HomeMy Public PortalAbout1968_10_09L 24f
MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL, OCTOBER 9, 1968;
A regular meeting of the Leesburg Town Council was held in the
Council Chambers , 12 W. Loudoun Street , Leesburg , Virginia on October 9 ,
1968 at 7 :30 P.M. The meeting was called to order by the Mayor , with
Councilman Murray offering the prayer . Those present were: Mayor Ken-
neth 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 September 25, 1968 were approved as
written.
Town Manager Ritter reported that we now have in hand the Deed and
Agreement and the consent Decree prepared by Mr . Engle in regard to the
Children ' s Center Sewer Line . He said it had been reviewed by him and
the Town Attorney and would be referred to the Utility Committee for the
next meeting.
With regard to the Bond Issue , he said Council should decide very soon
whether they wished the State or Craigie and Company to do the work. He
said that he had found that the work formerly done by Mr . Gordon Bennett ' s
office is now being done by the State Treasurer ' s Office and there would
be no charge to the Town , so it would seem that this would be the course
to follow. He said we will have to get a legal opinion from Reed, Hoyt ,
Washburn & McCarthy and it looks as though we will need some of this money'
. by January. He reported that a letter from the Water Control Board as-
sures us we will receive $134 ,000 in addition to the $56 ,000 promised in
April. This, together with the previous grant of $446, 100, makes a total
of $636,000. He said we are very fortunate in having this, it amounts to
approximately 30 per cent of the $2 , 120,800 for which we are eligible .
He also explained the appropriations on the Agenda.
Mr . Moody reported on the Sewer Projects as follows:
On S-I , he said they are progressing better than before, that the
contractor has hired extra help and it is now going faster . He said
Mr. Ritter wrote a letter to the contractor , to which we have not re-
ceived a reply , and , if none is received by next Tuesday, it will be
reported to the Project Manager when they come up for regular weekly
inspection. He said they got some 260 yards of concrete poured in the
last couple of days on the clarifiers and the men are laying pipe.
On S-II , this is moving very satisfactorily, they are now pouring
the encasement for the last creek crossing. Also, the rock seems to be
running less and less , which leads him to believe that they will not run
over the 7,000 yards estimated by the engineer . He said he could foresee
no bad obstacles unless they would run into bad weather .
On S-III , there is about 1400 feet of pipe in the groud out of a
total of about 5600 feet . He said right now they are running into rock in
bad places , where there is not much maneuvering room. When they get past
Hirst , it should go much faster .
Mayor Rollins called attention to the letter received by all Council
members regarding a meeting between the Board of Supervisors and the Coun-
cilmen of all Towns and other County department heads , this meeting being
set for the consideration of water and sewer planning for the County as
a whole. This meeting will be held on October 14th at 7 :30 P.M. and
Mayor Rollins designated Councilman Fishback to attend this meeting.
He said the County would probably be setting certain Standards outside
the corporate limits and he wanted to make sure our Standards meet thei
Councilman Howard commented on the improvement at the Woodberry
Road intersection with Edwards Ferry Road.
Councilman Murray said that it was his understanding that the County
School Board would be willing to finance school crossing guards if the
Town and/or County Sheriff 's Office would be willing to undertake this.
He asked that we let the School Board know that we would be interested
in something of this kind . Councilman Orr concurred in the dangerous
condition existing at the intersection of Dry Mill Road and Loudoun Street
247:.
MINUTES OF OCTOBER 9, 1968 MEETING.
during school hours and, asked that a centerline be painted on this corner
in order to try to keep the school busses within their turning radius .
Mr. Murray asked that Mr . Ritter contact the School Board' about this prob-
lem. He also stated that this should be a joint Town and County project .
Mayor Rollins asked Councilman Fishback to report on the meeting with
Johnson and Williams in regard to the amount of money required to start
on the project of going to the Potomac River for water . Mr . Fishback re-
ported that , in order to get off the ground and make some progress before
our year is up, plans and surveys for the ground work would cost about
$25,000, of which Mr. Williams said they would be willing to carry all
except the surveying cost , for which we would have to pay. This survey
work would amount to approximately $5,000 to $6,000 and would have to be
paid immediately. This would be based on approximately' $400,000 for the
whole thing - $280,000 for the water line and $122 ,000 for the intake
tower. We would put about 75 per cent of this into the Bond Issue so that
we could pay him. To be safe , we would have to have about $6,000 to
$7,000 to pay the survey fees . Mayor Rollins said that the additional
money we will receive on the Sewer Plant will help to cut this down .
N The Mayor also said that we must decide whether the State will handle
0.1 this Bond Issue for us , or whether Craigie and Company will. It was the
CV general consensus of Council that this work be done by the State , es-
pecially since there would be no charge. Mayor Rollins asked the Finance
Committee to go over the schedule of repayments on this Bond Issue very
carefully. He said that Craigie' suggests that they be started in 1971
or 1972.
Mr . Crickenberger addressed Council with regard to a Bond„for Sec-
tion 1 of Leesburg Country Club Subdivision . He said they want to get
started on this subdivision and it is impossible for them to get a Per-
formance Bond, Mr . Hammerly says the bonding companies are "gun-shy”
since the _ tiots of 1967. Mr . Crickenberger wondered if the Council might
consider their putting up some security instead of the Bond , such as a
deed of trust on property. He said they have located some land that is
unencumbered . Councilman Fishback said the Town would have to have ap-
praisers to see if the property would be worth the mortgage value . Mr .
Crickenberger said they have one piece of 143 acres in Hillwood Estates
in Round Hill , which has been appraised by Phillips-Heilman at $1 , 250
an acre. Also , there are some lots in Country Club Hills in Purceliville
that are worth around $5 ,000 apiece. After discussion , it seemed to be
the general consensus of Council that a first moitgage on unencumbered
land would be acceptable . Mr . Crickenberger said they would be willing
to work with somebody on this. Mayor Rollins designated the Utility Com-
mittee to work with him to see if this is enough security. Town Attorney
Martin stated that State law takes precedence over local ordinances , so
he would , therefore, see no reason why this could not be done. However ,
upon looking at the Subdivision Ordinance , he said that it does not pro-
vide for this type of security , it states "surety company.? He said he
believed it could be amended in order to accept a first deed of trust as
bond. Councilman Howard asked that the Town Manager check with Fairfax
to ' see how they handle this type of situation . Mayor Rollins asked that
Town Attorney Martin and Mr . Ritter draft a resolution to incorporate this .
On motion of Councilman Fishback, seconded by Councilman Murray , the
following ' resolution was unanimously adopted:
BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg , that
the following appropriations be made:
$4, 360.00 - New 1969 G.MC . Flat-Bed Truck. Pocahontas Pontiac-
Low Bidder . General Fund-Capital Outlay.
1 ,000.00 Johnson and Williams - Study of Big Springs as a
Water Supply. Authorized by Council October 27,
1964. Utility Fund-Capital Outlay .
2,817. 73 - Johnson and Williams - Engineering Services on
Sewer Projects . 1967 Bond Issue Account .
2A8
MINUTES OF OCTOBER 9 , 1968 .MEETING.
On motion of Councilman Pumphrey , seconded by Councilman Murray, the
following resolution was unanimously adopted :
WHEREAS , the Town of Leesburg has gotten a Waterway Obstruction
• Permit and Water Use Permit from the State of Maryland for the
purpose of securing water from the Potomac River, and
WHEREAS , both Permits state that "The Permit shall become null
and- void if the privilege granted by the Permit is not exercised
within one year from April 1 , 1968 , except that this time limit
may be extended for good cause at the discretion of the Depart -
ment , "and
WHEREAS , the Town of Leesburg will take such necessary steps to
safeguard the Permits aforementioned ,
NOW, THEREFORE , BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the' Town
of Leesburg , that Johnson and Williams be authorized to proceed
with the development of plans for' the construction of a Water
Intake Tower and Water Line from the Town of Leesburg to the
Potomac River .
Councilman Fishback suggested that , before Johnson and Williams starts
on these plans, the Utility Committee and Town Manager meet with them to
see just what they intend to' do so that a definite amount to be included
in the Bond Issue can be determined . The Town Manager concurred in this.
Mr. B. C. Lawrence , a resident of Leesburg Estates , addressed Council
with regard to the high rates paid by him and other residents of that
subdivision for water and sewage . He said that his water and sewer bills
over a period of a year run higher than the taxes he pays to the County.
He also asked if there was any chance that these rates might be reduced
when additional houses are built in Country Club Estates. Councilman
Fishback pointed out that they are outside the corporate limits, thereby
making these bills half again as much as those in Town and that the rates
must be sufficient to meet the bond payments . Councilman Orr pointed
out that residents of this area could petition the Court for annexation
Mayor Rollins pointed out that the law has been changed with re-
gard to the issuance of commission permits , thereby making it necessary
that the Council must rule on the recommendation of the Planning Commis-
sion in this regard . On motion of Councilman Pumphrey , seconded by Coun-
cilman Howard , Council voted unanimously that the action of the Planning
Commission concerning the County Parking Lot be affirmed . Mayor Rollins
said that Mr . Leach had appointed a committee to look into rezoning of
that property and regarding government buildings . Mayor Rollins:asked
Mr . Ritter to inform Mr . Charles Turner of this action tomorrow.
The second recommendation from the Planning Commission regarding the
vacation of certain lots in Leesburg Estates was also discussed and it
was the general consensus of Council that this be vacated along the lines
recommended by the Commission . Mr . Ritter was asked to inform Mr. Penn
of this fact and ask him to prepare the Ordinance of Vacation .
•
Mr. Dew presented to Council a list of proposed changes in the new
Town Office Building , these changes having been made by Mr . Gregory of
Gregory Construction Company and Mr. Dew. He went over each item indi-
vidually and these changes were discussed by Council. The over-all prob-
lems in connection with building this Town Hall were discussed at length
and it was decided that it would be impractical to raise the tax rate
at this time to an amount large enough to include this building in the
proposed Bond Issue . ' Mayor Rollins, 'however , pointed out that the Town
could eventually sell the land on which the present sewage treatment
plant is located , along with other land which the Town owns , and this
would produce enough money to pay for the better part of ' this building .
Council told Mr . Dew that he would be paid and these plans would be kept
for use in the future; also , that he would be kept advised of any changes
the Council might consider . Various other means of enlarging space for
the Town Offices werediscussed and Mayor Rollins asked Councilman Fishback
to look into the possibility of using the building next door to the pres-
ent Town Hall.
There being no further business , the meeting adjourned at 9 :30 P.M.
/J i Mayor
Clerk of t Counc