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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1990_06_30SPECIAL MEETING OF THE LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL JUNE 30, 1990 A SpeCial Meeting of the Leesburg Town Council was held on June 30, 1990, at 1:30 p.m., in the Loudoun County School Board meeting room, 102 North Street, N.W., Leesburg, Virginia pursuant to notice thereof having been delivered to all councilmembers prior thereto. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Robert E. Sevila. Present were: Mayor Robert E. Sevila, Councilmembers Christine M. Forester, Donald A. Kimball, Claxton E. Lovin, William P. Mulokey and John W. Tolbert, Jr. Councilmember JAmes E. Clem was absent. Also present were: Councilmembers-elect Georgia W. Bange and William F. Webb. Staff members present were: Town Manager Jeffrey H. Minor, Assistant Town Manager Steven C. Brown, Director of Finance Paul E. York, Director of Utilities Randolph W. Shoemaker, Chief of Police James Kidwell and Planning Commissioner Fred Williams. Mayor Sevila said that this was a special meeting of the Leesburg Town Council pursuant to notice signed by three members of Council; Claxton E. Lovin, William P. Mulokey and Christine M. Forester for the purpose of considering personnel matters. Mrs. Forester made the following motion: Pursuant to Section 2.1-344 of the Code of Virginia, I move that the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg go into Executive Session. The authority for this Executive Session is found in Section 2.1-344(1) of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended. The public business matter to be discussed is a personnel matter and severance agreement regarding the town manager. The Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Paul York, Chief Kidwell, William F. Webb, and Georgia Bange are requested to remain for the meeting. Mayor Sevila said that he was contacted in advance by Mr. Stanley Cat~lkins who said if the Council Was going to convene in executive session, before they do he would like to address the Council. There was no objection by any Councilmember. The Mayor caned for a second on the motion and then asked Mr. Caulkins to address the Council. Mrs. Forester's motion was seconded by Mr. Tolbert. Mr. Caulkins addressed the Council saying that he had heard by "grapevine" of this special meeting and is a little familiar with what the Council plans to discuss. As Chairman of the Airport Commission he has worked with town staff and Council and has enjoyed the relationship. If there are difficulties that have not been properly aired, they should be properly aired in a proper manner befitting the governing body rather than someone "shooting from the hip". I hope that proper procedures are followed. Aye: Councilmembers Forester, Kimball, Lovin, Mulokey, Tolbert and Mayor Sevila Nay: None Absent: Clem . Mrs. Forester made the following motion: I move that the Executive Session be adjourned, that the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg reconvene its public meeting and that the minutes of the public meeting reflect that no formal action was taken in the Executive Session. The motion was seconded by Mr. Lovin. Aye: Councilmembers Forester, Kimball, Lovin, Mulokey, Tolbert and Mayor Sevila Nay: None Absent~ Clem The meeting reconvened at approximately 3:05 p.m. On motion of Mrs. Forester, seconded by Mr. Lovin, the following resolution was proposed and unanimously adopted. 90-166 - RESOLUTION - CERTIFYING EXECUTIVE SESSION OF JUNE 30, 1990 WHEREAS, the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg has this day convened in Executive Session in accordance with an affirmative recorded vote of the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg and in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information A~ NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg does hereby certify that to the best of each member's knowledge, 1) only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under the Freedom of Information Act were discussed in the Executive Session to which this certification applies; and 2) only such public business matters as were identified in the Motion by which the said Executive Session was convened were heard, discussed or considered by the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg. Special Meeting minutes of June 30, 1990 Aye: Councilmembers Forester, Kimball, Lovin, Mulokey, Tolbert and Mayor Sevila Nay: None Absent: Clem Mrs. Forester wished to make the following statement. She said that the public and the press deserve to know what is happening in their town. Mr. Minor requested this meeting to tender his resignation. This action was in response to an indication or rumors in town that the new Council on July 2, 1990, would fire Jeff. She feels that accepting Mr. Minor's resignation would be the worst decision that this Council could possibly make. She briefly reviewed some of the highlights and things about Mr. Minor and his career with the town. Most recently is the fact that Mr. Minor has saved this town $40 million on the wastewater treatment plant. He informed us of the issue o he stayed on top of it - and made a presentation to the Stats Water Control Board. Last year we went to New York at the bond market. He increased our bond rating which will save the town much money when we issue the last set of bonds and when we issue the current set. Mr. Minor is working closely with the Ad hoc Committee to retain the County complex in Leesburg. In two weeks we will be opening Ida Lee Park a premier park facility. I don't believe that without Mr. Minor and the rest of his staff this facility would come to fruition, ff we did not have Mr. Minor and his staff, his aggressiveness and his ability to have a vision to do something with that plot of land, we would all be sitting here looking at a plot of dirt that would never have anything on it. We have a government center that is being built, is on schedule and is set to open this fall. We have a parking garage construction that is scheduled to be open in ten months. Just recently the DBA requested that Mr. Minor serve on a special committee in a cooperative effort between the Council and the DBA - the entire business community of Leesburg to try to improve the business and economic environment of the town. This Council voted a budget approval to do that, to come up with matching funds and work in a cooperative effort to encourage the better economic growth of this town. I don't believe that in the midst of what we have to accomplish it is a wise decision to accept the resignation of Mr. Minor and I truly hope that two responsible people who have never worked with Jeff as their employee would not come here to fire him or come on board based upon here say and not give him the opportunity to carry out their agenda and their policies. Mr. Tolbert concurred with everything Mrs. Forester said. He is a great believer that you don't change horses in the middle of the stream. You know what you got but you don't know what your going to get. Mr. Lovin said for the two years that he has been a member of this Council - he is not a professional politician and is not planning to be in the public service for the rest of his life. He has had an opportunity to sit on this Council and observe Mr. Minor's performance and has found Mr. Minor's performance to be excellent. The things that Mrs. Forester sighted are things that I am proud of that Mr. Minor has done. I will not let unsubstantiated rumors about a town manager's performance by people who do not work with Jeff Minor in a role that I am working with Jeff Minor obscure my view. I know what Mr. Minor can do. I know what he has done with this Council and I have found that to be appropriate and a good performance. I have two more years to serve my elected term and I will be grading Mr. Minor in those two years. I am confident that during the next two years I will have the same opinion. I am not about to entertain such a motion that was the subject of discussion today. Mr. Muloke¥ said that he made his comments on Wednesday at the Council meeting during the Councilmember's comment time. There is a need for the Council to recognize the value and the effectiveness of the town staff. It has been my pleasure in the two years that I have served on the Council to get to know and see the town staff operate in their jobs. I have been uniformly impressed by the effe ~veness and the talent and the energy with wMch they have served the people of Leesburg. Thai- ~'oul~ rot be possible if that did not come from the top of the administration. Mr. Minor england .~rs that i:~ his staff. He has impressed me with those talents. Mafor Scylla wished to extend his condolences to John Tolbert who lost his daughter early this morning. On motion of Mr. Mulokey, seconded by Mrs. Forester, the meeting was adjourned at 3:12 p.m. Town of Leesburg Clerk of Council