April 13, 2021
MINUTES OF THE BROOKNEAL TOWN COUNCIL
7:00 PM – The regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the municipal government of the Town of Brookneal met at the Brookneal Community Building, 261 Main Street, so that social distancing could be practiced properly, with the following members present:
James Nowlin, Mayor
Richard Adams, Vice Mayor
Barbara Laprade, Joseph David, Mark Wilkes, Cynthia Johnson and Scott Fisher, Council Members
Russell Thurston, Town Manager
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Mike Crews, Public Works Director
Richard Baldwin, Chief of Police
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion by Joseph David, seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the April 13, 2021 regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.
MINUTES
Upon motion by Joseph David seconded by Mark Wilkes, and unanimously carried, Council approved the minutes for the March 9, 2021 Physical Development Committee meeting and Town Council meeting.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Mayor Nowlin asked that the April 2021 treasurer’s report be filed for audit.
PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES
Be it resolved that motion was made by Richard Adams, seconded by Mark Wilkes and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of March 10, 2021 to April 13, 2021 in the amount of $76,492.03.
PUBLIC COMMENT
No one appeared before Council during public comment.
POLICE REPORT
Police Chief Richard Baldwin presented the police report for March 2021. He said of the 66 calls for service, 65 were answered by the Brookneal Police Department and 1 by the Campbell County Sheriff’s office.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT
Public Works Director Mike Crews said that the new trash cans have started arriving; a shipment was received on 3/31/21 and the rest of the cans will be here tomorrow, 4/14/21. He said they hope to get them distributed fairly quickly.
He said the Dixie Softball opening ceremonies is on April 17, 2021. Mr. Crews said that 2 individuals have taken over the trailer park in town; they are currently remodeling and working on the mobile home park.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Town Manager Russell Thurston said that he is still exploring reimbursement options for the flood damage at the wastewater facilities that was not covered by insurance. He said he is still planning to start distributing the trash cans the beginning of May. He said some assembly is required for the cans, and they are working on a faster way to get those assembled quickly. He said that he is working on the landscaping project at the community building; the physical development committee took a field trip to a local nursery and purchased a lot of trees and plants for the project. He said he has already planted some items.
Mr. Thurston said that the Council authorized a new heating and cooling system for the Town Office. He said that system was installed last week for about $10,000 less than what was allocated for that project.
FY22 BUDGET PRESENTATION
Mr. Thurston presented a balanced budget for the general fund ($691,175.30) and the utility fund ($481,845.97) for FY22. Some key points he highlighted:
- The FY22 general fund budget is only an increase of 1.5% in comparison to our current year’s budget.
- No proposed increases in real estate, personal property and motor vehicle taxes.
- Cost of living increase of 2% for town employees.
RECOMMENDATION TO ADVERTISE FOR PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE FY21/22 BUDGET
Upon motion by Richard Adams, seconded by Joseph David, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to advertise for a public hearing the proposed fiscal year budget for 2021/2022 for the General Fund and Utility Fund at the regular meeting of the Town Council on May 11, 2021
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.
ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL
Councilperson Wilkes said that he wants his committee to look at the trash situation in Brookneal. He said that Brookneal really needs to be cleaned up, and he wants to start an initiative called “Operation Clean Up Brookneal” to do this. He said he is going to start in his neighborhood and then move to other areas from there. Mr. Thurston noted that the Town does need help with this. Ms. Waller suggested getting one person on each street to take the initiative to clean up their street. Mr. Wilkes suggested having a meeting with the physical development committee to discuss what exactly they want to do and how they want to do it.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion by Mark Wilkes, seconded by Cynthia Johnson, and unanimously carried, Mayor Nowlin announced that the April 13, 2021 Council meeting was adjourned.
Bobbie A. Waller: Clerk/Treasurer
James Nowlin: Mayor
