February 14, 2012
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, Richard Adams, Mark Wilkes, and Barbara Laprade, Council Members
Russell B. Thurston, Town Manager
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Mike Crews, Public Works Director
Ricky Baldwin, Chief of Police
Absent: Tracy Meisenbach, Council Member
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion by James Nowlin, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the February 14, 2012, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.
MINUTES
Upon motion by Barbara Laprade, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, Council approved the January 10, 2012, Town Council meeting minutes.
TREASURER'S REPORT
Mayor Campbell asked that the February 2012 treasurer's report be filed for audit.
PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES
Be it resolved that motion was made by James Nowlin, seconded by Barbara Laprade, and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of January 11, 2012, to February 14, 2012, in the amount of $18,788.98.
FY 10/11 AUDIT
Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, the Council approved the FY 10/11 audit.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Michael Monroe, of Elite VA, appeared before Council with the proposal of a vineyard on the Dan River facility property. Mayor Campbell said the planning commission is going to meet at the next Council meeting or before if possible to review this issue. Mr. Monroe proceeded to say that it would be a 40 acre minimum vineyard. He said the main Dan River plant is already separated with a hundred acres for a future business that would go into the big facility. He said they are looking at the upper facility for a winery to make the wine and two other potential businesses that are not necessarily related to the wine business. He said that in talking to Mike Crews briefly about it, there were a few concerns about the zoning of the property. He said they are looking at planting 10 acres this year behind the upper plant across from the former Triangle Ford. He said the property has already been cut. He said there was a pond on the bottom of the property that they did not know about, so they are looking at putting 7 acres vineyard and other various fruits on the back side of the property. Mayor Campbell said that the next Town Council meeting would not be until the second week of March. Mr. Monroe said if the process could move a little faster he would appreciate it. He said they need to grind the property to get it prepared, and they need to plant no later than April if they are going to plant this year. Mr. Monroe said the present zoning includes one parcel that is zoned R-1 and one parcel that is zoned M-2. He said Virginia Tech has already come down and looked at the property and said it was a good place for the vineyard. He said that 40 acres of vineyard would make this vineyard in the top 10 biggest vineyards in Virginia. He said they are working with Richard Childress and were looking at marketing their wine through NASCAR. He anticipated the vineyard to employ 15 to 20 people during the summer season and 5 or 6 people in the winery.
Mayor Campbell asked if the Council would be comfortable considering a motion pending the outcome of the planning commission meeting, so it would not have to wait until the March meeting. Mr. Adams did not want to put the "cart before the horse." He did not want to circumvent their responsibilities. Mr. Thurston said he did not want to rush this along since the property is a zoning issue, and he said he wanted to see due process followed. He said he would push to get a meeting of the planning commission together as soon as possible.
POLICE REPORT
Chief Baldwin passed the police report for January 2012 out to Council members. He said there was a total of 66 calls for service. Chief Baldwin suggested increasing the $10 parking ticket fee to $25.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT
Public Works Director Mike Crews said that on February 22, 2012, WW Associates, Haymes Brothers, and Clearflow will be working on the water system, so pressure flow can be improved. He said water cut offs will be February 23, and water meters will be read on February 20th and 21st. He said the Mid Atlantic Broadband hut had been put in place. He also said the Dixie Girls and Boys organization will be hosting all-stars this year. He said the Dixie Girls and Boys asked for help with the ballpark from the Town. Mr. Crews also said the ball park is in dire need of a mower.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Town Manager Russell Thurston said Phase 2 (Rush Street) bid opening was today, February 14, 2012, and the apparent low bidder was J. Harman Saunders. He said once all the logistics are done, Harman Saunders is ready to get started. He said the office staff along with Councilperson Richard Adams has been working on the budget on a weekly basis. Mr. Thurston said that Chief Baldwin has been very helpful in working on getting some property issues addressed. He said the way finding signs for the Town have been ordered and will be here in 3 – 4 weeks.
RESOLUTION FOR CAMPBELL COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL
Mr. Thurston said that the Campbell County Animal Control officers said they can enforce county and state ordinances, but not Town of Brookneal ordinances without this resolution. He said this resolution will give them the authority to enforce the ordinances for the Town of Brookneal. Mayor Campbell noted that the Town's ordinances are stricter than the County's ordinances. Mr. Thurston said the items Campbell County can enforce are current rabies vaccination certificates, current County dog licenses, or tags, and responding to a vicious dog that has already attacked or bitten somebody. He said they don't have any jurisdiction over barking dog nuisances, or dogs roaming at large throughout the town that are not in immediate control or custody of their owner. He said the Campbell County Animal Control thought our ordinances were well written, and they were quite impressed with the codes we already have. He said the Town does not have the resources to enforce these ordinances without the help of Campbell County Animal Control. Mr. Thurston read off some of the existing ordinances in the Town code. Mr. Thurston said this issue came up after multiple complaints have come into the Town office about animals roaming at large and barking dogs. After some discussion about the existing ordinances, the issue was tabled until all council members could review the ordinances.
Mr. Adams asked about signage for litter in the town limits. He said he was seeing so much litter on his property on Route 501.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
There were no committee recommendations.
ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL
Mr. Richard Adams gave an update on the Brookneal Campbell County Airport. He said a new fuel tank has been added and installed at the airport. He said it is on a credit card system. He said the next step is a hanger where people can leave their airplanes there. He also said their 3 year plan may be accelerated to be finished this year, and it has cost this airport nothing.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion from Robert Jean, seconded by James Nowlin, and unanimously carried, Mayor Campbell announced that the February 14, 2012, meeting was adjourned.
___________________________ ____________________________
Bobbie A. Waller Phyllis L. Campbell
Clerk/Treasurer Mayor
