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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1967_12_13 144 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL, DECEMBER 13, 1967. A regular meeting of the Leesburg Town Council was held in the Council Cham- bers, 12 W. Loudoun Street , Leesburg, Virginia, on December 13, 1967 at 7:30 P.M. The meeting was called to order by the Mayor, with prayer by Councilman Orr. Those present were Mayor Kenneth B. Rollins, Councilmen C. Maloy Fishback, G. Dewey Hill, Frederick R. Howard , Walter F. Murray, Robert A. 'Orr and• John W. • Pumphrey; also Town•Manager James W. Ritter, Jr. and Town Attorney George M. Martin. The Minutes of the meeting of November 22 , 1967 were approved as written. A Public Hearing was held on the proposed Amendments to the existing Char- ter of the Town, however , there was no-one present to speak-either for or agains same. Therefore , the following resolution was unanimously adopted by roll call vote : WHEREAS, due public notice, pursuant to Section 15.1-912 of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended , of the proposed Amendments to the Charter has been published that a Public Hearing would be held on Wednesday, December 13, 1967, and WHEREAS, the Public Hearing has been held and there being no changes in the Amendments as published, • BE IT RESOLVED, that the proposed Amendments be and the same are hereby adopted, and that the Clerk of the Council shall forward to Lucas D. Phillips, Delegate to the General Assembly, for presentation to the next session of the General Assembly, two copies thereof. Mayor Rollins read to Council an Agreement of Sale between the Town and Leesburg Motors, Inc. , however , it was decided that this matter would not be con- sidered until the December 27th meeting. On motion of Councilman Hill , seconded by Councilman Murray, the resolution below was adopted by a roll call vote of 6 to 1, with Councilman Fishback voting against the motion and stating that he realizes that Wirt Street is narrow at this point, but parking is short on this end of Town and he does not think we should take parking off ' faster than we are putting it back in another place. WHEREAS, because of the narrowness of Wirt Street between Loudoun Street and the exit from the Municipal Parking Lot , which narrow width makes it impossible for some vehicles to pass with the existing parking meters on the east side of Wirt Street, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Lees- burg that, because of this unsafe condition, the eight parking meters be removed from Wirt Street between the two above-mentioned points. On -motion of Councilman Hill, seconded by Councilman Murray, the following resolution was adopted by a roll call vote of 4 to 3, with Councilmen Fishback, Howard and Orr voting against it : WHEREAS, because of the poor sight distance for vehicles coming out of the Municipal Parking Lot adjacent to the Town Office Building, caused by parking meters on Loudoun Street at such locations that make this , condition hazardous, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Lees- burg, that the meter on the west side and the meter on the east side of the entrance be removed. On motion of Councilman Orr , seconded by Councilman Pumphrey, and after explanation by Mr. Ritter that this is the same thing we did last year, that these six hydrants will replace some of the old ones that are 30 years or more old, and for which we can no longer secure parts, the following resolution was unanimously adopted: BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that an ap- propriation be made in the amount of $1,500.00 for the purchase of six (6) fire hydrants and valves. 145.. MINUTES OF DECEMBER 13, 1967 MEETING. Mr. Ritter also told Council of the success achieved not long ago in freezing the water line in order to move a fire hydrant without cutting the Town's water supply off in its entirety. He said it is hoped that we can replace at least six hydrants and valves each year , or perhaps even to step up this program. Mr. Robert Ahrens addressed Council , representing Mr. Walter Phillips on a request for rezoning of a tract of land lying to the north of Mayfair Subdivision from R-2 to R-4. He explained that they have appeared before the Planning Com- mission previously, asking that a larger portion of this tract be rezoned, which the Planning Commission denied. They then appeared before the Council and Council III asked that this tract of land be reduced in size and re-referred to the Planning Commission. This was done and the Planning Commission again denied this request, based on a report from a committee appointed to study this matter. Mr. Ahrens read the 10 points presented by this Committee as its reasons for denial and ex- pressed rebuttal to each of these items. He presented the plan showing the area being requested for rezoning (14.0226 acres) , particularly for the benefit of the two new members of Council. He pointed out that only two of the reasons given in the report of the committee are fact, that the rest are speculative and they believe their request to be reasonable. He explained that , economically, this land cannot be developed in any other way and that a pumping- station for sewage CI would have to be built , regardless of what way it would be developed. V N N Mr. Phillips then spoke briefly, pointing out that , with regard to the possi- C. bility of their blocking North and Mayfair Streets, he has just received a plan L.) from Mr. Ritter , whereby Mayfair Street would come right -up- to .his property, U and requesting that a cul-de-sac be placed right at this point. He said he had no objection to this and is perfectly willing to dedicate this,. but there would be certain items to be taken care of insofar as drainage is concerned: Secondly, he pointed out that he dislikes duplex houses and , with apartments, you could plan recreation areas , walkways and shrubbery,' as well- as maintenance of these, and make it a desirable area. Councilman Murray, speaking for the Planning Commission, said that he thought the 'Commission did the right thing in appointing a committee to study this matter . and he. pointed out that the Commission and the Council appreciate Mr. Ahrens and III -Mr. Phillips appearing at these various meetings. However , he said he believed the basic question to be whether or not we need more apartments at the present time , especially when there seem to be so many- "For Rent" signs now. He wondered if Mr.. Phillips would be willing to set a time when -he would want to start work on this property , or whether he would like to delay this question until he is ready for this work. Mr. Phillips explained that these same restrictions existed when Exeter , Sections 1 and 2 weredeveloped, that the lots in Section 1 were 60 feet and it was found that the class of homes needed larger lots, so they in- creased the size of the lots in Section 2. He said that , as far as he is con- cerned,- Dulles Airport is the only thing that was not obsolete and too small be- fore--it was finished. As for a time limit , he said he is through, but perhaps his son might want to build apartments on this land. .. •• Further discussion continued on this matter between Mr. Ahrens and members of Council , and a roll call vote showed this request denied, with Councilmen Murray and Pumphrey abstaining. Mayor Rollins said that the Board of Supervisors had denied the Town 's re- quest to connect the water line for the Ford agency at its last meeting. He said they then went on to discuss the joint venture between the Town and County and he asked Councilman Fishback to read a letter from Mr. Turner , asking for formal . request from the Town Council for a meeting with the Board to discuss this matter further. Mr. Fishback said it is up to the Council as to whether they want to take formal action in asking for this meeting, but they will not meet without this for:; mal action. After discussion of this matter, the following motion was made by III Councilman Murray, seconded by Councilman Howard, and adopted by a unanimous roll call vote : That the Council feels that the Burns & McDonnell Report, as written, and adopted by the Board of Supervisors, is unacceptable to the Town • of Leesburg, and that a letter be addressed to the Board of Supervisors stating that a joint meeting between members of the Leesburg Town Coun- cil and members of the Loudoun County Board -of Supervisors is considered appropriate , and that the Council will meet with them at- a time and date to be determined between the Town Manager and the Executive Secretary. • It is hoped that the Board of Supervisors will find it within the pur- view of their duties to invite their newly-elected counterparts to be- come a party to this meeting. v MINUTES OF DECEMBER 13, 1967 MEETING. Councilman Hill stated that he thought this had been a one-sided affair and that he would like to see our side presented by the press. Mayor Rollins asked that Mr. Ritter contact Mr. Turner regarding a meeting date, trying to set it up for December 21st. - Mr. Ritter reported that he thought the Town crews did a very good job dur- ing the recent 12" snowfall , this being their first experience with the responsi- bility of the streets. Councilman Murray said he thought the thanks of the Coun- cil should be expressed to these men who worked such long hours getting this snow removed. With regard to the Airport, Mr. Ritter said he had notified Chantilly Avia- tion of their. 15 days in which to correct certain defaults in the lease and that 15 days will be up tomorrow. He said he had spent most of today talking with Mr. VanGulick, Mr. Zebley and other people interested in the lease ; that Mr. Zebley had stated that all defaults would be corrected by the time Chantilly takes over. Mr. Ritter pointed out that Council did not wish to go through the same thing tonight that was experienced at last meeting with regard to this Air- port and that he had pointed out to these people that Council may be in a mood to terminate the lease tonight, that they would like only a brief statement as to their intentions. Councilman Hill said he had several merchants approach him, with the idea of . having two policemen on duty at night. Councilman Pumphrey also said some had approached him. It was brought out that perhaps this could be taken care of with• the reworking of- the schedule, or perhaps we need another policeman, although it . is realized that we are within the limits of having enough officers per popula- tion. Councilman Orr asked that this be brought up at the Committee meeting on Tuesday. He also -voiced his opinion that he believed that a policeman should attend all Council -meetings and it was brought out that the Sheriff attends all Board of Supervisors ' meetings. Councilman Howard suggested the possibility- of moving some of the parking meters to be removed from Wirt Street to the location on East Loudoun Street be- tween King and Church Streets. This was referred to Committee by Mayor Rollins. Councilman Howard also asked about the Edwards Ferry Road drainage situation. Mr. Ritter explained that written easements and plats will have to be secured " from the people involved, that this involves a lot more than had been antici • - pated, requiring a survey, which has not yet been completed. Councilman Murray reiterated his appreciation to the men for their hard work on the snow removal. Councilman Pumphrey brought up the question of the sewer backing up into private homes, in this case , particularly his own , however , this has happened in other sections of Town. He says the problem seems to be the fact that the sewer line from the property line into the street is clay pipe and this becomes filled with tree roots and he proposes that this clay pipe should be replaced with cast iron pipe, as he and many others have from their homes to their property lines. He cited an instance just recently where this happened in his own home, and stated that Mr. Fishback has .also had the same thing happen. This matter was discussed at length and Mr. Ritter pointed out that the 'Town has no policy on this matter, but that he has always maintained the Town 's responsibility on the Town's right- of-way. However , he pointed out that replacing all clay pipe with cast iron would be quite a sizeable job, with having to cut across blacktop, water lines, gas lines, etc. in some instances. Mayor Rollins suggested that this be discussed by the Utility Committee and, in the meantime, Mr. Ritter was given authority to take .the proper measures to cor.rect. any .such incidents. • Mayor Rollins commented on the success of the Town in securing 3 million gal- - ions of water over a 20-year period from the Potomac River, this request having been handled through the State of Maryland by Johnson and Williams. He ex- plained . that there is one more governing body that this decision will have to pass before it is final, however. Mayor Rollins said that the terms ofdMY: .Leach and Mr. Webb , both members of the Planning Commission, will expire on January 1 and these appointments should be made at the next meeting. • 147 MINUTES OF DECEMBER 13, 1967 MEETING. Mayor Rollins stated that the 15 days allowed Chantilly Aviation to comply with certain requirements -of its lease will be up tomorrow. There .were the usual number of interested parties present , including Mr. VanGulick and Mr. Zebley. Mr. Zebley read to Council a letter which he had prepared this date, dealing with the deficiencies cited in the resolution by Council of last meeting. A copy of this letter is attached hereto. 'In the meantime, he asked that Colgan be allowed to continue the operation • of the Airport, stating that there seems to be a certain amount of tranquility • between Colgan and Chantilly. He said they would like to continue. III - Mr. Frank Hyde stated that a meeting of- the -Board of Directors and of the stockholders of Chantilly Aviation had been held since the last Council meeting and the Directors voted to negotiate the sale of the unexpired term of the lease to Colgan and DIAC -along the lines of the proposed assignment of lease presented at the last meeting. The stockholders approved this action. Subsequently, the contract was written, with the only substantial change being to eliminate the Town as a party to it. Councilman Murray asked if he understands that there is a movement afoot for Mr. VanGulick to sell his shares of stock. Mr. VanGulick answered "Yes." CN-1 CQ In view of this fact , Mr. Murray suggested that this transfer of stock be pre- CU sented to the committee on January 2nd in the form of a resolution signed by the Board of Directors of Chantilly Aviation. The Committee would then be in a ( � position to recommend to the Council at the January 10th meeting whether or not V to consider this transfer consistent with the overall. needs of the operation of the Airport, or whether to submit to Council a resolution cancelling the lease and readvertising same. He said this would give them enough time to come up with a plan that would be a permanent one , whereby the creditors and the Town would be protected. On motion of Councilman Murray, the following resolution was placed on the floor , but dropped for lack of a second : BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that Chan- tilly Aviation Corp. will be expected to present to the Airport Com-. mittee , at its regular meeting on the 2nd day of January 1968, an ac- ceptable resolution duly attested to by the Secretary of the Chan- tilly Aviation Corporation, indicating what action has been taken to insure that . the Town of Leesburg will have in operation an Airport which is acceptable to the Town. Said plan not being presented at this time will result in the Committee drawing a resolution cancel- ling the lease and readvertising same. Councilman Hill asked Mr. Zebley if he has considered Mr. VanGulick's offer to buy this stock, to which Mr. Zebley replied "Yes. " He said he believed they were in a position to work on this and that he believes this matter can be re-; solved in 30 days. He also said this would undoubtedly mean that he too would come out of the company. Mr. Hill asked if this transfer would take care of the indebtedness against the Corporation. Mr. Zebley explained what is owed and the method by which it could be worked out and said this is still a major problem. Discussion followed on this matter for a while, after which Councilman Orr re- marked that he could not see that this offer is concrete in any way. Mr. Van- Gulick said that , when he made this offer , it was his understanding that Colgan would continue to operate the field and he wondered what would happen to him. Mr. Zebley says he has several people interested and that some of them have con- tacted Mr. Ritter today , he said he would be willing to work on this matter on a week-to-week basis to try to work something out. Mr. Murray said he did not see that another three weeks would hurt anything, that we have been working on the sewer problem for a lot longer than this. Mr. Hyde said that, if it is the desire of the Council to give more time , he would suggest that Council permit the Corporation to sell this lease to anyone who might be acceptable to the Town. Councilman Murray insisted that a copy of the reso • - lution of the Board of Directors be presented. Mr. Hyde retorted that he did not believe it the function of this Council to look over the shoulders of the Cor-, I poration. He said there was an official meeting of the Board on December 4th, followed by an official meeting of the stockholders, whereby the action of the Board of Directors was ratified. This action of Chantilly Aviation was to ne-' gotiate the sale of this lease to Colgan. Mr. Zebley presented to Council a financial statement for the past year. 148 MINUTES OF DECEMBER 13, 1967 MEETING. Mr. Ritter explained to Council that he had a telephone conversation today with a Mr. Brcmm of Harlan Brown Management Consultants. He said this company .would furnish a manager for the Airport, in this case , in addition to working out some financial arrangement to pay the creditors. He said he appeared to be a high type salesman and that he (Mr. Ritter ) suggested that he get together with Mr. Zebley to try to work this out. • l Dr. Orr then raised the question that Mr. Zebley has not yet answered Mr. VanGulick's letter of offer to sell his stock for $15,000. . Mr. Zebley said if and when someone acts on this letter , it will take him out of the company, he said the Brown Association would take over the company, put it on its feet and come up with a package deal. Councilman Orr asked how long we could expect be-1 i fore we could have some proposition on this. Mr. Hyde reminded Council here that Mr. VanThlick's letter was written in anticipation of the lease being transferred to Colgan, so that this could not be accepted. Mr. Zebley said he would have a solution to the problem by the 1st of February or he would walk off and leave it. dd - On motion of Councilm°aneurr3,'/anounal ernfurtner discussion of the current situation, the following resolution was unanimously adopted by a roll call vote: BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that Chantilly Aviation be given until February 14th to come up with a satisfactory solution to the current problems and , if at , that time a positive solution to the management • problems and operational problems associated with the Leesburg Municipal Air- port has not been presented, then definitive action will be taken to cancel the lease. On motion of •Councilman Howard, seconded by Councilman Pumphrey, Council voted unanimously that the Town Attorney and the Town Manager examine the lease and establish definite grounds for cancellation of the lease on February 14th, so that there could be no possible legal repercussions against the Town. Upon motion of Councilman Fishback, and there being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:25 P.M. . g, 1 Mayor 1/-,9_4-4-4-e-e.--/ E.,. e s Clerk of theCouncil • I A t. . . . Datembor 13, 1967 a Fir. Janoo O. Rittor, Jr. . Toon /tanager Loosburg, Virginia . . Ca Thnroday, toaster 14, 1967„ Chcntilly Aviatiaa, Inc. aerating • at dodfroy•Fiold, anticIpatao•an inaocticn vioit by yon to dotor- ciao vintinr or not Chantilly io in default regarding motions 11(0), (full tin inotruotor), 11(b), (proper inctrc ) cnd taction 6, - (construct •°T°. nanyaro to catiafy d ad)° . Q . • You coy cpoct tit:, follazrintt . • Sootioa 11(0) ' . - ' - . Chantilly AP/ation at iAo'dicpooal as a full tin baoio ' Mr. Flax Clines, an onporionccd, -cocnrGta1 flight instructor. . Mr. Robalrt V. Dart, aho is availablo bf appoint:onto holds ratings gialifyihg: Chantilly Aviation en.an Approved FAA • School - a significant loyel of eapatilitpr bayond voquire- manta of toe loam.. David Few-co -aloo •ia a CFI teaching an uaeterda uaan donnd la nigboat. zinally, Colgan Airways, vorbafly•endoraod by ilia- Toon as a qualifiod .aublesseo, ie • staffed and providing instruction 'carvico. tforto, Chantilly air.taina Lire io no de mit. Section 11(8) • . rho Eduard F9areboll Agency cosur oa Cnantilly ttrat all Imoan inourenco requirerants aro ming satisfied. .4y Novonoar 24, 196? lotter•to ybp ontionod that ondorcapnto overlooked earlior had boon raquooted of dattford Inauksanoo Coi'gsryr. I ca escured chat tact tocbnicalitg I= t catiouied. . If not, certainly medial action is only a talo• ...a. tall troy. Chantilly till °acus coverage Should Colgan Airucys diccoln- tinro c$oraticao. . Again. Chantilly rz4nta1C7 that tharo is . ' no Qafenit ams c:mtl this ccrrlition dill ocaticzo. - . ttca 6 • SQF:.o totja dt f^ c*t, iL e'o'n ;a?o 4.n masa so . rr_th do nda.: . tightcon Cont¢ c o, tecant tarn in control, . caacicral ¢352 ¢fano cad cufficid 8 Pill toe ton • unit °T° barb at 0CI fll' Pield. his hon bard emu) 035 ' conuhly rcntol por t- • : a,,atonabi a tcoto to- eruct 1 buildings c!Fa .p rCL_'\, :A mar pro ;n Cast caigh amoral . factorc ani attain =Min goal° in erect to tompletp con- • structiun -c"•S_providq rharvico. Fistit, t oro =1st bo wear- • onto tinttna invostcontWill bo protacto4; In tazoac- of . baildil;go, a•lhng to .,colid contract with tho baildingo - and lend aid by. t•tr. botraror io moot doaireoblo. Othorcriao, a long-tern, Calid lcaco of usually 50yciara cay-be conaidered . nett (coo attactalt /).' . Of courco tdtO toot icarootoc in thio 065013 Ch nt!,lly's -Iaaco is only 8 yearn q' londoro view it. • - ?hare aro nugoroua canooallaatboa rights And thocooyore areal no t taoonsast. is grcolc as .or�ir'alaviation iinn. e ,• e �.�'h .. I' • • . - b . U in coatrol .sofoo up to 29 ail:oof'an njca' 4itoantorp liko Bono°. 0opatrcvtioa • oco;.aa overi.eoao difficult. to • obtain and roan coati '0 xoa9a a oound.•buaifi000 t tmc, • rcgwtroo dccavd. no indicated in bin loam)) Stia t_asd'to , rolal l to'prico of coral= rendorodo And prioo of c vtco rortilrod rolat3o back to coot •for proo c2ln3 =Mit*. .ittip - . at. OS Dio1Q, -pr9oa.rt agml or to atcO kat vodIin3* , na/176 7i m-'n-nlo Waco its= oS5-4t fish. Mg ca •. - tarrocthmo Virginial utp ovq `t :84 mitt of t 6` r-41t7. - ' .-' cstto tilt ) for cat'aari.eat cm ....d^' L..rucc-y/o. c act.. at tt± CO cyte for M inn. (=I o • Than aro vu.'" &th'caatso . • r4 dm co e$0't3igb efts' 01G0 a 3 2 Oe t'` t ctt ao. - re---SSri dorso to a . mA t 4 to Cate° • • - Ct ti11j7 So that cc tditiono aro fat Cm favc,rab1.b • taoauco talo rcrcoo tat? pato-mint iaactco '14.onarg fosoa a probl.cra not too canto moo. D) °4? aptro taw boon ccs two c is co n• agot.r�vvaitt� ill leach aro boir� cry= tat rain) t o potato.. • g,to r9 . • tativa or nets g ow-‘l ,-'4n to- is aq ca et•t a - • ' OCD tin it tC c3ta'tom•oot.Dc ovary° ..rt r+0 tut . t uttdie3 ca leas d pcparty. at..atnifrcy gia2,_ta0 •Sear local bit, two-2. tto able direction of Cr; 011. 0 1 t83b cot paS a 2. - 1 tEl L...KJ r, CC itet4t *Tao Cf - .t.... to:N, Al of tt._;�, tieno.gc tqi t IC2 CSrcl '-+o • • . 3 ,,t`a o a 3 alto tcpoct 'at C^n.0 8L"'^ o t. • cQP a'! z<at:'3"'1�2-0 t3UcSQc > .co.tst t c • td g ' do' ,pt ��d . • Aviation' caa e31y aes y tI r< a ttot3 al Cafanit Ez1 a .---t taVV`z' at.tan s4S"�o . •: - . Ca r It lo Fcc3ca j1 tt..'`ti . " to &Atia • Vgethp c t n a' p n ,.- � -1cxo t , t'"'3 E.• cut c1.0 - •,1 c2 . Ctocatio Cak3q ilp dip yids to C.• k rbstai. s .n. : •tj for tib cce.r t r,t :�; to c38cs oc lcadvo . 'C - 'to - • fir-vMr30 t \01'n71 cam$ a s , cu.i.f ' to av to motto. 4�a lSttlo c 'cicaahtic o-c t...,v.) • .. o • awl tM tica e3 coincilir.'—--% So ca •otr t citn .c. tIt . lon3 of 't- lea= tos . =1 to & r Sal Sn". 7J at off. • Otto a ain I c`a•t3 ars &ea cr,.1 t• fizz t&t ... ,Ila . • n1,9 th coo cttica -dtoc:aay ie) Ez:.; c �-`- `jp0 0ffef o to cue tin Th ace. - l ' Sett,s ;'W. : In fuvi d of • amtioL=mt th tet) cdrt:ain of a c-a, -' .e t;.. t; 3o czo . . coo c tain �;z._S fac'i t..ob-c Mlt'o Co czcc t a 1 tom n pocainip 1> Ci pc zZo ' I'D i pj,'S�],'{ .�._4 C�fitn a. ' s� crtt zado r.-1, ine 1�t0 5 — ,) . ftp ta1Lo Cep C \L-D Paca t cor t.2aa G 0 o Ori Eva cZ 6M.1-,j0 Pit-So C j\ �C,31C'.1` Q' t.•-,--c' k•-,- ] Circ f , CD Sr'.3 c "^.�! a o3 tt 10.^ i u1d 0 l ` `l 1 x.-icanicatisa "• o typo'actica tccpo acia o BS us 0 Or a3iE3 - •Ct . y a.2 re-.r.,.,C'tte1 WS �. � a� t� �42Sc eitio ct in tto I .. to of C c ditcl tri ' k*0 SS t�#a o .M, . . • ' . o assignee is in default Seven, deter:e re hot legal actions against &) the company sill be -dofended, etc. I oeliove tnero are efforts to obtain this kind of lasting solution at Godfrey Field. Naturally, the officers or Chantilly Aviation will discuss any •iifforonces of opinion about our position regarding the defaults cited. Coar_»:cial. 'feotero often.influence our action and you ray thiut our position to =song. 11e are fleatbblo, rgoonablb ' and fully appreciate the Mouse desiro for nigh.qt olityya mount° . corvico. Wo only as!s yota' it nce stale corrective actions aro - . initiated. - '" . • ' • Pharos U, aoblcq, 'Prosidont . CbsVtilly Aviation, Inc. • • • III. • • i - i 3