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Home My WebLink About12/13/2010 - City Council - Minutes - RegularUNAPPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION December 13, 2010 A work session of the Council of the City of Salem, Virginia, was held in the City Manager’s Conference Room, City Hall, 114 North Broad Street, Salem, Virginia, on December 13, 2010, at 6:30 p.m., there being present all the members of said Council, to wit: Byron Randolph Foley, John C. Givens, Jane W. Johnson, William D. Jones, and Lisa D. Garst; with Byron Randolph Foley, Mayor, presiding; together with Kevin S. Boggess, City Manager; James E. Taliaferro, II, Assistant City Manager and Clerk of Council; Frank P. Turk, Director of Finance; Mary Ellen H. Wines, Secretary to the City Manager; and Krystal M. Coleman, Deputy Clerk of Council, 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, a discussion was held regarding zoning, privatization of liquor stores; and WHEREAS, a discussion was held regarding property located on Harrison Avenue; and WHEREAS, a discussion was held regarding a Hazmat vehicle; and WHEREAS, a discussion was held regarding upcoming projects on the Roanoke River Greenway; and WHEREAS, there were no other topics for discussion. There being no further business to come before the Council, the work session was adjourned at 7:10 p.m. Mayor Clerk of Council UNAPPROVED MINUTES COUNCIL MEETING December 13, 2010 A regular meeting of the Council of the City of Salem, Virginia, was held in Council Chambers, City Hall, 114 North Broad Street, on December 13, 2010, at 7:30 p.m., there being present all the members of said Council, to wit: Byron Randolph Foley, John C. Givens, Jane W. Johnson, William D. Jones, and Lisa D. Garst; with Byron Randolph Foley, Mayor, presiding; together with Kevin S. Boggess, City Manager; James E. Taliaferro, II, Assistant City Manager and Clerk of Council; Frank P. Turk, Director of Finance; Melinda J. Payne, Director of Planning and Economic Development; Todd W. Sutphin, Building Official; Mike Stevens, Communications Director; and Stephen M. Yost, City Attorney, and the following business was transacted: It was noted that Master Alec Thompson and Master Vincent Carroll from Troop 39 were present at the meeting. It was also noted that Senior Police Officer Travis Ferguson and new officer Dustin Pickle were present at the meeting. The November 22, 2010, work session and regular meeting minutes, and the December 1, 2010, minutes from the joint work session with the Planning Commission were approved as written. Mayor Foley requested that Council receive a presentation regarding the Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal year ending June 30, 2010; and WHEREAS, Vice Mayor Givens, Chairman of Council’s Audit-Finance Committee, stated that the Committee met with two representatives from the City’s auditing firm Brown-Edwards; and WHEREAS, the Director of Finance gave a brief overview of the Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal year ending June 30, 2010; and WHEREAS, a representative from Brown-Edwards appeared before the Council and emphasized that the City’s Finance Department puts the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report together, which takes a lot of hard work, dedication, attention to detail, and technical ability to produce; she commended the staff for being able to put the report together; she stated that Brown - Edwards places five pages in the report, pages 17 and 18 are the independent auditor’s report; she noted that the opinion paragraph is Paragraph 3 on Page 17 and states that the City received an “unqualified opinion,” which means the ITEM 1 COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT FOR FY ENDING JUNE 30, 2010, RECEIVED 2 opinion is “clean”; she gave a brief overview of the pages placed in the report by Brown-Edwards and encouraged Council to read the financial analysis, along with the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR); she thanked the Finance Department staff for their hard work, and added their dedication, and responsiveness on the audit should truly be commended; and WHEREAS, the Director of Finance thanked Brown-Edwards and recognized the Assistant Director of Finance and the Finance Department staff for their hard work; and WHEREAS, Councilman Jones commended the Finance Department staff for their hard work; and WHEREAS, Vice Mayor Givens further commended the Finance Department staff; THEREUPON, presentation was received. Mayor Foley requested that Council consider adopting Reso lution 1176 regarding Council’s concerns of specific items that may come before the 2011 session of the Virginia General Assembly; ON MOTION MADE BY COUNCILMAN JONES, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN GARST, AND DULY CARRIED, Resolution 1176 was hereby adopted regarding Council’s concerns of specific items that may come before the 2011 session of the Virginia General Assembly: (HERE SET OUT RESOLUTION 1176) – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – aye, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. Mayor Foley requested that Council consider adopting Resolution 117 7 in support of the designation of The Wilderness Road: Virginia’s Heritage Migration Route from Winchester to Cumberland Gap; and WHEREAS, the City Manager stated that Landon Howard and Catherine Fox from the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau (RVCVB) were present at the meeting; he stated that the RVCVB made a request to the City, as well as to other localities, to adopt a resolution supporting the designation of ITEM 2 RESOLUTION 1176 ADOPTED REGARDING COUNCIL’S CONCERNS OF SPECIFIC ITEMS THAT MAY COME BEFORE THE 2011 SESSION OF THE VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY ITEM 3 RESOLUTION 1177 ADOPTED IN SUPPORT OF THE DESIGNATION OF THE WILDERNESS ROAD: VIRGINIA’S HERITAGE MIGRATION ROUTE FROM WINCHESTER TO CUMBERLAND GAP 3 The Wilderness Road as a state by-way; the resolution asks that the state consider favorably the request to designate the road as a by -way which would allow it to be funded and advertised and promoted as a by-way in the state; he stated that when the resolution was reviewed with the help of John Hildebrand, some clarifications are needed; he noted that The Wilderness Road, The Great Road, Fincastle Turnpike, and some other roads came through the area and were a migration route; he further noted that the roads were not all called The Wilderness Road, but the State of Virginia has designated all of the roads as part of the Wilderness Road for marketing purposes in an effort to draw attention to the area; he stated that in order to be historically accurate, it is suggested that the resolution be adopted with the addition of the phrase “also known as The Great Road” where The Wilderness Road is referenced in the opening paragraph, and the last three paragraphs of the resolution, which is what it was known as in the Town of Salem; and WHEREAS, John Hildebrand, 630 Dogwood Drive, appeared before the Council and stated that he would like to have the resolution reference the Great Road in each paragraph The Wilderness Road is mentioned; he also stated that he fully supports the by-ways program, the designation of the complete system of the by-ways program; he supports tourism and the economic benefits it brings to the Commonwealth; he thanked Council for listening to his concern; and WHEREAS, Landon Howard, Executive Director of the RVCVB, appeared before the Council along with Catherine Fox, Marketing Director of the RVCVB; he stated that the RVCVB does want to be historically accurate and thanke d Mr. Hildebrand for his input; he gave Council brochures regarding The Wilderness Road; he stated that the RVCVB is trying to promote more tourism in the area; he further thanked Council and the City of Salem for its support for marketing the area; he further thanked Carey Harveycutter and John Saunders at the Salem Civic Center for their support, as well as the City Manager and Assistant City Manager; he stated that he can’t thank Council enough for its support; he stated that approximately $12 million in hotel room nights have been booked in the last five months; and WHEREAS, Vice Mayor Givens questioned if rewording the resolution will hinder the efforts of obtaining grant money; and WHEREAS, Catherine Fox stated that rewording the resolution should not hinder the efforts of obtaining grant money; and WHEREAS, Councilwoman Garst thanked Mr. Hildebrand and John Long for their efforts in preserving the history of the area; 4 ON MOTION MADE BY VICE MAYOR GIVENS, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN JOHNSON, AND DULY CARRIED, Resolution 1177 was hereby adopted with revisions in support of the designation of The Wilderness Road: Virginia’s Heritage Migration Route from Winchester to Cumberland Gap: (HERE SET OUT RESOLUTION 1177) – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – aye, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. Mayor Foley requested that Council consider an ordinance on second reading permanently vacating a 16.5 foot alley between East Calhoun Street and East Burwell Street; ordinance was passed on first reading at the November 22, 2010, meeting; ON MOTION MADE BY COUNCILWOMAN JOHNSON, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN GARST, AND DULY CARRIED, an ordinance permanently vacating the 16.5’ Alley between East Calhoun Street and East Burwell Street was hereby adopted: (HERE SET OUT ORDINANCE) – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – aye, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. Mayor Foley requested that Council consider renewing the Salem Golf Course lease for 2011; and WHEREAS, the City Attorney stated that the lease is the same as in previous years; ON MOTION MADE BY VICE MAYOR GIVENS, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN GARST, AND DULY CARRIED, the Salem Golf Course lease for 2011 was 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 – aye. ITEM 4 ORDINANCE ADOPTED TO PERMANENTLY VACATE AND CLOSE A 16.5’ ALLEY BETWEEN E. CALHOUN STREET AND E. BURWELL STREET ITEM 5 GOLF COURSE RENEWED FOR 2011 5 Mayor Foley requested that Council consider appointments to fill vacancies on various boards and commissions; and ON MOTION MADE BY COUNCILMAN JONES, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN JOHNSON, AND DULY CARRIED, Terrance D. Murphy was hereby reappointed to the Salem Planning Commission for a four-year term, said term will expire July 31, 2014; – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – aye, William D. Jones – aye, Jane W. Johnson – aye, John C. Givens – aye, and Byron Randolph Foley – aye. ON MOTION MADE BY VICE MAYOR GIVENS, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN JOHNSON, AND DULY CARRIED, David A. Prosser was hereby recommended for reappointment to the Board of Equalization of Real Estate Assessments for a three-year term, said term will expire November 30, 2010; Paige Callahan was hereby appointed to replace Kristen Orndorff as an alternate member of the Community Policy and Management Team; William D. Jones was appointed to the Western Virginia Regional Jail Authority to replace Jane W. Johnson with Byron Randolph Foley as an alternate member; James E. Taliaferro, II, was hereby reappointed to the Western Virginia Regional Jail Authority with Frank P. Turk as an alternate member; and Ric Atkins was hereby reappointed to the Western Virginia Regional Jail Authority as the Sheriff Representative – the roll call vote: Lisa D. Garst – aye, 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 8:03 p.m. ITEM 6 TERRANCE D. MURPHY REAPPOINTED TO PLANNING COMMISSION, DAVID A. PROSSER RECOMMENDED FOR REAPPOINTMENT TO THE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION OF REAL ESTATE ASSESSMENTS; WILLIAM D. JONES APPOINTED, BYRON RANDOLPH FOLEY, JAMES E. TALIAFERRO, II, FRANK P. TURK, AND RIC ATKINS REAPPOINTED TO WVRJA