December 9, 2014
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:
James Nowlin, Vice Mayor
Richard Adams, Robert Jean, Barbara Laprade, and Mark Wilkes, Council Members
Russell Thurston, Town Manager
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Mike Crews, Public Works Director
Ricky Baldwin, Chief of Police
Absent: Mayor Phyllis Campbell and Joseph B. David, Jr., Council Member
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion by Richard Adams, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the December 9, 2014, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.
MINUTES
Upon motion by Mark Wilkes, seconded by Robert Jean, and unanimously carried, Council approved the November 11, 2014, Town Council meeting minutes.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Vice Mayor Nowlin then asked that the December 2014 treasurer’s report be filed for audit.
PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES
Be it resolved that motion was made by Mark Wilkes, seconded by Robert Jean, and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of November 12, 2014 to December 9, 2014, in the amount of $12,297.48.
POLICE REPORT
Chief Richard Baldwin presented the police report for November 2014. He said of the 80 calls for service in November, 63 were answered by the Brookneal Police Department.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT
Public Works Director Mike Crews said that trash pick-up for Christmas Day would be on Friday, December 26, 2014, but trash pick-up for New Year’s Day would be on regular schedule. He said that he did run an ad for a water treatment plant operator since Tracy Brightwell is leaving the Town’s employ on December 10, 2014.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Town Manager Russell Thurston said that the building inspector came out the first of December and put his final stamp of approval on the handicap ramp at the community building. He also said that the bids for Phase 3 of the downtown revitalization project came in way over budget for the 2nd time. He said that VDOT has not authorized the Town to award any bid to any contractor. He said that he believes VDOT is going to make the Town redefine the scope of the project to fit within the bid amounts. He said the entire project needs to be redefined and resubmitted. He also said that the employee Christmas lunch will be on Wednesday, December 17, 2014 at noon.
REQUEST FOR TRANSFERS OF APPROPRIATION
Councilperson Richard Adams asked that the town manager and the clerk/treasurer look at the upcoming expenses for the next 6 months since we are about half way through the fiscal year. He noted that the Town Manager Vehicle Supplies account only has $695.70 left in it and would probably not last for the rest of the fiscal year.
Upon motion by Richard Adams, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, the Council approved the following transfers of appropriation:
REQUEST FOR TRANSFERS OF APPROPRIATION
To: Brookneal Town Council
Date: December 9, 2014
The following Appropriation Transfers are requested for FY2015:
Category—Expense INCREASE New Total Balance in Account
Town Manager—Veh.Supplies—01-1201-5408 $ 1,500.00 $ 2,500.00 $ 695.70
Category--Expense DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Streets—Temp—01-4102-1004 $1,500.00 $ 3,500.00 $ 3,168.87
To cover the costs Town Manager’s vehicle supplies including travel to pick up inmates on a weekly basis.
Category--Expense INCREASE New Total Balance in Account
Sanitation—Repairs & Maint.--01-4203-5407 $3,044.78 $ 6,044.78 $ 0.00
Category—Expense INCREASE New Total Balance in Account
Sanitation—Vehicle Supplies—01-4203-5408 $ 583.59 $ 1,783.59 $ 0.00
Category—Expense DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Contingency Fund—01-8102-7010 $3,628.37 $ 7,816.63 $ 7,816.63
To cover the repair costs for the 2010 Kenworth Trash Truck and other unanticipated vehicle maintenance and supply costs.
Respectfully requested by:
_________________________________ __________________________________
Treasurer Date
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
There were no committee recommendations.
ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL
Councilperson Laprade said she still wanted to look into going to Richmond to get support for this area. Councilperson Jean said that the Council needs to get together to get a proposal together before going to Richmond. Town Manager Russell Thurston said that the officials in Richmond are going to want to see site ready buildings. He said one of the problems we have is that some property owners want way more than the assessed value for their property and the prospective buyers walk away thinking we are crazy and then they don’t come back. He said another problem is property owners have buildings that have been vacant for 5-10 years and do not comply with building code requirements and the property owner refuses to invest any money in the building and the prospect leaves. He said that there are buildings all over town that he has tried to market to people and the owners want prices to rent or sell that are not reasonable. He said that the Council can go to Richmond, but if there are not property owners who are willing to say that they will compromise on price, working toward building codes and willing to invest in their property to sell it, then we are going to look pretty unprepared. Councilperson Laprade said that the Council gets blamed for not wanting growth, industry and jobs because of these issues. Mr. Thurston said that if we just had a portfolio of 5 or 6 properties, 2 or 3 unimproved lots and 2 or 3 buildings, where we knew the owners of those properties were willing to do what is necessary to put someone in their properties, then we could go to Richmond with that. Councilperson Laprade asked if a committee could be put together at the beginning of the year to work on that to which Mr. Thurston replied yes.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion from Robert Jean, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, Vice Mayor Nowlin announced that the December 9, 2014, meeting was adjourned.
___________________________ ____________________________
Bobbie A. Waller James Nowlin
Clerk/Treasurer Vice Mayor
