The meeting of the Boydton Town Council was held on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, beginning at 7:30 P.M., in the' Town Hall Council Chambers with Mayor Christopher D. Starke presiding. Due to illness, the regular meeting date of February 13, 2024,  was rescheduled. THOSE PRESENT Christopher D. Starke, Mayor T.G. Gill, Vice Mayor (Absent) W.H. Coleman Bill Thompson David M. Crowder Paul "Ray" Cherry Mr. Ronny Worley Chief Nathan Bowen Rhita M. Burton, Deputy Clerk Shirley S. Bowen, MMC, Clerk-Treasurer  GUESTS  R.H. Park III, WWTP Chief Operator John P. Roberts, Maintenance Supervisor  The Mayor, Christopher "Chris" Starke, welcomed the council and employees to the regular monthly meeting and called the meeting to order. The Mayor led the pledge of Mayor Starke requested a motion to approve the regular monthly meeting minutes of January 16, 2024, and the "Called Meeting" minutes of. January 30, 2024. Councilman Ray Cherry moved to approve both sets of minutes as submitted, and Councilman David M. The Mayor requested a motion to approve the bills to be paid for the month of February 2024. Councilman W.H. Coleman questioned the high electric bill from Virginia Dominion Power for the' Town Hall. However, neither Shirley, nor Rhita had an explanation as to the reason it was that costly, except the cost keeps going up. Councilman Coleman suggested we contact the power company to come and check the meter. He also questioned Mr. Park II about the water bill at the WWTP. Mr. Park II explained they did have a couple ofleaks, that had been fixed, but stated there could be something leaking that hasn't come to the surface yet. He advised he was using well water when feasible. Councilman W.H. Coleman moved to approve the bills as presented. Councilman Paul "Ray" Cherry seconded the Chief Bowen gave his monthly activity report from January 4th, 2024 thru February 16t, 2024, which gave him another week, due to rescheduling the meeting. His report included ten (10) traffic stops, six (6) traffic citations, and seven (7) calls for service. He updated the council on the shooting on Taylor Ferry Road, which was an isolated incident. He stated he was only advising the council on the incident, since he figured the council had heard about it and stated it was handled by the Sheriff's office, and a press release would be forthcoming. Mr. R. H. Park III's public works report for January from the Waste Water Treatment Plant was requested by Mayor Starke. Mr. Park III reported the following: 1. Mr. R.H. Park III said he wanted to make it clear that the billing for the WWTP  allegiance to the flag, followed by an invocation.  Crowder seconded the motion. All members voted in favor.  motion, and all remaining members voted in favor.    has always been charged at out-of-town rates, along with sewer charges, which makes the bill there higher than it should be. At this point, Councilman Coleman mentioned the sewer portion of his house bill, which seemed more than it used tol be and it raised a question as to the validity ofit. Rhita verified that the readings were correct, as well as, the charges. Mr. Park II reported Boydton's Department of Water, RRSA Meter Readings report of water pumped for January 2024, was 1,154,000 gallons of water purchased from thel RRSA with the DMR results being returned as 2. Mr. Park II stated he had a Water Storage Tank Annual Inspection Report that he was leaving up front for anyone interested to review. This report is produced by Southern Corrosion, the company that annually takes care of our water tank. 3. The construction being done on Highway 58 across from the ridge is the Bishop lift station, which will "mirror" the one at the LVLS site. The pad will be put in and sub- contracted out toj put inj part of the sewer line. Harman Saunders was awarded the contact to do the actual lift station and he will be finish off the sewage line and make 4. Mr. Park II advised the council of surges at the WWTP that had taken the plant completely off line four (4) times. He stated, "The surge protector had done its job, but has sustained some damage, but we do not know the amount of damage that's been done. We do know that the display module has been damaged and will have to be replaced. This unit has display modules in three (3) modules to take care of these surges that are one for each line. He said, "I would like to first start replacing the display module, in order to monitor the modules. The display is $1,012.00, plus installation costs and P'd like for you all to go ahead and approve this now." Councilman Coleman asked if this would be covered by our insurance. Mrs. Bowen, stated she'd check into this, but we have a $1,000.00 deductible. It was the consensus of the council not to vote on this cost, as it was considered ordinary maintenance. 5. Mr. Park II also mentioned the Commonwealth of Virginia, through thel EPA, is doing a lead-line survey, which has been going on for a year and he'd been working on it; however, now they are changing the entire way they're doing it. He stated he'd asked Rhita to help him with this by putting it on a spreadsheet and sending it in. It will take a lot of time to complete, due to having to take al look at ten percent (10%) of all the water lines in Boydton, ifl hel knows the specific time it was done, and ifnot, he 6. Mr. Park III advised the council on the Sewer User Agreement with Microsoft on the LVL: North on Ridge Road. He stated Microsoft had sent back the contract wanting us to take some parts out, (which is highlighted in yellow), since they felt it was too "wordy" or redundant. Mr. Park III stated the first sentence could possibly be omitted, but he felt the remainder should stay, since that will require Microsoft to be responsible for any changes that should come up at the WWTP with the treatment of their cooling water. Mayor Starke asked if this was the same as our attorney had recommended and written up to be in the agreement. Mr. Park III stated, it was. The Mayor said this was some of the same things that were brought up at the RRSA meeting, and it was felt that Microsoft attorney's had specific reasons as to why they "did want" or "didn't want" this type of thing in these agreements. The Mayor continued by saying hei felt, if our attorney had agreed to the wording of our agreement, then it should be left in there, until she was contacted. After more discussion, Councilman W.H. Coleman advised Mr. Park III to contact Mrs. Bacon,  satisfactory.  the connections.  will have to look at all the lines.    our town attorney, to get her advice on the wording of this highlighted portion of the agreement to see: ifs she feels it could be worded differently, and ifnot, leave it as itis. 7. Mr. Park II brought up the water line coming from Virginia Homes to the WWTP that needs to be replaced. He stated it's been there since Virginia Homes was built and also supplies the town's water from the Roanoke River Service Authority. Ithas also had numerous leaks. The town still has some grant funding of over $200,000.00, that needs to be spent for this type of thing. His suggestion was to use these funds to replace this line, at a cost of approximately $175,000.00 to $200,000.00 due to the necessity of supplying our residents with water. He was inquiring if the town council would like for him talk to Drew, of Dewberry, to get cost estimates on replacing the line along with the cost of permits, approvals, and get bids out to find the actual cost. Councilman Coleman asked, Why do we have to get permits to change a water line?" Mr. Park III stated because he'll have to find out the' "run-off" from the soil that has to be approved by the County and the Health Department has to approve: it. Councilman W.H. Coleman stated he felt other contractors should be sought out other than Harman Saunders. Mr. Park III, stated it would be bid out and the lowest bidder would get the contract; however, anyone could bid on the project. Councilman Cherry inquired if there weren't three (3) options mentioned from last month to use this money on. Mr. Park III responded by saying, "Yes, there was the replacement of this line from Virginia Homes, replacing some manholes, or slip-lining some old 1929 pipes. However, he: felt this line coming into the town took precedence over the other two (2) options. Councilman W.H. Coleman moved to start the process of replacing the water line from Virginia Homes to the WWTP. Councilman David M. Crowder 8. Mr. Park III had one (1) more item to discuss, which was the sewer line behind the ballpark. The sewer line was damaged due to some cutting of trees being done. Councilman W.H. Coleman advised Mr. Park III to go over there first thing in the morning, since they'd brought in a bulldozer this afternoon, which if used, could possibly do more damage. He stated there was possibly al lot of work to be done over at the site, but he would turn that over to Mr. Roberts, our Maintenance Supervisor. Councilman Cherry inquired of Mr. Park III, if Rural Water had come up and checked our water lines. Mr. Park III stated they had come and were very helpful. They found a problem on Craddock Street that has a 34 inch line over in that area and also runs up to Washington Street that is still live, but they can't "pinpoint" exactly where it's leaking. He stated there were no major leaks, except for the one down at the old house at the WWTP and Johnny found and fixed it. Council Coleman asked if they couldn'tj just disconnect the 34 inch line, with Mr. Park III stating they didn't know where it's connected in order to do that. He said they have an idea...but they can'tdetermine the exact location. He said it's Mr. Roberts was called upon by thel Mayor for his monthly maintenance report for January 1.) Mr. Roberts advised the garbage truck had been repaired and was back in service. 2.) Mr. Roberts handed out some pictures of a truck he'd like toj purchase for $5,000.00, with the council's approval. He stated $4,000 had been set aside in the budget last year toj purchase a small truck, but this one is in the best condition that he's been able  seconded the motion with all members voting in favor.  been a "thorn in everyone's side," since he'd come to work here.  2024.  to find, and it has low mileage.    3.) He informed the council that he'd found al leak at a water meter on Skipwith Road and it had been repaired, along with also fixing another leak on Park Street thatl kept 4.) He informed the council that St. Taylor's church is asking again to hook on to the town sewage. He said he's trying to get prices on this, but they are going to have to get approval from the Fire Department to go across their property and gets someone to bore under Carter Lane and Madison Street in order to hook on to the town sewage lines. They will also have to pay for the lift station and the septic boxes. No prices have been sought on that, as yet. He also felt they would change their minds  giving them trouble. He stated hel hoped it was finally fixed now.  due to the costs involved.  The Mayor asked if the council would like to approve the purchase of the vehicle Mr. Roberts proposed toj purchase. He would like iti in order to split the men up to do different things in and around town. Councilman David M. Crowder moved to approve the purchase of the truck for the maintenance department. Councilman Bill Thompson seconded the  motion with all councilmen voting in favor.  OLD BUSINESS:  The Mayor briefed the council that' Tina Morgan, Tourism Coordinator for the County, Gene and Bill Coleman, and Shirley had met with the artist, Jason Tetlak, who was to do the town's mural on Gene and Bill's building. He stated there were some good ideas, and thoughts for this project and assured the council the mural would be done in good taste. This process would be reviewed before the project is started with the owners and town council's approval. He said we were. looking forward to Mr. Tetlak starting this project. Councilman Cherry inquired of Mr. Roberts regarding the trash cans for the residents. Mr. Roberts stated he was still working on getting the best prices for them. The Mayor advised that Mildred Winn's granddaughter had contacted him again about the town recognizing her grandmother in some thoughtful way. The Mayor stated that we could possibly present her a plaque, but told her it would have tol be provided by the family. He wanted the council to either approve or disapprove her request. No objections were raised. The Mayor stated he'd reach back out tol Mrs. Wimn'sgranddaughter: to take care of this.  NEW BUSINESS:  Mayor Starke reported on an email from Kevin Smith, of VDOT, who reached out to him to discuss some options the town has regarding the four (4) way intersection at Washington and Madison Street, due to it being a hazard. The Mayor returned a response to him stating we would like to speak to him and engineers from VDOT concerning our options. The Mayor advised there was a memo in their packet regarding a "Spring Cleanup Initiative" and he'd like the council's approval to send out al letter to the town'sresidents. A discussion ensued pertaining to this issue, with the council approving the Mayor's request to send the residents a "Spring Cleanup Initiative" letter to bei in effect from March 1-May 30, 2024. The Mayor stated he'd prepare a letter to be sent out to the residents.    MAYOR'S COMMENTS:  Mayor Starke reported he attended the Middle School's FFA Ceremony and signed a Proclamation in recognition of FFA week. Everyone involved was very appreciative of the The Mayor recognized and thanked all of the town employees for all they do on a daily basis. Mayor Starke briefed the council on the meeting he had with Mr. Gottschalk, the newly appointed County Administrator and Mr. David Brankley, Boydton's representative on the Board of Supervisors, regarding the town's annual budget request from the County. The Mayor advised the town council would now be entering into a' Closed Session." Councilman Worley moved that the' Town Council hold a closed meeting to discuss the following, as permitted by the Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A) (1) for the purpose of a personnel matter regarding the iscussion/consideration of "carry over" sick time or "share time" for The executive session being closed, the meeting was reconvened into open session. Councilman Ronny Worley moved that thel Boydton Town Council certify that, in the closed meeting just concluded, that nothing was discussed except the matters (1) specifically identified in the motion to convene in a closed meeting and (2) lawfully permitted tol be so discussed under the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act citied in that  town's support.  the town employees.  motion.  The motion was passed by a roll call vote as follows:  Ronald C. Worley Aye Paul "Ray" Cherry Aye  W.H. Coleman Aye Bill Thompson Aye  David M. Crowder Aye T.G.Gill  Absent  There being no motion made, or other business to discuss, Councilman Bill Thompson moved to adjourn the meeting with Councilman David M. Crowder seconding this motion. All members voted in favor; therefore, the recorded time of the adjournment was 9:30 P.M.  Shirley S. Bowen, MMC Clerk of Council & Treasurer February 20, 2024  Christopher D. Starke Mayor