August 12, 2008
The regular meeting of the Lawrenceville Town Council was called to order on August 12, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. by Mayor Keith W. Clarke.
ROLL CALL
Roll was called with the following present: Mayor Keith W. Clarke; Council members: Joyce D. Bland, Harry S. Holman, Vanessa Y. Jones, Scott E. Martin, Robert F. Pecht, III and Esther B. Sanderson; Town Attorney, W. C. Outten, Jr.; Town Manager, C. J. Dean; Police Chief, Douglas R. Pond; Administrative Assistant, Wanda Johnson; Town Clerk, Alice B. Talbert and the press.
Absent: H. B. Brockwell, Jr., Council member
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by Mr. Pecht to approve the minutes of the previous meeting, suspend the reading and file. This was seconded by Mrs. Sanderson and carried by all ayes.
VRS RESOLUTION
Mr. Dean stated that Council had a copy of a Resolution from VRS that they would need to adopt. Mr. Outten stated that this was an IRS requirement that VRS needed to have on file. A motion was made by Mr. Pecht and seconded by Mrs. Sanderson to adopt the Resolution as presented. Voting aye: Bland, Holman, Jones, Martin, Pecht and Sanderson.
CHARRETTE
Mr. Dean reported that VCU had compiled a draft of Phase I of the Downtown Study that would be sent out shortly; Phase II is beginning. A Charrette will be held on Sept. 4th from 1-6 p.m. at Temple of Glory. The Charrette will focus attention on improvement to buildings, streets, public amenities, beautification, parks and land uses. All citizens are encouraged to attend. This will be open to the public. On Sept. 5th, the group will walk the streets and discuss the ideas from Sept. 4th. From 6 – 8 p.m. public feedback of initial principles and concepts will be heard. This meeting will also be at Temple of Glory. In October there will be a formal public presentation on the Charrette. Mr. Dean stressed the importance of citizens attending the Charrette. An article will be in the paper and invitations sent out. Mr. Dean asked Council to invite anyone they know that might be interested in starting a business in town and all citizens to please come as we need everyone’s input. Mrs. Jones asked what happens after October and Mr. Dean stated that work on applying for a grant would begin and Council would decide what to apply for. This grant would be for construction monies.
HIGH ST UPDATE
Mr. Dean reported that the developer interested in the High Street properties had refused to sign the State contract on renting to low to moderate income families. However, a new developer had come forward and Mr. Dean is working with them and hopes to see two new homes by the end of the year.
BABB
Mr. Dean stated that Council had before them a new schedule of the BABB Bus. Citizens can pick up a copy at the Town Office and at Social Services.
PARADES
Mr. Dean reported that he had received requests for two parades in downtown. One was from the Brunswick Rescue Squad for Oct. 4th to celebrate their 40th anniversary. The other is from Saint Paul’s College for their annual homecoming parade on Oct. 18th. Both are pending VDOT approval.
VA DOWNTOWN ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Mr. Dean stated that Council had before them a copy of the Virginia Downtown Development Association Annual Conference to be held Oct. 1-3 in Radford. Anyone interested in attending is to contact Mr. Dean or the Town Office and get registered.
IDA REQUEST
Also for Council information is a copy of a Request for Proposals sent out by the IDA for a water and sewer rate study for creating a public utility service in Brunswick County.
VML NEWSLETTER-TOWN POLICE CAR
Mr. Dean showed a copy of the VML Newsletter with a picture of our police car. Mr. Dean commended Chief Pond for submitting this to VML.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATES
Mr. Dean handed out the updated Comprehensive Plan and asked Council to destroy the pages in their notebook and replace with the updated copy. The Comprehensive Plan will up on the web site soon.
FINANCIAL REPORT
Mr. Pecht stated that the financial report was in the packets and reminded Council that the report is reported in cash accounting and the audit will be on the accrued accounting method.
FIRE REPORT
Mr. Holman reported that the fire report was in the packets. The fire department had responded to 27 calls in July, 8 being in town, with 68.75 man-hours expended.
Mrs. Sanderson reported that the summer help was doing a great job.
Mrs. Bland stated that the police report was in the packets.
BALL PARK REQUEST
Mrs. Sanderson stated that she had been given a copy of the proposed new concession stand for the ballpark by a member of the Brunswick Dixie Youth League just prior to tonight meeting. The cost of the concession stand is $150,000. The Brunswick Dixie Youth League has been working on a grant from Major League Baseball for $50,000 and met with a representative for the grant on August 8. According to the letter given to Mrs. Sanderson, the grant representative was concerned with the project funding as the League had only received $4850 in support money and the MLB representative views this as a serious lack of support. The League has two weeks to provide otherwise. The letter listed three easy ways to donate. 1) A monetary donation; 2) a promissory note for a monetary donation; 3) a promissory note for an estimated dollar amount of goods and/or services. Mrs. Sanderson asked Council to help get the word out for this appeal for funds.
COLLEGE/COMMUNITY LIAISON COMMITTEE
Mr. Pecht stated that he had talked with Dr. Satcher but a meeting still has not been set up with the College and the College/Community Liaison Committee.
Mr. Pecht stated that the airport report was in the packets.
Mrs. Talbert stated that Council had a copy of the 2007 Virginia Main Street Annual Report before them.
Mrs. Talbert reminded Council that there is still time to register for the VML Conference to be held on Oct. 19-21.
RELAY FOR LIFE UPDATE
Mrs. Talbert reported that the Brunswick Relay for Life had raised $126,321.81 for this year’s Relay for Life. Mrs. Talbert also stated that Brunswick had raised more than Mecklenburg or Emporia. She thanked everyone that helped make this year a success.
PAYMENT OF BILLS APPROVED
An addition of $410.79 in expenses for the Fire department was added to the list of bills making the total for approval $76,806.06. A motion was made by Mrs. Sanderson and seconded by Mrs. Jones to approve the bills and charge to the proper accounts. Voting aye: Bland, Holman, Jones, Martin, Pecht and Sanderson.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before Council, a motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Pecht, seconded by Mrs. Jones and carried by all ayes.
Keith W. Clarke, Mayor
Alice B. Talbert, Clerk