City Council

Regular Session 07/09/13 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 July 9, 2013 The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held a regular session on Tuesday, July 9, 2013, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. City Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw presiding. Vice- Mayor Bradford C. Ellis. Councilors Frederic N. Howe, III, Matthew J. Kelly, Beatrice R. Paolucci and George C. Solley. City Council Absent. Councilor Kerry P. Devine – out of town. Also Present. City Manager Beverly R. Cameron, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Public Works Director Doug Fawcett, Site Development Manager Kevin Utt, Planning Director Chuck Johnston, Senior Planner Erik Nelson, Zoning Officer Debra Mathis Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Opening Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance. Council was led in prayer by Councilor Matthew J. Kelly, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw. Officer Recognized. Mayor Greenlaw recognized the presence of Sergeant Paul Peterson at this evening’s meeting. Presentation of 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Chancellorsville (D13-254.1). Mr. Lynn Freshour gave a brief background on the USS Chancellorsville 18271 Regular Session 07/09/13 ship and how 50 members of the greater Fredericksburg were appointed By Governor Gerald L. Baliles to the Committee and many have provided support for the ship since 1989. Due to the support provided by those members the Navy recognized the members at a May 3 event. Mr. Joseph Wilson, former Councilor, introduced Captain Gordon Rheinstrom, the first Captain of the USS Chancellorsville and he read a letter addressed to Mayor Greenlaw from Captain W. A. Hesser. Mr. Wilson and Mr. Freshour presented Mayor Greenlaw with a plaque. Council Agenda Presented. The following items were presented to Council. 7A. Council Member on Negotiating Team – Councilor Kelly 7B. Fredericksburg Mains Street Initiative – Mayor Greenlaw Council Member on Negotiating Team (D13-255) – Councilor Kelly proposed to have two Council members work with staff on negotiation for the baseball stadium. Councilor Kelly made a motion to appoint Vice-Mayor Brad Ellis and Councilor Frederic Howe as members of a negotiating team along with staff; motion was seconded by Councilor Paolucci and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (5). Councilors Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (1) Councilor Greenlaw. Fredericksburg Main Street Initiative – Mayor Greenlaw stated that a Council member needed to be appointed to the Fredericksburg Main Street Initiative to serve as a liaison and that Councilor Paolucci was interested in serving. Vice-Mayor Brad Ellis moved to appoint Councilor Beatrice Paolucci to serve as the City Council’s liaison for the Fredericksburg Main Street Initiative; motion was seconded by Councilor 18272 Regular Session 07/09/13 Kelly and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). City Manager’s Consent Agenda Accepted for Transmittal as Recommended (D13-256 thru D13-267). Councilor Howe pulled item 6C “Tax Exemption for Micah Ecumenical Ministries” for further discussion. Following review and as recommended, Councilor Kelly moved approval of the remaining City Manager's consent agenda items; motion was seconded by Councilor Paolucci and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). • Transmittal of FRED Transit Progress Report – May 2013 (D13-256). • Transmittal of FRED Transit Progress Report – June 2013 (D13-257). • Resolution 13-57, Authorizing the City Manager to Sign the Fredericksburg Regional Tourism Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (D13-259). • Resolution 13-58, Declaring Official Intent to Reimburse Expenditures with Proceeds of Borrowing for Various Capital Projects (D13-260). • Resolution 13-59, Assigning General Fund Balance for a Variety of Purposes (D13-261). • Resolution 13-60, Authorizing Use of $1,687,914 of Motor Fuels Tax Fund for Various Transportation Projects (D13-262). • Transmittal of Boards and Commission Minutes • Economic Development Authority – April 8, 2013 (D13-263). • Economic Development Authority – May 13, 2013 (D13-263.1). 18273 Regular Session 07/09/13 • Planning Commission – May 8, 2013 (D13-264). • Planning Commission – May 29, 2013 (D13-265). • Potomac Rappahannock Transportation Commission – May 2, 2013 (D13-266). • Public Transit Advisory Board – April 3, 2013 (D13-267). Ordinance 13-10, Second Read Approved, Designating Property Owned by Micah Ecumenical Ministries – Residential Recovery Program, LLC., Located at 1512 Princess Anne Street as Exempt from Real Estate Taxation (D13-258). Councilor Howe requested that Ordinance be revised in Section II, second sentence to read as follows, “The specific use upon which the exemption is based is: a licensed residential group home for chronically homeless persons requiring mental health services, an institutional use.” Upon a motion Councilor Howe moved to approve Ordinance 13-10 as revised on second read, designating the property owned by Micah Ecumenical Ministries – Residential Recovery Program, LLC., located at 1512 Princess Anne Street as exempt from Real Estate taxation; motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor Ellis and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Adoption of Minutes (D13-268 thru D13-273). Councilor Kelly moved approval of the March 19, 2013 Work Session, April 16, 2013 Public Hearing, April 23, May 13, May 14, May 28 and June 11, 2013 Work Sessions, June 11, 2013 Public Hearing minutes and June 11, 2013 Regular Session minutes; motion was seconded by Councilor Howe and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (6). 18274 Regular Session 07/09/13 Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Board of Social Services Reappointment – Kathy Anderson (D13- 274). Councilor Paolucci moved to reappoint Kathy Anderson to the Board of Social Services; motion was seconded by Councilor Kelly and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Memorials Commission Appointment – Garnett Parker (D13- 275). Councilor Paolucci moved to appoint Garnett Parker to the Memorials Commission; motion was seconded by Councilor Kelly and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Resolution 13-61, Approved, Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Contract Amendment with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. for Construction Phase Engineering Services for the Fall Hill Avenue Bridge Over the Rappahannock Canal (D13-276). Upon a motion and as recommended Councilor Solley moved to approve Resolution 13-61, authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract amendment with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. for construction phase engineering services for the Fall Hill Avenue bridge over the Rappahannock Canal; motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor Ellis and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Resolution 13-62, Approved, the Final Subdivision Plat for the 18275 Regular Session 07/09/13 Proposed Subdivision of GPIN 7778-55-5317, Consisting of 4.663 Acres, for Linda Fagan Sealy Holdings, LLC and Frank Sealy Holdings, at 2017 Lafayette Boulevard (D13-277). Upon a motion and as recommended Councilor Paolucci moved to approve Resolution 13-62, approving the final subdivision plat for the proposed subdivision of GPIN 7778-55-5317, consisting of 4.663 acres, for Linda Fagan Sealy Holdings, LLC and Frank Sealy Holdings, at 2017 Lafayette Boulevard; motion was seconded by Councilor Howe and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Resolution 13-63, First Read Approved, Amending the Fiscal Year 2014 Capital Budget for Additional Funding for the Virginia Central Railway Trail and for the Annual Asphalt Rehabilitation Program (D13-278) . Upon a motion and as recommended Councilor Kelly moved to approve Resolution 13-63, amending the fiscal year 2014 capital budget for additional funding for the Virginia Central Railway Trail and for the Annual Asphalt Rehabilitation Program; motion was seconded by Councilor Solley and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). City Manager’s Report and Council Calendar (D13-279 thru D13- 280). 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: Small Business Administration Honors Fredericksburg and ILM, Economic 18276 Regular Session 07/09/13 Development and Tourism Creates Facebook Page, EDA Completes Lafayette Boulevard Site & Façade Assessment, Fredericksburg Now a Designated Virginia Main Street Community, CPR and AED Training, Virginia Enterprise Zone Application Filed, Marketing Fredericksburg, Storm Damage, Restrooms at Motts Run Reservoir, Parks and Rec Summer Camps, Family Programs, At-Risk Youth Programs and Camp Crime Fighters. City Manager Cameron reviewed several work session dates that were coming up and Mayor Greenlaw thanked Roberta Gold and her husband for a successful Heritage Festival event on July 4. Recess. The regular business portion of the meeting was completed at 6:00 so the meeting was recessed at 6:00 and was reopened at 7:00 for the public comment and the public hearings. Citizen Comment. There were no speakers at this evenings meeting. Public Hearings (D13-281 thru D13-290). The regular session was recessed in order to conduct the scheduled public hearing. Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, Mayor Greenlaw declared the meeting officially adjourned at 12:27 a.m. Mary Katherine Greenlaw Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Mayor Tonya B. Lacey Tonya B. Lacey, Clerk of Council, CMC 18277 Regular Session 07/09/13 [This page intentionally left blank.] 18278 Public Hearing 07/09/13 CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, MAYOR 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 Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street HON. BEATRICE R. PAOLUCCI, WARD FOUR Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 July 9, 2013 The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held a public hearing on Tuesday, July 9, 2013, beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. City Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw presiding. Vice- Mayor Bradford C. Ellis. Councilors Frederic N. Howe, III, Matthew J. Kelly, Beatrice R. Paolucci and George C. Solley. City Council Absent. Councilor Kerry P. Devine – out of town. Also Present. City Manager Beverly R. Cameron, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Public Works Director Doug Fawcett, Site Development Manager Kevin Utt, Planning Director Chuck Johnston, Senior Planner Erik Nelson, Zoning Officer Debra Mathis Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Notice of Public Hearings (D13-281 thru D13-290). The Clerk read the notice of the public hearings as they appeared in the local newspaper, the purpose being to solicit citizen input. Ordinance 13-11, First Read Approved, Rezoning Approximately 0.4737 Acres of Land Located at 3464 Fall Hill Avenue from Residential (R-1) to Commercial/Office Transitional (CT) (D13-281). – no speakers. 18279 Public Hearing 07/09/13 Councilor Paolucci recused herself because HGP, Inc. represents or provides services to the landowner. Upon a motion and as recommended Vice-Mayor Ellis moved to approve Ordinance 13-11, on first read, to rezone approximately 0.4737 acres of land located at 3464 Fall Hill Avenue from Residential (R-1) to Commercial/Office Transitional (CT); motion was seconded by Councilor Kelly and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (5). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly and Solley. Nays (0). Granting a Special Use Permit to Thomas H. Mitchell to Construct a Mixed-Use Building Within the 100 Year Floodplain on Property Located at: 108 Hanover Street; 106 Hanover Street; 100 Hanover Street; 0 Sophia Street (Alley) and 718 Sophia Street (D13-283 thru D13-284) – 11 speakers. After a brief overview by staff Councilor Paolucci stated that she was not opposed to the project, but she believes the project would be a catalyst for development along Sophia Street and it would set precedence for future projects along Sophia Street. She shared her concerns regarding parking. As she understood it the commercial parking for this project would be on street parking. Her biggest concern was that the vacant lot next to American Canoe which has always been used as a parking lot for this building and it’s always full. This project is required to have 31 spaces, but they are proposing 38. Councilor Paolucci suggested taking 6 of those spaces and using them for the commercial retail to compensate for the 14 spaces lost. Another concern she raised was that the project seemed to be more of a multi- family use rather than a mixed use. Planning Director Johnston explained that the ordinance says a mixed use should be 100 percent of the ground floor, but the applicant 18280 Public Hearing 07/09/13 was contending that the ground floor was entirely in the 100 year floodplain and it limits the full usage. He said the applicant asked for an exception to reduce the commercial footprint down to 15 percent and he said that would be a judgment call for City Council to make. Councilor Paolucci asked if the floodplain would limit the amount of commercial use and Mr. Johnston said it does not limit commercial use, but there would be greater expense for construction, insurance and operations. Councilor Paolucci also noted that if the entire bottom was used for commercial then there wouldn’t be parking for the tenants. Another issue Councilor Paolucci asked about was the widening of the alley. She asked whether the alley had a condition placed on it when it was vacated several years ago that stated, if anything was built on that lot that the alley had to be extended an addition 5 feet. Mr. Johnston said that was correct; there was a condition on the vacation of the alley. He explained that if they were to vacate the entire alley and provide an easement access that would eliminate the need for the floor area ratio density exception. He said it would be a lengthy legal process if the applicant were to vacate the alley and place an easement across the land. Councilor Paolucci also asked where the mechanical equipment would be placed, Mr. Johnston deferred to the applicant. She also asked if the community room could be used by anyone other than the property owners, because of the parking and how many spaces would be required if it were used by the community. Mr. Johnston stated that the community room was for private use by the tenants only. Councilor Paolucci stated that parking in the area would be tight so she suggested that they notify neighbors if they were going to have a large gathering. She also shared concerns with whether the project would be visible from the river and how visible it will be once the lights are illuminated from the glass penthouses. 18281 Public Hearing 07/09/13 Councilor Kelly agreed that this was a residential dwelling and not a mixed-used development. He also shared his concern with the significance of the site. He said this is one of the original lots of the City and it has a lot of history so he asked the applicant’s attorney to address what type of historic research they plan to do. Councilor Kelly also noted that when the Riverfront Park is completed there would be an additional loss of approximately 100 spaces, so he wanted to be sure parking was addressed soon. He also read Section 3.13 of the Jumpstreet! document which reads “Several of the study corridors described in the Action Plan are within historic district boundaries. In these areas, care should be taken to ensure infill development is compatible with the existing historic fabric. The definition of “compatibility” varies by community. The City should engage the public through a planning process to determine a Fredericksburg-based definition and vision for compatible new design.” He added that he was waiting for EDA to take this step to make it easier for Council when making decisions on projects like these. Vice-Mayor Ellis asked for clarification on the percentage that defines mixed- uses. Mr. Johnston stated that at minimum the entire ground level would be used for commercial. Vice-Mayor Ellis stated that due to the floodplain he could understand why the applicant did not want to make the entire lower level commercial. Councilor Howe stated that the process needed to be fair and since special exceptions were made for the courthouse project he felt this project or any others could not be denied. He was also in agreement with Councilor Paolucci and Kelly regarding the zoning use. He asked staff to explain why it shouldn’t receive the same exceptions as the courthouse project. Mr. Nelson stated that they were recommending approval and he 18282 Public Hearing 07/09/13 said they are justified given the location of the property and the visibility. He said he took the historic context seriously. He said the City went through the analysis of the downtown height limitations and decided 50 feet would be the height appropriate. This would be an exception to the 50 foot standard. The mitigating factors for this is the location, because it’s at a low point of Sophia Street and the topography of the downtown. He said overall staff thought this was a reasonable request and recommend approval. Councilor Paolucci expressed her concern that every project in the downtown seems to need more special use permits and special exceptions. She also disagreed with Councilor Howe on the statement that since the City approved special exceptions on the Courthouse then all special exception should be approved. She said each project has to be looked at on its own merits. Tommy Mitchell, applicant, 100 Frederick Street, stated that he felt the project would add a nice renaissance to downtown. He explained that because of the elevation this site is in the bottom and he asked for the special exceptions to be approved because of the floodplain. He explained that because they are providing parking, the parking should not affect the Church and the project should not have an impact on schools and other services because they are appealing to the 55 and older age group with disposable incomes. Cassidy Trosky, architect, presented a PowerPoint presentation which she discussed building within the 100-year floodplain, floor area ration and density, building height, it showed the site plan and the look of the project from various street levels. She summarized the project stating that the project would have a significant economic impact 18283 Public Hearing 07/09/13 on the community through construction spending and fees to the City, an increase to the City in Real Estate taxes, it would attract or retain several residents to the community and it would add to the vibrancy and vitality of the City by bringing more homeowners to the downtown. She also addressed Council’s concerns regarding the community room stating that the occupancy level would be reduced because the mechanical and electrical rooms will be in there. She said they plan to locate the mechanical and electrical on the top floor because of the floodplain. Morris Oliver, interim Pastor Shiloh “Old Site” Baptist Church, stated that the church is an active member of downtown and he was concerned that the project would impact the parking issues they already face. He stated that if the project was approved the City needed to do something about parking as well. He thanked Councilor Paolucci who was instrumental in getting the church 12 parking spaces in the back lot of the church. He asked that increased development not be allowed without parking. Marguerite Young, 323 Cannon Circle, stated that she was not opposed to the project, but she was concerned with the parking for the church. She said the City needed to provide a viable parking plan and she requested that a parking plan be included in Council’s discussions of One Hanover. David James, 213 Princess Anne Street, requested the owner’s do an archeological dig before developing the land. He also did not think the curb to building height fit, but he asked Council to approve the project, but not the special exception for the height. 18284 Public Hearing 07/09/13 Iretha Bumbrey, 219 South Street, a member of Old Site, was concerned with the parking around the church. She said there is already a shortage of parking especially when there is a funeral or special events. Tom Smith, 1310 Kenmore Street (own property at 710 Caroline Street), shares the alley that’s a part of the project. Mr. Smith spoke in support stating that the project would add to the mixed diversity of downtown. He said more residence was needed downtown. He also said the improvement to the alley would help to solve some major drainage issues and the expansion of the alley would improve access. Barbara Anderson, 1811 Washington Avenue, stated that she liked the building, but would like to see a three story building instead of the proposed five story building. Richard Hanson, 109 Kinloch Drive, stated that One Hanover was an attractive building, but not for Fredericksburg. He said it’s bulky and the City does not need it because it would impose on the small town feel and it would dominate the Riverfront Park. Rupert Farley, 1305 Caroline Street, commended the two Planning Commissioners who voted against this project. He said there is no reason the applicant couldn’t conform to the standards and he asked that Council have the applicant come back with an alternate plan. Charles McDaniel – 133 Caroline Street, spoke in support of the project. He urged Council to approve as the building was submitted. He said the design of this building works well in the floodplain. He noted that Caroline Street needs more activity. He agreed that there was a parking problem, but said you don’t solve it by stopping development and revitalizing the City. 18285 Public Hearing 07/09/13 Vice-Mayor Ellis moved to approve the special use permit to Thomas H. Mitchell to construct a Mixed-Use Building within the 100 year floodplain on property located at; 108 Hanover Street; 106 Hanover Street; 100 Hanover Street; 0 Sophia Street (Alley) and 718 Sophia Street; motion was seconded by Councilor Howe. Councilor Solley explained that there is a long standing policy not to vote when there is public comment speaking against an item. Councilor Solley moved to table the item until the first meeting in August; motion was seconded by Councilor Paolucci. Vice-Mayor Ellis commented on Councilor Paolucci’s statement about increased special use permit and special exceptions on downtown projects; he suggested that maybe the ordinances needed to be updated. He said the project was aesthetically pleasing and smart cities, develop their riverfronts. Vice-Mayor added that he would serve as a catalyst for development in the area and that the City needed to get away from anti- development in order to increase the tax base. He noted that parking was an issue and Council is planning to address the issue. Councilor Paolucci said she would like to see the ordinance stay as it is in order to maintain the character of the City. The motion to table was passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Granting a Special Use Permit to Thomas H. Mitchell for a Mixed-Use Building which Exceeds 4,000 Square Feet in Site Coverage in the Commercial-Downtown (C-D) District on Property Located at: 108 Hanover Street; 106 Hanover Street; 100 Hanover Street; 0 Sophia Street (Alley) and 718 Sophia Street (D13-283 thru D13-284) – 11 speakers. This public hearing was heard with the prior public hearing. 18286 Public Hearing 07/09/13 Granting a Special Exception to Thomas H. Mitchell for Construction of a Mixed-Use Building With a Height of 56 Feet, a Floor Area Ratio of 3.225, a 15% Commercial Ground Floor, and a Density of 40 Residential Units Per Acre on Property Located at: 108 Hanover Street; 106 Hanover Street; 100 Hanover Street; 0 Sophia Street (Alley) and 718 Sophia Street (D13-285) – 11 speakers. This public hearing was heard with the prior public hearing. Ordinance 13-12, First Read Approved, Granting Energy Extraction Partners, LLC a twenty Year Lease for Eleven Acres of Land at the R-Board Landfill Site in Stafford County for Use as a Waste-to-Energy Production and Distribution Facility (D13-286 thru D13-287) – 6 speakers. Mr. Joe Yavorski with Energy Extraction Partners presented a PowerPoint presentation and he stated that they have a Power Purchase Agreement with Dominion Power, a landfill agreement had been executed with the R-Board and they are currently working on the lease with the City and Stafford County because both entities own the property. He showed the site location which is in the back of the landfill surrounded by woods. He discussed the benefits as 60 or more full-time jobs, it’s 100 percent self-funded, it will extend the life of the landfill over 7 times, it has indoor processing and many others. He also explained the pyrolysis process. (See D13-__ for more information.) Councilor Howe reviewed a few of the points stating that the R-Board had been working on this for a while. There is a 20 year minimum contract with Dominion, the 18287 Public Hearing 07/09/13 company is building a $40 million dollar facility, it will provide 55-60 jobs, it extends the life of the landfill, he said the smoke stacks they propose to build will exceed regulatory requirements and will control the odors, the oil and the ash will be pelletized and hauled away to a cement plant and will use them for making cement and he said the company financing had been evaluated. He added that this will be a huge deal for the City. Kathleen O’halloran, 192 Castle Hill Drive, 22406, a former environmental professional with the Army said she was concerned, because a review was not properly heard in Stafford she said there was one public hearing on the lease, but the lease was not there for the public to review. She was concern because there are no permits and she heard about a permit by rule which has to be issued by the Governor and he had not signed it yet. She urge Council to give it the review and scrutiny it deserves. Barabara Piatt, 500 Eskimo Hill Road, 22554, thanked Council for the public hearing and for the documents she was able to pick up, she said it was more than Stafford had given. She said it would be 10 years or more before Eskimo Hill Road is upgraded and it’s scary with the large trucks traveling on the road. She suggested the R-Board meetings be better advertised and she would like the R-Board to have better communications with the community. Linda Mueller, 109 Dishpan Lane, 22554, stated that the City needed to carefully consider the concerns brought up in regards to this project. She said she could not pull up any agenda or meeting minutes from the R-Board since November 11. She feels there has been a strong push to get this project. She was concerned that they may truck in more trash because of insufficient waste. She could not understand how this would extend the life of the landfill. She also expressed her concern that on the company’s website there 18288 Public Hearing 07/09/13 was no financial information and no information to prove that they were qualified to do what they say they can do. Ms. Mueller also noted that Stafford changed the zoning for this type of project from conditional to by-right. She also added that all financials need to be understood in advance. She said the residents were not given the opportunity to voice their opinions and there was no need to rush this approval. Becky Guy, 96 Salvington Road, 22405, said she was impressed with Council’s attention to detail. She noted the only good deal out of this for Stafford was the $1 million road improvement proffer. She also addressed her concern that she read the emissions would be that of auto emission and that concerns her because she has severe asthma attacks from auto emissions. Jannel Kennedy, 1006 Sophia Street, stated that not enough information had been given in regards to emissions and how it’s going to be dealt with. She urged caution. Councilor Kelly explained to the audience that the City has to have a first read and a second read to approve an ordinance. Upon a motion and as recommended Councilor Howe moved to approve Ordinance 13-12 on first read, granting Energy Extraction Partners, LLC a twenty year lease for eleven acres of land at the R-Board landfill site in Stafford County for use as a waste-to-energy production and distribution facility; motion was seconded by Councilor Solley; the motion passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Referring an Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan (2007) and the Capital Improvements Plan for the Construction of a $30M Multi- 18289 Public Hearing 07/09/13 purpose Baseball Stadium, to the planning Commission for Public Hearing and Recommendation (D13-288 thru D13-289). – Bruce Quinn, majority owner of the Hagerstown Suns, began by thanking everyone for their support. He stated that if baseball was brought to the City it would continue to create an elevated level of community pride. He said it would be great entertainment for families and it would provide a wide variety of items to a variety of people to help improve the quality of life. He said his family has been very successful at running businesses. His understanding for the public hearing was to either show or not to show support for baseball and he wanted to make it clear that the Suns had not done any financial analysis or recommendations. He explained that they were asked to solicit ideas and they have had people working locally reviewing them and they have talked to Council about the ideas, but the Suns and Council are far away from any mechanism to pay for the stadium. Mr. Quinn said he would not move the team here on a $0.32 or $0.33 tax increase on established businesses because it’s unfair. He stated that once the stadium is built it would drive additional business and revenues to those existing businesses. There will be a need for 4,000 to 5,000 hotel rooms and meals and admissions taxes will be staggering. Mr. Quinn said he works in conjunction with another organization that has a number one amateur baseball program and they host tournaments in New Jersey and there may be an opportunity to put those fields around this proposed stadium and become the largest host of showcase and prospect high school baseball in the country. He said they are working with the museum land owners and they are trying to make a deal with them to move the stadium around the property and possibly still make the Museum happen. He feels it would help to honor African American athletes at the stadium. He added that baseball is 18290 Public Hearing 07/09/13 trying to bring the African American athletes back to baseball and he feels they could be a leader in this endeavor. The Suns feel that if a deal cannot be reached within a $0.15 or less tax increase then it should not happen. He said they have worked financial models and they were waiting on City Council to appoint a consultant that they could talk to and negotiate with. He said once they talk to the consultant they can be very creative so that it wouldn’t burden the tax payers. He stressed that he hoped the public hearing would be based on the like or dislike of baseball in the City and not be focused on the financing. Jeff Nelson, partial owner of the Suns, reiterated what Mr. Quinn stated, but he wanted everyone to know how loyal and passionate Mr. Quinn is about small towns. He noted what it would mean for the citizens of the City to have a minor league team in their City. He stated that the stadium would be able to be used year around because of the proposed amenities that will be there. He said the team will get involved in the community. He said the games are affordable for families to attend. He stressed what a great opportunity it would be to have a Washington Nationals affiliate in the City’s backyard. Sherry Nelson, partial owner of the Suns, said she feels Fredericksburg is a terrific place to invest in. She was enthusiastic about bringing the Suns to the City. She feels the City is the ultimate slice of Americana. She said she appreciates all the support. Andres Galarraga, friend of Bruce Quinn, said it would be great to support baseball and it would be great for families. Mr. Cameron presented a PowerPoint presentation and he began with an overview of the proposal to date, stating that the City would acquire land and build the stadium, the team would relocated to Fredericksburg and play 70 home games each baseball season 18291 Public Hearing 07/09/13 and the stadium would be used throughout the year for non-baseball event. He also explained that the debt service on the stadium bond is proposed to be paid by a special service tax district, sales tax revenues generated by stadium events and private payments from the team and other stadium generated taxes. The proposed draft stadium lease was submitted on May 13, 2013, the terms have not been accepted by the City and if the project proceeds the business terms will likely be modified during negotiations. Mr. Cameron also gave a summary of what the City would be paying and what the team would be paying as well as a summary of revenues and expenses for the City. The Key elements of the team proposal included: the City issuance of $30 million revenue bonds and the establishing of a special service tax district in Central Park and Celebrate Virginia to pay most of the annual debt service. Mr. Cameron stated that the City’s financial advisors recommend the City conduct an Economic Impact Study to ascertain the economic benefits of the project on the properties included in the proposed special service district and they will require bond rating agencies to justify the approach and make “business case” for the district. (See D13-289 for more information). Councilor Howe stated that the purpose for the public hearing was to ascertain citizen support for the baseball stadium by the taxpaying residence and he made it clear that the lease had not been negotiated at this point. Mayor Greenlaw made the public aware that the proposal was brought to the City unsolicited. Vice-Mayor Ellis added that the City had received many emails and calls and that the City was far from an agreement and he assured the citizens that any agreement would be in the best interest of the City. 18292 Public Hearing 07/09/13 Councilor Kelly noted that the special service district had been a big issue, but he stated that they had been meeting with many in Central Park and that he was talking to the business community. Jack Negocian, 6814 Winthrop Court, 22407, spoke in favor of the stadium and suggested that this was not only a City project decision; he considered it a greater Fredericksburg endeavor because majority of the people that would be attending would be from Stafford, Spotsylvania and the City. He noted that the debt service does not include the people from Spotsylvania and Stafford, but he suggested that a surcharge ($20.00) in addition to the property taxes be applied to everyone in each of the three jurisdictions to pay the debt service. He asked Council to please consider this option. Shawn McCollum, 201 Braehead Drive, was in opposition of the stadium. He said he was not in opposition of baseball or the stadium, but the proposed funding. He felt it was expensive and unnecessary. He asked Council to ask themselves why are we doing this because he estimated that the stadium would cost $60 million by the end of its life. He said he was not willing to pay for this stadium. He questioned the guarantees which he felt the City would be taking a risk by guaranteeing $60 million. He suggested if it were privately funded the team would be more motivated to provide quality experiences. He asked what would happen to the businesses that may be in direct competition with the stadium, such as the Expo Center. Janelle Kennedy, 1006 Sophia Street, spoke on behalf of herself and her son Stan Kennedy who lives at 509 Pitt Street, she said they were in support of baseball coming to the City, but they do not like the deal. She said he agreed with Councilor Howe that if it were a good deal that a private business person would step forward to do 18293 Public Hearing 07/09/13 this and if it made fiscal responsibility that should be done. She said that any person that calls themselves a fiscal conservative and votes for this deal is hypocritical. She said whether a person likes baseball or not has no relevance, but what does have relevance is the fiscal responsibility. She added that she wants to be in a fiscally stable City and she wants baseball, but she doesn’t want one to jeopardize the other. Irv McGowan, 1008 Roberts Court, came and gave examples of a good deal ($100,000 income divided by $1million investment equals 10% return on investment) and a bad deal ($105,000 for stadium rent divided by $30 million investment equals .0035% return on investment or 1/3 of 1%). He said to invest taxpayers money on this type of deal is an irresponsible use of taxpayer’s money. He urged Council to say no to the Suns. Roy Surles, 1221 Seacobeck Street, posed several questions to Council asking how do they plan to compete with high school baseball and softball scheduling each year, how do they plan to alleviate traffic that will eventually spill onto Bragg Road and when does the State plan to address the two lane bridge that goes over 95, what will the speed limit be on Fall Hill Avenue, what’s the plan for the stadium during the winter months, and what’s going to happen if the team decides to have a double header on a day when there is already congestion such as the college graduation? He stated that a private enterprise should fully fund their place of business and not ask taxpayers to do so. Lisa Beverly, 1 Brant Court, 22406, in Celebrate Virginia North, Delweb Community for 55 and over. Spoke against the stadium. She said the noise is terrible with the concert series that are held in Celebrate VA and she is concerned that the loud speakers and cheering fans and outdoor concerts would be worse and she couldn’t live 18294 Public Hearing 07/09/13 with that. She was also concerned that the businesses in Celebrate VA South who would be paying for this. She urged Council to vote against it. Robert Dreistadt, President of Stafford Baseball, spoke in favor of the stadium and the benefits of the stadium. He said his kids already attend the Potomac Nationals games, but the drive is too long and this would be possible for his kids. He said citizens need to decide if they wanted to build more fields for the kids to play on or more jails. He said this is an ideal spot for a stadium. Ed Allison, 1005 Maury Drive, stated that he loves baseball, but he is a realist and there were several reasons not to support this proposal. The first is that the proposed return to the City is meager to offset the City’s investment of $30 million. Second, adding $30 million to the debt service along with existing debt would have a negative effect on funding future projects. Third, the debt service would approach $2 million and $60 million over 30 years. He was not convinced that the tax district will go down easy. He said incentives need to be provided for those existing businesses. Fourth, he added that even with the increased sales taxes from the stadium there will be a gap from the debt service and property revenue. Lastly, he said he hoped the City would pass on this proposal and perhaps a better opportunity would come along that doesn’t require such a large investment. David Janney, 11619 Hoover Lane, 22407, spoke in support of the baseball stadium. He said the City was growing and the next logical step is a project such as this. He coaches for parks and recreation and baseball is more about family and the children. He said he hasn’t always been happy with the growth, but he has learned to live with it. 18295 Public Hearing 07/09/13 John McKeown, 910 Monroe Street, stated that this proposal presents and unbalanced risk for the City. He felt that everything that was discussed during the budget regarding discipline is being tossed out of the window because of this proposal. The tax in the business district will cause some businesses to close. He asked Council to consider if this was publically funded who would benefit. He said if this was a really good deal where are the private investments. Rita Girard, 621 Cobblestone Boulevard, stated that she like baseball, but she also like free enterprise, fiscal responsibility and sound economic decisions. She was opposed to the City paying for the stadium. She noted that the City Public Advisor stated that the cost for the City would be $2.5 to $4 million higher because of the debt service. She expressed her concern for the City’s bond rating without having further studied what the stadium could bring to the City. She said she found it interesting that Council voted down the City Manager’s conservative tax increase of $0.03 and she hoped they wouldn’t consider increasing taxes for a baseball stadium. Tony Cantanese, 512 Charlotte Street, he stated that the proposal should be rejected and no longer consider the Suns as a partner. He urged City Council not to issue general obligation bonds based on that of the City’s Public Financial Group (PFG). Mr. Cantanese discussed the possibility of the special tax district increasing by 50% based on projections from the PFG over the life of the bonds. He also expressed his concern that the taxes for all residence may increase because of the stadium. Anne Little (D13-290), 726 William Street, presented an electronic petition with over 80 residence who emailed her in opposition of the baseball stadium. (See D13-__ for more details). 18296 Public Hearing 07/09/13 Enos Richardson, 518 Caroline Street, former Councilor, spoke against a baseball stadium. He said he couldn’t understand how Council would entertain raising the debt service. He said if the Council entered an agreement to pay for this project it would be doing a disservice to the citizens. He said Council must determine if projects are wants or needs and if they are wants someone will build them and this is not a need for the City. Leslie Martin, 179 Longstreet Avenue, expressed her opposition of the stadium. She is a professor at University of Mary Washington and she study’s urban development projects and she has learned that stadiums are ineffective economic development. She said studies have shown that stadiums do not increase jobs, do not increase the tax base in any significant way, they do not increase area median income, they do not increase overall revenue for businesses in the area because they tend not to attract new revenue rather people shift where they spend their revenues. She said if public funds are going to be spent, she would like to see them spent on services that address the needs of the community or creating amenities that can be used and appreciated by the entire community. She supported a tax increase for this very reason. She felt strongly that taxpayer funds should not be spent at subsidies for private companies. Stan Kennedy, 626 Stuart Street, questioned the list of names read by Anne Little because he said he heard his name and he was not in opposition to the stadium. He said he loves minor league baseball and he stated that the City needed baseball. He said if baseball came the City he would get behind it. 18297 Public Hearing 07/09/13 Jonathan Rumbaugh, 10011 Wellford Court, 22407, was in support of the stadium he said all of his friends under the age of 26 are in favor of this stadium. He said it’s needed for the young kids to give them something to do. Chuck Peitz, Principal owner of Funland, 1351 Central Park Boulevard, said his business is a family owned business and all the risk are his, and all of the financing is his, and the mortgage is his. He said he is not against baseball, but he is against the means by which is proposed to be paid for. He is a small business person and the stadium needed to be privately funded. He feels if the Council changes the playing field for the businesses in Central Park and Celebrate VA it could be negative in the long run. Based on the current proposal he would have an increase in his taxes of $30,000-$35,000 per year. He said just since he took over the business in 2005 he has remitted $1,250,000 in taxes. Lisa Welsh, 630 Pelham Street, she spoke in favor of the baseball stadium. She said baseball is about bringing families together. This would also give the opportunity to have little league baseball here. She feels Central Park will benefit. Fran Larkins, 40 Battery Point Drive, 22406, she live in Celebrate VA North, and she asked Council to consider the traffic gridlock on I-95when considering this stadium and because of the close proximity to Celebrate VA South they can hear the concerts clearly from inside their homes. She asked that Council consider that when making their decision and if it’s approved she would like them to look into finding a solution so that the acoustics don’t cross the river. Ann Grey Fuller, 917 Brompton Street, spoke against the baseball stadium. She stated that she would like to see a referendum on this because she hasn’t spoken to 18298 Public Hearing 07/09/13 anyone who was for it. She did not like the idea of the City paying for this. She said if the Suns wanted to relocate here let them pay for it because there are other things such as the riverfront that the City could use the money for. She said it would be irresponsible for City Council to pay for this. Linda Murray, 712 Freeman Street, clarified that this was a proposal and that no decisions had been made. She said there are over 3,000 names in support of the baseball stadium on Facebook. She said baseball keeps kids active and it helps to make you a better person. She believes baseball will help with tourism and bring more people in the City. She asked Council to negotiate because there are many reasons to bring baseball here. Jason Graham, 1904 Idlewild Boulevard, stated that he is a baseball fan, but he could not support the current proposal. He said this proposal would leave the City in debt for years and tax payer funded stadiums are a bad deal for the City and the residents. He said there are many articles that support that fact. He stated that older stadiums don’t bring the crowds and after 30 years who’s going to pay for the upgrades. He gave an example of a team in Richmond before the Flying Squirrels who wanted an upgrade the stadium and the City refused so the moved the team somewhere else and that City invested $30 million however, it ended up costing $64 million to cover raised ticket prices and shot the attendance record. He is concerned that this will happen here in the City. He also expressed his concern with the proposed tax district and that those costs would be passed on to the consumer. He said this proposal is not a good deal, he would love to see it funded privately. 18299 Public Hearing 07/09/13 Harry Tillman, 307 Braehead Drive, spoke in favor of the baseball stadium; he said this is an amazing opportunity for the City. He gave an example of a team in Maryland who works within the community. He said this is a great opportunity for the City. Motion to Suspend the Rules. Councilor Kelly moved to suspend the rule to extend the meeting passed 11:00 p.m.; motion was seconded by Councilor Paolucci and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Elizabeth Horn, 1902 Coleman Lane, 22407, spoke in favor of baseball and feels baseball is needed to provide a positive outlet for the younger kids. She stated that baseball brings a community together. David Robinson, 8509 Leslie Court, 22407, stated that the City would miss an opportunity of the stadium was not approved. He said baseball is family oriented and it’s needed in the area. He said we need things for the kids to do. He does not agree with having the $30 million placed on the taxpayers, but he asked that Council work with the Suns. Tim Brown, 1616 College Avenue, spoke in support of the stadium. He noted that there was a large group that was being left out of the equation and that was the 3500- 4000 University of Mary Washington students. He said that he sent an email out to a large number of the UMW students (approximately 300) asking how many of them leave Fredericksburg on a regular basis to attend concerts or baseball games and he asked how many they attend per year the average was 6-10 and he followed up by asking and about how much do you spend on average at each event and it was about $100.00. He said these 18300 Public Hearing 07/09/13 students deserve to be heard. He noted that the owner of the Squirrels said he would love to have a multi-purpose stadium. He said this was a negotiation process. James Dean, 1440 New York Avenue, Washington, DC, Senior Vice-President with Clarion Partners an FCC Investment Advisor that owns and manages a high quality portfolio of office, retail, industrial, multi-family and hotel properties. Their current Fredericksburg activity includes ownership of 215,500 square feet of retail space located in Central Park and he represents that ownership. He said he was not in support of any baseball stadium that includes the establishment of a special tax district. He said he would love to see baseball in Fredericksburg but the issue is the risk associated with the stadium and how it’s shared and how the stadium is going to be paid for. He expressed his concern that baseball would not substantially improve Central Park retail trade area and that the increase in taxes would reduce the property value and result in a lower base tax associated with the properties in Central Park. Mr. Dean states that the overall landscape continues to change in Central Park. The market trend continues to affect the economic viability of the area as a major retail hub and for that reason there is no guarantee that for the next 30 years Central Park will be able to support the baseball bond issue. He added that the special tax district should be spread to all retailers and not just to Central Park retailers. Bob Hagan, 529 Butternut Drive, 22408, spoke against this proposal stating that he had worked for a year and a half trying to get baseball to Fredericksburg and he spent four months working with this team and owner. He said he stopped working with them because it had disaster written all over it. He noted that the Suns contract with the Nationals would run out before the stadium will open. He felt that the attendance in 18301 Public Hearing 07/09/13 Hagerstown had dropped to just over 1,000 due to the owner. He also pointed out that the owner says he would pay $3 million for the land, but in the contract he proposed says the City would pay this in advance and would not be reimbursed until an appropriate time. The proposed lease calls for 100 percent of the $30 million stadium to be paid for by the City and several more million to issue the bonds. He said the only guaranteed payment form the team is $288 per day. He didn’t think the Suns would be good partners since they wouldn’t provide financial documents to the City. He didn’t think it was right that the terms prohibited the City from talking to other teams but allows the Suns to conduct talks with other Cities. He said this is not the right deal and not the right owner. William Lantern, Treasurer for Stafford Baseball, recently hosted the state baseball tournaments for youth 8-16. They also host regional tournaments. He said there would be many coming to stay in the City’s hotels if this were approved. He said he and his family come to Fredericksburg every weekend to shop and eat, but he would love to come more if there was a baseball stadium. He said baseball is something that brings families together. Bob Simmons, 58 Country Manor Drive, 22406, a former minor league ball player. He said having a minor league baseball team in the area has a huge impact on kids, it gives them jobs it gives them hope and it brings families together. It also allows the players to interact with the community. Justin Lewis, 324 Garfield Court, 22408, urged City Council to get a consultant and work out a deal with the Suns to bring the stadium here. James Shugart, 10001 Naples Court, 22407, stated that the directive from Council was to show whether you support baseball and he said he does. Secondly, he 18302 Public Hearing 07/09/13 addressed the comments regarding traffic. He said there would be approximately 1,200 cars for a 5,000 seat stadium. He said most games let out at 10:00 pm and there are not many people on the roads at that time of the night. He addressed the noise, which he is an audio engineer for the Nationals. He said the noise is nowhere near the noise you hear from a concert. It’s about 30 decibels difference. He said baseball would bring people to town. Lois Colebridge, 404Virginia Avenue, said she supports baseball, but the proposal was not a good deal therefore she does not support the building of the project. G.M. Haney, 1702 College Avenue, stated that he agree with most of what was said, but said that Council has been elected to decide what’s right for the City and suggested Council take the figures and decide whether it’s a good deal or not. Tony Talerico, 7308 Wytheville Circle, 22407, stated that based on the comments he’s heard on whether people support the project, it has been mostly negative support for the project and that’s what Council need to look at. Tom Byrnes, 209 Fauquier Street, Managing member of the Rappahannock Baseball Initiative, which signed an agreement to work with the Suns to try to make a baseball deal happen in Fredericksburg. He also is the administrator for the “Baseball in the Burg” Facebook page. He wanted to let everyone know there is no deal, that’s why the team felt it was premature to have a Public Hearing. He stressed that the financing for the stadium does not exist. He said the special tax district was an idea he came up with along with Mr. Hagan and RBI to help generate revenue for a public entity. He addressed the comments that states stadiums fail when they are publicly financed and those studies 18303 Public Hearing 07/09/13 were based on single use stadiums in Cities. He said this is a great opportunity for the City. Charlotte Strain, with Rappaport Companies, she said she was not speaking on behalf of Rappaport Companies although they owns, lease and manages the bulk of the properties in Central Park. She said this decision has a major impact on the businesses in Central Park and she said the City and the Suns are not apart by a little bit there is a $30 million dollar difference and that’s not a negotiation. She said she would like to see additional proposals from the Council and how it’s going to be funded other than additional taxes on the businesses in Central Park alone. She said everyone she has talked to has expressed concern about this special tax district. Mayor Greenlaw stated that last winter a very specific lease was proposed to City Council and the City responded to that lease in March. The lease had been amended somewhat, but the team did not respond to the City Manager’s response until May 13 with a lease that had some revisions, but substantially the same business terms. She said so there is a proposal on the table and it’s been passed around for a while. She wanted to make that clear for everyone. Mayor asked the City Attorney to explain the decision Council has before them. City Attorney Dooley explained that the first item is a resolution to refer an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan and the Capital Improvements Plan to the Planning Commission and the second item is an approval of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and the Hagerstown Suns. She alerted Council that the MOU had not been prepared and there was not an MOU to present so no action was required. The resolution was based on the team proposal contained from the May 18304 Public Hearing 07/09/13 13, 2013 stadium lease and it included the special service district, and a map that was prepared May 28 and updated on June 20. The map included the special service district and it was accompanied by a parcel by parcel listing of which parcelswere supposed to be in the special service district and which are proposed to be out. The map is posted on the City website and it’s a part of the Council packet along with the Brailsford and Dunlavey Study of the proposed stadium and the proposed special service district and the Public Financial Report. The City was to acquire real estate and build a stadium at a cost of approximately $30 million for design and construction of the stadium. The $30 million does not include the land acquisition costs, which would be financed primarily through the special service district. She also explained that there were also additional streams of revenue available such as sales tax revenues generated at the stadium. Ms. Dooley explained that since this was proposed to be a publically finance and publically owned stadium compliance with the Comprehensive Plan was key. City Council cannot authorize a new public facility unless it’s shown in the Comprehensive Plan. There are currently no stadiums or multipurpose stadiums in the Comprehensive Plan so the plan has to be amended in order to go forward with the project. Due to the complexity of the subject verbatim minutes are enclosed. Howe: Although there is a resolution before us there is also an opportunity to amend it, as we do on numerous resolutions. So I would like to …before I start off on that I would like to first thank all the speakers for coming out tonight and showing their ah, support and/or not for the baseball proposal which is what we were trying to gauge. While the public record was to submit to the public specifically the terms of the lease that were presented to us for consideration, that’s all it was. It was a lease to be considered which 18305 Public Hearing 07/09/13 was proposed to us for consideration, which was amended. Um, we have made it very clear that the proposal was specifically not wrapped around the financials of this because those have not been determined as has been said by the team, as has been said by me, at least, to this point. Having been involved with the redraft of the lease with the team to get it into a palatable fashion that we can bring it back to Council. Um, I would also like to thank Mr. Quinn and his Associates for considering Fredericksburg for relocation of the team. Thank you Sir! It’s not everyday someone comes to town bringing us a huge economic opportunity. While we may not always agree on the terms the whole concept of this is to try and get us back to the table so we can talk ah, and try to pull together a business deal which is what we structured on second round. I would also like to call to question the poll credibility presented for the 80 plus names by Mrs. Little who read off, which to corner phrase, it looks like we have fuzzy polling data as it sounds based on the speaker who challenged the use of his name by her. We are weighing public input tonight again for discounting while discounting the financing comments to focus on baseball. I would like to make a motion that we amend the resolution and to refer to the Planning Commission the review of a Comprehensive Plan amendment for baseball in this particular area, I do so based on the gauge of support both electronically, which I have read extensively, with all of it being copied to us with various methods to council specifically, as well as on Facebook, as well as numerous folks have mentioned this evening without getting into the details providing it which need to be provided in writing to us of the thousands of supporters out there. I have heard for every one nay sayer about the baseball which they just didn’t want to pay for it which is understandable because we argued heavily about not having tax increases this year in this last budget round, but there 18306 Public Hearing 07/09/13 has been at least nine to every one at a minimum that have supported baseball, not the deal but baseball which is what we were trying to gauge. Now can we pull a deal together, that’s to be seen and that’s what tonight was and why we moved hard to bring a Public Hearing to you even to the team not wanting to do so the ideas was is there interest. We are trying to get that sense this evening that’s it, so that we can try to move to the next level and the next level was a second piece on here which I do have a draft memorandum of a MOU which was presented to Council and was redrafted by me to make it more palatable so we could include an extension of the exclusivity agreement which we’ll have turns out tomorrow with the team which I had also proposed we consider so while we do have on for public hearing for everybody tonight the fact that we do not have a memorandum of understanding between the City-Suns and the extension of the exclusivity agreement which we need to do in order to continue negotiations with them past tomorrow at midnight um I would like to make a motion that we consider both of these items which were provided by the City Attorney to the Suns for consideration of execution with the City Manager as well as a second motion under this same 11E. Thank you Madame Mayor Mayor: Councilor Howe, have you made two motions or one motion? Howe: Well following item 11E Madam Mayor we have two positions under there… Mayor: You have made a motion that includes referring to the Planning Commission… Howe: I have made a motion that will amend the resolution before us, but specifically it is directed at the $30 million dollar multi-purpose stadium that will amend the resolution and refer to the Planning Commission the review of the Comprehensive Plan amendment to add the stadium to that area of Celebrate South Project because it is not currently 18307 Public Hearing 07/09/13 allowed under the zoning, so that for which is my understanding is that the stadium by itself is not zoned and it’s a reason we sent it back to Planning Commission, correct? Mayor: Ms. Dooley. Dooley: Madame Mayor let me try to clarify. The Comprehensive Plan has two characteristics, within the characteristics there is a guidance document, it’s the vision for the community and for private development we would compare proposed private development, like we did tonight, with our comprehensive plan for that area. We did this for the Fall Hill Avenue parcel. The Comprehensive Plan shows it as being commercial the proposal for rezoning to commercial is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan is a guidance document. That’s for private development, and I believe Mr. Johnston isn’t here but the Comprehensive Plan envisions commercial development of Celebrate Virginia South and their zoning in place for commercial Development of Celebrate VA South for, if I recall correctly, is recreation types of commercial development there. That’s the vision for Celebrate VA South. The second characteristic of the Comprehensive Plan is a mandatory characteristic and that kicks in when we are talking about public investment and public facilities so it’s our strategic plan for what we’re doing as a public entity, public investment and there it’s not merely visionary, but it’s mandatory. We can’t establish or authorize a new public facility unless it’s in our Comprehensive Plan so we follow that amendment process for example with the Courthouse to generate that broad vision in the first place. So therefore, the Comprehensive Plan amendment is proposed before you tonight for your consideration because the baseball stadium proposal is for it to be a public stadium, a publicly financed stadium. That and that’s the aspect that the proposed amendment to the Comprehensive 18308 Public Hearing 07/09/13 Plan is to amend Chapter 9 Public Facilities and Chapter 18 the City’s own Action Plan to add a proposal to or develop a multi-purpose minor league baseball stadium in Celebrate VA South, a public facility. Howe: The additional piece of the tax district is what’s in question for both most or majority of the speakers this evening which we already understood was going to be an issue and for other reasons so the striking of that portion of the language well it is still a city public facility the the methodology on how to get to the deal has nothing to do in theory with the service tax district until its determined that’s the methodology we would go down with public support. Obviously the public support by in large is not there for the $0.32 is it there (inaudible) we don’t know at this point and we don’t know until we get the deal making and negotiating whether we had an opportunity or not. So I am trying to structure a resolution amendment motion that would achieve what we need to as a City to keep the deal moving forward for consideration not that we are going to get there until we can get to the table and negotiate, but to do that we also have to carry forward with the MOU, exclusivity agreement without question we will need those, we’ll need the Planning Commission to be moving forward simultaneously with our MOU to to resume all the MOU is doing is just assume we are going to negotiate in good faith with ya no deals a deal until it’s a deal. And we are rely unto contractual conversations which is part of this (inaudible). So that and exclusivity have to run simultaneously because we are losing the exclusivity agreement the one we extended until tomorrow midnight. So I’m trying to package it together in the way we presented it to the public less all the financial stuff that right now is not moving forward and would not have move forward more than likely in the deal because we never agreed that this is not a good thing and it needs to be 18309 Public Hearing 07/09/13 structured differently which is why we are trying to get to the MOU but we can’t do that without the exclusivity agreement at the same time. And both those documents we have in hand which were already presented to be able to moved forward are that as draft understanding extending this so that we have enough time to try to sit back at the table with them, but concurrently we need the Planning Commission moving forward making the amendment so however we get there I’ll leave it up to you. Is that clear as mud? Mayor: Councilor Solley Solley: I do have some comments, but first can you, do we have a motion on the floor and has it been seconded? Mayor: We have not had a second to a motion. Kelly: Because we haven’t figured out a motion. Mayor: I’m not sure the maker of the motion is quite clear on on what the motion is. Howe: Looking for guidance from the City Attorney on how to structure my motion to achieve less the financial aspects of a tax district unless the Vice-Mayor has an alternate suggestion or motion. I’ll entertain it. Ellis: I’m going to ask a question perhaps of the City Attorney? Mayor: Alright Vice-Mayor Ellis. Ellis: So, if, [pause] what I understand the issue I have with the resolution the way it is currently written is, I don’t read it, I don’t view it as a mechanism that allows us to get to the negotiating table. I thought the purpose of tonight was to try and do that if there was support amongst Council. To get the deal that’s proposed, I don’t think anybody that’s around this horseshoe is ready to vote on. Ahh, we’re not there yet. What we want to do is negotiate so if I understand it we need a couple of things. We need an MOU, we need 18310 Public Hearing 07/09/13 an agreement that we’re only going to talk to each other exclusively and then it doesn’t hurt me to refer to the Planning Commission if that’s a necessary step, if we were to go down the road of publicly financing this thing. I don’t know if that’s the best deal. I I don’t know. I don’t know if its $5 million, I don’t know if its $500, I don’t know if it’s all of the incentives just like we did with Kalahari, but we need a mechanism that gets us to the negotiating table. Right now this doesn’t do it. Mayor: Councilor Kelly. Kelly: Thank you Madam Mayor. Let me try to cut to the chase here if I could. Um Planning Commission would not meet again until August and chances are of getting on their docket is something like this for that August meeting is probably not likely so we are probably looking at some time in September for them to look at it to start their deliberations on it anyway. Just looking at what there docket is. Getting to the point here of whether or not there is room to make a deal is is what we are trying to get to. I think as as City Attorney mentioned an entertainment venue and everything else like that are allowed in Celebrate VA the most comprehensive commercial development we’ve got. What we are looking for to see is if we’ve got a deal. So let’s take this whole issue of the Planning Commission for the moment and put it off to the side, because again they are not going to get to it until September. Our next meeting is August 13 which is basically a month away from now. My recommendation is is we’ve appointed the Vice-Mayor and Fred to work with staff to meet with the team and to see what they can work up with regards to a deal. My recommendation at this point would be short and sweet, you guys have got between now and August 13 to sit down with the team and whomever to see what kind of proposal you can actually put together and bring it back to this Council on 18311 Public Hearing 07/09/13 the 13th, at which point we put it up there and we say yay or nay, because frankly I’ve been working on this project for a long time on and off in different ways and it’s time for us to either basically say yes we want to do it or no and not keep pushing this out and out and out and out and out which is frankly what we’ve been doing since February. I disagree a little bit with the Mayor’s position in that we gave them a response, no we really didn’t, because we didn’t respond to their proposal we just said well we want to go off and look in a different direction which of course it didn’t go nowhere because we didn’t even do it, frankly. Some of us did actually talk to our regional partners but staff or anybody else didn’t do that, so it’s kind of languished around and every meeting for all the stuff we get about doing it behind closed doors, let me tell everybody the only thing that’s going on behind closed doors right now is what do you want to do? “Well I don’t know, what do you want to do?” “I don’t know, we don’t have enough information”, “we can’t do anything”. That’s what’s going on behind closed doors at the moment. So frankly for me at this point is I’m going to make the motion that we move forward with what we did earlier today which was the Vice-Mayor and Mr. Howe working with staff to meet with the team and you’ve got til August 13 to put something together and bring it back to this Council and we say either yay or nay at that point. To do that we will need to have to have the MOU approved and the MOU is just basically saying as as Mr. Howe said or Councilor Howe said, we are going to continue talking why we’ve spent so much time on the MOU is kind of beyond me ahh and then the exclusivity agreement at least til the 13th. Either we do it or we don’t, but it’s time to get serious have the conversations that frankly we should have had months ago before going through this process and just put it out there and say this is what we’ve come up with and vote it up or we vote it down 18312 Public Hearing 07/09/13 on the 13th so my recommendation is and I make the motion that we proceed with meeting with the team with our duly authorized negotiating team with includes the following Vice-Mayor, Fred Howe and staff to meet with the team to put something together that they think can work or come back and say it’s not going to work I don’t, whichever way you want to do it and come back with the outlined proposal that we can say yay or nay on the 13th and then we decide up or down at that point. That’s my motion. Howe: Madam Mayor. If I… Mayor: Councilor Howe. Howe: I’m fine with the general gist of it, but something we are going to need in your compressed schedule ahh… Kelly: Is the MOU, right. Howe: Well besides the MOU and the exclusivity which is just contractually required and no one should negotiate without them. Um, but we do need financial advice ahh were going to need somebody that can put deals together it is more than evident that a (inaudible) support the tax side we are going to need the support (inaudible) with the City Manager and get somebody on board PDQ to be able to give us outside financing options to find private money to reduce the public money to zero if at all possible, or enough to qualify the project to be a public project if it is so deemed. Alright so, if I would get you to give a friendly amendment… Kelly: I don’t think you need to amend that because we’ve already authorized the staff… Howe: we have had a hell of a lot authorized and it doesn’t end up in the understanding so please add it to your motion. 18313 Public Hearing 07/09/13 Kelly: We have already authorized staff with a budget and to put out the RFP I mean I looked at the list today obviously it’s the City Manager’s decision on what to do with it but that has already been authorized the RFP has been answered Bev’s got the names sitting on his desk we’ve already put a budget to this and you guys got until the 13th of August to work some magic. Howe: including the financial support resources. Kelly: Look again, we’ve yeah we’ve already done that. Howe: I just want you to say it. Thank you. Mayor: Do we have a motion? Ellis: That was the motion. I can second that motion because I understand it. Mayor: I want to make sure. I I will ask our Clerk Mrs. Lacey, our long suffering clerk. Clerk: (asking Councilor Kelly) Did you amend it? Kelly: No, because there’s no… Mayor: Could you read, Mrs. Lacey, the motion as you have it. I want us all to understand. Kelly: I will be more than happy to explain it again if need be. Mayor: Mrs. Lacey is the one that’s going to have it in the minutes so that’s what we will have voted on so let’s make sure she’s got it. Clerk: to move forward with what Vice-Mayor, with the Vice-Mayor and um Councilor Howe and City Manager to work with the team and bring back a proposal um to say if it is a yay or nay and if it’s gonna work. [pause] Kelly: By the 13th. Clerk: yes, by the 13th. 18314 Public Hearing 07/09/13 Kelly: we’ve already authorized the budget for it, but we have to have the MOU… Howe: and the exclusivity. Kelly: ...exclusivity agreement through the 13. Howe: draft document the City Attorney provided on both those documents and the financial resources. Kelly: We’ve authorized the City Manager to sign it, the team is either going to sign it or not. Mayor: So the motion includes adopting the MOU and which includes the exclusivity agreement… Howe: Correct Mayor: Through August 13. Howe: The financial resources too. Clerk: He didn’t include that Mayor: if we direct the staff to go forward they would go forward with what we told him to do. Howe: Madam Mayor, I hate to correct you, which I’m not trying to do, but I will clarify, that’s probably a better word, the City Manager got responses and that’s as far as its gone unless the City Manager want to correct me on that so im ready to direct the City Manager to I guess we need to… Kelly: retain Howe: …retain the resource PDQ so that we will have that resource available because we have enough to try put financing together outside of the current framework and that’s 18315 Public Hearing 07/09/13 going to take some expertise and some access. So we need that resource we don’t have enough hours in a day to do it ourselves. Mayor: Before we go any further and get too far off the rules, do we have a second for Mr. Kelly’s motion? Kelly: Vice-Mayor Ellis already seconded. Mayor: Vice-Mayor Ellis so you understand it well enough to second? Kelly: I think Mr. Cameron understand well enough where we are going with this. We authorized the budget you guys have got until the 13th knock yourselves out. Mayor: Alright, a motion has been made and seconded. Mr. Solley. Solley: Thank you Madam Mayor, I do have some comments, but first I would like to ask Mr. Cameron since he is the one who is obtaining the expert to help you all do this, if this is a workable action on our part or if you have other comments about it. Cameron: we are very close to completing the procurement process to selecting the baseball lease consultant. I hope to do that by the end of this week. Whether we can put everything in motion to bring back a completed draft deal by August 13 remains to be seen, I don’t have a good answer for you on that right now. I think that is a very aggressive timeline. Solley: OK, thank you. My other comments are, I would like the people Vice-Mayor and Mr. Howe, who are negotiating, I heard Mr. Howe speak about his impression of the comments that were against the financial arrangements were centered on the um special tax district; I actually heard most of the people say that they were against public financing period, so when you talk about negotiating with the baseball team public financing has not, based on what we heard tonight and certainly based on the emails and 18316 Public Hearing 07/09/13 conversational comments that I have received is not very popular among the citizens of Fredericksburg who would be doing the financing okay. Number two you cast aspersion on Ann Little’s list that she read, l’d like to point out that Ms. Janelle Kennedy who also spoke tonight former husband’s name is Stanley Kennedy and her sons name is also Stanley Kennedy. So there are two Stanley Kennedy’s. (someone speaking out of the audience out of turn) I’m not going to respond to comments that kind of float up from the gallery. Anyway please take those things into consideration when you do your negotiations. Other than that, I would very much like to see this either decided one way or another. Mayor: Vice-Mayor Ellis Ellis: I hear you loud and clear Mr. Solley and I heard everyone here loud and clear we heard form 70 people, I tallied the comments. Um we heard from 70 verbally and or via email. I counted the emails and I tallied on my computer here while everybody was speaking, so we got 70 responses so far. The Facebook not withstanding I’m just talking public comments and or emails to us. It’s about .28 percent of the City’s population if you’re into statistics, so it’s while it’s not a representative sample it’s a relative sample none the less. It is data. I don’t think we should shoot this opportunity down without any negotiation so I’m interested in seeing if we can structure a deal so that it makes business sense to both the City and the Suns and I look forward to it. Mayor: Thank You, any further, any other comments. I would like to thank all who are here, all the emailed and all who have called. What we are talking about here is a business partnership a partnership between the City of Fredericksburg and a baseball team. That could be a beautiful thing, it could be a very wonderful thing, but the issue 18317 Public Hearing 07/09/13 before us is an offer that has been knocked around for four or five months and unless its terms change dramatically, it is not a good deal for the City, not for the City to totally finance the stadium with public debt. The the business deal that we’ve seen before us since we first saw of it last February hasn’t changed substantially, so I will support this motion, but I will agree with Mr. Kelly and Mr. Solley and I think everybody here it’s time to cut bait or fish and we need a business partnership that involves far less risks on part the City and the City’s tax payers and far more investment on part of the team. The team needs to be invested enough, because the team is what going to make it work. The team is what’s going to be using the stadium for all purposes and managing the stadium and that’s what got to make it work. So I thank everyone for their comments and everyone for spending the time that you have all spent on this and I assure you that I like baseball as much as everybody else nobody dislikes the idea of having the stadium or team here absolutely, but it has to work, it has to work for all parties and I hope we can come to an agreement but we are a long way apart and what’s proposed before us absolutely does not work financially. So you have a task ahead of you Vice-Mayor Ellis and Councilor Howe and our City Manager and City Attorney a big task, but we are willing to try to make it work. Howe: Are we gonna vote on the motion? Mayor: We will vote on the motion. I just wanted to have my chance. Thank you very much I will call the question. Clerk: Motion passes 5-1 Solley voting against. End of verbatim minutes. 18318 Public Hearing 07/09/13 Adjournment. There being no speakers to come before the Council at this time, Mayor Greenlaw declared the hearing officially adjourned at 11:43 p.m. Mary Katherine Greenlaw Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Mayor Tonya B. Lacey Tonya B. Lacey, Clerk of Council, CMC 18319 Public Hearing 07/09/13 [This page intentionally left blank.] 18320