City Council

Regular Session 01/28/25 HON. KERRY P. DEVINE, MAYOR CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. CHARLIE L. FRYE, JR., VICE -MAYOR, WARD FOUR HON. JANNAN W. HOLMES, AT-LARGE CITY COUNCIL HON. DR. WILL B. MACKINTOSH, AT-LARGE HON. JASON N. GRAHAM, WARD ONE HON. JONATHAN A. GERLACH, WARD TWO VACANT, WARD THREE Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 January 28, 2025 The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held a regular session on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. City Council Present. Mayor Kerry P. Devine. Vice-Mayor Charlie L. Frye, Jr., Council members, Jonathan A. Gerlach, Jason N. Graham, Jannan W. Holmes and Dr. Will B. Mackintosh. Others Present. City Manager Timothy J. Baroody, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, Assistant City Manager David Brown, City Attorney Kelly Lackey, Planning and Building Services Michael Craig, Economic Development Director Joshua Summits, 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 Councilor Jason N. Graham. Officer Recognized. Mayor Devine recognized the presence of Lieutenant Jason Dring at this evening’s meeting. Proclamation for Councilor Timothy P. Duffy (D25-42). Mayor Devine presented a proclamation on behalf of the City Council to outgoing Councilor Timothy P. 22403 Regular Session 01/28/25 Duffy. The proclamation highlighted Dr. Duffy’s time on Council and thanked him for his dedicated service to the City. In the absence of Delegate Josh Cole, Mayor Devine also presented a proclamation to Dr. Duffy from Delegate Cole and the House of Delegates. Consent Agenda Accepted for Transmittal as Recommended (D25- 43 thru D25-44). Councilor Gerlach moved approval of the City Manager’s consent agenda; motion was seconded by Councilor Mackintosh and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (6). Councilors Devine, Frye, Gerlach, Graham, Holmes and Mackintosh. Nays (0). • Transmittal of the Board and Commission Minutes o Architectural Review Board – December 9, 2024 (D25-43). o Recreation Commission – December 5, 2024 (D25-44). Public Hearing. There was no scheduled public hearing. Citizen Comment. The following comments were given and/or submitted to be read during the citizen comment portion of this evening’s meeting. Hamilton Palmer, 1500 Caroline Street, owner of property at 401 Charles Street, stated that a number of neighbors had concerns with the removal of the Railroad Station Overlay District (RSOD). He said there needed to be more consideration, because of the concerns from the neighbors and this should give pause in moving forward. 22404 Regular Session 01/28/25 Mr. Palmer also updated the public on his FOIA request on data centers and he reported that he had received an email from Clerk Lacey with the projected cost of the request. He noted that he does not take a position on data centers. He said if there is information it needed to get out to the public so they can formulate their own opinions. Matthew Kelly (D25-45), 1309 Hanover Street, stated that he had 35 data center questions and recommendations for the Council and what the City should be looking at. He said this has been the most aggressive schedule put to paper and he suggested was a request by the landowner. He said the Council was justifying its aggressive timeline by saying data centers have been talked about since 2018. Mr. Kelly noted that in 2018, there was a zoning change and there were no presentations on data centers or their impacts. He added that there was and has not been any community engagement. Mr. Kelly listed points made from neighboring counties: give public adequate time to review what is being proposed; take at least six months for informed public discussion; place projects with enough land for screening and as far away from residential areas as possible. He said in these cases that the City had not learned much. The City does not have as much land as the neighboring counties and the Technology Overlay District (TOD) surrounds two residential communities and the second is adjacent to residential areas. He said the TOD should go through the normal process for community review. Jerome Wilson, 3604 Aquia Drive Stafford, VA, stated that on October 9 they agreed with the Courts to go into escrow and make payments but they were not able to obtain legal counsel. He said they made their payment to Thalheimer and he insinuated 22405 Regular Session 01/28/25 that there were people in the courts working with Thalheimer. He said the checks had been deposited and given to Thalheimer. He warned that someone in the City was working with Thalheimer. He said this was just getting started and he was going to expose the City. Denise Malczewski, 220 Princess Anne Street, spoke about two issues. The first is the RSOD and she said a large number of people came out to the Planning Commission and Council meeting asking that the RSOD not be removed. She said they wanted the protection of the 40-foot height limitation that the overlay district gives. Ms. Malczewski stated that at the last meeting, it was said that the Architectural Review Board would protect them but she argued that the ARB allowed the 47 foot building to be built in the back yards of small historic homes. She fears this would be the basis for mass and scale for new buildings nearby. She asked the Council to keep the RSOD. Secondly, she wanted to know how the meeting was advertised. Sue Sargeant (D25-46), 1318 William Street, spoke as the President of the College Heights Civic Association. The Association expressed its appreciation for the decades of service that Councilor Dr. Tim Duffy provided to Fredericksburg and to the College Heights neighborhood. She stated how he was always willing to attend board meetings and help them to understand how city government works. She said they hoped the Council would appoint a Ward 3 Councilor that is a College Heights resident. Julie Kay (D25-47), 1616 Franklin Street, stated that the City Council was selling the Data Centers in an unreasonable timeframe of discussing with the public. She said the citizens were filling the Council Chambers in opposition of the project itself, asking 22406 Regular Session 01/28/25 for more information and an extended timeline. Ms. Kay had many questions regarding the data centers. See D25-47 for more information. Council Agenda Presented. The following items were presented to Council for discussion. 8A. Update on City Council Vacancy Process – Mayor Devine 8B. Federal Freeze – Councilor Gerlach 8C. Tattoo Parlors – Councilor Graham 8D. Potential Restrictions on Retail Vape and Hemp Sales Near Schools – Councilor Mackintosh 8E. Update on Learning Lane – Councilor Holmes Update on City Council Vacancy Process – Mayor Devine informed the public that as of January 1, 2025, Dr. Timothy Duffy resigned from Council and the Council is required to replace him within 45 days. The application process opened on January 1 and there has been a good response. Mayor Devine thanked all that applied. The following are the applicants: Scott Cole, Jesus Dominguez, Susanna Finn, Eugene Gormley, Thomas Johnson, Matthew Kelly, Avery LaBelle, Evan Lawson, Shawn McDonald, John Simpson, Laura Matter, Rene Rodriguez, Pamela Scruggs and Shaliek Tarpley. Mayor Devine said moving forward there would be a closed meeting after the meeting to discuss who the top candidates are. She said they would interview up to 4-5 candidates. They would narrow the selection down and schedule interviews for Tuesday, February 4, 2025. The interviews would be between 1:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. 22407 Regular Session 01/28/25 at the Fredericksburg Police Station. She noted that the interviews would be closed and they hoped to make a decision in anticipation of installing the person on February 11. Federal Freeze – Councilor Gerlach stated that the Federal Government was going to freeze all grants and loans on a temporary basis and a federal Judge issued a stay until Monday to give parties a chance to brief the Judge. He said the City does receive federal money for some programs and schools. He requested a brief on the status of the freeze and the affects it might have on the operations and city budget. Mr. Baroody said staff was very engaged, and they were trying to keep up with the news, they will report back as soon as they have solid information. Tattoo Parlors – Councilor Graham said he recently heard from citizens about the restrictiveness of laws passed in the City that could be preventing certain businesses from entering the City or in some cases preventing existing businesses from moving to other locations. He said he does not have strong feeling one way or another but since it has been a decade since those laws have been looked at he would like staff to brief at an upcoming meeting on the history, the state and the policy today. Potential Restrictions on Retail Vape and Hemp Sales Near Schools – Councilor Mackintosh referred to an article in the Free Lance-Star about Spotsylvania County approving restrictions on retail vape and hemp product sales within 1,000 feet of a school zone and child care centers. He noted that this was an authority given to localities in July to ban those sales within 1000 feet and he wanted to know if there was interest from the Council to pursue. Council was in support and he asked the City Manager to look into it further. 22408 Regular Session 01/28/25 Update on Learning Lane – Councilor Holmes asked if staff could breakdown what was going on at Learning Lane and the projected timelines. Mr. Baroody apologized to the City, the schools and the residents because this project has taken so much time and they have been unable to hit the targeted timeline as projected. He said they appreciate the citizens being patient through this project. The project has been complicated and they have had many complications with relocating important infrastructure throughout the project. They currently have a completion date of April. Mr. Brown reported on the complications that occurred during the project. The first was the design of the end walls. They had to be designed, reviewed and approved and then they had to be constructed. Secondly the infrastructure, there was a sanitary sewer main located above the pipes in addition there was one below the pipes. The location of those sanitary sewer mains impeded on their ability to make any adjustments. It was determined that they could relocate the sanitary sewer mains to alleviate the challenge. The pipes were shifted further downstream and once that was complete the end walls came on site to begin the construction process. Part of the construction process required the removal of the old corrugated metal pipes which were deteriorated, full of sediment and was not allowing the stormwater to flow under Learning Lane. The ground was saturated and they could not use that soil as part of the backfill soil so much of it had to be excavated out and back filled with new soil and placed the pipes over. Lastly, Mr. Brown said the pipes could not be installed when it was raining or snowing and that impeded their ability to install them. They pipe installation and the 22409 Regular Session 01/28/25 upstream end wall should be completed by next week and begin the backfilling and grading. He said they cannot do seeding and final grading until the weather warms up. Councilor Holmes thanked the community for their patience and the police for rerouting traffic in a way that worked. Adoption of Minutes. There were no minutes submitted for approval. Ordinance 25-01, Second Read, Repealing the Railroad Station Overlay District and Amending the Official Zoning Map Accordingly (D25- 48 thru D25-49). Planning and Building Services Director Craig gave a brief presentation and Councilor Graham, moved to approve Ordinance 25-01, on second read, repealing the Railroad Station Overlay District and amending the official zoning map accordingly; motion was seconded by Councilor Gerlach and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (5). Councilors Frye, Gerlach, Graham, Holmes and Mackintosh. Nays (1). Devine. City Manager’s Report and Council Calendar (D25-50 thru D25-51). City Manager Baroody directed the Council’s attention to the Manager’s Update: Fredericksburg Celebrates Grand Opening of New Visitor Center with Ribbon Cutting, Learning Lane Update, Other recent storm water infrastructure repairs/rehabilitations include, Data Center Overlay District Public Meeting Schedule, Winter Restaurant Week, School Zone Speed Cameras Now Ticketing, Help Report Potential Water Main Issues in the City, Community Meeting February 5th Small Area 8 Plan, Winter Weather Driving Tips, Father-Daughter Dance, Local Resources to Know, Calling All Artists!, The City’s 22410 Regular Session 01/28/25 Upgraded Water Meter Project Continues, Parks, Recreation and Events Winter and Spring Catalog is Now Available, and FXBG Focus. Closed Meeting Approved. Upon a motion Councilor Graham, moved approval to convene in closed session under Code of Virginia Section 2.2-3711(A)(1): for discussion of prospective candidates for appointment to the Ward 3 City Councilor vacancy; motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor Frye and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (6) Councilors Devine, Frye, Graham, Gerlach, Holmes and Mackintosh. Nays (0). Return to Open Meeting Approved. Councilor Graham moved to return to open session and reconvene the closed session on February 4; motion was seconded by Councilor Gerlach and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (6) Councilors Devine, Frye, Graham, Gerlach, Holmes and Mackintosh. Nays (0). Resolution 25-05, Approved, Certifying Closed Meeting. Upon the motion Councilor Graham, approved Resolution 25-05 certifying the closed meeting; seconded by Councilor Gerlach and passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (6) Councilors Devine, Frye, Gerlach, Graham, Holmes and Mackintosh. Nays (0) Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, Mayor Devine declared the meeting officially adjourned at 9:16 p.m. Kerry P. Devine Kerry P. Devine, Mayor Tonya B. Lacey Tonya B. Lacey, Clerk of Council 22411 Regular Session 01/28/25 [This page intentionally left blank] APPROVED 01-09-24 22412 APPROVED