Danville City Council – LIVE! (6/2/15)

We’re LIVE! at Danville City Hall for Tuesday’s Danville City Council meeting. This article is now complete, so I hope you enjoy the most detailed coverage from any media source.

Tonight we start with a “Meet The Team” social for Business Appreciation Week.

“Meet The Team” night is part of the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce’s Business Appreciation Week.

Solex Architecture’s Jeffrey Bond doesn’t seem to buy what birthday boy Lee Vogler is selling. heh.

Kim Custer makes sure everything is going perfectly while Sherman Saunders looks on.

Robert Brooks is everywhere!

Economic Development director Telly Tucker is always the center of attention.

Police Captain Tommy Merricks talks with councilman James Buckner. Meanwhile, Jeff McLaughlin is way too cool for Danville.

The River District Association board of directors was all sitting on the same row until I made fun of them. Heh.

We’re underway. Gary Miller says the invocation and leads the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mark McFaddin & Ken Gillie get their proclamation for “National Ride to Work Day”.

Mark McFaddin & Ken Gillie pick up the proclamation for National Ride to Work Day.

Ernecia Coles, HELLO!

New River District Association executive director Ernecia Coles introduces herself to Council.

We move on to the stadium issue. One citizen speaks against it but he hasn’t got the facts. Apparently, he hasn’t read SouthsideCentral. Buddy Rawley says he’ll be voting no because he thinks Council needs a “dream plan”. John Gilstrap says that they’re just earmarking money and not spending it yet.

Rawley has the only opposition. Daddy Gilstrap is slowly telling Rawley the difference between earmarking and spending. Rawley has had enough of that. Heh.

Fred Shanks has arrived. Buddy Rawley votes no. The earmark passes 8 to Rawley.

Appointments to commissions are approved 9-0. Here’s the list of them.

• Reappointing Eugene F. Jackson as a Member of the Airport Commission.
• Reappointing John C. Lippert as a Member of the Airport Commission.
• Reappointing L. Hampton Wilkins as a Member of the Airport Commission.
• Appointing Jessie L. Barksdale as a Member of the Airport Commission.
• Reappointing Christopher K. Wiles as a Member of the Dan River Alcohol Safety Action Program.
• Appointing Telly Tucker as a Member of the Danville Community College Board of Trustees.
• Reappointing Tammy Warren as a Member of the Danville Community Policy and Management Team.
• Appointing Cynthia Pruitt-Rhodes as a Member of the Danville Community Policy and Management Team.
• Reappointing R. J. Lackey as a Member of the Danville Development Council.
• Reappointing Shelby Irving as a Member of the Danville Pittsylvania Community Services Board.
• Reappointing James K. Turpin as a Member of the Danville Utility Commission.
• Reappointing William Donohue as a Member of the Danville Utility Commission.
• Reappointing Fred O. Shanks, III as a Member of the Danville Utility Commission.
• Appointing Charles Majors as a Member of the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research Board.
• Reappointing Brian Finney as a Member of the Social Services Advisory Board.
• Reappointing Judy P. Keesee as a Member of the Transportation Advisory Board.
• Reappointing Ralph C. Price as a Member of the Transportation Advisory Board.

If you’d like to serve on a city board or commission, here’s the link to find out all about them and to apply. That sounds like “If you’d like to be a contestant on our game show…”, doesn’t it? Heh.

A vacating of right-of-way of Del Mar Drive passes 9-0 as well. Where the hell is Del Mar Drive?

First readings move along. The transfer of the leftover Allergease Tobacco Commission money from the IDA to the city’s general fund draws no comment from council. It also wasn’t brought up in the work session. There was a closed session for economic development discussion at the end of the work session but that wouldn’t have qualified to be discussed there.

Next, the Danville Sheriff’s Office is getting $117,550 in asset forfeiture money. They’re going to buy bulletproof vests, tasers, new access doors for the courts and jail building and a x-ray inspection system for the main entrance. Danville Sheriff Mike Mondul was in the audience to answer any questions, but there wasn’t any.

Next comes an ordinance making City Council approve all Parks & Recreation fees. Fred Shanks, Gary Miller and Buddy Rawley says they’re voting no because they feel it’s too burdensome. John Gilstrap says Council approves every other fee so this would be a very small additional burden. The other six council members vote yes and the ordinance passes.

Around the horn session is up now. The only thing notable tonight is that John Gilstrap leads the council in singing “Happy Birthday, Lee Vogler”.

The school board is represented in tonight’s audience. Ed Polhamus & Steven Gould, HELLO!

Work session coming up.

Here’s our gallery for tonight’s work session.

And the full view of the table. John Gilstrap is not taking a shot of whiskey, no matter if it looks that way in the photo.

Joe King explains his suggestions on the public safety pay issue.

Downtown Danville is rockin’ tonight! Oh baby!

Here’s another look at the discussion that’s in progress.

City Manager Joe King presents a proposal to help with pubic safety’s pay raise concerns that were brought up at the last meeting. He had a meeting with representatives yesterday. I asked why did it take until yesterday for that meeting to happen. I got no real answer from that. I got a feeling of “slightly encouraged” from some public safety employees. We’ll see how this works out.

City staff says there’s no legal justification for the city to fix a drainage canal under buildings on Patton St. Fred Shanks has strongly disagreed on this and had the Line Of The Night… “The city manager may not respect me, but…” Ouch. Nothing really gets decided during this topic. Next, Council likes most of all the Utilities Steering Committee’s recommendations except for making the Utilities Commission an independent authority. I can’t blame them there. Finally, part of Memorial Drive will be honorarily names “Veterans Way”. This was James Buckner’s proposal and it will happen.

A closed session for economic development talk is up now, so we’re done.  We’ll have a BreakDown article on what happened and some bonus photos coming up later this week. More coming up on SouthsideCentral!