December 9, 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, and Tracy Meisenbach, Council Members

Bobbie A. Waller, Clerk/Treasurer

Mike Crews, Public Works Director, and Interim Town Manager

Ricky Cousins, Police Chief

Absent:  Robert Jean, Council Member

INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Upon motion by Richard Adams, seconded by James Nowlin, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the December 9, 2008, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.

MINUTES

Upon motion by Kenneth Jennings, seconded by Richard Adams, and unanimously carried, Council approved the November 11, 2008, Town Council minutes.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Mayor Campbell asked that the December 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 November 12, 2008, to December 9, 2008, in the amount of $29,058.88.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Howard Wells of Booker Road appeared before Council to discuss the “explosion” on Booker Road last night in which a transformer blew up and the importance of immediate response to such an incident.  He said he called the fire department and not “911,” and it was 45 minutes before someone responded to the incident.  He also wanted to make the Council aware that in these tough economic times, some citizens are having a hard time paying their taxes, and he wanted Council to think twice about publishing names in the newspaper of citizens who have not paid their taxes.  Mr. Jennings and Ms. Waller told Mr. Wells that the Town would set up a payment plan for any citizen needing help with paying their taxes.

Mr. David Laurrell commented on the County’s position with the estimated $2.5-3.0 million loss of revenue from the state in FY09-10.  He said the County was in a good position right now to deal with that.  The Board has put money away in reserve accounts for the last 10-15 years.  He also discussed the chemical trespass ordinance that Ms. Meisenbach had brought up at a meeting a couple of months ago.  He said that the attorney general’s office has ruled that that chemical trespass ordinance is unconstitutional.

POLICE REPORT

Chief Ricky Cousins reported that from November 11, 2008 to December 8, 2008, the police department wrote 1 ticket for 1-14 miles over the speed limit, 20 tickets for 15-19 miles over the speed limit, 4 tickets for 20-24 miles over the speed limit, and 2 tickets for 25 miles over the speed limit.  They also wrote 2 tickets for expired inspection sticker, 3 tickets for driving while suspended, 4 tickets for failure to stop at the stoplight, and 1 ticket for driving without a driver license.  There was 1 DWI, 1 domestic assault and battery, 1 B&E, possession of a gun by a felon, and grand larceny.  There were also 8 parking tickets written.  Chief Cousins also said that Officer Earhart is going to K-9 school with his dog on February 1-6, 2009 in Philadelphia, PA.  He will take his test in Pittsburg on February 7, 2009.

Chief Cousins told the council that a total of $2057.00 has been turned into the front office for drug money that had been collected and for money collected on an impounded vehicle.

PUBLIC WORKS REPORT

Interim Town Manager Mike Crews informed the Council that a meeting was held with Frazier Associates for the business owners involved in the Downtown Grant on Tuesday, December 2, 2008.  Applications are being mailed out for business owners to sign up for participation in the grant.  He also said that a meeting was scheduled with Campbell County to work on the comprehensive plan for Brookneal on December 22, 2008.  He told the Council that a kick-off meeting with WW Associates on the Downtown Grant was held on December 8, 2008.  He also announced that representatives from VRWA are coming on January 6, 2009, to assist with calibrations at the water treatment plant.  He said the design for the EPA and water line extension has pretty much been completed by WW Associates.

AUDIT 07/08

Interim Town Manager Mike Crews said that since our auditor, Mr. Jerry Reynolds, could not be in attendance tonight due to illness, he would be asked to come to the January 9, 2009, meeting to address the FY07/08 audit.

BUDGETING FOR THE TOWN MANAGER POSITION

Finance and Planning Committee member Richard Adams said that in the committee meeting prior to the Council meeting; the committee had looked at the budget and found a couple of line items that they may be able to draw from to work with for a tentative compensation or target number for the town manager’s position.  He said they are seriously looking at a part time position as opposed to a full time position at least at the onset of it.  A tentative meeting is set for December 18, 2008, to look at refinement of the job description for the position.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

Ms. Meisenbach said that she wanted to follow up on a recommendation that was made for looking at flat bed trailers for the public works department.  She had sent some information to Mr. Crews to look at on this issue.  She said she thought that a used one could be purchased for around $1,000.  Mr. Nowlin said that this was not a crucial issue right now, so he thought after they looked at different trailers, then they would bring it back to Council for their approval.

ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL

Mayor Campbell thanked outgoing Council Member Stacey Hailey for his four years of service to the Town.  She also thanked the Christmas lights committee for the great job they did on the decorations for the Town.  She thanked the Chamber for their work on the Christmas parade.

Ms. Meisenbach suggested that the Town have a luncheon when the Main Street grant is officially kicked off.  She also suggested possibly selling more bricks for the Town park when the project is complete.

Mr. Hailey thanked the Council and the employees for their help during his 4 years on Council.

He wished Mr. Sheppard the best for his time on the Council.

ADJOURNMENT

Upon motion from Richard Adams, seconded by Kenneth Jennings, and unanimously carried, Mayor Campbell announced that the December 9, 2008, Council meeting was adjourned.

___________________________                  ____________________________

Bobbie A. Waller                                             Phyllis L. Campbell

Clerk/Treasurer                                               Mayor