February 9, 2010
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:
Phyllis Campbell, Mayor
James Nowlin, Vice Mayor
Richard Adams, Kenneth Jennings, and Robert Jean, Council Members
Mike Crews, Public Works Director
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Absent: Tracy Meisenbach and Phillip Sheppard, Council Members
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion by Richard Adams, seconded by James Nowlin, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the February 9, 2010 regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.
MINUTES
Upon motion by James Nowlin, seconded by Kenneth Jennings, and unanimously carried, Council approved the January 12, 2010 Town Council meeting minutes.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Mayor Campbell asked that the February 2010 treasurer’s report be filed for audit.
PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES
Richard Adams questioned the Pioneer Products invoice for hand sanitizer towels in the amount of $1,295.44. He asked Sgt. Carr if some of these could be returned for a refund. Sgt. Carr said that the company has a 30 day return policy and that has passed. Mr. Jean asked who authorized the purchase of this product, and Mayor Campbell said that nobody authorized this purchase. Mayor Campbell said that the previous town manager had asked the department to return the product and not to order any more of the product. Sgt. Carr said that he had obtained a price adjustment on the product which was approximately half of the original invoice. Mayor Campbell asked Sgt. Carr what the Town could have actually paid for the product if it was purchased somewhere else. Sgt. Carr said the same product could have been purchased at Walmart or Sam’s Club for about $75.00. Mr. Jennings said that the attorney general’s office has a person who will explain gouging polices and things you can do to remedy that. He said somebody should call and find out more information about it before paying this invoice.
Be it resolved that motion was made by James Nowlin, seconded by Robert Jean, and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of January 13, 2010, to February 9, 2010, in the amount of $17,157.23, removing the Pioneer Products invoice for $1,295.44 for the time being.
WW ASSOCIATES
Mr. Crews explained that Jason Clark and Mike Strader of WW Associates were in attendance to present the proposal for grant management services for the water distribution system project and the water plant improvements project. A copy of the proposal was presented to the Council for their review. Mr. Clark explained that the proposed $36,000 for the grant management will be deducted from the design costs reimbursement from USDA to the Town.
Upon motion by Richard Adams, seconded by Kenneth Jennings, and unanimously carried, the Council approved the proposal for grant management services in the amount of $36,000 for the water distribution system project and the water plant improvements project.
POLICE REPORT
A copy of the police report was distributed to the Council at the beginning of the meeting for their review.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
Mayor Campbell suggested that the Region 2000 be contacted to complete the comprehensive plan. The Council had previously approved for the Town Manager Buster Nicholson to complete the comprehensive plan for $8,000. Mayor Campbell said that the $8,000 is still available for the plan; none of the money has been expended. Upon motion by Kenneth Jennings, seconded by Richard Adams, and unanimously carried, the Council approved for the comprehensive plan to be completed by Regional Commission for the $8,000 previously allocated.
ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL
Mayor Campbell complimented former town manager Mr. Nicholson on being one of the easiest people to work with, and she said she hoped he would do well. She also thanked Altavista on Track and Campbell County for sponsoring a 2 day seminar on tourism at the Vo-Tech Center. She said it was all very positive.
Councilperson Adams said that he had met with the Airport Authority last month and he wanted some feedback from the Council on two items. He said that one of the airport representatives from Brookneal has moved out of the county and needs to be replaced by someone who will represent the Town. Mr. Adams said that the Airport Authority wants to put in fuel tanks that can be accessed by anyone using the airport by scanning their credit card to purchase the fuel. The cost of putting in these fuel tanks is around $187,000. State grants will cover 2/3 of the cost. Local funding will come to about $62,000 plus the fuel tanks will have to be filled up initially at a cost of about $40,000. Mr. Adams said that he made it very clear that the town budget could not handle it. He said that it was suggested that the money could be borrowed from one of the banks or from the industrial development authority. He said that the initial investment of local funds would be $100,000. Consensus from the Council was that it sounded like a good project, but the Town just does not have the money to put forth for the project. Mr. Jennings said that he felt like it was something the Town should work towards in the future because of the value of that airport. Mr. Adams said that he would express that the Town had interest in the project, but concern over the availability of the funding on the Town’s portion of that.
Mr. Nowlin said that the Lions’ Club wants the Town to bury the time capsule for the Lions’ Club when it is feasible for the Town to do so.
Mr. Crews said that he would like for the Physical Development Committee to address an inquiry he has received from a utility company seeking to put an antenna on the water tower on Hunter Road.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion from James Nowlin, seconded by Robert Jean, and unanimously carried, Mayor Campbell announced that the February 9, 2010, Council meeting was adjourned.
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Bobbie A. Waller Phyllis L. Campbell
Clerk/Treasurer Mayor
