Town Manager Updates (Finance, Sewer, Public Safety, Grants, etc.), Broad Band Presentation, Joint Meeting Updates, Community Center - New Management and Main Street Designation.
Council Member Reports
Public Works - Stated EPA has requested US towns to provide water quality updates.
Board of Zoning Appeals – Approved a shipping container for an apartment on 8th Street in someone’s back yard. There meeting was only advertised in the Freelance Star so myself and many others had no idea it was being held. Vote 5-0 to approve. * BZA also approved a variance for fence height to block the damage to the applicant’s property that their neighbor’s camper had caused. The neighbor’s camper reportedly had someone living in it and the exhaust fumes killed 4 of their shrubs.
Housing Authority - meeting canceled for November.
School – Held ribbon-cutting ceremony for the concession stand, potential budget increases for next year, I teach program to be voted on next meeting, new cell phone policy.
Public safety – National Night Out will be Tuesday Oct 29th, trunk or treat at the school on the 26th and the fall festival will be the same day.
Finance – Personal property tax bills have been mailed.
Mayor – Buzz and CB Brewing had a ribbon-cutting, she took a tour of Breezeline, and there were two accidents during bike fest.
Town Manager Update
Financial quarterly report – we were presented with quarter one numbers.
Overtime number showing a shortage, primarily due to water, sewer, and Police.
I asked if the final FY 25 budget was online and was told no, but it will be added.
Public safety quarterly report– We were given a presentation with numbers for Police, Fire and Rescue. Vandalism and traffic stops were high, parking tickets were highest in June/July, fire department had 132 calls. Westmoreland County Rescue had 238 calls with an average 7.8 minutes response time.
Sewer Plant Update – Plant is performing well, but we still have systems communication issues.
I asked if we still had 24/7 coverage and was told yes and that we could not reduce that until communications issues are resolved. We were originally told 24/7 would end after a couple months.
WQIF - Regarding the wastewater quality fine we received from the EQ, the town manager has contacted an attorney, and they are sending a letter to try to get the fine reduced.
ADA violation – The town manager is finalizing her response to the sidewalk safety violations i.e. her plan to resolve.
New Deputy of Public Works - Bobby Stall comes to us from La Plata, Maryland with 30 years’ experience and numerous accomplishments in relation to wastewater treatment plants.
Grants Update - We were shown a spreadsheet of all grants being tracked and current status.
Eleanor Park Grant $160K pads for benches will estimate 30 to 45 days. Azalea Park $225K.
This is the last year for the school resource officer Grant, which means the town will have to fully fund next year.
Dwight Avenue extension Grant - Has 3 phases #1 - $327k, #2 - $237k and the final phase will be $1.5M due in 2031.
There’s about $150 K left of the ARPA funds to spend, and there’s also a $5.7 million DEQ grant we need to budget for.
I asked about the North Beach DCR grant a citizen emailed about and was told that the town has hired a contractor to pursue that grant which is due in November. It could be up to $3.2M but the Mayor cautioned that it may be less. I asked for a boardwalk status and was told it was being worked on and there will be a home owner meeting on 10/21. This will be announced so more than 2 council members can attend.
Halloween Proclamation - Read by the mayor.
Broadband Enhancement & Advocacy, The Broad Band Council, Sarah Sullivan - Councilwoman Self Sullivan’s daughter is a member of the Broadband Council and she did a presentation on a study her Council did on the town’s broadband. The Mayor stated that she contacted Ms. Sullivan and collaborated with her on the initial study. The initial study was free to the town, but we were told additional studies would be needed possibly costing over $30k. The initial study found that Colonial Beach’s download speeds were 100+ mbps which is OK but our upload speeds of less than 10mbps is not up to FCC standards. Additional testing could potentially open the town up for grant funding to increase the quality.
Colonial Beach Public Schools, Dr. Addo, Superintendent – Capital improvements mentioned were: designed phase of the front entrance of the school, potentially adding windows to the high school to increase brightness, HS generator install beginning soon. The majority of the money funding these items is grants and CIP budget. Current enrollment is 571 students.
Public Comment
Citizen - made a joke about the town being safer on Wednesdays due to everybody being at the council meeting, commented on the Internet, board of zoning appeals meeting was a surprise to him, when is the town going to start the trash enterprise fund, need better info on the ARPA funds.
Citizen - encourage people to get out and vote and watch CB games.
Citizen - downtown Colonial Beach application complete for Main Street and $60k grant received to do a study.
Write-in - mentioned Beach erosion and some suggestions for the town to address, including trees, etc.
Write-in - mentioned the CIP not being passed and the mayor possibly not wanting to vote on a $10M Town Center, poor planning, need to focus on water treatment plant and sidewalks. Mayor and Town Manager intentionally delaying items by not putting them on the agenda. Council should modify the CIP budget, joint meeting was ineffective.
Write-in - Wants the FAR increased because it is hampering the ability to build what customers want. Stated FAR is not used in other communities.
Town Council & Planning Commission Joint Work Session Report -
Parking ordinance suggestions
More flexible parking
Uniform standards
Lot owners could offer overflow parking (not currently allowed)
High density development
R4 currently does not exist. Hight density zone is not like a subdivision where a builder pays for all the utilities.
Lots not under one owner
Need to look at the infrastructure
How do we incentivize?
Suggest to look at overall in conjunction with the Comp plan.
FAR Floor Area Ratio –
Prior PC voted not to increase
What Market wants vs big box multifamily.
Builders have concerns over what should count against the FAR, example garages.
Suggested a meeting with the builders and the planning commission
CIP Capital Improvement Plan
planning commission wanted clarity and agreed to clean it up.
It’s clear that it is aspirational
Suggested adding narrative to the CIP like Fredericksburg does for example
In the end, it was decided to have staff do the cleanup and put on the next council agenda vs going back to the planning commission.
Council editing and voting on the CIP is what myself and others have been suggesting all along which could have prevented the months long delay. The good news for the candidates is they will not have to vote on this prior to the election.
PUBLIC HEARING Resolution #35-24, Amends and Appropriates Fiscal Year 2024-25 Budget, Sewer Fund to Carryover funds from prior year, CFO/ Director of Finance - This was to move $331K of unspent water/sewer funds from FY 24 budget to the current FY 25 budget. At our last meeting I asked for a report to show the status of the $700k that was previously allocated and a list of outstanding projects. The list was not provided but I previously voted to approve this funding so I voted in favor. Final vote 7–0
PUBLIC HEARING Resolution #36-24, Authorization to enter into lease agreement with the Colonial Beach Community Center, a nonstock corporation, Town Attorney - This was to approve a 5 year, $10 a year lease of the town owned community center to be turned over to a new nonprofit started by the Colonial Beach Community Foundation. There was a lot of information on this in the agenda packet, so I will let people look at this for themselves, but essentially council had no desire to offer this to any other nonprofit groups.
4 citizens spoke in favor of the turnover and 5 citizens wrote in support. I made a motion to add additional reporting requirements such as listing who rents what they pay and who gets to use it for free and council would not second my motion. The Community Foundation president Michelle Inderrieden yelled out “Do you make other nonprofits do this?” I’m not sure why foundation members got so defensive over me asking for more transparency on how a piece of property owned by the town citizens valued at over $500k gets utilized. I don’t think any other NGO in town manages town owned properties. I had no real objection to this group operating the community center because I think they will do good work and there’s a 60-day notice cancellation clause but I do have concerns over people getting upset about me asking for transparency. Surely, they have nothing to hide. Final vote 7–0.
Resolution #37-24, Resolution to Support Main Street Designation for Colonial Beach – This was to support the pursuit of Main Street designation. Vote 7-0
Closed Meeting - Pursuant to Virginia Code § 2.2-3711 (A)(8) for consultation with legal counsel regarding specific matters requiring legal advice by counsel, including analysis of agreements.
Please email or call with questions or comments:
540-604-4335
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