Council looks at coming agenda items, projected fiscal year revenue-expenditure numbers, among other issues

At a work session on Monday, February 13, the Front Royal Town Council heard from staff about variables impacting the coming Fiscal Year-2023/24 budget, and reviewed a variety of coming agenda action items before adjourning to Closed/Executive Session for legal advice regarding two residential development proffer offers (HEPTAD-Swan Estates and Sayre-NVR, Inc.); the joint tourism destination marketing and promotion agreement with the County; and PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) fees tied to Valley Health operations and properties in town.

Opening the meeting was discussion of a Habitat for Humanity request for a waiver on curb & gutter requirements for a property at 219 Orchard Street. While concern about ongoing curb & gutter waivers being granted was heard from two members (Sealock and Rappaport), it seemed a 4-2 consensus was reached to approve the request in a neighborhood without any existing curb & gutter and no obvious negative impacts on neighboring properties.

Habitat for Humanity’s requested curb & gutter waiver site at 219 Orchard St. Below, a long shot of the street, the referenced site is to the right out of frame.

Putting teeth in dilapidated bldg. code

Following that discussion council moved on to establishment of its new Local Board of Building Code Appeals (LBBCA) designed to hear property owner disputes regarding the Town’s established dilapidated building code. There was a question from newly appointed council member Melissa DeDomenico-Payne as to how a $400 appeal application fee was calculated, but overall finally putting a means of enforcement of the code, put into place a year or so back, was supported by council. Planning Director Lauren Kopishke noted that the five-person board appointed by council had its first meeting February 2nd during which bylaws drafted by staff based on state property maintenance codes were reviewed. As to the $400 fee, Kopishke cited staff costs to inspect properties and board-generated costs. She also pointed out that the existing Board of Zoning Appeals fee and the Special Use Permit application fee were both also $400, keeping the new fee consistent with related costs elsewhere in the town budget.

Coming Budget & AMP grant application

Speaking of budgets, Finance Director B. J. Wilson presented a detailed power point on projected revenue and expenditure numbers for FY-2023/24. He promised more detail on revenue needs in the wake of projected expenditures as the budget process progresses toward March-April. Wilson’s report begins at the 45:40 mark of the linked Town video. Details of his PowerPoint presentation not visible in the video, are available on the Town website under the “Agendas” category for the February 13 council work session.

Town Finance Director B. J. Wilson explains the numbers he has and are projected, with more detail coming as the FY-2024 budget process progresses. Below, a chart of the Town’s fairly stable Real Estate Tax rate over past decade, with the stated intention to present an equalized rate for the coming fiscal year.

Council also got a summary from Town Director of Energy Services Carey Saffelle on implications of the Town’s participation in the AMP-OHIO municipal energy cooperative’s application for a “Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP)” funding opportunity through the federal Department of Energy. If approved, AMP’s “Smart Grid: Using Edge Computing to Build Grid Resiliency” project, would provide fifty percent of the cost associated with the installation of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).” Seen as a long-term revenue saving project, the Town’s portion of the “up to $50 million” awarding range would be $1.7 million, with as much as half that cost matched by the grant award. Town Manager Joe Waltz, who was here during the Town’s decision to join the AMP municipal cooperative, supported energy staff on the potential benefits of AMP projects on the members’ long-term energy costs.

Dept. of Energy Services Director Carey Saffelle reviews the AMP-Ohio federal GRIP grant application and projected costs and savings to members. Member commitment to the grant application from AMP’s 134 municipal members in 9 states is needed by March 8. Council has two meetings remaining in February. After hearing from Saffelle and the town manager, Mayor Cockrell called it a ‘great opportunity’ for the Town to benefit on future utility infrastructure costs.

The staff summary noted that the GRIP grant program was generated by passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Other business

Several coming Consent Agenda items were reviewed for inclusion in coming meetings. Those included the purchase of a RTV Vehicle for the Wastewater Treatment Plant at a cost of $22,182.70; the awarding of a bid to purchase services for the biosolids container rental and disposal to what was described as “the only responsive and responsible bidder, Republic Services of Winchester” at the rates of: $457.30 for haul/container, $139.25 per month for container rental of 20 cuyd roll-offs, and $60.00 per ton for disposal at the Page County landfill. In response to questions about those costs staff noted a history verifying those costs and that funding for those costs have been budgeted in the Public Works Wastewater Treatment Plant line item.

Other topics raised during Open Discussion included Councilman Skip Rogers seeking council’s agreement on recognition of Skyline High School qualifying 11 wrestlers for the State Tournament off its regional championships performance. Vice-Mayor Wayne Sealock suggested the Town start making use of the “Front Royal Train Company” caboose in the Village Commons Park downtown. Sealock said it could be open for special events and even rented out under established criteria. It was also suggested that council see that developers and landowners are held responsible for infrastructure costs associated with their construction projects, rather than putting too much of that financial burden on the back of town taxpayers.

Which presented a nice run up to council’s Closed/Executive Session discussion of two such projects currently on the table, as noted above: HEPTAD-Swan Estates and Sayre-NVR, Inc.