OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Regular Meeting - July 14, 2026

Town Council — Tuesday, July 14, 2026
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council
DateTuesday, July 14, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 11:34

Transcript — Verbatim
0:32

Will the council come to order?

0:39

And will the clerk please call the roll?

0:42

Anderson, present.

0:44

Campbell?

0:45

Present.

0:46

Colliver?

0:47

Here.

0:48

Or Goodhart?

0:50

Here.

0:50

Cass off is out at Sutfin?

0:52

Here.

0:56

And we have a quorum.

0:57

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

1:03

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

1:08

And to the Republic for which it stands.

1:11

One nation.

1:12

Under God.

1:13

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

1:18

We will start off tonight's meeting with the consent agenda.

1:21

We have three items on tonight's consent agenda.

1:23

The first is the town council minutes for June 23rd and July 7th.

1:28

The second item is resolution 7A26, a resolution setting the regular meeting dates for Blacksburg Town Council.

1:34

And the third item is resolution 7B 26, a resolution transferring 535,000 between stormwater projects.

1:53

I move approval of the consent agenda.

1:55

Second.

2:02

Aye.

2:03

Oliver.

2:03

Aye.

2:04

Ford.

2:04

Aye.

2:05

Good hard.

2:06

Aye.

2:08

Anderson.

2:08

Aye.

2:10

The motion passes.

2:11

We'll move on to public hearings.

2:12

And we only have one public hearing tonight, and that is for ordinance twenty-one fifteen, an ordinance or authorizing the town manager to execute a master lease agreement between the town of Blacksburg and 414 LLC for property located at 414 North Main Street.

2:28

We'll begin tonight with a staff presentation.

2:30

And Matt Hanrody will have the staff report.

2:33

Good evening, Council.

2:34

As it says on the screen, ordinance 2115 enables the town manager to sign a master lease with downtown Blacksburg Incorporated for our retail incubator.

2:43

We've been working on this project since before the pandemic.

2:46

So excited that it's coming to fruition.

3:04

So we're really excited about that.

3:06

And that is pretty much it, and we'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

3:10

Any questions for Matt?

3:12

Thank you very much.

3:14

Thank you.

3:14

We will go ahead and open up public comment.

3:17

Any members of the public tonight wishing to speak on ordinance 2115?

3:21

Now is your time.

3:22

Please come forward, state your name and address, and limit your speaking time to three minutes.

3:30

Seeing none, we will go ahead and close public comments.

3:33

What is council's pleasure on ordinance 2115?

3:36

I move approval of ordinance twenty-one fifteen.

3:40

Any discussion?

3:42

We have a motion and a second.

3:43

Will the clerk please call the roll?

3:45

Oliver?

3:46

Aye.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████33%
Community Engagement███████████████████████23%
Public Engagement███████████████████████23%
Arts And Culture███████████████15%
Economic Development██████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Regular Meeting - July 14, 2026

This regular meeting of the Blacksburg Town Council began at 6:30 p.m. and adjourned at 6:41 p.m. The council unanimously approved the consent agenda and a public hearing ordinance, heard two citizen comments, and made announcements regarding community events.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from June 23, 2026 and July 7, 2026.
  • Approved Resolution 7-A-26 setting regular meeting dates for Town Council.
  • Approved Resolution 7-B-26 transferring $535,000 between stormwater projects.
  • All items passed on a single motion with a unanimous roll call vote (6 ayes, 0 nays).

Public Hearing: Ordinance 2115 – Retail Incubator Master Lease

  • Deputy Town Manager Matt Hanratty presented the ordinance authorizing the Town Manager to execute a master lease with 414 LLC for the property at 414 North Main Street. The retail incubator project has been in development since before the pandemic and is planned for a Fall 2026 opening.
  • No public comment was offered.
  • Council unanimously approved Ordinance 2115 (6 ayes, 0 nays).

Citizen Comments

  • Roxann Hartman (600 Cambridge Road) expressed concerns about students leaving trash and debris in her neighborhood. Mayor Sutphin stated that a staff member would follow up with her.
  • Leslie Harwood (1021 Montgomery Street) requested that Town Council work sessions and board/committee meetings be recorded and/or livestreamed to improve transparency. She noted that in 2026, the town held approximately 60 public meetings, work sessions, board meetings, and engagement events, but only 19 (less than one-third) were recorded or made available online. She contrasted this with neighboring localities (Christiansburg and Montgomery County) that already livestream or record many meetings. Mayor Sutphin responded that transparency and accessibility are topics that can be discussed at a future meeting.

Council Announcements

  • Vice Mayor Anderson reminded about the Summer Arts Festival, including a theater production "The Novelist" on July 18-19, a community mural exhibit, and Music on Henderson.
  • Councilmember Campbell encouraged residents to support local restaurants during Restaurant Week (the week of July 14).
  • Councilmember Ford congratulated Capone's Jewelry on its 40th anniversary.
  • The Council announced that the July 21 work session and July 28 regular meeting are canceled. The next work session will be August 4 at 11:00 a.m. at the Blacksburg Motor Company, and the next regular meeting will be August 11 at 6:30 p.m.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved unanimously.
  • Ordinance 2115 (Retail Incubator Master Lease) approved unanimously.
  • Town staff will follow up with a resident regarding neighborhood trash issues.
  • Council acknowledged the request for increased meeting transparency and indicated future discussion.

Meeting Transcript

Will the council come to order? And will the clerk please call the roll? Anderson, present. Campbell? Present. Colliver? Here. Or Goodhart? Here. Cass off is out at Sutfin? Here. And we have a quorum. 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 God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. We will start off tonight's meeting with the consent agenda. We have three items on tonight's consent agenda. The first is the town council minutes for June 23rd and July 7th. The second item is resolution 7A26, a resolution setting the regular meeting dates for Blacksburg Town Council. And the third item is resolution 7B 26, a resolution transferring 535,000 between stormwater projects. I move approval of the consent agenda. Second. Aye. Oliver. Aye. Ford. Aye. Good hard. Aye. Anderson. Aye. The motion passes. We'll move on to public hearings. And we only have one public hearing tonight, and that is for ordinance twenty-one fifteen, an ordinance or authorizing the town manager to execute a master lease agreement between the town of Blacksburg and 414 LLC for property located at 414 North Main Street. We'll begin tonight with a staff presentation. And Matt Hanrody will have the staff report. Good evening, Council. As it says on the screen, ordinance 2115 enables the town manager to sign a master lease with downtown Blacksburg Incorporated for our retail incubator. We've been working on this project since before the pandemic. So excited that it's coming to fruition. So we're really excited about that. And that is pretty much it, and we'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Any questions for Matt? Thank you very much. Thank you. We will go ahead and open up public comment. Any members of the public tonight wishing to speak on ordinance 2115?

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