City Council

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 Council Work Session October 13, 2015 Riverfront Park The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia held a work session on Tuesday, October 13, 2015, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall Conference Room. Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Presiding. Councilors William C. Withers, Jr., Kerry P. Devine, Timothy P. Duffy, Bradford C. Ellis (6:47), Charlie L. Frye, Jr. (5:36) and Matthew J. Kelly. Also Present. City Manager Beverly Cameron, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Parks and Recreation Division Manager Wendy Stone, Division Manager of Parks and Athletics Michael Ward, Planning and Services Director Charles Johnston and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Others Present. Elliot Rhodeside, Rhodeside & Harwell. Riverfront Park. Mr. Rhodeside stated that he had been interested in the riverfront projects from the time he saw the request for proposal. He knew there were concerns with the cost of the park so he and his partners looked at the park one last time to see where they could reduce the cost. In his PowerPoint presentation he showed Council what could be done to reduce the costs. The presentation showed an aerial photo and the park boundaries, the community engagement and project vision, the final concept plan, the revised concept plan, the strategies to reduce the cost, sample play areas from other parks, sample gardens from other parks, open space and overlook samples and economic benefits of open spaces. (See attachment for more information). Vice-Mayor Withers asked how many parking spaces would be saved with the newly proposed concept plan and Mr. Rhodeside said there may be a loss of 6 or so spaces. He said 1 he heard the concerns about parking so he was able to keep parking on the edges, but not in the middle of the park. Councilor Ellis liked the new concept design and said he was comfortable with a potential $5 million park. He felt that with the changes this would be a better fit for the community. Councilor Devine thanked Mr. Rhodeside for hearing Council’s concerns and addressing them. She said the proposed concept was more practical. She said parking had always been a concern and she was comfortable with the parking along the edge of the park. Mr. Rhodeside explained what would happen during the schematic design phase. He said they would receive feedback from Council on what was wanted and not wanted. Rhodeside & Harwell would design and bring back the new design after working with a cost estimator. The design would be brought back and it would go through a strategy operation to see if any additional changes are needed. The next step would be to prepare a more detailed draft design and get another cost estimate and finally prepare the final design. Mr. Rhodeside estimates that the entire process could take about a year. Councilor Frye said he would like to see the parking on one side of the park only and asked whether Mr. Rhodeside could provide Council with a cost of maintaining the items along the river if they were washed out. Mr. Rhodeside said he could provide that. Councilor Kelly expressed his concerns that there would not be enough parking for events that are held at the amphitheater. Mayor Greenlaw thanked Mr. Rhodeside and said this was a very doable plan and she like that he had taken many of the Council’s concerns into consideration. Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, Mayor Greenlaw declared the work session officially adjourned at 6:42 p.m. _____Tonya B. Lacey __ Tonya B. Lacey Clerk of Council City of Fredericksburg 2