May 10, 2016
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
Robert Jean (came in at 7:40 p.m.), Barbara Laprade, Mark Wilkes, and Richard Adams, Council Members
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Mike Crews, Public Works Director
Richard Baldwin, Chief of Police
Absent: Joseph B. David, Jr., Council Member and Russell Thurston, Town Manager
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET
Mayor Campbell opened the public hearing for the general fund budget at 7:01 p.m. No one spoke in favor of or in opposition to the general fund budget; therefore, Mayor Campbell closed the public hearing at 7:02 p.m.
PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE WATER FUND BUDGET
Mayor Campbell opened the public hearing for the water fund budget at 7:02 p.m. No one spoke in favor of or in opposition to the water fund budget; therefore, Mayor Campbell closed the public hearing at 7:03 p.m.
PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE SEWER FUND BUDGET
Mayor Campbell opened the public hearing for the sewer fund budget at 7:03 p.m. No one spoke in favor of or in opposition to the sewer fund budget; therefore, Mayor Campbell closed the public hearing at 7:04 p.m.
PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE PERSON PROPERTY TAX RELIEF ACT (PPTRA) FOR 2016
Mayor Campbell opened the public hearing for the Personal Property Tax Relief Act (PPTRA) for 2016 at 7:04 p.m. No one spoke in favor of or in opposition to the PPTRA; therefore, Mayor Campbell closed the public hearing at 7:05 p.m.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion by Barbara Laprade, seconded by Richard Adams, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the May 10, 2016, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.
MINUTES
Upon motion by Barbara Laprade, seconded by Richard Adams, and unanimously carried, Council approved the minutes for the April 12, 2016 Finance and planning committee meeting and the April 12, 2016, Town Council meeting.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Mayor Campbell asked that the May 2016 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
April 13, 2016 to May 10, 2016, in the amount of $8,102.02.
PRESENTATION ON THE BROOKNEAL/CAMPBELL COUNTY AIRPORT
Mike Davidson, Campbell County Economic Development Director, appeared before Council to discuss the Brookneal/Campbell County Airport. Mr. Davidson told the Council that Brookneal appoints 3 members to the airport authority and Campbell County appoints 3 members. He said that Mr. Larry Nash who was the airport manager and vice chairman of the airport authority resigned from the authority, and he is asking the council to appoint Mr. Allen McElroy to replace Mr. Larry Nash. He said Mr. McElroy is a pilot and has a plane which is stored at the South Boston airport.
Councilperson and Airport Authority member Richard Adams briefed Council on all of the improvements and upgrades that have been performed at the airport in the last few years. Mr. Adams also asked the Council to reappoint Ben Updike and himself to the airport authority since their terms have expired.
Councilperson Adams made a recommendation by motion to appoint Mr. Allen McElroy to replace Mr. Larry Nash on the Brookneal/Campbell County Airport Authority and to approve the reappointment of Ben Updike and Richard Adams to the authority from Brookneal. The motion was seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, with Councilperson Adams abstaining from the vote.
Mr. Davidson said that it would be useful and important if Liberty University would have a position on the authority. He said that when the fuel tanks were put in the airport authority would be able to manage it themselves, but they have not found that to be true. He said it was contracted out with Virginia Aviation to lease the fuel tank through them; they operate and manage it. He said it takes 3-4 to build a clientele and build a business like that. He said fuel sales have dropped dramatically since Virginia Aviation made the fuel at Brookneal the same price as the fuel prices at the Lynchburg Regional Airport. He said it was cheaper in Brookneal since it was self-serve. He said that the authority can no longer afford the management fee from Virginia Aviation so as of July 1 (or possibly August 1) that is going to cease. He said that Virginia Aviation will cease operating the fuel facility July 1. He said that they are in conversation with a couple of other companies to manage the fuel facility, so they are still hopeful.
Mr. Davidson said that when he first started working with the airport authority, it was not eligible to receive federal funding; it later was eligible for federal funding. He said that they re-overlayed the runway which was a ½ million dollar project; FAA funds paid 95% of the cost, Virginia Aviation paid 3% and that leaves the local share as 2%. He said that the last project eligible for federal funding (FAA) will be the rehabilitation of the lighting and electrical systems at the airport. He said there are 2 airports in the state of Virginia that are un-categorized as eligible for AIP funding; Brookneal Campbell County airport is now one of those. He said that with all maintenance projects going forward, an application will have to be made to Virginia Department of Aviation for funding, their process is a competitive one, and funding is 80/20 which means the local share will be 20%. He said the future at the moment for the airport is not as bright as it once was. He said that hopefully having people on the authority that are interested in aviation and know about aviation will help to bring other people with planes to the airport.
POLICE REPORT
Police Chief Richard Baldwin presented the police report for April 2016. He said of the 86 calls for service, 69 were answered by the Brookneal police department. He noted that he was wearing a body camera which is some new equipment that the police department has acquired. He said that thieves have been stealing items such as push lawnmowers, weed eaters, chain saws and leaf blowers off of townspeople’s porches.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT
Public Works Director Mike Crews said that he has contracted with Southern Corrosion to do tank inspections on the water tanks. He said he is trying to put the downtown tank back online; it has been offline since June 2015. He said once the water study is done by Hurt & Proffitt, he will know whether it is more feasible to put the downtown tank online or leave it offline. He said the TTHMs have been good for the last few quarters. He said Lou Sims is a new employee hired to work at the water plant and work in the maintenance department.
He said the VDOT grant for Rush Street is in the final stages, and the punch list has been done. He said the sewer study grant from USDA is in Richmond right now waiting for their approval on the engineering firm.
REQUEST FOR TRANSFERS OF APPROPRIATION
Upon motion by Mark Wilkes, seconded by Robert Jean, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to approve the following transfers of appropriation:
REQUEST FOR TRANSFER OF APPROPRIATION
To: Brookneal Town Council
Date: May 10, 2016
The following Appropriation Transfer is requested for FY2016:
Category---Expense INCREASE New Total Balance in Account
General Property Rep. & Maint.-01-4302-5407 $3,613.13 $ 6,613.13 $ 0.00
Category—Revenue DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Contingency Fund—01-8102-7010 $1,658.83 $ 0.00 $ 0.00
Category—Revenue DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Inmate Worker Program—01-4102-5410 $1,954.30 $ 645.94 $ 645.94
To cover the costs of repairs to the oil furnace at the Town Hall.
Category---Expense INCREASE New Total Balance in Account
Recreation Repairs & Maint--01-7104-5407 $ 809.95 $ 8,836.00 $ 0.00
Category—Revenue DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Inmate Worker Program—01-4102-5410 $ 645.94 $ 99.76 $ 0.00
Category—Revenue DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Sanitation—Fuel--01-4203-5409 $ 164.01 $ 9,085.99 $ 4,907.03
To cover the cost of repairing the heat in the community building auditorium.
Respectfully requested by:
_________________________________ __________________________________
Treasurer Date
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
There were no committee recommendations.
ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL
Councilperson Adams said that there was a dog fight during Day in the Town on Saturday, May 7, 2016. He was concerned about so many people being in the area where the dogs were fighting. He said he thought the Town needs to think seriously about putting out a notice prohibiting dogs from the Day in the Town event. Councilperson Jean said this was the first dog fight we have had in all the years of having Day in the Town, and he wondered if you could just outlaw large dogs because you have so many vendors that bring small dogs that sit by their feet during the day. Councilperson Adams asked Vice Mayor Nowlin if his committee could look into this and bring back a recommendation to the Council when Councilperson David comes back into town.
Councilperson Wilkes discussed problems with leaves in town. He said they are stopping up drains and water is running across the streets. He said you can’t burn leaves in ditches anymore because of the restrictions on burning. Public Works Director Mike Crews said that people are going to have to start bagging up their leaves. Councilperson Wilkes said that the state needs to be notified because the leaves are stopping up ditches and causing road hazards.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Richard Adams, and unanimously carried, Mayor Campbell announced that the May 10, 2016 Council meeting was adjourned.
___________________________ ____________________________
Bobbie A. Waller Phyllis Campbell
Clerk/Treasurer Mayor
