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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/13/2017 - City Council - Minutes - RegularUNAPPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION November 13, 2017 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 November 13, 2017 at 6:30p.m., there being present the following members of said Council, to wit: Byron Randolph Foley, William D. Jones, Jane W. Johnson, James A. Martin, and James L. Chisom; with Byron Randolph Foley, presiding; together with Kevin S. Boggess, City Manager; James E. Taliaferro, II, Assistant City Manager and Clerk of Council; Rosemarie B. Jordan, Director of Finance; Kari Walls, Director of Technology, and Crystal La Brie, Secretary to the City Manager; 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, Ms. Walls gave Council an update on the Citizens Transparency Portal; and WHEREAS, Ms. La Brie reviewed the areas and findings of the facilities tours held on October 17, and November 8, 2017; and WHEREAS, Mr. Boggess gave Council a few more updates; and There being no further business to come before the Council, the work session was adjourned at 7:25 p.m. ____________________________________ Mayor _____________________________________ Clerk of Council Ci ty Council Meeting M INUTES Monday, November 13, 2017, 7:30 P M Council Chambers, C ity Hall, 114 North B road Street, Salem, Virginia 24153 1.C all to Order A regular meeting of the C ouncil 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, William D. J ones, Vice-Mayor, C ouncil members: J ane W. J ohnson, J ames A. Martin, and J ames L. C hisom; along with Kevin S. Boggess, City Manager; J ames E. Taliaferro, II, Assistant City Manager and C lerk of Council; Rosemarie B. J ordan, Director of Finance; Charles E. VanAllman, J r., Director of C ommunity Development; Mike Stevens, Communications Director; and Stephen M. Yost, C ity Attorney. Mayor Foley recognized new Salem Police Officer Timothy Shepherd and Senior O fficer Benjamen Taylor, who is mentoring Officer Shepherd. 2.Pledge of Allegiance 3.Bid Openings, Awards, Recognitions 4.C onsent Agenda A.Minutes C onsider acceptance of minutes from the October 17, 2017, special meeting and work session and the October 23, 2017, work session and regular meeting. A pproved B.F inancial Report C onsider the acceptance of the Statement of Revenues and Expenditures for two months ending August 2017. Received 5.Old Business A.Special E xception P ermit C onsider the request of William E. Lee, property owner, and Green GearHeads LLC , contract purchaser, for the issuance of a Special Exception Permit to allow scrap and salvage services on the property located at 844 Union Street. (Tax Map # 200-2-1). (C ontinued from the O ctober 23, 2017, meeting.) Mr. Taliaferro noted the conditions which were presented to C ouncil at the last meeting have been amended. T here was some discussion about potentially requiring a camera to monitor after hours drop offs, and this has been added to Item #5 in the conditions. T his is the only change in the conditions. Mr. Yost noted that this is a Special Exception permit which allows Council to unilaterally place conditions, but his understanding is that the petitioners are in agreement and in effect are also proffering the conditions. J ay Brenner of Green Gearheads LLC , contract purchaser, appeared before the C ouncil. He noted that they are in the process of cleaning out the current location of the business, 1115 Indiana Street. Within the next two weeks, they should have the majority of the materials moved out of that building. He gave a further update of the process of relocating the business to the 844 Union Street property. Vicki Lee Sanders, representing the property owner, William E. Lee, appeared before the C ouncil. She noted that they have an auction scheduled for December 9th to auction the interior and exterior of the property. C urrently, they are cleaning up the interior and the exterior of the building. She gave a further update of work being done with this property and also another parcel located behind Blue Ridge Tire. William J ones motioned to approve the request of William E. Lee, property owner, and Green GearHeads LLC , contract purchaser, for the issuance of a Special Exception Permit to allow scrap and salvage services on the property located at 844 Union Street (Tax Map # 200-2-1) with the following proffered conditions: 1) T here shall be no public safety issues with the flow of traffic in and out of the facility. A plan shall be submitted for review illustrating the flow of vehicles and shall be subject to approval by the city. 2) No party shall utilize Union Street or 7th Street for stopping, turning, or parking of motor vehicles in relation to the business conducted on the subject property. 3) A landscaped buffer yard type B shall be planted per 106-402.3 around all parking areas. 4) T he west side of the building shall not be utilized for loading, unloading or storage purposes. 5) Signage shall be installed instructing customers that no drop offs will be allowed at any time after hours. C ameras shall be installed and maintained for monitoring prohibited drop- offs. 6) All traffic access shall be via Union and 4th Street. 7) Materials to be delivered for scrap and salvage, or recycling, shall be limited to paper, cardboard, plastics, and metal, however no automotive or other transportation vehicle salvage shall be allowed. 8) All processing shall be conducted inside the existing building. Loading and unloading of materials may occur from the docks on the south and east sides of the building. No outdoor storage shall be allowed except for empty containers that are awaiting placement at customer locations. All such containers shall be as shown on the attached depiction submitted by the petitioner with the application. All scrap and salvage, or recycling, materials must be stored inside the building at the conclusion of the business day. 9) T he petitioner shall obtain and maintain all required local, state, and federal permits, including any required D epartment of Environmental Quality permits, and shall comply with all regulations and requirements of the Department of Environmental Q uality, or any other governing agency or department. J ames Martin seconded the motion. Ayes: C hisom, Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin B.Amendment to the City Code C onsider ordinance on second reading to amend Chapter 22, Article III, Division I, Sections 22-136 and 22-137, pertaining to massages. J ane J ohnson motioned to approve the ordinance on second reading to amend C hapter 22, Article III, Division I, Sections 22-136 and 22-137, pertaining to massages. J ames Chisom seconded the motion. Ayes: C hisom, Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin C .Amendment to the City Code C onsider ordinance on second reading to enact and ordain C hapter 58, Article VIII, Sections 58-200 through 58-213, pertaining to massage parlors. J ane J ohnson motioned to approve the ordinance on second reading to enact and ordain C hapter 58, Article VIII, Sections 58-200 through 58-213, pertaining to massage parlors. J ames Chisom seconded the motion. Ayes: C hisom, Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin 6.New Business A.Mountain Valley P ipeline Resolution C onsider adopting Resolution 1324 regarding the Mountain Valley Pipeline project. Mr. Taliaferro noted for Council's consideration is Resolution 1324 which presents several points to the C ommonwealth of Virginia regarding the Mountain Valley Pipeline project. He states that the comments mainly deal with erosion and sediment control and environmental issues. He noted in talking to Mayor Foley that he had summed it up best. We are asking the C ommonwealth to hold the Pipeline to the same standards the City would be held to if we were doing a project similar to this. In particular, there is one comment which deals with the sedimentation limits. He and Mr. VanAllman read through the environmental impact statement that was submitted to the federal government and one of the things that potentially could happen is that they might not be held to zero increase in sedimentation in the water shed. C urrently, the City is required to actually reduce the sediment load in the Roanoke River, and we are asking that the pipeline project be held to that standard also. However, if they allow an increase, we do not want to be held responsible for that sediment load and that our allowable sediment load be increased to basically hold the C ity harmless. Mayor Foley noted he wanted to reiterate what Mr. Taliaferro has stated. T he C ity is not taking a position on the pipeline, but we are taking a position with regards to the sedimentation load. We are simply asking them to ensure that the City is held harmless if the load is allowed to be increased due to the project. William J ones motioned to adopt Resolution 1324 regarding the Mountain Valley Pipeline project. J ane J ohnson seconded the motion. Ayes: C hisom, Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin B.F ederal Historic Tax Credit (HT C) P rogram Resolution C onsider adopting Resolution 1325 regarding the Federal Historic Tax Credit (HT C ) program. Mr. Boggess noted that Congress' proposed budget from the House of Representatives includes a provision that would eliminate the Federal Historic Tax C redit Program. As C ity Council is aware, this program has become increasingly important to the City lately. Both the Federal Historic Tax C redits and the State Historic Tax Credits are critically important not only to the C ity of Salem but to communities throughout the state of Virginia and the country. He noted through budgetary studies on the Federal level it has been determined that over 2.4 million jobs, more than 42,000 buildings rehabilitated, and $131.8 billion in private investment have resulted directly from the existence of the historic tax credit program. Further studies have shown that the new tax revenues generated from the investment exceed the amount of credit that was given to the initial developers. It is certainly a program that has increased the value of some very important properties in the C ommonwealth, and this has been done without a negative impact on the state and federal revenues. Staff is asking C ity Council to consider this resolution supporting retaining the federal historic tax credits and also is encouraging C ouncil members, staff members, or anyone from the public who has the opportunity to speak to one of our Congressmen or Senators and remind them how important this program is to the City of Salem. Mayor Foley asked if the resolution will be sent to the representatives' offices, and Mr. Boggess noted that it will be distributed to all our representatives. T here was additional discussion regarding the federal historic tax credit program and the impact it has had on our area. J ames C hisom motioned to adopt Resolution 1325 regarding the Federal Historic Tax C redit (HT C ) program.. William J ones seconded the motion. Ayes: C hisom, Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin C .P edestrian B ridge on Eddy Av enue ov er the Roanoke Riv er C onsider awarding contract to low bidder for construction of a Pedestrian Bridge on Eddy Avenue over the Roanoke River. (Audit-Finance C ommittee) Vice Mayor J ones noted that the Audit Finance C ommittee met to discuss this item. T he C ity Engineer's office reviewed six bids for the the proposed Pedestrian Bridge on Eddy Avenue over the Roanoke River and finds the low bid consistent with plans and specifications. T he C ommittee reviewed the request and concurs with the Engineer Department's recommendation of accepting the low bid of Crossroads Bridge, Inc., in the amount of $902,067.42, contigent on VD O T approval. Mr. VanAllman noted that this is basically Phase V of the Roanoke River G reenway. Originally when we did the phase of the greenway from the Water Treatment Plant well to Eddy Avenue bridge we could not at the time fund a dedicated pedestrian bridge, and this has not been optimal. At that time, we planned to go back and put a pedestrian bridge on the downstream side of Eddy Avenue bridge. T his project will construct a 12' wide dedicated bridge that will allow pedestrians to not have to cross the road in order to continue on the trail. Mayor Foley asked if the trail would go under the existing bridge. Mr. VanAllman further discussed the project and explained how the bridge would work with the existing trail. William J ones motioned to award the contract to C rossroads Bridge, Inc., for construction of a Pedestrian Bridge on Eddy Avenue over the Roanoke River for Phase V of the Roanoke River Greenway. J ames C hisom seconded the motion. Ayes: C hisom, Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin D.Appropriation of F unds C onsider request to amend School Grants Fund and School C apital Projects Fund budgets as approved by the School Board on October 10, 2017. Audit - Finance C ommittee Vice Mayor J ones noted this item was also discussed by the Audit Finance C ommittee. T he School Grants Fund and C apital Projects Fund budgets were amended for fiscal year 2017-2018 by the School Board on October 10, 2017, and budget amendments totaling $159,414 and $1,717,333 were presented to increase the revenue and expenditure budgets in the Grants Fund and C apital Projects Fund respectively. T he C ommittee reviewed the request and recommended approval to amend the School Grants Fund and the Capital Projects Fund budgets. Mayor Foley asked if this request would be increasing the funding or just reappropriating it. Mrs. J ordan noted that it is taking the money which is in the reserve fund and actually appropriating it to specific projects. William J ones motioned to amend the School Grants Fund and School Capital Projects Fund budgets as approved by the School Board on October 10, 2017. J ames Martin seconded the motion. Ayes: C hisom, Foley, J ohnson, J ones, Martin 7.C losed Session 8.Adjournment Vice Mayor J ones motioned to appoint Neil Conner to the Planning C ommission to fill the unexpired term of Samuel R. C arter III ending J uly 18, 2018. J ane J ohnson seconded the motion. Ayes: C hisom, Martin, J ohnson, J ones, Foley T he meeting was adjourned at 7:57 p.m.