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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1970_04_22 . 112 - MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL, APRIL 22, 1970 . A regular meeting of the Leesburg Town Council was held in the Council Chambers, 10 W. Loudoun Street , Leesburg, Virginia, on April 22 , 1970 at 7 :30 P.M. The meeting was called to order by the Mayor, with the prayer being offered by Councilman Wallace . Those present were : Mayor Kenneth B . Rollins , Councilmen G. Dewey Hill, Frederick R. Howard, Walter F . Murray, Robert A. Orr, John W. Pumphrey and John A. Wallace, Jr. ; also Town Manager James W. Ritter, Jr. and Town Attorney George M. Martin. Councilman Wallace corrected the Minutes of the Meeting of April 8, 1970 on Page 166, second paragraph, Line 3 , by deleting 'with the next year being on a 10 cent per capita basis . '.' The Minutes , as cor- rected, were then approved. Town Manager Ritter reported the following : (1) He explained several items appearing on the Agenda , particularly those dealing with collection of delinquent real estate taxes and de- linquent water and sewer bills . • Also, the requests for payment to Mary- land Excavators just came in today, and Town Attorney Martin wants to discuss the problems arising from the fact that the Town has one-mile jurisdiction over subdivisions outside the corporate limits . (2) The ABC Board has set May 12th at 2 :00 P.M. in their Richmond Office for a hearing on our request to change the hours for serving mixed beverages to 1 :00 A.M. (3) Regarding the purchase of the Myers Well, we still have re- ceived no answer from the USGS . Mr. Myers called them the other day and they admitted they had no legal right to the well at all . Mr. Myers said he is willing to accept any liability himself insofar as the USGS is concerned, even going so far as to say he will drill them a new well if necessary . It is hoped to have the Deed for this Well and lot at the next meeting. (4) Dewberry , Nealon and Davis presented its study on the water and sewer extension policy outside the corporate limits at the last Utility Committee meeting and it has been turned over to the Town At- torney for further study. (5) The annual inspection of streets was made the other day with Mr. Wiggins and he congratulated the Town on the fine job it is doing in this respect . (6) All the Deeds , Agreements , etc . on the Edwards Ferry Road Project have been received and the contract with Tri-County Asphalt has been signed and sent to them. There is a letter attached to the Agenda regarding this project to be discussed. It is unfortunate that test borings were not made before the contract was awarded. The fact that we need a different treatment on this soil came as-a surprise to us, es- pecially since we have had traffic on this road for a good many years and we thought we had good soil and a good stone base . However, the tests that Tri-County had made show it will cost $13 ,440 to correct this and bring it up to the standard it should be . The Agreement with Tri- County provided that they would make three tests , however, no provision was made for the payment for the correction of any material, so we would have to pay for it in any case . This will make our cost on this project somewhere around $48,000. There is no point in going back to Mrs . Carr or Mr. Wallace to see if they would participate in this cost because we should have looked into it before . (7) Mr. Beavers made repairs to the water tank recently, but it i still leaking . He expects to work on it again on Monday . Mr. Ritter said he has called Dominion Tank and Iron Company today and they hope to have a man here on Monday to look at the tank to see what can be done . They are experts and Mr. Ritter said he would depend to a great extent on what- they say. Our only alternative would be to put a metal tank on the existing tower. We have to have the additional tank besides the 12 million gallon one at the Hospital. 173 MINUTES OF APRIL 22 , 1970 MEETING . Mayor Rollins said he had noticed a lot of the streets are breaking up on the shoulders and asked what the situation is on this . Mr. Ritter said we have cases where the dirt shoulder needs bringing up to the edge of the surface and we have been wanting to do this work, but the wet weather has prevented us from using the grader on these streets . Mr. Wiggins said ours are in better condition than theirs in the County . Mr. Ritter said the Budget is ready and presented it tonight for Council 's consideration and study . He said he has- spent a lot of time on it and it concerns him a great deal to recommend raising the water rates , but this is the same increase he recommended last year. It was decided at that time to run on the cash on hand at the end of the year, but there will be no cash at the end of this year. The Bond retirement payment is to be paid out on June 15th of' this year, and the payment for the Myers Well before that time. There is not much on hand in the Utility Fund and it is going to keep getting worse and worse. There was no consideration made for the new Bond Issue either, and we are talking about l% million dollars . It is hoped to have the Referendum in July. The proposed rate of increase takes care of only what we are looking at here, and we do not know when Johnson and Williams will finish the plans for the Potomac Water Project . Mr. Williams had said he thought it would cSD be in June. By that time, we should be able to determine the exact a- CD mount of the Referendum. If the Referendum is successful , we would pos- sibly advertise for bids at the end of this year or the beginnirg of ^"' next . The General Fund is In pretty good shape due to the increase in assessment of real estate , however, he said he would like to see Council hold the present tax rate . He thought it was a mistake when the rate was lowered five years ago . Now we have increased cost in services , personnel, materials , etc . He said he had figured the Budget on about 98% collection of taxes and this is about what it has been running this year. Mayor Rollins asked how many people would be employed for the new Sewage Treatment Plant . Mr. Ritter said the Health Department says we have to have someone there around the clock, which would mean four (4) employees - we have to have a swing shift to allow for vacation, sick leave, etc . After discussion, it was decided that Council would meet informally to go over the Budget on Sunday night, May 3rd at 7 : 30 P.M. The Clerk will remind all Council members of this meeting on Friday before . On motion of Councilman Wallace , seconded by Councilman Howard, the following resolution was unanimously adopted: BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the" Town of Leesburg, that the Town Manager and Town Attorney be authorized and directed to proceed under Sec . 58-1014 of the State Code in the collection of delinquent real estate taxes . Said real estate taxes will be declared delinquent when they have been outstanding for a period of more than two years . On motion of Councilman Howard, seconded by Councilman Hill, the following Ordinance was proposed : BE IT ORDAINED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg , that a new Section be added to the Town Code , providing for the placing of a lien upon real estate for delinquent water and sewer bill's : Sec . 25-27 . 1 There shall be a lien upon the real estate for the amount of any rates , fees and other charges made by the Town to the owner or lessee or ten- ant of such real estate for the water and sewer services rendered by the Town to such real es- tate from and after the time when such rates , fees and other charges become delinquent . A delinquent bill , under this Section, shall be defined as any bill that hasn 't been paid with- in 10 days from final notice . 174 MINUTES OF APRIL 22 , 1970 MEETING. The Treasurer shall certify to the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Loudoun County the a- mount of delinquent water and sewer charges , together with the fee to be paid for each en- try on the Judgment Records by the Clerk. Town Attorney George Martin said the Attorney General had ruled this Ordinance valid. Councilman Orr asked if the landowner would be notified that his .tenant is not paying his bill and Council believed this would have to be done . Councilman Hill suggested that this Ordinance be well publicized. Councilman Pumphrey suggested that , when a tenant applies for water service, he fill in an application which would state who the owner of the property is . After further discussion, a roll call vote of 4 to 3 adopted this Ordinance, with Mayor Rollins and Councilmen Murray and Orr voting against it . On motion of Councilman Wallace, seconded by Councilman Pumphrey, the following resolution was offered: BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that the following appropriations be made: $282 . 75 - Johnson and Williams - General Coordination and Construction Review, Contracts S-I , S-II and S-III (1969 Bond Issue) . 150 .00 - H. Wendell Kline - Appraisal Service on William R. Altizer, et als . General Fund-Capital Outlay . Councilman Hill asked if we know how much we have paid Johnson and Wil- liams and are sure we are not over the percentage . Mr. Ritter said we are all right on this . There was discussion at this time on the appraisal made by Mr. Kline on the land needed for the Hospital Road, this appraisal being in the amount of $8 ,800 . Mr. Ritter said he asked Mr. Kline if he thought we should have another appraiser if we have to go to Court to get this land and he said Yes . Councilman Orr said he had talked to Colonel Valentine and they are getting architects to draw plans for a new 200,-bed hospital, costing approximately $;:8 ,000,000. They are planning to turn the present Hospital into a nursing home and the new Hospital could be built elsewhere . They will be approximately 12 years getting the plans, so it may be 5 , 6 or 7 years before a new Hospital is built and possibly not in this location. Mayor Rollins said the Com- mittee had asked Mr. Ritter to contact the Hospital Board about this . Mr: Ritter said he has not yet done this . Councilman Pumphrey wondered if the appraised value of $8 ,800 could be split three ways or, if we have to go to condemnation, he thinks the Hospital and the County should join us . Councilman Orr said he thinks we should get this road in as quickly as possible and he believes we would get more cooperation from them if we go ahead with this now. Councilman Hill said the Council has not dragged its feet in trying to get this road built and he thinks we are doing all that we can to get it done. The resolution was then unanimously adopted. Further discussion continued on the Hospital Road, with Mr. Ritter stat- ing he would like to have the feeling of Council on getting another ap- praiser. Town Attorney Martin said he didn 't think we needed one. It was the general consensus that the Hospital and the County should each pay one-third of the appraisal cost and, also, to see if they want another appraiser. If so, they will pay his costs . It was thought that we should ask the Hospital point-blank if they expect to build the new Hospital at this location. On motion of Councilman Howard, seconded by Councilman Orr, the following Ordinance was unanimously adopted : BE IT ORDAINED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg , that Sec . 25-27 of the Town Code be amended to set a date at which time water bills are due and payable , and to set a date for the discontinuance of water service for non-pay- ment ofwater bill . 175 MINUTES OF APRIL 22 , 1970 MEETING. Sec . 25-27 Water bills are due and payable within 30 days from date of billing . A final notice shall be mailed, together with a second billing, at the end of 60 days from date of billing, and water service discontinued if not paid in full within 10 days from date of notice . On motion of Councilman Pumphrey, seconded by Councilman Orr, the following resolution was unanimously adopted : • BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that the following appropriations be made from the 1969 Bond Issue to pay Maryland Excavators : (a) $8,594 . 17 - for final payment on Rt . 15 Sanitary Sewer. (b) 884 .00 - for final payment on the Arl Curry Sewer Line . (c) 156 .00 - for final payment on the Rt . 7 Sewer Line Crossing at Rt . 654 . Town Attorney George Martin and Zoning Administrator Robert Forbes explained to Council the problems arising from the fact that the Town QD has subdivision control within one mile of the corporate limits of Lees- O burg and the County has control over zoning within this one mile juris- r-' diction. Mr. Forbes was asking that Council take some action to have the County issue Zoning Certificates within this one-mile jurisdiction, rather than his doing so , since they have control over the zoning . As Ga it stands now, Mr. Forbes is issuing the zoning certificates . There exists the possibility that the County could zone a parcel of land for other than residential use, yet Mr. Forbes would have to issue a zoning permit, for the construction of a house if the land had already been sub- divided, thereby resulting in complete confusion. He asked that the authority to issue Zoning Certificates be turned over to the County, par- ticularly since the County Zoning Ordinance now provides for the loca- tion of one-family detached dwellings on 10,000 square foot lots where public water and sewer service is provided. This matter was discussed at length, with some members of Council believing that perhaps the Town should have jurisdiction over a two-mile area outside the corporate limits , however, Mr. Forbes thought it best to leave it at one mile , especially until such time as the Town has a workable Master Plan on record. Mayor Rollins appointed Councilmen Howard and Hill as a Com- mittee to work with a Committee from the Board of Supervisors to dis- cuss this jurisdiction and the issuing of zoning permits outside the corporate limits of Leesburg . Councilman Orr left the meeting at 9:00 P.M. Mayor Rollins asked the Planning Commission to decide whether Green- horne and O 'Mara should be employed to work out a Master Plan for the Town. Town Attorney Martin was asked to draft an Ordinance with respect to the water and sewer policy study conducted by Dewberry , Nealon and Davis . Town Attorney Martin remarked that he believes the Town could do a lot of its own planning and zoning without paying out large sums of money for so many studies . Mr. Ritter again brought up the matter of the work to be done to bring Edwards Ferry Road up to the acceptable subgrade material and asked that some decision be made , so that Tri-County can get this work done as soon as possible . This was discussed and, with no objection, Council gave permission for this work to be done . Mr . Moody reported that some progress has been made at the Sewage Treatment Plant . They have poured the floor of the raw sewage pumping station. If the good weather holds out , they should be able to get a lot of work done . They have been held up slightly on bringing up the brick walls due to a delay in getting the modified door frames for the chlorine room. In the meantime, they will do as much brick work as pos- sible , except on that side of the building where the door frames go. They are still shooting for June 1st to put the Plant in operation. 41 6 MINUTES OF APRIL 22 , 1970 MEETING. On the Rt . 654 sewer line , he is still having problems with rock. They have about 200 feet to go on this line before it is finished. Final payment is being withheld on Projects S-II and S-III until he can check out the lines . Councilman Pucpphrey asked if we made smoke bomb tests in the line up into Prospect Hills, there seems to be so much infiltration in these lines . Mr. Moody says he thinks a lot of this is back-up and that there will be a lot of relief in this line when we put the new Plant into — operation, we will know more about this situation after that time . ' He said we need a crew on preventive maintenance on our sewer lines very badly. Mr. Ritter said we cleaned up part of the mess behind, M & G . He also agreed that this is probably a back-up situation and we can 't=tell until we turn the sewage into the new line . With regard to ' the over-run of rock, before we award any more contracts for sewer lines , we will have to make soundings to determine about 'how much rock we are talking about, so we can anticipate the cost of same . Also, on the as- bestos cement pipe, to which he was so much opposed at one time, Mr. Ritter said he has changed his mind. He inspected the Crickenberger line today , which is below creek level and it was dry at every manhole where they looked at it . You don' t get as much infiltration with this asbestos pipe as you do with clay pipe, because the asbestos pipe has tighter joints . On motion of Councilman Murray, seconded by Councilman Wallace , the meeting was adjourned at 9:35 P.M. na/ Mayor Lie, Clerk of e Council Glk 1