City Council

Minutes from the Petersburg City Council Work Session meeting held on May 2, 2023 -1– ______________________________________________________________________________ The work session meeting of the Petersburg City Council was held on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, at the Petersburg Public Library. Mayor Parham called the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m. 1. ROLL CALL: Present: Council Member Charles H. Cuthbert, Jr. Council Member Marlow Jones Council Member Annette Smith-Lee Council Member W. Howard Myers Council Member Arnold Westbrook, Jr. Vice Mayor Darrin Hill Mayor Samuel Parham Absent: None Present from City Council Administration: Clerk of City Council Nykesha D. Lucas City Manager John March Altman, Jr. City Attorney Anthony C. Williams 2. PRAYER: Mayor Parham stated, “Vice Mayor Hill will lead us in our opening prayer.” Vice Mayor Hill led the council meeting in prayer. He stated that he would also like every to add to the prayer Pastor Shawn Brooks of Greater Works Christian Fellowship. He had a bad accident in the rain. 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Parham led the council and the citizens in the pledge of allegiance. 4. DETERMINATION OF THE PRESENCE OF A QUORUM: A quorum is present. 5. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Jeffrey Fleming, 1819 Chuckatuck Avenue, stated that he was looking at some site plans for the wastewater treatment plant. He stated that sadly the city lost an icon, Mr. Richard A. Stewart. He stated what better way to recognize him for all the work that he has done for the city and Pocohontas by naming that road after him. He stated it would be a tribute to name the road after him. 6. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA (TO INCLUDE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING/S): a. A request to schedule a public hearing and consideration of an ordinance approving a petition for a Special Use Permit (SUP) for used Auto Sales and Car Rental at 1242 W. Washington Street. The property is located in a B-2 General Commercial Zoning District. b. A request to schedule a public hearing and consideration of an ordinance approving the petition for Special Use Permit (SUP) for Automotive Repair and Detailing at 1841 Anchor Avenue. The property is located in the M-1 Light Industrial Zoning District. c. A request to schedule a public hearing and consideration of an ordinance approving a petition for a Special Use Permit (SUP) for a Multi-Family residential development at 712 High Street. Minutes from the Petersburg City Council Work Session meeting held on May 2, 2023 -2– ______________________________________________________________________________ The property is located in the B-2 General Commercial Zoning District. d. A request to schedule a public hearing and consideration of a petition for a Special Use Permit (SUP) for a Car Wash and Automotive Detailing at 1602 W. Washington Street. The property is located in the B-2 General Commercial Zoning District. e. A request to schedule a public hearing and consideration of an ordinance approving a petition to rezone the property located at 3287 County Drive from B-2 General Commercial Zoning District to M-1 Light Industrial Zoning District. f. A request to schedule a public hearing for consideration of the City of Petersburg’s FY2023-24 Proposed Operating Budget. g. A request to schedule a public hearing for consideration to approve and appropriate the budget for Petersburg City Public Schools for FY23-24. h. A request to schedule a public hearing on an ordinance to amend and readopt the Petersburg City Code to Rescind Section 118-94. i. A request to hold a public hearing on June 20, 2023, to receive public comments for the consideration of funding recommendations and availability for the CDBG 2023-2024 Action Plan. j. Minutes: -April 18, 2023 – Closed Session -April 18, 2023 – Regular City Council Meeting -April 25, 2023 – Special City Council Meeting. Mrs. Lucas stated that there has been an update to April 18th minutes with regard to the background of “14a” and “14b”. Vice Mayor Hill made a motion to approve the consent agenda with updated changes. Council Member Myers seconded the motion. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert, Jones, Smith-Lee, Myers, Westbrook, Hill, and Parham 7. SPECIAL REPORTS: a. Presentation from Boys to Men Mentoring Warren McCrickard, Executive Director of Boys to Men Mentoring Group, gave an overview of the group. Key notes:  They are a non-profit organization that has been operating for 11 years.  They have been to Hopewell, Prince George, and Colonial Heights and now they are in Petersburg.  They are currently operating four circles of boys between the ages of 8-12.  They are given a safe space to talk about how they feel. They do this each week consistently with mentors.  Currently they are at Blandford, Pittman, and Vernon Johns. b. Recognition of students on the Forensic Team at Petersburg High School Terri Smith, Teacher at Petersburg High School, gave an overview on the Forensic Team being a team Minutes from the Petersburg City Council Work Session meeting held on May 2, 2023 -3– ______________________________________________________________________________ that does public speaking. She stated that it is like an academic sport. She stated that Petersburg High School will be hosting a competition on December 9. She stated that she will keep everyone posted when they confirm all the details. Mayor Parham recognized Miangel Brown, Taylor Thomas, Lakayla Galloway, Amelia Basile and Justina Upshaw with a certificate of recognition. Council Member Jones congratulated the young ladies from Petersburg High School. 8. MONTHLY REPORTS: *There are no items for this portion of the agenda. 9. FINANCE AND BUDGET REPORT: *There are no items for this portion of the agenda. 10. CAPITAL PROJECTS UPDATE: a. Presentation of an update from JMT on Poor Creek Project. Michael P. Luning, Vice President of JMT, gave a briefing. Key Notes:  They have awarded the contracts.  They are waiting to hear back regarding some grant opportunities to receive additional funding.  They still plan to go out for bid November 2023.  They are on schedule with everything and their timeline. There was discussion between the City Council and Mr. Luning. 11. UTILITIES: *There are no items for this portion of the agenda. 12. STREETS: *There are no items for this portion of the agenda. 13. FACILITIES: *There are no items for this portion of the agenda. 14. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: *There are no items for this portion of the agenda. 15. CITY MANAGER’S AGENDA: Mr. Altman stated that he would like to thank the public and the community for their patience with everything that was going on at city hall. He stated that there was a roof replacement that took longer than they thought it would. He stated that they had to close city hall two Fridays ago to accomplish that. He stated that there was also an issue where an individual came in that was quite disruptive in the building and city hall had to be locked down for a little while. Minutes from the Petersburg City Council Work Session meeting held on May 2, 2023 -4– ______________________________________________________________________________ Vice Mayor Hill stated that Ward 2 would be having a meeting on May 9th at Good Shepherd Baptist Church beginning at 6pm. He stated that he will have the city manager and Chief Christian in attendance. Council Member Smith-Lee stated that her Ward 6 meeting was going to be May 11th, but it has changed to May 18th, 2023. She stated that there will be flyers available. She stated that she also wanted to congratulate herself on being inducted into the Petersburg Hall of Fame. Mayor Parham congratulated Council Member Smith-Lee. 16. BUSINESS OR REPORTS FROM THE CLERK: *No items for this portion of the agenda. 17. BUSINESS OR REPORTS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY: Mr. Williams stated that there may have been a notice of a series of special meetings recently due to a scheduling issue with the newspaper with the clerk. He stated that it is unique to Petersburg that we request to schedule public hearings as part of our consent agenda. He stated that it is not legally required. He stated that this does not allow the clerk to advertise during the appropriate time. He stated that the consensus from council going forward is that the agenda will just say first reading. It would not require the clerk to request permission to schedule a public hearing. It would be automatic so there will not be multiple special meetings going forward. 18. ADJOURNMENT: The City Council adjourned at 6:04 p.m. _________________________ Clerk of City Council APPROVED: _________________________ Mayor