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. JASON N. GRAHAM, 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 Town Hall June 18, 2019 Update on “2036 Vision Statement, Desired Future States” Report on the City’s Two-Year Progress on 35 Priorities Introduce Council’s Updated Set of 34 Priorities for the Next Two Years The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia held a Town Hall on Tuesday, June 18, 2019, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at James Monroe High School, 2300 Washington Avenue, Fredericksburg, Virginia. Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Presiding. Councilors Kerry P. Devine, Timothy P. Duffy, Charlie L. Frye, Jr., Jason N. Graham and Matthew J. Kelly. Council Absent. Vice-Mayor William C. Withers, Jr. Also Present. City Manager Timothy J. Baroody, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, Economic Development Director Bill Freehling, Business Development Manager Angela Freeman, Director of Parks, Recreation Jane Shelhorse and Special Events Chief Information Officer Suzanne Tills, Building Official John Schafer, Community Planning and Building Services Director Charles Johnston, Public Information Officer Sonja Wise, Human Resources Director Lesley Moore and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Update on “2036 Vision Statement, Desired Future States”. Mayor Greenlaw explained that the City Council vision was something they came up with at their 2016 biennial. At that biennial they drafted a twenty year vision and developed 8 Future States and they set priorities to work towards that vision. The priorities were given to staff and they met to discuss them. She said it was a vision with legs. The Council received 5 quarterly updates and a final report. In 2018, at the next biennial, the priorities were tweaked and they were later adopted. Mayor Greenlaw noted that when you read the budget those priorities are mentioned in the budget. She said citizens should be proud of this vision as it make many of the city’s decisions. The Council reviewed each of the Future states and gave an update on them: Employment Epicenter – Mayor Greenlaw 1  Building Community through Cultural Vibrancy – Councilor Devine Learning is a Way of Life – Councilor Duffy and Councilor Graham Distinct and Linked Neighborhoods – Councilor Duffy Cutting Edge Transportation Solution – Councilor Kelly A Proven Leader in Historic Preservation – Councilor Kelly Green, Clean Environment – Councilor Devine Public Services – Councilor Frye David Primmer, Rising Sun Neighborhood President, asked the Council how they could make the necessary changes to make the City Schools better, how could they make the necessary changes to make pedestrians safer and how could they make the City more inclusive in telling the rich diverse history of the City. Councilor Frye said before there was not any money but there is funding now to tell the history in the City. Councilor Kelly responded to the question on the pedestrian safety. He said Mr. Nelson the transportation administrator would be the person to speak with because he would know if there was money available for projects concerning pedestrian safety. Councilor Kelly also noted that being inclusive was a community involvement not just the City Council. He said there was a wealth of information out there and the Memorials Commission would be looking at telling the story better. Councilor Kelly said the City had also made a commitment to look into the schools capacity issues but he noted the big issue was financial. Councilor Devine responded stating that the Schools and the Council was working closely together. She talked about the possible change of streets from one way to two way which can be a traffic calming effort. She said there needed to be some creative measures taken regarding pedestrian safety. Councilor Devine also noted that the City was diverse and the diversity needed to be told and that she would like to see apps created for history trails. Councilor Duffy said a great challenge for the City going forward was making sure everyone was civically engaged. He said it was important to find a way to have everyone engaged especially the young people. He said the schools present unique challenges and opportunities. He said running a small school system was challenging. Mayor Greenlaw said the Council heard very clear that the City needed to do a better job at telling its diverse history. She said the Memorials Commission had been challenged with doing this. Mayor Greenlaw also spoke about how the City Council and School Board have come together with a small working group to help with school issues. 2  Hamilton Palmer, stated that education was the most important asset in the City and he was concerned with where the City schools were going. He said the school administration costs were duplicated, 2017-18 James Monroe was in the 11th percentile in public schools in Virginia. He said there needed to be changes. He asked if the City should look into partnering or merging with one of the other school systems to lessen the budget. Dr. Duffy said the City schools have been accredited for years and many of the neighboring schools have not been able to do so. Marie, Falmouth citizen spoke about the tourism economy which relies on low-wage workers who cannot pay for a place to live and she said there needed to be better bus service to lessen the need for cars on the roads and she would like to see a better regional service. Mayor Greenlaw stated that the GWRC was looking at regional housing for low income. Mike Taggert, Fall Hill Avenue Neighborhood, he said much of what was discussed affects their neighborhood, accessibility problems throughout the City. He said he would like to see the City be a pilot trade academy for those who do not go to college. He said he would like to see the City build this and make it a model for the State. Councilor Kelly noted there were talks with Stafford about a program they are doing where they buy houses and the students do the repairs and the houses could be sold after completion. Rene Rodriguez, spoke about the City supporting the University of Mary Washington Arts program. He said he did not think it would be of significant size because it’s only about 400 seats but he suggested maybe the City could give some subsidies to make it larger. He said there were also some capacity issues with the outdoor events. Mr. Rodriquez also talked about how much in economic incentive that were given to Liberty Place and how those businesses will be competing with existing businesses. Councilor Devine stated that the proposed UMW performing arts was not meant to be final but meant to show the state the City’s support. She also added that there are lots of performing arts that are only looking for 300-400 seat theaters. Councilor Devine said that incentives were like a double edged swords. The incentives are great opportunity for businesses to relocate. She noted that there are incentives for existing businesses to expand. She mentioned there are some businesses that will attract more university students to the downtown in hopes to increasing foot traffic downtown. Councilor Kelly said when Maury was renovated the City set aside $1.4 million for performing arts but it fell through. He said the City could help build a center but it could not run a facility. He noted that he did not vote to approve the incentives for Liberty Place but it’s the world 3 we live in. He said the City should only incentivize the businesses it wants or what is important and unique. Councilor Frye said the challenge the City has is that it is limited on land and businesses will go next door. He said it’s always a battle to make the right decision with incentives. Mayor Greenlaw added that the energy that is downtown was because of the restaurants. She said incentives are always difficult but the City uses performance based incentives. Mayor Greenlaw said that the Liberty Place project and the Vakos Projects would expand the downtown. Bill Leonard, Canal Association, asked where the Board of Education was on job skills. He said there was a whole population driving the affordability housing. He said we are good at enabling those who are not doing well to continue to not do well. Mayor Greenlaw noted that the FRED CAT was available to all ages. Councilor Devine agreed and said FRED CAT was an opportunity for them to retrain. She said Social Services would have the ability to reach out to those people and inform them of the FRED CAT program. Councilor Frye noted that when he have events he invite Germanna Community College to talk to people about their programs. Mayor Greenlaw added that UMW also does things to help. Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time. Mayor Greenlaw declared the session officially adjourned at 9:19 p.m. _Tonya B. Lacey _______ Tonya B. Lacey Clerk of Council City of Fredericksburg 4