City Council

Minutes from the Special Petersburg City Council Special meeting held on September 14, 2020 -1– ______________________________________________________________________________ The Special City Council Meeting of the Petersburg City Council was held on Monday, September 14, 2020, on live stream. Mayor Parham called the Special City Council Meeting to order at 12:00p.m. 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. ROLL CALL: Present: Council Member Charles H. Cuthbert, Jr Council Member Treska Wilson-Smith Council Member Annette Smith-Lee 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 Attorney Anthony Williams City Manager Aretha R. Ferrell-Benavides Clerk of Council Nykesha D. Jackson 3. PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDERATION: a. A public hearing and consideration of adoption of the Continuity of Government Ordinance previously adopted by Council expiring on September 14, 2020. This ordinance replaces the prior ordinance and will extend the emergency operation provisions through March 14, 2021. BACKGROUND: Council’s current Continuity of Government Ordinance expires on September 14, 2020. In order to continue operating under the emergency provisions, Council must adopt this ordinance on or before September 14, 2020. If adopted, Council may continue to operate under the emergency provisions through March 14, 2021 unless rescinded prior to that by Council through adoption of a rescission ordinance. RECOMMENDATION: Adopt the ordinance. Mayor Parham opened the floor for public comments. Michelle Murrills, 131 S. Market Street, stated, “In the State of Virginia we are in Stage 3 of COVIDE-19 Pandemic, this means that we are allowed to have gatherings of up to 250 people. There is no reason why the City of Petersburg cannot have hybrid City Council meetings of in person and online. The train station should allow for plenty of room for social distancing. And quite honestly, I do not see more than 50 people going in person. I just do not understand how a place like Colonial Heights can have in person meetings and Petersburg is not. I believe the reason for not allowing in person meetings is more than just you are afraid of the pandemic. A lot of pictures have been taken with you all in photo ops and without mask and with other people around and not just council members. If you are afraid of catching COVID if sitting more than 20 feet away from the citizens of Petersburg, perhaps you should have made sure that the most vulnerable citizens receive PPE that was given out or use the CARES money to get more. Otherwise, the citizens should be able to take responsibility of themselves. Though it has been banded around before I have yet to hear anyone exercising the right to open government catching the virus. After all we still have had and are going to have open elections. And while mail in ballots are available no state has closed down voting at the polls. If members *Audio available upon request. Minutes from the Special Petersburg City Council Special meeting held on September 14, 2020 -2– ______________________________________________________________________________ of City Council are afraid of catching something from the unwashed masks then it the meeting should be of hybrid, electronic or in person. If Councilwoman Wilson-Smith can attend meetings from her house, then there is no reason that any else cannot as well. That would also allow City Council Members who have been exposed in their personal lives to quarantine themselves. Also, City Council Meetings are to be in the evening. It is ridiculous and so easy to throw out what citizens have setup just because City Council Members do not want to have to take actual time out of their day to do the job that they were voted in to do. I am happy that you all have time in the middle of the day to have meetings, as I to have that time available and it is easy for me as well. But it is very telling when someone gets out early because things are rushed through. Perhaps someone would not need to rush through meetings so much if done at the proper time instead of the middle of the day. Also, the middle of the day is now time that our schools are in session and we do not need to add more to an internet system that is already crushing easily because of too many people using it. So, in conclusion, City Council meetings need to be the same way Colonial Heights are and only better. The meetings need to be of hybrid and in person and they need to be in the evening so that people that have jobs and other commitments are able to attend. And they need to be at the train station so that all citizens can attend. Thank you.” Barb Rudolph, 1675 Mt. Vernon Street, stated, “I can keep it real short because I want to endorse everything that Michelle said. She made a number of excellent points. I do not think that she omitted anything I wanted to say. So, I just encourage all of you to practice open government. Hiding from us for six months, which is how it looks, is not showing a commitment to that. Also, I just want to encourage you to remember what the Attorney General’s intention for this was. It is for emergency content that is supposed to be discussed in these virtual meetings. And I know in an earlier discussion that Council Member Cuthbert brought that up. It is more like you all are using the meetings where citizens cannot attend to bring up all kinds of things. So, it seems like I wish that the spirit on how this was offered to the community is one that you would follow. Thank you.” Patrick Ingram, 836 S. Gillfield Drive, stated, “Members of Council and City Administration, I speak before you today on a matter of great importance. Today, City Council votes to extend continuity of an ordinance to continue operating under emergency provisions. In the agenda, it addresses whereas the order of Governor’s Executive Order 53 limited public and private gathering of 10 or more persons with limited exceptions. However, we are currently under Executive Order 67, which on page 10 of that order states that under continued restrictions public and private in-person gatherings of more than 250 individuals are prohibited. It goes on to stating that more than 250 performing functions of their employment is not a gathering. I do not believe that City Council meetings in person will exceed that and the practice of democracy is a function of such employment which is not a gathering. We should be going back to normal unless Dr. Hart or Dr. Oliver supersedes with documentation stating otherwise. Additionally, I feel as a candidate for City Council for the 6th seat that it is necessary to set the example. Such example like using the CARES Act money for COVID-19 counter measures for doing in-person meetings to prevent limited exposure and distribution of PPE to every vulnerable Petersburg resident and a paper trail that shows where the distribution takes place. We need to be setting an example and not practicing a do as a I say and not as I do ideology. Virtually we have witnessed Members of Council and the administration not social distancing and consistent mask wearing and disease techniques happening. And in pictures we do not see social distancing and consistent mask wearing. And in a City that is vulnerable to COVID-19 our current leadership in my opinion is not setting the example. It is time that council is held accountable and do the right thing to better listen to your constituency, possess measurable examples to prove otherwise and zoom accessible and fair meetings of both available in person and virtually by phone and television. Thank you.” Linwood Christian, 410 Mistletoe Street, stated, “I too have been asking the question and now I am asking this question of why are we continuing or want to continue for a further six months to operate under emergency. As prior speakers have touched on this especially Mrs. Rudolph and Michelle and Mr. Ingram, we have been in Phase 3 for more than a week. We have actually been in Phase 3 for more than a month. Yet, all of our surrounding localities are having in-person meetings except us. Even our school board is doing both in- *Audio available upon request. Minutes from the Special Petersburg City Council Special meeting held on September 14, 2020 -3– ______________________________________________________________________________ person and virtual meetings. But yet, we are still going through this. What we are doing now is expensive for a City that is already having financial troubles. This is just another abuse of your citizens taxpayer money. And so, we are still going through this. We keep on giving some excuse that the train station is not available when whatever the reason did not just happen. So, my thing is that I am one of those citizens that do not agree to extending it. I know that we will not get back to total normalcy, but this is ridiculous. It is a waste of our money. And those who claim that you are doing right by this City, whether it is a campaign speech or not, your actions are not speaking louder than your words. So, I would suggest that if you all have any decency or any feelings that we are going to do right by our citizens do not approve this ordinance. Thank you.” Seeing no further hands, Mayor Parham closed the public hearing. There was discussion among City Council Members and staff. Council Member Wilson-Smith made a motion to not continue virtual meetings or approve the ordinance. The motion was seconded by Council Member Cuthbert. There was discussion on the motion. 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 Hart and Parham Council Member Myers made a motion to continue virtual meetings and to approve the ordinance. The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Hart. The motion was approved on roll call vote. On roll call vote, voting yes: Myers, Smith-Lee, Hill, Hart and Parham; Voting No: Wilson-Smith and Cuthbert 20-ORD-43 AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE TO EFFECTUATE TEMPORARY CHANGES IN CERTAIN DEADLINES AND TO MODIFY PUBLIC MEETING AND PUBLIC HEARING PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES TO ADDRESS CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH PANDEMIC DISASTER. 4. ADJOURNMENT: City Council adjourned at 12:22 p.m. _________________________ Clerk of City Council APPROVED: _________________________ Mayor *Audio available upon request.