HomeMy Public PortalAbout2007_06_11
Council Work Session
June 11, 2007
Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, 7:30 p.m. Mayor Umstattd presiding.
Councilmembers Present: Kelly Burk, Kathryn Sheldon Hammier, Susan Horne,
Marty Martinez, Ken Reid, Kevin Wright and Mayor Kristen Umstattd
Councilmembers Absent: None
Staff Present: Town Manager John Wells, Town Attorney Barbara Beach, Deputy
Assistant to the Town Manager Nicole Ard, Assistant to the Town Manager Kathy
Leidich, Director of Planning Zoning and Development Susan Swift, Director of
Economic Development Betsy Fields, Director of Engineering and Public Works Tom
Mason, Director of Utilities Randy Shoemaker, Director of Capital Projects
Management Nagi Elsewaissi, Airport Director Tim Deike, Transportation Planner Jim
Chandler, Senior Planner Scott Parker, Tourism Coordinator Marantha Edwards, Law
Clerk Heather Cawthron, Law Clerk Patrice Mejias, Management Specialist Tami
Watkins and Deputy Clerk of Council Debi Parry.
AGENDA ITEMS
1. Questions on Tuesday Agenda Items
Council Meeting of June 12, 2007
Council Member Wright asked a question regarding the downtown streetlight
Town/Virginia Department of Transportation agreement. He stated a comment was
made in the staff report that the actual cost of the project is higher because we have
added conduit for future undergrounding. He asked if the cost is going forward at
the higher cost.
John Wells stated staff's intention is to add the cost of the conduit onto the
project and pursue grants to fund the undergrounding of the utility lines.
Mayor Umstattd recognized Law Clerks Heather Cawthron and Patrice Mejias
who will be working with the Town Attorney's office for the summer.
2. Work Session Items for Discussion
a. Amending and reordaining Article I (General) of Chapter 2
(Administration) by adding a new Section 2-9 (Conflict of
Interest) to the Code of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, 1976,
as amended
Mr. Wells stated at the last Council meeting there was discussion of
creating an acknowledgment form with signature for completion by the board,
commission, committee and task force members. He stated staff has drafted
this form for Council's consideration. Further, he stated the implementation
of the acknowledgement form could be adopted by resolution as opposed to
completion of the State forms which would require an ordinance amendment.
Mayor Umstattd requested that Council vote tomorrow on whether to
include a disclosure of real estate holdings. She stated there have been
articles in the Washington Post regarding potential conflicts of interest at the
Board of Supervisors level which seem to be dealing with real estate.
Further, she stated there are a number of projects in the approval process or
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Page 2
under construction in Town and it would be beneficial to know the outside
interests of our volunteers.
Council Member Reid stated members of Council, the Planning
Commission and Board of Architectural Review are charged with making
decisions; whereas the other groups are advisory. He stated the most
appropriate way to address the situation is through education.
Council Member Wright stated he is comfortable with the resolution as
we need to focus on education efforts regarding the Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) and Conflict of Interest Act (COlA).
Council Member Hammier expressed support for the education
process. She suggested Council Members should take full responsibility for
those we appoint. Further, she stated it is incumbent upon us to understand
where our appointees have conflicts and to take an active and continual role
in education.
Council Member Martinez expressed support for education efforts
regarding FOIA and COlA. He stated he has received feedback that enacting
this type of resolution will discourage many of our volunteers.
Vice Mayor Horne stated we have come a long way from the invasive
proposal that was before us and she can support the education of our
commissioners, task force members and others who volunteer a significant
amount of time for this community. She stated we do not need to ask
evasive questions regarding real estate holdings.
Council Member Burk stated she will support the resolution; however,
she concurs with the Mayor's comments that there should be a section dealing
with real estate disclosure. She stated real estate holdings are public
information and therefore not invasive. Further, she stated this will put the
information on the record to protect the Council and the volunteers.
b. Town Association Resolution
Mayor Umstattd stated the Towns of Herndon, Vienna, Purcellville,
Leesburg, Lovettsville, Dumfries, Haymarket and Clifton decided it would be a
good idea for Mayors and Town Managers to meet on a quarterly basis to
press a common agenda for transportation and possibly other issues. She
requested Council's support to proceed with this association.
Council Member Burk verified topics other than transportation will be
discussed.
Vice Mayor Horne stated this is a great idea and she commended
everyone involved.
Council Member Hammier requested notification of meetings and a
summary of the discussions.
c. Crosstrail Update
Mayor Umstattd stated as there is great interest in serving on the
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Paqe 3
three person committee and recommended that every member of Council be
appointed to the Committee and that they attend as their schedule allows.
She stated the proposed meeting date is June 28.
Mr. Wells stated on June 19 the Board of Supervisors will take up
separately the issue of water provision to the Crosstrail project and the Lower
Sycolin Watershed. He stated last Wednesday the Airport Commission met to
discuss the Crosstrail project follow-up and a summery has been provided to
Council.
Council Member Reid stated the Airport Commission had proposed a
suggestion to have lead individuals to deal with specific items.
Council Member Hammier stated she received a call from Mike Banzhaf
who mentioned a productive meeting with Mr. Boykin relative to feeling like
we could work through some important issues.
Dennis Boykin, Airport Commission Chairman, outlined his discussion
with Mr. Banzhaf after a recent Board of Supervisors meeting. He stated
going in to this meeting with the Board of Supervisors it would be more
balanced to send three people and have each hit on one particular area of
concern.
Council Member Burk stated the latest proffers proposed show 18
acres set aside for the airport as opposed to the 40 acres requested. She
asked if the proffer is more restrictive than previous drafts.
Mr. Boykin stated the language is more restrictive. He stated during
his meeting he learned that Mr. Banzhaf had personally written the
encumbrance language on the proffer without additional input.
Council Member Wright stated he sent an email to Mr. Banzhaf
regarding the revised airport proffers and received a response stating it was
not any more of an encumbrance because it was simply calling for compliance
with the County Zoning Ordinance. He stated he responded that once the
property was purchased by the Town it would be brought into our boundaries
and would fall under our ordinances.
Vice Mayor Horne suggested that Council appoint three individuals and
allow all Council Members to attend and ask questions if they desire. She
suggested Council Members Martinez and Wright as they are the Council's
AADP Committee representatives and volunteered herself as the third
appointee.
Council Member Martinez expressed his appreciation for our strong and
dedicated Airport Commission.
Council Member Hammier stated this is the first time that she has
heard a willingness from the County to allow this property to be brought into
the Town, similar to what was done when Herndon annexed the Worldgate
property after the zoning was approved. She stated it is important to discuss
where and if we are willing to compromise on items. Further, she stated the
central issue is that the Town retain the rights to provide water and sewer
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and to identify the cost savings to the applicant that can be applied to road
improvements.
Council Member Wright stated he appreciates the Board's willingness
to further consider the issues and to come to the table to discuss the
application with the applicant and the Town. He stated he appreciated
Supervisor Water's motion to reaffirm the Town's position as the supplier of
water and sewer in the Joint Land Management Area (JLMA). Further, he
stated it is his understanding that the joint sewer system was to assist the
Loudoun County Sanitation Authority (LCSA) in the event that they had to
provide service to the Transition Policy Area, which is not relevant to our
service of the JLMA.
Randy Shoemaker verified Council Member Wright's statement
regarding the joint sewer system.
Council Member Wright stated the other concern is that the County
does not want to pay twice as much for their water and sewer; however, we
are still in litigation. He stated we need to keep the discussions positive by
stating that we are working on a Utility Rate Advisory Committee and expect
to have that report in October. Further, he stated it has always been
contemplated that the County facilities would be brought into the Town,
therefore it is a non-issue.
Council Member Reid expressed his support for Crosstrail being an
aviation community. He concurred with Vice Mayor Horne's comments stating
the AADP Committee representatives should lead the discussion at this joint
meeting.
Mayor Umstattd stated she continues to think a committee of seven is
the best arrangement for this meeting. She stated we need to establish
whether County staff continues to believe it would be problematic to develop
Bolen Park under Town ordinances.
There was further discussion of this item and the upcoming joint
meeting with Loudoun County.
Mr. Boykin thanked Council for their support of the Airport's position
on this application.
Council Member Hammier stated for the record that she did not
support the way things were handled with the County regarding the CPAM for
the Crosstrail property. She stated the initial failure was we did not have the
opportunity to jointly plan that area. Further, she stated it is critical that the
residents stay involved.
Mayor Umstattd concurred with Council Members Martinez and
Hammier's comments that we need to keep faith with the citizens. She stated
we asked them to get involved and they supported our arguments.
d. Economic Development Department Priorities
Mr. Wells identified the priorities established at the Joint Town Council
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Page 5
and Economic Development Commission (EDe) meeting as follows: (1)
streamlining and simplifying the development regulatory process, (2) looking
at ombudsmen services, providing public infrastructure investments, (3)
increasing outreach to the Town's businesses on a Town-wide basis, (4)
increasing efforts to attract and grow new businesses, and (6) continuing
support, but somewhat reducing efforts in the downtown to look at a more
broader approach. He stated staff is looking for affirmation that these are the
priorities Council wishes to pursue and will then send this information to the
Economic Development Commission for further analysis.
Council Member Burk stated our EDC has put their strategy together
based on the direction provided by Council. She stated they have had tasks
completed and added and she does not see the reason for changing the
direction. Further, she stated it is not the government's business to ensure
that businesses succeed; rather we should focus on setting an environment
that is positive and supportive.
Vice Mayor Horne stated there are things the Town can do to facilitate
the process of getting a business up and running and into available space and
she appreciates the proactive ombudsmen role reflected in the priorities. She
stated while funding has been removed from our previous holiday efforts, it is
her hope that there are other organizations working with the downtown
businesses to attract shoppers during the holidays. Further, she stated we
pull our economic development staff in so many directions and helping them
focus their efforts, time and renaming the downtown coordinator position is a
healthy thing.
Council Member Martinez stated he recalls Council's trip to Stanton
and that serves as his model as they had the vision, stuck to it and looked for
creative ways to finance their investments in the Town. He stated that was
one of the reasons he was supportive of the joint meeting with the EDC to
determine what direction the Town wants to follow. Further, he expressed
support for Stanley Caulkins' recommendation at the joint meeting that we
allow the citizens to decide whether or not we want to invest in the Town.
Council Member Hammier stated there are a couple of key parcels left
in Town and we have not taken proactive steps regarding JR Festival Lakes or
Meadowbrook. She stated it is time to look forward to getting citizens input
about what we want in those parcels. Further, she stated in a couple of
weeks we are going to come back with an enormous boost, and be very
focused in terms of what we can accomplish.
Council Member Wright thanked Ms. Fields and staff for their report.
He commented on the updated business development strategy matrix and
stated if this is the direction we want to go, we should endorse the document
and allow the Economic Development Commission to move forward and
provide Council with an update on their progress. Further, he stated we
need to continue to focus on the ongoing ordinance review and revisions.
Council Member Reid stated the matrix needs to include efforts
regarding deregulation and streamlining the process. He stated he was
surprised to see that the average site plan takes four or five submissions.
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Further, he stated many of the items listed in the matrix work around the
issues and never get to the heart of the problem.
There was further Council discussion of this issue.
Mayor Umstattd stated one of the most interesting comments made
was an observation that we spent $20 million on economic development
efforts. She stated the best thing we can do to ensure businesses succeed is
to eliminate the red tape. Further, she stated we have a lot of debt we are
carrying as we have been doing a lot of infrastructure improvements and we
do not have discretionary income to throw at new infrastructure projects.
Ara Bagdasarian, Economic Development Commission Chairman,
stated he is pleased to see there is broad consensus. He stated the
Commission's perspective is that in order for Leesburg to end up in a certain
place you need to have a clear indication of where you want to be.
e. Comcast Utility Box Update
Tami Watkins stated Dominion Virginia Power and Comcast have
located another site on 406 Lacy Court and staff expects to hear from
Dominion Virginia Power later this week for confirmation that this site is
suitable for relocation.
Mayor Umstattd expressed concern regarding moving the boxes from
one residence to another. She verified the residents at 406 Lacy Count have
been notified.
Ms. Watkins stated the location is dictated by the location of a power
source.
Mayor Umstattd verified the residence at Lacy Court has a power
source box located in their front and back yard.
Vice Mayor Horne stated we need to push for an alternative design or
the possibility of undergrounding the boxes. She suggested revisiting
Council's policy on the location of these utility boxes.
Ms. Beach stated Council has the power to control the appearance over
what is placed in the easements including screening.
Mayor Umstattd asked if we can put a description on the type of
screening and can it be in keeping with what each homeowner might want or
does it have to be uniform.
Ms. Beach stated the screening has to be uniform in a category or
class, but not specific. She stated the planning staff can come up with areas
in which Council could have flexibility for communities to decide.
Council Member Wright stated Comcast needs to understand that we
need them to reengineer these boxes or develop another creative solution for
the design or we will have to legislate one.
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Mayor Umstattd asked that this issue be referred to the Planning
Commission to develop an ordinance.
Ms. Beach stated the Town Council has the power to ask staff to have
the developer give the utility easements to the Town so that we can issue the
permissions to use to the utility companies and have more control over what
is placed where.
Council Member Wright asked that staff review that option before
action is taken.
f. CPAM - Update of the Loudoun County Transportation Plan
Jim Chandler stated Loudoun County has been conducting their review
of the Loudoun County Transportation Plan which was last updated in 2001.
He presented a draft letter raising the concerns of staff regarding their most
recent draft. Further, he stated staff plans to submit the letter at the
Loudoun County Planning Commission meeting on June 18.
Council Member Hammier asked to what extent Council can point out
the linkage to zoning and densities that will make multi-modal transportation
possible. She stated it seems we are on a continual path where subdivisions
are created that necessitate daily car trips.
Mr. Chandler stated we would be happy to add stronger language;
however, the County has highlighted the concepts of increased transit options
and HOV lanes on major corridors and additional bypasses for Hillsboro and
Lucketts.
Council Member Wright stated we spent time at the AADP meeting
discussing Crosstrail Boulevard where the County's plan varies from the
Town's. He stated it is also important to point out the need for County
assistance in funding the last section of Battlefield Parkway.
Council Member Reid stated if the County is going to consider adding a
second Potomac River bridge crossing to Maryland to lead into the Leesburg
Bypass, the Bypass must be completely upgraded to an expressway and
widened to six lanes. He stated the trumpet interchange at the Greenway
should be reconfigured. Further, he suggested supporting reversible express
toll lanes on Route 7.
Mayor Umstattd thanked Mr. Wells and Mr. Chandler for brining this
information to Council and allowing members to comment.
It was the consensus of Council to vote on this letter tomorrow night.
g. Approving a gift to our Local National Guard Unit to waive Ida
Lee Park Recreation Center rental fees
Mayor Umstattd stated she was approached by Dennis Boykin
regarding the VFW's desire to hold a farewell family picnic for the troops
going to Iraq.
Mr. Boykin stated a local church has' volunteered their facilities and
kitchen for this event and he asked for the Town's assistance in acquiring
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Paqe 8
tables and chairs for use during the lunch. He stated numerous restaurants
and businesses have donated food and other items for the picnic.
Mr. Wells stated staff has drafted a resolution for Council's
consideration.
Vice Mayor Horne stated she would appreciate information on how the
public can help the families.
Council thanked Mr. Boykin and the members of the VFW for their
efforts.
h. Council Strategic Planning Update
Council Member Wright stated he would like to receive an update
regarding the status of the last section of Battlefield Parkway. He stated he
would also like to receive a report on the Downtown Market Study.
3. For information only:
Preview Topics for June 25, 2007:
a. Amended schedule of employee holidays
There was no discussion of this item.
b. Public Art Commission Report
There was no discussion of this item.
c. Amending the Town Code to establish a Utility Rate Advisory
Committee - public hearing
There was no discussion of this item.
d. Passive Park agreement with Morven Park - public hearing
There was no discussion of this item.
e. AADP Map Follow-Up
There was no discussion of this item.
New Business
a. Jerry's Leesburg Suzuki
Council Member Burk stated it was brought to her attention that when
this dealership opened at the request of the Town they were required to
construct a retaining wall with plants on top. She stated they tapped into the
waterline for their Chevrolet Dealership and installed a sprinkler system to
maintain the plants. Further, she stated they did not realize that they were
required to get a permit for the sprinkler system before its installation and
have been charged $4,000 by the Town of Leesburg and asked Council to
consider waiving the fee.
Mayor Umstattd asked what steps would need to be taken to waive
this fee.
Mr. Wells stated he is working with Mr. Shoemaker on this item and
will provide an update to Council once staff has had the opportunity to review
the situation.
Town Council Work Session of June 11. 2007
Page 9
b. Parking Violation
Council Member Hammier stated Council received a letter from a
visitor from Baton Rouge, Louisiana who had parked over the line and
received a parking ticket while he was here. She stated the original purpose
of the meters was to create an overturn in the parking versus allowing people
who work downtown to park in these spots all day. Further, she stated for
individuals not in that category we should have a policy of amnesty.
Council Member Burk recommended sending a letter to this individual.
Mr. Wells stated he has not had the opportunity to follow-up on the
letter and asked to review the particulars of the incident and report back to
Council on a recommended course of action.
c. Eagle Scout Certificate
Mayor Umstattd asked that a certificate be added to the agenda
tomorrow night for Eagle Scout Tom Christensen.
d. Downtown Flower Baskets
Council Member Burk asked for an update on the status of the project
to extend the flower baskets down the streets were businesses are located.
Mr. Wells stated the plan is to hang the baskets on utility poles from
Loudoun Street to Georgetown Park. He stated Dominion Virginia Power's
permit process is lengthy and staff may need Council Members to assist in the
approval.
e. Leesburg Plaza Parking
Council Member Martinez stated he has received complaints from
business owners in the Leesburg Plaza Shopping Center who are concerned
that there will not be adequate parking once Commerce Bank and the new
restaurants are opened.
Mr. Wells stated the current issue may be the large area of
construction which has temporarily limited the number of parking spaces
available. He stated he will report back to Council on this issue.
Adjournment
On a motion by Council Member Martinez, seconded by Council Member
Wright, the meeting adjourned at 10:08 p.m.
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erk of Council
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