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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1968_03_27 186 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL, MARCH 27, 1968. A regular meeting of the Leesburg Town Council was held 'in the Council Chambers, 12 W. Loudoun Street, Leesburg, Virginia; on March 27, 1968 at 7:30 P.M. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Rollins, with Councilman Orr ; offering the prayer. Those present were Mayor Kenneth B. Rollins, Councilmen C. Maloy Fishback, G. Dewey Hill, Frederick R. Howard, Walter F. Murray and Robert A. Orr ; also Town Manager James W. Ritter, Jr. and Town Attorney George M. Martin. Absent from the meeting was Councilman John W. Pumphrey. The Minutes of the regular meeting of March 13, 1968 were approved as written. Mr. Woodrow Fisher , representing approximately six or seven residents of Prospect Hills Subdivision who were present at the meeting addressed Coun- cil with regard to the debris and trash on the old Howard property to the rear of these property owners, which is not only an eye-sore, but also a hazard to the lives of small children in the area. He said Mr. Ritter has tried unsuccessfully several times to get the owner to have this situation cleaned up; and they are now asking that Council take some action to have something done about this mat- . ter. Mr. Ritter said he was in complete agreement with these residents and that he had contacted Mr. Scully, both by letter and by personal telephone conversations, on numerous occasions, all to no avail , other than to have the Howard house pushed down with a bulldozer. He said he talked to Mr. Scully again today and he (Mr. Scully) takes the position that these residents' should come to him with their problem, not go through the Town. Mr. Ritter said he could see no point in them hiring a lawyer to make him clean up his property. He also said that there is an Ordinance on the books pertaining to weeds and foreign growth, however, the debris and other materials located on this lot are another matter and it will take a bulldozer and trucks to haul it out of there. It is Mr. Ritter 's belief that this can be taken care of under the Ordinance if the property owner will not perform this work, and he can be billed or a lien levied against the property. He pointed out . that it would be a time-consuming job though and that, if the Town has to do the work, someone will probably have to be hired to do this. Dis- cussion followed on this matter as to just how it can be handled and several pic- tures of the deplorable condition of this lot were exhibited by Mr. Fisher. Town Manager James W. Ritter reported the following: (1) Regarding Addition No. 2 on the Agenda, this matter was discussed at the last Council meeting and Mr. Gheen. advised us to wait until about the 25th or 26th of this month because of daily changes in the market condition. He said a schedule of approximate payments has been worked out to the contractors on the sewer work with Johnson and Williams', and he and Mr. Gheen went over this schedule today, and Mr. Gheen believes that we can invest this $250,000 as shown in the proposed resolution. Also, the $500,000 Certificate of Deposit will come due on April 28th and, at that time, we will probably be in a position to invest part of that money. (2) An appeal has been made to the Water Control Board for more money for construction of the sewage treatment facilities and we would be eligible for another $190,000. The Board will meet the first Tuesday in April in regular session, and we understand that our request will be considered at that time. It looks as though we have a chance to get some of this money now and some after the last of May. (3) The W. & 0. D. and Alberts easements are still outstanding, although the Alberts easement is just about concluded. We are trying to get together some needed information for the W. & 0. D. , this information needed in order to secure a permanent easement. This information should be ready to go to them tomorrow. (4) A tabulation of the bids on the sewage treatment facilities was brought up yesterday from Johnson and Williams on all three projects. They also sent their recommendation as to who should get the low bid, together with financial statements of the low bidders, and the contracts. He said we do not have to take any adtion tonight, however, Federal Form B has to be sent in to the Water Control Board, and we have to await their 'approval before awarding contracts. We need three items for this form: (1) The low bid we want to ac- cept; (2):a statement from the Town Attorney that all easements have been ac- quired; (3) we have to show the method by which we will get the extra money needed to complete the project. 187. MINUTES OF MARCH 27, 1968. Mayor Rollins asked if Council is agreed that this money be secured by General Obligation Bond. It was the general consensus that this be the method by which to secure this money. Councilman Hill asked, regarding the $250,000 to be invested in Treasury Bills, what would happen to the other $9,000. Mr. Ritter said we would get this in cash and put it in the Bond Issue Account, that the investment has to be in increments of $10,000. Councilman Fishback commented that he would prefer to wait on the bids until after the Utility Committee meeting. Councilman Murray asked if there would be any advantage to members of Council attending the Water Control Board meeting: He said he thought as much emphasis as possible should be placed on the needifor this money. Mr. Ritter said he would check into this. On motion of Councilman Fishback, seconded by Councilman Hill, the following resolution was unanimously adopted: WHEREAS, the State of Maryland has granted permission to the Town of N Leesburg to establish a water supply from the .Potomac River, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of U Leesburg, that the Mayor be authorized to sign Permit No. M-68-SAP-1 , and Permit No. M-68-0b-1, on behalf of the Town of Leesburg, which will allow the Town of Leesburg to appropriate and use Surface Water, and also to erect a Waterway Obstruction in the Potomac River. Mr. Ritter "read to Council a letter from the Department of Water Resources of the State of Maryland, which letter explained the reasons for the above resolu- tion and Councilman Fishback pointed out that one condition of our being allowed to take water from the Potomac is that we must get started within a year to take steps toward a connection for this water. Councilman Hill suggested that a no- tation be made as to the date these permits are returned in order that the time might not slip by with nothing accomplished. On motion of Councilman Murray , seconded -by Councilman Orr, the following resolution was unanimously adopted after members who were present at the meet- ing with Mr. Craigie commented that they believed this will be advantageous to the Town: WHEREAS, Mr. F. W. Craigie met with the Mayor and four (4) members of the Town Council on March .19 to discuss methods of financing pro- posed construction projects, and WHEREAS, it was the opinion of those present that F. W. Craigie & Co. be retained for this purpose, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of •the "Town of Leesburg, that the firm of F. W. Craigie & Co. be retained to con- duct a financial feasibility study of proposed improvements for the Town of Leesburg. On motion of Councilman Orr, seconded by Councilman Fishback, the following resolution was placed on the floor for discussion: WHEREAS, a study has been made to investigate the feasibility of using the vacant lot at the corner of Cornwall Street and Stack Lane for a Parking Lot, and II/ WHEREAS, it has been determined that it would cost approximately $1,000 to grade and place crushed stone on said lot, which would provide space for about 25 vehicles, and WHEREAS, the owner of said lot has expressed his willingness to per- mit the Town to use the lot, provided there is no objection by people in the immediate area, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Lees- burg, that a Public Hearing be held on to deter- mine this fact. 188 MINUTES OF MARCH 27, 1968 MEETING. After discussion, on motion of Councilman Fishback, seconded by Councilman Orr , this resolution was unanimously tabled. On motion of Councilman Fishback, sec- onded by Councilman Hill , this matter was unanimously referred to the Planning Commission for their consideration. On motion of Councilman Orr, seconded by Councilman Howard, the following resolution was unanimously adopted : BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that the owners, or occupants, of the area in Prospect Hills Subdivision de- ' scribed as the unsubdivided area surrounded by Sections 2-A, 2-B and II/Section 5, whereon is located a barn and remains of buildings, be and they are hereby notified that the following conditions must be abated or obviated by beginning within 14 days from the receipt of a certi- fied copy of this resolution, and concluded within 60 days thereof, namely: • (1) Cutting and removal of weeds. (2) Removal of the trash, lumber , tin cans, glass, cinder block, old bricks, barbed wire, old chicken wire, tin, discarded building materials, portions of old automobiles, dead tree stumps, charred remains of trash, slabs of concrete curbing and sidewalk, and other offensive and unsanitary substances. (3) Razing and removal of all structures, except the barn and the quonset hut. (4) Proper grading and filling to eliminate stagnant water. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that , if such conditions are not abated or obviated within said period, the Town Manager be and he is hereby authorized to abate or obviate these conditions, and that the cost thereof shall be charged to the owners and included in the real es- tate tax for the ensuing year, or collected as provided by Section II/ 15.1-867 of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended, and the Charter for the Town of Leesburg. On motion of Councilman Orr , seconded by Councilman Howard, the following resolution was unanimously adopted : BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that the following appropriations be made : - (1) S 100.00 - Stirling Harrison, representing William S. Alberts on Easement for Sewer. 1967 Bond Issue Account. - • (2) 1,210.87 - William B. Dew, for professional services Febru- ary 10 through March 8, according to contract. General Fund-Capital Outlay, Town Office Con- struction. _ (3) 330.00 - Johnson and Williams, Revisions to plans and specifications to include Asbestos-Cement Pipe. 1967 Bond Issue Account. (4) 803.93 - Johnson and Williams - Printing invoices from Blueprinters on Plans, Specifications, etc. 1967 Bond Issue Account. Mr. Ritter commented that the plans on the Town Office Building should be ready any day. On motion of Councilman Murray, seconded by Councilman Howard, the following resolution was placed on the floor for discussion: WHEREAS, the Town of Leesburg has 3259,000 invested in Treasury Bills with First & Merchants National Bank that will mature March 31, 1968, and 489 MINUTES OF MARCH 27, 1968 MEETING. WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Council to reinvest this money for such periods of time that will meet payments to contractors on. the sewer construction program, . • NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that $120,000• be invested for 60 days and $130,000. be in- vested for 90 days in Treasury Bills at the current rate of interest. On motion of Councilman Hill, seconded by Councilman Orr, Council voted unani- mously to amend this resolution to read '3140,000 be invested for 90 days" in IIIlieu of"$130,000. " The resolution, as amended, was then unanimously adopted. On motion of Councilman Orr, seconded by Councilman Hill, the following resolution was unanimously adopted : BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that $1,000.00 of the 1967 Bond Issue Account be invested for 90 days in Treasury Bills with the First and Merchants National Bank of • , Leesburg, Virginia. ,v Councilman Fishback called attention to the fact that the Royal Street CV water tank is still leaking and some repair work should be done to this tank. N Mr. Ritter said he would contact Mr. Beaver and see if he will repair it. O Councilman Fishback asked how Council feels about starting work on the Po- tomac River water supply and when the engineers should start studying this proj- ect. Councilman Murray said he hoped this would be included in the financial feasibility study. Councilman Fishback said it would cost approximately $25,000 for Johnson and Williams to draw up plans, etc. Councilman Howard commented that he believed the Town should try to put in some recreational facilities be- low the water intake, that this would be a good location for such facilities. Mr. Ritter said that Mr. Craigie had not yet contacted Johnson and Williams relative to information from them on the various projects to be considered in this feasibility study and he would contact Mr. Craigie regarding this in order that we might get a report on this study as soon as possible. Mr. Ritter also said that a letter from Westinghouse gives no definite "Yes" or "No" as to whether or not they will build a new plant, but their im- • mediate need is for water since they are presently depending on wells for their water supply. It apparently is their hope to build a new plant by 1970. Town Attorney Martin stated that he believed a traffic hazard exists at the intersection of Route 7 and Fort Evans Road and that the speed limit should at least be lowered in this area. He also suggested that a study be made as to whether a traffic light should be installed at this location. He also mentioned the situation which exists in front of Leesburg Plaza Shopping Center. .This matter was discussed but no action taken. There being no further business, the meeting ..wassa/adjourned at 8:35 P.M. • Mayor Clerk of t Council • .