August 2013

August 13, 2013

MINUTES OF THE BROOKNEAL TOWN COUNCIL


7:00 PM – The regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council

The municipal government of the Town of Brookneal met with the following members present:

James Nowlin, Vice Mayor
Richard Adams, Robert Jean (7:28 p.m.), Barbara Laprade, Mark Wilkes, and J. B. David, Jr. (7:25 p.m.), Council Members
Russell Thurston, Town Manager
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Mike Crews, Public Works Director
Richard Baldwin, Chief of Police
Absent:  Phyllis Campbell, Mayor (8:14 p.m.)


INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG


APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Upon motion by Richard Adams, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the August 13, 2013, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.


MINUTES

Upon motion by Mark Wilkes, seconded by Richard Adams, and unanimously carried, Council approved the July 9, 2013 Town Council meeting minutes. 


TREASURER’S REPORT

Vice Mayor Nowlin asked that the August 2013 treasurer’s report be filed for audit.


PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES

Be it resolved that motion was made by Barbara Laprade, seconded by Mark Wilkes , and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of July 10, 2013 to August 13, 2013, in the amount of $20,458.21.


VDOT PHASE 3 PRESENTATION FROM HURT & PROFFITT

Bif Johnson with Hurt & Proffitt appeared before Council to present an update on the Phase 3 VDOT project.  He labeled priority 1 as the continued improvement of East Rush Street starting at St. John Insurance Agency and continuing to Route 501.  He labeled priority 2 as the south end of Main Street, and he labeled priority 3 as the main intersection of Route 40 and north Main Street over and around the railroad tracks.  He said on priority one, he wanted feedback on continuing the sidewalk all the way to 501 or ending the sidewalk at the Golden Skillet property.  Consensus was that if possible a sidewalk all the way to 501 would be beneficial.  He also wanted to talk about some improvements to the movements that vehicles make in that area.  He said they were proposing to cut back the island at 501 and Rush Street.  He said they were also proposing a gateway into the downtown area, as well as 3 traffic movements in the area.  There was also discussion about the new service station and how trucks were going to access that area. He said that on priority 2, a sidewalk is proposed on the opposite side of Food Lion on Main Street.  He said if there is money left they want to tie the sidewalk in from the River Ridge Apartments into the new sidewalk to have one continuous sidewalk come up from south Route 501.  He said priority 3 is a challenging area.  Town Manager Thurston suggested doing as much as possible in that area up to the railroad tracks if that is all we can do.  Mr. Johnson said that the last area being improved is the Smith Street/Main Street area which will just involve some sidewalk improvements with ramps on either side to create some handicap accessibility.    

 
POLICE REPORT

Chief Ricky Baldwin presented the police report to the Council for July 2013.  He said of the 83 calls for service in July, 77 calls were answered by the Brookneal Police Department.  Chief Baldwin introduced David Edinger, pastor of the Brookneal United Methodist Church who has asked to be the chaplain for the Brookneal Police Department.  Consensus from Council was that they liked the idea, and Town Manager Thurston said he and Chief Baldwin would write a letter to Mr. Edinger thanking him and accepting his offer to be the chaplain for the police department. 


PUBLIC WORKS REPORT

Public Works Director Mike Crews said that there was an opening at the water treatment plant.  He said interviews had been conducted and background checks were being done and hopefully by August 19, they would have someone hired. 

Mr. Crews said that DEQ is going to require additional e-coli testing at both lagoons.  They are going to require 2 additional tests per week at each lagoon.  He said this will be an additional cost to the Town of $7,920 that was not budgeted for in 2013-2014.  He said DEQ made a suggestion that the Town consider doing in-house testing of its own.  He said he and Mr. Thurston are looking at this option as well as another lab that maybe cheaper.   


TOWN MANAGER REPORT

Town Manager Russell Thurston said that he had been working on getting the property at 120 Church Street cleaned up.  He said the deadline to the 1st certified letter was today, and he had received no response from the owner.  He said that he spoke to someone connected to the properties, and he said that they are not going to do anything; he said the properties will probably be sold at public auction. 

He said he applied and was awarded a grant with VML (our insurance provider) to purchase a computer projector, a digital camera, a dvd player, and a portable sound system to do some quarterly safety training.  

Mr. Thurston also said that Gary Christie with the Region 2000 will be in Town tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. to further discuss economic development for the Town.  Mr. Thurston said he also received a letter from a citizen, Mr. Beauchamp, whose mother lives on M.T. Holt Avenue, and he is petitioning the Town to fix a drainage problem in his yard on his private property.  He asked that the physical development committee review this issue and bring back a recommendation next month. 


APPROVAL OF WICKLIFFE CEMETERY LOT TRANSFER FROM PATRICIA TUCK DOUGLAS TO ELTON DOUGLAS (1 PLOT)

Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, the council voted to approve the transfer of 1 cemetery plot in the Wickliffe Cemetery from Patricia Tuck Douglas to Elton Douglas. 


COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS   

There were no committee recommendations.


ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL

Councilperson Jean noted that the new railroad crossing at Lusardi Drive leaves a lot to be desired.  He said that he thought VDOT made the railroad aware of this, and he thought we should wait and see if anything else is done. 

Councilperson David noted that the kudzu at the 120 Church Street property is starting to weigh down the power lines in that area.  He wondered if it could become a public safety issue at this point. 

Councilperson Wilkes said he talked to the Dixie Boys organization about the idea of a handicap restroom that was brought up at the last Council meeting in July.  He said they are considering converting the equipment room into handicap restrooms.  He said he told them to come to Council once they determine a cost for the project.  Mr. Wilkes also noted that there is a problem at the stop light with people going straight instead of turning right in the turning lane at the intersection. 









ADJOURNMENT

Upon motion from Mark Wilkes, seconded by Robert Jean, and unanimously carried, Mayor Campbell announced that the August 13, 2013, meeting was adjourned. 


___________________________        ____________________________
Bobbie A. Waller                Phyllis L. Campbell
Clerk/Treasurer                Mayor