Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 30, 1994 TAG: 9411300044
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
Those were the guidelines set by Pulaski Town Council's Human Resources Committee early Tuesday.
Council will appoint the 18 members and, as suggested by the committee, will provide continuity by staggering the terms of the representatives. Initially, council will appoint six members to serve for one year, six to serve for two years and six to serve for three years. All terms after that will be for three years.
The committee earlier had come up with a list of areas it would like covered by board membership including medical and health, industry, retail and commercial, education, recreation, beautification, real estate, finance and banking, professional services, human services, media, utilities, food and travel.
There also would be representation from Town Council, the town Planning Commission, Pulaski County, the county Chamber of Commerce, and the group that formerly comprised Pulaski Main Street Inc.
At Tuesday's meeting, the committee added clergy and a historic element to the list.
Some citizens already have given town officials suggestions on potential members. The town will send letters to organizations such as the chamber, the Architectural Review Board and the Pulaski County School Board seeking more names for council to consider.
State legislators representing Pulaski County would be ex-officio members, as would Town Manager Tom Combiths. The board's meetings would be open to the public.
The idea for the board came from a task force organized by Councilman John Stone, shortly after his election in May. The task force's mission was to suggest ways to do for the entire town what Pulaski Main Street, under Roscoe Cox, did for the town's central business district with attacting new stores and other enterprises.
The new board's budget for its first six months in 1995 will come from money that previously went to the Main Street program and other agencies involved in economic development.
Once the board is in place, it will hire an executive director and present a proposed agenda to council for approval and funding in the 1995-96 town budget.
``I think our job is just to come up with the board itself,'' said Councilman Roy D'Ardenne, committee chairman. ``The guidelines talk about an executive committee, but that's up to them.''
In other business, the committee agreed to recommend a revised policy to council prohibiting all forms of harassment among town employees, defining how to report harassment, and setting discipline guidelines.
Town Attorney Frank Terwilliger said an earlier draft was presented to town employees at two meetings, and some asked to whom complaints should be made if harassment came from higher levels of town administration. Terwilliger added a provision for such a complaint being reported to either the town manager, town attorney, mayor or Human Resources Committee chairperson who should forward it to council.
Although there have been complaints of harassment in the past, Terwilliger said, there are none pending now and that makes this a good time to put the policy in place.
``This is a preventive thing,'' agreed Combiths. ``This is not to make the workplace unsociable.''
Council will discuss the issue next on Dec. 6.
by CNB