City Council Meeting   12/21/2020

Counselor Hill, will you read us out of closed session?

I move that this council certify by recorded vote that to the best of each council member's knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from the open meeting requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and identified in the motion convene the closed session where heard, discussed, or considered in the closed session.

Second.

Do you have to?

Councilor Payne?

Yes.

Councilor Snook?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Magill?

Yes.

Councilor Hill?

Thomas, would you call the roll, please?

Councilor Snook?

Present.

Here.

I invite a motion to approve the agenda.

So moved.

Second.

Councilor Snook?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Magill?

Yes.

Councilor Hill?

Are there any announcements?

Application deadline is January 22, 2021 at 5 o'clock PM.

are there any recognitions or proclamations at this time?

Thank you.

All right, well, I'm going to invite a motion to approve the boards and commissions report of appointees.

Should they be read first?

K. Slaughter, the Personnel Appeals Board, Phil Duranzio, the Rivanna River Basin Commission, Jason Halbert, the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority and Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, Mike Gaffney, the Social Services Advisory Board, Cherry Stewart, and the Towing Advisory Board, Ashley Cullop and Bridget Hipes.

I'll second.

And so we certainly are wanting to give opportunity for some of those positions and we will be actively recruiting and then revisiting all applications.

Councilor Payne?

Yes.

Councilor Snook?

Yes.

Yes.

Thomas, if you would read the consent agenda, please.

Resolution, adoption of the 2021 City Council Regular Meeting Schedule, one reading.

I move approval of the consent agenda.

First, we have to ask at the public.

Mr. Wheeler, could you,

See if there's any members of the public who would like to speak on the consent agenda.

And Vice Mayor Magill, I do not see any hands raised.

I'm inviting a motion to approve the consent agenda.

Second.

Councillor Payne?

Yes.

Councillor Snook?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Magill?

Yes.

Councillor Hill?

Yes.

Mr. Wheeler, we now move, oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Blair, would love the city manager's response to community matters from previous meetings, please.

And just want to bring that to the public's attention because that's a very important

Again, if you apply by January 8th, you may receive assistance on your arrearage, and it's just important for the public to know that that program is out there.

or tonight for our new fire chief, Dr. Hesedine Smith to make some brief remarks to the council and to let you all know what he's seeing and his thoughts on serving as the city of Charlottesville's fire chief for these past few weeks.

So I see Dr. Smith's here and am happy to turn it over to him.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chief Smith, and welcome very much to our community.

Thank you.

Mr. Blair, is that all for the city manager's report at this time?

Yes, ma'am.

Mr. Wheeler, if you can take the wheel.

If you're in the audience and you would like to address council, click the raise hand icon in the Zoom webinar.

Jojo, you're on with city council and you've got three minutes.

That's it, thank you.

Thanks, Brian.

I think on the public housing side you're doing a great job and I'm wondering what's the responsibility on the market side of our affordable housing strategy and plan.

Thank you for having me.

Mr. Heinecke, I'm sorry, we've gone past the three minutes.

So thank you.

So that's that number.

Thank you, Mr. Wheeler.

Sean, you're on with City Council and you've got three minutes.

You guys are the ones who have to make the decisions

Thank you, Mr. Tubbs.

Tanisha, you're on with the city council and you've got three minutes.

Because this wifi kind of sucks.

We can.

Good night.

Hudson.

I think what she may be referring to is the redactions that come because of the FOIA, the dimensions of what is FOIA-able, but council never signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Mr. Wheeler?

You've got three minutes.

Have a wonderful and safe holiday.

Thank you, Mr. Gathers.

Robin, you're on the city council and you've got three minutes.

Happy holidays and happy new year.

Hoffman.

Good evening, Councilors.

I live at 726 Orange.

Are you back?

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Gilligan.

Elizabeth, you're on the City Council and you've got three minutes.

That's all.

Thank you, Mr. Cannon.

You've got three minutes.

Guskin.

You've got three minutes.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

You've got three minutes.

Can you hear me?

We can.

Thank you.

Turner.

Vice Mayor Magill.

Thank you, Mr. Wheeler.

What time is it now?

7.20.

Hildebrand, Director of Utilities, if you wouldn't mind presenting.

And if you have any questions, I'm available.

Mr. Wheeler, could you check with the public and see if there is any one who would like to speak on this item?

And I don't see any hands raised at this time.

Then I will close the public hearing and invite a motion.

Second.

Does anybody want to discuss anything?

Seems pretty straightforward.

Thomas, if we could have a vote, please.

Counselor Payne?

Yes.

Counselor Snook?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Magill?

Yes.

Yes.

Mr. Blair, I invite you to present.

And again, this does require a public hearing per state code.

Mr. Wheeler, I'd like to open this matter for the public hearing.

And I don't see any hands raised.

Do we agree for it to be moved to the January 19th consent agenda at this time?

Yes.

Yes.

Yep.

I invite Mr. Chris Angle, director of economic development, to present.

We'd be happy to answer any questions that you might have if you have them.

Mr. Wheeler, I'd like to open this for public hearing then please.

Remember back in the old days when we had signup sheets?

Feels like forever ago.

I don't see any hands raised.

Something that Mayor Walker had brought up when she and I talked about the agenda was we aren't limiting how often these can be renewed, correct?

Limiting.

I just wanted to clarify because that was a question that was raised by one of my colleagues.

Yes and no.

They require an additional public hearing.

Thank you for clarifying.

Would that be a fair request?

I would imagine Mr. Engle would agree.

Yeah, it currently doesn't exist, but that could certainly be put together.

I have no idea what y'all are doing down there.

Any further discussion?

So moved.

Thomas, would you take the vote?

I don't think, did anybody second me?

Yes, Heather did.

Okay.

Okay.

Councilor Payne?

Yes.

Councilor Snook?

Yes.

Yes.

If you would present, I would appreciate it.

Good evening Madam Vice Mayor, Members of Council.

Thank you.

Councillors, does anybody else have anything they'd like to either discuss or ask at this point?

So I think that this is the prudent course for now, and I think we should go ahead and approve the staff recommendation.

So it really is just going to go off as a reserve in cash for whatever future priority, unseen need there might be for your consideration.

How bad things keep getting.

And so it certainly has a multiplier effect in that regard as well.

We have a public hearing next.

Mr. Wheeler, if there's anybody in the public who would like to speak on this.

And I do not see any hands raised.

And I invite a motion.

I would move approval of putting the $3.9 million in the CIP contingency fund.

I think our motion has to be maybe just all of the year-end adjustments, no?

I believe the motion is to approve the fiscal year 2020 year-end adjustments.

It's fine without being a specific amount.

take the vote.

Councillor Payne?

Yes.

Councillor Snook?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Magill?

Yes.

Yes.

Powell, I understand you will be introducing this item tonight.

questions that we can answer for council.

Counselors are there any questions at this time?

how some of this might impact budgeting moving forward but I don't think this is the appropriate time to get into that level of detail so we'll broach that when we have our joint meeting.

I have a number of budget questions but they're sort of outside the scope of these specific CARES Act allocations.

If there are no clarifying questions from council at this point, Mr. Wheeler, I would like to open this to the public hearing.

Vice Mayor Magill, I don't see any hands raised.

Is there any disagreement on that matter?

Sounds reasonable to me.

Mr. Cullinan, Director of Finance, if you would please present.

As of the writing of this memo, which was late last week, we had approximately $915,000, which was unspent from those various categories.

Thank you.

But I'm just trying to understand kind of where staff is on that question that Mayor Walker posed.

jump in here and offer that number one we want to extend the time so it doesn't expire.

And if that's the case, we could be seeing more restrictive measures, which ultimately without additional CARES Act funding from Washington are probably going to result in decrease in some of our major revenue sources.

I think Chief Smith, I'm sorry, I'm going to speak.

So that's our position on that.

Thank you.

Don't rebound, or if they do rebound, you know, open up opportunities to have more money in the city budget to spend on housing, the capital improvement project's budget, various priorities, and just that being the net impact and logic behind council making this decision.

So we're using the CARES funds to reimburse ourselves for those expenses.

Now, I don't see a public hearing on this, as I believe we had the public hearing the last meeting.

So it doesn't require a public hearing.

So right now I'm inviting a motion for the CARES Act allocation unspent funds.

Yeah, I move we adopt the resolution for the coronavirus aid relief and economic act CARES funds allocation of unspent funds.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thomas, I'm calling for a vote.

Councilor Payne?

Yes.

Councilor Snook?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Magill?

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yep.

Okay.

I just realized my video was off when I was shaking my head.

Meeting temporarily suspended.

Okay.

We're in recess, but I don't get to play.

I'm out.

Is everyone back?

Yes.

Erin Attak, our Grants Coordinator, will be presenting.

Thank you.

Attak.

So I'm available for any questions you may have.

OK.

So are there any clarifying questions at this point about anything?

So it sounds like a lot of people are gonna have to make this adjustment.

Yes, not just the city.

Okay so am I. Michael comfortable with going to consent for January 19th?

Yep.

Then we will, as long as everyone is okay, it will also move to the January 19th consent agenda.

I'm fine with that.

So first I invite a motion.

I move we adopt the resolution approving the FY 2020-2021 Minor Annual Action Plan Amendment.

Second.

Thomas, I call for a vote.

Councilor Payne?

Yes.

Councilor Snook?

Yes.

Yes.

Attack to once again present.

Today, myself and Tim Mosh, the 10th and Page project manager from Public Works are here for any additional questions you guys may have.

Are there any other further questions on this?

Is there fairly decent confidence that the timeliness of the project would be able to proceed without any other impacts and revenue losses caused by a lack of timeliness when it comes to that regulation?

So weather plays a big impact, but HUD has been pretty, they've been pretty cooperative, especially with COVID.

speak to that a little bit?

The contractor, as Aaron says, has been very cooperative, fighting against weather and other things.

and a fair amount of landscaping which cannot be done until probably March and so their intent is to finish all the hardscape construction and as soon as planting is allowed so that we have plants that will survive they will finish that.

Do we, I mean, do you happen to know that off hand?

I'm not sure if you remember, Tim.

Yeah, I would need to look that up.

and of course neither Erin nor I were involved in the project when this happened but there's the strip of the property along 7th Street coming down towards Hardy.

Or questions, actually.

None here.

pieces to this as well.

Just want to clarify.

That's a first of two.

Just a first reading.

Does everyone feel comfortable moving it to the January 19th consent agenda?

Yes.

And that is the CDBG, so if somebody, I am going to invite a motion.

I'll second.

Councilor Payne?

Yes.

Councilor Snook?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Magill?

Yes.

Councilor Hill?

I invite a motion for the resolution FY 2020-21 minor annual action plan amendment.

So I move we adopt the resolution.

I'll second the motion.

Thomas would you call a vote please?

Yes.

Thank you very much.

And your cat likes it too.

And I appreciate that you have fixed some of these issues that we have had.

Thank you.

I invite Lauren Hildebrand, Director of Utilities to present.

Thank you.

We'll invite any questions or comments.

thank this group for the work that they've done obviously during a very challenging year and I'm just really encouraged just to see the progress that has been made on during this time and what you've just laid out for what's planning in the year ahead and I certainly personally don't have any concerns with this and I'm just curious like well I guess our next update would not be done for that year or was it possible we might be able to kind of get a check-in at some point in the meantime?

and the county's Board of Supervisors, which is what we're doing tonight.

Thank you.

So there's no vote on this.

Feedback question mark.

Holdenbrand, I would ask that council adopt the resolution in there because the recommendation was supposed to come back at this meeting but due to COVID they're asking for an extra year.

And I might add that the Board of Supervisors also adopted a similar resolution at their earlier meeting in December.

That's fine.

Your version is.

Yeah.

I move we adopt the resolution to support postponing evaluating the objectives for the Land Use and Environmental Planning Committee.

I will second the motion.

Thomas would you take the vote please?

Councilor Snook?

Yes.

Yes.

Is there any other business items for consideration at this time?

Vice Mayor Magill, before we go to that, I see Mr. Ikafuna is a panelist here and just wanted to thank him as well for his participation in LUPAC, I guess is how to pronounce it.

Thank you, Mr. Blair.

All right, then Mr. Wheeler, we'd like to open up matters by the public.

You've got three minutes.

Thank you.

Hoffman.

You've got three minutes.

So part of this is you showing some leadership publicly.

So thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Heinecke.

You've got three minutes with the council.

Well, I'm finished.

Bearden.

Be people, human beings.

Beard, as regretfully the city can only be giving funds out to official organizations, we have to be very careful with our tax dollars.

Don't think not.

Yes, ma'am.

Can't y'all do something for the people?

We've definitely been trying to do quite a few things for the people, especially- We don't know it, baby.

What are y'all doing?

They've put a couple of million dollars, from what I understand, back into the community to try to make sure that people don't lose their homes.

I work with older people all my life.

And I used to go into the nursing homes and assisted livings often, ma'am, until COVID.

I didn't say go, you can go after this is over I hope.

about what you and the other ladies are doing?

I'm telling you, I've been depressed because I love people and I love helping people and I don't like people saying, it's just business, business.

Until you get my age, you'll see.

We'll try to do better.

Think about them.

I just lost my stepfather recently, ma'am.

But I'm hoping he was able to be around family, but some of these people die alone.

Yes, ma'am.

Even with just a car, they love that kind of stuff.

I appreciate that.

All right, but you know, I want you to think about it really much, and if you believe, pray about it.

Yes, ma'am, thank you.

Vice Mayor Magill, there are no other hands raised.

Thank you.

Don Cathers here on the city council.

Is that what we did?

by paying about $900,000 towards the 11 million in emergency personnel salaries, which we had already budgeted for, we were able then to legally spend that money within the few days we had left of spending it.

In doing that, opens up that money that had already been spent to either cover drops in revenues created by COVID or if revenues rebound, potentially capital improvement projects, affordable housing, and other priorities.

I mean, if we've got, we're looking at almost a million dollars, I think the city, the citizens would like to know what the plans are for that, since that money has now been freed up.

And I just need to make sure that's very clear and for the record that we are not using CARES money for any sort of revenue replacement.

The funds that had already been budgeted, since those funds have now been freed up, are there plans for that $900,000 at this point?

But if there is a surplus in the city, it would go back to council to allocate.

Then what are we doing with that original money that was budgeted?

already been doing poorer than what we had originally anticipated.

that $900,000 can go to rather than rolling it back into things and areas that the citizens have already loudly and clearly said, let's not do that.

Yes, it is not adding to any budgets.

Thank you.

You've got three minutes.

But as someone who may not have been guilty of breaking into anyone's house, that could have been an incident that went wrong really quickly.

I cannot comment on that at this time.

and that's what prompted the call is what my understanding was originally.

Abby, you're on with council.

I had to speak up, so thank you.

And I'm sure it's that way for staff and other counselors and certainly myself, but I think all of us feel that pain in the community very deeply.

I do appreciate it, I really do.

Valerie, you're back on with council.

Thank you.

And counsel, I don't see any other hands raised.

at this point.

In section 2.23711 A29 for discussion of the award of public contract to conduct the search for a new city manager and discussion of the terms or scope of that contract or discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the city.

Is there a second?

I'll second it.

Thomas?

Councilor Payne?

Yes.

Councilor Snook?

Yes.

Yes.

And I told Keena that we'll just close ourselves out afterwards so she doesn't have to wait and whatever Brian can do to keep this moving but also get himself home.

We will keep this webinar running so you'll come back here for the closed meeting certification.

Great.

Thank you.

Yes.

Yeah.