TOWN OF DAYTON COUNCIL WORK SESSION August 12, 2024  COUNCIL CHAMBERS, DAYTON TOWN HALL  COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Cary Jackson, Vice-Mayor Bradford Dyjak, Susan Mathias, Emily Estes and Bob Wolz. Robert Seward resigned from council effective July 31,  leaving his seat vacant.  COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Melody Pannell  ALSOPRESENT: Jordan Bowman, Town Attorney; Brian Borne, Town Manager; Police Chief Justin Trout; Christine Wade, Deputy Clerk; Meggie Roche, Economic & Community Development Coordinator; Christa Hall, Treasurer and Jennifer Reppe, Public Works Supervisor. CALLTOORDER: Mayor Jackson called the work session to order at 5:00 p.m. and Ms. Wade CLOSED SESSION: Mayor. Jackson stated that the Council needed to go into a Closed Session as authorized by Virginia State Code Section 2.2-3711(A)(1), to discuss the performance and employment of specific local government personnel. The subject matter ofthe closed session is to discuss the 6-month evaluation and performance of the Town Manager. Councilperson Dyjak made the motion to go into closed session and Councilperson Mathias seconded the motion. The OPEN SESSION: At 5:26 pm Council returned from closed session on a motion by Councilperson Wolz, which was seconded by Councilperson Dyjak and passed by an all-in-favor vote of 6-0 with no members absent. Councilperson Pannell joined the closed session at 5:10 CERTIFICATION: With respect to the just-concluded closed session, and to the best of each member's knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under The Freedom of Information Act and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard, discussed, or considered in the meeting by the Council, Deputy Clerk Wade then proceeded to take a roll call, with each member as follows: DYJAK- CERTIFIED; PANNELLE-CERTFIED, MATHIAS-CEKTFID: ACKSON-CEKIFIED: WOLZ-ABSENT ESTES AGENDA ITEM: Mayor Jackson stated that the next item on the agenda is the amendment to the sewer code. Town Manager Borne gavet thes staffreport. Councilperson Estes asked who would be responsible for the sidewalk and asphalt. Mr. Borne stated that the Town would still be participating in street and sidewalk repair, the trench and the line itself would be the property owner. Jennifer Reppe, Public Works Supervisor, said that the Town still participates in getting the VDOT permits and coordinating with the plumber and as soon as the plumber is finished, Public Works goes back and fixes the road, sidewalk, fills in with gravel or sidewalk as needed  called the roll for the Town Council.  Council convened into a closed session at 5:01 p.m.  p.m.  CERTIFIED.  CERTIHED  DTC Work Session 8.12.24 Minutes  Page 1    and then closes the permit. They also use the dump truck to assist in disposing of the broken up asphalt, gravel and dirt. Councilperson Estes again asked about the sidewalk and asphalt, that one resident was told by the Town that they had to pay for the sidewalk and asphalt repair and the resident chose not to do the sewer repair because of how expensive it was. Ms. Reppe spoke and said that that was not the intention, Councilperson Estes interrupted and questioned "that's not in the wordage" Ms. Reppe spoke again and stated that it was not clearly specified in the verbiage and was interrupted again by Councilperson Estes stating "well do y'all mind if we put it in there, because Bridgewater does it that way, they are up to the meter, Elkton does, they make they charge them, Broadway charges them, but the other towns don't. My question is, ifyou are going to charge them, then it needs to be in the verbiage." Councilperson Estes went on about other resident's properties "this came up and they didn'tget their sewage fixed at Chris's! house because they can't afford to fix the sidewalk and asphalt, they were literally told that they had to pay that and that's why they didn't get it fixed and sO and then all of a sudden I feel somethings off with the pipes and stuff."Ms. Estes then repeated "I can'tvote on this unless it'si int the verbiage that the residents are not responsible for paying for the sidewalks and the asphalt. I don't want it switched, Ijust need the verbiage in there, can we change it ify'all don't mind because that is exactly why she didn't fix hers down the street, because that's exactly what you told her and I asked her well who She continued talking about the other areas in town and their pipe issues and things that were said tor residents and things shel has seen. "a lady that lives downtown was told by aj reliable source that a lot of damage that was done to the pipes was from grease being thrown in over the years from like Thomas House and stufflike that andIknow that my dads are good, soi it'snot al biased opinion and I don't want anyone thinking that just because II live downtown or have a problem because of that I don't even own a home,Iknow a lot of downtown are elderly and can't afford that and if y'all don't have a problem P'd like to before we vote on it, l'd appreciate us putting that in there because it is confusing and not as laid out as nice with the wordage or language as Bridgewater's or anybody else's, Harrisonburg' 's is a little more confusing but they help with the cost because they have a separate program. II like looked into all the Towns and had my friends help me. Sol I'm Town Attorney Bowman spoke and said that he thinks that Harrisonburg charges it to the property owner but has a grant program that they have in place and under certain circumstances they will cost share, but he doesn't think that it is for everyone. He stated that it was up to the Council to decide if that was a cost that you were comfortable with. Councilperson Estes interrupted again and said "well I will say y'all just said that y'all were paying fori it, soi ifwe can just get it the plan then, it shouldn't be if we are ok with it, because we are already saying we are. not paying for the road or the sidewalk, so ift that's Ijust need it written down soy'all don't change it on people when this happens because Chris has got bad sewer pipes now because she was told she had to pay for that. And apparently it wasn'tthel law because that's what we are trying toj pass now, but then y'all say that's not what's being said. So we just need that in writing and P'm good with it." Mr. Bowman tried to talk again and stated "it was a decision for the Council to make, I can certainly write it up either way, but I guess I would need to know where Council as a body stands on the issue of whether the Town should be responsible for that cost or not." Councilperson Estes interrupted again "but y'all just said we weren't, that' s what youj just said, right?" Ms. Reppe tried tos speak again and Councilperson Estes said, "you literally. just said that, sO we need them to decide whether or not we are going to incur that costs when she's already said that we don't." Mr.  told you that and when did this happen?"  asking y'all, do you mind if wej put that in the verbiage about the thing."  DTC Work Session 8.12.24 Minutes  Page 2    Bowman asked if the Town's historical practice has been to pay for repaving and repair when there's been at trench dug by the homeowner? Ms. Reppe said that that is where it has gotten al little confusing as to who was responsible for what, that in the past it hadn'tbeen consistently handled the same way. Ms. Estes interrupted again stating "that there is people here that just heard y'all say that's not int the bill that were not paying for the sidewalk that the Towni is, didy'all hear that?" She pointed to people out in the room. "Y'all heard her say it right?" Councilperson Dyjak and Council person Mathias tried to speak, while Councilperson Estes went on "T'mj just trying to make sure that's not already in the language, because I asked him is there a way toi ifhouses are 50 years older or 50-year-old pipes can be grandfathered in and he said no." She continued stating how many houses were over 50 years or less than 50 years and the amount that were over 100 years old. Councilperson Mathias again tried to interject by saying "Wej just want to talk about it, that's all and we haven'th had a chance to yet talk about it."Ms. Estes again interrupted and stated, "Iget that, but she already said that we aren't going to incur that costs, its residents, its not in it SO are you trying to change it now?" Ms. Mathias said "No, I'mj just trying to talk about it."Ms. Mathias aimed her question to Town Attorney Bowman and Public Works Supervisor Reppe and asked if they are asking what was historically done and we are hearing it's been done both ways or we don'treally know, correct?" Ms. Reppe answered that we don't really know and yes there needs to be something in the verbiage to clarify that. Ms. Mathias asked ift the sidewalk and asphalt was considered the right of way? Town Manager Borne answered yes, that is the part in the verbiage that we need to clarify. Ms. Mathias said thati ifyou read it the way that iti is in the code, the owner is responsible for the sidewalk and asphalt, but we are wanting to change it and talk it through. Councilperson Dyjak asked for some clarification from Town Attorney Bowman and staff, beyond the immediate issue of the sewer replacement and potential impact of sidewalks is the existing code which does put the responsibility on the owner for the repair and maintenance of a sidewalk and clearing during snow assuming normal conditions, correct? Mr. Bowman stated that clearing snowi from the sidewalk would bet thei responsibility ofthe adjacent resident, where the repair issue would come in would be, for example if there was a buckle in the sidewalk, in general the Town would be responsible for the day-to-day upkeep of the sidewalk. This would be in reference to a repair that's needed to a sidewalk or road that is a result of a resident's sewer line that goes underneath of it. The way it's currently drafted in your packet the cost would be bore by the property owner unless we change it to draft a different way. Councilperson Bradford thanked Town Attorney Bowman for the clarification. Mayor Jackson asked Ms. Reppe about the placement of certain water meters, and she answered him. He stated that it was not an inexpensive endeavor for homeowners to replace their sewer line, but as a Town to take on replacing the sidewalks and roads is also a large investment. Conferring with Vice Mayor Dyjak, they agreed this was something to be tabled and researched a little more. Councilperson Estes said, "Lets table itt till we get more: information please, can I get a second for that that'sallIneed." Mayor Jackson explained that this was just a work session to discuss it and no voting, or motions were to be done. Ms. Estes spoke a little more about the pipes and whose were. new and whose were old and not to AGENDA ITEM: Mayor Jackson stated that the last item on the agenda is the discussion of the Food Truck and Special Event permits. He asked Meggie Roche, Economic & Community Development Coordinator for a staff report. Ms. Roche stated that the food truck guidelines are  say things and then go back on it and who told her what.  DTCI Work Session 8.12.24 Minutes  Page 3    intended to regulate food truck operations to protect public health, ensure fair competition, generate revenue, and promote economic development. The "Food Truck Ordinance" is comprised of two separate ordinances that work together to create a set of guidelines for food trucks operating in' Town. Currently the food trucks have to pay an Iterant Merchant License, which is $200, and they have to get permission from What the staff is proposing is, the first portion would be an Itinerant Merchant = Mobile Food Truck License. This would bea a new category added tol Itinerant Merchant specifically for food trucks. The license would be good for one year and cost $50. This serves as their business license and allows them to operate The second portion is a Temporary Use Permit which is $25, that allows them to operate in a specific location. The duration ofthe permit is determined based on the location, not to exceed 30 days per calendar year, The proposed policy currently allows for the food trucks in three locations - private property, town owned property, and the public right of way. Each location has its own guidelines outlined in the policy guide. (However, before the town can issue permits for thej public right of way, the' Town must be approved Ms. Roche shared that the Town does not currently have a temporary use ordinance, sO this would be a brand-new code section. While the primary reason staff are introducing a temporary use ordinance is as a mechanism to control food truck locations, there are several other uses that are commonly permitted with at temporary use ordinançe - the mostr notable being farmer's markets. Staff! has researched other localities to come up with common uses included in a temporary use ordinance and worked with the Town attorney Councilperson Dyjak interjected that this would be presented at the Planning Commission meeting on Thursday this week, before officially making a recommendation to Council. Since there were: no comments or questions, Ms. Roche moved onto the next item, which is discussion of the Special Events Ordinance. The special events ordinance is a set of guidelines and regulations designed to manage and control the planning, organization, and execution of special events within the Town. The goal for this is to create aj permitting process for organizations other than the Town to host events in public spaces. This proposed policy would allow public events sponsored by non-Town groups to hold their events in public areas, ensuring that we protect public safety and structure. The fee being proposed is $50 and could have additional fees if that event would need police personnel or public works. It is currently set up to be approved or denied by the Town Manager or designee and includes an appeals process. Councilperson Estes asked ift the appeals process could go to council instead of back to the Town Manager or designee. She stated ift the appeals went to the same person, it would always be denied. Town Attorney Jordan Bowman asked ifl he could respond to Councilperson Estes' question. Mr. Bowman said that the need for an appeal is based on due process. Ifit was staffed other than Mr. Borne that made the decision, then it would be appealed tol Mr. Borne or the Town Manager. Councilperson Estes stated that it needed to be someone other the same person. Mr. Bowman stated that how it is written right nowi is that ifit was staffed other than Mr. Borne to make the decision, then the appeal would go to Mr. Borne or the Town Manager. Right now, it was worded in the ordinance that it was flexible, that ift the' Town Manager was ineligible to then he would appoint a panel. Ms. Estes was still unhappy with that wording and said that things needed to be written exactly how its supposed to go before we vote on it. Mr. Bowman said that the concern with appointing it with Council was that sometimes things can be moving quickly and might not be able to wait for a full month. Other Council members discussed perhaps having a discussion at Planning Commission or the EDA. Mr. Dyjak said that they could work on the wording ofit and Mayor Jackson agreed and said that we have run into problems this year and have slowed downtown business because we haven't been able to get our Planning Commission together. So, ifyou say it's to go to Planning Commission or Council, you could potentially put it out for 30 days. He said he wouldn'tfeel  the property owner.  within the Town. (Meal tax is still reported separately.)  by Virginia Department ofTransportation (VDOT) to allow that.)  to incorporate those into this draft.  DTC Work Session 8.12.24 Minutes  Page 4    comfortable putting it on the Planning Commission ort the Council because oft the difficulty getting together. Mr. Borne suggested it being a combination ofs staff, committee or Council. It was decided that ADJOURNMENT: With there being no: further work session discussion to come before the Council, Councilperson Dyjak made ai motion to adjourn. Councilperson Mathias seconded the motion, and it passed by an all ini favor vote of6 6-0 with no members absent. The meeting  itwould be further discussed at the Planning Commission meeting.  was adjourned at 5:57 p.m.  Respectfully Submitted,  -   CaryJaçkson, Mayor  Brian Borhe,Clerk ofC Council  DTCWork Session 8.12.24 Minutes  Page! 5