August 9, 2022
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:
Richard Adams, Mayor
Mark Wilkes, Vice Mayor
Barbara Laprade, Joseph David, Cynthia Johnson, Scott Fisher and Conner Francis, Council Members
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Russell Thurston, Town Manager
Mike Crews, Public Works Director
Richard Baldwin, Retiring Chief of Police
Robert “Bob” Kolich, New Chief of Police
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion by Conner Francis, seconded by Joseph David, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the August 9,2022, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Mayor Adams asked that the August 2022 treasurer’s report be filed for audit.
PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES
Be it resolved that motion was made by Joseph David, seconded by Conner Francis, and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of July 13, 2022 through August 9, 2022, in the amount of $31,409.72.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mr. Gene Moorefield, of Lynchburg Avenue, asked if motor vehicles in the Town fall under the town’s jurisdiction, county jurisdiction or state police jurisdiction. He said he was speaking in terms of the noise coming from vehicles. Chief Baldwin said that the state of Virginia did not allow law enforcement to enforce laws regarding loud exhaust noise; however, as of July 1, that law changed that they can start enforcing problems with loud exhaust issues. Mr. Moorefield also mentioned the debris along the road on Lynchburg Avenue; Mayor Adams told him that that was the responsibility of VDOT.
POLICE REPORT
Chief Richard Baldwin said that of the 118 calls for service, 106 were answered by the Brookneal Police Department and 12 by the Campbell County Sheriff’s office. This was Chief Baldwin’s last meeting, and Mayor Adams thanked him for his work in restoring the integrity back to the department and praised him for doing a magnificent job of achieving that.
PUBLIC WORKS REPORT
Public Works Director Mike Crews said that the Dixie Girls and Boys teams won the state championship and advanced to the World Series. He said the Dixie Girls Belles team came in 3rd place in the World Series in Alexandria, Louisiana. He said it was outstanding for the youth and recreation departments in the Town of Brookneal to have two teams to make it to the World Series this year. He told the Council that 422 new radio read water meters have been installed in the Town. He said these meters are so accurate that once there is a leak on the homeowner’s side, it sends a message to the office. He said they are going to finish up installing the residential meters in the next few weeks.
He said that the 2010 Kenworth trash truck is broke down; this is the spare truck. He said the 2020 trash truck is still in the shop and has been since February waiting on a computer chip.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Town Manager Russell Thurston told the Council that he had worked on a grant for property owners who are working on renovating some of the old buildings in Town. He said Town Council approved some money in the FY23 budget for this purpose. He passed out a copy of the grant information, and said that he would like to open up the grant application process from September 1 to September 30. He went over some of the highlights of the grant requirements.
APPOINTMENT OF ROBERT KOLICH, III, AS THE NEW CHIEF OF POLICE.
Upon motion by Barbara Laprade, seconded by Conner Francis, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to appoint Mr. Robert Kolich, III as the new chief of police of the Town of Brookneal. Mayor Adams then swore Mr. Kolich in as the new chief.
RESOLUTION GRANTING AUTHORITY TO CAMPBELL COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICERS TO ENFORCE ORDINANCES IN THE TOWN OF BROOKNEAL
Upon motion by Conner Francis, seconded by Scott Fisher, and a 5-0 vote (Joseph David abstained due to his position at Campbell County Animal Control), the Council voted to adopt the following resolution granting authority to Campbell County Animal Control officers to enforce ordinances in the Town of Brookneal.
RESOLUTION GRANTING AUTHORITY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICERS TO ENFORCE ORDINANCES IN THE TOWN OF BROOKNEAL
WHEREAS, the Campbell County Animal Control Officers regularly respond to animal related complaints in the Town of Brookneal, and
WHEREAS, the Town of Brookneal recognizes the valuable services provided by the Campbell County Animal Control Officers throughout Campbell County as well as within the town limits of Brookneal, and
WHEREAS, the Campbell County Animal Control Officers apply and uphold state and county laws as applicable within the town of Brookneal included but not limited to: verifying current rabies vaccination certificates, verifying current animal license tags where required, and responding to complaints of vicious animals, and
WHEREAS, up until the date of this resolution the Campbell County Animal Control Officers have not had express, written authority from council to enforce animal related ordinances within the Brookneal Town Code of Ordinances, and
WHEREAS, the Town of Brookneal Code of Ordinances contains code sections addressing dangerous dogs (90.01), dogs running at large (90.02), and animal nuisances (93.18), and the enforcement of animal control related ordinances improves public safety and enhances the quality of life for the citizens of Brookneal.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Brookneal Town Council does hereby extend legal authority to the Campbell County Animal Control Officers to enforce and uphold any animal related ordinance within the Town of Brookneal including current ordinances and future animal related ordinance which could be adopted by the Brookneal Town Council at later dates.
Richard T. Adams
Mayor, Town of Brookneal
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
There were no committee recommendations.
ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL
Vice Mayor Mark Wilkes recommended that the Council do a resolution of appreciation to Foster Fuels for their many years of service to this Town and region. Mayor Adams asked Mr. Thurston to put that on the agenda to look at for the next Town Council meeting.
Councilperson David asked about updating the Town codes concerning chapter 90 (animals). He said he was looking at the references to state code, and he said they were outdated. Ms. Waller said that in the code update, some of this would be taken care of.
Councilperson Francis said that the Brookneal Community Alliance has taken up the aspect of creating a new Chamber of Commerce; he said they met the 1st of August and elected their new officers and their new board of directors. He said they will be up and running as a kind of Chamber of Commerce; they are planning to have a Main Street Program like Altavista where they can apply for grants to get these businesses up and running. He also congratulated the boys and girls on their baseball wins. He said that last month the Council had asked about checking into the legality of Mr. John Gill and the chickens at his residence for the support of his daughter; he asked if anything has been discussed since then. Mayor Adams said that a stay of prosecution for Mr. Gill was granted last month, and he said that that stay of prosecution is still in effect (as long as his neighbors do not complain). Mr. Adams said he had been talking with other localities about what they allow concerning chickens, ducks, etc. Mr. Francis asked if a committee has been tasked with that issue, or if it was independently being looked at. Mr. Adams said it was being independently being looked at. Mr. Crews noted that the only thing that has been waived is the penalties; he said Mr. Gill is still in violation of the zoning ordinance. Ms. Laprade said that she thought there was going to be special consideration based on the nature of this specific case. Mayor Adams said it was sitting right where it was at the last meeting; he said he is still waiting for further advice on how to proceed with this case.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion by Cynthia Johnson, seconded by Joseph David, and unanimously carried, Mayor Adams announced that the August 9, 2022, Council meeting was adjourned.
Bobbie A. Waller: Clerk/Treasurer
Richard Adams: Mayor
