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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1969_07_09 62 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL, JULY 9, 1969. A regular meeting of the Leesburg Town Council washeld in the Council Chambers at 10 W. Loudoun Street, Leesburg , Virginia, on July 9; ; 1969 at 7 :30 P.M. The meeting was called to orderr by the Mayor, with Councilman Murray offering the prayer. Those present were : Mayor Ken- neth B. Rollins, Councilmen G. Dewey Hill, Walter F. Murray, John W. Pumphrey and John A. Wallace, Jr. ; also Town Manager James W. Ritter, Jr. and Town Attorney George M. Martin. Absent from the meeting were Council- men Frederick R. Howard and Robert A. Orr. The Minutes of the Special Meeting of June 25 , 1969 and the Regular Meeting of June 25 , 1969 were approved as written. Tonw Manager Ritter reported the following : (1) The Myers Well is to be in operation next Monday. It was an- ticipated that everything would be here tomorrow, but the pipe line crew is tied up in Richmond due to a storm. They will come up Monday with everything they need and have assured him they can do all of this work in one day, assuming they hit no rock. The power line is already up and VEPCO is about through. The stakes are in for the water line , in antici- pation of this street being extended at some future date and so that it will be out of the way of the storm drain. We have a written agreement from Frank Myers saying that three cents per thousand gallons is agree- able with him. We will eventually have to draw up a legal document, setting out the rights of both parties , but he realizes that this is an emergency and the document can be drawn in the future . The Health Department representatives were here today and they have approved the well and its location. The chemical analysis looks like it is fairly soft water and has a little fluoride in it and very little nitrate. The other wells are running about the same as they have been. Paxton is pumping about 225 ,000 gallons per day and the 12 million gallon stand- pipe is nearly full. There has been no mud in Paxton since last Wednes- day night, but we watch it constantly. Phillips-Nickels gets cloudy at times . Scott Well is pumping about 130,000 gallons per day. The Health Department has not advised us whether or not we can keep on using this well for this summer, so it is on strictly a temporary basis . Bacteria:_ tests show no count whatsoever. The Health Department requires a 50- foot diameter off of the well where there is no building at all, or else a 100 square foot lot . The fact that we have a man living within a few feet of this well is very objectionable to them. He said he assumed the water was in good shape today, so he let the car washes and garages go back into operation. (2) The street resurfacing program was finished last week and Tri- County did a good job. It was estimated that it would cost $22,000, how- ever, the final cost is $21,321, as we see it now. There is a little more work to be done in front of Phillips Motel, but we will still be within the estimate . There was some little trouble with the merchants on King Street, they did not want to add one inch of plant mix, saying that raising the crown of the street would make the flooding condition worse when we have hard rains . Also, there were some complaints that, instead of putting plant mix on some streets , we should have been spend- ing this money on two additional lanes on Route 7 east . He explained that we had a choice on the streets in the subdivisions , either we could place a seal treatment , which would have to be done every two or three years , or put on plant mix, which will last for 15 years , so the money is well spent on this . Mayor Rollins reported that Chantilly Aviation, which is composed of both Mr. VanGulick and Mr. Zebley , has agreed to sell. the Chantilly stock to Transamerican Airports and the contract will beconsummated on Friday. Mr. Rawls is expected to be present a little later to ask Council 's tentative approval before they change their money for majority stock ownership . The formal Council agreement can come later. 63 MINUTES OF JULY 9, 1969 MEETING. Mayor Rollins also asked Mr. Ritter for a list of those people who wanted four lanes on Route 7 , instead of the work done . Mr . Ritter re- plied that there were just two, one was Arnold Pfeiffer and the other a letter which appeared in last week 's Times:-Mirror. Councilman Murray commented that he didn 't see how another one-half or one inch of plant mix would affect the water flow in the gutter. Mr. Ritter said actually, it doesn ' t . Councilman Pumphrey said he could see where this could cause additional water in the stores ., Councilman Hill explained that it merely raises the crown . Mayor Rollins asked what plan there is for the should- ers of the roads that have been resurfaced. Mr. Ritter says they will have to be built up with some good material. Mr. Moody reported that the floor has been poured for the sludge thickener on Project S-I and the walls are completely formed and rein- forcing steel is in. They will probably pour the wall tomorrow. This is the last of the circular tanks . There are some other types of tanks to be done yet, but they are much smaller. They are now forming the first floor end beams in the Control Building . There is some finish-up work to be done on the splitter box. Practically all of the equipment is installed on this. About two-thirds of the filter block in the second stage biofilter is done . There is more finish-up work to be done on the secondary recirculating pumping station. They are about finished up inside. The brick work is to be cleaned up and this will pj probably be done next week. The roofs are finished on the two recircu- ::Z lating pumping stations and the copper downspouts are in. They are ex- an cavating for the raw sewage pumping station and are down about 12 feet to solid rock. They are now drilling a 30 foot depth on the southeast corner to get a hole deep enough to take the water out while they drill the rest of it . This is going a little bit slow and he thinks they need another drill. He reported that he took Dr. Ballenger, Mr. Laird and Mr. Cantrell of the County Health Department and Mr. Forbes on a tour of the plant today. On motion of Councilman Murray, seconded by Councilman Pumphrey, the following resolution was placed on the floor for discussion: BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg , that the Town Manager be authorized to borrow on behalf of the Town of Leesburg $100,000 from a local bank for a period of 30 days, pending receipt of funds, from the $600,000 Bond. Sale , such money to be used to pay outstanding estimates due contractors on the sewer projects . Councilman Wallace asked when the Bond money will be in. Mr. Ritter said we can get it on the 24th of July and he believes we can wait on this to pay the contractors on the sewer project and not have to borrow this money. The motion was , therefore , withdrawn. On motion of Councilman Pumphrey, 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 : $ . 9. 70 - A & E Blueprinters for printing during May . 1967 Bond Issue . 131.00 - For Judges and Clerk of Town Election. General Fund. 10,000.00 - Town Office Improvement . This takes the place of the $ 10 ,000 appropriated on June 25 in the last fiscal year. 1,000 .00 - Supplemental Appropriation for Street Dept. Personnel salaries for fiscal year ending June 30, 1970, to be used at the discretion of the Town Manager. 500.00 - Supplemental Appropriation for Utility Dept . Personnel salaries for fiscal year ending June 30, 1970. To be used at the discretion of the Town Manager. 64 MINUTES OF JULY 9, 1969 MEETING. On motion of Councilman Pumphrey, seconded by Councilman Hill, the following resolution was placed on the floor : BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that Dewberry , Nealon & Davis be authorized to prepare plans for the rearrangement of the water line in the vicinity of _ the Rt . 7 - By-Pass Bridge , and to increase the size of the water line to 12" on the section of the water line rearranged, at an approximate cost of $900.00. • Mr. Ritter explained that the State Highway Department will advertise for bids in October on -the Southeast Quadrant of the By-Pass, so this work has to be done pretty quickly because the By-Pass will wipe out this water line . It will be at a lower elevation than Route 7 , so we have to put it under the By-Pass . The problem will be in keeping the people in service while they are building the bridge. We do not know yet what the construction cost will be , but it has to be done . Dewberry, Nealon and Davis felt that we should make this a 12-inch line in order to meet the demand for water east of this point at a later date. These plans will include the estimated cost of doing this . The resolution was then unanimously adopted. • On motion of Councilman Murray, seconded by Councilman Pumphrey, the following resolution was placed on the floor for discussion : BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that the contract date of completion on Project S-I be ex- tended to October 31 because of the poor labor situation and inclement weather conditions during the winter months . • Mr. Ritter explained that this is a recommendation from Johnson and Williams and from Mr. Moody . He recommended that the time be extended inasmuch as the contractor lost a lot of time due to the labor situa- tion. Mr. Moody said the contract called for 365 days , which would have been June 24th, however, they told us in the beginning that- it would take 15 months , which would have been September 24th. He said the labor situation is still bad and they will do well to finish by October 31. Mr. Moody said they will finish final inspection on S-III this Friday, then S-II, S-III and S-IV will all be completed. Councilman Wallace asked why they wish to extend it now when they have been shooting for an October 1st deadline . Mr. Moody said the biggest problem is still labor, every Monday there are several men who do not show up - if you fire them, you can ' t hire anybody else to take their place . Most of the labor is coming from southern Virginia anyway, the only ones you can hire here are the few strikers from the D. C. area . The resolution was then adopted by a vote of 4 to 1, with Mayor Rollins voting against it . On motion of Councilman Murray, seconded by Councilman Pumphrey, the following resolution was placed on the floor: BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that Johnson and Williams be authorized to prepare a plat for the acquisition of approximately 6 . 7 acres of land on the Rust property, and a 50 ' easement for an entrance road, as shown on drawing prepared by them, for the purpose of constructing a Water Filtration facility and related appurtenances . • The purchase price of this land was discussed extensively , with some of the members believing the price the Rust heirs are asking is entirely too high. Mr. Ritter pointed out that Johnson and Williams had origi- nally estimated an amount of $55 ,000 for the land and this will run about $30 ,000. The total. estimated cost , as given by Mr. Ritter at the last meeting, is $1;200 ,000 . Condemnation was also discussed. Mr. Ritter said he didn ' t believe any amount- of negotiation would make them change their minds on their price . The resolution was then adopted by a 4 to 1 vote , with Councilman Wallace voting against -it. Payment to Mr. Scott for the use of his well was discussed at length, with Councilman Pumphrey pointing out that Mr. Scott , at a meeting with the Utility Committee last week, stated that he is not interested in pay- ment per thousand gallons . He wants $50.00 a day flat, or he offered to 65 MINUTES OF JULY 9, 1969 MEETING . rent the well to the Town for 19 months for $11,500, or he _would be willing to sell it for $45 ,000 . Since that meeting, tests were run on the well at Mr. Scott 's suggestion, and insistence that it would pro- duce an unlimited supply, however, this test proved that this was false. He understood that it pumped for about 10 minutes to atmosphere, then went muddy and quit . After it was hooked back up, it was .up to better than 100 gallons per minute . The capacity is not going to get any better, and it could get worse. Mr. Ritter said it is down to 92 gallons per minute now and he does not believe this capacity is worth what Mr. Scott is asking for it . Councilman Pumphrey asked if it would be necessary to keep this well in operation once the Myers Well is hooked into the sys- tem. Mr. Ritter said that Mr. Snyder of Sydnor Hydrodynamics feels that we can do away with it after the Myers Well is in operation for a while and we know what it is going to do. He figures on pumping it 24 hours a day, or at the rate of about 300,000 gallons per day.. It is hoped to get 200,000 a day out of Nickels Well, and with the Royal Street Wells and Paxton ready to fill in the gap, we should have plenty of water. However, he said he is never convinced until he sees what a well will do. It is understood that Myers Well pumped 250 gallons per minute for an 8-hour period. Mr: Snyder is designing it for 200 gallons per minute because he believes this is what it will boil down to after itthas been in operation for several months . The Health Department says it is in a good location. If this turns out as well as expected, he believes we can do away with the Scott Well, and he believes the Health Department will r�r tell us we have to. Mr. Scott ' s proposal was $1,500 per month. We had used a little over 5 ,000,000 gallons a few days ago. Councilman Murray C: said he thinks we should give him a . little consideration, that it would look like we couldn ' t go too far wrong in paying him for the 19-month period, if we can use the well that long , however, we�would have to find out from the Health Department about this before any decision is made . It. was suggested that we wait until July 27th, which will be a two-month period that we have been using the well. Mr. Ritter said he doesn ' t see how any decision can be reached until we hear from the Health Department . Councilman Hill said Mr. Scott made it quite clear that he wanted us to make a decision tonight and he was insistent on our making the test . He said he thinks we owe him money. Councilman Murray said that buying it is out of the question, and he doesn 't see any point in considering the renting of it for the remainder of this year and for 1970 until after we hear from the Health Department . Mayor Rollins also said he was not in favor of doing anything until we hear from the Health Department and until we know whether we need it or not . Councilman Wallace moved that we cease using the well by July 27th and that we negotiate with Scott on the amount to be paid for the two- month period that we used it . This motion was dropped for lack of a second. Councilman Hill said he would like to have another discussion with Mr. Scott since the test has been run and after we hear from the Health Department . Councilman Murray also suggested another meeting with Mr. Scott and the Utility Committee in light of what the well has produced and all other intangibles . We still have until the 28th to pay him for what we owe him and thinks that we are obligated for this„but -see=if_ they can 't come up with something better than this proposition. He also made the observation that, realizing that Mr. Myers owns property in the Town, he is certainly taking an entirely different view from Mr. Scott. Mr. Ritter again pointed out that Mr . Scott 's original price of $50 per day was based on the well producing 1,000 gallons per minute, and it certainly is not doing this . Mayor Rollins asked the Utility Committee to meet with Mr. Scott when convenient to all parties . On motion of Mayor Rollins , seconded by Councilman Pumphrey, an amount of $750.00 per month was appropriated for the salary of Mr. Theodore Moody for the fiscal year July 1 , 1969 through June 30, 1970. Mayor Rollins congratulated him on the good job he has done and Council- man Hill said he is sure his services and knowledge can be utilized in other areas also . Councilman Wallace pointed out that the Finance Committee should be looking into ways to invest the $600,000 before it comes in. He sug- gested that this be brought up at the next Finance Committee meeting. Town Attorney Martin suggested that a telephone call be made to Mr. Giordano to see if it would be possible for the Vice-Mayor to sign the Bonds since Mayor Rollins will be away on the 24th when they come in. tiff MINUTES OF JULY 9, 1969 MEETING. • Mr. Wallace raised the question as to whether the Car Wash detergents may have "an adverse effect on the sewer plant . If so , ROBO should be given a chance to do something about this. Mr. Ritter said there is no storm sewer available and this matter was discussed, with the conclu- sion that Mr. Ritter would check into the matter with the Health De- partment. Mr. Lucien Rawls addressed Council at this time , stating that he had just come from a meeting with Mr. Zebley and they have reached an agree- ment which Trans-American Airports has already signed, and which Mr. Zebley will sign, but he would like his attorney to see it first. He passed around a letter for Council members to read and said this letter and the signed agreement will be presented to Council after it is signe by Mr . Zebley. He said they were also very close to reaching an agree- ment with Mr". VanGulick and they expect to sign with both, if possible, on Friday morning. Technically , though, they would be in violation of the lease if they transfer majority stock ownership without Council 's approval. They would, therefore , like a resolution from Council stating that they would not be in violation. On motion of Mayor Rollins, sec- onded by Councilman Murray, Council voted unanimously that the Council hereby grants tentative approval of the transfer of the majority stock ownership of the Chantilly Aviation Corporation to Transamerican Air- ports , Inc . , contingent upon an executed agreement between the parties aforementioned. Councilman Pumphrey asked Mr. Zebley 's position in this transfer. Mr. Rawls said he will be entirely out of the picture and they (Transamerican) will be taking over the operation of Leesburg Airmotive entirely . Councilman Hill asked if they expect to carry out at least some portions of the lease , such as T-Hangars , etc . Mr. Rawls said they expect to go ahead as fast as possible . There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:45 P.M. • 4leC4 'J . � Mayor rk o the 1