City Council

409 S. Main Street City of Harrisonburg Harrisonburg, VA 22801 Meeting Minutes - Final City Council Monday, January 4, 2021 10:00 AM Virtual Reorganization Meeting 1. Call to Order Eric Campbell, city manager, officially called to order the January 4, 2021 Re-Organization meeting of the Harrisonburg City Council. He wished everyone a happy new year and hopes everyone had an enjoyable holiday. Present: 5- Mayor Deanna R. Reed, Vice Mayor Sal Romero, Council Member Christopher B. Jones, Council Member George Hirschmann and Council Member Laura Dent Also Present: 3- City Manager Eric Campbell, City Attorney Chris Brown and City Clerk Pam Ulmer 2. Oath prescribed by Law Circuit Court Clerk, Chaz Haywood, administered the "Oath of Office" to Council Member Elect Laura Dent; Council Member Elect George Hirschmann; Council Member Elect Deanna Reed; via prerecorded video due to COVID-19 Pandemic restrictions. 3. Reorganization of City Council 3.a. Election of Mayor A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Council Member Reed as Mayor. The motion carried with a recorded roll call vote taken as follows: Yes: 4- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones and Council Member Dent No: 1- Council Member Hirschmann 3.b. Election of Vice-Mayor A motion was made by Council Member Dent, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to appoint Council Member Romero as Vice Mayor. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 City of Harrisonburg Page 1 Printed on 2/1/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final January 4, 2021 3.c. Appoint City Manager A motion was made to re-appoint Eric Campbell as city manager. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 3.d. Appoint City Attorney A motion was made to re-appoint Grady Chris Brown as city attorney. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 3.e. Appoint City Clerk A motion was made to appoint Pamela Ulmer as city clerk. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 3.f. Appoint two members of council to the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Council Member Dent and Council Member Hirschmann to the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 3.g. Appoint one member of council and appoint Brian Shull as an alternative to serve on the Shenandoah Valley Workforce Development Board A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Vice Mayor Romero and Brian Shull as alternative to the Shenandoah Valley Workforce Development Board. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 3.h. Appoint two members of council to serve as a liaison to the Build Our Park Committee, formerly Plan Our Park City of Harrisonburg Page 2 Printed on 2/1/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final January 4, 2021 A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Council Member Dent and Council Member Jones as liaison to the Build our Park, formerly Plan Our Park committee. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 3.i. Appoint one member of council to the Planning Commission A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Council Member Dent to the Planning Commission. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 3.j. Appoint one member of council to the Parks and Recreation Commission A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Vice Mayor Romero, to appoint Council Member Dent and Council Member Hirschmann to appoint Mayor Reed to the Parks and Recreation Commission. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 3.k. Appoint one member of council to the Stormwater Advisory Committee A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Council Member Hirschmann to the Stormwater Advisory Committee. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 3.l. Appoint one member of council to serve as liaison to the Social Services Advisory Board A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Mayor Reed as a liaison to the Social Services Advisory Board. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 3.m. Appoint two members of council to serve as liaison to the School Board Liaison Committee A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Mayor Reed and Council Member Jones to the liaison to the School Board Committee. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. City of Harrisonburg Page 3 Printed on 2/1/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final January 4, 2021 3.n. Appoint one member of council to the Massanutten Regional Library Board A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Council Member Hirschmann to the Massanutten Regional Library Board. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 3.o. Appoint two members of council to serve as liaison to the JMU Liaison Committee A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Vice Mayor Romero and Council Member Jones to the James Madison Liaison Committee. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 3.p. Appoint three members of council and two staff members and their alternates to the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Metropolitan Planning Commission A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Council Member Hirschmann, Council Member Dent, Vice Mayor Romero, City Manager Campbell and Deputy City Manager Banks a his alternate, Gerald Gatobu, director of Harrisonburg Department of Public Transportation and Cheryl Spain as his alternate, to the Harrisonburg Rockingham Metropolitan Planning Commission. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 3.q. Appoint one member of council to the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce Board A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Council Member Jones to the Harrisonburg Rockingham Chamber of Commerce Board. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 3.r. Appoint one member of council to serve on the Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance Board of Directors A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Vice Mayor Romero to the Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance Board of Directors. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 3.s. Appoint two members of council to the Finance Committee A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Vice Mayor Romero and Council Member Dent to the Finance Committee. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 3.t. Appoint one member of council to the Environmental Performance Standards Advisory Committee A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Vice Mayor Romero, to appoint Council Member Dent to the Environmental Performance Standards Advisory Committee. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 3.u. Appoint one member of council to the Deer Population Task Force A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Council Member Jones to the Deer Population Task Force. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. City of Harrisonburg Page 4 Printed on 2/1/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final January 4, 2021 3.v. Appoint one member of council to the Community Development Block Grant Selection Committee A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Council Member Hirschmann to the Community Development Block Grant Selection Committee. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 3.w. Appoint one member of council to the Community Criminal Justice Board A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Vice Mayor Romero, to appoint Council Member Dent to the Community Criminal Justice Board. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 3.x. Appoint two members of council to serve as liaison to the City/County Liaison Committee A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Council Member Hirschmann and Mayor Reed to serve as liaison to the City/County Liaison Committee. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 3.y. Appoint two members to the Eastern Mennonite University / City Liaison Committee A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Mayor Reed and Council Member Hirschmann to the EMU/City Liaison Committee. 3.z. Appoint one member to Virginia First Cities A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Vice Mayor Romero to Virginia First Cities. 3.aa. Designate a regular time and date of City Council meetings A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann to designate the second and fourth Tuesdays at 7:00 pm as the regular date and time of city council meetings. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 4. Boards and Commissions 4.a. Environmental Performance Standards Advisory Committee (EPSAC) Discussion took place regarding staggered terms and Vice Mayor Romero was ready to appoint some individuals. Vice Mayor Romero asked questions about this board regarding residency requirement and terms desired by each applicant . Consensus of the Council was to table and revisit at the January 12, 2021 City Council meeting once desired terms by the applicants were obtained. This item was tabled. This Boards and Commissions was tabled. 4.b. Tree Advisory Board City of Harrisonburg Page 5 Printed on 2/1/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final January 4, 2021 A motion was made by Council Member Hirschmann, seconded by Council Member Dent, to re-appoint Carol Nash, Chris Mortenson, Kurt Schick, and Ben Bear to the Tree Advisory Board. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 4.c. Board of Equalization A motion was made by Vice Mayor Romero, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to appoint Sharon Horn to the Board of Equalization. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. A Motion was made by Council Member Dent, seconded by Vice Mayor Romero, to appoint Laurinda Peters as alternate, to the Board of Equalization. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. A Motion was made by Council Member Dent, seconded by Vice Mayor Romero, to appoint Laurinda Peters as alternate, to the Board of Equalization. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 4.d. Social Services Advisory Board A motion was made by Council Member Hirschmann, seconded by Council Member Dent, to reappoint Jeremy Hawkins to the Social Services Advisory Board. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 4.e. Planning Commission A motion was made by Vice Mayor Romero, seconded by Council Member Dent, to appoint Isaac Hull to the Planning Commission. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 4.f. Harrisonburg Transportation Safety and Advisory Commission A motion was made by Vice Mayor Romero, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann to appoint John Scherpereel to the Harrisonburg Transportation Safety and Advisory Commission. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 5. Other Matters 5.b. City Council and Staff Vice Mayor Romero thanked Bucky Berry, as he was very impressed to see two full busses packed with food for the Salvation Army from his food drive in Bridgewater . He stated the Salvation Army was getting concerned as their supply was getting very low. Council Member Hirschmann stated he seconds what the Vice Mayor stated, Bucky and Brent should be commended for their efforts. Council Member Jones congratulated Deanna Reed, George Hirschmann and Laura Dent on their elections to Council, he looks forward to working with them. He thanked City of Harrisonburg Page 6 Printed on 2/1/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final January 4, 2021 former Council Member Baugh and noted he will be missed. He thanked city staff for all their hard work for getting through 2020, and stated for all of us to stay safe, sanitize and wear masks to get through this pandemic as quickly as possible. Council Member Dent stated it is good to be here at her first official meeting, she thanked Council for welcoming and showing her the ropes and acknowledge former Council Member Baugh for all his years of service. Mayor Reed wished everyone a Happy New Year, stated it is good to be back at work, thanked everyone for trusting her to serve another two years as mayor. She stated there is still a lot of work to do, this pandemic is still something we need to work through together and noted Council’s priority is to get the economy thriving again and kids back in school. She asked everyone to continue wearing masks, social distance and sanitize. She stated the next Council meeting will be a very important meeting as the housing assessment will be presented and we must tackle affordable housing. She welcomed Council Member Dent to Council. Chris Brown, city attorney, stated the recorded oaths had given the wrong end term date of December 31, 2023 for Council Member Dent, Mayor Reed and Council Member Hirschmann. New oaths have been given with the corrected end term date of December 31, 2024. 6. Adjournment At 10:46 a.m., there being no further business and on motion adopted, the meeting was adjourned. ________________________ ________________________ CITY CLERK MAYOR City of Harrisonburg Page 7 Printed on 2/1/2021