City Council

409 S. Main Street City of Harrisonburg Harrisonburg, VA 22801 Meeting Minutes - Final City Council Tuesday, September 14, 2021 7:00 PM Council Chambers 1. Roll Call 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: 5- City Manager Eric Campbell, City Attorney Chris Brown, City Clerk Pam Ulmer, Police Chief Kelley Warner and Mayor Matthew Tobia 2. Invocation Mayor Reed recognized the passing of a city employee, Donald Musselman, who worked for the city for 15 years. She stated he will be missed. Council Member Jones offered the invocation. 3. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Reed led the 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, Vice Mayor Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 5.a. Minutes from the August 24, 2021 City Council Meeting These minutes were approved on the consent agenda 5.b. Consider repealing Title 15, Chapter 5, Article B - Produce Market at Municipal Parking Lot City of Harrisonburg Page 1 Printed on 10/6/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 14, 2021 The request to repeal the ordinance was approved on second reading 5.c. Consider repealing Sections 13-2-1 through 13-2-6 Bicycle Regulations of the City Code of Harrisonburg The request to repeal a portion of and amend the ordinance was approved on second reading 5.d. Consider the reappropriation of encumbrances that were outstanding at the end of Fiscal Year 2021 in the amount of $8,310,801.30 This supplemental reappropriation was approved on second reading 6. Public Hearings 6.a. Consider adopting a Resolution for VDOT Transportation Alternatives Program Grant - Country Club Road Sidewalks Tom Hartman, director of Public Works, presented a request to approve both 6a and 6b resolutions related to VDOT Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grants. He reviewed what the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) consists of. He reviewed the County Club Road Sidewalk - Safe Routes to School and noted there is a high need for a safer connection between Spotswood Homes Trailer Park and nearby schools. He stated the estimated cost will be $635,000 and the city’s match will be 20%, which has already been allocated. He reviewed the Northend Greenway Brookside Phase and noted this section is from Jefferson to Suter Streets along the Brookside neighborhood and the easement is in place. He stated the estimated cost will be $453,041 and the city’s match will be 20%, which has already been allocated. At 7:08 p.m., Mayor Reed closed the regular session and called the first and second public hearings to order. A notice appeared in the Daily News-Record on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. There being no one desiring to be heard, Mayor Reed closed the public hearing at 7:09 p.m., and the regular session reconvened. Vice Mayor Romero stated there is a need for the Country Club Road Sidewalk project, the area it is currently very unsafe, and he hopes we get the grant to make it happen and if not, we need to figure out a way to make it happen. Mayor Reed stated this project is definitely needed. Council Member Jones stated we will be adding more children to that school in the near future from development, so it is definitely needed, and he is excited about it and the opportunity to bring more development to that area. City of Harrisonburg Page 2 Printed on 10/6/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 14, 2021 A motion was made by Vice Mayor Romero, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to approve the resolution as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 6.b. Consider adopting a Resolution for VDOT Transportation Alternative Program Grant - Northend Greenway Brookside Phase Presented with Agenda Item 6a A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to approve the resolution as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 6.c. Consider a request from Skylar & Talli, LLC for a rezoning to amend proffers for a +/- 5.44-acre property at 1051 & 1351 Peach Grove Avenue Adam Fletcher, director of Community Development, presented a request to amend existing proffers for a rezoning approved in June of 2019 for property located on Peach Grove. He reviewed the zoning uses in the area, the long -term plans for the surrounding area, and properties neighboring the subject parcel. He reviewed the history of the zoning and special use permit requests for the property, the accepted engineered comprehensive site plan, an elevation rendering, existing proffers, and the changes requested to those proffers. He noted with the changes requested the traffic would not increase from the Traffic Impact Analysis previously done. He reviewed the staff recommended suggestions of location of the residential spaces and noted the applicant is not interested in relocating the building. He stated since 2019 a lot has changed and he reviewed the reasons stated by the applicant for the change in the retail uses of this property. He reviewed points in the 2021 Housing Study that relate to this application and housing needs and noted that staff does not believe student housing is a need at this time, which this property will be marketing towards. He reviewed additional suggestions offered to the applicant and noted the applicant is not interested in making any other changes at this time. He stated staff and Planning Commission (5-0) recommended denial of this request. Mayor Reed asked why the plan for the development change from mixed bedroom units to all four-bedroom units. At 7:34 p.m., Mayor Reed closed the regular session and called the third public hearing to order. A notice appeared in the Daily News-Record on Monday, August 30, 2021 Tuesday, September 7, 2021 City of Harrisonburg Page 3 Printed on 10/6/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 14, 2021 Mac Nichols, representative of the applicant, stated the applicant is asking to change the requirement of commercial use on the ground level to residential use. He stated the applicant's original intention in 2019 was to do this development themselves, but since then put it out on the market. He stated it was originally anticipated to be student housing, so that hasn't changed. He stated the applicant realized it wasn't a viable market to have commercial uses on this property, the applicant owns a lot of commercial property in the city but the demand for commercial space has decreased . He stated in regard to the concern by staff of the location of the building the applicant doesn't feel it is detrimental to the design of the parcel and would like to leave it in its proposed location. He stated the applicant proffered to maintain the original traffic study counts regardless of how many residential bedrooms of each unit approved. He stated the applicant does understand the city has a lot of concerns regarding affordable housing, this will be student housing, and most families and young professionals would not want to be in that type of development, however, this development may open up vacancies of housing in other areas of the city as students move to this development. He addressed the concern from the Planning Commission regarding walkability and noted there will be sidewalks. At 7:47 p.m., Mayor Reed closed the public hearing and the regular session reconvened. Council Member Jones stated he wishes in some cases it would be good to have the Economic Development staff present to compare and contrast from an economic development standpoint. The demand for commercial property is not there at this time, the demand is there for land and housing, and in this particular instance it is imperative to approve this project since so much has changed since 2019. Mayor Reed stated that when a project is presented to Council it should be presented as to the true plan of the developer. Council Member Jones stated we are in a different place than we were in 2019. He stated we can partner with developers to attack the affordable housing issue, but it is not their burden, it is our burden to continue to spur economic development in the city of Harrisonburg. The thing that is attractive for Harrisonburg for many businesses is that it is a college town. He stated it isn ’t fair to penalize someone for changing the viable uses of a development due to unforeseen circumstances and putting them in a place that would not be successful. He spoke further on affordable housing. Council Member Hirschmann stated the location is most conducive to student housing and this area would not suit for affordable housing. Mayor Reed stated she understands the reasoning behind requesting the removal of the commercial requirement on this development, and as it stands now, they can still do the four-bedroom units. Vice Mayor Romero stated he was excited about this project in 2019 and the various bedroom configurations that would offer opportunities for so many people outside of City of Harrisonburg Page 4 Printed on 10/6/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 14, 2021 just student housing, but what would keep people from living in this development would be affordability. He stated at the end of the day if it is a nice place and affordable people will overlook living with students, the noise, and the excitability that student housing provides. He stated he has concerns about closing the commercial space. He asked Mr. Fletcher if the request to change the configuration of bedroom units was made by the applicant and when. Mr. Fletcher stated it was changed between July 2019 and February 2020, but there was no conversation with anyone in regard to this prior to it coming to Planning Commission for tonight ’s request. Vice Mayor Romero asked Council Member Dent if she could share why Planning Commission recommended denial of this request. Council Member Dent stated there were a number of reasons, partly due to not wanting to let go of the commercial space, the general sentiment that more student housing was not needed in the city, and the applicant wasn’t willing to work with staff on the optional layouts of the development, to name a few. Mayor Reed stated it is her hope that projects like this pulls students out of developments that can be used for affordable housing, but the owners and landlords need to be willing to do that. Council Member Jones stated the configuration of the building location of this project was approved by Council in 2019 so that is not a concern now. A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to approve the request as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: 6.d. Consider a request from Cobbler’s Valley Development Inc. to rezone a +/- 3.14-acre property at 601 Pear Street Adam Fletcher, director of Community Development, presented items 6d and 6e together, a rezoning and special use permit request, for property located at 601 Pear Street. He reviewed the history of the site, the long-term plans for the area, the surrounding properties, the conceptual layout of the development, and the proffers offered. He stated staff and Planning Commission (5-0) recommend approval of this request. At 8:14 p.m., Mayor Reed closed the regular session and called the fourth and fifth public hearings to order. A notice appeared in the Daily News-Record on Monday, August 30, 2021, and Tuesday, September 7, 2021 Todd Rhea, attorney and representative for applicant/developer, reviewed the project and requested Council approves both requests. At 8:16 p.m., Mayor Reed closed the public hearing and the regular session reconvened. A motion was made by Council Member Jones seconded by Council Member Dent, to approve the request as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent City of Harrisonburg Page 5 Printed on 10/6/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 14, 2021 No: 0 6.e. Consider a request from Cobbler’s Valley Development Inc. for a special use permit to allow townhomes at 601 Pear Street Presented with Agenda Item # 6d A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to approve the request as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 6.f. Consider a request from PDY LLC to rezone a +/- 2.03-acre parcel located at the terminus of Suter Street Adam Fletcher, director of Community Development, presented items 6f, 6g and 7a together, a request to rezone from R-2 to R-8C, a special use permit and a preliminary plat for a parcel on Suter Street. He reviewed the zoning uses of the area, long-term plan of the area, the surrounding properties, the proffers submitted, and a site rendering. He stated staff and Planning Commission (5-0) recommended approval. Council Member Dent stated Council heard about the Northend Greenway going to Suter Street and asked if that is on a different side of Suter Street. Mr. Fletcher stated it is a different area. Vice Mayor Romero asked about the issue with flooding in that area. Mr. Fletcher stated the developer can answer that. Council Member Dent stated she saw the flooding in that area as well and stated the developer hopes to remediate some of that flooding with this project. At 8:30 p.m., Mayor Reed closed the regular session and called the sixth and seventh public hearing to order. A notice appeared in the Daily News-Record on Monday, August 30, 2021, and Tuesday, September 7, 2021 Gil Coleman, Coleman Engineering, stated the flooding issue in this area is due to lack of infrastructure, the development will address the water channel adequacy and stormwater management. Vice Mayor Romero stated there will be a neighborhood meeting to address the flooding in that area and the applicant and Mr. Coleman are welcome to attend. He stated he is excited to see this project. Council Member Dent stated she is impressed with how this development blends in City of Harrisonburg Page 6 Printed on 10/6/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 14, 2021 with the existing neighborhood. Mr. Coleman stated the possibility to increase density was available, but they felt it was better for the neighborhood to mimic what is already in the area. Further discussion took place regarding the possibility for solar in this neighborhood At 8:36 p.m., Mayor Reed closed the public hearing and the regular session reconvened. A motion was made by Council Member Jones seconded by Council Member Dent, to approve the request as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 6.g. Consider a request from PDY LLC for a special use permit for townhomes on at +/- 2.03-acre property at the terminus of Suter Street Presented with Agenda item 6f A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent to approve the request as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 7. Regular Items 7.a. Consider a request from PDY LLC to preliminarily subdivide a +/- 2.03-acre parcel to create 23 parcels and dedicate public street right-of-way for the extension and permanent termination of Suter Street Presented with Agenda Item # 6f A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to approve the request as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 7.b. Presentation on the Technical Assistance Panel Report from the Urban Land Institute on the Heritage Oaks Golf Course. Eric Campbell, city manager, stated Council approved two studies of the Heritage Oaks Golf Course, one focused on the management of the facility, the other focused on the land use. He stated Council received the recommendations of the study for the management of the facility in June 2020 and will now hear the recommendations from City of Harrisonburg Page 7 Printed on 10/6/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 14, 2021 the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Technical Assistance Panel (TAP), chaired by Sal Musara. Sal Musara. past chair of ULI VA and a senior landscape architect and land planner, reviewed the goal of ULI, the TAP Panelists, the TAP Committee, the challenge of this study, the amenities of the Golf Course, the information heard from stakeholders and the community, national trends in golf,the financial viability of the golf course, and land use alternatives, Jessica Rossey, chair of the TAP program for ULI out of Charlotte, NC, stated after hearing from the community they reviewed the Housing Study and noted the golf course falls in the market type B, and noted this market usually contains the following : Higher Income homes, large volume of home sales, slower population growth and less access to amenities. Mr. Musara reviewed the takeaways from the study and recommendations: · Takeaway #1: The value of golf as a community asset · Takeaway #2: Financial Viability · Takeaway #3: Land Use and Accessibility Mr. Musara and Ms. Rossey reviewed the guiding principles in scenario development and the following recommendation scenarios · Scenario One: Retain and enhance · Scenario Two: Partial redevelopment · Scenario Three: Complete redevelopment Mr. Musara reviewed the successfulness of fulfilling the city vision based on each scenario and noted Scenario One would be the most successful of scenarios. Council Member Dent stated she is disappointed in the limited options given by this study; she agrees development is not a great option but looking for a Plan D as in, keep it a city park, and repurpose it to be appealing to usable by a much broader and diverse segment of the population. She stated the best idea she heard would be to keep it a park and make it a music venue. She asked what by analogy can we do to redevelop this park so that more people use it, such as we did with the tennis courts converting to Futsal, and engage in it and become a tourist magnet that could bring people far more powerfully than a golf course. She stated a more creative expansion of the use of the park would be a far better use of the land. Mr. Musara, it may make sense to do an expanded park it could be a big asset. Ms. Rossey stated there was push back on the cost to transition this land from a golf course to a different type of facility, so it depends on how much money the city wants to spend. Council Member Jones stated it is a healthy point and one to not be glossed over that the area of town isn’t easily accessible. He stated he isn’t sure people would make it out to the property even if it was made into a music venue, the distance of any of the City of Harrisonburg Page 8 Printed on 10/6/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 14, 2021 park’s facilities affect participation. He stated he is glad staff reworked the budget for the golf course and having the two studies done, now it will take a deeper conversation with Council to determine the best outcome for this land and evaluate the accessibility to this area. Mayor Reed stated the city has multiple great parks, each used by specific neighborhoods closest to the facilities. She stated these studies were needed because the golf course was losing money. She stated this is not a simple decision and we can’t just throw something out there, whatever changes are made will cost money. Vice Mayor Romero stated it will take time to make the best decision for this property . He asked to what extent did the survey responses play in the creation of the scenarios offered by ULI. Mr. Musara stated the survey was impactful during their deliberations and helped with location of respondents in relation to the property and if they were city and non-city residents. He stated fundamentally they did not see an overwhelming wave to give up the golf course entirely, but they did see the desire to modify it, add other events etc. Vice Mayor Romero stated surveys typically engage those already engaged, however, he doesn’t feel the true representation of our residents was there. He stated he feels he still needs to speak to the community to get a truer feeling of what people want. Council Member Jones stated he thinks we need to get all the information obtained by the two studies out to the public now that Council has a vision in place to see what is really wanted and needed in the community. Mayor Reed stated we cannot continue to have this conversation without engaging those in the community that are not engaged. She doesn’t feel the golf course has been fully utilized, there are so many more things that could happen out there. Vice Mayor Romero stated he lived in the city for 30 years and had never been to the golf course until recently. He stated it is such an amazing place to go to when golfing is not happening and would love to have the ability to enjoy the park more than just for golfing. Council Member Dent asked to what degree does the golf course bring in tourists . She stated she has traveled for music and how great that would be to have in our back yard as well. She stated wedding, or festivals are other possible uses. Council Member Jones stated our Economic Development team has won so many awards about how much tourism is brought to the area to play golf and stay in the city. Council Member Hirschmann stated there will be more changes to the golf course in City of Harrisonburg Page 9 Printed on 10/6/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 14, 2021 the near future, management and operation of the course has gotten better, packages with local hotels are in the works, and other things are happening, we will see the benefits from that soon. He stated he does agree that other uses can be had at that property, but we must be careful what we do with future plans. Further discussion took place regarding the possibilities of additional uses of the property. This Presentation was received and filed. Recess At 9:48 p.m., Mayor Reed called the meeting into recess. At 9:58 p.m., Mayor Reed called the meeting back into session. 7.c. Consider a request from George and Betty Heavner to preliminarily subdivide a +/- 5.3-acre parcel at 1270 Smithland Road Adam Fletcher, director of Community Development, presented a request for approval of a preliminary plat for property located at 1270 Smithland Road. He reviewed the long-term plan for the area, zoning of the surrounding properties, the surrounding properties, access for ingress and egress, water/sewer availability, He stated staff and Planning Commission (5-0) recommended approval. A motion was made by Council Member Dent, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to approve the request as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 7.d. Consider a request from W.S.K.K.&J. LLC to preliminary subdivide a +/- 6.0 parcel at 3900 Early Road Adam Fletcher, director of Community Development, presented a request for approval of a preliminary plat for property located at 39 Early Road. He reviewed the land use for the area, the surrounding properties, and the public utilities available. He stated staff and Planning Commission (5-0) recommended approval A motion was made by Council Member Dent, seconded by Vice Mayor Romero, to approve the request as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: City of Harrisonburg Page 10 Printed on 10/6/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 14, 2021 Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 7.e. Planning Commission Annual Report 2020 Adam Fletcher, director of Community Development, presented the 2020 Annual Planning Commission report. He stated very typically the majority of work was done in rezoning requests and special use permits and noted the 5-year activity shows the spike in special use permit requests in 2019 are due to the short-term rental ordinance. No action required This Report was received and filed. 7.f. Consider adopting a Resolution for VDOT Revenue Sharing Grant - University Boulevard Relocation Project Tom Hartman, director of Public Works, presented a resolution for the VDOT Revenue Sharing Grant for the University Boulevard Extension. He stated this is an extension from Port Republic Road and Carrier Drive and reviewed the changes. He stated the estimate for this project is $10,422,000 resulting in a request of an additional $1,263,436 from the VDOT Revenue Sharing Grant, with $1,052,325 match from JMU and $211,111 match from the city. He reviewed the schedule of this project. Council Member Jones asked if we could negotiate the city match share. Mr. Hartman stated JMU will be donating all the easements through their property and already donated $5M towards this project. 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, Vice Mayor Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 7.g. Board of Zoning Appeals Annual Report 2020 Adam Fletcher, director of Community Development, presented the 2020 Annual Board of Zoning Appeals report. He stated there were only two applications and noted the less BZA hearings reflects the more staff is consistent with zoning requirements. No action required This Report was received and filed. City of Harrisonburg Page 11 Printed on 10/6/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 14, 2021 7.h. Consider amending and reenacting Section 10-3-30.1 Parking Lot Landscaping, of the Code of Ordinances, City of Harrisonburg, VA. Chris Brown, city attorney, stated this request is to fix an error in an ordinance submitted to Municode that was recently discovered and provided the history of this ordinance. A motion was made by Vice Mayor Romero, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to approve the requested ordinance amendment as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 7.i. Consider adopting Resolutions approving issuance by Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority of Revenue Bonds for the approximately 152 unit The Concord at Springdale Park Senior Multifamily Housing Facility and the approximately 228 unit The Horizon at Springdale Park Multifamily Housing Facility, both located Henrico County, Virginia Chris Brown, city attorney, presented two resolutions on behalf of Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority (HRHA) regarding revenue bonds. He reviewed the resolutions and noted there is no financial liability to the city or HRHA for these bonds. A motion was made by Council Member Jones, seconded by Council Member Dent, to adopt the resolutions as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 7.j. Consider approving a resolution setting the percentage of Personal Property Tax Relief to Tax Year 2021 Chris Brown, city attorney, presented a resolution setting the personal property tax relief percentage. He stated this is done annually and explained how this percentage is calculated. Vice Mayor asked how this compares to last year. Mr. Brown stated it is a bit less than last year. A motion was made by Council Member Dent, seconded by Vice Mayor Romero, to approve the request as presented. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Romero, Council Member Jones, Council Member Hirschmann and Council Member Dent No: 0 City of Harrisonburg Page 12 Printed on 10/6/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 14, 2021 8. Special Event Application Requests 8.a. Consider the special event application request for the Alpine Loop Gran Fondo on Sunday, September 26, 2021. Matt Little, recreation and special events manager, Parks and Recreation, presented a special event application request for the annual Alpine Loop Grand Fondo on September 26, 2021, which serves as fund raisers for the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition and the Cancer Journeys Foundation Prostate Cancer Awareness Project . He stated the assistance of Public Works, and the Harrisonburg Police Department is requested, the estimated cost will be between $1700-$2000, and the event organizer will be responsible for payment to any off-duty officers. A motion was made by Council Member Dent, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to approve the request as presented. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. Yes: 5- Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor 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, shared his thoughts of what he saw throughout the city recently in regard to lawns and requests that the tall grass and weeds ordinance be repealed. 9.b. City Council and Staff Council Member Dent stated she had an excellent conversation with Gerald Gatobu, director of Transportation, regarding electric busses and hopes to get him to present to Council at a later date. She stated she joined the Citizens Academy and was able to see the parade of trucks at Public Works. She stated EPSAC had a great meeting and the roll of EPSAC as empowered by the city. She stated Mr. Hartman provided preliminary results of the green house gas inventory, one snapshot on electric uses reflected 1/3 is used by commercial, 1/3 by residential, 1/6 by industrial 1/6 by JMU and only 4% by the city. She stated we need to hold community forums to enlist community participation. She stated she attended the CCJB meeting and was alarmed at the announcement that we might be facing bed rents again. She stated they discussed making a concerted effort to lobby the legislature to close the loopholes where the Department of Corrections is allowed to leave their inmates in the regional jails longer than they should. She stated she attended the NLC ’s energy committee meeting where the policy document to send to Congress was approved as they are working on the Reconciliation and Infrastructure bill. Vice Mayor Romero acknowledged the Parks and Recreation Staff for the excellent City of Harrisonburg Page 13 Printed on 10/6/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final September 14, 2021 upkeep of the Smithland and Ramblewood soccer fields. He stated he is meeting with the community of Clinton and Suter Street regarding the flooding issue in that area. He stated hopefully they will be applying for grant funding to fix the problem, but the city should address this issue as well. He stated many had standing water in their homes. He stated he will announce when the meeting takes place. Council Member Hirschmann stated there are continuing activities in downtown and urges everyone to continue to support the restaurants and shops, wear your masks as you do so. Eric Campbell, city manager, reminded Council to submit their availability for the City Council Housing Summit in October. Mayor Reed stated she will not be attending the September 28, 2021, City Council Meeting. Chris Brown, city attorney, stated effective immediately the cleanup of the Miller Circle explosion site has begun. He stated delays were due to insurance claims etc.. 10. Boards and Commissions 10.a. Social Services Board A motion was made by Vice Mayor Romero, seconded by Council Member Hirschmann, to appoint Sara Snyder to the Social Services Board for a term to expire on September 14, 2025. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote. 10.b. Environmental Performance Standards Advisory Committee (EPSAC) A motion was made by Council Member Dent, seconded by Vice Mayor Romero, to appoint Andrew Payton to the Environmental Performance Standards Advisory Committee (EPSAC) for an unexpired term to expire on January 12, 2024. The motion carried with a recorded vote as follows: 11. Adjournment At 10:32 p.m., there being no further business and on motion adopted, the meeting was adjourned. ________________________ ________________________ CITY CLERK MAYOR City of Harrisonburg Page 14 Printed on 10/6/2021