City Council

AGENDA--CITY COUNCIL -- CITY OF MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA Council Chambers – Municipal Building Closed Session 7:00pm 7:30pm Regular Session Tuesday, February 14, 2017 7:00 – Closed Session Items to be considered in Closed Session, in accordance with the Code of Virginia, Title 2.2, Chapter 37—Freedom of Information Act, Section 2.2-3711(A)—Closed Meetings, the following: A. Appointments to Boards and Commissions as authorized by Subsection 1. B. Consultation with legal counsel and briefings by staff members, attorneys or consultants pertaining to actual or probable litigation, or other specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel, as authorized by Subsection 7. 7:30 - Regular Session Invocation & Pledge to the American Flag – Vice Mayor Martin 1. Consider approval of minutes of the January 24, 2017. (2 mins) 2. Recognize retired Martinsville City Sheriff’s Deputy Roy Prillaman. (5 mins) 3. Hear an update on FY17 Telecommunications operations. (15 mins) 4. Hear a staff update on operations of the City’s Electric and Water Resources Departments covering the 6 month period from July, 2016 through December, 2016. (20 mins) 5. Hear an update on 2017 General Assembly legislative session. (10 mins) 6. Consider approval of consent agenda. (2 mins) 7. Business from the Floor This section of the Council meeting provides citizens the opportunity to discuss matters, which are not listed on the printed agenda. Thus, any person wishing to bring a matter to Council’s attention under this Section of the agenda should: (1) come to the podium and state name and address; (2) state the matter that they wish to discuss and what action they would like for Council to take; (3) limit remarks to five minutes; (4) refrain from making any personal references or accusations of a factually false and/or malicious nature. Persons who violate these guidelines will be ruled out of order by the presiding officer and will be asked to leave the podium. Persons who refuse to comply with the direction of the presiding officer may be removed from the chambers. 8. Comments by members of City Council. (5 minutes) 9. Comments by City Manager. (5 minutes)  City Council Agenda Summary Meeting Date: February 14, 2017 Item No: 1. Department: Clerk of Council Issue: Consider approval of minutes from January 24, 2017 Council Meeting Summary: None Attachments: January 24, 2017 Council Meeting minutes Recommendations: Motion to approve minutes as presented. January 24, 2017 The regular meeting of the Council of the City of Martinsville, Virginia was held on January 24, 2017 in Council Chambers, Municipal Building, at 7:30 PM with Mayor Gene Teague presiding. Council Members present included Gene Teague, Chad Martin, Jennifer Bowles, Sharon Brooks Hodge, and Kathy Lawson. Staff present included City Manager Leon Towarnicki, Assistant City Manager Wayne Knox, City Attorney Eric Monday, Clerk of Council Karen Roberts, Finance Director Linda Conover, Emergency Management Coordinator Robert Scott, Fire Chief Ted Anderson, and Police Chief Sean Dunn. Mayor Teague called the meeting to order. Following the invocation by Council Member Lawson and Pledge to the American Flag, Mayor Teague welcomed everyone to the meeting. Consider approval of minutes of the January 9, 2017 Council Meeting and the January 10, 2017 Council Meeting – Council Member Bowles requested her title be corrected. Council Member Lawson made a motion to approve the minutes as amended; Council Member Hodge seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. Ural Harris and other members of the local American Legion Post made a presentation to former Mayor Danny Turner. Turner was honored for his service as Mayor and his work with the local veterans. Turner said it was an honor and detailed some of the actions taken by Council that honored veterans and thanked the veterans for their service. Consider recognizing two Martinsville residents for their actions regarding a fire that occurred at 1120 Pine Hall Road on Sunday, January 15 – Fire Chief Ted Anderson detailed the events of January 15, 2017 and described Mr. Watkins and Ms. Smith as heroes after they entered a burning home at 1120 Pine Hall Road to wake the resident and help him outside. Anderson said the fire department would provide smoke detectors to any residents who do not have them at no charge. Vice Mayor Martin read the proclamation honoring Watkins and Smith. Larry Law, resident of the home thanked Smith and Watkins for saving his life. Watkins said he does not feel like a hero but hopes that someone would do the same for him. January 24, 2017 Read a Proclamation acknowledging February 2017 as Black History Month – Mayor Teague read the proclamation and presented a copy to Naomi Hodge-Muse of the local NAACP chapter. Muse said she is humbled and has high regard for City Council and City of Martinsville. She stated that the NAACP works to keep peace within the community. She respects Police Chief Sean Dunn and the City. She shared that the NAACP Breakfast will be held February 18 at 9:00am at Dutch Inn. January 24, 2017 Hear a report from Robinson, Farmer, Cox Associates on the City’s FY16 Audit – City Manager Towarnicki welcomed David Hughes, stating Council Members had the opportunity to meet earlier in the day with the auditors to ask questions. Hughes thanked Council for their guidance and direction along with the Finance department, the School Board, the Commissioner of Revenue’s office and other departments. Hughes gave a brief overview of the FY16 audit stating overall the City did well keeping track and staying on budget. Council Member Hodge said she appreciated the extended amount of time that Hughes spent with Council Members to answer their questions. Mayor Teague thanked Hughes and Council Members for taking the time to meet. Consider a request from Martinsville Fire and EMS for an appropriation to proceed with replacement of an ambulance – City Manager Towarnicki explained that one of the original ambulances is still in service but with over $88,000 spent on repairs. City has applied for grants on multiple occasions for repair and maintenance funds but he feels that it is time to replace the ambulance rather than continue to spend additional money on repairs. If the request is approved it will still take 60-90 days before a replacement would be received. Ted Anderson, Fire Chief said they had gotten 13 years out of this specific ambulance, which was eventually documented to have a “bad” model engine. He has tried unsuccessfully to replace the unit with grants but requests have been rejected because it only has 77,000 miles on it. Employees keep a bag of speedy dry near the ambulance to cover the continuous oil leak from this unit. This unit has broken down on Hospital Drive with a patient inside, as well as at patient homes. They would like to replace this 2-wheel drive ambulance with a 4-wheel drive to allow easier access to patients as needed. Council Member Bowles asked what preventative measures are taken to ensure quality equipment is purchased. Anderson said historically 4- wheel drive units were expensive to maintain and rode rough but that has changed along with the decreased cost. Kris Schrader has done extensive research with other agencies to see what units have been more dependable for them. Council Member Hodge asked what the plan would be to pay for the unit without grant money or the plan to replace units in the future. Anderson said they are working on a new method of grant application and planning how to save money for future replacements. Mayor Teague asked City Manager how the City would fund the replacement ambulance. Towarnicki referred Council to the audit regarding meals tax where $844,677 is shown as the end-of-year FY16 fund balance. $400,000 had been transferred to the FY17 budget to cover capital expenses leaving $444,677 as the meals tax fund balance and the cost of the ambulance would be taken from that fund balance. This does not affect anything this year but would affect the budget regarding capital expenses next year. If the City is going to provide ambulance service then the City needs to provide dependable equipment to handle the service provided and believes this should be considered a high priority since the ambulance service generates revenue for the City. Council Member Lawson made a motion to approve the request for a new ambulance, Council Member Hodge seconded the motion using January 24, 2017 up to $200k from the meals tax fund with all other Council Members voting in favor. Mayor Teague asked if the box sitting on top of the chassis is interchangeable allowing savings on the replacement unit. Anderson said the grants would not go towards that interchangeable replacement and the amount saved would be negligible. Schrader said changing the box could save approximately $80k however, remounts are not recommended on Type 3 chassis. This box replacement could be an option when replacing the other two units in the future. Towarnicki said $200k includes the vehicle as well as other required devices not currently offered in the current unit. Hear an update from Community Development regarding the Zoning Ordinance update – Assistant City Manager Wayne Knox gave an overview of the zoning ordinance update including tentative steps and dates in process for approval. Council Member Hodge asked is this process includes input from the Commissioner of Revenue. Knox said it did. Council Member Lawson asked Knox to provide examples of how the new zoning ordinance could change the flow of revenue. Knox said he does not anticipate there to be any change but the Commissioner of Revenue would let him know if there are changes. Mayor Teague requested a work session to talk about zoning ordinance changes only before it goes out for public comment. Council Member Bowles asked if it would be possible to include members of the Planning Commission in that meeting and asked if Council could be given a draft of any differences in revenues that would occur. Vice Mayor Martin asked what methods are used to announce public hearings. Knox said public hearings are advertised in the local newspaper, on Facebook and they reach out to businesses that could be affected by the changes. Lawson said documents are also available in the public library. January 24, 2017 Mayor Teague explained that City Council members serve as representatives of the Martinsville Redevelopment Housing Authority. For the purpose of the following agenda item, Council Member Bowles made a motion to recess as City Council and to convene as the Martinsville Redevelopment Housing Authority. Council Member Lawson seconded the motion with all members voting in favor. Consider acquisition of property located at 310 Hairston Street, Martinsville, Virginia - City Manager Towarnicki described a home at 310 Hairston Street, constructed in 1946 over top of a City sewer line. The sewer line has collapsed and has flooded the basement of the home. The City can repair the line but all options will cause damage to the home. To move forward with those repairs the City would need to purchase the property. The City is currently having to pump the line daily. Council Member Bowles asked how much of the line is blocked and if there are other properties with the same issue. Towarnicki said this is the only one having problems and the only one he is aware of that could have this issue. The line fills up every day but he could not give an estimate of how far it is backed up. City Attorney Monday said the City records do not date back far enough to know why the home was built over the sewer line and the current homeowner would not have known of the potential problem. Council Member Lawson stated the longer Council waits, the worse the problem becomes. Bowles asked what the cost would be. Towarnicki said the line would be fixed by City employees and total cost of repairs would depend on the cost of materials. One option for the property is to bypass the house, have it professionally cleaned, and then sell the property. Another option is if the home is demolished then the property could be split and added to the property on either side so that the City would not have the expense of maintaining the property. Bowles asked about the timeline after the repair. Towarnicki said once the line is fixed then he anticipates the City would look immediately at options for the home. Council Member Hodge made a motion to purchase the property; Council Member Lawson seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. January 24, 2017 Council Member Bowles made a motion to adjourn as the Housing Authority and reconvene as City Council, Council Member Hodge seconded the motion with all members in favor. Housing Authority adjourned and Council reconvened. City Manager Towarnicki explained that the Telecommunication update would be rescheduled for the first meeting in February. Hear information related to the FY18 budget process – City Manager Towarnicki detailed meeting dates, public hearings, and work sessions explaining the schedule described works well with the schools with the Council pre-budget work session scheduled for February 15 from 5:00-7:00pm. Mayor Teague suggested Thursday, February 23 in the morning to tour the schools. It was suggested that Strategic Planning meetings be held March 10 with Council Members and Saturday March 11 with the schools; Towarnicki said he would confirm the Saturday meeting with the school. Consider approval of consent agenda – Council Member Lawson made a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented; Council Member Hodge seconded the motion with all Members in favor. Business from the Floor – Wayne Knox detailed the Citizens Academy that will begin February 2, 2017 on Thursday evenings and will end early March with a graduation. He instructed citizens who are interested to contact him by Friday, January 27 and he would send them an application. There is no cost to attend and the program would need a minimum of 10 people to participate. Council Member Hodge asked if personal invitations had been sent to civic organizations or churches. Knox said they have reached out to several organizations and information has been posted to Facebook. Council Member Bowles asked if an abbreviated version could be provided for younger residents. Knox said they are working on that and the schools are in favor of doing that. Comments by members of City Council – Council Member Bowles thanked Senator Warren and Senator Kaine for the money to repair the sewer line. She attended the 7th Annual Stop the Violence event which was a success. Bowles suggested possibly having meetings shared by Facebook Live and said she feels that it is an innovative technique that could be added to the website as well. Mayor Teague asked City Manager Towarnicki to research the Facebook Live option before the next meeting. Vice Mayor Martin asked if Citizens could pray January 24, 2017 for Officer Eddie Cassady in the loss of a family member. Council Member Lawson thanked the staff of West Piedmont Planning District who were instrumental in the grant writing. She congratulated the Campbell family for the induction of Clay Earles into the Nascar Hall of Fame, being recognized as the Landmark Award recipient. Lawson reminded residents of the Martinsville High School jazz band fundraiser February 10, tickets are still available. Council Member Hodge attended Go Virginia Southern Region meeting in Danville and asked Council Members to go through the packet provided. She stated that there are opportunities to serve on nine committees and work with 13 jurisdictions. Hodge said there are two areas in the audit that citizens should be aware of including the collection of property taxes, stating that currently the City is at a 6 year high of uncollected taxes. Hodge recognized a second issue in the audit, the value of real estate is what brings in the largest portion of the budget and over the past 6 years, and the value of property within the City is down $55 million not counting the newest assessment. She is curious if there is something Council can do to prevent further decline. Mayor Teague asked City Attorney Monday if he could provide a refresher for Council on the delinquent collection procedure. Monday said he does not receive delinquent accounts until they are 2 years old. Mayor Teague also asked if the Commissioner of Revenue could come before Council with reassessment details and if there is something Council can do. Teague was asked to vote to fill the Virginia Municipal League executive committee vacacy, stating there will be an emergency vote to fill that position. He will be in Richmond at Legislative Day Wednesday January 25. Hodge requested that Teague have a conversation with legislators about what Martinsville can do related to Housing Authority criteria regarding grant funding for housing development projects in rural areas. Comments by City Manager – City Manager Towarnicki said the audit is available online on the City’s website under the Finance tab for any citizen who would like to view that. Council Member Lawson requested a copy be taken to the Library. An additional copy is available in the City Manager’s office. Comments by City Attorney – City Attorney Eric Monday explained the Tobacco Commission extension to Dr. Boaz and medical college and the present real estate. Dr. Boaz is in negotiations with a potential investor. Mayor Teague said Council Members and the public would be interested in receiving an update on the medical college. There being no further business, Council Member Lawson made a motion to adjourn the meeting; the motion was seconded by Council Member Hodge with all Council Members voting in favor. The meeting adjourned at 9:22pm. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Karen Roberts Gene Teague Clerk of Council Mayor  City Council Agenda Summary Date: February 14, 2017 Item No: 2. Department: City Manager Issue: Recognize retired Martinsville City Sheriff’s Deputy Roy Prillaman Summary: Roy Prillaman, Deputy with the Martinsville City Sheriff’s Department retired as of February 1, 2017, culminating a 34 ½ year career with the City that began in July, 1982. During his tenure with the Sheriff’s office, Mr. Prillaman served in a variety of capacities and for most of his career, supervised inmate work crews that handled numerous projects throughout the City – litter/roadside cleanup, assisted in property maintenance issues and boarding of abandoned houses, Christmas Cheer, painting and building renovations, snow removal around City buildings, recycling, and most recently a wood program whereby trees that fall on City property or right of way are cut and prepared as fire wood for distribution to those in need. Over the years, the value of the projects and services provided to the City has been significant and has helped keep the cost of City services and programs as low as possible. Attachments: Proclamation recognizing Roy Prillaman for his service to the City. Recommendations: The Mayor will read the proclamation and present to Roy Prillaman  Proclamation HONORING ROY PRILLAMAN WHEREAS, Roy Prillaman was employed by the City of Martinsville Sheriff’s Department in July, 1982, and through the years has served in a number of capacities within the Department; and WHEREAS, During his tenure with the Sheriff’s Department, Roy Prillaman has exemplified leadership and dedication to providing the best service possible to the Department and citizens of Martinsville; and WHEREAS, During his tenure with the Sheriff’s Deparment, Roy Prillaman has been involved with and supervised jail work crews that have provided tremendous benefit and value to the citizens of Martinsville by taking care of projects and tasks that normally would be handled by full-time employees or contracted out; and WHEREAS, Roy Prillaman has retired from the Martinsville Sheriff’s Department effective February 1, 2017, ending a 34 ½ year career of service to the Department and City; NOW, THEREFORE, on this 14th day of February, 2017, the Martinsville City Council hereby recognizes and commends Roy Prillaman for his outstanding service to the City of Martinsville, and extends to him and his family our best wishes for a long and happy retirement. ____________________________ Gene Teague, Mayor  City Council Agenda Summary Date: February 14, 2017 Item No: 3. Department: Telecommunications Issue: Hear an update on FY17 Telecommunications operations. Summary: Telecommunications Director Mike Scaffidi will present an update at the February 14 Council meeting regarding the FY17 Telecommunications budget and the status of projects. Attachments: None. Additional information will be presented at the meeting. Recommendations: Presented for information purposes. No Council action needed.  City Council Agenda Summary Date: February 14, 2017 Item No: 4. Department: Electric and Water Resources Issue: Hear a staff update on operations of the City’s Electric and Water Resources Departments covering the 6 month period from July, 2016 through December, 2016. Summary: Staff will present a brief update on operations of these departments covering the period noted. Attachments: None. Additional information will be presented at the meeting. Recommendations: Presented for information purposes. No Council action needed.  City Council Agenda Summary Date: February 14, 2017 Item No: 5. Department: City Attorney Issue: Hear an update on 2017 General Assembly legislative session. Summary: Staff will present a brief update on the 2017 General Assembly legislative session currently underway, in particular bills that may have local impact. Attachments: None. Additional information will be presented at the meeting. Recommendations: Presented for information purposes. No Council action needed.  City Council Agenda Summary Meeting Date: February 14, 2017 Item No: 6. Department: Finance Issue: Appropriation Approval Summary: The attachment amends the FY17 Budget with appropriations in the following funds: FY17: General Fund: $ 10,829 – Grant Funds Sewer Fund: $ 710,502 – VRA Reimbursement Attachments: Consent Agenda 2-14-17 Recommendations: Approve  BUDGET ADDITIONS FOR 2/14/2017 ORG OBJECT DESCRIPTION DEBIT CREDIT FY17 General Fund: 01102926 405555 Federal Categorical - Brownfields Grant - EPA 10,829 01812247 503136 Brownfields - Professional Services - Consultant 10,829 Project reimbursement Total General Fund: 10,829 10,829 Sewer Fund: 13103936 407700 Indebtedness - VRA Loan Proceeds 710,502 13551326 508224 Wastewater Maintenance - SRI Project - Phys. Plant Exp. 710,502 VRA Reimbursement #8 Total Sewer Fund: 710,502 710,502