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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/22/2015 - City Council - Minutes - Regular UNAPPROVED MINUTES COUNCIL MEETING June 22, 2015 A regular meeting of the Council of the City of Salem, Virginia, was held in Council Chambers, City Hall, 114 North Broad Street, on June 22, 2015, at 7:30 p.m., there being present the following members of said Council, to wit: Byron Randolph Foley, absent, John C. Givens, Jane W. Johnson, William D. Jones, and Lisa D. Garst, with John C. Givens, Vice-Mayor, presiding; together with Kevin S. Boggess, City Manager; James E. Taliaferro, II, Assistant City Manager and Clerk of Council; Rosie Jordan, Director of Finance; and Stephen M. Yost, City Attorney; and the following business was transacted: The May 26, 2015, and June 8, 2015, regular meeting minutes were approved as written. The report by the Director of Finance of the City’s financial status for an eleven-month period ending May 31, 2015, was received and ordered filed. WHEREAS, Vice-Mayor Givens stated Council is amending the agenda by adding supplemental item number four, an ordinance to amend the Workforce Investment Area III Chief Local Officials Charter Agreement; and WHEREAS, Vice-Mayor Givens requested that Council consider the request to adopt guidelines to administratively appropriate the funds collected for the electronic summons system; and WHEREAS, Councilman Jones, Vice-Chair of Council’s Audit-Finance Committee, reported that in August 2014, an ordinance was passed allowing the assessment of a $5 charge for court costs for each criminal and traffic case in Circuit Court and General District Court; and these funds can only be spent on software, hardware and associated equipment costs for the implementation and maintenance of an electronic summons system; because revenue collected may not be expended by the end of the fiscal year, funds need to be carried over and re-appropriated in the subsequent fiscal year; this Committee recommended adoption of the guidelines to administratively appropriate the funds collected for the Electronic Summons System; and WHEREAS, Mrs. Jordan stated that the City had been made aware that a change might have occurred affecting legislation regarding the fee that may be charged, so there may be some decrease; staff will keep Council informed as to how the change will affect the money coming in; this fee has been very effective in raising funds that will be used to upgrade the system, which could include laptops in vehicles and other equipment as needed; and ON MOTION MADE BY COUNCILMAN JONES, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN JOHNSON, AND DULY CARRIED, the guidelines to administratively appropriate the funds collected for the electronic summons ITEM 1 GUIDELINES TO ADMINISTRATIVELY APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR ELECTRONIC SUMMONS SYSTEM ADOPTED system are hereby approved – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – aye, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – absent. Vice-Mayor Givens requested that Council consider the request to adopt guidelines to administratively accept and appropriate donations for Salem Parks and Recreation; and WHEREAS, Councilman Jones, Vice-Chair of Council’s Audit-Finance Committee, reported that the Salem Parks and Recreation department occasionally receives donations directly from individuals providing valuable resources to supplement local funding for the Senior Center; and the Salem Parks and Recreation department received donations for the Senior Center totaling $1,257 in the current fiscal year, which is $257 more than budgeted; any donations not expended in the fiscal year received will be carried forward to be spent in the next fiscal year; this Committee recommended adoption of the guidelines to administratively accept and appropriate donations for Salem Parks and Recreation; and ON MOTION MADE BY COUNCILMAN JONES, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN GARST, AND DULY CARRIED, the guidelines to administratively accept and appropriate donations for Salem Parks and Recreation are hereby approved – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – aye, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – absent. Vice-Mayor Givens requested Council to consider the request to appropriate additional highway maintenance funding from the state for bridge repairs; and WHEREAS, Councilman Jones, Vice-Chair of Council’s Audit-Finance Committee, reported that on June 8, 2015, Council approved a contract with Proshot Concrete, Inc. in the amount of $429,802 for repair of several bridges throughout the City; funding of $209,939 is available in the current budget for this project; an additional appropriation of $219,863 is needed to complete the repairs; additional monies will come from highway maintenance funds that have been carried over from prior years and not expended; this Committee recommended appropriating $219,863 of highway maintenance funds carried over from the prior year for the stated bridge repairs; and WHEREAS, Mrs. Jordan explained that bridge work is typically completed from highway maintenance funds; a portion of the highway maintenance funds have been carried over from previous fiscal years; this year the City has been very fortunate to have several projects come together; one project is additional repair work, the other is additional paving and road work; in order to ITEM 2 GUIDELINES TO ADMINISTRATIVELY APPROPRIATE DONATIONS FOR PARKS AND RECREATION ADOPTED ITEM 3 APPROPRIATION OF HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE FUNDS FOR BRIDGE REPAIRS APPROVED accomplish these projects the additional carry-over funds must be appropriated; and ON MOTION MADE BY COUNCILMAN JONES, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN JOHNSON, AND DULY CARRIED, the request to appropriate additional highway maintenance funding from the state for bridge repairs is hereby approved – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – aye, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – absent. Vice-Mayor Givens requested that Council consider the request to appropriate additional Four for Life grant funding; and WHEREAS, Councilman Jones, Vice-Chair of Council’s Audit-Finance Committee, reported that the Virginia Department of Emergency Medical Services provides grant funding to the Salem Rescue Squad for the Four-For-Life program; funds are generated from an additional $4 charge collected at the time of registration of each passenger vehicle, pickup and panel truck; and twenty-six percent of these proceeds are returned to the locality wherein such vehicle is registered and may be used for emergency medical training, equipment or supplies; in Fiscal Year 2014, Salem Rescue Squad spent only $17,116 of the $23,076 awarded to them; they have indicated that they will spend the additional $5,960 in Four-For-Life carryover funds by June 30, 2015; this Committee recommended appropriation of $5,960 Four-For-Life funds; and WHEREAS, Mrs. Jordan explained that the Four For Life program’s fee is submitted to the state; the state has a first responder list on which the Salem Rescue Squad is designated; the Rescue Squad uses those funds for medical supplies, training, equipment and etc.; in 2014 those funds were not expended which results in the need for this appropriation; the funds will be used for laptops for training purposes; and WHEREAS, Councilman Jones inquired as to the current training options; and WHEREAS, Mr. Boggess replied that in terms of the volunteers, he was not familiar, but the paid employees train daily in various ways such as equipment and laptops and practical training; the equipment is shared with the volunteers on many occasions for training; and WHEREAS, Mr. Glenn Gray, Chief of the Salem Rescue Squad, 102 Windy Way, Vinton, appeared before Council stating that the funds will be used for laptops to replace the old ones currently in the vehicles for billing, patient care, and reports; using the funds from last year in addition to this year ’s will cover the $24,699 cost; ITEM 4 APPROPRIATION OF FOUR FOR LIFE GRANT FUNDING APPROVED WHEREAS, Councilman Jones inquired as to what happens to the old computers; and WHEREAS, Mr. Gray responded that it had not been decided, that they are so outdated that when the conversion to the new system takes place the current laptops will not be able to support it; and WHEREAS, Councilman Jones asked how many computers will be purchased; and WHEREAS, Mr. Gray responded six total; and ON MOTION MADE BY COUNCILMAN JONES, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN JOHNSON, AND DULY CARRIED, the request to appropriate additional Four for Life grant funding is hereby approved – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – aye, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – absent. Vice-Mayor Givens requested that Council consider the request to accept and appropriate the State Homeland Security Grant; and WHEREAS, Councilman Jones, Vice-Chair of Council’s Audit Finance Committee, reported that the City had been awarded $62,000 in funds from the 2014 State Homeland Security Program Grant; the grant is funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), but will be administered by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM); and funds will be used to purchase a foam firefighting trailer and foam; funds must be expended by March 31, 2016; no local match is required for this grant; this Committee recommended acceptance and appropriation of $62,000 for the purchase of equipment; and WHEREAS, Councilman Jones asked Mr. Boggess for clarification; and WHEREAS, Mr. Boggess responded that the City will be only one of six departments in the State of Virginia that will have this equipment to be used for the regional team; this equipment is utilized for calls such as oil spills; if the call lands outside of the City of Salem the City will be reimbursed for any expenses for that regional response; and WHEREAS, Councilwoman Garst asked if it was reasonable to assume that this is a great fit with the Haz-Mat Team; and WHEREAS, Mr. Boggess replied affirmatively, that the training is very similar; and WHEREAS, Councilman Jones asked how the equipment would be stored; and ITEM S1 STATE HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT ACCEPTED AND APPROPRIATED WHEREAS, Mrs. Jordan stated that a call had been placed but they are awaiting an answer; and WHEREAS, Vice-Mayor Givens asked how difficult it was to replace the foam; and WHEREAS, Mr. Boggess stated that the foam comes in canisters and is readily available; and ON MOTION MADE BY COUNCILMAN JONES, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN GARST, AND DULY CARRIED, the request to accept and appropriate the State Homeland Security Grant is hereby approved – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – aye, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – absent. Vice-Mayor Givens requested that Council consider the request to appropriate supplemental Comprehensive Services Act (CSA) revenue and expenditures; and WHEREAS, Councilman Jones, Vice-Chair of Council’s Audit Finance Committee, reported that the State provides funding to the City under the Comprehensive Services Act (CSA) intended to cover various services that are child- centered, family-focused and community-based to address the needs of troubled and at- risk youths and their families; if the City fully expends the original allocation from the State for these services, a supplemental appropriation can be requested; due to the expenditures in this fiscal year, the City needed to request a supplemental appropriation for CSA funds; this request has been approved by the State; appropriating additional funds from the State allows the City to continue providing services to at-risk youth; the City provides a match of approximately 35%; this Committee recommended increasing the appropriation of $272,316 in CSA state revenue, increasing the appropriation for mandated expenditures by $405,802, and decreasing the appropriation for Contingency by $133,486; in addition, Councilman Jones requests that in future budgets, a three-year running total should be used as the basis for the estimation for this expenditure; and ON MOTION MADE BY COUNCILMAN JONES, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN JOHNSON, AND DULY CARRIED, the request to appropriate supplemental Comprehensive Services Act (CSA) revenue and expenditures is hereby approved – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – aye, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – absent. Vice-Mayor Givens requested that Council consider the request to amend the School Operating Fund and Grant Fund budgets as approved by the School Board on June 16, 2015; and ITEM S2 COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES ACT APPROPRIATION APPROVED ITEM S3 SCHOOL DIVISION BUDGET AMENDED AS APPROVED BY SCHOOL BOARD 6-16-2016 WHEREAS, Councilman Jones, Vice-Chair of Council’s Audit Finance Committee, reported that the School Operating Fund and School Grant Fund budgets were amended for fiscal year 2014-2015 by the School Board at its meeting on June 16, 2015; budget amendments in the Operating Fund did not have an impact on the total budget amount of $43,201,241; budget amendments in the Grant Fund totaling $38,880 were made; appropriation changes netting out to a zero dollar change for the Operating Fund and $38,880 for the Grants Fund need to be made; this Committee recommended approval of the School Board’s appropriation changes for the Operating Fund and Grants Funds for fiscal year 2014-2015; and ON MOTION MADE BY COUNCILMAN JONES, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN GARST, AND DULY CARRIED, the request to amend the School Operating Fund and Grant Fund budgets as approved by the School Board on June 16, 2015, is hereby approved – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – aye, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – absent. Vice-Mayor Givens requested that Council consider an ordinance on first reading amending the Workforce Development Agreement; and WHEREAS, Mr. Boggess stated that this is an ordinance authorizing the adoption of amendment number one to the Workforce Investment Area III Chief Local Elected Officials Charter Agreement; this is to some extent a housekeeping ordinance that allows some restructuring and reorganization of our local workforce investment board; the main points are: Roanoke City is identified as the grant recipient of all funds that the board would receive; the RVARC will serve as the fiscal agent for the board; it formalizes some issues that were not clearly defined and reinforces some items in the original agreement; all of the local governments involved will be adopting a similar ordinance; and ON MOTION MADE BY COUNCILWOMAN GARST, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN JOHNSON, AND DULY CARRIED, an ordinance on first reading amending the Workforce Investment Area III Chief Local Elected Officials Charter Agreement is hereby approved – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – aye, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – absent. There being no further business to come before the Council, the same on motion adjourned at 7:50 p.m. ITEM S4 ORDINANCE AMENDING THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT APPROVED ON FIRST READING