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September 14, 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, Joseph David, Cynthia Johnson, and Scott Fisher, Council Members
Russell Thurston, Town Manager
Clifton Mason, Police Officer
Mike Crews, Public Works Director
Absent:  Richard Baldwin, Chief of Police and Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer

INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG

RESOLUTION OF CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BROOKNEAL DIXIE BELLES ALL-STAR SOFTBALL TEAM

The Town Council presented the following resolution to the Brookneal Belles All Star Softball team whose head coach Thomas Short and some of his players were present for the meeting. The resolution was approved at the August 10, 2021 meeting of the Town Council.

Mr. Thomas Short thanked the Town Council and the Town of Brookneal for all the support, including the financial support, that was given to these girls.

WHEREAS, the Brookneal Dixie Girls Softball team finished the 2021 season with a 7-2 record in District and State play, and

WHEREAS, this outstanding record culminated in the Brookneal Dixie Girls being crowned the District 7 All-Star Champions and State Champions, and

WHEREAS, this Championship victory was the first State Softball Championship in Brookneal Dixie Girls history with a regular season, plus District and State play record of 18 wins and only 5 losses establishing the Brookneal Dixie Girls Softball team as a recognized leader in the sport, and a team that deserves the highest respect for their accomplishments, and

WHEREAS, the players have been under the leadership of Coach Thomas Short and his Assistants Jason Francis and Hannah Smith during the 2021 season and they have been the guiding force behind the development of a team strategy that made the team’s offense and defense the best in the Commonwealth, and

WHEREAS, through the support of the Brookneal Dixie Softball organization, parents, friends and the Brookneal community, this team has been able to rise to the level of high achievement which has been well earned and well deserved.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Brookneal Town Council does hereby extend its sincere congratulations to the 2021 Brookneal Dixie Girls Softball Team for its accomplishments throughout the season and for being crowned the district 7 All-Star Champions, Commonwealth of Virginia State Champions, and World Series contenders.

BE IT ALSO RESOLVED, that the Brookneal Town Council is proud of how the Brookneal Dixie Girls Softball team represented our community during their journey to softball history; may the memories of this experience remain with each player and serve as a foundation upon which many more victories both on and off the field may be achieved.

James "Champ" Nowlin, Mayor, Town of Brookneal

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Upon motion by Joseph David, seconded by Cynthia Johnson, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the September 14, 2021 regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.

MINUTES

Upon motion by Mark Wilkes, seconded by Joseph David, and unanimously carried, Council approved the minutes for the August 10, 2021 Town Council meeting.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Mayor Nowlin asked that the September 2021 treasurer’s report be filed for audit.

PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES

Be it resolved that motion was made by Barbara Laprade, seconded by Joseph David and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of August 11, 2021 to September 14, 2021 in the amount of $50,010.76.

PUBLIC COMMENT

No one spoke before Council during public comment.

POLICE REPORT

Police Officer Clifton Mason, presented the police report for August 2021. He said of the 194 calls for service, 180 were answered by the Brookneal Police Department and 14 by the Campbell County Sheriff’s office. He said there were a couple of larcenies that are still under investigation. He said some a/c units were stolen from the press boxes at the Brookneal Ballpark.

PUBLIC WORKS REPORT

Public Works Director Mike Crews said that all the trash cans have been delivered to town residents. He said that an authorized independent contractor for Dominion Energy is working in Town to install new electric meters for all Town residents. He said that once these new meters are installed, residents will not have to call concerning power outages anymore; the meter will detect and report the outage to Dominion. He said that starting Monday, September 20, 2021, they will be doing an upgrade to the 3 pump stations (Claytor Road, Booker Road and Mattox Street). He said all the control panels and pumps will be upgraded; the ones there now are so old that it is hard to find parts for them. He said Mason Tree Service is working on taking care of trees at the cemetery and the community building. He said they are thinning out some at the cemetery to prevent problems in the future.

TOWN MANAGER REPORT

Town Manager Russell Thurston said that the independent auditor will be coming in sometimes this fall to audit the Town books. He said that the process of water disconnections has been reinstated by the state of Virginia. He said that some of the money allocated from the previous CARES act funding has been used to pay off some of the larger water bills that were uncollectible during the moratorium on water disconnections. Mr. Thurston talked about the passing of business owner Shelly Francis. He said that Shelley was such a champion for Brookneal and an entrepreneur that really worked hard to build her business. He said she was a bright spot on Main Street in our town, and will be missed.

He said that there are 2 properties, one on Cook Avenue and one on Lynchburg Avenue who did not comply with requests to clean up their properties. He said he is getting estimates to have corrective action implemented. However, he said a lot of property owners did respond and a lot of grass has been cut.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

There were no committee recommendations.

ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL

Councilperson LaPrade passed out some photos of properties in the Town that still need attention. She said that she is part of the subcommittee of the Brookneal Alliance that has been formed to better Brookneal and work with all the existing groups in Town. She said she is proposing to approach the Brookneal Alliance to promote a town wide beautification campaign to improve the Brookneal community. She hopes that some of these people will jump on board to make their properties look better. She asked the Council if this is a good idea to take to the group of the Brookneal Alliance. Mr. Thurston said that every person on the Council wants to see the Town beautified in every possible way that we can so everyone agreed.

ADJOURNMENT

Upon motion by Richard Adams, seconded by Cynthia Johnson, and unanimously carried, Mayor Nowlin announced that the September 14, 2021 Council meeting was adjourned.

Bobbie A. Waller: Clerk/Treasurer

James Nowlin: Mayor