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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977-05-25May 25, 1977 (Adjourned from May 18, 1977) An adjourned meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County, Virginia, was held on May 25, 1977, at 7:30 P. M. in the Albemarle County C~urthouse, Charlottesville, Virginia; said meeting being adjourned from May 18, 1977. Present: Messrs. Lindsay G. Dottier, Jr., ~erald E. Fisher, J. T. Henley, Jr., and W. S. Roudabush. Absent: Mrs. 0pal D. David and Dr. F. Anthony Iachetta. Officers present: Finance. Guy B. Agnor, Jr., County Executive and Ray B. Jones, Director of Agenda Item No. 1. Mr. Fisher. The meeting was called to order at 7:32 P. M. by the Chairman, Agenda Item No. 2. Public Hearing: Proposed use of revenue sharing funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1978. (Notice of this public hearing was advertised in The Daily Progress on May 14, 1977, and in the Charlottesville-Albemarle Tribune on May 12, 1977.) Mr. Agnor said in the earlier years, general revenue sharing funds received by Albemarle County were allocated on a planned use basis. A public hearing was held and the governing body placed items on a priority list. The actual expenditure and appro- priation of monies did not occur until a later date, sometimes months or years later when projects started. A new law has changed that procedure. Effective immediately, two public hearings are required. The first public hearing being held tonight is similar to that public hearing held in the past. A second public hearing will be required at which time a revenue sharing budget will be presented for adoption. It will cover one year; July 1, 1977 to June 30, 1978. The county will now be required by Federal law to expend funds within a given period of time. For the next fiscal year, the County will be required to appropriate close to 1.6 million dollars. The new revenue sharing law also allows the County to use these funds for a five-year capital program. The county is presently in the process of amending the Comprehensive Plan and with adoption of that amended plan there will be a five-year capital budget to fund. Mr. Ray Jones then presented the following list of items for Board consideration: High Priority Radios-Volunteer Fire Companies Administrative and Court Buildings Low Income Housing (AHIP) Ivy Landfill Road Improvements Ivy Landfill Scales Solid Waste Collection System Amount 12,600 3,000,000 66,100 345,100 15,000 51,600 Medium Priority County Parks-Planned Recreation Facilities Woodbrook School Neighborhood Park 60,000 Low Priority County Pa~ks: Stone Robinson School Neighborhood Park Jack Jouett School Neighborhood Park 60,000 60,200 Total 83,670,600 Mr. Jones also noted the following items which had been a part of revenue sharing public hearings in prior years but are now recommended for the funding from other sources. No. 1~ Mint Springs-Comfort Station Renovation $ 5,000 No. 2. Chris Greene-Comfort Station Replacement 15,000 No. 3. Chris Greene-Road Improvements 10,000 No. 4. Electrical System-Courthouse 10,000 No. 5. Library-Architects Fees 50,000 No. 6. Fire Station and Equipment 350,000 No. 7. Feasibility Study-Data Processing 25,000 No. 8. Land Acquisition-Chris Greene 30,000 No. 9. Juvenile Court-Basement Renovation 50,000 Mr. Fisher asked if the three improvements recommended under recreational facilities are major park improvements on existing land. Mr. Jones said there is no acquisition of property required. They are improvements on school sites. Mr. Agnor said this is a part of a capital program for the parks recommended by the Parks Committee. The report has not been put in final form and this request is only a part of that total program. Mr. Henley said he would rather see this as a low priority item since he is not sure he wanted to approve recreational programs at this time. Mr. Fisher asked if the recommendation for a solid waste collection system was in- cluded on the premise that there would be a recommendation for same from the committee. Mr. Dottier said the committee plans~to come to the Board of Supervisors with a report in June. Their recommendation will probably require more funding than is shown here. Mr. Dottier asked how much money the County must spend in order to meet federal guide- lines. Mr. Agnor said $1,591,342 must be either spent or appropriated. At 8:00 P. M. the public hearing was opened. First to speak was Joyce Bernstein. Ms. Bernstein requested that the Board consider the use of revenue sharing funds for winter- ization of the water system at Mint Springs and Chris Greene Parks. She said there are people in the parks year around and the permanent.~staff at the parks does not have any water after the system ms cut off for the winter. May 25, 1977 (Adjourned from May 18, 1977) Mr. Michael Gleason was present on behalf of the Board of Directors of Town Hall Levy Opera House. Also present were Miss Ella Nash and Mr. James Murray, Jr. Mr. Gleason re- quested an appropriation of $10,000 from the Board for renovations. He said this is the oldest building in the downtown Court Square vicinity. It has unique architecture. Ail buildings of that period have been destroyed. In 1974, this foundation was established to preserve the building. The Board of Directors has received $20,000 in private contributions and have contributed $15,000 themselves. They now face an important date because of the need to pay off the debt on the building by June 1, 1977. Mr. Fisher asked if the purpose of this funding was to help the Board of Directors acquire full title to the building. Mr. Gleason said yes. Next to speak was Ms. Grace Marvin from Monticello Areas Community Action Agency who made the following request: May 25, 1977 TO: FROM: RE: Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Kenneth Ackerman, Executive Director Request for Revenue Sharing Funds This material is being submitted as a request for Revenue Sharing funds to be used to support 1977 summer food and recreation activities for Albemarle County youth primarily between the ages of 8 and 13 who are members of low-income families. Similar programs have been sponsored by the Monticello Area Community Action Agency (MACAA) for several years and have relied on~a variety of resources. These include MACAA funds for program administration, local funds and volunteer hours for site supervisors, CETA funds for site aides, USDA funds for food costs, and CSA/CETA funds for recreation activities. The pmogram averaged a daily attend- ance of 100 childre~ for the last two years and served two primary purposes: 1. Provided daily nutritious meals and snacks to children residing in areas where one-third or more of the children qualify for free or reduced-price meals during school terms, and 2. Provided supervised, on-going recreation activities in areas where no other activities are available. The strong response during past summers has encouraged expansion of the program. MACAA has hired a full-time coordinator to develop new sites within eligible communities and to administer the program. There currently has been an interest within 5-6 Albemarle communities to establish 6-7 sites this summer. This in- dicates a possible expansion of the program by 100-150 percent. We are still in the process of finalizing the individual sites and are therefore submitting this request contingent upon the actual establishment of each site. Personnel costs for seven (7) site supervisors are necessary for the commr~nities of Cismont, Crozet (2 sites), Esmont, Greenwood, North Garden, and Seottsville. In addition, included in our request are funds for transportation to the various sites. This aspect of the program would be subcontracted with JAUNT and would ensure maximum participation by Albemarle youth. The total request is broken down as follows based on 44 days of program operation (June 20th-August 19th): Gross Wages (7 positions @ $2.50/hr for 264 hfs) Fringe Benefits Travel ($100/week X 4 sites) TOTAL 4,620.00 400.00 8,600.00 $ 8,62Q.00 A projected participation of 250 children per day establishes the above figure as being less than 80 cents per child per day. The value of services being provided will be substantially enhanced by provision of site supervisors and transportation. In closing, it is important to clarify the nature of thisrequest to avoid its elimination as a result of Albemarle's recent contribution to MACAA. Those funds were requested to support overall program administratlon and community programs (specifically Outreach activities). As stated in that request, the budget for those activities has been frozen since 1970 as a result of a lack of additional funds at the national level and a mandate for individual agencies to seek local funding. Thus, the $11,021 from Albemarle was requested to enable MACA~ to meet increased operating costs which have been forced upon the Agency over the past seven years. Any expansion of services would require additional resources. The summer food and recreation activities are clearly "expanded" activities in · he sense that funds for administration and community programs never allowed for the hiring of site supervisors or the provision of transportation. In effect, MACAA is merely assisting individual Albemarle communities in developing organized summer activities. 'This will only be possible through the combination of a variety of resources. Thus, it is hoped that this request for Revenue Sharing funds is given serious considemation. Its approval will guarantee a comprehensive, well- structured su~er~ program throughoutthe county. Mr. Roudabush said he had no idea the County would be asked for additional funding after they had badgered $11,021 for MACAA in the budget just approved for 1977-78. This program Was included in the list of programs presented with MACAA's budget and he thought this program was included in that budget request; Mr. Fisher said it was his understanding that the $11,021 was the total amount of money being requested from MACAA. He did not appreciate this second ~equest. May 25, 1977 (Adjourned from May 18, 1977) Mr. Henley said he would hate to see the program stopped, but did not agree to this total request at this time. Mr. Dorrier spoke in favor of this request as opposed to spending money on County parks. Present in support of the recommendation for $66,100 for AHIP was Mr. Tom Hill. At 8:85 P. M. the public hearing was closed. The Board prcceeded by setting the high priority items as follows: No. 1. No. 2. No. No. 4. No. 5. No. 6. No. 7. 'Radios for Volunteer Fire Companies $ 12,600 Administrative and Court Buildings 1,000,600 Low Income Housing (AHIP) 66,100 Ivy Landfill Road Improvements 345,100 Ivy Landfill Scales 15,000 Solid Waste Collection System. Mr. Fisher felt the request for this category was premature. Mr. Dorrier said the proposal that the committee will be making estimates the first year.'s operating costs at $180,000. If the committee is to be serious about presenting a proposal to the County, he could not see deleting this item at this time. Mr. Henley said even if the Board received the information immediately he did not think the County would be able to go into the system that quick. Mr. Roudabush felt the requested amount should be left in until the committee's report is received. Mr. Fisher then asked for a consensus of the Board. Mr. Dorrier and Mr. Roudabush both wanted to see the $51,600 remain in the high priority items. Mr. Henley did not think he could support it at this time. The $Sl,600 remained in the priority list for the purposes of the next public hearing on a revenue sharing, funds~ Request from Community Action Agency for funds for the summer food prqgram. Mr. Fisher said there were several~possibilities concerning this request: 1) The Board could take a position that they had approved the total request from Community Action and there was no reason for them to make a supple- mental appropriation; 2) The Board could say they felt this program was already included in the'funds requested by Community Action; 3) The Board could approve the $8,600 as requested or could go back to a funding level more consistent with last year's program. Mr. Fisher said he felt it was extremely unfortunate that Mr. Ackerman was not present tonight to defend his budget request since he feels this is a worthwhile program and he would like to see it continue on some basis. He was disappointed that Community Action had not decided to use part of the $11,021 for this program and he would support an appropriation amounting to one-half of the request. Mr. Henley also agreed to this. Mr. Roudabush concurred, but stated that h~ had-only supported the request f~om Community Action for $11,021 because he felt this program was included in that amount. Mr. Dorrier said he believes in the merits of the project and he feels that Community Action will suffer if this program is not funded by the County and he also ex- pressed his support of an appropriation in at least one-half of the amount requested. No. 8. Improvements to Mint Springs and Chris Greene Comfort Stations and im- provements to Chris Greene Lake Road. Mr. Fisher said the Bomrd had not acted on this request but said the staff has indicated that this can be funded from other sources and asked the Board's recommendation. Ail concurred that this should not be included in request for revenue sharing funds. Mr. Dorrier said the Board had now finished with the top priority list and recommended on that list is only $12,600 for fire protection. He said there are needs for hydrants and water lines throughout the County and he felt some of those should be included as high priority items. Mr. Agnor said the capital budget will include a four-year plan for in- stallation of hydrants. This will be tied to the engineer's report as to priorities and to where the highest gain' can be received from the lowest expenditure of funds. In previous years, there was an amount of $350,000 shown for a fire station and equipment. This has been removed as this question will be examined with the City before the next budget year. Mr. Dottier said he is still fighting for water lines for Scottsville which are esti- mated to cost $250,000. There are other places in the County which need hydrants and he feels the Board should allocate more than $12,600 for fire protection. Mr. Agnor said by placing the cost of fire hydrants in the capital improvements budget, it does not diminish their priority but spreads them over a number of years because of the amount of work that has to be done. Mr. Fisher asked for a short report on the capital needs budget. Mr. Agnor said it has been finished and is in the hands of K. D. A. Associates for comments and will be presented at the meeting on June 8 whether or not their comments are ready. In this budget, is a prioritized list for a five-year program on capital improvements. Fire hydrants are a high priority in that report. The request for a fire station and equipment was shown as a medium priority in this listing discussed tonight because of the one-year delay in purchasing equipment. In the capital improvements budget the replacement of water lines is carried under a utility budget rather than as fire protection, but serves the same purpose. Mr. Dottier asked how much money will be shown in that budget for water lines. Mr. Agnor said this amounts to $1,856,500 over a five-year time span. It will be funded from the Albemarle County Service Authority and the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, combined. In the capital budget for fire protection, funds will come from other sources than revenue sharing. Mr. Fisher noted that the Board had not discussed the low and medium priorities re- commended by the staff on parks. He said the Board has seen no information on the request for $60,000 for neighborhood parks. That is near the total cost of improvements made to Totier and is for only one single school neighborhood park. He asked if this were proposed May 25, 1977 (Adjourned from May 18, 1977) for funding in fiscal year 1978. Mr. Agnor said no; that is why these items are carried in medium and low priorities. Mr. Roudabush asked what kind of facilities the $60,000 will provide. Mr. Agnor said the preliminary report from the parks commission divides the County into three districts with the middle school serving as program and athletic centers for athletic projects. In that report, which has still not come to the Board, there are three $60,000 projects to develop centers on existing sehooI grounds by utilizing playground areas and expanding them with some equipment and landscapinE~ Mr. Roudabush said he would like to throw in Stony Point School for consideration. Mr. Fisher suggested that the improvements for parks not be included for appropriations but be listed as items to be considered in future years. At this time, Mr. Roudabush offered motion to advertise for a public hearing on June 8, 1977, appropriations for projects as listed on the high priority list. The motion was seconded by Mr. Henley and carried ~y the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: ABSENT: Messrs. Dorrier, Fisher, Henley and Roudabush. None. Mrs. David and Dr. Iachetta. Agenda Item No. 3. Resolution: Farmers Home Administration. motion to adopt the following resolution: Mr. Henley offered WHEREAS, Albemarle County has recently experienced unusual weather conditions, including a period of unseasonably cold weather which occasioned frost in portions of the County, such frost being detrimental to the crops of many farmers growing apples, peaches and other fruit crops; and WHEREAS, the County is now experiencing drought conditions, this causing further hardship to farmers in the County; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County, Virginia, has determined that such farmers are in need of financial assistance and do hereby designate Albemarle County as an emergency area; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Department of Agriculture - Farmers Home Administration, be, and it hereby is, requested to afford financial assistance to fruit growers in Albemarle County in accordance with its rules and regulations. The foregoing motinn was seconded by Mr. Roudabush and carried by the following re- corded vote: AYES: NAYS: ABSENT: Messrs. Dottier, Fisher, Henley and Roudabush. None. Mrs. David and Dr. Iachetta. Not Docketed: Mr. Agnor said the Board had directed the drafting of an ordinance in relation to the South Rivanna River Reservoir which was to be discussed on May 31, 1977 at 9:00 A. M. The Board had directed that the staff contact Dr. Tom Grizzard to check on his willingness to review the standards set out in that ordinance. Mr. Agnor said he was un- able to contact Dr. Grizzard until Tuesday. Dr. Grizzard is willing to make himself avail- able for full participation and advice to the Board. However, ~e did reserve the right to give a positive 'answer after he''had re~d the Be%z re~or~t June 6 to discuss what input he would have in the process of drafting this ordinance. Mr. Agnor said in view of these facts he would suggest that Tuesday is not an appropriate time to review what the staff has done to this point. If the Board wants to wait until Dr. Grizzard had made a report, this should be scheduled later in June. Mr. Fisher concurred that it would not be appropriate to discuss the matter until the total ordinance and the appendices are completed. He said the Board would discuss setting another date at their meeting on June 1. Claims against the County for the month of May, 1977, were examined, certified and directed to the Director of Finance for payment and charged against the following funds: General Fund School Fund Cafeteria Fund Textbook Rental Fund Joint Security Complex Fund Federal Revenue Sharing Fund School Construction-Capital Outlay Fund Commonwealth of Virginia-Current Credit Account Town of Scottsville - 1% Local Sales Tax Total 369,583.05 1,058,442.18 89,684.'24 324.35 88,120.81 4,963.90 166,312.0~ 99,284.17 101.38 $1,821,815.57 At 9:95 P. M. the meeting was adjourned. ~ .... C~mrman