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Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Meeting June 10, 2025: Consent Agenda and Citizen Comments

Town Council — Tuesday, June 10, 2025
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council
DateTuesday, June 10, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 15:52

Transcript — Verbatim
0:36

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

0:40

Anderson, present.

0:42

Oliver here.

0:43

Ford?

0:43

Here.

0:44

Eggersmith?

0:45

Here.

0:45

Mattingley?

0:46

Here.

0:46

Sutfin?

0:47

Here.

0:47

Watson.

0:48

Present.

0:49

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

0:54

Pledge of allegiance to the flag.

0:59

And to the Republic.

1:00

For which it stands.

1:02

One nation.

1:03

Under God.

1:04

Indivisible.

1:06

Liberty.

1:07

Justice for all.

1:11

Chief Brewster, I wonder if you would meet me at the microphone there.

1:26

We want your speech to be spontaneous.

1:33

Chief Brewster.

1:35

For over 25 years, your talents and efforts have helped our success.

1:40

Together, we take pride in your exceptional performance and your commitment to excellence.

1:46

Your leadership has built our future with creativity and vision.

1:50

Congratulations on your retirement from all the members of Blacksburg Town Council.

1:55

Thank you.

2:04

Wow.

2:06

Um Mark and I was talking we were talking yesterday.

2:12

Um couple weeks ago, my wife and I, we were sitting in the parking lot at Food Line on North Maine, and uh I thought I was being incognito because we order online from the Chinese kitchen all the time.

2:24

So I'm in plain clothes.

2:25

And I walk in and the gentleman is always working the counter, he's like, Officer Brewster!

2:29

I was like, Oh gosh, but uh no, we were sitting there in uh, you know, like we were talking yesterday.

2:36

I remember when Patrick Henry Drive didn't even connect.

2:40

It it stopped right there when it came down to Seneca and South Main Street.

2:46

As you went up South Main, you had the Hokie Honda, the state farm building in South Main even went straight into Hightop.

2:53

You had to circle around to get to get on to the bypass.

2:57

And um over thirty years uh with the town count and fire department time, driving for BT, working at the police department.

3:08

I've seen a lot of things.

3:14

So I just want to say thank you all.

3:18

Uh to the council, to the community itself.

3:23

Um, and for you all to give me a chance.

3:27

Um I stand just to say that my spot.

3:45

Thank you all.

3:47

Didn't warn you on purpose.

3:50

We'll talk later.

3:57

We will move along to the consent agenda at this time.

4:01

Uh and that begins with ordinance twenty seventy-nine, rezoning s uh point six five acres of land at one oh three Jefferson Street and East Roanoke Street from R5 Transitional to Planned Residential District Zoning.

4:16

We're going to introduce that tonight.

4:18

The public hearing will be July 8th.

4:21

Next item is ordinance 2080, an ordinance to amend ordinance 2062, which rezoned 2.8 acres of land at 801 North Main Street in the 800 block of Cabreach Street, and the 100 block of Winston Avenue and the 900 block of Progress Street from General Commercial and R5 Transitional Residential District to planning residential district zoning to rezone an additional parcel at 825 North Main.

4:50

We will also have a public hearing on July 8 for that project.

5:00

Ordinance 2081, vacating about 2,981 square feet of town-owned alley right-of-way between the 800 block of North Main Street, the 100 block of Winston Avenue, and the 900 block of Progress Street Northwest.

5:12

We will have a public hearing on July 8th.

5:16

Ordinance 2089 to amend the fiscal year 2024-25 operating budget to accept and appropriate 2,397,387 in V.

5:29

Transportation Revenue Sharing Funds to the VDOT Revenue Sharing Fund.

5:34

We're going to introduce the ordinance this evening, but schedule the public hearing for June 24th, which is a bit um more compacted schedule than we ordinarily would.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████19%
Zoning Ordinance███████████████████19%
Arts And Culture█████████████████17%
Economic Development██████████████14%
Public Safety███████████11%
Public Engagement███████████11%
Community Engagement█████████9%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Meeting Summary - June 10, 2025

The Blacksburg Town Council held its regular meeting on June 10, 2025, at the Blacksburg Municipal Building. All council members were present: Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith, Vice Mayor Michael Sutphin, and Councilmembers Susan Anderson, Lauren Colliver, Jerry Ford Jr., Susan Mattingly, and Liam Watson. The meeting included a retirement tribute to the police chief, a unanimous consent agenda, and one citizen comment.

Consent Calendar

Vice Mayor Sutphin moved to approve the consent agenda, Councilmember Anderson seconded, and the motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote with all seven council members voting yes and none voting no. The following items were approved or introduced with public hearings scheduled:

  • Ordinance 2079 - Rezoning approximately 0.655 acres at 103 Jefferson Street and East Roanoke Street from R-5 Transitional Residential to Planned Residential District zoning; public hearing scheduled for July 8, 2025.
  • Ordinance 2080 - Amending Ordinance 2062, which rezoned approximately 2.80 acres at 801 North Main Street and adjacent blocks, to rezone an additional parcel at 825 N. Main; public hearing scheduled for July 8, 2025.
  • Ordinance 2081 - Vacating approximately 2,981 square feet of town-owned alley right-of-way; public hearing scheduled for July 8, 2025.
  • Ordinance 2089 - Amending the FY 2024/2025 operating budget to accept and appropriate $2,397,387 in Virginia Department of Transportation Revenue Sharing Funds; public hearing scheduled for June 24, 2025.
  • Resolution 6-A-25 - Approving the allocation formula agreement for annual contributions to the New River Valley Emergency Communications Regional Authority; approved.
  • Resolution 6-B-25 - Approving a support agreement related to revenue bonds issued by the New River Valley Emergency Communications Regional Authority and the Town of Blacksburg's related payment obligations; approved.
  • Independence Day Fireworks Permit for 2025; approved.
  • Ordinance 2086 - Permitting an encroachment in town right-of-way at 411 Draper Road; public hearing scheduled for July 8, 2025.
  • Ordinance 2087 - Amending Town Code Section 12-309 to lower the speed limit on Prices Fork Road; public hearing scheduled for July 8, 2025.
  • Ordinance 2088 - Authorizing a lease of office space at 104 Draper Road; public hearing scheduled for July 8, 2025.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Samantha Livesay, the new Montgomery County Tourism Director, introduced herself and described the goals of her office. She stated that her primary objective is to focus on strategic planning and marketing the area. Vice Mayor Sutphin added that the tourism operation is a regional effort with Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Montgomery County, funded in part through the transient occupancy tax.

Council Announcements

  • Councilmember Anderson announced summer events including Friday Night Concerts, Thursday indoor concerts, classic movies at the Lyric, Summer Solstice, and the Blacksburg Market Square Jam.
  • Councilmember Mattingly noted that “Mingle at the Market” would take place at the Farmers Market.
  • Vice Mayor Sutphin recommended Pride Month events and highlighted Pride Week activities in Blacksburg.
  • Councilmember Colliver reminded citizens that early voting has begun and encouraged them to vote.
  • Councilmember Ford recognized the Public Arts Committee for recent electric box murals and noted a new call to artists for Draper Road work.

Key Outcomes

  • The Town Council unanimously approved the consent agenda.
  • Public hearings for most ordinances were scheduled for July 8, 2025; the VDOT Revenue Sharing funds hearing was scheduled for June 24, 2025.
  • Mayor Hager-Smith presented a plaque to Police Chief T. Brewster in recognition of his service, and Brewster thanked the council and community, reflecting on his years with the town and police department.
  • The meeting had no public hearings, unfinished business, or new business, and was adjourned at 6:45 p.m.

Meeting Transcript

Will council please come to order and will the clerk please call the roll? Anderson, present. Oliver here. Ford? Here. Eggersmith? Here. Mattingley? Here. Sutfin? Here. Watson. Present. Will the Vice Mayor please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? Pledge of allegiance to the flag. And to the Republic. For which it stands. One nation. Under God. Indivisible. Liberty. Justice for all. Chief Brewster, I wonder if you would meet me at the microphone there. We want your speech to be spontaneous. Chief Brewster. For over 25 years, your talents and efforts have helped our success. Together, we take pride in your exceptional performance and your commitment to excellence. Your leadership has built our future with creativity and vision. Congratulations on your retirement from all the members of Blacksburg Town Council. Thank you. Wow. Um Mark and I was talking we were talking yesterday. Um couple weeks ago, my wife and I, we were sitting in the parking lot at Food Line on North Maine, and uh I thought I was being incognito because we order online from the Chinese kitchen all the time. So I'm in plain clothes. And I walk in and the gentleman is always working the counter, he's like, Officer Brewster! I was like, Oh gosh, but uh no, we were sitting there in uh, you know, like we were talking yesterday. I remember when Patrick Henry Drive didn't even connect. It it stopped right there when it came down to Seneca and South Main Street. As you went up South Main, you had the Hokie Honda, the state farm building in South Main even went straight into Hightop. You had to circle around to get to get on to the bypass. And um over thirty years uh with the town count and fire department time, driving for BT, working at the police department. I've seen a lot of things. So I just want to say thank you all. Uh to the council, to the community itself. Um, and for you all to give me a chance. Um I stand just to say that my spot. Thank you all. Didn't warn you on purpose. We'll talk later. We will move along to the consent agenda at this time.

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