City Council

Regular Session 10/24/23 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 October 24, 2023 The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held a regular session on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, 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, Jonathan A. Gerlach, Jason N. Graham and Matthew J. Kelly. City Council Absent. Councilor Timothy P. Duffy, sick. Others Present. City Manager Timothy J. Baroody, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, Assistant City Manager David Brown, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Budget Analyst Donna Leahy 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 Young Marines Faith Clevenger. Officer Recognized. Mayor Greenlaw recognized the presence of Deputy Sean Jett at this evening’s meeting. Red Ribbon Week Proclamation (D23-480). Mayor Greenlaw presented a proclamation to Young Marine Faith Clevenger and she encouraged all citizens to participate in drug prevention education activities, not only during Red Ribbon Week, 21951 Regular Session 10/24/23 but all year long, making a statement that we are strongly committed to a drug-free city and she proclaimed October 23-31, 2023 as Red Ribbon Week. 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 a brief summary of their nominees. Mr. Peter Kolakowski presented Mr. John Nolan, Mr. Rick Pullen presented Mr. Gordon Shelton and Councilor Matthew Kelly presented Dr. George Van Sant. They each gave a brief summary of their nominee’s contributions to the City. Gordon Shelton, III also gave a few brief words in honor of his farther. The 2023 Wall of Honor honorees were John Nolan, Gordon Shelton, Jr. and Dr. George Van Sant. Consent Agenda Accepted for Transmittal as Recommended (D23- 481 thru D23-494). Councilor Kelly moved approval of the City Manager’s consent agenda; motion was seconded by Councilor Graham and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Gerlach, Graham and Kelly. Nays (0). • Resolution 23-62, Second Read, Appropriating Fiscal Year 2024 Fredericksburg Transit Fund Balance for a Radio, Communications and Emergency Management System Project (D23-481). • Resolution 23-65, Second Read, Amending the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget to Appropriate Funds for the Purchase of Public Safety Vehicles (D23-482). 21952 Regular Session 10/24/23 • Resolution 23-66, First Read, Amending the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget for a Rappahannock Criminal Justice Academy Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Grant (D23-483). • Transmittal of the Board and Commission Minutes o Architectural Review Board – July 26, 2023 (D23-484). o Architectural Review Board – August 28, 2023 (D23-485). o Board of Social Services – August 3, 2023 (D23-486). o Board of Zoning Appeals – July 20, 2020 (D23-487). o Board of Zoning Appeals – July 27, 2020 (D23-488). o Board of Zoning Appeals – November 30, 2020 (D23-489). o Board of Zoning Appeals – December 7, 2020 (D23-490). o Board of Zoning Appeals – September 20, 2021 (D23-491). o Board of Zoning Appeals – June 20, 2022 (D23-492). o Economic Development Authority – September 11, 2023 (D23- 493). o Public Transit Advisory Board – July 12, 2023 (D23-494). Citizen Comment. There were no comments given and/or submitted to be read during the citizen comment portion of this evening’s meeting. Council Agenda Presented. The following items were presented to Council for discussion. 8A. Board and Commission Updates - Fredericksburg Arts Commission, Housing Advisory Committee, Potomac, Rappahannock Transportation Commission, 21953 Regular Session 10/24/23 Rappahannock Juvenile Detention, R-Board, Rappahannock River Basin, Recreation Commission, Rappahannock Group Home Commission, Town & Gown, Virginia Railway Express 8B. City Council & Tourism – Vice- Mayor Frye Board and Commission Updates. Fredericksburg Arts Commission – Councilor Graham reported that the Commission was working on developing a local arts fellowship. This fellowship will help a local artist advance their career and give them an opportunity to present or display their art form, whatever it may be. They are refining what this fellowship will look like. There has been discussion about increasing murals in other parts of the City. Councilor Devine reported that the large art sculptures that are displayed throughout the City are housed in the City for a year and new sculptures have been placed throughout the City. Housing Advisory Committee – Vice-Mayor Frye informed the public that they provide grants, homeowner assistance and removal of architectural barriers. He reported that City staff works hard to assist those in need. Potomac, Rappahannock Transportation Commission – Councilor Kelly reported that the Omni Ride has begun to come south and it currently runs busses out of Stafford and Spotsylvania up to the Northern Virginia corridor. They have a lot of experience and staff and the FRED money goes through PRTC. They are in talks about getting the FRED staff together with the Omni staff to discuss expansion and what transit should look like in the region moving forward. 21954 Regular Session 10/24/23 Rappahannock Juvenile Detention – Mr. Whitley reported that the trends tend to be down but the City’s trends are moving upward. Rappahannock Regional Solid Waste Management Board – Councilor Kelly stated that at the last meeting they adopted the PPEA policies necessary to start talking about public-private partnerships. They are looking at better ways to recycle and compost. They are expecting proposals on a solar farm on the R-Board’s old sites. On November 8, the Committee will start discussing what the Public-Private Partnership will look like. Rappahannock River Basin – Councilor Gerlach said the Basin covers over 2,700 square miles of land in Virginia and it is the largest unobstructed free flowing river on the east coast. There are 18 counties and cities that fall within the Rappahannock River Basin and only four, Fredericksburg, Madison, Rappahannock and Culpeper are 100 percent located in the river basin. The main issues they are dealing with are data centers and water usage, utility scale solar and maintaining the integrity of the drinking water for communities along the river and forestry operations in the head waters. He said recently a rain gauge project was completed in the upper and middle basin which included Fredericksburg. Recreation Commission – Councilor Duffy is the representative but he was not at the meeting to give a report. Vice-Mayor Frye noted that Mr. Todd Brown the Director of Parks and Recreation volunteered to coach basketball with him for Parks and Recreation. 21955 Regular Session 10/24/23 Rappahannock Group Home Commission – Mr. Whitley reported that after the death of Mr. Keating, who ran the group home, the employees were still in the process of recovering. Town & Gown – Mr. Gerlach asked that this report be moved to a future meeting. Virginia Railway Express – Councilor Kelly reported that on Thursday from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. there would be a public comment period on fee increases. He said they were going back to the schedule for fee increases for rider and the next year increase for localities. They are talking about reinventing VRE by getting into rail service. They would like to start weekend service, running north, in the next fiscal year. They are also looking at inserting express trains. The bridge in the downtown is still under renovations but will take a little longer to complete, but it will include a new platform and new communications system City Council & Tourism – Vice- Mayor Frye reported that he jumped on a trolley that pulled up beside him while he was working on his UPS truck and he gave the tourist more information on the Freedom Rider placard. He also told them all that the City was doing to tell a more complete story. Adoption of Minutes (D23-495 thru D23-497). Councilor Graham moved approval of the April 11, April 18, April 25, 2023 Work Session minutes, September 26, 2023 Regular Session minutes and October 10, 2023 Public Hearing and Regular Session minutes; motion was seconded by Councilor Devine and passed by the following 21956 Regular Session 10/24/23 recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Gerlach, Graham and Kelly. Nays (0). Fredericksburg Clean and Green Commission Appointments (23- 498). Councilor Devine moved to appoint Robert Courtnage, to complete the remainder of Sarah Hurst term; motion was seconded by Councilor Kelly and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Gerlach, Graham and Kelly. Nays (0). Councilor Kelly moved to approve Kimberly Bastress for a first term; motion was seconded by Councilor Devine and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Greenlaw, Frye, Devine, Gerlach, Graham and Kelly. Nays (0). After the recorded vote was taken, Rik Rice was appointed to serve on the Fredericksburg Clean and Green Commission with a vote resulting between applicants Jesse Dominguez, Nathan Naidu, Rik Rice and Bruce Saller. Dominguez (1) Kelly; Naidu (1) Frye; Rice (4) Greenlaw, Devine, Gerlach, Graham; Saller (0). Homelessness Initiative (D23-499). City Manager Baroody thanked Micah and the Continuum of Care (COC) for being present and for being great partners. He noted that they often work side by side with the City on homeless issues. There has been an increase in the homeless in the downtown and many are concerned with the population. He said the City has been working with the COC for a year on forward progress and interactions with the homeless populations. The focus has been on a Street Outreach Coordinator position they created a job description that made sense and it 21957 Regular Session 10/24/23 was brought to the COC for final consideration. The thought it made sense to have the George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) and the COC manage the position. The localities were not willing to pay for the position so the City endorsed funding the full amount for the position. The position went before the GWRC for a vote and was not successful. He said they will now take another approach possibly putting the position on City payroll. Mr. Baroody and Chief Layton met with the Micah Board to inform the Board about what the City was dealing with citywide. He informed them about the pursuit of a full-time position for a Street Outreach Coordinator as well as the City pursuing consulting services. He said they also talked about the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City Council, Micah, the Virginia Supportive Housing and Mary Washington Healthcare. The long term goals are to provide more units and to advance permanent supportive housing options in our region. Mr. Baroody informed Micah that the Police were enforcing no camping and trespassing laws on City property. He explained to City Council that in the near term they would like to hire a consultant and he provided the Council the basic statement of needs to the City Council. He said there was an increase in population downtown and they are receiving repeated calls from businesses and residents with concerns. Mr. Baroody said the City wants to effectively work with its partners (Micah and COC) for more resources. In the near term, he suggested working with a consultant to get an unbiased review and to get actionable next steps. 21958 Regular Session 10/24/23 Councilor Kelly agreed that the City needed to move forward. He stated that he did not want the Police to be the frontline for the homeless issues but he said it was important to move on the initiatives. He thanked the partners for working with the City and the business community. He also expressed his disappointment with the failure of the regional approach because it is a regional issue. Councilor Graham echoed Councilor Kelly especially on the lack of regionalism. He said he and Councilor Gerlach were the only two who voted for the position to be managed by GWRC and fully funded by the City. He thanked the staff and the partners (COC and Micah) for the work they are doing because this was an increasingly problematic issue. Councilor Gerlach also agreed with Councilor Kelly and Graham. He said he was incredulous that the neighbors did not think this was a problem. He shared the sentiments of the other Councilors. Mayor Greenlaw said she was proud of the community for addressing homelessness and the efforts that created Micah and so many other organizations that assist those that are not housed. She was especially please to see the City take tangible, but achievable steps moving forward. City Manager’s Report and Council Calendar (D23-500 thru D23- 501). City Manager Baroody directed the Council’s attention to the Manager’s Update: The Fredericksburg Sheriff’s Office, Fredericksburg Civil Rights Trail, Speeding is a Critical Issue, Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority, Operation Medicine Cabinet, In-Person Absentee Voting (early voting), Election Text Notification, Small Area Plan 5, 21959 Regular Session 10/24/23 Virginia Railway Express, Join a Board or Commission, Hops and Happy Hour, Fiscal Year 2024 Asphalt and Concrete Rehabilitation Program Begins, Community Resources, Downtown Tree Trek, Scarecrow Fest, Recreation and Events Fall Catalog is available!, Fred Focus. Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, Mayor Greenlaw declared the meeting officially adjourned at 9:02 p.m. Mary Katherine Greenlaw Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Mayor Tonya B. Lacey Tonya B. Lacey, Clerk of Council 21960 APPROVED 06-27-23