Town Council Meeting March 2019
The monthly Town Council meeting was held on March 20, 2019. The meeting agenda can be viewed here.
Presentations and Requests
Mayor Michael Hoops recognized the Tazewell Middle School Girls Basketball Team for their undefeated season of 2018-2019 and the Tazewell High School JV Girls Basketball Team for their win of the Southwest District title for 2018-2019.
Derrick Mays, the Program Manager of the Virginia Center for Accreditation for the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, presented the Police Department Accreditation Award to the Town of Tazewell Police Department. Derrick, along with Rick Arnold, who is Chief of Police for the Wytheville Police Department and the Virginia Law Enforcement Standards Commissioner, outlined the difficult process in becoming accredited and maintaining it. Town of Tazewell Chief of Police Dave Mills accepted the award and expressed his sincere gratitude at the honor and his pride in his department for their efforts in achieving this goal.
Peggy Hurley updated Town Council on the upcoming 2020 federal census. As a partnership specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau, Peggy outlined how important census data is for allocation of federal monies. She made recommendations to the Town of Tazewell for forming a local committee to assist in informing the public of the importance of participating. The Census Bureau has began hiring workers, from office related positions to enumerators who visit each uncounted residence.
Mike Abel, President of the Tazewell County Historical Society, presented the Town of Tazewell with a check for $15,000.00 Tazewell County Historical Society was the recipient of a grant from the Dilston Foundation and donated those monies received to the Tazewell Train Station to pay a large portion of the cost of the new mural. The mural will be unveiled during the May 18th grand opening ceremony at the Tazewell Train Station and will feature Tazewell through the eyes of Louise Leslie. Louise was a founding member of the Tazewell County Historical Society and wrote many books on the history of Tazewell, so this project is of particular importance to them to honor her memory.
Alexis Ball came before Town Council to request the closure of Main Street on September 21, 2019, for the annual Farm to Table dinner, along with permission to serve alcohol at the event, and the continued financial support from the Town of Tazewell by waiving the street closure fee. Their goal is to raise enough funds from dinner proceeds to eventually build a permanent structure for the Farmer’s Market.
Shawn Durham, CEO of the Four Seasons YMCA, updated Town Council on the great events planned at the YMCA. From a new spur of the Appalachian Trail linking the YMCA to Burke’s Garden, to an adult Prom, to sponsoring the upcoming local Scripps Spelling Bee for Tazewell County, the YMCA is kicking off its 10th anniversary by rapidly approaching its millionth member scan in.
Ben Rosado, Recreation Director for the Town of Tazewell, updated Town Council on plans for Lincolnshire Park for the year. Ben is planning a great number of events, that include night swims, luaus, movie nights on the water, fishing competitions, Spartan-style trifecta races in conjunction with other communities, a park-wide Fun in the Sun event to wrap up summer, in addition to the Aqua Park and Swimming Pool.
Full video of the March 19, 2019 Town Council meeting: