Greetings CB residents. Please see my blog for details on Wednesday’s work session. Budget, Capital Improvement Plan and Food Truck Courts along with several other items were discussed.
Joint Public Hearing with Planning Commission Ordinance # 724, Floodplain Overlay District for CB - This was a hearing to approve amendments and defintions to the flood plain district, which is standard government process to ensure we stay in compliance. I asked what is the impact on residents and was told the impact is minimal and I asked why we were not provided a copy of the map and was told It could be found on FEMAs website or at the Zoning Office. All members voted Aye.
Council Member Liaison Updates -Tom Moncure announced the rescue Squad was saved and CBVRS has committed to 85 hours/12 days a month to ensure a certain level of coverage. Caryn read an extensive of list NGO activities, Kenny mentioned that at the last Planning Commission meeting: Planned Urban Development PUD was discussed and short term rentals were discussed (often referred to as AirBnBs).
My Comments on short term rentals: Many of the residents I have talked to have serious concerns about AirBnBs and would like to see them addressed. I personally have 2 behind my house with the potential for even more. The zoning administrator even admitted that Airbnb’s are not a permitted use in the town of Colonial Beach, yet they’re everywhere! More to come on this topic.
Presentations
E-Scooters, BIRD - A thorough presentation was given on the scooters which are popular in larger Cities. This is where you can rent a scooter to go from one place to another and then drop it off. I’m not sure how much community support there is for E-Scooters but I asked if the town could do a pilot program versus having to jump in both feet first, I also said the the marinas may benefit from such a program since boaters don’t often have a way to get to local businesses. The police chief mentioned that his experience with E-scooters was at ODU and there were many issues.
ESHPF Hurricane Grant Selective Survey DHR - This is a Grant to study the impacts of disasters on local historic buildings in preparation for future disasters. There’s no direct cost to the town so this seems to be a positive for CB.
Food Truck Update, Parks and Recreation - Council was presented with three new options for food trucks “courts”. Option A was 5 spaces at the bottom of town Hill cost of $46k-$57k option B was 8 spaces at the top of town Hill for $20k and option C was 6 spaces on one side at the bottom of Town hill near the boardwalk for a cost of $49k-$67k. I suggested we needed an option D, none of the above. Options A and C were cost prohibitive so the only real option was B. Caryn Self-Sullivan made a motion to approve option B. I suggested we were wasting taxpayer money by spending $20k on a temporary solution. I also suggested that we wait and come up with a real plan that encompasses all food truck policies in town. As I’ve mentioned before I have concerns about paying the electricity for vendors. In my estimation this could be costing the town thousands of dollars. The motion passed 4 to 3. I voted No. Kenny and Robin also voted no but they still want a food truck court (the most expensive option). I asked where is this money coming from and we were told the capital improvement budget so they had to vote to use capital improvement funds.
Additional comment: I want to personally thank town staff for including employee labor in the cost estimates, this is a fiscally responsible move. As I pointed out in the meeting town employees do not work for FREE 😊.
Budget hearing - there was a public hearing for citizens to give their input on the Fiscal Year 2023 budget for Town and Schools. We were given yet another overview of the budget and the only option presented was to spend more than we have available in tax revenues. May 18th is the date Council will vote on the budget and tax increase. I have pledged to not vote to raise your taxes but I may be all alone on that vote.
Public hearing and capital improvement plan CIP- FY 2022-2027- this plan is were the planning commission and town council set their capital spending priorities. I suggested that sidewalks should be somewhere in this plan since many residents are concerned about sidewalk condition. I personally would like to see even more emphasis on infrastructure. This will be voted on May 18 as well.
Patriotic Boardwalk Lighting Donation & Hometown Hero Banner Program - this is a program the Mayor has been working on to get patriotic signs/lighting added to the boardwalk for the summer. There is no significant cost to the town but Public Works assistance will be required.
Love Signs presentation - nonprofits in town have a goal of adding more love signs to Colonial Beach to break Virginia‘s record. Council gave the green light and since no significant cost to the town I voted Aye with the rest of Council
Public Works Update Director of Public Works/Deputy Town Manager - Pier completion set for Friday (goal met), no bids came in for the development of the storm water management plan (re-advertised). The fence in Castlewood Park was completed and pylons were added along the road at the South Beach to help with safety issues and traffic flow.
Closed Meeting - HR items discussed.
Please email or call with questions or comments:
dwilliams@colonialbeachva.net
540-604-4335
Comentarios