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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1977_11_09 332 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL, NOVEMBER 9, 1977 . A regular meeting of the Leesburg Town Council was held in the Council Chambers, 10 West' Loudoun .Street, Leesburg, 'Virginia on No- vember '9, 1977. The meeting was called to order by the Mayor at 7 : 34 P.M. , with the invocation being offered by Mr. Herrell, and followed with the Salute to the Flag. Present were: Mayor Mary Anne Newman, Councilmembers Glen P. Cole, Stanley D. Herrell, Jr. , James A: Rock, C. Terry Titus and John W: Tolbert, -Jr. ; also, Town Manager John Niccolls, Assistant to the Manager Jeffrey H. Minor and Town Attorney George M. Martin. Absent from the meeting was Councilmember Charles E. Bange. Mr. Lester Shor, builder-developer and owner of Heritage Square, a subdivision of townhouses , addressed Council concerning his request several weeks ago for 16 water taps - he presented a check for these taps and it was returned. He needs water in order to finish his project. Mayor Newman replied that 'she' felt sure Mr; Shor is aware of the mandate issued by the Commonwealth' s Department of Health con- cerning the present water shortage - the Town is not able to supply the needs of the people of Leesburg living here. now. • • It is a physical impossibility and is a bad situation not only for' him, but for a num- ber of other builders and developers. This is a very serious situa- tion. Mr. Shor said it was hard enough to live under the builders ' depression in 1975 - he felt that this water shortage need not have arisen and that it can be solved very quickly. He spoke of the in- . crease for water and sewer taps from $400 to $2800 three years ago. This was to have been used to build new water and sewer facilities, • . none of which has been done. He said two letters have been written to the Town by his attorney, neither of which have been answered. Mayor Newman apologized for this - Mr. Niccolls was out of town and Mr. Martin was not present at the last meeting, however, it was the consensus of Council to have Mr. Martin take care of this. Mr. Shor said he has another 250 units to build and he did not know whether he could swallow the present situation financially. He could not understand why the Town is still drilling for wells instead of go- ing to the Potomac River for water, which was the intention three years ago. At that time, the cost would have been $2, 000,000 - now it is up $7, 000, 000. He asked what the Town would have done had he been able financially to live up to his agreement for 300 water and sewer taps. Mayor Newman felt there would have been no serious problem at that time. Mr. Shor offered to help in any way he can. Mayor Newman felt that should the Town add additional taps to the system, it could possibly be fined. She asked if he would be willing to pay this fine. Mr. Shor replied that he would not - this is not what he wants - he asked that there be some activity to solve this problem so that he might get his taps. Mayor Newman went on to say that the Town has been trying since last April to find water and has spent thousands of dollars in doing so, all with no luck. Something must be done in the near future - a decision must be made whether to go to the Potomac, to go to Fairfax or to continue with the system of wells. Council was told in 1975 that the water supply was ample until 1983 or 1985 and, under normal conditions, it would have been. This is an Act of God, something over which they have no control. It is true in Northern Virginia and in the Metropolitan area - we have just had no rain. The water table is 20 feet below normal. Hope- fully, with a lot of precipitation, it might build up by February or March. No-one could foresee this terrible drought. It has been a great hardship on all of the people in Town, as well as the Council , and if the residents were not practicing conservation, we would be in very, very serious straits. Mr. Shor said wells are just not being used any more. Mayor Newman said Fairfax City has dug some this past summer to implement their water supply - they have no water problems but do not have the facilities to treat the quantities of water needed The idea of wells is not all that obsolete or old fashioned - it is still a good pure source of drinking water under normal conditions. She agreed that Mr. Shor had experienced an inordinate amount of dif- ficulty. Mr. Shor said he could have walked away from the whole sit- uation, ' but he has "sat with this town" where many builders would A have not. He went on to say that this is a "satellite" town and if Leesburg, along with many other towns, does not do something to build an employment base, to bring in a fashion of life that people can sur- vive with, it will die. He felt that Xerox and IBM are not going to continue to take the nonsense and abuse from the County. We all work in some way for industry and he felt that the Town should address it- self to these problems - this is a long-range issue, even more than MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 9, 1977 MEETING. 'eii' i` 333 the water problems. Proposed Ordinance regarding parking by permit only. On motion of Mr. Titus , seconded by Mr. Rock '(for discussion pur- poses only), an ordinance was proposed to amend the Town Code by add- ing a new section concerning Residential Permit Parking. Mr. Titus was opposed to the ordinance, but felt it would have to be voted on sooner or later. The proposed ordinance was unanimously defeated: Aye: None. Nay: Councilmembers Cole, Herrell , Rock, Titus , Tolbert and Mayor Newman. Proposed Ordinance granting a lease to Charles S. Warner of certain real property within the Town of Leesburg. On motion of Mr. Herrell , seconded by Mr. Tolbert, an ordinance was proposed to lease to Mr. Charles S. Warner for a period of fif- teen years the property located at 6 - 8 West Loudoun Street. Mr. Titus felt that the projected facts and figures "make a good deal for Mr. Warner and the Town both, " however, he did not feel that this is a fair rate on the Town' s investment made many }ars ago. Most commercial properties rent on a square footage basis and this would be only about '50 cents per square foot for the first year and somewhere near $1. 10 per square foot for the, third year and there- after. A roll call vote on the proposed ordinance defeated it by a 3 to 3 tie vote: Aye: Councilmembers Cole, Tolbert and Mayor Newman. Nay: Councilmembers Herrell , Rock and Titus. 77-202 - Resolution - Authorizing appointment of special counsel . On motion of Mr. Titus, seconded by Mr. Rock, the following resolution was proposed and unanimously adopted: ' RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, as follows : Appointment of Richard E. Hill , Attorney at Law of Steptoe and Johnson, 1250 Connecticut Avenue, N. W. , Washington, D. C. 20003, as special counsel to the Town to work with the Town Attorney in claims and demands for arbitration made by Her- cules Construction Corporation is authorized. Aye: Councilmembers Cole, Herrell , Rock, Titus, Tolbert and Mayor Newman. Nay: None. Proposed resolution authorizing the Town Manager to enter into a contract for sewer construction and appropriations. On motion of Mr. Tolbert, seconded by Mayor Newman (for purpose of discussion) , a resolution to authorize the Town Manager to enter into a contract for sewer construction to serve 120, 124 and 130 West Market Street (and, in particular, the property of the Cecil Dick- son' s) was proposed. There followed in-depth discussion concerning the problem at the Dickson' s residence, with Council feeling that the bid from R. L. Rider and Company was excessive, in comparison to an earlier estimate made by Mr. Shope in April of this year. Mrs. Dickson ad- dressed Council , stating that, if the Health Department does not ob- ject, they are willing to continue spreading lime on the overflowing drainfield. until the town reaches some. conclusion. A report will be prepared by the administrative staff for the next workshop! Both Mr. Tolbert and Mayor Newman withdrew their motion on this basis. 77-203 - Resolution - Authorizing an agreement and approving a yer- formance bond for Catoctin View Subdivision, Section 1. On motion of Mr. Herrell , seconded by Mr. Tolbert, the following resolution was proposed: 11.G 334 MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 9, 1977 MEETING. RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, as follows: SECTION I. The Town Manager is authorized and directed to execute the Standard Agreement, and the Performance Bond in the amount of $73, 000 by The Travelers Indemnity Company is ° appfoved. Both of these instruments are to guarantee the installation of public improvements for Catoctin View Sub- division, Section 1 , in accordance with plans approved by the Director of Engineering. SECTION II. Extension of the municipal water and sewer works for this installation is approved. Mayor Newman suggested an amendment to Section II to read that "Ex- tension of the municipal water and sewer works for this installation will be approved when water and sewer taps are available and re- quired..fees have been paid. " Mr. Wallace asked if this would auto- matically approve water and sewer taps when they are available There followed lengthy discussion as to .what this could mean insofar as many other plats in the same circumstances are concerned. Mr. Niccolls suggested that a Section III mightbe-added to state that "the lot connections for water and sewer taps will be available only after system capabilities are adequate. " Mr. Titus suggested strik- ing Section II and considering it at the next workshop and Council meeting, with the understanding that no-one will get a. plat approved by the Planning Commission prior to this Council ' s action on this plat. Mr. Herrell did not feel this would do any good, Council is not establishing a priority list. After further discussion, on motion of Mr. Titus, seconded by Mr. Herrell , Council voted unani- mously to strike Section II and refer it back to the workshop: Aye: Councilmembers Cole, Herrell , Rock, Titus, Tolbert and Mayor Newman. Nay: None. The resolution, as _amended, was then unanimously adopted, thus giving approval to the performance bond, but disapproval to the water and sewer extensions : Aye: Councilmembers Cole, Herrell, Rock, Titus, Tolbert and Mayor Newman. Nay: None. 77-204 - Resolution - Accepting Deed of Easement from Jerome A. Kaplan, Trustee, and Leon Meyrowitz, Trustee, for water- works improvements. On motion of Mr. Cole, seconded by Mr. Herrell, the following resolution was proposed and unanimously adopted: RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, as follows : The Deed of Easement made the 9th day of November, 1977, by and between Jerome A. Kaplan, Trustee, and Leon Meyrowitz, Trustee, and the Town of Leesburg, for the construction, re- construction, maintenance, replacement of repair, use and and inspection of water main or mains, including necessary appurtenances, over, across, through and under .the. land of the Grantor°, and for a "temporary construction easement," -- contiguous to the permanent easement during the . original installation of water main for any and all purposes re- lated thereto, and which shall become nullandvoid once - construction is completed, is hereby accepted and the Mayor is hereby authorized to acknowledge the same on behalf of the Town. Aye: Councilmembers Cole, Herrell , Rock, Titus, Tolbert and Mayor Newman. - - Nay: None. 335 MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 9, 1977 MEETING. 77-205. = Resolution - Making an appropriation for 1977-78. On motion of Mr. Herrell , seconded by Mr. Tolbert, the following resolution was proposed and unanimously adopted: RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, as follows : The following appropriation is made for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1978 : • Account No. and Name Amount 10300. 819 - Utility Relocation $17 , 000.00 Aye: Councilmembers Cole, Herrell , Rock, Titus, Tolbert and Mayor Newman. Nay: None. 77-206 - Resolution - Making additional appropriations for 1977-78. On motion of- Mr. Cole, seconded by Mr. Herrell , the following resolution was proposed and unanimously adopted: RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, as follows: The following appropriations are made for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1978 : Account No. and Name Amount 10110. 813 - Street Department Street Light Installation $ 2, 000. 00 10300. 217 - Utility Lines Division Repairs to Wells 645.00 Aye: Councilmembers Cole, Herrell , Rock, Titus, Tolbert and Mayor Newman. Nay: None. Mr. Titus raised the question as to what is going to happen on Mr. Shorts status . There was lengthy discussion on this, with recol- lection of problems dealt with several years ago. Mr. Martin sug- gested that his reply to Mr. Garnier, Mr. Shor' s attorney, ask him to state clearly "why" they think they are due these water and sewer taps in view of the fact that there is a water shortage and the Town is under State mandate. Council agreed with this line of approach. Mr. Titus also raised the question of authority of the Town Mana- ger to appoint certain individuals to act as Town Manager during his absence. He felt it is Council ' s duty to make such appointments. There followed lengthy discussion on this matter, with the conclusion that Mr. Martin will look into the legality of such action and rec- ommend a procedure. 77-207 - Resolution - Authorizing water main easement appraisal . On motion of Mr. Herrell , seconded by Mr. Cole, the following resolution was proposed: RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, as follows : SECTION I. The Town Manager is authorized and directed to secure a preliminary real estate appraisal of water main easements. .336 MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 9, 1977 MEETING. . SECTION II. An appropriation is made to Account No. 50000. 804 in the amount of $500; 00 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1978. After considerable discussion, the resolution was adopted by a vote of 4 to 1 , with Mr.. Titus not _voting: Aye: Councilmembers Cole, Herrell , Tolbert and Mayor Newman. Nay: Councilmember Rock. - Not voting: Councilmember Titus. Mr. Herrell asked whose responsibility the traffic lines are at Route 15 and Catoctin Circle. Mr. Niccolls said that this was included on a "punch list" taken to the Highway Department today when final inspection was made on this projedt. Ori motion of Mr. Rock, seconded by Mr.. Herrell, the meeting was adjourned at 9 : 45 P.M. „a _� 'ay or .� � i2 vim/ leC rk ofhe Council I • • • i