City Council

CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. THOMAS J. TOMZAK, MAYOR HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, VICE MAYOR CITY COUNCIL HON. KERRY P. DEVINE, AT-LARGE HON. BRADFORD C. ELLIS, WARD ONE HON. GEORGE C. SOLLEY, WARD TWO HON. FREDERIC N. HOWE, III, WARD THREE Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street HON. BEATRICE R. PAOLUCCI, WARD FOUR Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 Council Work Session March 8, 2011 Architectural Review Board and Economic Development Authority Applicant Interviews PPEA Courthouse Process The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia held a work session on Tuesday, March 8, 2011, beginning at 6:00 p.m. in City Hall Conference Room. Council Present. Mayor Thomas J. Tomzak, presiding. Vice-Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw. Councilors Kerry P. Devine, Bradford C. Ellis, Frederic N. Howe, III, Beatrice R. Paolucci and George C. Solley. Also Present. City Manager Beverly Cameron, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Economic Development Director Karen Hedelt and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Interviews – Council interviewed the following applicants for possible appointment to the Architectural Review Board (ARB) and the Economic Development Authority (EDA). Matthew Kelly – When asked about the Main Street Program he said he had some reservations and concerns about it. He said the City had the program once before and it didn’t work. He felt that if it was going to be done there must be committed resources. Under the current economic conditions he didn’t think the EDA should take that on entirely. He felt the downtown needed to be a little more organized before this program was put into place and he said you would need a buy in from retailers for it to be successful. When asked what could be done to differentiate Central Park from its competitors and what role EDA should play, he said he thought discussions should be held between, Silver Companies, Hospital, University and ask where they are going with their projects and ask how the City could help move them forward. He felt there could be a lot more discussion between the private sector and EDA. As for Central Park, he felt Silver Companies needed to do a better job with their marketing. He was 1 not in favor of allowing the Haven Apartments in Celebrate Virginia to start the second Phase; he said this area was a business development and he didn’t want to see another retail development in Celebrate Virginia. Mr. Kelly was asked what opportunities the EDA could use to boost the City’s future, and he stated that if it was Council’s desire to move forward with projects like the Courthouse, it would take the City out of the long term bigger project equation and he thought this would be the opportunity for the EDA to step in and take on a bigger role and finance project such as the Riverfront Park. Another project he thought the EDA could be beneficial in was another parking garage. He said in order to do more events and bring in more infrastructure the City will need more parking. Mr. Kelly was asked what positive steps he would take to help the EDA move the City into a better economic direction he said the City must make a commitment and stick to it. He said what needed to be done was to build an economic and a diversified tax base for the City, so that when the City approach build out the City would have funds coming in. He stated that the arts district would not give as much of a return as an event such a Libertytown hosting a weekend long event. He thought that would have a much greater impact than the arts district. He said the small items will not get the return that’s needed. When asked about his thoughts on the incentives for businesses in the downtown and his views on EDA’s impact, he said he agreed with Councilors Solley and Devine that it seems like there was no way to deny an applicant that come forward. He said businesses like Capital Ale and Barvarian Chef are great examples of businesses that should be incentivized. He said that on the incentives the City needed to go back to what it originally talked about and use the incentive to bring diversity. He suggested putting marketing packages together and sending them out to draw businesses to the area. He said Fredericksburg is leading the way with incentives. Kerri Barile – Ms. Barile stated that she was dedicated to preservation and she felt that her professional experience would help with moving the City forward on preservation. She said she has a very dedicated past with preservation in the City. She has a lot to offer and she would like the opportunity to give back to her community. She stated that she has a background in many areas of preservation. When asked what she saw as the biggest challenge for Fredericksburg in implementing the Preservation Plan, she said education was the hardest part. She said making people aware of preservation and of how it can be used as a tool. She said getting this information out to the public could be beneficial. She said getting the information out there is the role of everyone. She said ARB has a leadership role in setting 2 precedence. When asked her thoughts on new construction in the historic district, she said new construction is going to happen. The problem she has with it is consistency. With new construction there is a guidebook and they should be followed to the best degree. She said there will be some exceptions. She said there are some elements of judgment to the ARB. Each block should be looked at individually. She was asked what she saw as Fredericksburg’s future, as far as new builds and challenges; she said Fredericksburg is moving forward in a lot of areas of preservation and having the Preservation Plan in place helps to set initiatives that were set forth in the plan. She also stated that using tools outside the immediate community could help. She noted that she has a close working relationship with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources as well as surrounding states and these are tool that could be used to help benefit the City. When she was asked about old dilapidated structures specifically the Old Grain Elevator on Caroline Street, she said the whole area could use some sprucing up. She suggested working with the Community and Historic Fredericksburg Foundation or other group the make people aware of what the building was used for and possibly do tours. She said education is the first step. She was asked if she was selected would she remain on Historic Fredericksburg Foundation and she said she was stepping down at the end of the month, but she would still be the chair of the publication committee. She was asked if she thought the ARB had a role in helping to avoid deteriorating buildings. She said that would be a role of monitoring and ARB’s role is to review projects. She said the City staff is too overwhelmed to monitor, but ARB could work in conjunction with other groups such as the University which has a stellar program. She said the students could go out and monitor the buildings on the City’s behalf. Thomas Crimmins – When asked about his thoughts on the Main Street Program he said he’s been looking at the Main Street program for some time. He said when he served on the EDA before they were talking about it. He said that the downtown is a gem and it needed to be the centerpiece. He said there is a need for some sort of management program downtown. He said whether Main Street is right for the City, he’s not sure. If the City didn’t do the Main Street Program it could do some other similar program. He said it’s not easy to get the downtown organized. He was asked what he thought needed to be done to differentiate Central Park from its competitors and what role should the EDA play. He said the Spotsylvania Town Center is taking some of the shine away from Central Park but he said the restaurants in Central Park are appealing for some and it should continue. He said he would 3 like to see more of the big businesses with superior products. He also said Central Park needed to advertise and develop its image; it could be a great benefit to the City. When Mr. Crimmins was asked what new things he could bring to the table, he said he would start with JumpStart. He said it was a great project and the market and financial studies needed to be updated to help the City determine what market opportunities are out there and to determine the market strengths in the City. It would also help with what needed to be done to make the corridors more appealing and to help attract developers. JumpStart studied very hard the economics and the market place and the third piece was an action plan, but the action plan was never completed because of the recession. He was asked his thoughts on supporting larger projects to get more done versus the smaller projects, and he said he the EDA has a limited income and the original plan of the loan/grant program was to spread it thin. It was to be used to help spruce up areas by matching funds. He said there was a balance that needed be met, but he preferred to spread the money around to several smaller projects. He added that he liked what’s been done on William Street from Castiglia’s to Hurkamp Park. When asked his thoughts on how EDA could support the arts community on a broader scale for example Libertytown, he said the arts community should be a solid element of economic development. He said he was torn with whether the EDA should support Libertytown, but he wanted to see it continue. He also suggested EDA support events like fairs, or other downtown events. Mr. Crimmins believed the biggest challenge for EDA was that everyone would be coming out of the recession and other cities are making strides. He said the city must build on its uniqueness. He said the City must use marketing to get the City’s name out there and to get people energized about the possibilities here. Courthouse PPEA Process. Mayor Tomzak stated that the staff recommended a process and he agreed with the process to hear three proposals on March 15 and two on March 16. He stated that he disagreed with holding a closed session to hear the presentations. Councilor Paolucci stated that the only reason she suggested the presentations be submitted in closed session was because the concern expressed by one of the presenters and she wanted to make it fair to everyone. Councilor Ellis said that being with a firm that has to go through bid processes it made sense to him to have them presented in closed session. He felt that having the presenters present on two separate days created an unfair advantage. 4  Councilor Howe gave an example of an unfair advantage and how it could cost a firm to lose a job. He said holding the presentations in open session gives other firms the opportunity to change their presentation. Councilor Solley disagreed stating that these are presentations to present facts of their proposals. He said the examination of the proposals happen once the City gets into the details of the proposal. Councilor Devine stated that the proposals are being submitted before hand and it would be difficult for them to make changes. Councilor Howe asked had anyone voiced a concern and he wanted to know who determined the order of the firms presenting. Mr. Cameron stated only one group voiced concerns and that was the first group presenting. He said the consulting firm ARCADIS determined the order. Councilor Howe also expressed his concern that Councilor Solley would not be present for the presentations. He stated that this is one of the largest capital projects the City has taken on and he felt the presentations should be rescheduled when all of Council was available. Councilor Ellis agreed. Councilor Solley assured everyone that he was capable of reviewing the recordings own his own time. Vice-Mayor Greenlaw stated that she did not think it would be wise to change the process. She said it would look bad to change the schedule at this point. City Attorney Dooley explained that the presentations were concept proposals; there are no negotiations of contracts at this point therefore Council could not hold a closed session to hear the presentations. Councilor Howe discussed the courthouse project schedule, which has been proposed, but there was not a public hearing on the schedule. He stated that he would like to have a public hearing before step two. Council all agreed there would be a public hearing. Council again discussed the concern of the presentations being held on two different nights. Mayor stated that if a firm changes what they have already submitted based on what a previous firm has submitted, he would question their integrity. Vice-Mayor Greenlaw explained that the presenters are presenting the concepts only (many different schemes), no one scheme will be the same. She said presenting concepts was different from the final request for detailed proposal, which is the point when everyone will be dealing with the same concept or scheme. Mr. Cameron explained that the presentations are only going to be 60 minutes; they have 45 minutes to present and 15 minutes of questions. He said they would not have time to downgrade other firm’s projects. Councilor Howe expressed his concern with the time that Council will be given to review the documents from each firm. He said Council would only 5 have four days to review and be prepared to ask questions, but given the tight schedule for the presenters he did not think it would be enough time to ask questions. It was explained that questions would be kept at a minimal because there would be time to get more specific questions answered at a later time. Councilor Howe again stated that his only problem was that there was no public hearing scheduled. Vice-Mayor Greenlaw stated that she agreed, but she felt strongly that the City needed to let the public see what they were dealing with from the beginning. The Mayor again stated that there would be a public hearing before any vote. Councilor Howe clarified that the public hearing would be before step 2, and Council agreed that it would. A discussion ensued regarding Councilor Howe being strongly identified with one plan. Councilor Howe stated that he was involved with an alternative plan to bring the Executive Plaza down by maximizing the capital expenditure by doing two projects out of one. He also said that his main priority was to fix security issues with the Courts. Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, the meeting was declared officially adjourned at 7:25 p.m. ___Tonya B. Lacey__ Tonya B. Lacey Clerk of Council City of Fredericksburg 6