OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Regular Meeting - November 14, 2023

Town Council — Tuesday, November 14, 2023
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council
DateTuesday, November 14, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 7:22

Transcript — Verbatim
0:51

My record as the youngest, I'd like to do that.

0:54

Um will council please come to order?

0:57

And will the clerk please call the roll?

0:59

Henderson, present.

1:00

Bush?

1:01

Here.

1:01

Oliver?

1:02

Here?

1:02

Or here.

1:03

Hager Smith.

1:04

Here.

1:05

Mattingley?

1:05

Here.

1:06

Here.

1:08

Will the Vice Mayor please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance?

1:14

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

1:22

One nation.

1:23

Under indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

1:32

Okay.

1:35

And that includes the approval of town council minutes.

1:40

Uh for October 17 and 24.

1:43

Ordinance 2032, vacating a public utility easement on land located at 215 Cork Drive.

1:50

We're going to put that on our schedule for a December 12th public hearing.

2:11

Another thing that will be on the public hearing December 12th is ordinance 2039.

2:17

An ordinance to amend town code sections 22-221 and 22-22 pertaining to tax exemptions for elderly and disabled by increasing income and asset limits.

2:32

Also on our consent agenda is ordinance twenty forty-two, scheduling that for December twelfth.

2:38

An ordinance to amend the fiscal year twenty twenty-three-24 operating budget to accept and appropriate an additional one hundred and ninety-four thousand dollars of the Virginia Department of Health led inventory grant funds to the water and sewer capital improvement fund.

2:55

Also on December twelfth will be ordinance twenty forty-three to amend the fiscal year twenty twenty-three-24 operating budget to accept and appropriate seventy-six thousand six hundred eighty dollars of the energy efficiency and conservation block grant funds from the Department of Energy to the General Capital Improvement Fund.

3:20

And that is an ordinance to amend the twenty the fiscal year twenty twenty-three-24 operating budget to accept and appropriate four hundred six thousand thirty-eight dollars in V dot primary extension paving funding and 168,750 in V dot primary extension ADA funding to the general capital improvement fund.

3:40

And finally, on our consent agenda is a resolution 11A23 referring to the planning commission a proposed zoning ordinance amendment to the R4 zoning district to create a new alternative small lot residential development option.

3:57

And our action there is to adopt it.

3:59

What is council's pleasure on the consent agenda?

4:04

Second.

4:05

We have a motion and a second.

4:07

Will the clerk please call the rule?

4:09

Aye.

4:09

Oliver.

4:10

Aye.

4:11

Four?

4:11

Aye.

4:13

Aye.

4:14

Aye.

4:15

Aye.

4:16

Aye.

4:18

We move on tonight to public a public hearing, and that is for ordinance twenty thirty-one.

4:23

Vacating a greenway trail easement on land located at 1505 Bradley Lane.

4:29

And we have a staff presentation.

4:34

As the title indicates, it w this ordinance will vacate a portion of a 25 20-foot-wide greenway trail.

4:40

Uh Senior Bradley Lane, that is in the back of Maple Ridge.

4:44

Um it's being vacated because we want to re or the town wants to relocate the Greenway Trail to a different location.

4:54

That's um actually a better location.

4:57

Um so this uh paves the way for that to happen.

5:02

And that's all I got.

5:06

Okay.

5:07

Paves the way.

5:09

Yeah.

5:09

Is that a pun intended?

5:12

It's unintended.

5:13

Yeah.

5:14

Is there any public comment?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████75%
Community Engagement███████████████25%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Regular Meeting - November 14, 2023

The Blacksburg Town Council held its regular meeting on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers of the Blacksburg Municipal Building. All seven council members were present. The meeting was brief, adjourning at 6:36 p.m. Key actions included unanimous approval of the consent agenda, adoption of a resolution referring a small lot development option to the Planning Commission, and approval of a greenway trail easement vacation.

Consent Calendar

  • Motion to approve the consent agenda (Vice Mayor Anderson, seconded by Councilmember Sutphin) passed unanimously on a roll call vote. The consent agenda included:
    • Approval of Town Council minutes for October 17 and October 24, 2023.
    • Introduction of Ordinance 2032 (vacating a public utility easement at 215 Cork Drive), scheduled for a public hearing on December 12, 2023.
    • Introduction of Ordinance 2034 (amending Town Code Section 18-401 on industrial waste surcharges), scheduled for December 12, 2023.
    • Introduction of Ordinance 2039 (increasing income and asset limits for elderly/disabled tax exemptions), scheduled for December 12, 2023.
    • Introduction of Ordinance 2042 (accepting $194,000 from the Virginia Department of Health Lead Inventory Grant for the Water/Sewer Capital Improvement Fund), scheduled for December 12, 2023.
    • Introduction of Ordinance 2043 (accepting $76,680 in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funds from the Department of Energy), scheduled for December 12, 2023.
    • Introduction of Ordinance 2044 (accepting $406,038 in VDOT primary extension paving funding and $168,750 in VDOT primary extension ADA funding), scheduled for December 12, 2023.
    • Adoption of Resolution 11-A-23, referring a proposed zoning ordinance amendment to the R-4 district for a new alternative small lot residential development option to the Planning Commission.

Public Hearing

  • Ordinance 2031: Vacation of a Greenway Trail Easement at 1505 Bradley Lane
    • Town Attorney Lawrence Spencer presented the request, explaining that the 20-foot-wide greenway trail segment behind Maple Ridge would be vacated to allow relocation of the trail to a better location.
    • No public comment was offered.
    • Motion to approve Ordinance 2031 (Vice Mayor Anderson, seconded by Councilmember Sutphin) passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Council Announcements

  • Councilmember Lauren Colliver thanked Mayor Hager-Smith and Chief Brewster for organizing a candlelight vigil at Blacksburg High School, which drew an estimated 200–300 attendees and concluded with 40 singers.
  • Vice Mayor Susan Anderson reminded residents of Small Business Saturday (November 25, 2023) and encouraged shopping small, and promoted the Winter Lights Festival on December 1, 2023 (tree lighting at 5:45 p.m., Tuba Christmas at 6 p.m., holiday parade at 7 p.m.) and other downtown holiday events.
  • Mayor Hager-Smith announced she would present a proclamation to Nikki Giovanni at the Lyric Theater on Thursday, November 16, 2023, at 7 p.m. in connection with a special biography and documentary.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved unanimously.
  • Ordinance 2031 approved unanimously.
  • Six ordinances (2032, 2034, 2039, 2042, 2043, 2044) introduced and sent to public hearing on December 12, 2023.
  • Resolution 11-A-23 adopted, referring the small lot development option to the Planning Commission.
  • No citizen comments, unfinished business, or new business were presented.

Meeting Transcript

My record as the youngest, I'd like to do that. Um will council please come to order? And will the clerk please call the roll? Henderson, present. Bush? Here. Oliver? Here? Or here. Hager Smith. Here. Mattingley? 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. Under indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Okay. And that includes the approval of town council minutes. Uh for October 17 and 24. Ordinance 2032, vacating a public utility easement on land located at 215 Cork Drive. We're going to put that on our schedule for a December 12th public hearing. Another thing that will be on the public hearing December 12th is ordinance 2039. An ordinance to amend town code sections 22-221 and 22-22 pertaining to tax exemptions for elderly and disabled by increasing income and asset limits. Also on our consent agenda is ordinance twenty forty-two, scheduling that for December twelfth. An ordinance to amend the fiscal year twenty twenty-three-24 operating budget to accept and appropriate an additional one hundred and ninety-four thousand dollars of the Virginia Department of Health led inventory grant funds to the water and sewer capital improvement fund. Also on December twelfth will be ordinance twenty forty-three to amend the fiscal year twenty twenty-three-24 operating budget to accept and appropriate seventy-six thousand six hundred eighty dollars of the energy efficiency and conservation block grant funds from the Department of Energy to the General Capital Improvement Fund. And that is an ordinance to amend the twenty the fiscal year twenty twenty-three-24 operating budget to accept and appropriate four hundred six thousand thirty-eight dollars in V dot primary extension paving funding and 168,750 in V dot primary extension ADA funding to the general capital improvement fund. And finally, on our consent agenda is a resolution 11A23 referring to the planning commission a proposed zoning ordinance amendment to the R4 zoning district to create a new alternative small lot residential development option. And our action there is to adopt it. What is council's pleasure on the consent agenda? Second. We have a motion and a second. Will the clerk please call the rule? Aye. Oliver. Aye. Four? Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. We move on tonight to public a public hearing, and that is for ordinance twenty thirty-one. Vacating a greenway trail easement on land located at 1505 Bradley Lane. And we have a staff presentation. As the title indicates, it w this ordinance will vacate a portion of a 25 20-foot-wide greenway trail. Uh Senior Bradley Lane, that is in the back of Maple Ridge. Um it's being vacated because we want to re or the town wants to relocate the Greenway Trail to a different location.

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