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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1955_02_14 17. 3 Councilman Howard B. Gill presenteda proposed contract for the purchase of 500 feet of Fire Hose for the Fire Company. The matter was turned over to the Finance Committee. - Upon motion of Reginald K. Gheen, seconded by Emerson H. James, and unaminously carried, Mr. Leonard J. Parker, who was given permission by Council on July 12, 195L4:to use that portion of his land in and adjoining the eastern corporate limits of the town asa.-temporary trailer camp site and to connect to the town's water and sewer system_until_ January_l, 1955, was_granted an extension of 60 days from this. date. _ . Mr. Fred Brock, representing the Polio Fund Drive for 1955, appeared before Council and asked that Council appropriate the-.receipts of one week from the parking meters, as a contribution of the Fund. Due.to legal aspects involved, the matter was referred to the Town Attorney for an opinion. There being•no further business, .on'motion duly made, seconded and carried, Council adjourned. *at Cco rder SPECIAL JANUARY 17, 1955 i., At a Specialmeetingof the Mayor and Council of the Town of Leesburg, in Virginia, called by the Mayor and held in the Council Chamber Monday, January 17, 1955 at 9:50 o'clock P. M., there were present: Maurice R. Lowenbach, Jr., Mayor; Horace M. Hallett, Recorder; Emerson H. James, Reginald K. Gheen, George J. Durfey, and Howard. B. Gill, Councilmen. Upon motion of Emerson H. James, seconded by Reginald K. Gheen and unaminously carried the following resolution was adopted: BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council of the Town of Leesburg, in Virginia that Mr. S. C. Bell be paid at the rate of one dollar ($1.00) per hour for special night ' police work. - Upon motion of 'Howard B. Gill, seconded by George J. Durfey and unaminously carried the following resolution was adopted: • BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council of the Town of Leesburg, in Virginia, that officers Athey and Turner be paid Ninety- dollars ($90.00) additional per month, -- while there are only two regular police officers on duty. • There being no further business, on motion duly made, seconded and unaminously carried, Council adjourned. Mayor /J Recorder REGULAR FEBRUARY 14, 1955 At a regular meeting of the Mayor and Council of the Town of Leesburg, in Virginia's-held in the Council Chamber Monday, February 1)4, 1955 at 7:30 o'clock P.M., there were present: Maurice R. Lowenbach, Jr. Mayor; Horace M. Hallett, Recorder; George J. Burley, Reginald K.-Gheen, Morton Riddle, III, • Howard B. Gill, Emerson H. James and Frank Rollo, Councilmen. • The minutes of the previous meetings of January 10 and January 17 respectively were read and upon motion of Emerson H. James and seconded by George J. Duffey, and unaminously carried they were approved as read. The Auditor-Treasurer read his monthly statement for the month of January, 1955, and presented his current bills, and upon motion of Emerson H. James, •seconded by George J. Durfey and unaminously carried the following resolution was adopted: • BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia that the Auditor-Treasurer be and he is hereby authorized and directed to pay the following gills: 174 Virginia Electric & Power Company • • $301:98 Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. of Va. • 7.30 Loudoun Times-Mirror ' 10.40 W; W, Middleton 33.99 L. S. Hutchison-Esso Stations • - 5:10 Leesburg Hardware - - - - • - 1;45 J. S. Whitmore • 13.05 . McDonald & Jenkins 13.50 Mueller Company- - 10:49 Wilson Typewriter Company • 18;00 The Ford Meter Box Company, Inc. 28.85 George B. Thomas, Inc. - 55.24 J. T. Hirst & Company, Inc. 15.59 Diamond Alkali Company - - - - - - - - 33:00 Raymond R. Rodrick • - - - - - 158.20 Old Dominion Appliance Compan}*, •Inc. 31.39 • U. S. Post Office, Leesburg, Va. 45.89 Tarrant, and Perrow & Brockenbrough 1 36 a 3. 2 M r. William J. Cox appeared before Council and presented the following petition: Your Honor and Gentlemen V the Council : I am here to exercise one ofnthe cherished rights of all English- speaking peoples, the right to petition a governing body. A letter has been written to General Services Administration .of the Federal Goverment on behold of the Town of Leesburg. It was written by your appointee, the Town Attorney, who is responsible to and for whose offical acts you are inescapably responsible. I have reasons to belive that this letter contains erroneous and misleading statements on matters of great moment to citizens of this town and indeed of the entire county. You have been kind enough, Mr. Mayor, to try and secure for me the opportunity to see the letter in question. I have made efforts myself to that end. You have stated to me that you have been denied access to that letter. I also have been. Since this is an official communication of the Town, it is suprising that a citizen of the Town should have been refused an o:?portunity to read it. It is far -more surprising -- it is astounding --that the Mayor of the Town has not been given the opportunity to see it. That should not be, but it is true. - Since that has been the case, I shall perforce make reference to the contents of the letter as reported in the January 6 issue of h?s the Loudoun-Times Mirror. I uote from the Times-Mirror: "As for key facilities that the Leesburg area would have to pro- vide ( for the Atomic Energy Commission headquarters) the following has been reported to GSA: "By the d"ate set for the completion of the office building ( Dee- ember, 1956) there will be housing available for 750 new families". - Gentlemen, by virture of what authority was this promise made on behalf of the Town? There is no vacant housing now, nor does there appear any likely basis for supposing that 750 vacant houses will exist twenty three months from now. On whose authority does the Town of Leesburg make such a guarantee? It it on yours?Do you gentlemen • sunnort this promise that has been made in your name? Or do you dis- avow it? If you do not disavow it, you automatically it. Which do you do? I quote again: " ' As for highways, it has been reported to GSA that Route 15 is now in the process of being improved east and west • (sic)of Leesburg; and it is further understood that if the AEC comes, Route T will be widened to a four lanes between Leesburg and Washing- ton" . By whom is this understood, and on what factual basis? The paper states further: "Leesburg congestion will be relived by a by-bass around the town" . On what foundation do these assertions rest? There are no laws, I belive, under which the Federal Goverment can make ' these improvements without the financial cooperation, and indeed, without the initiative of the Virginia Department, then, the source of promise? It is not. I hold my hand on a letter from the highest highway authority in the State, and I quote from it as follows : " While we: hope to continue the improvements to Route 15 both north and south of Leesburg, we do not have in our plans or funds for eith- er the further improvement of Route 7 or for a Leesburg by-pass" . ( Italics mine) . By what right has GSA been assured on behalf of the Town of Leesburg that Route 7 will be rebuilt as a four lane road and that Leesburg will be by-passed?' Gentlemen, do you intend to affirm that 1***%* * assurance given GSA in your name? Or do you disavow it? You must do one or the other. 17 5 I quote again:"As for water and sewer: Leesburg can guaratee sufficient water and sewage facilities when necessary" . How can Lees- burg make this guarantee? We all know the desperatness of our water situation. On January 21, 1955, Mr. Gheen of your Honorable Body is quoted as having said : " it is my belief that there is no town in Virg- - inia that has a water problem that is more acute than Leesburg" . Are ' you gentlemen empowered to guarantee to anyone even the supply of w water needed for our own present critical needs? Within months two members of your Body, in conversation with me, have indicated fears that the people of this town might notlbe .willing to authorize even the bond issue needed to prevent a repetition of the terrifically dangerous situation that faced our community last summer. How, then, could GSA be given a guarantee of sufficient •water? How could GSA be given a guarantee of sufficiet sewage facilities? Gentlemen, do you affirm such guarantees?Or do you disavow them? You must do one or the other. If these report in the Times-Mirror are correct, they suffice amply to show that the facts concerning the situation have been gross- ly misrepresented in an official communication bearing on the most important matter. In your name, Gentlemen, the Fedreal Goverment has been misled. I petition your Honorable Body for two actions: First, that you write immediately to the General Services Ad- ministration disavowing officially and completely, and correcting, every false and misleading that has been made on your behalf. You owe this duty to yourselves, to all the citizens of Leesburg whom you represent, and you owe it also to lithe Supervisors of Loudoun County and to the residents of the County outside Leesbutg, all of whom you are affected by the Town' s milsrepresentations. Second, that you make known through the local press that you have taken-this action -to clear our Town' s good name. Gentlemen, let me -remind -you that it was a Virginian who spoke the immortal words, -" -Our •Lives; our fortunes and our sacred honor" . Our honor -today is -no less •sacared -than it was on July4, 1776. Un- less the Times-Mirror is -unbelievably lin error in what -it has re- ported, the honor -of the Town •of Leesburg-- and the individual honor of each of you, ,its duly -elected governing body--lies besmirched by the untruths that -have bee spoken -in oyur -name, by the -false promises that have -been made in your-behalf. - Here -and now; Gentlemen, -I -charge you with your sacred duty to corr4ect -that shamefulsitutation. • Signed -Ym. -J. Cox, • Citizen of Leesburg. Mayor Lowenbach, assured Mr. Cox that neither he nor any memb- er of the -Council had seen the letter that he -had refered to , and that Mr. Vesey, -the -Town' s Attorney had been ill •in the hospital, and was unable to -be contacted regaririg this mattes. The Council assured Mr. Cox that that they would contact the Towns Attorney . ' as soon as possible. Mr. Talbott of the Virginia Sate Highway Department appeared before Council and discussed the plans for the construction on Route - 15 over the Town branch. Council tooklno action regarding the sign- ing of a contract and drawing the resolution for this work, and-would not do so until they had cleared up the matter of right- of-ways. Council asked Mr. Durfey if he would chech on the water and sewer lines being laid in the Woodberry Sub-Division to see if they were being installed according to plans and specifications. Council accepted the deed -for a parcel of land deeded to -the Town of Leesburg by Mr. B. Powell Harrison. Upon motion of Morton Riddlelll seconded by Emmerson H. James, and carried by a vote of 5 to 1 , Riddle, James, Gill, Raflo, and Durfey for, Gheen against, the following resolution was adopted : BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council of the Town of ]Leesburg, in Virginia, that the resolution found on page 162 of the Town s min- ute book, in which it made a section of Church Street one way, be and it is hereby recinded. • The Finance Committee submitted a report -and presented a resolution which offered by Mr. Durfey, seconded byMr. Raflo, but after some discussion was with drawn with the request that a res- olution be presented that would meet with the approval of the en- tire Council. 17:6:. There being no further business, upon motion duly made second- ed and carried Council adjourned. eo.)---fr-asa. • Mayor. Recorder. REgULAR MARCH , 14, 1955. At a .regular meeting of the Mayor and Council of the Town of Leesburg, in Virginia, held in the Council Chamber there were pre- sent, Maurice R. Lowenbach, Jr; Mayor, Horace M. Hallett, Recorder, George J. Durfey, Reginald K. Gheen, Howard B. Gill, Frank Raflo, and Morton Riddle 111, Councilmen . the mi nutes_pSe_the:_laslt regular;meedng_..were„ read. snd, :taponA of :1044491120f _Reg;ina1d5K,rh_ezn;dserg congkear:bytGeoe J.pDur-fey,,;;andounSf aminously carried were approved as read. The Auditor-Treasurer read his monthly report for the month of February, 1955, and presented his current bills, and upon motion of George J. Durfey, seconded by Morton Riddle, 111, and unaminously carried the following resolution was adopted : BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council of .the Town of Leesburgin Virginia that the Auditor-Treasurer be and he is hereby authorized and directed to pay the following bills : Virginia Electric & Power Co ; a f88r85- 285.85 ' C. & P. Telphone Co ; . . . . . 12.85 ✓ American City Magazine 4.00v • W. w. Middleton 27.16 ✓ L. S. HUtchinson Esso Stas; 9. 54 ' Bishop' s Service Station 36.70 ✓ Leesburg Servicee Station 20.60,./ J. S. Whitmore .941 Loudoun Times Mirror 5.50 ✓ George Hardy 6.00 ' Armfield, Harrison, & Thomas 1.27 _ J. T. Hirst & Co ; Inc ; 5.02 ✓ Mueller Company . 39.78 i .Raymond R. Rodrick 115.19 Diamond Alkali Company 16. 50 " Perrow & Brockenbrough & Tarrant (Master Plan 360.00 Hayespae'y, Mattern, & Mattern 1000.92 -' Edwin E. Beavers . . . . 18.00 Total. . . $1, 965.82 ' Upon motion of Morton Riddle, 111, seconded by George J. Durfey, and unaminously carried the following resolution was adopted : WHEREAS, Miss Alice A. Sabin has made application to the Audit- or-Treasurer, for a tefund of 1953 taxes in the amount of $4.25 paid on November 17, 1953 because of erroneous assessment , and WHEREAS, the Commissioner of Revenue has certified that said assessment was in error, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by thg Council of the Town of Lees- burg, in Virginia, that the Auditor- reasurer be and he is hereby authorized and directed to charge oft the 1953 taxes of Miss Alice A. Sabine and refund her the amount of $ 4.25. Upon motion of Reginald K. Gheen, seconded by George J. Durfey , and unaminously carried, the foll6wing resolution was adopted : BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council of the Town of Leesburg, in Virginia that the Auditor-Treasurer be andhe is hereby authorized and directed to purchase the Burrough Style P- 201 adding 'machine from the Burroughs Corporation as per bid of $ 225.00, and that $200.00 of this bill be charged to Captial outlay building improve- ments, and that $25.00 be charged to buildings and grounds. . Mr. Durfey asked that Council go on records in extending cong- ratulations to the Times-Mirror on their new office and printing building. 1