Minutes of the New Market 2 Town Council Meeting 3 Monday, May 19th, 2025 4 6:30 pm 5 6 The New Market Town Council met in the Council Chambers of Arthur L. 7 Hildreth, Jr. Municipal Building on Monday, May 19th, 2025, with the following 8 members present: Mayor Peter Hughes, Peg Harkness, Bob King, Daryl Watkins, Janice 9 Hannah, Council member Scott Wymer was absent. 10 11 Mayor Hughes called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. and established a quorum 12 with four members present. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison. Mayor 13 Hughes welcomed all visitors and guests. 14 15 Approval of the Agenda:- 16 17 Mr. King moved to approve the agenda as presented, and Mr. Watkins 18 seconded the motion. With no further discussion, the motion was carried out with a 19 unanimous 4-0 voice vote. 20 21 Mrs. Harkness Aye Mr. Watkins Aye 22 Mr. King Aye Mrs. Hannah Aye 23 24 25 Consent Agenda: 26 27 Mrs. Harkness moved to approve the Consent Agenda with the following 28 corrections to the minutes of the April 215, 2025, meeting to reflect the vote of5-0 29 instead of 6-0 as there was a council member absent and change the word 'later' to 30 lateral' in the Public Works monthly report and a correction to the minutes from 31 May 5th, 9 2025, Special Called meeting to change the word 'with' to what' in the 32 second paragraph, fourth sentence. 33 34 Mr. Watkins seconded the motion, with no further discussion, the motion 35 was carried out with a unanimous roll call vote of 4-0. 36 37 Mrs. Harkness Aye Mr. Watkins Aye 38 Mr. King Aye Mrs. Hannah Aye 39 40 41 42 Public Hearing: 43 44 Mayor Hughes invited Mr. Garrison to present the proposed FY25-26 budget for the 45 public hearing. Mr. Garrison started by explaining the budget process and timeline. He 46 highlighted general areas such as the proposed general fund budget is 19.98% lower than 47 the previous year's annual budget. The enterprise fund budget is 3.11% higher than the 48 previous year's annual budget and the general fund and enterprise fund satisfy financed 49 obligations. He explained that the enterprise fund expects receiving financing for water 50 improvement projects in FY25-26 and addresses operational and inflationary increases 51 we have been experiencing. In his presentation there were slides with graphs displaying 52 the current year and proposed year budget for the general fund revenues, local tax 53 overview, general fund expenditures, and capital outlay in which he highlighted. Mr. 54 Garrison explained the proposed general fund revenue increases which included a 1% 55 meals tax increase, and transient occupancy tax, along with a .10 cent cigarette tax 56 increase per pack, and a $1.00 increase to trash service and $1 increase for requested 57 additional totes. He noted that there are no changes to real estate or personal property 58 taxes. Mr. Garrison continued his presentation with enterprise revenues and expenditures 59 and capital outlay. There is a proposed 23% increase to the in-town and out-of-town base 60 water rates, and a 5% increase per 1,000 gallons, as well as a 5% increase in the in-town 61 base sewer rates and the per 1,000 gallons rate. The connection and tap fee rates are 62 proposed to increase by $3,000 for both water and sewer 3/4" or 5/8" connections. There 63 was a slide that shows the increase and proposed fee scheduie. A copy ofthe presentation 64 is with the minutes. 65 66 Mr, Hughes opened the public hearing and invited citizens to give comments on the 67 proposed budget. There were no comments from the citizens attending, and Mr. Garrison 68 did not receive any emails prior to the meeting. Mr. Hughes closed the public hearing at 69 at 6:48 p.m. 70 71 Citizen Comments and Petitions: none 72 73 74 Committee Reports: none 75 76 77 Staff Reports: 78 79 1. Public Works Department Monthly Report - Mr. J. D. Fadley 80 Mr. Fadley gave a Power Point presentation. The public works department 81 repaired a water main leak at 9700 Congress Street, and at 129 Stuart Street. There was 82 nothing to report on for the collection system. They worked on installing new playground 83 mulch at the park. The maintenance crew and water crew worked together to get the pool 84 up and running. They assisted with Jammin' Foods Fest and had large trash pickup. They 85 continue their regular monthly maintenance items. The water department cleaned unit 1 86 and unit 2 filters at the Memcor Plant, as well as pressure washing the tanks and the 87 building. They installed a new pump, pipe and airline at Well #8. The plant and well 88 instrument calibrations were completed. Mr. King inquired about a large diameter pipe 89 that was lying out on Fairway by Shenvalee and asked ifit was something we were 90 doing. Mr. Fadley stated that was something the Shenvalee was doing with their system. 91 Mrs. Harkness asked how much was picked up for large trash pick-up. Mr. Fadley 92 reported that he didn't have the exact number, but it was about the same as previous pick- 93 ups. A copy of the presentation is on file with the minutes. 94 95 2. Planning Department Monthly Report = Ms. Summer Barden 96 Ms. Barden reported that there was a zoning permit for 169 Early Street for a 97 deck. A copy of the presentation is on file with the minutes. 98 99 3. Public Safety Monthly Report = Chief Chris Rinker 100 Chief Rinker gave a Power Point presentation. He reported that there were 354 101 total calls for service for the month of April with a total of 1307 for the year. There were 102 153 extra patrols, and two foot patrols. He reported on some notable events such as he 103 and Officer Hess attended the Response pin-wheel garden. Officer Hess provided 104 presence during the Easter Egg Hunt at the community park. He reported that he CO- 105 coordinated a 40-hour Crisis Intervention Training in Woodstock, and Officer Hess 106 attended "Career on Wheels" event Ashby Lee Elementary. He noted that the bridge 107 project on 181 went better than expected with the influx oftraffic, and one stop sign was 108 hit and has been replaced. He stated that the signage on the secondary streets was 109 appreciated, and that VDOT did a good job. Mr. Hughes stated he appreciated the work 110 put into the planning and it seemed to be smooth. Chief Rinker stated he appreciated the 111 communication and team work with VDOT. He talked about how GPS will reroute traffic 112 on secondary roads, and it creates an issue, but there isn'ts anything that can help with 113 that. He thanked the council for the Police Week Proclamation and noted that he is 114 appreciative ofthe team of officers that he has. Mr. Garrison asked Chief Rinker to stay 115 at the podium, as he wanted to commend him on his award, the 2025 Excellent Public 116 Service Professional Award from JMU. He read the press release aloud. Chief Rinker 117 thanked Mr. Garrison, Ms. Barden and the council for allowing him to be able to do this 118 work. A copy ofthe presentation is on file with the minutes. 119 120 4. Events & Marketing Monthly Report = Ms. Savannah Frazier 121 Ms. Savannah Frazier presented a power point presentation. Ms. Frazier reported 122 that the RevUp ShenCo business seminar was a success and over 90 Shenandoah County. 123 businesses were in attendance. Multiple New Market business owners attended and 124 Karla, owner ofThe Home Store, was on a panel titled Collaborate and Grow. The Travel 125 the Towns passport game was a success and a great partnership with Timberville, and 126 Broadway. There were over 30 completed passports, and they have received a lot of great 127 feedback and look forward to doing it again in 2026. She noted that the Downtown Mural 128 project proposals are due by June 2nd. The JMU Student Intern completed 150 hours and 129 worked on projects with us and a few of the businesses. He assisted with content creation, 130 interview and article writing, research, Jammin' Foods Fest, and new business brochure 131 creation and more. Ms. Frazier reported that Jammin' Foods Fest was a success and had 132 great attendance and weather. She thanked the New Market Rotary, the sponsors and all 133 volunteers for their help with that event. She gave an update on the upcoming events to 134 include Meet the Rebels, ribbon cutting, a movie night and Cross Roads Music Fest. Mr. 135 Hughes complimented Ms. Frazier on a job well done. A copy of the presentation is on 136 file with the minutes. 137 138 139 140 Action Items: 141 142 The only action item on the agenda was the discussion and consideration of the New 143 Market Framer's Market letter of request. Ms. Barden explained the letter of request is 144 the same as in the past, and noted each member had a copy in front ofthem. She did a 145 quick overview of the request, Mr. Hughes noted that Mrs. Conner was in attendance if 146 there were any questions for her. Mrs. Hannah asked how many vendors each week in 147 attendançe on average. She stated in the past that there were three to five vendors, 148 however she is unsure which ones ofthose will come back. She stated she will be doing 149 outreach to find more vendors. Her goal is to have a minimum of five but wants to 150 increase. Mr. Hughes asked what the itinerant merchant fee was, and Ms. Barden 151 explained the fee helps to reduce random vendors setting up throughout town, and this 152 waiver has been approved in the past. 153 154 Mrs. Hannah made a motion to approve the request of the New Market Farmer's Market, 155 and Mr. King seconded the motion. Mr. Watkins inquired about the current number of 156 vendors signed up for the season and ifthey are local. Mrs. Conner explained that right 157 now there was only her and one other. She stated she didn't want to advertise until she 158 knew she had permission from the council. With no further discussion the motion was 159 passed with the following 4-0 roll call vote. 160 161 Mrs. Harkness Aye Mr. Watkins Aye 162 Mr. King Aye Mrs. Hannah Aye 163 164 165 166 Mayor's Comments: 167 Mayor Hughes read the proclamation establishing that May 18th through May 24h, 3 2025, 168 as National Public Works Week. 169 170 He announced the candidates who submitted their Letters of Intent for the vacant council 171 seat. There were three candidates which were: Buzz Menhardt of 9861 Woodbine Way, 172 Jon Henry of 9383 North Congress Street, and Jeannie Braithwaite of 112 Tyler Drive. 173 Mr. Garrison explained that by state law the council must wait seven days after the 174 announcement of the candidates to make their selection. Per state law, there were copies 175 of the letters ofintent available for review by citizens at the meeting and would be posted 176 on the website within the hour. 177 178 Mr. Hughes wanted to make a comment in light a news article that was published. He 179 wanted to clarify that the Town of New Market has decided to not proceed with the large 180 development on the south end oftown. This development would require an amendment to 181 the Voluntary Settlement Agreement, called the VSA, that was approved in 2012 with 182 Shenandoah County. The VSA remains in effect until 2032. There have been no plans or 183 discussion on this topic since the Town Council decision on May 315t. Any statements 184 otherwise are inaccurate. The VSA allows a smaller number of! homes to be built there. If 185 a builder or developer wants to build, they will need to go through the normal process 186 with approval by the Town. This requires submission of plans to the Town staff, and then 187 to the Planning Commission, requiring public hearings and recommendations from the 188 Planning Commission and consideration by the Town Council. He wanted to make it 189 clear that that was the position they took, and nothing else is happening on that topic at 190 this time. 191 192 Mrs. Harkness noted that there was an incident at the library that involved a patron 193 harassing the worker and making comments about the worker and her child. She thanked 194 ChiefRinker for his immediate attention, after she told him of the incident, and a trespass 195 notice was delivered to the patron. 196 197 Mrs. Hannah thanked the citizens that attended the meeting that night and listened to the 198 proposed budget, She stated she knows it isn't the most fun thing to listen to, but it gives 199 you a good understanding ofwhere we are, and the time and effort put into the budget. 200 She stated she thinks it is important for the citizens to know these things and encouraged 201 them to send questions to Mr. Garrison ifthey have any. 202 203 Council Comments: 204 205 206 Staff Comments: 207 208 209 210 Closed Session: 211 212 Mrs. Harkness moved to go into a closed session as authorized by section 213 2.23711(A)(1) ofthe state code to discuss the hiring or appointment of specific public 214 officers, appointees, or employees. The subject matter is the appointment of a 215 specific public official, a Town Council member. Mrs. Hannah seconded the motion. 216 With no further discussion, the motion was carried out with a unanimous roll call 217 vote of 4-0. 218 219 220 Mrs. Harkness Aye Mr. Watkins Aye 221 Mr. King Aye Mrs. Hannah Aye 222 223 224 A five-minute recess was given to clear the room prior to the closed session convening. 225 The closed session was convened at 7:25 p.m. 226 227 Mr. Watkins made a motion to return from Closed Session and read aloud the 228 following Certification Resolution: With respect to the just-concluded Closed 229 Session and to the best of each member's knowledge, () only public business 230 matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under The Virginia 231 Freedom ofInformation Act and (ii) only such public business matters as were 232 identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard, 233 discussed or considered in the meeting by the Town Council, Mr. King seconded the 234 motion which passed on the following 4-0 roll call vote: 235 236 Mrs. Harkness Aye Mr. Watkins Aye 237 Mr. King Aye Mrs. Hannah Aye 238 239 240 Adjournment: 241 242 With no further business to discuss, at 8:49 p.m. Mr. King made a motion to 243 adjourn the meeting. Mrs. Harkness seconded the motion, and with no further 244 discussion the motion passed on a unanimous 4-0 voice vote. 245 246 2 6 4 247 248 Peter Hughes, Mayor 249 250 N. Garrison! Townelerk