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Home My WebLink About6/8/2015 - City Council - Minutes - RegularUNAPPROVED MINUTES COUNCIL MEETING June 8, 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 8, 2015, at 7:30 p.m., there being present the following members of said Council, to wit: Byron Randolph Foley, John C. Givens, Jane W. Johnson, William D. Jones, and Lisa D. Garst, absent; with Byron Randolph Foley, 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; Melinda J. Payne, Director of Planning and Economic Development; Charles Van Allman, Jr., City Engineer; Mike Stevens, Communications Director; and Stephen M. Yost, City Attorney; and the following business was transacted: THESE MINUTES WERE PARTIALLY PREPARED WITHOUT THE BENEFIT OF AN AUDIO RECORDING. Mayor Foley requested that Council consider the request for renewal of the lease on the old N & W Railway Passenger Station for Head Start Program for period July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2018; and WHEREAS, Mr. Boggess explained the lease renewal and a discussion was held; and ON MOTION MADE BY VICE-MAYOR GIVENS, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN JONES, AND DULY CARRIED, the lease of the old N & W Railway Passenger Station for TAP Head Start through June 30, 2018, was hereby approved – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – absent, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. Mayor Foley requested that Council consider the performance agreement between the City of Salem, the Economic Development Authority of the City of Salem, and Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia, LLC, for the property located at 1500 Indiana Street; and WHEREAS, Vice-Mayor Givens, Chairman of Council’s Audit-Finance Committee, reported that the City of Salem and Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia, LLC, have negotiated a mutually beneficial agreement where Yokohama will invest fifteen million dollars and maintain a minimum of eight hundred employees and the City will rebate a portion of their annual tax payments for a three year period; the Salem Economic Development Authority approved this agreement at their June 3, 2015, meeting; after review, this Committee recommended approval of this agreement and requested Council to authorize the City Manager to execute said agreement; and ITEM 1 TOTAL ACTION AGAINST POVERTY LEASE OF PASSENGER STATION FOR HEAD START APPROVED THROUGH JUNE 30, 2018 ITEM 2 PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT BETWEEN CITY OF SALEM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, YOKOHAMA, APPROVED ON MOTION MADE BY VICE-MAYOR GIVENS, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN JONES, AND DULY CARRIED, the performance agreement between the City of Salem, the Economic Development Authority of the City of Salem, and Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia, LLC, is hereby approved and the City Manager authorized to execute said agreement – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – absent, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. Mayor Foley requested that Council receive report and consider awarding contract for repairs to various bridges in the City; and WHEREAS, Vice-Mayor Givens, Chairman of Council’s Audit-Finance Committee, reported that the Committee reviewed bids for bridge repairs for the bridges at Route 419 over Masons Creek, East Main Street, and Colorado Street over Roanoke River; the bids were reviewed by our consultants, Schwartz & Associates, and Salem’s Engineering and Finance Departments; this Committee reviewed the bids and recommended approval to accept the low bid from Proshot Concrete, Inc., in the amount of $429,802.00; and ON MOTION MADE BY VICE-MAYOR GIVENS, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN JONES, AND DULY CARRIED, the contract for repairs for various bridges in the City was hereby awarded to Schwartz & Associates in the amount of $429,802.00 – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – absent, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. Mayor Foley requested that Council receive report and consider adoption of Resolution 1269 authorizing reimbursement from a proposed 2016 bond issue for ongoing project costs; and WHEREAS, Vice-Mayor Givens, Chairman of Council’s Audit-Finance Committee, reported that the City intends to borrow funds during fiscal year 2016 to finance a variety of capital projects, including the replacement of the turf field at Salem Stadium; and the turf field needs to be replaced during July 2015; due to the timing of this project, the funds will be expended prior to the debt issuance; in order to ensure that the City can be reimbursed from the bond proceeds, a reimbursement resolution needs to be adopted giving the City the ability to reimburse any funds expended for this project; an estimate has been received from FieldTurf for the replacement of the field at a price of $251,294; this Committee recommended adoption of Resolution 1269 authorizing reimbursement from the proposed 2016 bond issue in an amount not to exceed $300,000; and ITEM 3 AWARD CONTRACT TO PROSHOT CONCRETE INC FOR $429,802.00 FOR BRIDGE REPAIRS ITEM 4 ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 1269 AUTHORIZING REIMBURSEMENT FROM 2016 BOND ISSUE for turf field at Salem Stadium WHEREAS, Mr. Boggess stated that the turf field at the football stadium is about eight years old and it has a manufacturing defect where the ultra-violet protection on the fibers was not applied properly and so it has deteriorated more quickly than should be expected; FieldTurf has taken responsibility for this manufacturing defect and in an effort to try to make things right has negotiated with the City of Salem to replace that field at about fifty percent of the cost of a brand new field; and WHEREAS, Vice-Mayor Givens inquired about the status of Spartan Field; and WHEREAS, Mr. Boggess replied that Spartan Field has done very well; it is used more than Salem Stadium and has held up tremendously and as explained by FieldTurf, the more activities held on a turf field the better it is for the field; and ON MOTION MADE BY VICE-MAYOR GIVENS, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN JONES, AND DULY CARRIED, Resolution 1269 authorizing reimbursement from the proposed 2016 bond issue is hereby approved – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – absent, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. Mayor Foley requested Council to received report and consider approval of the fiscal agent agreements between the City of Salem and Court Community Corrections Regional Alcohol Safety Action Program Board and between the City of Salem and Cardinal Criminal Justice Academy for fiscal year 2015-2016; and WHEREAS, Vice-Mayor Givens, Chairman of Council’s Audit-Finance Committee, reported that the committee reviewed the fiscal agent contracts for Court-Community Corrections Regional Alcohol Safety Action Program Board and Cardinal Criminal Justice Academy and recommended approval. ON MOTION MADE BY VICE MAYOR GIVENS, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN JONES, AND DULY CARRIED, the fiscal agent agreements between the City of Salem and Court Community Corrections Regional Alcohol Safety Action Program Board and the City of Salem and Cardinal Justice Academy for fiscal year 2015-2016 are hereby approved – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – absent, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. Mayor Foley requested that Council consider adoption of Resolution 1270 amending the Book of Electric Rates; and ITEM 6 ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 1270 AMENDING THE BOOK OF ELECTRIC RATES ITEM 5 FISCAL AGENT CONTRACTS APPROVED FOR COURT COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS AND CARDINAL ACADEMY FOR 2015-2016 WHEREAS, Vice-Mayor Givens, Chairman of Council’s Audit-Finance Committee, reported that as a result of electric rates and fees evaluation for the 2016 budget, updates were needed for the power cost adjustment (PCA), pole attachment fees, and reconnection fees. The PCA was increased from $0.0000 to $0.0015. The pole attachment fee was adjusted from $26.86 to $27.04 per attachment. The permit application fee for pole attachments was changed from $30.00 per application to $25.00 per pole per application. Reconnection fees were adjusted to add a category for commercial, fraudulent or denial of access cases. This fee was recommended at $250.00. After review, this Committee recommended adoption of Resolution 1270 amending the Book of Electric Rates. WHEREAS, Councilman Jones stated that this increase averages about one dollar and fifty cents per household; and ON MOTION MADE BY VICE MAYOR GIVENS, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN JONES, AND DULY CARRIED, Resolution 1270 amending the Book of Electric Rates was hereby adopted – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – absent, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. Mayor Foley stated that there would be no action on items seven and eight regarding water and sewer rates; and Mayor Foley requested that Council consider Resolution 1271 reaffirming tax rates for Real Estate, Personal Property, and Machinery and Tools effective July 1, 2015; and WHEREAS, Vice Mayor Givens, Chair of Council’s Audit Finance Committee, reported that Chapter 8, Section 8.3 of the City Charter requires City Council to annually lay a tax levy for the ensuing fiscal year on all property, real and personal, subject to taxation for City purposes. The 2015 reassessment did not increase the tax rate more than 1% so no public hearing was needed. The tax rate is proposed to remain at $1.18 per $100 of assessed value for real estate and improvements. The tax rate is proposed to remain at $3.25 per $100 of assessed value for personal property and $3.20 per $100 of assessed value for machinery and tools. After review, this Committee recommended adoption of Resolution 1271 imposing taxes on real estate, tangible personal property, and machinery and tools for fiscal year 2015-2016; and ON MOTION MADE BY VICE MAYOR GIVENS, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN JONES, AND DULY CARRIED, Resolution 1271 reaffirming tax rates for Real Estate, Personal Property, and Machinery and Tools effective July 1, 2015, is hereby adopted – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – absent, ITEM 9 ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 1271 REAFFIRMING TAX RATES FOR 2015- 2016 William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. Mayor Foley requested that Council consider Resolution 1272 adopting the 2015-2016 budget; and WHEREAS, Vice Mayor Givens, Chair of Council’s Audit Finance Committee, reported that the proposed budget was presented to Council on April 17, 2015; Council held budget work sessions on May 7 and 11, 2015, and the public hearing was held on May 26, 2015; approval of the City budget is for informative and fiscal planning purposes only and does not actually commit or appropriate funds for expenditures; the commitment of funds will not occur until the approval of the second reading of the appropriation ordinance; this Committee recommends adoption of Resolution 1272 adopting the FY 2015-2016 budget; and ON MOTION MADE BY VICE MAYOR GIVENS, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN JONES, AND DULY CARRIED, Resolution 1272 adopting the fiscal year 2015-2016 budget is hereby adopted – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – absent, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. Mayor Foley requested that Council consider ordinance on second readying appropriating funds for the 2015-2016 fiscal year budget; this ordinance passed on first reading at the May 26, 2015, meeting; and ON MOTION MADE BY VICE MAYOR GIVENS, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN JOHNSON, AND DULY CARRIED, the ordinance appropriating funds for the 2015-2016 fiscal year budget was hereby approved – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – absent, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. Mayor Foley requested that Council receive report and consider closing the Treasurer’s Office and the Commissioner of the Revenue’s Office on Wednesday, July 1, 2015, to facilitate the annual audit; and ON MOTION MADE BY COUNCILWOMAN JOHNSON, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN JONES, AND DULY CARRIED, the Treasurer’s Office and the Commissioner of the Revenue’s Office will be closed on Wednesday, July 1, 2015, for the annual audit – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – absent, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. ITEM 10 ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 1272 ADOPTING THE 2015-2016 BUDGET ITEM 11 APPROVED ORDINANCE ON 2ND READING APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR 2015- 2016 BUDGET ITEM 12 APPROVED CLOSING OF TREASURER’S OFFICE AND COMMISSIONER OF THE REVENUE ON 7-1-2016, FOR AUDIT Mayor Foley requested that Council consider ordinance on second reading rezoning the property of Dev Mohan LLC., property owner, located at 2246 West Main Street (Tax Map #168 – 2 – 1.1); this ordinance passed on first reading at the May 26, 2015, meeting; and ON MOTION MADE BY COUNCILMAN JONES, SECONDED BY VICE-MAYOR GIVENS, AND DULY CARRIED, the ordinance rezoning the property of Dev Mohan LLC., property owner, located at 2246 West Main Street (Tax Map #168 – 2 – 1.1) was hereby approved – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – absent, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. There being no further business to come before the Council, the same on motion adjourned at 7:50 p.m. ITEM 13 ORDINANCE PASSED ON 2ND READING REZONING 2246 W MAIN ST FROM LM TO HBD