Town Council updated on downtown, revenue-sharing projects

The CDBG project activities include the design and construction of a pavilion and public restrooms on the Town Plaza costing $219,680. Photo courtesy Town of Front Royal. Video by Mark Williams, Royal Examiner.

FRONT ROYAL — Infrastructure improvement projects and downtown revitalization work, both partially funded by the state, are progressing, said Front Royal staff during the Front Royal Town Council’s Monday night work session.

Town Engineer Robert Brown said that Town staff has applied to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) for revenue-sharing funds that would pay half of the total costs of three local infrastructure improvement projects.

If approved, the funding would become available in fiscal year 2021, Brown said.

“All three projects have made it through the pre-screening process and the next step is to complete the application,” Brown told Town Council members, who now must pass a resolution in support of the projects to get the application filed by the October 1 deadline.

The three projects are:

1. To mill and repave both the northbound and southbound lanes of N. Royal Avenue from W. 14th Street to Commerce Avenue;
2. Removing the wooden deck on the Prospect Street bridge and replacing it with a concrete deck, installing VDOT-compliant railings, and repaving both approaches; and
3. Replacing the roughly 18 decorative acorn street light poles along N. Shenandoah Avenue from 14th Street to the South Fork bridge with 30’ overhead lights matching those already installed on the bridges.

Brown said the N. Royal Avenue paving project’s total cost is $208,000 with the Town match being $104,000. The Prospect Street bridge repairs would cost $200,000 with the Town match being half of that amount, he said, and the N. Shenandoah Avenue project’s total price tag is $265,000 with the Town match being $132,500.

Town Council members agreed with the staff’s recommendation to consider the resolution at its next regular meeting, which is September 23.

Jeremy Camp, director of Front Royal’s Planning and Zoning department, updated Town Council on the status of several project activities that are part of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, which are federal funds administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

The Town was originally awarded a $700,000 grant for economic development, specifically for revitalization of the downtown area. “We’ve focused on the short-term plans because the grant was only $700,000,” Camp said, adding that the Town currently is in the CDBG implementation stage of the grant, which runs through September 25, 2020.

The CDBG project activities include the design and construction of a pavilion and public restrooms on the Town Plaza costing $219,680. All plans must be submitted by December and construction is scheduled to begin in March 2020 with most of the project finished mid-summer next year, said Camp.

Another CDBG project is the Façade Improvement Program to assist downtown property owners in restoring their building facades by giving out so-called grant funds, which Camp said the owners would have to match by at least 50 percent of a project’s total cost.

Construction is slated to start next month on Round 1A of the Façade Improvement Program, which has two more rounds with construction beginning and ending at different intervals next year. Round 1A construction is set to end in January 2020.

“Staff is actively speaking with contractors to raise awareness and interest in bidding on the projects,” said Camp, who noted that related advertising is being done via social media, news outlets, flyers, and the Chamber of Commerce, among others.

In a related item, Town Finance Director B.J. Wilson requested that Town Council approve a budget amendment in the amount of $2,823.09 to accept funds from Edward Greco for the CDBG façade improvement program related to 109 E Main Street.

The funds obtained from Greco and the funds from the CDBG will be used to pay the contractor for the façade improvement program, Wilson explained, noting that as the Town moves forward with façade improvements, future budget amendments will need to be approved in order for the Town to accept the funds from the property owners.

The amounts required to be paid by the property owners are dependent on the amount of bid being awarded, so the Town will be unable to process the budget amendments in advance, Wilson said, adding that the budget amendments will need to be processed as the bids are awarded.

Following the discussion of other agenda items — including a draft traffic study for South Street and an update from Councilman Jacob Meza on his attendance at the recent EDA Reform Committee meeting —Town Council members went into a closed meeting to consult with legal counsel and staff regarding “probable litigation,” as well as to discuss and consider “performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of specific public officers, appointees, or employees of Town Council,” according to the agenda.

EDA Reform Committee receives audit update; reviews properties

Interim Mayor Matthew Tederick told the Royal Examiner that no announcements would be made regarding the closed meeting.

Also in attendance at the work session were Vice Mayor William Sealock; Councilman Gary Gillispie; Councilman Chris Holloway; Town Attorney Douglas Napier; Councilman Eugene Tewalt; Councilwoman Letasha Thompson; Town Manager Joe Waltz; and Clerk of Council Jennifer Berry.