April 8, 2008
MINUTES OF THE BROOKNEAL TOWN COUNCIL
7:00 PM – The regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council
The municipal government of the Town of Brookneal met with the following members present:
James Nowlin, Vice Mayor
Kenneth Jennings, Richard Adams, Stacey Hailey, Tracy Meisenbach, and Robert Jean, Council Members
Bobbie A. Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Mike Crews, Public Works Director, and Interim Town Manager
Ricky Cousins, Police Chief
Absent: Phyllis Campbell, Mayor
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion by Stacey Hailey, seconded by Tracy Meisenbach and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the April 8, 2008, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council with the following addition 1) Motion for budget planning meeting
MINUTES
Upon motion by Kenneth Jennings, seconded by Robert Jean, and unanimously carried, Council approved the March 11, 2008, Town Council minutes.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Vice Mayor Nowlin asked that the April 2008 treasurer’s report be filed for audit.
PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES
Be it resolved that motion was made by Stacey Hailey, seconded by Tracy Meisenbach and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of March 12, 2008 to April 8, 2008, in the amount of $13,305.13.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Ms. Meg Tibbs, of Terry Road, appeared to address allegations made publicly in the paper regarding the leash law for the Town. She stated that she took offense to that because she was on Council when the hearing was held. The way it was stated in the paper was that there was a motion made, there was no second, and that it died on the floor. Years and years ago, there was another similar hearing and the leash law didn’t pass then. She said she was not here tonight to discuss whether we need or do not need a leash law. That was not her concern. She said her concerns were the allegations made that it was the Town Council’s fault and the Mayor’s fault that we had a rabies incident in Town. She said it was not the Town Council’s fault that there was a rabies incident. She said that it was an act of God. If there are loose dogs in Town, she thought people should take care of them. If they are on your property, shoo them away. Take care of your own dogs. She said allegations against a Council by a Council member should not be made publicly in the paper, except to their face. She thought it was improper. She thought that most people here tonight, were here in support of the Mayor and the Council.
Mr. Mike Carwile, of Rustburg, appeared to discuss cemetery plots that were sold to the public for $50.00 each some years ago. His family bought 10 of them at this price. He understood that if you sold them, you had to sell them back to the Town at the price you paid for them. Although, he said they had no intentions of selling them right now, he wanted to know if this was correct or not. He said they probably would not need them all, so he wanted to have someone check on that.
Mr. Jack Woodell, of Lynchburg Avenue, wanted to concur with Ms. Tibbs’ remarks. He was also present at the meeting she referred to, and he could verify what she said. He wanted to commend this Council on a good job. He didn’t think the Council should be brought to task for something they absolutely cannot control.
Mr. Alan Tibbs, of Terry Road, said that he was also there the night of the vote on the leash law and that the motion was made and there was no second. He said that that can or cannot be attributed to one member of Town Council. He said no leash law is going to keep a rabid dog out of this Town. You can’t put a leash on a raccoon, a skunk, or a fox, and we have dog wardens to call if there is a dog giving you a problem. If the person in question is having trouble with animals, their responsibility is to put up a woven wire fence or a chain link fence to protect their animals. He said it is not his responsibility to protect somebody else’s animals. He said that we used to be a happy town, but recently, we haven’t been real happy. He said he hopes that we can get back to being a happy Town and everybody get along again; quit accusing people of other things. We need to go back to having southern hospitality.
Ms. Rachel Elder, of Juniper Cliff Road, said that when she was on Council the leash law also came up. She said that this Town used to be a happy Town just like Mr. Tibbs said. If you saw a dog that was your neighbor’s dog, you would call your neighbor about it. She said she thought that if you owned a dog yourself, you really couldn’t complain about somebody else’s dog.
POLICE REPORT
Chief Cousins informed the Council that the County is asking all pet owners to lock their dogs up from April 14, 2008 to May 16, 2008 from sunrise to sunset. This is according to a County ordinance that was passed in December 2006. It will hopefully help identify stray dogs and have them picked up.
Chief Cousins said that since the March Council meeting, the police department has had one arrest for drunk in public, three narcotic arrests, one for trespassing, one for obstruction of justice, one for resisting arrest, one malicious wounding, served one warrant for Halifax County, 21 motor vehicle citations, and three were charged for underage possession of alcohol. Chief Cousins also wanted to thank the Brookneal Rescue Squad for assisting his officers with the incident that occurred on Southeast Street during the past weekend.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT
Public Works Director and Interim Town Manager Mike Crews informed the Council that the Brookneal Dixie Girls and Boys will be holding their opening ceremonies at the Brookneal ballpark on Saturday, April 12, 2008. He said that the road in between Depot Street and Brookneal Drug was repaired after Councilperson Jean brought it up at the last Council meeting in March 2008. He praised VDOT for their assistance in this and for always being ready to help and assist the Town when called upon. Mr. Crews asked for a motion from the Council regarding their wishes to pursue the grant with USDA for the K-9 unit. Upon motion from Kenneth Jennings, seconded by Richard Adams, and unanimously carried, Council voted to pursue the USDA grant for the K-9 unit.
FINANCE AND PLANNING COMMITTEE PRESENT THE FY08/09 BUDGET TO COUNCIL
Finance and Planning Committee Chairperson Richard Adams said that based on the comments at the 5:00 p.m. work session prior to tonight’s Council meeting, the decision was made to have one final budget planning meeting on April 24, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. to work out a few last minute details. He felt it was very close to being resolved. The general fund is within about $5,000 of being balanced. He said hopefully between work now and on the 24th of April during the meeting, the last items will be resolved, so that we can have our public hearing at the May 13, 2008 Council meeting. Mr. Adams made a motion to hold the budget planning meeting on April 24, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. and advertise it accordingly. Mr. Jennings seconded the motion and it was unanimously carried.
RECOMMENDATION TO ADVERTISE PUBLIC HEARING FOR FY08/09 BUDGET
Upon motion from Stacey Hailey, seconded by Robert Jean and unanimously carried, Council voted to advertise the FY08/09 budget for a public hearing to be held at the next regular Council meeting on Tuesday, May 13, 2008.
REQUEST FOR TRANSFER OF APPROPRIATION
Upon motion from Richard Adams, seconded by Tracy Meisenbach, and unanimously carried, Council approved the transfer of appropriation as outlined below by the Clerk/Treasurer:
REQUEST FOR TRANSFER OF APPROPRIATION
To: Brookneal Town Council
Date: April 8, 2008
The following Appropriation Transfer is requested:
General Fund
Category--Expense ADD New Total
Legal & Professional—01-1204-3002 $ 55.50 $ 22,176.50
Category—Expense DELETE New Total
Library—Heating—01-7105-5102 $ 55.50 $ 2,600.00
To cover invoice of April 2, 2008 for Overbey, Hawkins & Wright.
General Fund
Category—Expense ADD New Total
Treasurer--Overtime—01-1202-1002 $ 700.00 $ 2,200.00
Category—Expense DELETE New Total
Insurance—General Liability—01-1229-5308 $ 700.00 $ 6,705.00
To cover overtime for the Clerk/Treasurer for the remainder of FY08.
General Fund
Category—Expense INCREASE New Total
Police—Overtime—01-3101-1002 $ 2,100.00 $ 8,779.00
Category—Revenue INCREASE New Total
Court Fines—01-1401-0100 $ 2,100.00 $ 5,779.00
To cover overtime costs of the Police Dept. through FY08.
General Fund
Category—Expense ADD New Total
Police—Vehicle Fuel—01-3101-5408 $ 2,448.42 $ 9,720.42
Category—Expense DELETE New Total
Police Dept.—Workers Comp.—01-3101-2011 $ 676.00 $ 1,848.00
Category—Expense DELETE New Total
Police Dept.—Liability Insurance—01-3101-5308 $ 1,772.42 $ 4,655.64
To cover fuel costs of the police dept. through FY08.
General Fund
Category—Expense ADD New Total
Public Works—Overtime—01-4101-1002 $ 2,000.00 $ 8,000.00
Category—Expense DELETE New Total
Library—Heating—01-7105-5102 $ 2,000.00 $ 600.00
To cover overtime costs of the Public Works Department through FY08.
General Fund
Category—Expense ADD New Total
Sanitation—Overtime—01-4203-1002 $ 1,400.00 $ 4,900.00
Category—Expense DELETE New Total
Jensen Building Expense—01-4302-5408 $ 1,400.00 $ 3,600.00
To cover overtime costs of the Sanitation Department through FY08.
General Fund
Category—Expense ADD New Total
Sanitation—Repair & Maintenance—01-4203-5407 $ 906.10 $ 6,706.10
Category—Expense DELETE New Total
Jensen Building Expense—01-4302-5408 $ 906.10 $ 2,693.90
To cover repairs over budget on the Sanitation Truck.
General Fund
Category—Expense ADD New Total
Recreation—Electric—01-7104-5101 $ 1,700.00 $ 6,700.00
Category—Expense DELETE New Total
Recreation—Heating—01-7104-5102 $ 1,700.00 $ 5,400.00
To cover the cost of electricity bills for the community building through FY08.
Respectfully requested by:
_________________________________
Treasurer
_________________________________
Date
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
Mr. Hailey requested that the Kersey building be put on the agenda for the next Council meeting in May.
ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL
Vice Mayor Nowlin wanted to remind everyone of Day in the Town on May 3, 2008. He encouraged everyone to attend and bring family and friends.
Mr. Hailey asked that all council members try to work together instead of working against each other. He felt the council needs to pull together to make this Town work together.
Mr. Jean praised the work the town crew done on the road he requested be repaired between Depot Street and Brookneal Drug. He also thanked the Town crew for working on getting his water hooked up to his business. He said he had received calls concerning Centra Health. He said one person asked that the Council pass a resolution asking Centra Health to send another doctor here, so that the office could be kept open on Saturdays. He made a motion to petition Centra Health, as a Council, to be more diligent in providing our health care. The motion was seconded by Kenneth Jennings, and unanimously carried.
Mr. Adams thanked the members of the public for attending this meeting. He said that he had heard of new manufacturing facilities coming into Danville, South Hill, Keysville, Blackstone, and Clarksville, but his concern was that they are not coming here. He felt that the Town needs to concentrate and look at the attitude of this Town to the outsiders that may be looking at potential business sites here. He felt that the attitude that Council has toward each other and to this community is a critical issue. He said he had heard similar comments as Mr. Jean has about Centra Health. He felt that without the services of the dentists and doctors in Town, we do not have a prayer of getting these new businesses to come in.
Ms. Meisenbach felt that there are so many things that are right about this area for development. She felt there are so many things that this area can capitalize on. She also informed everyone that the VDOT contractors are in Town cutting down trees that are harmful to homes and power lines. She said the photos of the trees need to be sent in to VDOT for their approval before these contractors can cut them down. She said she would do this if anyone knew of trees that needed to be cut down.
Mr. Jennings thought it was wonderful to see all the members of the community that were in attendance at the meeting. He thought it was especially wonderful to see the former council members, Ms. Tibbs, Mr. Woodell, Ms. Seckman, and Ms. Elder present. He thanked them all for coming. He said there were some tough issues to be dealt with in this budget, and that this Council is dealing with things without letting it get personal and out of hand. He promised that the Council would come back to the Town with a balanced budget that would take care of this Town for a while.
Mr. Nowlin thanked members of the community in attendance at tonight’s meeting. Mr. Jean also brought up the railroad crossing which had been patched, but he felt like we needed to stay on them about the continuing problems.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion from Kenneth Jennings and seconded by Stacey Hailey, Vice Mayor Nowlin announced that the April 8, 2008, Council meeting was adjourned.
___________________________ ____________________________
Bobbie A. Waller James A. Nowlin
Clerk/Treasurer Vice Mayor
