Town Council doesn’t look this opioid-negotiated gift horse in the mouth

With no public hearings scheduled for its meeting of Monday, November 22, the Front Royal Town Council faced a 10-item Consent Agenda and three “Business Items” that expanded to five with the addition of one item – Purchase of Rebuilt Transformers, Energy Services Department – and the removal of one Consent Agenda matter to “Business” discussion. The latter was a no-brainer vote on participation in Virginia’s share of a national Opioid Settlement Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) about that agreement. Councilman Gary Gillespie, who has been involved in anti-opioid efforts locally, asked to pull the item to allow some comment on his excitement at news of the Opioid Settlement Agreement and the potential impact of the Town of Front Royal’s share of the state portion of that settlement.

Councilman Gary Gillespie was enthusiastic that Front Royal will get a portion of a Settlement Agreement with opioid distributors and manufacturers now estimated at $26 billion nationwide. Royal Examiner Photos by Roger Bianchini

The resolution essentially states that you as a municipality will abide by the rules established within the Virginia State Governmental apparatus to distribute Virginia’s share of the proceeds negotiated or ruled liable against corporate entities found to have profited off the promotion and manufacture of, and distribution of super-strong opioid drugs that have led to so much addiction and overdose deaths nationwide.

The staff agenda summary states that “settlement proposals have been negotiated that will cause the entities of McKesson, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen, and Janssen” – and the Resolution adds “their related corporate entities” – “to pay up to $26 billion nationwide to settle claims against them”. And while the MOU is still being formulated in the Office of Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring in conjunction with establishment of a Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority to oversee distribution of the Virginia Opioid Abatement Fund revenue that comes the state’s way, both the Settlement Agreement and MOU must be signed by municipalities by January 2, 2022, to qualify for participation.

An online search about the settlement led to a description of McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen as “the three largest pharmaceutical distributors” and noted that involved drug manufacturer Janssen’s parent company was Johnson & Johnson.

Also under “Business Items” council referred consideration of short-term tourist rental code “text amendments” to the planning commission for review and recommendation; and approved a Valley Health request for a 5-year-extension of a stormwater easement at its old Warren Memorial Hospital/Lynn Care location. Last week Valley Health announced the pending sale of the old WMH/Lynn Care site to Hill Valley Health Care, a company that a Valley Health Press Release described as specializing in “skilled nursing, rehabilitation and long-term care” which “owns and operates facilities throughout Virginia” including in Luray, Warrenton and Winchester.

Staff COVID bonuses approved

Approved without discussion as part of the Consent Agenda was a Fiscal Year-2022 Budget Amendment of $476,617 and Interfund Budget transfer of $216,635 that will enable a one-time employee bonus of $3,096 of which the employee will net about $2,000 after taxes and deductions. The bonuses are for work through the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, which council spent considerable time debating the necessity or legality of private, public, and health care sector COVID-19 vaccination mandates. In the end council rejected approval of a code forbidding private and health care sector vaccine mandates, but did not issue a mandate for its own employees.

In fact, prior to the Consent Agenda vote Mayor Holloway reiterated a point (at 23:40 mark of video) that he would not sign an order rescinding the non-vaccination status of Town employees were a federal mandate for public employees to be approved and handed down to municipalities. Having made his point, the mayor then acknowledged the pandemic bonus’s inclusion in the evening’s Consent Agenda.

Following Mayor Holloway’s comments, Councilwoman Letasha Thompson noted that insurance coverage cost for employees who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 is higher than for vaccinated employees. She suggested council and staff start looking at ways to put money aside to cover those additional costs across the board, rather than offer individual lower rates to vaccinated employees. Then on Thompson’s motion, seconded by Vice-Mayor Cockrell, the nine-item Consent Agenda passed on a 6-0 roll-call vote.

Some pandemic skeptics on council may have wondered why employees were getting a $3,000-plus bonus for working through the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, but the item was kept on the Consent Agenda and approved without opposition.

Also on the Consent Agenda was an FY-22 Budget Amendment of $2,090 to allow acceptance of grant funds from the Virginia Department of Forestry for the placement of Playground Shade Trees at Gertrude E. Miller Community Park; another budget amendment of $2,690 to allow acceptance of a $2,690 Local Law Enforcement Block Grant from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services; a waiver to allow Boy Scout Troop 52 to sell Christmas Trees without payment of a License Tax; approval of another one-year extension on submission of a development plan by HEPTAD; and several matters regarding contracts and proposals related to mandated work on the Town’s wastewater treatment and Sanitary Sewer I&I Abatement work, the former involving a WWTP Centrifuge Conversion Engineering Report at a cost of $33,000; the latter involving a CHA consultant-recommended subcontract with Hydrostructures at a cost of $130,000.

Recognitions

At the meeting’s outset council was slated to recognize the achievement, service and contributions of three people, two staff, one retiring and one back from graduating the Southern Police Institute, and one apparently retiring member of the Board of Architectural Review (BAR). However, only one was present leading to suggested deferred recognitions for retiring Public Works Street Division Sign Tech “Billy” D. Sears and BAR member Andrea White, the latter whose deferred recognition may have occurred with approval of the nine-item Consent Agenda that included a Resolution acknowledging White’s term of service on the board tasked with preserving an architectural standard for the town’s Historic Downtown Business District – that recognition apparently still coming in her absence.

Captain Crystal Cline is welcomed back from completing classes at the Southern Police Institute by FRPD Chief Kahle Magalis. Cline told council her time there was well spent on a variety of fronts.

That left the recognition floor to Front Royal Police Captain Crystal Cline after her presentation to council by FRPD Chief Kahle Magalis. Cline described the benefits of her recent months at the Southern Police Institute in preparing officers for myriad issues facing law enforcement on a variety of fronts including intersecting administrative functions, officer retention and liability, procedural issues on street patrol, among others. Welcome back, Captain Cline; and good work Mr. Sears and Ms. White.

Scroll for highlights or watch the full meeting in the Town video: