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275 <br /> <br /> Mr. Toscano said that both staff and C1DA have taken time to work through the <br />complex issues involved in the CSX property and in his view Council should pay attention to <br />their recommendation. Mr. Toscano noted that it appears that the contract purchaser and <br />Central Railroad are willing to work together and therefore feels that Council should move <br />ahead with the proposal. <br /> <br />Rev. Edwards said he does not think $10,000 is a fair price for the property. <br /> <br /> Ms. Slaughter expressed concern about the City giving up the right to control the <br />property and she feels the train proposal should be considered. <br /> <br /> Mr. Vandever said he would support delaYing the decision for two weeks to give an <br />opportunity for further discussions. <br /> <br /> Mr. Gouldman suggested that perhaps the verbal agreement between Mr. Kuttner and <br />Central Railroad could be put into writing during the next two weeks. <br /> <br /> On motion by Rev. Edwards, seconded by Ms. Slaughter, Council unanimously voted <br />to delaY a decision on the sale of CSX property until the December 4th meeting. <br /> <br />PRESENTATION: CREDIT CARD PROJECT - FINANCE DEPARTMENT <br /> <br /> Ms. Linda Peacock, Budget Administrator, announced that the City has been given <br />awards from both the Virginia and National Government Finance Officers Associations. <br /> <br /> Ms. Rita Scott, Director of Finance, said that due to recent staff downsizing, staff have <br />been loOking for ways to do less paperwork and to make small City purchases more user <br />friendly and developed a credit card program for use by City staff <br /> <br /> Ms. Scott introduced Mr. A1 Elias, PurChasing Agent, and Mr. Tom Heyden, City <br />Comptroller, who worked on the credit card program. <br /> <br />Ms. Peacock noted that the City has again been given a Triple A bond rating. <br /> <br />PRESENTATION: pIEDMONT PRIVATE INDUSTRY COUNCIL <br /> <br /> Mr. Francis Fife, 1605 Concord Drive, the CitY's representative on the Piedmont Policy <br />Council, urged Council to support restoring funds for job training whiCh have been <br />significantly reduced by Congress. <br /> <br /> Mr. Willie Blanton, Executive Director of Piedmont Job Training Program, explained <br />that funding cuts have already been severe and are expected to get worse. Mr. Blanton <br />presented a report entitled "Getting Ready for the Challenge of Change in Local Workforce <br />Development" on behalf of Piedmont Private Industry Council, Piedmont Policy Board, and <br />local employment and training service providers. <br /> <br /> Responding to a question from Mr. Vandever, Mr. Blanton said that there has been a <br />philosophical shift toward more long-term training. <br /> <br /> Mr. Blanton noted that funding for youth training has been cut and funds for job <br />training in the future will be in the form of block grants. Mr. Blanton said that the need for <br />job training is greater now because of welfare reforn~. <br /> <br />RE. PORT: ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION STUDY <br /> <br /> Ms. Peacock explained that in response to concerns at the Joint Security Complex, the <br />Jail Board put out an RFP for a study of alternatives to incarceration and one proposal was <br />submitted, at a cost of $15,000. Ms. Peacock said staff recommends approval of the study, <br />and suggests that the City's share of funding come from either the Jail's current budget or the <br />JaiI's unexpended budget from prior years. <br /> <br /> <br />