Recognition of outgoing council members, town manager updates, broadband study approved, capital improvement plan approved, Pier lease discussion, and water quality fine reduced were all on the agenda.
RV HEARING will be December 18th 6PM – Attend in person or write holiver@colonialbeachva.gov
Amendments to the Agenda -
Added discussion to closed session
Resolution #40-24, Amends and Appropriates FY24-25 Budget, General Fund for SRO- this was to accept the last trench of the school resource officer Grant funds. I clarified that going forward this grant would be applied for by the school so the town will no longer have a part in the funding. 7-0
Council Member Liaison Reports
Safety - New Fire engine delivered, fire truck Santa Ride in town Dec 7th 3:30p (donations accepted), Dec 14 Breakfast with Santa CBVFD 8-11a all you can eat
Finance- personal property tax Due Dec 5th. Tues senator Warner visited CB and took a tour of the town.
Public Works- Christmas lights installed, New LED lights Jackson St, Town clean up underway.
Planning Commission- next meeting Thursday, December 12th 5:30p, BZA board of zoning appeals, meeting Dec 17, 5:30p
NGO- Events including Winter Festival 12/7 11-4, Parade Noon
Mayor - Christmas on Town Hill (PW Prep) Boat Fire Sunday Yacht Club (last fire was 25 years ago. (great work CBVFD)
Holiday Proclamation - Read by Mayor
Recognition for Years of Service, Heather Oliver Town Clerk (5 Years) Congratulations!
Recognition of Outgoing Council Members – Vicki Roberson, Caryn Self Sullivan and Krista Brown were presented with certificates and gift bags. The Mayor complimented them on their accomplishments and Mrs. Brown on her dedication to creating meeting summaries (blogs she started half way through her appointment). I agree with the mayor that a lot of work goes into providing detailed meeting summaries because I originally started my updates over 3 years ago.
Thank you for your service, ladies.
Public Comment
Rodeheaver - What’s the status on the north side of the boardwalk? who’s in charge of short-term rentals?
Nelson – thanks to the outgoing town council members.
PUBLIC HEARING Resolution #23-24, Adopts the 2024-2028 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), Natasha Tucker, Town Manager
CIP comments
Kelly - item should have support, questions about the shore line project, concerns over sidewalk study.
Nuckols - New town center not a priority and should be removed, sidewalks should be addressed in the CIP, water meter system, would like to see an audit on funds, Beach and rip rap North Beach prior funds wasted should re-look, resilience versus CIP, #42 North Beach Corps of Engineers still listed, #19-21 no dollar amounts, format issues.
I pointed out numerous items that should be either removed or addressed, including: $300k trash truck should be moved to enterprise fund, why is a right of way study on CIP, $2M Dwight Avenue extension, why $60k a year for the pier, new municipal center should be removed, water meter communication system needs to be prioritized (I pointed out that dead meter batteries could cost the town over $750K), parking garage should be removed, point drainage area $5.7M (where is this figure coming from). My additional comments were the CIP needs to be a process like the regular budget next year, we need support to back up figures and items need to be prioritized. Mr. Allison ask me if these items were addressed during the Planning Commission meetings. I said no the CIP was mostly done by town staff and a liaison from the PC. The rest of the town Council had very little to say, and no real questions. The final vote was 6–1 with me being the only no vote. In my opinion, we really dropped the ball on producing a quality CIP this year.
Broadband Study, Natasha Tucker, Town Manager - we had a presentation in a prior council meeting about studying broadband deficiencies in Colonial Beach and the town manager said she is going to pursue further studies. There are three phases $12k, $6k and $12k. My main concern here was that the town manager said she didn’t need approval of council to pursue the studies and I stated that all prior studies done by the town have basically been approved by council so what has changed. In the end, it was proposed that we vote on the study and we did. Vote 6-0 Caryn Self Sullivan abstained from the vote because her daughter is the one selling this project to the town. Once we get additional information, I believe this should be presented to the new council.
Pier Lease Renewals, Powell Duggan, Town Attorney - apparently the pier lease process in CB is convoluted and complicated. Currently it’s a $250 a year fee with a five-year lease for the majority of piers. Concerns were raised about Shoreline erosion and who’s responsible, people buying homes with piers and not being able to get loans due to the lease terms, what the leases actually cover, etc. etc. This will be addressed again in about a month so if anybody has feedback, please email the town attorney Powell Duggan at pduggan@colonialbeachva.gov
DEQ Fine Update, Natasha Tucker, Town Manager - a request to waive fees for the 2024 year was granted, but the town is responsible for the prior fine, which was $117K and will be paid over four years.
Closed Meeting
a. Pursuant to VA code § 2.2-3711 (A)(1) for the discussion on performance of specific public appointees of the Town Council.
b. There was also a discussion added to the closed session agenda regarding potential industry.
Friendly Reminder
It has been reported to me on 2 separate occasions that citizens have been confronted by council members after council meetings. I urge current and future council members to remain professional and avoid confronting citizens. We can discuss town topics but confronting citizens in a less than professional manner goes against our oath of office. I personally have been viciously attacked on social media and had family members targeted in public and online so I do understand how things can get personal. Please remember we all have to live in this small town together so let’s treat each other with respect.
Important Update - Our Director of Community Development has resigned. While Mr. Dooley was strict on enforcing zoning codes and some did not like that, I appreciate his efforts to enforce the rules evenly. Thanks for your service Mr. Dooley. I am advocating for the town to hire a full time zoning administrator vs part time and if they can act as Director of community development also that would be great. I personally told the town manager and assistant town manager I would like to see the Zoning office fully staffed this year. This office has only been open to the public 3 days a week for over 3 years causing numerous delays for businesses and citizens.
Please email or call with questions or comments:
540-604-4335
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