Brookneal Town Council presents resolution to former mayor

The regular meeting of the Brookneal Town Council met February 18 with the following present: Barbara LaPrade, Mayor,Mark Wilkes, Vice Mayor, and council members Scott Fisher, Conner Francis and Eugene Moorefield.

Also attending were Mike Crews, Public Works Director, Bobbie Waller, Clerk/Treasurer, Robert Kolich, Chief of Police, Craig Hughes, Town Manager, and Tripp Isenhour, Town Attorney. Absent: Cynthia Johnson

During the meeting, Mayor LaPrade reviewed the newly instituted town council meeting guidelines again. She said that since the last meeting, there has been a number of individuals interested in the Town of Brookneal and information will be forthcoming about property acquisitions and so on.

She said in a previous meeting, the possibility of a community calendar has been discussed in which citizens, businesses, and organizations would be able to inform the town of upcoming events. She said this would help those planning events to have a source to check to avoid duplicating dates.

She said that an alert system has also been discussed and a company that can provide that for town residents has been contacted for more information. She said the system would be to alert town residents when major events arise. She said pending budget requirements and approval by council is possibly forthcoming.

She added that based on property acquisitions, she wants to fill the vacant planning commission seat soon. She said they will be making notifications and then Council will approve that person.

Mayor LaPrade presented the following resolution to former mayor Kenneth Jennings.

RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION IN HONOR OF KENNETH JENNINGS

WHEREAS: Kenneth Jennings, has served the citizens of the Town of Brookneal for two years as Mayor beginning in January of 2023 and ending in December of 2024; and

WHEREAS: Mr. Jennings represented Brookneal at the Regional Airport Authority; and

WHEREAS: Mr. Jennings has been present at 99% of all Council meetings, taking his oath and commitment seriously to the citizens of the Town of Brookneal; and

NOW, THEREFORE I, Barbara LaPrade, by virtue of the authority vested in me as the Honorable Mayor of the Town of Brookneal, do hereby affirm that Tuesday, February 11, 2025, shall be recognized as a day of appreciation in the honor of Mr. Kenneth Jennings; and

BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that this “RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION” be recorded in the permanent records of the Town of Brookneal as a testimony of the Town’s gratitude to Kenneth for his service and dedication.

POLICE REPORT

Chief Robert Kolich, presented the police report for January 2025. He said that of the 120 calls for service in January, 108 were answered by the Brookneal Police Department and 12 by the Campbell County Sheriff’s office.

PUBLIC WORKS REPORT

Public Works Director Mike Crews presented a written report that contained the following items:

* The depredation permit for the vultures has been renewed. He said he would give it to the police department and animal control.

* He said the lights at the ballpark have been repaired. He said Elliott Electric would be back to replace some bulbs and do some maintenance on a couple of poles. He said the Dixie Girls would be hosting all stars this year.

* He said on February 5, Southern Corrosion sent out a crew to replace a hole in the field tube in the downtown tank.

* He said he is in the process of getting paperwork to VDH for their approval for the best site for wells in Brookneal. He said that there were two locations identified, one at the ballpark and one at the Hunter Road water tank.

* He said the maintenance department completed water line repairs on Daniel Street on 1/19, on Terry Road 1/21 and 1/23, on Smith Street on 1/24 and on Central Street on 2/13.

* He said the only area that lost power during the last ice storm was to residents on the end of Juniper Cliff Road. He said the water plant had a backup generator to supply the town with water.

TOWN MANAGER COMMENTS

Town Manager Craig Hughes updated the Council on a few items. He said that the maintenance crew cleaned out the Kersey building. He said he has received a bid on the ceiling repair in the food bank area of the community building and that will be starting in the next three weeks. He added that Jeff Carpenter talked to the Food Lion manager about the Amish request for a hitching post in the area. He said Carpenter presented a letter of request to the manager, and he has submitted it to headquarters. They should have an answer on that in the next couple of weeks.

TOWN ATTORNEY COMMENTS

Tripp Isenhour said that he would be here for the Council meetings more often with growth and development coming along.

APPROVAL OF THE FY24 AUDIT

Upon motion by Conner Francis, seconded by Scott Fisher, and unanimously approved, the Council voted to approve the FY24 audit.

APPOINTMENT OF INDIVIDUAL TO FILL COUNCIL VACANCY FOR TERM THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2025

Mayor LaPrade noted that once this appointment takes place, this will only be to fill the position until December 31, 2025. She said that in the fall of this year during the November election, a special election will be held and that person elected at that time will fill the remainder of her Council term which will end on December 31, 2026. Upon motion by Conner Francis, seconded by Scott Fisher, and unanimously carried, the Council voted to nominate Crystal Travis to fill the vacancy on Council for the term through December 31, 2025.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

Physical Development Committee Chairperson Mark Wilkes said that Hughes was working on the community building repair list, and that he would keep the Council updated.

Mayor LaPrade said that the economic development committee had a gentleman come in to look at the old Wells Fargo building in hopes of converting that into a hotel. She said the man has posed some questions to the committee, and the committee will be exploring answers to his questions. She said the Campbell County Economic Development grant writer is working on the community vitality grant that the Council approved last month. She said she would keep everyone updated on that as well.

ITEMS FROM TOWN COUNCIL

Councilperson Francis said that Juniper Clif Road was hit the worst during the ice/snowstorm with power outages; several residents were land locked in their homes due to downed trees. He said that the Brookneal Volunteer Fire Department marathon is April 5, 2025. He said the Campbell Connects group is meeting in Brookneal on February 27, 2025, at the community building. He said that Centra executives have reached out to him and expressed interest in having a meeting. He said that a roundtable session with Centra will be held on February 27, 2025 at the town hall. Francis said that he had talked with Isenhour about getting some feedback to possibly help these meetings along including remote participation where council members are out of town. He also said with some parliamentary structures to help the meetings move along quickly. Lastly, he said that he distributed some Brookneal business directories that were done by the Community Alliance. He said the funds raised from that project will go towards building a love sign in Brookneal; he said over $2,000 was raised.

Councilperson Fisher thanked Mike Crews for helping the Brookneal Baptist Church with their plumbing issue. He said he went above and beyond to try to resolve the issue.