Good evening, folks! Happy Friday! In today’s edition I’ve got some coverage from last night’s Town Council meeting. I’m grateful to Katie and Kayla on the Town staff for coordinating livestreams of the meetings. For one, they help those who want to be extra-cautious about Covid exposure mitigate their risk. And secondly, sometimes on dark, cold January nights, you (I) simply don’t have the motivation to drive into Floyd and attend a meeting. I watched last night’s proceedings in my pajamas, from my couch.
This week I’ve spent time reaching out to local folks who have already been vaccinated (hooray!) and learning more about how rollout is progressing in our region. Fingers crossed, I’ll have a story providing some valuable updates on that process tomorrow.
If you’ve been vaccinated and want to share your experience, please reach out any time at aspinksdugan@gmail.com. Everyone hang in there and continue to stay safe as we endure (hopefully) the last few months of this public health nightmare.
-Ashley
Council honors local registrar Amy Ingram and debates meeting prayer
Town of Floyd Mayor Will Griffin began last night’s Town Council meeting by announcing that he tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, Jan. 5. Griffin explained that was the reason he was joining the meeting remotely via video conference. The mayor seemed to be in good spirits throughout the meeting, although he didn’t explicitly discuss his symptoms (or lack thereof), and after the Council re-elected Mike Patton as vice-chair of the Council, Griffin handed over control of the meeting to him.
Griffin did offer some advice to his fellow council members and those in the audience Thursday night. “I don’t know how I got it. I have no clue,” he said, referring to the virus. “So be as careful as you can be.”
As temporary chair, Patton introduced the rest of the evening’s agenda items. After settling on a 5:30 p.m. meeting time for 2021 and approving the consent calendar, Patton moved on to a scheduled recognition ceremony. “The next thing on the agenda is something really special to us,” Patton said. “We try to do it four times a year, to take a break and say thank you.” The Floyd Town Council honors a community member or organization that has “made a contribution to the Town of Floyd” on a quarterly basis.
Thursday’s special guest was Floyd County General Registrar Amy Ingram. Town Manager Kayla Cox offered some kind words about Ingram’s work before reading in full a proclamation the Council passed honoring Ingram’s achievements.
“This year during election time, as we all know, things looked a little different...Amy Ingram’s name was brought to us (and) we felt like we definitely wanted to honor her for all her extra time and dedication,” Cox said. This year, Ingram helped to coordinate early voting opportunities at the Floyd County Courthouse, which were meant to protect voters’ health and safety during the pandemic.
Ingram, alongside the Floyd County Electoral Board and a team of election officers and volunteers, were especially innovative, though. Floyd County offered not only early voting indoors at the Registrar’s Office for nearly two months prior to Election Day, but also facilitated drive-through early voting in the courthouse parking lot. Registered voters could also vote from their cars in the parking lots of polling locations on Election Day. This made voting especially safe and convenient for Floyd County residents, and voter turnout in November’s general election was historically high.
Cox pointed out that under extremely challenging circumstances, “The Registrar’s office successfully certified the Presidential election,” and said that Ingram’s work was “unquestionably fair” and nonpartisan. Each of the Town Council members offered praise that echoed these sentiments.
Councilman Bruce Turner, who worked as an election officer during the 2020 cycle and collaborated closely with Ingram, said, “You are an asset to this community, and you have been one of the best persons that I’ve worked with over the years.”
Of Floyd’s election process, Councilman Chris Bond said, “You never think twice about it because you know it’s in good hands...but at the same time, you want to make sure (the work) is not overlooked.” That’s why the Council wanted to recognize Ingram.
“I think that you’ve shown that we can put a lot of trust in the accuracy and the dedication of the vote in Floyd,” Councilman David Whitaker added.
Griffin reflected on the fact the most recent election wasn’t the first that put Ingram’s capabilities to the test. “We had to have a recount in our own town election a year ago, and you handled that professionally and with grace. We’re just really appreciative of the service you provide our community,” he said. In 2019, the race for an open spot on Town Council came down to a single vote. Incumbent Councilman Paul LeMay requested a recount after Whitaker secured the seat by a one-vote margin. After the recount, the vote tally was validated and remained exactly the same. Whitaker assumed the position on Council.
Next, Cox offered her report on ongoing town projects. Several weeks back, the Town advertised for bids to complete renovations at Town Hall. These included improvements “to bring the building up to ADA compliance,” Cox said, as well as “looking at any other structural deficiencies in order to make this a better meeting space and community space for our residents.”
The Town received two proposals, from Hill Studio in Roanoke and Thompson & Litton in Blacksburg. After meeting with the project managers from both firms, Patton and Cox recommended to Council that it accept Thompson & Litton’s bid, they said.
Cox told the Council the cost of the project would not exceed $30,000, and they could expect a feasibility study to be completed within six weeks. The firm, she said, is ready to begin its work immediately. Patton took some time during the meeting to pitch Thompson & Litton’s proposal to his fellow councilors. He seemed to suggest that in selecting Thompson & Litton, the Town was approving the more expensive of the two bids. He explained why he thought it was worth it.
“What we’re approving is basically a preliminary … plan, and I think we’re going to get more for our money, although it’s going to cost more initially, from Thompson & Litton,” Patton said. “Because they’re the ones that really pushed a feasibility study.” Patton argued that Town Hall is an old structure, and even putting aside its age, in construction there are always “all kinds of surprises,” so assessing the project’s feasibility is a worthwhile investment.
Patton said another strength of Thompson & Litton is that the firm does all its work in-house, with the exception of landscaping. Thompson & Litton has both designers and engineers on staff. “Hill Studio is very creative, but they have to farm out most of their work,” Patton concluded.
The Council approved the proposal from Thompson & Litton.
The meeting closed with two motions from Whitaker, both of which generated some discussion but failed to garner a majority of ‘yes’ votes. First, Whitaker asked the Council to consider beginning its meetings with an invocation, or prayer, pointing out that both the Board of Supervisors and the School Board already do so.
“When we all took our oath of office, the last four words were, ‘So help me God.’ Our national motto is ‘In God we trust.’ And we have no power except that it was given us by our Creator, so should we not pray for his counsel in our deliberations?” Whitaker asked. “I just feel it would be a good addition to our meetings, and that’s why I proposed it,” he said.
Griffin said the Council has discussed the issue in the past, and argued it can be tricky to navigate legally. He suggested getting a fresh perspective from Town Attorney Jim Shortt before making any decisions. “Myself as a person of faith, I have my conversations in private, and I’m comfortable with that. But I’m willing to do whatever the council wants to do,” Griffin said.
Bond likewise said he wanted to hear more feedback from Shortt before voting on the proposal.
Patton, on the other hand, was emphatic in his opposition to adding an opening prayer. “We live in a secular world. The Town of Floyd is not Bethlehem, unfortunately, nor is any town or city in this country. Not everyone is Christian, not everyone is Jewish or Muslim, but we all have to live together regardless,” Patton said. “I think to single out an invocation, sometimes is not inclusive. It makes some people feel left out, and I have trouble with that.”
Whitaker pushed back by again mentioning that both the Supervisors and School Board meetings begin with a prayer. “I’m just telling you what I think and why I won’t vote for it,” Patton responded, and said he would maintain that stance regardless of feedback from the town attorney.
The Councilmen voted down the motion to include an invocation and agreed to table it until their next meeting.
Also on Thursday night, Whitaker proposed waiving the $30 licensing fee for Town businesses, in an attempt to help them recover from losses incurred during the pandemic. Cox offered feedback about the financial implications of such a proposal.
“We’ve looked at last year’s licenses that came in, and it was about $7,500, if we took that $30 off of every license that we issued,” she said. Meaning the Town would lose out on $7,500 in revenue if Whitaker’s plan was implemented, during a year when localities are already seeing decreased returns on meals and lodging taxes. Floyd is holding relatively steady; taxes were down slightly from last year at Cox’s last report. Such taxes from local businesses account for nearly half of the Town’s total income.
Cox said she spoke with Shortt and offered an alternative plan to ease the burden on local businesses. She said the deadline for paying the licensing fee could simply be extended.
Griffin said he and Cox are scheduled to meet next week to discuss the status of the town budget and to try forecasting it for the upcoming quarter. “I don’t think $7,500 is going to hurt us either way, and I tend to agree with what David’s saying here, but it would be good to know the numbers before we make a decision like that,” he said. He added that Council should consider placing restrictions on the relief. “Businesses need to be in good standing. All their other taxes need to be current, (for them) to be eligible,” he said.
Again, the Councilors tabled the issue until their next meeting. Floyd Town Council will next meet Thursday, Jan. 21 at 5:30 p.m.