July 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:

Phyllis Campbell, Mayor
James Nowlin, Vice Mayor
Richard Adams, Robert Jean, Barbara Laprade, Mark Wilkes, and J. B. David, Jr., Council Members
Russell Thurston, Town Manager
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Mike Crews, Public Works Director
Richard Baldwin, Chief of Police


INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG


APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Upon motion by Mark Wilkes, seconded by Robert Jean, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the July 9, 2013, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.


MINUTES

Upon motion by Barbara Laprade, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, Council approved the June 11, 2013 Town Council meeting minutes. 


TREASURER’S REPORT

Mayor Campbell asked that the July 2013 treasurer’s report be filed for audit.


PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES

Be it resolved that motion was made by James Nowlin, seconded by Mark Wilkes , and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of June 12, 2013 to July 9, 2013, in the amount of $6,635.35.


PUBLIC COMMENT

Gene Moorefield of Lynchburg Avenue, Brookneal, appeared before Council on behalf of the Golden Skillet Restaurant.  He said he wanted to thank the Council and Mike Crews for their quick response to his complaint at the last Council meeting and for finding a solution to his problem of drainage at the restaurant on Rush and Lusardi Drive.  He also asked about the street light at the corner of Rush and Main Streets that is not working.  He said that corner is very dark at night. 


POLICE REPORT

Chief Ricky Baldwin presented the police report to the Council for June 2013.  He said he only had information available through June 26, 2013.  He said of the 121 calls for service in June, 107 calls were answered by the Brookneal Police Department.  Chief Baldwin said that on July 1, a new law passed that said that anyone selling scrap metal that is not their own is required to have a permit to sell it.  He said the permit should be issued through the county or the town in which it is sold.  He said that according to state code, up to $50 can be charged for the permit, but according to Sheriff Hutcherson in Campbell County, they are not going to charge the first year. He said that he feels that the Town should do the same.  He said that whoever buys or purchases the metal has to send a list of items purchased once a week to the local police department.  He said they would also need to take photographs and keep those on file for 30 days.


PUBLIC WORKS REPORT

Public Works Director Mike Crews talked about the property at 120 Church Street that is causing problems and becoming an eyesore for the residents in that area.  Town Manager Russell Thurston said that letters would be sent out this week to the property owners notifying them of the problems.  He said he had tried to make verbal contact with the owners, but received no response from them.  The property is in an estate and is being handled by an attorney in Richmond.   Mr. Crews asked for a motion from Council to direct him where they want to go with this property.  Councilperson Adams suggested studying this a little more and sending it to committee to study and bring back a recommendation next month.  Councilperson David suggested consulting the attorney on this issue. 

Upon motion by J. B. David, Jr. seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to declare the property at 120 Church Street a public nuisance as of July 9, 2013, and authorized Town Manager Russell Thurston to contact the responsible person to have the property clean up started within 15 days or it will be turned over to the Town attorney for appropriate action.

Mr. Crews said that a property owner that lives beside an alleyway adjoining Marshall Street and Charlotte Street has complained about the water that comes through that alleyway and is ponding on their property at their back door.  Mr. Crews, Mr. Thurston and Vice Mayor Nowlin went to look at the property last week.  Mr. Crews said that the property owner also wants the Town to stop the traffic from coming through that alleyway.  Mr. Crews said that based on the zoning, the Town cannot stop traffic from coming through the alleyway.  Mr. Crews said that the majority of the rain is coming off the garage building on the property which has an “A” roof and no gutters.  He also said that the alleyway was paved by the previous owner which made the problem worse.  Mr. Thurston said that there are a lot of impermeable hard surfaces that run to the backyard of the property, but none of it is the Town’s problem.  Mr. Crews & Mr. Nowlin said they would go visit the property owner and explain to them that this issue is not the Town’s problem.  Mr. Thurston said there are things the owners can do to remedy the problem.   

Mr. Crews also told the Council about the Brookneal Dixie Girls Ponytails and Angels that won the district tournament and are both going to play in the state tournament.  Mr. Crews also said that the railroad crossings in Town are going to be paved in the coming weeks.       


TOWN MANAGER REPORT

Town Manager Russell Thurston said that during the month of July, employee reviews will be done.  He said the paperwork process for the outdoor concert series being done by the Drugstore Grill July 13, August 3, and September 7 is moving forward.  Mr. Thurston said that a lot was accomplished in last fiscal year including some badly needed repairs to the community building restrooms and some roof repairs to the Kersey building. 

Mr. Thurston presented two organizational charts to the Council for their review.  Vice Mayor Nowlin noted that Chart A was the document that reflected the Town of Brookneal to which everyone in the room agreed.  Mr. Thurston asked that the minutes reflect that the Town Council has indicated that Chart A is the proper organizational chart for the Town of Brookneal.  The following diagram is Chart A:


 

REQUEST FOR TRANSFERS OF APPROPRIATION

Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Barbara Laprade, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to approve the following transfers of appropriation. 

REQUEST FOR TRANSFER OF APPROPRIATION

To:    Brookneal Town Council
Date:    July 9, 2013

The following Appropriation Transfers are requested for FY2013:

Category—Expense                INCREASE       New Total       Balance in Account

Advertising—01-1226-3007            $      47.79     $       2,617.79        $          0.00       

Category--Expense                DECREASE      New Total       Balance in Account

Rec/Cashier Salary—01-1203-1001                $       47.79     $       8,860.21        $      446.38

To cover all the costs of advertising for FY13.

Category—Expense                INCREASE       New Total       Balance in Account

Information Technology—01-1227-5403        $     171.78     $     10,750.94        $          0.00    
  
Category--Expense                DECREASE      New Total       Balance in Account

Rec/Cashier Salary—01-1203-1001                $      171.78     $       8,688.43        $      274.60

To cover all the costs of computer upgrade for the front office.

Category—Expense                INCREASE       New Total       Balance in Account

General Property Repairs—01-4302-5407    $  1,631.80      $   4,631.80    $             0.00

Category—Expense                 INCREASE      New Total       Balance in Account

Kersey Bldg. Expense—01-4302-5409        $  2,322.08      $   3,522.08    $             0.00

Category—Revenue                INCREASE       New Total       Balance in Account

Meals Tax—01-1201-0100            $  3,953.88      $108,146.81    $             N/A

To cover the costs of roof repairs to the Kersey building at the end of FY13 and for repairs to the cinder block wall behind the police department in June 2013.

Category—Expense                INCREASE       New Total       Balance in Account

Recreation Repairs&Maint.—01-7104-5407    $     885.59      $ 10,196.67    $             0.000

Category--Expense                 INCREASE      New Total       Balance in Account

Meals Tax—01-1201-0100            $     885.59     $109,032.40         $          N/A

To cover the costs of floor tiles for the future project of putting a new floor in the community building dining room and kitchen.


Respectfully requested by:

_________________________________
Treasurer

_________________________________
Date   



COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS   

There were no committee recommendations.


ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL

Councilperson Laprade asked that the Town Office explore online means of bill payment.  Mr. Thurston said that when the hardware and software upgrades are completed, the office will pursue this form of payment. 

Councilperson Adams said that it had been brought to his attention that the restrooms at the ballpark are not handicap accessible, and the question was brought up could the restrooms be made handicap accessible.  Mayor Campbell asked Councilperson Wilkes and Vice Mayor Nowlin to check into this issue and see what could be done. 


ADJOURNMENT

Upon motion from Mark Wilkes, seconded by Robert Jean, and unanimously carried, Mayor Campbell announced that the July 9, 2013, meeting was adjourned. 


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