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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2011_tcwsmin0321Council Work Session March 21, 2011 Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, 7:37 p.m. Mayor Kristen Umstattd presiding. Council Members Present: David S. Butler, Thomas S. Dunn, II, Katie Sheldon Hammler, Marty Martinez, Ken Reid, Kevin Wright and Mayor Kristen Umstattd. Council Members Absent: None. Staff Present: Town Manager John Wells, Deputy Town Manager Kaj Dentler, Town Attorney Jeanette Irby, Assistant to the Town Manager Scott Parker, Director of Engineering and Public Works Tom Mason, Traffic Engineer Calvin Grow and Clerk of Council Lee Ann Green AGENDA ITEMS 1. Work Session Items for Discussion a. Downtown Parking Design Scott Parker stated that Council directed staff to come back with some parking alternatives for King Street. He stated this effort has resulted in two options. He described the two alternatives which include one with a mid -block crosswalk that removes one parking space and one without a mid -block crosswalk which retains all parking spaces. He stated both options include the epoxy brick pattern print in the parking areas from Market to Loudoun and crosswalks at the intersection as well as the previously approved street lights. Council Member Dunn questioned why the bricks need to be replaced. Mr. Parker stated there are some items that will need to be addressed including accessibility at the corners and drainage. He stated only removing the bricks at the street lights is a possibility, but there are some issues that need to be taken care of. Council Member Dunn stated he is leaning towards the Alternative #2 to keep the maximum amount of parking and he would like to see a cost savings by reusing the bricks. He confirmed that the number of street lights is the same for both alternatives. Council Member Reid questioned the plan for North King Street. Mr. Parker stated the graphics focused on the Market to Loudoun Street segment, but he would anticipate that both alternatives would include all parking on North King as currently exists. Council Member Butler stated removal of the improvements on King Street diminishes his enthusiasm for the rest of the project. 1 Page Council Work Session March 21, 2011 Council Member Hammler questioned whether delay of a decision on this part of the project would delay either the budget or the remainder of the project as approved. Mr. Wells stated it would not affect either. Council Member Hammler questioned if all stakeholders are involved in a non Council involved charette, they can come back to Council with a decision no later than July, would it delay the project or not. Mr. Parker stated if there are significant changes, it is possible it may delay the project. Vice Mayor Wright stated his understanding was that any changes would result in a delay, although it might not be a 1:1 delay. He asked for clarification from Capital Projects. Mr. Brandon stated early on in the design process, delays can be made up in the design and relocation of utility easements. Vice Mayor Wright asked for clarification of the downtown project including what parts are being done, construction starts and construction ends. Mr. Parker stated of the projects previously approved on September 14, include the garage walkway to King Street and the east end triangle. He stated both projects have been to the B.A.R. and have been approved. He stated work will start in the fall of 2011 with completion the next year. He stated the second phase with relocation of utilities on Loudoun Street, King to Harrison, Loudoun and Harrison intersection and Harrison to Market which includes the addition of sidewalk will start in the fall. Vice Mayor Wright noted that the design for the parking on King Street was based on public input. Further, he encouraged the downtown community to be mindful of how they are portraying the parking issue so damage is not done to the image of parking downtown. There was discussion over the parking alternatives. There was discussion on whether a decision should be made at tomorrow night's meeting or whether time should be given for a community group to meet and come up with some alternatives. b. County Government Support Center Master Plan Scott Parker stated this is an open discussion for the Council on Council Member Reid's suggested resolution. 2IPage Council Work Session March 21, 2011 There was Council agreement in general for the resolution and support for the south east communities opposing the JDC expansion next to the residential area. Vice Mayor Wright and Council Member Martinez urged caution about getting ahead of the committee. Council Member Butler undertook editing the resolution. c. School Resource Officers Mr. Wells stated this is to respond to the letter from Scott York on behalf of the Board of Supervisors responding to Council's request to provide additional funding under the draft Memorandum of Understanding that the Council has sent to the Board of Supervisors. He stated the county has provided information that says additional funding for the SROs will be held in reserve until an understanding is reached between the Town and the County on two other issues. Vice Mayor Wright stated the Council is always willing to meet with the Board of Supervisors to discuss any issue. Council Member Hammler stated she was quite shocked that there has been an attempt to combine two completely separate issues. She stated that it takes away from what is a basic policy decision about providing SROs to all county schools including Leesburg based schools that serve a significant number of non Leesburg based students. Council Member Butler stated if Council makes the assumption that non funding of the SROs will force the county to pick up the funding, the Council is playing "chicken" with the county for $166,000. He questioned whether the impact of not funding the SROs and not funding the R.O.C.K. program is worth it. Council Member Reid stated Supervisor Kurtz had indicated to him that she wanted to discuss the SROs, water differential, and Village at Leesburg proffers but the letter seems to be talking about a delegation. He stated he would be interested in talking about the county government center. He stated he told her about the work being done by the URAC and there is no effort to try to restore the 100% surcharge or go higher despite the fact that the town has the right to do it under the law. He stated he let her know that linking water rates and SROs is not fair. Council Member Dunn stated this is a county service provided to all county residents in county schools. He stated he does not feel there is a need for further discussion. He stated if the county decides to not fund SROs, throughout the county, then the county will have to act accordingly. 3 Page Council Work Session March 21, 2011 Council Member Martinez stated the utility rates are Council decisions and the county cannot dictate that. He state by cutting funding to R.O.C.K. and the SRO program, it will hurt the town in the long run. Mayor Umstattd stated she has communicated to Leesburg District Supervisor Kelly Burk that there are members on the Council who believe that the SROs are a county responsibility and those members of the Board of Supervisors who think the Council will back down are going to be surprised. She questioned how the current level of reimbursement is structured. Mr. Wells stated the county has a grant process and the funding that the town receives for the SROs is a grant. Council Member Hammler stated instead of the negative tone sent by the Board, Council could have been approached with the tone of under what circumstances could there by a discussion about the other things and what is the right process by which to have that discussion. She stated that discussion is still possible even though such a vociferous tone was set by the county. She suggested that if the county does fully fund the SROs, the additional funding be used to fund the R.O.C.K. program. d. Street Parking Plan (Reid) Calvin Grow stated that Council Member Reid met with the Town Manager and representatives of Public Works to look at various areas around downtown to see if parking spaces could be added. He stated there are seven locations that Public Works will be studying over the next few weeks and bring a recommendation forth in several weeks. Council Member Reid stated he started this several years ago when he walked around with Tom Mason and the late Bob Lilly because he felt there were some areas that could be used for parking. He stated he also had a proposal to make Liberty Street one way between Royal and Loudoun. He stated since that time, Public Works stated they will be doing some studies on the various areas and the Town Manager has come up with some good ideas to remove meters on Royal Street. He stated Mr. Mason suggested using that as a permit parking area because there is not much revenue from that area. He stated some better signage on the county garage would also be helpful. Council Member Reid introduced Mr. and Mrs. Healy, from the Norris House and Mr. John Bender, who uses the garage and would appreciate parking on Wirt Street on Saturdays and holidays. He stated the Healys would like to have a loading zone in front of their establishment and some parking on Loudoun Street. 41Page Council Work Session March 21, 2011 Council Member Dunn stated that he walked these areas while he was a Council Member -elect and agreed that there are a number of places where parking could be allowed. He stated he would like to see more metered parking around the courthouse even though the court has expressed some concern with parking on Church Street. Vice Mayor Wright stated he thought there was an effort to get better signage for the courts parking lots. Mr. Wells stated, in addition to better signage on the county garage, they are working on signage for the courts parking lots to indicate parking availability after 5 p.m. He stated a change has been made on the town garage to change the "P" to the word "Parking Vice Mayor Wright noted that the court parking lot off Church Street is grossly underutilized. Mr. Wells stated that changes were envisioned to that site that would have curtailed parking, but it needs to be reexamined. With respect to putting spaces where there are sight- distance issues, liability issues will need to be discussed. It was noted that staff should look at all options and report back to Council, but at this time no decisions have been made. e. Utility "Round Up" Program Mr. Wells stated this was put together in response to Council Member requests to establish a fund to allow for assistance for indigent parties with respect to paying their utility bills. He stated it is informational at this point and will require further investigation. Vice Mayor Wright stated there needs to be clear controls as to where the assistance goes and that it is to appropriate parties acting appropriately. Mr. Wells stated as the program is developed, information will be brought back to Council. f. Battlefield Parkway Construction Closure of Edwards Ferry Road Mr. Wells stated several months ago, Council Members asked whether there was some way to accelerate the project. He stated this would allow two lanes of Battlefield to open before the beginning of the school year, which completion of the project before the end of the calendar year, but would require an approximately six week closure of Edwards Ferry Road on the east side of the intersection. He stated this would allow safe a safer construction zone for both the workers and the traveling public. 51Page Council Work Session March 21, 2011 Renee Lafollette stated Edwards Ferry Road will need to be lowered approximately two feet at the intersection. She stated the roadway is very narrow at this point with Civil War earthworks on either side and does not allow for rerouting of traffic around the construction. There was discussion regarding notification to the public and the businesses that will be affected. Council asked for a public input session to get feedback on the proposed road closure. 2. Additions to Future Council Meetings There were no additions. 3. Closed Session Mayor Umstattd made the following motion: Pursuant to Section 2.2- 3711(A) (3) of the Code of Virginia, I move that the Leesburg Town Council convene in a closed meeting for the purpose of receiving information and discussion regarding: (a) Marconi (b) 1 Country Club Drive, SW The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Wright and approved by the following vote: Aye: Butler, Dunn, Hammler, Martinez, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 7 -0 The meeting convened in closed session at 10:33 p.m. The Council reconvened in open session at 10:44 p.m. Mayor Umstattd made the following 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 seconded by Council Member Martinez and approved by the following vote: Aye: Butler, Dunn, Hammler, Martinez, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None 6 1 P Council Work Session Vote: 7 -0 March 21, 2011 4. Adjournment On the motion of Council Member Martinez, seconded by Vice Mayor Wlight�� th7meeting was adjourned at 10:45 p.m. Clerk of Cohn it 2011 tcwsmin0321 71Page