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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2010_tcwsmin0510Council Work Session May 10, 2010 Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, 7:30 p.m. Mayor Umstattd presiding. Council Members Present: David S. Butler, Thomas S. Dunn, lI, Vice Mayor Katie Sheldon Hammier, Marty Martinez, Kenneth "Ken" Reid, Kevin Wright and Mayor Kristen Umstattd Council Members Absent: All Present Staff Present: Town Manager John Wells, Town Attorney ]eanette Irby, Deputy Town Manger Kaj Den[ler, Director of Planning & Zoning Susan Berry Hill, Director of Utilities Randy Shoemaker, Director of Public Works Tom Mason, Transportation Engineer Calvin Grow, Senior Planner Mark Browning, and Clerk of Council Lee Ann Green 1. Work Session Items for Discussion: a. WTP Chloramination Proiect Randy Shoemaker presented information that was requested at the last work session meeting. He noted State regulations require compliance by October of 2013 and in order to be in compliance with the stage II disinfection rule, the water treatment plant needs to be modified by either switching to chloramines or by continuing with free chlorines and pH adjustment prior to chlorination. He reported that larger systems in the area generally use chloramines because they tend to be effective in the system for a longer period of time. He stated the town's system is not considered "large" as compared to some of the ones that were surveyed including Fairtax Water, City of Manassas, Spotsylvania County, Stafford County and Washington Aqueduct System. He noted that the City of Fairfax will be switching to chloramines later this year and noted that Loudoun Water purchases their water from both Fairtax Water and the City of Fairtax; therefore, Loudoun Water will be providing only chloramines treated water. He stated this creates a concern for the town as [here is an emergency interconnection with Loudoun Water creating a mix zone. He stated this would require added treatment should the town or Loudoun Water ever need to utilize the emergency interconnection. He noted that with the construction of the additional storage tanks, the town may not have need of the emergency interconnection. Mr. Shoemaker discussed concerns with the use of chloramines in the water treatment industry, notably the increased corrosiveness of water treated with chloramines causing the leaching of lead and/or copper into the water. He noted the high pH of free chlorine treated water creates a coating inside the pipes. He also noted that chloramines can cause problems with taste and odor. He clarified that the free chlorine can cause a bleach like smell, but chloramines can cause the water to smell and taste like a swimming pool. There was discussion regarding the cost of chemicals and the previous recommendation for chloramines as a cost saving alternative to the high cost of sulfuric acid and caustic soda now being rendered less attractive by a drop in the cost of the additional chemicals. Mr. Shoemaker noted the free chlorine is still a Town Council Work Session of Mav 10 2010 Paae 2 more expensive process; however, there would be no capital costs associated with the free chlorine approach and the chloramines system would require a $300,000 outlay for a capital improvement to the Water Treatment Plant. Mr. Wells stated that unless the Council votes to change to a chloramination system, the staff will proceed to test the free chlorine method until September, report back to Council in October whether they have been able to maintain compliance with the new regulations and the cost of the chemicals needed to maintain compliance. Mr. Shoemaker expressed confidence that they would be able maintain compliance levels during the test period. He stated staff would return with results at the second meeting in October. There was discussion regarding award of the civil engineering continuing services contact. It was noted there are other projects besides the chloramination project that Hazen and Sawyer would be needed to work on within the Utilities system. Vice Mayor Hammler expressed concern regarding staff's change in direction. Mr. Wells noted that staff's preference was always to use the free chlorine method due to safety concerns; however, the additional cost was significant but a drop in chemical costs made it more attractive. There was discussion regarding the factors causing the drop in chemical prices, which Mr. Shoemaker explained as being market driven. Council Member Butler asked that Council be updated as to any fluctuations in chemical costs that signifcantly affect the cost effectiveness of the free chlorine treatment. Council Member Reid had questions pertaining to the item on Tuesday night's agenda for the Continuing Services Contract award. He questioned whether the town has ever awarded this type of contract in the past and expressed concern with the open-endedness of this contract. Council Member Wright noted that this type of contract has been awarded for capital projects in the past. Vice Mayor Hammler questioned whether the consultant had recommended the chloramines project. Mr. Shoemaker stated that staff has known these regulatory changes would eventually be implemented and most other jurisdictions have already made the change to chloramines. Council Member Dunn discussed [he timing of the test and the project. He stated since the upgrades to the plant would only take 14 months, there is plenty of time to study this further. He asked for historical data regarding whether the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ever come out with a mandate and then reduced or eliminated the mandate. Town Council Work Session of Mav 10 2010 Paoe 3 Ms. Irby noted the EPA has on occasion postponed the requirements of a mandate while they come up with the regulations to implement a mandate. She stated from the perspective of their past behavior, the town can expect more regulation rather than less regulation with respect to any kind of chemical treatments for water. Mayor Umstattd questioned when chloramine began to be used to any signifcant extent in any other jurisdictions and how many years of data are available pertaining to the health implications. She noted the impact of this chemical might not be completely known until after a generation's worth of data is available. Mr. Shoemaker stated he could fnd out when local jurisdictions switched over to chloramines. b. County Wide Transportation Plan Follow-uo Mark Browning stated the town issued a referral letter to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in October 2009 in response to the County Wide Transportation Plan (CiP) update. He noted that the revised CTP includes nine of the eleven recommendations made by the town. Mr. Browning discussed the following comments: 1. Two lane roads that enter the town. He noted the areas through which those two lane roads pass contain wetlands, the Limestone Overlay District, utility and access easements, and parks. He noted the CiP does include widening several of those two lane roads including Evergreen Mill, Sycolin, Route 15 south to Route 704, and Fort Evans Road. He stated, as a result, staff does not recommend inclusion of this particular point in the CTP referral. 2. Trail serving Balls Bluff Park. He noted there is not a trail included in the CTP; however, there is one identified in the Town Plan which is entirely within the corporate limits therefore staff does not recommend inclusion in the CiP referral. He pointed out [hat the Potomac Heritage Trail is an interjurisdictional facility which also serves Balls Bluff Park. With regards to a question by Mayor Umstattd as to whether the trail connects to anything up or down river at this time, Mr. Browning stated at this time it is mostly on paper, but is included in both the comprehensive plans for Loudoun and Fairtax counties. 3. Removal of certain planned roadway improvements from the CTP. He noted there is an initiation to amend the Town Plan to remove certain roadway improvements on tomorrow night's agenda. He stated that staff recommends not including any reference to this in the CTP referral because those roadway improvements are currently still shown in the Town Plan. He also noted of the roads recommended for removal from the Town Plan, only Trailview Boulevard is currently shown in the CTP. 4. Ultimate configuration of the Route 7 West climbing lane. He stated that staff recommends a VDOT representative brief Council on the possible designs for this project. Town Council Work Session of Mav 10 2010 Paoe 4 5. Ultimate confguration of Route 15 Business/Route 15 bypass intersection. Mr. Browning made the same recommendation for a briefing by VDOT for possible designs. Vice Mayor Hammier stated a concern for whether the County would be taking any initiative to fix these two issues and expressed a desire that the County be invited to these briefing sessions. Council Member Reid stated he has never seen a Board of Supervisors who have bothered to initiate much in regards to transportation initiatives that would affect Leesburg. 6. Segment of Battlefield Parkway from Route 621 to Route 15 south. He stated the current CTP does not show an alignment of Meade Drive and Battlefield Parkway and places the intersection south of Meade Drive and staff recommends alignment of these intersections. He stated staff concurs with Council's recommendation that the segment of Battlefield Parkway from Route 621 to Route 15 be listed in the referral as a priority project and a rotary design be considered for the intersection with Route 15 south. There was discussion regarding the use of a rotary design at the intersection of Route 15 south and Linden Hill Way and the deadlines for completing the design for the Route 15 south widening project. It was noted that a neighborhood meeting is scheduled for May 19 with the Linden Hill residents. Mr. Den[ler stated VDOT has given the town some recommendations for design of the Linden Hill access, but will allow this to be the town's decision. He stated there may be some legal implications to be considered should Council decide to go against the recommendations of the engineers. Council Member Wright questioned which two lane roads are not ultimately shown as four lane roads in the CTP and expressed concern with staff's comments regarding removal of roads that are not feasible to be built from the CTP. Mr. Browning stated county staff is aware that the town is considering removal of these roads from the transportation plan; however, staff felt it was not appropriate to include this in the CTP at this point since the removal has not yet occurred. Council Member Wright stated he feels it is appropriate to communicate the plan to remove these roads, in writing, to the county and the history of what the town has done thus far. Ms. Berry Hill stated the town's intention to remove these roads can be included. Council Member Reid expressed concern that the county needs to address safety improvements to the two lane roads surrounding Leesburg. There was discussion with regards to necessary improvements to Edwards Ferry Road outside the town limits. Town Council Work Session of Mav 10 2010 Paae 5 Tom Mason stated that 15 years ago, [he county had a four lane road in their transportation plan, just like the town's, but some rezonings such as Northlakes caused them to change the plan to a two lane road. He stated the Council at that time objected but was ignored and that an earlier plan to widen and realign the portion of Edwards Ferry from the town boundary to River Creek Parkway had some funding, but ran into a lot of objections from the adjacent historic properties. He added that the "pave in plate" experiment did not work and only served to increase the speed of vehicles traveling on this portion of the road. c. VDOT Six-Year Plan Calvin Grow stated VDOT will be holding a public hearing on Wednesday, May 26 and staff has prepared a resolution for the public hearing after reviewing the draft Six-Year Plan online. He stated VDOT does not show any urban funds for the town in the draft plan. He recapped the town's projects as: Urban system projects: 1. Construct Battlefield Parkway from Kincaid Boulevard to Route 7. 2. Widen South King Street from Route 621 to southern corporate limits. 3. Construct Battlefield Parkway from South King Street to Dulles Greenway. 4. Sycolin Road Widening- Phase IV (Tolbert Lane to southern corporate limits). 5. Widen Evergreen Mill Road to four (4) lanes from South King Street to Battlefield Parkway. Primary system projects: 1. Sycolin Road Flyover including the widening of Route 7/15 Bypass from four (4) to six (fi) lanes and completion of the interchange at Route 15 and the Route 7 Bypass. 2. Route 7 westbound climbing lane from West Market Street to Route 9. 3. Widen Route 7 Bypass from South King Street to West Market Street. 4. Construct Interchange at Route 15 Bypass and Edwards Ferry Road. 5. Construct Interchange at Battlefield Parkway at Route 7. Vice Mayor Hammier requested that staff follow-up with the CTB regarding the return of remaining funds from the Route 28 widening. Council Member Wright questioned what the county is requesting be included and what VDOT has included for the county in the Six Year Plan. He stated the town and the county should be collaborating on their requests. Council Member Butler questioned why the Sycolin Road flyover is combined with the widening of the bypass as Council is trying to separate the two projects so that the Flyover does not have to wait until funding for the widening project can be obtained. Mr. Grow stated that the flyover cannot be designed without taking a future widening into consideration, but the two can be separated on the project list. Council Member Dunn stated consideration should be given to moving #4 on the Primary Systems Projects lists up to #2 for safety considerations. He added Town Council Work Session of Mav 10 2010 Paoe 6 that the climbing lane on Route 7 west might encourage people to cut through town to avoid congestion on the bypass. There was discussion regarding reordering the priorities. Arguments to keep the climbing lane at #2 included reducing the current amount of traffic cutting through town to avoid back ups on the bypass and congestion on Dry Mill Road attempting to avoid the bypass. Vice Mayor Hammler emphasized the regional nature of the congestion on the Leesburg bypass. Council Member Wright emphasized that these are county transportation issues as well and county officials should be representing these transportation priorities at the public hearing in addition to Leesburg's representation. Council Member Dunn noted that Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania officials should also be petitioned as these traffic concerns affect their constituents as well. d. Council Budget Objectives Vice Mayor Hammler stated the purpose of the list is to identify specific longer-term goals. There was discussion regarding seeking city status. It was decided that more information is necessary, including whether it is constitutional for the State of Virginia to ban municipalities from seeking city status. Council Member Wright stated there is a public safety component to the ROCK program in that it keeps youth out of trouble and he would like to ensure that a private partner is still able to accomplish that goal. He noted the sign for the reserved spaces in the basement does not make it clear that those spaces are available on the weekends and evenings. Council Member Butler stated one of the pieces of information needed is a cost/benefit analysis for city status. He agreed with Council Member Wright about the ROCK program and stated the use of automation in the parking garage may be a use of a lot of capital money for no return on the money spent whereas opening the garage for free parking would save staff time and require no capital expenditure. Council Member Reid stated for the record that he is against seeking city status, but does not currently have any problem with studying it. He questioned whether anyone would support examining which meters are not producing a lot of revenue and changing those to a parking zone. He noted that fines may be more productive than meters. He noted that Sola Pallotta had suggested bringing in art students to paint murals on the walls of the garage. Council Member Martinez questioned whether a proposal was available on how Council members would like the Boards and Commissions streamlined and expressed concern that changes would catch a lot of Boards and Commission members by surprise. Town Council Work Session of Mav 10, 2010 Paae 7 Council Member Dunn stated the Boards and Commissions need to be addressed including looking at converting some of them to subcommittee status as part of a consolidation. He questioned whether the first item includes getting together with the Board of Supervisors for a joint meeting. He expressed his support for a meeting with the Board of Supervisors. He stated he is hesitant to pursue city status because the town can already spend $100 million and needs to tighten up its spending habits before having three times the amount of money to spend. He stated the citizens need to be educated on how to use current resources including brush pick up. He stated there are opportunities to move some parking meters around and asked to look into the cost effectiveness of an automated meter system whereby there is one electronic parking meter kiosk such as those used in Alexandria and Baltimore. He stated he thinks there are places in town where parking spaces can be added. Council Member Martinez stated the ROCK program has generated positive response and he would hate to turn it over to anyone else. He questioned who will be performing all these cost/benefit analyses. Mayor Umstattd stated she would like every Council member to know the true cost of overlapping services; however, there are some cost efficiencies the county offers to the town that have not been taken into consideration. She stated that city status continues to come fonva rd because there is an understanding that cities can provide services at a lower tax rate than the combined tax rates of counties and towns. She noted that some cities contract with the county to provide school services. Further, she stated she does not see a need to readdress brush pick up and stated her strong belief that the ROCK program is a critical program from a public safety perspective and is worth retaining. She noted that the involvement of a nonprofit would lessen police involvement and still want the town to pay for the program. She discussed her feelings regarding the parking garage and reducing or eliminating the fee for parking and noted if the town foregoes parking fees in the garage, the operating cost of the garage will have to come from somewhere else. She stated making the Parks department an enterprise effort, the prices will need to be increased to the extent that citizens will complain. Council Member Wright stated this objective could be worded as "follow-up with additional recommendations" on the overall fee study. Noting that the Recreation Center is almost at break even, he stated the things that make this community a community like the trails, Fourth of July celebration, and passive parks, etc., are the items that are also in the Parks budget and are why that budget cannot break even. Vice Mayor Hammier noted that the Parks and Recreation budget is at about 50% and the Director of Parks and Recreation would support Council attempting to seek 75% by next year and then determine if there was a possibility of going higher. She stated she agrees with Council Member Wright's point that there is inherent value in the quality of life provided by Parks. She stated the ROCK program is very important, but the Uran Funds have run out so the Council needs to be proactive and ask whether the town wants to absorb the cost into the General Fund or find another way to provide this social service. She stated the line item for the Employee Optional Benefit program is a large line item and needs to be looked at in terms of whether it would make more sense to readjust salaries rather than have the Optional Beneft to supplement salaries. She Town Council Work Session of May 10 2010 Paoe 8 questioned whether saving money by not replacing vehicles is achieving the desired effect when it might take less employees to maintain those older vehicles. It was the consensus of Council to have those council members who sponsored this item, take the notes and comments and provide an updated, numbered list in two weeks for further discussion. 2. Items for Future Council Meetings Council Member Martinez brought forth the following a. Raspberry Falls well contamination issues - He stated the town needs to work with the county to figure out how to provide some assistance to the families in this area. Vice Mayor Hammier brought forth the following: a. Issue with water and boundary line adjustments. b. Opportunity to sell effluent to the Green Energy Partners. c. Revisit efforts to lobby for changes to the Composite Index to obtain more sales tax revenue. Council Member Wright brought forth the following: a. Courts Complex -possible charette/stakeholders group. b. Council Retreat -Each Council Member contributes three items [o be discussed. Council Member Butler brought forth the following: a. CSI contract -questions regarding when the contract runs out and when will the town have the opportunity to make changes to the contract. Council Member Reid brought forth the following: a. Tavistock Drive speeding issues. b. Addition of street parking spaces in the downtown area. c. Chart of what other comparable communities have as far as Boards and Commissions. Council Member Reid will make a recommendation for streamlining the Boards and Commissions. Council Member Dunn brought forth the followino: a. Discussion regarding seeking more customers for the Utility Department - sale of water westward and northward. b. Possibility of a water authority partnering with the county. c. Joint meeting with the Board of Supervisors to discuss common goals and objectives. d. Reconstitution of the economic development staff -have them work for economic development purposes. e. Moving the town elections to November. Council Member Wright asked that a representative from the Board of Elections be invited to the meeting when this is discussed to provide answers to questions with regards to process, redistricting, etc. f. Management ideas for the Balch Library -better utilization of that facility. g. H-2 discussion. h. Address liaisons to Boards and Commissions. i. Banyan Cave reversion to original by-right development -clear up misunderstanding with owner. Town Council Work Session of May 10 2010 Paoe 9 Council Member Reid questioned whether the Parks and Recreation Commission had an opportunity to weigh in on the proposed fees. Vice Mayor Hammler stated they supported a marketing type program like the volume discount. 3. Closed Session On a motion by Mayor Umstattd, seconded by Council Member Wright, the following was proposed: MOTION Pursuant to Section 2.2-3711(A)(B)of the Code of Virginia, I move that the Leesburg Town Council convene in a closed meeting for the purpose of advice of counsel regarding current and potential litigation. The motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Butler, Dunn, Hammler, Martinez, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 7-0 The Council convened in closed session at 10:11 p.m. The Council reconvened in open session at 10:46 p.m On a motion by Mayor Umstattd, seconded by Council Member Martinez, the following 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. The motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Butler, Dunn, Hammler, Martinez, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 7-0 4. Adjournment On a motion by Council Member Martinez, seconded by Council Member Butler, the meeting was adjourned at 10:46 p.m. 2010 [cwsmin0510 Clerk of Col nc I