OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Regular Meeting - July 11, 2023

Town Council — Tuesday, July 11, 2023
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council
DateTuesday, July 11, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 12:26

Transcript — Verbatim
0:52

Please come to order and will the clerk please call the roll.

0:55

Anderson present.

0:56

Bush.

0:57

Here.

0:57

Oliver.

0:58

Here.

0:58

Ford?

0:59

Here.

1:00

Here.

1:01

Addingley?

1:01

Here.

1:02

Sutton.

1:02

Here.

1:04

Will the vice mayor please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:10

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

1:15

And to the Republic for which it stands.

1:19

Under God.

1:20

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

1:27

We'll begin this evening with our consent agenda.

1:31

And the first item is approval of town council minutes for June 20 and June 27.

1:37

Next up we have the C UP 23-0003, a conditional use permit request for hotel use and additional height in the downtown commercial zoning district at 501 South Main Street.

1:53

And the action there will be that we will schedule a public hearing for August 8.

1:57

Ordinance 2025, vacating a waterline easement on land located at 615 Southgate Drive.

2:09

Ordinance 2016 to amend the Westview Cemetery rules and regulations to establish green burial regulations.

4:07

So it's very flexible.

4:56

Second.

5:00

Will the clerk please call the roll?

5:01

Oliver.

5:01

Aye.

5:02

Board.

5:02

Aye.

5:05

Addingly.

5:05

Aye.

5:06

Set Finn.

5:07

Aye.

5:07

Anderson.

5:08

Aye.

5:08

Bush.

5:09

Aye.

5:10

Moving on to ordinance 2027 to amend the fiscal year 2022, 23 operating budget by reappropriating prior year, CDBG and home revenues.

5:23

And I have a statement here.

5:25

The Virginia State and Local Government Conflict of Interest Act requires that I make disclosure to be recorded in town records in any case in which I'm forbidden to participate.

5:33

Therefore, I make the following disclosure.

5:34

The transaction involved is the approval of ordinance 2027, which is an amendment to the operating budget to reappropriate prior year CDBG and home revenues with a vote scheduled for today.

5:55

CHP headquarters is located at 448 Depot Street, Christiansburg, Virginia.

6:00

I affirmatively state that I will not vote or in any manner act on behalf of the town council regarding ordinance 2027.

6:16

I'll be brief on this one too.

6:17

So this is this is an item that we do every year.

6:43

And then these funds are spent according to the town's action plans on these items.

6:48

So this is a routine item that we do every year to carry over those unspent funds, and then they'll be applied to future projects according to those action plans.

6:58

Do we have any questions for the manager?

7:01

And any public comment.

7:05

Seeing none, what is council's pleasure on ordinance 2027?

7:09

I move approval of ordinance 2027.

7:12

Second.

7:13

We have a motion and a second.

7:14

Will the clerk please call the roll?

7:16

Board.

7:16

Aye.

7:18

Aye.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████70%
Budget Equity Analysis████████████18%
Community Engagement████████12%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Regular Meeting - July 11, 2023

The Blacksburg Town Council held its regular meeting on July 11, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers. The meeting covered a consent agenda, three public hearings, council announcements, and a closed session. Key actions included approving routine items, leasing office space to the Montgomery County Tourism Council, reappropriating federal grant funds, accepting a $255,000 state grant for police equipment, and entering a closed meeting to discuss potential real estate acquisition.

Consent Calendar

  • Town Council Minutes: Approved minutes from June 20 and June 27, 2023.
  • CUP 23-0003: Scheduled a public hearing for August 8, 2023, regarding a conditional use permit for a hotel and additional height at 501 South Main Street.
  • Ordinance 2025: Introduced an ordinance to vacate a waterline easement at 615 Southgate Drive, with a public hearing set for August 8, 2023.
  • Ordinance 2016: Introduced an ordinance to amend Westview Cemetery rules to establish green burial regulations, with a public hearing set for August 8, 2023.
  • Ordinance 2029: Introduced an ordinance to amend Town Code sections 7-100, 7-103, 7-104, 7-105, 7-108, and 7-109 pertaining to the town cemetery, with a public hearing set for August 8, 2023.
  • Resolution 7-A-23: Approved a resolution setting the regular meeting dates for Blacksburg Town Council.
  • All consent items were approved unanimously on a roll call vote (7-0).

Public Hearings

A. Ordinance 2026: Lease of Office Space at 200 Clay Street, S.W.

  • Town Manager Marc Verniel presented the request to authorize a two-year lease for the Montgomery County Tourism Development Council in the former Blacksburg Police Department building at 200 Clay Street, effective retroactively from July 1, 2023.
  • No public comment was offered.
  • Council voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2026 (7-0).

B. Ordinance 2027: Reappropriating Prior Year CDBG and HOME Revenues

  • Town Manager explained that this item, conducted annually, appropriates unspent prior-year Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Consortium funds into the FY2022/2023 operating budget.
  • Councilmember Michael Sutphin disqualified himself from voting, citing a conflict of interest under the Virginia State and Local Government Conflict of Interest Act (he stated CHP headquarters is located in Christiansburg). He did not vote.
  • The ordinance was approved on a roll call vote: Councillors Ford, Hager-Smith, Mattingly, Anderson, Bush, and Colliver voted yes (6-0-1, with Sutphin abstaining).

C. Ordinance 2028: Accepting $255,000 Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services Grant

  • Town Manager presented that the police department applied for and received $255,000 in ARPA Law Enforcement Grant funds from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. Funds must be expended by June 30, 2024, and will be used to purchase specialized law enforcement equipment.
  • Councilmember Bush asked whether this was in addition to the $13 million ARPA allocation previously discussed; the manager confirmed it is separate, noting transit also received ARPA funds.
  • No public comment was offered.
  • Council voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2028 (7-0).

Citizen Comments

  • No citizens spoke during the public comment period.

Council Announcements

  • Vice Mayor Susan Anderson announced that candidate forum information for the fall (including for Blacksburg Town Council, Christiansburg Town Council, Board of Supervisors, and constitutional officers) is available on the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County website.
  • Councilmember Colliver reminded attendees about Saturday's Breakfast at the Farmers Market and Art at the Market event, which supports local artists and the market's SNAP benefit program.
  • Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith announced that the next two regularly scheduled meetings (July 18 work session and July 25 regular meeting) are cancelled, as is customary for a July break. The next meeting will be a work session on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, at 11:00 a.m.

Key Outcomes

  • All ordinances and resolutions under the consent agenda and public hearings were approved as described.
  • Councilmember Sutphin recused himself from voting on Ordinance 2027.
  • The meeting adjourned to a closed session at 6:42 p.m. pursuant to Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711(A)(3) to discuss the potential acquisition of real property in central Blacksburg. The closed session motion passed unanimously (7-0).
  • Council reconvened in open session at 7:24 p.m. and unanimously approved Resolution 7-B-23 certifying the propriety of the closed meeting (7-0). The meeting then adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Please come to order and will the clerk please call the roll. Anderson present. Bush. Here. Oliver. Here. Ford? Here. Here. Addingley? Here. Sutton. 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. Under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. We'll begin this evening with our consent agenda. And the first item is approval of town council minutes for June 20 and June 27. Next up we have the C UP 23-0003, a conditional use permit request for hotel use and additional height in the downtown commercial zoning district at 501 South Main Street. And the action there will be that we will schedule a public hearing for August 8. Ordinance 2025, vacating a waterline easement on land located at 615 Southgate Drive. Ordinance 2016 to amend the Westview Cemetery rules and regulations to establish green burial regulations. So it's very flexible. Second. Will the clerk please call the roll? Oliver. Aye. Board. Aye. Addingly. Aye. Set Finn. Aye. Anderson. Aye. Bush. Aye. Moving on to ordinance 2027 to amend the fiscal year 2022, 23 operating budget by reappropriating prior year, CDBG and home revenues. And I have a statement here. The Virginia State and Local Government Conflict of Interest Act requires that I make disclosure to be recorded in town records in any case in which I'm forbidden to participate. Therefore, I make the following disclosure. The transaction involved is the approval of ordinance 2027, which is an amendment to the operating budget to reappropriate prior year CDBG and home revenues with a vote scheduled for today. CHP headquarters is located at 448 Depot Street, Christiansburg, Virginia. I affirmatively state that I will not vote or in any manner act on behalf of the town council regarding ordinance 2027. I'll be brief on this one too. So this is this is an item that we do every year. And then these funds are spent according to the town's action plans on these items. So this is a routine item that we do every year to carry over those unspent funds, and then they'll be applied to future projects according to those action plans.

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