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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2011_tcmin0223COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, 7:30 p.m. Mayor Umstattd presiding. Council Members Present: Thomas Dunn, II, David Butler, Katie Sheldon Hammler, Fernando "Marty" Martinez, Kenneth "Ken" Reid, Kevin Wright and Mayor Umstattd. Council Members Absent: None. Staff Present: Town Manager John Wells, Town Attorney Jeanette Irby, Deputy Town Manager Kaj Dentler, Director of Public Works Tom Mason, Director of Planning and Zoning Susan Berry Hill, Zoning Administrator Chris Murphy, Economic Development Manager Marantha Edwards, Deputy Director of Planning and Zoning Brian Boucher, Director of Parks and Recreation Richard Williams, Chief of Police Joseph Price, Director of Information Technology Wendy Wickens, Director of Utilities Randy Shoemaker, Director of Finance Norm Butts, Director of Plan Review William Adman, Senior Management Analyst Bob Berkey, Senior Management Analyst Annie Carlson, Comprehensive Planner David Fuller and Clerk of Council Lee Ann Green AGENDA 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. INVOCATION was led by Vice Mayor Wright 3. SALUTE TO THE FLAG was led by Council Member Reid 4. ROLL CALL showing all Council Members present. 5. MINUTES a. Work Session Minutes of February 7, 2011 On a motion by Council Member Reid, seconded by Vice Mayor Wright, the work session minutes were passed 7 -0. b. Regular Session Minutes of February 8, 2011 On a motion by Council Member Hammler, seconded by Council Member Butler, the minutes were passed 7 -0. 6. ADOPTING THE MEETING AGENDA (Amendments and Deletions) Council Member Martinez made a motion to adopt the meeting agenda as presented. vote: The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Wright and approved by the following Aye: Butler, Dunn, Hammler, Martinez, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 7 -0 7. PRESENTATIONS a. FY 2012/FY2013 Budget Proposal Outline ITEMS 1 1 Page COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 Mr. Wells stated that tonight's presentation will be the goals and financial framework. He stated he will be providing part of the presentation and Mr. David Rose of Davenport, the town's financial advisor, will be presenting the second part. He stated in two weeks, the actual budget document itself will be presented which will contain the details of any expenditure changes and detailed deductions. He stated the manner in which this year's budget will be put forth was requested as part of the Council's strategic planning session several months ago. He stated one of the most important goals the Council had was a goal of long term budget sustainability. He stated this raised the questions of how to go about obtaining long term budget sustainability and what it would mean in terms of decision making and what type of goals and objectives would need to be addressed. Mr. Wells stated the first thing was to commit to a multi -year operational budget even though the town can only legally adopt a budget for one year. He stated the staff will be bringing forth a six year capital improvements program as opposed to a five year program which will have the capital program coincide with the VDOT Six -Year Plan, which is important for potential funding for road projects. He stated staff is focusing on the tax bill and tax rate and working on the assumption that there will be no change in the tax rate. Further, he noted the plan needs to meet debt ratios and the overall plan of the fiscal policy where current expenditures meet current revenues. He discussed that the plan that will be presented will provide means to begin to catch up on items that have been deferred over the past several years. He stated the long term plan begins to assume that the government will operate in a way that can meet the goal of sustainability and normal operation. Mr. Wells discussed the numbers with regards to revenues. He stated there are beginning to be some increases in values for existing homes, although there is a slight downturn in values for existing commercial properties. He noted that revenue is fairly flat with about a 0.05% increase. With respect to expenditures, Mr. Wells stated that department requests were originally totaled $48,000,000. He stated increases in personnel costs are mainly due to a 25% increase in healthcare costs and other increases were caused by the department's catching up on replacements for computers and vehicles. He stated staff has identified $1.7 million for reductions. He noted that the debt service is shown at a higher figure because it includes airport debt service. David Rose stated they have been asked by staff to take an overall look at the town from a financial perspective. He stated to move to the next level of credit rating, AAA, a government must demonstrate a five year plan with regard to revenues, expenditures, and capital programs. He discussed the differential between revenues and expenditures using the bell weather of a static tax rate. He 2 I Page COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 stated by 2017, if no corrective action is taken, there would be a shortfall of $4.5 million, which equates to just over six pennies on the tax rate. He discussed funding of the Capital Improvements Program. He stated they made a series of assumptions, which included no tax increase in the 2011, 2012, and 2013 budgets, continued low interest rates and minimal, if any, use of the undesignated fund balance. He stated the goal is to ultimately be a AAA local government, which he stated he believes the town can attain by being conservative and planning for the future. Mr. Rose discussed the preliminary plan of finance which includes strategically restructuring about $10 million of the General Fund portfolio which will shave the peaks over the next several years and shorten the debt period. Council Member Dunn left the meeting at 8:52 p.m. Council Member Reid stated that this is very sobering information and it is very apparent that the party is over. He stated it is a good recommendation not to touch the undesignated fund balance, even to save someone's job. He stated he appreciates the fact that Davenport highlighted the issues with the airport fund. Vice Mayor Wright stated he appreciates the report and the effort. He stated for the past few years they got to a balanced budget by deferring things, but they need to set a base budget that can replace equipment, offer raises, etc. He noted the restructuring will allow the town to be able to make the balloon debt payment forecasted in 2017. Council Member Martinez stated the last four to five years have been painful. He confirmed they are using a growth rate of 1.5% growth per year assuming the ratio of residences and businesses stay the same. Mr. Wells stated they have been very conservative in the revenue estimates so they do not have to come back and make additional cuts or adjustments. Council Member Martinez stated a higher rating on bond issuances gives the town a more favorable interest rate. He questioned what the town will have to do to be upgraded to a triple -A. Mr. Rose stated that is a complex question, but the town is on the right trajectory and will need to demonstrate structural balance for several years. He pointed out that Loudoun County is a triple -A rated jurisdiction. Mr. Wells stated the better the town's credit rating is, the lower the interest rate on borrowed funds for the capital program. 3 1 Page COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 Council Member Hammler questioned whether there was any impact to Leesburg when the Build America bond program expired at the end of last year. Mr. Rose stated the Build America subsidy is factored in to the numbers he presented. Further, he noted last year there was an unprecedented low interest rate by virtue of that program. He noted in Virginia, local governments are not allowed to declare bankruptcy and there is a state intercept mechanism. Council Member Hammier noted that there will be additional expenses associated with TMDLs. She questioned whether these anticipated costs have been factored into the numbers. Mr. Wells stated he is not assuming the costs discussed last night will be the costs that are actually incurred. He stated they have not specifically anticpated them, but do have the capacity to deal with them. Council Member Hammler commended the Town Manager for making the tough decisions with regards to budgeting in an environment where expenditures need to be decreased. She stated the Council has to make decisions about services that bring the greatest quality of life to the most people. Council Member Butler thanked staff and previous Councils for being able to have five years in a row where the tax rate is lower than the equalized rate. Council Member Dunn stated every year Council talks about trying to make cuts and is concerned about risking the quality of life in Leesburg, but every year the overall budget comes down and yet he hasn't heard any complaints about quality of life. He stated every year the budget has been top heavy and it has been the reluctance of Council to make cuts. Further, he stated while he does not like to see people lose their jobs, he is living it right now. He stated these are cuts that have to be made and should have been made sooner. Mayor Umstattd stated she is very pleased to see that once again they will be able to reduce the tax burden on Leesburg residents. She stated she agrees with Council Member Hammler's request for more information on how budget planning and the costs to the utility department for storm water management and waste water treatment Federal regulations will be accommodated. She stated these future costs worry her significantly and the town needs to know the cost of development as the cost to the town of allowing further development will be horrendous. Council Member Dunn left the meeting at 8:52 p.m. 8. PETITIONERS The Petitioners section was opened at 8:53 p.m. 4 1 Page COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 Mary Hunter Leach, 18493 Woodburn Road, stated she is here to support her friend, Mr. Caulkins, and the other downtown merchants who would like to retain the on- street parking. She stated she is concerned about this issue. She stated towns all over the country look alike, but Leesburg is unique because it is not a manufactured downtown. She stated if the town hurts these merchants, there will be no downtown. Neely Law, 213 Lawford Drive, stated this is a follow -up to last night's presentation by Wetland Studies and Solutions regarding the town's options to address the state watershed implementation plan. She stated in 2007, Council was provided with a set of recommendations based on the Tuscarora Creek Watershed study that indicated that nearly half of the streams in town were in poor condition based on current and historical development patterns. She stated the town has implemented inadequate methods to protect the streams in terms of water quality and habitat. She stated this has now come around to a very heavy handed federal mandate to clean up the streams. She stated Mr. Rolband's comment that buffers are useless in urban areas when they are piped so that the flow bypasses the buffer, thus reducing the effectiveness of the forest to filter and reduce the run off. She stated while that is true sometimes, it does not always have to be the case. She stated the water can be directed to the forested buffer to allow the buffer to treat the storm water, thus reducing the impact to the streams. She stated that comments made about the clay soils and karst terrain that significantly reduces the ability to implement infiltrating practices such as low impact development that promote infiltration of water. She stated those conditions do not prevent the use of low impact development or infiltrating practices. She stated there are certain design criteria that are promoted by the Commonwealth Storm Water Regulations. She stated that the comment that rain barrels make a small dent in the overall reduction of pollutant loading to the streams; however, using a rain barrel or disconnecting the downspout to allow the water to drain onto the lawn rather than the street or driveway is a low cost or no cost solution. Further, she stated it increases residential citizen awareness furthering different efforts as well as outdoor water conservation during summer months. She stated overall, rain barrels are a very good practice to implement. She stated the figures provided by Mr. Rolband to implement the practices on his property were for implementation that goes above and beyond what any municipality would require to reduce pollutant loading on the site. She stated it showcases the type of business they are in. She stated implementation of these practices at subdivision level, there are significant cost savings. She encouraged Council to look for opportunities, particularly in public /private partnerships during the redevelopment process to allow the town to move forward in achieving the required pollutant reduction. Paige Buscema, stated that over the past eight years, the Leesburg Downtown Business Association has developed their charter to promote the historic district as a vibrant business district and a place worth visiting. She stated they have developed marketing materials as a unified business association. She stated they are the front lines of the community and they meet with the 5 1 Page COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 people who come here every day. She stated they are the ones that should be heard on all of these issues. She asked Council to hear them, not just on parking, but on all issues going forward. 9. APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA On a motion by Council Member Martinez, seconded by Council Member Reid, the following consent agenda was proposed: a. Supplemental Appropriation of a Donation from Greater Loudoun Babe Ruth b. Sycolin Road Widening, Phase 3 Town /VDOT Administrative Agreement 10. PUBLIC HEARINGS a. None. 11. ORDINANCES a. None The Petitioners section was closed at 9:07 p.m. RESOLUTION 2011 -020 Approving a Supplemental Appropriation of $5,000.00 Resulting from a Donation from Greater Loudoun Babe Ruth for the Purchase and Installation of a Batting Cage at Robinson Park RESOLUTION 2011 -021 Approving Sycolin Road Widening Phase III Town /VDOT Administrative Agreement and Authorizing the Town Manager to Execute this Agreement The Consent Agenda was approved by the following vote: Aye: Butler, Hammler, Martinez, Reid, Wright, and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 6 -0 -1 (Dunn absent) 12. RESOLUTIONS AND MOTIONS a. Hybrid Energy Plant Memorandum of Understanding On a motion by Council Member Reid, seconded by Council Member Hammler, the following was proposed: MOTION 2011 -008 To Authorize the Town Manager to Execute a Memorandum of Understanding between the town and Green Energy Partners containing the terms and conditions as set forth in the attachment 6 1 Page COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 Council Member Reid stated this is the right thing for the environment and for the Utility Fund. He thanked John Andrews for his leadership in making this happen. Council Member Hammler stated after a difficult briefing about the significant costs for the TMDLs, it was nice to have this come forward as it could offset the costs and reduce the impact on the wastewater treatment plant. She stated she followed up with Ms. Irby and requested some modified language to #2 on page 2 dealing with what would be an anticipated fixed cost over a very long period, whether we want that to be variable with a market rate. Ms. Irby stated an escalator clause was added in relation to the Consumer Price Index in paragraph #4 on the same page which allows after 10 years, when their interest costs are no longer a factor, escalation clause based upon the CPI would be implemented. Council Member Butler stated once this facility is using all the water the town is willing to sell, it would be a revenue to the town of about $2 million per year, which has not been factored into any of the budget estimates. He stated there is a potential budget upside as well as the production of power that is cleaner than most of the power that is provided today. He stated its generation closer to home would reduce the need for more power lines. Vice Mayor Wright stated he is looking forward to the partnership. The motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Butler, Hammler, Martinez, Reid, Wright, and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 6 -0 -1 (Dunn absent) b. Boards and Commission Grants On a motion by Council Member Reid, seconded by Mayor Umstattd, the following was proposed: RESOLUTION 2011 -022 Approving the Transfer of Funds Budgeted in the Town Council's FY 2011 Adopted Operating Budget for Project Initiatives Submitted by Town Boards and Commissions Council Member Reid questioned the proposal concerning the Technology Commission for taping service for Council meetings. He questioned whether these are designed to fund what Comcast is not going to continue doing. Bob Berkey stated the submission, as given by the Technology and Communication Committee was to provide for taping of boards and commissions meetings. 71 Pa COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 J.B. Anderson, Chair of the Technology and Communication Commission, stated when they began the budget process, they began looking at how they could have the Council meetings and boards and commissions meetings taped for broadcast. He stated most of the staff liaisons do not have the technical expertise to run the equipment. He stated they wanted to preserve the professional appearance of the town government. He stated that Oliver Peters has been working diligently with Monroe Technology to contract with the students to provide the coverage that the Council needs. He stated they are also working on marketing for the downtown but they do not have the financing to move forward. He stated their seminars are in a separate request. Council Member Butler stated he was the commission liaison when this first came up. He stated this figure was not intended for Council meetings, but came out of a discussion that Council had with some enthusiasm to begin to transmit sound and video for all the commissions and committees, whereas now it only for a handful. He stated the number of hours needed multiplied by the rate that the Monroe Vo -Tech students would charge came out to about $8,000, which would represent the maximum amount for a year. Council Member Hammier stated she would like to table this portion of the budget request. She stated Council completely supports everything that the Technology and Communication commission is doing but it requires Council to look at the overall communication plan and a budget that may be departmental rather than specifically out of the commission. Council Member Reid asked to table the entire item because he has questions about some of the other commission expenditures. Council Member Hammier stated she is only moving to table this particular request. Council Member Reid seconded Council Member Hammler's tabling motion. The motion to table the $8,000 request by the Technology and Communication Commission was approved by the following vote: Aye: Butler, Hammier, Martinez, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 6 -0 -1 (Dunn absent) Council Member Hammier requested a work session meeting to discuss this request. Council Member Dunn made a motion to table the rain barrel expenditure given the comments made by the consultant at the work session. 8 1 Page COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 The motion died for lack of a second. Vice Mayor Wright made a motion to add a $4,000 grant for the Technology and Communication Commission for coverage of commission and committee meetings. The motion was seconded by Mayor Umstattd. Council Member Reid urged his colleagues to have a deeper discussion because not all the boards and commissions meet in the Council Chambers. The motion to add $4,000 back in for the Technology and Communication Commission failed by the following vote: Aye: Martinez, Wright, and Mayor Umstattd Nay: Hammler, Butler, and Reid Vote: 3 -3 -1 (Dunn absent) Council Member Butler stated he fully supports what the Technology and Communication Commission is doing and fully supports the $8,000 funding. He stated he does not believe that they will spend $4,000 this year taping boards and commission meetings. He stated Council needs a work session to make sure everyone is on the same page regarding the process. Mr. Anderson stated Council asked that they investigate this process because of past issues and they chose to look at it because of possible loss of Comcast service in the next year. He stated they also chose to look at it because the town's current process is not in compliance with the Town Code. Council Member Reid stated he would like to divide the question and vote on each request individually. The original motion, minus the request from the Technology and Communication Commission for $8,000, was approved by the following vote: Aye: Butler, Hammler, Martinez, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 6 -0 -1 (Dunn absent) c. Utility Rate Advisory Committee Report On a motion by Council Member Reid, seconded by Council Member Butler, the following was proposed: MOTION 2011 009 I move to direct staff to bring forward Utility Rate Advisory Committee recommended "snowbird" policy to advertise as an ordinance change The motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Butler, Hammler, Martinez, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 6 -0 -1 (Dunn absent) 91 'age COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 d. Utility Rate Advisory Committee Expanded Membership On a motion by Council Member Martinez, seconded by Council Member Hammler, the following was proposed: MOTION 2011 -010 To direct Town Staff to advertise an ordinance amendment expanding the membership of the Utility Rate Advisory Committee by adding one (1) additional out -of -town customer seat for the Citizens for Fair Water Rates or a like- minded group Council Member Dunn returned to the meeting at 9:33 p.m. Council Member Hammler stated that this Council is proactively reaching out to the out -of -town customers to ensure that they have an active role in setting the best and most fair rates for all customers. Council Member Butler stated he is very comfortable with three out of town members since that represents the approximate revenue generated from out of town customers. Council Member Reid stated the committee does not need to be expanded as adding another person from out of town will not do the job. Further, he stated they had the opportunity to apply in the fall when there were vacancies. Mayor Umstattd stated she is strongly opposed to this. She stated the out of town residents already have two seats out of nine and giving them a third seat gives them much greater representation than their proportional population would afford them. She stated this is the town's utility system that is owned and operated by the town. She stated the shareholders are the town residents and businesses and the majority of Council has bent over backwards enough to try to accommodate the wishes of out of town customers. She stated it is pure folly to give them more representation on what should be an exclusively town populated committee. Council Member Dunn agreed with Mayor Umstattd and Council Member Reid, although he stated he disagrees with the Mayor's reasons for dissent. He stated the out -of -town customers should have a say in the utility department because they are customers of the "corporation" of which the Council is the Board of Directors. He stated he is opposed to them having additional numbers because the breakdown of town residents per representative on the board, versus out -of -town residents per representative would give the out of -town customers more representation. He stated they may be paying 30% of the fees, and if that were a big concern, lower their fees as they would appreciate lower fees rather than more representation. 10 1 Page COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 Council Member Martinez stated the town provides a service and one of the biggest complaints that he has had is that the out -of -town customers have no say and no representation. The motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Butler, Hammier, Martinez, and Wright Nay: Dunn, Reid and Mayor Umstattd Vote: 4 -3 e. Form Based Code Actions On a motion by Council Member Butler, seconded by Council Member Martinez, the following was proposed: ORDINANCE 2011 -0 -004 To Amend the Leesburg Zoning Ordinance to Establish the Crescent District Form -Based Zoning District (Effective March 1, 2012) Council Member Hammier stated she fully supports this and sincerely appreciates all of the time and effort of the Steering Committee, the planning staff, and the citizens who have been involved with this. She stated there are over 300 communities across the country that either have or are adopting form based code including all of Miami, Florida. She stated this has been fully adopted and is not an experiment or exercise. She stated it is a widely accepted and embraced method for creating a walkable, sustainable, livable and vibrant community. She noted an added benefit is this will create a by -right process that will be predictable creating a more vibrant district. She stated clearly the long term vision for the Crescent District is for a traditional, human scale streetscape based on the demographics for the future. She stated she would support asking the Planning Commission to look at future increase of the district so it covers the entire Crescent District area in alignment with the Town Plan. Council Member Martinez stated he has had some concerns with the boundaries, but most of them have been addressed by staff. Vice Mayor Wright summarized the history of the form based code discussion. He questioned what will happen to the pending applications until the ordinance takes effect on March 1, 2012. Mr. Murphy stated they will be considered under the current zoning ordinance. Vice Mayor Wright stated that this is meant to streamline regulations and make the process more predictable as there will be more by -right and administrative process as opposed to a ministerial process with review by legislative bodies. He stated if you meet the standards as outlined in form based code and follow your site plan, no public hearings are required. Further, he stated this has value for the community because they have predictability as to 11 1 Page COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 what the look and feel of the community will ultimately be. He stated redevelopment will help the town meet its storm water regulations. He stated there is still a lot of work to be done since this is a by -right process, all the means with which to consider and process the application in a timely manner need to be in place. Council Member Reid questioned whether there are any applications in this area currently. Mr. Murphy stated there is a current application in the area and anyone under review until March 1, 2012 will come in under the current regulations. Council Member Reid stated since adoption does not take place until one year from now people will try to beat the code and come in with their proposals under existing zoning before form based code goes into effect. After the Code is effective, he predicted applicants will come to Council to ask for changes and exceptions and all this will not amount to a "hill of beans He stated he cannot support additional staff time or money be spent on implementation. Council Member Dunn stated he probably had greater hopes than most people as this would have given the town the opportunity to make decisions on how Leesburg would look in the future, but unfortunately, since this was looked at as a loss of control, the reins kept getting drawn in. He expressed dismay that the leadership of these committees kept pushing this to a concern over loss of regulatory control rather than looking at the possibility to have design standards outside the historic district. He commended the citizens for their involvement, but stated this has become an academic study and a project that staff could work on. Further, he stated this has been a waste of time and money. Mayor Umstattd stated it is not a surprise, but she would not be voting for this tonight. She stated this is intense density packing of about a 500% increase in an area adjacent to the historic district is anticipated to and will consume what remains of the town's unallocated water and sewer capacity. She stated an expansion of the town's utility plants will be required to handle this additional density. Further, she stated that staff has not been able to judge what the impact on traffic will be from the increase in density. She stated she admires the effort put forth on this, but cannot support it for those reasons. Council Member Butler stated he appreciates everyone's work on this project and supports it because he feels it is positive for the town. He stated he does not feel this will encourage development or discourage development as it is just a different kind of zoning and the Town gets to have input on design criteria. Further, he stated more importantly it will create a common streetscape so the area will look more like downtown and less suburban. He stated that infill is more economically and environmentally positive than sprawl and the developers get a shorter, more predictable process without a governing body involved in the process. He expressed a desire to expand the district. 12 I f' age COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 The motion to approve the ordinance passed by the following vote: Aye: Butler, Hammler, Martinez, and Wright Nay: Dunn, Reid and Mayor Umstattd Vote: 4 -3 On a motion by Vice Mayor Wright, seconded by Council Member Butler, the following was proposed: RESOLUTION To Initiate Amendments to the Design and Construction Standards Manual, the Subdivision and Land Development Regulations, the Zoning Ordinance and the Official Zoning Map and updates to Master Plans to Implement the Crescent Form -Based Zoning District, and to Consider the Entire Crescent District Master Plan Area for Inclusion in the Crescent Form Based Zoning District Ms. Berry Hill stated this is a compilation of resolutions that were presented in the agenda packet. She stated that Section I addresses ordinance changes to the Design and Construction Standards Manual, the Subdivision and Land Development Regulations and the Zoning Ordinance that will need to be made so that those ordinances comply with Form Based Code. She stated Section II address the H -1 and H -2 changes that will need to be made and Section III addresses updates to long range infrastructure documents so that staff can assess what the impacts will be. Further, she stated Section IV states that these implementation steps will be completed prior to March 1, 2012 and Section V and VI require a public hearing and directs the Planning Commission to address an expansion of the Form Based Code district to be consistent with the Crescent District boundaries. Vice Mayor Wright stated this simplifies discussion since the bulk of the items have to be done to be ready to implement the form based code ordinance. He stated that Section VI continues the discussion as to whether or not the district should be expanded. He confirmed that the area to be considered will be the original Crescent District and nothing would compel the Council to accept the recommendation of the Planning Commission. Council Member Butler questioned the language "this specific area and no smaller area" since it is quite possible that the Planning Commission may want to recommend something else and questioned whether this language restricts them. Ms. Irby stated this restricts the Planning Commission from advertising for a smaller area but they can still give Council a recommendation on the area. Council Member Butler stated he would like to make a friendly amendment to take out the March 1, 2012 date in Section IV. Vice Mayor Wright agreed to the friendly amendment. 13 1 Page COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 Council Member Hammier stated she supports the resolution that directors the Planning Commission to develop a new map. She stated the vision this captures is moving towards a walkable, sustainable, vibrant community whereas the previous code embraced a 1950s and 1960s vision which brought us sprawl. Council Member Reid stated the town has a walkable, sustainable community called the historic district. He cautioned Council to strike Section VI and made a motion to table the amendments to a work session. The motion to table was seconded by Council Member Dunn. The vote to table failed by the following vote: Aye: Dunn, Reid and Mayor Umstattd Nay: Butler, Hammier, Martinez, and Wright Vote: 3 -4 Council Member Reid stated this area is not suburban sprawl, but is more of a brown field. He encouraged staff to let Council know who is trying to beat the ordinance. He thanked everyone for their work on this. Council Member Dunn stated this is a lot of code changes in a small area, but they could have done a very few code changes in a larger area, which is what he was trying to support. He stated so much work and effort are going to have to go into this and the only thing that could have come out of it was a way to govern the H -2, but now it will not. He stated he would prefer the review authority for the H -2 to be with the Planning Commission and not the Board of Architectural Review. Mayor Umstattd stated she is troubled by the provision that proposes to extend the area to a much larger area where there are property and business owners that do not want this legislation. Vice Mayor Wright stated he appreciates everyone's concerns and his ideal district size is smaller than the overall master plan, but based on the process and comments, it is incumbent upon Council to consider the entire area with a public process and a final decision. He stated it is time that Council take up the issue of form based code in the H -2 as well. The motion to approve the resolution, as amended was approved by the following vote: Aye: Butler, Hammier, Martinez, and Wright Nay: Dunn, Reid and Mayor Umstattd Vote: 4 -3 14 1 f>age COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 f. Parking Garage Post Holidays On a motion by Council Member Butler, seconded by Council Member Hammler, the following was proposed: MOTION I move that the existing Holiday Parking Program, as relates to the parking garage, be extended to April 29, 2011 Council Member Butler stated he has heard from a number of people that this has been successful and they like the idea of being able to go downtown and not have the cumbersome process of being charged to use the garage. He stated by not passing this, Council will be driving people away from downtown. Council Member Hammier stated she supports extending this because it is an open item as Council is working with the downtown merchants towards design options for preserving parking on King Street. Vice Mayor Wright stated he would like to get through the budget process and make a lasting decision instead of a roller coaster ride for the public. Council Member Reid stated the town will lose money and the program is mostly being used by employees of businesses and not being used by the shoppers coming downtown because it is hard to get a space on the first floor after 10 a.m. He stated this program does not need to be extended. Council Member Dunn that extending this will cause confusion should the town decide to charge for the garage. He stated the Holiday Parking Program was initially started even though there was no hard evidence from anyone that it actually increased the number of customers, but it was a nice thing to do around the holidays. He stated people do not come to downtown Leesburg because of free parking; they come downtown because the stores and restaurants are worthwhile. Mayor Umstattd stated she opposes this as this is a town asset that can bring in revenue, which means there is an additional burden on the taxpayers. She agreed with the Town Manager's recommendation that the garage could bring in significant revenue if the town starts charging for nights and weekends. She stated continuing free parking is not a fiscally prudent way to go even though she is sympathetic to the difficulty of accessing the garage through the parking gates. She stated people expect to pay for parking and extending this would be unfairly shifting the burden onto the backs of the taxpayers. Council Member Butler stated it could be confusing to start charging now and possibly change it in a few months. 15 1 age COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 The motion failed by the following vote: Aye: Butler, Hammier, and Wright Nay: Dunn, Martinez, Reid and Mayor Umstattd Vote: 3 -4 13. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. None. 14. NEW BUSINESS a. Parking on King Street On a motion by Council Member, seconded by Vice Mayor Wright, the following was proposed: MOTION 2011 -011 I move to direct staff to develop a design option for Council consideration to preserve the parking on King Street and that design should also include a material or products determined to differentiate the parking lanes on the street visually Council Member Hammier stated Council has been listening. She stated as relates to the original vote, she had reached out specifically to make sure she was listening to the downtown business people to have guidance on the issue. She stated the more Council has continued to listen, it is critical to move forward with alternatives that everyone can be vested in. Council Member Reid stated hopefully the Council will get rid of the sidewalk widening completely. He stated there will be some streetscaping involved. Further, he stated he does not believe the mid -block crosswalk is a good idea. He stated it is too bad the businesses had to come back over and over to oppose this plan. Mayor Umstattd stated she is delighted with this motion. She thanked the majority of Council for listening to the merchants who have spoken in favor of preserving the parking on King Street. She asked them to stay involved because other options may still be out there. Council Member Hammier stated it is important to reemphasize that Council was struggling to get an answer about a unified representative voice that could more efficiently come forward to help guide Council and there were several Council members that said they will not invest one dollar in public funds until Council had that officially in place. She stated that is clearly part of the challenge and opportunity; that there are independent businesses that are coming forward as individual voices, speaking as a collective whole. She stated Council was trying desperately to have that unified point and was trying to do right by the downtown. The motion was approved by the following vote: 16 1 Page COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 Aye: Butler, Hammler, Martinez, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 6 -0 -1 (Dunn absent) b. School Resource Officer Funding On a motion by Vice Mayor Wright, seconded by Council Member Martinez, the following was proposed: MOTION 2011 -012 I move to direct staff to develop a Memorandum of Understanding with Loudoun County to provide full funding of school resource officers provided by the Town of Leesburg for Loudoun County Public Schools within the town limits and transmit to the County for action. Further, I move to direct staff to bring forth a budget that only shows 30% funding for school resource officers. Vice Mayor Wright stated they have tried meeting with the county, being patient, writing letters, and nothing has proved successful. He stated this is a way of formalizing the process and will give the town a document that acknowledges the agreed upon service and the cost. He stated he is hopeful that this will give the town a mechanism to get to full funding; however, it gives the town a clear way to state what the service is and what the costs for those services are. Council Member Hammler stated she has made a motion to amend to direct staff to bring forth a budget that only shows a 30% funding level based on this memorandum of understanding. She stated this will back up this memorandum of understanding with the public documents that the Council is reviewing in our budget cycle that reflects our funding level that we are committing to which is 30% given that 70% of the total would be payable to the town for the School Resource Officer Program. The motion to amend was seconded by Council Member Reid. Council Member Butler stated it does not lock the Council in for further discussion; however, it sends a message to the Board of Supervisors. Council Member Martinez stated he does not support the amendment. Vice Mayor Wright expressed his concern over the amendment possibly affecting negotiations. Council Member Dunn stated he would like to take it further and state that barring full funding, the responsibility for School Resource Officers will revert to the Sheriff's Office. 17 1 Page The motion to amend was approved by the following vote: Aye: Butler, Dunn, Hammler and Reid Nay: Martinez, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Vote: 4 -3 COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 Council Member Hammler stated that is in essence what the amendment is achieving. Mayor Umstattd stated she cannot support the amendment from a public safety standpoint. She stated she wants to ensure that Leesburg Police officers are still in the schools and if the town can get the county to pick up more of the funding, that would be appropriate. She stated the officers are critical in making sure that the town knows what type of trouble is brewing in the schools and could spill out into the community. Council Member Hammler stated the Council needs to communicate very directly and should Council decide to continue to fund the SROs without county funding, there are no teeth in the original motion. Council Member Reid stated that while the lines of communication would be easier if town officers are used as SROs in the schools located in Leesburg, communications between the town and county have been very good in the past. He stated the quality of protection offered by officers in brown uniforms vs. officers in blue uniforms is not a message that the town needs to send. Council Member Reid thanked Vice Mayor Wright for bringing this forward as Council has tried virtually everything. He stated he does not feel the amendment will tie Council's hands. Council Member Butler stated the SROs are a small, but clear piece of the double taxation that is about 9 cents on the tax rate. Vice Mayor Wright stated his hope that this will frame a healthy conversation with the county and ultimately get the town full funding. He stated in the past, the county has been in difficult budget years and the town has gotten acknowledgement that its SRO program is very efficient and it makes sense to have our officers in the schools. 15. CLOSED SESSION a. None. The original motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Butler, Dunn, Hammler, Martinez, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 7 -0 18 1 Page COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 16. COUNCIL COMMENTS Council Member Dunn stated Barbara Roberts has been working hard with a number of people to gather signatures for a referendum changing the election date in Leesburg from May of even years to November of even years. He stated she has submitted more than enough signatures to the Board of Elections for that referendum to go forward. Further, he stated there has been overwhelming support from those asked to sign the petition. He stated he will be bringing the subject back to Council to allow Council the opportunity to initiate the public hearing process and keep the citizenry from having to go through the alternative referendum, as provided by the state. He stated it would be a better message to the community that the Council actually moves forward and adopts this as a resolution to change the election. Council Member Reid stated he attended the opening of the Loudoun Hounds minor league baseball team which was attended by over 9,000 people. He disclosed a meeting with Landmark Commercial and Walsh Colucci regarding the Courthouse Square project on the Times Mirror property. He stated he also had a phone conversation with Bob White of Landmark Commercial in follow -up. He reminded Council to attend the March 1 and 3 meetings at Cool Spring Elementary regarding the county's plans to expand the adult and juvenile detention centers and possibly open up Kincaid Boulevard to Crosstrail Boulevard. He questioned why Supervisor Burk is suggesting a citizen's committee when the county should be putting the road money into Sycolin Road, unless the traffic study shows some measurable relief on Sycolin, Battlefield and Tavistock Drive. He discussed the new Maryland Inter County Connector. He suggested that Virginia use a similar bridge design when designing the Sycolin Road overpass. He stated he is hopeful and praying that nothing will defeat the Governor's road bill. Vice Mayor Wright disclosed a few phone calls with representatives from Walsh Colucci regarding the Courthouse Square project. Council Member Martinez commented in the Virginia Town and City Magazine there is an article about trenchless piping involving the Leesburg utilities department. Council Member Hammler stated she is looking forward to the 7 p.m. meeting at Lightfoot to continue the discussion about the downtown with the Downtown Improvement Association (DIA). She stated she received the announcement from the Journey Through Hallowed Ground announcement at Oatlands with the Secretary of Transportation. She thanked Cate, Beth and Kara at the Journey Through Hallowed Ground for helping her daughter come up with a great idea for her pre -AP History term paper about women in the Civil War and some unique things that had not yet been discovered that they had discovered. Further, she added that Alexandra, from Balch Library was helpful as well allowing Katherine to borrow some books. Council Member Butler disclosed a meeting with Landmark Commercial and Walsh Colucci regarding Courthouse Square. He stated while he echoes Council Member Reid's enthusiasm for the transportation projects that appear to be coming out of Richmond, he is concerned that by borrowing such a large amount of money the debt 19 1 Page COUNCIL MEETING February 23, 2011 service and the maintenance on the roads will end up eroding the local aid that comes from Richmond. He stated he sent Council a picture of an animal waste station he saw in another city which he suggested placing around the downtown to help pet owners alleviate the problem of pet waste. He stated his wife, Pam, is auditioning to sing the National Anthem at one of the Washington Nationals games. 17. MAYOR'S COMMENTS Mayor Umstattd disclosed a meeting with Peter Arundel, Bob White of Landmark Commercial, and Randy Minchew regarding the proposed redevelopment of the Loudoun Times Mirror site. She also disclosed a meeting with representatives of the Village at Leesburg regarding their plans to reconfigure the outlying properties around their development. She thanked Balch Library for putting on a really good documentary on the End of Massive Resistance, which was extremely well attended. She thanked the members of the I Have a Dream Committee for joining Council Members Martinez and Butler and herself at the dedication of the Martin Luther King Memorial stones project. 18. MANAGER'S COMMENTS None. 19. CLOSED SESSION None. 20. ADJOURNMENT On a motion by Council Member Martinez, seconded by Vice Mayor Wright, the meeting was adjourned at 10:47 p.m. ATTEST r r� f Clerk 2011_tcmin0223 C. mstattd, Mayor Town of Leesburg 20 1 Page