March 10, 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
Richard Adams, Robert Jean, 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: Mark Wilkes and Barbara Laprade, Council Members
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Richard Adams, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the March 10, 2015, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.
MINUTES
Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Joseph B. David, Jr., and unanimously carried, Council approved the February 10, 2015, Town Council meeting minutes.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Mayor Campbell asked that the March 2015 treasurer’s report be filed for audit.
PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES
Be it resolved that motion was made by Richard Adams, seconded by James Nowlin, and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of February 11, 2015 to March 10, 2015, in the amount of $7,215.20
RESOLUTION FOR OWEN’S HEATING AND SHEET METAL
Town Manger Russell Thurston and Mayor Phyllis Campbell presented the following resolution to Mrs. Mary P. Owen and Mr. Scott Owen, of Owen’s Heating and Sheet Metal, who were in attendance at the meeting.
RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING OWEN’S HEATING AND SHEET METAL
WHEREAS, Owen’s Heating and Sheet Metal has faithfully served the Brookneal community for over 55 years; and
WHEREAS, this great country, this great county and this great community have been built by the likes of hard-working, risk-taking entrepreneurs; and
WHEREAS, the Owen family provided their services with professionalism, honesty, integrity, both night and day, during times of extreme heat and extreme cold; and
WHEREAS, the Owen family not only operated a successful business but also became an integral part of this community, our churches, our civic organizations; and
WHEREAS, the Owen family has established many longstanding relationships and friendships within this community; and
WHEREAS, Owen’s Heating and Sheet Metal has withstood the test of time, succeeding where many businesses have come and gone over the years; and
WHEREAS, this community has greatly benefited from having Owen’s Heating and Sheet Metal serving the heating and cooling needs of our citizens and businesses; and
WHEREAS, this community will sincerely miss having Owen’s Heating and Sheet Metal as part of our great community;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BROOKNEAL TOWN COUNCIL that it shall be hereby acknowledged and affirmed that Owen’s Heating and Sheet Metal has served this community with honor and distinction, and that this day of recognition is well deserved and well earned; job well done; mission accomplished.
Adopted the 10th day of March, 2015.
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Mrs. Phyllis Campbell, Mayor
Town of Brookneal
Attested:
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Mrs. Bobbie Waller, Clerk
PUBLIC COMMENT
Ms. Rachel Elder of Juniper Cliff Road thanked the Town for standing up for William Campbell High School and said how much she thinks it will help our community. She said that 20 years down the road our schools will revolve around technology.
Mr. Scott Miller, the Brookneal representative on the Campbell County School Board, appeared before Council to answer any questions concerning the school board meeting in January. He said William Campbell is in the budget for 2015-2016. He said that Dr. Johnson does not want to close William Campbell, but he said that it is going to be yearly, constantly at the mercy of the budget. He said from the school board’s perspective it was consolidation or renovation/remodeling/updating, but since the board of supervisors did not approve the consolidation, they did not automatically approve reconditioning/remodeling. He said the school board is putting together a capital improvement plan, and the numbers are going to be scary. He said from his standpoint it is going to be a year to year thing, no promises. He said that he did not get to the school board meeting on March 9, 2015, but they were supposed to have a preliminary, preliminary capital improvement plan presented at that meeting. He told Councilperson Richard Adams that as that plan gets more formalized he said he would bring that in to the Council.
Mr. Miller said he did not see another consolidation vote in the foreseeable future, but he said there could be a vote to close William Campbell. He promised that he would not vote to close William Campbell. He noted that Dr. Johnson said that he does not want to close William Campbell High School, he has budgeted for the coming year for William Campbell, and he was recommending that because it was what was best for the students. Mr. Miller said that it will all come down to money.
POLICE REPORT
Chief Richard Baldwin presented the police report for February 2015. He said of the 74 calls for service in February, 65 were answered by the Brookneal Police Department.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT
Public Works Director Mike Crews thanked the maintenance department for clearing the snow off the streets and sidewalks during the 2 “plow able” snows in February. Mr. Crews said that the Dixie Girls and Boys will be starting their season soon. He said practice for the boys started March 9 and practice for the girls will start March 16. He said that opening ceremonies for both organizations will be April 11 at the ball park. He said the lights at the ball park will be fixed in the next couple of weeks.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Town Manager Russell Thurston said that work is continuing on the budget for 2015-2016. He said the upcoming budget is not going to be very different than the current budget. He said a pre-construction meeting for the VDOT Downtown Revitalization Phase 3 project is scheduled for March 24, 2015. He said construction will be happening soon probably sometime around the 1st of April.
Mr. Thurston said that Chief Baldwin had expressed concern over an intersection on Lynchburg Avenue and Charlotte Street near the elementary school. He said VDOT plans to fix that over spring break April 6-10. He said that he, Mrs. Waller, and Mr. Crews have been working on the water billing ordinance. He said it has been mentioned several times that the 2nd notice (late notice) the Town sends needs to be discontinued due to cost and time, and he said the General Assembly has altered the law several times about what localities may and may not do regarding utility billing.
Mr. Thurston said he will get the inmates again around the end of April, and they will start to work on getting ready for Day in the Town and the Striped Bass Festival. He also said that as spring and warm weather comes, a lot of complaints start coming in about grass not being cut and ordinance violations occurring. He said that the Town may need a team of people or a code enforcement task force to help with these issues. He said that he wants to focus more on economic development with his time.
Councilperson Jean asked that money be put in the budget to paint at least the front of the Kersey building. Mr. Thurston said that this was on his project list.
MOTION FOR PUBLIC HEARING ON THE MONROE VINEYARD, “STAUNTON RIVER ROE”
Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Joseph David, Jr., and unanimously carried, the Council voted to have a public hearing on the Monroe vineyard, titled “Staunton River Roe”.
A verbal vote was taken as follows:
Mr. Jean Aye
Mr. Adams Aye
Vice Mayor Nowlin Aye
Mayor Campbell Aye
Mr. David Aye
MOTION TO DISPOSE OF SURPLUS EQUIPMENT
Town Manager Thurston said that there is a dump truck, a Ford Explorer, a water plant truck and 2 Crown Victorias that are not being used and have been taken out of service. He wants to dispose of these through sealed bids. Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Richard Adams, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to dispose of surplus equipment through sealed bids. Mr. Adams asked that the ad for sealed bids notes that the Town has the right to refuse any bids. A verbal vote was taken as follows:
Mr. Jean Aye
Mr. Adams Aye
Vice Mayor Nowlin Aye
Mayor Campbell Aye
Mr. David Aye
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
There were no committee recommendations.
ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL
Councilperson David said that he thought that Campbell County needs to help us out with getting businesses into the Town.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion from James Nowlin, seconded by Robert Jean, and unanimously carried, Mayor Campbell announced that the March 10, 2015, meeting was adjourned.
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Bobbie A. Waller Phyllis L. Campbell
Clerk/Treasurer Mayor
