OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Regular Meeting – August 22, 2023

Town Council — Tuesday, August 22, 2023
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council
DateTuesday, August 22, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 13:43

Transcript — Verbatim
0:39

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

0:43

Anderson present.

0:44

Bush?

0:45

Here.

0:45

Oliver.

0:46

Here.

0:46

Board?

0:47

Here.

0:47

Anger Smith here.

0:48

Manningly?

0:49

Here.

0:50

Sutton.

0:50

Here.

0:51

We begin tonight with the consent agenda.

0:54

And our first item is to approve the council minutes for August 1 and 8.

1:00

The second item is housing and urban development citizens participation plan.

1:06

The next is a resolution 8A23 to approve two bank franchise tax refunds.

1:13

Item D is resolution 8B 23.

1:17

Resolution extending operating agreement with Blacksburg Museum and Cultural Foundation.

1:23

Item E is to authorize acceptance of special warranty deed for.07 acres of property near Harding Road.

1:32

And the action there will be that we are authorizing acceptance by the town manager.

1:38

What is council's pleasure on the consent agenda?

1:40

I move approval of the consent agenda.

1:43

Second.

1:44

We have a motion and a second.

1:45

Will the clerk please call the roll?

1:47

Bush.

1:48

Aye.

1:48

Oliver.

1:49

Aye.

1:49

Board?

1:50

Aye.

1:50

Egar Smith.

1:51

Aye.

1:52

Addingly?

1:53

Aye.

1:53

Sutfin?

1:54

Aye.

1:54

Henderson.

1:55

Aye.

1:57

We have no public hearings scheduled for this evening.

2:00

But we do have a citizen comment period each time we meet.

2:04

And I invite uh whoever would like to speak up to the microphone this evening.

2:10

You can speak on any topic of your choosing.

2:14

And some of you know this, and some of you it'll be a first time.

2:18

There's a little stoplight up here.

2:20

And when you begin to speak, the uh manager will hit the uh timer.

2:26

And uh green is go, and yellow means your time is about up, and uh the red light means that your three minutes are up.

2:35

So I invite anybody who'd like to to speak during public comment.

2:43

I failed to say that you should begin with your name and uh your address.

2:49

End here.

2:50

Yes, and that's yeah, the that little black thing, you don't have to pick up that mic, the other one is a mic.

2:56

Okay, uh, my name is Charles Saunders.

2:58

I live at 1160 Draper Road, Southwest, here in Blacksburg.

3:02

Uh I wrote something so I can remember what I wanted to say.

3:06

Hello, my name is Chuck Saunders.

3:08

I was born in Blacksburg and lived here until I was 10.

3:11

I moved back for college, and again when my kids got to elementary school age, my dad is the street musician that performs as Dr.

3:18

Moon.

3:18

I love Blacksburg and have been looking forward to my children attending Margaret Beaks, which is the same school I attended as a child.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing████████████████████████████████████36%
Arts And Culture█████████████████████████25%
Zoning Ordinance███████████████15%
Procedural█████████████13%
Personnel Matters███████████11%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Regular Meeting – August 22, 2023

The Blacksburg Town Council held its regular meeting on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers at the Blacksburg Municipal Building. The meeting lasted approximately 13 minutes, adjourning at 6:43 p.m. The council unanimously approved the consent agenda, heard citizen comments on housing affordability, development impacts, and museum operations, and extended the operating agreement with the Blacksburg Museum and Cultural Foundation for one year.

Consent Calendar

  • Town Council Minutes: Approved minutes from August 1 and August 8, 2023.
  • Housing & Urban Development Citizens Participation Plan: Approved the plan as presented.
  • Resolution 8-A-23: Adopted a resolution to approve two bank franchise tax refunds.
  • Resolution 8-B-23: Adopted a resolution extending the operating agreement with the Blacksburg Museum and Cultural Foundation (BMCF) for a one-year term to allow time for review and consultation.
  • Special Warranty Deed: Authorized the Town Manager to accept a 0.07‑acre property near Harding Road.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Charles Saunders (1160 Draper Road) expressed frustration with housing affordability, stating that after two years of searching he has been outbid on homes that are often purchased for student housing or short‑term rentals. He raised concerns about zoning enforcement, citing properties that advertise accessory apartments in single‑family zones, and offered to volunteer to help the town cross‑check rental listings against town records. He requested that the town enforce zoning rules and allow him to assist.
  • Deborah Olsen (402 Lansdowne Street) acknowledged the downsides of local development (traffic, loss of greenspace) but noted that high‑density student housing contributes significantly to the town’s tax base, citing research by a Virginia Tech professor. She questioned why the town raised taxes precipitously this year given the expanded tax base from development.
  • Christine King (Montgomery County resident) thanked several council members for their advocacy regarding the St. Luke’s & Odd Fellows Hall. She asked that the next executive director of the Blacksburg Museum and Cultural Foundation be culturally knowledgeable, unbiased, professionally competent, and follow American museum standards. She also noted that under the current acting director the museum’s collections went without insurance for two years.

Council Announcements

  • Resolution 8-B-23 Reading: Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith read aloud Resolution 8‑B‑23, which extends the operating agreement with the Blacksburg Museum and Cultural Foundation for one year. She stated that it is wise to continue dialogue with the foundation and that a consensus can be reached after a year of working together.

Key Outcomes

  • The consent agenda was approved unanimously on a roll‑call vote (7‑0).
  • Resolution 8‑B‑23 was adopted as part of the consent agenda.
  • No public hearings, unfinished business, or new business were considered.
  • The meeting adjourned at 6:43 p.m.

Meeting Transcript

Council come to order and will the clerk please call the roll. Anderson present. Bush? Here. Oliver. Here. Board? Here. Anger Smith here. Manningly? Here. Sutton. Here. We begin tonight with the consent agenda. And our first item is to approve the council minutes for August 1 and 8. The second item is housing and urban development citizens participation plan. The next is a resolution 8A23 to approve two bank franchise tax refunds. Item D is resolution 8B 23. Resolution extending operating agreement with Blacksburg Museum and Cultural Foundation. Item E is to authorize acceptance of special warranty deed for.07 acres of property near Harding Road. And the action there will be that we are authorizing acceptance by the town manager. What is council's pleasure on the consent agenda? I move approval of the consent agenda. Second. We have a motion and a second. Will the clerk please call the roll? Bush. Aye. Oliver. Aye. Board? Aye. Egar Smith. Aye. Addingly? Aye. Sutfin? Aye. Henderson. Aye. We have no public hearings scheduled for this evening. But we do have a citizen comment period each time we meet. And I invite uh whoever would like to speak up to the microphone this evening. You can speak on any topic of your choosing. And some of you know this, and some of you it'll be a first time. There's a little stoplight up here. And when you begin to speak, the uh manager will hit the uh timer. And uh green is go, and yellow means your time is about up, and uh the red light means that your three minutes are up. So I invite anybody who'd like to to speak during public comment. I failed to say that you should begin with your name and uh your address.

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