City Council

Public Hearing 03/10/15 CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, MAYOR HON. WILLIAM C. WITHERS, JR., VICE -MAYOR, WARD TWO CITY COUNCIL HON. KERRY P. DEVINE, AT-LARGE HON. MATTHEW J. KELLY, AT-LARGE HON. BRADFORD C. ELLIS, WARD ONE HON. DR. TIMOTHY P. DUFFY, WARD THREE Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street HON. CHARLIE L. FRYE, JR., WARD FOUR Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 March 10, 2015 The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held a public hearing on Tuesday, March 10, 2015, beginning at 8:17 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. City Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Vice-Mayor William C. Withers, Jr. and Council members Kerry P. Devine, Dr. Timothy P. Duffy, Bradford C. Ellis, Charlie L. Frye, Jr. and Matthew J. Kelly. Also Present. City Manager Beverly Cameron, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Assistant City Attorney Robert Eckstrom, Public Works Director Doug Fawcett, Director of Community Planning and Building Development Charles Johnston, Community Development Planner Hunter Snellings, Zoning Administrator Michael Craig, Property Maintenance Code Official Wendy Baden, Fire Chief Eddie Allen, Police Chief David Nye, and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Notice of Public Hearings (D15-95). The Clerk read the notice of the public hearings as they appeared in the local newspaper, the purpose being to solicit citizen input. Ordinance 15-09, First Read Approved, Granting Spotsylvania County a Sanitary Sewer Easement Over Spotsylvania County Tax Map 18879 Public Hearing 03/10/15 23 (A)103A, for a County Sewer System Improvement Project (D15-95). – one speaker. Staff presented a brief overview. Ryguy Mau Muhammed, 1112 Caroline Street, suggested that the City look into bio-fueled digesters. He said this would save the City money because it would convert waste into energy and it would be good for the environment. Councilor Kelly moved approval of Ordinance 15-09, on first read, granting Spotsylvania County a Sanitary Sewer Easement over Spotsylvania County Tax Map 23 (A)103A, for a county sewer system improvement project; motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor Withers and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis, Frye and Kelly. Nays (0). Adjournment. There being no speakers to come before the Council at this time, Mayor Greenlaw declared the hearing officially adjourned at 8:20 p.m. Mary Katherine Greenlaw Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Mayor Tonya B. Lacey Tonya B. Lacey, Clerk of Council, CMC 18880 Regular Session 03/10/15 CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, MAYOR HON. WILLIAM C. WITHERS, JR., VICE -MAYOR, WARD TWO CITY COUNCIL HON. KERRY P. DEVINE, AT-LARGE HON. MATTHEW J. KELLY, AT-LARGE HON. BRADFORD C. ELLIS, WARD ONE HON. DR. TIMOTHY P. DUFFY, WARD THREE Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street HON. CHARLIE L. FRYE, JR., WARD FOUR Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 March 10, 2015 The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held a regular session on Tuesday, March 10, 2015, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. City Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Vice-Mayor William C. Withers, Jr. and Council members Kerry P. Devine, Dr. Timothy P. Duffy, Bradford C. Ellis, Charlie L. Frye, Jr. and Matthew J. Kelly. Also Present. City Manager Beverly Cameron, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Assistant City Attorney Robert Eckstrom, Public Works Director Doug Fawcett, Director of Community Planning and Building Development Charles Johnston, Community Development Planner Hunter Snellings, Zoning Administrator Michael Craig, Property Maintenance Code Official Wendy Baden, Fire Chief Eddie Allen, Police Chief David Nye, and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Opening Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance. Council was led in prayer by Councilor Bradford C. Ellis followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw. Officer Recognized. Mayor Greenlaw recognized the presence of Officer Leo Manster at this evening’s meeting. 18881 Regular Session 03/10/15 Fredericksburg Regional Alliance (D15-91 thru D15-93) – President Curry Roberts, gave an update on the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance. He talked about the region, marketing product development, existing businesses, and metrics. See D15-91 thru D15-93 for more information. Central Park Townhomes Community Day, March 21 – Property Maintenance Code Official Wendy Baden, personally invited Council to the Community Day that will be held March 21 at Bragg Hill/Central Park Townhomes. This will be an opportunity for the citizens to get to know the City employees and Council. Ms. Baden said she plans to hold a similar event in Mayfield. Informational Update on Downtown Sanitary Sewer Construction (D15-94). Public Works Director Doug Fawcett presented a PowerPoint that showed the downtown sanitary sewer construction and he showed a map of the road closures as well as a map to show the next project that will close down roads in the downtown. See D15- 94 for more information. Public Hearing Conducted (D15-95). The regular session was recessed in order to conduct the scheduled public hearings and immediately reconvened upon their conclusion. Citizen Comment. The following speakers came forward to participate in the citizen comment portion of this evening's meeting. Anne Little, 726 William Street, Chair of the Fredericksburg Clean and Green Commission spoke in favor of the proposed sidewalk café regulation changes. She added that Mr. Craig worked with the Commission and was able to include many of their 18882 Regular Session 03/10/15 suggestions in the policy. She also noted that most of the Committee was comfortable with the change from five foot clearance to four foot clearance. Melissa Colombo (D15-96), 418 Bunker Hill Street, spoke in opposition of the four foot clearance for the side walk café. She referenced several codes that she felt the four foot clearance would violate. She asked Council to consider leaving the clearance at five feet. Marilyn Brown, Countryside Apartments, Ladysmith, VA, stated that Micah Ministries was helping the wrong people because the people they were helping do not want to do anything for themselves. She stated that Micah needed to get in touch with Goodwill Industries. Council Agenda Presented. The following item was presented to Council. 7A. Expansion of Residential Parking Zones – Vice-Mayor Withers 7B. Stamp-Out Hunger Food Drive – Councilor Ellis 7C. Public Notice – Councilor Kelly Expansion of Residential Parking Zones – Vice-Mayor Withers noted that two parking lots in the downtown had closed recently, the one at William and Prince Edward Streets and Charles and Amelia Streets. He said this was pushing a lot of cars into the neighborhoods and he would like staff to do a study in the residential neighborhood around 1100 blocks of Douglas, Winchester and Prince Edward Streets and part of the 1000 block of Prince Edward Street as well as parts of Hanover Street. Councilor Withers said he would like to expand the residential parking in these areas, and he would be willing to work with the staff on this. Councilor Kelly said he would support this because it had been done in other areas 18883 Regular Session 03/10/15 that were being encroached on. He also had concerns that there were more signs going up in parking lots limiting parking to business specific with towing enforced. He asked if the City was aware of this. Mayor stated that she was aware and some had been in place for some time. Stamp-Out Hunger Food Drive – Councilor Ellis wanted to bring awareness to the Stamp-Out Hunger Food Drive that the National Letter Carriers hold every year, the second Saturday in May. They collected over 72,000 pounds of food last year and he asked if a proclamation could be done and information placed on the website as well as the public access channel to bring more awareness. Public Notice – Councilor Kelly stated that he spent Saturday morning at the Belman Road drop off facility to see how it was going since the new drop off fees went into effect. He said almost half were not aware that there was a new fee. He knew it had been advertised, but he suggested placing notices in the utility bills to try and make citizens more aware of things that were going on. Councilor Devine stated that although the notices were out, most citizens do not pay attention to them. She also said she felt it was a problem that citizens could not purchase the pass at the site. She explained that most people were going to the site on the weekends because that’s when they have time and City Hall is closed on the weekends so it’s not convenient for Citizens. She said she would like to see them being sold over the next few weekends on site. City Manager Cameron said that they have heard the complaints and they would be discussing them at the next R-Board meeting. Councilor Kelly informed Council that there was an R-Board staff person that was 18884 Regular Session 03/10/15 working on the weekend without pay as a volunteer to make sure this transition went smoothly. He thanked the R-Board staff person for his time. Councilor Ellis agreed that using the utility bill was a good source to get information out to the public. City Manager’s Consent Agenda Accepted for Transmittal as Recommended (D15-97 thru D15-103). Following review and as recommended, Councilor Kelly moved approval of the City Manager's consent agenda item; motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor Withers and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis, Frye and Kelly. Nays (0). • Ordinance 15-06, Second Read, Conveying the City’s Interest in the Stafford Civil War Park and the Adjacent Wetlands Mitigation Site to Stafford County for Preservation Purposes (D15-97). • Ordinance 15-07, Second Read, Providing for Issuance and Sale of General Obligation Bonds of the City of Fredericksburg, Virignia, in an Amount Not to Exceed $15,900,000 and the Form, Details and Payment Thereof (D15-98). • Resolution 15-12, Adding the Soils Testing Policy to the City’s Administrative Manual (D15-99). • Transmittal of Boards and Commission Minutes. o Architectural Review Board – January 12, 2015 (D15-100). o Architectural Review Board – January 26, 2015 (D15-101). o Clean and Green Commission – February 10, 2015 (D15-102). 18885 Regular Session 03/10/15 o Recreation Commission – January 15, 2015 (D15-103). Adoption of Minutes. Councilor Kelly moved approval of the February 25, 2015 Public Hearing and Regular Session minutes with two changes; motion was seconded by Vice- Mayor Withers and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis, Frye and Kelly. Nays (0). Presentation of the City Manager’s Recommended Budget for Fiscal Year 2016. City Manager Cameron presented the proposed budget the total was $88,626,620, a 2.44 percent increase over the Fiscal Year 2015 base adopted budget. The budget included recommendations for the following operating funds: City Grants, Social Services, Comprehensive Services Act, Water, Wastewater, Transit, Parking and Celebrate Virginia South Community Development Authority Funds. The budget includes recommendations for the City’s capital budget for Fiscal Year 2016 as well as a recommended Capital Improvements Plan for FY 2017-FY 2020. The capital budget continues to improve the City’s position by addressing deferred major maintenance, equipment and technology needs. The proposed budget included a three cent increase in real estate tax, increasing the rate from 79 to 82 cents per $100. This increase would provide funding for needed services in the City due to the rapidly growing population. The City has experienced the highest growing population rate than any City in the Commonwealth. The population is up 3,927 since April 1, 2010. The budget increase would provide resources necessary to advance many of the strategic initiatives identified by Council. Major changes include: significant increase in funding for Fredericksburg City Schools, payment of debt service 18886 Regular Session 03/10/15 for 2015 bond issuance for capital projects, four new positions (including two new EMT/Paramedics), final phase-in of the State-mandated changes in the City’s pension plan provided by Virginia Retirement System, general fund transfer of $2,000,000 to support capital projects, mid-year bonus to employees in the amount of $1,000, phased implementation of modified trash and recycling collection procedures, increase in water and sewer rates (4% each), and an increase in solid waste collection fees ($1.80 per month). The capital budget totals $13.6 million and the City has a strong balance sheet that gives the flexibility to address many long standing capital improvement needs. Some of the projects will be finance through the cash reserves and some will be financed through the bond issue and others by state and federal transportation revenues. He highlighted the major projects that were included in the Capital Improvements Plan. The City has been fortunate to expand on its economic development over the past year. There has been new business growth in the City as well as increased consumer activity which has helped boost the revenues each year. There have been modest increases in real estate tax, meals tax and lodging tax. The other revenue sources have fallen flat. Mr. Cameron also discussed the utility funds and stated that in 2012 the City hired Municipal & Financial Services Group (MFSG) to conduct a comprehensive water and sewer rate and management study. This study concluded that based on the current sales of water and sewer charges they were not sufficient to fund the operations and maintenance of the water and sewer systems. MFSG recommended the water and sewer rates be raise over a multi-year period, and the recommended budget includes a rate increase of 4% for water and 4% rate increase for sewer. These increases pay for utility systems upgrades 18887 Regular Session 03/10/15 throughout the City. Council established important goals and initiatives for the 2015 and 2016 Council biennium. The goals and initiatives have provided guidance to the appropriations in the recommended budget. The proposed budget develops a solid spending plan while providing the services citizens expect. Councilor Kelly expressed concerns he had with the new tipping fees for dumping at Belman. He also added that the City needed to think about how it was going to handle the upgrades at the Original Walker-Grant School and he asked whether the outside agencies had increases or stayed the same. Mr. Cameron stated that a few of the outside agencies had increases, but largely stayed flat. Ordinance 15-08, Second Read Approved, Reducing the Musical and Entertainment Festival Permit Attendance Threshold from 5000 to 2000, Delegating Permitting Authority to the City Manager, and Making Additional Changes to Permit Requirements in the Interest of Public Safety. Renaming “Musical and Entertainment Festivals” “Outdoor Concerts” (D15-104 thru D15-105). Assistant City Manager Whitley reviewed all the changes to the current ordinance including the change that Council made at the last meeting to increase the threshold from the proposed 1000 to 2000. Councilor Kelly stated again that this should have been a joint discussion with the City and those that are in the business and he didn’t feel they were in the discussions until after the decisions were made. He also said if this was concerning safety it should be 18888 Regular Session 03/10/15 applied to all events. He said the Celebrate Virginia Live (CVL) events has not been a problem. There have been more problems with the bars downtown then there have been with CVL events. Councilor Kelly said the proposed changes would affect whether future concerts will come to the City. He added that the EDA had voiced concerns with the proposed changes. Those concerns can be seen in D15-105. Councilor Kelly made a motion to defer action until the first meeting in April; motion was seconded by Councilor Ellis. Councilor Ellis stated that in light of the email from the EDA he would like to allow the EDA time to form a Committee to assess the economic impact as well as the impact on event tourism. He believes getting this information would allow Council to make a more informed decision. Vice-Mayor Withers stated that he could not imagine anything that would come back from the EDA that would change his mind on the public safety requirements for an event. Councilor Kelly stated again that if security was the issue than the wording needed to be changed to address all events that reach over the 2000 threshold and Vice-Mayor Withers added that all events were not the same as outdoor concert. City Attorney Dooley said she and staff had discussed the EDA’s input and recognized the concern of the economic impact, staff was also concerned with the co- mingling of the EDA’s concern about economic impacts and the public safety approach of the ordinance. Currently the public safety staff is in a no win situation. Public Safety staff currently staff the events regardless if there are 5000 or fewer. They work directly with the promoter and they are attempting to assign the number of personnel needed based on 18889 Regular Session 03/10/15 the promoters projections. She said it had been realized that they were in a no win situation when there are fewer than 5000 people, but when they arrive at the event it appears to be more people than what was projected and they are short staffed. This will allow them to have a formal communications path, a formal communication expectation and a formal plan in process that is enforceable until they get to the 5000 mark. Ms. Dooley added that the EDA input was valuable and she understood their perspective. There are many factors to take into consideration if the EDA decided to look into the impacts furthers. She also added that the EDA has money to study the topics and to offer economic incentives if they are needed. Councilor Ellis said he saw this as a safety issue, but wanted to get more information to make a more informed decision. He asked staff if it would cause any issues if Council waited until the first meeting in April. Chief Nye stated there was no reason to delay because the EDA’s request was co- mingling and the ordinance was strictly for public safety issues for concerts. Councilor Kelly said the EDA was not only concern about economic development, but the process as a whole. He added that if a business or citizen would be directly affected by an action of the Council that business or citizen should be involved in the process and he feels this did not happen. Mayor Greenlaw asked staff for clarification that when the changes were first drafted they were sent to the promoter and he was asked for comments and no comments were received. Mr. Whitley said there were extensive discussions with the staff and a draft was sent to the promoter and sent to Council as a transmittal at the second meeting in January, it was discussed at the first meeting in February and first read at the second 18890 Regular Session 03/10/15 meeting in February. There had been meetings with the developer and the promoter but staff had not received any feedback or suggestions. There has been feedback through the EDA and through other capacities. Councilor Kelly again said there should have been discussions in September with the promoter about any issues that occurred. He again stated that discussions were not started with the person directly affected by the changes. The motion to defer failed by the following recorded votes recorded votes. Ayes (2). Councilors Ellis, Kelly. Nays (5). Councilor Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy and Frye. Councilor Devine made a motion to approve Ordinance 15-08, on second read, reducing the musical and entertainment festival permit attendance threshold from 5000 to 2000, delegating permitting authority to the City Manager, and making additional changes to permit requirements in the interest of public safety. Renaming “Musical and Entertainment Festivals” “Outdoor Concerts”; motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor Withers. Councilor Ellis made it clear that he could not support the motion because he would like to receive more information before making a decision. Councilor Frye said the public safety and the economic impact were two different things and there must be a plan for public safety. He added that he would have liked to see this address all events but he understood the need to address the public safety. The motion passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (5). Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy and Frye. Nays (2). Councilor Ellis, Kelly. Resolution 15-13, Approved, Initiating a Unified Development 18891 Regular Session 03/10/15 Ordinance Text Amendment to Define “Social Service Delivery” Uses and Provide for Their Location in the City (D15-106). After brief staff overview Council discussed and agreed that this should be moved forward with the Planning Commission. Vice-Mayor could not support allowing this in a Commercial Transitional (C-T) zone. Mr. Johnston noted that the Planning Commission would be looking into greater depth of meeting the day to day needs of those “in need”. Councilor Duffy expressed his concern with moving forward with defining the service and not defining the class of people. Mr. Johnston said they could research further other wordings, but this is what he has found to date. Councilor Kelly asked that the parameters of what will be allowed and what is not going to be allowed are clearly defined, as well as what is expected. Councilor Kelly made a motion to approve Resolution 15-13, initiating a Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendment to define “Social Service Delivery” uses and provide for their location in the City; motion was seconded by Councilor Devine and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis, Frye, Kelly. Nays (0). Amending the Sidewalk Café Regulations, Section 8-1 of the Administrative Manual (D15-107). After brief staff overview Councilor Kelly clarified that there must be a four foot clearance. He said everyone wants to be friendly to all in the City. He thanked Ann Glavé and Scarlett Pons for helping and getting regulations from several other cities. He said he had one issue with the sidewalk seating encroachments and that was the placing of chairs or benches outside their business being subject to the sidewalk café rules, regulations, and permitting. He does not want this to 18892 Regular Session 03/10/15 cost the business owners a fee just for sitting a chair or bench outside their business. City Attorney explained that there are numerous types of encroachments on the public sidewalks they were looking for a way to address those encroachments. This was a way for them to get a permit to allow these encroachments. Mr. Craig gave clarification stating that there was not a fee to get a permit for the encroachment. The applicants would fill out a form and sign an indemnification waiver and they would be required to clean up after themselves. Councilor Ellis asked how broke the system was before deciding to fix it and he also asked the rationale for increasing the fee. Mr. Craig said when they looked at updating the regulations they wanted to look at the common sense items that were not lining up with the current policy. The biggest issue was the enclosure requirement for cafes that did not serve alcohol. The clear path requirement and reducing the width from five feet to four feet and this was hard for some to keep because the sidewalk width was not wide enough. Mr. Johnston said they also had several small issues come up that they wanted to address. Mayor Greenlaw asked if an establishment could say that there was no smoking in their outdoor café and City Attorney Dooley said yes, they can prohibit smoking in their café. Councilor Kelly made a motion to defer action on amending the Sidewalk Café Regulations, Section 8-1 of the Administrative Manual until the March 24 meeting to allow citizens time to review the changes that were made; motion was seconded by Vice- Mayor Withers. Vice-Mayor Withers said he could not support the change to the four foot 18893 Regular Session 03/10/15 clearance because that was not sufficient space for a couple to walk along the sidewalk. He also said he did not think the clearance should be changed because some of the users were not able to meet the five foot clearance. Councilor Frye state that his main concern was accessibility for everyone. He didn’t want to run the risk of running the elderly visitors or those with disability away because the walking path was hampered. Mr. Craig said it was a balance of accommodating what the restaurateur’s needed and the needs of the public. They researched the Americans with Disabilities Act and the public right of way did not have guidelines established. They had suggested guidelines that maybe adopted in the future and the recommended minimum was four feet. Councilor Devine was concerned with the encroachments and that too many non- cafes may want to put benches, sandwich boards or chairs out. She suggested putting a limit on how many they would be allowed to put out. She said the cafes added vibrancy to the downtown. Councilor Duffy complimented staff on this ordinance and the way it is written. The motion passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis, Frye, Kelly. Nays (0). City Manager’s Report and Council Calendar (D15-108 thru D15- 109). 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: Williams Street Sanitary Sewer Improvements, Belman Road Convenience Center User Fee Begins, Building Construction Reports for January and February 2015 and Property Maintenance Report for January and February 2015. 18894 Regular Session 03/10/15 Mayor Greenlaw thanked the Public Works staff for an excellent job with the snow removal. Closed Meeting Approved. Upon the motion of Councilor Duffy, seconded by Councilor Devine and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes, Council approved a closed session under Code of Virginia 2.2-3711(A)(7) for consultation with the City Attorney about five pending lawsuits involving the National Slavery Museum, specifically, National Slavery Museum v. Lois Jacob, Fredericksburg Circuit Court (2013), National Slavery Museum v. City of Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg Circuit Court (2013), National Slavery Museum v. City of Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg Circuit Court (2015), National Slavery Museum v. Diamond Nation Federal District Court (2015), and City of Fredericksburg v. National Slavery Museum, Fredericksburg Circuit Court (2012), where discussion in an open session would adversely affect the negotiating or litigating posture of the City, and for the provision of confidential legal advice. Ayes (7) Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis, Frye and Kelly. Nays (0). Return to Open Meeting Approved. Upon the motion of Vice-Mayor Withers, seconded by Councilor Kelly and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes, Council approved a return to an open meeting. Ayes (7) Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis, Frye and Kelly. Nays (0). Resolution 15-14, Approved, Certifying Closed Meeting. Upon the motion Vice-Mayor Withers approved Resolution 15-14 certifying the closed meeting; seconded by Councilor Kelly and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7) Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis, Frye and Kelly. Nays (0). 18895 Regular Session 03/10/15 Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, Mayor Greenlaw declared the meeting officially adjourned at 10:44 p.m. Mary Katherine Greenlaw Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Mayor Tonya B. Lacey Tonya B. Lacey, Clerk of Council, CMC 18896