Town Council Discusses Painting Caboose and FEMA Buyout Plan

By WILLIAM PAINE

Patriot Publishing

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Pulaski Town Council heard detailed presentations about a FEMA flood zone buyback program and a caboose color consideration conversation initiated by April Danner of the Raymond Ratcliff Museum. Town Council also voted to appropriate grants funds that were awarded in the 2024-2025 budget, but had not yet been spent.

Danner and the Town’s Parks and Trails Manager Nathan Repass presented council with the idea of painting the caboose at Pulaski’s historic train depot in red, white and blue in recognition of the upcoming 250^th Anniversary celebration of America’s founding. Members of the Norfolk and Southern Historical Society, who were also present at the meeting, had determined that the caboose was in “rather good condition” and were supportive of painting the caboose in a manner that mimics the colonial era American flag.

The caboose was built by WABASH in Decatur, Illinois in March 1952 at a cost of $10,259.40 and was originally blue in color. The caboose operated in Illinois and Ohio before being retired in 1987, after which it was slated for the scrapyard. The Kiwanis Club obtained the caboose and donated it to the town in 2013. It was last repainted in 2018.

After an inquiry was made by Vice Mayor Brooks Dawson, Repass estimated the cost of the red, white and blue paint job to be between $25,000 and $30,000, even with volunteer labor and with some of the work being done by town employees. Repass stated that he could potentially find a cheaper bid but that the paint job would not look as professional.

“We don’t want to do something not as good as it could be,” said Councilman Steven Erickson. Other councilmembers seemed to agree and Repass will bring alternative red, white and blue color schemes for council approval in the coming weeks. If the work is approved, the newly painted caboose will be re-dedicated on July 4, 2026.

Nathan Smythers, the Town of Pulaski’s Zoning Administrator, updated council on a hazard mitigation program that the Town applied for in 2023. The plan involves acquiring 48 parcels of land in the flood prone Kersey Bottom section of town.

“The end result here is that the town would take ownership of these properties and turn that back into open space,” said Smythers, noting that homeowners could opt out of the program at any time.

The owners of 48 parcels of land in Kersey Bottom have tentatively agreed to sell their property at a fair market rate, after which structures on those properties would be demolished and transformed into open space. Funds for this project would come from FEMA through the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

“Virginia Department of Emergency Management went onsite to see if property owners were still interested,” said Smythers. “The majority were for it. When we spoke with the homeowners, we asked that they provide flood damage documentation as this area has a history of flooding. It’s still in review, though, from FEMA. So, we haven’t received any notification from them.”

Councilman Joel Burchett Sr. asked if there would be any financial burden on the citizenry if this project went through and Smythers confirmed that all aspects of the project, including the demolitions, would be paid for with federal funds through FEMA. He added that even if some property owners opted out, the project would still proceed on the surrounding properties.

Town Manager Todd Day mentioned a similar project in Bluefield, Va., which resulted in moving their Town Hall from the flood plain to higher ground. Mayor Shannon Collins remarked that the land for Heritage Park was acquired by the Town through FEMA by using this same program.

Council voted in favor of appropriating several grant funds that were received in the previous fiscal year but not yet spent.

Town council agreed to accept $63,990 from VDOT for improvements on the south side of Main Street south and $89,116 from VDOT for improvements on the north side of Main Street. This work is currently ongoing.

Pulaski Police Department Administrative Manager Sonya Ramsey told council where the initial $10,732 from the Operation Ceasefire Grant would be spent. Detective Breanna Terry was sent to the Forensic Academy and used grant monies to pay for her mileage, lodging and meals during her stay. The police department will recoup these expenditures using grant funds.

A second Cease Fire Grant for $83,108 will be used to buy a Trimble X9 Laser Scanner for use in police investigations. The funds will cover training and the warranty for the device.

“It’s the state-of-the-art high tech crime processing scanner that basically recreates the whole scene” said Ramsey of the Trimble X9 Laser. “It does all the measurements using that scanner. In addition, those funds will be used for two Nikon z7 mirrorless cameras, which are again state of the art cameras for still photos.”

A block grant of $3,152 will be used to buy small digital cameras for every officer on patrol, so that evidence can be documented on site without having to divert another officer from their duties. Remaining grant money will be used to provide all officers on patrol with Lockout Kits, used to open locked vehicles.

“We get calls to unlock vehicles all the time,” said Ramsey.

A $13,853 grant from the BYRNE/JAG Program will be used to replace recording equipment for the police department Interview Room.

Council also approved the $50,000 grant from Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development to move the Marketplace to East Main Street.

The EPA awarded the Town with a $500,000 Brownfields Assessment grant, but no details were given about how these funds would be spent at the meeting.

Day told council that 800 faulty electronic water meters had been replaced, but the Town would likely have to replace 200 more in the very near future. Town Council is set to vote on buying new water meters at their upcoming August 5 meeting.

Day announced the recent death of Jerry Crowder, a 30-year veteran of the Pulaski Public Works Department who worked as the Street Superintendent.

The Chrome in the Valley car show is set to take place at Jackson Park this Saturday from 11 till 3 (weather permitting).

The Town of Pulaski reworked their website using a company called Revise. Human Resource Manager Jackie Reid and Economic Developer Shannon Ainsley are overseeing the website for the Town.

National Night Out is set to take place from 4 till 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 5 at Jackson Park. According to Ramsey, last year saw 350 to 500 people attending and upwards of 20 organizations will be participating in this year’s National Night Out.

TG Howard will be doing a bookbag giveaway, the bloodmobile will be there and there will be a police vs kids water balloon fight. The police department is still looking for volunteers for the dunking booth. If interested, call the Pulaski Police Department.