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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1983_01_12 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL, JANUARY 12, 1983. 136 A regular meeting of the Leesburg Town Council was held in the Council Chambers, 10 West Loudoun Street, Leesburg, Virginia on January 12 , 1983 at 7 : 30 p.m. The meeting was called to order by the Mayor, with the invocation by Mr. Tolbert (a prayer for Leesburg and Loudoun County and one for the General Assembly) and followed with the Salute to the Flag led by Mr. Bos. Present were: Mayor Robert E. Sevila, Councilmembers Charles A. Bos, Reginald K. Gheen, Marylou Hill , John W. Tolbert, Jr . and Howard M. Willis, Jr. ; also Town Manager John Niccolls , Assistant Manager Jeffrey H. Minor, Assistant to Manager for Community Development Marc Weiss and Town Attorney George M. Martin. Absent from the meeting was Councilmem- ber Edgar L. Coffey, Jr. On motion of Mr . Gheen, seconded by Mr. Tolbert, the minutes of a public information meeting on annexation of November 10, 1982 were unanimously adopted : Aye : Councilmembers Bos , Gheen, Hill , Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay : None. On motion of Mr. Tolbert, seconded by Mrs. Hill, the minutes of the regular meeting of November 15 , 1982 were unanimously adopted: Aye : Councilmembers Bos , Gheen, Hill , Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. On motion of Mrs. Hill, seconded by Mr. Willis, the minutes of the regular meeting of November 24 , 1982 were unanimously adopted : Aye : Councilmembers Bos, Gheen, Hill, Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay : None. PETITIONERS : Mr. Richard Thomas, a resident of Prospect Hills, said there are a couple of items on the agenda that bother him. Although he is a member of the Loudoun County Taxpayers ' Association, he is not here tonight representing in any way any philosophy or feelings of that association. As a private citizen, he feels that basic ser- vices, and basic services only, is what all governments should be trying to fulfill. Our elected representatives should look out for the taxpayer and should try as best they can to stem the unneeded growth of local government and to forever be watchful and make sure this does not happen. (1) On the agenda is the apparent installation of a new office (one that might be necessary in the future) . Mr. Weiss was brought here on a particular job (the South Harrison Street project) , which is being financed somewhat by HUD - he should be working at this job and run it to its completion. A special office should not be gene- rated for him in anticipation of any kind of growth as a result of annexation. Moving him from a Grade 15 to a 17 is not right and he feels it will not set right with the people of this town. When the South Harrison Street project is completed, then take another look at where the town is going and the influence of annexation - then consider the taxpayers ' ability to pay for the tremendous bud- get of this town. (2) Also on the agenda is an appropriation toward a series of summer concerts - he does not feel taxpayers ' dollars should be used to finance entertainment for our local citizenry. This should have the backing of the council in spirit and in principle, but not in financing - this should be derived from local sources in the pri- vate sector. Let the user pay. There are a lot of people in the town and the county who are just getting by - they are not getting increases in their social security nor promotions on the job. As elected representatives, it is up to the council to control this type of thing and say No. MINUTES OF JANUARY 12 , 1983 MEETING . Ms. Patsy Tavenner , of 30 West Loudoun Street, was in oppo- 137 sition to the closing of streets for the summer concert series. She could remember open-air church services on Sunday evenings on the courthouse lawn - they didn ' t close the streets then and they could hear the preacher. There was no by-pass then either, so there were large trucks going by as well . So, please let ' s not close the streets. With the economy as it is and the unemploy- ment, you raise taxes and then give it away - she was certainly not in favor of this . COUNCILMEMBERS ' COMMENTS : Mr. Bos said the Economic Development Advisory Committee met this morning with representatives of the instigation of the SBA-503 program. Specifically, the Small Business Administration has a pro- gram oriented toward expansion of existing stable businesses - this is a fairly recent program that is essentially a permanent one. They seem to have money available and it looks ideally suitable for cer- tain businesses that might want to expand and need financing. He suggested that any councilmember interested in this or who might know people looking for financing contact Marc Weiss, thim or someone fa- miliar with the program and they will try to steer them in the right OD direction. Local banks are becoming more familiar with the program too, so loan offices should all be familiar with the process before O too long. OD Mrs . Hill called attention to a bid she had distributed to OD councilmembers for a"film"room in the old Odd Fellows building. Ac- CX cording to the terms of the lease for the museum, they cannot make any changes without approval of council . This would make two rooms out of one - one to be a hall 7 ' 3" x 27" at the foot of the steps from the old museum and on the left will be the"film"room. The money will be coming from the museum funds . One bid was received for $5, 335, plus $300 for lighting fixtures . She is asking for council ' s approval to go ahead with this work - this is a good time to do the work and it is a slack time for tourists as well . She explained in detail some of the items listed on the bid . Mr. Tolbert asked if this must be approved tonight? Mrs. Hill said they have asked for it, but she can tell them it is being sent to committee if this is what council wants. Mr. Bos asked if these are structural changes that could be removed at a later date if the building is used for some other purpose? Mrs. Hill explained further and there were further questions and discussion concerning these proposed changes. Mayor Sevila suggested that this go back to committee - he did not feel such a delay would cause any undue harm. He also suggested that 1 someone from the Engineering Department go through the building with someone from the museum to make sure there will be no structural dam- age. Mr. Niccolls said he has looked at it personally, but he feels too that there should be a set of plans . They will have to have them to get a building permit. It is impossible to do a structural analy- I sis without destroying the building. The building inspection of the County will have to make the judgments concerning the materials be- ing used - there is no real way to evaluate it. Andy and Juan can look at it but there is no way to judge until they start the work. Mayor Sevila asked that there be a staff report for the committee meeting as to the nature of the structural changes, if any, and any effects on the leasehold. Mrs . Hill also said complaints have been received for a long time that the town has no public toilets. We have busloads of peo- ple coming here and they are desperately needed. The museum has two, but they are both upstairs . Several weeks ago a woman fell down those steps but, fortunately, she was not hurt. There are two in the Odd Fellows building and she has asked that Mr. Niccolls include in our next fiscal year budget the money to re-do these (with some help from the town staff) . This , then, would give us public toilets in the town and the museum would keep them clean. It is estimated that it would take approximately $6 , 000 for this work. She attended a meeting at the museum this evening and there have been some thoughts that perhaps the County might help finance this work. The committee has asked that the council appropriate $6, 000 MINUTES OF JANUARY 12 , 1983 MEETING . 138 to do this now so that everything can be torn up at one time, with the idea that the museum board will guarantee that $3 , 000 will be returned to the town . Mr. Bos asked if this meant these bathrooms would be available only to those using the museum? Mrs . Hill said they would be available to anybody when the museum is open - they are closed only three days a year . Mr. Tolbert was afraid they would be abused by wine-o ' s , etc . Mrs. Hill said these will be in a build- ing, so they should be more protected. Mr. Niccolls said that $6, 000 was a very informal cost estimate. Mrs. Hill said that is probably high, but they are thinking of putting tile on the floors for mainte- nance purposes . They also have to be handicapped-accessible, so you have to have railing, large sinks, etc . Mayor Sevila asked if the County has been approached on this? Mrs. Hill said they have been, but they haven ' t heard from them yet. The Board determined tonight that, even if they don ' t come through, they can use the proceeds from the antique shows - they will guarantee $3 , 000 will be returned. Mr. Gheen felt that, before an appropriation is made, we need to have at least a "ballpark" figure. Mr. Bos felt we also need to know if this is a reasonable thing to do or not. Mr. Willis felt this should go back to committee - if they want to coincide this work with the other, it should all be considered at the same time. This will be considered by the Finance and Administration committee. MANAGER' S REPORT: 1 Mr. Niccolls said a written activity report was distributed earlier in the week. He has a report from the annexation negotiation teams to the Mayor and Council and the Board of Supervisors on some things learned from the hearings before the Local Government Commis- sion, specifically, two typographical errors in the contract and one other policy extension. These could be dealt with later tonight after they are discussed . Mayor Sevila noted today that the County' s copies of the tran- scripts of the hearings are in the County Attorney ' s office. He asked if we have any of those in the town office? Mr . Niccolls said we have only the transcript of the public hearing, but not of the presentations made. Mayor Sevila felt it would be good to have one of those available for Council review and for the public . Mr. Nic- colls said there were three speakers at that hearing and each raised certain points of concern or interest. Mr . Minor has prepared com- ments on those comments and a letter was sent to Mr. Wilkinson for the record responding to the points raised by those speakers. This is by way of clarification and he believes the Commission members would be interested in having ' Mr. Finnegan is making similar com- ments to the Commission. Mayor Sevila said he is referring to the two-day transcript and he wondered if one should be available in the town offices for council members or the media . Mr. Niccolls felt Mr. Finnegan will be glad to share this with us - he will check in a day or two if we don ' t get one. MAYOR' S REPORT: Mayor Sevila said he has been contacted by a court reporting service here in the community who was disgruntled that they had not had an opportunity to bid or to perform their services on behalf of the town at these public hearings . He understood the town did have an opportunity to employ a court reporter and that this employment was done within the properly exercised discretion of the manager ' s office. The only issue raised was whether or not the manager and his office should look to our own community and businesses and ser- vices that are available before going into Northern Virginia or, in this case, Fairfax or Vienna to obtain such services, etc . ? The parallel brought to mind was the squabble the County got into last summer over the purchase of vehicles out- side its own jurisdiction. He felt some of the criticism was well founded. In this particular case, he felt sure this was done with properly exercised discretion - he is sure the manager has the dis- cretion to contract for various goods and services needed on a case by case basis and, unless covered by State Code or it is a certain amount, it is not necessary that they be let by competitive bid process. As a result of the complaints received from this person and from some members of the Chamber of Commerce, he hopes this kind of situation can be avoided in the future. He felt it should be a MINUTES OF JANUARY 12 , 1983 MEETING. matter of policy that, if we have such services available, we 139 should first look to the providers of such services before going outside the community. We need to encourage industrial and commer- cial growth in our own town - that should start right here with the council and the staff . Mr . Niccolls said we usually do this - he made a mistake in this matter and he apologized. Mayor Sevila said Council should adopt a policy to shop locally - we encourage our citizens to shop locally and we should do the same thing. He hoped these comments will be heeded in the future. 83-0-1 - ORDINANCE - AMENDING SECTION 4-9 OF THE TOWN CODE REGARDING DOG LICENSE FEES . On motion of Mrs. Hill , seconded by Mr. Bos , the following ordinance was proposed : ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows : SECTION I . Section 4-9 , Article II , Amount of Licenses, is amended to read as follows : OD Sec. 4-9 . Amount of licenses . OIt shall be unlawful for any person to own a dog six m months old or over in the town unless such dog is licensed, as required by the provisions of this ordinance. Dog li- n censes shall run by the calendar; namely, from January first Q to December thirty-first, inclusive, and the license tax shall be payable at the office of the treasurer and the U- P cense fee amounts shall be as follows : Infertile males or females $ 3 . 00 Fertile males or females 10. 00 Kennel , up to and including 20 dogs 25 . 00 Kennel , up to and including 50 dogs 35. 00 Provided, however, that no fee for a license shall be levied on any dog that is trained and serves as a guide dog or that is trained and serves as a police dog for any public law en- forcement agency. SECTION II . This ordinance shall be effective upon its pas- sage. Mr . Gheen noted that this raises the rate for fertile males or fe- males from $8 . 00 to $10 . 00, which makes this now in accordance with the County ' s ordinance. Mayor Sevila asked if this is done just for this purpose? Mr. Niccolls said Yes, Loudoun County collects li- cense fees on animals in Leesburg and enforces the animal control laws. All these fees are paid into the County Treasury, not ours. Mr. Gheen asked if this is not similar to the town license fees? Mr. Niccolls was not sure, but the County could refuse to enforce our dog ordinance, for which this is compensation. The ordinance was unanimously adopted: Aye : Councilmembers Bos, Gheen, Hill, Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay : None. PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 12 . 1 OF THE TOWN CODE. On motion of Mr. Tolbert, seconded by Mrs . Hill , Council voted unanimously to send back to the Finance and Administration Committee for further study a proposed ordinance amending Chapter 12 . 1 of the Town Code having to do with classification of town employees by oc- cupational groups and pay grades : Aye : Councilmembers Bos, Gheen, Hill, Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay : None . MINUTES OF JANUARY 12 , 1983 MEETING . 140 Mr. Bos said he has discussed the general nature of some of the jobs in town with several people today. He encouraged anyone who has questions concerning this to contact the Town Manager and get a clearer perspective. Mr . Thomas said he will do this. Mayor Sevila echoed these comments - he too was contacted by various members of the public during the past week concerning this proposal. He sug- gested that those interested in this should attend the meeting next Wednesday and make their thoughts or comments known. 83-0-2 - ORDINANCE - AMENDING SECTION 12 . 1-34 OF THE TOWN CODE RE- GARDING SICK LEAVE POLICIES . On motion of Mrs . Hill, seconded by Mr. Tolbert, the following ordinance was proposed : ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows : SECTION I . Section 12 . 1-34 of the Town Code is amended to read as follows : Sec . 12 . 1-34 . Sick Leave (a) Each employee in the service of the Town shall be credited with sick leave after it is earned at the following rates : Regular hours worked per Amount accrued per 2-week payroll period 2-week payroll period 80 3 . 70 70 3 . 23 40 1 . 85 Sick leave is earned regardless of the years of service. Employees working a regular 40-hour week (80-hour payroll period) shall use sick leave based on an 8-hour day. Em- ployees working a 35-hour week (70-hour payroll period) shall use sick leave based on a 7-hour day. Employees working a 20-hour week (40-hour payroll period) shall use sick leave based on a 4-hour day. (b) Employee use of sick leave shall be limited to the following circumstances : (1) Personal illness or injury. (2) Visits to physicians , dentists , optometrists and other approved medical professionals for personal health care. (3) Quarantine. (c) To receive paid sick leave an employee must notify the applicable Department Head within four hours of his start- ing time unless some other arrangement has been approved by the Department Head. A physician ' s statement or examination by a physician designated by the Town may be required. (d) At the close of each calendar year all unused sick leave in excess of 21 days shall be converted to extended sick leave credits . Extended sick leave credits shall accumulate annually and shall only be used by an employee during periods of illness or other eligible disability when: (1) all regular sick leave credits have been used prior to completion of an employee ' s disability benefit elimination period; (2) period of disability income coverage has elapsed. (e) Employees who retire from the Town service shall be paid for 25 percent of their unused extended sick leave credits accrued during town employment . (f) Employees who have lost time because of illness or injury and have exhausted sick leave credits may have such time deducted from vacation leave. MINUTES OF JANUARY 12 , 1983 MEETING. 141 SECTION II . This ordinance shall be in effect upon its pas- sage . Mr. Bos asked that this ordinance be explained again. Mr. Niccolls said this ordinance correctly adopts a measure that we thought was approved sometime ago, however, somehow or other the wrong words got into the ordinance as it was enrolled in the permanent record. It makes no change in what we have been doing. The principle is that the town provides a disability income insurance plan that be- gins after twenty-one working days of illness and continues for as long as two years . The theory is that no employee need accumulate more than twenty-one current days of sick leave because, once they have used this in a single illness, they are then eligible to go on a paid sick leave program - otherwise, they would be eligible for two benefits which would overlap. We, therefore, transfer their unusued sick leave to extended sick leave benefits, which can only be used in two ways : (1) upon retirement, you get twenty-five percent back in cash or (2) if your disability income runs out, then you could start drawing what you have accrued . As an example, we have employ- ees who have 150 to 200 hours of extended sick leave - if they had an illness that extended beyond two years, they could then come back on our sick leave program because they did earn the time. We have OD one person on disability now, but he had no extended credits to his account. Mr . Minor further explained that this was adopted by coun- Q cil in 1977 or 1978 and, when there was another amendment to the m ordinance, the secretary pulled an older version of the ordinance m and retyped the wrong language . Mr. Niccolls said it was adopted once and inadvertently revised and we hope we are making it right Q now. The ordinance was unanimously adopted : Aye : Councilmembers Bos , Gheen, Hill , Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. 83-1 - RESOLUTION - ENDORSING THE RABIES VACCINATION OF DOMESTICATED CATS IN LOUDOUN COUNTY. 11, On motion of Mrs. Hill , seconded by Mr. Gheen, the following resolution was proposed : WHEREAS , Virginia is currently experiencing the largest num- ber of reported cases of animal rabies since records were first maintained in 1942 ; and WHEREAS , the Virginia State Health Commissioner has asked Loudoun County and the Town of Leesburg to adopt, as soon as possible, an ordinance requiring cats to be immunized against rabies; and WHEREAS, Loudoun County is responsible for the enforcement of animal control ordinances adopted by the town pursuant to Title 29 , Chapter 9 . 2 of the Code of Virginia (1950) as amended, which includes the enabling authority to adopt regu- lations to prevent the spread of rabies . THEREFORE, RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows : SECTION I . The adoption of amendments to the county ' s animal control ordinances to require rabies vaccinations for all do- ll mesticated cats over three months of age is endorsed. SECTION II . The manager is directed to transmit a copy of this resolution to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors . Mr. Gheen said this is one of those resolutions the County enforces, does all the leg work and makes all the money. Mr. Niccolls said the County is considering this . Mr . Willis said there was a letter from the State Health Department emphasizing the need for this. The resolution was unanimously adopted: Aye : Councilmembers Bos, Gheen, Hill, Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay : None. 142 MINUTES OF JANUARY 12 , 1983 MEETING. 83-2 - RESOLUTION - ESTABLISHING A TOWN PLAN TASK FORCE. On motion of Mr. Willis, seconded by Mrs. Hill , the following resolution was proposed: WHEREAS, the Town of Leesburg is required to revise the Com- prehensive Plan every five years; and WHEREAS, the pending annexation will require the preparation of a Comprehensive Plan for the annexation area : THEREFORE, RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows : SECTION I . A town plan task force is created and will consist of nine members including two members of the Town Council, two members of the Planning Commission, one member of the Board of Architectural Review, one member of the Economic Development Advisory Committee and three citizen members . SECTION II . The task force membership will be appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of the Town Council . Mr. Gheen asked if it will be possible for one of the citizen members to be appointed from the proposed annexation area? Mayor Sevila said this says "citizen" members and anyone outside the town would not be a "citizen" member. Mr. Gheen then asked if there would be merit to having a member from the annexation area? Mayor Sevila said we may want to appoint a member from the annexation area in the future and we wouldn ' t want to preclude that from the resolution. He suggested that this read "three members who are residents of the town or the proposed annexation area. " This was accepted by the makers of the resolution, making Section I to read as follows : SECTION I . A town plan task force is created and will consist of nine members including two members of the Town Council, two members of the Planning Commission, one member of the Board of Architectural Review, one member of the Economic Development Advisory Committee and three members who are residents of the town or the proposed annexation area. Mayor Sevila asked when it is proposed that this task force be created? Mr. Niccolls said they hope to begin planning work on annexation in February, so it would probably be appropriate to have this task force meet by mid-February. He felt that, if they are appointed by the first meeting in February, this should be adequate time . The reso- lution was unanimously adopted : Aye : Councilmembers Bos, Gheen, Hill , Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay : None. Mayor Sevila asked that each member consider the names of some who might be qualified to serve on this task force and submit them by committee meeting next Wednesday. 83-3 - RESOLUTION - AMENDING THE LEESBURG COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT RE- HABILITATION PROGRAM GUIDELINES . 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 . Paragraph 1 . 3 of the Rehabilitation Program Guide- lines is revised to read : Sec . 1. 3 . Ownership. a. The unit must have been owned and occupied by the ap- plicant at least one year prior to the date of application for 1 MINUTES OF JANUARY 12 , 1983 MEETING . 143 any grant or reduced-principal loan. There is no occupancy requirement for the market-rate loan program. b. Investors who place their unit under the Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Program or agree to increase their rent no more than five percent per year for five years are eligible for reduced-principal loans . SECTION II . Paragraph 3 . 1 of the Rehabilitation Program Guide- lines is revised to read : II Sec. 3 . 1 . Grant Amount. The maximum grant amount is $10 , 000 . The Loudoun County Housing Office is authorized to increase the grant amount by ten percent up to a maximum of $11 , 000 in order to correct health and safety violations discovered after work is begun. SECTION III . Paragraph 3 . 2 of the Rehabilitation Program Buidelines is revised to read: Sec . 3 . 2 . Reduced-Principal Loan Amount. 00 CT The town will reduce the effective interest rate on these Q loans according to the owner ' s ability to repay, provided that m no principal reduction shall exceed $5 , 000 . m Mr. Weiss explained that there are two changes proposed: (1) to in- IC crease the maximum grant amount from $5, 000 to $10, 000 . The impetus for this change is two-fold - When the program first started, Loudoun County also had a housing rehabilitation program. Leesburg was an eligible project area (only $50 , 000 was assigned to housing rehabili- tation) and the thinking was that we could combine town and county money up to a level that is sufficient to accomplish the kind of re- habilitation work that is necessary to bring houses up to the re- quired housing standards . The County no longer has a program and II we have found that the initial. $5 , 000 is not enough to bring houses up to minimum health and safety standards. Also , HUD has recently monitored our program and the housing rehabilitation program is slow at getting off the ground. We didn ' t have enough money allocated to do repairs that were needed by some of the people who were applying to the program. (2) to open up the program to investor owners for rental housing. HUD has asked that we consider this and the pro- posal is to expand the program to investor-owned property - it would be a reduced-principal loan. There are a variety of ways to do this (he explained in detail) , but this takes a lot of administrative ca- pacity. An easier way for the town to do this is to reduce the prin- cipal , which brings the payment in line with what the person can pay. This would get the town in and out of it quickly. There is one ad- ditional requirement to be placed on investors - some assurance that the unit would remain available to a low or moderate income person. This can be done by participation in the Section 8 moderate rehab program, which would insure that for a 15-year period, or they can agree not to raise the rent more than five percent per year for a five-year period. Mr. Gheen asked if the $50, 000 is the amount of the grant for this current year? Mr . Weiss said this is the total amount allocated for housing rehabilitation for the three years. This is all there will be unless we amend our program. We have one job under construction now and we have a second application (this is one that prompted a proposal to increase the grant limit) . The family 1 II apparently qualifies from an income point of view, but the work re- quired was in excess of $5, 000 . Mr. Gheen asked if Mr. Weiss knew why the County dropped its plan? Mr . Weiss said they did not drop it - the program was assumed by the State and they have applied to the State, but most of that money went to Southwest Virginia for water and sewer projects . They plan on re-applying in the spring. If they are funded, we might want to consider some other arrangements with them at that time. The resolution was unanimously adopted: Aye : Councilmembers Bos , Gheen, Hill , Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay : None. in MINUTES OF JANUARY 12 , 1983 MEETING. 1 Y 83-4 - RESOLUTION - VACATING AN EASEMENT AND ACCEPTING AN EASEMENT FROM S . ROSS LIPSCOMB AND GLORIA H. LIPSCOMB FOR WATERWORKS IMPROVEMENTS . On motion of Mr. Willis, seconded by Mrs . Hill, the following resolution was proposed : WHEREAS , on May 12, 1982 in Resolution No. 82-57 council ac- cepted a deed of easement made the 10th day of February 1982 from S . Ross Lipscomb and Gloria H. Lipscomb for construction, reconstruction, maintenance, replacement or repair, use and inspection of watermain or mains, including necessary appurte- nances over, across, through and under the land of the gran- tors; and WHEREAS, other easements required for installation of this watermain as originally proposed through the Lipscomb prop- erty were unable to be secured from adjacent property owners; and 1 WHEREAS, S. Ross Lipscomb and Gloria H. Lipscomb have agreed to provide an alternate easement which will allow installation of a watermain loop along the relocated boundary of lots 3a and 4a of Catoctin Circle Industrial Subdivision Section 1 . NOW, THEREFORE, RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows : SECTION I . The deed of easement by and between S. Ross Lips- comb and Gloria H. Lipscomb, his wife and the Town of Leesburg for construction, reconstruction, maintenance, replacement or repair, use and inspection of watermain or mains, including necessary appurtenances, over, across , through and under the land of the grantors (specifically 5 ft. on each side of the common boundary line between lots 3a and 4a of Catoctin Circle Industrial Subdivision, Section 1 as shown on a plat prepared by Bengtson, DeBell , Elkin & Titus dated January, 1983) is hereby accepted and the mayor is hereby authorized to acknowl- edge the same on behalf of the town. SECTION II . The watermain easement accepted by Council in Reso- lution 82-57 is hereby vacated and the mayor is hereby author- ized to acknowledge the same on behalf of the town. Mayor Sevila said they had a small plat at the committee meeting which showed the realignment of this easement. It was impossible to complete these water line improvements with the old easement, so it was necessary to go back and secure an alternate easement. The language in the resolution explains itself . The resolution was unani- mously adopted : Aye : Councilmembers Bos , Gheen, Hill , Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Hill . Nay : None. 83-5 - RESOLUTION - AUTHORIZING A PARADE PERMIT. On motion of Mr. Willis , seconded by Mr. Bos, the following resolution was proposed and unanimously adopted : RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows : SECTION I . The manager is authorized to issue a permit under Section 10-13 of the Town Code to the Loudoun Memorial Hos- pital for a runners ' marathon to be conducted on May 14 , 1983 and is further authorized to close Loudoun, Ayr, Market, Wirt and Cornwall Streets, Memorial Drive and other streets as nec- essary for the event. MINUTES OF JANUARY 12 , 1983 MEETING. 145 SECTION II . The permit may contain reasonable and appro- priate conditions as determined necessary by the manager and shall require the town to be named as additional insured under a $500 , 000 public liability insurance policy secured by the Loudoun Memorial Hospital . Aye : Councilmembers Bos, Gheen, Hill , Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. Mr. Gheen challenged anyone not more than five years older than he is to take the two-mile run with him. 83-6 - RESOLUTION - PROPOSED AD HOC COMMITTEE FOR 42 EDWARDS FERRY ROAD. On motion of Mr. Bos , seconded by Mr. Gheen, the following reso- lution was proposed : WHEREAS , the Loudoun County Community Service Board and the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors proposed the establish- ment of a residential facility for the mentally retarded to 00 be located in county-owned property at 42 Edwards Ferry Road; T and CD WHEREAS, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has invited CO town participation in an ad hoc committee to study the issue: Q THEREFORE, RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows : The mayor shall appoint two members of the Council to an ad hoc committee proposed by the Loudoun County Board of Super- visors to study the establishment of a residential facility for the mentally retarded at 42 Edwards Ferry Road. The mana- ger shall appoint a staff member to assist Councilmembers in the study. Mayor Sevila said council has been provided with a copy of the action item by the County. Mr. Gheen felt the County initiated this action in an attempt to prevent the problems we had when such a home was proposed for West Loudoun Street and he feels this is a good idea. He personally feels the town and the county should explain to the public exactly what is going on and why. The county will be using one of these buildings for a worthwhile purpose. The residents of the town exerted a good deal of pressure on the county not to con- sider the demolition of those buildings, but to renovate and restore them, so we have to recognize that some beneficial use must be made of the buildings . We should support it - it is in keeping with other county facilities in the area . Mr . Bos echoed this. Mr. Tolbert asked if a public hearing is required on this issue? Mrs. Hill said the purpose of this is to talk to the people prior to its com- ing before the Planning Commission for approval. The resolution was unanimously adopted : Aye : Councilmembers Bos, Gheen, Hill , Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. 83-7 - RESOLUTION - REGARDING THE LEESBURG SUMMER CONCERT SERIES . ' On motion of Mr. Bos, seconded by Mrs . Hill , the following resolution was proposed : WHEREAS, the fiscal year 1983 budget includes a $2500 appro- priation toward the Leesburg Summer Concert Series to be con- ducted by the Bluemont Summer Concert Series, Ltd. THEREFORE, RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows : MINUTES OF JANUARY 12 , 1983 MEETING. 146 The manager shall enter into an agreement with the Bluemont Concert Series , Ltd. to provide a series of outdoor public concerts during the summer of 1983 . Mr . Bos said everybody is familiar with how the series went last year . The idea is to make this a focal point in the downtown area to improve its use and image. This is the same amount that was seed money for the Bluemont Concert Series to solicit other funds through cooperative efforts in the community and the grant process - for last year . There are several different ways it might go - the town may continue to support it in a nominal way indefinitely, or it may essentially be taken over by the Bluemont Concert Series after they have secured other sponsors. The County is also kicking in a small portion and has sponsored the application to the Virgini Fine Arts Commission for a matching grant of State money. Mr. Tol- bert asked if the County has appropriated some money? Mr. Bos un- derstood that they have, but he doesn ' t know how much. Mr. Willis said he can see Mr. Thomas ' point, but he thinks this is justifiable expense insofar as the benefits derived by the community. As far as the street closing is concerned, this can be re-evaluated to see if this is essential . It was beneficial last year. Mayor Sevila thanked Mr. Thomas for coming and expressing his views . However, he has supported the concept of this series and thinks it fits com- fortably with the governmental function for a number of reasons . Not only does it add to the image of Leesburg and the downtown area in general, but it provides a recreational activity and brings into our community some exposure to different tastes, styles and cultures that we might not have an opportunity to see. He thinks it is a worthwhile investment of town funds - it is seed money. Hopefully, we will get to a point where we can discontinue or reduce the amount of our appropriation and the concert series will be self-supporting. He supports the resolution, with all due respect to Mr. Thomas. The resolution was unanimously adopted : Aye : Councilmembers Bos , Gheen, Hill, Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. 83-8 - RESOLUTION - MAKING APPROPRIATION FOR DESIGN SERVICES FOR CATOCTIN CIRCLE WEST. On motion of Mrs. Hill , seconded by Mr. Tolbert, the following resolution was proposed : WHEREAS, additional design services are required to accommo- date school bus traffic at the high school because of con- struction of West Catoctin Circle; THEREFORE, RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows : An appropriation is made from the general fund to Account No. 4102 . 702 in the amount of $2 , 000 for the fiscal year ending June 30 , 1983 . Mr . Niccolls said these funds will be used to pay the cost of a field survey and for design services for alternative improvements at the south side of the high school . Our permit with the School Board to construct Catoctin Circle along the north edge is condi- tioned upon the satisfactory solution of the bus loop problem that is caused by the construction. It has become apparent that we need to fully analyze and come up with some alternative designs to move the bus loop to the left end of the high school (as you face it) . This will be paid from the bond fund. Mayor Sevila asked if this contemplates the town will provide the funds for those improvements? Mr . Niccolls said no decision has been made on that point - Council will be receiving some information on this by Friday. We haven' t completed negotiations with the School Board over responsibility for the various aspects of construction. We are trying to get a picture of what is an acceptable alternative - we are trying to find the least expensive way of solving the problems and it is some- times expensive to find that. The resolution was unanimously adopted : MINUTES OF JANUARY 12 , 1983 MEETING. 147 Aye : Councilmembers Bos , Gheen, Hill, Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. 83-9 - RESOLUTION - MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30 , 1983 . On motion of Mrs . Hill , seconded by Mr. Bos , the following reso- lution was proposed : RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows : Appropriations are made to the following General Fund Accounts in the amounts shown for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1983 : Account No. Amount 1203. 101 Salaries & Wages $11, 570 1203 . 200 Fringe Benefits 1, 700 CD 1203 . 300 Contractual Services 4 , 600 NT O 1203 . 540 Materials & Supplies 100 OD OD 1203 . 701 Office Equipment 800 Q Mr. Niccolls explained that these funds are to be used to retain tem- porary planning assistance to complete the combined Town Plan-Annexa- tion Area Plan. It will also provide funds for legal services to re- view the draft Zoning Ordinance, to help in the preparation of zon- ing ordinance amendments that are required and other miscellaneous funds to actually complete the documents . This is to employ a part- time planner and a temporary full-time planning technician, who would work for the professional planner (all these positions will be tem- porary) . Mr. Gheen understood this is a cost of annexation. Mr. Niccolls said it is - it is a part of our agreement with Loudoun County and our obligation under State law to complete a Comprehensive Plan for the territory within our corporate limits . The Zoning Ordi- nance amendments are another major part of this work and are required. Mayor Sevila asked then if this $18 , 077 is for the remainder of this fiscal year only and will we need additional appropriations? Mr. Niccolls said they contemplate about one year for this work, so the total expenditure will probably double this amount. Mayor Sevila said he has been asked if the town will be seeking outside consulting services in lieu of staffing it ourselves? Mr. Niccolls said their recommendation is very strongly to staff it temporarily to do this work in lieu of professional planning. They do contemplate that some expert service in the transportation area might be appropriate - the location of certain arterial roads needs careful consideration and most of those are in the existing town. The general land community facility and other planning elements should certainly be done by our own staff for several reasons : we have extensive work already in place - we all know what has been done, but the documents are complex and they do require a high degree of professional work to make cer- tain they accurately reflect what council wants. They also feel it is more appropriate to use our own staff because of the rapport with the Planning Commission members and the group that would be working I/ with them on a daily-weekly basis . We have the capability in-house to supervise this work, and there is a professional planner avail- able in the area who does not wish to work full time. For those general reasons they favor doing the work in-house, plus it will be cheaper. Mayor Sevila asked if we do not have the manpower on staff now to do the job that needs to be done between now and next year? Mr . Niccolls said we do not. Mr. Bos said doing a Comprehensive Plan is a big effort and we did have problems with our consultant last time. He feels it can be done in-house, particularly with Marc ' s help. All these issues - annexation, economic development - a lot of these issues are all tied together . It is a lengthy process and it would cost more to have it done on the outside and would be an in- ferior product. The resolution was unanimously adopted: _ _ p MINUTES OF JANUARY 12 , 1983 MEETING. 148 Aye : Councilmembers Bos, Gheen, Hill, Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Sevila . Nay: None. 83-10 - RESOLUTION - AUTHORIZING NOTICE OF PUBLICATION OF PUBLIC HEARING ON REZONING #ZM-43 BY THE TOWN OF LEES- BURG. 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 : I A Notice of Public Hearing to consider Rezoning ZM-43 . by the Town of Leesburg to have rezoned from B-2 and R-1 to R-4 land in the East Edwards Ferry Road neighborhood as shown on sketches on file in the office of the Director of Planning and Zoning, shall be published in the Loudoun Times-Mirror on 1 January 20 , 1983 and January 27 , 1983 for public hearing on February 9 , 1983 at 7 : 30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 10 West Loudoun Street, Leesburg, Virginia . Mrs. Hill said the Planning Commission held its hearing on this mat- ter last week - there were two people in the audience concerning it, but neither of them spoke. The Planning Commission voted to recom- mend this rezoning to R-4 . The resolution was unanimously adopted : Aye : Councilmembers Bos, Gheen, Hill, Tolbert, Willis and Mayor Sevila . Nay: None. Mr. Bos said the consultants doing the East Market Street study (EDAW) will be here on January 26 at 7 : 30 a.m. to show the Economic Development Committee their first visualized concept for East Market Street . On motion of Mr. Tolbert, seconded by Mrs . Hill, the meeting was adjourned at 9 : 15 p.m. ayor Clerk of t Council i 1