1 Appomattox Town Council Regular Council Meeting July 12, 2021
The Appomattox Town Council held a Regular Council meeting on Monday, July 12, 2021, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. at the Appomattox Municipal Building, 210 Linden Street, Appomattox, Virginia with Mayor Richard Conner, presiding.
Council members present – Aaron Tilton, Nathan A. Simpson, Mary Lou Spiggle, Timothy W. Garrett, Claudia G. Puckette and James J. Boyce.
Others present – Members of the Appomattox County High School Softball Team and FFA Chapter, Carlton Duck, Alive Media TV; Chad Hodges, Hurt & Proffitt, Inc.; Jeff Elder, Facilities Director; Courtney Mendenhall, Times Virginian; Gary Shanaberger, Town Manager; Kim Ray, Treasurer; and Roxanne W. Casto, Clerk of Council.
The meeting was also broadcast Live on the Town of Appomattox Facebook page and public phone participation through FreeConferenceCall.com was available.
Mayor Conner called the meeting to order and welcomed the visitors.
Rev. Carlton Duck, Pastor of the Gethsemane Baptist Church led the prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America.
Mayor’s Comments: None
Scheduled Public Appearances: Mayor Conner read the following proclamation honoring the 2021 State Championship Softball Team:
A PROCLAMATION HONORING THE APPOMATTOX COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL 2021 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP SOFTBALL TEAM
WHEREAS, the Appomattox County High School Softball Team won the 2021 VHSL Softball State Tournament (Virginia) Class 2; and
WHEREAS, the Appomattox County High School Softball record was 16-0; and
WHEREAS, the team batting average was 363, with 3 players hitting over 500 and 4 hitting over 300; and
WHEREAS, there were 11 home runs, 49 stolen bases, fielding average 981, ERA 0.23, 211 strikeouts, 4 perfect games thrown, including 2 in the playoffs, scoring 139 runs giving up only 10; and
2 Appomattox Town Council Regular Council Meeting July 12, 2021
WHEREAS, Head Coach Janet Rawes, along with assistant coaches J. Hackett and T. VanEngen, team members, team member parents, faculty and student body at Appomattox County High School were integral in guiding the team to victory during the season;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that I, Richard C. Conner, Mayor of the Town of Appomattox along with my fellow Councilmembers, do hereby proclaim July 12, 2021, as “2021 Appomattox Raider Softball Team Day” in honor of the 2021 State Champion Softball Team.
FURTHER, I urge all citizens of Appomattox County to join me in recognizing and celebrating the team’s achievement and wish the members of the team continued success.
Richard C. Conner, Mayor, Town of Appomattox
Mayor Conner read the following proclamation honoring the 2020-2021 FFA Chapter:
A PROCLAMATION HONORING
THE APPOMATTOX COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL 2020-2021 FFA CHAPTER
WHEREAS, the Appomattox Sr. FFA received top honors at the 95th Virginia FFA Convention; and
WHEREAS, a hybrid 3 day virtual and 1 day in person convention took place in Rockingham County; and
WHEREAS, the Appomattox Chapter placed first in the National Chapter Award contest, out of 186 chapters and 9,901 FFA members across the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, the National Chapter Award contest is grounded in three divisions, Growing Leaders, Building Leaders, and Strengthening Agriculture; and
WHEREAS, Appomattox was selected for its extensive program of activities, notably during the 2020-2021 school year were its livestock stock team, degree recognition event, harvest bag agricultural education kits, and its dynamic relationship with the Appomattox FFA Alumni Association; and
WHEREAS, this milestone was accomplished under the direction of the 2020-2021 Chapter FFA officer team.
THEREFORE, I, Richard C. Conner, Mayor of the Town of Appomattox, do hereby proclaim July 12, 2021, as “2020-2021 Appomattox FFA Chapter Day” in honor of the State Champion Veterinary Science Team and Top FFA Chapter in Virginia.
3 Appomattox Town Council Regular Council Meeting July 12, 2021
FURTHER, I urge all citizens of Appomattox County to join me in recognizing and celebrating the chapter’s achievement and wish the members of the chapter continued success.
Richard C. Conner, Mayor, Town of Appomattox
Adoption of the Consent Agenda: On a motion by Mr. Boyce, seconded by Mr. Simpson, Council voted to adopt the consent agenda with the addition of New Business #2 – Discussion of the letter received by Mr. Shanaberger from Appomattox County Administrator, Susan Adams. All members present voting aye. Motion carried 6-0.
Unfinished Business: None
New Business: On a motion by Mr. Simpson, seconded by Ms. Spiggle, Council voted to set a public hearing regarding an increase of 1.5 times crease for water rates for out-of-town customers with an effective date of October 1, 2021. All members present voting aye. Motion carried 6-0.
The Clerk noted the public hearing will be scheduled for Monday, August 9, 2021.
On a motion by Mr. Boyce, seconded by Mr. Simpson, Council discussed setting a date, agenda items and arrangements. Mr. Boyce rescinded the motion as stated, Mr. Simpson also rescinded his second. Council directed Mr. Shanaberger to work on the arrangements of setting up a joint meeting with the Appomattox County Board of Supervisors.
Council Standing Committee Reports: Mrs. Puckette stated she understands from Mrs. Ray, Town Treasurer that the Town has received the first level of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Mrs. Puckette and MR. Garrett will be meeting on Wednesday afternoon, July 14th to discuss the number of possibilities to use the funding for and return to the workshop meeting on July 27th with options.
Citizens Comment Period: None
Town Manager Updates – Mr. Shanaberger provided an update on the following activities:
➢ In old news, the state of emergency in Virginia due to COVID-19 ended on June 30,
The General Assembly had included in their Appropriations Act of 2021 – utility disconnects could resume 60 days after the stated end of the emergency. Basically, the Town can continue its normal way of business including disconnections on those accounts that need to be disconnected on September 1, 2021. Mrs. Ray and staff are
4 Appomattox Town Council Regular Council Meeting July 12, 2021
going to send reminders to customers for the next 2 months and with the next 2 billings to let people know that disconnections for non-payments will resume on September 1. Hopefully, that will encourage those that need help and assistance with payment plans will contact the Town.
➢ The Appomattox Downtown Revitalization Project has two more properties under contract. Mikula Harris received great feedback from the first group of interviews. ➢ Davenport will be attending the July 27, 2021, Workshop meeting to provide an update
on the financial analysis.
➢ The Fireworks on July 3rd went well. The Town received lot of compliments. ➢ The cell tower construction on Founders Lane by US Cellular is expected to start within
the next week to 10 days. Construction is expected to take 30 days.
Council Comments – Tilton – none Boyce – none Spiggle – none Garrett – none Simpson – none
Puckette – In light of what has happened this week, it would be beneficial to the Council if we went back for the last 10-12 years and wrote a letter to our town citizens and give it to the newspaper outlining the accomplishments. We need to stand up for ourselves and why the Town needs to exist.
On Sunday, she started greeting at church (Liberty Baptist Church) and there is a lot of traffic on Lee Grant Avenue. Perhaps we could ask Sheriff Simpson to place the machine there to assist in slowing people down. It just isn’t safe.
After the last meeting, Mr. Elder was telling me about contracts for water and I looked into that a little further and I understand, and we all need to know this going forward. A contract for water is not like a real estate contract. Most of them are not set for 20 years, some are, some are less, some until further notice. If we do get the opportunity to negotiate that (water contract) we try to lengthen this to get the investment back. If you negotiate time, we could negotiate rates. Believes the 20-year contract is a little on the low side.
Mayor Conner commented also on the closeness of the passing of the school buses on Lee Grant Avenue.
Adjournment: On a motion by Mr. Garrett, seconded by Mr. Simpson, Council voted to adjourn at 8:05 p.m. All members present voting aye. Motion carried 6-0.
Roxanne W. Casto Clerk of Council
Richard C. Conner, Mayor