City Council

Minutes from the Petersburg City Council Work Session meeting held on November 8, 2023 -1– ______________________________________________________________________________ The work session meeting of the Petersburg City Council was held on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, at the Petersburg Public Library. Mayor Parham called the meeting to order at 5:08 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. 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: Barbara Rudolph, 1675 Mt. Vernon Street, stated, “I cannot believe that we are moving quickly today. And we are moving quickly through the year, it’s November. My thoughts turn to the legislative agenda. After tonight there is only two meetings left. I didn’t see anything on the agenda tonight on the legislative package. And of course, the 2024 General Assembly Session is a long session. We have Partnership for Petersburg and there should be all kinds of issues on there. I am hoping that unlike in the last couple of years, that something does get shared with the public and actually discussed openly and possibly we have some input into it. Anyway, I am looking forward to that. I see that it is going on in other localities. I think one thing as a result of what happened yesterday in the election’s that will probably come back on your agenda is a casino trying to get on the list as a host city. That should be challenging. Your main proponent is no longer in office and some of you on this council did not go out of your way to be supportive of our new Senator, Lashrecse Aird. So, I do not know how it will be to work with her on this issue. And of course, it looks like you still have Kim Taylor with her huge historic victory of 173 votes. But she may have an up-hill battle too with a House of Delegates now with a democratic majority. We believe the speaker will be Don Scott of Portsmouth. The same Don Scott, who came here a year ago to the democratic dinner and was snubbed by several council members, a very powerful person. Another powerful person who is going to ascend to a higher position in the 2024 General Assembly is Minutes from the Petersburg City Council Work Session meeting held on November 8, 2023 -2– ______________________________________________________________________________ Senator Louis Lucas also of Portsmouth. She came to the democratic dinner this year and Council Member Smith-Lee was there, but I do not believe any other members were present. So, I think that it will be interesting to see how much fence mending you all can do because whatever you try to do is still dependent on the General Assembly. You still have to get designated as a host city in order to have a referendum. Anyway, looking forward to seeing the Legislative Agenda when we can. Thank you.” Mary Howard, South Parth Drive, stated, “I am here because I have had some elderly people in the community come and ask me for help in reference to taxes on their properties that they had exempts for in 2019. But due to COVID and being shut down in 2020 and 2021, they fell behind. They did not receive tax bills and they did not receive the exemption that they would get because it was not sent out. And we know that the taxes that were sent out were wrong. Now they were turned over to Jason Dunn who you all hired. But a letter as well came from the city to them that said call Jason Dunn office. When calling Jason Dunn office, they said they did not have the paperwork but the only thing they had was a bill. And so, the person asked for payment plans. They had to go back to Jason Dunn’s office. Jason Dunn sent them back to the city to set up payment plans for it to be approved. They went through all of that and went back to Jason Dunn’s office and when the payment plan was sent out it is different. We asked for an itemized bill of the interest accrued and attorney fees for this particular one and the interest continued to accrue. Once a payment plan is set up, they send a letter that says paid by the first of this month. But the bills through the mail and paperwork get there late and then you have 10 days to pay it otherwise you are in default. And if they are in default of the letter then they are going to get their home taken. And we are talking about elderly people who have been in their homes for 30 plus years and have never been behind. There is no request for them. And he said whether you sign the paper agreement or not we are still going to take your home. So, I do not know how this came forth or how he has this much power when we are talking about home ownership and people owning their homes forever and now, they are talking about taking people’s homes. I do not come up here much, but this is really bothering me a lot. Because if we have not followed up with the company of the man that is out of Virginia Beach and what he is doing and the letters that he is sending to our elderly people. It is not working so we need to revisit and look at what he is doing and follow up as well. But this guy Cameron downtown is setting up payment plans, and the paperwork is not following everything else. We have asked for an itemized bill from Jason Dunn, but still he has not sent that, but he is looking to take these people to court and take these people homes. Can we take a look back at that? If you all don’t know I have the people and we can come and talk to whoever. But we need to do something about this. Thank you.” Genevieve Lohr, 19 Guarantee Street, stated, “So, what you are getting right now is an “Every Day Strong Hand” booklet. So, if you want to just look through that it would be great. If you want to know more about this, this will be offered tomorrow at 6pm in the library in the conference room. It is a one-hour training, and it is very simple. It is completely free. I will do the training for anyone and anywhere. “Every Day Strong” is a resilience building framework so that adults are able to help children to feel safe, connected, and confident. Safe, connected, and confident kids are resilient kids who are able to handle a little better all the things that are thrown at them. So, we know that this can be really valuable in the City of Petersburg. And I would appreciate any taking the opportunity to learn more. Again, this is tomorrow at 6pm and I am doing another one in December. And I will continue to offer community meetings monthly at the library. But if there is an opportunity and you would like to have a different meeting like your ward meeting let me know and I will be happy to do that as well. I can do them virtually or in person. It is completely free and partnered with United Way. The next thing I want to share with you all is that there is something else that is happening tomorrow. Tomorrow at 7pm there is an interest meeting for CASA, which is Court Appointed Special Advocate. CASA is coming to Petersburg which is very exciting. It is something for everyone to be thrilled about. It is an opportunity for our children to get the advocacy that they need in the court system. You guys can learn more about that tomorrow. The last thing that I want to share with you guys which was also shared by the city is that we know that poverty is an issue within the city. And next week is an opportunity for all of us to understand that a little bit more. It is November 14th at 4:30pm at the library. Poverty is something that happens because of circumstances. It is not a choice or something that anyone chooses to do. I think that they still need volunteers as well. That is all that I have to share with you today. So, thank you so much.” Minutes from the Petersburg City Council Work Session meeting held on November 8, 2023 -3– ______________________________________________________________________________ 6. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA (TO INCLUDE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING/S): a. Minutes: -October 17, 2023 – Closed Session Meeting Minutes -October 17 – Regular City Council Meeting Minutes b. Consideration of an appropriation for a $2,467 increase to the FY24 approved & adopted budget for the Litter Grant received from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). This increases the amount from $10,158 to $12,645 for the City of Petersburg’s Litter Prevention and Recycling Program activities for FY24 – 1st Reading. c. Consideration of an ordinance to re-establish the Commercial property-assessed clean energy (CPACE) program. – 1st Reading d. A request to schedule a public hearing on the consideration of an ordinance to amend and re- adopt Chapter 21 including Sections 21-1 and 21-2 to change the name of the “Petersburg Area Public Arts” to the “Petersburg Arts Council.” e. A request to schedule a public hearing to consider an ordinance to amend and re-adopt Chapter 2 Article VII Subdivision I of the Petersburg City Code to include Section 2-360 to authorize the City Manager to administratively approve amendments to the purchasing manuals & purchasing procedure. f. A request to schedule and consider a public hearing and consideration of a request from Sayed Shah Owner, representative of S Shah Properties LLC to obtain a Special Use Permit as provided for under Article 35, Supplementary Use Regulations – Special Uses. Section 4, Special Uses Enumerated. Item (22) of the Zoning Ordinance to establish Stand-alone used vehicle sales not associated with a new-vehicle dealership or not located upon the same parcel as such new-vehicle dealership, if located upon parcels of less than one acre in area, such to be permitted within the B-2 and M-1 zoning districts only. The subject property is located at 112 and 114 N. Crater Road, and further identified as Tax Parcel # 012110010 and #012110009. The Comprehensive Plan suggests this area is appropriate for commercial and residential uses. The property is zoned B-2, General Commercial District. Vice Mayor Hill made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Council Member Westbrook 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 of Proclamation designating the month of November as Family Court Awareness Month. Mayor Parham read the proclamation aloud. b. Presentation of Proclamation designating November 1, 2023, as Extra Mile Day. Mayor Parham read the proclamation aloud. c. Presentation for years of service to Mr. Barrett Harrison in the Department of Utilities. Mayor Parham presented Mr. Harrison with a certificate of recognition for his 45 years of service. d. Presentation to announce L.L. Bean’s National Pop-Up Shop coming to Petersburg December 2, 2023, and December 3, 2023. Minutes from the Petersburg City Council Work Session meeting held on November 8, 2023 -4– ______________________________________________________________________________ Brian A. Moore, Director of Economic Development, stated, “Thank you Mr. Mayor and Members of Council. What a wonderful opportunity for Mr. Barrett and to follow him tonight. As we say the boot is coming with L.L. Bean. We had to have a business partner from the street to work with us. We are fortunate to have work with Ms. Eva Marie Bowman. She is the Director of Mingle. She is going to bring forth a presentation of what we have been working with for about a month and a half.” Ms. Bowman stated, “I am local to the area and just moved back home. I have been gone for about eight years. I was born and raised in Prince George. My father served as a Petersburg Officer for about 25 years. My mother has been a Commonwealth Attorney in and out of Petersburg forever. But Petersburg means the world to me. So, I came back after selling off to a big company and wanted to work in more local businesses. So, one of my favorite things is branding. I am excited to share this information tonight and go over the details to see how fabulous that this is going to be for the city.” Key points:  Petersburg is the only pop-up in the 2023 L.L. Bean Tour located in central/eastern Virginia. This will be the closest pop-up to most Central, Coastal and Southern Virginia Region shoppers.  The event is fully staffed with all set-up/check-out equipment for the mobile shop with activations.  L.L. Bean will be selling a variety of inventory.  The footprint includes the iconic mobile L.L. Bean Boot.  Media Marketing Plan developed with L.L. Bean and implemented by Mingle. Mingle is partnered with the City of Petersburg to increase foot traffic 15%-30%.  Promoting the first holiday weekend of December as a small business holiday shopping weekend in Old Towne Petersburg.  The objective is to have new customers from different cities and states traveling to Old Towne Petersburg.  The first goal is to create a positive experience for local businesses, owners, residents, and consumers. Small business owners should see an increase in local foot traffic, sales, and engagement on social media.  The second goal is for this event to increase the overall Petersburg foot traffic, tourism, and new customer engagement.  This event will show that the City of Petersburg is an attractive, connected location for big brands who are looking to do pop-ups and brand launches outside of bigger cities.  This event can be proof of the concept that Mingle and The City of Petersburg can work on events as partners to increase marketing, tourism, foot traffic and more. 8. MONTHLY REPORTS: There are no items for this portion of the agenda. 9. FINANCE AND BUDGET REPORT: Mr. Altman stated, “I have a finance report that I can send out to everyone. It gives a budget to actual expenditures through October. I received it yesterday, so I will be sending it out to everyone. But the good news is that we should be about 30% to our budget to expenditures. Based on where we are we are actually running below that. We are around 31% of expenditures. We are doing very well with monitoring our budget and utilizing our funds. So, we will send it out to you and make it available on the web page to the public.” 10. CAPITAL PROJECTS UPDATE: Mr. Altman stated, “We are going to do a larger update for you at the December meeting for a lot of our capital projects.” Minutes from the Petersburg City Council Work Session meeting held on November 8, 2023 -5– ______________________________________________________________________________ 11. UTILITIES: a. Update from JMT on Poor Creek Project. Ben Anderson of JMT gave a brief update and presentation. Key points:  Schedule meets funding agency requirements (EDA, EPA, DEQ, VDH)  Reimbursement No. 1 sent to DEQ is being processed. Reimbursement No. 2 is being drafted.  They are on schedule and budget. There was discussion among the City Council Members and Mr. Anderson. 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: a. Update on Neighborhood Services Project Maintenance Process. Jim Reid, Director of Neighborhood Services, gave a presentation on the Neighborhood Services Project Maintenance Process. Key Notes:  It is the mission of the Code Compliance Division and Property Maintenance Division to provide prompt assistance to the public, contractors, and homeowner’s ensuring that the minimum standards require for the construction of buildings and structures are being observed in order to help protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens and visitors of Petersburg.  Step One: Make a site inspection, Step Two: Notice of violation, Step Three: Site visit re- inspection, Step Four: Inspector enforcement, Step Five: Court action and Step Six: Monitor property for successful conclusion. There was discussion among the city council members and staff. Council Member Jones made a request to change the name of Neighborhood Services to Code Enforcement. Mr. Williams stated that he spoke with Chief Reid and that he is going to work on an amendment to the ordinance for clarity. 16. BUSINESS OR REPORTS FROM THE CLERK: Minutes from the Petersburg City Council Work Session meeting held on November 8, 2023 -6– ______________________________________________________________________________ *No items for this portion of the agenda. 17. BUSINESS OR REPORTS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY: *No items for this portion of the agenda. 18. ADJOURNMENT: The City Council adjourned at 5:59 p.m. _________________________ Clerk of City Council APPROVED: _________________________ Mayor