OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Meeting - January 23, 2024

Town Council — Tuesday, January 23, 2024
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council
DateTuesday, January 23, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 9:40

Transcript — Verbatim
0:40

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

0:44

Anderson present.

0:46

Oliver here.

0:47

Or here.

0:48

Agre Smith.

0:49

Here.

0:49

Mattingley?

0:50

Here.

0:50

Set Finn?

0:51

Here.

0:51

Watson.

0:52

Present.

0:53

We'll begin today with the consent agenda.

0:56

And that includes town council minutes, approval of January 2nd and January 9th minutes.

1:03

Also a Blacksburg Fire Officers and Bless Blacksburg Rescue Squad Officers for 2024.

1:11

We're confirming the naming of those officers.

1:14

And also item C Blacksburg 2024 legislative priorities.

1:22

What is council's pleasure on the consent agenda?

1:25

I move approval of the consent agenda.

1:27

Second.

1:27

We have a motion and a second.

1:29

Will the clerk please call the roll?

1:30

Oliver.

1:31

Aye.

1:32

Ford.

1:33

Aye.

1:33

Hegar Smith.

1:34

Aye.

1:36

Set Finn.

1:37

Aye.

1:37

Watson.

1:38

Aye.

1:39

Anderson.

1:39

Aye.

1:40

You know, I didn't leave any time just then for um discussion.

1:44

But Larry, do you want to do you mind explaining what the 2024 legislative priorities are?

1:55

If you can remember.

1:58

Well, the town does this every year, and um it tries to find things that you know.

2:02

Generally, we there's some statements in there.

2:05

We're concerned about things that would take away the town's land use authority and taxation authority.

2:12

Um so there's references to um certain bills that are out there that may be doing that.

2:20

Um there's also a lengthy part in the back where Carol Davis um uh analyzed a whole bunch of sustainability um measures, and um she she conferred with me and she picked the ones that she thinks will have the most impact.

2:35

So there's really two pages of that.

2:38

Um and there's some certain things that were interest of certain council members.

2:42

Um we put in there that we support the uh Virginia Bike Federation's uh legislative agenda that we support the Virginia Municipal League.

2:53

Um and a couple bills like a bill to uh provide enhanced retirement benefits for 911 operators and a um bill that would uh try to address uh rent gouging.

3:07

Um those are some of the bills in there.

3:09

But the general theme is to um let the town be able to have local solutions to uh local issues and the last thing which is to me one of the most important um uh is to uh a call for more mental health funding to avoid situations where um our citizens can't get help and our officers are stuck at the hospital waiting for them to be able to get help.

3:36

So thank you.

3:38

I'm sorry to put you on the spot.

3:41

I did kind of draw a blank there for a moment.

3:44

Sorry.

3:46

But I but it's important stuff, and it's our effort to stay in conversation with our representatives in the General Assembly.

3:56

Um we're moving on now to public hearings, and there are none scheduled.

4:00

I will open it up to citizen comments.

4:02

So anyone who would like to speak, please come forward.

4:05

Um have three minutes and please begin with your name and address.

4:13

Okay.

4:14

Seeing no one, uh, we will go on to unfinished business, and that is a resolution adopting our capital improvement program for fiscal years 24 25 through 28-29.

4:28

Um our public hearing on the CIP was held January 9th, and um we allow a little space in between, and this is our opportunity to um close the loop and pass this resolution.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural████████████████████████████████████████40%
Capital Improvement Planning█████████████████████████████29%
Public Engagement████████████████████20%
Mental Health Awareness███████████11%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Meeting - January 23, 2024

The Blacksburg Town Council held a regular meeting on Tuesday, January 23, 2024, at 6:30 PM in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers. The meeting was brief, adjourning at 6:39 PM, and included approval of the consent agenda, adoption of the five-year Capital Improvement Program, and council announcements.

Consent Calendar

  • Town Council Minutes: Approved for January 2 and January 9, 2024.
  • Fire and Rescue Officers 2024: Confirmed the appointment of Blacksburg Fire Officers and Blacksburg Rescue Squad Officers for the year.
  • 2024 Legislative Priorities: Approved as presented. Town Attorney Lawrence Spencer summarized the priorities, which include protecting local land use and taxation authority, supporting sustainability measures (as analyzed by Carol Davis), endorsing the Virginia Bike Federation's legislative agenda, backing enhanced retirement benefits for 911 operators, a bill addressing rent gouging, and a call for increased mental health funding to reduce hospital wait times for officers. The motion passed unanimously (7-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made.

Discussion Items

  • Resolution 1-D-24: Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for Fiscal Years 2024/2025 through 2028/2029. Town Manager Marc Verniel provided an overview. He noted that major projects discussed in prior sessions—the Progress Street parking garage and a potential Recreation Center—are currently outside the five-year period but may be reflected in next year's CIP. Citizen concerns about accelerating the Clay Street sidewalk and downtown restroom projects were also noted; preliminary work will be done this year to assess feasibility. The resolution passed unanimously (7-0).

Council Announcements

  • Councilmember Anderson announced multiple upcoming events:
    • Virginia Passenger Rail Authority Public Meeting: Monday, January 29, 2024, 4:30–8:30 PM at the Blacksburg Community Center to update on passenger rail service to the New River Valley. There was a discrepancy between the time listed on social media (4:30 PM) and the authority's website (5:30 PM); the confirmed time is 4:30 PM.
    • Dialogue on Race: Saturday, January 27, 2024, 10:00 AM–2:00 PM at Christiansburg Middle School, preceded by Coffee with the Cops at 9:00 AM.
    • Town Council Retreat: Tuesday, January 30, 2024, 9:00 AM–3:00 PM at the Highlander Hotel in Radford to discuss priorities and planning with the new council member.
    • Virginia Municipal League Legislative Day: Thursday, February 1, 2024, in Richmond, with several council members attending.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved unanimously (7-0).
  • Resolution 1-D-24 adopting the five-year CIP passed unanimously (7-0).
  • No other business or votes occurred.

Meeting Transcript

Will council please come to order and will the clerk please call the roll? Anderson present. Oliver here. Or here. Agre Smith. Here. Mattingley? Here. Set Finn? Here. Watson. Present. We'll begin today with the consent agenda. And that includes town council minutes, approval of January 2nd and January 9th minutes. Also a Blacksburg Fire Officers and Bless Blacksburg Rescue Squad Officers for 2024. We're confirming the naming of those officers. And also item C Blacksburg 2024 legislative priorities. 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? Oliver. Aye. Ford. Aye. Hegar Smith. Aye. Set Finn. Aye. Watson. Aye. Anderson. Aye. You know, I didn't leave any time just then for um discussion. But Larry, do you want to do you mind explaining what the 2024 legislative priorities are? If you can remember. Well, the town does this every year, and um it tries to find things that you know. Generally, we there's some statements in there. We're concerned about things that would take away the town's land use authority and taxation authority. Um so there's references to um certain bills that are out there that may be doing that. Um there's also a lengthy part in the back where Carol Davis um uh analyzed a whole bunch of sustainability um measures, and um she she conferred with me and she picked the ones that she thinks will have the most impact. So there's really two pages of that. Um and there's some certain things that were interest of certain council members. Um we put in there that we support the uh Virginia Bike Federation's uh legislative agenda that we support the Virginia Municipal League. Um and a couple bills like a bill to uh provide enhanced retirement benefits for 911 operators and a um bill that would uh try to address uh rent gouging. Um those are some of the bills in there. But the general theme is to um let the town be able to have local solutions to uh local issues and the last thing which is to me one of the most important um uh is to uh a call for more mental health funding to avoid situations where um our citizens can't get help and our officers are stuck at the hospital waiting for them to be able to get help. So thank you. I'm sorry to put you on the spot.

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