City Council

June 11, 2019 Council Meeting The regular meeting of the Council of the City of Martinsville, Virginia was held on June 11, 2019 in Council Chambers, Municipal Building, at 7:30 PM with Mayor Kathy Lawson presiding. Other Council Members present included Jennifer Bowles, Chad Martin, Jim Woods and Danny Turner. Staff present included City Manager Leon Towarnicki, City Attorney Eric Monday, Assistant City Manager Wayne Knox, and Finance Director Linda Conover. Mayor Lawson called the meeting to order and advised Council would go into Closed Session beginning at 7:00 PM. In accordance with section 2.1-344 (A) Code of Virginia (1950, and as amended) and upon a motion by Council Member Bowles seconded by Council Member Woods with the following 5-0 recorded vote: Bowles, aye; Lawson, aye; Martin, aye; Turner, aye; and Woods, aye. Council convened in Closed Session to discuss the following matters: (A) appointments to boards and commissions, as authorized by Subsection 1, and (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. At the conclusion of Closed Session, each returning member of Council certified that (1) only public business matters exempt from open meeting requirements were discussed in said Closed Session; and (2) only those business matters identified in the motion convening the Closed Session were heard, discussed, or considered during the Session. Mayor Lawson explained that no action was taken out of Closed Session on either item. A motion was made by Council Member Bowles seconded by Council Member Turner, with the following 5-0 recorded vote in favor to return to Open Session: Woods, aye; Turner, aye; Martin, aye; Lawson, aye; and Bowles, aye. Out of Closed Session, Vice Mayor Martin made a motion to reappoint William Kirby to the Blue Ridge Regional Library Governing Board for a 4-year term ending June 30, 2023. The motion was seconded by Council Member Woods with all Council Members voting in favor. Council Member Woods made a motion to appoint Rhonda Casey to the Blue Ridge Regional Library Governing Board for a 4-year term ending June 30, 2023. Vice Mayor Martin seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. Council Member Bowles made a motion to appoint Denny Casey to the Patrick Henry Community College Board for a 4-year term ending June 30, 2023. Council Member Turner seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. Council Member Woods made a motion to reappoint Linda Drage to the Piedmont Regional Community Services Board for a 3-year term ending June 30, 2022. Council Member Bowles seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. Mayor Lawson explained that there was no action taken following consultation with legal counsel. Following the Pledge to the American Flag and invocation by Mayor Lawson, Lawson welcomed everyone to the meeting. June 11, 2019 Council Meeting Council Member Turner invited Mary Kay Washington to the podium. June 6 th was the 75th anniversary of D-Day. There was a ceremony honoring the fallen at Oakwood Cemetery. Washington is a descendant of Benjamin Kearfott who was a Martinsville resident killed in the first wave at Normandy. Congressman Morgan Griffith attended ceremonies in France, traveled to Kearfott’s gravesite and sent a picture to Turner and Washington. Present proclamations recognizing Martinsville High School track and field athletes De’Niya Gravely and Nwachukwu Ugbomah-Otunuya for winning the Virginia High School League Class 2 State Championship titles in their respective events – Council Member Bowles read the first proclamation and presented it to De’Niva Gravely. Council Member Woods read the second proclamation and presented it to Nwachukwu Ugbomah-Otunuva. Vice Mayor Martin invited Coach Johnson to the podium. Johnson expressed his appreciation to the parents and praised the students. Conduct a public hearing for consideration of citizens interested in appointments for one unexpired 3-year term ending June 30, 2021, and one full 3-year term ending June 30, 2022, on the Martinsville City School Board – City Manager Towarnicki explained that there are two vacancies and per code, interested parties must have their name publically declared during the Council meeting for consideration. Mayor Lawson opened the public hearing. Yvonne Givens of 714 Indian Trail shared her interest in serving on the School Board. Emily Parker of 1225 Mulberry Road submitted her name for consideration for the Board as well. Vice Mayor Martin added Tony Jones to the list of applicants to consider. Towarnicki said an application June 11, 2019 Council Meeting from Mary Ruth Reynolds was received online. Reynolds attended and expressed interest in being considered. City Attorney Monday shared that Eric Hruza requested to be considered for reappointment. Monday explained that any resident not mentioned during the public hearing would not be considered for the vacancies and it is at Council’s discretion who to appoint for the positions. Towarnicki explained that interviews would be done before and after the June 25 Council Meeting. Hear an update from Martinsville-Henry County Family YMCA regarding the City/YMCA contract for services related to City parks and recreation programs – Courtney Hairston from the YMCA shared that spring and summer sports are in session with a fair turnout of children. Fall season is about to start and that tends to be the busiest season. Residents interested in participating as a coach should apply on the YMCA website. Towarnicki explained that the transition with the YMCA was done a year ago and it has been seamless and working very well. Consider approval of consent agenda – Council Member Turner made a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. Council Member Bowles seconded the motion with all Council voting in favor. Business from the Floor – Ronnie Martin of 701 Mica Street says he has lived in Martinsville for about five years. He was having a discussion with his son about resident rights and what locations a resident can record video. He visited City Hall with his son on May 28 and asked about filming in public locations. Martin had an altercation with City Attorney Monday about whether he had the right to video tape and record in a public location. Martin said he was not filming that day but was met by an officer on his way out of Monday’s office. The next day, he June 11, 2019 Council Meeting visited Monday again and was met with animosity. Martin said he was not videotaping, only asking if he was allowed to. Shawna Ingram of 900 Rives Road, Apartment B302 at the Martinsville Lofts states that she and other residents are having issues at the property. There has not been a property manager at this location for months. There is a discrepancy on whether she paid her rent or not. She found out that the payment box was stolen and it was not reported to the tenants so the quit notices should never have been sent out without further investigation. During her research about the missing payment, she and other tenants discussed the blocked handicap entrance, the overgrown landscaping, the building taking on water, repair requests that were not being honored, security cameras operate but do not record, vehicle break-ins, abandoned and untagged vehicles at the location, and the doors were locked to the wellness center with no emergency access to handicap residents along with other concerns. Ingram requests the Inspection office take action on the property managers before another City location is awarded to Landmark, the developers of this property. Ingram says she has acquired respiratory issues due to the mold and conditions of the apartments. City Attorney Monday explained that some concerns expressed could be addressed by the City but not all. Kris Bridges of the Inspections Office explained the process handling landlord/property manager violations, stating that the tenant must be current on their rent for their complaints to be addressed. Mayor Lawson asked Ingram to work directly with Bridges and the Inspections Department on her concerns. Comments by Members of City Council – Council Member Woods informed the citizens that TGIF would return to Uptown June 21 at the Farmer’s Market with concessions. Woods acknowledged Council Member Bowles for promoting the Food Truck Rodeo, which had a wonderful turnout. Council Member Bowles praised the organizers of the Food Truck Rodeo and she is excited that they will plan another in the future. Bowles offered her apologies to Ms. Ingram for the issues she and other tenants are experiencing. City Attorney Monday recommended that Ms. Ingram follow her lease agreement to ensure complaints are reported and handled correctly. Council Member Turner shared details on Flag Day celebrations and invited the public to attend. Vice Mayor Martin thanked Council Member Bowles for her support of the Food Truck Rodeo and hopes that she will help with that again. Martin addressed Ms. Ingram again and assured her that her complaints would be looked into. Mayor Lawson thanked Council Member Turner for his participation in the D-Day Ceremony. Lawson reminded residents of the Martinsville Mustangs game schedule for the week. Comments by City Manager and City Attorney – City Manager Towarnicki explained that The Lofts have been held up as a model project for the community and the example of that project is used often for future projects. City staff has heard Ms. Ingram’s concerns and those will be addressed to ensure this location remains a model facility. Towarnicki recognized former Mayor George Adams who passed away recently and offered condolences to his family. Adams served June 11, 2019 Council Meeting an important role in Martinsville’s success and was well thought of by all. Nancy Bradshaw of Triangle Electric, one of the anchor businesses in the community and a member of the Gateway Streetscape board also passed away. He offered condolences to her family also. City Attorney Monday reflected on the tragic events in Virginia Beach but the Martinsville City municipal building has a high level of security. Staff is working together to ensure and expand those security policies for the safety of the employees. Council Member Bowles questioned the policy on door cards for terminated employees, Monday and Towarnicki assured her that door cards are deactivated immediately on termination. Towarnicki explained that with the situation in Virginia Beach, he is not sure that anything else could have been done to prevent the tragedy. Discussions have been ongoing for a while related to increasing safety measures and several additional steps have been implemented recently. There being no further business, Council Member Bowles made a motion to adjourn the meeting; the motion was seconded by Council Member Turner with all Council Members voting in favor. The meeting adjourned at 8:45pm. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Karen Roberts Kathy Lawson Clerk of Council Mayor