City Council Worksession at 6pm Regular Session at 7:00 pm   1/23/2024

So I know I've got two events in mind and I'm trying to convince the African-American Festival Committee to do the same thing, to have another

Good afternoon.

Please, Pam.

City Manager Banks.

Here.

Council Member Fleming.

Here.

Chief Tobias.

I will now turn the meeting over to Deputy Manager Amistad.

Yes, ma'am.

from just HPD and HFD, the public safety in general, you mentioned that.

Or we're not even there yet?

Yeah, timelines attached to the priority.

So like I'm looking at priority one.

Thank you.

So they're actually on page two.

Snyder, like the one with the revision of the zoning ordinances.

So within the implementation plan, the target dates you want to originate on each of the

I don't know if revision date makes sense in there or not, but

We can add something like that.

before we send you on too much work.

But then when they present to us, they've got to I think that would be a

happy medium yeah I'm not suggesting how you administratively you know handle that I was just thinking kind of as it's presented to the public and this is a public-facing document if it makes sense to have the date that was created because technically it was all created at the work session right so you know to start right well some of it we have we've had three different work sessions now I guess right well and also it does change over time like the

It's just good to have it in there and track it going forward.

Are there any other questions about this area?

So I'll use this next one as an example.

I'll read through the priorities and if there is a specific priority you would like to pull out for further discussion or questions if you identify that and then we'll move through those that you all want to have discussion on and not go through each one individually.

You just mentioned, you just went through that, I had a couple of questions.

Okay, we can move back to it.

Just add community paramedics down that column.

That column?

That's all.

So your question is for priority.

So this is just an overview, and then they will come back to us.

I wasn't sure exactly what the intention was.

This is just an overview.

Just to give you, that we all agreed on, because everything that made it in here, we voted on it again.

But yeah, I think if we have some particular comments that you can add, I think that's fair, but not to drill down into everyone.

To the extent we can for some of the tasks.

I didn't feel like that was clear.

Alright, let's go to the next section.

And number four is a recommended addition from staff, which is update the stormwater improvement plan.

What's the C.E.H?

The internal DEIAV committee, it says for committee of equity and harmony.

Anyone else?

Yeah, I agree.

I like the equity considerations.

Education is like number one priority and understanding what's lacking, what information is needed, what information that is important to pass on to future generations to preserve the earth.

Yes, I just feel like somehow education should lead.

The next focus area is economic development, goals, gains, and growth.

that that priority is collaborate with private regional workforce transportation partners to establish a well-connected public transportation system focusing on enhancing workforce transportation within the area.

You said this was your ad?

It was a revision.

Is that the idea?

That's ultimately what it's saying.

And so if there's an opportunity for us to coordinate with them on bus stops that could be drop-off pickup spots on our existing bus system lines and things like that is what we were... Gerald, it might remember... Yes, that is correct.

Just let us know if there's any way we can connect with our system here so that we can easily bring them in without them having to do all the work to get into.

So I see how efficient that system is, and I think that would be a wonderful addition to what we currently have in place.

Yeah, we wanted to start there as a just a formality to start there to just see who has it and then if there's anybody else who will talk to the community.

Thank you for your time.

Can we check it off of this by granting that authority right this time?

That kind of sentiment might be cooked in several locations and I would think in general that when if later on this evening on the regular items this comes back up because if you feel comfortable in going ahead and improving it after the work session you can if not that's fine too but I think by your adoption of this you are consenting to some of the right I mean you're saying Andy go forward where would Gerald do these things

The second priority is provide the B-Cubed effort greater city support and buy-in and there's a list of different ways that were suggested by city council that we could do that and the third priority is to develop an economic development strategic plan including the identification of new business sectors for the city and appropriate recruitment strategies

and I guess I want to make sure with three you guys know the two of you know we know you've been doing that I think the key is to make sure it's reiterated because we won't be sitting here and you may not be either so we want to make sure that it's what we've established keeps going so I just hope you guys weren't insulted with number three that's your job you've been doing to keep doing it but in case we're the eight of us aren't around we want to make sure it keeps going thank you amen I'm sorry

Comments?

and the third is to enhance the City-University relationship for the benefit of residents and students and to achieve a greater understanding of impact on the community, land use and development.

I think the Mayor and Councilman Fleming are making sure we do number three.

I don't want to tie this one up.

Well, the only thing I thought in that plan, you know, number eight, to me, convene key partners in the city school system, June 2025, needs to be up at the top there, is I mean, I think.

Yeah, party number one.

This is, I think, a kind of a media target date to make.

So you're suggesting that, so under priority number one, maybe under task number three, when it says convene key partners that one of those partners be, the city schools listed there?

Yes, yeah, yeah, there's everybody down there, but I think they're kind of inseparable.

I would just remind council that this is three year time frame.

Because I mean, I don't, I mean, to your point, Councilman, I don't know that we could do all of this work by, are you saying next month, so that we can then- No, no, no, no, no, no.

I do because I was going to miss the fiscal year.

instead of Sooner.

I know Mr. Morgan and I in our meetings about the early childhood program that we started with ARPA funding, one of the first things we were asked by an outside consultant was what data do you have, what are the needs for the whole community, and to our knowledge that there hasn't been a comprehensive collection and analysis of that data.

I know sometimes I get compared to vice mayor here because she's the environmental and I'm always on education after school programs but to me this is gonna it's gonna be a huge need in the fall when everything is starting to go into a different you know time with schools.

What that money would be.

Thank you Amy.

That's what I thought I heard.

I don't want to waste any words.

Do the assessment in September.

Unless my colleagues disagree with my dates.

Go ahead.

Under fiscal responsibility and planning, there is one newly suggested priority, which is update our financial management policies.

We didn't want him to feel left out.

Any comments or questions?

How's it for all?

And the third is to continue the relationship with the City County Homelessness Coalition to ensure collaboration and communication among service providers.

Our final visionary and the one that has the most additions perhaps is distinctive reliable delivery of high quality city services had to try to not trip up on

And number eight, update the bike pedestrian plan.

Now which ones were added by staff?

I think, and the answer can't be a lot.

So maybe I do appreciate that.

Now, is this?

Yeah.

What would that look like?

Does that belong in here?

We'll see that will be one of the costs that we wouldn't have.

Right, right, that's a state.

That has been proposed by Delegate Wilt and then Delegate Rousseau put that forth to the General Assembly.

So that seems to dovetail in with this somehow much.

It sounds like it would, but maybe we'll have some.

So as he's looking that stuff up, he's going to be able to compare to where we are, what actually passes the GA and what doesn't.

Number six.

The criminal justice plan?

That's part of the point of making sure that someone is addressing city needs, not just strictly under the county.

That wouldn't be something that necessarily Chris would look at.

relationship with the county with funding that position.

who they're going to report to if we took that position on that's literally why that's in there so he can say this is how much it costs and what it looks like if we do it by ourselves this is how much it costs and look like if we do it with the county and then he can compare those two so you pick the specific thing but I'm asking him to do that for everything it'll be part of the of his research right so it'll fall in that research well actually the third bullet kind of carry carries some of that

Are we able to selectively separate some, but not all portions?

I thought we said it, yeah, we did say it.

But it's there.

Yeah.

The courts.

So yeah, so you do your work.

That part.

What about just shy of 60?

Trying to increase your southern acumen.

So, you know, if our university population is 18 or 20,000 that are in the city, and we have 57,000 people,

They think Charlottesville is bigger.

But anyway, I think just as a general practice, we kind of throw different numbers around at different times.

I have to check Weldon Cooper some of the numbers are census numbers and I think we recognize that there's likely an undercount for different reasons and for our planning purposes having 57 seems to be a good number The Weldon Cooper Center will be releasing numbers by the end of this month for the 2023 estimate and we're currently the 2022 estimates 55,700 and we'll get we'll get the new counts within the next like two weeks perfect okay great thank you so that may be short

It's not just words there, but it's a particular way of approaching.

I thought that was perfect.

To me, you all can come to work an hour late tomorrow, but you should ask your boss.

Great job.

And we're going to take our recess and we'll come back at 7

I'll call our Tuesday, January 23rd, 2024 regular session meeting to order

Again, Pam.

Mayor Reed.

President.

Council Member Jones.

Hey.

Here.

We have Chief Warner.

Sergeant Raymond, you'll join me up here.

I, in state, your name.

I, Amy Raymond.

You solemnly affirm.

You solemnly affirm.

That I'll support the Constitution of the United States.

That I'll support the Constitution of the United States.

And the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

And the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

And that I will faithfully and impartially.

And that I will faithfully and impartially.

Discharge and perform.

Discharge and perform.

All the duties incumbent upon me.

All the duties incumbent upon me.

According to the best of my abilities.

I'd like to take just a moment if I can and indulge me if she could introduce her family this evening.

And then I would like to thank my rescue family for also being in attendance.

Anybody?

So anyways, we want to have large attendance.

Yeah.

We should make them wait till the end.

I wanted to say this while she was here, but in our meeting with JMU, like she's literally the person I was trying to describe, a student that volunteers, well, you remember, Andy, volunteers with EMS, end up moving back here, moving here, staying here, being a part of the community and now serving.

We have HHS at Harrisonburg High School and so if the director will come up from Phil and introduce

Okay, let's go.

Her curtain cord she likes to wind And tie it into sailor knots She sits up on the windowsill Or anything that's smooth and flat She sits and sits and sits and sits And that's what makes it lovely

That's what makes a Gumby cat But when today's hustle and bustle is done Then the Gumby cat's work is with hardly any gun And when all the family's in bed and asleep She cuts up her skirts to the basement to creep She is deeply concerned with the ways of the mice They're behaving so good and they're managed with lice So when she has got the mic up on the body She teaches them

I have a gumby cat in mind, her name is Jenny Annie Doss The curtain court she likes to wind, and tie it into cellar knots

But when the day's hustle and bustle is done And the company has worked, it's not hardly begun She thinks that the cockroaches need to join me To prevent them from eye-opening wounds So she swore from the lot of the sordidly mouths A troop of all discipline, helpful boys scouts With the purpose of life and a good deed to do And she's even created a Beatles tattoo Thank you my dears

Again, February 7th through the 11th at Harrisonburg High School in the auditorium, hhsmusical.com is where you can find information and tickets.

All right.

Thank you so much.

See ya.

Otherwise, all items will be voted on with one motion.

Any discussion?

Roll call, please, Pam.

Mayor Reed.

And I believe we have 7A, 7B together.

So that sidewalk is actually private sidewalk, but they're providing a public access easement, which allows people to move freely throughout that area.

If you all recall, if you do not provide a specific time frame, the default is 12 months, and they're hoping to utilize the ability to have the extension up to 48 months, which staff and Planning Commission also supported as well.

Do we have any questions?

Just real quick, on the county side, where we run the city water into that, is that correct?

The county actually is providing water and sewer to the development.

Yes, ma'am.

You'll have five minutes.

Thank you all for your attention.

How many of them are for sale homes?

On the city side, correct.

Thank you.

address the need for low income housing.

Thank you, I will close public hearing on this item.

I don't remember that exactly.

Thank you.

We need a motion.

I'll suck at that.

Roll call, please, Pam.

Council Member Robinson.

Aye.

Vice Mayor Dent.

Aye.

Madam Mayor, I move that we approve the request from Cobbler's Valley Development LLC for a special use permit to allow to attach townhomes at 585 Pair Street as presented.

I'll second that.

Any discussion?

Roll call, please, Pam.

Vice Mayor Dent.

Aye.

Mayor Reed.

Yeah, thank you.

And we appreciate the proffers that were submitted and then Plainty Commission unanimously recommended approval of both applications, along with the extension again for the 48 months for the special use permit.

Are there any questions?

That's correct.

You could be, but it just gives them the extension not have to come back.

As quickly as possible is their goal.

So I'm just cautioning us and future councils.

I agree it's a dangerous precedent.

Enough changes could have happened in that block, in the area, in the neighborhood that may necessitate that the special use permit may no longer be a best practice for that space.

You'll have five minutes.

Again, appreciate you all's time and for allowing me to speak on a few broader issues during my presentation.

Would there be a commitment or an understanding of a way to help do housing counseling for folks who are moving into the housing market for the first time?

It's going to look the same.

I think that would be a goal I'd like to see for some of those homeowners.

But yeah, I do think there is value in having a local developer bring a community out of the ground.

Do we have any callers?

Please state your name and address, and your five minutes will begin.

I look forward to a rich discussion.

Do we have any more callers?

Here, right there, no other callers.

Thank you.

Council.

another address at Pear Street as presented by staff with the 48 extension.

I'll second that.

Roll call please Pam.

Council Member Fleming.

Aye.

Mayor Reed.

Aye. 70.

That's with the 48 Months.

We'll call please, Pam.

Mayor Reed.

Update on zoning.

So there's a total of 13 Ordnance Advisory Committee members and at this time I'd be happy to answer any questions that you have.

Not that any, and here's the thing, no one did anything wrong.

Would it make you feel better knowing that we will be re-releasing module one to the public again or are you suggesting that we should redo the stakeholder meetings and or what is it that you would like to see?

I'm simply just saying make sure that your good is an evil spoken of.

I've released in module one what would that do?

With that said, we'll take what you, your comment into consideration, I'll talk with the project team just to, for us to do a check and see how we feel about that.

I know Vice Mayor talked about this on the radio for about 20 minutes.

We didn't plan that.

And will that be happening in parallel with the public, or we'll figure it out, I guess?

But as we work through the schedule and drill that down further, we'll figure that out.

that this is doing, this is going in sequence with the zoning ordinance rewrite first and then the comp plan update because that's a much more in-depth and long, long project like five years and we don't want to wait for, that's what you explained in the planning commission.

We, you know, we will, it will evolve with the next iteration of the comprehensive plan.

Yeah.

So I don't think it'll change you, I think, from what you have, but just kind of recognize folks in their positions, representing those groups.

The vice mayor, the only one that sits on that?

From council at this point, yes.

And I was going to mention that after to Tom.

So you're the second one.

That's great.

So it works perfect.

I was just going to mention it after.

Thank you very much.

We'll go to our priorities.

It's a living document and I'm excited about it.

With amendments we discussed, you want to say?

That includes amendments.

Three seconds.

It includes all of our discussions, all of our meetings.

I know, I know.

And that wasn't always the case.

And you know, so I really do appreciate that because I like the champion's piece too.

But I would just turn right around and say thank you to them because they're the ones doing the heavy lifting.

I guess if folks have a chance to see what happens behind the scenes here actually and the progress is made and how you build a livable city and a quality city is by implementing a lot of these things and folks can see that they're happening and moving forward and every year we can visit that and so that's fantastic.

All across the country, supporting our vision.

And it's a city that's working pretty well.

So I appreciate that.

Great, thank you.

So let's go ahead and finish the motion.

Did I get a second?

All right, roll call please, Pam.

Aye.

C. That's good.

Hey, Chris Brown.

And I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Any questions?

what financially is bound in the future and something important for us to kind of understand.

So financial decisions always within the purview of council.

How does that play into this?

In fact, a future council or even this council at some point could say we don't want to do this anymore, we're going to rescind the ordinance.

Thank you.

So we'll take 5 minutes.

I start eating it and I start coughing.

I was diagnosed.

We do.

Supplemental thing.

Every time I eat it, I fall.

Just add an article in there.

Do we have a closed session tonight?

Well, I know I'm not my son, but you don't have to just walk by me like that.

Okay, we can go to item nine eight.

I can try and answer any questions you might have.

Motion?

Madam Mayor, I move to approve a supplemental appropriation for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant as presented by City Manager Banks.

I'll second that.

Roll call, please, Pam.

Mayor Reed?

Please state your name, address, we'll have five minutes.

Thank you.

You have five minutes.

That's the purpose of our resolution.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

Thank you so much.

Who will spit in the face of politicians who call my best friends race human animals?

Who?

Thank you.