City Council

Public Hearing 10/27/20 HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, MAYOR CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. CHARLIE L. FRYE, JR., VICE -MAYOR, WARD FOUR CITY COUNCIL HON. KERRY P. DEVINE, AT-LARGE HON. MATTHEW J. KELLY, AT-LARGE HON. JASON N. GRAHAM, WARD ONE HON. WILLIAM C. WITHERS, JR., WARD TWO HON. DR. TIMOTHY P. DUFFY, WARD THREE Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 October 27, 2020 The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held a public hearing on Tuesday, October 27, 2020, beginning at 7:41 p.m. using electronic communication through GoToMeeting pursuant to and in compliance with the City Council Ordinance 20-05, an ordinance to address Continuity of City Government during the pendency of a pandemic disaster. City Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw. Vice-Mayor Charlie L. Frye, Jr., Council members Kerry P. Devine, Dr. Timothy P. Duffy, Jason N. Graham, Matthew J. Kelly and William C. Withers, Jr. Also Present. City Manager Timothy J. Baroody, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Community Planning and Building Services Director Charles Johnston, Senior Planner Mike Craig, Community Development Planner Susanna Finn, Diversity, Equity and Economic Advancement Officer Angela Freeman and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Notice of Public Hearings (D20-511). The Clerk read the notice of the public hearings as they appeared in the local newspaper, the purpose being to solicit citizen input. Soliciting Public Comment on the Implementation of 2018-2019 Community Development Block Grant Program (D20-511). no speakers. Ms. 20779 Public Hearing 10/27/20 Finn reported that the CAPER was an annual look at the City’s progress on the goals established in the 2015 consolidated plan for the City’s HUD CDBG grant program. Ms. Finn highlighted that the funds were offered to non-profit organizations to offer sixteen families emergency rental and mortgage assistance, 154 households legal services, 125 health counseling, testing and education about HIV/Aids, and it offered 230 elderly city residents food assistance. The funding also assisted in repairs to six homes with electrical, roofing and plumbing emergencies and two homes were modified with architectural barrier making the homes more accessible allowing elderly residents to stay in their homes. In all, $215,000 in grant funds served 413 households this year. In addition to the public hearing staff contacted neighborhood associations, civic groups, and interested parties to solicit public input. A summary of the CAPER appeared in the Free Lance-Star on October 23. This notice opened the public comment period. The final report will be brought back to City Council for final approval. Council commented on the fantastic job Ms. Finn has been doing with the program and for the citizens of Fredericksburg. Adjourned. There being no more speakers to come before the Council at this time, Mayor Greenlaw declared the hearing officially adjourned at 8:35 p.m. Mary Katherine Greenlaw Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Mayor Tonya B. Lacey Tonya B. Lacey, Clerk of Council, CMC 20780 Regular Session 10/27/20 HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, MAYOR CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. CHARLIE L. FRYE, JR., VICE -MAYOR, WARD FOUR HON. KERRY P. DEVINE, AT-LARGE CITY COUNCIL HON. MATTHEW J. KELLY, AT-LARGE HON. JASON N. GRAHAM, WARD ONE HON. WILLIAM C. WITHERS, JR., WARD TWO HON. DR. TIMOTHY P. DUFFY, WARD THREE Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 October 27, 2020 The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held a regular session on Tuesday, October 27, 2020, beginning at 7:30 p.m. using electronic communication through GoToMeeting pursuant to and in compliance with the City Council Ordinance 20-05, an ordinance to address Continuity of City Government during the pendency of a pandemic disaster. City Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw. Vice-Mayor Charlie L. Frye, Jr., Council members Kerry P. Devine, Dr. Timothy P. Duffy, Jason N. Graham, Matthew J. Kelly and William C. Withers, Jr. Also Present. City Manager Timothy J. Baroody, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Community Planning and Building Services Director Charles Johnston, Senior Planner Mike Craig, Community Development Planner Susanna Finn, Diversity, Equity and Economic Advancement Officer Angela Freeman and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Opening Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance. Council was led in prayer by Vice-Mayor Charlie L. Frye, Jr. followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw. Wall of Honor Ceremony. The Chair of the Memorials Advisory Commission Nancy Moore gave a brief overview of the wall of honor process and had the nominators give 20781 Regular Session 10/27/20 a brief summary of their nominees. Jeannette Cadwellender presented Mr. Jerry Holland Brent, Ms. Jane Bailey presented Mr. Robert “Hotsy” Moore, Ms. Trudy Smith presented Mr. O’Neal Mercer and Mr. Ed Jones presented Josiah Rowe and each gave a brief summary of their nominee’s contributions to the City. The 2020 Wall of Honor honorees were Jerry Holland Brent, Robert “Hotsy” Moore, O’Neal Mercer and Josiah Rowe. Consent Agenda Accepted for Transmittal as Recommended (D20- 503 thru D20-510). Councilor Kelly moved approval of the City Manager’s consent agenda; motion was seconded by Councilor Withers and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Duffy, Graham, Kelly, Withers. Nays (0). • Ordinance 20-22, Second Read Approved, Amending §54-19 of the City Code to Raise the Threshold of Petit Larceny (D20-503). • Ordinance 20-23, Second Reading, Authorizing Remote Participation Policies for In-Person Meetings During the COVID-19 Pandemic; Providing for Continuing Public Access to, and Participation in, Public Meetings (D20-504). • Resolution 20-81, Amending the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget to Appropriate a Grant for the Purchase of Equipment for the Fire Department (D20-505). • Transmittal of Board and Commissions Minutes o Board of Social Services – August 6, 2020 (D20-506). o Economic Development Authority – September 14, 2020 (D20-507). o Public Transit Authority Board – July 15, 2020 (D20-508). o Public Transit Authority Board – August 5, 2020 (D20-509). o Recreation Commission – September 17, 2020 (D20-510). 20782 Regular Session 10/27/20 Public Hearing (D20-511). The regular session was recessed in order to conduct scheduled public hearings and immediately reconvened upon their conclusion. Citizen Comment. The following comments were submitted to be read during the citizen comment portion of this evening’s meeting. Rebecca Rubin (D20-512), 724 Lee Avenue, spoke in support of the Brompton Community School. She said there was no school of this type and she felt it would be a great asset for the children in the City. See D20-512 for more information. Council Agenda Presented. The following items were presented to Council for discussion. 7A. Charles and William Street Update – Vice-Mayor Frye 7B. Update on Racial Equity Plan – Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw 7C. Homelessness – Councilor Graham 7D. Rock the Vote Float – Vice-Mayor Frye Charles and William Street Update – Vice-Mayor Frye reported that there was a medallion on the former site of the slave auction block as well as a temporary wayside panel. He stated that things were changing on that corner. Update on Racial Equity Plan (D20-513) – Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw asked Equity and Economic Advancement Officer Freeman to give an update on the Plan. Ms. Freeman reported on Goal A that on September 24, approximately 65 demonstrators gathered at Hurkamp Park and marched throughout the downtown. Demonstrations were lawful then turned unlawful when they took over the streets and began walking the wrong way on one-way streets. Violators were warned by the Police before being 20783 Regular Session 10/27/20 issued summonses for pedestrian in roadway violations, one assault arrest and one outstanding traffic summons. Goal B – Communications Team continues to meet semi-regularly and work with its consultant on a scaled-down contract, messaging has been developed regarding the Slave Auction Block and the temporary exhibits coming to both the former location and Fredericksburg Area Museum and the “Ask The Mayor” segment continues every other week. Goal C – Fredericksburg Police Department (FPD) completed a video montage of the protest and presented the video along with a de-briefing of the events to all City Council members. This occurred on September 17, 2020, September 21, 2020, September 22, 2020 and October 1, 2020. FPD and its local partners from Stafford and Spotsylvania participated in a joint training, which included Incident Command Systems (ICS), which is the system used to coordinate a response to any major incident that may include outside agencies and/ or last more than two hours involving a supervisor and two or more officers of FPD. During this training major facets of the response to the demonstrations that took place on May 31- June 2 that involved our outside partners were also de-briefed for the purposes of lessons learned and information sharing. Command Staff (Chief and Captains) met with PERF on October 24 to go-over their preliminary report on FPD’s response to the demonstrations. PERF has asked for some additional information, which is currently being compiled and will be submitted to them the week of October 26. As of October 26, 2020, the General Assembly Special Session is still on-going. Goal D – Staff recognizes City Council’s commitment to continued community outreach and dialogue. They recognize the City is in the midst of a moment where similar conversations were occurring across the state, the nation and internationally. They recognize 20784 Regular Session 10/27/20 our residents and community leaders have already begun these hard conversations and the City was part of the broader community conversation. These conversations have proven to not always be easy, but the hard work has the potential to impact our community in positive ways. If approached constructively, with the goal to support/represent and protect all of our residents, there is the potential for this hard work to enhance our policies, programs and service delivery to achieve better outcomes--especially enhanced outcomes related to City Council’s Future Desired States. Ms. Freeman said there would be opportunities for the public to provide input to the City. Boards would be offered a chance to provide input this week. The public survey would be the primary tool and would be available in written form as an online tool and there are a limited number of virtual sessions available to ensure equity in access for those that prefer and/or have accommodation requirements that allow for oral feedback. Staff would provide a link to those who express interest in participating. Registration would be open for special accommodation/virtual session, with strong encouragement for resident participation. The dates include October 28th at 7:00-8:15 pm; October 29th at 12:30 pm-1:45 pm; November 9th at 5:30 pm-6:45 pm; November 10th at 6:00 pm-7:15 pm. Public feedback would be anonymous. International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC), will host, collect, and analyze the public input. Participants will have to identify if they are residents, business owners/employees, from an organization (like a private school)/major institution (College/University), etc. so that the findings may be analyzed and understood from the perspective of multiple stakeholders or a single perspective, like residents or businesses, can be isolated. 20785 Regular Session 10/27/20 ICSC will present the findings in a session that will be available to the public during the first week of December. They will prepare a report for Council’s consideration during its December retreat. Council commended Ms. Freeman on the work and Ms. Freeman said it was an honor and a privilege but it was not her work alone. She said City Staff has dedicated a lot of time on this and this was a result of their tireless dedication. Homelessness – Councilor Graham expressed concern that, with the winter coming, COIVD-19 would be getting worse and he’s concerned that the City was not ready. He said supposedly there was a moratorium on evictions but there was a loophole that says you may be evicted for reasons other than not paying your rent. Councilor Graham is concerned that people would be getting evicted who cannot pay their rent because of COVID, causing more homelessness to occur. He said he wanted to be ready financially as well as with a plan. Mr. Baroody gave an update on the homeless plan. In 2017 the City asked the Continuum of Care (CoC) and the George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) to ask the region to tackle homeless and there was a half million dollars needed, those discussions did not go far. The City created a pilot program with $10,000 which Mary Washington Foundation (MWF) gave a matching donation and we were able to house eleven people in two years. The City funded it again this year and he said he was hoping the MWF would match it again. The CARES funding has also provided funds to help with housing. He said it would be appropriate to think long term and there had been some discussions on buying a hotel to house the homeless population. Councilor Gram requested a work session with the COC to discuss. 20786 Regular Session 10/27/20 Mayor Greenlaw reminded everyone of the Rappahannock United Way Alice Funds that had been helpful as well as the foundation funding. Mr. Baroody noted that the CARES funding had provided the RUW $400,000 to support residents in 22401. Rock the Vote Float – Vice-Mayor Frye noted that there was a local band called the Major League Band that came up with the idea to “ROCK THE VOTE” and they would be having a mobile party on Saturday evening while stressing the importance of voting. They were going to be at Dixon Park around 2:00. Councilor Graham reminded everyone that they could go vote, before going to “ROCK THE VOTE”. Adoption of Minutes (D20-514). Councilor Devine moved approval of the July 14, 2020 Work Session minutes and the October 13, 2020 Regular Session minutes; motion was seconded by Councilor Duffy and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Duffy, Graham, Kelly, Withers. Nays (0). Planning Commission Appointment – Kenneth Gantt, Chris Hornung, Adam Lynch (D20-515). After the recorded vote taken, Kenneth Gantt, Chris Hornung and Adam Lynch were appointed to serve on the Planning Commission with a vote resulting between applicants Kenneth Gantt, Chris Hornung, Adam Lynch and Matt Rowe. Gantt (5) Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Duffy, Withers. Hornung (7) Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Duffy, Graham, Kelly, Withers. Lynch (5) Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Graham, Kelly. Rowe (4) Duffy, Graham, Kelly, Withers. Resolution 20-82, Approved, Initiating an Amendment to the 2015 Comprehensive Plan to Adopt a New Small Area Plan for Planning Area 2 (D20-516 thru D20-517). After staff presentation, Councilor Graham made a motion to 20787 Regular Session 10/27/20 approve Resolution 20-82, initiating an amendment to the 2015 Comprehensive Plan to adopt a new Small Area Plan for Planning Area 2; motion was seconded by Councilor Devine and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Duffy, Graham, Kelly and Withers. Nays (0). City Manager’s Report and Council Calendar (D20-518 thru D20- 519). City Manager Baroody directed the Council’s attention to the Manager’s Update: Public Engagement on Racial Equity, Vice-Mayor Frye Re-elected to State Board, New Trail Feature, Free COVID-19 Testing, Voting in the City, Fredericksburg Regional Transit, VA Business Magazine, Christmas Parade 2020 Deadline Extended, “Ask the Mayor” Video Series, Chatham Bridge Closure, Upcoming Council Meetings, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), CARES Act Funding in Action, Fall Programs and Fred Focus. Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, Mayor Greenlaw declared the meeting officially adjourned at 9:18 a.m. Mary Katherine Greenlaw Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Mayor Tonya B. Lacey Tonya B. Lacey, Clerk of Council, CMC 20788