City of Virginia
Minutes of Regular Meeting
Monday September 11th , 2017
Mayor Brunk opened the regular meeting at 7:30pm. Roll was called Anderson, Bowman, Wulf, Behrends, and Cox answered present. The minutes of the August meeting were presented. Alderman Wulf made a motion that the meeting minutes be approved and Alderman Bowman seconded. Motion carried unanimously. The monthly treasurer’s report was in the council’s monthly packet, the council reviewed. The video gaming revenue for the month of August was $2867.75. The sales tax figures for the month of August were $10306.13. Treasurer Barrett stated that we are on target for the budget which was a deficit anyways. Treasurer Barrett also asks the council to monitor the water funds. EPA payment is due October 1st, may do a short term transfer.
There was no transfer of funds this month. Monthly bills were presented. Alderman Wulf made a motion and Alderman Bowman seconded that the bills be paid as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
Alderman Seat Vacancy:
Mayor Brunk proposed Mr. Jason French take the seat of Alderman for Ward 3 replacing Mr. Devlin. Alderman Cox makes a motion to approve Mr. French as Alderman. Alderman Behrends seconds. Motion carries unanimously. Mr. French was sworn in by Mayor Brunk and officially takes his seat.
Guests: Alex Snedeker, Ashley Reese, Katie Powers, Jason French, Jennifer French, Kim Merriman, Caroline Boris, Carolyn Defenbaugh, Leigh Morris
Public Comment:
Caroline Boris: Mrs. Boris voiced her questions in regards to the statement made that there will be budget cuts to all departments. Mrs. Boris stated that it seemed like the only budget that was being cut was the police budget. Council stated that the police budget will have overages this year. Mayor Brunk stated that the Water Dept is making their own repairs to the Water Plant and not paying a third party to come and do it. Public Works Director, Randy McClure, stated that they are running 2 shifts right now; a part time person could not do it all. Currently with everything done by Water Dept employees, this will take time. The water is not producing like it should, and they are needing to dig up 70 more meters.
Kim Merriman: Mrs. Merriman requested that the board allow parking spots on the square be blocked off on Sept. 30th for a fundraiser. A “cruise-in” will be held and the spots need to be blocked off for cars that come in to participate in that and need a place to display their cars. Mrs. Merriman asked if the blocked of spaces could be in front of EastSide, Inc or on the other side of the street near the courthouse. Mayor Brunk suggests the north side of the courthouse. Council approves, barricades will be set up for this event.
Public Works (McClure): Virginia and Ashland are both losing water in storage, currently replacing meters, water plan repairs are 95% complete. Experiencing issues with the wells, they are only producing about half of what is needed. Work has been performed on Gridley and the streets are almost done.
Police Chief : 202 service calls, 1 juvenile investigation relating to alcohol via snapchat, 8 traffic citations, 2 theft arrests (1 in payment agreement in lieu of arrest, 1 took quite an amount of time, felony was issued), 1 assault arrest
Chief Boris also stated that there are currently 4 Part Time police officers serving Virginia. There is a potential new officer that he feels will be a great addition to the force. His availability is what is needed and he has great recommendations. Potentially, one of the PT police officers could be resigning and he would like to hire officer he has in mind. Alderman Wulf addressed a coverage issue that will occur this weekend and asked the Chief if he would be able to cover. Chief Boris said that he cannot cover he has plans. Alderman Wulf also asked if he had issued any tickets in the school zone area. Chief Boris stated that there have been 8 tickets including 1 on Main St while children were not present. There were skid marks left by a semi-truck in the school zone. Chief Boris stated that he has done speed traps in that area and on the day that the skid marks occurred he was the crossing guard for that day. Further discussion of police personnel will be discussed in an executive session.
Fire Chief (Reynolds): called out to a wreck, trash fire, grain fire, and smoke from a house a Main St.
Board Reports
Zoning (Merriman): nothing to report at this time
Park (Cox): inmates painted the pool, 22 stumps removed, need concrete work; there was discussion of removing the high dive
Library: nothing to report at this time
Economic Development (Anderson): nothing to report at this time
Cemetery (Behrends): nothing to report at this time
Attorney’s Report: to be addressed in Executive Session
Aldermanic Reports
Cox: school parking lot looks good
Behrends: inquired about the housing project and when it was going to start. Mayor Brunk stated anticipated start was May 2018 but nothing has been set in stone
Wulf: stated there are missing parking signs and wanted to know if there will be any curb work started, concerned about some areas of town, Public Works Director stated that he will add it to his list of things to fix.
Bowman: received report of a city employee purchasing
Anderson: received a report that whoever has been delivering the Community Newspaper has been throwing them all over peoples yards, not even close to the porch. Wanted to know how is delivering them?
French: nothing to report at this time
Clerks Report: nothing to report at this time
Mayor’s Report: Mayor Brunk attended a meeting in regards to a new ambulance service that has been proposed for all parts of Cass County, it is affordable for all communities. The proposed location is to be at BallPark Motors which will include a sleeping quarters and 2 vehicle parking garage. Mayor stated in order for this to go through, it will need to be passed by all communities in the county. It will create job opportunities and it is at a very reasonable cost per community. Alderman Wulf stated that currently we have a BLS (Basic Life Support) ambulance service which cannot do IVs or anything more invasive. This new ambulance service is an ALS (Advanced Life Support) and will run 24 hours, 365 days a year. People will be there all the time. Mason County Hospital will do the certifications and training’s. There are funds available now to start this service and going forward the funds will depend on how many calls they receive for service.
Mayor Brunk also addressed burning concerns. It is permitted to burn cardboard, leaves, and limbs. Hours for burning begin at daylight and are to be ceased by 4pm. Council will work on a few new ordinances with the attorney’s help.
Mayor Brunk also mentioned there was a liquor license issued to one of the business’ in town. There were new owners and they thought it was already included in the fees they already paid but it was not. Alderman Anderson asked why this wasn’t proposed to the council? Mayor Brunk stated there was a time crunch with issuing it and the new owners genuinely were under the impression it had been taken care of when they completed everything else that was necessary.
Unfinished Business:
No unfinished business at this time.
New Business:
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Discussion of employee medical benefits/dental and vision
Alex Snedeker: Mr. Snedeker passed out a dental and vision quote to the council for their review. Alderman Behrends requested he attend the meeting as he had some city employees express they would like to explore the options of dental and vision insurance again. Mr. Snedeker expressed concerns with adding these plans since they city is already fully funding the employees HAS accounts. Mr. Snedeker stated that the dental and vision plans available are pretty restrictive, there are max coverages per year for both dental and vision. It was his recommendation to the council to not pursue purchasing the policy but to work out an agreement for the dental and vision through the HSA. Alderman Wulf stated that it would be best to meet with employees and see what they want before making a decision. Alderman French asked Mr. Snedeker to explain how the HSA works. Mr. Snedeker stated that it is an individually owned account and the employer deposits money into the account every year. The funds roll over year after year and they can be used for approved items by the IRS as far as health expenses. Further discussion of this will be addressed in Executive Session.
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Discussion of Ambulance Service
Mayor Brunk attended a meeting in regards to a new ambulance service that has been proposed for all parts of Cass County, it is affordable for all communities. The proposed location is to be at BallPark Motors which will include a sleeping quarters and 2 vehicle parking garage. Mayor stated in order for this to go through, it will need to be passed by all communities in the county. It will create job opportunities and it is at a very reasonable cost per community. Alderman Wulf stated that currently we have a BLS (Basic Life Support) ambulance service which cannot do IVs or anything more invasive. This new ambulance service is an ALS (Advanced Life Support) and will run 24 hours, 365 days a year. People will be there all the time. Mason County Hospital will do the certifications and trainings. There are funds available now to start this service and going forward the funds will depend on how many calls they receive for service. All members of council are in favor of this. Mayor Brunk will report back to the necessary people that the city is in supportive.
At, 8:26pm, Alderman Behrends made a motion to adjourn into Executive Session. Alderman Cox seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
Council resumed back in open session at 9:00pm.
Leigh Morris stated that burning ordinance actually does not have a start time. Council discussed implementing a 7am start time; attorney will work on amending the ordinance.
With nothing further to discuss at this time in open session a motion was made by Alderman Cox to adjourn at 9:03pm and seconded by Alderman Anderson. Motion carried unanimously.
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Reg Brunk, Mayor Ashley Cox, City Clerk