City Council

Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on April 14, 2020 -1– ______________________________________________________________________________ The regular meeting of the Petersburg City Council was held on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, in live stream. Mayor Parham called the meeting to order at 6:43p.m. 1. ROLL CALL: Present: Council Member Charles H. Cuthbert, Jr. Council Member Annette Smith-Lee Council Member Treska Wilson-Smith Council Member W. Howard Myers Council Member Darrin Hill Vice Mayor John A. Hart, Sr Mayor Samuel Parham Absent: None Present from City Administration: City Manager Aretha R. Ferrell-Benavides City Attorney Anthony C. Williams Clerk of Council Nykesha D. Jackson 2. PRAYER: Mayor Parham stated, “Councilman Hill will lead us in our opening prayer.” Council Member Hill led the council meeting in prayer. 3. CLOSED SESSION: *No items for a closed session. 4. MOMENT OF SILENCE: Mayor Parham led the meeting into the moment of silence. 5. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Parham led council and the citizens in the pledge of allegiance. 6. DETERMINATION OF THE PRESENCE OF A QUORUM: A quorum was determined with the presence of all City Council Members except for Vice Mayor Hart. 7. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS/PRESENTATION OF CEREMONIAL PROCLAMATIONS: a. Proclamation for National Purchasing Month. Mayor Parham read the proclamation out loud. 8. REPORTS/RESPONSES TO PREVIOUS PUBLIC INFORMATION PERIOD: *Audio available upon request.  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on April 14, 2020 -2– ______________________________________________________________________________ Folakemi Osoba, Public Information Period, read comments and responses from previous public information at the February 4, 2020, regular council meeting. Mrs. Osoba stated that she is still going over the questions from the previous meeting and that she will have all answers at the next April meeting. 9. COMMUNICATIONS/SPECIAL REPORTS: a. Update to the Compensation Schedule – Kimberly Robinson, HR Director Mayor Parham stated, “This will be done with the budget presentation.” b. Update on the Coronavirus – Aretha Ferrell-Benavides Mrs. Benavides stated, “We have been dealing with this from an operational standpoint. We started off with our City facilities being closed to the public. Ultimately, we moved into a full quarantine for two weeks after the Governor issued his shutdown. That not only allowed for the disinfecting and to allow for us to make sure that we are protecting our employees first. We have been operating with essential staff only for about four weeks now. On the other side of this, we have worked on it with our community affairs working as our lead and focusing on our senior programs ensuring that our seniors are being taken care of and we are also working closely with our school district. On the other side we have our public safety managing director, Chief Kenneth Miller, working on it from an enforcement team as well. I will give you an update on that. The Governor issued an order, and the City Attorney rules on it and put a shelter in place.” Darnetta Tyus, Deputy City Manager, stated, “We are working with all of our sister agencies in making sure that we are doing this in completing and coordinating messaging and outreach as we can.” Council Member Wilson-Smith asked, “Residence who have no water on, how are we addressing that? Are we addressing that and what are we going to do?” Mrs. Benavides stated, “Currently, we have been working with individuals. If anyone contacts our office regarding their water service, what we are doing is that our Billing and Collection Office is trying to work with them to establish a payment plan. What we are doing is that we have not disconnected any water in the past two months that is currently connected. Individuals water that is off, if they contact the Billing and Collections Office, they will work with them on a payment plan. If there are children in the house, then they still need to contact us. We can connect them with Social Service for financial assistance. For others that have disconnected water, they have not made payments in over two years. So, we have not cut off water in the last two months.” Council Member Wilson-Smith stated, “I knew we had not cut water off. But there were people who did not have water where we had cut off. I am not advocating that we go turn on people water but at the same time we are in a crisis. And people do not have water in their house. We are already in a crisis with Petersburg being the unhealthiest City in the state. The crisis is now worse because of the Coronavirus. We are telling people to wash their hands but without water that is almost impossible. And if we pay attention to other pandemics. Water was essential and doing away with filth and being clean is essential. But people without water in their house and homes cannot do this. And in addition, with the schools being closed these homes now have the children they are, and the kids do not have the availability of washing their hands or flushing the toilets. Which makes us even worse than we were at first. So, my question is what we are going to do about that other than having them to come in and make payment arrangements. That was already an option and that did not happen. So, how do we address it now that it is more critical?” *Audio available upon request.  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on April 14, 2020 -3– ______________________________________________________________________________ Mayor Parham stated, “Councilwoman Wilson-Smith, at this time we have Darnetta Tyus here from Social Services that will have the water department make every type of adjustment that is necessary if they have trouble with water. We cannot run a gambit of running and opening everyone’s account. A lot of people are not living in these homes. So, we have to do it by a case by case.” Ms. Tyus stated, “Mr. Mayor there is a resource out there that helps residents. The United Way has set up the 2-1-1 System, which does have the capability of servicing residents when it goes past what Social Services can do. So, they do offer meal assistance and things like that at the 2-1-1, which is hosted by United Way.” Council Member Wilson-Smith asked, “Have we already informed these people about the 2-1-1? Have you put that out there at all?” Ms. Tyus stated, “Yes. We are promoting 2-1-1 on all of our communications.” Council Member Wilson-Smith stated, “I get the communications and I send them out to everybody. But I have not seen that at all about the 2-1-1 availability. And it is a rule with Social Services, if the parents don’t have water in the house why are the children still there?” Ms. Tyus stated, “We are not suggesting that we know that there are Social Services folks that this has happened to.” Council Member Wilson-Smith stated, “No, I am not saying that you are. What I am asking is the same thing that I have been asking month after month. When we turn someone’s water off are, we are following the rules with the Social Services Department that says that the children cannot stay within that home. That is the first thing that I am asking. The second thing is that the people that do not have water whose water was already turned off are we reaching out to them to offer them something or some type of assistance so that they can wash their hands.” Mrs. Benavides stated, “We have hundreds of accounts that have been cut off. In many cases they have reestablished accounts. So, there is all sorts of technical things. However, what we will place on our website is that if anyone water has been cutoff then they can contact our office and if they can prove that there are children in their house then we will work with Social Services on this. But we are working on a backlog of cutoffs. As I say that we have hundreds of people that have been cutoff. In many cases they have established accounts in other names and there are all sorts of other technical problems with it. However, what we will place on our websites is that if anyone’s water has been cut off that they contact our office. If they can prove that there are children in the house and their water has been cut off, we will work with Social Services on this. But we are working on a backlog of cut offs. And as I say that we have hundreds of people who have been cut off. In many cases, people establish accounts in other names. In most cases if their water is cutoff and they owe over $2,000. We will continue to work with our citizens who contact our offices, and we will put it on our website who to contact.” Council Member Wilson-Smith stated, “My question was that with the City of Petersburg already being one of the unhealthiest City’s in the state and now we are further unhealthy with the coronavirus. If people do not have water how are they going to combat this coronavirus. We are shooting ourselves in the foot because we are more worried about the money that is old as opposed to us making health a priority. That is the first question. The second question is of the individuals in Petersburg who have the coronavirus who have tested positive or who has expired from this virus. How are we letting other people know who may have been exposed to these people? What is the protocol so that the people that have been around them are aware of what has gone on?” *Audio available upon request.  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on April 14, 2020 -4– ______________________________________________________________________________ Ms. Tyus stated, “So, the health department is managing and actively conducting all of the contact. So, anybody who has been not affected or anyone that has expired associated with that. I take that back the Department of Health is doing contact research on everybody who has tested positive. Not only do they have team, but we have also signed an agreement where all the jurisdictions will aid. Any person who has tested positive they have form that they fill out and it identifies all the people that they may have come in contact with two weeks prior to the time they showed their first signs. The Health Department is managing their process, and everybody is participating in the process of reaching out to everybody to make sure that we are communicating. They are communicating with employers and they are communicating with just anybody that they come in contact with. The process is actively working.” Vice Mayor Hart stated, “I am just wondering what the involvement of Dr. Hart is.” Ms. Tyus stated, “Dr. Hart has been extremely active in this. We have an outstanding team call with him every week. I have been on the phone with this morning. We are talking constantly through this process.” Council Member Smith-Lee stated, “So, with the school system, have we correlated with the superintendent and the school board about how are the kids in Petersburg going to get the materials that they need for their education. I saw Richmond on TV and heard on the radio that Richmond has provided their kids with Chromebooks. So, I was just wondering what the status of our children is here in the City of Petersburg. Not only that I also heard and understand that Bill Gates and his wife are giving grants to City’s that needs the help without a whole lot of criteria. I am just wondering have we checked into some of these agencies or groups that are trying to help with the kids who are not in school.” Dr. Pitre-Martin, Superintendent of Petersburg Public Schools, stated, “Good afternoon everyone. So, absolutely. We have been handing out hotspots since March 16th. So, the biggest issue for our students here in Petersburg is the lack of broadband internet access. And today we have handed out over 411 hotspots. We will be continuing that process this week and into the coming weeks. Today, we have Chromebook distribution at Blandford Academy and tomorrow we have Chromebook distribution at the high school. And that will process will continue as well. We will be working with the Cameron Foundation because they are willing to do an emergency grant with us to get some additional hotspots in place. But I must tell you that the hotspots are not the most effective way to address broadband internet. So, I have been in discussion with Ms. Tyus about what it would like to do Wi-Fi Citywide. I do not know if this going to be a permanent being state for us. Because we do not know if the pandemic will stop spreading. And so, with that being said we must think about this long term and being able to get internet access to our students. We have been handing out hotspots since March 16th to make sure that this was happening, and the Chromebook’s have followed suit. We continue to have Chromebooks. If you have not taken a lot at our website. It does have an education resource page for home use. So, it is by grade level and by criteria. Other things that are happening statewide is that PBS, starting yesterday to begin teaching kindergarten through third grade courses in the afternoon. And then our middle school and secondary choices science and mathematics also started yesterday. And then the week of April 27th we will advance placement week. So, all our students with advance placement courses will be able to use that week as prep week because we are still going to be giving advancement testing placement as well. Also, the State has given us the free use of virtual Virginia on June 30th. So, we will be using that tool for those students who are failing the opportunity to make up work that is needed to pass. We are also working with learning kits to be mailed directly from the vendor to their homes. But that is finance dependent. We must make sure that we have the dollars to make that happen. That is our current plan as we know it today. But then July 6th – July 30th, if the pandemic slows done the spread and we can go back to some normalcy then we plan to have a summer learning opportunity for any of our students who want to attend. But this summer learning opportunity will be to recover instruction on July 6th and July 30th. And then as part of the 2020 school year we are revising the content standard that were not taught as of March 13th will be linked in the first few weeks of school. Currently, we have 21% that we have not contacted. But we continue that communication peak working on the continuity in learning and working on summer school and moving into the 2021 school year.” *Audio available upon request.  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on April 14, 2020 -5– ______________________________________________________________________________ Council Member Wilson-Smith stated, “Dr. Pitre-Martin, do you need any volunteers to help? And we will talk about that offline. And do you need any volunteers to deliver the lunches to the kids? Or do we have to go through some type of formal training?” Mrs. Pitre-Martin stated, “Yes, you would have to go through significant training because US Department of Agricultural does require that anyone that is distributing, and handling food does go through some training. But I must tell you that staff is doing a phenomenal job. And so, right now we do not need any additional folks to help us in that process. I will tell you though with fingers crossed and with working with the department of education and the Department of Social Services, we are hoping to also be able to hand out EBT cards as we move forward. So, that will be an additional benefit as for a family currently on free or reduced lunch. So, that is something that we are looking forward too in partnership with our current meal distribution.” Council Member Smith-Lee stated, “Thank you so much.” Chief Kenneth Miller provided a brief update. Key points:  The City has 19 citizens that have been impacted by the COVID-19 and at this time they have no information on any of the 19 passing from the virus.  They are active with their mobile command vehicle that is parked outside the safety building.  They face a challenge of safety equipment especially with people going in the jail. They are still practicing the washing of hands and social distancing. There was discussion among City Council and staff. c. Budget Presentation by City Manager Mrs. Benavides presented a PowerPoint presentation on the budget. Key points:  Presented City Council with a balanced budget.  Working on healthcare plans and cost.  The budget was created with a drastic approach to address the economic downfall.  The budget serves as a mental plan for the City and a communication tool on what the organization plans to do with the resources.  Healthcare cost was big out and the current City’s healthcare had the best package with a 10% reduction in cost. Robert Floyd, Director of Budget, and Procurement gave additional information from the PowerPoint presentation. There was discussion among City Council and staff. 10. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA (to include minutes of previous meeting/s) a. Minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of February 18, 2020 b. A request to schedule a public hearing to consider an ordinance granting the City Manager the authority to sign a Deed of Easement on City owned land located at 1976 Defense Road. (Suggested date April 28, 2020) *Audio available upon request.  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on April 14, 2020 -6– ______________________________________________________________________________ c. A request to schedule a public hearing on authorizing Dinwiddie Country Water Authority (DCWA) to provide water within the City for fire protection at the Dominion Energy Locks Yard. (Suggested date April 28, 2020) d. A request to schedule a public hearing on request of Nick Walker of Roslyn Farm Corporation to rezone 2045 Squirrel Level Road, T.P. 070-050002 and a portion (16.67 acres) of 2100 Defense Road, T.P. 070-050001, from the A (Agricultural) and R-1 (Single Family Residence) districts to the M-2 (Heavy Industrial) district to attract an industrial user. (Suggested date April 28, 2020) e. ABC Application for Family Dollar Stores of Virginia Inc located at 1847 Boydton Road. f. ABC Application for La Cabana Restaurant LLC located at 1600 E. Washington Street. g. ABC Application for Misa Tsai located at 133 N. Sycamore Street. h. A request to schedule a public hearing on an amendment to the Tourism and Economic Development sections of the City of Petersburg Comprehensive Plan. (Suggested date April 28, 2020) i. A request to reschedule a public hearing on an ordinance authorizing the sale of 1203 West Washington Street. (Suggested date April 28, 2020) j. A request to reschedule a public hearing for an ordinance authorizing the sale of 857 E. Bank Street. (Suggested date April 28, 2020) k. A request to schedule a public hearing for the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Operating Budget. (Suggested date April 28, 2020) l. A request to reschedule a public hearing to consider an ordinance authorizing the sale of 1000 Diamond Street. (Suggested date April 28, 2020) m. A request to reschedule a public hearing to consider an ordinance authorizing the sale of 101 N. Boulevard; 105 North Carolina Ave; 300 St. John St; 52 North Carolina Ave; 246 St. Luke St; 115 Jolly Alley; 522 Hinton St; 500 St. John St; 612 Pegram St; 151 St. Mark St; 709 Ann St; 735 Halifax St; 334 Harrison St; 803 Jones St S; 604 Shore St; 425 West St S; 715 West St S; 449 Harding St; 517 St. Matthew St; 980 Sycamore St S; 716 Harding St; 708-10 Kirkham St; 724 Harding St; 249 North Carolina Ave; 808 Halifax St; 811 Halifax St; 839-41 Jones St S; 716 Kirkham St; 742 Mount Airy St; 829 Jones St S; 742 Blick St; 627 Harding St; 516 Hinton St; 804 Jones St S; 135 Kentucky Ave; 230 Kentucky Ave Rear; 712-14 Kirkham St; 436 Byrne St; 809 Jones St S; 408 Shore St; 415 St. Matthew St; 1004 Farmer St; 852 Rome St; 328 Shore St; 322 Shore St; 204 Kentucky Ave; 521 St Mark St; 725 Sterling St; 731 West St S; 919 Wythe St W; 1022 High Pearl St; 202 Kentucky Ave; 151 Virginia Ave and 539 Washington St W. (Suggested date April 28, 2020) n. A request to schedule a public hearing on the proposed real property tax increase. (Suggested date April 28, 2020) Council Member Myers made a motion to approve the consent agenda and to schedule the public hearing for April 28, 2020, and move items I, J, L and M to Section 14, “Items Removed from Consent Agenda.” The motion was seconded by Council Member Hill. There was discussion on the motion. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert, Wilson-Smith, Myers, Smith-Lee, Hill, and Parham; Absent: Hart 11. OFFICIAL PUBLIC HEARINGS: There were no public hearings. 12. PUBLIC INFORMATION PERIOD: A public information period, limited in time to 30 minutes, shall be part of an Order of Business at each regular council meeting. Each speaker shall be a resident or business owner of the City and shall be limited to three minutes. No speaker will be permitted to speak on any item scheduled for consideration on the regular docket of the meeting at which the speaker is to speak. The order of speakers, limited by the 30-minute time period, shall be determined as follows: *Audio available upon request.  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on April 14, 2020 -7– ______________________________________________________________________________ a) First, in chronological order of the notice, persons who have notified the Clerk no later than 12:00 noon of the day of the meeting, b) Second, in chronological order of their sign up, persons who have signed a sign-up sheet placed by the Clerk in the rear of the meeting room prior to the meeting. Ron Moore, 307 N. Boulevard, stated that he has issues with the construction and property located at 101 N. Boulevard. He stated that property is only so big and that construction on this property would cause problems for his property and in the area. Eddie Placeres, 341 N. Boulevard, stated that he is against the construction at property located at 101N. Boulevard. He stated that he is opposed to the project and selling of the property. Sara Melissa Witiak, 22 Centre Hill Court, stated that there is a big issue of blighted property in the City of Petersburg that needs to be looked at. Ms. Motley, 409 Walnut Boulevard, stated that the City has a large budget for such a small, populated City. She also stated that she had concerns about children being taken out of homes during the pandemic distress. 13. BUSINESS OR REPORTS FOR/FROM THE MAYOR OR COUNCIL MEMBERS: Council Member Wilson-Smith asked who made the arrangement of the meeting and elected it to be at noon. Mayor Parham stated that being that there is a high peak after 6pm of people being online that during 12noon would be a better time to hold a virtual meeting. Council Member Smith-Lee stated that people do not know how serious Coronavirus Pandemic is. She stated that information needs to be given out to the community so that people are aware of what is going on. Council Member Myers stated that he wishes everyone well. He stated that he wanted to thank the City Manager and Mayor on all that they are doing during this pandemic and for the citizens to hang in there. He stated that everyone is in their thoughts and spirit. Council Member Cuthbert thanked Vice Mayor Hart for being able to attend the meeting today. He also thanked the City Manager for the dry run yesterday and that they had a great time. Council Member Hill thanked the City Manager and her team for all that they are doing during this pandemic. He stated that he wanted to ensure that the citizens are staying home. He thanked the City Manager and her team for the grass cutting and picking up of trash. He also brought attention on the late-night meetings and being able to come together with more people in attendance with live streaming. 14. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA: a. A request to reschedule a public hearing on an ordinance authorizing the sale of 1203 West Washington Street. (Suggested date April 28, 2020) b. A request to reschedule a public hearing for an ordinance authorizing the sale of 857 E. Bank Street. (Suggested date April 28, 2020) c. A request to reschedule a public hearing to consider an ordinance authorizing the sale of 1000 Diamond Street. (Suggested date April 28, 2020) *Audio available upon request.  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on April 14, 2020 -8– ______________________________________________________________________________ d. A request to reschedule a public hearing to consider an ordinance authorizing the sale of 101 N. Boulevard; 105 North Carolina Ave; 300 St. John St; 52 North Carolina Ave; 246 St. Luke St; 115 Jolly Alley; 522 Hinton St; 500 St. John St; 612 Pegram St; 151 St. Mark St; 709 Ann St; 735 Halifax St; 334 Harrison St; 803 Jones St S; 604 Shore St; 425 West St S; 715 West St S; 449 Harding St; 517 St. Matthew St; 980 Sycamore St S; 716 Harding St; 708-10 Kirkham St; 724 Harding St; 249 North Carolina Ave; 808 Halifax St; 811 Halifax St; 839-41 Jones St S; 716 Kirkham St; 742 Mount Airy St; 829 Jones St S; 742 Blick St; 627 Harding St; 516 Hinton St; 804 Jones St S; 135 Kentucky Ave; 230 Kentucky Ave Rear; 712-14 Kirkham St; 436 Byrne St; 809 Jones St S; 408 Shore St; 415 St. Matthew St; 1004 Farmer St; 852 Rome St; 328 Shore St; 322 Shore St; 204 Kentucky Ave; 521 St Mark St; 725 Sterling St; 731 West St S; 919 Wythe St W; 1022 High Pearl St; 202 Kentucky Ave; 151 Virginia Ave and 539 Washington St W. (Suggested date April 28, 2020) Council Member Cuthbert stated the matters of items 10i,10j,10l and 10m are not urgent matters and that they should wait until everyone is able to attend the meetings in public before disposing of the properties. He stated that right now it is difficult to organize people and there are issues with the virtual meetings. He stated that some people are not able to see the virtual meetings because they do not have the internet. He stated that they should not do public hearings until they are in a non-virtual setting. Council Member Cuthbert made a motion to table the scheduling of public hearing for items 14a-d that were removed from the consent agenda until the City is in a non-virtual setting. The motion was seconded by Council Member Wilson-Smith. There was discussion on the motion. Council Member Myers made a motion to remove 101 N. Boulevard from the list of properties and to schedule the items of 14a-d for the April 28, 2020, City Council Meeting. The motion was seconded by Council Member Wilson-Smith. There was discussion on the motion. The motion was approved on roll call vote. On roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert, Wilson-Smith, Myers, Smith-Lee, Hill, and Parham; Absent: Hart 15. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: a. Consideration of a request of Equity Plus, LLC to rezone the property from A (Agricultural) District to a PUD (Planned Unit Development) District to allow a residential subdivision of 168 single family dwellings. The property address is 2557 North Stedman Drive, T.P. 036-09-0001. (Public Comments took place on February 4, 2020. This is just for action and discussion from City Council.) BACKGROUND: The Zoning Ordinance requires that City Council must act once a recommendation is forwarded from the Planning Commission. The residential property is zoned Agricultural and must be rezoned to allow the residential development. The rezoning would facilitate the construction of 166 single family residential unites for rent on separate lots. The applicant will apply to the Planning Commission for the subdivision review and ultimately approval. The developer has met with the community, neighbors, and the schools to amend the proposal considering feedback provided during the two public hearings held by the Planning Commission. This request has changed over time based on the number of meetings that have been held with the various stakeholders. The proposed development is not available to be a rent to own development of all 166 units. The tenant can own after 15 years with equity used to reduce the sell price at the end of the rental period. RECOMMENDATION: The Planning Commission sends forth a recommendation of denial. Staff *Audio available upon request.  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on April 14, 2020 -9– ______________________________________________________________________________ recommends that City Council act on this matter with a vote to deny or approve the request. There was discussion among City Council Members. Council Member Myers made a motion to table until the second meeting in May. The motion was seconded by Council Member Smith-Lee. There was discussion on the motion. Council Member Myers amended his motion to table until the second meeting in May and to add public comments based on changes to the information. The motion was seconded by Council Member Wilson-Smith. The motion was approved on roll call vote. On roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert, Wilson-Smith, Myers, Smith- Lee, Hill, and Parham; Absent: Hart 16. NEW BUSINESS: a. Consideration of a proposed resolution granting the City Manager authority for the administrative acceptance of real property conveyance related to utility easements, rights-of- way, and dedications. BACKGROUND: The City receives numerous conveyances of real property, for little or nominal consideration, in the form of easements, public right-of-way, and dedications. These conveyances are critical to the City’s maintenance and ownership of public utilities and roads obtained through the site plan and subdivision plan process. Currently, the City does not have a means of administratively accepting these real property conveyances. With authorization given to the City Manager, the City will be able to expeditiously execute conveyances of nominal value related to the development process. RECOMMENDATION: Recommend City Council approve the attached resolution granting the City Manager the authority to accept less than fee simple conveyances of real property on behalf of the City of Petersburg. There was discussion among City Council and staff. Council Member Myers made a motion to approve attached resolution granting the City Manager the authority to accept less than fee simple conveyances of real property on behalf of the City of Petersburg. The motion was seconded by Council Member Wilson-Smith. There was discussion on the motion. Council Member Cuthbert made a substitute motion that the proposed resolution be amended so that paragraph 1 reads as follows: “The City Manager hereby is authorized to accept conveyances on behalf of the locality of utility easements, rights-of-way and dedication to the City. The motion was seconded by Council Member Wilson-Smith. There was discussion on the motion. Council Member Myers made a substitute motion to go back to the original language so that they can continue to move forward in the development of the parcels in the City of Petersburg. The motion was seconded by Council Member Hill. There was discussion on the motion. Substitute motion from Council Member Myers removed off the floor and vote for first substitute motion is in place. *Audio available upon request.  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on April 14, 2020 - 10 – ______________________________________________________________________________ Council Member Cuthbert made a substitute motion that the proposed resolution be amended so that paragraph 1 reads as follows: “The City Manager hereby is authorized to accept conveyances on behalf of the locality of utility easements, rights-of-way and dedication to the City. The motion was seconded by Council Member Wilson-Smith. The motion was not approved on roll call vote. On roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert and Wilson-Smith; Voting No: Myers, Smith-Lee, Hill, and Parham; Absent: Hart The original motion made by Council Member Myers goes on the floor. Council Member Myers made a motion to approve attached resolution granting the City Manager the authority to accept less than fee simple conveyances of real property on behalf of the City of Petersburg. The motion was seconded by Council Member Wilson-Smith. The motion was approved on roll call vote. On roll call vote, voting yes: Myers, Smith-Lee, Hill, and Parham; Voting No: Cuthbert and Wilson-Smith; Absent: Hart 20-R-14 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT LESS THAN FEE SIMPLE CONVEYANCES OF REAL PROPERTY ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF PETERSBURG, b. Consideration of Honorary Street Name Designations BACKGROUND: Since the adoption of the ordinance, staff has received seven applicants for honorary street designations. RECOMMENDATION: Based on the adopted ordinance with what was approved by council on January 21st it is my recommendation the adoption of seven (7) of the attached resolutions for honorary street designations, to honor the following individuals for their contributions and cultural significance to the City of Petersburg: Moses Malone, Hermanze and Germaine Fauntleroy, Co. Howard Baugh, Sussi R.C. Byrd, Victoria Gray Adams, Udine Smith Moore, and Dr. Margaret Crowder. There was discussion among City Council and staff. Council Member Wilson-Smith made a motion to adopt the resolution of seven honorary street name designation, to honor the following individuals for their contributions and cultural significance to the City of Petersburg: Moses Malone, Hermanze and Germaine Fauntleroy, Co. Howard Baugh, Sussi R.C. Byrd, Victoria Gray Adams, Udine Smith Moore, and Dr. Margaret Crowder. Council Member Myers made a substitute motion to list Moses Malone on St. Matthews Street as one of the first honorary signs and then move forward at another meeting to make considerations on other areas. The motion was seconded by Council Member Hill. There were discussions on the motion. The motion was approved on roll call vote. On roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert, Wilson-Smith, Myers, Smith-Lee, Hill, and Parham; Absent: Hart Mayor Parham opened the floor for public comments. Seeing no hands, public comments were closed. 20-R-15 A RESOLUTION FOR THE CITY OF PETERSBURG TO CONFER AN HONORARY STREET NAME DESIGNATION FOR MOSES MALONE. c. Consideration of a motion to direct the City Attorney to file a petition for a special election for the Commonwealth Attorney. *Audio available upon request.  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council meeting held on April 14, 2020 - 11 – ______________________________________________________________________________ BACKGROUND: On March 4, 2020, Petersburg Commonwealth’s Attorney, Cheryl Wilson, and her Chief Deputy Kenneth Blaylock announced in the Progress Index newspaper their pending judicial appointments effective July 1, 2020 and December 1, 2020, respectively. Pursuant to Section 24.2-228.1 of the Code of Virginia, the City must file a Petition to the Circuit Court to schedule a Special Election to fill the vacancy. In accordance with this statute, Wilson’s Chief Deputy or Assistant who is qualified to vote and hold the office will be vested with authority of the Office during the pendency of the Special Election. The City Attorney has been in consultation with the Voter Registrar who has indicated that it would be most appropriate to hold the Special Election in conjunction with the upcoming Regular Election on November 3, 2020. RECOMMENDATION: Approve Motion. Council Member Hill made a motion to approve the motion directing the City Attorney to file a petition for a special election for the Commonwealth Attorney. The motion was seconded by Council Member Myers. The motion was approved on roll call vote. On roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert, Wilson-Smith, Myers, Smith- Lee, Hill, and Parham; Absent: Hart 17. CITY MANAGER’S AGENDA: Mrs. Benavides stated that she would like to remind everyone that the budget calendar is in the packet regarding the upcoming budget meetings for city council. 18. BUSINESS OR REPORTS FROM THE CLERK: *No items for this portion of the agenda. 19. BUSINESS OR REPORTS FROM CITY ATTORNEY: *No items for this portion of the agenda. 20. ADJOURNMENT: City Council adjourned at 3:56 p.m. _________________________ Clerk of City Council APPROVED: _________________________ Mayor *Audio available upon request.