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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1974-08-07 An adjourned meeting of the Board of'Supervisors-of Albemarle County, Virginia, was held on August 7, 1974, at 4:00 P.M. in the Board.Room of the County Office Building, Charlottesville, Virginia, said meeting being adjourned from July 31, 1974. Present: Messrs. Stuart F. Carwile, Gerald E. Fisher, J. T. Henley, Jr., William C. Thacker, Jr., Gordon L. Wheeler and Lloyd F. Wood, Jr. (Mr. Wood arriving at 4:25 P.M.). Absent: None. Officers present: County Executive, T~ M. Batchelor, Jr. and County Attorney, George R. St. John. Mr. Wheeler called the meeting to order. He said'for the last three years the Jaycees have held a Fun Fair on Pantops Mountain the last week in August and the first week in September. This matter has always been advertised, placed on the Board's agenda, a public hearing held and no opposition has ever been expressed. This year the Jaycees decided to hold this evert on the K-Mart parking lot, however, have now found that K-Mart's lease forbids this. Mr. Wheeler said he has discussed this with Mr. St. John and the staff has been directed to advertise this matter one time for a public hearing for the meeting of August 14. He asked if any Board member had an objection to the matter being handled in this way. No objection was raised, Mr. Wheeler said several months ago he met with Mr. Myron Trem~n, Chairman of the Albemarle County Service Authority Board of Directors. Mr. Tremain said the Service Authority is considering changes in staffing and the effect it will have on their b6dget. He requested that a meeting be set with the Board of Supervisors to discuss this. Mr. Tremain was present and asked that Mr. Ray Jones, Executive Director of the Service_ Authority, discuss facilities and staffing required to completely separate the Service Authority from the County. Mr. Jones said the Service Authority's 1974-75 budget includes the salaries of an executive director and a secretary. It also has funds for one additional maintenance crew and facilities for that crew. If the Service Authority is separated from the County, this causes a problem since there is no allocation for space and at this time the billing procedure is carried out by use of County machinery. The Service Authority does anticipate purchasing a,.b~.okkeeping machine in the near future. Mr. Wheeler said during his discussion of this matter with Mr. Tremain, a question had arisen as to whether or not the County would participate in this cost. Mr. Tremain had said that the Service Authority's anticipated sales~wOuld create enough revenue,~to balance their budget for this year, but would not create enough revenue to make a complete separation from the County. Mr. Fisher asked if the billing procedure will remain as it is now. Mr. Jones said yes. Mr. Fisher asked if the Service Authority would remain in the County Office Building. Mr. Tremain said he realizes that~:facilities~in~the County Office BUflding are crowded, but because of the billing function and the Service Authority's association with members of th~ County staff, it is their desire that they remain in, or adjacent to, the County Office Building. Mr. Fisher asked if Item 102 in the Service Authority's budget entitled "Payment to County for Management" included payment for the billing function. Mr. Jones said yes. It also contains payment for services of the County Engineer. Mr. Henley asked if the County is compensated for Mr. Jones services as Executive Director. Mr. Jones said the Service Authority budget contains $5,000 for this item. Mr. Wheeler said the County has been furnishing ~he Service Authority the services of an executive director and a secretary. These duties fall to someone who has quite a lot of responsibility in the Department of Finance. He said the Board should indicate whether they will continue to furnish these services or support the hiring of a full-time director. Mr. Henley said he supports the Service Authority separating from the County as soon as possible. Mr. Tremain said the relationship between the Service Authority and the County has been advantageous to both entities. The Service Authority is primarily responsible have to their bond holders and could not/begun operations, originally, Without the financial help of the County. Mr. Carwile said he has no objection to continuing the relationship as it hasfbeen in the past if the Service Authority Board feels there is a need and it is required in their best interests. However, if Mr. Jones feels he can no longer carry on both jobs, he would support the hiring of a full-time director, with the County continuing to furnish subsidiary personnel. Mr. Thacker also felt that there should be a complete separation of the Service Authority and the County, but said it may be premature at this time. He has no objection to continuing in the same manner if it is in the best interest of all. Mr. Fisher asked what type of person the Service Authority would hire as executive director. Mr. Tremain said they would hope to hire a person like.Ray Jones who has the experience and know how to run the affairs of the Service Authority. He said this would be a matter of negotiation with the Board of Supervisors as to their ability to release Mr. Jones from County service. However, the question of facilities must be solved first. Mr. Wood said if the Service Authority needs a full-time executive director, the Board should support this request. Mr. Wheeler said the Service Authority Board must make the decision based on their needs. It is the responsibility of the Board of Supervisors to decide if they will continue furnishing services to the Authority. He asked for comments from Mr. Batchelor. Mr. Batchelor said when the Service Authority was initially created the Board of Supervisors had promised managerial and financial help until such time as the Service Authority ~s~ self-supporting. Over the years, the workload of the Authority has grown until it is impossible for Mr. Jones to continue holding both jobs. He said the Service Autholrity should be separated from the County aS soon as possible, but yet keep the Service Authority within County facilities. He said in localities where service authorities stay close to the Board of Supervisors, the working relationship is much better. Mr. Wheeler said he is of the opinion that--the Service Authority should have a full-time director by January, 1975. Housing for the Service Authority is something that will have to be worked out with County administration. Mr. Wheeler also said the County holds a note from the Service Authority for approximately one million dollars. There is a question in his mind as to the justification of that amount. This question should be resolved. Also, the Service Authority will soon be looking at the buy-sell City agreement on/facilities located in the County. Mr. Tremain has said that any financing for this purchase must come from expected revenues to be generated by the system. ~enwthe note~in~ the~amOunt of $979,661 was established, a pre¥ious Board had done this so a record could be established of what the systems purchased by the County had cost. Mr. Wheeler said it should also be noted that in acquiring some of these systems, the Board was protecting the citizens of the County during annexation fights with the City of Charlottesville. Annexation attorneys said the Board must show that they,were serving .the citizens and water was one of the things that was needed. He said a~portion of that amount should be spread-over the entire County because it was a method used to protect the citizens. He suggested that a committee of Board, Service Authority and staff representatives be appointed to make recommendations on the true amount of this note. Mr. Fisher and Mr. Thacker agreed to serve as the Board's representatives. Mr. Wheeler said the Board was sent a copy of the Service Authority's policy and procedures for furnishing sewerage connections. He asked for comments. Mr. Fisher said he understood the Service Authority had hired a consultant who recommended a policy for this, but this recommenation was rejected and he asked the reason. Mr. Tremain said it was felt that an allocation policy~was necessary, but their engineers had said that this would only confound the issue. Therefore, they had come up with a more liberal policy,essentially a first-come, first-served~policy. Also present were Messrs. Elvin Thompson, L. A. Lacy and George Omohundro, members of the Service AUthority Board of Directors. Mr. Tremain said the~Service Authority Board and the Board of Supervisors have had a close relationship and he hopes this will continue into the future. The services provided by the Service Authority are a great benefit to the County and they hope to continue to provide these services. At this time, the Board took a short recess. When they reconvened, Mr~ George Long, Director of the Virginia Association of Counties was present to discuss with the Board a problem of space needs. this weekend Mr. Wood said the Virginia Association of Counties is meeting/to work on their budget ~o~in~C~y~ar. They have discussed the possibility that VACO will have to move from the County Office Building and the fact that this move may cause an increase in dues. He asked that the Board discuss this matter. 45 Mr. Long said he has been investigating moving costs. VACO presently occupies 1383 square feet of space in the County Office Building. If they move, they will require an additional 200 sq. ft. of space. To rent, or lease, on the open market, it will cost between $4.50 and $5.00 a square foot, or about $8,000 a year. They now use the Xerox machines in the County Office Building and would have to replace this service by renting a machine at approximately $3,300 a year. With an inflatiOn factor of about 12% this year, and the necessity to raise salaries in order to keep his present staff, VACO is faced with the possibility of raising dues from 4¢ per capita to 6¢ per capita if they are forced to move from the County Office Building into other space. Presently they pay the County $1.07 per square foot for space used. Mr. Henley said the VACO should have been given notice to move two years ago. Mr. Wood said the County would be .serving a lot of good if they could allow the Virginia Association of Counties to remain in their present space, at least long enough to get through the present budget year. He said with the Virginia Association of Counties located in the County Office Building, they are readily accessible for staff assistance. Mr. Wheeler asked for Board comments. Mr. Carwile asked if. VACO holds a lease with the County. Mr. Long said no, they have been located in the County Office Building for about 29 years, with no lease. Mr. Carwile said if the Board allOWs the VACO to remain in the County Office Building, there is a cost to the County that the Board should be aware of. If space on the open market is renting for $5.00 a square foot and the VACO is paying the County only $1.07 a ~uare foot, an increase in dues would cost the County less than loss of rent on this space. However, Mr. Carwile said the VACO is entitled to a reasonable notice before be ~ced to move. He said he is willing to allow them to remain in their present ~ace until June 30, 1975, if the rent is increased to about $3.50 a square foot. Mr. Thacker said he can appreciate their problem, but he is unable to justify allowing the VACO to remain in the County Office Building when there is a need for space for the Service Authority. He feels the Service Authority is more important to the County because, they are important to the citizens of the County. Mr. Fisher said he has been wrestling with this problem for two years. He cannot space justify renting/on the open market for County employees and keeping an outside organization in the building just because it is a. nice thing to do. He also.was willing to allow the VACO to remain in the building until the first of the year if the rent is increased to current market prices. Mr. Wheeler said the present space occupied by the VACO of Counties is not adequate for either the Welfare Department or the Planning Department. He asked if the Virginia Association of Counties is allowed to remain until July 1, how this would effect County plans for space. Mr. Batchelor said the Service Authority does not need that much space, they need only space for an executive director and a secretary. As to use of the space, if vacated by the VACO, a recommendation would be needed from the Space Needs Committee. Mr. Wood felt that any recommendation from the Space Needs Committee should include the Virginia Association of Counties. Mr. Wheeler said he still has not given up the idea that the proper place for the County Offi'ce Building is McIntire School. He does not believe the City would spend two million dollars on a mall and joinwith the County in building a librarH in the heart of the downtown area and then let the County move their facilities out into the County. Motion was then offered by Mr. Fisher to allow the Virginia AssQdation of COunties to continue occupying their present space --in~'.~the County Office Building until July 1, 1975, with the rent to be increased to $3.50 a square foot, effective September 1, 1974. The motion was seconded by Mr. Wood and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. Mr. Wood said his committee has been unable 'to meet with Mr. Bill Perkins about the Levy Opera House. Mr. St. John has drawn up a tentative agreement and the Friends of the Levy Opera~ House have given to the committee a letter making a proposal for use of the Opera House. There is a meeting scheduled for next Monday night to try to resolve this matter. this afternoon Mr. Thacker said the Expansion Committee met/and reviewed bids taken on the addition to the Courthouse. In discussing these bids with Mr. Floyd Johnson, the architect, they have found that there is a potential problem which must be cleared with~the state Fire Marshal. The committee will have a further report by the meeting of August 15. Mr. Carwile said he has met with Mrs. Shelby Marshall several times concerning modification and equipment she needs for expansion of her office into Room~202. He suggested that the Board discuss this with Mrs. Marshall at the meeting of August 15. Appointment to the Planning Commission was deferred until August'15. At 5:47 P.M., the Chairman requested an executive session to discuss legal matters. Motion to this effect was offered by Mr. Wood, seconded by Mr. Carwile, and carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Carwile, Fisher, Henley, Thacker, Wheeler and Wood. NAYS: None. The Board reconvened at 8:30 P.M. Upon proper motion, the meeting was adjourned.