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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2004_12_13Council Work Session December 13, 2004 Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, 7:30 p.m. Mayor Umstattd presiding. Councilmembers Present: Kelly Burk, Kathryn Sheldon Hammler, Susan B. Horne, Marry Martinez, and Mayor Umstattd. Councilmembers Absent: IVlelinda Kramer and Bob Zoldos Staff Members Present: Town Manager John Wells, Town Attorney William Donnelly, Assistant to the Town Manager Nicole Ard, Assistant to the Town Manager Kathy Leidich, Chief of Police Joe Price, Director of Finance Norm Butts, Director of Planning, Zoning and Development Susan Swift, Director of Engineering and Public Works Tom Mason, Director of Parks & Recreation Kaj Dentler, Airport Director Cindi Martin, Director of Economic Development Betsy Fields, Director of the Office of Capital Projects Nagi Elsewaissi, Management/Budget Officer Mike Freda, Traffic Engineer Calvin Grow, Senior Planner Bruce Douglas, Management Intern Tami Watkins and Assistant to the Clerk of Council Debi Parry. AGENDA [TENS Agenda for Council Meeting of December :[4, 2004 a. Downtown streetscape features Town Code revision - Public Hearing Betsy Fields stated concerns were raised at the last worksession concerning the ability of owners to claim any property confiscated by the town. She stated language has been added to Section 16-31 stating any confiscated objects will be stored by the town for a time period not less than 60 days during which time the property can be claimed upon payment of any expenses incurred by the town. Ms. Fields stated staff has issued a press release and posted information on the web regarding these proposed changes. Further, Lisa Capraro has visited the downtown businesses to provide them with information and to seek comments. Further, post cards were sent to the downtown residents and property owners. Councilmember Hammler stated since Section :[6-38 states only benches and trash receptacles may be placed in the public right-of-way, is there any issue with how we define benches as opposed to other projections that you sit on? Ms. Fields stated the language could be defined further. She stated an inventory of the benches and trash receptacles in the downtown revealed that the majority of benches are town owned. Further, she stated there is no plan to remove the other benches until they can be replaced with town owned benches. Councilmember Hammler stated we should set the tone that we welcome that kind socialization and meet and greet in the downtown. Further, she stated as the town expands the historic district throughout there might be some instances where we would encourage seating, Town Council Work Session Minutes for December 13, 2004 Page 2 benches, and other types of things outside on sidewalks. Further, we may not want to be so specific as to the Old and Historic District. Ms. Fields stated she would like to address this as those instances come up. b. Changing the due date - Personal Property Tax payments - Public Hearing Norm Butts stated this is a proposal to change the Town Code to allow the town to bill for personal property tax on ,lanuary 5 and collect by .lanuary 15 moving the date back 21 days so the town has more time to collect the second part of the personal property tax billing. He stated this would increase our base year so when the state law, which caps the personal property tax, goes into effect we will have a chance recover more of that money. Councilmember Hammler stated we might want to waive the late fee for residents who already have the old due date in mind. Further, she stated if this is approved the staff should put a note in with the billing stating why the due date has changed. Mayor Umstattd thanked for Mr. Butts and Mr. Wells for being conservative and prudent. She stated her concern that residents may be budgeting already for when they are expected to pay certain types of taxes. She stated quarterly payments are due January 15; adding another payment on top of that right after the holidays may hinder their ability to pay. Further, she asked if the $25,000 amount staff is trying to capture is ever collected? Mr. Butts stated staff's estimate is that 95 percent of the tax is collected in the September billing. He stated in the second billing the town typically bills out approximately $75,000 of which $50,000 is collected. Further, based on past experience the town has an average of $25,000 written off as uncollectable; so staff is really just trying to capture the additional $50,000. Mayor Umstattd stated $25,000 is not an insignificant amount because it could be the debt service on a quarter of a million dollar bond for some public improvement. She stated she is trying to debate the merits because she is still concerned about the short notice. Further, she asked if a notice could be sent to the residents or if the late penalties could be waived legally? Mr. Butts stated he could check into the legality of waiving penalties for late payment, He stated he believes it is not possible under state law. There was further Council discussion regarding the ability to waive the penalty or assess it on the previous schedule. Councilmember Burk asked if the town would be required to keep the earlier payment date for subsequent years? Town Council Work Session Minutes for December 13, 2004 Page 3 Mr. Butts stated once the cap is set the Town Code could be amended again to return to the previous collection date. c. Ratification of an agreement to purchase 6.04:1.7 acres of land adjacent to the Leesburg Executive Airport Cindi Martin stated staff is recommending the purchase of this land to accommodate the perimeter fencing plan for the airport as well as the the future shaft for the Tnstrument landing system (ILS). She stated the cost is $299,777. Further, the project is funded 95 percent by the FAA, 3 percent by the Department of Aviation and 2 percent by the town. There were no Council comments. d. Ratification of an agreement to purchase 39.0364 acres of land adjacent to the Leesburg Executive Airport Cindi Martin stated staff is recommending the purchase of this land, which runs parallel to the runway. She stated the cost is $1,128,013.82, which is higher than the appraised value because of the impact on the owner's residual property. Further, the project is funded 95 percent by the FAA, 3 percent by the Department of Aviation and 2 percent by the town. Councilmember Horne asked what the impact on the residual property would be? Ms. Martin stated the landowner felt that there would be an impact to the usable space because he would not be permitted to construct a building of any significant height in the radius of 250 feet from the fence. Mayor Umstattd stated a recent press report on the future of the ILS system was a quote that indicated the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is dragging its feet or was not going to approve of it. She asked if that is the case because Congressman Wolf has been under the impression that the FAA would provide an ILS for Leesburg? Ms. Martin stated her experience has been that the FAA has been very responsive. Mayor Umstattd stated she and .lohn Wells attended a recent Loudoun County Board of Supervisors meeting, where she asked that when reviewing land use applications near the airport that they consider the impact that converting land to residential might have on the economic development potential for land around the airport. She stated so long as that land remains outside the town's corporate limits those citizens who move into those new homes if approved are going to have less political influence on the future development of the airport. e. Supporting membership in the High Growth Coalition Mr. Wells stated the cost for membership is estimated under Councilmember Horne asked how likely is it that the dues will stay around $1,5007 She stated one of the points they make is that they are Town Council Work Session IVlinutes for December 13, 2004 Page 4 planning to hire an executive director and are spending over $30,000 a year in legal expenses. Mayor Umstattd stated we are signing on for one year at a time and if the price goes up the town can drop out. Councilmember Hammler reminded Council of the letter received from Mayor Druhan of the Town of Purcellville urging Council's support. Transmitting to the State Corporation Commission the Town of Leesburg's objection to overhead power lines in Leesburg There was no Council discussion on this item. g. Animal Control Services agreement between Loudoun County and the Town of Leesburg Mr. Donnelly stated the courts have raised the question of the Loudoun County Animal Control Officer's authority to enforce the town's animal control laws. He stated staff has proposed an agreement between the town and the county, which would allow the county's animal control officer to continue to enforce our animal laws. Further, he stated the county is notasking that we share any costs of that enforcement. Mr. Donnelly stated the county is including a request in their legislative packet for changes in animal control laws at the state level to allow counties to enforce their ordinances within towns without having a formal agreement. Further, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has already approved the form of this agreement. Councilmember Horne expressed her concern with the county's request to amend the state law to allow counties to enforce their animal control laws within towns. Mr. Donnelly stated the proposal is that they could enforce the county's ordinance if the town has no ordinance of their own. Further, it would be the town's option to decide if they want the county's ordinance to apply or not, therefore we would not lose the ability to enforce our ordinance. Councilmember Horne stated it is her understanding that the county's animal shelter has a policy of putting down animals that display some kind of food aggression. She stated that kind of policy of putting to death a puppy whose hungry is disturbing and she would not want to see the town in a position of supporting that. Mr. Donnelly stated that is a policy of the animal shelter and not covered under the ordinance. Mr. Donnelly stated he would be happy to inform the county of the Council's concern on this issue. h. Council representation on Loudoun County Economic Development Commission Mayor Umstattd stated the county would like the designation of a primary representative and an alternate. She stated both Councilmember Horne and Councilmember Hammler have expressed interest. Town Council Work Session Minutes for December 13, 2004 Page Councilmember Hammler stated she has spoken with Councilmember Horne and they would like to work cooperatively on this and recommend that Councilmember Horne be appointed as the primary representative and she as the alternate. She stated in terms of how the resolution has historically been written the term would apply for the term of office; however, given every two years there are new Council members the term could run till the next organizational meeting in 2006. Councilmember Burk stated there may be other Councilmembers who are not in attendance and may be interested in the post. Mayor Umstattd stated that could be addressed before the vote tomorrow night. 2. Traffic calming measures for Marshall Drive at Autumn Willow Way - Standing Residential Traffic Committee report Liz Whiting, Chairman of the Standing Residential Traffic Committee, stated staff was concerned with the proposal to install the stop sign at this location because it would require the realignment of the crosswalk. She stated the committee is planning to paint a parking lane on the road to provide relief. Further, she stated the committee is proposing the installation of a speed cushion, which has been widely used in Arlington County. Ms. Whiting stated the speed cushion would act as a raised crosswalk to slow traffic and provide for an even traffic flow; however there is currently no funding. Further, she stated the committee would like to put a reliance on the speed cushions in the future. Vice Mayor Martinez stated his support for the speed cushion. He stated he would like to see this studied as an alternate solution for locations where the town has used stop signs. Councilmember Horne stated her appreciation for the committee's initiative in traveling to Arlington to explore other traffic calming options. Ms. Whiting stated Arlington County has offered to assist the town by sharing their technical specifications and expertise. Councilmember Hammler stated her support for this initiative as well as the spearheading of a strategic traffic-calming plan for the town. Mayor Umstattd verified the committee feels the use of a speed cushion on Marshall could be a good test case for other locations within the town. She asked Calvin Grow for a cost estimate for the speed cushion and if there would be any weather constraint on installation should Council approve funding? Mr. Grow stated the cost would be approximately $5,000 including the striping and signs. He stated the schedule would depend on the ability to begin installation before the end of the month. Mayor Umstattd suggested voting to approve this proposal tomorrow night. Councilmember Horne verified it would not be a problem to fund this request. Town Council Work Session Minutes for December 13, 2004 Page 6 Mayor Umstattd thanked Mr. Grow, Mr. Wells, Ms. Whiting and Ms. Sandy Kane for their involvement in this issue. A resident of Marshall Drive addressed Council stating her support for the speed cushion. She cautioned Council against painting the parking lanes on the street for fear it would increase the perception of Marshall Drive as a cut-thru street for the neighborhood. Mr. Grow stated the installation schedule would depend on the outside temperatures and it could possibly be spring before the installation could be complete. He stated staff has spoken with the Loudoun County School Board regarding the 15mph school zone speed limit, which should be installed by the end of January. Further, he stated the Loudoun County School Board is also reviewing the town's request for a crossing guard at this location. was the consensus of Council to proceed with a vote tomorrow night. 3. Mid-year financial review Mr. Wells provided an overview of the information to be included in the briefing including a draft fiscal policy, an overview of the town's debt capacity as presented by Mr. David Rose of Davenport and Company and the presentation of the mid-year financial picture and requests. Norm Butts outlined the proposed Fiscal Policy for the Town of Leesburg stating many of the goals included are current practices by the town. He stated the most important recommendations include the following proposals: (1) to increase the undesignated fund balance from 10 to :15 percent, (2) to fund 25 percent of all capital projects with financial resources other than debt, and (3) to establish a contingency fund of one and a half percent of General Fund revenues to provide for supplemental appropriations or unexpected expenditures. Further, he stated with those policies in place we would be in position to keep our current bond rating or perhaps improve it as the town moves forward. Vice Mayor Martinez asked staff to provide a comparison sheet detailing the current practices of the town versus the proposed practices. Councilmember Home verified the town does not currently have a contingency fund. Mr. Wells stated the purpose is to establish this fund within the operating budget so that items such as raised crosswalks, the Crescent District Master Plan, trolleys, and other projects that may come up during the course of the year may be funded. Mayor Umstattd asked if the total reserve would be :16.5 percent or would the :1.5 percent for the contingency fund come out of the :15 percent reserve? Mr. Butts stated the proposal is to have a 15 percent undesignated fund balance that would be kept at all times and then the 1.5 percent would be an additional appropriated contingency fund. Town Council Work Session Minutes for December 13, 2004 Page ? Mayor Umstattd stated she doesn't see anything in the document that would preclude using the Utility Fund for financing a project such as the Town Hall expansion and asked if that is indicated somewhere? Mr. Wells stated Mr. Rose mentioned last time that it would not be prohibited to use the Utility Fund for that project; however, it wouldn't be prudent given a look at the status of the Utility Fund. Further, he stated staff would not recommend using the Utility Fund to finance for that project. There was further discussion regarding the financing of the proposed town hall expansion. IVlr. Rose stated after he provided the briefing to Council in October on the General Fund and Utility Fund outlook, he and staff met to begin to look at the town's debt capacity and the identified 2005-2009 C]~P. He stated if financed properly the town should have no trouble financing the projects while keeping within the established policies. Mr. Rose provided historical and projected data regarding the total assessed value, General Fund revenues, General Fund expenditures, population trends, per capita income trends, existing government outstanding debt, existing General Fund debt service, proposed General Fund capital improvement program, existing and proposed General Fund debt service, the impact on debt ratios vs. expenditures, the impact on debt ratios vs. total assessed value, and debt vs. total personal income. Councilmember Horne thanked Mr. Rose for providing this picture of Leesburg's financial health and stability, Councilmember Hammler thanked Mr. Rose for the briefing. She stated it is important to have this information as a base line particularly considering the work the town is doing on the Comprehensive Town Plan. She asked if lVlr. Rose was making certain assumptions about new housing developments in town when compiling this information? Mr. Rose stated assessed values grow by adding new value by virtue of new housing or properties and also existing properties will increase by virtue of inflation. He stated his projections indicate that Leesburg will see growth in both areas. Councilmember Hammler stated as the town looks to the 60/40 split and the undeveloped areas of town relative to some major goals which will point to the necessity to create more jobs in the area this information will be increasingly important. She asked if property tax revenues included in the General Fund revenues report consisted of both residential and commercial? Mr. Rose stated the property tax account for both residential and commercial. Councilmember Hammler asked if the data is assuming an assessment increase from the county and that the town's tax rate would remain the same? She stated at some point the Council should consider offsetting the spike in the tax rate. Mr. Rose stated in examining data like the assessed values it is important to remember that this doesn't speak to things such as the tax rate. He stated Council's Town Council Work Session Minutes for December 13, 2004 Page 8 decisions on the tax rate will be predicated by what else the town has going forward such as recurring items. There was further discussion regarding the tax rate and other critical variables to take into consideration when discussing bond financing. Mike Freda stated as of June 30, 2004 the town had a $7,965,000 as the undesignated fund balance that can be carried over. He stated this number shows that the town is doing really well as revenues were above projections and they stayed within the expenditure timelines. He outlined the budget picture for FY 2005 and the projection for FY 2006 stating the town will have approximately $3.5 million to spend in FY 2006 after setting aside the 15 percent reserve. Vice Mayor Martinez asked if the $3.5 million would then become the contingency fund? Mr. Wells stated the contingency fund would be approximately $:150,000. There was further Council discussion regarding the upcoming budget and projects such as sidewalk and transportation improvements. Mr. Freda stated between 1996 and 2000 the town issued approximately $37 million in debt; however, in the subsequent three years the town issued only $5.5 million, which allowed the town to pay down the debt. Further, he outlined the upward trend in revenues stating the spikes will not continue. Councilmember Hammler stated if you look at the financials for Parks & Recreation it is interesting that the only line item that has a 300 percent recovery is the childcare component. Mayor Umstattd stated it would be helpful if Council had the actual dollar figures. Mr. Freda stated the increases are as follows: (:1) the cigarette tax increased from $58:1,000 in FY 03 to $:L,065,000 in FY 04; (2) the Parks & Recreation fees increased from $2.3 million to $2.8 million in FY 04; (3) the plan review fees increased from $385,000 in FY 03 to $796, 000 in FY 04; (4) and the sales tax increased from $2.9 million in FY 03 to $3.5 million in FY 04. Vice Mayor Martinez stated Council increased the plan review fees and asked if the increased revenue could be attributed to that? Mr. Freda stated the increase could be attributed in part to the fee increase. Further, he stated the meals tax revenue increased from $2.:1 million to $2.47 million in FY04. Councilmember Hammler stated the town is at the top of the market cycle as it relates to assessments and asked Mr. Wells if it would be a policy consideration to look at carrying even more than 15 percent. Mr. Wells stated the 15 percent works to address that issue. He stated staff will have to be cognizant of this once we take the step forward to approve the new Town Council Work Session Minutes for December 13, 2004 Page 9 debt; we are committed at that point to completing the included projects, whatever those projects might be. Councilmember Hammler asked when Mr. Wells would be in a position to provide Council with a direct answer as to how important it would be for this Council to take on the level of debt associated with the expansion? Mr. Wells stated in the budget worksessions staff is looking to address what the long term needs are for the organization. He stated one of the challenges in answering that question is trying to determine what the positive impact is going to be of Council's investment in the new automation system. Further, he stated a lot is going to come in to play during the budget sessions in March. Councilmember Hammler stated one of the critical things she learned in wrapping up the Planners Certification course last Thursday and Friday is that we have a solid year to review any particular application and it is very important for us to be involved in the Comprehensive Town Plan to make sure that we are looking at the long term implications from a land use perspective of where this town is heading and capturing what our policy and vision direction is as a Council. Sandy Kane, Leesburg Police Citizen Support Team, read the following letter into the record: "Since our founding in April, 1996, our team has contributed approximately 60,000 hours of volunteer service to the Leesburg Police Department and the Town of Leesburg. This service has taken many different forms. We've done yearly surveys of all the street lights in town, reporting those which are either out or malfunctioning; conducted radar traffic surveys on designated streets; assisted with administrative duties in the department; performed traffic control and foreign language translation at accident and fire scenes; conducted child identification services for thousands of children and their parents using fingerprinting or DNA typing methods; provided a uniformed foot patrol presence at town shopping centers during holidays and at our elementary schools during the sniper attacks; supported the town and the Police Department with traffic control at major special events and when storms caused power outages knocking out our traffic control signal lights; and worked closely with department patrol units in very successful neighborhood patrols." "During the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks, our personnel seamlessly supported the deployment of department personnel as they were assigned to critical posts like the FAA Control Center. When a plane crash occurred on Tudor Court, our team provided perimeter security and, as the incident continued through to the next day, we scheduled personnel to maintain the site security until released by the Federal Crash Scene :Investigator. In most of the emergency response instances, team members voluntarily responded after monitoring the emergency traffic on the Police Departments active radio channel." "After many years of discussions, the then new 800 MHz radio system was implemented in April 2002. The Support Team was advised that our 453 MHz radios would be exchanged for the new 800 MHz radios, but this exchange did not occur. Over the past several years we've acquired a total of six 800 MHz radios for the Support Team. Three are reserved for use in our patrol vehicles leaving three to be shared by the rest of the team's members during callouts and other town events. Town Council Work Session Minutes for December 13, 2004 Page 10 We recently received the support of the Police Department in requesting a one time allocation in our budget of $35,000 to purchase an additional 10 portable radios." "Due to a reduction in the cost per radio and a decline in our membership we are only seeking half of the appeal we made two years ago. Our current problem is focused on the fact that our initial request for $35,000 has been cut back during the budget review process to $:~0,000 which will only fund 3 radios. Although this would be a tremendous help during special events, it would still be insufficient to assign a radio to those members who live and work in the immediate town area. Our goal is to restore the capabilities of the team by issuing radios to members enabling them to provide real time information to the department throughout the day." "¥m appealing to you to restore our request to the full $35,000 rather than the reduced amount of $10,000. Tn previous years when we had radios then in use by the Department, our hours of support to the town averaged about 10,000 hours per year. Without assigned radios our averages have dropped off. We're no longer able to provide the additional eyes to the department on a daily basis as we have in the past. A restoration of radio's issued to the Support Team members would enable us to respond in a more meaningful manner to the many lookouts that are occurring almost daily and alert the Police Department to situations observed during the day as we travel though out the town." "The restoration of the $25,000 cut from our budget request would be a very cost effective method of enhancing assistance to our Police Department during this time of manpower shortages within the department. Your help in restoring these funds to our budget would be sincerely appreciated by the entire Support Team." Ms. Kane relayed an instance that occurred recently when she witnessed an automobile accident and without a radio was forced to call in on her cell phone. She stated this delayed the arrival of the police because her call had to be sent through dispatch. Mayor Umstattd thanked Ms. Kane for her efforts as part of the support team and for addressing Council regarding this issue. Chief Joe Price addressed Council stating he first saw this request tonight. He stated Mr. Wells had not had the opportunity to review the department's FY 06 budget request, which includes $10,000 for additional radios for the support team. He stated the Citizen Support Team is a tremendous asset to the town and we could not support the special events in town without their assistance. Chief Price stated in FY 06 the department has requested a 70 percent increase in their budget because of changes, additional vehicles, etc as well as funding for three new radios for the support team. He stated the 800megahertz radios are extremely expensive and run about $3,500 a piece. Further, the support team has a total of 7 radios. Councilmember Burk verified the support team is requesting an additional 6 radios. Councilmember Horne stated the town is very lucky to have the Citizen Support Team and she will support their request. Town Council Work Session Minutes for December 13, 2004 Page Councilmember Hammler stated Council is looking at some big picture items tonight and perhaps this may be the catalyst for a train the trainer program looking at ways to really expand this program throughout Leesburg. Further, she stated this might ultimately lead to the commission level, as we have no commission to deal with public safety. Mayor Umstattd stated she would support this request to whatever extent possible; however, she would like to give Chief Price a chance to review it. Mr. Wells outlined the list of mid-year budget requests. He stated of the $882,000 in requests the net impact to the budget is $370,000. Further, most of the requests are one-time expenditures. Vice Mayor Martinez stated the donations to the high schools should be listed as $1,000 per school. Councilmember Hammler stated she is on the board of the Loudoun Abused Woman's Shelter and was approached by the executive director with a request that the fee for use of :[da Lee be waived for a major child sexual assault conference they are having in May. Kaj Dentler stated the practice at :[da Lee has been that the department does not waive fees for anything. He stated the department has never waived fees during his nine years as director and the Parks & Recreation Commission is in support of maintaining this policy. Councilmember Hammler stated she also received a call from Peter Dunning with the Bluemont organization requesting the use of the trolley for First Night Leesburg. Mr. Wells stated staff is following up on that request. Mayor Umstattd asked what the trolley would be used for? Kathy Leidich stated Mr. Dunning has requested that the trolley be used to cover the perimeter of the event for those individuals who are not able to get around as well. She stated in the past the Virginia Regional Transportation Authority has provided a bus as an in kind donation to the event and we are waiting for a response from them as to whether or not they would agree to the use of the trolley for this. Mr. Wells outlined other requests and stated funding for a Northeast Recreation Outreach Program has been jointly requested by the Parks & Recreation and Police Departments. He stated normally a project with ongoing costs such as this would not be included in the mid-year budget; however, there are some time constraints in applying for grant funding and trying to get the program established before the end of the school year. He asked that Mr. Dentler and Chief Price to comment on this project. Mr. Dentler stated as we have trie'd to address some of the social issues in the Northeast quadrant by developing a more comprehensive approach to providing recreational opportunities to citizens in that area. He staled many of the residents in this area are unable to get to Tda Lee and may not have the funds to pay activity Town Council Work Session Minutes for December 13, 2004 Paqe 12 fees. Further, he stated this would be a comprehensive approach where we would take the recreation services to them to target children between the ages of 5 and 13. Mr. Dentler stated in working with the Police Department his staff knows which neighborhoods need to be addressed and the HOA boards that staff will be working with. He stated staff has met with the county and they are supportive of these efforts. Further, the program would require two full-time recreation staff that will be based at Ida Lee but will go out into the communities to organize the programs for the children throughout the year. Chief Price stated the department works on a community policing philosophy in all the town's neighborhoods. He stated last spring and summer there were issues where there were a lot of young people who didn't have anything to do during the evening and late evening hours. As a result of this the department worked with Douglass Community Center to organize the midnight basketball program on Friday nights, which averages 40 participants a week. Chief Price stated in order to expand this initiative we need professional recreation staff to implement these programs in the community. Vice Mayor Martinez stated his support for this program. Councilmember Burk asked if there are program objectives in place? Mr. Dentler stated they have an idea of the types of programs they would like to implement. He stated they would begin working with the homework clubs first, provide after school activities and eventually expand the program in partnership with the police and community leaders. There was further discussion regarding the future of the program and involvement with other community agencies. Mr. Wells thanked Nicole Ard, Kathy Leidich, Mike Freda, Annie Carlson, and Norm Butts for their work on the mid-year budget. 4. Verizon fiber-to-the-premises proposal Bill Donnelly stated representatives from Verizon would like to make a brief presentation to Council regarding their fiber to the premises program. He stated if the program proceeds as planned broadband would be available to virtually every residence and business in the town in a matter of months and video offerings will also be made through the same system. Further, he stated they have only applied for a cable franchise, which is the only jurisdiction we can authorize at this point. Mr. Donnelly stated from here Verizon would make a presentation to the Cable Commission as well as possibly the Tnformation Technology and Economic Development Commissions. He stated Council action on the cable franchise is anticipated for early spring. Richard Beville, Verizon representative, addressed Council. He stated in this fiber to the premises program Leesburg would be one of the first communities in the country to receive this service, which will bring broadband and other services to every home and business in the town. He stated their main business in dealing with Town Council Work Session Minutes for December :[3, 2004 Pacl_e 13 the Council would be to seek a cable franchise. Further, he stated residents now enjoy dial-up services up to 56 kilobits and this program would provide service at 30 megabits per second download and up to 5 megabits per second upload. Mr. Beville stated this would include a core cable package, which would compete with satellite services in terms of a comparison of the most popular packages out there. Additionally an analog service of 20-30 channels will also be offered. Further, he stated Verizon is working on setting their rates for the services. Vice Mayor Martinez asked about the status of this project in Falls Church? Mr. Beville stated Leesburg was behind Falls Church in the original deployment of the fiber overlay; however, Leesburg is catching up and the general availability of services will be about the same time frame. Vice Mayor Martinez stated the Cable and Tnformation Technology Commissions are interested in having broadband offered to the town, He asked if the service center would include a studio. Mr. Beville stated Verizon is not looking to replicate the current studio facilities. He stated the thought is that the channels would be carried via the internet and all would connect here at town hall, Councilmember Burk asked what the construction impact would be to the town? Mr. Beville stated it is a very capital and labor-intensive effort to go into the conduit. He stated the fiber would coil around the aerial lines and would not be noticeable. Further, he stated there are also a lot of underground lines and there have been a couple of incidents; however when you pass thousands of homes that is to be expected. Councilmember Horne stated she would be interested in working with Verizon regarding undergrounding utilities through an arrangement with the town in areas where construction is taking place and overhead lines exist. Mr. Beville stated they are currently using the aerial lines; however Verizon does try to work with the town through the voice service on that. There was further Council discussion regarding the burial of the lines. Councilmember Hammler asked if there was a ballpark base price for these services? Mr. Beville stated the only price that has been announced is the high-speed data service, which will be around $39.95; however, if you package that with other services there could be a small discount. Further, he stated the cable pricing has not been finalized. There was further Council discussion regarding the services provided and localities ability to regulate broadband services. Mayor Umstattd stated she is delighted that Verizon has decided to come here. She stated she suspects Council will hear complaints regarding construction Town Council Work Session Minutes for December 13, 2004 Page 14 and asked that Verizon do everything it can to alert the town when they suspect complaints may arise. 5. Leesburg Executive Airport safety enhancement status Cindi Martin stated the preliminary report has been released on the crash that occurred during the Thanksgiving Holiday. She stated the preliminary report from the wreckage at the scene indicates the plane was receiving power and there were no problems with fuel. She stated the pilot knew he was coming in too Iow and attempted to pull up as he was making his second approach to the airport. She stated the equipment was in good working order and the airport played no role in the crash. Ms. Martin stated many have speculated that the availability of an instrument landing system (ILS) at the airport would have prevented past crashes; however, it might further enhance the safety of the airport. She stated steps to implement the ILS have been taken thanks to the great efforts of Congressman Frank Wolf. Further, she stated the FAA's Eastern Region has programmed an ILS for the airport; however, their engineers are unable to give the town a timeline for the installation and it is believed the process will take approximately three years. There was no Council discussion on this item. 6. Downtown parking code revisions Betsy Fields stated in September the plan to implement parking code revisions was approved by Council. She stated the six sections to be revised include (1) fine schedule; (2) meter locations and limits; (3) meter hours; (4) meter rates; (5) garage regulations; and (6) garage rates. Further, she stated staff will schedule a public hearing on these proposed changes and will make the same outreach efforts that were made regarding the streetscape revisions. There was no Council discussion on this item. 7. Potential purchase of additional trolleys Kathy Leidich stated the town would have to go through the RFP process to secure an additional trolley, which would enable the town to set the specifications and ensure it is similar to the current trolley. She stated the funding, which has been secured by the Virginia Regional Transportation Authority, would require a matching amount of $36,000. Vice Mayor Martinez asked what the current ridership is on the trolley? IVls. Leidich stated there have been 1,300 riders at an average of 100 people per day. Vice Mayor Martinez asked what the ridership was on that route prior to the trolley? Ms. Leidich stated it was one of the busier routes and averaged :~,700 riders per month. She stated given the trolley has only been in service for a little over a month the numbers seemed to be in line. Town Council Work Session Minutes for December 13, 2004 Page 15 Councilmember Hammler stated Council should establish what we are trying to accomplish by bringing additional trolleys in. Mayor Umstattd asked if Council would like staff to pursue this option? Councilmember Horne stated the Economic Development Commission has discussed scheduling the trolley to visit retirement or assisted living places to bring residents to Leesburg for a day of shopping and lunch in the downtown; however, that can't be done when the town has only one trolley which operates on a fixed route. Councilmember Hammler stated she would like to see further analysis, but would be open to pursuing this next step. Councilmember Burk stated she would like to see how this works out before purchasing additional trolleys. Vice Mayor Martinez stated he would support an additional trolley; however, we need to understand what we would want to use it for. IVlr. Wells stated staff will see how the weekend service goes for the remainder of the month and they report back to Council with various options including whether we would want to replace an existing bus route or add a more specialized route. Mayor Umstattd stated it is worth finding out more information before pursuing the next step. Preview items for 3anuary 10, 2005 work session None New Business a. Councilmember Hammler stated in the interest of full disclosure quite a number of Planning Commissions and Councils around the state make the decision that they will only entertain presentations by developers as a whole. She stated this might be something that we can discuss at the retreat. Mayor Umstattd stated we shouldn't infringe on anyone's right to call a Councilmember and meet one on one if that is agreeable to the Council member or commissioner. She stated it would be her preference that individual members be allowed to make their own decision with regards to this issue. b. Councilmember Horne stated she would like to propose that in our Capital Improvements Program planning process that we build in a long term plan to underground utilities in the Historic District. Further, she asked to see a report on which boards and commissions are televising their meetings in the Council Chamber per Council's request. ¢. Councilmember Hammler asked if the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors had responded to Council's request for a joint meeting. Town Council Work Session Minutes for December 13, 2004 Page Mr. Wells stated he has not received a response and will follow up with the County Administrator's office. Councilmember Hammler stated when the meeting is scheduled she would like Council to approach it the same as was done at the state level by having a list of priorities in hand. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 11:22 p.m. 2004_tcwsmin1213