December 11, 2012
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
Robert Jean, Tracy Meisenbach, Richard Adams, Barbara Laprade, and Mark Wilkes, Council Members
Russell Thurston, Town Manager
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Mike Crews, Public Works Director
Ricky Baldwin, Police Chief
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Richard Adams, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the December 11, 2012, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.
MINUTES
Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Barbara Laprade, and unanimously carried, Council approved the November 13, 2012, Town Council meeting minutes.
TREASURER'S REPORT
Mayor Campbell asked that the December 2012 treasurer's report be filed for audit.
PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES
Be it resolved that motion was made by James Nowlin, seconded by Barbara Laprade, and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of November 13, 2012, to December 11, 2012, in the amount of $18,674.76.
REGION 2000-GARY CHRISTIE AND BRYAN DAVID
Gary Christie of the Region 2000 Local Government Council gave a presentation on the Local Government Council. Brian Davis of the Workforce Investment Board then gave a presentation on the projects currently being handled by his division. He was followed by Bryan David who gave a presentation on the Economic Development Council and what projects they were working on. A handout package was distributed by Bryan David to each Council member which included the 2011-2012 Annual Report for the Region 2000 and highlights of the 2011-2012 fiscal year. Following their presentations, they had a question and answer period in which council members could ask questions about the information they presented.
POLICE REPORT
Chief Richard Baldwin presented the police report to the Council for November 2012. He said of the 80 calls for service in November, 75 calls were answered by the Brookneal Police Department.
Councilperson Meisenbach commented that she and Chief Baldwin had had several conversations about the noise ordinance in Brookneal. She said music from cars passing by her shop is too loud. Mr. Thurston noted that Campbell County has a very thorough and lengthy noise ordinance on their books. He said it is 65 decibels from any adjoining property irrespective of time of day or night. Chief Baldwin said he would do some research on this issue.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT
Public Works Director Mike Crews said that another member of Region 2000 would be addressing the Council in February 2013 regarding the hazardous mitigation plan. He said the trash pickup for the Christmas holiday will be on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. He said that he was working on some warranty items from some of the grants we have received.
Mr. Crews also said that all the Christmas decorations were functioning this year thanks to Vice Mayor Nowlin and a friend of his who worked on the electrical issues previously encountered in prior years. He said they saved the Town some money by working on this problem.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Town Manager Russell Thurston commented on things that had been accomplished during 2012. He said one victory was the insurance rating being lowered which is saving citizens' money on their homeowner's insurance premiums. He said the Town purchased a new mower for the ball field and a used public works vehicle for the maintenance workers. He said the Town also had the way finding signs installed in 2012.
Mr. Thurston thanked each Council member for their contributions in the past year. He thanked Ms. Meisenbach for her service with this being her last Council meeting.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
There were no committee recommendations.
ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL
Councilperson Laprade asked if anything has been placed in the Union Star concerning the source of funds for the new police car. Chief Baldwin said that when he first applied for the grant, the information was in the newspaper. Chief Baldwin said that the Union Star was also going to do another article in the near future. Ms. Laprade said there was a misconception about how the Town was paying for the new car, and she wanted the correct information to be printed by the newspaper.
Councilperson Jean commented that he was happy to see that all the Christmas lights were burning in the Town this year. He also reminded everyone that the old fire hydrants need to be painted.
Councilperson Adams said that he attended the downtown association meeting last month, and he said he was excited about the meeting, and he said the next meeting of this group is this week on Thursday at noon.
Councilperson Wilkes noted that it had been a pleasure working with Councilperson Meisenbach and that he wished her well. He said he thought we should be working towards obtaining another police car now, so that when we need one it would already be in the works.
Mayor Campbell thanked the Chamber of Commerce for the job they do, in particular, the Christmas parade. She praised Laura Shepherd for all her hard work on that project.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion from Mark Wilkes, seconded by Robert Jean, and unanimously carried, Mayor Campbell announced that the December 11, 2012, meeting was adjourned.
___________________________ ____________________________
Bobbie A. Waller Phyllis L. Campbell
Clerk/Treasurer Mayor
