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.