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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1978_11_22 P' MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL, NOVEMBER 22 , '1978 . .A regular meeting of. the Leesburg Town Council was held in the Council Chambers, 10 West Loudoun Street, Leesburg, Virginia, on November 22 , 1978 at 7 : 30 P .M. The meeting was called to order by the Mayor, with the invocation being given by Mr. Tolbert, and followed with the Salute to the Flag . Present were: Mayor Kenneth B. Rollins, Councilmembers Glen P. Cole , G. Dewey Hill , Jr. , Marylou Hill , Walter. F. Murray and John W. Tolbert, -Jr. ; also Town Manager John Niccolis. Absent from the meeting was Councilmember Stanley D. Herrel_1 , Jr. The minutes of the regular meeting of November 8 , . 1978 were approved as written. Manager ' s Report: (1) The audit for fiscal year 1977-78 has been received and shows the town to be in generally good financialconditi.on at the end of the year, despite some apparent weaknesses in the audit. For example : The Airport Fund showed a deficit of approximately $15, 000, which was -a reduction of the deficit carried over from the prior year. At the close of the construction project now underway and the re- ceipt of the grant moneys from the Federal and State government, this deficit will disappear and we should end the current year with �t. a surplus of at least $10, 000 and perhaps as much as $20 , 000 . !t' (2) ' The Activity Report shows that Blue Ridge Aircraft has paid the FBO fees that were in litigation. (3) The financial report for September was distributed to- night. They should have the report for October within the next 10 days or less and this will bring us current for the first time in sometime. Things are now better organized in they-Finance Dept. (4) Our permit to discharge wastes into Goose Creek has been renewed under the same terms as when it was issued in 1965 . (5) The sidewalk and curb and gutter repair bids have been sent out to interested contractors and advertised. This list of projects has been plotted on a 400 scale map which will be avail- able at the committee meetings next week. Council can add or de- crease items under the unit price contract. Also , the town has been made eligible for three CETA positions specifically for this type of repair. (6) Don Wagner of the Highway Department will meet with the Public Works committee Monday night at 7 : 30 F.M. - he is very anxious to answer questions regarding the Route 7 :East project. Mr . Hill asked that he be notified in the future when any item is coming before the County Planning Commission. He felt the Town should defend itself on any item even though it is felt they are on firm ground. Mr. Niccolls said the consultant and Mr. Shope were present on a recent matter but apparently they didn ' t carry the impact that an elected official would. Mr . Niccolis said Coun- cil will be routinely notified in the future. • Mrs. Hill reported that she has received telephone calls con- cerning bumps in the road both on Market and Loudoun Streets at the west triangle. Mr. Niccolls said he will look at _.this on Friday. Mr. Cole asked when the Public Works meeting is scheduled. Mayor Rollins felt this should be on the 27th - the regularly scheduled meetings are the Monday and Tuesday following the Council meeting . Mr. Tolbert said he has received similar calls on the street eit.uation at the west triangle. Also, the Activity Report shows that Blue Ridge Aircraft has paid its FBO fees. Mr. Niccolis suggested that perhaps the "cutover' of Morven Park Road between Market and Loudoun Streets might be paved if there is some tonnage left from street resurfacing. Council was in agree- ment to this. 228 MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 22 , 1978 MEETING . Mayor Rollins asked the situation on the remainder of the re- surfacing. Mr. Niccolls said it is up to the weather, but it is hoped that they will get Old Waterford Road done. The standards permit paving above 40 degrees with S-5 . Mayor Rollins also asked if everything has been done on Edwards Ferry Road. Mr. Niccolls said they are working on the remaining side sloes grading and have to fine-grade the base before the asphalt goes down. At a mini- mum they should be able to get the asphalt base material in this winter. Mayor Rollins said this work must be done earlier next year . He also asked what the Corman contract calls for insofar as the ditches are concerned . Mr. Niccolls said they are responsi- ble for keeping them backfilled and keeping the work equal in kind to pre-existing condition. After completion, they are under a one-year maintenance bond. Mayor Rollins was particularly con- cerned about compaction, not only on this job, but on Davis Avenue as well . They only compact it one time . Also mentioned was a ditch at Catoctin Circle and Dry Mill Road . Mr. Niccolls said he will look into this . • 78-0-36 - Ordinance - Amending Section 16-35 of the Town Code. On motion of Mr. Cole, seconded by Mr. Tolbert, the following ordinance was proposed : ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg , Virginia, as follows: SECTION I . Section 16-35 of the Town Code is amended to read as follows: Sec . 16-35 . Snow emergency routes designated; in general . (a) The following streets within the town are to be designated as snow emergency routes and posted ac- cording to state standards at intervals of not less than 1 , 500 feet as specified in the Virginia Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and High- ways: • (1) Market Street from Ayr Street to Church Street; (2) King Street from North Street to South Street; (3) Loudoun Street from Liberty Street to Harrison Street. (b) When a snow emergency is declared, the public works department shall use the best possible equipment and methods to clear the streets and highways in the town beginning with the snow emergency -routes in the order listed in this section. If snow becomes packed or frozen, sand treated with a salt calcium chloride mixture shall be used. (c) Snow emergency procedures shall remain in ef- fect until all snow emergency routes have been cleared and designated safe by the town manager , not to exceed 24 hours from the last snow, sleet, hail or freezing rainfall . SECTION II . This ordinance shall be in effect upon its passage. Mr. Hill said there has been a severe cut in the previous recom- mendations - a lot of parking is needed on the streets . It is hoped that this will get a route through town in all directions . Mayor lollins asked why the necessity for such an ordinance at all. Mr. Niccolls said the only real problem is downtown and he thinks this will be a help there. If a vehicle is blocking the street, we have the power to move it. After some further discussion, the ordinance was adopted by a vote of 5 to 1: 229' MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 22 , 1978 MEETING . Ayes Councit_members Cole, 0. Hill, M. Hill . Murray and Tolbert. Nay: Mayor Rollins. 79=0-37 - Ordinance= Prohibiting certain through truck traffic within the Town. On motion of Mr. Tolbert , seconded by Mrs. Hill, the follow- ing ordinance was proposed : ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg , Virginia, as follows: SECTION I . The Town Code is hereby amended by adding a new section , to he numbered Section 10-114 , to read as follows: Sec . 10-114 . Certain through truck traffic prohibited . (a) Except as provided below, it shall be un- lawful for any person to overate a truck or other vehicle with a gross vehicle weight exceeding 7 , 800 pounds or. any street or highway within the town. • (b) Paragraph (a) above does not apply to the following : (1) The operation of trucks or vehicles upon �— any street or highway within the town where necessary to the conduct of busi- ness at a point of destination or origin within the town . (2) The operation of emergency vehicles upon any street or highway within the town . (3) The operation of trucks or vehicles owned or operated by the town, or agents of the town, public utilities, or trucks owned or operated by the Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation or its agents; (4) The operation of trucks or vehicles upon any officially established detour within town. SECTION II . This ordinance shall be in effect upon its passage. There was discussion concerning what would constitute a truck over 7 ; 800 pcunds. Mr. Hill said a pick-up truck would be this weight. Mr. Murray asked what would determine whether a truck might come through town - for example, a man whose business is trucking and Leesburg would be his business home. This would be his business and he could not be prohibited from going to and from it. Mrs.. Winslow Williams , a resident of West Market Street next door to the Library, said some of the worst offenders are local trucks and most of them do not have mufflers. Also, they are travelling 60 miles per hour going over that hill . She felt this - is a very dangerous thing and thought if two or three are arrested the word would go out over CB' s - perhaps this would help. Other cities and towns have such regulations and she felt this would cer- tainly be worth the endeavor for. Leesburg . She also felt the State should erect signs at. the eastern end of Leesburg better marking the ByPass for Winchester, Frederick, etc . Mr. Niccolls advised that the State will he erecting signs for that connection - they will shortly be coming to the Town tO determine whether they should he: overhead or side of the road signs . As to the truck si^nc in gue=tion : the State will probably make them for us but":re will have to nay for. them. They will be on all sides of town. )0%J MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 22 , 1978 MEETING. Mrs . William J. McDonald, also a resident of West Market Street, referred to a Petition presented on this subject by Mr. Ed Reeves and signed by residents of that area. She was speak- , ing on behalf of these people. She said there is no way of de- termining whether the "through" trucks are using the By-Pass. Enforcement of this ordinance should convince these truck drivers. This, along with enforcement of the 25 .mph limit may help the situ- ation. She added that some of these drivers are traveling at 50 mph. Mr. Hill said the speed limit can be enforced without any new ordinance and this should certainly be controlled. He also noticed on the financial report that income from Court fines has decreased. Mr. Niccolls said this could possibly Snly for one or two months - a change in banking system in the Clerk' s Office is time consuming and some of these fines are probably not included. However , he said the Police are always complaining that the fines are too low. Mr. Hill felt the penalty should fit the crime. Mrs. Hill asked that Loudoun Street also be included in en- forcement of speed limits. There was discussion concerning gross vehicle weight of trucks. Mr. Hill explained that 7 , 800 pounds was formerly the weight used by insurance companies - this has now been increased to 10 , 000 . There was discussion concerning ' other vehicles" as to just what constitutes over "10, 000. " On motion of Mr. Hill, seconded by Mr. Cole, Council voted unanimously to change Section (a) to read "10, 000 pounds . " : Aye: Councilmembers Cole, D. Hill , M. Hill , Murray, Tolbert and Mayor Rollins. Nay: None. The ordinance, as amended, was then unanimously adopted: Aye: Councilmembers Cole, D. Hill, M. Hill , Murray, Tolbert and Mayor Rollins. Nay: None. There followed the question of effective date of the above ordi- nance - it cannot be enforced immediately - signs will have to be erected. On motion of Mr. Hill , seconded by Mr. Tolbert, Council voted unanimously to reconsider the ordinance: Aye: Councilmembers Cole, D. Hill , M. Hill , Murray, Tolbert Mayor Rollins. Nay: None. • After discussion of this portion of the ordinance, on motion of Mr. Murray, seconded by Mr . Tolbert, Section II was amended to read as follows : SECTION II . This ordinance shall be in effect ten days following the posting of appropriate traffic signs . Aye: Councilmembers Cole, D. Hill , M. Hill , Murray, Tolbert and Mayor Rollins . Nay: None. The ordinance, as amended, was then unanimously adopted and reads as follows : • ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, as follows: SECTION I . The Town Code is hereby amended by adding a new section, to be numbered Section 10-114 , to read as follows : Sec. 10-114 . Certain through truck traffic prohibited . (a) Except as provided below, it shall be unlawful for any person to operate a truck or other ve- hicle with a gross vehicle weight exceeding 10 , 000 pounds on any street or highway within the town. MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 22,7 1978 MEETING, 2 3-11- (h) Paragraph (a) above does not apply to the following: (1) The operation of trucks or vehicles upon. any street or highway within the- town where necessary to the conduct of busi- ness at a point of destination or origin within the town; (2) The operation of emergency vehicles upon any street or highway within town; (3) The operation of trucks or vehicles owned or operated by the town, or agents of the town, public utilities, or trucks owned or operated by the Virginia Department of High- ways and Transportation or its agents; (4) The operation of trucks or vehicles upon any officially established detour within town. SECTION II , This ordinance shall be in effect ten days following the posting of appropriate traffic signs . Ave: Councilmemners Cole , D, Hill , M. Hill, Murray, Tolbert and Mayor Rollins . N Nay: None. 78-218 - Resolution - Concerning selection of a route for the Evergreen Mill well water transmission main. On motion of Mr. Hill , seconded by Mr . Tolbert, the following resolution was proposed: WHEREAS, the well system study for Evergreen Mill wells dated August 21 , 1978 by Bengtson, DeBell & Elkin, Inc. described three alternate watermain routes : and WHEREAS , the Route B Alternate was selected on September 13 , 1978 : and WHEREAS, changed conditions have made Route A the most economic and feasible plan for the transmission main: THEREFORE, RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Lees- burg, Virginia, as follows: The Evergreen Mill well water transmission main shall be designed and built in line with the pian described as Route A in the August 21 , 1978 report from Bengtson, DeBell & Elkin, Inc . and all prior resolutions to the contrary are repealed . Mr. Hill said he thought everything was "going according to Hoyle" on Route B or B Alternate. There appeared to be no problem with going down Route 621 on the east side and on down the By-Pass •and connecting with the service under the existing By-Pass. There was never at any time any disagreement. Suddenly the 'bwn ' s commission permit request went before the County Planning Commission. Mr . Stowers appeared and objected to the Town' s use of, this sleexe under the By-Pass for reasons he did not understand. Perhaps he is inti- mating that he claimed ownership rights because of arrangements made when they put it under the By-Pass . He could not see how "Henry Stowers, even though he ' s God ' s gift to humanity, being a member of the Board of Supervisors could have that kind of power . " Rather than delay this project, Route A is very practical now since the Town has inter-looped the line. This way it completely wipes out the Stowers property. He felt they should take this route before the next Planning Commission meeting. This route will cost an additional $4 , 000, but going through the courts would cost much more and delay the project. He felt they should go ahead with Route A and get this water into the system - our water situa- tion is sort of bordering on the same situation that Round Hill is experiencing. Mr. Cole said Mr . Stowers explained to him that they 232 MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 22 , 1978 MEETING . made a trade with the contractor at the time the By-Pass went in - they supplied fill dirt and the, contractor put the sleeve in for a future sewer connection - there was no money involved. Mayor Rollins said there was certainly a slip-up on somebody ' s part. Council gave very serious consideration to this when the By-Pass was being built and was very cautious to make sure that these-i utility line; could be put under the By-Pass. Mr. Murray felt this would have been done at the Town ' s request, not Mr . Stowers ' . Mayor Rollins said the thing that disturbs him is that there is no comity between the County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission and other governmental bodies when they listen to one person and just throw the Town ' s request aside. As far as he is concerned , this is a "two-edged sword. " Mr. Murray said the town has discretionary power over that area outside the cor • - porate limits - "we will just remember that. " Mr. Hill was dis- turbed that Mr. Stowers did not come to any of the committee meet- ings on this matter and voice his objection. Mr. Niccolls said, according to County staff members, the Board of Supervisors will take this up with the recommendation of the County Planning Com- mission. It has not reached our office yet in writing. The com- mission permit was recommended for the facilities provided the town goes another route. It is hoped the Board willconsider this, after Council ' s action, at its December 14th meeting. Mayor Rol- lins said we could make a presentation to the Board stating we want this route irregardless of the Planning Commission. Mr . Mur- ray said this could come under the right of eminent domain. If this other route is satisfactory, let' s go ahead and do cythis . Mr. Niccolls said he has talked with the engineers about the cost estimate, which included tunneling of 110 feet under Route 15 south; He (Mr. Niccolls) asked if perhaps we shouldn ' t apply to the High- way Department to open-cut this trench. They agreed and said this could save us as much as $10, 000 . We are actually even or money ahead to go Route A. All three of these routes will function equally. Mayor Rollins asked Mr. Niccolls to look into a way to prevent taking the water line across that stream. He commented that the Consolidated Dairy property is certainly going to be ringing with utilities. Mr. Niccollsiemphasized that we need to know so that the design can proceed for this project. His recommendation is that, once this decision is made by Council , they will go ahead with all the design work and will assume they are going to the west and fight it out with the County if neces- sary. The resolution was unanimously adopted : Aye: Councilmembers Cole, D. Hill , M. Hill, Murray, Tolbert and Mayor Rollins. Nay: None. Mr. Hill objected to considering a resolution approving a performance bond for the Lower-Harley Davidson, Ltd. site plan, so it will go to Committee. On motion of Mr . Tolbert, seconded by Mr. Cole, the meeting was adjourned at 9: 05 P.M. Mayor ti/• / XL Clerk of ' e Council