Budget, Cabin Lake issues face Danville City Council

Danville City Council has a light agenda for its regular meeting Tuesday night, but the following work session promises discussion about the upcoming budget and the fate of the Cabin Lake Apartment Complex, now facing demolition.

The two items up for a vote at the regular meeting are a request for a budget amendment from Danville Utilities telecommunications department and a rezoning request for property on River Oak Drive.

The telecommunications budget amendment will allow the department to transfer funds from unreserved to its regular capital account.

Kim Kendrick, director of utilities, said in the request summary the department has had higher than expected expenses in taking broadband services to more new businesses than expected this fiscal year.

Those projects included the Center for Applied High Performance Computing-Noblis/Cray on Bridge Street; Gateway Health Alliance on Fulton Heights; the Hospice Center on Central Boulevard; Family HealthCare Center on Piney Forest road; Piedmont Regional Medical on Executive Drive; Brosville Family Medical Center on Martinsville Highway; Averett University’s new Riverview Campus on Bridge Street; and Averett University’s Aviation Center on Airport Drive.

Kendrick proposes to transfer $100,000 to the regular capital fund.

“This should reasonably cover any normal project request[s] that come up between now and the end of the fiscal year,” Kendrick stated in the summary.

The second item up for a vote is a request to rezone about 5 acres of land on River Oak Drive from suburban residential to threshold residential.

The developers — LE&D Professional, of Danville — want to include this five-acre piece of a 24-acre property is predominantly wetlands and the rezoning will allow it to be consolidated into adjoining similar property.

The request has been approved by the planning commission and awaits approval from City Council before the change can be made.

Two other items on the regular agenda will get a first reading in preparation for a vote at the March 6 meeting: acceptance of a grant to purchase equipment for the Danville Fire Department’s technical rescue team and acceptance of another grant to help the Circuit Court Clerk’s office restore old records.