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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8/12/2019 - City Council - Minutes - RegularUNAPPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION August 12, 2019 A work session of the Council of the City of Salem, Virginia, was held in the Council Chambers Conference Room, 114 North Broad Street, Salem, Virginia, on August 12, 2019, at 6:30 p.m., there being present all the following members of said Council, to wit: Byron Randolph Foley, William D. Jones, Jane W. Johnson, James A. Martin, and John E. Saunders; with Byron Randolph Foley, Mayor, presiding; together with James E. Taliaferro, II, Interim City Manager and Clerk of Council; Rosemarie B. Jordan, Director of Finance; Ann Tripp, Library Director; Melinda Payne, Economic Development Director; Crystal L. Williams, Assistant to the City Manager; Judy Hough, Deputy City Clerk; and Sadie Remington, Economic Development Specialist; and the following business was transacted: Mayor Foley reported that this date, place, and time had been set in order for the Council to hold a work session; and WHEREAS, Mrs. Tripp gave Council a presentation and update about the programs activities, and events going on at the Salem Public Library; and WHEREAS, Ms. Payne and Ms. Remington gave Council an update on Economic Development; and WHEREAS, there were no other topics for discussion; and There being no further business to come before the Council, the work session was adjourned at 7:28 p.m. ____________________________________ Mayor _____________________________________ Clerk of Council Ci ty Counci l Meeti ng M INUTES Monday, August 12, 2019, 7:30 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 7:30 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, 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 C ouncil; Rosemarie B. J ordan, Director of Finance; C harles E. VanAllman, J r., C ommunity Development Director; J udy Hough, Deputy C ity Clerk; and Stephen M. Yost, City Attorney. Mayor Foley recognized new Salem Police Officers J essica Hodges, Gran Vukovic, and Alex Martin. Also with them was Senior Police Officer Hammond. He thanked them for their service to the Salem community. 2.Pledge of Allegiance 3.C losed Session A.Closed Session Hold a closed session in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.2- 3711A(8) of the 1950 C ode of Virginia, as amended, for consultation with legal counsel employed or retained by a public body regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel. Vice Mayor J ohnson motioned to move to closed session at 7:32 p.m. in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.2-3711A(8) of the 1950 C ode of Virginia, as amended, for consultation with legal counsel employed or retained by the C ity specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel. Bill J ones seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin, Saunders J ane J ohnson motioned to reconvene at 8:05 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. William J ones seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin, Saunders 4.C onsent Agenda A.Minutes Consider acceptance of the minutes from the J uly 8, 2019, work session and regular meeting. Accepted as presented B.F inancial Report Consider the acceptance of the Statement of Revenues and Expenditures for the twelve months ending J une 2019. Received 5.New Business A.Cable Telev ision F ranchise Ordinance Hold public hearing, receive and consider bids, and consider an ordinance on first reading to award a cable television franchise agreement. Mayor Foley noted some months ago the City was approached by Shenandoah C able Television, LLC concerning their request to be awarded a franchise to use the streets of the City to provide C able T V services. Accordingly, this place and time has been advertised to receive bids and to consider adopting an Ordinance granting a franchise for a term in excess of 5 years to use the streets of the City for such a cable system. He asked Mr. Taliaferro if the City had received any such bids. Mr. Taliaferro noted the City had received the bid of Shenandoah Cable Television, LLC , and he presented the bid to Mayor Foley. Mayor Foley asked if there were any other bids. T here was no response from the audience, and he noted hearing no other bids, the bidding was closed. He asked for a representative from the bidder to come to the podium and provide a brief summary of the bid with their name, title and address for the record. Tom Whitaker, Senior Vice President of Fiber Operations for Shentel, appeared before the C ouncil. He noted that the company is based in Edinburg, Virginia. He thanked staff for their support, time and consideration given to them during this process. He is here to present the bid for the cable franchise to build a gigabit optical network and provide comprehensive broadband service to the City of Salem. Mr. Whitaker discussed the Powerpoint presentation and also submitted copies to C ouncil. What are they doing here and in other communities throughout the valley and region? He noted they are proposing to build a gigabit city using what is called a passive gigabit optical network building fiber into every single home. T he fiber will provide triple home services, i.e., voice, video and data. He further discussed the proposed cable franchise in the City of Salem. He stated he would be glad to answer any questions Council might have. Mr. Martin thanked him for coming and giving the overview of the project. He noted on the map of the C ity included with the bid it shows the target areas where they will have service coverage initially. He asked if he could share their plans to expand into other areas of the City based on the success of the business and the initial areas. Mr. Whitaker noted their plans are to provide a comprehensive service that supports and serves the vast majority of the residences in the City. He stated that there may be some drops that are just not economical to build and that is typically going to be encumbered by the length of the drop, obstructions, etc. Mayor Foley asked him if he could share with the audience the other communities in the vicinity where they have established service. Mr. Whitaker noted they have started in Harrisonburg. T hey are at the point there where they have passed just short of one thousand homes in this community, and they are looking at a commercial launch in next month. T hey also have franchises in Staunton, Winchester, and Lynchburg. T hey are pursuing other communities, too. Mrs. J ohnson asked if there would be a local service center or how would the customers obtain service if they had issues. Would this just be done online? He noted they currently have local call center services in Rustburg, Waynesboro, and also in Lewis County, West Virginia. So all of their call center support is local based in the region. All of the support staff would be based in the region, too. As far as a retail presence, he stated they will certainly have places within the community for people to be able to pay their bill. He further discussed the equipment involved with the streaming video and noted that they would not have the challenges with equipment returns compared to the traditional cable company with the new technology. Mr. J ones asked Mr. Whitaker to explain what the difference between the service they currently have in C hristiansburg versus the service they will provide in Salem. He noted that his sons have lived there, and he has also heard from others that had their service in C hristiansburg. Mr. Whitaker noted the Christiansburg system is part of a traditional channelized cable system using a technology called a "qam". It is a hybrid fiber co-axial based system. He further discussed this system and noted that it does not have the same capacity or the same ceiling as far as speed especially when it come to the upload. T he performance of this new system is not only better, but it is different. It is more stable service, it performs better, and it has more consistent and symmetrical speed. Mayor Foley noted this is a public hearing and asked if anyone would like to speak regarding this matter. T here were no other comments, and he closed the public hearing. Mayor Foley noted it was his understanding that the bid mirrors to a great extent the existing franchise of C omcast, the incumbent provider. It authorizes a 10-year franchise term. One difference is that the initial construction will include limited areas of the C ity designated on an attached map of the proposal, but Shenandoah promises the completion of its system throughout the City within a reasonably commercial time. T he initial build in the designated areas, subject to conditions set forth in the bid, shall be completed by December 31, 2021. Mayor Foley noted for the public this means that there is going to be competition now in some parts of the City for mostly broadband, as well as cable, etc. He believes that we finally have what we have been searching for a long time now and everyone should be excited because this is what we had hoped would be the result of the Broadband Authority in the Roanoke Valley. Mr. Martin noted that he agrees with him, and he believes this is a wonderful development for the City not only for giving our citizens more choice but also letting the competitive market work to help with the bottom line. Mrs. J ohnson noted that she feels the same way. She feels very strongly that monopolies are wrong, and she believes this is a wonderful evening for the City and is honored to make the motion. J ane J ohnson motioned to adopt an ordinance on first reading granting a cable television franchise for the operation of a cable system in the City of Salem and to award the franchise to Shenandoah C able Television, LLC . J ames Martin seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin, Saunders B.Appropriation of Net P osition Consider request to appropriate Sewer Fund net position. Audit - Finance Committee Mr. J ones noted the Audit Finance Committee met this morning to discuss this request. A metal storage building is needed to house the Sewer J et truck. Bids have been received and the total cost of the project is $264,500. Funding of $270,000 was included in the Sewer Fund budget for FY2019 for the relocation of field operations to Tidewater Street. T his funding was not spent and is available to appropriate from net position. T he C ommittee reviewed the request and recommended reappropriating $264,500 from the Sewer Fund net position for the project. William J ones motioned to appropriate $264,500 from the sewer fund balance for the project on Tidewater Street. J ohn Saunders seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin, Saunders C .Little Caesars P roject Consider setting bond for erosion and sediment control and landscaping for the Little C aesars Project to be located at 1122 West Main Street. Audit - Finance Committee Mr. J ones noted the Audit Finance Committee also discussed this request. T he C ommittee reviewed the estimate for erosion and sediment control and landscaping for the Little C aesars project to be located at 1122 West Main Street. T he C ommittee concurs with the C ity Engineer’s office recommendation that bond be set in the amount of $8,410, and a time frame for completion set at twelve (12) months. It was noted there will be a traffic light at this location. Mr. Taliaferro noted the developer would like to have a light exiting the parking lot so another mast will be added to the existing stoplight at Goodwin Avenue. William J ones motioned to approve the bond for erosion and sediment control and landscaping for the Little Caesars project to be located at 1122 West Main Street in the amount of $8,410 and a completion time of twelve (12) months. J ames Martin seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin, Saunders D.Ted Dyer Land Disturbance P roject Consider setting bond for erosion and sediment control for the Ted Dyer Land Disturbance project located at 1361 Southside Drive. Audit - Finance C ommittee Mr. J ones noted the Audit Finance Committee also discussed this request. T he C ommittee reviewed the estimate for erosion and sediment control for the Ted Dyer Land Disturbance Plan located at 1361 Southside Drive. T he Committee concurs with the City Engineer’s office recommendation that bond be set in the amount of $7,810 and a time frame for completion set at twelve (12) months. He further noted that he would abstain from voting on this request as he owns the property next door to this one. J ames Martin motioned to approve the bond for erosion and sediment control for the Ted Dyer Land Disturbance Plan located at 1361 Southside Drive in the amount of $7,810 and a completion time of twelve (12) months. J ane J ohnson seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, J ohnson, Martin, Saunders Abstain: J ones 6.Adjournment T he meeting was adjourned at 8:27 p.m.