City Council

Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: May 1, 2018 -1– ______________________________________________________________________________ The regular meeting of the Petersburg City Council was held on Tuesday, May 1, 2018, at the Union Train Station. Mayor Parham called the meeting to order at 6:30p.m. 1. ROLL CALL: Present: Council Member Charles H. Cuthbert, Jr Council Member Annette Smith-Lee Council Member Treska Wilson-Smith Council Member Darrin Hill Council Member W. Howard Myers Vice Mayor John A. Hart, Sr. Mayor Samuel Parham Absent: None Present from City Administration: City Manager Aretha R. Ferrell-Benavides City Attorney Joseph E. Preston Clerk of Council Nykesha D. Jackson, CMC 2. PRAYER: Mayor Parham stated, “Now at this time I would like to ask Reverend Kassandra Bullock, Associate Minister of Third Baptist Church to come up to lead us in our opening council prayer.” Reverend Bullock led the City in prayer. 3. CLOSED SESSION: No closed session items. 4. MOMENT OF SILENCE: a. Clerk of Council, Nykesha D. Jackson, led council and the audience in a moment of silence. 5. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: a. Clerk of Council, Nykesha D. Jackson, led council and the audience in the pledge of allegiance. 6. DETERMINATION OF THE PRESENCE OF A QUORUM: Ms. Jackson stated that all City Council Members are present for a quorum. Mayor Parham stated, “For tonight’s Positive Petersburg story, I would like extend a major thank you and job well done to Deputy City Manager for Community Affairs, Ms. Darnetta Tyus. As chairman of the Chief Elected Officials Consortium I am charged of leading the commission of blueprint for developing a sound workforce for the City of Petersburg and our surrounding region. Through the consortium and the deputy city manager’s office this past Friday we kicked off Petersburg Works Pilot Program. This is pilot program is committed to preparing Petersburg residents for employment and connecting them to job and career opportunities. The end goal is to help residents become job ready, and to help them secure long-term employment. This is through unique partnerships with community organizations. The kickoff took place at Pathways here in Petersburg and included remarks from our City Manager, Senator Rosalyn Dance and even a special guest speaker. Thank you, Ms. Tyus, for your team’s dedication to Petersburg’s Workforce Development, which is a key piece to development in the City of Petersburg. Thank you.”  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: May 1, 2018 -2– ______________________________________________________________________________ 7. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS/PRESENTATION OF CEREMONIAL PROCLAMATIONS: (Each presentation will be limited to 10 minutes.) a. Presentation designating May 13-19, 2018, as National Police Week, and May 16, 2018, a Peace Officers Memorial Day. BACKGROUND: National Police Week, which occurs each year during the week in which May 15th falls, recognizes the service and sacrifice of U.S. law enforcement. Established by a joint Resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others. National Police Week is a collaborative effort of many organizations dedicated to honoring America’s law enforcement community. Principal organizers of National Police Week are: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), which sponsors the annual Candlelight Vigil at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial; Fraternal Order of Police/Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary (FOP/FOPA), which organize the Peace Officers Memorial Day Service at the U.S. Capitol; and Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), which holds the National Police Survivors’ Conference. RECOMMENDATION: Mayor Parham read and present a proclamation. Mayor Parham read the proclamation out loud. Mayor Parham stated, “A round of applause please for our Petersburg Police Officers. Thank you, guys.” b. Proclamation for Senior Kappa Week (May 14-19, 2018) in the City of Petersburg. BACKGROUND: See proclamation RECOMMENDATION: Recommend Mayor read proclamation. Mayor Parham read the proclamation out loud and presented it to the Senior Kappa member. James Norman, Senior Kappa, stated, “I am Jim Norman and I am the President of the Petersburg Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated. It is indeed a pleasure and an honor to receive this proclamation. Our chapter works very hard to uplift the Petersburg community to help our youth and I think a few weeks ago you did recognize our Kappa League Program. We want to let you know that we are going to continue to do the hard work and heavy lifting that is needed to ensure that our City goes forward. Again, you mentioned in the proclamation that the Senior Brothers are the brothers that have reached the age of 60 or older. But you may notice that some of us are wearing white jackets. And the white jackets signify that the brothers have been members of Kappa Alpha Psi for at least 50 years. So again, thank you very much. All of our brothers could not get here but you can rest assure that this will go into our archives. Thank you.” A Proclamation to Observe May 2018 as Business Appreciation Month. BACKGROUND: The City is wishes to observe May 2018 as Business Appreciation Month, in so doing, the City will highlight and host events throughout the month that support and acknowledge the contributions of local businesses to the Petersburg community. RECOMMENDATION: Mayor Parham read and present a proclamation. Mayor Parham read the proclamation out loud and presented it. Reggie Tabor, Project Manager of Economic Development, stated, “We have Shawn Nicholson, a  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: May 1, 2018 -3– ______________________________________________________________________________ board member of the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce here with us today. I wanted to let you know that we have more than 1,000 business licenses issued by the City of Petersburg each year. And more than 800 of those are certified and registered with the Virginia Employment Commission. Business Appreciation Month is an opportunity for us to say thank you to those who open and operate business in Petersburg. And we thank many members of our City Council who are business owners here in the City of Petersburg. During the month we will highlight several activities. Tonight, May 1st, the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce hosted ‘Pop Up Business Working’ at Wabi Sabi from 5:30pm-7:30pm. It was an opportunity to meet the new chamber president and CEO, Thaddeus Huff. On May 4th at 5:00pm, at 433 North Market Street there will be a ribbon cutting for Shut YO Mouf Soul food. On May 12th, from 12pm to 4pm, is the ‘Taste of Old Towne’, a walking food tour of restaurants. And the tickets are $25 that can be purchased at Wabi Sabi and Dj’s Rajun Cajun and other participating restaurants. During the month there will be also business training opportunities of free entrepreneur express workshops sponsored by the Virginia Small Business and Supplier Diversity Department. That will be on May 15th from 12;30pm to 5:00pm at the Petersburg Public Library. There will be a free maximize eva for your workshop on May 22nd from 10:30am to 1:00pm and also 2:30pm to 5:00pm at the Petersburg Public Library. There will be a free swimming through swam, which is small woman in minority owned firm, workshop on June 1st, from 10am to 12pm and from 3pm to 5pm at the Petersburg Public Library. We will post all of this information on the City’s website if any is wanting to participate and they will have an opportunity to participate. c. A Proclamation to Observe May 2018 as Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month. BACKGROUND: Last year, Governors around the country supported the cause, including those from New Jersey, Virginia, Arkansas, Illinois, and Tennessee, among others. NF is classified as a rare disease and for the community to learn of such absolute support from their City goes a long way to increasing knowledge of a cause that deserves attention – and a cure. Proclamations are one component of a larger campaign that extends across the country, on- and offline, and include our popular “Shine a Light on NF” campaign, which is a grassroots initiative bringing awareness into the community by lighting up buildings, bridges and monuments in blue and green. RECOMMENDATION: Recommend Mayor Parham read and present the proclamation designating May as Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month. Mayor Parham read the proclamation out loud and presented it to Teresa Williams. Teresa Williams stated, “I would like to thank you all. I am the chair for the Virginia NF Walk. My daughter Mariah has Neurofibromatosis (NF) and she was diagnosed with this. It is a little more popular than what people think. We thank you all for bringing awareness to our genetic disorder. This month we wear blue and green for NF Awareness Month. Thank you.” d. Recognition for Rashard Seaborne Vice Mayor Hart stated, “I would like the family of Rashard Seaborne to come forward. As I do pretty much every month I find someone within the ward to present a certificate of appreciation or recognition. For this month, I have decided on Rashard J. Seaborne. He is a student at the governor’s school. I’m sorry he is a Maggie Walker. He is an honor student there and he is doing well in his community. The certificate reads, ‘In appreciation of your commitment and dedication to your education, I present you this certificate of recognition on behalf of the City of Petersburg. Your commitment to excellence within your education is recognized as you continue to grow within your educational journey. I ask that you keep making your parents and City proud. Presented this First day of May, 2018. Signed by myself, John Hart.’” Rashard J. Seaborne, student, stated, “Thank you.” 8. COMMUNICATIONS/SPECIAL REPORTS: a. Enterprise and Special Funds Budget Work Session  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: May 1, 2018 -4– ______________________________________________________________________________ BACKGROUND: The FY 2018-2019 budget was presented on April 3, 2018, at the regular City Council Meeting. Staff will now provide City Council with an in-depth review of the proposed Enterprise and Special revenues and expenditures. City Council Members will also have an opportunity to ask questions ahead of adopting the proposed budgets. RECOMMENDATION: For informational purposes only. Robert Floyd, Director of Budget and Procurement, gave a PowerPoint presentation on the Enterprise and Special Funds Budget Work Session. There was discussion among City Council and staff. b. City Manager’s Report Mrs. Benavides stated, “Mayor and Council you have received a copy of my memo of report. I just want to highlight the first thing on the list that I would like to talk about is that one of the things that we have is that Council Member Cuthbert and I have discussing this for a while is to reestablish the board of sinking fund commissioners. This is an appointment that comes from council for commissions. Their responsible for the disposition of charges paid for the perpetual care fund. One of the request that we have for council is to, if possible, to vote on moving forward in working with Ms. Jackson to reestablish this commission. In your memo is a description of the legislation that establishes what we are allowed to do and utilize. It should come with an investment policy and also allows us for the upkeep of the Blandford Cemetery. That was one of the main items that we needed your assistance on in reestablishing that. And Mr. Cuthbert may have some more information if you would like to add to my comments.” Council Member Cuthbert stated, “Well thank you. This is something that I think is a concern of all members of council. And it is important from the prospective of the cemetery itself as well as the general fund for the City of Petersburg because we cannot legally transfer the income from the perpetual care trust fund to the general fund until the transfer is directed by the Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners. And we do not have a Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners. Does the administration need any direction from council or are you pursuing the reestablishment of the Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners without any encouragement from council?” Mrs. Benavides stated, “I will ask Ms. Jackson for guidance as she manages boards and commissions.” Ms. Jackson stated, “There can be a motion to establish the board again but even if you establish it tonight you still have to come up with terms, how many members will be on the board and things of that nature.” Council Member Cuthbert stated, “What if we moved tonight to instruct the administration to explore reestablishing the commission and report back to council in a month. I know that you have the budget front and center so maybe a month is too soon.” Mrs. Benavides stated, “No because this effects our budget and this is very important because one of the options we have is grass maintenance and things like that. We are not able to use any of those funds there based on not having this commission. Legally not able to use this space and or not having this commission established. If we can work with Ms. Jackson and begin to see if it has not been established in the past then we can reestablish. So, what we need you to do is to reestablish it and then we bring back the other information pertaining to members to the next meeting and say how many members and then we can advertise and say how many applications for this.” Council Member Cuthbert made a motion to instruct the administration to explore reestablishing the Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners and report the administration findings to council at our first meeting in June. The motion was seconded by Council Member Wilson-Smith. The motion was approved on roll call. On  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: May 1, 2018 -5– ______________________________________________________________________________ roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert, Smith-Lee, Wilson-Smith, Myers, Hill, Hart and Parham Mrs. Benavides stated, “Next on my agenda is just an update and you may have received a message, we have been working for the past two weeks on Wythe and Guarantee Street on the final phases of repair. What we have issued to date to customers is a water conservation request. That is because we are at the most entrechat part of the process. We are just trying to make sure that we get this done. As we have mentioned to you before that this is an intersection of many lines and Mrs. Innis and her team has been working to fix this. We have had a leak for a number of years and due to the businesses, there we have had to limit are work on it because we didn’t want to intervene it. We have worked with the local business there to redirect traffic but our goal is to close this project out. So, I want to thank Mrs. Innis for that but just want to let the residents know that it is not a boil notice it’s just a conservation because we have to shut the line down to work on it. Also, on my list just an update to council, we applied to be part of the opportunity zone and we were actually selected. The Virginia Governor, Ralph Northam announced out of the nation 212 opportunity zones with the U.S. Department of Treasurer. Council Member Myers called us up and said make sure that we were participating. Mr. Reginald Tabor worked with our team and with the state team to apply three zones in Petersburg that were included in nominations by the Governor for the federal government for the opportunity. We are excited about that and just wanted to give you information on that update. Last and certainly not least there are certain things on the list in which one of the things that we have established with our community affairs office is called our ‘Ambassador’s Table.’ As you look to the back where Ms. Johnson is sitting is one of the things come for is they have questions and the come to you for questions but we don’t actually respond to questions. So, what we have set up is that at every council meeting from now on is at the back of the room what we call an ‘Ambassadors Table.’ It’s a place where they can come to not only obtain information but can talk to someone regarding some of the challenges that they have regarding their water utility issues or other issues. We have a way of capturing that information on the spot. A staff member will always staff this at every meeting from this point on and I want to thank our team for pulling this together. I think that this will at least give someone and folks who come and participate in the council meetings a way of receiving information. And that concludes my presentation. Thank you.” Council Member Wilson-Smith requested an update on the fire hydrants at the next City Council meeting. Mrs. Benavides stated, “One additional item and I just thought about and it’s not on my list, at our last meeting we discussed having a public hearing today on the public schools. Unfortunately, we were struggling with what we needed to publish in the newspaper. And now we discovered that all we had to say was that we were holding it. We did not have that in time so therefore it is not on the agenda. So, we will publish it so when we do our first hearing on the budget we will have the hearing also with the school district at our next meeting. I believe that one of the request that we have for you is a motion to reschedule the public hearing for schools until the May 15th council meeting. Council Member Myers made a motion to reschedule the meeting to May 15th. The motion was seconded by Council Member Hill. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert, Smith-Lee, Wilson-Smith, Myers, Hill, Hart and Parham c. City Treasurer Ken Pritchett, City Treasurer, stated, “Thank you members of council. Thank you for letting me slide in and give a brief report from the Treasurer’s Office. I would first off would like to invite all of you to visit the treasurer’s office as well as the City Manager. Since I have been there I have not seen any of you come. You have made a lot of changes to the office and I think some of them might have needed discussion. You know where the office is and I would love to see you there. I noticed at the last meeting that there was some procedure interest in how the treasurer’s office makes deposits. We get each cashier’s box brought over to the treasurer’s office between 8:40am-9:00am. So that work is processed and if there is a mistake from one of the cashier’s it is now going back to the cashier to correct that. The concern seems to have been whether the deposits were happening. Let me tell you how this was happening. Every check that comes over from the cashier that morning is deposited in the bank that day. All the cash, every piece of cash, is counted to make  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: May 1, 2018 -6– ______________________________________________________________________________ sure that it balances with the cashier. The cash is picked up by an armored truck and taken to SunTrust Bank and is deposited in our account the next morning because it’s a weekend and they are closed. So that’s how that part of it works. So, we make sure that everything that is sent to us is put in the bank. I think that Councilwoman Wilson-Smith asked about that procedure.” There was discussion among City Council and the City Treasurer, Ken Pritchett. Mr. Pritchett was asked to come and give updates once a month at the council meetings. 9. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA (to include minutes of previous meeting/s) a. Minutes: Regular City Council Meeting: April 17, 2018, Special Meeting: April 23, 2018 Council Member Myers made a motion to accept the Consent Agenda. The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Hart. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert, Smith-Lee, Wilson-Smith, Myers, Hill, Hart and Parham 10. OFFICIAL PUBLIC HEARINGS: a. A public hearing for the proposed uses of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for the 2018-2019 program year. BACKGROUND: Petersburg, Virginia is an entitlement jurisdiction for the annual receipt of CDBG funds from HUD. This requires the submission of an Annual Plan for the proposed uses of the funds to be received in 2018-2019. Funds may be used to address one or more of the three national objectives for the program: Benefit of low and moderate-income persons, aid in the Prevention or removal of blight or urgent needs. On the local level a request must fall within one or more of the priorities established by City Council to be considered for funding. The local priorities are: 1st Priority - City projects that support the City’s Revitalization Strategy for the stabilization and/or enhancement of its residential and commercials environments and may encourage further investment by others. These projects may include infrastructure projects/drainage, streets and roadway improvements, sidewalks, curb & gutter, and streetscapes, residential rehabilitation and others. 2nd Priority - Public facilities that support the City’s Revitalization Strategy for the stabilization and/or enhancement of residential and/or commercial environments and may encourage further investment by others. These may include facilities owned by private not for profit agencies open to the public. These may include recreation centers, tennis courts, ball fields, museums, theaters, health clinics and others. This category does not include program activities which may be operated at these locations. 3rd Priority - Planning activities of a general planning nature which is not directly related to a project, such as a playground, recreation center or any capital project. This category would include strategic planning, preparation of a comprehensive plan, neighborhood plans, commercial development plans, visioning plans, revitalization plans and others. Planning activities are subject to the HUD statutory 20% cap for administration & planning. Because the City uses most of these funds for administration, little is available for this purpose. Project related planning is eligible as a project cost, but must be specific such as planning for the development of a particular use. Eligibility is based on the end use of the funds, planning for a project, in and of itself, is not eligible unless the project is built or constructed. 4th Priority – Public Services which may include City or private non-profit services to low and moderate- income persons or families. These may include services for the elderly, youth, the homeless and others. This category is subject to the HUD 15% cap. In addition, because the City’s costs for administration and planning  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: May 1, 2018 -7– ______________________________________________________________________________ is capped at 20% this policy applies to the use of funds for public services as well. In addition, these funds are not available on an ongoing operational basis. RECOMMENDATION: City Council has the authority to approve the allocations. Staff offers the following recommendations for the use of CDBG funds for 2018-2019, which includes the allocation of $585,562 estimated to be received in 2018-2019. If the 2018-2019 allocation is more or less than the 2017- 2018 funding, allocations will be reduced or increased accordingly on a pro-rated basis. Project Request Advisory Staff Board Recommended Recommende d Proposals Recommended for Funding Public Services 1. YMCA 30,000 30,000 30,000 2.CARES 59,000 30,000 30,000 3.HOPE Center 65,466 15,000 0 4.Serenity 25,000 5,000 0 Public Facilities 5. Freedom Support Center 25,000 0 0 Housing 6. Rebuilding Together 50,000 25,000 25,000 7. Project Homes 195,000 150,000 170,000 8. Code Enforcement 230,000 100,000 100,000 9. Sycamore Towers Rehabilitation 250,000 0 0 Infrastructure 10. N. Whitehill Sewer 130,000 130,000 130,000 Replacement Administration & Planning 11. CDBG Program Administration 100,000 100,562 100,562 Total Recommended Funding 585,562 585,562 Michelle Peters, Director of Planning & Community Development, gave a brief PowerPoint presentation describing the local priorities of CDBG funds. Ms. Jackson opened the floor for public comment. Dr. Cheryl Riggins, Executive Director of C.A.R.E.S., stated, “I certainly appreciate this opportunity to stand before you and even more appreciate to have the support that you show to C.A.R.E.S. I am especially grateful to our Mayor, the Honorable Mayor Hart, who shared with us last Thursday our celebration of 35 years of service to the community. We have certainly been fortunate of that just as Mr. Cuthbert said we are struggling. We continue to struggle as well. We appreciate what we have been given. I want to give just a little bit of the data and information to assure that you do understand that the funding that we ask for certainly is much needed at this time. We are finding more children in the shelter. Just to share with you last year, CARES provided 4,507 nights of shelter to all of those people who are eligible to attend. Of that number we provided 2,190 nights to residents of Petersburg. There were 57 women and 66 children. This year, FY2018, and just up to January we have almost reached that point. We have provided 2,950 nights of shelter accounting for 1,112 women and 1,838 nights for children. And Petersburg we have almost reached what we did for the entire year last year. We have provided 1,228 nights of shelter to residents of Petersburg just up to January. Forty of those nights were for children and 46 for women and one for a senior providing services for 41 households. Basically, as we continue to do the services and provide for the homeless we are trying to strengthen our program for children. We are finding that we have some of the needs that we did not need to be accountable for before. And with more children coming we have to make sure that they are safe and that they have what they need to go to school with. We have been truly fortunate and blessed with the level of support that we have received from the community. And I think that was one of the things that we were able to share on last Thursday. We  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: May 1, 2018 -8– ______________________________________________________________________________ have gotten a huge amount of support from the faith community and for that we are grateful. I thank you all for your allocation of funds for us and we are going to continue to be there to serve those in need in the City. Thank you again.” Dr. George W.C. Lyons, President of Downtown Churches United (DCU) and HOPE Center, stated, “Mr. Mayor, Mr. Vice Mayor and Member of Council I stand to speak on behalf of the Downtown Churches United and HOPE Center. I am joined by several of our staff and members and we ask that you reconsider the recommendation of $0 CDBG funds. The mission of the HOPE Center is a very unique mission unlike any other in the City. It is to alleviate hunger in this City one household at a time. We feed the City’s hunger Monday through Friday. There are other services that we do that we assist with utilities and we provide over 13,000 volunteer hours so that we have partnerships that expand to Central Virginia. Children and vulnerable citizens tend to be a significant focus if I were to use for instance October 2017 statistics. Out of the 340 households that we served we children in those households of 17 years old and under. Also from that October 2017 report 158 children in the month of October for 2017 received a meal on a Monday through Friday at the HOPE Center. That was not a summer vacation time, it was a time that I am sure that school was in session and some of these children were students and they had to receive a meal. Overhead is a significant part of any entity particular nonprofit but every available dollar goes to feed someone in this City who is in need. So, we ask that you reconsider and fund the HOPE Center. We revitalize lives in Petersburg. We help to stabilize homes in Petersburg. Our mission is to elevate 800 with one person in one household at a time and we ask that you assist us through the CDBG funds. Thank you.” Scott Fisher, Executive Director of HOPE Center, stated, “Just tagging on to what Dr. Lyons said. The HOPE Center is our fiscal property of 10,000 square feet at 827 Commerce Street. And it is a beehive of charity trust me. There are 31-member churches of DCU which support us and refer their people to us for food, utilities and for feeding. We have a food pantry in addition to the feeding that we do Monday through Friday. We have 3,400 volunteers that go and pick up 210,000 pounds of food and bring it to the HOPE Center each year. Drivers who give their own time and own gas and their own to come and bring that food to us. We have numbers of charitable organizations that come to the HOPE Center to do that volunteer work that keeps us going. We have area schools and children who come into the HOPE Center and see HOPE in action and they see what happens when we feed those who are in need. We provide firsthand experience to children as to what is going on in this City and where the needs are. So, I am here to ask you to reinstate the $15,000 that the staff decided that we didn’t need. But we do need help to keep the overheard going. Personnel is 14% of the total cost. It is $500,000 a year to run the center and that includes all the donated food. It’s not going to people because people are volunteering and they are not getting paid. We pay for a bookkeeper and someone to look things over during lunch time. So, we just want you to help us out with that overhead by reinstating the money that the staff cut out that the advisor board said that we shouldn’t have. I thank you for listening.” Willie Noise, 1508 Circle Drive, stated, “I have two things. One was the HOPE Center and I heard him say Commerce Street. Is that the old Titmus Building? Okay. I have eaten there several times and I was just impressed with the food, the menu and how they gathered all the people that come and treat them. That area for something like this to be going on is a great honor for Petersburg. But on the same hand I was looking at the Freedom Support Center. This thing is touchy because it is a priority thing and how you get on to be priority is something that you have to put a lot of thought in but as far as I think there has been a military and there wasn’t a Freedom Support Center here in Petersburg. Now we have it and for the advisory board and it should be whoever that compose of should be a member of the military. A retiree or something. Someone that is compassion to the military. And going back as far as the draft. Military personnel, people, and I don’t think it’s fair for the Freedom Support Center to be kicked around like that with the advisory board and the staff voting for $0. I mean if you are going to talk the talk then walk the walk but you are not walking the walk. The Freedom Support Center there are kids and that there are just so many things that the government has failed to provide for young soldiers and retirees who are broken down. This thing is a little serious and in Petersburg we have to set an example and it starts right here with the council and not only the council but the audience and the citizens of Petersburg. You all make me think that you really didn’t appreciate me doing two tours in Vietnam and retired out of the military. There are a lot of people that get out of the military with a dishonorable discharge. And the military is no joke. Thank you.”  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: May 1, 2018 -9– ______________________________________________________________________________ Richard Stewart, 129 Rolfe Street, stated, “I don’t know what I am talking about but I will ask the question. I saw that the Sycamore Street Towers was a quarter of a million dollars to zero. What about Pecan Acres and Pin Oaks and the crime down there and Croaton. I don’t understand what is this money for. Is this money to rebuild this place. What does the grant do? What is the quarter million dollars? Is this supposed to improve the people life when it comes to poor people? How will this improve? What did they ask for quarter million dollars for Sycamore Towers for? Can somebody explain that to me? Seeing no further hands, Ms. Jackson closed the public comments. There was discussion among City Council and staff. Council Member Smith-Lee made a motion that the Freedom Support Center gets $25,000 and HOPE Center gets $10,000 and to take it from “Project Homes.” There was discussion on the motion. Council Member Wilson-Smith made a substitute motion to give the HOPE Center $15,000. The motion was seconded by Council Member Cuthbert. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Smith-Lee, Wilson-Smith, Myers, Hill, Hart and Parham; Voting No: Cuthbert Council Member Smith-Lee made a motion to give the Freedom Support Center $25,000. The motion was seconded by Council Member Myers. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Smith-Lee, Myers, Hill, Hart and Parham; Voting No: Cuthbert and Wilson-Smith Council Member Myers made a motion to accept the allocation of CDBG with the approved changes. The motion was seconded by Council Member Hill. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert, Smith-Lee, Myers, Hill, Hart and Parham; Voting No: Wilson-Smith 11. 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 ten (10) 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. Marcus Squires, 1701 Monticello Street, stated, “I am coming to you all today to talk about Economic Development Authority. I recently attended one of the meetings. The authority feels like they do not have any support from this council. They haven’t had a member appointed to the authority since 2016. They have told me that they have come to you numerous times to ask you about this issue of multiple people applying to this and me being one of them. No movement has been taken by this council. So, I would like to ask if you could look into that. My second issue is with the stop light on Tollgate Road and Crater Road. The stop light always seems to be turning red and nobody is there and so it just stops all traffic on Crater Road from going. It is sort of one of those stop lights. The only thing that is being told there is our time. Thank you very much.” Willie Noise, 1508 Circle Drive, stated, “Councilman Wilson-Smith spoke on a description and I also would like on real estate property tax exemption and nonprofit organizations. I would like to hear some kind of summary of what they have done in the past on any of those organizations. The other one was now that fishing season has opened wide open the river down there, it takes a tank to get through there. So, I would request that we deserve a better road through. All you have to do is get in your car and drive through the apron on through and out the other end. Do something. It does not require no money just City workers and take another route to work and back to work. The other thing that the last time I heard it was a story about somebody had gotten out of jail and the spouse was at work and when they got home the person that had gotten out of jail was sitting in their house with no knowledge to them that they had been released. So that’s something that we need to still check into. The light on the trolley is too bright, the headlight. I cannot see the view of the trolley through the bright lights. Am I still being clocked? On the deal about the National Police Week and Peace  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: May 1, 2018 - 10 – ______________________________________________________________________________ Offering Memorial Day, let’s not forget Trooper Walker. I loved that guy. He was alright and we said something about 17 people that lost their lives at the school or whatever. We can add one more when he was in his classroom in his vehicle supporting and protecting us when that happened. Let’s not forget him. I can see the improvement going on. Let’s keep on praying and I see you next time.” R.J. Bragg, 709 Logan Street, stated, “I just want to address a particular matter. Other creditors that contact me because I haven’t paid a bill will contact me until my bill is paid. I don’t have to guess when I need to pay them. If I forget they will send me notification. I am here to address the tax for your City property. I owed property tax and I didn’t get notification of it. And when I went down to pay it because I hadn’t received notification that it was due I had to pay a penalty as well. Past creditors that I owe they don’t charge me a penalty if I pay them. It seems to be that someone else is taking care of that and sending the bills to the customers and residents to the property. I am only saying quarterly when the bills are due the notification should be sent to the property owner that your bill will be due June 30th. I am saying send me notification for June 30th before June 30th and I will pay you your tax. That’s how business is operated and I believe that the City of Petersburg is supposed to be about business. I would like that information to be done for property. Please I thank you.” 12. BUSINESS OR REPORTS FOR/FROM THE MAYOR OR COUNCIL MEMBERS: a. Consideration of a MOU between the Virginia Department of Social Services and the City of Petersburg. BACKGROUND: For several years, while monitored by the Virginia Department of Social Services, the Petersburg Department of Social Services fell significantly out of compliance with state regulations. This project is an effort to have VDSS collaborate with the City of Petersburg to provide technical assistance to improve the delivery of Social Services in the City. RECOMMENDATION: City Council to review the Memorandum of Understanding and provide staff with a recommendation. Council Member Myers made a motion to approve the MOU between the Virginia Department of Social Services and the City of Petersburg. The motion was seconded by Council Member Hill. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert, Smith-Lee, Wilson-Smith, Myers, Hill, Hart and Parham b. Consideration of an appropriation to the Petersburg Department of Social Services, from the Virginia Department of Social Services. BACKGROUND: The City of Petersburg and The Petersburg City Schools engaged in a partnership to address challenges facing our Schools. This partnership was launched as a result of the Virginia Department of Education and The Secretary of Health and Human Resources addressing challenged schools in the Commonwealth. An area of major concern was school attendance. The City of Petersburg, in collaboration with the Petersburg City Schools, submitted a proposal to the Virginia Department of Social Services to secure funding for three new Family Services Specialists (Social Workers) in the Petersburg Public Schools. The source of funding is Family Preservation and Support through Social Services Block Grant, Budget Line (BL) 829 cost code BL82906f. RECOMMENDATION: City Council to provide staff with a recommendation on whether to appropriate the $100,000 to address school attendance. There was discussion among staff and city council members. Council Member Myers made a substitute motion to approve the appropriation of $100,000 for the Petersburg Department of Social Services, from the Virginia Department of Social Services. The motion was  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: May 1, 2018 - 11 – ______________________________________________________________________________ seconded by Council Member Hill. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert, Smith-Lee, Wilson-Smith, Myers, Hill, Hart and Parham 18-ORD-16 AN ORDINANCE, AS AMENDED, SAID ORDINANCE MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR COMMENCING JULY 1, 2017, AND ENDING JUNE 30, 2018, IN THE GRANTS FUND FOR PETERSBURG FUTURE SERVICES. Council Member Cuthbert stated, “I want to pass down the line a copy of a newspaper article published in the Times-Dispatch on April 17, 2018. This article is titled ‘Inaccurate Data, Pushback Frustrate Shifting of Money’ and it talks about deliberation by the Richmond City Council. I thought that it was instructive. I underlined what I found most instructive in that middle column. It says the Council President Chris Hilbert blamed the issues on the City’s form of government, which ‘breeds mistrust’ between the council and the mayor. And this bares out what I had anticipated would be the result of a strong mayor. Sometime ago maybe eight or ten months ago this council about the stability of having a strong mayor elected and allowing the people to elect that strong mayor. Richmond has done that and as a result the mayor owes his appointment to the people at large rather than to council. And that way of electing the mayor according to the President of the Richmond City Council, Mr. Chris Hilbert, reads mistrust between the council and the mayor. I don’t doubt it for a minute. As we all know all votes on this council are not unanimous. But that’s the nature of people bringing different experience s to issues and it’s the way things area. It’s hard to get a unanimous decision on difficult issues. The situation would be made very severe if we were to go to a strong mayor as Richmond did. I think we can learn from Richmond’s experience. It is not a good way for council to elect a mayor. I think with electing a mayor among our membership we build and create some dependency among ourselves and I think that it is very good. The second thing I would like to do is ask the City administration for a report at our next council meeting as to how many code enforcements orders the City has obtained in the current fiscal year. I have always had a hard time understanding the concept of deliverables. We have all heard it a lot and the Bobb Group used the term and I could never understand what they were talking about until tonight. but now I understand. One deliverable would be what has a particular effort by the City accomplished other than paying an employee and at the end of the year having a draw full of cash and paychecks. What tangible has been accomplished? Certainly, I am reminded from a passage of the bible on how the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few. And when it comes to code enforcement we certainly have a plentiful harvest. I would like to see the workers accomplish something for their paycheck. So, Mrs. Ferrell-Benavides at our next meeting would you ask the appropriate person to report to council how many code enforcements orders this City has obtained in the current fiscal year. Mr. Mayor thank you.” Council Member Wilson-Smith stated, “Yes I would first of all like to start out with thanking those individuals who attended the first of four sessions of the series of the Citizens Academy 101 on April 22nd. I would like to also thank all of our guest speakers. The information was phenomenal. It was really a good event. Out next function will be on Sunday, May 20th and the guest will be the school superintendent, Dr. Marcus Newsome. If you are interested in what is going on in our schools, please come out on Sunday, May 20th, right here from 3pm to 5pm. Where you can hear him, and ask any questions that you wish of him. At the next council meeting I will have flyers to remind you of this event. I would like to call attention to our Rules of Council and ask our City attorney if he would review them, please. Especially the section on the standing committees. Ms. Annette Smith-Lee and myself are in charge of Education, Health and Human Services. It is written that this committee will be responsible for the maintenance of Petersburg Public Library. And I don’t see how we can do that. This is something that council has voted on but I think that it needs to be reviewed because it is not in what we can actually do. It’s also stated that this committee will balance the primary role of the Petersburg School Board to establish programs, procedures and policies and for the Petersburg Public Schools with council responsibility to oversee the use of public funds. It’s on page 19 of the Rules of Council. I don’t think that City Council has the authority or this standing committee has the authority to carry that out as well because the school board policy and procedure come from the state I believe. And they are another elected board so we certainly can’t really dictate to them what to do. I have done a rewrite and I will send it to you via email. If you could look at it and see the committee as a whole did meet but it is difficult to try to carry out any duties as written. We cannot do this as it is written. And since I saw that within our committee I just like to suggest that perhaps you want to look at some of the other standing committees and see if the verbiage is correct. Because if it is like this one then it’s not. And then we would have to revote again I suppose. That’s all I  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: May 1, 2018 - 12 – ______________________________________________________________________________ have.” Council Member Smith-Lee stated, “Good evening. Thank you all for coming out. Don’t forget about Saturday, from 8am to 12noon, the city-wide cleanup in different areas. Ward 6 is at A. P. Hill Elementary School. Please come out. Also, John Hart and I had a budget meeting together and it went very well. Thank you, Mr. Hart. Have a blessed week.” Council Member Myers stated, “Thank everyone for coming out to the ward meeting Saturday before last, April 21st. I want to thank those who participated in the walk-in light of the family who was killed on Harding Street. I appreciate everyone who participated. On May 10th, Ward 5 budget meeting at Tabernacle Baptist Church. And that will be Thursday, May 10th at 6:30pm, at 418 Halifax Street. We will have the City Manager and staff there to discuss budget issues with respect to our new budget. Council Member Myers made a motion to request the City Manager to review any and all leases for an annual approval with the option of council to determine their effect on this fiscal budget. The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Hart. The motion was approved on roll call vote. On roll call vote, voting yes: Smith- Lee, Myers, Hill, Hart and Parham; Abstain: Cuthbert; Voting No: Wilson-Smith Council Member Hill stated, “First of all I would like to thank all those council persons and city workers who came out to hear me speak on Sunday before last. Also, I really appreciate you all presence in being there. Also, I want to announce that Ward 2 and Ward 3 Budget Meeting will be at Vernon Johns at 6:30pm at 3101 Homestead. We invite those members of Ward 2 and Ward 3 to come out and ask questions about the budget. Also, I want to announce that along with our deputy city manager and Mrs. Tami Yerby, they are putting on a community partner program, faith-based, disaster training. We have been meeting with the faith based community throughout the month and one of the things that were tasking ourselves with is to when there is a tragedy in the City what is the faith based community willing to do so that everybody will not be doing the same thing. We will be getting training by the Red Cross and the fire department will be there and our police department will be there. I’m going to give an example, when we had that major fire on High Street we had a lot of volunteers to come out that wanted to help. But if there is no direction everybody can be doing the same thing at one time. On Tuesday, June 13th, right in this building from 6pm to 8pm, we will have those agencies here so we can formalize a plan for our faith based community along with our partners to come up with a plan just in case something major in the City happen. We are talking about tornadoes, floods and major fires, things of that nature. So please come out. We addressed the situation about the checks and things and cash on time. But I would ask our finance team to please get back with us as soon as possible. And get with the treasurer and come up with a plan to see how we can better effectively get those monies in the bank. I believe there is some monies out there that are not accounted for. That may increase our collection rate. And also, I don’t have anything against the citizens academy but if that is a City function do we need to be budgeted for it and does that need to come before council. Because I have had some of my people asking me about and I don’t know. And being that you are the head of it I really appreciate you taking that on. But that is not part of the programs that we said. Not saying you can’t do it councilwoman but if its monies or anything like that involved do we need to try to budget for that or it does not need any budgeting. I am just asking.” Council Member Wilson-Smith stated, “We don’t need any money for the citizens academy. We didn’t have to go through council for the citizens academy. I had an idea to bring some things to the public. When our public comes to this podium they can ask questions and they can say things but they cannot get a direct answer until the next council meeting. For the public, for the people I devised a plan so that there can be various meetings and it’s called Citizen’s Academy 101. Where citizens can talk directly to government officials or people in authority and get the answers right then and there that they need. Nobody charges for anything and nobody has to pay anything. We don’t have refreshments because I can’t afford it but I have the information. It’s here and it’s free for the citizens. It’s not something that I am aware that I needed to run by council because it’s not a council event. It was something that I thought about doing for the people. It’s as simple as that. Not anything to be made a big hoopla howdy do about. Just a simple Citizens Academy 101 where they can get answers to their questions and not feel like outcast and can talk directly to people who manage the City. You kept saying that we had a meeting. Who is we? The faith based community. You said we had a meeting with the faith based community. Who is we?”  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: May 1, 2018 - 13 – ______________________________________________________________________________ Council Member Hill stated, “Myself, Tami Yerby, Ms. Darnetta and those faith based people that they organized and put together.” Council Member Wilson-Smith stated, “So then that sounds like you’re a faith based person but maybe the rest of council isn’t.” Council Member Hill stated, “No that isn’t. This is there committee. I was just in on it. I am saying this and I just put it out there. I’m not attacking this Citizens 101. I think that you have the assumption that I am. I want to know more about it. The things that you are talking about we do it at our ward meetings. But I am not saying that you can’t have your own. Because those things we bring the city manager and the fire chief and we bring everybody there to bring answers. We bring the superintendent. I have them at my ward meeting and others have them at theirs. It’s not like the questions aren’t there to ask. So, I don’t want to go tit for tat I just asked a simple question and said I am not attacking you. I just wanted to know if there is a cost involved in it. My ward meeting there is a cost because I do refreshments. You didn’t say Ward 1 you said citizens. I am not telling you to change it or nothing like that. I just wanted more information that is all.” Council Member Wilson-Smith stated, “I am not going to change it. And I say citizens because it is not just for the people in my ward although we are council members who represent a particular ward. We are collectively council members who represent the City of Petersburg and all the citizens in the City. So, it is a citizen’s academy for any citizen in this City who wants to attend. It’s not just Ward 1 event.” Council Member Hill stated, “Thank you. That’s all. So, at the next meeting or the meeting afterwards, I ask that the finance team be able to devise a plan on where we move forward in getting those checks cashed that may be out there. Thank you. That’s all.” Vice Mayor Hart stated, “Good evening everyone and thank you for coming out. First, I like to thank the City Manager and her staff for coming to the joint ward meeting of Ward 6 and Ward 7 Budget meeting last Thursday. You guys provided a lot of answers and information for those in both wards. They are truly appreciated. Mr. Noise, Youngs Road on Saturday. Be there with boots and gloves. You want to clean up the City is coming out to clean up. So, meet us at Stuart School and we can move onto Youngs Road and get to cleaning up Ward 7. I want to say thank you to Michelle Peters for her having the mobile home on Valor Drive removed. Citizens really appreciate it over in Greenwood Farms area. So, thank you for doing that. It was brought to my attention today that we need to do something with the lights outside here. Whether they need to be brightened or whatever the case. So, I ask that we look into it. They talked about the limitation of lights out here and that they didn’t want to see anything happen. Reminder that the second Friday is the ‘Jazz at the Stacks’ at the library. That will be next Friday. We will have another performance there from 6pm to 8:30pm so come out. There is no cost. We will be listening to Jazz and other music there in the library. On a couple of weeks ago I attended my first NFBPA Conference and I will have a report on it in the upcoming weeks. But it was a greatly attended and a lot of information I myself learned. Not only as council but different things that go on within the City and other cities throughout the country. As everybody sat down and talked about a very similar issue. I think that this is at most City conferences that are going on now that Petersburg is not alone in the fights that we think we are in. It was very informative and we got a lot out of it. And I will bring information back to share with council and the public. That is all I have. Thank you.” Mayor Parham stated, “Good evening again everyone. I want to thank everyone for hanging in there with us. Just want to bring up a few things about the budget meeting on Thursday. I encourage everyone to come out to Vernon Johns at 6pm for Ward 2 and Ward 3 Budget Meeting. Also, tomorrow we have the Petersburg Works Kick-Off Event at Petersburg High School. So, we encourage everyone to come out and support the workforce initiative at the high school. At this time, I would like to thank Mr. Cleve and Mrs. Suzan Wright for being her at this council meeting here. They are two huge pillars of Petersburg that will be departing to South Carolina and we will miss them dearly. But we thank you both for all of your support and all that you have done here in the City of Petersburg. Don’t forget Petersburg, if not we will come to Charleston looking for you. Okay. Thank you.”  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: May 1, 2018 - 14 – ______________________________________________________________________________ 13. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA: No items for this portion of the agenda. 14. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: No items for this portion of the agenda. 15. STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS: No items for this portion of the agenda. 16. NEW BUSINESS: No items for this portion of the agenda. 17. REPORTS/REPONSES TO PREVIOUSE PUBLIC INFORMATION PERIOD: No items for this portion of the agenda. 18. CITY MANAGER’S AGENDA: No items for this portion of the agenda. 19. BUSINESS OR REPORTS FROM CLERK: Ms. Jackson stated, “I am going to take the time to shed a different level on the spotlight tonight. Bring a little excitement. So, this coming Saturday is a big day for me. It is the actual day that I had my daughter and it will be her 10th birthday as well as I will be celebrating my 15th year working for the City of Petersburg. And also with that I had attended a bunch of clerk institute conferences and I was actually nominated at the age of 20. At the age of 19 I was nominated as the ‘Millennial Clerk.’ I was the youngest clerk in the region. I was going to school for medical assistant, going to school to become a licensed cosmetologist, going to school for my bachelors as well as attending the clerk’s institute and association. I am still here after 15 years and I love my job. I have gone through a lot of bosses and I love my bosses. I have worked with a lot of coworkers. I just want to say that I appreciate everyone. Starting May 6-12, 2018, is Municipal Clerks Week, so I am taking this to appreciate and recognize myself. Also on the downside I want to encourage City Council, all seven, to please take this book at any given time that you have and please read it. Because this is a guideline that council has to follow. That is my recommendation. No motion just a recommendation. That concludes my portion of the agenda.” 20. BUSINESS OR REPORTS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY No items for this portion of the agenda. CLOSED SESSION: City Attorney Joseph Preston stated that City Council will now move to go into closed session for one purpose pursuant to Section 2.2-3711.A (1) of the Code of Virginia, 1950 as amended, council will be in closed session for discussion, consideration, assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, disciplining or resignation of specific public officers, appointees, or employees where such evaluation necessarily will involve discussion of performance of specific individuals. Council Member Cuthbert moved that the City Council go into closed session for the purposes noted by the City Attorney. The motion was seconded by Council Member Wilson-Smith. There was no discussion on  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on: May 1, 2018 - 15 – ______________________________________________________________________________ the motion, which was approved on roll call vote. On roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert, Smith-Lee, Wilson-Smith, Hart and Parham; Voting No: Hill and Myers City Council entered closed session at 9:39 p.m. CERTIFICATION: Mr. Preston stated that City Council now moves to come out of closed session and certify that only public business matters lawfully exempted from an open meeting requirement pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and only such business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard, discussed or considered in the closed meeting. Council Member Myers made a motion to return City Council into open session and certify the purposes of the closed session. The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Hart. The motion was approved on roll call vote. On roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert, Smith-Lee, Wilson-Smith, Myers, Hill, Hart and Parham 18-R-26 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 SESSION WERE HEARD, DISCUSSED, OR CONSIDERED. City Council returned to open session at 10:08pm. 21. ADJOURNMENT: City Council adjourned at 10:09 p.m. _________________________ Clerk of City Council APPROVED: _________________________ Mayor