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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2007_01_09 COUNCIL MEETING January 9, 2007 Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, 7:30 p.m. Mayor Umstattd presiding. Councilmembers Present: Kelly Burk, Kathryn Sheldon Hammier, Vice-Mayor Susan Horne, Ken Reid, Kevin Wright, and Mayor Kristen Umstattd. Councilmembers Absent: Council Member Martinez Staff Present: Town Manager John Wells, Assistant to the Town Manager Nicole Ard, Assistant to the Town Manager Kathy Leidich, Director of Engineering and Public Works Tom Mason, Chief of Police Joe Price, Director of Planning, Zoning and Development Susan Swift, Economic Development Director Betsy Fields, Tourism and Marketing Manager Marantha Edwards, Comprehensive Planner Scott Parker, Capital Projects Management Director Nagi Elsewaissi, Traffic Engineer Calvin Grow, Preservation Planner Annie McDonald, Planner Wade Burkholder, Management Specialist Tami Watkins and Clerk of Council Judy Ahalt. AGENDA ITEMS A. Invocation by Councilmember Reid B. Salute to the Flag was led by Boy Scout Troop 998 C. Roll Call showing Council Member Martinez absent. D. Minutes a. September 26, 2006 Regular Meeting On a motion by Vice Mayor Horne, seconded by Council Member Hammier, the minutes of the September 26, 2006 regular meeting were approved with a minor edit by a 6-0-1 vote, Martinez absent. b. October 10, 2006 Work Session On a motion by Vice Mayor Horne, seconded by Council Member Wright, the minutes of the October 10, 2006 work session were approved by a 6-0-1 vote, Martinez absent. E. Presentations a. Survey Report - IT Commission Chairman This presentation was deferred to another meeting. b. Anniversary Committee Report Marantha Edwards, Robin Geiger and Marybeth Mohr presented a reported on the activities of the 250th Loudoun Anniversary Committee. This event is being coordinated and publicized in conjunction with the Jamestown 2007 Events. They reported the actual celebration is date May 14 - 19, 2007 with the height of the celebration on May 19, 2007. The committee is coordinating projects with approximately 20 Loudoun County Departments. Town Council Meeting of January 9. 2007 Page 2 Marybeth Mohr stated she is so happy to be a member of this committee of volunteers. She stated the committee members include representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, LCVA, County citizens, Town Staff and County Staff. She stated their mission is to educate, grow tourism and develop a legacy for the future. Further, she thanked Inova Loudoun Hospital for their $20,000 donation to the Committee. Mayor Umstattd recognized former Council Member Melinda Kramer and Brendan from Congressman Wolf's office in the audience. F. Petitioners The petitioner's section opened at 7: 53 p. m. Tom Dunn. 112 Stone Court NE, addressed Council stating the homeless don't have much of a voice in the community. He stated as elected officials you are their voice. He added it is our religious duty to help those less fortunate. Frank Holtz. 103 Bridgette Place, spoke on behalf of the Loudoun County Criminal Justice Board. He stated the Board recognizes the need for an emergency warming/cooling center just as they do for disaster centers. He stated there has been some concern about safety in the areas where warming centers are operating. As a resident of a community across from Ida Lee Park, he would have no concerns about safety. Joy Griffith. 318 Ayrlee Avenue, representing the Muse family, addressed Council on behalf of her family and others in the neighborhood. She expressed her concern for the safety of their community should a warming shelter be opened. She added the bussing in will be a disruption to the neighborhood. Further, is this a stepping stone to something more, such as an all day facility or one serving meals. She asked Council to exhaust all other possibilities before putting the warming center in their community. GiGi Robinson, 207 Prince Street, addressed Council regarding the Town Plan suggesting that another district be added for Town infill residential construction to the Crescent District. Things to be considered for this district would be building height, size, lot size, etc. There could be detached garages which would follow the current town code and no more than five feet from the lot side line. Behind these two-story garages will be two-story houses. Unfortunately surrounding houses that abut this development will be one story. With regard to Battlefield Parkway, which was needed yesterday, she asked Council to carefully review the budget. There are a number of CIP projects that are over blown or can be deferred to another year. The Town should focus on transportation fixes that serve the most amount of people, and push things like city sidewalks and street lights off the table to another fiscal year or until we have Battlefield Parkway done. Lastly, she thanked Council for their efforts in opposition to the Crosstrail development. Brian Shifflet. 18578 Merlon Court, addressed Council regarding water and sewer rates. He read the following email that was sent to Council Member Martinez: Town Council Meeting of January 9. 2007 Page 3 "Hi Marty, I read on page 6 of the Leesburg Today, entitled, 'Utility Fund needs money'; out-of-Town rates double." dated (December 29, 2006) a reference attributed to you concern the out-of- Town water customer settlement proposal. The paper wrote, "Councilman...Martinez said the out-of-Town water customers are demanding the town cap any future increases, and set a new rate that is lower than the rate they paid prior to 1992 when they began paying a surcharge," The latter part of that statement is incorrect, and the public record supports the following: The Town of Leesburg imposed a surcharge for water and sewer services on out-of- Town customers beginning July 1, 1998 (Leesburg Ordinance 98-0-1, dated January 27, 1998). On that date, the effective out-of- Town surcharge was a 14% increase over in-Town rates. The same ordinance increased the out-of- Town rates 14% on July 1, 1999 and another 15% on July 1, 2000, leading to the 49% surcharge that was in effect prior to 2006. The Town of Leesburg issued quite a few water and sewer extension permits to landbays in the out-of- Town subdivisions prior to imposing the utility surcharge 1998. I have a reasonably complete list of those resolutions and would be happy to share that list with you. The out-of- Town rates proposed in the settlement letter are greater than the rates charged to out-of- Town customers effective July 1, 1998. The out-of- Town rates on July 1, 1998 were set at $3.07/1,000 gallons for water and $3.69/gallon for sewer charge usage (Leesburg Ordinance 98-0-1). While we may be addressing the rate issue from opposite sides of the fence, I hope we can agree on the underlying facts. Best regards, Brian Shiflett, Loudoun Citizens for Fair Water Rates. Andy Johnson, Executive Director of Loudoun Cares, 235 Old Waterford Road, Leesburg addressed Council. He stated Loudoun Cares is a member of Continum Care who has worked so diligently on the cold weather shelter issue. He commended Town Staff, the Planning Commission and Council for trying to serve the homeless. He asked Council to consider wind chill temperatures in making the decision and the deletion of the 1,000 ft. buffer zone. Janice King. Director of Good Shepherd Alliance, and works for Loudoun County Family services agreed with the deletion of the 1,000 ft. setback and consideration of the wind chill temperatures. She stated St. James Church would like to table this ordinance to allow churches to have input. Council Member Hammier asked for data on what happened since our last meeting relative to those people who needed to be served and if they were accommodated. Ms. King stated when contacted she told people to go the cold weather shelter at 9:00 p.m. Further, if they miss the ride to Lucketts there will not be a second trip out there. Craig Stutzman. Interim Director of Good Shepherd Alliance, thanked Council for considering the needs of the homeless. He stated the draft before Council tonight is greatly different than the one before you a month ago. He stated what is now before you is an over reaction that dictates government supervision and control of faith community and charities providing emergency services. It is far beyond zoning and land use decisions and strips illegally the freed of homeless citizens. He stated these Town Council Meetinq of January 9. 2007 Paqe 4 changes impact worship centers and charities and they deserve more than a few hours notice. He suggested a delay of this ordinance to provide adequate notice and more input from the community. Further, he stated the ordinance states the "shelter must be endorsed of the Loudoun County Department of Family Services and must abide by the rules of the Loudoun Continum Care. He stated Continum Care is a loose affiliation of community organizations mandated by HUD to be composed by no more than 35% government and no more than 65% private agencies. He stated Continum Care in its present form is essentially a continuation of the government. What is worse is that it is without a real staff or programming. Thus Continum Care cannot be held accountable. He added the Good Shepherd Alliance cannot accept government supervision of our shelter program. He stated their organization has operated over three years with minimal support from the government. Further, he cannot support government oversight, there needs to flexibility in the supervision. Council Member Burk stated if we table this ordinance it would leave people in the lurch. Mr. Stutzman stated they are currently using Lucketts. He added their desire to help people and the need for further discussion. Chris Stevenson. 240 E. Loudoun St., stated he is affiliated with Loudoun Continum Care and the Warming Shelter in Purcellville. He stated the 1,000 setback rule is too burdensome. Deider Meyer. 214 Andover Court, stated this use should be considered a special exception use unless you do have the 1,000 ft. buffer. The special exception process would allow for neighborhood buy in. Reverend Eddy. stated the 1,000 ft. buffer would remove every church in Leesburg, secondly churches are made up of residents of a number of communities. He stated he has never had a problem working with the homeless and the Lucketts Shelter houses between two and seven people every evening. Reverend Eddy stated all churches are concerned about their neighborhoods and wouldn't endanger communities. He stated his agreement with Craig Stutzman that you may be over regulating this basic right and duty of the faith community to help those in need. Susan Swift clarified the item before Council is for a temporary use. They don't want to regulate permanent facilities. She stated there has been confusion and reminded the issue is really not about Good Shepherd Alliance. A temporary use permit is reviewed annually and can be revoked at any time. The petitioner's section closed at 8:40 p.m. Mayor Umstattd asked if we should close the public hearing. Town Attorney Beach stated only if Council plans to take a vote. Town Council Meeting of January 9. 2007 Page 5 G. Public Hearing a. Amending and reordaining the Leesburg Town Code regarding Boards and Commissions The public hearing opened at 8:43 p.m. Mayor Umstattd explained this ordinance amendment is to increase pay for members of the Board of Architectural Review to the same pay as Planning Commission which is $3,000 yearly, with the exception of the chairman who will get $3,150. This ordinance will also create a Public Arts Commission with pay to be $600 yearly. She stated the pay does not include any Councilmanic representatives. There was no further discussion. The public hearing closed at 8:45 p.m. On a motion by Council Member Burk, seconded by Council Member Hammier, the following motion was proposed: 2007-0-01 ORDINANCE Amending Section 2-88 (Board of Architectural Review) and adding a new Section 2-91.6 (Public Arts Commission), all of Article VII (Compensation for Boards and Commissions), Chapter 2 (Administration) of the Code of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, 1976, as amended. The ordinance was approved by the following vote: Aye: Burk, Hammier, Horne, Wright, and Mayor Umstattd Nay: Reid Vote: 5-1-1 (Martinez absent) b. Oaklawn Rezoning - Deferred c. TL TA 2006-0003, Town Plan Amendment, Crescent District The public hearing opened at 8:46 p.m. Scott Parker stated the two proposed ordinances will create the Special District and incorporation into the Town Plan. He added nothing from the Crescent District Master Plan has been amended, just incorporated into the Town Plan. Also, no part of the Old and Historic District will be affected. He stated Section D is created as the first special district in the Town Plan. This will give us a formalized process to amend the Town Plan. He also explained the Policy Maps of the Crescent District. Council Member Burk asked whether developers in the Crescent District will be able to understand what they are supposed to do. Town Council Meeting of January 9. 2007 Page 6 Mr. Parker stated they will; next steps will be provided and various code changes will be needed. Councilmember Burk verified the code changes will take one year. Also she verified this will be a dramatic change from the current zoning. Council Member Hammier asked if GiGi Robinson's comment regarding transition to adjacent properties would be answered. Mr. Parker stated the goal of the town Plan amendment as it pertains to the Crescent District Master Plan is to make the transition from Old and Historic District to maintain the most similar character, setbacks, etc. Council Member Wright stated he looks forwarding to seeing this incorporated into the Town Plan. Council Member Reid stated the new Town Plan is a wonderful document thanks to a great job done by the consultant and Town staff. Additionally, he asked that Ms. Robinson's concerns be addressed. Dave Culbert, 30C Catoctin Circle SE, addressed Council regarding the concept of comprehensive plans and master plans and how they guide development. He suggested that if the Crescent District Master Plan provides clear and concise guidance, that the same clear and concise language be added to the remainder of the Town Plan. He stated a comprehensive plan is when theory meets reality. He stated the proposed extension of F He stated theoretically the Crescent District Master Plan looks like a good plan but he wonders whether a future applicant for some of the different mixed uses in this plan would be willing to donate a four-lane divided road that will primarily lead from King Street to the Mitchell and Best property that cuts a huge swap thru their property. I have difficulty envisioning the scenario where some one would do that. I don't question that if someone were to come in and raze some buildings and put in parks that it would be a betterment of the community. I am suggesting that theory doesn't always correspond with reality. Deider Meyer. 214 Andover Court, stated as an early proponent of the Crescent District Plan I am looking forward to its adoption in to the Master Plan. He suggested accelerating the zoning ordinance amendments. The public hearing closed at 9:08 p.m. On a motion by Council Member Hammier, seconded by Council Member Burk, the following motion was proposed: 2007-0-2 ORDINANCE Amending the 2005 Town Plan of Leesburg, Virginia by adding a new Section D (Special Districts) Town Council Meetinq of January 9. 2007 Page 7 The motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Burk, Hammier, Horne, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 6-0-1 (Martinez absent) On a motion by Council Member Wright, seconded by Council Member Hammier, the following motion was proposed: 2007-0-3 ORDINANCE Amending the 2005 Town Plan of Leesburg, Virginia by amending the language of Section A (Introduction, How to Use the Plan), by amending Section B (Town Plan Elements, Lane Use, Central Sector Objectives) through addition of a new Objective 5.E, and by amending the language of Section B (Town Plan Elements, Economic Development, Objective 2.F). The motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Burk, Hammier, Horne, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 6-0-1 (Martinez absent) H. Legislation I ORDINANCES None CONSENT AGENDA On a motion by Vice Mayor Horne, seconded by Council Member Wright, the following consent motion was proposed: 2007-01 RESOLUTION Approving a substitute performance guarantee for public improvements in Leesburg Plaza Outparcel B 2007-02 RESOLUTION Approving a substitute performance guarantee for public improvements in Fort Evans Plaza II 2007-03 RESOLUTION Approving a substitute performance guarantee for public improvements in Fort Evans Road Improvements at Fort Evans Plaza II 2007-04 RESOLUTION Approving a supplemental appropriation of $2,000 resulting from a Virginia Foundation for the Humanities Grant Award to the Thomas Balch Library via a Joint Organization Application, with the Friends of the Thomas Balch serving as Project Coordinator and the Town serving as Fiscal Officer Town Council Meeting of January 9. 2007 Page 8 2007-05 RESOLUTION Approving a supplemental appropriation of $4,051 resulting from donations to the Thomas Balch Library in memory of Mr. Warren Pershing Weitman 2007-06 RESOLUTION Granting the Verizon Communications request for an extension of the PEG interconnection and authorizing the Town Manager to sign any and all related documents 2007-07 RESOLUTION Approving a supplemental appropriation of $10,000 for the Verizon Franchise agreement PEG access grant The consent motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Burk, Hammier, Horne, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 6-0-1 (Martinez absent) REGULAR AGENDA On a motion by Council Member Hammier, seconded by Council Member Burk, the following motion was proposed: 2007-08 RESOLUTION Authorizing Amendment No.2 to the Employment Contract between the Leesburg Town Council and Town Manager John A. Wells The motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Burk, Hammier, Horne, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 6-0-1 (Martinez absent) I. Board and Commission a. Airport Commission Vice Mayor Horne stated the Commission is progressing with their master plan update. b. Thomas Balch Library Commission No comments. c. Board of Architectural Review Council Member Reid stated the Board will have a retreat next month. d. Cable Television Advisory Commission No comments. e. Commission on Public Art No comments. Town Council Meeting of January 9. 2007 Page 9 f. Economic Development Commission No comments. g. Environmental Advisory Commission No comments. h. Information Technology Commission No comments. i. Parks and Recreation Commission No comments. j. Planning Commission No comments k. Tree Commission Council Member Reid stated the Commission concern that we have not yet hired another Urban Forester. I. Standing Residential Traffic Committee No comments. J. Old Business a. SW Trail Project John Wells stated a staff team to look at this project meet for the first time today and will be providing recommendations soon. b. Alley Project No comment. K. New Business a. Emergency Shelter Ordinance ORDINANCE Amending and reordaining the Zoning Ordinance of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, 2003, as amended by adding Subsection 9.4.4 (Emergency Shelters Discussion resumed on the Emergency Shelter proposed ordinance. If Council decides to readvertise, the public hearing should remain open. See general petitioner comments on this ordinance. Mayor Umstattd stated if a vote is to be taken on the ordinance tonight; then the public hearing should be closed. Vice Mayor Horne made a motion to close the public hearing and defer until we have had an opportunity to hear further comment from the faith based community and non-profits. The Mayor stated the public hearing should be left open if we want to defer. Town Council Meeting of January 9. 2007 Page 10 Vice-Mayor Horne amended her motion to keep the public hearing open and defer a vote: The motion was seconded by Council Member Hammier. Council Member Burk stated she has a lot of misgivings about the proposed ordinance. Council Member Hammier stated staff has done what we asked them to do but emphasized the need to reach out to as many stakeholders as possible. Council Member Wright stated the concept is good. He added the faith based community would more'than likely do most of the work, but the setback restriction makes the church option go away. Council Member Reid stated we have heard from the faith based community and there are safeguards in place to protect the community. In addition this ordinance has spent five months with staff and the Planning Commission; thus a decision needs to be made because the temperatures are getting colder. Mayor Umstattd stated she supports deferring the vote and agrees with the suggested special exception approval for the 1,000 ft. setback. She added some of the citizens don't feel they have had adequate notice. The Mayor stated the Department of Social Services stated there is available room at the Lucketts facility so Council does have time to look at this a little more closely. She stated Ida Lee and the airport terminal is still a viable option in an emergency and reiterated it is in fact a County responsibility. Further, she asked any church that considers opening a shelter to please meet with the neighbors to hear their concerns. Barbara Beach clarified that another public hearing be advertised as broad as possible. The motion to defer a vote and leave the hearing open was approved as follows: Aye: Burk, Hammier, Horne, and Mayor Umstattd Nay: Reid and Burk Vote: 4-2-1 (Martinez absent) b. Crosstrail Follow-up On a motion by Council Member Reid, seconded by Vice Mayor Horne, the following motion was proposed: MOTION Authorizing the Mayor to send a letter to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors regarding the status of Council's negotiations with Peterson Companies Town Council Meeting of January 9. 2007 Page 11 The motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Burk, Hammier, Horne, Reid, Wright, and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 6-0-1 (Martinez absent) c. Taskforce/Loudoun County Office Space On a motion by Council Member Reid, seconded by Council Member Wright, the following motion was proposed: 2007-09 RESOLUTION Establishing a task force to investigate and make recommendations for policy and action with regard to the possible relocation of the Loudoun County Offices. The motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Burk, Hammier, Horne, Reid, Wright, and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 6-0-1 d. Battlefield Parkway Update John Wells stated the memo has been updated and some of the options are further defined. He stated there are still some outstanding questions. Nagi Elsewaissi stated the memo provided summaries of existing and estimated projected funding from all known sources at this time. Council Member Burk expressed concern that we not take over this process; it is the responsibility of the State. Vice Mayor Horne stated we should communicate to our legislatures the urgency of having all the facts and hopefully we can keep the momentum going. Council Member Hammier stated the Governor stated he wants to bring 21st Century leadership to transportation for the State. She stated this is very much an issue for the Secretary of Transportation and a great deal is to be expected from our leaders when we lobby the entire House of Delegates and Senators. She asked Mr. Elsewaissi to provide Council weekly updates on this issue. Council Member Wright thanked Mr. Elsewaissi for the report, stating it is the State's responsibility to build roads and the need to stay on top of what is going on with VDOT. Further, he asked that Council get on the agenda for the Loudoun County Transportation and Land Use Committee. Council Member Reid reminded fellow Council Members the State has not built one stretch of Battlefield Parkway. It has been built by developers. He added any dedicated funding from the State will go to big ticket projects. Town Council Meetinq of January 9. 2007 Page 12 He stated he is more confident with Town staff completing the project because VDOT wants us to reduce the scope. He asked staff to prepare a memo for the next Council meeting to identify what it would cost the Town to take over the project. Council Member Hammier stated it was her understanding the next step is for Nagi Elsewaissi to meet with VDOT. Council Member Reid stated last year Delegate Herring had a letter to send to VDOT to ask about the possibility of a public/private partnership. Mayor Umstattd stated she is open to what Nagi comes back with to get it built as soon as possible and she does not want to take funding from the Rt. 15 widening project. e. Civic Sign Update John Wells stated a recommendation has been sent to the Board of Architectural Review. They had several concerns and have not been able to come up with a design that meets Council direction, legal requirements and the BAR simultaneously. Vice-Mayor Horne recommended a task force of the BAR and Council Members and staff. She added Council has made a commitment and she would like to resolve this issue. Council Member Wright asked the Town Attorney to provide a briefing off line on the legal issues. It was decided that Vice-Mayor Horne and Council Member Reid will serve on the task force. The Mayor stated a motion should include a request for the BAR to provide two representatives to this group. Council Member Hammier stated citizens with a vested interest should be included. Mayor Umstattd asked the task force have an appeal process to Council. Council Member Burk, seconded by Vice-Mayor Horne, made a motion to establish a task force to include two members of Council, (Council Member Reid and Vice-Mayor Horne), two members of the BAR; and representatives of civic organizations to address the civic sign design. If this task force cannot come to agreement on a sign design, the issue will be resolved by Council. Council Member Wright stated he would like an explanation as to how this issue has been derailed for a year. Mr. Wells stated he would accept the blame. The motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Burk, Hammier, Horne, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Town Council Meeting of January 9. 2007 Page 13 Nay: None Vote: 6-0-1 (Martinez absent) L. Council Comments Council Member Reid asked for an update at the next Council meeting on the transportation bills. He wished every one a Happy New Year and he is looking forward to work with everyone during the coming year. He disclosed a meeting with Sunrise Retirement Center. Further he had a phone discussion with Patrick Flynn and Jim Sisley about the Pump-It-Up Gym. He reminded everyone of the Martin Luther King March on Monday, January 15 at 10:00 a.m. Council Member Reid stated he would like to see a Charter Review Commission and Public Safety Commission formed in the coming year. He stated his agreement with Council Member Wright's analysis of the water and sewer fees. He stated hopefully Council will have a real discussion of what the Economic Development Commission and staff is doing, also addressing the issue of regulations and how it affects development. Council Member Wriqht wished everyone a Happy New Year! He asked for follow up on downtown parking during the holidays. Additionally, he asked for follow up on the retreat points, key economic development projects at the next meeting. He disclosed a meeting with Bob Sevila and Scott Gustavson regarding an upcoming project and exchanged emails with Andy Shuckra regarding Oaklawn. He reminded Council that a division of our local reserves is being deployed to Iraq and asked that they be kept in our thoughts and prayers. Council Member Hammier wished everyone a Happy New Year. She stated her agreement with the updates that have been asked for by other Council Members as well as Council's goal of better communication with citizens. She disclosed a meeting with Bob Sevila and Scott Gustavson regarding their exciting new project. She suggested a staff advocate and how can we implement that process. Further, she suggested taking a look at overall downtown parking and addressing the issue of city status. She stated she is sad to hear the Leesburg Bookstore is closing. Town Council Meeting of January 9. 2007 Page 14 She disclosed a meeting with Sunrise Retirement Center. Council Member Hammier stated the Loudoun County Economic Development Commission received a briefing for the Chief Executive of HHMI Cheryl Moore. One of the key statistics is their difficulty recruiting key researchers because of the traffic gridlock. She stated she is looking forward to all of the celebration events in honor of the 250th Anniversary. Vice-Mayor Horne wished Council Member Martinez well while he is recovering from knee surgery. She disclosed meeting with Bob Sevila and Scott Gustavson regarding a possible project downtown. She stated Airport Commissioner Stanley Caulkins is doing well after his second hip replacement. The Vice-Mayor reported attending the Volunteer Fire Company banquet at which they were presented a $255,000 check from the Town. She stated upcoming issues this year are of course the Battlefield Parkway issue and the decision of the County as to whether they will move their administrative offices out of Town. She asked Mr. Wells to look into the yellow Planet Aid boxes placed around Town. She offered her condolences to the Leesburg Rescue Squad and the Trula Peach family for their loss. She wished everyone a Happy New Year. Council Member Burk had no comments. M. Mayor's Comments Mayor Umstattd thanked Council Members Hammier and Wright for bringing up the further deployment of local National Guard troops. She stated 177 troops 44 of which were from Leesburg, Hamilton and Ashburn will be deployed from Fredericksburg. She stated Colonel Jay Greely and Jim McQuerry from the VFW post did go along to Fredericksburg to see the troops off, adding it was a very emotional experience. N. Manager's Comments John Wells stated we have a challenging and exciting year before us. We want to keep the items discussed at the strategic planning session before us. He stated the AADP Committee meeting is this Thursday at 5 p.m. He stated we need an alternate for Council Member Martinez. Council Member Hammier stated she will make every effort to be there. Town Council Meeting of January 9. 2007 Page 15 o. Adjournment On a motion by Vice Mayor Horne, seconded by Council Member Hammier, the meeting adjourned at 10:38 p.m. ATTEST: 2007 _tcmin0109