City Council

October 8, 2019 Council Meeting The regular meeting of the Council of the City of Martinsville, Virginia was held on October 8, 2019 in Council Chambers, Municipal Building, at 7:30 PM with Mayor Kathy Lawson presiding. Other Council Members present included Chad Martin, Jennifer Bowles, Jim Woods and Danny Turner. Staff present included City Manager Leon Towarnicki, Assistant City Manager/City Attorney Eric Monday, Clerk of Council Karen Roberts, Finance Director Linda Conover, and Police Chief Eddie Cassady. Mayor Lawson called the meeting to order and advised Council would go into Closed Session beginning at 6:30 PM. In accordance with section 2.1-344 (A) Code of Virginia (1950, and as amended) and upon a motion by Council Member Woods and seconded by Vice Mayor Martin with the following 5-0 recorded vote: Vice Mayor Martin, aye; Mayor Lawson, aye; Council Member Bowles, aye; Council Member Turner, aye; and Council Member 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 A motion was made by Council Member Woods; seconded by Council Member Bowles, with the following 5-0 recorded vote in favor to return to Open Session: Mayor Lawson, aye; Council Member Bowles, aye; Council Member Woods, aye; Vice Mayor Martin, aye; and Council Member Turner, aye. Council Member Bowles made a motion to appoint Ronikka Hannana to the West Piedmont Planning District Board of Commissioners for an unexpired 3-year term ending June 30, 2022. The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Martin with all Council Members voting in favor. Council Member Woods made a motion to appoint Austin Craig to the Transportation Safety Commission for an unexpired 4-year term ending December 31, 2022. The motion was seconded by Council Member Turner with all Council Members voting in favor. Vice Mayor Martin made a motion to appoint Jean Odachowski to the Henry County- Martinsville Joint Social Services Board for an unexpired 4-year term ending May 31, 2023. The motion was seconded by Council Member Woods with all Council Members voting in favor. Following the Pledge to the American Flag and invocation by Council Member Woods, Lawson welcomed everyone to the meeting. Read a proclamation designating October 2019 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the City of Martinsville – Vice Mayor Martin read the proclamation which was presented to Sue October 8, 2019 Council Meeting Ellen Danter, representative of the Coalition for Health and Wellness who thanked Council for the proclamation and shared information and statistics. Conduct a public hearing regarding a planned Community Development Block Grant re- application for the Pine Hall Road area – City Manager Towarnicki summarized information shared previously about the block grant application along with denial and reapplication steps to be refiled in March 2020. Janet Jonas with Summit Design and Engineering provided a PowerPoint about the Pine Hall Road area Community Development Block Grant, project team members, explanation of what CDBG stands for and its purpose, types of community improvement grants, funding available in FY2019, previous Martinsville CDBG projects, the area identified for the project, and initial planning grant activities. The original application submitted March 2019 was denied but the City will reapply when the next submission period opens. There will be a How to Apply workshop in January 2020. The application will be reviewed to ensure a solid packet before resubmission. Council Member Turner stated that he did not feel the Northside project was money well spent and pointed out that $250,000 was returned unused. Jones shared that several homes were repaired, Dillard Street and Franklin Streets were repaired and drainage issues were addressed with that project. Vice Mayor Martin recommended training high school students needing volunteer hours to assist with the door- to-door application process. Residents who did not apply before can still apply. Mayor Lawson opened the floor for the public hearing. City Manager Towarnicki said he received a call from October 8, 2019 Council Meeting Alexis Lee of 127 Sellers Street who expressed her support for the City to reapply. No one approached the podium so the public hearing was closed. Hear an update from staff at Blue Ridge Regional Library on the success of the Summer Reading and Summer Feeding programs sponsored by the Library – Rick Ward, Executive Director of the Library and Leander Gravely, Program Coordinator shared statistics on the students benefited and the “summer slide” which affects education retention. Ward shared details about the Summer Reading and Summer Feeding programs. Gravely detailed available programs and how those benefit the children in the community. Gravely shared information about additional upcoming events. Council Member Bowles said she is thankful for the activities being offered and the outstanding benefits to the community. Consider approval on second reading, Ordinance 2019-7 establishing a new Tourism Zone in the City of Martinsville – City Attorney Monday summarized the need for the ordinance with primary purpose being related to GAP funding for hotels or large retail or restaurant organizations. Incentives and opportunities would be streamlined; there may be potential waived permits and limited tax incentives, dependent on the capital investment in the community and how many jobs would be related. Additional eligible properties would be theaters, health clubs, etc. Council Member Turner made a motion to approve Ordinance 2019-7 as presented; Vice Mayor Martin seconded the motion with the following roll call vote: Council Member Bowles, aye; Vice Mayor Martin, aye; Council Member Woods, aye; Mayor Lawson, aye; and Council Member Turner, aye. October 8, 2019 Council Meeting Consider adoption of a Resolution approving lease purchase financing of certain items of capital equipment – Finance Director Conover and City Manager Towarnicki summarized the need for the resolution approving the lease purchase and the capital equipment included. Council Member Bowles made a motion to adopt the reimbursement resolution; Council Member Turner seconded the motion with the following Roll Call Vote: Council Member Woods, aye; Mayor Lawson, aye; Council Member Bowles, aye; Vice Mayor Martin, aye; and Council Member Turner, aye. Council Member Bowles made a motion to authorize the City Manager to execute the Lease Agreement; Council Member Turner seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. October 8, 2019 Council Meeting Consider approval of payroll deduction employee computer purchase program- Finance Director Linda Conover explained the program available to fulltime City employees. Vice October 8, 2019 Council Meeting Mayor Martin made the motion to approve the computer purchase program; Council Member Woods seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. Consider approval of consent agenda – Council Member Turner made the motion to approve the consent agenda as presented; Council Member Bowles seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor Business from the Floor – Federal Employee Michael Stowers explained his role in this year’s census and the benefits of getting a complete, correct count, which is vital to keep money local. Stowers requested that he be added to the next agenda. The US Census is a statistical body and creates maps. Many people in Martinsville do not respond to the census. Vice Mayor Martin asked Stowers to touch on the opportunity for employment to assist with the census. Recruiting is being handled through the Roanoke office; applicants must be a US citizen and pass a background check. In 2020, the census can be completed by paper, online and possible an app and by telephone. Comments by Members of City Council – Council Member Turner has been working to replace businesses in the City. He will be hosting trivia night at the Wild Magnolia’s restaurant tomorrow night. Vice Mayor Martin had a good time at the Virginia Municipal League meeting, learning a lot from the opioid discussions and the steps being taken by other locations. Council Member Woods shared that with his opportunity to work in local classrooms, he is not surprised to see why Martinsville schools are accredited without conflict. He shared details about The Pirates of Chemotherapy which is a reader’s theater being presented at the Black Box Theater; it’s a comedy about survivors of breast cancer showing this Thursday and Friday and sponsored October 8, 2019 Council Meeting by Wigs Unlimited. Mayor Lawson shared that Friday is the Air Force concert at First Baptist Church and Saturday is Hazardous Waste Day at the Henry County PSA warehouse in Bassett. Comments by City Manager – The City and County are working together on the Veteran of the Year award. Applications can be found on the City website or picked up from the City Manager’s office. Towarnicki asked Council to look over the PART Ridership report for the past year and note the significant increase of residents that are using the bus. Towarnicki said if a resident is on the route, they can flag the bus down and do not have to be at an official stop. Columbus Day holiday is Monday so the Municipal building will be closed. City Attorney Monday encouraged residents with Oak Trees to contact the Virginia Forestry Department to pick up acorns this year. There being no further business, Council Member Turner made a motion to adjourn the meeting; the motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Martin with all Council Members voting in favor. The meeting adjourned at 8:50pm. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Karen Roberts Kathy Lawson Clerk of Council Mayor