August 12, 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:
Phyllis Campbell, Mayor
James Nowlin, Vice Mayor
Richard Adams, Robert Jean, Mark Wilkes, Barbara Laprade and Joseph B. David, Jr., Council Members
Russell Thurston, Town Manager
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Mike Crews, Public Works Director
Richard Baldwin, Chief of Police
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion by Barbara Laprade, seconded by Joseph B. David, Jr., and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the August 12, 2014, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.
MINUTES
Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, Council approved the July 8, 2014, Town Council meeting minutes.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Mayor Campbell then asked that the August 2014 treasurer’s report be filed for audit.
PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES
Be it resolved that motion was made by James Nowlin, seconded by Richard Adams, and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of July 9, 2014 to August 12, 2014, in the amount of $29,921.39.
REQUEST FOR THE COMMUNITY BUILDING
Mayor Campbell said that Jennifer Elder and some young ladies from Childrey Baptist Church have requested the use of the auditorium of the community building on Sunday, August 24 for a fundraiser for a mission project to Guatemala in the summer of 2015. Upon motion by James Nowlin, seconded by Robert Jean, the Council authorized the use of the community building at no charge to Childrey Baptist Church on Sunday, August 24, 2014.
PUBLIC COMMENT
No one appeared before Council during public comment.
POLICE REPORT
Chief Richard Baldwin presented the police report for July 2014. He said of the 76 calls for service in July, 62 were answered by the Brookneal Police Department. He said the town was approved for a DMV grant for $4,480 for overtime for officers to work traffic checks and DUIs.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT
Public Works Director Mike Crews said that the potholes on Main Street have been taken care of by VDOT. He said that the fire hydrants will be flushed on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Town Manager Russell Thurston told the Council that he and Mr. Crews have been working on a fluoride grant with the Office of Drinking Water. He said that the equipment at the water treatment plant was not working properly. He said that the inmate worker program continues to be a really good thing for the Town.
Mr. Thurston said that there is a joint meeting between the school board and the board of supervisors to discuss the proposed project for the schools to cover 3 topics, 1) what does the research indicate about educational outcomes with school consolidation, 2) what harmful impacts could potentially result to our communities by way of school consolidation, and 3) what tax implications will this have on the taxpayer. He said he felt like this was a huge victory. He said the 501 water line project study should be nearing completion. He said that if this happens, the County and CCUSA is going to put some stipulations on the Town about the qualifications of
Town operators.
He said that the backup pump and motor have been delivered for the water treatment plant. He also said that one of our employees suffered a work related issue about 2 weeks ago, and he thought this issue was handled really well by the Town. He said that the Town did meet with Centra Health on physician recruitment in July.
Mr. Thurston distributed 2 ordinances for the Council’s review. He said that he wanted the Council to review these between now and the next Council meeting. He said one of the ordinances is concerning meth lab cleanup and the other one is a liter ordinance. He said the current town code does not have a liter ordinance.
Mr. Thurston said that there have been a lot of complaints about CF Gray Street. He read his case history on this property because he knew Council members had received calls about this property. He said the renters’ interpretation of what is neat and clean is not what the neighbors and others’ interpretation is of what is neat and clean. He said this has been an ongoing problem. He said that letters and calls need to be directed to the property manager and the owner of the property. He encouraged Council members to do this. Mr. Thurston said that in the proposed ordinance there is a $50 per day fine (up to $3,000 per year in a 12 month period maximum) that could be imposed civilly concerning overgrown grass and weeds, but he said that ordinance has to be passed. He said a $1,000 penalty per year could be imposed civilly on a distressed building. He noted that in tax law in state code that if a property has a tax assessed value of $50,000 or less, and a bill for cleanup, fines and liens equals 50% of the tax value of that property, you can petition the court to appoint a special commissioner and ask to have the property deeded over to the Town.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
There were no committee recommendations.
ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL
There were no items from Town Council.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion from Mark Wilkes, seconded by Robert Jean, and unanimously carried, Mayor Campbell announced that the August 12, 2014, meeting was adjourned.
___________________________ ____________________________
Bobbie A. Waller Phyllis L. Campbell
Clerk/Treasurer Mayor
