City Council

Regular Session 03/26/13 HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, MAYOR CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. BRADFORD C. ELLIS, VICE -MAYOR, WARD ONE CITY COUNCIL HON. KERRY P. DEVINE, AT-LARGE HON. MATTHEW J. KELLY, AT-LARGE HON. GEORGE C. SOLLEY, WARD TWO HON. FREDERIC N. HOWE, III, WARD THREE HON. BEATRICE R. PAOLUCCI, WARD FOUR Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 March 26, 2013 The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held a regular session on Tuesday, March 26, 2013, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. City Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw presiding. Vice- Mayor Bradford C. Ellis. Councilors Kerry P. Devine, Frederic N. Howe, III, Matthew J. Kelly, Beatrice R. Paolucci and George C. Solley. Also Present. City Manager Beverly R. Cameron, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Budget Manager Amanda Lickey, Director of Public Transit Kathy Beck, Assistant Director of Public Transit Wendy Kimball, Director of Building & Development Services Steve Smallwood, Site Development Manager Kevin Utt, Economic Development Director Karen Hedelt and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Opening Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance. Council was led in prayer by Councilor Frederic N. Howe, III, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw. Officer Recognized. Mayor Greenlaw recognized the presence of Officer John Fesq at this evening’s meeting. 18175 Regular Session 03/26/13 Update on FRED Maintenance Facility (D13-122). Project Manager Bill Downey, presented a PowerPoint presentation showing the construction of the fleet operations and maintenance facility for FRED Transit. The budget for the project is $4,539,114, but the projection completion costs are $4,350,000. The project is projected to be completed under budget with a completion date of June 2013. (See D13-122 for more information.) Update on the Brownsfield Program (D13-123 thru D13-124). Building and Development Services Director Smallwood stated that he was proud of the Brownsfield Program and said the City would benefit greatly from it by allowing the reuse of land within the City. He also commended Mr. Utt for his environmental knowledge. Site Development Manager Utt gave a brief synopsis of how the City was able to receive the grant and what the grant could be used for. He also presented a PowerPoint presentation which explained what Brownfields are, showed example of a few within the City, reviewed Legislation on Brownsfields, he listed the established Brownsfields Grant Programs, described the process that a Brownsfield project takes, and he list the benefits. (See D13-123 thru D13-124 for more information). Citizen Comment. The following speaker came forward to participate in the citizen comment portion of this evening's meeting. Cindy Papa, no fixed address, asked Council to review the ordinance that doesn’t allow people to sleep in their cars. She would like to see the ordinance changed. Public Hearings. There were no scheduled public hearings. Council Agenda Presented. The following items were presented to 18176 Regular Session 03/26/13 Council. 7A. 2013-2014 City Budget Advertised Tax Rate/Proposal and Recommendation – Councilor Howe 2013-2014 City Budget Advertised Tax Rate/Proposal and Recommendation (D13-125). Councilor Howe presented a PowerPoint presentation proposing a $0.07 real estate tax increase to pay for the cost of the new courthouse and to put all courts bond debt service and initial operations and maintenance into a separate financial reporting tracking account. He also proposed to have the City Attorney draft an ordinance to establish a policy that requires the creation of a bond funded tax account to provide additional financial insights for the courts project and all future capital projects requiring bond funding. He explained that once the debt has been retired the commensurate tax would be refunded to the tax payers for that portion of the debt as it has retired, but carry forward the portion of the taxes that are associated with the operations and maintenance portion of the project. Councilors Devine and Solley were not comfortable voting on something they had just received and had no time to think about. Councilors Ellis, Kelly and Paolucci each agreed that this proposal was worth looking into further and Vice-Mayor Ellis proposed separating the proposal to create a bond funded tax from the tax increase. City Attorney Dooley informed Council that they have no authority to tell future Council’s how to fund projects as proposed in the ordinance. Councilor Paolucci recommended isolating the cost of the courts as a separate line item in the budget to make it clear what they costs are. Councilor Howe requested that the City Attorney research and see what could be done to refund the money back to the taxpayers as projects are paid off. 18177 Regular Session 03/26/13 City Manager’s Consent Agenda Accepted for Transmittal as Recommended (D13-126 thru D13-135). Following review and as recommended, Councilor Kelly moved approval of the City Manager's consent agenda; motion was seconded by Councilor Devine and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). • Resolution 13-19, Second Read Approved, Amending the Fiscal Year 2- 13 Social Services Fund by $310,000 to Appropriate Additional State and Federal Funding (D13-126). • Ordinance 13-07, Second Read Approved, Renewing the Non-Exclusive Franchise to Nancy S. Wimmer, D/B/A Trolley Tours of Fredericksburg, to provide Motor Vehicle Tour Services in the City (D13-127). • Resolution 13-21, Approved, Budget Amendment for the Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Academy (D13-128). • Transmittal of Boards and Commission Minutes o Fredericksburg Clean & Green Commission – February 7, 2013 (D13-129). o Economic Development Authority – December 10, 2012 (D13- 130). o Economic Development Authority – January 14, 2013 (D13-131). o Economic Development Authority – February 11, 2013 (D13-132). o Fredericksburg Arts Commission – February 7, 2013 (D13-133). o Planning Commission – February 27, 2013 (D13-134). 18178 Regular Session 03/26/13 o Potomac & Rappahannock Transportation Commission – February 14, 2013 (D13-135). Adoption of Minutes (D13-136). Councilor Devine moved approval of the March 12, 2013 Work Session, Public Hearing and Regular Session minutes; motion was seconded by Councilor Solley and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Resolution 13-22, Approved, Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Memorandum of Understanding with the Fredericksburg Main Street Initiative (D13-137). Upon a motion and as recommended Councilor Solley moved to approve Resolution 13-22, authorizing the City Manager to execute a Memorandum of Understanding with the Fredericksburg Main Street Initiative; motion was seconded by Councilor Devine and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0) City Manager’s Report and Council Calendar (D13-138 thru D13- 139). City Manager Cameron asked if there were any questions regarding the Manager’s report or the Council Calendar. Activities highlighted on the report were as follows: Recommended FY 2014 Budget Released, Motts Run Reservoir, Visitor Center, Memorial Park Tennis Court, Space Utilization, New K-9 Officer, Phone System Upgrade for Social Services and Emergency Notification System. City Manager Cameron commended the Fire Department’s tremendous efforts in 18179 Regular Session 03/26/13 fighting the fire at 1800 Washington Avenue. He also recognized the assistance of the Stafford County firefighters at the scene and the assistance of the Spotsylvania’s Chancellor Firemen who manned the Altoona Station while they were on scene at the fire. He also noted that the construction on the Fall Hill project was scheduled to begin July 5. Vice-Mayor Ellis asked that a link be placed on the website with the timeline for the project and he asked that a rendition on the project be posted as well. Councilor Kelly echoed Mr. Cameron’s comments on how well the fire was handled on Washington Avenue. He met with one of the adjacent owner’s and he was very impressed with the response. Councilor Howe asked City Manager Cameron if there would be an opportunity to offer an early performance bonus for the Fall Hill project and Mr. Cameron said they were exploring it with Virginia Department of Transportation. Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, Mayor Greenlaw declared the meeting officially adjourned at 9:06 p.m. Mary Katherine Greenlaw Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Mayor Tonya B. Lacey Tonya B. Lacey, Clerk of Council, CMC 18180