City Council

409 S. Main Street City of Harrisonburg Harrisonburg, VA 22801 Meeting Minutes - Final City Council Tuesday, October 27, 2020 7:00 PM Council Chambers 1. Roll Call Note: All Council Members were present via virtual Go-To Meeting Present: 4- Mayor Deanna R. Reed, Vice Mayor Sal Romero, Council Member Christopher B. Jones and Council Member George Hirschmann Also Present: 3- Deputy City Manager Ande Banks, City Clerk Pam Ulmer and City Attorney Chris Brown 2. Invocation Mayor Reed offered the invocation. 3. Pledge of Allegiance 4. Special Recognition 4.a. Proclamation recognizing November 1, 2020 as Extra Mile Day Mayor Reed read the proclamation recognizing November 1, 2020 as Extra Mile Day 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) A Motion was made by Council Member Baugh, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to approve the consent Agenda as presented. Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Baugh, Council Member Jones and Council Member Hirschmann No: 0 5.a. Minutes from the October 13, 2020 City Council meeting These minutes were approved on the consent agenda 5.b. Consider a supplemental appropriation in the amount of $4,625,442 for funds received through the Coronavirus Relief Fund This supplemental appropriation was approved on second reading. 5.c. Consider adopting an amendment to the Emergency Ordinance To Suppress The City of Harrisonburg Page 1 Printed on 12/17/2020 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final October 27, 2020 Spread Of The Novel Coronavirus, SARS-COV-2, And The Disease It Causes, Commonly Referred To As Covid-19 - Amending Title 15 Chapter 7 Section 3 And Enacting 15-7-3(4)(A)(4) of the Ordinances of the City Of Harrisonburg, VA This ordinance amendment was approved on second reading 6. Public Hearings 7. Regular Items 7.a. Presentation of the Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority Move to Work (MtW) Plan Michael Wong, executive director of the Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority (HRHA) presented the HRHA’s Move to Work (MtW) Plan. He stated that HRHA was chosen as demonstration project. He reviewed HRHA’s mission and values, the goals of the Moving to Work program, shared the proposed Moving to Work activities, reviewed the key milestones for implementation, and how residents can find updates on the plan. Mayor Reed asked if the surveys have been made available in languages other than English. Mr. Wong stated they have made surveys available in Spanish. Vice-Mayor Romero asked if Mr. Wong anticipates any challenges with implementation and whether staff will have to undergo additional training. Mr. Wong stated the time schedule is ambitious and they will have to look closely at whether they can create all the necessary policies and input during the first three months of 2021. Mr. Wong stated there is software and data collection that they need to see how quickly they can implement and there will be some new skill development that will be required for staff. No action required This Presentation was received and filed. 7.b. Taking a stand for honey bees presentation Tom Knapp, a city resident and bee advocate, presented on honeybees. He stated there is lack of knowledge about bees that leads to fear and confusion between bees and yellow jackets. He shared data on the number of honeybee swarms, removals, and hives in the city limits. He shared the benefits of honeybee keeping in urban areas. He recommended City Council appoint a committee to look into bee keeping in the city limits, for the city to join the Shenandoah Valley Beekeeping Association, provide educational training, inspect hives and beekeepers, and create a 24-hour hotline for questions or appoint a person that is qualified to address citizen concerns about honey bees. This Presentation was received and filed. City of Harrisonburg Page 2 Printed on 12/17/2020 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final October 27, 2020 8 Supplementals 8a. Consider a supplemental appropriation for the Children’s Services Act (CSA) in the amount of $188,337.56 Ande Banks, deputy city manager, stated a supplemental appropriation for the Children’s Services Act (CSA) in the amount of $188,337.56 is needed due to greater need in the community for these services than funds were budgeted. Vice-Mayor Romero asked why he does not remember this coming to City Council in prior years. Mr. Banks stated it is difficult to budget for these services and as a result the approach is to budget the same amount each year. He stated in prior years the budgeted amount was sufficient to cover the costs of services, and this year there are more families and children needing the services and more funds are therefore needed. Council Member Baugh stated in the great recession there was quite a bit of these appropriations and we must provide the service to whomever shows up. He stated you try to adequately budget for it, but do not want to over budget and have funds sitting there unused. He stated he would not be surprised if we saw more need. A motion was made by Council Member Baugh, seconded by Vice Mayor Romero, to approve the supplemental appropriation as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Baugh, Council Member Jones and Council Member Hirschmann 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) Stephanie Stotts, 265 North Main Street, stated the bee presentation was wonderful, we have done so much damage to the world. She stated she thinks bodycams should be looked at because people can be deceitful, and a lot of folks need help. She stated she thinks the Moving to Work plan is a wonderful program she hopes will work and that she would like to participate in, but she has issues with how the Housing Authority has operated, and she has bugs in her apartment biting her. James “Bucky” Berry, 30 W Washington St. stated the rain coming down his street makes a hole worse in his street and the water is running down into his yard from the hill because the sidewalk was not installed correctly. He stated he would like the City to help people out other than businesses during Christmas, we have more COVID -19 cases than Albemarle County, President Trump is not going to give us any more money and the city may have to lay off public safety like other places. He stated he wants the water problem on his street fixed. City of Harrisonburg Page 3 Printed on 12/17/2020 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final October 27, 2020 9.b. City Council and Staff Council Member Hirschmann encouraged everyone to go vote. Council Member Baugh discussed a proposed resolution on renewable energy that he distributed to other members of City Council. He stated there have been two big developments, adoption of the Environmental Action Plan and the General Assembly’s Clean Economy Act, and the resolution reflects this. He stated there has never been a Council statement on these issues, and people like the idea of Council getting a record with a statement. He stated he would like additional input before potentially bringing it forward at the first Council meeting of November. There was discussion about support for and possible changes to the resolution. Council Member Baugh reminded people to wear masks because they may be a threat to others and not know it. Council Member Jones asked Ande Banks how the CARES Act funding distribution was going. Mr. Banks stated much of the funding is out the door and the city attorney has been developing agreements. He stated the nonprofit assistance application deadline was this week and we will notify organizations next week of awards. He stated staff is also in conversations with health clinics. Mayor Reed encouraged people to be safe on Halloween and to wear a mask and practice social distancing. 10. Boards and Commissions 10.a. Stormwater Advisory Committee (SWAC) A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to appoint Noel Levan to the Stormwater Advisory Committee. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 10.b. Towing Board A motion was made by Council Member Baugh, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to appoint Jody Hart to the Towing Board. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 11. Closed Session 11.a. Closed Session as authorized by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711(A), under: Subsection 8 for consultation with legal counsel regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel, namely legal analysis of recent fire event. At 8:23 p.m., a motion was made by Council Member Baugh, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to enter into closed session as authorized by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711(A), under: Subsection 8 for consultation with legal counsel regarding specific legal matters requiring the City of Harrisonburg Page 4 Printed on 12/17/2020 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final October 27, 2020 provision of legal advice by such counsel, namely legal analysis of recent fire event . The motion carried with a recorded roll call vote taken as follows: At 8:58 p.m., the closed session ended, and the regular session reconvened. City Attorney Brown read the following statement, which was agreed to with a unanimous recorded vote of Council: I hereby certify that to the best of my knowledge (1) only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under Chapter 37 of Title 2.2 of the Code, of Virginia, 1950, as amended, and (2) only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard, discussed or considered in the closed meeting by the City Council A motion was made by Council Member Baugh, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, that this Closed Session Item be approved. The motion carried with a recorded roll call vote taken as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Baugh, Council Member Jones and Council Member Hirschmann No: 0 12. Adjournment At 8:58 p.m., there being no further business and on motion adopted, the meeting was adjourned. ________________________ ________________________ CITY CLERK MAYOR City of Harrisonburg Page 5 Printed on 12/17/2020