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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/9/2023 - City Council - Minutes - RegularCity Council Meeting MINUTES Monday, October 9, 2023, 6:30 PM Work Session/Joint Meeting with Salem School Board 5:30 P.M. Community Room, Salem Civic Center, 1001 Roanoke Boulevard, Salem, Virginia 24153 Regular Session 6:30 P.M. Council Chambers, City Hall, 114 North Broad Street, Salem, Virginia 24153 WORK SESSION AMENDED AGENDA 1. Call to Order A Joint Special Meeting/Work Session of the Council of the City of Salem, Virginia, along with the City of Salem School Board was held at the Salem Civic Center, Community Room, 1001 Roanoke Boulevard, Salem, Virginia, 24153, on October 9, 2023, at 5:30 p.m., there being present the following members of said Council, to wit: Renée Ferris Turk, Mayor; James W. Wallace, III, Vice-Mayor; Council members: Byron Randolph Foley, William D. Jones, and H. Hunter Holliday; James E. Taliaferro, I I , Ci t y Manager ; H. Robert Light, Assistant City Manager and Clerk of Council; Rosemarie B. Jordan, Director of Finance; Mike Stevens, Director of Communications; Todd Sutphin, Director of Streets and Maintenance; Crystal Williams, Assistant to the City Manager; and Laura Lea Harris, Deputy Clerk of Council. Also present were: Dr. Curtis Hicks, Superintendent; Dr. Forest Jones, Director of Administrative Services; Mandy Hall, Chief Financial Officer; Jennifer Dean, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction; and Susan Young, Clerk of the Board and Executive Secretary. School Board members present were: Dr. Nancy Bradley, Chair; Andy Raines, Vice-Chair; and School Board members David Preston, Teresa Sizemore- Hernandez, and Stacey Danstrom; and the following business was transacted; Mayor Turk reported that this date, place, and time had been set for the Council to hold a Joint Work Session and called the meeting to order. Nancy Bradley, Chair of the Salem City School Board, called the School Board meeting to order. A motion was made by David Preston to approve the School Board's agenda for this evening. Teresa Sizemore-Hernandez seconded the motion. All members of the School Board voted by voice vote to approve the agenda. 2. New Business A. Discussion Items Joint Work Session with the Salem School Board to include the presentation of the Salem City Schools Capital Improvement Plan Dr. Curtis Hicks presented an overview of the Salem City Schools' Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). He noted that Salem City Council Resolution 487 stated that: "All funds appropriated by City Council for use by the School Board, unexpended at the close of any fiscal year, as determined by the City's annual audit, shall be placed in a general reserve account for non-recurring expenditures of the School Division as determined by the School Board with the consent of City Council." Dr. Hicks noted the amounts of CIP Revenue for 2023-2024. Noted were grant amounts as well as required expenditures for repairs. Also noted were Salem City Maintenance requests as well as School Safety audit recommendations. He shared that $250,000 had been requested through the School Safety Grant for school safety and security upgrades. Next, Dr. Hicks presented Technology Department requests and one individual school request. He shared maintenance priorities, in order of priority, for fiscal years 2024 through 2028. Todd Sutphin, Director of Streets and Maintenance for the City of Salem presented an overview of roofing conditions for each of the Salem City Schools. He pointed out the improvement that had been made from 2019 to the present. He also shared details on an epoxy coating that was being used and how this extended the life of the roofs and reduced the overall costs of repairs. Dr. Hicks next shared an enrollment overview by school from 2014 through 2023. He spoke to the decline in student enrollment over this period and how that translated in state funding. He also shared statistics on nonresident enrollment from 2016 through 2023 and how that also impacted state funding. Dr, Hicks noted growth for the past three years in both reading and math scores for Salem City Schools. Some facts that were shared were that Salem City Schools has improved since 2021 based on SOL performance and is in the top 20 percent currently. He also remarked that Salem holds an Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Roll Designation based on 2022-2023 data and holds a US News Best High Schools ranking based on 2019/2021 data. Dr. Hicks ended by sharing that the Andrew Lewis Middle School debt service would be retired at the end of this year and that a facilities study for East Salem and West Salem Elementary Schools is on the horizon. He noted that the School Board will approve the CIP Plan and then it will come back to Council for their approval. Discussion was held and questions were asked by both Council and School Board members. Council thanked David Preston for his service on the board for the many years he has served. 3. Adjournment There being no further business, Mayor Turk and Chair Bradley adjourned the respective meetings of the Council and the Salem City School Board at 6:26 p.m. REGULAR SESSION 1. Call to Order A regular meeting of the Council of the City of Salem, Virginia, was called to order at 6:34 p.m., there being present the following members to wit: Renée Ferris Turk, Mayor; James W. Wallace, III, Vice-Mayor; Councilmembers: Byron Randolph Foley, William D. Jones, and H. Hunter Holliday; with Renée Ferris Turk, Mayor, presiding together with James E. Taliaferro, II, City Manager; Rob Light, Assistant City Manager and Clerk of Council; Rosemarie B. Jordan, Director of Finance; Will Simpson, City Engineer; Mike Stevens, Director of Communications; Tommy Miller, Director of Economic Development; and Jim Guynn, City Attorney. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Bid Openings, Awards, Recognitions Mayor Turk noted that Council would like to recognize City Manager Taliaferro this evening. She shared that Jay Taliaferro graduated from Salem High School in 1984 and went on to earn his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Clemson and his MPA in Public Administration from Virginia Tech. He began his employment with the City of Salem in 1991 as a Staff Engineer and in 1998 was named City Engineer. In 2000, Mr. Taliaferro moved into Administration as Assistant City Manager and served under both Forest Jones and Kevin Boggess. Salem City Council unanimously appointed him to the position of City Manager on December 19, 2019. She noted that despite having the majority of his tenure as City Manager defined by the pandemic, Jay was able to navigate the City through that uncertainty and he achieved a number of economic wins. She listed the renovation and additions made to Salem High School's main building and athletic field house, major upgrades at the Salem Moyer Complex, the downtown corridor improvements equal to approximately $65 million in projects during this time. In addition, a number of critical developments have occurred in the City: the repurposing of manufacturing space in the old GE facility and bringing in the Phoenix Group STS, as well as the development of the Valleydale properties. She also noted that during his tenure the City's bond rating improved to AA+ with the S and P Global Rating, which enabled Salem to borrow money at a very low rate. This translates in turn to saving the citizens of Salem money. Mayor Turk shared a number of regional organizations that Jay had served on over the years ranging from Virginia's Blue Ridge to the Western Virginia Regional Jail Authority. Recently, Mr. Taliaferro received the prestigious Tourism Ambassador Award at Virginia's Blue Ridge's annual meeting in downtown Roanoke. This award is presented each year to an individual for outstanding dedication towards the promotion of this region's tourism. Mayor Turk also noted that City Manager Taliaferro's father, the late Jim Taliaferro, was Salem's Mayor from 1974 through 1996. Council thanked a gracious gentleman and public servant for his 32 years of dedicated service to Salem. Council presented a framed award to City Manager Taliaferro and had pictures taken with him. Mr. Taliaferro thanked Council and the citizens of Salem and stated that he "did not know of any greater honor than being able to serve your hometown." 4. Consent Agenda A. Citizen Comments Comments from the public, limited to five minutes, on matters not already having a public hearing at the same meeting. Quinn Steen, 19 Corbett Street, was the first citizen to address Council. He expressed concern about the proposed rezoning plan of the Hope Tree property. He expressed that the citizens of the greater Broad Street neighborhood have concerns of the future impact. He specifically spoke on concerns of losing some of the views, wildlife, charm, history, and atmosphere of the neighborhood. He also expressed concerns of potential impacts on the environment and infrastructure, traffic, and sewage. Mr. Steen requested that the citizens be heard and be allowed to partner with the City of Salem and Hope Tree. He also asked that studies be done on the impact on the environment, traffic, and infrastructure, and that any proposed rezoning to dense commercial or residential use be reconsidered or limited. John Breen, 142 Bogey Lane, expressed concerns about Salem Code Section 78- 508, specifically in regard to certificates of occupancy and public streets within developments. He noted concerns of public services and insurance. He requested that Council address Salem Code Section 78-508 and offered suggestions for methods in which to do so. Stella Reinhard, 213 North Broad Street, was the last citizen to address Council this evening. Ms. Reinhard listed features that she felt were important in a city: well- maintained roads and services; a city grid that hasn't lost too many of its historic buildings to parking lots; thoughtful, lovely entrances that make a statement; connector roads that are designed, landscaped, and zoned well; and a thriving city center. She addressed the park system in a city, and specifically, the need for a central park in a city. She shared her vision for what this central park would look like in Salem. Ms. Reinhard requested negotiation on Hope Tree to make this land into a central park. B. Minutes Consider acceptance of the September 25, 2023, Work Session and Regular Meeting minutes and the September 29, 2023, Special Joint Meeting with the Planning Commission minutes. The minutes were accepted as written. 5. Old Business 6. New Business A. Resolution 1459 in Support of Roanoke Boulevard Downtown Streetscape Project Consider adoption of Resolution 1459 in support of the Roanoke Boulevard Downtown Streetscape Project. Will Simpson, City Engineer, gave background on this item. He clarified that the Downtown project on Roanoke Boulevard is an extension of the current Streetscape project in the downtown area. He noted that this is the section between Main Street down Market, around the Firehouse to Roanoke Boulevard all the way up College Avenue. He added that the City currently has $1,000,000 in funding through revenue sharing and that half of this amount is State funds and half is local funds that have already been included in the current Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The latest estimates for the project come in around $3,000,000 for the total for the project. The City is seeking additional revenue sharing funds up to $2,500,000 through the State. This resolution supports the application for these funds to fully fund the project. Half of that would come from the State and half would come from local funds. Mayor Turk asked to clarify if basically this is enabling the City to apply for State funds. Mr. Simpson verified that this would be a match to what the City puts in. Every dollar that the City provides would be matched by the State. Mayor Turk asked if most of the development to this point had been done through grants that had been applied for utilizing matching funds. Mr. Simpson responded that some of the development had been done through different funding sources and that some had utilized revenue sharing and that some had been done through federal funds that were fully funded. Randy Foley motioned to adopt Resolution 1459 in support of the Roanoke Boulevard Downtown Streetscape Project. William Jones seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, Holliday, Jones, Turk, Wallace B. Parkway Brewery Performance Agreement Consider request to approve an extension in the Performance Agreement between the City of Salem, Parkway Brewing Company, LLC, and the Economic Development Authority (EDA) of the City of Salem; and authorization to the City Manager to issue the required written approval extending the Performance Date to February 23, 2023. Mr. Wallace announced that he had a conflict of interest with this item and would abstain and noted for the benefit of the public that he serves on the board for Parkway. Mr. Light clarified that in 2017 the Economic Development Authority (EDA), the City, Parkway Brewery, and the State entered into the performance agreement. Through Covid the State offered an extension due to the issues that businesses were having. Recently, the State has issued a second extension opportunity. He pointed out that the date is through February 23, 2023, so this is a retroactive extension. He further clarified that this basically sets the date for which they would be measured against for all investments, jobs, and other targets of compliance and that this is managed and data is reconciled by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. This is a process by which they would be willing to extend the time to meet the targets. Mayor Turk asked if this was basically an agreement that they would agree to use Virginia-made products, employee people from the area, and that type of requirement in order to receive the grant. Mr. Light responded that the metrics were related to investment, jobs, and Virginia- bred products. Mr. Jones asked how far out the timetable goes now. Mr. Light responded that this is retroactive to February of 2023. That means that would be able to count all of the investment and jobs data as of February 23, 2023, and the State would evaluate based off of that data. Mr. Foley asked to clarify if Parkway did not meet the measurements, would they have to repay based on contractual language. Mr. Light responded yes. The State put in a certain amount of money and the City contributed money through the EDA. Mr. Taliaferro further clarified that these amounts were $150,000 each. Randy Foley motioned to approve an extension in the Performance Agreement between the City of Salem, Parkway Brewing Company, LLC, and the Economic Development Authority (EDA) of the City of Salem; and authorization to the City Manager to issue the required written approval extending the Performance Date to February 23, 2023. William Jones seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, Holliday, Jones, Turk Abstain: Wallace C. Boards and Commissions Consider appointments to various boards and commissions. Mayor Turk noted that there is currently an opening on the Economic Development Authority (EDA). This would be for a partial term through December of 2024 to complete the term vacated by Rob Robinson and that citizens could apply online if they felt this was something they would be interested in. She shared that the EDA works as a group with the City's Economic Development Director to look at different projects that are possibilities in Salem to help sustain the local businesses currently here and to promote growth. They study grants and funding that they may be able to offer businesses. A full term would be a four-year term if someone wanted to apply at the end of the end of the current term. She remarked that this would be a good way to try this position and see if it was a good fit. Randy Foley motioned to recommend Janie Whitlow for Circuit Court reappointment to the Board of Equalization of Real Estate Assessments for a three- year term expiring November 30, 2026; to recommend Tony Rippee for Circuit Court reappointment as an alternate on the Board of Zoning Appeals for a full five- year term expiring October 12, 2028 and Steve Belanger for Circuit Court reappointment as an alternate on the Board of Zoning Appeals for a full five-year term expiring November 13, 2028; and upon CPMT approval, to recommend Joshua Vaught from Court Services as an alternate on the Community Policy Management Team. H Hunter Holliday seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, Holliday, Jones, Turk, Wallace 7. Adjournment Mr. Jones and Council thanked Mr. Taliaferro again for his service. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:08 p.m.