Town of Onancock Town Council February 23, 2015 7:00PM  Call to Order and Roll Call:  Mayor. Jones called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM and roll was called. Mayor Russell. Jones and CouncimembersT. Lee Byrd, Catherine Krause, John Morgan, Sandra Fox, Joshua Bundick and Fletcher Fosque were present. All members were present and a quorum was established.  The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.  Consideration and Approval of Minutes from the Regular Meeting on January 26,2015: Mayor. Jones asked ift there were any corrections, changes, or additions to the. January26",2015 With none, Councilmember Morgan made a motion to approve the. January 26", 2015 meeting minutes as submitted. Councilmember Byrd seconded the motion. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote.  meeting.  Public Business:  A. Budget Supplement- Appropriation by USDA for Vehicles:  Town Manager Lawton explained to council that theyl had previously voted to approve an application to Rural Development for the funds to purchase two new vehicles. Part of the money was given to the town as a grant and the other portion of the money' was loaned to the town. Ar new police vehicle was purchased along with a new public works truck. Mr. Lawton explained that council would need to approve a supplemental appropriation to reflect the monies received by Rural Development and the Councilmember Byrdi made a motion to approve a supplemental appropriation in the amount of $49,000 for funds received ande expendedj from USDA-RD. for two vehicles. Councilmember Fox seconded: the  expenditures for the vehicle purchases.  motion. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote.  Public Comment: No Comment. Planning Commission: No meeting. Marketing Committee:  Councilmember Morgan shared that they did meet and that the majority oft the meeting was about preparing for the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Councilmember Morgan commended Ms. Nancy James and her volunteers on all their hard work with the parade preparation. Councilmember Morgan asked Ms. Ms. Nancy. James explained that last year's inaugural parade was very successful and that she has faith that this year's parade willl be just as good ifr not better. Ms.. James also mentioned what a great group ofs sponsors she was able obtain to help make the parade as special one. Ms. James explained to counçil  James to address council regarding the current parade efforts.  1    that the parade starts at 2 PM on Sunday, March 15", 2015. The previous meeting minutes hada starting time of 1:00 PM which was the initial proposed start time but due to church attendees leaving church around that time it was suggested that the parade start time be moved back an hour. Ms. James also shared that there is a! 5K Charity Event on Saturday, March 14t,2 2015 which is in conjunction with the parade. Ms. James is excited to have an event that brings sO many people into the Town of Onancock: and because of that fact Ms. James has been encouraging business in town to open their Ms. Ann Nock, Market Street, shared her concerns regarding the availability of restroom facilitates the Mr. Lawton and Ms.. James explained that the Old Onancock High School restrooms will be open to the  doors before and after the parade.  parade.  public as well as a port-a-potty on the Old Onancock High School lawn.  Personnel Committee: Nor meeting. Waterfront Committee:  Councilmember Byrd explained that there was a meeting that was held last month in spite of his absence and that he would allow thet town manager to expand oni it during his report.  Mayor's Report: No report.  Town Manager Report:  1. Mr. Lawton shared the progress of thei installation oft the gas tanks at the wharf. The town received al letter from the contractor, Mid Atlantic Petroleum, stating that when they tried to pull the building permits from Accomack County there were some road block that had been erected. Accomack County has requested that a structural engineer write al letter stating that the proposed location for the tanks is good. The other issue Accomack County raised some concerns about is whether or not the tank would be located outside of the town's flood plain. Mr. Lawton explained that moving the tank out of the flood plain could prove to be problematic when trying to load fuel into the tank. Mr. Lawton shared that he intends to discuss this issue with Mr.. John Custis, Town Attorney, to determine whether the jurisdiction of the flood plain falls with the town or county. Once the tank is filledi it will weigh about 15 tons therefore it would not be buoyant. Mr. Lawton stressed that changing the site plan now would be virtually impossible and that thet future oft the Onancock Harbor depends on this amenity/service. Councilmember Bundick asked Mr. Lawton to clarify that the town did in fact pass their own flood plain ordinance. Mr. Lawton affirmed that was true. Councilmember Bundick asked ift that means that the town has oversight of its own flood plaini issues. Mr. Lawton: shared that he 2. The Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) has approved the town for grant money for advertising. The town will need to come up with a plan prior to spending the money and it must target transient boaters so that they are aware of the amenities at the wharf such as the pump out.  believes so but is not sure of the specific ins and outs oft this issue.  2    3. Mr. Lawton shared that Pine Street Apartments is int the process of applying fort tax credits to make upgrades to their apartments. Mr. Lawton explained that the credits will provide funds to existing building upgrades only. Pine Street Apartments has asked the Town of Onancock to  write al letter ofs support for the tax credits. 4. The new town website will go live next week.  5. Mr. Lawton shared that at the next council meeting he would be presenting the proposed FY 2015-16 budget. Mr. Lawton reminded council that there will also need to be a public hearing no later than. June before council can adopt the proposed budget. Mr. Lawton also shared that 6. Mr. Lawton reiterated that he submitted the proposed economic future of thet town to Accomack County as requested but that it would be unlikely to hear back from the county until 7. Mr. Lawton shared that during this year's legislative session int the Virginia General Assembly some of the local police department funds that were previously cut have been reinstated. Also, House Bill 1721 passed the House and is working its way through the Senate. The bill, if passed, would give an exemption to real estate taxes for those families of soldiers that died while  the new budget will incorporate rate increases for water and sewer.  April or May.  serving.  Mayor and Town Council Comments:  Councilmember Fox shared her concern about an individual who lives at GF Horne. This individual came to1 the Inn and Garden Café twice during the Valentine's Day dinner that was being served to their guests. Thei individual was removed from the property twice by Onancock Police Officers. Councilmember Fox askedi if there was anything that could be done to ensure that individuais from GF Mayor. Jones shared that unfortunately that issue is outside of council's purview and the Police Department cannot get involved unless one of their residents is committing a crime. Mr. Lawton also explained that GF Horne is providing a service on the Eastern Shore that is notreadily Councilmember Bundick asked Mr. Lawton how the town's utility system fared through the cold Mr. Lawton shared that the system fared well until recently. Several busted water pipes ini town. Also, there are at few problems at the plant that have required constant monitoring. The plant staff has been Councilmember Bundick shared that he noticed that at the wharf there did not seem to be any throw Councilmember Byrd shared that the town does have one but that it was probably put away when the  Horne could not trespass and disturb local businesses customers.  available. Ifthey were to close, where would their residents live.  temperatures.  working hard to resolve these issues.  able life buoys. wharf closed for winter.  3    Councilmember Bundick asked if thet town could looki into keeping one out year round and possibly getting one for the kayak ramp as well. Councilmember Bundick stressed that as a parent it would be nice tol knowi that ifa child didi falli in that there would be an apparatus there to assist with retrieving the  child from the water.  Mr. Lawton: stated that he would look into that.  Closed Session, if necessary:  None. Adjourn:  Councilmember Fosque made a motion to adjourn. Councilmember Bundick: seconded the motion. The  motion passed unanimous voice vote. The meeting was adjourned at 7:56 PM.  B  Ey  4