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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1984_05_09 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL AND PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED VACATION OF PORTION OF UNIMPROVED 2ND STREET, MAY 9, 1984. X9.9 A regular meeting of the Leesburg Town Council was held in the Council Chambers, 10 West Loudoun Street, Leesburg, Virginia on May 9, 1984 at 7:30 p.m. The meeting was called to order by the Mayor, with the invocation given by Mr. Tolbert, and followed with the Salute to the Flag led by Mr. Williams. Present were: Mayor Robert E. Sevila, Councilmembers Charles A. Bos, Edgar L. Coffey, Jr. , Marylou Hill, John W. Tolbert, Jr. , Charles A. Williams and Howard M. Willis, Jr. ; also Town Manager John Niccolls, Deputy Manager Jeffrey H. Minor, Planning Technician Mark Nelis, Assistant Engineer Mohammed Alam and Town Attor- ney George M. Martin. PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED VACATION OF PORTION OF UNIMPROVED 2ND STREET. Mr. Niccolls advised that an application was received on March 23rd for vacation of that portion of 2nd Street that lies west of South Wirt Street. There are no public improvements and the street has never been opened for pub- lic travel. The portion to be vacated is 30 feet in width and lies between four lots in Waverly Heights Subdivision. There is a provision in the State Code permitting the vacation of a street after a public hearing. Mr. Harry J. Kaiser, Trustee, has offered to pay $3,520 as the fair market value for the land being vacated (4,500 square feet) . Developers are present .who wish to develop the land residentially. An ordinance would be filed in the deed records of Loud- oun County and would serve as a transfer instrument. The Mayor would be author- ized to execute a quit-claim deed, releasing any rights, title or interest the town may have in this vacation. Mr. Martin has found no legal objection to this procedure if Council desires to go along with it. W CO Ms. Deborah Welsh, attorney for Mr. Kaiser, Trustee, advised Council that Q the Code of Virginia provides criteria for vacating a street to determine whether it is an inconvenience to close the street. This is an unimproved street that went on record in approximately 1909 and has never been used - therefore, it serves no useful purpose. She tendered a check in the amount of the price to be paid for this street, plus the cost of advertising the hearing. The total square footage to be vacated is 6,391. There was no-one to speak for or against this application for vacation. The Mayor declared the hearing closed. A plat of the proposed vacation was ex- hibited to councilmembers for further clarification. 84-0-16 - ORDINANCE - VACATING A PORTION OF SECOND STREET IN WAVERLY HEIGHTS SUBDIVISION. On motion of Mr. Bos, seconded by Mrs. Hill, the following ordinance was proposed and unanimously adopted: WHEREAS, an application for vacation of a portion of 'Second Street, being 30 feet in width and located between lots 64 and 63 and lots 93 and 94 of Waverly Heights Subdivision, and as more particularly described on the boundary survey of Waverly Heights dated June, 1983 and revised July 14, 1983 by DeLashmutt Associates, certified land surveyors, was filed by Harry J. Kaiser, Trustee on March 23, 1984; and WHEREAS, a public hearing on the proposed vacation was advertised and conducted pursuant to Section 15.1-364 of the Code of Virginia, as amended, on May 9, 1984, with no objection being heard; and WHEREAS, Harry J. Kaiser, Trustee, has offered to pay to the town $3,520.00 as the fair market value for the land being vacated: THEREFORE, ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows: SECTION I. A portion of Second Street, being 30 feet in width and lo- cated between lots 64 and 63 and lots 93 and 94 of Waverly Heights Sub- division, and as more particularly described on the boundary survey of Waverly Heights dated June, 1983 and revised July 14, 1983 by DeLash- mutt Associates, certified land surveyors, is vacated pursuant to Section 15.1-364 of the Code of Virginia, as amended. SECTION II. The mayor shall execute a quit claim deed on behalf of the town releasing any rights, title and interest the town may have in the portion of Second Street vacated herein. MINUTES OF MAY 9, 1984 MEETING. I ' 100 SECTION III. The clerk shall provide the applicant a certified copy of this ordinance. SECTION IV. This ordinance shall be in effect upon its passage. Aye: Councilmembers Bos, Coffey, Hill, Tolbert, Williams, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS: Mr. Bos welcomed Mr. Williams as a new member of this council and congratu- lated Mr. Curry and Mr. Kelley on their election. He said he will miss Mr. Gheen, he felt he worked hard for the town. Mr. Bos also said he was told today by a member of the DBA that they have ordered some planters to be placed along King Street - these should help the ap- pearance of the downtown area. He also talked to them about the KDA plan done a few years ago concerning streetscape - a lot of them would like Eo do this type of thing in one form or another when and if funds become available. They have some ideas they would like to do on their own, such as hanging out some old signs of businesses in the 1700's and 1800's. He suggested they come to the next Coun- cil meeting and let Council know what their plans are. Mr. Bos was glad to see the Town Plan finished and before them - there has been a lot of work put into this and a lot that is still unresolved. He is look- ing forward to the Planning Commission and Council sinking their teeth into this. Mr. Williams expressed his pleasure in serving the people of Leesburg. • Mrs. Hill said we will be hearing from the DBA concerning increasing the park- ing meters to 20 cents per hour. Some of them are very unhappy about this. Mr. Willis welcomed Mr. Williams, Mr. Curry and Mr. Kelley. He commented that two years ago, the town repaired the Christmas lights and they talked at that time about purchasing new ones. He felt this should be done. Mr. Bos said they have been discussing this. Mr. Coffey also welcomed Mr. Williams, Mr. Curry and Mr. Kelley. He has been promising for several months that the Town Plan would soon be here - it is here. He thinks it is basically a good document, however, it does need a little more work. There are still a few items that are debatable. He felt no-one should be ashamed of it Mr. Tolbert also welcomed Mr. Williams, and Mr. Curry and Mr. Kelley when the time comes. Concerning the Flight Service Station, Mr. Tolbert said the work is moving along very well. They will be reviewing some proposals tomorrow for extension of the runway. Mr. Niccolls described the material to be used for the outside of the building. MAYOR'S REPORT: Mayor Sevila expressed his congratulations and best wishes to the three new members for the coming term. He too will miss Mr. Gheen, who has made an excel- lent contribution to the town government in the last two years. They all wel- come the opportunity to work with the new members. Mayor Sevila also commented that this week is being observed nationally as Municipal Clerk's Week to observe the contributions that municipal clerks make to local government. He will be attending a dinner of the Virginia Mu- nicipal Clerk's Association on Friday night to observe this occasion of the President of the United States having declared this first "Municipal Clerk's Week." MANAGER'S REPORT: (1) Mr. Niccolls said 100 copies of the Town Plan have been published and are being offered at $7.50 per copy. Copies will be distributed to members of the Boards and Commissions and others that relate to planning functions. They are hoping not to have to go into a second printing of this draft, however, this is a possibility. MINUTES OF MAY 9, 1984 MEETING. (2) He highlighted several items from the Activity Report, as follows O 1 (a) Leesburg joined a Municipal League-sponsored self-insurance pro- gram for worker's compensation two years ago and dividends for that decision are now being realized. A dividend has been declared to Leesburg in the amount of $5,955. Our premium costs are substantially lower than under the other plan. The assistance we are receiving from the safety and claims management people of the insurance association is more regular than we were getting from private carriers. (b) We have been working with the Loudoun Economic Development De- partment and June Bachtell for a progressive meeting with a group of industrial park developers. The tour will visit Leesburg and the Mayor will be there for lunch. Anyone interested in attending the luncheon at Xerox, please contact Jeff Minor. Also, there are seats still available on the bus for the whole tour. This would be a good opportunity to meet some of these industrial developers. (c) A very large sink hole developed at the Myers Well and it has been filled. We had advice from the County Soil Scientist and numerous others as to how to take care of it. Basically, it was sealed with concrete at the bot- tome and filled with stone. This has happened around wells before. (d) There is a long list of Planning Commission actions. r- (e) A number of street name sign posts are being relocated and prepared N for the new. signs - the deadline is June 15th. W (f) A number of firms (seven) have requested copies of the develop- ( ment prospectus for the VEPCO tract marketing project - this is our request for Q proposals for people interested in purchasing the land we purchased from McKimmey Feed. (g) It is highly commendable that our Water Treatment Laboratory has been certified for bacteriological examinations. We have a fine lab technician who is a graduate chemist with a Master's Degree in biology who operates our lab - he has assumed a role far beyond a laboratory technician. (h) Work is coming along on the building for the airport sewer lift station. The structural work is being done by town forces and subcontracts on the electrical work. (i) We finally have the pigeon population down in Leesburg. This is done in cooperation with the State Department of Agriculture. (j) We have listed the subdivisions and site plan developments cur- rently at some stage of development under the Planning and Engineering staff - this is a fairly lengthy list and is getting longer. (k) We are still concentrating on a nuisance abatement program - this is having a beneficial effect. (1) We are almost all the way through the selection and recommendation process for the engineer to do the construction engineering on the Sewage Treat- ment Plant Expansion and upgrade project. Interviews have been held and last week was spent in securing references, etc. on the top-rated firm, Camp, Dresser and McKee. The procedure - now is to work on the contract with these people - this will be a fairly complex document. The document then has to be approved by the State Water Control Board and EPA before it can be fully implemented. They think it is important to get the work going as soon as possible, so Mr. Shope will try to do this while preserving the 75 percent grant on these services. (m) There will be no action on the tractor-mower tonight - there were technical deficiencies in the process and we will have to re-advertise. Mayor Sevila asked how the draft Town Plan presented tonight differs from the April draft? Mr. Niccolls explained in detail, with Mr. Bos supplying addi- tional information. The proposed traffic plan is still unresolved. Mayor Sevila learned today that Leesburg will be featured on national public broadcasting radio at 5:00 p.m. this Saturday. He understands this is a fairly complimentary treatment of the town, Mr. Tolbert has been interviewed in connec- tion with it. He understands Leesburg was one town out of the entire United States to be featured on this program. MINUTES OF MAY 9, 1984 MEETING. 102 84-69 - RESOLUTION - APPROVING A GRANT APPLICATION TO THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, DIVISION OF LITTER CONTROL, FOR FUNDING OF LITTER CONTROL PROGRAM. On motion of Mrs. Hill, seconded by Mr. Willis, the following resolution was proposed: WHEREAS, Council recognizes the need for litter control within the boun- daries of the Town of Leesburg; and WHEREAS, the Litter Control Act of 1976 provides, through the Department of Conservation and Economic Development, Division of Litter Control, for the allocation of public funds in the form of grants for the purpose of enhancing local litter control programs : RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows: The manager shall submit an application requesting the town's $1,787.00 grant allocation which, if approved, will be used for expansion of our present litter control program. To Mr. Williams' questions concerning the expenditure of these funds, Mayor Sevila, Mr. Niccolls and Mr. Bos responded, explaining that travel and training funds are ., used by members of the Environmental Advisory Commission or Jan Shepherd from the staff in attending State meetings to learn more about this program and how to better expend the funds for clean-up of park areas (particularly Plaza Park) , for necessary and attractive trash receptacles throughout the town, as well as other items needed, and for a future awards program in connection therewith. The resolution was unanimously adopted: Aye: Councilmembers Bos, Coffey, Hill, Tolbert, Williams, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. 84-70 - RESOLUTION - APPROVING THE 1984 LEESBURG FARMERS' MARKET OPERATING REGULATIONS. On motion of Mrs. Hill, seconded by Mr. Willis, the following resolution was proposed: WHEREAS, the Town of Leesburg is sponsoring a farmers' market to be included in the South Harrison Street redevelopment project; and WHEREAS, operating regulations for the market have been established and have been incorporated into the producer's application: I THEREFORE, RESOLVED by the Council of the Town -of Leesburg in Virginia as follows: The farmers' market operating regulations are approved as stated on the 1984 producers application. Mayor Sevila said this agreement has been "haled out" and everyone has accepted it. They all recognize that it is flexible and that, as the market grows, modifica- tions will be made to the regulations. A copy of the application is shown below: APPLICATION TOWN OF LEESBURG FARMERS' MARKET 1984 NAME APPLICATION # ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP PHONE ( ) FARM Please indicate the kinds of produce or other items you will bring to the market. I MINUTES OF MAY 9, 1984 MEETING. — — — -- — — toe __ The Leesburg Farmers ' Market is scheduled to begin operation on July 7, 1984. The hours of operation will be from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday morning and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. TERMS OF AGREEMENT 1 . This is a producers only market. All producers from outside Loudoun County must have their applications signed by their local County Extension Agents verifying production of the products listed by the applicant. 2. You will be permitted to begin setting up 30 minutes before opening time. 3. Spaces will be 'reserved for regular participants until 30 minutes before opening time. Those not occupied by that time may be occupied by any registered producer. j 4. Each producer must register with the designated market manager each selling day. 5 . Each producer is responsible for leaving his/her area clean on departure. 6 . No producer will be permitted to sell at the market without a current approved application agreement. N 7 . All items sold must comply with the Virginia Food laws. WCO 8. The designated market manager will be the recognized authority during Q market hours. 9. Shoes and shirt for producers are required dress at the market. APPLICATION PROCEDURE A yearly application fee of $15.00 is required for processing your application Sand advertisement of the market. The yearly application fee entitles you to participate in the Leesburg Farmers' Market on all market days during the I current year. Complete and sign this application. Include your registration fee and return to Janet Shepherd, Town of Leesburg, P. 0. Box 88, 15 W. Market St. , Leesburg, I VA 22075. Once approved a copy will be mailed to you and must be brought and displayed each day for admission to the market . AGREEMENT I have read the above Terms of Agreement. I understand that if I fail to abide by the above rules and regulations , permission for me to participate in the Leesburg Farmers ' Market can and will be withdrawn. I understand that these policies are subject to change by the Town of Leesburg and that I would be required to abide by the changed rules in order to continue my participation in the market. I certify that I or my family produced all products being sold. Signature of producer Date CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the above named applicant is a grower in the county and produces items listed. Signature of Extension Agent Date Name County Phone Address City State Zip • MINUTES OF MAY 9, 1984 MEETING 104 APPROVAL Signature Date Town of Leesburg Comments : .111 Nay: None. 84-71 - RESOLUTION - URGING LEGISLATION BY THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES WHICH WILL FULLY PROTECT MUNICIPALITIES AND THEIR SPECIAL PURPOSE UNITS OF GOVERNMENT FROM LIABILITY UNDER FEDERAL ANTITRUST LAWS. On motion of Mrs. Hill, seconded by Mr. Tolbert, the following resolution was proposed and unanimously adopted: WHEREAS, federal antitrust law suits are being filed in ever-increasing numbers against municipalities; and WHEREAS, claims for monetary relief seeking hundreds of millions of dol- lars for treble damages under the federal antitrust laws threaten the fiscal integrity of municipalities; and WHEREAS, even frivolous antitrust suits can be extremely time consuming and expensive to defend because of the need to hire outside counsel; and WHEREAS, the activities of local government, like the activities of state and federal governments, are particuarly unsuited to the application of federal anti-trust statutes; and WHEREAS, there is no logical reason why local governments, including special purpose units of local government such as authorities and com- missions, should not have anti-trust immunity similar to that available to state governments and the federal government. THEREFORE, RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows: SECTION I. This Council urges legislation by the Congress of the United States which will fully protect municipalities and their special purpose units of government from liability under federal antitrust laws. SECTION II. The mayor shall send a letter on behalf of the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg urging the adoption of such legislation and for- warding copies of this resolution to Senator Warner, Senator Trible, Congressman Wolf, Congressman Rodeno, Chairman, House Judiciary Committee and Senator Thurmond, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee. Aye: Councilmembers Bos, Coffey, Hill, Tolbert, Williams, Willis and Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. 84-72 - RESOLUTION - AUTHORIZING NOTICE OF PUBLICATION OF PUBLIC HEARING ON PRO- POSED AMENDMENT TO PROFFERS FOR ZM-49, CARRADOC HALL. On motion of Mrs. Hill, seconded by Mr. Coffey, the following resolution was proposed: A Notice of Public Hearing to consider a proposed amendment to proffers for Rezoning ZM-49, Carradoc Hall, shall be published in the Loudoun Times-Mirror on May 10, 1984 and May 17, 1984 for public hearing on May 23, 1984 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 10 West Loudoun Street, Leesburg, Virginia. Mr. Niccolls explained there is a slight error in the proffer - a corrected one will be received prior to the hearing, along with the Planning Commission's recom- mendation. The resolution was unanimously adopted: Aye: Councilmembers Bos, Coffey, Hill, Tolbert, Williams and Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. MINUTES OF MAY 9, 1984 MEETING. 84-73 - RESOLUTION - AUTHORIZING NOTICE OF PUBLICATION OF PUBLIC HEARING ON 105 REZONING #ZM-48 BY LAWRENCE N. GRANT. On motion of Mrs. Hill, seconded by Mr. Bos, the following resolution was proposed and unanimously adopted after brief discussion: RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows: by A Notice of Public Hearing to consider Rezoning ZM-48/Lawrence N. Grant to have rezoned from R-2 to B-2 14,375 square feet of land located on the north side of East Market Street, bounded by the properties of Fisher and Bishop on the north, the property of Lininger on the east, ' the property of Ray Martin, et al, Trustee on the south and west, shall be published in the Loudoun Times-Mirror on May 24, 1984 and May 31, 1984 for public hearing on June 13, 1984 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 10 West Loudoun Street, Leesburg, Virginia. Aye: Councilmembers Bos, Coffey, Hill, Tolbert, Williams and Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. 84-74 - RESOLUTION - AUTHORIZING AN AGREEMENT, APPROVING A PERFORMANCE GUARANTEE FOR INSTALLATION OF PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS, APPROVING WATER AND SEWER EXTENSIONS AND AUTHORIZING A STORM WATER MAINTENANCE N AGREEMENT FOR EXETER SUBDIVISION, SECTION I. WOn motion of Mrs. Hill, seconded by Mr. Tolbert, the following resolution CO was proposed: Q RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows: SECTION I. The manager is authorized to execute on behalf of the town an agreement (Form PC-2) with Leesburg Joint Venture of Gaithersburg, Mary- land for installation of public improvements shown on the plans approved by the director of engineering for Exeter Subdivision, Section I. SECTION II. The extension of municipal water and sewer works for Exeter • ISubdivision, Section I, is approved in accordance with Sections 15-9 and 19-18 of the Town Code. SECTION III. An irrevocable credit line/letter of credit in a form ap- proved by the town attorney from Old Court Savings and Loan, Inc. of Baltimore, Maryland in the amount of $638,716 is approved as security to guarantee installation of the public improvements shown on plans ap- proved by the director of engineering for Exeter Subdivision, Section I. SECTION IV. The manager is authorized to execute a storm water manage- ment maintenance agreement between Leesburg Joint Venture of Gaithers- burg, Maryland and the town in a form approved by the town attorney which assures that the developer will maintain the storm water management -fa- cilities. SECTION V. This resolution is subject to town attorney review of the financial background of Old Court Savings and Loan, Inc. and accept- ance by the town for operation and maintenance of the Cattail Branch Sewage Pumping Station. After lengthy discussion concerning what type of storm water management facili- ties are being proposed, and not knowing exactly what would be needed, on motion of Mrs. Hill, seconded by Mr. Coffey, the following amendment was proposed and unanimously. adopted: Section VI. If the plans for storm water management for Exeter Subdi- vision, Section I, include surface storm water retention facilities, this resolution is null and void. Aye: Councilmembers Bos, Coffey, Hill, Tolbert, Williams and Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. There was further discussion concerning the letter of credit from a Maryland in- stitution. Mr. Niccolls said Mr. Martin will determine whether this particular bank has the proper stability - if not, we will ask for additional security and . the matter will come back to Council. The resolution, as amended, was unanimously adopted: I MINUTES OF MAY 9, 1984 MEETING) 106 Aye: Councilmembers Bos, Coffey, Hill, Tolbert, Williams and Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. 84-75 - RESOLUTION - MUNICIPAL CLERK'S WEEK, MAY 13-19, 1984. On motion of Mayor Sevila, seconded by Mrs. Hill, the following resolution was proposed and unanimously adopted: WHEREAS, the municipal clerk is the oldest of public servants and a criti- cal part of efficient and responsive local government; and WHEREAS, the accurate recording, careful safeguarding and prompt retrieval of public records and vital functions, without which effective local government could not exist; and WHEREAS, as local government has grown in responsibility and importance through the Nation's history, so has the role of the municipal clerk; and WHEREAS, the clerk provides a direct link between past, present and fu- ture by preserving records for posterity and implementing governmental decisions; and WHEREAS, municipal clerks also seek better and more effective ways to per- form these critical responsibilities in light of the rapid technological advances of today's world; and WHEREAS, in recognition of the outstanding and vital services performed by municipal clerks and their dedication to public service, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 92, has designated the week beginning May 13, 1984 as "Municipal Clerk's Week", and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of that week; and WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, pro- claimed the week beginning May 13, 1984 as Municipal Clerk's Week and called upon the people of the United States to observe that week with i appropriate ceremonies and activities: THEREFORE, RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows: The week of May 13-19, 1984 is recognized as Municipal Clerk's Week and the citizens of Leesburg are encouraged to acknowledge the invaluable contribution made to local governments by their clerks and, in parti- cular, Clerk of Council Dorothy B. Rosen, who completes her 21st year in office in 1984. Aye: Councilmembers Bos, Coffey, Hill, Tolbert, Williams and .Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. Mr. Bos suggested and strongly urged that Council have an in-depth dis- cussion concerning more extensive advertisement of the public's business. He noted that in England much of the public's business is advertised more widely. There would be additional cost and additional staff work if more advertising is done, but he would like to see it discussed - he had seven or eight sug- gestions. Mayor Sevila agreed with this and asked that this item be placed on the agenda for the next workshop session. Mr. Coffey thought this a good idea too and suggested that each councilmember might make a list of problems and questions people had during this campaign - this would be a good tool to work with. On motion of Mrs . Hill, seconded by Mr. Tolbert, the meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m. Mayor la,..-LI /ICC Clerk of th' Council