HomeMy Public PortalAbout2008_10_14
Council Work Session
October 14, 2008
Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, 7:30 p.m. Mayor Umstattd presiding.
Council Members Present: David Butler, Thomas Dunn, II, Katie Sheldon
Hammier, Marty Martinez, Ken Reid, Kevin Wright and Mayor Kristen Umstattd
Council Members Absent: None
Staff Present: Town Manager John Wells, Town Attorney Jeanette Irby,
Deputy Town Manager Kaj Dentler, Chief of Police Joe Price, Director of Public Works
Tom Mason, Director of Finance Norm Butts, Director of Planning and Zoning Susan
Berry Hill, Deputy Director of Planning and Zoning Brian Boucher, Assistant Director
for Capital Projects Management Tom Brandon, Plan Review Section Chief Lee
Phillips, Police Captain Jeff VanGilder, Transportation Engineer Calvin Grow, Senior
Engineer Anne Geiger, Planner Chris Murphy, and Management Specialist/Deputy
Clerk of Council Debi Parry
AGENDA ITEMS
1. Questions on Tuesday Agenda Items
Council Meeting of October 15, 2008
There was no Council discussion of the following items:
a. Public Hearing Follow-up - Market Square at Potomac Station
b. 2009 Legislative Agenda
c. Capital Projects
. Authorizing a Design Contract Change for the S. King Street
Trail
. Authorizing Easement Condemnation if Offer is Not Accepted
for N. King Street Drainage
. Approving the Third Amended Sales Contract for the Rehau
Property
d. NVRC Bylaws
e. Amending Resolution 2008-146
f. SRTC Crosswalk Signs Recommendation
g. Dodona Manor Veteran's Day Program
2. Work Session Items for Discussion
a. FY 2010 Town Budget Overview by Staff and Town Financial
Advisor
John Wells stated four years ago a similar briefing was provided to
Council as a snapshot of what the General Fund financial picture looked like,
including issues we were facing and necessary fiscal policy recommendations
to guide our financial planning. He stated staff felt an update of this
Town Council Work Session of October 14, 2008
Page 2
information would be beneficial to kick-off the upcoming budget discussions
and introduced David Rose, who has been the Town's financial planner for
many years.
David Rose, Davenport & Company, stated the Town has a strong credit
rating and is less vulnerable than 90% of its neighbors. He stated what they
have seen is that bond insurance, which is used to prop up local credit ratings
has either been knocked out all together or downgraded. He stated thankfully
the Town does not need bond insurance to be competitive in the bond
market. He stated it is important to insure that the Town continues to be in
this position by providing full disclosure, including opportunities and things to
be wary of. Further, he stated the only thing that is keeping the Town from
being a AAA rated locality is the population. He stated one exception to this
is Charlottesville, VA, because of the university anchor.
Mr. Rose provided historical information regarding the Town's credit
rating. He commented on the projected trend for assessed value which has
fallen from fiscal year 2007 to 2009 and stated he is projecting a 10 percent
drop again for fiscal year 2010; although it is still early. He provided
historical information on revenues versus expenditures. He stated despite the
downturn in the economy the Town will be able to implement its Capital
Improvements Program and be in a better place five to six years from now.
He stated each year that Mr. Wells has been with the Town, the revenues
have exceeded the expenditures and debt service; however, the unaudited
numbers for Fiscal Year 2008 are showing a modest shortfall. Further, he
discussed the growth of the undesignated fund balance and revenue
stabilization fund.
Mr. Rose compared the Town's real estate tax rate, debt ratios, and per
capita income to other comparable sized Towns in Northern Virginia stating
Leesburg is in a strong fiscal position. He outlined the current debt versus
proposed debt and Leesburg's position for borrowing future funds. Further,
He stated in his opinion Leesburg has excellent management and is in a much
better financial situation than when he gave his last presentation four years
ago.
Council Member Dunn stated he is encouraged by the fact that we now
know where we are and through competent and aggressive actions by Council
we can get even farther.
Vice Mayor Hammier thanked Mr. Wells, Mr. Rose and Mr. Butts for this
report. She stated it would be useful to summarize the talking points
surrounding our strengths as it relates to our credit rating. She stated it
would also be useful as we are looking at investments that will help us in the
future such as downtown improvements. She stated there is a lot that goes
into our strong credit rating and asked that Mr. Rose provide information
regarding factors that go in to keeping our rating strong.
Council Member Martinez expressed concern that some people may not
have a total grasp of the terms used in the report and what is trying to be
expressed and asked that the language be easier for the public to understand.
Mr. Rose stated he could look into adding a glossary to the report.
Town Council Work Session of October 14, 2008
Page 3
Council Member Wright thanked staff and Mr. Rose for his report. He
stated it is important to remember when looking at the report that it may look
okay to incur new debt; however, there is a four year lag in the effects. He
asked if there is a best management practice on debt policies stating it seems
the policy on debt versus assessed value policy may be high.
Mr. Rose stated the debt versus assessed value policy is not high. He
stated on a national basis there is a great deal of wealth here relative to cities
and towns throughout Virginia and the nation. Mr. Rose stated the Town has
become so strong that they are well underneath the goal.
Council Member Wright asked if we need to look at the assessed value
policy to bring it down or just know that our real governing policy is the debt
versus expenditures.
Mr. Wells stated when the Town meets with the rating agencies they do
not look at anyone ratio, rather they look at the whole story of where you
are regionally and where you have been. He stated it is not bad to reassess
the ratios from time to time; however, it would not be necessarily meaningful
to move the ratios at this time.
Council Member Butler stated it would be helpful to add a page of
assumptions to the documents.
Council Member Reid stated the report indicates that we could have a
$1.4 million deficit, which is what Mr. Wells quoted in his email. Further, he
stated he believes Mr. Wells will attempt to reduce the budget by four
percent.
Mr. Wells stated hearing this information and working through the facts
may help to see the slowing national economy's effect on Leesburg and take
proactive steps. He stated he indicated to all department directors that they
will need to assess any vacancies to see if they are still needed and waiting
three months to fill any vacancies to build savings. He stated each
department director was also asked to look at their operating and capital
expenses to propose a four percent reduction in the current year budget.
Further, he stated the goal is to take proactive steps to help in the current
year and next year.
Council Member Reid stated he is not a fan of across the board cuts. He
stated some departments need additional staff while some are
underperforming. He stated his concern that the Town has been living off the
surpluses in past years. Further, he asked if the shortfall could be higher. He
stated we just found out tonight that we do not have the transportation
planner vacancy filled; however, we spent $200,000 to have the
transportation model done. Further, he asked if our money is safe given the
issues with Wachovia.
Mr. Butts stated we do not know what tomorrow brings; however, staff
is comfortable that our money is as safe as it can be given the circumstances.
He stated Wachovia is in the process of being purchased by Wells Fargo which
is a well capitalized bank. He stated with respect to our other cash, the local
Town Council Work Session of October 14, 2008
Paqe 4
government investment pool is run by the State Treasurer's office and they
are doing a good job. He stated the Town also has funds invested in various
treasuries. He stated the bond funds are in a Snap Fund run by the State
Treasurer's Office. Further, he stated staff is monitoring the Town's funds on
a daily basis to ensure they are as safe as they can be.
Council Member Reid asked how the Town would retrieve its funds if
something were to happen to Wells Fargo.
Mr. Butts stated the situation changes on a daily basis. He stated the
Federal Government was talking about insuring all deposits in 2009; however,
he doesn't know if that was put into effect. Further, he stated we are fully
collateralized.
Mr. Rose stated there is a Public Securities Act which requires that all
banks collateralize public money in a separate "lock box" and not blend it with
the general assets of the bank.
Council Member Reid stated this is something that we need to monitor in
the future.
Mayor Umstattd asked verified our bank services are bid on a
competitive basis. She stated that she is proud of Mr. Wells, Mr. Butts and
Mr. Rose for making the Town solvent in difficult times. She stated she fully
supports Mr. Wells' basic policy to assess all vacancies and look at cross-
training possibilities so employees are not laid off. Further, she stated she
supports keeping the real estate tax rate at its current level.
Council Member Dunn stated a few Council Members have discussed
doing projections; however, being in the financial business he is hesitant to
have accounting look out too far with projections.
Vice Mayor Hammier asked for an updated briefing on the competitive
procurement process for our banking services.
Mr. Butts stated we are in the third year of a five year contract with
Wachovia for banking services. He stated it was competitively bid with
Request for Proposals and staff met with the top three firms before the
contract was awarded.
Vice Mayor Hammier asked if the Town had looked into subprime
mortgages and things Wachovia was investing in. She stated we have
learned a lot and we need to determine what those lessons are and how it's
going to impact our decisions moving forward.
Council Member Reid stated Ms. Marconi, who lives at Union and Wirt
Streets and is concerned about the condemnation for the King Street
Drainage Project is here and asked if discussion of this could be allowed now.
Council Member Wright stated that item is up for discussion and vote
tomorrow and he had not anticipated a discussion tonight.
Mayor Umstattd asked Mr. Butts to continue with his presentation.
Town Council Work Session of October 14, 2008
Page 5
Mr. Butts provided a worst case scenario estimate of the tax year 2009
assessed evaluation which shows a residential property decline of 15 percent
and a commercial increase of two percent. He stated the best case scenario
shows the residential property declining by 10 percent and the commercial
property increasing five percent. He stated staff will not have the exact
figures until the end of this year or beginning of next year. He stated staff has
also calculated the effective tax rate to bring in the same revenue as last year
which shows a worst case scenario of 20.7 cents and best case scenario of
19.7 cents. Further, he stated staff has looked at the value of a penny on the
tax rate over the last 10 years.
Council Member Wright stated it would be helpful to also see the
average tax bill in real dollars and average tax bill in 1998 dollars to show
how the average tax payer's bill was impacted versus the impact if inflation
was held steady.
Mr. Butts stated staff will provide those calculations to Council. He
provided revenue estimates with a worst case scenario if the tax rate remains
at 18 cents. He stated this scenario shows tax revenue will be down 10.6
percent. He stated staff anticipates the Town will take in $1 million less
revenue in fiscal year 2010 than this fiscal year.
Council Member Martinez stated the state revenues are falling and
verified that was included in the calculations based on what is known. He
asked how the Town will be impacted by the County budget.
Mr. Wells stated the County budget is being put together at this time.
He stated the Town will be monitoring the Federal, State and County
revenues. Further, he stated this is snapshot completed several days ago;
however, the Governor has now introduced additional budget cuts and staff
has not had time to fully assess that impact.
Mr. Butts provided an estimate of the FY 2010 general fund summary
and undesignated fund balance with both the worst and best case scenarios.
He stated it will be difficult to get through 2009 and put together the 2010
budget; further, if things do not improve, 2011 could be difficult as well.
Council Member Dunn stated it look like the approach here is dealing
with the tax rate and not looking at cutting expenditures.
Mr. Butts stated we are assuming we can hold an expenditure increase
for salary increases, fringe benefit increases and materials and supplies. He
stated in the past we have never held expenditures to a three percent level.
Further, he stated we are only focusing on the real estate tax bill because
that is what Council tends to focus on with the impact to the homeowners and
also because real estate taxes are over 25 percent of our revenue.
Mr. Wells stated this does not represent the full range of how we will
approach the budget. He stated staff will look at each program, service and
position. He stated there is a number of "what if" scenarios staff could
present, but this is one aspect of the snapshot. Further, he stated staff may
Town Council Work Session of October 14, 2008
Page 6
need to look beyond the three percent; however, this shows what the Town
will be looking at with that limited increase.
Council Member Dunn stated Leesburg's residents and staff are tough
and tough times pass, but tough people do not. He stated we can get
through this but it will require a tighter belt. He stated the quick way to deal
with the financial problems is to add to the tax rate; however, he requested
that be the last consideration.
Vice Mayor Hammier asked what the equalized tax rate would be.
Mr. Wells stated the equalized rate would be between 20.7 and 19.7
cents.
Vice Mayor Hammier stated she believes Mr. Wells is looking at a four
percent reduction at the staff level which equates to $1.9 million, which cuts
into this deficit.
Mr. Wells stated the four percent reduction is for the current year. He
stated some of those reductions could carry into next year. He stated he
does not want to accept reductions that will save the Town a dollar this year
but cost two dollars next year. He stated the reductions are designed to deal
with the current year situation of trying to reduce what could be a gap of $1.4
million. He stated for next year we could be looking beyond the four percent
to programmatic issues as Council Member Reid suggested. Further, he
stated his goal is that while we may be losing positions we should not be
talking about reducing existing staff.
Vice Mayor Hammier stated we will need a continuation of this
discussion to look at how we are monitoring the health of our economic
sectors. She stated statements were made tonight relative to the wealth of
Leesburg; however, that is based on the assumption that we are willing to
continue to tax at a certain level and reaffirm the key services that citizens
want to sustain. She stated even in these tough times we are continuing to
invest in our future and what we want this town to be, most notably our
downtown and our quality of life such as working proactively with George
Mason University. Further, she stated we need to get the private sector
involved in helping to fund those types of initiatives; however, there is a
silver lining here and we need to work as a team to make some things
happen.
Council Member Martinez verified future commercial development was
included in the data presented and asked if it was a conservative estimate.
Mr. Wells stated the estimates are very conservative. He stated during
the last budget cycle staff highlighted several reasons for optimism and all of
those projects are either under construction or open. He stated while they are
not performing at the level that everyone hoped they would be, but they do
present an opportunity for the future. He stated when we are looking for our
next credit rating upgrade and going to the bond market they will be looking
at what we do over the next budget or two. He stated we have won the first
half and if we can continue working as a team we will have a good story to
tell at the end of the day.
Town Council Work Session of October 14, 2008
Page 7
Council Member Martinez stated times are tough and we all talk about
government's role; however, we have to consider that we cannot back off of
providing quality of life services to our citizens. He stated he thinks about
times such as the Great Depression when government has had to step in and
we as a local government cannot be afraid to step in and take on that role if
needed. He stated Council needs to provide Mr. Wells with guidance on
where we want to set the tax rate; however, he does not feel comfortable
meddling in departments and what they are doing.
Council Member Wright thanked staff for both reports. He stated despite
the economic times the good news is that we have good management from
this Council, previous Councils, our Town Manager and financial staff in being
proactive and conservative over the past several years and have clear
management policies for our reserves. He stated he was struck as the
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors were discussing their last budget there
was an hour and a half debate regarding use of their reserves because they
do not have clear policies. He stated we need to keep in mind if we are
maintaining a level of service and hinging that primarily on available reserve,
we need to understand where the money is coming from in subsequent years.
He stated we need to continue focusing on a tax rate that does not exceed
the equalized tax rate and stated he personally believes we need to focus on
maintaining the current rate. He stated there was a point when the
assessments were going up and the Town grew expenses without focusing on
the tax bill. He stated we have now made the wise decision to focus on the
tax bill; however, if you look at that trend of the tax bill versus inflation we
have not quite synced back up. He stated we need to review the CIP and
bond debt to make sure the CIP is realistic and feasible. He stated the
important lesson learned is that we need to consider how long we are going
to continue to grow the amount of money we are spending on debt. Further,
he stated we have been reviewing the budget to look at services while
providing guidance to Mr. Wells who has delivered solid budgets and we are
looking for him to do that again.
Council Member Butler thanked staff for their presentation. He stated
this is scary and we all talk about things that we want; however, when he
looks at the numbers it is not going to happen the way we all would like. He
stated looking at the best case scenario of running a $4.6 million deficit does
not appear to be prudent and would triple our deficit over the last two years,
which he would not support. He stated if you add that with Mr. Wells'
concerns about staff and our dream of keeping an 18 cent tax rate they do
not all add up. He stated he would be comfortable with an equalized tax rate
because the actual tax rate is not as meaningful to people as what is
happening to their average tax bill. Further, he stated that is where we need
to start otherwise we will be running a huge deficit or cutting in places where
we do not want to.
Council Member Reid asked what is ABC distribution and why does it not
appear in the next year's budget.
Mr. Wells stated the State took the ABC Distribution and Wine Tax funds
away from localities last year.
Town Council Work Session of October 14, 2008
Paae 8
Council Member Reid concurred with Council Member Wright stating he
would not support a tax rate above 18 cents. He stated this is a wonderful
opportunity for the Town to find where to prioritize. He concurred with
Council Member Martinez's suggestion that Council provide Mr. Wells with a
direction on a tax rate and have him balance the budget; however, Loudoun
County is laying off people, the State is laying off people and while he does
not like the idea of layoffs he may even have to cut a position in his business.
He stated this Town has been very generous with merit increases; however,
there are areas such as Police and Parks and Recreation that he does not
want to cut. He stated a low tax rate, a lean Town government and less
regulation will bring opportunity and businesses to this Town. He stated he
would like to see the Town spend more on CIP projects because that is an
investment in the future, such as the Downtown Improvement Association
requests, and he would like to see more money put into bricks and mortar
than into maintaining employment for people. Further, he stated this is not
scary, it is an opportunity.
Council Member Dunn asked what portion of the budget covers
personnel costs.
Mr. Wells stated in the General Fund personnel costs make up 55 to 65
percent of the budget.
b. Public Safety Update
Chief Joe Price provided an overview of the public safety status in the
Town, comparing January through August 2008 to the same time period in
2007. He provided information on the recent thefts from autos and regional
gang trends in the region.
Council Member Dunn asked how the ratio of occurrence of crimes
in Leesburg equates to the occurrences in Loudoun County, the State and
National Levels.
Chief Price stated Loudoun's numbers will be lower than Leesburg
because of population densities; however, if we were to compare just eastern
Loudoun to Leesburg the ratio would be higher.
Vice Mayor Hammier stated the statistics are useful for comparison
purposes; however, it would be helpful to look at trends in Town or
pinpointing neighborhoods and coming up with conclusions regarding where
crime is happening, why and how we can prevent it.
Chief Price stated the Department is lacking in fine crime analysis
because of workload. He stated looking at the most serious Group A crimes
there has been a decrease of 7.6 percent over the last year; however, there
has been an increase of five burglaries. He stated over the past several
months the Department has been investigating 139 cases of larceny from
vehicles and in 77 percent of the cases the vehicles were unlocked and would
most likely would not have been entered if they had been locked. He stated
32 were locked and were opened with force. He provided Council
with a copy of the notice that officers have been placing in unlocked vehicles,
before securing the vehicle, to remind citizens to lock their vehicle doors.
Further, he stated one citizen did complain; however, he stated the
Town Council Work Session of October 14, 2008
Paqe 9
Commonwealth's Attorney spoke in support of the Town's efforts.
Council Member Reid asked if the.note is visible in the vehicle.
Chief Price stated the note is placed on the driver's seat and the vehicle
is then secured. He stated there have been two distinct operations in the
Town. He stated the first operation were all juvenile's conducting a game
called "Car Hop" in which they stole for sport and communicated via social
networks on the computer and text messaging. He stated in many cases the
property was discarded and the department is in the process of identifying
and returning the property to its owners.
Council Member Martinez asked if the juveniles were operating in their
own neighborhood.
Chief Price stated that was not the case. He stated 25 juveniles
between the ages of 12 and 16 were arrested. He stated the juveniles lived
in areas across the Town and came from all spectrum of economic
backgrounds.
Vice Mayor Hammier asked if this information was shared with the
schools.
Chief Price stated the information is being shared with the schools
through the School Resource Officers (SROs). He stated the second level
were independent thieves that stole items to sell for profit to fund their
lifestyle. He stated there was a gang element to it as they were not stealing
as gang members, but were stealing to fund their gang activities. He stated
seven adults have been charged and 20 cases have been closed. He stated in
this case the cars were locked and unlocked. Further, he stated these cases
on both levels came to a successful close because of community relationships.
He stated the initial information on the car hoppers came through an SRO.
Vice Mayor Hammier stated earlier when she asked for this type of crime
analysis she was told that there was no staff to perform the analysis;
however, how does the response to that relate to this instance.
Chief Price stated if you look at the broad spectrum of analysis there
needs to be dedicated people to perform the analysis on a continuous and
consistent basis. He stated the Class A analysis would be part of another
briefing in another forum as there are ongoing investigations. He stated the
prowler case has taken significant analytical work; however, it required
temporarily taking people from their normal duties to focus on this case.
Vice Mayor Hammier stated in this case were there are conclusions such
as lock your car doors, we need to find the conclusions in the other cases and
get the information out into the community.
Council Member Dunn stated it seems half of the vehicle larceny cases
are unsolved.
Chief Price stated right now there is a 58 percent closure rate and that
may become higher, but that is unknown based on the vagueness of the
Town Council Work Session of October 14, 2008
Page 10
information from some of the juveniles regarding on the particular vehicles
they targeted.
Vice Mayor Hammier asked if there will be any restitution made to the
victims.
Chief Price stated the department has significant amounts of stolen
property that will be returned to the owners as it can be identified. He stated
the property that cannot be identified will be placed out for indentified by the
victims. He stated the judges may require some form of restitution and there
is also the State Victim's Compensation Fund.
Council Member Dunn verified the information in the juvenile case has
been shared with other organizations.
Chief Price provided information on regional gang trends stating we are
now seeing significant trends across the region stating MS-13 has become a
more structured and includes members of varying ethnicities. He stated the
gang activity and violence seems to be more focused on wiping out the
competition. He stated there are some representatives in Leesburg;
however, we have not seen the violence there have been in other areas.
Chief Price discussed the methods used to communicate crime
information to the community including Reverse 911, the Silent Partner
Program and the online crime log. Further, he outlined two new systems
including the Alert Loudoun/Leesburg notification system, which citizens can
subscribe to on the front page of the Town's website and Crime Reports which
provides citizens the ability to search various crimes and pinpoint where there
were committed on a map and the ability to sign up for crime alerts.
Vice Mayor Hammier asked if there are any systems that post the
perpetrator's photo once the crime is solved.
Chief Price stated we do not have that capability yet. He stated Crime
Reports does allow residents to pinpoint sex offenders with names, photos
and addresses. He stated this program does cost the Department $100 per
month, but is free to the citizens.
Mayor Umstattd stated there are three Council Members who are in
favor of deferring the remaining agenda items to tomorrow night.
Council Member Reid clarified his earlier comment stating he does not
want to see a cut in Police resources. He stated he is a bit of a skeptic about
the SROs and whether a blue or brown uniform would make that much of a
difference unless the Sheriff rotates his officers frequently. He asked
regarding the two murders in Town why one case was handled by the
Sheriff's Department.
Chief Price stated the first homicide was in January. He stated in June
2007 the Town completely rebuilt its Criminal Investigation Section and
brought in a retired special agent from the FBI to head up this section and
hired a number of new investigators and crime scene personnel. He stated
the Department was in the midst of developing their skills at that time and
Town Council Work Session of October 14, 2008
Page 11
the Town has a standing agreement with the Sheriff's Department that they
will handle cases such as a homicide when the Town does not have the
capacity to handle the case. Further, he stated between January and July
our detective section continued to mature, gain skill and gain confidence in
each other and the criminal investigators are better now than any team we
have had in this department.
Council Member Reid stated he understands from his sources that they
may have found the individual responsible in the prowler cases and said that
he was told that the Sheriff's Department did some surveillance in Leesburg
separate from what our Police Department was doing.
Chief Price stated this is an active investigation so he cannot go into
detail; however, the efforts of the Sheriff's Department and Leesburg Police
Department were coordinated. He stated he does not have information to
indicate that a person in custody is responsible for those cases.
Council Member Reid stated during the budget session he asked about
the narcotics crimes and it seems there were 202 in Leesburg and the
Sheriff's Department indicated they were involved in 42 in the Town. He
stated the Sheriff's Department is actually involved in drug buys and similar
activities. He asked if the Town is working with the Sheriff's Department in
the drug buys and undercover activities.
Chief Price stated the Leesburg Police Department does not have the
capacity to conduct drug buys; however, all efforts are coordinated between
the Police and Sheriff's Departments.
Council Member Reid asked the turnover rates and if Officers are
working a lot of overtime.
Chief Price stated there are currently no sworn officer vacancies. He
stated one officer suffered a severe brain incident that required extensive
surgery and that position is covered under the disability insurance program.
Further, he stated there have been discussions regarding the possibility of
over hiring for that position; however, that will not occur now.
c. Town Code Update
This item was deferred to the October 27 Work Session
d. H-2 Guidelines
This item was deferred to the October 27 Work Session
e. Sycolin Road Interchange Funding
This item was deferred to the October 27 Work Session
f. Valley View Avenue Update
Lee Phillips stated staff is currently reviewing the Valley View subdivision
construction drawings. He stated he met with residents who had concerns
regarding the removal of the barricade, the grading work in front of Mr.
Belote's front yard and various issues concerning speeding and site distance.
He recommended that Council ask the Standing Residential Traffic Committee
to review the speeding concerns. He stated he believes the grading issues
have been worked out with the developer and he is willing to consider moving
Town Council Work Session of October 14, 2008
Page 12
construction above Mr. Belote's driveway to avoid a swale in his yard.
Further, he stated citizens are concerned about cut through traffic once the
barricade is removed; however, the regulations require that the streets
connect.
Council Member Dunn stated there are also challenges with the
alignment of the road and the location of easements. He stated the
intersection of Valley View Avenue and Davis Avenue is challenging and given
the possibility of increased cut through traffic he would like the barricade kept
in place unless there are plans to improve this intersection.
Vice Mayor Hammier stated she would like to hear from Mr. Belote.
Robert Belote, 709 Valley View Avenue, expressed concern with the
potential for cut through traffic and a dangerous situation at the intersection
of Valley View and Davis Avenues if the barricade is removed. He stated he is
glad that the grading situation in front of his home has been resolved.
Further, he stated perhaps the barricade could be removed if the Town were
to increase the width of Valley View Avenue.
Sue Weaver, 715 Valley View Avenue, concurred with Mr. Belote's
comments. She expressed concern with the additional traffic from the new
subdivision and the removal of the barricade.
Council Member Martinez stated he is looking forward to discussing the
issue with Mr. Belote and Ms. Weaver.
Council Member Wright verified this is a by-right development. He
asked how far the frontage improvements extend.
Mr. Phillips stated there will be 23 feet of asphalt and a two foot gutter
section extending to the corner of Valley View and Davis Avenues.
Council Member Wright verified a Council action would be required to
keep the barricade in place. He requested a detailed report from staff
regarding the impacts of opening the street. He stated his concern is we
continue to have issues with the removal of barricades so we need to find
what the answer is and get the answer in place. He stated he does not
believe that the answer is to keep the barricades up permanently if we are
also requiring the developer to improve a half section of the road. Further, he
stated he would like information from the Public Works staff regarding how
the Town can make Davis Avenue safer.
Mr. Phillips verified Council would support referring this item to the
Standing Residential Traffic Committee.
Council Member Wright stated if the long term solution is to take the
barricades down, then we need to also look at how we are going to keep the
street residential, such as no through truck traffic and other traffic calming
measures to deter cut through traffic.
Town Council Work Session of October 14, 2008
Page 13
Council Member Butler asked what improvements are needed beyond
what the developer is providing to ensure the ultimate road section is
installed before the barricade comes down.
Mr. Phillips stated this section of Valley View Avenue needs to be
widened to 32 feet and another curb and gutter section would need to be
installed on Mr. Belote's side of the road to match the section on the other
side of the barricade.
Council Member Butler verified those improvements are not currently in
the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Further, he supported the
recommendation to refer the speeding issue to the Standing Residential
Traffic Committee.
Council Member Reid thanked Mr. and Ms. Belote for hosting Council
Member Dunn and himself to talk about their concerns and thanked Ms.
Weaver for attending tonight. He stated he is glad the drainage issue has
been resolved. Further, he asked if the drainage issue was related to
Overland Relief requirements.
Mr. Philips stated when he spoke with the developer it was mentioned
that by moving the inlet from the lower portion of Mr. Belote's front yard to
the upper portion, it would eliminate the need for the deep swale.
Council Member Reid asked if our transportation model could be used to
investigate the transportation concerns if the barricade were removed.
Calvin Grow stated the streets would have to be added to the model, but
it could predict the cut-through traffic. He stated the traffic engineers for the
Valley View Subdivision conducted their own traffic study which predicted 260
cut-through trips.
Council Member Reid verified that does not include the trips from the
development. He suggested that staff run the model to look at the potential
traffic impacts of removing the barricade t~ this portion of Valley View Avenue
and the intersection with Davis Avenue and bring that information to the
Standing Residential Traffic Committee.
Mr. Grow stated our former transportation planner was the only staff
member trained on how to use the model.
Council Member Reid stated the best long term solution to get the traffic
off of Davis and Lee Avenues is to get the congestion off of the Leesburg
Bypass. He stated it is a shame we do not have the money to add lanes to
Route 7 as there is a significant amount of traffic cutting through Davis
Avenue to avoid the congestion problem. Further, he stated he looks forward
to a discussion on this issue at the Standing Residential Traffic Committee
Meeti ng.
Mayor Umstattd stated the speeding issue should go to the SRTC. She
stated she believes if the barricade is removed there will be substantial cut
through traffic putting more traffic on Davis Avenue. She stated even if the
narrower section of Valley View Avenue is widened there will still be concerns
Town Council Work Session of October 14, 2008
Page 14
with the cut through traffic making it dangerous for people to pull out of their
driveways. Further, she stated she would support Council action to keep the
barricade up at this time.
Mr. Phillips stated he will provide an update after meeting with the SRTC
and discussing the first submission comments with the developer.
3. For Information Only October 27-28, 2008:
a. Authorizing offers to acquire easement for Edwards Ferry Road
at Colonial Square Capital Improvement Project
b. SBDC Update
c. Authorizing Downtown Street Light Enhancement Grant
Application
d. Strategic Plan Update
e. AADP Committee
f. Future Plans for Cangiano Tract
g. Community Agency Grant Funding
4. Closed Session - Legal Briefings
a. RehaulBattlefield Parkway
b. Police Department Claim
c. Water Rate Case
On a motion by Mayor Umstattd, seconded by Vice Mayor Hammier, the
following motion was proposed:
MOTION
Pursuant to Section 2.2-3711(A)(7) and 2.2-3711(A)(3) of the Code of
Virginia, I move that the Leesburg Town Council convene in a closed meeting
to receive updates on legal matters pertaining to a police department claim
and water rate litigation and a real estate matter.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Hammier, Butler, Dunn, Martinez, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
Council convened in closed session at 7:32 p.m.
Council reconvened in open session at 8:05 p.m.
On a motion by Mayor Umstattd, seconded by Council Member Martinez, the
folloWing motion was proposed:
MOTION
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 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
Town Council Work Session of October 14, 2008
Page 15
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Hammier, Butler, Dunn, Martinez, Wright and Mayor Umstattd
Nay: None
Vote: 6-0-1 (Reid absent)
Adjournment
On a motion by Council Member Wright, seconded by Vice Mayor Hammier,
the meeting was adjourned at 11:57 p.m.
2008_tcwsminl014