City Council

June 22, 2021 Council Meeting The regular meeting of the Council of the City of Martinsville, Virginia was held on June 22, 2021 in Council Chambers, Municipal Building, at 7:00 PM with Mayor Kathy Lawson presiding. Other Council Members present included Danny Turner, Jennifer Bowles, Tammy Pearson and Chad Martin. Staff present included City Manager Leon Towarnicki, Assistant City Manager/City Attorney Eric Monday, Clerk of Council Karen Roberts, Finance Director Linda Conover, Community Development Director Mark McCaskill, and Police Captain Chad Rhoads. Mayor Lawson called the meeting to order and advised Council would go into Closed Session beginning at 6:00 PM. In accordance with section 2.1-344 (A) Code of Virginia (1950, and as amended) and upon a motion by Council Member Pearson, seconded by Vice Mayor Bowles with the following 4-0 recorded vote: Vice Mayor Bowles, aye; Council Member Turner, aye; Council Member Pearson and Mayor Lawson, aye. Council convened in Closed Session to discuss the following matters: (A) Appointments to boards and commissions, as authorized by Subsection 1, (B) Discussion or consideration of the investment of public funds where competition or bargaining is involved, where, if made public initially, the financial interest of the governmental unit would be adversely affected, as authorized by Subsection 6, and (C) 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. Council Member Martin joined Closed Session at 6:15pm. Closed Session was recessed; 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 meeting. A motion was made by Council Member Martin; seconded by Vice Mayor Bowles with the following 5-0 recorded vote in favor to recess Closed Session and return to Open Session: Mayor Lawson, aye; Vice Mayor Bowles, aye; Council Member Turner, aye; Council Member Martin, aye and Council Member Pearson, aye. Vice Mayor Bowles made a motion to appoint Stephanie Tucker to the Comprehensive Services Act Community Policy and Management Team as the Primary Private Provider for a 2- year term ending June 30, 2023. Council Member Council Member Turner seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. Council Member Martin made a motion to appoint Jean Odachowski to the Comprehensive Services Act Community Policy and Management Team as the Alternate Private Provider for a 2-year term ending June 30, 2023. Council Member Council Member Pearson seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. No other action was taken out of Closed Session. Following the Pledge to the American Flag and invocation by Council Member Pearson, Lawson welcomed everyone to the meeting. Mayor Lawson explained that the meeting would follow COVID guidelines, allowing limited attendance and recognizing social distancing recommendations. June 22, 2021 Council Meeting Approve minutes from the June 8, 2021 Council Meeting – Vice Mayor Bowles made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Council Member Martin seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. Consider information related to a possible redevelopment project at the City-owned building located at 62 Fayette Street – City Manager Towarnicki explained that this project involved the former planned medical building on Fayette Street. The City has received several proposals on the building but this is by far a more favorable project with a mixture of residential and commercial space along with “maker” space. John Garland and Jim Cherney are historic preservation developers and were present to share information on their previous projects as well as their ideas for 62 Fayette Street. They are in negotiations with Frith Construction on the remodels in Martinsville and several projects in Henry County. Council Member Turner expressed concern about parking, City Manager Towarnicki explained that parking concerns would be addressed. Vice Mayor Bowles made a motion to recess as City Council and convene as the Martinsville Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Council Member Pearson seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. Housing Authority Member Pearson made a motion to authorize staff to execute a development agreement regarding the proposed project. Vice Chair Bowles seconded the motion with all Housing Authority Members voting in favor. Housing Authority member Martin expressed his appreciation that the developers have taken the location and the neighborhood into consideration when making plans for this project. Bowles appreciates the developers taking into consideration the history of the building. Pearson is pleased that the developers had reached out to Uptown Partnership to share their ideas. Pearson said this project is exciting to her as a building and business owner uptown. Housing Authority Member Pearson made a motion to adjourn as Housing Authority and reconvene as City Council. Vice Chair Bowles seconded the motion with all Housing Authority Members voting in favor. Conduct a public hearing regarding proposed amendments to the Transportation Plan and Land Use Plan chapters of the City’s Comprehensive Plan – Community Development Director Mark McCaskill thanked Joe Bonanno of the West Piedmont Planning District Commission who did a lot of work to ensure this plan met all necessary requirements. McCaskill presented a PowerPoint summarizing the plan and why the amendments are needed to meet Virginia State Codes. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the Transportation plan and land use plan chapter amendments. McCaskill confirmed that no one attended the Community Development public hearing so no concerns were voiced. Mayor Lawson opened the public hearing; there were no public comments and the hearing was closed. The vote to approve the amendments will be postponed until the next Council meeting to allow additional time for review. City Attorney Monday explained the findings must be in the motion to adopt at the next meeting. June 22, 2021 Council Meeting June 22, 2021 Council Meeting Consent agenda – Vice Mayor Bowles made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Council Member Pearson seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. Business from the Floor - None Comments by City Council – Council Member Martin was happy with the numerous celebrations for Juneteenth, he hopes to see more in the future and wished residents a happy July 4th holiday. Council Member Turner wished residents a happy July 4th. Turner has asked Congressmen Griffith to recognize three small business owners, stating details will follow and they will be presented a capital flag. Council Member Pearson also wished residents a happy July 4th and asked everyone to remember the reason for the holiday and how fortunate they are. Vice Mayor Bowles hopes residents had a happy Juneteenth, she hopes residents learned more about the history of this holiday. Mayor Lawson apologized that they did not have sufficient notice to fly flags for Juneteenth but she assures residents that the flags will be out next year. Lawson attended a function at Piedmont Arts and said she learned so much from the speakers there. She congratulated Piedmont Arts on their 60th anniversary. Comments by the City Manager –Since July 4th is on a Sunday, Monday July 5 will be the recognized holiday so City Hall will be closed. To his knowledge the Mustangs are not doing any fireworks or events for the July 4th holiday but he thinks the museum may be planning some activities June 22, 2021 Council Meeting City Attorney Monday recognized Brandon Martin, stating that this would be his last experience as a reporter covering the Martinsville City Council meeting. Monday thanked Martin for his refreshing and ethical coverage of the meetings and wished him luck in his new venture. There being no further business, Mayor Lawson advised Council would recess back into Closed Session beginning at 7:50 PM. In accordance with section 2.1-344 (A) Code of Virginia (1950, and as amended) and upon a motion by Vice Mayor Bowles, seconded by Council Member Pearson with the following 5-0 recorded vote: Council Member Pearson, aye; Council Member Martin, aye; Council Member Turner; Mayor Lawson, aye; and Vice Mayor Bowles, aye. Council convened in Closed Session to discuss the following matters: (A) Appointments to boards and commissions, as authorized by Subsection 1, (B) Discussion or consideration of the investment of public funds where competition or bargaining is involved, where, if made public initially, the financial interest of the governmental unit would be adversely affected, as authorized by Subsection 6, and (C) 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 meeting. A motion was made by Council Member Turner; seconded by Council Member Pearson with the following 5-0 recorded vote in favor to return to Open Session: Mayor Lawson, aye; Vice Mayor Bowles, aye; Council Member Turner, aye; Council Member Martin, aye and Council Member Pearson, aye. Council Member Martin made a motion to reappoint Yvonne Givens to the School Board for a 3-year term ending June 30, 2024. Council Member Pearson seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. Council Member Turner made a motion to appoint Jay Dickens to the School Board for a 3-year term ending June 30, 2024. Council Member Pearson seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. There being no further business, Vice Mayor Bowles made a motion to adjourn the meeting; the motion was seconded by Council Member Martin with all Council Members voting in favor. The meeting adjourned at 10:00pm. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Karen Roberts Kathy Lawson Clerk of Council Mayor