City Council

409 S. Main Street City of Harrisonburg Harrisonburg, VA 22801 Meeting Minutes - Final City Council Tuesday, August 9, 2022 7:00 PM Council Chambers 1. Roll Call Present: 4- Mayor Deanna R. Reed, Vice Mayor Sal Romero, Council Member Laura Dent and Council Member Richard Baugh Absent: 1- Council Member Christopher B. Jones Also Present: 5- Deputy City Manager Ande Banks, City Attorney Chris Brown, City Clerk Pam Ulmer, Police Chief Kelley Warner and Mayor Matthew Tobia 2. Invocation Council Member Baugh 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 Council Member Baugh, seconded by Council Member Dent, 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 Dent and Council Member Baugh No: 0 5.a. Minutes from the July 26, 2022 City Council Meeting These minutes were approved on the consent agenda. 5.b. Consider a supplemental appropriation in the amount of $250,000 for the General Fund This supplemental appropriation was approved on second reading. 5.c. Consider a supplemental appropriation in the amount of $361,818.18 for the Fire Department City of Harrisonburg Page 1 Printed on 9/6/2022 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final August 9, 2022 This supplemental appropriation was approved on second reading. 6. Public Hearings 6.a. Consider a request from McDorman Properties LLC to rezone 209 and 211 Broad Street Adam Fletcher, director of Community Development, presented a request to rezone property located at 209 and 211 Broad Street, from R-2 to B-1C. He reviewed the long term land use for the area, the by-right uses under R-2, non-conforming regulations that now apply to the property, and the surrounding properties. He reviewed the submitted proffers as follows: 1. The property shall only be used for residential dwellings, except that any allowed special use permits shall be permitted as approved by City Council. 2. Dwelling units may be occupied by a single family or no more than two (2) unrelated persons. 3. Structures/buildings shall be no taller than 52 feet in height and limited to no more than four stories. He stated staff and Planning Commission (6-0) recommended approval of the rezoning request. He stated some of the members of the Planning Commission recommended Council review what they think the maximum height of a building should be at this site as the current allowance is four stories and only contains a two story dwelling currently. Discussion took place amongst Council Members to the surrounding properties, the height of the building should the property be sold and rebuilt and parking. At 7:17 p.m., Mayor Reed closed the regular session and called the first public hearing to order. A notice appeared in the Daily News-Record on Monday, July 25, 2022, and Monday, August 1, 2022 Jim McDorma, applicant, stated his interest is to keep the property as 4 two-bedroom unit dwelling and noted it is currently filled with renters. He stated he has renovated much of the property and still has plans for a few more upgrades. Panayotis “Poti” Giannakouros, stated this is an interesting study in zoning as we can compare the building that was built in 1955 and how the neighborhood looked then to modern zoning where this property is non-conforming. He stated should this property be redeveloped we see the possibility of gentrification opening the door to making the property more valuable, assessments increase and people in the neighborhood can no longer afford living in the area. He referenced the Planning Commission notes and noted that if Planning Commission wasn’t happy with a zoning ordinance or regulation it can be changed during the zoning rewrite process. He spoke on enforcement of aesthetic violation, short staffing in Community Development, and how we can focus our efforts on bigger, better things. City of Harrisonburg Page 2 Printed on 9/6/2022 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final August 9, 2022 At 7:27 p.m., Mayor Reed closed the public hearing and the regular session reconvened. Council Member Baugh stated we have been on this path before, at some point someone else is going to own the property and do what they can do not what has been done in the past. Council member Dent asked if the first proffer allows for a future owner to apply for a special use permit for other uses. Mr. Fletcher stated provided it is in line with the B-1 zoning. A motion was made by Council Member Dent, seconded by Vice Mayor Romero, that this Rezoning be approved on first reading. The motion carried with a recorded roll call vote taken as follows: Yes: 4- Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Romero, Council Member Dent and Council Member Baugh No: 0 7. Regular Items 7.a. Presentation from Baker Tilly, US, LLP on the Classification and Compensation Study Ande Banks, interim city manager, introduced Brenda Turner, manager of the Compensation, Design and Consulting Division of Baker Tilly, who will be doing a presentation on the large Classification and Compensation Study the city is currently going through. He shared her credentials and noted she has over 30 years of professional experience. Ms. Turner thanked Council for the opportunity to speak and noted that team member Laura Linehan, is also present for any questions. She reviewed information about the company, where and what organizations they serve, and the consulting team and credentials. She reviewed the following steps of the study which included Data Collection, Market Assessment, Position Review, Pay Plan Development, and Project Completion. She reviewed frequently asked questions and Compensation Philosophy and how to apply it to the study. Council Member Dent stated when the initial 5% across the board raise was discussed Council knew this study was going to happen and she is glad that Ms . Turner drew the distinction between internal equity and external -parity. She asked if community efforts and internal support on establishing a living wage that the city could apply is incorporated in the Compensation Philosophy and what is the distinction between what Council has a say in versus the city manager. Ms. Turner stated the City of Harrisonburg Page 3 Printed on 9/6/2022 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final August 9, 2022 core project team can report back as they reach certain milestones to make sure they are on track in meeting expectations of everyone. Mr. Banks stated that City Council will be the final arbiters, so by the end of this process Baker Tilly is going to provide a pay structure that has been identified as externally competitive and polices that address internal equity. He stated ultimately how this is implemented is Council ’s decision and to what degree. Mayor Reed asked due to the interests Council has and how we compete with other localities when it comes to pay, if there will be a list of what other localities were researched. Ms. Turner stated the peer organizations and the market composite by position will be provided. Mr. Banks praised Ms. Turner and her team for leading at least half a dozen different work sessions with city staff across the departments and did a phenomenal job. He stated exit surveys are done when we lose employees, so staff has a pretty good idea as to who we are losing our employees to. Vice Mayor Romero asked if the data collected will have any focus as to benefits provided along with the pay, as pay is sometimes not the only reason people leave jobs. Ms. Turner stated questions are asked to the peer organizations that include health and welfare such as time off, benefits, etc. Vice Mayor Romero stated one of the frequently asked questions was if pay will be cut. He stated in studies have they found that people may be overpaid and asked how it would be addressed. Ms. Turner stated if this is a repeated issue then it would need to be reviewed in the new pay structure and policy Mayor Reed thanked Ms. Turner and Ms. Linehan for the presentation. This Presentation was received and filed. 7.b. Harrisonburg-Rockingham Metropolitan Planning Organization (HRMPO) 2045 Long Range Plan Update Ann Cundy, Director of Transportation, Central Shenandoah Valley Planning District Commission (CSPDC), introduced Ansley Heller who is the new transportation planner for the Harrisonburg Rockingham Metropolitan Planning Organization (HRMPO). Ms. Cundy stated the HRMPO is the regional transportation planning body for the City of Harrisonburg, the urbanized portion of Rockingham County, and the Towns of Bridgewater, Dayton, and Mt. Crawford. She reviewed the regions covered by the CSPDC and stated their purpose is to encourage and facilitate regional solutions to problems of area wide significance. She stated the HRMPO collects, analyzes and evaluates demographic, land use, and transportation data to gain a better understanding of the transportation system requirements of the area and to share the information with decision makers such as Council, so that informed decisions can be made regarding transportation investments. She stated one of HRMPO’s responsibilities is to maintain and update a 25-year Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) for transportation needs and planned investments in our City of Harrisonburg Page 4 Printed on 9/6/2022 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final August 9, 2022 region that creates an effective framework for mobility and development with a set of priority transportation investments to address the area’s current and long-term needs. The Plan is updated every five years. She stated the update must be completed by May 2023 to ensure that federal dollars continue to flow to our transportation projects . She stated the 2045 LRTP cover all modes of travel (transit, driving, biking, and walking); In Phase One, 638 community members shared their vision for the future of transportation in the region; and Phase Two of the Plan is focused on gathering feedback on a list of proposed transportation projects, known as the draft Universe of Projects. She reviewed the process of Phase Two called Universe of Projects and noted the online survey opened on August 1, 2022, and closes September 16, 2022, and noted it is available in English, Spanish, and Arabic. She reviewed the screenshots for the online survey. She reviewed a few of the proposed projects in the city: ▪ North Main Street Sidewalk - Install sidewalk on west side and bike lanes on both sides of North Main Street (US 11) from Charles St to Mt Clinton Pike. Install sidewalk on south side of Vine St from North Main Street to Harris Gardens. ▪ Country Club Road (east) Improvements - Construct a three-lane facility with a center turn lane, sidewalk, and shared use path on Country Club Rd from I-81 Bridge to East Market St. Project also includes a roundabout at the Keezletown Road intersection. Ms. Cundy reviewed the outreach tactics used to gain the most input possible from the communities which includes two open house meetings: August 18, 2022, at Lucy F. Simms Community Center from 4pm - 6pm and August 31, 2022, at Turner Ashby High School from 4pm to 6pm. Mayor Reed stated announcements are done at the community centers and churches and asked if there are any pamphlets or flyers that can be handed out. Ms. Cundy stated there are flyers that she will drop off to City Hall for Council to hand out. She stated several businesses will be on the distribution list as well. This Report was received and filed. 7.c. Presentation on Clean, Active, and Accessible Transportation (CAAT) Tom Benevento, stated this presentation is based out of the work of a diverse body of people from the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice. He stated this presentation was reviewed by many organizations such as the Rotary Club, EPSAC ’s Transportation Focus Group, Virginia Clean Cities, City Planning Commission and these recommendations will be sent to the Governor. He stated this is a bigger concept helping us think out of the norm when it comes to transportation along with some recommended actions. He stated safe, reliable and affordable transportation is the basic need for all citizens, our current transportation modeled in the United States is defined by the personal car and in many ways leading us into some City of Harrisonburg Page 5 Printed on 9/6/2022 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final August 9, 2022 precarious situations. He said the good news is that there is an elegant and sustainable solution that dramatically costs for the city and households, makes us and the planet healthier, our communities more livable and beautiful and is equitable for all regardless of physical ability, income or age. He stated this solution is called Clean, Active, and Accessible Transportation (CAAT) that is a multi-model system of transportation that shifts our paradigm away from the car as the central point and moves it towards active types of transportation. He reviewed the following: 1. Current Transportation Model: Auto-dependent transportation a. The single largest emitter of Greenhouse Gases i. Automobile dependency and sprawl b. Increasing urban sprawl c. Increasing traffic and congestion i. 2019 Modes of transportation to work d. High infrastructure costs i. Space required to transport 48 people e. Transportation inequity f. Benefits of CAAT g. Paradigm shift h. How do we move to CAAT i. Improve transport options ii. Incentives for reduced driving iii. Land use management iv. Policy and cultural reforms Mr. Benevento stated incentivizing reduced driving is key, and reviewed the recommended actions for CAAT: 1. Eliminate Minimum Parking Requirements with new development. 2. Retractable bollards on Main Street to create bike/ped zone from Bruce Street to Wolf Street or Water Street between Mason and South Liberty. Install bollards once a month or once a week as a transition. 3. Up zoning near transit stops to increase housing density and transit access. 4. Cash-Out-Free Parking Mayor Reed asked for more information on the bollards used in Staunton. Information was provided on how Staunton uses the bollards. Further discussion took place on how the bollards could be used in the city. Council Member Dent stated she was struck by the synergy between this presentation and the one from the HRMPO previously. She stated when Tom Hartman, director of Public Works, presented the SMART Scale grant many were about creating bicycle lanes, road diets, and shared use paths. She stated the road diets will help with keeping the cars under control to encourage the bicycles and it all works together . Council Member Dent stated there is a huge cost of mandated parking and although it may be free it is costing someone (tax payers, the city etc.) City of Harrisonburg Page 6 Printed on 9/6/2022 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final August 9, 2022 Council Member Baugh stated making the argument that the road infrastructure isn ’t adequate to support is generally considered to be a low hanging fruit argument that lots of people just start nodding their heads on and saying of course that is going to be a problem because we haven’t built the road big enough to accommodate the cars, and he feels this is one of the important parts that underlays what Mr. Benevento is presenting. He stated this presentation shows how pervasive just thinking about automobiles and how ingrained it is. Mayor Reed stated she took away from this presentation is that: she never thought about the free parking cash-out and the reduction of required parking spaces. Council Member Dent stated she would really like to get an electric bike but then she gets daunted by the fact that anywhere she goes she would have to get on a highway first. This Presentation was received and filed. 8. Other Matters 8.a. Comments from the public, limited to five minutes, on matters not on the regular agenda. (Name and address are required) None 8.b. City Council and Staff Council Member Dent stated she attended the NLC Leadership meeting in Atlanta and one of the most striking presentations was a joint meeting between the Energy Committee and the Information Technology Committee on cyber security of physical plants such as water systems, electric systems, etc. She stated she is looking forward to attending the NLC National meeting in Missouri in November 2022. Vice Mayor Romero welcomed the 100 new teachers to the Harrisonburg City Public School system, and he is looking forward to them joining the community. He stated we always talk about how to keep our teachers and it is the job of everyone to make sure that we are doing everything we can to welcome and support them along the way. He stated hopefully by the end of the year we will have maintained most, if not all, of the new teachers. He stated school will be starting in two weeks and he is excited to start back up. Council Member Baugh stated at the last Stormwater Advisory Committee (SWAC) meeting there was a discussion about how reporting back and updating Council doesn’t always take place. He stated the Chesapeake Bay TMDL Compliance Summary has to do with targets the city has for nitrogen, phosphorous, and suspended sediments in our water. He stated the main reason we have SWAC is because we became mandated to get 100% reduction from baseline levels by 2028. He stated staff reported to SWAC is that we are not there yet, but we will be and will hit the targets provided we implement the things in our pipeline. He stated the City of Harrisonburg Page 7 Printed on 9/6/2022 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final August 9, 2022 estimated total cost for all of this was originally in the nine figure range and now is estimated to be $25M, that is impressive and should be celebrated once we reach our targets. Mayor Reed stated there was a City/County Liaison meeting and discussions were on shared services such as the homeless shelter, Middle River Regional Jail and the expansion of the court services. She stated the concerns from the community regarding Open Doors closing on August 15, 2022, is not just a city issue, it is a community issue, it will take everyone to come together to figure out a temporary solution quickly as the permanent shelter will not be open until 2023. Mayor Reed stated we need to look back at what was done before the pandemic and get churches and other organizes back on board to help and the city needs the help from the community. Mayor Reed stated Council is very concerned that we may have people living on the street for a while, that is not something that is acceptable, and we are working with Open Doors to see if a temporary shelter can be found. Mayor Reed stated she will be holding a forum in Council Chambers on Monday, August 27, 2022, beginning at 8am to and will be asking our faith community, our churches, and our business community to come together and help the city find a solution to this issue . Mayor Reed stated she is hoping people will show up because it is going to take all hands on deck to work this out until the permanent solution is ready. Ande Banks, interim city manager, stated having been with the city he knows when setting out the plans to address the new demands of TMDL from the state he is very proud of the way our community has addressed this progressively because much of the efforts and progress made have been through stream restoration projects and truly improving he environment in the city instead of using the primary alternative which was to buy credits. He appreciates the community for being progressive and actually taking the harder steps to improve our environment thus improving water quality. Mr. Banks stated he was approached by the Community Foundation that is starting a program called Early Learners Reading Program through the Dolly Parton Foundation and they would like to construct a little library in the space where the LOVE structure is to offer those books to the community. Council agreed to allow it. Mr. Banks stated there was some discussion at the last Council meeting regarding setting a work session in September for the ARPA funding. Mayor Reed asked Mr. Banks to send out a poll to get the best dates from Council. 9. Closed Session This was approved. 10. Adjournment At 9:14 p.m., there being no further business and on motion adopted, the meeting was adjourned. ________________________ ________________________ CITY CLERK MAYOR City of Harrisonburg Page 8 Printed on 9/6/2022 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final August 9, 2022 City of Harrisonburg Page 9 Printed on 9/6/2022