June 13, 2023

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:

Kenneth Jennings, Mayor
Mark Wilkes, Vice Mayor
Barbara Laprade, Joseph David, Cynthia Johnson, Scott Fisher and Conner Francis, Council Members
Russell Thurston, Town Manager
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Robert Kolich, Chief of Police 

INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Councilperson Francis suggested that the public comment section be moved to the end of the meeting prior to Items from Town Council.  Councilperson David suggested leaving the current public comment section, but add an additional section for citizens to ask questions or make comments.   Vice Mayor Wilkes noted that there are only 4 people that have asked to speak tonight.  Upon motion by Conner Francis, seconded by Scott Fisher, and carried with a 4-1 vote with Councilperson Laprade abstaining and Vice Mayor Wilkes voting nay, the Council voted to add another public comment section near the end of the meeting before Items from Town Council, limiting comments to one minute per person. 

Upon motion by Conner Francis, seconded by Cynthia Johnson, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the June 13, 2023, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council with the addition of another public comment section being added. 

MINUTES

Upon motion by Mark Wilkes, seconded by Cynthia Johnson, and unanimously carried, Council approved the minutes for the May 9, 2023 Town Council meeting. 

TREASURER’S REPORT

Mayor Jennings asked that the June 2023 treasurer’s report be filed for audit.

PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES

Be it resolved that motion was made by Mark Wilkes, seconded by Conner Francis, and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of May 10, 2023 through June 13, 2023, in the amount of $34,986.12.

PUBLIC COMMENT 

Mr. Dean Monroe, of 14286 Brookneal Highway, Gladys, VA, appeared before Council to address the changes in this town, not the water issue he is dealing with at Elite Recycling.  He said his main concern is what got us here.  He said the biggest example in change is the police department, and he said that he has complete confidence in the police department now.  He said that as a business owner in this town, he is tired of the way the Town is operated now.  He said there are things that have gone on for years.  He said they have made conscience and deliberate decisions to downsize the footprint they have in this Town because of actions of this Town.  He said having their business threatened and being called names by Town employees is just not the way he said he wants to live.  He said that there can be a bar of what is legal, a bar of what this Town can stand for, and we can have a bar of what’s right.  He said his bar stands for what’s right.  He said selling off property because of an attitude of the way they are dealt with.  He said this decision was made after talking with employees in the Town; that’s how quick decisions of business people are made and he said he has had enough of it and we start dumping property.  He said after comments of an employee standing right here and laughter, not by the people watching it, made him really think he wants to get out of this Town.  He said it was egregious.  He said his son told him there was no need to come here tonight; nothing was going to happen and all was going to happen is what has happened for years, that they would get picked on and discriminated against and ridiculed more by this Town.  He said that he has confidence in every member of this board, and he knows that each of you wants what is best for this town just like he does.  He said he is confused because we are doing the same old thing.  He said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing the same way over and over and expecting a different outcome; that’s what we do here.  He said that the essential project Phase 2 is gone and is being moved to Lynchburg; Phase 3 is in negotiations to go to Halifax.  He told Art Pursel that he was going to have to help him out because he has gotten frustrated, and he doesn’t want to talk to “you” anymore.  Mr. Monroe then left.

Tracy Meisenbach, of 527 Cook Avenue, talked about Carson Street fronting her property down the side of her property, and she said she has had an ongoing issue of dogs chasing her livestock for 23 years.  She said last year she spent $4,000 and built a new fence in the upper part of it because of a couple of pit bulls that lived up there, and now there is a pit bull at the other end of the street, and he is climbing through her pasture fence and is also chasing her horses; she said she is done.  She said that she has a driveway at the end of Carson Street that she has graciously allowed the police, the Town, the residents on Carson Street, fire trucks, and ambulances to turn around in, but she said she built the driveway and she is going to close it.  She said it sits back into her property, and it does not protrude into Carson Street.  She said she is going to build her new fence, and it is going to go right across her driveway and clear down to the end of Carson Street where it halts.  She said the Town has options they can do; she said there is a road that goes down Carson Street and cuts across the bottom of it and goes back up Barksdale Street, but it has not been cut in the past 23 years and someone dumped a whole bunch of tires down there that would have to be removed.  She said the resolution to this would simply be to enforce the code that is currently in place.  She said that in June 2005, while her and Kenneth Jennings were on Town Council, they voted for a recodification of the Town code and it went to American Legal Publishing, and then to Congress because any time you do a recodification (and there was also a charter change), it has to go to Congress to be approved.  She said that in October 2006, all this came back to the Town Council, and it was voted on and unanimously carried and approved.  She said this recodification which includes Section 90.02-- dogs running at large prohibited-- was put into place, and for some reason within the last several years, from 2006 to 2009, the Town office, various Council members, and the police department have preemptively decided to disregard a unanimous Council vote and not enforce this law, and they could have at any time.  She said she has done the research on this of what happens when a body preemptively goes over a former Council vote; problems happen because it increases the liability of the Town.  She said that if a Mayor, a Council member, or anybody decides to circumvent the law, to suit their own purposes or what is best, it increases the liability of that individual.  She said she was glad the Town attorney is here tonight to hear this.  She said she would like for the Town to enforce this code.  She said that in the future, there needs to be a policy, when you have a Council vote that is in the majority, no one can preemptively decide whether it’s the Town office, the public works director, the police, or a Council member or whoever can decide not to enforce that code; otherwise, all of you mean nothing.  She said in other words, that the people that voted on this that were on the Town Council, meant nothing in the legalities of this Town; so are you going to stick by the previous Councils and enforce what they voted on because everybody can do to you what you are doing to them.  Chief Kolich asked Ms. Meisenbach when was the last time she called and reported a loose dog.  Ms. Meisenbach said she has called endlessly.  She said the animal control person Bob told her she should have built a better fence.  Chief Kolich told her that his resolution is all about open conversation.  He told her she is blaming the Council, and they don’t enforce the law in Town, they make the laws.  He said there is actually another section for nuisance animals as well.  He told her that anytime she wants to have an open conversation, he would be glad to, but to say that they are not doing anything is inappropriate.

Jeff Carpenter, owner of the Department Store on Main Street, and member of the Brookneal Community Alliance, talked to Council about being excited to be a part of a group of like- minded citizens and business owners who want to be a positive influence on the community.  He said that a constant theme that he has heard over and over in talking to people over the last year about the Brookneal Community Alliance, is that nothing is going to change around here.  He said he didn’t believe this and thinks change is possible.  He said he remembered when Brookneal was a thriving center of commerce and storefronts were occupied.  He said in recent years, he has seen empty buildings that are in disarray and become an eyesore to our community, and he has seen there has been little change to do anything about it.    He said the Brookneal Community Alliance’s goal is to be a voice for the citizens and businesses and to work with the Town government to affect positive change to our Town.   He said most citizens and businesses do not rely on government for their livelihood, but do need government as partners for us all to succeed and to be successful.  He said it is government’s job to provide infrastructure to us all and to maintain it.  He said when the Town is growing and has thriving businesses and citizens, the tax base grows also which allows government to manage and improve the infrastructure for all concerned; for this is what I don’t understand.  He thanked local government who use all means possible under state and local laws to make our Town a more desirable place for our businesses, new startup businesses and citizens to want to live and others to visit.  He said that he also believes that it is government’s obligation to work willfully with its citizens and businesses to promote positive change; he sees this growth and change as a win-win for the Town as the more a business grows, new businesses come to town and more citizens move here, it increases our tax base which allows government to serve the community.  He read the Brookneal Community Alliance mission statement.  He said that he would like to urge the Town to work with the Alliance for positive change. 

Mr. Art Pursel, owner of the Drugstore Grill, said that he had an interesting meeting with Mr. Monroe last night and unfortunately, Mr. Monroe could not get out everything he wanted to say tonight.  He said he was representing the Community Alliance also.   He said their main concern is progress for business development.  He said the Town and the Alliance should be about helping others and not pointing fingers at others.  He said he felt he had a good working relationship with the town; however, other business owners come to him and tell him about the issues and the roadblocks they have with the Town regarding grudges or lack of motivation.  He said he was requesting a committee of Council members to join him and work with the alliance on issues relating to business development so that we can get away from the finger pointing and get straight to the chase.  He said 3 issues that need immediate attention as far as the alliance and him are concerned are:

1. Water connection at Dan River for Elite Recycling.  He said he was concerned about the safety for firefighters if a fire was to break out there right now with no water connection, no fire suppression, no hydrant use is unacceptable.  He said it was a matter of a town employee going out and helping them get done and get connected.  He said he talked to multiple town employees, the water authority and he has talked to everybody; there is no reason other than Mike Crews is on vacation; he said he would like to see that done immediately because there is no reason it can’t be done.
2. Blighted properties—he said he has addressed this issue with multiple members including Russell, Mike and Mark Wilkes.  He said if the building is empty and falling apart, he wants to do something with it.  He said in 2 years, he has bought Drugstore Grill and 2 other vacant buildings; he said he has 1 more on the way and 1 more in talks.   He said there are plenty more buildings he wants to get his hands on, however, the owners don’t want to sell and the town has not forced them to sell.
3. He said the water department has to be improved; Sanfaçon has been taken off of Campbell County’s viable property list because there is no way the town can provide water to them; that property is sitting vacant and will never have a use until the Town can step up and fix the problem. 

Councilperson Francis said he would like to get an update on where things stand with the Elite Recycling water hook up.  Councilperson Laprade said that she had come up with an idea, and she said she is hoping Council will consider it.  She said that since the budget was based on Mr. Crews being here all year and since he retired in May, that means 30 days of not paying the public works director.  She said that since the concern with the Dan River building is having the appropriate person in charge of water connection, she asked the Council to consider having the town manager explore an individual of the same caliber as Mr. Crews to supervise that connection.  She said then they wouldn’t have to wait for Mr. Crews to come off of vacation; that individual could communicate with Mr. Crews as necessary, and the Monroes would be put into operation sooner. Mr. Thurston said that he is already working on this idea, and he said that this person needs about a week’s notice to go over the water system and do prep work to be sure they know where everything is for the connection.   Councilperson Francis said that Mr. Monroe said that he is losing $31,000 per day at that facility with no water connection.

MOTION TO HAVE AN OUTSIDE SOURCE OVERSEE THE WATER CONNECTION AT DAN RIVER/ELITE RECYCLING

Upon motion by Barbara Laprade, seconded by Joseph David, and unanimously carried after much discussion, the Council voted to have an outside source, whom Mr. Thurston informed them was Clay Samples of Samples Monitoring Service, to oversee the water connection at the Dan River/Elite Recycling facility.   Ms. Laprade said that in the future there should be a plan to map out the water system if Town staff is out of place, so there is some master plan if someone has to come from outside the Town to do a water connection.

POLICE REPORT

Chief Robert Kolich, presented the police report for May 2023.  He said of the 158 calls for service, 132 were answered by the Brookneal Police Department and 26 by the Campbell County Sheriff’s office. 

TOWN MANAGER REPORT

Town Manager Russell Thurston presented his report which included the following:

• He said that he and Mark Wilkes worked with 4 town citizens who would be willing to serve on the planning commission.  On Monday, June 5, an informational meeting was held to explain the duties to each prospective member. 
• He said that a very positive location has been identified at the town recreation park that may be suitable for an underground well to supplement our town’s drinking water system. He said they would have to drill a test well.  He said a grant has been awarded to the town to cover the cost of drilling the test well. 
• He said he is getting some positive intelligence about a retail development at the CVS shopping center. 
• He said he has been working with the water plant operators to keep a close eye on the algae in the reservoir.   He said in previous years when we have a lot of sunny days and warm water temperatures, it greatly causes the algae to multiply in the reservoir.
• He has been working with the town maintenance crew as needed to support their work in Mr. Crews’ absence.
• He said that we are in the last few days of the current fiscal year, and even though we lost meals tax revenue when a local restaurant closed earlier in the fiscal year, he does not believe that closure will have a negative impact on the budget. 
• He said that he has been working with Beverly Puckette and the Brookneal Woman’s Club who are hosting a farm to table dinner on August 19, 2023
• MOTION TO CLARIFY APPOINTMENT AND TERM OF JOSEPH DAVID TO THE BROOKNEAL CAMPBELL COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY

Upon motion by Conner Francis, seconded by Cynthia Johnson, the Council voted to appoint Joseph David to the Brookneal Campbell County Airport Authority for the term of May 9, 2023 to December 31, 2024, to replace Mary Westling who resigned.

APPROVAL/DISAPPROVAL OF THE 2023/2024 GENERAL FUND BUDGET AS PRESENTED AND ADVERTISED

Upon motion by Conner Francis, seconded by Barbara Laprade, the Council voted to approve the 2023/2024 general fund budget as presented and advertised.   A roll call voted was taken as follows:

Mayor Jennings          Aye
Ms. Johnson               Aye
Vice Mayor Wilkes      Aye
Mr. David                    Aye
Mr. Francis                  Aye
Mr. Fisher                    Aye
Ms. Laprade                Aye

APPROVAL/DISAPPROVAL OF THE SEWER FUND BUDGET

Upon motion by Conner Francis, seconded by Cynthia Johnson, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to approve the 2023/2024 sewer fund budget as presented and advertised.  A roll call vote was taken as follows:

Mayor Jennings          Aye
Mr. David        Aye
Vice Mayor Wilkes      Aye
Ms. Johnson   Aye
Mr. Francis                  Aye
Mr. Fisher        Aye
Ms. Laprade                Aye

APPROVAL/DISAPPROVAL OF THE WATER FUND BUDGET

Upon motion by Joseph David, seconded by Conner, Francis, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to approve the 2023/2024 water fund budget as presented and advertised.  A roll call vote was taken as follows:

Mayor Jennings          Aye
Mr. David        Aye
Vice Mayor Wilkes      Aye
Ms. Johnson   Aye
Mr. Francis                  Aye
Mr. Fisher        Aye
Ms. Laprade                Aye

APPOINTMENTS TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION

Upon motion by Mark Wilkes, seconded by Joseph David, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to make the following appointments to the Brookneal Planning Commission. 

Gene Moorefield         Term of 1 year

Edward Parks             Term of 2 years

David Walker              Term of 3 years

Martha Wilson             Term of 4 years

One their current term is over; they can be reappointed to a 4-year term. 

Upon motion by Scott Fisher, seconded by Joseph David, and unanimously carried, with Vice Mayor Wilkes recusing himself, the Council voted to appoint Mark Wilkes as the Council representative to the planning commission for a term that follows his Council term which expires December 31, 2026. 

Councilperson Francis made a motion for the immediate consideration of Mr. John Gill’s chicken issue to the planning commission.  Vice Mayor Wilkes informed Mr. Francis that Mr. Gill has to make application to the planning commission for a special use permit before the planning commission can review it.  Councilperson Francis withdrew his motion.

REQUEST FOR TRANSFERS OF APPROPRIATION

Upon motion by Mark Wilkes, seconded by Joseph David, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to approve the following request for transfers of appropriation.  

REQUEST FOR TRANSFERS OF APPROPRIATION

To:       Brookneal Town Council

Date:    June 13, 2023

The following Appropriation Transfers are requested for FY2023:

Category---Expense                                          INCREASE      New Total        Balance in Account

Street Lighting—01-4104-5100                           $   2,690.93      $29,390.93            $           0.00

Category---Expense                                          DECREASE     New Total        Balance in Account

Contingency Fund—01-8102-7010                     $   2,690.93      $  6,291.83           $      6,291.83

To cover increases in energy costs for FY23. 

_________________________________________________________________________________

Category---Expense                                          INCREASE      New Total        Balance in Account

 
Streets—Repairs & Maint.--01-4102-5407         $  5,916.85     $    1,446.30             $    1,417.40

Category---Expense                                          DECREASE      New Total        Balance in Account

 
 Contingency Fund—01-8102-7010                    $ 5,916.85      $   5,916.85              $      374.98

To cover the cost of a new zero turn mower for the public works department.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Category---Expense                                          INCREASE      New Total        Balance in Account

 
Town Council/Other—01-1101-5307                   $     200.00    $   9,900.00           $         26.15

Category---Expense                                          DECREASE      New Total        Balance in Account

 
Contingency Fund—01-8102-7010                     $     200.00     $      174.98            $      174.98

To cover town council/other expenses for FY23 

____________________________________________________________________________________

Category---Expense                                          INCREASE      New Total        Balance in Account

 
Receptionist--Salary—01-1203-1001                  $     400.00    $    4,413.00            $      345.60

Category---Expense                                          INCREASE      New Total        Balance in Account

 
Receptionist—SS/Med—01-1203-2001             $       40.00     $       347.00            $       35.84

Category---Expense                                          DECREASE      New Total        Balance in Account

 
Police—VSRS—01-3101-2002                           $     440.00     $ 23,740.00           $   11,035.92

To cover salary and deductions for the receptionist for the remainder of FY23

____________________________________________________________________________________

Category---Expense                                          INCREASE      New Total        Balance in Account

 
Kersey Bld. Exp.--01-4302-5409                         $     68.83       $   1,514.83           $          0.00

Category---Expense                                          DECREASE      New Total        Balance in Account

 
Contingency Fund—01-8102-7010                     $      68.83     $      106.15            $       106.15

To cover Kersey building expenses that went over budget for FY23

____________________________________________________________________________________

Category---Expense                                          INCREASE      New Total        Balance in Account

 
Water & Sewer--01-4302-5103                           $     46.00       $   1,150.00           $          0.00

Category---Expense                                          DECREASE      New Total        Balance in Account

 
Contingency Fund—01-8102-7010                     $     46.00     $         60.15            $       60.15

To cover expenses over budget for FY23

____________________________________________________________________________________

Category---Expense                                          INCREASE      New Total        Balance in Account

 
Water & Sewer-Library--01-7105-5103               $     46.00       $   1,150.00           $          0.00

Category---Expense                                          DECREASE      New Total        Balance in Account

 
Contingency Fund—01-8102-7010                     $     46.00     $          14.15           $        14.15

To cover expenses over budget for FY23

____________________________________________________________________________________

Category---Expense                                          DECREASE     New Total       Balance in Account

 
Recreation Rep & Maint.—01-7104-5407            $50,000.00       $88,020.00            $  73,983.75

Category---Expense                                          INCREASE      New Total        Balance in Account

Comm. Dev.—ARPA funds—01-7106-5102        $50,000.00       $50,000.00            $  10,000.00         

To reallocate AARPA funds for FY23 (all approved by Council in the FY23 budget planning process just not allocated correctly because plans were not finalized at that point). 

Treasurer

Date 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS 

Physical Development Committee chairperson Mark Wilkes asked Mr. Thurston to check into having some gravel placed in a ditch that has washed out at the ballpark prior to the Dixie Boys’ tournament the weekend of June 23-25, 2023.  He said this could be a safety hazard if something is not done. 

PUBLIC COMMENT #2

Mr. John Gill of Carson Street suggested having maps of private water and sewer lines at the Town Hall. 

Mr. Jeffrey Carpenter of the Dept. Store Antiques asked if it is typical to have to come to Town Council to get something done since Mr. Crews was still on the job at the time that Mr. Monroe obtained the correct equipment and was able to get the hookup done the next day after the failed attempt.  Mr. Thurston told Mr. Carpenter that the Town was still fixing water leaks for about 2 weeks after the first failed attempt on May 17 to get the connection done at Elite.  He said cutting the water off involves about 20 underground valves and when you turn those back on and re-pressurize the system, once you let the pressure down and then add pressure back in, there is air in those lines.  He said that as that air leaves and the water come back in, it starts to shake, so it ruptured some underground water lines.  He said there was no way they could try it right back again; they had to get those ruptured water lines fixed first. 

Ms. Bron Stark, of Cook Avenue, and part of the team at the Brookneal Network, addressed something concerning the water outage a few weeks ago in the Town.  She said the town did not put out a statement at all about the water outage; she said she got a dozen messages on the Network Facebook page asking about it.  She said that she happened to be riding by with a friend, and saw the water spraying all over next to the library.  She said the town Facebook page has made 12 posts since January 1, and at least a third of those are shares from other people. She said the town needs to do something in order to keep the citizens informed; she said almost everyone is on social media regardless of age.  She said since the Town doesn’t keep the citizens informed, especially of Town Council meetings, it comes off that the Town doesn’t want people there, and that is not a good image to have.  She said she was doing the job of Town employees keeping people informed, but she has to rely on other people to tell her. 

Ms. Tracy Meisenbach informed Council that she is going to put up her fence within the next 30 days.  She said if the Town enforces the leash law, she will not block off her driveway and build a fence all the way down to the end of Carson Street.  She said Mayor Jennings is aware of this situation because he came down and saw it.  She said she will give the Town 30 days to make the decision whether they will send this to the County and get this enforced to help protect her livestock and the people of this town.  Chief Kolich noted that the Town code states that you have to have 3 complaints of an animal being a nuisance within 60 days, and you have to notify the owner in writing of this.  Ms. Meisenbach noted that the Town still has to follow state livestock predation laws.  She said she didn’t care if someone gets charged with a Class 4 misdemeanor.    

Councilperson David stated that animal control works for the county, and they can enforce state and county codes; they can’t enforce Brookneal codes.  He said he came up with an idea today and this may be something for Council to consider.  He recommended rescinding the animal code, chapter 90 for the town, and put a quote in there that the Town would come in under County code, chapter 4, so the Town would not have to update every year as the County does (we could just follow their updates).  He said the only unique code that Brookneal has that the County does not is the leash law, but there is no one to enforce it; he said there is also the nuisance law in Brookneal, but in the 12 years he’s been here, he’s never seen it enforced.   Mayor Jennings suggested having a committee discuss that suggestion and bring it back to Council.  Mr. Tripp Isenhour said that there needs to be a public hearing to change the code; he said the County would be updating their Code in August.  Mr. Francis suggested appointing a panel from the Council to review the entire Town code and clean it up and see if there are any changes that need to be made, then bring it back to Council.  Mr. Isenhour said that there has been discussion between the County administrator and the town manager about the potential of having a county/town agreement, and it is in the general discussion phase.  He said the general premise of that agreement is to have county staff authorized to enforce the state’s code and the county code within the Town limits.  He said the idea being the town would adopt all the county requirements and the only difference in the Town would be the leash law and the nuisance law; these 2 pieces are different from County code.

MOTION FOR PUBLIC HEARING CONCERNING ANIMAL CODES

Upon motion by Joseph David, seconded by Conner Francis, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to hold a public hearing to repeal Brookneal’s animal code Section 90, to have Brookneal to follow Campbell County Code Chapter 4, and request Brookneal town limits to be included in the Campbell County confinement area.  Mr. Isenhour suggested leaving the leash law intact in the Brookneal code, so that the Town would only repeal a portion of its code and the county takes over the remainder. 

ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL

Councilperson Francis asked about getting tree branches trimmed up at the end of Main Street since it is interfering with the view down Brookneal Hwy.  Mr. Francis said he believes it is time to start videoing the Town meetings.

MOTION TO ALLOCATE FUNDS TO VIDEO TOWN MEETINGS

Councilperson Francis made a motion to allocate funds to have a system set in place to video Town meetings going forward.  The motion received a 2^nd from Joseph David, and was unanimously carried. 

Mr. Thurston spoke to comments made by Jeffrey Carpenter and Art Pursel about the Town partnering with small businesses.  He said in this fiscal year, the Town Council awarded a $10,000 grant to Dean Monroe for a water management system; he said the Town Council did this to help Mr. Monroe.  He said that Art Pursel was awarded $20,000 for renovation of 2 buildings here in Brookneal.  He commended Mr. Pursel for wanting to invest his time and money in Brookneal.  He said that Kimberly Windsor of 228 Main Street, received $10,000 to work on her building at 228 Main Street. He said that Phyllis Joseph received a $10,000 grant to work on a building for her country cooking restaurant.  He said that’s $50,000 awarded to small businesses, and this has never been done in the Town of Brookneal before.  Mr. Jeffrey Carpenter told the Council that he didn’t want them to take offense to what he said; he said there are many areas in Town that need to be addressed. 

Councilperson David asked Mr. Thurston what was the latest information from Mr. Terrebonne on 311 Virginia Avenue.  Mr. Thurston said Mr. Terrebonne told him that he was going to have a contractor come and look at the property to give him a quote on getting the repairs made and get the home back to livable conditions.  Mr. David said he thought the Town should give him 30 days to meet with his contractor and show the Town what he is going to do; if we have not heard from him in 30 days, the Town should start the process to condemn the property.

Mr. Pursel asked where things stood with Mr. James Capps and his building on Rush Street because he said the Town was supposed to be pushing him to clean up that property two years ago.   Mr. Thurston said that Mr. Capps comes and does work here and there and as long as he does this, he buys himself more time. 

Councilperson Johnson asked about getting some signage for the community building.  She also asked about the trees obstructing the view for motorists near the CVS pharmacy. 

CLOSED SESSION

Upon motion by Barbara Laprade, seconded by Conner Francis, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to enter into closed session under Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711(A)(1) for the discussion, consideration, or interviews of prospective candidates for employment; assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of specific public officers, appointees, or employees of any public body; to wit, the consideration of a grievance filed against the mayor. 

Mayor Jennings read the following statement concerning the closed session.

“In order to further the purposes of good and open government, and to comply with the provisions of Virginia Code Section 2.2-3112, I am disclosing that the upcoming closed session involves a grievance against me personally in my capacity as Mayor.  Because of my personal interest in the grievance, I am disqualifying myself from participating in the closed session, meaning I will not participate in any way in the discussion or consideration of the grievance, and I will not vote on the grievance.”

CERTIFICATION

Upon motion by Barbara Laprade, seconded by Scott Fisher, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to return to open session.

Vice Mayor Mark Wilkes called for a vote certifying that only those items were discussed as allowed under VA Code Section 2.2-3711 Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711(A)(1) for the discussion, consideration, or interviews of prospective candidates for employment; assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of specific public officers, appointees, or employees of any public body; to wit, the consideration of a grievance filed against the mayor. 

Voting was as follows:

Mr. David        Aye
Ms. Johnson   Aye
Vice Mayor Wilkes      Aye
Mr. Fisher        Aye
Mr. Francis      Aye
Ms. Laprade                Aye

Ms. Laprade said that no action would be taken from the closed session. 

CLOSED SESSION

Upon motion by Barbara Laprade, seconded by Cynthia Johnson, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to enter into closed session under Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711(A)(1) for the discussion, consideration, or interviews of prospective candidates for employment; assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of specific public officers, appointees, or employees of any public body; to wit, the consideration of a grievance filed against the town manager.”

CERTIFICATION

Upon motion by Barbara Laprade, seconded by Scott Fisher, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to return to open session.

Vice Mayor Mark Wilkes called for a vote certifying that only those items were discussed as allowed under VA Code Section 2.2-3711 Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711(A)(1) for the discussion, consideration, or interviews of prospective candidates for employment; assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of specific public officers, appointees, or employees of any public body; to wit, the consideration of a grievance filed against the town manager. 

Voting was as follows:

Mr. David                    Aye
Ms. Johnson   Aye
Vice Mayor Wilkes      Aye
Mr. Fisher                    Aye
Mr. Francis      Aye
Ms. Laprade                Aye
Mayor Jennings          Aye

Ms. Laprade said that no action would be taken from the closed session. 

ADJOURNMENT 

Upon motion by Conner Francis, seconded by Joseph David, and unanimously carried, Mayor Jennings announced that the June 13, 2023, Council meeting was adjourned.

Bobbie A. Waller, Clerk/Treasurer

Kenneth Jennings, Mayor