DRAFT - COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 12, 2008
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 12, 2008
The Edinburg Town Council met in regular session on Tuesday August 12, 2008, with Mayor Harshman calling the Public Hearing to order at 7:17 p.m. All council members were present, with the exception of Councilman Dellinger and Councilman Hite. The purpose of the Public Hearing was to receive comments on the proposed refinancing of $260,000 five-year note with Farmers and Merchants Bank. With no visitors present, and no comments, the Public Hearing was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
Mayor Harshman called the regular Council meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
Councilwoman Haun stated that the balloon date on the second page of the minutes should read January 9, 2009 instead of January 9, 2008. Council agreed. Motion was made by Councilman Beachy and seconded by Councilman Wood to approve the minutes of July 8, 2008 as presented with the date change. Motion carried.
The Treasurer’s report was reviewed. Councilman Beachy questioned the payment to Doug Arthur for $100. Mayor Harshman reported that it was reimbursement for Mr. Arthur performing the music for “The Burning” DVD. Councilman Wood questioned the payment to the Commonwealth of Virginia for a water kit for $1,326. Mayor Harshman explained that this payment covers the water bottles used for testing and covers the actual testing as well. A motion was made by Councilman Beachy and seconded by Councilman Wood to pay all bills as presented. Motion carried.
Councilman Wood thanked Mayor Harshman again for purchasing the new park signs. Mayor Harshman reported that the new signs have been posted.
Mayor Harshman reported that USFilter is 90% complete with their work at the WTP. We are having problems with the new air compressor and there is a good chance that it will need to be replaced. The unit does not have an internal “air dryer” as planned so one will either need to be installed in line or added to the unit. However, our real concern is that the unit does not seem to be able to keep up with the required air volume. The compressor is running constantly to keep up and the new 200 gallon air tank has never completely filled to reach shut down pressure. Our old compressor system had two compressor units that alternated operation to maintain tank pressure. This also gave us duplicity in case one of the units ever failed. The contractor on the upgrade pointed out that we would not have a backup if the new compressor ever failed and the WTP would be completely dead without it. We decided to keep our old compressor units on line in addition to the new unit to cover us in the event of equipment failure. PHR&A is following up on the issue with the inefficiency of the new compressor, and in the meantime we are maintaining the plant by using both the old and new units.
There is still some work to be completed by Patterson Construction at the WTP, along with the installation of the new SCADA system, before we will be ready for Health Department inspection and approval of the upgrade.
Wayne Racey contacted Mayor Harshman about the status of the pump station at Massanutten View Subdivision. Mr. Racey is the owner of the subdivision. At the time of their conversation, Mr. Racey had not heard from his engineer about DEQ’s comments. He has also sent a letter to Mr. Racey and his engineer about the need to coordinate the completion of the items on the Town’s punch list. The maintenance and upkeep of the pump station remains Mr. Racey’s responsibility until completed and accepted by the Town. However, we find ourselves forced into getting involved to ensure that it continues to operate correctly and safely.
The concrete floor and block walls of the water pumping station for the 200,000 gallon storage tank are complete. The plan is to get the carpenters from the Mill to do the framing of the roof and then Mayor Harshman will work with the Town crew to install the metal roof, vinyl siding and finish trim work. The Mayor is waiting to hear back from Patterson Construction on the cost to complete the electrical and water hook ups. The Mayor is also working with Broadway Metal to fabricate ladder access protection for the tank. Once everything is complete, we will need to get someone to come in and sterilize the tank before we can fill it.
Sludge Pumps at the WWTP have been repaired and this corrected the problems we have been having with the plant. There was a rather large build up of rags clogging the pumps in addition to the worn stators. The Plant does not really have a good system to capture things like rags at the entry manhole. This is something that we do need to be thinking about solving. EEMA has been investigating solutions, but so far, everything has been too expensive.
Mayor Harshman reported that the concrete contractor we use had a free week this past month that we took advantage of. We were able to finish the concrete work at the Edinburg Mill and had him do the slab and foundation for the pump station at the 200,000 gallon water tank. We also had him begin sidewalk replacement work in anticipation of the work planned in the loan funds. Stamped sidewalk was installed in all of the damaged areas along Water Street from Palmyra Road to Spring Hollow. Anytime we replace sidewalks on the back streets we always have the problem of refinishing the road along the front of the new sidewalk. The Mayor reminded Council of how this worked out along North High Street when we requested VDOT to tar and chip the area along the sidewalks. VDOT chipped the entire front edge of our new sidewalk and covered it with tar. Since then, we have paid a private contractor to do this work for us. This time it was decided to try installing asphalt along the front edge of the sidewalk using the Town crew. The asphalt cost of $948 was comparable to the cost of a contractor doing tar and chip and the finished product is far superior. The plan at this point is to move back to Main Street as soon as we can line up the contractor again. We might try to get a little done before the festival if possible.
Stanley Getz has offered to pay for four more historic style streetlights to be installed along Center Street between Printz and High Streets. The Town will need to have another meter installed to do this and the Mayor suggests that we do this at the corner of Printz and Center Streets. This would give us a power source to install lighting along Printz Street at another time. As in the past, we are looking at about $1,000 for the electric service and another $600 for wire, conduit and concrete bases. We probably have some conduit and wire in stock, so we might be able to keep the cost down some.
Mayor Harshman might be ordering more lights than Mr. Getz’s four when they are ordered. Hoyle Laughlin is interested in at least one, maybe two. We have a request to purchase one for the area across from Francis Sheets’ house on N. High Street and we need to replace at least two lights we used from the Edinburg Square inventory. The last time we ordered, we purchased ten poles and fixtures to get a price break. If that is still the case, we should order at least ten which will give us two extra to have in stock for repairs and replacements. Council agreed to have Mayor Harshman order the streetlights.
The Ordinance Committee had no report. Mayor Harshman reported that the County recently hired Herd Planning as a consultant to conduct a planning project to examine their 2005 Comprehensive Plan and Zoning/Subdivision Ordinances. The primary focus will be growth management in the rural areas. The outcome of the project will have significant impacts on the County’s growth areas which include our Town. The County would like us to designate someone to participate as the Town’s spokesperson. They are planning to hold a number of public forums this fall that the representative would need to attend. Council agreed that Mayor Harshman should be the spokesperson for the Town.
The Personnel Committee had no report.
The Finance Committee had no report.
Councilman Wood, Chairman of the Health and Safety Committee called Council’s attention to Chief Clem’s report. He commended the police department for their extra attention to the Yard Crawl and the Fireman’s Parade and Carnival. All went well with the Parade, and the Carnival was also very successful.
The Property Committee had no report. Mayor Harshman reported that Davenport Insulation will start repair work on the Town Hall on August 18th. The repairs should be completed before the Ole’ Time Festival.
Councilman Wood inquired as to whether or not the street sweeper had been purchased. Mayor Harshman reported that G.B. Foltz is to invoice each town for their share and this has not happened yet. The Mayor will follow up on this.
The Cemetery Committee had no report. Councilman Wood asked if there was any kind of dedication planned for the new concrete pad that was poured around the VFW flag pole. Mayor Harshman stated that he did not know, but would find out.
Councilman Wood, Chairman of the Park Committee, reported that the pool seems to be very busy and is running well, thanks to the manager and lifeguards. People seem to like the smaller pool and that the area is not usually overcrowded.
Councilman Wood also commended the maintenance crew for the upkeep of the pool and park.
The Insurance Committee had no report.
The Town Manager reported that construction on the fire stairs at the Edinburg Mill is progressing. We are working as hard building scaffoldings as we are with the main structure. However, the stairs are extremely tall and somewhat of a challenge for a crew our size. The goal is to have the stairs dried in before the Ole’ Time Festival and hopefully have the new trusses set on the concrete block addition. The concrete has been placed at the rear of the Mill and the floodwall protection is now completely around the building.
The video presentation on “The Burning” that is being done for the Museum at the Mill should be complete soon. We are planning to schedule some showings during the Festival. We are currently working on securing permission to use TEA21 funds to pay for the video equipment for the Theater. The Town Manager’s plan is to set this equipment up in Town Meeting Room during the Festival and show the video in the council chambers. Shentel funds may need to be used for the equipment if Federal approval is not secured in time.
The Town Manager has also asked the Town and County Steering Committee if they would be in agreement to us using the video presentation as our Program at the October 1st Town and County Dinner. The Town Manager has heard back from three members so far, who all thought it would be a great idea. Unless Council tells the Town Manager otherwise, he is working on another Beach Party Theme. Everyone seems to really enjoy themselves and there are at least four years between each one. Mary Embrey has booked the Fire Hall and has made contact with Creekside Plain and Fancy regarding the menu. We are also working on a couple of new things to do that we think everyone will enjoy. We did include some funding for the Dinner in this year’s budget and we plan to charge enough to cover the food expenses. Council agreed with these ideas.
We received a copy of the “Consensus Committee Report on Project Goals and Recommendations” that came from the Shenandoah County Community Dialogue that Walt Talbot served on. Anyone interested in reviewing it is welcome, but please make sure the copy returns to the Town Office.
There is a group working on a Mt. Jackson-Edinburg Rotary. They have held three meetings with the most recent one being held this morning at Denny’s in Mt. Jackson. Please let the Town Manager know if any of you are interested and he will make sure you get the date of the next meeting. They are holding 7:15 morning meetings at Denny’s.
The Main Street training in Culpeper was very informative. Its focus was on recruiting restaurants and Farmer’s Markets and how they can benefit the Town. We will use this information as we proceed further with the Mill project and finding tenants. Sue Harshman went along with the Town Manager and it is our hope that she will be heading up the tenant recruitment for the Edinburg Heritage Foundation.
Councilman Wood gave an update on the Ole’ Time Festival. He stated that the Festival would be utilizing more of the school lawn and Councilman Beachy’s lawn and that the children’s activities would be behind the school instead of at The Hatch. He also reported that the kite group was not coming this year.
Mayor Harshman reported that there was no planning commission meeting in July.
The Zoning Administrator’s report showed that two permits were issued:
1. Gene Rush
411 Water Street
Addition to Existing Storage Building
2. James W. Grogg
113 S. Grove Avenue
Storage Building
The Town Attorney was out of town and was not in attendance.
Mayor Harshman reported that Mr. Gore has not reimbursed the town for the first mowing that was done. He has been notified of tall grass again by email, but has not responded.
Mayor Harshman asked Council to approve the re-appointment of Richard Pence to the Edinburg Planning Commission. Motion was made by Councilman Wood and seconded by Councilman Beachy to approve the re-appointment of Richard Pence to the Edinburg Planning Commission. Motion carried.
The Town Clerk read a Resolution Affirming Authorization to Pick-up Employee’s Contribution to VRS for the Town. Mayor Harshman stated that the IRS told VRS that all entities involved with VRS must affirm that they are following this procedure. A motion was made by Councilman Wood and seconded by Councilman Beachy to approve the Resolution. Motion carried.
Mayor Harshman read an Ordinance and Resolution Authorizing the Financing of $260,000 by the Town of Edinburg for a Period of 5 Years from Farmers and Merchants Bank, Timberville. A motion was made by Councilman Wood and seconded by Councilman Beachy to approve the financing. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Councilwoman Haun and seconded by Councilman Beachy to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried.
With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 8:44 p.m.