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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1984_12_17SPEC MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL, DECEMBER 17, 1984, 314 PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS. A special meeting of the Leesburg Town Council was held on December 17, 1984 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 10 Loudoun Street, S.W. , Leesburg, Virginia for the purpose of holding a public hearing and taking action on pro- posed Charter amendments, pursuant to Waiver of Notice signed by all council- members. The meeting was called to order by the Mayor, with Mr. Tolbert giving the invocation, and followed with the Salute to the Flag led by Mr. Williams. Present were: Mayor Robert E. Sevila, Councilmembers Charles A. Bos, Arl Curry, Marylou Hill, Brian T. Kelley, John W. Tolbert, Jr. and Charles J. Williams; also Town Manager Jeffrey H. Minor. Mayor Sevila explained that the purpose of this special meeting and public hearing is to hear comment from the citizens of the town both concerning pro- posed amendments to the Town Charter to revise Sections 2-3 and 7A-2, the first involving redesignation of the office of Mayor Pro-Tem to Vice-Mayor to bring our Charter in line with State Law, and the latter relating _to appointment of the members of the Board of Architectural Review to provide appointment as de- termined by the Council by ordinance. All of Council unanimously supports the change from Mayor Pro-Tem to Vice-Mayor. The appointment of members to the Board of Architectural Review has been the subject of considerable discussion among councilmembers individually and here at open meetings of the Council. He be- lieved all seven members of Council recognize the significant role of the Board of Architectural Review in the town and it is their desire that the Board - will continu�,,to carry out the duties in the manner in which they have been carried out forymore than 20 years the Board has been in existence in Leesburg. Council has discussed and arrived at an agreement they hope will be completely accept- able to the public. This agreement provides that appointments to the Board of - Architectural Review will be made by the Town Council for three-year staggered terms and that no more than any two positions should come up for consideration at any one time.- a proposed Charter amendment for the above will be sent to the General Assembly this year. Since the Charter amendment will not likely be effective until July 1, 1985, Council has agreed on an interim measure to make the appointments of the five unfilled positions on the Board by making one position expire on June 30, 1985, two to expire on June 30, 1986 and two to expire on June 30, 1987. Replacements will be appointed for full three- year terms by the Council. Appointments would be as follows: Phillip Brown- rigg, present Chairman, his appointment to expire June 30, 1985; Teckla Cox and Martha Lynch, whose terms will expire June 30, 1986 and Calloway Jones and Emory Plaster, whose terms will expire June 30, 1987. Again, any replace- ments or reappointments will be done by Council on a majority vote. Mr. Emmert Elsea, local businessman and President of the Downtown Business Association, was concerned that Council has not considered a broader representa- tion on the Board of Architectural Review from specific groups in the community - perhaps one of the builders, a member of the business community, a resident of the historic district - a broader representation, completely eliminating any politics. It's too important to appoint someone for three years that has such an impact as the Architectural Review Board has on the community. He suggested no changes but asked that Council give this some thought. Mr. Fred Hetzel asked how long the reappointed members have served on this Board? Mayor Sevila advised that Mr. Brownrigg has been a member of this Board for over 20 years, Mrs. Cox, Mrs. Lynch and Mr. Jones are all serving first terms and would be reappointed and Mr. Plaster has been on the Board for a good number of years as well. He pointed out that we are not discussing the specific member- ship at this meeting, but by whom these appointments should be made. Mr. Reginald K. Gheen was not in favor of changing the Charter with respect to method of appointment of the Board of Architectural Review members, though he did feel that the Charter is perhaps in need of some revisions. The Times-Mir- ror reported that there was a conflict between the Mayor and the majority of Council - this has been solved to the point that appointments will be made. The paper also reported that discussion of appointments occurred during a ses- sion of Council closed to the public - he assumed this was during an executive session. However, he hoped this was not true - such an issue should not have been closed to the public unless it had some very extenuating circumstances. He did feel that this action could have waited for a later date when there is a possiblity there would be other Charter changes that would be desirable and jus- tified. If there is no objection on the part of the citizens of the town, our Senator and Delegate will be inclined to present it to the General Assemly. How- ever, if there is dissension, it does not support doing this. It might, in the i MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING OF COUNCIL, DECEMBER 17, 1984. 44 long35 run, be as desirable to have members of the BAR appointed1 by and with the consent of the Council as to have the appointments made as determined by the Council by ordinance. Majorities change and, with it, a new ordi- nance for selecting members of the BAR at the whim of a new majority. He urged Council to make haste slowly - the changes you don' t make may some- times be as important as the changes you do make. Mr. Alton Echols opposed the appointment of any member to this Board that is not a resident of town and is not a bona fide voter. He also opposed the ap- pointment of Mrs. Cox, who has gone on record within that body as saying she does not like shutters on victorian houses. This body, when it sits, should be sitting objectively - their minds should be open - not closed. Look at the proposed ap- pointments by Mayor Sevila - not a single one of them lives up and down Market Street (though he was not against the reappointment of Mr. Plaster) . This Board needs to know the difference between four and five-inch siding, the pros and cons in between, vinyl, aluminum, particle board. Why not appoint somebody that has some knowledge of the downtown area? Ethics and morality dictate that a member should not be reappointed who lives outside of town - there should be feedback and input from Council. He strongly opposes mayoral appointments. Mayor Sevila declared the public hearing closed. Mr. Bos commented that the appointments to the BAR and the method of ap- pointments has been an issue of much discussion and time. The two key issues are: Council's desire to be involved in the appointment process and the contin- N uity of the Board of Architectural Review and its evolution to the town. This w compromise meets those issues head-on and essentially solves them. The his- CO toric district is dear to all members and is important in terms of identity H.5:i, Q to the town and what it means to the town's past, present and future. He sup- ports this compromise and feels it will work and basically get the Council in- volved in the appointment process in such a way that it will be directly ap- pointed by Council. Mr. Williams felt this is a gathering of unity - we've put together a form of accommodation for all seven Council members - it's a "garment" that we all wear, really,- an accommodation is "the oil of life" - work is not what I fatigues them, but it is the grinding of friction - it is7agreememt that each person feels is in the best interest of _the town - each one has agreed to give and take - to view each person's concerns with a great deal of understanding. This is the kind of unanimity the Council has been seeking. He thanked each person for their efforts in putting this together, especially the Mayor. Mr. Curry felt compromise is good - it's a matter of working everything out - and it could have been prevented by compromise. Mrs. Hill was comfortable with the compromise - now they can go on with doing things for the town. Mr. Kelley was very pleased - he felt Mayor Sevila deserved a lot of credit for hammering it out. He felt this is something they can all live with and, hope- fully, it may be that we have laid the ground work for potential later compro- mises. Mr. Tolbert was concerned as to what effect this will havefrom:he manager's standpoint in the operation of the town. Will this take away from his authority? Mayor Sevila did not feel it would, any more than it does now. He hopes it will run the town right now, completely and without question. Mr. -Minor takes his direction from the Council, not from the Mayor. He did not feel this compro- mise takes away from Mr. Minor in any way - his direction or the ability of Coun- cil to dictate direction. Mr. Tolbert did not feel anybody on this Council has the time to be in the office all the time to take care of the obligations that confront the town. Mr. Curry felt we do need expert advice, we need engineers, a town manager and all of these people on the town staff to help Council, but it is their obligation as councilmen to make the decisions. Mayor Sevila, addressing Mr. Gheen's comment concerning executive sessions, said that any time Council discusses appointments to any position - board or com- mission or any position Council makes - they try to conduct these kinds of dis- cussions so they can discuss freely the pluses and minuses of any candidate with- out causing public embarrassment. The only time this matter was ever the subject of an executive session was for such a purpose - the format, etc. has all taken place in the public 3 e MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING OF COUNCIL, DECEMBER 17, 1984. v Mayor Sevila thanked Mr. Echols for his comments - however, he believed the appointment of residents of the town to these positions has been discussed_: before. This matter will be the subject of legislation very soon. Concerning his remarks about ownership of property and residents within the Old and His- toric District, he understands that at least four out of the seven current mem- bers are, in fact, residents and property owners in that District, the area over which they exercise their jurisdiction. He felt this is pretty broad repre- sentation. Mayor Sevila believed a lot of credit needed to be shared - the compromise suggests to him that there was a strong desire to arrive at an agreement that was mutually acceptable to all of them. It has taken a lot of effort to ar- rive at this agreement that will, in essence, meet all the concerns of every- body who had taken diverse positions on the issue. It represents a lot of con- sideration and a lot of deliberation by each member of Council, as well as some backing away and some giving of individual views for the benefit of the Town. This is a sign that they can and will continue to work together. This should clear the decks for them to turn now to some of the other pressing issues. 84-239 - RESOLUTION - PROPOSING AMENDMENT OF SECTION 2-3, CHANGING THE TITLE OF THE POSITION OF MAYOR PRO TEMPORE TO VICE MAYOR. On motion of Mrs. Hill, seconded by Mr. Kelley, the following resolution was proposed and unanimously adopted: WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 15.1-335 of the Code of Virginia this council on December 17, 1984 held a public hearing on the proposed amendment of Section 2-3 of the Town Charter, changing the title of the position of Mayor Pro Tempore to Vice Mayor; and WHEREAS, the citizens of the town desire amendment of Section 2-3, changing the title of Mayor Pro Tempore to Vice Mayor, of the town charter: THEREFORE, RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Vir- ginia as follows: Section I. Section 2-3. Election of mayor; term of office and vice mayor. On the first Tuesday in May of each even-numbered year follow- ing nineteen hundred seventy-eight, the mayor shall be elected for a term of two years, beginning on the first day of July of the year of his election. The mayor so elected shall continue to discharge the duties of the office until a successor shall have qualified. The mayor shall preside at all meetings of the Council and shall be a regular member of the Council. The mayor shall be recognized as the head of the municipal govern- ment for all ceremonial purposes, the purpose of military law and the service of civil process. The mayor shall authenticate by his signature such documents and instruments as the Council, Constitution or general laws require. At its first regular meeting after July one in the year a mayor is elected, the Council shall elect from among its members a vice- mayor for a term of two years who shall act as mayor during the mayor's absence or disability. The mayor pro tempore in office at the effec- tive date of this charter amendment is hereby continued in office as vice mayor for the term of office for which he was elected. SECTION II. The clerk shall deliver copies of this resolution to the Honorable Charles Waddell, Senator and the Honorable Kenneth B. Rollins, Delegate. Aye: Councilmembers Bos, Curry, Hill, Kelley, Tolbert, Williams and Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. 317 84-240 - RESOLUTION - PROPOSING AMENDMENT OF SECTION 7A-2, BOARD OF ARCHI- TECTURAL REVIEW, OF THE TOWN CHARTER. On motion of Mrs. Hill, seconded by Mr. Kelley, the following resolution was proposed and unanimously adopted: WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 15.1-835 of the Code of Virginia this coun- cil on December 17, 1984 held a public hearing on the proposed amendment of Section 7A-2, Board of Architectural Review, of the town charter; and WHEREAS, the citizens of the town desire amendment of Section 7A-2, Board of Architectural Review of the town charter: THEREFORE, RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows: SECTION I. The General Assembly is requested to adopt an amendment of Section 7A-2, Board of Architectural Review, of the charter of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia to read as follows: SECTION 7A-2. Board of Architectural Review. The Board of Architectural Review shall be appointed as determined by the Council by ordinance and its duties shall be as prescribed in the Zoning Ordinance of the town with the right of appeal and review provided in Section 15.1-503.2 of the Virginia Code of 1950 as amended which pow- ers stated therein relating to counties and county boards of supervision shall apply mutatis mutandis to the Town of Leesburg and its Town Council. SECTION II. The clerk shall deliver copies of this resolution to the Honorable Charles L. Waddell, Senator and the Honorable Kenneth B. Rol- lins, Delegate. Aye: Councilmembers Bos, Curry, Hill, Kelley, Tolbert, Williams and Mayor Sevila. Nay: None. After discussion, it was decided that the Utility and Public Works Committee would meet on January 2, 1985 at 6:30 p.m. , with the Finance Committee meeting to follow immediately afterward. On motion of Mrs, Hill, seconded by Mr. Kelley, the meeting was adjourned. Mayor Cep the Council Pro-Tem 111.