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.
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