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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1970_05_13 171 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL, MAY 13 , 1970. A regular meeting of the Leesburg Town Council was held in the Council Chambers , 10 West Loudoun Street, Leesburg, Virginia on May 13, 1970 at 7 :30 P.M. The meeting was called to order by the Mayor, with Councilman Hill offering the prayer. Those present were : Mayor Ken- neth 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. The Minutes were corrected on Page 174 to make the approximate cost of the Hospital $8,000,000 . The Minutes of the meeting of April 22 , 1970 were then approved as corrected. Mr. Frank Myers was present and stated that the Deed to his Well has been prepared and all is in order for this Deed to be delivered at this time and to be recorded. He asked that the purchase price for the Well be $10,000, with $2 ,500 as damages . Also , he asked that the Town pay the $198.00 in survey fees , particularly since he paid the $500 ap- praisal fee . He also stated that Mr. Ritter has received a letter from Mr. Ferguson of the U. S . Geological Survey stating that the agreement with Mr. Myers has been terminated, so there is nothing further to be done on this except to appropriate the money for the Well . • �- Town Manager Ritter reported the following: (1) Several minor changes have been made in the Budget, some of C7 these items having been inadvertently deleted. It looks now like there may be only about $45 ,000 cash on hand in the General Fund at the end of the fiscal year, depending to a great extent on how much Edwards Fer- ry Road costs from now until that time . (2) He has received a letter from Mr. Larry Brown regarding our letter to the County asking them to participate in the purchase price of the land needed for the Hospital Road. Supervisors Brownell and Harris have been appointed to meet with the Hospital Board and members from the Town Council to consider this matter, to report back on May 19th. Also, Mr. Cooley says the Board will consider this at its next meeting on May 22nd to see if they can pay one-third of the cost of the ap- praisal fee . (3) The resolution authorizing Yount , Hyde & Company to make the annual audit is a little early, but Mr. Wallace suggested this in order that members of this firm might come in before July 1st to do some of the work in connection with the audit. (4) He explained the proposed appropriations on the Agenda , dis- cussing in detail the item of repairs to the 60,000 gallon water tank. Mr. Beaver had been working on this tank for the past several months off and on and finally managed to fix it two to three weeks ago. Also, while the tank was empty , a representative from Dominion Tank and Iron Company inspected it and said he would have repaired it in the same way, however, he did not know how long it would last . This tank is-.66 years old and this is the first major repair bill we have had on it , although we spent $4,000 on the tower several years ago. The representative from Dominion Tank and Iron figured the cost of a metal tank atop the present tower, which cost would be $16 ,784 for the same size tank. Mr. Ritter also explained how this metal tank would be constructed in three sections . He recommended payment of the bill to Mr. Beaver. In connec- tion with the proposed appropriations , he also recommended payment of the bill to Mr.Wilson, for the survey work on the land surrounding the Myers Well . They measured a line 1300 feet long and we do not have a crew that can do this kind of work. (5) The letter from Mr. Hammerly making application to lease land at the Airport should be turned over to the Airport Committee for study. (6) With regard to the garbage contract proposal, invitations were sent to several companies and a notice placed in the Times-Mirror. Two bids were received, one from MAN, Inc . in the amount of $52,000 ; the other from Herbert Lee Randolph at $2 ,300 per month. This would be $27 ,600 per year to pick it up and carry it to the dump. There would be 178 . MINUTES OF MAY 13, 1970 MEETING. a separate agreement with Jesse to use his dump at $200 a month, which would include the Town ' s hauling refuse there and permission for the citizens of Leesburg to haul trash there . This would make a total of $30,000 for the year. We are now paying $28 ,442 for this same service and have $29,000 set up in the Budget for this item. Mayor Rollins asked if we have had any report on the ABC hearing held on our request to extend hours for selling mixed beverages on May 12th. Mr. Ritter said he will find out what action was taken. Councilman Wallace commented that it looks as though we are going to be about $10,000 short of cash on hand at the end of June to meet the deficiency in the General Fund. He asked that the Committee spend some time on up-dating the business licenses . Also , he asked that the Street Committee consider "No Left Turn" signs between 4 and 6 P.M. at the intersections of Rt . 7 and 15 and Loudoun Street and Rt . 15 - he believed this would relieve the traffic situation and perhaps release a police officer to handle traffic at Rt . 7 and Catoctin Circle. The proposed Budget for 1970-1971 was discussed at this time . Mr. Ritter said it was not anticipated to use the "Reserve for Resurfacing" set up in the Airport Budget this year . On motion of Mayor Rollins , seconded by Councilman Pumphrey, the Budget was tentatively adopted by unanimous vote, and the tax rate ten- tatively set at $ . 90 per hundred dollars of valuation on real estate ; $1 .00 on personal property and $ .80 on bank stock, and the Town Manager ' was authorized to advertise said Budget and tentative tax rates for Pub- ' lic Hearing on June 10th. On motion of Councilman Wallace, seconded by Councilman Murray, and after some discussion regarding the changes in the drainage plans on Edwards Ferry Road, the following resolution was adopted by a vote of. 6 to 1 , with Mayor Rollins voting against it : BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that the following appropriations be made : $ 27 . 10 - A & E Blueprinters . Printing during month of March. (1969 Bond Issue) 800 .00 - Dewberry, Nealon & Davis for preparation of policy to govern water and sewer extension. (Utility Fund- Capital Outlay) 100 .00 - Walter L. Phillips - Change Street Plans on Edwards Ferry Road. (General Fund-Capital Outlay) Mayor Rollins also asked the status of the policy on availability charges regarding water and sewer taps . Mr. Forbes said Town Attorney George Martin has recommended that the water and sewer sections of the Code be amended to take care of this requirement and the remainder of the policy will be adopted by resolution of Council . The Amendments to the Water and Sewer Sections of the Code should be ready for the Street Committee meeting on Monday. On motion of Councilman Howard, seconded by Councilman Orr, the fol- lowing resolution was presented for discussion : WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors of Loudoun County has re- quested the Court to redraw the boundaries for the existing Magisterial Districts and add a new Magisterial District in the eastern portion of the County, and WHEREAS, the proposed plan splits the Town of Leesburg, and WHEREAS, the Board proceeded to draw the new boundaries on an erroneous concept, it is, therefore, RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg, that G. Dewey • Hill be present at the Public Hearing to be conducted by the Court, and oppose the proposed redistricting insofar as it di- vides the Town of Leesburg, for the following reasons : 179 MINUTES OF MAY 13 , 1970 MEETIN . ' (1) • The Board of Supervisors drew the proposed boundaries under the false assumption that a 30 square mile area was necessary for each Magisterial District . The Supreme Court, however, in Avery v. Midland County , 390 U. S . 474 , stated that the only criteria for districts •was on the population basis of one man, one vote ; (2) The new Constitutional Amendments admit the above to be the existing law and have requested repeal of the section re- quiring a 30 square mile area for each district ; (3) Leesburg is a community and, as such, should not be di- vided and therefore destroy a community of interest ; (4) Confusion and unnecessary complications will result in establishing new voting precincts ; (5) It is also the feeling of the Leesburg Town Council that it would be distinctly advantageous to delay the reapportion- ment until the 1970 Census figures are available due to the fact that the present figures are merely estimates , and a re- LO apportionment using these figures could bring about another CD costly reapportionment in a very short span of time. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Court either redraw the Dis - : trict boundaries in order that Leesburg will not be divided, or refer the matter back to the Board of Supervisors , with in- structions to redraw the boundaries and keep Leesburg from be- ing divided and placed in two Magisterial Districts . In discussion, Councilman Wallace stated that, if Leesburg District is ' • left intact, we would have only one supervisor to two from the Sterling Park area , therefore, he would not be in favor of , this . He believed it possible that Leesburg could soon have enough population to warrant two supervisors also and this would make the two areas equal. Mr. Forbes said the Judge could decide that only five districts would be necessary, thus giving Sterling Park only one representative . Five large districts would give only five supervisors , thereby giving all areas in the County a chance to grow more rapidly before redistricting again. A roll call vote adopted this resolution by 6 to 1, with Councilman Wallace voting against it . 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 firm of Yount, Hyde & Co. be authorized to make the annual audit of the Town of Leesburg records for fiscal year ending June 30, 1970. On motion of Councilman Wallace , seconded by Councilman Orr, the following resolution was unanimously adopted : BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that the original appropriation of $2 , 100 .00 for purchase of new Police Car be cancelled, due to a later appropriation be- ing made to cover the actual cost. On motion of Councilman Howard, seconded by Councilman Orr, the following resolution was offered : BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg that the following appropriations be approved: $ 600 .00 - Supplemental Appropriation. Police Car Mainte- nance. 200.00 - Supplemental Appropriation. Police Radio. 511. 76 - Dewberry , Nealon & Davis Study of proposed Sewer through Wallace property . Utility Fund- Capital Outlay-Engineering. ROC 180 MINUTES OF MAY 13 , 1970 MEETING. $ 3 ,370 .40 - Edwin E . Beaver. Repairs to Water Tank. Utility Fund-Capital Outlay . 12 ,500.00 - Frank Myers for new Well. Utility Fund-Capital " Outlay . 198 .00 - Loudoun Engineering & Surveys for survey, plats and legal description on 3 parcels of land in connection with purchase of Myers Well. Utility Fund-Capital Outlay-Engineering. There was some discussion on Mr. Beaver 's bill on the water tank. Mr. Ritter said the top third of the tank is in bad shape - it has a good many holes in it, therefore, it is not filled because we do not want to lose the water. The question of paying Mr. Myers $ 10,000 for the Well and $2 ,500 as damages was also discussed and Mr. Ritter was asked to specify this breakdown in the letter accompanying the check to Mr. Myers . Councilman Hill asked if there would be any problem with the By-Pass com- ing too close to this Well . Mr. Ritter said the plans show the By-Pass missing the Well, however, our access will be shut off when the By-Pass is built and we will have to secure access from Mr. Myers , this loca- tion to be determined by him. The Highway Department has not bought any land past John Wright 's land and the Well is only 2 feet from his land. The above resolution was then unanimously adopted. A letter from Mr. George Hammerly, making application to lease 5 acres of land at the Airport, was referred to the Laws and Administration. Committee, to be taken up at the next meeting of said Committee . On motion of Councilman Murray, seconded by Councilman Pumphrey, and there being no objection to considering it tonight, Council voted unani- mously to accept the proposed Deed from John C . Wright and Gladys H. Wright , conveying the property adjoining the Myers Well to the Town of Leesburg . Mr. Ritter is to send this Deed on to Mr. Wright for signa- ture , with Mr. Wright to return it for recordation. There is no considera- tion for this property, but it is agreed that the Town will fence this property. On motion of Councilman Howard, seconded by Councilman Murray, the , following -resolution was unanimously adopted: BE IT 'RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that a two-year contract be awarded to Herbert Lee Randolph for garbage and trash pick-up in the Town of Leesburg for the period July 1, 1970 to July 1 , 1972 , in accordance with his low bid of $2 ,300 .00 per month. On motion of Councilman Pumphrey , seconded by Councilman Howard, the following resolution was offered: BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that a two-year agreement beginning July 1 , 1970 be entered into with Jesse Randolph for the use of his dump,.. with the understanding that this privilege shall include its use by the citizens of Leesburg, at a rental rate of $200.00 per month. This resolution was discussed at length and, on motion of Councilman Murray, seconded by Councilman Wallace , an amendment was adopted by a roll call vote of 5 to 2 , with Mayor Rollins and Councilman Pumphrey voting against it, to delete the words "two-year" in the second line, to add "at Watson" after "dump" on the third line and add at the end of the resolution, "said agreement to be on a month to month basis . " The resolution, as amended, was then adopted by a roll call vote of 5 to 2 , with Mayor Rollins and Councilman Pumphrey casting the dis- senting votes . The resolution, as amended, reads as follows : BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that an agreement beginning July 1, 1970 be entered into with Jesse Randolph for the use of his dump at Watson, with the understanding that this privilege shall include its use by the citizens of Leesburg, at a rental rate of $200.00 per month, said agreement to be on a month to month basis . On motion of Councilman Orr, seconded by Councilman Wallace , the meeting/ adjourned. 4Y / J Mayor Clerk of the Council