July 10, 2018
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
Barbara Laprade (came in at 7:06 p.m.), Mark Wilkes, Richard Adams, and Joseph B. David, Jr., Council Members
Richard Baldwin, Chief of Police
Russell Thurston, Town Manager
Mike Crews, Public Works Director
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Absent: Robert Jean, Council Member
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion by Joseph B. David, seconded by Richard Adams, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the July 10, 2018, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.
MINUTES
Upon motion by Joseph David, seconded by Richard Adams and unanimously carried, Council approved the minutes for the June 12, 2018 Town Council meeting.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Mayor Campbell asked that the July 2018 treasurer’s report be filed for audit.
PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES
Be it resolved that motion was made by Mark Wilkes, seconded by Joseph David and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of June 13, 2018 to July 10, 2018, in the amount of $8,697.73.
POLICE REPORT
Police Chief Richard Baldwin presented the police report for June 2018. He said of the 58 calls for service, 48 were answered by the Brookneal Police Department.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT
Mike Crews, Public Works Director, said that the Dixie Girls Softball group had a Debs team that was playing in the state tournament this weekend. He said it was the first time ever that Brookneal had a Debs team. He said the new fire hydrants have been delivered to replace some malfunctioning ones. He said the annual CCR report has been done and is available on the Town website and copies are available at the Town Hall. He said that in June the department purchased a new Kubota tractor to replace a Ford tractor that the Town has had since the 1970s.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Town Manager Russell Thurston noted that the new Kubota tractor will have an attachment on it called a flail mower that will enable the maintenance crews to better cut the grass around the sewer lagoons. He said it will also make it easier for the maintenance crew to cut the grass at the airport. He said Mr. John Vincent came to the last Town Council meeting with some concerns about vegetation that is coming on to his property from some adjoining lots. He said he did send out letters, and he received a call from the Rudder family who owned the vacant lots adjacent to Mr. Vincent’s property. They informed him that they would contract with a third party to work on getting those lots cut back and spraying it so that it would not encroach on other people’s property. He said that he also sent a letter to the house on the other side of Mr. Vincent’s property, and they have come in to the Town office inquiring what was wrong with their property. He said a building permit was issued for the house on Old Main Street that was partially burned last year.
• UPDATE TO TOWN WATER/SEWER BILLING ORDINANCE
He said that he has been working on an ordinance concerning water and sewer. He said that state law changed in 2016 to allow localities to charge a deposit on new accounts. He said that it happens a lot with rental property that the tenant stays here for 6 months or less and then skips out of Town and leaves the Town with a large bill. He said the General Assembly passed a law that says that localities can charge a deposit of up to 5 months of the average water bill on new people coming into Town. He said that for rental property there can be some documentation put in place saying that the Town will only turn the water as long as the property owner authorizes in writing that the water be turned on in the name of the tenant. He said that if the tenant leaves a debt for the Town then the property owner becomes liable for the debts of their tenants. He said hopefully by the next meeting, he would ask for a motion from the Council to hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance.
REQUEST FOR TRANSFERS OF APPROPRIATION
Upon motion by Mark Wilkes, seconded by Joseph B. David, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to approve the following transfers of appropriation.
REQUEST FOR TRANSFERS OF APPROPRIATION
ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL
Councilperson Wilkes said that he was still working on obtaining funds for the playground at the ballpark. He said International Paper, his employer, donated $500 for the project. He said that he needs to get a picture of him presenting the check to Mayor Campbell after the meeting tonight.
Councilperson Laprade talked about a project she has had on her mind for years. She said that she has thought a lot about the need for adequate lodging in the Town of Brookneal. She said she wanted to get thoughts about getting together a committee to lay the groundwork and research so that she can approach some of these people that have lodging facilities. She said she has looked at Cobblestone Franchises which is geared toward small towns and is one of the lower cost ones. She said she has been looking at properties in Brookneal that might be suitable, but she has also received input that it might be better to start from scratch versus taking an existing building and making renovations. She said she needs help with these types of things from others to get enough information to approach these people about bringing a possible hotel to Brookneal. Mayor Campbell asked Councilperson Laprade if she would head up this committee, to which she responded she would. Mr. Thurston noted that the comprehensive plan contains information about traffic counts at different areas of the town that would be helpful for this project.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion by James Nowlin, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, Mayor Campbell announced that July 10, 2018 Council meeting was adjourned.
