July 9, 2024
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:
Mark Wilkes, Vice Mayor
Barbara Laprade, Joseph David, Cynthia Johnson, Scott Fisher and Conner Francis, Council Members
Mike Crews, Public Works Director and Interim Town Manager
Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer
Robert Kolich, Chief of Police
Absent: Kenneth Jennings, Mayor
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion by Cynthia Johnson, seconded by Conner Francis, and unanimously carried, Council approved the agenda for the July 9, 2024, regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council.
MINUTES
Upon motion by Scott Fisher, seconded by Joseph David, and unanimously carried, Council approved the minutes for the June 11, 2024 joint committee meeting and Town council meeting.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Vice Mayor Wilkes asked that the treasurer’s report for July 2024 be filed for audit.
PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF INVOICES
Be it resolved that the motion was made by Conner Francis, seconded by Cynthia Johnson, and unanimously carried, authorizing the payment of the invoices for the period of June 12, 2024, through July 9, 2024, in the amount of $8,361.03.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mr. Jeffrey Carpenter, VP of the Brookneal Community Alliance appeared before Council to talk about a festival being planned for September 28, 2024 by the alliance and also partnering with the 3rd annual back to the farm/pulling for a cure. This event is an event that has happened for the last 3 years to raise money for charity for childhood cancer research. He said this year the event is going to be called 3rd Annual back to the farm/Brookneal Day in the Town pulling together for a cure. The theme will be raising money for children cancer research, and the money will go towards Ronald McDonald house and the state research center for childhood cancer, and possibly a national organization if funds are available. He said it would be downtown and hours have not been set yet; they hope to block off the streets. He said the fish hatchery is going to open on that Saturday and give tours. He said they hope to have a map of all their activities. He said Howard Wells will do a talk about the river; the library will have extended hours as well that day. He said they want to have a car show, vendors, and entertainment. Mr. Carpenter also announced that the library is having a free yoga class.
POLICE REPORT
Chief Robert Kolich presented the police report for June 2024. He said of the 86 calls for service, Campbell County answered 18 of those calls and the Brookneal Police Department answered 68 of those calls. Chief Kolich also addressed the fireworks situation that occurred in town on July 4. He said that there are a number of fireworks which are legal in Virginia; he had a listing of legal fireworks in Virginia if anyone was interested in viewing it. Chief Kolich said he spoke with Ms. Meisenbach about the fireworks incident on July 4th and the importance of calling 911 which she did not. He said he discussed with Ms. Meisenbach her concerns about calling 911 and remaining anonymous which he told her she could do that. Chief Kolich also had a list of misdemeanors for which police officers can make arrests for that don’t occur in their presence, and shooting fireworks is not one of them. He said he advised Ms. Meisenbach that he could take a statement from her about the juvenile she saw shooting illegal fireworks and present it to the commonwealth attorney’s office for their review.
PUBLIC WORKS/INTERIM TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Public Works Director Mike Crews said the following in his report:
- The Dixie Girls Brookneal Belles were the only division that won the allstar games in Charlotte County and played in the state tournament in Madison Heights but came up short.The Dixie Boys also came up short in the allstar tournament.
- Contractor has reached out on the 311 Virginia Avenue property for demolition
- June 29ththere was a water main break on Lynchburg Avenue across from the body shop.The town crew worked into the early morning hours of Sunday to fix the problem. He said they had to wait on the gas pipeline representative to come; he said they couldn’t do any digging except by shovel until he got there. Crews said it took the representative 3 hours to arrive on scene.
- He said the construction on the new pavilion at the ballpark is 70% done.He said it is going to be a great asset to our ballpark.
- The deadline for sealed bids on the 2004 Dodge pickup truck was July 8th.The highest bidder has been notified, and the highest bid was $550.00.
- He said he is meeting with contractors for bids on the basketball court. He said the old playground equipment was removed this past weekend.
- He said he received a bid from Southern Corrosion on the water tanks for the Town.He said he asked the Council last month about the color for the tanks.He said a maintenance contract from 2024 to 2029 and would be about $62,000 per year. They would wash out the downtown tank, pressure wash it, and paint it with the logo, and they would do maintenance on the Hunter Road tank. He said each year they would come and inspect the tanks and do any maintenance and emergency work that needs to be done. He said if the Town had to pay the amount upfront to have all of this done it would be around $400,000. He said the contract could be canceled at any time with proper notice. He said the color chosen by Council last month for the paint for the tanks was a light blue. He said the company recommended dark blue/black lettering for the logo.
- The CCR (Consumer Confidence Report) has been published on the town website and copies are available in the Town office.
MOTION TO CONTRACT WITH SOUTHERN CORROSION
Upon motion by Conner Francis, seconded by Joseph David, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to give Mike Crews authority to proceed with the Southern Corrosion contract at $62,000 per year.
REQUEST FOR TRANSFERS OF APPROPRIATION
Upon motion by Conner Francis, seconded by Barbara Laprade and unanimously approved, the Council voted to approve the following transfers of appropriation.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
Councilperson Johnson told the Council that the town manager search committee is still working on the hiring process.
Clerk/Treasurer Bobbie Waller told the Council that she had forwarded an email to the Council today concerning 214 Old Main Street, owned by Stewart Smith/Buffalo Creek Land Company, being deemed an unsafe structure by the Campbell County fire marshal. She said if Council is in agreement, she will proceed with scheduling a hearing with owner at the August Council meeting.
MOTION TO PROCEED WITH HEARING WITH OWNER OF 214 OLD MAIN STREET
Upon motion by Conner Francis, seconded by Scott Fisher, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to proceed with a hearing with the owner of 214 Old Main Street in light of the fire marshal’s assessment of the property being unsafe.
PUBLIC COMMENT #2
Ms. Tracy Meisenbach addressed the fireworks issue. She said that state law in Virginia is pretty clear regardless of what the manufacturer calls the firework. She said any aerial firework that explodes in the air is illegal. She said the manufacturer labels the firework a fountain which is legal but it is the 2nd part of the firework is something that launches and explodes. She said she filmed at least 7 of the big starbursts that went way up in the air; they explode and create the big boom pattern. She said the manufacturer has figured out to label them as legal but actually because part of it launches, it is illegal.
ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL
Councilperson Francis said that as Mr. Carpenter mentioned, the 3rd annual back to the farm/coming together event is on September 28, 2024, with food and games. He said the fundraising is going solely to children’s cancer research. He said the Masonic Lodge is hosting a pancake breakfast for Camp Hat Creek who are raising funds for William Campbell football league on July 27, 2024. He said the owner of Thread Runs Thru It came to the Brookneal Alliance meeting and wanted to make everyone aware of a paint class she is hosting on July 27, 2024; she anticipates 30 attendees.
Councilperson Johnson asked about contacting the railroad about all the crossties located near the railroad on Cook Avenue/Lynchburg Avenue before September so that more parking could be available on September 28 for the festival. Mr. David said that the railroad sells those crossties to 2 different contractors that sell to different companies as needed. Mr. Crews said he would check on that issue.
Councilperson Laprade said that she had some ideas about animal safety during the fireworks displays that she is going to present to Chief Kolich and Mr. Crews.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion by Conner Francis, seconded by Cynthia Johnson, and unanimously carried, Vice Mayor Wilkes announced that the July 9, 2024 Council meeting was adjourned.
Bobbie A. Waller: Clerk/Treasurer
Mark Wilks: Vice Mayor
