Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAbout2006_02_27 Council Work Session February 27, 2006 Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, 7:26 p.m. Mayor Umstattd presiding. Councilmembers Present: Kelly Burk, Katie Sheldon Hammier, Susan B. Horne, Marty Martinez, Bob Zoldos and Mayor Umstattd. Councilmembers Absent: Council member Kramer arrived at 8:34 pm. Staff Members Present: Town Manager John Wells, Town Attorney Barbara Beach, Assistant to the Town Manager Nicole Ard, Assistant to the Town Manager Kathy Leidich, Director of Capital Projects Management Nagi Elsewaissi, Director of Economic Development Betsy Fields, Director of Engineering and Public Works Tom Mason, Director of Finance Norm Butts, Director of Parks and Recreation Kaj Dentler, Director of Utilities Randy Shoemaker, Chief of Comprehensive Planning David Fuller, Chief of Current Planning Lee Phillips, Urban Forester Jay Banks, Recreation Programs Manager Kate Trask, Management Specialist Tami Watkins and Deputy Clerk of Council Debi Parry. AGENDA ITEMS Council Meeting of February 28, 2006: a. Enterprise Rent-a-Car joint public hearing with Planning Commission Councilmember Burk verified the issues have been addressed regarding the applicant using the new location for business. Councilmember Zoldos asked if the applicant was operating out of their new location without approval. Chris Murphy stated a field inspection was done on the site and we found that the applicant was operating and had rental cars on site. He stated a Notice of Zoning Violation was sent to the applicant on February 9. Further, he stated their previous location at Bellwood Commons had a sign to inform patrons that they would be operating out of their Virginia Village location as of January 1; however, since they received the zoning violation notice they have come into compliance. Barbara Beach stated she met with the applicant and their attorney and the next day they ceased operations at the Virginia Village site. She stated there was a miscommunication; however, once the violation was brought to their attorney's attention the operations ceased. Councilmember Zoldos stated they should've known that they could not operate without the special exception approval in place. Ms. Beach stated the miscommunication involved some confusion over the legal definition of whether they could operate an office out of the site without renting cars. Councilmember Horne stated it was her understanding that the applicant felt they had staff approval to operate their business prior to Council approval. Town Council Worksession for February 27. 2006 Page 2 Colleen Snow, attorney for the applicant, stated vehicle rentals were not taking place on site. She stated as soon as the violation was brought to their attention all business ceased at that location. Further, she stated prior to meeting with Ms. Beach and the Zoning staff there was a meeting at the Virginia Village location after which her client had the understanding that they could operate there in a limited capacity prior to Council approval. Councilmember Hammier stated it would be beneficial to have the information regarding who was involved and what was conveyed in that meeti ng. Councilmember Zoldos stated the applicant should have known there was a certain process to go through. Mayor Umstattd stated she does not support forcing businesses to shut down while in transition and asked Ms. Snow to offer her thoughts on any changes that could be made to the regulations. Councilmember Horne concurred with the Mayor's comments regarding changes to the regulations. Further, she stated we need to go back to our Zoning staff to ensure there is clarity and resolve any issues to ensure they are communicating a clear and concise message. Councilmember Zoldos asked who the staff member was who attended the meeting. Mr. Boucher stated we can discuss this in more detail tomorrow. He said that he met with the applicant twice before the application was filed and made it very clear that the special exception had to be approved before operations could begin at the new location. Further, he stated the confusion might have stemmed from a conversation between the applicant and a staff member from a different department who indicated that business could be conducted in a limited capacity. b. Supplemental appropriation for Fiscal Year 2006 funding of the Water Pollution Control Facility expansion and upgrade Mike Freda stated this is an $8.6 million amendment to the FY 2006 appropriation. He stated the cost of the project has not changed; however, the timeline has moved up. Mr. Wells clarified the money added to this years budget will be taken away from next year's budget. c. Appropriation of donation to the Community Outreach Program of the Department of Parks and Recreation Kate Trask stated Mr. Tom Rose from Leo Construction donated $2,025 for the purchase of sweatshirts for the children in the R.O.C.K. program. Mayor Umstattd asked that a certificate be prepared to thank Mr. Rose for his donation. Town Council Worksession for February 27.2006 Paqe 3 Councilmember Horne stated this is very generous of Mr. Rose. She verified 200 sweatshirts will be purchased. Councilmember Zoldos extended his appreciation to Mr. Rose for his generous donation. Councilmember Hammier asked how this donation originated. Ms. Trask stated Mr. Rose is a family friend of one of the R.O.C.K. staff members and had inquired how he could help the program. d. Approving ratification of the Town/Oaklawn Agreement as sole source procurement Nagi Elsewaissi stated this item is for completion of the Sycolin Road intersection with future Battlefield Parkway. Councilmember Horne verified the intersection should be completed this fall. Councilmember Hammier stated clearly Sycolin Road and Battlefield Parkway are top transportation priorities and thanked Mr. Elsewaissi for his work to get this completed. e. Awarding the Water Tanks design contract Mr. Elsewaissi stated this item is for the design contract for the Sycolin Road Tank and Carr Tank #2. Councilmember Zoldos stated we need the additional water storage as currently we only have a one day supply without continuous pumping. f. Public Arts Task Force final report and recommendation Mr. Jim Sisley, Public Arts Task Force, provided a report of the task force's work and their recommendation that a Public Arts Commission be formed as soon as possible. He outlined the scope of responsibilities including civic art, community art and private development art and various funding options including a one percent fee on development projects, leveraging the state's transient occupancy tax, donation programs, non-departmental state funding, grants and endowments/sponsorships. Further, he stated an amendment to the Town Code to allow for the formation of this commission would be drafted by the task force. Vice Mayor Martinez asked for information regarding the organization of the commission. He stated there are artist in the area who could also lend their expertise as advisors. Further, he thanked the Task Force members for their hard work. Mr. Sisley stated they would recommend that seven people be appointed to this commission with an ex officio member of Council and a member from the Board of Architectural Review and Planning Commission. Councilmember Burk stated this is something that has interested her and it is long overdue as the arts community can be a large economic driver. She stated the suggestions and recommendations are interesting and she looks Town Council Worksession for February 27.2006 Page 4 forward to voting on this. Further, she thanked the Task Force for their efforts. Councilmember Horne thanked the Task Force members. She verified Council would have veto powers for any project. She stated there hasn't been any discussion of performing arts and asked how the commission would be involved with other arts entities in the area. Mr. Sisley stated the Task Force felt the commission should focus on visual art because the Town already has performing art organizations. He stated this would limit any competition with these organizations for funding or volunteers. Councilmember Horne stated she would want to know what staffing and budget impacts would be associated with the commission. Further, she stated she would like an explanation of how this creates an economic impact on the Town. Mr. Sisley stated public art is an attraction and it helps build the brand for a community. He stated art creates a beautiful environment and helps to communicate the culture and character of the community. Councilmember Zoldos thanked the Task Force members for their recommendations to Council. He stated his support for the program and the incorporation of performing arts; however, the enabling ordinance should be in place before the Commission is formed. Further, he stated he would like information regarding the staffing impact and funding requirements. Mr. Sisley stated the consensus of the Task Force was to limit the scope of the commission in the beginning. Councilmember Hammier thanked the Task Force members for their efforts. She stated she would like to have this include the performing arts to create a weekend destination and drive the transient occupancy tax funding. Further, she stated having proffer guidelines will help hasten the progress. Councilmember Hammier stated as Councilmember Horne mentioned two weeks ago, Congressman Wolf is holding an informative program on federal grants on March 7th at 9:30 am. She stated it might be beneficial for a member to the task force to attend. Mayor Umstattd stated this is a very interesting proposal and she would find it helpful to look at the public art program for another locality of similar size to get a sense of what this looks like on the ground. She stated right now we have a great public art project with the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce's horses. Further, she stated she understands the desire to include performing arts; however, that might be a bit much for the commission to take on in the beginning. Council member Burk stated it is important to start small and build big. Councilmember Kramer stated this is a huge undertaking and she doesn't want to see us fail by taking on something too large in the beginning. Town Council Worksession for February 27. 2006 Page 5 For consideration and discussion: 1. Urban Forestry Management Plan - next steps Councilmember Burk stated she is very impressed and excited about the report. Councilmember Hammier thanked the Tree Commission for their hard work. She asked if there are specific recommendations for amending the Comprehensive Plan or will the Urban Forestry Management Plan simply be referred to in the Comprehensive Plan. Jay Banks stated there has not been any thought as to specific changes to the Comprehensive Plan; however, there can be a plan amendment to reference the Urban Forestry Master Plan as other documents are referenced in the Comprehensive Plan. Councilmember Hammier she stated if there is any specific language to be brought to Council regarding proffer guidelines to be able to ensure we are asking for voluntary proffers to facilitate tree planting in the Town. Further, she asked how we could create a beautiful tree lined boulevard on Battlefield Parkway. Mr. Banks stated the key will be to have early dialog concerning each segment of Battlefield Parkway as it is constructed. He stated once the Management Plan is adopted in some form we can start working towards those goals. Earl Hower, Tree Commission Chair, stated one of the four goals for the remainder of the year is to look at the adopted Management Plan and determine whether any ordinance changes that will be needed. Mayor Umstattd thanked the Tree Commission members for attending the meeting. Vice Mayor Martinez thanked the Tree Commission for their hard work and stated he looks forward to approving the plan. 2. Production of "Court &. Market Days in Leesburg" as a new annual, Town-sponsored special event Mayor Umstattd stated Morven Park had expressed some concern with a possible conflict if Court and Market Days were extended to a two-day event. She stated there was also earlier concern of a conflict with Fall Into the Arts. Further, she stated there has been some thought given to delaying the event to October 22. Ms. Fields stated no Town events are in conflict; however, staff has not looked to see what other regional events may be taking place. Further, she stated staff would need to check the availability of the reenactors and artisans. Vice Mayor Martinez stated his support for continuing this event. He stated his concern remains the fact that it has been moved from August. Councilmember Burk stated she is not sure this event will be better received in October than in August and asked if staff has looked at why it was not successful. Further, she expressed her concern for the conflict with the Morven Park event. Town Council Worksession for February 27.2006 Page 6 Ms. Fields stated it seems that as the quality of the vendors declined and as the reenactments got stale there wasn't enough attention put into the development of the event. Further, she stated we would be able to focus more on the event as we have professional event staff. Councilmember Horne stated it could be helpful to combine Fall Into the Arts and Court and Market Days. She asked how staff envisions incorporating our local culture into Court and Market Days and expressed concerns with staffing, given the Parks and Recreation staff already have another event for the proposed weekend. Ms. Fields stated that was considered and staff felt it would not be a problem to have both events in one weekend. She stated staff is excited about working with other organizations to focus this event on a different time period for trials each year. Further, she stated with the Town's anniversary coming up this is an exciting time to make this a hallmark event. Council member Zoldos stated there will be a conflict no matter what date is chosen and expressed his support for moving the event to the fall. He stated he was not present for the prior discussion of this item and would've supported an Octoberfest. Further, he stated his support for this proposal. Councilmember Hammier stated this event should not conflict with the Morven Park races. She stated her concern is that we are not considering charging admission to break even rather than funding the program with taxpayer dollars. Further, she expressed concern with staffing issues. Councilmember Zoldos stated when an event is held on public streets you can not charge admission; however, you can ask for a donation. Councilmember Hammier stated there are other ways to recoup the money through donations and partnerships. Ms. Fields stated staff looked at the issue of trying to encourage people to come given the reputation that the event has had. Councilmember Hammier asked if there are opportunities for partnerships to receive donations from the business community. Ms. Fields stated there would be opportunities for sponsorships and possibly County funding in the future; however, there is a fairly narrow window in which to decide if we will hold this event this year. Councilmember Burk questioned why staff couldn't get sponsorships by October. Ms. Fields stated it would be difficult to sell sponsorships as this is an unknown event. Mr. Wells stated staff will work to find money and volunteers for the event; however, if we are going to do this we should to have the needed funds at our disposal in case we have to fund the program ourselves. There was further Council discussion regarding fees and the impact to the Town Council Worksession for February 27.2006 Page 7 downtown businesses. Councilmember Hammier asked that we reach out to the County for funding. Mr. Wells stated we could reach out to the County. He stated we were recently successful in securing $3 million from the County for Battlefield Parkway. There was further Council discussion regarding the timing for a vote. Mr. Dentler stated we can wait until next year for this program. He stated he doesn't see the conflict with Morven Park and the weather may be colder if we go into late October. Further, he stated the historical and heritage component is the key aspect in marketing and we need to get the kids involved. It was the consensus of Council to consider the item tomorrow night. For information only: Preview items for March 13, 2006 work session a. Greenway Agreement There was no discussion of this item. New Business a. Harrison Park Wade Burkholder stated there have been changes to the application package since the last meeting including a reduction of 20 units and a decrease in density to 29.8 dwelling units per acre. He stated the proffers have changed to reflect a $7,762 per unit cash contribution, which meets the school facility capital cost gUidelines and an offsite transportation proffer of $1 million to comply with the Town Plan. Further, he stated all issues have been met and signed proffers will be presented tomorrow night. Councilmember Zoldos verified staff will be recommending approval with conditions. Vice Mayor Martinez thanked the staff and applicant for working on these issues. Councilmember Burk asked for the timeline on this process as Council would not want to vote until they have seen the proffers in written form. Mr. Burkholder stated he has a copy of the proposed proffers that could be given to Council tonight. He stated staff will recommend that the vote go forward tomorrow night if Council is comfortable with the changes. Councilmember Horne commended the applicant for working with the Town stating they have shown and demonstrated a good faith effort to work with the community. She stated the quality of what is proposed will put Leesburg on the map in terms of redevelopment opportunities. Councilmember Zoldos thanked the applicant for working with the Town and stated this development will be a model for other communities. Town Council Worksession for February 27.2006 Page 8 Councilmember Hammier thanked the applicant for working with Council and staff to minimize and mitigate the impact. She suggested making an effort to communicate the positive benefits we see as a Council as some residents have concerns with the traffic impact. Rob Mitchell, Mitchell and Best Homebuilders, stated he and his team will have some comments tomorrow night to address some of these changes and to answer any questions Council may have. Closed Session a. On a motion by Mayor Umstattd, seconded by Council member Burk, the following motion was proposed: Pursuant to Section 2.2-3711(A)(7) of the Code of Virginia, I move that the Leesburg Town Council convene in a closed meeting for discussion of litigation involving Centex. The motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Burk, Hammier, Horne, Kramer, Martinez, Zoldos and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 7-0 Council convened in closed session at 9: 16 pm. Council reconvened in open session at 10:17 pm. On a motion by Mayor Umstattd, seconded by Vice Mayor Martinez, the following motion was proposed: In accordance with Section 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia, I move that Council certify that to the best of each member's knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under the Freedom of Information Act and such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard, discussed or considered in the meeting by Council. The motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Burk, Hammier, Horne, Kramer, Martinez, Zoldos and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 7-0 Adjournment On a motion by Councilmember Burk, seconded by Vice Mayor Martinez, the meeting adjourned at 10:17 pm.