Entry 607 of 1039
By Think! Christiansburg On September 3, 2009 at 2:05 PM

In accordance with the Christiansburg Town Charter, Tuesday's Town Council meeting included organizing for fiscal year 2009-2010 plus a closed meeting to discuss personnel matters.

Following a 26-minute closed meeting, the next agenda item addressed appointments to positions reporting directly to council per the Town Code which include the Town Manager, Finance Director/Treasurer, Police Chief, Clerk of Council and Town Attorney.

On the vote to reappoint R. Lance Terpenny as Town Manager, Councilman Henry Showalter cast the lone, dissenting vote.

"After serving on council for a year, I'm not satisfied with the status quo," Showalter stated. "Communication is an issue. There's often a slow response for requested information, or it may be provided but inaccurate or incomplete. This shouldn't be acceptable to Council," he said.

All other appointments were reaffirmed for existing job incumbents, each motion passing unanimously except for Councilman Brad Stipes' abstention on his wife's position as Clerk of Council.

The town's fiscal year has a $36 Million budget.

Council member Ann Carter was chosen to serve as Vice Mayor, and council appointments on seven committees remained unchanged.

Regular meetings will continue to be scheduled on the first and third Tuesday of each month.  Mayor Richard Ballengee, former school employee, noted council meetings were held on the same dates as the Montgomery County Public School Board.  Stating this used to be a problem for him, it was no longer as "big a conflict" as before. 

Councilman Showalter spoke on behalf of the Tourism Development Council (TDC), stating he was aware the Mayor and Town Manager had recently met with the interim president of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce. Showalter is council's liaison to this group, which was asking for the release of $7900 in lodging taxes for the town's portion of a planned advertisement in a travel guide. Showalter stated this annual effort had previously provided the greatest number of tourism leads.

After some discussion about TDC funding, Councilman Michael Barber said "I don't care about Montgomery County or the Town of Blacksburg and what they are doing. If this ad is the best source of leads and helps bring in tourists, I move we approve the request."  The two towns and Montgomery County have withheld lodging tax proceeds since at least the end of June. 

In other matters, Council tabled a recommendation from the Planning Commission for an amendment to a Floodplain Districts ordinance. Council member Stipes proposed deleting "more than one foot" from references to floodplains, floodways and flood fringes.

"FEMA allows more restrictive edits, and this is a reasonable means for not increasing a base flood," Stipes said. "This will provide the town latitude and places the responsibility on a developer," he stated.  He said this follows a practice commonly found in other jurisdictions, and should be noted it could reduce homeowner insurance rates in affected areas. 

A Joint Public Hearing on this matter was held August 4 and then went to the Planning Commission, which voted on a recommendation to Council August 31.  The mayor, however; expressed concern about urgency relative to a Sept. 25 deadline in responding to FEMA. 

Council approved a conditional use permit for property located at 111 Second Street, to allow in-home housing for up to three elderly or handicapped individuals. Council member Ann Carter stated she had some reservations since the applicant had never appeared before the Planning Commission or Council, and was absent during the Public Hearing.  "Since Social Services was okay with this, I guess I am, too, but I would have rather had some questions answered by the applicant," Carter said.

Two Public Hearings were set for October 6 and include a request from Boxley Concrete and a conditional use permit for 762 Tower Road to allow a group home.

Council's next regular meeting is set for Sept. 15 and the October 20 meeting was canceled due to a conflict with a Virginia Municipal League conference in Roanoke. Council also held its first retreat on August 14, and outcomes or minutes from this are not yet available.