City Council

Regular Session 03/25/14 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 25, 2014 The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held a regular session on Tuesday, March 25, 2014, 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 Cameron, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Budget Manager Amanda Lickey, Planning Director Charles Johnston, Deputy Planning Director Erik Nelson, and 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 Greenlaw. Officer Recognized. Mayor Greenlaw recognized the presence of Officer John Fesq at this evening’s meeting. Presentation on the Progress and Plans of the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance at the University of Mary Washington. Kent Farmer, Chairman of the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance gave an update on the progress and 18563 Regular Session 03/25/14 plans of the Alliance. He stated that they were in the process of replacing President Gene Bailey who was retiring in August. He said that the Fredericksburg Region was the fastest growing in the state. There have been 300 employees added to the regions since 2009. He said they were excited about their new relationship with the University of Mary Washington. Mr. Kent also played a recording of the new advertisement that’s being played on WTOP advertising the Fredericksburg region. Citizen Comment. The following speakers came forward to participate in the citizen comment portion of this evening's meeting. Ann Glave, Fredericksburg Main Street, noted that they were currently working on a website that will contain minutes, contact information, events calendar, meeting dates, construction work, there will also be a slideshow to show the stakeholders, Council and government officials. She said they plan to have the website live in a couple of weeks. She said they had their first call for volunteers and they had over 20 to sit on four committees, that are Main Street driven. They have established their first taskforce which is four years of business or less to help create packages for new businesses. She said they were also establishing ambassadors for each block to help keep a line of communication between her and the businesses. She said they have also created an exit interview team consisting of three individuals to find out why businesses are closing. This information will be confidential. The first vision meeting was held and over 65 people confirmed and there was standing room of 87 people. During this meeting they had breakout groups and there were common themes: focus on the river, diversification of shops and services including eateries, beautification, standards of care for uniformity, cohesiveness, improve wayfinding information, marketing, slow leisurely transportation options, center for 18564 Regular Session 03/25/14 diverse arts and entertainment, preservation, celebration of history and reactivation of existing spaces. They will now work on a vision statement for the City. Main Streets next major step is to collect a data base for downtown businesses and to determine the technology base for downtown, as well as the hours of the businesses. On March 19, they received the official plaque designating the Main Street program as well as a $1,000 scholarship to attend the National Main Street Convention and they will be sending two representatives to attend. Councilor Howe asked Ms. Glave what her primary goal was to get the program off the ground. Ms. Glave said she did not have a specific goal but that she had a couple of major projects that she was working on the first being getting the exit strategy committee up and running and the Holiday Committee needs to get up and running. She said in the next month she should be able to address that question better. Councilor Kelly requested that Main Street be involved it the Comprehensive Plan process. Ms. Glave said she agreed and that she had been in contact with Mr. Chuck Johnston. Van Perroy, 525 Caroline Street, he thanked Mr. Johnston and Mr. Nelson for such a positive change in the Planning Department. He also applauded Council’s efforts in their steps to accommodate development. He also spoke on the commuter’s use of parking in the free lots, parking garage and city streets. He was really disturbed at rewarding commuters for being early bird parkers in the deck. He proposed the following parking fees: early bird rate beginning May 1, $10/day and up to $15/day on August 1 depending on the initial rate increase result. The monthly pass rate should be increased from $70 to $125 on May 1 and up to 18565 Regular Session 03/25/14 $150 on August 1 depending on the results from the first increase. Councilor Howe stated that he agreed with Mr. Perroy’s comments and parking should be reserved for the businesses and residents in the City. Council Agenda Presented. There were no items presented to Council. City Manager’s Consent Agenda Accepted for Transmittal as Recommended (D14-121 thru D14-130). Councilor Kelly pulled items 8A and 8B and Vice-Mayor Ellis pulled item 8C. Following review and as recommended, Councilor Kelly moved approval of the City Manager's consent agenda items; motion was seconded by Councilor Paolucci and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). • Resolution 14-22, Amending the Fiscal Year 2014 City Grants Fund Budget by Appropriating $10,127 Based on the Award of the Virginia Pre Hospital Information Bridge Grant (D14-124). • Resolution 14-23, Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Contract with Arthur Construction Co., Inc. for Asphalt Repairs to Various City Streets in the Amount of $249,575 (D14-125). • Transmittal of Boards and Commission Minutes o Economic Development Authority – January 13, 2014 (D14-126). o Economic Development Authority – February 10, 2014 (D14-127). o Planning Commission – January 8, 2014 (D14-128). o Planning Commission – February 26, 2014 (D14-129). 18566 Regular Session 03/25/14 o Potomac & Rappahannock Transportation Commission – January 9, 2014 (D14-130). Ordinance 14-14, Second Read, Amending the Commercial Downtown Zoning District Regulations Pertaining to Multifamily Residential Density and the Floor Area Ratio for Nonresidential Uses (D14-121). Councilor Kelly stated that making periodic changes to the UDO impacting the historic district was critical to the viability component of the City and for this reason he would like to look at the historic district as a total. He said it is critical that developments fit into the downtown and for this reason he does not agree with acting on these items. Upon a motion and as recommended Councilor Devine moved to approve Ordinance 14-14, on second read, amending the Commercial Downtown Zoning District regulations pertaining to multifamily residential density and the floor area ratio for nonresidential uses; motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor Ellis and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (5). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (2) Howe and Kelly. Ordinance 14-15, Second Read, Amending the Commercial Downtown Zoning District Regulations Pertaining to Mixed Use (D14- 122). Upon a motion and as recommended Vice-Mayor Ellis moved to approve Ordinance 14-15, on second read, amending the Commercial Downtown Zoning District regulations pertaining to mixed use; motion was seconded by Councilor Devine and 18567 Regular Session 03/25/14 passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (5). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (2) Howe and Kelly. Transmittal of Economic Development Authority’s Report and Recommendation on Economic Development and Tourism Department (D14-123). Vice-Mayor Ellis wanted to highlight the fact that the Economic Development Authority supported his idea of separating the two departments. He thanked the EDA for the endorsement in his efforts. Councilor Kelly said he felt it was more critical to determine if the City was putting the proper resources into the Economic Development and Tourism Department to get the job the City Council wants done. Another aspect is the tourism component and how the City could benefit from bringing in outside dollars into the City and the City has an asset the other areas don’t have and that’s Heritage Tourism. He said there needed to be a good discussion on what Heritage Tourism is and what needed to be done to push it. Vice-Mayor Ellis made a motion to accept the transmittal of the EDA’s recommended report on the separating of Economic Development and Tourism Departments; motion was seconded by Councilor Kelly and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Adoption of Minutes. Councilor Devine moved approval of the March 11, 2014 Regular Session minutes; motion was seconded by Councilor Howe and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Resolution 14-24, Approved, Amending the Fiscal Year 2014 18568 Regular Session 03/25/14 Budget by Appropriating $31,050 for Additional Legal Services Based on the National Slavery Museum Suit (D14-131). Upon a motion and as recommended Councilor Paolucci moved to approve Resolution 14-24, amending the fiscal year 2014 budget by appropriating $31,050 for additional legal services based on the National Slavery Museum Suit; 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). Abstain (1) Devine. Suspending City Council Consideration of Additional Applications for Real Estate Tax Exemptions for Certain Not-for-Profit Organizations Under City Code §70-92.1 (D14-132). After staff presentation Vice-Mayor Ellis asked whether an organization has to own the land in order to be exempt and Mr. Whitley said they do have to own the land in order to be exempt. Councilor Devine mentioned that there were some exemptions coming up for renewal and she wanted to know if they would still be eligible and Mr. Whitley stated they would as long as the land use was still the same they could continue their exemption. The resolution would suspend any new applications and any new applicants would have to go through the budget process. Councilor Paolucci expressed her concerns and she stated that the Empower house was planning to apply. She also asked for clarification on the budget process. Mr. Whitley explained that the agency would make an application for a city grant of support which would go to the budget and the manager’s office to be placed on the recommended budget, which would then go to City Council for review through the budget review process and Council would decide on an amount based on a number of factors. Through 18569 Regular Session 03/25/14 this process it would be considered an expenditure instead of revenue forgone. Councilor Paolucci was concerned with this process because this process was not a guarantee. She felt the City needed to look at what the organization saves the City in the long run and she said it’s hard to put a dollar figure on some the savings we get from these organizations. She said she would much prefer to consider the tax rebate program. Councilor Howe said he thought the tax exempt amount was up to a $1,000,000 and Mr. Whitley stated that the vast majority of tax exempt properties were classification such as the University of Mary Washington. He said he liked the idea of going through the budget process because the agencies would have to justify themselves. He said if the City was going to give away tax dollars they must justify themselves. Councilor Devine said he agree with justification but also noted that there are two different issues that must be looked at the first is whether or not to require the agencies to go through the process and second is whether the City should stop approving any more applications at this point. Vice-Mayor Ellis asked why this was being considered at this point and Mr. Whitley explained that staff was recommending it because it was a much better process to look at them during the annual budget process. Mr. Cameron also explained that the City had a disproportionate share of partner agencies and the City is where they have to come for tax exemption. He said this is more of an equity concern. Councilor Solley asked for clarification on when the changes would take affect if it were passed. City Attorney Dooley said it would take effect immediately. Councilor Solley noted that if it took effect immediately then it would be approximately 15 months before and agency could apply. 18570 Regular Session 03/25/14 Councilor Kelly said if this were enacted what would be the review process and how would decisions be made on an application. Mr. Whitley said with the process of designation there is an element of statutory criteria but council also has discretion with the designation. Councilor Kelly said it’s not a bad idea to have a review process in place but he was concerned with how the review process would be carried out. Ms. Dooley referred to a news article in the December 22, 2013 Washington Post that talked about the tax exempt process in the Northern Virginia region and they reported there was a trend of localities not issuing the tax exempt designations and the difference was that the designation was a permanent subsidy as long as the use remains qualified. During the annual budget process Council could weigh the local priorities and resources for the year and make decisions based on that context. She said this gives localities better control over their annual budgets. Councilor Howe asked if the resolution could be passed with a 30 day moratorium to allow those agencies to get their applications in. He noted that the numbers of tax exempt dollars are much more significant than what’s shown. Councilor Paolucci noted that the tax dollar Mr. Howe was speaking of were mostly classification (churches, city government, college and hospital) and they are not changing. There were very few designations and she explained that some of those organizations can’t afford to take a tax hit and not knowing until the budget process ends may hurt them. Vice-Mayor Ellis made a motion to postpone this item until the first meeting in May; Councilor Paolucci seconded the motion. Councilor Devine asked if the City had the authority to creatively craft something 18571 Regular Session 03/25/14 with the exemption, possibly create a scale. Councilor Kelly said he would like the City to be tighter with the criteria of evaluating and look at the timeframe, but he would like criteria that would apply to everyone. Councilor Howe asked if the agencies could continue to be vetted on an annual basis to ensure they are operating the way they said they were. He said he would like this to be added. The motion passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Increasing the Parking Fees in the Sophia Street Parking Garage (D14-133). Councilor Howe noted that the courthouse would be opening soon and spaces need to be freed up and that parking was needed in the downtown. He also stated that the Spotsylvania County station would be delayed in opening. Councilor Howe also explained that Spotsylvania County wanted the City to open some of their parking to Spotsylvania residents but the City was not forced because the lot was fully funded by taxpayers dollars and he wanted to know if the parking garage was fully funded by city tax dollars so that the City could only allow city residents to park in the garage. Mr. Cameron said he didn’t understand how the City could limit the garage to just City residents. Councilor Howe said he would like to increase the early bird fee to $10.00 effective August 1 but he said he would hold for City taxpayer commuters the $6.00 fee. He said he would also like to increase the monthly permit fee to $125.00 and hold the City taxpayer rate at $75.00. Councilor Solley said he concurred that the commuter parkers are taking up most 18572 Regular Session 03/25/14 of the spaces, but he did not agree with making it only available for City residents. He does not think the current proposed structure would deter the commuters. He suggested there be something to discourage commuters from parking from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. He suggested possibly a fee increase if you park for more than 8 hours. Councilor Paolucci said she agree that the proposed fees are not high enough. She also agreed with possibly hitting them with an additional fee after 8 hours. City Manager Cameron said the input was great but he explained that they were trying to find a “sweet spot” that only moves some of the commuters out of the lot. He said he did not want to force all of them out because that would leave a funding gap of $140,000 per year in lost revenue. He agreed to bring back a revised rate proposal. Vice-Mayor Ellis said he agreed that the fees should be higher although he said he did not believe it would deter any commuter. Councilor Howe stated that with the added homes coming to Spotsylvania County he did not believe the commuters would move to the Spotsylvania lot once it opened. He emphasized the need for parking in the downtown for residents and businesses. Councilor Kelly said he understands staffs reason for the increase and he said the City need to get revenue where it can. He said the funding for maintenance and roads is getting more expensive and if we can get money from the parking that is good. He agreed with staff’s proposal and he said Council could take another look at it and increase it again if it needed to. He said a VRE parking deck is in the plans but it is later in the future. Councilor Howe said he understood Councilor Kelly’s direction but he said the downtown folks are saying we have a problem and the City’s responsibility is to the 18573 Regular Session 03/25/14 taxpayers. Upon a motion Councilor Howe moved to postpone approving the increase of the parking fees in the Sophia Street Parking Garage to allow staff time to present a revised rate schedule at the last meeting in April; motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor Ellis; and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Authorizing the Sons of the Confederate Veterans to Place a Marker Along Cowan Boulevard Trail (D14-134 thru D14-135.1). After staff review Councilor Kelly asked Deputy Planning Director Nelson if the City had plans of placing historical markers to describe the battlefield and Mr. Nelson said it had five panels it planned to place along the trail. Vice-Mayor Ellis asked if the private group were to install this type of marker who would have authority to maintain it. City Attorney Dooley stated that the group would have the right to maintain it and the City would have the legal authority to maintain the memorial, but the City would not have legal authority to move the memorial once authorized. Councilor Devine made note of the Memorials Advisory Commission’s letter and their recommendation against the memorial because the Council does not have a formal policy for placing memorials on City property and they thought it was more appropriate for the City to interpret the site. Councilor Kelly was adamant about allowing the marker to be placed on the trail. He said in order to move the initiative forward the City should take every opportunity given, even if it means allowing groups to do it for them. He was perplexed as to why 18574 Regular Session 03/25/14 the City would need a written policy to place memorials on City properties. He said the proposed marker had nothing inflammatory or misleading on it. Upon a motion and as recommended Councilor Kelly moved to approve the authorizing of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans to place a marker along Cowan Boulevard Trail; motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor Ellis. Councilor Howe asked for clarity on whether the marker could be moved if the City had a need for road improvements or for eminent domain purposes. Councilor Kelly asked Mr. Nelson if there were any right-of-ways that may be impacted with the placement of the marker. Mr. Nelson said he didn’t know of any right- of-ways that might be impacted because the road was built to a standard and additional roadways will intersect there. He said in his opinion he does anticipate there may be road work that may require moving of the monument. Councilor Howe again asked whether the monument could be moved. City Attorney Dooley noted that she was referring to Statue 1522-1812 and when the Sons of the Confederate Veterans sued the City in 2009 over the marker at the War Memorial the City offered to move the memorial at the City’s expense and they refused and sued the City instead stating that under the statue they have the right to keep the marker where it was. The original statue of 1904 allowed the Circuit Court to erect a monument in the Courthouse Square, over time the statue was amended to allow local government bodies to fund the memorials that were authorized by Circuit Court and in the statue it had the language “shall not be moved” and “shall not be changed.” In 1997, the General Assembly recodified the laws that pertained to Counties, Cities and Towns and editors went through and changed counties, cities and towns to localities and circuit court was changed to locality and courthouse square was changed to 18575 Regular Session 03/25/14 city limits. Therefore, because of the words “shall not be moved” or “shall not be changed” the private organization can sue and no one can move it not even the government body. Ms. Dooley said she has not been able to find any court opinions that say it can be moved. She said approving this would give the organization the authority to sue and to decide if they will allow the monument to be moved or not if it needed to be moved. Councilor Solley asked if the SCV would own the monument if placed on the City trail and Ms. Dooley said they would as opposed to Emancipation Statue that was donated to the City which Council can relocate the statue as it pleases. Councilor Solley asked if the SCV donated the memorial would it bypass the statue and he asked what the monument looked like and how it’s going to be displayed. Mr. Nelson explained that it was a bronze plaque to be placed on a stone base. Mayor Greenlaw asked Mr. Nelson if this was the best place for the memorial because the memo to Council recommended approval. She also asked Mr. Nelson to tell Council about the alternate location she had discussed with him and the author of the marker. Mr. Nelson said there was little opportunity for placing of markers, but he said the City owns 11 acres of the battlefield that will become accessible once Gateway Boulevard is punched through and he felt that would be the better location for these types of memorials, but it depends on when the road is built. Councilor Kelly amended his motion to move forward if the SCV presents the memorial as a gift to the City on the condition that the monument stayed on the Smith Run Battlefield; Vice-Mayor accepted the amendment. Vice-Mayor Ellis asked if the marker was historically accurate and stated that he 18576 Regular Session 03/25/14 thought it would be a great addition. Mr. Nelson said he worked with Mr. Perry to be sure it was accurate. Councilor Howe said he believed the amended motion was the best way to move forward as well as the best way to approve memorials in the future. Councilor Kelly noted that this would all be upon approval from the SCV and he asked what the City needed from the SCV to move this forward if they agreed. Ms. Dooley recommended postponement of action on this item for further work. Councilor Devine stated that she was still uncomfortable with acting on this item for fear of being sued again. She again referred to the Memorials Advisory Commission recommendation that a policy should be in place for placing memorials on City property. She further stated that she would like to see the Memorials Commission work on the policy before approving this memorial to be placed on City property. The motion passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (1) Devine. City Manager’s Report and Council Calendar (D14-136 thru D14- 137). 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: City Hosts First HUBZone Career Fair, Economic Development and Tourism Department Represents the City and Region at Tradeshows, Police Department Makes Changes in Community Policing Assignments, United Way Awards and Refuse Pilot Program Implementation Date Delayed. City Manager Cameron also added additional updates: the first was debt service savings through refunding city bonds and they have found that portions of the Series 18577 Regular Session 03/25/14 2005 were candidates for refunding and they believe the City could save over $250,000 over the remaining bond issue. Secondly, the City continues to evaluate the PPEA proposals for the water sewer improvements and will provide a better update at the April 8 work session and thirdly, staff is ready to get the solid waste pilot program started in May procurement was slowed down because of the snow. Closed Meeting Approved (D14-138). Upon the motion of Vice-Mayor Ellis, seconded by Councilor Devine and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes, Council approved a closed meeting under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Code Section 2.2-3711(A)(5) to discuss a prospective business or the expansion of a prospective business where no previous announcement has been made of the business’ interest in locating or expanding its facilities in the community. Ayes (7) Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci, and Solley. Nays (0). Return to Open Meeting Approved. Upon the motion of Councilor Devine, seconded by Councilor Kelly and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes, Council approved a return to an open meeting. Ayes (7) Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci, and Solley. Nays (0). Resolution 14-25, Approved, Certifying Closed Meeting. Upon the motion Councilor Devine approved Resolution 14-25 certifying the closed meeting; seconded by Councilor Kelly and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (6) Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci, and Solley. Nays (0). Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, Mayor Greenlaw declared the meeting officially adjourned at 9:53 p.m. 18578 Regular Session 03/25/14 Mary Katherine Greenlaw Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Mayor Tonya B. Lacey Tonya B. Lacey, Clerk of Council, CMC 18579 Regular Session 03/25/14 [This page intentionally left blank.] 18580