The next major meeting of volunteers will be on Monday, February 18, at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
Finance Committee: Council Member Le Vine began his report by saying not everyone pays their taxes as they should. It is required that after five years Council needs to vote to abate the unpaid tax amount.
Council Member Le Vine moved for the abatement of the 2001 Personal Property taxes in the amount of $3,807.55 per State Code; second by Vice Mayor Taylor. The motion passed unanimously.
Council Member Le Vine said the committee met on January 29, 2008, with the following attendees: Council Members Le Vine (Chair) and Terndrup, Director of Finance Mullins, and Mr. James Kelley, Robinson, Farmer, and Cox, the Town’s audit firm.
Mr. Kelley reviewed the audit of the Town’s finances conducted by his corporation. In his judgment, the Town is in compliance with all applicable federal and state accounting regulations and practices. Mr. Kelley agreed that the audit does not address the soundness of Council decisions in allocating or generating funds but, rather, focuses solely upon the processes used for collecting revenues and dispersing funds.
First Financial Advisors (Clay Arthur), Edward Jones (Marquetta Mitchell with Zachary Karas from Hartford) and Nationwide (Debbie Turner) presented proposals for establishing a tax-deferred retirement account for employees (colloquially called a 457 Fund). Madison Financial, in an undated letter, formally withdrew its proposal before the meeting.
The Committee agreed the first priority lay in selecting the person who would interact with our staff. That person must be knowledgeable, be someone with whom all of our employees would be comfortable and have an ability to educate and counsel anyone interested in establishing and maintaining such an account.
It was decided that Edward Jones and Nationwide offered the more impressive array of funds, educational tools and personal approach to our staff. However, it was felt it prudent to request the person who would actually interface with our staff to return for a more in depth discussion of how they would interact and educate the staff. Director of Finance Mullins will arrange these interviews within the next month.
The Finance Committee met again on February 5, 2008, with those attending being: Council Members Le Vine (Chair), Mauck, Rinker, Terndrup; Vice Mayor Taylor, Town Manager Fauber, Director of Finance Mullins, Director of Public Works Rhodes, Director of Public Utilities Tewalt, Chief Sutherly, and Planner Amos.
The purpose of this meeting was to get a sense of the financial situation for the next fiscal year. The current budget was discussed first with the following points being highlighted:
v Best Judgment – no excess funds
Ø Will end year balanced
Ø Assumes all commitments fulfilled
Ø No provision for fire department improvements
Council Member Le Vine then discussed the 2008 – 2009 Budget. The Staff was asked to come up with a draft budget. He added the assumptions that went into this draft budget, “we are not making any commitments that this is what we are going to do; it is not advocating, but is simply a baseline so that people can understand that under these conditions, what the consequences are and then we can change the conditions, if we want to. This is simply to give the Council and the public a sense of where we are.”
Assumptions for the 2008/09 Budget
Expenses
v No salary increases
v No new employees
v 5% Reserve (same as current budget to handle unforeseen occurrences)
v Constant level of service
Ø No new initiatives
Ø Operating expenses with only minor adjustments
Ø Three significant capital improvement costs
§ One police vehicle {leased or purchased?} -- $25K
§ Compact mini-excavator {leased or purchased?} – $60K
§ Meter reading device - $10K
Revenue
v Water/Sewer (last year’s budget was done with the help of a water/sewer analysis that made projections for five years of rate increases in anticipation of the new plants). The figures below “assume” the water/sewer rate increases.
Ø Water – $0.57/thousand (10%) (Rate Analysis in May 2007)
Ø Sewer – $1.13/thousand (18.5%) (Rate Analysis in May 2007)
Ø Minimum – 35.04 (Rate Analysis in May 2007)
Ø Availability fees – no change
v Trash -- $1/month (presumes adoption of recycling)
v General Revenues
Ø No increases (e.g., real estate, meals, personal property)
Council Member Le Vine gave examples of how much the rate increase would be according to the amount of usage you have currently.
Consequences – if all of the above assumptions held true
Best Judgment = $300,000 shortfall
v Additional Costs:
Ø Waste Water Treatment Plant engineering $1,000,000
Ø Engineering for new Water Plant (already borrowed)
Ø Capital Improvement Plan (approved May 2007) (up to) $3,000,000
Ø Water Plant replacement $14,000,000
$18,000,000
Council Member Le Vine said he is making assumptions because he doesn’t know what else to do. If you borrow from Rural Development, they will apply for grants, but he is assuming we will not get the grants. He is also assuming the re-payment will begin next year, but that will depend on the terms and conditions. He is assuming a 4.25% interest rate for 30 years which equals $930,000/year for the next 30 years. All of this added together would create a shortfall of $1.25 million. In addition, the waste water plant is expected to get started during the following fiscal year. He said he feels we are facing some serious financial obligations. Due to this, the Finance Committee is suggesting some steps to be taken. Director of Finance Mullins is going through the budget, reviewing it, and then she will prepare a proposal of costs if salaries are increased by 1% (salary cost is roughly 50% of the total budget). A list of all the sources of revenue the Town has will be compiled with the current rate and then what the rate would be if increased by 1%. The cost of borrowing for 30 or 40 years will be estimated for the loans needed. There is also the possibility services may have to be lowered and so Staff has been asked what they would do if their individual department’s budget was cut by 10%; what their response would be to this. The committee will meet again on February 26, and then twice a month until the budget process is complete.
Council Member Le Vine said his personal perspective is this is a serious issue the Town is facing and every possible alternative must be considered. Salaries and benefits for the Staff will have to be considered; levels of service will need to be considered; equipment; sources of revenue. His belief is “in the end, we will find a way out of this; we will find a way to preserve the Town and get past this. I think the good that will come out of this is it is an opportunity for us, the Town, to take control of our destiny; we are going to shape our future…I think we have done, sometimes behind the scenes, but in the last year, we have done some things to prepare ourselves for this. Mr. Whittle’s human resource study is giving us information to better handle salaries, benefits, human resource things. Mr. Terndrup’s committee, ordinance, has done a lot with getting us ordinances preparing us for the future. Mr. Rinker’s transportation study is a vital thing for the future --- what we’re going to do and I think planning for that is helpful. Mrs. Wallace and Mr. Taylor’s needs study for the police and fire, we need that information that is coming to fruition to understand what we’re going to need in the way of a new public safety building and whether we can afford it or not. Mr. Nicholson has given us a water and sewer plant and I think they’re coming to fruition. Mrs. Mauck, I think, has given us for the first time in a long time in my opinion, an outline of a good recreation plan for the Town and what it’s going to cost. We will be able to approach our financial situation, understanding the implications for the entire Town, and we are better prepared for this than we were a year ago. I am optimistic we will find a fair and equitable way through this. I want to emphasize again that the assumptions I made are assumptions; there is nothing that has been cast in concrete … this is an attempt to understand the magnitude of the issues we have, not to dictate what the answers may be; that will come over the course of the next couple of months. I would encourage everyone on the Council and in the public to come to the finance committee meeting --- if you want to have an impact in this Town on our finances, the place to do that is at the finance committee meetings.” He concluded by saying he will give an update every month on where the Town is on the budget process.
Council Member Terndrup gave a brief illustration of the dilemma government is in now. “We basically have three choices: we can raise taxes, we can borrow the money, you can cut spending…If we were to pay for the war in Iraq, just for the year 2007, it would cost each household in this room $300/month. We are not doing that; we are borrowing it. If you borrow the money that means your kids will pay that plus the interest. If you cut the spending that means you need to reduce the size of your military force either in people or equipment – your commitment. So those are your choices. Each one has a price --- has an economic price; has a personal price --- and there is no balancing out what is the best thing to do or what combination. Ultimately, that decision in this Town falls to those of us who sit up here (Council), but there is also a responsibility of you, as citizens, to give us what you think also because this is, after all, our community and this is in the end a community decision that we have the elected responsibility to make for all of us. We hope we make the very best choice we can.”
Council Member Rinker said, “I’d like to comment on this also as being a member of the finance committee and also being past finance chairman for the past 10 to 15 years or even longer…I would say that what we are faced with here isn’t anything new that we haven’t been faced with in the past; it is just the magnitude of it has grown. We were faced with it when we first put in the sewer plant down there, we were faced with major debt and how to pay for it; we wrestled with that for a long time. When we built what was called by the community, the ‘Taj Mahal’, which is the beautiful Town Hall which everyone swore to goodness we would never, ever fill up, it had too many rooms in it, well now it’s too small; it doesn’t have enough rooms. We are paying for that very nicely; we’ve managed without a lot of major increase to the community…As a member of that committee, I truly feel that where there is a will, there’s a way, as Don (Council Member Le Vine) said, and I do think the committee, along with the Staff, will work out a way to pay for these improvements. Am I worried about it? Not really because I tell you, I’m a businessman and I’m a hard-nosed businessman and being a hard-nosed businessman, I know how it is to have to pay for things. I know how it is to have to cut staff. I know how it is to have to cut expenses. Been there and done that for 44 years. I am prepared to do whatever is necessary to make the budget constraints meet; I’m not going to go out here and jump off the deep end and raise water and sewer rates beyond the wildest imagination where no one will be able to afford to live in this Town. I’m also worried about raising water and sewer rates 10% every year for four or five years; that’s going to escalate to be quite a sum of money to pay for your water and sewer rates. I think we can probably work that in combination with some other businesses that will be coming on-line.” He spoke of layoffs at the Lear plant and the possibility of closure of the plant and the impact this will have on the Town. He spoke of the real estate “slump” and how this is not the best time to be faced with a budget like this, but “it’s nothing that this finance committee and this Town and people sitting right here in this audience haven’t bore before. As a representative of this Town, rest assured I am going to do everything in my power to represent you in a proper, professional manner to solve this without a lot of major, major escalation of fees and costs to the citizenry.”
Ordinance Committee: Council Member Terndrup said the committee met on February 4 with the following present: Council Members Terndrup (Chair) and Mauck, Vice Mayor Taylor, Planner Amos, Planning Commission Chairperson Smith, and Mr. Scott Rosenfeld.
Council Member Terndrup said the Ordinance Committee recommends to Council the approval of a spot blight abatement ordinance --- section 16-39 of the Town Code would hereby be amended. I hereby move for its adoption; second by Vice Mayor Taylor.
Discussion:
Council Member Terndrup explained the process elements of the spot blight
ordinance as outlined on a flow chart. He added this is not a remedy to for
“property eyesores.” Quoting from the State Code, Council Member Terndrup
read, “Aesthetic conditions alone do not justify the exercise of local police
powers to regulate or control private property.” He continued by asking what
spot blight was and said, “a blighted property means any individual or
commercial, industrial, or residential structure, or improvement that endangers
the public’s health, safety or welfare because the structure or improvement on
the property is dilapidated, deteriorated, or violates minimum health and safety
standards.”
Council Member Terndrup said the process would begin with the Town
Planner who would visit the property to see if it meets the criteria. The
committee discussed the appeal safeguards to the property owner. The process
allows time for a property owner of blighted property to remedy specified
unlawful conditions without penalty (the owner would be given 30 days to
respond.). However, for property owners who continue to disregard the law, this
ordinance provides Council with meaningful consequential action that seeks to
correct the blight condition. Council Member Terndrup further explained the
process of by reviewing the flow chart (attached here-to). The process has been
used by other Virginia localities with great success. He emphasized that spot
blight abatement is not a remedy for eyesores. Aesthetic conditions alone do
not justify the exercise of local police powers to regulate or control private
property.
Council Member Le Vine questioned the flow chart and how it actually “flowed.” Planner Amos explained furthered the flow chart.
Vice Mayor Taylor thanked the public for their patience while this ordinance has been discussed and developed. He hopes all will try the neighborly approach first before turning to this ordinance.
Council Member Mauck asked if this was a complaint driven ordinance and if the process was lengthy. Council Member Terndrup said it was not necessarily complaint driven and that it was an extremely long process.
The ordinance passed unanimously.
There are additional State Code provisions that assist local governments in these efforts.
1. The County may exercise its authority to enforce the Uniform Building Code and the Property Maintenance Code
2. The Town may add additional restrictions to the nuisance abatement provisions in the ordinances. These are listed in Section 15.2-900, 901, 906 and 1115. Ms. Amos will present a proposal to adopt these revisions next month
3. There are several code references to drug blight. These sections have been forwarded to Public Safety for their review and possible recommendation
4. A locality can seek an injunction to require a property owner to remedy a blighted property. Ms. Amos will discuss these with the Town Attorney and report back to the committee
At the meeting, Mr. Rosenfeld addressed the committee to report that progress on the Shenandoah Green project was moving forward. The committee expressed its confidence that this project will showcase a quality application of the planned development ordinance.
The major focus of the March meeting will be the Historic District Ordinance. The public is invited to attend.
Buildings and Grounds Committee: Council Member Wallace said the committee met on January 23, with Public Safety and as that report was given by Vice Mayor Taylor, did not repeat. Also discussed at the meeting was the recycling program and Planner Amos will be meeting with Mr. Brad Dellinger and so updates will be forthcoming.
The committee discussed the windows that need to be repaired or replaced in the Council Chambers and Town Manager Fauber is to look into this. Town Manager Fauber also told the committee that VML insurance will be looking at the Town Hall to make sure it is up to Code in the near future.
Streets Committee: Council Member Rinker said the committee met on January 23 with the following in attendance: Council Members Rinker (Chair), Mauck, and Terndrup; Town Manager Fauber, Director of Public Works Rhodes, Planner Amos, Ms. Kim Bishop, Ms. Joyce Gary, and Mr. Justin Ritenour.
The first item discussed was speeding on Crystal Lane. Director of Public Works Rhodes suggested looking into some sort of a calming devices, but these do come with a cost. He will look into the cost and installation.
Also discussed was the intersection of High Street and Sharpe Street. A three-way stop sign will be installed.
Sidewalk and street problems in front of 267 W. Queen Street was talked about. The VDOT street project is not set for commencement as of yet so Director of Public Works Rhodes will look into this area in the spring and it will then be decided what can be done to alleviate sidewalk problems and breaking of pavement.
Thompson Street, between Stonewall and Pleasant View Streets, has parking on both sides of the street and this is becoming a problem. Director of Public Works Rhodes and Town Manager Fauber will look into this and bring back a recommendation to the committee.
A bike path along Queen Street was discussed as it was decided this would be too dangerous on King Street. VDOT is looking at this on the west end of the street and the Streets Committee will continue to monitor this.
Planner Amos gave an overview of the RFP for the transportation plan. The cost of doing this needs to be found out and then if there are funds to initiate the project. This will have to be done before the Comprehensive Plan is completed in October 2008.
Drainage study in the area of the theatre is well underway by Urban Engineering.
The committee discussed brick versus stamped sidewalks and no decision was reached on this. Projects proposing poured concrete will be looked at closely. Much of the problem concerns money as it is more expensive to use the real brick.
Council Member Rinker read the resolution to the Virginia Department of Transportation (attached here-to). The list of the streets was included in the Council Packets.
Council Member Rinker moved to adopt the resolution; second by Le Vine.
Discussion:
Council Member Mauck asked if these streets are ready to be turned over to VDOT and Council Member Rinker said they are.
Vice Mayor Taylor asked if this included sidewalks and Director of Public Works Rhodes said the Town does have some leeway and it basically includes anything within the streets maintenance program.
Motion passed unanimously.
Council Member Terndrup moved to send out an RFP for a Transportation Study contingent on available funding; second by Council Member Mauck.
Discussion:
Council Member Le Vine asked for a clearer explanation of the motion. Are we asking respondents to bid with the understanding funding may not be available to actually fund the project? Council Member Terndrup said he just wants to begin the process as was discussed in committee.
Council Member Rinker said he thinks this is a good motion, but in any RFP that is sent out, there are no guarantees the project will be funded so he isn’t sure it needs to be advertised “contingent on funding” as all RFP’s have a clause saying the Town has the right to reject any or all of the proposals. Town Manager Fauber said his understanding of the motion is this is just getting the process started. Proposals can be gotten, interviews conducted, and then Council can decide if they want to fund the project.
Council Member Le Vine asked why this was any different than any other RFP, and Council Member Terndrup said it wasn’t; the contingency is just for Council’s purposes and not actually written into the RFP.
The motion was approved unanimously.
Special Committee Reports:
Strasburg Heritage Association: Council Member Whittle said the group will meet on February 24 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. An election of officers will be held and there will be a presentation by store owners from Front Royal. You can purchase “parts” for old homes in this store.
Chamber of Commerce: Clerk Keller said the Chamber Board met that morning. March Madness Mania basketball tickets are on sale now and you can purchase these from an Chamber Board member. It was decided to move forward with negotiations on moving the Chamber office to the downtown area. The Annual Chamber Banquet will be held either in April or June, depending on where it will be held and the type of banquet decided upon. Next mixer will be held on February 21, 5 – 7 p.m. at Baker’s Store in Mt. Olive.
Hometown Strasburg: Mrs. Carla Wallen announced the group received the news they have been approved for non-profit status through the IRS. This will help the group when individuals and organizations wish to make a contribution or donation as the donation will be tax deductible and it creates more opportunities to apply for grants.
Several members of Hometown met with Council Member Mauck and Jason Cooper, Fort Valley Nursery, and drove on the Entrance Corridor to see where redbud trees could be planted to re-create “Redbud Alley.” Preliminary plans have been received and Planner Amos will meet with VDOT to make sure the placement of trees is in agreement with VDOT. Following this, the group will meet with property owners to show the plans and hopefully the owners will consent to having the trees planted and also pay for the plantings.
Good ideas came out of their recent retreat. They will be initiating the program modeled after the Town of Radford of “Downtown Dollars,” but it will be called “Hometown Dollars” in Strasburg. It will encourage residents and visitors to shop in Strasburg. There will be no fees for businesses to participate and more information will be forthcoming.
The group’s main project is the “pocket park” beside the Fire Department. A design was given to all Council Members (attached here-to). The consensus of the group was to have more of a park like look and not use the brick stamped concrete, but stone stamped concrete. She explained more about the plans. The group is working with Janet Heishman, a master gardener, and Larry Haun, a master gardener “student”, on the flowers, shrubs, etc. that will be planted in the park.
Council Member Le Vine offered to give a name of a person who does stone sidewalks, but he was told this was already discussed at the meeting and they know the person and Mr. Tom Carver has already met with him. Mrs. Wallen stressed the group wants to keep the lines of communication open between the Town and Hometown so to please let her know of any questions or concerns with projects.
Council Member Rinker asked about the street lights and if these are the lights that are recommended for the entire streetscape. Mrs. Wallen showed a picture of what the proposed lights would look like along King Street (these were computer generated images). Council Member Rinker wanted to make sure these lights were in concert with what the Town is planning and he feels the lights are beautiful. He asked what the cost of the lighting would be and Mrs. Wallen said that a complete street light would cost ~$2,500; the number of lights needed for both sides would be ~80.
Hometown Strasburg should hear from the VDOT grant in March.
Last year, Mr. Larry Haun was hired to do the maintenance and landscaping with the flowers, etc. in the Town. A project “near and dear” to him is the Town Run. There will be a clean-up day on April 22. On March 12; Mr. Haun will meet with a stream specialist to get suggestions on how to clean it up and what should be planted to reduce runoff from asphalt. The hope is to someday have a “water park” along Town Run.
Mayor Crisman said a goal was to have the pocket park done by Mayfest. Hometown would like to have a gazebo, park benches, and a fountain within this park, but all of this might not be done by Mayfest, but at least the first phase is hoped to be completed.
Mrs. Wallen passed out a listing of Hometown accomplishments (attached here-to).
Council Member Mauck moved to resolve to support Hometown Strasburg in its efforts to complete the park; second by Council Member Wallace.
Discussion:
Council Member Le Vine asked what kind of “support” is being asked for. Council Member Mauck said she is asking for moral support from Council.
The motion was approved unanimously.
Tourism: Mayor Crisman said he and several Council Members had met to re-establish the Tourism Committee. It was decided to ask Ms. Dee Morrissey to chair this committee and she has accepted this position.
Old Business:
New Business:
Council Member Le Vine asked about dates for the next Staff/Council Retreat. The dates will be Saturday, October 11, 8 a.m. -12 noon, and March 14, 2009, 8 a.m. – 12 noon.
Committee Dates:
Public Safety Committee Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008 6:30 p.m
Personnel Committee Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Public Utilities Committee TBA
Recreation Committee Monday, Feb. 18, 2008 7 p.m.
Finance Committee Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008 7:15 p.m. Monday, March 10, 2008 7:15 p.m.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 7:15 p.m.
Ordinance Committee Monday, March 3, 2008 7 p.m.
Streets Committee Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Buildings and Grounds Monday, Feb. 25, 2008 7 p.m.
(Presentation at the Public Forum)
Council Public Forum Monday, Feb. 25, 2008 7 p.m.
Being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:14 p.m.