Onancock* Town Council Meeting November 22, 2021  Town of Onancock Town Council Meeting November 22, 2021 7:00 p.m.  Call to Order and Roll Call:  Mayor Fosque called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and roll was called. Mayor Fletcher Fosque and Councimembers Robert Bloxom, Ray Burger, Joy Marino, Sarah Nock and Maphis Oswald were present. Councilmember Thelma Gillespie was present electronically. All members were present, and a quorum  was established.  The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.  Consideration and Approval of the October 25, 2021 Regular Town Council Meeting Minutes: Mayor Fosque asked for any changes, additions or corrections to the minutes as submitted. With none, Councilmember Oswald made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Councilmember Bloxom seconded the motion. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote.  Public Business: No public hearings scheduled. Council Discussion:  a. Discussion of Planning Commission Recommended Changes to Town Code Section 38-77,Special Exemptions: Mr. Spuck shared the following Planning Commission proposed changes tot the  Special Exemption Code:  1. Operators of Bed and Breakfasts must live on site. 2. Update on the terms used for short-term rentals.  3. Special Use Permits for short-term rentals expire every three-years from the date of 4. Current owners must apply for the Special Use Permit. In situations of property sale contingent up Council's approval of the Special Use Permit Application both the current 5. LLC's must disclose all individual members of the partnership since no one owner can have 6. The contact information for the property manager must be local and on file with the Onancock Police Department as well as provided to the propertysimmediate neighbors. 7. There must be al linear two-hundred feet and one tax parcel as defined by Accomack County 8. AHomestay property cannot operate more than 90- days in a calendar year. 9. Properties will not allow more than two guests per bedroom and no more thant four persons per bathroom, Nuclear families with children under the age of 18 are not limited to the 10. Property owners must provide to the Town, annually, proof ofi insurance for property damage and liability in an amount no less than the full replacement value of the structure as  issuance.  owner and purchaser mayj jointly apply. more than one. Special Use Permit for this purpose.  between properties allowed for Homestay properties.  number of guests allowed.  it exists at the time of application.  1    Onancock Town Council Meeting November 22, 2021  Extensive Council discussion followed each item.  AI majority of Council Members requested that the 90-day restriction be removed from the Mayor Fosque asked Mr. Spuck to supply Council with a mapi to review in more detail the 200- foot radius requirement between homestays at the next meeting. Mayor Fosque stated that Council will continue to review this proposed language at the next Council meeting and that the 11. Police Response to Public Safety Concerns: Mr. Spuck shared that the Onancock Police Chief and staff have been working on a plan which centers around placing cameras around Town. The Town can either do Wi-Fi or cellular cameras and since the Town does not have Town wide Wi-Fi coverage the most likely scenario would be cellular cameras. The Town has secured a quote for these cameras and the cost per camera per month with the cellular package is $130.00. The Chiefi is working on' viability and functionality of the cameras as well  proposed language.  Public Hearing will be held at the. January 2022 Town Council meeting.  as placement of them. Council discussion followed.  Councilmember Marino shared with she is working with the Police Department along with 12. ARPA Tourism Grant: Mr. Spuck shared that Virginia Tourism has received a! $50 million tourism grant and that Accomack County will be receiving $260,000 of those funds for tourism. Currently there are three Destination Marketing Organization's (DMO) in Accomack County including the Town of Onancock. Accomack County has asked that the Eastern! Shore Tourism administer these funds on their behalf. Mr. Spuck has had conversations with all parties involved advocating that Onancock receive its own allocation of thosei funds since being our own DMO has value added. Once the allocation is determined he will be bringing his plan to expend the funds before Council. These funds can  others to come up with an attractive police officer recruitment plan.  only be used for tourism efforts.  Public Comments: No public comment was heard. Committee Reports:  a. HRSD, Robert Bloxom: Councilmember Bloxom deferred to Mr. Spuck's Town Manager's  Report.  b. Waterfront Committee, Robert Bloxom: Councilmember Bloxom shared Chairman T. Lee Byrd's Planning Commission, Robert Bloxom: Councilmember Bloxom shared that Chairwoman Judith Grier has resigned from the Planning Commission and that Mr. Scott Schreiber has agreed to take over as the Commission Chair. The Commission also reviewed the current zoning for the  report which is attached.  2    Onancock Town Council Meeting November 22, 2021  business districts, and it has been decided that they need to spend more time on coming up with thoughtful changes. The Commission also reviewed an application for a rezone. Currently, the Eastern Shore Coalition Against Domestic' Violence (ESCADV) is selling their shelter on Hartman Avenue whichi is a duplex. The parcel is zoned R1A which does not allow for multifamily cohabitation. They! have a sale pending the Town's approval of their rezone request. They are asking thati it be rezoned to R2 which is multifamily friendly. The Planning Commission  consensus was to recommend the rezone to Town Council. d. Personnel Committee, Joy Marino: No meeting.  Mayor's Report: grant.  Mayor Fosque thanked Mrs. Lisa Fiege for her hard work on the Small Business Recovery Assistance  Town Manager's Report:  Mr. Spuck shared with Council his report which is attached. a. ARPA Projects Updates: See attached.  Council Comments:  Mayor Fosque shared that Councilmember Bloxom was vacating his seat at the end of the year. Duei to that upcoming vacancy Town Council would be going into Closed Session toi interview applicants for Councilmember Oswald expressed concern over the employees that are slated to go with HRSD when the plant transfers, stating that some of them chose not to get vaccinated and therefore will not be able to be employed by HRSD. What ist the plan to take care oft those individuals? Mr. Spuck shared that he has been working with these employees towards a positive outcome which will be retirement. Councilmember Oswald also asked if the business owner that currently provides lawn services to the Town has been informed that the Town will be taking that activity back in house. Mr. Spuck stated that he has been in contact with the owner's partner, and they are aware oft the coming change. Councilmember Nock asked if there was any movement on the lot the Town has for sale on Watson Street. Mr. Spuck stated that there has not been any, sharing that the lot may not be priced right. Councilmember Nock asked if there was any update on1 the Northeast Section grant. Mr. Spuck shared that he would be checking in with Mr. Eric Luchansky who had said initially that the application to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development would be ready around Thanksgiving. Councilmember Marino made a motion to enter a closed session pursuant to $2.1-3711 (A)(1)to interview and consider appointment, for the upcoming Town Council vacancy. Councilmember Gillespie  Councilmember Bloxom's: seat.  Closed Session:  seconded the motion. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. Town Council entered closed session at 8:35 p.m.  3    Onancock' Town Council Meeting November 22, 2021  Councilmember Marino made a motion to end close session and certify that no other discussion was held other than described int the motion to enter close session. Councilmember Oswald. seconded the motion,  and a roll call vote was taken. Robert Bloxom Thelma Gillespie Sarah Nock  Absent No No  Ray Burger Joy Marino Maphis Oswald  No No No  Town Council reconvened open session at 9:23 p.m.  Councilmember Marino made a motion to appoint Mrs. Cindy Holdren to fill the vacancy on the Town Council effective immediately, following the December. 20, 2021 meeting until December. 31, 2022. Councilmember Nock. seconded the motion. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote.  Adjourn:  Councilmember Gillespie made a motion to adjourn. Councilmember Nock seconded the motion. The  motion passed by unanimous voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.  KEIA  2 Lisa  Fletcher Fosque, Mayor  Deputy  afg  4    included a5 palt of  ONANCOCK 1680 "(2z/21 Mynldes  VIROINIA'S EASTERN SHORE  Town Council: Bob Bloxom, Ray Burger, Thelma Gillespie, Joy Marino, Sarah Nock and Maphis Oswald  Mayor: Fletcher Fosque I Town Manager: Matt Spuck  Town Manager Report November 22,2021  HRSD  USDA in D.C. has all the information they requested, and we are simply waiting to hear about their final decision regarding any repayment requirements of the grant portion oft the original USDA bond used to All other tasks, to the best of my knowledge, have been provided and once we hear back, we will be ready  construct the wastewater treatment plant. to close on thet transfer immediately.  After we close, we will begin the process to transfer the Town's collection system. Ifthe project cannot be completed by April 1, we will delay until next fall. The County' Wetlands has advised us that this project does not require a permit. VMRC and ACE have assigned personnel to review our application. We have not received permits yet. We received: a grant of $270,000 from VPAa and another grant of $64,5001 from BIG for this project. It should require little, ifa any, Town contribution. Ifanyf funds are required, Council already budgeted fori iti in the use  Bulkhead  of reserves for grant-matching. Allt tax bills were distributed on-time.  Tax Season  The decision Council made to eliminate vehicle decals and add the fee to property tax bills simplified the There is some information that we can share more clearly ont the bills next year. This was the first time we We have approached the County about trying to get the data files to us al littie sooner (Chincoteague and Ifyou would like communication from the Town for local issues (like hydrant flushing, traffic issues, etc.):  process for residents and likely generated increased revenue. did thisi in house, and we will make those improvements each year.  Onancock both prepare tax bilis in house).  Town Communications  By Text: Text the word ONANÇOCK to! 91896  By Email: Give your email address to any employee in Town Hall.  Small Business Recovery Grant  The term for this grant has expired.  We have received a clean report from DHCH for our grant compliance. The total amount distributed to 30 Onancock businesses is $346,290.38. grants are: SWAM (Small, Women-owned, Minority-owned)!  We provided meaningful support to 6 nonprofit organizations and 75% of the businesses that received  Department of Public Works  The town is transitioning into our normal festive Christmas town! Craig has joined DPW until the Wharf re opens in early Spring. We will begin to interview for the second sloti in February.  15 North Street 1 Onancock, Virginia 23417 I 757.787.3363 onancock.com    Included os par6 "zz/z1 Minun!  Virginia Tourism Grant  Accomack County received $260,000 from the VTC. The DMO'sare charged with submitting a spending plan Onançock is one of the 3 DMO'si in the County (The Tourism Commission and Chincoteague are the other 2). The Tourism Commission has agreed to administer the effort of preparing a County- wide spending plan. The Commission is a regional body and will likely perform the service for Northampton County as well, who received $100,000 (and the Commission and Cape Charles are the 2 DMO's int that locality) As part of our being al DMO, we have a spending plan in place already, but once we learn of the amount earmarked for Onancock, Iwill put that list before Council for prioritizationa and approval (working with OMS We are completing the preparation for the 2021 financial audit, which should take place over the holidays We distributed a newsletter of the rack card prepared by OBCA that outlines the events for. Thet two officers attending the police academy are performing well and willj join the department here after completion in early January. They will need 240 hours ofs supervision after they return before they aret fully Both new police vehicles have been delivered- BUT, there was a mechaniçal issue with the last car and itis Lisa has given her notice that her last day working for the Town willl be at the end of December.  tot the County for how best to spend these funds.  aswell!) 2021 Audit Christmasi in Onançock Police  certified as Onançock Police Officers. back at the dealership being repaired. This is al huge loss for the town and the office. The first ad ran in the Post on1 the 19th. We: are going to move as quickly as possible. release valves located throughout town. This project will take about a month more.  Staff Change  The hiring process has been shared with Council and the interview team.  WaterTower  Thet tower is offline and water pressure in Town is managed by the pumps at the wells and the pressure Ihave been trying to communicate any changes or possible disruptions to service asik know of them.  Misc. Small Projects  Pedestals for the wharf (purchased with 2020 BIG funds) is beginning  The White Oak project is resuming now that work on it will be less distressing to the tree. Remaining tasks are lightning protection, branch cabling, high limb removal, and ground cover and asphalt removal. lami researching and writing an ordinance to govern the development of property contiguous to paper roads. Council has asked me to write this quickly and bypass Planning Commission, Iwill have this lam arranging for the County to print a newi mark-up copy of the zoning maps so that we can get it updated Dog Park- -lam asking for al larger printout of the property to allow for community design. Ifound another Ineed to update the town purchasing policy toi include items from the federal code 2CFR: 200 5o that our  prepared for the December meeting.  and ready for review, as per the Comprehensivel Plan, by Planning Commission resource other than the survey company - they do not have time to help. internal policy mirrors the federal code for ARPA spending purposes.  Page 2of2    Lisa W. Fiege From: Sent: To: Subject:  TLee Byrd teebyrd@gmail.com> Tuesday, November 16, 20216:33AM Robert Bloxom; Lisa W. Fiege waterfront Tuesday 11/9/21  Ifear that Ihave missed Council meeting ? Nevertheless, for your minutes Lisa:  The marina has closed entirely for the season. According to the harbormaster, the power has been turned off in  anticipation of electrical work on the pedestals and the bathhouses are closed. Permitting is near completion for work to be done on our bulkhead and parking areas.  Winterization will be done soon.  Waterfront committee meetings will be: scheduled on a month to month basis for the winter time off season  T.Lee