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Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Regular Meeting - August 23, 2022

Town Council — Tuesday, August 23, 2022
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council
DateTuesday, August 23, 2022
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 17:34

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:55

Will council please come to order and will the clerk please call the roll?

0:59

Anderson, present.

1:00

Bush?

1:01

Here.

1:02

Oliver.

1:02

Here.

1:03

Board.

1:04

Here.

1:04

Eager Smith.

1:05

Here.

1:05

Addingly?

1:06

Here.

1:07

Here.

1:09

We will begin with our consent agenda this evening.

1:12

And that includes approval of town council minutes for July 12, August 9, and August 16.

1:19

A resolution 8A22, referring proposed amendments to the 2021 comprehensive plan to the planning commission for review.

1:28

And also a resolution 8B22, a resolution on Dobbs versus Jackson Women's Health Organization, abortion rights, privacy rights in general, and public health.

1:41

I move approval of the consent agenda.

1:44

Second.

1:45

We have a motion and a second.

1:46

Will the clerk please call the rule?

1:48

Bush.

1:49

Aye.

1:50

Oliver.

1:50

Aye.

1:51

Ford?

1:52

Aye.

1:54

Mattingley.

1:54

Aye.

1:56

Aye.

1:56

Anderson.

1:57

Aye.

1:59

We uh move on to public hearings, and there are none scheduled this evening.

2:04

Uh, but we have next citizen comments.

2:07

So if anyone would like to come forward and speak on a topic of their choosing, you're welcome to come forward.

2:12

Um we have a uh light up here, and it goes green as soon as you begin to speak.

2:20

And uh it would be great if you would give us your name and your address, and you have three minutes and then it'll turn red.

2:35

I can't tell.

2:37

Yeah, yeah, our our manager will hit the.

2:40

Yeah, okay.

2:41

Hi, I'm Gabriel Spinethra Parker.

2:43

I live at 2809 Wellesley Court in Blacks.

2:46

Um I'm a recent graduate of Radford University.

2:49

Um, I'm here just to be just to voice my opinions about the fluoridation of our water and kind of represent a group of concerned citizens uh due to that.

3:00

Um I am here asking for it to be significantly reduced, but the goal is elimination of the fluoridation of our water.

3:07

Um I I have been researching fluoride for the past uh little over two years.

3:12

I did a whole project at the Radford University, which I presented.

3:15

I did bring my posters.

3:16

I didn't know I was supposed to sign up for like the public hearings, but um I was prepared for today.

3:22

Um, but that is kind of my stance, and I if you guys wanted to say a little bit more about you you can fill out your time.

3:30

Okay.

3:31

So uh due to my research, I found that fluoride is actually a toxic byproduct of the super phosphate fertilizer industry.

3:39

Um they use a wet scrubber to basically scrub it off the inside of their smokestacks because if it vents out like it has in the past, it creates um huge environmental disasters.

3:48

So to can stop that from venting out, they actually scrub it off of their contained to barrels and ship it to our water authority, unrefined, which that is what we put into our water.

3:58

Um a lot of uh studies I've shown even to today, the CDC claims that there has been no study showing the negative health effects of fluoride, but I have found multiple studies.

4:08

Uh recently there's been over six 76 studies linking um IQ uh reduction uh due to fluoridation, um cancer, ADHD, thyroid problems, um, heart disease, um a lot of other uh illnesses as well.

4:26

But um so I'm sorry, I keep looking at the time.

4:30

So I'm here just asking for, you know, Blacksburg is very sustainable, very forward-thinking, and I think that this archaic practice has been going on for way too long, and especially with the Radford arsenal right there, that is most definitely putting out other fluorine gases because that's another uh way you can intake fluoride as well as through the air, and just through our water or there is not enough research being done on it even till today, but there are so many unanswered questions about the chronic um intake of minute amounts of fluoride.

4:57

And I think that should warrant at least lowering it significantly.

5:01

Um fluoride is contained in our food and our baby uh formula and our toothpaste, and there's no one really monitoring um that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████50%
Public Safety████████████████████████████████35%
Public Health██████████████15%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Regular Meeting - August 23, 2022

On August 23, 2022, the Blacksburg Town Council held a regular meeting in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers at the Blacksburg Municipal Building. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. and adjourned at 6:46 p.m. All seven council members were present. The agenda included approval of consent items, citizen comments, appointments to the New River Valley Passenger Rail Authority, and action on a budget amendment ordinance carried over from the previous meeting.

Consent Calendar

  • Town Council Minutes: Approved the minutes from July 12, 2022; August 9, 2022; and August 16, 2022. (Unanimous roll call vote, 7-0)
  • Resolution 8-A-22: A resolution referring proposed amendments to the 2021 Comprehensive Plan to the Planning Commission for review. (Unanimous roll call vote, 7-0)
  • Resolution 8-B-22: A resolution on Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, abortion rights, privacy rights in general, and public health. (Unanimous roll call vote, 7-0)

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Gabriella Parker (2809 Wellesley Court): Addressed the council regarding fluoridation of the water supply. She stated that fluoride is a toxic byproduct of fertilizer production, cited studies linking it to reduced IQ, cancer, ADHD, thyroid problems, and heart disease, and noted that the water authority purchases approximately 47,000 pounds of hydrofluorosilicic acid annually. She advocated for significant reduction or elimination of fluoridation. Mayor Hager-Smith thanked her and suggested she also bring her concerns to the regional water authority.
  • Cooper Whiteleather (602 McBride Drive): Speaking on behalf of several Virginia Tech fraternities, he questioned the rationale behind a recently passed ordinance on mass gatherings, noting that many students were away during the summer and could not attend hearings. He sought an explanation of the rules and the reasons for the ordinance. Mayor Hager-Smith thanked him and offered to discuss the matter outside the meeting; Town Attorney Lawrence Spencer and Deputy Chief Brian Rose also offered to speak with him afterward.
  • Robert Barham (104 Jackson Street): Described ongoing issues with public drunkenness, noise, and indecent conduct (e.g., public urination) in the downtown area near his apartment, particularly on Thursday through Saturday nights. He requested that the council help resolve the problem. Mayor Hager-Smith indicated the matter could be taken up with the new police chief.

Appointments

  • New River Valley Passenger Rail Authority: Mayor Hager-Smith presented the appointments of Councilmember Jerry Ford, Jr. and Town Attorney Lawrence S. Spencer, Jr. to the authority. The appointments were approved unanimously on a roll call vote, 7-0.

Unfinished Business

  • Ordinance 1996: An ordinance to amend the FY 2022/2023 operating budget to appropriate $13,364,987 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) / Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF) revenues to the ARP/CSLFRF and the Affordable Housing Development Funds. This item was carried over from the August 9, 2022, agenda because two council members recused themselves that evening, leaving only four present to vote (five affirmative votes were required). On August 23, the ordinance passed on a roll call vote of 5-0, with Councilmembers Sutphin and Bush abstaining (Councilmembers Ford, Hager-Smith, Mattingly, Anderson, and Colliver voted yes).

Council Announcements

  • Mayor Hager-Smith encouraged participation in the upcoming "Renew the New" New River Valley cleanup event on Saturday, August 27, and the "Dialogue on Race" event also scheduled for that Saturday from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved unanimously.
  • Appointments to the New River Valley Passenger Rail Authority approved unanimously.
  • Ordinance 1996 (ARP/CSLFRF budget amendment) approved with five affirmative votes and two abstentions.
  • Citizen comments were received; the council directed follow-up on the mass gatherings ordinance and downtown nuisance issues through appropriate channels (police department and town attorney).

Meeting Transcript

Will council please come to order and will the clerk please call the roll? Anderson, present. Bush? Here. Oliver. Here. Board. Here. Eager Smith. Here. Addingly? Here. Here. We will begin with our consent agenda this evening. And that includes approval of town council minutes for July 12, August 9, and August 16. A resolution 8A22, referring proposed amendments to the 2021 comprehensive plan to the planning commission for review. And also a resolution 8B22, a resolution on Dobbs versus Jackson Women's Health Organization, abortion rights, privacy rights in general, and public health. I move approval of the consent agenda. Second. We have a motion and a second. Will the clerk please call the rule? Bush. Aye. Oliver. Aye. Ford? Aye. Mattingley. Aye. Aye. Anderson. Aye. We uh move on to public hearings, and there are none scheduled this evening. Uh, but we have next citizen comments. So if anyone would like to come forward and speak on a topic of their choosing, you're welcome to come forward. Um we have a uh light up here, and it goes green as soon as you begin to speak. And uh it would be great if you would give us your name and your address, and you have three minutes and then it'll turn red. I can't tell. Yeah, yeah, our our manager will hit the. Yeah, okay. Hi, I'm Gabriel Spinethra Parker. I live at 2809 Wellesley Court in Blacks. Um I'm a recent graduate of Radford University. Um, I'm here just to be just to voice my opinions about the fluoridation of our water and kind of represent a group of concerned citizens uh due to that. Um I am here asking for it to be significantly reduced, but the goal is elimination of the fluoridation of our water. Um I I have been researching fluoride for the past uh little over two years. I did a whole project at the Radford University, which I presented. I did bring my posters. I didn't know I was supposed to sign up for like the public hearings, but um I was prepared for today. Um, but that is kind of my stance, and I if you guys wanted to say a little bit more about you you can fill out your time.

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