City Council

CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, MAYOR 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 Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street HON. DR. TIMOTHY P. DUFFY, WARD THREE Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 Council Work Session March 23, 2021 Architectural Review Board Candidate Interview Historic Preservation Update Fiscal Year 2022 Recommended Budget Discussions The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia held a work session on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, beginning at 5:30 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. Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Presiding. Vice-Mayor Charlie L. Frye, Jr. Councilors Kerry P. Devine, 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, Zoning, Historic Resources Planner Kate Schwartz, Budget Manager Brenna Erford and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Architectural Review Board Interview. James Jarrell, IV – stated that the City has a phenomenal staff to help people navigate through the Architectural Review Board process and they help people think about the end result, especially with new construction. He said he would like to make sure new things that are added compliment the downtown in the right way and not to falsify anything and he feels with the staff help they would make sure things approved were not too trendy and meet all the guidelines implemented. He said he would like to bring to the table a different way to look at things and be able to offer applicants other options when it comes to materials. 1  Mr. Jarrell asked the Council how they thought the ARB decisions were trending and if the end results of new construction, renovations and new projects were what the Council thought of as an evolving downtown and whether they thought things were going in the wrong direction. Councilor Kelly said that was still under construction and trying to maintain the scale and scope of a property was a balance. Many of the new development was dwarfing some of the existing properties. He said he would like to see if there were incentives beyond tax credits to help be better partners to the development community. Councilor Graham echoed the scale comments from Councilor Kelly but as far as materials and aesthetics he felt ARB would need to look at how to keep the traditional look. He said maybe the ARB needed to look at how to blend projects in more seamlessly. Mayor Greenlaw said we welcome growth and density in certain areas was needed. She said it was a balance and staff was working hard to keep the balance. Mayor Greenlaw said this was a city that had been able to grow with every century and maintain its character. Historic Preservation Update. Historic Resources Planner Schwartz presented a PowerPoint and she discussed the following: Components of the Historic Preservation Program, Preservation Plan/Comprehensive Plan, City Codes/Preservation Ordinance, Historic District Handbook, 2018 Meetings, 2019-2021 Meetings, Plan Overview, A Vision for Preservation in Fredericksburg, Plan Goals, Historic Preservation Working Group Feedback and Initiation and Referral to the Planning Commission for review and public hearing. See Attachment I for more information. Fiscal Year 2022 Recommended Budget Discussions. Budget Manager Erford presented a PowerPoint presentation and she discussed the following: Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Recommended Budget, Revenue Outlook – FY 2022 Revenue Forecast, FY 2022 Meals Tax, FY 2022 Local Option Sales Tax, FY 2022 Revenue Changes, FY 2022 Revenue – Water and Sewer Fees; Personnel – New Positions, Compensation; Expenditures – FY 2022 Expenditures – Major Cost Drivers; Capital Improvement Plan – Summary by Fund (Non-Enterprise), Summary by Fund (Enterprise); State and Federal Assistance - $1.9 Trillion American Rescue Plan, City Manager’s Proposed Uses, FY 2022 State Assistance, Upcoming Budget Adjustments; Budget Calendar. 2  Councilor Graham noted that he would like to shift rate increases away from water and sewer and to the real estate tax. This would put the burden more on those who could afford the increase and shift it away from those who are least able to afford them. He asked about interest rates and whether it was considered to front load many of the projects because the rates were so favorable. Ms. Erford agreed they were favorable and said it was best to enter into them when they are favorable she said there was more debt in this budget and that was because of the rates. Councilor Kelly clarified that just because a person owns a home does not mean they have more resources he said many were on fixed incomes. He was concerned about raising taxes after coming out of a pandemic. He would like staff to bring forward what was normally rebated on the tax abatement program at the next meeting. Councilor Kelly listed many projects that the City had coming before it in the next few years and therefore he was hesitant on hiring new people and spending more money until it was known what the plans were for the schools, fire station, and water and sewer improvements on top of coming out of the pandemic. He expressed interest in how the schools have made out with their budget during the pandemic. Councilor Kelly also noted that the City had not met its goals with Advanced Life Support. He thanked staff for putting emphasis on the Fire Department this year. He had questions regarding staffing requests and whether they needed to happen now. He would like the salary looked at for the new tourism positon because a top notch person was needed. The environmental position, he asked if that could be contracted out. He would like the racial equity position explained and where the city plans to go with it. Councilor Duffy thanked staff for providing a great document which showed great investment in the community. Councilor Devine was pleased to see the focus on the needs and the future of the City. She stated that the City had made commitment to the community and she was glad to see the money to back those commitments up. She thanked staff for recognizing their goals Mayor Greenlaw added that the City has set high goals for itself and it had dealt with difficult issues. She explained that the racial equity position would make sure the City was doing what it was supposed to do. Council agreed to advertise a four cent tax increase. 3  Mr. Baroody explained that the staff offered a three cent tax increase to help deal with the issues of employees being underpaid because City staff was still behind all its other competitors. He said he also planned to have a compensation and class study done. Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time. Mayor Greenlaw declared the session officially adjourned at 7:08 p.m. ______________________ Tonya B. Lacey Clerk of Council City of Fredericksburg 4