City Council

409 S. Main Street City of Harrisonburg Harrisonburg, VA 22801 Meeting Minutes - Final City Council Tuesday, September 24, 2019 7:00 PM Council Chambers 1. Roll Call Deputy city manager, Ande Banks, is also the deputy city clerk. Present: 4- Mayor Deanna R. Reed, Vice-Mayor Sal Romero, Council Member Richard Baugh and Council Member Christopher B. Jones Absent: 1- Council Member George Hirschmann Also Present: 4- City Manager Eric Campbell, Deputy City Manager Ande Banks, City Attorney Chris Brown and Police Chief Eric English 2. Invocation Council Member Baugh offered the invocation 3. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Reed led the Pledge of Allegiance 4. Special Recognition 4.a. Proclamation acknowledging the accreditation of the Commissioner of the Revenue, Karen Rose. Mayor Reed read the proclamation acknowledging the accreditation of the Commissioner of Revenue, Karen Rose, and presented the proclamation to Karen Rose. Ms. Rose thanked the City Council and acknowledged her staff for their excellent service. Mrs. Rose thanked Council for the recognition and noted the Commissioner of the Revenue Association of Virginia provides many training opportunities for herself and her staff so they are equipped to serve the citizens and business community with integrity and professionalism. She thanked all of her deputies who work hard every day to provide excellent service and achieve the accreditation. 5. Consent Agenda (any item placed on the consent agenda shall be removed and taken up as a separate matter, if so requested by any member of Council, otherwise all items will be voted on with one (1) motion) City of Harrisonburg Page 1 Printed on 10/16/2019 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 24, 2019 A motion was made by Council Member Baugh, seconded by Vice-Mayor Romero, to approve the consent agenda as presented. The motion carried with a recorded roll call vote taken as follows: Yes: 4- Mayor Reed, Vice-Mayor Romero, Council Member Baugh and Council Member Jones No: 0 5.a. Minutes from City Council meeting on September 10, 2019 These minutes were approved on the Consent Agenda 5.b. Revised Minutes from City Council meeting August 13, 2019 These minutes were approved on the Consent Agenda 6. Public Hearings 7. Regular Items 7.a. Update on the Public Access Permit Program Tom Hartman, director of public works, presented on the update to the public access permit program and changes that will be implemented. He stated the permit grants permission to work within the right of way and install items within the right of way, including private entrances, commercial entrances, underground and above ground telecommunication lines, gas lines, etc. He stated currently the permit process does not require fees or surety, but the new program will. He reviewed the new rules and guidelines, the new fees, the surety requirements, and the provisions for small cell wireless facilities and micro-trenching. He stated all requirements will be posted online and will be effective November 4, 2019. This Report was received and filed. 7.b. Consider approving a Drainage Improvement Program Tom Hartman, director of Public Works, presented on the new drainage improvement program. He stated the program is in response to the significant rain events in 2018 that caused impactful flooding. He stated the program will require the community engagement and community problem-solving in partnership with the residents. He stated the program will enable use of public funds to address large -scale, neighborhood stormwater problems on private property. He stated Mountain View Drive as an example of the type of projects that could be completed through this program. He provided a step-by-step overview of each part of the process and requirements for a project to be approved. He stated a neighborhood or group of property owners will need to jointly submit an application. He stated the Stormwater Advisory Board will have a role in the process. He stated if they receive 100 applications, 5 may make it through the entire process since stormwater is complex City of Harrisonburg Page 2 Printed on 10/16/2019 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 24, 2019 and there may be challenges that exceed what may be possible for the city to do. He provided examples of projects they may be able to complete. Council Member Baugh asked if any other jurisdictions have a program like this. Mr. Hartman and Rebecca Stimson, stormwater administrator, stated they modeled it after programs in other parts of the country, but that no Virginia jurisdictions have a program like this. Council Member Baugh expressed his support for the program Mayor Reed asked if this requires the neighborhood to work together. Mr. Hartman stated yes, it requires neighborhood collaboration and buy -in like the traffic calming program. Vice-Mayor Romero thanked Mr. Hartman for meeting with concerned citizens who have flooding issues. Vice-Mayor Romero asked if maintenance requirements will be transferred with the property when it sells to a new owner. Mr. Hartman stated yes, the requirements will be tied to the property. Council Member Jones asked if commercial property owners will be able to participate in the program. Mr. Hartman stated yes, any group of private property owners can participate. Council Member Baugh stated we have not had a mechanism before this program to address stormwater issues on private property and we are the only Virginia jurisdiction to try to address private problems with local government support and funding. A motion was made by Council Member Baugh, seconded by Council Member Jones, to adopt the drainage improvement program. The motion carried with a recorded roll call vote taken as follows: Yes: 4- Mayor Reed, Vice-Mayor Romero, Council Member Baugh and Council Member Jones No: 0 7.c. Consider Renaming a Portion of Hillcrest Drive to Carrera Lane Ande Banks, deputy city manager, stated that there is construction of a single -family home taking place on the portion of Hillcrest Drive on the south side of Port Republic Road and the home’s street name and block number would duplicate an existing street name and block number in another part of the city which would cause public safety problems. He stated the property will foreseeably be the only one with this street address. He stated the owners suggested the name Carrera Lane, which met our public safety requirements. There was discussion by Council about the origin of the street name. Council Member Romero asked if the neighborhood has expressed any concerns about the name. Mr. Banks stated not to his knowledge. City of Harrisonburg Page 3 Printed on 10/16/2019 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 24, 2019 A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Baugh, to approve this item as presented. The motion carried with a recorded roll call vote taken as follows: Yes: 4- Mayor Reed, Vice-Mayor Romero, Council Member Baugh and Council Member Jones No: 0 7.d. Consider a VML Conference Voting Delegate and an Alternate Voting Delegate for the upcoming VML Conference Eric Campbell, city manager, stated a nomination needs to be made for the voting delegate and alternate delegate for the Virginia Municipal League conference urban section and business meeting. A motion was made by Council Member Baugh, seconded by Council Member Jones to nominate Mayor Reed as voting delegate and Council Member Jones as alternate to the urban section and business meeting of the Virginia Municipal League conference. No: 0 Absent: 1- Council Member Hirschmann 7.e. Consider approving a resolution authorizing the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport to incur debt for aircraft hanger facilities and fuel farm tanks Chris Brown, city attorney, presented a concurrence resolution for authorizing the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport to incur debt for hangar facilities and fuel farm tanks. Greg Campbell, the airport’s executive director, stated the Airport Commission is experiencing major growth at the regional airport. Mr. Campbell stated that since United Airlines and its premier partner SkyWest began servicing the regional airport that there has been a ten-fold growth in passenger traffic. Mr. Campbell thanked city staff for their support. Mr. Campbell stated tonight’s resolution is focused on expanding the corporate capacity due to a long waiting list and full hangars and replacing an aged fuel farm that holds jet fuel and aviation gasoline. He stated the debt will be covered by the revenues generated by hangar leases and fuel sales. A motion was made by Council Member Baugh, seconded by Vice-Mayor Romero, that this Resolution be adopted. The motion carried with a recorded roll call vote taken as follows: Yes: 4- Mayor Reed, Vice-Mayor Romero, Council Member Baugh and Council Member Jones No: 0 Absent: 1- Council Member Hirschmann 7.f. Consider adopting a resolution for approval and ratification of a Real Estate Purchase Agreement Chris Brown, city attorney, presented a resolution for approval and ratification of a Real Estate Purchase Agreement. He stated this property is necessary to acquire half an acre of land for the second high school in addition to the 60 acres already City of Harrisonburg Page 4 Printed on 10/16/2019 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 24, 2019 acquired. He stated the property is intended to be acquired from Bill Neff for $153,000. He stated the property will provide better access to the second high school campus and minimize the effect of the new high school on the neighboring properties. Council Member Baugh stated that when he was a planning commission member years ago this property was privately owned and came before the body to be rezoned. He stated at the time he opposed the re-zoning because he thought it needed a second entrance, and he is in support of now purchasing property to create the second entrance he always thought was necessary. A motion was made by Council Member Baugh, seconded by Council Member Jones, that this Resolution be adopted. The motion carried with a recorded roll call vote taken as follows: Yes: 4- Mayor Reed, Vice-Mayor Romero, Council Member Baugh and Council Member Jones No: 0 8. Supplementals 8.a. Consider a supplemental appropriation in the amount of $153,000 for the purchase of additional land for the new high school Chris Brown, city attorney, stated the supplemental appropriation request in the amount of $153,000 is for the additional land for the second high school. A motion was made by Council Member Baugh, seconded by Vice-Mayor Romero, that this Supplemental Appropriation be approved as presented. The motion carried with a recorded roll call vote taken as follows: Yes: 4- Mayor Reed, Vice-Mayor Romero, Council Member Baugh and Council Member Jones No: 0 9. Other Matters 9.a. Comments from the public, limited to five minutes, on matters not on the regular agenda. (Name and address are required) David Rudman 864 Chicago Avenue, stated he was saddened by the pride festival downtown, he does not think this should be happening, he believes it inhibits religion, and believes it is not for the good of the community or good of na ïve people. He stated the city is endorsing the LGTBQ platform through the love work sculpture on court square and through the police cruiser with the LGTBQ flag on it. 9.b. City Council and Staff Council Member Jones stated the James Madison University liaison committee met and there was good conversation about current events in the city such as homelessness. He recognized Keung Khochareun, the founder of the Taste of Thai restaurant and Oriental Food Market, who recently passed away and majorly invested City of Harrisonburg Page 5 Printed on 10/16/2019 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 24, 2019 in the community. Council Member Baugh echoed the sentiments. Council Member Baugh stated the stormwater advisory committee met last week, he discussed the mountain view stream restoration project, the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund (SLAF) grant, and the Purcell Park woodchip bioreactor. Vice-Mayor Romero thanked City Council for passing the Welcoming Week resolution. He stated the Welcoming Harrisonburg Council held a movie viewing last week that was well attended. He stated he is thankful for the conversations about our immigrant community. 9.c. Eastern Mennonite University and City of Harrisonburg Liaison City manager Eric Campbell stated city staff has been working on the Council vision work plan. He stated one of the work plan projects is to establish a formal liaison committee between the city and Eastern Mennonite University. He stated Dr. Huxman, Eastern Mennonite University President, is excited about the opportunity and City Council must appoint two council members to the committee. Council members discussed who may want to serve as liaisons. After some discussion, Council Member Baugh motioned to nominate Mayor Reed and Vice-Mayor Romero, seconded by Vice-Mayor Romero. The motion carried with a voice vote with a majority in favor. A motion was made by Council Member Baugh, seconded by Vice-Mayor Romero, to appoint Mayor Reed and Vice Mayor Romero to the Liaison Committee The motion carried with a voice vote with a majority in favor. 9.d. Consider approval of an amended resolution for a Revenue Sharing Program on Port Republic Road (University Blvd Realignment Project). Chris Brown, city attorney, stated that on August 27, 2019 council approved a resolution for an application for a revenue sharing program on Port Republic Road in the amount of $4,570,00.00. He stated the costs have increased due to changes in the plan and these changes require council approval of an amended resolution reflecting the amount of $4,738,279.50. A motion was made by Council Member Baugh, seconded by Vice Mayor Romero, to approve the amended resolution. The motion carried with a recorded roll call vote taken as follows: Yes: 4- Mayor Reed, Vice-Mayor Romero, Council Member Baugh and Council Member Jones No: 0 Absent: 1- Council Member Hirschmann 9.e. City Council and Staff (continued) Mayor Reed stated the International Festival will take place Saturday, September 28, starting at noon. She stated last week we had a great Pride Festival downtown. She City of Harrisonburg Page 6 Printed on 10/16/2019 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 24, 2019 stated on October 5 the Northeast Neighborhood Association presents the 2019 Gospel Extravaganza at 2pm at Lucy Simms Community Center. Mayor Reed congratulated Chief Ian Bennett and everyone at the fire department for recently winning the Firefighter Hero Award from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation . She stated the police department will have a Coffee with a Cop on Wednesday, October 2, at 9 a.m. at Black Sheep Coffee. Come down and meet our officers until 11 a.m. 10. Boards and Commissions 10.a. Parks and Recreation Commission (PRAC) A motion was made by Council Member Baugh, seconded by Vice Mayor Romero, to appoint Sandra Bopp t othe Parks and Recreation Commission. The motion carried with a recorded roll call vote taken as follows: Yes: 4- Mayor Reed, Vice-Mayor Romero, Council Member Baugh and Council Member Jones No: 0 Absent: 1- Council Member Hirschmann 11. Closed Session 11.a. Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711(A), under: Subsection 3 for a discussion of the disposition of publicly held real estate. At 8:10 p.m., a motion was made by Council Member Baugh, seconded by Vice-Mayor Romero, to enter into closed session as authorized by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711(A), under: subsection 3 for a discussion of the disposition of publicly held real estate. The motion carried with a recorded roll call vote taken as follows: Yes: 4- Mayor Reed, Vice-Mayor Romero, Council Member Baugh and Council Member Jones No: 0 Absent: 1- Council Member Hirschmann 12. Adjournment At 8:16 p.m., there being no further business and on motion adopted, the meeting was adjourned. ________________________ ________________________ CITY CLERK MAYOR City of Harrisonburg Page 7 Printed on 10/16/2019