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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2010_tcwsmin0607Council Work Session June 7, 2010 Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, 7:30 p.m. Mayor Umstattd presiding. Council Members Present: David S. Butler, Thomas S. Dunn, II, Vice Mayor Katie Sheldon Hammier, Kenneth "Ken" Reid, Kevin Wright and Mayor Kristen Umstattd Council Members Absent: Marty Martinez Staff Present: Town Manager Jahn Wells, Town Attorney Jeanette Irby, Deputy Town Manger Kaj Dentler, Director of Public Works Tom Mason, Capital Projects Manager for Design and Engineering Tom Brandon, Director of Utilities Randy Shoemaker, Preservation Planner Annie McDonald, and Clerk of Council Lee Ann Green AGENDA ITEMS i. Work Session Items for Discussion: a. Linden Hill Access -South King Street Widening Council Member Dunn questioned whether Council will be expected to make a decision at Tuesday night's meeting. Mr. Brandon stated that while they would like a decision on the design, they could wait two weeks without endangering the federal grant money deadlines. Ms. Irby stated the town needs as much time as possible to negotiate easements. Mr. Dentler stated that Council has to make a decision on the project design before it can go forward. He noted that previous Council action only indicated a preference for a left out of Linden Hill and allowed the project to move forward meeting the deadlines but now definitive action is necessary before it can go any further. Council Member Butler questioned what would happen if Council continued to defer decision on this project; how long would it be until the town would lose the federal and state funds? Mr. Dentler stated the town would run out of time to get the utility relocations so that construction could start. Mr. Brandon stated the work needs to be substantially completed two years from March of 2010. He clarified that the town would need to break ground next spring in order to make that deadline. Mr. Dentler recapped the project as a widening project of South King Street from Evergreen Mills Road through Virts Corner with a median, but the project has been broken into phases to take advantage of federal stimulus funds. He stated the first phase from Evergreen Mills Road through Greenway Drive has an agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) that allows the town to administer the project which includes design and construction and VDOT will provide partial funding for it. He stated this project was originally Town Council Work Session of June 7, 2010 Page 2 planned in 1997, but was postponed because of a lack of funding. He stated the stimulus funds allowed the town to move forward with this phase. He stated this project is necessary to improve congestion and safety along South King Street and will include a trail that picks up the South King Street Trail at Country Club Drive and goes all the way to Woodlea Drive. He stated a public meeting was held in September of 2009 with the Linden Hill community and a general public hearing at which time the residents raised the issue of a left out of the Linden Hill community. He stated that staff has been reviewing a variety of options. He reviewed the options that have been available including roundabouts and access roads from either Country Club Drive or Greenway Drive. He stated that VDOT has a strong preference for right-in, right-out only. He stated the consultant, Wells and Associates along with Paciulli Simmons, supports VDOT's preference and have developed an option for a left in to the community but cannot support a left out of the community. Mr. Chris Turnbull of Wells and Associates, displayed the modeling for the project which showed traffic flows fora 20 year period. He noted by 2030, traffic will almost double in this area during peak hours with all intersections dropping to a level of service."F" if no improvements are made. He displayed different configurations for the Linden Hill intersection. Mr. Dentler clarified that the light at the Greenway intersection and the trail are part of the project. There was discussion regarding timing through the possible intersection scenarios. Mayor Umstattd questioned whether it would be legal for an engineer to sign off on an option that allowed a break in the median where someone could turn left at their own risk. Mr. Turnbull stated they could not endorse a plan that showed a left turn motion at that intersection. Mayor Umstattd stated the impression she left the community meeting with was that Council might want to find another engineering firm that would be willing to sign off on such a plan; however, in discussions with other engineers, she has been told that no respectable engineering firm would sign off on plans to allow that left turn out. She stated she would like clarification on whether this is a standard or the law. Dick Burke, the urban program manager for VDOT, stated that VDOT provided comments on the plans but final approval will need to come from the town. Mr. Dentler stated that Council has expressed their desire for what they wish to have happen. Wells and Company, town staff, and VDOT all have to approve that design safety standard. He stated that Council does not sign and seal the plans. He stated at Council's direction, staff has hired Paciulli Simmons for a second opinion and all have confirmed the design safety standard for this project. He stated if Council wishes to provide the left out of the community against the advice of the professional engineers, then staff must locate a firm Town Council Work Session of June 7, 2010 Page 3 who will approve the plans. He stated this will not be easy because any new firm cannot just disregard all of the evidence and research that has been done. Council Member Reid questioned whether anyone at VDOT would sign off on these plans if a left out is included. He questioned whether there is anything VDOT can do that would provide immunity against liability. Mr. Burke stated there is nothing that VDOT can do; VDOT still has to accept the plans in order to move forward with construction. Mr. Dentler stated that even if an outside firm is found that is willing to sign and seal the drawings, the town's internal approval process would need to approve the plans and it is unlikely the town's engineers would be willing to sign off on the plans without some guarantee that the intersection is safe. Ms. Irby stated the town has no protection if the Council commits gross negligence. She stated there is enough information on the table to support the position that if this intersection is built against the advice of the engineering firms, the Council could be party to a suit as well as the engineering firms. Mr. Turnbull confirmed that Wells and Associates would not sign off on these plans if a northbound left turn is included. Vice Mayor Hammler questioned what other alternatives could be used including a light, an access road, or a roundabout. Mr. Dentler stated that town staff recommends aright-in, right-out but the Linden Hill residents can make a u-turn at the Greenway Drive intersection 700 feet south on S. King Street. He stated that a light does not help with traffic mitigation. He stated staff looked at access roads connecting to Country Club Drive which would involve removal of at least one home. He stated that attaching to the cul-de-sac at Wing Tip Court would involve changing the dynamics of that neighborhood. He stated connecting to Greenway Drive or Country Club does not meet any of the access standards that have to be provided. He stated that a five pronged roundabout would involve the removal of homes as well as the additional costs. He stated there is a lengthy approval process through VDOT on roundabouts that would add significant time to the pre-construction phase. Mr. Turnbull pointed out that previous standards would have allowed two lights to be located closer together. Mr. Dentler stated the standards continue to change and the current standards have to be adhered to. Vice Mayor Hammler stated there are people who live in this community who need to make a left out of their street and the town will have to find a way to make that happen. Mr. Dentler stated the town will need to find an engineering firm that will provide what Council is asking for. Town Council Work Session of June 7, 2010 Page 4 Mayor Umstattd stated that point makes her believe there may be reputable firms out there that will do what Council wants; but in private discussions with the engineers, she gets the feeling it will be impossible to find such a firm. Mr. Dentler stated it will be a very difficult search to find a firm that will go against all the evidence that has been collected. Council Member Wright questioned what the safety concerns are for this intersection. Mr. Turnbull stated it is a combination of conditions including the functional characteristics of the roadway, the anticipated speed of the roadway, and the location of the driveway relative to Country Club Drive. He discussed the conflicts with the influence area of the Country Club Drive intersection as being the primary issue. Vice Mayor Hammler questioned how many of the year 2030 projected trips are estimated to be Leesburg residents. Mr. Dentler stated there is some commuter traffic, but most of it is Leesburg traffic. He noted that the Meadowbrook development will be mostly completed in 20 years as well as the Meadowbrook commercial center. He stated this widening project has to be done, if not today, then in the future. He stated in the future, the project will cost a lot more. Vice Mayor Hammler stated the numbers need to be justified based on what will be Leesburg based trips. Council Member Wright stated the real decision is whether to build it or not build it. He stated if the town does not build it, the federal grant money would need to be returned. He questioned how that would affect future grant applications. Mr. Wells stated it would have a negative impact on the federal government's scoring process for future grants. Mr. Dentler pointed out the money that has already been spent on design would have to be reimbursed. Council Member Wright questioned whether the state would take over the project if the town declined to build it. Mr. Burke stated that VDOT would not take over unless there was a request by the town. He noted the town would need to quickly reimburse and return all the federal stimulus funds as those funds will be very quickly allocated to another stimulus type project. Vice Mayor Hammler questioned whether the funds could be applied to another project where taxpayer dollars are being used. Mr. Brandon stated it would be very difficult to federalize as they would be unable to meet the deadlines associated with federal funds. Town Council Work Session of June 7 2010 Page 5 There was discussion regarding the process once a decision has been made to continue with this project. Council Member Wright questioned what happens if no staff engineers are willing to sign off on the plans. He questioned whether it could be outsourced. Ms. Irby stated the Town Code identifies a Town Engineer and if the Town Engineer cannot sign the plan because it is unsafe and their license will not allow them to sign off on an unsafe plan, the town has not accomplished anything by finding another outside engineering firm to sign and seal the plans. She stated the town already has information that exposes it to liability. Council Member Wright questioned what Linden Hill's level of service would be if the project is not built and the current road conditions are left in place. Mr. Turnbull stated the level of service would drop to "F" and there would be greater than 1000 seconds of delay for that intersection. Council Member Wright questioned whether this intersection has ever been compliant with standards. Mr. Mason stated at the time this intersection was built, South King Street was a two lane road with no signal at Country Club and it was built to the standards of the time for the conditions that existed at the time. Council Member Reid questioned why the widening is not going to extend to Meade Drive. Mr. Dentler stated currently the town does not have sufficient funding to widen to Meade Drive. He stated when Council accepted the stimulus funds, the project was broken into two phases to allow the town to meet the deadlines for the stimulus funds. Council Member Reid stated he feels the one way service road to Country Club Drive could be a silver bullet. He stated he is concerned no left in is shown. He questioned what the cost would be to acquire the house and build the access road. Mr. Dentler stated the rough estimates were around $800,000 without engineering to make sure that there are no other issues that need addressed. There was discussion as to who would maintain the access road. Council Member Reid commented that it is too bad the Meadowbrook development was approved and the Western Transportation Corridor was not built. He stated he does not want to forego the South King Street trail or the light at Greenway Drive. He stated Council should direct staff to investigate this alternative because it will give the Linden Hill community a safe way to take a left turn. Mayor Umstattd stated she would only be in favor of this alternative if the homeowner is a willing seller. Town Council Work Session of June 72010 Page 6 Mr. Dentler stated that staff will do the preliminary engineering prior to finding out if the homeowner is a willing seller, but this exercise will take some time. Council Member Wright stated he would need validation of that amount since it would make it one of the least expensive road sections ever built by the town. He suggested making the access road a separate project, if it is feasible, since making it a separate project will keep the main South King Street widening project on track. Mr. Brandon stated the state discourages segmented projects. Council Member Butler stated he could support making the South King Street widening and an access road two separate projects. He questioned whether there could be a one way access to Wing Tip Court but noted that either access road option may not save any time for the Linden Hill residents over making a U-turn at the light at Greenway Drive. Mr. Turnbull stated the U-turn movement is estimated at roughly one minute to 1.5 minutes, depending on where in the cycle you are when you arrive at the signal. He stated the estimated delay on the access road to Country Club Drive is roughly 54 seconds. Council Member Butler stated that the consensus to continue with the South King Street widening project is good since it has been discussed since 1995 in the Capital Improvements Program. He stated if the project is not done, conditions will continue to worsen for the residents of Linden Hill creating longer wait times to get out of the community. Mr. Turnbull pointed out that as the wait times increase, the residents will be forced to take more chances when trying to exit the neighborhood towards the north. Vice Mayor Hammier stated it is not about the actual time it takes to make the left heading north, but the implications of decreased home values based on the fact that homeowners cannot get out. She asked "whether it was conceivable to think about somebody directing traffic so they could go left, similar to what you see at NCC, the little person that is in the safety shelter who is out there directing traffic". She stated "we need to think a little outside the box. We have a lot of things that we bring in a human dimension. We have a full time person hired in this garage. Would it be more safe to have somebody physically directing traffic?". Council Member Dunn questioned how the town can get to'~yes" with this intersection. He suggested lower speeds, changing lane configurations, reducing the turning lane, changing the median size/shape, or looking at other options. Mr. Turnbull stated the only "yes" is not to do the project. He stated the engineering firm cannot support a left out with the addition of two lanes. He stated even by changing the speed limit, the functional area of the intersection would only get smaller, but not small enough to allow the left turn out. Town Council Work Session of June 7, 2010 Page 7 Council Member Dunn questioned whether the federal funds could be spent on another project if another project was ready right away. Mr. Burke stated the urban allocation could be re-programmed but some type of scoping would need to be performed on the new project and that would take six months to a year and the money needs to be spent by September according to the federal obligation. Calvin Grow stated that 19 percent of the traffic on South King Street is through traffic with the remainder being local traffic in 2006. Mr. Turnbull stated for the section north of Country Club Drive, currently the traffic count is 18,000 trips per day which will increase to approximately 30,000 in 20 years. It was noted that about 10,000 trips per day would be generated out of Meadowbrook, including the commercial center, and Evergreen Mills and with the construction of the final link of Battlefield Parkway from Evergreen Mills to Route 15, traffic capacity on both sides of Route 15 will even out. Council Member Dunn stated his belief that drivers will have multiple options to get to Route 7 and the Toll Road. He questioned the breakdown of traffic heading east off South King Street. Mr. Turnbull stated the southbound left turn onto Battlefield in the morning is roughly 500 trips and the same in the afternoon with the traffic coming from Battlefield onto King Street headed north is approximately 600 in the morning and 560 in the afternoon. Council Member Dunn questioned whether there is a minimum distance needed between exiting King Street and being able to turn right onto the service road. Mr. Turnbull stated there has to be some space for queuing of vehicles. Council Member Dunn suggested using the house at 1 Country Club Drive as town employee housing, if the town has to purchase the house. He stated his belief that the need to widening South King Street is part of a domino effect from the decision to approve the Meadowbrook application. He expressed his belief that the project is not necessary because those going north on King could opt to go Evergreen or Battlefield to get to points east. Council Member Butler stated there is a mis-assumption that building Battlefield will alleviate the traffic on King Street. He stated Battlefield will increase the number of cars on King Street, particularly once the Sycolin flyover is completed. He stated the town cannot afford to return $6 million dollars and not do this project. Mayor Umstattd stated she hears a consensus to continue with the project and a high level of interest in looking at Alignment 1, which includes an access road out of Linden Hill to Country Club Drive and the right-in, right-out and left in from Route 15 northbound. The citizens in attendance expressed support for this option. Town Council Work Session of June 7, 2010 Page 8 Mayor Umstattd directed staff to get in contact with the homeowner at 1 Country Club Drive. She stated she would not support taking this home by force; however, if the owners are eager and willing to sell it would eliminate the concern. A citizen in the audience indicated that property is offered for short sale. It was Council consensus to postpone action on this item for two weeks to give staff time to investigate the status of the property and work out costs and timing issues and fully notify both the Linden Hill and Country Club neighborhoods of the issue. b. BAR Window and Rehabilitation Workshop Discussion This item was deferred for two weeks. c. Utilit~Customer Discussion Mr. Wells stated this is an update on Raspberry Falls. He stated he spoke with Dale Hammes, Director of Loudoun Water, and the dye testing that is going on will occur throughout the summer. He stated they expect results in the fall and possibly have some preliminary results in June or July. He stated the testing is being performed by both the County and the Environmental Protection Agency, not Loudoun Water. He stated Loudoun Water is doing water quality testing and those results are posted regularly on their website. In addition, Mr. Hammes had mentioned that in working with the developer of Raspberry Falls, they are digging an additional well. Mr. Wells stated he is meeting with John Andrews in the morning with regards to the Green Power Plant and will have more information after that meeting. He stated the preliminary discussions were limited until the County took action. He stated in response to Council Member Dunn's request for a discussion on utility department organizational issues, staff needs some direction on whether to proceed with the research effort. Council Member Dunn stated as far as Raspberry Falls goes, the residents have issues with their wells. He stated the county is talking about drilling another well, but the expectations are not too high. He stated the wells are already contaminated with bacteria and chemicals that are eating their copper pipes. He stated they are asking to become Leesburg water customers and the town should at least discuss this option. He suggested putting this on the agenda for the meeting with the Board of Supervisors. He stated he believes the citizens do not have a lot of faith in the results of the studies the state is performing. Vice Mayor Hammier stated strategically this makes sense, but needs to be in the context of the overall annexation discussion. She stated the town has a lot at stake in terms of the broader discussions. Council Member Reid pointed out that this is not part of the annexation area. He stated the Council needs to sit down with the residents to discuss this. He stated he has met with the residents of Raspberry Falls with Mr. Wells and has explained the difficulties. He suggested they attend a work session. Town Council Work Session of June 72010 Page 9 Council Member Butler stated he does not see any value in that at this point because until the town cannot do anything without the direct permission of Loudoun Water since this is in their service area. He stated the county has made it clear that the residents need to wait for the results of the testing. He stated the discussion of us providing them water cannot be started until the water rate case is resolved. He stated there is some disagreement over the facts surrounding Raspberry Falls. He stated he is hearing two different stories from the residents and Loudoun Water and it is unclear which story is correct. He stated once the results of the tests are returned and the water rate case is resolved, that would be a good time to discuss this issue. Council Member Wright stated the facts that we know is that this is not part of our service area and is part of Loudoun Water's service area. He stated that per the agreement the town has with the county, any expansion or change in our service area has to be mutually agreed upon. He stated he is sensitive to the health, safety and welfare concerns of the residents; however, based on the facts that have yet to be received, there could be an array of solutions. He stated the town cannot arbitrarily go in and take over. Council Member Dunn confirmed the town manager said the town would not be restricted by the appeal in Richmond from seeking additional customers. He stated no one is talking about taking Loudoun Water's customers without permission. He stated the Council needs to decide as a body whether additional customers are something the town would be interested in pursuing. He stated the town cannot sustain the treatment plants with the current rate structure and only 60% capacity. He stated the town needs to get additional customers from somewhere and this is the first step in a marathon of seeking additional customers. Vice Mayor Hammler stated that is the broader strategic discussion. She stated it would benefit the town to bring in commercial customers. Council Member Dunn stated the state may direct towns to look at utility authorities. He questioned whether the Council wants to discuss an authority, which would take a lot of politics out of the utility department. d. Public Safety Staffing Mayor Umstattd stated with the potential that the town may be spending more money than anticipated and possibly acquiring a property at 1 Country Club Drive, the Town Manager cannot recommend additional safety staffing. She stated she would still like to add an additional officer this year so the town does not fall too far behind on the Strategic Plan. Vice Mayor Hammler stated she is in agreement with the analysis that Council Member Butler brought forward. Council Member Wright stated he supports the Town Manager's position. He stated during the budget cycle, the Chief of Police and Town Manager walked the Council through how they would address the town's safety needs. He stated the town needs an analysis of what metrics are being used to measure performance in the Police Department. He stated there is a lot of information out there that Town Council Work Session of June 7, 2010 Page 10 the metric of officers per thousand should not be the only one used. He questioned how the county's officer's per thousand supplements ours. Council Member Butler agreed. Council Member Reid agreed that this could be discussed during the next budget cycle. Mr. Wells stated the town will need to start working on a plan on how to build back what has not been. able to be accomplished over the past few years including capital, maintenance, compensation, and staffing. He stated the town needs an organization wide plan to deal with this. He stated the balanced budget means that adding any additional request for funding has to be carefully considered as there is not a lot of flexibility built into the budget. Council Member Dunn stated he does not support cutting back funding for police goals. He stated there are areas where funds can be reallocated in the current budget. He stated there is no reason to close down the Balch Library, but there are 4-5 full time employees there servicing 20 customers per day. Mr. Wells stated if the Council wants to look at long term goals, he would state policy and planning needs to be started earlier so that everything can be addressed earlier. e. Loudoun Water Treatment Plant -Loudoun County Referral Item a and f heard simultaneously. f. Luck Stone Quarry Expansion -Loudoun County Referral Irish Grandfield displayed some maps of the project sites. He stated under state law, if a project is within a mile of another jurisdiction's boundary, then the neighboring jurisdiction gets a copy sent to them for comment, which are due at the end of this week. He stated a very small portion of the Luck Stone application is within the Urban Growth Area. He stated it is the portion north and west of Sycolin Creek. He stated 152 acres were rezoned in the early 1990s for quarry use but Luck Stone now has additional parcels and is trying to consolidate this into one rezoning approval for quarrying well into the future. He stated the previous approval included a bridge across Goose Creek. He stated the Goose Creek Scenic Advisory Board did not endorse this crossing, so the rezoning includes a tunnel underneath the creek. He stated the tunnel would be used to take the stone from the quarry to the Belmont Ridge Road site. He noted the portion that is inside the Urban Growth Area is designated as open space, but includes a note that says "subject to a future zoning concept plan amendment". He stated the Town Plan calls for extended right-of-way along Cochran Mill Road. He cited the list of staff comments which include designation of the additional right-of- way and trail which follows Sycolin Creek and a note that the town will be the provider of sewer and water at the time they may come in for a future zoning concept amendment. He stated the Loudoun Water Treatment Plant is a rezoning and special exception application. He stated the water intake land belongs to Loudoun Water and was given to them as part of the rezoning for River Creek. He stated Town Council Work Session of June 7, 2010 Page 11 it is next door to the town's water treatment plant. He stated they will transport raw water to the site just north of the Dulles Greenway where the treatment plant will be. He stated the raw water pipeline will also pump water into Luck Stone quarry's old pit for storage. He stated the water treatment plant is outside the Urban Growth Area but the raw water pipeline does cross into the town at one location near the Village at Leesburg. He stated that Loudoun Water will be applying for an easement from the town. He stated while it is outside the UGA, it is just within a mile of the airport. He stated all the treated water will go in their service area to their customers. He stated he does not see any town specific issues related to this application. Council Member Wright stated the water treatment plant will be treating potable water, not sewage, so it will not generate odor. He confirmed the UGA is the outer limits of the area the town looked at for annexation so the plant and intake are outside the possible area of annexation. Ms. Irby stated with respect to the Commission Permit, Loudoun Water has been in a few times and have altered their plan to go through less of the town; however, there are several issues the town has raised with them including liability for running the raw water type under a town maintained road. She stated the question is who is responsible for damage should the pipe burst. She stated there has been no response to that question. Council Member Wright clarified that the Commission Permit goes to the Planning Commission and ends at the Planning Commission. He stated that while he cannot find a compelling reason to deny a water treatment plant outside the UGA, he has concerns about this on the border of the town's service area. Randy Shoemaker pointed out that the raw water intake line will run adjacent to the town's effluent line in many areas along River Creek Parkway. Council Member Butler questioned whether Loudoun Water could try to service River Creek. Ms. Irby stated that while Loudoun Water assures the town they have no plans to do this and it is her understanding that Loudoun Water respects the service area. Council Member Wright requested the comment regarding the town's service area be included in the referral comments for this application as well as the Luck Stone application. Council Member Reid stated the town needs to have a discussion with Loudoun Water as to why they need to build a plant as this poses a potential threat to the town's service area. He questioned whether Luck Stone is supportive of annexation. Council Member Wright confirmed that Luck Stone is not supportive of annexation. He stated the annexation committee does not see significant value of going east of Cochran Mill Road to bring in a parcel that would seek to do quarry operations. He stated. that Luck Stone does not want to be included in the town because the town does not have any zoning designations that deal with mineral extraction. Town Council Work Session of June 7, 2010 Page 12 Council Member Reid stated the town should come up with a zoning designation that Luck Stone would be agreeable with as part of the purpose of annexation is to gain commercial/business tax revenue. Mayor Umstattd stated the referral comments on both of these applications should best protect the town's legal options in the future. Council Member Reid pointed out that annexation is one of the town's interests for the future and suggested starting to work on a zoning designation that would be agreeable to Luck Stone. Council Member Dunn stated he hoped the Council would discuss all the utility issues that were on the agenda more fully. He stated the town is reaching a point of critical mass where if the town does not take action, it may be passed by. He stated the town expanded the treatment plants for more customers but is not going after them. He stated the town is not moving with vigor after customers outside of town. He stated his feeling that it is important to discuss these issues with the Board of Supervisors (BOS). Council Member Reid stated he felt the last meeting with the BOS was unproductive. He stated either sending a letter or resolution to Leesburg's representatives or talking to them one-on-one is the best that can be done. g. URAC Discussion Council Member Butler stated there are a few issues surrounding the utility rates that are open issues that need to be resolved. He stated the Utility Rate Advisory Committee could work on these issues. He stated they could work on availability fees, winter quarter issues like the snowbird problem and the HOA water use. Mayor Umstattd stated these issues definitely need to be addressed and she feels the Council should handle them. She agreed there needs to be a mechanism to address the issues. Council Member Wright stated much like any of the advisory committees, URAC was created to deal with a specific issue. He stated there is value to having a pool of resources that can deal with a specific issue and he would fully support re-engaging the URAC to address issues such as those that Council Member Butler raised. Mr. Wells stated the ordinance that chartered the URAC could be updated and the vacancies on the committee would need to be filled. He stated the second meeting in July would give staff time to advertise the ordinance change and give Council time to fill the vacancies. He noted that these issues fall within the original scope of the URAC Committee activities. Ms. Irby stated the URAC can serve an important function, but she would like to tighten up the language in the ordinance to ensure that the advisory role of the URAC is clearly defined. Town Council Work Session of June 7, 2010 Page 13 Council Member Reid expressed his support for this and suggested an added task of having them review contracts and equipment expenditures for the Utility Department. Council Member Butler stated if this is the general practice of the other advisory committees, then he could support having the URAC perform the same function for the Utility Department; however, he noted if none of them look at departmental expenses and contracts, then he does not feel it would be appropriate. Council Member Wright stated that while it would be appropriate for them to look at these types of items from an overall operational standpoint; it is not appropriate for them to function as an audit committee. Council Member Dunn stated he could not support the URAC. He stated the Utility Department has too much government involved and this would just be bringing in another body designed to advise Council. He stated a lot of the issues of the Utility Department could be satisfied by looking at the possibility of a utility authority. He stated the problems the Utility Department faces are coming from the people sitting around the Council table. Council Member Reid questioned an item on Tuesday night's agenda to replace the Hi-Cube Camera truck. He stated the vehicle is only 10 years old. Randy Shoemaker stated the Utility Department has two camera trucks, one for the existing system and one for new system. He stated that prior to releasing a developer off a bond for construction of the public utilities; an inspection is performed on the underground infrastructure which includes sewer laterals and mains to ensure that they are constructed properly. He stated that this prevents the town from having to spend money a few years down the road correcting problems created by the developer. He stated the other unit is to view the sewer lines on a preventative maintenance basis so that there are fewer occurrences of sewage back up. He stated this truck will replace the truck that performs the maintenance inspections of 170 miles of mainline and sewer pipe. He stated the entire system is inspected approximately every ten years through this closed circuit inspection. He stated the camera technology has become outdated on this vehicle noting it still uses VHS cassettes while currently everything is digital and loaded onto CDs. He stated the camera quality is much lower on the older equipment and the new cameras are color. Council Member Reid requested the Item regarding the Utility Department Hi-Cube Camera truck purchase be removed from the Consent Agenda for tomorrow night's meeting. Vice Mayor Hammier requested that the Virginia Charity Duathlon Fee Waiver Request and the Virginia Retirement System authorization be put on the Consent Agenda. 2. Items for Future Council Meetings Council Member Butler: Requested two items. 1. Allowing alcohol sales on town property. Council Member Butler noted that La Lou Bistro had made the original request, but if the sidewalks are widened as part of the Downtown Improvements, this will become an issue. Town Council Work Session of June 7, 2010 Page 14 Mr. Wells stated a suggested ordinance will be brought to the next work session. 2. Clarifying the Appointment Process for Boards and Commission members. He requested an ordinance change for the next meeting. Ms. Irby confirmed that there would be time to make the appropriate advertisement for an ordinance change. She suggested Council initiate the ordinance change at tomorrow night's meeting. Vice Mayor Hammler: Requested an item regarding the comprehensive_bus shelter plan noting that more and more requests for bus shelters are being received. Council Member Reid: Confirmed that the discounts for fire and rescue volunteers would be on the next agenda. He stated he would like to propose additional parking on Loudoun Street and Wirt Street at the next work session. Council Member Wright: Stated he would like to bring the Ethics discussion back as there are a few things that were not captured in the last update. Mayor Umstattd: Stated she would like to institute a program that would honor staff families that have active duty military. She stated a number of town employees have family who are active duty and she would like to recognize them. 3. Closed Session Council Member Wright stated the Closed Session item regarding Franchises was requested by Council Member Martinez who is absent. Ms. Irby stated staff will be meeting with Comcast on Friday and she will have more information for Council after that meeting. She stated the other Closed Session item was at the request of a Council Member who had asked for a matrix on the utility rate appeal. Council Member Dunn stated it could be done at Tuesday night's meeting. 4. Adjournment On a motion by Council Member Butler, seconded by Vice Mayor Hammler, the meeting was adjourned at 10:57 p.m. ~ i 1 1 ,,.. r~ 1~~ _. Clerk of Cou cil 2010 tcwsmin0607