Alexa Doiron
communitynews@ourvalley.org
City Manager David C. Ripath (left) and City Attorney Gail Cook DeVilbiss, discuss various matters at the Radford City Council meeting on Monday.
The Radford City Council met on Monday to discuss its employee retirement program, the Radford Transit’s policies and the bond for improvements to the Little River Dam.
First on the agenda was a resolution to the proposed retirement program for employees of the city. The program will allow for city employees to retire and qualify for benefits such as five years of additional employment healthcare (for the employee only) and a stipend of $25 a year for every year the employee worked for the city.
“There are positive and negative aspects of the plan,” City Manager David Ripath said. “We would be losing valuable years of service from those employees that choose this, but we would be also opening up the positions for a younger workforce.”
Various residents in the meeting voiced concern for this program, considering the heads of different departments might decide an early retirement path, which would leave their position open to city employees who do not reside in the city of Radford.
However, the program passed and will take effect starting in 2018.
The Radford Transit procurement policy and procedures were discussed in reference to meeting FDA requirements for the project. While the city currently operates under its own procedures for the transit, the FDA has various differences that needed to be addressed.
The city clerk, Melissa White, attended a conference in Philadelphia this past spring in order to compile a proper dossier of FDA requirements for the council’s approval. The requirements that were lacking in the Radford city transit system were not specified.
The improvements to the Little River Dam were found to be a worthwhile project for the council after research found that it saves the city around $400,000 each year. While the project will cost nearly $3 million, it will be a money-saving investment for the future.
“This is probably one of the most significant projects the city has done in a number of years because of the renewable energy it will provide and the impact the dam will have on the city,” said Ripath.
The consent items addressed funding for various projects throughout the city. One of which was $9,678 that was for the printing of brochures for the tourism department. The brochures will be placed in the 11 tourist sites around Virginia and they will advertise for Radford’s Mary Draper Ingles projects as well as the Virginia Living Magazine.
Resident Jim Graham spoke during the community comments portion of the meeting and commended the council on the pavement projects this month. He also thanked the council for their support of the local community garden, which now has 43 plots for residents to grow various types of fruits and vegetables for either themselves or to give to their friends.
The public portion of the city council meeting was concluded with a video that feature high school students thanking various council members for their participation in student government day—a day which allowed students to shadow various council members and gain a better understanding about the every day work of local government.
The next meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, June 26 at the council chambers (10 Robertson St.).
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