October 12, 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, Mark Wilkes, Cynthia Johnson, and Scott Fisher, Council Members
Russell Thurston, Town Manager
Richard Baldwin, Chief of Police
Mike Crews, Public Works Director
Absent: Joseph David, Council Member and Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion by Cynthia Johnson, seconded by Barbara Laprade, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the October 12, 2021 regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.
MINUTES
Upon motion by Barbara Laprade, seconded by Cynthia Johnson, and unanimously carried, Council approved the minutes for the September 14, 2021 Town Council meeting.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Mayor Nowlin asked that the October 2021 treasurer’s report be filed for audit.
PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES
Be it resolved that motion was made by Mark Wilkes, seconded by Cynthia Johnson and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of September 15, 2021 to October 12, 2021 in the amount of $17,544.46.
PUBLIC COMMENT
No one spoke before Council during public comment.
POLICE REPORT
Police Chief Richard Baldwin, presented the police report for September 2021. He said of the 147 calls for service, 139 were answered by the Brookneal Police Department and 8 by the Campbell County Sheriff’s office.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT
Public Works Director Mike Crews said the control panels at the pump station were upgraded in September. He said he is trying to upgrade some pumps and floats at some of the pump stations. He said all of the trees at the cemetery have been taken care of. He said the grass at 307 Cook Avenue was taken care of last week by an outside contractor. He said they have been working on replacing a sewer line on Main Street near the old Wilson Electric building.
Mr. Crews announced that fall clean up will be October 25 through November 5, 2021.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Town Manager Russell Thurston said there was a good turnout for the memorial service for Shelley Francis that was held on Main Street October 9, 2021. He said her shop is going to remain open for the foreseeable future. Mr. Thurston said that Nina from the Campbell County Economic Development office is working with Claude Sanfacon to sell the Sanfacon Property (the former Thomasville property). He said that 307 Cook Avenue is being cleanup up by a contractor that the Town is paying; he said that the property is being sold for back taxes sometime soon, so the Town will recoup their money for that cleanup. He said that he, Mike and the police department are working on making sure the lights on Main Street are working for the upcoming Halloween events and Christmas parade. He said there will be a Christmas parade this year on December 2, 2021.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
There were no committee recommendations.
ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL
Councilperson Laprade said that in her observations while taking walks she has seen ducks and chickens in the yard of someone in town. She said that she believes there is some confusion about what is allowed in Town. She said Campbell County allows a maximum of 10 chickens in a coop in your backyard with no roosters allowed. She also said she had a call from a parent who wanted an animal for his special needs child to be able to participate in a 4H project. She asked if the Council could clarify what is allowed and what exceptions there might be to allowing someone to have chickens if they wanted chickens for whatever reasons. Mr. Thurston said to clarify, farm animals, poultry, waterfowl and animals raised for food are not allowed in municipal towns unless it is written into the zoning laws. He said it is against the law to have farm animals in the town limits of Brookneal with the exception of 527 Cook Avenue. 527 Cook Avenue was grandfathered in because the time the ordinance was enacted in 1968, there was a cattle farming operation on that property. He said this can only be changed through a public hearing and a new ordinance. Mr. Crews noted that what Campbell County allows (or any county zoning ordinances) has nothing to do with the Town of Brookneal. Mr. Thurston said that people move to residential zoned areas to avoid being subjected to roosters crowing, goats bleating and horse manure smells and flies. He advised to tread very carefully on this issue of allowing people to do these things; it can get out of hand really quickly. He said the Town already has a problem with people cutting their grass, taking their trash to the curb and having junk cars in their yard. He said that the Council is always talking about trying to beautify the Town and making the Town look nice when people travel through our Town.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion by Cynthia Johnson, seconded by Scott Fisher, and unanimously carried, Mayor Nowlin announced that the October 12, 2021 Council meeting was adjourned.
Bobbie A. Waller: Clerk/Treasurer
James Nowlin: Mayor
