MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE TOWN COUNCIL FOR THE TOWN OF STRASBURG, HELD ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 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 November 14, 2006 Public Hearing and the November 14, 2006 Town Council meeting were passed as presented.
Mayor Crisman welcomed all in attendance and said all petitions and communications had been directed toward the appropriate committees. In attendance were members of Boy Scout Troop 333 of Woodstock. The boys are working on earning citizenship badges.
Citizen Comments:
Greg Nash, 125 W. North St., Strasburg, VA: Mr. Nash said he called several Council Members and gave a letter to Vice Mayor Taylor regarding the police chief position. He knows three current members of the Strasburg Police Department have applied for this --- he is unsure of whom two of the applicants are, but he has talked to Lt. Stickley, an applicant, about this position. He said this will be a hard decision for Council, but an advantage of having someone from the department is that this person already knows the area and the people. If someone is brought in from away from Strasburg, they will have to be taught all of this and so it would be advantageous to hire someone already here. He has talked to over 300 people in Town and all but one had positive comments about Lt. Stickley.
Richard Hockman, 217 Pouts Hill Road, Strasburg, VA: Mr. Hockman said he had spoken at last month’s meeting about getting some property adjacent to his property cleaned up. He said according to the ordinance it should have been cleaned up between three and 20 days and it has been over 30 days with no results. He was told it would be taken care of.
Mayor Crisman said he would ask for an update this evening. Town Manager Fauber said Staff has been in contact with the man from Edinburg who does mowing in the Town and there have been some scheduling problems. Mayor Crisman asked if the decision has been made that the property will be mowed and Town Manager Fauber said it will be. Mayor Crisman asked if the cost of the mowing will go as a lien against the property as is normally done and Town Manager Fauber said this would happen. Mayor Crisman said it will be taken care of and Mr. Hockman said this is the same thing he has been told before and he had pictures he was willing to share of the property. Town Planner Amos said when the man who was scheduled to do this came, it rained and he could not mow due to the terrain. Mayor Crisman said this will be taken care of at the earliest convenience.
Reports and Communications from Town Officers
Town Attorney Neal: no report
Town Manager Fauber: Reported he and Council Member Mauck attended the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors meeting that morning. The special use permit for the cellular tower in the Fishers Hill area was turned down by the Board. This was actually denied last month, but there was a resolution of denial signed at the meeting today. They also heard a presentation by Jay Moore, Mosely Architect, on the Shenandoah County Court House options. This was enlightening as there were four or five different options with cost estimations. The Board has sent this to their Property and Public Works Committee to be discussed in January. There was also a Public Hearing on the granting of easements by the County through the Industrial Park to serve water and sewer to the Aikens/Claytor project. This was passed.
Director of Finance Mullins: Staff has been busy collecting taxes and business licenses will be sent out near the end of the month.
Director of Public Utilities Tewalt: Mr. Tewalt pointed out his report for the Water Treatment Plant had been expanded to include graphs. He noted flows have come down since the non-potable system went into use. There was a breakdown of equipment during November so that month’s flow is not a good reflective number. He is happy the system is working as well as it is.
Council Member Le Vine asked about the figures given in the Water Usage Billed and the numbers given in the Monthly Flows --- he noted there was a discrepancy in the amount billed and the flow. Mr. Tewalt and Town Manager Fauber explained there are several factors that cause this difference.
1. When factories test fire suppression systems, they are not billed.
2. Churches and government buildings are not billed.
3. Fire hydrant use and the flushing of lines do not get billed.
4. All systems have a certain percentage of leakage which cannot be billed.
Mr. Fauber also added the billing report is from the middle of the month to the middle of the month and the flow report is from beginning to beginning which will also reflect some differences in the reports.
Council Member Le Vine stated that only 2/3 of the water is being paid for and asked if this is typical of municipalities. Mayor Crisman said this is actually better than in the past due to improvements and the Town is always striving to find ways to conserve water and the Town is within normal standard range. Town Manager Fauber said most all of the water is metered, but not all water is billed
Director of Public Works Rhodes: Mr. Rhodes reported the Capon Road water line is basically completed and they are now working with the contractor to get the road re-paved. He is in hopes this will be done this week, weather permitting.
The fall leaf pick-up is complete and Christmas Tree pick-up is scheduled for January 8 – 12, 2007.
Chief of Police Robinson: Due to a death in the family, Chief Robinson was absent and Asst. Chief Wilkin was in attendance. The Police Department answered 738 calls during the month of November, resulting in 83 adult arrests and 3 juvenile arrests.
Town Planner Amos: Planner Amos did not have any action items to bring before the Council from the Planning Commission. She reported there will be only one Planning Commission meeting this month, Thursday, December 14, 2006, and there is a Joint Public Hearing scheduled at 7:15 p.m. prior to the meeting.
The Planning Commission will begin work on the update of the Comprehensive Plan in January. A Worksession will be held on January 18, 2007, at 6:30 p.m., to work out a timeline for the work to be done on the Plan. On January 25, at 7:15 p.m., a citizen’s forum is tentatively scheduled.
Council Member Le Vine asked if the Planning Commission is “trying to come to grips” with a long-term plan for what the Route 55 corridor should be like. Planner Amos explained several re-zoning applications have been received for properties along Capon Road which also fronts on Route 55. Instead of acting on those applications, the Planning Commission would like to look at the entire corridor. This may take several months to accomplish.
Standing Committee Reports:
Public Safety: Vice Mayor Taylor said the committee did not have a formal meeting, but he is working on a draft of the Emergency Action Plan that will supplement the County’s Emergency Operation Plan. He will be meeting with Gary Yew and Tim Williams on Friday to receive input on this. After a draft is completed, he will meet with Town Manager Fauber and committee members to share this draft with them. He has also sent committee members and Mayor Crisman information about becoming NIMS certified. This course can be done on-line and he is in hopes all will be NIMS certified by the end of February. He concluded by saying you can now go on the Town’s website and connect to a link with information on pandemics and avian flu.
Personnel Committee: Council Member Whittle said the committee met on November 29 with Council Members Nicholson, Terndrup, Rinker, Le Vine, and himself in attendance. The committee conducted an interview for the vacancy on the Planning Commission. Also, public comment was received on the Police Chief opening. The committee then went into Closed Session to review applications and prepare interview questions. The next meeting will be held on January 31, 2007.
Public Utilities: Did not meet. Council Member Nicholson said he spoke with Director of Public Utilities Tewalt and DEQ is looking to have the preliminary engineering report completed in about two to three weeks for the wastewater treatment plant. He hopes Mr. Gary Weishaar will soon be ready to show a design of the water plant. Mr. Tewalt will be meeting on Friday with the engineers. Mayor Crisman asked if there was a date for when the design will be ready and Council Member Nicholson said he hopes Mr. Tewalt will be told a date at that time.
Recreational Advisory Committee: Council Member Mauck said the committee met and the sub-committees formed are working on their projects for future recreation needs. The Town needs to send a letter stating they are willing to maintain the park on Fort Street, but Council Member Mauck would like Director of Public Works Rhodes to visit the site to make sure the Town will want to undertake this. The bids on re-surfacing the pool are due in January and the Boy Scouts will make a report to the Recreation Committee on their proposed bike trails.
Mayor Crisman asked Council Member Mauck to keep Mr. Mike McHale informed of these projects as he is very interested in the bike trails.
Finance Committee: Council Member Le Vine said the committee met on December 5, 2006, with the following persons present: Council Members Le Vine, Mauck, and Terndrup, Town Manager Fauber, Director of Finance Mullins, Director of Public Utilities Tewalt, and Suzie Hill and Gary Rutherford from the County Tourism Committee.
Discussed at the meeting was the proposed increase in the Town’s transient occupancy tax to 5%. Ms. Hill presented a program similar to the one shown to the previous Council earlier in the year and gave arguments why it is in the best interests of Strasburg to continue to fund tourism. Ms. Hill said the County tourism funds are selling the entire County and not individual towns and she feels we get our money’s worth, but acknowledged the inequality of Woodstock not participating and of New Market only providing 1%.
Ms. Hill emphasized the potential for legislation being introduced in 2007 that would require all increases in transient occupancy tax to be used for tourism as opposed to general funds. No one is sure if this will actually happen. She also mentioned that the County is “considering” the advantages of a tourism center in Strasburg to balance the one in the southern end. Council Member Le Vine stressed no decisions have been made on this and there is no time schedule for this.
Council Member Le Vine said he talked to Woodstock’s chairman of the Finance Committee and Woodstock is considering increasing occupancy tax to 7% and giving the 2% to the County. There is some discussion as to who collects this 2%, the Town or the County. Council Member Le Vine has also discussed the situation with Supervisor Helsley.
It was decided by Council Members attending the meeting to propose an increase in the occupancy tax to 5%, effective January 1, 2007, and the Town retaining all proceeds, with the proviso that if Woodstock and New Market begin contributing 2%, Strasburg will re-visit this.
Council Member Le Vine moved to increase the Town’s transient occupancy tax to 5% beginning January 1, 2007. The Town will collect and maintain the entire 5% with the proviso that if Woodstock does begin paying 2% occupancy tax to the County and if New Market changes its contribution from 1% to 2%, then Strasburg Town Council will re-visit this issue to see if Council would like to contribute 2% like all others; second by Vice Mayor Taylor.
Discussion:
Vice Mayor Taylor asked if a particular percentage should actually be included in the motion or should it be that whatever the other Town’s give, Strasburg would consider following suit. Council Member Le Vine said it is mainly that all the towns would be contributing the same amount. Personally, he is willing to put in Strasburg’s fair share as long as all other towns are paying the same rate. He said he was willing to change the motion to reflect that he wants all towns to be paying equal.
Council Member Rinker said he does not want to give the County the impression that Strasburg is going to pay the same if the other towns agree to give a percentage to the County. He wants to be sure of how the County will spend the money before deciding to give anything to the County. He feels the Strasburg Chamber of Commerce does a fine job of promoting Strasburg. Using the language of “re-visiting” suits him as this does not mean it is guaranteed that Strasburg will contribute.
Council Member Whittle asked if the County can come back and raise the tax in the Town --- in other words, can they impose a 2% tax on top of what Strasburg is imposing. Town Attorney Neal does not think this is possible and Town Manager Fauber said he believes this is part of the problem Woodstock is having as they think the County can, but the County Attorney does not feel the County can do this.
Town Manager Fauber added the Town is actually imposing a transient occupancy ordinance to implement this tax. This has gone before a public hearing in November.
Vice Mayor moved to withdraw the motion on the floor; second by Council Member Le Vine. The motion passed unanimously.
Mayor Crisman asked Town Attorney Neal for assistance in wording the motion. Mr. Neal said the motion should just be for implementing the ordinance and not add anything about re-visiting it later as all the Town is doing now is passing an ordinance.
Vice Mayor Taylor moved to approve the ordinance as stated (ordinance attached here-to); second by Council Member Le Vine.
Discussion:
Council Member Mauck said she had originally questioned increasing this tax, but she has checked with surrounding jurisdictions and all others have at least a 5% tax and some are higher so she will support this.
Council Member Terndrup said it was stated at the Finance Committee meeting that for every $1 spent on tourism advertising, the County gets back $4 in revenue. He believes this is a good deal, but when it was asked how much of this $4 comes to the northern end of the County, the answer was more “muddled” as to where it goes. He continued by saying 2007 is going to be a big year in the Commonwealth as it is the 400th anniversary of the Commonwealth. Many people will be visiting the state and because of where we are located – at the intersection of I81 and I66 – we need to take advantage of this anniversary and promote Strasburg and the northern end of the County. He would like to see the people dealing with tourism look at this because where we are is not the same location as New Market or Woodstock. Strasburg has its own particular tourist attractions we need to promote. He is not sure the County representatives got this message clearly. Strasburg is a natural stop-off for people heading to Williamsburg or to Washington, DC and the rest of the County does not have this advantage of location. He also added that the County’s funding formula is broken. The formula was based upon equity of 2% per Town and when two of the towns dropped out, the formula was broken.
The motion passed on a roll call vote with the following results:
Le Vine Yes
Mauck Yes
Nicholson Yes
Taylor Yes
Rinker Yes
Terndrup Yes
Wallace Yes
Whittle Yes
Also at the committee meeting, Director of Finance Mullins discussed the County’s decision to eliminate vehicle decals. Town Attorney Neal is preparing an ordinance that needs to be acted upon at the January Council meeting if it is to be implemented in 2007 and because of various things that will need to take place whether it passes or not. The Town will not lose the decal money as it will be added into the June personal property tax bills. The only thought given at the Finance Committee meeting is if there is any function that the Town has that a decal needs to be shown (example is the County checks decals at the landfill). If anyone knows of any activity, please let Council Member Le Vine know. The enforcement mechanism for this would go through the Virginia tax system and DMV. Mayor Crisman said the Town had some criteria for defining what a “junk” vehicle is and did that include a Town sticker; if it did the ordinance needs to be revised. When cars are gotten rid of, unless you show proof to the County, it doesn’t come off the tax role. Will DMV automatically notify the Town when cars are not renewed or proof of insurance is not given? Mayor Crisman would like for this to be checked into. Director of Finance Mullins said all of the Town’s data comes from the Commissioner of Revenue’s office. She will be meeting with County officials to see exactly how all of this will work.
Council Member Le Vine said he had talked with Planner Amos and the number of new buildings is less (~100) than last year and next year might be even less; he is wondering how this will affect the budget. Town Manager Fauber said on a short-term basis, the money collected for hook-up fees and availability fees is put into a water and sewer reserve fund so it doesn’t affect the operating expenses of water and sewer. With the capital improvements at the Water Plant and Waste Water Treatment Plant, it could have a long-term effect. This will be discussed at the January Finance Committee meeting.
Council Member Le Vine then presented a PowerPoint presentation on the Public Works Department.
Following the presentation, Council Member Terndrup asked, “are we doing good?” What is the standard by which we measure how efficient each department is doing their job? If a tax payer were to ask if their tax dollar is being spent efficiently, how do Council Members answer them? Council Member Le Vine said he does not have an answer to that and these presentations are the basis to try to find this out. Ultimately, the question is if money is being spent most efficiently. He is trying to find a way to quantify this.
Council Member Terndrup asked what exactly the audit does – do they just check accuracy or do they do more than that? Mayor Crisman said he believes more of this will become clear as Council goes through the budget process, but in reality, Council decides where the money goes, or what expenditures there are and it is done on line item. During the budget process, items will be prioritized and it is done as a Council. Recommendations are gotten from Town Staff, but Council decides where to put the money. Monthly, Council is given an update of how the money is spent and in the end the audit confirms if things were done properly from a financial perspective.
Council Member Le Vine added he feels the Comprehensive Plan is tied into this because it sets and reflects priorities. One possibility to decide if money is being spent efficiently is to compare it to towns of comparable size. Mayor Crisman added that when other departments are involved, VDOT for example, it is like a “check-off” and they are easy to quantify. Also, projects over a certain amount require bidding by State law so this helps keep things competitive.
Ordinance Committee: Council Member Terndrup said the Ordinance Committee met on December 2, 2006, with the following present: Vice Mayor Taylor, Council Member Terndrup, Planner Amos, Planning Commission Chairman Smith, and Elizabeth Wilkerson, a reporter with the Northern Virginia Daily.
At the meeting, two items were finalized for the December public hearing: a second reading for the proposed occupancy standards and an ordinance that grants authorization to the Town Council to require environmental assessments and the remediation of contamination and any other adverse environmental condition as specified by Council.
The committee continues to refine a site plan ordinance revision that would require developers to submit a written schedule for completion that would trigger a timed removal of construction equipment and debris resulting from site development. They are in hopes of presenting a final version at the January public hearing. They received input from the Streets Committee regarding cul-de-sacs and Mr. Smith will ask the Planning Commissioners for their comments. A final cul-de-sac revision will also be presented in January. A request to amend the C-2 Highway Commercial zoning to allow banks will be sent to law enforcement for their comment. Other items for the January public hearing include:
¨ A revision of parking lot requirements for shopping centers
¨ A standardization of corner lot setbacks to 25 feet
¨ An alignment of preliminary plat and site plan timelines with State Code
¨ The adoption of a rewritten chapter of Town Code to eliminate the Town sticker and
substitute a Town fee.
Town Planner Amos will coordinate a meeting of the Ordinance Committee with officials from the Strasburg Green site to discuss the potential for smart growth design elements with the site.
Council Member Terndrup moved to adopt the Occupancy Standards as proposed into the Town Ordinance; second by Vice Mayor Taylor.
Discussion:
Council Member Le Vine asked, for clarification as a citizen had asked him, this is not a limitation on the size of a family --- husband, wife, and children. He said he had told them it was not; his reading of the language does not exclude that at all. Council Member Terndrup said the ordinance deals with non-related adults and does not infringe on the classical family.
Council Member Mauck asked if it is felt enough feedback has been gotten from the public before moving forward. Council Member Terndrup said there has been two public hearings, a fairly large article in the newspaper, and two open committee meetings. He has received one email from a community member with a concern.
Council Member Rinker commented, that in regards to relation, what do you call related and non-related? In other areas, he has seen as many as 25 or 30 people living in one house. How will you eliminate this? Council Member Terndrup said it is dealing with the maximum number of adult residents that can live in a dwelling. An example given was if you have a 3000 sq. ft. house, the maximum number of related adults that could live in the house is seven. Council Member Rinker wants to make sure there are no loopholes.
Mayor Crisman asked if enforcement was discussed. Council Member Terndrup said there is a questionnaire and a complaint form that is included and will trigger the ordinance. A complaint will be required. Planner Amos will follow up on the complaints. Planner Amos has discussed this policy with Winchester and Herndon and how complaints are handled.
Being no further discussion, the motion passed unanimously.
Council Member Terndrup moved for Council to adopt to the Town Code a new section,
5-7.5, that relates to environmental site assessments. Second by Vice Mayor Taylor.
Discussion:
Council Member Nicholson asked if EPA was going to decide if an assessment is needed. Planner Amos said the Town’s Planning Commission and Council can make the request for assessment. Council Member Nicholson said the EPA and DEQ are the experts on this to decide if it is an environmental issue or not. Planner Amos said this would give the Council and Planning Commission the ability to recommend it be done. She said another federal agency could be contacted, but it would probably be sent to the Town’s on-call engineers for review or they may actually do it and then be paid for by the developer.
Town Attorney Neal said this requires the developer to submit Phase 1 and also requires the developer to pay a reasonable cost if more expert reviews are needed. It is automatic that it has to be done, but the Town has the ability to waive it. The State Code was recently amended to allow this to be done.
For informational purposes, Council Member Le Vine asked what the difference was between a rezoning and an amendment to the rezoning map. Town Attorney Neal said he feels they are probably one in the same and the terms are used interchangeable. Council Member Le Vine spoke about some of the language in the ordinance and Town Attorney Neal said the language tracks that in the State Code. Council Member Le Vine asked who actually decides if this will be done. Town Attorney Neal said the ordinance reads “it shall be” so it is required unless waived by Council.
Council Member Rinker called for the question. (Mayor Crisman explained that when the question is called for, a second and 2/3 vote is required according to Robert’s Rules of Order.)
Second by Council Member Nicholson. This passed unanimously.
The motion to adopt the ordinance was passed unanimously.
Council Member Terndrup moved for Council to adopt the same amendment into the Subdivision Ordinance; second by Vice Mayor Taylor. The motion passed unanimously.
Council Member Terndrup asked Town Attorney Neal if the fire hydrant ordinance would require a public hearing. Since a fee is involved with this, a public hearing will be required and will be held in January, 2007.
Building and Grounds Committee: Did not meet.
Streets Committee: Council Member Rinker said the owner of the Home Theatre and Joe Herbert appeared before the committee with complaints about drainage problems at the theatre (surface drainage was going down into the basement of the building). Several property owners are experiencing problems so the recommendation of the Streets Committee is for Director of Public Works Rhodes to look into this and get cost estimates to employ an engineering firm to try to find a solution to this problem. This problem goes from Fort Street through the BB&T Bank parking lot and will not be easy to remedy due to the size of the area.
Mr. Albert Minor appeared, along with Mr. Mike Painter, another property owner near North Street, to discuss the problem of the abandonment of this section of North Street. Council Member Rinker suggested Mr. Painter talk to the other property owners in the area to see if they would be willing to share the cost of Mr. Minor’s re-subdivision. This re-subdivision would turn Mr. Minor’s property around so it would front on Crim Drive and not North Street. This would allow Mr. Minor to have the three lots he is entitled to. Mr. Minor said VDOT or the Town, for Crim Drive, took the land from his property without any financial remuneration or without a signature of his. No one could explain the reason for this to Mr. Minor. If the citizens agree to this arrangement, they will bring the abandonment to the next Streets Committee meeting and see if the Town would be willing to give half of the land to Mr. Minor on one side and the other half to the adjoining property owners.
Mr. Chuck Norton and Mr. Bob Funk came to the meeting with concerns about Mr. Norton’s mailbox. This has been an ongoing problem and the Streets Committee is going to look at the actual width of the right-of-way in front of the property. Council Member Rinker will pull some surveys from the County and the committee will look at them and see what can be recommended to try to solve this problem.
Lastly, the committee was told the Town has received a letter from VDOT stating that they feel that since the Town has made so many improvements on Queen Street, the expansion of Queen Street should be pulled or it will have to be taken back for a public hearing if this project is to continue to be on VDOT’s list. The committee’s feelings were to divert the funds from this to complete the eastern end of Queen Street.
Council Member Le Vine asked if this meant that the extension to Queen Street is a mute issue. Town Manager Fauber said he will be in contact with VDOT to see what needs to take place next. Vice Mayor Taylor asked about the last block of Queen Street – is the Town going to abandon working on this section of the street near Sharpe Street. Council Member Rinker said this has not been forgotten and it will be a Town project, but the committee thinks the east end of Queen Street should be completed first. He has heard many good comments about the work on Queen Street and he thinks VDOT is proud of the work that has been done.
Council Member Terndrup commended Council Member Rinker on his leadership during the Streets Committee meeting in dealing with the North Street problem. He was very diplomatic and came up with a compromise solution that eased some “ruffled feathers.” He also thinks the west end of Queen Street should be finished now.
Special Committee Reports:
Shenandoah Telephone Advisory: Council Member Wallace said she has not heard anything about this Board meeting since she has been appointed to it.
Strasburg Heritage Society: Council Member Whittle said the Holiday Homes Tour went extremely well with more tickets being sold than ever. He thanked the homeowners of the homes, as well as the citizens of the Town, for making this so successful. The next meeting will be held on January 17, 2007.
Chamber of Commerce: The Strasburg Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors met this morning, December 12. It was reported the Chamber will be using Crawford Insurance as their insurance agent as they wish to keep business in Town. A fundraiser, “March Madness” will be underway soon. Tickets for this are $10 each and the Chamber will make a profit of $7.25 from each ticket sold. Tickets will hopefully be on sale at the December mixer.
Chamber dues are now due so if you owe, please pay as soon as possible.
Officers will be elected at the December Mixer on December 21. All officers have agreed to serve another term, but one Board member is not seeking re-appointment. This vacancy will need to be filled at this time.
In 2007, Mixers will be held quarterly. The months will be February, June, September, and December with the banquet being in early April. There was also some discussion of having a breakfast in July or August.
Everyone enjoyed the Christmas festivities and the Chamber has received positive comments. Most liked the time change of the parade and the Strasburg Homes Tour was well attended.
There will be a Mayfest meeting on Thursday, December 14, 7:30 p.m. at the Chamber office. The next mixer will be December 21 at the Strasburg Hotel.
HomeTown Strasburg: Mrs. Carla Wallen, representing Hometown, reported the group met for their monthly meeting on December 7 at 7 p.m. Mr. Brett Kelly, a representative of the Town’s ARB, met with the group to discuss signage. They exchanged ideas and gave suggestions for a proposed sign to be placed in front of the Town Hall. The group was active during the Christmas celebration and had a booth set up. New mugs, with the logo on it, should be available soon. They are working on a brochure, trying to confirm their non-profit status, and working on bylaws. The next meeting will be on January 4, 2007, and it will be a kick-off membership meeting. All are invited to attend.
Vision Committee: Council Member Le Vine said the group met on November 21. They are working on transforming ideas into paragraphs and several members of the group are working on this. Council Member Le Vine will take all of the pieces and try to condense it down into a single page with three elements.
1 – What is Strasburg?
2 – What is the vision?
3 – Keys to the future
The group will meet again on December 19 to discuss this one page statement. Council Member Le Vine is in hope a Vision Statement will be completed in December or January.
Old Business and Unfinished Business:
Council Code of Conduct:
Council Member Le Vine said after last meeting, Council Member Mauck proposed an alternative to the Code of Conduct discussed at last month’s meeting. Council Member Le Vine has an “affinity” to the previous one, mainly because all Council Members had input on this version since there have been several Worksessions, etc. in regards to it. He added the “spirit” of the two is the same. He has heard several Council Members are having a problem with either signing or affirming this action, but he is a strong believer in signing it. A simple way to handle this is to just pass this as a Council. He made several one word changes to the Code and read the Code in its entirety (attached here-to). He continued by saying the purpose of this was to reaffirm Members commitment. The option is there to either sign it or not and all would still be in the spirit of the Code.
Council Member Mauck stated that after the last meeting she spent time going through the Code book. The one page version she developed is a condensed version of the previous one, but she pointed out an area she wanted to stress in the latest version:
“The Members of the Town Council concur that they are responsible to ensure that ethical standards are understood and effective, and that the public can continue to have confidence in our town government. Having obliged under oath to do so, it is the duty of each Council Member to be familiar with and adhere to the rules and regulations of conduct for policies and procedures set forth in the Code of the Town of Strasburg and recognize all penalties prescribed therein.”
She feels this is basically saying to know your job, do your job, and the proper “dress” for a Council Member is to be honorable and that all should act accordingly.
Council Member Le Vine reiterated the spirit is the same. The three concerns he had with the new version is:
Council Member Rinker said he had raised an issue about signing the Code, but he doesn’t have a problem with a Code of Ethics and adhering to it. He conferred with Council Member Mauck and either version is acceptable. He thinks much time is being wasted in “batting” this around. He is ready to move in a positive direction and put this to rest tonight. He will support either version, but he is against signing or taking an affirmation.
Council Member Le Vine moved to pass the Code of Conduct as read into the record; second by Council Member Whittle.
Discussion:
Council Member Whittle thanked the Council for taking this on. He thinks it is a stepping stone to working together, but ultimately he hopes it will never have to be used. The Council Members will not always agree, but debate needs to be done professionally.
On a roll call vote, the motion passed with the following results:
Council Member Whittle Yes
Council Member Wallace No
Council Member Terndrup Yes
Council Member Rinker Yes
Vice Mayor Taylor Yes
Council Member Nicholson No
Council Member Mauck Yes
Council Member Le Vine Yes
New Business:
Council Member Le Vine Le Vine said the Museum Board of Directors met and invited the Strasburg Heritage Association. Over the past few years, Vice Mayor Taylor, Mrs. Gloria Stickley, Mrs. Kathy Kehoe, and Mrs. Barbara Adamson have put together a wonderful verbal history from citizens of the Town. Mr. Taylor has put this on a CD along with pictures of the Town and parts of this were shown at the meeting. He encouraged all to listen to this and it will be on display at the museum and also the library.
Council Member Le Vine said he had a job for Council Member Whittle. He would like the Personnel Committee look into initiating a monthly or quarterly recognition of a staff member.
Council Member Le Vine said Mayor Crisman, Vice Mayor Taylor, Council Members Terndrup and Le Vine, and Planner Amos attended a Joint Worksession of the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission to discuss the Turner proposal. This is important to the Town as it will set the tone for the Town. The Town and County must work together closely to make sure all of the Town’s ordinances and concerns are addressed. Planning Commission Chairman Aimonetti and Supervisor Helsley agreed this must happen.
Mayor Crisman thanked Vice Mayor Taylor for taking over the duties at the Christmas celebration. He added this is a duty he always enjoys and he is sorry he had to miss it.
Council Member Whittle thanked the Public Works Department for picking up leaves.
Council Member Terndrup said as far as the potential commercial center, he feels that “when the County does come a calling, we, the Council, maybe should have our ducks in a row.” He thinks Council needs to get together for a Worksession to discuss this in the near future.
Committee Meeting Dates as Follows:
COMMITTEE DATE TIME
Public Safety Committee TBA
Personnel Committee Jan. 31, 2007 7:30 p.m.
Utilities Committee TBA
Recreation Committee TBA
Finance Committee Jan. 2, 2007 7:15 p.m.
Ordinance Committee Jan. 3, 2007 7 p.m.
Streets Committee TBA
Buildings and Grounds Committee TBA
Vision Committee Dec. 19, 2006 7 p.m.
Worksession TBA at January Council meeting
(Mayor Crisman requested all information pertaining to this - information Mr. Turner may give the County - that copies be made available to Council at this Worksession. Council Member Rinker asked for the original agreement as to water and sewer be available at the Worksession also.)
Closed Session :
Council Member Whittle moved that the Strasburg Town Council go into Closed Session pursuant to Code of Virginia section 2.2-3711.A.1, pertaining to prospective appointments to Town positions and discussion of candidates for employment, namely the position of Chief of Police; second by Council Member Le Vine. Passed unanimously.
Council entered into Closed Session at 9:36 p.m.
Returned to Regular Session at 9:58 p.m.
Mayor Crisman said, “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 certify”
Council Member Whittle nominated Mr. Doug Miller to the Planning Commission for a 4 year term, beginning January 1, 2007; second by Council Member Nicholson.
Council Member Wallace nominated Mr. Richard Orndorff to the Planning Commission for a 4 year term, beginning January 1, 2007. No second to the nomination.
Mayor Crisman closed the nominations and Mr. Doug Miller was appointed unanimously.
Adjourned at 10:02 p.m.