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Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Meeting – December 11, 2024

Town Council — Wednesday, December 11, 2024
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council
DateWednesday, December 11, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 17:07

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:07

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

0:11

Anderson present.

0:12

Oliver here.

0:14

Ford?

0:14

Here.

0:15

Egar Smith is absent.

0:16

Mattingley?

0:17

Here.

0:17

Zet Finn?

0:18

Here.

0:19

Watson.

0:19

Present.

0:21

We'll go ahead and get started then.

0:22

This is the December 10th Blacksburg Town Council meeting.

0:25

The mayor's out of town, so I'll be chairing the meeting tonight.

0:28

We will start with the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:30

If the former Vice Mayor would please lead us in the pledge.

0:36

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

0:40

And to the Republic for which it stands.

0:43

One nation.

0:52

We will go ahead and get started with the consent agenda.

0:55

We have several items on the consent agenda tonight.

0:58

Item A is the town council minutes from November 12th, November 19th, and November 26th.

1:03

We'll be approving those tonight.

1:05

Item B is the recommended capital improvement program for fiscal years 2025-26 through 2029-2030.

1:13

We'll be scheduling the public hearing on that for January 14th.

1:17

Ordinance 2068 and an ordinance rezoning 1.59 acres of land at 402 Clay Street from R5 transitional residential to planned residential zoning.

1:28

We'll introduce the ordinance and schedule the public hearing for January 14th.

1:32

A contract for design build services at 414 North Main Street.

1:37

We're going to authorize the town manager to sign that contract.

1:40

A contract for Blacksburg Transit renovations additions and new fuel slash wash facility.

1:47

The action there is approval.

1:49

Resolution 12A24, a resolution referring to the planning commission and proposed amendment to section 5701 of the subdivision ordinance regarding the construction and design of sanitary sewer.

2:01

Our action is approval.

2:03

And finally, an agreement for affordable housing with community housing partners corporation, and our action is to authorize the town manager to sign the agreement.

2:12

And if you've um listened to our recent meetings, you know that this is probably the point in the council meeting while I'll be reading a statement.

2:20

So what we're going to be doing tonight is considering separately items A through F and then separately consider item G.

2:28

Let me go ahead and read that statement.

3:10

So with that statement, um, is there a motion on items uh A through F on the consent agenda?

3:17

I move approval of consent agenda items A through F.

3:21

Second.

3:23

Uh we have a motion and second.

3:25

Any discussion?

3:26

Uh seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll?

3:29

Oliver, aye.

3:30

Ford.

3:31

Aye.

3:32

Mattingley?

3:32

Aye.

3:33

Zetfin.

3:34

Aye.

3:34

Watson.

3:35

Aye.

3:35

Anderson.

3:36

Aye.

3:38

And do we have another motion?

3:39

I move approval of consent agenda item G.

3:43

Second.

3:46

Any discussion?

3:47

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████57%
Animal Welfare██████████████18%
Public Engagement██████████████18%
Community Engagement██████7%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Meeting – December 11, 2024

The Blacksburg Town Council held a regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on December 11, 2024, in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers of the Blacksburg Municipal Building. Vice Mayor chaired the meeting in the mayor's absence. Councilmembers Anderson, Oliver, Ford, Mattingley, Zetfin, and Watson were present; Egar Smith was absent. The meeting covered consent agenda approvals, a public hearing on animal and fowl code amendments, citizen comments, and appointments.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from November 12, 19, and 26, 2024.
  • Scheduled a public hearing for January 14, 2025, on the Recommended Capital Improvement Program FY2025/2026–2029/2030.
  • Introduced Ordinance 2068 (rezoning 1.59± acres at 402 Clay Street from R-5 Transitional Residential to Planned Residential) and scheduled the public hearing for January 14, 2025.
  • Authorized the Town Manager to sign a contract for design-build services at 414 North Main Street.
  • Approved a contract for Blacksburg Transit renovations, additions, and a new fuel/wash facility.
  • Approved Resolution 12-A-24, referring to the Planning Commission a proposed amendment to Section 5-701 of the Subdivision Ordinance regarding sanitary sewer construction and design.
  • Authorized the Town Manager to sign an agreement for affordable housing with Community Housing Partners Corporation (Councilmember Zetfin abstained).

Public Hearings

  • Ordinance 2067 – Animals and Fowl Code Amendment: Larry Spencer presented three unrelated changes: (1) repeal of Section 5-105 (prohibition on hogs) because the zoning ordinance already regulates farm animals; (2) an exception for ownership of a falcon, hawk, or owl if permitted by state code; (3) clarification that electronic leashes do not satisfy the leash-law requirement for a physical leash. No public comment was offered. Council unanimously approved the ordinance (6-0).

Citizen Comments

  • Charles Shade (401 Claremont Drive) expressed frustration over abandoned bicycles at the farmers market, stating they had occupied parking spaces for more than six months, creating an eyesore and safety hazard. He noted that staff had not resolved the issue despite his six months of inquiry. Vice Mayor responded that a written policy had been signed off the previous week and would be shared. Shade requested the policy be emailed to him.

Appointments

  • Joann Sutphin and Bob Pack were appointed to the Cemetery Trustee Advisory Board. The motion passed unanimously.

Council Announcements

  • Vice Mayor paid tribute to Nikki Giovanni, a poet, activist, and Virginia Tech faculty member who recently passed, acknowledging her impact on the community.
  • Councilmembers thanked participants and organizers of the Christmas parade and tree lighting ceremony.
  • Announced a gift-wrapping party for the Angel Tree at the Blacksburg Police Department on December 17, 2024.
  • Encouraged support for local small businesses.
  • Noted the next council work session on December 17, 2024, and that the regular meeting scheduled for December 24, 2024, was canceled.

Key Outcomes

  • All consent agenda items and Ordinance 2067 were approved.
  • Appointments to the Cemetery Trustee Advisory Board were confirmed.
  • No unfinished or new business was discussed.
  • The meeting was adjourned.

Note: The agenda and transcript indicate the meeting occurred on December 10, 2024, but the instruction specifies December 11, 2024.

Meeting Transcript

Will the council come to order and will the clerk please call the roll? Anderson present. Oliver here. Ford? Here. Egar Smith is absent. Mattingley? Here. Zet Finn? Here. Watson. Present. We'll go ahead and get started then. This is the December 10th Blacksburg Town Council meeting. The mayor's out of town, so I'll be chairing the meeting tonight. We will start with the Pledge of Allegiance. If the former Vice Mayor would please lead us in the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation. We will go ahead and get started with the consent agenda. We have several items on the consent agenda tonight. Item A is the town council minutes from November 12th, November 19th, and November 26th. We'll be approving those tonight. Item B is the recommended capital improvement program for fiscal years 2025-26 through 2029-2030. We'll be scheduling the public hearing on that for January 14th. Ordinance 2068 and an ordinance rezoning 1.59 acres of land at 402 Clay Street from R5 transitional residential to planned residential zoning. We'll introduce the ordinance and schedule the public hearing for January 14th. A contract for design build services at 414 North Main Street. We're going to authorize the town manager to sign that contract. A contract for Blacksburg Transit renovations additions and new fuel slash wash facility. The action there is approval. Resolution 12A24, a resolution referring to the planning commission and proposed amendment to section 5701 of the subdivision ordinance regarding the construction and design of sanitary sewer. Our action is approval. And finally, an agreement for affordable housing with community housing partners corporation, and our action is to authorize the town manager to sign the agreement. And if you've um listened to our recent meetings, you know that this is probably the point in the council meeting while I'll be reading a statement. So what we're going to be doing tonight is considering separately items A through F and then separately consider item G. Let me go ahead and read that statement. So with that statement, um, is there a motion on items uh A through F on the consent agenda? I move approval of consent agenda items A through F. Second. Uh we have a motion and second. Any discussion? Uh seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll? Oliver, aye. Ford. Aye. Mattingley? Aye. Zetfin.

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