City Council Meeting   7/23/2024

So it was very interesting.

Paul R. Tuesday, July 23rd, 2024, City Council meeting to order roll call, please, Pam.

Mayor Reed.

Present.

City Manager Banks.

Here.

City Attorney Brown.

Here.

Council Member Fleming.

Here.

Council Member Jones.

Present.

And Chief Tobias.

Here.

Roll call, please, Pam.

Who's the ruler?

Councilwoman Robinson.

Vice Mayor Dent.

Hi.

Councilmember Fleming.

Hi.

Mayor Reed.

Have a good day.

That was easy.

How are you?

Any questions?

Sure.

Mayor Reed, there are no callers.

No action council so we can go to item 6B Amy.

Good evening members of city council.

Are there any questions for me?

You'll have five minutes.

when we discussed in Tara, but we have a community meeting coming up in late August where we hope to present the comprehensive service line and how everyone will interact with each other there as providers, but we're excited for this project and are thankful for your all support.

Thank you.

Pam, do we have any colors?

Mary, there are no callers.

Oh, Jeff, you're up.

How are you?

But this is just one of the collection measures we use to try to collect delinquent real estate tax.

Council, we need to take action.

Roll call please, Pam.

Council Member Fleming.

Hi.

Thank you.

You'll see the amounts there for 2003 real estate.

So that's it.

Any questions?

Is that kind of a standard rate generally across cities that 98%

We're definitely on the higher side.

Exactly.

and so on.

Okay, we need to take action in this item.

I'll move to approve the removal of real estate taxes for 2020, for 2003 and personal property taxes for 2018 as presented.

We'll call please, Pam.

Council Member Fleming.

Aye.

Mayor Reed.

Have a good evening.

Any questions?

Council, we need to take action on this item.

Madam Mayor, I move that we approve the zoning ordinance amendments to modify the regulations associated with the location of private refuse collection facilities with the updates as presented by staff.

Roll call please, Payone.

Nice Mayor Dent.

Hi.

Council Member Fleming.

Hi.

Mayor Reed.

Come on up.

How are you?

We've also talked with many other nonprofit organizations to be collaborating entities, but unfortunately, due to the requirements to be a community-based organization as defined by the EPA, many organizations who might otherwise be great partners for this grant are not eligible to be sub-recipients of federal funding.

What was the biggest hurdle that you saw when you contacted other organizations?

and perhaps others like the Sierra Club or Nationals, so they don't... Same for Sierra Club, they're a 501CB or... They lobby, whatever their non-promises is, they lobby so they can't receive federal funding.

has there been consideration to look to help and assist folks to make that transition like in your just anecdotally in your research of speaking to individuals do you think there's a need there for us to maybe workshop some folks and help them to cross that bridge because we will need these partners at some point with various other opportunities

I don't know.

Was that one of the other?

They have to have a physical presence in the community and be doing service work in the community.

So they were listed.

I think they just didn't have the interest or capacity right now to help in the grant work.

Sure.

I'm sure there's some that we missed but that was the process that we went through.

We reached out to any of those groups who were doing work on the housing, you know, Mercy House, you know, for one.

I don't think we reached out to any housing groups and you'll see when Keith presents our scope, it might not align great with our scope we have with the housing agency, but they could support our project later on down the line, that's for sure.

Now do you have, are you only allowed to have one collaborating entity?

No, we can have multiple.

But you only have one?

As of right now, yes, we only have one.

Because there's no way you can tell me the city of Harrisonburg doesn't have more than just one.

That was why I asked you that question.

Some of them were interested and have capacity.

But we're being fair in the process of how we're determining who gets to partner with us.

And then I will hand it over to Keith now.

And the last piece is to incorporate the community's feedback into the environmental action plan.

No, but I mean, even that the conversation has occurred.

locally it never did it never looked like that even though the meetings were literally in Lucy Sims a lot of them and so I just I agree with you that is definitely the goal but I hope that those people actually come to the table and when they get to the table there's seats there you know I mean I'll have to sit on the second row hopefully this will open it up yeah I'm sure they have been there've been opportunities before that I don't know about but I'm just hoping I'm forever hopeful that the right program will come along

People will find faith in us again and that we are being very transparent in what our goals are and it will bring that missing piece to the table because the piece is missing.

It doesn't look like us when we go there because there's not a space for even challenging or asking questions from our community space.

We need to make a change.

Are there any other questions?

How much are we going for?

I believe the last we looked were 1.3 million.

Correct.

If we're submitting by August, could they award it immediately or do they wait till the final deadline to select from all the applicants?

It's been a rolling deadline since earlier this year, so they've already made a couple of awards.

Okay, so they could award it right away, if I like it.

Did you say that?

I think there's 20 or 25 nationwide for this track, and then there's some on the other tracks that they'll order the application.

It just seems that we could make a strong case for our community, given its diversity in the languages and such.

They're trying to do this out, so I like our chances for that.

Okay.

This is for information.

You're great.

Worked that out well.

All right.

Potential savings from energy and waste reduction activities, and then creating stronger relationships with other businesses.

Like, it's not a good idea to have a plastic straw, for instance.

Any questions?

Thank you.

I had the opportunity to see this a number of months ago in the storm water and she presented this idea to us so thank you for getting it to us and I really appreciate that staff member can take something they're passionate about and have some interest and bring it up through her supervisory staff and then to council and it says a lot about the organization in general

Good job, lady.

And good job presenting it to Keith.

Come on in.

It's made to be over 450 feet long pedestrian bridge, which that does bring costs when you're trying to span those two items.

That's just because of the height requirement over rail cars on the railroad track.

Yeah, so that's our Bluestone Trail Extension Project.

So if we get this funding, that would be the way we could do that.

And all that would be outside of the grant project.

Is this the same rail line owner as on the north end?

We'll have 311 foot lanes, buffered bike lanes on the outside, and a center turn lane on the inside.

Excuse me, you said buffered bike lanes?

if we're successful with this shared use path, and with this project.

I'm assuming we're likely to have fire engines going through this.

Roundabouts are designed based on the fastest path, but they'll be able to make it through safely.

It's not, it's raised but not.

for the currently funded projects, because we've already heard questions, calls, concerns about those median breaks.

How much is this project?

This sidewalks are surprisingly expensive.

Because usually they would, we would have them.

and Dany Fleming

But no one's walking in front of Ford.

whether we see folks walking on them now or we're planning for our kids' kids to use it as a transportation pathway when they get there.

I'm just curious as to because at some point who's walking beside five lanes of traffic in a city with 55,000 people and if we were a city of 255,000 people you got people walking no matter what right to lunch to work to get back home so on and so forth and I believe those people probably exist but it sounded like the greater populace of even what you name doesn't even exist yet it being those Ryan Holmes division and that's not even closed yet

We'll put street trees to make it look to be cooler so you can walk in the hot summertime to make it more advantageous and feel like it can be a walking corridor.

This will fall then on those business owners to clean those sidewalks, right?

But then as far as the maintenance, the repair, when they crack or break, that's our general maintenance, but with snow and ice, it would be their responsibility.

How many bus stops are on that segment, do you know?

Again, this, we're in the final stages, but this is another safety component type project that we're excited to get, hopefully get funded and get underway.

Project will be completed before this happens?

But we think we need all of it.

Andy, I remember talking to Charlie King and us about universities left to come back in to work on University Boulevard.

Yes.

So we're just fortunate that the HRMPO is sponsoring a couple of applications for in the city.

Aaron and Jacob do a very good job of making sure they pick which project fits which one the best to make us as competitive as we can be.

So, great job with this.

Okay, so this, we do have to take action.

There's just one resolution for all five.

Any more discussion?

We'll call, please, Pam.

Council Member Fleming?

Aye.

Mayor Reed?

City Manager.

City Council before you this evening is a supplemental appropriation.

And I can try and answer any questions you might have.

Yeah, I'm excited to see the safe routes for school, the position getting funded here, and that's been an important project over the last 15 years at least.

Any more discussion?

Vice Mayor Dent.

Hi.

City Manager.

City Council has before you this evening consideration of a reallocation of funds in the fiscal year 2025 budget.

And I can try and answer any questions you may have.

So this means that the project will be, everything will be completed for the Spritner.

Thank you.

Council.

Second.

Any other discussion?

Without broken bones.

And the jet.

Roll call, please.

Aye.

The final reallocation in front of you this evening is a reallocation of funds in the General Capital Projects Fund.

This project will fill sidewalk gaps and improve safe pedestrian access to Waterman and Keester Elementary schools.

Any questions?

Great for the safe route to schools.

Madam Mayor, I move that we approve a reallocation of funds in the general capital project funds as presented by City Manager Banks.

We'll call please Pam Vice Mayor Dent.

Mayor Reed.

Pam.

One moment please.

I really don't have much to add of the last two weeks.

Actually, it hasn't really been a quiet two weeks.

It has for us.

We went to the city hall and the chamber itself was a little bit overwhelming, so it was nice to see the big city, run around a little bit, see what they have going on there, but it's always nice to come home.

That's all I got.

Awesome.

And so I think we need to treat it as such.

So, I don't think we can patch it up any longer.

So you got to work with those acoustics so you know you need the paneling and the padding and we just got to do it right.

Yeah, their offices were.

Oh, their offices are hot.

So that was built later, right?

You're thinking of downstairs.

Yeah, I was thinking of downstairs.

Up past Stephanie's office, past the conference room to the right.

So there's nothing currently in a capital improvement plan?

I believe it's in the CIP, but I can't attest to that right now, but yeah.

So there's maybe some preliminary figure attached to it that was probably done at some previous time.

Bain Day

is going to be

who bring that to city council along with a potential framework for how we might look at moving that into the CIP if it isn't already there.

Absolutely.

Like we used to in old schools We know how to do that get those fans and windows open Thank you.

So the murals are popping up everywhere and they're beautiful.

So the one on the side of Jack Brown is really quite an elaborate.

Urban Exchange.

What was that?

No, I think what the mayor is talking about is by coffee shop beside Benny Sorrentino's.

Yeah, it's right in here.

So I know you're about to sit for this.

Be quiet.

Is it in two weeks?

So looking forward to that as well.

So I'm curious to you guys for that.

Nice.