TOWN OF RICHLANDS REGULAR MONTHLYI MEETING Thel Richlands Town Council held a "Regular Monthly Meeting" on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, at 6:00 pmi in the Richlands Council Chambers with the: following present: Mayor: Rod. D. Cury Town Manager: Jason] May Office Manager: Absent Town Clerk: Absent Town. Attorney: Michael Thomas Finance. Manager: Ronnie Campbell Laural Mollo. Council Members: Seth White, Gary Jackson, Rick Wood, Jordan Bales, Jan' White, and The Town Meeting was called to order at 6:00pm and opened with the Invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance led by Rod Cury. INRE: Additions, Deletions, or Corrections to the Agenda The following amendments were: made tot the agenda: Move Additions, Deletions, or Corrections tot the. Agenda tol before Recognition Upon ai motion by Seth White seconded by Gary Jackson and the roll call vote ofa all members Mayor Cury asked ift there was anyone present who would) like to speak during unscheduled Virginia Phoenix Cordle- 14U Travel Softball Team present, the Council voted to approve the agenda as amended. public comment. The following citizens were added to Unscheduled. Public Comments: present, the Council votedt to approve the agenda as amended. Patricia Sparks Upon ai motion by Gary Jackson seconded by Rick Wood andt the roll call vote of all members INRE: Recognition- Virginia Pheonix Cordle 14UTravel Softball' Team Mayor Cury andt the Council recognized) Head Coach' Tom Cordle, Asst. Coach. JeffOsbourne, Asst. Coach Shannon Fuller, and the following players for all their achievements: Addison Moore, Brandy Moore, Mckenzie Cordle, Payton Barnette, Camie Spencer, and. Justice Hill. The teami is ranked 1st in the USAASA Softball Organization in the 14U Class and ranked 5th int the nation under the USAASA Softball Organization in the 14U Class. Nine out oft ten of the girls on this team are from Richlands. INRE: Mrs. Mollo: Gary Jackson: Authorization tol Pay Bills (July) Mayor Cury asked the Council ift there were any questions regarding the Check Register. #16028 Thompson & Litton $9,067.92- Mr. May advised this is the last payment. #16032 W &1 L Construction $701,150.44- Mr. May advised this is the full payment for paving on Kents Ridge, etc. Rick Wood- Inaudible. Upon ai motion by Seth White seconded. Jordan Bales and the unanimous roll call vote ofall members present, the Council votedt to approve paying the bills for July. INRE: Minutes Mr. May advised the Clerk is out sick and the minutes were noti included int the packets, so he would liket to postpone approving the minutes until the September Meeting. The Council gave consensus to wait on approving the minutes." INRE: INRE: Scheduled Public Comments Unscheduled: Public Comments There werei no Scheduled Public Comments. Patricia Sparks- Mrs. Sparks spoke to the Council about retiring and moving from Florida to Richlands with her latel husband. Mrs. Sparks stated she felli in love with the town and wanted to let the Council know that everyone has been so friendly and welcoming tol her. She also advised ofs some positive interactions that she' dl had with Town workers. Mrs. Sparks hopes to get more involvedi in volunteering in the future. The Council thanked Mrs. Sparks for herl kind words about the' Town. INRE: 2024-08-01. INRE: 02 2nd Reading Water Connection Ordinance 0-2024-08-01 Upon ai motion by Rick Woods seconded' by Seth White and the unanimous roll call vote ofall members present, the Council votedt to waive the 2nd Reading Water Connection Ordinance 0- Upon ai motion by Rick Wood seconded by Laural Mollo andt the unanimous roll call vote ofall members present, the Council votedt to adopt Water Connection Ordinance 0-2024-08-01. 2nd Reading Implementation ofTransient Occupancy' Tax 0-2024-08- Upon a motion by Laura Mollo seconded by Gary Jackson and the unanimous roll call vote ofall members present, the Council voted to waive the 2nd Reading Implementation of Transient Upon a motion by Rick Wood: seconded by Gary Jackson and the unanimous roll call vote ofall members present, the Council voted to adopt Transient Occupancy Tax 0-2024-08-02. Mr. Thomas advised this will goi into effect September 14, 2024, 30 days from today. Occupancy Tax 0-2024-08-02. INRE: Loader Contract Mr. May advised the last piece ofl large equipment that the Street Department needs is al Loader. The current Loader is over: fifteen years old, has major brake issues, andi is nol longer safe during road construction or other street-related scenarios. The Town) has worked with Carter Cat through a source well process, as state-sponsored procurement that does not require anl RFP: and! has received a capital lease agreement with al balloon payment of $68,800. Utilizing a capital lease allows the Town to use the equipment now andi incur the: final balloon payment ini the future. Mr. May stated the Street Department will cover the first year'sp payment, and subsequent years'. payment as well as the balloon payment which willl bei included ini future budgets. This motion was tabled until September 2024. INRE: Residential and Commercial Solar Ordinance Mayor Cury read the following Staff Summary regarding Residential and Commercial Solar that during previous Council meetings, several Council Members voiced their interesti in allowing residential and commercial properties toi install solar arrays on their property. Currently therei is 2 nos statute or ordinance: toj prevent anyone from. doing this, but an Ordinance would codify residents' and commercial businesses' ability to do sO Another path to do this would be to include rooftop solar (with special exception permit) into eachz zone and have. aj policy heldin Town Hall for what each landowner would need to do to apply for that permit. Mr. May stated that the Staff would like direction from Council on what the best next steps are for this process. Mr. Thomas advised that hel has beeni researching this subject and advised codifying thisi into a Richlands Code under General Provisions might be a better route to adopt this. Mr.. Jackson suggested having an Ordinance that would make its safer. Mr. White agreed withl Mr. Jackson and recommended addingi in the Ordinance that the Town cannot buy back any oft the solar generated power. Mrs. Mollo andl Mr. Wood also agreed. Mr. Bales stated he had done some research ont the subject as well. The Council agreed and asked for Mr. Thomas to draft an Ordinance for the Council. INRE: Tazewell County Fire MOU Update Mr. May advised that Tazewell County is] providing a one-time grant of$100k of funding for FY 20251 tos support Fire Suppression in the' Town of Richlands. The County has asked the Council to update the MOUbetween the County and the Town of Richlands. Mr. White thanked Mrs. Mollo for her work on helping get this for the Town. Mr. May stated the MOU would be dated: for. July 1,2 2024, through July 1,2027. Upon ai motion by Laural Mollo seconded by Seth White and the unanimous roll call vote ofa all members present, the Council voted to approve the Fire MOUT between' Tazewell County and the Town of Richlands. INRE: Leaf Truck Mr. May stated that as Autumn approaches, the Town of] Richlands faces it annual challenge of managing fallen leaves throughout the community. Efficient leaf collection is crucial for maintaining clean streets, preventing clogged storm drains, and ensuring thes safety and anesthetic appeal of our' Town. Currently, the Town does not have any equipment for leaf collection. The Staff would like the approval ofthe Council tor move: forward with the purchase ofat trailer-based leaf collection system. The Staff hasl located several new and used and expect the cost tol be under $40,000. Thisi itemi is not budgeted and will require fund balance usage. Mr. Jackson askedi ift this was at trailer thati is towable, Mr. May advised it was towable by an F- 2500 or F-3500 already owned by the Town. Mrs. White said thisi is a necessary purchase for the Town. Upon ai motion by Jordan Bales seconded by Laural Mollo and the unanimous roll call vote ofa all members present, the Council voted to approve purchasing a1 trailer-based leaf collection system. Mr. Campbell advised the Town currently has thirty bank accounts at five different banks and stated the Staff would like to do anl RFP/RFQ to seek higher investment deals and investment returns. Mr. Campbell also stated some oft the accounts are separated by the various departments int the General Ledger. This structure creates a very manual process for making payments, deposits, transfers, andi impacts the potential return on the balances and would like to create a INRE: Banking Investments RFP/RFQ more uniform system. 3 The Staffv would like to work through the operating efficiencies and requested approval from the Upon ai motion by Laural Mollo seconded by Gary Jackson and the unanimous roll call vote ofall members present, the Council votedt to approve an RFP/RFQ for banking investments. Mr. White stated this should have been done al long time ago and thanked Mr. Campbell and Mr. Council toi issue anl RFP/RFQ for banking investments. May for their work ont this issue. Mr. White also stated this was ai recommendation: from the Auditors. INRE: Yard Sign Resolution- R-2024-08-01 Mayor Cury readl Resolution R-2024-08-01. enforcer of this. Mr. May agreed with this. Mr. White asked that the Town be consistent with this and for the police department to not be the Mr. Bales and Mr. White expressed their concerns about rights-of-way. Mr. May advised he would have ai map online for citizens and wouldj provide the "enforcer" with a copy to1 refer to Upon a motion by Rick Wood seconded by Seth White and the unanimous roll call vote ofall when removing signs. members present, the Council votedt to approve Resolution R-2024-08-01. INRE: 01 1st Reading Richlands Annex Capital Project Ordinance- 0-2024-09- Mr. Thomas read Ordinance 0-2024-09-01. Mr. May gavel handouts tot the Council regarding this and gave a brief overview oft the project. Mr. May advised over the past six months, Staff! has been working on this capital project to create ai new. Fire Station/Rescue Squad, ai new Public Works space, ai new Salt Building, and spaces for all apparatus and equipment. This ist the Capital Project Ordinance to begin this project. INRE: Monthly Financial Report Mr: Campbell gave al brief overview of the Monthly Financial Report for. July as follows: General Fund- Year tol Date Net Income Loss is $257,142. tax proceeds, other revenues and garbage collections for al hurt. Water- Year tol Datel Net Income Loss- $135, 162. Sewer- Year tol Datel Net Income- $314,443. Electric Year tol Date Net] Income Loss- $671,203. General Fund Reserved Cashl Balance- $2,648,402. Water) Department Reserved Cash] Balance- $1,111,932. Sewer Department Reserved Cas Balance- $487,956 Electric Department Reserved Cash) Balance- $1,789,615. Revenues arel loweri in consumerconsumpion utility tax, personal property taxes, sales Water and Sewer Line Maintenance Year tol Date Net] Income Loss- $397,738.. General Fund- Unreserved Cash Balancei is $4,976,109.A: $599K increase from May. Water Department Unreserved Cash Balance- $1,109,944.AS17k decrease from May. Sewer Department Unreserved Cash Balance- ($1,468,372).. A 12ki increase from May. Electric Department- Unreserved Cash) Balance- $2,983,426.A5890k, increase from May. Mayor Cury asked the Council ift they had any questions about thel Financial Report. The Councill had no questions. 4 INRE: Attorney Report Mr. Thomas spoke tot the Council about making changes to the Town Charter. Mr. Thomas advised ift there was anything else needing to be changed, he needs tol know as soon as possible. Mayor Cury declared at ten-minute' recess. INRE: Town) Manager Report Free CPR/First. Aid Classes- Advised the Richlands Fire and Rescue are hosting these free classes. Information will bej posted. on the Town website and social media. Subdivision Ordinance Update- Advised the Tobacco Commission is putting forward around. 21 million dollars to assisti in workforce housing and in anticipation of this, the Towni is1 looking at making necessary- changes to the current Subdivision Ordinance. Will bring this back to the Council with al 1St Reading witht these adjustments. Generator- the Town has made the initial deposit on the generator. Looking to close on Fire/Rescue! Fundraising Update- willl bring this backi in September. the Line ofCredit. INRE: Laura Mollo- Council Member Reports Requested an update ont the Oriole Street] Bridge- Mr. May advised equipment has been moved in and starting the abutment process at the end of this week and looking tol have Asked Mr. May ift the Town was still advertising in The Voice newspaper as well as the Thanked the' Town for the concert, stated she received several compliments from citizens. Small Businesses- People are noticing the Towni is trying tol help everyone. Stated she talked tol Mr. May about a scam currently going around where people are this project completed by the end of September. Bluefield Daily Telegraph. Mr. May advised they were. Jan' White- Jordan Bales- impersonating. AEP employees. Potholes at] Kelsey Tire- Mr. May advised these have been fixed. Stated he received many compliments regarding the concert. Clinch River Soccer willl bel having their Field) Fest next' Tuesday. Stated hel had been receiving complaints that citizens aren'ta able to get through to Town Hall. Mr. May advised the main line goes tol Mrs. Whitt's office and she has been out. Halloween- stated there isi no school the following day after Halloween in' Tazewell County. Would like to set Halloween Trick or Treating on Oct. 31 5:30pm-8pm.The Council agreed. INRE: Halloween Upon a motion by Jordan Bales seconded by Gary Jackson and the unanimous roll call vote ofall members present, the Council voted to observe Halloween Trick or Treating on October 31, 2024, from :30pm-8:00pm, ini the Town of Richlands. Rick Wood- Lake Park- Stated citizens were asking for "Children at Play" signs and speed limit signs as well. Mr. May advised the Towni isi in the process ofc doing this. Will have an update at Advised he spoke to. Jacob) Hess and! Mr. Hess suggested placing aj permanent sign on his property toi inform citizens of upcoming Town events, possibly anl LED sign. Advised hel had a complaint today about speeding on Henderson Street. Mrs. Mollo advised shel had already passed this onto Chief Holt. Mr. White advised he had the September meeting. Gary Jackson- complaints of parking on this street as well. 5 Seth White- The Council discussed several solutions for the speeding issue onl Henderson Street. Has1 received great comments aboutt the concert but needs to look into easier parking for Thanked: Mrs. Sparks for coming to share her experience and perspective in Richlands thee elderly att the next event. The Towni is looking good. during Public Comment today. INRE: Mayor Comments Enjoyed the Phantom Concert and the Grand Opening of the Greenway Park. Thanked the' Tazewell County Chamber of Commerce and Keisha Cole for attènding the Don't Stop Believing 5k willl bel held on August 31, thisi is al Fundraiser for St.. Jude. Mrs. White stated that shel hoped with all the events being held on Saturdays in' Towni it will encourage: morej people to visit and businesses can start opening on Saturdays again. Mayor Cury advised the Council would be goingi intol Executive Session pursuant to: Thanked the" Town employees for all their hard work. event. INRE: Executive Session VA Code Section 2.2-3711(A)(8) Consult with Attorney- Teen Venture b. VA Code Section 2.2-3711(A)(8) Consult with Attorney- Rec Commission VA Code Section 2.2-3711(A)(3) Economic Development Project d. VA Code Section 2.2-3711(A)3)Land. Purchase VA Code Section 2.2-3711(A)(1): Personnel Upon a motion by Rick Wood seconded by Laura Mollo and the unanimous roll call vote ofall Upon a motion by Laura Mollo seconded by Rick Wood and the unanimous roll call vote ofall Upon ai motion by Laura Mollo seconded by Seth White and the unanimous roll call vote of all members present, the Council certified that only VA Code Section 2.2-3711 (A)(1), VA Code Section 2.2-3711 (A)(3), and VAC Code Section 2.2-3711 (A)(8) was discussed during the members present, the Council voted to go intol Executive Session. members present, the Council voted to return to Open Session. Executive Session. INRE: Adjournment Upon ai motion by Gary. Jackson seconded by Rick Wood and the unanimous roll call vote ofall members present, thei meeting was adjourned. D oamola Pehnelor Amandal Beheler, Town Clerk 6