City Council

Regular Session 06/12/18 CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, MAYOR CITY COUNCIL HON. WILLIAM C. WITHERS, JR., VICE -MAYOR, WARD TWO 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 June 12, 2018 The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held a regular session on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, 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 (participated via phone), Bradford C. Ellis, Charlie L. Frye, Jr. (8:08 p.m.) and Matthew J. Kelly. Also Present. City Manager Timothy J. Baroody, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, Assistant City Manager Doug Fawcett, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Assistant Director of Public Works Marty Schlesinger, Economic Development Director Bill Freehling 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 Gabriel Stoll with Troop #1717. Officer Recognized. Mayor Greenlaw recognized the presence of Officers Melanie Schafer, Isreal Aramayo and Jason Elliott at this evening’s meeting. Citizen Comment. The following speaker participated in the citizen comment portion of this evening’s meeting. Pastor Anne Jones-Martin (D16-198.1) – 1300 Augustine Avenue, Christ Lutheran Church, spoke in regards to the parking changes in the neighborhood. She said they have a 19969 Regular Session 06/12/18 small parking lot with twelve spaces that accommodates their staff during the week, but worshippers, pre-school parents, community members and visitors rely on street parking when visiting during the week. She said the parking restrictions would present great challenges for the church. Pastor Martin asked the Council to amend the parking around the church so that the church would not be negatively impacted. Council Agenda Presented. There were no items presented to Council for discussion. City Manager’s Consent Agenda Accepted for Transmittal as Recommended (D18-199 thru D18-212). Councilor Kelly moved approval of the City Manager’s consent agenda items; motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor Withers and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis and Kelly. Nays (0). • Resolution 18-48, Second Read Approved, Approving a Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Budget Amendment Appropriating Funds in School Capital Funds (D18-199). • Ordinance 18-09, Second Read Approved, Granting a Ten Year (with Three Options for Five Year Renewals Upon Mutual Agreement) Non-Exclusive Franchise to Cox Wireless Access, LLC for Wireless Infrastructure in the Public Rights-of-Way (D18-200). • Resolution 18-49, Approved, Declaring Official Intent Regarding Reimbursement of Certain Expenditures from Proceeds of City Obligations (D18-201). • Transmittal of First Quarter 2018 FRED Progress Report (D18-202). • Transmittal of Board and Commission Minutes o Architectural Review Board – April 9, 2018 (D18-203). 19970 Regular Session 06/12/18 o Architectural Review Board Supplemental – April 23, 2018 (D18-204). o Fredericksburg Arts Commission – April 18, 2018 (D18-205). o Fredericksburg City Schools – March 5, 2018 (D18-206). o Fredericksburg City Schools – April 9, 2018 (D18-207). o Fredericksburg City Schools – April 10, 2018 (D18-208). o Green Committee – April 10, 2018 (D18-209). o Memorials Advisory Commission – January 17, 2018 (D18-210). o Public Transit Advisory Board – April 4, 2018 (D18-211). o Recreation Commission – April 19, 2018 (D18-212). Adoption of Minutes (D18-213 thru D18-217). Councilor Ellis moved approval of the March 27, April 10, April 17, April 24 and May 8, 2018 Work Session minutes; motion was seconded by Councilor Devine and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis and Kelly. Nays (0). Appointment to the Parks and Recreation Commission (D18-218) - After the recorded votes taken, Cameron John was appointed to serve with a vote resulting between applicants Brandon Beacham, Cameron John, Janice Olsen, and Michael Roberson. Beacham (1) Councilor Kelly. John (4). Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Duffy, Ellis. Olsen (0). Roberson (0). Councilor Devine abstained from the vote. Resolution 18-49, Approved, Supporting Submittal of Smart Scale Applications (D18-219). After staff overview and brief discussion Councilor Kelly made a motion to approved Resolution 18-49, supporting submittal of Smart Scale applications; motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor Withers and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis and Kelly. Nays (0). 19971 Regular Session 06/12/18 Resolution 18-51, First Read Approved, Approving a Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Budget Amendment Appropriating Funds in the Wastewater Enterprise Fund and the Wastewater System Improvement Fund (D18- 220 thru D18-221). After staff’s PowerPoint overview Councilor Kelly made a motion to approve Resolution 18-51, approving a Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget amendment appropriating funds in the Wastewater Enterprise Fund and the Wastewater System Improvement Fund; motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor Withers and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis and Kelly. Nays (0). Ordinance 18-09, First Read Approved, Repealing Restrictions on Parking on Public Streets Near the University of Mary Washington Campus, by UMW Commuting and Resident Students (D18-222 & D18- 224). Assistant City Manager Fawcett presented this item and explained that there was a long list of streets with prohibited parking in the neighborhood adjacent to the University of Mary Washington. When the parking consultant came one of the recommendations was to remove the no UMW student parking signs but he said they could not remove those signs without additional action. Mr. Fawcett explained that this item and the next item went together so he explained the two before Council took action on them. Mr. Fawcett presented a PowerPoint presentations and in the presentation he explained the proposed amendment to the resident permit parking. The revisions were to repeal the list of streets on which a Residential Parking Perming zone may be established, amend the standard for establishing zones, establish a procedure for terminating a residential 19972 Regular Session 06/12/18 parking permit zone, authorize the City Manager to establish “X Hour Parking except by permit areas and establish the College Heights and College Terrace Resident Parking Permit zone. He also showed the boundaries of the three parking regulations areas for College Heights, College Heights South and College Terrace. Mr. Fawcett discussed the related recommendations of the Parking Advisory Committee which included the opening of the UMW gate between Sunken Road and UMW parking facilities effective August 15, 2018 and all actions recommended by the Committee would be evaluated for their effectiveness at the end of 2018-2019 UMW academic year. See D18-224 for more information. Mayor Greenlaw asked whether the University had taken any action to encourage the use of their garage and Mr. Fawcett stated that during this process they had been reviewing their on campus parking and had taken a number of actions. Mr. Fawcett was confident that the parking was now on the radar of the administration and they were an active participant in the discussions and they understood the need for parking on campus to be better utilized. Councilor Duffy thanked the Advisory Committee, Dr. Richardson from the University, Councilor Withers, D.D. Lecky with Main Street, EDA members Bill Beck, Will Mackintosh, and Joe Wilson as well as all of the residents in College Heights, College Terrace, College Height’s Civic Association, Meredith Beckett and faculty, staff and students who participated in the process. He said this plan was going to help solve some problems but it would not fix everything. Councilor Duffy said they landed on some compromises and he hoped this would be a work in progress. Councilor Duffy was hopeful that it would work. Vice-Mayor Withers agreed that this would not solve all the problems but it was a compromise that everyone could live with. He also added that the University worked with the City on the gate. He said it was their gate and they could leave it open if they wished to 19973 Regular Session 06/12/18 do but they worked with the City on the times so that it would be opened and closed by a specific time daily. Mayor Greenlaw asked if the needs of the Lutheran Church would be solved by extending the restricted hours to three hours and Mr. Fawcett said when he spoke with the Churches representative they said the two hours would cover a significant number of their meetings but not all. Mr. Fawcett explained the challenge of going with a longer time was the balance between short term parking and it would tempt those form the campus to migrate back to the area. He said this was one of the reasons he was asking for flexibility in the ordinance so that they could evaluate. Councilor Devine asked for clarification on evening parking restriction for events such as the Great Lives Matter Lectures and Mr. Fawcett said they have discussed this with the University and they have agreed to open the on campus parking first to cause less of a demand on the neighborhood. Councilor Devine also asked for clarification on faculty parking and whether the University was opening up more faculty parking. Councilor Duffy said if they allow faculty parking on the street they would have to allow students and if this was the case the students would fill up the parking before faculty had an opportunity. Mr. Fawcett said currently most of the blocks in College Heights have student prohibited parking. Mr. Fawcett explained that when he first came to the City most of the complaints were for student parking and more recently the complaints have been faculty parking. He said the reason for this was that the University had taken much of the desirable parking from the staff and the proposed changes would push the parking back onto the campus. Councilor Frye asked how they would address visitor parking and Mr. Fawcett explained that there was a visitor permit system in place and he said the Police Department 19974 Regular Session 06/12/18 was working to make it easier so that the residents would not have to renew the permits as frequently. Councilor Devine asked about the representation and asked who was involved and whether the recommendation was from the entire group. Mr. Fawcett said in addition to the Parking Advisory Committee meetings they had meet two or three times with College Heights Civic Association, he personally attended the annual meeting of the College Heights Civic Association, there had been two meetings with the College Terrace neighborhood which were widely advertised, there was a forum on campus that was arranged by Dr. Richardson and he said they had actively engaged all parties. Vice-Mayor Withers added that they actually took votes and what was being proposed was what majority of the people wanted. He said the committee was committed to studying this for the next year and come back and look at it again. Mr. Fawcett announced that there would be a public hearing on June 26. Councilor Kelly asked that before the Council take the final vote that they get something from the University saying it understands and agree with the parking plan. He also asked if the City was still planning to do paid parking on the University side of College Avenue. Mr. Fawcett said the proposal to put paid parking in was off the table, both Councilor Duffy and Vice-Mayor Withers agreed. Councilor Duffy said they had worked closely with the University and he did not feel the need to get something from the University. Vice-Mayor Withers said the University’s representative voted for the proposed plan. Mr. Fawcett said there was a forum at the University which was organized and widely advertised on the campus by the University and many that came to the Council meeting attended the forum and heard the status at the time which is similar to the proposed. Mr. Fawcett offered 19975 Regular Session 06/12/18 to contact the College’s representative and give her the opportunity to come and speak at the public hearing on June 26. Councilor Duffy made a motion to approve Ordinance 18-09, on first read, repealing restrictions on parking on public streets near the University of Mary Washington campus, by UMW commuting and resident students; motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor Withers. Mayor expressed concern on the impact of the churches and their activities she wanted to know what could be done to meet their needs. Mr. Fawcett said he would meet with the churches before the next meeting to try to get a balance and he would report back on June 26. Mayor Greenlaw said she would vote on first read but could not vote on second read if there was not a solution for the churches. The motion passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis, Frye and Kelly. Nays (0). Ordinance 18-10, First Read Approved, Amending the Residential Permit Parking Program (D18-223 & D19-224). Councilor Duffy made a motion to approve Ordinance 18-10, on first read, amending the Residential Permit Parking Program; motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor Withers and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis, Frye and Kelly. Nays (0). City Manager’s Report and Council Calendar (D18-225 thru D18- 226). City Manager Baroody reviewed the Manager’s report and Council Calendar. Activities highlighted on the report were as follows: Free Downtown Parking Shuttle Begins, Broadband Survey Extended, Sanitary Sewer Smoke Testing in College Heights, Annual Asphalt Rehabilitation Program Continues, Library Parking Lot Expansion, Elementary School Students Visit City Hall, Challenging Weather Conditions Challenges Historic Half 19976 Regular Session 06/12/18 Medical Response, Deputy Fire Chief Assists Fairfax County Fire with Officer Candidate Assessments, The Fredericksburg Photography Show, Special Concert and June Events. Councilor Frye announced that Midnight Madness starts June 22, for ages 11-17, there would be free bus rides and free food. He also thanked the Parks and Recreation Department, the schools, police, city staff and the City Council for their support. Closed Meeting Approved (D18-226.1). Upon a motion Councilor Devine, moved approval of a closed session under Virginia Freedom of Information Act section 2.2- 3711(A)(39) for the discussion of confidential information prepared by the City, related to the attraction of a multipurpose outdoor and recreational venue, where competition or bargaining is involved, and where disclosure of the information would adversely affect the financial interest of the City of Fredericksburg; motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor Withers and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (7) Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis, Frye, and Kelly. Nays (0). Return to Open Meeting Approved. Upon the motion of Councilor Kelly seconded by Vice-Mayor Withers and passed by the following recorded votes, Council approved a return to an open meeting. Ayes (7) Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis, Frye, and Kelly. Nays (0). Resolution 18-52, Approved, Certifying Closed Meeting. Upon the motion Councilor Kelly approved Resolution 18-52 certifying the closed meeting; seconded by Vice-Mayor Withers and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (7) Councilors Greenlaw, Withers, Devine, Duffy, Ellis, Frye, and Kelly. Nays (0). Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, Mayor Greenlaw declared the meeting officially adjourned at 9:51 p.m. 19977 Regular Session 06/12/18 Mary Katherine Greenlaw Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Mayor Tonya B. Lacey Tonya B. Lacey, Clerk of Council, CMC 19978