Representatives from Duke Energy will appear before City Council on Tuesday to report on and answer questions regarding its progress toward remediating its coal ash spill in Eden, N.C.
In addition, City of Danville staff will report to City Council and the public on the many activities the City is doing in response to the spill.
The presentations are in addition to one that will take place in a public meeting prior to the City Council meeting. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has asked the City of Danville to host a public meeting from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to provide a public update on how Virginia state agencies are responding and their planned next steps. The DEQ will lead the meeting. Representatives from DEQ, the state Health Department, and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries will attend and answer questions.
City Council’s meeting will follow at 7 p.m. Both the DEQ and City Council meetings will be in the City Council Chambers on the fourth floor of the Municipal Building, which is located at 427 Patton St.
In the Council meeting, the presentation from Duke Energy is scheduled as the first agenda item.
The agenda also includes a proposal that would allow Danville Utilities to participate in a demand response program. This program would allow Danville’s large energy-users to receive cash rebates if they can curtail their energy use during peak energy periods.
Following the business session, council will reconvene in a work session for less formal discussions. Work sessions are conducted in the fourth floor conference room of the Municipal Building.
In the work session on Tuesday, City Council will continue its review of a draft version of the city’s budget for the next fiscal year, begins July 1.
The process includes a department-by-department review. Scheduled for review Tuesday night are the following departments: economic development, parks and recreation, police and fire.
Last week City Council reviewed departmental budgets from public works, information technology, transportation, and community development. Constitutional and judicial office budgets also were reviewed.
The budget working draft maintains services, programs and facilities at current levels. The current real estate tax rate of 73 cents per $100 is maintained, and no fee increases are proposed. Use of cash reserves and moderate increases in debt financing make it possible to balance the budget.
Also in the work session, City Council will discuss a request from the Downtown Danville Association (DDA) for funding assistance. The DDA is seeking $50,000 per year over five years to implement a new strategic plan.
The DDA plan calls for a minimum of one full-time and one part-time staff to be in place by the end of 2015. In addition, the DDA would secure a visible but convenient storefront presence in the River District, ideally shared with other non-profit and public partners. The DDA would invest in and employ rigorous marketing, communications, and social media strategies to engage a wide range of stakeholders in support of the River District.
Both business and work sessions are open to the public. River City TV broadcasts all business sessions. Watch them live on Comcast cable channel 10 or streaming at www.rivercitytv.org. Video archives of council business sessions also are available at www.rivercitytv.org. Work sessions are not televised or recorded on video.
To view the council agenda for both the business and work sessions, go to www.danville-va.gov and click on the link to council agendas/minutes. The link is located on the left rail of the homepage.