City Council

The “New River ” City 10 Robertson St. March 11 , 2013 Radford, Virginia Meeting Number 15 of Radford City Council, F.Y. 2012-2013 A workshop meeting of the Radford City Council was convened at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers, 10 Robertson Street, Radford, VA. The Mayor of the City, Dr. Bruce Brown, was present and presiding. Other members of City Council present were Mr. Cox, Dr. Richard Harshberger, Mr. Keith Marshall, and Mr. Robert Nicholson III. Others present were as follows: Mr. David Ridpath, City Manager Ms. Melissa Skelton, Deputy City Clerk Mr. Basil Edwards, Economic Developer Mr. Donald Goodman, Chief of Police Mr. Bill Willis, Superintendant Electric Dept. Mr. Tim Logwood, Asst. Superintendant Electric Dept. The news media was represented by The Roanoke Times. The following items were discussed during the workshop meeting:  Little River Dam The regular meeting of the Radford City Council was convened at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers, 10 Robertson Street, Radford, VA. The Mayor of the City, Dr. Bruce Brown, was present and presiding. Other members of City Council present were Mr. Cox, Dr. Richard Harshberger, Mr. Keith Marshall, and Mr. Robert Nicholson III. Others present were as follows: Mr. David Ridpath, City Manager Ms. Melissa Skelton, City Clerk Mr. Basil Edwards, Economic Director Mr. Donald Goodman, Chief of Police The news media was represented by The News Journal. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Mayor Brown, an invocation was pronounced by Rev. McCandlish. MINUTES APPROVAL: On a motion by Mr. Nicholson, seconded by Dr. Harshberger that the minutes of February 25, 2013 were approved as presented. VOTE: AYES: Mr. Cox, Dr. Harshberger, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Nicholson, Mayor Brown NAYES: None-0 REPORT – Delegate Joseph Yost shared that he wanted to take an opportunity to come by and provide a brief update of what was going on in Richmond. He shared that it was fairly quiet this past session, with not much changed from the budget perspective. One big thing that they did accomplish that will impact the City of Radford in a positive way is the development of Exit 109 off of Interstate I-81, they were successful in establishing the ability to apply for mix beverage which will help with future development of restaurants and hotels. PROCLAMATION: SUBJECT: Mayor’s Day of Recognition for National Service SUMMARY: The Proclamation illustrates the importance of citizen service, shows support for nonprofit and national service groups, recognizes the role that national service members play in focusing community volunteers and inspiring more individuals to serve in our communities. ACTION: Mr. Nicholson made a motion to approve the proclamation as presented and authorize Mayor Brown to sign and Melissa A. Skelton to Attest, seconded by Dr. Harshberger. VOTE: AYES: Mr. Cox, Mr. Marshall, Dr. Harshberger, Mr. Nicholson, Mayor Brown NAYES: None-0 OLD BUSINESS SUBJECT: Ordinance 1644 – International Church of the Four Square Gospel – New Horizon’s SUMMARY: New Horizon’s Church has requested a Special Use Permit to expand its church facilities at 1014 Tyler Avenue. The specific request is to construct additional parking spaces on a portion of property that is under option with Scott and Angie Hill, adjacent to the church. The 3.8 acre site is zoned R-1, “single family residential”, and requires a Special Use Permit for “church related activities”. ACTION: Mr. Cox made a motion to place Ordinance # 1644 on its second and final reading, seconded Mr. Marshall. VOTE: AYES: Mr. Cox Yes Dr. Harshberger Yes Mr. Marshall Yes Mr. Nicholson Yes Mayor Brown Yes NAYES: None-0 SUBJECT: Appoint Board of Viewers for vacation of right-of-ways SUMMARY: Appointment of Board of Viewers is necessary to review the request and advise Council on the findings and make recommendations. Council had appointed Ed Cox, Pat Fluke and John McCandlish to the Board of Viewers. Mr. Cox indicated that he now has a conflict and cannot serve. A replacement is needed that can also serve as Chair. ACTION: Dr. Harshberger made a motion to appoint Doyle Barton, to serve and chair the Board of Viewers, seconded Mr. Cox VOTE: AYES: Mr. Cox, Dr. Harshberger, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Nicholson, Mayor Brown NAYES: None-0 CITIZEN COMMENTS: Becky Haupt, Main Street Radford, commented on what a great weekend the City had with the Steam Train excursion. Deb Cooney did such a great job. She shared that David Shanks is helping them put together a business bootcamp to try and help small businesses interested in starting up. And finally, MSR is having a merchant meeting this Thursday, 6pm at La Quinta. NEW BUSINESS SUBJECT: Appropriation Ordinance 1634.24: $5,115 for Anthem Wellness Funds SUMMARY: The City received money from the New River Valley Benefits consortium to provide wellness related activities for employees enrolled in the F.Y. 2013 health plan. The funds are typically used to pay for the employee Health Fair and other wellness related activities. ACTION: Mr. Cox made a motion, seconded by Mr. Nicholson, to place Appropriation Ordinance 1634.24: $5,115 on its first reading. VOTE: AYES: Mr. Cox, Dr. Harshberger, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Nicholson, Mayor Brown NAYES: None-0 ACTION: Mr. Cox made a motion, seconded by Mr. Nicholson, to dispense with the second and final reading. VOTE: AYES: Mr. Cox, Dr. Harshberger, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Nicholson, Mayor Brown NAYES: None-0 SUBJECT: Appropriation Ordinance 1634.25: $3,836 for donation of K-9 Bulletproof Vests SUMMARY: The Police Department received a donation to purchase bulletproof vests for the Department’s police dogs. ACTION: Mr. Marshall made a motion, seconded by Dr. Harshberger, to place Appropriation Ordinance 1634.25: $3,836 on its first reading. VOTE: AYES: Mr. Cox, Dr. Harshberger, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Nicholson, Mayor Brown NAYES: None-0 ACTION: Mr. Marshall made a motion, seconded by Dr. Harshberger, to dispense with the second and final reading. VOTE: AYES: Mr. Cox, Dr. Harshberger, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Nicholson, Mayor Brown NAYES: None-0 SUBJECT: Appropriation Ordinance 1634.26: $119,900 for Solid Waste Brush Truck SUMMARY: The “lightening loader” primary purpose is to collect debris such as downed trees, brush, junk and furniture. ACTION: Mr. Nicholson made a motion, seconded by Mr. Cox, to place Appropriation Ordinance 1634.26: $119,900 on its first reading. VOTE: AYES: Mr. Cox, Dr. Harshberger, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Nicholson, Mayor Brown NAYES: None-0 ACTION: Mr. Nicholson made a motion, seconded by Mr. Cox, to dispense with the second and final reading. VOTE: AYES: Mr. Cox, Dr. Harshberger, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Nicholson, Mayor Brown NAYES: None-0 CITY MANAGER’S COMMENTS: Mr. Ridpath commented that you will notice on the bottom of the agenda that we have several budget meetings coming up, please check website for changes. We wanted to get as much information on current fiscal year and using best information as possible, so the dates may change. CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS: Dr. Harshberger wanted to share how we, as citizens of Radford, have a lot to be proud of. The coordination for the Steam Train Excursion was terrific. The people felt so welcomed when they got off the train. Mr. Nicholson added that he and Deb Cooney and Marceline Hunter spent the majority of time handing out flyers and trying to link people up with the restaurants. He shared that the businesses seemed very pleased. One gentleman has been doing these Steam Train Excursion for the past 30 years and this is the first time a community has gone to that extent and rolled out red carpet. He added that it was a wonderful day all the way around for Radford, very proud of our community, but as the day rolled on and as games rolled on, we were all so appreciative and excited about our teenagers representing our High School, we are so proud of them. We had a great celebration when the RHS Boy’s Basketball Team got home at midnight. Mr. Marshall also wanted to congratulate the RHS Basketball team. They worked hard. He congratulated Chief Goodman on the 2012 Police Departments annual report. He commented that it’s a little scary to read, but you can see what they deal with on day to day business. Mr. Cox wanted to give Council a heads up, he commented that Mr. Nicholson joined with Planning District Commission a few months ago; one thing we talked about is making sure we communicate what’s going on at the PDC to our Council and the community. Mr. Cox noted, the task has been challenging to me, just because of the sheer volume and complexity of some of the issues. We were elected, Mr. Nicholson, Dr. Harvey, I and a couple others, by the Chair, to look at how the PDC functions and come up with some priorities and one of those priorities is reporting back to the localities. So we will be emailing the minutes as soon as possible. Second thing is the notice of withdrawal of this is insurance and benefits. Do we know how this is going to affect us? Mr. Ridpath responded that we will have proposals for the Insurance coverage by Wednesday; we don’t anticipate a big change. Mayor Brown shared we received a very nice note from Keith Welton for the sentiments for the loss of his dad. We are getting weekly letters from all different agencies about the impact of sequestration. The Mayor noted, “I think it’s incumbent to make people aware that a civilized society does things for people. And programs like the Community Development Block Grant they get more bang for their buck and they are getting hit.” He shared that whoever put the map together for the Train Excursion did a wonderful job. He was in Richmond but there were a number of video streams on facebook and he applauds everyone who made it happen. He commented that the highlight of the week was going to the pep rally prior to the Basketball team leaving. He shared with them that this is a culmination of years of work; it’s the Recreation Department, the parents who run them all over place, the coaches and families who sacrifice a lot for the commitment that they put into it. He told them that everyone who goes to Richmond is going to have an exceptional team, and they are all going to have the sixth man, the fans, but only one team has a seventh man, Big Al, it was a good weekend. He said, “I want to challenge Dr. Greer to change the sign to Title Town.” Dr. Harshberger made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:56, seconded by Mr. Cox. VOTE: AYES: Mr. Cox, Dr. Harshberger, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Nicholson, Mayor Brown NAYES: None-0 ATTEST: _________________________________ Melissa A. Skelton, City Clerk of Council