1 Workshop Meeting – February 26, 2008
A workshop meeting of the Appomattox Town Council was held on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at the Appomattox Municipal Building, 210 Linden Street, Appomattox, Virginia with Mayor Wilson, presiding.
Members present: Joyce B. Bennett, N. H. “Jimmy” Mayberry, C. Lewis McDearmon, Jr., John T. “Plicky” Williams, Jennifer Jamerson-Scruggs, Steven E. Lawson.
Other present: Leslie Austin (Town Treasurer), Jeff Elder (Utility Director), Sarah Watson (News & Advance), Stephanie James (Times Virginian), Emmett Toms, Gayle Cole and John Thomas (Dominion Virginia Power), Frank Wright (Town Attorney), David Garrett (Town Manager), Carlton Duck (Alive Media TV) and Roxanne W. Paulette (Clerk).
Mayor Wilson called the meeting to order.
The Appomattox Town Council received a presentation from Emmett Toms, Gayle Cole and John Thomas with Dominion Virginia Power. Mr. Cole explained significant changes over the last 10 years. They explained the Electric Reliability Excellence (Service Restoration) process through assessment, scheduling and communication. They explained information contained on their website www.dom.com. The information from the website being, the ability to pay your bill, look at the bill and auto debit. On the website, updates from the storm center give a quick snapshot of customer outages. Mr. Thomas gave an electrical transmission education regarding the bulk/transmission lines and road maps of the transmission system. The main feed from Appomattox comes from Pamplin, the other is from Concord. If the feed from Pamplin is lost, feed will come from Concord in about 1.5 minutes. Mr. Thomas gave council a live demo of the storm center on the internet. The phone center is available 24 hours a day, seven (7) days a week with an automated system. The benefit of the mass majority works well for everyone. Dominion encourages everyone to try and work with the system. It is important that your account number and phone number match their system.
Council thanked Dominion Virginia Power for their presentation.
On a motion by Councilmember McDearmon, seconded by Councilmember Lawson, Council voted (with discretion in consultation with the Town Attorney which of changes need to be made) authorizing David T. Garrett, Jr., Town Manager to enter into the State Water control Board Enforcement Action Amendment to A Special Order by Consent issued to the Town of Appomattox Permit Number VA0020249 provided the Town Attorney has an opportunity to address concerns in the order prior to signing. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
2 Workshop Meeting – February 26, 2008
On a motion by Councilmember Jamerson-Scruggs, seconded by Councilmember Williams, council voted to pass the following resolution:
Resolution: Motion to Rescind
Mr. Mayor:
Whereas, Mr. Steven Lawson, council members, was absent from the February 11, 2008 regular Council meeting due to illness and,
Whereas, Mr. Lawson is an important member of the Utility Committee and,
Whereas, there was no prior notice given and the agenda did not include a consideration to life the moratorium on Out of Town water service and,
Whereas, the rights of absent members must be protected and,
Whereas, the matter of lifting the moratorium was under study by the Utility Committee and,
Whereas, a Motion to rescind is legal and appropriate under Robert’s Rules of Order, Simplified and Applied, Second Edition (motion to rescind; pg 11, pg 137-139, pg 81, pg 385, pg 252, pg 278, pg 359, pg 387, and previous notice; pg 55, pg 82, pg 138-139, pg 159) and Town of Appomattox Code (Chapter 5, para 5-19) and,
Whereas, the amount of previous notice or method of notification is not specified by code or rules of procedure and,
Whereas, previous written notice was presented to the clerk and to all members of Council prior to the meeting and,
Whereas, this is more “previous notice” than was given than by those who presented the motion to lift the moratorium at the previous meeting, now therefore be it
Resolved, that the motion to lift the moratorium on providing water to out of town customers be rescinded that the matter be returned to the Utility Committee for proper study and recommendation to the Council.
VOTE: Bennett – no, Mayberry – no, McDearmon – no, Williams – aye, Jennifer Jamerson- Scruggs – aye, Lawson – aye. With a tie vote, Mayor Wilson voted – aye. Motion carried 4 to 3.
On a motion by Councilmember Williams, seconded by Councilmember Jamerson-Scruggs, Council voted to table until consideration by the Utility Committee items 4, 5, and 6 of the Council Workshop Meeting – February 26, 2008 – Agenda. VOTE - Bennett – no, Mayberry – no, McDearmon – no, Williams – aye, Jennifer Jamerson- Scruggs – aye, Lawson – aye. With a tie vote, Mayor Wilson voted – aye. Motion carried 4 to 3.
3 Workshop Meeting – February 26, 2008
Standing Committee Reports Finance Committee – Ms. Jamerson-Scruggs reported that the Finance Committee has a joint meeting with the Utility Committee on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. There will be a Finance Committee on April 3, 2008 at 1:00 p.m. to begin working on the budget.
Fire & Safety Committee – no report
Ordinance Committee – Mr. Mayberry reported that the Ordinance Committee will meet on March 4, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.
Personnel Committee – Mr. Williams reported that the committee had met last week to discuss a couple of vacancies and Mr. Garrett has been directed to fill at least one position. The committee discussed the Erosion and Sediment Control state mandated program. The committee did not have an official recommendation at the time of the Personnel Committee Meeting on Thursday, February 21, 2008 since Mr. Garrett and Mayor Wilson would be meeting the Department of Recreation and Conservation on Friday, February 29, 2008.
On a motion by Councilmember Williams, seconded by Councilmember Mayberry, Council voted to arm the Town Manager with a letter requesting including with the County of Appomattox for Erosion and Sediment Control. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Utility Committee – Mr. McDearmon reported that the committee has a joint meeting with the Finance Committee on March 5, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.
Staff Reports Beckie Nix, Director of Tourism – absent
Leslie Austin, Treasurer gave an overview of the financial report for January 2008.
Roxanne Paulette, Clerk gave an update on Town Decals. The decal will be available for sale on March 1, 2008. The vehicle license certificates normally mailed to registered owners may be a little later than normal. The deadline to purchase is March 31, 2008.
David Garrett, Town Manger
• February 11, 2008 met with Kelly Hitchcock and Dr. Al Boone, Superintendent, Appomattox County Public Schools regarding the Pedestrian Sidewalk Steering Committee.
• February 14, 2008 met with Regional Transportation Board. • Asked for clarification on the Anderson & Associates Request for Proposal (RFP) to
provide Professional Engineering Services with regards to the Virginia Department of Health grant for $25,000. Council confirmed by consensus that the RFP was only to include the assistance with location and development of a new reliable groundwater source to replace an existing groundwater source that is under the influence of surface water.
4 Workshop Meeting – February 26, 2008
• Reported that the Town of Appomattox Kiddie Park, Abbitt Park and downtown areas were vandalized on Friday, February 21, 2008. Charges have been filed in the case.
Mr. Williams thanked the Sheriff’s Office for a job well done with regards to the speeding in town. Speeding has greatly been reduced since the fall of 2008.
On a motion by Councilmember Jamerson-Scruggs, seconded by Councilmember Williams, Council voted to convene in closed session, pursuant to § 2.2-3711 (A) 7 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, for the purpose of consultation with legal counsel employed or retained by a public body regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel, such specific legal matters being issues pertaining to the enforceability of the landscape ordinance.
VOTE: Bennett – aye, Mayberry - aye, McDearmon – aye, Williams – aye, Jamerson-Scruggs, Lawson – aye. Motion carried.
Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Appomattox Town Council hereby certifies that to the best of each members knowledge: (1) Only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meetings requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certificate resolution applies, and (2) only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered by this council.
VOTE: Bennett – aye, Mayberry – aye, McDearmon – aye, Williams – aye, Jamerson-Scruggs – aye, Lawson – aye. Motion carried.
On a motion by Councilmember McDearmon, seconded by Councilmember Jamerson-Scruggs, Council voted to adjourn at 9:50 p.m. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Roxanne W. Paulette, Clerk
John L. Wilson, Mayor