City Council will meet Thursday, Aug. 3, in a business session at 7 p.m., followed by a work session. Both sessions are open to the public.
The business session will be held in the Council Chambers on the fourth floor of the Municipal Building, which is located at 427 Patton St.
The work session will be held on the same floor, but across the hall in the Council Conference Room. In work sessions, Council reviews non-routine matters that will be voted upon in future business meetings.
City Council regularly meets the first and third Tuesdays of each month, but City Council voted in July to move its first meeting in August to Thursday, Aug. 3. The date change was made to allow Council members to participate in National Night Out activities scheduled on Tuesday, Aug.1, in Danville.
During the business session, City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on a request to amend the zoning code to allow distilleries in the city. As proposed, distilleries will be allowed by right in certain areas, including most of the River District. In other areas, distilleries would be allowed only if a special use permit were granted.
Another proposed change to the zoning code would allow a bed and breakfast to include banquet/event facilities for private parties as an accessory use.
City Council also is scheduled to vote on several other matters Tuesday night:
- Appointments to four boards and commissions, including the Airport Commission and the Commission of Architectural Review.
- A request to rezone a 10.76 acre parcel on Mount Cross Road to allow it to be consolidated with a portion of 465 Mount Cross Road. A public hearing will precede the vote.
- A request from Present Help Ministries that the City of Danville vacate a public alley on Lee Street. Present Help Ministries is one of the adjoining property owners.
In addition to these votes, City Council will hold a first reading on several matters:
- A budget amendment to provide for the receipt and appropriation of nearly $1.2 million in federal funds for neighborhood revitalization and assistance to non-profit organizations that carry out programs that benefit low- to moderate-income households.
- Budget amendments to provide for receipt and appropriation of $940,000 in state funds to resurface portions of Central Boulevard and Riverside Drive.
- A budget amendment to provide for the receipt and appropriation of an additional $250,000 in state funds to complete the widening project for the westbound lane of South Boston Road.
- A budget amendment to provide for the receipt and appropriation of a $4,500 grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts to assist local arts organizations.
A first reading is an introductory step required by City code before certain matters can be voted upon by City Council. This step serves to provide public notice of pending action. Council cannot vote on the budget amendment Tuesday. The earliest vote that can take place will be the Aug. 15 City Council meeting.
During the work session, City Council will discuss the following matters:
- purchase of property at 816 Monument St. for use as a warehouse by Danville Utilities.
- a moral obligation for a loan from American National Bank & Trust to the Industrial Development Authority for the purchase of seven tracts located on Beauregard, Fitzgerald and Monument streets and Industrial Avenue from Leggett Investment Corp. and P R Acquisitions Corp.
- financing agreements relating to the Schoolfield hydroelectric generation facility.
- funding to replace aging equipment at Riverside substation.
River City TV, the city’s government access channel, will air the business session. Watch it live on cable (Comcast channel 10 and Gamewood channel 122) or streaming on the River City TV Facebook page.
River City TV does not air work sessions, but they are open to the public.
