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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/14/2019 - City Council - Minutes - RegularCi ty Counci l Meeti ng M INUTES Monday, October 14, 2019, 5:30 P M Council Chambers, City Hall, 114 North Broad Street, Salem, Virginia 24153 1.C all to Order A regular meeting of the Council of the City of Salem, Virginia, was called to order at 5:30 p.m., there being present the following members to wit: Byron Randolph Foley, Mayor, J ane W. J ohnson, Vice-Mayor, Council members: William D. J ones, J ames A. Martin (absent), and J ohn E. Saunders; with Byron Randolph Foley, Mayor, presiding; together with J ames E. Taliaferro, II, Interim C ity Manager and Clerk of Council; Rosemarie B. J ordan, Director of Finance; Mike Stevens, C ommunications Director; Charles E. Van Allman, J r., C ommunity Development Director; J udy Hough, Deputy City C lerk; and Stephen M. Yost, City Attorney. 2.Pledge of Allegiance 3.C onsent Agenda A.Minutes Consider the acceptance of the minutes from the September 23, 2019, work session and regular meeting. Accepted as presented 4.Old Business 5.New Business A.Salem School B oard Hold a public hearing and receive views of citizens and candidates regarding the appointments to fill the expiring terms for Artice Ledbetter and J . Andrew "Andy" Raines (As advertised in the October 3, 2019, issue of the Salem Times Register.) Ms. Artice Ledbetter, 1906 Millstream Drive, Salem, appeared before the C ouncil seeking reappointment to the Salem C ity School Board. Ms. Ledbetter thanked C ouncil for the opportunity to serve on the board. She noted that it is an amazing board, and it is hard to believe that she has served for nine years. She has learned so much since working on the board, one of the greatest lessons is that there is no such thing as "I" when it come to working with children. She further discussed some of the accomplishments which have taken place in the Salem School System since her time on the board. We have so much to be proud of, but she is excited about the upcoming remodel of Salem High School, and she thanked Council for making this a priority. She looks forward to what is ahead and would like to continue to be a part of this team who truly love, engage, and inspire the children of Salem. Andy Raines, 1305 Winston Drive, Salem, appeared before the C ouncil. He stated with his second term nearly complete, he is here to formally confirm his interest in reappointment as a member of the Salem C ity School Board. He noted some of the influences in his life that moved him to serve on the Board and that will continue to influence his service to the board if re-elected, including growing up in Abingdon where both of his parents were career educators. When he moved to Salem nearly 30 years ago, he married an elementary school teacher. So for more than a half century he has lived in a home with teachers, and this has influenced his life in a lot of ways even though he went into the business world. He has served on the Board for the past six years where he has focused on working with the administration largely on behalf of the teachers and staff, and he plans to continue to focus on this. He noted that the Salem School Division has a lot of be proud of, and he discussed some of those accomplishments. He thanked C ouncil for their time, and he appreciates the consideration to be reappointed. David Turk, 1522 Ashley Drive, Salem, appeared before the Council. He noted that he thought he needed to let Council know who he was on a much deeper level. He obviously does not have School Board experience at this stage, but he has plenty of good ideas. He has coached in Salem for 29 years so he has taught a generation and a half roughly of the sons and daughters of the City, and he is proud to say very successfully. He noted he is pretty sure Council knows his reputation, however, they may not know that for him teaching, the core of education, has never ever been a job. He noted for him teaching is a vocation, it is part of who he is to serve others - to serve a cause bigger than ourselves. He noted that his students and his athletes, no matter how hard he was on them, the one thing they all knew was that he deeply cared about them as a person. His passion for education and for his students and athletes has always been focused on putting them in the best position to succeed not just in school but in life as well. It is that same vocation attitude that he intends to bring to his role on the school board. It is always student first. He further discussed Salem City Schools and upcoming challenges for the school system. He sees serving on the School Board as a continuation of the vocation - the choice to serve others. He thanked Council for their time. Mayor Foley noted that this a a public hearing and asked if anyone else would like to speak regarding the appointments to the School Board. T here was no response and the public hearing was closed. T here was a discussion regarding interviews with the candidates for the appointments to the school board. Mayor Foley noted that the C ity Manager's office would be in touch with the applicants regarding interviews. B.Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Hazard Mitigation P lan Consider adoption of Resolution 1365 accepting the Roanoke Valley–Alleghany Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan. (http://rvarc.org/wp- content/uploads/2019/08/RVA R_Hazard_Mitigation_Plan_2019.pdf) Mr. Van Allman noted that the plan is essentially a pre-disaster mitigation plan. It is what we do proactively to help out when disasters happen. T he main reason we are involved with the other localities in the valley is that in order to qualify for various grants and programs, we need to be part of this plan which is mandated by the Federal and State governments. He further discussed the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan and noted that this has been going on for quite a few decades. All the grants we have received for the mitigation and the houses that we have bought out over the years would not have been possible without our involvement in this program. Mayor Foley asked how often does this occur that the plan is updated. Mr. Van Allman noted that he believes it is every five years that minor changes are made to the plan. Mr. Martin asked if there were significant changes to this plan as opposed to the previous plan. Mr. Van Allman noted that there were not significant changes. He further discussed the changes to the plan. J ane J ohnson motioned to adopt Resolution 1362 accepting the Roanoke Valley- Alleghany Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan. William J ones seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin, Saunders C .Blue Ridge P arkway Resolution of Support Consider the adoption of Resolution 1366 in support of immediate funding for repairs to Blue Ridge Parkway road closures between Milepost 106 to Milepost 112 and Roanoke Mountain Loop Road at Milepost 120. Mr. Taliaferro noted the Blue Ridge Parkway was closed due to the condition of the pavement near Roanoke Mountain. T he local governments in the region put together a resolution similar to Resolution 1366 which asked for funding to repair the Blue Ridge Parkway which has a lot of economic impact on the region and also to support the "Restore Our Parks Act" which would provide funding for critical repairs not only on the Parkway but throughout the national parks. Since putting this on the agenda, the parkway has reopened as repairs have been made. So staff has prepared an amended resolution which Council should have a copy of this evening which strikes three paragraphs that talks about the temporary repairs, but it still supports the "Restore Our Parks Act." J ames Martin motioned to adopt amended Resolution 1366 in support of immediate funding for repairs to the Blue Ridge Parkway and the "Restore Our Parks Act". J ane J ohnson seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin, Saunders D.Appropriation of Net P osition Consider request to appropriate Electric fund net position. Audit - Finance Committee Mr. J ones noted the Audit Finance Committee met this morning to discuss this request. A multi-year substation upgrade project is planned which including replacement of transformers and switchgear units at the substations at Calhoun Street, Electric Road and Indiana Street as equipment currently in place is nearing the end of life. T he project also includes replacement of 69kv oil circuit breakers at the Salem Industrial Drive and Wortham Street locations. Engineering work is complete and bids have been received. T he total cost of the project is $11,224,179 and is expected to be completed by J une 2021. T he project will be funded by earnings accumulated in the Electric Fund. Reappropriating net position will allow work to proceed on the substation upgrade project. T he Committee reviewed the request and recommends reappropriating $11,224,179 to fund the substation upgrade project. A. K. Briele, Director of Electric Department, appeared before the Council. He noted the project is the replacement of equipment, transformers and switchgear, at the substations on Calhoun Street, Electric Road and Indiana Street and replacement of circuit breakers at the Salem Industrial Drive and Wortham Street substations. He further discussed the substation upgrade project. Mrs. J ordan also discussed the funding for the capital project from the Electric Fund Net Position. William J ones motioned to approve reappropriating $11,224,179 from the Electric Department Net Position to Capital to fund the substation upgrade project. J ohn Saunders seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin, Saunders E.Carryov er of Stormwater Management F unds Consider request to reappropriate unspent stormwater management program funds. Audit - Finance C ommittee Mr. J ones noted the Audit Finance Committee also discussed this request. Stormwater management programs were implemented by local governments effective J uly 1, 2014, as required by the State to comply with the C lean Water Act of 1972. On September 12, 2016, City C ouncil adopted a policy to allow staff to administratively appropriate stormwater management funding not expended at the end of each fiscal year if the carryover amount was less than $25,000. As of J une 30, 2019, funding of $34,539 was unspent and needs to be reappropriated in fiscal year 2020. Since the carryover amount is more than $25,000, C ouncil action is required. Funds will continue to be dedicated to the MS-4 and Virginia Stormwater Management programs as required by the State. T he Committee reviewed the request and recommends reappropriating the fund balance to fiscal year 2020. William J ones motioned to approve the re-appropriating of $34,539 from the fund balance to fiscal year 2020 stormwater management programs. J ames Martin seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin, Saunders 6.C losed Session A.Closed Session Hold a closed session in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.2- 3711A(1) of the 1950 C ode of Virginia, as amended, for a discussion or consideration of prospective candidates for employment specifically related to the hiring of the C ity Manager position. Vice Mayor J ohnson motioned (corrected) to move to closed session at 6:10 p.m. in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.2-3711A(1) of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended, for a discussion or consideration of prospective candidates for employment specifically related to the hiring of the City Manager position. J ames Martin seconded the motion. Ayes: Saunders, Martin, J ones, J ohnson, Foley J ane J ohnson motioned to reconvene at 9:45 p.m. and that in accordance with Section 2.2-3712D of the C ode of Virginia, 1950 as amended to date, C ouncil hereby certifies that in C losed Session only items lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and only such items identified in the motion by which the Closed Session was convened were heard, discussed, or considered by the Council. J ohn Saunders seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin, Saunders 7.Adjournment T he meeting was adjourned at 9:46 p.m.