HomeMy Public PortalAbout1982_09_22 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL, SEPTEMBER 22, 1982 .
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A regular meeting of the Leesburg Town Council was held in
the Council Chambers, 10 West Loudoun Street, Leesburg, Virginia
on September 22 , 1982 at 7 : 30 p.m. The meeting was called to order
by the Mayor, with the invocation by Mr. Tolbert, and followed with
the Salute to the Flag led by the Clerk. Present were : Mayor Rob-
ert E. Sevila, Councilmembers Charles A. Bos, Edgar L. Coffey, Jr. ,
Reginald K. Gheen, Marylou Hill , John W. Tolbert, Jr. and Howard M.
Willis, Jr. ; also Town Manager John Niccolls and Assistant to Town
Manager for Community Development Marc Weiss .
Mayor Sevila welcomed Edgar Coffey, the newest member of the
Town Council , who is filling the unexpired portion of Stanley Her-
rell ' s term, Mr. Herrell having resigned effective June 24 , '1982.
We all look forward to two years of hard work with him.
On motion of Mrs . Hill, seconded by Mr. Tolbert, the minutes
of a special meeting of August 23 , 1982 were approved as submitted
by a vote of 6 to 1 abstention, Mr. Coffey not being a member at •
that time.
h
On motion of Mrs. Hill, seconded by Mr. Tolbert, the minutes
of the regular meeting and joint public hearing with the Planning
CO Commission of August 25, 1982 were approved as submitted by a vote
Cr of 6 to 1 abstention, Mr. Coffey not being a member at that time.
CO PETITIONERS :
CO Mr. Stanley Caulkins, representing the Downtown Business Asso-
ciation, brought to Council six items for consideration for the im-
mediate season, including Christmas :
(1) Most of the merchants have talked and considered the prac-
tice of the town bagging the parking meters - they do not want these
meters bagged this year. The populace of the working force that
comes to town during the holidays manage; to fill the parking lot
and park free all day; the shopping customers then have no place
to
' park They are suggesting that the meters not be bagged but,
if the town feels this must be done, they ask that the meter maid
mark the tires in order that rotation of parking be accomplished.
He is convinced that they will get better customer flow and better
economical standards if the meters are not bagged.
(2) A letter has been received from Mr. Niccolls stating the
Christmas decorations are not suitable to be put up again this year -
this letter was written quite a while ago and he has just seen it.
It is too late to do anything about them for this year . They would
like to see if they can be put in a repaired condition to use them
this year and, when they are taken down, have a committee of the
DBA and any other interested groups to assess their worth - if they
are not good enough to use again, then raise enough money to buy new
ones for next year. The DBA did not buy these - they were com-
munity sponsored, the nucleus of which was the Chamber of Commerce.
We will try to struggle through this year and make a firm commit-
ment in January. Mr. Niccolls said his letter was written to the
DBA after Christmas last year .
(3) The DBA would like to see the inclusion of Saturday as
holiday free parking. There are no banks open, no insurance of-
fices, County offices or law offices open on Saturday. This would
be "a shot in the arm" to the economic base.
(4) They (the DBA) request that town employee parking be moved
to the Vinegar Hill lot. The business community is supported by the
main parking lot.
(5) King Street has been paved and they need the meter park-
ing paint job on the street. There are no guidelines, so people
are parking out into the street.
(6) They would like the 10-hour meters in the main parking lot
to be moved to the Vinegar Hill lot (there are 29 or 30 of them) .
Employees of businesses in town take these meters and this defeats
their purpose.
MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 22 , 1982 MEETING.
58 Mr. Gheen said he is very much interested in some of these
items - he is sure they will be given consideration by the Council .
Mr. Caulkins said economic hard times are not really that bad in
Leesburg, but there is a dollar shortfall to the merchant. Any-
thing they can do to facilitate the ease by which the customer has
ingress and egress to the parking lot should be done. He has even
had people say they came to do business with the townand the four
spaces at the top of the stairs were filled with town vehicles. If
these vehicles are going to be short-term to receive instructions,
that ' s fine, but to pull in and park and go to lunch - this is no
good. Mr. Bos said a number of these items come up periodically,
or variations thereof . The recently formed Economic Development
Advisory Committee spent several hours at one of their sessions
discussing downtown parking in general and some things specifi-
cally. One of the conclusions was that there would always be un-
happiness with parking - there is no way around it. We would al-
ways try to make a blend that would work best.
Mr. Niccolls said they thought last year was the last year for
the Christmas decorations - we patched them up at that time. We did
advise the DBA, even before last year, that the decorations were in
sad repair. -We didn ' t know who owned them - we were just the custo-
dians. We have never seen any money budgeted from town sources to
provide something like Christmas decorations . The town ' s people
say they absolutely cannot be patched up for another year - they
are shot. He felt there would be some disappointment in the com-
p munity if there are no decorations. Mr . Caulkins said he only saw
the letter recently. Perhaps with some lighting and some large
wreaths they can make some effort to do that. These decorations
were a contribution from many sources - the Lions Club, Rotary Club,
Kiwanis Club, church groups and perhaps some from the Chamber of
Commerce (they are Loudoun County, not just Leesburg) - they acted
as the chairman for coordinating efforts to raise the funds.
Without putting any escrow away each year, we are obviously now in
a bind - they would probably cost $15, 000 . Mr. Niccolls said they
could spend $10, 000 easily. . We have catalogs. Mr. Caulkins said
the DBA doesn ' t have this kind of funding so they will have to
mount another concerted effort to raise funds for this purpose.
Mayor Sevila suggested that they (DBA) alert the various civic,
service and church groups and perhaps elect someone to speak on
their behalf and see what they are willing to do to make up what
might be a season without decorations. Five of the items on this
list relate to parking - many of these things are discussed by
council and they are certainly valid concerns of the DBA, the coun-
cil and everyone else. He referred these items to the Utility and
Public Works Committee for consideration at its next meeting and
report back to council at its next public meeting. He also asked
that the state of the Christmas decorations be discussed at that
time and that perhaps each of the organizations involved have a
representative at that meeting.
Mayor Sevila asked permission from Councilto consider. a new
business item at this time in order that Mr. Chamberlin, who is
representing the developer, might speak and leave the meeting.
There was no objection.
82-123 - RESOLUTION - AUTHORIZING AN AGREEMENT AND APPROVING A PER-
FORMANCE BOND FOR INSTALLATION OF PUBLIC IM-
PROVEMENTS FOR WIRT STREET LIMITED PARTNERSHIP .
Mr. William Chamberlin of DeLashmutt Associates, said this is
a new business item concerning a performance bond for street im-
provements on a project at the corner of Wirt and Loudoun Streets.
The Planning Commission approved the site plan for this project at
its last meeting. The bond is for installation of brick sidewalks.
Mr. Martin has approved the bond forms and everything is in order.
He asked that this be approved so they might get their permits and
start construction next week.
On motion of Mrs. Hill , seconded by Mr . Tolbert, the following
resolution was proposed and unanimously adopted :
RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia
as follows:
MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 22 , 1982 MEETING .
59
SECTION I . The manager is authorized and directed to exe-
cute the contract for public improvements for Wirt Street
Limited Partnership at the southeast corner of Loudoun and
Wirt Streets.
SECTION II . A performance bond in the amount of $5 , 940 is-
sued by Aetna Insurance Company guaranteeing installation
of public improvements at the Wirt Street Limited Partner-
ship development at the southeast corner of Wirt and Loudoun
Streets in accordance with plans approved by the. Director of
Engineering is approved.
Aye : Councilmembers Bos, Coffey, Gheen, Hill, Tolbert, Willis
and Mayor Sevila.
Nay: None.
PETITIONERS :
Mr. Mike Sherman said he drove down Sycolin Road to Douglass
School and, without much warning, he hit a large dip in the road
and "bottomed out" his car. There are scrapes on both sides of
this dip, indicating that many other cars have done the same thing.
m Perhaps the town might put some warning on that road before there
is a serious accident or damage to a car. Mr. Niccolls said this
O is in an area that is a 25 mph speed limit and, even at that speed,
m the bridge has to be approached very carefully. He felt putting a
m sign there is a good suggestion.
Q COUNCILMEMBERS ' COMMENTS :
Mr . Bos said he enjoyed the Virginia Municipal League confer-
ence very much - this is a good way to meet other public officials
and discuss problems . Some of the sessions were very informative,
particularly the one on how to run meetings and one on how the lo-
cal government fits into the State picture, compared to other
states .
Mr. Willis said there is a parking problem on Monroe Street
and asked that this be put on the Public Works Agenda. He echoed
Mr. Bos ' comments on the VML meeting - he thought it was very pro-
ductive.
Mr. Coffey said he has read through "tons" of material and is
trying to catch up. There is still a lot to do. He thanked council-
members for their support and will try to live up to their expecta-
tions.
Mr. Tolbert also attended the VML conference (the 77th) with
the Leesburg delegation. One session he attended with the Mayor
was a good one until they got to water resources - a parliamentary
procedure question arose concerning a motion - this was the high-
light of that meeting. He also enjoyed the session on how to con-
duct town meetings and public hearings.
MAYOR' S REPORT:
(1) Mayor Sevila has received Mr. Coffey ' s resignation from
the Cable Television Commission. Council needs to give some thought
to a replacement for Mr . Coffey.
(2) Mayor Sevila echoed the comments of Mr . Bos, Mr. Willis
and Mr. Tolbert concerning the Virginia Municipal League conference.
They, along with Mr. Niccolls and Mr . Minor , all attended.
this meeting. He felt the Town of Leesburg was well represented.
They spread out - they divided up the many items on their Agenda
and attempted to have coverage at all meetings, etc. that would
be of interest or use to the town. Some were somewhat tedious
and others were very helpful . They brought back some new knowl-
edge that we can apply in ways that will benefit both us and the
public . ' He enjoyed being present and representing the town at this
meeting, but he enjoyed, most of all, his association with the town' s
delegation and the opportunity to work so closely with them for such
a concentrated period of time. It was really a worthwhile effort.
•
MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 22 , 1982 MEETING.
60
MANAGER'S- REPORT:
(1) Mr. Niccolls reported that the visit from the FAA Eastern
Regional Offices in New York by three inspectors was quite an in-
teresting experience. The town had short notice that they were
to be in Leesburg for the purpose of adding to the information
base to be used by the FAA to decide where to locate the new flight
services stationvfacility. They felt this meeting was important
so they spent some time putting together a "dog and pony show"
about Leesburg. Marc reassembled the Leesburg display from Dulles
Expo and that served as a springboard to discuss Leesburg and why
it would be a good home for the center. They also took them on
tours, starting with the Museum and throughout. He did not see
how anybody could not be impressed by the quality of life in Lees-
burg for a facility such as this . We have one advantage - about
sixty percent of the employees work at the Leesburg center and
there will be additional ones brought in. This "quality of life"
survey is just one of many factors being used by the FAA to evalu-
ate the proposal being made. We could not find out from them
whether we are one of ten or two or three communities being sur-
1 veyed in this depth. We got the impression that all their surveys
were taking place in that week. They spent two full days here, so
he was not sure they had very much time for too many other loca-
tions. We also could not find out about dates the final announce-
ments will be made, except that the computer- equipment being manu-
factured for these facilities is going to be ready and the FAA has
to pay steep penalties to the manufacturer if they don ' t have space
available for installation. We expect a decision probably by Janu-
ary.
(2) The South Harrison Street work is actually begun - pre-
construction conferences have been held with the contractor. They
have scheduled a formal ribbon cutting for next Tuesday,=?1;
the 28th at 10 : 00 a.m. All council members are invited. There
will be people from the Advisory Committee and from HUD. This is a
good start on the project. He recently saw across his desk an
evaluation performed by the HUD area office on Leesburg ' s per-
formance
to date on the program. This takes into account the fact
that we have adjusted the proposed schedule from that originally
submitted in 1979 to HUD and states we are moving along very
well . There were no complaints about the progress toward each of
the activities . This is to Marc ' s credit - it is hard to get these
federal projects up and going.
(3) The resurfacing has been completed. There is a minor
parking problem that will be resolved.
(4) He noted with some disappointment that the Water Plant
is now supposed to start producing water in late October. When
he left last week, it was supposed to be early October.
(5) Mr. Minor is with Loudoun County Planning Commission to-
night in support of our application for a special exception under
their Zoning Ordinance and a commission permit. They have raised
some interesting suggestions. They want a complete geotechnical
survey and report to be completed on the hangar site. He presumes
they are talking about the bearing capacities of the soils . The
hangar manufacturer and the construction company putting them up
would be responsible for meeting the building code requirements
for this . He did not know what a geotechnical survey is, but
this is typical of Loudoun County to put that kind of condition
in, without any consideration of how much money this might cost.
We are talking about 18 hangars for aircraft and they are designed
to be quite light. We will get back to Council on this.
(6) The staff is working on the "Public Procurement Act"
changes that take effect on January 1, 1983 . This will be dis-
cussed with councilmembers at a later time.
82-124 - RESOLUTION - AUTHORIZING APPLICATIONS AND APPROVING THE
EXECUTION OF A GRANT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE
TOWN OF LEESBURG AND THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION,
PROVIDING FOR FEDERAL AID IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF LEESBURG MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (82-1-3-51-0027-) .
MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 22, 1982 MEETING.
On motion of Mrs. Hill, seconded by Mr . Willis, the following 1
resolution was proposed :
RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia
as follows:
SECTION I . The manager is authorized and directed to file
all necessary preapplications and applications for federal
and state assistance in the removal of obstructions from the
west side of Runway 17-35 .
SECTION II . The Town of Leesburg shall enter into a grant
agreement with the United States of America for the purpose
of obtaining federal aid in the development of Leesburg Mu-
nicipal Airport by executing the acceptance of the grant
offer for ADAP Project No. 82-1-3-51-0027- .
SECTION III . John Niccolls, Town Manager, is hereby author-
ized and directed to execute said grant agreement, six copies,
on behalf of the Town of Leesburg, and Dorothy B. Rosen,
Clerk of Council, is hereby authorized and directed to im-
press the official seal of the Town of Leesburg and to at-
CD test the said execution.
O SECTION IV. The grant offer referred to is incorporated
herein by reference and a copy shall be filed in the Of-
m fice of the Clerk.
m
Q SECTION V. The manager is authorized and directed to exe-
cute similar agreements between the Town of Leesburg and
the Commonwealth of Virginia with respect to this project.
Mayor Sevila asked that Mr . Niccolls provide some backgroud on the
Grant Agreement and the necessity for the adoption of this resolu-
tion. Mr. Niccolls explained that, on the west side of the runway,
there is a slight incline - this is a tree-covered area. FAA has
been interested for some time in the removal of these trees and,
in fact, made it a condition of some earlier grant work. When they
finally saw the scope of the work, they offered a substantial grant
(close to $50, 000) to the town to have the work done. We just could
not do it with our own forces - it is a tremendous amount of clear-
ing, grubbing and grading - then the area can be put on the mowing
schedule. It is a simple matter of clearing some trees for safety
of the pilots and users of the airport. This will be 90 percent
from Federal funds, 5% from the State and 5% local . The resolution
was unanimously adopted:
Aye : Councilmembers Bos, Coffey, Gheen, Hill, Tolbert, Willis
and Mayor Sevila .
Nay: None.
82-125 - RESOLUTION - AUTHORIZING THE SALE OF SURPLUS PROPERTY.
On motion of Mrs. Hill, seconded by Mr. Bos, the following
resolution was proposed :
RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia
as follows :
The manager is authorized and directed to sell by way of pub-
lic auction certain surplus property as listed in a memorandum
from the manager dated September 20, 1982 at such time and lo-
cation as deemed by the manager.
Mrs. Hill explained that this is a yearly thing . Mr. Niccolls said
this consists of used police cars and recovered bicycles that have
not been claimed - property of that kind. The list will be circu-
lated. The resolution was unanimously adopted:
Aye: Councilmembers Bos , Coffey, Gheen, Hill, Tolbert, Willis
and Mayor Sevila .
Nay: None.
•
MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 22 , 1982 MEETING.
62 82-126 - RESOLUTION - AUTHORIZING PURCHASE OF A CUSTOM OUTFITTED
UTILITY TRUCK FOR THE UTILITY LINES DIVISION.
On motion of Mr. Willis, seconded by Mr. Tolbert, the following
resolution was proposed :
RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia
as follows :
SECTION I . The manager is authorized and directed to pur-
chase a .:utility truck for the Utility Lines Division. The
cab and -chassis for this truck is to be purchased from the
low bidder, S & R Chevrolet-Oldsmobile, Inc . , Leesburg,
Virginia at a cost not to exceed $9, 100 and the custom out-
I/fitting is to be provided by the Main-Tainer Corporation
of Sheldon, Iowa.
SECTION II . An appropriation is made from the Utility Fund
Account No. 5100 . 705, Automotive Equipment in the amount of
$29, 000 for the fiscal year ending June 30 , 1983 .
Mr. Niccolls said this vehicle will be equipped with storage boxes
and a bed - it will be equipped with a hydraulic hoist and with
hydraulic connections for tools used by the Utility Lines divi-
sion in the maintenance and repair of the water and sewer system.
They have been looking forward to having such a vehicle to be used
for water breaks and other repairs . It will be specially outfitted
with the various apparatus they use (tapping tools , pipe cutters,
etc. ) and with suitable lighting for night-time work . They have
spent a good deal of time planning this vehicle. In Virginia Beach
today their water crew was working and had a vehicle similar to this.
$30 , 000 is provided in the budget and we won ' t spend that much. This
$29, 000 includes a sum sufficient to send one of our employees to
the Main-Tainer Corporation and be trained on the equipment and bring
it back. Mr. Bos asked if this is one of the few companies that does
this kind of outfitting? Mr. Niccolls said they feel this company
does the best work for the money. Mr. Bos also asked how they ship
the chassis out there? Mr . Niccolls said he supposed it is drop-
shipped there from the factory. The resolution was unanimously
adopted:
Aye : Councilmembers Bos, Coffey, Gheen, Hill , Tolbert, Willis
and Mayor Sevila .
Nay: None.
82-127 - RESOLUTION - MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO THE AIRPORT FUND
FOR ADAP PROJECT 5-51-00-27-003 .
On motion of Mrs . Hill, seconded by Mr . Tolbert, the following
resolution was proposed :
RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia
as follows :
An appropriation is made to the Airport Fund to Account No.
6000 . 730, Safety and Maintenance, in the amount of $2 , 905 .
Mr. Niccolls explained that this is the overrun on the taxiway im-
provements recently completed. We will be making application for
reimbursement for this and, if approved, most of this will come
back to us (95 percent) . We don ' t know with certainty that the
funds are available from that year ' s ADAP grant. In every case so
far, they have paid the overrun. The resolution was unanimously.
adopted:
Aye : Councilmembers Bos , Coffey, Gheen, Hill , Tolbert, Willis
and Mayor Sevila.
Nay: None.
82-128 - RESOLUTION - AUTHORIZING NOTICE OF PUBLICATION OF PUBLIC
HEARING ON APPLICATION #ZM-41A BY JOHN WAL-
LACE, ET AL.
On motion of Mrs. Hill , seconded by Mr. Bos, the following
resolution was proposed:
MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 22 , 1982 MEETING.
RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia s
as follows :
A Notice of Public Hearing to consider Application Number
ZM-41A by Roger L. and Anna L. Cross, Eugene A. and Yasue
Lahman, Stanley S . and Alice F. Fewell and John A. Wallace
and Mary Mulcahy of Leesburg, Virginia to have rezoned from
R-1 to B-2 , five lots of Honicon Subdivision II , located on
the south side of Edwards Ferry Road (39 , 000 square feet)
shall be published in the Loudoun Times-Mirror on Septem-
ber 30, 1982 and.October 7 , 1982 for public hearing on Oc-
tober 13 , 1982 at 7 : 30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 10
West Loudoun Street, Leesburg, Virginia .
Mayor Sevila said this is the same item that was placed on the agenda
in August and removed at the request of the applicant in order that
he could include the other lots . Mrs . Hill said the Planning Com-
mission unanimously approved this . There were no proffers. The
Heritage Square Citizens Association wanted•.some proffers. Mr.
Wallace and the people -met and decided that, since there had been
no proffers in the B-2 area on that side of the road, they did not
want any. The Citizens Association felt that there should be prof-
OD fers since there had been some on the other side of the road, but
the Planning Commission did not consider this . Mayor Sevila asked
o if the applicants are requesting B-2 zoning and all its uses? Mrs .
m Hill said yes. The resolution was unanimously adopted :
m Aye : Councilmembers Bos, Coffey, Gheen, Hill, Tolbert, Willis
Q and Mayor Sevila.
Nay: None.
82-129 - RESOLUTION - AUTHORIZING AN AGREEMENT, APPROVING A PERFORM-
ANCE BOND AND APPROVING WATER AND SEWER EXTEN-
SIONS FOR SOUTHGATE II DEVELOPMENT.
On motion of Mrs . Hill, seconded by Mr. Willis, the following
resolution was proposed:
RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia
as follows :
SECTION I . The manager is authorized and directed to exe-
cute the contract for public improvements for Southgate II
development.
SECTION II . The performance bond from Western Surety Com-
pany in the amount of $60, 190 guaranteeing installation of
public improvements in accordance with plans approved by
the Director of Engineering for the Southgate II develop-
ment is approved.
SECTION III . Extension of municipal water and sewer facili-
ties is approved for this development.
SECTION IV. This resolution is in effect upon approval of
the contract, bond and extension permits by the town attorney.
Mr . Richard Gore said they are requesting bonding for 18 townhouse
apartments on approximately 90, 000 square feet known as Southgate
II . This property lies south of Davis Avenue and west of Valley
View Avenue. They have prepared all the necessary documents, ex-
cluding this bond they have applied for and which should be shortly
coming. The resolution was unanimously adopted :
Aye : Councilmembers Bos, Coffey, Gheen, Hill , Tolbert, Willis
and Mayor Sevila.
Nay: None.
On motion of Mr. Tolbert, seconded by Mr . Willis, the meeting
was unanimously adjourned at 8 : 30 p.m.
/4141C
i '2.- /�Li'. Mayo,
Clerk of J Council