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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2006_09_25 Council Work Session September 25, 2006 Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, 7:37 p.m. Mayor Umstattd presiding. Councilmembers Present: Kelly Burk, Susan Horne, Marty Martinez, Ken Reid, Kevin Wright and Mayor Kristen Umstattd Councilmembers Absent: Council Member Hammier arrived at 8:23 p.m. Staff Present: Town Manager John Wells, Town Attorney Barbara Beach, Assistant to the Town Manager Nicole Ard, Assistant to the Town Manager Kathy Leidich, Chief of Police Joe Price, Finance Director Norm Butts, Director of Capital Projects Management Nagi Elsewaissi, Director of Economic Development Betsy Fields, Director of Planning, Zoning and Development Susan Swift, Director of Engineering and Public Works Tom Mason, Deputy Utilities Director Aref Etemadi, Zoning Administrator Brian Boucher, Planner Chris Murphy, Downtown Coordinator Lisa Capraro, Law Clerk Erin Preston, Management Specialist Tami Watkins and Deputy Clerk of Council Debi Parry. AGENDA ITEMS Council Meeting of September 26, 2006 a. Town Plan Amendment Process - Public Hearing. Barbara Beach stated the ordinance outlines how the Town Plan is to be amended. She stated it will provide Council with several options that were not open before. There was no Council discussion of this item. b. Amending and reordaining Zoning Ordinance Subsection 6.4.3 (Density IIntensity and Dimensional Standards) of Section 6.4 (B- 2, Established Corridor Commercial District) Article 6 (Nonresidential Districts), all of the Zoning Ordinance of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia 2003, as amended. Barbara Beach stated this was one of the 39 Zoning Ordinance amendments heard on September 12 and was given special priority because there is an urgent need for it. She stated this removes the densities from the hotels in the B-2 District. Council Member Wright asked when the remaining ordinances would be placed on the agenda for action. Ms. Beach stated the remaining ordinances will appear on the next agenda. Council Member Reid stated the Chairman of the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) expressing concern that they were not given an opportunity to review the proposed ordinances prior to review by the Planning Commission. Ms. Beach stated the Planning Commission was concerned that the BAR have input so their process was stopped to allow the BAR ample time to review the proposals. Town Council Work Session of September 25. 2006 Page 2 c. Approving a supplemental appropriation for Leesburg Standing Residential Traffic Committee calming projects and for legal expenses associated with the Virginia Power legal proceedings. John Wells stated these are carryover appropriations from the previous fiscal year and there is sufficient fund balance for these projects. Vice Mayor Horne stated she would like the public to be aware of how much the Town has invested in the power line issue. Mr. Wells stated to date the Town has invested approximately $180,000; however, that does not include any costs for the development of briefs, expert witnesses nor the work yet to be done. d. Approving Change Orders No. 10 &. 11 for design of the Sycolin Road Widening Phase II. Nagi Elsewaissi stated Phase I of the project is currently under construction and Phase II construction should begin in 2008. Vice Mayor Horne verified the funds are available within the project budget. Council Member Wright verified staff can authorize change orders up to the amount of $50,000. e. Review of Proposed Charter and setting a public hearing. Barbara Beach stated staff has prepared a draft of the charter bill including an amendment to correct the issue of payment for the Planning Commission members. She stated staff recommends that Council authorize staff to advertise a public hearing to allow for public comment. Council Member Wright stated this is rushed and we have put more in this document than may be needed. He suggested addressing the affordable housing and form based zoning provisions without the other amendments. Council Member Reid suggested the proposed document be submitted to an advisory commission of former Mayors, Council Members and Town Managers to review. He stated he has significant questions about some of the changes and concurred with Council Member Wright's comments. Mayor Umstattd concurred with Council Member Wright's concerns and suggested holding a work session dedicated to this topic. Further, she stated she would support moving forward with the affordable housing and form based zoning issues. Council Member Burk suggested it would be better to put the entire charter out for public comment before we decide how to proceed. Council Member Reid stated we had several input sessions on the Town Plan with extensive outreach to the community. Further, he expressed concern that this proposed charter takes power away from Council. There was further discussion regarding the public input process. Town Council Work Session of September 25. 2006 Page 3 Ms. Beach stated our charter and code have not been revised in thirty years. She stated we issued a contract to Municode to help us recodify our Town Code and it is important to have our charter set so that we don't have to go through the process twice. Council Member Wright expressed support for the Mayor's suggestion to have a special work session. Council Member Martinez suggested a subcommittee of two to three members to review the charter. Vice Mayor Horne stated if we focus our efforts on deconstructing this and building it back up we will not meet the deadline for the next General Assembly session. Mayor Umstattd asked if there would be consensus to just send the workforce housing and form based zoning provisions forward. Ms. Beach suggested moving the development agreements provision forward. Council Members Wright and Reid and Mayor Umstattd concurred with moving just the three items forward for public hearing. Vice Mayor Horne stated we are hearing from our Town Attorney that our Town Charter is 30 years out of date. She stated after reading the proposed charter she did not feel that Council was giving its powers away, rather she felt that it gave Council more authority. Council Member Burk concurred with Vice Mayor Horne's comments. Council Member Reid expressed his concern that the proposed ordinance establishes criteria for the removal of a council member. He suggested circulating this document to former Council Members such as Bob Sevila and placing the document on the website for citizen comment. Mayor Umstattd recommended moving forward with workforce housing, form based zoning and development agreement issues. Vice Mayor Horne asked how the Town could be effected by operating under an antiquated Town Code. Ms. Beach stated under our current charter we have almost no powers and are limited to what the State Code gives us. Further, she stated staff compiled sections from five other jurisdictions in this proposed charter amendment so Council could see what powers other jurisdictions have. Council Member Wright asked if we pull these three items out and go through the process to discuss the other items for next year, do we run the risk of facing more opposition the second time around. Town Council Work Session of September 25. 2006 Page 4 Ms. Beach stated charter bills are difficult because they require a higher vote of the General Assembly. Further, she stated charter bills are so labor intensive that she would recommend that we only do one every five years. Vice Mayor Horne suggested that we take the entire document to public hearing because we can always take items out that we are not comfortable with after hearing from the public. There was further discussion of this issue. It was the consensus of Council to vote on the issue of setting a public hearing tomorrow night. f. Authorizing the issuance of a request for proposal (RFP) to allow the Town Manager to receive bids for the sale of the Town's Cedar Walk Property. Nicole Ard stated Council has held the public hearing and staff would like direction as to whether or not we should sell this property. Mayor Umstattd asked if the issue of work force housing would have to be addressed in the request for proposal (RFP). Ms. Ard stated the Town Attorney is conducting research into provisions other jurisdictions have included in land sales including work force housing and other areas Council may wish to consider. Vice Mayor Horne stated she has no problems in sending this forward. Mayor Umstattd asked if Council needs to give direction as to whether there should be a workforce housing cost provision. Vice Mayor Horne asked how many housing units would be included in this development. Ms. Ard stated there would be two duplex units constructed. Ms. Beach stated Council needs to indicate what they wish in terms of income levels for the workforce housing. She stated she would also recommend placing a clause in the deed so that if the property is not used for work force housing it would come back under the control of the Town. Vice Mayor Horne questioned how fair it would be to require work force housing in such a small development. Mr. Wells recommended indicating Council's interest in work force housing, but not requiring it. He stated the likely development that would occur in this neighborhood would be more affordable than units elsewhere. Ms. Beach stated Council could put a condition that the property be developed with four units versus one large unit. Mayor Umstattd stated we have received two citizen comments in opposition to this project. Town Council Work Session of September 25, 2006 Page 5 Council Member Martinez stated it will be difficult to implement work force housing in Leesburg, especially on such a small parcel. He asked how Loudoun County handles the issue of affordable housing and could developers pay money in lieu of constructing affordable housing units. Mr. Wells stated the developer could pay-in by proffers; however the County has a formula for how many affordable units should be constructed based on the size of the development. Further, he stated in our proposed charter bill we are basing our language on the County's program. Council Member Wright expressed support for moving forward with the request for proposal and indicating interest in work force housing. Council Member Reid stated he is comfortable in moving forward. Further, he stated the Town could've proceeded with the transaction regarding the Andover Meadows proposal which would have provided more land for work force housing and more revenue to the Town. g. Authorizing staff to implement holiday parking promotions in the Historic Downtown. Betsy Fields stated staff is recommending that Council authorize the implementation of the holiday downtown parking promotions including free meter and garage parking through the holiday season. Ms. Fields stated the proposal has been officially endorsed by the Economic Development Commission. Further, she stated staff does not recommend enforcing time limits for on street parking given that we want to encourage people to stay longer, shop longer and spend more money. Ms. Burk stated her initial concern is that we have finally gotten the parking program to where we are not receiving complaints and now we are going to change it again; however, she will support the staff and Economic Development Commission's recommendations. Vice Mayor Horne stated this is a wonderful outreach program. She asked that the program be well advertised as there is a big perception that parking is difficult in Leesburg. Council Member Martinez expressed support for the program and asked for an analysis of revenue lost in parking fees versus the economic gain generated by the program. Council Member Hammier stated she would appreciate an update on the Village at Leesburg proffered Class A office study. Ms. Fields stated she spoke with Eddie Byrne last week who is well aware that KSI is required to initiate that study by November of this year. Council Member Wright stated overall the program is good; however, last year there was an issue with abuse of the on street parking. He suggested providing a tool for the Town Manager to address the issue of frequent abuse. Council Member Reid asked that the parking enforcement staff chalk tires during this period to determine how many motorists are in a metered spot Town Council Work Session of September 25. 2006 Paqe 6 more than two hours. He stated this provides an excellent opportunity to gather data to determine if a permanent two hour restriction would be more effective than parking meters. Further, he suggested having the parking meter bags read "Shoppers Only Please" to increase compliance. Mayor Umstattd stated both local news papers indicated last year's effort was a failure because downtown employees abused the free parking. She stated this does give us an opportunity to promote the downtown which will outweigh the negative. Further, she suggesting having the parking meter bags read "Shoppers and Diners Only Please". Ms. Fields stated staff had planned to use the bags from last year; however new bags could be ordered if it is the desire of Council. It was the consensus of Council to use the bags from last year. h. Joining Congressman Frank R. Wolf in expressing opposition to increased tolls for the Dulles Greenway. Vice Mayor Horne asked that this be forwarded to the State Corporation Commission should it be approved by Council. She requested adding language to ask that Trip II reinstitute the discounts for frequent users. Further, she stated Congressman Wolf stated this year there are 64,000 vehicle trips on this road and in 2025 there are projected to be 230,000 users of this Greenway. Council Member Martinez stated he would like to endorse Senator Herring and Delegate Poisson's amendment to give tax discounts to toll road users. Council Member Hammier stated there needs to be an aggressive way to create incentives for individuals who are carpooling. She recommended adding a section in the resolution asking that tolls be waived for HOV-2 or HOV-3 users. Council Member Wright stated he supports this action; however, he would recommend that if this is to be sent to the State Corporation Commission we should pass the original resolution and a second resolution covering the amendments that have been mentioned. He suggested adding the list of opposition to the resolution including Congressman Wolf, Senator Herring, Delegate Dave Poisson and the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. Further, he suggested adding language to the resolution indicating Congressman Wolf's request that a public hearing be held in Loudoun County. It was the consensus of Council to submit one resolution directed to the State Corporation Commission and another with the proposed amendments. Council Member Reid concurred with Vice Mayor Horne's request to reinstate the smart tag discount. He stated he was asked by Delegate Poisson to send an email to the House Finance Committee because the General Assembly will be voting on Delegate Poisson's bill tomorrow. Further, he expressed support for Council Member Hammier's comments regarding carpooling and stated the Town could work with the County to encourage slugging. Town Council Work Session of Seotember 25. 2006 Page 7 i. Supporting the Northern Virginia General Assembly delegation effort for a broad-based transportation funding plan for Northern Virginia. Council Member Burk stated she is pleased to support the legislation as a whole rather than a particular proposal. Vice Mayor Horne expressed her support of transportation funding that stays in Northern Virginia rather than being filtered through Richmond to other parts of the state. Council Member Martinez stated the proposed legislation mentions light synchronization improvements on Route 7 and spot improvements between the Loudoun County sideline and the Fairfax County boarder. He stated given Leesburg is the crossroads of Northern Virginia he would have a hard time supporting a bill that only gives us two line items that have nothing to do with internal Loudoun County. Council Member Burk stated we are only supporting the idea, not the actual bill. Council Member Hammier stated she supports a succinct resolution addressing Northern Virginia transportation funding; however, she feels economic development and being able to scale transportation to allow those who live here to work here is key to our future. Council Member Wright stated in supporting this he would want to be sure that a proportionate share of the funding comes back to the cities, towns and counties. Council Member Reid stated Vice Mayor Horne showed great leadership in bringing forward this item which addresses the RustjAlbojMay compromise. Council Member Burk stated this resolution does not address that particular bill, it only supports the idea in general. Council Member Reid suggested adding language to state we are concerned there may not be sufficient funds for Loudoun or the Town of Leesburg and we urge our delegates and senators to support a fair revenue sharing method. He stated he would also like to add his concern that there is an excessive amount of money going to Metro and VRE, which is designed mainly to getting the funds that Congressman Davis wants Congress to appropriate. Council Member Reid stated today there was a shocking revelation on the internet that the president of the transit workers union for Metro is a member of a group called the Progressive Labor Party which advocates the violent overthrow of the United States Government and he is using his position as union president to advocate for a communist position. He stated he would not want that in the resolution; however, it is important that Council understand that there is an excessive amount of money going to Metro and VRE. Town Council Work Session of Seotember 25, 2006 Page 8 Mayor Umstattd stated it was wise to make this a generic resolution. She stated Council Members Wright and Reid are correct in asking that this be amended to ask that Leesburg get proportionate funding. Vice Mayor Horne stated the language should be added alluding to the fact that this is one of the fastest growing jurisdictions in the United States and we are impacted by major traffic congestion. For consideration and discussion: 1. Crosstrail/Ridgewater Update John Wells stated the next Joint AADP meeting is scheduled for October 2, 4:30 pm at the Loudoun County Government Center. He stated there is also a meeting with the Historic District Residents Association this Wednesday. Further, he stated the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors public hearing will occur in November. Barbara Beach stated section K of the AADP documents states that the Town and County have to agree to the extension of water and sewer into the LAMP area. She stated there is a following section that refers to the infrastructure; however, that provision expired in 1994. She stated she and the County Attorney are trying to establish whether the language in section K still prevails today. Council Member Wright stated there is language in the AADP that indicates the Town is the exclusive provider in Cattail Branch and west of Goose Creek. He asked if it is the County's position that this particular provision has also expired. Ms. Beach stated that provision has not been discussed. She stated that particular amendment is where we narrowed the LAMP area in exchange for us being the provider of water on one side of Goose Creek while the County would provide it to the other side. 2. Cornwall Campus Medical Center - Ayr Street Connection. Tom Mason stated staff recommends that Council consider the request from the developer of this 100,000 square foot medical office building to defer the requirement to construct a connection to the existing end of Ayr Street to the north side of the site. Further, he stated staff has spoken with Inova-Loudoun Healthcare, Inc. who has agreed to include the street connection in their master plan for future expansion of the medical campus. Mayor Umstattd verified Council can take action to defer the through street connection. She stated she is trying to anticipate how the neighborhood would feel about a through street as this could increase traffic on Memorial Drive and Ayr Street. Mr. Mason stated this would not be a convenient cut-through as traffic would have to wind through the parking lot at this site to get from one portion of Ayr Street to the other. Liz Whiting, Leesburg Standing Residential Traffic Committee Chairman, stated the Committee feels it is beneficial to have more traffic outlets to preserve the Town's transportation grid system. Council Member Burk expressed support for deferring this connection. She Town Council Work Session of September 25. 2006 Paqe 9 stated she does not see why this particular project should include the connection, rather it should be included with the hospital redevelopment. Vice Mayor Horne concurred with Council Member Burk's comments. Council Member Martinez asked if staff has received feedback from the residents of Ayr Street. Mr. Mason stated we have not had direct communications with them. Council Member Wright stated Council received a petition asking that Ayr Street not be opened. Council Member Martinez stated his support for deferring the issue. Council Member Hammier stated it does appear once you make these connections you are opening yourself up to cut through traffic. She asked if it is possible to ask for cash in lieu of building this connection to support traffic calming measures. Mr. Mason stated that would eliminate the possibility of the connection and staff would not recommend that option. Ms. Beach stated a by-right subdivision basically means that they have a right to develop the property, but they would only have to correct anything specifically related to what they are doing. She stated there is a good chance that if this whole site is redeveloped it will be by-right and there may not be another project down the road that Council will have purview over once this medical center is constructed. Mr. Mason stated the applicant is constructing a traffic light at the intersection of Memorial Drive and Market Street. Council Member Hammier stated she does not support the additional traffic lights as they will cause more congestion on North King Street, North Street, Memorial Drive and Market Street. She stated she would support holding a public hearing on this matter. Council Member Wright verified the light at Memorial Drive and Market Street will be constructed at the developer's expense. He asked if there are any other traffic improvements they will be providing. Mr. Mason stated the only other improvements will be internal traffic circulation. He stated the Town has an existing proffer from Loudoun County for the traffic signal at North King Street and North Street. Council Member Wright stated he would support deferring the connection. Council Member Reid asked if this connection will add traffic to Memorial Drive. Mr. Mason stated the traffic study shows that if the connection is made it will reduce traffic on Memorial Drive. Town Council Work Session of September 25. 2006 Paqe 10 Council Member Reid asked the cost of this connection. Mr. Mason stated the estimated cost for the road construction is $20,000 to $30,000; however, there is a large culvert that will need to be put in to maintain storm drainage which will be quite expensive. There was further discussion regarding the cost of the project and whether the connection should be deferred. Council Member Reid suggested referring the issue to the Residential Traffic Committee. Mayor Umstattd stated she would support deferring this connection as this is not the application that should be burdened with this project. Dr. Michael Kavanagh, applicant, stated the building is 98 percent leased by physicians who will be paying taxes to the Town. He asked that Council defer the connection requirement to facilitate the construction of this medical facility. Further, he stated he thought this application was close to approval and did not realize that a fourth submission would be needed. There was further Council discussion regarding the timing of a vote on this item. Susan Carol, CEO Inova Loudoun Hospital, stated they are currently undergoing a master planning process for both campuses and plan to submit plans for expansion in 10 to 12 months. David Orr, project manager for the medical building, stated the traffic study showed an acceptable level with the installation of the traffic signal at Memorial Drive and Market Street and without the connection of Ayr Street. Vice Mayor Horne asked how this project reached the point where the applicant felt their submitted plan addressed staff's prior concerns; however, staff feels the plan still has significant deficiencies. Mr. Mason stated he does not know what information the applicant has received from their engineer. He stated based on the written comments staff reviewed with their engineers and yet were not addressed in the plan received today. Ms. Beach stated it is her experience that staff tends to have a quick turn around on their review and comments; however, it often takes the private engineering firms months to resubmit. Dr. Kavanagh stated he is not complaining about how long the process has taken; however, he would like to see the Ayr Street connection deferred. Council Member Martinez verified there will be new businesses generated by the project. He questioned the need to refer this issue to the Standing Residential Traffic Committee. Mayor Umstattd stated any member of Council could make a motion on this tomorrow night. Town Council Work Session of September 25. 2006 Paqe 11 Mayor Umstattd recognized Ms. Nancy Gourley from the Loudoun County Transportation Office. Ms. Nancy Gourley provided Council with an update on the construction sites of the permanent park and ride lot on Sycolin Road. She stated the lot is under design and the timeline for completion is 12 months. Council Member Reid asked when the lease for the temporary site on the Barber and Ross property would expire. Ms. Gourley stated the lease is ongoing; however, the special exception will expire soon. 3. Cedar Walk neighborhood issues Mayor Umstattd stated she and Mr. Wells met with Mr. Valis last week. Ms. Ard provided Council with background information on permit parking regarding the concerns Mr. Valis raised during the public hearing at the last Council meeti ng. Councilmember Burk asked Mr. Valis' response after meeting with Mayor Umstattd and Mr. Wells. Mr. Wells stated Mr. Valis indicated he would follow-up with a letter to Council regarding his suggestions for how the permit parking program could work. He stated he also informed Mr. Valis that staff could recommend a permit parking survey after the capital project on Fort Evans Road is complete. Mayor Umstattd stated Mr. Valis was under the impression that Council could put in permit parking where ever requested; however, she informed him that it is a matter of State law. Further, she stated she had informed Mr. Valis that if he sent a letter requesting a change to the permit parking procedure that Council would lobby the state legislature to give the authority to the governing bodies. Vice Mayor Horne commended staff for making it a priority to raise the level of involvement in the northeast part of Town. She stated this neighborhood is in transition with the commercial development and capital projects and her hope is that the Town will continue to work with the neighbors in a proactive way. Council Member Hammier asked what steps staff has taken to ensure that information is communicated directly to the residents should this question arise again. Mr. Wells stated as the capital project comes to conclusion we are sending bi- weekly newsletters and staff intends to include information in that forum to reach the residents. Council Member Hammier commented on the need for beautification efforts in some of the Town's neighborhoods. Further, she commented on lessons learned from some of the issues facing the Town of Herndon and what Leesburg can do to be proactive in those areas. Ms. Ard stated Town staff has worked with staff from the Town of Herndon Town Council Work Session of September 25. 2006 Page 12 over the past year and shared information on projects such as Keep Leesburg Beautiful. Council Member Wright stated he was concerned by some of the underlying emotion in Mr. Valis' comments to the Council regarding some of his issues with potential crime in the neighborhood. He asked if Mr. Valis believes the community policing officers are involved in the neighborhood. Mr. Wells stated Mr. Valis has been very complimentary of the community policing officers. Chief Joe Price stated the community policing officer for this neighborhood has been very involved in this community and has been proactive in addressing crime in the neighborhood. Council Member Reid expressed appreciation that the Citizens Support Team was asked to conduct a parking study in the neighborhood. He verified staff does not feel there is need for additional policing in this neighborhood. Council Member Reid relayed a recent incident in front of the Talley Ho Theatre where there were a number of teens running in and out of the theatre and sitting on parked cars. He stated there were no police officers on the scene and suggested a greater police presence in the downtown on the weekends. Mayor Umstattd stated she tries to encourage her neighbors to call the police when they observe a problem. She stated the Historic District currently receives twice the police resources that its crime rate and number of calls justify. 4. Extraterritorial Subdivision Jurisdiction Ms. Beach stated as part of the annexation agreement and the AADP Council agreed to a provision in 1982 that we would not ask for extraterritorial subdivision jurisdiction. She stated that provision has expired and under state law Council has the right to apply the Town's subdivision regulations to a radius of two miles outside the Town limits. Further, she recommended referring the matter to the Planning Commission for recommendation. Council Member Burk stated she would support referring the matter to the Planning Commission. Vice Mayor Horne verified this would allow the Town to have a say in any aspect of a subdivision covered by our subdivision ordinance. Mayor Umstattd verified if the Board of Supervisors does not wish to grant us this power that the matter would be referred to a judge. She asked if there is a set period of time in which the Board must decide on this issue. Ms. Beach stated the statute does not mention a specific length of time so the standard would be a reasonable about of time. Council Member Hammier stated she had discussed this issue with the Town Attorney previously and was told the ministerial control had no teeth behind it. She stated if a resolution is passed and sent to the Board of Supervisors she would like to preface it by mentioning that we have received no response from them Town Council Work Session of Seotember 25. 2006 Page 13 regarding our request for a boundary line adjustment. Ms. Beach stated ministerial control regulations do have teeth to them. Council Member Hammier stated she received a very different response to this issue a couple of years ago. Council Member Wright stated his recollection is similar to Council Member Hammier's. He stated it was his understanding that the subdivision ordinances do not address the use assigned to the land, rather it addresses how the land is divided. Ms. Beach stated how a developer uses the land can also affect traffic and drainage. Council Member Wright asked if there is a material difference between our subdivision ordinance and the County's. Ms. Beach stated there should not be significant differences between the requirements of both ordinances; however, there may be differences in how they are interpreted by the different jurisdictions. Council Member Wright stated he is skeptical that this could help; however, he asked that we compare our zoning ordinance with the County's zoning ordinance as part of this review. S. Recommendation to the AADP Committee regarding Proffer #10 of TLZM-2004-0005 Village at Leesburg Mr. Wells stated staff's recommendation that Council not amend the AADP in this case to ensure the full $2.1 million will be available from this proffer to be distributed between the County and the Town. He stated if the AADP is amended the Town will receive a larger payment; however, the County will not receive their portion. Further, in ensuring the County gets a share of the proffer the Town would work with the County to use the funding for transportation improvements to benefit both jurisdictions. Ms. Beach stated there are three options (1) not amend the AADP and ask that the County use the $2.1 million for Russell Branch Parkway or Battlefield Parkway, (2) amend the AADP so the County gets nothing and the Town gets $1.2 million for transportation improvements, or (3) the Town could apply excess densities and thereby we would only owe $1.1 million to Loudoun County and leave the remainder of the money to the Town. Mayor Umstattd verified staff supports option one. Council Member Wright verified if we use our density credits then we would owe $1.1 million to Loudoun County; however, if the density credits are not used then the Town would owe $2.1 million. Council Member Martinez stated options two and three guarantee the Town will get money; however, there is no guarantee the Town would get money under option one. Town Council Work Session of September 25. 2006 Page 14 Council Member Hammier expressed the need to legally ensure the County would use the money for Battlefield Parkway or Russell Branch Parkway. She verified the KSI developer is asking that the AADP committee amend the agreement. Council Member Wright stated the proffer reads, "The applicant agrees to pay $2.1 million to the Town to offset any payments owed to the County under the annexation agreement". He stated the only thing we can do with the $2.1 million is to pay the County under the annexation agreement; however, we can have a separate agreement with them to establish specific projects to receive this funding. Ms. Beach stated the other option is to apply our density credits and only pay the County $1.1 million, which would leave us with $1 million for future annexation credits. There was further discussion regarding the intent of the proffer. Council Member Reid verified the County does not have to use the $2.1 million for transportation improvements to benefit the Town. He verified Board of Supervisor approval would be required to amend the AADP agreement. Eddie Byrne, KSI, stated the purpose of this proffer was to protect the Town against any monies due to the County under the AADP. He stated in the event that no money was owed to the County, it was the intent of the proffer to offset any additional transportation needs above the proposed interchange and additional $10 million in proffers. Councilmember Hammier asked how we could legally bind the County to use the $2.1 million for a Leesburg related transportation improvement. Ms. Beach stated if the matter would be referred to the Annexation Committee who, if they agree, would send the matter forward to the Board of Supervisors and Town Council for approval. She stated if the Annexation Committee does not agree then the Town would be left with the question of whether or not to use our residential credits for this project. Mr. Mike Banzhaf, attorney for the applicant, stated when drafting the proffer a statement was made that there was no money for capital facilities and the applicant said in this proffer that they would honor Council's newly adopted resolution regarding the capital facilities cost to offset the cost of new schools. Ms. Beach stated the proffer only refers to the transportation costs under the AADP. Mr. Byrne stated the first paragraph of that proffer discusses whether the applicant is required to pay the capital facilities cost for new schools under Council's newly adopted resolution. He stated the first paragraph ensures the applicant is only required to pay the capital facilities costs for the schools and the second paragraph discusses the money for the schools under the AADP agreement. Ms. Beach stated the AADP payments are not limited to schools, it can also include transportation improvements. Town Council Work Session of September 25. 2006 Page 15 Mr. Banzhaf stated if you read the AADP agreement regarding this payment for excess residential you find that it is more focused on schools. He stated the intent of the proffer was to cover any monies the Town made be required to pay to the County related to this project. Councilmember Burk stated it is her recollection that when this project was approved she was told that there would be no money proffered for the schools because this project includes an active adult community. It was the consensus of Council to take no action on this item and to pursue an agreement with Loudoun County pertaining to the use of the $2.1 million. 6. Board of Architectural Review Compensation Mr. Wells stated at the last meeting some Council Members indicated a desire to have a discussion regarding a potential increase in the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) compensation to the level received by the Planning Commission. He stated if it is the desire of Council to amend the Town Code a public hearing would be required. Mayor Umstattd questioned whether the Council could approve an increase for the sitting BAR. Ms. Beach stated Council is allowed to increase the stipend for the sitting BAR because it does not effect the Council's stipend. Mayor Umstattd stated that is not the same philosophy that was followed by the Council in the late 1980's and early 1990's who voted to decrease their own pay and later voted to increase it. She asked to see the state statute before voting on this item. Council Member Burk stated the BAR puts in as much time as the Planning Commission and it is a difficult job. She verified this does not provide pay for the Councilmanic representative. Council Member Wright stated Council had asked the Planning Commission to look into this issue and the Planning Commission recommended that the BAR pay be increased as their workload has doubled. Council Member Reid expressed support for this proposal and stated we need to look at reducing the work load of the BAR. He stated he will report tomorrow on items that have occurred with the KSI interchange. 7. Town Council Retreat Agenda Council Member Hammier stated she would like Council to discuss other items to be discussed with the Board of Supervisors in addition to the issue of annexation. 8. Preliminary FY06 Estimate of Fund Balance Norm Butts stated the numbers in this report are unaudited as the fiscal year just closed on June 30. He stated we ended FY 2006 with a fund balance of $13.7 million and of that amount $754,000 is reserved including the $700,000 reserved for revenue stabilization and the 15 percent for our reserve leaving $7.2 million. Town Council Work Session of September 25. 2006 Paqe 16 Further, he stated the audit should be completed by December 1 at which time the additional funds will be available for one time expenditures under our fiscal policy. Council Member Wright suggested waiting till the annual budget process to determine what to do with the surplus. Council Member Reid asked if the additional funds have to be used for a capital improvement project or could it be used for a tax rebate. Mr. Butts stated he would hope that Council would adhere to its fiscal policy of using the money for non-recurring expenditures. Council Member Reid concurred with Council Member Wright's comments. Mr. Wells stated there may be a potential refunding opportunity in the next couple of weeks given the current interest levels, which could result in a potential long-term savings to the Town of about $600,000. Mayor Umstattd stated we should not agree to spend any of the money until we receive a briefing on next year's budget outlook. Mayor Umstattd stated Ms. Beach has researched the State Code and determined the Council has the authority to increase its pay without waiting for the next election because we are a Council with staggered terms. Vice Mayor Horne clarified Council has not plans to increase its pay as we are only looking to increase the pay of the BAR. For information only: The Town Council work session of October 10, 2006: a. Amending the Town Code to allow Water and Sewer Availability Fees to be paid in installments - public hearing There was no discussion of this item. b. Meter based availability fees There was no discussion of this item. New Business: Council Member Hammier asked if there was an update on understanding the price differential if the County provides water and sewer to Bolen Park versus the Town. Aref Etemadi stated the differential is $10 million for the County to provide water and sewer to the entire JLMA area including Crosstrail. Council Member Hammier verified the County has not provided an itemized listing of those costs. Council Member Reid stated he may offer an amendment tomorrow night to allow for a waiver of the fees associated with Town Plan amendments, especially in the case of a citizen's group or small business. Town Council Work Session of September 25. 2006 Paqe 17 Mayor Umstattd stated any entity has the right to ask Council to initiate the Town Plan amendment process thereby eliminating any fees involved. Closed Session a. Acquisition of Real Property and Personnel Matter regarding the Town Attorney's annual evaluation On a motion by Mayor Umstattd, seconded by Council Member Martinez, the following motion was proposed: Pursuant to Sections 2.2-3711(A)(1) and 2.2-3711(A)(3) of the Code of Virginia, I move that the Leesburg Town Council convene in a closed meeting for discussion personnel matters pertaining to the Town Attorney's annual performance evaluation and for discussion of the acquisition of public property on Wirt Street. The motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Burk, Hammier, Horne, Martinez, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd None 7-0 Nay: Vote: The Town Council convened in closed session at 11:27 p.m. The Town Council reconvened in open session at 12:24 a.m., Tuesday, September 26, 2006. On a motion by Mayor Umstattd, seconded by Council Member 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 legal matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under the Virginia 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 roll call vote: Aye: Burk, Hammier, Horne, Martinez, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: none Vote: 7-0 Adjournment On a motion by Vice Mayor Horne, seconded by Council Member Martinez, the meeting adjourned at 12:25 a.m., Tuesday, September 26, 2006. ~ 2006_tcwsmin0925