P.O. Box 450/215 Main Street Brookneal, VA 24528

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September 10, 2019

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:

Richard Adams, Vice Mayor
Phyllis Campbell, Mark Wilkes, Joseph David, and Cynthia Johnson, Council Members
Russell Thurston, Town Manager
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Mike Crews, Public Works Director
Clifton Mason, Police Officer
Absent:  James Nowlin, Mayor, Barbara Laprade, Council Member and Richard Baldwin, Chief of Police

INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Upon motion by Joseph B. David, seconded by Cynthia Johnson, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the September 10, 2019, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.

MINUTES

Upon motion by Joseph B. David, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, Council approved the minutes for the August 13, 2019, Town Council meeting.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Vice Mayor Adams asked that the September 2019 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 August 14, 2019 to September 10, 2019 in the amount of $27,620.72

PUBLIC COMMENT

Mayor Dwayne Tuggle of the Town of Amherst and Chair of the Central Virginia Planning District Commission (CVPDC) appeared before Council to personally invite everyone to the yearly gathering of CVPDC October 17, 2019.  He said they are going to sit down with a facilitator and try to nail down the top 5 things that the local leaders want to see in the next 5 years in Central Virginia.  He said that what they want to do is come up with something to identify this region.  He said every region is known for something, i.e. Roanoke is known for the greenway, Northern Virginia is known for technology, and Southwest Virginia is known for recreation.  He said the meeting is at 5 p.m. at the Business Alliance Center.

POLICE REPORT   

Police Officer Clifton Mason presented the police report for August 2019.  He said of the 100 calls for service last month, 95 were answered by the Brookneal Police Department and 5 by Campbell County sheriff’s office.

PUBLIC WORKS REPORT

Public Works Director Mike Crews said there is a water leak near Brookneal Mini Mart on Harrison Street.  He said that he had some prices from Dominion Energy for anticipated costs for power at the reservoir.  He said the underground option with minimum tree removal will cost $6,500, the underground service with Dominion clearing the right of way will cost $8,600, and if the Town clears the right of way the cost would be $2,600 for the underground service.  He said that the Town, however, would have not have any idea what trees need to be cleared.  He said overhead service with Dominion clearing the right of way would be $16,900, and overhead service with the Town clearing the right of way would be $4,700.   Councilperson David asked if it would be worth it to the Town if Dominion marked the line for the Town to dig and save the $4,000; Mr. Crews said if the Town knew exactly where to dig it could be.  Mr. David suggested Larry digging the ditch for the line with the Town’ backhoe.  Mr. Crews noted that the tree removal would save the Town money, not digging the line.  He said Dominion would do a horizontal bore, digging the ditch and laying the line all at the same time.  Mr. Thurston told Mr. David that he would check with Dominion to see if it would be beneficial for the Town to do some clearing of the right of way to the reservoir before Dominion comes in to do their job.    

TOWN MANAGER REPORT 

Town Manager Russell Thurston said that Councilperson Johnson had contacted SCS Broadband concerning the Town’s connection to the new broadband service that was installed on the water tower.  He said he was contacted by someone from the company, and it is all in the works now.  Mr. Thurston said that he and Mr. Crews met with FEMA a couple of weeks ago.  He said they are redoing the flood maps along the Roanoke River watershed.  He said Excel Truck Group came out last week to get input on ordering a new sanitation vehicle.  He said this gentleman is going to put together a quote with the specs. that the Town wants. He said the ballpark figure is around $200,000, but he would know more after getting the quote. 

He said that after RFPs were sent out and several bids received on the Town audit.  A firm has been selected from South Hill by the name of Creedle, Jones and Alga, P.C.  He said the cost of the audit will remain close to the same as it was with the previous firm. 

He said that Patrick Henry Family Services will be moving into the old St. John Insurance building on Rush Street hopefully by the end of September.  He also said that a new shop has opened on Rush Street called Clara’s which is a retail/consignment shop, and the medical staffing business that was in that shop has now moved to Main Street beside Morris Meeting Management.  He said a military surplus store is opening on Lusardi Drive in the old laundromat building.  Mr. Thurston also showed the group the signs he has purchased for the reservoir property.  Mr. Thurston told the Council that the USDA requires the Town to have a maintenance fund for the water system, and that that money could be used for things like the power project for the reservoir.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

There were no committee recommendations.       

ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL

Councilperson Johnson asked if there was an update on donating money to help with Brookneal Fest that is coming up in October and being sponsored by the Brookneal Chamber of Commerce.   Mr. Thurston said that he would like to find $250 which is in keeping with what the Town has done for other events and organizations. 

MOTION TO DONATE $250 TO THE BROOKNEAL FEST

Upon motion by Joseph David, seconded by Phyllis Campbell, the Town voted to donate $250 to the Brookneal Fest.

Councilperson David noted the anniversary of 9/11 tomorrow, and he told the Council that the library is holding a 9/11 service tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.   He asked if it could be announced that the reservoir is not being opened yet because of work crews digging with heavy equipment. 

ADJOURNMENT

Upon motion by Mark Wilkes, seconded by Phyllis Campbell, and unanimously carried, Vice Mayor Adams announced that September 10, 2019 Council meeting was adjourned.

 

 

Bobbie A. Waller: Clerk/Treasurer

James Nowlin: Mayor