March 11, 2014
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, Joseph B. David, Jr., Barbara Laprade, Council Members
Russell Thurston, Town Manager
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Mike Crews, Public Works Director (came in at 7:15)
Richard Baldwin, Chief of Police
Absent: Mark Wilkes and Robert Jean
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 March 11, 2014, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.
MINUTES
Upon motion by Barbara Laprade, seconded by Joseph B. David, Jr., and unanimously carried, Council approved the February 11, 2014, Town Council meeting minutes.
TREASURER’S REPORT
There was some discussion about the two cds at BB&T that need to be moved to Bank of Charlotte because they are only earning .25% interest at BB&T. Clerk/Treasurer Bobbie Waller said she would get that taken care of. Mayor Campbell asked that the March 2014 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 February 12, 2014 to March 11, 2014, in the amount of $34,193.43.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Scott Miller, the Brookneal representative on the Campbell County School Board, appeared before Council to introduce himself since he was new to the school board.
J. D. Puckett, of the Campbell County Board of Supervisors, discussed a little bit about the county budget. He said that the school budget this year is going to be very difficult to balance. He said the Virginia Retirement System alone is going to cost an additional $1- 1.5 million.
Kenneth Jennings, of 331 Virginia Avenue, appeared before Council to ask if the leash law in Brookneal was still in effect. Mayor Campbell said there was never a leash law in Brookneal. Councilperson David said that they had looked and there is a leash law on the books, but it has never been enforced. Public Works Director Mike Crews said that what was on the books was in an ordinance stipulating that issues with animals would be addressed on a case by case basis by complaint of a nuisance. Mr. Crews said it was brought to the table 3 times, but it was never passed. Mr. Jennings said he was concerned about aggravation from dogs when walking around town. He said he had a bad experience himself recently. Mayor Campbell said that if Mr. Jennings would file a complaint, then the council could follow up on it as a nuisance. Councilperson David noted that the complaint has to go through the Brookneal Police Department. He said if there were 3 complaints in a 60 day period, then the Council would have to address the nuisance.
POLICE REPORT
Chief Ricky Baldwin presented the police report to the Council for February 2014. He said of the 86 calls for service in February, 75 calls were answered by the Brookneal Police Department. Chief Baldwin said he was again going to participate in the drug take back program. He will be collecting these items on April 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Food Lion. He said he had applied for a DMV grant on March 7 in the amount of $6,800. He said the grant asks for an in kind match which includes the Town supplying the police car and the fuel. He said the grant will pay overtime for the officers to work traffic and DUIs. It comes out to 40 hours per quarter. He said he also asked for a new radar unit and new equipment to check for DUI arrests.
Chief Baldwin said that there was an incident that started down at the basketball courts at the Town Park. He said the incident started at the ballpark and ended in an accident at Caroline and Lynchburg Avenue with 3 vehicles involved in a crash. He said that he has had several people that are concerned about it because they can’t let their kids play in the yards due to the vulgar language at the basketball courts. He said he talked to Mike, and they took down the goals for a while at one time. He said there is a video on YouTube called the “Brookneal Breakdown” which is the video of a big fight that occurred at the basketball courts in 2012; he said that was poor advertisement for the Town. Town Manager Russell Thurston said that if it is causing more harm than good then he thinks they should consider taking it down for some period of time; it does not have to be permanently. Chief Baldwin said he is worried that it is going to get out of hand, and somebody is going to get hurt. Mr. Adams suggested posting a warning sign at the basketball goals.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT
Public Works Director Mike Crews said that the finished water pump has been installed and is working properly. He said that the Dixie boys and girls will start practicing at the ballpark on March 17. He said opening ceremonies for the boys and girls will be April 12, 2014. He said that the only people who will be allowed to park inside the gates at the ballpark during ball season are those with handicap stickers and those individuals who are working at the concession stand. He said the Dixie boys will be having a machine pitch tournament the 1st and 2nd weekends in June. The girls will host the Dixie all-stars June 20-26 and the boys will also host all-star games from July 4-July 6, 2014.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Town Manager Russell Thurston thanked Scott Miller for being in attendance and for his service to the school board. He said that he is working on the VDOT permits for Day in the Town. He said the handicap ramp project at the community building is coming together. He said the inmates will be here in about 30 days; he said a truck has been obtained for transporting the inmates. Mr. Thurston said he has been taking classes to be a conservator of the peace, and he will be able to mail his application and information to DCJS soon. Mr. Thurston also noted that the budget is coming together with no increase anticipated in revenues for the 2014-2015 fiscal year.
SPRING CLEAN UP
Mr. Crews announced that spring clean-up will be held April 7 through April 18.
REQUEST FOR TRANSFERS OF APPROPRIATION
Upon motion by Richard Adams, seconded by Joseph David, and unanimously carried, the Council approved the following transfers of appropriation:
REQUEST FOR TRANSFER OF APPROPRIATION
To: Brookneal Town Council
Date: March 11, 2014
The following Appropriation Transfers are requested for FY2014:
Category—Expense INCREASE New Total Balance in Account
Insurance Property—01-1229-5310 $ 2,200.56 $18,634.56 $ 0.00
Category--Revenue DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Police—Liability Insurance—01-3101-5308 $ 174.16 $ 3,825.84 $ 0.00
Category--Revenue DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Sanitation—Hospital Insurance--1-4203-2005 $ 2,026.40 $ 8,734.60 $ 3,400.00
To cover property insurance for the rest of FY2014 due to increase in flood insurance for the year.
Category—Expense INCREASE New Total Balance in Account
Heating Service—01-4302-5102 $ 1,941.59 $ 7,941.59 $ 0.00
Category--Expense DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Sanitation—Hospital Insurance--01-4203-2005 $ 1,941.59 $ 6,793.01 $ 1,458.41
To cover the increased cost of heating for FY2014.
Category—Expense INCREASE New Total Balance in Account
Recreation--Heating—01-7104-5102 $ 3,201.40 $ 7,701.40 $ 0.00
Category--Expense DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Sanitation—Hospital Insurance—01-4203-2005 $ 1,458.41 $ 5,426.40 $ 0.00
Category--Expense DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Contingency Fund—01-8102-7010 $ 1,742.99 $ 8,156.87 $ 8,156.87
To cover the increased cost of heating for FY2014.
Category—Revenue INCREASE New Total Balance in Account
Other-Misc. Revenue—01-1899-1300 $ 2,457.86 $ 4,257.86 $ N/A
Category--Expense ADD-INCR. New Total Balance in Account
Town Manager—Vehicle Suppl.--01-1201-5408 $ 2,457.86 $ 2,457.86 $ 0.00
Category—Expense DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Contingency Fund—01-8102-7010 $ 8,109.64 $ 47.23 $ 47.23
Category—Expense ADD-INCR. New Total Balance in Account
Town Manager—Vehicle Suppl.-01-1201-5408 $ 8,109.64 $10,567.50 $ 0.00
To cover the cost of the 2004 Dodge Ram pickup truck purchased March 10, 2014.
Respectfully requested by:
_________________________________ __________________________________
Treasurer Date
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
Finance and Planning Committee Chairperson Richard Adams said that the committee plans to present an overview of the upcoming budget in April. He said an approval for advertisement in May will be required at the April meeting.
Mayor Campbell said that she had had a complaint about the cemetery concerning the stones that have fell over. She said that there is no family of these deceased left; they are very old graves. She said that the complaintant felt it looked badly on the Town of Brookneal, and the Town should have them repaired since it looks bad on the other gravesites in the cemetery. Mr. Adams said that Mr. Crews contacted a memorial company to see if they could reset the stones and what the cost would be; he said we might be able to possibly work the cost into this year’s budget if there are monies left at the end of the year. Councilperson Laprade noted that you could get a “putty” that could be used to secure those stones back on their base instead of having the monument company come out. Mr. Adams noted that we just don’t have the ability to access and lift some of those stones.
ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL
Councilperson Laprade noted that there are pot holes that need repair on Claytor Road.
Councilperson David said that there is a rabies clinic scheduled for March 22, 2014 at the Farm Store from 8 to 10 a.m. The cost is $5.00.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion from James Nowlin, seconded by Joseph David, and unanimously carried, Mayor Campbell announced that the March 11, 2014, meeting was adjourned.
___________________________ ____________________________
Bobbie A. Waller Phyllis L. Campbell
Clerk/Treasurer Mayor
