At the Christiansburg Town Council meeting on Nov. 17, citizens got a glimpse of one of the new buses which was proudly displayed outside Town Hall. Detailed with a Main Street scene and several municipal facilities, these vehicles are now in service and offering free fares through the end of December to encourage exploring the new routes. Blacksburg Transit personnel were present with director Rebecca Martin saying she felt "like a kid in the candy store" because of the expanded routes and partnership between the two towns.
On the regular agenda, the first order of business was the solemn swearing in of James Belcher and Whitney Bedwell as the two newest police officers by Chief Mark Sisson.
Art Price, Chuck Munsey and other Parks & Recreation staff presented an update on preparations underway for hosting the 2010 Dixie Boys World Series. A special commemorative logo has been designed and numerous committees have been established to ensure a warm welcome for what is hoped to bring at least 300 guests to Christiansburg.
Price stressed that beyond offering the town's facilities and staff expertise there were no fees paid in order to secure serving as the host site. Grass infields are being put into place, with town personnel tapping into Virginia Tech resources. Program advertisements and sales, gate admission fees and concessions are expected to offset related expenses. "This is all about the kids and we certainly hope our team will advance to the top three or four spots, or win it all" Price said. As the World Series progresses through the week, this is expected to attract a wide audience of baseball fans to Harkrader Sports Complex to view the competition.
Council approved a conditional use permit for property located at 2175 and 2177 Hammes Street for construction of two single-story duplexes. The developers stated they planned to make these units handicap accessible and remove another structure which was previously damaged by fire. The property is zoned B-3 General Business.
During the Citizens Hearing portion of the meeting, Shireen Parsons noted that council had recognized the appointment of Town Manager Lance Terpenny as president of the Virginia Municipal League, while noting another resident also deserved recognition. "Carol Lindstrom received an award from the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, and I think council needs to recognize this" Parsons stated. The Mayor followed up that "council does commend Ms. Lindstrom for her service" in providing a citizens resource website.
A contingency of girls indoor soccer coaches, sponsors and team members was present to request council's assistance with accessing the National Guard Armory gymnasium. This team has used the facility for many years and access to other facilities is not possible due to scheduling constraints. Due to an expected deployment, guardsmen have stated more security is necessary so the girls have nowhere to practice. Council noted it is required to fund utilities and some maintenance, and the Mayor reported on discussions with guard personnel. Sponsor Dr. Ross stated this attitude is contrary to the guard's mission and is not a typical response seen in other communities that have armories. Council agreed to work with the team to find a resolution to having community access to these facilities.
Finance Director Valerie Tweedie provided another update on using credit or debit cards for paying town bills, including water, sewer, garbage and property taxes. She stated she needed to proceed now without a fee being applied for charge cards, or that a public hearing needed to be set to establish one. Many localities do apply a fee to offset merchant service charges incurred for each transaction. A public hearing to discuss a fee for this service will be held in January, and this will delay accepting credit or debit cards during this December's tax collection cycle. It was also noted that online credit or debit card payments was a separate system, and outside the scope of this project meant to accept walk-in payments.
Council gave the go ahead for hiring additional full time staff at the aquatic center in order to ensure critical personnel were on board and trained before the public opening. The Town Manager reported the contractors were on track for early access to the building -- for staff -- by the end of January.
Three Public Hearings were set for Dec. 15, with a third one contingent upon the successful approval of another relative to subdivision plans and rezoning land on the south side of Diana Drive (formerly Harkrader Street). A large parcel is planned for R1-Single Family dwellings while a 6.75 parcel is seeking R3-Multi Family units. A separate public hearing for land along Roanoke Street, behind a fast food restaurant, from agricultural to industrial is also scheduled for this night, as well.
Council's next regular meeting date is set for Tuesday, Dec. 1 and also includes Public Hearings for rezoning on Melody Drive (Windsong Heights area) and a CUP for a cell tower on Palmer Street.