Blacksburg Town Council Meeting – October 11, 2022
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Blacksburg Town Council Meeting – October 11, 2022
The Blacksburg Town Council held a regular meeting on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, at 6:30 PM in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers of the Municipal Building. The meeting included approval of a consent agenda, three public hearings, citizen comments, and council announcements. All votes were unanimous. A closed meeting followed the regular session to discuss legal issues associated with Ordinance 1866.
Consent Calendar
- Town Council Minutes (September 27, 2022): Approved unanimously.
- Ordinance 1999 (Sewer Use Standards): Introduced and public hearing scheduled for November 8, 2022.
- Ordinance 1994 (Rezoning at 1800 Whipple Drive): Public hearing rescheduled for November 8, 2022.
Public Hearings
- Ordinance 1988 (Erosion and Sediment Regulations): Town Attorney Larry Spencer explained the amendment updates outdated Virginia Code references. No public comment. The ordinance was adopted unanimously on a roll call vote (7-0).
- Ordinance 1994 (Rezoning, 1800 Whipple Drive): Per the consent agenda action, this public hearing was rescheduled to November 8, 2022; no hearing was held.
- Ordinance 1998 (Vacating Waterline Easement at 200 Cedar Pointe Drive): Attorney Spencer noted the easement is no longer needed and partially runs under a new building. No public comment. The ordinance was adopted unanimously (7-0).
Citizen Comments
- Jake Davis and Alex Marjanovich (Sigma Nu fraternity) addressed Council to promote their Fall Philanthropy Week (October 24–27). Events included percentage nights at restaurants (Subaraki, Jersey Mike’s, Chipotle), a “Poptober” puppy play date at Virginia Tech’s Graduate Life Center ($5 admission, adoptable animals), and a haunted house at 401 Progress Street (October 26–27, 7–11 PM, $7 tickets). Proceeds benefit the Montgomery County Animal Shelter. They expressed a desire to increase participation from Blacksburg families. Council members asked about age-appropriateness and suggested coordinating with the town’s downtown trick-or-treating event on October 31.
Council Announcements
- Vice Mayor Susan Anderson reported on the Virginia Municipal League (VML) Annual Conference (October 2–4), noting workshops and networking.
- Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith displayed a 2022 VML Innovation Award (Community Health category) received by the town for its Aging in Place program, which provides planning resources and a “train the trainer” workshop series to help older residents remain independent.
- Mayor Hager-Smith also acknowledged the passing of Dr. Andy Robison, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech, and extended condolences to his family.
- Councilmember Michael Sutphin announced the inaugural meeting of the New River Valley Passenger Rail Authority, where he and Attorney Spencer were sworn in. The authority will focus on bylaws and station location selection.
Key Outcomes
- All votes were unanimous (7-0).
- Public hearings for Ordinances 1999 and 1994 are scheduled for November 8, 2022.
- Council adjourned the open meeting at 6:44 PM and entered a closed meeting (Virginia Code § 2.2-3711(A)(8)) to consult with legal counsel on Ordinance 1866, a related rezoning, and a development agreement. The closed meeting was certified as proper by Resolution 10-A-22 upon reconvening at 7:50 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Please come to order and will the clerk please call the roll? Anderson. Present. Bush? Here. Oliver? Here. Board? Here. Here. Addingly? Here. Here. Will the Vice Mayor please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation. Indivisible with a delivery and justice for all. We'll begin today with our consent agenda, and that includes approval of town council minutes for September 27th. And ordinance 1999 to repeal existing Article 5 of Town Code Chapter 18 regarding sewer use standards. We'll adopt new 18-500, 501, and 502, and we will be introducing the ordinance today and schedule the public hearing for uh November 8th. We also had an ordinance 1994 on our agenda. Our action today will be to reschedule it for November 8th. What is council's pleasure? I move approval of the consent agenda. Second. Aye. Oliver. Aye. Ford. Aye. Aye. Addingly? Aye. Set Finn? Aye. Anderson. Aye. We'll move on now to public hearings on ordinance nineteen eighty-eight, amending town code ten-a hundred, ten-two hundred, two oh one and two oh three regarding erosion and sediment controls. And we'll begin with the staff presentation. Larry Spencer will cover the staff reports tonight. Um I'm doing this because it's uh even though I know nothing about erosion and settlement control, it's a very simple amendment to update the references in the state code from outdated references to current references. So that's all it is is um correcting those outdated references. Okay. Um is there anybody who would like to speak on ordinance nineteen eighty-eight? Are you here for sediment control? No. All right, seeing no one. Uh what is uh council's pleasure? I move approval of ordinance nineteen eighty-eight.
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