It was a smooth town council meeting – until the Joint Tourism ‘Agreement’ came up for a vote, again

The Front Royal Town Council’s regular monthly meeting of March 28, breezed through four public hearings of some interest, including Poe’s Rivers Edge 200-site campground permitting on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River at the end of Kendrick Lane; approval of flat Town Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Rates for the coming fiscal year; a $1.24 monthly hike to the Town Sewer Service rate; and the partial vacation of Sanitary Sewer Easement for Lispen LLC at a commercial site at 195 Toray Drive in the commercial-industrial north corridor, with no public comment to any of the four, and little to no council discussion. All four proposals were approved by 5-0 votes, with one absence, Gillespie due to illness the town manager noted.

FRPD Chief Magalis explains how drug law dynamics at the state level led to the forced early retirement of K-9 Maverick, with handler Olivia Meadows. Meadows gets to keep her partner in his retirement.

The meeting’s early stages, 3 minutes into the Town Council video, also saw a well-deserved acknowledgment of newly appointed or promoted Front Royal Police officers and one citizen employee welcomed aboard, as well as one retirement. Chief Kahle Magalis acknowledged these employees and officers, including Karen McDonald (civilian communications officer), Mark Hajduk and Rachel Martin (to the Patrol Division), Patrol Division’s David Fogle’s promotion to sergeant; and the retirement of drug-sniffing K-9 Maverick. It was explained Maverick’s retirement was forced early due to a change in drug laws at the state level, the legalization of marijuana. However, the chief noted many of the Maverick-initiated drug busts involved much harder drugs, which he is also trained to sniff out. But it appeared Maverick was poised to enjoy his retirement, perhaps with some alternative sniffing games, with handler Olivia Meadows. Congratulations welcome aboard, and au revoir, as the case may be to all these officers.

Chief Magalis with, from left, Officers Meadows and Maverick, Mark Hajduk, and Rachel Martin. Civilian communications officer Karen McDonald, back row just past the chief’s right shoulder in reddish top, has already taken a seat following her introduction to council. Below, David Fogle receives his sergeant’s pin from wife Kim.

Also approved as presented was a four-item Consent Agenda, also without discussion. Those items were awarding of a $414,882 contract for Curb & Gutter Installation to Imperio Construction; awarding of a $53,500 contract for Duck Street Culvert Repairs to General Excavations Inc.; approval of a Resolution for submission to VDOT’s Smart Scale Program for Phase II of the Happy Creek Road improvements; and approval of a $2,757 Budget Amendment to allow acceptance of a Local Law Enforcement Black Grant from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services toward strengthening Crime Control.

Protective gear to Ukraine
One “New Business” action item was also added to the agenda with law enforcement implications at the international level that would become the final open meeting agenda item. Just prior to the adjournment to Closed Session Chief Magalis returned to the dais to explain the request to allow 12 Ballistics Tactical Vests to be sent to the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police for forwarding to the 501-c3 organization “Lift Up Ukraine” for distribution to Ukrainian forces resisting the Russian invasion of that nation. The item was added to the agenda on unanimous approval of a motion by Amber Morris, seconded by Vice-Mayor Cockrell. Morris also made the motion to approve the tactical equipment transfer, seconded by Letasha Thompson. After Chief Magalis responded to Councilman McFadden’s questions about the “Lift Up Ukraine” organization the councilman had difficulty locating online, Morris’s motion was also passed by a 5-0 vote, one absent, as had everything save one item preceding it.

Both attorneys by trade, George Sonnett, far left, and Councilman Lloyd, right, flanking Town Manager Hicks, agreed a motion for approval of an altered Joint Tourism ‘Agreement’ would require more than a vague reference to the evening’s discussed changes to what was approved by the County the previous week.

That one non-unanimous vote of approval, to which Councilman Lloyd cast his last non-approval vote as a councilman, was regarding a now-often batted back and forth Town-County Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), now simply referred to as an “Agreement” in the wake of the county supervisors’ changes offered last week, on the future of Joint Tourism efforts by the two county municipalities. Having been batted back and forth several times previously with changes recommended by each elected body on details of funding, operations, and the function of the “Discover Front Royal” Destination Management Organization (DMO) 501-c6 group, the previously smoothly running meeting hit a wall.

Back at you – again
That wall was a 45-minute discussion beginning at the 46:55 mark of the Town Council video, of details surrounding funding schedules, dollar amounts, access to Visitors Center merchandise not labeled “Discover Front Royal, among other dynamics. Near the conclusion of that discussion, Vice-Mayor Cockrell suggested approval of a new motion with changes referenced “as discussed tonight”. However, council’s lone practicing attorney Lloyd, queried Assistant Town Attorney George Sonnett, resulting in a legal consensus that more precise wording would be required, as well as a new motion “to reconsider” an original motion made as council initiated its desire to move the process forward that evening.

After an additional 12 minutes of discussion, motion re-writing, an Amber Morris-led review of proposed changes to the Agreement sent over by the County, and 5-0 approval of a motion to reconsider, Cockrell had the floor. – “I think I’m ready. Don’t judge me, but I’m going to try my best here,” the vice-mayor offered as she began at the 1:29:38 video mark:

“I move that council approve a Front Royal-Warren County Joint Tourism Agreement with the County of Warren with the following changes:

1 – “One is anywhere it says ‘paid quarterly’ that will be assumed that it is intended to be one-fourth of the approved budget.

2 – “Under ‘The Town of Front Royal shall’, added to that sentence should be after ‘subject to appropriation year to year’ we should include the words ‘provided that such funding amount to be provided by the Town for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2022, and ending July 30, 2023, shall be $200,000 with an additional appropriation by the County of $200,000, so the total funding of $400,000 shall be provided.

3 – “Also, under ‘The Town of Front Royal shall’, number 5, we will be removing the words ‘including but not limited to all merchandise’ and adding the word ‘with the Discover Front Royal slogan’.

“With those three changes I move that we approve this agreement,” Cockrell concluded to a second from Letasha Thompson. The roll call vote went 4-1 for approval of the Agreement as amended, with Lloyd casting the dissenting vote as he had indicated he would earlier in the discussion.

From our reading of the Agreement draft presented to council in the agenda packet, it would appear there were two minor wording mistakes in the somewhat hastily prepared motion’s second above-numbered point: one in the ending date of the referenced fiscal year as of July 30, 2023, as opposed to June 30; and the initial under “The Town of Front Royal shall” reference since we could only find the referenced wording “subject to appropriation year to year” in the “Discover Front Royal shall” section.

For those wishing to view the entire Joint Tourism discussion, as noted above, it begins at the 46:55 mark of the Town video, ending at the 1:31:55 mark, leading into the Ukrainian tactical equipment donation discussion, the final order of business prior to the closed session. That closed session was to discuss personnel matters, including the town manager’s performance as director of the Front Royal EDA, the town attorney’s position now filled on an interim basis, and a vacancy on the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Don’t forget Arbor Day
Prior to those final two Business Items, two others were approved 5-0 with little discussion. They were a Proclamation declaring Saturday, April 23, Arbor Day in Front Royal, as referenced in Town Arborist and Environmental Official Jim Osborn’s Public Comments earlier in the meeting; and a Resolution to provide Town Water and Sewer service to specific properties, under specific conditions in the Route 340/522 North Corridor. Those conditions include a developer-funded infrastructure study, and that the properties be utilized for commercial and industrial development only, not residential.

As to Arbor Day events, as Town Arborist Osborn noted during his Public Comments presentation they will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 23, in the Village Commons/Gazebo area. A tree planting will follow nearby at 3:30 p.m. tied to the 23rd year of the Town’s designation as a Tree City USA.

During Public Comments, as FR Tree Stewards Chair Melody Hotek seated behind him listens, Town Arborist and Environmental Officer Jim Osborn briefed council on the Town’s Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee’s (ESAC) recent efforts, as well as planned Earth Day events next month. Below, a 2020 file photo of Interim Town Manager-led defoliation of Happy Creek, including tree removals, accomplished without any input from the Town’s own Urban Forestry Advisory Committee or the FR Tree Stewards, whose volunteers helped maintain and plant trees along the creek bank for years.

That designation has been maintained despite council’s break of trust, circa 2020, with related environmental groups including its appointed Urban Forestry Advisory Committee (UFAC) and long-time volunteer organization the FR Tree Stewards, whose Chairperson Melody Hotek was present for Osborn’s report Monday. The UFAC Board resigned en masse in the wake of not being consulted on the former interim town manager-driven 2020 defoliation/rip rap rock project along Happy Creek downtown off Commerce Ave. between South and Prospect Streets. The UFAC board’s resignation seemed to lead to ESACs creation as an entity required to be in place to maintain the Tree City USA designation.

Osborn alluded to the necessity of an environmental oversight entity in place while designated a Tree City USA during his report to council on ESAC activities. Contacted about a UFAC-ESAC link, Town Manager Hicks said that ESAC’s environmental scope is intended to be broader than UFAC’s was. That could be helpful if council and town staff remember to keep ESAC in the loop on “bright ideas” like rip-rap rocks in place of trees and foliage, ostensibly for stabilization of extended areas of stream banks.

Osborn’s report to council begins at the 24:42 mark of the Town Council video. Council’s action on the Arbor Day Proclamation is at the 46:00 minute mark.

Watch the Town Council March 28, 2022 meeting on this video link.