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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1972_07_12 :. 5 .9 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL, JULY 12 , 1972 . A regular meeting of the Leesburg Town Council •was held in the Council Chambers , 10 West Loudoun Street, Leesburg , Virginia, on July 12 , 1972 at 7 :30 P.M. The meeting was called to order by the Mayor, with the prayer by Town Manager Ritter. Those present were : Mayor Kenneth B. Rollins , Councilmen Robert A. Orr, C . Terry Titus and John A. Wallace , Jr. ; also Town Manager James W. Ritter , Jr. and Town Attorney George M. Martin . Absent from the meeting were Councilmen John W. Pum- phrey and Walter F . Murray , with Councilman G. Dewey Hill joining the meeting at approximately 8 : 15 P.M. Mr. Milton Myers , representing a group of merchants in the down- town area , requested Council to set aside three days as "Sidewalk Sale " days , these being' Thursday , Friday and Saturday, August 3rd, 4th and 5th. So far, there are six merchants involved and he expects there would be more . This would merely involve setting out their wares on the side- walk in front of the individual ' s store . There was discussion regarding' the fact that there is a zoning requirement prohibiting this - in a B-1 f District , all business must be conducted within the building . Council- t man Wallace asked about the sales conducted in the Court House yard. Mr. Forbes said this , as well as the Cart Mart , have been overlooked. Coun- t cilman Wallace asked to consider this at a meeting of the Laws and Ad- ministration Committee and asked that some of the people involved be ei L'. present for this meeting next Tuesday at 4 :00 P.M. Mayor Rollins asked that this be done and some action will be taken on this at the next ses- C sion of Council . Acting Chief of Police James M. Kidwell introduced to Council mem- bers the two new Police officers recently hired by the Town , they being Officers William W. Fleet and Douglas C . Hickman . Mr. Fleet will be attending Police School in Richmond for five weeks , beginning Monday and, upon his return, Officer Hickman will attend this same school . Tpww Manager James W. Ritter reported as follows : Il (1) The Town 's present hospitalization policy with Aetna Life and Casualty Co . is inadequate compared to rising costs . They increased their rates in February , with no added coverage , the .costs being $12 .89 i) to the Town per employee and the employee paying for dependent coverage at the rate of $24 .21 per month. He and the Finance Committee have compared several policies , including Blue Cross-Blue Shield, and have spent considerable time considering benefits received versus cost to the Town and the employee . They feel that the policy offered by Ameri- can Health and Life Insurance Co . , through Armfield, Harrison & Thomas, is the best one . This pays $50 . 00 a day for room and bo?-rd for the first 30 days and then goes into Major Medical (Loudoun Memorial now charges $48 for a semi-private room) ; up to $1,500 on surgical ; physician 's fees at $10 .00 per visit ; $50 ,000 major medical and life insurance split into three categories ($10 ,000 for key employees , they being the Town Manager, Treasurer, Planning Director and Director of Public Works ; $5,000 for all office employees , police and department heads and $3 ,000 on the re- mainder of the employees . The cost to the Town would be approximately $2,400 more per year for the employee coverage over what we are now pay- ing and we would be receiving far better benefits . (2) The transfer of the $57 , 875 to an "Availability Charge;' Account has been discussed by the Finance Committee and it is felt this account should be set up to separate these funds from the Utility Funds . More than likely, North American Bank and Trust will require a resolution } designating it as a depository for this account . i (3) He explained the appropriations proposed on the Agenda, as well as other items thereon. (4) On the Fisher-Bishop storm sewer, Fisher seems to be satis- fied, however, Mrs . Bishop and her son do not want it at all and, if it must go on their property , they want it at the property line , which is not our location. We had located the storm sewer in the ditch where the water goes and; if it is changed, this means another 60 feetof sanitary sewer . The Committee feels the Bishops should pay the differ- ence in the cost of engineering and construction. On the Tastee-Freez easement, Mr. White , owner of the property , is ill . We have now found out where to contact Gulf Oil Corporation and this has been done. Cities Service Oil Co. has sold their land to Mr. Donald Weiller and we have contacted him . No answer has been received from the latter two as yet. 160 .MINUTES OF JULY 12 , 1972 MEETING. (5) S . 0 . Jennings , the contractor on the Dry Mill Trunk Sewer, was here for a pre-construction conference today . They are ready to start as soon as their Performance Bond and insurance papers are approved. When they get their equipment and men on the job, it is very possible that we might be able to negotiate a satisfactory price on the Blue Ridge Storm Sewer with them. (6) The correction of the mercury seal problem at the Sewage Treatment Plant was completed yesterday. We now have 60 pounds of mer- cury and don ' t know what to do with it. s . (7) We have been talking with Carroll Concrete Construction Co. in Winchester on the curb and gutter and sidewalk work and have sent them a list and asked for a price for this work. 1 • (8) The Murray Rust condemnationcaseis set for September 21st. (9) A representative from the EPA was here last Friday to go over • our records for our final payment on the Federal Grant for the Sewage Treatment Plant. Considerable time was spent with him at the Plant and going over our records , which was not completed. He will complete this in his office. There were no comments from him, but he got the impres sion that he was satisfied with what he found. Councilman Titus said there was some discussion at the Planning Commission meeting regarding bonding methods used by developers . Mr. Forbes has requested that , at the time the bonding method is approved by the Council , the Planning Commission be so notified, and that his check list contain the date of scgpxaaekxlajxghexeaunkkxx its acceptance by the Town Manager. Mayor Rollins said several people on Wage Drive have asked whether there is any assurance that the new sewer line is going to be deep enough to have sanitary facilities in their basements . Both Mr . Chaves and Mr. Ritter said this line will be deep enough . Mayor Rollins also said he has received requests from owners in Honicon Court to have plant mix placed on this street . There was a question some time ago as to whether it haseverbeen dedicated to the Town. He does not recall that it has ever been accepted by the Town, however, there were no objections from these property owners when asked for easements through their property for the sanitary sewer and storm sewer lines presently being constructed. Mr. Ritter said he thinks the Minutes show that we did accept this street . Mayor Rollins suggested_ that we get a price from Perry Engineering to asphalt this street while he is working in that area . Mayor Rollins said he believes Mr. Wendell Kline 's appraisal of the Rust property for the condemnation suit should be updated and offered the following motion, which was seconded by Councilman Orr and unanimously adopted: That Wendell Kline be authorized and directed to update his appraisal of the Rust property in order to be ready for the condemnation suit for the property that is going to be used for the Water Filtration Plant . • On motion of Councilman Wallace, seconded by Councilman Orr, the following resolution was offered: WHEREAS, under the present Hospital Insurance coverage on Town employees , there is insufficient coverage to compensate the employee for rising costs of medical care, and WHEREAS , proposals have been received from various insurance companies on furnishing the Town with an adequate coverage for medical care, and WHEREAS , a study of the various proposals received indiktes that the proposal submitted by Armfield, Harrison & Thomas , underwritten by American Health & Life Insurance Co. , is the best proposal, considering the amount of premium to be paid, art ,161 MINUTES OF JULY 12 , 1972 MEETING . ' - • NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg , . that Aetna Life Insurance Co . be notified that the Town intends to cancel its hospital coverage with them on the anniversary date of July 25 , 1972 , and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, 'that Armfield, Harrison & Thomas be notified of the Town 's acceptance of its proposal for hos- pital coverage , effective July 25 , 1972 . Councilman Wallace explained that the Committee has discussed this at length and recommends it . Mr . Powers Thomas of Armfield, Harrison and Thomas and Mr. Watson of American Health and Life were both present and explained the various benefits over our present policy and over the Blue- Cross-Blue Shield policy, comparing costs to the Town, as well as the various categories and costs to employees . He also said the hospitaliza- tion rate is guaranteed for two years , however, the life insurance rate is recalculated at the end of the year. The above resolution was then unanimously adopted. Councilman Hill joined the meeting at this time. O On motion of Councilman Wallace , seconded by Councilman Orr, and after some discussion, the following resolution was unanimously adopted: WHEREAS, the Town of Leesburg created an "Availability Charge" in June, 1970 for the purpose of retiring debt service on the construction of sewage treatment plants , trunk sewer lines, pumping stations ,. filtration plants , storage tanks and trunk water lines, and WHEREAS, $258,400 has been collected from Availability Charges as of July 5 , 1972 , all of which has been deposited in the Utility Fund, and WHEREAS, it is desired to set up a separate account for monies collected from Availability Charges , NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg , that $57 ,875 be transferred from the Utili- ty Fund to a new account entitled "Availability Charge" Ac- count, which amount represents the amount collected from Availability Charges ($258,400) , minus the sum of the a- mounts of the debt 'service paid out of the Utility Fund in the past fiscal year, and the amounts to be paid in the present fiscal year ($101,439 + $99,086) , and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED., that the "Availability Charge" Ac- count be deposited in the North American Bank & Trust Co. It was suggested and agreed that $50 ,000 of this amount should be placed in either Certificates of Deposit or time deposit. 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 attached Resolution from First & Merchants National Bank on extension of payment of Airport' Bond #7 be approved, and the Mayor authorized to sign . On motion of Councilman Wallace, seconded by Councilman Orr, the following Ordinance was unanimously adopted: BE IT ORDAINED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that the following amendments be made to the Town Code of the Municipality of the Town of Leesburg : Section 13 -53 . 1 be and the same is amended to conform to Section 18 . 1-55 . 1 of the 1950 Code of Virginia , as amended and re-enacted by the Acts of Assembly, 1972 Regular Session. 9 . 162, MINUTES OF JULY 12 , 1972 MEETING. Section 13 . -53 . 2 be and the same is hereby repealed. Section 13-53 .3 , Subsections (a) , (b) and (c) be and the same are repealed and the following adopted in the place thereof: (a) If there was at that time 0.05 percent or less by weight by volume of alcohol in the accused 's blood, it shall be presumed that the accused was not under the influence of alcoholic intoxicants ; (b) If there was at that time in excess of 0 .05 percent but less than 0. 10 percent by weight by volume of alcohol in the accused 's blood, such facts shall not Izive rise to any presumption that the accused was or was not under the in- fluence of alcoholic intoxicants , but such facts may be considered with' other competent evidence in determining the guilt or innocence of the accused; (c) If there was at that time 0 . 10 percent or more by weight hi volume of alcohol in the accused 's blood, it shall be presumed that the accused was under the influence of al- coholic intoxicants . Section 13-55 be and the same is amended by deleting "one year" and adding in the place thereof, "not less than six months nor more than one year in the discretion of the court . " 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 following appropriations be made : $ (190 .00 - Martin, Riemenschpeider & Murtaugh for drafting 6 easements . General Fund-Capital Outlay. 161 . 55 - Victor Adding Machine - General Fund-Capital Outlay. 715 .50 - Victor Electronic Calculator . General Fund- Capital Outlay . 2 ,500 .00 - Utility Storage Building . Utility Fund-Capital Outlay . On motion of Councilman Orr, seconded by Councilman Wallace, the following resolution was offered : BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg , that the following appropriations be made to pay Dewberry, Nealon and Davis : $ 1, 550. 94 - Hospital Project - Design Storm Sewer from Town Branch to Loudoun Street . 1971 Bond Issue . 100.40 - Hospital Project - Redesign Sanitary and Storm Sewer through Honicon Court on account of gas line . 1971 Bond Issue . 60.00 - Hospital Project - Construction Stakeout . 1971 Bond Issue . 588 .00 - Douglass School Trunk Sewer - Construction Stake- out. 1971 Bond Issue . 25 .00 - General Engineering Services - General Fund - Capital Outlay . 783 . 90 - W. Market Street Sewer. 1971 Bond Issue . 1,406 .60 - Dry Mill Sewer - Revise plans through Dry Mill Subdivision, Sec . III-A. 1971 Bond Issue. , !7 ' 163 MINUTES OF JULY 12 , 1972 MEETING . Councilman Titus questioned the amount of $588.00 for the stakeout on the Douglass School Trunk Sewer, stating that perhaps they went too far, he noticed that some of the stakes had been destroyed on Route 7 . The amount of $1,406 .60 for revision of the plans on Dry Mill Subdivision, Sec . III-A, was also questioned. Mr. Chaves explained that this was revised to lower the lines for the existing houses with basements . It was the general consensus of Council that this should not be paid since this should have been done in the beginning . Mr. Ritter said he would like to hold this up and talk with them about it . On motion of Mayor Rollins , seconded by Councilman Orr, the above resolution was amended to delete the item of $1 ,406 .60 for the Dry Mill Sewer plan revision. Mr. Ritter explained further that this bill reflects the change because one of the owners would not go along with this plan. Councilman Titus asked if the Town of the developer should 'pay for this . Mr. Ritter said probably the developer should. Councilman Hill asked if they worked Sec . III in Dry Mill from the beginning . Mr. Ritter explained that the original plan was from John Wright 's sewer line up to Wage Drive . Then Dry Mill , Sec . III , got into the picture and it was redesigned ; also, to take care of John Wright 's Phase IIIM AJ4ai paying their share of the cost of the line . Mayor Rollins askedrfw n e depth of this line came dto his attention. He replied that a conflict arose between the design Q of Dewberry , Nealon and Davis and that of Bartlett Associates on Dry Mill , Sec . III . Then Mr . Blackwell decided they were right on their design. Gar All of the houses he had checked could be served except for one or two. a The amendment to the resolution was then unanimously adopted and the origi- C nal resolution, as amended, unanimously adopted . Councilman Wallace recommended that all Dewberry , Nealon and Davis invoices relating to Street Committee projects be brought before that Committee before they come to the Finance Committee . On motion of Councilman Orr, seconded by Councilman Hill, the fol- lowing resolution was offered : BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg , that Dewberry , Nealon and Davis be authorized to draw up a Drainage Easement Plat across the land of Alfred diZerega from W. Market Street to Town Branch, at Wilson Street ex- tended. There was a great . deal of discussion regarding this problem, with Coun- cilman Titus feeling that this could be worked out with just a verbal agreement . Mr. Ritter said he has talked with Mr. diZerega about open- ing this ditch, but he has met with no. Euccess . The pipe is half-way stopped up and Town forces cannot oper4 As a consequence, George Rey- nolds is having trouble with water on his property. He pointed out that we will need an easement to go on this property and, when he carries his subdivision through to the Church property, he will have to provide some sort of pipe or box to take care of the drainage . He also pointed out that Mr. diZerega does not want this water draining across his property. Mr . Reynolds addressed Council , explaining that water has been draining across this field from his property for 40 years , with no problems en- countered until this pile of dirt was placed at this point. He said he had extensive damage during the last storm and that there was 2 to 3 feet of water across Route 7 due to the fact that this drainage was stopped up. On motion of Councilman Titus , seconded by Councilman Orr, Council voted unanimously to table this resolution and try to reach some verbal agree- ment between Mr. diZerega and the Town on this problem. On motion of Councilman Wallace , seconded by Councilman Hill , the following resolution was unanimously adopted: BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg, that an appropriation be made in the amount of $23 ,623 .00 to pay Martin & Gass for work on Douglass Trunk Sewer, out of . the 1971 Bond Issue. On motion of Councilman Titus , seconded by Councilman Wallace, the following resolution was unanimously adopted: BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council for the Town of Leesburg , Vir- ginia, that the Town Manager be and he is hereby authorized and directed to have published in the Loudoun Times-Mirror on July 20 and 27 , 1972 the following advertisement : T64 MINUTES OF JULY 12, 1972 MEETING. PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given that a Public Hearing will be held by the Council for the Town of Leesburg , Virginia on August 9, 1972 at 7 :30 P.M. in the Council Chambers, 10 West Loudoun Street, Leesburg , Virginia to consider proposed amendments to the Leesburg Subdivision Ordinance as follows : Amend Section III "Design Standards and Requirements . " A. Streets and Alleys - 5 (b) by deleting the second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following : "When a subdivision abuts one side of any public street which is in the state highway system and/or maintained by the Town of Leesburg or which is proposed by the comprehensive plans of the Town of Leesburg or Loudoun County, the subdi- vider shall be required to dedicate one-half of the right-of- way necessary to make said street conform to said comprehensive plans ; in addition, the subdivider may be required to dedicate more than one-half, including the full width of right-of-way necessary to make horizontal and vertical adjustments to such street . " • Amend Section IV "Physical Improvements or Facilities . " A. Improvements or Facilities Required. Add at the end of Paragraph 2 . the following : "Such improvements shall be in conformance with the cur- rent design and construction standards of the Town of Leesburg . " Add the following immediately after the above amendment to Paragraph 2 . "2 . 1 When a subdivision abuts one side of any public street which is in the state highway system and/or maintained by the Town of Leesburg , the subdivider shall be required to construct street improvements , storm drainage facilities , pavement, curb and gutter, and sidewalk on the one-half of said existing streets abutting said subdivision as may be required by the Director of Public Works of the Town of Leesburg . Such facilities shall be constructed in all subdivisions in the Town of Leesburg 's subdivision jurisdiction in the County of Loudoun where any parcel or parcels subdivided-will be one acre or less , the foregoing requirement may be waived by the Planning Commission of the Town of Leesburg ." - • Amend Section II ,B . by deleting the first sentence in the last paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following : The original drawing and four blue-line prints of the Final Plat shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Planning Commission at least two weeks prior to a regularly scheduled meeting of the Commission for checking of adequacy, and by him to the Planning Commission for approval . " At this hearing all persons will be heard as to their views pertinent to said proposed amendments . By : Kenneth B. Rollins , Mayor Town of Leesburg, Virginia On motion of Councilman Wallace, seconded by Councilman Titus , the following resolution was unanimously adopted : BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg , that an appropriation be made in the amount of $16 . 69 to pay coupons due on $300 ,000 Bond Issue , due July 15 . Utility Fund. The Minutes of the regular meeting of June 28, 1972 were corrected by Councilman Titus , on the second page , third paragraph, it should read "sanitary" sewers , rather than storm sewers . Also, on the third page, the third resolution, should read "beginning at recently installed storm sewer crossing in front of the Fire Department . . . , " leaving out the comma . The Minutes , as corrected, were then approved. Councilman Hill reported that our application for Federal Grant for the Potomac Water Project had been approved by the Northern Virginia Plan- ning District Commission at its last meeting . tea MINUTES OF JULY 12 , 1972 MEETING. Mayor Rollins asked about the sale of the 1. 5 million dollar bond issue . Mr. Ritter said he has done nothing , but assumes Council wants the State Treasurer 's Office to prepare the necessary brochure . Mayor Rollins said to have the bonding attorneys prepare the necessary resolution: . as well. Mr. Ritter suggested a sale date in September, since this seems to be a good time to sell bonds . Councilman Wallace suggested that a letter be written to the auditors , asking them to get the annual audit completed as soon as possible since it will be needed in connection with preparation of the brochure . Mayor Rollins commended Acting Police Chief Kidwell on the manner 111 in which he has taken over. He commented that he certainly approved of rotating the officers on various shifts . Councilman Titus said he had received comments to this effect also. Mr. Ritter said he could see a definite improvement in the entire Department and the reaction of the men seems to be good . He said Jimmy Kidwell is really' working hard and doing everything in his power to make it a good Department and he thinks he deserves "A" for effort . Town Attorney Martin asked if it would be possible for the Police to have a motorcycle to catch speeders in the Town . Acting Chief Kid- er well said they try to get the license number of speeders if they are not C in the car to chase them. On motion of Councilman Wallace, seconded by Councilman Hill, the CI meeting was adjourned at 9: 10 P.M. ci.t.I.,_,2-71.. ,9, '6 erjeln-0-Y Mayor Clerk of tY�k Council leictri I I WHEREAS, the TOWN OF LEESBURG is the maker of a certain Bond numbered 7 in the principal amount of $27,400.00, bearing interest .at the rate of 4% per annum, which is due and payable on July 1, 1971; and WHEREAS, FIRST & MERCHANTS NATIONAL BANK, Leesburg, Virginia, is the i holder and owner of said Bond; and WHEREAS, the TOWN OF LEESBURG has requested an extension to July 1, 1973 for the payment of the principal amount of this Bond; and WHEREAS, the said holder is willing to extend the payment of said Bond until July 1, 1973, if the interest thereon is increased to 5 1/4% per annum; and - i WHEREAS, the TOWN OF, LEESBURG is willing to pay the additional interest of 1 1/4% for such extension. This Extension Agreement then witnesseth that the TOWN OF LEESBURG ; agrees that there is due on the Bond whose maturity date is July 1, 1971 the sum of $27,400.00, plus interest at the rate of 4% per annum, and in consideration of an extension thereof to July 1, 1973, the TOWN OF LEESBURG agrees to pay same, plus 1 1/4% additional interest until fully paid, and FIRST & MERCHANTS NATIONAL BANK.accepts this agreement on the terms and conditions for such extension. WITNESS the following signatures and seals. • TOWN OF LEESBURG, VIRGINIA • . By Mayor (SEAL) Attest: Clerk FIRST & MERCHANTS NATIONAL BANK By Vice-President I . 1 , 1 . f 1 ! liCA.