City Council

June 29, 2023 Work Session` A work session meeting of the Council of the City of Martinsville, Virginia was held on June 29, 2023 in Council Chambers, Municipal Building, at 5:30 PM with Mayor LC Jones presiding. Other Council Members present included Kathy Lawson, Aaron Rawls, Lawrence Mitchell and Tammy Pearson. Staff present included City Manager Leon Towarnicki. Mayor Jones called the meeting to order and advised Council would go into Closed Session beginning at 5:30 PM. In accordance with the Code of Virginia, Title 2.2 Chapter 37, Freedom of Information Act and upon a motion by Council Member Pearson and seconded by Council Member Lawson with the following 4-0 recorded vote: Vice Mayor Rawls, aye; Council Member Pearson, aye; Mayor Jones, aye; and Council Member Lawson, aye. Council Member Mitchell was not present for the vote but arrived to Closed Session about 5 minutes later. Council convened in Closed Session to discuss the following matters: (A) Discussion, consideration, or interviews of prospective candidates for employment; Appointment to Boards and Commissions, as authorized by Subsection 1 and (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 City of Martinsville would be adversely affected, as authorized by Subsection 6. 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 Pearson and seconded by Council Member Lawson with the following recorded vote: Mayor Jones, aye; Vice Mayor Rawls, aye; Council Member Lawson, aye; Council Member Mitchell, aye; and Council Member Pearson, aye. Council Member Lawson made a motion to appoint Cody Williams to the School Board for an unexpired 3-year term ending June 30, 2024; Vice Mayor Rawls seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. Vice Mayor Rawls made a motion to appoint Heather Blankenbaker to the School Board for a 3-year term ending June 30, 2026; Council Member Pearson seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. Council Member Lawson made a motion to appoint Nekia Blackwell to the School Board for a 3-year term ending June 30, 2026; Council Member Pearson seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. Council Member Lawson made a motion to authorize the execution of the Interim City Manager Work Order Agreement with The Berkley Group subject to favorable resolution of the phrase that refers to provisions set forth in the master agreement; Vice Mayor Rawls seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. Vice Mayor Rawls requested City Manager Towarnicki to elaborate on the One Ellsworth funding request. Council Member Lawson made a motion to approve/earmark $175,000 of ARPA money for asbestos removal at One Ellsworth/BB&T building, conditioned on the June 29, 2023 Work Session` developer and the Harvest Foundation likewise agreeing to each contribute a matching $175,000. Vice Mayor Rawls seconded the motion with all Council Members voting in favor. No other action was taken out of closed session. There being no further business, Council Member Lawson made a motion to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:25pm. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Karen Roberts, Clerk of Council LC Jones, Mayor