City Council

Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: September 20, 2016 -1– ______________________________________________________________________________ The regular meeting of the Petersburg City Council was held on Tuesday, September 20, 2016, at the Union Train Station. Mayor Myers called the regular meeting to order at 6:30p.m. REGULAR-SCHEDULED MEETING – 6:30 P.M. 1. ROLL CALL: Present: Council Member David R. Coleman Council Member John A. Hart, Sr. Council Member Darrin L. Hill Council Member Brian A. Moore Council Member Treska Wilson-Smith Vice Mayor Samuel Parham Mayor W. Howard Myers Absent: None Present from City Administration: Assistant City Attorney Danielle Powell Acting City Attorney Mark Flynn Acting City Manager Dironna M. Belton Clerk of Council Nykesha Jackson 2. CLOSED SESSION: No Closed Session. 3. MOMENT OF SILENCE: a. Clerk of Council, Nykesha Jackson, led council and the audience in a moment of silence. 4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: a. Clerk of Council, Nykesha Jackson, led council and the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. 5. PRESENTATION/PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS: (Each presentation will be limited to 10 minutes.) There are no items for this portion of the agenda. 6. CONSENT AGENDA: No items for this portion of the agenda. 7. OFFICIAL PUBLIC HEARINGS: (In accordance with the Rules of Council, public comment will be heard before discussion by Council. Once discussion has started, no further input from the public will be accepted. Each speaker will be limited to three (3) minutes.) a. A public hearing for a Special Use Permit pursuant to Article 23, Section 4(15) of the Zoning Ordinance to operate a nightclub, subject to certain terms and conditions at 3270 South Crater Road, T.P. 088-01-0809. The property is zoned B-2, General Commercial District.  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: September 20, 2016 -2– ______________________________________________________________________________ BACKGROUND: The property is currently being used as a restaurant, and the restaurants use will continue. The operator wants to have a portion of the building become a location where patrons can come and listen to music. The zoning ordinance has a nightclub defined as an establishment which provides entertainment , including but not limited to live bands, floor shows, comedians, solo artist or dance floor for patrons, stays open after 11:00pm, and has a capacity exceeding 100 persons. A restaurant that provides a dance floor for its patrons shall be excluded from this definition, provided, however, that the area devoted to dancing shall not exceed 250 square feet or ten percent of total floor area (exclusive of food preparations and service area), whichever is greater. A private club shall be excluded from this definition, provided attendance is limited to bonafide members of such club and bonafide guests of such members. If admission privileges to a private club are sold or otherwise permission to the general public at any time, then such club shall be classified as a nightclub and shall conform to all applicable requirements of this ordinance. The fact that the restaurant will have live entertainment along with hours past 11:00pm is what makes this a nightclub use under the zoning code. The applicant is requesting permission to host live entertainment as well as music played by a DJ and to stay open until 2 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. In addition, the applicant is requesting permission to charge admission for entry into the restaurant after normal operating hours. The bar and a limited food menu will be offered to patrons who come to hear music or live entertainment. Staff me with the applicant to explain the plans of the City of Petersburg, and conveyed to the applicant that the City would love to have recreation, entertainment and other opportunities for fun, but these uses cannot create a public safety nightmare. This use will have to be managed by the applicant and there will need to be strict enforcement of the rules and regulations of the City of Petersburg. Lt. Wills of the Administrative Services Division of the Police Department and the City’s ACE Team (Abatement, Compliance and Enforcement) have been working with Outlaws which is an existing nightclub approximately a mile South of this establishment dealing with crowd and traffic control issues which occur once the establishment closes. At the request of the Planning Commission, the Planning Director and the Zoning Administrator attended a Ward 2 Town Hall meeting held on Monday June 27, 2016, to discuss this proposal. This is the Ward in which the nightclub will be located and it was an opportunity to hear from concerned businesses and/residents. WAWA’s management was also contacted and informed that the applicant was applying for a special use permit for Plaza Mexico. The proposed changes were discussed with the Regional Manager for WAWA. The Planning Staff made WAWA aware of the June 27, 2016, Town Hall meeting if they wanted to attend and voice any concerns. There was an incident that occurred at the WAWA’s earlier this year, which witnesses reported the incident started at an event held at the Plaza Mexico Restaurant. Lt. Wills, a member of the Development Review and ACE Teams of the City of Petersburg spoke with WAWA and Outlaws, which is a nightclub (currently legally permitted) about their operation, crowd and traffic control plans. At the time Plaza Mexico was informed that they needed to obtain special permission to hold events and as a part of that permit they will be required to have off-duty security to assist them with the crowd and traffic control. Once the applicant applied for the Special Use Permit, Lt. Wills again met with the applicant and reviewed the security requirements and the number of officers required during the operating hours of 9:00pm to 2:00am. It was also explained that additional officers may be requirement depending on the type of event and the expected crowd for a particular event. The applicant has contracted with EPG Security, Inc. out of Hopewell, VA and the City of Petersburg off-duty police officers to meet the security requirements. RECOMMENDATION: Following a duly advertised public hearing, Council may affirm the  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: September 20, 2016 -3– ______________________________________________________________________________ Planning Commission recommendation, overturn the Planning Commission recommendation, table for further consideration, or return the item under consideration to the Planning Commission requesting further review. The recommendation of the Planning Commission was to deny the special use permit request with a vote of 5- 2. Michelle Peters, Director of Planning and Community Development, gave an overview of the Special Use Permit request. Ms. Jackson opened the floor for public comment. Bill Sizemore, owner of Go-Kart next to restaurant, stated that he thinks that this should be approved with very strict control. He stated that he has lighting on his side that they can use to light up the parking lot to make sure that it is clear at 2:00am. He stated that he thinks that there are a lot things that the community needs and that jobs will be reopening. He stated that the Go-Kart tracks will be reopening probably in six months. Brandon Martin, 1546 Berkeley Avenue, stated that he lived in the City for 41 years. He stated that they need to think back to what he asked them years ago to reflect on what happened at the Coppermine Café’. Linwood Christian, 410 Mistletoe Street, stated that he would honestly thought that he would never be in this City long enough when another club has the nerve to say they want to open up in Petersburg. He stated that the city has had some clubs that have pressed the last nerves of the citizens. He stated that some of them have been up and down Sycamore Street. He stated that he can say that having gone to the Coppermine they did not start having problems until they allowed the “under 25” crowd come in. He stated that there are those clubs that have done well. He stated that now with things like this come this summer 2017 there will not be recreation programs. He stated that looking at the number of jobs among other things that are fleeing the City it may rain tonight because he is agreeing with the Planning Commission. He stated that they should let the club open. He stated that they are running the citizens away from the City. He stated that looks at the problems that have been given to Ms. Parker who owns Neptune’s. He stated that there are very few things that people his age can do. He stated that most of the problems come from letting the “under 25” adults come into the clubs. He stated that there is nothing on Crater Road but Crater Road and WAWA. He stated that he has been to WAWA once when the restaurant did have something. He stated that it is not fair to blame them for what happens at WAWA. He stated to at least give them some type of hope. Vernel Gannaway, 652 Old Wagner Road, stated that he agrees that City Council should approve this. He stated that met with Mr. Sizemore many years ago when they were helping the schools to find jobs. He stated that a program was used to help the youth. He stated that it impresses him that the owner of the property approves this. He stated that he thinks that this should be considered when making the decision. Ken Pritchett, 1113 Overbrook Road, stated that a lot of times Mr. Christian has some words of wisdom. He stated that one thing that they may look at is the age limit. He stated that if they go back and look it has been the 21 year olds in these events. He stated that they should have an age restriction. He stated that there are things that need to be down in the south part of the City. He stated that there are people in the surrounding areas that can be good customers to Petersburg. He stated that the City is going through a time where people are not coming to the City. He stated that if the Planning Commission could go back and add other conditions that would state that there would be consequences if certain things happened. He stated that he would recommend approving this with added conditions. Seeing no further hands, Mrs. Harris closed the public hearing. There was discussion among City Council, staff and the petitioner.  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: September 20, 2016 -4– ______________________________________________________________________________ Council Member Hill made a motion to approve the Special Use Permit for property located at 3270 South Crater Road. The motion was seconded by Council Member Hart. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Coleman, Hart, Hill, Moore, Wilson-Smith, Parham and Myers 16-ORD-42 AN ORDINANCE TO APPROVING THE SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 3270 SOUTH CRATER ROAD. 8. PUBLIC INFORMATION PERIOD: The Public Information Period is established by the Rules of Council to hear input from City residents or owners of businesses in the City. It will last for a maximum of 30 minutes. Speakers will be called in the order that they have signed up to speak. If there are ten or fewer speakers, each shall speak for a maximum of 3 minutes. If there are more than six (6) people desiring to speak, the time allotted to each person may be adjusted or the number of speakers limited to meet the time limitation. A speaker may speak on items except those that are listed on tonight’s Council agenda. Any matter brought before the attention of the City Council during the public information period will not be acted upon by the City Council at this meeting. Brandon Martin, 1546 Berkeley Avenue, stated that he owes City Council an apology. He stated that several meetings ago he indicated that he could not find out anything on the FOIA instruction on the website. He stated that he is in error. He stated that several months ago David Hughes from Robinson Farmer and Cox Associates did a presentation on the 2015-2016 CAFR to this body and assembled citizens. He stated that City Council had copies and a few citizens had some. He stated that this document became the City’s watershed. He stated to City Council to look at the approved minutes that stated that he gave a brief overview of the text. He stated that Mr. Hughes did not read from any material. He stated that he suggested that City Council needs to amend the minutes to say what he said word for word. He stated that PMF presentation is a beginning. He stated that there should be a regular posting of the entire checks registry and reinstates the position of an internal auditor that has been missing from personnel for the past 30 years. He asked where the plan to eliminate the $18 million dollar deficit is. He stated that this was not discussed. He stated also that the entire list of all the City’s accounts payable as of June 30, 2016 should be posted. He asked what is going on with the little green shoebox that he started talking about in January. He stated that it is reported being found. He stated that it needs to be addressed. Ella Sykes, 510 N. Azalea Road, stated that she is very disgusted with Petersburg City Council. She stated that they have to know where the money is and why they are not getting retirement. She stated that they cannot sit back and say that nothing is wrong. She stated that she goes to bed every night worrying about whether they will have water the next morning. She stated that they do not know whether the trash is coming the next morning or not. She asked City Council to please give the citizens some answers. She stated that she gets sick and tired of getting up and getting the paper and sees the City in it every day. She stated that they have to get better. She stated good luck to all City Council. Mary Muckle, 2554 Century Drive, stated that since all this has been going on they have been charging her too much for her water and trash bill. She stated that she was charged one something for her water and three something for her sewer. She stated that it should not be that much. She stated that all together it is $508.65. She stated that she cannot afford to pay all of it. Linwood Christian, 410 Mistletoe Street, asked about the forensic audit. He asked about the status of it and when will it be shared with the public. He stated that it he does not want it in bits and pieces. He asked that as a result of the forensic audit will some heads roll. He asked will something be done. He stated that as one gentleman stated that they have gone through the motion of raising taxes on everything but they have not given a plan on what they are going to do or how the City will get out of the situation. He stated that this comes back to when Council Member Moore was Mayor and even before then. He stated that they have asked City  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: September 20, 2016 -5– ______________________________________________________________________________ Council time and time again for some type of financial report and that they do not get it. He stated that hopefully what they are going through would cause City Council to bring about a change. He stated that in this country deadbeat dads or parents go to jail for not taking care of their children. He stated that City Council has gotten into that deadbeat parent situation. He stated that he says this because anytime that they cut of a program that helps the young people it goes to show that they really do not care about the young people. He stated that these are the young people. He stated that they hired Tami Yerby to be the babysitter of the City and now they have yanked it and want her to do miracles. He stated that deadbeat go to jail. He stated that deadbeat moms go to jail. He stated that he knows because he had to put his son’s mom in jail. He stated that when he gained custody of his son and the mother did not want to pay child support he stated to her that she can go to 40 Henry Street. He stated that come summer 2017 and something is not done for Mrs. Yerby then the City has not seen a problem on earth yet. He stated that the young people are going to run amuck because City Council has constantly showed that they care nothing about them. He stated that he has watched many City Council Members faces when various citizens come up there and then they look like they have something to say because the citizens say something. He stated that they get irritated to when City Council as elected officials come back on the citizens in a defense mode. He stated that they forget that the citizens elected them and that they did not elect the citizens. He stated that if they did not want the job they should not have gotten out there and campaigned for it. Barb Rudolph, 1675 Mt. Vernon Street, stated that yesterday Secretary of Finance Rick Brown stated that it’s extremely important that Petersburg avoids City intercept. She stated that this will take some very careful financial management and even a little bit of luck. She stated that those on City Council who support Rochelle Small-Toney to be City Manager must not be concerned about having a skilled financial manager. She stated that Ms. Small-Toney demonstrated in Savannah that she is good at spending money on perks for herself and those she favor. She stated that this is not the type of leadership that is needed in Petersburg. She stated that some of them think that it is still a number of limited citizens paying attention to all of this and that they can be persuaded by words of attack. She stated that she knows that they realize now that this is not working. She stated that if the City has to suffer state intercept then she believes that a lot more people around the City will take notes on Social Services programs being cut back. She stated that she wants to remind them that federal programs like Social Services have a state match. She stated if the state redirects there funding share in order to make a loan payment to the Virginia Resource Authority then they don’t get the federal dollars either. She stated that this considerably amplifies the negative impact on the population. She stated that she would ask that they please keep this in mind as they deliberate. Russell Prude, owner of property in City of Petersburg, stated that he is very concerned about the property in Delectable Heights. He stated that he has problems with trees growing in the streets and the sidewalks. He stated that the gutters are flooding. He stated that he is paying taxes but his property value is going down because of the neighborhood. He stated that it is very hard for him to get a decent renter to look at the house. He stated that after they come through the neighborhood they do not want any parts of it. He stated that he realizes that the City is already short of money but that they can still clean up. He stated that he may be broke but he is going to take a bath. Patricia Miller, 1732 S. Halcun Drive, stated that she has spoken to them in the past questioning their decision making. She stated that they have all heard the report about Petersburg bills not being paid. She stated that one of the bills is the Central Virginia Waste Management. She stated that in January 2013 when their contract was under consideration she came before City Council in question of the rationale of this contract since $900,000 had been spent to buy out the existing trash collection contract. She stated that one of the justifications offered were the funds that would be received from curbside recycling. She stated that at that time she asked the question if the recycling income is being used to offset the cost of the contract buyout and if so what the projected timeline to recoup $900,000 is. She stated that here request this evening is to please share with the citizens of Petersburg how much income they have received form the curbside recycling program since the contract started. She stated that ask them again as they make decisions that impact the City and citizens to think about it. She stated to please do not make decisions based on friendship, kinship or personal  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: September 20, 2016 -6– ______________________________________________________________________________ gain. Karen Graham, 402 High Street, stated that she is speaking on the City museums and the adjustment to the budget. She stated that the tourism budget was cut down to $310,000. She stated that at Council Member Moore’s Ward Meeting on August 31st, Ms. Belton and Mr. Mann mentioned a potential partnership between the City and a private entity to keep the museums open. She stated that Ms. Belton had thought that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) would be developed between the entity and the City. She stated that she was very disappointed at the last council meeting when they voted on the budget to do a drastic reduction on tourism. She stated that there was not a mention of MOU forthcoming so that the museums would not close. She stated that she would like to know what the status of this is for a joint partnership to enable the museums to stay open. She asked are they currently closed. She asked that if they are closing the museums how do they intend to spend the $310,000. She asked will the Director of Tourism and Cultural Affairs position be eliminated. She asked what these funds will be used for. She stated that she thinks that there are some other creative ways to keep the museums open, particularly Blandford Cemetery or the Blandford Church. She asked has there been discussion with the Ladies of the Memorial Association. She stated that it can be run privately. She stated that in a town in Mississippi that is no bigger than Petersburg they have buildings in similar condition. She stated that they have a lot of historical areas. She stated that they have a small, short riverfront area that the City should be tapping. She stated that they have a tight partnership with the national park service. She stated that the house museums people come and regular attend and pay $20 and $30 for a house ticket to come in. She stated that they should think about increasing the charge for the City museum. She stated that they are well worth more than the $5 admission. She stated that she would like to speak on the water bill next. She stated that she is astounded that they are being told that water billing has been corrected. She stated that it has not been corrected. She stated that duplicate bills came out last month. She asked how with the current financial situation the City cannot afford to be sending out duplicate bills. She stated that the fact that the billing amount is still not accurate. She stated that her bills are not accurate. She asked how much is the forensic audit going to cost and where do they expect the money to come from to pay for the audit. She stated that she knows that it is desperately needed. Raymond Crockett, 248 Southwood Drive, stated that he was present in May and that he made a comment as being a business person. He stated that City Council has to make a business decision. He stated that he asked them to call all the department heads in and let them know that everyone’s job is on the line because of the budget crisis that the City is in. He stated that they know that if you run a business and there is no income coming in there has to be a lay-off. He stated that they need to be honest with the employees. He stated they do not want them to know in November and layoff in December around Christmas time. He stated that if they would have dealt with this in May they had six months to do something before Christmas got here. He stated that the employees could have been looking for another job. He stated that he understands that the City is looking for another City Manager. He stated that the Acting City Manager is doing a good job. He stated that she brought the state in to get support. He stated that this young lady should be looked at very close before they go outside and see what they have outside and see what somebody bypassed in North Carolina what she did in Georgia. He stated that this young lady has been working day and night trying to turn the City around. He stated that every time something comes up they run to the Acting City Manager. He stated that they should think outside the box. 9. BUSINESS OR REPORTS FOR/FROM THE MAYOR OR OTHER MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL: a. Consideration of approval of Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund Application. BACKGROUND: The Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund were established to promote the restoration and redevelopment of brownfield sites and to address environmental problems or obstacle to reuse, so that these properties can be effectively marketed to new economic development prospects.  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: September 20, 2016 -7– ______________________________________________________________________________ RECOMMENDATION: Recommend City Council approves authorization for Department of Economic Development to apply for Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund and permit the Acting City Manager to sign the grant application. There was discussion among City Council and staff. Vice Mayor Parham made a motion to approve the authorization for Department of Economic Development to apply for Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund and permit the Acting City Manager to sign the grant application. The motion was seconded by Council Member Hart. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Coleman, Hart, Hill, Moore, Wilson- Smith, Parham and Myers b. Consideration of re/appointments to the Economic Development Authority. BACKGROUND: The Economic Development Authority consists of 7 members appointed by City Council. The duties of the board include, but are not limited to, the following: The Authority shall have the powers to acquire, own lease, and dispose of properties. Such authority may be able to promote industry and develop trade by inducting manufacturing, industrial, governmental and commercial enterprises to locate in or remain in the Commonwealth and further the use of its agricultural products and natural resources; to issue its bonds for the purpose of carrying out any of its powers. RECOMMENDATION: Recommend Council make an appointment to the Economic Development Authority. Vice Mayor Parham made a motion to replace Wilbert Bland with Winston T. Sanders on the Economic Development Authority. The motion was seconded by Council Member Hill. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Coleman, Hart, Hill, Moore, Wilson-Smith, Parham and Myers 16-R-50 A RESOLUTION APPOINTING WINSTON T. SANDERS TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY FOR A TERM ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2020. Council Member Moore made a motion to reappoint Robert Guirdy to the Economic Development Authority. The motion was seconded by Council Member Coleman. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Coleman, Hart, Hill, Moore, Wilson-Smith, Parham and Myers 16-R-51 A RESOLUTION REAPPOINTING ROBERT GUIRDY TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY FOR A TERM ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2020. Council Member Wilson-Smith gave a PowerPoint presentation regarding PFM recommendations. She stated that it is her desire and plans to bring back these items to City Council at the next City Council meeting for consideration in the form of a motion. Council Member Hart stated that back in April City Council made a motion to formulate a committee. He stated that he would like to see this getting started to set up somewhere in the mid October range. He stated that this is for the audit committee. He stated that it was already motioned and approved as stated. He asked what the status on the forensic audit update is. He asked whether they are moving forward with this. He stated that prior to coming on City Council he knows that the City had an agreement with the school system to meet twice a year. He stated that they only met once this year. He asked when the next meeting will be. He stated that his final thing is to establish Standing Committees. He stated with the Standing Committees it helps them structure things that are going on in the City. He stated that it gives them structure to increase efficiency in the  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: September 20, 2016 -8– ______________________________________________________________________________ way that they do business in the City. He stated that he believes that if the City had an audit committee, finance committee and other committees throughout the City some of the issues the City may not be addressing today. He stated that he is asking that they look forward to standing committees and get this moving in the right direction to help them as a City. Council Member Hart made a motion to establish a Standing Committee in the City of Petersburg. The motion was seconded by Council Member Hill. There was discussion among City Council Members. *Motion pulled from floor. Council Member Moore stated that they had the first Citizenry Committee last Tuesday. He thanked Council Member Wilson-Smith. He stated that they had a great turnout. He stated to Council Member Hart that they did not have a representative from Ward 7 present. Council Member Hart stated that he finally got a response back and that the person will be Karen Geter. Council Member Moore stated that the committee did chose a chair and vice chair. He stated that Annie Mickens is the Chair and Ron Flock is the Vice Chair. Council Member Moore thanked Mr. Flock that was present at the meeting for being on the committee. He stated that Mr. Flynn and the Deputy City Attorney gave a great discussion on the charter and some legal items. He stated that they will be meeting every other Tuesday. He stated that they have a nice group and that this is a good chance for people to come out. He stated that the next meeting will be on September 28, 2016 at 6:30pm at the train station. He stated that he was just informed by the City Attorney that they meetings may be at the transit station. He stated that Ms. Jackson will make sure that the information gets out once confirmed. He stated that they will email everyone as well. He stated that he has a question about the budget. He stated that when they went through with the high school there was $12 million dollars in discussion. He stated that the City took a half of a cent off of the meals tax and that it is supposed to be 7.5%. He stated it is $150,000 there. He stated that he has questions in regard to the motion on Southside Virginia Emergency Crew and the fire station with personnel. He stated that this was amended but that there was no source of funds. Ms. Belton stated that the budget had to be amended by the $183,000 for the Southside Virginia Emergency Crew. She stated that the $150,000 was for the change in the half percentage. She stated that the fire department reduction was taken not from the closing of the fire house but the reduction in administration personnel. She stated that they are approximately at the goal as well. Council Member Hill thanked the citizens of Ward 2 for coming out to the town hall meeting on last week. He stated that he would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Newsome, Schools Superintendent and Ms. Belton. He stated that he would like to also thank Atiba Muse, Bishop Jeffrey Reeves and their staff. He stated that he would like to make a motion as well regarding the hiring process for the City Manager. He stated that he request that the City Attorney with support from the City’s purchasing staff to secure through competitive negotiation with written request from proposal with ethical law service and executive search firm specializing in the government sector for the search of City Manager. Council Member Hill made a motion to request that the City Attorney with support from the City’s purchasing staff to secure through competitive negotiation with written request from proposal with ethical law service and executive search firm specializing in the government sector for the search of City Manager. The motion was seconded by Council Member Hart. There was discussion among City Council Members.  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: September 20, 2016 -9– ______________________________________________________________________________ The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Coleman, Hart, Hill, Moore, Wilson- Smith, Parham and Myers. Council Member Hill made a motion to deduct only 10% from the City Assessor and the City Manager salary in accordance with the citywide employee cuts. The motion was seconded by Council Member Coleman. There was discussion among City Council Members and City staff. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Coleman, Hart, Hill, Wilson-Smith, Parham and Myers; Voting No: Moore Vice Mayor Parham stated that he has concerns about what has been going on with the fire hydrants issue. He asked Ms. Belton where they are in servicing the fire hydrants today. Ms. Belton stated that fire hydrant maintenance continues to be done for over 1,700 fire hydrants that are in the City since August 2nd when she received the memo. She stated that there have been over 300 that have been maintenanced. She stated that this has been since August 2nd when they implemented the maintenance program which had not been in existence or performed since 1990 or 1996. She stated that they have begun to maintenance the fire hydrants. She stated that she has attached for City Council’s records a breakdown of the maintenance inspection that the utilities department performed. She stated that the maintenance inspection involves flushing hydrants of debris and performing statics to insure if there is leakage then they will repair it. She stated that they have been greasing and painting the hydrants if necessary and that grass and weeds near the hydrants are being taken care of so that the hydrants are visible. Vice Mayor Parham asked Ms. Belton if this effort is by public works or between public works and fire. Ms. Belton stated that the maintenance has been performed by the utility department. She stated that the fire department did volunteer and have been asked to assist to speed things up. She stated that at this time they have not contributed to helping. She stated that they are looking to reassess this so that they can get all 1,700 done. Vice Mayor Parham stated that this is a public safety issue and that he thinks that they need all hands on deck in correcting this issue. He asked how they can get all the firemen involved in getting these 1,700 hydrants done. He stated that they are not even at halfway yet and that they have to get this done as soon as possible. He asked Ms. Belton if she can bring fire into this or do she need a motion to do so. Ms. Belton stated that she can direct it. Mayor Myers stated that Woodley and Flynn’s total bill for 53 and three and a half hours for JCI and 49 hours. He stated that the contract states that for bills over 40 hours are asked for a motion to approve June bill. Mayor Myers made a motion to approve for payment to Woodley and Flynn for their total bill. The motion was seconded Vice Mayor Parham. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Coleman, Hart, Hill, Wilson-Smith, Parham and Myers; Voting No: Moore 10. CITY MANAGER’S AGENDA: a. City Manager’s Report  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: September 20, 2016 - 10 – ______________________________________________________________________________ Ms. Belton gave a briefing of the State of the City since March of 2016 in a written report. There was discussion among City Council Members and staff. 11. CLERK OF CITY COUNCIL'S AGENDA: No items for this portion of the agenda. 12. CITY ATTORNEY’S AGENDA: Mr. Flynn stated that the Citizenry Committee had their first meeting. He stated that he thinks that they are going to see the committee working seriously on changes and recommended changes. He stated that he thinks that there four more meetings left. He stated that City Council will in November have the opportunity to take a look at the changes that they recommend. He stated that City Council’s timetable is very short if they choose to ask for amendments for the 2017 session of the General Assembly. He stated that it would need to be by the City’s patron by December 1, 2016. He stated that the committee seems to bite into it very seriously. 13. CLOSED SESSION (IF NECESSARY): Acting City Attorney Mark Flynn, stated that it was City Council’s desire to enter into a closed session under Section 2.2-3711.A (1) of the Code of Virginia under Subsection 1 regarding personnel matters of City Manager and City Attorney; under Subsection 1 for specific performance of public officials or appointees ; under Subsection 3 for 20 West Tabb Street and a possible lease of museum space; and under Subsection 7 to consult with legal counsel and briefings by staff members pertaining to probable litigation regarding regional utilities. Vice Mayor Parham moved that the City Council go into closed session for the purposes noted by the Acting City Attorney. The motion was seconded by Council Member Coleman. There was no discussion on the motion, which was approved on roll call vote. On roll call vote, voting yes: Coleman, Hart, Hill, Moore, Wilson-Smith, Parham and Myers City Council entered closed session at 8:50 p.m. CERTIFICATION: Council Member Hill made a motion to return City Council into open session. The motion was seconded by Council Member Hart. There was no discussion on the motion, which was approved on roll call vote. On roll call vote, voting yes: Coleman, Hart, Hill, Moore, Wilson-Smith, Parham and Myers Vice Mayor Parham made a motion to certify the purposes of the closed session. The motion was seconded by Council Member Hill. There was no discussion on the motion, which was approved on roll call vote. On roll call vote, voting yes: Coleman, Hart, Hill, Moore, Wilson-Smith, Parham and Myers 16-R-52 A RESOLUTION CERTIFYING, AS REQUIRED BY THE CODE OF VIRGINIA, SECTION 2.2- 3712, THAT TO THE BEST OF EACH MEMBER’S KNOWLEDGE, ONLY PUBLIC BUSINESS MATTERS LAWFULLY EXEMPTED FROM OPEN MEETING REQUIREMENTS OF VIRGINIA LAW WERE DISCUSSED IN THE CLOSED SESSION, AND ONLY SUCH PUBLIC BUSINESS MATTERS AS WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE MOTION CONVENING THE CLOSED  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: September 20, 2016 - 11 – ______________________________________________________________________________ SESSION WERE HEARD, DISCUSSED, OR CONSIDERED. 14. ADJOURNMENT: City Council adjourned at 9:41p.m. _________________________ Clerk of City Council APPROVED: _________________________ Mayor