News Flash

City Council will meet Tuesday, March 20, 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.

During the business session, City Council is scheduled to vote on a proposed change in bid procedures on procurement contracts. The current city code contains a list of 10 special qualifications that may be considered alongside price when awarding a procurement contract subject to competitive bidding. The proposed change would add potential conflicts of interest when evaluating competitive bid proposals.

Hypothetically, if the City of Danville published an invitation to bid on the demolition of an unsafe building after the owner failed to repair or demolish it, it would be possible for a limited liability company, whose sole agent is the owner of the property to be demolished, to deliberately bid slightly below cost. Since the lowest bid received for the demolition would be that made by the owner of the property to be demolished, under the current Danville Code, the City must accept this bid, even though it amounts to paying public funds to a person to demolish a property he is already under a legal obligation to demolish at his own cost. This opens the City up to an increased risk of predatory bids.

In addition to this vote, City Council will hold a first reading on three matters:

• a budget amendment to provide for receipt and appropriation of a grant in the amount of $55,220 from the Danville-Pittsylvania Community Services board for use by the Parks and Recreation Department to conduct a recreation enrichment program and expanded summer program.
• a budget amendment to provide for receipt and appropriation of a grant in the amount of $38,289 from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management for use by the Danville Fire Department’s technical rescue team.
• a budget amendment to provide for receipt and appropriation of a grant in the amount of $78,000 from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management for use by the Danville Fire Department’s hazardous materials response team.

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 this matter Tuesday. The earliest vote that can take place will be the April 3 City Council meeting.

During the work session, City Council will discuss the following matters:

• financial updates through Feb. 28.
• allocation of money from the Virginia Department of Transportation for Mount Cross Road, North Union Street, Airport Drive and Airport Drive trail projects.
• purchase of the apartment building at 205 Jefferson Ave. The purchase would enable the City to find a developer to partner with the City, restore the property and bring it into compliance with both the Property Maintenance Code and the historic district requirements for the Old West End.
• transfer ownership of 324 Bradley Road to the Danville Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
• naming the U.S. 58 Bypass in honor of Wendell Scott, the first African-American driver to win at NASCAR's highest level and the first to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

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 theRiver City TV Facebook page.

River City TV does not air work sessions, but they are open to the public.