City Council

409 S. Main Street City of Harrisonburg Harrisonburg, VA 22801 Meeting Minutes - Final City Council Tuesday, June 22, 2021 7:00 PM Council Chambers/Virtual 1. Roll Call Note: All Council Members were present via virtual Go-To Meeting. 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 Deputy City Clerk Ande Banks. 2. Invocation Council Member Jones offered the invocation. 3. Pledge of Allegiance 4. Special Recognition 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 Vice Mayor Romero, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann to approve the consent agenda as presented The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 5.a. Minutes from the June 8, 2021 City Council Meeting These minutes were approved on the consent agenda. 5.b. Consider a request from Tawakkul Investments LLC to rezone a parcel addressed as 116 Pleasant Hill Road The rezoning request was approved on second reading 6. Public Hearings 7. Regular Items City of Harrisonburg Page 1 Printed on 7/27/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final June 22, 2021 7.a. Update from the Arts Council of the Valley Jenny Burden, executive director of Arts Council of the Valley. She stated this is a very exciting time. She stated the board of directors approved the Arts Council ’s budget of $561,000 and reflects all the plans they have for the future. She reviewed the upcoming projects and changes in policies. She stated the Arts Council is grateful for the support the city has shown and hopes the city will continue to support their efforts. Mayor Reed asked if the Blue Rider will be a rotating art display, Jenny stated it was a collaboration of a business, the Arts Council, and the artist with a three -year lease. She stated the art could be moved around the city, but the concrete pad will allow for another sculpture after the three-year commitment. Mayor Reed thanked Ms. Burden. 7.b. Presentation of the Heritage Oaks Golf Course Study Jeff Fleishman, Golf Business Advisors, presented the executive summary of the Heritage Oaks Golf Course Analysis. He stated this project started in February 2021. He reviewed the following: 1. Situation Analysis 2. Public Engagement 3. Financial Analysis 4. Golf Course Asset Analysis 5. Golf Course Management 6. Golf Course Maintenance Analysis 7. Marketing Analysis 8. Current and Future Economic Trend Analysis 9. Business Plan Recommendations Mayor Reed stated because we did not have a strategic marketing plan we have missed a lot of opportunity. She stated she was excited to hear about possible other events at the golf course but did not have a strategic partnership with places like Hotel Madison. Mr. Fleishman agreed, he stated the city is in a hot tourist area, and so more marketing to golf groups could be done to increase participation at the golf course. He stated email marketing with current people who play is not being done either. Council Member Jones stated the cut of the budget for Heritage Oaks Golf Course was the best thing that Council did, as operations continued with a tighter budget. He spoke about getting more retail around the Golf Course. Mayor Reed agreed and stated we need to really look at other opportunities of what the golf course could be. Council Member Hirschmann thanked Mr. Fleishman for the presentation. He stated City of Harrisonburg Page 2 Printed on 7/27/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final June 22, 2021 with implementation of some of the ideas we have a potential to make it work. Council Member Dent thanked Mr. Fleishman for the presentation. She stated when the supply is greater than the demand it is good for the golfers but not the city. She stated according to the study golf business has weakened but other demands for land have increased. She stated she is looking forward to the land use study, and lack of diversity still seems to be a challenge with the course. She stated she feels the golf course is not sustainable financially or environmentally. Mayor Reed stated the land assessment will be presented soon to Council and many of Council Member Dent’s concerns will be addressed. Council Member Jones stated the Golf Study and the Land Use study are two different conversations. He stated we have eight years left on the bond for the golf course and that should be considered, but we also need to look at other options. Vice Mayor Romero asked for clarification of the projected loss for this year. He stated the land use study will shed expand the information available for the golf course, but he likes the idea of making the golf course accessible to a broader number of our community members for other activities as well. He stated there is a series of recommendations provided but wanted to know if they were listed by priority . Mr. Fleishman stated there are 3 key areas of recommendations: Supervision, marketing and food and beverage facilities. He stated the golf course is a wonderful product and well maintained, and that helps with increasing the participation. This Presentation was received and filed. 7.c. Consider removing delinquent Real Estate taxes for 2000/2001 and delinquent Personal Property taxes for 2015 Larry Propst, director of Finance, presented a request to write off the oldest real estate and personal property taxes for FY 2015 that are delinquent. He stated this is an annual request and noted collection will still continue. He stated we have collected 99.9% of the real estate taxes and 98.7% of personal property taxes. Eric Campbell, city manager, stated the Treasurer, Jeff Shafer, is not available to present this item as Mr. Shafer is accepting the position of President for the Virginia Treasurers Association at the Hotel Madison this evening. Council congratulated Mr . Shafer and Council Member Jones stated it is great to see these conferences in the city. A motion was made by Vice Mayor Romero, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to approve the request as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 City of Harrisonburg Page 3 Printed on 7/27/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final June 22, 2021 7.d. Consider advertising Real Estate delinquent taxes for years 2018/2019 & 2019/2020 Larry Propst, director of Finance, presented a request to approve the advertisement of delinquent real estate taxes for FY 18/19 and 19/20 and noted owners will receive a 30-day written delinquent notice prior to advertising. A motion was made by Council Member Hirschmann, seconded by Council Member Dent, to approve the request as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 7.e. Consider amending and reenacting Title 13 Motor Vehicles and Traffic, Chapter 1 Traffic and Parking Regulations, Article C Stopping, Standing and Parking Division 1 General Provisions, Section 13-1-60.01 Residential Permit Parking Zones Chris Brown, city attorney, presented a request to approve an ordinance amendment related to residential permit parking zones. He stated this request comes as a follow up of a presentation from Mr. Tom Hartman, director of Public Works in April 2021 of the proposed changes to the downtown area. He stated the section of Main Street, between W. Grattan Street and Paul Street to convert from the red permit parking zone to long term 10-hr parking. A motion was made by Council Member Hirschmann, seconded by Council Member Dent, to approve the ordinance amendment as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 8. Reallocations 8.a. Consider a reallocation of budgeted revenue funds within the Water and Sewer Funds Larry Propst, director of Finance, stated the pandemic not only had impacted tax revenue but significantly affected water and sewer customer revenue. He stated this reallocation is from the fund balance to the Water and Sewer funds. He stated the amount is less than originally expected. A motion was made by Vice Mayor Romero, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to approve the reallocation request as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 8.b. Consider a reallocation of funds within the General Capital Projects Fund in the City of Harrisonburg Page 4 Printed on 7/27/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final June 22, 2021 amount of $241,022.57 Larry Propst, director of Finance, presented a request to reallocate funds from the Burn Building Project and the City/County Jail HVAC Project to the Fire Station Renovation and Court Renovation Project. A motion was made by Council Member Dent, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to approve the reallocation request as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 8.c. Consider a reallocation of funds from the ECC Fund to the ECC Capital Projects Fund in the amount of $52,000 Larry Propst, director of Finance, presented a request to reallocate from the ECC Fund to the ECC Capital Projects Funds, for the E-911 System Project. A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to approve the reallocation request as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent 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) Panayotis “Poti” Giannakouros, spoke on the things that brought him to the city, but now a plastic company has come to the city, and will cause environmental damage to the city. He spoke on the dangers of a plastics plant coming to the city and how it could affect the neighborhood and the people of the city. Bucky Berry, 30 W Washington Street, spoke on the new Toter trash cans and how unreasonable the fines are for not removing them from the street by a certain time . He spoke on the second high school costs, the arrival of the new Police Chief and the pay for our police officers. 9.b. City Council and Staff Council Member Dent stated she and Council Member Hirschmann attended the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission meeting where they received the report on the Agricultural Hub feasibility study, but the site location is still to be determined. City of Harrisonburg Page 5 Printed on 7/27/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final June 22, 2021 Council Member Jones stated the Juneteenth celebration was very successful and thanked all those involved including the Harrisonburg Police Department and Public Works department. Mayor Reed stated the Juneteenth celebration was incredible, lots of happy people, and it showed how loving and caring our community is. She thanked Kirsten Moore from Magpie, she did a fabulous job. She stated there was also a mobile vaccine site at the event and thanked all those involved. She stated the City /School Liaison Meeting was live streamed and recorded and is available for viewing on the city ’s web site. Council Member Dent stated the World Refugee Day event was a great reaffirmation of our diverse city and a wonderful event. Eric Campbell, city manager, stated the Urban Land Institute Technical Assistance Panel is scheduled for July 14 and 15, 2021. He reminded Council that Tyler St. Clair will be in on June 29, 2021, to interview them for the Council Retreat to be held on July 9 and 10, 2021. 10. Closed Session 11. Adjournment At 8:40 pm, there being no further business and on motion adopted, the meeting was adjourned. ________________________ ________________________ CITY CLERK MAYOR City of Harrisonburg Page 6 Printed on 7/27/2021