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Saltville work session: council approves signing DEQ consent order, moves on pickleball quotes, parade donations and Little Museum inquiry
Summary
Council authorized the town manager to sign a DEQ consent order tied to sewer overflows, voted to solicit quotes related to pickleball courts (record contains inconsistent wording about counts), allowed Beautification Committee donations up to $500 for the Christmas parade, and heard a request to rent the 'Little Museum' for e-bike rentals.
During its Oct. 28 work session the Saltville Town Council addressed several administrative and community items, approving staff authority to sign a DEQ consent order and taking votes on recreation and event matters.
Town Manager Cecile Rosenbaum reported the town received a consent order from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality concerning sewer overflows. Rosenbaum said she and the engineer had made required corrections and had spoken with DEQ staff; the council authorized Rosenbaum to sign the consent order (motion by Councilwoman Suzanne Abramson, seconded by Councilman Cary Sauls). The record notes the consent order originated in Richmond and that Abingdon DEQ staff said they had not been aware it had been sent to the town.
On recreation, Mayor Cheri Fullen asked permission to solicit bids for "283 pickle ball courts" as spoken in the record; Councilman Cary Sauls questioned why the town would continue pursuing the project given county funding. The council voted to "have quotes done on 2 pickle ball courts and 3 pickle ball quotes," as recorded (motion by Abramson, seconded by Call); Sauls voted no. The meeting record contains inconsistent phrasing about the number of courts and quotes to be solicited; staff follow-up is needed to clarify the council's procurement instructions.
Council also approved, by motion from David Buchanan and seconded by Eugene Call, allowing the Beautification Committee to accept donations of $500 or less to be used for parade prizes and decorations.
In a separate presentation, Matthew Justus asked to rent the vacant building near the train station known as the Little Museum to operate e-bike rentals for trail users. Rosenbaum said the building contains historic items and staff must determine ownership and how to handle contents before proceeding with any rental arrangement.
A staff update also noted a conversion-format issue on 2025 personal-property tax printouts that caused some license fees not to print; those bills will receive a manually written fee and staff are coordinating with Bradley Powers in Smyth County to resolve the conversion problem.
The meeting adjourned after additional motions and the closed-session business recorded elsewhere in the minutes.
