1 Joint Meeting
Appomattox Town Council & Appomattox County Board of Supervisors February 23, 2010
The Appomattox Town Council met jointly with the Appomattox County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. at the Appomattox Municipal Building, 210 Linden Street, Appomattox, Virginia.
Town of Appomattox – Present: Paul D. Harvey, Mayor; Council Members: Bryan J. Baine, N. H. “Jimmy” Mayberry, C. Lewis McDearmon, Jr., John T. “Plicky” Williams, Jennifer Jamerson-Scruggs; Bart S. Van Nieuwenhuise, Town Manager; Roxanne W. Paulette, Clerk of Council.
County of Appomattox – Present: Board Members: Gary Tanner, Thomas Conrad, W. H. Craft, Samuel Carter, Jerry Small; Johnny G. Overstreet, County Attorney; Aileen T. Ferguson, County Administrator; Vicky Phelps, Administrative Assistant.
Others: Timmy Garrett, Cory Osborne, Freddy Godsey, J. B. Burks, Mary Lou Spiggle, Bill & June Goodrich, Cliff Harvey, Duffy Taylor, Barry Watkins, Paul Spiggle, Stephanie James, Lucy Harvey, Benny Harvey, Bobby Wingfield, Johnnie Roark, Peter Zdgiebloski, Ray Perkins, Wilson Staples, Carlton Duck.
Mayor Harvey called the Appomattox Town Council to order.
Chairman Tanner called the Appomattox County Board of Supervisors to order.
Mayor Harvey welcomed the Board of Supervisors and all guests to the meeting and thanked them for attending.
Items discussed: Appomattox Heritage and Recreational Trail Johnnie Roark, County Planner gave an overview of the project. There is currently $300,000 in hand and an engineering firm (LPDA) from Charlottesville has been chosen to conduct the design/planning/survey portion of the project. The design portion is under control and being taken care of through the $300,000 currently in hand. The construction portion of the project is another story. During April – June, the County will find out the status of the remaining grant. All money must be hand before construction can begin. Donations can include culvert pipes, footbridges, etc. The materials needed: Fine rock, base gravel – compacted stone. The path must be built to a VDOT standard. There will be signage along the trail that tells the story of Appomattox.
Mr. Roark stated that Wal-Mart has been great to work with. Mr. Roark also commented that the County will start contacting private landowners in a month or so.
The Town of Appomattox is hoping to include approximately $12,000 in the FY 2011 budget to help offset construction costs for the trail.
2 Joint Meeting
Appomattox Town Council & Appomattox County Board of Supervisors February 23, 2010
Appomattox Community Park Spout Spring Ruritan Club, Appomattox County, civic groups and citizens have made donations to the Concession Stand at the Appomattox Community Park.
The Town of Appomattox made a $10,000 donation for the concession stand in the FY 2010 budget.
Aileen Ferguson, County Administrator gave an update on the construction of the concession stand. The completion goal of April 2010 is still close. To date - $107,572.09 has been raised. Private donations are approximately $47,000. The project has incurred costs of $91,224.46. There is still a lot of fund raising to be done.
Mayor Harvey stated that if revenue allows the town would like to make a yearly donation to the Appomattox Community Park.
Mr. Baine mentioned that there was an apparent plan to install sidewalks to the soccer fields. Town Staff will check into that.
Both bodies concurred that the entire project is a win/win for the community.
Public Safety
The County and Town have been cooperating on this item for years. It is everyone’s desire to see this cooperation continue to be a success. The County and Town have a formal agreement on the cooperation for the Police side of public safety. The current agreement allows the use of State 599 funds from the Town to be used by the County to provide police service in the Town limits. This funding from the State has been decreasing over the last several years. The current amount funded in the Town’s budget is $45,785.00 and the current reduced funding from the state is $44,097.00. The common held premise of this cooperation is that the Town’s funding would help support one officers full personnel cost. The current State supplement does not cover the full cost.
Police Protection/Agreement: From the town’s perspective, it is their desire to see it continue.
Ms. Jamerson-Scruggs stated that the she thinks the joint effort is a positive movement in the right direction. The Town will be discussing the possibility of making up the difference between the 599 funding from the state and the original budgeted amount by the Town at its March 8, 2010 Regular Council Meeting.
Bart Van Nieuwenhuise, Town Manager explained the timeline of the police agreements between the Town and the County.
Mrs. Ferguson, County Administrator provided a timeline and the current FY 2010 cost of one officer, gas and automobile insurance. The cost for FY 2010 is $54,784.00.
3 Joint Meeting
Appomattox Town Council & Appomattox County Board of Supervisors February 23, 2010
Mr. Carter stated that the 599 funding has been dropping significantly. Mr. Carter asked what the town looking for in the framework of the agreement. The town stated one officer. There is currently a gap of approximately $10,687.00 for that one officer.
The budget for FY 2010 (County) is $54,784 less HB 599 Funding FY 2011 (Town) $38,561 leaving a difference of $16,223.
The Town stated a need for more police protection and/or presence in the Town. A possible modification to the agreement to cover this issue may be discussed in more detail in the future.
Councilman Williams reiterated the need for police presence. Cars and radars could possibly be utilized in a different manner. The Town of Appomattox on any given day has the most populated area of the county. There should be more police presence in Town than there has been.
Councilwoman Jamerson-Scruggs recommended that reporting from the Sheriff’s Office be discussed during the Finance Committee’s preparation of the FY 2011 budget.
Councilman Baine stated that in the agreement there speaks of one deputy being in the corporate limits or on real estate owned by the Town unless an emergency arises.
Councilwoman Jamerson-Scruggs asked Mrs. Ferguson about #6 of the agreement mentioning a specific amount due from the Town to the County. Mrs. Ferguson pointed Ms. Jamerson- Scruggs to the most current contract only requiring the Town to pay to the County the funds received from the State. Mr. Mayberry stated that we should be open minded realizing that everything is going up and costing more and if the Town is going to ask for more protection it should be willing to pay more.
Fire Department:
The agreement on the Volunteer Fire Department is an informal agreement predicated on documented call response of 25% within the town limits. The call response computation is one developed many years ago. The County and Town has cooperated on this premise for years. The current cooperation includes an annual amount from the town, funding reserves for major equipment purchases and participating in funding major retrofits of equipment. It is everyone’s desire for the cooperative effort on Public Safety to continue and grow.
Discussion on the current status of the agreements and cooperative efforts can promote the continued success of this vital area.
Mayor Harvey asked Mr. Garrett, Fire Chief to provide figures of current calls regarding the 75- 25% split. The agreement has been in place since approximately 1983.
Mr. Tanner stated that we should do what is in the best interest of the Fire Department.
4 Joint Meeting
Appomattox Town Council & Appomattox County Board of Supervisors February 23, 2010
Mayor Harvey reiterated that you cannot pay too much for police protection or fire service.
Chairman Tanner adjourned the County meeting.
On a motion by Councilman Mayberry, seconded by Councilwoman Jamerson-Scruggs, Council voted to adjourn the joint meeting between the Town and County at 6:45 p.m. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Roxanne W. Paulette Clerk of Council
Paul D. Harvey Mayor