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

September 8, 2015

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, Barbara Laprade, and Joseph B. David, Jr., Council Members 

Russell Thurston, Town Manager

Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer

Mike Crews, Public Works Director

Ricky Baldwin, Chief of Police

Absent:  Richard Adams and Mark Wilkes, Council Members

INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG

 

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

 

Upon motion by Joseph B. David, Jr., seconded by Robert Jean, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the September 8, 2015, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.

 

MINUTES

 

Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Barbara Laprade, and unanimously carried, Council approved the minutes for the August 11, 2015, Council meeting minutes and the August 18, 2015, Physical Development Committee Meeting minutes.      

TREASURER’S REPORT

Mayor Campbell asked that the September 2015 treasurer’s report be filed for audit. 

PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES

 

Be it resolved that motion was made by James Nowlin, seconded by Joseph B. David, Jr., and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of August 12, 2015 to September 8, 2015, in the amount of $8,741.38.

ROBERT HUDSON, 4-H SHOOTING CLUB

 

Mr. Robert Hudson introduced Ms. Robbie Morrison, the Campbell County 4-H agent.  Ms. Morrison told the Council about the 4-H club and that the club is now over 100 years old.  Mr. Robert Hudson, of Halifax, told the Council that he had been a 4-H volunteer for about 11 years.  He said that the 4-H shooting program is the safest shooting program dealing with juniors in the nation.  He said they want a chance to bring a rifle club and shooting education club to Brookneal.  Mr. Hudson said that they would need a building in the area (not necessarily in Brookneal) to draw youth and to use as a shooting range. He said for a bb range, you need about 20 feet of range per shooter and for an air rifle you need about 40-50 feet of range per shooter.  He said that 4-H had insurance to cover the activities at any range.  He said the 4-H shooting club would cover ages 9-year before Oct. 1 that you turn 19.    He said it teaches controlling your emotions and analyzing and solving problems.  Mr. Hudson said the 4-H requirement for meeting is once a month.  He said a recreational club would probably want to meet every two weeks.  He said for those interested in competition, they need to practice every week, and before a match they probably need to practice 2 times a week.   He said that all certified trainers (he said that he recommends 1 trained adult with every 5 shooters) have to go through a weekend training camp which is offered at Holiday Lake in Appomattox for a reasonable price.  Councilperson David suggested that the Union Star do an article on this idea which would help get interest.  He also said that he would try to talk to the Sportsman’s club in Town to see if they would be interested in supporting this activity.  Mr. Hudson said that they were on a timeline to start a new club.  He said the NRA grant by 4-H requirements is due October 16.   He said that he could do a grant in 12 hours, but he said you need to have members and officers elected by that time.  Councilperson David suggested that the community building be made available for any organizational meetings.

Mayor Phyllis Campbell asked Councilperson David would he check into this idea and the possibility of finding a building for the 4-H club, and she said that she would make phone calls if needed.    

 

PUBLIC COMMENT

 

No one appeared before Council for public comment.

Mayor Campbell said that the public comment section of the agenda is going to be left off of the agenda from now on.  She said that if a citizen has something to be brought before Council, they need to call to have their name put on list for public comment and give some idea of what they want to present to the Council.  She said this would make the Council a little more informed about what is being presented.  Discussion ensued about this issue.  Mayor Campbell said that a citizen would have to call in advance to sign up for the meeting.  Councilperson Jean said he thought that if a person was here and wanted to speak, they should be able to speak. 
Councilperson David suggested that instead of turning down people to speak, make it highly recommended that you sign up in advance if possible.  Consensus was to encourage people to call and sign up in advance and limit citizens to a time limit.   

 

POLICE REPORT

 

Chief Richard Baldwin presented the police report for September 2015.  He said there were 114 calls for service in August of which 92 were answered by the Brookneal Police Department and 22 were answered by Campbell County Sheriff’s Office.  He said with so much in the media about police officers as of late, he is looking into the cost and possible grants for body cameras for the 3 officers in Brookneal. 

 

PUBLIC WORKS REPORT

Public Works Director Mike Crews said he had nothing to cover tonight.

TOWN MANAGER REPORT

 

Town Manager Russell Thurston told the Council that he had the chance to visit the Gretna Medical facility recently, and he said it was a very nice facility and he encouraged Council members to go and see the medical center.  He said that Centra Health is having an event at the community building on September 23 to introduce the new medical providers at the Brookneal Medical Center.  Clerk/Treasurer Bobbie Waller also noted that Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital is having a health night out at the community building on September 15. 

Mr. Thurston said that the Rush Street project is moving along.  He said the street lights are on order, and the landscaping will be completed sometime around November due to the hot and dry weather we have had.  He said there will be 7 street lights.  He said crosswalks to match the Main Street crosswalks will also be done on Rush Street. 

Mr. Thurston said that Mike Crews, Chief Baldwin and himself have been working on some property issues.  Mr. Crews noted that he had been to court a couple of weeks ago and witnessed that you have to have documentation or you will be wasting your time in pursuing legal matters against landlords and property issues.   Mayor Campbell said that she knew of several cases in town that are just indescribable and awful, and she agreed with citizens about the state of those properties.  She said, however, there is a way that it has to be done, and it is a process.   Mr. Thurston said that the law is one thing, but you have to have the courts that will defend and prosecute what the law says. 

Mr. Thurston noted that on the public comment issue, some people have come in the Council meeting with an “ax to grind” and do so during public comment time.  He said that if people come to speak to Council it should be “what issue or problem do you have and what outcome or decision do you expect this governing body to make”.  He said it should not be someone with sheets and sheets of paper berating a town employee with their “opinion”. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

 

There were no committee recommendations.

 

 

ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL

 

Councilperson Laprade said that she would like to see some warning (in perhaps an email) if someone is coming to speak to Council if that citizen calls to get on the agenda after the Council packets have been sent out. 

Vice Mayor Nowlin announced some events coming up at 246 The Main Cultural Arts Theatre.  He said that one event they are planning is a black history performance in February that will be a fundraiser for the Brooke Street Park.

Councilperson David suggested if someone wants to make a public comment, limit them to 1 minute, and no one responds to their dialogue.   

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

Upon motion from Robert Jean, seconded by James Nowlin, and unanimously carried, Mayor Campbell announced that the September 8, 2015, meeting was adjourned. 

___________________________                        ____________________________

Bobbie A. Waller                                                Phyllis L. Campbell

Clerk/Treasurer                                                Mayor