City Council

September 23, 2014 The regular meeting of the Council of the City of Martinsville, Virginia, was held on September 23, 2014, in Council Chambers, Municipal Building, at 7:30 PM, with Mayor Kim Adkins presiding. Council Members present included: Mayor Kim Adkins, Vice Mayor Gene Teague, Sharon Brooks Hodge, Mark Stroud and Danny Turner. Staff present included: Leon Towarnicki, City Manager, Linda Conover, Sean Dunn and Bobby Phillips. Following the invocation by Council Member Stroud and Pledge to the American Flag, the Mayor welcomed everyone to the meeting. Minutes: On a motion by Sharon Brooks Hodge, seconded by Mark Stroud, with a 5-0 vote, Council approved the minutes of August 12, 2014 meeting. Workforce Investment Board update: Lisa Fultz presented an update reporting on data regarding the Career Readiness Certification program. Ms. Fultz introduced Danielle Johnson, Project Director for Youth on the Move program, who briefed Council on the program. Resolution-Emergency Operations Plan: Safety Officer, Bob Phillips, explained the updated Emergency Operations Procedure document and the need for the resolution. He indicated there were a few minor changes from the 2008 plan: contact information was updated, formatting was changed slightly to make the document more readable and minor changes made to match state changes. Vice Mayor Teague inquired if the document addressed anything related to a water supply emergency to which Mr. Phillips responded, it currently does not, but it may be possible to include that in future updates. Council Member Stroud inquired on status of the Leatherwood pump station and asked for an update at a later meeting. The following resolution was approved with a motion by Gene Teague, seconded by Mark Stroud with a 5-0 vote: Overview of September 22, 2014 Druid Hills/Uptown City Council Neighborhood meeting and tour: Mayor Adkins gave an overview of citizen concerns expressed at the September 22, 2014 Neighborhood meeting and recapped the neighborhood meeting held that evening at NCI, noting that attendance was good. Mayor Adkins commented on issues brought up at the neighborhood meeting and noted that some responses were provided at the meeting and staff will review and investigate the remaining items. Mr. Towarnicki noted that that a list of issues brought up at the meeting has been compiled and staff will provide responses to those issues and the issues/notes will be included as part of the minutes of that neighborhood meeting. Vice Mayor Teague thanked staff for the written recap. Council Member Hodge inquired if there could be a process to track issues brought up at neighborhood meetings with ability to search by name, date, area, complaint September 23, 2014 type, etc., similar to process currently being used with property maintenance and staff will investigate. Mr. William Eggleston, 1409 Roundabout Road spoke, inquiring about the status of several houses on Roundabout Road that he thought were slated for demolition. Staff will investigate and respond to Mr. Eggleston. Ordinance-second reading regarding BPOL: Mayor Adkins provided a brief summary. As part of its 2014 budgeting process, Council approved reform of the city’s Business Professional and Occupational Licensing (BPOL) to align the city’s gross receipts threshold amount with that utilized by Henry County. Henry County currently requires a $30 license fee for BPOL gross receipts under $100,000. At the July 22, 2014 Council meeting, Council also directed the addition of a second threshold for a no-fee license for BPOL gross receipts under $10,000. Businesses with gross receipts over $100,000 will continue to pay the gross receipts tax at the current established rates. On a motion by Gene Teague, seconded by Sharon Brooks Hodge, with the following 5-0 recorded vote, Adkins, aye; Teague, aye; Stroud, aye; Hodge, aye; Turner, aye; Council approved the following ordinance on second reading: Review outside agency reports: Council acknowledged receipt of reports from outside agencies. Council was were notified of the need to prepare such report, Linda indicated they were advised by letter shortly after approval of the budget when they are notified regarding status of their request for financial assistance. Council would like to continue to receive the reports but Teague noted some office are small and limited in staff, and may have difficulty in generating the reports in a timely manner. Finance Report: Finance Director Linda Conover presented the finance report. She noted the reports this early in the fiscal year are often of not much value due to the manner in which early FY one-time expenditures are made and the lag in receipt of revenue. FY15 – Revenues & Expenditures through August 31, 2014--Exclusive of School and Special Revenue funds, actual revenues were $6,449,595 and actual expenditures were $9,581,281, typical for this early in the new fiscal year due mostly to annual payments, semi-annual debt service, initial encumbering of funds for projects, and prior fiscal year adjustments. Overall Utility Funds’ revenues exceeded expenses by $541,766 for the first two months. The final audit process for FY14 will begin the week of September 29th. Final figures will be presented as soon as possible after September 23, 2014 completion. After Council discussion and questions, a motion was made by Mark Stroud, seconded by Danny Turner, with 5–0 vote to approve as presented. Consent agenda: On a motion by Gene Teague, seconded by Sharon Brooks Hodge, with a 5-0 vote, Council approved the following consent agenda: BUDGET ADDITIONS FOR 9/23/2014 ORG OBJECT DESCRIPTION DEBIT CREDIT FY15 General Fund: 01100909 490104 Advance/Recovered Costs 1,927 01331108 501300 Sheriff/Corrections - Part-time & Temporary Wages 1,400 01331108 502100 Sheriff/Corrections - Social Security 87 01331108 502110 Sheriff/Corrections - Medicare 20 01331108 506008 Sheriff/Corrections - Vehicle Equipment & Maint. 280 01331110 506200 Sheriff/Annex - Prisoner Allowance 140 Reimbursement from Henry County for litter pickup for August Total General Fund: 1,927 1,927 Refuse Fund: 09100908 482805 Misc Revenue - Carbon Credit Sales 17,507 09425302 508220 Landfill - Physical Plant Expansion 17,507 Unanticipated Carbon Credit Sales Total Refuse Fund: 17,507 17,507 Business from floor: none Council comments: Stroud-commented on good turnout at the neighborhood meeting held at NCI and suggested additional meetings there; commending staff on good job addressing maintenance complaints; asked for update on Leatherwood pump station; Turner—commented there are many good, positive things going on in the City City Manager comments: noted that preliminary information had been received from Mattern & Craig regarding a traffic signal investigation at the intersection of Liberty Street and Greyson Street and the findings did not indicate traffic engineering conditions typically considered in signal installation reviews were met. Conditions may change in the future that may impact traffic along Liberty/Greyson and the subject can always be reviewed again, should conditions change. Council Member Hodge inquired if the lights at the Liberty/Clearview intersection and the new light at American National Bank could be coordinated in such a manner so as to provide a break in the flow of traffic that might help the Greyson St. intersection. Staff will investigate. He also reported that information recently received from VA First Cities indicated the City’s share of the $30 million statewide reduction in local aid for FY15 and FY16 is approximately $90,000, and that was an amount manageable within the current budget through savings and/or other adjustments. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm. _______________________________ __________________________ Brenda Prillaman Kim Adkins Clerk of Council Mayor