MINUTES OF THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 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. Absent:
Minutes of the July 10, 2007 Public Hearing and Town Council meeting were approved as presented.
Mayor Crisman welcomed all in attendance and said all communications had been directed toward the appropriate committees.
Introduction of Visitors and Guests:
Trooper Jerry Bosserman, Virginia State Police out of the Berryville area: “I’m here tonight to say thank you to Chief Tim Sutherly for his assistance with a recent situation that was brought to my attention and required immediate action and/or investigation in the Town of Strasburg.” Trooper Bosserman said he is a trooper assigned to the sexual offender investigative unit in the State of Virginia. This is a newly formed branch of the State Police with 40 troopers assigned to investigate sex offenders --- “that is to assist, monitor, educate, investigate, arrest, or indict; it’s a full time job.” They need the assistance of all law enforcement agencies to complete this task and be successful. “On June 30, I received a call at my residence from another police officer and he passed on some information to me regarding a violent sex offender in Strasburg. We have 16,201 registered sex offenders in the Commonwealth.” He listened to the information given to him and placed a phone call to a lady about what had happened. He then gave her instructions and then did a follow-up the next day – he called her, spoke with her, “and in my professional opinion it required more investigation, more involvement and that is when I placed a call to Chief Sutherly.” He was pleased with the outcome of this as nothing occurred with this lady.
He continued by saying a sex offender is scheduled to be released in the near future to a surrounding jurisdiction. He took it upon himself to notify all law enforcement surrounding Warren County and asked that they attend a meeting scheduled for July 30 at the Court House. He wanted to discuss this offender and have further dialogue concerning the offenders in the Commonwealth. Chief Sutherly was one who showed up with other representatives of his department. At the conclusion of the meeting, Trooper Bosserman made reference to having selected the date of August 13 “to afford the law enforcement agencies the opportunity to send anyone that they wished from their agency, from their office, to meet with me at a designated location which was held at the Virginia Department of Transportation District Office in Berryville at 9:30. I tried my best to stress the importance of what I’m doing - Trying to establish a working repore with the local law enforcement agencies; let them work more closely with me; provide information that is necessary to safeguard our communities. Only one officer showed up from your agency here in Strasburg; he was the only officer and with that, I say thank you for sending him.” They talked for about 30 minutes and had a fantastic discussion. He gave the information to this officer that he was planning to share with all of the jurisdictions invited.
Continuing, Trooper Bosserman said Officer Teter is the officer assigned to Shenandoah, Rockingham, and Page Counties and the supervisor is stationed out of Culpeper. This is a very difficult job, but it’s a pleasure to be able to turn to the agencies ask for assistance and in return be able to provide the assistance when they ask. There are times when Trooper Bosserman has to ask for assistance. He made an arrest on August 13 and another arrest is scheduled for August 15. These are very serious issues and he was just attending the Council meeting to congratulate Chief Sutherly for his assistance provided to him which was very much needed and he looks forward to working with him in the immediate future.
Council Member Rinker asked if there is a specific location on the website to locate the offenders. Trooper Bausserman said violent sexual offender and sexual offenders are all on the website. www.vsp.state.va.us
Officer Adam Settle, Strasburg Police Department: Officer Settle said he had a conversation with Chief Sutherly earlier tonight. He has been employed off and on for nine years with the Town. Recently he was given an opportunity in another state as an investigator. He and his family thought it was for the best to accept this position. He just wanted to thank the Council and Town for the opportunities given to him and the choice to leave has nothing to do with this department or this Town as they love it here.
Mayor Crisman said it is always difficult to see anyone leave and he thanked him for his service and wished him the best.
Citizen Comments:
Non-Action Items:
Kim Bishop, 728 Crystal Lane, Strasburg, VA: Mrs. Bishop said her minister recently gave a sermon entitled “Blessings, not Curses.” She was here to give some blessings. She has attended some committee meetings and it was nice to have the dialogue and being able to ask questions and receive answers. It has been a positive experience. She continued by saying she wanted to discuss the water issue. She doesn’t mind paying for the water she uses, even with the increased fees. She would, however, like to encourage the Council and Utilities Committee to maybe try to find a way in the summer to be able to get an average for people’s winter sewer usage so that the water that is going into trees and plants is not getting billed so much. She knows it is a hard thing to do, but if there is a way to do this she thinks it would help a lot of people.
Taralyn Nicholson, 433 E. Fairchild Dr. Strasburg, VA: Mrs. Nicholson said she is here to speak for the Strasburg Rescue Squad. The Squad is in dire straits and is having trouble answering their calls and they need help. They need all kinds of help. They make ambulance calls, but they also need support group members. They are trying to promote recruitment now and there will be a recruitment yard party on September 15, 1007, from 3 – 8 p.m. The Rescue Squad “needs your help, your support, and your prayers.”
Reports and Communications from Town Officers:
Town Attorney Neal: In regards to the Sonner/Davison suit, there will be a hearing on motions on Thursday (August 16) in Rockingham County. Discovery has been filed; answers are slightly overdue. Depositions will probably start within the next month.
Concerning the Crowder easement, he has talked to Attorney Arthur and there is a provision in the easement that the Town can terminate the easement with a six month notice. Apparently Ms. Crowder did not like this and so they are still working on this.
Town Attorney Neal recommended advertising the Public Hearing for the easement with the Shenandoah County School Board.
Last month a question was raised about the vote on the budget. Town Attorney Neal sent an opinion through email to Council on this. Other opinion letters he has sent concerned the Planning Commission and whether they should be considering the Island Farm as long as it is in litigation. He asked this opinion be sent to the Planning Commission. In discussing this, he said when a suit is filed, the rezoning stands as it is right now. He believes the Town has an obligation to consider this and he does not think the Town can refuse to do so. In the letters sent he gave the statutes involved and he believes there is a legal obligation and he thinks it is pretty clear as to what the Virginia law is on matters such as this.
Town Manager Fauber: The RFP for the facility needs study on the Public Safety Building is out and should be back by August 30. The Town is receiving good feedback from architects and engineering firms.
The Bowman Mill Road project continues and progress meetings are held at least twice a month. The project completion date is November, 2007.
Staff is currently working on the RFP for the personnel committee as far as the personnel procedures handbook and evaluations. This should be sent out in the near future as well as the RFP’s on the insurance.
The archeological study that was done by the Lewis Berger Group was completed. Early reports through email say no significant artifacts were found. This will be put in a final report and this will then be submitted to the Department of Historic Resources, which should be the final step in the Walking Trail.
Staff has been in contact with William H. Gordon and Associates to work on the bidding documents and these should be sent out soon.
Council Member Le Vine asked Town Attorney Neal if he understood his statement and said, when the Town rezoned the Island property, there was a lawsuit against it, but that zoning is now the legal status and so the owner has the right to proceed with that zoning until a judge overturns it, if he overturns that zoning. If the owner proceeds and the judge would overturn it, then the owner is at risk for whatever he does. Town Attorney Neal said this was correct; that the developer could move forward, but might have a restoration job if this would be overturned. Council Member Le Vine then said that if the developer would move forward and does something and the judge would overturn it and it was held up in appeal, then the land must be put back into the same condition as before the rezoning. Town Attorney Neal said the answer to that was yes and no. The developer could re-file, but in this case the developer probably would because it started as X-Transitional and can not stay this way so there would be some sort of application. The Town has deadlines it must abide by for site plan reviews so once the plans are filed the Town is obligated to act upon them. The Town is not endangered with a “vested” rights argument simply because it is reviewing what the developer is considering because the developer knows the risk. Town Attorney Neal said the attorney for the developer, he heard, thought he had a “vested right” argument at some point if they didn’t get the zoning they wanted because of the boundary line adjustment. This is not before the Courts currently, but it could be brought up later, but it won’t be a vested right argument because the Town acted upon what was filed.
Director of Finance Mullins: Reported the preliminary audit will begin next week. The website is back up.
Town Clerk Keller: No report.
Director of Public Utilities Tewalt: Stated voluntary water restrictions had been enacted last Thursday due to the low levels in the river and also because of a water leak. Due to the demand, the Town is maintaining, but not making any significant water and the river, before the rain on Friday, was at the 1999 drought level. He has never put a voluntary restriction on use, but they are asking all citizens to check leaky faucets, both inside and out; don’t leave sprinklers on for long periods of time; and water early or late in the day. He asked all to use common sense as he does not want to go into mandatory restrictions.
Council Member Rinker said he has been a proponent of alternative water sources for years and we still aren’t there. We are already at low ebb now and what will we do when the houses and businesses on the books are built. He feels we need to develop an alternative water source --- wells or quarries. He thinks we are in trouble and he doesn’t want the river to go completely dry. He has tried to be serious about this and he thinks we are in a lot of trouble and he will get more intense and nastier about this. Where will the water come from when we get the new water plant?
Director of Public Utilities Tewalt said a person did look at the quarries and it was advised not to go that way. They looked at putting a pipeline in from the reservoir and this was very expensive, but the reservoir is probably dry. A top Virginia geologist said finding a good well in this area with the rock formations is “like finding a needle in the haystack.” He really doesn’t know where else to look.
Council Member Rinker said people had attended a meeting from Winchester and wanted the Town to hook onto a pipeline with them. Mr. Tewalt said Winchester gets their water from the same river, but Council Member Rinker said they use springs and quarries. Council Member Nicholson said Frederick County gets water from wells and springs, but not Winchester. Council Member Rinker feels all of the alternatives need to be re-looked at and our best effort be given. If we don’t get a good season of rain, the water will continue to dwindle. Mr. Tewalt said the water table is down in the entire state of Virginia.
Council Member Nicholson asked if Mr. Tewalt had a chance to read the water gauge. Mr. Tewalt said he has and it is at 1.8 feet. The cubic foot of water per second is there, but the intakes are behind an old dam that is breached and more runs through it than over it. Intakes in other communities are different from ours and so they are not having the problems we have. This will improve when the new plant is built.
Council Member Le Vine said he appreciated the monthly reports he has been given. By looking at the report, we are at 85% capacity. Is this a fluke? Mr. Tewalt said we are using more water as we have more residences and industries. Council Member Le Vine then asked if we had proper intakes then we would not be in trouble of running out of water; the water is in the river, but we just can’t get it out. Mr. Tewalt said the intakes are there, but they just are not deep enough. The new ones should be back in against the river bank and lower.
Director of Public Works Rhodes: Mayor Crisman thanked the Town Crew who came out and repaired the water break on Sunday morning. Director of Public Works Rhodes said the line that failed was put in during 1932 and this is a problem in a few areas in Town. They are in the process of addressing those areas and a plan on how to correct these areas. They are in the process of starting some of the work on the CIP. They are looking at working on a sewer line off of Colley Block Road that has been causing some problems and hope to begin work on this in the next month. The Capon Road project has been completed; the Stickley/Borum project is completed; approximately completed 70% of the Orchard Street work of replacing sidewalks and re-paving; in the process of replacing sidewalks on High Street; will be doing some work on Duke and Duchess Circle, Christianson Drive, Seldon Drive, and Stonewall Street.
Council Member Le Vine asked if Director of Public Works Rhodes could include in the Council Packets a simple map showing the roads that are being worked on. Mr. Rhodes said a map could also be posted in the Town Hall.
Council Member Mauck asked if it Mr. Rhodes had looked into the sidewalks going out Route 11N. He said he has met with an engineer and a representative from VDOT and they are looking at what is available as far as right-of-ways on both 55E and 11N. Survey work needs to be done to see if there is enough room along North Massanutten Street especially near the Hupp Mansion. The pedestrians need to be protected so there must be a buffer zone between the sidewalk and roadway.
Council Member Mauck asked about a policy on water that has been turned off for repair work --- what is the policy for notifying citizens before the water is cut off. Mr. Rhodes said they go door-to-door with notices. Council Member Mauck asked if they do not complete it in the estimated time, how are the residents notified. Mr. Rhodes said he does not have the personnel to go back and tell the residents, but usually they complete the work in the time allotted, but can’t always do so because of weather conditions. Council Member Mauck asked if there is a contact person residents can call and Mr. Rhodes said they can call the Town Shop or the Town Office.
Council Member Rinker asked what the percentage is of water lines more than 70 years old. Mr. Rhodes said the percentage of more than 25 years old is about 22%. Policy has been to replace the older lines, but it is a slow process. Council Member Rinker asked if the entire line is being replaced. Mr. Rhodes said an emergency patch was done to get it back in service on the pipe that broke on Sunday morning, but he will be looking into replacing the line.
Police Chief Sutherly: Chief Sutherly introduced Mr. Bill Baitinger who has been hired as an investigator for the Town. He has been employed for Fairfax County and is coming with 25 years of experience, 14 as an investigator.
On August 8, the department graduated their first Senior Citizen Academy with 12 graduates.
On August 11, Chief Sutherly did a meet and greet at Hupps Ridge with the County Sheriff. They gave away hotdogs and hamburgers and met a lot of people in the neighborhood. This was to introduce the new neighborhood watch program and a follow-up meeting is scheduled for August 23 in the Council Chambers.
A fundraiser for Project Lifesaver was held on Sunday, August 19 at the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. Mary Ann Littrell was instrumental in helping organize this, as well as helping with the Senior Citizen Academy. The goal for the department is to raise enough money so that no will be charged for the bracelets and batteries. So far more than $1,200 has been raised.
Chief Sutherly said he met with a Council Member yesterday (August 13). The American Legion had some concerns with the Strasburg Police Department. Their members no longer felt safe and so it was affecting their business. It was not where the members did not feel safe because of protection from the police, but they didn’t feel safe that they could drive home drunk any longer. He said he would not apologize for this as it means his department is doing their job. Several members have been arrested recently and the Legion felt they were being targeted. He assured all the Legion is not being targeted, but they do stop cars for traffic violations and “if you’re drunk, you’re going to jail, it’s as simple as that. If some of our ‘good old boys’ from the Legion who have gotten away with it for years end up going to jail and losing their license for DUI, I can live with that. I couldn’t live with the fact that one of our ‘good old boys’ hit and killed some child knowing we could have prevented it and having to look those parents in the eye. It was a little perplexing when I had that meeting because I was expecting something worse and it ended up sounding like our guys are doing their job and we’re not going to stop and in fact, it is encouraging to know we are doing such good work and that is what we are supposed to be doing. Our job is to enforce the law without passion or prejudice and that is what we are going to continue to do.”
Council Member Mauck said she had met with Chief Sutherly yesterday and she did bring that issue to him, “but I felt that the issue, the real issue, was that public persona, the police persona that the public feels that our police officers are not friendly, they are not helpful, and that they are targeting businesses. I brought you that information. But, I will say we had a productive meeting and I suggest that if anyone has questions, if you have problems, if you have issues, if you have ideas, if you have grievances, or if you have praise and don’t forget the praise, that you contact the Chief directly so that he can get the feel for our community, our complete community, Hometown Strasburg, and that we can all work together for the best interest of our town.”
Council Member Rinker asked Chief Sutherly “to do us a favor at this time. There was an article or two in the paper about some personnel problems within the police department and about the possibility of an officer leaving and another officer retiring. And, there has been numerous rumors flying around the community for the last two weeks or so and I would like for you to really set the record straight on this thing from a standpoint…For instance, I was challenged tonight why the Town Council isn’t in on this; why the Town Council doesn’t know anything about this. I’d like for you in open public to explain to these folks here why when a police matter comes up like this it has got to be handled by you in your department and not by every sitting Council Member up here. I’d appreciate if the press would print this because I’d like the opportunity at this time for Chief to clarify this because I’ve been gunned on now for two weeks. They’ve made all kinds of comments --- I’ve heard one that we’re communist; we don’t tell anybody anything. I’ve heard one that we operate under a veil of secrecy like the Masons; I’ve heard all kinds of comments and some of them are out right ridiculous. At this point in time, I’d like for you, Chief, to give me a helping hand and tell these folks and get this thing in the paper as to why that’s got to be.”
Mayor Crisman referred this to the Town Attorney before Chief Sutherly responded.
Town Attorney Neal said, “Personnel issues are, by law, confidential and those are personnel issues. I met with Chief and the Town Manager and we talked about the circumstances that led to two issues. There are valid issues there that were a concern to the Chief. At this point, the Town has received a letter from an attorney for the officers and we are checking to see if the Town has insurance coverage because sometimes insurance will cover employee grievances which would include police officers. The insurance carrier is considering that; we’re waiting to hear back, but since it is a personnel matter and since the Town has been contacted by an attorney for the officers, the last thing I would want is the Chief of Police addressing that in open forum. I don’t think it’s wise. All I can say is, I know the circumstances; it’s not just willy-nilly, pulled out of the air; it’s not something flying back from an election; there are issues there and I think in time that will come out. If the officers involved want to sign a release that says, ‘sure, let it out,’ I think other than that, the Chief would be making a big mistake to address it publicly especially when we have been contacted by Counsel. So, Chief can say anything he wants, but my advice is not to discuss it.”
Council Member Rinker said he was not asking for a discussion, but for an explanation and he told Chief Sutherly if he wanted to say anything in addition to Town Attorney Neal to please do so. Mayor Crisman said that since he was the mayor and “I directly supervise the subordinate officers of the Town, don’t say anything. Thank you.”
Town Planner Amos: Stated she had a few informational items and no action items for tonight.
The date of the Council/Staff Retreat has been tentatively set for October 13 in the morning. Mayor Crisman is going to meet with Staff representatives on the exact logistics of the meeting. The meeting will be held in Winchester. Mayor Crisman asked all Council to please try to make the October 13 date work.
Proposals for the re-cycling have been received and will be referred to the Building and Grounds Committee.
The Buxton Economic Analysis has been started and the report should be back within 15 days and will be given to either the Finance Committee or a sub-committee as input needs to be given back to Buxton.
The Land Use Committee for the Comprehensive Plan will meet on August 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Planner Amos said the culvert bridge has been removed from the Island Farm as required by the Corp of Engineers and DEQ after a meeting last week. She has calls into those agencies requesting more information as the Town was not included in this meeting.
Standing Committee Reports:
Public Safety Committee: The Public Safety and Buildings and Grounds Committees met jointly on July 26 at the Town Hall. First discussed was the RFP that is out and mentioned earlier in tonight’s meeting by Town Manager Fauber.
Also discussed was the
Emergency Action Plan that was put into place last year. We discussed what
generators we currently have and the need for others. The wastewater plant has
one and there is a portable one designated to use with pump stations. We
discussed about one for the Town Hall and one to be shared by the Fire and
Rescue Departments. We need to look into the cost for each of these. We plan
to set up some cross training this coming fall. Some of this will occur within
departments, while other situations can involve citizen volunteers. We will
look at specific training needs later this summer. Finally, we discussed about
continuing to make people aware of emergency preparedness for their personal
well being. Emergency preparedness kits should have enough items in them to
last three days.
The committees discussed the possibility of requiring all bicycle riders under
the age of 16 to wear a helmet. Discussion points brought up were lowering the
age, requiring it for all age riders, or not requiring it at all and leaving it
up to the children and parents to decide. It was brought up that the police
department does have helmets for anyone that cannot afford them. Points of
discussion will be taken to the Ordinance Committee for further discussion.
Strasburg Emporium has expressed interest in placing our recycle center
currently located on the Town Lot, in their parking area. We agreed this was a
good idea, so Kevin will work with the county in getting it moved. The question
of the recycling bin being close to any residences was brought up, as well as
lighting. It depends on the placement of the bin, but these concerns should not
be an issue.
Gary Dalton shared with us
the Rescue Squad's effort for recruitment. They are dire need of volunteers and
are currently being assisted by paid County employees to staff the Squad
building. There are several ideas they have thought of to address this issue.
We mentioned we were willing to help in any way possible.
The PPEA agreement that has to be adopted in order to use it, will be looked at
by the Public Safety Committee to address some suggestions that were given.
Once the committee comes to consensus, we will forward it to Town Attorney Neal
for his final input. Once completed, a copy will be sent to all Council, the
Mayor, and Town Manager Fauber.
Council Member Rinker commented on the moving of the recycling to the Strasburg Emporium. He said the Emporium is for sale and so he suggested waiting a bit to see if it sells and if the new owners want the recycling on their property.
Council Member Nicholson commented on the needs of the Rescue Squad and said the support group is in need of members, too, and to be a member of this you do not need to “pull calls.”
Personnel Committee: Council Member Whittle reported the committee met on July 26 with the following person present: Council Members Le Vine, Mauck, Terndrup, and Whittle, Town Manager Fauber, and Director of Finance Mullins.
At the meeting the Town review process was discussed. Merit increases have always been done in January with cost-of-living increases being given in July. The Department Heads perform reviews annually. The Town does have an hourly pay scale, but does not have a salaried pay scale. All departments are on the pay scale established.
The committee looked at the employee benefits and will be discussing these with the Finance Committee. Ideas given were for a government 401K, a Flexible Spending Account, and a total compensation and benefits statement.
Staff has also been working on a survey that was sent to other jurisdictions where performance feedback was gotten as well as copies of their reviews and evaluations.
A draft RFP on salary survey, benefits package, evaluation process, and Personnel Manual, and other personnel issues is being worked on by Staff.
Copies of the pay scale, employee reviews, and performance feedback for Council have been given to all members of Council.
The Finance Committee and the Personnel Committee will continue to look at benefits together. They are still working on and debating merit vs. cost-of-living increases.
The next Personnel Committee meeting will be August 29 at 7:30 p.m. Applications are being taken for positions on the Recreation Advisory Board and interested people will be interviewed at this time. At the September 26 meeting, the Committee will be going into Executive Session to evaluate Town Manager Fauber.
Public Utilities Committee: Council Member Nicholson said the committee met on July 26, 2007. Included in the Council Packets was the contract for professional services for the design of the upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant by R. Stuart Royer & Associates, Inc. Part of the funding was secured from a previous loan financing and the remaining amount will need to be secured from other financing options. Council Member Nicholson highlighted certain aspects of the contract as written in the “Addendum to Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Engineer for Professional Services” (addendum included in Council Packet). The total cost of this would be $1,060,306.68.
Council Member Nicholson moved to accept the proposal from R. Stuart Royer & Associates, Inc. to begin design on the wastewater treatment plant; second by Council Member Le Vine.
Discussion:
Council Member Rinker asked if anyone has looked into the additional costs of archeological studies, soil studies, Phase I and Phase II Environmental Studies, etc. What is the total cost going to be?
Director of Public Utilities Tewalt said some preliminary archeological studies have been done, but until it is determined where the actual tanks and the outfall lines are going to be, can’t be sure how much study will need to be done. Council Member Nicholson said the discharge was also an issue, but if the same ditch line is used it is possible nothing more will need to be done with the lines.
Council Member Rinker asked if the costs will be add-ons. Council Member Nicholson said that since this is at the same site, he is in hopes the costs will be lower. Council Member Rinker feels they might want to look further since they are using the same plant and they might be looking for seepage, etc. Director of Public Utilities Tewalt said this is a possibility, but the department should know this already. But, there will be additional costs other than just what is being voted on. Council Member Mauck said it was discussed that this was just preliminary costs and there would be more coming.
The motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote with the following results:
Council Member Le Vine Yes
Council Member Mauck Yes
Council Member Nicholson Yes
Vice Mayor Taylor Yes
Council Member Rinker Yes
Council Member Terndrup Yes
Council Member Wallace Yes
Council Member Whittle Yes
Also discussed at the meeting was the water plant and the engineers are working on the design work and they should have that done by the end of October, 2007. They are also in the process of getting the raw water intake process started. A request from the condos was looked at and this will be discussed further in an upcoming committee meeting. Town Manager Fauber said they are looking at running water lines to three residences on Route 11N.
Council Member Rinker asked if there is a more targeted date of when bids will go out. Director of Public Utilities Tewalt said once the plans are drawn up, it needs to go to DEQ and VDH and they have a six month window in which to take action. If these agencies get the plans back in a reasonable timeframe then it will go out to bid sooner. Council Member Nicholson said he has tried to push this project, but it seems like they always run into problems. Council Member Rinker asked if the plans can be submitted so they are being considered concurrently. Director of Public Utilities Tewalt said the plans will actually go to two different agencies, but since they are improving an existing plant, the process might go a bit quicker. Council Member Nicholson added that the changing of engineering firms caused delays as well as the funding looked at. Mayor Crisman said the only way to combat these types of problems was to “jump up and down and scream and yell.” He said the plant was supposed to be in use by FY2007-08. Council Member Nicholson agreed except when dealing with State agencies as they move at their own speed. Council Member Rinker suggested contacting our local representative as this does help.
Recreation Committee: Council Member Mauck said the committee met on Monday, August 13. Most of the meeting was spent discussing the Walking Trail and it will soon be sent out to bid. The committee did have some questions about the plans and would like to work with the Maintenance Department, Town Staff, and the Police Department on safety and maintenance of the park. Recreation Committee is working with Human Development Committee, Hometown Strasburg, and the Chamber of Commerce on Oktoberfest which will be held on Saturday, October 6, on the Town Lot behind the Fire Department. The Recreation Committee is working with the groups on planning Sunday-in-the-Park on October 7. There will be hay rides and music at the Town Park. Also, discussed were pool regulations and how they will be regulated. There were some issues with swimming items getting into the pipes and if this should happen, the pool would be down. There will be a follow-up meeting of the 4th of July. Also, the committee met Margaret Struder who has been doing much with the children in the area.
Finance Committee: Council Member Le Vine said he had talked to Town Manager Fauber about the discretionary spending from reserves in the budget. Council Member Le Vine proposed a policy that the Town Manager can spend up to $2,000; also in net he can’t spend more than 5% of the reserves. If the request is more than $2,000 or more than 5% of the reserves has been spent, then the Town Manager would need to go to the Chairman of the Finance Committee. This allows the Town Manager some discretion in spending, but also allows the Council to make sure the spending is within reason. Mayor Crisman said he does not think a vote is required as no additional spending will be taking place and it is just a policy.
The Finance Committee is going to be looking at a municipal version of a 401K plan. Currently Town Employees do not have a way to put their own pre-tax money away for retirement. The flexible spending will also be looked at.
Council Member Le Vine said in Town Attorney Neal’s opinion sent to Council, there is a legal distinction between taxes and fees. The Town Charter requires six votes to increase taxes and the Mayor cannot vote. The Town’s 2007-08 budget was properly adopted as there were no new taxes involved. The tobacco tax, if voted on, will require six votes.
The next Finance Committee meeting will be on September 10 at 7:15 p.m.
The Finance Committee met on August 1, 2007. Present at the meeting were: Council Members Le Vine, Rinker, and Terndrup, Vice Mayor Taylor, Town Manager Fauber, Director of Finance Mullins. Citizens attending were: Kim Bishop, Hank Dean (representing Crawford Insurance), Joyce Gary, and Elizabeth Wilkerson (representing the Northern Virginia Daily).
The first item discussed was Town insurance. Currently the Town has three general policies:
· Property and Liability Insurance through Penn National Insurance (Crawford Insurance being the agent). The cost is $77,923; liability limits are $1M per occurrence with maximum of $2M per year.
· Workers’ Compensation through Virginia Municipal Group Self-Insurance Association. The cost is $55,232
· Public Officials/General Liability and Law Enforcement Liability through VARisk 2 Program. The cost is $3,686
It was agreed that Town Manager Fauber will solicit bids for the property and liability insurance with the following requirements:
· $1M per incident, $2M maximum per year
· Umbrella riders for $5M, $10M, and $15M as options
· Maintaining current policy specifications
· Policy to be effective December 10, 2007 (the date the current policy ends)
The RFP will be sent to Crawford Insurance, VML, and at least one other group Town Manager Fauber knows insures municipalities. It will also be advertised in the local newspaper. Town Manager Fauber will also ask Town Attorney Neal to clarify what, if any, legal shields the Town has with respect to liability.
The Committee also discussed the Transient Occupancy Tax. Strasburg voted earlier to not contribute any of the money collected to the County, but that if Woodstock started contributing, then Strasburg would re-visit the issue. Woodstock has voted to establish a 5% transient occupancy tax and to provide the County with one of those five percents (i.e., 20% of the transient occupancy tax revenue will be given to the County for its Tourism and Economic Development effort).
There are two major concerns against doing this –
· The ‘perception’ that Strasburg is not receiving its ‘fair’ share of County funding relative to other towns. The majority of the committee wanted tangible evidence of such contributions (e.g., in the form of buildings or contributions thereto).
· The feeling that Strasburg is not receiving an adequate return for past contributions to the County’s tourism and economic development efforts.
The committee agreed for Council Member Le Vine to contact Supervisor Conrad Helsley and if he was agreeable to a serious discussion about resolving these concerns to the Town’s satisfaction, a vote would be deferred until these discussions were concluded. If the discussions didn’t happen, the Council Member Le Vine would make a motion as to what to do about the transient occupancy tax. Council Member Le Vine said he was not going to do that at this time because he has contacted Supervisor Helsley and he has promised to get to the Finance Committee before the September 10 meeting a document listing all of the financial benefits Strasburg has received from the County during the last few years. This could then be used as a point of discussion as to whether Strasburg is getting their fair share or not. The tax will stay as it is for now and Council Member Le Vine said he will report at the next Council meeting what was resolved.
In further discussion at the meeting, water/sewer availability fees were discussed. Town Manager Fauber will ask Town Attorney Neal to draft an ordinance or a policy stating if a property is annexed into Town and if the Town does not bring the water and/or sewer line to the property so the owner can hook-up to the Town’s system by December 31st of the fifth year, the availability fees will be frozen as of that December 31st rate --- if the Town later brings the lines to the property, the owner would only have to pay the availability fees in force at the end of the fifth year, not the current fees.
There was concern about potential abuse of the intent of this policy. An example of this abuse would be subdividing the land and wanting the lower availability fees for all the residences, not just the property when it was annexed. The spirit of the policy would be just for whatever was on the property when it was annexed.
The tobacco tax was deferred until the September meeting.
Council Member Rinker said he personally feels that what Supervisor Helsley says the County is going to spend the money on is a joke. He doesn’t think Mr. Helsley is going to be able to come up with anything that is “really real.” Council Member Rinker has talked to several people in the County and “basically one percent of the lodging tax usually goes for tourism or development in our industrial park, industrial development. Right now we only have one person handling both; ultimately they are going to get two. Personally, I am going to make a motion that we disregard anything that Conrad Helsley might be able to put forward on this thing” He feels this needs to be addressed at this time and he doesn’t feel the County has shown him or this end of the County any “indulgence in spending any money down here.” He feels money has been spent on libraries, parks, and other things further south in the County. He is not going to “cut” the Board of Supervisors any slack at all because he thinks they have been given enough opportunities.
Council Member Rinker moved to not offer Shenandoah County any percentage of our lodging tax; second by Council Member Nicholson.
Discussion:
Mayor Crisman said he outlined 14 points at the beginning of the year that needed to be done in the Town and one of those points was to develop better relationships with the County.
Council Member Nicholson said he feels Council Member Rinker is just saying not to donate the one percent. Mayor Crisman said he thinks Council Member Rinker is saying not to talk to the County. Council Member Rinker said he is saying not to donate the 1%. Clerk Keller read back the two forms of the motion offered by Council Member Rinker and Mr. Rinker said the second motion was the one he was making.
Vice Mayor Taylor said he thinks the Town owes it to the County to discuss this issue with Supervisor Helsley. Council Member Le Vine said the agreement between himself and Mr. Helsley was nothing would happen (with the tax) and Mr. Helsley would provide to Mr. Le Vine, “before the September meeting, his documentation – whatever it may be – of what the County has provided up until now in the way of benefits to this Town and that will be presented through myself to the Finance Committee on September 10 and then that will lead to a further discussion by the Town.” Vice Mayor Taylor said he would like to have prior to the Finance Committee meeting, if possible, any information given by Supervisor Helsley, but he is all for discussing this further with the County.
Council Member Terndrup asked if Supervisor Helsley will be attending the Finance Committee meeting. Council Member Le Vine said he did not ask him to attend, but can do so. Council Member Terndrup said he thinks it is important to have a face-to-face at this point rather than just have a piece of paper with the list on it.
Council Member Whittle said he is not sure a vote needs to be taken on this as the Town already is not giving any money to the County. He agrees the Town needs to continue working with the County, but does not know why Council is voting on this now as a decision has already been made and the money is not going to the County.
Council Member Rinker said what prompted this is the committee was uniform in not offering the County any money. “Let me tell you something, it is a substantial amount of money right now - $60,000 right now.” There are only two hotels currently in Town, but more are being added in the next few years. “The core committee, with the exception of Mr. Le Vine who said he wasn’t going to go one way or another, he was kind of on the fence with it, but the basic committee felt that we didn’t need to offer the County the 1%. Then Mr. Le Vine brought up the idea of going and talking to Supervisor Helsley, to my recollection, and from there it got convoluted, but I still felt that the general feeling of the committee was we’re basically not going to offer them at this time 1% or any percentage.” He doesn’t know what Mr. Helsley will be able to say he has given to the Town.
Council Member Mauck asked Town Attorney Neal about a bill in 2006 with the General Assembly that all revenue coming in from lodging was supposed to go for tourism; she wanted to know if the bill passed. Town Attorney Neal said he could not say “off the top of his head.”
Vice Mayor Taylor said he is concerned with the procedure. Typically an item goes before a committee who brings a recommendation back. This is an action item and the public was not given the opportunity to speak on it because it was not added to the agenda as an action item. Mayor Crisman asked Town Attorney Neal that “whatever decision is made this evening even though the decision has been made before and voted on it, this doesn’t preclude us from having a motion brought up next month in complete opposite, does it?” Town Attorney Neal said it could be brought up again.
Council Member Terndrup said his understanding from attending the meeting was that Mr. Le Vine would contact Mr. Helsley and no decision would be made until December when the budget came back up again; he thought that was what was agreed to happen.
Mayor Crisman said he sees it as re-affirming a vote taken earlier; nothing is being changed.
Council Member Le Vine said he does not see it this way. There were only two people of the committee at the meeting so the views on how to handle this were split 50-50. He continued by saying the $12,000 from this year won’t make or break the Town or the County, but eventually this will become serious money. But, he feels this vote is an insult to the County as the Council is not giving Mr. Helsley the dignity, as our supervisor, “to come up with what he feels the County is giving this Town. We owe him. The relationships between this Town and the County go far beyond anything to do with tourism or transient occupancy tax; we need them; they need us. My long term goal is to improve relationships between the County and the Town and I see this vote not the way the Mayor framed it as a slap in the face to the Supervisors and I won’t vote for it for that very reason. Mr. Helsley has the right – he may come back with something we consider inadequate – that is perfectly fine for this Council to say it’s inadequate and we won’t accept it. There are things that I can’t explain now because they aren’t public where the County has given us money recently and we should beware of those things and the things that Mr. Helsley is doing; they are now private, but we owe him the right to tell us what he thinks the County is doing. If we want to improve the relationship between this County and this Town, we have to act with dignity and respect and I think this vote is nothing but an insult to the County and I refuse to vote for it; I will vote no. I grant you, it does nothing, it just maintains the status quo, but I don’t like the way it’s done and I refuse to vote for it.”
As a matter of clarification, Mayor Crisman said he agrees with Mr. Le Vine and that was his point when he brought up the issue of improving the relationship between the County and the Town. He doesn’t think this vote will accomplish that.
Council Member Terndrup agrees that the phrasing of the motion is a bit harsh. “There is an issue that needs to be discussed and resolved and then there is some emotional collateral that is around the issue that does not need to put into a motion.”
Council Member Nicholson asked what Mr. Le Vine was referring to when he said the County was doing things for the Town that were private; why can’t it be known. Council Member Le Vine said the Council knows about it, but he just can’t say it in public at this time.
Council Member Rinker said for the sake of relationships between the Town and the County, he would withdraw his motion; second by Council Member Mauck for withdrawal. The motion passed unanimously.
Mayor Crisman said for years the Council has improperly used “call for the question.” According to Roberts Rules of Order, a member can call for a question, however it has to have a second and a majority vote; it cannot stand on its own. “One member of Council cannot “call for the question” to defeat debate on the floor.”
Ordinance Committee: Council Member Terndrup said the committee did not meet, but will meet on September 5, where they will be discussing the tobacco tax ordinance, spot blight abatement, and bike helmets. He encouraged the public to attend the meetings.
Buildings and Grounds Committee: Council Member Wallace said her report was combined with the Public Safety Committee report.
Streets Committee: Council Member Rinker said the committee met July 16. In attendance were: Council Member Rinker and Terndrup, Director of Public Works Rhodes, Clark and Linda Neff, Joyce Gary, Kim Bishop, Danny and Sharon Ferguson, and Mr. and Mrs. Van Norton.
Discussed at the meeting was the abandonment of several streets.
Council Member Rinker moved that in accordance with the Code of Virginia §15.2-2006 the Town of Strasburg hereby vacates the following streets: a portion of Newman Street and Banks Fort Road south of Pendleton Lane and North of Pike Street; a portion of Hupp Street north of John Marshall Highway and south of Pendleton Lane; and the remainder of Hiden Street as highlighted on the attached tax map contingent upon the adjoining property owners paying for a survey of the vacated property and that the Town retains the right for right-of-ways and easements for utilities; second by Council Member Nicholson.
Discussion:
Council Member Le Vine asked if there was any detriment to the Town if these streets are vacated and what happens to the land --- does it go to common property or what. Council Member Rinker said half would go to the owner on one side of the street and the other would go to the adjacent owner on the other side of the street. There is no chance that another building could be built or a building lot made from the street that is abandoned.
Council Member Mauck asked about retaining the utility easement; are there utilities on those roads? Council Member Rinker said there were no utilities on them now that he knows of, but this is a policy adopted a number of years ago. Director of Public Works Rhodes said it could be used for telephone, gas, cable.
Council Member Terndrup asked if they could be construed as private streets. Director of Public Works Rhodes said they could not and Council Member Rinker said they are actually streets to nowhere.
Town Attorney Neal gave an explanation of how language would be added to the ordinance in regards to persons who have mortgages on their property. From this explanation, Mr. Danny Ferguson asked if the homeowners of the townhouses would get half of the land as they had already received it when the townhouses were built. Town Attorney Neal said Mr. Ferguson was correct.
The motion was approved unanimously.
Also discussed at the meeting were concerns from Mrs. Bishop and Mrs. Gary with speeding on Crystal Lane. The Police Department has been asked to increase radar in that area. Questions were raised as to the possibility of lowering the speed limit. Town Attorney Neal said he has never had to do this and will need to look into it.
The storm drainage project behind the theatre and between Fort and Holliday Streets will run between $10,000 and $12,000 for the engineering portion. The Streets Committee has asked the Finance Committee to see where funding for this could come from. The engineering portion of the sidewalk on Route 55 to Stony Pointe was estimated at $8,000; this, too, will be referred to the Finance Committee.
Special Committee Reports:
Strasburg Heritage Association: Council Member Whittle said the Board will meet on Wednesday, August 15. The group is preparing to help support Oktoberfest.
Chamber of Commerce: Town Clerk Keller reported the Strasburg Chamber of Commerce Board met this morning. September 4 is the cut-off date for buying tickets for the Football Mania contest. Surveys have been sent out to approximately 300 businesses. Volunteers from the Board are going to be looking at available property in the downtown area for possible sites for the Chamber office. The hope is to move the office near the Town Hall. Mr. Dan Kitzmiller was elected as the new treasurer and the position of treasurer was also made a Board position. Oktoberfest plans are coming along and a “Sunday-in-the-Park” event has been added and it is hoped this will be the kick-off event for this type of event every 4th Sunday of the month beginning next spring.
Hometown Strasburg: Mrs. Carla Wallen reported the site plan for the pocket park has been approved and the group has formed a committee who will be contacting the Town to work with them to bring this project to fruition. On August 15, eight members of Hometown will be going to Luray to meet with Pat O’Brien, Luray’s Director of Parks and Recreation, to see the murals and to show them the greenway projects. She thanked the Town for taking over the watering of the plants.
Mayor Crisman said the Human Development Committee is working diligently on Oktoberfest.
Old Business:
New Business:
Council Member Le Vine read the email received concerning the poll location (attached here-to).
Mayor Crisman said he has discussed this with Mr. Shad and asked that when something more concrete is created, Mr. Shad will bring the ideas forward.
Council Member Mauck said they are“at-large” elected officials and she doesn’t know how they will split themselves in two and she feels Mr. Shad should be made aware of this. Mayor Crisman said he didn’t know this would “come into play.” Council Member Mauck said when you stand outside the polling place with your sign, how can you be at two places.
Additionally under new business, Council Member Rinker discussed the “user fees” in the State of Virginia and the calls he has received about the unfairness of these fees. The Town of Front Royal has voted to ask their representative, Representative Athey, to ask the General Assembly to rescind these fees. Council Member Rinker asked if others have heard complaints on this. He thinks it is imperative that if citizens have complained, then it needs to be addressed. He would be willing to make a motion to contact as a township our local representative by letter by the Town stating that we would appreciate our representative looking into a lesser amount of fees. He would like to have the opinions of the rest of Council before making the motion.
Mayor Crisman said he thinks it is unfair to determine the fee just from where you live, but he has felt more comfortable on I81 since the fees went into effect; it has slowed people down. He does think they are excessive and he really can’t say the fees are fair. He knows the representatives have said they are going to re-visit the issue.
Town Attorney Neal said two district judges have said the fees are unconstitutional; a circuit court judge has ruled it is constitutional. He believes it will be before the Supreme Court within three months. This was a late hour tax package that was passed.
Council Member Nicholson doesn’t think the fees are fair and very seldom do you see a truck with Virginia tags.
Council Member Rinker moved that this Town goes on record to write the Governor and/or Representatives a letter saying that as it stands now, the Town of Strasburg does not feel the user tax and fine system is fair to everyone and that it should be re-visited; second by Council Member Nicholson.
Discussion:
A lengthy discussion followed. Council Member Whittle does not think the fines are too high if all people had to pay --- he doesn’t have a problem with the fine, but just that it is for Virginians only. Council Member Le Vine said it is clear the issue is going to the Supreme Court. His concern is the motion is so vague and he is not willing to vote on a vague motion. He is not willing to have the Town Manager or Town Attorney write a letter with his name on it. He can’t vote for this motion because he can’t commit this Town without seeing it word-for-word. Council Member Terndrup asked who would write the letter and what would it say. Council Member Rinker suggested having Town Attorney Neal write it, but Council Member Whittle was not sure about this because of the cost of having him write it. Council Member Rinker doesn’t care who writes the letter, he just wants a letter to go out saying the fees being assessed to the citizens needs to be overturned. Council Member Le Vine does care who writes the letter as it is an important issue and it must be done properly. This will represent the Town in a very public way. Council Member Rinker thinks the letter can be sent out over email and changes suggested and made. If all agree on the letter, it can be sent. Mayor Crisman said somebody is going to have to sign this letter and that will be the Mayor and he will not sign a letter that he cannot vote on. If a letter is drafted and voted on, that is fine, but individual citizens can write to their representatives on their own.
Town Attorney Neal said if Council really wants to write a letter, have Town Manager Fauber write it and he will review it gratis. He suggested everybody write their own letter.
Council Member Wallace called for the question; second by Council Member Terndrup. Passed unanimously.
The motion failed on a roll call vote with the following results.
Council Member Le Vine No
Council Member Mauck Yes
Council Member Nicholson Yes
Vice Mayor Taylor No
Council Member Rinker Yes
Council Member Terndrup No
Council Member Wallace No
Council Member Whittle No
Council Member Rinker asked if he could write his letter on Strasburg letterhead and envelope. Town Attorney Neal said he could if he signed it “Carl Rinker, Council Member, Town of Strasburg” and made sure it stated it was coming from him and not the Town of Strasburg.
Council Member Terndrup asked about the curbside recycling and Planner Amos said this will be going before the Buildings and Grounds Committee.
Council Member Terndrup said when he ran 13 months ago, one of the things he thought was lacking was dialogue with the citizens. He proposed to have an open public forum sometime during the fall. Mayor Crisman said this would be a topic of discussion for the Staff/Council Retreat. Council Member Terndrup asked that Council make a commitment to have a public forum before Thanksgiving. Council agreed to this and Council Member Terndrup will find a suitable date for this.
Committee Dates:
Public Safety Committee TBA
Personnel Committee Wednesday, Aug. 29 7:30 p.m.
Public Utilities Committee TBA
Recreation Committee TBA
Finance Committee Monday, Sept. 10 7:15 p.m.
Ordinance Committee Wednesday, Sept. 5 7 p.m.
Streets Committee TBA
Being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:09 p.m.