November 11, 2008
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

Kenneth Jennings, Richard Adams, Stacey Hailey, Tracy Meisenbach, and Robert Jean, Council Members

Bobbie A. Waller, Clerk/Treasurer

Mike Crews, Public Works Director, and Interim Town Manager

Ricky Cousins, Police Chief

Mayor Campbell asked for a moment of silence in memory of Claude Clark and Herman Ginther prior to the invocation.

INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Upon motion by Kenneth Jennings, seconded by Stacey Hailey, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the November 11, 2008, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.

MINUTES

Ms. Meisenbach had asked Ms. Waller to delete a comment from the minutes of September 9, 2008, that she made that she felt was made to herself and not to the Council.  Ms. Waller felt that the comment was important to the next motion that was made as others heard the comment also.  After some discussion, Mayor Campbell put the motion on the floor for the minutes of September 9 and October 14, 2008, to be approved as written.  The motion was made by Stacey Hailey, seconded by James Nowlin, and carried with Ms. Meisenbach voting nay.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Mayor Campbell asked that the November 2008 treasurer’s report be filed for audit.

PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES

Be it resolved that motion was made by James Nowlin, seconded by Kenneth Jennings, and  unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of October 15, 2008, to November 11, 2008, in the amount of $16,896.97.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Donnalynn Davis, of Brookneal, appeared before Council in “unofficial” capacity for the Campbell County Registrar’s office concerning the voting in the Town election on November 4, 2008.  She said she cared about this Town and that’s why she wanted to address some concerns.  She said that if you want to be on the ballot, get on the ballot, and try not to do it as a write-in.  She said that there were 121 total write in votes for the Brookneal Town Council election.

POLICE REPORT

Chief Ricky Cousins reported that Officer Scott Earhart hit a deer on November 10, 2008, and did some damage to his police vehicle.  Chief Cousins also said that he was instructed to find out from Altavista and Gretna concerning their curfew.  Altavista and Gretna use the curfew.  He also spoke to the Commonwealth’s Attorney about the curfew, and he said he wished that everybody had the curfew because it was a good tool, but then he said that it would be a waste of time for the police department because their office is not going to doing anything with the juveniles if they are brought to court.  The police department would probably incur a lot of overtime processing these juveniles, and then the court would not charge them.

He also reported on the police department’s citations since the last Council meeting.  There were 2 persons charged with not having an operator’s license, 9 for speeding 20 miles over the speed limit, 4 for driving on a suspended license, 7 persons for speeding 15 miles over the speed limit, and 1 for reckless driving at 81 mph.  There were also 2 citations for driving with an expired registration, 2 dui’s, 2 with a controlled substance, 1 felony allude, 1 for calling in a bomb threat, 1 for stopping in the roadway, and 1 for reckless driving.

PUBLIC WORKS REPORT

Interim Town Manager Mike Crews reminded Council of the electronics recycling day that will be held on November 22, 2008, at the old Star Value parking lot.  The Town will run a small ad in the Union Star next week to advertise this event.  He said trash pickup for Thanksgiving will be done on Wednesday instead of Thursday for businesses and residences.  He said that WW Associates is working on the layout for the new water line, and he said he hopes that by the end of November, the plans will be sent to the Office of Drinking Water for their approval.  He also expressed his gratitude to Dominion Virginia Power and the Virginia Department of Transportation for all the assistance they give the Town.

APPROVAL OF DEMOLITION OF THE ROSENWALD SCHOOL & AWARD OF CONTRACT

TO SYDNEY JENNINGS EXCAVATION

Upon motion by Tracy Meisenbach, seconded by Robert Jean, and unanimously carried, Council voted to award the contract for the demolition of the Rosenwald School to Sydney Jennings Excavation.

ADVERTISEMENT OF PAST DUE TAXES IN LOCAL PAPER

Upon motion by Kenneth Jennings, seconded by Stacey Hailey, and unanimously carried, Council voted to advertise delinquent taxpayers owing $25.00 or more in the local newspaper as has been done in the past.

CHRISTMAS BONUSES FOR TOWN EMPLOYEES

Upon motion by Tracy Meisenbach, seconded by Stacey Hailey, Council voted to award a net $200.00 Christmas bonus to all employees.

COUNCIL DIRECTION ON SANITATION TRUCK

At the 5:00 p.m. meeting, the committees discussed the options on a new sanitation truck for the public works department.  Councilperson Adams said there was consensus to move forward to replace the existing sanitation truck.  He said there were a few more options to look into and a report would be presented no later than the next Council meeting.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

Physical Development Committee Member Tracy Meisenbach made a recommendation from her committee to have Interim Town Manager Mike Crews and Clerk/Treasurer Bobbie Waller check into pricing and stats on mowers and a flat bed trailer for the Public Works Department as discussed in the committee meeting at 5:00 p.m.  She asked that this be done for the next Council meeting in December, so that this can be included in our budget planning for the next budget year.

Physical Development Committee Chairperson James Nowlin said that the committee would look at the information Chief Cousins acquired on the curfew and bring back a recommendation.

STAUNTON RIVER COMMUNITY CHURCH

Upon motion by Kenneth Jennings, seconded by Stacey Hailey, and unanimously carried, Council voted to allow the Staunton River Community Church to use the community building at no charge on Sunday night, December 14, 2008, for a Christmas program.

ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL

Councilperson Meisenbach said that she would like to see photos of the EMT group, the police department, and the fire department members in Brookneal on display in the Town office.

CLOSED SESSION UNDER VA CODE SECTION 2.2-3711 (A) (1) FOR THE PURPOSE OF REVIEWING AND DISCUSSING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE AND THE WATER TREATMENT PLANT

Upon motion by James Nowlin, seconded by Stacey Hailey and unanimously carried, Council voted to go into closed session under VA Code Section 2.2-3711 (A)(1) for the purpose of reviewing and discussing the performance of the Chief of Police and the water treatment plant.

CERTIFICATION

Mayor Campbell called for a vote certifying that only those items were discussed as allowed under VA Code Section 2.2-3711 (A)(1) for the purpose of reviewing and discussing the performance of the Chief of Police and the water treatment plant.

Voting was as follows:

Mr. Hailey       Aye                  Ms. Jean                     Abstained

Mr. Adams      Aye                  Mr. Jennings               Aye

Mr. Nowlin       Aye                  Ms. Meisenbach         Aye, but with reservations

Mayor Campbell     Aye

The motion carried.

TOWN MANAGER

Mayor Campbell said that the advertisement for the Town Manager had been placed in the VML magazine, the Union Star, and the Lynchburg News & Advance.  Mr. Adams said that he had an idea about including citizens in the process of hiring a Town Manager.  He wanted to have a “citizens committee” involved in the selection process by having them assess the candidates and then have that committee make recommendations to the Council on who should be interviewed.  Ms. Meisenbach said that she would like to see the Council more involved in the process.  She felt like in another hiring process a few years ago, the Council was given very little time to approve an applicant and very little information on the pool of applicants.  She said she felt like the Council should review all the applications received.  She also felt that citizens should not see personal information of applicants.  Mr. Jennings said he thought the committee should be comprised of some citizens and the personnel committee and then the final decision will be up to the entire Council.  Mr. Jean agreed with Mr. Jennings on this issue.  Mayor Campbell suggested four citizens should be on the committee.

ADJOURNMENT

Upon motion from James Nowlin, seconded by Stacey Hailey, and unanimously carried, Mayor Campbell announced that the November 11, 2008, Council meeting was adjourned.

___________________________                  ____________________________

Bobbie A. Waller                                             Phyllis L. Campbell

Clerk/Treasurer                                               Mayor