City Council

Public Hearing 11/23/21 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. JONATHAN A. GERLACH, WARD TWO HON. DR. TIMOTHY P. DUFFY, WARD THREE Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 November 23, 2021 The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held a public hearing on Tuesday, November 23, 2021, beginning at 8:08 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. 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. Others Present. City Manager Timothy J. Baroody, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, Assistant City Manager David Brown, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Fire Chief Mike Jones and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Notice of Public Hearings (D21-776 thru D21-780). The Clerk read the notice of the public hearings as they appeared in the local newspaper, the purpose being to solicit citizen input. Adopting Local Redistricting Plan • Ordinance Adopting Local Redistricting “Plan A” and Amending City Code Chapter 30, “Elections,” Section 30-1 “Election 21211 Public Hearing 11/23/21 Districts” to Adjust District Boundaries in Accordance with the Adopted Redistricting Plan, or • Ordinance Adopting Local Redistricting “Plan B” and Amending City Code Chapter 30, “Elections,” Section 30-1 “Election Districts” and Section 30-2 “Precincts in District Four” to Adjust District and Precinct Boundaries in Accordance with the Adopted Redistricting Plan (D21-776 thru D21-777). 2 speakers. Mr. Johnston presented a PowerPoint presentation. He discussed the reason the City was going through the redistricting, he reviewed the current Ward outline, the current ward plan, the current ward: Summary by Race and Ethnicity, Plan A Redistricting Map, Plan A Scenario, Plan A Summary by Race and Ethnicity, Plan B Redistricting Map, Plan B Scenario, Plan B Summary by Race and Ethnicity and Summary of Total Population Balance and Minority – Majority Ward Districts. Council had a brief discussion and said they would wait to see what the public’s concerns were. Sarah Dewees, 809 Marye Street, works at the University of Mary Washington at the Center for Community Engagement and she works with the students on campus and their mission is to create civically engaged students. She said for the past 10 years it had been challenging registering students, who live on campus to votes because the resident halls were divided into three voting wards. This caused voting confusion for the students. She was supportive of either of the two proposed redistricting maps because 21212 Public Hearing 11/23/21 they removed any confusion for the students because the residences were all in one voting ward. Katie McDaid, 1701 College Avenue, current junior at University of Mary Washington and the head of the UMW voter registration team and a member of the Get Out and Vote Team. She said she was appreciative that UMW was consolidated into Ward 2. She said in the past there was a lot of confusion because of the multiple voting wards and she was supportive of both Plans A&B. Mayor Greenlaw closed the public hearing and deferred the vote in order to continue receiving public comments at the December 14 meeting. Resolution 21-93, First Read Approved, Amending the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget to Carry Forward Various School Grants (D21-778 thru D21- 780). After staff presentation Councilor Duffy disclosed that he was an employee of the Fredericksburg City Schools but he was able to participate in the transaction fairly, objectively and in the public interest. Vice-Mayor Frye disclosed that his spouse was an employee of the Fredericksburg City Schools but he was able to participate in the transaction fairly, objectively and in the public interest. Councilor Graham moved to approve Resolution 21-93, on first read, amending the Fiscal Year 2022 budget to carry forward various school grants; motion was seconded by Councilor Kelly and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Duffy, Graham, Kelly and Withers. Nays (0). 21213 Public Hearing 11/23/21 Adjourned. There being no more speakers to come before the Council at this time, Mayor Greenlaw declared the hearing officially adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Mary Katherine Greenlaw Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Mayor Tonya B. Lacey Tonya B. Lacey, Clerk of Council, MMC 21214 Regular Session 11/23/21 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 November 23, 2021 The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held a regular session on Tuesday, November 23, 2021, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. 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. Others Present. City Manager Timothy J. Baroody, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, Assistant City Manager David Brown, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Fire Chief Mike Jones and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Opening Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance. Council was led in prayer by Councilor Matthew J. Kelly followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilor Jason N. Graham. Officer Recognized. Mayor Greenlaw recognized the presence of Lieutenant Josh Lynch, at this evening’s meeting. Runner Friendly City Award. Brian Pessolano, President of the Fredericksburg Running Club and Angela Anderson, of the United States Marine Corps 21215 Regular Session 11/23/21 Community Services presented Mayor Greenlaw with a plaque stating that Fredericksburg was a runner friendly community. Proclamation for Small Business Saturday (D21-766). Mayor Greenlaw presented Cori Blanch and Megan Samples with a proclamation recognizing November 27 as Small Business Saturday and she urged residents of the community and across the country, to support small businesses and merchants on Small Business Saturday and every Saturday throughout the year and especially in 2021 as our local business owners navigate through the pandemic. Resolution 21-91, Approved, Approving the Legislative Agenda for the 2022 General Assembly Session (D21-767 thru D21-771). Eldon James of Eldon James Consulting presented a PowerPoint on the 2022 Legislative Program. He began his presentation giving an overview of Eldon James and Associates stating they have worked in Virginia government by helping to amplify client goals since 1994. Mr. James stated this was a time of transition in Richmond with a new governor and administration and a new majority in the house. He also gave an overview of the 2022 Virginia General Assembly, Fredericksburg’s 2022 Legislative and Budget Requests, and Policy Positions. See D21-767 thru D21-771 for more information. Mr. L. Preston Bryant presented a PowerPoint presentation on the initiative to obtain state financial assistance to improve and expand the wastewater treatment facility and to improve the conveyance system. Mr. Preston discussed lobbying for the Fredericksburg Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), progress to date, Fredericksburg – area Delegation, proposed legislative actions, the City playing an active role, 21216 Regular Session 11/23/21 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Federal Funds to Virginia, and How funds will flow to Virginia. Councilor Graham made a motion to approve Resolution 21-91, Approving the Legislative Agenda for the 2022 General Assembly Session; motion was seconded by Councilor Devine. Councilor Duffy disclosed that he was an employee of the Fredericksburg City Schools but he was able to participate in the transaction fairly, objectively and in the public interest. Vice-Mayor Frye disclosed that his spouse was an employee of the Fredericksburg City Schools but he was able to participate in the transaction fairly, objectively and in the public interest. The motion passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Duffy, Graham, Kelly and Withers. Nays (0). Resolution 21-92, Approved, Upgrade, Improvements, and Expansion to the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) and Sanitary Conveyance System Under a Non-Consolidation Framework (D21-767 thru D21-771). Councilor Devine made a motion to approve Resolution 21-92, improvements, and expansion to the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) and Sanitary Conveyance System under a non-consolidation framework; motion was seconded by Councilor Withers and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Duffy, Graham, Kelly and Withers. Nays (0). 21217 Regular Session 11/23/21 Consent Agenda Accepted for Transmittal as Recommended (D21- 772 thru D21-775). Councilor Kelly moved approval of the City Manager’s consent agenda; 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). • Transmittal of Organizational Meeting Memo (D21-772). • Transmittal of Board and Commission Minutes o Board of Social Services – July 29, 2021 (D21-773). o Economic Development Authority – October 18, 2021 (D21-775). Public Hearing (D21-776 thru D21-780). The regular session was recessed in order to conduct scheduled public hearings and immediately reconvened upon their conclusion. Citizen Comment. There were no comments given during the citizen comment portion of this evening’s meeting. Council Agenda Presented. The following item was presented to Council for discussion. 8A. Update on School Discussion – Councilor Kelly 8B. Rappahannock Regional Jail – Vice-Mayor Frye Update on School Discussion. Councilor Kelly stated that the last work session on schools was a month ago and he asked staff to update what had transpired in the last month. 21218 Regular Session 11/23/21 Assistant City Manager Whitley briefed that the Schools and the Schools contractor, First Choice had been working to develop under the PPEA an Interim Agreement. He said staff has been a party to help draft the agreement, although not a party to the agreement. He said Council would have to eventually approve the agreement. The agreement will be posted for 30 days then a public hearing would be held. This agreement would allow the design team to begin developing a program and start developing plans to about 35 percent design. The agreement will lay out a timeline to get to a Comprehensive Agreement. The Interim Agreement was the first step to engage the contactor and part of this agreement would engage the public. He said they were hoping to post the Interim Agreement soon to have a public meeting in January. Councilor Kelly stated that moving forward he wanted to be sure all bases were covered. He said there were a lot of questions from Council related to the cost of this project. He reviewed several comments that had been made by the Council from the end of March through the last work session on schools. He said this was the public’s perception of where the Council was on schools. He said there were a lot of questions that the Council did not have answers to and he said it was confusing to the public. He said in order to build a school, start a Work Force Development program and build the fire station this would be a debt service of 6.89 or 7 cent increase in taxes and the debt operation cost would be $1.5 million or 3.33 on the tax rate. The schools average ask from the City during the budget season was an increase of $1 million and they get on average $800,000 at this rate, that is $0.12 – $0.14 increase on the tax rate. 21219 Regular Session 11/23/21 Councilor Kelly said there was a lot of costs that the City would be facing that have not been talked about. He asked when the Council would have those discussions to let the public know how much it was going to cost them. He had two questions that he really wanted answered and they were, when was the council going to start moving forward with ideas on what it was going to ask the citizens to do financially and whether the conversation was strictly related to the construction of a school or was it a broader conversation about what needed to be done to make schools as successful as they could be. Mayor Greenlaw explained that the budget, was a plan that shows what the City would need to pay for its needs. She agreed that the City could not always depend on the state for funding. Mayor said the answers to some of Councilor Kelly’s questions were part of the budget process that was ongoing. She said she was confident that the School Board would disagree that they made a decision with no consideration of whether it furthered the education of the children. She said decisions are made in good faith by the elected School Board. She the School Board had shared concerns about the size of an elementary school, and Career Technical Education (CTE) and she said the Council was pushing some things forward and it was all being done publically. In response to Mr. Kelly question of when these issues would be discussed, she said they were being discussed every time there was a financial decision being made. She said the Council had expressed their concerns with the schools. Councilor Withers asked if the schools had addressed the $65 million cost concern. Mr. Whitley said they heard the Council loud and clear. He said the Interim 21220 Regular Session 11/23/21 Agreement would allow the schools and the Council to validate the program, have public discussion and to bring on a design team to cost validate a school program. The design team’s job is to tie down the cost for the school. Councilor Withers suggested the Council and School Board go and take a look at other new facilities to see what could be done at a lower cost. Councilor Graham explained that one of the reasons for choosing to build a middle schools was, the long term costs of building a middle school now, versus building an elementary school then having to build a new middle school a few years later. He said the projections were headed in that direction and if that information was not included in discussions with the public it would be misleading. He said there were several long term obligations for the City and schools. Councilor Withers said all citizens needed to be included in the converstions, those who can afford a tax increase and those who cannot. Vice-Mayor Frye noted that all the conversations the City Council and the School Board have had were public conversations and he did not agree that the information was not available for the public. Councilor Kelly said a broader conversation needed to happen and he wanted to let the public know what costs would be coming forward in the next five years. He said there were significant projects that the Council did not have a general sense of where they were going but were making decisions saying they would figure it out later. He said the City was in this predicament because from year to year it had pushed items back and now there were items that could not be pushed any further. Councilor Kelly said the School Board was focused in their message of what they wanted to do but the Council 21221 Regular Session 11/23/21 was not. He requested the Council take him off the Working Group Committee because he did not want to waste anyone’s time asking a bunch of questions. He asked when the Council would be going to the public and letting them know what the Council’s priorities were. Mayor Greenlaw firmly reminded Councilor Kelly that the Council had 32 priorities that had been agreed upon and give sense of direction, there was a budget that the City uses to operate, there is a Capital Improvement Plan that tells what needed to be done and she stated that the Interim Agreement would tell the public what it would cost to build the school. Rappahannock Regional Jail. Vice-Mayor Frye expressed concern for inmates who were being released from jail but they do not have the basic things needed to function such as an identification card and sometimes they do not have a place to go. He said with COVID it was difficult for them to get an identification card from DMV and he wanted to know if that was something the jail could help them with before being released because it is important to have an ID in order to apply for a job. Councilor Withers said if a person is homeless the jail provides them with a place to stay for a couple weeks. Mr. Baroody said he would be happy to talk to the superintendent of the jail and get back with a response. Councilor Graham noted that the Registrar’s office has free ID’s and this could be a starting point. Adoption of Minutes. Councilor Devine moved approval of the June 22, July 13, August 10, 2021 Work Sessions, and the November 9, 2021 Regular Session minutes; 21222 Regular Session 11/23/21 motion was seconded by Councilor Withers and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Duffy, Graham, Kelly and Withers. Nays (0). Appointment of Planning Commission Representatives to Council Housing and Parking Authority Committees (D21-784). Councilor Devine made a motion to appoint Natalie Daniels to the Housing Authority Committee and Adam Lynch to the Parking Authority as the Planning Commission representatives; motion was seconded by Councilor Duffy and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Duffy, Graham, Kelly and Withers. Nays (0). Resolution 21-94, First Read Approved, Budget Appropriation Vanpool Alliance Funds through the Greater Washington Regional Commission for Fredericksburg Regional Transit (D21-785). Councilor Graham made a motion to approve Resolution 21-94, on first read, budget appropriation Vanpool Alliance Funds through the Greater Washington Regional Commission for Fredericksburg Regional Transit; motion was seconded by Councilor Kelly and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Duffy, Graham, Kelly and Withers. Nays (0). Ordinance 21-28, First Read Approved, Creating a Regional Industrial Facilities Authority (D21-786). After staff review Councilor Kelly moved to approve Ordinance 21-28, on first read, creating a Regional Industrial Facilities Authority; 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). 21223 Regular Session 11/23/21 Resolution 21-95, First Read Approved, Amending the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget to Appropriate Funds in the City Grants Fund for a Police Vehicle to Support Unmanned Aircraft Systems (D21-787). Councilor Graham moved to approve Resolution 21-95, on first read, amending the Fiscal Year 2022 budget to appropriate funds in the City Grants Fund for a police vehicle to support unmanned aircraft systems; motion was seconded by Councilor Kelly and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Duffy, Graham, Kelly and Withers. Nays (0). Update on First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2022 Budget (D21-788). Assistant Finance Director Lawrence presented the Fiscal year 2022 first quarter update. He reported that although it was early in the fiscal year, the revenues that had been collected were projected to meet the budget for FY 2022. Meals Tax had shown significant growth from the same period last year as pandemic related restrictions have been lifted. The budget for FY 2022 was formulated conservatively at $850,000 monthly and for the first quarter of FY 2022 the revenue has exceeded that projection. Sales tax revenues had increased slightly for FY 2022 compared to FY 2021. The budget forecast was increased for FY 2022 to $13,150,000 versus $12,643,500 for FY 2021. There was only two months of data available, but July and August collections both exceeded FY 2021 collections. 21224 Regular Session 11/23/21 Lodging taxes had significantly increased as travel has increased from the same period last year. The taxes averaged $94,670 for the first three months of FY 2021 in comparison to $156,703 for FY 2022. This revenue was budgeted at $1,200,000 therefore this revenue has exceeded the projection. Tobacco taxes averaged $42,000 monthly for FY 2022. If this monthly average continued throughout the fiscal year this revenue may not meet the budget projection by a small amount. Admissions tax collections have also had a significant increase due to pandemic related restrictions being lifted. City Manager’s Report and Council Calendar (D21-789 thru D21-790). City Manager Baroody directed the Council’s attention to the Manager’s Update: Shop Local, Holiday Giving Opportunities to Assist Needy Families, Senior Stockings, COVID-19 Vaccines Update, Weekly COVID-19 Videos, Redistricting in City of Fredericksburg, Announcing the City’s New upgraded Geographic Information System (GIS), Jefferson Davis Highway Renaming, Update on Delinquent Utility Accounts, Traffic Safety Initiative, Board and Commission Openings, Become a Foster Parent, 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 10:01 p.m. Mary Katherine Greenlaw Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Mayor Tonya B. Lacey Tonya B. Lacey, Clerk of Council, MMC 21225 Regular Session 11/23/21 [This page intentionally left blank.] 21226