October 13, 2015
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, Barbara Laprade, Richard Adams, and Mark Wilkes, Council Members
Russell Thurston, Town Manager
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Mike Crews, Public Works Director
Ricky Baldwin, Chief of Police
Absent: Joseph B. David, Jr., Council Member
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the October 13, 2015, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.
MINUTES
Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, Council approved the minutes for the September 8, 2015, Town Council meeting.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Mayor Campbell asked that the October 2015 treasurer’s report be filed for audit.
PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES
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 September 9, 2015 to October 13, 2015, in the amount of $19,850.44.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Conner Francis, of Brookneal, said that after talking with Mayor Campbell last month, he is going to be a youth advisor for the Council and ask the students at William Campbell for their feedback on things going on in Town. He said that he went back to William Campbell and asked the students if they would be interested in 4-H Shooting Club which was discussed at the September 2015 Council meeting, and he said the students were very excited about that idea. He said, however, that a lot of the youth don’t know who the Town Council members are or who the Mayor of Brookneal is. He said he called around to other localities to find out what they do for their youth. He said some things included having a ball park and a community swimming pool and another thing was a scholarship for the local youth.
POLICE REPORT
Chief Richard Baldwin presented the police report for October 2015. He said there were 92 calls for service in September of which 79 were answered by the Brookneal Police Department and 13 were answered by Campbell County Sheriff’s Office.
Chief Baldwin said that he had made some stops down Cook Avenue recently, and he and Russell wrote some letters about property issues in that area. Councilperson Jean said that there are a couple of properties in town that are falling down, and the owners have no intention of fixing them up. He said the property in front of the Methodist Church is one of those properties. Town Manager Russell Thurston said that the owner has no intention of tearing the building down, and their idea of what’s acceptable and the Town’s idea of what’s acceptable is a constant struggle that he deals with. He said in conversations with an individual involved in the ownership of that property, they think it’s a great building and with a little work, it could be good as new. He said that they told the individual that the Town would take the building down at the Town’s expense, but the individual did not agree with that idea. Councilperson Jean suggested getting the Town attorney involved or the county official that is in charge of condemning property and see what can be done.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT
Public Works Director Mike Crews said that a railroad crew of about 100 has set up along the tracks in town to live while they are replacing tracks in the area. He said they will be in town about a month.
He said that he found out that Bank Street is a VDOT street, and he said he will talk to VDOT about doing some patching on that road. He said the maintenance crew patched Todd Street, Cook Avenue, Ridge Street, Commerce Street and Caroline Avenue in the last few weeks.
Mr. Crews said that fall cleanup will be October 19 through October 30, 2015.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Town Manager Russell Thurston told the Council that Rush Street is coming along and the landscaping will be done soon. He talked about the Partner Appreciation Luncheon which will be held on October 14 at noon. He said the Christmas parade is December 3 with a theme of “It’s a Whoville Christmas”. Mr. Thurston said that the Town auditors will be here on Thursday to conduct the annual audit. He also said that the sewer study grant is moving forward.
REQUEST FOR TRANSFERS OF APPROPRIATION
Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, the Council approved the following transfers of appropriation:
REQUEST FOR TRANSFERS OF APPROPRIATION
To: Brookneal Town Council
Date: October 13, 2015
The following Appropriation Transfers are requested for FY2016:
Category—Expense INCREASE New Total Balance in Account
Information Technology---01-1227-5403 $ 635.00 $ 4,635.00 $ 0.00
Category--Expense DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Contingency Fund---01-8102-7010 $ 635.00 $ 13,839.85 $ 13,839.85
To cover the cost of upgrades to the Town website
Category--Expense INCREASE New Total Balance in Account
Property Insurance—01-1229-5310 $ 1,394.20 $20,009.20 $ 4,251.60
Category—Expense DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Contingency Fund—01-8102-7010 $ 1,394.20 $12,445.65 $ 12,445.65
To cover the increased cost of flood insurance for the 2015-2016 fiscal year
Category--Expense INCREASE New Total Balance in Account
Streets—Health Insurance—01-4102-2005 $ 5,524.60 $ 5,524.60 $ 4,419.68
Category—Expense DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Health Insurance Reserve Fund—01-8102-7006 $ 5,524.60 $ 4,475.40 $ 4,475.40
To cover the health insurance cost of the new streets employee
Category--Expense INCREASE New Total Balance in Account
Streets—Temp Employee—01-4102-1004 $ 800.00 $ 4,600.00 $ 628.89
Category—Expense DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Streets—Salaries—01-4102-1001 $ 800.00 $19,563.00 $ 16,160.80
To cover the invoices for the temp employee from AARCO
Category--Expense INCREASE New Total Balance in Account
Sanitation--Repairs & Maint.—01-4203-5407 $ 1,500.00 $ 4,500.00 $ 65.47
Category—Expense DECREASE New Total Balance in Account
Contingency Fund—01-8102-7010 $ 1,500.00 $10,945.65 $ 10,945.65
To cover the invoices for tires for the trash truck and repairs to the 93 Int. Trash Truck
Respectfully requested by:
_________________________________ __________________________________
Treasurer Date
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
There were no committee recommendations.
MOTION CONCERNING THE WATER STUDY GRANT
Upon motion by Robert Jean, seconded by Mark Wilkes, the Council authorized the Town to enter into a contract with an engineering firm for the PER (preliminary engineering report) for the water study grant.
ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL
There were no items from Town Council.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion from Mark Wilkes, seconded by Robert Jean, and unanimously carried, Mayor Campbell announced that the October 13, 2015, meeting was adjourned.
___________________________ ____________________________
Bobbie A. Waller Phyllis L. Campbell
Clerk/Treasurer Mayor