Danville City Council – LIVE! (1/20/2015)

Editor’s Note: This article is now complete.

We’re LIVE! at Danville City Hall for tonight’s meeting. Refresh the page often for the latest happenings, commentary and photos.

Committee for Appointments is meeting.

Alonzo Jones isn’t here for this committee meeting. Harold Garrison will be on the Planning Commission once it’s voted on at the February 2nd meeting. That’s an excellent decision.

We’re underway. Larry Campbell does the invocation and he doesn’t use notes. James Buckner goes for the no-tie look tonight.

We start with a proclamation for Virginia Organizing’s 20th anniversary. Johnny Mayo accepts on behalf of the group. Mayo says Danville needs a new high school. Spending other people’s money is fun. GAH!

I’ve got a problem with this proclamation, and it doesn’t have to do with my personal opposition to some of Virginia Organizing’s activities. The organization has done some very good things, like work for legislation on the shark-infested payday loan businesses.

My problem is that Virginia Organizing is a political action group at heart. The City’s proclamation makes it seem that the city and city council endorses them. I can tell that some members of council were less than enthusiastic about tonight’s proclamation. Proclamations aren’t issued with the approval of council. I asked tonight and was told that the process goes through the city manager’s office and the mayor. I personally congratulate the group for their 20th anniversary, but I just don’t think that it sets a good precedent for the city to issue proclamations like this.

Davis Montgomery is here for duke Energy for his monthly update.

His notes the coal ash was declared a non-hazardous waste. Gary Miller asks if this changes Duke’s methodology or resolve to cleaning up the coal ash basins, and Montgomery says not at all. I’ve got to hand it to Montgomery. He’s not required to make these monthly updates but it’s a very good thing that he does this. He’s also a very nice guy.

Nobody comes up for the public comment section so we’ll have to wait until the next meeting to see if the new 5 minute time limit is enforced.

On to regular business. The trailer park beside Golden Skillet on Piney Forest Rd. is rezoned to commercial use. The former Carter’s Restaurant is rezoned for highway retail commercial use as well. Ken Gillie answers a few questions from Council.

Council amends the zoning code to allow wholesale sales in the HRC (highway retail commercial) districts, and that’s because Leggett Town & Country has a prospective new customer planned for the front part of their building space. Will Leggett says that it’s an existing Danville business that wants to expand their operations. There’s plenty of parking and this got no objections from the Planning department or the Planning Commission.

Buddy Rawley makes a side note during these rezoning items saying that he regrets a vote that he made before because of a contentious zoning issue where neighboring residents objected. We heart Buddy Rawley. Fred Shanks & Lee Vogler agreed with Rawley’s statement.

That’s it for regular business, and we’ll move into the around the horn time.

James Buckner talks about his nephew being interviewed to play basketball at Duke. Larry Campbell urges the growth of regionalization efforts for all things including travel & tourism. John Gilstrap mentions the MLK breakfast at Averett’s Grant Center and the youth activities at the North Theatre on Monday. Alonzo Jones speaks about the MLK day activities and reads the  Birmingham Pledge. Fred Shanks notes all 4 rezoning requests were investments in business development. Lee Vogler concurs with Larry Campbell on regional partnership building. He gets a nice backhand in by slyly mentioning that no school board members were at the North Theatre youth event.

And we’re done. Since there’s absolutely no need for a BreakDown article on this meeting, we’ll make an article with some bonus coverage that you won’t see anywhere else but on SouthsideCentral! We’ll have that bonus coverage on Wednesday.