HomeMy Public PortalAbout2008_12_08
Council Work Session
December 8, 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 Plan Review Bill Ackman, Director of Planning Susan Berry
Hill, Economic Development Manager Marantha Edwards, Police Captain Jeff
VanGilder, Police Captain Skeeter Moxley, Police Lieutenant Vanessa Grigsby, Police
Lieutenant Brian Rourke, Police Lieutenant Carl Maupin, Zoning Administrator Chris
Murphy, Urban Forester Jay Banks, Senior Engineer Anne Geiger and Management
Specialist/Deputy Clerk of Council Debi Parry
AGENDA ITEMS
1. Work Session Items for Discussion:
a. LCVA Presentation - Cheryl Kilday
Cheryl Kilday, Loudoun Convention and Visitors Association, stated she is
pleased to announce that the LCVA will be moving back to the Historic District in
2009. She stated their offices will be located in the Market Station shopping
center and they have signed a lease, though the moving date has not been
finalized yet. Further, she stated she is working with Town staff to find a
subtenant for their current office space on Catoctin Circle.
Mayor Umstattd stated she is thrilled to hear the good news.
Council Member Dunn stated the move sounds good.
Vice Mayor Hammier welcomed the LCVA back to the Historic District and
asked where their office would be located in the shopping center.
Ms. Kilday stated the offices will be located above the Loudoun County Credit
Union offices and will be handicapped accessible. Further, she stated there will
be signage in the parking lots.
Vice Mayor Hammier verified LCVA is estimating their move date to be in
February 2009.
Council Member Martinez stated he is glad the LCVA will be moving back to
the Historic District. He asked that Ms. Kilday come to a future Council Meeting
to provide a status report on their tourism efforts for the Town.
Council Members Wright, Butler and Reid also thanked Ms. Kilday for her
announcement.
b. Police Reports
i. Community Commanders
Chief Joe Price introduced the three Community Commanders, Lieutenant
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Vanessa Grigsby, Lieutenant Brian Rourke and Lieutenant Carl Maupin. He
stated the Community Commander concept is a new program being
implemented by the department to improve the service delivery to the
community. He stated this program will improve responsiveness, improve the
ability to provide service on quality of life issues, improve community
relations and the intelligence led policing processes and will position the
department to address future needs as the Town grows and populations
change. Further, he stated the Community Commanders will lead their teams
in this program and outlined their geographic areas of responsibility in the
Town.
Council Member Dunn asked what level of activity takes place before an
action becomes a crime.
Chief Price stated a violation of codified law as established by government
is a crime. He stated police officers have no authority to enforce civil law in
most cases. Further, he stated the police department's sole empowerment is
to enforce criminal law.
Council Member Dunn asked for an example of a level of activity that could
occur before an actual crime is committed.
Chief Price stated examples would include loitering or neighborhood
problems with trash cans not taken inside in a timely manner if that were to
rise to a level of conflict that could become assault, intervention by the police
could stop a crime from occurring or keep someone from getting hurt.
Council Member Dunn stated the need for a Crime Analyst has been
mentioned and asked what is the department doing now to fill that need and
what would it take for the department to get a Crime Analyst.
Chief Price stated Council would have to appropriate the funding to hire a
Crime Analyst. He stated currently most of the command staff examine
trends and analysis; however, they do not have the time to try to match the
Town's information with information from surrounding jurisdictions.
Vice Mayor Hammier thanked Chief Price for his presentation stating it is a
great proactive organized approach. Further, she congratulated Chief Price
and his officers for recently apprehending a shoplifter.
Chief Price stated crime tends to increase during the holidays and in
difficult economic times.
Vice Mayor Hammier stated it is better to get the message out that we are
serious about isolating that type of problem and getting ahead of it we send
the message that people better not commit their crimes in Leesburg. She
stated she would love to get involved and be partners with the Community
Commanders by going out with them on patrol once a quarter and joining in
their outreach efforts to the citizens.
Chief Price stated Council is welcome anytime in the front seats of the
patrol cars. He stated he has spoken with Tom Mason regarding this program
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and he is interested in having his staff meet with the police staff to see how
this may work in his department.
Council Member Martinez thanked Chief Price for his presentation and his
involvement with Exeter in their community meetings.
Council Member Wright stated the geographic area for Patrol Beat 4 seems
to be broken up in terms of transportation connectivity and asked if that is a
technical challenge for the department.
Chief Price stated the distribution of the patrol beats was done by
workload; however, the opening of the new section of Battlefield will improve
operations.
Council Member Wright asked how the community policing program is
developed in neighborhoods with no homeowners association.
Chief Price stated officers will work with individual homeowners to bring
people together. He stated one important outcome of the neighborhood
watch program is that people get to know their neighbors.
Council Member Wright verified that part of the way for the department to
be successful and ultimately for the Town to be successful in crime prevention
is with the cooperation and support of individuals in the community.
Council Member Butler thanked Chief Price for his presentation. He asked
if all the Community Command Lieutenants normal work first shift.
Chief Price stated their schedules are flexible depending upon the needs of
the organization. He stated schedules will adjust based on workload and
need. He stated in addition all command staff serve as a duty officer for a 7
day period where they are on call and have to be back in an hour if there is
an emergency.
Council Member Butler stated he had a job once where his hours varied
based on the level of requirements and it turned out he ended up working late
24/7 which was not a good situation long-term. He stated he wanted to be
sure there is a plan in place so the officers do not get burned out.
Chief Price stated they try to be fair to the officers and all of the senior
command officers also share the load. He stated he also services in the
rotation as a duty officer for his seven days.
Council Member Butler stated the program sounds great for the
community; however, he wants to be sure it is not bad for the officers.
Council Member Reid verified the reorganization has already taken effect.
He asked how active the neighborhood watch program is.
Chief Price stated the program began in the Evergreen Meadows
neighborhood. He stated the Exeter Woodlea Manor and Kincaid Forest
programs are also working well and the program is developing sufficiently.
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Council Member Reid urged Chief Price to reach out to the Shenandoah
Street and Roanoke Drive residents. He stated they told him two years ago
that they did not have enough citizens to become involved in the program.
Chief Price stated the qualifications have been revised and that should not
be a problem now.
Council Member Reid asked if there would be information in the Annual
Report regarding how this program is working, or if that would be too soon.
Chief Price stated his annual report comes out in March or April and a
report at that time might be a little premature.
Council Member Reid verified this program does not affect the detectives.
Further, he asked that a status report be provided in a year.
Chief Price stated it would be included in the 2009 Annual Report.
ii. School Resource Officers
Chief Price stated there have been questions on Council as to what the
School Resource Officers (SROs) do and whether we want to continue the
program. He stated in the County all secondary schools, with the exception
of Leesburg, have an SRO from the Sheriff's Department. He stated the
Leesburg Police Department decided to use their own officers in our Leesburg
schools to better address issues in our Town. He stated when he became
Chief there were three SROs in the Town, one was funded by the Town one
was funded by State grants and the other funded by federal grants. He
stated those grants have expired and the Town has been working with the
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to receive reimbursement for the Town
using our officers in the schools. He provided a brief overview regarding the
role of the SROs and the benefits of having Leesburg officers in our schools.
He stated in the fall of 2010 the new Tuscarora High School is anticipated to
open and we have requested funding for that position and a supervisor
position to oversee the SROs in the grant application provided to the County.
He stated he sent a letter to Sheriff Simpson informing him of this discussion
and asking if his office has the capacity to staff the schools in Leesburg if the
Leesburg Police Department were to pull their officers out. He stated in his
reply Sheriff Simpson stated he does not have the staff to take over the
schools in Leesburg without additional funding and staff from the Board of
Supervisors. Further, if additional funding and staff were not available then
SROs could be pulled from Middle Schools around the County to cover only
the two high schools in Leesburg.
Council Member Dunn asked how much funding the Town would need from
Loudoun County to cover all costs for the SROs.
Chief Price stated the Town received $247,000 in Fiscal Year 2009 which
equals 48 percent of the salary and benefits.
Council Member Dunn stated the SROs essentially spend 75 percent of
their time in the schools; however, the County only covers 50 percent of the
cost. He stated he had wanted to consider this because he feels there would
be an equal respect in sharing information if a Deputy were in the Leesburg
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schools. He stated he also believes both departments would provide good
quality service as the Deputies are already providing quality service in the
schools they serve. Further, he stated this does not have to do with funding,
rather it would be in an effort to assist the Leesburg Police Department with
enforcement issues and the lack of a Crime Analyst.
Chief Price stated if that were to be the case the Town would have to make
a conscious decision that we would not respond to any calls at the school. He
stated we are approaching 1,500 or more calls per year at the schools that
the SROs respond to, so to gain back that time resource we would have to
say that we would not continue that level of response.
Council Member Dunn stated this is just an idea to consider over time.
Vice Mayor Hammier thanked Chief Price for his presentation. She stated
this is straight forward. She stated it is clear that the schools need your
presence to continue the community policing efforts. Further, she stated it is
important to look at how items are placed on the agenda as there are so
many topics we can take offline rather than having the group review topics
that we are intimately familiar with.
Council Member Martinez thanked Chief Price for his presentation. He
stated even if the County were to take over the SRO program, they would not
be able to provide the quality service we provide today. Further, he
concurred with Vice Mayor Hammier's comments stating there are some
issues that could be handled better outside the Council Chamber.
Council Member Wright thanked Chief Price for his presentation and his
frankness. He stated when Council met with the Board of Supervisors
regarding this issue, he left with the impression that we may not get more
money, but that is being driven by other issues they are dealing with than a
lack of willingness. He stated he also felt they were very impressed with our
program and perhaps felt we were being more effective than the County's
program. He stated he would continue to nurture that feeling as there may
need to be an improvement in the economy in order to receive additional
funding. He asked how the SROs relate to what we are doing with community
policing.
Chief Price outlined the coordination efforts of the command staff to share
information that comes from the schools or that relates to activities in the
schools to solve crimes such as graffiti.
Council Member Butler thanked Chief Price for his presentation. He asked
if there are statistics relating to crime rates in localities such as Leesburg that
do not have SROs
Chief Price stated we would have to go outside of the state for that
information as every community in Northern Virginia has an SRO program.
He stated he would conduct research on a national basis to find the
information; however, it may take some time to find a locality that matches
up economically and demographically.
Council Member Butler stated that information would be beneficial to have
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over the next few months. He stated he is certain that preventing a crime is
better and cheaper than prosecuting a crime so the more we can do that the
better. Further, he stated the number of officers Leesburg has based on our
population is lower than any other community around and perhaps that is due
to the success of our SRO program.
Council Member Reid stated there is a benefit to having this discussion now
so we do not have to go through this during the budget discussions. He
asked what percentage of the SRO positions are funded by the County versus
Federal or State grants.
Chief Price stated all of the funding comes from the Town or the County.
He stated there are no more Federal or State grants specifically for SROs. He
stated incorporated in each of the officer's salaries is a portion of the 599
funding we receive from the State. He stated that funding was cut twice in
the last 12 months.
Council Member Reid verified the SROs are funded at 48 percent by the
County.
Chief Price stated that covers benefits, but not equipment.
Council Member Reid asked if the officers return to patrol duty when school
is not in session.
Chief Price stated when there is no school, the officers are deployed to
special events and camps.
Council Member Reid stated they are trained officers that do community
policing and during the holidays and summer months there often is a lot of
activity.
Chief Price stated the schools are closed on holidays; however, when
school is open the officers are there for eight hours.
Council Member Reid verified the cost for an SRO at the new high school
will be $67,000 including salary and benefits.. He asked if the Sheriff could
place a Deputy in that school.
Chief Price stated he could not answer that question.
Council Member Reid stated the way this discussion began was to see if the
Town could accrue savings; however, as the Sheriff stated in his letter he
cannot cover the Leesburg schools. He stated this is a good program because
if it were cut then we would not have enough officers to staff our schools.
Council Member Reid stated he is very satisfied with the presentation and
thanked Chief Price for his efforts.
Mayor Umstattd stated her recollection is that the Board of Supervisors felt
that if Chief Price could take on obligations outside the Town's boundaries it
would probably save them money. She stated this is an excellent program
that she has seen in practice at the schools and it works extremely well.
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Chief Price thanked Mayor Umstattd for her comments stating his
department has no desire to take on additional duties outside of the Town.
iii. Traffic Enforcement Report
Chief Price stated over the past few years we have seen a decrease in
crashes in Town and our overall number of traffic citations have slightly
increased. He outlined the new Leesburg Friendly Streets program which was
partially borrowed from a program in Naperville, Illinois. He stated this
program is aimed at preserving the quality of life in our neighborhoods by
retaining the traditional, town-like atmosphere. He stated through its
commitment to the safety and livability of residential streets, Friendly Streets
hopes to create a partnership between the residents of Leesburg and the
Town government. Further, he outlined the Community Speed Watch
Program where volunteers from affected neighborhoods are vetted, trained in
radar operation and allowed to monitor speed in their neighborhoods for
informational purposes. He stated violators will be sent a notice in the mail
informing them that their vehicle was observed exceeding the speed limit by
a citizens patrol. Further, he outlined the traffic response plan, future
staffing, future traffic duties and future issues.
Council Member Reid stated he likes this program and he asked that this
presentation be provided to the Standing Residential Traffic Committee
(SRTC). He asked if the concerns ofthe residents on Sweet William regarding
drag racing had been addressed.
Chief Price stated his department has met with the residents. He stated
once case the Commonwealth's Attorney decided not to prosecute and in the
second case the officer who was injured has filed charges which are being
pursued actively.
Council Member Reid stated he supports this program; however, he thinks
there is something about a speed trap in a residential area that really sends a
message. He stated he sees them on high volume roads but we are receiving
complaints from residential area. Further, he stated there was some
discussion at the SRTC regarding what to do with their left over funding and
whether the committee should provide the areas discussed in this report, or if
the Police Department could provide recommendations. He stated that in the
meeting he suggested that the Police Department provide statistics showing
the 25 mile per hour areas of Town where we get a lot of complaints.
Further, he asked that information be provided to the Committee regarding
where the largest number of speeding complaints and crashes occur within
the 25 mile per hour areas to provide guidance on where they may want to
look at traffic calming measures.
Council Member Wright stated he does not worry so much about the
average speeds as much as the raw data identifying the maximum speeds on
the roads. He stated getting the community involved is helpful and asked if
that is the best way to identify these reckless drivers.
Chief Price stated we are not looking for our community speed watch
volunteers to be our enforcers, but if they see that vehicle more than once
then our officers will be looking for them.
Town Council Work Session of December 8, 2008
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Council Member Martinez thanked Chief Price for his presentation. He
stated the information on the speed study for the 100 block of Plaza Street
started at 8:00 am and asked what time the study concluded.
Chief Price stated the studies usually run on a 24 hour basis.
Council Member Martinez stated the study indicates that traveling in the 2
lanes of this block there were 11,052 vehicles as well as 18,000 on West
Market Street.
Chief Price stated the machine only picks up vehicles traveling in one
direction so the number of vehicles on the road was significantly more that
what is indicated.
Council Member Martinez stated that is a lot of traffic and he appreciates
the department's plan and the briefing. Further, he stated this shows we are
having problems and we need to be proactive in addressing them. He stated
we do need a traffic impact study on Battlefield Parkway because of the
development and there will be an increase in traffic once the barricade at
Catoctin Circle is removed.
Chief Price stated he expects significant complaints when Battlefield
Parkway is fully operational.
Council Member Martinez stated that is why we have to be proactive now
so we are not caught off guard.
Vice Mayor Hammier asked if we can identify the percentage of crashes
that are caused by drivers who are not Leesburg residents. She stated her
point is that as much as this is a tremendous idea and that we really need to
get the word out on the great momentum that we cannot just assume that
the majority of the problems are caused by Town residents.
Chief Price stated that assumption would only be safe for the interior
residential areas.
Vice Mayor Hammier stated she is looking more at the Bypass between
Edwards Ferry and Battlefield Parkway.
Chief Price stated the 40 to 50 percent of the drivers crossing the Lawson
Creek Bridge do not have Town of Leesburg decals on their vehicle.
Vice Mayor Hammier stated her main issue is that when those letters go
out they will also be sent to people who come here to shop or cut through
Town to get to work because they are in a hurry so we need to be proactive
about that. Further, she thanked Chief Price for his great briefings.
Council Member Dunn stated the studies show we average 26 miles per
hour and asked if that is based in the 25 mile per hour areas or throughout
Town.
Chief Price stated that information was based on four studies that were
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Conducted in 25 mile per hour zones.
Council Member Dunn asked what percentage of time officers spend
checking speeds.
Chief Price stated we have officers on patrol 24/7. He stated all of the
vehicles are equipped with radar and in many cases they are equipped with
bi-directional radar.
Council Member Dunn stated Council is seeking speed cameras in our
legislative package; however, it seems that there may not be a speeding
problem in Town.
Chief Price stated that is a valuable enforcement tool such as photo red
light and he would advocate for it in that capacity.
Mayor Umstattd thanked Chief Price, Captain VanGilder and Captain Moxley
for attending the meeting tonight.
c. Loudoun Street Development
Mayor Umstattd stated the advocates for both the PPEA and the park have
agreed to the recommendation to establish a group with two individuals from
each side and a facilitator.
Mayor Umstattd verified Council could pass a resolution of support tomorrow.
Council member Dunn stated he is surprised at the expectation that this will
only take two meetings.
d. Boards and Commissions Budget Requests
Mayor Umstattd stated both the Environmental Advisory Committee and Tree
Commission are requesting funds for a booth at the Flower and Garden Show
and asked if there might be some cost savings if they share a booth.
Council Member Dunn stated he had a similar question about the Flower and
Garden Show booths. He asked why the Town is paying itself for a booth at a
Town sponsored event. Further, he stated the Technology and Communications
Commission is requesting funding for refreshments at their informational
meetings and asked when the meetings are taking place, how long they are and
if it is necessary to have refreshments.
Sandra Smallwood, Technology and Communications Commission Co-Chair,
stated the Commission is proposing four citizen forums per year. She stated
they will be held on Saturdays and will last a minimum of four hours. She stated
there will be two symposiums held on the Saturday lasting eight hours so the
refreshments are for the citizens who will be there for a long time as well as to
cover the costs of CDs that will be provided to the attendees. She stated one
forum that has been very popular demonstrates to Parents the types of websites
that their children may be visiting. Further, she stated the cost is a not to
exceed amount and the Commission is trying to find restaurants that might
donate the food.
Council member Dunn stated the grant information did not seem to have as
Town Council Work Session of December 8. 2008
Page 10
much information as we just provided verbally and encouraged the commissions
to be detailed in their grant submissions.
Vice Mayor Hammier stated in these tough economic times it is important to
look for sponsorships where possible to minimize costs as well as companies
that might provide speakers or other necessities.
Council Member Martinez stated it is also important to include information in
the forums regarding the fact that text messages and instant messages work on
a different channel than voice and can be extremely helpful in reaching your
children during emergency situations such as the recent attacks at Virginia Tech.
Ms. Smallwood stated the Commission held a forum last week regarding the
emergency alert system in partnership with Officer Tidmore.
Council Member Wright stated he likes the idea of requests being made on a
not to exceed basis. He asked that language be added to the resolution stating
that Council encourages Commissions to find sponsorships. He stated some of
these requests may be included in the materials and supplies provided in the
budget.
Council Member Butler commended the Commissions stating the request
came in at about 50 percent of what was allocated for the year. He stated all of
the Commissions are doing a great job.
Council Member Reid stated he thought Council passed a resolution asking
that the Economic Development and Environmental Advisory Commissions seek
private funds for their forum.
Mr. Wells stated he will need to check the relationship of this request versus
the resolution.
Mayor Umstattd stated that is not what they are asking the money for.
Council Member Wright stated these requests were submitted before Council
passed the resolution.
Council Member Dunn stated they were originally requesting more money for
speakers and this appears to be something different.
Neeley Law, Environmental Advisory Commission Chair, stated the
Commissions are pursuing sponsorships and are asking for Council to take a
leadership role in this by providing funding to be leveraged with the
sponsorships.
Council Member Reid stated he concurs with Vice Mayor Hammier and Council
Member Wright that the resolution needs to say that funds are provided on a not
to exceed basis and encourage sponsorships.
Council Member Dunn asked if language was in the original resolution that
Commissions should look for sponsorships or is that request is on a case by case
basis.
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Paqe 11
Mr. Wells stated the resolution was unique to that event request that came
forward as a separate budget proposal
Council Member Dunn asked if Council member Wright's request for language
encouraging sponsorships was made in general or just to that particular event.
Council Member Wright stated he was trying to avoid a situation where the
Town's default response to a request is to write a check rather than looking for
sponsors for an event.
e. ESI Contract
Bill Ackman stated staff supports the continuation of the ESI contract as we
have made great strides in the past couple of years and are now moving in the
right direction. He stated staff conducted significant research through LMIS
comparing the processing time for applications submitted through ESI and those
that were not. He stated the cursory review provided by ESI ensures
completeness of the plan before it is submitted to the Town which reduces the
amount of review time. He stated the ESI is paid on a pay as you go basis by
the applicant and the Town basically pays only a membership fee for the
numerous benefits we receive. Further, he introduced Dr. Terry Ryan from ESI
and Phil Deleon with Stantech.
Mayor Umstattd stated the way the information is presented it seems that it
takes longer for an ESI application to go through the processes versus a non ESI
application.
Mr. Ackman stated the majority of applications that go through ESI because
the projects are much larger. Further, he stated some of the delay is due to
plans sitting while staff waits for the applicant to come in with their bond. He
stated the majority of the non-ESI applications are for very small projects.
Further, he stated in sum the data over five years shows the ESI firms have had
the plans approved within 3.2 submissions and 4 submissions through non ESI
firms.
Council Member Butler verified the cost to the Town is $15,000 per year.
Vice Mayor Hammier asked why is there a presumptive right of renewal and
why this is a sole source contract.
Mr. Ackman stated ESI is a non-profit group that are looking solely at
completeness of the plans and the cost of that is born through a separate
contract between ESI and the applicant.
Vice Mayor Hammier stated given we seem to be on the cycle of presumptive
renewal has staff conducted surveys with the customers who process
applications regarding their perception of how the process works with ESI.
Mr. Ackman stated staff has a standing ESI Committee made up of private
sector engineers which meets by monthly to discuss how the Town can do things
better. He stated the majority of the committee feels the ESI review is
beneficial and can save up to 2-3 submissions.
Town Council Work Session of December 8, 2008
Page 12
Vice Mayor Hammier stated offline she would like to follow up with those who
feel this is not beneficial.
Mr. Wells stated the issues we are raising tonight have been discussed in the
renewal process. He stated the contract was up for full renewal six months ago
and staff chose to renew for only six months to conduct this study and ensure
the partnership is valuable. He stated staff's recommendation is to move
forward with the contract renewal; however, that isn't a definitive answer as
sometimes the process works better with some applications than others.
Council Member Dunn stated after working with ESI for five years we should
we know the value of the relationship already.
Mr. Wells stated we did not know the value as we had received different
feedback from different individuals. He stated we know the value and we want
to do a better job.
f. Resolution of Support for Inova Hospital
Mayor Umstattd stated Council Member Butler and Council Member Reid have
submitted resolutions for consideration. She stated Council Member Butler's
Resolution requests the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to deny the
application for a medical center in the regional Broadlands area by the HCA and
encourages the County to work with HCA to find a more suitable location in the
Route 50 corridor. She stated this resolution is similar to one she had proposed
with input from Council Member Martinez, Vice Mayor Hammier and Council
Member Butler and she is comfortable with the language Council Member Butler
has proposed. She stated Council Member Reid's resolution does not take a
position on the Broadlands Regional Medical Center (BRMC) application, but
states that the Town believes the expansion of the Cornwall campus is vital to
the local economy and discusses traffic issues as well. She stated she believes it
is important for Council to take a position in opposition to the BRMC facility in
Broadlands. Further, she stated Supervisor Burk is anxious to see Council take
a position in favor of maintaining the County-Wide Healthcare Facilities Policy, in
support of the Cornwall Campus and in support of a medical facility in the Route
50 Corridor.
Vice Mayor Hammier stated she looks forward to voting in support of the
majority position on the resolution. She stated as the Council's representative
on the County Economic Development Commission and as Council's point person
on the George Mason University (GMU) initiative she feels strongly that Council
needs to take a position relative to the importance of the Inova Campus as it
relates to the Town's overall economic development, its goals in terms of
locating a GMU campus here as Inova is a key business partner in some of our
key strategic issues and we need to fully support that and their expansion plans.
Council Member Martinez stated he is also in support of this resolution. He
stated he has heard comments questioning why the Town should take a
position; however, Council has taken positions on many issues such as
Crosstrails and other development applications that would adversely impact the
Town. Further, he stated too often the County does not include Leesburg in
their application review.
Town Council Work Session of December 8, 2008
Page 13
Council Member Wright stated he has met with representatives of Inova and
HCA and has read the County staff report. He stated he still does not feel that
he has all the facts to weigh in on a zoning issue that is before the County. He
stated he supports Inova and the Cornwall campus; however, he does not
accept the premise that by supporting the one entity that he has to oppose the
other. He stated he fundamentally does not believe this is the Town's
jurisdiction and he fundamentally does not believe that we have all of the facts
including public input in the proper forum. Further, he stated he believes it is
not our place to comment because we do not have all of the facts.
Council Member Butler stated he appreciates Council Member Wright's
comments and maybe one day Council will make a decision where we do have
all the facts and where the citizens of Leesburg uniformly agree on everything.
He stated he could support either his or Council Member Reid's resolution. He
stated he is not interested in a resolution that supports HCA or Inova over the
other as both companies are doing their job. Further, he stated he is okay with
taking a position or not taking a position on this issue; however, he is strongly in
favor of taking a position in favor of the Cornwall Campus.
Council Member Reid stated he also supports the Cornwall Campus. He asked
if Council weighed in on this discussion two or three years ago before the Board
of Supervisors.
Mayor Umstattd stated she cannot remember if Council weighed in or not.
Council Member Reid asked if Council has ever weighed in on a rezoning issue
that was not in the joint land management area.
Mayor Umstattd stated several years ago Council weighed in on a proposal to
put a race track in Ashburn.
Council Member Reid stated he concurs with Council Member Wright that
Council should not take a position on this issue. He stated he does not see the
relation between this application and George Mason. Further, he stated if
Supervisor Burk needs our resolution to make a decision than he is stunned by
that.
Mayor Umstattd stated she did not say that she needed our resolution to
make a decision, rather she was looking forward to Council taking a position.
Council Member Reid stated he supports the Cornwall Campus and Inova's
plans to expand and looks forward to moving his resolution tomorrow night.
g. Council Meeting Schedule Discussion
Council Member Wright sta'ted he would not support meeting once a week;
however, he would like to have a break between Council Meetings so staff is not
running fire drills. He stated as Council has made changes to the agenda we
have been more efficient and he is not sure that Council could reduce the
number of meetings to three. He stated if we move the regular meeting date to
Wednesday we miss both local paper's deadlines, so their reporting to the
citizens is delayed by a week. Further, he stated he is not as convinced that the
current process is broken and needs fixing.
Town Council Work Session of December 8, 2008
Page 14
Council Member Dunn stated the citizens seemed to be well informed by
Council Members on the Hospital issue and certainly did not get their information
from the newspapers.
Council Member Wright stated he likes the way the meetings go and if we
want shorter meetings we need to be more self-disciplined in keeping our
comments short.
Council Member Dunn recommended a serpentine order of calling on Council
Members for comments versus starting on either end. He also recommended
limiting Council Member and public comments as we have a choice of limiting
public comment to three minutes or five minutes. He stated we also have a
problem with speaking out of order and it is not appropriate for Council to ask
questions without being recognized by the Chair. He recommended having
presentations provided to Council ahead of time to limit the number of
questions. Further, he stated he does also not agree with having fewer meetings
and would like to keep the current schedule.
Vice Mayor Hammier stated the will of the majority of Council should influence
agenda setting especially in light of this evening with lengthy presentations that
could have been organized differently. She stated Council needs to focus on
items where we need information because we plan to act on it and for
informational briefings, which are equally important, we could make ourselves
available on a Saturday afternoon once a quarter. She stated having one
meeting a week would be difficult for her given her travel schedule.
Council Member Butler stated the police presentation had a lot of good
information; however, it was basically a request for additional officers and could
have been done at the budget meeting. He stated he does not support the three
meeting a month proposal as it only allows public comment once a month and
limiting publiC; hearings to once a month may increase the workload for that
evening. He concurred with Vice Mayor Hammier's comments on new items for
the agenda and suggested requiring a minimum of three people to bring a new
item forward. Further, he stated if there are a significant number of
presentations, he would be happy starting the meeting at seven o'clock.
Council Member Wright stated Council asked for a public safety briefing and
our goal was that it would be all we would talk about. He stated on Tuesday
night we would then work through the items on that agenda and ask our
questions. He stated we need to try to keep the Monday work session from
being a warm up or rehash of the items on Tuesday's agenda. Further, he
stated he has found that if the meetings start earlier they do not end any
earlier.
Council Member Reid stated two years ago Council Member Wright suggested
we have a retreat and Mr. Wells came up with this idea that we divide the labor
in three meetings a month as it is better for the staff and us. He stated we have
put it off by trying other options which have not worked. He stated he likes the
idea of three meetings per month and does not see the problem with having a
gap in a Monday and Wednesday meeting. He stated the newspapers would not
miss out as they can place the information online. Further, he urged Council to
consider three meetings a month with the option for a fourth meeting.
Town Council Work Session of December 8, 2008
Page 15
Mr. Wells stated if Council wanted to move forward with any change in the
schedule he would not recommend beginning until March due to the holidays in
January and February.
Council Member Martinez stated the majority will not support a change and he
would like to just move forward.
Council Member Reid stated he would like Council to try meeting three times
per month.
Vice Mayor Hammier concurred with Council Member Butler's comments
regarding limiting public input.
Council Member Reid stated we will have a large number of speakers
tomorrow night regarding the hospital issue and asked who will make a motion
to limit their comments.
Council Member Dunn stated he does not believe a motion is needed.
Council Member Reid stated under the Council rules of order a motion is
required to reduce public comment time to three minutes and it has not
happened yet. He stated the problem is not with the public comment it is with
ourselves and with staff. Further, he stated he would like Council to take a
closer look at this proposal and would like an item on the agenda for the first
meeting in January to discuss this as he supports moving to three meetings a
month.
Council Member Dunn stated the rules state the Chair shall at the beginning
of each meeting establish a time I-imit for speakers that shall be no fewer than
three minutes and no more than five minutes.
Council Member Reid stated it is the Mayor's call and she has never in his two
years reduced the time except during the water rate discussions when there
were 45 or 50 speakers.
h. Tree Ordinance Update
Susan Berry Hill stated the Urban Forestry Master Plan has five major goal
areas including approving tree planning and protection legislation. She stated
one aspect of that is to adopt a Tree Ordinance to address trees on public
properties, trees in public right of ways and provide a comprehensive framework
to protect the trees. Further, she stated staff has completed a draft ordinance
which is being vetted at the Tree Commission and staff level.
Mayor Umstattd stated last year the General Assembly gave us authority to
require during development that a certain percentage of the final canopy be
preserved from the beginning and asked if this authority will be in the proposed
ordinance.
Ms. Berry Hill stated that is not part of this, but it is one of the steps that we
will get to in the process.
Mayor Umstattd expressed the need to enact this legislation as soon as
possible.
Town Council Work Session of December 8, 2008
Page 16
Mr. Banks stated Council could not have adopted the legislation before July 1,
2008 and it will require an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance.
Ms. Irby stated as soon as the ordinance is written she can review it and
begin the process.
Jay Banks stated the canopy legislation will come forward in the Zoning
Ordinance amendments.
Mayor Umstattd asked how long that would take.
Ms. Berry Hill stated staff will begin working on a plan for this legislation. She
stated the first thing is to work on the tree ordinance and then the Zoning
Ordinance.
Mayor Umstattd stated she could not feel more strongly about this legislation.
She stated it should have been enacted months ago and now we have missed an
opportunity for preserving trees during new development. She stated previously
we used to enact new legislation from Richmond on July first. Further, she
stated we need to get this out of whatever slow process this is in and get it
approved now.
Council Member Butler concurred with the Mayor's comments.
Council Member Reid stated he has also been pushing for this legislation to be
enacted. He thanked the Mayor for her enthusiasm and for pushing the issue.
Mr. Wells stated staff will have a resolution available for tomorrow night to
initiate the Zoning Ordinance amendment.
i. Consideration of January 2, 2009 Holiday
Mr. Wells stated this holiday has been adopted by the County and the State
For 2009 as January 2 falls on a Friday.
Council Member Dunn asked where the $36,000 needed for the holiday will
come from.
Mr. Wel.ls stated the money will come from existing appropriations for salary.
Vice Mayor Hammier asked why the holiday will cost $36,000.
Mr. Wells stated there are some overtime costs as this will become a holiday
pay issue for some employees.
Council Member Dunn stated in civilian work an employee could come in and
work this day as normal or if they wanted the day off they could use vacation
leave. He stated we are coming up with $25,000 here and $36,000 there and
he is wondering how flexible the budget is and if it needs to be tighter.
Council Member Wright stated he would like to find a way for Council to avoid
continuing to vote on these issues. He asked that the resolution be amended to
allow the Town Manager to authorize an additional holiday when the State and
County governments authorize the holiday for their employees.
Town Council Work Session of December 8, 2008
Page 17
Mr. Wells stated we would only do this for minor changes in the calendar and
not for permanent holidays.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 10:23 p.m.
~~
Clerk of Cou
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