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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1966_01_12 X82 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL, JANUARY 12, 1966 A regular meeting of the Leesburg Town Council was held in the Council Chambers, Leesburg, Virginia on January 12, 1965, the meeting being called to order by the Mayor and with a prayer by Councilman Orr. Those present were : Councilmen C. A. English Cole, C. Maloy Fishback, Maurice R. Lowenbach, Jr. , Walter F. Murray, Robert A. Orr and John W. Pumphrey; also present were Town Manager James W. Ritter , Jr. and Town Attorney George M. Martin. The minutes of the meeting of December 22, 1965 were approved as written. I3r. Tom Offutt of Blue Ridge Aircraft Corporation addressed Council, stat- ing that a proposed lease between the Town and Blue Ridge Aircraft had been submitted to the Town Attorney for approval and that they were asking for ap- proval by the Council. Town Attorney Martin said that there were some revis- ions to be made in this lease and that it will have to be approved by FAA, as revised, although Mr. Offutt seemed to be of the opinion that FAA had already - approved a former lease which read the same , with the exception of the land de- scription included in said lease , and that he had been assured by Mr. Hammerly that FAA had approved it also. After discussion of this matter , Mayor Rollins suggested that the Town Attorney take up this matter with Mr. Hammerly and de- termine the status of the lease insofar as the FAA is concerned, have it approved by the Airport Commission after revisions have been made and eventually see that it comes back to Council for approval. Mr. Payne , also an officer of this Cor- poration , asked what other steps they might take so far as the Council is con- cerned in order to be prepared to get into operation as soon a5 the lease is ap- proved. Financial statements of the officers of the Corporation were presented to Mr. Cole for consideration by the Finance Committee and plans for the build- ings to be erected by the Corporation were presented to Mr. Fishback to be taken up with the Public Works Committee. Mr. Frank Caldwell , Manager of the C & P Telephone Company, addressed Council, explaining to them the reduction in rates to take place in the near future , explaining the savings it will mean to Leesburg customers and others in Loudoun, as well. These changes will eliminate toll charges to various near- by towns within the area, although there will be charges to all points which are oh the Piedmont lines. Also, the tax has been reduced from 10 per cent to 3 per cent on long distance calls. Councilman Cole said he thought the C & P Tele- phone Company should be highly complimented for their accomplishments. Mr. William Harding spoke to Council for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, citing various items of workmanship he believed to be incorrectly performed with regard to the storm drainage system almost completed in the Town. Councilman Murray counteracted Mr. Harding's accusations by reminding him that the Town had changed the course of the storm drain through his property in order to satisfy him (Mr. Harding) at a cost of 3500 extra to the Town on this project. Mr. Hitter pointed out that there are various small items which will come up in connection with this project , which items will be taken care of in the spring when they are more readily seen. He also pointed out that a 3 per cent retainage fee has been withheld from each contractor to take care of these items. Mr. Harding con- tinued to find fault with this system and Councilman Pumphrey objected to any further discussion of this matter , thus closing this subject. Town Manager Ritter gave his report , stating that Mr. Ward is present at this meeting to answer any questions with regard to the financial report on the Airport Account. He also reported that Tri-County Asphalt is winding up their work on the storm drainage project , with four structures still to be completed along North Street. Their bill will run around $70,000 this time. On the whole , the contract will cost less than what had been anticipated , in fact, the actual cost of the two projects will be about $15,000 less than the contract prices. There will be a three per cent retainage fee withheld on each contract for one year. Mr. Ritter reported that' he had notified Mr. Schaefer to remove the old Howard house from the Prospect Hills Subdivision, that Mr. Tom Scully was over here and said that Mr. C. Ridgely White owned this property now and stated that he would have this house removed by January 22, the deadline set. Mr. Ritter also reported that he has an appointment with Mr. Doe of the Arlington County Sanitation Department tomorrow and that he and Mr. Peach will be leaving here at 1 P.M. if any of the Council members would like to join them. 183 MINUTES OF JANUARY 12, 1966 MEETING. The purpose of this appointment is to learn more about the smoke bomb tests used in locating storm water running into the sewer system and to ,look at the equipment needed for these tests. Mr. Peach will be going with Mr. Ritter to Arlington. - Also, sr. Ritter reported that he had received a letter from Sydnor Pump and Well Company with regard to the Phillips-Nickels Well. They have given an approximate price of $4,138.00 to put this well into operation, with a possi- bility of adding another $470.00 if VEPCO required a reduced voltage starter. No reply from VEPCO has been received on this yet. This still would not include the cost of a pump house, chlorinator equipment and other items, so he does not have complete prices yet. Councilman Cole asked what percentage of the money allowed for striking rock on the storm sewer projects had been spent for this purpose. Mr. Ritter said that Mr. Phillips had estimated more than the actual cost and he does not have a percentage figure. Mr. Cole also wished to know if any of the Town maps had been photostated yet, to which Mr. Ritter replied that tracings are being made , but no photostat- ing has been done yet. DO Councilman Pumphrey said he believed that petitioners should be allowed a limited time in which to present their problems to Council , unless they are of a very controversial nature. Mr. Caldwell said that he attends Council meetings all over the County and that you find this sort of thing at all meetings. Upon motion of Councilman Orr, seconded by Councilman Lowenbach, the fol- lowing resolution was unanimously adopted : BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that the following appropriations be made : (a) S 500.00 - Johnson .Z Williams invoice for preparation of "Schedule of Operations of Water and Sewer Sys- tems Report" (b) 235.00 - Walter Phillips - Survey and plat of Potters Field 85.00 - Walter Phillips - Survey and plat of Phillips- Nickels Well Councilman Cole questioned the Airport Account report with regard to the balance in the Bank and Mr. Ward explained it. Upon motion of Councilman Lowenbach, seconded by Councilman Orr, the follow- ing appropriations were unanimously voted upon; to be paid from the Airport Fund : $1 ,464.15 - C & P Tel. Co. . 643.75 - Richard Hill 534.00 - Earthwork 31.50 - .George Martin 600.00 - Colonel Grenata for right-of-way, appropriated by Council on 10/13/65, to be paid from Airport Fund $3 ,273.40 Town Attorney Martin presented a proposed Bill of Complaint to be filed in the Circuit Court in order to determine ownership of Potters Field and asked that copies of same be sent to all Council members for their perusal before it is actually filed. Mr. Martin also 'stated that it has been discovered that the attorneys for Chantilly Aviation have never made the changes in the Lease requested by the FAA. With regard to the Performance Bond on Sidney Z. Mensh € Co. , Mr. Martin said he believed the Council should instruct the Town Manager to write the Mensh ; a4 MINUTES OF JANUARY 12, 1966 MEETING. • Company and instruct them that physical improvements on Section 2 will have to be completed or ,: if they are not , legal action will be taken against the surety company. • Upon motion of Councilman Fishback, seconded by Councilman -Lowenbach, the following resolution was adopted by a 6 to 1 vote , Councilman Cole casting the dissenting vote : BE IT 'RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that Site • "A" (lower site) be selected for the site of the proposed sewage ef- fluent holding pond on the Kincaid property, and that Johnson and Wil- liams be instructed to proceed with plans and specifications for the work. • The matter of the purchase of the Dunn property was discussed and, since the Dunn heirs have refused the Town's offer to purchase due to difficulties which cannot be ironed out among the Dunn family, upon motion of Councilman Lowenbach, seconded by Councilman Orr, Council adopted the following resolution by a 6 to 1 roll call vote, Mr. Cole voting against the resolution : BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that t:•:o (2) appraisers be appointed to appraise the Dunn property, prior to condem- nation. • It was the general consensus that the appraisers be Mr. John William Clemens and Mr. H. Wendell Kline , but Mr. Cole suggested that an approximate cost be secured before this appraisal is done. Upon motion of Councilman Lowenbach , seconded by Councilman Murray, the fol- • lowing resolution was placed on the floor for discussion : BE IT RESOLVED, that no expenditures, or financial commitments shall be incurred in or about the operation of the Leesburg Airport by the Air- port Commission, or any agent or official of the Town of Leesburg with- out prior authorization by the Council. Expenditures shall be defined to include contracts for professional services, construction, repair or any other service related to the operation of the Leesburg Airport. Councilman Cole moved to amend this resolution by adding -"and that all per- sonnel connected with the Airport be mailed a copy of this, including their engineer , Mr. Paxton. " This amendment was seconded by Councilman Fishback and passed unanimously. The resolution, as amended, was then unanimously adopted. Councilman Cole moved to create a separate ledger sheet in the General Fund, which shall contain disbursements and receipts for the Airport north taxiway extension. This motion was •seconded by Councilman Fishback. However , when the Mayor asked if there were any objections to considering this matter tonight, Councilman Orr objected and asked that it be referred to the Laws and Adminis- tration Committee for study. Mr. Forbes, Director of Planning & Zoning, submitted to Council his annual reports for the Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals. He said that the number of zoning certificates issued for the past year was on the rise, indicating an estimated population between 4700 and 4800. A chart which he has prepared projects growth at the rate of 350 a year. Upon motion, duly seconded , the meeting adjour ed at 9:40 P.M. 17"- I4ayor • Clerk of the Council